Previewing an Amazing Week 5 CFB Slate and NFL Week 4 Picks

Football fans are in for a feast this weekend with what might be the deepest college football Saturday of the season and an NFL slate filled with desperate teams fighting to save their seasons.

The college football landscape features several games with major playoff implications. Ohio State travels to Washington where they'll face not just a talented Husky team but one of college football's most intimidating environments. Julian Sayin faces his first true road test as the Buckeyes' quarterback, while Washington's dynamic trio of Damond Williams, Jonah Coleman, and Denzel Boston look to pull the upset. Meanwhile, Oregon heads to Penn State for a White Out game that could define both programs' seasons, with James Franklin desperately seeking a signature win that has long eluded him.

Friday night action has already delivered surprises with Florida State finding themselves in an unexpected dogfight with Virginia. The Seminoles' offense struggled to find consistency, tied 21-21 at halftime in a game many expected them to dominate.

On the NFL side, the Seahawks edged the Cardinals 23-20 on Thursday night with a last-second field goal. The game featured an emotional roller coaster for Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr., who struggled mightily early before making crucial catches late. His journey from early-season frustration to potential breakout represents the difficult transition many talented players have faced.

The most compelling NFL matchup pits Baltimore against Kansas City in a showdown where the loser will shockingly fall to 1-3. Both perennial contenders have underperformed expectations, with Baltimore's defense looking vulnerable and Kansas City's offense lacking its usual offensive consistency despite Patrick Mahomes' presence.

We also dive into the controversy surrounding the Steelers' travel arrangements to Ireland, flying players economy class while Minnesota provided business class accommodations. This organizational philosophy difference reflects deeper questions about how team culture impacts player performance and treatment.

Whether you're a college football diehard or an NFL enthusiast, this weekend offers compelling storylines, potential upsets, and games that will shape the championship picture in both leagues. Pull up a chair and get comfortable – we're breaking down every angle of this football feast.

Chapters

• 0:10 Welcome and Solo Show Introduction
• 2:12 College Football Friday Night Games
• 6:54 College Football Saturday Preview
• 21:59 Ohio State vs Washington Deep Dive
• 30:54 LSU vs Ole Miss and Other Top Matchups
• 48:36 Oregon vs Penn State Analysis
• 55:16 Thursday Night NFL Recap: Seahawks vs Cardinals
• 1:08:30 Marvin Harrison Jr's Struggles and Potential
• 1:15:15 NFL Week 4 Game Picks
• 1:50:25 Steelers Travel Controversy and Final Thoughts

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:10

Welcome back to the JB Sports Podcast. Date is Friday, September 26th, and we're back for another pod. So obviously, not obviously, but if you have if you have if you listen before, you know. If not, then this is new news to you. But I'm not usually the one that does the intros. Jace ain't here. Work schedules, all that, can't make it work out. But I do have his picks and all that, but I still wanted to get a pod out. So this is me just go ahead and doing my thing today. So you're just gonna be listening to me kind of ramble on. Hopefully, it won't be all that long. Again, I can't necessarily guarantee anything, but I will try. No promises though. I made that promise not only to myself, but to anybody that I'm not gonna promise anything when it comes to time on this pod because when I start going, I just can't control myself. And if I have something to say, I got something to say. So I don't necessarily I think what are we going into week five of college football, and we're going into week four of the NFL. So there's a lot of games to have a um to do a what is it, not a preview of in c both college football and in the NFL. And on the NFL side is where me and Jace both make our picks. I do have his picks here, so um you'll be getting both both picks no matter what, even if he isn't here. And uh I'll just go ahead and go with go uh into the thing. So we do have the Thursday night game to do a recap of, but I'll wait um to do that until after I'm done with the college football stuff. So we'll do all college football first, and then we'll go into the NFL stuff second, starting with that recap of Thursday night football last night between the Cardinals and the Seahawks, and then we'll go into the previews of the picks there. So if you don't listen to the college football stuff, wherever you listen to us, we do have the chat the chapter marker. So you can switch, you can flip around, do what you want, listen to what you want. Um, and that's about it. So let's go without further ado, let's go ahead and get into college football stuff. And they're actually currently, based on what I'm recording with this, which is Friday night, there is a game happening currently. So you got number eight, Florida State, um, 3-0 going to Virginia and playing. They are currently at halftime, playing 21-21. It is a close one. Uh, definitely not something I saw coming, but from like the places I was listening to, it was becoming a popular pick, saying Virginia really did have a chance to like have come in and win the game, especially with them being at home. And from what I'm seeing here, Florida State's offense isn't necessarily doing all that hot. Castellanos was struggling a little bit. He's 8-14. Um, at halftime, of course. It's not a full game thing. You got they're running the football effectively. They have plenty of guys, a couple guys with touchdowns. Castellanos currently does. Um, Deuce Robinson's playing well for them. Oh, I didn't know Virginia had Chandler Morris as their quarterback. Hilarious. That's that's funny. But no, he's playing well for Virginia on the other side. He has a couple picks, but other than that, he's doing okay, being pretty efficient. They're running the football well. So this game was pretty much a dogfight at halftime. I think FSU scored 21 points in the second quarter to tie the game up when UVA scored set scored their 21 points. So it's all tied up at halftime. If this uh whatever updates I have while I'm recording, I'll go ahead and give out give it out as I see it. But I want to make sure to mention that game because honestly, I didn't really think it's not like when you think about college football, it's like sometimes Friday nights kind of go unnoticed. But especially when I'm looking at this game now, it looks like it's pretty entertaining. Wish I was kind of watching it, but you know, I'm here doing this. And then you have another game that starts like here in the next five minutes or so. Got number 24 TCU going to Arizona State, which that could be a pretty interesting game as well. Arizona State coming off of their loss to I'm not forgetting the loss they just had. They lost to No, they're not coming off a loss. They lost to Mississippi State a few weeks ago. I remember that game. Um they're coming off a win, and then you have TCU, who's still their undefeated 3-0. So that game could definitely be an entertaining one, especially with the Big 12 being on the line, of course. Arizona State, pretty popular pick coming into the season as being a team that a lot of people were thinking could go back to back, being the winners of the Big 12, getting to the College Ball playoff, and then TCU just having a good start of their season so far. Have they really had a really big win over North Carolina? I it big in a way of saying that they just they did it comfortably, not necessarily saying that the winning, beating North Carolina is a big win, because you know, Bill Belichick's there, it's not really it hasn't looked great when it comes to Bill Belichick era uh era at North Carolina. So I'm not gonna sit here and say that they think that was a huge win for TCU, but it was an emphatic one, so I will give them that. And they come did they are coming off the win against SMU as well. So that actually is a bigger win for them. 35-24, they won that game. So who's uh this game could lead to being a big feather in the cap in the eventual winners of who is gonna win the Big 12. So it's definitely one to look at. And along with that, uh, if any updates come through that as on podcasting here, I'll give them out as I go. But uh I would probably go TCU. I think this one is definitely gonna be a little bit of a both teams are gonna be able to score, but I will give no, or I'm gonna give Arizona State the I don't know. I'll give Arizona State the the nod. They are at home. I'll give them that. I'll give them the nod. I think they might win that one. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get into the other games that are gonna be going on tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01: 6:09

Um, let me get to the schedules here.

SPEAKER_00: 6:12

Alright, let's go ahead and get to it. There this so let me before I get to the specific games. This college ball Saturday might be one of the most I'm not gonna sit here and say loaded, because loaded implies there's a lot of big matchups that are happening. Because I think going into it, there are like two or three like big, big matchups that to look forward to coming into um this college ball Saturday in week four. Um, and then you got it's like the second and third tier games are the ones that are like making this such a great Saturday because there's just so many games going on that have some intrigue behind them that'll that'll have some end of the season intrigue behind them. So I just think they're just a lot. This might be the deepest, that that's probably the word I'll be looking for, is it might be the deepest Saturday we have had in a while when it comes to college football Saturdays, and including what's happening with Friday night. Again, it's not like ranked on ranked matchups happening tonight, but they are teams that have some long-term uh viability in what will happen late in the season in the playoffs and stuff like that. So this is a very, very good slate. So let me go ahead and get into these games. I'll just give like some quick thoughts and hopefully give like a leaning of who I think might win. Let's just go with it. I'll do this in chronological order because that's how these games are set up here where I'm looking at them. And uh that's about it on that. So let me see here. Start with the noon slate. You got number one, number 21 USC going to Illinois. Number 23, Illinois says it's a ranked on ranked matchup, according to the AP, of course. Again, I've made my thoughts on the AP very aware, very not aware, but known. Over the last few weeks, the AP is kind of stupid, but again, it's necessary, but it is stupid, and they really don't know what they're doing when it comes to the voters on that. But without going intoo deep on that, USC going to Illinois. Okay, USC coming off of their win to Michigan State. Illinois is coming off of a much different scenario where where they got beat up on by uh by Indiana at home, because Illinois was at home, right? I'm not crazy. They were at home when they got beat up on, yeah. No, they were at Indiana. Sorry, my bad. They were at in they went to Indiana, got beat up on. I think the score was like 53 to 10. So that game was an absolute uh nuke 63 to 10. Sorry. That game was not pretty, and coming out of that, you would think that Illinois would like to take this game against USC as a chance to potentially wipe their hands clean of such a bad loss and potentially put their names back in like a little bit more positive light. Because when you go into a game like that last week, they went into a hostile environment. Nobody really talks about the fact they were missing a bunch of their DBs. Nobody was talking about how their starting quarterback being always like to forget names. Luke Altmeyer got hurt in that game and he wasn't able to play. And as soon as that happened, it pretty much spelled disaster for that that Illinois team. You would think it would be a little bit better, but Indiana did their thing, took advantage, and they just pretty much handed it to Illinois all night long. And now coming into this game, Illinois is a seven-point underdog, six and a half point underdog to a USC team that has looked very good offensively. And they have their their quarterback, Jaden Mayava, Maiva, Mayava, I think it's Maiva, been looking very good. Again, who have they really played up to this point? Not necessarily something like they have not played very big competition. They did play Michigan State last week to a pretty decent win, but they did let Michigan State score 31 points. And as much as I'm positive on Michigan State, having them score 31 is not necessarily a big positive for what USC's defense is. But will that matter against the Illinois team that I think will be without their quarterback, right? I think he got hurt and he's done for the season. Let me make sure I'm not crazy here. Hold on. Um was he done? Is he done for the season? Okay, he's playing. So can Illinois win this game against USC? It is a possibility. Do I am I gonna be very confident in that? Probably not. Especially with USC playing as well as they have, but my only question about USC is who have they played and how will they be able to keep putting up the numbers they're putting up against a team that might have a little bit better pulse in comparison to what they've been playing, especially defensively. I think Ill Illinois will probably be present a little bit better competition, but again, with all their DBs being hurt, who knows who's coming back and if they're ready to go. So I will probably lean USC to win that game. They do have to come all the way across the country to play Illinois, so that's definitely a factor if you're looking at it, but not something I'm willing to put enough stock in to think USC was gonna lose the game. But again, I've seen we've seen UFC lose uh worse nope. We've seen USC lose lose games against worse teams. So I'm not gonna sit here and say it's absolutely impossible, but not something I'm willing to put any type of money or anything like that on. So let's go ahead and go to the next game. Notre Dame, Arkansas. Notre Dame, they're ranked number 22. They are one and two on their season so far. Again, the games they've lost is Tech S M and to LSU. No, Miami. I I said I thought Miami in my brain, but just didn't didn't, yeah, just didn't do it. So Tech SM and Miami are the two losses they've had so far. Not necessarily the end of the world, they've lost those games, but again, games they definitely could have won, especially that Texas AM game. And heck, the Miami game, they got kind of dominated at the line of scrimmages, so I'm not gonna sit here and say that that game was there to be won, but again, it was a close game. So now you're coming into this game, Notre Dame going to Arkansas. Arkansas, a very bad team who have lost in back-to-back weeks in very hilarious fashion, especially last week. I think they had like an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, and they managed to give up that lead, especially with a couple fumbles in the red zone for them. So, and not to mention Arkansas's offense has been very good. I think their quarterback Green, I believe, Talon Green, has been very good. And I think their offense has been kind of like very good going up and down the field. But when it comes to defense, Arkansas doesn't know anything about that. So when you especially with their rushing defense, they can't stop the run to save them, save their lives. So this does present Notre Dame with an opportunity to get their offense right to a certain degree. Up to this point, Notre Dame has been very heavy on relying on their her their red shirt sophomore quarterback in uh CJ Carr. They've been very heavy with him. They haven't been able to run the football all that effectively. They've gotten some plays done, obviously, with their very talented set of backs, but it has not been consistent whatsoever. So I think the way I look at this game is that if Notre Dame can manage to get the running game going against this Arkansas offense, I would feel better about it. But if they can't manage to run against this Arkansas defense that can't stop a nosebleed against the run, I think it'll be looked at as a very big problem, especially that offensive line. Their offensive line has not been all that great this start of this year. So the wool I just think that this is something where Notre Dame has to prove a point if they're going to be the team where they still have a chance to go 10-2 and get into the playoff and do all of that. But even if they win this game and it doesn't look and it doesn't look the way it needs to, and it comes to their offense being a little bit better, and their defense has not necessarily has not been great at all this year, especially when you looked at it coming into the season where they didn't lose a lot of pieces on that defense. Maybe they lost a safety in a corner, but outside of that, they kind of brought most of their defense back. But their defense has definitely been the worst part of their that team for Notre Dame. So if their defense can't look better against this Arkansas team, who, again, is explosive and can make some big plays, but they're not the most efficient group in general. And then can Notre Dame get their offense together against an Arkansas defense that really doesn't give you anything to be fearful of? So that is, I think, the big question for Notre Dame coming into this game. Hopefully they can win it, obviously, because if they lose it, this might really knock them out of any type of chance to get to the playoff at all, even if they win the rest of their games. But even if they do win this game, can they show some signs of life on some of the other issues that they have shown so far this season? Is the big one for me. Um, let's see, we're getting into the 330 slate here. So you got uh well, may as well just start with at Ohio State, Washington. Well, Ohio State's going to Washington, going across the country to play in Washington Husky Stadium. And this game is a weird one. Again, the way I look at it, I think Ohio State is the better team from top to bottom. They should be able to win this game. But everything surrounding it, when this game got anything got announced, but when it was time to really think about Ohio State, Washington, the game was about Ohio State being like a 12, like 10 to 13 point favorite, depending on where you're looking at. I think 10 was the most consistent number. And that number's really gone down to, I think it got down to one point OSU minus seven and a half, and now it's back up to OSU minus eight and a half, minus minus eight and a half. But all the money, like a good like the majority of the money going in, like being bet on this game, is on Ohio State. So it does make you think that the people that run, obviously, the sports, the sports books, and all of that, they're the ones that are making this decision to kind of make the spread what it is. Because when you look at these two teams on paper, there's no reason Washington should be a team that like you people really think can beat Ohio State. But when you look, think about the other things that you that coming into this game, Washington playing at home. It is known as a very raucous environment to have to deal with. And you have Ohio State with a rookie quarter, not rookie, but a starting quarterback in Julian Sane, who is making his fourth start as the as the quarterback for Ohio State. So they're thinking about the environment that Ohio State's gonna walk into. It's gonna be very rauco, very loud. Is that something that the a lot of Husky fans love to talk about is how loud it is in their stadium. Again, I'm not I'm not trying to poo-poo that, like saying it doesn't matter, but I'm saying like that that is like the fact that it's like a top, like one of the top reasons is kind of getting to me because I'm sitting here like I think I'd be more worried about this if Ohio State didn't have a veteran offensive line. Like our guard center guard combo, the ones that are gonna have to deal with a lot of the noise and stuff when it comes to snaps and all that, they played throughout most of the especially the end of last season. All of them played in those big games that Ohio State played in the playoff against teams that are just as physical as them, as well as in some weird environments. Like they played against Texas in Dallas. So, so like they have dealt with some raucous environments, and I just think that Ohio State, again, Julian Sand being new, being green, is definitely something I can have the conversation about. But I think the offensive line that Ohio State has is pretty veteran for the most part, and they've been through a lot. So I just think as long as Ohio State's offensive line does not have a bunch of false starts and get and it makes Ohio State's offense start behind the chains, I think Ohio State should be able to move the ball pretty effectively against this Washington defense. They do have a defensive line that can get after you, but I just think off Ohio State's offensive line has enough enough physicality, it can get the job done up front. I think Ohio State will be able to run the ball. I'm not gonna say it's gonna be very like super effective, and that'll be like their bread and butter in this game. I do think Ohio State will have to throw the football, especially with that being the strength of this team. Throwing to Jeremiah Smith, throwing to Carnell Tate, throwing to all those tight ends. I just think that all of that together can mean I think I just think Ohio State's offense is so much on its side to where as long as they don't hurt themselves, they should have a decent path to get points and score points pretty effectively. But before I end, I do want to talk about the Washington side of it, because again, obviously, I'm an Ohio State guy. I'm gonna blean Ohio State until the day I die, of course. But I do see Washington as having a few potential issues. I will make sure make sure I get their three guys up that soum Williams, the quarterback for Washington, very, very effective as a quarterback. He can throw, he can run. I think he has six touchdowns, zero picks on the year. He's done very well this season. He is a guy that if you cannot keep him contained, if you're looking at Ohio State's defensive line and the linebackers, if they're gonna spy him, they're gonna do they're going to do some sort of spy throughout this game. You're gonna have to keep him contained and not let him get outside the pocket, making big plays, not only with his legs, but with his arm, being able to extend plays and get big plays down the field. Uh Jonah Coleman, their running back. He is a bowling ball. I think he has the most rushing touchdowns on the season. He is a guy that if you don't get him down at the line of scrimmage and you don't and you kind of let him get going into the secondary of the defense, it'll make it a lot harder to get him down. So I think it's gonna be a big deal to try to get him down early before he gets to the line of scrimmage, but kind of like the Derrick Henry effect, the Derrick Henry plan is that you do not want that train to kind of get rolling and just be a guy that's a lot harder to get down. So getting him down at the line of scrimmage is gonna be a big deal for Ohio State in order to stop the run game from being able to do anything, especially with Damon Williams and Coleman being able to have some quarterback run, the RPOs. And with that, I do think you have to be very diligent in your rush lanes, especially with the defensive ends, to not let DeMon Williams have a chance to is it Damon Williams? Let me make sure I have his name. I think it's DeMond Williams. Damond Williams. You do not want him to be able to pull the ball and get to the outside and have some open lanes to kind of kind of get big chunk yardage down the field. Again, I'm not gonna sit here and say that Ohio's gonna lock them down totally. That that quarterback, running back, and David, I think it's David Boston, right? Denzel Boston, their wide receiver is a very big, I think he's like 6'4, can make some plays. I and he has like three touchdowns and 16 receptions on the year. So like they have some talented guys, and I think their offensive line is pretty. I'm not gonna sit here and say that they're gonna be like on talent par with what we have on our defensive line, but they are not necessarily like they're good. Like it's a good offensive line, knows what they're doing. They're not just gonna let you kind of get through, even though I do think Ohio State has a enough talent to try to win some one-on-one matchups on the line and get after Damon Williams. But again, the problem is that once you get through their offensive line and get after him, you have to get him down because if he manages to get out of a be able to spin or get out of a couple of sacks and kind of get some open yardage, that is where the the issues will truly come. Not only if he can do that, but if he can open it up and have some bigger plays down the field. Because again, you'd have to, if he's not game being taken down, that means your defensive backs have to cover for longer. And no matter how great your defensive secondary is, they cannot cover a wide receiver that knows they're doing for five, six, seven, eight seconds. So if they can't get him down, he's able to extend plays, they're gonna there's gonna be yard uh plays to be had. So I just think the biggest thing for Ohio State's defense is to have some spies, change it up, change the defense up so they can't necessarily expect what you're gonna do on a play-in-play out basis. And if you're gonna get after Damon Williams, stay in your rush lanes, do not go crash too much and kind of let him have the outside because once that happens, he will definitely be able to hurt you both with his legs and with his arms. So I just think stay diligent, stay in front of him, and make them earn everything that they get. I'm not gonna sit here and say they're gonna stop them from doing anything that they want. No, sorry, they're not gonna stop them totally from doing what they want. They're gonna get some of theirs, but the you just have to limit explosive plays, make Washington earn it, and I just think Ohio State's defense with Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator and with all the guys we have on our defense, uh Caleb Downs, uh, we have both Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese. I think we have the athletes to do everything we want to do. Our secondary is absolutely amazing. They've been good this season. And again, will Boston be a problem as a wide receiver? Yeah, for sure. But I just think that we'll be able to muddy the picture for Damon Williams to make him uncomfortable, get after him, don't let him too far out the outside the pocket and limit the explosive plays. And I think Ohio State should be able to win this game. And I think going into this, I think Ohio State, like I said, was a eight and a half point favorite right now. I do think they should be able to cover that. And as long as, like I said, the Ohio State's offense can kind of stay on the field, get their offense going, not hurt themselves when it comes to false starts and stuff like that. And as long as Julian Sang can be keep being the cool, calm, and collected guy that he has been throughout this year, he's been nails, tough as nails, dude. And I get it, it's gonna be a hostile environment he's walking into. But I think facing off against a Texas team in the first game of the year, again, I understand Texas's offense has not been good. And it is kind of unfortunately taken away some of the credit for Ohio State winning that game as the first game of the year. So, but here's the thing Julian Saints faced that Von to defense that's still one of the best defenses in all of college football. That that Texas defense is legit, and if he is able to play against a defense that I think is even more capable of playing against an Ohio State offense that is ta as talented as it is, and not make the crazy bad mistakes, I think that he is going to be able to go into this game against Washington and not make the very bad mistakes that'll keep Ohio State's offense from doing what they need to be able to do in order to win this game. So I dig again the the rock's environment and all that is definitely something to take in into account, but I just call it some blind faith. I think that Julian Sand will be ready for the moment. I think Ryan Day will make sure he's ready for the moment, and I just hope that Ryan Day doesn't totally how do I say this? Like, I hope he doesn't make the offense not as because in big games like this, right? I don't want to go too far on a tangent on this, but in bigger games, Ryan Day, when he has had a little bit too much of his hands on the wheel, can make the off can bog the offense down because he's so worried about mistakes being made. A la the Michigan game last year, right? Where Ryan Day took back the the reins from Chip Kelly, the guy that he trusted to be his offensive coordinator, and started calling plays, and he started calling it really tight. But when Ryan Day kind of learned his lesson from that game, let Chip Kelly call the offense in the playoff and kind of open the whole thing up. The Ohase offense got itself to a different level when it comes came to how explosive and how creative the it can truly be. And obviously you don't have Chip Kelly as the OC anymore. You have uh Brian Hartline as the guy, but I hope over the first three weeks of the year that Ryan Day has gotten enough faith in Brian Hartline to let him run the offense and have enough faith in Julian Sand to let them run the offense they need to run and not tighten everything up to where they are only trying to run the football and not trying to open things up. Because I just think if Ohio State is able to open up the offense and get the ball to obviously Jeremiah Smith and uh Carnell Tate and all the tight ends we have and run the football when we can, I just think that if you keep run the offense and keep it open, I just think that maybe in the first half it'll be a little bit closer. But I just think as that game goes along, it'll just be kind of like Washington's defense will give up at some point because they don't have the horses. Ohio State does. We have the talent on our team that we should outlast them as long as we don't close the whole thing up and kind of take away the opportunity for Julian Sand to run the offense, maybe make a mistake or two, but he will not make the very bad one. And that's what he has shown throughout this year. Again, he's had a couple picks in the Ohio game, but those are things he can learn from. Very fixable mistakes. It's like not necessarily something that I see as being a long-term issue. And I just hope that Ryan Day keeps the faith not only in Julian Sam, but Brian Hartline, to let them do what they have to do and get the ball and run that offense the way they need to, and I think they should win this game pretty comfortably. I know I went too long on that, but again, I'm an Ohio State fan. What do you expect from me? And I've been hearing all week about how, oh, Ohio State's on upset alert, but I'm like, at the same Time do people not respect Ohio State as a team? And again, I get it, Texas has not held up their end of the bargain, they have not looked great in their games outside of what they played for Ohio State, especially offensively. So it has only taken away more and more credit from Ohio State from the win that they that should be a big win the first game of the year over a team like Texas that everybody thought was the best team in Cost Wall coming into the year. But I just think that there's nothing that Ohio State has done to make people think that they are not a team worthy of having the benefit of the doubt, and people are taking it the other way. And I just want Ohio State to shut everybody up tomorrow, and I'm very excited for it. Again, I respect Washington. I respect that trio of offensive weapons that they have, but I just think from top down, if Ohio State handles their business, they should they should be able to win this game pretty comfortably. Now, next games LSU Ole Miss. Another big game happening at 330. Number four ranked LSU, number 13 ranked Ole Miss. LSU has, even though they're undefeated, they have been struggling offensively throughout this year. They haven't thrown the football all that well. Garrett Nussmeyer has kind of not looked the way you'd think he would look, being a second-year starter and fourth year guy. He's been there for a while. And I just think that with all of that being the case, why has their offense struggled as much as they have? Their defense has looked a lot better. As like especially this year, they've kind of got they brought in a lot of different transfers to come in, and their defense is playing a lot better. But when you're playing playing against a team like Ole Miss, where they have their they have a very explosive offense, Trinidad Chambliss, as I believe, is the guy that they have starting coming into this game. He was the backups to start the year, but their starting quarterback, I think Austin Simmons, got hurt, and Chambliss has kind of been lights out ever since he came in and started playing. So he's been good, not only throwing the football, running the football. They have Lacey, their running back, has been playing very well. And I just think that this game could be if LEC's offense can show up, this game can definitely be a game that will be a back and forth affair offensively. Because I just don't think Olmus' defense can really put up a fight if LSU's offense can kind of come in humming. But what have we seen from LSU's offense to be able to believe that'll happen? Because they've been struggling all year. And even with the one good win that they were accredited with coming into the year with their first game in the season being against Clemson, Clemson has not looked anything close to really good since, with them having, I think they're like one and three, I think. So with all of that being the case, I just think I might I believe in Ole Miss a little bit more. You have like the whole thing with um why am I forgetting? Oh no, Lane Kiffin. Lane Kiffin, his daughter Kenneth came out and publicly announced that she is dating the linebacker for LSU. And again, that was a whole little thing on on social media, and they were like, hey, you should take the over. And uh oh no, why why, why, why, why? He um and the coach came out and he was on Twitter and he was not Twitter, he was probably Instagram, and he said take the over, all that. I think that's just kind of like tongue-in-cheek type of thing, but I do think that this game can all can LSU's defense keep the LSU offense in it in it if the offense is not playing well? That is my question. I do think LSU's defense has a lot of good dudes, like they have some real guys that can cover, but it's just can they hold up if LSU's offense isn't doing what they need to do on the other side? That's kind of where I my question really starts. And I think Ole Miss, even with their defense not necessarily playing bit great ball, but their offense is explosive enough and they can make enough plays, and Lane Kivin can really put together a scheme that'll kind of help out be able to create some explosive plays. So I just think, especially with Ole Miss being at home, I'm gonna lean towards Ole Miss winning this game because I just don't believe that LSU's offense is gonna be consistent enough in this game to be able to win. So I'll lean Ole Miss. Auburn, Tech SM, another big game. Tech San M is coming off a bye, I believe. And you have Auburn coming off of their loss against Ole Miss last week and not necessarily looking great. The question is, can Tech San M do defensively do some of the things that Oklahoma was was able to do against this this Auburn offense? And I just don't think they're going to be able to do that. I do think Auburn, if they can keep their quarterback upright, will be able to, with their wide receiver, with their running game, be able to create some explosive plays. And I do think this game will be very close. I think Tech St. M is only like a seven and a half point favorite. I think the game will probably be closer than that. Um, just because I believe Auburn's offense will be able to kind of do a little bit more than what people are thinking that they will, especially coming off that game last week against Oklahoma. The real question is, can Tech St M's offense, Marcel Reed, be consistent enough and make the plays necessary to go ahead and win the game? Last time we seen them, we they were playing against a Notre Dame defense that isn't necessarily all that great. And I think that Marcel Reed was able to kind of take advantage of some explosive plays, but he wasn't necessarily efficient. So can he be efficient enough, make the plays necessary to win the football game? Is probably probably the one of the bigger questions of this game. But I don't know. I could totally see Auburn winning this game. I will lean Tech Sanim to win it. But again, I just think this one might be a barn burner when it comes to a point scored, because I just think that Tech Sanim's defense is not all that great. And I think Auburn will be able to play a lot better offensively because of it. So I do think this will be like a who have potentially a who has the ball last type of thing, especially if Marcel Reid is not is gonna keep not being efficient throwing the football. And again, he's getting big plays, but it's just not he's just missing a lot of passes all over the place. So if he's not gonna be efficient, I just think that Auburn will definitely have a chance to win this one. Um, you got Indiana going to Iowa. This, especially with everybody talking about India, how good Indiana is coming off of that game last week against Illinois. I think this is a potential letdown spot. They're playing against the Iowa team that is 3-1. They had a big win. I can think against Rutgers. Again, is it big because Rutgers is good? Probably not, but I think the way that Iowa was able to win that game kind of gave them a little bit of a shock of life because offensively they were able to kind of explode a little bit in that game. Again, I think Indiana's a lot better team than what Rutgers is, so I will probably lean towards Indiana winning this game. But if Indiana doesn't kind of show up and do what they need to do, that is definitely a game that Iowa can um make a statement and potentially pull off an upset if Indiana's not doing what they need to do coming into that game. Mendoza, the quarterback for Indiana, very good, very explosive, can throw the football everywhere and can run a little bit too, a little bit more than I thought. So I'll lean Indiana to win that game, though. Umly undefeated, and they're gonna be playing at home in this game. Tennessee coming into town, and they're coming off of their loss against um against Georgia. Again, a very, very close loss, something they should feel. I'm not gonna go silver lining and say they should feel good about the loss because they shouldn't have, because they kind of snatched uh defeat from the jaws of victory in that game. And I think that can Mississippi State do some of the things that Georgia was able to do to win that football game? I just don't think so. And not to mention the fact that I think Tennessee has a Georgia problem to where as soon as they see that certain laundry on the other side of the field, they kind of get tight. And even though they did everything they needed to do, they were the better team in that game against Georgia. They kind of managed to find a way to lose it. And I just think that against the Mississippi State team, I don't think Tennessee will necessarily have that same issue. But Mississippi State has shown to be a little bit of a um feisty team, so maybe Mississippi State can kind of keep this game close and kind of make Tennessee have to earn it. It's not I don't think it's gonna be a game that necessarily Tennessee's gonna like walk all over Mississippi State, but Tennessee should be able to win this game. Next, we got Oregon at Penn State. This is probably one of the bigger games of the day. This is probably if I had to look it, think about it, this this is probably the number one game of the day. Outside of Ohio State, of course, I'm always gonna be Ohio State first. But when it comes to something outside of Ohio State, this is the game of the day for me. Got Oregon coming all the way across the country to go play at Penn State. This is gonna be a whiteout. The game's happening at 7:30. Penn State is getting Oregon in the perfect spot that they would want. They are playing at night, they're getting the whiteout game, their fan base is gonna be raucous, it's gonna be crazy. It's known as one of the best kind of environments in all of college football when obviously this scenario is happening. And Oregon has been playing lights out, and they've been playing very good football. Again, have has Oregon really played anybody this year? Probably not, but they have been checking every box from start to finish in the most dominant of fashion. And you have Penn State them being 3-0, they're coming off of a bye. They really haven't played anybody either, but it hasn't looked, even though the scores have been kind of they've still been what they need to be. If you're just scoreboard watching, then Penn State's been handling their business. But if you've been paying any sort of attention to how those games have looked, it has not looked as the way that you would think it would look. With Penn State bring them bringing back everywhere they brought back coming into this year, Drew Aller being a third-year starting quarterback for them. I just in their passing offense has not necessarily looked fixed in comparison to what it was last year. So coming into this game, especially with uh oh no, why am I freaking uh why why am I forgetting names now? This is a bad time to freaking a name. Uh oh no, not Dan Lating, the coach for Penn State. Hold on. James Franklin. Oh my god, I had a little bit of a brain fart there. James Franklin, not very good against top five or top ten opponents as the coach at Penn State, either home or away. He has not been good, and he's coming into another another game. This is like probably some of the most pressure the Penn State has had on their team in a while because they brought everybody back, they brought their their great tanble running backs back, they brought Drew Aller back, and they have everything on their side. They got Jim Knowles to be to m come over from Ohio State to be their DC. They have a very talented defense, it's not necessarily like lights out, but their secondary is very good. Their defensive line is a little bit iffy. They don't necessarily losing Abdo Carter from last year has not necessarily helped their defensive line out, obviously. So the question is for this Penn State squad, can Drew Aller in the passing offense kind of show something that they haven't shown throughout this year so far? I'm going to say no, because if Penn State has not managed to throw the football well with the teams they have already played this year, how I don't how I don't know if you can necessarily count on Penn State being able to turn it on against an Oregon team that is just as talented, if not more talented than they are. It's like in defensively, they've been very good too. So I just don't know if you can count, especially with Drew Aller, man. I'm just like, Drew Aller's part of the problem. It's not just because of a lack of creativity offensively or their wide receivers not getting separation and not being able to do what they need to do, but Drew Aller's part of the problem too. He misses a lot of passes and he can be very hot and cold when it comes to hitting some passes, uh, short, long, everything in between. Like he is not necessarily the most consistent of quarterbacks either. And if Penn State's not going to be able to run the football, which I think they'll be able to get do a little bit effectively, but they will not be able to sit there, they don't have the offensive line that'll be able to lean on Oregon and like really run the football and control the game that way. So they'll have to have some sort of balance offensively. And if I just don't think Penn State will be able to kind of turn on their passing offense in a way that'll make Oregon worried about um getting big, especially big plays down the field. So the real question is, can Oregon with Dante Moore as a starting quarterback for them come into this game? He is a still, even though he played that his first year at UCLA, he had the off-year last year and he came into this year and he's playing very good football. And he I think he's unlocked a part of their offense they didn't have last year. He's able to throw the football a lot more effectively when it comes to all over the place because he has a stronger arm than a guy like Dylan Gabriel had as of last year. He's a little bit taller, he's not as good of a runner, but I think when it comes to his anticipitation throws and being able to kind of rifle in some throws in spots where you like only some of the best and best can do, I think he's unlocked that part of the offense. But and I also think another question about this Oregon offense is can their weapons that they have looked good so far this year, DeCorium Moore, their freshman wide receiver that came in there, and unfortunately, due to some injuries that they sustained coming into the season, they have had to rely on a true freshman wide receiver to kind of come in and be like probably their main dude. And he has played well up to this point, but can he put up keep being that productive against a Penn State defense that does have a lot of dudes, man? They have some corners and they have some guys that can get the job done. And I think they'll put up put up a better fight than what DeCoriamore and that Oregon offense has had to deal with up to this point in this season. So can Oregon offensively be able to keep up with the production against a Penn State defense that will put up a better fight? The real outside of whether Penn State's offense will show up, can Oregon offensively be able to keep up what they need to do against a Penn State defense that will be will be able to do a lot more than what Oregon has faced up to this point in the season? So and can James Franklin not lose it, man? I think it I don't want because again, obviously being an Ohio State fan, Ryan Day has dealt with the whole he can't win the big game thing. But I just think that and obviously I fought against that myself, so I def I do have a little bit of I can feel for Penn State fans that know that they have a coach that has been doing it for a lot longer and has been losing big games a lot longer than even Ryan Day has, and finally Ryan Day kind of flipped that narrative and won the big one, won the national championship last year. But I just think that I've held this belief for a while that James Franklin, I'm not gonna fear Penn State until James Franklin's not the coach there anymore, because it's just in these big games, James Franklin made not only makes the bad decision and the offense gets tight, and it's just on top of everything else that I think Penn State is not necessarily what they should be coming into this year. I like I just don't think Penn State's the team that everybody thought they were coming into the year, especially with all their offense not playing as well as I think they probably should, and their defense not necessarily like their defense is very good, but defensive line, they just don't have the the guys that are like instant superstars like you usually see Penn State have every year. So on top of all that, I just think the question is is with James Franklin just kind of showing up in big games, and he's been doing it for so long, and I just don't think that James Franklin's all of a sudden gonna like turn it around tomorrow against the Oregon team. That even though I just Dan Lenning as a head coach I do respect, I think Dan Lenning hasn't really shown to really be winning the big games either. So I think it is a little bit of the same issue, but I just think to a certain degree, I think all the pressure is on Penn State to win this football game because if they don't win this game, they're definitely not gonna be able to win at Ohio State later on this year. And I think the fans will turn up the the heat on James Franklin and kind of just keep feeding the narrative that he can't win these big games. And I just think Penn State needs his football needs this football game a lot more than what Oregon does. And I just think that because of that, I think James Franklin will definitely shell up and they will not play the way they need to to be able to win this game, even with them being at home. So as long as Oregon does what they need to do and kind of plays good football, I think Oregon should win this football game. Next game. You got Bama, Georgia. Probably the second biggest game of the day. Um you got Bama going to Georgia. I think this is like the only like the first time that Bama has played at Georgia in like the last 10 years. Because not only they had they don't really play a lot, but every time they have played, it's really been either at Georgia or it's been in neutral site games, with either being in the playoffs or in national championship games. So you have Bama being ranked number 17, you got Georgia being ranked five, Georgia coming off their big win against Tennessee, and you got Bama coming off of their win against Wisconsin. So the question for me, we'll start with Bama coming into this game. Can Calen DeBoor have his offense ready to go against a Georgia team that Georgia doesn't necessarily have the most amazing defense? I think their secondary is a little bit of a question mark for Georgia. And can Calen De Boer kind of have the offense ready to go with Ty Simpson, with uh Jeremy Bernard, I believe is his name. I think he's probably the best wide receiver for Alabama right now. Even if I don't think he's the most talented, he is definitely the most productive. And then you have not only him, you have Williams, their um, their other wide receiver. Wow, I'm forgetting his name. Oh no, that's not good. Um Ryan Williams is their is their very talented wide receiver coming into his second year as a starter for Alabama. So can they have can they run the football the football a little bit to kind of give their offense a little bit of balance against this Georgia team? Because again, I don't think Georgia has the secondary to really stop Bama from doing what they want to do, but I do think you need a little bit of balance to just kind of keep Georgia on their heels. And I think if they can do that, they can definitely be capable of winning this football game. And then on top of that, I think Bama does have a defense that I'm not gonna sit here and say they're better than what they were last year. I think they're pretty similar. But can they put up a better fight against the Georgia offense than what Tennessee was able to last week? Is probably a big question. Was it last week or the week before? I think they had a bye, right? Um who cares? In Georgia's last game against Tennessee. That is probably a question because I do think Bama's secondary is probably the best part of their team. And I think if you really want to have a lot of success, if you want to like go at the weakness of a Georgia defense, I think it would be running the football. But again, Bama can't really run the football right now because their offensive line isn't necessarily as dominant as what it they what they have been in years past. And I think that they don't really have the running backs either that like make you like really scared of what they're gonna be able to do running the football. So this is gonna be a game of kind of putting it on the quarterbacks uh backs, and I think Ty Simpson has looked very good over the last couple of games ever since that first big loss against Florida State, where I don't think he was necessarily the problem. But I think Ty Simpson, you keep him upright and um be and have him be able to sit back there and make the throws, I think he's done exactly what he needs to do. But I think Georgia, even if they don't necessarily have the pass rush they once they have had in years past, I do think they have some guys I can get after, especially with Alabama's offensive line not being as good, not only not be able to run the football, but they're not really good at pass protection either. So can anybody on Georgia's defense be able to make some plays getting after Ty Simpson and make it un make him uncomfortable in this game can definitely lead to a lot of um of good things for Georgia. And on for Georgia, I'll go to their side, I think offensively, they showed that they can make some big plays down the field. Again, it's not the most explosive offense. They're gonna give their quarterback Gunnar Stockton a couple chances to kind of throw the football down the field, but other than that, they don't run the football all that well. They throw a lot of short to intermediate passes around the line of scrimmage and a little bit farther than that. So can we even with that same what's the word I'm looking for? Not concoction, with that same formula of offense that they have had, they've been using throughout this season. They were a little bit more explosive against Tennessee than what people thought they were going to be. Can they do a little bit more of that to kind of get after Alabama is probably a big question. If Georgia can run the football at all against this Bama team, that would definitely be a big help because I just don't think Bama has a defense that can stop the run at all. But again, Georgia's offense really hasn't shown to be able to run the football at all, like all that effectively. So I think this is gonna be a game where can especially with Georgia being at home, they do have a very good fan base. They they have it they have a fan base that's ready to go. It's gonna be raucous environment. So can Georgia's defense kind of make a few big plays to kind of keep Ty Simpson off his off of his spot? And I just think, and not to mention, I just think Georgia can they can Kirby Smart in that coaching staff just keep it consistent? And I just think to a certain degree, that's where they probably have the biggest upside in comparison to Alabama because I just think that Kalen De Boer, as much as he's he's been a great coach wherever he has been, but with Alabama, he's been an up and down as a head coach for them over these last last season and then through these four games. And I just think that will I be able to trust Calen DeBoer to have a great offensive game plan and be able to make the right decisions as a head coach in-game as he's been with this Alabama squad? I just don't think so. And I just think Kirby smart, even though I do think Georgia does have a Bama issue to a certain extent when it comes to winning that game, but can Kirby kind of stay consistent in that in that coaching staff, be able to put keep putting their players in a position to win this game? Because I do think Georgia's probably a little better team. So I'll give I'll lean Georgia on that. I just think they're at home, and I just think they'll be able to do a little bit more to win this football game than what Alabama is able to do. And again, I think with that thinking, I just think that Georgia might be able to make a little a few more plays defensively to kind of get after Alabama to keep their offense from being as efficient as what they want to be. And that's about it for all the games I wanted to go through for college football. Um up to this point, we got I'm gonna give you a little the updates on the games that are happening right now. We got nine minutes and 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Virginia is in the red zone, and they're it's the score is currently 28-28. So Virginia's looking to score to kind of take the lead in that game. And then you have TCU, Arizona State. TCU is currently up with at the start of the second quarter. So that's about it for college ball that I want to talk about. It'll be a very big slate of games tomorrow. I'll be watching all day. And if you're if you watch College Ball at all, I hope you have a very good time because I just think there's a lot of good games to go out there and watch, even if the games I didn't talk about. I think there's a lot of intrigue and very good football games that are gonna happen. So um go find some football games to watch tomorrow, man. That's gonna be a very good slate. Now let's go to the NFL.

SPEAKER_01: 55:16

Take a drink here before I get started.

SPEAKER_00: 55:23

Let's start let's start with the Thursday night football game last night. You had Seattle going to Arizona, obviously being a divisional matchup. Seattle won the game 23-20. The game came down to a last-second field goal made by Seattle. That was all spurned by the kicker for Arizona coming off the touchdown that they scored to go up to tie the game up. He was doing the kickoff, kicked the ball a little bit short of the landing zone, and that caused Seattle to be able to start their drive at the 40, and with that just gave, and then obviously from there, Seattle was able to get the plays done to get down the field, get into field goal range, and go ahead and win. I think there was a big catch by JSN to kind of get them a big chunk play to get them closer to field goal range, and they got did what they needed to do to hit the field goal to win the football game. But throughout the very first, the first three quarters of this game is what I'll kind of get to here. Let me start, let me start the winners. Seattle. Sam Darnold played very well, 18-26, one touchdown, kept the offense moving, didn't make the very bad mistake. He's played very good football. I think he's shown that when he is not, when he keeps the ball clean, he's going to be able to do enough. He's talented enough to make the big passes and to kind of keep and to play very good football. But it's just Sam Darnold has these moments where he makes some big mistakes and kind of can kind of ruin the game for you. But when he is on his game plan and he's doing his thing and he's feeling comfortable back there in the pocket, he can kind of run your offense and kind of keep you going. And that's exactly what he did last night. He threw the football well, got it to the playmakers, and got it to JSN. JSN had a big night, four receptions, 79 yards, and he just ran the offense, did what he had to do, especially against the Arizona team throughout most of this game that just did not play all that well. Kyler Murray, 27 to 41, two touchdowns, two picks. One of those picks I won't necessarily put on him. It was on Marv because Marv kind of stopped his route in the middle because he kind of gave up on the play. But Marv was having a big issue last night, and I'll get to that here in a second. But Kyler Murray's just up and down, man. He'll like I not even just him. I think the offense itself is lacks a lot of creativity. They throw a lot of and I was talking about this earlier uh with my stepdad. It was like this offense. I'm not sure if I felt like this to start Kyler Murray's career, right? He has a rocket of an arm, but and he's a he's an RC car. I've talked about him like this his whole career, where he's an RC car that can get away from anybody, and it's like very hard to get him down, right? But I think watching that game last night, it was like a huge like thing in my brain that kind of clicked, that they don't throw to the middle of the field whatsoever. The way that offense is set up, they either do a lot of short passes around the line of scrimmage or they throw outside the hash marks towards the sidelines, and but they kind of don't throw the football towards the middle of the field whatsoever. And I think that obviously has to something to do with Kyler Murray being a short he is as he is. I think he's around 5'10, he's a shorter guy, but I'm just like, yeah, I'm not sure if it always felt like this, but like when I'm thinking about it now, it's like that's kind of the offense he's ran, at least that's that's what they're running right now. And I think that kind of has a hindrance on their offense, especially with them not like the offensive line not being able to protect him at all. So if most of your plays that you're trying to run are either short passes, like are there screens and all that, or if you're gonna be trying to get bigger plays down the field and towards the sidelines, then and you and you can't have any type of protection for Kyler. I just don't know how you're gonna be able to keep a keep the offense moving consistently. But one part of that offense not playing well last night was Marv. He had a up and down night. I mean, no, sorry, mostly down and then finally up. Again, if he's a buckeye, so I'm I've I'm very biased in this scenario, right? But I love Marvin Harrison. He had three great years at Ohio State, he did everything you want to do. I I like I say, for all buckeys, I want to see them succeed throughout their whole NFL careers because I'm appreciative to be able to. Watch them play in the Scarlet and Gray. Okay. So I'm definitely biased, but I just think that I'm not. I watched him have a very tough night last night through the first half, especially. He was having a tough night. He was dropping some balls, especially coming off the game before, where he had some bad drops, and you could just tell it was on his mind. He did not look he you could just tell he was not playing he was not playing free at all. And you could tell it was on his mind, and he was not running his routes as free as you think he would. And I just think that it was in his head, and he was he was he was spiraling. And I think it was capped off by him having a play that one of the few plays that was kind of towards the middle of the field. It was a slant route. He was he um Kyler got it to Marv, and Marv just fumbled around with the ball and the gave the ball right to the other team, and it was a pick, took it the other way, and I think it led to a score for Seattle. And it was where everything was at its worst, man. I think everybody was going off on social media about how Marv is he's not he's kind of a bust and he's not playing well, and you use a top five pick on that guy. Why would you do that? And in the second half, he managed to turn it around and he played better ball, and he was getting he had a touchdown reception in this game, made a couple plays in the second half to kind of let Arizona get back into the game because throughout the first three quarters of the game, Seattle was up after three quarters 17 to 6. And then in the fourth quarter, Arizona kind of finds found some rhythm offensively, and they were able to kind of get back into the game. And one of those touchings was helped by Marvin Harrison kind of getting a big play in the end zone towards his left side and kind of getting that one big pass. And you could tell he had a celebration, not a celebration, but Marvel just kind of like you could just tell weight was lifted off his shoulders last night when he got that touchdown catch. And you can just tell it's been on his mind, man. He's been spiraling, and I'm I'm glad that last night, even if it's not totally fixed, that he got himself a little bit of a reprieve to kind of give himself some positive momentum for the rest of the year. And again, I'm not gonna sit here and say it's fixed and he's not gonna still have some issues because it'd be stupid to say that because he's human, and I think we've anybody that's watched enough NFL football, that's just not everybody's career is gonna be on a um what it what is the word what is the word I'm looking for? It's up and down, right? It's not everybody's career is just a rocket ship that starts from it just starts and just goes and it's never bad, right? There's no up, there's only no downs, only ups, right? There are some like that. There are some very special players that are like that, but I think for a lot of NFL players, there are gonna there are gonna be some low times. And I think Marv, like anybody that wants to say Marv isn't talented enough to be in the league and he wasn't worth being a top five pick, he had 900 yards catching, 900 yards receiving last year. He had like like seven or eight touchdowns. Like he did what he was supposed to do last year and he showed why he was the pick he was for Arizona. Has he started the season bad a little bit and had a little bit of a down year so far? Yeah, for sure. And I think he's kind of he had his struggles last night. I think it was the big antithesis of that. But I think in the second half, he had a moment where he can kind of have some positive outlook for the rest of the year. And I hope, I hope for his sake that he takes this as like a jumping off point for the rest of his season where he can kind of get his mind right and kind of get back into it and get all the confidence back that he deserves to have because he's that dude. He puts in the work, man. And I'm just like, again, I'm biased, but I watched this being in Columbus, him for Ohio State at three years, but he was never lacking the work. He was not living off of his name. He put in the work necessary to be the guy that he ended up being. This was not one of those him leading, like living off of the name of his father, uh the Manny name. He was he was putting in the work himself, and he built himself up to be the guy that he was, and I feel like he's having a down, he's having a down moment, but I hope that this can be a jumping off point for him for the rest of the year. And for anybody that wants to hate on him, I just hope that he gets to prove you all wrong and I get to laugh at you on the back end, or you guys want to mess around and kind of keep talking trash about him and hopefully the Steelers can get him later to be on our team because I would love for him to be in the black and gold if Arizona's stupid and doesn't want to do right by him and give him the opportunity to get right and play some good ball because he's he's gonna do that. He puts in too much work, and he is not only by for people that are at Ohio State and fans that have seen him do it over the last few years, but that's the thing in Arizona. Nobody's talked, everybody's talked about how he's a hard worker and he does what he needs to do. And I just don't think him like any of these issues are not fixable. Everything he's going through right now is fixable, and as long as he as he can get his mind right, he'll get back to where he needs to be. And I just think that the only thing that'll hold him back is potentially an offense that may not be able to accentuate all the pluses that he may be in. Like, I just feel like to a certain degree, if you're not able to run an offense that'll use the every single part of the field, I think it may limit what Marvin Harrison can do. Because I'm again, I'm not crazy enough to say that Marvin Harrison has like is like a burner, right? He's not that's not necessarily his game. He has a guy that's gonna be able to run the whole out route tree, he's gonna be able to do everything he needed to do, but he's not gonna sit here and run past you and like only be able to make the big plays down the field. He can do those things, but that's not everything that he's good at. He's gonna be able to do everything else too, but I think you take away a little bit of that when you have an offense that doesn't like to throw in the middle part of the field because Kyler can't see over his offensive line. And I just think I just hope that they can kind of come to a compromise to try to help him out, put him in the best position to kind of get out of his funk and kind of play some better ball. Because I really think that the Arizona Cardinals need him to play his best in order for them to have any chance of winning these football games because I just think Kyler is so up and down. I just think he needs a lot more help than what we think. And I think with Kyler and with um uh Trey Trey McBride with both of those two, I think that they can they can win football games. I'm just like they just need to help Kyler out a lot more because Kyler is not Superman, he's not gonna be able to superpower you. He's not consistent enough to be able to rely on him to kind of get you out of every bad situation. So they need to find some type of compromise to kind of have like help the offense out to be able to be more consistent in general for them to be able to play football games because I do think their defense is actually very good and they're like they're playing good ball, but it's just they're just not consistent enough on a week in, week out basis to be able to believe in them. And I hope they don't ruin Marv's confidence because he's going through this little bit of an issue. I just hope they can give him give Marv and give give him the support he needs to get out of the funk that he's been dealing with. And again, I I I know it started with talking about this game. Again, Seahawks won. They played better football, and that's they deserve to win. But it led to Marv because I'm like, again, I'm just a big Marv fan, man. I just want to see him do everything. I want to see him succeed in every sense of the word. And uh it's it was it sucked at first to see him struggle as much as he did, but I'm glad I got to see him have a little bit of a resurgence there in the second half to be able to make some big plays that'll help be a launching off point for the rest of his season to kind of play better. I hope. I hope. Um, but let's go ahead and go on to the rest of the games. Um done talking about the Thursday night game. Me and Jace both got a win on that because we both picked, again, we were not crazy enough to think that to believe that Arizona would be consistent enough to win that football game. We both picked Seattle. So that's one win for us so far. But now we have the rest of the games to talk about. So I think as of right now, we went I went 10 and 7 last 20 10 and 6 last week. Jace went 9-7. I haven't calculated what our total uh our total uh record is as of right now. I'll have that for the next pod when we do the um reaction pod after this weekend. So I'll make sure I have that for the next one. But so we're picking pretty good right now, and uh let's hope it keeps going. I'll have Jason's picks, I'll say them as we go, and then obviously I'll make my picks as I go throughout recording this, obviously.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:43

Alright, let me go ahead and get this ready.

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:50

Alright, first game on Sunday. This will be a Sunday morning football game because I'll have to watch it, unfortunately. Again, I'd probably try to be up and watch it anyway, but I it's gonna be a little bit more important for me because obviously being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, this game will be at 9.30 in the freaking morning. Minnesota going to Pittsburgh, but again, this isn't in Pittsburgh because this game is going to be in Dublin, Ireland. So technically a home game for Pittsburgh, but not. And I fear that Pittsburgh is going all the way to Ireland to get their ass beat by Minnesota. That's where my fear is right now. Because Pittsburgh has not played consistent football whatsoever. They got the win last week, even though they probably didn't deserve it. Their defense made some plays to kind of get some turnovers, but can I expect them to be able to keep that going? Um, and I just don't think that I can count on five turnovers a week to kind of help Pittsburgh win football games. Obviously, because that's crazy. And I think offensively for Pittsburgh, it has just been so up and down with Aaron Rodgers, and I just think, do I do I believe that taking a flight all the way to Ireland is going to be a conducive setup for some offensive consistency? I just don't think so. And then you have Minnesota coming in. Obviously, they don't have Jason McCarthy, he's still out, he's gonna be out for like another two or three weeks with his with his injury that he had. I'm forgetting about exact injury now, but it doesn't really matter. So you have oh boy. I'm forgetting his name now. That sucks by me. Carson Wentz being their starting quarterback. Minnesota's coming off of their big game last week, beating up on Cincinnati in the most embarrassing of ways. And again, it wasn't because their offense was great, it was because the defense was of Minnesota was just playing lockdown football and putting the offense in good spots to be able to play on short fields and kind of make some plays, especially in I think they made some plays in the special teams as well. So my question is um Jace picked Minnesota in this game because I don't think he he's just not stupid and he's not gonna pick Pittsburgh in this spot with how Pittsburgh has been playing so far. And I'm gonna go ahead and do the same thing. I just think that Minnesota's defense is probably the best unit on the football field, and I just don't believe that coming into this game that the offensive line for Pittsburgh is playing consistent enough to keep Aaron Rodgers upright. I don't think that we have the pass catchers that is going to make Minnesota worry about getting beat over the top, and especially with Minnesota's defense, their secondary being as good as it is and kind of being as multiple and kind of doing a bunch of good things and having a defensive line that can get after you. I just don't think that Pittsburgh has an offense that'll be able to stop Minnesota from doing what they want to do. And I think that it'll I think it'll be a hard day for me on Sunday watching that, Sunday morning watching this game. I really do. I just don't think it's gonna be pretty. And again, I'm not gonna sit here and say it's impossible that Pittsburgh wins this football game, but I'm not gonna put any type of real stock in really thinking it's gonna happen. It's just game in, game out basis, I can't believe in Pittsburgh's offense whatsoever. I think defensively, Pittsburgh will be able to do some things, and if they get old boy Carson Wentz to make some of that bad decision, maybe it might help out Pittsburgh to be able to kind of get an upset here. Because obviously Minnesota is a two and a half point favorite in Ireland. So I think again, this game could turn out to be a dogfight and kind of have Pittsburgh have a chance, but I just don't believe in Pittsburgh enough offensively to be able to kind of keep keep themselves in this football game. I think easily I could see this being like a Pittsburgh Steelers defense making some plays, but Minnesota winning this game like 17-3. Like I totally could see this that game happening like that. Where Carson Wentz doesn't have to throw for over 100 yards, Minnesota just runs the football and just like lets their defense kind of control this game, and Pittsburgh can't do anything about it. Like, I really do think that's like definitely in the cards. So I'm gonna take Minnesota, Jay's took Minnesota, go on to the next game here. Next one we got LA Chargers going to the New York Giants. You're gonna have uh Jackson Dart uh being the starter for the Giants for the first time this season in his rookie campaign. They benched Russell Wilson. Uh, I think this was on like Monday or Tuesday, and now they announced that Jackson Dart was gonna be the starter for this upcoming game. Me and Jace talked about on the last pod like why this game? I just think that the Chargers defense, I'm not sitting here saying that they're locked down, but they definitely are talented enough to get after you and make you have a hard time. And so my question was why make the rookie quarterback have to play this game as his first game in his NFL career. So I'm not necessarily feeling great about that. And then you have the LA Chargers offense with J uh Justin Herbert playing just a lot better football, and I just think they're running the football effectively. Um, they with Amario and Hampton and get kind of getting in the ball out of the backfield, they have some good pass catchers, obviously. Keenan Allen, uh why am I forgetting this guy's name? Hold on, let me see here. I'm not crazy. I just want to make sure I have his name right because I totally forgot. Quentin Johnston, a guy that we all thought was awful, but he's been playing a lot better this season. Like I say, Keenan Allen, like they just have a lot of pieces on offense that are playing some very good football right now, and I just think that with the Giants, I think the whole thing was, I think I heard that or I read, was that the Giants was waiting for their offensive line to get healthy to in order to throw Jackson Darton and try to give him the best chance to play some better ball. But so it's hilarious that they kind of let Russell Wilson kind of go out there and get beat up on for a few weeks until they thought their offensive line was going to be playing better and being more healthy. But I just don't, I think Jackson Darton might be able to make a little bit more plays because he might be able to run away from a little bit more pressure. But do I think he's gonna be like a stark difference from what Russell Wilson has given you so far this year? I just don't think so. He's young, he's gonna make some mistakes, he's gonna learn from them. Do I think he'll end up playing better football by the end of the season than what Russell Wilson was gonna give you? Probably, but as of right now, I just don't see much of a difference coming. So I'm gonna take the Chargers to win this game. And even though I think the Giants' defense is very good, I think they get after you, and they like their defense line is like very, very good. And I just think the Chargers are gonna be able to kind of be efficient enough and just make enough plays to win this football game, especially with the Giants' offense not really doing a lot for you. So next game, we'll go to Tennessee going to Houston. Uh obviously, I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but Jace picked the Chargers as well. Um, next game, Tennessee going to Houston. Me and Jace both pick Houston to win this football game. Why do I think so? Well, Tennessee is not good. They're not good whatsoever. Cam Ward, the quarterback for Tennessee, has been doing all that he can, but he doesn't have a lot of weapons around him. And I and their defense is not all that great either. So do I think the Tennessee defense will be able to get after CJ Stroud and make him uncomfortable in the ways that like the other teams that CJ Stroud has had to deal with this season? Probably not. Even with as bad as the offensive line has been for Houston this season, I just think that they might be able to kind of patchwork and duct tape this thing together for at least one week to beat a Tennessee team that isn't nearly as talented as the other teams that they have played throughout this season so far. And I think that for not to mention the fact that Tennessee's offense just is not going to be able to do enough to kind of fear make this to make enough plays against this Houston defense that is absolutely locked down. That that defense for Houston is insanely good. And I just think that with all that being the case, I think that Houston will be able to kind of get a little bit more going offensively this week against Tennessee defense that is not necessarily all that scary. And again, even with all the struggles that they've had this season with CJ and with that offensive line and like having some of the bad turnovers at bad times for them that they've had, they've had opportunities to win all these football games that they've lost so far this season. So I just think that against a Tennessee team that isn't doesn't know how to win, their coach is awful. Cam Moore doesn't necessarily have a lot of help. He is again, he's going to be their future, but he doesn't have a lot of help around him to kind of help him for right now. So I just think that Houston just has a little bit more, especially with Houston being at home, I think they have a chance to definitely win this game and kind of get on the right foot. Again, does it help him throughout the rest of the year with how bad that offensive line has been? Probably not. But I think at least getting a win will help stop the bleeding so far for this Houston team this year. And I think that's probably what the doctor ordered for right now. Next game, and with CJ as well, I just think if he can get one of these games to kind of help his confidence out a little bit, because it's something I've definitely seen as being an issue. And I just think if you just let him build up a little bit of confidence this week, that it could help for the weeks to come. So I again for him too. I keep doubting CJ, man, because he's he's very good. I think they made a big mistake in not getting an offensive lineman to kind of help their that team out this through um to start this year. Like they should have got somebody in the draft. I get it, they were drafting later on in the first round, and a lot of the guys they wanted weren't there, but they they went and traded out of the first round to go to the second and then picked a couple wide receivers in the second and third rounds. But I'm like, that doesn't that is only adding to a strength that you already had. Again, I'm not saying that the the receivers for Houston was amazing coming into this year, but I'm like, your bigger problem was gonna be your offensive line, and then you go and trade your the best offensive lineman you had. I get it, they were older, they were more expensive, but then you replaced them with some dudes from off the street and thought they were gonna get you're gonna they're gonna play better ball, and it hasn't happened that way. So I'm just like they just need to get they need to get some offensive line weapons to kind of help to really get some type of consistency in front of CJ. So I'm like, if you if you could just have a little bit of confidence that you'll have some protection, I think you'll get a lot better play out of him. But you just have to survive this season, man, because I'm just like I just don't see it getting a lot better from what I've seen already. Um next game, Washington going to Atlanta. Atlanta coming off the very bad loss to Carolina. I think they got shut out uh 30 to nothing against them. So and you have Washington coming off of their big win against Las Vegas, I think, where they scored in so many different ways and played very good football. Jace picked Atlanta in this game. My question is, will is Atlanta closer? Is that team we saw last week from Atlanta is the the game we saw from Atlanta last week closer to what they are? Or was that an was that an um what a what is that? Was that like a one-off that they can come back from? And again, Washington played so well, even because they're not gonna have Scary Terry and I think um Dan Jaden Daniels is not gonna be back, so they're still gonna be starting with uh Marcus Mariota. But Marcus Mariota played good football last week, and then he was running the offense and making the plays necessary, and I think he'll be able to do more of that. Atlanta's defense is better than what anything Las Vegas was is gonna be able to do. So I do think the Atlanta defense will be able to do a lot more, but I don't know. This one's a tough one for me, I'm not gonna lie to you. Um let me think. I'll take Atlanta. ATL's uh Atlanta's at home. I think Atlanta will have a bad attitude coming into this game. And I think their defense will be able to do a little bit more against Washington and against Marcus Mariota to kind of keep them from being able to score effect effectively. And I think especially with how bad the Atlanta offense was last week, I do think that I do think Michael Penix Jr. will make it a point to kind of come out and place a lot better football, and I do think they will be doing that by getting the ball to obviously their best player in B. John Robinson as much as possible. And I think with that, they'll just kind of build the rest of the offense off of that, and I just think that Washington's defense is not gonna put up as much of a fight as that'll be able to stop Atlanta from doing that. So I'll take Atlanta being at home. Jace picked Atlanta as well. Next game, New Orleans going to Buffalo, it's Buffalo. I think when I talked to Jace about these picks, he told me no matter what, no matter who New Orleans plays, to pick the other team. And I think the way that we've seen, again, it's not like New Orleans doesn't have any fight, but it's just very obvious they're not good enough to win these football games at all. And again, they're gonna get a win somewhere, they're not gonna go winless throughout the whole season, but it's very it's a struggle for that New Orleans team. And again, again, against a Buffalo team, that's a lot better. Josh Allen, like, do I think that New Orleans has anything that'll stop Josh Allen from doing it once in this football game? Probably not. Do I think New Orleans has anything that'll stop the rushing offense, the rushing attack for this Buffalo offense? I don't think so. And I think that defensively for Buffalo, I just think they have enough to be able to keep New Orleans from again, New Orleans has not really been consistent offensively whatsoever. And I don't think Buffalo is going to have a awful day that'll allow New Orleans to kind of get into any type of offensive rhythm. So we'll take Buffalo to win that game, especially being at home. Next game, Philly at Tampa Bay. Jace picked Tampa Bay. And this one's a tough one for me. Uh coming the last game where Philly kind of came back in the the big comeback against the LA Rams, they Jay uh Jalen Hurts showed that they put the offense on his back to throw the football to his wide receivers, and he that's what he absolutely did. And I don't know. I I Jace picked Tampa Bay because again, he's been a Tampa Bay the guy, and I think we talked about in the last pod where Jace is kind of adopting Tampa Bay for this season with you know his Bengals not being able to do what they need to do without Joe Burrow. I'm gonna pick Philly to win this game. I just think that coming off of last week, I think that'll build some offensive momentum for them to open up the offense a little bit more and not be as kind of locked down when it comes to have to run the football because Saquon Barkley has not had the best start to the year. And I think that to a certain extent, just kind of running into a brick wall and just hoping for Saquon to just kind of get out of it to like break through that brick wall is kind of a stupid thing to do. And I think if they just have a little bit more offensive variety to start the these games to where they're making a defense have to worry about defending the pass as well as the run, I think that'll lead to having a lot more success overall. I think it'll help out Saquon to be able to play a little bit better, but I think it'll also lead to the Philadelphia offense to being a lot more balanced. And I just think that hopefully from coming off of last week, they kind of learned that lesson and kind of give it, just put the game a little bit more on Jalen Hurts' shoulders. And I think he has shown every time they've done it is that he's able to kind of take on that load and be productive. And I think with that, I think, especially playing against Tampa Bay, I just don't think they have the not gonna say confidence, or I just don't think they have the room to come to this game and just say, hey, we're just gonna be conservative off conservative offensively and just come in and run the football and make some plays late and win this game. I think Tampa Bay is a little too good for that. So I just think that Philly is gonna come in, be a little more dynamic offensively, at least trying to to be to start the game, and I think that Philly will win this football game. Again, a close one though, I'm not gonna lie. Next game, we got Cleveland going to going to Detroit. Jace picked Detroit in this game. I'm going to pick Detroit as well. You do have Cleveland coming off the big win against Green Bay, but I just think that Green Bay did so much to give Cleveland a chance to win that win that football game. And I just think with Detroit being at home, I just don't think they're gonna make the same mistakes that Green Bay did. I think Detroit offensively just a little bit more consistent. I think they know what they want, they have a little bit more of an identity in a way that I just don't think that Green Bay does, especially with Jordan Love kind of playing so up and down. I just don't think that Jared Goff is gonna be as inconsistent, and I think he won't put the ball in harm's way as much as what not, I'm not saying as much I'm not saying that Jordan Love did it a lot in last game, but he made the one mistake you couldn't make. I think Jared Goff will be a little bit more conservative, not conservative, but I think he'll take bare take better care of the football. I think they'll run the football effectively, and I think that they'll be able to kind of, and their defense isn't necessarily lights out, but I think they'll be able to make enough plays against a Cleveland offense that is not consistent whatsoever, not all that good. They found a little bit of life with Queen Shot Judkins last week, but I just doubt that that Cleveland will be will be able to run the football effectively enough to kind of uh keep that offense on the field. So I'll take Detroit in that game along with Jace. And next game, Carolina go to New England. Oh man. New England coming off there, very bad game against Pittsburgh with all those turnovers. Do I think Carolina can do that same thing to New England? I just don't think so. New England's defense is not all that great. So do I think in Carolina, even with the game they had last week, they did not play all that great offensively. It really was just that the Falcons' offense was so bad, they just kept giving the ball back to Carolina with short fields and they were just able to take advantage of those moments. So do I think I think New England should win this game because they're gonna be at home. Jace picked New England as well, I think I already mentioned that, but I'll say it again. I just think that offensively, I I don't know. I don't really trust either of these two teams, to be totally honest with you. I don't think they're all that different. I think New England obviously has the better quarterback than Drake May, and I think he just might be the difference there. Because I just don't think Carolina has anything close to consistent offensive football coming from anybody offensively. Like obviously Bryce Young hasn't been playing all that great this year. Chuba Hubbard's like their best, like Ted McMillan has been okay, but it's just like he's just he's the number one guy on an offense that just needed somebody to be that guy, but has he really been like a like a game-changing thing, like player for that offense? I just don't think so. I just think New England tab it better, tad a better quarterback play, even though I don't think Drake May's up and down too. I think they should be able to win, especially being at home. Next game, Jacksonville going to San Fran. Jace picks San Fran, so will I. I just think Jacksonville, even when they won last week, they were just trying to find ways to lose that football game against Houston. And I think that even with San Fran having all the guys hurt that they have, obviously Nick Bosa getting hurt last week, he's out for the season with the torn ACL. And but I just think Brock Purdy's coming back, he's gonna be playing in this game, and they still have Christian McCaffrey, and they still have like some of the uh Bricky Pearsall who's turned into like a big weapon for that team. And even though I don't think San Fran's defense is all that great, I just don't think Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence at the helm has the has an offense that will take advantage of that defense for San Fran not being as great. Trevor Lawrence making a bunch of mistakes all over the place. Uh, you got them not knowing how to use Travis Hunter offensively, and then defensively, he's not playing all that great either. And then you have Braun. Brian Robinson Jr. being their Bryan Thomas Jr. or Brian Robinson Jr. Bryan Thomas Jr., I believe. I'm not. Yes, it's Thomas Jr. Bryan Thomas Jr. has not been a consistent number one threat for that offense either. They've ran the football effectively, but it's just something not something I believe in enough to be able to beat San Fren at San Fren. You got the next game, you got Indianapolis going to the LA Rams. Jace picked the Rams. Indianapolis is playing such good football, man. So my question is, is can Indianapolis keep this up? Can Daniel Jones keep playing this efficient of football? Is where my biggest question is right now. Because in the LA Rams coming off their big loss against against Philly last week, where it felt like everything was going their way until it wasn't. And so my so the question is can Indianapolis have the passing offense to take advantage of that LA Rams defense in a similar way than what Philly did to them last week? I hate to say it, but I think so. And I've made this point so many times throughout this year, this season so far, is that Daniel Jones has just been playing very good football, keeping the offense running and just making the plays necessary. And I think that they've ran the football effectively. With Jonathan Taylor, he's looked, he's kind of taken it back, and he's looking like the best running back in the NFL right now, the way he's playing. And defensively, Indianapolis has dudes. Like they have some real dudes defensively, and they're playing some very good ball. Jay's picked the Rams. I'm going to take Indianapolis, man. Again, may I may I come into this game looking stupid with Daniel Jones not necessarily playing? I'm not going to sit here and say Daniel Jones will turn back into being a pumpkin again like he was in the years past. But like the Rams are good enough. Matthew Stafford in that offense. Like you have all those weapons they have, Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams and uh Kyron, uh Kyron Williams, and that offensive line. Like they have enough offensively to be able to win this football game. But again, you could say the same thing last week against Philly, and they just kind of let it up at the end because Philly just kind of came back and just played well efficient second half football, and the Rams just could not do the same. And the defense, as much as they have some very good weapons, Jared Verse and I'm forgetting the other defensive player's name, but they like they have a good defense, but it's not dominant by any means. And I just think they don't have I think I think Indianapolis has really proven a point here that they are a with Daniel Jones at the helm, they are a very talented squad, and I think they have a chance to really win this football game against the Rams, and I'll take them. I will take the plunge finally. Again, could I look dumb after this week? Yeah, for sure. And if they if I do, I will definitely try to blame Daniel Jones by any means necessary. But I think Indianapolis will be able to have a chance to make a statement here against the Rams. You got next game, you got Baltimore going to Kansas City. Is it crazy to be able to say that whoever loses this game on Sunday will be one and three, and the winner of this game will be two and two. It's crazy that so early on in this season that like this may be a game that puts either one of these teams in very dire straits. It's crazy to think about, man, because Baltimore is so consistent, um, especially in the regular season, and obviously Kansas City has made a made a like the last seven years, I think they've made the AFC championship game, if not the Super Bowl. And this year it's kind of been a struggle for both of these squads, man. It's been a struggle. Baltimore with losing to uh Buffalo early on in the season, and then they lost last week to in crazy fashion to the Lions. Offensively they've been very good, but defensively has definitely been an issue for them. You got the weird fumbles by Derrick Henry. He has a fumble in each of the each of the first three games of the year for them. And then Lamar Jackson playing good football. He's throwing the football efficiently and like getting the ball down the field, but he's getting sacked a lot, and he's not getting rid of the football or running as much as you think he would. And then you have the Kansas City squad that is not looking as dominant as they've been as they have been defensively. Offensively, they've been up and down to us not mostly down to start this year. They lost Rasheed Rice to being suspended the first six weeks of the season. He'll be gone still. And then you they lost Hollywood Brown early on in the season. I think he'll be back to playing this week. Not Hollywood Brown, nope. Xavier Worthy. They lost him to the shoulder injury, and he hasn't played, but he will play this upcoming weekend. You have Patrick Mahomes not looking nearly as consistent as he has been in years past. He's missing a lot of passes. But like you can just tell there's some flashes where it's like, oh, maybe they can kind of get things going. Uh Travis Kelsey not being nearly as good as you think he would be coming into the year, where he they said he dropped some weight and he's so locked in, but it just has not been looking great. There's been some troubling signs for the Kansas City Chiefs as well, especially with that defense not being as locked down as it's been over the last few years. And the qu my question is who wins who needs this football game more? And thinking about it, I'm like, I think I think Kansas City might need this football game more because I think Baltimore, even with all these struggles, I think they're still easily the best team in the AFC North. So I just think even with all the struggles that they've had, I just think that they're so much leagues ahead of everybody else in the AFC North that I just think they should be able to win this division without much of an issue, even if they start the season one and three. And I think to a certain extent for Kansas City as well, I'm not going to sit here and say if they lose this game, they're definitely out of the playoffs and all that, but like they are definitely way well behind the Chargers. And do I think the Chargers are going to fall off the face of the earth and allow Kansas City to come back and win the division? I just don't think so. I just think if Kansas City, especially with being as far behind as they are to the Chargers as of right, as of this point of the season, if the Chargers just stay on pace and just keep playing good football, I think they'll win the division. And I think just puts Kansas City in a worse spot to be able to have to take one of those wild card spots. And I just think that Kansas City probably needs this game a little bit more when it comes to getting to the playoffs and do it the way they have to do long term. But I think narratively, I think Baltimore probably needs this game more because if they lose this game, this is now a third game they've lost to a top-tier team in the NFL. You have the, and especially with Baltimore's defense playing as bad as it's been playing this season, and then you've had the big mistakes happening offensively. I just think it's adds to the narrative that Baltimore can't win these big games. And I think narratively is probably a bigger question for Baltimore, even if I think Baltimore will probably be fine, probably win the AFC North without much of an issue and make the playoffs. But I just think when it comes to the narrative of Baltimore, I just feel like this might be a little more hurtful if they lose this game to Kansas City. But who I who I think will win, I think Jace picked Baltimore. And man, with how I've seen Kansas City play, am I going to put any stock in what I've seen from Kansas City this year? I just don't think I can. I don't think I've seen enough in Kansas City to really believe in them to win this football game. And again, I think Baltimore's best attribute is that they're bullies, and I think that they'll be able to run the football effectively. Kansas City's not necessarily great at stopping the run. And I think as long as they can keep Lamar upright, and to a certain extent, I think that's a little bit more feasible in this game because Kansas City doesn't have a pass rush that you really have to be afraid of. So I think as long as they can keep Lamar upright and be able to run the football effectively, I do think they should be able to win this football game, but I just think the Baltimore defense has been so bad. But the but I just don't think Kansas City is going to be able to turn it on offensively and just be ready to go and be explosive in this game in a way they probably need to be to win this game. So I'll say Baltimore wins the game, even though I could totally see Kansas City winning this game, and Baltimore just kind of puckering at the end and just like losing the game in a bad way like they have the past few games they've lost this season so far. Next game is Chicago going to Las Vegas. Chicago coming off their big win against. Who was that against? Oh no, I'm forgetting the name of the team now. Oh, they're coming off their big win against the Cowboys. Got the Raiders coming off of their very bad loss against Washington. Uh Jace picks Chicago. Chicago's defense is not good. And I think as much as I thought they played some very good football last week against Dallas, I think Dallas' defense might be the worst in the NFL. Again, I'm not saying Las Vegas is much better. But I just think that offensively for Vegas, I think they'll be able to eat a lot more in this game. And even heck, Gino, I don't think necessarily played all that terribly in the last game. Like he didn't have a great day, but I don't think he was god-awful. And I think that Chicago may come into this game, be a little bit full of themselves. And I'm gonna take Las Vegas to win this game. Las Vegas is at home. I think Gino will come out and play a little bit a little bit better football. I don't think Chicago has the pieces defensively to be able to stop Brock Bowers. And I think Ash and Genty should be able to run the football a little bit more effectively in this game. Against Chicago defense that isn't necessarily all that locked down. So I'm gonna go ahead and take the chance and take Las Vegas to win this game against Chicago. Especially being at home, I just I'll I'll lean towards Vegas. Next game, got Green Bay going to Dallas. You have the Micah Parsons revenge game. Um and you have Dallas coming off of like their worst, the like the hospital ball bad, not hospital ball, but they're just playing very bad football defensively. They let Chicago and Caleb Williams throw the football all over them, and I just think that Green Bay, with Micah Parsons kind of coming out and wanting to make a statement, I think their defense will be able to play pretty decently, especially with Dallas not having CeeDee Lamb with him having his ankle injury. I just think that the Dallas offense really doesn't have anything else to kind of write home about. Javante Williams has played decently well and he's run the football pretty well. But I just think against this Green Bay defense, I just don't think they're gonna be able to do that. And I think if the ball, if the everything is in the on the shoulders of Dak Prescott to be able to win you this football game, I just don't think that's gonna happen. Especially without CeeDee Lamb. And I just think that Green Bay coming off of their very bad loss against Cleveland, I think they're gonna be coming into this game looking to get that taste out of their mouths. And I just think that Jordan Love will play a better football game. I think he'll be able to throw the football all over the place against this Dallas defense. Again, a Dallas defense that I think will look terrible against everybody that they play this year. So I think Green Bay will have a nice little outing. I think Jordan Love will get back on the right page against this team, and I think they'll just I think Michael Parsons will have a very good day to make everybody in that stadium so much more upset as to why they traded Michael Parsons to Green Bay like they did. That's the Sunday night football game. Got two more left. We have the New York Giant. This is a double header on Monday, so the first game is an absolutely atrocious football game, and then the second one's a little bit more acceptable to like think it might be a little bit more fun to watch. The first one on Monday night is gonna be the Jets going to Miami. Uh Jace picked the Jets, so will I. Let me check. Hold on here. Um They said a day ago he has returned to practice, and he will start if he's cleared, so I'm hoping that he'll be cleared. But even if they don't have him start, I think Tyree Taylor played a very good game last week. Um even in that loss against the Buccaneers, I think Tyrod Taylor played some very good ball, and he was able to get the get the football out to his playmakers, Garrett Wilson and all them, and Brees Hall. And I just think that this Miami team is an absolute dumpster fire. Nope. Tua Tungobaloa has been playing awfully. I think that offense has been bad. The defense for Miami has been awful, and I just think that Miami is just an absolute dumpster fire, man. And I just think the Jets, even if they're not necessarily playing all that great a ball, I think no matter who they have playing at quarterback, I think they'll be able to get the win just because I think their culture is better. I think their head coach is better in a better spot right now. I think he has a little bit better pulse on his team actually listening to him in a way that Mike McDaniel has doesn't have that with his squad with the Dolphins. So I'll take the Jets to win that game, even though I think that game is going to be absolutely disgusting. And I really don't want to put much time into watching it, but I probably will anyway because I don't care about you know my own well-being. And then you have the last game on Monday night. You got Cincinnati going to Denver, you got Cincinnati coming off the very bad loss to Minnesota, you got Denver coming off of their loss to was that the Colts? Make sure I have it right. No, Chargers. Got Denver coming off of their close loss to the Chargers. Jace picked Cincinnati to win this football game. Will I be willing to go there with him? Oh man, because if I have to pick Denver, it means I have to believe in Bo Knicks to be able to play some good football, and I just don't think I can do it. But Cincinnati's defense is awful because it's it's just it always has been, always will be. Denver's defense, I think, will just play some better ball. I just think that even though I know that Bo Nicks has not played all that great this year, I just don't think they need him to play lights out football, be able to win this game as long as he doesn't turn the football over. I think that Denver should be able to win this football game. I think Cincinnati with uh why am I forgetting the guy's name now? No, this sucks. Even just with Jake Browning at the helm, he's just prone to making a lot of mistakes, turning the football over. And I think that the Denver secondary will be able to, I'm not gonna sit here and say shut down Jamar Chase and T. Higgins, but I think with Jake Browning being the quarterback, I think it just takes away the the spark that even that Joe Burrow brings to this offense to where they can, you know, overplay even against the best of defenses because of just how explosive Joe Burrow to those two guys are. So I just think that the Denver defense will be able to do a lot more against this Cincinnati offense with Jake Browning at the helm, being prone to making mistakes, and not to mention the fact that Cincinnati's defense is awful. And I think that Denver, even with Bonex at the helm, I just think he just as long as he doesn't turn the football over, I think there will be plays to be made. I think they'll be able to run the football, and I think that Denver should be able to win this game, especially being at Denver. So I'm gonna take Denver to win that game. Jace picks in C. And uh that's about it for that. So that's all the games that are being picked there. I know I've gone a while. What is this? Hour 46. Again, a little better than I thought, but definitely been going up going a little bit there. Let me make sure that there wasn't any stories that I definitely wanted to talk about. Let's see. I don't think so. Oh, the one thing I the one thing I saw on social media, it was a big story because both the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers were making their way towards Ireland today, and it became a big deal because there were players that were posting what the plane that they were on coming going all the way to Ireland, which is a very long plane ride, obviously, and you're playing for a team that's worth billions of dollars, both them and Pittsburgh. And then you see the plane that Minnesota's coming in, where like they're in business class, they kind of bought out a bigger plane, so all their players get to have a little bit of room to kind of stretch out and kind of have their screens and be a little more comfortable taking in the long trip all the way to Ireland to play this football game, and then you contrast that to what Pittsburgh was dealing with and the some of the players that were posting what they were coming into, and they like their plane was not nearly as nice. All those players were not able to kind of be in business class and be able to kind of have that comfort taking the long trip all the way to Ireland to play in that game on Sunday morning. It's just annoying as fuck, man. I'm just like, again, I am a Pittsburgh Steeler fan to the core, and I know that that one of the things that they pride themselves on is being tough and building themselves from the the front pulling themselves up from the bootstraps and kind of being Pittsburgh Steelers tough and all of that. But I just think to a certain degree, I'm like, you have to accept some portion of the fact that your team is worth billions of dollars and you have players that you're paying millions and millions of dollars to, and there has to be some sort of credence given to the idea that you need to have, if you want those players to go out there and play their best on game days, that there's some things you're gonna have to do for them to make sure that that's gonna happen. And that includes what they have to deal with on a daily basis when it comes to the training rooms and what they're eating during the day and what their um locker rooms are, like you have to put in money to kind of help them out because at this at the end of the day, if you want these players to play at their best when it's time, again, you can you can put in all the stock you want to being Pittsburgh tough and not needing all the extra stuff, but I'm like that stuff does matter at the end of the day. I'm not saying it's the biggest factor, but I'm saying by a week-on-week basis, especially when you're taking a trip all the way to Ireland to play a football game, what I think it would be very helpful for your players to be able to stretch their legs out and not be in an economy seat and be a little more comfortable to be able to make sure they're ready to go on game day on Sunday morning. So, as much as I love the Steelers and as much as I'm a big fan, it annoys the fuck out of me that this is again every year when the um rankings come out for players that vote via the um NFL Players Association on the grades for the like all the amenities as a team for the food and the training room and the weight room and all of that. The Steelers are always the one at the lowest, lowest on the list because it's known that they're very cheap when it comes to that stuff, and they don't want to invest a ton of money into that type of stuff. That's already annoying enough, and then you have this plane ride where it's a one-way there, one way back thing, and you can't get a plane that gets the players business class seats so they can stretch their goddamn legs out. Again, they don't have to go as far as having PlayStations in these seats for the all the players, like what the Minnesota did, but you can have some comfortable goddamn seats for these players to go play if you want them to play their best on Sunday. In a country that I'm not even sure cares about football as much as we think they do, and they're playing all the way there, having to take these long plane rides there and back because you're trying to grow the NFL. I just feel like you have to like do something, man. I'm just like, all this comes off as very cheap and overwhelmingly cheap when you have a team that's worth billions of dollars and they make so much money for you on a year, weekly, yearly basis. So I just want to make sure I talked about that because that was a very annoying thing to see. So I'm just like, it's very easy. You guys could easily afford it, but you guys are being fucking cheap for no reason. And it annoys the fuck out of me that I had to that was a narrative that I had to watch being all over social media today, and that it that part sucked. And again, it doesn't help the fact that they're probably gonna lose on Sunday to Minnesota as well, so this will just only add to the fucking madness I'm gonna have to deal with on Sunday morning watching my team lose to Minnesota. So, you know, that's a that's it on that. I just sorry, I went into a little bit of a tirade there, but it was on my mind, so I had to make sure to talk about it. So that's about it. I've talked about everything I want to talk about. Last update here. Let me go ahead and give the update on the college football games because I've been giving them out throughout this pod anyway. You got Virginia up currently 38 to 46 in overtime. Florida State currently has well, I have to probably switch to that game real quick and watch what's left of that game. And you got in the other game, hopefully uh Virginia wins because that'll be a little bit of chaos that I love watching college football, as long as it doesn't include Ohio State. And the other game, TCU is currently up on Arizona State 17 to 14 with 45 seconds to go in the second half in the second quarter. So that game will be going to halftime soon. It's pretty close. So that's uh the updates on those games. So that's about it. So I talked about everything I wanted to talk about. College, NFL, made our picks, did everything we wanted to do there. And uh that's about it, man. Uh, that's all about all I got. So I'll end the podcast here. If you've been listening for a while, we appreciate you. If you're just now joining on, hopefully you like us and enjoy us enough to join us on this ride to talk about sports in the dumbest way possible. And hopefully, this is the first one you've probably you've listened to. Hopefully, you can go and listen to a different pod with both me and Jace on there to kind of get a better idea of what this pod is at its best. When you have both of us here, brothers, talking about sports in the dumbest way possible. And then, but that's about it I have on that. If you like us and enjoy us enough, if you could do a couple things for us, we'd appreciate if you could like our pod, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars wherever you listen to us. We're pretty much available on all audio platforms out there. If you could also share us with friends, family, enemies, anybody you feel like could enjoy the podcast we put out on a weekly basis a couple times a week, especially during football season. We would love if you could do that. And then last but not least, if you could follow us on Twitter and or X, whatever you would like to call it, at JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle, at Javante Boozer is my handle, at Jace Boozer One is Jace's handle, and uh there's a way to hand over the pod to to end it. So I'll say this. Have a great day, have a great night, and we'll be back for another podcast next week. Goodbye, yo.