College Chaos, Contract Drama, And NFL Picks That Sting

Cord-cutting was supposed to make sports simpler. Instead, a fresh showdown between YouTube TV and ESPN yanks games from paying fans in the heart of football season. We dig into why these carriage fights keep happening, who really pays, and how the fallout lands hardest on college Saturdays and Monday nights. From there, the college landscape gets even wilder: Arizona State loses Sam Levitt to season-ending surgery, LSU hits the reset button on both head coach and AD with politics in the background, and Nebraska locks in Matt Rhule through 2032, sending a loud message to any suitors circling. We walk through how these moves shape recruiting, buyouts, and the next wave of hires, then pivot into a detailed Ohio State vs Penn State breakdown where personnel, not just scheme, likely decides the day.

We keep the tempo high across the weekend slate: Texas-Vanderbilt urgency with Arch back, Miami’s pass rush vs SMU’s tempo, Utah’s home night game edge against Cincinnati, Notre Dame’s clean runway, and Georgia’s steady grind against a volatile Florida. Then it’s the NFL’s turn. The Ravens’ fine over Lamar’s late status call shows how betting transparency now shapes league discipline. We break down Baltimore’s dismantling of Miami and roll into game picks grounded in matchups: Denver’s defensive line vs Houston's inconsistent Oline, the Chargers’ firepower against a thin Tennessee, Detroit’s edge with a inconsistent JJ McCarthy opposite, Green Bay’s defense suffocating Carolina’s protection, Jacksonville’s must-handle spot in Vegas, and Seattle’s balanced attack outclassing Washington.

The marquee tilt? Buffalo vs Kansas City, where a revived Chiefs offense meets a banged-up Bills defense. If Mahomes gets red-zone touchdowns instead of field goals, the fourth quarter tilts red and gold. We close with Dallas set up for a home rebound, with Dak, CeeDee, and a deep skill group poised to race past Arizona in a track meet. Hit play for smart context, clean angles, and picks with teeth. If you’re enjoying the show, tap follow, share it with a friend, and drop a five-star review to help more sports fans find us.

Chapters

• 0:09 Solo Host And Halloween Kickoff
• 0:59 YouTube TV vs ESPN: Fan Fallout
• 5:08 Cord-Cutting Costs And Consumer Pain
• 10:40 College QB Injury: Arizona State Hit
• 14:11 LSU Turmoil: Coach And AD Shakeup
• 19:38 Matt Rhule Extension And Penn State Implications
• 26:19 Big Ten Scheduling And Penn State Perception
• 31:29 Ohio State vs Penn State Deep Dive
• 45:10 Texas vs Vanderbilt And Weekend Slate
• 58:43 Rapid College Picks Across The Board
• 1:05:24 Transition To NFL Headlines
• 1:10:24 Ravens Fine And QB Updates Around The League
• 1:14:32 Thursday Night Recap: Ravens Dominate Dolphins
• 1:22:40 Weekly NFL Records And Picking Strategy
• 1:26:18 Early Window NFL Picks And Matchups
• 1:43:38 Late Games, SNF, MNF, And Byes

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome back to the JB Sports Podcast. Today is Friday, October 31st, and we are back for another pod. Happy Halloween. Obviously, by the time you hear this, you probably won't be Halloween anymore. But as to which today is tonight, I am recording on Halloween. Figured it was nice to at least say it. This is a solo Pablo just meet a day. Couldn't get Jace here. He had to work, he had other things going on, but the podcast still has to go on. So I will be here talking to the wall slash my computer. Talk about everything I want to talk about without having Jace on the other side to either put pressure on me to go faster or to make a decision when I decide when we get to the point of making picks for the NFL. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get on to the things I want to talk about. And first off, the thing that's like the biggest deal over the last like 24 hours or so is the YouTube TV and um ESPN debacle, with them not being able to come to a conclusion or just an agreement as to what they want YouTube to pay uh Disney in order to get ESPN and all of that. And with all of that happening, pretty much the news had been sent out. I think today that it's not happening, they won't be getting the channels. Any YouTube TV to subscribers that are looking to get ESPN and all their channels will not be able to. And that thing it's ESPN, all the SPNs, and then the I think that's it, right? I think it's just the ESPNs and uh all the SPN. I don't think I don't think ABC is involved necessarily. But so with that being being part of it, obviously it's gonna hurt college football to a big extent, and then it's also gonna hurt NFL when it comes to Monday night football, and I think that's it, because that's all ESPN does. So definitely a big deal, and I think for everybody that's that's talking about it online is definitely right to do so. I am not a YouTube TV guy, I do Hulu, and then I pay for uh whatever they call it. Why am I forgetting the name of it? I pay for the oh no, Sunday ticket through YouTube. I pay for that. So with all that being the case, I'm set on my channels and all that, so I don't have to worry about missing football games at all. But to everybody out there that had YouTube TV that was doing all that, it's definitely a big deal. It sucks that these companies are making the consumers the one that has to pay the price for all this. Every time that the prices go up between companies, the people that have to pay for it on the back end are always the people that are the buying the services that they have to go through. And it's in every facet of the world, it's not just in TV, it's looking at apps, you're looking at gaming, all of it. Anytime any price goes up, it at the end of the day, the companies that are dealing with this stuff is never actually going to eat it, they're just gonna make the consumers do it, and it is an absolute travesty when it comes to everything because when all of this stuff started happening when it came to getting rid of cable and doing all this, they they say it was supposed to be easy, supposed to be cheaper, supposed to be easier, and the bad part about it is it's really the prices literally kept going up and up year by year by year, and it's getting to the point now where it almost feels like that we never should have got rid of cable in the first place. Yes, it was the devil that we knew, it sucked at the time, but at the end of the day, they it we were sold that things are going to be different, and then you're coming out in the back end, and we're so far into getting rid of real getting rid of real cable, but it kind of gave all these companies a way of like, oh, let's just make you pay for all this stuff piece by piece, and by the time you're done doing it, you'll actually end up paying more than what you were paying when it was just all done through the kit through the cable company. So it sucks. It's it's the worst thing of all time. I I honestly hope that they can get it figured out, but if it got to the point where both ESPN and YouTube TV are sending out all these memos, this doesn't just feel like a like a just a tactic, right? This almost feels like it's like they really plan on not actually going through with having these having football. And honestly, that's mostly what it kills. It does kill other sports as well, but when you're in the middle of football season and everything's happening, like that's what hurts the most. Because in the country, the United States, football is king. So if there's any chance that people can't go watch football they want to watch, it's definitely an issue. And it just sucks that the consumers are the ones that have to pay the price for these companies being greedy and overdoing it and asking for too much. And uh that's uh that's about it. That's all I have on that. Let's just go ahead and get to the actual football that I want to talk about today. And before I actually get to the games, I have a couple news news things to talk about real quick before I get to them. First, um, Arizona State's quarterback, Sam Levitt, is gonna be have stage season-ending injury, season-ending surgery on his foot that he had an injury with, and it was a lingering one that's he's been dealing with with for weeks. They decided it was bad enough to where he just needs to get the surgery and get it out of the way, but he'll be out for the rest of the year. It's definitely a big deal. Arizona State is not necessarily at the top of the Big 12 when it comes to like that top group of teams that can really get the job done, but they were definitely in that next tier with them being at five and three, of them actually having a chance to still kind of make some noise in the Big 12 if things in front of them kind of broke a certain way. But without him being able to play for that for the Sun Devils for the rest of the year, it definitely because they're so reliant on him to go out there and make plays. They do have a very talented wide receiver, but if you don't have your quarterback out there to get the ball to that guy, like what does it matter? So I think they're they're so offensive-centric and they are so reliant on that quarterback and on the throwing it to the wide receivers, and that's like their passing game, that I just think it's probably it's like a death nail to their season for the most part. So it's definitely a definitely a sucky one to have to deal with. And he's just a very talent. Every time you see clips of him or you watch him whenever they're playing, like you go back to the the Cotch Well playoff last year when they made and they were facing off against Texas, like he was balling out. And again, it was also Cam Scattaboo and a couple other guys, but coming into this year, with even without a guy like Cam Scadabo, this quarterback is balling again. Arizona State's not as good as a team as they were last year, but he was still making plenty of plays, and like he was putting the team on his shoulders and going out there and doing his thing. But it just sucks they won't have him because, like I said, it's pretty much a death nail on their season. Uh, next story, LSU. They have parted ways with their athletic director. This is like I think over a week after they had gotten rid of uh oh no, Brian Kelly, the head coach for the LSU football team. And literally, this is like the most insane news story, like of all of it, because not only are you putting your football team in peril, not in peril, but it was already bad enough with Brian Kelly at the helm. So you fire him, you don't want to you want to pay him to go away, fine, cool, awesome. Not gonna get into the buyout or anything like that. It's a ton of money. Apparently, they're going to give have to they don't have to pay him the full buyout because of some type of morality, not morality clause, but there's some clause in there they're taking advantage of to make him have take less of a buy-out. Okay, so they got rid of him. And the next thing you need, you hear, because they don't the university does not actually have a president, who actually the person that's actually making all the decisions for that university, and obviously for the football team, is you could guess it, the LSU governor of all people, which is kind of insane. The fact that he has the authority to kind of jump in and kind of like start making some real decisions for that university. And by all accounts, this dude's an insane person. Again, honestly, most people are when it comes to being in politics, but this dude especially, he came down and he was talking on Twitter, and like it just seems like it was I'm not we don't really get very political on this pod, but I will say this one thing he's very Trump-like, he's definitely in that camp in the way that he conducts himself, and I will go nothing go no more in on that. So, with that, it doesn't seem like he's making the right decision. Obviously, the AD had to go too because he is the guy that had made the decision not only for Brian Kelly to be the head coach, but for Ed O to be the who was the coach for that? No, it was Ed O, right? Yeah, when they fired him? Yeah. So he had made the decision for Ed O to be the to be the guy, but they had that was a bad hiring. Was it Ed O or was it somebody else? Um last three LSU head coaches. Um I just want to make sure I have this right before I go crazy here. Um again, sorry, they had Brian Kelly Brad Davis? Okay, Edo. So this same AD AD had hired Edo. Again, he got the championship, so tech technically it worked out, and then he made the bad hire for Brian Kelly. So it was obvious that he was gonna probably have to go as well, but the decision becomes a lot harder when you do not have a university president to make those decisions. So for whatever reason, the governor was able to come in and start making those, and it was a it was a problem. They were saying if you're gonna make the decision, who is, if you're not actually gonna be the president for long for the long term, so why is he making that decision? Like it was a whole thing, but they are actually getting an interim AD who is now gonna make the decision of who's gonna be the next head coach, which I think is an absolute travesty to a certain degree, because if this net new AD that you're gonna have be like the kind of be like the interim guy, like what what what makes you think that he the or whoever this person is gonna make the right decision as to who your next head coach is gonna be? Because it's a lot easier to do when you don't have to deal with any backlash if whoever whatever guy you end up hiring doesn't get the job done. But if you hire an AD that you know is gonna be tied to that head coach to then have to be held responsible for it if it is if it's a bad decision, it does change the calculus of it when they are making that decision. So I don't know, it's a it's a mess down there in Louisiana, but I'm again I'm just looking at it from the outside looking in. I'm not an LSU fan. Obviously, I'm a Buckeyes fan, so I'm just sitting from the sidelines eating my popcorn and watching all the all of college football burn down around us. So I am more than happy to kind of watch the madness go by, but it still is a very weird scenario going on there, which is like it's very, it's weird. That something that makes again, the universities make so much money, not only in sports, but off the students and all of that. So the fact that things can go so haywire so quickly is an absolute it's it's an insane thing to have to think about. So and then the other story I wanted to talk about was Nebraska. Matt Rule, the head coach for the Nebraska football team, they signed an extension. So he is now going to be signed through the year 2032. It's like a two-year extension that'll get him. Let's see, it increases Rule's buyout this season to 15 million from 5 million, so it's so it makes the buyout a little bit bigger, and then the did it say if it gave him a big so they get his two-year extensions at 12.5 million. So they give him a little bit of paybump at the last couple years of the uh of his contract, and currently he was getting paid 8.5 mil. And then the deal has escalators in the contract, and he'll make 11 million next not next year in 2027. So it's it's weird. I again the reason why they're gonna give him that extension is to try to make it harder for him to leave. I don't think him getting signed this extension is necessarily a death a death nail in the coffin of Penn State looking at him because he has that actual connection with them. But I do think if he if he thought that he was going to leave Nebraska at some point, it makes no sense to go and sign that extension because it only makes it harder on Penn State to get him once they decide to do so. So if you're gonna read the tea leaves on this, it seems like he is he has no desire to go anywhere else anywhere else as of right now. As to why that's the case, I don't know. Maybe he feels very comfortable at Nebraska and what he's going through there. Maybe that's the case. Or maybe he's looking at Penn State and because that's obviously the place that everybody was talking about him going to. Maybe he looks at that spot even though it's his alma mater, and that's the place that he loves so much. Maybe he's looking at it and saying, hey, maybe I don't, I'm not gonna get everything I need once I get there to do the job I want to do there. Maybe that's the case. I doubt that's the case. I think Penn State really does look at themselves as like an Ohio State level program, which they are not, but again, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna go down that road. That's how they view themselves. They look at themselves as as peers with a lot of the top programs in college football. And if they were to get Matt Rule, I think that he would get all of the all the backing he would need to go and do the job he needs to do. Maybe at its most simplest form, maybe he just likes the fact that what he's building at Nebraska and he feels like that he's on the rise there and he feels like he can get he can get the job done there, which I I'm not gonna question. Maybe he just he just loves it there and that's all it is. But you know, but like I said, even st even with him signing that extent that extension, I don't think it's a death nail in the coffin. If somebody throws enough money his way and they're willing to spend the money on the buyout, then it really won't matter anyway. But like I said, him signing it in the first place does kind of give off the ret, like the white flag of saying, hey, I'm out of this race, I'm gonna stay here at Nebraska. So again, it can always change, but it is something to note because he was the big name on the market when it came to the Penn State job, and maybe Florida, maybe LSU. Again, it's they didn't weren't really looking at him because I do feel like he is more of like a his fit is not with like a SEC team with where he's at right now at Nebraska. So I don't know. Like the fit was obviously to Penn State, and it just looks like that may not be happening. So then the question is where is Penn State gonna go after this? Are they gonna still trying to go for a splashy hire, trying to get the best guy, the best, biggest name out there that's not Matt Rule is a big question. Or they're gonna have to go towards getting an up-and-coming guy. Apparently, there was a little bit of news that maybe they're looking at Brian Hartline, and I'm sitting there like, man, I hope that's not the case. Not only because I just think for Brian Hartline, I don't think I don't think that's the job that he should go after because going into a spot like that with such lofty expectations from the start, I don't know if that's gonna end up working out well for him in the long term. And not to mention, I don't like again, it's not necessarily a he's in his first year as the real offensive coordinator for Ohio State. And I don't think being a great offensive coordinator or being a great coordinator in general is a one-for-one thing of saying if you're a great coordinator, you will be a great coach. Or maybe there's some core some coaches that are never good coordinators and they're only meant to be CEOs of big programs they could do the job that way. So I'm not necessarily saying that he is going to fail. I'm not gonna say that. I believe in Brian Hartline, he's that guy, but I think that jumping into a place like Penn State with where they view themselves as his first head coaching job may not be the best thing for him. But again, maybe I'm just being selfish. I'm a little bit slanted in that way. I don't want to see him go to Penn State because I love the fact what he's doing at Ohio State as the wide receiver recruiter that he is and the coach, bringing in guys like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and all these other guys, Chris Endure Jr., a guy coming up in high school. Like, so the fact that he's bringing up all bringing in all these guys is definitely something that I like as a Buckeye fan. But when I look at it from his point of view, what I'm trying, at least I'm trying to, again, I can't take away, totally take away the bias that I have as a Buckeye fan. I just don't think that going to Penn State with the maybe he likes the pressure, I don't know. I just don't think that is a recipe for long-term success. Just because it's Penn State. Like no, even if you get Penn State have a because maybe I'll just sit, maybe I'm on the outside on this, and would I view Penn State as the program? Yes, I think they're probably a top 15 school in all of college football, like what they have, resources and everything. But I just think that they there is a gap between the top of the top and then the rest. But I think there's a little bit of a there's a little bit of people like thinking like like I said, they think their peers go to Ohio State when they I don't really think they are. So I think there is some disillusion like amongst that fan base and amongst the boosters there to where they think they can be Ohio State when I really don't think that's the case. That's what I think the disconnect is with where I think Penn State looks at themselves and where what everybody else look at looks at Penn State as from a map from a national level. So I don't know. Again, I hope I hope Brian Hartline stays. Obviously, I'm very, very hoping for that. But you know, if if he decides to make the just make that make that jump, then good for him. I hate to would have to see I hate to have to see him on the other side at some point. But again, even if he does go there, it's not like Ohio State will play them anytime soon. I think after this weekend where Ohio State will be playing Penn State, they don't play Penn State until like 2028, I think. So it it was like a whole thing, and apparently the news had come out that the Big Ten gave the conference, gave every school a chance to be like, hey, which teams do you want to play every year? Kind of like just have all the teams decide who they think the teams they should be playing every year should be, your rivals and all of that. Ohio State picked Penn State and Michigan as the two teams they should play every year. In Penn State decided to pick a nobody. They do not want to have a yearly rivalry with Ohio State, like unlike what uh fans think Penn State is, where they think they, oh, we're one of Ohio State's biggest rivals, we should be playing them every year. Obviously, the school decided that they did not want to take that plunge and be guaranteed to play Ohio State every year. So they decided we don't want to have any sort of rivals to have to play every year. We want to have our schedules kind of keep um switching out, so cool. It just kind of shows that when rubber hit the road and they had the opportunity to call Ohio State out and say, hey, we want to be able to be that team to play them every year, they decided not to, they don't want to have to deal with Ohio State on a yearly basis. And I just think that shows that maybe a little bit, maybe a little bit of self being self-aware a little bit of the fact that they don't think they are Ohio State in their heart of hearts. But I don't know. Again, it's all that matters is what you kind of show out there for everybody to see. And from what they try to show themselves to be, they don't they think they are a team that should be at the top of college football, and they are not that. And I think their decision to not play Ohio State year in, year out in this new college football playoff era just kind of shows that they, when it was time for them to make that decision, they they put their tails between their legs and ran off. So who knows? Who knows who the next quarterback, next coach will be for them. And heck, they're gonna have a hard, very hard weekend this weekend. I'll talk about that here in a bit. But uh, that's it. That's about it on that story. So let's get out of talking about the news stuff and let's get into talking some football. And we should have some better games this week. I think last weekend there was like three or four big games that were pretty notable to have to talk about. I think will be a little bit better this weekend, but can't guarantee it. Actually, no, we'll be better. I see one. Well, I honestly I can't really say it's one because that game I care about, but I can't say it has a nat the national relevance that it once had. But you have that game, so you have like another three or four game Saturday. Maybe possibly. Alright, so the weekend will be pretty close to what it was last weekend. Not a lot of crazy big games. So let's just get to it. Let's start with well, let's get to it. I already talked about Ohio State, Penn State. Let's just let's just get to that right away. Penn State is coming to Ohio State to play in the shoe this weekend, Saturday, tomorrow, at noon, in the shoe. Ohio State's gonna black out the stadium when it comes to the fans. It's unfortunate that the players won't be wearing the all-black unis to go with that. That would be very nice if they did so. But apparently they decided not to. But honestly, I'm not gonna think too hard about it. It is what it is, doesn't really matter. Penn State coming in to play Ohio State. This game before this season started was supposed to be a top 10, top five matchup. Everybody was looking at this day to be the day that Penn State coming out, coming off of last year when they kept all their guys and brought back Drew Aller, and they're like, oh, this is Penn State gearing up for this season to be their year, where they can be the next Michigan, the next Ohio State from last year, and kind of make themselves kind of like that team where they bring back a lot of their dudes. They have a very veteran team, veteran quarterback, and they were going to try to make their run. And everybody looked at this date where Penn State would be able to flip the script on Ohio State, a team coming into the year that was replacing a quarterback, replacing a bunch of defensive guys, and kind of having a lot of new pieces uh defensively. And then on top of all that fact, Penn State took the defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, away from Ohio State. So it just felt like before the year that this was going to be a coordination for Penn State to be able to take that next step to be that team, to win the big game with James Franklin as the head coach by taking the defense coordinator from Ohio State with Ohio State missing all the guys they have, all the guys they had drafted from the defense last year and not having the having a brand new quarterback. This was supposed to be Penn State's day, and we have all seen how Penn State's year has gone as of as of this point. They are three and four on the year. Penn State season is effectively over. Their coach, James Franklin, has been fired. They lost Drew Aller. He is not gonna be playing for them the rest of this year with his injury that he had to his leg. And it is an absolute It is the biggest bummer on what this game could have been if Penn State had just held up their end of the bargain. And did I think Penn State was gonna be that team coming into this year? No, I didn't. I didn't, I was not all going along with what everybody thought this team was gonna cut was going to be coming into the year because I had watched Penn State play and I had watched him play at Ohio State, and I looked at Drew Aller as the quarterback coming back for them, and I'm saying, what is gonna be make him different coming into next year? And they brought in all those transfer receivers. What was gonna guarantee that those guys are gonna be better than the guys they brought in last year that didn't work? And I just I didn't believe in Penn State at all coming into the year. So the what I think how I look at this Penn State team really hasn't changed from the start of the year to what it is now. I just think that the how everybody else nationally has looked at Penn State has now come down to actually, I can't say I have thought Penn State was this bad all year long. I did not think that I thought coming into the year Penn State was going to be the team they've always been, with James Franken as their coach. They're gonna be 10-2, 9-3, 10-2, lose to Ohio State, lose to like the Ohio State at least, lose to Oregon, lose to the biggest teams on their schedule for the Big Ten, and then get to the playoff and do what they usually do, play a couple games, and then lose to a big boy again. That's what I thought Penn State was gonna be coming into the year. They are obviously lower than that now. They have lost some real games that Penn State should never have lost. Obviously, because of that, James Franken was fired. And even though they their team is a lot worse than what everybody thought it was coming into the year, they are still there, they are still a very talented team. But they have a brand new quarterback and Gronkmeyer. Why am I forgetting his name? It is hold on, let me get his name. Because he is a Ohio guy, so I do feel like I feel a little bit Grunk Gronkmeyer. He is a guy from Ohio, so I do have to give him that respect. But when I watched him play last week, he wasn't very good at throwing the football. So he is their quarterback coming into this week. They are coming off a bye. So look coming looking at this game, Ohio State's 20-point favorites going into it tomorrow. And the way I look at it is that I think Penn State's gonna put up their best fight that they can. They're coming off a bye, so whatever changes they're gonna make are probably gonna be the biggest they're gonna have this year. And but Ohio State's coming off a bye as well. So I just think that this is two teams that are gonna be ready to go. It is gonna be a little bit of a question mark as to what Penn State will look like offensively coming into this game because they had made so many, many different, so many, so many changes they were saying with their offense. Apparently, they're installing a brand new offense. Do I believe any of that's gonna make a huge difference? Probably not, because at the end of the day, Penn State's offense was already bad when they had the guys they felt like were their best, and now they don't have their quarterback they started the year with, and Drew Aller. They have a guy in there that really doesn't like he can throw the football, he doesn't look very confident out there throwing the ball, and their wide receivers have not been good all year. How is that how do I think that's gonna change now over a bye week? I really don't think it is going to. When it comes to the Penn State running game, that's really their bread and butter. That's really all that they have with those two very good running backs. But even with that being the case, they haven't ran the football well all year long. So I just think Penn State offensively is not gonna have enough to even think they can score 10 points on Ohio State's defense with what Ohio State has done so far this year. I just don't think Ohio State's defense is going to let Penn State be able to do anything. I think this will be another game where Ohio State's going to put the pillow over Penn State's face and say, we are just gonna choke you out for the rest of this game. When you decide to tap out is when we will stop putting the hurt on you. So I think defensively for Ohio State, I don't think this game will be much of an issue. When it comes to the Penn State defense, they do have a bunch of guys still. They have talented guys. Do they have a good defense? No, they do not. They have let teams all year long score a ton of points on them. Iowa scored 25 points against them. Northwestern scored 22 points against them. UCLA scored 42 against them. And those are teams they have lost to that are not good. Like I was fine, but Northwestern is a fine team, but they're not looked at as like a great team in college football, and neither is UCLA. So if those teams are able to score, score that much against this vaunted Penn State defense coming into the year, which again they have guys, but they weren't like they weren't looked at as like the best in college football coming in. But Penn State's always had a good level of defense. And when you take Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator from Ohio State, you think that there should be a bump. And that has not been the case because I have been through this Jim Knowles phase of getting that defense coordinator to come in and try to change your defense, and it takes a few years for things to take. And from what I have read, from what players have said, the defense is very difficult to learn. And even with the guys that they that he is teaching on that Penn State roster being a little bit more veteran, it does take time to learn it. So the first year is always going to be a little bit of a downer in comparison to what year two and year three are going to look like if you have those same players learning that system that he likes to employ. And it has not been good and it has not gone all that well. They do have some very good defensive line that you have to worry about. But I think Ohio State's offensive line outside of right guard, I think they've done very well, and I think they've pass blocked very well. So the running game is a little bit hit hit hit or miss when it comes to how that has looked so far this year, but I think it'll be. Enough for Ohio State to be able to get things going because I don't think Penn State has had to deal, even with all those points they have let beat they have let other teams score, those teams don't have the office offensive talent that Ohio State has. Am I worried a little bit about Jim Knowles, the former DC knowing what Ohio State likes to do because he had faced that Ryan Day offense for three years as a DC? Yeah, for sure. I think there's a little bit of that to worry about. But at that, but when that kind of goes away, it comes down to player, like no matter how much Jim Knowles knows of what the Ohio State offense wants to do, it ultimately comes down to players doing the job against other players. And at the end of the day, I don't think Penn State has a DB room that can stop the wide receivers that Ohio State has. I don't think they have a DB that can stop Jeremiah Smith or Carnell Tate or Max Clare and the running backs, I think Bo Jackson and all like throwing them the ball on the outside. I don't think they have a secondary that can stop those guys. And not to mention Penn State lost like one of their best defensive players in their linebacker. Why am I forgetting that guy's name that they lost? But it was like one of their best defensive players. He's not going to be there due to injury. So I just don't, I don't think, even with Jim Knowles having a good idea of what Ohio State likes to do offensively, I just don't think it'll be enough. I think Ohio State, with and from what everything Ryan Day had said during the week when they asked him about the whole Jim Knowles thing, he looks, he said all the right things. He said he was appreciative of what Jim Knowles did while he was there. He helped him win a national title. But he did say, I am, I am human at the end of the day. And if you read between the lines, I think he's saying fuck him. I think Ryan Day, if you read between the lines of what he was saying throughout the week about Jim Knowles and that whole situation, I think he, if he gets the opportunity, be more than happy to run up the score on Penn State in that defense. And I think Penn State will give them opportunities too, because I just don't think offensively Penn State's gonna be able to put up a fight to be able to really put pressure on this Ohio State defense to have to do anything. And once that happens, it's only a matter of time before Ohio State figures out what Jim Knowles is doing defensively. And Julian Saiyan has been an absolute computer back there, and if he knows what he's looking at, he's gonna make the right throw and he's gonna get the ball to his to his guys, and they're gonna make big plays. And I think with all that put together, I think Ohio State will win this game going away. I think they'll be more than happy to cover that 20-point spread, and I think they'll do the job happily because I think Ryan Day, when he decides he wants to make a dude look stupid on the field, and especially if it's another coach on the other side, he has very little remorse and he will do so without much of a problem. So I think Ohio State, Ryan Day will go out there with looking for blood, and they will get it because I think Penn State, as much as I think they do still have talented dudes, I just don't think they have a talented team. I just think they don't have a team that can beat what Ohio State is going is looking like right now. And do I think Penn State will be able to wake up and make this a little bit of a fight there to start the game? Maybe, possibly. But I just think as this game goes along, Ohio State will be able to strangle Penn State and take the life out of them. And I think Ohio State will prevail, and I think they'll cover the 20-point spread that they have to cover. Uh, next game, Vandy, Texas. This is another big game going on tomorrow. Texas is going to be a game time decision as to whether uh Arch Manning will be able to play because he's coming off of the concussion that he got in the last week's game against Mississippi State. I don't think it's been announced yet. Let me check here. Okay, as of half an hour ago, Arch is off the Texas injury report and he is set to start against Vanny tomorrow. So good news for them. I don't know. Is it good news for them? Maybe it is. Maybe with how he played last week week against Mississippi State, maybe he figured something out because they did kind of explode in that fourth quarter to come back from the 17-point um deficit that they were dealing with against Mississippi State last week, or was that a because they were facing a bad, a not good. I don't think Mississippi State is bad. I think they're a very what's the word I'm looking for? They're a they have a they have a team with a lot of fight, Mississippi's Mississippi State is. But do I think they are a team that has a talent of a team like Texas? Probably not. And I think once Texas kind of it clicked and Arch Manning kind of started throwing the football a little bit better there in that fourth quarter, and they made some plays, they did come back, win that game. So the question is, is that their offense figuring something out, or is that them them just having a kind of a spark for the day, and then they kind of go back to like struggling here against Vanderbilt is gonna be a big question. Texas's defense has been kind of struggling throughout this year, and it they have looked up and down throughout. So, what Texas defense is gonna show up against this Vanderbilt team is gonna be a big question. Vanderbilt, this is like the first road game they have played in like a month and a half. Texas is the first home game that they have been playing in like a month and a half as well. So Vandy has to go into a little bit more of a hostile environment against Texas, and I think do I think Vandy, led by Diego Pavia, is going to be able to do make enough plays to win the game? Potentially, yeah, for sure. But the thing is, is that what they will have to look at is a very good Texas defense if that defense shows up, is the big question. And can Vandy, if if Texas does show up defensively, can Vandy do enough damage against them in order to win this game? I think they have the capability to. But let's think about it. The last time they faced up against a little bit more talented of a defense in Alabama, Diego Pavia turned the football over twice in the red zone for them to lose that game. It was still a very close game, but he made some big uh big uh bad decisions and big moments in the red zone against that Alabama team that kind of led to them losing. And that Alabama defense is nowhere near what this Texas defense is at their best. And then not to mention, I think Vandy's defense is good, but I just don't think they are a team that can necessarily lock down anybody. And if Texas, with Arch Manning at the helm, can have have really figured something out, I think it'll be very hard for Texas' defense to stop them. But do I think that's really the case? Probably not, because it's just it's just very hard for me to believe that Texas Arch Manning has really figured something out and that they've they've really changed their offense from what they've been all year. So I don't know. Texas is favored by three and a half. I think Texas being at home is definitely a big deal, and I think Texas coming into this game will try to run the football a lot, and I think Vanderbilt will try to run the football. And here's the thing about Vanderbilt is that if they can't run the football like they want to, they don't really have a great drop back offense that Diego and Diego Pafia is not consistent enough when it comes to just dropping back and throwing the football all over the yard. Like, I don't think they have an offense that can do that if they are forced to. And I think Texas's defense has the capability to force a force that Van Dy offense to really not be able to run the football at all, and I think that'll really put Van Dy in some trouble. So the question is what Texas defense will show up, and I think it's more likely than not a decent Tex I don't think the best Texas defense will show up, but even if they're decent, I just think it'll make the job very hard on Vandy. But can Texas de offensively be able to take advantage of Vanderbilt? I don't know. I'll lead I'll lean on Texas here to win the game because I just think that Vanderbilt just has a little bit too much not going their way. I think Vanderbilt at home is a bigger, a much different animal to deal with. But unfortunately, Vanderbilt has to travel to Texas to deal with the deal with them. I don't think that Vanderbilt will be phased by the by the crowd that Texas is going to have. But I just do think that it's just gonna ever so slightly lean towards Texas's way. And if they can have any sort of positive momentum, Texas, and kind of have things going their way, I think their fans will be going rowdy, and I think it'll just make it a little bit harder for Vanderbilt to be able to kind of establish their dominance in the way they want to run the football and then throw the football base off their run and have Diego Pavia be running all over the place and do the job. Again, I would love if Vanderbilt won the game. I think I might put a little bit of money on Vanderbilt money line just in case, just to have a little bit of a bankroll if they decide to come out and really shock the world against this Texas team. But I don't know. I'll I'll lean toward Texas here because I just think their defense, if they just show up and have a decent day, should make the job a lot harder on Vanderbilt than Vanderbilt can make it on Texas. Next game, my uh number 10, Miami going to going to SMU. Miami coming off of their loss that they had against Louisville. I think they had a bye last week. No, they had a they played Stanford. So they play actually as close to a buy as you could possibly get. Miami is coming off their one against Stanford, and then you have SMU coming off of their loss to Wake Forest. I don't know. I don't know, man. I think SMU, if they're at their best, can keep up with Miami offensively, but I think Miami's defense is very good. I think they have a very good pass rush, and I think they could definitely get some pressure on SMU's offense. And if that's the case, and if Miami does not have a bunch of turnovers from uh why from Carson Beck. Wow, I don't know why I forgot his name there. But if Carson Beck doesn't throw multiple picks, I do think Miami should be able to win this game pretty handedily. They are 10 and a half point favorites coming into this game, so so Las Vegas truly does believe that Miami is a much better team, even going to SMU. But SMU offensively, they have things clicking. They definitely can give Miami a scare, but I just don't think they have the offensive and defensive lines to be able to stop Miami from doing what they want to do. And again, if Miami and Carson Beck don't give SMU a chance to win this game, I don't think SMU really does have it, have a chance to win because Miami's just a lot better, they're a more talented football team. But again, we were saying that against Louisville, and they managed to lose against them. So we've seen crazier things happen, but I do lean Miami to win that game. Let's see. Any other games that I look at that I'm very interested by? Arizona State going to Iowa State is definitely gonna be, especially coming off of the news that Arizona State won't have their quarterback going into that game. Iowa State's a lot harder team to play when you have to go to Iowa to play them. So I think Iowa State should be able to win that game. I think Iowa State's they're favored by seven and a half. Now I'm guessing the the quarterback news is baked into that. So I do think Iowa State should be able to win that game. You have Indiana going to play play Maryland. Maryland is a little bit harder team to face than you would think, but I think Indiana has shown throughout this year that when they face Tomato Cans, they they treat them accordingly. I don't think Indiana's really going to give Maryland a chance to really think they can win the football game. But I do think Maryland offensively, they are a little bit of a dog. And by a dog, I mean like they have some heart in them. So I think Maryland can score. It's just the question is can Indiana kind of like sew this thing up and like take the will out of Maryland before that before anything weird happens in this game. I think Indiana will be able to, but again, there is a little bit of fear there because Maryland just does have a little bit more of a good so they do have some juice offensively. But I think defensively of Maryland, I don't think they can do anything to stop Indiana from scoring whatsoever. So as long as Indiana does their job in keeping this from being like a track meet when it comes to scoring back and forth, I do think Indiana should be able to win this game pretty handedly, and I think Las Vegas believes that too, with the line being 21 and a half points, but with Indiana being that favorite. You have next game, you got Georgia, number five, Georgia going to Florida. Florida, another team without a head coach now because they fired theirs. You have Georgia coming in, I think, off of a bye, right? Yeah, that was a bye because they played almost two weeks ago. So Georgia coming off of a bye in this game. And Georgia's kind of been under the radar so far this year, even though Georgia has not been looking great all year long. Like they've had a couple moments where they look like they are kind of putting things together and then they kind of struggle. And do I think that Florida does Florida have a chance to kind of make this a matchup game? I think Florida has a talent too. And I think if their athletes wake up and they play their best game, I think they can give Georgia a little bit of a scare, especially with this game being at Florida. But I do think in the end, because Georgia led by Kirby Smart, they know how to win. And I think this may not be Geor like Kirby's most talented team that they have had under his tutelage there, but I do think they are a team that he loves. And I think that I think that if you give them an opportunity to go out there and win the game, I think they will. And I think Florida, as much as I think they have a talented team, I just don't think it's consistent enough. And I just don't think Florida's gonna be able to put four quarters together to be able to beat Georgia in a game like that. So I do think Georgia's gonna win the game. Georgia is a seven and a half point favorite going into it. I do think Georgia will probably cover. But again, I do think if Georgia doesn't bring their A game, man, I just think this game can look a little hairy at times. But the problem is that if Georgia doesn't show up, can Florida take advantage and actually get the job done? And I think by the fact that their coaches fired, I just don't think they have the capability to do so because if they did, they wouldn't have fired their coach in the middle of the season. So I don't know. Georgia should win that game, but I've seen Georgia look pretty bad at points this year. So who knows? Uh Notre Dame, Boston College, Notre Dame uh now ranked number 12. It's like ever since they had their early losses this year to AM and to LSU, right? Those are the teams they lost to? No, Miami. Miami and AM AM. Their path has been very simple. If they win out the rest of their games after losing those first two, they should be able to make the pretty playoff pretty handily. Okay. They have been doing so. They've been taking care of business, they've been doing what they have to do, and their offense has been has been getting better and better, and their defense, though not dominant like they were last year, they make enough plays in big moments to be able to get the job done. The rest of their schedule that they have so far, they play Boston College tomorrow, then they play Navy at Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Stanford to end their season. All of those teams have nothing, they can't do anything with Notre Dame if they play at their best. If there's a chance that Notre Dame loses one of these games, it's because Notre Dame shoots themselves in the foot. And I think that is definitely the case tomorrow with Boston College. They should not lose this game whatsoever. They are a 30 and a half point favorite going into this game, and I think that's pretty that's pretty spot on because Notre Dame is just that team. And as long as they can run the football, make some plays with their young quarterback, I think they'll be more than happy to win this game pretty handedly. And I think Boston College doesn't have the same team that Notre Dame has. And I think Notre Dame will be able to push them around the line of scrimmages and kind of take control of this game pretty early. So I think I do leave Notre Dame to win this game, even if even if the game is at Boston College, I then I think Notre Dame will be able to win this game pretty handedly and get the job done. Texas Tech. They are going to Kansas State to play a game. Texas Tech is coming off of their first loss of the year when they lost to actually no, they lost a couple weeks ago to Arizona State. They beat Oklahoma State last week. They have lost their backup quarterback, I believe. No, I'm right on that. They lost their backup last week. Hold on, let me make sure. Let's see here. Yeah, so they have the so they have Baron Morton, their starting quarterback, coming into this game. He is he is coming off an injury. He hasn't played in a couple weeks. And in his stead, Will Hammond, the freshman quarterback, has been playing. The news this week was that Will Hammond, the guy that's been playing, cannot play for the rest of the year. He had an injury, got a surgery, he's done for the year. Now they have the quarterback coming back. That was their starter to begin the year, Morton. Coming into this game against Kansas State, Kansas State is a pretty decent offensive team. I don't think their defense is necessarily all that live. So I do think that Texas Tech will be able to kind of get some get the job done offensively. But the question is, will they be able to hold off Kansas State offensively from being able to score? And if this becomes a back and forth type of game, can Texas Tech come out on top? I do think they can. I do think they have the opportunity to kind of control the line of scrimmages a little bit more. And I do think Texas Tech's defense is fairly good. So I do think they'll have a decent chance to stop that Kansas State offense, but you just have to do it early. And you just can't let Kansas State kind of let the ball get rolling offensively, being able to run the football with the type of offense that they have. They don't have the most explosive offense when it comes to throwing the football, but when they run, they definitely can get there. And if you start getting off balance when it comes to their run to pass and all of that, and they start kind of getting a rhythm, I think the game can get a little bit dangerous there if you kind of let it get that way. So the way I see it, Texas Tech should win this game without much of an issue. But I think the line is seven minus seven and a half Texas Tech's way for a reason. I think Kansas State does have an opportunity if they can take advantage, if they can kind of come into this game and play with the way they need to play. But I think Texas Tech should win this game. They're the better team. They should win this game without they should win this game. Next game, Michigan State at Minnesota. Again, I'm only saying this, I'm only mentioning this game because I need Michigan State to win six games this year. They're sitting at three and five. And the way I see it, the rest of their games, they have Minnesota tomorrow, then they have Penn State, Iowa, and Maryland. So I need them to win three more games out of the next four. And they need this game tomorrow. They need it. The problem is, and I only said, and I'm only saying that because I bet on Michigan State because of the whole thing with my brother Jace. He is a Michigan State fan. And I have like the last two seasons have gone into these seasons betting on Michigan State to beat their win total. This year, their win total was five and a half. So I need them to win six games. In order for them to get there, they need this game. Do I think they can get the job done? Potentially, but I think Minnesota's a good team. Their offense is fairly good. Their defense, they're not locked down, but they do have dudes that can kind of make plays. And the problem with Michigan State this year is that defensively they have been absolutely horrendous this year. I think offensively they can they do have dues that can make plays, obviously. With their with their quarterback and Aiden Childs, with Nick Marsh, I do think they have offensively enough pieces to make this a game. But it's just defensively, they are just so bad. And if Aiden Childs is not like if he keeps making mistakes and kind of turnovers and all of that, this game will be over before you know it. So as much as I'm rooting for Michigan State to win this game, I really am. It's just that if Aiden Childs can't like play a clean game, I think Michigan State will be blown out in this game. But I'm gonna hope for Michigan State to win. I really am, but I know with my brain, I'm like Minnesota should probably win this game, especially with them being at home. Next one, let's see. South Carolina is going to Ole Miss. Ole Miss is coming off of their win against Oklahoma last week. Lane Kiffin, the coach for Ole Miss, is has a lot of his name is in a lot of news right now because he is the top candidate for both LSU and for Florida to be their next head coach. So there's a lot of his name's in the news, his name's out there, a lot of things are coming his way. Is he going to be focused on the job at hand? The team obviously hears about him and potentially getting a new job and doing all of that. So are they going to be able to kind of block out the outside noise to able to get the job that they need to get done? Because Ole Miss, the way they're going right now, they can be a playoff team if they kind of take care of business the rest of the of the year. And with that, I just think that South Carolina is a hard team to play at home. But on the road, South Carolina is a lot worse because they just don't have that home crowd. They kind of help them out. And South Carolina does have some talented dudes. They have the core they have their quarterback and Lenora Sellers. They have some talented wide receivers. And their defense, they do have the one game wrecker. Why am I forgetting that guy's name? Because he is an absolute monster. Hold on, let me find his name. I have to find it now because I thought about it. Let's go. Roster. What's that guy's name? He's a beast. He was supposed to go to Ohio State, but then he kind of decided to go to South Carolina and get to get more money. Let's see here. What's his name? Defensive ends. Come on. DBs. Oh, come on. Where is he at? Is he a oh Dylan Stewart? They have him listed as a linebacker, but he mostly goes after the passer. Dylan Stewart's an absolute monster, but they really don't have a lot else on that defense outside of him. So with that, I do think Olmus should be able to win this game pretty handily because with Trinidad Chambless, their quarterback at the helm, throwing the football, running when he needs to. They have enough weapons. And especially with as long as they stay focused, right? Olmus over the years has been known to lose these stupid games, they probably shouldn't lose. And this is a game that would qualify as a game they should not lose against a their South Carolina's an okay team, but on paper, they should be nowhere near on the same level as Olmis. Ole Miss is a much better team overall. But I do think if Ole Miss does not take this South Carolina team seriously, they can come out and kind of punch Ole Miss in the mouth and then kind of get him dazed and then see where it goes from there. But I just think that if Ole Miss is focused, they should win this game without much of an issue. But it's just again, it's just they lose games like this all the time. So they lost Kentucky last year. So they just gotta make sure they kind of have their eye on the prize. And then as long as that's the case, they should be able to win this game tomorrow. Next game. Do they really do I see anything else I really have to talk about here? Purdue plays Michigan. Michigan is a 21 and a half point favorite. Michigan should win. 21 and a half points against anybody is kind of insane to have that type of that type of spread against a team. Against a at least against a Big Ten team. If it was like a FB, if it was FCS team, then fine. But Michigan has not been consistent enough offensively to get a 21.5 point line, which is kind of insane to me. Um let's see. Georgia Tech is playing NC State. Georgia Tech is ranked number eight in the country. They're five and a half point favorite in this game. Again, Georgia Tech has not really won pretty all year. They may they win this game with all their games with grit. They get the job done, they do it with toughness, but it just doesn't always look easy like it probably should against teams that aren't as good as them. But they should win this game. NC State's not really good, so I do think Georgia Tech should win. But it's just can they take an inferior team and like treat them that way and get the job done early? That's like the big question for them this year, but who knows? Let's see. Next one. Tennessee ranked on ranked matchup. Oklahoma coming off of their loss against Ole Miss. Tech Tennessee is coming off of their win against Kentucky. Very big win. These are two teams where very differing styles here. Oklahoma was really based off of their defense. At least that's what people were saying coming into the year. They started the year so well. They had their quarterback being um John Mateer playing so well. He had the thumb injury, and then ever since he came back, starting with that Texas game, he just has not looked all that great in that Texas game and then in the game against Ole Miss. He did better against Ole Miss last week, but he's making some big mistakes. He's turning the football over, which is a very bad deal for their team because they just don't their defense has not been consistent enough to really stop more high octane offenses they have to face. So if Matir can't if he can't lay off them the turnovers, I do think they might lose this game against Tennessee. But the problem with Tennessee is that as much as I think their offense is very good, I don't think their quarterback, Joey Aguilar, deals well with pressure. If he has pressure in his face, he doesn't, he's not really able to make the plays he probably needs to play. No, sorry, he's not able to make the plays he needs to make for this offense because defensively, Tennessee is not all that good. They are, whatever team they're facing, they are going to score points. So I think the real question is which team is going to be able to make less mistakes offensively. And I think that will be the decider in this game. And if I had to choose, I'd probably put a little bit more faith in Oklahoma because they even though their defense is not nearly as good as what everybody was saying it was to like throughout the beginning of the year, I do think they just have a little bit more when it comes to getting after the passer that'll be able to make Tennessee uncomfortable offensively. Joey Aguilar, I just don't think he'll be able to feel comfortable in the pocket, and I think that'll lead to him making a few more mistakes than John Matear will make. So I don't know. I don't know. But John Mateer has not played really all that well, though. In Tennessee's defense, no, I'll go with Oklahoma because I just don't I just don't think Tennessee's defense will be able to make John Mateer make the the mistakes he's been making over the last few weeks, even though Ole Miss isn't really great offensively, I mean defensively either, and they still lost that game. I don't know. I'll lean Oklahoma, but I don't feel good about it at all. I don't. Yeah, it's a problem. It's gonna be a tough game, but I think both these teams are kind of like mere opposites of each other, and whoever will make the least amount of mistakes will probably win it. But I'll lean Oklahoma. Next game, number 23 USC going to Nebraska and Nebraska coming off of the loss that they had last week to no, they didn't lose last week. They beat Northwestern. But the week before they beat Minnesota, I mean they lost to Minnesota. So the question is, is that can Northwest, I mean Nebraska coming into this game, playing against a good UFC team, but not great? Can Nebraska offensively keep up with UFC? Is the question. And I don't think so. I wouldn't put money on that because uh Dylan Rayola, their quarterback, is just very inconsistent as a passer. He'll hit some very beautiful balls that you're like, oh, that's where all the talent everybody's talking about is. And then other times he'll be dirtying balls that are 10 yards away. I just don't know. He's very inconsistent in that way. And when they run the football, it gets a lot more, it gets a lot better for them because they can be a little more balanced, but they do like getting attached to throwing the football over the place with Dylan Royola as their quarterback, and that's when they really get in trouble. I think the stat I heard earlier this week was that when their main running back, why am I forgetting that guy's name, Emmett Johnson, when he runs the football more than twenty times, they're like three and L. And then when they don't they they win when he Runs the football more than more than 20 times. And then if he runs the football less than 20 times, I think they're like three and they're like two and three or something like no sorry. They're like three and two and they lost both of those games when that wasn't the case. And also when they don't run the football like they need to, Dylan Rayola does get sacked a lot more because that offensive line is not as consistent as it needs to be. So if they don't have the balance being able to run the football along with passing it, Dylan Riola gets he doesn't get as much time in the pocket back there because he'll end up getting sacked more. And then when he does get a chance, he will not be as consistent throwing the football on the field. So all that being the case, and on top of that, USC on their side, I do think they have an offense that is a little bit more consistent. Jaden Maieva, their quarterback, is a little bit more seasoned. He's played a lot more college football. He's more consistent, even with pressure in his face. He does, he's a gamer. He's going out there making plays. He can do it with his feet, with his arm, doing everything he needs to do. They do have some wide receivers that Nebraska's gonna have to worry about. And here's the thing USC does try to run the football. It's not all that effective all the time, but they do try to run the football. And Nebraska's defense is not as good as what they would think it would be. And I think it's shown throughout this year that Nebraska's defense is not all that consistent and not all that talented. So if USC is able to establish a run game to help out Jane Mayeva and let him be able to make the plays when he needs to, throwing and running the football, I think USC, USC should be able to win this game. But again, it'd be it's very hard for me to put any real type of faith in USC because of their coach Lincoln Riley not necessarily having a track record of winning the games they need to win in this spot. And again, I'm not saying this is a big game because Lincoln Riley definitely doesn't win those, but when it comes to facing teams that are just a little bit more tough than they are, it does put into question, but I just don't think Nebraska's a very tough team. So I do think this game is pretty even. I think this is a a game where I think USC should be able to win it because Nebraska offensively is just not consistent enough. And let's see. Last game I want to talk about was Cincinnati and Utah. Ranked on rank matchup. This game is probably let me make sure I'm looking at this right. These are two teams that are near the top of the of the uh Big 12. And I think that Cincinnati has been undefeated in the conference so far. Their only loss is when they face Nebraska at the beginning of the year. And Cincinnati is going into Utah to go play them in Provo. And I think Utah is like a 10 and a half point favorite in this game, which is kind of crazy because I think Cincinnati has been very good all year long, especially in the Big 12. And I think Brendan Soresby, their quarterback, has been very good, not only with running the football but running, but throwing it as well. But the problem is that Utah is such a hard place to play when they're at home. And especially when the game's at night, I think this game definitely plays into Utah's hands. But I think Cincinnati's a very tough team, and they think they're very talented. But it's just Utah, do they have uh Dampierre, their quarterback, coming in? Is he gonna be able to play coming off an injury? I think so. Yeah, he'll be able to play. So in Utah, if they face a team that they can kind of overpower on the defensive and offensive lines, Utah really usually they usually take advantage of that, and they really do try to pound the football and they try to beat you um on the line of scrimmages. And when that is the case, they are a much harder team to face. So I'll lean Utah to win this game because I just think at home they're just a different animal to have to face. But I do think this game will be a very close one, and I think Cincinnati will be they will make this game tough. I really do think they will. But the qua the 10 and a half point spread is a little bit weird to me because I just think that these teams are a lot closer than that when it comes to the talent on the field. But I do think the the hometown, the the home stadium vibe, I really do think helps Utah a lot. And they're just a much different beast to face at home. So I'll lean Utah to win this game, but I do think it'll be a very tough one between these two. I think it'll be a pretty, very good game between these two teams. Alright, and that's it with the college football games. How long have I been? About an hour. Okay. All right. I I wanted to get it done a little sooner than that, but okay. We'll we'll try to get to the NFL a little bit faster here. But I just want to make sure I talked about all the college football games I wanted to talk about and all of that. So that's about it for college football. I don't want to go too like there's really nothing else to talk about. So let's get into the NFL here. So let's click over to that. Hold on. Let's is there any news I wanted to talk about in the NFL before I get to the games? The Ravens were fit fined 100k for the Jackson, for the Lamar Jackson thing, because before we potted last time, no, when we potted last time, we talked about a little bit the fact that the Ravens had said that Lamar was going to play, and then on Saturday, they decided they weren't going to play him, and they down they uh downgraded him to out, and then it was like a whole debacle with all the betting stuff and all of that. And so the NFL did find them 100k for playing that little game of chicken of trying to make the um Miami Dolphins no, not my not Miami, who'd they face last week? The Bears. Uh to try to make the Bears have to worry about facing Lamar and then not playing him at all. So they did have to pay a hefty fine uh because of that whole or deal with Lamar Jackson. But, you know, they say it was a mistake, but I just doubt it was, I really do, because I just don't think you're gonna go and have that much issue with worrying about if the guy's gonna play or not. So especially when they said he was down to go, he was a full participant in practice on the Friday before that Sunday game, and then they went back retroactively and then said that he wasn't. So it really did feel like they were just trying to play a game to try to make Chicago have to deal with worrying about having to deal about playing, deal with playing Lamar when that was never gonna be the case. Sorry, English is hard sometimes. Um, but yeah, it was a little hefty fine for them to pay. Next, uh Purdy, they're saying it's closer to playing for the 49ers, but they are going to start Mac Jones against the New York Giants this weekend. So again, I think Mac Jones has been fine. They did not play well last week against uh Houston, but I think that when their defense is able to make any sort of plays, I do think Mac Jones gives them enough to think they can win this game against the New York Giants. So I think they're just trying to make sure that Purdy is as healthy as possible when he when he does come back. So, and not to mention, I just think, like I've my my whole thing with Sanfran is that their coach, uh not Stefansky, but Shanahan always just wants a quarterback that'll listen to his instructions, throw the ball where it needs to be thrown, they will have a good chance to win these football games. So, with that being the case, I do think that Mac Jones should be enough to win this game against the New York Giants because New York Giants aren't all that great, especially with them coming off of losing Cam Scadaboo for this season. I just think the Giants are not that consistent. So I do think that Mac Jones can do enough for the San Fran to win this football game. Next one, let's see. Travis Hunter is gonna be put on IR. He has an ACL injury, it is intact, but they're gonna give him a few weeks to try to figure it out as to what they want to do, let him heal or try to do in do uh surgery and all that, but they he is gonna miss the next four weeks for sure because he has been put on IR, so they do lose him as both. Again, this is the problem when you have a player playing multiple positions, you lose him at both wide receiver and at DB. So now you're losing two players for the price of one. But, you know, it is a problem. He won't be playing for a bit, but you know, this Jaguars team has kind of been up and down anyway. I don't think Travis Hunter's really gonna he's been a fine offensively, defensively been a little bit more up and down, but he has offensively just like started to figure some things out, and it just sucks that he kind of goes down as he's starting to kind of find his place in that offense. But you know, injuries, it is what it is when it comes to that. You when it's time to when you're out, you're out. Anything else I want to talk about? Falcons for uh for them this week. Michael Penix will be back, Drake Lund will be back, and Darnell Mooney will all be back for them this week when they face the New England Patriots. So that will be a welcome addition back so they don't have to have the freaking Kirk Cousins playing for them again this week, and they will have their best, their number one wide receiver back, along with Darnell Mooney, their number two. So I think that'll be very good for them facing off against a hot New England team that with Drake May has been playing lights out. So, you know, it's a very welcome addition back with all that with all that. So that's it for the stories I want to talk about here. There were some trades that happened, but I don't think there was anything big enough for me to have to talk about right now. Yeah, I'm not gonna talk about any trades right now. Nothing big enough for me to worry about. So let's go ahead and get to the games now. I just don't want to make this a two-hour pod. I'm trying to get a little better about not going too long, but it, you know, I just can't help myself. Let's get to the schedule here. Hold on. NFL schedule. Oh, before I get to the the doing the rest of the previews for the games, we did have the Thursday night football game last night. Baltimore at Miami. Baltimore won the game 28-6. This game was not really close, all that close whatsoever. This was a route. It was kind of embarrassing for the night, to be totally honest with you. At least for Miami, of course, because Lamar coming back off of his injury after missing the last few weeks. 18-23, four touchdowns. Derrick Henry, 119 yards rushing. Zay Flowers had 64 yards receiving. Their tight end, Mark uh Mark Andrews had a couple touchdown catches. Uh Charlie Kohler, another tight end for them, had a touchdown catch. And then Rashad Bateman had a touchdown catch. Maybe just wasn't good last night. Tua wasn't necessarily awful, but it wasn't great either. And it's just he went 25 of 40, 261, zero touchdowns and a pick. They just could not get into the end zone enough. And they honestly couldn't get anything really going offensively at all. Even though Jalen Well, like they they had some plays that make you think, like, oh, maybe they can make a little bit of a debt in this in this lead that they have, uh, sorry, in the deficit that they had, but they just couldn't get the job done. I just don't know how they haven't fired their coach, Mike McDaniel. They're saying that he is gonna be there at least for the rest of the year, which I don't know why. I I just don't know how heck they fired their their um what is the word I'm looking for? They fired their GM today. Like, not really fired, it was a mutual parting of waves, but let's be honest, it was really just a firing that they're kind of dressing up as something else, but like they they are in for a rebuild. From the from the like they're gonna take this thing down to the studs. There's news that they are willing to trade practically everybody on their roster, and I just this Miami Dolphins team is going nowhere fast, so I just don't know why you're keeping Mike McDaniels as the coach there. He's definitely not doing his job correctly, and the team is not responding, they're not playing good football. Again, they know I know they won last week, but when they played against a team that actually has a pulse, the game didn't look all that good at all. Again, they did face the Falcons last week and won. So the Falcons, I don't think, is the worst team out there, but they're not necessarily a great team by by any means necessary. And they go and face Baltimore and they get ran out of their own building. You have the fans leaving in the middle of the third quarter and like it's practically empty by the time the fourth quarter starts. So I just think that it was an absolute ugly showing to have on you at your home stadium. And I just don't know how Mike McDaniel is able to keep his job with things looking as bad as it is. Like, hey, if you're gonna go to the shit can anyway, get the main guy out of there and just don't let this whole thing, this whole charade go any longer. But I don't know. I just again, even if they do fire him, does this like nothing gets better? So I don't know. Maybe it's just one of those things that, like, hey, they're just like he won't make it any worse than it already is, so just let him finish the job for the year. I don't know. It's a problem. Miami Dolphins suck. Baltimore gets another win. They're now three and five on the year. Baltimore's main goal for the rest of this year is just keep winning games while the Steelers keep losing them. And I think that will be a very fruitful thing to do because the Steelers are going to keep losing games. They that's what honestly, that's their destiny for the rest of the year. And I think by the end of this season, Baltimore will be back in the playoffs and they'll be able to do their thing. And since and uh Pittsburgh will drop all the way down to probably third. Not third. If not third, a very distant second, and maybe not even make the playoffs because of how I think that team will be the rest of the year. So all Baltimore do has to do is keep winning games while since it while the Steelers lose, and beating a very bad Dolphins team the way they did last night is a very good start to getting that job done. So good for the uh Miami, good for Baltimore for getting the job done. Did they have did uh let's see here? Did they lose Kyle Hamilton last night? Hmm. I think he was went down for a little bit, but I did I do think he came back into the game. So they're still relatively healthy. Lamar Jackson's back. He was playing good, their offense looked a lot better, and that's about it. Like I said, when they have Lamar Jackson in there, they're very Lamar Jackson reliant, and as long as he's there playing like he needs to play, their offense looks a lot better than when he's not there. So as long as he's playing, doing his thing, this offense will be one of the better ones in the NFL. They'll win a lot of games, and I think their defense is definitely still a problem, but I just think that Miami is not a team that's going to be able to take advantage of such issues. So that's about all I have on that. And me and Jace both picked Baltimore for this game, so definitely a pick that goes uh well in our favor. All right, before I get to the rest of the games, I will say our overall records. I am 68, 38, and one on the gear. Jace is 70, 36, and one. I do have Jace's picks for all of these games already written down, so I will mention those as we go. And I am at a two-game deficit, so I will try to do something to try to like take a couple uh swings at it if I have an opportunity to, but I'm not gonna take a huge chance if I don't think that team has a chance to win. So all right. Let's go ahead and get into this thing here. Baltimore, we already talked about that. Let's get into the rest of the slate here. So we have Chicago at Cincinnati being the first one we'll talk about here. Cincinnati coming off of their bad loss against the New York Jets. You have the Bears coming off of I think didn't they win last week? Hold on, let me check here. No, they lost, they lost the Ravens last week. So now they they're both teams coming off of pretty bad losses. I don't think Chicago is gonna have uh DeAndre Swift, their best their running back, because let's be honest, even with the all the games they had started winning through they had a four-game winning streak going to last week when they faced the Ravens, it was mostly because they were running the football more effectively, not necessarily because Kaylee Williams was throwing it all over the place and playing good, efficient football. So without DeAndre Swift in there, are gonna are they gonna be able to keep the rushing offense going the way they need to in order to win a game like this? One thing that does help is playing a very bad Cincinnati offense, if I'm being honest with you. Sorry, a very bad Cincinnati defense. I said Cincinnati offense. Uh so it that definitely helps when you're playing one of the worst defenses in the league. So Jace did pick Cincinnati in this game. Do I think Chicago will have in here's the thing do I think Chicago's defense is going to be able to stop Cincinnati's offense? And are they gonna be able to get after Joe Flacco enough to make him uncomfortable in the pocket and make him make some mistakes? I don't know, man. I just don't think Chicago has the DBs that can stop Jamar Chase and T. Higgins from doing what they want to do. Even though I do think Chicago's gonna be able to be efficient, they're gonna be again, I don't think Caleb is going to automatically, the light switch is gonna flip, and he's gonna look like a like one of the better quarterbacks in the league tomorrow, like on Sunday. But I do think that he'll be able to make enough plays against a very bad Cincinnati defense to make the game close. But I am gonna take Cincinnati. The game's in Cincinnati, so I'll take Cincinnati slightly, even though I do think Chicago will have enough, especially if playing against a very bad Cincinnati defense to be able to put up a fight in this game. But I just don't think they have the defense that'll be able to make Joe Flacco make the mistakes that they need to in order to win the game. So next game, we'll go Minnesota at Detroit. Jace has picked Detroit. I will also pick them. My reasoning being that JJ McCarthy is going to be their starter going into tomorrow on Sunday. I keep saying tomorrow. JJ McCarthy is going to be their starter. They have not been very keen on letting JJ McCarthy play football. There must be a reason for that. Allah, he's probably not all that good. And I just think that they held on to Carson Wentz and let him play with a torn labrum in his left shoulder for the last three weeks. So I think there's a reason for that. I think I think there is more than a good reason to believe that JJ McCarthy was hurt. And that's why that's why old boy um I literally just said his name and then forgot it. Absolutely insane. Carson Wentz. I think that that's why Carson Wentz got a chance to start, but I think once he came in and played and he was playing some decent football, I do think Minnesota got excited about the fact that they wouldn't have to throw JJ McCarthy back out there because I just don't think they like what they're seeing from J.J. McCarthy on a day-in-day-out basis, a play-in-play out basis. So the fact that they are now forced to go back to J.J. McCarthy, I think will definitely be an issue. I think Detroit's defense is close to being back to 100%, but I do think they just have a defensive line that'll be able to get after Minnesota. I think be able to make J.J. McCarthy uncomfortable and make him make some mistakes, on top of the fact that JJ's not all that consistent as a quarterback anyway. So I think all that being the case, on top of the fact that Detroit's offense, I think, has really hit its stride, and I think they're running the football very well, and I think just make um letting the rest of their offense play off of that, and I think getting the ball to Mamar St. Brown and uh heck, getting that ball to Jameer Gibbs, man. I think all over the let him run, throw him the football, let him do everything you possibly need him to do, and I think he's doing it amazing, and I think he's an absolutely explosive play waiting to happen. So I think all that being the case, I'm picking Detroit along with Jace. Next game, Carolina going to Green Bay. There's not much to say here. Green Bay is going to win this game. Jace also picked Green Bay. Carolina's just not good. They're just not good. Green Bay is a much better team. I think Carolina's gonna be absolutely buried on Sunday because I think Green Bay's defensive line will be able to get after. I'm not even sure which quarterback is playing for them in this game. Hold on, let me check. If they're gonna have the red rifle playing for them or if it's gonna be. Let's see here. Hold on here. Injuries. Any elements questionable? I think I think Bryce Young's gonna be able to play this week. Um yeah, he's no ten hours ago. Yeah, he's back, so they're gonna have Bryce Young playing for them this game. I think he's a l a little bit better than what Andy Dalton gave them last week, but I don't think it's much better. But I think I don't think it'll matter against this Green Bay defense. And on top of that, I think Green Bay offensively, with Jordan Love as their quarterback, they made Steel the Steelers look very stupid last week, so I just don't think Carolina's gonna be able to put much more of a fight against this Green Bay offense than the Steelers were able to. So I think Green Bay's gonna win this game going away. It's gonna be a probably a massacre. Uh next game we got is LA Chargers going to Tennessee. Tennessee is one of the worst teams in uh all the NFL. LA Chargers are coming off of were they on bye last week or they play? Hold on, let me see here. I always forget the games, man. It's like so many. Oh, yeah, they beat the Vikings pretty bad last week. So they're coming off a big win against the Vikings. Tennessee's one of the worst teams in all of the NFL. I think let's be honest. Tennessee doesn't have anything that'll stop the Chargers offensively. Old, um why am I saying old, but you know. Gadson, their tight end, has been absolutely amazing making plays for them. On top of all the other guys they have Ladd McConkey, um Quinn Quinton Johnston, you have uh Keenan Allen. They just have too many guys to throw to throw the ball to out there, and I don't think Tennessee has a defense that'll be able to stop that. And then on top of that, Tennessee uh offensively, as much as I really do like what um why am I forgetting his name now? That sucks. Cam Ward, I think he's been a he's been a dog this year. He's been playing like a good soldier. He's out there trying to make the plays he put every every he's trying to make every play he possibly can to win football games, but they don't have an offensive line that can protect him. They don't have guys to throw to that he can be confident in. So I just think all that put together, the Chargers should be able to win this game going away. I think this will be an ugly game to watch because I think the Chargers will get this game done pretty quickly, and they should be able to win this game. Um I honestly I think they might be playing their backups there by the fourth quarter because of how much of a difference I think there is between these two teams. Next game, ATL, Atlanta going to New England. Drake May has been playing very good football as of late. Atlanta has all their guys coming back. They're gonna have uh they're gonna have their quarterback, wide receiver, and quarterback, and a pair of wide receivers coming back in this game. Do I think Am I gonna sit here? Am I gonna believe in the Drake May hype? Honestly, it's not even just hype. He's been playing absolutely amazing. I think he's been playing like a top five quarterback as of right now because of how well he's been playing. He's been making a lot of good decisions, throwing the football, being accurate, running the football when he needs to. But can ATL with their guys back with uh man? I suck with names today. I'm not doing well at all. With Michael Penix coming back, can they come and make some plays offensively? Get the ball to B. John Robinson. I think this might be a spot. But this game's at New England, though. Outside, in the in the elements. I don't know how I don't even know what the weather's gonna be that day. Oh, I don't know. Even with those guys in there, they have not been consistent. Atlanta hasn't. And Drake May's been on a heater, dude. I'm gonna go ahead and pick New England along with Jace. Because I just think he's been on another another level as of recently. I think their offense has been clicking. I don't think their defense is all that great, but I think they're able to make plays when they absolutely need them. So I'm gonna take New England. I just think Drake, I think this is a a game where Atlanta could win. I just don't believe in Atlanta consistency-wise, especially with guys coming off injury, that they'll be able to kind of come in and play the football they need to play in order to beat New England. So I'll pick New England along with Jace here. Next game, San Fran going to the New York Giants. I'm not gonna lie, I think this is a game the Giants could win. They really could, but I just don't think they have a secondary. I also think they have a defense that'll be able to consistently stop San Fran from doing what they want to do. Like I've already said plenty of times this year, I think the New York Giants defensive line is absolutely amazing, and they have a bunch of dudes that can get after you, but I just don't think their secondary has like anything that can stop George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey when he's going out to catch passes, and then you have the other guy's Jennings, and they have um why am I forgetting the other guy's name? Uh it's another. Ooh, who's the other guy's name? Hold on. San Fran. Who's uh Kendrick Bourne as the other wide receiver? So, and like I said, Mac Jones sitting back there making the throws like that he is absolutely told to make. I just don't think the New York Giants have a consistent enough defense to be able to stop San Fran, on top of the fact that even though I do think the Giants Oh no, I don't know. Man, I uh this is the thing about being in a two-game deficit against Jace, is that now if I want to take chances, I don't want to take stupid chances, and it becomes a whole thing. And I think Jackson Dart even he brings the team a lot of juice, but I do think that was him and Cam Scadaboo coming out and making plays, and with now without Cam Scataboo for the rest of the year, I think that makes it a lot harder on Jackson Dart. I think it'll be more on him to throw the football around to make plays, but Sam Fran's defense isn't all that great. And I think Jackson Dart will be able to make some plays in this game, but I'm just going to believe in San Fran's consistency, even with Mac Jones as their starter. I just think he'll be able to get the ball to their P their their guys on the outside enough to in order to win this game. And I just don't think the Giants have enough to stop Christian McCaffrey if they can kind of get the ball back in his his hands, not only running the football, but throwing it to him. So me and Jace both are going to pick San Fran to win that game. Next game, Indianapolis going to Pittsburgh. I'm going to take Indy. I think it's with honestly, Jace, obviously being a Cincinnati fan, doesn't need to be said he's not going to pick Pittsburgh in this game. Even though I think if it does, if Pittsburgh's a better team, he usually does pick them as long as not they're not facing the Bengals. But I think me and Jace are on total alignment on this. Indianapolis is going to shit down the Steelers' throats on Sunday. I'm going to sit there. I'm going to watch it. And honestly, by the time the game starts, I'll be wanting ready to win a win. I'll have the feeling of wanting to win that game. Even though I know I am purely at the spot where I want the Steelers to lose every single game for the rest of this year, and I want them to take their medicine. I want them to get a good draft pick. I want them to kind of tear this team down to the studs, trade guys away. It's time for them to start building towards an actual future instead of trying to do this whole band-aid approach and do on a year in, year out basis and try to do it that way. Because it's not going to get them where they want to go. If they say they want to win Super Bowls, doing it the way they're doing it as of right now is not going to be the way to get them there. And I think it starts by really taking the fucking pill and losing. Lose. Lose your asses off. They're not a good team. And fighting. And sitting there scratching and clawing your way to try to barely make the playoffs and then go lose in the first round of the playoff, in the first playoff game you play, is not going to be the way to go. You're wasting your time. And not only are you kicking the can down the road for another year for what? And the new, like I talked about in the last spot, the news was that they're trying to bring Aaron Rodgers back for another year. And I'm like, why? They keep trying to do this whole year-in-year-out basis, man, and it's just it's not working. It's not good. When the Steelers way, again, it's starting to feel like the Patriots now. The Steeler way, the Patriot way, when it was at its best, is when you had a quarterback that you can rely on in year out, you're out year in, year out basis, that that is a top five, top ten quarterback, and then you can kind of build everything else around that quarterback. That way worked when Big Ben was at the helm and he was at his healthiest and doing his thing. And the New England Patriot Patriot way worked the whole uh oh no, Bill Belichick way worked when they had Tom Brady at the helm doing his thing for the offense. And it got to guess what had to happen in New England? The bottom had to fall out, and they had to have an opportunity to go and pick up their next quarterback to be their guy for the next 10 years. They had to go get Drake May. Guess what? You have to lose games in order to get there. Do I think there's a quarterback that's worthy to draft that high this year that's an instant win that'll get you where you need to go? That'll be the guy. I'm not very certain on that. But guess what? You're not gonna get there if you don't try. And the idea that you're gonna keep doing this on a year-on-year basis and try to win football games when at the end of the day, we all know how the season's gonna end. You're gonna be barely over 500. You might make the playoffs, and if you do, you're gonna lose the first playoff game playoff game you play. And it's time to take the medicine, man. It's time to take the medicine. And I think it starts with how embarrassing the game was last week against Green Bay. And I think it'll only get worse against Indianapolis because I've been I've been on this bandwagon already. Is that Indianapolis has been the best team in the NFL? I think that Daniel Jones is gonna have an absolute field day against this very bad Pittsburgh Steelers defense. I think that. Why am I forgetting Jonathan Taylor is gonna have a field day against this Pittsburgh Steelers defense that can't stop the run. They can't this again. This is all about the Steelers defense being awful. They can't stop the run, they can't stop the pass, they're not tough at the at the line of scrimmage, they can't stop big plays over the top. Like the Steelers defense is absolute garbage. Even though I do think the Steelers' offense is gonna be able to put a little bit up, a little bit of a fight, and I think they'll be able to make some plays. But the problem is that the defense can't make any stops. And the as much as I think the Steelers' offense is improved in comparison to what it's been in years past with now Aaron Rodgers at the helm, I just think it's not consistent enough to sit there and say, hey, we're gonna win a back and forth affair against a good Indianapolis team. It's just not gonna happen. A great Indianapolis team, it's not gonna happen. So I'm gonna pick Indianapolis to win that game. Because, again, right now, I'm able to say with a sober mind the Steelers need to lose the rest of the year. But when the time comes, when Sunday happens, one o'clock comes around, I'll be rooting for Pittsburgh to win just like I always do, because I am a I am a bitch when it comes to trying to win football games, and I want to see my team win, even if I know long term it's not it's not gonna help me any. I'm that kind of I'm I'm that type of fan. I reset on game day, dude. I do. It sucks. And by the time the game's over, I sober up again and I'm ready to fire everybody and get everything everybody out of there. But you know, what when it's time, I'll be ready to brute for him. But as of right now, Indianapolis is gonna make Pittsburgh look stupid on Sunday. Next game, you got Denver playing against Houston. Uh Jace picked Denver in this one. I think I will match him. I think Houston did. I think they played very well last week when they played against San Fran. I they played awesome. But the problem is that San Fran doesn't have any sort of pass rush. So with that being the case, I think that CJ Stroud had a week where he could feel a little bit more confident in his offensive line because they were able to protect him a little bit better. And with that being the case, CJ was able to distribute the football all around a little bit more. He was able to get a little more time in the pocket to go and throw the football down the field, and he did absolutely amazing at doing so. The problem is that Denver has a defensive line. I think that's one of like the top defensive lines in the NFL when it comes to getting pressure on the quarterback, and that Houston offensive line is still garbage. So even though I know that the Houston defense will make enough plays, and I think they will hold on and keep Houston in this game a lot longer than they probably should be. And I think it'll probably be a one-score game when probably by the time they get to the fourth quarter. But when it's very when it's like nut cutting time in the fourth quarter, it's ready to go. I just don't think Houston will be able to make the plays they need to in order to win this football game, especially when they're going to Denver to play it. So I'm going to pick Denver along with Jace. I think I just think that Denver defensively just has something that can kind of that'll make it a very hard day for a CJ Stroud in that offense. Even though I think that Houston defense will be able to put up a really good fight. And I think maybe keep Houston in that game a lot longer than they should be, but you know, I'll pick Denver along with Jace to win that game. Next game, Jacksonville going to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is ass. Jacksonville should win this game. If they don't, it should be a travesty. And it'll be another big ol' L on Trevor Lawrence in his NFL career. So I'm gonna pick Jacksonville along with Jace. This game should not be close. If Jacksonville just plays a halfway decent football game, they should win this game by multiple scores, to be totally honest with you, because of how bad Las Vegas has been from top to bottom this year. Geno Smith's been awful. They haven't really gotten anything consistent out of out of Ash and Genty thus far this year. And I just don't think they have wide receivers that Jacksonville really would have to worry about. So do they even have um their tight end back? Hold on, let me see here. Do they have Brock Bowers back this week? I gotta check now. He is active, so he will be back. So I think he'll be able to make a few plays and make this game a little bit better to watch, I guess. But I think Jacksonville, as long as they play a decent game, should be able to win this game going away. Next game, New Orleans going to LA Rams. New Orleans is going to be starting Tyler Shuck, their second round pick in this game against LA Rams. It doesn't matter. It's in LA. It honestly doesn't matter if it was in New Orleans. LA Rams are a much better football team. I think Matt Stafford with that offense will be able to make enough plays to go out there. Win this game pretty handily because New Orleans is just a bad team, offensively, defensively. They just don't have enough dudes to stop this LA Rams defense offense or defense, to be totally honest with you. So I think LA Rams are going to win this game pretty easily, and so does Jace. So we both pick pick the same guys there. Next game, you got Kansas City at Buffalo. Jace picked Buffalo in this game because ultimately, as much as that guy hates Buffalo, he hates Josh Allen, he ultimately hates Patrick Mahomes so much more. And it is at Buffalo, and I think in the regular season, Josh Allen and Buffalo do have Kansas City's number. It is definitely in the playoffs where Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes definitely have the bigger, bigger edge because Patch Mahomes is a big game player. But the problem is in this game is that Kansas City started off this year at being 0-3, and I think they really need these games because they want to get back to being at the top of the AFC. And the other problem for me is for Buffalo, like I've been saying, Kansas City is back offensively and they're making a lot of plays. And I just don't think Buffalo defensively will be able to stop Kansas City from doing anything. I think Kansas City will be able to slice through this defense like butter. And I think Patch Mahomes is going to have a very fun time like throwing the football to all of his dudes all down the football field and scoring touchdowns instead of field goals. So I'm going to take Kansas City because I just think it's starting to get to the point where it's all pretty much a conclusion. It's all but certain it's going to be probably Kansas City in the Super Bowl again, playing against whoever the NFC decides to offer, decides to uh offer up as the other team in the Super Bowl. So and I just think that as much as I think of as much as I think of Josh Allen, man, I think he's a very good player. And I think that he's he's very good. But the problem is that he's kind of I'm not gonna say reverted back to making big mistakes again, but I just think that if it gets to a point in this game where they really have to go back and forth with Kansas City, I just don't think that Josh Allen has enough help offensively to be able to win this game because it's it's all on him, man. They do have um why am I f oh man, I always forget the names while I really want to remember them. Their running back. He just had an awesome game. James Cook. James Cook had like a 200-yard game last week and he was awesome, but I just think that he is not enough. They just don't have anybody else consistently at the wide receiver position that I like think like will be able to help out Josh. I think this will come down to Josh Allen having to be Superman, and if he does have to be Superman in this game and he makes any mistakes, it'll only be giving the ball back to Patrick Mahomes to be able to get back down the field a little bit easier. So I'm gonna take Kansas City because they're back to being Death Star mode again. Death Star mode. Sorry. They're back to Death Star form. Yeah, that's probably the way I wanted to say. They're back to being one of the best teams in the NFL, and I just don't think Buffalo has a defense that'll be able to stop Kansas City. Even though I do think this one might be a pretty much a scoring affair, who gets the 31st, and I think Kansas City is more apt to do this do so. So I'll pick Kansas City. Jace is picking Buffalo. That'll be I think that's the first split we have on the day, to be totally honest with you. Yeah, I haven't had the balls do anywhere else, so I'll take Kansas City. Next game, Seattle going to Washington. I'm picking Seattle all the way. Jace is also picking Seattle. I think Seattle is like one of the teams on the rise as right now. Sam Darnold's playing absolute lights out football. JSN has been out of his mind this year, and I just don't think Washington has defensively has anybody that can stop those guys. And I don't think Jaden Daniels is playing in this game after the knee injury he had last week, right? Now I gotta check to make sure. Let's see here. Are they saying he's gonna be back for this game? Now I gotta check it. So McLaurin will not be playing for them this week with an injury, and then Daniels will be back. He's in line to play, so he looks like he's gonna play in this game. But if they don't have Terry McLaurin, man, I just don't know if they have enough to kind of go back and forth with Seattle the way they've been looking offensively. They just kind of like they've kind of reached a different gear. And I just don't think Washington defensively has anybody that can stop JSN and those other honestly, Seattle has a lot of pieces offensively to get the ball to. They have two very good running backs, they have JSN, like I said, they have a couple good tight ends, like they have a lot of weapons, and Sam Darnold's been playing very good football, and as long as he gets protection, he's been playing very well. And I just don't think Washington has a pass rush that'll like really shake Sam Darnold at all. So I think with all that being the case, I'm gonna take Seattle to win this game, along with Jace. And then last but not least, you got that was set that was a Sunday night game, and then now we have the Monday night game. Arizona going to Dallas to play. Ooh. Is Kyler Murray gonna be back for this game? Is a question for me. Because that does potentially change what I think of this team. Depth chart. Kyler Murray's questionable, so there is no guarantee he will play in this game. Honestly, I don't think I was really gonna change my mind anyway. I'm gonna take Dallas along with Jace. Here's the thing with Dallas offensively. I think Dallas has been absolutely lights out this year. I think Dak has been lights out this year. Other than last week in Denver, where they got blown out. Which is crazy because Denver had I mean Dallas had been so good throughout this year, right? With offensively, and I didn't believe in it, I didn't believe in it, and then I was like, you know what? Going against Denver last week, Denver has not put a four-quarter game together where they dominate from start to finish and win the football game. So I finally gave Dallas, I gave Dallas a backing, and I picked them to win again last week against Denver, and Denver absolutely blew the doors off of that Dallas team. And coming into this game against Arizona, can Arizona do that same type of thing against Dallas? I just don't think they can, especially with Dallas playing at home. I think Yeah, I just think that Dallas offensively will be able to get up and down the football field against this Arizona football team. And I the Cardinals, as much as I do think that they do have weapons that can kind of make the game harder on Dallas, because Dallas does not have a good defense. Their defense is absolutely atrocious. But do I can do I believe Arizona can kind of get up and down the field as consistently as Dallas will with Dak Prescott, with CD Lamb, with George Pickens and uh Williams, their white their running back? They just have so many weapons on that field. Uh oh, also their tight end too. Um, why am I forgetting that guy's name? I I I'm forgetting everybody's name today. I don't know why I keep asking that. Today's just not a good day, remembering stuff right now. If they're tight end, Javante Williams, their running back, like I said already, and then their tight end, Jake Ferguson. They just have so many weapons, and I just don't think Arizona has a defense that'll be able to stop that consistently. So with that, with Dak playing a lot better, I think they'll come out with a very bad attitude coming off the game they had last week against Denver. So I'm gonna take Dallas to win that game at home, and uh that'll be it there. So I think Dallas will just I think this will be a high scoring game, if I had to guess, but I do think Dallas is gonna come out because I just think they're a little bit more consistent offensively. And then the teams on by this week are Cleveland, the Giants, the Jets, sorry, the Jets, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay are all on by. So that's it for that. That's all the games. Made all of our picks. As of right now, we have one split on the week. I pick Kansas City and Jace picked Buffalo, but everywhere else, me and Jace kind of sat on the same side. And that's it on the football games for the NFL. That's it. So let me see. Is there anything else I want to talk about here before we go? Let's see. Any new stuff? No, nothing else I really wanted to talk about. Nothing college football-wise. I'm I'm good to go. So this is probably close to a two-hour pod. No, hour 45, not terrible. A little bit better than I thought I'd be. I thought I was gonna be over two hours at this point, so that's kind of been my my whole thing when I go by myself because I just keep going on and on and on. And uh I'm gladly I went I went a little shorter today. So that's about it. So, but without further ado, let's go ahead and end the pod here. So 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 follow us on this ride of talking about sports in the dumbest way possible. If this is your first pod listening to us, hopefully you liked me kind of sitting here talking on my own. But I would encourage you to go and listen to a different pod. I think we had a pod earlier this week with both me and Jace on there, so you kind of get a better idea of what this podcast is when you have both of us here doing our thing, doing the brotherly thing, talking sports, talking shit, jokes back and forth, and doing all that. So I hope you gonna get a get an idea of what we are at our best. And uh that's about it on that. So if you like us and enjoy us enough, we if you could do a couple things for us. We would appreciate if you could like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars wherever you listen to us. We're pretty much available on all audio platforms out there. So wherever you do listen to us, hopefully you can do those things for us. Share us with friends, family, any means, anybody you feel like can enjoy our podcast we put out on a weekly basis a couple times a week, especially during the 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'd like to call it, at JB Sport at JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle, at Javante Boozer is my handle, at Jace Boozer1 the Jace's handle, and that's about it on the pod. So thank you guys for listening. Thank you guys for always listening. Have a great day, have a great night, goodbye, y'all, and we will see you next week.