Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / David Eickholt joins Trent, College Football Playoff Future talk, Big 12/Big Ten lookahead, Hawkeye Deep Dive & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

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David Eickholt joins Trent, College Football Playoff Future talk, Big 12/Big Ten lookahead, Hawkeye Deep Dive & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:03
Back with the hour #2 Miller and kind of continues on the Iowa
0:06
Sports Radio Network. Do a leap of playing that means
0:09
David Eicholt's here. Another hour to go.
0:11
How you holding up over there Eicholt?
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I'm all good, man. Yeah, staying locked in.
0:16
Sweated out all that Bush light from the weekend.
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You know, I was, I was more on the little vodka soda train.
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Yeah, it's a little. Lime.
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Of course. Yeah, I'm not.
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I'm not. I'm not a savage.
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Come on. There you go.
0:28
There you go. Well, I'm I'm, I'm enough.
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Classy. We'll go with that.
0:33
All right, all right. So got a lot of different
0:36
directions want to go want to kind of deep dive some Iowa
0:39
Hawkeye stuff with you get to that a little bit later on this
0:42
hour. But I want to start with just
0:45
college football and maybe we'll take a peek forward to the the
0:49
season coming up. But more big picture stuff with
0:52
you. And as we continue to hear now
0:55
the back and forth with the SEC in the Big 10 and we know that
0:58
they are the power brokers for the expanded College Football
1:01
Playoff, whatever the College Football Playoff is going to be
1:03
in it. Speaking of the expanded part of
1:04
it, we just went through year number one of the 12 team
1:08
playoff. And in terms of bracketing, it
1:11
was a disaster. It was horrible because they
1:13
gave the four bids, the four buys to conference champions.
1:18
That's going away this year. And I believe personally that
1:21
the structure of A12 team bracket makes a whole lot of
1:24
sense in today's environment of college football with no more
1:27
PAC 12, that this makes a whole lot of sense.
1:30
Not the buys, but automatic bids.
1:32
Because yes, you get your Group of Five champion in there and
1:35
they're very well could be a year where an 8 and four pit
1:39
team sneaks into the ACC Championship, pulls off an upset
1:43
and they're in the bracket, but they're not going to get a top
1:45
four. That's OK, I have no problem.
1:47
With that, that's why it should be.
1:49
But if we still want conference championship games to matter,
1:54
and us as fans don't matter, it's the conferences and with
1:56
it, the TV networks. Those are the ones that have it.
1:59
I believe a 12 team structure, if we do want to keep conference
2:03
championships to be something of importance, still needs to be
2:07
there. Because with the 16 team
2:09
bracket, it doesn't. There's no buy that goes along
2:11
with it. There's nothing to be added.
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You got #1 Texas against #3 Georgia.
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Both teams are in and the difference in bracketing, I
2:21
don't think it's going to be that big.
2:22
If there was a BI attached though to the winner of that
2:25
game, I think it'd hold a whole lot more importance.
2:27
I think it does too. But here's where I have a
2:29
problem with if we continue to expand the the in the playoffs
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is 16, right? Let's say hypothetically Texas
2:36
is number one in the country. They are 10 and O, you know,
2:39
let's go 9 and O, right? The first one's unveiled.
2:44
How many games straight would they need to lose to drop out of
2:47
the playoff? 3 three, yeah.
2:51
Well, if they rest guys for two weeks and then come out against
2:54
the cupcake at the very end of the year just enough to get in.
2:57
Like it has to get to a point where you can't be resting
3:02
normal players. You you just can't be resting
3:04
guys knowing you're going to make the playoff for the final
3:07
two weeks of the season. Otherwise I get to a point of
3:09
saying, what are we doing? Right, it's.
3:12
It's gross to me. And the other side of it too is
3:13
when we get to a sixteen playoff.
3:16
There, I get it. There's already a huge power
3:18
discrepancy between the SEC, the Big 10, everybody else.
3:21
Some people probably still don't admit it.
3:23
Those are the 2 cash cows those two conferences run college
3:27
football with all due respect. And they have to.
3:29
Say to everyone else, and that's the way it's going to be.
3:31
Get to a 16 team playoff, they're getting 4IN at least, if
3:36
not 5 in at least and then you'll have what, 2 from the
3:39
ACC, maybe 2 from the big maybe. Well, maybe. 2 So there's the
3:44
two structures that are out there.
3:45
If we do get to the 16 team playoff and it feels like all
3:48
indications are yes, we will get there.
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Even if we complain about it, 16 is going to be the number they
3:53
do have to have this all wrapped up by December 1st and they'll
3:55
get there what it's going to be. And if they don't come to an
3:58
agreement at the Big 10 of the SEC, don't we will just continue
4:01
with the 12 team playoffs. We also have to have the SEC in
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the Big 10 go about the same requirements as far as non
4:06
conference scheduling and how many conference games are going
4:08
to be. And that's a big sticking point.
4:11
As we found out three weeks ago, the SEC coaches did not want to
4:17
go to the route with the automatic qualifiers, 4 in the
4:19
SEC, four in the Big 10 to ACC to Big 12.
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They didn't want to do that because they believe that their
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schedule is more difficult. Here's the other component
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though, and bringing it back to the local angle.
4:31
The 2 automatic bids for the Big 12, great thing for Iowa State.
4:35
The 2 automatic, the four automatic bids for the Big 10 is
4:38
a great thing for Iowa because the likelihood that I was going
4:42
to be even in the top three or four of this new iteration of
4:45
the Big 10 on any kind of consistent level, it's unlikely.
4:50
It just is that the likelihood that Iowa can even out of a 10
4:53
year period be in there three times, I think it's a huge
4:56
stretch. That's how difficult this is
4:59
going to be. You couple it now with what the
5:01
structure the Big 10 wants where you have your conference
5:04
championship game one verse 2, the three team against the six
5:08
and the four versus the five. I was going to be involved in
5:11
that a whole lot more often. Now how often are they going to
5:13
be able to pull off an upset if they are the sixth seed?
5:16
Probably not a ton, but at least to have that access to have
5:19
something to shoot for. As we learned with the Big 10,
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WA realistic goal before the season to give you access and
5:25
not just for Iowa, but for Minnesota and for Nebraska and
5:29
for so many programs in the Big 10.
5:31
Because the structure, if you don't have those automatic bids,
5:35
it's going to be very, very difficult for probably more than
5:38
half of your league to have any kind of realistic path to the
5:42
College Football Playoff outside of having a historic 11 in one
5:45
type of. Season.
5:46
Either that, or you're playing against scrubs and the schedules
5:48
lines up the way. You know the way the cookie
5:51
crumbles, right? I mean, Indiana last year.
5:53
Yeah, but but again, I know everybody likes to debate that,
5:56
but Indiana did what they need to do.
5:58
They should. They were killing everybody by
6:00
40. I I get.
6:02
It a Nebraska team that struggle with Ohio State.
6:05
Struggle and the other side of it too is Indiana's over and
6:07
over, under 3 1/2 wins pre season.
6:08
Where are you going to kick him out 'cause they went 11 and 1?
6:11
You can't do that. So we have this structure and
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the way that it goes. So what do you want to see?
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What do you believe is the best path for for all of us as
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college football fans, Hawkeye fans, Cyclone fans, everybody
6:24
else that's out there? What is the best path that you
6:27
believe in this new iteration of the playoffs?
6:29
OK, so I'm, I'll say what everybody else wants or what
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Iowa State and Iowa should want and then I'll say what I want,
6:35
'cause they're very, very different, OK?
6:37
What Iowa fans should want is exactly what you said. 16 teams,
6:41
4 automatic qualifiers in the Big 10, and then three verse 6,
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four verse 5. Winner of those two games, Get
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the other two spots. That's what Iowa fans should
6:50
want to happen because if you're telling me a year where Iowa is
6:53
fifth in the big 10, which I think is somewhat realistic, 6
6:58
is realistic, OK, they can go in there.
7:00
And I've we've watched Iowa beat, you know, Penn State,
7:03
we've watched Iowa beat in Ohio State.
7:05
We've watched Iowa beat Michigan more than a couple of times,
7:09
right? So like they're able to pull off
7:11
these upsets. Now the bigger question is do
7:14
they have the lower seed teams go to the higher seed?
7:17
Yes. And I think that's.
7:18
The way it is, OK, so again, that, that makes a little bit of
7:21
a difference there as well. But Iowa State should want these
7:23
two automatic qualifiers for the Big 12.
7:25
Cause with the way Matt Campbell has sort of elevated that
7:27
program, it at least gives them a chance.
7:31
And that's all you can really ask for, right?
7:33
Especially if you're in the Big 12.
7:34
I, I'm sorry, it's gonna tick off some people.
7:37
Everything runs through the SEC in the Big 10 at this point.
7:41
So this 116 teams, playoffs, that's what we should, you know,
7:44
that's what this state should want.
7:46
But David Eichelt wants 8 teams, 8 teams, 8 teams, top 2 seeds,
7:52
get on that top like 2 seeds get buys.
7:54
You figure it out. I, I need to go through the
7:56
structure, but because I sit here and I struggle, man, I'm
7:59
like there's not 16 teams worthy of trying to get to win national
8:02
title. And that's where my big problem
8:04
is. I would even go so far as say if
8:06
you did six teams and then you give the top two.
8:10
I'm sorry, the first top 2 seeds by was. 16.
8:13
Playoff yes, that's what I'd like to see a six or A8 because
8:17
again, look at the drop off between one versus 4 in the
8:21
playoff. Now here's my hot take about the
8:25
14 playoff. If Iowa had beat Michigan State
8:29
in the Big 10 title, I believe they would have pushed them up
8:33
to a three. I don't think they I think they
8:36
completely avoid was it was Alabama, wasn't that one year?
8:40
I think it was Alabama in 15. They avoid Alabama, they play
8:43
Clemson. Now I'm not saying Iowa beats
8:45
them, but they match up certainly better than they would
8:47
have against Alabama. And I think it would have been
8:49
decent game. But obviously we saw what
8:52
happened with Christian McCaffrey.
8:54
That was it. Good.
8:54
Yeah, I mean, you got to acknowledge it, but yeah, no, I
8:58
mean, I'd love to see an 18 playoff.
8:59
It just I I struggle to say, hey, 16 teams are worthy of
9:03
getting a shot at the national title.
9:06
But the other side of it too, is maybe I'm old man yelling at
9:08
clouds here. It's it's, it's just mind
9:13
boggling to me when you look at the teams that feel so entitled
9:17
that the fact that they should be there year after year and we
9:19
always go off pre season product, like just pre season
9:23
expectations about how we rank teams.
9:25
Oh, if they lose 2 games, you know what though?
9:27
Look at the talent, look at the way they're recruiting.
9:30
We're not going to drop them off the face of the rankings.
9:33
And that's where I tie it back to my other argument.
9:35
If Texas is 9 and O, they lose 2 games, but everybody's still
9:39
healthy and they've seen the talent.
9:41
They're not dropping them out, they're still going to make the
9:44
playoff and that's where I have a little bit of a problem with
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it. So to tie a bow on your 2015,
9:51
Michigan State was actually third in those final rankings.
9:54
Alabama was 2. Clemson was the overall number
9:57
one seed. They got Oklahoma.
9:59
Here's the thing though, I think you could have been right if I
10:02
would have survived that absolute slugfest against
10:05
Michigan State. Oklahoma finishes up.
10:09
They beat 3 ranked teams to end the season. 6 Frank Baylor.
10:11
Died. I had that flip flop to where
10:13
Iowa State, OK, I'm sorry, so Iowa would have stayed at 4:00.
10:16
And they would have been different, even though Oklahoma
10:18
had a loss, we knew the national narrative that was out there in
10:21
2015. And I I think you are right that
10:24
thank you for. Thank you for cross checking
10:26
that because I I didn't sound exactly right when I talked
10:28
about it, but I knew they were not going to face off against.
10:31
And the win, and we know how tough that game was and how good
10:34
that Michigan State team was, but they didn't have the, it
10:36
wasn't Michigan or Ohio State or Penn State.
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It didn't have that. Still didn't make that 4th down
10:40
run. I really don't think so.
10:43
And old bud, he just would have had just that helmet a little
10:47
bit higher ball would have popped out of I'll.
10:49
Tell you what, though, that's a hell of a play.
10:51
That was you just tip your cap and say, you know what, that
10:54
that was I hate, you know, I know Iowa fans are not going to
10:56
be happy. That was one of the greatest
10:57
drives I've ever seen. It was incredible it it really
11:00
was to college football today. Yep, this season and as we look
11:04
at it, it will be the twelve team structure for this season
11:08
and there is a path for both Iowa and Iowa State to make a
11:12
run again this year. The Big 12.
11:15
I absolutely love this conference.
11:17
You don't have a blue blood. We know Texas Tech is spending
11:20
and in your industry, you know that as well as anybody, the
11:23
amount of money that they're investing and TCU is trying to
11:26
invest at that level and they got some of their own oil people
11:29
that are putting money into them.
11:29
Also buying stock in Arizona State again, 'cause I love their
11:32
coach. Arizona State, But how often do
11:35
we see that team come absolutely out of nowhere?
11:39
Do they sustain it? Not very often, no.
11:41
Certainly for a team that was picked 16th a year ago.
11:43
And I'm with you. I love same love it.
11:45
I I think they got dudes, however, to do that back-to-back
11:48
years. BYU, they're a big spender.
11:50
They got a lot of money at that university, but you don't have
11:53
your traditional blue bloods. I hope we are heading to a level
11:57
what we see year after year. The topsy turvy nature where me
12:02
as a better you can find that team as double digits to win the
12:06
conference that you can find some of those things.
12:07
But more importantly, just as a football fan is last year's race
12:13
to finish with Iowa State against Arizona State in the
12:15
conference championship game. To see Utah for a lot of people
12:18
a preseason top five team last year, yeah, fall the way that
12:21
they did a season go. Oklahoma State had the same kind
12:24
of fall. Just as a fan of football, those
12:28
are the kind of conferences that I absolutely love is you don't
12:31
know. And we can sit here all summer
12:32
long and think that we know, but you don't know.
12:34
And I hope that's what the Big 12 I'm.
12:36
Right there with you. I mean, the Big 12 is very
12:37
entertaining. I know.
12:38
I kind of, you know, seems like I Pooh Pooh him a lot.
12:41
But again, that's just the elevated status and the
12:44
realistic status of where we are in today's game is it's the SEC
12:47
and it's the Big 10. And then I think the Big 12 is
12:50
fighting for that third spot with the ACC, but that doesn't
12:53
mean it's not one of the most entertaining football
12:54
conferences and, quite frankly, basketball conferences in
12:58
America. And that's where I think Iowa
12:59
State's could be really intriguing this year because
13:01
again, they have Rocco Beck's, they have pieces, they have good
13:04
coaching, but are they going to be able to do it?
13:08
Again, and we've seen this from Iowa State also, is when
13:11
expectations are high, that's it goes the other way and
13:14
expectations are going to be incredibly high for this team.
13:16
You've seen the same thing for Iowa, too.
13:17
Yes, absolutely. I want to jump over the Big 10
13:20
with you now, and we're going to get to Hawkeye stuff here in
13:23
just a little bit, but just want to throw a couple of teams at
13:27
you and kind of where you are here, a summer glimpse of some
13:30
of these Big 10 teams. I want to start with the
13:32
defending national champion, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
13:36
Talents not an issue. Money is not an issue.
13:40
Quarterback was an issue at times last year with Will
13:42
Howard, but obviously with all that talent around him, they
13:44
were able to do enough. You bring back Smith on the
13:47
outside as good of a wide receiver as you're going to
13:50
find, but you have a new quarterback there.
13:52
Where are you with this Ohio State team?
13:55
I mean, is it again looking back-to-back?
13:57
Is that where expectations should be?
13:59
Are you a little bit lower than that?
14:01
Probably still a playoff team, but.
14:03
Without a doubt. I mean, I think national
14:05
championship appearance, maybe Final Four, probably Final Four
14:08
would be my early expectation. But the quarterback thing
14:11
doesn't matter. That system is so quarterback
14:13
friendly. And honestly, if you have a
14:14
receiver like Smith, you throw the ball within 10 yard radius
14:17
of them, he's going to find a way to catch it and make
14:18
something crazy happen. Like that's the thing, Ohio
14:21
State, and this is where it's going to drive Iowa fans nuts
14:24
because I think Iowa needs a better quarterback to help
14:27
elevate the receivers in Ohio State system.
14:30
You just need a quarterback that can get the ball the receivers
14:33
because the receivers can cover up a lot.
14:35
They're a wide receiver factory. They have the best wide
14:38
receivers in college football year after year, right?
14:42
I think Final Four is the expectation because I do think
14:44
there's a couple schools in the SEC they're going to come back
14:46
with a vengeance. I'm very iffy on Texas.
14:50
I know we're not talking about the SEC because I want to be a
14:53
little bit patient with with Arch Manning, but I mean, they
14:56
got all the talent in the world too.
14:57
What do people that you talk to a 24/7, what do they say?
15:00
Julian Sayings going to be the guy, right?
15:02
That's the early favorite, yes. I believe he's going to be the
15:04
guy. Talent's not a problem, just
15:06
doesn't have reps. Yep, young dude.
15:08
But he was the top three quarterback in his class.
15:10
Top two maybe. I think, yeah, I think he passed
15:12
up Dylan Rayola at the end. Oregon won the regular season,
15:16
won the conference championship game a year ago, of course, had
15:18
to play the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, and that didn't go very
15:22
well. Where are you with the Ducks and
15:24
the Dante Moore question at quarterback?
15:26
I think people are giving Dante Moore way too much early credit.
15:29
I'm. Kind of with you.
15:30
Like, and I think he's going to be an excellent quarterback.
15:33
We know what they that offense can do for quarterbacks.
15:35
We know the ridiculous numbers they could put up.
15:38
I need to see it on the field. I, I need to see him get in a
15:41
uniform. It's the same thing with like
15:42
Bryce Underwood and Michigan, right?
15:45
I just need to see them in it. That's why some of these early
15:47
season quarterback rankings are insane to me.
15:50
But again, when you talk about how quarterback friendly a lot
15:53
of these offenses the Big 10 are and when you have talent that
15:56
can cover it up and I think it's going to elevate your status.
15:59
Because it's been kind of insane to me how there are some people
16:02
that don't have Mark Gronowski as the top ten quarterback in
16:04
the Big 10. And I'm like, this is a guy with
16:06
over 10,000 yards. Now, granted it's at the FCS
16:08
level, but you're going to put 3 or 4 freshman quarterbacks above
16:12
him. The guy's won 48 games.
16:15
I think he deserves a little bit of respect.
16:18
So I, I, I think they're probably #2 in the Big 10 right
16:22
now. I think that's probably where
16:24
I'm at. I think they're very capable of
16:26
beating Ohio State, but I need to see Dante Moore.
16:29
But the coaching and the talent, the defensive prowess, the line
16:33
of scrimmage, the strength, there's not a lot of question
16:36
marks, I think. They got to go to Penn State.
16:39
Obviously they have to go to Iowa.
16:41
They have a road trip at the end of Washington.
16:42
I think the Huskies are going to be much improved.
16:45
I wouldn't fall in my chair if this Oregon team goes nine and
16:47
three, very good, but they'd be on the outside looking in, in
16:51
that. City, They are missing some key
16:52
pieces from last year, but again, they're big spenders.
16:54
Money is not an issue for them either.
16:57
Penn State, lot of people have preseason #1 I, I think kind of
17:00
the conversation that we had, though, you have to see Drollar
17:03
take that next step. I think they're third best team
17:05
in the Big 10 right now. I I'm putting Oregon, Ohio
17:07
State, both above them. You've you've literally listed
17:09
in order of my preseason. I don't trust James Franklin.
17:14
I really don't. I think he's the biggest issue
17:16
right now, though. I think they have the talent.
17:18
I think Drew Allar is capable. I think they have good ring
17:21
backs. I think they have good wide
17:22
receivers. I think they're strong in the
17:23
trenches. Their defensive line and
17:25
linebackers year after year are tremendous.
17:27
There's not a lot of weaknesses with this team, but can they get
17:30
it done when the lights are brightest?
17:32
And don't give me about their playoff path last year,
17:34
respectfully. Come on.
17:37
Right. So I think they're more, I
17:39
understand why people put them at 1:00.
17:42
But again, the James Franklin, look at his record against
17:45
ranked teams, look at his ranked record against top five teams.
17:48
When the lights are brightest, he tends to shrink.
17:52
His teams tend to shrink. So I need to wait.
17:54
Indiana last year, great story. Fought hard against Notre Dame,
17:58
just didn't quite be able to get to that kind of level.
18:01
However, this the Indiana team, as I talked about with Arizona
18:04
State, I have that concern. These teams out of nowhere,
18:08
putting together back-to-back seasons is incredibly difficult.
18:11
I think they upgraded a quarterback.
18:13
I absolutely love Mendoza. If you didn't watch any Cal
18:16
football a year ago and you're going to be watching Big 10
18:18
football this year, you're going to love this kid.
18:20
That's the. Guy who I thought I was going to
18:22
go after. I just, I guess it's one hurdle
18:26
and it's just me not believing that Indiana can put it
18:29
back-to-back. Where are you with the Hoosiers?
18:31
I mean, I googled Kirk Signetti, he did and he wins.
18:34
Googled me. I I just think it's unrealistic
18:38
to expect to do what they did last year.
18:39
I think they're going to be a tough out.
18:41
I do think the game when Indiana comes to Iowa is going to be a
18:44
lot of fun. I'm very interested to see the
18:47
clashing of personalities between Kirk Signetti and Kirk
18:49
Ference. Two guys wider a little
18:51
differently. Aren't they?
18:52
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they'll be good.
18:55
I mean, I think that's a team that's capable.
18:56
I, I think they're capable. I'm not looking at their
18:58
schedule, by the way. I think they're capable of
19:00
winning 8-9. Yeah, I think they'll win 7 or
19:03
8. That's kind of where I, that's
19:04
still a good team. They're going to be a tough out
19:06
for. Indiana Football.
19:08
Yeah, they're going to poo poo 8 and four season.
19:10
They shouldn't. What's their pre season over
19:12
underline? I think they were 8 1/2.
19:14
OK, that's why I was Yeah, I think that's it.
19:16
Yeah, I I would probably lean toward the under, but again, I
19:19
do remember this their non conferences against two cupcakes
19:23
and A and a turnover. The fighting a line I to our
19:28
friends over in the Quad Cities. I know there's plenty of line I
19:30
fan over there. Illinois, nine and three-year
19:33
ago, won the bowl game against South Carolina.
19:36
I think they're getting a lot of credit from that.
19:37
I like Altmeyer. I mean, like with him, I'm not
19:40
in love. He's a good.
19:40
Quarterback, where do you think he's at in the Big 10 right now?
19:43
We're drank him quarterback wise. 678 really, yeah, probably
19:47
in that range I'd. Probably go third.
19:50
But you're you're that high, you're much higher on him.
19:52
I buy again, but this is also keep in mind that like, I'm not
19:55
going to throw Dante Moore. I'm not going to throw.
19:58
I'm not by Nico in UCLA. I'm sorry he couldn't hit
20:02
anything last year. That's why Tennessee didn't end
20:04
up going farther. The offense was a problem, and
20:06
clearly leadership was a problem there, too.
20:09
I like them a lot. I think they're really strong in
20:11
the trenches. I think Bilimo's done an
20:13
unbelievable job there. I think he deserves a ton of
20:15
credit. I think they're gonna have a
20:16
strong running game. I think they have a good
20:18
quarterback. Their defenses are always among
20:21
some of the heaviest hitters. But can they get out of their
20:25
own way? Are they going to be able to
20:26
take care of the football? Illinois is the same
20:28
conversation we had with Indiana and Arizona State.
20:30
They have not been able to stack it up back-to-back.
20:32
I understand why they're dark horse for the playoffs.
20:34
I, I think that's probably right where I'm at on them.
20:37
I think they should be a preseason top 15 team.
20:39
I think they're, I think they're going to be a really solid ball
20:41
club. Last year, easily could have
20:43
lost to Purdue. An awful Purdue team.
20:45
They survived a drop touchdown or they wouldn't beat Nebraska.
20:49
This team was a lot closer to being 6:00 and 6:00 as opposed
20:52
to going the other way because they had no shot against Penn
20:55
State. They were drilled by Oregon,
20:57
they lost to Minnesota. And you look through the depth
21:00
of that schedule, there's just not a whole lot of meat on the
21:03
boat. They beat.
21:04
They beat Michigan when Michigan had absolutely nothing at the
21:07
corner. You know what it reminded me of,
21:08
though? How many times over the last
21:10
three years have you said Iowa shouldn't have won that game?
21:12
I got you. If this doesn't happen, like the
21:15
difference between Iowa and Nebraska throughout the last
21:19
four years, yeah, here comes the Nebraska Homer side of me,
21:21
right, Nebraska. I've never seen a team like
21:25
Nebraska find more ways to lose games.
21:27
I've never seen a team find more ways to win other than Iowa.
21:30
And that's ultimately what people remember.
21:31
Illinois did struggle a couple of times and almost fell flat.
21:35
Trent, they made the plays. You almost can't teach that.
21:38
That's the little disciplinary things.
21:40
And Bielma's team lived up to the bill.
21:42
They got it done. Now again, you can question
21:46
things going forward, but they know how to win.
21:49
Let's wrap it up then with Nebraska as we're going through
21:52
the Big 10 and a couple of teams here open up.
21:55
Donna KC against Cincinnati should be a fun game.
21:59
Akron, Houston Christian after that and then in back-to-back
22:02
weeks, well back-to-back games. There's a buy in between.
22:07
They bring Michigan and Michigan State to town.
22:09
That Michigan game I think has a chance to be huge for this team
22:12
because the road trips in at Maryland, at Minnesota, back
22:17
home for Northwestern. USC has to come back across
22:20
halfway through the country to get to Lincoln, at UCLA, at Penn
22:25
State. I would a wrap up.
22:26
Those final four are daunting, Yep.
22:29
But can they get there at minimum six and two?
22:32
Yeah, I think they will. Will it end though?
22:35
I think Michigan State beats them.
22:37
I can see that, and I think Michigan will.
22:39
Be I I like Aiden Charles a lot. But I think a realistic,
22:42
expected not being crazy, not being, you know, those doofuses
22:45
on the wrong side of the river. Yep.
22:48
Six and two, though, is not a stretch.
22:49
I think they can go 8 and four this year sounds right.
22:52
If if the ball bounces right, they can go nine and three.
22:55
I think getting what Dana Holgerson as the offensive
22:58
coordinator was. Full time.
23:00
Was the one of the smartest moves they could have possibly
23:03
made in that situation. I need to see a lot more out
23:07
doing Rayola. I I understand the hype to a
23:10
certain degree, but this is a guy who has not gotten it done
23:13
misses routine throws. And this is just from my
23:16
observation. OK, this is I'm not saying I'm
23:20
Dubai not even saying it. I might have to.
23:23
What's his leadership upside? Uh huh.
23:28
I don't fully buy it at this point.
23:30
Now, I'm not the one in the weight room.
23:32
I'm not talking to people that are in the weight room.
23:34
I'm talking about solely looking on the field, his demeanor and
23:38
doing certain things. And you know, he probably has a
23:41
sick taste in his mouth from last season because we know what
23:45
happened that Iowa game. He made some bad decisions in
23:48
the clutch in multiple other games as well.
23:51
But they brought in some decent transfer receivers.
23:55
I'm very curious how their defense is going to line up.
23:57
I don't necessarily. They lost some big dudes that
24:00
defensive tackle in tandem that they had.
24:02
Those are some behemoths. Yeah, they did a really
24:04
excellent job coaching them as well.
24:06
So way too early prediction. I'm going to go 8:00 and 4:00.
24:11
So Nebraska Rayola last year. Last six games of the year. 5
24:15
touchdowns, 8 interceptions. Average under 200 yards passing
24:18
per game. Not good enough.
24:20
Got to be better. They put a lot of pressure on
24:22
him though. Put a lot on his plate.
24:24
They did, and that's where I'm like, again, I see the upside.
24:28
I also thought his fundamentals got really, really sloppy late
24:32
in the season. I mean, he was trying all these.
24:35
He was trying so hard to be Mahomes and he's just not that
24:37
guy I'm not talking about. Cosplay.
24:40
I'm not. I'm not.
24:41
Yeah, People want to get into that.
24:42
That's fine. That's the I had solely from a
24:44
football side thing. She's trying to do things that
24:46
he's not capable of doing right now.
24:48
Master the fundamentals and if eventually you get to a point
24:51
where you can try those things, OK, go have fun.
24:54
When we come back, we're going to go deep dive into Iowa.
24:56
A lot of Iowa stuff, Iowa basketball, some Iowa football,
24:59
where Iowa sits this year, we'll dive into it.
25:01
Plus recruiting. On the football front, a big
25:03
recruiting weekend that not as big as it once was.
25:06
The latest on the Iowa front, David Eichel joining us as we
25:09
continue this is Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio
25:12
Network. Before we hit our break though,
25:14
time for you to a chance for you to win $1000.
25:17
Go to kx&o.com for the keyword contest.
25:20
The keyword this hour is BANK KX and o.com.
25:23
Your chance to win $1000. Bank KX and o.com as we come
25:28
back, I'm Miller and Condon, 135 out of Monday.
25:37
Miller and Condon continues on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
25:42
Got David Eichold hanging out with us here today.
25:44
David, we've talked a lot. Let's get into the Hawkeyes.
25:50
Talked a little bit about Bo Bassett earlier, his
25:52
decommitment from the wrestling program, but want to go first to
25:57
football recruiting for official visitors on campus this week.
26:00
Also got a commitment from a guy that they got an offer from last
26:04
week at the cornerback position. But let's start with the
26:06
official visitors, the uncommitted guys that came in
26:08
with a bunch of the committed guys.
26:10
What can you tell us how things went in Iowa City?
26:12
Well, let me put this way. I just, I'm about to submit a
26:15
crystal ball. OK, A top prospect.
26:18
Watching how the sausage is made over there.
26:20
In in state, just doing some texts on my phone, getting some
26:23
good Intel. Our own Allen True already
26:25
logged one for a player again in state prospecting.
26:30
People will be really happy with that.
26:31
But yeah, oddly enough, too, it's it's so interesting
26:34
watching this weekend in full because one of Iowa's top
26:36
targets is Omaha native Darien Jones.
26:40
That's the younger brother of former Iowa reporter Dallas
26:44
Jones, who got a chance to be on the other side of things.
26:46
So I thought that was kind of a cool thing for him to be able to
26:48
experience. From what I'm hearing, it's
26:51
basically down to Iowa and Nebraska.
26:52
Remember, he does have another brother already on Nebraska's
26:56
roster, but he's a cornerback, grew up following Iowa, an Iowa
27:02
fan. Don't think you'll get much
27:04
better training than Phil Parker.
27:06
So from everything I've been told, the visit went really
27:08
well. It's not getting a a recruitment
27:10
that I think lasts very long. I think he'll look to commit
27:13
somewhere in the next couple of weeks.
27:15
I mean, I'd give Iowa probably the slight edge right now, but
27:18
at the same time, you know, do post visit highs wear down
27:22
right? I mean, we've, that's why I
27:23
struggled to really try to read too much into it till, you know,
27:26
four or five days after, maybe a week after, talked to some
27:29
sources, talked to that, you know, sometimes a kid himself to
27:31
get a grasp of where they're at. But right now, I'm not going to
27:34
be surprised if there are two or three more commitments on the
27:38
next couple of weeks here from this weekend.
27:40
Sioux City Heal and Kayson Thomas Bishop Heal and kid for
27:43
our listeners up in Sioux City sounded like Nebraska, Iowa
27:47
State, maybe even lead coming into this weekend, but from what
27:50
I heard, maybe I will have covered some ground this weekend
27:52
at minimum. That's the crystal ball.
27:55
That's the crystal ball. There it is.
27:56
All right, A good one there. Again, I'm not going to say it's
28:00
a done deal, but I really like where Iowa is sitting and so do
28:04
a couple of our more national rookers.
28:07
Again, Alan True logged Crystal Ball in for him as well.
28:10
Let's get into this football team coming up this season and
28:14
as we talked about earlier with the Big 10, there's an
28:18
opportunity here. Yes, there's no Michigan or Ohio
28:20
State on the schedule, but there's also four teams from the
28:23
playoff last year, another team that was a game away from being
28:27
in the College Football Playoff. This schedule if very simply, if
28:32
Iowa goes 10 and two, they're going to be in the college
28:34
football play. No doubt.
28:35
And you have to reward them. Even if they lose to both Oregon
28:38
and Penn State, they beat everybody else on that schedule.
28:40
Means you're going to be an Iowa State team that'll probably be,
28:43
you know, one of the more bigger contenders in the Big 12 at
28:47
least. That also means you beat Indiana
28:49
at home. That also means you go to
28:50
Nebraska and win at Nebraska, which again, we know it hasn't.
28:54
Been you go to USC and get a win there.
28:55
That's what we're talking about here.
28:57
Even you take those two heavy heads and you put them for L.
29:00
They go at Minnesota as well. At Wisconsin, I don't think
29:03
Wisconsin's going to be that good, but it's still going to be
29:04
a road victory. You're going to have that much
29:06
on your resume at their picker. Will not be the coach next year.
29:09
But can they get there? And and specifically
29:12
defensively, the linebackers are incredibly green and quarterback
29:16
spot was an issue all year long. And though CJ Hall allegedly
29:19
took the step here this spring, they got to have at least two
29:22
out there. We'll talk about the offense
29:25
momentarily, but I still have those reservations about the
29:29
defense because they did take a step back last year.
29:32
Yeah, and I have more questions about the defense and the
29:34
offense. Wild.
29:35
That's not to say that I think the offense is going to be
29:38
better than the defense, but I think we have a general idea of
29:41
where the offense is, or at least there's a some sort of
29:44
realistic expectation that I, I think most people will be able
29:47
to say, I don't know what to expect out of this defense.
29:51
I will say the one thing I do know, I love Iowa's defensive
29:55
line depth. I think they have a lot of
29:57
different pieces. And I think there's gonna be a
29:59
lot of pressure on Iowa's defensive line to help cover up
30:02
some of the bigger question marks, which again, I think
30:06
right now we're at corner and linebacker.
30:08
We know how much work people have gotten in that linebacker
30:11
room, but just from the sole standpoint of they haven't
30:14
gotten reps in game reps, right? But we've heard for so long, But
30:19
you know, J Higgins, Nick Jackson, all these guys really
30:21
didn't do much in the spring. So all the guys behind them took
30:23
all their reps. That's great for a time like
30:26
this. But do you know how much
30:28
pressure there's going to be on the Mike linebacker?
30:30
And it's not fair to the old Mike linebacker because just
30:33
look at the tradition that's been established there.
30:36
I think Xavier Wampas get pieces together.
30:38
I, I really, I really do. I love Cohen enteringer.
30:42
He's one of my favorite kids in that recruiting class.
30:45
I think he was way too under the radar.
30:47
Assuming he is 100% and can stay healthy, I think he's a guy
30:50
that's going to be a difference maker as well.
30:52
I think that's as athletic of a safety pairing that we've had in
30:55
a long while as far as size, speed, strength, like just the
30:59
length that they'll have back there.
31:01
Defensive tackle, I thinking Bryce Hawthorne, Jonah Pace were
31:03
huge. I really like Bryce Hawthorne's
31:06
upside, but then I also look at a guy who I LED my breakout
31:09
series with. I'm still working on it.
31:11
I love Maxwell and I I just see him as a guy that can take that
31:15
next step as an edge rusher and every down edge rusher, not sort
31:19
of just pin your ears back and go make something happen.
31:22
Can Aaron Graves take that next step?
31:24
I think he's a Sunday player as well.
31:26
What I saw the release about them him being listed on the
31:29
field steel has. I remember it was a bit all Big
31:32
10 or All American, but regardless, his counting stats
31:36
last year were even better than I thought and they kind of came
31:38
in in clumps. If you get more consistency out
31:40
of Graves and he's able to do that and be that impact guy all
31:44
12 games, I think we're having a different.
31:46
Conversation. I do too.
31:47
I also think he's going to be the guy that it steps up in that
31:50
defensive line room, really establishes himself as leader.
31:52
We didn't even mention Ethan Herket either.
31:54
Yeah, they get Ethan Herket back.
31:55
Like I, I, they they have options.
31:57
And then you look at some of the younger defensive line
31:59
prospects, they're really excited about them, too.
32:02
So I, I can't remember if it was you or somebody else I was
32:04
talking to. So they went out.
32:06
You mentioned the depth of defensive tackle, getting Pace
32:09
out of Central Michigan, getting Bryce Hawthorne from South
32:11
Dakota State. And at the time it was, well,
32:13
Pace is the guy that's going to help out right away.
32:15
Hawthorne, he's more kind of maybe a developmental guy.
32:18
And Hawthorne, he's turned some heads over there.
32:21
He's going to be, I think, probably a bigger part of the
32:23
rotation than we thought back when he committed.
32:25
Is that a fair way to put it? Yeah, that that's, I think
32:28
that's the easiest way to sum it all up.
32:30
From everything I've heard, he's really gravitated toward the
32:33
system. He's a really good fit and he
32:34
just brings a couple different things that maybe, you know, the
32:37
defensive line, the defence tackle unit specifically just
32:40
doesn't have. Again, he's still a little bit
32:42
green, but there's a lot of tools that you can work with and
32:46
mold. And again, I think you trust Jay
32:47
Neiman and Calvin Bell to be able to go do that.
32:49
Absolutely. And you know, Pittman, maybe he
32:51
has just a rotational piece. You know, he has more of that 15
32:54
to 20 snap guy. Well, now with the depth that
32:55
they've created with pace and Hawthorne coming on and you
32:58
know, we'll see if you know, the veterans that have been hanging
33:00
around, a Hubert, a Gaffney, one of those guys can give you
33:03
again, those rotational pieces. But if they're their fifth guy,
33:06
you're feeling pretty good about that and what you're going to
33:07
have up front and being able to create that.
33:10
But we go to offense and yes, we have to talk offense.
33:13
So let's get over there and let's start with Mark Gronowski.
33:16
What have you heard as he is back out there working out,
33:18
going through the offseason workouts, working with those
33:21
100? Percent.
33:22
He's 100% he's back. And This is why I've tried to
33:25
tell people like there's such a big difference between what Cade
33:30
McNamara went through and what Mark Gronowski went through
33:33
injury wise. The value that Mark Gronowski
33:37
got of going through spring practice, he did not throw.
33:40
Guess what? He can line up on her center.
33:42
He could do all the footwork pieces.
33:44
He could call out the plays. He could do a mimic run through
33:47
and then point with his off hand where he would have thrown the
33:50
football. Again, that's not an actual live
33:52
ball Rep, but the the mental growth that he can show and
33:57
really gravitate toward that that's going to pay off.
33:58
Like Kate couldn't even do anything and.
34:01
Push off. And then you think about his
34:03
recovery timeline, he wasn't even 100% till what, damn near
34:06
August, right? So and the other part is
34:11
Gronowski played through that injury all last year.
34:13
He did not need to have the surgery, but this is really
34:16
going to help him comfortability wise.
34:18
It was the right decision to make.
34:20
So I've everything I've heard, he's really killed it.
34:24
He's been awesome in the weight room specifically just as far as
34:27
rallying the guys up, attention to detail and all that other
34:31
kind of stuff. So again, it's everything you
34:32
want to hear. But again, this is a guy who has
34:35
10,000 all-purpose yards. He's won the FCS Heisman.
34:38
He winning translates across all levels case and why about Kurt
34:42
Cignetti. Oh, look at Iowa basketball,
34:45
look at Ben McCollum winning translates.
34:48
Mark Gronowski knows how to win, and that's a big, big deal when
34:53
you think about this kind of program.
34:55
They have as good of a right tackle as anybody in college
34:57
football. Jennings dunker as long as he's
34:58
back completely healthy. Yep.
35:00
Center position is set with Logan Jones.
35:02
You feel good about Bo Stevens. You know what you're getting out
35:05
Bo Stevens, I think. Peeper.
35:07
They love the dude and he's a little bit undersized, but he's
35:09
a butt kicker. He's that small town guy that
35:11
they. Put up some good weight on some
35:13
good weight and. That's a good thing to hear.
35:15
He's he's needed to do that. Then, of course, they bring in
35:17
Bryce George, the Fair State Offensive.
35:19
Line. So can he play left tackle?
35:20
I mean, talking to your scouts and what you've seen, is he a
35:24
guy that they feel very comfortable?
35:26
He is a left. Half you can play inside or
35:28
outside, OK? And I think that's the kind of
35:31
piece you want. I think ultimately what's going
35:32
to end up happening is George Barnett's going to play the five
35:35
best guys. They'll figure out the position
35:37
later. Does he have a shot doing that?
35:38
Yeah, but Trevor Lout's going to be right there as well.
35:40
How about Jack Dotesler? Like there's going to be a
35:43
legitimate competition between those three between for for
35:46
probably 2 spots I'd say. Luke, the biggest upside of
35:51
that, I mean, I would say, do they do they feel like they're
35:53
still building him up because they made a lot of good teams
35:56
for him too, coming out of high school.
35:57
Yeah, I mean, I think because of everybody's so focused on
36:00
Proctor, they didn't realize how good Trevor Luke actually is or
36:03
how many different schools were after him.
36:05
I don't want to say he's a year away still because I think he
36:07
has a shot, but I'm going to be very interested because talking
36:12
to George Farnett a couple of times, you think about his first
36:14
couple of years at Iowa, I know people were, you know, throwing
36:17
their arms up about how he wasn't good and you need to be
36:19
fired. You know what the reality of the
36:20
situation was, Trent? They were playing guys that
36:22
should not play that early. And that's not an indictment on
36:25
the players themselves. They're only doing the best at
36:28
what they can. And then, you know, I think
36:31
George Barnett was an excellent coach from this standpoint, too.
36:33
He never threw his guys under the bus.
36:35
He took all the arrows from everybody.
36:37
It's well intended, I get it. Yeah, there were expectations
36:40
set, but guys should not have been playing that early in their
36:43
career. So it'll be very interesting to
36:46
see how the offensive line unfolds.
36:47
I have question marks about tight end, probably more than
36:51
almost any other position. I liked why I saw wide receivers
36:54
in spring. I think that's deeper.
36:57
They have depth better. I don't think that they have
36:59
necessarily an all conference caliber guy, but Mark Garnowski
37:03
is going to have some pieces to throw the football too.
37:05
That's a difference at that spot, no doubt.
37:07
David Eichel with us here. We'll come back, put a cap on
37:09
things as we roll through my picks of the day presented by
37:13
Circa Sports. That's next on the Iowa Sports
37:15
Radio Network, wrap things up on a Monday.
37:19
Trent Condon, David Icolt with you as we put a cap on things.
37:23
My pics of the day coming up here momentarily.
37:27
Mr. Icolt, we are a month away from being in Vegas.
37:31
Are you ready? Are you ready?
37:33
I'm always ready. I am too.
37:35
You know me, I'm locked in. You know I love me some Vegas.
37:38
As do I now. We have never been there
37:40
together, which could be scary. Now you're going to come hang
37:45
out with me down Fremont Street, right?
37:46
Oh yeah, of course. Yes.
37:48
We actually just have some breaking Iowa football news.
37:51
Nice. Well, not nice, but it was
37:53
something that we predicted. Remember I told you what was
37:55
going to happen with Cash Herrera.
37:57
Yes. He just committed to Indiana.
37:59
To Indiana, he's a Hoosier. For now, For now, for now.
38:02
We'll see. With the way, that's the way
38:04
everything is now. Right, That's right.
38:06
And certainly in quarterback record.
38:08
Now where does he end his career?
38:09
That would be a bigger question. I'm gonna say he finishes up his
38:12
career at Arizona I. Wanna go Arizona State?
38:17
OK, go on both go. Now why not have some fun with
38:20
it? All right, picks of the day
38:22
presented by Circus Sports. I got 2 baseball plays as WNBA
38:25
is off till tomorrow. Basketball's over, hockey's
38:28
over. It is that time of year.
38:30
Never bet against the streak and I won't do with my God awful
38:33
Minnesota Twins. Give me the Mariners -2127
38:36
tonight up at Target Field and we got a good one.
38:39
Cubs cards tonight, Libertar against Ben Brown.
38:44
I'll take Libertar, give me the Cardinals.
38:46
Lay the -1 O1. Best price in the market by far
38:49
at Circa Sports. Sorry, it's one of the only
38:52
games I care about when the Cubs need the Cubs to win.
38:55
Need that. I know I told you the ups and
38:56
downs. I can get it.
38:57
I don't want to lose the Cardinals.
38:58
Don't want to lose the. Cardinals or the Brewers?
39:00
Yes. Things may be tightening up a
39:02
little bit there. Rough weekend for the staff with
39:04
the wind blowing out and Wrigley against the Mariners Not great.
39:08
Not great, Chan. We got bounce back.
39:09
Absolutely. We'll do it.
39:11
Hey, thanks for your time, David.
39:11
Yeah. Man thanks for having me, always
39:13
fun, appreciate you. Ken will be back with us
39:15
tomorrow. Coming up next, it's the drive.
39:17
Heather and Lucas got you covered.
39:18
Take you up until 5:00 overtime, Iowa until 6:00.
39:22
The morning rush gets it started tomorrow morning with Sean at
39:25
6:00 AM. This is Miller and Conda.
39:26
Thanks for being with us on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.