Countdown to Kickoff Presented by BetMGM!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You ready to witnesses football fans, Welcome to the biggest
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That's me Bro.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented.

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By Bett.

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The King of sports Book.

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Speaker 1 (00:26):
We're here to break it all down. This is Fox
Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Bett emsg app. No,
we're live from your tailgame. Here's Brian Nook, former Penn
State All American, Rich Hornberger and FSR betting analyst Jared Smith.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Oh, welcome man, Good morning, big day of ball, Big
day of ball in the SEC, especially a couple of
star studded matchups. But you guys, realize what truly makes
today special?

Speaker 3 (00:58):
What's that now?

Speaker 5 (01:00):
Well, one Rich is live in l A.

Speaker 6 (01:03):
Oh yeah, that makes it special. And also what makes
it special is it is my mom's birthday. Oh wow,
So absolutely happy birthday to mamma dearist an amazing person,
lover past the Solar system. So I hope she has
a very happy birthday. And with that, I mean, what

(01:23):
can get better than a mom's birthday and SEC ball?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah, she's just gonna be watching football all day. That's
all she's doing. Happy Birthday.

Speaker 5 (01:31):
There's Georgia and Texas, how about Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Exactly.

Speaker 7 (01:36):
Yeah, So so is she roll tied her go dogs?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Go Irish?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Rich? Question is I'm just making sure I didn't know?
I mean she is she part of the family that's
also from Indiana or is that a difference?

Speaker 6 (01:51):
Yeah, yeah, she's from South Bend. Yeah cool, so that's
where again?

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (01:56):
Oh yeah, go Irish.

Speaker 6 (01:58):
You know what, these matchups are just amazing where if
you start broad the Alabama at Tennessee matchup, really interesting,
Georgia at Texas, those are the marquee matchups. And the
first thing I think of is how many two loss
teams are gonna make the playoffs?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (02:18):
Right, Like ask yourself that I think they're gonna have.
We're probably gonna have multiple two loss teams. I think
there's a great chance we get a couple of two
loss teams that sneak into the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (02:30):
What do you think about that?

Speaker 6 (02:31):
Because there just seems to be a vibe and some
of the conversations where it's like, is this an elimination
game for Alabama and Tennessee? And I don't think losing
two games means you're eliminated. I think we're gonna get
a couple of teams in there.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah, I completely agree with what you just said.

Speaker 7 (02:48):
It's going to be based off of what many of
the determinations by the committee are based off of at
the end of the season, not necessarily who's got the
best record, but who provides the best and most entertaining
matchup per their strength and also their strength of schedule
over a complete season. I mean, if everything was perfect,

(03:10):
Florida State would have been in the playoffs last year,
you know, in terms of like looking at record and
accomplishments and all those things.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
But we know everything's not perfect.

Speaker 7 (03:19):
We know that that isn't the sole consideration just what
your record is. It's also, hey, if we put this
team in a playoff situation, are they going to sink
or swim? Like that? That is actually tabulated in the conversation.
You know that came up last year during these committee conversations.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Also, is this the best team? You know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (03:40):
Like it is, does the record reflect what we think
of this team? And so I agree with you. I
think we could have multiple two loss teams in a postseason,
especially in an expanded postseason this year.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, we're gonna have multiple two losses. So the first
rankings reveal is in two weeks November fifth, the Saturday
before that, we'll get Ohio State Penn State, and I
think that will be the first indicator, right, Like, if
Penn State wins that game in Ohio State has two
losses at that time, but is still a top ten

(04:14):
team and they're still in the top twelve, I think
that'll be your first indicator of how important the rankings
are compared to like our perception of these teams, because
by all accounts, Ohio State losing two games to Penn
State on the road and Oregon on the road, they're in, right,

(04:36):
And that'll be an interesting Obviously, obviously I hope Penn
State wins that game for other reasons, but I'm curious.
I want to We'll get to that at a different time.
I want to see how the like I want. That's
the beauty of this. We get the committee will show
us their hand multiple times before the selections are actually made,

(04:58):
and we'll get to see a couple of two loss
teams theoretically and see how the committee feels about them.
Maybe George's one of them. What if Georgia loses tonight,
Georgia's dow lost team. So I think we'll have multiple.
If I had to put a number on it, I
would say two, maybe three. I think the biggest question

(05:18):
is will we get a three loss team in the
College football Playoff. I don't know a lot of parody
this year.

Speaker 6 (05:26):
Yeah, I don't see a three loss team, but I
see a couple of two loss teams because there's just
too much in the way, right there are too many
games that can go sideways for these quality teams. I
think Georgia's probably the best example. Let's say they're a
two loss team that lost at Alabama and lost today

(05:46):
at Texas. There are worse teams to lose too than
on the road at Alabama and Texas at Texas, so
if they were to run the table from there on out.

Speaker 5 (05:57):
Which wouldn't be easy.

Speaker 6 (05:58):
By the way, this begins a gauntlet for the Dogs
here three of the next four games at Texas at
all miss hosting Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
The SEC is absurd this year.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
That's rough. That is crazy.

Speaker 6 (06:09):
Yeah, So that is a quality two loss team, if
that's what their resume is at the end of the season,
you have a hard time keeping them out because in
the Big Ten, in the SEC, those power conferences, two
of the four, there's just a lot on these team
schedules where you could have two losses and still have

(06:29):
a really good resume.

Speaker 5 (06:31):
You're not going to be left out of the playoff
if that's the case.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
No, No, absolutely not.

Speaker 7 (06:35):
And I do think that maybe three losses is a
bridge too far, But it really depends on.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
What happens this season.

Speaker 7 (06:43):
With as much parody as there is, if some of
these teams we were just discussing, do end up, you know,
end up with a three loss team and one of
them's a fluke, or their three losses are against really
quality competition, you know, all of a sudden, you have
some our decisions to make. Now it's three losses of
death nel, probably, But will it always be no, because

(07:06):
we used to think two losses was a deathnel, and
we're sitting here talking about how two losses it may be.
It may be automatic for multiple teams to get in
on two losses. So it's a very interesting evolving situation
in college football, as it always is, well, you should say,
especially recently. But but yeah, it's gonna be fascinating to

(07:27):
see how this season shakes out, especially in the Big Ten,
especially in the SEC, where the strength of these conferences,
I mean, they could cannibalize themselves. They You could end
up having a lot of teams with multiple losses who
at the end of the season you say, yeah, but
those are the best teams the Yeah, but this season
with the Committee are going to be louder than they've

(07:48):
ever been.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Imagine if Penn State and Indiana are in Oregon and
Indiana are in the Big Imagine if the Big Ten
championship game is or against Indiana.

Speaker 8 (08:02):
Yeah, I mean that's that's a very scenario right now, Yes.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Very possible. Imagine the SEC championship game is Texas A
and M against I don't know Texas like it just
there's just so many odd combinations that could And I
think this is just we just have to get used
to this, guys and girls, we have to get used

(08:28):
to this parody. The talent is dispersed all over the country.
Teams have depth issues, Guys are not sticking around. The
coaches are dealing with the NIO. Like Bama beats Georgia
and instead of maybe one day of partying. These guys
have seven figures, they're partying for multiple days. It's just

(08:48):
it's such a strain. This is being in. Every pro
I've talked to is that said the same thing. They've
never seen anything like this. Yeah, And we we have
to just be okay with the change, the adaptation that
we're gonna make over the next month. The next month,
like when the committee drops those first rankings and we
see the actual like bracket, it's gonna be crazy. It's

(09:11):
only gonna get crazier too. Well.

Speaker 6 (09:13):
And those arguments, man, it's a different argument because Rich
alluded to it last year where Florida State was the
the team on the outside looking in, and the reaction
was when it expanded to twelve, it's like, well, we
don't have to go down that road anymore.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
Ye, Well, roads go down yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6 (09:31):
But think about this where you've got a team from
one of these Power four conferences that might have two losses,
and then you have a team with fewer losses, maybe
from a group of five, and they've got a legitimate
argument it's gonna be a knockdown, drag out.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
But enough of that.

Speaker 6 (09:47):
If we move on to there are five teams in
the top fifteen that play unranked opponents on the road
this week. Okay, so we're looking for potential. You know
whoa upset city. We didn't have that last night. Oregon
took care of business against Purdue, which again begs the question.
After Purdue gets shut out, how did Illinois survive in

(10:11):
overtime against Perdue.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Give up fifty team fifty to forty nine.

Speaker 5 (10:16):
It was unbelievable. But we've got you tell me yay
or nay?

Speaker 6 (10:20):
Potential for upset, Okay, just potential, Okay. Number six Miami
at Louisville potential Yay, Yeah, I've seen.

Speaker 7 (10:31):
Miami play at cal A Virginia Tech the last and
also that Louisville defense.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
Yeah, that's a potential. That's a potential.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Okay.

Speaker 6 (10:38):
Number eight LSU at Arkansas. You saw Arkansas take down Tennessee, right.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah, yeah, that that. This is a juicy little matchup
right there.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
That is, wait till we get to the parlay platter,
wink wink.

Speaker 6 (10:51):
Okay, all right, it might be two for two with
the three that are gonna be in the number twelve, Yeah,
number twelve, Notre Dame at Georgia Tech.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
I mean I'll go.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
First, Nay no, no, No, Haines back up quarterback for Tech.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (11:10):
No, Haines king there number fourteen Texas. A and M
at Mississippi State Mississippi States.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
Yeah they do. And I'll be honest, A and M
quietly sneaky good. Maybe, like the Missouri game was such
a blowout, we just kind of dismissed it. Missouri sucks,
but maybe A and M's really good. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (11:30):
You know what's crazy about eminem am M. They're a
lot like LSU. I feel like where both teams lost
their first game. Yeah, and it framed how a lot
of people think of those teams where we just look
at what LSU and A and M don't do well
instead of what they actually do well. It's weird when

(11:51):
you drop your first game how people think of you,
And I think for A and M they've been just
out of side, out of mind.

Speaker 5 (11:56):
After they lost to Notre Dame, Ana crushed Missouri.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, they're legit and exactly what you said is true.

Speaker 7 (12:03):
Sometimes sometimes first impressions are lasting, and that's not just
relegated to college football where you have to keep your
eye one hundred and thirty FBS programs.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
Sometimes it happens in the NFL.

Speaker 7 (12:14):
Too, where you see a team primetime early in the season,
you know, the quarterback has a rough night, and all
of a sudden, that's the way you feel about that
team for the remainder of the season or almost all
the season. I remember it might have been the first
primetime weekend game, the Sunday Night Football or Monday Night.

(12:34):
It was Jets Bills last year. Josh Allen threw all
those interceptions, Aaron Rodgers gets hurt. So the two headlines
out of that game was what are the Jets going
to do a quarterback? And everybody's like, what's wrong with
Josh Allen? Well, yeah, some of that may have been real,
but also some of it may have been hyperbolic because
the Bills were still a playoff team. You know. It's

(12:56):
it's just interesting how certain storylines stick. And I agree
with what you said about Texas A and M because
I fell victim to this until this week. I was like, yeah, what,
you know what, why do I feel this way about
A and M. I'm like, oh, no, they're good. They're
gonna be just fing this season.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, totally agree. And they're off the by too, so
they beat the pants off Missouri like absolutely beat the
pants off and then they go on by and what
did we see last week? Like every big team played,
but A and M was just sitting on there took
us as watching, so we forget. We have a sickness
in this country of recency buys where we will forget

(13:35):
so quickly and just move on because the next thing
happened and we're already on to it. A and M
has a top five, top ten defense, and Connor Weggins
I think serviceable where at least is he can Really
it's Moss the running back that's really kind of been
their bellcal But if Wegman can give them something, everything

(13:56):
else is in place. And Mike Elco he's not Jim
oh Fisher right, Like he's a really good coach. I
do like when you say they got pantsed, you say that,
oh what do you call it?

Speaker 6 (14:13):
Remember when you were in grade school and your friend
would come up to you like, hey man, I got
I got something to tell you, like hey, come here,
and then another friend was like I think no, no, no,
no no, it was like you got pants you know
what was behind you? Like you got low bridged the
table table top? Is that the way you say I
never knew.

Speaker 3 (14:33):
The word for that is that it Yeah, well that's
what we called it.

Speaker 7 (14:36):
And man, I mean gosh, like you know, that's That's
exactly what Notre Dame did to A and M this season.
They got tabletop. They never saw it coming, and that's
all we.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Were focused on the whole times. And did you see
A and M.

Speaker 5 (14:51):
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If that bet loses, We're off and running.

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We've got Rich Ornberger live in the flesh in La Huh,
Penn State, All American, Jared Smith, FSR, betting analyst, I'm
Brian No coming up next.

Speaker 5 (15:30):
How it sometimes pays to be illegal.

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It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented by BETMGM.

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Speaker 5 (16:13):
All right, so the loophole has been closed. Go back
to last week.

Speaker 6 (16:18):
Oregon upsets Ohio State and at the end of the game,
so Ohio State is driving into field goal range ten
seconds left in Dan Lanning, Oregon head coach says, hey, hey,
come over here, come on here, let's put twelve guys
on the field. Put twelve untentionally and it worked, right.

(16:40):
It was an incomplete pass. Four seconds came off the clock,
which doesn't sound like a lot, but when you only
have ten seconds left, it's a big deal. So Ohio
State moved up five yards, but that time was burned
off the clock. Next thing we know, Ohio State quarterback
Will Howard is running a wrong around too long.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
Game over.

Speaker 6 (17:00):
It was a smart move and the NCAA responded, and
they have changed this rule so after the two minute
time out, don't say warning in college football.

Speaker 5 (17:10):
I don't know why they do that.

Speaker 6 (17:11):
But at the end of either half, if there are
twelve men on the field, the offense will have the
option to keep the time on the clock as well
as get the five yard penalty. So the loophole has
been changed. And I think this, guys, that's coaching right there.
It does remind me a little bit of your Patriots

(17:33):
Rich Remember when Bill Belichick used those formations. Yeah, they
did a weird thing where the tight end actually lined
up as the offensive tackle and a tackle was split
out wide as the tight end, but it was really
the tackle. And then John Harby after the game.

Speaker 3 (17:52):
Was just whining.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
Illegal.

Speaker 5 (17:55):
It was legal, but the NFL was like, no more
of that.

Speaker 2 (17:58):
The loophole is closed.

Speaker 6 (17:59):
And I see similarities with what the NCAA did with
Oregon and the twelve men on the field.

Speaker 7 (18:04):
No question about it, And That's exactly what it reminded
me of too, is many of the rules that we
worked on during special teams parts of our practices when
I was in New England, or even specialized situational offensive
and defensive times on the field where you're just covering situations,
they were exploiting rules that you knew other teams weren't

(18:28):
practicing because there's only so much time in the week
to go over each and every single one of these
little nuanced situations. But when they come up, they're super important,
and you could tell the teams that are well coached
when they can execute in those situations. And Oregon, there's
no question about it, they're well coached. I mean, Dan
Lannings a football man. He understands this game. He understands

(18:50):
how to exploit teams defensively, offensively, and situationally. And that
is an enormously important part of being a head coach
is having and understanding not only being hyper focused on
your side of the ball if you're a play caller,
or on the plays that are occurring, but also the clock,

(19:10):
time out management and rules like that that you can
exploit to your benefit in those situational moments. So Hats
off to Dan Lanning and hats off to college football
for being nimble enough to close the loophole immediately.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
The question I have is if this was Saban or
another one of the godlike coaches Harball maybe at Michigan
last year. Did they close the loophole so quickly or
because it was up and coming Dan Lanning, who you know,
hasn't really made the name for himself yet. He I mean,
don't get me wrong, he's a fantastic coach, but you
can't compare him to save or harbor any of those

(19:45):
guys yet. I'm like, it was it was a really
interesting they they opened that rule book pretty well, it was.
It was within two days later that rule was changed,
and I don't it should be changed. You shouldn't be
able to just suck time off the clock without there

(20:07):
being any repercussions. I like the amendment to the rule.
I think it makes sense. It's a quick, easy fix.
You give all the credit in the world. I don't
know if it was Landing or another staff member that
kind of said, hey, this is something we should do here,
but it's it's hard. Like I study a lot of
these coaches now because I'm always interested in the next

(20:28):
up and coming one, and it's it's always something with
these guys. They are incredible students of the game. And
that I think is where we are right now in
college football is it's so hard and the margins are
so thin. I don't want to say this was cheating,
but you definitely have to cut some corners if you

(20:49):
want to find an edge these days. And you credit
Landing in the staff for being right in the in
the right spot at the right time, with the right call,
and they executed it and they won the game.

Speaker 5 (20:59):
Yeah, I think it would be Jared. I like where
you're coming from with that.

Speaker 6 (21:03):
I think in this instance, it was just such a
high profile game and the situation, the way it all
played out with only ten seconds left, and then you
intentionally put twelve men on the field and gain an
advantage that they win.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
If that if the seconds go back on, like I
think so, maybe they at least get a field goal chance.

Speaker 6 (21:22):
They definitely get a field goal opportunity. Yeah, and uh man,
that's the thing in the NCAA. I love this when
they put out this rule change. The part of it
that really stood out they wrote there should be no
profit when a team fouls, right, and that's exactly what
it was. Like Oregon profited from intentionally putting twelve men

(21:42):
on the field, So that's why the loophole was closed.
I just can't get enough of, Like I can't get
over the difference in coaching staffs, whether it's college football
the NFL. How many times do you see it where
a team is trailing, we're under two minutes to go
and there's just a careless delay of game penalty and

(22:03):
I look at the coaching staff.

Speaker 5 (22:04):
Like, what are you guys doing?

Speaker 2 (22:06):
Call time out?

Speaker 6 (22:07):
Like help out your quarterback, help out your offense. And
so you'll see that at times from coaches and then
other times you see what Oregon did, and they put
twelve men on the field intentionally, and that was a
brilliant move. It just we always talk about players being
situationally aware. Man, some of these coaches it applies to
them absolutely as well. Some are on top of it,

(22:29):
some are not.

Speaker 7 (22:30):
And it's so hard to judge a head coach because
we don't get to be inside of the building on
a daily basis. We don't get to hear how they
speak to the team, we don't get to understand their
understanding of the nuance of their offense and defense and
special teams units. You get to hear the way they talk,
and there are certain head coaches who when they get
to the podium, it's very obvious that they have a

(22:55):
global understanding of the game that you know, very few
can contend with. You know, you think out Belichick, You
think about Sean McVay, who every time he speaks about football,
you're like, oh my god, this guy's a genius. He
can recall every single play that he's been a part
of over the course. It's like a savantism that you're
listening to. When you're listening to Sean McVay recall plays,

(23:17):
he can tell you that down the distance, the temperature,
the cloud cover, like it's unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
You know.

Speaker 7 (23:24):
So those are those are those vistas or views into
the world of head coaching. But our best ability to
judge a head coaches when those situations come up that
seems so obvious from us sitting at home that they
have these blunders where it's like, did he know he
had a timeout or did they mean to take that penalty?

Speaker 3 (23:45):
Oh, they absolutely did not. Oh that knocked them out
of field goal range. You know whatever it was.

Speaker 7 (23:50):
Yeah, Oh, perfect example Thursday night football, there was a
time out taken with four seconds left on the clock.

Speaker 3 (23:56):
The Saints' offense goes out there, takes a knee after
the time out. You're just like Dennis Allen.

Speaker 7 (24:02):
Somebody wake up Dennis Allen.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (24:07):
Like so, Dan Lanning, you give him the credit because
I mean, you almost have no choice but to give
him the credit because we get so few moments where
we can really judge a head coach off of anything
other than a win loss record. And that was a
really heads up, savvy play. And like you said, Jared,
this could have been a staffer. This could have been

(24:28):
something that a coordinator got on the headset and said, hey,
there's gonna be a runoff if we put twelve men
on the field right now, do it right now. And
he got lucky or he's brilliant. Either way, they won,
and that was a huge game and they needed that win.

Speaker 2 (24:42):
He's brilliant because he surrounded himself with people who are brilliant.
Sometimes the best people, the best coaches, they don't have
to be the smartest mind, but they're the best delegators.
And that's what managing is like. We've all had bad
bosses before who micro managed the crap out of us.
We've all had good bosses before who give us the
creative read them to be whatever we want to be

(25:02):
in life and in business. I think the interesting thing
about coaching now in college football, it always feels like
it's the minutia. You the best teams right now, think
about the top teams in the country. They all have
something quirky about them that make them unique. It's not
as easy anymore as just we have the best players here.

(25:23):
You go go play like you've got to have more
than that. Fifteen twenty years ago, USC and these great
teams Texas they had Vince Young. Didn't matter what Mac
Brown called. They had Vince Young. He was better than
everybody else. USC had the best roster of that year
at Reggie Bush and all these great players. Didn't really
matter what they called. They probably were gonna have a
successful play. The playing field is much more level now,

(25:46):
you go back, like fifty years than even if you
had like Jim Brown, you could have called anything no
matter what you were having success. Everyone's got a Jim
Brown these days. They're a top tier player on their
team or a great roster. There's just so much talent
out there. You have to be a devil in the details.
And some of these coaches are better at it than others.

(26:08):
And we get a glimpse of it, you know why,
because we're on the couch on Saturdays and we're pulling
our hair out for some of the decisions that gets made.
And I just this stuff with Dennis Allen the other night.
It's a great example what we need in the NFL.
I don't know if we have it as much, and
I think we have it a little bit. We need
like a director of decisions. That is he's not a coach,

(26:33):
he's not a former play He is a nerd in
a booth somewhere that just is crunching numbers the whole
game and knows every you know, situation to a t.
And he gets into coaches here like hey, coach, good coach,
you've got to go for this. I don't care what
you want, you've got to go for this or coach,
this one's fifty to fifty. You can do whatever you want.

(26:55):
What's your gut say, Like, it's just it's got to
be like a constant voice in the ear that just
continueuously updates the probabilities and the decisions. Director of NERD
Director of Nerderation. I don't know.

Speaker 5 (27:06):
Call mentioned a continuous voice that just updates.

Speaker 9 (27:13):
You know.

Speaker 6 (27:13):
It seems like the perfect toss for our guy, Isaac
Lowan clish, Wow, I love what's going.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
On, Buddy.

Speaker 10 (27:21):
I gotta admit, Ran, you could segue literally.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
Henny, Director of Segs Brian No.

Speaker 10 (27:31):
I mean, heaven forbid, the world could be coming to
an end during an invasion of space aliens and you
would find a way.

Speaker 2 (27:41):
I'd find a way to throw it to you for
an upay.

Speaker 10 (27:44):
To gracefully in between us dodging lasers from from the stratisfy.

Speaker 8 (27:49):
It's an intergalactic catastrophe on the outside with somebody who's
in control of the cosmos of the Fox Sports Radio
Isaac Lowan Crownday.

Speaker 10 (28:01):
Incredible, one day that might come true. So i'mon in
Alpha Centauri listening to us on on Fox Sports Radio
dot Com or the iHeartRadio app. Well, fellows, we start
with Game four of the American League Championship Series on
Friday night at the New York Yankees, scoring two at
the top of the night, thinking to win in Cleveland
eight to six, to take three games to one lead

(28:23):
Game fives that I had at eight O eight Eastern.
In Game five of the NLCS on Friday night, the
New York Mets stayed alive with a twelve six win
over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who still lead the series
three games to do Game six on Sunday. In LA,
Game four of the w NBA Finals on Friday night
saw the Minnesota Links defeat the New York Liberty eighty
two to eighty. Minnesota's Bridget Carlton the game winning free

(28:45):
throws with two seconds to play, forcing a deciding Game
five on Sunday night at the Barkley Center. In college football,
on Friday night, Number two Oregon's game at Purdue got
off to an I'm gonna start. As Oregon took the field,
the Oregon Duck mascot tripped over an Oregon player, causing

(29:05):
the duck to fall to the turf and causing the
duck's mascot head to fall.

Speaker 3 (29:12):
Off the quatastrophe. Sorry about that, I'll take a laugh.

Speaker 10 (29:16):
That's terrifying small children and Rich Hornberger. However, that would
be the low point of the evening because Number two
Oregon would go on to win it thirty five to nothing.
Number thirteen BYU defeated Oklahoma State thirty eight to thirty
five BYU's Jake retz Laub, the game winning thirty five
yard touchdown passed to Darius Lassiter with ten seconds left

(29:39):
in the fourth quarter BYU. Now seven and oh coming
up tonight at seven thirty Eastern number one Texas hosting
fifth rank Georgia. However, the Bulldogs will be without a
key member of the program. Speaking of mascots, the Atlanta
Journal Constitution reporting that Ugga, eleven Bulldogs beloved mascot, did

(30:02):
not make the trip because according to his owner and
I quote he is really young and immature and crazy
as hell and this game just wasn't a good fit unquote.
On that note, back to you guys, Wow.

Speaker 5 (30:18):
Thank you Ilo.

Speaker 6 (30:19):
It is Fox Sports Radios Campdown to Kickoff presented by
bet MGM. Yeah, not a great sign for Oregon with
the Ducks head, the mascots head falling off.

Speaker 2 (30:29):
Just watched the videos.

Speaker 6 (30:30):
Hilarious They won thirty five nothing, you know, so maybe
this is something can be we can take something out
of that for.

Speaker 5 (30:36):
Georgia with no Ugga that I don't know.

Speaker 6 (30:38):
I don't know, but a mass analysis getting the kind
of a difference in an opponent there between Purdue and.

Speaker 5 (30:45):
Number one Texas. So I don't I don't know.

Speaker 6 (30:47):
How about this Nebraska at IU, well you are you.
I don't know if they do that at football games.
I'm just going off with basketball games because Indiana has
been trashed for so long in football.

Speaker 5 (30:58):
I have no idea what they do at football games,
but we might learn today.

Speaker 6 (31:03):
Quality opponent Nebraska five and zero, Indiana six and oh
they're ranked sixteenth in the country. Kurt Signetti, he called
a shot back in December.

Speaker 2 (31:13):
This is great.

Speaker 5 (31:14):
They're head coach. It's pretty simple. I win Google me.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
What a lie year? I know what a lie?

Speaker 3 (31:21):
But all eyes that's right.

Speaker 6 (31:23):
I UQB. Curtis Rourke. You look at Nebraska. They've been stingy,
stingy through the air. Have allowed eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, right,
so that's pretty good only six yards per attempt those
black shirts out there. So Curtis Rourke against the Nebraska defense,
that should be pretty good today.

Speaker 3 (31:43):
I agree. I agree.

Speaker 7 (31:44):
Look, the Hoosiers have been so completely dominant this season.
This is an interesting stat They have yet to trail
in any game so far this year. Wow, I mean
that's impressive. I mean, just listen to some of this. Okay,
So they've beat all six of their opponents by at
least fourteen points while averaging forty seven and a half

(32:07):
points per game.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
I know it's early in the season.

Speaker 7 (32:10):
I know averages are tough because you play some cupcake
up front, but holy smokes, Rourke, like you mentioned, fourteen
touchdown passes to only two interceptions, so he's careful with
the football even though he's already racked up seventeen hundred
and fifty plus yards. I mean, this is just one
of the most dominant offensive explosions we've seen from a

(32:33):
team year over year. The improvements have been significant. And
I know we're living in the time of nil and
roster turnover can lead to some of these beautiful changes,
because you could be that much better X's and O's,
Johnny's and Joe's year over year. But you got to
give credit to the head coach. Again, we were just
talking about landing in the same conference. How about what's

(32:56):
happening in Who's your land?

Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yeah, they've got a chance to make the playoff. I
mean they really do, because their schedule is super soft
down the stretch, they avoid most of the big boys.
They get Michigan at home. They do have to play
Ohio State. Probably gonna lose that game, although never know.
And yeah, I mean if they run the table, if
they beat Michigan at home and they beat all their
other cupcakes that their favored to, they're one lost team

(33:22):
in the Big Tech. I mean, they might be playing
in the Big Ten championship game. And if that's the case,
it's tough to keep them out. I think they have
an edge in coaching here, and they've got home field,
although I don't know what Indiana's home field is worth.
The issues I see with Nebraska Ryola is just he's
a freshman, right He's outside the top fifteen QBR. His
only high leverage spot against Illinois, he didn't look great.

(33:44):
He's had positive game scripts and I think that's helped them.
Or they got off to a huge lead against Colorado,
didn't have to do a whole lot. Indiana hasn't played anyone,
so their top twenty and yards per play a lout
on defense. But FIU Western Illinois, Charlotte UCLA, which actually
data points aging better by the week. You see Lace
looked okay, and Indiana really hammered him. The best offense

(34:06):
that Indiana has played is Maryland, and Maryland moved it
a little bit on him. In fact, I think Maryland
probably should have performed better in that game. But Maryland's Maryland.
Edward's can at the broad side of a bar, and
hopefully he does better today against USC. We'll get to
that in a minute. But I think the variance is
very high in this game because we just don't know
how good either of these teams are. They haven't played anybody.

(34:26):
Indiana's offense. They are legit, though, I think that's where
they need to make some hay in this game. Wark
is fantastic. He's top five in the country in QBR.
Their skill guys come at you in waves like they
don't have one guy. They have multiple transfers from Power
five schools. Sharot from JMU Signetti coach is fantastic. You've

(34:46):
got Miles Cross who played with Rourker at Ohio. You've
got Price from Texas Tech, Williams from Wake Forest Like.
You've got just all of this hodge podge that has
come together and has become a really legit offense. This
Nebraska defense. I don't know. They did a good job
against Colorado, but again that was a very negative game
script early they just teed off against Shador. I think
Indiana wins this game, but Spread probably feels right.

Speaker 6 (35:09):
Well, that's the thing, man, with you mentioning that Rich
to not be trailing this year, that's a big key
for Nebraska.

Speaker 3 (35:16):
Get a lead.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
You get a lead.

Speaker 6 (35:17):
To me, it's like racing, like Nascar. If you're out
front and your nose is clean, it's a lot easier
to operate. How do you perform when you're back in traffic,
dirty air, traffic all around you? Can you function then too?
And that's the thing for IU. They haven't been there
yet and they might be able to function. We don't
know that yet. But if you're Nebraska, that's where you

(35:38):
want to put them. You want to make them uncomfortable
and come from behind. So we'll see if they can
be successful with that. Today we've got Rich Hornberger fence
stayed all American. Jared Smith FSR betting analyst. I'm Brian
Nell coming up next the platter. You know, it's the
parlay platter, and you know Jared has been just elbow
deep in bar grafts and pie charts to unveil this

(36:00):
one over here. Huh well, here's hard work and see
what he has for us coming up. It's Fox Sports
Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet MGM. It is
Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by BETMGM. Every
time you make a wager at BETMGM, you earn BETMGM
Rewards points that can be redeemed for things like bonus
bets or converted to MGM rewards points that could be

(36:22):
used towards dining shows and hotel rooms at over twenty
MGM resorts.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
All let's do this.

Speaker 7 (36:30):
Check this out, ar lad letter.

Speaker 2 (36:33):
Okay, it is platter time.

Speaker 5 (36:35):
Jared Smith, would you please do the honors?

Speaker 2 (36:38):
Yeah. Let's go to some home underdogs today, home underdogs
Saturday across college football, and I'll be honest, I think
a couple of these are a little stinky, actually one
of them. Brian, I'm very expecting you to be very
on board with Let's start with Maryland at home against USC.
And this is when we talk about the gauntlet that

(36:59):
is these teams changing conferences. I don't think USC is
ready for the physicality that they've faced over the last month.
Their last four games into Big ten no byeweings Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Penn State. Now you have to travel across multiple time
zones and you have to play a one pm bodyclock

(37:21):
game against the Maryland team. You go back and watch Friday.
Last Friday against Northwestern probably one of the most embarrassing
losses I've ever seen. You get blown out at home
on a Friday night in prime time to Northwestern. Yet
this number hasn't really gone out as high as maybe
some expect. Sitting right around seven and a half. I

(37:42):
think Maryland the terms get a huge, big ten win
today at home against USC Arkansas against LSU. Again, the
situational handicapping here smacks you in the face. This is
letdown city for LSU. Arkansas's off the buy their quarterback
is healthy. They're hosting an LSU defense that was just

(38:02):
on the field for ninety eight plays in an overtime
game against Ole Miss. The numbers sitting right around three,
you're thinking to yourself, Wait a minute, top ten. LSU
is barely a field goal favorite against Arkansas. Whoo, Big
Sue Hogs get a big win today at home and
take big home country roads. Oh boy, weird things happen

(38:28):
in Morgantown after dark. People. So West Virginia this is
their last chance to beat a ranked team this year
because the Big twelve is just the hot mess outside
of maybe a couple of top teams. I think Avery Johnson,
who is a fantastic quarterback for Kansas State, go look
at his home road splits not as efficient on the road.

(38:50):
The game at BYU is the one that really comes
to mind. So I'm taking Kansas State again, a short
home underdog today West Virginia against a a top ranked,
top twenty five Kansas State team. What is West Virginia done?
Not a whole lot. But they beat Kansas State tonight.
So we got Maryland Arkansas West Virginia on the money
line fifteen to one. Not about Rice over there at

(39:12):
bet MGM.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
What do we think?

Speaker 2 (39:14):
Who ruins it?

Speaker 3 (39:16):
Let's see.

Speaker 7 (39:16):
I think the I don't know if they ruin it,
but I think the most compelling matchup of any positional
groups of any of the games that you mentioned is
going to be how the defensive line rush against the
offensive tackles Arkansas against LSU. So LSU has those two
bookend tackles who are all American caliber players. You have

(39:39):
Eric Gregory screaming off the edge for the Pigs. That's
gonna be the battle, the positional battle. I can't wait
to watch because it's a war in the trenches up front.
And I think that really tells you who wins that
football game. I really hear that scares me. This is
the game that Brian Kelly absolutely loses them usually.

Speaker 6 (39:56):
Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you what ruins at Jared negative attitude,
this idea that this can somehow.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
Be ruined by no Harley is hitting. That's right there
you go.

Speaker 6 (40:09):
Yeah, I'm really interested in that Arkansas LSU game because
both teams are goofy. We've seen Arkansas, they took down Tennessee.
We see them on the good side, but then we've
seen bad goofy.

Speaker 5 (40:20):
Same thing for LSU. So that's gonna be an interesting
one for sure.

Speaker 6 (40:24):
All right, coming up next, Neither of these teams has
been what we've expected them to be.

Speaker 5 (40:31):
We got a big game today, we'll preview it. That's
on the way.

Speaker 6 (40:35):
Ah, Yes, good morning, welcome in less than two hours
away from kickoff, getting you all set and man, we
got a big game this afternoon. Huh, number seven Alabama
against number eleven Tennessee. And it's crazy too where we
haven't gotten what we thought we would get from either team.
And I think for Alabama that stands out even more

(40:57):
because they had that epic win at home against Georgia
and it was just like Kaylin de boor start, you know,
start building statues of this guy here, and then it's like, well,
the defense isn't great. They lost to Vanderbilt, they barely
beat South Carolina, and then you look at the flip
side Tennessee's last two games. They lost to Arkansas and

(41:20):
they barely beat Florida in overtime.

Speaker 5 (41:23):
And you're like, what is happening here?

Speaker 6 (41:25):
Tennessee's offense hasn't been what we thought it would be.
So I mean, we're seeing the warts with the number
seven and a number eleven team in the country where
we thought we'd beginning more than we have to this point.
But monster game for a pair of five and one teams.
You obviously don't want to drop your second game when

(41:46):
you're trying to make the playoffs.

Speaker 7 (41:47):
The big one, big one here this afternoon, huge one,
and yeah, to look at it, you know, a little
bit closer, but still staying a little bit surface level.
The quarterback competition is really what to look at this
game with Jellen Milroe over the last two weeks, especially
looking like he struggled a little bit to sustain what

(42:08):
we saw against Georgia, two interceptions last weekend and took
a safety against the game Cocks. I think his biggest
issue is he tries to do too much. He's still
a young guy. He still doesn't have his head all
the way wrapped around playing in huge moments in big
games at this level, and I think he gets caught

(42:30):
trying to be Superman. You're not, and you know what,
nobody is. There's very few human beings who can take
over a game by themselves. There's ten other guys on
the field for a reason. And then you look at
the other side with Nico, who plays like he's kind
of afraid to make a mistake.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
He's a little too reserved, like he doesn't uncork at
him as much.

Speaker 7 (42:50):
There are times where it feels like Tennessee's offense leaves
big play opportunities on the field and their lack of explosiveness,
especially in bigger games against SEC teams. They they It's
a little bit of a struggle to watch their offense
because you're like, okay, and and and they never get

(43:10):
to that play where they take a chunk out of
the defense.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
I love when when Rich's analysis between the lines matches
the nerd numbers that I look at, because that means
we're on the same page. Nico four for thirteen on
throws twenty plus yards last three games against Florida, Arkansas
and Oklahoma, eight of twenty four on the year. That
ain't gonna get it done. Ain't gonna get it done
in the SEC.

Speaker 5 (43:33):
That's a T shirt right there.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
Ain't gonna get it done. You can't. And how about
on the intermediate stuff ten to nineteen yards fifty sub
fifty percent, forty eight percent, zero big time throws, three
turnover worthy plays. This Tennessee offense is designed to break you,
like Drago and Rocky for I must break you. They

(43:55):
just go and go and go and go. But if
the explosive play isn't there, then it's just like glass
Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out, Like it's just jab
jab jab jab jeb. You need that upper cut and
they haven't provided it this year. The word of the
day with this game, with this matchup with these teams
is variants. I will tell you, and usually I'm pretty

(44:17):
honest about how I feel about a game. I have
no freaking clue who's gonna win this game, Absolutely no idea,
no clue, no idea who's gonna be the hot team,
the hot offense, because just look at the variants we've
seen with these two teams this year heading into the season,
a lot of arguments on both sides is Bama is

(44:38):
Tennessee gonna be good? That variance has manifested on the field.
Brian mentioned it. I'll give you some details. Bama dominates
Western Kentucky, South Florida, and Wisconsin absolutely dominates. Plays a
flawless first quarter against Georgia as good as you could play,
almost blows that game. Then they lose to Vandy outright
as a twenty three point favorite, almost loses South Carolin

(45:00):
as a twenty one point favorite. Good luck figuring out
which Bama team shows up today. Let's go to Tennessee.
First three games, they outscore Chattanooga, NC State, kent State
one ninety one to thirteen. Then they barely beat Oklahoma,
lose to Arkansas, as a two touchdown favorite, need overtime
to beat Florida as another two touchdown favorite. Good luck

(45:20):
guys trying to figure this game out. No idea, absolutely annoying.

Speaker 6 (45:23):
Hey, that's that's the thing with Yamalayava, our guy in
SEC play, he's got the lowest QBR and it's like,
what it's at thirty four point eight that's his total
QBR and SEC play And you just look at this
chart and you're like, wow, Number two in SEC play
is Jaln Milroe.

Speaker 5 (45:44):
So Jalen Milroe in.

Speaker 6 (45:45):
Conference play has done worlds better than our guy Nico
so far, and so that's obviously got to change. I
try not to be too beholden of the past because
it's about today and the guy on the field and
these rosters not the past. But every now and then
something can be taken from the past. And I just

(46:06):
look at this simplistically and think Alabama has won sixteen
of the last seventeen games in this series, you know,
and the last time they were at Tennessee they lost
net fifty two forty nine unbelievable game. Last second knuckleball
field goal made it.

Speaker 5 (46:22):
It was just magic.

Speaker 6 (46:24):
It's like, does it feel like that's on the agenda today,
right like this start with. It doesn't feel like that,
and I gotta say it doesn't. It doesn't mean it's
gonna work out like that, but it doesn't feel like
that to me.

Speaker 7 (46:37):
Yeah, this might be one of those games where you
might want to see which way the game is going
and sprinkle something on the second half because, like Jared,
I really don't.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
Know what to do with this one.

Speaker 7 (46:49):
There is so much variance. I'll say this about the
Volunteers offense. If they get Dylan Sampson going the way
that he's been to start this season. I read this stat.
Let me see if I can find it, because it's fascinating.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
Check this out.

Speaker 7 (47:03):
He already has fifteen rushing touchdowns this season. It's the
most by an SEC player through the first six games
of a season since nineteen ninety two. Now, the reason
why that's significant is because it isn't nineteen ninety two.

Speaker 3 (47:17):
All of these offenses want to throw the football now,
and the.

Speaker 7 (47:21):
Volunteers are playing, like Jared pointed out, this grinding, nauseatingly effective.
We are going to beat you, beat you into a
pulp type of offense where they're gonna milk the clock.
They're going to play super conservative with their quarterback and
they are just going to out tough you. It is
going to be a physical matchup. It reminds me a

(47:43):
little bit of how the Detroit Lions have looked to
start the season. You know, they wear down their opponents
so much so that it's almost like bet against their
opponents in their next week because they're going to be
grinded into dust.

Speaker 3 (47:56):
Do the same thing against volunteers opponents.

Speaker 7 (47:59):
I bet you you probably have a pretty high winning
percentage because they out physical. Yet now Alabama they can
do special things too. And Nico was sacked three times
last week. Alabama got four sacks against the game Cocks
last week. So when they do decide to throw the football,
they better protect Nico in those must pass situations. But

(48:22):
that is not what the volunteers want to do. They're
gonna want to get out to an early lead. They're
gonna want to sustain that lead with a successful ground game,
and that has been the path the entire season so
far for the volunteers.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
I agree that's the path to beating Alabama is you
keep the ball out of I call him Steph Curry's hands.
He is Boom or Buss Dalen Milroe. Eight touchdowns, one
pick on those deep throws twenty plus yards down the
field with a completion rate over fifty percent. He's completing
over fifty percent of his passes twenty plus yards downfield.

(48:57):
Wrap your head around that. It's crazy. They are a
lightning strike waiting to happen. Here's the issue. He takes
a lot of sacks. He was running for his life
against those two stud ends last week. South Carolina's got
two first round picks, absolute rock stars on the edge.
Tennessee's not as buttoned up defensively, and then without a

(49:20):
big player today Keenan Pilly, twenty six year old seven
tier senior towards ACL out for the season. Really tough loss,
really experienced senior captain type player on Tennessee's defense will
not play today. That is massive on the other side
of the ball. I just I'll be honest. I don't
love this Tennessee offense. I don't now Bama's defense wolf wolf.

(49:45):
So I think that's the part that's like the variance
to me, Nico could absolutely be good Nico today, and
I think Tennessee's very live as a home dog. But
if Taylor Green can throw for three hundred plus against
this Tennessee defense, Jalen Milroe can go off. And that's
the part of the other side I just can't get,

(50:08):
like I want to get to the window on Tennessee.
So bad home dog against the Spama defense. Third Saturday
in October. It is gonna be absolutely wild in Knoxville.
But the part that just keeps preventing me from clicking
submit on the bet for Tennessee is Jalen Milroe and
his explosive ability. So this is a good game to

(50:30):
grab your popcorn. Maybe wait, maybe a team gets out
fourteen to nothing, you bet the other side as a
dog because I just don't I think the numbers right,
and I just I have no idea, absolutely no idea
who has the better of the variants in this game.

Speaker 6 (50:43):
That to me, is the really confusing thing about Tennessee's
offense is what Rich is saying with Dylan Samson has
been fantastic this season, and you would think that would
open up their passing game even more and it hasn't
worked like that.

Speaker 5 (50:59):
I would make more sense.

Speaker 6 (51:00):
If it's like, hey, this running game, we can't get
anything from the running game. We're one dimensional. They know
we're throwing. They're just pinning their ears back and rushing us.
And that's kind of like stunting our growth over here, right,
But it's not. They've got a legitimate running game, and
yet the passing game just hasn't gotten on track.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
It's really weird with Tennessee's offense.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
I just wonder this too.

Speaker 6 (51:23):
Rich With you being in studio and our guy Chris
Purfett is there who hosts a Detroit podcast and shouts
out the Lions all the time, we're gonna get a
lot of Lions comparisons with the college games today.

Speaker 5 (51:35):
Is that what's going on?

Speaker 7 (51:36):
Yeah, it might be, Yeah, I have this, Yeah, I
have a great JELM Milrow Jared Goff QB comparisons.

Speaker 9 (51:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:47):
Yeah, but you do your point, Jared.

Speaker 7 (51:51):
I think that Jello mil rowe he is he is
the the most explosive rushers passer in FBS football at
his position. And they that offense, that Alabama offense is
like a lightning strike away at any point to flipping
a game or flipping a half. And so look out,

(52:13):
I mean that is that Like you circle his number
a few times and you say, look We need to
get in that dude's kitchen, because once he starts cooking,
we're in trouble. The other thing, though, if I were
going to distill this game in a sentence, though jel
Milroe plays too loose, Nico plays too tight. That is,
those are the biggest problems for both of these teams offensively.

(52:37):
Milroe needs to tighten things down. He needs to stop
doing too much. He needs to do his job, and
Nico he needs to start unquirking it. He needs to
trust his arm and trust his vision and start showing
the volunteers that they can.

Speaker 3 (52:51):
Stretch the field vertically.

Speaker 7 (52:53):
Otherwise you're gonna have defenses getting closer and closer to
the line of scrimmage and making a lot harder for
a really special back in Dylan Sam.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
I really love that. It really does sum up the
way these teams play. And I'll give you a stat
to back it up, Jalen Milro's pressure to sack ratio,
which is something I really take stock in. If you
look at the NFL, the best quarterbacks in this stat
tend to be the ones that make the magic plays.

(53:22):
For example, Patrick Mahomes is known for We talked about
this in the Super Bowl. Remember in the Eagles game
a couple of years ago. In the Super Bowl, everyone's like, oh,
Eagles pass rush, Eagles past rush. You can't sack Mahomes.
I don't care if it's God out there rushing the passer.
Jalen Molrose pressure to sack ratios twenty percent. That's obscene
for perspective, Garrett nus Meyer is the best in the

(53:45):
country in this statistic. Obviously, LSU's offensive line helps less
than two percent.

Speaker 3 (53:50):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
So if you get pressure on Milroe, he will make
the big mistake. Yep, that is the path for Tennessee. Nico.
Don't make the big mistake. Loosen up a little bit, relax, Bud,
maybe do a little yoga before the game, and figure
out a way to make Milrow make that mistake. That's
how Tennessee upsets Alabama tonight.

Speaker 5 (54:12):
I think real fast.

Speaker 6 (54:13):
I think both quarterbacks are what I would call but wait, guys,
meaning if you're thinking about betting on Tennessee and you
have all your reasons, man Bama's defense, yikes, they lost
to Vandy. But whatever your checklist is. But then it's like,
but wait, Jalen Milrow some special things happen, and I

(54:34):
would say the same thing about Nico if you're thinking
about backing Alabama, where Nico is talented enough where he
can dazzle, especially against that Bama defense. So it's one
of these games where when you start you start thinking
about what could go wrong if you back one side,
and how could the other side, you know, get it
done and screw up your bet.

Speaker 5 (54:54):
I think this is a good game for something like that. Hey,
be sure to check out the.

Speaker 6 (54:59):
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(55:20):
Use code countdown to receive up to fifteen hundred dollars
back in bonus bets if that bet loses. We've got
Rich Orenberger, Penn State All American blow torching up pork
Shoulder for the guys in studio today.

Speaker 7 (55:32):
Didn't bring didn't bring the flamethrow But I'll tell you right,
that's gonna be on the horizon soon.

Speaker 6 (55:37):
To fit that in the car, probably you gotta have
like an economy travel size, Yeah, something like that.

Speaker 5 (55:46):
Jared Smith blow torch Yeah.

Speaker 6 (55:48):
FSR betting analyst, I'm Brian No. Coming up next our
guy Seamus McGee from BETMGM. He lets you know all
the insights, the analytics, the numbers. Who who bet MGM
needs today. You might want to be on the bookmaker side,
so valuable information. Coming up with Seamus. It is Fox
Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by BETMGM. It is

(56:11):
Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by BEDMGM. Throughout
the entire football season, BETMGM will offer all different types
of no Sweat tokens. Be on the lookout for no
Sweat same game parlay tokens and parlay boost tokens just
to name a couple. Be sure to follow bet MGM
across all socials at BEDMGM, Man, we got some line

(56:33):
movement going on, not just today but throughout the week.
Auburn has been a really backed team. It opened at
Missouri minus seven, Missouri's only minus three and a half
right now.

Speaker 5 (56:45):
That is major move We're talking four and a half
points right there.

Speaker 6 (56:48):
That's a lot yet happen bade now, Uh, someone who's
much better at math than I am, let's dive into this.

Speaker 3 (57:00):
Follow the money, real good money.

Speaker 6 (57:01):
Yes, it's our guy, Seamus McGee, team lead of sports
trading at BEDMGM. You know, Seamus, we're just talking about
the line movement throughout the week. There's been some major
movement on the points spread in this Auburn Missouri game,
any other game that's caught your attention where you're like,
that is a lot of line movement and that sticks
out like a sore thumb.

Speaker 9 (57:23):
Hey, guys, thanks for having me back.

Speaker 2 (57:25):
I mean this.

Speaker 9 (57:27):
A couple of the big games today. I mean Indiana
open up minus four and a half. That's that's been
sharply bet up to six and a half now. Even
that Texas Georgia game saw some funky line movement during
the day, starting to see some Georgia buy back. They
opened three and a half, touched four, touched five and
a half, I think briefly before sevened in at four

(57:48):
and a half. So I think there's some interesting stuff
going on there in the big bigger games today.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
Yeah, Alabama Tennessee is the one that we just broke
down a little earlier in this hour, And I'm lost
with this game. Like, I think three and a half.
I like Tennessee getting those points at home, but I
think three makes sense as a number here because Alabama
is slightly better. But Manna, they volatile and Tennessee, I
just don't know which Tennessee team's gonna show up.

Speaker 9 (58:16):
It's a weird one. We literally just moved that game
to a flat three on Alabama. I mean Alladama's last
six quarters they've played, I mean eight corps they've played
have not been your ten courts. Back to the Georgia game,
that second half, the EXEVA looks very sharp. Meanwhile Tennessee
is coming off, you know, really ugly loss to the Arkansas.

(58:38):
I think this number is probably about right, but three
and a half is probably where you get to the
point where you might want to bet Tennessee.

Speaker 7 (58:44):
Yeah, and speaking of Arkansas, like, what do we do
with this LSU Arkansas game? It feels like I actually
this goes back to our parlay platter where we got
a whoopig siding in terms of.

Speaker 3 (58:55):
The money line.

Speaker 7 (58:56):
But but what's your feel on on on Tiger's razorbacks there?
Because it feels like we may have an upset on
our hands. But that's just a feeling for now. What
do you say, Seamus?

Speaker 9 (59:09):
Oh, my feel on this game is absolutely nothing. I'm
saying very far away from this game, I don't I
don't know how actually good LSC is. I thought oll
miss probably should have won that game last week. Arkansas.
I feel like Arkansas has a team. Every time I
buy in on them, they let me down tremendously. I
can't this team as far as.

Speaker 2 (59:30):
Today's today, Seamus, you know.

Speaker 6 (59:34):
What advice you have and what's your general approach where
I'm still hung up on this Auburn Missouri game. Okay,
So earlier in the week, Missouri opens at a seven
point favorite. Let's say you like Auburn. It'd be great
to hop on them plus seven. Let's say you missed
that and right now they're plus three and a half.
There are a lot of people that would look at
it and say, you have no closing line value. You

(59:57):
can't bet it now. You missed your opportunity earlier in
the week. Do you subscribe to that or do you
look at this and say, if you can make an
argument for Auburn plus three and a half, even though
you could have had a better number, do you still
want to bet on a team in a spot like that.

Speaker 9 (01:00:14):
It all comes down to personal opinion. You know you
could have then in your idea, like, oh, I think
Auburn should be a pick him against Missouri, but I
doubt I mean, unless you went to Auburn or lived there,
I think maybe you'd have that opinion. But I mean,
I see three and a half. That just makes you
really want to bet in the zoo. But this is
definitely one of the weirder sharp moves of the weekend

(01:00:34):
because I thought I still would have liked Missouri he
had six and a half or seven. I love him
now at three and a half personally. But it's definitely
you know something funky's going on there. Maybe you know
someone knows something that a lot of people don't.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
It's always someone knows right right in Vegas. Vegas nose,
I hear Vegas nose.

Speaker 9 (01:00:52):
They know he's never the smartest person in the room.
It's one of the first things I learned doing this.

Speaker 3 (01:00:58):
Vegas doesn't know anything with the entire states.

Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
It always cracks me up. It's anytime the game lands
on the spread, like, Oh, Vegas New Does Vegas know
anything about this South Carolina Oklahoma game. I've seen this
one flip favorites a couple times this week. I think
Oklahoma is vastly, vastly undersized to compete in the SEC.
But I don't trust the seller's quarterback for South Carolina
on the road, But it seems like the markets likes them.

Speaker 9 (01:01:25):
It's yeah, it's definitely moved to South Carolina favorite in Norman. Yeah.
I mean, if you're looking at if you're talking about
look at headlines in the summer, I don't think there's
not only being close to what you're looking at today.
But I mean you're look at Oklahoma in that Red
River rivalry games, it couldn't do anything on offense. South
Carolina showed that they can still play with a lot
of these SEC teams. So is it a letdown spot

(01:01:48):
you think for South Carolina? Does Oklahoma get right at home?
It's a weird game. You can see by the low total.
There's not a lot of faith in these weeks quarterbacks
back there for either team. So that's definitely gonna be
an interesting to watch at twelve forty.

Speaker 7 (01:02:01):
Five, Utah hosting TCU back to back losses for them,
I've favored by three, three and a half depending on
what books they opened up close to eight point favorites.
You know, what's so funny is the issue with Utah's
you have no idea who's going to parachute in at quarterback?

Speaker 3 (01:02:21):
Do we have a sighting of cam Risen?

Speaker 7 (01:02:23):
Did he jump out of a plane somewhere thirty thousand
feet above Rice Echos?

Speaker 3 (01:02:28):
Will he actually get the start or is he actually hurt?
What is vegas?

Speaker 9 (01:02:32):
No, Seamus, I highly doubt it when I look that
line moving from six and a half to three and
a half where we're at now, even money on Utah
on the three and a half. But I mean, Utah
is a weird team where you know jam Risegan started
in Oklahoma State and they went in there and they
dominated that game for about fifty five minutes. So I

(01:02:53):
and I don't really know what to think of his
PCU team. Really, that's going to be a weird one
for me. Late night kickoff too, so could be it
could be a get right game for a lot of
people going into the night, depending how the dagoes.

Speaker 6 (01:03:06):
Okay, seam, it's two part question. We'll get you out
of here on this where who does bet MGM need today?

Speaker 7 (01:03:13):
Right?

Speaker 5 (01:03:14):
And also who do you need today?

Speaker 9 (01:03:18):
Right?

Speaker 6 (01:03:18):
So the bet MGM is the first part, then the
shame of special is the second part.

Speaker 3 (01:03:22):
What do you have for us?

Speaker 9 (01:03:24):
So before I get into it, I do want to
give a shout out to some longtime listeners and dear
friends of mine, Mallory and Justin who just got engaged
last week. Just want to give them a shout out there,
big fans of the show. So got to do right
by them. And so for the MGM, the two leg
parlam and we like to do it. It's a it's
a funny way. We go back to the old, reliable

(01:03:44):
whoever's playing Colorado money line? So we're gonna live arizonaa
money line. And with Stanford playing at home plus sixteen
and a half in front of their dozens of fans
for another ACC game for them. Uh, I gotta get
as far as the sharing with Stush, I gotta go
back to my roots, guys. I haven't touched an FCS

(01:04:06):
game in a minute here. Yeah, so we're uh two
and four Nickels State is hosting zero to seven Northwestern
State today. Lay twenty eight and a half points down.
Nickels State. In their two wins, average margin victors around
forty eight points. They played Southern they beat them fifty
one to seven. They played a D two school one

(01:04:28):
sixty one nothing. And it looks like when they're when
they're a superior opponent, they'll put the pedal of the
metal here. We're gonna lay four touchdowns? Is Nickel State
the Colonel's Wow?

Speaker 7 (01:04:38):
Wow, everybody knows throw away the Rucker books. When the
Colonels face the demons.

Speaker 3 (01:04:42):
We all knew that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:44):
Yeah, it's always Nickelas, it's always rivalry game.

Speaker 9 (01:04:46):
But I think Nickel States they're gonna want to They're
going to really lay it on thick. What a lot
of litible games weft Nickel State.

Speaker 6 (01:04:53):
I'll tell you what, David, that is the mother of
walkoff statements right there. I'm gonna lay the four touchdowns
with two and forty. That is awesome. Seamus, you're the
best man. Thanks for the time, enjoyed the day. We'll
catch you soon.

Speaker 9 (01:05:08):
Thanks guys.

Speaker 5 (01:05:09):
Yeah there he is, Seamus McGee. Awesome job. Team lead
of Sports trading at at MGM.

Speaker 2 (01:05:15):
Now, uh.

Speaker 5 (01:05:17):
You mentioned Cam Rising here real fast?

Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
Uh Rich.

Speaker 6 (01:05:22):
So unfortunately, he suffered a season ending leg injury that
happened against Arizona State. But here's the deal the news
this week, Kyle Whittingham, Utah head coach says the program
will consider Cam Rising returning again next season the eighth year.

Speaker 5 (01:05:38):
He might be back for an eighth year and we
can do the whole Will he play We don't know.
Have you heard anything? I'm not sure we might get another.

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
He suffered a season ending injury, but he's questionable for tomorrow's.

Speaker 5 (01:05:50):
Questionable for next year.

Speaker 7 (01:05:53):
He's always questionable. Even I mean they'd be sawing off
a leg somewhere in the near distance. I'd be like,
I don't know, I mean game time decision.

Speaker 3 (01:06:02):
That's right.

Speaker 5 (01:06:03):
Prosthetics, you'd never know there was the blade runner, right,
that's right.

Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
That in football, that's right.

Speaker 5 (01:06:08):
All right, We've got Isaac Low and Crown.

Speaker 6 (01:06:11):
All his limbs are intact, and this is by far
the strangest toss to him over here.

Speaker 9 (01:06:17):
I love.

Speaker 5 (01:06:19):
Oh.

Speaker 10 (01:06:19):
I'm sure there's been stranger once previously. But we're talking
about the destruction of the entire human race. In an
alien attack last hour that that theoretically could top that.
Hopefully life will not imitate art someday. We start with
Game four of the American League Championship Series Fells on
Friday night and the New York Yankees scoring two of

(01:06:41):
the top of the ninth inning to win of Cleveland
eight to six to take a three games to one lead.
They can win the pennant with a victory in Game
five tonight at eight oh eight Eastern. In Game five
of the National League Championship Series on Friday night, the
New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers twelve to
six to stay alive. Dodgers still lead the series three
games to two. Games six on Sunday in LA. In

(01:07:02):
Game four the WNBA Finals on Friday night, the Minnesota
Links topped the New York Liberty eighty two to eighty.
Minnesota's Bridget Carlton the game winning free throws with two
seconds to play, setting up a deciding Game five on
Sunday night at the Barkley Center. College football Friday night
saw number two Oregon win it Purdue thirty five to nothing,

(01:07:22):
while thirteenth ranked BYU trailed Oklahoma state in the final seconds.
Here's Greg Rubell on KSL.

Speaker 6 (01:07:30):
Second and ten poke thirty five, nineteen seconds on the clock,
thirty five to thirty one.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
Jake in the pocket throws in a window fifty times five.

Speaker 10 (01:07:41):
Touch, touched, touched, and this just in. Greg Rubell is
questionable for next week. His head exploded anyway. B YU
won it thirty eight to thirty five to improve to
seven and finally fell as a couple of public service announcements,

(01:08:03):
Mark just posting on social media, quote, any followers who
want a beer before the Clemson Virginia game, feel free
to swing by Lot five, Space one twenty five. Meanwhile,
Will posting from Austin before the Texas Georgia game tonight,
if you're feeling like tailgating, stop buy. We have hundreds

(01:08:24):
of pounds of barbecue and too much beer. High noons
and Tito's unquote will I'm on the next plane back
to you guys, Thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:08:36):
I lo it is Fox Sports Radios Countdown to kick Off,
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Speaker 5 (01:09:07):
Okay, So the Irish.

Speaker 6 (01:09:09):
Number twelve in the country taken on Georgia Tech today.
That is a neutral site game. It's in Atlanta at
Mercedes Benz Stadium. The numbers have completely flipped over here
or moved drastically. Haines King, the Georgia Tech quarterback, he
is out. So now Notre Dame is up to a
fourteen point favorite at BEDMGM. This is the third career

(01:09:34):
start for the Georgia Tech backup Zach Pryan, so he's
gonna get to go. How about our guy Riley Leonard
five straight games where he's scored a touchdown, been doing
damage with his legs, trying to get the old trying
to get the arm loosened up over here, Let's get
this passing game going. It's been a little bit better lately,
but still not great. Notre Dame very banged up defensively,

(01:09:56):
but it shouldn't bite him today. And just as I
say that, they'll probably lose out right right, Like that's
the way it goes into college football.

Speaker 7 (01:10:03):
Yeah, I mean, the Yellow Jackets definitely have exceeded expectations,
but I don't know if I don't know if an
outright win is right what I mean, you know what here,
here's the thing I like Riley Leonard. I think that
it's tough to learn any new system over the course
of your your playing career, or to get used to

(01:10:24):
playing with new faces around an offense. We see this
all the time at the professional level. And I mean,
these are supposed to be the best players on the planet.
The herd has been cold to the finest thirty two
arms left right, That's that's what we're supposed to believe.
And meanwhile, we'll see a Baker Mayfield struggle until he

(01:10:47):
finds a landing spot in Tampa Bay and it just works.
You see a Sam Darnold struggle until he finds the
landing spot in Minnesota and then it.

Speaker 3 (01:10:54):
Appears to work.

Speaker 7 (01:10:56):
So at the college level, we're going to see a
lot more of this with the transfer portal rules being
so loose and name image and likeness, money, availing opportunities
for athletes.

Speaker 3 (01:11:06):
To jump from school to school to school.

Speaker 7 (01:11:08):
I'm pretty impressed with what Riley Leonard has been able
to cobble together through the early portion of this season.
Notre Dame has my attention. That's a team that could
be fun to watch finish the season.

Speaker 3 (01:11:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:11:19):
I think the game against A and M is aging
like fine wine yep. And that's you know when we
watch these games early in the year and you're like, Okay,
Notre Dame goes into college station and wins. Okay, no
big deal, right text A and M's gonna stink, And
then all of a sudden, well, maybe they don't stink,
and maybe Notre Dame's physicality is part of the equation here.

(01:11:43):
They haven't been tested much recently. They had to buy
then they beat up on Stanford, and now you get
this Georgia Tech team that's banged up without their quarterback
and Haines King does way more than just throw the rock.
I mean he is like their best runner as well.
And this is a Georgia Tech defense that just had

(01:12:03):
a really now they won the game, but a really physical,
high scoring game at UNC. So again, I think rest
versus rust if we want to talk about that, Notre
Dame is very rested. I don't know how rusty they are.
They've got four straight wins since that NIU game. They
haven't played a lot of tough, decisive football in the

(01:12:26):
last two weeks because they had to buy it and
they beat up on Stanford. So maybe Georgia Tech gets
off to a fast start and puts you know that
they have a good script and they put Leonard in
some negative game scripts. But the weakness for this Georgia
Tech defense is their secondary. They got, you know, pushed
around by UNC last week, who does not have a
good offense. And I think Notre Dame, I mean, if
they out physical this team and they just if they

(01:12:48):
want to win this game by thirty, they can. And
I took a little bit of Notre Dame once I
heard the King news start to circulate at fourteen. Probably
not the best bet, but I think there is a
path for Notre Dame to win this game by thirty
plus very easily. I like what you're thinking over there, Sharon.

Speaker 5 (01:13:04):
I like that, you know, real quick rant.

Speaker 6 (01:13:08):
This is like a two minute drill rant, because you know,
when I'm thinking about Notre Dame. So it was a
nice story this week where both Army and Navy are ranked.
They're both ranked teams, they're undefeated, they've had great starts
to the season, and I thought it was funny where
it's gonna be a great story. Wow, look at Army,
look at Navy, and all that's gonna stop when it
comes to Notre Dame schedule. And it's like once those

(01:13:31):
teams are on Notre Dame schedules, ah, they're bumps. They're
playing Army in Navy, who cares right right this Notre
Dame ranting it's not a tough schedule. I'm not telling
you it is. But they played A and M who's
still in the top fifteen. Louisville was ranked at the time.
They still have Army Navy, both ranked teams usc on
the road like that. Listen, it's better than all the

(01:13:52):
belly aching and all the criticism about it. You know
whose schedule sucks, Miamis they don't play one ranked team.
You know whose schedules sox byus? They have one ranked
team on their schedule. They're barely surviving at home against
the garbage Oklahoma State team last night. I'm not sitting
here telling you Notre Dame plays murderers Row. But the

(01:14:12):
criticisms of Notre Dame schedule are not the same criticism
or name Miami schedule.

Speaker 2 (01:14:18):
I honestly, Brian, I'm not just trying toot your horn
like they are a good football team with a good
offensive line and a good coach and a good quarterback.
Like they are a team that you have to worry about.

Speaker 6 (01:14:26):
There you go, got Rich Joan Berger, Penn State All America.
Jared Smith FSR, betting analyst.

Speaker 5 (01:14:36):
I'm Brian No. Coming up next. Prop it up the
prop betting market.

Speaker 3 (01:14:41):
Do we have.

Speaker 6 (01:14:42):
Overs unders circled? Maybe a blend of both. We'll share
our notes with you.

Speaker 2 (01:14:47):
Coming up.

Speaker 6 (01:14:47):
It's Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet MGM.
It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by BETMGM.

Speaker 5 (01:14:57):
Once a day, Monday through Friday.

Speaker 6 (01:14:58):
Play the free to play bet GM Ultimate Teams to
receive an Ultimate Team's card with the pro football team
and spread. If that team covers the spread that NFL week,
you can win prizes. Play every day Monday through Friday.
Have all five of your teams cover, and you're eligible
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Speaker 3 (01:15:16):
Haright, let's do this, drop it up plays?

Speaker 5 (01:15:22):
Oh kay, prop bets. The Lord Jared will start with
you with something you like.

Speaker 2 (01:15:28):
Well, I think we haven't talked about Georgia Texas yet.
We're gonna mention them a lot in the last hour,
But I really think Carson Beck over two hundred and
seventy three and a half passing yards makes a ton
of sense. First of all game script, the Longhorns are
favored in the game, you would expect Georgia to be
behind at some point. And even if they're not behind,
let's say Georgia does what they have it done all year,

(01:15:48):
which is start fast. They scored zero combined points in
the first quarter against Clemson, Kentucky and Alabama. That ain't
gonna cut it. You gotta score in the first quarter today.
Carson back and Georgia. The script has to be good
for Mike bow and I think Texas, who has not
faced a quarterback with a pulse all season, go back
and look at the offenses Texas has faced this year.

(01:16:08):
Carson Beck and this Georgia offense will stretch you vertically,
and I think he is a good bet to go
over his passing yards brought today in Austin.

Speaker 7 (01:16:17):
All Right, Gellen mil Roe, he has not been running
the football a ton for Alabama, but when he has,
it's been effective forty yards or more in three of
six games they played. He had that big game rushing
on the road, their first road game against Wisconsin, the
huge game against Georgia. He had a bunch of yards

(01:16:38):
on the ground. But Tennessee, man, they have not let
a lot of quarterbacks rush against them. Nobody has rushed
more than forty yards against them. And an Alabama I'm
going to say they're going to stick to an aerial
attack with Milrell today.

Speaker 3 (01:16:55):
Try to exploit the deep part of the field.

Speaker 7 (01:16:58):
Tennessee only giving up less send eighty rushing yards per game.
Give me less than forty eight and a half yards
rushing for Jellen mill Road today.

Speaker 3 (01:17:07):
I'll stay under that prop.

Speaker 6 (01:17:08):
All right, listen, I'm gonna go with West Virginia here.
I'm gonna back their defense a bit. I'm gonna fade
the great Kansas State running back DJ Giddons, who's been
really really tough to bring down. But it's a pretty
good rush defense that we have over here. With Mountaineers,
and Giddens just went crazy against Colorado last week. There's

(01:17:31):
gonna be a lot of focus on him and slowing
him down and making this passing attack beat you.

Speaker 5 (01:17:36):
So I'm gonna take under one oh three and a
half for DJ Giddens on the road this evening against
West Virginia.

Speaker 6 (01:17:43):
They're a handful of betside Like I actually like it.
It's ticked up quite a bit right before the show.
But Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer, Yeah, I mean, listen, Michigan's
run defense is fantastic. You're gonna have to throw it
on them. Teams have had success throwing it on Michigan there,
but like almost dead last in the Big Ten in

(01:18:04):
past defense. And so Luke Altmeyer over one ninety eight
and a half. They're they're out, they don't have their
leading rusher. Yeah, they're gonna rush it on Michigan anyway,
so they're gonna have to throw it.

Speaker 5 (01:18:17):
I have a hard time with those goofy throwback uniforms
sing like Altmeyer.

Speaker 6 (01:18:22):
You're chucking it downfield for fifty yard games. But he's
gonna dink and dunk enough and put enough together to
get two hundred yards against Michigan today.

Speaker 5 (01:18:31):
I think that one goes over.

Speaker 2 (01:18:32):
I like that one, especially with Fagan out. I think
so I gave out for the video I do on
on Fridays for bet MGM. I get right up and
gave out the video that Georgia Texas over. I think
if you were cooking up a same game parlay today
with some touchdown scorers and some you know, passing yards
receiving yards, this just feels like a shootout.

Speaker 9 (01:18:52):
It does.

Speaker 2 (01:18:53):
It feels like the Alabama game. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe
Kirby Smart draws up an elite defensive game play to
keep this Texas offense in check. But every angle I
look at in this game, Georgia defense struggling. Michael Williams
hurnt three out of their four leading tacklers on Georgia
in the secondary. That's like the leading indicator of a

(01:19:14):
struggling defense when your tacklers are all coming from the secondary.
And on the other side, look at the offenses Texas
is face this year. Oklahoma quarterback trash, Mississippi State trash
ulm and improving, but trash utsa trash, Michigan offense trash,
Like it's just who has Texas played. George is gonna
absolutely push it vertically in this game.

Speaker 5 (01:19:36):
Improving but Trash, well that's improving, but Trash, it's like
the MLS ratings.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
There's something improving. They were like the worst thing. Their
win total was like one and a half heading into
the season. They're already way over it. So they're improving,
but they're still tracking. So looking up all.

Speaker 6 (01:19:55):
Right, Coming up next, Top five duel we got no Ah, Yes,
good morning to you. We are less than an hour
away from kickoff and uh, more than one hour away
from one of the best games all day. This is
number five Georgia against number one Texas. Texas with fifty

(01:20:17):
six first place.

Speaker 5 (01:20:18):
Votes this week in the AP poll. Huh, they're looking
like the head hon show right now.

Speaker 6 (01:20:23):
But Quinn yours little rusty, little rusty last week miss
two and a half games with that oblique injury. This
Georgia defense man not great and they're having trouble tackling.
I think that's a big ingredient in this game, because
we know Texas they like all these little short passes
and they get the ball out in space and they

(01:20:44):
test your tackling, and so Georgia's got to do a
much better job tackling tonight than they have most of
the time this season.

Speaker 5 (01:20:51):
It just hasn't been good.

Speaker 7 (01:20:53):
Another war in the trench is gonna be good to
watch this Texas offensive line against this Georgia defensive line.

Speaker 3 (01:21:00):
I think that is going to tell you a lot
about the way this game is gonna go.

Speaker 7 (01:21:04):
But Texas deserved, or I should say deserves the number
one spot. Overall, they've looked like the most dominant team
in the country, regardless of who's played quarterback for them
so far. Their closest game is a victory against Mississippi
State and the margin of winning was twenty two points.
They have blown the doors off of everybody they've faced,

(01:21:27):
and they really haven't looked like they've struggled at any point.
But to your point, Georgia, their defense could be better tacklers,
but they get good pressure on quarterbacks. They do a
good job up front of making the holes skinny for
running backs to fit through. And so this is gonna
be a battle of the starting five O linemen for

(01:21:49):
the Longhorns against the Dogs front seven.

Speaker 3 (01:21:52):
We'll see who's tougher.

Speaker 2 (01:21:54):
You know what's crazy, Georgia hasn't been an underdog in
three years. Yeah. Wow, forty nine straight games is a favorite.
They were a dog in the twenty one season opener
against Clemson. Come a long way since then. They're one
in five against the spread this year. The market is
just not like they're winning games. They're five and one

(01:22:15):
straight up, but they're not covering, and I think that
kind of tells you where both teams are, because Texas
is winning games and covering the number. When you look
at Texas's offense, rich we love talking a line absolutely.
I think Texas has the best O line in the country.
It might not feel that way because of all the
other weapons they have, but their left tackle Kelvin Banks,

(01:22:36):
has not allowed to sack this year. Yep, He's gone
five straight games not allowing a pressure. That is silly. Now.
I know the way they track pressures might be like
he maybe you know, he's not playing as good as
those numbers indicate, but he is right at the top.
We talked about the Texas receivers last week. It's like
a medieval torture chamber. Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo will stretch

(01:22:59):
you vertically. Wing goes averaging almost twenty three yards to catch.
He's a true freshman. He's got a higher Pro Football
Focus grade than Jeremiah Smith, who most regard as the
second best freshman in the country behind Ryan Williams. Well,
maybe it's this wingo kid. The tight end Helm is
not as explosive as their guy last year, but he's solid.

(01:23:20):
The question is just who is this Georgia defense? Like
this is a Georgia defense that's ranked fifty fifth in
yards per play alout Usually there's one five removed from
that ranking. Georgia historically top ten defense under Kirby Smart.
Not the case this year. Injuries Mico Williams he played

(01:23:40):
twenty five snaps against Bama, seventeen snaps the last two
games against Mississippi State and Aubourne. Probably load management. He'll
probably play twenty twenty five snaps today, But what are
you getting out of him? Their highest graded defender, Smile London,
out with an injury in this game. We mentioned this
in the last segment. Three out of their four leading

(01:24:01):
tacklers this year are in the secondary. That means that
the runs are getting to the second level and it's
the corners and the safeties that are having to clean
up the mass. Like that is just not going to
win this game. Kirby's made really good adjustments. They controlled
the tempo in the second half against Bama. They need
sixty minutes today, Like, we can't have slow first quarter
and then bounce back second half. Texas, if they're gonna

(01:24:24):
come at you quick, George's gotta be ready from the jump.

Speaker 3 (01:24:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:24:28):
I just have a simple question. Is Texas overrated?

Speaker 6 (01:24:33):
That's my question, based on who they've played, who they've
beaten thus far. Because listen, they're a quality team. I'm
not saying that it's just smoking mirrors, but are we,
like the general public, are we a little too convinced
that they're legit based on what they went on the
road and smacked around a Michigan team who is number
ten at the time. But what's Michigan exactly this season?

(01:24:56):
They're a team that just lost on the road to Washington.

Speaker 2 (01:24:58):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (01:25:00):
Michigan isn't special this year. Oklahoma, Okay, Texas smacked around
Oklahoma last week and the Red River rivalry got a nuncle. Okay,
what's Oklahoma? Oklahoma is booty delicious this year? They're not
a good football team. Sorry, They're just not.

Speaker 2 (01:25:18):
So I need to see more.

Speaker 5 (01:25:21):
This isn't you play who's on your schedule?

Speaker 6 (01:25:23):
I get it, But I want to see Texas against
a quality opponent.

Speaker 5 (01:25:28):
Maybe it's Georgia tonight.

Speaker 6 (01:25:30):
I want to see them look impressive against a better
team than Michigan or Oklahoma. Right, So that's the question
in my mind. Is Texas a little bit overvalued even
though they're a quality team. We talk about their running
back position, how many guys have gotten hurt? It's like
the spinal tap drummer, right, guys just keep dropping. And

(01:25:51):
although they have a lot of strengths that old line
you pointed it out, Jared, and their run defense is
the best in the SEC. I'm not telling you that
they don't strengths. They clearly do, But is our appraisal
of them? It'd be like, hey, how much is this
TV worth? It's used, it's five years old, and you're like, oh,
three thousand bucks. It's like, no, it isn't is that

(01:26:13):
worth that much? Like?

Speaker 5 (01:26:14):
Are we appraising Texas a little bit too high?

Speaker 2 (01:26:17):
Right now?

Speaker 5 (01:26:18):
That's a fair question, it is.

Speaker 7 (01:26:19):
And like you mentioned, and like we were talking about
earlier with Notre Dame, it's not always fair to judge
a team against their schedule, because you can only help
that to solve to a certain extent.

Speaker 3 (01:26:34):
It is what it is you play the teams you play.
The place that I think I.

Speaker 7 (01:26:39):
Believe in Texas, even though they haven't been tested not
to this extent yet and we're gonna learn a lot today,
is the fact that they've made such improvements at such
key parts of their team, like they're they're coverage grades
when you really do get into the nerdier analytics are
fantastic and so you're year That is such a benefit

(01:27:03):
for a team that has talented passers, so that they
can absolutely pile up points in a hurry, but then
they can limit the damage you do, and as a
relationship to their defensive front, it gives them more time
to rush the passer when everybody's covered. That means that
a quarterback has to make a decision when the clock
goes off in his head to throw a bad pass,

(01:27:24):
make a poor decision to extend the play if.

Speaker 3 (01:27:26):
You can, or you may run out of time and
just get sacked.

Speaker 7 (01:27:30):
And so the pressure rate for the defensive line of
the Longhorns has been great too as a result. So
everything affects everything, you know, a good defense obviously has
or should say, a good coverage unit obviously has a
great effect on a defensive front. But then that trickles
to the offense, where you get a couple of sacks
or a couple of poorly thrown balls, or a couple

(01:27:51):
of third down conversions that don't go the opposing offensive's
way or interceptions, or or it gives more opportunities for
a high octane Texas Long Horns offense that has been
dominant throughout the early portion of this season. So Texas,
until proven otherwise, in my mind, is the upper crust.

(01:28:12):
They're the top tier. And even though this is a
great test for the long Horns, I feel like it's
more about, hey, what can Georgia do to mitigate some
of what they're gonna see today?

Speaker 2 (01:28:25):
I love this game so much money like the market
likes Texas, the market likes the over. I don't think
either of those things are any surprise. But to Brian's point,
and this is the first line of my notes on
Texas defense not been tested right, here's why. Average efficiency
rank of the opposing offenses this year is eighty third.

(01:28:49):
Two of the six offenses they played have benched the
quarterback since they played them. The last two quarterbacks they
faced were backups to start the year, true freshman making
first college football starts. Yeah, it just that's not Carson Beck.
It's just not he has a pulse. Georgia is a

(01:29:13):
top twenty five offense. Texas hasn't even sniffed the top
fifty offense this year. Now, that doesn't mean they can't
raise their level and compete with Georgia, but this will
be a very very interesting data point for Texas's defense.
If their defense can control the tempo of this game,

(01:29:35):
which they've done in years past in big games. They
did it last week, but again against a quarterback that
is barely breathing. I think that is the like. If
Texas goes out tonight, covers game, stays under defense plays, well,
that's it. They're the number one team in the country
and it's it's really hard to argue with that. If

(01:29:55):
this is a back and forth, high scoring game, Texas
wins on a last and field goal, It's like the
Georgia Bama game. It's a throwaway data point. It's really
hard to sift through it. That's why we get to
sit back and watch. I think the only bet that
I really like is the over here. I bet at
fifty six and a half yesterday I gave it out
on that MGM video. I think if this gets to five,

(01:30:18):
that seems to be where the Georgia money has stepped in.
But I really just like the Bama Tennessee game. I
really want to sit back. I really want to see
how Georgia starts. Can they start fast? They have not
started fast. They scored zero combined points in their three
high leverage games in the first quarter Clemson, Kentucky, Alabama
zero first quarter points in all three of those games.

(01:30:39):
That's like the top shelf scripted plays. They can't score
in the first quarter. That struggle. But again, Texas hasn't
played anybody on offense, so really interesting matchup, really interesting.

Speaker 5 (01:30:49):
I love this little nugget here. Something to just keep
in mind.

Speaker 6 (01:30:53):
Over the last four years, Kirby Smart's only three losses
have all been against Alabama. He's forty seven and zero
against everybody else. And you might look at that and say, Wow,
that's just pretty impressive. Is Texas Alabama?

Speaker 5 (01:31:08):
No Texas? Is Texas?

Speaker 6 (01:31:10):
So forty seven and goose egg against everybody not named Alabama.
That stands out, But it's a little bit of a
then and now stat I would say where that's mostly
the then is all that winning more dominant rosters and
teams in the past for Georgia, not as much right
now because the now you look at it and you say, well,

(01:31:31):
Georgia barely beat Kentucky, they lost to Bama, they were
unimpressive against Mississippi State.

Speaker 5 (01:31:37):
What's up with the defense? What's up with the tackling?

Speaker 2 (01:31:40):
College football is crazy?

Speaker 3 (01:31:41):
Man?

Speaker 6 (01:31:41):
Think about the opener and Georgia just crushing Clemson in
the second half, and since then we're looking at Georgia like,
what's up with you guys?

Speaker 2 (01:31:50):
And Clemson?

Speaker 5 (01:31:51):
No one can slow them down. They're like an offensive
machine right now.

Speaker 6 (01:31:56):
So it's a long season. And with that in mind,
that's why right back to Texas, it is a long season.
And even though they're very, very talented, they have not been.

Speaker 5 (01:32:06):
Tested like this before.

Speaker 6 (01:32:08):
And this will no doubt to Jared's point, to Rich's point,
this is the toughest test they faced by far, especially offensively.

Speaker 5 (01:32:15):
You got dudes getting benched at quarterback, Like, yeah, you
got a bunch.

Speaker 6 (01:32:20):
Of backup dudes taken on Texas. That's not Carson Beck,
who is listen. I know it's a costly interception against
Bama on the road, but he still is an upper
echelont quarterback like college football.

Speaker 7 (01:32:32):
He can sling it and then I'll remind everybody for
anybody who again, like we talked about, sometimes there's indelible
impressions that game throughout the course of a season for
certain teams or players get stuck in your head and
it's like.

Speaker 3 (01:32:46):
On a loop.

Speaker 7 (01:32:47):
Carton Beck also went out in the second half of
that game, the second half. This is two quarters of
football and through for three p thirty nine and three
touchdowns against that Bama defense. So Carton Beck is a lead.
Now quinni Ewer's on the other side. This is going
to be really the test of the night is to
see how Georgia handles yours, because as good as that

(01:33:09):
offensive line is with a clean pocket, he actually struggles
more than when he's facing pressure, which is bizarre, but
it forces a defensive coordinator say, okay, so what do
we want to do. Do we want to play coverage
and let us let him pick us apart underneath, or
do you want to gamble and get a little pressure
in his kitchen and see how he handles the rush,

(01:33:32):
and so I think that's gonna be a huge determination. Also,
I'm very curious to see the what Georgie's defense, what
the Dogs do defensively. Are we gonna see pressure in
the first half or are they gonna let youers sit
back there and get comfortable. This is a fascinating game.
Look like you said, Jared, I'm gonna sit back and watch.

(01:33:52):
I can't put I can't put a. I mean, I
think the over is probably a smart play, like you mentioned,
But this one, I'm just gonna pop my popcorn.

Speaker 3 (01:34:00):
I'm gonna sit on the couch.

Speaker 7 (01:34:01):
I'm gonna join myself some some SEC football, some classic
SEC football between Texas and Georgia in Austin.

Speaker 2 (01:34:09):
And this could be a changing of the guard kind
of game because Brian, you nailed it, like Georgia doesn't
lose unless it's Bama. Well it's not Bama tonight, and
they're a pretty sizable dog. So what we'll see how
that plays out. As we discuss this game, it's like
the market's listening to us. I am seeing some movement
to the under m so and it's.

Speaker 5 (01:34:29):
Always great for the.

Speaker 3 (01:34:38):
Yeah, yeah, no, doubt it's a strong.

Speaker 2 (01:34:40):
Case for the over and it's just like total tanks.
But would it really surprise any of us? Like closure,
I do this in the NFL all the time. I
close my eyes, try to think who's on the on
the podium that Goodell's handing Lombardi Trophy to. Usually it's
not like Gino Smith. Usually it's Patrick Mahomes. But close
your eyes and just envision this game playing out. Would
it shock you if Kirby Smart pulls a rabbit out

(01:35:01):
of his hat and turn Texas offense into pumpkins tonight? No,
that wouldn't shock me. Right, that's very on Kirby's smart brand.
If he dialed up the right scheme to make Texas's
offense look a little ordinary, Yeah, that wouldn't shock me
at all.

Speaker 6 (01:35:17):
Don't you think back to last year, right when Texas
was favored against TCUM and they were like seven point
home favorites. TCU couldn't stop the run to save their life,
And you're like, it's I guess it was two years ago, right,
it was with Bijon Robinson he was still there, and
You're like, how in the world are they gonna slow down?

(01:35:38):
Bijon in this Texas running and Texas couldn't do anything.
They couldn't gain yards in that game, Like college football
can get weird at times. So yeah, I'm with you, Jared.
It'd be interesting to see if they can slow down
this Texas offensive machine so far. Hey, Throughout the entire
football season, bet MGM will offer all different types of
boost tokens. Be on the lookout for same game parlay

(01:35:59):
boo tokens, Parlay boost tokens, and odds boost tokens each
NFL weekend. We've got Rich Ornberger Penn State, All American.
Did you bring donuts for the crew in La?

Speaker 5 (01:36:10):
Over there?

Speaker 7 (01:36:11):
They're rich, you know what? As I was driving in,
I was like, what's open over here? They had cones
outside parking lots. I mean, I mean, I was I
brush my teeth over here at the radio station. So man,
it's early mornings on the West Coast for this show.
The kickoff, the countdown to kickoff, I mean it kicks
off at five am.

Speaker 9 (01:36:31):
I know it.

Speaker 2 (01:36:31):
It is early.

Speaker 6 (01:36:32):
We got Jared Smith FSR betting analyst. I'm Brian No
coming up next. Absolutely great matchup in some ways, it's
strength on strength. In other ways, it's weakness on weakness,
we will dissect. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown to
Kickoff presented by BETMGM. It is Fox Sports Radios Countdown
to Kickoff presented by BETMGM.

Speaker 2 (01:36:54):
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Speaker 6 (01:36:56):
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(01:37:18):
in bonus bets if that bet loses. Okay, we've got
number twenty four Michigan at number twenty two Illinois.

Speaker 5 (01:37:26):
Here a couple of things.

Speaker 6 (01:37:27):
So Michigan runs the ball really well, right, Illinois is
fifteenth in the Big Ten against the rush. That's not
great for Illinois. You think back to last week Perdue.
Perdue ran the ball get this against Illinois thirty two
times for two thirty nine wow and two touchdowns. That's

(01:37:49):
an average of seven point five yards per carry. We
know about Michigan's struggles throwing the football. You do have
Jack Tuttle, he'll be starting today. He's been known to
throw forward passes more than the other guys, especially especially
Alex Orgy, but still not going to be prolific. Michigan's

(01:38:10):
going to try to ground and pound on the flip side.
Michigan's pass defense defense sixteenth in the Big Ten, sixteenth
out of eighteen teams.

Speaker 2 (01:38:20):
That's bad.

Speaker 6 (01:38:21):
And Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyers had a very good season.
They're down their leading rusher, so against a great Michigan
rush defense, Illinois is going to try to throw it
and they might have enough success today to keep it
close at.

Speaker 7 (01:38:35):
Least well, Michigan's got an elite defensive line. This is
going to be very Look it kind of is the
perfect matchup for Michigan because they're going against a team
that hasn't improved but still kind of shaky pass protection,
and they have an elite front, and they're going against

(01:38:56):
a defense in the Aliani defense who struggles stopping the run.
So it kind of sets up well for the Wolverines
here today. And so that's really what I'm going to
keeon is if the ALLIONI can slow down Michigan's rush game,
if you can make them one dimensional and box them
in and force them to throw the football a little bit,

(01:39:17):
this could be a long, hard day for Michigan. But
that's what it's gonna take. You have to force Michigan
to play left handed to even have a shot.

Speaker 2 (01:39:26):
How about this that Michigan has been outscored in the
fourth quarter by thirteen or more points in two straight games.
They have the worst fourth quarter point differential in the
Big Ten this year. This is Michigan, which is like defense,
run the ball conservative. They can't finish games. Meanwhile, Illinois,

(01:39:49):
actually the three games that they've played against their high
leverage teams Nebraska, Penn State, Kansas, they've won right two
and one, straight up, three and zero against the number,
beating Nebraska as a dog co at Penn State beat
Kansas as a dog. So Luke Altmeyer, listen, the light
bulb switch has been turned on. Fourteen touchdowns one pick
that was at Penn State. No shame there. The weapons

(01:40:10):
are dangerous. Brian and Franklin on the outside are good.
The ground game, as we talked about in the prop
segment a little banged up. With Fagan missing last week
hyper extended. He probably gonna miss this week too, but
they ran it okay without him. That was against Purdue.
This is a little bit of a different animal facing Michigan.
The d line still is legit number one pass rush grade,
number one run defense grade. They're not as talented last year,

(01:40:34):
especially in the secondary, despite having Will Johnson, who's an
All American. I think the reason why their defense has
kind of had this scheme issue in the fourth quarter.
Wink Martindale's just not as good of a defensive coordinator
as Jesse Minter. It's just it's a step down with Winks.
He's got one pitch, it's the fastball, and he doesn't
really know how to change off of it. I think
we'll see more spark from the Michigan offense this week.

(01:40:56):
Tuttle gave them a spark, and it was a tough
spot for him right he came in game. The scheme
wasn't built around him that week, and they still moved
it against Washington relatively well. I like their own line
a lot. Hitting's a stud at left tackle, and they're
kind of upgrading and shuffling things around at their tackle spots,
you know, Benching, this kid Evan Link who's like one
of the worst right tackle numbers I've ever seen in history.

(01:41:19):
I think Illinois's defense is what I struggle with here, Like,
you can't give up fifty to Purdue, Like you just can't.
And it's hard for me to wrap my head around
anything real with this Illinois team if you give up
fifty to Purdue, Like, how do we give them any
credit at all to go and win this game today?

Speaker 7 (01:41:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:41:37):
Well that's the thing, man, is if you can't slow
down Purdue's running attack, that's gonna be tough against Michigan.

Speaker 5 (01:41:44):
That's that's what they do.

Speaker 6 (01:41:45):
And it's kind of funny looking at the prop bets
for Michigan's quarterback Jack Tuttle. We got used to the
lines for Alex Orgy there for a little bit, and
it was all the way down to seventy nine and
a half half.

Speaker 3 (01:41:59):
And you made the sharpest of the year over on that.

Speaker 2 (01:42:01):
Well, thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:42:01):
I appreciate that he barely got over there. But it's
up to one seventy five and a half for Wash Tuttle, where.

Speaker 2 (01:42:09):
It's like, whaw it, that's really not that hot mich
offense man breat them up.

Speaker 6 (01:42:15):
But think about this too, something to keep in mind.
So last game against Washington, Michigan gave three series to
alex Orgy. Yeah right, so he was three for seven
for only fifteen yards. But the point is Jack Tuttle,
who's starting today. He was the main guy against Washington,
but he only got eighteen passing attempts in his eight series.

(01:42:39):
You know, So if think about this, if the backup
quarterback in alex Orgy is throwing seven of the twenty
five passing attempts like last week against Washington, how is
Jack Tuttle surpassing one seventy five and a half passing yards.
I has a ground and pound all day. This is
just game management with Tuttle. I don't think he's going

(01:43:00):
over one seventy five and a half, do you, guys?

Speaker 7 (01:43:02):
I like where your head's at because also, look at
what the line I do well, and look at what
they don't, and they don't stop the run well, So
why would you why would you get away from what
you do best if you're the Wolverines and highlight a
weakness potentially in having Tuttle throw the ball round. Literally,

(01:43:23):
I'm gonna read this paragraph to you. The Illinois A
line I have struggled to defend the run this year,
posting the worst run defense grade in the power For
the line I have allowed five point four yards per carry,
the seventh highest rate in the same group the average,
bringing down the running backs once they contact them.

Speaker 3 (01:43:43):
But the issue is they give up two point one
yards before contact.

Speaker 7 (01:43:48):
That means every time teams run against this line I defense,
the offensive line they're opposing is making two yards of
space for opposing running backs.

Speaker 3 (01:43:58):
And Michigan's got some good ones. So this is gonna
be a hard day for.

Speaker 7 (01:44:02):
Illinois if they can't control the clock, if they can't
slow down the running game. For the Wolverines, it doesn't
feel like it's gonna be a lopside of victory. This
is going to be designated under one of those ugly
win categories for Michigan. This may actually come up on
rapid Fire in a little bit here. Yeah, But the
the Wolverines, I mean, it feels like, at least on paper,

(01:44:25):
they're gonna have their way with with with the with
the Aliani run defense. You know, Jared, When when I
think about Michigan and where they're at now versus where
they were a year ago.

Speaker 2 (01:44:39):
Light years.

Speaker 7 (01:44:40):
I mean, it's just like watching a completely different football
game or football.

Speaker 2 (01:44:45):
Team totally and if you go pull up now, they
are off the buy. I think that helps. It really
helps Tuttle. It really helps Tuttle kind of get acclimated
because this is going to be his first real start
against a good team. But yeah, I go watch some
of that Michigan tape against Washington. A couple of those
defensive drives, it's like they're defending air. Washington's just like

(01:45:09):
running it all over the place and Michigan looks lost.
This is Michigan's defense looking lost. It's just it. It
is not something we're used to seeing. Illinois, though, he
gave up five hundred and thirty six yards to Purdue. Like,
if you're giving up over five hundred yards to Purdue,
I think Michigan's gonna have some success here today. They're

(01:45:31):
outside the top one hundred and all the pressure havoc TFLs,
like every single category I look at and I'm like, yeah,
Michigan struggle is offensively there, but Illinois is terrible. So
a lot of times too, I let the market do
the talking for me. These are two ranked teams in
the Big Ten. Illinois is at home and Michigan is

(01:45:54):
the road favorite, and the number is climbing. It was
two and a half, then it was three, three and
a half. Now it's four and a half. And this
is not a high total game forty four. Yet Michigan
continues to get the love from the market. So I
am I would be concerned. Like I know a lot
of people are probably picking up their BEDMGM apps this
morning and they're seeing two ranked teams and the home

(01:46:16):
team is an underdog and you're like, oh wow, Illinois, Illinois.
I just feel like this could be one of those
I call it the bow a constrictor game where if
alt Meyer can't find consistency for Illinois on offense, you
allow Michigan to control the clock, Mullins and Edwards on
the ground, and then tuttle off play action. He's comfortable,

(01:46:39):
the team trusts him, he can actually throw a forward
pass with some accuracy. It just this feels like a
Michigan win and like a not necessarily a big one,
but one where Illinois just doesn't have any sniff of
a cover.

Speaker 7 (01:46:54):
Yeah yeah, you're listening to Fox Sports radios countdown to
kick Off, brought to you by BETMGIM. You heard Jared
Smith there, lead betting analysts say he likes to sometimes
let the market do the talking for him. Well, sometimes
here on Fox Sports Radio, we like to let Isaac.

Speaker 3 (01:47:10):
Loewing cron do the talking for us. Very good in
credible Paul there, it is all right, right there it is.
You're welcome, America.

Speaker 10 (01:47:21):
It's amazing how many times per week Rich has to
say you're welcome.

Speaker 3 (01:47:26):
It's weird. I don't like to take that many bows,
but I guess I will.

Speaker 2 (01:47:30):
You have to.

Speaker 10 (01:47:31):
You know, you have to be fair and you have
to be objective. On Friday night, the New York Yankee
said you're welcome to their fans because they scored two
in the top of the ninth inning in Game four
of the American League Championship Series to what of Cleveland
eight to six for a three games to one lead
Game five tonight at eight oh eight Eastern. In Game
five of the National League Championship Series on Friday night,

(01:47:52):
the New York Mets stayed alive with a twelve to
six win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who still leave
the series three games to two, Game six on some
in LA. In Game four of the WNBA Finals on
Friday night, the Minnesota Links beat the New York Liberty
eighty two to eighty. Minnesota's Bridget Carlton the game winning
free throws with two seconds remaining, forcing a deciding Game

(01:48:15):
five on Sunday night at the Barkley Center. In college football,
Friday Night, number two Oregon Wanted Produce thirty five to
nothing and thirteenth ranked BYU beat Oklahoma State thirty eight
to thirty five is BYU's Jake Rhetz laugh through the
game winning thirty five yard touchdown passed Darius Lasseter with
ten seconds left in the fourth quarter. Finally, Fellas, we've

(01:48:37):
got an ethical conundrum to tell you about. Coming up
today three thirty eastern. We've got seventh ranked Alabama visiting
number eleven Tennessee. And the popular social media site message
board Geniuses found the following post on an Alabama message
board from at Bama one zero five five underscore Micah

(01:49:04):
underscore zero seven quote. Unfortunately, one of my employees has
scheduled her wedding for four thirty on Saturday. Now I
have a number of options here. I can bring my
iPad to watch the game after halftime. At the wedding,
I can fire the employee for scheduling a wedding during

(01:49:27):
football season. I can break up with my wife forcing
me to do this. It's also a pirate themed wedding.
So not only am I going to be missing the
second half of the Alabama Tennessee game, I'm going to
be dressed as a Pirates. Send prayers, y'all. Unquote Laus,

(01:49:50):
your thoughts back to Arlay?

Speaker 2 (01:49:52):
Is that parlay right?

Speaker 3 (01:49:54):
Parlay?

Speaker 7 (01:49:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:49:55):
Yeah, say when you want to be you know, have
a meeting with the captain.

Speaker 3 (01:49:58):
That's exactly right. I believe that that's the terminology.

Speaker 7 (01:50:02):
Fox Sports Radios countdown to kickoff here live from the
tyreraq dot com studios up in La Brian know his
line has dropped. We're efforting to get him back. But
in the meantime, Miami efforting to get a win on
the road at Louisville. The Hurricanes, they've really been playing
with fire the last two games, needed a ten point

(01:50:24):
comeback with nine minutes left. They completed a Hail Mary
to escape with a thirty eight to thirty four victory
over v Tech.

Speaker 3 (01:50:31):
The following week, Miami.

Speaker 7 (01:50:33):
They mounted a twenty five point comeback in the second
half to squeak by one point over.

Speaker 3 (01:50:40):
Col So they go on the road to Louisville.

Speaker 7 (01:50:44):
Jared, it feels like Miami they're just standing on the
edge of the cliff.

Speaker 2 (01:50:49):
Yep, it really does. I want Miami to lose because
I bet SMU this week to win the ACC and
I need one either Clemson or Miami to look to
drop an ACC game to get SMU into the into
the ACC final. And they're five. They're still five to
one to win the ACC. Like SMU is legit. But

(01:51:10):
you look at Miami, I think the market's telling me
that they're gonna win this game. But Louisville's Louisvill's had
some moments when when Miami's offense matches up against Louisville's defense,
Kevin Jennings, the SMU quarterback, absolutely torched this Louisville defense.
And that's where I see Miami having an edge here.

(01:51:33):
I think, I think this is the cam Ward game.
Like Miami's off the buy. They barely beat cal they
barely beat Virginia Tech. But they've now had a chance
to catch their breath, like those were two tough games.
They played USF, then they had a short week against Tech,
and then they have to go all the way to
Cal Like like that's a tough stretch, especially Virginia Tech,

(01:51:53):
who's really physical and Cole's just it's weird out there
and as you know in Berkeley sometimes. But now you
get a week off and you play a Louisville team
that I think defensively, Miami can have their way here
against this Louisville defense. Because again, if Kevin Jennings, who's
a you know, a good quarterback, but cam Ward's more talented,
if he can go off and run for over one
hundred yards, throw for over two hundred yards, go in

(01:52:15):
the road, beat Louisville SMU, nice win for them. I
think Miami can do the same. But then you get
this Marrio crystal Ball factor, right, Like we've seen him
lay an Egg. He's kind of this guy that'll, you know,
go off script and make a you know, a boneheaded
decision once and once in a while. So I feel
like Miami's gonna win this game. I feel like Miami covers.

(01:52:35):
I think it goes over, but man, you never know.
With crystal Ball and this Cane s team.

Speaker 7 (01:52:40):
See, that's the thing, that's that's just the thing. You
never know what you're gonna get with Miami. I'm watching
them warm up right now. They're coming up here really shortly.
And cam Ward has been great, but he's been great
because they've had they've needed him to be great. If
he wasn't great, they would have lost the past two games,
and the record would look very different, their ranking would

(01:53:01):
look very different. Also, a team that has looked great
and dominant, the Indiana Hoosier is hosting the Nebraska corn Huskers.
Sixteenth ranked Indiana the smoothest RPO game in college football,
and that's saying a lot because everybody's running the run
pass option. This has taken over college football for basically
the past decade. Nobody's doing it better than Signetti's team.

(01:53:25):
And you heard him, he wins. Just google him.

Speaker 3 (01:53:28):
Is he gonna win today, Jared?

Speaker 2 (01:53:30):
I think so.

Speaker 9 (01:53:32):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:53:32):
The thing that impresses me the most about Indiana special teams, coaching,
offensive line all elite this year. And when you think
of Indiana, you don't think of those things with football.
Maybe with basketball, but not football. And culture is a
hell of a drug. If you can install culture quickly

(01:53:55):
and get your team to believe a lot of the prior.
Like we can't view Indiana as a basketball school right now.
They are in pole position to be in the Big
Ten Championship game and make the College Football Playoff. Their
schedule is not that difficult. They can beat Michigan at
home and they end at the go to Ohio State.
I think Rourke is an experienced like they have experience

(01:54:17):
and talent and edge in a lot of areas here quarterback,
They're better coaching, They're better defense. I think it's maybe
even slight edge to Nebraska special teams. Huge edge to
Indiana and the offensive line. Like their left tackles only
allowed one pressure, no sacks, and one hundred and ninety
six pass blocking snaps. That speaks to the RPO game,

(01:54:38):
how smooth they are and how quickly they get the
ball out. This Indiana team is a tough team to
prepare for. We'll see what the home field environment is
in Bloomington today, But I think Indiana wins. I don't
know about the cover numbers seems right at seven, but
I think Indiana wins this game.

Speaker 3 (01:54:52):
Yeah, I agree with you. I think they win.

Speaker 7 (01:54:54):
I think it's gonna be another one of those ugly wins,
which again may be a little bit of foreshadowing from
I Rapid Fire, but it's incredible what Signette has been
able to do after going three to nine last year,
historic start six and OHO for the first time in
fifty seven years for the Hoosiers. Shortly after the show,
our podcast will be going up. If you miss any

(01:55:16):
of today's show, be sure to check out the podcast.
Just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts,
and be sure to also follow, rate and review the podcast. Again,
just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts,
and you'll see this show posted right after we get
off the air, which will be soon. But before we go,
we must do Rapid Fire and we will coming up

(01:55:38):
next on Fox Sports Radio. H Yes, we've been waiting
all day long for this, and frankly all season long.
Bet MGM has been offering you a second chance on
your first TD bet in the NFL. When customers place
an NFL wager on the first touchdown score of bet
and he does not score first, but score second, bet

(01:56:02):
MGM will return one hundred percent of their stake back
in cash. Love that you're listening to count down to
kickoff here on Fox Sports Radio, brought to you by
bet MGM.

Speaker 3 (01:56:14):
Let's do this.

Speaker 1 (01:56:21):
Rapid fire.

Speaker 2 (01:56:22):
Okay, so no Brian though today.

Speaker 7 (01:56:25):
For rapid fire, but we're gonna have a very special
guest read his bets. We do this every week. The
record reflects that. Right now it's BEINGO in first place.
It's myself, Rich Wrenberger. I'm in second place and bringing
up the caboose right now is Jared Smith, but I'm
feeling to comeback, Jay Smith.

Speaker 3 (01:56:44):
Let's get going.

Speaker 2 (01:56:45):
Here, let's do it, and these picks again, guys, I'm sorry,
I promise you I know how to do this, but
this season has been just awful, absolutely awful. But we
stand by our records and the season is not over yet.
And I'm simplifying things this week. I gave you three
underdogs in parlay platter that are all going to win today.

(01:57:05):
If I think these underdogs can win, well they damn
sure better cover. So here we go Maryland plus seven
and a half home dog against USC. The Trojans are
starting to run the gauntlet that is the Big Ten schedule.
Their last four games Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn State. Very
physical football teams. Now you've got to travel cross country.

(01:57:25):
Big ten teams going west to east multiple time zones
or east to west have not fared very well, except
for Penn State last week at usc WO. But I
think USC is not ready for the physical challenge that
Maryland will present today. I'll take Maryland plus seven and
a half. We'll take Arkansas plus three. You've got to
find an expensive hook here. It's about minus one twenty,

(01:57:47):
but I think it's worth it on the key number
of three again, letdown City. LSU is coming off an
overtime win where they were on the field for ninety
eight plays. Their defense absolutely gassed. Arkansas well rested off
the buye. They win and cover against LSU today, and
West Virginia take me country roads. Kansas State is zero
and three against the number on the road this year.

(01:58:09):
Very different team away from the little Apple. I'll take
West Virginia plus three against Kansas State Arkansas plus three,
Maryland plus seven and alf All right, here we go.

Speaker 7 (01:58:18):
I for my rapid fire, all ugly games and underdogs.
Miami at Louellville. Louillville dog by five and a half.
Ugly win for Miami, but the Cardinals keep it close
enough to get within the five and a half points.
Nebraska six and a half point dogs on the road
and Indiana another ugly win for the Cousuers. But give

(01:58:39):
me Braska plus six and a half. All right, Michigan
at Illinois. We were just talking about this game the
ALIONI plus four and a half. Again ugly win for
the Wolverines, but I like the Alli and I getting
the four and a half at home. So with that, Nope, Brian, No,
but a very special She'll guest Bo Benson to fill in.

(01:59:02):
Hit this rapid fires selection real quick.

Speaker 11 (01:59:05):
Here we have Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer over one ninety
eight and a half passing yards. We have a Michigan
quarterback Jack Tunnell under one hundred and seventy five half
passing yards, and we have the under in the first
half of Georgia Texas at twenty seven.

Speaker 3 (01:59:18):
And a half. Beautiful, beautiful, very very interesting. All right,
A lot of good ball today.

Speaker 7 (01:59:26):
Really excited for Georgia Texas later on right now, coming
up next on Fox Sports Radio, up on.

Speaker 3 (01:59:32):
Game with LeVar, Arrington, TJ and Plaxago. Enjoy the ball.

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