Season Preview with Pat Forde & Gene Wojciechowski | Others Receiving Votes

Hi.

Welcome back to the show.

Others receiving votes on Sports Illustrated SI.

com.

I'm Pat 40, and I am joined once again by Gene Wojakowski.

Let me tell you how the offseason worked here on this podcast.

Who had to walk through the minefield of Brendan Soresby, who had to deal with Congress, who had to work through all the court mayhem?

That was me.

Gene, meanwhile, was off playing golf in Scotland, writing a book, promoting that, landing a gig with Big 10 Network.

Gene, we're thrilled to see you back, but what the hell have you been doing for the last several months?

You know what, I've been, I've been feeling very sorry for you, in a way.

I, I've listened to the podcast each week, but there was one, I think it was the August 10th 1, where I think the main topics were, uh, the, the recent CFP meetings, uh, uh, the Protect uh College Sports Act.

Uh, the FBI and the NCAA working together on something , and I just pulled out the rosary and I just started saying Hail Mary's for you.

I just, yeah, I just, I felt awful for you.

Yeah, it, it was that kind of offseason, let me tell you , you know, we, we, we rarely talked any football.

Uh, there were way too many, uh, dysfunctional things happening in the sport, which tends to be the case, and it is, I guess , the chaos is part of the allure, but boy, did the chaos get old, so.

We are, are thrilled to have you back.

Uh, I think we might have at the end of last season.

Uh, promoted your book a little bit, but tell us about all Carry that you did publish in the spring here, correct?

It did.

It published, uh, shortly before the Masters started, and, uh, uh, it's a, it's a golf novel, and Uh, it, it's doing pretty well.

I'm, I'm pleasantly, uh, uh, surprised by the support.

It's been, it's been a lot of fun , and it was built around sort of the masters and a set of magical clubs and a father-son relationship, and people seem to, to enjoy it.

So, thank you for mentioning it.

I appreciate it.

Yeah, excellent.

Look for it, pick it up.

Uh, in Gene's previous lives, he was, uh, an excellent golf reporter and obviously worked on ESPN College Game Day, and even wrote, he typed for a living for a while for ESPN.

com and various other outlets going back to prehistory .

Uh, I believe you, did you, did you actually cover NewtRockney, or was that, were you shortly after, did you catch Leahy?

You, you know, just so you know, you're making fun of me and that's fine.

You know, go ahead, ageism, that you'll be hearing from HR soon, but, um, you know, he, he's from my area.

And do you remember what his nickname was?

I don't.

OK, uh, the wheat and ice man.

Did you see that very famous photo of him?

Uh, well, he's from my town that I live in, in Illinois, Wheaton, Illinois.

So, uh, I do have a little framed photo of him, and, uh, he's sort of the patron saint.

Of football in my, in my part of the Midwest.

How about that?

Well, that's the other thing, the other update on Gene's life as we all get, uh, reacquainted with him is he was, he was in Knoxville last year teaching at, uh, University of Tennessee.

Still gonna be teaching there, but you're spending more of your time back at, at home in Sweet Home Chicago, correct?

So, yes, actually here this week, we're doing it from the, uh, beautiful Courtyard Marriott in downtown Knoxville.

So, hey, there you have it.

It gets no better.

There you go.

I hope you're out.

Painting the checkeredboard end zones at some point on your, your stay there.

Um, all right.

So this, this podcast, we're just, we're gonna do a bunch of prediction stuff.

This is our, our table setter, our chance to be wildly wrong, and for everybody to take notes and come back and tell us exactly how wrong we were at the end of the season.

Uh, this being college football, we'll be wrong plenty.

Matter of fact, actually, yes, that's one other thing I remember from last year.

Gene was wrong the most in our picks.

Uh, I believe Brian Fisher actually did the best job.

And I was, uh, in the middle and Gene was well in arrears, but yeah, but I did get the, the dumb, uh, bear thing that you got the bear fat bear week .

That was, that was your shining tell us what, what is with the hat today?

Oh, the hat, yes, good call.

I need to explain.

So I'm toying with the idea that we can crowdsource this with the listenership viewership.

Uh, and I apologize to the viewers who have to look at us every week, but, uh, I, I'm toying with the idea of wearing a different college team's hat every week.

And this week, uh, Murray State Racers, uh, you know, we're starting big here, FCS scrappy bunch out of the far west corner of the state of Kentucky.

So, uh, this week, Murray, you never know what could be next week.

I've got, I've got, I think enough right now to get through the season, but if I need to buy a couple more late in the year, That'll be on the expense account.

So, OK, I like it.

Yeah, all right, you know, uh, it's college colors time.

Let's, let's wear what you got.

And, uh, so we're gonna start in now with, uh, with a bunch of predictions.

Um, we're all over the map here, but we're gonna start with this, Gene.

Uh, the AP top 25 made official what I had already seen kind of developing is that Everybody is picking the same 7 teams at the top in varying orders, but it does not.

It, it's these 7, and then there's a drop-off in apparently the minds of everyone, including Sports Illustrated with our preseason top 25, um, to 8 to 25.

But the, these 7 teams, in some order, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami.

Um, some commonalities there.

They all either have returning big-time quarterbacks or landed a big-time quarterback in the portal.

Miami and Indiana will be the ones that went into the portal, and both have done that really, really well, a quarterback in the past.

So, we all know, the preseason top 25s do not play out that way.

Out of that group of 7, which one flops?

All right.

Define flop.

I mean like implosion, like, uh, well, I think I wrote some of them down.

Number 2, Penn State last year.

Number 4 , Clemson.

Number 9, LSU.

Number 13, South Carolina.

I mean, are you just talking about total implosion?

Um, I'm, I'm talking about they end up.

Outside of the title picture, um, probably, you know, certainly outside of the top 10.

I mean, if you, if you got a total implosion, we'll take that, you know, we're fans of crash scenes here, so, but, you know, well, do you think, I, I don't see, uh, a flop in the classic sense, uh, out of those top 7.

Of course, I said that last year.

That I did not see a flop out of the, out of the favorites, and guess what happened.

So, things always happen, but if you're making me choose between Picking a flop or.

Attending a Belichick presser, I, I'll, I'll go with the flop thing.

Uh, these are like pinhole concerns, OK ?

So I don't want you to think, uh, you know, they're doomed.

But if I had to pick, Uh, 3, and then I'll narrow it down to 1, Indiana.

Not because I have any doubts about Kirk Senetti and his, his idea, you know, we're going to hunt down complacency .

I'm sure they're going to do that.

But it's so difficult.

I mean, incredibly difficult, uh, to repeat as national champions.

Uh, I think there's only been 3 of them in the last, what, uh, 31 years.

Uh, and they're gonna take everybody's best shot.

They are nobody's, uh, mystery team anymore.

Everybody knows what they can do.

To, Texas, and I only throw Texas in there from the standpoint, if they lose against Ohio State early again, does that just, does all the negativity bubble instantly to the surface again with, with that program.

And then I 3rd, I think 3rd is, is Miami.

And uh they lost so many good players uh to the NFL.

They do have another new quarterback, and yes, they have shown that they can put in new quarterbacks and not miss a beat.

But there still is a transition involved there.

And I'm not big at looking at the schedule and saying this determines everything, but they are at Clemson, they are at Notre Dame, and those are potential landmines for them.

So, uh, If I had to pick one, I would probably just say Indiana, again, just from the standpoint of how tough it is to do what they've done in the past two years.

I hear an unapologetic hater.

That's what I hear.

I, I, I'll talk to Coachig about this.

Yeah, you go over and you just, you, you get to Bloomington and tell him that, please.

Yeah, we'll sick him on you.

Uh, no, I mean, look, your reasoning, uh, regarding Indiana certainly makes sense, and, and they are.

You know, they are integrating another new quarterback 3 years.

Can you, can you absolutely hit it out of the park every single time?

Although Signetti's history was in James Madison, he did too.

I mean they brought in a new guy, plug him in, and they just did great.

But, uh, the schedule's really hard for them too, you know.

I mean, not the non-conference, we know that they don't play anybody non-conference, but they've got Oregon, they've got Ohio State, um.

So, no, actually, I don't think they do have Oregon this year, but, uh, anyhow, they, they, they, I, I get that.

I'm gonna lean toward Texas, and I agree, pinhole concerns is a pretty good way to put it.

It's not like you look and say, oh man, they're in trouble.

But I look at this Texas season a little bit like I looked at Penn State last year.

It's like the eggs have piled high in the basket.

Everybody is talking national championship.

Arch the way he finished last season, gives everybody that optimism, and then I think they had the best year in the portal of anybody in terms of adding talent around him and to help the offense.

Uh, and I, and then they added Rashim Biles on defense, who I just absolutely adore at linebacker.

So, like, I, I , I just get the feeling like the expectations and the pressure have ratcheted it up to the point that the first time something goes wrong, Like at Penn State, panic sets in, or pressure or negativity.

And if that Ohio State game goes bad at home, look out.

And then two weeks after that, they are at Tennessee.

And as you know, teams go in there in the Neyland Stadium , good teams, and they lose.

I mean, I've, I've seen them storm the field a time or two after big wins.

Then you got Red River, and if by then the wheels are coming off, look out.

Uh, that's, that's, that's my only concern there is I just think the dynamics present a, a chance for For, for, for a, an early like mayhem to set in and for people to, to start losing confidence quickly.

So, again, I, I'm by no means convinced that's gonna happen, but if you, if you make me pick one of those seven schools, which I did make you pick, I, I made the rundown.

I just made myself pick it.

So that's what we're going with.

All right, Gene, in 1 2nd, Pat, you, you were right about Indiana.

They do not play Oregon this season, right?

OK, thank you for correcting the record there.

But, uh, still the, the Ohio State game looms large.

They've got USC, I know, coming to Bloomington.

I think they're at Michigan, so they, they do have a lot still, uh, in a very good league at what at you dubbed also, yes, yes, which boy that has been a tough place for teams to go in the last since from Kaylin Deboer through Jed Fish.

Yeah, all right, now coming from outside of the top seven.

Uh, 8 through 25 are unranked.

Fine.

Uh, tell me who rises, who are you looking at there?

OK, so are we, are we saying, I'm sorry to do this to you.

Are we trying to pick, uh, the next Indiana here, or just, just tell me, I mean, we're gonna get to the next Indiana soon, but give me another team that's ranked that, that you think maybe it's just that second tier or 3rd tier that, that crashes in there and, and is a contender.

I like BYU.

Uh, I, I, I have BYU.

Michigan, USC, Bama, kind of in a cluster of teams that I thought were similar in a way, but BYU really intrigues me this season.

And they certainly don't play in the kind of conference that is gonna provide the, um, the difficulties that the USC is going to face or Bama's gonna face in their schedule.

And I, you look in I think we can all agree there's a reason why Tay is always on everybody's shortlist of replacement coaches.

He's a great coach.

Uh, they have a, a, a deep roster this year.

I just think they're a team that, you know, we could turn around and they're right there.

Yeah, I like it.

I like it.

I'm gonna stay in the same conference, uh, and say Texas Tech, which isn't too far outside of that top seven.

But I think everybody jumped off the bandwagon when Sorsby uh imploded.

But there's a lot of talent everywhere else.

And Will Hammond, who's gonna be the backup quarterback who's stepping in, um, maybe not game one, we'll see.

He's recovering from a knee injury last season, but they have a lot of talent and the schedule.

Holy moly, I mean, it's, it's almost pathetic.

I just think they're gonna pile up a lot of wins.

They don't play Utah, they don't play BYU in the regular season.

All of the teams that are picked to finish in the upper part of the Big 12, they get at home.

That's Houston, that's Arizona, um, that's TCU, that's Arizona State.

So, if they get past Houston on September 18th, Gene, I, I would not be shocked to see them being undefeated 12-0.

Uh, when they get to the Big 12 championship game again, and we're, we're all cussing and discussing that schedule of theirs.

Yeah, I have no problem with the choice.

Uh, I just happen to think BYU is at least an equal with Texas Tech, but again, you make a good point about the schedule.

I'm just trying this year, uh, I've just been fooled by the schedule, uh, argument so many times.

Uh, you, I, I think everything you're saying is true.

Uh, I mean, if it, if it plays out that way, I don't think anyone will be surprised, but there's always just something that happens, something that we, we, we don't anticipate.

And so I'm just trying to, trying not to.

Make that such a huge part of the equation this time.

Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, that's the, the, the biggest trap, I guess, in college sports, and we all do it, you know, anytime your team, your favorite team wins a big game, you start looking at the schedule, oh, we can win that one, we can win that one, we can win that one.

The schedule's easy, and it never turns out that way.

Or the schedule's way too hard, and then, you know, teams.

Uh, things happen.

That's why schedules change.

That's why preseason predictions are worth what they are, except for these.

These are probably the most valuable preseason.

Exactly.

I mean, I think that goes without saying, doesn't it?

Right?

OK, uh, we've got to get to the, the conference situation here, Gino.

For the first time since 2015.

No SEC team got a number one vote in the preseason AP poll.

In 2015, Ohio State was returning champion and Uh, had everybody back and got all 61 votes.

And then, of course, did not win the Big 10 and did not make the playoffs.

So, what's that worth?

Nothing.

Also, an SEC team won the championship that year, Alabama.

But still, given recent history, Big Ten's won 3 straight.

SEC hasn't even played in the title game.

Does this mean something, nothing, or everything about the state of the SEC?

Ohio State, 401st place votes, Oregon, 14, Notre Dame 6, IU 8, Miami 1.

I'm old enough to, to know a band called The Who, and they had a great song called uh Won't Get Fooled Again.

And so, I think the voters looked at a team like Texas.

And said we're not gonna get fooled again on Texas and we're just not gonna vote.

We're not gonna give them a first place vote.

Thing is, I don't blame any of the voters for choosing the teams that they did.

Yeah, I'm a little surprised that Georgia maybe didn't get one stray, yeah, first-place vote.

Does it mean anything?

It doesn't mean a damn thing.

And, and, uh, so, I mean, I don't care.

Um, if I'm Georgia, I'm using it as ammunition, I guess, as every other coach would, would try to do.

But it's the AP preseason poll that barely means anything, and certainly who gets the, gets number one votes means even less to me.

Yeah, I'm with you.

No, that, I mean.

This is not written, handed down on stone tablets by any means.

Things change drastically.

We're all guessing in August here, but, uh, it is interesting, yes, I, I agree with you that like Georgia got nothing and Texas got nothing, and there might be some of that cynicism with Texas.

Georgia, this has gotta be the, I, I haven't looked, but it's gotta be the first time maybe since 2020, they did not get a first, a first-place vote coming into the year.

Um.

But, you know, that's, uh, they're just, Georgia's been consistently excellent.

Like, if, if, if you want a team that's not going to just absolutely crush your hopes and dreams for the last 5 straight years or 6 straight years, it's Georgia.

But I think after they, Got beaten in the first round of the playoffs, so their first playoff game, the last 2 years in the quarterfinals, that people said, yeah, you know, they might, they, they might need a little retooling, and maybe they don't have the pieces to do it.

We'll see.

I think they're gonna be very good, but I do, I would not pick them number 1 either.

I agree, it means 0.

We will all be changing our minds after Labor Day, so we'll check back.

What, what is Georgia ranked 3rd?

Uh, Georgia, I, let's see.

Hang on, let me get the rankings here.

As always, I am super prepared.

Um, I think they might be lower than that.

No, they're 3rd.

You're right.

Yes, they are.

So they are barely ahead of Notre Dame, which is, mhm, yeah, Notre Dame was below them and got, what was it, 61st place votes.

So, you know, makes sense of all that.

They're 3rd to get no first place votes.

Teams below them got 1st place votes.

So whatever, yeah, yeah, and that, I, I'd be interested.

I need to go back and look at the voter by voter.

Uh, on Indiana , which had 8 first-place votes, but is number 6, which means there's a lot of Gene Wojcikowskis out there who don't believe in the Hoosiers, hating on the Hoosiers.

OK.

I'm wildly misinterpreting you just for the, just for the sake, you know what, if it increases, uh, listenership, I'm all for it.

There you go.

Do what you have to do.

Exactly.

All right, well, speaking of this year's Indiana, who's it going to be?

Is there, is there a team out there that you've looked at and says, that could be the next IU?

OK.

If we're gonna do this though.

We have to start where IU was last year, and they were number 20 in the AP preseason, which, OK, so that's where I started.

All right, now you may be above them, that's fine, but for, for to do it the right way, the true way, the credible way, you can do it your crappy way, but I'm gonna do it the real way.

I'm gonna start at 20.

I actually looked at your hometown Louisville Cardinals, OK, and I thought, all right, there's a lot to like there.

Uh, I did not go with them.

Um, had Penn State been a little lower in the rankings, I would have thought about it.

Uh, but I went with our, with our podcast namesake, Others receiving votes for that down there.

Yeah, and Paul Finebaum's gonna hate this.

But I'm, I'm taking Clemson as, as this year's Indiana.

Hey, look, if you're gonna do it, take a, take a big swing.

Uh, I, I just think that program has enough of a foundation.

To get itself back where it was.

I also, uh, I like Tom Allen, uh , as a defensive coordinator.

I, I don't see them, they've had, they've had some troubles at Death Valley, and I think that worm turns.

And so, yeah, I'm taking some leaps of faith here as far as what has to happen, but I, I feel like it's not a bad bet, uh, you know, for a You know, for high odds.

But if, yeah, but Indiana, who, who, who saw that coming except maybe you, cause you were on Indiana early last year.

Nobody's gonna be on Clemson.

Uh, but I, I like Clemson, and, uh, I don't think there's any way they go 7 and 6 again.

OK, well, I suffice to say we disagree on Clemson.

I will get to them later in the show, but, uh, we're not supposed to agree on everything.

Oh, no, no, no, we, we won't, we don't, and, and we will, we will have some Clemson, uh, discussion.

That's for sure.

So, I looked at this, I think somewhat similarly to the way you did, except I, all right, I got like 22 categories of the ways to look at this.

One, is a program that is the historic loser that last year broke through, and then takes that next step this year.

That's, cause that's what Indiana did, right?

They were terrible, and then they went 11 and 2, and then they went 16-0.

Uh, the program that fits that profile, Virginia, which won the ACC, uh, last year, regular season.

You know, came out of nowhere and did that with Tony Elliott.

They replaced their quarterback as as um Indiana did, may even get better at that position.

I am not buying, I, I'm not saying that they're going to be Indiana, but if you're looking for somebody that fits that profile.

They fit that profile, but in terms of, you're saying Virginia fits the, the IU template for progression.

Yes, the IU trajectory, year one, we're, we're all of a sudden pretty good.

Year 20 my gosh, we're very good.

OK, yeah, um, but the other team that you mentioned, Penn State, and I, I would put Penn State in there.

New coach, brings over a bunch of his guys from his last school, schedule, really good schedule from a Big 10 perspective, where you don't play Indiana, and you don't play Oregon, you don't play Ohio State, which I think gives Matt Campbell a chance to, to get off to a great start.

I, I'm not sure they have good enough players either, but, but in terms of, again, what we're looking for of somebody who's, who's gonna rock it up, uh, from somewhere else.

Now, my main thing is, there is no next Indiana.

I think everybody has been sitting out there saying, yeah, who's gonna be the next, there, this ain't happening again.

It was such a comet streak out of nowhere, and one that may, I don't think is over, cause I'm, I'm pretty bullish on the Hoosiers, but Uh, the, the apologies to, hey, Northwestern, keep trying.

Uh, Wake Forest, go, you know, everybody out there, your historic loser program, I hope it's you.

It's not gonna be you.

So just in review, first of all, no whiteout jokes, please, about Penn State right now, uh, but you made me jump off the cliff with Clemson, yeah, and then you, you do the, there's not gonna be a next Indiana thing.

So that's right, OK, I got it.

Well, and, and for full transparency, which we're all about here, this was Gene's suggested topic.

So like my, my answer made you go first.

It would have been a short topic if I just say it's not gonna happen next.

So, uh, I know, I, I, I love the discussion point.

I just, I don't think this is replicable, but we'll find out.

OK.

OK.

Well, Gina, we're gonna go conference for conference for the Power 4.

Give me a serious pick who you think is gonna win, and then give me a flyer pick, somebody from a little further down in the preseason pecking order, uh, that you think can, can win it.

Let's start with the SEC.

Well, despite all of our pinhole concerns, I'm picking Texas.

And my flyer pick, would Bama count as a flyer pick?

Not really.

I mean, kinda.

I mean, they, they're ranked outside the top 10, which is unusual for them.

OK, well, if that counts, I'm taking Bama.

If it doesn't count.

And I'd feel a lot better about this pick if they weren't losing some defensive players recently to injuries.

I would say Tennessee would be the Flyer, Flyer pick.

There you go.

All right , Bama, Bama, if that one counts, that's what I'm going with.

Texas, Bama.

All right, I'm, I'm going with Texas as well because I do think on paper, it's all there for them.

Um, as mentioned earlier, if it somehow goes off, it could go way off, but for now, It's on, uh, my flyer pick is LSU.

You'll say Kiffy gets it going, finally wins a championship of some kind.

Wouldn't that be something?

It would be something.

It would be something.

They come in ranked number 11.

They did great work in the portal as well, uh, retained some very, very good players.

Including DJ Pickett, who wears number 5, which, of course, turned Jaden Daniels into a bitter ex of uh LSU, wants, wants nobody to wear his number.

That's a whole other story.

because he wore it for such a long time there.

He, he did.

He put in two entire seasons.

At LSU, that 2 years is kind of a long time by current , uh, college football standards, you know, that was hilarious.

So I, you know, I'll take a flyer with LSU.

That's what our flyers are meant for.

All right, Big, Big 10, uh, who you got?

Who's your, your, your serious pick?

Who's your flyer pick?

OK, well, I know everyone's taking Ohio State, and I understand all the reasons, but I think Oregon is.

Very close.

And uh just because I don't wanna go chalk on everything, I'm gonna take Oregon.

Won't be surprised if Ohio State wins, but I, I feel good about Oregon.

My Flyer pick would, would be Penn State.

Uh, I, I do think that, uh, Matt Campbell, the pedigree as a coach, and the, the experience that he brought over from Ames, I, I think he brought the entire city over.

But uh I, I think, I think there's a lot to like about Penn State to come out of nowhere.

Yeah, uh, can't dispute that.

Um, and it's, I mean, like, as far as my serious pick, I think it could be any of the top 3.

It could be Ohio State, it could be Oregon, but I'm taking Indiana, man.

Somebody beat them.

Until somebody beats them, I am rolling with the Hoosiers.

I think they reloaded extremely well.

And I think that, Here, uh, one of our, you know, only in college sports late developments with players being suddenly able to come back for a 5th year, even if they were like in NFL training camps.

Indiana is as big a beneficiary of that as anybody.

They've got a couple really important defensive guys that are suddenly back in uniform and a tight end, and tight end is an area of concern for them.

So, going with the Hoosiers, and then we don't know, we don't know if they can.

I mean, that's still up in the air a little bit, isn't it?

I mean, well, sure, they, it, the uh The NCAA has asked for, you know, that it's on appeal or whatever, uh, in Colorado court, and they, they, they, they could get nuked today.

It's, we are taping this Thursday at 9:38 a.m. Eastern.

As of now, those players are eligible.

We'll see.

But you liked them even before they got them back.

Oh yeah, yeah, no, I love them.

It's a good, yeah, I got no problem with the pick.

I am in the first pew of the Church of Signetti, and I'm not leaving until I've been given reason to stop believing.

So, my flyer, I'm, I'm taking Michigan.

Talk about a, a sudden coaching upgrade.

You know, I think that it was, you know, terrible circumstances what happened and wildly embarrassing for Michigan with Sharon Moore, and it cost Ward Manuel his job eventually, the end of this year, but But getting Kyle Whittingham, you're kidding with what he's done at, at Utah, of all places?

I think he's coming in.

Energetic, rejuvenated, kind of got pushed out there.

And he's inherited, an unbelievably talented quarterback in Bryce Underwood, brings in maybe the best pass rusher in the nation, John Henry Daly transferred in with him.

So, if you, if, if Michigan's a flyer, they come in ranked number 16, I'll take them.

All right, um, Big 12, Gino, are, are you, are you, are you, I'm guessing you're going with BYU here, but give me what you got, OK, uh, and my flyer, if again, if it's not too high, I'm I like the place that, um, Whittingham left.

I like Utah.

There's a lot of talent there, especially at the quarterback position.

And, uh, a lot of incentive, uh, to prove to people that, hey, he was a great coach, but we're still a great program.

So that would be my choice.

All right, I, I'll, I'll be fascinated to watch that, the Morgan Scally, uh, led Us there and they do, they retain their quarterback, Devin Dampier, who's Very, very good.

Excellent college-level quarterback.

All right, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna go Texas Tech for the aforementioned reasons.

I, I think they have loaded their roster and the schedule sets up very nicely for them.

For my flyer, I'm going with Arizona, which had a sneaky good season last year and brings back Noah Fafita at quarterback who may be the most underrated quarterback out there.

Yeah.

Yeah, he's had 3 really good years and Brent Brennan, I think, got his feet under him last year after a bad first year.

They're at BYU September 12th.

They're at Texas Tech October 31st.

Tough, tough games there.

So, they'd, they'd probably have to win at least one of those to get to a Big 12 title game, but that's a flyer uh with the Wildcats.

All right , uh, ACC Jano.

All right, is it a, is it a big wussy move?

If I say, Clemson is the team that's gonna be IU and then I don't pick them to win the ACC.

Well, you know what, honestly, who needs consistency in the, no, no , you know what, it is a wussy move, so I'm gonna stick with Clemson.

OK.

All right, my flyer pick is going to be Virginia Tech.

Yeah, I'm tempted by them.

I'm intrigued, right?

You know, with Franklin and bringing over some, some pretty good players from, uh, from Penn State.

It Their floor immediately raises, I think, at Virginia Tech.

We'll see where the ceiling is, which has kind of always been the James Franklin thing, but.

I'm, clearly, I'm taking Miami there.

I think they are probably head and shoulders above the rest of the league, but we'll find out.

And then I'm taking Louisville for my flyer.

You mentioned them earlier.

I think they have a great deal of talent.

The weird thing, um, Jeff Bromm, who's a great quarterback coach, has been hit and miss with his quarterbacks.

He's, he's gone portal, portal, portal, portal, and probably 1 out of 3 has hit.

But if, uh, Lincoln Kienholtz from um Ohio State comes in, who couldn't win the job over stay in there and plays well, and he's gonna be a little more athletic, a little more dual threat, then that elevates them and gives them a chance.

All right, uh, Gino, who's your, your group of six , Representative in the playoff.

This was tough.

I, I whittled it down to uh to Boise, Boise State and Navy.

And I went with Navy, not because of anything Boise does wrong.

Uh, I just like, I mean, you, you talked about Signetti and trajectory and a template.

What Brian Newberry has done at Navy has just been so impressive to me.

And they, they continue to get better each season.

So, if I have to pick a team, I'm going with uh the midshipman.

Well, damn it, he's cheated off my notes here, clearly, so, so am I, which I just think.

Yeah, well, we will, for sure, um, but wouldn't that be fun to have a service academy in the playoffs, yeah, I mean, that would be tremendous.

So I'm, I'm down with Navy.

I agree with you.

They built a program that's very solid.

They lose a great quarterback, but they, the backup who's now the starter, Braxton Woodson's very good, and they got almost their whole offensive lineback, and that is a line of scrimmage team.

So I'm rolling with the mids.

Um, all right, This is, this is another Gene Wojakowski special here.

This was his suggestion.

I like it.

What is your preseason prediction, pet peeve?

I'm so sick of listening to fans, so-called experts who say, uh, the AP preseason top 25, it influences the college football playoff selection committee.

Thank you.

It drives me out of my mind.

It's absolutely wrong, and here's how I know that.

Indiana was ranked number 20 last year.

Texas Tech was ranked 23 last year.

If there was some sort of huge prejudice about teams that were ranked lower, those teams would have never made it to the playoffs.

So, you've got to quit taking the AP top 25 poll so seriously.

And I guarantee you, the people in that room who are making those decisions.

I don't even think they look at the , at the poll.

I don't even think there's a reason for them to look at the poll.

So it, it just, it drives me out of my mind.

Yeah, I know, I'm, I'm glad you brought that up because, yeah, I swear to God, part, and it maybe it's part of the fun, but it's also part of the annoyance of college sports is everybody gets so mad about everything, ranking related, you know.

And August, so we got nothing else to do other than to wildly overreact to a poll that's gonna be outdated as of like September 7th, so.

Everybody can chill.

It does not influence the playoff picture at all.

It's fun to talk about.

It is.

It's great to talk about .

Yeah, that's what we're doing on this show.

What's yours?

My peeve is brand name bias.

People like you that all of a sudden get down on Indiana, think they're a fluke.

Um, I use a brand name now.

Yeah, they are now, but still, no, but they're, they're ranked number 6 preseason, which for a defending champion is low in the playoff era.

10 of the 12 national champions were in the top 5 the next year.

A lot of them were 1 or 2.

The only two that weren't were Michigan, which had just lost their coach, and LSU which just lost a quarterback that, well, I will say, does resemble Fernando Mendoza in terms of winning the Heisman being the number 1 pick.

But, uh, that LSU team also lost Ja'Marr Chase and, and so many other great players.

Indiana, I, I, I think they, they are being slightly disrespected at number 6.

And I think that if their name were Ohio State, and they were coming off last year, 16-0, It would be 1 or 2.

So, so who would you put them ahead of?

Where would you put them there?

I see, I think they're gonna, I think they're gonna win the Big 10.

So I'd, I'd put them as high as 2.

I think I, I think I would right now have them 3 .

You know, I think I would go, well, we'll see, we're gonna talk about our national championship pick, but I would have, I would have Indiana number 3, I think.

All right, OK.

All right, uh, what, what season storyline are you already sick of?

Oh God, there's, I don't even, uh, the Protect College Sports Act.

I, if I hear one more thing about that, that, that thing, or anything about uh congressional intervention or uh Ted Cruz or uh uh no, no more.

Talk to me when something actually happens.

Talk to me when there's an actual vote, by the way.

Can we just do that, maybe?

So, uh, it, it's, it's been such a slog.

Like I said, I I felt so sorry for you.

I feel like there should be a GoFund GoFundMe page for you, Ross Dellinger, all the people who have to report on that on a daily basis, because nothing ever happens.

So when something happens, wake me up.

Yeah, no, that, that was the most maddening thing about it is people get so excited, like at every little incremental thing, and then it led to, I think, where a lot of people thought it was always gonna lead, which is so far, table.

Yeah, we got nothing.

So, uh, I, I, I am with you on that.

Mine is, is the, is the eligibility stuff, which I am wildly sick of some new court ruling here, there, everywhere.

Um, In a, in an ideal world, I would love to see the coaches say, my team is on the field, we're not going back and gimmicking this up and adding guys who got cut by the Seahawks, you know.

Uh, that to me runs antithetical to what college sports is and, and has been forever.

But I, I, I'm just, I'm tired of that, but there's no, there's no avoiding it.

So I'm not gonna also sit here and like, wring my hands over it.

That's, uh, you know, I'm not the death of college football.

Look, we're gonna start playing soon.

Some of those guys are probably gonna be on the field, but again, we'll see what happens in court, and if they are, we're gonna live with it.

All right.

Well, your precious, your precious home state of Colorado, I know, you know, did this to us, so, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, uh, Judge Sweeney, no relation to Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated.

I did ask , so that would have been funny.

All right, here we go.

By the end of the season, I'll owe an apology to blank.

Who are you gonna end up apologizing to, Gene?

Who do you think?

Miami.

Uh-huh.

There you go, right?

Uh, you picked Clemson over us.

So yeah, I've already got the stationery out, getting the pen fired up, getting crystal balls.

Uh, office address.

So yeah, I'll be writing that soon enough, I'm sure.

You know what, Mario, he'll keep track too.

He'll keep score.

You, you, you may hear from him.

I'm in, well, I'm in the same league , and then that's here now we're gonna talk Clemson, OK, because I am totally out on Clemson.

I said this, uh, on the earlier pod with, uh, With um Brian and Kevin that I, like last year was, I, I was, last year was the prove it year for me about whether Dabo still has it, and they went 7 and 6.

So, I, I am not seeing it, I'm not feeling it, I'm not believing it.

I think that that program has peaked and is declining, but, In terms of the inevitable apology, I am also the guy that gave Dabo a D+ when he was hired when I was at ESPN in like 2010.

Perhaps the worst take I have ever had in my life, and one that I have been reminded of, and I think Dabo, yeah, Dabo has it in his office, like Frank.

So that's been my contribution to Clemson football.

I'll add another, he can add another frame of this, you know, or an audio clip of me burying them once and for all.

Oh God, yeah, OK.

Yeah, it's great.

All right, Gene, I've been doing these most intriguing lists.

Um, people like him, people like lists this time of year, but not best coach, not best quarterback, not best non-quarterback, but most intriguing.

Who interests you the most, uh, as a as a coach?

Who's most intriguing to you this year?

You know, I read, I read your, well, I couldn't get through it.

Um, no, it was, it was a fascinating list, and there are a lot of, uh, so many interesting names, more than I really thought, you know, I mean, like, if I would have written down 5, I, I didn't realize there were so many that had such intriguing backstories, but I whittled it down to 3, and then I'll pick 1 for you.

Signetti.

It is so intriguing to me because he operates in a vacuum.

He does not care what, what the outside world thinks.

He assesses talent his own way.

He uh uh uh looks at the world his own way.

Uh, the Google me comment was quintessential Signetti.

It was like, I'm doing it my way, and I find that just fascinating, uh, to me.

Marcus Freeman.

The way he's resurrected in a way, a program that wasn't considered.

Cool, is that, I mean, that's probably not the right word, but relevant in a way.

Yeah, no, I think cool is a good word actually.

And then Kirby Smart, the more I listen to him, and look, I don't agree with everything he says, but the more I listen to him.

I, it's like, you know what, this guy has something to say.

And, and it's like he's taken the governor switch off of his thoughts sometimes.

I think early on in his head coaching career, he was careful.

And now I just think he says what he feels, and I really like that about him.

But if I had to pick one, and plus I wanna save Signetti for you, uh, uh, what Marcus Freeman has done, I think is, is, uh, really intriguing.

How he has taken a place that had this, this sort of, um, Feel to it, and he's just turned it, turned that all around, the perception of it all around to a place, to a destination spot now.

And uh I, I think that, that takes, that takes the power of a personality and, and he has that.

That's a great point.

I mean, Notre Dame is cooler than it has been in 40 years, I think they, they have, they have something they've got that, that, that makes young athletes say that I wanna go play there.

I wanna play to South Bend, Indiana.

Yeah, right , yeah, it's not, it's not Miami, it's not Los Angeles, it's not Austin, Texas, it's South Bend.

But, yeah, I love everything Freeman is doing there, um, but yeah, I'm, I'm taking Signetti as my most intriguing guy.

He's he's number one on the list until proven otherwise.

But what you said about him is true and part of the absolute intrigue is he is he is completely his own self, you know, I mean, he is operating.

The way he wants without trying to be like anyone else.

There's, there's some Saban there, but that was a long time ago he coached for Saban, and he's doing things his way.

Uh, the SI Football Preview magazine is out now.

You can buy it, and I do have a, a long Signetti piece in there, some pretty fascinating, I thought, insight from.

nosing around his office while I was waiting for him to come in.

Tell me one thing that you saw that Just got your attention.

He won so many coach of the Year awards last year that a very prominent one, I don't wanna name it, but, uh, was like back on a side shelf by a thing of Starbucks coffee pods.

Like there's a box of coffee pods and a National Coach of the Year award.

So we're just gonna throw that back there.

Yeah, right.

Like, well, we already got 6 of these.

We, you know, we need, we, where do we put the 7th, uh, back by the coffee.

So, um.

Fascinating guy.

I , I, I am, I am intrigued for sure.

All right, uh, Gene, most intriguing quarterback.

What do you got?

Again, I loved your list.

Uh, well, I will start with my number 2 and number 3, Bryce Underwood.

And then Sam Levitt, uh, from LSU, uh, those two, I, I don't think we really know that much about Underwood in a way, right, despite his five-star bona fides, and Sam Levitt is just his, how he ended up at LSU and how everything played out was really interesting, and he has a, a personality too, uh, that Will fit right in at LSU, but to me, it's a no-brainer pick, it's Arch Manning.

Uh, because of all the things that you mentioned earlier in the podcast, there is so much, everything on his shoulder pads, unfairly, so, and so I'm, I'm really intrigued to see how this year's version of Arch Manning plays out.

Yeah, for sure.

It was interesting being around him at SEC Media Day, 2 years in a row.

So, the year before, kind of naive and charming.

This year was a little more guarded.

I think there's some scar tissue built up over some of the criticism, you know, from the year before, and , you know, the line of questioning was certainly different.

It went from, you know, gosh, you're this shiny new thing to, hmm, there's some scratches and dents now, how are you handling it?

So, uh, it was, it's, it's an interesting kind of change of dynamic, but there is a lot riding with him there.

I put Darian Mensson, number one, who's the quarterback at Miami, came from Duke in very controversial last-minute fashion, broke a contract with Duke.

Yeah, um, but given what Miami's done with their transfer QBs, you, you went to the national title game with one of them last year.

The year before that, Cam Ward became the number one pick.

So, I think Mensah, he's in an offense that is, woo, they are lowed, we'll see if they block well enough, but, but they have stuff, and I, I think Mensah is definitely NFL caliber, so, he's the guy for me.

All right, most intriguing non-quarterback.

This list just came out today, Thursday.

Oh, I haven't seen it yet.

Um.

I'm taking uh Cam Coleman at at Texas.

Uh, I mean, we, we kind of know.

What he can do, um, but I'm not sure we fully know what he's capable of doing because Auburn wasn't.

The right fit for him in, in so many ways.

I think Texas with Arch Manning, with uh talent, uh, other players at that position, I think it's gonna free him up, and I think he's gonna be a guy who, who just explodes on the scene.

I mean, we know about Tony at Miami, we know about Smith at Ohio State.

Uh, they're intriguing in their own, own ways.

I'm not dismissing their impact, but for somebody who I'm really interested to see.

How he creates his own place in the college football world, that's the guy for me.

Sure, uh, he's number 2 on my list.

Uh, I, I went pretty wide receiver heavy, but I, for all the reasons that you said, like the, that could be the, the, the catalyst for changing that offense into something really exciting and explosive, I think.

And did you see the, the video of the catch that he made, the one hand?

Oh my gosh, that had to have been a when you were at Air Force High.

Yeah, Air Academy High, uh, yes, that was very similar, very similar.

I came close.

You were, yeah, you were in the ballpark.

Impressed, it was a hell of a catch.

Yeah, uh, I'm going with Jeremiah Smith, who I just, I think is the best player in college football.

Uh, also, also in our preview magazine, I, a story on Jeremiah, um.

In there, went kind of in depth on his last-minute decision between whether he's gonna stick with his Ohio State commitment or go to Miami, where he was from.

But I, I just think he is such an exceptional talent.

Uh, working with his 3rd offensive coordinator in 3 years, so we'll see if that has an effect.

Arthur Smith is the new OC at, uh, Ohio State, but he's the guy, like, when I turn on the TV, I'm like, just throw it to number 4 every play , and let's see what he does.

Yeah, you know.

OK, uh, Gino, who's gonna win the Heisman and who is your Mendoza?

Who's, who's somebody who's coming out of nowhere?

I wish I could come up with something a little bit against the grain, but, uh, uh, my final two are CJ Carr from Notre Dame and, and Arch Manning.

Uh, and I'm gonna go with CJ Carr right now.

Uh.

But it's almost a coin flip to me.

Uh, I could see either one of them winning it, but if you're making me pick, I'll go with CJ Carr.

And then, uh, the Mendoza pick is Sam Levitt for me.

Uh, just because of what that offense is capable of doing, and if they do what you predicted they could possibly do as a flyer pick, then there's gonna be a lot of momentum for somebody like him.

Sure, good picks.

I've, I've got CJ Carr too for the Heisman.

Um, you know, I think, like, if Arch has a great year, a lot of the credit's gonna go to the Cam Coleman's and the Hollywood Smothers and people like that they brought in.

Uh, CJ Carr is the undoubted star of the Notre Dame offense, especially as they're replacing two superstar running backs, and I think Carr's gonna have a great season.

He's really, really good.

Best quarterback they've had there since, I don't know when.

No, no offense to Brady Quinn, but I think probably better than Brady Quinn.

God, that's a good question though.

Yeah, I mean, you may go back, like Tony Rice was a great quarterback, but he wasn't a thrower, right?

He ran an option offense.

You could be talking Steve Berlein, you could be talking Joe Montana.

Yeah, do you go all the way back to Montana?

Maybe.

Yeah, interesting.

Or we go back to you, you know, when you were covering him and it's Angelo Bertelli.

Well, we have more ageism.

I'm sorry, HR, yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll answer all questions from HR.

Uh, we, uh, uh, our public statement is, uh, Pat 40 has, uh, left Sports Illustrated to pursue other interests in the private sector.

We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

There you go.

Yeah.

His email has been disconnected, deactivated.

Uh, my Mendoza, this is, I just said this for fun, but my Mendoza is Mendoza, Alberto Mendoza, who's now the starting quarterback at Georgia Tech, transferred from Indiana.

I don't think he's gonna have a Fernando year, but I've heard some good early buzz on, on him with the Yellow Jackets.

So why didn't I hope he does well.

What did, what, what?

Why didn't he stay at IU?

Because he wasn't gonna get the job.

They brought in Josh Hoover over him.

So, that, uh, Signetti, you know, for whatever reason, he, he, whatever he's seen out of Alberto, he didn't think that he was gonna be a superstar QB.

All right, uh, Gene, every, we've always got to talk hot seat, but this is a topic that Gene, uh, Gene is hot seat averse, I would say.

Doesn't like firing coaches, especially in August, haven't even had a chance to play.

I never have a problem firing coaches.

Um, so I'm happy to do it.

Gene, I'm gonna give you my five guys on the hottest seats, and you, as Captain Optimist, tell me which one.

I'm wrong about who's going to survive and have a great season.

Uh, in order, I've got Luke Fickle at Wisconsin.

Mike Norvell at Florida State, Mike Lockley at Maryland, Dave Aranda at Baylor, and Lincoln Riley at USC.

We'll get to the hoodie eventually, probably next week since they play , uh, in the opener.

But, but for now, those are my five hottest seats.

What do you got?

You don't have Dion on this list.

No, which I thought was interesting.

But that's for another podcast, yeah, yeah, um.

I think Fickle, well, I, I'm gonna qualify this.

I don't know if they're necessarily gonna have, like, fantastic seasons and, and coach of the Year kind of seasons, but I think they'll do enough to keep their jobs.

I think Fickle survives.

I think Locksley survives.

Uh I think Lincoln Riley survives.

I think they'll be improved.

And I actually think Aranda survives.

I think the guy who's in huge distress is, uh, is Norvell at FSU and uh I'm going a little bit against my, don't look at the schedule and make huge judgments, but it's hard not to look at their schedule and say, Tell me where the wins are.

I mean, SMU at Bama, Virginia, at Louisville, at Miami, play Clemson, at Pitt, Florida.

They got a tough schedule.

And uh so I just don't see.

The improvement enough for Norvell to say, I'm good.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna be there another year.

I hear you.

Uh, like I said, tough schedule, no momentum whatsoever.

Another staff turnover at coordinator.

Another big portal class.

Yeah, yeah.

So don't love the quarterback situation.

So what do you think?

I will see if he can pull it out.

I.

I, I, I, I'm, I think Fickle's up against it, and I really like Fickle, and I'm shocked it hadn't worked out.

I think the guy on my list out of my top five that, that is in the best position is Lincoln Riley.

Um, but they, they also, like 8 and 4 isn't gonna be good enough.

You gotta go 9 and 3, 10 and 2, I think, and really compete for a, uh, a, a Big 10 title and or a playoff spot.

I was out there last week.

They've got talent for sure.

They've got a lot of, a lot of players, they've, you know, Their new facility is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.

It's amazing.

Um, but that's, all of that means the expectations are ratcheted up to, let's go, Lincoln, we hired you 5 years ago.

Let's, let's now produce.

So, but I think he has the best chance out of that group to do so.

Fair point.

All right, Gino, a couple of, uh, a couple of other general topics and then we'll get down to making a championship pick.

Uh, what game would you pay the most to attend this season?

Well, you got LSU at Ole Miss, Georgia at Bama, Ohio State at your beloved IU , Miami at Notre Dame, Oregon at Ohio State, and of course, I'm always a, I love, uh, the Army-Navy game, but if I had to pick 1 November 7th, Miami at Notre Dame, I would, I would pay big money for that one.

First of all, I love a Saturday, uh, uh, on that campus, a football Saturday there.

And uh I love that stadium.

I, I just love the , the vibe.

And then just based on what happened last year, and what's at stake this year.

That that game to me is.

You know, above everybody else.

Once again, we agree, uh, we are on the same page on that one.

That to me, yes, a, an autumn Saturday in South Bend is the best, right?

I mean, just when we were gonna get so, maybe, maybe it's cold or at least crisp, leaves turned, and it's a big game, and here comes Miami.

Were you there in '88, Catholics versus Convicts game?

I was.

So was I.

So was I.

I was.

As good as college football gets and phenomenal game and that campus was on fire, um, so good.

Do you know what else happened that day game I was there for?

I mean, it's, it's an incredible place.

Yeah.

Do you know what else happened in sports that day?

Trivia question.

What was the date?

October 15th, 1988.

I, I do not know.

So I covered that game, first game I'd ever covered at Notre Dame.

I'm 24, like, I can't believe I'm even there.

I walk out, I go to where I'm staying, I turn on the TV, I sit down, and Kirk Gibson hits a home run and limps around the bases to win a game in the World Series.

Same day, pretty good day in sports.

So.

Uh All right, let's see here.

What are we?

OK, all right, so we're, but we both wanna go to the same, wait, I, I gotta, you know what, I gotta take something back then.

OK.

All right.

I was at that World Series game.

What?

I was at that game.

Really?

I was.

I, I absolutely was.

I was like in the, uh, upper deck, left corner, worst seats ever, and I was at that game, so I did not cover that that football game.

Uh, oh my gosh.

Yes, so you were there as a paying customer, not as a I was there as a paying customer.

Yes.

Were you working at the LA Times then?

I, I must have been, yes, yeah.

So yeah, I don't even know how, how the hell I got a ticket, but I was there.

Yep, I promise you it was the same day.

Everybody can look it up, but I will never forget that.

I literally walked in and said, Man, there's, I can't believe what a great day this was.

I got to cover Notre Dame 31, Miami 30.

What could possibly be better?

And I turn on the TV and Kirk Gibson does that.

Why did I think I covered that game anyway?

Yes, I'm gonna find the photos and I'm gonna show them off to the camera next week just to prove it.

Do it.

All right.

Anyway, that's a hell of a day.

Yeah, yeah, not bad.

All right, three tradition questions.

What tradition?

All right, 3, yeah, 3 fabric of college football things here.

What tradition gives you that, ah, college football is back feeling when you see it for the first time each year?

Well, look, uh, uh, I'm here in Knoxville right now, and, uh, you know, I make no apologies.

I'm, I'm a, a proud Tennessee alum.

And when that team runs through the power te, through the checkerboard, and you hear Rocky Top, you know, that's the on switch for me, each season.

There are a lot of great traditions, a lot of openings, but, you know, from a personal standpoint, that's mine.

Sure, and it is awesome, you know, and I , I really, it starts for me, you see the V Navy for the first time, and it's like, oh yeah, it's on, and then the team runs through the tee.

It's, it's as good as it gets anywhere.

Uh, for me, I, this might be, uh, owing to my background, but as a Colorado native, when Ralphie runs around the field the first time, I just love that.

That is, it's so college football, like I, I was talking to somebody else.

If, if you brought somebody over from Europe, like for the World Cup, you know, we had all these people walking around experiencing America.

If you say, hey, Um, I'm gonna take you to this college football game, and a giant wild animal is gonna run around the field, and people are gonna lose their minds with excitement, and then they're gonna play football.

That's like this explains the, the lunacy of the sport and just the kind of the sensory overload of it.

So yeah, as soon as Ralph, you're somebody from like Belgium, you're like, how many, how many people has the beast killed in the past?

Exactly.

Uh, tremendous.

Freddie, that Freddie guy from Germany who's out, uh, he's been touring all over America during the, the World Cup.

I hope he gets to go see Ralphie.

All right, what uniform, when the first time you see it, you're like, yeah, we're back.

Ohio State.

I mean, Bama, I, I love the old school unis.

I love Michigan, Bama, Ohio State, you know, I, I always throw Tennessee in there, but if I had to pick one, Ohio State, even when it's a clean helmet, when they haven't even put the decals on yet, just the number, just the uniform, uh, it's, it's perfection to me.

Love it.

Uh, it's great.

I, I, I, I love UCLA's uniform.

I rarely love the product that's in it, but that uniform to me is the best uniform, the powder blue home.

That's good.

You're right.

Yeah.

All right.

And last, what, what fight song when you hear it, you're like, OK, football is here .

The what, what is it the, the victors, is that Michigan's Hail victors or or boomer sooner, um, I mean, they're, they're the soundtrack of our Saturdays, those songs, or can you name Hawaii's fight song?

No, look it up real quick, but after you pick yours, you'll love the name of it, all right.

Uh, so, all right, September 12th will be a big day for you because we get to hear both fight songs because Oklahoma's at Michigan.

You get to hear Boomer Sooner and hail to the victors.

What's yours?

Yeah, for me it, it's, it's hail to the victors that that that gets my blood going every single time.

The lyrics to Boomer Sooner are remarkable, by the way.

Do you know what they are?

Isn't just boomer sooner, boomer sooner, boomer sooner, boomer sooner, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Okla that's it.

It's like three words on repeat, so I can say the lyrics were great, but I said that the music is good.

Yes, the, the, the music is very catchy.

I, I am attempting to look up the Hawaii fight song here real quick.

My computer is, is, well, in the interest of time, I'll tell you, it's called the coed Fight Song.

I have no idea what that means, but It's It's a bizarre name for a fight song.

What, what do, I don't know like, what do they talk about?

I don't know.

The beach, OK, beach shells.

Yeah, it looks like it's pretty standard lyrics, yes.

Pretty standard lyrics.

Although here's to old warriors calling.

Here's to old battles won.

Here's to Hawaii's victory .

Here's to each valiant one.

funny, my, my nephew just enrolled there as a graduate student in mathematics, which tells me he's very smart to be going to Hawaii for grad school.

OK.

Um, all right, yeah, last thing before we get to the last thing.

Uh, national championship pick.

What do you got?

Well, I was absolutely wrong on last year's pick.

Who was it?

Oh, I think I had Texas, Penn State.

Ah, right, right.

Well, what do you mean?

Oh, yeah, who'd you have?

I know, I had Penn State, so, you know, OK.

And who was the other one?

I don't remember.

OK, well, it wasn't the team that won.

No, no, it was not.

So don't just act like I'm the only guy who got it wrong last year.

Everybody got it wrong.

Literally everybody.

I have Notre Dame playing Texas, OK.

I have Notre Dame winning.

I think Notre Dame, if you wanna talk about a team that didn't get respect in that AP preseason poll, you know, for what it's worth, I, I was really surprised at, at how low, relatively speaking, Notre Dame was.

Yeah, yeah, I, I agree with you.

I'm picking Notre Dame as well.

Uh, who they play?

Somebody from the Big 10.

This is what I, who they will play , I think.

And whether that's Indiana, Ohio State, or Oregon, but I'm, it's Notre Dame's time.

I, I think that the pieces are in place.

I think they will end up having the best defense in the country as long as Chris Ashe doesn't mess it up.

Coordinator, I.

He was fine last year, but they weren't ready early.

They were undressed against Texas A&M.

So, a little bit of proving still to do there, but personnel, ridiculous.

Quarterback, excellent.

Line, good receivers improved, need some running backs, but I, I like, uh, I like everything they're, they're putting together a lot.

So I'm taking the Irish there as well, which means they are doomed and we'll, we'll lose early.

But Pat, you, I, I, I'm sorry, I just can't let you off on.

Uh, uh, and a, and a team from the Big 10.

No, you gotta pick a team from the Big 10.

Indiana, I picked Indiana to win the Big 10.

I'm sticking with them.

OK, no, oh, so they, Notre Dame and Indiana do play.

They do.

There we go.

Yeah, that may be off the regular season schedule when it's supposed to be played in 2030, but bring it on in Las Vegas of all places for the championship.

That will be so weird.

Yeah.

Um, all right, Gino, last point here.

Uh, don't know whether you heard Eric Morris, the new coach at Oklahoma State, uh, He, he doesn't sleep well.

So, gets up in the middle of the night, apparently this was a few days ago, got up at like 2:30 a.m. Here's something rustling around in the backyard.

Apparently they've been having a problem with a critter out there.

It's an armadillo digging up the yard, digging up the garden.

Eric Morris grabs a firearm and caps the beast, kills the beast right out there in the backyard, takes care of it.

Following the Mike Gundy tradition, like Gundy used to go shoot rattlesnakes, if you remember.

So, keeping the, uh, the, the pistols firing Oklahoma State tradition alive.

Um, first of all, Mike, this is a two, two-part question, sorry for that, but have you ever killed an shot an animal in your backyard?

And two, what other coach out there do you think is packing heat waiting to kill something in his backyard?

Oh God.

Well, first of all, we, you know, my wife, uh, uh, horticulturist, we, we have this fantastic, you know, garden and stuff, and we've had.

You know, little bunnies eating some of the vegetables and, you know, a raccoon might sneak back there or a squirrel.

We don't run out there with a shotgun.

And kill them all.

I mean, all God's creatures.

Uh, Uh, God, another coach.

Well, it, it'd have to be in Texas or something like that, right?

I don't know.

I, I, I can't even.

I can't even get, oh, you know what, you know who might be, uh, uh Bielema might be the kind of guy.

Maybe just name it or nick it.

Just to make a point, what, what I'm trying to like in Wis in Illinois, what that would be like a possum or something, I guess.

I don't know.

Sure certainly wouldn't be an armadillo.

No, got raccoons in Illinois.

Got possums, sure, yeah, yeah.

Um, here's what I learn these things, by the way, but here's the scenario I could foresee, all right.

Mario Crystal Ball goes out and like wrestles an alligator.

He finds an alligator in his yard and just says, I'm taking care of this, not with a gun, with my hands, and just battles an alligator to the death.

Pancake blocks it.

Absolutely.

Maybe like, you know, masking tapes it's mouth or electrical tapes its mouth shut and throws it back in a canal or something, but he would be the kind of guy that I think would relish the chance to, to have hand to hand combat with a large dangerous animal.

Yeah, so.

All right.

Clearly that, that's enough of this show.

Um, we went a little long, but we're excited to have Gene back.

A lot of preview stuff to cover.

We'll be back again next Thursday to talk about week zero, and we'll start making bad picks.

Thanks for watching and listening.

We'll talk to you later.