Latest / The Mike Blitz Show / Arch Manning, Oregon’s Collapse and Unbeaten UCLA: College Football’s Midseason Surprises

Transcript

Arch Manning, Oregon’s Collapse and Unbeaten UCLA: College Football’s Midseason Surprises · The Mike Blitz Show

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Six weeks into the season and nothing's gone to script.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: Preseason number two, Oregon, unranked.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: Unranked West Wake Forest?
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Ranked.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: Tonight, the Mike Blitz midseason progress report.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: Everybody brings three good things and three surprises right here on the Mike Blitz Podcast.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: We'll be back.
0:32
SPEAKER_02: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Mike Blitz.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Mike Wade, co-host over there, Mark Frensen and Darren Steadman.
0:39
SPEAKER_02: Happy Monday evening, folks.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: How y'all doing tonight?
0:44
SPEAKER_02: Great.
0:45
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm glad we held off a night, actually, tonight, because I needed another day to grieve my tigers, frankly.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: So another 24 hours to process.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Darren, I know you're right there with me.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: Let's give that a little bit more breathing room, a little more time to kind of let that let that go.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Most of our listeners, also Virginia-based Washington Commanders fan.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: It's just an awful, just kind of a gut punch of a football weekend when you throw the Commanders in there.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, look, between between the way the Kentucky LSU game ended and the Commanders Giants game ended, those are like the two most frustrating football games I'll probably watch in all of 2026.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: And to have them both on back-to-back days was just the ultimate kick in the shin.
1:29
SPEAKER_02: So that was just no fun for anybody.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, put that behind us, get that juju off our backs and move forward.
1:35
SPEAKER_02: We're things are trending the right way.
1:38
SPEAKER_02: We're going to get back into it.
1:39
SPEAKER_02: And it's okay because there's still a lot of season ahead of us.
1:42
SPEAKER_02: National championship is still on the docket for all of our teams.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: So it could be it could be worse.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: So anyway, tonight, folks, we're doing something a little bit different than that.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: We're going to do, we're going to check in about the podcast, the parlay, excuse me.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: Darren's going to hit us with that.
1:53
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to talk to you about some breaking news.
1:55
SPEAKER_02: Very excited about one of our honorary homework teams.
1:57
SPEAKER_02: And then Mark is going to lead us through a mid-season review.
2:01
SPEAKER_02: We are literally halfway through the season.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: We're going to do three surprises, three disappointments, kind of take the temperature check on the college football landscape.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: Let it know, let you know kind of where we're thinking, what's caught us off guard, what's exciting, keep your eye on, that type of thing.
2:14
SPEAKER_02: So if you want more week six review, there's stuff out there.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: You are you guys already know what happened.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: You don't need to hear us go on about that.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna we're forward looking.
2:22
SPEAKER_02: We are into the future.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: That's what we're gonna do tonight.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: Um, with that said, I guess I'll start with my news or the news.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: James Madison University announced today they are leaving the Sunbelt conference and joining the American.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: And folks, I could not be happier for my JMU friends.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: JMU is one of the premier G6 teams, frankly.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: And the Sunbelt is a conference that they are financially better than, more competitive than.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: They had outgrown the Sunbelt, which is impressive given they were only F they were in the FCS, but three, four years ago, could not be happier than being the American.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: Any thoughts on JMU's upgrade, gentlemen?
2:59
SPEAKER_00: I think this is gonna be one of these scenarios where JMU comes into an upgraded conference and just runs it, just takes the conference by storm.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: And kind of like what North Dakota State is doing right now, our pet team of the year, we love to watch talking about them.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be saying the same thing about JMU the year after next, I guess.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: They're just gonna own the conference, I think.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they got they got some competition.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: Memphis two lane have been stalwarts, but JMU's good.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: They got Billy Napier who's doing good work.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: Mark.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to see them play Navy and East Carolina each year.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: I think those will be good rivalry games for them.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, kudos to the Dukes.
3:39
SPEAKER_01: We go from like FCS moving up to the Sun Belt and then getting to a better level of competition, going to the American.
3:47
SPEAKER_01: That's good for them.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: What I like the most about this move for JMU is the fact that they are now and can be going to be in control of their destiny every snap of every season.
3:56
SPEAKER_02: What I mean is this past year, they got really lucky to get in the playoffs.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: We had two G6 teams make the 12-team playoff.
4:03
SPEAKER_02: I know the 12-team bracket playoff formation is probably going the way of the Dodo Bird, but for now, it's going to be virtually impossible for two G6 teams to make it.
4:13
SPEAKER_02: So, my point, there's a scenario where in the if they stay in the Sun Belt, JMU goes 13-0 and they're left out.
4:19
SPEAKER_02: At the American, I'm it's a hard time believing that's possible.
4:23
SPEAKER_02: Given they've put themselves right there on the equal footing with the Pac-12 and the Mountain West, maybe even a little bit ahead.
4:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean, JMU was the top brand, the Sunbelt.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: And paired with what they already have, the American, you can make a good argument that the American is now the premier G6 conference.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: And if you are an undefeated conference, American Conference Championship, it's hard for me to see not in the playoffs.
4:44
SPEAKER_02: And if you're in the playoffs, obviously you can win it all.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: My point, when JMU starts their season in August, they know every year that they have a chance to win the national championship if they to go take care of business on the field.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: They don't need help from anybody.
4:58
SPEAKER_02: And that, as a JMU fan, I've gotta feel like is worth a lot to have that ability that all the P4 schools have, as we know.
5:06
SPEAKER_02: There's a whole level of G6 schools that just don't do that.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: So good for JMU, good for the Dukes.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: Cheers to my friends in the Berg.
5:13
SPEAKER_02: That's just fantastic stuff.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: They are their own example too.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: They came out of the A10 into the Sun Belt and took it by storm, and they're gonna do the same thing again.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: It's just upgrade, upgrade.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: It's like it's like welcome to Wrexham.
5:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
5:33
SPEAKER_02: Let's jump over to the parlay.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: Darren, share with the good news and the bad.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Holding in my left hand here my weekend notebook where I just scribble a bunch of scribbles all over it every single Saturday, including our parlay bets.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: We hit six out of eight, and quick rundown of the six.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: Oklahoma State Cowboys lay the points, and they covered it.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: Missouri Tigers lay the points, they got got it done.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Old Miss covered at Vanderbilt, easily they covered it five times over.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: Great call there.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just blasted them.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: And we had some unders, Alabama under USC Penn State under by the hook by a half.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Barely got that one.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, barely got that one.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: We had to wait eight or nine real-time minutes of football play for them not to score that last point.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and we hit Utah covering 13 points as well, and that was kind of close at times, too.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: Kansas was in a place to have to go for touchdowns at the end of the game instead of knocking out our parlay bet and kicking a field goal.
6:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I turned that game on.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: It was a three-point game, and I was like, oh no, this was a bad call.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: And then the last six minutes they got three touchdowns.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: They ended up pushing it, they ended up pushing us for the for the cover.
6:49
SPEAKER_02: But it looked diceier than I thought it was for sure.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: There's a Utah goal line stand.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that was a sweat.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: And if you're gonna hit, if you're gonna hit a parlay, there will be luck involved.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: There will be a sweat, you know, of a lifetime involved to do it.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: But we hit six out of eight, which is great.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: The ones we didn't get were a road favorite Indiana Hoosiers at Nebraska.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Nebraska's defense just showed up and played lights out.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: It was crazy, and Calandria ran his brains out.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: So lucky to win that game.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: They were, they were Indiana, yeah.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: I mean, questions abound in reviewing Indiana and their their dominance right now.
7:27
SPEAKER_02: And there was a 30 mile per hour cross breeze as well as at one point.
7:31
SPEAKER_02: So throwing the ball was real tough.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm when we when we look, we review these losses.
7:35
SPEAKER_02: I try and think, what was the signal?
7:37
SPEAKER_02: What was the signal that I was like, oh, we should have caught that and we should have done it.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: And I guess the short spread, seven and a half, which I guess is like relatively short, given where we thought Indiana was and where we thought Nebraska was, that should probably have been the signal.
7:50
SPEAKER_02: But it was a beautiful sunny day.
7:51
SPEAKER_02: I don't, you know, I really like that.
7:53
SPEAKER_02: I mean, my point is of those of the eight picks, that was one of my top two, top three.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: I felt really good about that one.
7:59
SPEAKER_02: We just just didn't have it.
8:00
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: We also missed another road favorite.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: So home team, home field advantage does end up playing a big part.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: So Tennessee went to Arkansas and they did not cover 13 points.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: Um so there you go.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: When you're betting a road team as a favorite, be careful.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: But good on us for six out of eight.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's yeah, that that that is a takeaway.
8:23
SPEAKER_02: Is we need to be a little more precarious laying points on the road.
8:25
SPEAKER_02: And honestly, you know, my my my tigers and your hookies, they won the road as favorites and how that worked out for them.
8:31
SPEAKER_02: So there's something really to be said for the home teams in college football.
8:34
SPEAKER_02: And that's what that's what bit us in week six.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: But I'm happy.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: I'm happy with the what we're doing.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: This, if you're telling me that we're gonna we're batting 70, 80 percent every week on the parlay, we are in it.
8:46
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we are we are close enough where one or two things go our way.
8:50
SPEAKER_02: You know, Indiana did have a chance to cover at the last minute, Arkansas, Tennessee really never had a chance of going our way after after the first quarter, but we almost got there.
8:58
SPEAKER_02: So I think Darren, I think you're spot on in terms of even if you call everything up, even if you have a really good read on the game and you get them all, you're still gonna have to get lucky somewhere.
9:07
SPEAKER_02: You're still gonna have to do something.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: So it's a good balanced, good balanced trio here.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: I get I get a little trigger happy, but Mark Franzen just brings us down back to earth and says, Wait a hold on and wait a second, boys.
9:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you love a good first half under.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: We have to I think we're batting a thousand on those.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: I think we're batting a thousand.
9:26
SPEAKER_02: I've never been.
9:28
SPEAKER_01: They cause so much stress.
9:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it really does.
9:31
SPEAKER_02: The fun thing about those is um we're gonna know in an hour.
9:33
SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like we're gonna know this is like this is either a quick win or a quick done.
9:37
SPEAKER_02: So that's the one nice thing about it.
9:38
SPEAKER_02: I haven't even looked, I haven't even bothered looking at first half totals or spreads.
9:42
SPEAKER_02: I should do that more often.
9:42
SPEAKER_02: I should get more involved because I think we are batting a thousand on our first half spreads and bets, I should say.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the one we didn't get was the first half Oregon to cover against was it Boise State or what was Oklahoma State?
9:57
SPEAKER_01: Oklahoma they lost all the lost right, that's right, that's right.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: It was like you're covering 20 points.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm okay with that.
10:04
SPEAKER_02: I'm okay with that one because we lost that bet outright.
10:06
SPEAKER_02: They were like 17-point favorites, they just straight up lost.
10:08
SPEAKER_02: So that's that's okay with me.
10:10
SPEAKER_02: That's okay with me.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: All right, guys.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's time for the meat and potatoes of the show.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: What we want to do here at the mid-season report is we're each gonna take a chance to talk about some good surprises that happened, and then we'll go through a couple of surprises on the other end of the spectrum and take a look at that.
10:27
SPEAKER_01: And we'll open up the table.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: Darren, why don't you go ahead and start for us?
10:31
SPEAKER_01: What is a good surprise so far, six weeks into the college football season?
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my I'm just gonna start with the Big 12, and I watched Arizona just beat the Bejesus out of West Virginia this weekend.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just happy that that the that Arizona is in the mix.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: That's a happy surprise for me.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: And the Big 12 is just kind of exciting right now.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: There's a group of seven teams.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Here's my breakdown.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: You got the top three of BYU, Texas Tech, Utah are just putting in real work, but then you got Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma State, Arizona, who are all playing really well right now and have a very real chance to play for the Big 12 title.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: And so I just want to, you know, tip my cap to Arizona, tip my cap to Baylor last week, as well as Oklahoma State, Houston.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Like these, this is a this is kind of an exciting watch through the through the season to see how it pans out in the end.
11:33
SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna go ahead and go second because actually I've there I've got one with you.
11:37
SPEAKER_02: My my number surprise in the Big 12, the Big 12 has been cinema.
11:41
SPEAKER_02: This this I thought coming into this season, the surprise for me was that I thought Texas Tech was gonna run away with it.
11:47
SPEAKER_02: And you're right.
11:48
SPEAKER_02: No, I had I had five or six teams in that top level BYU, Houston, Texas Tech, Okee State, Utah, and Arizona and Baylor right there.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: And the reality is that's it's going to be.
11:59
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm an ice, I mean, I still have a sweet spot in my heart for Arizona State and K-State, and UCF, I think does a couple things.
12:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh, West Virginia makes for good television.
12:06
SPEAKER_02: The Big 12, unlike last year, which was Texas Tech and then whoa, everybody else, it's gonna be it's been cinema for six weeks, and it will be cinema the second half.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: Really hard to bet on, as this podcast knows, uniquely, but from a football viewing perspective, it's been highly entertaining football, maybe more so top to bottom than even the the power two.
12:28
SPEAKER_02: And we've had some bangers in the power two already.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: So nice, so nice.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: I guess I'm gonna change it up, and I'm gonna move over to the Big Ten.
13:16
SPEAKER_01: And the UCLA Bruins being undefeated six weeks into the season.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: That is my big good surprise in the Big Ten.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: They finished last season three and nine, they're currently five and oh.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: Now breaking news today.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: It looks like Nico's gonna be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and love to see how they overcome that.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: But Bob Chesney coming over from JMU, Wayne Knight has looked really good.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: They just defeated Oregon and knocked Oregon out of the top 25 for the first time this season.
13:45
SPEAKER_01: Man, UCLA, my big good surprise of the first six weeks.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: You know, prior to the news today, I was ready to and I was ready to anoint UCLA as the second best team in the Big Ten.
13:57
SPEAKER_02: I really think with Nico, I it's not, it's not Indiana, it's not Oregon.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: We know that.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: And I I really think I think it's UCLA or Iowa, frankly.
14:08
SPEAKER_02: In terms of, you know, now you see I'm with you.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: UCLA is gonna have to figure out a quarterback situation.
14:13
SPEAKER_02: You can't, it's this in this day and age, it's so hard to lose a starter, the guy you pay five, six million dollars for and carry over a second guy.
14:20
SPEAKER_02: Bob Cheshire maybe has that guy.
14:22
SPEAKER_02: The guy that came in, was his name?
14:23
SPEAKER_02: Heffenfurter, Durfenfurter, I can't remember his name.
14:26
SPEAKER_02: He did pretty well.
14:26
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm I'm butchering his name, poor guy.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: I apologize.
14:29
SPEAKER_02: Miko's D.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Miko's brother, Miko's brother's on the backup quarterback room.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: Yes, I think he, I think he's in the I think he's in the lower, I think it's Maddox, I think his name.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: I think he's the third Madden, maybe Madden of it.
14:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, our lads listing hit list is him as the backup right now.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: Differenbach Jr., Richard Jr.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: out of Pitt.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: He is their third string on our lads.
14:52
SPEAKER_02: But we'll see if didn't Diffenbach come in first?
14:55
SPEAKER_02: Am I making that up?
14:56
SPEAKER_02: Who came in off who came in off the bench when Nico got hurt?
14:58
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
14:59
SPEAKER_02: I think it was I think it was Diffenbach.
15:01
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, we'll find out.
15:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the point is they're gonna have to find a a lot of production out of whoever it's gonna be.
15:07
SPEAKER_02: It's nice they have two options.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: It's hard enough to have two.
15:10
SPEAKER_02: Maybe they have three.
15:10
SPEAKER_02: Maybe maybe Chesney has these diamonds in the rough.
15:13
SPEAKER_02: But I'm obviously I'm devastated for Nico because UCLA has been a fantastic surprise, and I with that, with if it with a healthy Nico, I think the number two team in the Big Ten right now.
15:23
SPEAKER_02: But maybe they still can be.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: We'll see.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: We'll see.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, is now the right time to mention that JMU coaches stat?
15:29
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that little fun fact earlier?
15:32
SPEAKER_01: No, Sherry.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: Yes, they haven't lost a game yet.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: Well, hold on.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: So we got some undefeated teams.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: One of our friends shared this today.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Undefeated teams in the FBS right now.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: One of them is JMU, another one is Indiana Hoosiers, former JMU coach, and another one is Bob Chesney, UCLA, former JMU coach.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: So JMU head the last three JMU head coaches are undefeated in the FBS right now.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: Halfway through the season, not a month in, halfway, 18 games in, not a blemish.
16:01
SPEAKER_02: Very they are they are putting something in the water.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: That Purdue chicken plant down there in downtown Harrisburg is doing incredible things for the American channel.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: How many times?
16:10
SPEAKER_01: How many times have you driven down 81 near Harrisonburg following a chicken truck with all the flippers flying right here?
16:16
SPEAKER_00: All the times.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: All the times.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: The Air American Conference couldn't sign them on any faster today.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: It's like, yes, please, JMU.
16:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, also of note, also of note, the current coach, Billy Napier.
16:28
SPEAKER_02: Billy Napier, nickname was Sunbelt Billy.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: He's now American Billy, no longer Sunbelt Billy.
16:34
SPEAKER_02: Lurk.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: All right, guys.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Well, what about the bad surprises in the first half of the season?
16:40
SPEAKER_01: What's one of those that came up that you were not expecting to see this team struggle as much as they are?
16:46
SPEAKER_02: I'll jump in and do kind of the the the the the the yin and the yang to the Big 12 thing.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: The ACC after Miami is really disappointing.
16:55
SPEAKER_02: I really thought the gap, I think the gap between Miami and a really messy SMU, Louisville, Wake, Pittsburgh without Heinchel.
17:06
SPEAKER_02: I don't even know.
17:07
SPEAKER_02: Duke lost this week again.
17:08
SPEAKER_02: It is, I thought the ACC was gonna be a lot more competitive, and I've been disappointed that it is Miami's it is Miami's running away.
17:16
SPEAKER_02: They're gonna be 20-point favorites in the ACC championship game in Charlotte in six weeks, assuming Mensa and Malachi Tony and all those guys are healthy.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: I don't see anybody in the conference putting up much of a fight, and that's just a bummer because I like ACC ball.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: We watch and go to ACC ball.
17:32
SPEAKER_02: We're going to the hookie George Tech games weekend, which I'm very excited about.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: And I just wanted it to be more competitive.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: Maybe there's time, maybe they'll turn it around.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: Maybe Louisville will stop committing penalties and stop doing turnovers.
17:43
SPEAKER_02: Maybe Jennings can get more consistent.
17:45
SPEAKER_02: Maybe Jake Digger can just continue to coach his absolute ass off.
17:48
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
17:48
SPEAKER_02: Maybe there's something there, but right now I'm disappointed with the ACC's lack of friends at the top level, if you will.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm gonna tag on.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, can I tag on to that too?
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I gotta I gotta I gotta hide and put a bag over my head a little bit as a Hokie fan and say that the Hokies and the UVA Cavaliers, unfortunately, we are surpassed by Wake Forest.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: And I've been a fan for 27 years, and it really is a pain to say that out loud.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: We have been surpassed by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and they are in the top tier of the ACC, and we are not.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: And that that stings and and I hate it.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, at this particular point in time, the the week after week six, you know, is a turning point in that narrative.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: But right here on October 12th, it's rough.
18:48
SPEAKER_02: I mean, if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure Jake Dickard's gonna be coaching at South Carolina or Maryland next year.
18:56
SPEAKER_02: So he's probably he's probably not gonna be long.
18:58
SPEAKER_02: Wakeforce is probably gonna go back to being Wake Forest before you know it.
19:01
SPEAKER_02: Jake Dickert's I think is gonna be the on the very tip-top of everyone's coach's board.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: But yes, the Deks are probably sitting pretty squarely at number two.
19:09
SPEAKER_02: A mile behind number one, but probably number two, I don't suppose.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: Guys, my biggest surprise in the first half has been the downfall of the Oregon Ducks.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know if it is the loss of the offensive coordinator to Kentucky, the the defensive coordinator Tosh LePoy to California.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: I thought maybe they came out of the gate a little bit slow against Boise State, and it was just a hiccup, and then the loss to Oklahoma State, a little bit of a struggle.
19:36
SPEAKER_01: I think when Dante Moore got hurt, it was just another gut punch to that team, and then and then I mean they beat USC, and then coming out this week, they had to bench Rayola.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: He was that bad.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: So they're at 3-2.
19:51
SPEAKER_01: They're out of the they're not even in the rankings anymore.
19:54
SPEAKER_01: That is not something I had on my bingo card.
19:56
SPEAKER_01: It's the season begin, began.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: I expected Oregon to be dominant in the top five team for most of the season.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: One of the one of my punter go-forts, and I was, and I was kind of, I I know I draft a bunch of them and I kind of choose which one I want to go for.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: One of them that I just said, as I said, I wasn't gonna go for this week was Oregon is the number two team in the state of Oregon.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Oregon State is a better team than Oregon right now.
20:20
SPEAKER_02: That's probably a little too spicy.
20:21
SPEAKER_02: Oregon State's having a really fabulous year.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: I love Braden Atkinson.
20:24
SPEAKER_02: I love our boy Jesse Legree.
20:26
SPEAKER_02: They're not as good as Oregon.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: But that was one of my punter girlfriends I was considering.
20:30
SPEAKER_02: I can't Oregon's my national championship pick.
20:32
SPEAKER_02: I had they I had them beating LSU in the national championship.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: They're not gonna make the playoff.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: They've got at least one, probably two, maybe three more losses on this schedule.
20:42
SPEAKER_02: Their lack of production, obviously, what happened to Dante Moore is just horrific.
20:46
SPEAKER_02: I hope he gets healthy, comes back.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: They need him back so bad, but I I'm I can't believe how important the OC and DC leaving were.
20:55
SPEAKER_02: I can't believe Dan Lanning didn't have better plans in place.
20:59
SPEAKER_02: With this, I mean, this was the culmination of Oregon.
21:02
SPEAKER_02: They had the guy, they had the defensive lineman, they have the safety, they have the wide outs, the running backs.
21:08
SPEAKER_02: There isn't a spot on this roster on their too deep where there isn't, if not a premier NFL prospect, a soon-to-be premier NFL prospect.
21:17
SPEAKER_02: And this was supposed to be the culmination, and you're looking at an eight and four team, seven and five team.
21:22
SPEAKER_02: It's gotta be just a colossal, colossal.
21:25
SPEAKER_02: They are Oregon as good as this year's Penn State Clemson of last year.
21:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's and I was it was just a week ago on this podcast.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: I said I got four teams who are built to win the national championship, and one of them was the Oregon Ducks.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: I was calling them back to life.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: I was skyrocketing those guys back to the penthouse, and so my how what a difference a week makes.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:51
unknown: Yep.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: Enough of the depressing news right now.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: Let's get back into some good stuff.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: Mike, what's your second good surprise from the first six weeks of the football season?
22:01
SPEAKER_02: You know, me, I love gainful employment and people putting in work and getting a paycheck and taking care of all theirs.
22:07
SPEAKER_02: Everybody's still got a job.
22:09
SPEAKER_02: I am pleasantly surprised that nobody's been fired yet.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: There hasn't been a single person being canned.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: I just am grateful that everybody's out there working.
22:19
SPEAKER_02: The employment rate of college football division one is still 100%.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: So that's really, really wonderful.
22:24
SPEAKER_02: It's good for the economy, the college football economy.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: So I'm just, I'm never gonna root, although I recognize I'm being ridiculous right now.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: I recognize obviously some of these coaches are not gonna last, and you it's right to fire some people, but I'm never gonna root for it.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: I hate seeing people lose their job.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: So my positive.
22:39
SPEAKER_02: Surprise, I will say, is that not a single coach has been fired yet.
22:44
SPEAKER_02: I would have lost a lot of money if you had given me till this time to see at least one, at least one can hadn't happened yet.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: That's not Halloween yet.
22:52
SPEAKER_01: We still have some wagers from early episodes still going for Nordell.
22:56
SPEAKER_02: I think Halloween was the wager.
22:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: Darren, how about you?
23:00
SPEAKER_01: What's your second good surprise of the first six weeks?
23:04
SPEAKER_00: I've got one to go along with that, which is Bill Belichick and the UNC Tar Heels have completely redeemed themselves.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: Um last year it was a it was an absolute laughing stock, and Belichick is not fit for the for college football and all this stuff.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, he just absolutely got ragged to death last year.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: And then they came out and beat a quote ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, still not bitter, I promise, uh team this weekend.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: And the thing I wanted to bring up is here's here's my pleasant here's my pleasant moment, my moment of zen for the for this particular comment.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: After the game, they're in the locker room, and we saw the post-game speech with the players in their uniforms and pads, and Coach Belichick, and he said his Belichick stuff, and he sounded great.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: And he said, You guys worked hard, we got a lot of work to do, this is gonna be a great season, blah, blah, blah.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: Enjoy this.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: Good job, fellas.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: And everybody said, Yay! And then there was a player behind him, I don't know exactly who it was, but he said, Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: And this player said, Look, I got the game ball in my hands right here.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: And first ranked win, Coach B.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: You the man, and they gave him, they gave Coach Belichick for his first ranked win as a college football coach the game ball.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that was really special.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: They'd seem to like him, and there's doing they're doing great.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: So congrats to Belichick.
24:33
SPEAKER_02: They're playing confident football, competent, confident football.
24:37
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we uh we talked about this in August.
24:38
SPEAKER_02: Bill say you can say a lot of things about Jordan and Belichick and all the storm that came with that was but you knew Bill knew how to coach a defense and you knew he was gonna put guys and make it play.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: It seems like they've figured out something with Billy Edwards and Bobby Petrino.
24:51
SPEAKER_02: The offense isn't as bad as we thought.
24:53
SPEAKER_02: They're that crazy lightning delay from being four and one.
24:56
SPEAKER_02: They shouldn't have lost that Clemson game.
24:58
SPEAKER_02: They had Clemson on the roads late.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna pretend they were ever competitive with Notre Dame, even though that was it was only an 11-point game.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: But looking forward at that UNC schedule, I see Miami, which is a loss, and then I see a bunch of that ACC that I thought was gonna be competitive.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: Not so.
25:13
SPEAKER_02: If you were if you sat here and want to talk me into a 9-3, 8-4 UNC, no problem.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: And for a team that was four and eight last year to eight and four, I mean, if you're a Tar Heel fan, you've got to be ecstatic with that possibility.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Love it, love it, love it.
25:29
SPEAKER_01: But guys, my big surprise is there is not a big gap between team number 10 and team number 25 or so in the AP top 25.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: You were looking, we're looking at this, and you know, years past, you would have looked at like the Indiana types against Nebraska, and it would have been a blowout.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: Oregon against UCLA, you would have expected a blowout.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: Well, things are happening this year where these teams aren't that far apart from each other, and it is awesome.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: I mean, look at Wake Forest putting up at least a puncher's chance against Miami a couple weeks ago.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: You're looking, Northwestern is ranked number 25 right now.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: There are teams out there that are, I don't know if they're outperforming with their skill set, but darn, is it nice to see some teams outside of your typical top five, the Georgia, Alabama, Ohio States, the world, Oregons, who are putting up some big wins, and who we might be hearing from later as we get into the playoff season.
26:29
SPEAKER_02: One of the things that people talk about a lot is the point.
26:32
SPEAKER_02: So obviously, there's a there's obviously a there's a there are power ratings.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: Those of you who don't know what power ratings are, what they are is they are rankings based on who would win, who would be favored if they were playing in a neutral site, which is important from a gambling perspective.
26:45
SPEAKER_02: Typically, the power ratings, difference between one and ten in historic historically has usually been like a dominant Ohio State or an Alabama, and they've been like two touchdown favorites over the 12th seed.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: I saw I I don't have the exact statistic in front of me, but to get from a touchdown, I think from like Mark said, to get from the 10th person Texas Tech to be a full touchdown favorite is well down there.
27:08
SPEAKER_02: It's 40.
27:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a while.
27:11
SPEAKER_02: It is very dense.
27:12
SPEAKER_02: This is what the this is the this is what I would describe as a positive side effect of the transporter era, is the top has flattened tremendously.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we were talking about earlier.
27:21
SPEAKER_02: Nobody can hoard three quarterbacks.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: You the days of having Jalen Hurts, Matt Jones, and Tua Tonga Vailoa all on your team are over.
27:30
SPEAKER_02: There's no way's ever gonna have that kind of quarterback room ever again, frankly.
27:34
SPEAKER_02: And that same trickles down to every position.
27:37
SPEAKER_02: If you're talented and you get beat up by your guy, but you're still good, someone's gonna find you and someone's gonna offer you a good deal at a good school to pay you.
27:45
SPEAKER_02: So I think it's made for a lot of really good competitive football because there's just no more super teams.
27:51
SPEAKER_02: And I I do like that.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: That part of the NIL transfer portal, I'm with you.
27:56
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm I'm I's signing off on.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: And this is the second time in this pod that we've mentioned the entertainment value going up of college football in general and how it's inversely relationship relate related to the the betting that we like to do as well.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like it makes it impossible to bet on in this in this way because the Big 12 is so entertaining to watch because there's 12, you know, 10 or 8 teams that are really competitive, and but it's like anything can happen in these games.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Awesome to watch.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Don't count on win and bets, though.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: Don't put your money on Arizona State against Baylor.
28:32
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
28:33
SPEAKER_02: There's gonna be so there's going to be so much clarity in the next four weeks in terms of like right now.
28:38
SPEAKER_02: I still think that I I I'm I'm I'm getting to the point now where I think a three-loss team is gonna get in.
28:44
SPEAKER_02: And there are just so many teams.
28:46
SPEAKER_02: If the field is truly wide open in terms of who can get in and who can make a run at this point, and that's great.
28:51
SPEAKER_02: That's great for so many fan bases.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: It's nice that you don't have to look back at one loss that happened in September and have that destroy the whole team because you've got to most of these teams are growing.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: The good teams at the end of the year have gotten better throughout the season, and it's hard to penalize them because they lost on Labor Day weekend in the Chick-fil-A classic, right?
29:12
SPEAKER_01: And have that impact them the entire year.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: As they get better, it's great to see them like actually be able to get into the playoffs and thrive towards the end.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: All right.
29:22
SPEAKER_01: Is that all for our second round of good?
29:23
SPEAKER_01: Is it time to dip our toes back into the bad surprises of the season?
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's do it.
29:29
SPEAKER_01: All right, who's gonna go up next on that one?
29:32
SPEAKER_02: I'll do it.
29:32
SPEAKER_02: So we're coming off the heels of Red River, which was one of the ugliest, most entertaining of Red River shootouts in a while.
29:38
SPEAKER_02: Oklahoma's nine-point favorites went in there and won.
29:40
SPEAKER_02: They got the job done in an ugly game.
29:42
SPEAKER_02: They mucked it up.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: Special teams, touchdown.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: I'm not surprised Red River went that way.
29:47
SPEAKER_02: Rivalry games in college football are notorious for that kind of thing to happen all the time, especially neutral sites.
29:53
SPEAKER_02: What I'm disappointed in is the Texas offense.
29:57
SPEAKER_02: That is overloaded with superstars.
30:00
SPEAKER_02: Cam Colen, Relique Brown, Hollywood Smothers.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: There are so there is so much NFL talent on that team.
30:07
SPEAKER_02: It should be one of the best top five offenses in the country, and it's so bad.
30:11
SPEAKER_02: And what I can't figure out is who's the bigger issue.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: Is Steve Sarkeesian's play calling the problem?
30:17
SPEAKER_02: Because it's really hard to be a head coach and a play caller.
30:19
SPEAKER_02: We haven't had seen someone do that successfully since Jimbo Fisher.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: It's most of the really smart coaches, they don't do that, they give it to somebody else.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: So I really think Sark's play calling is an issue.
30:29
SPEAKER_02: And two, let's just go ahead and say it.
30:31
SPEAKER_02: Arch Manning's not that good.
30:32
SPEAKER_02: And if his last name wasn't Manning, we wouldn't be talking about him like this.
30:35
SPEAKER_02: We'd be talking about his backup or whoever that is.
30:38
SPEAKER_02: I am wildly surprised, given the lineage, given how highly decorated they both are.
30:43
SPEAKER_02: Steve Sharkesian was a good OC for a long time, good play for calling for a long time.
30:47
SPEAKER_02: Arch Manning, we've seen in spots do well.
30:50
SPEAKER_02: They have Ferraris out wide, they have awesome running backs and Smothers and Brown.
30:56
SPEAKER_02: I I'm just this is not what Texas Texas is gonna lose a couple more games.
30:59
SPEAKER_02: They might even miss the playoffs.
31:00
SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't be shocked.
31:01
SPEAKER_02: Their offense is way worse than it should be, given how talented they are.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: Pay to be number one in late September.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: Darren, how about you?
31:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so similar after this weekend.
31:17
SPEAKER_00: The song that I have in mind is We Could Be Heroes Just for One Day.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: David Bowie, right?
31:24
SPEAKER_00: So Heroes 1977 by David Bowie.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: We could be heroes just for one day.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: These guys had a chance at heroic winning, and they absolutely just blew it.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Here's a small list, and we can probably add to it.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: Tennessee's Mac at George McIntyre.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: He stepped in and barely beat Arkansas, and he had his chance to take the starting job at Tennessee, and I don't know if he got it or not.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: More on that later.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Poor one out for Nico, who got a knee injury.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: They did get it done as a team, but poor Nico is out for the year.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: But in that same game, Dylan Rayola came in as a favorite for the Oregon Ducks after a banger of a game last week and just stunk up the place.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely stunk.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: Arch Manning, like you just said, same deal.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: Had a chance to win Red River.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: Um and just Mason Heinchel.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: Heinchel bumped.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: Poor one out for Heinchel.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Bumped him go.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: We've got some quarterbacks who are just fallen, and I gotta say, Sam Levitt as well kind of blew it.
32:39
SPEAKER_00: For the LSU.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: He was okay.
32:41
SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't think he's the reason we lost, but I mean he thought he he if he had played better, we probably we probably would have won that game.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: He's not why we lost that game, but no, he has not lived up to LSU's expectations yet.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Two turnovers, two turnovers, a fumble and an interception by Sam Levitt.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: And so just you know, the poor the poor quarterbacks out there, all the world and the eyes and pressure is on their shoulders, and a couple of these guys naturally just didn't get it done.
33:09
SPEAKER_00: So sorry, guys.
33:11
unknown: Yep.
33:13
SPEAKER_01: My what is it, bad surprise.
33:15
SPEAKER_01: Number two would be all of the times we've got our hopes up for a team to come out and and ride their wave.
33:21
SPEAKER_01: If it's Ole Miss winning big and then losing, and then Florida winning big and then losing two in a row, or Mississippi State with a big win against Minnesota, and then oh, they come out and lost.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: Like all of those waves of wow, this is the new team.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: They just went up 10 spots in the top 25.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and they lost big in their next game.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: That has been one of my poor surprises.
33:45
SPEAKER_01: Is they're kind of waiting for somebody just to be that Cinderella team, be that Indiana team that we didn't really see coming, that's all of a sudden going to be undefeated on the season.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: And as they start getting that momentum going, somebody comes and punches them in the mouth.
33:59
SPEAKER_02: I think we jumped a shark on a lot of squads.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: I think it's what college football fans do.
34:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, you because like you have these incredible performances, like obviously the Tulsa game for them, like be Oklahoma State, then Oklahoma State turned around being Oregon the next week.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: You know, we've already seen some just crazy upsets in that regard.
34:15
SPEAKER_02: And I think we're just naturally thinking, oh, these they're gonna be awesome for the next 11 games.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: And we forget these are 18, 19-year-old college kids.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: I do think the good news, I do think you're gonna get your stories.
34:26
SPEAKER_02: My Utah is a is a candidate for one of those.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: UCLA, if they can be if they're quarterback, Missouri might be one of the teams.
34:32
SPEAKER_02: Memphis, who we count after work of their first week.
34:35
SPEAKER_02: They're have you have you noticed?
34:36
SPEAKER_02: They're five and one.
34:37
SPEAKER_02: They're gonna win their last five games.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: They're back, they're quite one of my zombie squads.
34:41
SPEAKER_02: I think we're gonna get our Cinderella.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: It's just too soon.
34:44
SPEAKER_02: We haven't figured it out yet.
34:45
SPEAKER_02: And yes, we have tried to find Cinderella's, and we've been wrong a couple times, for sure.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: For sure.
34:51
SPEAKER_01: Well, speaking of Cinderella, let's go back to some good, our final round of good surprises here in the first six weeks of the college football season.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: Who wants to go with their final good surprise of the first half?
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Might steal one from you.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: I might steal one from you, Mark.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say the Iowa Hawkeyes have a very real chance to play for the Big Ten Championship game.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm looking at their schedule, and this was the three-game stretch that we were looking at preseason, and they have made it through with two wins out of three.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: They beat Washington um just this weekend.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: And so what's left on their schedule is at Northwestern.
35:34
SPEAKER_00: That's a that's a better than we expected.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: A game they can definitely win, who's better than we expect, but it's not it's not horrible.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: And they're they got Nebraska at home, and that's like the only that's the only big hurdles on their schedule.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: And so they could they could win out and be a one-loss Big Ten team.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm feeling great about the Hawkeyes.
35:56
SPEAKER_02: If they're 11-1, they're absolutely in.
35:58
SPEAKER_02: I think a 10-2, I think a 10-2, they're probably gonna be in.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm gonna I will say Purdue is now three and three.
36:04
SPEAKER_02: They're two and one in the Big Ten, they're looking better.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: Wisconsin's looking better.
36:08
SPEAKER_02: So I I mean, obviously, if if we had asked Mark, hey, will you take two and one in that three game stretch in August?
36:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you're dancing on Cloud9.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: It could not be going better.
36:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I think I mean, I'm with you.
36:20
SPEAKER_02: I you know, oh, so Darren, there's the the old adage of when you when you have two quarterbacks, Darren, how many quarterbacks do you have?
36:28
SPEAKER_00: They say you have zero, zero, but not this time.
36:31
SPEAKER_02: I think Iowa actually does have two quarterbacks.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: Look at these guys, they've got a good decision to make.
36:37
SPEAKER_02: Hank Brown, I'm not crazy.
36:38
SPEAKER_02: Hank Brown and Heklinsky, they're both playing well.
36:42
SPEAKER_02: I think, you know, I was listening to some guys talk about the summer camps, and one of the things they were saying was, you know, oftentimes they'll say this, oh, it's a really close competition to try and keep them both in camp.
36:51
SPEAKER_02: And I legitimately think, from what we're hearing, is they were telling the truth.
36:55
SPEAKER_02: The battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Heklinsky has been pretty good and pretty competitive.
37:00
SPEAKER_02: And they are both playing high-level ball, and they are doing this kind of yo-yo thing, which I think most conventional wisdom would say, no, don't do that.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: Don't do that to your quarterback.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: But it's working for Iowa.
37:12
SPEAKER_02: I, you know, there's been a couple exceptions in my college football phantom.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: Tim Tebow, Chris Leak, when they were at, I'll say at Virginia Tech when they had the end of Tyrod Taylor, King.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Tyra Taylor and Sean Glennon.
37:22
SPEAKER_02: Sean Glennon, they had a little two-quarterback situation that worked out pretty well.
37:26
SPEAKER_02: I had a couple examples earlier.
37:28
SPEAKER_02: I was thinking about this point.
37:29
SPEAKER_02: There have been a couple times where there have been a kind of two-quarterback yo-yo situation that's worked out well, not long-term, but it legitimately looks like Iowa is one of the rare exceptions in power four football.
37:42
SPEAKER_02: They've got two competent quarterbacks on their roster.
37:44
SPEAKER_02: That's exciting stuff, too.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: Crazy you say that because Heklinski threw five touchdowns in their practice, their open practices, right before the season started.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: So I honestly was surprised when they named Hank Brown the starter because I expected Heklinsky to come in.
37:56
SPEAKER_01: Now he didn't look great in the games.
37:58
SPEAKER_01: He came in relief.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: I think it was a big game against even Northern Illinois.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: He didn't look awesome stat-wise compared to Hank Brown.
38:05
SPEAKER_01: But dang, when Brown went down, Heklinski stepped up.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, it's crazy.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: That is a good surprise.
38:10
SPEAKER_01: I mean, surprise to you guys.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: I knew that's why I joined the Iowa Bands.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: I knew they were gonna be good.
38:15
SPEAKER_01: So I couldn't classify this as a surprise for me.
38:19
SPEAKER_02: Hank Brown is 62.9% completion percentage.
38:22
SPEAKER_02: Jeremy Heklinski is 62.7.
38:25
SPEAKER_02: Hank Brown's got a five and one TD INT ratio.
38:28
SPEAKER_02: Jeremy's four and one.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're right there.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: These guys are neck and neck, and they're playing meaningful minutes in meaningful games, both with really high ratings.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: So poor Jimmy Sullivan, the third string quarterback, you're never gonna play.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: You should probably transfer.
38:40
SPEAKER_02: But good for Iowa for being one of the rare teams where when we say, oh, if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero quarterbacks.
38:46
SPEAKER_02: No, they actually might have two quarterbacks.
38:48
SPEAKER_02: So that's exciting.
38:49
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
38:50
SPEAKER_01: Mike, what is your what is your last good surprise here for the I think we're seeing history.
38:54
SPEAKER_02: I think we're seeing history.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: I think Jeremy Smith has locked up Jeremiah, excuse me.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: Jeremiah Smith has we're six weeks, six win, six weeks into the season, and he's almost locked up the Heisman Trophy in a way that's just so amazing for a non-quarterback to do in today's college football.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: Heisman Trophy is appropriately criticized as a quarterback's trophy, and I think it's fair.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: It's nice to see somebody else win it, and it's nice to see something so dominant.
39:19
SPEAKER_02: And I'm gonna go one step further about Jeremiah Smith.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: I think Jeremiah Smith might be in the Mount Rushmore for the best college receivers we've ever seen.
39:26
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think we're on the I think you're talking about Andre Johnson.
39:29
SPEAKER_02: I think you're talking about Randy Moss.
39:31
SPEAKER_02: I think you're talking about maybe Keyshawn Johnson, number one pick for the Jets, and when out of USC.
39:36
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
39:38
SPEAKER_02: You'd have to dig.
39:39
SPEAKER_02: I don't, you're you're looking.
39:40
SPEAKER_02: Calvin Johnson, even though they never threw him the damn ball because they're running the stupid triple option when they had him on the team.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: I think you're look- I think we're I think we are looking at the last six games or whatever, and plus the playoff of the best college, make quite possibly the best college football receiver ever.
39:55
SPEAKER_02: And that's really exciting.
39:56
SPEAKER_02: That's been fun.
39:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's I'm sitting here trying to shoot holes in that.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to think, you know, didn't we say the same thing about Marvin Harrison?
40:04
SPEAKER_01: But I guess it doesn't make a difference what he does in the NFL.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:07
SPEAKER_01: In in college football, Jeremiah Smith has been exceptional.
40:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the last six weeks.
40:12
SPEAKER_02: You're so right.
40:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
40:14
SPEAKER_02: And he came in the true freshman.
40:15
SPEAKER_02: It's been three years of dominance.
40:16
SPEAKER_02: And he might get number one pick.
40:17
SPEAKER_02: And I think he's gonna win the Heisman.
40:19
SPEAKER_02: The Blitnik office, obviously, for his.
40:20
SPEAKER_02: Good news is Malcolm's only a sophomore, so he can get his next year.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: He looks different.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, Smith, Jeremiah Smith looks different.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: He's he does look like a high schooler playing against eighth graders.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, like he he looks I can't I can't envision a defensive back giving him troubles.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, he's just physically you know it's speed.
40:44
SPEAKER_02: Did you he's got it on the Did you yeah, did you see the Ryan Day quote about him when they were talking about he was talking, he said he was in the postgame and he was talking to Julian Saiyan about because they've been they've been kind of spamming the guy and they're throwing the ball a lot.
40:56
SPEAKER_02: If you're gonna criticize Ohio State's offense, you can say probably fairly, it's like, well, what are you doing beyond Jeremiah Smith?
41:03
SPEAKER_02: Jeremiah Smith is an outstanding card to play, and if you have him, you play him anyway.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: Not because I'm not gonna criticize Ohio State's offense right now, I'm gonna praise it.
41:10
SPEAKER_02: In the press conference, Ryan Day was saying if he's single covered, he's open.
41:15
SPEAKER_02: If he's double covered, he's still probably open, maybe.
41:18
SPEAKER_02: If he's triple covered, throw the ball to the other guy.
41:21
SPEAKER_02: That guy's open.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: And he's right.
41:23
SPEAKER_02: If he's single covered, throw him the ball.
41:25
SPEAKER_02: He's gonna get it, he's gonna catch him.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:28
SPEAKER_00: Yep, it's historically.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: My last good surprise isn't really a good surprise for everybody here, but I think Kentucky's last two wins have been kind of entertaining.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: The the two overtime wins.
41:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, Mike, they went for that.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: They went for two to win it with LSU, but that was a their win.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: Why am I thinking it was South Carolina?
41:50
SPEAKER_01: Who they beat?
41:50
SPEAKER_01: South Carolina.
41:51
SPEAKER_01: South Carolina.
41:52
SPEAKER_02: That game was first time sorry, first time a quarterback, first time a P4 coach has won two overtime games on a two-point conversion in back-to-back weeks.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: Incredible stuff.
42:02
SPEAKER_01: Just incredible.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: Those two games.
42:04
SPEAKER_01: And and I'm sorry, Mike, I I hated that you lost that game, but it was like, wow, that was kind of cool.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: I mean, she was looking really good out there.
42:14
unknown: Yeah.
42:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, this and it feeds into what Darren I were talking about, Oregon earlier.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: Like losing Will Stein, actually a monster deal.
42:21
SPEAKER_02: Look at what he's done hitting the ground running in his first year at Kentucky.
42:24
SPEAKER_02: Their only loss is Alabama, which and they were they were winning that, they were winning at the half.
42:28
SPEAKER_02: I mean, Kentucky might be.
42:30
SPEAKER_02: I'm skeptical.
42:31
SPEAKER_02: I'm still gonna think Kentucky has some real challenges down the stretch.
42:34
SPEAKER_02: But for six weeks in, man, five and one, you have no complaints.
42:37
SPEAKER_02: If you're in Big Blue Nation right now, you're feeling real good about that for sure.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: My happy surprise would be that we didn't drive all the way to Lexington for that game, like we had a night dream of it one moment.
42:48
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
42:48
SPEAKER_01: We did talk about doing that.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: So I'm glad we didn't do that.
42:51
SPEAKER_01: That was a good surprise that we chose not to make that road trip.
42:55
SPEAKER_01: All right, let's go on to let's close out with our last three bad surprises of the season.
43:02
SPEAKER_02: I'll go.
43:03
SPEAKER_02: This is even a bad surprise, it's just bad for me.
43:06
SPEAKER_02: Alabama lost a first-round quarterback in Ty Simpson, and they somehow got better at quarterback and Keelon Russell.
43:14
SPEAKER_02: And I hate that.
43:16
SPEAKER_02: That's not fair, that's stupid.
43:18
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
43:19
SPEAKER_02: You'll you'll just never catch me rooting for Alabama.
43:22
SPEAKER_02: I want all the bad things to happen to them.
43:23
SPEAKER_02: That's just not fair.
43:24
SPEAKER_02: They lost a first-round quarterback and somehow Keelon Russell.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: Seriously, all seriousness.
43:28
SPEAKER_02: Keelon Russell has been a showstopper and he's coming on hot.
43:31
SPEAKER_02: He's only getting better.
43:32
SPEAKER_02: Alabama has a fantastic quarterback in Keelan.
43:35
SPEAKER_02: He's able to do things with his legs.
43:37
SPEAKER_02: He's just way more dynamic than Ty Simpson was.
43:39
SPEAKER_02: He was a darn good quarterback, again, a first-rounder.
43:42
SPEAKER_02: And they seem like that.
43:43
SPEAKER_02: Alabama seems like they're getting better and dangerous.
43:45
SPEAKER_02: Well, I know they lost to Georgia, but I don't really ding them for that game.
43:48
SPEAKER_02: That game was a war and the weather.
43:50
SPEAKER_02: Alabama is still darn good, and that quarterback is awesome.
43:53
SPEAKER_02: So my disappointment is that Alabama does not stink a quarterback, and then doesn't look like they're going to for quite some time.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: Darren, what you got for us?
44:04
SPEAKER_00: This is my official call call out to our friend and brother Mike White, who is founder of this podcast, uh, Tennessee volunteer super fan.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: I want Mike White back on the pod very soon to defend himself because I'm gonna say I'm gonna do my best impression of the emoji of a monkey who is covering up his eyes, um, and just talk about the Tennessee Volunteers because they have got a great team and no quarterback, and that is so unfortunate.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: And I'm looking at their schedule and And they've got Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, AM, LSU, and then they end the season with Vanderbilt, thank God.
44:48
SPEAKER_00: But they're a really good team, and I want all the best for them.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: And Deshaun Bishop is a fantastic running back, but they don't have the quarterback position, and they might win one of the last six games.
45:04
SPEAKER_00: They might lose four or five here coming up, and I hate that.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: And it makes me sick because their defense is so good, and everything except quarterback is so good.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: So I'm scared.
45:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm scared for the Vols.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: Mike White, we need your good Juju back on the pod to give the Vols a boost.
45:22
SPEAKER_02: The thing for me, but the thing about the Vols is, you know, Josh Hypels is an offense, is an outstanding offensive coach.
45:28
SPEAKER_02: It's why they brought him in.
45:29
SPEAKER_02: He does his thing, he spreads the sieivers out wide, he creates space, he creates these massive lanes for running backs.
45:35
SPEAKER_02: We all saw the Hen and Hooker show.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: He did fantastic things that year with the offense.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: It was really his offense.
45:40
SPEAKER_02: And it's been, I've been, I've been disappointed that he hasn't been able to recreate that.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: Joe Milton was okay.
45:48
SPEAKER_02: Joey Aguilar, okay, I guess.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: Nico with spots.
45:53
SPEAKER_02: If we haven't seen Hypel return to kind of the offensive glory that we thought he would, given he has how much of he has his hands and blueprints all over that offense.
46:03
SPEAKER_02: So not only do they not have a quarterback that this year, which is disappointing, because now I will say I'm bullish on McIntyre and Faiz and Brandon long term.
46:11
SPEAKER_02: I think they will get better, and I think Tennessee will have a guy.
46:14
SPEAKER_02: I just hypo should have this figured out by now.
46:16
SPEAKER_02: Hypel should be able is one of the best offensive minds in college football.
46:20
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't get enough credit for what he's done in a lot of places.
46:23
SPEAKER_02: And I am also surprised, Darren, that given the talent, the raw talent of Faizan Brandon and McIntyre, and that offensive running game and the defense that has gotten so much better so fast.
46:35
SPEAKER_02: This defense was atrocious last year.
46:36
SPEAKER_02: And Jim Knowles is should what we should be talking about right now is oh my god, Tennessee has a chance to compete for the national championship because look what Jim Knowles brought to this defense in year one immediately.
46:47
SPEAKER_02: Six weeks, he has elevated their floor tremendously, and we can't because they can't throw a forward pass.
46:53
SPEAKER_02: They can't, they can they can't generate any down the field offense.
46:56
SPEAKER_02: So I'm with you.
46:57
SPEAKER_02: I'm with you on the vols, and I'm with you on disappointment.
46:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm still hopeful they can turn it around because I believe I'm still by I'm still I'm still holding my hypo stock.
47:05
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I don't know what's I don't know what's gonna take to get this offense going.
47:09
SPEAKER_02: It's a quarterback play, because it's quarterback is his position.
47:12
SPEAKER_02: He knows these guys.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: He should be able to have them at least at a the floor for the quarterback at Tennessee should be here, and right now it's here.
47:23
SPEAKER_01: Guys, I'm gonna close this out with a team that coming into the season had a lot of hype.
47:28
SPEAKER_01: They had a nice gimmick, they have record-setting season ticket sales.
47:35
SPEAKER_01: But my biggest surprise, or my bad surprise, are the new unfortunate season ticket holders of the Akron Zips.
47:43
SPEAKER_01: So much fun to go out there and call some plays against Robert Morris and win the game 45 to 10.
47:48
SPEAKER_01: But they are O for the rest of the season.
47:50
SPEAKER_01: They are currently 1 and 5 with losses to Wake Forest, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and at Minnesota.
47:59
SPEAKER_01: But oh, the poor Zips.
48:01
SPEAKER_01: Now we've got a lucky Akron Zips t-shirt that probably should be representing somewhere in this podcast.
48:08
SPEAKER_01: But, you know, I kind of, you know, I had a little soft spot for him in the beginning of the year when they let a fan call their first offensive plays.
48:15
SPEAKER_01: And didn't that did that end up in a fumble?
48:17
SPEAKER_02: Yes, I think it was a fumble draw.
48:19
SPEAKER_02: What's yeah, what's Akron's record this year?
48:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's a they're one and five.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: They won that game.
48:27
SPEAKER_01: They won that game.
48:29
SPEAKER_01: And out of 138 schools, CBS Sports has them ranked as 132.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: Ooh.
48:37
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I expect them more in the 100 range, but come on, Akron.
48:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
48:41
SPEAKER_01: You gotta do better on some Tuesday night maxtion coming up.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: So you're telling me they had a guest offensive coordinator for one drive, and they won that game.
48:51
SPEAKER_00: And that guy and that guy hasn't been back to call offensive plays because it seems like he was the clue.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: Call them up.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: And back over to you, Mike.
49:02
SPEAKER_01: Those are our good surprises and bad surprises of the first half of the college football season here as we enter week seven.
49:09
SPEAKER_02: Folks, thanks for listening tonight.
49:10
SPEAKER_02: That was fun.
49:10
SPEAKER_02: That was a good activity.
49:11
SPEAKER_02: We'll do that again, maybe when we'll do a little special playoff spin-off when we get to the final four weeks.
49:16
SPEAKER_02: But you know, just a good time to take a step back and kind of get a look at the layout.
49:20
SPEAKER_02: You know, we are so in the nitty-gritty of the weekly review and the preview, what's happening.
49:24
SPEAKER_02: It's nice to kind of reflect on where we were on August 27th when we had our noses buried in those magazines.
49:29
SPEAKER_02: It feels like an eternity ago, but it actually wasn't that long.
49:31
SPEAKER_02: So we've come a long way already.
49:33
SPEAKER_02: It's been a just a top-notch college football season.
49:36
SPEAKER_02: But if you have more surprises and disappointments you want to tell us about, please do share them in the comments.
49:41
SPEAKER_02: I would love to hear what you're thinking about your team, about your rival.
49:44
SPEAKER_02: If you want to talk about how disappointed you are, if you're a if you're an if you're a Kentucky hater and you're so sad to see them good, whatever it is, let us know.
49:51
SPEAKER_02: Please be sure to like and subscribe.
49:53
SPEAKER_02: We're up to 93 subscribers.
49:54
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna try and get to well over 100 this year.
49:56
SPEAKER_02: So please, if you're on YouTube, make sure you hit that subscribe button.
49:59
SPEAKER_02: I think that's all I got.
50:01
SPEAKER_02: Anything else for the good of the order, gentlemen?
50:03
SPEAKER_00: Yep, that was fun.
50:05
SPEAKER_02: After week six, yeah, another half a season, folks.
50:08
SPEAKER_01: That's right, but that's not the bash pen state again.
50:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right.
50:11
SPEAKER_02: You guys know the drill.
50:12
SPEAKER_02: In the words of Camario, be safe, be smooth.
50:15
SPEAKER_02: Have a good night.