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UPDATED CFP PROJECTIONS + WEEK 9 PREVIEW! · Honey, It's Saturday

• Honey It's Saturday: What is up everyone? Welcome back to the Honey It Saturday podcast. We have week nine of college football to sit here and discuss today. It is going to be a pretty electric episode here. I think that you guys are going to enjoy it. I know Sam and I are going to enjoy it. We might get a little bit heated with each other because you know what we're doing? Both of us did a playoff bracket to start the season. Just like every other college football show, social media outlet, whatever. You have to do your bracket. And our brackets are Pretty much trash. We'll put them on the screen right here actually so you can guys see what we did and you could laugh at us. Because we we take accountability. We take accountability on this podcast. I had the Oregon Ducks winning the national championship. Sam, who did you have winning the national championship? Sam: the Texas Longhorns. Honey It's Saturday: Alright, so you it's not looking great for you, but at least it's feasible. For me, that's pretty much out of the picture completely, especially with the Dante Sam: That's true. Honey It's Saturday: Moore injury news like done. But our brackets as a whole, they just were not good. We're scrapping it and we're redoing it. Because that's what we get to do. We get to do a fresh restart here going into week nine of college football because we know so much more, right? Sam, before we get into our actual brackets, I want to ask you this. Was it easier? Or more difficult to do a bracket now for you than it was preseason. Sam: it was so much more difficult to do it now. I feel like preseason you have in your head, okay, these are your best ranked teams, whatever. But I mean, there's so much just change that's happening every single week that it's hard to predict who's gonna win this conference, who's gonna win the who's gonna win the SEC in general. How is Ohio State's quarterback situation gonna play out when they get if they get to the playoff? All the all the little things like that. So it it was probably the toughest bracket I've ever had to put together or create in my entire life. Honey It's Saturday: Dude, it's it was near impossible. I was my head was about to explode all day today. I used five sheets of scrap paper, threw a bunch of them in the trash. This is what I got as far as my rankings and final season predictions to do for the rest of the year. If you can't see it, if you're listening on podcasts, a sheet of paper with a bunch of scratch marks all over it. but we do have our brackets. Each of us do. And so we're not gonna make you guys wait any longer. We're gonna go ahead and go through it and we're gonna do it round by round. So what I think we're gonna do. is I'm gonna list off a game, Sam. You have a bracket in front of you. I'm gonna list off a game. Like for example, you don't have to say your teams now, but I'll say the 12-5 matchup in the first round. And we'll just let the people know who we got. And we'll keep going through our bracket that way. And as we go through our bracket, we'll also pick that matchup. Does that work for you? All right. Sam: Okay. I'm good with that. Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: So let's just go ahead and do that. Let's go ahead and do the 12 5 matchup. So this is probably going to be our G6 versus, you know, that first team that didn't get the bye. Sam: Yeah, so Honey It's Saturday: Sam, what you got? Sam: I I do wanna make a public apology. We had the privilege of having a connection at James Madison and he sent us some James Madison gear, which I'm actually repping today. Shout out the equipment staff. Honey It's Saturday: It looks good. It was really good stuff. Sam: Yeah, it was it was phenomenal stuff. But the week we post Tag JMU, Tag Chandler, my buddy who works there who sent us the gear, they go into Boone, North Carolina and lose on a Thursday night. And I was Honey It's Saturday: As one does, by the way, it's up state. You go into boon, you lose. Sam: It is. It is, but was fully expecting them to be my team going into this, but they are no longer that. So I am going back to my roots. Boise State is my 12th seed. I love Spencer Danielson. I love that staff. I'm sure they're sitting there looking back at that Oregon game week one, wishing they would have snuck that one out. but they're my 12th seed. I think they're the best suited to even have a competitive matchup in this in these playoffs. And going against the number five seed Ohio State Buckeye. Yes. Honey It's Saturday: All right. Ohio State at the five. So just Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: question there, does that mean you have Ohio State probably losing in the Big Ten championship game, I would assume? Sam: Mm. No, I have UCLA playing Indiana in the championship. Big Ten championship. Yeah. Yeah, so I have I Honey It's Saturday: Okay, but you got Ohio State at five. Okay, I gotcha. I was just curious. That makes sense. All right. So Sam: have Ohio State at eleven and one. I guess I can say the records too, if we want to. Honey It's Saturday: Okay, yeah. Yeah, I'll probably do that for mine as well. Okay, that makes sense. 12-5 Boise State versus Ohio State. That's interesting. I've got a team from the Pac-12 as well as my G6 in that 12th seed. But I've got Oregon State in that spot. Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: Oregon State and Boise State have a huge matchup coming up, which I truly believe like in my heart should be pretty much a playoff game. I think the winner of that game should get in, even though Oregon State is sitting there with the two losses, as long as both those teams win out the rest of the way. I believe the winner of that game should be a playoff team because Oregon State, their two losses, are on the road early in the season to ranked opponents who are both still in playoff contention. And they were really close. Like they competed really well in both of those games. And I also think that nobody, no defense wants to see. Oregon State's offense step step on the field. I think what they've got going with Atkinson and Legree is pretty lethal. And I think they will beat Boise State. I think that'll be a great game. And so that's why I've got Oregon State at my twelve. And I have them playing this might come as a shock to a lot of people. I'm telling you guys, I have reasoning. I have them playing Oklahoma State at the five seed. Sam: Oklahoma State, whoa. That would be huge for Honey It's Saturday: You may be asking yourself if Sam: me, but I I they weren't even on my radar. Honey It's Saturday: You may be asking yourself, Mitch, what does that mean? How how does this even happen? How does Oklahoma State climb all the way to the five seed? Do they not already have two losses? Yes, all of those things are correct. You're not going insane. I might be going insane. But what it means essentially is I have Oklahoma State winning out. The Big 12 experiencing a little bit of chaos with some good teams at the top of that conference. And I have Oklahoma State winning that conference. Oklahoma State are my Big 12 champions if I had to pick right now. And a lot has to happen for it to go right. But if I had to pick right now, that's what I'm picking. So I've got them at the five seed playing Oregon State. Sam: Be is static. Talk about a matchup of just 63-56. Like that would be a very high-scoring playoff game. Honey It's Saturday: Yes, I was drooling a little bit as I wrote down this matchup on paper, Sam: Ha ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: envisioning what that game would be like, because you're right, it would be fireworks, just straight fireworks. I don't think there'd be very much defense played. Sam: Yeah, that would be crazy. Honey It's Saturday: So we are picking these games as we go. So Sam, who who wins? Ohio State Boise State. Okay. Yeah. Sam: okay. Ohio State. Ohio State. Honey It's Saturday: Not much more need to be said there. Sam: No, just Ohio State. I hope Boise State would make it competitive. And maybe they will, but Ohio State's just way too talented. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, no, I completely agree with you. My matchup, to be completely honest, I really had to think about this one. Cause if there was ever going to be a twelve five upset in the playoff, this is the type of game where I think it would happen. Because Oregon State, that offense is really, really good. And these two teams in my mind would probably just go back and forth. But I think at the end of the day, Mester Maker would throw a couple more punches. I think he'd probably make some big plays with his legs. And I got Oklahoma State pulling it out. Moving on. Sam: Yeah. Yeah, let's let's that I would love for that matchup. I would love to talk more about that, but we still got a whole rundown of games and our playoff bracket, so we'll save that if that happens. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. You want to go eight nine? Sam: Yeah, well, I'll go eight nine. So I have the number nine seed being the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. I have them finishing the season eleven and two, losing to Miami again in the ACC championship. And then the eight seed is the Alabama Crimson Tide. I have them going ten and two, basically winning out the rest of their their matchups this season. So this is gonna be I think this could be a really ugly game if it happened, just from a talent perspective. I would love for Wake Forest. they've competed with Miami. I think they would compete against Miami again. And maybe that's just a little bit of like maybe that's a little bit more of the logo that's sticking out to me. but ultimately, no matter what, I think Alabama's just been there before. I think Alabama would beat Wake Forest. So I would have I would have Alabama advancing to the next round. Honey It's Saturday: That'll be a very, very interesting ACC SEC matchup. Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: Wake Forest in the playoff in the first place is gonna visually come as a shock to a lot of people. But I think both of our projections are gonna have Wake Forest in at this point. I think most people's probably would. And we're gonna have to start preparing ourselves for what that's gonna look like. that's that's a very interesting eight nine. My eight nine looks a little bit different. Everyone's been talking about what is it gonna look like at the end of the year with all these three loss SEC teams. And let me tell you, this sheet of paper that I wrote out. Final season projections for every top 30 to 35 team right now has a lot of SEC teams finishing with three losses. I have five, but there easily could have been six. It was very close. So what do you do with that? You got five, three loss SEC teams. A lot of them have beat each other, lost to one another. You're comparing it to teams from other conferences who played different schedules. Like it was very difficult. My eight-nine ends up being two nine and three SEC teams facing off against each other. So I've Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: got LSU at the eight seed at nine and three. And I've got Texas at the nine seed at nine and three. Sam: Hmm. Okay. Honey It's Saturday: So let me just give you a little bit of a breakdown, what it looks like for this to happen. LSU has to win two of these three games. Texas, Bama, Tennessee down the stretch. I am very high on LSU right now. I think they have been getting better and better every single week. And I think if they continue the trajectory they're on, I think Lane Kiffin is going to be able to get two of those games. It's not going to be easy by any means, but I think it'll happen. And so I've got them at the eight. And then I've got Texas at the nine. They obviously have that win against a healthy Ohio State, the beginning of the year that's still boosting their resume. It's going to at the end of the year as well. And then Ole Miss they've beat and Tennessee they beat on the road. So that's a a pretty solid resume there as well. I've got LSU winning this game. Sam: Who do you have winning this game in the regular season? Honey It's Saturday: In the regular season, I've also Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: got I've also got LSU winning this game, which is why I have them eight and Texas nine. Sam: Okay, that makes sense. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. So LSU one seed higher, both nine and three SEC teams have got LSU winning this game again. In Aust or it would be in Baton Rouge actually. So yeah, that that plays to their favor as well. Sam: That would be a rock and night environment. Huh. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, it'd be pretty it'd be pretty fantastic. All right, you wanna keep rolling? Let's do let's do eleven six. Sam: 11-6. Okay. just I'm still thinking about your matchup. I think we're I think our brackets are gonna be a little bit different. so eleven six. I have the sixth seed being the twelve and one UCLA Bruins. So their one loss comes in the Big Ten Championship against Indiana. And then I have the Kentucky Wildcats as the 11th seed. So I have them losing one more to Tennessee on the road in Neyland. So That's the 6-11 matchup. This would be a really sneaky good football game. I think this would be just two coaches that are very much on the rise in the industry. this is be this would be a game that's in or at UCLA. I think the environment would be really cool for this. Not your typical like big time, like Kentucky being here is just this would be a a statement for Stein that he's here to stay. and I actually think Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: Kentucky would go to UCLA to get the win. So I would have Kentucky advancing. over UCLA to advance to the next round, which would be the Rose Bowl. Honey It's Saturday: I love that matchup. I've done so many iterations of my playoff bracket today and come across that matchup a couple different times. And it's very, Sam: Mm-hmm. Honey It's Saturday: very appealing. I I love that just for college football. It'd be awesome to see, obviously, at UCLA. That's probably that would probably be the greatest environment they've ever had in football, I would have to imagine, for Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: a home game. that would just be fantastic to see. mine is a little bit different. You're correct. And this one, man, this one's probably the toughest one for me. Because at the 11th seed, I'm debating 10 and 2 teams at this point. Sam: Okay. Honey It's Saturday: One of those 10 and 2 teams that I have are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Because I don't think Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: they beat Miami. I do think they beat SMU. I think they finished the year 10 and 2. But I'm debating that 10 and 2 resume against a 10 and 2 resume for me. It most often became a debate between 10 and 2 Notre Dame and a 10 and 2 Big 12 team. Those Big Twelve resumes do have some ranked wins on there because the Big Twelve is a better conference this year than it's been the past couple of years. So that debate Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: does become that debate does become really tough. If I went with my gut in my heart, which I probably should have because it's my bracket, but I if I went with my gut in my heart, I would put one of those Big Twelves, whether it's Houston, whether it's Utah, whether it's whatever, because I I don't know what record Utah is going to finish with, but I'm just putting a Big Twelve team in that in that picture for you guys. But I didn't. I went with Notre Dame just because if I'm being completely honest with you, I think Notre Dame's a really good team. But I also think there's no way the playoff committee leaves a ten and two Notre Dame team out two years in a row. At the end of the day, I just don't think they would have the balls to do it. Sam: Mm-hmm. Honey It's Saturday: And so I put Notre Dame at the 11th seed in my bracket. They would be facing. UCLA at the sixth seed. So we Sam: Mm. Okay. Honey It's Saturday: do have a common we do have a common team in here. I actually have UCLA finishing 11 and 2. And I have Sam: Okay. Honey It's Saturday: them finishing as the runner-up in the Big Ten. Sam: Who do you have him losing to? Honey It's Saturday: So Sam: Do you have him drop a regular season and then Big Ten? Honey It's Saturday: I have them dropping one regular season game and then dropping the Big Ten championship game. Yes. Yes. So well Sam: Okay. Okay, that's fair. Honey It's Saturday: yeah, I think it's a realistic scenario. I don't think twelve and one's out of the picture by any means at all. But that's Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: just what I see when I look at their remaining schedule. I think they will find a loss on there and then make the Big Ten championship game and drop it. So I've got UCLA Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: facing off against Notre Dame. And as much as I just threw shade at Notre Dame, I actually think if these two teams played, even if it was at UCLA, which this game would be, I think Notre Dame would get it done. So Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: I have the eleven seed Notre Dame taking down UCLA at UCLA. Sam: So that that's where our brackets again are different. But I think if Notre Dame drops to Miami, I think the playoff committee has the balls to not put them in again. You have to get penalized. Honey It's Saturday: They did last year. Sam: Yeah, they did last year. I think they would do it again. you you gotta build a better schedule. I get they're independent, but if you can't win one of these two games, I I just don't see it. So that Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, the the one thing that I want to just touch on there because I agree with you on the resume. Like I said, I think the big twelve resumes I was comparing it to that were 10 and 2 look better. But the one thing I will say there is for Notre Dame, to their credit, they blew out Wisconsin to start the year. And Wisconsin right now is a ranked team. And Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: if Wisconsin continues to play well, that could look a lot better on their resume by the end of the year. So we don't know. And then they would have that SMU win, the North Carolina win as well, which like SMU would be a ranked win right now. North Carolina not. Not exactly, but it's not a terrible team. So it's not an awful resume. I just didn't think it stacked up. Sam: Yeah, no, that's fair. I think that's where I think I ended up going the Big Twelve route with my seven ten matchup. because this team also has the head a head to head against Notre Dame. So I have the ten seed being BYU, and they are there at eleven and two. So I have them I honestly go went back and forth, but I think I would have them beating Utah in the regular season and then losing to Utah on Big 12 championship. so they're there at that 10 spot for me. And the seventh spot, I I I really was struggling making struggling making this pick. but I really like this team right now. I think they've gotten better. I think last week was a little bit of a letdown spot for them. so I have the Tennessee Volunteers at the seventh spot, finishing the season 10 and three. So they went out during the regular season and then lose to Georgia in the SEC championship. So I have Tennessee at seven, BYU's at ten, and I have Tennessee hosting BYU and Tennessee advancing to the next round. Honey It's Saturday: Wow, I did not see that one coming. I did figure Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: you were gonna throw Tennessee in here somewhere and I was trying to put the pieces together the further we got into the bracket. So I guess I should have seen it coming going into the seven ten. But look, it's not impossible. It's not impossible Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: at all. I had them as one of those nine and three teams that are Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: bundled up together at the end of the year and we're we're making decisions on, but sounds like you don't have them as nine and three. Sam: Mm-mm. They're they're ten and two at the end of the regular season with the loss in SEC. And I I just think that team will continue to get better. I think South Carolina was the best offense they f they will face compared to the rest of the season. Obviously they still have Kentucky, who is not all that exclusive, but it's a good good really good well put together offense. And then LSU, again, LSU and Kentucky are their kind of big two games left on the regular season. And those are both games that are both at Nealand Stadium, which is just a whole other level of I don't know, advantage that I think they get. I think Jim Knowles will get that defense rolling. I mean, they've been playing really good, but he's been in this situation before with his time at Ohio State. He's prepared to to know what this looks like and being able to play against some of these teams down the stretch. So, that may be a hot take, but I kind of left that South Carolina game more impressed than I thought they we would be, just how offensively we were, just gotta clean up penalties. But yeah, I think I think Tennessee advances and beats BYU. Honey It's Saturday: I can see it. I can see it. And like I said, when I was talking about LSU just before I get into my matchup, they had to win two out of three between Texas, Bama, and Tennessee. I didn't know which two out of the three it was going to be. So even in my scenario, that's technically possible for you, for Tennessee to get that win and to finish the season ten and two and make the SC championship game. That'd be huge for that program. For me, I do share the ten seed with you. We both have the BYU Cougars. Sitting at the 10th seed, and I have him 11 and 2 as well. I have him finishing as the Big 12 runner up. So I think we actually have that pretty much identical. Sam: Yeah, we do. Honey It's Saturday: so that that's kind of cool the way that worked out. Probably means it absolutely won't happen. And my seventh seed, and my seventh seed would be an 11 and two Wake Forest. Their two losses would both be to the Miami Hurricanes in this scenario. They've already lost them in the regular season. It was a decent game. Wake Forest played pretty well. I have him in a rematch. in Charlotte for the ACC championship game and I have them losing that one too. So they'd be the seventh seed for me at 11 and 2 facing off against BYU and they'd be hosting a playoff game. Which how about Wake Forest hosting a playoff game? that that's awesome. I think that would be phenomenal for the sport. but I I do have BYU winning this game. I think if these two teams I I love BYU's defense and Wake Forest to their credit, their run defense has been really good this year as well. But Sam: Yeah, they have been. Honey It's Saturday: I've just been very impressed with BYU's defense with the exception of that UCF performance last week, which I just think that was a little bit of a hangover spot. I just I I was worried for BYU going into that game. I mean, I had it as my hot take, which doesn't mean I predicted it, but it does mean I was thinking about it. And so I don't know. I think BYU ends up bouncing back. I think they're a really good team. That Notre Dame win wasn't a fluke to me, at least, based Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: off the way I thought watching it. So I would have BYU taking down Wake Forest. Sam: Yeah. No, that w that would be a really fun matchup. I think both those teams have exceeded expectations this year. again, Dicker to wake for us, he's he's a name to watch this off season. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. a hundred percent. But I if you're a Wake fan, you hope you can you can keep him and build something. Sam: I hope he does too. I love I love Wake Forest. I love that school. I love everything about it. I I hope they would be a s team that's successful and continues to build on that, but in Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: this area you never know. Honey It's Saturday: No, you don't. All right. I think we need to move on to our our quarter final round, which means we're going to start to get to the teams with the bye that we haven't touched on yet, those top four seeds. Let's start with the five four matchup. So Sam, remind us who your five was or who your your winner was in that first round and then tell us what your your matchup is here. Sam: Okay. So I have the my winner of the five is the Ohio State Buckeyes, who beat Boise State. And I have them playing the four seed Utah. So I think Utah finishes twelve and one. They would in this scenario lose to BYU in the regular season, but be BYU in the Big Twelve Championship. so I have Utah facing Ohio State. and this is a matchup that I think would would be pretty well, but I just think the firepower of Ohio State is just gonna be too much. I know everybody's going to be asking quarterback situation, but I just think this team has been there before. They're going to be able to get it figured out. We'll learn a lot about this quarterback position, but they have guys in there that are really capable of playing quarterback. And so I don't I don't doubt that they're not going to be able to do what they need to do to win throughout the regular season, but also get into the playoff. so I have Ohio State beating Utah in this playoff matchup. Honey It's Saturday: I like that matchup a lot. I think that'd be very fun to watch on the field. And I think your your logic and your reasoning makes a ton of sense. This is probably a good time for me to say and address the elephant in the room of the Big Twelve. Where is Utah in my bracket? Because I already picked Oklahoma State as my Big Twelve champion and then BYU as my Big Twelve runner up. That does mean I got a little bit bold and projected Utah to stumble a couple of times down the stretch this year. I think it very well could happen. I think the Utah football team is a great team. I just think it's one of those situations where you got a first year head coach and a team experiencing a ton of success. They're undefeated. They just want a huge game. How do they handle it as the season goes deeper and deeper? Are they able to sustain it through November? I think it's one of those situations where you could see them fall off a little bit towards the end. Doesn't mean they're not a good team. That's what I picked. My five seed was the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Dave 12 champion. I had them moving on. And playing number four Kentucky. This is where I have the Wildcats. I have them all the way up Sam: Hmm. Okay. Honey It's Saturday: in the top four, which does mean that I have them in the SEC championship game. And I don't know if anyone's checked the SEC standings recently, but they're actually sitting in first place. So this is not a crazy take as of right now. I do think that they end up dropping a game down the stretch. So I don't I don't think that they or I'm sorry. I I actually think that they win out the rest of the year and then they lose in the SEC championship game is what I see. So I do see them finishing eleven and one, losing the SEC championship game, and then not dropping out of that top four. I think if you lose the SEC championship game, you're 11 and 2. I think you have the right to stay at number four. So I have them with the bye here. And I do have them beating Oklahoma State. I Sam: Mm. Okay. Honey It's Saturday: think that'd be a great game. I think the thing with Mesta Maker is if you put him in the playoff. This is why I think it's fun. If you put him in the playoff, he's one of those guys where doesn't matter the matchup, they have a chance because he can just make plays. So Sam: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: I think this would be a really tough matchup if you're Kentucky. I don't think it'd be a fun one to look at on paper, but I think they Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: would find a way because they've consistently found a way in these type of spots this year. The South Carolina game with Lenores making plays, going to overtime, found a way to win. The LSU game, similar situation. Very close, found a way to win in overtime. I think this Kentucky team's proven they can do that. I think they do it again here. So I've got Kentucky moving on to the final four of the college football playoffs. Sam: Yeah. I would love that matchup. I think every spot we've talked about Kentucky so far, it's they're it they just they're just a team that's exciting to watch that just continues to find a way to win. So that would that would be an amazing matchup right there. So and I I would probably predict Kentucky to win that game too. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, it'd be close though. It wouldn't be an easy one to pick. And Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: then let's go in descending order of our top four seeds. So let's go ahead and Sam: Okay. Honey It's Saturday: do the three seed and then their matchup next, Sam. Sam: Okay. So my three seed is your Big Ten champion, the Indiana Hoosiers. So I think they finished the year 12 and one with that one loss coming to Ohio State in the regular season. and in this scenario, they would play the Tennessee Volunteers. so in this matchup, Tennessee's coming off the win against BYU. I am just thinking about Indiana, and they've been here before, they've been in this spot. They have the guys, they have the coaching staff, completely understand it. the rest of their season is not all that challenging. I would even argue UCLA in the Big Ten Championship is not. UCLA is a very good defensive football team, but lacks the offensive firepower. and I'm not, Honey It's Saturday: Especially after the Nico injury. Sam: yeah, especially after the Nico injury, and they're winning all the games they're supposed to be winning. And I think their quarterback is improving every week. UCLA. but that's besides the point. So I I think Indiana does what they need to do to get in this playoff, but I think Tennessee beats Indiana here. I do. I think I just again I and this is maybe just delusional, Sam, here, and I'm sure I'm gonna get flamed on the socials when this gets released, but I I just think they're just gonna continue to get better. I think they're they're gonna be a team that's ready to play after this bye week they have this week. So I have Tennessee beating Indiana and advancing to the final four. Honey It's Saturday: You're going, you're not hedging your emotions here at all, Sam. You're going all in on your your Tennessee vols. And you know what? I respect it. I respect it. I just don't want to see any sort of negative reaction. So you know what? I'll start rooting for Tennessee just so I can have a a happy buddy in my life. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: so my matchup is actually somewhat similar. My three seed is identical to yours. I got Big Ten champion Indiana. For the same exact reasons that you shared. I don't think their schedule down the stretch is super tough. It doesn't mean there aren't losable games. I think even this week they've got a losable game. I just think that they with Signeti, they've been there before, they've already got a loss in their schedule. So I think that reinvigorates the fire in that program. Clearly didn't reinvigorate it so much that they just went and handled business at Michigan last week, though. So it's a team that to me, they still have a lot to prove. I just don't think looking at their remaining schedule. That there are too many stumbling blocks. So I have them at the three seed, I have them winning the Big Ten, and I have them facing Notre Dame, the 11th seed, who won their first round matchup, which is a very interesting game. Cause if you remember two years ago, the year before Signetti really got it figured out, Indiana went to South Bend and got it absolutely handed to them in a playoff matchup. This would be a rematch of that. It's an in state rivalry dynamic. So this would there would be a lot of, intensity around this matchup, I think Notre Dame would get it done again. And it's just because I think what I've seen out of this Indiana team this year is a good football team, but to me not an elite football team. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: And I do have them at that three seed, but I've just seen them time and time again put them in situations where they can lose a game. Northwestern easily could have lost that game. Michigan last week easily could have lost that game. Nebraska similar situation. Ohio State They lose. Ohio State's a great team, so I'm not saying that's a bad thing. And they were very close. I just think they have an elite defense, and their offense has not been able to put everything together. And so I think Notre Dame would get it done, which would mean we would have an 11 seed moving on to the semifinal. Sam: Yeah. That that would that I forgot about that matchup two years ago. This that I think that would be a a better matchup 'cause I think if I remember correctly, Notre Dame kinda ran away with that one two years ago. Yeah. Yeah. So Honey It's Saturday: They they did. It was not competitive. Yeah. Sam: I I think that would be a that should be a rivalry game, I think that happens every year, just in it within Indiana itself. I think there'd be a lot of bragging rights, but I like your pick there. I'd probably pick Notre Dame in that matchup as well. Honey It's Saturday: That's an interesting take, by the way. Now that Indiana has because I'm sure, let's just be honest, historically, Indiana probably hasn't wanted to put Notre Dame on the schedule annually based off their success in football. But now, I think that'd be a very, very fun in-state rivalry to plug in on the calendar, a a non-conference situation, kind of like a Clemson, South Carolina at the end of the year. Like there are so many non-conference rivalries that get played. That would be a great one to add. Sam: Yeah, I actually think before the season started, that was a three game series or a four game series that was gonna happen, maybe starting next year. And I think they both canceled it. Shockingly. Honey It's Saturday: Doesn't surprise me based off both of those programs. That's not even Notre Dame shade because Signetti doesn't put anyone on his calendar outside the Big Ten. So that's just that's Sam: No, he does not. Honey It's Saturday: just kind of the way that is. But that's our three matchup. Let's go on to the two seed, Sam. Who's your two seed and who do you have him playing? Sam: my two seed is SEC champion, Georgia Bulldogs, facing the Kentucky Wildcats, who just won against UCLA in this hypothetical playoff bracket. I think this would be a again, another really good matchup. Kentucky has just found ways to stick in games that maybe necessarily they shouldn't have, excluding that Alabama game. and this is kind of where I think you see a little bit of that Alabama type game for Kentucky. where this is just a this is a really big matchup. Georgia's been here before. Georgia's got the talent. Georgia has the staff advantage. I think Georgia would just be a little bit too much for Kentucky. I think he would be competitive, but I think Georgia would pull away with this one late. So I I would have Georgia advancing over Kentucky in this matchup. Honey It's Saturday: I would agree with you on that pick. I like the matchup. You got a old school SEC East battle going on there. It's fun. yeah, that's great. And I I don't I think that'd be a great first season for Will Stein, obviously. That goes without saying. So Sam: Yeah. That'd be a win. Honey It's Saturday: we share again the number two seed, which I think means we're probably gonna share our top three seeds. But that would be the Georgia Bulldogs for me at the two, playing against number 10 seed BYU Cougars, who beat Wake Forest in that first round. I think BYU is a good football team. I think they have a great defense. I just don't think they would have enough to get past Georgia for similar reasons that you that you said. I I have Georgia going eleven and two. So I have them falling one more time in the regular season this year, but that still gets them to the SEC championship game for me. They're gonna win that SEC championship game over Kentucky in my bracket. And then they would beat BYU in the quarter final of the playoff. Sam: Yeah, that Honey It's Saturday: That's what I got. Sam: that would be pretty nice. All these matchups that we're talking about, even if they don't happen, I want them to happen. I feel like I've got these matchups Honey It's Saturday: I Sam: ingrained in my head of all right, I would love to see that game on Saturday. Honey It's Saturday: I fully agree with you. And if you're Georgia too, there's no easy path, there's no good path. But if you get beat down on an SEC schedule, first of all, we talked about it before the season started. Out of all of the SEC schedules, they had one of the ones that you would pick. If you had to pick one, you'd probably pick theirs. They stumbled in a game where we didn't expect them to, but you still would have probably picked theirs. And then they would get a BYU team who's a good football team, but out of, a playoff matchup that you could think somewhere you get beat down, BYU's a great football team. I'm not, slandering them at all. But still if you're Georgia, I think you would take that matchup. Sam: No, yeah. I agree. Georgia's rest of the season is really tough. they still have to play Ole Miss. They have to play South Carolina still. I was struggling with where I put them within this bracket, 'cause I think they're still they lost to Auburn last week or two weeks ago. And I think a lot of people are kind of forgetting about that. And I think Georgia's still a good team, but they're they're not as immortal as I think a lot of people think they are. Honey It's Saturday: Not at all. I don't think there are any immortal teams in college football this year. But like you said, they have a tough end of the season. That's why I do have them dropping another regular season game. All Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: right. Let's go to our one seed and then that matchup before we get on to the semifinals. Sam, what you got? Sam: Okay. So I have the Miami Hurricanes, who are the one seed. Only undefeated team that we have in this bracket. they're 13-0 after beating Wake Forest in the ACC Championship. And then I have them playing the Alabama Crimson Tide in this matchup. So this is your one versus eight matchup. I think this is where the youth of Keelan Russell shows up in this spot. I think This game is going to be a lot more competitive compared to how Alabama showed out last year against Indiana. I think Miami's by this point in the year, I think they're gonna be a little bit more healthy on the offensive line. They're kind of gonna get full steam, full steam ahead as they kind of work their way into the playoffs. Even that gap between the ACC championship and the playoff or having that first round by, I think, will be beneficial to them. I think again, Darien Mensa for me is another one of those Heisman finalist quarterbacks. They've been in this spot before, are coming in, I think, with a little bit of a revenge after how last playoff ended against Indiana. so I think Miami advances here and beats the Alabama Crimson Tide, which I think could provide a little outspark against Alabama Faithful just after two back to back first or second round losses like this. I Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: think this could cause some conflict that's kind of already there with Debore. but I just don't think they're gonna be happy with that result. Honey It's Saturday: Well, let me tell you, if that's gonna cause conflict for Alabama fans, my bracket would certainly cause conflict for Alabama fans because they Sam: Ha ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: are nowhere to be found in my bracket. In case you guys are wondering how I forced Alabama into the one seed, because I still haven't said their name yet. I didn't. They're just not in my top twelve. I got the Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: Miami Hurricanes, just like Sam, at the number one seed. I've got thirteen and ACC champions. I think they get it done against Notre Dame in the regular season. I think they get it done against whoever they play in the ACC championship game, which for me would be Wake Forest. I just I think it's a really good football team. And again, they're not invincible. A couple weeks ago, they easily could have gone down to Florida State. Rivalry Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: situation. They looked vulnerable at times against that Wake Forest team, who's a very good football team. I just Minsa and Tony, I don't know how you defend that offense. I don't know how anybody defends that offense. And then, like you Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: said, once the offensive line gets healthy. Just ridiculous. So dangerous football team. I have them playing against, similar to Sam, the eight seed from the SEC, but I've got that as LSU. I think this will be a phenomenal matchup. I think Lane Kiffin going against this Miami team would be fantastic football to watch. But I do have Miami coming out on top. I think they'll be headhunting come postseason because they're going to have a sour taste in their mouth from last year and coming up this close as a runner up. in the playoff, I think that they're gonna be very hungry and I think they're gonna get it done. So I've got Miami moving on to face the number four seed, Kentucky in my bracket in the semifinal. But before I get into that matchup, Sam, who do you got Miami playing? Sam: just Miami LSU. That would be actually insane. Honey It's Saturday: that would be a phenomenal game, would it not? Sam: Yeah, that would be fireworks, two characters of head coaches, like those guys would be head hunting. But Miami would get that win too. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I think so too. But I would love to see it. Sam: Yo, for sure. So this leaves me with my one versus five matchup, which is how it plays out on this side. so that would be Miami again, who just beat Alabama, playing against Ohio State, who beat Utah. So this would be another matchup, I guess rematch from last year. I think it was in the Final Four spot too. I don't quote me on that. I can't remember if that was Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: when that matchup was. honestly, if Julian Saiyan was playing. I think this is probably a get back spot for Ohio State. but with the defense of Miami that I think will be healthy by that point, with either a true freshman quarterback or a retro freshman quarterback, I think it's gonna be hard to keep up with Malachi Tony and Darien Mensa. And granted, Ohio State has a top twenty defense. Jeremiah Smith is still a freak. I'm this could change if we see how this quarterback play situation sticks out to where Hey, if Ohio State can figure how to run the football and still feed him the football, there's a chance where they can still make a run. but I think them getting to this point without seeing is already really impressive. And I think this is where it ends for them. So I have Miami beating Ohio State and Miami advancing to the national championship. Honey It's Saturday: I think that's an amazing game. I would love to watch that one as well. It's another one of those matchups where you're like, that would be great. That would be great. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: I think this is also a great time for me to address another elephant in the room. I don't have Alabama in my top top twelve, but probably more surprisingly, I don't have the Ohio State Buckeyes in my top twelve. And I don't know. I I can hear a lot of people yelling at me. I I just I know that people have things to say. Here's the deal. I think Ohio State's very capable and they could prove me absolutely wrong and they could still go win the Big Ten. And then I look like a fool. But I don't know what they look like without saying yet. And I had to pick this bracket today. And their last five games of the season are not easy games. All five of them, to be completely honest with you, are losable if you don't play your best football on that day. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: I don't think that'll happen. I as I went through my record predictions. I had them losing two games to finish the year, which means they would finish as a nine and three team. And so I had them just outside the playoff. Would I be a little surprised if that happens? Yes, but I picked it. And so they did not finish in my top 12. And you can deal with it. You can comment whatever you want. Call me crazy. I do not care. I've been disliked by Buckeyes my entire life. So that's totally fine. No disrespect to you guys. I just I haven't seen it yet, so I can't predict it. Anyways, moving on to my my semifinal matchup, Miami's facing Kentucky. Kentucky. What a ride with Stein in my bracket. This will be a movie. Incredible season for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, I'm not going to say much more about it. I think it comes to a close here. Miami gets it done, moves on to the national championship game. So now we can discuss our second semifinal, and we can also address the fact Sam and I both have Miami making a national championship run. Back to back Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: years. Sam: Which I think is still one of the most widely picked teams to continue to advance to this back to this point. So I think that's a great pick by both of us. which leads into my final four matchup on the opposite side of the bracket, which is the number two seed Georgia Bulldogs coming off win against Kentucky, playing against the number seven seed Tennessee Balls, who had just beaten Indiana. And this is where an SEC rematch occurs. This is Tennessee playing Georgia again. And I think at this point, Tennessee hasn't been able to beat Georgia since Hypo's been the coach. I think that stays the same. He's got to prove it. I think this is Georgia's year to come back and bounce back after kind of some early exits that they've had in some of these playoff games or playoff brackets at the last couple years. so I think Georgia advances for that final four matchup. So we have a national championship of my bracket. That is the Miami Hurricanes playing the Georgia Bulldogs. Honey It's Saturday: How about that? That's a pretty interesting matchup. And I I agree with you on the Tennessee thing. I don't have Tennessee in my playoffs, so I would definitely have them losing to Georgia. Sam: Ha ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: And just to address that, my semifinal is the 11th seed Notre Dame. Snuck into the playoffs, but they beat UCLA in the first round. They beat Indiana in the second round. Now they run up against the freight train that is the Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart. And I I think Georgia gets it done. I I do think this would be a good game. I I really Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: do. But I think Georgia gets it done at the end of the day, which means Sam and I picked the same national championship game. Our brackets are a lot different, but we still ended up with the same national championship game. Who would have thought? Who would have thought? Sam: Yeah. So I I have led this segment where I start with my games, picking those first as we kind of work down the bracket. So I want you to lead us off here since we have the same national championship game. So we're gonna talking about the same things. So I want you to lead us off here on who your pick is to win the national championship. Honey It's Saturday: I got the U. I got Miami getting Sam: The U, okay. Honey It's Saturday: it done, getting revenge from last year. I just think that team, when they put it all together, is gonna be really hard to beat. I think that offense Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: is phenomenal. I think Georgia is an incredible team. I think they obviously have been there before with Kirby, not necessarily recently, like super recently, been in a national championship setting, but we know that program's built for it. So this will be a really tough one. Miami would have to prove it. They'd have to really get it done. I mean this This path for Miami in my bracket at least, they would have to run through Lane Kiffin and LSU, which is a very difficult matchup. Then they got Kentucky, which is another SEC team. I've got them as SEC championship runner-up. And then you've got Georgia. So SEC, SEC, SEC, back to back to back. I think they get it done. I just, I really like this Miami team. I think that they're healthy by the time the playoff comes. They have plenty of time to rest in between the conference championship game when the playoffs starts. They have to buy. I I like the way it sets up for them, and I think they get it done. Sam: Hmm. Go Dogs. That's who I got winning this one. again, I I think this is gonna be probably one of the best national championship matchups if it does happen. two two former coaches that are a part part of that Nick Saban tree. I think these guys would know each other well. I think this would be just a probably one of the most well coached games that we would have throughout this entire bracket, or just even if they played in the regular season. I just think Georgia gets their get back. I think Gunnar Stockton is just going to continue to get better defensively. Georgia's going to get a little bit more comfortable. And I think they're going to find a way to not stop but limit Miami a little bit more than most teams have throughout this season. And I I think they do just enough to get it done. So so Georgia's going to be my twenty twenty-six national champs. Honey It's Saturday: I like it. I like that we have different picks here. I just want to make a couple more comments before we move on because we've taken about 45 minutes for this playoff segment, Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: which I think is well worth it. There's a lot to dive into. So I hope you guys enjoyed it. But we do have to get into our preview for this week. We may have to go pretty quick through that. But Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: there's a couple more comments on this. It's kind of the Carson Beck X bowl, which is pretty funny. So there's that. Sam: True. Honey It's Saturday: storyline, which really doesn't doesn't matter at all to either of these teams this year. But as a fan, it's Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: funny to see Georgia and Miami going at it in the in the national championship. I also think this is one of those games where the best quarterback wins. And for me, Darien Minsa is a much better quarterback than Gunnar Stockton. I I'm not throwing shade at Gunner, but I think if you put those two teams on the field and gave any head coach in the country the ability to pick, I think they're gonna pick Minsa every single time. And so I think Minsa would be the one to get it done. Sam: That's fair. I think but be yeah, a better quarterback play. But I think Gunnar's getting to that point where he's getting that Stetson Bennett treatment where it's like, all right, every other quarter every quarterback they play against is better than than Stetson Bennett. Just because he doesn't have your typical NFL build, may not play a ton in the NFL at the next level, but he just find ways to get it done. I think he's gonna learn a lot after that loss against Auburn, probably playing his worst game ever. And so I think he's just gonna he wants to win for that school so badly, and I I think he gets the job done. Honey It's Saturday: He does. Yes, he does. That's a good call. All right, you guys. Take one last look at our playoff brackets. Digest everything. Make sure that you've got a good understanding so that you can make fun of us when none of it goes to plan. We do have another segment to move into. We're going to go very quickly through this. So you guys got to bear with us. But we got to go over who our pick seven teams play this week. And Sam, I think we should just address our total points, who our matchups are, and maybe a couple comments and probably Move on to our our chat GPT segment if you think that works. Sam: Okay. Yeah, that works. this will be quick for me. total teams for me or total points for me is six hundred and seventy-four. a lot of my teams have buy this buys this week. So Tennessee has a buy, Virginia Tech has a bye, USF plays UAB, Oklahoma State plays Iowa State. Both those teams are favored. USF's two and a half point favorite and Oklahoma State's a nine and a half point favorite. And then Wake Forest as well is a 12 and a half point favorite against Virginia. so all good matchups for me. to hopefully be able to get some points this weekend. Michigan State has a bye, so no chance to lose points there, thank goodness. And then Colorado State uh's the last team for me, and they play against Utah State, and they are currently sitting at a six and a half point favorite as well. So have three out of my seven teams on buys, but a good chance for me to get some points as all my teams are favored this week, which this late in the season I will definitely take. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, that's a pretty rare scenario at this point in the year. I think that looks really good for you. Three teams that can't lose any point because they're not playing, and everyone else is favored. So I like that a lot for Sam. For me, my outlook has just not been as pretty as Sam's outlook recently. Anything can happen, but now that I know Dante Moore's out at Oregon for the rest of the season, I feel even worse. But I'm sitting at five hundred and sixty one points. Oregon plays Northwestern this week, is a ranked opponent and is a very good team. And somehow Oregon is still favored. Because they're favored every week, no matter how many times they lose, and Vegas won't learn their lesson. So Oregon is technically a favorite. That doesn't mean anything to me at this point, but they are a favorite. I've got Indiana favored by 20 and a half against Minnesota, which I think is a lot of points against a Minnesota team that just got a very significant win over Iowa and has already beaten Michigan this year as well. But they are favored by 20 and a half. North Dakota State, big favorites against UTEP this week. I need that. Hope they play well. Cal. The bay the golden bears play NC State seven-point underdogs. Cal's been like teasing me the last couple weeks where they look good for a second. Next time I look at the scoreboard, it doesn't look so good. So hopefully they can compete in that game. Delaware and Sam Houston State in Conference USA have already played for me. Sam Houston State not only lost 24-3 to Missouri State, but also fired their head coach, Phil Longo. So adios, Coach Phil. They're one and seven on the year. It's just a bad pick for me. It's just straight up what it is. Hopefully they can make a good hire. I won't be picking them next year, regardless who they hire. And then Delaware did win this week already. They've got their quarterback back. Mini Cucci is back and he is incredible. And that's the reason I picked him at the beginning of the year and he missed four weeks and they lost all four of those games, but he's back. They haven't lost since his return. Oregon State plays Fresno State. This is a big game. I know I talked about Boise State earlier in my playoff 'cause I had Oregon State in. I think that's the one everyone's gonna circle on Oregon State schedule, but this is a tough matchup as well. Fresno State's a good football team. They're not gonna be scared of that Oregon State offense, so Oregon State's gonna have to lock in, but they're five and a half point favorites. Sam: Yeah. I think that's good week for you. You've got some big matchups, but some chances to get some points. Obviously s might as well not count Sam Houston State as a team anymore. Just say you gotta pick six teams. Honey It's Saturday: Just give me negative forty for them every week. Yeah. Sam: Just go ahead and lock that in. good deal. Well, so here now segueing into our Chat GPT segment. And as a reminder, this is a buy, sell, hold. So we have three different teams that we're gonna or three different teams that I'm gonna give you guys, and we're gonna buy one, sell one, and hold one. And with this update, we're also now doing it based off our Honey It's Saturday poll. So this is no longer the AP top 25 poll. This is Mitch and I's poll that we put together every single week and put out for you guys on all the socials and talk about on the podcast. so the three teams that Chad has provided with for us are the number one Miami Hurricanes, the number eight Notre Dame Irish, Fighting Irish, and then the number nineteen Missouri Tigers. Honey It's Saturday: this segment's a lot easier when I spent all day making a playoff bracket and writing final season record predictions for every single team in the top thirty five right now. The Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: segment just got a lot easier. All I have to do is look at this paper and decide, okay, this is what I think. So I'm Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: gonna reference my sheet of paper and I'll take this one first. Also, we're gonna continue producing our top twenty five poll because it's the best poll in the country. The College Football Playoff poll, I don't even know if you know this. The first one comes out next week. That's pretty Sam: Yeah. It's right. It's crazy that's already here. Honey It's Saturday: that's pretty exciting. To see what they're gonna do. Cause then we really start to get a picture of okay, this is how the committee is thinking. Our brackets might already look trash by the time that poll comes out next week because the committee could have a completely different thought process right now than what we do. So it'll be very interesting. All right. For this buy, sell hold. I'm buying Notre Dame. I've got him in my national championship game. I've got him winning it. Sam's got him in his national championship too. So I'm gonna be a little bit upset if he doesn't buy the hurricanes as well. I'm gonna hold Notre Dame. I think they finished the season ten and two. I don't think they beat Miami, but I think they do just enough to sneak into the playoffs based off the committee's logic. And so I think Notre Dame will get in. I'll hold Notre Dame and I'm gonna sell Missouri. I actually have Missouri. They have a rough finish to the year schedule wise. It's not gonna be easy at all. I was looking at it earlier today. I have them finishing the season with four losses. That could be five, depending on how they play. So they do have Hardy coming back this week, which is awesome. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: Very, very glad that he's getting healthy. But with their schedule that's left and a couple of the times they've stumbled this year where maybe I didn't expect it to this point, I think they finished with four or five losses actually. So I'm gonna I'm gonna sell the Missouri Tigers. Sam: Yeah, Hardy coming back could be interesting for Missouri because they're still one of those two loss SEC teams. It's still very much in contention with a really good quarterback. that Mississippi State loss earlier in the year is really hurting them. Obviously, it's looked at a lot differently because Camario Taylor was playing compared to what it is now. but I'm on board with you. Buying Miami, number one team. They're gonna stay right there. gonna hold Notre Dame. Again, I think they lose to Miami. I think they finish the season ten and two, and I think they're just outside the playoff to where they don't get in. which that'll be very interesting to see where they're ranked next week in the the playoff Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: rankings 'cause that's really what it's gonna come down to. 'Cause there's some clause to where if Notre Dame's in the top twelve, they get in the playoff no matter what. Honey It's Saturday: Going into championship weekend, I think Sam: Yes. Honey It's Saturday: is what the rule is. So after the the twelfth game of the year is played, the regular season ends, if Notre Dame is ranked in the top twelve, the rule is they can't be dropped out of the top twelve based on what happens on Championship Saturday. However you feel about that rule, that is the rule. Sam: Yeah, that's so weak. But anyways, Missouri then we're gonna sell them. I think they again, like Mitch alluded to, they have a really tough, tough stretch. I think they maybe drop one or two more. they they just have a gauntlet into the season and I I don't think they quite have enough to to be able to make a run like some of these other SEC teams that are gonna try to compete for some of those last spots in the bracket. So I'm gonna sell Missouri. So I think you and I are on the same page pretty clearly for that one. Honey It's Saturday: I think so too. Love that segment. So fun every single week. And like I said, I big fan of this sheet of paper. Hopefully I can keep it with me if it doesn't look like trash next week. Sam: Right. Honey It's Saturday: we are gonna finally get in. We we do have football games being played this week, by the way. We Sam: We do. Honey It's Saturday: do have week nine football games being played, and we're gonna finally address some of those football games. We've got our top eight games. We do this every week. We're gonna go do our pick I've been decent the last couple weeks. There's been a lot of chaos, but I split went five and three both times. It's been a struggle though. it's been a r real struggle. We're gonna go through, give our preview, make our picks, our first game that we've got. And actually I think Sam, before I get into this game, you you do have something you need to address. Sam: Yeah, I I'm just in shock how you're talking about how it's been a real struggle. and you've worn the hat once. Is that right? One time. Honey It's Saturday: One time is too many, man. Sam: Well, this is five. So this is again, my wife is always right. Cameron beat me again. I'm still very much in contention for the overall records. she's just always been about a game better than me. And they've I've had some weeks where it's been a pretty wide margin of beating her. So that's what's keeping it close. But I'm gonna need a couple big weeks to end this season. Honey It's Saturday: Just to be clear, every time Sam says his wife beat him again, he's not referencing anything other than losing on his picks. There's no, you know, physical beating going on that I know of, to my knowledge. I would hope Sam would disclose if, you know, something was going on. But he he just means mentally right now. He's a little bit beat down. Sam: Yes, it is mentally, but it hurts a lot. Honey It's Saturday: All right. Well, we got our first game to pick this week, and Sam can redeem himself with his pick. So we're going to go ahead and get into it. We've got, using our Honey It Saturday poll, just as a reminder, for all of these rankings that you're going to hear. This is our poll, number twenty three Arizona, the Wildcats, at the number sixteen Texas Tech Red Raiders. Sam, go ahead and dig in. Sam: Yeah, I think this is a this is a really tricky matchup 'cause I think Arizona has looked really good offensively. these last couple of weeks. I mean, it's hard to believe Fafita is still there at quarterback. I remember him a couple of years ago when he was with Tedtero McMillan, who's now a receiver with the Panthers. And those guys were both both playing with each other and were really good. so just it just the time time and flying by and how he's still there is wild to me. Texas Tech is coming off obviously a very disappointing loss to Cincinnati. that they honestly just kind of got outright beat down. I think Arizona's gonna come in this in this game ready to play. I think they have a really good team, and I they're very much still alive in the Big 12. But I think Texas Tech after last week, they're gonna come ready to play. This game is in Lubbock as well. this is a very sneaky good game that I think I'm definitely gonna be watching at this noon slate, but I think Texas Tech just after last week, everybody talks about these hangover spots. I think this is a good rebound spot for Texas Tech, to where I think they get the win in Lubbock on Saturday. So I'm gonna take the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense. I think Texas Tech is still a really good football team, and they just got caught with their pants down in the first half of that Cincinnati game last week. Cincinnati jumped them straight out, straight out the gate. And Texas Tech just wasn't able to claw back into it to the point they need to. And so they're gonna be frustrated very clearly. but this Arizona team, they're catching Texas Tech's catching them at a bad time because Arizona's hot right now. I don't know if you saw what they did last week. But Iowa State did not have a good time on the football field last week. Arizona. Sam: Ha ha. Honey It's Saturday: Arizona won that game 39 to 3. Completely uncompetitive football game. This Arizona team is throwing the ball at an incredibly high rate. Fafita is a very good quarterback, putting up really good numbers. Their offense looks really good. He's got 2,000 yards, 18 touchdowns on the year. Fafita does. And I just don't know if I've seen enough consistency out of the Texas Tech offense. I don't. I think Tex got a good defense. I don't think Tex got the same level defense they did last year. And I think they're gonna have to score points if they want to win this game. I don't see them doing it. I think this this Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: will probably be a really close game. But I actually think in my mind, I don't have a model in my head, but in my mind, the wrong team's favorite in this game, just based off what we've seen as of late and the trajectory of both of these teams. I think Arizona gets the win here in Lubbock. And it's helpful that it's an it might be at Lubbock. But it is a noon game. So Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: it's early in the day. I think Arizona's going to be able to get it done. Sam: Yeah, that's fair. I think this is a good this will be a really good telling point for Arizona, just for where they're at in the season. 'Cause up to this point, their one loss is BYU and they've kind of played some of the lower half of the Big Twelve teams. so I mean, if they go out and win this game, I think they're they're right up there in the Big Twelve. So Honey It's Saturday: Well, and all of a sudden, if they win this game, all of a sudden you look at both of our playoff brackets and you're trying to decide should we have thrown Arizona in there somewhere? So Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: that'll be a very interesting one to see what happens. But our next game on the slate, also a noon game, we've got Wisconsin at Iowa. Both these teams five and two in the Big Ten. so super interesting matchup. Sam, I'll let you take this one first too. Sam: Yeah, this is a this is gonna be your typical Big Ten low scoring matchup. Both teams that love running the football, that have really good defenses. I mean, I'm still in awe of the fact that Wisconsin held USC to seven points. Like I get USC's had their things, but like that's a Lincoln Riley offense. Like hit a lot throughout his career it's been defensively. He's never been able to make the right higher, but like hit his his defense did a Pretty good job last week. I know Wisconsin ran the ball pretty well and didn't throw the ball a ton, but like w Wisconsin's a very much improved football team. and so is I was coming off a really bad loss to Minnesota. This game's at Iowa. man, th there's something that just within college football this year of just that letdown spot. I know I kind of alluded to that in the previous game. I mean, this is your just set up for where Wisconsin comes off a huge win in Madison after beating USC. I was coming off A really bad loss, not a bad loss, but just a l a game that they really should have had to be able to stay in contention for the Big Ten against Minnesota. I was favored right now by three and a half. Everything in me is telling me to to pick Iowa just for the scenario, but I think I gotta stick with Wisconsin. They had a really great game plan against USC. I think they're gonna run the football really well. I think they have the quarterback matchup or quarterback advantage in this one as well. I was kind of rotated some quarterbacks, but Colton Joseph is He's very mobile and I think he fits what Fickle does on offense for how they're just winning games up to this point. So I think Wisconsin gets it done. I think they go into Iowa and get a win. So Luke Fickle's just gonna contact kind of continue to prove the doubters wrong. And I mean, he's he's very much I think off the hoff s off the hot seat now at this point in the year. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I think you talk about the quarterback situation. I think quarterback play in the Big Ten, by the way, this year, just in general, has been down. I don't think there's really any doubt about that. You look across the landscape in the Big Ten, especially with Dante Moore being out, Nico and Maliava going out early in the year. there aren't very many teams you look at and you say that's an elite quarterback. I don't honestly know if there's one team you look at right now and you say that's an elite quarterback. So Wisconsin and Iowa aren't necessarily unique in that aspect. I think this is the type of the game that probably ends like ten seven. Or 1310. in Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: my mind, I think these are two good defenses and two offenses that they can run the ball pretty well. you're right about Colton Joseph. He's a very capable quarterback. But I just I think this is a low scoring game. I think because it's at Iowa and that's their forte. They love those type of games. Even though they did drop one to Minnesota last week, I think they bounce back this week. So I think Iowa gets it done. Now, Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: one thing I'll say about Iowa too, their running back room is really banged up right now. They've got Moulton out for the season and LJ Phillips is kind of questionable as well. So that's one to keep an eye on because if Phillips is out, they're down to pretty much one back that has, you know, decent experience at this point in the year. So that's something to keep an eye out on as well. Because I think they're going to have to run the ball if they want to win this game. Sam: Yeah, no, I agree. And I think if you're a defensive junkie like I am, you're watching this football game. Two two not great offenses, Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Absolutely. Sam: but two defenses that play at a really high level. don't know if you can necessarily say the same for one of these teams upcoming. the other one's a little bit better. we got Florida, Georgia, the world's largest cocktail party in Atlanta, Georgia, which just yeah, I just that this Honey It's Saturday: Why is it in Atlanta? That's horrible. That's horrible. Sam: Th these two teams never playing at each other's home fields is just criminal to me. I never understand it. I get they love playing in Jacksonville. It's the meeting spot. It's a really cool environment. But if they did like home at Georgia, home at Florida, then Jacksonville and just kind of do that on a three year cycle, I think that would be a lot of fun. But it's hard not to have this game in one of these home fields. interesting matchup here. I honestly don't know who Florida's gonna start a quarterback. I think Tremel Jones looked really good against Texas. He creates a little bit of a different aspect compared to Aaron Philo. I think he's a little bit of a little bit of a better passer than Philo and just kind of can be a little bit more creative with the offense, I think, with him. but Georgia, they're coming off a big loss against Auburn. They've had a bye week to really sit and like sit and really think about that Auburn loss and be able to regroup. I think the spread's a little high here. I think this will be a competitive game. This game has been competitive for the last couple of years, even with Billy Napier there. And I think it'll still be the same this year, but I think Georgia gets gets the job done. again, I think 11 and a half is high, but I think they probably went by a touchdown. So we'll be it again, it'll I'll be very interested to see what this quarterback situation looks like at Florida. but defensively, man, they are just not all that good. And I think Georgia's gonna be able to expose a little bit of that. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. I I'm with you here. This one pretty much comes down to the defense and which defense I trust more. Now, Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: we all know Georgia's not coming off their best performance against Auburn, and that's the last thing in our mind. But they've had a bye week to prepare. And Kirby Smart, I know, has been on those boys for a week and a half straight. They're gonna be prepared for this game. It's in Atlanta, which again, I think is absolutely ridiculous, but it's in Georgia. So as far as the travel factor, I know it's not super far from Gainesville either, but I think it matters. And I just I trust them more. So I'm picking the Bulldogs. I if I was Florida, I would start Jones in this game. I I would start him not because I don't believe in Philo, but because the type of momentum you get when a guy like that comes in and takes down Texas, who's a a very good team. They have stumbled a couple of times, but they're a very good team and that defense is legit on the road. I think you gotta you gotta roll with them. I think you gotta keep him out there. So if I was if I was down there in the locker room, that's who I'd be rolling out, but I'm not John S John Summerall, so he's gotta make that decision at the end of the day. Sam: Yeah. I I would agree with you too. I think it would be hard to bench Philo just 'cause I think he's a redshirt senior. he's played a lot of a lot of college football, but the way he played against Texas, I think you just kinda you lean forward more toward the future and getting him valuable reps. So I'm in agreement with you. But that's a tough I mean, we said Texas was the first tough road for a start. So this will be a tough matchup for him too. But I I think he'll I think he'll take the reins from here. Honey It's Saturday: I think so too. All right, moving on. We're trying to go a little bit quickly through these 'cause I know we've taken a lot of you guys' time, but you better stick around 'cause there's more good matchups. Indiana. This is college game day. Indiana getting their second college game to the year. They're hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers this week. Sam, Indiana's favorite by twenty and a half. What you got? Sam: This is college game day. Honey It's Saturday: College game day. Sam: That's whole okay. I was honestly thinking that on Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: my drive home after Cameron and I were on vacation, I was like, I wonder where they announced college game day. I was expecting maybe Georgia, Florida, maybe something different. But yeah, I think Minnesota's coming off a big win against Iowa. They had a really bad game against Purdue a couple weeks ago. I think the spread at twenty and a half is a little bit high just for how Minnesota's I'm sorry, how Indiana's been looking on offense. Indiana's the better football team. They have the better roster. They're they're going to win this game. but min you got to be careful. Minnesota's played some teams that a lot better than I think a lot of people think they have. And for for what they have in Minnesota from a resource standpoint, and PJ Fleck, Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: who's been a coach there for I think coming up on 10 years, which is wild. they they're gonna come ready to play, I think, for this for this game, but I think Indiana's just gonna be more prepared. And they're they just have too much. So I think Indiana's gonna get the win. Honey It's Saturday: I agree with you. I think Fleck has done a pretty good job this year, especially with that huge loss. Obviously, Mississippi was a good game or a really good team at the beginning of the year with Camario, but that huge loss to start the season out of conference could have been really demoralizing. They've got some big wins on their resume this year. They beat Michigan. They beat Iowa now. Those are two good wins for that program. And I don't think this is going to be an easy one for Indiana. But I agree with you. I think Indiana's going to get it done. they had to really fight at Michigan last week. And they were able to get it done in overtime. I I just don't like the run situation on paper for this game on either side of the football. Minnesota's run defense has not been great, and Indiana can run the ball very effectively on the flip side. Indiana's run defense is incredible. Watching them week to week, that's the one thing about Indiana that I will say. They haven't looked like a complete team every week, but that run defense is something special. Like Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: their defense is really, really good. And Minnesota can't run the ball very effectively on anyone right now. So I don't think that shapes up well for them. I think that's probably why the spread is what it is. Because I just think on paper this matchup doesn't look so good. I still agree with you. I think it's a little bit high, but I ain't gonna take Indiana. Sam: Yeah. Yeah, that's I still can't believe that's college game day. Honey It's Saturday: I know. Yeah, it's a little bit of an interesting, interesting pick. and I don't know if you saw the Pat McAfee stuff last week with Utah. Did you see all that? Sam: I saw some of it. I honestly didn't do like I haven't done a ton of research, but it just didn't seem like he was very happy with Honey It's Saturday: Utah man, they yeah, Utah must have got under its skin a little bit. I guess some students like on the official Utah account were saying some things about Pat. He took it personal. I I'm not gonna get up in their business, Fellow sports talk personality, Pat McAfee. We're we're colleagues in this industry. So, I don't I don't like it when people come for me either, Sam. I I don't like it. So I'm not gonna defend either Utah or Pat. I'm just gonna acknowledge the fact. that there was drama last week at College Game Day. So having said all of that, Northwestern, who is ranked number twenty in the Honey It Saturday poll, is going to Oregon. Unranked Oregon, four and three Oregon, who just lost twenty-one to ten to Illinois this week. Oregon is favored by three and a half. Sam: Yeah, this is, I think for me, probably the toughest matchup to pick. Northwestern's played really good football this year. Offensively, they've been a little bit inconsistent with Chip Kelly. I think he's done really good. I think this game's really gonna come down to who has more explosive plays. Oregon fired their offensive coordinator this week. I think they've they brought in or they have somebody on staff who was a former OC, who's an analyst. He was somewhere somewhere two years ago and I think he got fired midseason. So I I I don't I don't think he's somebody that's gonna be a world beater for Oregon. Northwestern, this game is at Eugene though, which is a tough, tough environment to be in. We'll see what that environment looks like on Saturday after just kind of losing to Illinois. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, do you think it'll be dejected? Dead Valley at Clemson, do you think it'll be dead over there in the Pacific Northwest? Sam: I think it will be a little bit, but I also think this is a Oregon fan base that still has trust in Dan Lanning. this is a one year type deal. Clemson's just kinda had some build up over the last couple of years that I think have caused some of that fan base turnover. man, I'm still sitting here not sure which way I'm gonna go in this game. Honey It's Saturday: Well, I'll I'll go ahead and take it from you and then you can circle back. So, Sam: Okay. Honey It's Saturday: first of all, I just think this is a very interesting matchup because Northwestern is coming to take their territory, which they've never had. I've never, I know they're from Chicago. There's some regional stuff going on there, but it's Northwestern. Look, they're going to the Northwest. So if you're gonna stake your claim on the Northwestern name, you better win this game. I think it's gonna be very close. I don't like the situation for Oregon because this is where you find out what type of program you've got. Are these guys truly bought into the program? Or are they there for other reasons and other motivational factors? If they're there for other reasons and other factors, then this is the type of team that will just fall apart and lay down for the rest of the season because they realize they don't really got anything to play for anymore. Offensive coordinators gone, Whatever. I'm just gonna do what I need to do to land my next spot, whether it's in college or in the pros, stay healthy. I think this is where it gets dangerous for Oregon. Northwestern, that's a good football team, man. Their defense is pretty solid, especially in the past game. I think Oregon, for some reason, I just have a hunch Oregon's gonna pull this one out at home. I just think they need it real bad for morale. I think the inlet's gonna have them fired up this week. I don't think he's the type of guy to allow his program to just lay down and die. Sometimes you don't have control as a head coach. If he's if they lost control to the locker room, they got off the field issues going on with their wide receiver room as well. Evan Stewart, Hampton, they they had three or four wide receivers missed last game against Illinois. Who knows what their status is going to be? I'm assuming a couple of them probably missed this game too. So that's an interesting factor, but I I do think Oregon gets this one done. So I am going to pick the ducks. Sam: Yeah, everything you just broke down of your your lean which way or the other is kind of what I'm dealing with right now. I mean it's a really tricky spot. I think Dan Lanning doesn't have a team that's gonna let down, but I think I think there's just something about this Northwestern team. I think it's gonna be very similar to the UCLA game where it's gonna be a lot of run in the football. they're gonna have to rely on their defense and I I think Northwestern gets the job done. I think honestly. Chip Kelly's going to come in with a little bit of innovation. Not that he left Oregon on bad terms, but Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, speaking of Oregon. Sam: yeah, he's that that's the house that I think he built a little bit and a lot of their success from our childhood to where they were electric offensively. Honey It's Saturday: Absolutely. Sam: I think he wants to remind them kind of who he is and appreciate what he all he brought to that program. so I I think Northwestern does just enough to get the job done. So I'm gonna go to the Wildcats on this one. Honey It's Saturday: I can see it. I can absolutely see that. All right. Utah. Speaking of college game day in Utah, we've got 7 and 0 Utah going to Cincinnati. Who, if I need to remind the people, handled Texas Tech last week. And so I think this is a little bit interesting in our Honey It Saturday poll. We've got Cincinnati ranked twenty-fourth. I don't think they're ranked in the AP poll, but that doesn't matter because our poll's the one that matters. So this is a ranked matchup for us. Six against twenty-four at Cincinnati. Take it away, Sam. Sam: Yeah, this is gonna be a just electric environment, I think, in Cincinnati, especially coming off that one against Texas Tech. I think there was a lot of feelings toward that one with Texas Tech taking Brendan Soresby, and obviously that didn't work out, but still just the aspect of how that all played out. both these teams are coming off highs of big time wins that are just huge for their season. Utah obviously beat Utah or Utah beat Houston last week. Cincinnati beat Tech. this is gonna be a really, really good matchup. I think two offenses that are gonna go a little bit back and forth. but ultimately I think I think Utah has the better defense here. so I think they go on the road and get a win against Cincinnati. I think it's gonna be a really competitive football game. I would probably take Cincinnati with the spread, but have Utah win outright, but or Utah win. So I I think this is gonna be a really fun game to watch, but Utah's gonna get the job done. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I think this is going to be a great one to watch as well. Cincinnati, man, their run game is no joke. They're averaging over 230 yards on the ground per game. That's pretty ridiculous. Now, Utah, their strength defensively is against the run. So that's going to be very interesting to watch. I think this is a little bit similar to BYU's situation last week going to UCF. Huge win for BYU. Hangover opportunity on the road. I think the difference here is that Cincinnati. got that huge win against Texas Tech last week. And so now Utah's not sleepwalking into this game anymore. Because Utah is fully aware of what that team just did and what they're capable of. And for that reason, I think on paper, Utah's strengths match up really well actually with this Cincinnati team, who I think is a little bit under the radar, but they've got some problems specifically in the past game on defense. They're giving up 284 yards through the air every game, on average. Utah I think is going to be able to exploit that. Think they're gonna be able to run the ball effectively as well. I think Utah's gonna be able to get it done here. Sam: Yeah. Yeah. I think all those advantages I think you just touched on is again a little bit more in depth than what I went through, but I think that's a that's a pick that I think makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. So could be a tricky spot, Honey It's Saturday: A hundred percent. Sam: very similar to Arizona, Texas Tech, but I think this is a team that you and I both have Utah pretty high up in our big twelve. So Honey It's Saturday: Yep. Yep. I agree. Although I do have them stumbling at the end of the year. I guess this just isn't the one they stumble. Maybe it is. Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: We we got we got Miami, number one team in the country, in both of our national championships, playing against a four and three North Carolina team. What's your read on this game, Sam? I feel like the obvious lean is the hurricanes, but what's your read here? Sam: Yeah, I think the lean is the hurricanes. Honestly, I thought the spread would be a little bit bigger just for how Miami's spreads have been throughout this season. It seems like they've all been in that twenty point range. I Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: was honestly really excited for this game last week, but UNC ended up dropping a game to Syracuse, which was a honestly a really bad loss in the ACC. and just Honey It's Saturday: It was a look ahead spot. I guarantee you they were already thinking about this game. Sam: Yeah, I mean you're you're really not wrong. but I think UNT's gonna come to play. I think this is gonna be one of the better games of the weekend. but again, I think it comes down to Miami is just way too talented. They have too many guys. North Carolina, I think, just doesn't have enough defensively to stop them. and granted, Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: it may have been a look-ahead spot. North Carolina's looked better a lot of this season. but if nor if North Carolina doesn't start fast, it could get ugly pretty quick. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, I don't think this game's gonna be close. I think Miami covers that spread. I I just I've been Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: very impressed with Darien Minsa and Tony in that offense. Even on the ground, they're running for over two hundred yards a game. I don't really know what you do against that team at this point, and they're not even fully healthy. So I just don't Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: think North Carolina's in the best spot to compete with Miami this week, even if they are Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: at home. So I just I don't have it. I got Miami. Sam: Yeah, yeah, it's definitely a tough spot for them to be in. and this is also another tough spot. USC Southern Cal. Honey It's Saturday: Mm. Sam: For those I know a lot of people who watch this are in the South. USC Honey It's Saturday: Now you don't need to explain. I love my South Carolina friends, but you don't need to explain. USC is Southern Cow. Sam: I I had to check myself too. I had to remind Cameron, USC is Southern Cow, not skate, not the Game Cox. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: but they go on they go on to play Ohio State. Ohio State currently is sitting as a six and a half point favorite. I I'll let you start with this one. I think I think if if Honey It's Saturday: I would love to. Sam: if USC would have won last week, there could this could have been a more of a college game day kind of environment. But obviously maybe this was that was their look ahead spot. Honey It's Saturday: Look, USC sitting at six and two off a very unfortunate and sad loss for that program last week. The way it went down, there's really no excuse for that. Especially with the offense that they've put together this year. There's no excuse to go to Wisconsin and put up seven points. That's a good Wisconsin team, but that's just if you have the aspirations that you do as a program, you've got all that talent on the field. Lincoln Riley, is coaching for his life right now. That is just not the performance that you need. Nor the performance that you want. And because of that, I don't really care who Ohio State's starting at quarterback this week because Ohio State's coming off a bye. So they've had a couple weeks to prepare to get first team reps for the next guy up, whether it's Faye or whether it's St. Clair, I don't think it's going to matter because Jeremiah Smith is still on the field. So just throw the ball up. Like make plays. I think USC's past defense has been vulnerable this year. I think Ohio State's defense is incredible. And based off what I saw last week, it is possible to shut down this USC offense mostly by forcing turnovers. I think that we'll have to do that. Because the one thing I will say, don't get caught up on the seven points last week too much, because this USC offense is legit. They can score points. Myava is a very good quarterback. He can make some incredible plays. This is also the type of spot for Ohio State where they could get completely caught off guard on the road in California. And we look up in the fourth quarter and USC's got a lead. I wouldn't be super surprised that that did happen, but I just don't see it. So I've got Ohio State winning this one. Sam: Yeah, I think Ohio State coming off a bye. I think the way USC ended last week, Ohio State's gonna come ready to play. Whoever the quarterback is, honestly doesn't matter. The Ohio State has a much better defense. They're gonna be able to stop USC on offense. Ohio State's gonna find Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: ways to score. Hopefully they can kind of get a little more established on the run game, because I think that'll be critical for them if they make this playoff push. honestly, I think for me this is kind of Ohio State's gonna win, but I think Lincoln Riley's kind of one foot in, one foot out right now. There's been some whispers that. He's potentially looking at the Baylor job. I don't know if your Baylor folks are Honey It's Saturday: I've heard. I've heard that. Sam: happy about that or sad about that, but I think it's the beginning for the end at him at USC. I think I think they're gonna be making a head coaching change at the end of the year. and I think this will be this'll be a domination game, I think, for Ohio State. Honey It's Saturday: The craziest the craziest thing about that is as bad as last week looked, if USC just locks in and handles business, Lincoln still got a job and they make the playoff. the reality Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: is if they win out for the rest of the year, which is not an easy task, but it's possible. if you get through this game and you win out the rest of the year, we don't have to even have all these conversations. But I Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: think you're right. I personally wonder if Lincoln was already having some thoughts and conversations and phone calls before the Wisconsin game last week, based off Performance we saw on the field. So I just don't think it's a good spot for USC. I think you're right. He has one foot out the door, and Ohio State's gonna get it done. Now, before we move on to our honorable mentions, because we do need to touch on those, you brought up the Baylor job. Case you guys aren't aware, Baylor fired Dave Dave Aranda after the loss to Kansas. There have been a lot of rumors swollen around. You ask me what my Baylor friends are thinking. Man, they I'm not saying that they would be. absolutely opposed to a guy like Lincoln Riley. I think it'd be hard to be extremely opposed to a guy with that type of resume. However, they really want to keep it in-house if they can, in state. And I know Lincoln's got a history in Texas, but a guy to keep an eye on Jeff Trailer at UTSA. Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: His name was thrown around a lot for the AM job a couple of years ago when Elko ended up taking that one and he stuck it out at UTSA. He's continued to build a really good program. They're in playoff contention this year. I actually had them in my original playoff in my bracket preseason. And I really debated keeping them in that twelfth spot because they haven't done anything to, you know, show me that they're not going to be in the twelfth spot in my updated bracket, but I just felt like Oregon State might even have some Heisman consideration by the end of the year. So publicity wise, they'll probably be in a better situation. But Jeff Trailer's a a guy to keep an eye on and there's a couple other names as well. Sam: Yeah, that's the same with NC State. that job opened up this past weekend too. Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: Philip Rivers' name is getting thrown out. Somebody who hasn't been a college coach before, but loves that program was Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, RG3's name was thrown out this last week. Which I don't think Baylor Sam: Yeah, I don't I don't know how Honey It's Saturday: would ever Baylor would never make that higher, but I think he threw his own name out. Sam: Yeah. And those are all really good jobs that I think a lot of coaches will be interested in. so we'll have to see. I honestly am just curious to see who the next team is that that tumbles down looking for a coach. obviously Honey It's Saturday: Agreed. Sam: it wasn't as crazy as last year's offs or middle of the season with all the coaches, Brian Kelly, James Franklin, but we're kind of getting to that point in the season where I think that's gonna pick up. So the the coaching carousel I think is gonna get Honey It's Saturday: Agreed. Sam: hot here pretty soon. so our honorable mentions circling back to the games, the Ohio State USC game was the last game of our eight game slate. but some of the games that we're gonna be keeping an eye on on Saturday. Virginia plays Wake Forest. We've already touched on that with my pick seven. how sad is this? Florida State versus Clemson. That game not even being talked about. I mean, those used to be two of the premier teams in the ACC, and now they're both sitting here. Clemson's at four and three. I think FSU's at four and three too, maybe three and four. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, that's a game. That's a game we used to circle every single year before the season started. that was gonna be cinema. It was gonna have postseason implications, ACC race implications. But this year it's got hot seat implications, if anything. So you talked about Sam: Yeah, no. Honey It's Saturday: the next you talk about the next seat to open up. I think if FSU loses that game, there might be a seat opening really soon. And if Clemson loses, I don't think they won't ever get rid of Dabble in the middle of a season. I don't even know what that would look like. culturally for a program to get rid of him at all, but that would certainly heat his seat up even more. Sam: Yeah, there would be some really serious conversations if they lost to Florida State. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: next game, South Carolina plays Oklahoma in Norman. South Carolina's coming off a big one against Tennessee. Oklahoma is in a little bit of a tricky spot here to where both these teams have three losses. But if there's gonna be a nine and three SEC teams that make it, there's still there's still technically a chance, but Honey It's Saturday: Both both teams are coming off great wins actually. Mateir looked much better last week. Sam: He did. They both these teams have looked better as the seasons have gone on. and Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Sam: just again, these teams are most likely out of the playoff contention, but it's just a matter of, hey, how much do they keep playing for their team and for their coaches? What's what's the culture that these guys have built? Honey It's Saturday: If they win out, both of them could play themselves into the nine and three SEC discussion, technically. Sam: Yeah. That's true. There's a way. A slim way, but there's a way. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Yeah. Sam: and then the last game we're gonna be keeping an eye on is Auburn versus Ole Miss. Auburn's coming off a beat down against LSU and then Old Miss is coming off a really heartbreaking loss to Texas. again, they're one of those two lost teams that we didn't talk about in our in our bracket, but I know is one that we were definitely considering including in there. Honey It's Saturday: Mm-hmm. Sam: So that one's still very much A game we'll be watching, but I think a good chance for Ole Miss to potentially bounce back after this past week. Honey It's Saturday: For sure. Sam: and before we kind of get into our honey, it's in the budget lock of the week, I wanted to go through our wives' picks and I I'll have that up on the screen here. but Cameron picked Texas Tech, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Northwestern, Utah, Miami, and Ohio State. So her and I our only differing pick is Wisconsin versus Iowa. So It all comes down to Wisconsin versus Iowa for me if I wear the hat or not. So let's go Badgers. Honey It's Saturday: That's a sketchy situation. Sketchy situation to be in. All right. Keaton picked Texas Tech. Who I did not pick. So that's one that we differ on. Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Oregon, Utah, Miami, and Ohio State. So for us, our only different pick is Texas Tech. Sam: There's a chance for both of us. Honey It's Saturday: That's that's fantastic. 'Cause I think Arizona I don't feel super confident about that. So that that's very interesting. Hopefully I'm not sitting here wearing a hat next week. Sam: Could that be the first episode where you and I both wear the hat? Honey It's Saturday: wouldn't that be something? All right. Well, I know you guys are excited for our lock of week. I I hope you guys like this segment. It's look, it's difficult to pick a lock of the week in a college football season that's extremely chaotic. We've referenced 2007 so many times. It's an unpredictable college football season. But here we are. Just to recap our lock of the week so far. I know Sam doesn't like doing this, but to let you guys know, we've been doing it for five weeks. I'm three and two on my locks. Sam is one and four, but Sam hasn't been wrong. The players and coaches and officials just screwed it up for him. So I just want to clarify that. He's never been Sam: Thank you. Honey It's Saturday: wrong. Both of us are really five and no, but three and two and one and four. Sam, what's your lock of the week? Sam: I think when we go into new segments and we talk about things being difficult, I think we need to look at who's had it more difficult. Because you're like, it's been more difficult difficult season. You're three and two, man. You're above five hundred. I am like Honey It's Saturday: Yeah, but it's a lock. I should be five and if it's a lock. Sam: It's fair. But I'm one and four. I'm on the hot seat of respect is just slowly going down. or maybe it's already gone. Who knows? the lock of the week I'm going for this week is the deeper than hate rivalry. for those of you Honey It's Saturday: Mm. Sam: who know Georgia Southern versus App State, they're both in the Sunbelt. but these teams were big SOCON rivals back in the day. These were always big matchups that were implications for the FCS playoffs. These are two teams that truly hate each other. And if you ever get a chance to experience this rivalry or even go to a game. it's just a blast. But currently right now, Georgia Southern is a five and a half point favorite. my lock of the week is App State's gonna cover the five and a half. Honey It's Saturday: I like that. I like that a lot. Way to bring App State into the conversation. We love rivalries and we need to make sure we're giving the attention to the ones that deserve it, especially a lot of people aren't talking about that. So I think it's good that you brought the publicity. That's your lock of the week. My lock of the week is going to be Miami against the spread. I think if you take Miami Sam: Mm. Honey It's Saturday: minus fourteen and a half this week, I think you're good. I think they cover against North Carolina on the road. the the one that I was really, really debating before we got on here was Indiana because I felt like twenty and a half was a lot of points against that Minnesota team. But the more I look at the the numbers on that game, even though I feel like Minnesota is a very capable team and they've played really well in a lot of big games this year, the games Minnesota loses, they don't lose close. They win good games, they win close, they don't lose close. And Sam: Yeah. Honey It's Saturday: I don't think that they're their numbers match up on paper very well against Indiana this week. So I'm gonna stay away from that one. And I'm gonna go Miami minus fourteen and a half. Sam: Yeah, that's a good pick. I think that's that's one that you and I both agreed upon in our pick'em, so Honey It's Saturday: Now, I will say if you would like to look at the Indian, because I still think 20 and half is a lot of points, I will just throw this out there. Indiana is one and seven against the spread this year on the season. They've only covered the spread one time. So it's not like they've been covering left and right, but I just feel better about this Miami one. Sam: Yeah, no, that's fair. and if you would also like to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you'll have all of our links down here below in this little graphic. Please be sure to give us a follow. We love our mailbag questions that we get a chance to do. We're really close to a hundred followers on Instagram, which is awesome. We've this is again our our first season starting this. Honey It's Saturday: Yeah. Instagram and TikTok we're right there. We're right close to a hundred. Sam: Yeah, we're right there. So I I think we're thinking about doing a little giveaway. Once we hit that 100 mark, Mitch and I are still discussing that, but definitely want to try to hit that mark here soon. So please if you're not following, go ahead and give it a follow. Be sure you're liking the the clips, whether it's on TikTok or reels or even just liking the YouTube video or on podcast. we love engaging with you guys. We love kind of growing our audience together and we're we're having a blast doing this. Honey It's Saturday: Absolutely. This is the best. I can't wait for week nine. Can't wait. Week ten, by the way, not to look ahead. It's a look ahead spot. Don't sleep on this week's slate, but it is a little bit of a look ahead. Week ten is going to be the numbers, the TV ratings, it's gonna be astronomical. That slate of games, week ten, is incre it might it might rival what we had in week seven. Sam: Y you you know what I'm gonna be doing on week ten? Honey It's Saturday: What are you gonna be doing? Sam: I'm gonna be sitting on my couch watching football all day from about nine to midnight. Cameron has a wedding. Honey, it's Honey It's Saturday: thank good. I I was about to rot Sam: truly honey, it's Saturday. I don't even have to tell her honey, it's Saturday, 'cause she's telling me honey, it's Saturday, 'cause she has a wedding. So I'm I'm fully prepared to be to be on that couch watching all day college football. Honey It's Saturday: We love it. That's ideal. I'm gonna come over. All right, guys. Sam: Mm-hmm. Honey It's Saturday: Thank you for thank you for listening. We appreciate you guys a ton. Share, share the word, spread the content, send the link to your buddy. And we'll see you next time. God bless. Sam: See y'all.