JB's Sports Podcast
JB's Sports Podcast
College Football Preseason Hot Takes
The Michigan sign-stealing scandal punishment has finally arrived, and it feels more like a gentle nudge than the hammer many expected. The NCAA's decision to fine Michigan approximately $30 million through forfeited bowl and playoff revenue—while avoiding postseason bans or scholarship reductions—raises troubling questions about what truly deters cheating in college football today.
Diving into the preseason landscape, each top-10 team carries significant flaws that could derail their championship dreams. Texas sits atop the rankings but pins its hopes on unproven quarterback Arch Manning and a rebuilt offensive line. Ohio State boasts perhaps the nation's most talented roster with superstars Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, yet must overcome coordinator changes and a first-year starting quarterback. Meanwhile, Penn State returns experience but faces legitimate questions about quarterback Drew Allar's ceiling and James Franklin's ability to win crucial games.
The journey through each contender reveals a startling truth: unlike most seasons, no clear-cut favorite has emerged heading into kickoff weekend. Georgia must replace Carson Beck, Alabama enters the post-Saban era, Clemson hopes Dabo Swinney can get out of his own way, and Oregon faces significant roster turnover. This wide-open field creates the perfect opportunity for bold predictions—from conference champions (Texas, Ohio State, Clemson, and Arizona State) to the twelve-team playoff field and an eventual national champion.
Whether you're deeply invested in your team's chances or simply love the pageantry and drama of college football, this season promises unprecedented unpredictability. Which flawed contender will overcome their weaknesses? Which coach will elevate their program to new heights? And which team will hoist the trophy when the confetti falls in January? The answers begin unfolding next weekend when the most compelling season in recent memory kicks off at last.
welcome back to the jb sports podcast. Today is sunday, august the 17th, and we are back for another pod. And if you've been listening for a while, I think you you can understand that it is not you. I'm not usually the one that does the intros for the pod, usually it's my co-host, last brother, jace, that does it. But due to recent circumstances I kind of made a unilateral decision that I kind of wanted to jump on. So I even told Jace earlier this week like hey, um, you're not gonna pod this week. And he was like why, why, why wouldn't I? And I told him like, hey, this because of things that have come out this week, a la Michigan, getting their, their, um, just their punishment let's just use air quotes on that if you don't see me doing it um, punishment for the sign ceiling scandal. I think it just kind of spurred me to like just want to talk college football this podcast for this week. And I know Jace would rather cut off his left leg than have to talk college football for most of a podcast. So I was like Jace, I want to talk college football this week. The Michigan stuff happened and I kind of just want to have a whole pod just to get off.
Speaker 1:All of my college football takes just in one fell swoop Because, again, we don't really talk a lot of college football, even though during the season it's just kind of impossible not to. We talk about games and stuff that happen, and all that Because I pretty much force my way into it in Jace's eyes and all that because I pretty much forced my way into it for in Jace's eyes. But, like Jace, really, unless Michigan State's like balling out, being amazing and I'm pretty sure we were podcasting at that point where a few years ago actually no, we weren't yet where Michigan State was balling out and they were like potentially getting to the Big Ten Championship that was the same year that Kenneth Walker was up for potentially winning the Heisman that year Like that's where Jace is really into it is when his team, michigan State, is like in the mix and he's like very excited about college football. But unless that's happening, jace, the last thing Jace wants to talk about is college football, especially if there's a chance that his you know, his Allah, his Messiah, joe Burrow is potentially playing that week. Why would we want to talk about anything else other than Joe Burrow in his eyes? So I told him to take the week off. We'll see him next week. We'll be getting back to our normally scheduled programming when it comes to talking about all this stuff happening.
Speaker 1:But I just kind of wanted to have this pod where I can, you know, just get off all of my college football stuff and, at least for the most part, at least preseason stuff that I that I've been like just kind of sitting on and, uh, that's pretty much it. So if you're tuning into this podcast hoping to hear me and Jace talk about sports in the way that we do it, I sincerely apologize. But I know there's some people that listen to this pod. I know there's some that do like hearing some college football talk. So I just wanted to make sure, because this is the last weekend we'll have without college football for a while. So this is why it's like this is the moment right. It's like next week is week zero. Farmageddon is happening, and if you don't know what Farmageddon is, it is the game between Iowa State and Kansas State, both of them actually being ranked in the top 25. So that's actually a pretty big matchup, and I think they're also playing in Ireland. Isn't that where that game's happening? I think it's Ireland where that game is being played. So so, like this is the last week without college football we're gonna have for a while, and then we still have like another two what is it like? Two or three weeks before we'll get any real, you know, regular season NFL football, because this weekend is preseason week two, preseason week three is next weekend and then they'll have all of the NFL, will have a week off and then they'll get into their season. So we have like another three weeks before we'll see any NFL football.
Speaker 1:So, again, this is all just to say this is the moment where I have chosen to speak, just talk all college football. So let's just go ahead. And but before I get to that, okay, I do have one NFL topic I wanted to talk about before I get into my all college football stuff. So the only thing that really seemed necessary for me to talk about was James Cook. He got paid this week. He had the contract he was looking for. He had four years, $46 million, with $28.82 million guaranteed, with a $9 million signing bonus and his average annual salary being like $11.5 million. So I had him in my top 10. Well, this is the part where I do have to apologize to the guy because I had, like I didn't even have in my top 10 when I was doing my running back rankings and then Jace has kind of called me out saying, hey, what are you talking about? And then I kind of added him in at the end of my top 10, him being at 10. But I really went back and looked through and like man, he really has been the bell cow back for that bill squad for a few years now. So if I had to redo that list he would probably definitely be a top five guy. So I do have to apologize for that part.
Speaker 1:I did a way overlook him, and what? Because here's the thing like he's not, he's a bell cow dude and like he's not necessarily the most explosive guy. He's not necessarily the most explosive guy. He's not making like the saquon type highlight plays, but he just does everything for them. He runs the ball violently, he catch the ball out of the backfield. He can make some big plays sometimes, but he's not necessarily a big play machine but he just does everything for that team. I think he's the most consistent weapon the bills have obviously for josh Allen to use, because obviously Josh Allen is, he's the straw that serves as drink for that Bills franchise. But outside of him, james Cook is probably the best weapon that he has.
Speaker 1:So the way I look at it sorry, a little throat thing there so the way I look at it is that would I have paid him the money that he got? Because, as of right now, with the contract that he has, he is like the second highest paid running back in the NFL at this moment. So probably not second. He's like in the top five Because Saquon's getting paid like $20 million. Christian McCaffrey's still getting paid like $19. Let me see Now I've got to look up the other running back contracts to make sure I'm not being totally stupid Top running back contracts in 2025. Why am I looking not MSN Over the cap? I'll take that.
Speaker 1:Saquon is number one. He's getting let's see here 20 million. Christian McCaffrey's getting 19. Derrick Henry's getting 15. Jonathan Taylor is getting 14. Kamaraara still getting 12 and a half. That's kind of I didn't think he was still getting paid that much. Um, josh Jacobs getting paid 12 and he had James Cook at 11.5 per year.
Speaker 1:So now that I look at it, he's not getting getting paid top five. He's in the top 10 though One, two, three, four, five, six. He's in the top seven. So, okay, that's not too crazy off. Okay, that's not bad. That's not bad whatsoever, especially when you're looking at him in comparison to a lot of guys that are ahead of him, like him and Jonathan Taylor, like the youngest guys in this list they're both being 26. So the way I look at it is. So, now that I've put it into context, the contract isn't that bad.
Speaker 1:If I were the bills, would I have paid him that type of money, because the bills don't necessarily have the most clean of caps when it comes to what they're paying out, because they're paying Josh Allen the absorbent amount of money that they're paying him. I think what is it they have? Let's see here. They really don't have a lot of like cap money left. Be totally honest with you tap liabilities. They only have like a million million dollars worth of cap space now after signing Cook to the deal that he has. So there's like they have a ton of cap space on books. But I don't know, man, I'm just like.
Speaker 1:He is definitely a great player and this is where I think the Bills really didn't have a choice with where they're at, because with the team they have, they feel like they are a big contender in the AFC obviously, which is what they have been over the last few years. Honestly, the only thing that's kept them from getting to Super Bowl is Faison Chiefs multiple times over, because that's been like their Achilles heel is going to Faison Chiefs and losing to Patrick Mahomes. So if they want to keep going after that and, let's be honest, based off what they had last year, they don't have the most consistent wide receiver group other than. Why am I forgetting the one wide receiver that they have? Oh no, why am I forgetting the name? It's the little guy oh no, this sucks Khalil Shakir. Other than him at wide receiver, they really don't have a lot of other consistent guys at the wide opposition. And obviously they do have Dalton Kincaid, but he was kind of hurt last year, so who knows if he's gonna be able to play a whole season healthy? So with that being what they have at the receiver position, then tight end James Cook is like their most consistent weapon for Josh Allen to use. So and not to mention Josh Allen himself is a weapon, because they use him in the running game as well. But here's the thing If they want him to stay healthy and be ready to go again. He's a big hulking dude. He's like one of the bigger quarterbacks in the NFL. So like you're not really worried about him as much as other defenders that he's facing. But again, that it can ha, it can change in an instant, man, because if he gets hurt the season's over. So I'm guessing that they would probably like to use him less and less in the running game until it comes down to big games in the playoffs, kind of like the same thing that what the Chiefs do with Mahomes. They pretty much say, hey, dude, protect yourself as much as possible until we get to the big games in the season or until we get to the playoffs. That's when they let Pachma Holmes go.
Speaker 1:When it comes to having him run outside the pocket trying to get yards with his legs, I'm definitely, I'm for sure, that the Bills probably have Josh Allen on a similar plan. Like, unlike what they did last year with him where he ran a lot, I'm guessing they would like him to run less to try to keep him healthier. So just a more guarantee that he'll be able to get through a whole season and not to mention this stuff kind of adds up over a career. So Josh Allen being one of the top five guys. Well, depending on who you talk to, but I think consensusly, he's like a top five quarterback in the NFL, if not top two um, well, I guess I had him three. So's like a top five quarterback in the NFL. If not top two, well, I guess I had him three. So he's a top five guy for me as well.
Speaker 1:So, with that being the case, the Bills definitely want to keep him healthy as long as possible and to have a nice long career without being marred with injuries, so they would like to use him less and less when it comes to the running games. That's why James Cook is such a big priority for them, because not only is he a great back to run out of the backfield, but he also can make catches out of the backfield, make some plays for you and like just everything that I've said there. So good for James Cook that he got paid the money he wanted to get paid. If I were the Bills would I have paid him, probably, but I also think that that, with the contract they gave him, do they really expect for him to be there for the rest of his contract? Because with the four-year extension that he got. I think he signed another five years. Will he be there all those years? Probably not. Will they potentially regret it a few years down the line when they're still owing him money? He's still a dead cap hit. They have to to cut him or trade him, probably. But I just think that with the team that they have right now, they just have to go for it. With having the quarterback that they have in the spot they've been in over the last few years of getting so close to being in the Super Bowls and just losing him a home and stuff like that, so like they have to keep going for it. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Running back position is one of those where I'm like I think, unless you are a top, top, top flight dude I'm talking the Saquons, talking Derrick Henrys, I'm talking that type of dude I am totally in on the hey draft a running back, use him for as much as you can use them for, don't really give them the long contract and then get another one and I know it sounds very heartless for me to say that and but I just think for how teams are constructed, to where what you have to pay all these other positions, quarterbacks, wide receivers, get absorbed amount of money and then you have the defensive ends and you have d tackles getting a bunch of money now. So, like, the running back position is one of those like I think it is coming back to where teams are starting to realize how important having a great running back is, but just giving out the big money to these running backs when, more often than not, other than derrick henry, like the running backs don't last long in their NFL careers and once they get to 30, 31, 32 years old, things do start to spiral a little bit and kind of go downhill again. Other than Derrick Henry, because I think he's like the exception to the rule, because he's just a monster of a person. So, with that, all that being the case, I am more on the don't pay the running back. Use them as long as you can and get another one type of guy. But I do understand the Bills were in a spot where they could not do it that way and they had so many other needs in their roster. They couldn't just sit there and use a first or second round pick on a running back again just to try to get somebody to take over for Cook when they have Cook on their roster. All they have to do is pay him. So I get the position that they're in. I get them paying him.
Speaker 1:Do I necessarily agree? Probably not, but I just think that's more about my philosophy on the running back position as a whole. So I don't know, but I think for everybody involved it was what was needed for everybody. But it's just something I really had to talk about because I think that was one of the the holdouts that was like truly happened. I think Terry McLaurin is still holding out, holding in technically, because they're still coming to camp. They're just not practicing. Cam Hayward's still holding in. He's not practicing because he's looking for and I'm not sure if I talked about this for Cam Hayward or not, but I wanted to get to it just real quick the Steelers paid him last year.
Speaker 1:They gave him a contract. He took a little bit of a pay cut because the year before he was hurt and not playing that well and Cam Hayward came out and said that this said this himself to the media. Is that hey? When I signed my contract last year I told the Steelers brass that when I have a great year next year I will come back and want to renegotiate and the team kind of like he said that they the the guys were just kind of laughing at him, not necessarily saying that he couldn't do it, but it was like more of like a snicker, thinking it was a joke, and Cam was like, hey, I took that as motivation. And then he came back last year I think he had an all pro year and he played very well for the sealers last year and now he's looking to renegotiate.
Speaker 1:But on both sides I understand for cam why he wants to renegotiate because of the year he had last year he wants to get paid money he probably deserves. But I also think on the stealer side they can look at him and say we gave you a contract last year. We, we just drafted your replacement in the guy from Oregon. Why am I forgetting the guy's name, derek Harmon? No, he wasn't from Oregon, that was the guy from Ole Miss. So they drafted Derek Harmon. No, harmon was from Oregon. Right, see, now it sucks. Oregon, sorry, oregon, not Ole Miss. So they just drafted Derek Harmon, who was a promising young D tackle. That'll be the next guy after Cam Hayward. But we just paid you last year.
Speaker 1:So I understand if the Steelers are not thrilled by the idea of renegotiating a contract they just signed into last year. Because if I'm the Steelers, I'm like, hey, you could have just signed into last year. Because if I'm the Steelers, I'm like, hey, you could have just signed a one-year deal and then just come renegotiate if you believed in yourself that much. But you had to sign you to a multi-year deal, and now you're trying to renegotiate one year in. So I see it from both sides. I am hoping that they can get this figured out because, as much as I believe Harmon can be the next guy, I think having Cam Hayward and Derek Harmon would be a very nice little combo to have, especially for our run defense. So as long as you can have it, I'd like it to get figured out. But let's just. Let's just hope over the next few weeks they figure something out. They have Cam Hayward on the field for week one, and then Terry Cam. Was there any other holdouts I can think of? Um, I think Jennings, for San Fran is still holding in because he's looking for a contract, but like I don't think I can think of anybody else though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's enough dead air on the pod that you. You know how everybody loves just straight silence on a podcast, all right. So let's just go ahead and get out of that. That's about all I got for the NFL stuff. So just, I want to give you guys the pod that I promised, which is all college football laden. So if you are done with, if you don't listen to any college football stuff, this is the time to get out now. But if you you want to stick around, I'm definitely going to be here talking about plenty of things, so let's go ahead and get into it.
Speaker 1:So if we're going to start, do the college football thing, what better thing to start with than the hammer quotation marks used, because you can't see me using them that was dropped on Michigan on Friday when the NCAA announced the punishments that they were going to be giving Michigan for the sign stealing scandal and all of that again, english is hard sometimes, especially on pod a lot of pressure, so they gave out their punishment to the team up north for the scandal that they had and honestly, if I have, from the outset, just kind of say how I feel about it, obviously being an Ohio State fan did I ever truly believe that they were going to like, really give them the hammer as what they've been talking about for years now. I never thought so, but I do. But I do have to say it was a disappointment, even though I didn't really expect all that much. So let's go ahead and go with what the punishment was.
Speaker 1:So they hit Michigan with a upwards of $30 million fine and some useless show causes. So the fine is not necessarily a check that Michigan has to write to the NCAA. Well, how they're doing it is is that for the next two seasons, michigan, if they get to a bowl game or if they get to the college football playoff, they will not be able to receive the money that they would get for making those, not be able to receive the money that they would get for making the postseason, either way that happens, either the playoff or a bowl game. So they would not receive the money that they would get for that, and that can be upwards of $30, $40, $50 million over the next two years. Why is that important?
Speaker 1:So when I first heard of the fine, obviously it is very popular. It's a very popular thing that Michigan has like a big billionaire behind them. That's how they were able to pony up the money to go get Bryce Underwood when the guy that was from Michigan did not want to play there. He wanted to go play for LSU and they finally had one billionaire kind of billionaire with Dave Portnoy as well. They just kind of came up and ponied up the money to kind of give away, overpay Bryce. I think they're paying him like five million dollars to go in, five million dollars a year to go and play for Michigan. So it is a very well-known thing that they have a big billionaire behind them and they're like, hey, he can just pay the money and it's not 20 million, is 20 to 30 million is not that big of a deal, which is what they're trying to tell you.
Speaker 1:But I do think that with them not getting the money for, for getting to the bowl game, stuff like that, it does take money away from what Michigan does because of what's coming when it comes to rev sharing, because obviously teams have to share the money, share like up to 25 million with players, especially for the football program. So that money is money that Michigan will not be able to receive in order to help pay players and do stuff like that. And I think I heard somebody say this is that Michigan was not one of those teams, that was just accepting a bunch of donor money and using that only for football. They kind of used that for their whole school, using it for the other sports and stuff like that. So I do think it is a little bit of a downside to be able to not get that money over the next couple of years by getting to bowl games or by getting to the playoff.
Speaker 1:But I just think in the long run oh, let me get sorry. Before I get to the point of how I think about that, let me get to the other thing too Show causes. So I think they gave Harbaugh a 10-year show cause on top of the show cause that he already has. I think his current show cause doesn't end until like 2028. So the 10 years that they're adding on top. I think he had a show cause because of the hamburger thing that happened with the recruiting, the recruiting violations. So he's going to have like a 14 year show cause.
Speaker 1:But here's the fucking thing they asked Harbaugh about it, obviously him being the head coach of the chargers now and he just said I'm not going to engage. I'm not surprised that he's not going to engage. You know why. I don't think Harbaugh ever intends to go back to college again? I don't. He went and won the national championship for his alma mater and he ran off to the NFL right away to go coach the Chargers. So do I think he really intends on going back and coaching college football again? I don't think so. I think he always wanted to be in the NFL, but I think the Michigan job kind of came up and that was like a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to go coach his alma mater. But like I don't think he's going back to college anytime soon, I don't think that's how he's thinking. So the show cause doesn't really fucking matter at all.
Speaker 1:They gave stallions like a 10 year, like an eight year show cause, but again nobody's going to touch him because of the, the. What am I thinking of? The stain he put on his own name by being the main culprit in this whole cheating scandal? Do I think that any college football team would actually put him on their staff? I don't think so. And then they gave Sharon Moore, like another, like a show cause technically, but it doesn't stop him from coaching. So the show cause isn't even a show cause, but they're calling it that in his case. So that part is a little bit weird. But they are giving like a one year ban. One year, uh, one game, not one year one game suspension for Sharon Moore. But the funny thing about that is is that they're not giving him that one game suspension until next season because Michigan already placed a two game ban on him for weeks three and four, which is like the weirdest thing of all time. They already placed a two game suspension on him for this year. So they're like, hey, we'll just give you a one game suspension for next year. So like I think all in all, this shit's a slap on the goddamn wrist for this Michigan football program.
Speaker 1:When it comes to the fine, I do think it's something that does hurt. But I think they have donors and I think Michigan, if they really want to, can get around this by using some money that they would be getting from donors and just kind of supplementing that that way. But I do think it hurts. But I think when it comes to the other stuff the show causes and all the other stuff, it doesn't fucking matter at all and I think, all in all, I think it shows all of college football that if you are willing to pay the price on the back end. If you're willing to pay the fines, if you're willing to set yourself back a little bit on the back end of it, go ahead and cheat.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure if the NCAA. I think this whole thing shows that the NCAA, as much as they like to think they have power, they have no teeth. Whole thing shows that the NCAA, as much as they like to think they have power, they have no teeth. Because I think all like what they were trying to do in this, in this whole thing, was trying to give out a hammer type of um, what was the word I'm looking for? They're trying to dole out punishment, but they're trying to give out a punishment that Michigan will be willing to accept, because if they went too far, michigan would just fight it. And I think the NCAA because they have no teeth and they understand that anything that they do they'll just get sent to court for, and they've been losing so many court cases as of late that they just they want to do something that can that Michigan will be more likely to accept and just be willing to take, rather than fighting for it, fighting it and trying to get it taken away. So I just think this shows that the NCAA has no teeth and that if a team really wants to fight it, they can. And I think more likely than not they will. But I just think the Michigan stuff, I think they want to get past this as much as possible, like as fast as possible, and I think they may fight it when it comes to the amount of money that they'd be having having to pay. But I don't think they're going to fight this, the show causes, because those things don't really matter. They're not really going to fight the suspensions, because for the games that show, more is going to be missing. They really don't matter. So I just think that all in all, just kind of sucks.
Speaker 1:And this is the part. This is a couple notes that I took about this whole thing. So sorry, I have to have a notebook here. I have to go through.
Speaker 1:Um, the ncaa found that the cheating was widespread and supported by the football program. So I think that was one thing that came out of this. That was good, because this was not one of those things that they said. It was circumstantial. They said that from what they found, that it was a very well-known fact that it was obvious that the Michigan program supported Connor Stallings and what he was doing and everybody knew about it. So that was a good thing that came out of that whole article.
Speaker 1:Also, connor Stallings was rounding up phones for people that was involved, not only for some football players but for people on the coaching staff and stuff like that. He was smashing up phones and he threw them to the bottom of a lake all off like throwing away evidence. So if they were willing, if conor stallions was willing to do all of those things, doesn't it show that they were doing something to be to like, have to do that? For, like they felt, like they knew they were doing something wrong. This was not one of those things that conor stallions was doing it and like, hey, I'm just better at it than anybody else, I didn't do anything wrong. Conor stallions knew what he was doing was against the rules and he knew. They knew it was cheating and I think the people that he was taking the phones of also knew, which is why they gave it to him. So I think that was also a nice little little tidbit added to this.
Speaker 1:So and this is the thing that kind of pissed me off when I was reading that thing is that the NCAA didn't want to punish current University of Michigan players for crimes of past coaches and players. But here's the problem with that. Like they, it was said that months ago they had decided that they weren't going to be giving any type of bull bands or anything like that to the current Michigan program because they didn't want to. They didn't want to punish the current kids if they weren't the ones doing it, or the current coaching staff, even though their head coach, jerome Moore, was one of the guys that was benefiting from the cheating. But I'm not going to get too far into that. So, with that being the case, this is my problem with that is that earlier this year they gave Akron a one-year uh postseason ban because of academic stuff of college kids I mean prior um college players that weren't going to class and they were faking grades and stuff like that. So like they gave out a one-year uh postseason ban for Akron earlier this year for crimes of former players that aren't even there anymore, but they're willing to give out a punishment for that. That was a bowl ban, a postseason ban, but they're not willing to do that for Michigan.
Speaker 1:So that just doesn't make any gosh darn sense to me whatsoever, and I just think that if you're going to have that mentality I think to one extent one degree like one thing I can kind of agree with that but if you're going to have that mentality, then you can't take two years to do your investigation into a problem with. Everybody knows what they were doing Back in 2023, when it all came out and like Carbaugh got a couple of games suspension that he got at the end of the 2023 regular season, like we all knew then what was going on. So now the NCAA has taken two years to find out not much more than what we already knew. And now they're like, hey, we can't, we can't blame the kids that are there now because they didn't, they didn't benefit. No, because they didn't benefit.
Speaker 1:And I'm sitting there like if that's going to be how you're going to think about it, then you have to be a lot gosh darn faster in figuring out what punishments are and not take that long to investigate potential issues. That's what annoys me. You can't have it both ways. You can't sit there and take years to figure this stuff out but then also say, hey, we don't want to punish the current kids. So I'm like then do it faster, take a month or two and figure this stuff out and then give out the punishments within a decent amount of time. So you don't have this issue whatsoever, because what Michigan did was straight cheating from start to finish, bold face lying.
Speaker 1:They did everything they possibly could to cheat for three years 2021 through 2023, a little halfway through that year they were cheating and they knew everybody's signs for most of the games that they played and I want to give them a tad bit of credit, even though I don't like to. Is that championship? They got legitimate To a certain extent for the games they played on the field in the playoff. In those last few games of the year where they were figured out, they played it straight up. But I also think that if they weren't cheating for the three years before that, the players that were sitting around and foregoing the nfl to stay on that team and try to do something special, they wouldn't have done that because they wouldn't have been any light at the end of the tunnel for them to even feel like they have a shot to win a championship.
Speaker 1:The cheating laid the groundwork for them to build the team that was able to play and win off of not cheating, if that makes any type of sense. I think the cheating helped them to a certain degree maybe not in the games they ultimately played to go win a title, but I think it helped them build their program up to the point where they were able to win a title without cheating, and I think for that they bold-faced, lied to everybody and they were willing to kind of go above and beyond what you're able to do in order to try to win, and that is something they should pay the price for. But now they are getting a slap on the wrist and I think the NCAA is telling other teams out there that if you're willing to pay out the money and if you're willing to take a little bit of punishment they'll give you on the back end, go ahead and go for it. You just better go ahead and win to make it worth it. If you're Texas Tech with a bunch of oil of money, or if you're all these other teams that have money behind them, why wouldn't you go ahead and try to cheat, as long as you're willing to pay the fines on the back end? For some of these teams that titles aren't necessarily a guarantee. You don't have an every year thought like, hey, we're title or bust. If you're not one of those top end blue bloods in college football, I can understand you going for it and cheating and being like, hey, if we have to pay a price on the backend, we'll be more than happy to do so. So, like, I just think they're not necessarily giving out a punishment that'll deter future cheaters from wanting to do what they want to do, and I think that sucks, because that's what punishments are for. Punishments are meant to deter future decisions that will lead to cheating, and I think the NCAA has proven that they have no teeth and I think they have proven that when push comes to shove, they are going to try to be agreeable and they're going to try to give out a punishment that teams won't fight because the NCAA isn't as strong as they once was, and I think these institutions realize that and I think they're going to be more than happy to fight it tooth and nail because they know at the end of the day, the NCAA will pull down their pants and let you go to town on them, because they don't have any power Anywhere near the amount of power that they had at one point.
Speaker 1:And this is the part. So this is like two things that I saw by comparison. That makes me kind of feel this way, right? So if you've been following Coswell for a while, everybody knows the Reggie Bush whole thing. Right, he recently got his Heisman back and all that, but at the time because Reggie Bush received money and his family received a house in LA from a agent that was trying to help them out while he was in college at USC. The NCAA not only took his Heisman away, they vacated wins from the USC program, they gave out scholarship reductions, they vacated wins. They did all that for that USC program. It honestly put them in their dirt for a while because they really, after that Pete Carroll had left, they really didn't have any good coaches after that and they really went into the dark ages, at least by comparison for what USC was at one point. So, with that being the case, they really gave USC a huge punishment for something that wasn't anywhere close to what Michigan did.
Speaker 1:And now for something a little bit closer to home for Ohio State the tattoo scandal, terrell Pryor, boom, I think it was, boom Heron, I think, right, and I think it was. Oh, I'm not forgetting the wide receiver that did it. It was, oh no, the Vier Posey, I believe, was his name. Yeah, like there was a few players that traded their own personal property. I get it. It was stuff given to them from the program, it was gold pants. It was some stuff they were only getting because they're football players, but it was their personal property. They were trading their own personal property for tattoos and that they were all suspended, they forced to apply to go to the NFL. They heck.
Speaker 1:Coach Trussell got fired because he got the email about it and just decided, hey, I didn't see this, and he deleted it. Like they got a one-year postseason ban, they got fined a bunch of money. They had scholarship productions. Like they had to pay a crazy price for what happened with that situation. That wasn't nearly as bad as what Michigan did and they got a much bit, uh much worse punishment than what Michigan just perceived for doing something, a lot worse. So I just I saw those two situations of what punishments were doled out and now, in comparison to what Michigan just got it and it just makes my blood boil.
Speaker 1:And again, I've already said this before, but I can't help it but repeat myself Did I expect a real quote-unquote hammer to be dropped on the University of Michigan. No, but they cheated their asses off and I think that the punishment doesn't deter future cheaters. It just says that if you have the bread to pay on the back end, then you can go for broke and cheat for a chance at a title. Because of the speed that the NCAA will look into it and dole out the punishment It'll take years from when you actually did it anyway and the lackluster punishment that they would dole out once they decide to get through the whole investigation. I think it just it because of that, I just think it just it doesn't deter future cheaters from doing what they want to do in order to, you know, make it happen. If they want to go for it again, you better go ahead and get, finish a job and win a championship, because if you don't, then it makes you look real stupid, right, but if you end up winning a championship, it makes it all worth it, because the punishments on the back end isn't nearly as bad as what you were able to receive if you go ahead and do the ultimate job by cheating.
Speaker 1:I don't know, man, I'm just like it's just, it's just a bummer. It's just a bummer and as an Ohio State fan, I wanted to see Michigan really gonna get the hammer, even though I never thought it was actually feasible. I never thought that was actually gonna get done, but I was holding out a little bit of hope that it was gonna happen. Um, but I also think on the back end of this, I'm just glad this shit is over, and I'm glad cause I'm on the Ohio state side of social media. I'm glad I don't have to see the hammers coming, tweets every tweets or posts every single day on social media, because everybody has been just waiting for this moment to happen. So I'm just happy that this is finally happening. So I think this shit can be over with.
Speaker 1:We're done talking about it and I'm hoping that Ryan Day can get his stuff together and they can go ahead and start doling out their own form of punishment on the field against that team up more north for years to come, like that's what I hope. Now I think I'm I'm disappointed, but I'm also like I'm glad this whole saga is over with so we can stop talking about it, because it's really draining and I think it also takes away some of the love and excitement I have for the game, because I just know that the team that I hate the most. The team that cheated the most isn't getting nearly the punishment that they definitely deserve. So I hope that Ryan Day can get his stuff together and start doling out the punishment on the field for years to come. That would definitely be a great way to get back at them for this. Let's go ahead and just start beating them on the field and making them think about cheating again, because that's the way to do it. I hope Ryan Day is just ready to kind of get it started this year, get the ball rolling on beating Michigan every year again and making that the normal again, rather than losing to Michigan the last four years. So that's what I got all that.
Speaker 1:Um, let me go ahead and get back to actual talking about college football. So let's go ahead and get into that. So the AP top 10 and the coaches poll also, not just the top 10. It's like the AP top 10 and the coaches poll also not just the top 10, it's like the AP top 25 came out and also the coaches poll came out in the last couple of weeks and I have thoughts. So let me go ahead and just talk about the rankings real quick. I'll just say the top 10 for both. Okay. So for the AP poll, the top 10 for both. Okay.
Speaker 1:So for the eight people, the top 10 is Texas, um, number one, texas number two, penn state number three. Ohio state number four. Clemson number five, georgia number six. Notre Dame number seven, oregon, number eight, alabama, number nine, lsu and number 10, miami of Florida, not of Ohio, miami of Florida, not of Ohio, the Hurricanes, in other words. And then for the coaches poll, it is Texas at number one, ohio State at two, penn State at three, georgia at four, notre Dame at five, clemson at six, number seven is Oregon, alabama's at eight, lsu's at nine and Miami is at 10. So I think, for the most part, both of these top tens are very similar, I think, the only difference being that, for the AP poll, ohio State and Penn State are at sorry, penn State's at two, ohio State's at three, and the coaches poll has it flipped and Ohio State's at two and Penn State's at three. Other than that, the top 10 is fairly similar. I think, heck, I think most of the top like 15 is pretty darn close to each other. So these are my thoughts. Okay, I again, I just talked about Michigan for all this time, but I think this is also one of those things that got under my skin. Michigan is ranked at 14 in both rankings. Why in the hell are they ranked at 14? I get it, it's a preseason poll.
Speaker 1:People just kind of throwing in names that they think that they're just trying to get clicks. But based on the season they had last year, I think they were seven and five last year. Obviously they did beat Ohio State and they also beat Alabama in the bowl game that they had. But like they had a very bad year last year and that was with them having some of the top-flight talent that they still had on that roster from when Jim Harbaugh was there, I think they had the—well, I'm forgetting the cornerback's name. Oh no, what was his name? Oh, he plays for the Cardinals now.
Speaker 1:Will Johnson. He was drafted to the Cardinals, I think in the second round, so he was still on that team last year. He didn't play most of your last year, but they also had a top five pick. They had an old boy that got drafted to uh, they got drafted to cleveland, um, the d tackle, um. It was that kenneth grant that was drafted in the first, in the first round, and they also had. They had two first round picks that were drafted at d tackle. They had him that was drafted and they also had mason graham. That was the top five pick. He was picked at five from cleveland. So they had a decent amount of good talent that was still in that roster last year, um, and they went seven and five and now they lost all that talent.
Speaker 1:They have to re-put in new players that aren't nearly as talented as the guys that left. They have a new quarterback coming in starting. It's not going to be their top flight young guy in Y In. Why am I forgetting his name? This is a bad time to start forgetting names because it's kind of stopping any type of momentum Bryce Underwood. So Bryce Underwood isn't even going to be the starting quarterback to start the season. It's going to be a different guy that transferred in and they don't have close to the weapons that they once had. Their offensive line is not as good as it's been in the past.
Speaker 1:Michigan has a lot of things that aren't going their way and they're being ranked at 14 and I think with the teams behind them, heck in the coaches pool, they have Ole Miss behind them. That was a much better team and the quarterback. That I think is going to be a lot better. Smu's behind them, florida's behind the Tennessee, indiana, kansas State, texas, a&m, iowa State I think there's a lot of teams behind them in the top 25. That I think has a lot more promise, especially before game start, because again, once games start, then all bets are off. You kind of go with what what's happening on the field, but from the, from the start of the, from the whole preseason aspect of this, if you're just looking at these teams on paper, there's no way Michigan should be the 14th ranked team in both the AP poll and the coaches poll. Also, another thing that I saw, oregon is ranked at seven in both rankings.
Speaker 1:I think Oregon might be ready for a little bit of a downturn this season in comparison what they were last year they came into. Last year they had a another. They had Dylan Gabriel as their starting quarterback who had played a ton of college football. So they, like he was coming in as a veteran, kind of seeing a lot of what college football has to offer, and I think that was him last year and then before that it was Bo Nix, who was another guy that played five years of college football. So I think this is the first year that they've had in a while that they are not coming in with a veteran college football quarterback that has played a lot of ball. It's probably going to be the young guy Dante Moore who's, who played like one year at UCLA and then had last year as like kind of a year to sit down and kind of learn for a little bit. But they don't have a veteran college football quarterback that's going to come in and has played a bunch of ball and is going to be ready to go. They're going to have a younger guy that's going to make his mistakes and not necessarily be as polished On their whole team. They they recruit like crazy.
Speaker 1:I am not sitting here saying that Oregon doesn't have a team that they recruit. Very well, they're going to have. They have a lot of five stars. They have a lot of talented guys in that roster that's going to be able to play. But I think the problem for them is that it's a lot of young dudes. It's a lot of young guys that haven't hasn't played a lot of ball and I think with what they're going to have to do this year in the big 10 with some of the teams are going to have to play. Do they play Ohio state? No, they don't, but they still have to play Penn state, I think.
Speaker 1:Let me see Oregon schedule Ducks football. So for their schedule, they have to play Oklahoma State. They got to play Oklahoma State. They got to play Oregon State. They have to play Penn State. They got to play Washington and USC. Again, the last two teams I mentioned aren't necessarily as good as what Oregon probably is going to be pulling out, even with it being a lot of young talent. But I think the schedule they're going to have to play this year they might take a lot more loss than they took last year. They went undefeated last year. They won the Big Ten Championship, they won the big 10 uh championship against Penn State and they again they did get beat by Ohio State in the second round of the playoff. But I think they're not going to have nearly the amount of success that they had last year, especially with the team they have. If they have a talented team, this is going to be a young team that may not be ready to start at 100 from day one like they were able to last year, not to mention the fact that Oregon is transferring in a lot of their offensive line and also for the wide receiver unit. They have a very young wide receiver unit that they got that's going to be young and they're hurt. I think they're missing two or three of their top guys that where they were going to be able to play to start the year. So, like they are, they have a lot of things missing on their roster in order to think that they're going to be able to be another, have another year where they're, like at the top of the big 10 again. So I do think that this year could be a like a little bit of a step back for that Oregon football program.
Speaker 1:Let me go ahead and get to the next page here. Stuff that I have. So, being the guy that follows, I watch and listen to a lot of podcasts, not necessarily to make my opinions, but I just like to be in the know, right, I listen to a lot of people that know their stuff when it comes to watching football and college football and NFL, and I just kind of use that as like information for me to kind of base my own opinions off of. I use it to not only help me like form my arguments, but I also think that having some real facts that I've heard before from people that know a lot more than me about the game, I think is very good when it comes to me doing a podcast here. So I do follow, like the Josh Pates of the world and like some other podcasts here there that want to stay in the know. So I have a general knowledge, like on the sport in general, and I think football is like the only, the only sport I really can be this locked in with when it comes to trying to understand, like, what a lot of teams are going through at the moment. So with that, there's a lot of narratives that are going around in college football right now before the season starts that I just think I have major issues with okay and I just kind of like when it comes to the coverage, I think when it comes to how, I have major issues with Okay and I just kind of like when it comes to the coverage, I think when it comes to how, like the, the cost of opponents are talking about how the season will go and who are the best teams, and I'm just sitting there like there's some things that I don't know. Maybe it's because it's just what the teams are. Maybe it's because what a very pretty quarterback in certain extent, like just little things here or there, just kind of irks me about this whole thing. So let me go ahead and just kind of talk about what some of my issues are.
Speaker 1:Number one of the top 10 teams in both polls. I think there is no clear team that is ahead of anybody else in the pack in terms of players or experience other than Penn State. I think Penn State is the one team in the top 10 that has a returning starting quarterback that has played a lot of football. Again, it's Drew Aller. Do I really believe that he is a top flight dude? I don't think so. I think that. Do I think like no. Do I think he's going to be a top flight quarterback um in college football this year? I don't think so. Based on what I've seen over the last couple years he's been there, I just have not seen enough for me to expect him to take a huge jump and be ready to go from week one and like really light up college football. I don't think so. Like so.
Speaker 1:That's one thing, but they also have James Franklin man, and I think to a certain extent, I'm never going to fear Penn State Like I probably should until James Franklin's out of there, because I don't think he's all that great of a head coach, at least when it comes to facing some of the top flight coaches in college football. He's not that. He is a very good coach when it comes to getting you to 10 wins and making you think you can do something and then losing in the big game that you have to win. That's what he's very good at. So until he is not there anymore and they have somebody else at the helm, I don't think I'll ever truly really fear Penn State in general. Again, could I be proven wrong? Yeah, for sure if, and if I do, I'll be looking very stupid, like a lot of other people that feel this way, about Penn State. But until then, I think this might be a hill I'm going to die on when it comes to them.
Speaker 1:So that's one thing, and so, with that being the case, um, the rest of the top 10, though, like all the teams, are dealing with a very similar type of issues going into the season. They have things to prove, they have new quarterbacks, and I will get to it later while I just kind of go through each of the top 10 and kind of say what I think their their issue is. That will keep them from being the team that they would. They should be going into the year. But I think number two right this is the other thing that gets me is that obviously, being an Ohio State fan, I'm more locked in with Ohio State than anybody else.
Speaker 1:But when I am watching what the coverage is in college football, I don't think people are giving enough credit to Ohio State's chances to really go back-to-back. I do think Ohio State has a legitimate chance to win back-to-back national titles and I don't think people are understanding that. I think people are looking at Ohio State and all the guys they had drafted and Will Howard's not there anymore. At quarterback they're starting a new guy Probably it's going to be Julian San at the helm to start for Ohio State this year. So he's a young guy that hasn't played a ton of football. But I don't think people are understanding that Ohio State has the best college football player, both offensively and defensively. Offense it's jeremiah smith baby jerry jj smith the best wide receiver in college football, without questioning the best play offensive player in college football, if not the best player in college football. That's how good jeremiah smith is. And then the best defensive player in college football is caleb downs, who also plays for ohio state. The best safety in college football. The best defensive player in college football is Caleb Downs, who also plays for Ohio State. The best safety in college football. The best defensive player in college football is Caleb Downs. Ohio State is the only team that has both of those guys on that same squad and people don't give that enough credit for this Ohio State team.
Speaker 1:Do I think Ohio State has some potential issues? Yeah, issues, yeah for sure. But I think a lot of other teams I'll get to this in a minute a lot of other teams in the top 10, like all the teams that people think could really go win a title, have those same goddamn issues, and I just think, with them doing it last year and with them what they have coming back this year. Do I think they have some new guys to have to come in and play some big minutes? Yeah, for sure. But I also think that they showed throughout their playoff run that those young guys were coming in and playing Ohio State's offensive line will be a strength for this team coming into the year, unlike what it was last year, even though it was supposed to be a strength coming in last year too. But they had a lot of injuries throughout the year that made us play our young dudes, and now those young guys that were playing in the playoff run last year are now the starters. So as long as Julian Sane coming into this year can be 75% of what we heard he was when he was just being the guy slinging the ball over the field, I think Ohio State has an amazing chance to go back to back.
Speaker 1:I really do, and I think people aren't giving them enough credit. So, as I've been talking about for this last thing, I'm going to go through and name the top flaws of every top 10 team that could keep them from winning a national title, and I'll just do this on the AP poll. So just kind of go through it that way. So I'm going to go through each team. I'm hopefully I don't go too long on this, but I just kind of want to go through and just say what I think the major flaws for these teams are that can keep them winning a title like some guaranteed superstar. I think if you've listened to any type of college football coverage. Everybody is talking about how guaranteed Arch Manning gonna be a legit dude and how people have this unwavering belief that Arch Manning is going to be that guy. But this is my problem with that sort of thought.
Speaker 1:Arch Manning was on this team last year when they were on the college football playoff run, when they ultimately ended up losing to Ohio State in the semifinal game, but Quinn Ewers wasn't lighting it up for Texas. Last year, quinn Ewers was a sixth round pick in the draft and I'm not sure if you've watched Quinn Ewers go ahead and play in the preseason for the Miami Dolphins, but he's still not looking good. Quinn Ewers never turned out to be the uber talented guy that he was when he was coming out of high school, when he was the perfect recruit. He was the highest rated recruit ever in high school recruiting and he was that dude. He had a rocket of an arm and it's just like he is. Nothing has turned out to be that way for Quinn Ewers in general. So, with that being the case, arch Manning was on that team last year where at times, quinn Ewers was really struggling. And if Arch Manning couldn't take, if he was that talented, why couldn't he have overtaken him and taken that job last year when there were some real points where Quinn Ewers was really struggling with injuries and with not having the confidence and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:That's my first thing. So there's no, I don't think it's necessarily a guarantee Arch Manning is going to come in and be a revelation in college football. I just don't think so. I think the the Publicity is getting more based off the last name that he has, obviously being Manning, a football royalty the Manning name is for sure. But I do think Arch Manning has to prove that he can be that guy and I don't think there's anything that you've seen from Arch Manning so far. I think he started a few games last year, but I think those games were against Mississippi State and a MAAC team and he saw that he played okay in those games. So I don't think it's a stretch to say that it's not a guarantee that Arch Manning is going to be a superstar in college football.
Speaker 1:And on top of that, texas is replacing a good portion of their offensive line. I think they're only bringing back like one starter, one or two starters from their offensive line. They're only bringing back one starter, one or two starters from their offensive line from last year, including them having to replace both tackles that they had from last year. So they have to replace a really good portion of their offensive line. Their defense is going to be young. They're going to have some guys coming back, but they're replacing a good portion of their offensive line. Their defense is going to be young. They're going to have some guys coming back, but they're replacing a good portion of their defense too. Their defensive line will be pretty good, but their D-tackle spot is an unknown. At best they had to bring in five different defensive tackle transfers because of how weak they were at that position. So this Texas team really does have some weaknesses that will keep them from being the best team in college football. Everybody's claiming that they are. That's it on Texas. So Penn State, the next one.
Speaker 1:Like I said already said, penn State is probably the most ready player-wise and like when it comes to what they are and what they the um amount of ball that most of their team has played. I think they probably are the most ready when it comes to players to come into this season ready to go right away. But, like I mentioned before, drew Aller is not necessarily a guy that I think is a superstar in college football. Maybe he changed my mind, but we don't know. Based off the last two years, he hasn't really been that guy.
Speaker 1:They say that they fixed their wide receiver position and they brought in three different transfers for them this year and they think it's going to be a lot better than what it was in the past when, like last year when Penn State lost to Notre Dame, they did not complete a pass to a wide receiver. All the guys that caught passes in that game against Notre Dame when they lost was running backs and the tight end obviously. So now, without the amazing tight end that they had, I won't forget his name Tyler Warren. If they're not going to have him, he's gone, he's off to the NFL and they're now replacing their whole wide receiver room. You're just going to expect that those wide receivers are just going to translate and be great right away. That's a big question for me.
Speaker 1:Their defense has always been very good. They have Jim Knowles coming in as the defense coordinator, taking him from Ohio State, so like their defense will be good, but it's always been good like they've always had a top 10 defense for that Penn State squad, so like that hasn't been the issue that the be good, but it's always been good, like they've always had a top 10 defense for that Penn State squad. So like that hasn't been the issue that the Penn State has had. It's been offensively, and I think what the problems are like, their office line will be better than what they had last year because it's a one year older and I think they brought back a lot of the guys from that offensive line and I think but I think other than they're bringing back the two running backs as well. So that's going to be a big thing. They're going to be able to run the football.
Speaker 1:But the problem for Penn State in the big games that they have to play against Ohio State, against Oregon, what has been Penn State's issue? Not being able to complete, be able to have a good, consistent passing offense to make defenses fear in order to help out your running game. The Penn State running game is their bread and butter, but their problem with being able to pass is that they don't have anybody consistent catching the football, and I don't think Drew Aller is a guy that can elevate guys that aren't necessarily that good. So I think, all that being the issue, even with Penn State having so much talent coming back for this season, I think they still have their questions as well, and not to mention James Franklin as their head coach. I just think I've always been down on James Franklin. Again, I can be proven wrong, but I don't think I will be. James Franklin's been coaching there a long time and he has never shown to be a guy that can really win the big game, other than the one time against Ohio State 10 years ago when they got the blocked field goal and that was the way they won that game in a stunner against Ohio State. But other than that, penn State hasn't won a lot of big games in their in their time under James Franklin. So until that happens, I'm not going to sit here and be like like have any sort of belief in James Franklin being the leader for that Penn State team, ohio State at three. I've already talked about some of the issues that you have. Well, actually, I haven't.
Speaker 1:But defensive line is something they're bringing back a lot of new guys for. They're going to have to be proven, especially at the defensive tackle spot, and I don't think it's necessarily about the starters. I think they have their starters pretty much entrenched already and they have talented guys. I think it's going to be the depth. Are they going to have enough dudes to like be able to bring in other guys to come in and play at a big level like they had last year? The secondary, I think, for our highest, is going to be awesome. They're going to be ready to go right away.
Speaker 1:Quarterback is still a question.
Speaker 1:Do I think Julian Sand will be a good quarterback this year? Yeah for sure. But are they going to have some of the younger quarterback making mistakes, stuff to have to deal with in order to get Julian Sand built up to that point where he will be what I think Ohio State thinks he can be? I think, with the play style that Julian Sand has, it does give them a little bit of like a. If he ends up being everything he's supposed to be, it'll be a lot closer to the CJ Stroud offense that Ohio State had while he was there. It'll be throwing the football all over the place, getting the ball to all the type of receivers that we have. Because, again, when CJ Stroud was here, cj didn't have a Jeremiah Smith, he had Marvin Harrison Jr. But I think a lot of people are already ready to say that Jeremiah Smith is better than Marv at this time, when he was at this point in his career time when he was at this point in his career. So if Julian Sane come out and like not like again he has a question that Ohio State is going to have to answer. But if Julian Sane come out and play, well, that's also a question that they have to get answered.
Speaker 1:Running back, they are replacing both Quinn, sean and Travion, who are both in the NFL now. So that's something they're going to have to answer a question for. But, like, the wide receiver is still good, the offensive line is still going to be great. But they have some questions. And on top of all that, they are replacing both coordinators. Chip Kelly was the offensive coordinator last year that went to the NFL to go coach for the Raiders as their offensive coordinator and then their defensive coordinator, obviously Jim Knowles. He ended up going from there to Penn State to be their defense coordinator. So they are replacing both coordinators with Matt Patricia for the defensive side and for the offensive side it's Brian Hartline kind of taking the next step and hoping that he'll be able to be a good play caller for this Ohio State squad. So those are the issues I think could keep Ohio State from being the team I think they can be going into this year.
Speaker 1:Clemson at number four. They have the quarterback coming back. They have a great defense. My problem is can their weapons be consistent and be ready to go throughout the year Offensively? Can they kind of get clicking earlier on in the year, unlike what they were last year? I think Clemson was a good team last year. They got into the playoff and I think against Texas in the first round of the playoff I think they played very well and K Klubnick showed down.
Speaker 1:I think the question for Clemson is can Dabo get out of his own way at points throughout his career, which is what he's kind of been doing? He's kind of been getting in his own way when it comes to him wanting to be a part of everything, kind of getting in the way ever since they won their titles, but ever since then they really haven't been back to the promised land like everybody thinks they should be. So can Dabo get out of the way? Can their offensive playmakers be the guys that they have had once at? Can Dabba get out the way? Can their offensive playmakers be the guys that they have had. Once at one point in the past when they were winning playoff games, they had a very good wide receiver room. Can they get back to that? Can Kay Klubnick take the next step and be a real superstar for this Clemson team? That's also a question that they have. But their defense is going to be legit. They have great defensive line. Their defense has not really fallen off throughout this time while Clemson's been playing these games. But can they kind of take the next step offensively and can they defensively just stay healthy? That's probably the biggest question for this Clemson squad. But they're very talented this time around. I think it's taken them a few years to kind of build their way up to being this team again, when I think four, five, six years ago Clemson was kind of like being at the top of was like one of the best teams college football and like really building out teams that way. But I think they've it's taken a few years to kind of get back to this point. So can they capitalize on having a team they have now?
Speaker 1:It's probably the biggest question for that Clemson squad Georgia. They're replacing their quarterback. I think Gunnar Stockton, I believe, is going to be their starter coming into this year. He's been a guy sitting for that Georgia team for like three years now. Can he be the quarterback they need him to be after they let Carson Beck walk and go play with Miami. So can they get a good quarterback play this year out of Gunner Stockton?
Speaker 1:Wide receiver wise, can they get anybody to be a good pass catcher for them is a huge question for that team because they really, ever since Ladd McConkie left, they really haven't had any sort of consistent wide receiver production for that team. Can they produce another tight end? That'll be awesome. Again, that's something Georgia does very well. They know how to recruit and develop tight ends. So I don't really have much of a doubt but that is something that has to be proven that they have somebody ready to go Defensively. They're going to have a lot of young guys. They're going to have to come and play a lot of ball.
Speaker 1:But again, georgia they recruit so much talent that I'm never going to question if they have the guys. They have the horses. But the question is are they going to be able to put it all together and be a team, especially with having a much more difficult schedule than what they've had in the past? Are they going to be able to put everything together and have those young guys playing their best ball when they have to play their biggest games? That's going to be the big question for that georgia team. But because kirby is a really good coach, like he knows what he's doing other than policing his kids on not um speeding throughout the city of the state of georgia. Other than that, kir Kirby's a very good head coach and I think they recruit very well. It's just, can they put it all together and kind of have that team, especially with having a newer quarterback come in and their offense not necessarily being as explosive as it probably should be?
Speaker 1:Number six Notre Dame. They're replacing their quarterback as well. They are still having a quarterback competition as of right now for that. Who's going to take that job? They have one of the best Love, one of the best running backs in college football, so they're going to have a guy that's ready to go right away from that spot. Can they get really good wide receiver production is another question. They're going to have some young guys that played last year kind of coming back trying to do some bigger things this year, but are going to have some young guys that played last year, kind of coming back trying to do some bigger things this year. Um, but are they going to be able to kind of be consistent that way, just have a more consistent passing offense general from that team? It's probably going to be something that's going to kind of like decide if they're going to have the season they want to have this year, coming off of losing the national title game against ohio state and then defensively should be good, but they did lose a decent amount of guys On their back end. They're going to have some young guys that did play a lot of football for them last year. Hopefully they'll be able to come in and be able to play starting minutes and be ready to go and play some very good ball for them.
Speaker 1:But again, notre Dame, they have plenty of talent. They actually have recruited under Nope what's his name? Recruited under nope what's his name? Oh no, this is bad. Why am I forgetting the guy's name? Marcus Freeman, that's who it is. Why am I even trying to look it up? So they've been recruiting very well under Marcus Freeman. So I'm not questioning whether they have the guys to be able to do what they have to do. It's just putting it all together and, honestly, getting that passing offense in check to where it'll at least be respectable for teams that have to deal with. So I think last year Notre Dame's passing offense wasn't really anything to kind of like be worried about and that was kind of when Notre Dame was able to get a little bit of stuff done when it comes to getting some plays down the field.
Speaker 1:But can they improve? That is probably the biggest question for that team, oregon. I already mentioned them a little bit. I think this might be a year of regression for that team. A new quarterback coming in, adante Moore. Can he kind of take that next step and be the guy for them?
Speaker 1:They have a lot of new wide receivers. Because of injuries and guys that got, they had like three different wide receivers they thought was going to be starters for them not be able to play this year because of issues that they were having that on that in that room. So they're going to have young guys playing and can they be ready to go right away is going to be a huge question. They are replacing a lot of the good portion of their offensive line again, so they're going to be able to put that together and be ready to go throughout the season. Um, defensively, they have a lot of the good portion of their offensive line again, so they're going to be able to put that together and be ready to go throughout the season. Defensively, they have a lot of young guys too, so, like they have a lot of guys they were replacing for this Oregon squad and I think that Dan Lanning, as good of a coach as he is, I do think he still has a ways to go when it comes to getting to the top of the sport, being one of the top coaches in all of college football.
Speaker 1:So I do think that they have a lot of proving to do when it comes to not only players, but when it comes to coaching as well. So, like they had their mistakes at points last year, so not mistakes. I just think that the obviously losing it's Ohio State the way that was probably a big mistake, but Dan Lanning is a very good head coach. I just think that, with all that they're replacing and not having a veteran quarterback to kind of help run that team, I think it's something that they're going to have to deal with. They haven't had to deal with in a few years. So I think Oregon's in for like a really more of a regression year, I think in comparison to a lot of teams that are in the top 10 here, number eight, alabama they had a kind of a down year last year, didn't make the playoff.
Speaker 1:Kalen DeBoer was in his first year as the head coach of that team. Can he get his players to buy into what he is and what his system is? How he wants that program to run Is coming off of being the head coach. To replace Nick Saban is definitely not an easy task, but Kalen DeBoer has done a great job being the head coach. To replace Nick Saban is definitely not an easy task, but Kalen DeBoer has done a great job being the head coach at many other places he's been. Obviously, the last place was at Washington, where he was able to get them to a national championship game, so he was able to do very well. At other stops he's been in. So I do not question Kalen DeBoer as a head coach whether he can coach or not, but I question whether he can be the head coach at Alabama is probably a bigger question he has to answer.
Speaker 1:So, with that being the case, other than that, they also are going to be starting a brand new quarterback. I think Ty Simpson was the quarterback they're going to be starting a brand new quarterback. I think Ty Simpson was the quarterback they're going to be they have already named going to be the starter going into the season. Can he be the quarterback that they need to be kind of be the distributor to the weapons that they have? Ryan Williams being their young phenom receiver? He's not Jeremiah Smith, but he's also a very young wide receiver that's very good and ready to go right away. Can they have an offense that gets the ball to him and can really be more of a consistent passing offense by comparison to what they were last year with Jalen Milrow? I just think in general, jalen Milrow, as talented as he is, I don't think he was a consistent enough passer for what Kalen DeBoer really likes to do throwing the football.
Speaker 1:So think about it this way Kalen DeBoer was the same coach of that Washington team that was throwing the ball all over the field with Michael Penix. So can they get more of like that type of production from the quarterback that Michael Penix was able to when they were both at Washington? So that is probably a big question they're going to have to answer. I think they're going to be without their starting running back for the first game of the year when they go and face Florida State week one. So that's going to be something they're going to have to deal with because of an injury. And then defensively, they have a lot of young guys that are going to be playing a lot of ball, that have played ball, but are they going to be ready to take a step up and be consistent starters for them and play at the Alabama standard? It's probably going to be a big question for them as well. But the Alabama's offensive line will be very good. They have some weapons to get the ball to. It's just can they have a quarterback in Ty Simpson play well enough and consistent enough to play the way that Kalen DeBoer likes to play is probably the biggest question for that Alabama team. And then defensively, can they just kind of get back to what I'm not saying? Alabama is going to be one of the top defenses in all of college football, but can they get close to? That is probably what they would need, because I think Kalen DeBoer, if everything goes well offensively, I think, will be a team that doesn't necessarily need one of the best defenses in college football. I think they just need enough to get some stops and kind of get the ball back to their offense.
Speaker 1:Number nine, lsu Brian Kelly is a goddamn big question about this team man. I think for a long time Kelly for me at least I've been a long since out on Brian Kelly as a good, like a great head coach in college football and again, I know for a long time people really believe that he was like one of the top guys. But I think he has proven over his years, not only when he was back at Notre Dame not really doing all that much there, but with his first few years at LSU. It has been a struggle for them. How are they going to have Jaden Daniels at the quarterback helm for them under Brian Kelly for two years and he even won a Heisman and they weren't able to even sniff the playoff, let alone do anything big with that team. So LSU, it'll be year two under their quarterback Nussmeier. Can they get him to play consistently and play very good ball? That's going to be a big question for them.
Speaker 1:Defensively, this is the team that, like their defense, was absolutely awful last year. It wasn't as bad as it was two years ago, but it was, but it was still pretty bad last year when it comes to stopping the pass. Can they get that to be a lot better for them? And then can they also get a more consistent rushing attack going, which I think is a big question, because they are losing a few pieces on their offensive line, especially their left tackle. That got drafted in the top ten last year, not in the top ten, the top five, I think. Right, where did Mason Graham get that? Let me see, not Mason Graham LSU, it's not Mason Graham, it's I'm forgetting his name Will Campbell.
Speaker 1:Will Campbell, I think, was a top five pick last year in the draft. Let me see here, it doesn't really matter, he was the fourth pick. Yeah, he was the top five pick. So their left tackle was Will Campbell. That was drafted early on in the draft last year. So are they going to be able to replace him with a guy that can be consistent at that left tackle spot so can they run the ball a little bit more effectively to kind of not have to throw the football as much?
Speaker 1:That's probably a question for that team and then, like I said, defensively they just have a lot to prove on that side of the ball. They have to get better. Their secondary is like getting sliced up like Swiss cheese over the last few years. Can they just get a little bit better to be able to get some stops to help out their offense is probably the biggest question for that team, not probably the second biggest question. The real big question is can Brian Kelly kind of prove to be the head coach a lot of people think he is, because I just don't think he's anywhere near one of the top coaches in the sport. So can they.
Speaker 1:But again, lsu is one of those places that they don't necessarily need the best coaching of all time to go win a national title. They won a title with. What is his name? No, what? Oh? I'm seeing LSU Head Head. Let me see what's his name Les Miles. It's not Les miles, it's uh, oh no, what is his name? Ed orgeron. Ed orgeron.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of people consider to be an idiot when it comes to actually coaching the game of football. But people consider him more of a motivator. But like he does not necessarily the biggest, like the brightest head coaching mind and LSU was still still able to take that him as their head coach and go win a national title. But I do think Brian Kelly's better than that guy. But I think that it took LSU for Ed Orgeron to win a title. It took Joe Burrow and probably the most explosive offense that probably probably we've ever seen play college football in order to go do that. So I'm not saying he has to be one of the best coaches in all college football to go win a title, because they've done it with worse, but I do think he has to like they have to have, like he has to do something right. He's still considered one of the better coaches in college football. So like if he could do anything close to what people think of him, they might be able to do something this year. But again, they just have a lot of guys that they have to have to prove that they can play consistently and play good football for them, especially defensively, in order for them to kind of achieve the dreams of winning a national title.
Speaker 1:And then, last but not least, number 10, miami, another team with weird coaching dynamic. I for them. Why am I forgetting their coach's name, mario Cristobal? Another guy I don't really think is a great coach in college football. I think he is more of a big recruiting guy. He can recruit his butt off. He really can't. He can get a lot of guys to go there and play, but I just don't think they are great when it comes to developing and getting guys to play their best ball. I don't think that's something that he's necessarily the best at. If you're going to be a stud anyway, I think that is something that they can handle, but when it comes to taking a guy and developing a guy to play their best ball under them, it's probably their biggest issue. I think they brought in Carson Beck from Georgia to be their starting quarterback. I think Carson Beck, when he plays well, is probably looked at as one of the better quarterbacks in college football, but from how he played last year, it looked like he had regressed to a huge degree. So can Mario Cristobal and that Miami team get Carson Beck to playing good football again is a big question for that team.
Speaker 1:Offensive weapons Do they have enough to be able to do what they need to do offensively is also a big question. They're going to be asking for their young receiver in Jojo Trader I think he's a sophomore to be playing a lot of big games for them. Can he be that guy for them is also another question Can they offensively be able to? I think offense is probably their biggest question. I they offensively be able to like? I think offense is probably their biggest question. I think, defensively, miami will be very good. They have a lot of talent. It's just they've always had a lot of talent for that Miami squad. The question is do they have a head coach that can put it all together and have them all playing great at the same time is probably the biggest question for that team. And again, like I said, talents has never been a question for them. It's getting all that talent to play well as a team and playing all well at the same time is the biggest thing for them. So, and not to mention, like I said, carson Beckman I just think he regressed so much last year and can he kind of get back to playing good ball is like another huge one for them.
Speaker 1:So do I really believe it'll happen? Probably not, because I just don't believe in crystal ball as a head coach whatsoever. But it is something that I can be proven wrong about. Again, I'm sitting here willing to have my opinions, but if I am proven wrong, I will accept it. I will accept my lashings if I were to be proven wrong in these scenarios and I will accept it. I will accept my lashings if I were to be proven wrong in these scenarios and I will take it. But as of right now, nothing's happened. So I'm going to have my opinions and kind of go with it as of right now.
Speaker 1:So with me going through that, I'm not going to go through any more teams. I know that was a little bit boring maybe for some, but that's something I really wanted to do because, again all my college football takes, I just have to get it all out in one fell swoop, because doing this in front of Jace is like the most painful thing of all time. Maybe not because he'll physically hurt me I actually can't guarantee that. He does like to swing on me at times, but he he does, but he is very bored by it, especially if his team's not doing well. So I want to make sure to get this all out now, all right.
Speaker 1:So now that I did that, I want to go through each of the Power Four conferences and predict the conference championship teams and the champion for each of the four big conferences in college football. So let me go ahead and give my predictions here. So I'll start the SEC here. I think for the SEC championship, the teams that will be playing in it, I think will be Texas and Alabama, and I think Texas will win.
Speaker 1:As much as I don't think Arch Manning will be a superstar in college football sorry, it's not that I don't think it. I think it has to be proven to me that he can be. But when it comes to other than that, they have a very talented squad. They have pieces all over the place. They have great wide receivers that I think will be playing well. Will they be able to be one of the best wide receiver rooms in the country? Probably I'm not sure about that yet, but I think that's very talented, without question. They they recruit like crazy and I think they will be a team maybe that may not play well to start the year, but if they are able to kind of get through their tough spots and be able to play well and kind of put it all together, I think think by the end of the year they'll be playing their best ball and I think easily, I think, because of the issues of the rest of the teams in the SEC they should be able to get to the title game, no issue. I do think Bama might be a little bit of a reach to get to the SEC championship game, but I just think, with Kalen DeBoer being one of the better coaches in the SEC, I think I think they will get back to playing more of the offense he likes to play and I think with that there's not going to be a lot of teams that are going to be able to stop them from doing what they want to do. It's just the question is defensively. But I'm going to go ahead and take a chance and say that Bama gets to the SEC title game, but I think Texas wins Big 12. I think the two teams playing for the championship will be Arizona State and K-State and with that I do think Arizona State will win.
Speaker 1:I think Arizona State's returning their quarterback. Why am I forgetting his name now? Oh no, that sucks. Levitt right. I think Levitt is the quarterback they will be returning. He was a very good freshman quarterback last year, playing very well in the playoff against Texas. I think Levitt is the quarterback they will be returning. He was a very good freshman quarterback last year, playing very well in the playoff against Texas. I think he played a very good ball. They'll also be returning their, their um top wide receiver, I think, and I think in comparison to the rest of the big 12, I think the big 12 was the most open.
Speaker 1:Could I would I? Would I be surprised if two totally different teams got to the Big 12 championship games. I would not be surprised whatsoever. But I think that with what I saw from Arizona State last year, even with losing some of the talent that they had, I think they have enough to be able to kind of repeat some of that. And on the other side, k-state, I think they have a returning quarterback. Why am I forgetting that guy's name? Um, that's why I do have to look up. I don't remember that guy's name off the top of my head k state qb avery johnson. He's a very talented guy not much of a passer but I think as a running quarterback is very talented and ksa always has a very good defense and I think they're just a very consistent team, which is why I chose them to be the other team going against Arizona State. But I do have Arizona State winning that game based off quarterback production. I think they'll have back this year. They have a great wide receiver that I think will be able to make a lot of plays for them and on top of that they have a very good coach that I think can put it all together for them. So I do think Arizona State wins the Big 12.
Speaker 1:Big 10, I have Ohio State and Penn State going at it in the Big 10 championship game, with Ohio State winning it again, because I think Penn State doesn't know how to beat the big boys. I think Penn State this year will go 10-1, I mean sorry, 10-2, 11-1, make the Big 10 Championship game against Ohio State and then lose to them for the second time this season. So I think Ohio State again. I've already talked about how much I think Ohio State really does have a chance to go back-to-back and win two 90s in a row. But I just think that Ohio State, with what they have coming back, they are a very talented team that as long as Julian Sane can be like I said, 75% of what as Julian saying can be like I said 75% of what we think he can be I think they will have enough with what they already have on that roster to be one of the best teams in college football and potentially go win a title again, go win a national title. So I think Ohio state wins the big 10 this year.
Speaker 1:And then, last but not least, the ACC. I will have Clemson facing off against Georgia Tech. Even with all the questions I have about Clemson, I think Clemson's the much better team than anybody else in the ACC and I think they should be the running favorite to start the year and I think they'll probably finish it off. Um, georgia Tech, I think will will be their opponent in the ACC championship game. Georgia Tech has a lot of returning guys for that team. They do have an offensive line issue that I think would potentially keep them from getting to this point, like I think they might. But with the returning quarterback, with their head coach being a very good head coach in college football and with some of the weapons that they have, I think Georgia Tech has a shot to get back. To get not back, but get to the ACC championship game against Clemson, even if it's going to be in a losing effort, because I do think Clemson will finish off the job and win the ACC and go ahead and make the playoff and everything. I just think Clemson Dabo's a good coach, even though I'm not as high on Dabo. I hate Dabo I really do, but I do think he's a good head coach and as long as he kind of gets out the way and lets Cade Klubnick run that offense and let the defense still play great like they've been doing, I think they have a very good chance to win the ACC, get to the playoff and kind of make some noise there.
Speaker 1:Heisman winner I want to make sure to have my prediction on that. I think the top two guys I think will be Cade Klubnick, the quarterback for Clemson, obviously, like I mentioned already, very, very talented guy that's played a lot of ball. He'll be ready to go to start this year. I think he'll play very good football this year. And I think the other guy that I think has a shot to win the Heisman this year I think Julian Sane man.
Speaker 1:As much as I thought so long and hard about putting in Jeremiah Smith to go and win the Heisman, my problem with that is that if Jeremiah Smith has the year we think he can have, it's because Julian Sane is the guy we think he is and I think quarterbacks a lot of times if will trump wide receivers to a certain extent and I also think that there will be a lot of teams this year that'll play defense and say, hey, we will make sure Jeremiah Smith doesn't beat us today. It'll be somebody else you have to throw to, and I think Ohio State will. I don't think Ohio State's gonna let it happen, let Jeremiah Smith get taken out of games, but I do think that they are going to have to distribute the ball to other guys as well and take advantage of teams putting so much emphasis on stopping Jeremiah. So I do think that'll kind of keep Jeremiah from having the stats necessary to go and win a Heisman, because if it's a wide receiver winning a Heisman, it has to be so overwhelmingly good that it'll keep a quarterback from winning it. And with those two being the top two guys I think Julian Sand and Cade Klubnick I do think Cade Klubnick wins the Heisman for them. I think they're going to be so Cade Klubnick centric that, as long as they win the games they need to win, I think Cade will have the stats necessary and I think it'll be. Even though he's going to be facing off against a lot of bad ACC teams, I think he'll have the stats necessary to probably go ahead and win the Heisman. And not to mention. I didn't want to just be the homer and just say Julian Sands going to win the Heisman in his first year starting. So I think Cade Klubnick was a safe bet to go with.
Speaker 1:And then, last but not least, in this preseason, I want to go ahead and stake my claim on what I think the college football playoff top 12 will be by the end of the season, and with that I'm going to go ahead and make my prediction. So I'm going to go from 1 to 12. If you didn't already know that, there's no more. It's going to be straight seeding now for college football for this season when it comes to the playoffs. So it will not be like the top four um conference championship winners will automatically get the top four seeds. So from now for this year it'll be the top 12 teams will get it that way and then the top four teams that are um, that are ranked, will go ahead and get the top four to get the buys in the playoff. So I will go ahead and go through it and I will go with Ohio State being the number one seed overall in the playoff, texas being number two, clemson being number three and Pitt State being number four. I don't think Arizona State even though I have them winning the Big 12, I don't think they'll be looked at as playing a hard enough schedule to go ahead and get a top four seed. So I do have them ranked a little bit lower. But so, like I said, ohio State one, texas two, clemson three, penn State four.
Speaker 1:I have at number five Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame has a decent schedule this year and I think with the team they have coming back, we'll be able to get through their schedule just fine and get to the playoffs. So I have them ranked at five. Well what? I think they will be ranked by the end of the season at five, um. Alabama at six, illinois at seven. Even I don't think Illinois will get to the Big Ten championship game. I think they will play good enough to have a, let's say, nine and three, ten and two type of schedule and then be able to go ahead and even though they may not get to the Big Ten Championship game, I think they'll be good enough for them to get into the playoff. I have Georgia at 8. Again, georgia's too talented to not get to the playoff whatsoever, do I think it's possible that they don't? Yeah for sure. But I just think that, with the talent that Georgia has, I think it'll be crazy for the meters to go ahead on paper to say that Georgia is not a good enough team to make the playoff Number nine of Arizona state.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I have them winning the ace, the uh big 12, but I just think that the big 12 being as weak as it is, I don't think anybody's going to give Arizona state a lot of credit if they do go and win the big 12, um to go to have them, to have them um ranked higher in the higher in the top 12. So Arizona State at 9, k-state at 10. I do think K-State because of again, this could all be thrown out the window if the Big Ten and SEC have a lot of great teams that deserve to be in the playoff conversation. But I think both the Big Ten and the SEC will be a little bit more down this year, at least outside of the top guys that are getting to the playoffs. So I think there will be enough room to still get K-State in as a. But even though they may, they're going to lose. I have them losing the Big 12 championship game. I think they will have enough to go ahead and get K-State in the playoff championship game. I think they will have enough to go ahead and get K-State in the playoff, even if they don't win the Big 12.
Speaker 1:And then number 11, I have LSU. Again, I think LSU offensively will be good enough to win a lot of games. Defensively is going to be a bigger question. Do I think that defense could be bad enough to kind of keep them from getting to this playoff ball together and losing a lot of games? Yeah for sure, I think they have a lot of losable games, definitely early. So this could be a team that could be totally off the radar by this point and be in nowhere be able to sniff a playoff playoff berth.
Speaker 1:But from the start of the season I'll go, I'll go ahead and say the lsu makes a playoff and then, last but not least, boise, I'll have them getting into the playoff because if they still are guaranteed a spot, if you are a top, if you are the top team in the, what is it? Oh, no, why am I in the group of five? So the top rated team in the group of five still has a chance in the group of five. Champion, we'll have a chance team in the group of five still has a chance. In the group of five champion will have a chance, will have an opportunity to get into the playoff, and I think Boise State will probably do that because I think, of all the teams in the group of five, I think Boise State's the most consistent and I think they have the most talent of all of those, of all those teams. So I think Boise State will get into the playoff at the 12th spot and that'll end my top 12. So what I believe the top 12 will be once the playoff starts after this season.
Speaker 1:This is again all on paper, without seeing any games. I'll go ahead and Boise State at 12. And if I have to say who I think will win the national title this year, I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge. Man, I'm sipping the Kool-Aid. I'm still basking in my title, but I think Ohio State and Ryan Day will be able to figure this thing out, be as good of a team as they were last year and go ahead and finish the job again. Why not? If nobody else is going to believe them, I probably should, right, because I'm a big Ohio State fan. So I'll go ahead and drink the Kool-Aid and take that L if it doesn't happen. So I think Ohio State has enough to get back and go ahead and win the whole thing once again in a for a second year in a row. So that's about it for the predictions for me.
Speaker 1:So I think I've gone long enough, guys, and I'm pretty sure more than a few of you have gotten tired of hearing me ramble on all by myself talking about all this college football stuff. But if you're still sticking around, I definitely appreciate you. If you listen to the whole thing, I definitely love, um, if you did that. So I definitely appreciate you there. So this is where I end the podcast now. So, um, this is it. So if you listen to her for a while, we appreciate you.
Speaker 1:If you're just now joining on, hopefully you like us and enjoy us enough to, uh, listen to us talk about sports on a weekly basis, and I do. Obviously it'll, more often than not, it'll be me and jace podcasting. So hopefully, if you didn't like just me sitting here rambling on, you listen to another pod, um, that has both me and jace on, so you get a better idea of what this podcast is when you have us at full strength, me and jace going back and forth in our brotherly what brotherly way talk about sports in the dumbest way possible. Um, hopefully you like to enjoy us enough to kind of join us on that ride. So if you like us and enjoy what we do, we would appreciate if you could like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars wherever you listen to us. We're pretty much available on all audio platforms. So if you could do that for us, we definitely appreciate that.
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