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WEEK 8 RECAP: More Chaos, More Self-Reflection · Honey, It's Saturday

• Honey It's Saturday: What's going on everybody? Welcome back to the Honey It's Saturday podcast. We're a week eight week recap. it's crazy that we're already this far in the season and just another wild college football Saturday. I am currently on vacation with my wife and got up early this morning to be able to to film with Mitch and the office space was closed, the community hall was closed, so I'm currently sitting in the backseat of my car. filming this on my iPhone with my work phone using as a flashlight to give me some kind of light. So it is a it's been a rough start to Ha ha. this to this Monday morning, but I I'm trying to figure out a way to to make the best of this and just still sit in darkness after after Tennessee put on that display on Saturday. Yeah, I was gonna say this has got to be some sort of analogy for just the emotional state of Sam right now coming out of this weekend with that Tennessee South Carolina game, which we're gonna get into a lot more today. if Sam can get through that segment. So we we appreciate we Yeah. We'll see how far I get in that one. appreciate you by the way, Sam. Yeah, I appreciate you getting up early and doing this with me on vacation with your wife. That's huge. So thank you. Shout out, Sam, hard working man, good husband, all the things. Yeah, it's it's the best of both worlds. The doesn't doesn't cave into our my time with my wife and you and I get up early and get to talk ball. It's it it's it's hard to beat. so before we kinda get into today's episode Yeah, I actually What you got? I paid Sam extra for this segment by the way, 'cause time and a half for working holiday. That's right. Yeah. This this check coming in is gonna be real nice from the Honey It's Saturday podcast. I wanted to start off honestly with the with the mail with the mailbag. I got this from a buddy on Saturday, and I think this is a great just starting point for this podcast for today. but Mitch, one of the questions we got from Major up in Lynchburg, Virginia was asking, Is this the most competitive year in recent college football memory? Shout out Major, by the way. Great guy. had the pleasure of meeting him. Love Lynchberg. So good stuff. Thank you for the interaction. Yeah. I I I mean, I've been thinking about this a lot. I don't really at this point, I don't really think it's a question. I think there's more parody in college football this year than there has been in a very long time. Like, yes, that 2007 season comes to mind, but I you're getting to the point where every single week we're having, I mean, we had seven teams in our poll. fall out of the poll this week. There were four top ten teams in our poll that lost this week. Last week Yeah. it was the same way. It's just over and over and over again. It's chaos every week. I it's truly especially in the the bigger conferences, not not just the SEC. The SEC stands out for sure, but we saw it in the Big Twelve this week too. We saw it in the Big Ten this week. It's there's just so much parity. it's it's harder to predict. It's more fun. I I don't know. I I think so. From my perspective, I feel like it's the most competitive season. What about you? Yeah. No, I would agree. I think this season has been phenomenal from a pure entertainment standpoint of you truly don't know what's gonna go on any given week. For me it's been frustrating because my pick'ems have been really bad and I continue to have really poor showings when I feel like the teams that I'm picking should win. So, I think it makes it super exciting. It it truly has been just like a great year. There's there's no mountaintop teams that are just the dominant that are rolling through their schedule that I don't know, back in the day, Clemson and Alabama. You knew those guys would play the national championship every year, no matter who else was playing in the playoff or who else was going to be playing ACC or SEC. you just knew those teams were gonna meet at the Yeah. end of the season. so I think it's nice 'cause at this point, like, and this is something that we're gonna preview a little bit later, not today, but in the next in the next episode of our updated college football playoff rankings. Or not rankings like a bracket. And from where we started this year to where we're probably gonna be at this upcoming week, I mean, we're w we're gonna be way different. I mean, we have no idea who's gonna make it just even based off this far in the season. So just a lot of different parody. But I guess it's also interesting to think about how much like NIL probably plays a part into that too. As much as you and I probably are against the NIL and there probably needs to be some regulations just like how some of these teams don't have a ton of depth and when you get to these tricky points in the season where like BYU's going down to UCF in a trap game spot and they get beat. Yeah, no, I I completely agree with everything that you're saying. Sorry, I think you were having some connectivity issues there at the end, but the general the general gist of what you're saying is true. I'm I'm not a huge NIL fan, at least the way that it's been implemented. I think players deserve their share, but I think the way that it's been implemented, I haven't been a fan of. We've voiced that on the show, the transfer portal the same way. I wish there were more regulations, more structure, more commitment around it. But You can't deny at this point that the parody is leveling out like they said it would be. So to their credit, that has happened. I think it's pretty obvious to see before our eyes of the talent is more spread out across the country and across the conferences. And it does make every week very entertaining. So Yeah. those dominant those dominant dynasties that we've had in the past in college football, which have been a staple, I don't know if we're gonna see that again, maybe ever. Yeah. No, I I don't I don't think so either. Yeah. Probably not. Probably not. Yeah, def definitely not. So Yeah, it's a good good starting point. Yeah, that's a great question. Well, we look, before we move on, I just want to say Yeah, before we move on, I just wanna say to that point, we've got what, two undefeated teams left in the power four. Three. Sorry, I think three undefeated teams left in the power four. Miami, UCF, I'm sorry, Miami, We got Utah as one of Utah. Miami is one of Who's the other one? I'm watching U C L A. UCLA, that's what it was. Yeah, that's wild. UCLA, that's my point. It's like we have three undefeated teams left and UCLA, the Bruins are one of Shout out to shout out to what they've been able to do this year. But that's incredible. I think that's just a testament to what we're talking about. The the talent's more spread out. There's a lot more parity. Yeah, definitely. And I think that's that's showing pretty well in our pick seven records based off how we picked our seven teams at the beginning of the year to how they're playing now. so do you wanna roll through your pick seven teams first before I hop into it or w would you rather be start off? I'll start because it's like I I think we'll go from low to high emotionally here. I I had a really rough week. You had a decent week. So I'll just I'll kick us off on the bottom and then you can take us to the top. guys, my squads two weeks ago I had a pretty decent lead. I was feeling all right, but I knew it was shaky from the very beginning of this season with the way that Oregon started out because Oregon was one of my staples in my set. I needed them to be consistent throughout the year, and I wasn't sure I was gonna get that. And I very clearly at this point am not gonna get that. So I have a total of 561 points. And if you've been listening, you know that that is less than I had last week. And last week my total was less than I had the week before. So I am just steadily dropping on this point total. And Sam is kind of doing the opposite. So it's not looking good for me. I'm behind by a decent margin now. I have 561, lost 55 points this week. And I do want to. just break down this Oregon, Illinois game for a second with you guys because I thought Oregon might lose this game. I didn't see them losing in the fashion they did. I I remember I looked up, I wasn't watching at the beginning of this game because I was interested elsewhere. And I looked up and I saw Oregon was up ten very early. And I thought to myself, Well, that's a great sign. Riola must be clicking. They must be figuring some things out. I know they had like four wide receivers out for this game. So I thought it was a good sign from that standpoint. Their offense was still able to move the ball. Next thing I know, 21 unanswered points from the alumni. The Oregon Ducks offense, I don't know where they went. They must have up and left, went shopping at the mall for the rest of the game. Mm. And man, the ducks, they're just not a good football team this year. It's pretty much plain as day. Offensive coordinator, he's gone. He's out, fired the next day. Dan Laney's not having any of that anymore. I don't know how much of that is. How he genuinely feels, I'm sure he does, but also you have to do something to save face a little bit at this point. If you're damn Dan Lanning, you got to figure something out. but yeah, new OC will be stepping up soon, and hopefully they can salvage their four and three start to the to the football season. And in which, by the way, I will remind the people I did pick the Oregon Ducks to win the national championship preseason. Clown me, make fun of me, do whatever you want. I'm not the only one. There's plenty of us out there. I know there are a lot of you listening that probably picked the Oregon Ducks to win the championship. So before before you start talking, just evaluate yourself. Hold yourself accountable. I'm holding myself accountable. Horrible pick. But come on, guys. it's just been bad news. So that's that's Oregon, Illinois. I don't really want to talk about it too much. Great win for Illinois, by the way. Good for them. Yeah. but man, that is just a disastrous start to the season for Oregon. I that's I don't want to be. In that practice facility this week. I don't want to be in that athletic department. I don't want to be listening to conversations with that fan base because I know it's a dark, dark place right now. Mm-hmm. another one, Indiana. Man, Indiana won this game in overtime in Ann Arbor. 13 to 6. Good. That's great. I got some points. The fashion in which they won this game, we're gonna go into it in detail later, so I don't want to go too much, but Boy, I was sweating. I did not think that Indiana played a very good football team. Their defense is incredible. They've been great every single week, very consistent. But offensively, man, they've got to figure something out. Hoover's got to figure something out. So they did get a win. That's great. North Dakota State, I was bummed about this one. they went down to New Mexico 21 16. It was a good game, competitive game. I knew it was going to be, but they weren't able to pull this one out. Cal. they they tricked me, Sam. The Golden Bears tricked me this week. I don't know if you got to watch this Cal SMU game, but the first half, Cal was just back and forth. Every time I looked Yeah. Cal was up, right? up, they had a lead. They didn't, they had a lead. Yeah. Yeah. I think they were up at halftime in this game. All of a sudden I look up in the fourth quarter and SMU is up 59 to 20, and all of my dreams and hopes are smashed. So yeah, the Golden Bears just haven't been a good football team either. Good for SMU. Sam and I talked about this last week, how we felt like SMU It's a very talented team. They got a lot of potential, but they haven't been beating teams in the fashion that you would expect them to. They're still sitting there with just that one loss, but they just haven't really blown you away. And I know it's cow, but at least we can give them credit for doing what they were supposed to do this week. They handle business, they got the job done in dominant fashion. Delaware, Conference USA, they got it done for me this week. They're one of the only teams that actually did something well. They pretty much hammered Missouri State. Got the quarterback back, man. They got Yeah. Minikucci back and he is incredible. And that is huge for me. I think if there's one bright spot for me this week, it's that he's healthy, he's back and their offense is clicking. So I might get a few more wins out of Delaware. That's been a big problem for them is they haven't had their quarterback the last few weeks. Oregon State was on bye. I need them to be playing football because they're a good football team. So hopefully we can get back on track this week and then Sam Houston State. Dude, this Sam Houston State New Mexico State game, I watched it on Wednesday night. Those are I I'll just straight up say it, those are two bad football teams. That was a hard Okay. game to watch, but I had to for the pick seven. But dude, neither of those teams looked very good. Sam Houston State ran some of the worst offensive plays, just play calling, execution, everything. It looked like a two way high school football game at times. it Yeah. was really bad. But they only lost by six, so I guess I'll take the margin of loss there. That's that's pretty much how my segment went this week. not pretty. Yeah, Sam Houston State has less or I guess more points than Cal, which is kinda crazy at this point in the year. 'Cause Sam Houston State's one and six and Cal's three and five, but the margin of victory has just been so much different for Cal, point point proven against SMU. So hey, Delaware's almost in the positive. Take that. You're you're at minus eleven with them right now. You're almost you almost got five teams now in your top seven that are gonna be positive. I'm close. I guess that's good. I'm I'm trying to help you feel better here. go I'll I'll segue into mine and my first one starting off is just pure sadness. Tennessee lost South Carolina. we'll get into that one a little bit later in in the episode. Wake Forest had a bye week. Oklahoma State put it on Colorado in the second half. a huge margin of victory point for me. Oklahoma State won fifty seven to twenty four. Yeah, they were down at they were down at halftime. Yeah, it was very similar to that SMU Cal game where it was pretty close in that first half, a little bit of back and forth, and then the the better team just put it on in the second half. Virginia Tech went in went into Death Valley, or what what were you calling it early in the year? Sad Valley. Is that right? Dead valley, man. It's dead valley. Dead Valley. yeah, it certainly felt like Dead Valley on Saturday night. Hokies went in there with the win one by four. USF had a bye week, so nothing there. Colorado State, man, got their first win for me in a long time. There's a little bit of a drought there. they ended up beating San Diego State fifty six to forty nine. I was very closely following along with this game and I was so excited. I I they I just needed a win. I needed a confidence booster from those guys after their whole debacle with fire in their D C mid game and letting sixty six points the last couple weeks. So that was a big, big win for the Rams here. And then Michigan State lost to UCLA twenty eight ten, which it is what it is. I mean UCLA's a great football team. Michigan State's not. Michigan State's just continuing to struggle. I mean, they're getting better as the weeks go by, but They're just they're not really giving me the output that I thought they would be giving me. They two and five or two and six? Two and six. So they gotta win four they gotta win four in a row Yeah, that is that is a rough look. to make a bowl game. So we'll see. I can't believe you just mentioned a bowl game. They're not making a bowl game. Hey man, it it's possible. Sorry if you're a Michigan State fan that's listening. Yeah. So but currently I am sitting at True, all all things are possible. yeah, currently sitting at six hundred and seventy-four points. so my point value went up pretty pretty well this week. I've got a big upcoming week and just as the season continues to go on, it truly is just a week by week basis and our pick sevens are the same as just the college football world that it is right now to where your team could fall, your team could your team could have a be a huge win. So I I don't feel comfortable with where I'm at in regards to the points with Mitch 'cause it really just takes any given week for that to that go right back to Mitch's favor or get pretty close. Well, a lot would have to go right for me to flip the script here. It's not impossible because we've talked about all the parody in college football. So you're right. It's not impossible, but I'm not feeling great. Yeah. I do think this is time before we go into our recap of of these games and our detailed breakdowns. I think we need to reveal our AP top twenty five poll, Sam. Not our AP top twenty five It is not yeah. poll, our honey it's Saturday top twenty five poll. We don't we don't do the AP poll around here. How dare you say that? Even mention the A P poll is wild. so I I'll start off. Yeah, I'll take responsibility. I'll start off reading the first five and then we can kind of just do it how we've always done it in five talk, five talk. so our top five currently are sitting at number one, Miami, number two, Ohio State, number three, Georgia, number four, Indiana, and number five UCLA Bruins. What are your thoughts? Number five, UCLA Bruins. that's I love it. I I think it's exactly where they should be right now. I I I just think that's exactly where they should be. I think Miami is kind of after last week with the whole Florida State thing and people were like, well, you kinda had to put at number one, but didn't feel great about it. They went out and just dominated this week. Yeah. and I think it's pretty obvious that as of right now, they're the number one team in the country. Ohio State's at two. That's gonna be an interesting conversation because they've obviously Got an interesting matchup this week and Saiyan's gonna be out. So we we need to see the Buckeyes play without Julian Saiyan and evaluate from there. But I'm not a type of guy to punish a team in the rankings before I see it on the field for an injury, unlike the playoff committee punishing Florida State a few years ago, undefeated Florida State, ACC champions, Jordan Travis done. We all know what happened there. but I'm not the type of guy to punish a team for that type of injury. until they prove that it's detrimental on the field. So Ohio State sitting at two, Georgia three. I think those two, you could flip them and I would have no problem. Indiana four. Indiana sitting at four because I think you kind of have to put them there still. I don't think they've blown me away. I wouldn't be Mm. shocked if some people would have them a little bit lower in the rankings, but the end of the day, they got a win in Ann Arbor. They easily, I mean they were one foot inbounds away from beating Ohio State last week and that's their only blemish on their resume. So I think you have to put them at four for now, but I that that one feels a little bit like you're walking on thin ice. Yeah, I'd have to agree there. again, I I think it's a good point for Ohio State. Just we're we're we're we're having them where they're at now based off what they've done the rest of the season. Obviously, once they get into a tough matchup where quarterback play is gonna have to be big, that could be a big part of it. And honestly I could argue that even for UCLA too. UCLA's been a really good football team, but they haven't really ha required a ton of big time quarterback play with Nico being out. Honestly, I feel like you'd even say the same about Indiana with Josh Hoover. he hasn't blown us away. He's been very just not I don't know. He just hasn't it doesn't seem like he's put it all together. I think he's still kinda coping with the injury. so it's a I I like where our top five is sitting right now, but it it it's gonna change. Again. Like this isn't like our firm top five. I think I think some of these teams continue to lose. So I don't know who's gonna be next, but I think there's gonna be some change up in there. look I agree with you. And on that point, before we get into number six through ten, just before we get into number six through ten, real quick, on that point, Sam and I have done some self-evaluation. We've done some self-reflection, and we've done some deep, deep diving into our thoughts on this college football season. We have decided to give you our updated playoff brackets. Not today, but this week. On our preview show for week nine, we're gonna drop our updated playoff brackets. The preseason brackets, they had their time. It was fun while it lasted. Didn't last long. I think it's time to reevaluate and stand on business this time around. So week nine playoff brackets will be released this week, just so you guys know. There you go. Good good good little segue 'cause we we ne we need something positive to go our way. We we gotta rebuild. Our our our initial preseason playoff brackets are all out of whack right now. I think we have some teams in there that aren't even even close to contention. So we need a restart. We need a good good halfway point in the season to regroup and just try to turn something into positive that's not positive right now. Yeah, to give us some credit, look, I've seen pretty much every single national college football reporter, media individual release an updated playoff bracket in the last week or so. 'Cause the same thing, yes, we we're struggling with our bracket, but because of college football this year, everyone's struggling. So I don't feel bad about myself. My self esteem's always high. I believe in myself, Sam. Yeah. I do too. But it wasn't a good start. all right. Six through ten. We got Utah at number six, Kentucky at number seven, Notre Dame at number eight, BYU at nine, LSU at ten. Thoughts? Yeah, obviously you got BYU falling from two to nine after that loss to UCF. I guess you you gotta keep him at nine because that win over Notre Dame is still on their resume, still impressive, and all of these teams really have blemishes at this point. People will be like, I noticed Notre Dame is ahead of BYU. What's up with all that? Guys, don't overcomplicate it. It came down to the last play of the game, and yes, BYU won. I respect head to head. But if you're comparing those resumes, Notre Dame's got a loss to BYU. on the road and a very close game. And b BYU's got a loss to unranked three and three UCF. So don't come yelling at us for that one. I think that's fine. They're right next to each other. Kentucky at number seven in the country. How about that? Will Stein and the boys, man. Man. We're a little higher on Kentucky than the AP poll. I think the AP poll's got them at nine. Yeah, they're the second best SEC team right now. They've got they've got a bye week this week. they beat Vanderbilt pretty handily on Saturday, which everybody does that to Vanderbilt, but I don't know if they did. I I looked up in the third quarter in Kentucky, they were up I think seventeen fourteen and it was almost going into the fourth quarter and then they pulled away in the fourth. But they did struggle a little more than I expected to. Yeah, I think that was a good example of just playing with their food. I think they were kinda th they've played what, eight weeks in a row, they were going into their bi week. I think they were ready for a a little bit of a break. So they probably didn't come as prepared as they needed to, but in a sense that was also a game where they could take a break. No, I agree. So yeah, I'd be I agree. They they got the job done. And if you look at the SEC standings, by the way, I believe the Kentucky Wildcats are in first place. Are they ahead of Georgia? SEC network posted it this morning, so I'm pretty confident in that. Wow. Yeah, that's wild. Who no w nobody would have thought that. yeah, Notre Dame BYU, but I think you made a good point there. Who why is BYU not ahead of Notre Dame? UCF three and three, I think just the record there. Utah had a big win against Houston this week. they c they'll continue to look a little bit better than I thought they would have, to be quite honest. So I think they deserve to be at that sixth spot. And then you got LSU rounding out at ten, which they had a big win against Auburn on on Saturday. I think the biggest thing that I think a lot of people are struggling w struggling with in their in rankings are just what to do with this big chunk of SEC teams that are sitting there at six and two. Yeah, it's the cannibalism that's going on all across college football, but specifically in the SEC, they're dealing with it the most. You've got throughout the rest of the rankings, it's pretty much where do we put this two loss team versus where do we put this two loss team in the SEC? And and they've all they've all got for the most part big wins where you're you find it hard to drop them too low because they've got these significant wins, but they're they've also got the losses on their resume. Some of the losses aren't great on paper either. It's it's very confusing. Yeah, incredibly. 'cause then look at our our next five. You got eleven, Texas, Wake Forest is at twelve, Alabama's at thirteen, Tennessee's at fourteen, Ole Miss is at fifteen. So that's just a whole combination right there, excluding Wake Forest of just SEC teams that have all had some scheduling pieces to where they've both played each other, like Tennessee's played Texas, Tennessee's played Alabama. Ole Miss has played Texas, Ole Miss has I don't think they've played Alabama, but they've played LSU. just a lot of these teams that are just kinda eating up on each other. Yeah, absolutely. And it's crazy to think how low we were on Texas last week after those back to back losses. They lost to Oklahoma, which we didn't see as a good loss. and then obviously they went down the next week as well. And we're like, What's what's going on? And then they just go out and I look up and they got a twenty four to three lead in the first half over Trinidad Chambliss Ole Miss. Like Yeah. And I know that game ended up being really close coming down to the wire. It was actually a great finish. But still, I if you'd have told me that last week, I I didn't know if Texas was capable of that. So I think they deserve, based on their wins, because they have that win against Ohio State still on their resume as well, which is a huge one for them. I think they deserve to be at this 11th spot. Wake for us at twelve. They just, you know, keep doing their thing. Gio Lopez just keeps doing his thing. People are not talking about him enough, I don't think. That offense is pretty great. And then Wake is sitting ahead of Alabama, Tennessee, and Ole Miss. So they're breaking up that SEC sandwich right there. Yeah. Which shout out Wake Forest, man. They they've been such a good football team this year. I think they're right now the clear cut number two team in the ACC outside of Miami Miami. he he he's the hottest coach that teams that teams are gonna be going after this off season with a bunch of firings that have already happened. NC State fired Dave Doran, Dave Aranda got fired yesterday, kick Loxley from Maryland got fired last week, so it it's starting to pick up, but I he he's the name you gotta watch. And I hope he stays at Wake Forest 'cause I think Wake Forest is a great school and I think he does it the right way, but he's gonna be a name that's very highly sought after. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see if he's able to stick it out at Wake and they're able to keep him. That would be great to see. I'm not confident they're gonna be able to do it, but that would be great to see. We've got sixteen through twenty. We've got Texas Tech dropping all the way to sixteen in our poll. Florida, the Gators are at seventeen, Houston is at eighteen, so they fell to eighteen. Missouri's at nineteen and Northwestern rounds out the top twenty. They're sitting there at number twenty. Yeah. yeah, I think Texas Tech again, I haven't been super high on Texas Tech this entire year. I mean, it was hard to not have them where they were the last last week, but I I think that win against or that loss against Cincinnati kind of kinda proved otherwise for me, just kinda how I feel about them. So I think they deserve to be in that spot. little side note, Missouri's at nineteen. They get a mod Hardy back this week. The running back who's been out for the entire season after he Suffered a gunshot wound, I think, in the offseason. So he's he was coming into the year. If he wasn't hurt, he was considered probably the best running back in the SEC. So obviously they had a really bad loss last week or two weeks ago against Ole Miss. So I think they're gonna be able to bounce back. But they're they're a team that's still again that that's in that SEC mix that could definitely keep climbing up these rankings. Yeah, getting Hardy back is huge. And I know their running back room hasn't really s suffered necessarily for it. They've still been an elite football team running the ball this year. So shout out to the depth that they've got. But it's always amazing when you can get two workhorses like that. So now they got a full stable. They can split carries. They can be fresh every down. I think that's going to be a really difficult matchup as long as they can stay healthy on the offensive line for SEC defenses once Hardy's back. Yeah, for sure. Houston at eighteen, they suffered that loss against Utah. Again, th they're just I got some major beef with Utah or with Houston. And we we can talk about that a little bit later when we go the breakdown against against Utah. Yeah, we'll talk about it when we get to the Yeah, we'll talk about it when we get to the breakdown. I look, Houston, I think if you're a Houston fan, you gotta be a little bit frustrated because I think Houston I still think Houston is a really good football team. I I truly do. I've watched them pretty much every week. I think they look like a really good football team. Their two biggest opportunities though, against Texas Tech on the road and against Utah on the road, which both of those being on the road is a little bit tough. To Houston's credit, I will say both of those being on the road, it's a little bit of a shorthand that they got dealt. However, they were in both of those games and they could have won both of those games. They had an early lead in both. And I think they just haven't been able to finish those games the way that they need to. And they've both been close. but yeah, they're all the way down to eighteen after I think we had at maybe thirteen, twelve or thirteen last week. Yeah. So that that is what it is. Northwestern's sitting there at 20. They're still just hanging around. They handle business this week. And then we got 21 through 25. We got SMU, the Mustangs at 21, Boise State, 22, Arizona at 23. Shout out to Arizona. Cincinnati climbs into the rankings at 24 after what they did to Texas Tech this week. And then Oklahoma State at 25. Just to give you guys our first three teams out, by the way, before we break down twenty-one through twenty-five. First three out, Wisconsin. I know everyone was probably asking, where's Wisconsin? Well, they're right there. They'd be at twenty-six if we had this poll. So they're right there. New Mexico is also one of those teams. And then Virginia Tech is on the first three out as well. So Wisconsin, New Mexico, Virginia Tech, very close. Yeah. Yeah, the the big twelve teams that are sitting right here, Arizona, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State. Welcome Cincinnati to the Hunting and Saturday poll. We're glad to have you. It's first first time in our in our rankings and much deserved. They look like the better team on Saturday against Texas Tech. Boise State continues to sit atop the list of that kind of G six team that's gonna be that playoff spot. not included in the rankings, but something to touch on. James Madison lost. this past week against Appalachian State. They were undefeated at the top of the sun belt. and they were kind of just on our our outside looking in from last week's poll and after that loss, I think that kind of removes them from any and all contention for that last G six spot. Yeah, I will say one thing here. if we had a first four out, I'll pop quiz to you, Sam. Do you know who that fourth team would be? It's okay if you don't, but it has to do with the G six playoff conversation. I'll give you a hint. U T S A. UTSA. So I did include UTSA on the outskirts of my poll. I think I had them at twenty-eight, twenty-nine. So if we Yeah. had a first four out, I'm pretty sure they'd be that fourth team. But they're they are one that is still in contention. I know Boise is like if they continue to handle business, it's gonna be really hard to keep that Boise team out of the playoffs. But UTSA has been a really good football team too. And they're still sitting there with just that one loss to Texas. Which arguably is the better loss comparative to Oregon. Correct, yeah. Just based on the way those teams have played. So it's gonna be interesting to see how that finishes if U T S A is able to continue the momentum they've got. They've got a a tough American schedule, so it's no no guarantee they're gonna be able to keep winning. Yeah. Yeah, I like that caveat. But yeah, I think this is a good good good top twenty five poll. I think we've got all the teams in here that deserve to be in here. and I I have a feeling this is gonna look a lot different next week compared to how it looks right now. I that's a great guess. I would completely agree with you just based off what we see every single week. All right, before we move on from our ranking segment, we do this every week. I want to talk about our biggest disagreements. I'll just call out two of them. let's talk about OleMus. Sam, you've got Ole Miss at number 11 in the country. Obviously, they're at number 15, I think, in our poll. I've got them all the way down at 17. I'm Yeah. curious to hear your your reasoning. And I mean I don't think maybe either of us are wrong. This is part of the two lost SEC sandwich we're talking about. And I guess this is one we differ on the most out of all those two lost SEC teams. So Sam, why do you got them at eleven? Yeah, I just have them higher up there 'cause I I I think they still have Heisman Trophy quarterback. I think he is still playing really good football. Obviously he got off to a little bit of a slow start. and honestly for me, I just think all of those two lost SEC teams that are kind of in that bunch. I mean, I think I had Alabama, Tennessee, those guys were all around that area. to where I just I think those two th all those teams are very much top fifteen teams in the country. And deserve to be ahead of some of these other teams that maybe are a one loss, but I just think the the level of competition that the SEC's at right now and just how much it's just almost just cannibalism a a as you can call it. I think they deserve to be there because of their strength schedule up to this point. I think that's fair. honestly for me when I'm comparing these teams, I I think that a lot of the the teams that I put ahead of them, I think have maybe some arguably some better wins in the SEC. That was essentially what it came down to for me. However, for oldness, when I think about the totality of their resume, the one thing that still sticks out to me, and I know it was a win, I know it was week one, but the Louisville game week one, the way that it went down. And at the time we thought, those are just two really good teams going at it. And it came down to like it was a three point game. Ole Miss won. The longer the season goes on and I get to keep watching Louisville play, they're not as put together of a football team as I think we all thought they were. And so when I'm comparing these teams, that's on the outside, out of conference play looking at me. And that's the reason why I drop them below some of the other ones. Yeah. No, that's fair. again, that makes a ton of sense. But I I th I do think that Louisville team was good at the time. I think Keene Holse's first start. that's a big big time opening matchup, SC versus ACC. And obviously their season hasn't turned out exactly how they would want it to be, but I think for where where those two teams played at that point in the season, I think that was a pretty pretty fair matchup. Yeah, I I don't disagree with you. it's just again, it's hard to know where those two lost teams fall. And I will say to all of our audience, when we get into the college football playoff rankings discussion at the end of the year, I know it's going to be chaotic. I can already tell Sam and I are gonna have some fun. Cause I don't think, based off what I'm hearing from Sam, I don't think we're gonna be on the same page. I think if we're having those debates between those three lost SEC teams, which is going to happen. And maybe a one loss Big Twelve team or a two loss Big Twelve team. I'm not sure Sam and I are gonna be on the same page. I I don't disagree that the SEC is a gauntlet. I really don't. But it sounds to me like you'd be willing to put that three loss SEC team in any day. Yeah, I would. Definitely would. before we hop into the the games All right. All right. Well that's real quick, I do wanna just go ahead and make an announcement, all right. This past week I again lost to my wife, Cameron. So I don't have the hat with me currently. I will have to wear that again when we film later in the week. I'll be sure to include that, but just kinda wanna give an updated just wife tracker. Before we go into these these eight game recaps. so I went three and five on the week, which was a bummer, even though I was the only one that picked Wisconsin to win. And I found a way to get that that pick right, but everything everything else was a disaster. Mitch went five and three, Cameron went four and four, and Keaton went four and four as well. so our total records that we're sitting at right now was Mitch's 45 and 24, Cameron's in second being 43 and 26. I'm go I'm in third at forty and twenty nine and Keaton is last with thirty eight and thirty one as her record. so again, just another just incredibly disappointing week for me and just really poor showing by my ball knowledge level that my wife continues to just dig my grave a little deeper every week. Ouch, man, that that stinks. I will say. I I think that I have been I'm not a believer in luck. I'm not a believer in luck. I think skill is a a part of the equation for sure, but I think I have gotten some favorable results to go my way this year. So I will take my top standing right now. I'll take that five and three week with all the chaos. I'll take last week's five and three with all the chaos that went down last week too. Not sure how I came out of those two weeks unscathed. But man, Sam, that's Frustrating. I appreciate your resiliency. And shout out to all of us, including Keaton, for being well above five hundred in a college Mm-hmm. football season that has been very unpredictable. Yeah. Yeah. I think the girls have both done a really good job. I also I also don't know if you guys can tell. I clearly clearly Cameron has. Okay. Okay. Alright. Cool. I don't know if you guys can tell. A lot of the a lot of the social media stuff is is run by Mitch. I I pitch in there occasionally, but that's a little bit of his bread and butter, so I love how you you see take a picture of the the hat last night and be like, I wonder who's gonna be wearing this and it's like, dude, come on. That was a direct shot. to get the people interested in our episodes somehow. they gotta have something to hang on to. Everybody knew I was wearing the hat, man. You you you're gonna let down. I don't think so. That's not true. Also, I appreciate feedback. If you guys like the the video cameos I started doing a little bit, I know live on Saturday after the Tennessee loss and after the A and loss to Bama, I kinda went on there in a black and white little video of what went down that night. If you guys enjoy that content, I'll keep it up. So just let me know. And if you hate that content, I'll probably keep it up anyways just to be annoying. It's great content. I love it. I appreciate that. We should probably get into these games. You want to start off with Indiana, Michigan? Yeah. Indiana went into Ann Arbor on Saturday and beat Michigan thirteen to six in overtime in a game that I think both offenses are not great, but I think two defenses that are phenomenal. I I'm a huge defensive guy. I love these kind of football games where it's low scoring. Defenses are just on f on on full steam to where they're the ones that are controlling the tempo. They're the ones controlling the game. I think Michigan had their chances to win this football game. That I really think they did. I think carr at quarterback is the better option going forward for Michigan. but I think Indiana just with their staff, their players, the team that they have to this point, it was just a little bit too much for Michigan just for where they're sitting at in this season. so I mean that's that's a tough place to go in and get a win. Shout out Indiana. again, their defense is just continuing to play the lights out. and they needed all of that on Saturday. So a a good win for Indiana in a hostile environment. 100% first win for Indiana at Michigan since 1967. So Wow. we have the context of modern Indiana football within the last couple of years to where we know Indiana is a solid program, but we have to remember how bad they've been for a long time. This is their first win in the big house at Michigan since 1967. So that's huge for the program. Now, having said that, I give full credit to Indiana. I love to talk about the winning team first. They pulled it out. They were able to get it done in overtime. I think that again is a testament to the character of this team, which we've seen a couple of times this year. Even in the games that are closer that we didn't maybe expect, they're able to pull it out, with the exception of that Ohio State game. But even that one, they were this close. This close. A foot coming down inbounds versus out of bounds from being able to pull that one out too. So credit to Indiana. That being said, man, I watched this game from start to finish. This is one of the few times while I where I will say the better team on the field that day, I don't think won the game. I think Wow. Indiana's offense was struggling. I think their defense is incredible. I think Michigan's defense is also incredible. Exactly like you said. I thought they both played very well. Both teams, like Michigan had 224 total yards, Indiana had 212 total yards. Very Mm-hmm. mirror image of each other. Defensively, both teams played excellent football. Michigan out possessed Indiana by a significant amount in this game. Time of possession. They doubled Indiana in passing yards. If you'd have told me Josh Hoover was going to get doubled up by Tommy Carr, I would have probably laughed. I did not see that coming at all. I think the thing for me, the reason why I say I feel like Michigan fumbled this one is they missed two field goals. Yeah. That right there would have won the game in regulation. They had the ball at like inside the 10. On multiple occasions and were unable to finish those drives. And Indiana didn't have as many of those similar opportunities. I just felt like every time I looked up, I as an Indiana pick seven fan, because I haven't in my pick seven set, I was sweating the whole game because I felt like every time I looked up, Michigan was threatening. Indiana I didn't feel like was threatening on a consistent basis, but every time I looked up, Michigan was threatening. And Indiana's defense was able to stand tall and they forced a couple missed field goals, which were huge. But I just I really felt like if you're a Michigan fan, you feel like you kinda gave that game away. Yeah. That was a good point. So, but shout out to Indiana for getting the win. Obviously, still a one-loss team. They got everything to play for. We'll move on to the next one. Sam, I don't know if this is the same order that you're looking at the game. So I'm going to say it loud and clear so you have time to get yourself prepared. But LSU, number 19 in the Honey It Saturday poll going into the week, went to Auburn. The same Auburn Tigers that just took down Georgia on the road the week before. We weren't sure what this was going to look like. Sam and I had different opinions on this game. LSU just manhandled them. Thirty eight to seventeen. Really wasn't ever close. what were your thoughts here? Yeah, this was this was total domination. I I obviously picked Auburn to win this football game. Granted, I thought this was a good chance for me to make make an upset pick. Very similar to that Wisconsin USC, LSU's a very good football team. I thought this was gonna be a really good game to maybe it'd come down to the wire, hey, if LSU won a on a game winning field goal, shame on me, whatever. Like that that is what it is. But this was not Auburn just looked lifeless, man. Th this was a total domination. LSU from start to finish was just so incredibly disappointing based off how Auburn played a week ago against Georgia. Georgia's a Georgia's one of the most physical teams in all of college football. And it's like they gave everything for that game just to be able to go into the L SU game, not even at fifty percent strength. So, I mean think L SU's continuing to To win these games and get better as the season goes on. I think this was big for them just to be able to get that monkey off their back of not being able to win on the road. and granite, I mean, this Auburn team, they I think that's that's how their season's gonna be. They'll have a big win against Georgia, which was huge, big time rivalry, and then just absolutely crap in the bed like they did on Saturday. just a very disappointing effort. this this LSU team's got a hard schedule still coming up. I think they still have to go two out or maybe they think they host Alabama. They gotta go to Tennessee. So they're they're they're continuing to stay alive. It's again one of those two lost SEC teams that really just can't afford another loss. So they're still there. They're still they're still making progress as the season goes on. But I think that was a big win for L S U. It was a huge win for LSU. I I felt like going and I talked about it a little bit in the preview. I felt like Levitt had been trending in the right direction recently. Turnovers were a big problem at the beginning of the year. You could see those starting to kind of taper off. He wasn't fully healthy a few weeks ago. I felt like he was gonna continue to get healthy. And if you look at his numbers, I mean, he's been a good quarterback. I he three eighty seven, three touchdowns, no turnovers in this game, fifty four rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. I thought he played a great football game. I think Auburn Auburn's defense has shown itself to be vulnerable this year. They just didn't against Georgia, which is crazy. that seems like an anomaly. I don't know how that happened. I I Yeah. think they're going to be very grateful and Alex Golish is going be very grateful at the end of the season that they were able to pull that one off because first year head coach, you're you're gonna have some time to grow and improve, and at least you have that Georgia game to fall back on and say, This is what is possible. This is where we're trending towards, this is where we wanna be. Because they're gonna need to be able to look back on it. I don't think that they're gonna have a stellar finish to the year. but yeah, full credit to LSU here, it really was just domination. Five hundred and fifty Yeah. total yards to Auburn's two hundred and seventy. I I don't need to talk about much more than that. Yeah. Yeah, just just just a good good hard fought win for L S U going in two Jordan Hare too, which that they deserve to win that football game. transitioning into another one of these two lost SEC teams that we continue to talk about just kind of on where they're at. Tennessee went into Williams Bryce Stadium on Saturday and lost twenty-seven to twenty-four to the South Carolina Game Cox. Mitch, I I honestly want you to start with this one. I'm I'm still just trying to get my thoughts together even though it's been pretty close to a full forty eight hours. So I'm I'm still struggling with this one. So take take it so take it away here. I would be happy to. I look, we talked about it. Everyone knew it was possible with the exception of all those Tennessee fans on our TikTok. Shout out to those guys who were just so blatantly, confidently, insultingly wrong last week, telling us we were nuts for even considering picking South Carolina. I think most common like most people with common sense, most decent human beings knew that this game had potential to be close. It's Cocktober. You didn't want to talk about Coctober last week. You you kept telling me it's fake. It's not real. I feel horrible sitting here saying this. It doesn't bring me joy to sit here and do this with Sam on the call, genuinely, because look, I have no room to talk right now as far as my personal fandoms are concerned. So this in no way is meant to be personal. Guys, Coctober is back. I don't know if you guys know this. They've taken down. Florida in Cocktober, and they've taken down Tennessee now in Cocktober already. So I think there's no denying that it's back. Look, the way this game played out, Tennessee had every opportunity to win this game. I it's frustrating if you're a Volunteers fan. I'm sure you dominated the time of possession in this game. You only turned the ball over one time. You ran the ball well, 184 yards on the ground. And you didn't, Lenoris Sellers, his numbers through the air don't jump off the page. He was able to do a lot, a lot on the ground, which sometimes is just hard to stop. That game winning or that game tying touchdown at the end. that's just pure drive and dedication from Lenoris. nobody was going to stop him from getting to the corner of the end zone on that play. That was incredibly profet or impressive and the type of thing that you do expect to see out of Lenora Sellers. I think if you're Tennessee, it's frustrating. You had so many opportunities that were taken away. Obviously, everyone's going to talk about the three touchdowns that were taken off the board. But look, at the end of the day, this is a good South Carolina team. They have blown two significant leads this year, early in the year, which if they had not done, that's easily a six and one football team right now. I think people forget two of those three losses, South Carolina blew big leads. And that's on them. that's on them to figure out. That's on Shane Beamer to figure out and justify. But if you're a Game Cox fan, I don't think you're super happy either because you're like, okay, I've I've watched us go to Gainesville, dominate Florida. I've watched us beat a really good Tennessee team at home. What was happening at the beginning of the year? this is a good football team. It's their own fault that they're not six and one right now. Yeah, no, I agree. I think th it's it's the same thing every year. they're gonna they're gonna be one of those teams I wouldn't be surprised at the end of the year if they're one of these nine and three SEC teams that has just played super hot the rest of the entire season and they just miss it because they're nine and three. that really could be the case. again, it just it's mind boggling to me that they just can't click right as the season starts or even just a couple games into the season, 'cause they've already dug themselves a hole sitting here at four and three with three SEC losses already. man, it it was a good win it was a good one for South Carolina. They steal stormed the field again. I honestly think that this is very similar to your take on Michigan, Indiana, to where I don't think the better team won the football game, honestly. I think Tennessee played really sloppy. They had a ton of penalties. I mean, they had three touchdowns that were called off that resulted in I think three points total. It's true, but at some point that's on you too. Tennessee at the end of the day, even with those three touchdowns called back, you got a fourth and one at the South Carolina 39 with three and a half minutes left. You convert that fourth and one, the game's over. just convert. They didn't convert. They gave South Carolina an opportunity and they get the ball back in a tie game. And Dylan Stewart makes an incredible play. McIntyre fumbles. And that's it. So even with those three touchdowns call back, you still at the end of that game had multiple possessions where you had the opportunity to decide the outcome and you couldn't do it. Yeah, I it's like you said, I think both these teams have good defenses. The game played out pretty much the exact way I thought it would. I did pick Virginia Tech in this game only because I'm tired of believing like I I love Dabbo Sweeney. I have love for the Clemson Tigers, but I'm just tired of convincing myself every single time they have a big matchup that they're gonna finally get over that hill. It's just been a couple of years. They're not gonna do it. I just don't think they're gonna do it. This is who they are now, which is really almost painful to say. It's frustrating, but I did. I I finally I finally let myself pick against Clemson in a big game and I guess it paid off, which that's a little bit sad. like you said, sad valley. I I've been calling him Dead Valley. That's just it's an unfortunate time to be a Clemson Tiger. They got a lot of questions to answer. How do you move forward? You've got a legend, you're gonna build Dabo Sweeney a statue, but you gotta figure out what to do moving forward as a program. So they got a lot of decisions to make. Clemson moved the ball actually better than Virginia Tech did in this game. They outgained him by 50 yards. They ran for 135 yards, which a lot of that was Tate Reynolds on the ground. But I didn't I didn't think they were going to have much success on the ground today because or on Saturday, because Virginia Tech's run defense is very good. So they were able to do some things that I didn't expect, but 150 yards through the air, like you said, very vanilla. the I don't know where the blame goes, but it hasn't mattered who the play caller has been the last three years for Clemson. Didn't matter if it's Garrett Riley, doesn't matter if it's Chad Morris. That offense looks the same every week to me. It's the same. It's full, full of screen passes, full of inside zone, like Sam was saying. There's no creativity at all. They have so many weapons on the field. that wide receiver room is loaded and they just don't showcase them. They don't use them. I don't know what No. is going on there, but it's got to be so frustrating for those wide receivers. It's got to be frustrating for the fan base. I know it is. but yeah, I mean, huge win for Virginia Tech. First win against Clemson since two thousand seven, like we were saying in the preview. So they were able to pull it out. James Franklin six and two. He got everything to play for. Yeah, they're very much still alive in that ACC contention now. So they could they Yeah. could be a team that sneaks in there to the AC championship in Charlotte. So we'll have to see how that plays out. Hundred percent. What you got for the next one, Sam? We got another team that could have had a very, very bad Saturday night if they would have lost from a fan base perspective, from a coaching staff, but they didn't. They found a way to win. Texas beat Ole Miss, 34 to 27. in a just crazy ending to a game where Ole Miss got an onside kick and had a chance to score at the end and wasn't able to capitalize. But this this Texas team, man, I just I don't get it. I really don't. everything about it, Colin Simmons was out this week. Arch Manning and their backup split the reps fifty fifty fifty throughout the week. Maybe it's his time to come in and it's just he still doesn't blow me away, but they win the game. So prop props to Texas in a really hard spot for them to be in with a lot of nationwide media criticizing them. That's that's deserved, but in and a really can't lose spot in their home building and they They went out there and beat a really good Ole Miss team. I think defensively was playing a lot better. I think they just got worn out near the end of the game. And I think one of the Heisman Trophy finalists. I mean they held him to three points in the first half, which against that offense is wild to me. So again, that's a that was I think a great just it was a good SEC football game, but I I think that was a game that you just kind of saw. Texas needed that game more than Ole Miss did. Texas, well, they both needed that game. They both needed that game really badly, I think. But Texas definitely, especially being at home coming off back to back losses and they had national championship aspirations, so did Ole Miss. I but I I would agree with you. I think they needed that game more. They came out as a desperate team. They showed exactly what you would want them to if you're a Texas fan. that first half was incredible. I don't think anyone saw it going that way. Twenty four to three lead over Trinidad Chambliss and this Ole Miss team. That's incredibly Yeah. impressive, both by the offense and by the defense. They didn't play perfect football. And then Chambliss and Ole Miss able to overcome adversity, score 21 straight and tie that game, make it 24-24 late. It forced Texas to go make some play. this this game was it really was incredible. I I will say one thing. Trinidad Chambliss is an incredible football player. We talk about him a lot. I don't think he's having the level of season that people necessarily Just assume that he's having statistically. His completion Yeah. percentage was below 50% in this game. 250 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions. It was not a great performance from Chambliss. but on the other side of this, Arch Manning, he made some incredible plays. It's like you talk about Texas, a confusing team. Arch Manning is a confusing quarterback. Some of these throws, I say this every week. Some of these throws that he makes, these deep balls with with defenders in his face. It's just pure arm talent. It's beautiful, perfectly placed. he made multiple throws this game where I was like, I can understand why the NFL scouts are so high on this guy. And then again, he makes multiple plays. He had three turnovers as well. So Chambless and Arch both turned the ball over three times. Arch two times through the air. He actually got strip sacked for a touchdown that Olness returned as well in this game. So I don't know. It was sloppy. It was back and forth. It was an incredible finish. The onside kick. man. Texas, they needed it. That's that's about all I'll say. This is big for the Longhorns. Hopefully they can carry this one forward and definitely a a tough one to stomach if you're an oldness fan. Yeah, tough to stomach and I both these teams are now every week is just playoff elimination. I think Texas still has to go play L S U. They gotta play A and still. There's there's another team that they gotta play that's pretty tough on their schedule. Old Miss two, they got a tough tough stretch. They still gotta play Georgia. So it's these these guys have to be able to play their best every single given week if they want a chance to continue to make a push for that playoff spot. A hundred percent. And I appreciate you for saying they have to play A and I think it's more of they get to play A and at this point. It's in college station though, so that it's a hard place to play, especially at that point in the Yeah, we'll see. We will see. Yeah, I got I got I gotta make you feel better somehow. this this next game was a game that I picked right, which I again it's it's bittersweet because man, I was the only one that picked this game and thought this was gonna be something that would push me over the edge, and I still finished last in the standings at all four of us this week, but Wisconsin ended up beating USC twenty four to seven, just total domination, honestly. Defensively, I mean they shut down myava. I As a USC fan, I think you're really starting to sit here and be like, is it time for Lincoln Riley? they play Ohio State this week. This was an opportunity for USC to win this game and have a chance to go beat a potentially injured Ohio State quarterback, or whatever is going to happen with that quarterback position, to where the Big Ten's wide open. you have UCLA right now. Indiana has is incredibly vulnerable as we've seen on a week to week basis. This was your year and your chance to make a make a statement and they and they weren't able to get it done and they obviously have a tough one this week. but shout out Wisconsin, man. Luke Fickle was one of those coaches we've talked about that's been on the hot seat for the last couple of years, who outside of that Notre Dame game and how they played against UCLA, like he's turned that team around really well over this year. He still has his guys bought into the culture. That he's been trying to build there for the last couple of years. So th that was a big time win for Luke Fickle. So I think I think they d they deserve all the credit for that one. Yeah, I can't wait to talk about this game. It's gonna be short and sweet for me. dude, fifty-eight passing yards for Wisconsin and they won this game twenty-four to seven. Fifty-eight passing yards for Wisconsin and they won the game twenty-four to seven. You know how many rushing yards USC had in this game? I don't know. Negative seventeen in four quarters of football. My Eva must my Eva must have gotten sacked a lot. Five times. He was sacked five times. Negative seventeen rush yards for USC, a hundred and forty two on the ground for Wisconsin. Myava, you talk about shutting him down. He did have two hundred and sixty yards in the air and a couple turnovers. But when your offense has negative seventeen rushing yards and you're forced to do everything through the air, you're probably gonna turn the ball over a couple of times. Myava only had three interceptions all year going into this game and he throws two because they couldn't their offense was so one dimensional. Huge for Luke Fickle in Wisconsin, but yeah, the Lincoln Riley, that seat got really hot. Really hot. I Real really hot, really fast. I don't know he I know he's not feeling good today, I'll just put it that way. That's a good point. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. And maybe maybe his replacement coach had a big time win on Saturday. New Mexico hosted North Dakota State and got the win twenty-one sixteen and a G six matchup for the Ages. New Mexico I think kinda had control of this game throughout. North Dakota State I think scored late with that with that touchdown at the end. but New Mexico, I think just what he's been able to build and it it's been everywhere he's been. I think about how he was at Idaho, Idaho is a really bad football program and he was able to get them turned around really quickly. New Mexico hasn't been anything for a long time and he's got them successful with the one loss to an Oklahoma team that he arguably probably could have beaten. so I think this was a big win for him and just continuing to build up his resume as a coach and just New Mexico in general for that last G six spot. Against a really good feisty North Dakota state team who who's been in a lot of these tough games before. they know how to compete in these type of matchups and New Mexico just looked like the better team on Saturday. Yeah, New Mexico got a huge pick six in this game that really was the differentiator when it came down to it. They had a 14 to 3 lead at halftime, but North Dakota State kept clawing back. It ended up being a great game. Time of possession was pretty much right even. Total yards are pretty much right even. the the key for me here is North Dakota State, the two times that they've been shut down this year, their run game has not been able to get going. That's a program that has been built off the run for a long time now, has been very consistent. And I think that's the one thing that is a little bit of a concern for them. When they get into these tougher, more competitive matchups, they haven't been able to force their hand on the ground. They were held to 53 rush yards in this game. And they they made Nathan Hayes have to make some plays through the air. And he did. He threw two touchdowns. He had about 200 yards. So credit to him. He did turn the ball over a couple times. And like I said, that pick six ended up really being the differentiator. But I would say this was a good game. I think New Mexico is a great football team. These are two really good teams. that that played a a tough football game and for me, North Dakota State, they're in my pick seven. I obviously would have loved this to go the other way, but shout out to Mr. Eck at New Mexico. He's been they've been balling. Mr. Eck is wild. That sounds like you're like fifth grade P Mr. Eck, dude. teacher. But good good win for them just to be able to stay alive in that G6 contention. and this takes to our our last game of the true Well, before you before you transition, I apologize. I have one shout-out in this game that I need to mention. Gavin Sell for North Dakota State. He's a linebacker. He had five tackles for loss in this game. The reason I'm shouting him out is because first of all, five TFL, that's huge. That's the most by a North Dakota State player since 1984 in a game. Wow. And they've had some really good defensive players there. So that's huge. I wanted to shout him out for that, even though they didn't come out Yeah. on top. That's a good shout out for a much much deserved player who I think need needs a little bit of encouragement after taking that loss on Saturday. Yeah. Hey that's a big day. that that is a really big day. So, yeah, la last game of our our of our pick eight here that we got, Houston against Utah. Utah ended up winning this game twenty one thirteen. and I know I mentioned it a little bit earlier during our our top AP or Honey It Saturday top 25 poll about how I got some beef with Houston. I have continued to pick against Houston and I finally caved this week of okay, this is their time. And I'm I'm gonna set the scene right here. So Cameron and I went to a Clemson football game on Saturday. We got back. This Utah Houston game was obviously at 10 15, so had a chance to catch the end of it. It was it was pretty late. We had just cleaned up. I'd gotten in bed. Cameron was already asleep. And I'm I'm so disappointing. And I flipped it back to the Houston, Utah game to watch the end of it. There's Connor Wegman standing there on the sideline. They're down fourteen thirteen. There's a I don't know, n maybe two minutes left or whatever it was. He's looking there sitting super locked in, like, all right, I'm gonna go he's has like five or six game winning touchdown drives throughout his career. I'm sitting there, I'm like, All Connor Wegman. Houston, this is your moment. This is your time to prove me wrong. This is why I picked you this week to get this win against Utah in just a pure two minute fashion. And the very first play, Connor Wigman drops back. They run a twist Utah and the linebacker comes around and just absolutely pops Connor Wigman. He fumbles the football and Utah recovers. And that was it. And that was just pure an utter heartbreak for me of somebody who's not even a Houston fan, but somebody who just continues to feel so and so betrayed by Houston every given week. I just I don't know what to do with them. I'm so confused. My heart was hurting Saturday night. I've never felt this way towards a team and I I I just it's just it's just sad. Cannot believe this. I Yes. I can't stand for this anymore. You feel betrayed by Houston. You've been the traitor this entire season. You have been the one that's betrayed them in all their success. You finally hop on the wagon after being wrong like three or four times, and now you're complaining that they let you down. That is absolutely crazy. Yes, because I picked them at the start of the year to beat Texas Tech. I thought they were a very good football team and they went out to Texas Tech and they lost and they did not look good. They look they play UCF, they don't look good, and all the other games we pick Houston, I've picked against them because I don't think they're a great football team. I'm like, okay. They continue to They did not look good at Texas Tech. They should have won that game. They threw it away. They turned the ball over multiple times. That's the only reason they lost. They dominated that game, I thought. yeah, but they still lost. That doesn't change the fact that they lost. UCF they looked really bad. Again, and I picked against them in every other big time game that we've talked about. And then I pick against them this week to finally hop on the bag and again after they failed me throughout the rest of the season and they fail me again. So I look, I I understand. whatever. I I get it. I think you're just a little bit salty here. Here's the deal. I love Houston. I've been a Houston guy this whole season. I love Connor Wigman. I think he's a great quarterback. I still do. I know he struggled a little bit at Utah. That's a tough place to play. It's a tough defense. my problem, I picked Utah in this game. So I was right. My problem is Houston, in their two biggest games of the year, they've played Texas Tech on the road. And I already mentioned this on the podcast, but they played on the road at Texas Tech. Tough place to play. It really is. On a Friday night, too. And they had a lead in that game. And I felt like they played good football and they just weren't able to finish some drives. They turned the ball over a couple of times, which you can't do. I'm not giving them excuse. But that was a tough loss because I felt like they played really well in Lubbock. And then their next biggest game, which by the way, they do have some great wins. That Oregon State win. Oregon State's a good team. Oklahoma State win at home. UCF, who just beat BYU. So Sam's clowning on that one, but at least UCF's proven they could beat some good teams. I I think Houston does have good wins on their resume, but these two big win these two big games on the road in prime time, both of them being night games, it's just been tough. It's a tough spot to put them in. And they've been in both games and they just weren't able to finish this one off. I think the key here, I talked about Houston's third down offense this week. I talked about it last week too. Going into this game, they were number one in the country on third down offense, third down efficiency. That's the story of this game is that Utah was able to shut that down. Houston had a drive in the first half that was turned over on downs at the three yard line. Houston drove all the way to the three. They couldn't convert. They didn't get any points off that drive. They had another one in the fourth quarter in crunch time where they turned the ball over on downs at the 23 yard line. And that's really the story of the game. That's really it. I thought both these defenses actually played really well. Utah was able to run the ball really well. But they weren't able to capitalize off that. And and Houston's secondary was able to force Dan Pierre into a couple mistakes. We threw some critical interceptions. this is a close game. Time of possession was right at 30 for each team. Utah actually turned the ball over more than Houston did. I just it's these were two good teams going at it. It was a tough spot on the road. And Wigman, Wigman was just unable to to make those crucial plays, and Houston couldn't get those conversions when it mattered. I'm not happy. I know you're not. I'm sorry. There's there's one more game I think we really need to talk about this week. There's well, there's actually a couple games we really need to talk about. Can I I also just want to make a point. How you've been the biggest Houston guy and you've you've ridden Houston throughout the year and you picked this game right and just man. This one had me fired up at two AM on Sunday morning. Sam, you should have taken it as a sign. I've been right on the Houston. I've been right on with them. You should have known when I picked against Yeah, but I picked first. them. You should have known. And That's true. That's true. All right. I gotta I I gotta get through these couple games. We're gonna have to go through quickly because we're running short on time here. I apologize to everybody. Hey yo, it's just me now. Sam unfortunately has some technical issues. Like he said, he's on vacation with his wife. So I'm actually I'm not gonna give him too much of a hard time. The the scary thing is he's not here to respond to anything that I say. So I can say whatever I want about Sam Grant and get away with it a hundred percent. But I'm not going to because I'm a good human being. I'm just gonna go straight into the next game we got to talk about. It's Iowa, Minnesota. 14 Iowa, and the honey of Saturday poll goes down. Just Adding to the chaos. We thought this one was going to be close. We thought it had potential. PJ Fleck in Minnesota with a huge win. I believe they stormed the field over there in Minnesota, which I don't know. You're a two lost team. I feel like you could reasonably expect to compete and win this game, but good for them. That's huge. One by a field goal. Iowa outgained Minnesota by about eighty yards. They ran for more, but neither team really had a ton of success. They threw for more, which I think is huge. The the big one here is the turnovers. Iowa turned the ball over four times. Minnesota turned the ball over one time. You very rarely win a football game turning the ball over four times. So that one stings for Iowa because you really felt like looking at their schedule, they had a really good shot at making a run to that Big Ten championship game. This is gonna put a damper on that. Now there's a lot of parody all around the sport, so they're not completely out of the picture, but I think this one really, really stings and hurts for them. So I I will say Minnesota has one of the worst run games in the country statistically. They couldn't run the ball in this game either, and they still were able to get it done. I picked Iowa because I thought that run game against Iowa's defense was going to be their downfall, and it didn't matter. Because like I said, Iowa turned the ball over four times. And you really can't do that. So that's pretty much all I gotta say there. And then Texas Tech Cincinnati, we got to touch on this. We do this every single week. Unfortunately, Sam is not here for this one with me. But I would like every single one of you guys to just take a second out of respect for the Texas Tech Red Raiders down there in Lubbock, Texas, we're gonna do a moment of silence for what they just endured at Cincinnati. I appreciate guys. that that moment of silence is also a little bit for Sam Grant. He wanted me to mention that 'cause he's just not feeling very well after that Tennessee game this week. But yeah, that's really for Texas Tech. I I was shocked. I was shocked. I mean, I don't know if if Cincinnati took the whole Brennan Soresby situation really personally. I know they're a good football team and they proved that this weekend they're very capable. But I just didn't think Texas Tech would get caught sleepwalking like that. I look up in the first half and they're down big already. And they really had to claw from behind and Just couldn't do enough in the second half to get back into that game. So that's huge for that Cincinnati program. They're sitting there with two losses. That's very, very critical in the Big Twelve race. They've got themselves back into the Big Twelve conversation in Texas Tech. Now you've got a blemish. So you really, really don't have much room for error the rest of the season. And I I just don't think a lot of people saw that one coming. So it's college football. Welcome to it in twenty twenty six. This is what we get. Every week is cinema. Every week is completely chaotic, unpredictable. And that's what we're here for. We're here to cover it for you guys. We're here to give you guys the previews, the recaps. We'll be wrong so you don't have to be wrong. We'll be right so you can be right with us. That's pretty much what we do around here. we appreciate you guys listening. Please subscribe, like, follow our social medias. We try to be pretty active on Instagram and TikTok, X sometimes as well. So just stay in touch, keep it going, spread the word, let people know. And we appreciate y'all. We'll see you for the the week nine preview this week. Excited for it. And don't forget about our updated playoff predictions that will be released. I gotta go lock in and figure out what I'm gonna put on there. So I'm giving you guys a perfect bracket. But yeah, we'll see you guys again on Thursday morning.