Countdown to Kickoff Presented by Underdog!

Brian Noe, Jared Smith, and Rich Ohrnberger talk about the 49ers beatdown of the Rams in Australia and why it doesn’t mean the Rams are overhyped, preview #1 Ohio State taking on #4 Texas in Austin, thoughts on Alabama and WR Ryan Williams, thoughts on last week’s officiating controversy with Michigan as they take on Oklahoma, and more! Plus – Prop It Up, Parlay Platter, and Rapid Fire!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Are you ready to witness greatness football fans i love
football welcome to the biggest tailgate party in the nation
fox sports radio's countdown to kickoff Your Countdown to Kickoff
is presented by Underdog.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Unleash your dog. You better watch yourself, big dog.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
We're setting you up with the information you need to
watch your team win. This is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown
to Kickoff. Now, we're live from your tailgate. Here's Brian Ngo,
former Penn State All-American Rich Ornberger, and FSR betting analyst
Jared Smith.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Oh, welcome in.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
What is going on?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Happy Saturday.

Speaker 4 (00:43):
As we get you all set for a weekend plus
of ball.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Nice little Monday night game. Mahomes is back. Will he be.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Ready for week one?

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yes, he'll be ready for week one. He'll be ready
for week one. Full slate today, college. Full slate tomorrow, NFL.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
Monday night game. I am a pig in ball slop
right now.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Good morning, Rich.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Good morning, Jared. All good with you guys?

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Everything's good. This is what we asked for. So no
complaining now, gents. This is it. This is the football
season's finally here. I hear a lot of people thinking
to themselves or saying out loud even, You know, gee,
the first couple of games that haven't been all that great,
I've loved it. I mean, I get it. Maybe Seattle,

(01:30):
New England wasn't the exact matchup any of us would
have selected for the opening night of the NFL, but
works for me. Football is football, and there was some
good football being played. There was some bad football being played.
And then we saw a little bit of, you know,
one team looked like they were jet lagged and falling

(01:52):
asleep at the wheel, and the other team looked rested
and ready. But, again, man, it's been a long wait,
so I'm not complaining. I was just happy to be
watching football. That's all there is to it.

Speaker 5 (02:04):
Yeah, obviously the travel plans for the Rams didn't exactly
work out. I think they said they spent two years
sending staffers over to Australia for sleep scores. And I
get it. I understand why they would try to be
ahead of the curve. But you just don't know how
bodies are going to react. If there's one thing I've

(02:25):
learned throughout this like crazy fitness journey I've been on
is one person has a different reaction to something. Another
person has a completely alternate reaction. And I think it's
obvious that the– I don't know if it was jet–
I don't know if it was just jet lag. I
don't want to put it squarely on that. But it
was obvious that San Francisco looked the crispier team, if

(02:45):
that adjective makes sense at all to you guys.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
The crispier team.

Speaker 5 (02:51):
They look crispier. All right. They weren't– and you know
when you pull out the lettuce in the fridge and
you get the fresh one that you just bought or
the one that you're just trying to use because you
bought it a week ago and you know it's going
to go bad? That was the Rams. They were the
one that was in the back of the fridge and
they knew it was going to go bad. So they
just had to, you know, use it for this game.

(03:11):
And it clearly was not at its best crispy crispiness
level because it just San Francisco was a step quicker.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
I do have some thoughts on the Rams here in
this overreaction. But first, I'm not Mr.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Like. Mr.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
Current Events, outside of sports, I'm like, when did that
country become that? It will shock you what I don't know.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Is Melbourne... Has that been a thing? They kept it
live from Melbourne.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
I'm like, Melbourne? Oh, Melbourne? When did Melbourne become a thing?

Speaker 3 (03:46):
They said it 90,000.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
Times on the telecast Thursday night. Am I just in
the dark over here? I've been doing a darkness retreat
for far too long.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
I didn't know that was a thing.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Melbourne?

Speaker 3 (03:56):
What is that?

Speaker 2 (03:58):
That's been that way since Crocodile Dundee said it. Now,
here's the thing. It used to be we would say
Melbourne in the United States. I agree with you, Brian. Yeah, yeah.
But that's the way Melbourne sounds with an Australian accent.

(04:20):
They say Melbourne. Hey, welcome, Melbourne. You know, that's how
it goes. And so we've adopted it since. This is
kind of like this reminds me a little bit of
what country added an A? Oh, Turkey A.

Speaker 5 (04:34):
Yeah, right.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Turkey A.

Speaker 5 (04:35):
Oh, yeah, that's right. I was not on board with
the Turkey A during the World Cup.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
That was... You know, it kind of reminds me of that. Like,
we were forced to change the way we say that.
And so I don't know where you're going to draw
the line, whether it's going to be a Melbourne Turkey A,
but somewhere we got to draw a line.

Speaker 5 (04:50):
I draw the line in Melbourne. A Turkey A sandwich
in Melbourne. Man, now you're really cooking with gas. I
can't go Melbourne, man. I just can't. Like.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Honest question.

Speaker 3 (04:58):
Do you say tour de France? That's what I say.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
Because.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
We're here in America. That's how we say France. You
go down the street and just say, who's taking on
Italy today in the soccer game?

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Oh, it's France. You don't say, oh, it's France. You
don't say that.

Speaker 5 (05:15):
If you're really cultured, you might say France. I don't know.
Or maybe you're trying to be your wannabe culture person.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Here's what I have to say about the Rams.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
It's the old Aaron Rodgers thing. Remember when Rodgers said this?
Hold on, let me give it a little bit of
volume here. This is a rookie mistake right here. It's
a little volume for Rodgers.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Five letters here. Relax. That's right. R-E-L-A-X. Relax.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
All this overreaction. Are the Rams overhyped?

Speaker 4 (05:47):
Are they, you know, a bunch of hype and no substance?
It's like, what are we doing right now? It's one
game in Australia, in Melbourne. OK, it's a 15 hour
flight right before the game. It's not like the Rams
went to Cleveland and got housed by the Browns.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (06:06):
The Niners are a good team. And yes, they smacked
the Rams around pretty good. But look at the factors.
Stafford looked drunk in that game. Inaccurate, off time, off rhythm.
He's the reigning MVP. Do you think that's going to
be Stafford for 17 weeks? He'll be fine, okay? The
other thing, no Aaron Donald. He didn't even play. He

(06:29):
didn't even go to Australia, which we got to dive
into a little bit more as well.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Also, Miles Garrett.

Speaker 4 (06:35):
Miles Garrett was a no-show, and he said he's had
this knee issue that's.

Speaker 3 (06:40):
Bothered him a little bit. You know what he reminded
me of?

Speaker 4 (06:43):
You remember when Ben Simmons, the NBA player who can't
shoot a lick, You would see those offseason videos of
him just draining threes in some random gym, and you're like, oh, wow,
look at Ben Simmons. And then the regular season rolls around,
and he can't make a jumper. Just can't make a jump.
That's what Miles Garrett looked like. Do you see those
workout videos with some private trainer?

Speaker 2 (07:03):
He's just bowling him over.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
He looked like Zeus.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
And then the Niners game rolled around and nothing. But
trust me, he'll be fine as well. So it's just like,
what are we doing? Settle down. This isn't going to
be the Rams for the long haul. There was this
goofy game in Australia where they had a very questionable
approach to it, which is swooping in. They took two

(07:27):
15-hour flights away. Within two days.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Who does that?

Speaker 3 (07:31):
You ever fly.

Speaker 4 (07:31):
Somewhere far and then hop on a jet the next day?
Hardly anybody does that. It's the last thing you want
to do. That was the Rams approach.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Very questionable. Didn't work out.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
But to think this is going to be the Rams
of 2026 is ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
Settle down. Don't sell all your stock. It's a total overreaction.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
I do agree with you. However, I think that this
decision making for game one. Now, this is if you
believe that the travel plans were an enormous mistake, they
they could leech over into week two. Because, look, your
body clock is a real thing, where your circadian rhythm is,

(08:13):
the way your body knows what time of the day
it is for hormone release, whether it be sleepy time
hormone release or awake and arousal hormones. Your body has
a rhythm that it follows, and it's all based around
your rhythm. sleep schedule and your eating schedule and sunlight

(08:34):
exposure and all those things. We know all this. This
is all extremely well studied. Now, the Rams trusted the,
I guess, scientific efforts of the people around them who said, hey,
this might be the best way to pull this off.
They better be right because it may upend how ready

(08:56):
your team feels for week one. And it did. And
it may upend how ready your team feels for week two.
And it also may. That remains to be seen. So
that that is one problem with this is I'm more
on your side, Brian. Like, I don't think the Rams
are nearly as bad as they looked in that game.

(09:18):
I also think that the 49ers made a pretty big statement. Like,
I think the 49ers looked very prepared and I think
the 49ers may not even be as good and as
sharp as they looked in that, in that outing. You know,
so I think, I think like the, the Niners play
close to one of the best game plans that they
could have played. I think the Rams played maybe one

(09:38):
of the worst, and I'm talking about in terms of
the way they attacked situational downs. I'm talking about, obviously,
the preparation before the game, who made the right call
on travel. I'm talking about in-game decision-making and changes at halftime.
I feel like the Rams had an opportunity to change
some stuff to maybe look at their current gameplan. plan

(10:00):
and say, hey, we're not looking at all that effect
of this half. Maybe we should put some new wrinkles
in the second half. And they kind of stuck with
what they were doing, and it remained normal. ineffective largely,
if not less effective in the second half. So I,
I agree with you. I don't think anybody should sound
the alarms on the Rams yet, but do I think

(10:23):
this is a team that could drop to Owen too,
because they made one really bad call on, on travel
and not to blame it all on travel. Obviously the
49ers had to show up and play football. and so
will their Week 2 opponent. But, yeah, I think this
is a critical error that could start their season off
in an 0-2 hole that they're going to be digging

(10:43):
themselves out of for a while.

Speaker 5 (10:45):
Well, they got the Giants, and they got them on
Monday night. So they got an extra day, or a
few extra days, actually, because they played technically on Friday.
It was such a weird game. It felt like, so
it's Thursday night. It was kind of like Thursday evening
here in the Pacific for the East Coasters. It was
Thursday night. It felt like we were watching a Sunday
afternoon game. That was being played on a Friday morning,
and it was actually Thursday night for the people watching it.

(11:07):
It was just like such a weird, unique watching experience
because the stadium is– it was like the field was
like a postage stamp on the stadium because it's like
that cricket pitch where it's like the weird oval shape.
It was just a very strange watching experience. But that's
irrelevant because we're not going to have a game hopefully

(11:28):
in Australia again for a long time. But the overall
vibe for me, I didn't love Brock Purdy's game. I
didn't love it. I liked it.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
It was okay.

Speaker 5 (11:38):
A couple turnover-worthy plays, adjusted accuracy rate dropped considerably when
under pressure by 30%. There wasn't anything other than the
one throw, the deep throw, and the touchdown. It wasn't like, wow,
Brock Purdy, oh my god. And on the other side, obviously,
it was the opposite effect for the Rams. Despite that,
despite all of that, despite The travel, despite the fact

(12:01):
that the Rams kind of just rolled out the ball
and tried to snooze-fest their way through a game, despite
the fact that the Niners' defense, I thought that was
the biggest positive of the night. Raheem Morris' defense, listen,
I don't know about as a head coach, but as
a defensive coordinator, this dude can coach defense. And obviously
he's given Stafford problems in the past. The Falcons game

(12:21):
last year on Monday night, which was the game that
I think lost the Rams the Super Bowl because it
lost them home field. Despite all that, If Stafford gets
in on fourth and goal from the one, it's a
one-score game heading into the fourth quarter. So I think
if you play that, if you make that play 99
times out of 100, I think he gets in. I'm
still not 100% sure he wasn't in. The camera angle

(12:43):
was weird, and it looked like he could have been in,
but they couldn't overturn it because it was like a
mass of humanity on the goal line. So despite all
of the negatives that we're saying, it was still potentially
should have been a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter.
And then who knows? But once the sneak was failed,
I think the game was kind of over and the

(13:03):
Rams kind of knew it. And the fourth quarter was
kind of like a punt job by them. So I hope–
and they brought in Stetson Bennett for the last drive.
I hope that we don't see this cost them multiple
games because it really would be a shame if a
trip to Australia is the reason why the best team
in the league– didn't play like the best team in
the league for at least the first month of the season.

(13:25):
It doesn't get any easier after that, Brian. That's why
the Giants game matters a lot. It's Broncos, Eagles, Bills
the next three weeks after that. Then it's Cardinals, Raiders.
So you would expect them to find their level in
the month of October. But you got to beat the
Giants next week because Denver and Philly ain't going to
be easy.

Speaker 4 (13:43):
Well, a couple of things real fast. Rapid fire style. Yeah, live,
it looked like half of Stafford's body was in the
end zone.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
And then they showed the reverse angle, and I'm like,
they might have gotten that right. That was just such
a weird play. I don't remember thinking a guy, it's
like his upper torso was in the end zone, and
then seeing the reverse angle on Stafford. And being like, yeah,
I don't think he cracked the goal line, right? It
was just strange, but they might have gotten that right.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
The other thing is this idea of selling all of
your Ram stock. Think of it in reverse.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
Think of a team that you're expecting to be really
bad in the NFL this year. If they just look
all world for one game, has your position completely changed?
Think about the Arizona Cardinals. We think the Cardinals are
going to be awful this season. What if, for one week,
they look spectacular? Crazier things have happened. Now, I'm not
calling for this, but let's say they look great. against

(14:37):
the chargers and they smack them around pretty good are
you going from oh the cardinals are going to be
freaking terrible this year to like look out for the
cardinals man they're a sneaky super bowl contender nobody in
their right mind would do so don't do the reverse
with the rams and selling all your stock the other
thing though is and this is the other side with
the rams and this is what has to change you
got to get grimy to win in the nfl And

(15:01):
the Niners got grimier. That's just the bottom line. They
were more physical. And look at Aaron Donald. It's great
that he's back.

Speaker 3 (15:08):
He's not even there. He's like, yeah, you guys go
on without me. I'll pick it back up a little
later in the season.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
Really?

Speaker 4 (15:16):
You know, that's just not a great approach when you're
playing a good opponent like the Niners. Look at the Niners,
what they did. You had Nick Bosa torn ACL. He
played and played well. George Kittle, George Kittle tore his
Achilles in.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
January, right?

Speaker 4 (15:32):
Like the playoff win against the Eagles on the road.
George Kittle got hurt in that game. He's playing week
one in.

Speaker 5 (15:40):
Australia, right?

Speaker 4 (15:41):
Like that, that's being willing to get grimy and the Rams,
that's got to change because this, you know, like pinky
out when you're drinking, you know, feed up on the table,
sipping lemonade, that's not going to work in the NFL, man.
You have got to get gritty to consistently win in
the NFL. The Rams know that. I just don't think
they had a gritty approach in week one. That's got

(16:03):
to change going forward, no matter how talented the roster is.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, and I agree with a lot of what you
just said there, especially I think that comparison about a
really bad projected week one team, or excuse me, 2026
season team having a great week one team. doesn't necessarily
change the narrative. That narrative probably needs a few games

(16:26):
before you go, oh wow, maybe we're seeing something we
can believe here. And that is where I'm sort of
even couching this, this thought process that maybe the Rams
aren't as good as we thought they were. If they
go out and look kind of lousy against the giants
or dare I say, lose to the giants where people,
then the bandwagon will really be full of people saying

(16:49):
the Rams were overrated. The Rams, there was way too
much hype. The Rams are no good. Well, again, you
can make one bad decision like we all can in
our lives, and it could tumble into and affect many
other decisions down the road. And so we'll see. We'll
see if this travel to Australia has a deleterious effect

(17:14):
on their preparation for their upcoming game. I think it will.
I honestly will. I do think it's going to have
some effect. Now, will it have... An enormous effect? I
don't know. But I'm just saying the Rams, they may
have put themselves in the jackpot here in terms of
struggling through their first two games of the season. And unfortunately,

(17:34):
when you looked at it on paper, their week two
opponent against the Giants looked like a W before the season.
And now, in my opinion, it somewhat looks in question
because of how lousy they looked against the 49ers. And
I'm going to blame a lot of it on how
they prepared for this game. Now, just because this worked

(17:55):
for a London trip once upon a time, doesn't mean
every time you go overseas, you should do this. And,
and that's, that's kind of like my biggest problem with
how they, they, they treated this Australia game. I just
sort of feel like Geez, you know, if one game

(18:15):
plan worked, regardless of the circumstances, why would you ever
sneak in new offensive plays or defensive lineups for your
next opponent? Just do you, right? Yeah, just keep... Of
course you're going to change it depending on... And I
understand they put in some real research here, and you're
going to hear a lot of people still trumpeting that, yeah,

(18:36):
maybe that is the way to play, and the Rams
just had a lousy outing. I don't know. My point
is the Rams aren't nearly as bad as people are
going to say they are based on that one game.
We're going to need the burden of proof is going
to have to be much higher. The same way just
because they lost in the NFC Championship game last year
doesn't mean that Seattle was necessarily the best NFC team ever.

(19:00):
In the NFL. Were they the Super Bowl champs? Yeah.
But do we think that the Rams are worse than
the Seattle Seahawks based off one result? Well, not me.
Because if that game's played numerous different times, numerous different ways,
most of those times I think the Rams play, I

(19:20):
think Darnold played out of his mind. So I just
like that's where football is fun and unique. And the
single elimination facet of the postseason can sometimes reveal things
to you that maybe aren't the results that should be respected.
But that's that's the game they play. And I think
the Rams took a big risk week one. I think

(19:42):
it may have an effect on the start of their season.
But I still believe the Rams are a good football
team because they've assembled a very good football. team and
they just got to go play like it. And, and again,
I hope this decision doesn't haunt them for a while.
This decision to do basically an overnight or in Australia,
literally nobody's, nobody does that. I don't know why they

(20:04):
chose to.

Speaker 5 (20:05):
I think they, they thought it was the best idea
based off the data that they collected. Just like a
lot of times we look at a game and we say, man,
this defense looks terrible and this offense looks really good.
I'm betting on this team. And then the game starts
and you're like, what the heck did I just do?
I think the Seattle situation is more interesting, frankly. I

(20:27):
don't know if Sam Darnold's healthy. No idea what that
injury status is. It's There's a non-zero chance he sold
his soul for that Super Bowl last year, and he
never plays football again. I mean, I wouldn't be shocked
if that's the reason that he played so well last year,
is there was some higher power that superseded him. I
hope he gets better, obviously, because I think it's a

(20:48):
very different NFC this year without him. No knock on lock,
but I think they need Darnold back, and I don't
know what his status is, but that was a gritty...
You want to talk about grit and bringing the fire...
Seattle with their backup quarterback against the team that was
coming off a Super Bowl loss that certainly was highly
motivated to get in there and get a win. That

(21:10):
was a gritty win for Seattle. Drake May had his
head up his tuchus for the whole second half pretty much.
But I thought that was a really gutty win by
the Seahawks to get off to a solid start because
it doesn't get any easier for them. They got a
couple of cupcakes coming up, but then it's going to
get tough. So interesting, interesting road for the two NFC teams.
studs the first week of the season.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
All right, we're off and running.

Speaker 4 (21:33):
We've got Rich Ornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith, FSR
betting analyst. I'm Brian Ngo. Underdog Sports is now a
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(21:53):
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Speaker 3 (22:02):
Underdog, unleash your dog, terms apply.

Speaker 4 (22:05):
Coming up next, it's easily the best matchup of the
day and one of the best of the entire year.
We break it on down, phase one of 2019.

Speaker 5 (22:13):
Multiple today.

Speaker 3 (22:15):
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(23:29):
Terms apply. All right, the best matchup of the day
and one of the best of the entire season. Number one,
Ohio State against number four, Texas. Let's get it on.
It's 7.30 Eastern time this evening. Man, it's funny, just
off the air a second ago, our guy Chris Perfette,
technical producer extraordinaire, he was saying, you know what, Bo

(23:51):
Benson and I, trusted producer, we've been matching wits this
morning in a We see Hook'em tonight.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
They see Hook'em.

Speaker 4 (23:59):
Fading Ohio State, not big believers in Julian Sagan at
this juncture, as I quote Chris Perfette.

Speaker 2 (24:05):
How about that?

Speaker 3 (24:05):
The crew on Hook'em. Rich, where are you going with this?

Speaker 6 (24:08):
You've seen the eyes of Texas, and they are upon you.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
I feel like it sets up well for Texas here
as well. I think I favor the Longhorns in this
game for one really big reason, and And it's because
I think this game is way more meaningful to Texas
and specifically to Arch Manning than it is to Julian
Sayen and Ohio State. Now, every game matters. There's no

(24:36):
question about that. But, like, say Ohio State has a
close road loss to Texas on their way to having
another really impressive season overall. Does that really hurt their stock?
In conference, they're still going to do great. They've obviously

(24:57):
got some challenges in that conference, the Big Ten. But overall, no.
So I'm not saying it's not meaningful. Every game is.
It's college football. And even with an expanded playoff bracket,
you know, you could get yourself in trouble seating wise
if we're talking about the very best teams in our
predictions heading into heading into a game like this. However,

(25:21):
I will say it's more important to Texas because the
narrative is going to be when, if ever, is Arch
going to beat this team? So that's the way this
story goes. It's just Arch Manning just can't beat O-State.
That's it. I feel like especially rolling off of a
game like he just had against Texas State. Now, again,

(25:43):
remind you, it's Texas State. He looked amazing. The four touchdowns,
the 350 yards or whatever it was that he posted
passing yardage-wise. Julian Sayen had more of a pedestrian start
to his season. It feels like Arch Manning is ramping
up to have the season everybody's expecting him to have.

(26:05):
And I don't think the expectations aren't nearly as high
on the quarterback in the Buckeye helmet. So, yeah, there's
that factor. It's kind of like the hungriness factor. You know,
you turn on the 49ers-Rams game. Who looked hungrier? Who
looked like that game mattered more to them? There's no question.

(26:25):
By the end of the first quarter, you're like, whoo!
The 49ers look like they're ready to play. I kind
of feel like that's how this game's going to look, too,
with the Longhorns after the first quarter.

Speaker 5 (26:38):
Yeah, I mean, you don't see Ohio State as a
dog too often. I thought Arch looked good last week.
I think the progressions that he's made, he just seems
like a quarterback that is really starting to get comfortable.
at least from what I gather. The offensive line is
the biggest concern, though. It was a big concern last year.

(27:00):
I think that's the one thing about Arch is you
will see the scar tissue in the pocket where he
can feel that pressure, and he's just not quite ready
to hang in and stare down the barrel and make
that throw. I mean, I don't want to give him–
I don't want to knock him too much because I
really do think he is an elite quarterback. And I'm

(27:22):
very excited to watch him continue to grow. You don't
see Ohio State as a dog too often. I think
that's the key here. Ryan Day is not really in
that role too much. One and four straight up as
a dog. Last time it happened was 23 when they
lost outright. So I think– There is some level of
concern that maybe Texas is going to figure it out.

(27:45):
But Steve Sarkeesian hasn't been good in this spot against
top five teams. He's two and seven straight up, three
and six against the spread. So when he's coaching in
those big games, they have underachieved expectations. The offense for
Texas is really good. It's going to be fun to
see how Ohio State handles these skill guys on the outside.

(28:06):
Coleman's a stud. Ryan Wingo playing more in the slot
these days, led the team last week with seven catches
on eight targets and then smothers the back. I think
it's fantastic. They've got another one, Relique Brown from Arizona State,
who's done a really nice job, too. So they've got
four skill guys that maybe are among the best in
the country. Goosby, the left tackle, is their best offensive lineman.

(28:28):
But for the last couple of years, this hasn't been
a great Texas O-line. They're kind of outside the top
80 in a lot of those run push, block push,
win rate categories. So outside of Goosby, it's kind of
like four turnstiles out there. So can Ohio State get
pressure on Arch and get him off of his spot?
On the other side, I mean, I don't know what

(28:50):
you do with Ohio State's offense, guys. I just, I
don't know. I don't know. Chris Henry Jr., the son
of Chris Henry, had a fantastic game last week. True freshman, 6'5, 211,
absolute beast. And oh, by the way, Jeremiah Smith and
Brandon Ennis and Devin McQueen, they just come at you
in waves. So can Texas handle it? Can they surf?

(29:14):
Are they a good surfing team? Because there's so many
different ways for this Ohio State offense to beat you,
and I That's the problem I see with backing Texas tonight.
I think when I look at Texas' team, I still
see Ohio State as a notch above, and I'm catching points.
So it's a really tough ask.

Speaker 3 (29:35):
All right, well, speaking of tough asks, this writes itself.
Let's segue into Keep Your Mill.

Speaker 2 (29:40):
Over here, Jared.

Speaker 3 (29:41):
So the underdog promotion, you start with a million bucks.
You got to.

Speaker 4 (29:44):
Survive 20 questions and whatever is in your whatever's left,
you keep.

Speaker 3 (29:49):
So we start with you. What do you have for
us today here, Jared?

Speaker 5 (29:51):
Well, we're still working out some logistical things with getting
ourselves signed up for this. But I will say this.
So I won't give you a pick today, or at
least not in this hour. Maybe we'll save it for
the next hour. I'm being conservative early. So the strategy
here is you get a million bucks, and you get
a pick, and you have to decide what side of
the aisle you want to be on. You want to

(30:13):
go a million on the over and zero on the under? Well,
that's really risky. You want to go 50-50? Well, that's
very conservative. I think the strategy for this, and there's
a lot of people who have underdog debt are listening
to this right now that are trying to figure out
exactly what they want to do. I think the strategy
early on in the process is slightly aggressive. So if

(30:35):
I was allocating a portfolio like I used to do
in my Merrill Lynch days, I would say 70-30. That's
the average asset allocation for a slightly aggressive portfolio. So
whenever we get this thing fired up, And we will
at some point during the show, I promise. So $ 700, 000
is what I'm going to put on the pick that
I'm giving. And then I'm going to put $ 300, 000 on

(30:57):
the other side. So no matter what, we're going to
take at least $ 300, 000 into next week. But we'll get
you the pick at some point in the show.

Speaker 2 (31:05):
Okay. Are we going around the horn? We'll each grab one?

Speaker 3 (31:10):
I don't know how we're going to do this yet.
We thought Jared was going to do it.

Speaker 5 (31:13):
Yeah, so let's lay the groundwork for this. So I
think here's how we're going to handle this. I'm going
to do it for as long as I possibly can
and take this as long as I possibly can until
I go bust. And hopefully I don't go bust the
whole year. Hopefully I win some money and we can
share with the crew. If and when I zero out,
then we will pass the baton to Rich to take

(31:33):
us from there. And then Rich will have his go.
to try to win a million bucks. But it's already
going to be 700 grand already out of the gate
because I'm going.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
To do 70-30. I am so glad that you just
mentioned that because I was literally this close to putting
it all on Oregon. Oh, my God. Minus the point.
I mean, you could do it if you want. It
would just be a bad show. So I've already done
it one time. Full disclosure, I've been messing around with

(32:04):
this underdog app since they've been our title sponsor. It's
been a short while, but it's been a great while
because getting used to this app has been fantastic. And
this keep your millions thing is fun. And so what
I've done is went all in on every pick and had–
I got up to pick number four, keeping my million dollars.

Speaker 3 (32:23):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (32:24):
Nice.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
And went bust. And I was looking at it. I
was just like, man, if only I got– like eight more,
I would have started hedging. I really would have. I
promised myself, you know, once I got to pick 13, I.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
Don't think there's a right or wrong time to start hedging.
I think it, I do think you have to, for
the purposes of this show, we're going to be a
little conservative early because it's a segment and we want
to keep it going. If I was doing it in the,
in the wild and I just woke up one day,
picked up the underdog app and just started pressing buttons.
I would also shove early too.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 7 (33:02):
I would.

Speaker 5 (33:02):
But for the purposes of the show, we're trying to
do a segment where we can keep this thing rolling
for a little while and see how far we can
take it before we go. So at least for the
first week or two, I'm not going to shove. Maybe
in the.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Third week I will.

Speaker 5 (33:17):
But I think the first two weeks– I was thinking
about it last night. I think the first two weeks
I will be 70-30, 70-30. So whatever we have next week–
will also be a 70-30 split. And then in week three,
we'll see where we're at, and then we'll go from there.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
All right. All right.

Speaker 3 (33:36):
We'll wait for that mystery pick at some point.

Speaker 5 (33:38):
We will. We'll have it next time.

Speaker 3 (33:38):
Cliffhanger.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (33:40):
All right, we've got Rich Ornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith,
FSR betting analyst.

Speaker 3 (33:45):
I'm Brian Noe.

Speaker 4 (33:46):
Underdog is for fans who want to get in on
the action. But when the game isn't won, there's full
of dull moments. Say hello to a whole new way
to play with Underdog Rips. Buy a digital pack, rip it,
and reveal one real physical sports card. You can sell
it back for an instant offer or ship it to yourself,

(34:07):
knowing the odds before you buy. Rip real cards underdog.
Unleash your dog. Terms apply. All right, coming up next,
the parlay platter. We each have one selection for you,
unless Jared wants to wait until the next hour.

Speaker 5 (34:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
I'm kidding.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
We'll have a parlay platter, a portfolio for you right
around the corner. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff,
presented by Underdog.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
Unleash your dog.

Speaker 4 (34:29):
It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Underdog.
Unleash your dog. Underdog is giving you more ways to
play across all sports, money lines, parlays, games, and more.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
And get this.

Speaker 4 (34:40):
They're also dropping $ 1 million into your account with Keep
Your Million, and it's up to you to protect it.
Start with $ 1 million and hedge your bets across 20
player prop questions by splitting your cash on higher or lower.
Keep whatever lands on the winning side, but if you
hit zero, you're out. Make it through all 20 rounds,
and you walk away with whatever's left. Underdog, unleash your dog.

(35:01):
Terms apply. All right, let's do this.

Speaker 2 (35:05):
Check this out.

Speaker 1 (35:06):
Parley Platter.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
Ah, yes, the platter.

Speaker 4 (35:09):
We each have one selection for you. We pool it
together for a greater payout. Jared, we start with you.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
What do you like?

Speaker 5 (35:15):
Well, I am on the Cal Golden Bears today, and
I am going to give you Cal on the money line.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Bit of an underdog money line.

Speaker 5 (35:23):
They're a three-and-a-half point dog, so it's about plus 120
or so on the money line. I think this is
a really good spot for Cal. I like betting teams
off tough losses. They were tied with UCLA heading into
the fourth quarter, but the Bruins went on a crazy
21-zip run to close out the game. It was a
couple of interceptions. It was some miscues by Cal. Now

(35:45):
they face Syracuse this week, who was projected to finish
16th out of 17 ACC teams. And they looked good
against New Hampshire last week, but New Hampshire's terrible. I
think Cal's defense gets back on track, too, after getting
pushed around a little bit by UCLA. And I really
like the spread, which I might give out later. But
for the purposes of the platter, getting a little extra odds,

(36:05):
we'll go Cal on the money line to start things off.

Speaker 2 (36:10):
Okay. Here's what I like in this one. I like
Oregon minus... 23 and a half.

Speaker 7 (36:19):
All right.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
Oregon, they come out the gates. What is happening with
my microphone? Can you guys hear me? Oh, there we go. Okay, gosh.
Oregon was shouting into the abyss. I like Oregon because
even though it looked like they had a tough time
with Boise State offensively, they were pretty dominant. You know,
497 yards, 7.9 per play. Dante Moore looked good. He

(36:44):
had three touchdowns. explosive plays over 50 yards in connection
with receivers. And then you look at Oklahoma state who
secondary surrendered explosive completions to Tulsa on their way to
a loss. So I don't like the matchup for Okie state.
I love it for Oregon. I'll take that minus the
23 and a half.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
I'm looking at this Oklahoma, Michigan game.

Speaker 4 (37:06):
I'm targeting the under in the first half, 22 and
a half points. I just don't see a whole lot
of fireworks early on. I think it's going to be conservative.
I think it's going to be running plays. You think
that Michigan's just going to open up the offense, going
to be high-flying with Bryce Underwood?

Speaker 3 (37:21):
No.

Speaker 4 (37:22):
You think that Oklahoma's just going to be, I don't know,
running at will or passing on will against Michigan's defense?
I don't see that happening.

Speaker 3 (37:28):
I see a slow start.

Speaker 4 (37:30):
I see like a Canelo Alvarez boxing match, right, where...
Canelo might throw a jab the first two rounds. He's
just like figuring out his opponent. I think it's going
to be a lot of that in the first half,
so I like under 22 and a half in the
Oklahoma-Michigan game.

Speaker 5 (37:47):
All right, I've got this at 8-1.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
What do we think?

Speaker 5 (37:52):
Which is the leg that screws us? Probably my money line.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
Well, the biggest risk is probably the money line, but
who knows? I mean, I think it's good to have
something a little spicier in a parlay. Otherwise, it feels like,
why not just make straight bets? So let's roll.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
I always, and not just because our new title sponsor
is Underdog, I am going to try to put an
Underdog money line in the parlay every week. It'll be
my best Underdog money line of the week, my best Underdog, period.
I was considering Arizona State, but I don't think they
can pull off the upset. I do like the Sun
Devils to keep it close. I do have them in

(38:31):
my pool this week at catching 15 and a hook,
but I don't think I'm quite ready. to pull the
trigger on a money lineup. But there is going to
be a seven-point or more dog that wins outright today.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
I just don't know.

Speaker 5 (38:46):
But it happens every week. It happens every week.

Speaker 3 (38:49):
Yeah, absolutely no doubt. It's too big of a menu
for it not to happen. Too many chances. And Rich,
I'll tell you what, man. As Oregon looked pretty stinky
last week, Oklahoma State... Boat raced them in that department.
Oklahoma State last week.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
Holy hell, man.

Speaker 3 (39:07):
Like, what do they have for the Ducks today? And
they're in a horrible spot.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
The Ducks look that mediocre against Boise State at home.
Held on to win by seven points. You're going to
get a focused, angry, motivated Ducks team. This is a
horrible spot for Oklahoma State.

Speaker 7 (39:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
Yeah. And then, honestly, another one I was toying with
was the under on Oklahoma Michigan. Now, I know you win.
with the first half under, but the under in the
game is alive for me as well. Michigan managing only
276 yards and 13 points against Western Michigan. That was
a game that we haven't spoken about yet, but that
was the talk of the college football weekend. Five days ago,

(39:48):
we started the week with, I can't believe they robbed
Western Michigan. That's another one that I'm looking at because
I kind of feel like The consensus is this game,
this Oklahoma-Michigan game, isn't going to be a points fest.

(40:11):
This is going to be a chess match. All right.

Speaker 5 (40:13):
I think I have a millions pick, guys. I've made
my mind up. We're going to go with Oregon. I
have him in my confidence pool this week. It's 23
and a half on underdog. So we'll go 700 grand
on Oregon, and we'll go 300 grand on Oklahoma State.

Speaker 2 (40:33):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (40:33):
That's my final answer.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
Very good.

Speaker 3 (40:36):
All right.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
Very good. He's locking it in. And now our claim
at $ 1 million. One step closer to a million. Or
I guess $ 700, 000. Yeah, and then next week it'll be
like 500 grand.

Speaker 4 (40:46):
He also locked in losing over a quarter of his stack.

Speaker 5 (40:49):
I've never lost that much on one bet.

Speaker 3 (40:50):
All right, coming up next, this man is talk to talk.
Will they walk the walk?

Speaker 2 (40:56):
Oh, what is going on?

Speaker 3 (40:57):
Welcome in. Happy Saturday.

Speaker 4 (40:58):
We will get to talking the talk and then walking
the walk here momentarily. Be sure to subscribe to Fox
Sports Radio's YouTube channel. Just search Fox Sports Radio on
YouTube and you'll see our best videos from all of
our shows. And don't stop there. Hit that thumbs up
icon and comment away. Let us know whose takes you
like and even whose takes you don't like. Just search
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and subscribe.

Speaker 3 (41:21):
Okay, we got Bama. Taking on Kentucky.

Speaker 4 (41:24):
Really interesting, the line movement on underdog. It keeps fluctuating.
Right now, it's Alabama favored by 10.5. Just a little
bit ago, it was Alabama favored by 9.5. Obviously, 10,
pretty key number. So it keeps fluctuating up, down, up, down.
So a lot of money coming in. And how about
walking the walk? This would be Kentucky's head coach, Will Stein,

(41:46):
back at SEC Media Days in July.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
This is.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
This is a great soundbite.

Speaker 2 (41:51):
Here you go.

Speaker 5 (41:52):
Why do you think you can win big here?

Speaker 2 (41:55):
This is going to sound like really, I.

Speaker 5 (41:58):
Think because of me, to be honest.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
I think it's me. All right.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
Because of me, baby.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
Let's go.

Speaker 4 (42:04):
So Will Stein, he definitely did the talking in SEC
media days. This is where the walking begins. It's a
big home game, obviously, taking on Bama. Roll Tide roll.
Kalen DeBoer. I mean, Bama got off to a really rough,
rough start last year. FSU went five and seven last
season and they smacked around Alabama. So it's going to

(42:26):
be a hot day. Kentucky, pretty decent defense. So we'll
see what happens with Keelan Russell, who looked pretty good
last week. Alabama's quarterback now. And he's a dual-threat guy, man.

Speaker 3 (42:38):
He can run around. He can scoot.

Speaker 4 (42:40):
So we'll see what he can do with his legs
in particular against this Kentucky defense. But I'm excited for
this matchup, and I like the line movement. It keeps
fluctuating right there.

Speaker 3 (42:49):
I would say this. If you're on Kentucky, wait to
get double digits at least.

Speaker 4 (42:53):
If you're on the south side of 10, that's not
where you want to be. Wait for it to tick
up before you get on Kentucky. And vice versa, if
you're on Bama, you should not be laying– Ten and
a half. You should be laying nine and a half.
You've got to wait for the right opportunity and pounce,
but you can't get the worst of the number, man.

Speaker 2 (43:10):
Yeah. Now, just to sort of focus on Russell and
sort of the matchup that he's going to see today
against Kentucky. First, let's just talk about what he did
against ECU. Produced 342 overall yards, 256 of which threw
the air in a team high 86 rushing game. Look,

(43:31):
it wasn't a road start against Kentucky, but it was something.
It was a data point, and I think it bodes
extremely well. However, he's going into a game now on
the road in the SEC where one of the biggest
problems that Kentucky had to solve a week ago was
going against one of the better running quarterbacks that they'll

(43:56):
see This season, the player of the year out of
the FCS last year, it's Bo Brungard. And they held
him to 29 net rushing yards with no run longer
than seven yards. So it's like kind of a fascinating
little mini game inside of the bigger game. Kentucky, Alabama is.

(44:18):
Is Russell's legs going to be as effective against Kentucky
this week and week two as it was last week?
Because as mentioned, he was the leading rusher for the
Crimson Tide. So that's that's a key. Right. You know,
a lot of mobile quarterbacks. they'll get some of their
jitters out by having success on the ground. In fact,
coaches will know their players and many times script some

(44:40):
plays where, hey, we're going to get you out into space.
If you can't create with your arm, take what you
can get with your legs. Don't sacrifice your body. If
you can get us the first down by running it
on this bootleg, go ahead and do it. You know, hey,
we're going to move the pocket for you. You're going
to be limited to only the right side of the field.
But if you can make something special happen or if
they're giving you space and not respecting your run game,

(45:03):
take what the defense gives you. Like those are conversations
you have with a a mobile quarterback. And if I'm Kentucky.
I'm kind of sticking with the script. Whatever you did
against Brungard a week ago, do that against Russell this
week and see if you can't limit the damage he's
going to do against you and warming himself up into
the game he wants to play.

Speaker 5 (45:25):
Should be a really fun matchup. Double-digit underdogs in the SEC,
especially home underdogs, have done very well. 14-6 against the
number since 23. Double-digit home underdogs in the SEC have
performed very well against the spread. Oh, by the way,
last year, Kentucky at home, double digit dog against Texas.

(45:47):
Go watch that film. I'm sure Texas doesn't want to.
It was one of their tightest games of the year.
They almost barely, barely got out of Lexington with a win.
13-10 was the final. I think when I watched, so
I did do a deep dive on the Alabama film
last week. It was great. I guess okay. I think
the box score looked better than the tape did, if

(46:10):
that makes sense. They blew out ECU. It was a
wide margin in terms of the final score. But when
I watched the film, it didn't wow me, especially on
the offensive line. There was one guy on the offensive
line that played really well, Rayson Delgatti, Cal Poly transfer. Freak.
He's the center. Rich, you'd love this kid. I mean,
he's everywhere on the field. Watch 55 today on the

(46:32):
offensive line. He is an absolute stud. You don't see
guys from Cal Poly transfer to the SEC too often
and hit the ground running. I think he's going to.
Ryan Williams is– I'm concerned because the drops are one thing.
That's obvious. You're a receiver. Catch the ball. But I
watched some plays where he is supposed to be the

(46:52):
crack blocker, meaning he's coming towards the line of scrimmage
and then basically racing towards a free safety to try
to block in the red zone. Key play. And he
just has no effort. There's no fire, no juice. And
that is a problem. Because if you're physically unable to
catch the football, and he had some nice plays in
the game, I don't want to completely torch him. But

(47:14):
when the effort is not there, I need to see
more of that. Russell, I think, is going to be
a player. Very tough to tackle, slippery, but he exposes
himself a lot to contact. That is something I need
to see cleaned up. You got to coach that up
because in the SEC, he's going to get popped and
he's either going to fumble or get hurt. And he
needs to really do a better job protecting himself when

(47:34):
he's running. And he's going to be running it a
lot this year. He needs to protect himself. But he
can sit in the pocket. He has good feel for
the pocket and he can rip balls in a tight windows.
He has a big time arm. And I think Bama
is going to be a really fun watch on offense
this year. I think it's going to be a different
offense this year, Brian. Last year with Simpson, it was
a lot more in the pocket and scanning through progressions.

(47:57):
And it was a bit of a different vibe. Russell,
I think, is going to hopefully add an outside-the-pocket element
this year. Like, Bama's still an inside mid-zone team, which
is kind of a surprise. because there's so much stunting
and twisting that goes on at the line of scrimmage
these days, it's really tough to block those inside zones.
I wouldn't be shocked if they ran a little bit
more boots and waggles to try to get him outside

(48:17):
the pocket, a little more counter and power. I think
that's something you'll see Alabama do later in the year,
because I don't love the inside zone. But right now,
they look to be a pretty basic offense. I need
more effort out of Ryan Williams, and I need to
see Keelan Russell do a better job protecting himself. But
I think this is a high upside Bama offense this year,
no doubt.

Speaker 4 (48:36):
Yeah, that's the thing. Ryan Coleman Williams, he's adding names
to him. He's adding extra characters to his name, I
should say. Coleman Williams, mixed bag last week, as Jared's
talking about. On the good side, 130 receiving yards against
East Carolina. Obviously good, but two costly drops, and they
were ugly drops. Dropped a touchdown, dropped one. That was

(49:00):
a deep ball over the middle. would have been a
huge gain and he's just wide open and dropped it.
Lack of concentration. If this was sort of a one-off game,
that'd be one thing, but that's what plagued him last season.
And that's a rough start to this season where he's
already dropping multiple passes. So today, he's at 70 and

(49:20):
a half receiving yards on underdog which is nearly double
everybody else on the football field whether it's a bama
receiver or a kentucky wide receiver any pass catchers he's
got almost double the yardage going in in terms of
his prop bet, 70 and a half.

Speaker 3 (49:37):
So he's a special talent. It's just weird.

Speaker 4 (49:39):
He got off to such a dynamic start at Alabama.
And then last season it was like, who is this guy?
Who's this imposter? Like Ryan Williams is unbelievable. He wasn't
last season and now Ryan Coleman Williams. It's just too
much of a guy that talented shouldn't be messing up
the amount of times that he does. And that's the

(50:00):
concern is if you put that in other terms for
a quarterback, it would be like Mahomes just missing a
five yard out. And it's just like, how does that
happen when he's so dynamic and making all these other plays?
That's what it seems like with Ryan Coleman Williams. That's
the reality. He's got to do a lot better job
not missing the layups, Rich.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
Yeah, there's no question about it. I really think that
Alabama's game plan has to be how do we spread
this ball around so Russell doesn't have to be our
savior in this game against Kentucky where it's going to
be one of the most lively environments they play in
early this year and get this team to focus in

(50:41):
on a game that's important like they all are and
not be looking ahead to the Seminoles in a week.
It's a pretty tricky task sometimes to keep teams motivated
against underwhelming opponents early in the season. Alabama hasn't played
in Kentucky, I think it's all the way back... Yeah, 2013,

(51:04):
last time Alabama's been to Kentucky.

Speaker 5 (51:06):
Wow, that's a long time.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
Yeah, a really long time, which is a very odd stat,
by the way, and it kind of speaks to how
conferences align opponents, but... It's a larger debate. And then also...
Kentucky against Youngstown State, I really like the way that
Stein utilized his tight ends. I thought that Minchie put

(51:29):
in the hands of his tight ends often, and they
scored two touchdowns as a result of getting the ball
to their tight ends. And that really will strain Alabama
if they continue with that thought process heading into this
week because you're forcing safeties and linebackers to declare coverage.

(51:50):
It can create other opportunities on the run pass option
that Kentucky likes to run. You'll see some of those
more lateral passes, bubble screen type things, based off of
their inside run game that they can get to. And also,
if you're not going to respect their tight ends, They'll
pop a slant over your head even though you have

(52:10):
a run play aligned in the backfield because you're playing
soft coverage or you're committing too much to the line
of scrimmage. So Kentucky, I'm not saying that they're going
to win, but I am saying this is a tough
road matchup for a team that has a lot of
expectations on them as they always do. It's Alabama. And

(52:33):
for a team in Kentucky who, you know, look, I
know you hate the term house money, Brian, but a
team that absolutely could play looser in this situation because
of what expectations are for Kentucky versus what they are
for their opponent here. I think this is kind of
a scary early season matchup for Alabama on the road.

Speaker 5 (52:56):
Yeah, let's talk a little bit about the Kentucky offense.
I think Minchie, you know, we don't really know what
he is because he didn't play at Notre Dame. 18
to 27 last week, 300 yards, four tutties. The thing
that stood out to me when I'm looking at a
quarterback in a new system, are you making quick decisions?
Two and a half second time to throw rate. Quick,
really good. I like to see that. You mentioned the

(53:18):
tight ends, Rich. They were the leading receivers last week,
Skinner and Rodriguez. Skinner, the redshirt freshman, looks really good.
Four for 61 and a touch. Those were their highest
graded receivers last week, those two tight ends. I like
the backs, Patterson and Baxter. We know him from Texas.
They've got some guys who could play. Kenny Darby, he's
a freshman receiver, looked really good last week. Three for 74.

(53:39):
I think there's upside here. I mean, I like Will
Stein as a play caller. I think that's the side
of the matchup that is the wild card. Alabama's secondary
maybe is the best in the country outside of Oregon.
I mean, Dijon Lee, Bray Hubbard, Keon Saab. I mean,
good luck finding a better trio than those guys. Hubbard
and Saber experienced redshirt fifth-year seniors. And I think that's

(54:03):
the matchup within the matchup here is Will Stein, who
Brian played you the clip. He thinks very highly of himself.
He's an offensive coach, very sharp guy going up against
what I would consider outside of Oregon, the best secondary
in the country. So I'm curious to see if the
tight end matchups give Alabama some problems. I would say

(54:24):
if I was ranking Alabama's defense, it's top down. I
don't love their pass rush. I think their linebacker level
is okay. I don't love their pass rush. That's always
been an issue for them. They've got a couple of
guys that can get after the passer, but they don't
have that one stud that you just have to account for.
it's really the secondary that plays from the top down.
So this is going to be that type of game

(54:47):
where if Kentucky can get a little momentum, especially at
home and feel like they're in it, I think that'll
hopefully propel them. I've got this being a close game.
I think it's going to be a one score game.
I think it's going to be like a 31-24 game.
I think it'll be slightly higher scoring. I really like
Alabama's offense. I like the upside there. And I think
Kentucky's offense If they grow into it with Minchie and Stein,

(55:10):
I think they've got a chance to be pretty good
this year in the SEC.

Speaker 2 (55:14):
Very nice. All right.

Speaker 4 (55:15):
We've got Rich Hornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith, FSR
betting analyst with us.

Speaker 3 (55:21):
I'm Brian Noe.

Speaker 4 (55:21):
Football is back on Underdog Sports, and so is your
chance to instantly call yourself a millionaire. Then try to
keep it that way. Underdog drops the stash straight into
your account with Keep Your Million.

Speaker 3 (55:31):
Here's how it works.

Speaker 4 (55:32):
You pick a player and divide your cash between higher
or lower, like putting $ 700, 000 on your favorite quarterback to
throw higher on his passing yards and hedge the remaining
$ 300, 000 on lower. Keep whatever wins. It's 20 rounds between
you and a million dollars underdog. Unleash your dog.

Speaker 3 (55:50):
Terms apply.

Speaker 4 (55:51):
All right, coming up next, not only was the ending.
incredibly weird. The comments that followed were also very strange.
We'll explain coming up. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown
to Kickoff, presented by Underdog.

Speaker 3 (56:05):
Unleash your dog. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff,
presented by Underdog.

Speaker 4 (56:10):
Unleash your dog. Digital packs have dropped on Underdog. Every
collector remembers their first big poll. Underdog rips. That's how
you find your next one. Buy a pack, rip it,
and reveal one real physical sports card, sell it back
to Underdog, or have us ship it straight to your door.

Speaker 3 (56:30):
Rip real cards, Underdog. Unleash your dog. Terms apply.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
All right.

Speaker 4 (56:36):
We've got another SEC versus Big Ten matchup over here. Big,
big day. SEC versus Big Ten. Oklahoma at Michigan State.
The line is fluctuating, okay? Right now, you could get
plus 5.5 with Michigan. You could lay 4.5 with Oklahoma.
So it's just up, down, east, west. It's all over

(56:57):
the place right now.

Speaker 3 (56:59):
So a lot of money pouring in on both sides, really.
But how about this?

Speaker 4 (57:03):
We get to the odd ending, and then we'll get
to the weird comments. So if we go piece by piece,
like Denzel said in Man on Fire, we'll start with this.
Michigan won the game against Western Michigan, which was a
goofy scenario at the end of the game. You've heard
about that all week, so we'll go CliffsNotes version here.

(57:23):
They put an extra second back on the clock. Highly
debatable whether that should have happened or not, but we
bring it up because of what's happening going forward. Beginning today,
the Big Ten is expanding access.

Speaker 3 (57:36):
To replay reviews.

Speaker 4 (57:38):
You're going to hear the conversations, kind of like the ACC, right?
You hear the conversations. You see what they are looking at.
You see what they are watching and seeing, right? And
so there's less of a curtain in front of you.
I don't want to peek behind the curtain. I don't
want a curtain. Get rid of the curtains.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
Let us in. It changes things.

Speaker 4 (57:59):
If you heard that conversation and saw what they were
looking at, maybe you have a different opinion of that
second being put back on the clock. But when they
release a video hours after the game, you're like, this
is shady as can be. So that's changing starting today.
The new access will include every Big Ten game. as
well as 21 non-league games officiated by Big Ten on-field

(58:22):
and replay crews. So if the Big Ten is involved
in officiating and replays, they're going to have this new
protocol in place. And I think it's just a matter
of time until we see this all over the place
in Power 4.

Speaker 3 (58:36):
You see it in the ACC, now you're seeing it
in the Big Ten.

Speaker 4 (58:38):
You're going to see it all across the Power 4 landscape,
maybe even beyond.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
Where there's just more transparency.

Speaker 4 (58:45):
You can't have a situation like last week where you're like, well,
our clock said one second. The NBC clock said zero.
They're different clocks. It's like they reset it to nine seconds.
How do we have different clocks to begin with? We
shouldn't have a DJ Khaled situation with another one.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
I didn't know there were different clocks involved. This is ridiculous.

Speaker 4 (59:07):
So there's more transparency there. and the protocol has changed
for what it's worth when they go to replay. And
if you need to restore or adjust the clock, okay,
whenever that happens. So they're going to use the embedded
game clock contained within the program feed. If they don't
have access to that, then they're going to use the

(59:28):
graphic on the broadcast feed. So this new protocol means
that Western Michigan would have won the game. If they
had this new protocol before last week, Western Michigan wins
the game. But we have new protocol and new measures
going forward. Sorry, Western Michigan, but things have changed going forward.

(59:49):
At least you have that going for you. But you
took the L with you as well.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Man, I know this is an unpopular take, and it's
becoming more and more unpopular by the hour as more
and more people become involved in sports betting and daily
fantasy and trying to get strings of picks and props
and things together on their apps. And I get it.

(01:00:15):
And look, I'm... Even games that you didn't think you
could be interested in the outcomes for because it's the
tail end of a five-game parlay you've got cooked up.
All of a sudden, you're all in on Western Michigan.
So I get it. I totally understand why instant replay

(01:00:37):
is such an important part of the game. But if
you can 100% guarantee to me the veracity of.
The officiating crews, right? And that's what we're supposed to have.
We're supposed to have completely honest and objective officiating crews.
Then why do we need instant replay? Sports are all

(01:00:58):
about human error, whether it's the athletes or the calls
on the field. To me, it is a beautiful mess.
That's what sports are. And so I think when we
are going to criticize the fractions of the seconds in
playback over and over and over again. And those details, oftentimes,

(01:01:22):
because even with instant replay, how many times does this
happen on a football Sunday or football Saturday where there's
a ton of games on and then all of a
sudden you... Your thumb hits the remote. You're overwatching this game.
And you may not have a dog in a fight,
but you're looking at a close call. Was his toe
in or out of bounds on the sideline? Did the
clock read this number or that number? Was it triple

(01:01:44):
zeros or the one second left? There could be a
division on opinions. And I don't think it I don't
think it really helps the sport, whatever sport, whether it's basketball, football, baseball.
Are there egregious errors made by the officiating crews sometimes? Yeah,
there absolutely are. But if they aren't subjective errors. If

(01:02:05):
they are errors made while trying to objectively officiate a game,
I've got no problem with them. I've got no problem
with them because it's a part of the game. Umpires
miss balls and strikes. Referees miss fouls. Officials in football.
They'll miss big plays in the end zone. Was it

(01:02:25):
a fumble? Wasn't it a fumble? Was the knee down?
Was the elbow down? Honestly, if we got to go
to instant replay, you miss me. I don't care about it.
I don't like it. I think it's kind of ruined
the action of football, basketball, baseball. And I would be
more a fan of eliminating it altogether than having to waste.

(01:02:46):
hours of your sports weekend watching striped shirts talk on
headsets and waste our time it's annoying and it needs
to go away.

Speaker 5 (01:02:57):
Wow I did not expect the conversation to go in
this direction I I disagree I I think there I
think there has to be some level of there's just
These refs are just– they're old and they're not as
quick as they need to be to keep up with
20-year-old athletes on the field. Like they need help. And

(01:03:22):
maybe 30 years ago when things were slower and there
was less things to officiate, there's so many more rules
and different things. Now, like I feel for the officials
having to deal with so much. Now, it's their job,
so figure it out. But I'm OK with there being
a layer of a safety net. I think we do
need that. Now, that doesn't mean that the safety net

(01:03:45):
can be some secret booth somewhere where they're making these
decisions and nobody knows what's happening. I think we need
transparency with the safety net, just like we have the
officials on the field talking it out. I think we
need to hear what they're saying. And I think we're
getting to that point. The ACC did it last year.
I thought it was fantastic. I thought it was one
of the best parts of the whole year last year
was getting inside of the replay room. and actually seeing

(01:04:07):
and hearing what they're doing. I do think it adds
a layer of transparency that is necessary because of what
you mentioned, Rich, the gambling and all of the other
things happening behind the scenes. The stakes are higher now.
The sport is worth a lot more money than it
was 10 years ago. Nonetheless, 40 years ago before replay
was even considered a thing. And I think we do
need that extra layer of security. At the end of

(01:04:29):
the day, they obviously got this call wrong, really wrong. And,
That's why they're changing the rules in the middle of
the season. Like how often do you see rules get
changed mid-season? Very, very rare. So I think we just
need some layer of continuity with what's happening because it's
definitely not– it was one of the weirder situations that

(01:04:52):
I've seen. But I will say this. I would rather
have this type of controversy than the controversy that we
have with the SEC and with LSU, with the players
and the NFL players coming back At least the clock controversy.
This isn't the first time that Michigan's done this.

Speaker 3 (01:05:08):
This is the first time.

Speaker 5 (01:05:09):
It's happened to many schools where the clock is kind
of an issue and they kind of fudge the second
or something. It's happened before. I think it's the good
kind of controversy in college football and not the kind
of controversy where you have professional players coming back to
the sport and SEC suing the LSU team and kicking
them out of the league. That's the bad kind of controversy.
At least this, I think, is on-the-field controversy that hopefully

(01:05:32):
we could figure out.

Speaker 4 (01:05:33):
Okay, I'm going to start with an olive branch here, Rich,
and segue into how I hate your argument and we're.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
No longer friends. I did it the nice way. I
was nice about it. You don't have to be nice.
Nobody likes this argument. I get it.

Speaker 4 (01:05:49):
I'll meet you halfway because I think this is what
any fan would want. Replay needs to be efficient. Don't
take a day and a half. Keep the game flow going.
And the standard is it needs to be clear and obvious.
If you go to the replay booth and it's not
clear and obvious, stick with the original call.

Speaker 3 (01:06:10):
On with life!

Speaker 4 (01:06:12):
We don't need to take minutes upon minutes to determine if, hey,
he was inbounds when he released the ball, so it's
a gain of plus five.

Speaker 3 (01:06:22):
It shouldn't take forever.

Speaker 4 (01:06:24):
And if it isn't clear and obvious, you've got to
move on with life here. So you've got to be efficient,
move it along, and let's not worry about, was this
blade of grass? You know, it gets too technical. I
think replay has gotten too technical a lot of the time.
But here's where I differ with you, Rich. in terms
of just eliminating replay altogether. We only keep track of

(01:06:44):
when replay fails. We never keep score of when it
works and when it helps. That just brushes by all
of us. I want everybody listening who's like, get rid
of replay altogether. I want you to pay attention to
when it works and what the situation would be if
we didn't have replay. It can make a mammoth change

(01:07:08):
in a lot of games. Baseball, we got ABS now.
There are games where it's like strike three and the
hitter's like, no, challenge that. And it's like, oh, that's
ball three. The next pitch is a ball. You got
runners at first and second with one out. You would
have had a wrong call, two outs, and only a
runner at first. It makes a world of difference. And

(01:07:29):
there are better examples. The fifth down with Missouri, right? Like,
that's not a thing now. Don Dankinger messing up the
first base call and screwing the Cardinals out of a
World Series. That's not a thing anymore. That's obviously wrong.
We can correct those things, and that's a good thing.
They just have to be more efficient with it. They
have to keep it moving. If it isn't clear and obvious,

(01:07:52):
on with life. And what happened with the Michigan game
was just a calamity, man. I agree, there are times
where I'm like, oh gosh, replay again. But it's not
like just level the entire house. We've got to remodel
the kitchen and the spare bedroom here, but we shouldn't
level the whole house because those two departments need work.

Speaker 3 (01:08:14):
I just wouldn't get rid of the whole thing.

Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
I and it's it's such a sticking point for me.
And it's not even that I haven't heard or thought
about the other side of the conversation. And and frankly,
I think you made a lot of points where that
would be, in my opinion, the best of the the
the best of the current situation is have. At very least,

(01:08:37):
if we're going to have to live with instant replay,
have it be quicker. Have it not be such a debate.
Not have to go to commercial break. That's the part
of it that I think ruins or increases the gamesmanship
of instant replay, whereas it was never supposed to be that.
It's now another chess piece on the board that... depending

(01:09:00):
on the circumstance and what sport you're watching you know
sometimes you're in the middle of a fourth quarter high
action high octane important driving a game and the world
has to stop because we need to figure out whether
the knee was down or not and And, like, I'm
just not for it. Now, don't get me wrong. Clear
and obvious. Move on quickly. Those words make a lot

(01:09:23):
of sense to me if we are stuck in the
world with instant replay. But guess what? Sports. And I
don't want to, like, I realize I'm a former professional athlete,
and this feels, like, very self-aggrandizing, but... It's art. It's
not a science. You know what I mean? This isn't
something that's exacting. Everybody approaches the quarterback position differently. Every

(01:09:48):
starting pitcher in Major League Baseball has a different tweak.
A fastball is in a fastball. Some guys hold it
with this grip. Some guys hold it with that grip.
Some guys like the seams facing this way. Some guys
like the seams facing that way. It's what makes the
game beautiful. We wouldn't go and criticize Picasso's every brush stroke. Otherwise,

(01:10:09):
the guy would have gone insane. He would have never
picked up a paintbrush again. You know, it's just it's
it's to me less scientific and more more artistic and
even officiating a game. I see it through that lens.
So what happened to Western Michigan, to be perfectly honest
with you, is atrocious because with my own eyes and

(01:10:29):
everybody else's, they won that football game. And then through
the scrutinizing detail of instant replay, they snatched a defeat
from the jaws of victory and gave it to Michigan,
who did not deserve it. I mean, because plain as day,
it looked like what it was. And as it turns out...

(01:10:51):
Under the new protocol, it is what it is. It
should have been a W and an enormous upset all
over again for Michigan at the big house. And look,
even when they get instant replay, right, there are times
where I'm saying to myself, holy cow, we just wasted
a whole lot of time. to get that call that
is consequential, correct. However, I would have enjoyed the game

(01:11:14):
just as much either way. Now, I get it. There's
bettors and there's money and there's markets that depend on
this thing, and we have to be critical and it's
crucially important that these are really, really third parties and
they're looking at these games through objective lenses, these officiating crews,
because if they're not, then you have a whole other
detail of the game that's turned on its ear. But yeah,

(01:11:37):
I just can't stand how Western Michigan lost that game.
And it is, it is a damning situation that we're
going to invest more into instant replay instead of less.
But again, that's a hill I'm willing to die on
and I'm all alone. And I realize it like nobody
wants to be on this hill with me.

Speaker 5 (01:11:54):
Yeah. I can't stand it either. Cause I had Western
Michigan over seven and a half wins and I thought
that was going to be.

Speaker 2 (01:12:01):
A big one in my back pocket.

Speaker 5 (01:12:03):
Um, Interesting game today to move the conversation forward. I
think the value– and I get a lot of data
from people who are much smarter than me and models
who are much smarter than me. You guys are going
to be shocked at what the models are telling me today.
The models are telling me today to hammer the over.

(01:12:24):
I know that sounds crazy. But at 43, I think
I saw 43.5 on Underdog, the latest tick.

Speaker 2 (01:12:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:12:34):
It's moved too much. It opened 46 and it's gotten
hammered down. And the value, as they say, is now
on the over. I mean, I'm going to bet the over. No,
you don't have to bet every edge that ever gets
handed to you because there's these things called situations and
stipulations and scenarios that maybe don't favor the over. And
I think there's a lot of defense in this game
that obviously pushes towards that. But the real question is,

(01:12:56):
has the spread moved too much? The total is one thing.
Get a late touchdown, get a late pick six. I've
seen a lot of defensive games go over because of sloppiness.
But the Oklahoma number, which was a massive, massive adjustment.
Oklahoma was a two-point underdog on the look ahead when
this line opened in early August.

Speaker 2 (01:13:18):
Underdog.

Speaker 5 (01:13:19):
Not our sponsor, but shout out to them too. But
they were an underdog in this game. Now they are
almost a touchdown favorite. Six and a half is the
latest number I see. way, way too much of an over-adjustment. Now, again,
does that mean I'm going to go empty the account
on Michigan? No, because there's other things at play here.
But this is a great early litmus test for market dynamics.

(01:13:45):
And we see this more in college football than the NFL.
You will not see an NFL line move more than
three points. Very rare, unless a starting quarterback gets hurt,
of course. But that's not the case here. I think
there has to be a point where you just hold
your nose and bet Michigan. But I don't know if
I'm there yet. Maybe by the end of the show
you guys can convince me. I don't know if I

(01:14:06):
could get there. But every number I'm seeing, like for example,
the Bryce Underwood touchdown number, it's a half.

Speaker 2 (01:14:13):
One.

Speaker 5 (01:14:14):
Can you throw one touchdown, Bryce Underwood? No. I mean,
these are numbers that you usually see for FCS teams
facing FBS opponents. This is Michigan at home against a
big-time opponent. I want to unload on a lot of
these props and a lot of these angles that I
see value on with Michigan, but I don't know. The

(01:14:35):
situation might just be too much for me to get there.

Speaker 4 (01:14:38):
You know, when you mention the models, what they're saying,
my stupid mind thinks of it'd be cool if you
had like a text thread going with like Cindy Crawford
and Giselle Bunch.

Speaker 5 (01:14:47):
Oh, yeah. I think that's a different show.

Speaker 3 (01:14:51):
Yeah, I would like that. Yeah, that's those are the
models right there that you're relying on. I like that idea.

Speaker 4 (01:14:57):
We've got Rich Ornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith, FSR
betting analyst. I'm Brian Noe. Football is back on Underdog Sports,
and so is your chance to instantly call yourself a millionaire.
Then try to keep it that way. Underdog drops the
stash straight into your account with Keep Your Million.

Speaker 3 (01:15:12):
Here's how it works.

Speaker 4 (01:15:13):
Pick a player and divide your cash between higher or lower. Like,
for instance, putting $ 700, 000 on your favorite quarterback to throw
higher on his passing yards. and hedging the remaining $ 300, 000
on lower. Keep whatever wins. It's 20 rounds between you
and a million dollars underdog.

Speaker 3 (01:15:31):
Unleash your dog.

Speaker 2 (01:15:32):
Terms apply.

Speaker 4 (01:15:33):
All right, coming up next, prop it up, the prop
betting market. We will compare copious amounts of notes, get
you a couple of plays. Hopefully they're winners. It's just
a bunch of legwork for nothing. We'll get you some
winners around the corner as well. It is Fox Sports
Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Underdog.

Speaker 3 (01:15:53):
Unleash your dog.

Speaker 4 (01:15:54):
It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Underdog.
Unleash your dog. Everyone thinks they're a genius until kickoff hits.
But you're different.

Speaker 3 (01:16:03):
You actually are a genius. Show everyone the truth.

Speaker 4 (01:16:06):
Download Underdog Sports today and get up to a 50%
deposit match to kick your season off right. The perfect
excuse to play money lines, spreads, games, and more across
all sports. This is an app built for real fans
who take excitement seriously.

Speaker 2 (01:16:21):
Underdog.

Speaker 3 (01:16:21):
Unleash your dog. Terms apply. All right, let's do this.

Speaker 2 (01:16:28):
Prop it up.

Speaker 1 (01:16:30):
Player Plays.

Speaker 3 (01:16:31):
Ah yes the prop betting market jared we start with
you with something you.

Speaker 5 (01:16:35):
Like well we just talked about bryce underwood and how
maybe his passing touchdowns prop um was a good bet
we're gonna stay away from that though we're gonna look
at his rushing yards and we're gonna go lower than
31 and a half we love betting the lowers on
rushing yard props for quarterbacks. Why? Because sacks count to

(01:16:56):
the negative. And when he faced Oklahoma last year, he
finished with negative one rushing yards. Now, he only got
sacked once. He only actually attempted three rushes in that game.
And I think in general, I expect Bryce Underwood to
play better than he did last week, even though he's
obviously facing stiffer competition. He played really bad last week.

(01:17:16):
The thing that really intrigues me about this bet, obviously
the sacks matter as well. But there's a chance he
might get benched. I would not be shocked if at
some point during the game, especially in the second half,
if Michigan's offense is really struggling... I would not be
shocked if they brought in any of the backups. They
got a couple of guys. They got a kid they
transferred from Colorado State last year. They got a freshman

(01:17:38):
as well. They have two capable backup quarterbacks. So Bryce Underwood,
lower than 31.5 rushing yards, my favorite prop.

Speaker 2 (01:17:46):
Of the day. All right, Underdog has John Mateer listed
with 30.5 rushing yards, and I'm actually going to take
the higher than 30.5 rushing yards on this one because, look,
This was the game plan. Brent Venable's Ben Arbuckle revealed

(01:18:07):
their plan a year ago with John Mateer. It was
to attack them with his legs. And he's a legit
rushing quarterback. You look all the way back at 2024,
this has been a part of his makeup. Over 800
yards rushing. And don't look at a week ago and say, yeah, well,
I mean, he rushed for like seven yards against UTEP.
They demolished them and they weren't going to put Mateer

(01:18:30):
in any sort of harm's way. I think this is
the game plan. He was he was Oklahoma's leading rusher
last time around. So I think the over or the
higher than 30 and a half is going to hit
and it's going to sail past there. I think this
is this is going to be a part of the
game strip. So give me John Mateer higher than 30.
and a half rushing yards. Okay.

Speaker 3 (01:18:52):
Well, Hey, back with it. Let's stick with this game.

Speaker 2 (01:18:54):
Shall we?

Speaker 5 (01:18:55):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:18:55):
You could do a little same game parlay if you want,
but I'm going to go Jordan Marshall lower than 63
and a half rushing yards. He did Next to nothing
last week against Western Michigan. In my mind, it goes
up against a better defense in Oklahoma. And really, think
about this. What are you keying in on? Is it, hey, man,
we got to slow down Bryce Underwood in this dynamic

(01:19:18):
passing attack, right?

Speaker 3 (01:19:19):
Or is it, we need to slow down the running
game here. We need to slow down Jordan Marshall. That's
the head of the snake.

Speaker 4 (01:19:26):
So I'm going to go lower than 63 and a
half rushing yards. His prop ticked down a lot week
over week and maybe too much. Time will tell, but
I still think there's.

Speaker 3 (01:19:36):
Value on the lower. So I'll go on the low.

Speaker 4 (01:19:40):
With Jordan Marshall under 63.5, sorry, lower than 63.5 rush yards.

Speaker 5 (01:19:45):
I like that, on the low. I'll give you another
quick one. L.J. Martin, lower than 16.5 receiving yards. BYU
running back, not a huge part of their passing game.
And when Arizona faced BYU last year, it was a
long game. It was an overtime game, and he did not,
I think he only recorded one catch in the entire game,

(01:20:07):
and it was for like three yards. So I think L.J. Martin,
while he's obviously a big part of the running game,
not a huge part of the passing game. So I
do like using the running back props if I can
find an angle that I like lower than 16.5 receiving
yards for L.J.

Speaker 2 (01:20:23):
Martin.

Speaker 5 (01:20:24):
You might hear that one a little bit later as well.

Speaker 7 (01:20:26):
Thanks.

Speaker 4 (01:20:27):
I almost went lower on Arch Manning's rushing yards for
what you're talking about, Jared.

Speaker 5 (01:20:31):
You know we love the sacks.

Speaker 3 (01:20:32):
Shakey O-line, at least a question mark. Sack yardage, 26
and a half.

Speaker 2 (01:20:37):
It's tough right there.

Speaker 4 (01:20:38):
All right, coming up next, this matchup looks one-sided heading in,
but will it play out that way?

Speaker 2 (01:20:44):
Oh, what is going on?

Speaker 4 (01:20:45):
We will get to the matchup of the day that
might also have the player matchup of the day. Details
in just a couple of seconds. Hey, with the iHeartRadio app,
you can stream us wherever you happen to be. Catch
us in all of our Fox Sports Radio shows live
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all day, every day. And be sure to select Fox

(01:21:07):
Sports Radio as one of your presets in the iHeart
app so it'll always pop up at the top of
your screen. So there's no debate, the matchup of the
day is number one Ohio State against number four Hook'em.
The Texas Longhorns. 7.30 p.m. Eastern time tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:21:22):
We get it on.

Speaker 4 (01:21:23):
I think the matchup within that matchup is top billing
as well. I think it's the QB matchup. I love
the QB matchup in Ohio State, Texas. Because we've got
Arch Manning, who might be the number one pick when
the 27 NFL draft rolls around.

Speaker 3 (01:21:39):
He's got all the tools.

Speaker 4 (01:21:41):
He's got the name. He could very well be the
number one overall pick. Julian Sayen... To me, you tell
me if you think this is a good comparison.

Speaker 3 (01:21:49):
I think it is. You could say, no, this is
not your best work. I've got to be honest with you.

Speaker 4 (01:21:53):
I think he's very Purdy-ish. Doesn't he remind you of
Brock Purdy? where just like Purdy, Sayen, he doesn't have
great traits. He doesn't have anything that really makes you
drool because he doesn't have those type of elite traits.
But what he does do, like Purdy, make smart decisions,
very accurate, throws with anticipation. You can win big games

(01:22:18):
with Julian Sayen. He just doesn't have those traits that
make you ooh and ah and like, oh, this is
going to be the number one overall pick. That's definitely
going to be Julian saying you're not going to say
that about him. But especially in a matchup like this,
I would be shocked at all if he has the
better evening. But it's just it's a funny thing where
we fall in love with traits and it's like just

(01:22:40):
fall in love with.

Speaker 3 (01:22:42):
What players get out of their traits?

Speaker 2 (01:22:44):
OK, right.

Speaker 4 (01:22:45):
Like for a long time, no one wanted to say
Tom Brady was the best quarterback in the NFL. They're like, oh,
Aaron Rodgers, these traits like look at him throwing. It's
like Tom Brady's just winning ring after ring after ring
at some point. It's not about the traits you have.
I could beat Tom Brady now with his peak 40-yard
dash back then.

Speaker 3 (01:23:05):
He can't run. He can't move.

Speaker 4 (01:23:08):
But he was unbelievable at getting the best out of
the ability he did have. And so that's the thing.
Don't fall in love with just traits. Arch Manning definitely
has the traits won. But what Julian Sane gets out
of his traits is something you can't overlook.

Speaker 3 (01:23:24):
And it's going to be on display tonight. Can't wait
for this one.

Speaker 2 (01:23:27):
Yeah, and I think also Julian Sayen has progressed a lot. Remember,
it wasn't just for Arch. It was also for Julian Sayen.
First career start, game one of the season when Ohio
State took on Texas just a year ago. And so
while the world is talking about Arch Manning because of

(01:23:49):
his last name, Ohio State was focused on making sure
that their quarterback, who also debuted a season ago as
a first-time starter, progressed as well, and he has. I
thought he looked great last week. Now, here's the thing.
I do agree with you. In football, especially football, because
it's such a position-specific sport, good enough is good enough.

(01:24:12):
And it is oftentimes that people, based on what they're
seeing around the game, misjudge what good enough looks like.
You don't have to run a 4'5, 4D to be
a starting quarterback. You don't have to be 6'5, to
be a starting quarterback. You don't have to have a
missile for an arm. to be a starting quarterback you

(01:24:34):
need to be good enough in a lot of different
categories and then truthfully you can have some glaring traits
that are a little bit off and you could still
have an unbelievably successful career we've seen that time and
time again how many people talked about the funky throwing
motion of philip rivers he ended up having an astonishing

(01:24:55):
professional career. How many people talked about Drew Brees' height?
He had an astonishing pro career. Tom Brady, perfect mentor.
I mean, the greatest of all time at the position.
He couldn't run out of sight in a week. I mean, he's...
I mean, I watched it. There were times where you
would watch him try to extend plays on the practice

(01:25:17):
field when I was playing for the Patriots, and it
looked like the galloping ghost out there. It looked like
he was a band leader with a baton in his hand,
and he had the frog legs coming out in front. Now,
did that Clydesdale end up thrown for more yards and
more touchdowns and win more Super Bowls than everybody? Yeah,
so I agree with what you're saying. However, I will

(01:25:39):
say this. I think that I think that the matchup
I'm really keyed in for this Texas-Ohio State matchup is
this Ohio State front against the middle of the Texas
offensive line. They're a little unsteady at left guard. They've
got some issues on their offensive line. And so, yes,
it may look like Manning's having a hard time in
this game, and a lot of people will say, oh,

(01:25:59):
Julian Sainz outplaying Manning. Meanwhile, it might be Ohio State's
defensive line is outplaying Texas' offensive line early in the
season before they really gel and solidify and get– the
people in the right places. So that is a key matchup.
If you really want to get into the weeds and
be a football nerd key on, especially the left side

(01:26:20):
of the interior offensive line for the Texas Longhorns and
see how Ohio state is trying to attack them and
get middle of the pocket pressure on Arch Manning and
forcing him to throw early or throw it out laterally
to the sideline because he doesn't have time to observe
the middle of the field. I like it.

Speaker 5 (01:26:39):
I like the analysis by Rich. And Brian, I agree
a little bit on Purdy. The measurables are the same. Brock, 6'1, 220. Sayan, 6'1, 215.
High accuracy, 88% adjusted accuracy rate last week. I know
it's Ball State, but very high floor. That's how I
would classify Julian Sayan. Ceiling might not be as high,

(01:27:02):
significantly high floor. And that's how I feel about Brock Purdy.
You know what you're getting every day. You know you're
going to get a high floor, accurate passer. He's not
going to wow you with his traits, but he's going
to make the right decision to put the ball, keep
it out of harm's way, even though Brock had a
couple of, I'll call it the oopsies on Thursday night.

(01:27:23):
against the Rams. One of them, I think he had
one or two interceptions, but he had a couple of
turnover-worthy plays in that game. But overall, I agree with
that assessment. I think the offensive line for Texas, Rich
nailed it, that's the weak link. All levels of this
roster on both sides, Texas and Ohio State, are about
as buttoned up as you can be. The only holes

(01:27:43):
that I can see are on both offensive lines, actually.
Neither of them are elite. I'm not going to say
they're bad because they're all five-star kids and they're all
fantastic athletes and they, you know, are the opposite of
Tom Brady in terms of the physical measurables. They are
freaks all over the field. But offensive line play, as
Rich knows, it is about playing as a unit, and

(01:28:04):
it is about understanding the concept and what the other
team is trying to do. That's where Will Muschamp and
Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinators in this game, I think
have an edge. Both are incredibly aggressive. They run complex
split schemes. That's the one thing I've noticed in college
football when I really dive into the film. The thing
that has progressed significantly over the last, I'll say, three
to five years. Granted, I haven't watched college football film

(01:28:26):
that in-depthly for five years. I would say really two years.
a lot more motion at the line of scrimmage. What
do I mean by that? Twisting, stunting. It used to
be my guys against your guys. I'm gonna go bull
rushing we're gonna get pressure now it's more complex they've
taken it to another level and what that does is
it forces the offensive line to be much more assignment

(01:28:48):
sound and if you're not playing as one and you've
got the defensive tackle that's stunting around the nose and
they're trying to get that angle it's it's gonna cause
chaos And Havoc is such a big part of defense
and offense. Can you cause those explosive plays? Defensively, they're TFLs,
they're sacks, they're tips, overthrows, interceptions. And on the offensive side, obviously,
they're long plays that result in scores or at least

(01:29:10):
15 to 20 yards minimum gain. So I think that's where,
on the Texas side, their offensive line, I haven't seen
that cohesion yet. Now, it's early. Ohio State, same thing.
It's early. I'm not going to make any judgments yet.
But if I had to peg one weak link for
both teams, it's that continuity on the offensive line.

Speaker 4 (01:29:29):
Yeah, you're seeing more advanced tactics in the college game defensively.
You see that in the NFL all the time. They
talk about simulated pressure. which means who's rushing, right? They
make it look like these are the four guys rushing,
and then they drop one of those guys and rush
someone else. So now the college game, a lot of times,

(01:29:50):
is turning into not only who's rushing, but how are
they rushing, to Jared's point. It's like, okay, these are
the four guys that are actually rushing, but they're not
going straight ahead.

Speaker 3 (01:30:00):
It's a twist.

Speaker 2 (01:30:00):
It's a stunt.

Speaker 4 (01:30:01):
It's moving around, and so... They're changing things here in
college quite a bit, and it's getting more advanced. There's
no doubt about that. What I find so interesting about
this matchup is Arch Manning's rushing yardage, right? Because what
can hurt you can also help you in terms of
this prop bet where the offensive line is questionable for Texas.

(01:30:24):
And so if Arch Manning is sacked, that obviously hurts
your higher bet if you're going higher than 26.5 rushing yards.
But If the line's a little leaky and Arch is like,
I'm out of here, and he tucks it and runs,
that's going to help you if you're on the higher.
So if you had to pick one way or the other,
I lean lower. I like lower more on 26.5, but

(01:30:46):
where are you leaning on Arch Manning's rushing yards here, Rich?

Speaker 3 (01:30:48):
Higher or lower than 26.5?

Speaker 2 (01:30:52):
Uh, I'm going to say higher. And here's the reason
why it's because I feel like he's going to get
flushed from the pocket a lot.

Speaker 5 (01:31:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:31:00):
So when a pocket breaks down from the outside in that,
you know, edge rushers having success, you see a lot
of sacks, you see a lot of interceptions. Because the
quarterback's trying to get rid of the ball quickly over
the middle of the field because he has some room
to step up in the pocket. But the clock's going
off in his head and the alarms are buzzing. Right.
So edge rushers, good edge rushers create turnovers in the

(01:31:23):
passing game and they create sacks when you have interior pressure.
It leads to a quarterback being flushed to the edges
of the offense, which obviously benefits your defense greatly, your
coverage greatly, because now you only have to defend one
side of the football field one way or the other.
And it can lead to more sacks, obviously. It can

(01:31:44):
lead to losses of yardage. But with a quarterback... who's
capable outside the pocket of getting yards with his leg,
depending on coverage, you can see middle of the pocket
breaks down, Arch Manning escape, not seeing what he likes downfield,
and having to rush for more yardage as a result.
So if you see middle of the pocket pressure, then

(01:32:05):
you could see Arch Manning's rushing yardage climb and climb
and climb throughout the day. Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 5 (01:32:11):
This is a tougher one. I would say... This is tough.

Speaker 2 (01:32:16):
It's tough.

Speaker 5 (01:32:17):
Well, because the sacks are so– they're very punitive. And
I think there's going to be a few today.

Speaker 2 (01:32:26):
I do.

Speaker 5 (01:32:27):
I think that's the part– because if the handicap in
the game is there's one weak spot on Texas' roster
and it's the offensive line, why am I going to
bet into something that could potentially get derailed by– You
take two or three sacks for 10 yards each, forget it.

(01:32:49):
You're just not overcoming that monstrosity of a number to
the negative. So while I think there is the potential
that he breaks a run and goes for 50 like
he did in the A & M game, by the way,
that was a designed run, I don't think you're going
to have as many designed runs in this game for Arch.
That's my guess. But to be fair, I don't know

(01:33:10):
what Sark's got cooking here. I think the reason you
bring in Cam Coleman and Hollywood Smothers, the receiver and
running back, who are arguably the best two transfer players
in the whole class— You got to give them the football.
So if I was designing this offense today and I
knew that my weakness was offensive line and I had

(01:33:32):
the home crowd, which means I've got the cadence in
my favor. My guys know when the ball is going
to be snapped. The defensive line you would imagine is
going to be a step slow off the line of scrimmage.
I am 1-2-3 ball out. I am get the ball
into Cam Coleman's hands as quickly as possible. Get the
ball into Hollywood Smothers' hands as quickly as possible. I
want to see Arch's time to throw rate, which last

(01:33:53):
week was a little on the heavier side, 288, a
little on the heavier side. I'd like to see that
thing at 26. Can he get it under 26 today?
For example, we talked about Kentucky last week, 25 for
their quarterback. That's what I want to see. I want
to see one, two, three decisive ball out. If Arch
is holding on to the football for almost three seconds

(01:34:14):
on average, I think there's going to be some sacks
in this game. And I think that's where the rushing
prop is just going to get crushed.

Speaker 2 (01:34:21):
Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 4 (01:34:22):
I like your breakdown, Jared. Maybe you look at completions, right?
Underdog is 19 and a half. You go higher than
that for Arch.

Speaker 3 (01:34:29):
That's appealing.

Speaker 4 (01:34:30):
Because Sark loves the screens. You know, like Trick Daddy
loves the kids. Sark loves the screens, all right?

Speaker 3 (01:34:37):
That's the new Sark. That's the follow-up right there.

Speaker 4 (01:34:39):
He loves the short passing game, especially in a situation
like this.

Speaker 3 (01:34:43):
Questionable offensive line.

Speaker 2 (01:34:45):
Pressure.

Speaker 4 (01:34:46):
Yeah, it's like quick, short, decisive throws. Rack up the completions.
Let your athletes be athletes in space. Yeah, I think completions.

Speaker 5 (01:34:54):
He had 20 last week against Texas State, and I
don't think the offense really was designed for that. Whereas
this week, it's going to be a much different offense,
you would imagine.

Speaker 3 (01:35:00):
That's the thing, man. These rushing prop bets for quarterbacks
in college.

Speaker 5 (01:35:05):
Under or pass. It's okay to pass. It's either under
or pass.

Speaker 3 (01:35:10):
Well, unless it's Sean Leavitt last week.

Speaker 4 (01:35:13):
Sean Leavitt ran circles around Clemson, but that's the crazy thing. Arch,
it's 26 and a half today, rushing yards. If he's
got 35.

Speaker 3 (01:35:23):
And you've got higher... You're not out of the woods yet.
That's the crazy thing, right?

Speaker 4 (01:35:28):
Normally, you're like, cash it, baby.

Speaker 3 (01:35:29):
It's like, nope, not until it's triple zero.

Speaker 5 (01:35:31):
Not even close to out of the woods.

Speaker 2 (01:35:33):
Yeah, not even close.

Speaker 5 (01:35:34):
I'd have to be at like 60 to feel safe.

Speaker 2 (01:35:37):
It's crazy, yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:35:38):
Takes one of those weird sacks, loses 15 yards, and
you're like, oh, man.

Speaker 2 (01:35:42):
Oh, man.

Speaker 3 (01:35:42):
It can happen. It absolutely can happen.

Speaker 4 (01:35:45):
All right, we've got Rich Ornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith,
FSR betting analyst. I'm Brian Ngo. Underdog Sports is now
a prediction market company. Money lines, totals, spreads, player picks,
every sport, all the games, and more. Live nationwide. Football
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(01:36:06):
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money on sports. Over $ 2 billion won by players so far.

Speaker 3 (01:36:15):
Underdog, unleash your dog. Terms apply. All right, coming up next.

Speaker 4 (01:36:20):
Is it this guy's final stand? Is that on the
table here?

Speaker 3 (01:36:24):
It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Underdog.
Unleash your dog. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff,
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Speaker 4 (01:36:35):
Team picks, player picks, and original games. And they just
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Speaker 2 (01:36:56):
All right.

Speaker 3 (01:36:57):
So, uh, our guy Bryce Underwood, is it possible? This
is his last stand, right?

Speaker 4 (01:37:03):
Like Kyle Whittingham, not exactly a vote of confidence. The
Michigan head coach. This is what he said on Monday
about his quarterback, Bryce Underwood.

Speaker 7 (01:37:11):
He's our QB right now. And, uh, It's not something
that's infinite. At some point, we've got to turn a
corner and we've got to see improvement. What you've done
lately is very important in football.

Speaker 3 (01:37:26):
Put that in real life terms. Rich, if you're like,
she's my wife for now.

Speaker 5 (01:37:33):
Right?

Speaker 3 (01:37:33):
She's my fiancee for now. She's got to step it up.
But for now, yeah, that's a bad, bad.

Speaker 5 (01:37:39):
That might be your best comparison you've ever had.

Speaker 2 (01:37:41):
Oh, thank you.

Speaker 5 (01:37:42):
I appreciate that.

Speaker 4 (01:37:43):
So that was Monday. Obviously, enormous news, especially in Ann Arbor.
This is Bryce Underwood on Wednesday. Listen to this conversation.

Speaker 1 (01:37:53):
What was your reaction to Coach McGinnis' comments about how
your job isn't permanent?

Speaker 2 (01:38:00):
Those comments about that? Yeah, he said that if your
job isn't infinite, you know, that's the starter.

Speaker 5 (01:38:08):
That's cool. I see that.

Speaker 2 (01:38:11):
What's your answer?

Speaker 3 (01:38:12):
It's cool.

Speaker 2 (01:38:14):
It's cool. It's cool. It's fine.

Speaker 4 (01:38:17):
Man, dude, I don't want to nitpick the response. It's
a college kid. What are you supposed to say?

Speaker 3 (01:38:24):
I get all that. But look, man, it is unprofessional.
There's no doubt about that.

Speaker 2 (01:38:29):
You can't be. like, it's cool.

Speaker 3 (01:38:31):
I just stunk it up.

Speaker 4 (01:38:31):
I had five turnover worthy plays against Western Michigan, right?
And it's just like, eh, he's talking about maybe benching me.

Speaker 3 (01:38:38):
It's cool.

Speaker 4 (01:38:39):
This is not good enough. It's not professional enough. And
even for a college kid, More should be expected. This
guy's getting paid a boatload. He's not producing near the
levels of what he's getting paid. And it can't be
a shoulder shrug. He could have said a million different
things like, look, he's got reason to say that. And
I got to change my play starting with Oklahoma. And

(01:39:00):
I will or whatever he wanted to say. But it's
not good enough to be like, that's cool. He's talking
about maybe benching me. That wouldn't be good enough for it.
Name any pro quarterback. Name any top college quarterback. Can
you imagine if they're like, hey, Arch Manning, you know,
Sark said that your position as the starter is not infinite.

Speaker 3 (01:39:19):
What do you think about that? You realize he.

Speaker 4 (01:39:22):
Can't say it's cool. That's just not good enough. That's
not professional enough.

Speaker 3 (01:39:26):
You got to bring more than just that, but whatever said,
not said, it doesn't matter. What matters is on the
field more than anything.

Speaker 4 (01:39:32):
And he has to step up his play in a
big time way because rich, if he doesn't like Kyle
Whittingham's already looking at the bullpen, he's looking at Tommy
car warming up and he's almost signaling for the righty.

Speaker 3 (01:39:45):
To come in.

Speaker 2 (01:39:46):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:39:46):
Like he's on the doorstep of making a change. And, uh,
It's a tough defense for Bryce Underwood to go up against.
But if you see more cracks and more turnover-worthy plays
and all that type of stuff, don't be surprised if
he gets the hook.

Speaker 2 (01:39:59):
Yeah, yeah. I'm right there with you. I think just
as much as we want to glorify a quarterback or
a young player who– really embraces criticism and does the
right thing with it at the podium. We could also
say negative things about somebody who doesn't handle it well.

(01:40:20):
And then also be indifferent about indifference. I agree with you.
Do I think that was awful?

Speaker 1 (01:40:26):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:40:27):
But do I think it was good enough? Is it
the way I'd like my starting quarterback to be? approach
a tough game a tough moment in the trajectory of
his career and development no not at all and if
I'm a head coach I'm taking note I'm saying to
myself well if you're trying to like pass the test
so to speak as to like what I'm looking for

(01:40:49):
my starting quarterback how he handles controversy that's that's not
necessarily a failing grade but boy it's the next closest
thing It's the next closest thing. So it's just another
mark on the side of the demerits for Bryce Underwood. Now,
I don't think this is Bryce Underwood's last stand at Michigan,

(01:41:11):
but I think it might be his last stand at
being the untouchable quarterback at Michigan. And those things are different.
He throws a couple of picks, but he competes, and
the offense moves the football, and Michigan loses 24-20 to
an Oklahoma defense. I do believe they keep developing him.

(01:41:31):
But if Michigan, again, can't function offensively, Again, three and outs. Again, misreads,
bad footwork, bad turnover. And Oklahoma makes him look exactly
like the quarterback they saw last year when Whittingham already
gave himself public permission to make a change at quarterback. Well,

(01:41:51):
then that makes today very fascinating. Underwood, he's not merely
trying to beat Oklahoma. He's trying to convince a new
head coach that Michigan's future should still revolve around him
because that's how quarterback play in any level of football works.
When you are the starting quarterback, usually the galaxy revolves

(01:42:14):
around you and not the other way around. And so...
Michigan may be searching at the end of this game,
but I don't think they make a decision at the
end of this game.

Speaker 5 (01:42:24):
Yeah, I think they might go to him at some
point in the game. Either or, you mentioned Tommy Carr.
They also have, the name was looting me the last
time we were talking about it, Braden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State transfer.
So they have some experience. He's like a graduate transfer player.
And then they have the young kid, the brother of

(01:42:45):
Notre Dame, C.J. Carr, Tommy Carr, who obviously has a
ton of upside and obviously is a Michigan man. So
there's some buttons to push. There's some levers to pull,
I think, for Kyle Whittingham. I personally hated the way
that Bryce Underwood reacted to the comment. Now, to be
fair to him, it probably caught him off guard, and

(01:43:07):
I think the better way to approach it at least
from a Michigan standpoint in the media relations department, is
to brief Bryce Underwood on those types of things before
he takes the stage. Maybe he was briefed on it
and his reaction was just aloof by design, but it
looked like he didn't know that his coach was throwing

(01:43:28):
him under the bus. And I think that is on
Kyle Whittingham. to communicate that with your quarterback, your gajillion-dollar quarterback. Like, hey, listen,
we don't love the way you played last week. We
have a couple of other guys that have looked really good,
and if it doesn't go your way this week, we
might try to switch things up just to get a spark.
And I don't know if it's going to be a

(01:43:48):
permanent switch or if it's going to be something that
they want to do for the rest of the season.
I would assume it's just see if we can get
a spark, and then we'll go back to Bryce later.
But it's really hard when you bench a young quarterback.
This is why you know, the Fernando Mendoza thing and
other young quarterbacks in the past in the NFL, like
I would rather wait to start him until he's ready,
because it's a lot easier to pull Kirk Cousins than

(01:44:10):
it is to pull Fernando Mendoza and to keep that
confidence level up. And I think that's where we are
with Bryce Underwood right now. The confidence level, I don't
think is very high. I would have liked to see
a better response. Like you're a quarterback, you're used to
being caught off guard by things, you know, pressure in
the pocket. Like, come up with a better response, then
it's cool. It just shows you just don't care or

(01:44:30):
you're just so maligned with the situation that maybe you've
lost all emotion. The key for me here, Brian, is
I think Michigan's got some guys on offense who can play.
I honestly do. And outside of Bryce Underwood, I like
Jordan Marshall a lot. He's got, I would say, a
little more oomph than most 5'10, players have. He's 220

(01:44:52):
pounds at 5'10. I mean, he's a brick wall. Savion Hyder,
a freshman, really exciting player. Didn't get a whole lot
of run last week. The receivers are okay. Buchanan, Utah
transfer came over with Whittingham. And then Andrew Marsh, who
I'm really excited about. He's probably their best player on
offense outside of Underwood. The thing I want to see
from Jason Beck, the offensive coordinator, only three play-action attempts

(01:45:13):
last week against Western Michigan. If I was designing an
offense around Bryce Underwood, it would not be seven-step drop
Brock Purdy type stuff, scan the field, find the open window.
It would be waggles. It would be boots. It would
be play action off the edge, manipulate the launch point.
I want to see a lot more of that this
week from Jason Beck in the offense. And if you
could figure out a way to get Bryce on the

(01:45:35):
move where he's maybe a little more comfortable outside of
the splash zone with this Oklahoma defense, which comes at
you in waves, then maybe you can find some kind
of offense down the field. They cannot do what they
did last year in Norman where which is dink, dunk, sacks,
run the ball into a brick wall, can't do anything,
and then all of a sudden you lose by two scores.

(01:45:56):
So I think we need to see a lot more
across the board. It's not just Underwood. It's the play design,
it's the weapons around him, and it's the ability for
the offense to come together.

Speaker 2 (01:46:05):
As a unit.

Speaker 4 (01:46:06):
Okay, so we're going quickie style over here, right? A
little two-minute drill. So, you know, if we take the
whole play clock... We're going to run out of time.
We're at our own 20.

Speaker 3 (01:46:17):
We've got to go 80 yards.

Speaker 2 (01:46:19):
We've got to move it.

Speaker 3 (01:46:20):
Pick up the pace over here. So we'll keep it
moving along.

Speaker 4 (01:46:22):
We'll preview a couple of games rapid fire style. How
about Oregon at Oklahoma State? I know you're over this, Rich.
This is your keep your million pick, Jared, with the Ducks.
We're expecting a resurgence here, right? How much would it
surprise you if Drew Mestemaker and Oklahoma State rebound from
a pathetic showing last week?

Speaker 3 (01:46:39):
And at least stay within the number here, Rich.

Speaker 2 (01:46:42):
It wouldn't shock me. Absolutely not. Because I think the
greatest growth you'll see with a lot of teams, not
every team, but a lot of teams is between week
one and week two of their football season. Because it's
kind of like, hey, we're knocking the dust and the
rust off the pads. But I do like Oregon in
this spot because... Basically, the best-case scenario happened for Dan

(01:47:02):
Lanning and his staff. First rattle out of the box,
they looked shaky against Boise State, but they still get
the victory, and the offense still looked pretty good. It
felt like smelling salts hit their nostrils. So I do
favor Oregon being favored in this game, and I'll give
up those points, but I could see Okie State also
have an improvement bounce-back game from what they did last week.

Speaker 5 (01:47:24):
Dan Lanning undefeated as a favorite of 21-plus. He's never
lost in this spot. 14-8 against the spread. Last week
they lost against the spread in this spot against Boise.
I feel like this is an Oregon slam fest. Obviously
I gave him in the keep your millions, but I
think I don't know what happened with Oklahoma State last week.
There's a chance that Eric Morris and that offense, as

(01:47:47):
they go from North Texas to the Big 12, They're
just not quite ready for that kind of adjustment, higher,
going up in weight class. Zero sacks on five pressures
last week against Tulsa. So the defense was terrible. Offense
looked bad. Mestemaker, sub-70% adjusted accuracy rate. That's his worst
game since facing Rich's Aztecs last year in the bowl game.

(01:48:09):
So his worst game as a college quarterback. And if
you play that bad this week, Oregon's going to drop
50 on you without breaking a sweat.

Speaker 4 (01:48:18):
Okay, we only had five seconds left on the play
clock there. We're going to have to pick it up
over here, right? We've got Arizona against number 15, BYU.
3.30 p.m.

Speaker 3 (01:48:27):
Eastern kick. BYU favored by a little more than a
touchdown right here. What do you think?

Speaker 4 (01:48:32):
What do you think in this monster energy Big 12
tilt here, Rich?

Speaker 1 (01:48:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:48:37):
This one's sneaky good because Arizona looks far more complete
than people realize in week one. Noah Fafita went 22
of 29, 262 and two tuds. Well, Arizona's defense held
Northern Arizona to minus seven rushing yards today. They recorded
five sacks. BYU obviously has the home field edge in Provo.

(01:49:02):
They obviously beat Arizona last year in overtime. But this
feels like a much more legitimate toss-up. I like Arizona
to keep it close. I'd take the points in this one.

Speaker 5 (01:49:14):
Yeah, the numbers come down off 7.5 to 7. So
the market agrees with Rich. Fafita is a very experienced quarterback.
I would say he's a top-10 quarterback in the country,
maybe top-20 overall. Definitely has the physical tools and the
arm strength to beat you, but he has struggled against BYU.
Five yards per attempt, three touchdowns, five turnovers in two

(01:49:34):
career games against the Cougs, and he's only completing 53%
of his passes. He needs to play really well. Tough
to play at altitude in Provo, especially for a team
from the desert, although Arizona's got some altitude as well
down there in the mountains. I really like BYU's defense.
Kelly Papinga is the defensive coordinator. He got promoted after
Jay Hill went to Michigan to go work under Kyle Whittingham.

(01:49:55):
I think there's some continuity there on defense, and the
BYU offense is elite. I think the number's right here.
I think seven feels about right.

Speaker 4 (01:50:04):
OK, Tennessee taking on Georgia Tech.

Speaker 3 (01:50:06):
This point spread has been wacky throughout the week, right?

Speaker 4 (01:50:09):
Like Georgia Tech close to a two touchdown underdog. Then
it'll go less than that and be closer to 10.
It's been a weird week with this game. What do
you see in Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Rich?

Speaker 2 (01:50:20):
Well, I think the freshman quarterback, Brandon, he looked really
ready for the first rattle out of the box. But
is he really ready overall? This is going to be
his first real test. But Tennessee put up 638 yards,
including 329 on the ground. And Brandon accounted for five touchdowns.

(01:50:43):
But this is going to be a road start. Georgia Tech,
they lose 14-13 to Colorado. So I think the jackets,
the yellow jackets in this matchup, they're dangerous because they're
already kind of in desperation mode. I would say Tennessee
gets to win, but Georgia Tech makes this freshman quarterback

(01:51:03):
earn every bit of it. I really do. I think
he's in for a long, hard day. It felt easy
last week. It will be anything but easy today. for
Faison Brandon this week for Tennessee.

Speaker 5 (01:51:17):
I did bet a higher than in this game. I
did bet Jordan Allen, Georgia Tech receiver, higher than 58.5
receiving yards. I think that's the game script here. I
did do a deep dive also on the Tennessee offense
last week. Granted, it was against Furman, so we're not
going to go too crazy. But Faison Brandon, guys, this
dude can play. 6'4, 225, he is all of it.

(01:51:40):
I mean, his legs are a factor, especially in the
red zone. Mike Matthews, their stud receiver, he cleaned up
all the drops. He looked like he was a polished
route runner. I mean, and they've got some serious dudes
on the outside. Tennessee likes to run that wide choice offense.
What does that mean? You mean you spread it out
wide and the receivers have a choice. They either run
a comeback, a little stop route, or they go vertical.

(01:52:01):
And getting that rhythm and timing matters for a freshman quarterback.
But I'll tell you what. Other than a little bit of,
I would say, juiced up ball placement early in the game,
true freshman making his first start, this kid is the
real freaking deal, man. I am very excited to watch
Faison Brandon play football this year. They've got another kid
with Darius Jackson on the outside, a lot of yak ability.

(01:52:23):
This is a very dangerous offense. They're one weak link's
right tackle. They were in a great red zone team
last year. I think they will be better this year
because Joey Aguilar is not Faison Brandon in terms of
his legs. And I don't really trust Georgia Tech. They've
got a young quarterback, too, the Mendoza brother. I think
Tennessee names their score here. But the back door will
probably be open. And I think Georgia Tech is going
to be throwing it in this game. So fun game,

(01:52:44):
offensive game, feels like. And Tennessee is a team to
watch this year, especially Brandon.

Speaker 4 (01:52:49):
Was it me or did you go Hulk Hogan right
there with the Mendoza brother? Hulk right there.

Speaker 2 (01:52:54):
I don't know. All right, last one.

Speaker 3 (01:52:56):
I was going to say eight more to go, so
you thought you had to be faster. This is the
last one. Arkansas against Utah. You know who sucks?

Speaker 2 (01:53:02):
Arkansas. Yes, they do. Yes, they do. They're bad.

Speaker 3 (01:53:09):
They're a bad football team.

Speaker 2 (01:53:11):
They are. But yeah, look, Utah actually, conversely, is one
of those teams I trust the most of all of
the teams we were just talking about. They just put
up 633 and 66 points, rushed for 364 yards and
only committed a single penalty after replacing their entire offensive line.

(01:53:33):
Utah looks like they're ready. That's a team. Now, Arkansas
on the other side of this docket, they won its opener,
but its roster has 81 new players. Traveling to Rice-Eccles,
I've been to that stadium a few times over my
broadcasting career. That is not a quiet place for Utes football,
especially when they get rolling early in the season. This

(01:53:56):
one feels the one I feel strongest about, Utah, and
there's no question. I mean, give away all the points.
I think Utah is going to win by a landslide.

Speaker 5 (01:54:06):
Yeah, I've got them in my– I do make seven
selections every week for my confidence pool, my contests here
in town. Utah is on the list this week, laying 11.5. K.J. Jackson,
starting quarterback for Arkansas, two turnover-worthy plays last week against
North Alabama. And now you're going to, as Rich alluded to,
I would say maybe the toughest place to play in

(01:54:27):
the country because of the altitude and the environment. And
it's at night and it's an SEC opponent coming in.
I mean, those Utah fans are going to be lit
for this game. I don't love Utah's offense. I think
I like it. I like Dampier a lot. I think
they're limited athletically at the skill position levels. But their
defense is fantastic. Morgan Scali, who is the defensive coordinator,

(01:54:51):
now takes over as the head coach with Kyle Whittingham gone.
I think Ryan Silverfield, his first road game at night
in Salt Lake City. Good luck, brother.

Speaker 2 (01:55:01):
This is good.

Speaker 5 (01:55:01):
It does feel like it's going to be a one
sided game.

Speaker 2 (01:55:04):
It does.

Speaker 3 (01:55:05):
It does have that feel.

Speaker 4 (01:55:06):
All right, we've got Rich Hornberger, Penn State All-American, Jared Smith,
FSR betting analyst. I'm Brian Ngo. NFL Sunday just got
better on underdog. A 100% boost has arrived. Their biggest yet,
and you can use it on money line spreads and totals.
Lock in before kickoff this Sunday and double your winnings.
Available this Sunday only. Nationwide, a 100% boost underdog. Unleash

(01:55:31):
your dog.

Speaker 3 (01:55:32):
Terms apply. All right, coming up next, the moment of truth.

Speaker 1 (01:55:35):
Rapid fire.

Speaker 4 (01:55:36):
We each have a bushel of picks. We'll throw them
at you Frisbee style. All that coming at you right
around the corner. It is Fox Sports Radio's countdown to kickoff.
Presented by Underdog, unleash your dog. It is Fox Sports
Radio's countdown to kickoff. Presented by Underdog, unleash your dog.
If you missed any Of today's show, you'll want to
catch the podcast. Just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you

(01:55:57):
get your podcasts. Right after the show, today's pod will
be posted. Be sure to follow it. Rate it five stars,
and you can even provide a review. Again, just search
Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll
find today's full show posted right after we get off
the air. Props to the crew, our trusted producer, host
of the Dodger Zone pod, Mr.

Speaker 3 (01:56:15):
Bo Benson.

Speaker 2 (01:56:16):
Stone-cold lock of the century of the week, you guys.

Speaker 5 (01:56:19):
Texas minus one and a half.

Speaker 1 (01:56:21):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (01:56:21):
Hook them.

Speaker 2 (01:56:22):
All right.

Speaker 5 (01:56:23):
Stone cold lock.

Speaker 3 (01:56:24):
You know how hard that is for me.

Speaker 2 (01:56:25):
That is.

Speaker 3 (01:56:26):
That's very hard. It's outspoken right there. We got our
technical producer extraordinaire, Mr. Chris Perfette.

Speaker 6 (01:56:31):
Horses never sleep. I want to give you Salahuddin, which
is a Baffert horse, but apparently his jockey's in ICU.
So Woodbine Mile, trifecta box 134, deterministic, notable speech and archivist.

Speaker 2 (01:56:46):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (01:56:47):
All right.

Speaker 4 (01:56:47):
Interesting names with those horses right there. And shout out
to our guy Saga on digital. Posting our clips. Does
a fantastic job. Give Fox Sports Radio a follow on X.
See our smiling faces. Get all of our pics. All
that good stuff. Top of the hour.

Speaker 5 (01:57:02):
Up on game. T.J.

Speaker 2 (01:57:03):
Hushmanzada.

Speaker 3 (01:57:04):
Plaxico Burris. You are in great hands. In less than
nine American minutes. Keep it locked right here on Fox
Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (01:57:12):
All right.

Speaker 3 (01:57:12):
We got some pics to make.

Speaker 2 (01:57:13):
Let's do it. Let's do it.

Speaker 4 (01:57:16):
Rapid fire okay jared we start with you what do
you like all.

Speaker 5 (01:57:21):
Right i am going with oregon minus 23 and a
half i think they are going to bounce back really
strong in this game and i have a really strong
vibe that um oklahoma state just might not be as
good as maybe we thought they were heading into the
season so i will give you Oregon minus 23 and
a half. I will also give you Iowa minus 14

(01:57:41):
and a half. I think you rarely see a Cy
Hawk game this large in terms of the spread. It
hasn't happened since 2016 where you get a two touchdown
plus Cy.

Speaker 2 (01:57:51):
Hawk game spread.

Speaker 5 (01:57:52):
Oh, by the way, Iowa won that game 42 to three.
And I'm going to give you this is a this
is a contrarian pick. But the numbers I'm saying I'm
looking at. Give me an over. 43.5 for Michigan and Oklahoma.
I know that's crazy, but Michigan is a home dog.
12-1-1 to the over since 2010. Doesn't happen a lot.
but when they're a home dog, we typically get fireworks.
So I don't know how Michigan's scoring. I think Oklahoma's

(01:58:15):
got a chance to score, but over 43.5, Michigan-Oklahoma.

Speaker 2 (01:58:17):
Crazy pick.

Speaker 5 (01:58:18):
Contrarian play of the week.

Speaker 2 (01:58:19):
Yeah, that really is. I was shocked when you said that.
All right, Arizona. I talked about this a little bit
when we were doing our little speed round. But plus
seven and a half on underdog right now. I would
play that to plus seven. I think Arizona is going
to keep it close with BYU on the road. Iowa State. Iowa,

(01:58:42):
I'm taking the under 41 and a half. These games
typically aren't barn burners, but they're hard fought. So give
me the lower than 41 and a half total points there.
And then Ohio State at number four, Texas. It was
tasty to take plus points on the number one team
in America. But I'm going to take the lower than

(01:59:07):
the total on this one. So give me Ohio State
under excuse me, Ohio State, Texas under the forty nine
and a half points. I think this is going to
play out more like their first matchup as opposed to
the college football playoff game. I think it's a little
bit a little bit of a chess match.

Speaker 3 (01:59:25):
OK, I like to get your lowers and unders.

Speaker 2 (01:59:28):
I know, yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:59:29):
Does not feature any of those things. Earlier in the show,
I'm under 22 and a half in the first half.

Speaker 3 (01:59:36):
It's ticked down.

Speaker 4 (01:59:37):
Now it's 20 and a half. So I can't use
that for rapid fire. So we got to pivot. We
got to pivot in a different direction over here. So
here's what I got for you.

Speaker 2 (01:59:45):
All right. You ready for this? You ready? Let's hear it.

Speaker 4 (01:59:49):
We've got Arch Manning. Give me over 19 and a
half completions. Short stuff, quick passes. Sark loves the screens,
especially with a questionable offensive line in front of Arch.
So I'll go with over 19 and a half completions.
For Arch, sorry, higher than 19 and a half completions
for Arch. Give me Steve Angeli, former Notre Dame product

(02:00:09):
over here.

Speaker 3 (02:00:10):
Syracuse quarterback, peanut butter and jelly.

Speaker 2 (02:00:13):
That is right.

Speaker 3 (02:00:14):
Give me higher than 274 and a half passing yards
against the Cal Bears.

Speaker 4 (02:00:20):
He's in the dome. He'll be cooking today. And as
we went over just a little bit ago, you know
who sucks in college football?

Speaker 5 (02:00:26):
Arkansas.

Speaker 3 (02:00:27):
Give me Utah minus 12 and a half.

Speaker 5 (02:00:29):
Enjoy the day.