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eligibility and deposit restrictions, Terms and responsible gaming resources. All Right, Hi, everybody, We're going to talk about a lot of things. We're going to talk about the NFL trade deadline. We're going to talk about the World Series ratings which are in the tank. We are going to talk about a dilemma in the NFL and why you should draft a quarterback every year, and we're going to have Greg McElroy on.
We have our first college football playoff poll and Ohio State is one because of winds over Notre Dame in Penn State. Although nobody thinks they're the number one team. Do we like that or not? Let me start by applauding teams. I don't applaud much the Chicago Bears. So on the trade deadline they went and gave up a second round pick for a defensive end into his prime,
going into his prime, Montes Sweat from the Commanders. Now Washington has a surplus of defensive lineman, so they move Chase Young erratic injuries, a bit of an ad liver to the forty nine ers, but Montes Sweat is more reliable. And if you're going to pay a defensive player, who does Kansas City pay Chris Jones defensive lineman? Who do the Rams pay on defense? Aaron Donald defensive lineman? If you go look at who the top gms in the
league are absolutely always willing to pay. It's a good edge rusher or elite interior defensive lineman, of which there are not many. So the Bears get a player in Montes Sweat for a second round pick, who will be better than ninety percent of the players they could draft in the second round, and probably over half of the players they could draft in the first. And since the Bears are probably going to move off justin fields, they're not going to be paying their quarterback for four years now.
Because you do this mid season, the player now has the leverage, right, Montes Sweat has the leverage. He knows what you gave up to get him, so the agent and the player have the leverage. But he's a really good player. He's a top ten SAT guy. He's going into his prime, and you got to pay for those guys, and he's better than anybody you're going to get in
the second round. My guess on the defensive line, the elite edge rushers, the elite prospects, defensive lineman, those guys, along with left tackles and stark quarterbacks, they're gone in the first eight to twelve picks. So I don't have a problem with it. I think Chicago fans look at the Chase Claypool move that didn't work. Chicago gives up
a second round pick for him first. It's a lot easier to get a wide receiver out of college that's productive than an elite edge rusher in the second round. There are receivers everywhere in college football and everywhere in the draft. Look at the Rams. Poka nakoua fifth round He's a star. So and also I even understood why the Bears rolled the dice on Chase Claypool. They were trying to decipher if Justin Fields could play, and all they had was Mooney, a small, twitchy receiver. Claypool was
a big, physical receiver who can block. I would struggle to give up a second for him, but you could see giving up a third. So they may have reached a little. But I got their reasoning in Chicago for doing the Chase Claypool deal. They had a tight end Cole commit, they had Mooney. They were trying to furnish fields with players to see if this is the guy.
By the way, this is what Atlanta is doing. They go get Bjean Robinson running back first round, Drake London, Kyle Pitt's good old line, and they have decided Desmond Ritter is not it. They're benching him now for Taylor Heineke. So when Bjeon Robinson got picked by the Falcons. I defended it running back in the first round. Is that they're trying to figure out if the quarterback can play. If you give him second tier players, you'll never know.
You'll have to guess. Falcons have an offensive coach, good young weapons, and Desmond River can't score with him time to move off him. That's what they're doing. So Montez sweat for the Bears. Yes, you'll have to pay him, Okay, all right. The bottom line is you're gonna draft another quarterback. You have the space to do it, and this dude can absolutely play going into his prime mid to later twenties, and those guys cost money. I'm okay with the Bears
doing it, all right. The forty nine Ers giving up a third round pick for Chase Young, Well, Chase Young can be an erratic player, sort of an ad liver, and he's had some injuries so he's never been as good as we think. But opposite Bosa, who's getting double team done every snap, it gives them another edge. Now, that doesn't mean you're going to be great. I mean, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa are playing for the Chargers and they're underwhelming. They also have a coach, many beliefs
should be fired. But I think that what the forty nine ers are looking at. They got their first round pick, they got their second round pick, and you start looking at the third round pick. For the forty nine ers in this roster, who could start. I mean, they don't need a receiver, they don't need a running back. They've got their quarterback Deebo and Brandon Ayuk. They've got their receivers.
They could use a corner and maybe a center, and they'll probably draft that with the first and second round pick. So I get what they're doing. When you have a quarterback that you're really not paying anything too, and I mean last player picked, you're not paying rock perty anything roll the dice. And I think they also they look around and they see Jalen Hurts, and they see Dak and they see that Lions offensive line. Remember, Dallas, Detroit and Philadelphia in the NFC have three of the top
five offensive lines in the National Football League. Now, the AFC is better than the NFC, but the NFC may have three of the top four or five offensive lines Eagles, Lions, Cowboys. So one pass rusher is not enough. Armstead Bosa now Chase Young. If those teams Detroit with Jared Goff, Eagles, Jalen Herds, Dallas, Dak Prescott have better quarterbacks than San Francisco and Greade oh lines, how do you equalize it? You roll the dice. You give up a third round
pick for Chase Young. I get it. Didn't give up a first, didn't give up a second. But by the third round what percentage of players hit How many people in the third round are going to be his talent? That is Chase Young and could immediately play for the forty nine ers. Even the guys they've hit on in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh round, most don't play and make an impact immediately. Brock perties rare, So I get it. They're looking at the NFC, they're looking at those offensive lines.
They're looking to those superior quarterbacks. Can Chase Young be an equalizer? So Bosa is not double teamed by good offensive lines on every snap? Okay, green Bay did something.
I like.
Rusuel Douglas is a very physical corner. He's not as good as Jaire Alexander, but they went and traded him to Buffalo. Who needs a corner? Right, they're a contender. Green Bay with Jordan Love, isn't they got a third round pick, gave up a fifth but got a third. Well what does that mean? Well, now green Bay has a first two seconds, one from the Jets, and two thirds five picks for three rounds. That gives them ammo
to move up to get their quarterback. Green Bay right now, I think would have the sixth pick, so they may not need that ammo. But they've already furnished whoever the next quarterback is with good young receivers and good young tight ends, and they've got some nice defensive players in the box, good corners. They gave up one Rasul Douglas kind of corner that Buffalo will love. Tough kid, is played in cold weather, very physical, plays hard every Sunday.
You know he's not great. He's not Jay r Alexander, he's not Sauce Gardner, Patrick Certan of Denver. But how many lockdown guys are there in the league eight six ' four. He's not one of those guys. But he's physical, and he's come from cold Weather. He can plan it. So I like what Buffalo did and I like what Green Bay did. Everybody in the building knows Jordan Love's not it, so they are accumulating picks, and so green Bay is
going to go draft the quarterback and absolutely should. Now a couple of seconds, a couple of thirds, they'll go get a left tackle. They'll probably shore up some defensive positions, draft another corner. I think Rasseull Douglas was going to be pretty expensive cap hit next year. Don't know exactly what it was, but it's pretty expensive. So I like
what the Bears did getting Montese Sweat second round. Only about forty percent of the guys in the second round of the draft end up hitting big Montes Sweats a start second round. Of course, you're gonna pay him. Got to pay for great edge rusher and Rasseul Douglas. Buffalo needs him and what Green Bay needs because their next quarterback is going to be young. Keep getting young, got those young receivers, young tight ends, Go get talent. You're in a rebuild. Make it a quick rebuild if you
hit on the quarterback. All right, I was thinking about the World Series. I guess the ratings were absolutely abysmal for the early games in Arizona and the Texas Rangers. Well, these are two teams that don't have huge baseball brands out of their cities. They're not national brands. And let's be honest, baseball's only got a couple national brands. The Yankees are a national brand. Even the Dodgers Denver West have fans, not a national brand. Braves are huge in
the South. Cubs have a bit of a national brand, but that feels like after they won the World Series, nobody cares anymore. They were the lovable Cubs. Now there's average. I'll say this doesn't matter if it's UFC. If a Connor McGregor or a John Jones is on the card, the pay per view it sells more. It doesn't matter if it's college football. A Michigan Texas National championship would blow out the previous five to ten national championship numbers.
The NBA Denver didn't do well. Not a national brand, not even big really in the West Coast. Outside of the NFL, every sport needs certain players or certain brands. If the Philadelphia Phillies and Bryce Harper were in the World Series against the Rangers, I can assure you it would get better numbers. I've been in TV thirty years. The NFL is one of the only things that works without stars, NBA talk shows, music shows, the masked singer. Bigger the star, the better the number. I mean, you
see what Taylor Swift gets going to Chiefs games. She literally elevates the number and she doesn't play. So it's easy to pick. On baseball, they've made some moves this year, you know, the pitch clock band, the defensive shift. But I've said before those are small, ancillary moves that will increase ratings or game times eight ten percent. You know,
games quicker. Attendance has gone up like eight percent, ratings eight ten percent until you create urgency, chop off twenty to forty games of the regular season, which baseball will never do. The sport simply doesn't create enough urgency. That continues to be why college football ratings are up and the NFL is a freight train one game a week. In a more frenetic, fragmented society, we're busier affinated iPhones.
You gotta make games feel big. It's hard in baseball when you play, counting spring training and playoffs, two hundred games a year potentially just too many games. So a few years ago, you know, we always get upset whenever their rule changes, and invariably whenever there's a roughing the passer call and fans get worked up. This is outrageous. The game's going to hell. This is no good. You'll know why they protect the quarterback in the NFL. So
what are we in Week eight or nine? Listen to this Week nine, We're going into the Thursday game is Will Levice against we Hope Kenny Pickett. The game Overseas is the best of the weekend. We get Mahomes against Tua. We also do get Dak Prescott against Jalen Hurts. That
feels really really big. Listen to some of these matchups Vikings Josh Dobbs against Taylor Heineke the Falcons, the Bears back up against Derek Carr, Rams backup against Jordan Love, Sam Howl for the Commanders against Mac Jones, Geno Smith, Yeah, he's a TV turner against Lamar Jackson, c J. Stroud hosting Baker Mayfield, whoever's quarterback in Arizona against whoever is quarterbacking Cleveland Gardner Minshew against Bryce Young, whoever the Giants
quarterback is against Jimmy Garoppolo. And then we get Josh Allen against Joe Burrow. We have three matchups. That's it star versus star quarterback. It's week nine rordy on backups because of injuries and trades. Folks as great as the NFL is. Who wants to watch Sam Howell against Mac Jones and those are more well known mediocre quarterbacks. This weekend we get two of Mahomes, we get Dak and Jalen Hurts, we get Burrow and Josh Allen and then
it's a lot of drack. That's why you're protecting quarterback because as big as this sport is, and this is the argument that some are making around the league, draft a quarterback every year. Then't have to be first, second or third round pick. Draft a quarterback every year. This week's schedule is a great advantage. I mean, I find Will Levis against Kenny Pickett Thursday. I'm praying Kenny Pickett is healthy, Will Levis Mitch Trubisky. I mean, and that's
with the iconic Steelers brand. That is a hard watch that just screams three and out for three and a half hours. The Steelers. Listen. We've all had fender benders in our life. Sometimes it's even more serious. People between the ages of twenty five and thirty four in fact, have the highest amount of drivers involved in car crashes. Be careful, but even if it's somebody else's mistake, you can lean on Morgan and Morgan. If you've ever been injured,
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This is a paid advertisement. I don't think Ohio State's the best team, but here's why I would support them being number one because I do believe sometimes you have to create the inertia or the momentum to get coaches in ads to schedule big games right. And so they were willing to go to Notre Dame. That's not an easy game, and they played Penn State. Now I didn't think they looked overwhelming in each I thought they should have lost the Notre Dame game, but they didn't, and
they scheduled it. And I've said this for years. I can have a bone to pick with this coach and that coach, but when I saw Georgia play Notre Dame home and away, total respect. Tennessee for years has taken some of those big games. Nick Saban's been willing to take a fuel though I wish they weren't always on a neutral field or in Dallas, which is not a
neutral field for Bama. But nonetheless, I think at this point in my life, if you're willing to go out and play a big boy college football game, even if you're ugly, you win, you win. And in college football, to win on the road, Notre Dame's a quality team. So I don't think I think Georgia beat Ohio State. I think Michigan would. I think Washington and Oregon Wood Florida State. I'm hit and miss on they haven't played anybody.
I think Texas would. I don't think Ohio State's a very good team, but they're undefeated, two nice wins, albeit ugly. I'm for it.
Well, they're one of several teams that have and we'll get through the top six in a moment. But LSU, to an extent, rewarded the highest ranked two lost team. They were willing to play Florida State on a neutral site in Orlando, Utah playing Florida in a home and home, they won the game, They're rewarded.
They sit there in the top eighteen.
So I do think there is value to play even tu Lane to lane a good example if we're going to get to the G five. They played Ole miss Yeah, they have a loss, but guess what, they're head air Force who's played nobody. So I agree with you, and I think that's a good indicator of where we might be heading down the road where seating really might matter because it'll determine who we'll get a home playoff game in the first round.
Yeah, I think so. I've seen Oregon play twice in person. I think Oregon at six is probably the most underrated team on this list. I think Alabama's kind of figured out what they are. At eight, they're better than eight. I think Texas will trounce Oklahoma if they play again. I think Oregon could trounce Washington if they play again. And then I think I think Georgia, Michigan, and Texas are the most physically impressive teams. I don't think this
is one of the more impressive Alabama teams. I just think it took a while to figure out what they were. I think they have figured out what they are, and so now I think Bama at eight's now undervalued, or if Texas at seven is undervalued, Oregon at six is undervalued. Washington is the most fun team to watch because I mean, they have three NFL receivers. Now they're getting two guys healthy who will probably also play on Sundays. So that's
how they beat Oregon. Oregon just couldn't stop their receivers, and they have NFL offensive linemen, so I think it's all going to play out. One of the things I like about pro football is you're allowed to lose early, you're allowed to improve. That's why the twelve team players, which was I was against years ago. I used to always argue, tell me a team at eight who should play for the title? You know what, look at the World Series, Look who's in it. Look at the NFL playoffs.
One Seeds lose all the time, Cincinnati went road road, road, road Road, ends up almost winning the Super Bowl. So I like the idea of you know, you got the transfer portal though, right, just stink in September. Yeah, Alabama, I watched him a couple of games. I thought that they're awful offensively. Well now they're not. So I like.
I like.
I like a sport that you are allowed to grow. And I think I think if Bama keeps winning and Oregon keeps winning, they're going to end up potentially in the playoff.
Yeah, I think it's in.
I'll like, let's let's start with Oregon because I think that they're a really interesting discussion today because of there's so much recency bias. Right, well, all of us respect Utah. If you don't respect Utah, you haven't watched college football for the last fifteen twenty years. I mean, they're real and winning. Him and Urban Meyer before him, they didn't the maze job and building up a consistent winner. But I think all of us are being prisoners of the
moment when assessing what Oregon's capable of. And I also think too, Colin, and we need to be really careful of this because we do it every year and it drives me instane. We give teams credit for close losses. Oregon is getting credit for losing close to Washington, and I understand that.
I get it.
It was they and I think that game, there's a thousand times they play it. I think Oregon probably wins seven to fifty. They probably pick up one of those fourth down conversions. They probably don't let a drive that goes fifty two yards in twenty six seconds, they probably don't. They probably hit the field goal to tie it. In said it the overtime. So yeah, I think you could make a case that they are the better team. But I don't want to prop up Oregon as a result
of a close loss. Their second best win is against a four and four Colorado and that to.
Me is just not good enough.
Yeah. I mean, so, I was at the Oregon Washington game and my takeaway was Oregon was the better team. I don't know how many teams would have won in Seattle at right it was. It's a really loud, rackous place. So I don't think Oregon's getting too propped up. Washington at five is ahead of them. But I do think Washington has struggled with Arizona schools and I can't and
it's the way Washington's winning. They can't stop anybody. So when I watched Oregon beat Utah, some of it was Utah had just beaten the SC Trojan and that's a big win out West, so they were in flat. In fact, I thought Oregon minus six was the bet of the day in college football, and I had said that.
Why didn't you tell me that beforehand? I would have liked to have had that information beforehand.
It was my Draftking Twitter bet of the week. So but I think what Oregon is this year. They don't make mistakes. They had their first fumble, there's not a lot of penalties. Bo Nix throws to the Bonnix is the most improved quarterback I think I've seen in a decade. I didn't even like him at Auburn. Some of that was bad coaching. Landing been a home run coach. They recruit, they're the best recruiters Denver West. It's not USC it's Oregon. They got another five star edge rusher two days ago.
So when I watched Oregon, I sat in the third row for this game. I was end zone and forty yard line in Seattle. They look they look like a like an SEC team. They're big upfront, they're NFL guys, NFL quarterback, very twitchy, quick on the perimeter. So I think Oregon one spot below Washington is fair. But I think if they played again, and I think Washington knows this, they'd be in trouble. They would really be in trouble. On a neutral field, I think Oregon would win convincingly.
So I think I don't have a problem where Oregon is. The only team I struggle with in all of this is Florida State at four, and I just they haven't played anybody, so I have no context for how good they are. They've got some really good NFL players, they got a couple of first round guys, But I mean Michigan at three hasn't played anybody, but they're just annihilating everybody. So I mean Ohio State one, Georgia two, Michigan three. I think I don't care what order you put them in,
it's not gonna matter. I said today, I believe the four best teams I've seen are Georgia, Michigan, Texas, and Oregon in terms of size talent. Now Texas is now in a backup quarterback and they play Kansas State this weekend, they could be derailed. I think if they get quinn Ewers back, they're a really good team. I think they'll punish Oklahoma the second time. But we got a long way to go, and nothing bothered me about any of these rankings.
Yeah, and let's for a moment discuss Florida State and I have their resume here looking at it. I think the win against LSU has gotten stronger over time. Will it continue to hold up? I would assume.
So.
I think LSU's real nine to three team. Probably maybe they drop another one that wouldn't totally surprise me. Maybe they beat Alabama and represent the West and the SEC.
I think that's possible.
You have a good win against Duke that's weakening, and you have an okay win against Boston College that you play to their level on so I kind of agree with you. My thing about Florida State is that when they're on, and I believe me it's hit or it might be it might be serious to series, you know, I mean, it's right. But when they're on, they're I'm not gonna call them Washington because it's the scariest team
when they're clicking to see on the other sideline. But they're dang close, and they got some guys that could close the game with their pass rush, and they have some high end capable weapons down the field. And I think their quarterbacks maturity has played a lot of football. So I love Florida State. I still think they need to go undefeated to get to the College Football Playoff, which is really sad because I really like the ACC this year to call.
Them, Yeah, you know what I'm excited about in college football is, and I've said this before, baseball and college football. Greg McElroy. By the way, if you're listening to the Colin Coward podcast ESBN, just watched them tonight. W J o X and Bama Alam Alabama does a great job on the air, really knows what he's doing. Very popular morning show, the morning show of note in the South. One of the things college football and baseball have older fan bases and they tend to push back unchain. Nil
is going to ruin the sport. A transper portal is going to ruin the sport.
Just the sport's never been a more unhealthy right now, and yet we have unbelievable ratings.
But I digress, go ahead, I agree with you.
Yeah, and I think it's going to explode next year. And I tell my Pac ten fans and Brethren guys, Washington State at UCLA that was getting nobody outside of Pullman and barely anybody in LA to a TV set. We are going to get so many quality games. I mean, Michigan against Washington, Oregon, Penn State, USC against Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan. I think the sport is next year is the start of almost greg a new sport. Baseball made tweaks to the pitch claw and the defensive shift, but they didn't
really fundamentally change the game. They chopped some time off it fundamentally. Next year, I think you're going to see going forward, team schedule, bigger out of conference games, not afraid to lose. You're going to see more. I've always thought college football has one issue, not enough great games every Sunday in that early window. There's three down to the wire finishes minimum. It's crazy. In college football. You may get two games a weekend between really competent teams
that are great because everybody's afraid to schedule anybody. I think next year is the beginning of almost a different version of college football. I think the Pac twelve folding into the Big ten the top teams is fantastic for the sport. Although initially we blanch, we push back because college football fans love history, and so do I in the regionalization of a sport. But I think we're in a great spot. And I look at this top ten.
Can you imagine if these teams were playing each other and I could get BAM in Full State and Michigan and Texas. I mean, god, Greg, this is fantastic.
Well I tweeted actually just a moment ago before we got linked up, and it's been posted for thirteen minutes and it has thousands of views already, and all it is is the picture of the twelve team playoff for next year. And you have two lane at Michigan, you have Oklahoma at Alabama, Penn State at Oregon, and the
Ole Miss at Texas. And then in the next round, Washington is the by Ohio State hosts, the winner of Bama Oklahoma, Florida State host the winner of Penn State, Oregon, Georgia hosts the winner of Texas Ole Miss. First two teams left out are Missouri and Louisville. And you can already hear the griping about, well, we're not big brands. We're getting penalized. I can already hear that. And the
formats not even finalized. But you have five big ten teams, five SEC teams and ACC school in Florida State and two lane.
It's going to be absurd.
I want to embrace the current format because that's where our feet are. But I can't disagree with you at all when thinking about what's coming in some of the matchups that'll be created in the postseason.
Let me ask you about Nick Saban Kirby Spart Kirby Smart now feels like the coach of record. Lane Kiffin not surprisingly, has made Ole Miss really fun to watch. I think people think the kid at Tennessee's really talented. I think there's a clear unseating of Bama as the number one program. As a defensive coach, he hit on several offensive coordinators He's got to miss on one of them eventually, because he hit on it was mc lane or nuss Meyer and Kiffen and Sark and Bill O'Brien.
He's hit on most of these guys. Does it feel like to you for the first time that Nick is now you can see the age there is a bit of disconnect with offense or do you think it's a hiccup.
I think it's more about I'll answer your question by asking you a question. What's the difference between Penn State and Ohio State right now? Because I think it's one player.
Penn State's got a better young quarterback.
Well, I don't disagree with that necessarily, but as far as being asked to win the game, both quarterbacks have a comparable load share. Ohio State has Marvin Harrison and Penn State does it. And I think right now what Bama is going through is a six year run of having incomparable, incomparable talented wide receiver.
And we think about think about the NFL.
What was twa tongue be low in the Miami Dolphins before Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddell. What was average right? I mean, average is the day is long. What were the Cincinnati Bengals, And I know Joe Burrow tore his knee six games into the season, seven games into the season, but what were they before Jamar Chase. There's Frankly, if we watch the Chiefs right now, I don't see the game breaking wide receiver, and Mahomes well, he doesn't look human. He doesn't look like a superhero at times like he
has in the past. So I think the world's changed beneath our feet in the NFL and in college that if you don't have a takeover the game wide receiver, you've become very human, very quickly, and right now. I think that's what Bama has struggled with now. Jermaine Burton has been good at times. The A and M game stands out. Jalen Milrose a good deep ball thrower, but he struggles on the intermediate in the underneath. And when you are all boom and bust, it's hard to put
together methodical and rhythmic offense. So I don't think it's necessarily Tommy Reese's fault. I just think the personnel that Alabama is relying on right now is different than that than what they've experienced the last handful of years. Everyone at Clemson has blamed dj Ouey, Jungle Lay and Kid Klubnick. But if you look outside, with all due respect to Bo Collins and Brandon Spector, they're not Mike Williams. They're not you know, NWK Hopkins. They're not the guys that
they've had in the past. So I think it's just the personnel is coming back to earth. It's just a hair this year, But in a portal era, you can improve that overnight with the addition of a guy or too in the offseason.
Yeah, listen, I'm out in California and Chip Kelly has a better team than Lincoln Riley, and you think the sky is falling. And I keep telling everybody, listen, these offensive coaches, Kyle Shanahan deeply cares about defense, but some of them just don't care about defense. Kyle Shanahan does, McVay does, but Lincoln Riley I don't know if he does, and I don't think Lane Kiffin early in his career does. Now I think he does. So it's you know, college football.
I like all the big brands I'm getting. I think we're in a good space. I also like geographic symmetry. I think what her college football. For about fifteen years after USC and Pete Carroll is, Oregon was the only consistent brand that was fun, flashy in a top ten program. And now that Washington absolutely calin de Bores, they have their next Don James and Chris Peterson really special. They've won fifteen straight games, and they don't have elite talent.
They have elite receivers and an elite quarterback, but Greg, they don't have Georgia Ohio State Michigan talent. They're not even close. So I think this sport has We always need a big Texas school, We need some West Coast love. It doesn't have to be USC. I think Michigan's a bigger national brand in Ohio state because Harbaugh is so such, so polarizing, you know, his NFL his you know, I mean, and this is just added to it with the recruitings
or with the scandal on the advanced scouting. So yeah, I mean the whole thing. As I watched today, I would just put a smile on my face. I really like the top teams. I mean, God, I get a Big ten team, an SEC team, an ACC team, two PAC twelve teams, a Texas school. You know it's like then Bama, Oklahoma and Lane Kiffin. I think the sport's in good shape. I think it'll work itself out and I'll go back to Oregon, TECHUS, Georgia, Michigan are the
best four teams. If I said to you, who do you believe will end up in the playoff four teams.
I think It'll be Michigan, Georgia, Florida State and Oregon. Those are the four I'm going with right now. I don't I don't love the PAC twelve is. I love the depth. I love the depth. And I look at what Washington's done the last couple of weeks. And while some people have looked at them and said, well, you know, I mean, how do you win against Arizona State? I'm a pick six. I mean, how can you only manufacturing
manufacture of you know, a handful of points offensively? And while I agree with that it was a it was a pitiful performance offensively, it was. And they backed it up with the game against Stanford in which they let their quarterback go for four point fifty. You know, I mean it was eighty on the ground, three seventy through the year or whatever the heck it was three to fifty through the year. So yeah, it's a hard one
to wrap your head around. So I think if they if they played it out over again in a neutral sight, I lean Oregon.
I think they're trending in the right direction. I reserve the.
Right to adjust because I think it's still inside Washington and they're learning how to win at a high level and wear the target. And I remember when I was at Alabama the challenge that we experienced going from a team that was perennially average to all of a sudden being the Grand Puba in college football and people are now talking about you and the Heisman, and people are
now talking about your team in the National Championship. That was a heavy burden to take on for the first time, and it all came crumbling down Nick Saban's second year there after the lost Florida and the SEC Championship game, But it all came back around the next year when we actually believed that we could do it. That was a difficult mental hurdle for us to overcome. And I
think Washington's dealing with that right now. And if they can get through this weekend, because this, to me is the last granted Utah.
I think Utah is human. I think they'll wear them out.
They're on third, their third quarterback.
I mean, come on, yeah, I mean they're gonna I mean Bryce and Barnes, with all due respect, he's going to come back to becoming a pumpkin at some point, you know, from being the Cinderella that he was. And that's not a disrespectful thing. He's just gonna have some ups and downs. But I think if Washington get through this one, they're going to be in great shape.
Uh.
And this one against SC this weekend, to me, is extremely difficult because everyone's saying SC is dead. Everyone's an SC. Can't play their defense, can't defend. I think SC still has a lot of talent. And when you're on the road and you're backed into a corner and everyone's ripping you to shreds and you're only a three point dog, something's telling me something. So I think this is the one that they need to be very careful with.
Yeah, it's going to be a shootout because Washington doesn't put consistent pressure on the quarterback. It's in spurts. Uh. And USC does not have elite corners, and those are Sunday receivers. For Washington, So I feel it feels forty four to thirty four to be Huskies. But you know, listen, it's almost like USC's last stand.
Yeah, right, like.
And really there you get to a point now where this feels like the season because they're not beating Ucla. They're not, and the UCLA right now is a much better team defensively and frankly, there's a spirit about UCLA that people out west. It's like nobody wants to play them because there's no expert multiple Oh, they got two big time player, one lottery defensive H fifteen.
For those that haven't watched him, that dude is like a transfla. Like he could stand at the linebacker level and sack your quarterback.
That's how long he is. He's unbelievable. He's unbelievable.
Greg, good stuff, Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Florida state in the first poll. Don't have a huge problem with it. I'm just happy we got some West coast representative and some geographic symmetry. It makes me feel good. It's been a long time.
We appreciate you, man, Thank you so much for taking the time tonight.
Oh Greg, love it, Thank you so much.
The volume.
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