SCARLET ORANGE BROWN

How Ohio State, The Bengals, And The Browns All Let Wins Slip Away And What Must Change Next

• Ken Carpenter and Chris Huesman • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Three teams, three painful lessons—and a state still bracing for January football. We open with Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Indiana, digging into red zone miscues, conservative calls that rolled the QB left into pressure, and a missed 27-yarder that symbolized a day where nothing synced. The defense kept them in it, but a few deep shots and a distracted offensive brain trust turned a winnable game into a blueprint for what must change before the Cotton Bowl.

From there we zoom out to the bracket: how seeding quietly grants home-field edges, why Alabama–Oklahoma might be the toughest early test, and what a likely Texas A&M or Miami matchup means for a Buckeyes offense searching for identity. NIL takes center stage as we talk alumni engines and how open money has reshaped parity—the back door is gone, and programs like Indiana are sprinting through the front with the right coach and a deep roster.

Then it’s back to the NFL, where Cincinnati’s 39-34 loss to Buffalo showcased a familiar script: Burrow drops four TDs, the ground game hums, and the defense can’t get off the field. We unpack missed tackles, linebackers exposed by crossers, and third-and-long scrambles that swing games. The fix is clear: target linebackers, double down on OL continuity, and find a reliable WR3 while the core remains championship-caliber.

Cleveland’s 31-29 defeat to Tennessee stings for a different reason. A late two-point trick call overshadowed a big day from Shadur and elite flashes from Garrett and Collins. Add in special teams errors and mounting injuries, and the Browns feel closer than the record shows. We outline an actionable plan—commit to a QB track, reinforce the line, add a slot separator, and keep the defense intact—because the roster isn’t far from winning football.

If you want a candid, Ohio-first lens on what just happened and what has to happen next, you’ll find it here—smart, unsentimental, and focused on solutions. Enjoy the ride with us, and if this hit home, follow, share with a friend, and leave a review so more Ohio fans can join the conversation.

Tune in every week for a new episode!

SPEAKER_01:

Today on the SLB cigarette or your brown podcast.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Scarlet, Orange, and Brown podcast, the show that brings you the best of Ohio football every single week. From the Ohio State Buccanees to the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cleveland Browns, we've got every inch of the Buckeye State covered. Insight, action, and plenty of bold opinion. Because here it's all football, all Ohio, all the time. Here's your hosts coming to you live from the Dublin bubble, Chris Huseman and Ken Carpenter.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello and welcome to the SOB Scarlet Orange and Brown Podcast. I'm Ken Carpenter.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm Chris Husman.

SPEAKER_01:

And first time all season, we can say O for three.

SPEAKER_03:

Man, that was fun, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah, black guys, they uh take their first loss of the season in the Big Ten Championship to Indiana, 13-10. Up next is the winner of Texas AM in Miami. That game's gonna be played in the Cotton Bowl. They do get the number two seed for the uh college football playoff. Cincinnati Bengals. They score a million and still find a way to lose. 39-34 to the Bills. Up next, they always fund Baltimore Ravens, formerly known as the Cleveland Browns. And speaking of the Browns, the Browns solid 31-29 loss to a dead-in-the-water Tennessee Titans team. And up next the Chicago Bears. Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_03:

Kenny, is there a way? It's like one of those scripts, you know, or that background that just keeps rolling in the background. It's the same background, but it just repeats itself over and over. I mean, I could just literally erase my script and just put in a new opponent for the Bar Browns and the Bengals. But, you know, Ohio State was a disappointing game, Kenny, and it's always seems like one we were just talking about it before. We always have one of these games every year. It seems like.

SPEAKER_01:

It's called Can't figure it out, but it's uh I I don't know. I I kind of had different thoughts on it. You know, you finally get over that Michigan hump after four years, and the offense can't figure out the Indiana University defense. Red zone struggles have pretty much the whole season, in my opinion. They just really haven't lit it up. Um missed field goal. I I read a stat where you know I I I could never dream of being a field goal kicker, but I believe the uh our kicker is responsible for or he he's played a role in twenty-seven percent of Ryan Day's losses. Um the three tight end offense that would be great into red zone where Casmerick was just like thawing Michigan players around like ragdolls. Ah, we don't need to use that this week. We're okay. Uh you got Lincoln Keenholz who could you know run through a Mac truck here with uh you know he's just dying to get in there and run over somebody. Lincoln, stay over there and just uh sit next to uh Julian Sayon. Gotta give credit to Indiana. They played a they played a great game. Um couple things really just uh drove me crazy. Holding calls. If you look at holding calls in college football versus the NFL, there's a holding call just about every game in every play in the NFL in Ohio State. If they get a holding call, you got a better chance of winning the mega millions. I I don't understand it. Please help me understand it.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, you know, if if you notice, Kenny, they caught a holding call on Indiana, and when they showed the replay, the guy just like barely tugged at his jersey and he threw the flag, and I'm like, that's gonna haunt us. And sure enough, I mean, we got literally tackled the rest of the game, and they didn't call it. It got to the point where Indiana they knew they were not gonna call the holding call. And I even saw a picture of um Signetti yelling, that's two holding calls you missed. And I think at that point in time everybody was just resounding to the fact that, hey, they're not gonna call it.

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_03:

And I just, you know, it is what it is. If they're gonna call it a for if they're gonna call it that way for both teams, okay, whatever. Then let's just go man out and play old school football, you know, and that's kind of what it was. But the D was great, um, albeit, you know, we gave up a couple big plays, which we haven't done all year.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, yeah, the offensive struggle to missed opportunities in the red zone. You're right. Constant pressure on Saiyan. I, you know, I think we got outcoached, to be honest with you, Kenny. And um, you know, he didn't handle uh Saiyan didn't handle it well. I mean, um we had five sacks, uh, that pressure was coming on him all day, and he didn't run. You know, I mean they covered everybody, but they're not gonna cover the quarterback coming out of the backfield. And if you noticed, we had several naked boots where he would roll out, you know, mind you, he's right-handed. Right? And he would roll out to his left. Well, Kenny, it doesn't take a physics degree to understand that you have to stop, turn your body in order to throw. And you know, the third down play, we had a roll out to the left. Um, or we didn't score. And, you know, in my opinion, that just killed us. That killed us all. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, and I I get it. It's it's tough to to to coach at the college level, and I could never ever be a college football coach, but but when you're asked to be the offensive coordinator and in the middle of that week you're going down and meeting with another team because you just took a job and you're having to deal with the media and being pulled a thousand different ways. And he admitted it was the toughest week of his coaching life, probably. And unfortunately, if you want that job, you gotta you gotta do that. And and yes, there's other guys in there helping make calls, but still that that I think that played a role with Heartline him going that way.

SPEAKER_03:

Let me ask you a question, Kenny. Then why not, you know, Day got the job because he was Urban Myers' number one offensive guy? Why didn't he just say, Look, you took another job. I wish you would have waited one more day so we could have got Chris Henry Jr. without all the drama and the hub up, but you didn't. Why don't you just go on down, do your thing, this is what you work for, and and do it. I got it. I got it. Ryan Day is quite capable of calling the offense, okay? And to me, it was like watching that game was an offense with no game plan. None. I mean, we were like, well, do we want to run the ball? You know, we had 58 yards rushing all game. You know, failed fourth and one, you know, inside to five, failed, you know, missed 27-yard field goal. 27-yard field goal, Kenny. That's 17 or 18 yards of end zone and you know, the holder.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, that means we were on the nine or ten-yard line. Okay. And we shank it. And here we have fielding out before the game, you know, showing off hitting, you know, from the corner of the pylon over there at the end zone, you know, seeing how he was hitting the crossbar every time, seeing how accurate he was. Well, you can't hit a 27-yarder. And, you know, to me, it reminded me, I'll tell you what it reminded me of. The whole day was like this. It reminded me of the, you know, everything everything was going wrong. You know, it reminded me of um, you know, when we played Michigan last year, 13-10, same score. No, you know, the offense was so vanilla. There was no, in my opinion, game planning. I know it's top play in Michigan, and then turning around trying to go to India. I mean, hey, we played Michigan out Michigan. We basically played Indiana out of Indiana. Pretty much. Okay. I mean, we couldn't get out of our own way. I mean, there was no float. The play calling was absolutely terrible, in my opinion. You know, thank God for Caden Curry comes off, sets the tone, first play of the game. I mean, Indiana was like, oh, you know, it was like that scene out of um Waterboy, where it's, oh no, we suck again. You know, one of those things, where it's like everybody was looking around like, wait, that wasn't supposed to happen.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

But, you know, this kid's a gamer. I mean, you know, to me, he solidified his uh it's between him and Pavia for uh you know Vanderbilt for the Heisman. I'll you mean Saiyan or no, uh Fernando. Uh oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Mendoza. And um, you know, their best wide receiver goes down, Kenny in that drive as well. But instead, number 80 steps in, kid out of nowhere, he's out of Nashville, steps in and just totally lights up the secondary, but and and all they did was just throw it deep. And this is the reason, you know, I love Caleb Downs. I think he's number one draft pick. Anybody'd be lucky to have him on the team, but this is a reason, you know, he gets so nosy. He's basically a third linebacker and or a monster back. And he got so nosy up there that we weren't on passing downs, and they and they realized that it was one-on-one. And Matthews got burnt three times on that stuff. But you know, needs to me that need to be addressed are the offensive line and the pass pro. Pass protection. Uh the reds, I mean, I thought our offensive line was okay. Um, but saying didn't run. I mean, he didn't he didn't have time, you know, to sit back like he does for our normal opponents. He sits back and looks at his first, his second, at third, his fourth option. He didn't have that time.

SPEAKER_01:

No. Well, hopefully, you know, they they learned a lot of lessons from it, and you know, they got it, they kind of got a blueprint for bouncing back for the playoffs. And it kind of uh, you know, they got the two seed, which that's that's where they need, that's where they should be. Um of course their first game's gonna be in the cotton bowl, and if Texas AM beats Miami, they got another.

SPEAKER_03:

It's a home game in Texas, uh hundred percent. You know, I mean, you know, three other things I wanted that needed addressed. The red zone shore guardage. Yes. Where were those packages at? And you're you're dead on when you say, you know, uh Casmeric, you know, our tight ends, you know, where were they on that? And um a rushing attack. I mean, you know, at this point in time, let's come, you know, I I thought West ran the ball really hard. Bo missed breaking a couple big, big, big gainers. Um, you know, one arm brought them down. But that playing the whole entire game. Uh to me, when I looked out there in the late third, fourth quarter, Kenny, the the defensive guys were gassed. You know, and I don't think they're used to playing the whole entire game like that. Um but here's the here's the silver lining and all this. All right. That's the worst that we could possibly play. And we got beat 13-10. Right. That's the best I think Indiana could have played against us. And if we see them again, and hopefully we do, Kenny, in a national championship game, then I I see what we did to Oregon. You know, the second time we played him. I mean, let's look at this. Texas Tech has the winner of James Madison and Oregon. Okay. For all intent purposes, that's gonna be Oregon. Right? And then uh Georgia has the winner of Tulane and Ole Miss. I'm not uh correct me if I'm wrong in this, Kenny, but Georgia played Ole Miss and they absolutely thrashed him.

SPEAKER_01:

And now they don't have their coach.

SPEAKER_03:

And they don't have a coach. So, you know, you're talking a three and a four seed are playing Ole Miss in Oregon, and look at Indiana. I mean, they play the winner of Alabama who's got a humongous chip on their shoulder right now, because nobody in America thinks they should have been in except for Alabama fans. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And then and Paul Feinbaum.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, Paul Feinbaum. And you got Oklahoma, who has one of the best, you know, defensive minds, uh, being their head coach. And that is to me, oh my gosh, they got they got the winner of that game. Good luck. And then here we have Miami, who I again, you know, Chris the ball says that they're playing the best right now of all the teams playing Texas AM. And right, if Texas AM wins that game, we got to basically go to the heart of Texas and play Texas AM uh for that game. And then if we win that game, we get rewarded with playing Georgia. And where will that game probably be? Atlanta.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

That wouldn't surprise me.

SPEAKER_03:

Come on now. You know, it's like, what what the hell's going on? You're on to something there, Kenny.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I mean, it's uh the whole bowl not bowl game so much, but the uh the setup of it. I don't know if there's a there's a way to do it. I'm not sure about the committee. I mean I get James Madison was had a great season. But you know, you either got to get the 12 best teams or something, and it's gotta be coaches. You know, not you know, then I I don't know. It's gotta be so there's gotta be a way to do it that uh people get it, but I it it's it's never gonna be figured out, I don't think. And and that's kind of probably what they want. They want all that controversy to get more people talking about it.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, let me ask you this. Notre Dame said, hey, thanks for the invite, but we're not gonna go to the AC Delco Bowl or whatever it might be. And that just sparked off what, like 12 teams to follow suit.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

You know, you had like Bailey, I mean, all these teams in there. And well, I mean, what's your feelings about that?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, my my thoughts are if okay, I I get it, you know, Notre Dame when you watched them play, they they look good. They look like they were one of the teams that could be in the playoffs. But then if you look a little closer, you know, the the three games they lost were against ranked opponents. And you know, I'm sorry. You don't wanna you don't wanna you don't like the system? Join a league instead of being the Grinch and want all the money to yourself and act like it you're elite and you're above everybody else. Join a Big Ten. Go through a whole Big Ten season and see how your record is versus playing all the military academies and and weak ACC opponents. I'm I don't feel sorry for Notre Dame.

SPEAKER_03:

I I I I totally agree with you. And to be honest with you, Kenny, they probably would have been in the West uh division on that, and you know, they would have had to play uh Oregon or Indiana, any Indiana anyway. Yeah. To get to the Big Ten Championship. So I I I am totally with you on that. I know their AD came out and said their last 10 games, they were best team in the country, and then you looked at the 10 games that they played, and I'm like, come on.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

You know, I just I just don't I don't agree with it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I totally I'm with you there. Well, since we you we mentioned this whole bracket, based on I'm gonna go down through it real quick. You tell me who you got. Oregon, James Madison.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh, I mean, I just hope for James Madison's sake that it's somewhat competitive. I mean, you know, it's gonna be, in my opinion, it's gonna be like a uh when Penn State played um um SMU, I believe. SMU. Yeah. I mean, I mean, you could tell SMU had athletes, but you know, they just couldn't, they it was just that moment was too big.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

And James Madison going all the way across the country playing Oregon and that in that stadium. I I I just don't see how it's possible. I I just don't.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm in agreement with you there. Probably the one of the two toughest games in the first round, uh Alabama and Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean, you know, and before I say this too, I it wouldn't it have been something if James Madison played Indiana? You know? To me, that would have been worth watching, I think. Um anyway, um Alabama, Oklahoma, man. I this is gonna be a game that you it's a must watch because both these teams are gonna be fighting for their life, and Alabama has such a chip on their shoulder. I mean, they they got a chance that hardly Anybody ever gets. And, you know, it's like those one years when Ohio State got in like the number four seed. But you could tell they were one of the best teams in it. And, you know, a lot of people were picked in to win it. And, you know, um, they very well could be there in the end, Kenny. I mean, I just, you know, I just think the winner of that game is going to give Indiana every bit, every bit of a game.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

I really do.

SPEAKER_01:

Old Miss Tulane.

SPEAKER_03:

You know, Tulane, Tulane has always been a solid program, in my opinion. I mean, they have. Um, they're well coached. Um, that coach, I believe Kenny is staying there and coaching them throughout the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01:

I believe so, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And, you know, that says something. And here you got the opposite where Lane Kiffin moves on to LSU, and he's not there. So, you know, to me, I'll be pulling for Tulane in that game. Um, I think Ole Miss has too many athletes, but at the same time, they're in just disarray right now. I mean, half the team saying, Hey, are you going to LSU? Are you going to LSU? My position coach is going to LSU. Are you, you know? And I just think there's too many distractions there. So I think it's going to be closer than what people think.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I got Bama taking the Oklahoma game, and I still think uh Mississippi has enough to Ole Miss has enough to beat Tulane. In the final game in the first round, you got Miami Hurricanes against the uh Texas AM Aggies.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's going to be another one that, you know, Crystal Ball is he's a good coach, Kenny. He is a really good coach. And, you know, to me, having that quarterback transfer from Georgia to Miami, and this is his last hurrah, this is going to be a game as well. And I don't know who wins this game. You know, you probably know better than I do, but I just think that, you know, these players are going to lay everything out on the field this game. And, you know, it's kind of good for us because um, you know, they're gonna lay everything out there, and who knows who gets injured and comes out of the game unscathed or whatever, but you know, we're gonna be waiting in the wings for the winner of that game, I'll tell you that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, without a doubt. I'm gonna I'm gonna lean toward AM for some reason. I don't know why. I think Mike Elko's gonna get it done. And then uh, of course, you know, once that happens, uh they'll be going against Ohio State. But we, you know, and after this weekend, we'll see how it goes, and then we'll kind of break it down the rest of the way, if that's all right with you.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's move on to uh Cincinnati, the Bengals. Another tough loss in the snow. I always love watching games being played in that kind of weather, but um I believe they're one loss away from missing the playoffs for the third straight season. And to me, you know, as much as the game is a tough loss, it comes down it this whole thing, past two, three seasons, it's on the front office.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. 100% it is, Kenny. And you know, Joe Burrow, you could just see in his face that whenever he does make a mistake, and they're very few and far between, you know, they just flashed up something on the screen. It was like his last 161 passes, um, you know, completions with no interceptions, and what's he do? He tries to shot, put one over the guy's head, and you know, the guy jumps up and picks it off, and then the very next play, you know, another uh another interception. And that right there, you know, just typifies the whole entire Bengals organization, the whole entire Bengals season the past three years, and those two plays, those back-to-back interceptions. Um, you know, it's sad that we have to outscore teams to win a game. You know, that's I don't know how many times we scored 30 points in a game, Kenny, and got beat. Uh, but you let Josh Allen run 50 yards from scrimmage untouched to the end zone to score. Um you know, then when we had him third and 15, down late in the fourth, you know, just hoping for a punt and a miraculous, you know, Bengals comeback, he scrambles for 17. And I I mean our linebackers, Kenny, I you and I could get in there and disrupt at least something. At least fall down and make a pile. You know, I mean, get in a passing lane. But I noticed on that play they had their left, uh, their mic linebacker trying to cover a crossing route from a slot receiver. And that slot receiver had a eight-yard uh head start on him, and it just wasn't even, I mean, that's exactly the reason that these teams, every tight end that plays the Bengals, ends up with over 100 yards. And it's it's crazy. I mean, Burks, Knight, and Carter all rank in the NFL as the three worst linebackers in the NFL. All three of them. And it's just, you know, I mean, offensively, I mean, Brown's averaging over six yards per carry. You know, you're scoring 34 points. Burrow has four TDs, and we lost by five. And, you know, the Bills almost had 200 yards rushing. Um the the missed, we had 13 missed tackles again. 13. You know, Trey Hendrickson uh, you know, elects to have surgery. Uh Higgins is on concussion protocol again. He bangs his head again on the sideline. You know, it was a positive game for the offensive line again. The offensive line, you know, bless their hearts, they're holding their own. But, you know, to me, we just need to focus now on talent evaluation, uh, building momentum into the season with our schedule um coming up. You know, we have the Ratbirds at home. I'm sorry, the Ravens. And then we're at Miami. That's gonna be a shooter. It might be the first team to score 50 points there, Wins. Um, and then we have Arizona at home and we have the Browns at home. Now, if we can win three or four of those and go seven and nine, um, you know, it just makes you wonder if we would have won those, that uh Chicago and that Jets game, uh, you know, what would happen? I mean, we would be, you know, AFC North Champs again. But we need to focus on the O-line, reinforcing it, and we need to overhaul that defense, and we need to get some linebackers in there. ASAP.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Do you feel like Joe Burrow is getting wasted?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, uh I mean, the guys went to a Super Bowl. Um, you know, we've been AFC North Champs a couple times. Um his injuries, I think, are a direct result of some poor offensive line candidates in there. Um ask me in two or three more years about that, um, because I really do think that they could put this all together. I mean, people were people were talking about the Bengals winning the Super Bowl this year. I mean, you know, people forget about that. And, you know, I just think if he stays healthy, we make some adjustments defensively, uh bolster that of offensive line. We finally got rid of uh um uh the Alabama wide receiver, Burton. I mean, you know, uh if we can just make some good picks, we just need another good third receiver, um, and then spend the rest of it on defense, you know, I think I think you you got a true Super Bowl contender. You really do.

SPEAKER_01:

And I believe uh you know, it's it's actually it's hard to believe, but Joe Burrow is I think today he turns 28 years old.

SPEAKER_03:

100%.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, so but you know, then you go and you know you if you want to go from bad to work, you go to the Cleveland Browns. And uh you know, it's uh I I I you know I I watched the game and I'm like you know, you're sitting there, you're Shadur Sanders is making it entertaining. You know, I think he was three touchdowns and he uh 23 of 42, you know, almost 400 yards passing. Everybody thinks he's the quarterback of the of the future. I'm I don't know if that's the case. Um but they get down to the two-point play, and the guy's got throwing three touchdowns, and we're and we're going to pull him off the field, and yeah, with Quinchon running the ball, you got a chance to to get three yards and get that two-point play. But like Shadur said in the post-game press conference, he says, Did you practice that play? He said, Yeah, we practice it. He goes, Did it work? And he said, No, it didn't work in practice. So it's like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I I don't know, Kenny, but the football that you and I and everybody else probably have grown up with. If you're telling me you're running a reverse or a double reverse or a revert reverse throwback pass on a two-point play, uh there's something wrong. There's something wrong with that. Um, I mean, it's it's like, I mean, you're in the you know, you're you're backed up on the two-yard line. You're not gonna run a reverse in the other team's end zone.

SPEAKER_01:

No.

SPEAKER_03:

It's the same way offensively. I mean, you're not gonna run a reverse or a double reverse or reverse throwback pass on your own two and a half yard line. You're not gonna do it. And um the sad part about it is if you handed off, he would have walked into the end zone.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, easily.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So, I mean, Shadur, I mean, you look at his stats, you know, just down the outside looking at 364 yards, three TDs, one rushing TD, and I'm like, okay, well, the Browns won. No, they did. And, you know, crucial interception. Uh special teams, again, was terrible. You know, muffs and poor returns. Garrett and Collins are elite players. Excuse me, but you know, just self-inflicted turnovers, miskews, prevent capitalization on defensive efforts. You know, that that's huge. I mean, there's nothing more disheartening to a defense when you make a big effort and then your offense goes out there and lays an egg.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

It's like in baseball, Kenny. We coach baseball a lot, and you know, you run a play and you get a pickoff play on base, and then your pitcher comes up and gives a double in a gap. Yeah. That that that just it's a backbreaker, and that's exactly what happens. And, you know, now the injuries are stacking up, you got Nojoku out, you know, Postak's out, Ward's out. Uh, and then now you got to go to play uh in cold Chicago, you know, and and then you get rewarded by coming back home and you get to play the Bills.

SPEAKER_01:

And then Steelers.

SPEAKER_03:

And then you get to play with Steelers, and then you gotta go to Cincinnati, who's you know, got a chip on their shoulder. So, I mean, it's just uh I never was a Browns fan, Kenny, but I tell you what, I I feel for the Browns and their organization, and you know, I do root for the Browns, um, but at the same time, it's just it's just it becomes so daunting, um, you know, of the fact. And and somebody said it the other day, it's like, you know, just commit to Shadur, uh bring back Deshaun Wassem, have your number two, Gabriel's your number three, okay? Um, and then, you know, bolster that offensive line, go out and get a uh a good receiver, maybe a good slot. You got your running back, Jerry Judy's solid, you got a good defensive base to start from. I mean, they're not far off. And if you just look at it with that optimistic point of view, rather than, oh man, here we go to Browns again. I mean, they really have something there. And it's just a few pieces that if they can plug in through the draft or trades, then Kenny, I'm telling you, they're not far off.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I agree. I mean, you know, I I I was looking at one point there at the end of the game, and there were so many rookies on the field playing, and it's like that was that's probably been the highlight of the season is the fact that they the the rookies, Judkins, Schwesinger, and uh uh the tight end, I can't think of his name now. Uh yeah, he though uh that's a phenomenal draft class with those three guys there alone. So any, you know, they they're close, um, but it's it's Cleveland and they gotta find a way to to change something. You know, I don't know what it is. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03:

What's happening too is you know they're losing that fan base. And I mean, Cleveland fans, I mean, they that they're they're one of a kind. I mean, you can talk about Green Bay and Kansas City and Buffalo, Mafia, you know, all that stuff, but the Cleveland fans are, I mean, that's a special fan base.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And you talk about Blue Collar, you know, uh, you know, the Steelers are the same way, you know, Baltimore's the same way. I mean, we we all have those fan bases that, you know what, we work hard during the week and we want to see our our NFL teams work hard on the weekend. And, you know, it's just sad because uh they haven't tasted any uh success recently. And, you know, uh I think if they can put it all together and just you know work on a few certain things as far as the draft and maybe a few trades here and there, you know, they're not far off.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I agree. Well, who do you have for your uh upset and who do you have for your lock this week?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I looked at it briefly. My lock uh is gonna be Houston over Arizona. Um I think Houston's defense is just unreal. Um, and you know, I just don't see them getting beat by Arizona at all. And I think it's a lock. You can take whatever the spread is, and I think it'll be a lock this time. And my upset special is going to be New England over Buffalo. Um I just don't think, you know, uh New England's got a really good defense too, as well. They're playing at home. Um, they're given two and a half points. Um I would I would be inclined. It's for basically, you know, I think, don't quote me on this, but I think New England has that that uh division wrapped up with one more win and whatnot, a better way to do it against uh their arch rival Buffalo.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I I looked at my lock this week and I thought when we first started the podcast this year, we I had the Bills playing in the Super Bowl, so I got I'm taking the Bills against the Pats as my lock. And um my upset is Denver at home against Green Bay getting two and a half.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So we'll see how that ends up. But uh I don't know. Another interesting week of uh football across here in the state of Ohio. Any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I just think it's weeks like these, Kenny, that you have to just rely on optimism and you have to look back and say, all right, look what happened to Ohio State when we thought all was lost and we're ready to, you know, jump ship and and and move on, and everybody was calling for Ryan Day's head, and then look what happened. And um, you know, lo and behold, we win a national championship and the games weren't even close, Kenny. Um, you know, I think that opportunity is ahead of us again. You know, it could definitely work out. Um, I'm kind of glad that the Big Ten is making a push out there that, you know, uh asserting itself is one of the, you know, if not the most dominant division out there. Um and then for Cincinnati and Cleveland, you know, there's some optimism there uh to come out. And, you know, if we just make things turn around, uh, there's always next year uh coming out. And if we do things right, then, you know, we'll see what happens. Because I'm telling you right now, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, they're not going, uh they're not trending forward, Kenny. Let's just put it that way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, without a doubt. You know, the one thing I wanted to mention, my my last thought was, you know, you got uh the the big ten teams in the uh the college football playoff in you know, Indiana, one of the losingest programs in the history of college football, pretty much, you know, is has made some changes, and a big part of it is well the biggest part is they got the right coach in there, Insigneti, but NIL plays a role, and I honestly did not realize Indiana has the largest alumni base in the world. Yeah, and and you got Mark Cuban as one of those uh alumni. Indiana's gonna be something to deal with the rest of the way out. But uh, you know, I I I listened to another podcast uh this week, and Ed Augeron was on the podcast, and he said, talking about NIL, he says back in the day, bags of money would come in the back door because now the bags of money come through the front door. It's an even playing field, and that just tells you right there what the SEC was all about for the longest time.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we called it here on the SOB, Kenny. We said that I listened to the exact same podcast, and you know, we called it here uh, you know, before on you know how back in the day the SEC basically started this. And now that it's an open playing field and it's open game, we're beating them at their own game. And you know, people like Feinbaum and people like that, they don't like that, you know, and um you know it was tough back in the day for Ohio State to compete or for the Big Ten to compete. And uh, you know, why not go down south and play in the warm weather and you know, uh get all the TV accolades and everything else? And you know, you had Saban and had all these people down there, and um, you know, now all of a sudden it's an equal playing field. And you know, I like the parody. I really do like the parody. Uh and let's hope for a third uh Big Ten champion uh in a row.

SPEAKER_01:

There we go. Well, for the SOB, I'm Ken Carpenter and I'm Chris Schusman. Thanks for listening to Scarlet, Orange, and Brown Podcast.

SPEAKER_03:

SOB