Latest / Game Day Collective / College Football Week 2: CFP Wide Open After Texas-Ohio State, Oregon Upset & Michigan Win
Transcript
- Josh Mahler: Week one gave us opinions, but week two it gave us a little bit more evidence. it felt like Oregon was was one of the teams that we looked at as being a top ranked team. They suffered one of the greatest and and most shocking losses we've seen in years. And then Michigan went from nearly losing to Western Michigan to beating Oklahoma. And then Texas somehow comes back in the fourth quarter to take down the number one team in the nation, being down twenty in the fourth quarter to take down Ohio State. There was a lot in week one. Today we're gonna talk about what we can or I guess week two, sorry, but today we're gonna talk about what we can take from week two, what's actually real, and what's some things that we are overreacting to. this is the game day collective college football show, and we are recapping everything from week two, presented by Outlier, the sports betting research platform that helps you compare odds, analyze trends, and values across the market. first to start off this episode a little bit different and a little bit special of an episode because we're bringing on a new personality, a new host and face of Game Day Collective. We've got Wyatt Zang with us. Wyatt, welcome into the to the collective for one and second of all, kind of tell us Wyatt Zang: Thank you. Josh Mahler: about yourself, tell us about the Wyatt Zang College Football Show and and how you got started in college football media. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, thank you for bringing me on. I appreciate it. This is great opportunity. I've been doing college football content for about a year and a half to two years. I've had my own channel. I've built it up and I've been doing college football shows weekly, year round. I've been inspired to get into this business from a lot of other people that I've got to know going into this business. And it's great. Love covering college football and I appreciate Josh. Thank you for this opportunity. to come on and create some content for your for your network and for your channel. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. and if you haven't yet, make sure to go check out the Wyatt Zang College Football Show. it it's it's some great stuff. we we recognized Wyatt's talent, wanted to bring him on as a talent here at Game Day Collective as well. So you'll be seeing more of him either either kinda co hosting the way that we are now and in some of the shows. He'll also be doing some content on his own, things like that. So go check it and check out Wyatt Zhang's college football show as well as seeing him more here on the Game Day Collective college football show as well. But why let's get into it, man, because you you and I were texting a little bit last night, like, man, what a crazy week of college football. And man, it it Wyatt Zang: yeah. Josh Mahler: has lived up to the hype so far through two weeks of football. And it's it's been really shocking, starting off with Oklahoma State taking down Oregon, 39 to 31. It wasn't just Oregon getting upset. This was one where you look at Oklahoma State, they played more physically and and they outplayed Oregon in so many different ways. Oklahoma State actually entered into this game. The the the ESPN headlines were all saying 12-game losing streak. That's correct. But even worse than that, 21 straight games against FPS opponents that they've lost. And now Oregon, they haven't lost an unranked to an unranked opponent under Dan Lanning yet, and they were outgained 554 yards to 281. I mean, this was a very shocking game, Wyatt. what did you pull away from it? Wyatt Zang: I I pulled away thinking, wow, like Oregon, we this was the year. And and I I thought of it someone another guy I filmed with Trent, he has his own college football show. He was texting me last night and he said, This reminds me of Penn State last year. If you remember, Penn State lost to Oregon. Then they lost to UCLA, Northwestern Iowa. And and he kind of brought up that point. And looking at Oregon, they just kind of looked flat. They looked, you know, other people said they looked soft, like There was a lot of mixed opinions, but I didn't think Oregon looked good at all. There was there was no like dominance like Oregon should have, especially with this roster, with all these first round draft picks they're gonna have and all these great players, but I didn't see any, I don't want to say effort, but I didn't see any like dominance. I didn't see there was never a shot or a time in this game where I thought that they were going to win this football game. It was Oklahoma State the entire time. And that was one of the things that was the most glaring. Like Oklahoma State and and that North Texas offense coming into FBS, everyone was like, Well, is it gonna work? Is it not gonna work? It works. Like it didn't work against Tulsa, but it works. And I gotta say, this was the most shocking outcome of this year. I it it almost shocks me more than Western Michigan, Michigan, in my opinion. Like this was just I did not see this coming. But hey, Oklahoma State looks like a serious Big 12 contender, but for the Oregon side of things, Oregon just looks like flat. They don't look like a serious I'm gonna say it playoff contender even. Like they gotta get this going. That's two weeks in a row where, you know, they barely beat Boise last week by seven. They beat Oklahoma State or they lost Oklahoma State this week by eight. It's not looking good for Oregon on the, you know, the the ducks side of things. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, I mean I I looked at it too, and I think Dan Lanning alluded to it in the postgame press conference, kinda how that this was worse than what the scoreboard suggests. And just like I said, being outgained incredibly you know, their their total so they they actually trailed three hundred and fifty three to a hundred and one total yards at halftime, and they were only alive really because of that huge I think it was a ninety-six yard pick six that Oregon had earlier on in game. So yeah, it was just one I I think you said it well. It just looked like Oregon didn't have anything pieced together and It it looked if you look at the stat line at least, r and disregard this the the score, it looked like what you would expect if you were to blindfold yourself and not tell yourself which team did which, and you would have said, Yeah, this this was Oregon and this was Oklahoma State, instead it was roles totally reversed. So yeah, very, very shocking to see Oregon go down in this way. And I do want to give Oklahoma State credit because kind of like you mentioned, it's it this is an Oklahoma State team that figured some stuff out after week one, losing to Tulsa think a lot of people, myself including, was were maybe discounting Oklahoma State because of the way that they looked in week one. And now I have to step Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Josh Mahler: back and reconsider because before in the preseason, I was looking at Oklahoma State. and Wyatt, I'm not sure how you saw him, but I thought that this could be like a huge bounce back year. I picked him as my breakout team just because, I mean, it doesn't get much worse than what it was a season ago. I really thought that they could come out here and and do some good things under Eric Morris with Drew Mestemaker, one of the nation's top quarterbacks coming into this season. I really thought that they could do a lot of things. And now to give Oklahoma State credit, I think they started to roll things around and and start to look a little bit better here against Oregon. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're exactly right. There was th there was never a time where Oregon looked like they were they were going to win this game. And and Oklahoma State, as you said, I had them as a easily like I picked them to break out this year. I th I had a list of five teams in the preseason. Oklahoma State was on the list. Like I thought Oklahoma State, with their schedule, could have won eight, nine games this year. And I picked them to be a sneaky contender in the Big Twelve. And after that Tulsa loss, I kinda was like, Okay, that was a blown prediction, throw that off to the side. But hey, Oklahoma State came back and they played well. They had zero sacks allowed while getting four sacks on Oregon, which is something you do not see every day for a team that was just so out talented by Oregon. Oregon had five stars all over the place, first round picks. Oklahoma State didn't have any. And they showed that they were the better team. And it almost gives me like vibes of Indiana last year. Now I know they're not going to go 16-0. They're not going to probably even win nine games. But it gives me the vibe of a team that's not as talented as the team across from them, not as many five stars, but they're playing together as opposed to Oregon, who had a lot of guys just when you throw a bunch of five stars on the field, they necessarily don't always mix. And I don't think they mixed here. And that's how Oklahoma State took advantage. These guys have played together for so many years, and Oklahoma State just physically looked better. They had seven plays of 20 plus yards. So Oklahoma State dominated this game. There's no doubt about it. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah. Very shocking win for Oklahoma State taking down Oregon thirty nine to thirty one. All right, let's go on to another one that pains me to talk about. I I'm I'm I'm an Oklahoma guy. I'm open about that. many of my viewers know that, so there's no hiding that. But this was this was one with Michigan taking down Oklahoma seventeen to ten. This was one that if you looked at at least the first half, again kind of talking about the stat line for Oklahoma State, Oregon, how I feel like those were complete roll reversals. This one felt like it was a roll reversal where that first half felt like what Oklahoma would have done to Michigan rather than what Michigan ended up doing to Oklahoma. And of course, you know, with with this game specifically too, the the thing w about Oklahoma is that they outgained Michigan overall. they they they ended up really winning the second half, even though it didn't r look that way or feel that way, whenever you look at the fourth quarter. They they should have and and could have come away with this game. This was one that as we got closer, originally my my pick was just through the through the roof. I was just like, man, there's no way Michigan comes out and fixes things against an Oklahoma defense. And I think I was right. a lot of people trying to trying to to comment and act like I wasn't right about that. Michigan didn't really fix anything on offense. Michigan didn't really do much on offense. They scored one touchdown. The other one was really kind of given to to them on the six yard line, with an a huge interception by Jair Jair Heel Hill that got them down inside the five yard line and kind of capped off with it with an easy one there to give them the the victory there. So the the big interception there at the end, I think that was the big turning point where Oklahoma wasn't going to come back from that. And of course I feel like when you look at the penalty yardage too, this was a very sloppy game on both sides. Michigan had eleven penalties for 90 yards. Oklahoma nine for 76. Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: And for both teams it just felt like it was constantly crucial moments that they were getting these penalties. There was one where Michigan a a defender reached behind him to grab a player's face mask, give Oklahoma fifteen yards. there was another one where it was an unnecessary roughness that that he came in and hit a player late for no reason at all and and you were stopping Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: them down inside their own ten yard line. And so it was just very crucial moments. But the big telling point for me was just how much Michigan controlled the clock in the first half. And that's really what kind of sealed it. Once they went up ten to zero at halftime, It just felt like it was impossible for Oklahoma to come back and their offense struggled in many ways, Wyatt. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're exactly right with with what you said. And also, I I I agree with you. The defense or the offense didn't really improve other than Bryce Underwood taking care of the football, you know, no interceptions. He played well on that side of things, had good rushes, you know, he had a 38-yard rushing touchdown. But the defense, man, the defense looked really good. Kyle Winningham did, you know, in his in his postgame press conference, he he did, you know, talk about the the the penalties and how they need to clean those things up. And I think they will. But man, that defense looked good. They were locking down those wide receivers, Isaiah Sategna, Parker Parker Livingstone. They were supposed to be kind of the playmakers to go out and win them football games this year. They kind of locked them down. Like they kept them in check. Rocky Beers had a good game at tight end. So Michigan just defensively in their DBs played really, really, really well. And I gotta tell you, John Henry Daly at defensive line, transferring from Utah. That guy, I mean, getting Aiden Hutchinson comps. Like that guy was really good. He was a reason that John Mateer could not just stand back there and throw the football. There were plenty of times where John Mateer was sacked or hurried. It was really dominant performance by Michigan defensively. And offensively, it was just kind of like an average Michigan offense. Like, not a ton of passing yards, not a ton of passing touchdowns. Had a great rushing day. There was nothing flashy about it. But again, Michigan didn't need to be flashy to win this game. There's no time this year where Michigan has to be flash. Flashy. They don't have the talent to be flashy, but they just got to win football games. And that's what they did in this game. They went out, they had a game plan. They executed it this time. They had a game plan against Western Michigan. They didn't execute it. And that's what happened. They executed it this time. And this is kind of where people get to see how Michigan, how good they can be this year. Michigan can be a sneaky playoff team if they put it together. Like Kyle Winningham's the bet one of the best coaches in college football right now. He can put a good roster on the field. And I think that's what he did here. this offense didn't play well, but they played good enough in my opinion. And props to Michigan for winning this game. But if as the Oklahoma side of things, got to get some things figured out. You got Georgia and Texas coming in two weeks. It's going to be tough. You know, I was expecting them to go one for one in those games. That's kind of my preseason prediction for them. I judging by how Texas and Georgia are playing right now, I the coaches bowl just came out right before this. before we jumped on here and recorded and Georgia, Texas are one and two right now. So looking at those matchups, you gotta get some things figured out against New Mexico this upcoming week. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah. And I I think with Oklahoma too, you looked at week one whenever they played UTIP, and I think Oklahoma fans could have came away from week one feeling really good. They saw a lot of two or three tight ends out on the field, which is not what you've seen from Oklahoma from the twenty twenty five season. So there was a lot of promising things. The running game was working really well in week one. Lloyd Avant looked really really good for them, looked solid. He looked solid when he got the ball in the first half. And Oklahoma completely abandoned the the game, the the run game altogether. And I think that's really where they shot themselves in the foot, not going after the targets they should have. It felt like they were constantly trying to find Isaiah Satanya open rather than just finding the open man, going to your matchups, and I felt like Rocky Beers. They finally found him a couple of times, but late in the game, couldn't find him when it mattered the most. the the between Isaiah Satanya and John Mateir, there were 16 rushing plays. where the running backs for Oklahoma only had thirteen totally total rush rushes. So I mean that that tells you a lot about where that run game is at. You've got to be able to establish it. And it feels like Oklahoma just constantly refuses to to utilize that run game whenever it matters most. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're exactly right. They did struggle running the game or running the ball. And I think that's something that you have to have as an offense because you don't have a passing game if you don't have a rushing game, and you don't have a rushing game if you don't have a passing game. So both things have to work together for the other one to open up because you know, playing quarterback, I played quarterback for a long time and and knowing, you know, if you don't have a running back to rely on, it gets incredibly difficult because you know it's on you as the quarterback. So as John Matir in his shoes I understand where he's coming from. It's on him to kind of win the game. He had what 33 pass attempts. Like they were like, hey, John Mateer, go win us this football game. Can't be that way. Can't be. Even Texas, with the talent they have, they cannot rely on Archmanning to go win them the football game. We saw that, you know, with them. We'll talk about them later. But with this team in Oklahoma, they they have to find ways to run the football. You have to. It you cannot pass the ball without a running game. And another thing that just was the stat that was just so glaring was they scored zero first half points. Like you cannot have that. You have to score and, you know, I I know they held Michigan to low points, but you got to score if you're Oklahoma to win football games, obviously. But Oklahoma did not look great. There's a lot of things that, you know, we saw potential. Like you saw what John Mantier can be. Like he's very tough quarterback. He can go out and win you football games, but can't do it on his own. He has to have some help. Like he he can't go out and be Superman all the time. Like there will be games Will will probably see that, but can't have that all the time. He has to go out with a squad around him. And together, if Oklahoma plays together and they got a run game, they got a pass game, doesn't have to be elite, but if they got, you know, a B plus, an A minus run pass game, they're gonna be a good team. They're gonna be they can be ten and two. Like I truly do see that, but they gotta have it all work together and Again, props to Michigan for having an absolute incredible performance and bouncing back from last week. Josh Mahler: Yeah, and Oklahoma's defense still lots of sign of life over on that side overall. You look Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: at this game and you look at what they what they were able to do. they they need to be able to get off the ball the the field a little bit quicker at times. And they need to clean up some of the the sloppy blocking, but outside of that, performed a very good game, especially against the shifty Bryce Underwood. There were a couple of times where he showed that against them and it was very tough for him. But yeah, a lot of lot of questions, a lot of concerns for Oklahoma now heading into week three. But Another game that shakes up the entire landscape of college football and trying to figure figure things out when you you talk about who's at the top, Texas taking down Ohio State. And I I won't call this one up an upset, although w on the ranking side it it was somewhat of an upset. Number four taking down number one, and really cementing themselves as one of the top teams in the nation with a lot of questions about Texas coming into this this season, really too. And you know, with with with Texas, you know, the they were behind twenty-three to twenty or twenty-three to three heading into the fourth quarter and somehow finds a way to score twenty one unanswered points. it was it was a huge victory for them. it was one that of course, like I said, I think it does a lot for their season moving forward. If you look back at last season, Texas really blamed a lot of their them not making it to the college football playoffs based on this game. Now they walk away on the other side of things and they're they hold their own destiny now moving forward the way that they didn't back in 2025. So I mean Wyatt, an an incredible performance for Arch Manning, specifically in the fourth quarter there, and for this Texas team in a game where it felt like the ball just did not bounce in their direction, quite literally from the the interception early Wyatt Zang: Yeah, literally. Josh Mahler: in the game. literally the ball just did not bounce in their direction and and couldn't get anything finding get get anything going for them. Late until late in the game there in the fourth quarter. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're right. just looking at the stats, I mean, four fumbles from Texas. Now I know they only lost, like they only lost one fumble, but four fumbles, that concerned me to to have to lose the ball that much, plus a pick. That's five total turnovers. Only had two on the stats sheet, but man, gotta clean that stuff up. I gotta say the first half, Ohio State looked like the number one team. Like they looked like the best team in college football. And I gotta say, They they were up like 23-3 or 20 to 3 at halftime. That entire first three quarters was dominant by Ohio State and also a mix of just just self-inflicted wounds by Texas. They were shooting themselves in the foot. And a lot of it was from it just almost looked like there was like they were putting too much pressure on themselves. Like we've seen it with Ohio State versus Michigan the last like few years where they struggled to beat Michigan. It was almost like they did not play their brand of football. They were trying to play like like punch above their weight. Like you just gotta play your football. Texas is the most talented roster in college football right now. There's, you know, very little teams that have more talent better than them. And so if Texas just plays just to their potential, their potential is national championship. So play to your potential. Do not try to overdo things, which I think that's what they're doing. you know, deep shots, trick play, like just things like that, little things where it's just play your brand of football, take care of the football. Don't let the, you know, don't make those bounces of ball, you know, affect you this much. But I gotta say, huge win for Steve Sarkeesian. Needed this to kind of keep him away from hot seat. Not I never put him on the hot seat. I don't think he is, even if he lost this game, but there was the whole conversation a big game, can't win it. But I gotta say Texas played well in the fourth quarter. If you take that fourth quarter performance by Texas And you put that like as their four quarters in every game they play this year, they will win the national championship. That was a dominant performance. Arch Manning was marching them down the field three straight times, 21 consecutive points by Texas. And that's it. Like that's how you have to play for Texas. Use your weapons, use Relique Brown and Hollywood smothers, use Wingo and Coleman, use them all. You got them for a reason in the portal. Use all of them and the scheme. Offensively for Texas, maybe wasn't the best all the way throughout the game, the plays they were running. And on the Ohio State side, real quick here, their defense on those last three, like fourth quarter in general, it almost looked like they were playing like, you know, bend don't break type defense. They played so aggressive in the first half and in the first three quarters. And in the the fourth quarter, you would see off coverage. You would see guys playing 10 yards off the ball when you were pressing them. Like those freshman corners. With Devin Sanchez, Jay Timmins, those guys played so incredible all game. And in the fourth quarter, it almost looked like Matt Patricia was like, all right, let's just play conservative right now. No, you got to keep the pedal on the metal when you were playing Texas or any top five, top ten team in college football, you got to go. Like you cannot let up. And they let up. And that was what kind of shot themselves in the foot and ended up losing the game. Like I'm sitting there watching this game. And again, the the play or the clock management at the end of the game was another thing. There was, I believe, a t a minute twenty left. I believe a minute fifteen, minute twenty. They got down, Texas got down to the one yard line. At that point, like you gotta let him score. Like literally, like just let go of the guy, let him score. You're down by one, you give a minute ten in a timeout to s to go down and get a field goal. Like that's what it comes down to. And little things like trying to stop them. Like you went from being down by potentially being down by one point with a minute fifteen left in the timeout to have a game-winning drive versus 20 minutes or 20 seconds, no timeout, and down by one. Like which one would you rather have? You'd rather have the more time and the timeout. And I felt like Ryan Day made a bad decision there. We'll just call it how it is. It was a bad decision. And it was just that fourth quarter was bad. It was bad. And if Ohio State can continue to play how they played in the first three quarters, they will have a good season. So Texas played well. Props to them for that last game winning drive. It was incredible. Josh Mahler: Yeah, I looking at at the fourth quarter for Arch Banning too, he went eight for eleven, eighty-three yards and a touchdown. he he Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: did he did everything he possibly could to help Texas there in the fourth quarter. And you're right, too, you brought up the time management there at the end. Not just that, but I also felt like when Ohio State finally got the ball, I think there was twenty some seconds left on the clock whenever they get the ball, twenty or thirty. And y instead of trying to get the first down and maybe get out of bounds, get the first down, hurry up and get up and spike the ball. They go straight for the Hail Mary. And and I di I Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: didn't understand that that logic at all. You don't need to score a touchdown. You need to get into field goal position and win this game. And so yeah, launching it down the field. And it was very obvious that they were only going to look at Jeremiah Smith. And I felt like that was Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: their biggest downfall in the entire second half. Jeremiah Smith completely dominated the first half. he ended up with 164 total yards and a touchdown in this game. and you know he he had an incredible game, but everything was going through Jeremiah Smith. You have got to spread the rock. You have got to find other key playmakers, similar to how I was talking about Oklahoma, feeling like they were constantly drawing up plays, trying to get Isaiah Cetanya open and and get the ball Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: to him, rather than just finding the playmaker that's open. and and that's what it really felt like. That felt like there was a many, many throws that could have been intercepted that Julian Smith was throwing that i i it was just him trying to force it to his key playmaker and and you Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: just can't do that. You you've got to find a way to spread the rock, especially in in these types of situations where you're down or you're you're you're up and now you're you're you're starting to blow that lead because you're leaning too much in on on one guy. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're you're exactly right. Texas went into the halftime making adjustments. Like, you know, Ryan Day had to expect Steve Sarkeesian to make adjustments. They go into halftime. I guarantee you Sark ran into that locker room and he said, Guys, we are locking down Jeremiah Smith no matter what, and we'll win this football game. And that's what they did. They walked him down and they won the football game. Like i Ohio State has they got Chris Henry, they got Devin McCollin. They got Brandon and they have other guys to throw to that are just as good, or not just as good, but pretty good. Like they're top twenty receivers in college football, and they didn't really use them very much. And that's one of the things that I thought was like if Jeremiah Smith is covered, do not throw him the ball. Like it's similar to like you said with Satagna. It's like if he's not open, don't throw him the ball. You got weapons to use elsewhere and outside. And one of the other things that surprised me with Texas is they played really disciplined. Penalties, they were Two for twelve. So two penalties, twelve yards. They did great. Like they played really solid football. Other than the fumbles, if you take that away, Texas has a lot of potential. Like they got a ton of potential this year. And if they keep playing how they're playing, they'll be really good. And on the Ohio State side of things, you just got to figure out ways to use your offense other than just Jeremiah Smith. And now I know last year they didn't use him enough. Maybe this year they're using him too much. But use your other guys, use your insanely loaded running back room. Just find ways to win football games outside of Jeremiah Smith. That's what they were really good with in their run to the national championship in 2024. They found ways to use, you know, guys like I believe Quinsha Judkins, Trevion Henderson, those guys were dominant. You had Carnell Tate, you had those other guys that were dominant. But, you know, this year it seems like it's just Jeremiah Smith and it shouldn't be. There should be other guys, and there is other guys. To make plays, they just gotta figure out ways to use them. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, and and in that second half too with with Texas and how they performed, they ended up out gaining Ohio State two hundred and thirty nine to a hundred and thirty-two total yards there in the second half alone. So just a an incredible second half adjustment for for Texas and Ohio State just needing to kinda find their true identity again and and and not lean so much into one guy. I felt like that was the biggest difference maker. And of course, time management is always gonna kill you if you if you can't make that happen. Let's get to some Rapid reactions, some quick reactions here on some of these other games that happened around the country. Some other games that were no doubt big games going on, big teams playing in these games. but ones that maybe just didn't affect the college football landscape quite as much as those first three that we we discussed, because I feel like those first three really changed some things up and we'll talk about that a little bit here in just a moment. but let's start off with Texas AM taking down Arizona State forty eight to twenty. And this is a game that, man, like when I was watching This one I i I I I kept on wondering 'cause every time that I was clicking over and seeing this this game, I I was wondering how Texas A and was staying alive and how they were they were pulling away. th this was one that they were d despite only gaining two hundred and seventy one yards of total offense, somehow Mike Elko's Texas A and ends up leaning into exactly what his kind of identity is in a team. It's just all your defense, your field position, getting those turnovers and and being efficient when you've got the ball. it was just a a team that, you know, with with the turnovers, that this defense really ended up winning the game for Texas AM. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, you're exactly right. The defense kind of showed up and stopped them to twenty points because Cutter Bowley played really well. He had a good game. but Marcel Reid, the Texas AM offense continues to find ways to win. and I think Texas AM could be a real SEC contender, especially with some other teams that are maybe falling off in the SEC. Texas AM played well. I Kenny Dillingham on the Arizona State side of things, he's gonna get things going with Arizona State. They got a lot of potential. I loved what I saw from them. in how they played, especially in the, you know, th the early minutes of the game. They played really well. They kept it close. And as you said, it's kind of shocking how Texas AM was pulling away in that game. It felt like it was closer. Like it definitely felt like the game was closer than the the box score indicated. So if you didn't watch this game and people are just looking at the box score, you're probably thinking, Texas A dominate you know dominated Arizona State, moving on. It they didn't necessarily dominate them. It was a close, hard fought football game. And like you said, both teams played pretty well. And I I get it it was fifty to or forty eight to twenty, but I think both teams played well enough that the game definitely was closer than it seems. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah. Very interesting one when you look at that. Tennessee ended up taking down Georgia Tech forty five to twenty-four. This was one that was close for a little while, and then Tennessee got their rhythm and Josh Heipel did what Josh Heipel does best, and that is just adjust and create the the you know, create situations for your team to pull ahead. You look Deshaun Bishop, twenty carries, a hundred and forty-seven yards and two touchdowns on the day. Tennessee, the the biggest stat to me is a Tennessee rushed for nearly three hundred yards. It was two hundred and ninety-nine yards. For the volunteers. So yeah, this was a very impressive game for Tennessee. I think this was a good one. I expected a little bit more out of Georgia Tech getting Fernando Mendoza's little brother coming in there and and taking over at quarterback. Just seems like nothing is going their way this year so far through two games, but very impressive game for Tennessee. And I think that Tennessee might be a a team that we have to start really considering talking about when we talk about the college football playoffs coming up as well. Wyatt Zang: 100%. I am full Tennessee right now. That is like my team that I just want to see them make the playoff. Like Tennessee, it's so good. It's so good when they're good. But Faison Brandon, man, did not have like the biggest game. Two touchdowns, I think 147 yards somewhere around there. He didn't throw for a ton, but man, he's just so good at just doing what his team needs him to do. Like he's not doing too much, he's not doing too little. Faison Brandon as a true freshman. Is playing incredible. And as someone who just loves to to watch film of quarterbacks, and just I don't know why when I watch football, my eyes are just solely on the quarterback half the time. But I just love quarterback play. And Faison Brandon just looks good. Like he just looks like a a game manager. He he just is out there. It's not even like he's like stressed or anything. Like you look at Arch Manning last year, like all these expectations, and he he didn't really meet any of them. Faison Brandon's like, hey, I'll show you expectations. Like, I'll go make my own. He is a great quarterback and he's doing exactly what it they need to do to win. And I, like you said, I think that they are a serious playoff contending team. And for Georgia Tech, Alberto Mendoza and that team, it seems like, you know, they kind of just threw everything against the wall and, like, let's see what sticks. Nothing really stuck with Mendoza in the portal and and Justice Haynes. Like, nothing's really sticking for them. You're O and two. Brent Keyes gotta figure something out. I'm sure. You know, they'll win some football games here in ACC play, but Georgia Tech is not going to do anything special this year. If they can find a way to make a bowl game and do have an okay season, other than that, I don't expect Georgia Tech to do a ton. I had Tennessee winning this game and covering, I think, the thirteen and a half. I just am way too high on Tennessee. probably need to simmer down on them a little bit, but man, I cannot wait for that Texas Tennessee game in two weeks. Josh Mahler: Yeah, that's gonna be a fun one. And yeah, I I think Tennessee has surprised me so far. 'cause I didn't expect them to be as fluid as as they're they're looking right now. They look really smooth. I like what Josh Hypel's doing over there. But how about the seventy third edition of the Cyhawk game? Iowa State, Iowa. This is one that Jeremy and I were talking about. Jeremy took this one in our preview as his upset and and he wasn't just saying upset alert. He was saying, No, I think Iowa State's gonna win. Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: And and I was like, man, like all right, he's he's picking them to win. I don't think they're gonna win. but it was also hard for me to take Iowa spread. It's it's always is in any game. And Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: sure enough, Iowa State was leading for most of this game. I didn't watch the full game, but every time I was looking over, just realized like, man, like how is Iowa still behind? And they come away with a 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left on the clock. and yeah, just a a very I'm a defensive guy. I love watching defense. I I kind of like you're talking with quarterbacks, watching quarterbacks, I love picking apart defenses and just seeing what's what's Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: what's happening on the defensive side of the ball. And so this kind of game is my kind of game. I thought it was a lot a lot of fun to watch. And Iowa just didn't ever look impressive in this game, but a fun game nonetheless for it to come down and a big old rivalry game, and it in the sports coolest tradition in the fourth quarter to turn around and and and wave. up at the children's hospital as well. But Cyhawk sixteen to thirteen. Wyatt Zang: yeah, that was unbelievable. And I had a stat that was in front of me. For totally forgot I wrote this stat down. Iowa State led twice in the fourth quarter, or led twice in the game or fourth quarter. I didn't write down what stat that was, but they only had eight yards in the fourth quarter. And that is Josh Mahler: Really? Wyatt Zang: like that's insane. I'm looking down like eight yards in the fourth quarter, and it was only a field goal game. I'm telling you, people, it was funny. I had a lot of people, I was talking to like half a dozen people this week, and they were they were coming at me, they're like, man. Iowa's offense this year. Iowa offense is different this year. It's gonna be good. And I'm like, Iowa's offense is never something that I'm going to buy into. I'm I'm like, give me, I smashed down like give me Iowa State plus fourteen and a half. No chances being any more of a blowout than fourteen points. I'm like, this is gonna be a three to seven point game. Sure enough, it was. Iowa came back from a ten deficit and they won the game. Iowa still does not have an offense, but they got a heck of a defense, that's for sure. and they continue to dominate with Phil Parker as defensive coordinator. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, I I I was teasing before this game too. I said I'm just gonna hedge the under on Iowa and see how far I can make it and see how much how much I can make on it. yeah, I've I I'm I'm always I'm I'm I'm never going to buy into like you said, I'm never gonna buy into any kind of hype on Iowa's offense until Ferrence is gone, of course. But Wyatt Zang: Take the under every game. Josh Mahler: yeah, smash that under. All right, let's go over to Boise State Memphis. this was one where Boise trailed 17 to 3. And I think that this is potentially, I know it's early in the season, so I just say potentially, but potentially the most important group of six matchup. at least for now. Right now, I think this is the most important group of six matchup. And we were talking about this leading into week two here, and Boise State down 17 to 3, completely flipped the script and took over from there. They had 578 total yards. Three hundred and fifty seven rushing yards. That is a recipe for for winning a ballgame. so you know, Dylan Riley had two hundred and six rushing yards himself. And yeah, I just completely Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Wow. Josh Mahler: shut out Memphis twenty one twenty-one to zero in the second half, ended up coming away with this. I think that this boise this Boise team, look out because I think they go to Kalamazoo and take on Western Michigan here in a week or two. that's gonna be a really fun to watch, fun one to watch. I guess I didn't see what Western Michigan did yesterday. not sure if they if they ended up winning yesterday or not. But if if Western Michigan Wyatt Zang: Yeah, I didn't look. Josh Mahler: stays on the trajectory that I would have expected for them, I don't know. I think that's gonna be a really fun one to watch for a group of six game. There's a couple of others that I've kind of pinpointed, like this is a very big big group of six game, this is a big one. this Memphis Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: Boise game for week two was huge though, and very big for the Boise Broncos to be able to come away from this one. Wyatt Zang: absolutely. This was a good game. And like you said, this one had a lot of implications on it for the G six playoff spot. Both teams looked incredible coming into this game. And I think the fact that Boise won this game, they're definitely the front runner for the G six spot. Having that seven point loss to Oregon, that's gonna be a huge well, I guess maybe not now, after what we saw Oregon do, but that's gonna be a decent resume builder for them. But man G six is definitely like it's you see all these teams and you're like, it's the most unpredictable like league of of all of college football. It's like that's the most like if you want to have entertaining football, either watch the Big Twelve or watch G six. Like that's where you're gonna have total chaos. And I absolutely love it. But Memphis, played a good game to start. Boise State overcame that fourteen point deficit, as you said. but Boise State looks pretty good, you know, if they can Keep keep it rolling, keep it going. They'll definitely be a maybe maybe ten and two, eleven and one type team and definitely make it in the the Pac twelve championship game. So yeah, it was a good game for both teams though. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, I love it. love seeing the group of six teams really pull ahead the way that that Boise State did here in week two. Alabama wins forty five to seventeen, but don't let that score deceive you. This is another one that if you weren't watching it, you just didn't see how sloppy Alabama looked in that first half. starting off the first two drives, it was either fumble and then interception or the other way around. It was two turnovers right away to start the game. And it just looked like, man, this is another upset happening in week two. Alabama ended up or sorry, K Kentucky ended up leading Alabama 17 to 13 at halftime, and they show the stat at the bottom of the screen. Calen Bohrs, I think it was 0-7, when trailing at halftime there at Alabama. And so Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: then you're thinking, well, is history going to repeat itself? Not so fast, my friend, because then Alabama ended up ended up coming out thirty-two to zero in the second half, looked like Alabama is supposed to look like And Keelon Russell finally looked like the Keelon Russell that we've been told about all offseason. I bought into a lot of the hype for Keelon Russell. He finally started to show some of that there in the second half. but it definitely took a big second half for Alabama to come out of this one, looking on much better than what the game actually looked like throughout the the entirety of it. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, Keon Russell came into his own there, started to play well. And on the on the Alabama side of things, thirty-two unanswered points. Incredible by Alabama. It was funny. I don't know if you if you watch College Game Day, but they were earlier in the in in in the morning, they were talking about Nick Stavan was talking about this game and he said when he would go play Kentucky, he's like, Things happen at Kentucky, like it's always a a messy, sloppy game at Kentucky, and it was. And there was a point where I was like If we have an Oklahoma State upset on Oregon and we have a Kentucky upset on Alabama and Michigan upsetting Oklahoma all in the same week, I mean that would be an incredible, incredible upset week. But Alabama came back, won this football game. I believe it was Daniel Hill who had 104 yards. Alabama finally had a 100 yard rusher who wasn't a quarterback, which is always good to see. But yeah, Alabama, good team continuing to win football games as they have some good games coming up Florida State next week. Hopefully they should win that one. Get a revenge spot. And as for Kentucky, I think Kentucky will pull an upset this year. I don't know who, but I think they'll pull one of those upsets that we aren't seeing coming. Josh Mahler: Yeah, and another fun stat too is that Alabama's opponents are just one for twenty-five on third downs through two games so far. So an Wyatt Zang: Mm. Yeah. Josh Mahler: impressive defense. I think their secondary might be top three in the nation right now. I th the Wyatt Zang: yeah. Yeah, I would agree. Josh Mahler: an incredible secondary. They've got a lot of good things ahead for Alabama. I think they're gonna do better than I think most people were anticipating them to do, as long as Keelan Russell keeps on playing like he did in the second half. Missouri, Missouri, Kansas. this was a fun one on Friday night to watch. I I had a parlay brewing and was watching it was between Missouri, Kansas game and the Boston College game and it was really coming down to those two games to finish out this big parlay that I had and my wife and I were watching it on the TV with both of them next to each other and I kept on maximizing one screen and watching one game and okay, Missouri's pulling away, things are looking good. What the heck is Boston College doing? And I just kept on Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: going back and forth. Missouri though ends up coming out the second half again. All these teams start to look different in the second half. Missouri was one of them. Austin Simmons really looked the like the Austin Simmons that we would have expected. 292 yards, three touchdowns. Jamal Roberts ended up with 125 rushing yards. So this was really big. And Missouri had two 100 yard receivers as well. So this was a really big game for them. I think that this was a a good win for Missouri to come away from from you know a a tough opponent in Kansas. you can't look at Kansas the same way. that we once did under Lance Lightpold. I think that they're a much bigger opponent. And of course in a rivalry game, you just always love coming out on top and that's what Missouri was able to do here. Thirty eight to twenty one over Kansas. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, good game. Border War was amazing. I was watching this game Friday night and I was like, Kansas might do it. They might pull it out. But Missouri ended up winning the game. Like you said, Austin Simmons played well, 292, played incredible, got the hair flowing. He looked amazing. And he was kind of like that's the like you said, the Austin Simmons that that Lane Kiffin was trusting the starting job with before Trinidad obviously took the job once he got injured. But I think Missouri's gonna be a a sneaky team, not necessarily making the playoff, but I think they could be. Team, caliber team that could pull some upsets, win some games. Missouri and Eli Drinkets, they're always there. They're always like sneaking the SEC at that, you know, eight, nine, ten wins. So I think they could be a decent team this year in Kansas. A lot of people were you know taking Kansas, a lot of people I've talked to were like, Kansas isn't gonna win anything this year. I think Kansas could win some football games, especially in the Big 12. You know, Texas Tech almost lost in the Big 12. Like there's a lot of you know uncertainty in that conference. Kansas should should definitely win some football games. So that was a definitely a great game. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, it was a fun one to watch on Friday night too. And so it's it's always nice to have a couple of Friday night games just to kind of ease you into Saturday. Wyatt Zang: I love a good Friday night game, yeah. Josh Mahler: And yeah, that th that was one of man. Just really fun to watch. All right, let's get into some of the big questions around the nation. You know, I like I I mentioned with those first three games that we talked about, with Oklahoma State upsetting Oregon, Oklahoma being upset by Michigan, and of course Texas taking down the number one team in the nation. There are a lot of questions going into week three. that that need to be answered and and at least on the media side of things for sure. starting off with with the first one, why I'm gonna kinda get your your your answers on a lot of these. who should be number one coming into week three? now that Ohio State's knocked out, who's who's your number one team? Wyatt Zang: So I was actually the sh for my channel for Wide Zang's College Ball Show, I just filmed a live show right before this, about an hour ago. And I put out my top twenty five for week three. I have Texas as my number one team, but I'm gonna tell you why Texas did not look like the number one team, that's for sure, especially with that first half. But I will say I was very tempted to put Georgia at one just because of how dominant Georgia's looking. They've scored almost a combined two hundred points in the last two games. So Georgia's looked really good. But it's almost like impossible to justify the number four team beating the number one team and not going to number one. So I think Texas is the answer for number one. They have the best win in the country right now. No one has beaten the number one team. Texas is the only team that's done that. Dominant win over Texas State. Dominant win, I guess I shouldn't say dominant win over Ohio State, but win over Ohio State. So Texas, for my money, should be the number one team. They're number one team in the coaches poll. The AP poll I think comes out at three o'clock today. Eastern time. So we'll see, you know, after this ends, we'll see what n the AP poll has them at. But for me, I'm gonna go with Texas at number one. Josh Mahler: I like it. And I I think you you brought up Georgia too and it's tough. For me, I look at Georgia and I think, you know, should should a you know solid dominance in your first two games, regardless of who your your opponents are, should that be completely overlooked by one quarter against the number one team in the nation. I mean, 'cause they they it really was only that that one core, that fourth quarter for Texas. That's where I have a hard time. I'm still debating with myself who I'm gonna mark up there at the number one spot. I do think that without a doubt, it's one of those two teams. And and hey, final finally we have to stop this little d this little whatever it is, whatever's team is behind the scenes making sure that there are no SEC teams at number one. I think it's a pretty good likelihood that there'll be an SEC team at number Wyatt Zang: Yeah, one and two, yeah. Josh Mahler: one. Yeah, so you'll you'll either have Texas, Georgia, b I think LSU is in the mix, but I I I don't think I think w Wyatt Zang: I think it was what they did yesterday now. Josh Mahler: yeah, I think I think people are kind of easing off. Like a they're impressive. They've got the weapons, they can be that team. But we're kind of slowing down on my on them after yesterday. so yeah, I think Georgia, Texas, those are definitely the two. For me, I'm picking Georgia still just because I still trust what I've gotten out of Georgia to translate. I I think as dominant as they've been, you see the monsters that they've got on on the offensive side of the ball again. I I I trust what I've I'm seeing out of Georgia enough to kind of hold on to that down the road. But let's go on to question number two. How far does Oregon fall? I know you said you just you just did your top twenty five already today. I haven't c collected the the Game Day Collective top twenty five yet, but how far does Oregon fall here in in the in the polls? Wyatt Zang: So I'll tell you for me, I have Oregon at spot twenty-five. I think they're still a top twenty-five team, but I think with the way that they played, like I it wasn't even like they like played really good and Oklahoma State just beat them. They didn't play good at all. So I dropped Oregon to twenty five. I know that's what, like twenty-one spots, I dropped them, but I just was not impressed at all. Like I I really was not impressed. I thought I have Oklahoma ahead of them. I think Oklahoma. looked better than Oregon looked. I know they scored less points, but Oregon with that talent, just to not get it done against Oklahoma State, that just worries me. So I might be a little harsh just because I picked Oregon to win the national championship in my preseason. And I might just be, you know, depressed at this point. But I had Miami as my one point playoff prediction. And man, if I could go back to that, I would love to. But for me, I think Oregon stays inside the top 25. I believe in the coaches' poll there i maybe twenty I around that spot, maybe sixteen. I can't remember exactly which one them in Oklahoma fell to, but for me, they're still a top twenty five team. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think they dropped significantly at least ten spots, I would imagine. ten to fifteen spots somewhere in that range. And yeah, I think like you said, it was just the fact that you didn't see anything good from Oregon. And to to the your point with Oklahoma, at least we have some faith in their defense to do some things and and we don't completely write off because that that is the identity of Oklahoma. Regardless of what we thought their their offense could have done this year with adding some new weapons, they're still a defensive team. So I agree with you there. And and Wyatt Zang: Plus also Oregon last week didn't look great at all either. So that's two in a row. Josh Mahler: True. Yeah. And but last week we kind of wrote that off because their stats still looked fine, right? It's like, yeah, you had a Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: sloppy game, but your offense looked, you know, very good. That defense is very concerning though for Oregon, because it's two weeks in a row that your defense did not perform very well. So all right, question number three. What do we do with Michigan here? D do they do they climb their way back into the top twenty five? Or do we sit there and say, I don't know, it wasn't compelling enough. We'll have to wait to see. Wyatt Zang: Well, here's where I'm at. So they're two and no. May one and one, depending on how you look at it, but they're two and no on the on paper. that was a good win beating Oklahoma. Oklahoma's a good team. Like people don't some people are, you know, devaluing that that result just because of the way Oklahoma played, but Oklahoma's a good team. Michigan's the reason Oklahoma played that way. So for me, Michigan should be in the top twenty-five. You know, I have them at twenty, I believe, in my poll. So I think that they are a top 25 team. They dropped to number spot 28, I believe, in the AP poll after the Western Michigan result. So they rose. they will be in the AP poll. I they're in the coaches poll. I'm sure they'll be in the AP poll. So for me, Michigan's a top 25 team. I believe that they will be around that 20 to 25 spot. I think they got to work their way up. Like no one's gonna bolt them up there just because of this win over the number 11 team. Like we've got to build a little confidence. They do have to be ahead of Oklahoma. Like I will give them that. They have to put them ahead. So wherever you have Oklahoma, Michigan's gotta be at least a spot above them because of that on field result. We've seen what happened with Miami, Notre Dame last year. We don't want to do that again. So I would say Michigan will be in that twenty to twenty five, maybe like h high teens or low teens spot. But for me, Michigan's probably around like twenty. Josh Mahler: Yeah, yeah, I like it. I think they I I agree. I think they should jump in, but we should still be a little cautious. because it was it was maybe an overreaction to drop them completely out of the top twenty five. Maybe just a slight overreaction. But I understood it. I Wyatt Zang: Yeah, if they would have lost it, you could justify. Josh Mahler: Yeah, I mean I I I dropped them out of the top twenty five. I looked I thought they looked like garbage in week one. They Wyatt Zang: Me too, yeah. Josh Mahler: had nothing going for But you know what? At least their defense gives us something to where we say, All right, your top twenty five team You're on thin ice though. We're watching you very closely. You beat Oklahoma, sure. But what do you do next week and what do you do the week after that? How do you perform against some these opponents that that could end up taking you down? All right, question question number four, do we still consider Oklahoma a college football playoff contender? Wyatt Zang: I'll give you the short answer. The short answer would be yes. I think there's still like I I I one of the things I live by is don't overreact, just react. And so reacting from this game, they're one and one. Like of course there's things to work on, there's things to fix, but Oklahoma as a team is still like in the race. Like you're not out of it until you lose three games. Like you still make it with three games, but I don't think anyone's gonna do that. So Oklahoma's still in it. They still have, you know, the horses to go out and win these big football games. You know, they can beat Texas, they can beat Georgia if they play to their potential, but they gotta play to their potential. but for me, Oklahoma is still a contender, you know. I know some people are just gonna be harsh on them and say, they're out. Like I had Oklahoma as my SEC championship runner up. It was a tough day for me last week. I had my Big Ten and my two Big Ten championship and champion and runner up, they both lost. My national champion lost yesterday. My SEC runner up lost. So I'm in a bad place mentally. But I would say Oklahoma is still a contender. I I'm not losing faith in them. John Mateer, I think, still is a good quarterback and he's going to produce. So I would still have Oklahoma in the contention for the college ball playoff. Josh Mahler: Yeah, a lot of people I I feel like overreacting to John Mateir. I think more than anything you put play calling on on in what what lost the game for Oklahoma yesterday. you you weren't running the ball consistently or efficiently. you weren't really trying to get that going. I felt like there was many plays, that jet sweep that they kept on running just felt like it w never it never was gonna work against Michigan. And so that needed to be cut out of the playbook early and it wasn't. there was Yes, John Mattir had some not great throws, but there also weren't receivers open. A lot of his overthrows that people are kind of overreacting about were ones that, man, it was just like w where what was he supposed to do with that ball? Throw it on target and then get it pit intercepted? also Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: there was that one late to Rocky Beers. Yes, maybe he shouldn't have chosen Rocky Beers because Elijah Thomas was open in the middle of the field, could have scored a touchdown, but the throw was still. on target. It was right there two Rocky Beers Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: late in the game. So I I do think some overreaction on John Mateer. Not saying that that he's he did he performed well at all, because he didn't. But I I agree with you. I think that Oklahoma's got a lot that they can bounce back from. and and we're still trusting in in that defensive identity for Oklahoma too and hoping that Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: that can improve and kind of keep them in some of these games. All right, question Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: number five. Who's the biggest emerging contender? I I guess I s I I say surprise contender, but I guess just one that's kind of emerging. Wha who's who's that biggest emerging contender? You had number one drop yesterday, you had Oregon drop yesterday, you had Oklahoma drop yesterday. So who is that kind of that emerging contender for you? Wyatt Zang: For me, I have two, but I'll give you my answer and then I'll give you another team to look out for. My answer would be Tennessee. I think Tennessee is everything a playoff team should be. They have solid defense. They got great quarterback play. They have a solid run game. You know, Josh Heipel has a quarterback that fits his system. We haven't seen that since Hendon Hooker. I think that Tennessee is definitely an emerging playoff contender. I would I would even say playoff contender. Like I think they're a legit team this year. And I think You know, like I said, they're easily top fifteen right now. They're beating the teams they're supposed to beat by the amount of points they're supposed to beat. They have covered in every game. They are playing well and they played good competition. Georgia Tech is no knock. Like they're a good team and they beat them by what twenty eight or something. So they played really well. And Faison Brandon continues to look how he should look to make the college football playoffs. So I would say Tennessee's up there. And then my team to look out for, another SEC team, Florida. Florida's just like no one has talked about them. They haven't, they've played Florida Atlantic and Campbell. So I know they haven't played anyone great. They're dominating. You look at the stat line, you look at the highlights, Jaden Baugh. Aaron Philo is performing amazing right now. I've seen a lot of film and looked at a lot of film from Aaron Philo. I I loved Tremel Jones. He was my pick to win that job. Aaron Philo won it, and he deserved to win it. Him and Buster Faulkner are doing a lot of good things, and John Somerell's got that team going. So I would say Tennessee's my pick, but man, Florida. is going to be a contender this year. And I definitely look out for Florida, especially whenever they play some call quality competition this year. Like they play Ole Miss. They play these tough teams. And I think they'll pull some of those offsets. Josh Mahler: Yeah, Florida was in contention for my breakout team of the year as well. so yeah, I I like what I'm seeing from them so far. And and I agree with you. I think Tennessee was the one that I was picking for this as well. and I think some people might say Michigan just because wow, Michigan knocked off O Oklahoma, they're back on track Wyatt Zang: Yeah. Josh Mahler: again and they're back in it. slow down because their offense still did not look good at all. I mean they they had some promising moments. Wyatt Zang: Yeah, it was manageable. Josh Mahler: Yeah, it was it was manageable. but no, I like I like Tennessee. I think that they look like the more sustainable contender, and I agree with you. I think like I mentioned earlier, I think that they do deserve to be in this discussion of you know, playoff contention can play off contention. all right. Going on from from the big questions around the nation, let's get to our top four teams. y you can you can name it as your top four teams in your rankings, or just power top four teams, the teams that you think like, yeah, they haven't shown it yet, but I I think that they're gonna be in the top. When when we talk about top four teams that like these are my current they're gonna win the national championship teams. Who would you pick for your top four right now? Wyatt Zang: Yeah, I'll give you my top four. I'll start at four and go to one. At four, well, yeah, at four, I got Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame has played well. They've done what they need to. CJ Carr looks really good. That offense is firing on all cylinders. So Notre Dame's definitely a a team that can win a national championship this year. I cannot wait for that Miami game. That is easily going to be the game of the year. But man, I think Notre Dame has what it takes and they continue to win when they should win. And like Tennessee, they're just taking care of business. They're just, you know, they're they're playing well. Three for me, three is Miami. I think Miami, I was so tempted to put them at one just because how dominant they look. like they're just beating teams. Darren Mensah throwing for 400 yards multiple times. Malachi Tony going for 230 in that one game. He looks incredible. I mean, those are two Heisman top fives right now on the same team. We've seen that. With you know Ohio State last year, Julian Say and Jeremiah Smith, they were you know top ten Heismans. We've seen Mac Jones, Devontae Smith. Like I I I do think that Miami has the best offense currently in college football. Mark Fletcher's being you very dominant. So Miami's number three for me. Georgia is at two. Georgia taking care of business. We haven't seen them play tough competition yet, which is similar to Miami. But when those two teams play tough competition, I do think that they will dominate and they will win those games. Texas is one. Again, they're one because I I guess they're one in my poll. If I had to pick, you know, teams to win the national championship, they would probably be three or four on this list. I don't think that they're gonna, you know, automatically go win a national championship. I I don't think so. I think Miami and Georgia look better right now. Again, we'll see when they play competition that, you know, is good. But I would have Texas one But if you're talking about winning a national championship, they'd be back towards like three or four. I just don't think that they're consistent enough right now. It was similar to last year when they started the year off slow. Texas is starting off the year slow. You know, they got a win, but it was a sloppy win. So I have Notre Dame four, Miami three, Georgia two, and Texas one. Josh Mahler: I like it. I think you and I have the same num same four. And I think teams just outside the bubble too that could be in the discussion. You've got LSU, you've got Indiana, Texas AM. I think Ohio State's still up there for for contention. Wyatt Zang: Mm-hmm. Josh Mahler: you know, so yeah, there's there's plenty of teams to look at. and we'll be getting the Game Day Collective top twenty five put together and get that out as well. So yeah, it's it's after everything that we've seen here in week two, I think that It was just a r a result that you look back on in November and realize that it it told you a lot about what's going to happen in 2026. This week too, I mean, it definitely shifted a lot of things in the the the entire national picture in college football. It was an exciting one, it was fun. anyways, that's gonna do it for today's edition of the Game Day Collective College Football Show. 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