Buckeyes vs. Longhorns Showdown in Austin! College Football Trust Meter | Others Receiving Votes

Hi.

Welcome to the show.

Others receiving votes.

I am Pat 40 Sports Illustrated, joined by my friend, colleague, debate partner, fellow terrible game picker, Gene Wojakowski.

Uh, Gino, we have reached the stage of lawyers , clocks, and money that you know what has hit the fan in college football to steal from Warren Zevon.

Uh, we're one week in.

And all hell is breaking loose out there.

We've got an extra second in the big house.

We had Lane Kiffin and LSU on expulsion watch in the SEC until, oh, yesterday.

Uh, we've got the sport careening toward a 2014 team playoff, whether anybody wants it or not.

So there's a lot happening.

Unfortunately, like we, we are eventually in the show, we're gonna apply a trust meter to a bunch of things, teams, players, coaches, conferences, big games coming up.

Uh, we're going to attempt to salvage our snorkeling game picks.

Not gonna talk about two huge SEC Big 10 showdowns.

But In the sport that uh leads the leads the universe in sideshows, we gotta acknowledge and address and and talk about a couple of things that came down in a very newsy week off the field.

And we'll start again.

LSU SEC, the Kiffin missile crisis has been all but diffused.

LSU's backed down by filling its roster with non-NFL players, that's big of you, LSU, uh, after being basically taken to the brink by the SEC threatening to expel them from the league.

I don't think that was ever gonna happen.

They're still having a meeting today, Thursday, when we're taping this.

But there's not going to be a vote for expulsion.

There's still a lot of simmering.

Discontent with LSU there, including a basketball situation where they have yet to, to my knowledge, uh, back away from possibly playing a former NBA player on a basketball roster where they have no players.

Um, do you know, the, the SEC, uh, expand expulsion threat, was it hypocritical or well within their rights to threaten LA with an initialship?

Possibly both .

Probably both.

Uh, I, you know, as you said, we're, we're no longer a DEFCON 1, so that's a good thing.

I think we're more like DEFCON 3 or 4.

Things have, have settled down.

Hypocrisy, of course, but college athletics is a It's a petri dish of hypocrisy, and I don't think it's limited to the SEC.

I think all the conferences at one time or another, um, have had their moments of hypocrisy.

But do I think that the SEC was right to do what it did?

I don't think LSU gave it a choice.

I, I mean, I mean, look at the alternative.

If the SEC hadn't threatened the monster fines, the half-season, uh, suspensions of Kiffin, uh, this nuclear option of expulsion, Where do you think we would be?

And if the SEC doesn't do that, it, it basically gives up its right to govern itself and to impose uh on other uh programs.

So, I, I really think LSU pushed the SEC to do these things, or to at least consider these things.

With the SEC Press the ejector button on LSU.

I, I'm with you.

I don't think it would have ever happened.

But according to the reporting, it certainly seemed like they had the votes to make it happen.

Whether or not they would have actually done it is is another question.

So, I, I think the SEC was well within its rights to do this.

And speaking of hypocrisy, if you don't mind me saying this, I'm constantly amused when politicians uh insert themselves into this situation.

Especially when the politicians in this case, are the two US senators from, wait for it, the state of Louisiana, and they're accusing the SEC of hypocrisy.

If there is one body, and, if there are, are people who should not be accusing anybody of hypocrisy, it is members of this particularre.

So I, I would counsel them to maybe think twice before they accuse others of hypocrisy.

Uh, I'm with you there.

It's, I mean, and that, that is part of the, the issue here, I think, actually is that the Louisiana politicians have stirred the pot to an extent that they've kept this thing, they've kept the outrage going, which is often good for business in politics, not necessarily good for governing a conference.

The, the, the governor himself, Jeff Landry, is a major problem here.

He has inserted himself.

He's been.

Huey Long all over again in that state in terms of being a kingmaker within LSU athletics.

I don't think there's any doubt that The dismissal of Scott Woodward as athletic director, the hiring of Heath Schreyer from McNeese State, the elevation of Verge Osbury from longtime lieutenant at LSU to AD, the arrival of Wade Rouse as school president from McNeese, those were all engineered by Jeff Landry, who also wanted Will Wade to be the basketball coach.

And Will Wade being the basketball coach is part of the problem.

I think the in general, the SEC views this as Do you want to at least try to be a cohesive member of this league and play by the same rules, or are you just truly like looking for ways to antagonize and get around everything the way we do them?

I mean, it is like.

I, I, I, there is hypocrisy to the nth degree here with the, with the SEC's history.

But the, uh, the notion is in general, I think most places are like, well, we'll follow the rules, rules till we think somebody else isn't following the rules, and then we'll do what we got to do.

At LSU it's like, no, we're, we're the leader in not following the rules.

We don't wait for somebody else, we do it first.

And well, they hired a football coach who certainly loves to throw the paper airplanes at the substitute teacher too, so.

Yes.

I mean, yes, I didn't even mention Lane Kiffin and all the other, all the other people who have come aboard uh in the last 12 months at, at LSU.

So, uh, I, I think just this general attitude of, of Cloaking yourself in scofflaws status has not gone over well and has led us to this point.

So, no, I don't blame the SEC for going ahead and being hypocritical, but also being really fed up with this.

All right.

Follow-up question, just for fun, Gene.

Uh, but if the SEC had taken the nuclear option and booted LSU, uh, uh, which the meltdown in college sports media would have been incredible, but if they had, Who would have taken the Tigers' place in the league and where would LSU go?

This is such a fun question, isn't it?

Yeah.

Um, because I, I'm not convinced it wasn't at least on the table.

Uh But if I had, if, if I had to pick a replacement.

Uh, I think they would look, uh, at the ACC and I think they'd look at 3 schools, including the one in your town, Louisville.

And I would add Miami, but I think the favorite would be North Carolina.

And I, I choose North Carolina for a number of reasons.

One, it's a state where the SEC doesn't have a program in it.

It borders three SEC states.

Uh, it has a respectable TV market somewhere in the mid-twenties, I believe, nationally.

It has a national brand.

Um, Uh, absolute national following.

It's a well-respected academic institution.

So I think there are a lot of things going for North Carolina there.

Now, of course, we just saw that North Carolina committed another violation, and they're not gonna host recruits during their home opener this, this Saturday, but that's a, a lesser issue at the moment.

But I think North Carolina would be the most attractive and make the most sense to the SEC.

How about you?

Yeah.

No, I agree.

I think North Carolina is it.

Um, the other choice to me would be Virginia.

Um, but, but North Carolina brings a, a, a new state, as you said, fresh TV markets, uh, to encroach upon, uh, the national brand for sure, the ability to win national championships in multiple sports.

Yeah, good point.

So I, I think, yeah, they would be the choice there.

Virginia, again, I think would be the backup.

Uh, I like, Clemson, Florida State have done it themselves, man.

They, they have made themselves less marketable by being less good and more hostile to their league.

And I, I'm pretty sure the commissioner of the SEC is like, we got enough hostility here.

We don't want to be bringing in somebody who may sue us , as uh both FSU and Clemson did.

So, uh, Louisville, I, I, I don't think Kentucky would go along with that, just as I think, uh, Florida would block Florida State and South Carolina would block Clemson.

I do remember a couple of years ago being um at a gathering.

This was really funny listening to Louisville's athletic director talk to somebody who had had like 5 bourbons, a Louisville fan walked up.

Hey, you think we can join the SEC?

And he looks at me and just goes, no.

That's it.

End of story.

Like, no.

All right, let's, let's just put that out of mind.

So how, how do you think Florida would feel about Miami?

Oh, I, I don't think they'd be happy.

I don't think they'd be happy about Miami.

Uh, especially, I think they're, they're, you know, as Miami's return to relevance has included some rubbing and racing there too, uh, in terms of, of NIL and, and various things there.

So, uh, That would be an interesting dynamic, because Miami is really pushing, I mean, not necessarily pushing to join the SEC but they are pushing their brand from a university standpoint, really aggressively, and they want the athletics to follow.

So.

That would be, that would be fascinating if Miami, like, you'd love to be in the room if Miami gets to be a discussion point, uh, for an SEC membership.

Yeah, it's fun to knock around.

Oh yeah, it's great bar napkin stuff, as I, I wrote in the dash.

Every, every, everybody has a realignment idea.

Uh, you're welcome to share yours in the comments on the YouTube, uh, feed on this.

Don't necessarily email me, I probably won't read it, but, uh, by all means, tell us what you think we should do.

Where, what, where should LSU go?

Um, All right.

Uh, similarly, with another like DEFCON one situation, which is kind of been mollified, but maybe not completely, the Bail Mary outrage at Michigan.

Uh, it spawned it, it may not be quite, you know, like front burner, but it has spawned some good jokes.

Um, in a bad tee shot, just, uh, take a Michigan, have a mulligan, doo.

Uh, the, the, the fake sign outside of town that somebody posted said, Welcome to Ann Arbor, set your clocks back one second.

So, uh, there will continue to be jokes on this one, but there is one part of this that I think does linger for poll voters, the IAP coaches poll top 25, and also maybe down the road, college football playoff selection committee to consider.

Should the game be viewed as a Western Michigan win and a Michigan loss?

Perhaps more important from a Western Michigan standpoint.

In their bid to try to get the group of 6 berth in the playoffs.

Michigan's gonna have to do something drastic to suddenly be good enough to even be considered for the playoffs.

Western Michigan looks like they might be good enough for consideration for the G6 bid.

So, I, I think this is fascinating, and we've seen some of it, uh, I mean, Michigan dropped out of the AP top 25, which I think they should have just based on performance, regardless of win or loss.

Uh, the people at, in the MAC and at Western Michigan went from being very conciliatory about this game to asking like the NCAA to overturn the result, because I think they realized, hey, We need to go to bat for our team as a, a potential playoff team here.

So, yeah, great point.

Yeah, I, I mean, if I were.

On the selection committee, and it comes down and, and Western Michigan is the MAC champion with, say, a, 12 and 1 record, and the one is Michigan.

I'm absolutely considering them as possibly the best team in that group.

We'd see what the competition would have to be, but I have a hard time penalizing Western Michigan for this if they are good enough otherwise, if they continue to play really well all season.

What do you think?

Well, uh, I wanna be clear, I don't think Michigan did anything wrong with clockageddon.

All right.

They got an extra play, they took advantage of it, they scored.

Fine.

I mean, uh, the way we got to that point, of course, is a completely separate, uh, debate.

Um, but for every other second of that game, To your point, Western Michigan was at least the equal of Michigan or better than Michigan.

So, if I'm, I don't care about the, the, the voting, the AP voting or the coaching voting.

Yeah, you're right.

They dropped out of the AP voting.

I think they dropped to 24 in the coaches voting this week.

Um, that doesn't really matter to me.

But you make a great point about the selection committee.

And remember, there are 4 former coaches on that selection committee.

And if you're a former coach, and you know what it takes to win a game.

And you know that a clock, uh, a situation like that shouldn't determine it, that could influence some of those, those people on that committee.

So I think that's a really interesting dynamic.

I'm with you.

I, I think that, um, Michigan might have won the game officially, but unofficially, I, I, it, it's a , it's almost, it's a tie at the very least, and a Western Michigan win in the minds of many.

So, I, I can see a point as this season develops, and if it gets on the G6 conversation gets interesting and Western Michigan is involved in that, that I think they're gonna get a lot of credit for that game.

And I think in the minds of some of those people on the committee, they're gonna get credit for a win.

Yeah, I, I mean, I, boy, talk about a room I would like to be in for those discussions if it, again, if it comes to that, we'll see.

Sometimes teams play over their head and then can't, uh, maintain an, an increasingly big game to circle, uh, in the G6 race, September 26th, Boise State at Western Michigan.

That could go a long way towards deciding things.

So keep an eye on that.

Yeah, um, all right.

Last thing before we get to, we get to the trust meter.

Trust me, yeah, trust meter is gonna be good.

This is a Gene Woolchowski invention.

If it goes badly, blame him, send him emails.

But, uh, I, I think it's gonna be good.

I think you're gonna like it.

But before we get there.

We gotta discuss the, uh, the suddenly wide open path to a 2014 team playoff.

Uh, this just.

In a way, exhausts me, uh, because it's been so incremental.

But we were at an impasse last year between 16 or 24, so we did nothing and we stayed at 12, and 12, I think has been really good and fun.

Um, Tony Petitto pushing the 24, Greg Sankey has been the holdout, championing 16, but he recently expressed an openness to 24.

If everyone agrees to play 10, quote-unquote, qualifying events, why can't they just call them games?

I don't know.

Uh, but what that means, 10 power conference opponents and or Notre Dame.

So, uh, what you end up doing with a group of 6 in that instance, I don't know.

I, I, I fear for that situation, but, uh, that to me is Sankey saying, all right, if Indiana will stop playing nobody in the non-conference, and Texas Tech will stop playing nobody, and everybody plays at least 1 power conference team beyond their 9 in the league.

Then He might be, he might vote for it .

I view this as a catastrophic betrayal of the entire sport.

Do you have a more measured take than I do?

Maybe a more measured take, but I.

I believe that you and I are the last keepers of the twelve-team flame, which is so sad.

I, I don't understand why we're doing this.

Yeah, Greg Sankey, to me has been the voice of reason on this, and, and he wanted to go to 16.

He thought that was the number that they could live with.

And he has gone on record as saying this needs to be done in an incremental basis.

And they went from 4 to 12, which was a huge jump.

But now they're gonna go from 12 to 24, they're gonna double the size.

So that's not incremental.

And Sankey has gone on record as saying that, that we need to protect the regular season.

I simply don't understand, even if you add Uh, that, that Power Four conference game or the Notre Dame on your schedule, how that absolutely protects the integrity of the regular season.

And then tell me this couldn't happen, Pat.

We're at 24 teams, and a team is fairly comfortable in the idea that it's going to make the playoffs.

It knows it's going to make the playoffs.

It can't really improve its standing , uh, as far as the bracket's concerned.

And we get to near the end of the season, and they start sitting players.

Sure.

So, to, to me, this, this, we're going the NFL model, and the NFL model isn't necessarily a better model.

And so, I love the regular season.

I love its importance, and I just don't understand why we're, we're putting all the weight now on the postseason, or more of the weight now on the postseason.

I think you're disturbing that balance.

I agree wholeheartedly, you know, I think that the, the, the reasoning is flawed on so many areas of this.

I do agree.

I think that it is, would do terrible damage to the best regular season of any sport.

Uh, it would add clutter to a playoff.

I, I get, like , I watched the NFL playoffs.

It doesn't mean it's perfect by any means.

It's too, you know, there's too many teams in that, I think.

And now we're looking at, at, again, doubling this thing overnight after 2 years, it'll be 3 years this year, of the 12 team, and I, which played to largely positive reviews, and we're doing it, of course, to see if they can add TV revenue, but also, as commissioners have even come out and said, and I don't even think, to me they realize how ridiculous this sounds.

Well, Everybody's spending more money on their teams now, so we need to justify it by giving them playoff berths.

It's like, just because you're spending more money, that doesn't mean you're entitled to something.

This is participation trophy stuff for college football coaches who, what do they preach?

The standard is the standard.

We pulled ourselves to high standards.

Well, but really, if we're a ReliaQuest Bowl team and 8 and 4, but you'll let us into the playoffs at 24, our season's better.

All of a sudden, we're a better team.

We had a better year.

No, you didn't.

You're still an above average team.

So it, it disturbs me.

I've been waging war against it for Years, uh, but now, yes, I think we're on the verge of losing.

So strap up, everybody, get ready for whatever is to come here.

We'll see.

We're, we're not gonna give up though, you and me, Pat.

No, oh no, we'll, we'll criticize, we'll fight.

By golly.

We might be, yeah, we're, we're in on top of, uh, where it's Custer's last stand here, but that's fine, we'll go down.

All right, Gino, trust me, we're gonna rapid fire through like a dozen things, and you're gonna answer and then I'm gonna tell you basically whether you're right or wrong.

Oh, well, that works out well for you.

I get to be the last voice on everything.

Not so much for me.

We'll see.

We'll see how smart you sound here.

OK.

All right.

Which do you put more trust in?

Mike Norvelle's future at Florida State, or Bryce Underwood's future as Michigan's starting quarterback.

Did you see the video from the Michigan reser where a reporter asked, Uh, Underwood, who was underwhelming, by the way, way, in this, uh, last game.

Um, What he thought about uh Kyle Whittingham's comments regarding, he's our starter for now, but, you know, sort of nothing's guaranteed.

You have to see that.

Oh yeah, I saw it.

Yeah.

OK.

Underwoods, I, I didn't know that.

It's cool.

All right.

Is that how you're supposed to react in that moment?

It's cool?

No, it's not cool.

You just got called out.

So, uh I think his position is in real distress, but nobody's in more distress.

Than Mike Norvell, and, and just, you know, look at the numbers.

They gave up 585 total yards to SMU, converted only 2 of 15, uh , 3 downs, completed only 12 passes, lost the game to a team that committed 4 turnovers, and you lost it at home.

Uh, I just don't think this is gonna end well for Norvell.

And for what it's worth, and I've, I've made it very clear, I'm not a big schedule guy, but it's hard to ignore who FSU faces.

They face 4 ranked teams in the next 5 games, and 3 of those games are on the road.

So, uh, I'm going with Norvell.

Yeah, for sure.

Uh , first of all, I don't know exactly what Michigan's options are behind, behind Underwood.

So I think you figure out a way to make it work there.

Uh, but the Norvell situation is unworkable, I believe.

They're heading, they're speeding towards that.

If you're at home and you are a +4 turnover margin, ended up +3 because they turned it over on the last play on a multilateral thing, but, and you lose to it, they.

That's bad.

That's bad.

It's just continues to show there's just no progress out of the crater that uh Florida State has dug for itself the last two years.

OK.

Which do you trust more, Michigan's offense bouncing back or Clemson bouncing back?

Well, you're not gonna like this answer, Pat.

So you can already just say I'm wrong.

I'm gonna say Clemson.

You're wrong, but my reasoning is this Michigan has to play Oklahoma this week.

Uh, that's gonna be a tough ask to, to turn it around.

Uh, Clemson gets Southern at home.

And so just based on who they're playing, I just think Clemson has a better chance of at least building up a little bit of confidence.

And maybe trying to fix some of the things that they can fix.

Yeah, I mean, sure, this week, but long term, uh, that's, uh, we've talked about this earlier this year.

I think it's a broken program.

I think Dabo has lost the plot completely.

I think that, uh, and in his comments basically this week, he, he continues to sound stubborn, combative, defensive, more than saying, hey, yeah, we've got some major things to fix here.

I, I just think there's not an acknowledgement of the, the level of crisis that he's got going on.

In the words of Tennessee Tech's, Bobby Wilder , yes, you're, you're, uh, how do you put it?

You're an under the bus guy.

Yes, that is how he put it.

The Chattanooga coach made him mad, beat him, made him mad.

Yeah.

Oh , it's the, the comments from Bobby.

I, I like Bobby Wilder.

I've known him a little while.

He was at Old Dominion, uh, he's been around, and he's at that stage of his career, he's like, I'm just gonna say what I wanna say, which we in the media enjoy.

Yeah, and, and you know what, Pat, look, I, Clemson got body slammed.

I mean, there's, it was gruesome beyond belief.

I'm not pretending that Clemson doesn't have 1000 problems.

And, and yes, by the way, I was the guy that said, you know, Clemson was gonna win the ACC and, you know, I remember, obviously, yes, I'm sure you do remember.

So, you know, I'm gonna take full responsibility, as they like to say in the business, uh, for that prediction.

Uh, I don't see, I'm, I'm with you.

I don't see a way that Clemson's gonna be a national force, uh, this, this season.

But I, I have to agree with, with Dabo, at least on this point.

It was one game, it was against maybe the best team in the country, at one of the toughest places to play .

I, I acknowledge they, they look beyond horrible, but I, I, I do wanna see a little more than just the first game of the season.

Rather than just call it a day right now, I understand.

I, I saw 13 games from them last year, and they were terrible, and I thought you might mention that.

Yeah, yeah, OK.

All right, uh, who do you trust more, the undefeated SEC 16-0, or the 17-2 Big 10.

They play 3 games against each other Saturday.

We're gonna talk certainly about two of them, Ohio State, Texas, and Oklahoma, Michigan.

And then also kind of under the radar, Mississippi State, Minnesota game.

But who, who do you trust more right now?

Well, uh, I'm gonna correct your numbers.

I'm not 17 and 2.

I, I think you could argue 16 and 3.

Oh, right, OK, yeah, or at least the tie, the Michigan, the Michigan number, right, um, well, the Big 10 lost to UMass, Notre Dame, and again, depending on how you feel about things, Western Michigan, I gotta go with the, with the undefeated SEC, but this weekend's really Uh, interesting because of those, those 3 matchups.

None of, two of those games are 1.5 point spreads, the other is 5.5 points.

So all under a, a touchdown.

Um, so, for right now, I go with the SEC.

The Big 10 or the wait , you said Big 11th.

Well, no, I'm, I'm going with the SEC.

I'm No, no, no, you're right.

You're right.

My bad.

I, I misinterpreted.

Yes, all right, um, yeah, for now, I'll take the SEC.

We'll, we'll, we'll have this conversation again next week because as you, as I said, we've got some head to head matchups that are gonna help, uh, help us come to a more definitive conclusion there.

All right.

Speaking of one of those games, Darryl Kay Royal Stadium Saturday night, I will be there.

Who do you trust more, Arch Manning or Julian Sayan?

Well, Sand is definitely worthy of Heisman candidacy, of his Heisman candidacy.

This is no, this is no rip on Sand.

I think he's a Hell of a quarterback.

But I don't think you're gonna find a more motivated quarterback than Arch Manning, uh, this Saturday.

And just based on what he did last year, 17 of 30 for 170, 1 TD 1 in.

Texas didn't score until the 4th quarter.

So, uh, I mean, if motivation means anything, I, and I think as that season went on last year, we could see some improvement.

In Manning.

So, uh, just by a little bit, I'll say Manning.

I'll take Sayan as the, as the more known commodity to this point.

Now, could Arch come out and light it up?

He, he certainly did in the opener, but the opener was basically intramurals, as was Sayan's opener.

Of course.

I, I, I am of the belief that Arch Manning could have a very good season, but I have to see it, and I really have to see it Saturday against the team that really put the doubt into, uh, his college career last year in the opener.

Uh, same game.

Who do you trust more, Steve Sarkisian or Ryan Day?

Uh, if you're going by what they've accomplished, it has to be Ryan Day.

Day beat them last year.

Day has a national championship.

That's the guy I gotta go with.

Yeah, agreed.

Same thing.

And again, Sark is in the same position.

Sark and Arch Manning are riding together, same position.

Like we are there.

We've got this chance.

Uh, we've got a really, we've built a really good team.

Now, can we take the next step?

And the next step does start Saturday.

So again, a super high-level, high payload game, can't wait to watch it.

But for now, Ryan Day, yes, he has the skins on the wall.

He has a Texas skin, and he certainly has a national championship skin.

Uh, last one for that game, first-year Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, or first-year Texas defensive coordinator, Will Muschap, a very interesting matchup there.

Well, Smith obviously brings NFL concept and NFL schemes to Ohio State, and that's certainly going to be a plus.

Muschamp had a cup of coffee in the NFL back in the early 2000s, for what that is worth.

But I think Muschamp understands the college game much better, and his value isn't just based on schemes and, and , you know, if we're gonna blitz off the edge or whatever they're gonna do.

Uh, his value is bringing a, a, a real toughness to Texas.

So I, I give Muschamp, again, a slight edge.

Yup, I'm with you there.

I agree.

Uh, I think I might have mentioned last week, I talked to Colt McCoy a couple of weeks ago, who is just a big Will Muschamp believer and said playing against Muschamp's defenses in practice made him a much better quarterback back in Texas for the first time around in Texas for Muschamp.

Uh, and he thinks it'll do the same for Arch Manning.

He said that the level of competition and intensity every day going against the Muschamp defense was a, a difference maker.

Uh, all right, Bigger, which do you trust more, LSU's dominance in its opener against Clemson or Miami's dominance in its opener against Stanford?

I mean, it was baby seal time, uh, for both of those games, uh, but I'll go with LSU.

I mean, what LSU did to Clemson was almost inhumane.

It was 499 yard difference in yardage.

That is just unfathomable.

38 to 8 1st downs.

I mean, that is in every play, rub your nose in the grass beatdown.

So, in Miami, I thought looked great, but Stanford is Stanford and what LSU did was dazzling in my opinion.

Well, you heard that, that recording, the locker room recording from Kiffin.

Oh yeah, yeah, so you knew what was coming.

Yeah, for sure, yeah, they, and we did get a little glimpse into, I think the whole mindset of the program right now for them, which is the whole bleeping world hates you.

Go tell the whole world to bleep themselves.

And that's what coaches live for.

Oh, they do.

That, and, and here's the hilarious thing too, like, OK, we, we've done this forever, right?

And what do we get like on Wednesday on a teleconference or at a press conference on a Monday or Tuesday.

We ask, you know, how high is the motivation for this game , and everybody, they're like, well, you know, motivation doesn't go that far, you know, once we kick off, it's all, it's all scheme.

And then you hear the locker room, and they just, that is exactly what they're doing, is screaming about how disrespected they are, and they're gonna go murder somebody because of it, you know, it's just, it's funny, the, the disconnect between what they try to tell us and what really happens.

Yeah.

Uh, all right, trust meter, who do you trust more?

Speaking of Lane and LSU, his current quarter, Sam Levitt, or his ex-quarterback at Ole Miss, Trinidad Chambliss, who pulled out a thriller of a game against Louisville.

I'm going with Chambliss.

Uh, nothing against Levitt, but, uh, I think the body of work for Chambliss and what he has to do, uh, with that team is different than what Levitt has to do, though.

I'm really interested.

I mean, Levitt played really well.

Uh, don't get me wrong.

And it's gonna be really interesting and fun to see Levitt develop in, in that offense under Kiffin.

Hey, look, we can say whatever we want about Kiffin.

He, he's, he's a polarizing figure.

And, and compelling in, in all the right and wrong ways, but the guy knows how to coach offense, he knows how to coach quarterbacks.

But right now, I go with Chambliss.

Yeah, uh, yes, I, like, I, I was good to see Sam Levitt fully healthy, that's for sure, because he ran like crazy.

That's after coming off Liz Frank surgery.

Um, so he looked very good.

But, yeah, Chambliss has got some clutch to him, man.

I mean, what he did in the playoffs last year and, and other games, but then, um, you know, I was there Sunday night in Nashville, and he wasn't very good in the first half, and he threw that all on his shoulders, and then the second half, Just lit up Louisville and made all the plays they needed to.

And when, when Louisville scored to tie the game with like 1 minute 28 left, you just knew right then and there, too much time, too good a quarterback, they're gonna win.

So, all right, uh, who do you trust more, Gene?

Our CJ Carr Heisman prediction, we were both on the carr bandwagon before the season, or a Malachi Tony switch in allegiance, or maybe even Jeremiah Smith.

Tony just, Spectacular for the Hurricanes.

Jeremiah Smith, very good for the Buckeyes in their openers.

Where are you going?

I'm not giving up on the CJ Carr pick.

But if Smith has a big game against Texas, let's say, I can see him moving up.

If Tony keeps on putting up these numbers early in the season, I can see him moving ahead.

Notre Dame's, the, the muscle tone part of their schedule isn't until the second half of it.

So, I, I can see these guys, Tony and Smith.

Really doing well in the, in the Heisman race, but I think eventually, Carr will still be there at the end.

Yeah, I'm, I'm not getting off the car bandwagon either.

I like him, you know, he was, he was fine, um, against Wisconsin, he wasn't great, but he was fine.

Uh, certainly didn't really do anything to, to hurt Notre Dame's cause.

Uh, I, I was so dazzled by Tony, and I know Stanford's secondary is, is not an NFL secondary by any stretch, but my gosh.

His small space quickness, his footwork, his route running is just, he is so fun to watch.

So, I'm, I'd love watching him, love watching Jeremiah Smith too, but I'll, I'll stick with Carr for now.

All right.

First career start, guys, Gene, who do you trust more, Bama's Keylon Russell, Tennessee's Faison Brandon, or Louisville's Lincoln Kienholz?

Well, Russell and Brandon acquitted themselves well.

I mean, they played well, but you were at that game, I was watching it.

Uh, I mean, Kienholtz, he, he got better by the second.

And what I loved about, uh, how he responded was, you know, Bramm, he, he's a demanding coach, and you could see it on the sideline.

Bramm was, was not happy at times, and he was in Keenholz's face, and Kienholz didn't, didn't get upset.

Didn't take it the wrong way.

He wasn't afraid to get coached hard, and he responded.

And so, he, he led Louisville in rushing.

His numbers were fantastic.

And, uh, I mean, I was so impressed with the way that he played, but more than anything, the way that he improved during the game.

Yeah, good, I I agree completely.

That was really impressive to me, and I think the concern coming in was, he's maybe a little, he thinks a little too hard, gets a little too uptight and nervous, and he started off, and I was like, oh, that certainly looks like what, what we got going on here.

He couldn't manage the clock.

Well, it was.

Yeah yeah, yeah.

But then, hey, let me get hit a couple of times and go be a football player, and then let's go.

I mean, he's running through people, he's making plays with his legs, he is finding receivers, and The once he settled in and the game was on the line, he made some plays.

So I was super impressed by him.

I was impressed by the other guys too, but different level of competition for Kienholtz than, than Russell or Brandon.

Absolutely.

All right, 2 more on the trust meter.

New and improved UCLA with coach Bob Chesney, ripped, uh, Cal, mostly just the 4th quarter, dominated the 4th quarter, or new and improved USC which has a defense under Gary Patterson, the defensive coordinator.

Well, you're wearing a UCLA hat, so I don't like my chances on this one.

But I, I'm taking USC, new and improved USC only because I think from top to bottom, USC's roster is a little better and a little deeper.

That, that's no rip on UCLA, but I, but I think that's the difference for me.

I, I don't disagree with you, and I am wearing the UCLA hat.

Uh, my, my stated goal for this season is to wear a different college hat for every, uh, episode.

We'll see if I can keep that up.

I think I can get through 15 weeks, but TBD, if somebody wants to send me a couple of hats, I'll accept.

Yes, you need to do the Jon Gruden thing.

Yeah, OK.

He got sent stuff all the time.

You need to do the swag begging.

I, uh, I need merch.

Send me merch.

Merchant Marine Academy, send it to me.

I'll take it.

It's fine.

Um, no, I, I was, I was very impressed with UCLA just showing some, some toughness and some, some clutchness to, to pull that game away from Cal on the road, uh, in the 4th quarter.

I've watched USC a fair amount so far.

I think they're really good.

I think they've got.

A definitely improved defense and their skill position talent is quite fun to watch at receiver.

All right, last one, Gene, big one here.

Steve Belichick's career at North Carolina.

Or Andrew Wimm's career at Akron.

You're asking who the hell is Andrew Wims and why are we talking about him?

Well, if you remember, The, the marketing genius move of the, the preseason, Akron basically auctioned off the right to call their first offensive series in their home opener, which is Saturday.

And uh got a bunch of people to buy season tickets.

You had to buy a season ticket to get into this drawing, and Andrew Wims, who is a Uh, season ticket, longtime season ticket holder, so that's good they didn't just give it to somebody who came in off the street, but, uh, he works for a Cleveland-based real estate firm.

Sure.

And, uh, he's the dude.

He gets the, he gets the play sheet, he gets the headset, and he calls the first series on Saturday when uh the, the Zips have their home opener.

Who, given what's going on with Steve Belichick.

Uh, on, on leave at North Carolina, the son of Bill Belichick, defensive coordinator there, who, who do you got more trust in?

You could have put anybody.

Against Steve Belichick in this one, and I'm taking the anybody.

So I, I'm, I'm going with the whims.

What, what is going on in North Carolina.

Uh, it is.

There's so much, uh, uh, moving parts that aren't making sense.

Uh, that, yeah, whims in a heartbeat.

Yeah, it's bad at Carolina.

It sounds bad.

Let's, let's wait and see what actually comes out, but reporting there indicating that the line of questioning in this internal investigation is pretty serious and not good for a lot of people in that, uh, That program, uh, we'll, we'll see if it, if it turns out to be as bad as it looks.

But for now, Andrew Wims, I hope you get a touchdown.

I hope you lead the zips down the field to a touchdown, and then refuse to relinquish the headset or the play calling sheet.

Stay on, man.

Yeah, no, I want, I wanted like a total overthrow.

Why not?

All right, one other thing we want to do, then we're gonna get to our picks, our winners in steak dinners picks.

Uh, Gene, you got a stat of the week, I hear.

What , what, what have you got for us?

Well, yeah, I pitched this one just because I saw it and like, I, I had to look at it like 3 different times to make sure it was right.

Army beats Bryant 59 to 3.

It rushes for 569 yards.

OK.

Army runs the ball, uh, I mean, they're great at it.

569 yards though.

But here's the stats.

How many different players do you think carried the ball in that game for Army?

Oh, 12 16.

Wow.

16, I mean, that, that's like the team manager got a carry.

But, but the crazy stat was, the game took 3 hours and 23 minutes.

You, you would think with 57 rushes, that game would take like.

You know, an hour and change, right?

So I, I don't know, I just, 1616 ball carriers was just, you know, nuts to me.

What do you got?

How did it take that long?

There wasn't a lightning delay or anything in there.

I mean, maybe, you know what, I should have looked to see how many times Bryant threw the ball.

Maybe they were throwing it on every play.

I have no idea, but that, that stunned me, 3:23.

Army's also mean and physical.

Maybe there were a lot of injury time out there carrying Bryant players off, but.

Uh, all right, I am, uh, uh, my stat goes to, this is Colorado, which won its opener against, uh, Georgia Tech in, in very dramatic.

Tough fashion, 1413 in Atlanta.

And maybe the two biggest heroes for Colorado.

Had not played a scrimmage down at the FBS level in their lives until then.

Yeah.

Lamont Lester, defensive end, transfer from Monmouth.

He had 3 sacks.

He was fantastic.

And then the winning touchdown scored by Charlie Williams, tight end, who had been at UNLV.

For 2 years, then transferred to Colorado, and in his 1st 3 years of college, had played 2 games on special teams.

And that was it.

His first actual offensive action of his college career ends up catching the winning TD pass.

So, whatever Prime's putting together up there, I don't know how good it'll be, but uh pretty, some pretty cool backstories on, on how they pulled off that win.

That is cool.

I'm not calling them transfers anymore, by the way.

They're free agents to me.

Free agents.

Well, that's fine.

It fits.

It's completely accurate .

Uh, so yes, like it's a couple of good free agent acquisitions for Colorado.

Well, good stats, good backstory.

All right, winners in steak dinners.

I, I was afraid we would eventually get to this point.

I kind of tried to put it off, but we have to actually.

Acknowledge the fact that our picks are terrible.

Um, you did better this last week, 3 and 2, which is better than the 0 the week before.

Congratulations.

I was 1 and 4, so I'm consistently terrible for the season.

You're 3 and 6, I'm 2 and 7.

For the love of God, let's do better this week, please.

Wait, I wanna make sure this gets.

Frozen in posterity .

I'm ahead of you right now.

That has to be like a low point in your life.

It's extremely low.

It is very low.

This is, uh, Like I need a second putback on the clock so I can throw a bomb and and reverse this.

OK.

This is like Michigan being down 12-7 to Western Michigan.

All right, let's see how we do.

Let's see how we do.

All right, we talked a little bit about this game.

Ohio State, Texas.

Buckeyes are getting 1.5, massive game in the national picture.

What are you seeing here?

They said there could be as many.

They said this could be the most-watched regular season college football game in history.

Something around 20 million viewers, which I guess it wouldn't surprise me if that happened.

Uh, you know, Texas, of course, you know, we've, we've got a lot to prove.

Manning has a lot to prove after last year's game.

Uh, it's at Texas.

Seems like there's a lot of good reasons to take the Longhorns.

But I think Ohio State has something to prove too.

And I think Ohio State , uh, still has plenty of talent on that team.

And you said it yourself, uh, uh, saying is maybe the more consistent, dependable quarterback.

I'll take Ohio State on the road, and I'll take that, that 1.5. See, this, this is the problem.

This is what led me into disaster last week.

Uh, it's actually like I started agreeing with you, which was a, a bad sign.

And so then I just stubbornly picked Wisconsin to cover because you picked Notre Dame.

So I'm already that worked out for you.

Trap again.

It didn't work out well.

Thanks, Wisconsin.

I'm taking Ohio State too.

I just, I've, I've seen the product.

I know the product.

I trust the product.

But I'm also really excited to see the Texas skilled talent um against, against a very good Ohio State defense.

All right, the other major SEC Big 10 game, this one in the big house, uh, they're only getting 60 minutes, no extra second this time against Oklahoma.

The Sooners went from 2.5 point underdogs to 5.5 point favorites.

That's how bad Michigan looked in the eyes of the oddsmakers.

Where are you landing on this game?

Oh.

Well, I, I'm taking OU.

Uh, I just, I believe in Matier over Underwood.

I believe in OU's defense.

Uh, and I'm, uh, I just think there's, there's some turmoil there, uh, within that, that locker room and in that building right now.

Now, could it just be, uh, you know, Whittingham trying to press some buttons?

Uh, but the reaction I saw from Bryce Underwood when he was told about Whittingham's comments, that, that's all I needed to hear.

Uh, so, I, I just don't believe in Underwood right now.

Doesn't mean that he won't improve, and maybe what Whittingham said will, will make a huge difference.

But I'm, but to use your logic, I know what I'm getting out of OU.

And so, I'll, I'll take OU and give the points.

I don't think there's any other uh alternative, frankly.

I mean, I like, I expect Michigan to do what prideful, talented programs do, which is bounce back and play much better.

But I also share your concerns about what exactly is the vibe, what's going on, new coaching staff.

What's the level of Trust to use our trust meter and Relationship between Whittingham and his coaches and Bryce Underwood, you know, if that's the response, the, first of all, Like if Whittingham feels the need to do that publicly , that tells me, like he feels like he's not gotten through to Underwood, and then Underwood's response reinforces the fact that he hasn't gotten through to Underwood, and You know, what you would love to hear your quarterback say in that situation is, well, you know, that's coach's decision, and I've got to play well enough to earn the spot.

Um, but that isn't what we heard.

Anyway, Oklahoma, uh, with a, a very good defense, I think is gonna cause even more problems for the Michigan offense and win and cover the 5.5. So, we are in agreement on those two games, we're both doomed.

All right.

Really intriguing, important group of six game here, Memphis at Boise State.

Boise was really good in defeat against Oregon.

Push them to the brink.

Memphis is 2-0, has the big road win at Vegas.

Memphis is getting 8.5 on the blue turf.

These two plus Western Michigan right now, long way to go, but those are the three that kind of have gotten to the top of the G6 conversation.

Who do you like in this game?

Does Boise suffer some sort of letdown after last week's game at Oregon where they played really well, but lose.

They're at home.

Memphis has shown that it can go across the country.

And play well Uh, I'll, I'll take Memphis in the 8.5. We're finally, we're gonna diverge here, uh, not, not without reservation because I, I agree, I think Boise could have a letdown and, and I like what I've seen from Memphis so far.

But Boise home opener, I think a really just a good quality team.

Uh, I would like it a lot better at 6.5 than 8.5, but I'll take it at 8.5 and, uh, and roll with the Broncos there.

I, I, I'm a believer so far in what I've seen out of them.

All right.

Big 12 game, an important Big 12 game.

Arizona, which had a very good season last year, and is pushing Noah Fafita, their, uh, 4th-year quarterback for the Heisman, and perhaps justifiably, getting 7.5 in Provo against BYU, which may be the favorite, depending how you feel about Texas Tech to win that league.

Uh, what do you think?

Well, I took BYU as a favorite in that.

Now, that might go the way of the Clemson prediction also.

Uh, we didn't learn really anything about either team.

Uh, BYU, what blew out Utah Tech, and Arizona beats Northern Arizona.

So I, I don't know what you take out of that, but I like the quarterback at Arizona, uh, and I like the points.

So, I, I'll take the point.

I'm getting a hook on that, right?

Was it 7.5?

Yeah, 7.5. Yeah, I'll take that extra half point.

So give me, give me the Wildcats.

All right, I'll land on the other side of this one too.

I agree, the, the hook is tempting, but I'm gonna say BYU.

Arizona turned the ball over 3 times against Northern Arizona, a little too sloppy for my taste, going on the road now .

Uh, BYU has been a pretty opportunistic team under Kelani Satake.

You give them turnovers, uh, they do things with them.

I like the, just the veteran nature of the BYU.

Uh, roster , a lot of really good, they did a great job in retention of their players in the offseason.

So, I'm going with the Cougars, I'm saying they win by like 10.

OK.

All right.

Uh, last one before we get to our lock of the week, Rutgers.

Is getting 3 at Boston College, and Rutgers was as bad, even worse than, than Michigan, uh, in the opening week, got punked at home by UMass.

Uh, tell me about this game, Gene.

Well, I'm glad you chose this game, uh, because it's, uh, for Boston College , it has great meaning.

It's, uh, it's the red bandana game, which is done in honor of Wells Crowther, who was a, a certified, uh, 9/11 hero, the epitome of, um, Uh, of honor and of sacrifice.

And, and he lost his life on 9/11 trying to help save others, and did save others.

And there's an absolutely terrific story, uh, done by producer Drew Gallagher, and, uh, then reporter Tom Rinaldi, uh, for ESPN on it.

I encourage anyone just to go online, Google it or go on ESPN and find it.

Um, but it's a, uh, it's, I mean, if, if you don't, if you don't have goosebumps, if you don't tear up, if you don't feel better about what we can accomplish as people, uh, after watching that, uh, that story, uh, you, you never will.

So, I, I'm taking Boston College, no, I don't, I don't care if, if they were given 1000 points, I'd take Boston College just in honor of, of the red bandana game.

Love it.

I'm taking BC as well.

If you haven't seen the, the Rinaldi piece, it is, it's, it's some of the best.

Storytelling and broadcast storytelling you will see, in my opinion.

And, and a lot of people have seen it, but if you haven't, please do check it out.

25 year anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, which it, it kind of mind-boggling that, uh, That it's, that much time has passed.

It seems, you know, very fresh, if you were, you know, obviously alive and old enough to experience it.

It was horrible, horrible.

I mean, like, you know, there, there's no point in trying to articulate how horrible it was, but, uh, it was also Pretty profound how the sports world stopped, uh, and that became so unimportant.

And then it became important again.

I thought that, like, no games were played that first weekend afterwards, but then it became important to play the games.

Uh, I thought people wanted it, needed it, and, and it mattered.

Maybe, maybe college sports, college football matters too much, but it mattered in a, a different kind of way.

Um, after 9/11.

OK, well, hey, Pat, just one last thing that, you know, we, we make a lot of fun, uh, on this show about, you know, the absurdities of certain conferences and coaches and things like that.

But, but you're exactly right, sports, uh, it, it is a healer, and, and, or can be when used the right way, and it, it was, it was a band-aid, nothing more, but it was an important band-aid after 9/11.

And I do think it helped, uh, in, in its own very small way to, to help heal, you know, this nation a bit.

Yeah, so excellent, you know, I'm, I'm glad you said it that way.

Yeah, yeah, you know, keep, keep all of that in mind.

Keep obviously, everybody who was affected by that in mind um on Friday.

All right, do you have a lock of the week?

I do, my friend.

Uh, my lock of the week.

I'm actually giving 55.5 points.

What?

And it, and it actually might have gone up by the last time I looked.

Come on, OK, you want to make a guess what, what the game is?

No, uh, 55.

I've never heard of a line that 55.5, Florida A&M.

At Hard Rock against Miami.

This will actually be, uh, uh, A&M, uh, uh, fam, you just played at Hard Rock at the Orange Blossom Classic, I believe it was called, on Sunday.

So they're playing on a short week, and they just lost their starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

Does this sound like something that Miami could, could beat them by more than 55.5 points?

Yes.

So that's my lock of the week.

I'm going with the Canes.

I'm sorry, but I think you're crazy.

I think, well, we'll see.

They're winning.

How'd you do last week?

What was I did terribly.

I did terribly.

1 in 4, I believe.

OK.

They're, they're winning 56 to 0, and the 4th string is in, and they're not even paying attention, and some, you know, some kid runs a 30 yard, 40 yard touchdown, and you, then you don't cover.

Meet me here next Thursday and we'll discuss.

OK.

I mean, it's gonna take a long time just to get to the point of covering this.

Like if they can, they have to score 8 possessions.

Lock of the week.

Holy moly.

OK.

All right, you go, you go ahead.

You give me your, uh, Southland Conference or MAC lock of the week again.

Let's go.

Here we go.

Oh, no, the MAC betrayed me last week, so I'm off that bandwagon, but I am, I'm, I'm laying the lum the lumber in the game as well.

Uh, it's dangerous because Kirby Smart has a history of kind of letting the foot off and, and messing around when they're killing teams.

But, but what I saw from Western Kentucky in the first game was not good.

They got thumped by Nevada and now they're going between the hedges, and I think Georgia puts it on them.

The number is 40.5 and, uh, 40.5. You make it sound like it's, it's a seven-point spread or something, but with me, the 55 is, is that's, there's a big leap.

That's two more touchdowns at a point where it's hard to win by 55 points.

Don't you bark at me like some little junkyard dog.

Uga is gonna have no mercy on the Hilltoppers.

They're rolling.

I think both our locks of the week are bad, frankly, but, uh, that's what we got.

All right, last thing, uh, and then we are, we are out of everyone's ears, but, uh, Let me call it up here.

Yes, all right, so the uh.

The the Western Michigan Police Department crime log.

From Saturday night.

This was, this was good.

I, yes, all, all respect to Western Michigan University public safety.

Their crime log listing, you know, whatever happened on campus.

Uh, you know, generally speaking, probably like underage drinking or, you know, somebody breaking a window or something.

Uh, what we got here, robbery, 10:53 p.m. Saturday night, reported at 10:53, it says occurred at 10:54.

General location, Michigan Stadium.

Disposition, suspect, NCAA Big 10 officials, warrant requested.

I love that from, uh, from the Western Michigan Public Safety School.

Do they have a case, Gene?

Would you, would you, would you file a warrant here?

Well, what they really could have done to make this perfect is they could have said, 10:5401.

Yeah.

On it.

But, hey, whoever came up with it .

Uh, I'm just brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

I love to see, uh, uh, uh, when, when, uh, police departments have a sense of humor, even after something like that .

So well done by Western Michigan.

Yeah, go Broncos.

I think they got a lot of fans over the, uh, over the last 7 days.

So, all right, that's it for our show.

Enjoy the games this weekend.

Should be awesome, and we will talk to you next week.