Welcome to the solid verbal hell that for me. I'm a man, I'm for it.
I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. You want to be happy for a day at the steak?
Is that woo woof? And Dan and tie welcome back to the solid verbol, boys and girls. My name is Ti Hildebrand. That fine gentleman over there in a quasi matching quarter zip is Dan Rubenstein. We did not do this on purpose if you're watching the video, but alast we are not changing because we're comfortable. Frankly, Dan, how are you? I'm good.
I am a company man because Roeback sponsor can continue to be I think we're both a weaaring Roeback. So you know, shout out to these quarter zips. They're very comfortable as the is it. The weather's turned a little bit. I know you're on the East coast and you got some storms along the seaboard. You're not on the seaboard, but uh weather's turning. It's fall correct that that is correct.
The house is getting a little chillier at night. The snow dog that is downstairs that you may hear barking at some point during this broadcast is enjoying it much more than anybody else. But alas it is the end of September, it has been a September to remember in many respects. On today's show, we're going to talk through what it looks like moving forward for some teams. We've got this term called LOR luck running out.
You just said lor What did I say LR?
You just said l R, which is how I screwed it up because I'm dumb on our previous show.
Excuse me, yeah, LRO luck running out teams We're going to talk through. We're going to try to figure out is it a luck thing, is it not a luck thing, Who's good luck, who's bad? Luck? Is set to run out the ro or not or not correct? I was going to talk through some of the news of the past couple of days, most notably Jeff Collins getting fired at Georgia Tech. Todd Stansbury, the director, also out go through some of those candidates. This episode, all of our
episodes driven by our good friends over at Geico. Don't forget You've only got about what nine ten days now? Yeah, Solid Verbolive dot Com, Smell tieshair dot Com. We started posting graphics. You and I had a long internal production call yesterday. Yeah, it's called work tie, It's called work cald work, cald work. We started figuring this thing out.
It's got a high degree of difficulty, but I think the upside, the upside is there for this concept that we are going to do the Solid Verbal Presents College Football Call in the Game Show, Live, New York City, eight pm, Chelsea Music Hall, October the seventh, Not this Friday, next Friday.
It's like it's mere feet away from the best tacos in New York as well, mere feet if that's a one to two that you're interested in college football fun on a Friday night, Friday, October seventh, and delicious handmade ts flour corn tortillas, all all made to order.
It's the best. Let's talk us number one not a sponsor could be. Shall we get to news? Let's let's but I saved my voice these days for the true breaking news. It's hard to do in an on demand ecosystem such as podcasting, so we'll save it, use it when we need to the news. I mentioned it at the top. Jeff Collins fired at Georgia Tech. It is now the third consecutive week that we've had a coach get fired after dismal results. Jeff Collins, of course was rumored to be fired for a while. We kind of
knew this was coming. It does catch me off guard every time it happens after like week four or week three or week two. That's just where we are now as a sport. Todd Stansbury, the athletic director, also out it is of note that Jeff Collins was his first big hire, so did not go swimmingly for either of those two gentlemen. Per our friend Bruce Felman, here are some of the names. Dan, we can talk through which ones we like, which ones we don't like. But Deon
Sanders getting some love here. Yeah, Deon Sanders a name that Bruce lists first in his coaching candidates to watch. Also Jeff Monkin as well as Todd Monkin, the Monkin brothers. Jeff of course, the head coach at Army, Todd the offensive coordinator at Georgia, Charles Huff from Marshall, Sean Lewis from Kent Right, Caine Wollmack from South Alabama, Bill O'Brien, the current offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and
Alex Atkins, currently the offensive coordinator at Florida State. Dan. Another name that I didn't list here in that initial batch was Jamie Chadwell because if only based on the feedback we have gotten, the early feedback we've gotten on our discord server, which you could find overballards dot com. Jamie Chadwell, current coach at to Carolina. I'm also a name I think very much going to be pursued here
in this next batch of coach hires. Jamie Chadwell another name that could be very interesting given his proximity to the job, given what he's done at Coastal, given the fact that he's young and innovative, got a hybrid offensive system, fun to watch. There's a lot to like about Jamie Chadwell. So if I were to say to you, your option is Jamie Chadwell or one of the other names on this list, oh man phrasing with option continue, Jamie Chadwell
or one of these other what eight names that I listed? Yeah? Which direction would you go? I would go a different direction? Okay? Why?
I think Jamie Chadwell will succeed on the Power five level. But I think Georgia Tech is so specific in that it is not a football powerhouse. Right when Georgia Tech succeeds in football, which they do and have had stretches of doing, it almost seems like it's right before Clemson pops, right right before, like they're filling a vacuum, right when the ACC was crazy down and Georgia Tech found itself in the AEC championship game against I believe wake Forest
maybe a Riley Skinner Reggie Ball situation. It's that they're an opportunity truck program, that they'll run a system, or that they will be pretty good in a year when other teams that are traditionally better are not as much. And so you factor in the academics, you factor in do kids want to play college football in a major
American city as opposed to a college town? Right, if you're good enough in Atlanta to play for a major power five program, how many do you have within a four hour drive, five hour drive, five hour flight, right that everybody that Atlanta metro area has become an increasing hotbed. And so do you want to play for a power in a traditional college town or do you want to
stay home? And that's that challenge I think, and I think Jeff Collins did an admirable job in terms of trying to transition this program away from the baggage fair or not, of the triple of the triple auction, the flexbone, whatever. And it was always going to be a struggle on a certain level with how deeply entrenched that recruiting was and that system was within the roster to move to a different system, to move to a more modern slash traditional power pro style not option. So it's just going
to be a challenge for whoever. And now you look at some of the other schools that are more academically rigorous, they're all like in when they succeed Stanford, Northwestern, Duke and Duke maybe is not the best example, but like Stanford and Northwestern, Vanderbilt did with James Franklin, but he was expert recruiter, and you can find quarterbacks to run a system like James Franklin wants to run. But Stanford
leans on the offensive lineman thing. Northwestern leaned on three stars academics defense right that the offense was never there, but they hit with some really strong defensive coaching hires, namely my Hankuets. And so the question for Georgia Tech is not how do we become a program that competes to win nine or ten games a season, it's how do we become a program that wins eight games in a very specific way. Does it have to be the
triple option? You mentioned Jeff Monkin's name, and they succeeded under Paul Johnson, But then people got sick of what appeared to be a ceiling. And yes, we'll be a ball team, Yes we'll beat a good team here and there. Yes we will run for a kajillion yards, but we can't really develop defenses running the triple and recruit to a good defense running the triple. And we want to appear to be more modern and attractive to quarterbacks who
could potentially fit in with Georgia Tech. And so Jeff Collins did a good job also of marketing Atlanta as like the team of Atlanta, as you know, fraught and futile, as that may be at times with Georgia owning that territory to the degree that it does. So, Yeah, Todd Munkin's an interesting name. I saw what Dell McGee I
think is the Rams running coach. I saw Richard Johnson wrote a longer piece that's worth your time at si dot com about the Georgia Tech opening, Charles Huff you mentioned is interesting because of his experience recruiting in the South and the success he had at Alabama and recruiting there. It's it's ultimately going to be somebody who embraces what Georgia Tech is instead of what it isn't. And that's true of a lot of jobs, and which is why I think Paul Johnson succeeded. You're like, this is a
place where you need to be very specific. His brand of specificity was that offense, that option offense, and you own a Georgia Tech Orange Bowl Champion's hat, do you not?
I do? It's it's yeah, it's somewhere around here.
So it's leaning into that specificity. And if it's the option, if it's you know, defense and blitzing and just going all in on defense and having an offense that serves the defense, fine, whatever, I just think it's going. It's basically impossible to say we're gonna do what Tennessee did right a long down, dormant program. But it's in a college town. There's a history there. I just don't think you can if you really want to make Georgia Tech a nine win ACC, a ten win ACC type program.
It's gonna take twenty years, right, a twenty years of it doing it correctly. So let me ask you about Deon Sanders them. Okay, the Deon Sanders angle is.
Very interesting because there's an obvious connection with it Atlanta, their legend icon. Yeah. Given his professional career, he has clearly burst onto the college football scene with what he's done at Jackson State, notably what he did with Travis Hunter, recruiting Travis Hunter away from Florida State last second, big deal, big deal in our parts here earlier this year. So let's talk through Deon Sanders and what that looks like. Because if Dion comes to Georgia Tech, you would imagine
there would be something of a boon with recruiting. You'd imagine that the folks who are willing to give money to that program would be energized and perhaps want to give more money. Georgia Tech has shown, at least on some level, an ongoing commitment to the football program. They want to make this thing better, They want to make facilities better. There was a like a nine figure renovation project that I had read about. So this is not a program that is I think, content to just collect dust.
They clearly want to move things forward. In the fact that Dion is out there, given his connection to Atlanta is really interesting. I also think there will be other jobs that will want to try and court Deon Sanders. We're talking about week five now, there's a chance that Auburn is next. I'm not rooting for that for Brian Harson, but there's a chance that depending on how things go against LSU this week in Harson could be the next
man up. Auburn you would think would also be interested in a guy like Dion, So any thoughts on Dion Sanders and where he might go next.
So you have to separate Dion Sanders from the big, outsize personality who has recruited really well and won a ton of games by the way, at Jackson State. Not eligible I don't believe for the FCS playoffs, but won a ton of games and has done a crazy impressive job that I think has surprised a lot of people
given his lack of college football coaching background. So if you remove Dion and you're just saying very successful Jackson State coach, that leap is unprecedented to go from an FCS school to a Power five program, especially one in a big city with the history that Georgia Tech football kind of does. Anyway, that even I remember when at a certain point when the Oregon job opened. Maybe it
was when Willie Taggart took the job, when PJ. Fleck was floated by some people in the Oregon universe or like Oregon fan universe, and what I had heard in coaching circles and hiring circles, and it's too big a leap to go from Western Michigan to Oregon is too big, that Oregon's too major a program, and that when he made that move to Minnesota it probably made more sense. Georgia Tech is not where Oregon is. But to go from FCS too well, not the not just ACS, HBCU, right, HBCU.
It's an inn jump, that's, like you said, unprecedented that I think would be a great story. It'd be a great story. And if there were anybody equipped to handle the increase in pressure and attention and shaking hands and being that sort of major figurehead for a Power five program, it does seem like it would be Deon. Sandyon could
handle that. Yeah, Now, Dion Sanders. If we're going to talk about his presence, his personality, he's already in commercials and he was on the NFL network, and he's primetime.
Right, primetime coach Prime. There's not a.
Lot that's cool about Georgia Tech. There's not as much college football cultural cachet that surrounds Georgia Tech in the way that it surrounds schools in Texas, schools in the SEC, schools elsewhere in the ACC, schools in the Big Ten, some schools in the PAC twelve, right, that there is a certain fit of like this major personality is now fitting in with this place that he can fully be
himself and recruit to sensically, sensibly, sensically sense whatever. That Again, I think you have to lean into what Georgia Tech is rather than what they're not.
Well, I mean, look, let's put it this way. The first thing that they need to figure out is what is the administrative structure. Yeah, there's no idea in place of that, but is the administrative structure, who's making the higher what does that look like? What is the landing spot, the true administrative landing spot for whichever coach they decide to go out after But I think Georgia Tech, even by virtue of getting Paul Johnson when they did, they prove that they are willing to zag a little bit.
The institution is willing to take a risk to zag a little bit. They didn't do that as much with Jeff Collins, who were trying to get away from that very specific system. But this could be another opportunity where they decide to just fully steer into a personality driven program with the Deion Sanders, someone who, by the way, to your point, has done really well. He's done really well, he's recruited well, he's obviously won games. It's a huge jump to go from Jackson State to Georgia Tech. But
I just think it's an interesting example. I really think it's an interesting example, and I would love to see it for Georgia Tech. I'd loved I don't know if it would work, but I'd much rather see a guy like a Dion Sanders try to take coach Prime and all the swagger that comes with to Atlanta place he's very familiar with, to a program that is desperate to have a better football program than a place like Auburn.
No disrespect to Auburn, but It's just more interesting to me to have a guy like that go to Georgia Tech and see what he can do with the program. So we'll seems certainly more to come on this.
I might go Huff depending on what his season looks like and how general how different parts of Marshall's program improves, obviously as they navigate a new conference. But he's I think he's a morehead guy, right, isn't he a joemo guy like he was Penn State's running backs coach that I think he went to Mississippi State. He was obviously at Alabama. I think he had a year or two in the NFL. Bruce Felman did write I think a feature on Charles Huff and so now having that head
coaching experience, I think that's interesting. None as a good recruiter known as somebody who inspired, like he has a really strong seeming reputation, and yeah, that's going to get a game.
Resident, He's going to get a game before long, and you should. You should. Totally very interesting. It's only going to continue to get more interesting as we go through here Week five. Who knows what Week five will bring on the coaching front. Two other very quick notes A Naias Smith done for the rest of the year at Texas A reportedly a leg fracture. They did not come out and say it. They just said it was a lower Well we're body injury, but leg fracture. Out for
the rest of the season. Not cool, not cool. Feel bad for him, Definitely feel bad for the Texas A and m offense. He was a key component of that, especially when it goes to when it comes to downfield stuff going downfield. So Nya Smith done the rest of the year. Bummer for him. Hank Bachmeyer on a different note, for Boise State, it has not been a good run for him in the early going so far this season for the Broncos. He has decided the transfer out of
Boise State. Have not seen where he might go next. He's got a year of eligibility left and presumably somebody will want Hank Bachmeyer. He's had a pretty good run at Boise but not in the early going. Here and Andy and Alos. Yeah, he's got to figure out something on offense because ten points against UTEP is not going to cut it.
No, I think he's got to figure out something in terms of Monster dot Com because I just when you look at trends, and when you look at offense careening off a cliff quarterback highest profile. I don't know if he's the highest profile or the highest rated. I know
he was a four star quarterback YE two. Boise State, of which they do not have a history of finding four star developed a ton of good quarterbacks, but attracting a top level recruits to Boise State was a great job done by I think it was harsonaire, of course, but things seem acrimonious on the offensive side of the ball.
They bring in dirt Cutter and I don't know, man, this type of momentum with how Oregon State season started against Oregon State with all the turnovers in the first half and the offense just looking like a mess, and Andy Ablos, you know, obviously fires his offensive coordinator. But it's hard to reverse course, not impossible, but tough to reverse course because as we know, and as we're all aware this, the bar is pretty high in Boise for
college football. Like we can talk about the expectations at certain places and coaches being let go in Nebraska and Tennessee wherever over these past few years, Boise State is not an eight win expectation job it just isn't, and so Boise expects rightfully so given the resources and the growth of that program, Boise expects to be in the mix more often than not for that New Year's six Bowl game.
I think that's totally fair. And by the way, if it does go south at Auburn for Brian Harrison, if it does continue to go south for Andy Avelos at Boyse, perhaps Brian Harson ends up back at Boise next season. That is not so possible. That is that is not out of the realm of possibility.
Yeah, it's uh yeah, I didn't mind the higher obviously quite familiar with Andy Avlos from his time at Oregon. It made sense given he played there and coached there and has the West Coast ties. I think he's from California. But this is it's that weird crossover of Boise both seen being seen forever and ever as cute little Boyse. It's cute that they win all these games, and the fun crispy they expect to win a lot of games in that treasure Valley.
Yeah.
By the way, a couple other news items I just scan across, and then we'll get into our lucky game. Brandt Keithy the tight end for you, like all American caliber tight end. He's out for the season, which is a major blow to cam Rising in that passing attack. But they recruited tight end pretty well and it's they
run a lot of two tight ends. That's the other thing is South Carolina moved their game to Thursday because of the incomings and Hurricane Ians, So you might see more either precautionary cancelations, postponements, or hey let's play Friday, Hey let's play Thursday. That's somebody keep your eye on. And I think it's South Carolina. South Carolina State, I believe, is who they're playing this week. That's correct, not a major, major matchup, but something that they felt was worth doing.
So keep an eye peel. Okay, play then play the game. Little Brittany here to alcow you to the college Football podcast. So sphere Dan, what is this game?
So we've been talking about luck and a team, but not the only team that I think in the early going that's been associated with some degree of luck has been because of the turnover different wrencheal USC.
Right.
Now, let me be clear as somebody who has doubted a USC at least in the short term their defense.
Yeah, yeah, that hype machine continue.
Lucky does not mean bad. You can be lucky and good. They can be occurring at the same time. And you're not only good because of luck, but sometimes you might be three and one instead of four and oh because of some luck. And so luck can take its form in a number of ways. It's not just turnover march. And this is what I have here that I think
in some ways can be considered lucky. So we have what tip balls on passes right, that it's a skill to tip a ball, but you're not necessarily You're not Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell tipping it and getting it to a teammate all in the same motion. It's a little different with a rifled pass of doinks right can be involved with luck? We have I have brutally bad game changing referee calls yes like a and that's it's a moment. And so a lot of these games don't
necessarily come down to a moment. There are opportunities in both directions. But yeah, that you can be just flat unlucky that your star edg rusher is called for targeting and it upon replay, it wasn't or flat unlucky that a pass interference was missed or something like that. That is unlucky. Sure, you can be lucky, especially in the early going, that teams on your schedule are way worse than anticipated or way better on unluckiness, like, oh my god, I didn't see all these.
Teams being this good. Damn it.
You can be I mean, you got the fumble recovery.
Go either way.
You can be lucky with fumble recoveries and unlucky with fumble recoveries that the ball just bounces the wrong way. You be unlucky with weather. They're like, we should be way better, but this team, you know, was hosting us in a monsoon situation. That is flat unlucky. That is act of God that you have nothing to do with.
And then of course injury luck either way, some teams get fantastic injury luck, and some teams are just snake bitten, sometimes literally, and somebody's kept out of a game because of venom in there in their body venom.
So yeah, there's all sorts of.
Ways, especially a few weeks in where you're like, man, I am just flat lucky as a SO and SO fan, or I am flat unlucky as a SO and SO fan. Sure, So that's where I come down with luck and the sport.
You can be.
Bad and lucky. You can be good and lucky, you be bad and unlucky, you can be bad, you can be good and unlucky. It all happens, It all fits in the spectrum. So what we want to do is evaluate the luck. We want to evaluate the luck thus far through four weeks of the college football season. When things kick off in week five, if you can believe.
It will be October oh Man September football effectively over, though there will be a couple games before we get the Saturday. But for all intents and purposes, we've made it through excuse me, one month of the season, and so we have a pretty good set of data that we can go on with respect to law. Give me a couple teams here. I know you mentioned USC, but let's let's let's pick a different team. We can come back to USC later.
I have some teams that you could consider to be both lucky and unlucky. Okay, I think Notre Dame could be both lucky and unlucky. Unlucky because of the status of their starting quarterback shoulder, just an unlucky literal break right that they with their schedule, getting Ohio State as early as they did. And even though Tyler Buckner was not an immediate All American, let's phrase it, he probably
very kind of you, thank you. He probably has a better and would have had a better chance of developing into something more dangerous than Notre Dame's backups, because I think the raw talent he's perceived to have.
Does that make sense, It makes sense. I will say that, you know, Drew Pine against North Carolina completed pretty much any pass he wanted to thus far. His completion percentage is sixty nine percent. Hey, nice, something like that. So he's done a good job against a team like in North Carolina, did enough to win against Cal. You know, Notre Dame is in a weird spot with that quarterback position.
And I can't tell if it's a matter of Buckner playing against two really good teams in Ohio State and Marshall back to back weeks one and two, or if it is just a Buckner problem. Because you know, as well as I, we talked to plenty of people here in the off season that were like, maybe think again about Tyler Buckner. Maybe maybe like don't don't go all in on Tyler Buckner as the answer at quarterback at Notre Dame. So what I'm dancing around here is I'm
just not sure Buckner's that good. That's okay, And it is still unlucky that Notre Dame would have this circumstance where they got to start Drew Pine, a ninety five pound quarterback the rest of the way against the schedule that is not particularly like super easy. So definitely a stroke of bad luck for Notre Dame. Quarterback depth is going to be an issue moving forward, at least for the entirety of this season. Who knows what it looks
like next season. And you know, looking ahead at some of these other teams in the schedule, they've got a bye week now, but then they've got BYU right a couple of weeks after that, they go on the road to Syracuse, they got Clemson, They've got usc Like, they got to get their their offense squared away here with their quarterback situation before long, otherwise we could be looking at a few more l's in the schedule.
I should point out all legit programs worth rooting for BT BYU that's all.
Now, that's all. I'm fair enough.
The reason I said Notre Dame both that they are all so lucky is that col game featured a postgame referee apology about an offsides call that extended a Notre Dame drive got them a touchdown and they win by a touchdown. That game also featured I believe by their skin of the teeth hail Mary drop that is right at the end.
That is correct.
Again, you can be good and lucky, but Notre Dame walking away from that game, I think now that we have all of the facts, a bit lucky, that's okay. I have Minnesota lucky and also good. But you look at their schedule, it's been pretty good through the first few weeks of the season. I didn't see the Michigan State thing coming. I was I was in on Minnesota. I bet Minnesota with.
Hard earned dollars, hardered Americans. I was in on Minnesota minus two and a half. I did not feel that confident about it. But to win thirty four to seven, I believe was the final, and to look as good as they did against a team in Michigan State that again, I wasn't sure they were going to be as good as they were a year ago. But I didn't think it's bad. It was really bad against Minnesota. That is
a result they did not expect. So I do believe that Minnesota is good, though I do have scar tissue from last year and even the year before going in on Minnesota and having them burn.
Me corolary slash a dendum. I should probably learn what either of those words mean. Any team who has played Colorado or Nebraska is extremely lucky to have them on the schedule this season, if not seasons moving forward. Who's to say, but yeah, that Minnesota has Colorado is it's a.
Nice, little, nice little fluff.
I suppose in a number of ways, I didn't mean fluff the way that some people might be understanding that term to me.
But here we are. It's too late. I think.
I don't think it's necessarily the worst thing in the world if you're a program like Minnesota with expectations of being good but not necessarily excellent in playoff caliber, to have the preseason schedule or the non conference schedule that
they do. But it is it is lucky that they have this year's iteration of what Michigan State's looking like and what Colorado's is looking like not their fault, and I think I'm sure their turnover margin is out of this world it is it's well, no it's not, it's plus three. It's fine, But that they had those games and also that I guess Kirk Sharaka became available.
Kirk the sound is back on the board now forevermore continue.
But yeah, I think their number one most efficient defense in the nation number is probably based on a little bit more than just an incredible defense.
So I mean, they're definitely lucky to some extent because of the schedule. But we said it at the very like the very beginning of the season, we said this about Minnesota that because of the schedule, because of just what they had coming back, it seems somewhat probably that they're undefeated going into their game what mid October, second
to last week of October at Penn State. And that's a game for Penn State that's really really tender because that's like a very let down, look aheady situation for Penn State in between Michigan and Ohio State. Yeah, so plus there's history there at Minnesota. Yeah, I don't know, do not be surprised if Minnesota goes to Penn State and knocks them off. Right now, looking at projections, that's about to pick them. Okay, Vegas has that as about to pick them. Maybe Penn State favored by a few,
but Vegas views these teams very very similarly. I like that.
I like that, you know what, And I know Minnesota has a rival of course in Wisconsin, but Penn State to me still without that obvious rival, the personalities of both James Franklin and PJ. Fleck would make for like a fun let's look forward to this game a little bit more. We had the game where Minnesota upsets and they hang on to upset Penn State. I think in twenty nineteen, like I'd say, budding rivalry.
Not necessarily, they're kind of the same, dude. There's a lot a lot of overlap there. Yeah, yeah, okay, Okay.
By the way, imagine if in like nineteen ninety three, we were like fast forward twenty years, thirty years, whatever it is since then, Jesus World teams are going to feel so incredible about seeing Nebraska and Colorado on their schedule. Be unfathomable. But wo yeah, that's it's a crazy conversation for another day. How about Ohio State a little bit lucky?
You think Ohio State is a little bit lucky, And this isn't because of what they've done thus far, but a little bit lucky in that when you look at the rest of Ohio State's schedule and the Big Ten that it's sort of an opposite whatever the opposite is of Hurricane Ian. The skies are opening up. It's Hurricane Ryan day, because it's Rutgers, it's whatever Michigan State is, It's Iowa without an offense. Penn State on the road is going to be challenging. Northwestern seems to have fully collapse.
Not that a good Northwestern was going to beat Ohio State, but it could have been a challenge like it was in twenty twenty. Indiana looks like they're not going to be a lot. Maryland looks decent but have a pretty low ceiling, and Michigan was maryland Ish this past weekend. I'm just speaking. In this moment, Ohio State appears to be full on excellent and fortunate that the rest of their schedule, which at one point seemed pretty rough, now is seeming pretty great. See, I thought you were going
to stay lucky because of their receiver depth. No, no, they amassed that with skill.
To me, I mean they are just so loaded at the skill positions that it is increasingly difficult to figure out who can go toe to toe with this team. Honestly, it's going to be Bama, It's going to be Georgia, one of those teams. That's the only team. I stand by it. I said at the top, Michigan fans can can yell at me if you want, but I still believe it. Nobody's beating this team. Nobody's beating this team,
at least on their schedule in the regular season. With the offense that they have a mass because you know, CJ. Stroud is awesome at quarterback, still underrated in my view, perpetually underrated. Somehow. They've got a great running two great running backs led by Trey Henderson. Even when you're not starting Jackson Smith and Jigba still got a mechag Buca, still got Marvin Harrison Junior. You still got Julian Fleming, all these guys that can just plug and play out wide.
Put that behind a good line like there really are no weak spots on that offense, and with a defense that's going to continue to get better under Jim Knowles, Like, I just don't see it. So yeah, I mean, I guess they're lucky to some extent with the schedule they've gotten in front of them. But for me, this feels a lot less lucky and more just raw skill and coach and development over the years now with Ryan Day, because yeah, it's they're so good.
It's luck in the way that Ana, maybe you're this kid that in fifth grade you're like lucky you have a super Nintendo and a second Genesis. Lucky in fact, you were just an only child who loved video games and got lots of presents. I think Ohio State and again one if you want to offline about what it's like to root for a program that can beat CJ. Stroud, Garrett Wilson, Chris o'lave and Jackson Smith and Jig but we can offline about it and I can walk.
You through that experience. Yeah, things are looking great for Ohio State.
Next next, I just have Kansas that Jalen Daniels was slept on as a recruit.
Man, He's he's an impressive kid. I don't know if you've had a chance to listen to any of his postgame stuff. But I mean, he's got a confidence about him. He believes that they're going to go out there, they're going to compete, they're going to win again, and whoever their competition is. From week to week, the offense has
been objectively one of the best in the country so far. Yeah, I don't know if it continues, that might be a lot to ask, but it's getting to the point now where you look at Kansas and you're like, you know, pretty good they can score forty against these teams on their schedule. Yeah, there's not a lot on that schedule that that worries me about being able to hold Kansas down.
So Jalen Daniels, with what he's done with the with the way that Lance Liphold has kind of built that offense around him, it doesn't what strikes me the most about it. And I was trying to put my finger on it when we went through and looked at the Duke Kansas game from a week ago. We've seen teams before that rise from the ashes and they get a couple wins and everybody feels good about it, and it feels like it's duct tape and chicken wire. Yeah, this
doesn't feel like that. This feels like legitimately they're a very good offense, and that in and of itself is one of the best stories in college football.
Yeah, it turns out when you hire an apt athletic director and a head coach who are legit it makes a difference. And you're not hiring less miles right sorry, like they're just when when as a university you're making decisions that's continually set the program back, and then you hire actual professionals and jobs that demand it, it makes a difference. Who could have seen that coming? And by
the way, not unlucky in their results. Not that Duke is a team with a pronounced heartbeat, but West Virginia and Houston those are teams. Those are squads. Those guys have players. Those teams have players. So I'm I'm just thoroughly impressed. But yes, lucky that Jalen Daniels was not like in the last second, Oh my gosh, Texas Tech
offered him, Oh my gosh, Cal offered him. Like didn't to my knowledge, receive other last minute, bigger Power five program offers because they whiffed on another quarterback target.
No, Well, and so here's the question. Then if we're truly playing a game with this. A question is done the luck run out? Does the luck run out for Kansas? Because I mean, thus far see, I'm inclined to say no. I'm inclined to say no because it feels like a legitimately good offense. We also have decent data at this point on Kansas. We're getting better data on most of these other teams. But Kansas in particular played West Virginia and Houston on the road. In addition, they played Duke
last week. Those are actually teams that have played, you know, decently well in some capacities so far this season. Sure, and you look at what they've done from an offensive standpoint, they've been very good. They've been very good. Now Still, I don't feel like the numbers have caught up to Kansas yet. So if you look at projections moving forward,
Kansas is projected to lose every game it plays. The schedule does get harder, so it still is on the table that they could lose every game that they play and finish four and eight. I don't think that's likely. When you've got an offense like this, you'll catch teams. So Kansas potentially on the drive to six here. You know their luck might run out from the standpoint of being undefeated, but in terms of qualifying for a ball at some point between now in the end of the season.
To me, with this offense, that feels totally feels likely. The first step to doing to becoming a good team is to do something well. To do something well, and what Kansas is doing through the air on offense, obviously led by Jalen Daniels. Look, if they are scoring on average and they're not going to be scoring how many points are they averaging right now? Forty some odd forty five points or something. If they're scoring thirty three points thirty seven points the rest of the way on average,
which of these teams do you feel confident? Do you think Iowa State is going to be scoring well enough with Kansas again, Iowa State has a defense that's going to limit Kansas. But Texas Tech, We'll see what happens with their quarterback situation Texas. I mean, Kansas kind of owns Texas and that's not when Jalen Daniels was peaking like he seems to be doing this season. Kansas State is scoring a number of points. Good defense once again, But can you get to six wins with a pretty
electric offense. I think I think he can. I think he can. All right, give me another team.
All right, I have In terms of luck, I have Florida State in here now. Florida State's luck is that one LSU did not have its act together in Week one at all to do very basic things correctly i e. Catch punts, I e. Block kick kick balls without them getting.
Block people trying to block the punts.
Yes, right, And so it was fortunate in that they let jen Jaden Daniels excuse me an LSU back into that game and were able to win the game the man or that they did. And then also Florida State lucky in that Jordan Travis's injury wasn't worse against Louisville, that they were able to pull out that game with Tate Roamaker roda maker, Yes, and then have Jordan Travis return against a pretty woeful Boston College and the rest of their schedule. In terms of what Florida State's doing, uh,
pretty decent in terms of defenses. I'm not going to say it's lucky because there are some challenges ahead, but lucky both in terms of the LSU game and the stroke of injury fortune here.
I don't know here is why, and I don't think this is so much luck, but this is definitely, at best, at worst fortuitous. Let's say, yeah, okay, kind of the same thing. But the schedule before the season, when we previewed Florida State, the schedule before the season, We've looked at this and we said, we think Florida State's gonna better than they were a year ago. The schedule looks tough.
Schedule looks tough for a team that was inconsistent and still growing and still almost transitioning into the Mike Norvel Era. Looks like a tough schedule where you can see four or five losses. Right. I don't think that was out
of the ordinary. Things have changed very quickly. Not only did they beat LSU in week one, not only did they show a lot of fight in knocking off Louisville in the manner that they did on the road backup quarterback, but now look at the teams that they've got in front of it, particularly over the next three weeks, which is really going to be the make or break time for Florida State. Wake Forest this week, I don't know what the weather situation is going to be.
Like and a letdown spot wake Forest ot lost to Clemson. Yeah, I don't know if weather's going to factor in.
It looks like the Southeast is going to be a mess over the next few days. But Wake Forest at home letdown spot potentially a weird weather game that's going to be dictated on the ground. I like Florida State's chances there. I will up there. At NC State, we could talk about NC State. NC State has has I think been generally unimpressive this year compared to where we thought they might be at this point in time. NC State what a top ten team now great, by the way,
after that ECU game. A lucky record right now, I mean huge, hugely lucky based in the ECU result. Yeah, but you can go to n c State win. That doesn't feel as difficult. It's still a good team, doesn't feel as difficult Clemson. You could score on Clemson, you can move the you can move the ball on Clemson in a way that we did not expect.
I have Clemson as lucky, lucky to get out of Winston Salem with a win with how that defense was absolutely torched. You look at Clemson you're like, all right, this is a team that is far more fallible than we expected. They've got Georgia Tech, they've got Miami on here, they've got Syracuse on here, They've got Florida on here. I can't even tell if you're saying that's a lucky thing and an unlucky thing.
I'm saying, I feel like this is much more advantageous to Florida State than we initially thought. So I don't know if luck is the word. Luck feels almost like as a pejorative if I use it in conjunction with Florida State and their schedules, since they have no control over it. But things have turned in such a manner here with the schedule that it feels a lot more gettable,
and I like that for Florida State. I'm feeling actually quite good about saying ten and two Florida State, Okay, fair enough.
I think it's a stretch still, but yeah, for the LSU and Jordan Travis reasons, I'm in Florida State being having a stroke of luck. Also good stroke of luck Clemson. I mentioned why just getting out of Winston Salem with a win. Any other teams I'm trying to I have a list here.
I think that's sort of it for me. Beyond the USC very quickly. On Clemson, I do think the luck will run out. I do think the luck will run out for Clemson before long. The fact that Clemson gave up points the way they did the wake Forest wake Forest to get a good team, legitimate capitol g good team, good offense. At least, I do think that the luck runs out for him. And I still harken back to what I've been saying the last couple of weeks. If
receivers cannot get open, that's a problem. Against better defenses, that's a problem, and especially if defenses aren't going to create havoc. The way that if the Clemson defense, excuse me, is not going to create havoc, play is the way we expected, especially in that front seven. You give teams time to pick you apart against the better squads on you on your schedule, and somebody's gonna get you. Somebody is going to get you. Wake Forest came close. Wake
Forest could have been that team. But there are plenty of other opportunities here on this Clemson slate where somebody could take him down. And it doesn't seem like a stretch to me, like I think, I think, really that will happen. If I had a bet on one team's luck running out, it's Clemson, because it's just you know, I like Will Shipley, I like a lot of the pieces on this team, and I'm not rooting for it openly. I don't hate Clemson. I kind of like this team.
I really like Will Shipley, But I just think of receivers aren't getting open, and if the defense is not creating the kind of pressure that we had expected, that's a problem.
Yeah, it might fit more under you take the good, you take the bad with Dabbo, but the Dabbo experience might be fraught with some luck and Unluckiness. That lucky that a position coach turned out to be a dominant all time modern head coach for Clemson once Tommy Bowden and that era didn't clearly weren't working out and they
needed to make a change. Lucky that he was the type of coach who could make pretty great hires that both within the Clemson loop and outside of it, like Brent Vennables, and a little bit unlucky that man he's going to be loyal forever. Cool that he's loyal forever because guys want to stay there for a longer period
of time. Quality assistance, and it's very attractive to recruits unlucky in that Oh another internal higher, Oh, another internal another internal higher, and so that sort of you take the good in the bat. But that's not really anything to do with this season unless it doesn't work on either side of the ball with those internal hires. You want to talk about USC and the luck factor. Explain
the luck factor to me. With USC so number one in the country in terms of turnover margin, they're plus fourteen at the moment, which is well ahead of basically everybody as far as I could tell. A lot of that comes from the interceptions that have bailed out less than stellar defensive drives, especially in the red zone. They had four picks I believe against Oregon State this pack past weekend. And I also want to be quick to
say interceptions are not all luck. Like, yes, it's lucky if a quarterback throws a bad pass and you're there to catch it. But also, I'm a big believer in right place, right time, and so if you are able to find yourself as a defensive back or a linebacker or whatever doing your job in the lane you're supposed to be in in the passing lane, and you pick off a quarterback that's not fully luck that it is
a skill to be have situational awareness. And so USC though the manner in which that they in the manner in which they've won, they've had to rely on those turnovers. And if those are dropped passes or overthrown passes or tipped balls that fall innocently to the grass, and a team lives to play another down, we might be talking about a three on one USC or a two and two USC. Fresno State was able to move the ball against USC. Oregon State was able to fully stop basically
USC's offense. And so you say Oregon State has basically the same game on offense but only throws one pick, we're probably talking about a Beaver win. But once again, USC is drafting off of the opportunity truck. I think they are a good team who is probably the seventeenth best team in the country, not the sixth best team in the country, And I think that jump has to do with luck.
Do you agree?
Do you think?
Do you like?
The other thing, though, is we're now talking about a schedule that features Utah and maybe UCLA on a great day like what is on this regular season schedule for USC that they just can't get by with maybe not as much luck, but some luck.
Yeah, man, I see plus fourteen. Yeah yeah, I mean they've definitely been bullied by by by some of the turnovers, right, I mean I tend to think that teams with new coaches off and see this right there, there are these areas in the margins where you just you have some oddities that occur early on, and it's how a new coach either harnesses it or or doesn't harness it that can teach you a lot about how how their coaching
style is, how the team feels about the coach. Like, you know, we saw some unlucky stuff with Brian Kelly at LSU, like it. I feel like you see this type of thing all the time with new coaches, and USC has been able to use this type of stuff to its advantage. I believe that as the season goes on,
we will be talking less about luck with USC. I think as this team settles into what it will eventually become by the time we get to like the Notre Dame game Thanksgiving weekend, there will less, there will less be a luck component involved here. The question is they've got Utah in a couple of weeks on the road, and if there is any luck that is buoying USC come out, then yeah, it's gonna come out then, because
Utah does not need luck to win. Utah will beat your brains in They didn't do it effectively against Florida, but they will beat your brains and they will run you to death. And they will hear brains and running you to death. That's what you talk, That's what Utah does. So what I think I'm saying here is we'll find out soon enough. If you're right. It may even be a game like a Washington State potential look ahead game
the week before Utah game is in USC. But at the same time, that's a team of the good defense you saw last week, right, or at least can play good defense. So I'm I'm I'm mixed on the USC luck thing. They just have such good players that not to say that they are immune from the whole luck thing, but gosh, I.
Situated Williams and Jordan Addison. It's I don't know, No, there's no luck involved with those talents. The problem is if we're talking about a top eight five type team for USC, which is where they're ranking, I think they're six in the eight. People don't have I don't memorize these things. I'm old and washed up. USC has one of the absolute worst rush defenses in the country, and they've played Fresno, Oregon State like Rice, and they haven't
been protecting Caleb Williams. So we're saying, do you believe in USC as a top ten team with an abysmal rush defense and an offensive line, but pf an offensive line who in practice has not protected Caleb Williams all that effectively. They are one of the worst tackling teams in the country. Again, USC good team, not excellent team, not excellent team. And I don't know if it's Washington
State because they absolutely did get gashed by Oregon. I mean, bon Nicks through for an all time high, the running backs running for seven yards of carry.
They stood up in the red zone impressively.
Yes, Washington State could beat USC if that game were in Pullman, I'd feel better about that potential. But no, USC still feels like a nine or ten win program, if not more. But if they have to put up against a playoff team, Like, what is Trey Henderson going to do on the ground against USC? What is Jamiir Gibbs gonna do? What is Kendall Milton gonna do? Like I've seen it up close, it's not pretty. Again, we can offline about what it's like to beat Ohio State,
but I just think they are prime LRO. I just don't know when the l is going to ro. That's the question, all right, Well right in, let us know your.
Thoughts and any other luck teams we missed out on. Do you want me to go through unlucky? Real quick, very quickly? Here we're coming on the edge of our time.
Arkansas is the weirdest fumble and touchdown return away from A and M. I don't think they're fully unlucky because that is a play and they had opportunities. It's a play, and they had opportunities to make up for it against A and M from being you know, number seven, number six in the country. I mentioned cal with Notre Dame with the off sides call, Florida might be a little bit of both. Yeah, Florida might be a little bit lucky and unlucky lucky to get out of that Utah
game with a win. Unlucky that you know, expectations were hoisted on them, and to have Tennessee and Kentucky be good in the same year doesn't happen often.
No, doesn't happen often.
That good LSU a little bit of both with the guys that they were able to pick up in the portal and what their SEC schedule looks like moving forward, which, by the way, a lot of SEC teams on LSU's Brian Kelly Year one slate do not look as dangerous as they did over the summer. No, I have Houston, what the hell we were supposed to expect Kansas to be lightning on offense, Texas Tech to come through with a backup quarterback like just unlucky the way that Houston
has had to open up their season with. Still I believe to be a good team.
A very good to you. We were talking about Houston as potentially one of those group of five teams. It sneaks into the playoff before the year, uh, Northwestern fans. The unluckiness of opening the season with, hey, maybe we're pretty decent kind of and then to lose to Miami of Ohio in southern Illinois, that is a bad beat in terms of fandom to be suddenly assured that you're going to have a pretty good team.
And immediately immediately have the universe say no, well yes, are you gonna mention Miszoo and the way they lost to Auburn?
That's bad?
That that is a bad That is an unlucky way to lose a game. Opportunities to win elsewhere, but to miss the field goal and have Nathaniel Pete fumble millimeters it was the right call millimeters from the goal line.
Yeah, that is an.
Unluck But like I also don't think Missou is a program who would otherwise be seen as good if they beat Auburn. But better sure, I think that all right, I would add my team as being unlucky because when Oregon scheduled Georgia, which I presume was in like two thousand and eight, I joked with all my friends, let's.
Take our kids. We're gonna be old.
Let's go to Atlanta. And then to have Georgia go from being talented but disappointing to death star, that is unlucky.
That is not fun. There's nothing unlucky about Georgia.
Georgia is full un skilled but unlucky to have that in game one of a new coach.
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you can watch live. We call it the Bruined A. We also have a Spot five live show tomorrow evening college football Thursdays. People jump up on stage with us. They talk all things college football. They pick against me last week did a little bit better than they had the previous week, So awesome for you. Rough It was a rough week.
Yeah, we came tie dissipated before coming ashore.
Yeah, Hurricane Tie definitely took a different track last week.
Yeah to say the lead downgraded to tropical storm. Now we joke about this. We hope Hurricanean is a complete disappointment for all weatherheads and it's just rainy and windy.
And everybody's fine. That's all. That's what we hope. Absolutely more to come on that more to come for sure as we progress through the course of the week. Tomorrow is our week five previous show. We're into our picks, going to give our predictions, obviously going to give as much personality as we can here in the soul Uble. But yeah, tune back in, don't forget to tell your ends, make sure you subscribe to the show. And last would certainly not least if you made it this far. Solid
giveaway dot com. You've got about two weeks left before we give out the c J. Stroud Mini Mini helmet. Do you think we could get and the answer is definitely yes.
What was the Fordums receiver's name? Do we think we can get a Photus signed Fordam Photus Coco. I'm gonna get it wrong. I don't want to get it wrong because he was obviously excellent against Ohio. We have it somewhere in our.
Chat Cocosciolas Cocoa, Ciolas coco sulis.
I think Motus cocosulus I would put that right here. You see, if you're watching this live on Forballers dot com I would put a mini helmet right I got the little d'ad de loos Morito skulls from Trader Joe's. I'd put it right there. Prominently featured assigned for a mini helmet from Focus. Coco soulis happy to pay.
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