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WEEK 8 PREVIEW: Full Breakdown & Predictions · Honey, It's Saturday

• Honey It's Saturday: Welcome back to the Honey It Saturday podcast. We're still kind of off the high of week seven and the absolute hurricane that it was, no pun intended, new number one team in the country. We got Miami sitting up top. We got BYU Sam: Ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: at number two. We had top ten teams falling left and right. And we have a whole nother week of college football on the calendar. So I can confirm there will be games played this week. They even, you know, start during the week. So I've got pick seven teams that are playing on Tuesday night again this week. I mean, we're gonna go over that. We're gonna go over our pick seven. We're gonna go over the biggest matchups of the week. We'll do our honorable mentions. We'll do our buy, sell, hold segment that we mentioned on the recap show and we decided we were gonna tease you guys and postpone it to today. We've got our locks of the week. I mean, we're doing it all. It it's all happening tonight, Sam. Are you ready? Sam: Dude, I've been waiting for this all day. I've been listening to other podcasts. I've been listening to local sports radio. I'm ready for this time. I'm ready for us to get in, get into this week's slate. Honey It's Saturday: A hundred percent. And I'm gonna press pause just for a second. Do you mind turning your volume down slightly? Okay, we are Sam: Pardon the interruption. Honey It's Saturday: we are chillin'. Yeah, we're we're we're so back and we're so good. Like I I can't wait for this this week. we say that every week though. I mean you guys probably get tired of it, but if you listen weekly then you don't. You're just like us. Sam: Well, we're gonna start off hot and go right into our pick seven segment. So just as a reminder, right now I am sitting at 641 points. Mitch is sitting at 612. we're about at the halfway point in the season. So it's a pretty competitive matchup for us so far. I kind of hope it comes down to the wire. Just, we also haven't figured out what our punishment's gonna be. I know we've promised that a couple episodes back and we never delivered. Honey It's Saturday: No, we haven't. We really we we really gotta lock in on that. And also before we go full in into our breakdown of pick seven, I just wanted to to ask you, did you see some big Oregon State alumni putting up dollars already to keep Jesse Legree on campus next year? They've pledged four million verbally. Sam: Are you serious? Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I did. Came down today. Sam: Who is the Oregon State donor? Is he like I'm just curious? Honey It's Saturday: You would know him. You would know him. Think about this. Wide receiver, Oregon State. I'm gonna let Sam: He's a Honey It's Saturday: you I'm gonna let you sit on it. Sam: No, who's the Honey It's Saturday: No, I'm I'm not looking it up. Sam: No, who's the donor? I know who the receiver is, Honey It's Saturday: That's what I'm saying. Sam: Legree. Honey It's Saturday: No, I'm not talking about Ligree, I'm talking about the donors. Think about this. Sam: Who's a wide receiver who played at Oregon State? Honey It's Saturday: Correct. Sam: I'm really gonna be mad at myself. I know it, but I I don't I can't I can't answer this question right now. Who is it? It looks like you don't know either. I think you're looking it up. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, we gotta we gotta nuke this segment, bro. We gotta scrap this segment. I saw it earlier today and I was like, that's crazy. And I actually do know who it is, but I'm just completely blanking on it. So no, no don't don't don't do don't do that. Sam: All right, riverside, just note this right here. Honey It's Saturday: Just for the sake of my integrity. That's who I thought it was. I was overthinking it the whole time. It was Chad Johnson. I was think overthinking it the whole time. Anyways, Chad Johnson has already pledged two million dollars to keep Jesse LeGree on campus. Sam: They gotta get some money for Atkinson too. If they wanna keep him around. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, they got they got a lot to figure out. So and I think they might need more than two million, by the way. Sam: I don't know if you saw their game last week against Washington State. That place was packed. Honey It's Saturday: It was cool, which is awesome. Sam: Dude, it was unbelievable. Shepard just the the way he has just embraced Oregon State and turned them around as quickly as they have is kind of mind-boggling. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I mean, it's fantastic they needed it really bad. Like again, this is one thing we're kind of adding on to what we said on our recap show. But if you guys missed it, like we did discuss Oregon State in pretty good detail because of the exact reason Sam's talking about the last couple years, they really got the brunt of the whole Pac twelve disbanding thing. Like they were stranded, hung out to dry completely as a program. They lost a ton of resources, they lost all their guys, they've gone through Coaching, trans they've they've experienced everything you possibly can and it was rough. And this year to see what they've been able to do, and the leadership in that program and the culture that they're building, it it's just fun to watch. I mean, you you hope it continues. Sam: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And there's a there's a team that also has it looks like a pretty good culture right now and a good standard. And that's Tennessee Volunteers. So they're the first team in my pick seven. they play against South Carolina at Williams Bryce Stadium. Tennessee is a two and a half point underdog, which I get like I'm as nervous as anybody as a Tennessee guy, but somehow South Carolina being favored. Comparative to how these seasons have turned out for both these teams is kind of wild to me. But we'll dive into that a little bit later. Virginia Tech is a two and a half point underdog at Clemson, which I think is going to be a great matchup, which we'll talk about a little bit later as well. USF has a bye. Don't need to say much there. Oklahoma State plays Colorado. And I don't know if we didn't mention this last episode, but Utah got scared by Colorado really bad. Honey It's Saturday: Which nobody saw coming. I did not see that coming at all. I I mean Colorado, they they were three points away from winning that game or tying. I mean, it was very close. Sam: Yeah, it was a I I think that game went kind of like, especially with Utah playing Houston this week, college game day, like Utah's undefeated. That's great. But I I don't think enough people were really talking about a recapping. And we missed the ball on that too, but that could be sneaky. so we'll see how how my Cowboys respond. Wake Forest has a bye, which is kind of a killer just for my points that I'll probably get this week. Michigan State plays UCLA and is a fourteen point underdog, which UCLA looks pretty good defensively. I'll be interested to see how this game turns out for Michigan State. I just hope it's not a huge blowout. And then Colorado State plays San Diego State and is a one and a half point underdog, which I'll take because Colorado State hasn't Honey It's Saturday: I was gonna say, dude. Sam: Colorado State has not been favored in many games this year. But to have this kind of like pick type game where it's the one and a half, maybe just the home field advantage, I need these I need these guys to come out with a win. So Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, you know you know what the killer is in this situation though. The killer is you finally get a pick game and they come out on the wrong side of it. Sam: True. But Honey It's Saturday: So hopefully that doesn't happen. Sam: yeah. This this is a this is a tough week for me. I am favored in only one of my seven teams. Obviously two of have buys, but that's a that's that's an uphill battle for this week. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, which is which is good for me because obviously I'm a competitor and Sam has about a thirty point lead over me right now. So he's sitting at six hundred and forty-one as we discussed in our recap and I'm at six twelve. So I lost sixteen points last week. I'm hoping this is a week where I can get some of that back. I think I can. It's not gonna be easy, but I think I can. we'll start with Oregon. And man, I got some thoughts on Oregon. after our show, we kind of had all those reports come out about wide receivers. Speed racing, street racing, DUI for Evan Stewart, like just bad news, things you don't want to happen, don't want to see in your program, in your culture. there's a Dan Lanning, Georgia j joke in there somewhere, but I'll stay off that path and just talk about how detrimental it's gonna be. No, I'm just gonna talk about how Sam: You brought us on the path. Honey It's Saturday: detrimental it's gonna be for my pick seven. I don't think that that bodes well for a team that's already pretty much limping. They're four and two. They're surviving, like hanging on by a thread at this point. and I just don't think that's a good sign for you know what they've got in the locker room moving forward. But they've got Illinois this week. Don't have a status on Dante Moore yet. Would love for him to play. They are favored by eight and a half, which kind of makes me think that somebody thinks Dante Moore is gonna play this week. so that would be that would be fantastic. I would really appreciate that. Indiana has Michigan at the big house. And Michigan Just put Carr in for Underwood last week. They finally benched Underwood. I don't know if they're going to do it again this week, but that's kind of an interesting storyline. So, what Michigan Wolverines team are we going to see? And obviously that defense is always really good. so Indiana, that's a test at the big house, always a test. I I feel okay about it. And I think that they'll bounce back. I think that loss is probably gonna fire them up. So they've got Michigan. I need some points there. North Dakota State has New Mexico. This is a huge game. Both teams have one loss. Both teams look pretty good in the G six conversation. North Dakota State started the year really, really hot. And the last couple weeks really, they obviously had the loss. I thought last week against Nevada, they did what they needed to do to win, but they also had some major special teams play. I mean, they had a kick six in that game and they really couldn't pull away from Nevada. So I think that this is one where they really need to to show up. They're not gonna be at home either. So that's a big deal. They're actually underdogs in this one by four and a half. So keep an eye on that game. Sam: I think that's the f I think that's the first time all year they've been underdogs. Honey It's Saturday: I think you're right about that, which is kind of crazy if you think about it. Sam: For a first year. Now, North Dakota State, there's like an asterisk beside them just because of the history that they've had at the FCS level level. But that aside, that's still really Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, but Sam: impressive. Honey It's Saturday: it's really impressive. And yes, there's there's a difference between North Dakota State making the jump and some other programs, but there are a lot of really good FCS programs that have made the jump and struggled in year one and two. So I I've been impressed with them what they've been able to do. I'd love if they could win this week. Cal has SMU and Cal is just on the decline. And it feels like week after week I feel worse and worse about the Golden Bears. I still love their uniform combo. I still love their colors, man. They're fantastic. And if they put the right uniform combo together, maybe they can cover the spread against SMU this week. They are 19.5 Sam: Ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: point underdogs. And I I won't lie though, I do have a little bit of optimism about this game. Not necessarily because of how I feel about Cal, but because of how I feel about SMU recently. They don't look like the type of team that's gonna beat anybody by 19.5. Like, to me, to me. Sam: No, that spread is way high. Honey It's Saturday: To me, they don't. So I feel like Cal can cover that spread at least. but I don't I don't know about when. We have and we do have the ponies at number twenty-five in our poll, by the way, the ranked SMU Mustangs. Delaware versus Missouri State. This one, these are the Conference USA teams. Delaware and Sam Houston State are like bottom of the conference USA right now. I have both of them, which, yay me, great. I they were cheap, I needed them. but they both play opponents. that are also at the bottom of conference USA standings right now in Missouri State for Delaware and then Sam Houston State plays New Mexico State. They're both within within a three point spread. Delaware's actually favored. Sam Houston is not, but they're both kind of in the pick category. If I can get one win out of them this week, I would feel really good. And then Oregon State, who I love and adore, and we've already talked about on this podcast, has a bye. So unfortunately I don't get to watch Atkinson and the boys go to work. but I hope they get their rest and their beauty sleep and they come back firing next week. Sam: I will say a as Mitch and I are filming this, this is currently Monday night. I know Delaware, Missouri State, I think plays on Tuesday, and Sam Houston and New Mexico State, I'm sure play a Wednesday or something like that. because I Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, those midweight games. Sam: yeah, last week we had the the updated scores, but decided to film a little bit earlier this week. so by the time we've we film next, we're we're already gonna know those matchups. Or by the time this is released, you already know the score and how how Mitch is gonna be feeling going into Saturday. Honey It's Saturday: I hope you guys are smiling and just feeling so much joy and empathy for me in a good way, not bad empathy, positive empathy, because both of them pulled out the win. So I hope that's the chair that I'm sitting in. Thank thank you for that dis thank you for that disclaimer, Sam. I I think Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: it's time by the way. I think it's time for us to go into our buy sell hole. I think we gotta do it. We've got our our top twenty five poll. Sam: Yes. We we have made the transition to instead of the AP top twenty five Chad GPT giving us three random teams. It is now the Honey It Saturday top twenty five poll. which again Honey It's Saturday: We honestly are kind of slowly phasing out the top twenty five like the AP top twenty five. Well it's everything. Sam: I don't even know what I don't even know what they I don't even know what the AP top twenty five is. Honey It's Saturday: No, and I mean we're doing a service to the people. Like the people need the AP poll to be phased out. And we are stepping up. Sam and I felt like it was our duty to do so. So we've been putting out the Honey It Saturday poll weekly. If you want to see what we did, it's on our social media platforms. You can go check it out on Instagram. We got the full poll release today. but yeah, we're gonna take up three teams from our poll at random and we have to buy, sell, hold for the rest of the season based off what we think. And I'm really I don't know here we go. Sam: And those three teams are we're going right into it. the number four ranked Omus Rebels, the number eighteen ranked Florida Gators, and the number twenty four ranked Northwestern Wildcats. Mitch, what are your thoughts? Honey It's Saturday: man, I gotta digest this for just a second. We got so we got two SEC Sam: Here, I can go. Honey It's Saturday: teams. Sam: If you want to t if you want to think about it, I can I can go. Honey It's Saturday: Well, let me just let me talk through it real real quick. We got two SEC teams and then we got a Big Ten team in Northwestern that has exceeded expectations thus far. Played really well against Indiana. they've been ranked in our poll for two weeks in a row. This is an interesting one. I think I am gonna let Sam give it the first go. Sam: All right, so I am going to buy Northwestern. I think they can continue to only go up in the Big Ten. I think their their schedule is pretty favorable the rest of the way. honestly they're playing really good football. I know they kinda had a I think there was a lot of different aspects that went into the Michigan State game, but defense is playing well. Aiden Childs, I feel like he's getting better every week. And Chip Kelly, man, I he's just been so creative. There was a little a little bit of that part of that game on Saturday where he was almost running like a little a little bit of like a triple option kind of thing. That was just something that you wouldn't expect to see from Chip Kelly, let alone just any other team that's not Army, Navy, or former Air Force or Georgia Tech. so that's just fascinating to me to see how much he've he has evolved. And I just think that's a program on the rise. Florida, I'm going to sell. I think obviously they had a big win last week against Texas in Texas. but I I just think the Gators are just too inconsistent right now. I mean, they they are the one team. I mean, a lot of teams have had this, but they are the one team that's been on just the highest of highs to just the absolute lowest of lows. and I I think they're gonna be a good team. as Summer all continues to get just kind of developed there in Florida. but I I just don't think they're gonna be done losing this year. Maybe one or two more games, depending on just kind of how college football shapes out. And then I'm gonna hold Ole Miss. I love Ole Miss at the four spot. they play they go they go two Austin this week, at Texas. So I I think that's gonna be a a good matchup for them just to go into that environment and hopefully get the win. But man, the way Old Miss played the other day against Missouri was pretty eye opening of just kind of the shift that they've had. after kind of some that really bad loss to Florida. So I I'm excited to see that. And I I think they have the Heisman Trophy finalist a quarter. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I mean, you very well could be right. You very well could be right about that. here's what I'll say. And also I do want to just step in since you brought up the Heisman Trophy. Sam and I have been discussing introducing our weekly Heisman standings. And I think this would not be a composite. This would be individually. We probably give our top three each week. We're not doing it this week, but we we may introduce that next week. So keep that on your radar. Now, as for the buy-sell hold. I dude, I'm not ro I'm not on the same page with you at all on Northwestern. I'm not gonna lie. I think that they I think that they are on a a great trajectory as a program. I've been very impressed with what they've been able to do this year so far. But if I'm picking out of these three teams, I don't think they have the sustaining power to be able to buy or hold them. I'm gonna sell them. I'm straight up gonna sell them. And here's the reason why. Yes, they play Rutgers this week at home. That's great. The following week they go to Eugene, which I think they can win that game, but that's tough. They go to Eugene the week after they have Iowa. And then the week after that, they go to Columbus and play Ohio State. And that's like three weeks in a row, bang, bang, bang. I don't think they go out of that unscathed. I think they probably lose at least two of those games. Maybe all three. So I'm out on Northwestern. I am going to don't give me that face. You said they had the most favorable schedule. left of these three. Do you still agree with that? Sam: Okay, they're playing a beat-up Oregon team. Iowa still is not great on offense. That that's going to be a good matchup. And Ohio State, Julian Sayan may not even be back at that point as quarterback. Obviously, Ohio State is way more talented than Northwestern. Don't get me wrong. But Ohio State has some things that they got to figure out after this past week. Honey It's Saturday: Okay, that's fair. And the game after that is not a not an easy one either. It's at Minnesota. And Minnesota right now is a two loss team. Who knows what they'll be by now, by that that point in the season. But I don't know. I just feel like for me, that's too much for me to buy or hold them at this point. I I understand what you're saying. But for me, that's how I feel. Ole Miss, I'm gonna buy for all the reasons that you said. I love Trinidad Chambliss. The real reason I'm gonna buy them this week is because I saw out of the defense some things I Honestly, going into the week, didn't think they were capable of. The way they completely shut down that Missouri run game that has been incredible against everyone they've played really. That was very impressive. So I'm gonna buy Ole Miss. I feel great about them and I'm gonna hold Florida. I'm gonna hold Florida because yes, they've been really high and really low and they're inconsistent, but because of the highs, I mean they have two top ten wins this year and the talent they've got on the roster. I'm gonna hold them because they're capable of beating anybody week to week. And you don't know if they get more consistent as the season goes on. So that's how I feel. Sam: You know who their next game is? Honey It's Saturday: Florida Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: say it. Speak it. Sam: Georgia. Honey It's Saturday: The same bulldogs that just lost to Auburn. Sam: Fair, but you don't wanna play Georgia after they lose. Honey It's Saturday: That's what everyone said about Bama and then Tennessee handle business. Sam: Yeah, I guess. Well Honey It's Saturday: I'm just saying the SEC, all I all I'm saying, I you're right, but all I'm saying is the SEC has proven already to be a league where week to week you cannot really predict the outcomes. And so I think Florida has the talent to come out on the positive side of those conversations more often than not. Sam: Yeah, that's fair. You you made mention of handling business and there is something that I need to do that I did not do in the previous episode. so I'm gonna go ahead and just just pull up the hat. And again, this hat says Honey It's Saturday: He's a man of his word. Sam: my wife is always right and Cameron beat me yet again. So as we enter into the games to watch this week, I am going to put this hat on and be a man of my word, as I lost to Cameron. Again. But her records are still pretty close. She just has these kind of one off weeks where she she takes the lead. So Honey It's Saturday: How many is this now? Sam: I don't know, it feels like every week. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: But it's not Honey It's Saturday: I've got a tally. I'm not gonna we don't need to go into that conversation. S Sam, I I Sam: Here, I can I can I can do it real quick. Just hold on. Let's see. So Honey It's Saturday: No, I will tell you, I will tell you, just as he's as he's looking at this, Sam, first of all, you've shown a lot of integrity and a lot of resiliency just to come back week after week and still pick these games, full well knowing you might have to put that hat right back on. I'm very proud of you as a man. And I also think as far as ball knowledge goes, you're getting a little bit gypped here. Like I'll just say it. Because of some of the chaos in college football that's going on, like some of this is out of your control, man. Sam: You're making me feel better. I was gonna mention that the other week. just how crazy it is that college football is at the state that it's in. I think this is my fourth time wearing the hat. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, that's what I was gonna say before you before you went and did the official record. Sam: So again, I I feel like ball knowledge is there and my picks are right. They just aren't executing them. So it is what it is. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Stealing a page out of out of a certain somebody's book there. I know what you're doing. Sam: No, I mean you go watch the games. I'm just I'm I'm being honest. but Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I believe the official quote would be the players, coaches, and officials screwed it up for you. Sam: I just go with players. Honey It's Saturday: well, there it is. We we we're gonna go straight into our picks for the week. We've got eight matchups as always that we're gonna break down and these are gonna be our official picks that go against our record. And then we have some honorable mentions this week as well. While the calendar is not as vis visually loaded as last week's calendar was where you looked at it and you're like bang, bang bang. my goodness, this is gonna be incredible. There are some sneaky games on the calendar this week. I this is one of those weeks that can come out and just shark attack. You didn't see it coming, but what just happened, you know? so LSU, number eighteen, LSU, is playing at Auburn. this week. LSU's favored by seven and a half points. Sam, what you got? And by the way, just to to let you guys know, in the Honey It Saturday poll, that is number nineteen LSU at Auburn. So Sam, take it away. Sam: Yeah, this is a I think this is gonna be a great matchup. Seven and a half seems a little bit high to me. especially with it being at Jordan Hare and Auburn coming off probably the b best win of the weekend, just considering the fact that they beat the number one team. I mean Honey It's Saturday: On that on that note, just just so you know, I have done some digging and we we pulled these lines from the same source each week, but the spread on other books is all the way down to five and a half. Sam: for this game. Okay. Honey It's Saturday: Correct, yeah. So it does fluctuate a little bit. Sam: Interesting. Yeah, I mean, five and a half. For me in my head, I was thinking it would be more around like three and a half range. but I think it's gonna be a really good matchup. I think Auburn is gonna come off a really big high of going into Auburn. I'm sorry, going into Georgia and then winning that game. I think that is one of those like team culture defining wins that can carry you the rest of the way. LSU's coming off a good win against Mississippi State against a very beat up Mississippi State, which again, that would have been an interesting game to see just based off a full, full and healthy Mississippi State team. I think it's gonna be really good game. I think Byron Brown, I think I think he's gonna continue to be able to find his groove offensively. Jordan Herod's gonna be insane, especially welcoming a team like LSU to town after a big win against Georgia. Sam Levitt looked pretty good last week against Mississippi State. It's gonna be a really good quarterback matchup. Honestly, I think for me it comes down to who's the best quarterback that wins this game. I think both these defenses are still growing every single week. I think to this point, Auburn has looked better defensively comparative to LSU. And LSU just has a road problem. I'll say it. They've lost to Kentucky on the road. They've lost to Ole Miss on the road. And I think they lose to Auburn on the road this week. So give me the Auburn Tigers to get the win. Honey It's Saturday: Man, starting off with a bang. I love it, Sam. You're just coming out firing. Hey, might as well. They took down Georgia. Why can't they take down LSU at home? I I totally follow your logic there. I just disagree with you. I am not, Sam: Ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: I am not tracking. Me and Sam are not on the same page tonight. And I love that. That's great. Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: but yeah, I don't see this one the same way. I I think Auburn very well could win this game. It's never easy to go to Jordan Hare. Like, never. This is a a noon game, which is Little bit helpful for the away team sometimes. So that takes a little bit of the fear factor out of it for me. But the real reason, and it's interesting, you talked about the defenses. I was actually gonna say the reason that I feel good about LSU is their defense. They're fourth in total yards given up this year in the in the country. Run run game, they give up less than 90 yards. Passing game, they've been a little worse, but like they're still very formidable. And I think when you face Byron Brown, what you really gotta worry about, yes, he can beat you with his arm. But sometimes it's a little inconsistent, but his dual thread ability is very scary. And he showcased that and some real toughness in the run game against Georgia too. I love Byron Brown. I think Sam Levitt is getting better each week. Like I actually do. I think the last few weeks I've been able to see some improvement in Levit. His completion percentage is over 70% this year, which a lot of people aren't talking about because of the turnover problems at the beginning of the year. But he's completing Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: over seventy percent of his passes. He's got almost eighteen hundred yards already all the season. And I think that LSU will be able to do some damage. So I think they're gonna be able to do enough. I don't know that they cover the spread in this game, but I think they will come out with a win. So I'm gonna take the Tigers from Baton Rouge. Sam: Yeah. I mean, I think this gonna be a really good matchup. This is gonna be a big time SEC. And again, I I mentioned this a lot last episode and I'll say it again here. These are two two loss SEC teams. With the nature of the twelve team playoff as we have it now, like you can make it in as a as a two two loss team. So I mean, both these teams I think are gonna come in with the mindset of, hey, if we continue to win, there's a chance we can get in the playoff, but if we lose, our chances significantly go down. So I think both these teams are gonna Honey It's Saturday: This is Sam: play with a sense of urgency. Honey It's Saturday: this is essentially a college football playoff eliminator in week eight. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: And I'm not saying it's impossible for a three-loss team to get in. I don't think it's impossible, but I think it's unlikely. I think it's very unlikely. I'll say that. So I do feel like this has an elimination vibe to it. So it'll be very intense. Indiana. Number six Indiana in the AP poll, number five Indiana in the Honey Saturday poll. That's what matters. Is playing Indian. At Michigan in the big house. We talked about it a little bit in the pick seven, but we did not go in detail. Now it's time to go in detail. The spread on this game is seven in Indiana's favor. And here's the thing we know we know the story. Like Michigan has an elite defense. It's the same story every week. Michigan has an elite defense and either a non existent offense or an inconsistent offense or an offense where you don't know what you're gonna get. Like, and it's kind of the same thing. So for me, I want to talk about less about Michigan this week. The one thing I do want to know, obviously, is we don't know who's going to start at quarterback. Will Underwood get the start? Not sure. That's going to be interesting to see. I doubt it. Sam: Can I can I say something real quick? Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, what's up? Sam: I never understand when the coaches come to the podium on Monday and are like, yeah, you'll find out later in the week. Like Bryce Underwood started a whole first half, scored zero points. They s transitioned to Tommy Carr. They put up 24, I think was what it was, and they win the game. Bryce has struggled all year. Like, why not just just say it's he's your guy? Like even Josh Hypel with Tennessee, he said the same thing this week about George McIntyre and Faison Brandon. George McIntyre just won the game against Alabama, just played the week against Arkansas. He's looked consistently good. Just say he's your starter. I never understand this game like cat and mouse. Honey It's Saturday: You you know why, Sam. You know why. It's mind games, it's coaches doing their thing. You gotta keep on their toes. Make them watch film on both. Make watch the film. Make waste their time. Sam: I'm good with that until it gets to a point where it's like, okay, everybody in their right mind knows Tommy Carr is starting this football game. Everybody in their right mind knows George McIntyre is going to play against South Carolina. Like, I just it I get I get the mind games early on in the season where it truly is a quarterback battle and say like you're going into week one, but like it's week seven. Is that right? Week seven or week eight. Like Honey It's Saturday: We get yeah. Sam: you've already You've already looked at these guys both and seen this how much Underwood has struggled and how much car came in and kind of made an impact. So that that's just a little tangent for me where it's like the entire world knows who's gonna start that quarterback and you just refuse to announce it. So I just I don't get it. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, well, okay, here's the deal. At the end of the day, I'm with you. I think we'll see Tommy Carr in this game. I just had to note like the whole quarterback story because I don't know. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: There is a slight chance under where under underwood starts this game. Sam: Wild. Honey It's Saturday: man, the jokes are just flying left and right. Who knows? Some some would say that was appropriate. All right. I'm gonna flip the script, get off the Michigan topic, because like I said, we kind of know what they are week to week. Indiana, this is an opportunity for them. Take that Ohio State loss that was heartbreaking. There was a huge game. They fought tooth and nail. It was neck and neck the whole time. And then build on it for the rest of the season to respond to it. And I think this is where Kurt Signetti shows who he is. Like I personally just feel Indiana walks into the big house and covers this spread. Like seven-point spread. I think they they could win this game by double digits very, very well could be the outcome when you look at it on Saturday. So I'm just gonna trust Signetti at the end of the day. I think Hoover makes the plays he needs to, and I think that Indiana's able to to get this one. Sam: Hmm. Yeah, I I'm with you on Indiana. I just don't think it's gonna be a blowout. I think these are two really good defensive football teams. So I think I don't know what the overunder is currently, but I'd probably hit the under. Josh Hoover honestly just hasn't. Honey It's Saturday: Forty one. Forty one and a half. Sam: It's a low. I don't know. But Hoover just hasn't impressed me really. And I don't know I know you and I were literally sitting next to each other watching this game on Saturday. Hoover looks hurt. There's something with his shoulder that I think is not publicly coming out. They're just he kind of grimaces his shoulder every time he throws the football. So I I think there's a little bit more there than just him having his struggles that he's had this year comparative to what it was at TCU. but Indiana's a better football team. I think defensively they're better. I think they're running the football, they're better. I I I think Tommy Carr has a chance to be really good at Michigan. I think he's a c little bit more of a a seasoned freshman comparative to Bryce Underwood. I think Underwood has the raw talent to still be a really good quarterback, but Carr has just the family history and just just the ability for him to to to be a winner. he knows what it takes to win at that program with his grandfather. So I think he's gonna come in and really make an impact on that team. But it's a rough, rough first start for him against Indiana. But I think Michigan's gonna improve a lot this year, but just not starting this week. So Indiana's my pick and in a in a close matchup. I think Michigan covers the spread. Honey It's Saturday: That's very fair. I I I don't necessarily I wasn't predicting necessarily a blowout. I just could see it. I I think that Signet is gonna have the boys fired up for this matchup. I Sam: Mm-hmm. Honey It's Saturday: love it. So we're actually on the same page for once. That's really nice and sweet of you, Sam. Next up. Yeah, Sam: We'll see if that lasts here. Honey It's Saturday: next up, we've got the Volunteers coming off a massive rivalry win last week as underdogs in Columbia, South Carolina against the Gamecocks. Sam, what you got? This is a three thirty game. Sam: Yeah, this is I mentioned a little bit earlier. I still don't know how South Carolina's favored. Like that can't that spread just kind of blows me away. Again, South Carolina has a big win against Florida this past week, and it shows you what South Carolina can be when they are on their P's and Q's. but I I I'm as nervous as a Tennessee fan, like I bleed orange. Like this game, I remember Mitch. You attest to this. I we were sitting on the couch and I was saying I was more nervous about this game against South Carolina than I was against Alabama. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, he said that, like before the Bama game even really kicked off. Sam: Yeah. And again, I think I needed to see it to believe it against Alabama as to why I didn't pick Tennessee last week, but how I kind of broke down that game and projected like, hey, this is what it's going to take for Tennessee to win. And they did that and they executed. But this game just scares me. I mean, I I look back four years ago in Coctober, Tennessee goes into into Williams Bryce. We're I think number five or number four in the country. We're we're like on a on a very hot streak and South Carolina drops sixty three points on us and lose. I know Hypool's already had already shown that image to the team this week. every week is a new week. I I think Tennessee's defense is gonna travel. I think their defense is just good, man. Like I I just think they're gonna come to play offensively. McIntyre's I think first true road start. I don't want to take anything away from Arkansas, but this place is gonna be rowdy. Arkansas, I wouldn't necessarily say was that when they play there two weeks ago. So I I think this is gonna be a different environment for him. He's gonna have to grow up and I I I feel like South Carolina's gonna really force him to throw the football and kind of take away the run game. And I think he's gonna respond. I I think Tennessee's gonna go into Columbia and get the win. It's gonna be I think it's gonna close, as much as I don't like to say that. But I mean, Beamer's kind of fighting for his job every single week. And the way they responded this past week against Florida or two weeks ago against Florida, I think they're still gonna come to play, but Honestly, I just think Tennessee has a little bit too much right now. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I think like you said, the big story here is that Tennessee is coming off a huge win against Bama. They're six and one, they're a top ten team in the country, number seven in the Honey at Saturday poll. And they're an underdog on the road against three and three South Carolina. It jumps off the page. Like it really does. But as I've been sitting here kind of thinking about it more and more, I mean South Carolina. You know they have talent. Lenora Sellers is one of those guys where when he is on and it's his day, he can be the best quarterback in the country. Like, and he can just beat you straight up. He can. He's a stud with his legs and with his arm. And they did that in Gainesville to a Florida team that we know is very capable because they've already got two huge top ten wins, and none of us saw that game coming. That was two weeks ago. It's pretty recent. And they're coming off a bye. So they're rested, they're fresh, they've been sitting on that. I'm sure their confidence has been growing day after day as they sit here and realize, we just beat a really good Florida team. And as they watch that Florida team beat Texas this past weekend. So I don't know. I think it's very dangerous for Tennessee here. Coctober's real man. That label is not there for no reason. It's real. Florida already experienced it and it was on the road for South Carolina. And it Coctober still got the Gators. Like This one is at Williams Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: Bryce. It's a 330 kick. What if I told you that South Carolina runs for 232 yards a game? What if I told you they outgained Tennessee through the air by almost 70 yards a game? Like I know that Tennessee defense is ridiculously special. And I don't think anybody's gonna put up video game numbers against Tennessee. But man, they're capable. They're very capable. So all that's to say, I understand the point spread. I probably wouldn't have Carolina favored, but I can see it. Having said all of that, in honor of Sam Grant. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: And in honor of Josh Heidel, who I really do believe in, I don't think he's going to be fooled. I think they're going to be fully prepared for this one. I think it's going to be a fight, but I think the volunteers come out on top. Sam: Man, I when you said in honor, I totally thought you were going in honor of Cocktober. Like I thought you were full on going to Game Cox with this one, the way you set that up. Honey It's Saturday: I can't do it, but I I'm telling you, man, like the more I think about it, that's why I gotta pick now. 'Cause dude, if I wait two days, I might pick the game cog. I I might do it. Sam: Yeah, it's isn't it just crazy how South Carolina is three and three right now? And this is how not just us, like everybody's talking about South Carolina like this. And how how disappointing it has to be for Gamecock fans that Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, because you know they're capable, but they're sitting there three and three. Like, why? Sam: Yeah, like they're already out of the playoff. Like it they're they've already missed that window, but they could they could go undefeated the rest of the way and they're just gonna be out like they were I don't know, three or four years ago. So it's just again, I love Shane Beamer. I am a huge fan of him. If I was still in coaching, I would love to coach with that man, but he th there's a I don't know when that moment's gonna be where it clicks, but it it's it's gotta click a little bit sooner early in the season. Honey It's Saturday: No, I think he's kind of on his last leg. Obviously, this would be a huge win for him, especially coming off the Florida one. But I think he's he's kind of on his last leg. All right, we got another one with a coach who has potential to be on the hot seat at the end of the year as well. Clemson Tigers are playing host to the Virginia Tech Hokies in the ACC this week. Two teams with two losses. I believe one ACC loss. Maybe Virginia Tech actually got their second. Now that I think about that, but these are two two loss teams. And it's a big matchup. It was one we circled before the season started. Like this could be huge. It's not as peak of a matchup as we thought it would be as far as the national scene, but it's still incredibly relevant. Very relevant in the ACC race. I'm curious to hear your initial thoughts on this one. Clemson is favored by two and a half points at home. This is a night game as well. Sam: Yeah, this is a this is a very interesting matchup. Cause I think you look at this game on paper, and I think it really favors Virginia Tech. Like they are averaging pretty close to 350 yards per game passing. they're averaging pretty close to 37 points per game. So they're they're they're offensively putting up points. Offensively for Clemson, they're still kind of trying to find their groove with Tate Reynolds. And granted, I think he's improving a ton. he's a really good quarterback. I think you look at him and just his development that he's had in his first year. And it gives you hope as a Clemson fan. It's just a matter of what does year two look like? What does year three look like? Because I think every Clemson fan was like that with Cade Klubnick his first year. And it was just the same Cade Klubbick throughout his entire career at Clemson. So I think this can be a really good matchup. I think the spread's pretty, pretty on on point. Virginia Tech, again, both these teams are still in contention with the ACC race. Clemson, I think, has improved every single week up to this point. Virginia Tech's defense doesn't like glare off the page, but they forced the most fumbles in the entire country with 13. So they are very much looking to punch the ball out. Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: They're very good against the run as well. Very good against the run. Sam: They are. And so I think they're gonna force Tate Reynolds to win this game. as Virginia Tech being my pick seven team, I I selfishly kind of want them to get this win. but honestly, I think two different things. I'm gonna be at this game. So I hope Clemson wins just for that environment. But also I think this is Tate Reynolds' legacy game. I think he makes his mark here that he is the quarterback of Clemson's future as he continues to get better every single week. so I I think Clemson gets the win in Death Valley. I really do. I think they're I think they're turning in the right direction. They're finally kind of picking up a little bit of steam after Two losses against LSU and Miami, which really aren't bad losses. Like they're still very much in contention with this thing. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, no, I I agree with you as far as Clemson goes. Like I think, yes, they've got the two losses. I think they've looked better every week, just like you said. I I have a weird feel on this game because the one thing I will say about Virginia Tech, and Clemson, by the way, their secondary has been pretty good this year. But Virginia Tech, man, Grunkenmeyer can deal. He can deal. And I'm a little bit I'm a little bit worried. Like I do think Tate Reynolds is on the up. And he has a huge opportunity to make a statement this week to kind of announce himself on the on the national scene. Like, I'm here, Clemson, like we're still relevant. We're still in this ACC race. It's at home. It's at night. I think the program, like as a whole, Dabo needs this, obviously. That's a conversation we don't even need to have. But the program needs this one. But man, James Franklin, like he's coming in. Virginia Tech hasn't won at Clemson since 2007. This is a huge Sam: Wow. Honey It's Saturday: opportunity for James Franklin to like to make a statement at Virginia Tech. And he needs it because they've stumbled a couple of times where I really don't know that we were expecting it. The pit game was more understandable. Pitt at the time was a great team. That was before the Heinchel injury. That was a that was just a really good matchup. Could have gone either way. but yeah, I mean, I think he kind of needs a statement here too. And I think he gets it done. I think the Hokies are gonna go. I think the Hokies are gonna go into Death Valley and get a win here. Like I look, man, I grew up a Clemson fan. I love Dabbo Sweeney. I just think that the trajectory of the program, it's in decline. And I've been in denial for a long time. I've been in denial for a very long time. You guys know if you listen to this podcast, I picked Clemson, I picked Clemson in that LSU game to open up the year. Like for example, even though I know full well where Clemson is as Sam: That's right. Honey It's Saturday: a program, like I just believe every year, okay, Dabo's gonna turn it around. Dabble's gonna turn it around. They've got plenty of talent. It's just not happening. And I'm tired of convincing myself it's gonna happen. And so I'm just gonna prepare mentally for it and say that the Hokies go into Death Valley and get a win this weekend. Sam: It's a heck of pick. I I'm I I was Honey It's Saturday: It it can happen, man. Sam: it can. Like it was I think there was a part of me that wanted to do that too. But for me, that cow loss is really ingrained in my head. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, that was a huge question mark. I don't I don't know what happened there. I'm kinda erasing that one for me. I'm like, let's just zoom out. Sam: Yeah. Cause I I I the one thing I've said about Virginia Tech and why I had them in my pick seven was James Franklin wins the games he's supposed to win, and he loses the games he's supposed to lose. And that was a game he had no business losing. And Cal looked better, even with a backup quarterback. So I think that's a really interesting point of reference for me as to why I made my decision. But honestly, I just hope it's a great game. I mean, this is a big, big matchup for the ACC. Another big matchup that we got coming up, specifically for one team, but even just honestly both teams. number seven, Ole Miss goes to Texas, number nineteen. seven thirty on ABC. Texas is currently a three and a half point favorite. man, this is this is two teams that are on completely different trajectories with Texas just just very rapidly going straight downhill and Ole Miss just continuing to rise back up. So Mitch, I I wanna I wanna toss this one off to you to kind of preview this game and then segue back to me. But this this is this is one that I'm kind of struggling with what to think of. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, is Colin Simmons gonna play? I think that's a huge question in this game. Because Texas, if they want to win this game, they've got to make Trinidad Champless uncomfortable. If they can't find a way to get after Chambless, and I know even if you do get after him, he can still make huge plays, but like if you want to beat Ole Miss, you have to make him uncomfortable. If Colin Simmons is out, Texas is gonna have to find out who's gonna step up and be that guy. I think that's a big story in this game. Obviously, the other big story, Sark said today that he's giving more first team reps. To the backup, which is kind of a conversation we have been asking: like, is this gonna happen? He finally went out and said, Yeah, he's gonna give him some chances this week. So that's another conversation in this game. Arch, he may not get 100% of those QB reps. Look, how does Arch respond? How does the offense respond? Because if you're gonna beat Ole Miss, you've got to score points at the end of the day. That's that's just how it is. Like Florida, for example. One of their huge state statement wins was that win over Ole Miss. They had to score like 50 points. Now they didn't, they held Ole Miss at 28, but that's the type of game you're gonna get if you beat the Rebels. You I don't think, even though I'm a I'm a believer in Texas defense, I think they're incredible. I don't think you can beat Ole Miss in that fashion. I don't think you can force that team into like a grinded out 20 to 17, 17-14 type game. I don't think you can do that. So you really have to, as an offense, get together this week and just decide we're gonna be better. We have tons of talent. We've got it. Sark is a great offensive mind. That's kind of his staple. Like we got to figure this out. So it's a huge story. Ole Miss defense really impressed me last week. I didn't think they had it in, but they did. And because they did, this is in Austin. It's at night. It makes me want to take Ole Miss. Like it really does. But I'm not going to. I'm gonna take the horns. I think Sark turns it around this week. I really do. Like, I look, I have a ton of questions about that team. I have less questions about Ole Miss. I have less questions about Trinidad Chambless. But something in me is telling me this Texas team isn't done. Like I think they're gonna fight. Obviously. For their culture, for their program. I think they're gonna fight for their head coach as well, because that's becoming a huge conversation. And they look, they know they need this one. If you don't get this one, the storylines become pretty bad. So I I Sam: She's Honey It's Saturday: think they're gonna find a way. I didn't think I was gonna pick Texas going into this, but here I am. I'm picking the horns. Sam: You you're pretty close to convincing me because I I'm kind of in that same boat of just like right now, Ole Miss is the better football team. I think you would agree to that, the way they've been playing. There but with Honey It's Saturday: I would. Yeah, I would. Sam: how college football has been throughout this year, like this is a spot where I feel like Texas gets it done. But I'm I I can't do it. I really can't. I I think Texas offensively is just not where it needs to be at. Like you said, they're have they're they're switching up some of the reps that QB won. honestly this is the best offense Old Miss I'm sorry, the best offense Texas is gonna play up to this point in the year. I think Ohio State's good. I think Jeremiah Smith is a freak, but this is the best quarterback. They're they will have played up to this point. I think that shows I just don't know if Texas can keep up with Old Miss and Shambliss. So This is one again where I struggle to find like just from what we've seen from both these teams, how Texas is favored. I get it's in Austin and all that kind of stuff. But I mean, I'm I'm going to pick Old Miss. I I I picked against them last week. I can't do it again. They have looked better the last three weeks than they have all season. The way they shut up now, Vanderbilt's not a great football team right now, but they sh they dominated Vanderbilt. They dominated Missouri last week. I think this is a team that's making a statement. And again, I think Shambliss is getting really good, really fast, better than he has been. So Olmus is gonna go in there and get the win. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas comes out and wins this football game, but just from from what I've seen, Olmus looks like the better team at this current state. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I I agree with you. And by the way, I wanna I wanna just take out Trinidad Chambus for a second and just focus in on him because obviously we know he's incredible. He's probably one of the most talented, well, he is one of the most talented players in the country. He's probably the best quarterback in the country. But I do wanna zoom in because the way we talk about him, we talk about him that way because we know what he's capable of. But I also think we need to look at the season he's put together so far. It's not a bad season at all. But I think because of our picture of Trinidad Chambless in our head, we just assume his numbers are off the charts. He's leading the country in like all these categories. He's really, I mean, his completion percentage is fine, 67%, 1600 yards. That's doesn't pop off the page. 14 touchdowns doesn't really pop off the page either. And he's turned the ball over four times through the air. So I think he's incredible. We all know what he's capable of, obviously. But I think this is a game where for him, like if he wants to put himself in that Heisman conversation, which I think we all have that expectation for him, this is one where he goes off. So I picked Texas, Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: but I could very well see him see him kind of go off in this game too. Sam: This could be his Heisman game. Honey It's Saturday: Could be. We'll see. We've got another one. We're going back to the Big Ten. 730 on NBC. USC, Southern Cal is favored by three points against a Wisconsin team that just took a loss to UCLA last week. USC is number 17 in the Honey It Saturday poll. They're going up against unranked Wisconsin. Sam, what you got? Sam: This is gonna be a matchup that I think Lincoln Riley has to be on his best game plan that he's had all year. This Wisconsin team is sneaky. I think obviously they lost last week to UCLA against a very good defense. USC doesn't have a very good defense. I think Wisconsin has a pretty solid defense comparative to what USC has played recently. I think USC's can score points. I feel like that's a given. but like everything that you've seen from both these teams this year, Maiava, he's a really good quarterback that I don't think gets talked about enough. He is efficient, he is just on the money with a lot of his throws. Honey It's Saturday: talk about numbers by the way, myava, you're right about not getting talked about enough. Bro's already over two thousand yards on the season. Sam: Yeah, he's at sixty-seven or sixty-eight percent completion percentage up to this point. He's only turned the ball over, I think three or four times. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: very, very minimal, very protective of the football, but also still very efficient. He's a really good quarterback. and man, I think as I was talking, as I was leading this game up, I was I was leaning towards Wisconsin to get the win in in Wisconsin jump arounds in my head, but I think you know what, I'm gonna do it. Wisconsin's gonna get the win at home. I think there's there's there's some injuries that are going on with USC. running back and tight end are both positions that I think have some pretty key injuries. They're gonna be hard for them to kind of replace. it's gonna rely on Mayava to win the game and I I think he's very capable of doing that. but for Wisconsin and Luke Fickle This is a statement win that he needs for his tenure. whether it's he continues to get the talk of he's much improved this year, but a little bit on the hot seat. and this is a win that I think he needs. And I think he gets 730 on NBC, just a hot environment. Fans are going to be ready for this game with a ranked USC team coming in. I've just got a feel on this game. And I could be way wrong, but everything would favor look towards USC winning this game. But I think I think Wisconsin gets it done. Honey It's Saturday: Love it, man. I you do not sleep on the bounce house, by the way. At night, too. Like that environment, it used to be so peak, and it still can be, and I think it will be this weekend. I think it'll be on full display this weekend. I this is scary for USC. You're not crazy for taking Wisconsin here. The other factor for USC that you got to take into account is guess who they play next week. Sam: Ohio State. Honey It's Saturday: They play the Buckeyes next week. So this is also kind of a look-ahead spot where you know their focus, that's a huge game. That's been circled on the calendar all offseason. It's been circled before the season started. And you know they're looking forward to it. They're just like, we got to get through this Wisconsin week. We got the Buckeyes next week. That's a dangerous place to be because this Wisconsin team under Luke Fickle is very capable. I am not going to follow your lead, although I'm not. Far and away picking USC. I am going to take USC to win this game. But I'm it's not by a wide margin. Like I can see your logic. I just think my Ava's gonna get it done. At the end of the day, that's really what I'm banking on here. I think my Alva is gonna make the plays that he needs to make in this game. I I honestly think even with the the injuries that they're facing, I think they'll be able to do enough on the ground. And I don't think Wisconsin is built. Like if USC's offense is firing, I don't think Wisconsin's built to compete in that type of game. So Wisconsin needs to be able to control time of possession, to, you know, run the ball well. Like those are gonna be huge in this game. And I I think USC is gonna be able to do what they need to do to keep the ball in Maiava's hands. And I think they're gonna come away with the win. Sam: Yeah. I mean everything you just said is pretty spot on. Again, for me, I think this is just your typical Lincoln Riley letdown spot. I do. He's done it year after year at USC and everybody's trying to say that this maybe isn't his year. He lost a game against Oregon. He probably shouldn't have lost. and I think he drops it here. So I think it's gonna be a great game. I mean, that's a that's a that's a really high quality Big Ten matchup. and another Honey It's Saturday: I I by the way, before we go on to the next matchup, I do want to just say this. Let's say USC wins this game. That Ohio State game next week is very interesting because Julian Saiyan won't be there. So who's gonna go ban for ban with Myava? I don't know, man. That's gonna be an interesting one. But we do have another matchup, as Sam was leading into. North Dakota State, my pick seven, my bison, if I do say, are playing against New Mexico. They're underdogs in this game, four and a half points at New Mexico. This is a late night game. We're into the late night slate, 10 p.m. on the CW. I'm gonna go ahead and share my thoughts on this game first. I feel obligated. I look. Sam: Take it away. Honey It's Saturday: I l I love the bison. Like I really do. I think this is gonna be a tight game. I If North Dakota State wants to win this game though, they've got to be able to play clean football and take advantage of their opportunities. I think the last couple of weeks they really haven't taken advantage fully of their offensive opportunities. Like they haven't finished drives as well as you would normally think a North Dakota State team would. Like that's a staple. They finish drives. They pound you on the ground. Like they just they move in the trenches. I they're gonna need to be able to do that this week because this New Mexico team They're they're firing a little bit. I I don't know, man. I think New Mexico can be a little bit undisciplined at times. And I think this is the type of game where that can that can play a factor. I can see some dumb penalties here and there affecting the yardage and the field position in this game. And I think that North Dakota State's gonna be able to pull this one out. I think it's gonna be really low scoring though. Like I think the the final score of this game will probably end up being somewhere in like the twenty to seventeen range, North Dakota State. Something along those lines. I don't see this one being a high scoring game, but it will be physical and it'll be a very good matchup. And you guys definitely should tune into it. I'm gonna take the bison. Sam: Yeah, I know you just mentioned tune in. Does everybody have the CW? Like the fact that we have college football on the CW is kinda wild to me. Honey It's Saturday: If you got YouTube TV, you got the CW. Sam: I know. I just I had I had to mention this. It's something about the CW games, but I I wish North Dakota State would have beaten UNLV two weeks ago. Cause this game being a college game day matchup. I know that was talked Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: about where if Nord North Dakota State would've continued to win, they would have been in New Mexico for this game. Da that would have just been a really cool environment to see, just kind of something that's out of the norm comparative to Just some of these big time programs that they go to pretty consistently on a yearly basis. And there's nothing wrong with that, but I like kind of sharing the wealth within the college football world, especially kind of at that G6 level, just because there's so many great environments and so many great fan bases. But this is gonna be a really good game. North Dakota State is a very, like you said, well disciplined, just a culture that's been built there for twenty twenty plus years up to this point. they have made their transition to the FBS look pretty seamless. New Mexico, Jason Eck, he is a heck of a football coach. He is somebody Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: that I think is gonna be very much on that not hot seat. What's the right word for it? On that, like, hey, if if if you fire your head, yeah, people will be Honey It's Saturday: The opposite side of that, like people will be calling his phone. Sam: yeah, his his phone's probably already ringing a ton. Not obviously nobody's been fired yet, but I I'm pretty sure he's pretty high up on that list just from how he was able to win at Idaho in previous years and now coming in New Mexico. And just turning around that program with a snap of a finger. So I I think he has a very seasoned football team, a team that has a lot of just experience and age. This is gonna be a just a big time matchup for New Mexico, probably the biggest home game they've had in double digit years. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: I think Jason Eck is just gonna continue to prove his point that he is a coach that is to be reckoned with. I mean, heck, they almost went into Norman, Oklahoma, and beat them what, a couple weeks ago. And not Honey It's Saturday: I mean, all it takes to beat Oklahoma's twenty Sam: G Honey It's Saturday: points. Sam: Fair, but you still gotta it's a v a huge talent talent gap. and so I just think they're gonna come ready to play. I I think it's gonna be a close game, but I I think New Mexico's gonna get the win and just kinda continue to make their stand in the G six world and Jason Eck just gonna t continue to build on his resume as a somebody that's gonna be heavily sought after in this upcoming coaching cycle. Honey It's Saturday: I agree with you on that piece. I think these are two great programs. So I think it'll be very fun to watch. Also, they've never played each other. So another fun fact. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: These programs have never played each other. So that's always great when you get first time matchups. moving on to where college game day is gonna be. We saved this one for the end. Best for last, some might say. But this is a huge Big 12 matchup. We've talked about how the depth of the Big 12 seems to be improved this year. Like there are more teams that are really, really competing for this conference than we've seen in the past couple years, which is incredible. These are two of them. We've got number 14 U Houston going to number 10 Utah this week. Utah's favored by six and a half points in our poll. This is an even better matchup. It's number 13 against number 12. They're literally one ranking apart in the Honey at Saturday poll. The 1015 on ESPN. Connor Wigman has been playing. Excellent football for Houston. Like 20 touchdowns through the air. He's got multiple on the ground as well. He's only thrown two interceptions on the year. He's not making mistakes. He's fresh off five touchdowns against Oklahoma State last week. They're feeling really good about themselves in Houston, but this Utah team, man, they've looked really good too. I will say coming off last week, it's very interesting because I I thought Utah was gonna blow Colorado out. I didn't see that game being very close. I thought Utah was going to be able to run the ball at will pretty much, and that was kind of going to be it. Like that's the end of the story. And obviously that game came down to the wire. They won about three points. Man, I don't know. We've talked about it before. Houston's the number one third down team in the country on offense. They still are. They were electric on third down last week against Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State couldn't keep him off the field. And that was really the reason Houston ended up winning that game because Oklahoma State kept clawing back, but they couldn't get Houston off the field when they had the ball. And that's huge in these types of environments. Like on the road, it's gonna be rocking. I'm very excited for this one. I'm not gonna pick it yet, though. I want Sam to give his breakdown. Sam: No, I I think these are you talked about it last week with Oklahoma State Houston. This is gonna be your big twelve, like of the glory days, just high scoring matchup. Both these teams average four hundred and eighty-five yards of total offense. That's insane. Both these offenses are playing Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: really good football. This quarterback matchup is amazing. Dan Peerd has been a really good quarterback. He was actually a New Mexico transfer. speak he's Honey It's Saturday: He's been really good. They they kind of rotate by the way. They do like a little bit of a wildcat situation and some other things. That's really Sam: Mm-hmm. Honey It's Saturday: interesting. Sam: Yeah, they've they've been a really good team. How about college game day going to Utah and back-to-back weeks? That's that's that's that's pretty crazy. But this is gonna be a really good matchup. I think both these teams are gonna come in with the statements just trying to come out here in Utah, especially as undefeated currently. It's gonna be in their building. They're still trying to prove themselves as one of these Big 12 contenders. Connor Wigman in this Houston team just continues to prove me wrong. Week after week after week. And that's where I'm going to go with my pick. If Houston loses this game, I'm going to be really upset. And there's going to be some legitimate beef with Houston. but I I've been wrong on Houston pretty much every single time we've picked a Houston game. And I think that ends here. I think Connor Wegman's the better quarterback. I think they have the better coaching staff at Houston. and I I think they get the job done on the road in a very tough environment. Honey It's Saturday: I I look everywhere you look on the page, like if you're trying to do a statistical breakdown of this game, it's kind of like looking in a mirror. Like these teams are very similar to each other, at least to this point in the year. I think Houston, though, is the more tested team, which could play a bigger factor. I think they've had more prime time, like bigger matchups. They've already played Houston or they've sorry, they've already played Texas Tech in Lubbock, took them to the wire. They made a lot of mistakes in that game. They really could have won that game. And then obviously last week they played Oklahoma State ranked matchup at home. They were able to pull it out. They also played Oregon State, who I think is turning out to be a really good G six team. They were able to win that game too. So I just think when you look at their schedules, like Utah, let's be honest, Utah hasn't been tested yet. Their schedule has not presented a a significant formidable test to them. And that I think could be very interesting. The very confusing thing about Houston is their pass defense by the numbers, really not great. Like really not great towards the bottom of the country. But their run defense by the numbers is towards the top of the country. And matchup wise, it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. Will Utah and Dampier be able to exploit them to the level they need to? I think they will. Like I to me, the fact that Utah is at home in this game is a huge deal. This is one that in my mind is very much a pick'em game. These two teams are very close to each other. I think they're both very good teams. I really do. And I believe in Wigman. Like I think Wigman is a baller. And he probably will prove me wrong. This is the first time I've ever picked against Houston on this show. Like I love the Cougars. I love Wigman. I just think this game being at Utah is tough. And Utah, I think they had a little bit of a wake up call last week against Colorado. I think they kind of sleptwalked into that game. They probably were looking ahead to this Houston matchup, by the way. And they they almost got beat. So I don't know. This one's very tough for me, but I am gonna go ahead and pick the Utes. And essentially it's home field advantage, it's a night game. Salt Lake City's gonna be rocking. Sam: Do you know how upset I'm gonna be if Utah wins this football game? Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, very. And I don't blame you, dude. Sam: Especially with you pick especially you picking against Houston. You've been a Houston like guy this entire season. You and I have been completely opposite Honey It's Saturday: before the season. Sam: against Houston. Honey It's Saturday: Guys, before the season started, I said Houston was my sleeper pick to win the Big Twelve. Like on the podcast. I've been a Houston support and I still am. I just there's something about this game that doesn't feel right to me. Like I think Utah's gonna be able to get it done. And we talk about third down offense, by the way. Houston obviously number one in the country in that category. Utah's top ten in the country in that category as well. So very interesting. Like I said, these teams are like looking in a mirror. I I couldn't tell you what's gonna happen, but you definitely wanna watch. Sam: If you can stay up till ten fifteen at night. Honey It's Saturday: If well really it's later than that. If you could stay up till probably two AM on the east coast. Yeah. Sam: Yeah, that's true. It's a late it's a late kick, but I I know for sure I'll be up watching that one. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: that's kind of the end of our our eight eight game slate that we do every week. This was a really hard week for Mitch and I to pick, just eight games. Typically it's usually pretty easy. You c pretty easy to pick out your your best eight games. but we have some honorable mentions in here that that we've we're pretty close to including in our eight game slate. and starting off with Mitch's team, Texas AM, going on the road. To Alabama and Tuscaloosa. Alabama is currently a fourteen point favorite. just an interesting matchup for where both these teams are at right now. Alabama coming off two losses and Texas A and off a dominant win against the Citadel. So just just a b a big proven point for both these teams at this point in the season. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. I'll just say one I'll just say one thing on this one. If A and can take care of the ball and if they can do what they need to do against the passing game of Alabama, I think they can stay in this game. I mean Tennessee just proved you don't need elite quarterback play to beat Alabama. You just need competent quarterback play to beat Alabama. Can Marcel Reed be competent? I don't know. That's a big question. I don't think A and wins that game, but it'll be very interesting to see what happens. Bama's obviously coming off back to back losses, so that's kind of a crazy storyline. Iowa and Minnesota is our other honorable mention game. This one, this was tough to leave out of the the set of eight that we pick. Minnesota's a two loss team. They've got, I mean, they've got a pretty good win over Michigan at this point. They've also got some losses where you kind of scratch your head, but they're capable. PJ Flex got the program going a little bit. And Iowa, they're just Iowa man. They're consistent, incredible on defense. They've done what they need to do. thus far on offense this year, they're favored by seven points in that game, but definitely one that you want to lock in on as well. Sam: Yeah, definitely. I think Minnesota's a Mississippi State's kind of explainable, but that loss to Purdue after a big time win against Michigan just just just makes you wonder kind of what happened. And they're they're still very alive in the Big Ten conversation because they truly only have one Big Ten loss. So this could be a good spot for them to bounce back and just stay in that race. but we'll have to see what what what unfolds on Saturday. But a good Big Ten matchup. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, the thing is here, Minnesota's run game is 129th in the country. And Iowa is Iowa. Top ten run defense in the country. So they're gonna need to get it done through the air. Can they do it? Sam: Good point. It's the Drake Lindsay show out there in Minnesota. Row the boat, baby. Honey It's Saturday: Can they do it? All right, we've got our lock of the week coming up, but before we do that, we need to give you the rundown on who our wives picked. Because, as Sam is witnessing to right now, if we get outpicked by our wives in any given week, we've got to wear that hat and admit that our wives are always right, which is incredibly humbling and probably true. But I digress. Keaton, my wife, this week has picked the LSU Tigers, Indiana. Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Texas, USC, North Dakota State, and Houston. And as I read through that list, I believe I'm coming to the realization that Houston is the only one we differ on. Sam: ye you no. Yeah, that's right. Wow. That's pretty impressive. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Houston is the only one that we pick differently. So if my Houston Cougars break my heart because I picked against them, I'm gonna have to wear that hat. Sam: Well, looking at Cameron's Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: picks, we have a couple of different ones. So she has LSU, I picked Auburn. she has Indiana, Tennessee, Clemson, Ole Miss, USC and Wisconsin. She picked USC, I picked Wisconsin, she and I both picked New Mexico and she picked Utah. So there's about three different games in there that could be either really big for me or really bad for me. So I'm hoping I come out positive on this on the end of this week and just stop wearing this hat. This hat has gotten a lot more wear than I wanted it to. but my wife knows ball. I I'm not gonna deny that. She she sh she she married me knowing that she knew football and she was prepared to marry marry a coach. So she she knows what she's looking at when she's watching and she's proved me wrong this week. Or not even this week, just Honey It's Saturday: yeah. Sam: every lots of weeks. So Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, it's gonna be very interesting to see what happens. We will indeed be able to be there and show you guys though. The results will be in. I can confirm the football games will be played. And before we go, we've got to do our locks of the week, Sam. Let's give a status update. Just let's give a status update. What's your overall record in your locks of the week? I know sometimes this is humbling. It's humbling for me too. What's your record in in lock Sam: I'm s Honey It's Saturday: of the week? Sam: I am sitting at one and three. It has been couple games that I was feeling pretty good on that ended up not going my way and that's okay. It's that's that's why we bet only sodas and not legit amounts of money. Honey It's Saturday: Correct. We always encourage responsibility with all of your resources. This is not us encouraging you to go place any type of wager. You do whatever your convictions lead you to do. This is just what it's and and also we've talked about how chaotic the football season's been. That makes it really hard to do a lock of the week, man. It makes it tough. Sam: Yeah. It does. And for this lock of the week, I am going to put my money where my mouth is. I think Tennessee goes into Columbia, handles business, covers the spread. I'm gonna take Tennessee plus two and a half. just to outright win. I think they go into Columbia and make a statement. they win that football game. Honey It's Saturday: So you're going moneyline or are you going spread? Sam: Money line, nope, moneyline, Tennessee. Honey It's Saturday: Okay. Okay. I like it. I mean, nah. Sam: Which doesn't seem like that crazy, but I'm gonna take the free money at this point. Honey It's Saturday: No, it's a lock. It's not a hot take. So that's that's how you feel. I I don't blame you for doing that at all. I'm gonna go to the big twelve, which is a little bit frightening, actually. But my lock of the week is going to be West Virginia to cover at TCU. TCU's coming off a big rivalry win at Baylor. I didn't see that coming. It wasn't high scoring or anything. They only scored seventeen points in that game, but Baylor just if Davand is trying to save his job, he did not do a great job. Very sloppy, a lot of turnovers. Lagway did the turnover thing again. and TCU was able to come out with a huge rivalry win. But I just this West Virginia team could score points, man. Like they score points week after week, even if they're losing their scoring points. And TCU is favored by eight and a half in this game at home. Eight and a half, I feel like they're favored by eight Sam: Are you serious? Whoa. Honey It's Saturday: and a half. To me, that's a lot. So I think West Virginia covers that eight and a half. That's gonna be my lock of the week. Sam: That is a ridiculous spread for a TCU offense that's not dynamic whatsoever. Honey It's Saturday: No, I I fully agree with you, which is why I'm I'm rolling with it. Sam: Yeah. Yeah, definitely follow Mitch on this week, guys. Honey It's Saturday: Nah, man. You gotta be confident in your lock too. I by the way, I didn't say my record. I'm not on fire either. I'm two and two. So pick. Sam: Yeah. Yeah, Sam, please tell your record, but don't say mine. Honey It's Saturday: And pick pick your poison. Pick your poison. But I am I'm five hundred at least, so Sam: That's true. Hopefully you go above 500 and I can get one step closer to 500. Honey It's Saturday: One step closer. man. All right. Well, we we really appreciate you guys. this is gonna be a another great week of college football. I truly believe it. I don't have to say it because week after week it continues to prove us right. we're grateful for y'all following our podcast. Please continue to interact with us. We want to keep doing this. We're having a blast, but we also like we want to grow. So tell your friends about it. If you know people who are interested in college football or want to get interested, share it. Share the podcast. Send them a link. If they need to get up to speed, we do breakdowns and recaps every single week. So I don't know. We we just appreciate you guys. We hope we continue to grow. And Sam, I'm gonna let you do the final sign off. Any last words and then we'll hit with a goodbye. Sam: Yeah, no, I just again appreciate all the support that we've gotten up to this point. again, Mitch and I are always continuing to to pray about this. This is this is fun for him and I just to be able to spend time and grow closer together and on friendship. but also hope this turns into something really cool, to where we can kind of continue to grow in our careers and maybe make this a career at one point. So definitely praying through that and just hoping the Lord's plan will be will be his. And whether that's that's this pro podcast becoming successful and us growing or if we stay in exactly where we're at with the support that we have, either way it's up to him and we we have full trust in him. But we love getting to do this. We love college football. this is this is just a a gift to be able to just talk about this amazing sport that that has been given to us and just Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: hope you guys take advantage of it up to this point. We're already halfway through the season, which is wild. Honey It's Saturday: Hundred percent. And we let we we love, by the way, all thirty-eight of our YouTube subscribers. We love all seventy-six of our Instagram followers, and that ratio doesn't add up. So Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: you guys need to fix that. But anyways, we we love you guys and Sam's gonna hit you with the goodbye. Sam: Yeah, just again, continue to provide us some good mailbag, mailbag content. we love getting to interact with you guys. hope you guys have a phenomenal rest of the week. husbands out there, make sure you get all your tasks done so you can sit on the couch and watch football on Saturday. no pumpkin patch, no apple picking. Honey It's Saturday: No pumpkin patch. Say no. Say no to the pumpkin patch. Sam: Just don't go to the wedding, whatever it may be. but again, thank you guys again and God bless.