Latest / Unicorn Football Talk / Reaction: College Week 2
Transcript
- Emily: Hello, Unicorn Football Talk is back to react to some things that are happening in college football. Hi, Hillary. Hilary: Hey Emily, how are you today? Emily: Good. we've had a couple weeks of college football and so we thought it would be great to jump on and and talk a little bit about what we're seeing, maybe specifically through the lens of the teams we said to root for and against, and then maybe other things that caught our eye. Sound good? Hilary: Sounds good. It was a busy weekend already. Emily: It was. It's been fun. Football is back. we're taking some time out of watching our NFL teams as well. we'll talk more about that later, but let's just talk college. So when we did the Teams to Route For and Against episode Route Four, I had picked Indiana. They are rolling as you would expect. and they've got a pretty easy schedule coming up. So I expect them to keep rolling, but we'll keep an eye out for them to play Ohio State in October. Hilary: I think that's really the first big challenge on their schedule. Emily: Yeah, I would be surprised if they lose a game between now and then. But we've seen crazier things, which we can talk about in a little bit. up next for me and my teams to root for was Old Miss, and the only reason was because I wanted them to succeed now that Lane Kiffin is gone and left them, and they are also rolling. Not much to say there, except they have a big game coming up next weekend. The LSU Ole Miss game. Cannot wait. Hilary: That is a big one. I've got that circled on my calendar. Emily: All right, my last team to root for, my shameless plug, Tennessee, is two and And Furman was not exactly a big test. Georgia Tech was interesting to watch. they've got Mendoza's brother playing and they rolled in that game. Pretty pretty convincing. I guess one fun fact I want to call out, because I don't think I've mentioned this before. They have a linebacker, Arian Carter, who was given a three game suspension that was appealed down to a one game suspension, and this was his first game back. The suspension was over the fact that he had accepted about four hundred and twenty seven dollars for a flight for some NFL. draft process stuff, he decided to pull out of the draft and the NCAA penalized him for taking four hundred and twenty-seven dollars, which just seems weird at this time when pro players are coming back. So he turned this negative into a positive and he has pledged to donate four hundred and twenty seven dollars for every tackle this season towards a really great charity that's close to his heart, cancer related. And so in his season debut, this Hilary: Yeah. Emily: game cost him three thousand four hundred and sixteen dollars. So that's something I might be watching is how much money is going to charity for that like to me overreaction to suspend him. Hilary: Wow, that's a cool fact and good for him for turning something kind of negative into something really positive and showcasing a cause that he believes in. I like that. Emily: Okay, what about you? Hilary: let's see teams that I decided to root for this year. North Dakota State, they are rolling. They're three and They had a solid performance in all three of their games, including a win against Air Force, which was a conference game last night. Next up for them is Sack State and Wyoming, and I expect them to keep on with their really solid performance at least through one game, maybe through both of those. my home team, Washington Huskies, they've won twice. They're two and but boy, I'm concerned. They looked shaky. We won our rivalry game against Washington State, but the game was filled with really sloppy play execution, drop balls, self-inflicted penalties that are totally avoidable, late hits, stuff like that. So I They've got one more game to kind of get it together. And then they open their Big Ten play against Minnesota at home. I'm cautiously optimistic but concerned on that one. And then I had also called out Cal as a team to cheer for. They lost their rivalry game to UCLA in week one. And then they yesterday they had their first conference game against Syracuse, and they came from Behind to win that on the road. So I think that's a positive thing for them. Next up is Wagner and then Clemson on the 25th. Emily: Yeah, I watched the Washington, Washington State game, and that game was a lot closer than I expected. I'm sorry I didn't get to see your game yesterday. the Utah yeah. Not Hilary: It was yeah, it was way closer than it should have been. Washington's offense and defense are just having a hard time getting rolling and having any consistency in plays and personnel. Seems like they're switching stuff up a lot. But, you know, our starters played all of the game yesterday, and I think that was a game where everyone figured that there would be some rest for the starters and some chance for second and third. Emily: I feel like the first two weeks of the season is wonky and weird and like they're really getting going. So it's it's really hard to say what the trajectory will be. I'm pulling for them. Hilary: Yeah, it is hard to say. And I agree with you. First two weeks maybe isn't a total snapshot of where a team's gonna go for the season. Lots can happen. Emily: All right, we're pivoting to the teams we're rooting against or not for. I had Ohio State. they are one and one. and they lost. This is the biggest game of last weekend, and I know you're gonna talk a little bit about this one too. I they were rolling, they were rolling, and Texas pulled it out. So I think what was interesting though was the AP poll came out. I don't know if you saw that, just came out. Hilary: I haven't seen that out. I haven't seen it yet. Emily: So they dropped from number one to six and Texas went up from number four to one. I think it's just a little bit of a more of a drop than I would expect you just barely lost to the number one team and you were leading for three quarters. But I mean, polls don't really mean anything. but it was nice to see one of those teams lose, which we were pretty much guaranteed. So Ohio State lost. Next up I had picked LSU to root against and man, that Clemson, that Clemson win. Hilary: Yeah. Emily: that that hurt to see them cream Clemson by so much dominant. I'm a little bit concerned about them continuing their dominance, but cannot wait for that old miss game next week. Hilary: Okay, and that's on the road, right? They've got a Emily: It's on the road. Yeah, at Old Miss. He gets to go back to Old Miss. That should be awkward. next. Hilary: Wow. Okay. Okay. And A and after that, right? So they've got two Emily: And A and after that. So yes, the real schedule starts. I mean, I guess I thought Clemson was a real team, but Again, that was an early game, so you don't really know. all right, really I'll just fly by Alabama. I was pretty disappointed. they're two and and I was watching the Kentucky Alabama game and Kentucky was like competitive and then they pulled it away. So not really much more to say on that. moving on, Notre Dame was another team I want everyone to root against. they they're rolling as you would expect, but their next game is against Michigan State. And fun fact there, the Michigan State has a new coach, Pat Fitzgerald, who was a longtime coach at Northwestern, my alma mater, I think for 17 years, really long time. And when Pat Fitzgerald played at Northwestern. He played as part of the Cinderella nineteen ninety five season. And that season started with an upset win against Notre Dame. So I'm gonna channel nineteen ninety five all over again and I'm gonna be pulling for Pat Fitzgerald to upset Notre Dame. Hilary: Okay, you're cheering for the Spartans this weekend. Emily: I'm pi Hilary: Okay, well, my against teams, my number one cheer against team was USC. they are 2-0. next up game is Rutgers, and so I fully expect them to be 3-0 after the coming weekend, which brings Oregon to town. And Lincoln Riley is one of my hot seat coaches. I really think USC needs to win against Oregon if they have. any chance of being an in the playoff consideration. they don't really have the strength of schedule after the Oregon game. They'll face Penn, Ohio, and Indiana later in the season, but that doesn't match up to a bunch of the other Big Ten teams' strength of schedule. so I'll be watching that Oregon game. And if it's possible to cheer against both teams in a game, I'll be doing that. But Emily: I know sometimes it it's really hard. Hilary: Sometimes it's really hard. It's really hard. But I guess in that one, I actually would be hoping USC wins at home on that one. next up for me was Texas Tech. They're 2 0. They rolled over Abilene Christian. And then interestingly, this weekend they were away up at the Oregon State Stadium. the Beavers took them to a really close game. Closer than the final score indicates. And I don't see the Red Raiders dominating so far as everyone predicted. I think they'll be interesting to watch. Their next game is against Houston, which is a ranked opponent. And that's on Friday. And that I believe also starts their conference play. So watching on that one. Texas, my other team. They chose to root against now 2-0. You touched on that game a little bit from the Ohio State point of view. And that was really a signature comeback win for Arch Manning. I don't know quite what flipped the switch, but he kind of hit another gear in the fourth quarter to lead them from behind. And, at home in that stadium with all of those fans behind them, it was a really big deal. I still can't cheer for them, but I think that they are gonna be a team to be reckoned with across the season this year. Although I will note, as I mentioned in a prior podcast, they have a super hard schedule. Emily: I think the Arch Manning topic is really interesting for me, whether I like Texas or not, which I don't, but Hilary: Mm-hmm. Emily: he the hype around him is like a thousand out of a hundred. And he had a rough start in that game, but that fourth quarter and now the hype train is all back based on one quarter. Hilary: Yeah, and I want to be clear here. He played really great in the fourth quarter, but he also got a lot of help. You know, his line was solid and his receivers did their job and they they just kind of started clicking all together, I think. I don't want to diminish Arch's accomplishments there, but it is a team sport. And then my last team I always cheer against, Oregon. yeah, Emily: Yeah, let's close it out. Hilary: let's close it out. Wow. Okay. So Boise State came to Eugene a week ago, and Oregon won that game, but truly on almost the last play. Boise State took them the full length of the game and Really pushed them. And then Oregon went on the road to Oklahoma State and lost. Emily: Yes, they did. Hilary: Yes, they lost. Emily: Can you believe it? Hilary: I cannot believe it at first glance. You see the headlines and you're like, my gosh, I can't believe they lost. And then I gave it some more thought. And I think all is not well in Eugene right now. And I was reminded by another friend that they did lose both their offensive and defensive coordinators in this past offseason. They did not outside hire, they promoted assistance from within. And they don't have a test this coming week against Portland State at home, but I'm watching how they respond when they go to USC in two weeks. yeah, so I said before from the US C standpoint, they gotta win that one to get Lincoln Riley a signature win and off the hot seat a little bit, but from Oregon's point of view, they kinda gotta win that one if they're going to back up their claim that they're a dominant team this season. Emily: Okay, well let's wrap up to see if there's anything else that's caught our eyes. I think for me, I mean, obviously the prior week, the Michigan game and the clock scandal, and I really want to hate on Michigan for it and say they shouldn't have won, but I think that the explanation was valid, that the actual clock That they actually look at had a second left. So I can't really hate on them for that. but I was watching the Oklahoma-Michigan game, and Oklahoma was driving at the end, and I was really hoping that there'd be like a Hail Mary Oklahoma pass with one second left. Didn't get that, unfortunately. the other thing that caught my eye before I'll hand off to you and we wrap Hilary: Yeah. Emily: up, ESPN this last week on game day gave some airtime. To about like 10 minutes, I think, to talk about the Protect College Sports Act. and maybe the week before, Hilary: Yeah, the week before too. They gave it some airtime the week before as well. Emily: Okay. they haven't been giving any airtime to the dissenting opinion. There is another side to this. And I know they were contacted about that and they said, well, no one asked to be on. But that's different when you you should be asking others to be on because they don't know that people are going to come on and talk about it. But find that interesting. yeah, what what caught your eye? Hilary: Yeah. Okay. So a couple of things caught my eye while I was prepping for this podcast with you. I was looking at a bunch of the teams that I'm cheering for and against and Who was matching up on their schedules and everything? And something that caught my eye was it seemed like there were more Friday night games than ever as part of the FBS schedule. And so I looked it up. And this year there are more than 60 games on the Friday night slot And that's a Emily: Wow. Hilary: yeah, that's a lot. And that's a 10% increase over last season and an even bigger. from the season before, put a little context on it. Fifteen's games are on the Black Friday, which is the game day after Thanksgiving, where there's always a lot of college sports loaded in there. But I still thought that was kind of interesting. And I think it comes down to some media issues that we've talked about before, everyone trying to find that window where there currently isn't football. to fill to fill it up and and get the media and broadcast deals. So I think that's what's going on there with the Friday nights is the college ranks are trying to stake their claim as Friday night is a college football night. I don't know if you have thoughts on that, Emily: Do I have thoughts on that? Hilary: Ha ha. Emily: you know how much I love football. But I feel like when you give it to me too much, it's too much. it's like having Christmas every day of the year. Like I don't need that. So if they're gonna do it, hopefully they're better games. which typically they're not great marquee games, but I just don't tend to watch it. So I guess it doesn't matter if they put more on. I'm not usually watching it on Friday nights. Hilary: Right. I know the Huskies have one coming up. actually our opener against Minnesota is on a Friday night, and it's just a whole different game vibe. I'm I'm not a big fan. Anyway, the last thing that caught my eye this week, I want to shout out to the Iowa Hawkey's marching band. They took the end of their halftime show this week to honor their bandmate Derek Phillips, who, as you may have heard in the media, he passed away from a heart attack after last week's. prior week's game, and the heat in the stadium and everything. I just thought that was a super classy move by the Iowa marching band community to support one of their own. Emily: Yeah, absolutely. That was a sad story. Hilary: It was and I'm glad to see a little bit of positive light shone on that young person. Emily: Okay, well let's wrap up by talking about games that we're excited about in the next week. If there's anybody you want to add to your Hilary: yeah. Emily: additional cheer for list, this is the time to do it. what will you be watching this week? Hilary: Well, I don't think I wanna add or subtract from my cheer for or cheer against list yet. Ask me again when we do this again, but I I'm I'm holding on my choices for now. I am teed up to watch the SMU Louisville game, and that is an ACC conference matchup between two ranked opponents. And I think it's gonna be interesting. I think they're a closely matched set of teams, and I think it's gonna be high scoring. How about you? Emily: Okay. Well, I know we both circled LSU versus Old Miss. I don't know if you'll be at a game this weekend, but maybe we can get together for it. that's gonna be a game to watch. I will be very disappointed if LSU starts pulling ahead early. I'll just turn it off. I don't want to watch smug Kiffin's face if he's beating Old Miss by a lot. Which could happen. that's that's the game for me this week. Hilary: Okay, okay. there's some fans out there probably who cheer for Texas Tech and they've got a game, Big Twelve matchup against the Houston Cougars. And did you say you circled the Portland State Oregon game? Emily: Well, dare I say we should circle the Portland State Oregon game? I mean Portland State is not the same thing as Oklahoma State, but wouldn't you just be the happiest person? That's a Friday game. I might just turn that on and have that in the background. What do you think? Hilary: If it's close, I'll be happy. Yeah, yeah. All right. Let's wrap it Emily: All right. Hilary: up. Emily: Yeah, let's wrap up. It was fun, fun to chat with you about college football, which we don't do a lot. I hope we'll be back later in the week to talk about NFL week one. There's already been some exciting stuff happening. Hilary: I will see you soon for an NFL wrap up, Emily. Have a great day.