Latest / 4th AND BULL / Week 4 South Florida Bulls vs Bowling Green Falcons Preview

Transcript

Week 4 South Florida Bulls vs Bowling Green Falcons Preview · 4th AND BULL

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to 4th and Bowl. Hello, USF fans. We got
0:04
Speaker 1: a lot to talk about today. We will talk about
0:07
Speaker 1: the matchup on Saturday, 5 o'clock. Weird time frame for
0:10
Speaker 1: a game. USF travels up to Ohio, the old stomping
0:15
Speaker 1: grounds of Coach Hartline, to take on 0-3 Bowling Green.
0:19
Speaker 1: We'll talk all about that game. Also, an article just
0:21
Speaker 1: came out a little bit ago. It looks like the
0:23
Speaker 1: college football playoff metrics are changing in the middle of
0:27
Speaker 1: a season, which is so on brand for college football.
0:30
Speaker 1: I have so many thoughts about that. We'll get into that.
0:33
Speaker 1: We'll talk about the game, of course, and we'll get
0:36
Speaker 1: to your mailbag questions as well that you left me
0:39
Speaker 1: on social media. If you are listening on Apple or iHeartRadio,
0:43
Speaker 1: now on Spotify as well. People have been asking, when
0:46
Speaker 1: is the podcast going to be available on Spotify? It
0:50
Speaker 1: is now available on all three. If you're listening on
0:52
Speaker 1: any of those platforms, be sure to subscribe to the
0:55
Speaker 1: YouTube channel at 4th and Bowl Podcast. If you're watching
0:58
Speaker 1: on YouTube, Make sure you subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Remember,
1:03
Speaker 1: I get bonus points for iHeartRadio, so appreciate the listens there. And,
1:08
Speaker 1: of course, the YouTube channel as well. And be sure
1:11
Speaker 1: to share this with five USF Bulls fans. We just
1:13
Speaker 1: hit over 700 subscribers on YouTube, so really appreciate your
1:17
Speaker 1: guys' support. Also, throughout the message yesterday, any USF grads
1:22
Speaker 1: that own a business want to sponsor 4th & Bulls,
1:27
Speaker 1: Hit me up on Twitter. You can see below on
1:30
Speaker 1: the screen. I am Nick Wise is where you can
1:33
Speaker 1: hit me up. I did have a couple of people
1:34
Speaker 1: reach out. So hopefully we'll have some great sponsors that
1:36
Speaker 1: we can support in return coming up here. Hopefully soon,
1:40
Speaker 1: hopefully next week. But I'm working on that. But yeah,
1:43
Speaker 1: if you're interested, just get at me on social media.
1:46
Speaker 1: Joining me today is a very special guest. He is
1:50
Speaker 1: on the pregame show for USF Bulls Radio. Rock Riley
1:55
Speaker 1: will join me on the podcast today. What's up, Rock?
1:57
Speaker 1: How are you?
1:59
Speaker 2: I'm doing great. And you know, when the Bulls are winning, man,
2:02
Speaker 2: it's really good. What a way to start the season.
2:04
Speaker 2: So it's all good right now, Nick.
2:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Bulls are 3-0, first time since, what was it, 2017, 2018?
2:08
Speaker 1: I think it was 2017, yeah. They started off 7-0,
2:09
Speaker 1: and then they lost the final six games. We don't
2:11
Speaker 1: expect that this year, but That was a rough season
2:19
Speaker 1: the last time they did start off as good as
2:21
Speaker 1: they did this year. Bowling Green, great opportunity in front
2:25
Speaker 1: of them to go 4-0. I want to talk about
2:27
Speaker 1: that game, but this article just dropped, Rock, and I
2:30
Speaker 1: know you were over at the Bucs presser, so you
2:33
Speaker 1: might not even been able to dive in, but I've
2:36
Speaker 1: seen USF fans on social media already commenting, you know,
2:40
Speaker 1: how does this affect USF? And I think a lot
2:42
Speaker 1: of people think that this move actually hurts USF and
2:46
Speaker 1: their chances of getting into the playoff because the schedule
2:49
Speaker 1: this year is not the same schedule that they had,
2:53
Speaker 1: you know, a year ago when they were facing Florida,
2:56
Speaker 1: even though Florida wasn't good. They get credit for beating Florida, right?
2:59
Speaker 1: They faced Miami and Boise State they beat. So they
3:02
Speaker 1: had a couple of really good wins with the Gator
3:04
Speaker 1: win and the Boise State win. And Now what the
3:09
Speaker 1: SEC is going to do is they just announced the
3:12
Speaker 1: college football playoff committee will consider a strength of conference
3:15
Speaker 1: metric in its selection process. The new metric will help
3:19
Speaker 1: determine the strength of each conference based on the schedule
3:22
Speaker 1: strength of each team in its league, which seems kind
3:26
Speaker 1: of silly to me, but let's just be honest. We
3:28
Speaker 1: know what this is all about. This is ESPN that
3:30
Speaker 1: has the rights to the SEC, and this is their
3:32
Speaker 1: opportunity to cram three loss SEC teams into the playoff.
3:36
Speaker 1: That's really what this is. is about and we'll talk
3:40
Speaker 1: about how it affects USF here in a second but
3:44
Speaker 1: your thoughts overall on that like to change a metric
3:47
Speaker 1: in the middle of the season we've already played three
3:50
Speaker 1: games some teams have played four games what are we doing.
3:53
Speaker 2: You know what? Does it honestly surprise you? No. With
3:56
Speaker 2: college football these days? Look, it was the week of
4:00
Speaker 2: opening day, and we didn't know the rules. Are NFL
4:04
Speaker 2: players allowed to come back? Oh, LSU will take them. Oh,
4:09
Speaker 2: we'll file a lawsuit. We'll try to get LSU out
4:12
Speaker 2: of the SEC. That was days before opening week one
4:16
Speaker 2: or week zero. So nothing really surprises me. Like that,
4:21
Speaker 2: but you know what it is, Nick. It always comes
4:23
Speaker 2: down to cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. The big school, the big conference,
4:28
Speaker 2: the big TV ratings, and that's the way it goes,
4:32
Speaker 2: and that's probably the way it's always going to go.
4:34
Speaker 1: Look, do I find the SEC to be the deepest conference?
4:36
Speaker 1: I do, but I also find them to be the
4:38
Speaker 1: most annoying conference. Like, all they do is complain about everything.
4:45
Speaker 1: You and I were at SEC Media Days, and it's like, Non-stop,
4:49
Speaker 1: every time a coach went up to the podium or
4:51
Speaker 1: the commissioner went up to the podium, Greg Sankey, there's
4:54
Speaker 1: something about the nine-game conference schedule. The SEC is this.
4:58
Speaker 1: The SEC is that. They are so great at tooting
5:01
Speaker 1: their own horn. But this is ESPN. ESPN has the
5:07
Speaker 1: rights to the college football playoff. They have the rights
5:09
Speaker 1: to the SEC. And this is their doing. And it's
5:13
Speaker 1: annoying to change things constantly. in the middle of a season.
5:16
Speaker 1: But it's so on brand for college football. College football
5:20
Speaker 1: these days doesn't make any changes that benefit the fan.
5:24
Speaker 1: It's all about what you said. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Every
5:27
Speaker 1: decision is always about the money, which I get. I
5:31
Speaker 1: just hate making bad decisions based on money because it
5:34
Speaker 1: should be in the interest of the fan, and I
5:36
Speaker 1: feel like it's not. Also, how do you determine how
5:39
Speaker 1: good a... conference is based on them beating each other
5:44
Speaker 1: right and then you could have a team in the
5:47
Speaker 1: sec that's really just playing a bunch of bottom feeders
5:50
Speaker 1: in the sec and they're not playing the guys at
5:52
Speaker 1: the top but they're still getting credit because they're in
5:54
Speaker 1: the sec it's college football is just it's a silly
5:58
Speaker 1: game man and i love it because it is my
6:01
Speaker 1: favorite sport right that's kind of how this podcast started
6:04
Speaker 1: up i love talking college ball we have a college
6:06
Speaker 1: team in our backyard And college football continues to just
6:11
Speaker 1: shoot itself right in the face and push people like
6:16
Speaker 1: me away. Now I'm always going to watch, but this
6:21
Speaker 1: isn't the game that I fell in love with when
6:24
Speaker 1: I was a little kid. And that's the part I
6:27
Speaker 1: don't like. I'm not even bothered as much by, I
6:30
Speaker 1: don't care about NIL. I think the players should get paid, right?
6:33
Speaker 1: I don't believe in the corporation getting all the money
6:35
Speaker 1: in the, And the employee is not getting anything. Cause
6:38
Speaker 1: that's really what the whole real world is all about.
6:40
Speaker 1: 99% of the time. So I like that. They get
6:42
Speaker 1: paid transfer portal for broadcasting purposes. It does bring an
6:47
Speaker 1: element that gives me something to talk about in the
6:49
Speaker 1: off season, but I do wish they had to sit
6:51
Speaker 1: out a year if they transfer, unless their coach leaves too,
6:55
Speaker 1: then I, then I feel like they should be able
6:56
Speaker 1: to transfer, you know, because we're doing this podcast now
6:59
Speaker 1: and you're, you know, you're on the pregame show for
7:01
Speaker 1: USF on the radio and, and, you're learning all about
7:04
Speaker 1: this year's team. And then as soon as this year's over,
7:06
Speaker 1: you're going to have 60 new kids to learn about
7:08
Speaker 1: next year as am I. And that's the part I
7:11
Speaker 1: don't like, but when it comes to this and making
7:15
Speaker 1: changes in the middle of the season that we all
7:17
Speaker 1: know why you're doing this to benefit the sec, like it's,
7:20
Speaker 1: it's right in front of our faces. And it drives
7:23
Speaker 1: me absolutely up a wall. And the biggest question now,
7:26
Speaker 1: rock is how does this affect USF? And I, and
7:30
Speaker 1: I saw a lot of, Obviously, this is just social
7:32
Speaker 1: media because that's where I saw this article posted. On3
7:36
Speaker 1: had it. And I believe Heather Dinich was actually the
7:39
Speaker 1: original person that had it first because ESPN. Because, again,
7:43
Speaker 1: ESPN made the decision. We all know that. Not the
7:46
Speaker 1: college playoff committee. But how does this affect USF? I
7:51
Speaker 1: actually think, because there was a lot of doom mostly
7:55
Speaker 1: on social media, I actually think this benefits USF, Rock Reilly.
8:01
Speaker 2: I will tell you, being around them, starting with Brian Hartline,
8:07
Speaker 2: they honestly do not look outside of the facility to
8:13
Speaker 2: task at hand getting better. The goals that they have,
8:18
Speaker 2: the number one goal is to win the conference. They've
8:22
Speaker 2: never in the history of USF won their conference. That
8:26
Speaker 2: is all that they are focused on. So I can
8:29
Speaker 2: tell you that they're not phased by this at all.
8:34
Speaker 2: Maybe with Rob Higgins and Derrick Brooks and the leadership group,
8:39
Speaker 2: but Honestly, Nick, they are game to game, play to play.
8:43
Speaker 2: That is how they're focused. They figure everything is going
8:46
Speaker 2: to change and it will all take care of itself
8:49
Speaker 2: if they win. I'm curious, though, how do you think
8:52
Speaker 2: in the long run this may actually help USF?
8:55
Speaker 1: So if they get into a power conference, it actually
8:58
Speaker 1: hurts them because I think this actually hurts the ACC
9:00
Speaker 1: and the Big 12 more than anybody. And I know
9:04
Speaker 1: a lot of USF fans want to be in one
9:05
Speaker 1: of those two conferences, but preferably if i had a
9:08
Speaker 1: choice the big 12 that way they're with ucf and
9:11
Speaker 1: we can reunite that rivalry although i guess if they're
9:13
Speaker 1: in the acc we could do the same but uh
9:15
Speaker 1: regardless if you're in one of those two conferences then
9:18
Speaker 1: i think this is a huge blow to your chances
9:21
Speaker 1: of getting into the college football playoff but because usf
9:24
Speaker 1: is in the american conference when you look at the
9:26
Speaker 1: group of six the strongest group of six conference is
9:31
Speaker 1: the american conference and Last year was the anomaly of
9:35
Speaker 1: two getting in like that. That's not going to happen
9:37
Speaker 1: every single year. That just happened to happen last year because.
9:41
Speaker 1: And again, they changed the rules once that happened. Right.
9:43
Speaker 1: They're like, we're not going to allow two group of
9:45
Speaker 1: six schools get into this college football playoff again. Let
9:48
Speaker 1: us redo the rules again. And that's the thing is
9:51
Speaker 1: like as much as I am plugged into college football
9:55
Speaker 1: and have a radio show where I talk college football
9:58
Speaker 1: and have a podcast where I talk college football. I
10:00
Speaker 1: still don't know all the rules of college football because
10:02
Speaker 1: they change as much as these rosters change. But this rule,
10:05
Speaker 1: I think, helps actually USF because they're in the strongest
10:09
Speaker 1: group of six conference. When you look at the American,
10:11
Speaker 1: you have Tulane, Memphis, USF, Navy. Those are key contenders
10:15
Speaker 1: for the CFP this year. The Pac-12 has Washington State,
10:19
Speaker 1: Oregon State. I guess, you know what, though? The Pac-12
10:23
Speaker 1: did expand into Boise State, UNLV, New Mexico. So you're
10:26
Speaker 1: probably battling it out with the Pac-12. The Sun Belt,
10:29
Speaker 1: James Madison and App State, Conference USA, Liberty, Jacksonville State,
10:33
Speaker 1: Western Kentucky, not on the same level. And then the
10:35
Speaker 1: Mac really has just one team, and that's Western Michigan.
10:39
Speaker 1: And so I think, really, it's between the American and
10:42
Speaker 1: the Pac-12. Those are the two best group of six.
10:46
Speaker 1: And now you are pulling for your conference foes more
10:51
Speaker 1: than ever, right? You are rooting for the Memphises of
10:54
Speaker 1: the world to be undefeated when you play them. You
10:56
Speaker 1: are rooting for UTSA. They have that loss to Texas.
11:00
Speaker 1: You hope they lose to USF, and then you want
11:02
Speaker 1: them to win. You're now rooting for the conference more
11:05
Speaker 1: than ever. You want Navy to look really good every
11:07
Speaker 1: single game. I think them being in the American, it actually,
11:12
Speaker 1: this new change, even though I don't like it, we
11:14
Speaker 1: know it's to benefit the SEC, I actually think it
11:17
Speaker 1: helps USF. And just because their schedule this year isn't
11:20
Speaker 1: one of the strongest, it doesn't matter because this isn't
11:24
Speaker 1: what they're changing. They're looking at the conference as a whole.
11:27
Speaker 1: And one of these six conferences that I just mentioned
11:31
Speaker 1: is going to get into the college football playoff no
11:33
Speaker 1: matter what. And you're in one of those two conferences. Now,
11:38
Speaker 1: if USF was in the Mac, then I'd be a
11:42
Speaker 1: little bit more worried. Like Western Michigan, right? They're a
11:45
Speaker 1: team that almost beat the Wolverines, and they're projected to
11:48
Speaker 1: win the Mac. They were a 10-win team a year ago.
11:51
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, it just got harder for them
11:54
Speaker 1: to reach the college football playoff because now their strength
11:57
Speaker 1: of conference... is not going to look very good against
12:01
Speaker 1: the Mac team. So I think this helps USF, but
12:04
Speaker 1: if they were in the Mac or the Big 12
12:08
Speaker 1: or the ACC, then yeah, I'm reading this today and
12:11
Speaker 1: I'm coming on this show with a much different tone
12:13
Speaker 1: and a little bit more concerned about them trying to
12:17
Speaker 1: get into the CFP.
12:19
Speaker 2: I like it. I do like it. And you know what?
12:21
Speaker 2: You're right. You are right. They would not have as
12:25
Speaker 2: good of a chance. The thing about it for USF,
12:29
Speaker 2: just take care of business. Just keep on winning. Keep
12:33
Speaker 2: on getting better because I don't know if you heard
12:36
Speaker 2: Heartline this week and I was even asking him about, man,
12:40
Speaker 2: you know, are you worried about, do you have to
12:42
Speaker 2: say anything to these kids? Look, they're kids. They're 3-0.
12:46
Speaker 2: They're starting to make some noise. They're going to get
12:49
Speaker 2: some publicity. They're going to go 4-0. He's like, are
12:51
Speaker 2: you kidding me? We are so far freaking away. And
12:55
Speaker 2: he said, I didn't use the word freaking to them.
12:58
Speaker 2: I saw that. He goes, we are so far away.
13:01
Speaker 2: from our goals and the goals is win the conference championship.
13:05
Speaker 2: So anything else right now is move. That's just their mindset.
13:09
Speaker 2: Just that I'm there every week. And then we listened
13:11
Speaker 2: to the players and that it trickles down from our line.
13:14
Speaker 2: That's how they think.
13:15
Speaker 1: Well, they, they got humbleized is humbleized or they got humbled, humbleized.
13:21
Speaker 1: It is now they, they, they became humble after the
13:23
Speaker 1: FIU game. And I think it was Thomas Schrader, the
13:27
Speaker 1: offensive lineman on, in, in, we had talked about that
13:31
Speaker 1: game and how, yeah, you won, but it was a
13:35
Speaker 1: disappointing win for the fan base. It was a disappointing
13:37
Speaker 1: win for heartline because the expectation at USF has changed.
13:40
Speaker 1: And he said his exact quote was great. He goes,
13:43
Speaker 1: you know, it was a, everyone got humbled and he said,
13:46
Speaker 1: we felt before that game, we have, we had already
13:50
Speaker 1: made it, which is it's, it's great because it's now USF, right? And,
13:55
Speaker 1: And you're sitting here, and these kids get to USF.
13:57
Speaker 1: They transfer here. They already feel like they made it
13:59
Speaker 1: because they know they are now in a really good
14:00
Speaker 1: program because this program, as we know, just keeps– the
14:03
Speaker 1: stock keeps going up. So they come here, and they
14:05
Speaker 1: feel like, oh, we made it. We made USF. Like,
14:09
Speaker 1: we've already made it. And then that game against FIU happens.
14:12
Speaker 1: It's a grinded-out game. It's ugly, 19-9 at Raymond James
14:16
Speaker 1: Stadium in front of 40,000 fans. And it was a
14:20
Speaker 1: nasty win. And despite them winning, nobody was happy that day.
14:23
Speaker 1: Not the fans, not the players, not the coaches. And
14:26
Speaker 1: I loved that because I think that day humbled them.
14:28
Speaker 1: And then they go into Army as underdogs. And most
14:32
Speaker 1: of that game, they don't look great either. And then
14:34
Speaker 1: they put together those two final drives in crunch time
14:38
Speaker 1: and they get the job done. Joshua Porter with that
14:40
Speaker 1: incredible catch. Brian Arline with the incredible call. Still brilliant.
14:44
Speaker 1: balls of steel to call that in that moment when
14:47
Speaker 1: you have Nico grammatica right there like he calls that
14:50
Speaker 1: and so they win that game and then they take
14:51
Speaker 1: care of business against Delaware State now Delaware State to
14:55
Speaker 1: the first half was not they have yet to play
14:57
Speaker 1: four quarters of really good football the first half was sloppy.
15:02
Speaker 1: 21-17 to Delaware State. Unacceptable. To give up a 90-yard
15:06
Speaker 1: play and a 50-yard play to an FCS school. Unacceptable.
15:09
Speaker 1: They cleaned up those mistakes, and they bounced back in
15:12
Speaker 1: the second half, and they played their best football of
15:14
Speaker 1: the season. And that, what they did in that second half,
15:18
Speaker 1: they need to continue doing that going forward. And that
15:22
Speaker 1: starts this weekend with Bowling Green. Now, you mentioned that
15:25
Speaker 1: quote from Hartline. Look, you're in the media. You go
15:28
Speaker 1: to all the Bucs pressers and Lightning and in the Rays.
15:34
Speaker 1: What I love about Coach Hartline, we finally have a
15:36
Speaker 1: coach in this town that will give us a good quote.
15:39
Speaker 1: Like you're not getting that out of Todd Bowles. Hartline
15:43
Speaker 1: the other day was asked, I wrote this quote down
15:46
Speaker 1: because he was asked if any, you know, they're playing
15:48
Speaker 1: Bowling Green at Bowling Green. It's in Ohio. He's from Ohio,
15:52
Speaker 1: came here from Ohio State. He was asked if he
15:55
Speaker 1: would have his, well, actually his answer was, I have
15:58
Speaker 1: no idea. Hartline said, when asked how many family members
16:01
Speaker 1: and friends might attend Saturday's game, he said, I have
16:03
Speaker 1: no idea. We're going on a business trip, so I
16:05
Speaker 1: really don't have a whole lot of warm and fuzzy
16:07
Speaker 1: feelings when it comes to traveling anywhere. I know it's
16:10
Speaker 1: their homecoming. It'll be a great environment. We look forward
16:13
Speaker 1: to competing. He is going to have family there, but
16:16
Speaker 1: I love that. He's like, I have no idea. I'm
16:17
Speaker 1: not worried about that. His wife probably knows who's all
16:19
Speaker 1: going to be there. He ain't paying attention to all
16:22
Speaker 1: of that. I love that raw emotion and feelings that
16:27
Speaker 1: you get from Coach Hartline, like, As media personalities who
16:32
Speaker 1: cover these people, we love that, right? It's like if
16:36
Speaker 1: you cover the Longhorns. Arch Manning is about as entertaining
16:39
Speaker 1: as wallpaper. Then he finally comes out, shows his personality,
16:43
Speaker 1: takes the backlash. He's back to wallpaper and not saying anything.
16:47
Speaker 1: Heartline's not wallpaper. And I love that. I love the
16:49
Speaker 1: quote that you had mentioned. And I just love this.
16:52
Speaker 1: When asked how many family and friends will be there.
16:53
Speaker 1: I have no idea. It's just, he's funny without even
16:57
Speaker 1: realizing is funny, but you're right. When he says, I
17:00
Speaker 1: said the team freaking, but I didn't say freaky. Like
17:03
Speaker 1: we know what you're implying that you said, like, I
17:07
Speaker 1: like that. He's genuine. He's honest. And you're going to
17:09
Speaker 1: get you're not going to get an act when he's
17:11
Speaker 1: up there at the podium. I like that.
17:14
Speaker 2: You know what, too? It's the same thing with the
17:15
Speaker 2: players like he's tough, but they also know exactly where
17:20
Speaker 2: they stand. That is the number one thing with players
17:24
Speaker 2: over the years. They've told me if a coach choose
17:28
Speaker 2: them out. There must be a reason why. It's only
17:31
Speaker 2: to make them better. And if that coach is the
17:34
Speaker 2: same all the time, not blowing him smoke or not
17:37
Speaker 2: trying to tell him something else, that's how Hartline is.
17:40
Speaker 2: He comes in. What's up, guys? Sometimes I'll be like,
17:42
Speaker 2: there's nothing for me to monologue. Let's go. Let's go
17:45
Speaker 2: to the questions. where Alex Golish, different coaches, they'd go on,
17:49
Speaker 2: long dissertation, giving you their take on everything, and then
17:53
Speaker 2: they open it up to questions. So that's how he is.
17:55
Speaker 2: That's the players. A lot of the players were telling
17:57
Speaker 2: us the reason why they came to South Florida, hard line,
18:00
Speaker 2: hard line. Bryson Rogers, the wide receiver, the Tampa kid
18:04
Speaker 2: from Wiregrass, and he went to Ohio State. And he
18:08
Speaker 2: said he went to Ohio. He had a lot of
18:09
Speaker 2: offers coming out of high school. It didn't really materialize
18:12
Speaker 2: at Ohio State. But he goes, I went to Ohio
18:15
Speaker 2: State because of Heartline. And then we had our differences.
18:19
Speaker 2: It was not rosy. And then I saw that Hartline
18:23
Speaker 2: got the job. And then I thought, you know what, man?
18:26
Speaker 2: He does know how to coach. He knows how to
18:28
Speaker 2: coach wide receivers. I'm going to go. And he goes,
18:31
Speaker 2: now he's a father figure. I talk to him about
18:35
Speaker 2: man stuff more than I do football stuff. And so
18:39
Speaker 2: you get a lot of that from the players. Again,
18:41
Speaker 2: his press conferences aren't long. When we get him at halftime,
18:45
Speaker 2: Joey does down there. Oh, my God. Joey said, how
18:49
Speaker 2: is this? This is the Delaware State game. How is
18:51
Speaker 2: the offense? And how is the defense? How would you
18:54
Speaker 2: have said it? And he was like, it's atrocious or horrendous.
18:58
Speaker 2: I mean, that was it. And it was like, one
19:00
Speaker 2: more thing. That was it. He was gone.
19:01
Speaker 1: That's a good quote, though. It's a good quote.
19:04
Speaker 2: It's great. And you know what? They make these adjustments.
19:08
Speaker 2: So you're right, Nick. If they can eventually put together
19:12
Speaker 2: two halves, they will be a dangerous bunch because they're
19:16
Speaker 2: very talented, but it's 60 new players, so it takes
19:19
Speaker 2: a while. With no preseason games, it takes a while
19:21
Speaker 2: for them to gel, and they just continue to get better.
19:24
Speaker 2: They've got to play a full game when they're playing
19:26
Speaker 2: bigger opponents. Yeah.
19:28
Speaker 1: Xavier Hamilton was on, uh, fourth and bowl on Wednesday.
19:31
Speaker 1: If you haven't watched that interview, awesome kid. We did
19:33
Speaker 1: get disconnected at the end, which kind of, I didn't
19:35
Speaker 1: get to say Biden when we got disconnected, but, uh, I,
19:38
Speaker 1: I had asked him, you know, what, what happened there
19:41
Speaker 1: at halftime, you know, you know, was there any changes? And, and,
19:44
Speaker 1: and he said, they, they knew they made some mistakes
19:46
Speaker 1: and I, and they got those corrected at halftime. And I,
19:49
Speaker 1: and I asked him when he went back and look
19:50
Speaker 1: at the film that that 90 yard play that they
19:52
Speaker 1: had that they scored a touchdown on. And then they
19:55
Speaker 1: had a 50 yard run. I said, when you watch
19:57
Speaker 1: that on film, are those like correctable mistakes? And he
20:01
Speaker 1: said 100 percent. Those are easy fixes. And he goes,
20:04
Speaker 1: that will not happen again. And he was very confident
20:07
Speaker 1: that will not happen again. This team is confident. They
20:09
Speaker 1: know what they're capable of. They just haven't shown it yet.
20:14
Speaker 1: And there are some injuries on the defense. Not having
20:16
Speaker 1: Grayson Pop Howard out there obviously hurts. And Xavier Hamilton's
20:19
Speaker 1: done a good job. But they gave up some big
20:22
Speaker 1: plays against the team they shouldn't. I mean, if they
20:24
Speaker 1: gave up that many big plays in the first half
20:25
Speaker 1: against Ohio State, I'd be kind of disappointed, let alone
20:28
Speaker 1: an FCS team. So they got to clean those things up.
20:32
Speaker 1: But I but I love I love Hartline's honesty. Unlike,
20:35
Speaker 1: you know, you go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers presser
20:38
Speaker 1: and it's like, hey, tight ends are crushing you. Oh, yeah,
20:40
Speaker 1: I don't think so. What do you mean the tight
20:43
Speaker 1: ends aren't crushing you? Speaking of tight ends in Tampa Bay,
20:46
Speaker 1: we're sick of them. And we deal with it on
20:49
Speaker 1: Sundays when it comes to the Bucs. And we might
20:51
Speaker 1: be in for the same thing here on Saturday as well.
20:55
Speaker 1: The quarterback for Bowling Green, he's thrown for 443 yards
20:59
Speaker 1: this year. He's completed 42 of 63, so good pass
21:02
Speaker 1: completion percentage. He's got two touchdowns and two interceptions, and
21:07
Speaker 1: his top targets, they have been tight end Jeremiah Scobie,
21:12
Speaker 1: who leads the team in receptions and yards. He's got
21:14
Speaker 1: 14 receptions for 138 yards, so We could be in
21:17
Speaker 1: for some more tight end action on a Saturday, Rock Riley.
21:20
Speaker 1: I'm sick of tight end. Well, it won't be going
21:23
Speaker 1: down to Tampa Bay. It's up in Ohio. But USF
21:26
Speaker 1: will need to make sure they take care of the
21:28
Speaker 1: tight end, unlike the Buccaneers.
21:30
Speaker 2: Well, they've been watching film, and they do have a
21:33
Speaker 2: good game plan. Their defensive coordinator, Josh Aldridge, is one
21:38
Speaker 2: of the best.
21:38
Speaker 1: He's good.
21:39
Speaker 2: He really is, and he doesn't give away anything. That's
21:41
Speaker 2: another thing, too. Hardline is a good staff. Tim Beck,
21:44
Speaker 2: the offensive coordinator, and Josh Aldridge. So I know that
21:48
Speaker 2: there will be a plan. It's just come out in
21:51
Speaker 2: the first half with that plan. Don't wait until your
21:54
Speaker 2: backs are against the wall. Because against Delaware State, I
21:57
Speaker 2: was looking at it, they came in offensively as a
22:01
Speaker 2: running team. And they put up 238 yards in the
22:04
Speaker 2: first half through the air. And, you know, in that
22:10
Speaker 2: first game, FIU, even Army at times. So that is
22:14
Speaker 2: something that they are going to have to straighten up.
22:17
Speaker 2: They also have not been getting really a decent pass rush.
22:22
Speaker 2: I think they've got three sacks now in three games.
22:25
Speaker 2: They did have 18 quarterback hurries. So, again, it's a
22:28
Speaker 2: work in progress. But defensively, they need to shorten some
22:33
Speaker 2: things up. And I'm hoping that that will be the case,
22:36
Speaker 2: not letting that tight end get loose over the middle.
22:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think Bowling Green will. I expect this game
22:41
Speaker 1: to look a lot like FIU. I'm not saying it'll
22:43
Speaker 1: play out the same way, be an ugly game. I'm
22:46
Speaker 1: saying what I mean by that is I expect the
22:49
Speaker 1: strategy of USF to be the same strategy they had
22:53
Speaker 1: going into that game. They're going to want to run.
22:55
Speaker 1: Bowling Green, not great against the run. And I think
22:58
Speaker 1: on the other side for Bowling Green, like FIU, remember
23:01
Speaker 1: FIU threw 50 times in that game. I think Bowling
23:04
Speaker 1: Green is going to try to win this game through
23:06
Speaker 1: the air, which it's interesting because I was talking to
23:09
Speaker 1: Xavier Hamilton on the show and he said their game plan.
23:13
Speaker 1: He also. So once I started doing my research on
23:16
Speaker 1: Bowling Green started to click to me, I go, did
23:18
Speaker 1: he just not tell me the game plan or, you know,
23:21
Speaker 1: because he said the game plan is to stop the run.
23:23
Speaker 1: They like to run. You know, Eddie George is their
23:25
Speaker 1: head coach. And so I'm sure they are focused on
23:27
Speaker 1: the run. I just think. Bowling Green's going to come
23:30
Speaker 1: in trying to throw the ball. One, I think they
23:32
Speaker 1: expect to probably be trailing in this game. At least
23:35
Speaker 1: we all hope so. So you're going to have to
23:37
Speaker 1: throw it to get back in there. But I expect
23:40
Speaker 1: the Bulls to be run heavy because the Falcons surrender 295.7
23:45
Speaker 1: yards on the ground per game. So that's why I
23:50
Speaker 1: like this game to be a lot like the FIU.
23:53
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it's going to be a 10-point game
23:54
Speaker 1: or anything like that. I expect the Bulls to win
23:57
Speaker 1: by more than 10. I just think the strategy of
24:00
Speaker 1: the two teams will be the exact same. Heartline's going
24:03
Speaker 1: to lean on the run, and the run's going to
24:05
Speaker 1: have to be successful because the weakest part of Bowling
24:08
Speaker 1: Green's defense is, without question, their defensive line. So I
24:14
Speaker 1: know fans don't want to hear this. They just want
24:18
Speaker 1: this offense to air it out to all these talented
24:21
Speaker 1: wide receivers, and I totally understand that. But I don't
24:25
Speaker 1: think it's going to be I don't think it's going
24:27
Speaker 1: to be that kind of game. I think they're going
24:28
Speaker 1: to lean on the run. And I think on the
24:30
Speaker 1: other side, Bowling Green's going to lean on the pass.
24:34
Speaker 2: You're exactly right. And the thing about it is, is
24:36
Speaker 2: they're getting that confidence with the run. Now, DJ Crowther
24:40
Speaker 2: is one heck of a fact. He was, you know,
24:44
Speaker 2: playing against lesser competition, but putting up big numbers. And
24:48
Speaker 2: he came in, and Collins was actually RB1. And then
24:53
Speaker 2: when Crowther, in that second half two games ago, he
24:57
Speaker 2: started getting the rock. He started feeling it. He's now
25:00
Speaker 2: become the first back. They've got a room, Nick, of
25:04
Speaker 2: I think it's like eight running backs. I believe seven
25:07
Speaker 2: different– Bulls players toted the pill in that game. That
25:12
Speaker 2: was what was nice about getting out way far ahead
25:16
Speaker 2: against Delaware State, that you can get some game reps
25:21
Speaker 2: from some other guys that you may need later in
25:23
Speaker 2: the season because injuries are going to happen. So that
25:26
Speaker 2: was really good. And everybody that touched the rock, and
25:29
Speaker 2: even including Van Buren, he can run too. I mean,
25:32
Speaker 2: it was good to see. So I think the running
25:34
Speaker 2: game offensively right now, I think that actually, I think
25:37
Speaker 2: that's their strength.
25:38
Speaker 1: Well, I think that's what Harline wants their identity to be.
25:41
Speaker 1: And I feel like I sound like a broken record.
25:43
Speaker 1: And for those that have watched every one of these episodes,
25:46
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, because you always hear me say it.
25:48
Speaker 2: But.
25:49
Speaker 1: Everyone thinks of Hartline in this passing game and the
25:51
Speaker 1: wide receivers, but that's not what he wants to be.
25:54
Speaker 1: That's not the identity of the Big Ten and the
25:57
Speaker 1: league that he was born and bred in. He wants
25:59
Speaker 1: to bring that. He wants to win at the line
26:01
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. He believes they have a really good offensive line,
26:04
Speaker 1: and I believe they do. I don't think they've played
26:06
Speaker 1: to their full potential, but I think they've gotten much
26:08
Speaker 1: better each and every week. But they want to run first,
26:13
Speaker 1: and I know fans find that boring and old school,
26:16
Speaker 1: but if you can run the football on people, You
26:20
Speaker 1: can win football games. Heartline comes from that Ohio State,
26:23
Speaker 1: Michigan area where whoever leads the rushing back, I forgot
26:27
Speaker 1: what the stat is, but in the Michigan-Ohio State game,
26:30
Speaker 1: whoever runs for more yards has won the game like
26:34
Speaker 1: 21 times in a row. And Heartline knows that. And
26:38
Speaker 1: if you can run, you can keep the offense off
26:40
Speaker 1: the field for the other team. There's just so many things.
26:43
Speaker 1: And of course, it opens up the pass too. But
26:46
Speaker 1: when Heartline comes here and he brings all these Receivers
26:48
Speaker 1: like Rodgers, who you're talking about, they just want this
26:52
Speaker 1: offense to sling it around. I think nobody wants to
26:55
Speaker 1: admit this because the feelings of Alex Golish are very sour,
26:59
Speaker 1: but people love that Alex Golish offense that he had here.
27:03
Speaker 1: And this is a little bit different. It's slower tempo.
27:06
Speaker 1: They run a lot more. It isn't maybe, I guess,
27:10
Speaker 1: as exciting, but if it wins you football games, that's
27:13
Speaker 1: all that matters.
27:14
Speaker 2: You know what, too, Nick? You are exactly right. I've
27:20
Speaker 2: seen it at the stadium where the fans are like, oh, man,
27:24
Speaker 2: they were used to moving the change real quick. And
27:26
Speaker 2: Byron Brown, he can go for the pass, and he
27:29
Speaker 2: looks at his progressions, and he's going to run, and
27:31
Speaker 2: he's a very good runner, no doubt about that. But
27:35
Speaker 2: Michael Van Buren, their quarterback, is very consistent with He
27:40
Speaker 2: is on the money. He does have a good arm.
27:43
Speaker 2: He can run, but he doesn't look, oh, it's covered.
27:48
Speaker 2: I'm going to take off like Byron Brown did. No.
27:51
Speaker 2: And the thing about it is ball control. You time
27:55
Speaker 2: a possession. You wear down these defenses. And then Van
27:59
Speaker 2: Buren has shown, like he did in Army, like he's
28:02
Speaker 2: even done at Delaware State, he can he can make
28:07
Speaker 2: the big pass he's also and some of the receivers
28:11
Speaker 2: were telling us it takes a while to get used
28:14
Speaker 2: to each other and that is starting to come on
28:17
Speaker 2: now look at Josh Porter coming into this season who
28:20
Speaker 2: would have thought Josh Porter would be wide receiver one
28:24
Speaker 2: but he is and now Rogers now some of these
28:28
Speaker 2: other guys so For Bulls fans that want to see
28:31
Speaker 2: the big numbers, Hartline even goes, oh, great, yeah. We
28:34
Speaker 2: put up over 600 yards passing. He didn't care. Oh,
28:37
Speaker 2: does that look? He doesn't like that at all. He
28:42
Speaker 2: keeps going back to their goal. Where we want to
28:44
Speaker 2: go at the end of the year, we got to
28:47
Speaker 2: keep doing our game plan and get better at that.
28:52
Speaker 2: They've been great not turning it over. They've done a
28:55
Speaker 2: decent job without the penalties, and they just keep getting
28:59
Speaker 2: better each week. So I think you're right. Everybody likes
29:03
Speaker 2: to see the big splash plays, but watch out for
29:07
Speaker 2: Van Buren. I think he's going to, at the end
29:09
Speaker 2: of the year, he's going to have some good numbers.
29:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, you talk about him as a passer. That pass
29:16
Speaker 1: to Joshua Porter was beautiful. I mean, he's an accurate thrower.
29:20
Speaker 1: He went When he's on, he's on, and that is
29:22
Speaker 1: a weapon. But yeah, they're going to continue to lean
29:25
Speaker 1: on the run, and I have no problem with that.
29:27
Speaker 1: They're not going to be this fast-paced offense. You praised
29:30
Speaker 1: the coordinators a couple minutes ago. Everyone loves Aldridge. Tim Beck,
29:36
Speaker 1: folks were upset with him after week number one. I
29:39
Speaker 1: think this offense is just kind of learning to play
29:41
Speaker 1: with each other. I think they've gotten better as things
29:44
Speaker 1: go on. You're right. I think Hartline's got a good
29:47
Speaker 1: coaching staff around him. Despite what everyone thinks about this
29:52
Speaker 1: new college football playoff criteria, they are still in the mix.
29:56
Speaker 1: It does not hurt their chances. It does not matter
29:58
Speaker 1: that they don't have any power four teams on the
30:01
Speaker 1: schedule this year. It doesn't matter at all. It's not
30:03
Speaker 1: going to affect you. In fact, you're in one of
30:05
Speaker 1: the best group of six conferences. So it might actually
30:08
Speaker 1: end up helping you in a way. I do want
30:11
Speaker 1: to get to the mailbag before we get to that.
30:13
Speaker 1: Anything else that you want to say about Bowling Green
30:16
Speaker 1: and that matchup coming up on Saturday? Anything that stood
30:19
Speaker 1: out to you as you do your homework on this?
30:22
Speaker 2: No, I was just listening to Heartline. He leaves no
30:26
Speaker 2: stone unturned. Like, when they were going to have their
30:30
Speaker 2: first home game, during the week, they actually went to
30:35
Speaker 2: the team hotel. They actually went the exact times that
30:40
Speaker 2: they were going to have meetings on game day. By
30:43
Speaker 2: the way, for every home game, they still stay at
30:45
Speaker 2: a hotel. Most teams do do that. They even went
30:49
Speaker 2: to the walkthrough. They did everything. Everything is just the same.
30:55
Speaker 2: They practice the same time. So it's going to be
30:57
Speaker 2: the same. the way the flight is when they get there, everything,
31:02
Speaker 2: everything is the same. So they're going to be prepared.
31:06
Speaker 2: It's really not going to be that hostile of an environment.
31:09
Speaker 2: And I just, I just like everything about what they're
31:13
Speaker 2: doing and listening and listening to the players. That's, that's
31:16
Speaker 2: something else like Bryson Rogers. I keep repeating him, but
31:19
Speaker 2: we talked to him early in the week and he
31:22
Speaker 2: was like, every, every player on offense, we want to
31:25
Speaker 2: play in the NFL. But nobody on that team is me, me, me,
31:30
Speaker 2: my numbers. Oh, Josh Porter's getting more numbers. No, me. No,
31:34
Speaker 2: that's not it. When Tim Beck, the offensive coordinator, spoke
31:37
Speaker 2: the other day, you know, we're asking him about the MVP.
31:41
Speaker 2: It's Schrader on the offensive line. So, I mean, they're
31:45
Speaker 2: doing the right things. And and I just like it.
31:48
Speaker 2: So I'm looking forward to it. And as long as
31:50
Speaker 2: they don't, you know, think that they can go in lightly,
31:53
Speaker 2: you never want to do that. But I think with
31:55
Speaker 2: Hartline at the helm, that's not going to happen.
31:57
Speaker 1: No, they do. Everything is the attention to detail. Now,
32:00
Speaker 1: this week's game is a little bit more weird because
32:02
Speaker 1: they've never played at five o'clock. So it's a it's
32:05
Speaker 1: a weird window that the network is putting them on,
32:08
Speaker 1: I guess it. It kind of makes sense because I
32:11
Speaker 1: guess there is that window between the 330 games and
32:13
Speaker 1: the night games where it's really just a bunch of
32:16
Speaker 1: studio shows. So I think maybe they catch some eyeballs,
32:18
Speaker 1: some extra eyeballs there. But it'll be different routine than most.
32:23
Speaker 1: That was actually it's funny that you brought that up
32:25
Speaker 1: because one of the questions that I when I was
32:27
Speaker 1: talking to Xavier Hamilton the other day, I asked him,
32:29
Speaker 1: you know, do you prefer noon games? Do you prefer
32:32
Speaker 1: night games? And I just said, take me through the
32:35
Speaker 1: schedule of the day. and you know, we talked about
32:39
Speaker 1: noon games, obviously you've got to get up a little
32:40
Speaker 1: bit earlier, but he took me through the Nike. He's like,
32:42
Speaker 1: I like the night games because you're not really in
32:45
Speaker 1: a hurry. You have plenty of time. You kind of
32:47
Speaker 1: get up, but they still get up, you know, it's,
32:48
Speaker 1: it's a full day.
32:49
Speaker 2: Right.
32:50
Speaker 1: Um, but he said he kind of liked the noon
32:52
Speaker 1: games that way. He said he liked the noon games
32:54
Speaker 1: as well. He goes, you can kind of get those
32:55
Speaker 1: out of the way, but at the end of the day,
32:57
Speaker 1: it didn't matter to him what time they were playing, but, uh,
33:00
Speaker 1: this five o'clock will definitely be a, a different routine than,
33:03
Speaker 1: than the normal. Um, and I'm sure they'll play more
33:07
Speaker 1: five o'clock games. That's like I said, it's kind of
33:10
Speaker 1: a newer window and maybe it gets some extra eyeballs there.
33:12
Speaker 1: Once the three 30 games are over, uh, we shall see,
33:16
Speaker 1: I guess. I think there's a, there is a couple
33:17
Speaker 1: other games starting at that time too. Um, I believe
33:20
Speaker 1: that is something they're going to be doing at, uh,
33:22
Speaker 1: on the ESPN plus games. So we look forward to
33:25
Speaker 1: that game. I think USF has a great opportunity to
33:29
Speaker 1: start off the season four, no five, no. And then that,
33:32
Speaker 1: that UTSA game is going to be, uh, a monster game.
33:37
Speaker 1: That is going to be, I believe that's a Thursday
33:39
Speaker 1: night game. I think it is because at Bulls Fest,
33:44
Speaker 1: you know, one of the lighthearted questions I had asked
33:46
Speaker 1: Heartline was, yeah, it's October 8th, I think. And I
33:49
Speaker 1: said to him, October 10th, are you watching college football?
33:52
Speaker 1: Are you watching film? And he's like, I'm watching film.
33:56
Speaker 1: I'm like, good answer. That's what we want to hear
33:58
Speaker 1: you say. But you know what? Just go enjoy some
34:00
Speaker 1: college football for a minute. All right. The mailbag rock.
34:03
Speaker 1: We do have some questions here. And it's funny, you know,
34:06
Speaker 1: we talked about, oh, real quick, before we get into
34:09
Speaker 1: the mailbag, you know, you talked about how they don't
34:10
Speaker 1: care about stats. You're right. This team, I compare them
34:14
Speaker 1: a lot to the Tampa Bay Rays, right? They're different
34:18
Speaker 1: in a way, right? Because you had that article, I
34:20
Speaker 1: think it was 24-7 Sports that said they have the
34:23
Speaker 1: most talented roster in all of the group of six. Obviously,
34:27
Speaker 1: when people look at the Rays, they don't look at
34:29
Speaker 1: them as the most, they might now, but at the
34:31
Speaker 1: beginning of the year, they didn't look at them as
34:32
Speaker 1: the most talented roster. But that Rays group, And something
34:36
Speaker 1: that I think makes them so successful is how much
34:39
Speaker 1: they play for one another and how much they love
34:41
Speaker 1: each other and how close the clubhouse is. And the
34:45
Speaker 1: vibe I get from this team is just everyone that
34:49
Speaker 1: I've talked to within that building. This team, I believe
34:55
Speaker 1: the quote came from, was it Aldridge or Tim Beck?
34:59
Speaker 1: It wasn't to me. It was one of the players
35:00
Speaker 1: telling me that one of the coaches said, this is
35:03
Speaker 1: the closest team. team he's ever been around and these
35:07
Speaker 1: guys have only known each other for a couple months
35:11
Speaker 1: really and you know when when grace and pop howard
35:14
Speaker 1: came on fourth and bowl he said he was like
35:16
Speaker 1: i'm gonna have so he talked about he's like i
35:18
Speaker 1: got a lot of best friends like everyone's his best
35:20
Speaker 1: he goes i'm gonna have so many people when i
35:22
Speaker 1: get married from this team at my wedding and i
35:25
Speaker 1: him and wyatt sullivan are like you know super close
35:29
Speaker 1: and i said did you guys know each other before
35:31
Speaker 1: you came here he's like no he's like we just
35:33
Speaker 1: met and i'm like It's incredible to take 60, I
35:36
Speaker 1: think it's 61, 61 new kids, bring them in and
35:40
Speaker 1: just all of a sudden play football together and like
35:43
Speaker 1: each other.
35:44
Speaker 2: It's a great story. And it's, it could be a
35:47
Speaker 2: special season. I don't want to get too far ahead,
35:49
Speaker 2: but we're seeing it, but we are seeing it from
35:51
Speaker 2: the race. Like it is a special season. And they've
35:55
Speaker 2: been that tight since the beginning. And I think that
35:58
Speaker 2: does matter because it's a team sport. You have each
36:01
Speaker 2: other's backs. That's it. There's a line that Hartline gave
36:05
Speaker 2: the kids. And it's something like when when a guy
36:08
Speaker 2: is down, you you you you you pick them up
36:11
Speaker 2: or that's the first thing that you do. You look
36:14
Speaker 2: to pick up your teammate. So but when Hartline was
36:17
Speaker 2: talking this week, he's like, oh, yeah, you can have
36:20
Speaker 2: a great play by the defensive secondary. And, yeah, somebody
36:23
Speaker 2: didn't get the sack or a guy slipped over here
36:26
Speaker 2: in a wide receiver. Yeah.
36:28
Speaker 1: It's never happened. And I like that.
36:30
Speaker 2: I was going to ask him this week, how long
36:33
Speaker 2: do you celebrate? I don't think that he does, but
36:35
Speaker 2: that's just who he is. That is just who he is.
36:38
Speaker 1: If he was a radio host or a podcaster, he,
36:41
Speaker 1: it would always be the, like people would be texting
36:43
Speaker 1: and calling him going, you're just so negative, right? Like
36:48
Speaker 1: you never have anything good to say. Uh, but I
36:50
Speaker 1: like that one more thing before we get to the mailbag. Um,
36:54
Speaker 1: Another reason why I think Bowling Green is going to
36:57
Speaker 1: lean on the passing game. You know, Eddie George is
37:01
Speaker 1: their coach. I believe this is the second matchup of
37:03
Speaker 1: the season where we have two former Ohio State guys
37:06
Speaker 1: going up against each other. Marcus Freeman and Luke Fickle
37:10
Speaker 1: earlier this year, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. And then you
37:12
Speaker 1: have these two going at it. I believe there's seven
37:14
Speaker 1: Ohio State head coaches. Bowling Green, even though they got
37:18
Speaker 1: Eddie George as a running back, they can't run, man.
37:21
Speaker 1: 93 rushing yards. They're 12th in the MAAC. 2.8 yards
37:25
Speaker 1: a carry. Actually, okay, so they average 93 rushing yards
37:28
Speaker 1: a game, which is 12th in the MAAC. 2.8 yards
37:31
Speaker 1: per carry, which is 13th. in the Mac. And when
37:33
Speaker 1: we went over and we ranked the group of six conferences,
37:35
Speaker 1: the Mac is at the bottom. They're the ones again,
37:38
Speaker 1: that are going to be hurt from this new CFP rule.
37:40
Speaker 1: That rule is going to actually see that. And that's
37:42
Speaker 1: another thing back to the, where we said, I know
37:44
Speaker 1: we're going in circles here before we get to the mailbag,
37:46
Speaker 1: but that's another thing where the new rule helps you
37:49
Speaker 1: is like Western Michigan's resume looks pretty decent right now
37:52
Speaker 1: because of that, that Michigan game, but their conference schedule
37:56
Speaker 1: is going to hold them back. They're not going to
37:58
Speaker 1: face another ranked team. And by the way, by the
38:01
Speaker 1: time the season's over, You know, looking at the Michigan offense,
38:04
Speaker 1: and I know they had the big win against Oklahoma,
38:07
Speaker 1: and then Oklahoma comes back against New Mexico, and they
38:10
Speaker 1: barely escaped that game. So I don't know how good
38:12
Speaker 1: Oklahoma even is. Michigan's offense is so bad that they
38:17
Speaker 1: might not even be ranked in that Western Michigan game,
38:20
Speaker 1: whether they look at it as a win or not.
38:22
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess it's always a good win when
38:25
Speaker 1: you beat a power four team like Michigan. when USF
38:28
Speaker 1: beat the Gators right but there's there's a good chance
38:31
Speaker 1: that that Michigan team even though they're ranked right now
38:33
Speaker 1: could end up being what the Gators were a year
38:35
Speaker 1: ago and people might look at the win and go
38:37
Speaker 1: well it wasn't a great Michigan team so I think
38:41
Speaker 1: that new rule that went into effect really doesn't affect
38:43
Speaker 1: USF so I think now UCF fans aren't watching this
38:48
Speaker 1: but that rule that hurts them you know because now
38:51
Speaker 1: your only way in is to win your conference and
38:54
Speaker 1: And I've been saying that's why UCF needs to play
38:57
Speaker 1: USF too, because even if they lose to USF, which
38:59
Speaker 1: is a group of six, it doesn't hurt their playoff
39:02
Speaker 1: chances because they're never getting in as an at-large anyways.
39:05
Speaker 1: Their only way in is to win the Big 12.
39:07
Speaker 1: So just play the damn game, man. Anyways, to the mailbag,
39:12
Speaker 1: we do have a lot of feedback on here. You know,
39:14
Speaker 1: you talked about how these guys aren't a stats team and,
39:19
Speaker 1: you know, Joshua Porter being the leading ride receiver. I
39:23
Speaker 1: always get a question every week about when are we
39:26
Speaker 1: going to see this player, that player. John McIntyre. said,
39:31
Speaker 1: do you see a bigger role for Cam Seldon going
39:32
Speaker 1: forward every time he touches the ball? It feels like
39:35
Speaker 1: he's about to take one to the house. He's got
39:37
Speaker 1: three receptions this year for 53 yards. He does average 17.7
39:41
Speaker 1: yards per catch. Here's the thing. That room is so loaded.
39:47
Speaker 1: They are high on all of these guys. He obviously...
39:50
Speaker 1: He's a senior. So you hope that he can get
39:52
Speaker 1: some more looks going forward. It's just a crowded room.
39:56
Speaker 1: There were run first team. It's, it's interesting for as
40:00
Speaker 1: talented as they are on the wide receiver room, like
40:03
Speaker 1: how run oriented they are. But we talked about that earlier.
40:06
Speaker 1: Why that is, um, I don't see the role changing.
40:11
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be whoever has the hot
40:13
Speaker 1: hand at the moment. They don't look at it any
40:17
Speaker 1: other way. They look at everybody as one, and they
40:20
Speaker 1: ain't trying to just game plan for one person. They
40:23
Speaker 1: game plan for all 11 and do one 11th of
40:26
Speaker 1: your job. So I don't know if the role is
40:29
Speaker 1: going to expand. I get those questions every week, whether
40:31
Speaker 1: it's a running back or a wide receiver, and it's
40:34
Speaker 1: tough to answer because there's a lot of talent in
40:37
Speaker 1: that wide receiver room.
40:39
Speaker 2: You know, I'm glad you brought that up because you're right, Nick.
40:42
Speaker 2: You are right. Whoever has the hot hand in the game,
40:44
Speaker 2: they're going to go with that. And they want to
40:45
Speaker 2: get the W is the most important thing. So Selden,
40:48
Speaker 2: that came up on our broadcast. And Sam Barrington, who's
40:52
Speaker 2: our color guy, played at USF, but he played the NFL.
40:56
Speaker 2: And he was like, man, the speed on this guy.
41:00
Speaker 2: I'd like to maybe see him get a couple of
41:02
Speaker 2: more catches. Boy, if he just gets by a guy,
41:05
Speaker 2: he's going to be gone. But he also said track guys,
41:09
Speaker 2: when that was their base, they're good with speed, but
41:12
Speaker 2: as far as sometimes cutting and route running, It might
41:16
Speaker 2: not be as good as the guys that are the,
41:19
Speaker 2: you know, so-called regular wide receivers. But there is a
41:23
Speaker 2: lot of talent in that wide receiver room. So right now,
41:26
Speaker 2: I don't know if it will change that much. I'm
41:30
Speaker 2: on the same wavelength as you.
41:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, you bring up a great point. When he has
41:35
Speaker 1: the ball in his hands, yes, he's dangerous. But it
41:37
Speaker 1: might be hard to get the ball in his hands.
41:39
Speaker 2: True. There you go. So coming from a guy that
41:41
Speaker 2: played the NFL. So there you go.
41:43
Speaker 1: Another question, South Florida water tower. They did a South
41:46
Speaker 1: Florida water tower. Ask me how much for a shout out.
41:48
Speaker 1: I said free. So there's your shout out South Florida
41:50
Speaker 1: water tower. I had a ton of questions though. What
41:53
Speaker 1: is your take on the gold helmets? A lot of
41:56
Speaker 1: conversation on the gold helmets. People want to bring these back. I,
41:59
Speaker 1: I pulled up a picture to really kind of get
42:01
Speaker 1: a look at them because it, it has been a minute.
42:04
Speaker 1: Hold on. It has been a minute since I looked
42:07
Speaker 1: at these. I don't hate him.
42:09
Speaker 2: You? No, I don't hate him. I'm not a big, like,
42:14
Speaker 2: big uniform guy or big helmet guy. I know on
42:18
Speaker 2: social media people lose their minds. And it seemed like
42:22
Speaker 2: it was kind of split. Some liked it. Some didn't.
42:25
Speaker 2: So I'm fine, man. As long as you play good
42:28
Speaker 2: and you win, that's what I'm about.
42:29
Speaker 1: If they brought him back, I feel like I'm dying
42:32
Speaker 1: over here, Rock. If they brought him back, I don't
42:36
Speaker 1: want to copy him. I'm getting all choked up over
42:37
Speaker 1: here talking about football. I don't want to copy Notre Dame,
42:43
Speaker 1: but I love the Notre Dame. Like the gold helmets
42:46
Speaker 1: here are a little bit more flat, I guess, like
42:49
Speaker 1: a matte gold. I kind of want to like I
42:52
Speaker 1: like in Notre Dame's used to be like that, too.
42:55
Speaker 1: Those new Notre Dame helmets like that gold that just
42:57
Speaker 1: like pops like I I kind of would love to
43:00
Speaker 1: see that with the the green bowl logo on the side.
43:04
Speaker 1: I feel like that would look kind of cool.
43:07
Speaker 2: That would look good.
43:09
Speaker 1: You are old school, though. You don't care. You just
43:11
Speaker 1: want to see football.
43:12
Speaker 2: Give me a... I do. I do. I do.
43:14
Speaker 1: What about... Even though this is a Bulls podcast, though,
43:18
Speaker 1: but you had to be excited about those Rays jerseys
43:21
Speaker 1: the other night wearing Tampa Bay across the chest. That
43:23
Speaker 1: was awesome.
43:24
Speaker 2: That did look good. And they won because somebody was
43:28
Speaker 2: on D.A.E. and somebody said, oh, it was T-Crest had
43:32
Speaker 2: Mark Topkin, who is the beat writer for the Tampa
43:34
Speaker 2: Bay Titans, on asking him about that. He goes, you
43:38
Speaker 2: know what? We'll probably see him again because they did win.
43:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're going to wear them the rest of the playoffs.
43:45
Speaker 1: All right, South Florida Water Tower had a list of
43:47
Speaker 1: questions here. Analyze Heartline's messaging and pre- and post-game pressers.
43:52
Speaker 1: You attend a lot of these, so I think this
43:53
Speaker 1: is a good question for you. What kind of coach
43:55
Speaker 1: or what kind of profile has Heartline shown himself to
43:57
Speaker 1: be three games into his head coaching tenure?
44:01
Speaker 2: All business. All business, all the time. He told the
44:08
Speaker 2: media people, sports information, when we go on these trips,
44:11
Speaker 2: I don't want to do any media. I don't want
44:13
Speaker 2: to do any media. He is just focused on the team, man,
44:17
Speaker 2: and every single detail. Look, the guy made it to
44:20
Speaker 2: the NFL. He played, what, seven or eight years? He
44:24
Speaker 2: was asked two times now. Last week, hey, Deshaun Jackson,
44:28
Speaker 2: you're going up against him. He played wide receiver in
44:31
Speaker 2: the NFL. He didn't care. He was a wide receiver.
44:33
Speaker 2: He didn't, he didn't, he didn't. Well, yeah, he's going
44:35
Speaker 2: to come with a good team. What about Eddie George?
44:38
Speaker 2: He doesn't care about Eddie either. No, he didn't. He
44:41
Speaker 2: had a little bit of a grin because he knows him.
44:43
Speaker 2: And again, he's like, we're going to go out there.
44:45
Speaker 2: We're going to try to play our best and try
44:46
Speaker 2: to get that win. That's how he is. So whether
44:49
Speaker 2: it's a presser, whether it's right off the field, whether
44:52
Speaker 2: he's telling his team, he's business. He's all business. I remember, Nick,
44:56
Speaker 2: on opening day for Major League Baseball with the Rays
44:59
Speaker 2: playing at Tropicana Field and WDAE, we were live all
45:03
Speaker 2: day at Ferg's. And Hartline came. He drove over the bridge.
45:08
Speaker 2: He came to first and he was the new coach
45:11
Speaker 2: and he wanted to be on D.A. with the excitement.
45:14
Speaker 2: And he did the interview. And I was out at
45:16
Speaker 2: my car getting something and he was parked across the
45:19
Speaker 2: street and I saw him getting in and I went
45:21
Speaker 2: over to him. I said, hey, coach, how are you doing, man?
45:24
Speaker 2: My name is Rock Wiley. I've been here a long time.
45:27
Speaker 2: I'm at W.D.A.E. man, I'm a fan of what you
45:30
Speaker 2: did with the wide receivers and the coaching and the
45:33
Speaker 2: recruiting and good luck here. And he goes, yeah, but
45:35
Speaker 2: I got to get it done here. And I was like, okay,
45:38
Speaker 2: that was it. I said, good luck. And he shook
45:41
Speaker 2: my hand. He's just focused. That's how he is all
45:45
Speaker 2: the time.
45:46
Speaker 1: No, he is. He's just so dialed in and every
45:52
Speaker 1: detail just matters, which I like. That's good coaching. Let's see,
45:57
Speaker 1: Tally Bull. MVP has one more season of eligibility after
46:01
Speaker 1: the season. Cromenhoek has two more. How likely is it
46:04
Speaker 1: that MVB stays at USF? He has a successful year,
46:07
Speaker 1: appears to be having one. And if he does leave,
46:10
Speaker 1: does Cromenhoek become the presumed starter for next year? I'll
46:14
Speaker 1: start on this one. I'm not even, I'm not even
46:17
Speaker 1: thinking about that, right? Like, I don't like doing that
46:21
Speaker 1: when a coach comes in. Oh, when's he going to
46:22
Speaker 1: go to his next job, right? Because we heard that
46:24
Speaker 1: when Hartline got here. When's he going to go to
46:26
Speaker 1: a power four? We don't even know if he's a
46:28
Speaker 1: good coach yet. Let's let him get settled here at USF,
46:30
Speaker 1: and then let's see what happens. And maybe USF's in
46:33
Speaker 1: a power four by then. As far as it goes,
46:37
Speaker 1: it really all depends. He was in the SEC already,
46:42
Speaker 1: and he stepped down here into the American Conference, and
46:46
Speaker 1: if he feels... that he's being developed by this coaching staff.
46:51
Speaker 1: I think this is a good place for him. Now,
46:53
Speaker 1: if an sec team calls or a big 10 team calls,
46:58
Speaker 1: which I'm sure that's going to happen. I think that's
47:01
Speaker 1: something USF is going to deal with, with this day
47:03
Speaker 1: and age, with a school with more money, but they
47:06
Speaker 1: got money to play with.
47:07
Speaker 2: Right.
47:07
Speaker 1: And so if he has an outstanding year, I think,
47:09
Speaker 1: I think USF has the money. They can compete with
47:12
Speaker 1: a lot of schools, maybe not every, but, it's really
47:15
Speaker 1: going to depend on how well he feels he's getting
47:18
Speaker 1: developed and with as close as this team is it's
47:22
Speaker 1: hard to leave a team like this so you know
47:25
Speaker 1: i i can't really answer that question because only he
47:28
Speaker 1: can answer that question i would like to think if
47:31
Speaker 1: he had his best year here in college football which
47:34
Speaker 1: it would be i would like to think he would
47:38
Speaker 1: expand on what he's doing this year into next year
47:41
Speaker 1: knowing that you he's going to have support from usf
47:44
Speaker 1: and they're going to put a good roster around him
47:46
Speaker 1: this year as they have it in next year too.
47:48
Speaker 1: So I'm going to say he's the quarterback next year.
47:53
Speaker 1: I know in college football, that's tough to do, but
47:56
Speaker 1: I'm going to say that he stayed. I mean, unless
47:57
Speaker 1: heartline gets an offer, which I don't think he will.
47:59
Speaker 1: I think heartline's here next year too. Then I, then
48:02
Speaker 1: I see MVB here as well. It just, I, it would, I,
48:06
Speaker 1: I don't see him leaving your thoughts on that.
48:09
Speaker 2: Normally I would say, look, Let's call it like it is.
48:14
Speaker 2: If he has a good year, he's going to get offers.
48:18
Speaker 2: Bigger places, bigger conference. But you made two good points.
48:23
Speaker 2: Number one, he already was in the SEC. Number two,
48:29
Speaker 2: here's something that helps USF. The new on-campus stadium. It
48:35
Speaker 2: is a palace. The fact that they have built a
48:39
Speaker 2: tunnel or building a tunnel for the players to come out.
48:44
Speaker 2: Nothing like college football is ever seen enough by the fans.
48:47
Speaker 2: The fact that it's a palace. All the suites are
48:51
Speaker 2: already sold out. Oh, no.
48:58
Speaker 1: We've got two days in a row where we've lost our...
49:04
Speaker 1: Our talent. I want to say that this is on
49:06
Speaker 1: the guest. It was on Xavier Hamilton the other night
49:09
Speaker 1: in their cell phone service, and it was on Rock 2.
49:11
Speaker 1: We'll bring him back in if he ends up returning.
49:15
Speaker 1: Greg said, what are the Bulls walking into at 0-3,
49:18
Speaker 1: Bowling Green? Their strength of schedule is 29, and Bulls
49:22
Speaker 1: is 116. They lost by a touchdown against third-ranked FCS Tarleton,
49:27
Speaker 1: now 4-0, and blown out by Nebraska and Iowa State.
49:30
Speaker 1: Is their head still spinning, or did they come out uh,
49:33
Speaker 1: battle tested. I look, they have come out battle tested.
49:36
Speaker 1: Tarleton state is one of those programs. I have praised. They,
49:39
Speaker 1: they got a lot of money. They're, they're good at
49:40
Speaker 1: everything they do. Their basketball stadium is like Google that campus.
49:45
Speaker 1: It's beautiful. Um, their basketball arena might be one of
49:49
Speaker 1: the nicest in all of college sports. And so they
49:51
Speaker 1: put a lot of money into their stuff. So I
49:52
Speaker 1: wasn't surprised, uh, a little behind the scenes. I guess,
49:56
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, I bet I saw the
49:58
Speaker 1: spread on that game and I hammered Tarleton state. I'm,
50:01
Speaker 1: For some reason, I'm fascinated with that small little program. Now,
50:05
Speaker 1: they are battle-tested. They've taken on two Power 4 teams.
50:08
Speaker 1: Iowa State, I don't think highly of, but then they
50:10
Speaker 1: hung around with Iowa, which was very surprising. So, yeah,
50:14
Speaker 1: they are battle-tested, but they got beat down by Iowa
50:18
Speaker 1: State and Nebraska. If those games were 30, 20, 10,
50:21
Speaker 1: 15 point games, hell, if they were 21 point games,
50:25
Speaker 1: I would be... saying yeah they're battle tested but you're
50:31
Speaker 1: talking about games where they were just blown out and
50:34
Speaker 1: never really in so yeah i don't i don't think
50:38
Speaker 1: their their schedule plays a factor uh into this game
50:42
Speaker 1: um most valuable bull asked how much of the struggles
50:46
Speaker 1: on defense have been due to key players being out
50:49
Speaker 1: i think that's a big part of it but you
50:51
Speaker 1: know what they gave up some big plays also when
50:54
Speaker 1: key players weren't out either. FIU had some big plays,
50:57
Speaker 1: although the defense at the end of the day, it
50:59
Speaker 1: was a bend, don't break day. Gave up a lot
51:02
Speaker 1: of yards in between the 20s, but once in the
51:04
Speaker 1: red zone, they buckled up and they got the job done, right?
51:08
Speaker 1: And they put the offense in a good spot to
51:10
Speaker 1: put up, you were hoping seven, but it was a
51:13
Speaker 1: lot of field goals there from Nico, four of them,
51:15
Speaker 1: I believe. So the injury's obviously always going to play
51:21
Speaker 1: a factor, right? but to me, not the biggest factor
51:26
Speaker 1: of why the team has had some struggles. I want
51:30
Speaker 1: to see this team play four solid quarters, and we
51:33
Speaker 1: haven't had that yet. I really hope they can build
51:36
Speaker 1: off the second half of momentum they had to Delaware State.
51:41
Speaker 1: Another one from Cleveland slash Tampa Guy. If someone... lives
51:47
Speaker 1: two hours east of Bowling Green, and they attended this
51:49
Speaker 1: game and even recruit their buddies to come with them
51:52
Speaker 1: and cheer for the Bulls. Shouldn't the athletic department consider
51:54
Speaker 1: that when determining priority for 2027 on-campus ticket sales, asking
51:59
Speaker 1: for a friend? I think they should. I think they
52:01
Speaker 1: should support you. If you're going to go support them
52:03
Speaker 1: up in Ohio, I think you should have the first
52:06
Speaker 1: right to the new season tickets. Terrible-ium. Pup has been
52:12
Speaker 1: out for two games, Hicks for one. We don't know
52:14
Speaker 1: their injuries, but do you think they... might rest them
52:17
Speaker 1: for Bowling Green and get them back in time for Temple,
52:19
Speaker 1: or do you expect to see them back much later
52:22
Speaker 1: in the season? I don't want to speculate on injuries.
52:26
Speaker 1: I guess I can kind of answer the first question.
52:28
Speaker 1: If they're good to go, then I expect them to play.
52:31
Speaker 1: I don't think USF underestimates anybody. You know, it's like
52:38
Speaker 1: back in week one against FIU, I didn't believe that
52:42
Speaker 1: they held anything back. I believe that that was just
52:47
Speaker 1: how the game played out. They weren't very good, but
52:49
Speaker 1: they weren't saving anything. They didn't want to wait stuff
52:52
Speaker 1: on FIU. I don't believe that was the strategy. I
52:54
Speaker 1: think when you do that, that's how you end up
52:56
Speaker 1: getting beat. And by the way, in college football this year,
52:58
Speaker 1: we've seen some crazy things, right? Like we've seen New
53:03
Speaker 1: Mexico last week, hang in with Oklahoma, the Western Michigan
53:06
Speaker 1: against Michigan, Boise state against Oregon, Oklahoma state beating Oregon. Like,
53:14
Speaker 1: I'm not taking any opponent lightly. So if those guys
53:17
Speaker 1: are good to go, I think they'll play because I
53:18
Speaker 1: don't think Brian Hartline is trying to save anything. So
53:24
Speaker 1: I think if they're good to go, they play. But
53:26
Speaker 1: I really don't know. So I thought today was great.
53:30
Speaker 1: I want to thank Rock Riley. He's on the Bulls
53:32
Speaker 1: radio pregame show. Had some technical difficulties there. He got
53:35
Speaker 1: booted off. But luckily he got booted off at the
53:38
Speaker 1: end of the show anyways. It was great to have
53:40
Speaker 1: him on and get his perspective. He's at everything. And,
53:43
Speaker 1: of course, you can always hear him on 95.7 WDAE
53:46
Speaker 1: and AM620. He's actually got a brand-new show, Bucs pregame show.
53:51
Speaker 1: It's Tampa Bay Game Day, which airs. It starts four
53:55
Speaker 1: hours before every Bucs kickoff on WDAE. And, of course,
53:59
Speaker 1: you can hear me on WDAE as well every weekday,
54:02
Speaker 1: noon to 2. Appreciate you guys' support there and also here. Again,
54:06
Speaker 1: make sure you subscribe to the podcast on YouTube at 4thandBullPodcast.
54:11
Speaker 1: Follow me on social media. I am Nick Wise, Twitter, Instagram,
54:13
Speaker 1: and of course, TikTok as well. And again, if you
54:17
Speaker 1: are a business owner, no business, it doesn't have to
54:19
Speaker 1: be a USF grad, by the way. I just know
54:22
Speaker 1: the USF, what I've learned about the USF community is
54:25
Speaker 1: you guys have each other's backs. So if you know
54:29
Speaker 1: a business owner or USF grad with a business, would
54:34
Speaker 1: love to be part of this show. I would take
54:36
Speaker 1: some sponsors. I would love to have some sponsors be
54:38
Speaker 1: part of the show because I think this show is
54:40
Speaker 1: growing so fast. I think we can actually help some
54:42
Speaker 1: businesses grow too, which will be nice. So yeah, I
54:47
Speaker 1: just want to say thank you guys again for the support.
54:49
Speaker 1: Love it. You know, I say it every episode for
54:51
Speaker 1: those of you that watch all the time, you're, you've
54:53
Speaker 1: heard it before, but the nice comments are, they're nice.
54:57
Speaker 1: Cause they're nice to read. Cause in my business, you
54:59
Speaker 1: don't get that. It's usually, it's usually just hate over
55:05
Speaker 1: a sports opinion. So yeah, You know, some people say,
55:08
Speaker 1: I had like one of the meanest comments the other
55:10
Speaker 1: day on one of my posts. It was something about
55:13
Speaker 1: you're a foreigner and you're calling me a transplain. You're
55:17
Speaker 1: a foreigner who's an ass and your show sucks and
55:19
Speaker 1: you'll be fired in two years. And I'm like, all
55:22
Speaker 1: of that because my opinion is different than yours? My goodness.
55:26
Speaker 1: So I appreciate all the positivity in the comments. Thank
55:28
Speaker 1: you so much. Oh, you know what? Now that I
55:30
Speaker 1: think about it, I do remember on the last episode,
55:34
Speaker 1: I did say leave questions in the comments for mailbag.
55:38
Speaker 1: I did forget to go back and read one of those.
55:41
Speaker 1: There was one specifically, I remember telling the person that
55:44
Speaker 1: I was going to, I'll bring it up on the show, um,
55:48
Speaker 1: real quick. Let me, let me, let me see if
55:50
Speaker 1: I can find it. I don't want to leave that
55:53
Speaker 1: person hanging after I, uh, Oh, here it is. Okay. Uh,
55:58
Speaker 1: Roxy 5044 on YouTube. This is by far my By
56:02
Speaker 1: far and away, my favorite college football show right next
56:04
Speaker 1: to the McShay podcast. I love USF football. I live
56:07
Speaker 1: right over the Skyway. Two questions for the mailbag Friday.
56:10
Speaker 1: All right. First off, hell of a compliment. Thank you
56:14
Speaker 1: for that. Todd McShay is obviously a much bigger name
56:17
Speaker 1: than me. I know it's still early in the season,
56:20
Speaker 1: but do you see this team being in the CFP
56:23
Speaker 1: playoff race once we're fully healthy? I do. And it's
56:27
Speaker 1: really going to start with, obviously, take care of Bowling
56:29
Speaker 1: Green in Temple, which I We expect, right? And then
56:32
Speaker 1: it comes down to that UTSA game. I will think
56:36
Speaker 1: that they're going to have to be pretty damn close
56:40
Speaker 1: to perfect. Because if Western... Well, here's the good thing. Western, Michigan,
56:46
Speaker 1: and Boise State play each other this weekend. So that's awesome.
56:51
Speaker 1: Who are you rooting for in that game? I'm going
56:54
Speaker 1: to say, with this whole strength of conference record coming in,
56:59
Speaker 1: you're probably rooting for Western because Boise state, if their
57:05
Speaker 1: only loss is to Oregon, that's going to be a
57:10
Speaker 1: pretty good resume because the PAC 12 is, is right
57:13
Speaker 1: there with the American considered the top. So I think
57:16
Speaker 1: you're rooting for Western this weekend. And if you've got
57:19
Speaker 1: one loss Western and one loss, let's say one loss USF,
57:24
Speaker 1: and it comes down to strength of conference record, then
57:27
Speaker 1: I would think you would, you would get in over them.
57:30
Speaker 1: It also depends on, How do they view that game
57:33
Speaker 1: against Michigan? I mean, there's so many variables, but yeah,
57:37
Speaker 1: I think they'll be in playoff contention. Getting our injured
57:41
Speaker 1: guys back being not well, getting our injured guys back
57:45
Speaker 1: be enough to fix the issues on defense. CJ Hicks
57:47
Speaker 1: and Grayson Howard are some big losses. So I'm wondering
57:49
Speaker 1: how much their return could change the defense. Yeah, it
57:52
Speaker 1: absolutely could benefit the deep. I mean, those are really good,
57:54
Speaker 1: really good football players. And, and you're talking about Grayson
57:58
Speaker 1: Pop Howard, who's the captain of this team and a
58:00
Speaker 1: leader on defense. So, having the presence of, of him, especially,
58:03
Speaker 1: and of course, CJ Hicks, just his raw ability, that's
58:06
Speaker 1: always going to help you. Um, I, I think that
58:09
Speaker 1: they'll be okay this weekend, but I, I really hope
58:12
Speaker 1: those guys will be back for, for UTSA. Um, all right.
58:16
Speaker 1: So I think we've answered all the questions. I think
58:18
Speaker 1: I took care of all the business, right? Make sure
58:19
Speaker 1: you're following, uh, fourth and bold podcast. We are on
58:22
Speaker 1: Spotify now had a lot of people asking about Spotify,
58:25
Speaker 1: my preferred channel. If you're going to listen to the
58:27
Speaker 1: audio version, I mean, YouTube's my first, uh, But if
58:29
Speaker 1: you're going to listen to the audio only version, I
58:31
Speaker 1: prefer iHeartRadio. That's our company app and that makes me
58:35
Speaker 1: look good. But Apple Podcasts, Spotify, we're on there as well.
58:40
Speaker 1: But make sure you subscribe to all those channels. Thank
58:42
Speaker 1: you guys for watching. I will have another show. I
58:47
Speaker 1: don't want to promise that I'll have another. I would
58:49
Speaker 1: like to get it out on Saturday night for you.
58:51
Speaker 1: The problem is I enjoy the games a little bit
58:54
Speaker 1: and then by the time it comes around, I'm like,
58:56
Speaker 1: I don't really know if I feel like recording at
58:58
Speaker 1: this very moment. So At the very latest, you'll get
59:01
Speaker 1: one on Monday. Although I am going to try to
59:04
Speaker 1: get it out before Monday because I've got something going
59:05
Speaker 1: on Monday and I don't want to have to do
59:08
Speaker 1: the show. So you'll definitely hear from me by Monday
59:11
Speaker 1: at the very latest with the next episode, and we'll
59:13
Speaker 1: talk about what happened in the Bowling Green game. So
59:16
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys listening. I appreciate you guys watching,
59:19
Speaker 1: and I appreciate Rock Riley joining today, and we will
59:22
Speaker 1: talk soon. Thank you for watching 4th & Bowl. Go Bulls!