Major Upsets Across the Country in Week 7!! | Others Receiving Votes

All right.

Welcome to the show.

Others receiving votes.

Sports Illustrated, I'm Pat 40 joined by my SI colleagues as usual on overreaction Sunday, Brian Fisher and Kevin Sweeney.

We have a million things to talk about.

So many things happened this weekend, but I, I feel like something That kind of almost overshadowed all the fun and the excitement and the tumult, uh, should probably be noted here, and that's the, for perspective's sake, at least, the loss of life uh at the Alamo Dome.

Um, before the UTSA Navy game, they had a group of, uh, Air Force, uh, Uh, people who were rappelling from the ceiling, and one of them fell and suffered injuries and ultimately died, uh, horrific tragedy.

And now, obviously, for the, that man and his family, but also for everyone who was there to watch a football game and ended up seeing this thing happen.

And it does apply a jolt of perspective.

There are more important things.

than the expansion of the playoffs and bad officiating and who won and who lost.

So, certainly, our, our thoughts go out to everybody affected there.

Um, but we will talk about the games and everything else that occurred, because that's what we do on the show.

And it was a weekend unlike any really in college football history.

That's how Uh, unbelievable, insane, uh, unpredictable this whole thing was.

5 of the top 7 in the AP poll lost for the first time in the history of the AP poll, which has only been around for 90 years.

Um, Brian was at one of those games, top 10 matchup.

I was at another, he was at BYU Notre Dame, no controversy there.

I was at Ohio State, Indiana, no drama there.

And to think of it, but beyond that, there was still the number one team in the country lost at home to an unranked team.

Texas lost again.

Uh, Alabama lost again.

The sport is on tilt.

Thank goodness it's still 2026, cause these games matter more than they would have next year in 2027.

We'll get into all of that, but let's just start with general reactions to, to just a, a, a wild day.

What is going on in this sport?

Brian Fisher, what the heck is happening in college football?

Oh, I, I wish we could make sense of it, you know, I, I mean, it's one of those crazy things where it's, it seemed like every TV window, you know, like the, the NFL has the, the, the witching hour, you know, when, when all the games kind of come to a close and all the drama happens.

It's like we got like 4 of those, you know, like all compacted into one day.

It, it was fantastic.

I don't remember a, a college football day where the, the drama just kind of flowed from game to game to ranked team to ranked team.

I, I mean, it was one, truly one of, one of the best days.

I, I can remember in the sport and, uh, of course, we were at two of the great games, uh, that we're gonna talk about as well.

So, uh, I, I feel like college football, you know, there was all this talk and this doom and gloom, you know, on, on Thursday and Friday as we heard about the commissioner's meeting and all the playoff expansion.

And then the sport just said, you know what, guys, this is what it's all about.

This Saturday with all these upsets, with all these memorable moments, this is what college football is all about.

It mattered on Saturday and boy did it ever.

I, I think I said last week that The countdown over under was Halloween for when we start saying, is 8 and 4 in the SEC good enough?

Well, we're here, we're here, folks, because, uh, the, the chaos, I think, first and foremost is in, in the SEC right now, and, uh, again, I, I do think the, the narrative that is out there that, oh, well , the SEC spends like no other, the worst teams in the SEC are not that bad, their best days can beat you.

I, I think that's real.

Uh, I also Like, I'm genuinely curious how you guys feel about the way Georgia played yesterday, or the way that Texas played , like, it it it it is truly a mindset shift of Do you have to take care of business, or are you allowed one or two days where you, not just don't play well, but you play very poorly and loses significant favorites.

I think that's the big sea change here that we're gonna continue to have to grapple with, but, um, yeah, I mean, the, the, the balance in the SEC whether that says more about the top or more about the bottom, to me is the story of the week and we'll, we'll have ramifications here over the next several as we get towards playoff conversation.

Yeah, I, I mean, it's, and it's not just the, I guess the, the teams that lost, it's also the teams that won in that league.

Kentucky again, Kentucky is 6-1 and has won 3 SEC road games, tied for first, tied for first.

It's unbelievable.

Auburn gets up off the mat and, and wins between the hedges against a Georgia team that really looked like, had looked like the best team in the country.

Tennessee did what it does against.

Uh, Alabama, when Alabama comes to Knoxville, that's 3 straight times now they have upset the tide there.

You know, I mean, there is a It's an overreaction Sunday, so we'll, you know, we'll add to it for sure.

There's no question about it here.

Is this emblematic of, yes, a, a further leveling of the sport?

Is there a, a parody that's driving The bottom or the middle closer to the top, or the top down closer to the bottom or middle.

I probably, probably is.

Um, but yeah, it's like, Kevin, you asked thoughts on like, like Georgia just shocked me, totally shocked me.

I, I.

I will say In in past times, until 20, actually really through 2021, Kirby Smart had had teams that they one game, they just lost their mind every year.

Um, that kind of, that went away, certainly 2022, they went undefeated and won the national championship.

Uh, but that looked like what we saw from them Saturday, where it's just like, we're, you know, we're just gonna be sloppy, we are going to lose focus, we're not gonna tackle, we're gonna commit bad penalties, we're gonna turn over the ball.

I mean, the fumble by Gunner Stockton in a tie game with the game on the line, by running into your own lineman.

was, that was after last week, we were all praising Gunner Stockton, you know, for, for his, his maturity and his ability to run a game and all that sort of thing.

Well yeah, you know, college guys, one week you're great, the next week, not so much.

Uh.

The, you know, the , the thing that stands out to me there also, beyond that, like, Notre Dame, clearly vulnerable.

BYU rises to the occasion, takes that game, uh , unbelievable performance there.

We're gonna get to the controversy involved there.

Miami, absolutely on the ropes at home against a Florida State team that had looked terrible.

So, rivalry game there, the, you know, the Florida State rises up, but Miami, I, I'm not sure how they won that game still, the, the plays in the end zone at the end.

Uh, just, it's unbelievable to me.

There, I just don't know.

The most consistent teams so far in the country are like BYU and UCLA.

What kind of world are we living in?

Uh, great weekend for the Big 12, we'll get to that as well.

But the other thing I want to talk about here, before we get, dive into the, the, maybe some of the nitty-gritty on some of these games.

Um, look, the sport, the players, the competition, as Brian alluded to, just keeps delivering it, never will stop delivering.

The adults keep screwing it up.

Not just the 2014 playoffs, which is coming, which would have devalued a day like yesterday significantly, will, it will do that next year.

But the officiating, we've got to talk about it.

And the game management, we've got to talk about it.

The clock situation in Provo, after we had the clock situation in Ann Arbor.

And then Pass interference is not getting called enough, roughing the passer is getting called too much.

Brian, you were in Provo.

Tell us just what, what the heck happened there with the game ending prematurely, as acknowledged by the Big 12.

And the no call on the pass interference.

Well , there were, there was 4 seconds left on the clock certainly before that last play, the, the final play that we, we ended up getting to, to see, and it was an incomplete pass, but it, you know, I think, uh, you know, probably, I, I would say what, 5, 10 minutes after, after the game, you know, kind of ended and the field had been rushed and the euphoria had kind of worn off, you know, I, I saw some videos certainly popping up online in terms of saying, hey, wait a minute, was, was there a minute or a second left on the clock?

Um, you know, and, and I think you could kind of see the, the frame by frame, it was like the Zapruder film again, you know, like.

We went through with Michigan and Western Michigan and, um, yeah, I , I, I do give credit to, uh, you know, the Big 12.

I mean, not only did they, you know, formally acknowledge that there was an issue in terms of, yes, there should have been time put on the clock, which, you know, that, that is a massive thing.

I, I think in college football for a conference in their marquee game and something that means tre a tremendous amount to the league itself in terms of the playoffs, in terms of, you know, the future, how the, how the league is viewed, um, you know, Brett Yarmark was at that game, um, you know, he, he was going around.

He was so excited afterwards, like, to, to acknowledge that there was an error, like I, I give them a lot of credit and they did it pretty quickly.

Like this is not like the Big 10 where it took, you know, like, I, I think it was more than 90 minutes for them to kind of acknowledge there was an issue, you know, it was, it was pretty, you know, pretty quickly, uh, all things considered, you know, within, uh, I would say half an hour to 45 minutes, they acknowledged the error.

Um, so I, I, I give them a lot of credit for doing that.

But yeah, I mean, this is, this is the, the problem with having, you know, the Big 12 crew or, you know, the conspiracy surrounding.

the SEC officials and what's happening in the, the, the office in Birmingham.

I, I cannot believe that for all the commissioner's focus on the sport nationally, in terms of the college football playoffs, they still have not talked about, uh, nationalizing officiating.

Like this is something I, I've been having the drumbeat for years at this point, probably more, more like decades, um, you know, pounding the storm.

Why do they want to deal with this, this issue?

Why, why do they not want to, you know, cast it off, say this is the NCAA's issue.

They can deal with all the, all the.

The issues that come with, you know, uh, officiating, so that they're not having to make these statements, you know, I, I think that's, that's the, the thing.

And then why are we getting this wrong constantly?

Why are we having multiple clock issues this season of all seasons?

Um, you know, the, the technology has improved.

We are finally getting a, a, a glimpse inside the replay center, uh, to where we're actually hearing, you know, what, what's going on in those conversations.

That's, that's a great sign of progress.

It's, it's nice, but it's not enough.

And I think this was another kind of, um, thing that we, we saw this season .

You know what, there's gonna have to be a serious conversation come December when we're having, have a chance to catch our breath after the conference title games before the playoffs to say, hey, what needs to be done, you know, nationally as a group collectively, uh, amongst the Power Four conferences, amongst college football in general, to, to address an issue that frankly, is, is taking away from the product on and off the field.

And I think that's, it, you know, it is a shame that after a cathartic and massive win for BYU this is what we're ultimately ended up talking about first.

Yeah, I mean, look, I, I think The biggest thing, and whether it's, again, just clear errors like the clock stuff, or, um, you know, I think some of the questionable penalties that have been complete game deciders in big moments this year, like, it just feels like there's too many moments in, you know, season defining games, where you're like.

Well, that was kind of decided by the guys in stripes, and that's the kind of like that that that cannot be where we are as a sport, and I, I.

Again, I think nationalizing the officials is a step, I don't think it solves everything, I think there's a lot more work to do, um, but man, it's like, it's deflating every time you watch a football game, and it's decided by roughing the passer call, or it's decided by a missed PI or it's decided by somebody screwing up the clock, like, at some point, we have to get a better handle on this, if we want these marquee games to be celebrated for what they should be.

Yeah, that's cause, look, I, I mean, I don't wanna sit here and talk about the officiating, and I hate listening to fan bases after they lose, say, well, we were robbed, because everybody does it, and usually it's a lame excuse, but when you tangibly affect the end of the game, the way these things have happened, it's hard to avoid it.

And we don't wanna be sitting here talking about whether the refs screwed up or not, but, or the, the clock manager screwed up, but, but that's unavoidable, because it did happen.

In the big house against Western Michigan, they gave, gave a last play to Michigan, and they turned into a Hail Mary touchdown.

And it should have given Notre Dame a last play, which wouldn't have been a Hail Mary, it would have been.

You know, an eight-yard pass, or whatever, 4-yard pass, whatever yard line they were on there, uh, and if maybe, maybe it should have been moved to the 1, because maybe there should have been pass interference.

I thought so.

Uh, Matt Austin, who was the rules analyst in the, on the game, thought so.

Uh, you know, the PI is absolutely a judgment call, and it's hard.

Same with, uh, you know, the, the people that wanted Zapruder film things and say, well, the right guard was holding on this touchdown over here.

Those are hard calls, those are judgment calls, things happen.

But pass interference in the end zone with the game on the line, like happened with Georgia and Alabama, that's a no call.

And then here, that was a no call.

Either we need something that a national officiating body could do, and I mean , there is an NCAA supervisor officiating, that we have those things, but they don't coordinate everything, and I, I agree, it would at least disperse.

Some of the paranoia and the responsibility on each league, especially for non-conference games, cause we had Big 10 clock error in Michigan that helped Michigan.

We have uh Big 12 stadium error that benefited the home team, BYU, that at least it would, it would, in some ways, Remove, remove some of the paranoia, and then we're just left with ineptitude, is what we're left with.

But there's no reason for clock errors to happen in this day and age, especially after what happened uh in Ann Arbor, that, that kind of swallowed the entire first week there.

But if they wanna have, if they want, I would love to hear from like, 5 experts.

In officiating, take the, take the penalty, take the play in the end zone at BYU, take the play at the end zone of Bryant Denny Stadium.

Tell us, is that, is it pass interference or not?

And why?

And is it even, is it close enough that missing it is understandable or not?

And then I want like to review like a dozen roughing the passer calls.

And I want a consensus.

This is roughing the passer, this is not.

And look, we've seen a lot of quarterbacks get hurt this year.

So, I'm not saying it should be open season headhunting on quarterbacks.

But a lot of the injuries have not happened on roughing the passer plays, or, or egregious roughing plays.

Dante Moore, yes.

Most of the others no, including Julian Say yesterday, and we'll get to that.

Legal plays.

But like the, the play, the roughing the passer call, George Auburn, iffy.

The Indiana Ohio State game, there was at least one very iffy.

Uh, where else?

I, I, several of them.

So, I would like a, I would like a determination, I would like a determinate the, the full weight of the body on the quarterback one really kind of bothers me.

Because you are running hard at somebody to tackle them, which is how you are trained to play football, and then all of a sudden you're supposed to kind of not land on them.

I, I don't, I don't really know how that's possible.

You, you, I mean, you're, you're taught to go through the person you are trying to hit, and then, and then all of a sudden, magically on the way to the ground, you don't really fully land on them.

I understand hitting to the head.

I get that, but the rest of it, I, I don't know.

Thoughts on, uh, on just on that, rubbing the pass or pass interference, if you guys have any, and, and what, what you've seen, what you would like to see.

Well, I mean, we, we've kind of seen this from the NFL, right?

You know, like they, they have led, uh, you know, in terms of the controversy surrounding officiating and look, they, they've, they got all their slings and arrows, right?

And they've taken steps to, to, to adjust things, you know, they, they brought in the, the sky judge, you know, and, and to where they can, you know, quickly review calls and, and get the correct call down from the, the booth who's actually watching some of the TV copy in, in, in near real time to get it down to the officiatings.

Uh, to the officials down on, on the field, like they're, they're, they're making steps.

They're, they're showing, uh, you know, being progressive on, on this issue, and, and college football is not.

Like, I mean, there's been no change outside of, outside of the opening up the replay center.

What, what kind of progress have you seen in terms of officials in college football in the last couple of decades?

I, I mean, we, we, we're, we're talking about this, you know, all, all the time, you know, outside of the, the very unique circumstances that we We've seen with the, with the actual game clock, uh, in terms of the final seconds of this season.

Like that, I, I, I don't think there's been much progress at all in terms of, you know, those pass interference calls, um, you know, just the, the questionable holding calls that, uh, you know, seem to pop up every single Saturday in every single game, you know, like, I mean, you, you could go down the line and, um, you know, it's, it's just a lack of foresight amongst the commissioners in terms of, hey, this is your product.

You need to be, be.

Making sure that you're doing everything possible to, to make sure that it is better.

And in this area, they, they have failed, they have not addressed it.

They have not come together.

There's not been some, uh, of all the committees and the meetings that they have to, have to, have put together and, and go to on a, on a near daily basis, um, you know, this is the one thing they, they really haven't addressed.

And they said, um, you know, yeah, they'll, they'll do some, some minor things and, and maybe they, uh, will promote some official.

And they'll grab some from other leagues and, and, and they'll say they're, they're doing their job in terms of, uh, making sure that they have the best officials out there, but, but they're really not.

Um, you know, and, and this is much different from the NFL in terms of those are professional guys, you know, that they are really, um, you know, getting paid a, a, a pretty hefty salary , uh, to make sure that they are doing the best that they can each and every Sunday.

That is not the case on, on Saturdays and, um, it's failing the sport.

It is hurting the product and we saw that again this weekend.

The only thing that rattles around my mind is, like, should we have replay on penalties, like pass interference, and I think your instinct every time you see a big miss is like, well, it'd be nice if you could challenge that, seems like an obvious miss.

And then you watch NBA games and you can challenge foul calls, and it's, like, I hate it personally, like, I, I there's there's way too much, like, let's go wait on the sideline for 3 minutes while we decide to determine the fate of the game based on, like, bang bang plays, and, yeah, like, so I'm probably not in that camp, I'm probably more in just, like, we have to do a better job on the field of dealing with these things, but that that is the other option, like, if you don't feel like these guys can do it.

On the field, you need to open up this avenue where people can challenge and get a, get a PI call tacked on when it's very obvious.

Yeah, I, I mean, I, I don't want more replay review and things that make the games even longer.

They already last an eternity in college football.

I'm not sure what the answer is other than just do better.

Again, maybe educate us, the viewers, the media, everybody a little more on what is or isn't.

So if we're wrong, tell us.

But it sure doesn't look wrong, and we've watched a lot of football over the years.

So I think we have a general idea what the rules are.

But if there is something we're not seeing right, tell us.

If we're seeing it correctly, then y'all get it right more often, please.

Um, as Brian alluded to, it does, this did overshadow an unbelievable game, one of the great nights in BYU football history, and the Big 12, let's talk about them, and let's talk about BYU right now.

Uh, fantastic performance.

They took it to Notre Dame the whole night.

Just a Bear Bockmeyer was, was just a warrior, uh, you know, gave everything he had out there and really gashed the Notre Dame defense that had been overpowering for most of the season.

Uh, CJ Carr had a huge gaffe at the end of the first half that ended up playing a major part in the game, where he was trying to clock the ball and ended up fumbling it.

That was a weird play.

But, Brian, just what, you, you're there , you're on there, like the field gets stormed.

What did this mean for BYU?

What does it mean for the Big 12?

Uh, it meant everything, you know, I mean, I mean, you had guys afterwards, you know, they were crying on the field, uh, you know, they said this was, you know, and, and, you know, to be perspective, you know, like they are 18 to, I, I guess 26 year olds there at BYU and saying, you know what, this is the greatest moment in my life, you know, and, and, and, you know, they're in the middle of the field storm and they're crying and.

And, um, I, I mean, it meant a lot for, for, for the program itself, you know, had, which had been so close to kind of getting one of these moments before, knocking off one of those top contenders, saying that they are a national title contender.

This is a great way to announce that, uh, this season and, and to do it against Notre Dame.

There was a lot put into this game.

Uh, I mean, the school itself, you know, they understood the moment.

That this was in terms of having the first ever top 10 showdown there at Lavelle Edwards Stadium, but, but also, you know, understanding there's a lot of media attention in there, you know, like they were opening up, um, you know, areas that they had previously not had to in terms of the school itself, um, you know, in terms of like some of the missionary stuff, like they invited a bunch of media members to kind of come through and see what the school is all about, um, understanding this was the, the greatest commercial they could ever have, and then they capped it off on Saturday night, um, after game day, after everything, all that went into it.

Uh, I mean, it was a great A moment for the program and, and you could see that just kind of release afterwards, um, once that passed with 1 2nd left as we, uh, previously discussed, uh, kind of hit the turf.

I mean, it was just like, uh, uh, just such a cathartic release, you know, for, for the entire fan base and, and for, you know, people like Kelani Sataki himself who, who understood that like these are the moments that, that can kind of change the course of your program, change how you're viewed by recruits and by everybody to say, hey, we, we are a national title contender.

And, and I think that's kind of what they did, uh, in this game.

And, you know, it was, it was a phenomenal, uh, dramatic game, you know, back and forth, you know, BYU raced out to, to that 21-10, uh, lead, the first ever, uh, do, you know, double-digit halftime, halftime deficit that Notre Dame had since Ohio State in the national title game, uh, two years ago.

So like that, uh, just kind of shows you that this is not a position that the Irish were, were typically in.

They stormed back in the second half, ended up taking the lead, uh, midway through the fourth quarter, and then, Um, you know, dramatic 55 yard touchdown drive, uh, led by Bear Bockmeyer who had the hat trick, you know, like we were all talking about him, uh, you know, as a passer, like he ended up throwing the, throwing the game-winning touchdown, uh, to Walker Lyons, great little slant that, that he had right there in the end zone, uh, caught a touchdown earlier in the, in the game, and then he rushed for two.

Like this was the, the Bear Bockmeyer game.

And I, I think if, if you, you know, it was funny because you get caught up so much in the moment, you know, and, and then you look back and you're sitting in the, in the press conference afterwards trying to make sense of it all, and you look at the stat sheet, you know, Sometimes you, you have a little bit of a disconnect in terms of what you're seeing on that, uh, box score and what ultimately kind of played out, uh, in front of you for, for 3, 3.5 hours.

And you said, if, if Bear Mockmeyer, and if they, you had said that he would have had 36 attempts and CJ Carr would have had 49 attempts, you know, you, you would have said, I, I don't know if this is coming down to the very last play of the game.

So, um , you know, kudos to, to BYU.

They were in their bag early in terms of some of the trick plays, in terms of some of the motions like they, they got.

Uh, BYU's or Notre Dame's defense, like all out of whack, and it certainly did not help, um, in terms of Trii, right, you know, first drive, getting the, getting tossed out of the game, uh, for just a mindless, numbness, like, what are you thinking type of penalty, um, in terms of the targeting and late hit on Bockmire.

So I think that kind of changed the tenor for the Irish defense who, you know what , let's face it, this was a massive game in this 12-team era in terms of, hey, you almost have to win out at this point, because you weren't sitting there at 10 and 2 this, at the end of the year.

We, we understand.

they've already been in that position before, but, uh, you know, just the, the lack of ability to get, you know, wins like this, those top 25, top 10 wins, um, that, that's just not there on the, on the Irish schedule.

So, uh, massive win for , for BYU, uh, gives them a little bit of leeway in, in a, in a pretty, uh, loaded Big 12 at this point with, with two other undefeated and, and the holy war coming up here in a couple of weeks.

So, um, massive for them, massive for the Big 12, because you can now see a path, certainly to get, uh, two teams in the playoffs, which was kind of their, their conference's stated goal.

Yeah, I don't think there was a player that changed my mind more yesterday than Bear Buckmeyer, just, but, I did not think this BYU passing offense would be good enough to move the football against the best of the best.

I thought that if they had a path in this game, if they had a path in the playoffs, it was like, how can we win 17 to 13 with a defensive score and control the clock and bleed it, and I mean, he proved me wrong.

I thought Aaron Rodderick called like a monster of a game.

I mean, that was offensive coordinating at its finest, uh, and put Bear in good position to succeed, but particularly without LJ Martin, the ways that they were able to move the football on the defense, I think we all agree is one of the best, if not the best in college football, and that was, that was very impressive to me, and I, I think certainly changes your opinion of BYU as a whole and how dangerous they can be, um, and then, obviously, on the Notre Dame side.

At some point, we, you gotta get up for a big game, like, I, I, I, I don't think they came out, even knowing what you were walking into, I don't think they came out with the level of, of edge that you needed to.

I thought, I think they thought that they could win on talent alone in this football game, and, you know, very quickly realized they couldn't and we're chasing it from there.

I thought they showed a lot of resilience, uh, late in that game to, you know, once, once their offense got going, it was, it was pretty impressive to watch against a very good defense at BYU, but, man, I mean, As Brian said, because of the schedule and because of the way it, again, the, the narrative is already out on, on the Notre Dame schedule.

I, I actually wanted to kind of wait and see, like, hey, what happens if Wisconsin beats UCLA and all of a sudden we have to talk about this Wisconsin one.

So, they did not beat UCLA, that that that does not look like it'll age as though it's a, you know, playoff contender victory.

So, yeah, I, I have no idea what you do with Notre Dame if they can't beat Miami at home.

I, I just, I , I.

I'm, I'm fully convinced though, this is one of the 12 best teams in college football.

Yeah, and maybe that's all it'll take, but Utah, I mean, Marcus Freeman's whole thing was, like , how do we leave no doubt this year?

And the doubt is certainly creeping in.

Doubt is, doubt has arrived, uh, cause let's say, Notre Dame last year and this year, a lot of big victories over Mediocre to sub-mediocre teams, and close losses to good teams.

That's the bottom line, that's the record right now.

And they don't have a USC on the schedule, which isn't their doing, that's USC's doing, but that's the case.

There's a little more shine on the North Carolina win, as the Tar Heels are now 4-2, when I thought they might be 1 and 5 at this point, so kudos to Bill Belichick.

But, yeah, the Wisconsin win was, not bad, but it's not a landmark.

The Miami game looms incredibly large, because Notre Dame at 10 and 2, if they haven't beaten anybody, is, once again, we're in the same spot as last year.

And we know what happened then, they didn't get in, and they took their ball and went home.

So, uh, we'll see how that all develops, um.

All right.

If you have thoughts, uh, the rest of the Big 12 is fascinating.

Obviously, Texas Tech continues to win, Utah continues to win, Houston won a big one over Oklahoma State.

Uh, do they have, they have 4 candidates, do they have 4 playoff contenders?

And if so, just give me, who are the 2 that could get in right now.

I'd, I'm gonna say BYU and Texas Tech are the, are the two I would rank highest at this point.

Agree or disagree?

I, I, I would agree, and, and look, you know, the thing about the, the schedule is like this is, you know, created by the Big 12 to like have a perfect scenario set up to where they could get multiple teams in, um, just because of the fact that, you know what, Texas Tech does not play BYU or, or, um, they already beat Houston, they do not play BYU or or Utah in terms of the regular season.

So like, their only potential chance, I, I think given the light slate that they have, and yes, they do have some other games, you know, down the road that, uh, maybe they're rivalry again instate rivalry games.

Maybe, you know, something could happen.

We know all that in college football, but let's face it, um, you know, this was set up for, for Texas Tech to run the table, and they're finally looking like that kind of team that could actually do that at this point.

You know, I think they got off to a very slow start this year, just kind of looked disjointed a little bit, but these last couple of weeks, you know, especially that win against Arizona State, I, I mean, they, they, they jumped out on them early and, uh, never looked back.

And this was kind of the team we kind of expected out of Texas Tech, especially offensively, in terms of how they could put up points, how they looked.

Um, you know, like so dangerous in terms of the number of weapons they can throw at you.

Uh, the quarterback situation has finally resolved itself.

So I think this was, um, you know, Texas Tech kind of looking like the, the tech that we, we expected it to.

And so I think you, you add that into, uh, BYU and what they've accomplished in the non, non-conference slate, um, especially having a head to head win against a, a, a Notre Dame side.

If, if they finished 10-2 and BYU finishes, you know, 10-2 or even 10-3 with a loss into the Big 12 title game, you know, I, I think we understand what the committee has to do.

Um, in terms of respecting that head to head based on past precedent last year.

So, um, the, you know, the, the Big 12 is perfectly positioned, and then you do have Houston out there, uh, in terms of their schedule coming up.

It's possible they finished 11 and 1, don't even make it to Arlington for the Big 12 title game.

So they're gonna be sitting out there with a close inches, you know, short against Texas Tech if you remember that game on Friday night .

Um, so they will have a claim, uh, certainly, to be a playoff team, and I, I think it's gonna come down to some, some, uh, interesting conversations.

Certainly for the committee, uh , when they start meeting next month in terms of how do we value these teams in the Big 12 who have good records, who look like they are good teams.

How do we value that against some of these SEC and Big 10 teams who have additional losses, who maybe have tripped up on themselves, uh, through, throughout a college football Saturday.

Um, you know, how do we kind of value that strength of schedule?

And I think that is going to be a drumbeat that we're gonna have constantly throughout the month of November because it, it's gonna come into play because of the, the what the Big 12 has done so far.

Yeah, I, I would say Utah, I think, has been better for the 1st 6 weeks than Texas Tech has, but I think you start to see Texas Tech turning the corner, which I think you would have hoped would happen as Will Hammond comes off the ACL, right?

Like, I think that's something you, you wanna give them some grace early, especially offensively, with, with Hammond again the last.

Of, like, normal practice reps, the lack of just time on the knee and feeling good about yourself, like, he , he, they, they seem to be turning a corner offensively.

And look, the other thing too, with, with Texas Tech is, yes, Houston looks like a very serious team and they struggle with them, but, you know, Houston was clearly, like, a, a very good opponent.

Oregon State's a real opponent, right?

That's, that's, you know, like, Texas Tech took took a lot of grief for for not putting away Oregon State and I don't know, man.

Oregon State is, at least, it could be a playoff team conversation, yeah, they're they're in the G6 conversation.

Yes.

So that, that helps, I think, a lot for Texas Tech and and it does force you to reevaluate a little bit, but I, I think the thing you have to bet on, if you're, you know, if you're playing, if you're going to the playoff game, it's like, can Texas Tech go 12-0 with this very manageable schedule, and then they're probably a lock regardless of what happens in, in Arlington, and BYU if they're, um, 11 and 2, if they're 11 and 1, if they're, obviously, if they win the Big 12, they're in, right, like that, then, then you feel really good about at least getting 2, and then I doubt you see a third, I'm still pretty skeptical of that, but there's, there's 4 real contenders right now.

I think that's, I, I think it it it would be wrong to write off any of the 4 at this stage.

Yeah, the top 4 are all legitimate, and I think this is a great opportunity, especially given the mayhem in the SEC.

To get two teams uh in for the Big 12.

And it's just, it's gonna be a great stretch run in that league.

The holy war is gonna be bonkers, and then the title game could have massive stakes.

We're not gonna have title games anymore after this year, so enjoy it when you got it.

Uh, one other question for you guys.

I'm gonna give you 4 teams.

You tell me who you rank number 1 .

Kevin, I'll go to you first.

Miami, Ohio State, BYU, or UCLA?

Who are you ranking number one?

I mean, I think we should be all surrendering to our Bruin overlords at this point, but, uh, I, I think Ohio State is, is the deserving #1 team, right?

It's They, they, they lost a shocker in their only loss, they have a monster road win, they're, again, like a break or two away from having, you know, two incredible road wins.

To me, they look like the best team in the country, but they might not for long with the same injury, and that's, again, this is the challenge of, of ranking teams, who's ranking ahead, who's ranking in in prediction of future struggles, who's ranking simply on the results, who's ranking on talent.

It'll be a split decision, but I think they earn it more than Miami after Miami was not good yesterday.

That was Crystal ball tried to have a crystal ball game, and Florida State just not quite good enough to take advantage.

I mean, are we, are we still sure, you know, that they didn't come down with that ball in the end zone?

No, you know, like that, I'm not sure.

You know, I, I, I, I, oh, go ahead.

No, who, who are you ranking number one, Brian?

Uh, so I have seen Miami and, and BYU in back to back weeks.

So I, I will caveat that.

Uh, I just think at this point in the season, you know, you do have to consider resume a little bit more than you do in terms of the eye test, um, and, and look, that's, that definitely comes into play.

Uh, I, I think after last night, I would, would give BYU the number one ranking, um, you know, just in terms of having, you know, the marquee win.

I think that Arizona win is aging really nicely for BYU too.

They, they.

They really dominated that game, uh, kind of pulled away from them late as well.

So I, I, I think that is, is something in the Cougars' favor.

Um, you know, they, they play defense, they play offense, they may have questionable fake punt decisions, but, uh, they're pretty good on, on special teams.

Um, and, and look, Kelani said I kind of acknowledged that.

He's like, you know, what, you know, I kind of got caught up in the moment and, uh, I was trying to be aggressive and, you know what, uh, that, you know, you, you fake a punt and sometimes it blows up in your face and Uh, thankfully for, for the Cougars, it did not blow up in terms of the actual win loss, win and loss, but, um, you know, I, I think at this point, they, they're, uh, deserving number one.

you know what, they, they've answered every question and, uh, you know, they, they just kind of inch ahead, uh, ever so slightly in my mind ahead of Miami if I were actually ranking these teams with Ohio State 3rd, and, um, I think, uh, you know, the Bruins, I mean, you know, I'm, I'm sitting there and I'm looking at them and I'm saying, This is, this is Indiana redux, you know, in terms of not beating yourself, everybody playing, you know, the, the defense in, in particular, like that is probably been everybody focuses on the offense and Wayne Knight and the, the rushing attack, but like the, the improvement defensively is, is why they are here too.

And, uh, you know, credit to, to Bob Chesney and company.

I mean this is, this is, uh, you know, this is, this is Indiana redux, uh, out west, and, uh, one of, one of the great stories, you know, in, in college football, I mean, you kind of wonder if, uh, you know, the, the pressure that they're heaping across town as well, uh, going through this run.

Uh, I mean, just tremendous, uh, only in college football type of, type of moments.

So that's, that's how I kind of have, have those teams.

Yeah, I mean, it's astounding again what they're doing and the number of people Bob Chesney is making look bad right now is, is incredible, including the athletic director at Penn State who didn't want to hire him.

Man, what a week.

I was, I was, I told Adam Rittenberg at ESPN he was sitting next to me.

I was like, man, a penny for, for Pat Kraft's thoughts this weekend because of Kelani Sataki, uh, you know, the crumble cookie monster, uh, you know, himself coming back, getting this massive win over Notre Dame, being undefeated.

Having a claim for number one, greatest win in school history.

You have Bob Chesney out there undefeated, looking like a playoff team, especially given that schedule that they have in the back half of the year.

Like, woo, Pat Kraft, he, he was feeling it, especially after Rocco Beck just looked absolutely dreadful.

I mean, that was a dreadful game, uh, between them and Michigan.

I, I don't know how much you guys caught the CBS 3:30 game, but like that was, that set, that set football back, uh, a few, few years there, a notable to win it.

What's that?

Someone had to win it.

Somebody had to win it.

Who, who had, who had CJ Carr in the car that lost today, you know, yeah, it was the team that benched their $3 million quarterback and put in CJ Carr's little brother Tommy.

Uh, yeah, it was like 8 yards away from a hell of a day for the Carr family, but, uh, you win one, you lose one, and I do.

All flowers to Kelani Sataki.

He doesn't really get the, the level of respect probably that, that some of the elite coaches in the country do, but he deserves it.

I mean, his record is incredible over the last few years here, and then you get this stage, and you just orchestrate it perfectly, one bad fake punt aside, and your team rises, and you, you perform in a manner that uh it, it was just, You know, exemplary.

They, they lived to the moment, and that, that's coaching, leadership, program building, the whole deal.

So, I, It's the, I think I would put BYU number one, but I'm also gonna give you this.

Miami's victory at Wake Forest is a really good win.

Look at what Wake Forest is doing.

Like we can't really compute Wake Forest quality win.

Wake Forest is killing people.

They're destroying people.

They are.

Wake Forest is a wagon.

They have laid waste to the Bay Area, and I know that doesn't necessarily say a lot, but still, oh my God, what they've done to Stanford and Cal is.

Like, disrespectful.

So, I'm, I'm still deciding whether I wanna put BYU or Miami number one.

And that's no disrespect to Ohio State.

And I was there and I saw him, I, I wanna talk a little bit about that game here.

Uh.

It was like this was the, the, the atmosphere you'd never seen in Bloomington before for a home game.

I have been there several times when Ohio State comes to town, and the stadium is full and the stadium is red, and 50% of it, at least, is scarlet, not crimson, it's Ohio State fans.

This time, 90% Hoosiers.

They kept their tickets, they protected home turf in terms of who got in.

Uh, they did not play a characteristic since uh Cignetti game at all.

Had their first lost offensive fumbles since the first game of 2025 , had some key penalties, and then, of course, they had the mistake that decided the game.

Nick Marsh with a pass.

Josh Hoover said, hey, I could have thrown it a little further inside , and he was right, he could have, but still, elite receivers and Nick Marsh is one of them, make that play, and you win the game, or at least you're, you're ahead with a minute left.

Uh, and you're playing a backup freshman quarterback.

But The, for him to come down with that foot out of bounds, I think everybody was shocked.

Literally, the stadium operations crew was so shocked, they set off the fireworks.

They thought it was a touchdown.

So, Indiana loses for the first time in forever.

Uh, Signetti came in like the almost chipper, it's like, oh, sun's coming up tomorrow, on to Michigan.

Uh, but then he he answered all the questions, he was good.

Hoover was good to talk to.

Becker was a little chippy, but, uh, And I , I didn't come away with any, I.

I don't have concerns about Indiana.

I think Indiana is still a playoff caliber team.

I'm impressed with Ohio State, but the question is , yes.

Like, Julian Sand leaves with his throwing arm in a sling, and Ryan Day says he'll be out several weeks.

I mean, if this is shoulder separation, if this is broken collarbone, I don't know, but it's bad.

I don't rank teams on projection, I rank them on resume, so I, I will put Ohio State 12, or 3 for sure.

But What are we to make of the Buckeyes and how did they end up with a, a true freshman backup quarterback?

Any, any thoughts there, Brian, on just what, what you think this does for Ohio State?

Well, yeah, I mean, I think there was a lot of eyebrows that, uh, you know, it was Luke Fahey coming in and not, uh, Tavion Saint Clair, uh, you know, a much highly touted, uh, prospect, uh, that is there in Columbus that, you know, they were really excited to get and it seemed like there was some, you know, positive reports, you know, about him, you know, coming inside.

Maybe that was just, uh, like a.

More of a veteran guy, he knows the system a little bit better.

If you're gonna throw somebody in, you know, against an Indiana team that just like loves to bring simulated pressures and so many crazy looks at you, maybe, maybe he was just kind of the guy for the moment, um, and obviously, they didn't ask him to do too much, to, to passes down the stretch.

So it's like it wasn't like go out there and win this game.

It was, don't lose it for us, you know, in terms of throwing a massive interception.

I, I do give credit, you know, I, I think this was, uh, a game for, for all the focus on, on Ohio State's offense.

Understandably, and especially the quarterback situation.

Like kudos to, uh, you know, Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinator.

Like they, they lost a bunch of bodies, but like he said, I'm gonna make this a Josh Hoover game.

You know, they limited him 73 yards in terms of the rushing attack.

Um, they just did not have many explosives, uh, in, in this game, uh, lost a lot of guys, um, you know, in terms of some of the injuries, so a lot of key guys, especially upfront, but, uh, they controlled the line of scrimmage, and, uh, they, they made Josh Hoover feel it.

Like it wasn't just even.

Um, you know, the, the, the fumbles, like I, I mean, it was like he, he was having to, you know, quickly processed, you know, decision, like it, it was a miracle almost that he didn't throw an interception at this point, um, you know, given that he had to get the ball out so quickly and, uh, you know, 20 to 40, I think that kind of said it all in terms of his stat line.

So, um, you know, kudos to the Buckeyes defense, which is kind of the, the bigger question mark, you know, about this team moving forward is, all right, you, you lose all those draft picks and, and you lose.

Lose all that talent, you know, how, how are you gonna replace them?

Yes, that's a team that, that does reload, uh, you know, on that side of the ball, but like, you know, we, we got to see it in action.

And, um, you know, there was, there were some question marks, I think, coming into this game in terms of how ready they were, especially after what happened in that 4th quarter in Austin in terms of getting stops, uh, and this defense stepped up and they did it in a big-time moment to deliver one of the marquee victories, uh, that we're going to see this season in terms of, uh, beating.

Indiana at their place and, um, you know, with the offense, you know, still a little bit of a work in progress, you know, in , in terms of, um, you know, the consistency and, and even that was before Julian saying, um, you know, got lost.

I mean, it was the, the two interceptions were bad, they were forced throws, um, in Jeremiah Smith's direction and yes, you know what, more often than not, those are gonna be fine decisions, but, uh, in this game where the margins were so thin against the Indiana team playing at home.

Um, you know, they, they, they were bad decisions, and, uh, that led to this game being much closer than it should have been for Ohio State, and uh now there's some looming question.

I mean, that game, uh, yes, they, they, they go into the buy before going out to LA, but, uh, man, if everything lined up for Lincol.

Riley.

It's having to play an Oregon backup quarterback, to play Ohio State with their backup quarterback.

Like, uh, if, if Lincoln Riley can't get this done, uh, you can understand the angst there in, uh, Los Angeles, which might be greater right now than the angst there, there in Columbus, uh, given the quarterback situation.

Yeah, I mean, what's so jarring about the quarterback situation is that At the end of the day, Ohio State has always had a great backup, like, like, they have been the ultimate next man up.

I, I was going through and I was, the, the only game I can remember where it's like, oh my God, the Ohio State quarterbacks are just horrible was the uh the bowl game against Missouri a couple of years ago.

Oh, they played like some weird hodgepodge of Kienholtz and Devin Brown, like, yeah, that was, and that was, like, freshman Lincoln Kienholtz, you know, before he was a serious dude, but, like, they've, they've always had dudes coming up and, and.

Maybe Fahey will be, but, and that was just a situation where, hey, we gotta call this thing super conservative and just try to get out of here alive, but, yeah, I, I have real concerns about Ohio State's offense that stands out for a significant stretch, just because they have not been dynamic in the run game, really at all.

Um, they, they have found ways to be effective running the football, but it's, it's gonna be harder to get those 4 and 5 yard chunks.

If there isn't as much of a fear of, of this offense, uh, throwing the ball down the field and saying it's ability to to push, push the football deep.

Obviously, Jeremiah Smith, Jeremiah Smith, shoot, if I was, if I was calling that offense, I might just snap it to Jeremiah, if I have to, um, in in some of these moments, and maybe they will, but, yeah, all, all of a sudden, a lot more intrigue for that game at USC, a lot more intrigue against Oregon.

I mean, look, this, there is not one game on the remaining part of their schedule that is.

Oh my God, it's not, there's not another Indiana on the schedule, but if you told me they lost to any of the 5 teams left, especially if Julian San is not a quarterback, you wouldn't be shocked, right?

Like, you would not be floored if Northwestern beat them in a month if Julian San is not the quarterback.

Now, and and again, what do you do with Ohio State?

I mean, again, we're we're we're we're putting, putting the cart way way before the horse, but like, what happens if there's like a But how do we evaluate Ohio State's resume if Julian San's healthy for the playoffs but isn't healthy for the rest of the regular season?

I don't know, but it was, it was an enormous win, to give credit.

They were, they were clearly a better team, um, and, and Indiana hung around and was well coached and disciplined enough and, you know, probably should have won in the end on, on the Nick Marsh, though, it was open, gotta, gotta go, gotta go find a way to make that play, but Yeah, I mean, I, I was, I was impressed with Ohio State.

I thought they were, you know, they were better for the 60 minute fight, and I was, I, I thought it was the type of performance you were looking for from this group overall, just worry about saying no.

Yeah, yeah, and that, I mean, they, they, they did, they played extremely well, as you said, the defense was outstanding.

Uh, they're, they're a quality team, but this is such an equation changer, and, and, it's also the best time to open date you could possibly have, as you're trying to regroup, and it could be they end up going with Tavion S Saintclair, uh, at quarterback.

It may be, you know, like, hey, we just, now we've got, we've gotta get him brushed up and, and make him the guy here if he's our better chance going forward.

OK, we've kind of almost semi-decided that we all wanna pick somebody different number one.

How do you rank the SEC teams?

Is, is there any in the top five?

And where do you put, like, is it, is Georgia still the top ranked team, or is it Kentucky?

What about Mississippi?

I would guess those are the 3 top teams in the rankings now from the SEC.

What about Tennessee?

How far do you drop the two loss teams?

I, I mean, this is shaping up to be the, again, the lobbying effort of all time, the Argument of all time, like, just what, what do you do with the SEC teams?

Kevin, do you, do you have a thought like who should be the highest ranked one and how high should they be ranked?

Yeah, I mean, to a degree, I sort of approach, when, whenever, when everybody flops, we just, you just kind of stick with your priors from the week before and I was, I was Georgia before then.

I don't know that Georgia losing makes me think that Kentucky or Ole Miss is better, but at the same time, like, again, if we're we're, if we're ranking teams, there has to be some reaction to the fact that you just lost to, to, to Auburn at home, you know, it's, it's an absolute, a stunner, and so, Yeah, like, we, we did the, the ranking of the, the one loss SEC teams a couple of weeks ago, and I, I had missed the top because I just was like, man, I trust Trinidad, Trinidad Chamblis and, like, the other stuff, I guess will figure itself out and I kind of still feel that way, right?

Again, as all the chaos happens, it's just like.

You're probably gonna have to go win a game late, and I trust Trinidad Shambles more than any other player in the SEC to go do that, and they were very, very impressive yesterday.

That is a result that will not get a lot of attention because of all the chaos, because of all the crazines.

I mean, they dominated Missouri.

Now, again, how good is Missouri?

We don't really know, they blew out Florida, what does that mean?

Is Florida good, is Florida not?

I mean, they're they're the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde football team of the of the college football season, but that was the type of, kind of compelling performance we were waiting on from from this Ole Miss group, and You know, now they go into really the heart of their schedule with Texas and and Georgia here in the next few weeks, but I think, I think right now I would say Georgia is the best team, and if you wanna rank them, I would say Ole Miss should be the number one team because, you know, their loss was maybe the most understandable, and they have some, some serious wins.

You know, I, I have no idea, you know, I kind of throw my hands up just because, you know, like it, the limited sample size that we, that we have, uh, in terms of some of these, these teams beating each other up, and I, I think we will get a little bit better sense here in the next couple of weeks, uh, you know, given that Florida plays Georgia, you know, we, we do get some more of the crossover to we kind of really determine things.

I, I do think, you know, in terms of being the most complete team, you know, in terms of the team, you could still see winning the national title .

It still is Georgia, uh, even after the inexplicable loss.

I mean, that was just a game that Kirby Star.

You know, Pat, I think you mentioned the point earlier, like they just don't lose that.

I mean, it was what, 58 straight against unranked opponents, and it seemed like, you know, you knew, and especially once they came back and tied the score late, like, you know, they, all right, here's, here comes Georgia, all right?

They're, they're gonna take care of this.

But like, um, you know, the penalties, the turnovers, um, you know, like that was just not, it, it was just like kind of Georgia lost their mind a little bit.

And maybe that's just Auburn magic.

I know it was not, it's uh Jordan Hare, but like, uh, I feel like that's maybe just playing Auburn, you know, at this point, and, um, they're, they're certainly gonna be good.

For, for one of those crazy results, uh, you know, a season, and maybe this was just it.

Maybe this is just kind of Georgia's week off.

You know what, they, they got, they're feeling themselves after beating Alabama.

The nature of the SEC, you can't be up for every single game.

And, you know what, they, they saw, uh, an Auburn team that had struggled previously and, you know what, not the greatest record in the world, new coaching staff, um, you know, quarterback that's, uh, not being talked about quite a bit .

Maybe they just kind of overlooked him a little bit, all right?

And that, that's gonna happen in the SEC.

So I, I do kind of see setting them aside a little bit.

I think Ole Miss is, is kind of You know, pretty comfortably at this point, um, kind of the second-best team.

If we actually look at, uh, you know, the resume, if we look at having a guy at Trinity like Trinidad Chambliss, I mean, he, he was dealing once again, uh, against the Missouri defense that had, uh, you know, put up some, some resistance previously.

Uh, I think the defense has improved massively, uh, for the Rebels, uh, especially since, you know, we, we saw the impact against LSU.

Like they, they've gotten better each week, uh, defensively, which is kind of really helping their cause, and, and I think they, they can kind of solidify that.

Uh, this week in Austin, uh, as they go in there and they can kind of put, uh, not only in Texas's playoff hopes for, for good and bury them and, uh, throw some extra dirt on, on the coffin, but like this is a, a team that I think is playing well right now and playing well at the right time.

And so I, I do kind of look Georgia, Ole Miss, and then right there, I mean, I, I'm not doubting Kentucky at this point.

Like it, it's crazy to think, you know, like Kenny Miny is playing within his, you know, playing within that system.

Uh, the defense has, has been much approved in, in terms of, uh, what they do down to down.

So like this is a team that is playing well, and, um, you know what, that game, um, you know, when, when they traveled to Nayland in a couple of weeks, um, for that Tennessee game.

Which, uh, who, who had that as one of those games, uh, uh, uh, you know, that you're gonna circle on the calendar, um, you know, in terms of, I think it's November 7th, like, uh, which is an awesome weekend for the sport.

Like, you're gonna have to pay attention to that.

Like that , that's how big that game is now, not only in the SEC standings, but in terms of the playoffs.

Like these are two legitimate playoff teams and like, Um, if, if Kentucky ends up winning that one, like you, you can actually pencil them in for the playoffs, like that is where they are at, and, and kudos to Will Stein, like it has been a mentality change there in Lexington.

He is focusing this team week to week, and they, and they're taking care of business, and, um, uh, they, they did one of the better, you know, portal overhauls as well .

Like they went out, they spent a lot more money than they usually had, especially compared to last season, that is showing up on the field now.

And so I think that's, um, you know, kudos to them, kudos to the SEC, but like, even, even Florida.

You know, as, as you mentioned, uh, Kevin, as Jekyll and Hyde as they have been, like this is a team that, uh, went into Austin with a backup quarterback against one of them, probably the most talented roster, I would say, in the sport, and, and made them look silly, um, in terms of running off with a backup quarterback, um, being able to throw the ball, being able to make the crucial, uh, plays, uh, on both sides of the ball, like kudos to Florida, John Summerall has been playing well, like it wouldn't surprise me at all if they ended up beating Georgia, and, and they're still right back in.

Um, you know, to, to the playoff mix.

And so this is just, um, you know what, another, another day in the life of the SEC, and I think that's probably contributing to kind of the angst there in Birmingham in terms of what is the committee going to do, um, with this 9th conference game with these additional losses from these contenders, you know, uh, is, is it gonna end up costing these, these teams and, and maybe that is kind of why the SEC in these last couple of weeks come around to saying, all right, we, we, we need some get out of jail free cards because what, uh, it does just mean more and, and it also means a little bit more losses as well.

Yeah, I, I, I don't wanna hear about the 9th conference game yet, because they played like 5 or 4, and they've all lost.

So, I mean, it eventually, cumulative effect, yes, it may be a legitimate factor, but right now it's not, all right?

You, you, you've played 3 or 4 games, you've lost, and that brings us to Texas.

What the hell?

I mean, as you said, maybe the most talented roster in the country.

They lost, their season was ruined last year by losing to Florida.

It might have been ruined again by losing to Florida.

Two different coaches, completely different setups, the whole deal.

Florida, the backup quarterback, Trevell Jones, who really played well.

But you go into Austin and beat them there.

Like Sark is running out of cover here.

I think we've, I personally, I've decided on Arch.

Arch is just a pretty good quarterback.

He's OK.

He's not, he's not, he's not elevating you.

You don't win a national title because of Arch.

It's interestingly enough, While not overly productive, 173 passing yards, 1 touchdown, his efficiency rating was the highest since the opener against Texas State.

So, it wasn't like he was just out there throwing interceptions and missing receivers all day.

But he is who he is, in my opinion, like, you know, I'm just not even, like, I, I don't expect more from him than I'm seeing.

I occasional plays he can make, sure, but there's not enough consistently that that I think that guy's gonna go, like, just shred a bunch of SEC defenses between now and Selection Sunday.

But Sark, Sark, the situation with Sark is not good.

I, I said last week, like, you don't just change play callers at this point in the year.

I'm reconsidering.

It's bad.

Their offense is bad.

They're not getting it done.

Uh, Brian, how much legitimate heat do you think there is on Sark, especially if they end up missing the playoffs?

Oh, there's, there's quite a bit of heat, you know, I, I think this, you know, I think there's probably a misnomer that, uh, you know, the Texas crowd, you know, a little bit of a wine and cheese, you know, back in that, but man, they care about their football and they understand what good football is and, and what bad football is, and that is what Texas is playing at this point.

And, you know, you, you mentioned, uh, Sark there, and I, I think there's gonna be an understandable focus on Arch just because of everything that has to do with, with the Manning name and, um, like I , I don't think that necessarily he is the, the issue right now.

I think it does fall on Steve Sarkisi.

I mean, there's a point there, um, you know, like midway through the, the 4th quarter that Texas, you know, against, uh, their, uh, the rest of the power 4 opposition and especially in the SEC play, they had as many 3rd down conversions as they did against Ohio State alone.

Like this is.

It's just not a team on 3rd down when it matters that they've been able to find success, and that falls on the play caller.

Like there's no rhythm at all.

Once they get beyond those initial opening scripts, which are fantastic, you know, which everybody seems on the offense seems to be able to execute, you know, just fine and, and get out to a nice start, and, and then they just slowly seem to not understand what to do, uh, with, with the ball in their hands.

And, uh, whether it's turnovers, whether it's just, you know, failing on 3rd down, there's just no rhythm, uh.

The offense and, you know, after Red River, uh, I went in that press conference and, you know, Steve was pretty like he, he was kind of defiant a little bit like almost understanding like, look, we, we, we killed ourselves, we had the turnovers, you know, arched through it, you know, to, you know, to them twice that, that kind of gifted them that game, uh, we, we do the punt block like that's just kind of one of those things that happens, right?

You know, and, and plus the nature of Red River, you could kind of understand, all right, he, he was a little defiant after this game.

He, you know, he just sounded lost.

Like I, I mean, forlorn and, and lost, like he, he's like, I don't know, like, and, and, and when, when you're 1211 $12 million dollar coach says, I don't know, like that, that is more than red flags there in Austin.

So I, I think it's, it's a significant issue for Texas, uh, especially after what happened last season , um, like this, you know, this, this reminded me, I think reminded a lot of folks, you know, of the Florida loss last year, just in terms of being inexplicable, and, uh, that was the case again against a backup quarterback and Uh, as a result, you know, John Summerall is the one walking out of there with cowboy hat and, and all smiles, and it's not, uh, not happening there on the, on the Texas sideline for sure.

I just, I don't view Arch Manning right now as a confident quarterback, and I think when Like he is at his best when he can just let it rip, and for whatever reason, there's a block there, and at some point, I think if you're Sark, you have to really evaluate, like.

You can't, you just can't play with a scared quarterback, and that, that to me is what Arch Manning looks like he is right now.

So, um, I'm not saying you bench him, I don't love the options behind, but, like, I think every option has to be on the table with the way that their offense is playing, with how, again, with how much talent they have, right?

Yes, they're still scoring points, like, that, that is not enough with the way that they're, they are built.

The, the, the fact that they have not been able to get more out of Cam Coleman is, like, crazy to me, that guy is.

Ultra talented , ultra gifted, there's dudes everywhere, of course, they're scoring points, but I, they're not the dominant force on offense that they should be with, again, theoretically a brilliant offensive head coach, theoretically an NFL quarterback, which I don't think he is at this point, maybe he will be one day, he's not right now.

With all this talent, it's just , it, it, I think everything needs to be on the table entering uh the final month and a half of the season, and I'm interested to see again, what the resume conversations end up being with Texas.

I'm sure Sark will go back to the well of, well, we played Ohio State, so one loss shouldn't count, essentially, so you should view us like a two loss team because we hadn't played played a big non-conference game, you know, we, we, we, like, it doesn't matter whether you win the game or lose the game, you can just play the game and spin the spin the wheels, but, like, I mean, there's, I, I just don't see a world where this team comes out of this unscathed, so we're we're we're gonna be talking about a 3 loss, Texas, I think, on Selection Sunday.

Where that leaves them, I don't know, I maybe good enough, but They're just not a team you have any confidence or belief in right now when you watch them play, and I don't think they play like a team that has a lot of belief in itself, and that's, that's the frustrating factor right now.

Yeah, not for lack of talent, was pointed out, uh, they're, they're 8 of 36 in SEC play on 3rd down conversions.

It's not good at all, it's really bad, um, among other issues there.

Uh, I hate to say it, I, I actually was speaking to a group in Texas before the season, and I I said, you know, every year there's one team that that that's with huge expectations, the wheels fall completely off.

And Texas A&M is kind of that team, but there's higher expectations.

And last year, it was Penn State, that like, once you lost one, everything collapsed.

And I said, you know, Texas is kind of that team.

I don't expect that to happen, but watch what happens if you lose one.

Do you then fall apart?

And my point was I thought it might be Ohio State, and they would lose that game, but they didn't.

They won that game, but now, you lose Red River, you follow it up with a bad loss here.

And I think crisis watch is absolutely on, and Sark's got a way to find a way to, to circle the wagons immediately there.

So that, you mentioned Penn State there, and, and I'm kind of curious what you guys think, um, you know, would you put Texas in that bucket, or would you put Oregon because like, I feel like those are, they, they're, they're one and the same at this point in the, in the season, um, especially given the struggles that we had.

We saw the Ducks very late at night in terms of putting away Nebraska, um, like you talk about.

High expectations.

Talk about the roster spin and it just has not coalesced at all on the field for, for either of those two programs that, let's face it, like I mean they were in the top 3 for a reason.

Both those programs like coming into the year we had expectations for them.

It has not coalesced and a lot of it's probably gonna be reflected on, on their head coaches, but like I mean it's wild to think, um, you know, not only could we get one Penn State, we might have two Penn States out there this season.

Oh, it's possible.

Uh, but that's a great segue, Brian, cause that leads me to, let's do our weekly Heisman.

We're gonna give out our weekly Heisman, and we're gonna fire somebody.

There's plenty of people to fire, but I'm gonna do the Heisman first, because here's who I'm giving it to.

Dylan Rayola came off the bench.

I mean, this guy, it looked like his, his career was shattered all over the field against UCLA.

He gets the start after he'd been on the bench, he plays as badly as you can possibly play.

He gets benched for a 3rd string walk-on, handles it, goes in postgame, owns it.

Stays on the bench, they start Brock Thomas.

Interesting decision.

Uh, Dan Lanning didn't work out very well.

They were absolutely horrible.

That game was so bad.

It was so bad.

But they, they are losing, they bring Rayola in, he gets them back, Nebraska does what it does, finds a way to lose a close game, but Dylan Rayola, you are getting my Heisman just for pure resilience.

11 of 1859 yards, the winning touchdown.

Good job, man.

Way to, way to bounce back.

You guys got a Heisman.

I do.

I'm gonna go with, uh, Michael Hawkins Jr.

at West Virginia.

And, uh, man, you talk about carrying a team, uh, 33 attempts for 464 yards , 3 touchdowns through the air, 26 carries for 77 yards and 2 scores.

They showed a graphic there, uh, for, for the TNT broadcast that like his, his season so far, we're only in week 7, mind you, that he's kind of in between, uh, Two of Pat White's greatest seasons there in terms of rushing the football.

And, uh, I, I mean, a thrilling, uh, win like, uh, Cincinnati gave up over 600 yards of offense and scored 42 points and lost.

Um, so flagging that, uh, for, for some of those Bearcats fans, but Michael Hawkins Jr.

on a day where John Matier throws a late pick 6 to, to end, uh, Oklahoma's cause against Kentucky, like, I mean, you want to talk about like, All right, well, this is who we could have had and this is who we have, and uh maybe Oklahoma adding to the misery there in terms of uh a phenomenal performance there uh for Michael Hawkins Junior.

The video of the Kentucky bench when Oklahoma tried a flea flicker that was disastrous and the Kentucky bench is like pointing across the way, like, yeah, I'm working on us, fellas, like, that was, that was pretty awesome.

Um, my Heisman, uh, an SEC game we didn't talk a ton about, uh, DeSean Bishop, Tennessee.

I mean, that was.

It, it, it is, it is fascinating to watch the evolution of this Tennessee program under Heiel, because, again, all, it was all about spread and how, how can, how can we, how can we dynamic offensively and They are a kick you in the butt football team right now.

And they did it to Keyan Russell, and then DeSean Bishop lined up 32 times for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns, and his long run was 20, which means he was, he was hammering between those tackles for, for a lot of those reps, which was, uh, which was impressive to watch.

It was, it was a very, very good performance from Tennessee.

That was , that was.

A statement win, not just again, to win the game, they needed it, but how they did it, the way that they physically dominated Alabama, that, that has to feel good if you're Josh Heiel and your program at large in terms of, like, where you're are from a talent standpoint, where they are physically, I mean, this is a group that is winning in spite of quarterback play, not because of, probably for the first time in Heiel's tenure.

I'm, I'm glad you brought up that game because we didn't really touch on that much, so that, that's, that's good.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Brian.

You, you already did.

You already did your husband.

So, all right, uh, who are we firing again, many people, I think if you wanna fire Sark again, what the heck?

Fine, um, many other nominees, who do we got?

I'm firing uh the the the contractless man, Tosh Lupoi, because if I, if I'm Cal, I am finding whatever, I'm doing whatever I have to do to figure out a way out of this thing, man, because they are a disaster.

Uh, again, we talked about Wake Forest being the wagon of all wagons right now , but I mean, it shouldn't look like this, uh, he started Jackson Brousseau over, uh, Jan Kiave Sagapolitele, and then said he was healthy and put him in late when they're down 40, it was just unbelievable.

Like, it, that is the program I see the most, like, unfathomable decisions out of on a week to week basis, and for that reason, I'm thinking, how do I get out of this mess, because it doesn't feel good right now, um, uh, down in Berkeley, and, I mean, I just, you know, you see, like, Ron Rivera with the headset on, really, like, impacting a lot of these decisions, like, it does not feel like there's a lot of faith in that organization that Tasha Lapoy has a handle on this thing, and uh if I was, if I was Cal, I would be re-evaluating just about everything right now.

I'm gonna disagree, but, uh, I mean , Michael Oxley, man, he had a 10 point halftime lead over Rutgers, and you end up losing to Rutgers 37-30 at home.

Uh, yeah, I mean, that was, you know, we, we wrote a thing about the the coaching carousel and we, we kind of wrote this was kind of one of those, you know, coaching leaves town.

Well, Uh, well, I guess we'll be on, on monitoring here at, uh, on, on Sunday as, as we go and, and really the next couple of weeks there in Maryland, uh, cause that was, that was like the, the Loxley era, you know, epitome, uh, in terms of like losing a game that you just had to have.

They, they just never played, um, you know, come to their potential, and then like you have, you know, other, you know, talents like Jesse Lagree at, at Oregon State going off again this, this, this week, um, you know, who, who's from the DMV area, like, uh, you know, like I think it was just uh kind of everything added up there for, for Mike Oxley, so I, I will go with him.

He gets to keep that, uh, that one bragging point alive, Kevin.

He's, he, they did have the lead.

Yeah, he likes to say, we, we lead in a lot of games.

Don't lead at the end, but they do.

Yeah, I mean, it's 11:11 a.m. Sunday Eastern time.

He's still employed.

We'll see how long that lasts, but it can't last too much longer.

Uh, I'm gonna fire Kenny Dillingham, who I, I like, and I still think he, he has a bright future ahead of him.

This year's team, I I really fired the defensive coordinator, Brian Ward.

Their, their defense is horrible.

They gave up 48 to Texas A&M, 55 to Baylor, and then 53 to Texas Tech.

Their wins are against Morgan State, Hawaii, and in London, against Kansas.

So they are winless against power conference opponents in the United States.

Not great, not great there.

The , the, all of the sizzle from 2024 when they made the playoffs and nearly beat Texas in the playoffs.

is gone and they've got to relocate it.

They just don't seem like a, a well-balanced program at this point.

So, not giving up on Dillingham and the Sun Devils, but right now, it's not good.

All right.

Lots for everybody to digest.

We'd love to hear your opinions on it.

Leave us a, a comment on the YouTube, uh, comment section or anywhere else.

Thanks for listening.

And we will be back next week.