Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff Presented By BetMGM

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Are you re to
college fans? Welcome to the biggest tailgate party in the nation.
Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Fat MGM,

(00:21):
the gig of sports book. We're setting you up with
the information you need to watch your team win. Let's go.
We're here to break it all down. Let's go, Let's go.
This is Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented by
Bett MGM. We're live from your tail game. Here's Brian No,

(00:42):
former Penn State All American, Rich Warnberger and picks Wise
lead betting analyst Jared Smith. Oh, what's going on everybody?
The tailgate is in full effect over here. Huh. Fox
Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Bet MGM. We're
all ready to go now. You can't see us, but

(01:03):
we've got zoom fired up over here, and you guys
have the fancy headsets and everything. I'm very jealous, very
professional looking by you guys. I'm I'm I'm going to
keep this headset on my head because I'm actually finishing
up our show and going and calling a college football
game as soon as I wrap up with you guys,
I got San Diego States opener at the brand new

(01:25):
snap Dragon Stadium. Uh. They're taking on the Arizona Wildcats.
They've been really successful against these Pack twelve opponents, and
it's their first home game in twenty four appointments. So
I'm pumped up. I'm just gonna wear the headset. I'm
just gonna take it with me. Don't let it mess
up your hair. Good. Here a little about San Diego

(01:45):
State coming up in a little bit, in a little segment.
I feel a little bad Jared because I'm just gonna
eat a pop tart or something after the show, and
Rich is gonna go do something worthwhile, you know what
I mean. I feel like I need to pick up
my game here. I'm just gonna sit here. I've got
two tv is ready to get fired up. Honestly, this
is like, this is like prep time the next three hours,

(02:06):
and then once the lights flip on New and Eastern,
that's it. My day's over. By the way, which game
of the full slate today are each of you guys
most looking forward to? That's a good question. I guess
keeping it in the big ten Ohio State hosting Notre Dame.
I mean, just the tradition around Notre Dame's program, knowing

(02:31):
what it's like to visit the Shoe when the lights
are on and everybody's staring down your neck. I mean
that place, that place Columbus. I mean obviously as a
Nitney Lion. Uh, it could be a place of horrors
at time, a house of horrors. But but when you
go out there and you have that many people interested
in what you're doing and that fan environment, you can't

(02:53):
replicate it. That's what I'm looking most forward to. Yeah,
that's the best game of the day in terms of,
you know, two teams that you would expect to be
in the mix the entire season. There's some other interesting
games and we'll again, we'll well, I'm sure we'll hit
on a bunch. But I think Utah Florida is a
fascinating game because a lot of people have Utah picked
very high, um to maybe make a college football playoff runts.

(03:16):
I'm fascinating to see if they can live up to
those expectations. I think there's some interesting games in the
Big Ten as well. Um, I listen, Iowa. Be careful
with Iowa today, folks, be careful with Iowa. There's another
very interesting game in Texas U T s A. Houston. Um,
you know this, these are two teams that you would think,
obviously not on the level of Texas, but very important

(03:38):
recruiting game for that state with those two programs that
had great years last year. So Week one, they don't
pull any punches. It's not like Cupcakes City like it
used to be. There are some very very prime, big
time games happening today. Yeah, huge games, And I would
agree with you, guys. I think that Notre Dame going
to Ohio State, it's the headlining game, it's the only

(03:58):
top five game, two opponents both in the top five.
And you know what, it reminded me. I had a flashback.
This goes all the way back to the Carolina Panthers
Super Bowl season when they reached Super Bowl fifty and
after the Thanksgiving Day game Carolina, they were having a
great season. Obviously in the Dallas Cowboys were not, and

(04:19):
earlier in the week the Dallas Cowboys were actually favored.
And after the game, actually on Fox Sports Radio, I
got to interview Josh Norman, the cornerback, and I asked
him about the point spread earlier in the week, and
he said something I'll never forget. He was like, that
was so disrespectful and that always stuck with me. And

(04:39):
I apply that to this Notre Dame line plus sixteen
on bed MGM right now against Ohio State. I think
it's disrespectful. I don't trust Ohio States defense. They were
horrible in the red zone last year. They weren't great
on third down. They let their opponents time of possession
wise stay on the field a long time. They were

(05:01):
not good in that department either. I don't trust their defense,
So I think this is a disrespectful line. When the
head coach at Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman, is like, I'm
gonna tell the team about this right like, that shows
me it's pretty disrespectful. How about you, guys, though, do
you think that line is accurate or inflated? Well, you
nailed it to how it's gonna be messaged in the

(05:23):
meeting rooms leading up to this game. You're one thousand
percent right like this idea that that they're just going
to to stomp us because their Ohio State and and
their their offense is prolific. Like you said, they've got
their struggles hanging over from last year too. Yeah, you're
breaking in the new head coach. Yeah, you're going on
the road and that's a tough environment to win in.

(05:44):
But what you're doing is you're saying take this personal.
Take it personal that the whole world thinks you stink, right,
even though it may not even be true. Like you said,
these are two top five teams. But that when when
you have a target on your back, but you get
to act as as an underdog. I mean you've got
of wallow in that, you've got to absolutely bathe in it.
And so that's what Marcus Freeman is going to be

(06:05):
talking to the Irish about in those meeting rooms leading
up to this matchup. Mhmm. Yeah, we're seeing a little
movement here on Notre Dame this morning, but it was
it was moving towards Ohio State for pretty much the
entire See. The interesting thing about Week one lines is
there up for a really long time. So these the
lines on these games have been up for weeks. It's

(06:25):
even more prevalent in the NFL, But in college football,
the market kind of gets beaten and battered in the
two three weeks leading up to Week one, Unlike when
we get into the real rhythm of the season, lines
come out Sunday night, and really they only have a
few days to get kind of chopped up by the
market before things settle in. So I'm not surprised that
we're seeing seeing a little bit of buyback on Notre

(06:46):
Dame this morning, because it went from fourteen to seventeen.
Now we're seeing sixteen. But I'll be honest, I I
don't know if Marcus Freeman has the motivational skills to
get past what this Ohio State defense is gonna bring.
I think Ohio States defense gonna be are improved this year,
and I think that's gonna be a story that we
talked about a lot this season. How long do you
think this lasts? Because going into the game, hey, it's

(07:09):
it's us against the world. No one thinks you can
do it. We're seventeen point dogs at the time, you know,
earlier in the week. To your point, Jared, it's moved
a little bit irish plus sixteen right now. But how
long during the game does that last? Especially Ridge, you
can speak to this as a former player. I know
betting is just getting bigger and bigger now, but it

(07:29):
was still a thing back then. Do you have any
motivation heading into a game. We're huge underdogs. We're gonna
prove them wrong. Do you forget about that midway through
the first quarter? How long does it actually last? It
lasts the whole game, It really does, especially when you're
going to uh and away environment and you're quieting the
crowd down, like you just gotta keep the pedal to

(07:51):
the metal. You gotta keep just squeezing the neck. It
really is one of those things that it is the
the drumbeat throughout the week espec. Actually when you have look,
I mean, players don't pay attention to the spread. They shouldn't, right,
but but but coaching about that in certain days. But
but coaches do, they really do because it gives you

(08:14):
an idea of what the world thinks of you, right, uh,
what the public thinks of you, obviously Vegas. It's uh,
it's an emotional barometer. These the handle on these games.
But but and it's not necessarily a truth. It's it's
one of those things though, where you can fire up
a squad, certainly a coaching staff to talk to the
squad and message what the public thinks about you. If

(08:36):
there are numbers like we're seeing, Yeah, a little bit
of a correction the numbers coming down a little bit,
but you're still getting beat by two touchdowns plus. Uh.
And that's the consensus, Like, Yeah, it's gonna be a
little bit of a slaughterfest on the road for you
to start the season. I if I'm a head coach,
and I see that the entire week publicly, I'm saying
all the right things. Look, you know, wow, you know

(08:56):
what Day has done over there at Ohio State and
worthy adversaries everywhere looking to your point, Jared, much improved defense.
You know, we got things to worry about. But once
the doors closed and it's just us inside of here
all week long, all game long, at halftime, a reset
of this mentality they said we couldn't look at us.
Now you just keep that, You keep that fury going

(09:18):
the entire game. You light the fire and just see
what can happen. Right now, I'm ready to run through
a brick. Well, I'm not even in the game, are
you kidding? Make It's fascinating because how often do you
see two top five teams and one of them is
such a big gap between the other one. And I
think it just speaks to how good State is. I mean,

(09:39):
I I do think with Jim Knowles. Now, we'll see
how long it takes for that system to kind of gell.
But it's talent, I mean, especially on offense for Ohio State,
and I'm looking at, you know, the matchups on the
skill positions outside with the wide receivers for Ohio State
that are all four and five star guys against the
Notre Dame secondary, which is a little bit under man

(10:00):
when it comes to the talent that they usually like,
they don't have that quality comp That doesn't mean the
three star guys can't can't overachieve a little bit, but
on paper, and that's why the number is what it is.
It is fascinating to see two teams in the top
five with college football playoff aspirations and you see a
two touchdown plus bright I guess my mind goes to
this also, fellas is can it come back to bite

(10:22):
you where? Just think about it. Teams try to create
this where no one thinks we can do it. We're
huge underdogs. The Patriots have tried to do this at times,
right like, uh, there are college teams that are normally
favored and they might not be favored by as much,
and they try to create this. Oh they're under selling you.

(10:42):
Notre Dame doesn't have to create anything there plus six team,
But if they get off to a bad start, if
they're down big in the third quarter, does the mindset
start to shift to maybe they knew what they were
talking about with us being this big of an underduck.
Has that ever happened to you the player? Rich? Yeah, yeah,
And and you can feel it with the coaching staff

(11:04):
because things, especially as an offensive lineman, things will get
more conservative in the play calling. All of a sudden,
it's like, hey, we're gonna slow this game down, you know,
instead of trying to win this game, we're just gonna
try not to lose so big. And so all of
a sudden, you see more runs being mixed in on
those second down and medium plays where typically you might

(11:24):
go for it, you might throw in a special. And also,
you're protecting your playbook. It's week one, guys, so you
don't want to fire all your bullets out the gates.
You want to save things, you don't want to put
everything on film. So it's important also from an offensive standpoint,
to just sort of kind of circle the wagons and say, hey,
let's get out of here with our dignity. Hopefully it's

(11:46):
not that way. And I've been look, I've been on
I've been on the mindset you want going into the
top five game, right, I've been on both sides of
that though, And it doesn't matter where you're ranked. It
just matters who shows up and who's ready to play,
you know, jarr quick question, what do you think this
spread would look like if this game was being played
in South Bend? Well, it's usually you know, three in

(12:07):
the other directions, so you would say ten maybe, Um,
I think it would still be double digits. I mean again,
everything I've heard from camp in Columbus is violent violence
upfront for the defensive line. Jim Knowles bringing that Oklahoma
State fire that you know, they were so good last
year on defense, and that's the one difference between Oklahoma

(12:28):
State and Ohio State. The talent up front. Like you know,
we we we know what the numbers looked like last year.
They were not good for Ohio States defense. That was
the bugaboo. You toss carved them up in the Rose
Bowl and they were carved up by Michigan in that
big game as well. But that doesn't mean the talent
wasn't there. It's just they were out schemed by two
really tough teams that ran it down the throat and

(12:49):
you know, have quarterbacks that mixed it up. Now the
scheme is better, and when the scheme is better and
you add in what is five star talent at literally
every single position, that's what intrigues me about this Ohio
State team. I and we'll talk about it all year
because you know, you got another team in the SEC
that's head and shoulders above the rest. But I don't

(13:10):
see anyone being able to match that talent in the
Big Ten or on Ohio State schedule, at least early on.
And I don't think Notre Dame is gonna be able
to match that town. That doesn't mean crazy things can't
happen in a college football game, but you play this
game a hundred times. I I think Ohio State wins
by two scores and more more often than not. You know,
it's just funny. I'll just add that this is where
being a player that world it meshes with the betting world,

(13:33):
because nobody likes, hey, let's just get out of here
with our dignity, you know what I mean. Like, if
you're a veteran, you take Notre Dame plus sixteen and
they're down by five touchdowns. You don't want to be thinking, hey,
just score and make it respectable. You don't want to
be feeling that as a player on the field either.
So those worlds completely intertwined. Oh you're complex one. That's

(13:53):
that's such a great point because look, look, players have
the hearts of champions. You want to go out and
and give your best shot to win every single game.
But coaches, they understand optics. They understand what it looks
like if you take risks and you get beat by
instead of fourteen. And so that's the reason why these
games slow down, and that's why there's a lot of

(14:15):
handwringing at the end of games like why are they
playing so conservative? Well, that's why because coaches are afraid
to get be too big and they know how valuable
those point totals are at the end of the game,
how wide the gap it is. Because when you have
a power ranking situation to decide who gets into the
CFP every year, those games where they go back and
they rewind the tape and they say, oh, wow, but

(14:37):
look what happened at the Shoe when the Irish went
out there they got beat by four scores. There, they
were only dog by two and and that that's that's ridiculous, right,
especially when you compare them to some of these other
elite teams and how badly they got beat. So that's
where the conservative offensive play gets woven into the game
plan when it's getting away from you in the second half.

(14:59):
If you're a head coach like Marcus Freeman. Hopefully that's
not the case for all the fans, For all of
us sitting here, I'm hoping for a tight game all
the way down the wire. Um, I'm I'm excited though.
We got two huge games to start this college football weekend, absolutely,
and we'll get to one of the other ones coming up. Hey,
be sure to check out the new looking features in
the bet mgm app. It's fast and easy access to

(15:22):
the sports you love, whether it's live betting, the Daily
Lions Boost, or the cash out feature. And new users
can use the code countdown for a special offer. That's
Code Countdown in the bet mgm app. It's a big
day in the Pack twelve. One of the biggest matchups
of the day has a storyline unlike any other game.
We'll dive into that around the corner. It's Fox Sports

(15:44):
Radio's Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet MGM. Welcome to
the biggest tailgate party in the nation. You're locked into
Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff Touchdown Date's presented by
bet MGM, the King of sports books once again. Here's

(16:07):
Brian no, Rach Hornberger and Jared Smith. Welcome in. It
is Fox Sports Radios Campdown to Kickoff, presented by bet MGM.
New users download the bet MGM app today and use
code countdown for a special offer. That's code Countdown in
the bet MGM app. Let's get right to it. Fellas

(16:33):
Pack twelve matchup of the day. Okay, so we took
some liberties over here because it's not quite a Pack
twelve matchup, right. It's Utah against Florida, but Utah with
legitimate title aspirations, legitimate college football playoff birth aspirations. You

(16:54):
can't lay an egg on the road in the swamp
in the first game of the season. I can't wait
for the QB matchup. Bettle. Lot of hype about Anthony Richardson,
who last season only sixty four passes, but we're talking
about him maybe being a first round draft pick next year.
What are you guys looking forward to in this Utah
Florida matchup? To most? And uh? First and foremost? How

(17:17):
about the utes? Uh? This is the highest they've been
ranked in preseason polling in the history of the program,
and to start on the road in a matchup like this.
What I'm most interested in is how they handled the environment,
because the swamp can get loud. Obviously we all know
that we've seen him many times before, but it's also
gonna be a swamp. I think there's some rain in

(17:39):
the forecast, So how they handle the elements as well.
You do wet ball, drill and all these things to
try to protect the football and rain and all those
but in Salt Lake City, you don't you don't have
those elements. So how are they going to respond to
the committee the heat of an early September game, plus
the rain and the the emotion of the fan base
out there. M It's funny that rich mentions the weather.

(18:02):
So when I was doing my prep on this game,
I read a story that Kyle Whittingham has been practicing
in a bubble and he's been jacking up the humidity
in this controlled I guess they have some kind of
indoor facility in Salt Lake City. So listen. Kyle Whittingham's
coaching is two fift game for Utah and Billy Napiers

(18:23):
coaching his first, So he's been down this road before,
and I think that coaching matchup how Billy Napier system
adapts quickly. Again, a lot of new coaches, a lot
of new coordinators in week one, that means variants because
it's unknown. We don't know what those coaches are going
to do, how they're going to react, the personnel they're
gonna use. If you just look at the personnel in

(18:44):
this game, Utah looks more like the SEC team than Florida.
And I think that's the vibe that I'm getting. And
another thing, Kyle Whittingham stress very early on in camp,
and Rich, I'm sure you could speak to this. The
first thing he did when they started to install their
offense and getting their their you know, the depth chart set.
He wanted his five offensive lineman, his starters set very

(19:05):
early in camp. He wanted to establish that physicality, that
cohesion because I think Utah is gonna pound the rock
in this game and I think Florida is gonna struggle.
To stop it because this is not a Florida defense
that resembles an SEC unit. Questions on the interior, grabon
dexter moose from nose tackle to d end. They're gonna
play this three four scheme. You have Jalen Lee, who

(19:25):
takes over at the nose limited time last year. And
then oh, by the way, Kavan Thomas the running back
for Utah. He led the Pack twelve and explosive runs
last year. So I think at the end of this game,
we're gonna be questioning which team is really the SEC
team in terms of the vibes that they give up
during the game. Obviously, the Utah defense loses their best player,

(19:46):
uh Devin Lloyd to the draft, but they do return
Pack twelve freshman of the Year Junior to Fun at
d tackle. They have two preseasonal conference players in the secondary.
Clark Phillips has a chance to be the best corner
in the Pac twelve. You've got Cold Bishop at safety.
I think Utah actually has more talent in Florida, which
is crazy to think. I don't know what Anthony Richardson
we're gonna get from him. I don't know what the
scheme billion epil year is going to set out there.

(20:07):
Those are the question marks. That's the volatility in this game.
But pound for pound right now, I think Utah is
better and I think they're better coach, and I think
Camera Risings the more efficient quarterbacks. So tough not to
take the youths very seriously. Inns well, and there's another
layer to this game into this season for Utah, they
are continuing to honor their late players, Aaron Low and

(20:27):
Ty Jordan's So you've probably seen this where later in
the season against USC they'll have these special helmets where
they are hand painted helmets. They feature portraits of the
two players. They both wore a number twenty two. And
so the mantra has been be better as a program.
And it's also something that Ty that Kyle Whittingham said

(20:49):
last year. The quote that stood out to me said,
it brought us together in a way that I don't
know what could have been more powerful. It united us
and gave us all a cause. Is not that you
need that to have a good football team, but that
really sparked us and really gave everybody a common denominator
to play for. That really stood out to me. And look,

(21:13):
we're talking something completely secondary of utmost importance is that
two players have have left this earth far too early.
That's paramount. But as it trickles down to a football level,
do you take all of that into account as a
layer when you're just trying to see how Utah affairs

(21:34):
in this game against Florida, see how they fair this
season where there has been a tragedy that has brought
the team very close together. What do you guys think
about that? Yeah, no question about it. And and again
the way things are messaged, do you always need a cause?
And like how Winningham said, you never wanted to be this,
but you gotta take negatives and turn them into positives.

(21:54):
You gotta take obstacles and turn them into strengths. You've
got to have that that ability to overcome and adapt
throughout the course of the season. And so you take
something as awful as losing two young men and you
turn it into building an even stronger family, uh, within
this this team. The same things happening with the Ducks
with Oregon, uh the recent passing of their tight end.

(22:16):
So you have those moments where you become closer as
a group, dude to tragedy and it's not gonna hold
you back, and to honor those players, you're gonna go
out there and play harder. And to Jared's point, and
I think it is a really important point to to
get prepared for games you especially early in the season,
especially at these down south outdoor venues where you know

(22:38):
the heat. You're going into a blast furnace, I mean
really a steam room, because it's it's it's the sticky heat.
It's where you can't breathe because it feels like you're
under a wet blanket the entire game. How did you
prepare for that? Kyle Whittingham, that's right off of the
Belichick uh playbook, right, he tore a page out because
I remember when I was in New England and we're

(23:00):
paring for those early season Miami Dolphin games. What do
you think we were doing. We're not we can't replicate,
you know, the South Beach humidity weather. So we were
in that indoor we have the heat and the humidity
crank and you're just trying to ready yourself for the
elements you're gonna face come of football Saturday or Sunday.
Kyle Whittingham's one heck of a coach. I mean, and

(23:22):
I think those are the things that we don't We
don't view because it's Utah and they play in the
Pack twelve, and it's what you know, like, we don't
give him the respect he deserves. Um as arguably one
of the best coaches and most prepared coaches in the country.
I'm not worried at all about Utah being prepared for
this game, all of the little things that go into

(23:42):
a college football preparation week. The thing that scares me
is the unknown with Billy Napier and Anthony Richardson. That's
what con wrect this game for Utah and their title
hopes and all of the great things. We've been talking
about the Utes over the last month or so, so
I Whittingham's gonna have his boys ready to go. It's
what are we gonna see from Florida. That's the variants
we're gonna probably hopefully avoiding this cake because where the Utes.

(24:06):
Let's go. Utes, come on, Yeah, Florida two and a
half point home dog on bed MGM, we'll get to uh.
Dogs are barking right around the corner. First, though, let's
invite Isaac Low and Kron into the mix over here.
I Loo what's going on? Buddy, Brian Rich and Jared,
thank you so much for inviting me to the best
tailgate in all of college football. But with that in mind,

(24:27):
I got to ask you what's on the menu? What
kind of food do we have at this tailga? Because
you guys know me, number one on my list of priorities,
just beyond the latest information in sports, is what kind
of food I can mooch for free? So what's on
the menu today? Well, if you're coming over to Casa
del Ormburger this morning, we got um bananas, apples, protein

(24:49):
bars of coconut water. You don't even have like an
omelet station or anything. Rich, come on, get like the
guy to flip the omelets or some waffle Belgian waffles
or umthing. Come on. The chef is ill. So we're
just dealing with hand fruits this morning. You know, I
make like a microwave egg sandwich every morning and it's

(25:09):
it's like literally the lamest thing ever. But it's quick
and it's and it gets me a little protein. So
that's usually what's on my menu. And you know what,
it might not compete with other tailgates. So we've got
going on across the country today. But the one positive,
especially with me, it's free Fellas. We also had college
football on Friday night, Number fifteen, Michigan State over Western
Michigan thirty five to thirteen. Peyton Thorne of the Spartans

(25:31):
through four touchdown passes. Old Dominion led Virginia Tech twenty
to seventeen in the final seconds last night. One more
chance for Virginia Tech and Fellas. That leads us to
another fun hallmark of college football, colorful local radio announcers.
Here are Old Dominion voices Ted Alexander and Andy Mayshaw

(25:52):
on w v SP wells back to throw, sending his
men deep looking looking down the middle. E goes, this
one's gonna go over the midfield stripe and it's going
to be intercepted Lamarian James. And the dress is in
the bag for the second time in the room over
the hockeys here in Norfolk. Is it a rivalry now, hokeys?

(26:13):
Is it a rival very? Now? Check please now that
taste now that is in the bag. That's definitely I've
ever heard that one before. So here's the story behind that.
The only sign of that line ever in history was

(26:35):
from an episode do you remember back in the nineteen thirties,
our gang Spanky and Alfalfa Rich How old are you anyway?
So that was a line by Spanky at some beauty
pageant and he said it to to a little girl
that he was in his class with, and he said

(26:55):
something like, don't worry, girly, the dresses in the bag.
So apparently I wish I could say I made that up,
but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Elsewhere, on Friday Night,
Indiana got a last minute of touchdown from Seawan Shivers,
a game woulding one yard touchdown running with twenty three
seconds to play. They beat Illinois twenty three or twenty
TCU ran for two seventy five and thirty eight thirteen

(27:18):
win at Colorado Baseball Friday Night, Padres over the Dodgers
seven and one. Giants over the Phillies thirteen to one,
breaking a seven game losing streak. Tennis Serena Williams gave
us one final memorable night on Friday and round three
of the US Open. She staved off five match points
before finally losing to Australia's Isola tom Lanovic in the
deciding set of a match that lasted three hours and

(27:39):
five minutes, Brian Rich Jared back to the tailgate. Thank you,
I low, thank you very much. Yes. Fox Sports Radios
countdown to Kickoff, presented by bet MGM. I'm Brian Noe
alongside Penn State stud Rich orn Berger. That sounds better,
doesn't it. Rich? You're like, yeah it does. I mean
it really and you like the size stud stud stud

(28:01):
or like really really dig into it. And Jared Smith
pick Wise picks Wise, lead betting analyst. Okay, we got
a lot to do, not a lot of time to
do it. Let's dive right into the next feature, the Dogs.
I love this now, Jared, You've got some dogs for
us today. I love by the way, shout out to

(28:22):
Veto with the DMX, you know, and we've got and
we've got fifty background music. This is unbelievable. What do
you have for us today? X gonna give it to you.
Maybe we'll get some of these dogs that are gonna
give it to us tonight. So we we we did
talk a little bit about U T s a open
a six and a half point dogs. I guess it's
a home game, you know, Houston playing in the Alamo Dome.

(28:43):
I don't know if you can really consider that a
home game. I'm sure, uh the Coogs are going to
be very well represented there. But this one's down to four.
So there is some love on the road Runners and
and listen, lots of hype around this game. Both teams
won twelve games last year. Both teams had very very
solid seasons. We expect that from Houston, did not expect
that from ut s A. They did lose their running
backs and Sire McCormick, who sincerely maybe one was one

(29:06):
of the best players in the country no one was
talking about last year. But Frank Harris back at quarterback
first in the preseason conference poll. Houston also returns thirteen starters,
including their quarterback Clayton Tune wide receiver Nathaniel del nine
of ten assistant coaches Dana Holgerson's back. There is a
lot of buzz in this game about the rule the
run of Texas. Obviously, the Longhorns still run the state,

(29:27):
but there is opportunity for one of these programs to
be that next best team in the state of Texas.
And and I think that's gonna be a fascinating matchup tonight.
I'm not in love with the road Runners in this spot.
I don't think I'm running to the window to bet them,
but it is interesting to see how much action they've taken.
Anytime you get a team like Houston and that linees
moved down a little bit. This is the dog of
the day for me. South Dakota State at Iowa. We

(29:49):
talked about this yesterday on the Herd. Listen. This is
a massive, massive look ahead spot for Iowa. They play
Iowa State next week. It is their biggest game of
the season. There's a big sky Hawk Trophy and all
the bragging rights in the state of Iowa. Meanwhile, they
better not look past South Dakota State because the Jacks
are a very talented team from the FCS. They were

(30:11):
in the title game in the spring. They have a
front seven that I think can stop Iowa from just
pounding it straight down their throats, which is what the
Hawk Eyes usually like to do when they're playing a
lesser opponent. But again, the Iowa offensive line just one senior.
The rest are sophomores. They lost Tyler Lindebaum to the NFL.
Tyler Goodson's gone. Spencer Peatures is not a guy that's
gonna stretch the field. So if Iowa can't just run

(30:32):
it down South Dakota State's throat. They're gonna need to
move the ball on the outside, and that's just not
what Iowa likes to do. The total in this game
continues to drop. I'm seeing it now forty two, forty
one and a half. Anytime you see a fourteen and
a half point spread and the total is barely touching forty,
that to me means there's not gonna be a lot
of points in this game. And if there's not a
lot of points in a game with a spread that big,

(30:55):
you want to be on the dog side. So I
think the Jacks are gonna be barking here. This is
the one underdog that I really like today South Dakota State.
I got fourteen and a half. I speckled the money
line plus five fifty. I think they keep it close
in Iowa City. Wow. I like the visual of you
walking meandering to the betting window the road and sometimes run.

(31:18):
Sometimes I saun there. Sometimes I just stare at it
and help you sort of shuffle. Right. Is that how
it's gonna go? I will say this about the road Runners.
I got to call their final game of the season
in the Frisco Bowl last year. That was a twelve
win team, And like Jared said, I mean, losing McCormick
is huge because he was a huge part of that offense.

(31:39):
But they're explosive like that is a group who can
score in bunches and really quick. And I saw it
in that game in the first quarter and the third
quarter against the San Diego State aztecs um. But then
going back to Iowa, look, I was good for one
of these hiccups a season where you go, what happened
out there? But then they'll go and we were talking
about this earlier in the week, then they'll go to

(32:00):
Ohio State in the Horse Shoe and give the boys
in Columbus all they can handle. It's just they're they're
a weird team every single year. They're well coached, but
they have that hiccup game. Is the opener gonna be
that game? Jared says, the Jack's I dig it. Yes,
I fired up for that one. Every time you make

(32:20):
a wager at bet MGM, you earn bet MGM rewards
points that can be redeemed for things like free bets
and risk free tokens that can also be converted to
MGM rewards points that can be used towards dining shows
and hotel rooms at over twenty MGM resorts. All right,
comed up next. By the way, I screwed it up,

(32:42):
it wasn't fifty. It was Tupac and Biggie in the background.
Come on over here. If it's a heavy metal song,
two seconds, I probably know it. If it's wrapped. It's
probably my second favorite genre. When we play it might
take me five or ten seconds. You know, it's classical
music to get my mind right on this right that.

(33:03):
I've got a classical nugget for you around the corner, Jarrett,
I've got something to tell you classical wise. Yes, we'll
do that coming up. Also, two things that are near
and dear to my heart, Parlay's and trends. We'll have
both for you coming up. I'm Brian No alongside Rich
Ornberger Jared Smith. It's Fox Sports Radio's count Down to

(33:23):
Kickoff presented by bet MGM. Kickoffs are coming, Sue, and
we're leading you up to that. This is Fox Sports
Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet mg I the
kick of sports Box once again. Here's Brian No, Rich
Hornberger and Jared spire. Ah, Yes, fired up here. We

(33:50):
gotta upgrade our tailgate food. I got I've got a
granola bar over here, Rich Hornberger said, like nine healthy things.
We gotta step it up here. And the wings are
coming early for pizza, No, never too early? Right, cold
pizza for breakfast? Sign me up. It doesn't even need
to be cold if it's left out on the counter
the night before. Buddy, I've I've been known. I'll partake you.

(34:14):
Throw that on the back of the tailgate. I'm pounding
me a couple of slices. Deal breakfast food. So just
put sausage on the piere you go, Yeah, bacon too, right? Hey?
Our parlay platter is brought to you by bet MGM.
Earn a fifty dollar bonus by signing up, signing into
bed MGM and clicking on refer a friend to invite

(34:36):
a friend and ingest a few simple steps, both you
and your friend will receive a fifty dollar bonus. Bet MGM,
the King of sports books, the King of parlays. Let's
get tour parlays here. Check this out? Are late letter?
All right, Jared love the parlays over here? What are
you thinking today? Let's do it all right, let's fire

(34:58):
up the bed MGM APP and you put so parlays
are unique. I don't recommend going crazy with parlay's and
betting a ton of them. So the way that I
usually do it as I do one per week and
I limited to about a half a unit, which is
a half a percent of my entire bank roll. And
we're gonna stay consistent all year. We're gonna take our
three favorite money lines. Sometimes they'll be underdogs, sometimes they'll

(35:20):
be favorite. We'll see what's on the board and we'll
crank one of these out for you every week. Again,
don't be better a million parlays. That's how you eliminate
your bank rolls so fast. But I like Appalachian State,
and again this is a very fascinating game. First time
UNC's ever visited Boone, North Carolina, and the app State
money has been flying in. They were an underdog, now

(35:40):
they're a favorite. So we'll put app State money line
in the parlay will throw Utah in there. We talked
about the Utes a little earlier. I think this is
a good spot for them to go into Gainesville and
get a dub and also San Diego State. I know
Rich it's gonna be watching this game very closely later
opening up that new stadium. They're not losing at home
to Arizona, who won on one game last year. Yeah,

(36:03):
that's not happening. So we'll throw those three money lines
in the parlay app state you taugh San Diego State.
It pays plus three thirty nine over at bed MGM.
Just a little half a unit sprinkle, get a little
fun money line parlay to start our week off. And
and listen again, don't go nuts with these, but it's
okay to have a little bit of fun. It's for

(36:25):
the little bit of a play. It's fun. It's fun.
It's a little sprinkle, just a little units. Yeah, I'm
just throw it all five units, ten unit MaTx whale play.
Let's go. No, don't do that, Please do not do that. Um,
but I am pumped. I'll be on the call for
San Diego State hosting Arizona. And uh, this is a

(36:46):
team San Diego State who's seven and two against the
Pack twelve. It's the best record against the Pack twelve s.
So it just goes to show you what the public
may not know when they go to the book, that
that the people close to the program see and the
people here in San Diego see it is. It's a thing.

(37:07):
We got two wins against Pac twelve opponents a year ago,
Arizona and the Utes. They're on the slate this year
early this season. And uh and like you said, Jared,
not much doing in Arizona. Jetfish great coach, no question
about it, but he's got a lot of work. He's
got his hands full. You know, I love that you
just went to the trends, Rich because I'll tell you what,

(37:29):
you are, a polished professional over here. That's exactly where
we're going next. Let's do that. Oh yeah, let's get trendy.
All right. We're looking at trends over the last season
slash seasons that might help us with our bets today.
Anything stand out to you, guys? Yeah, I got a

(37:49):
big e, guys, And I think this is one that
narrative what we hear on TV and radio every week,
this goes against that. And that's my most fascinating trends
are the ones that disproved of what we hear a lot.
So teams playing their first game this week against teams
already with a game under their belt. Now in your mind,
you're thinking Oh, the team that's already played a game,

(38:10):
they're a little bit sharper, they've gotten those kinks out. Well.
The data says the team playing their first game since
two thousand seven covers about fifty six percent of the time.
And I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but
in the gambling world, fifty percent cover rate is a
very profitable rate. We've got eleven games today and tomorrow

(38:30):
that meet this trend. App State, u n C being
a big one, Oklahoma against you, tep Nebraska playing their
second game against dark Dakota State. You got Texas State, Nevada,
Alabama playing their first game against Utah State who played
last week, And of course l s U playing their
first game against Florida State. That game is on Sunday
at the Superdome, So be careful of those teams playing
game two. I would lean towards the teams playing their

(38:53):
first game of the season this weekend. Yeah, trends to
focus on, especially early in the season. We're just coming
off of guests. We're into early September. Are are games
that are gonna be played in horrific heat or weather?
I mean, so if you're looking at a rain game
or if you're looking on an excessive heat game, you
really got to focus in on those lines and see

(39:14):
which side is gonna be better prepared. In your favorite
home teams obviously in those weather games, especially when the
visitor is traveling from afar, those those are games that
I would spotlight this week, especially early in the season.
By the way, how about duel trends over here? NC
State just four and eleven against the spread in their

(39:36):
last fifteen road games, and their opponent today, East Carolina,
They're three and one against the spread and straight up,
and their last four meetings at home against NC State,
So maybe East Carolina home dog plus twelve and a
half at ben MGM. I don't know. I don't know, Jared,
you thinking about that little pirate love a lot of

(39:56):
Love State? They're this isn't that's an interesting game? I
think I'm staying away from that one week one. All right,
change is on the way. Do you like it? Or
are you like Garth from Wayne's World, We fear change.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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(40:19):
Search f s R to listen. Live. Are you ready
to witness greatness? College fans? Welcome to the biggest tailgate
party in the nation. Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff,
presented by Fat MGM, the Gig of Sports Fox. We're

(40:40):
setting you up with the information you need to watch
your team win. Let's go. We're here to break it
all down. Let's go, Let's go. This is Fox Sports
Radios Countdown to Kickoff, presented by bet m g App.
We're live from your tail game. Here's Brian no, former
Penn State All American, Rich Hornberger, and Picks Wise lead

(41:03):
Betty analyst Jared Smith. Oh, what's going on everybody? We
are just under two hours before kickoff here? Huh? Just
under two hours and the pigskins are flying all over
the country in these early start times at noon Eastern time.
I'm fired up. I don't know about you, guys. Are

(41:25):
you starting to feel it? Are you starting to get
into a lather over here? Question? No question? You got
a college football Saturday, the first real one. I know. Look,
how week zero we we we have the early slate,
uh kind of as a taster. Uh what do they
call that? Not a palate cleanser, But it's the it's
the first little spoons. Yeah, how area died of us

(41:49):
a little moose boost to get the meal started right,
you know, just to taste just a hint, just a
little something off the top. Um, but I did week zero.
But but week one is where it's all about. This
is this is where we see that consequential action. We
already saw it. For example, the upset last night Old
Dominion over the Hokeyes, what a game that was. Yes,

(42:12):
that was awesome. Yeah, and uh, really cool call as
they storm the field over there. How about o du
with two wins against Virginia Tech in the last four
meetings to start for Brent Pry, What do you think
about that? Rich? I mean, that's our guy coming over
from Penn State. That's such a great job with the defense.
But to start for him, it's you know, look, it
doesn't work sometimes as a head coach, and it and

(42:32):
it may not It may not be your fault. I
shouldn't say that. There's accountability obviously at the top, but
it may not be all your fault. And you may
not get enough time if you have to a slow
start with a new program. And and so it's about
sticking to a plan. Believing in yourself, not losing confidence,
even though you're gonna have these moments where you start

(42:54):
looking in the mirror and saying, dude, I got the chops. Yeah,
I agree with you. It is a tough start. But if, if,
if a coach is given some latitude and given a
little leash to get things right. We've seen it before,
there can be huge, huge bounce backs from year two
to year three, year three to year four in program building,
because that's about the time it takes to get your
recruits and your transfers in the room and caught up

(43:15):
to speed. It's tough, man, when you look. If you
start off with a tough opponent in your first game, uh,
that can be rough. But let's say today, Let's say
Oregon loses to Georgia or Notre Dame loses to Ohio State.
If it's close, there's going to be a bit of
a shoulder shrug, like you hung right. But if you
start off with an FCS team and lose the old

(43:37):
dominion in week one, that's rough. What was it last year?
Jacksonville State took down Florida State early in the in
the season. When you start off with a should be
an automatic dub and it's a loss that is rough
right there. Let's switch gears to this though, fellas the
College Football Playoffs Board of Managers, Let's salute these guys

(43:57):
you met unanimously voted on Friday A to expand the
college football Playoff to twelve teams. So now it's up
to the commissioners and Jack Swarbrick from Notre Dame. They're
trying to hammer things out where they could implement this
as early as four. So the managers, those are the presidents.
They say, thumbs up, twelve teams. Let's do it. Figure

(44:19):
it out, commissioners and Jack Swarbrick, what do you guys
think about this? Are you cool with twelve teams? And
also the other layer? Are you cool with the format
that is being talked about where it's the top ranked,
six UH conference champions and then six at large bids?
Do you like that as well? It's gonna potentially save

(44:39):
the pack twelve. And so if if I'm in the
pack twelve right now, I'm hoping and I'm praying that
this happens sooner than because having an auto bid, not
having to fight for an out large position, which I
mean buying large. Do I think pack twelve teams will
get in, Yeah, but to have one automatically in it's
a huge OUI to your confidence with this conference. So

(45:03):
so yeah, this is huge. I'm personally a fan of that.
I think that having relevance within your conferences it helps it.
You know, if you want to compare it to something
comparable with the NFL system structure, it's consequential whether or
not you win your division. And so I think it
it brings more excitement and action into some of these
regional rivalries that these conferences provide for us. So so

(45:26):
I like the auto bid for the Conference champs. And
I think twelve is a perfect number, at least right now.
We'll we'll see if there's a need for more. But
it needs to be more than four. That's one thing
I'm certain of. It needed to be more than four. Yeah,
I think the number being four was was a pressure point.

(45:47):
I don't know if twelve is too like so far.
It's kind of funny. We've been clamoring for more than
four for for years now, or maybe not years, but
a couple of and and then and then when we
heard about twelve, I saw pushed back on my Timeline
saying twelve is too much. You know, it was like
a three Little Bears. Well, you know, the porridge is
too hot, the pord just too cold. What is just right?

(46:07):
I don't know if twelve is the right number, but
here's what I do know. I'm excited for the fans.
I'm excited for the betters. I'm sure vn MGM loves
this more college football playoff games. But also, and again Rich,
we're gonna be trading and blows with the Penn State
stuff because I have such fond memories of going to games.

(46:27):
They're a home playoff game for Penn State in December. Now,
obviously I don't know if that's gonna happen yet, We'll we'll,
we'll see what the what the Brackett looks like when
we get it. But the potential for a team like
Penn State, or a team like Ohio State, or a
team like Texas or Oklahoma with these unbelievable fan bases
to have a home playoff game is going to make

(46:49):
these I mean, the matchups just way more juicy than
they normally would be. I don't want to call it
a sterile neutral environment, because those those places get jacked
up to what you're telling me, Happy Valley in late
December in a playoff environment? Are you kidding me? Like?
Sign me up for that. So I love the fact
that they are going to home sites. I think that's

(47:09):
gonna make these games a lot more intriguing from a
handicapping perspective. And obviously, oh yeah, let's play that fight.
I want to hear that fight song. At least, what's
a week, Let's let's go. My thing is, I don't
know why they don't do more of it in the playoff.
They're just talking about the first round and then implementing
the bowls into the next rounds. Why why, Like, why

(47:30):
don't we have at least two rounds that are at
home stadiums. Why don't we have the first three rounds
in just the championship game at a neutral site? In
terms of a Bowl game, I think that's a really
good point, And I think, what's what's the difference, Like,
can't we attach sponsors and satisfied, uh, you know, Bowl
sponsors by having these games played at home. I understand

(47:51):
there are certain Bowl games that are tied to venues
and all that, but but there's so much change every
year with the Bowl system. So I completely agree with you,
and I think you'll how a way more active environment.
And then to Jared's point about a late December playoff
game at your home venue, just think about the advantage
for some of these teams, because the way scheduling works,
sometimes you'll have to home games to finish your season,

(48:14):
then host the conference championship, and then maybe host a
team and you may be home for a month plus.
If the bye week is on one side of all that,
I mean, you could have a crazy advantage for certain
So the schedules are gonna get wonky. Dude. Everything's changing
so fast. It feels like we're standing in like quicksand
right now there's no firm earth, terra firma underneath us.

(48:36):
But I'm enjoying it. I'm just I'm I'm I'm riding
this hill. Let's let's sloo them a little bit while
we figure out where the guardrails are. Yeah, And I
think that's a way to keep the the regular season meaningful.
That was one of the things that I was reluctant.
I've been reluctant over the years to embrace twelve teams
because the importance of the regular season diminishes just a

(48:59):
little bit, not by leaps and bounds, but a little bit.
And if you have home playoff games, I think that
boosts up the importance of the regular season and being
a higher ranked team and you get those favorable matchups
at home. Home field can mean a whole lot in
college football come playoff time, and I think that would
be a great way to keep that importance in the

(49:20):
regular season going, instead of having neutral sight games in
the final three rounds of a four round tournament. Yeah,
I agree. I think the incentive the incentives also to
say that you won a college football playoff game, whereas
now it's so hard to win a college fooball playoff game.
There's only four teams, and most of the time you're
playing in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and and you know

(49:41):
you're fifteen twenty point underdog like Washington found themselves and
Notre Dame. So I think just saying hey, we won
a college football playoff game. You know, maybe it's the
five twelve game or whatever seatings that they decide, but
that goes on a resume that adds to the depth
of your program, and I think adds a lot of
recruiting value. I mean, everything about adding more college football

(50:04):
playoff games is positive, but I do think there is
a point of saturation. I don't know if twelve is
the right answer. I don't know if they went too far.
We'll find out in the next couple of years. We'll
see how long it takes to implement this as well well,
because I'm fascinated see if they really do get it
up and running by four which is the first gate window,
or like, when is this really going to start? Yeah?

(50:25):
And to me, the sooner the better because then you
get to figure it all out sooner. And and to
your point about twelve games, is it too much? All right?
I think of it this way. You have thirty two
teams in the NFL, you have four team playoff slots,
one team each conference earns a bye, and it still
feels like there's urgency there. It still feels important, even
though you have close to half the league in the

(50:47):
postseason now and and the regular season has remained urgent.
I think twelve will be fine in college football because
there's so many teams that year lead can by for
one of those opportunities. And then in terms of recruiting
to your point again. And holy cow, if you're a
coach right now, you are begging for earlier opportunities to
get into this twelve game bracket or twelve team bracket,

(51:08):
because then you can sit on couches like I'm on
right now, getting ready to watch college football, and you
can say these recruits with their parents sitting on the
love seat next to you, Hey, look, we are this close.
We're this close. We just need you, and then we're
gonna get over the hump. We're gonna be in that
bracket and we're gonna be national champions in your time
with this university. What do you say, here's the paperwork? Yeah,

(51:30):
so here's the matchups last year. I'm just curious because
you know, this Theson would have been very interesting. Twelve
five would have been picked Georgia. Again, this is what
seatings they gave us. I think Georgia, you know, has
had a case for for being in the top four.
Two eleven, six Utah Notre Dame out of it, a
fascinating game. Seven, Michigan State, Ohio State. I mean, I
don't know if they're gonna you know, restrict conference matchups here,

(51:51):
but that would be interesting. Oklahoma State Ole miss and
in the winner that game plays Bama. The Michigan State,
Ohio State winner would have played Michigan Utah. Notre Dame
winner would have played Sinnati and then pitch Georgia against Baylor.
I mean, these are juicy guys in juicy Sign me up.
Do you have a time machine? Can we go back
to last year and do that? Because Jared just got
me fired up. I know I want I want twelve

(52:13):
games yesterday. I want to Notre Dame Cincinnati rematch last
year I didn't happen. What do you guys think about this? Though?
Real fast, there are a lot of people that are
just shrugging their shoulders, like, we're still gonna have the
same champions It's really not gonna change anything. Do you
think it would play out the same way or do
you think we'd see an upset here or there. I'm
not telling you Army and Navy are gonna start winning

(52:35):
national championships left and right when it's twelve teams. But
I think it would shake it up more than some
people believe it would. I think so too, you know,
and again harkening back to the only thing we can
compare it to in football, the NFL playoff structure where
the Bengals the best or the second best team last season?
Absolutely not. But I mean Joe Burrocott's not nine times

(52:55):
and found a way to beat the Titans. It happens.
It's football. There's urgency because every single game you don't
know what's gonna happen, Who's gonna get hurt, who's gonna
throw an untimely picked because they got hit as they
threw it. It's football. So I I think that you're
going to see some unlikely victories in the early rounds
that inspires uncommon confidence. And then all of a sudden,

(53:17):
we're going to have matchups we never thought possible, we
never thought we'd be interested in. But here we are,
very similar to the n c Double A men's basketball bracket.
How many St. Peter's fans were out there before last year? None,
But you latch onto these teams because all of a
sudden you believe in the little engine that could. I'm
glad you mentioned the college basketball tournament because that's what

(53:37):
the BI system reminds me of. How many times do
we see the play in games. One of those teams
make a run to the sweet sixth team because they
win that playing game on a Tuesday, and they carry
that momentum over in the Thursday, where the team playing
Thursday is still going through that pre you know, the
first college basketball tournament game jitters, so that five twelve

(53:58):
game that has to play the fourth in the second round,
the five twelve winner has a win under their belt
going into that game Soup. So many more intriguing matchups
in the second part of the handicap was it two
years ago? To your point, uh u l A was
the first four team? I mean go to the sweet
six team more often than not from those playing games,

(54:20):
So that adds another element too. And now we only
have three colletural playoff games, one four to three and
then the champion. The more games you have, the more
rolls of the dice, and you know, you're guys stick
up to the craps table like like I do. The
more times you roll the dice, the more chance you
have to have a you know, box cars or a snake, guys.

(54:40):
So the more opportunities there are to roll the dice
with these cultural playoff games, the more chances we have
for upsets. I think we should reset all the nicknames
for each of the rolls, you know, box cars, snake guys.
I love craps guys. That's my that's my advice. That's
all I play in the ye. If you ever want

(55:00):
to know where I am when I'm not doing this show,
it's probably at the craps. Did Are you listening to
classical music? By the way, that's a rager. That's that's
where the metal comes in. Guys. My nugget though, Jared,
I forgot to mention this. You're a classical guy, true story.
My minor in college was classical guitar. On I'm dead serious,

(55:23):
are you a music I'll be honest, bar, and I
would not have taken you for a musical person like you.
You you take me as a straight shooter sports guy,
not the creative musical ARTSI FARTZI you know, It's funny,
Jared is like I've had two separate lives basically because
I've had long hair, was l a at the whiskey

(55:44):
and all this stuff. And so like my music friends,
they don't know this version of mere sports friends. They
don't they don't know the music. Okay, so this is
his retirement plan. He's gonna grow the hair back out
and he's gonna be on one of those late night informers.
Shol's fingerpicking and acoustic guitar, and he's gonna be selling. Hey,
you two can play like Brian No, right, oh man,

(56:07):
except it will be the metal version. It's just like
you do. Can shred over yea be a little bit
more animated. Hey, we're happy. We're happy to announce that
bet MGM is live in Kansas this week. Huh, let's
go Kansas, the latest state to join the world of
sports betting. New users can use the code countdown for
a special offer. That's code countdown in the bet MGM app.

(56:31):
All right, We've got a batch of mind bending and
hard hitting questions around the corner, including one of the
biggest day games of the day. I'm Brian No alongside
Rich Ornberger Jared Smith. It's Fox Sports Radios. Oh I
like this? Iowa? Can we Let's stretch it out a
little longer with metallic in the background. It's Fox Sports

(56:51):
Radio's camp Down to Kickoff, presented by bet MGM. Welcome
to the biggest tailgate party in the nation. Your sucked
into Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff Touchdown and it's
presented by bet MGM, the King of sports books. Once again.
Here's Brian no, Ray Hornberger and Jared Smith. Ah. Yes,

(57:16):
it is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by
bet MGM. New users download the bet m g M
app today and use code countdown for a special offer.
That's code Countdown in the bet MGM app. Alright, fellas,
let's go quickly over here. A couple of questions, hard hitting,
mind bending, all that good stuff. Which team is likely

(57:38):
to win by more points today? Is it Georgia who's
taken on Oregon? Or is it Ohio State taking on
Notre Dame and both Georgia and Ohio State roughly sixteen
point favorites. Do you expect Georgia or Ohio State to
win bigger? It's a great question if I if I
was forced to choose, I actually think both these games

(57:59):
are gonna be looser than people think. But if I'm
forced to choose Ohio State because of Stroud, because of
the weapons, because of the offensive minded head coach, I
think breaking in a new team on the road at
the Horseshoe is gonna be a tall task for Marcus Freeman,

(58:19):
who it's different landing landed the Ducks job because he
chose to Marcus was almost like an incumbency thing, you know.
So there's there's a lot against Notre Dame in this spot.
But yeah, I guess if I'm forced to choose, I'll
say Ohio State outscores Notre Dame more than Georgia outscores

(58:40):
the Ducks. I agree. I think just the Ohio State
offensive skill position players against the Notre Dame secondary is
a massive mis mismatch where you would, I don't know
what we're gonna get with Georgie's offense, and you know,
I think we're gonna take a little bit of a
step forward because Stepson Bennett has to because the defense

(59:00):
lost like like a hundred first round draftics, right, Um,
So I think you're gonna see more of a of
an emphasis on Todd Munkin and Georgia to be a
more aggressive on offense this year. They can't just run
the ball and expect that defense to do everything for them,
even though they're still very talented. And I think there's
a lot of unknowns with Oregon. You know, the do
OC Kenny Dillingham comes in from Florida State. We at
bon Nick's transferring from Auburn. There there there is upside

(59:22):
there and a lot of variants. I think with Organ's
offense where I know what I'm getting with Ohio State's offense,
and I think it's gonna be really good. I don't
know what you guys are talking about. Irish are winning
out right, So by defall Georgia, you want to make
a wager on that one. Let's see what that Notre
Dame doesn't win that game. I'm gonna contemplate that, Jared,

(59:46):
I'm gonna think about that. By the way, how about this,
Which team or player are you most excited to see
to begin this year in college football? Could be anything?
What are you running to your TV to see most?
I'm on the cause of analyst for the San Diego
State Azsects and they're opening up a brand new stadium
down here in San Diego, and uh, I really think

(01:00:08):
it's a big year for them. I do for a
lot of different reasons. We were just talking about the
expansion of the college football playoffs looming here in the
near term. Uh, San Diego State, it's one of those
teams that very easily playing against a Pac twelve opponent
out of the Mountain West might be joining the PAC
twelve at some point, right, I mean, it's it's possible.
It's been talked about a lot, so I'm really excited

(01:00:32):
to see how they perform after a twelve win season
a year ago in this upcoming season. Can I just
stay for the record, we've been doing a show for
nineteen minutes. We have not mentioned Alabama. I think maybe
we mentioned him once, Like I think Nick Saban's gonna
cancel our show because we haven't building year. You know,
they're off the radar right now. We're rat poison. We understand,

(01:00:54):
we're everything that he doesn't like about sports media. Now,
I'm just kidding. Jamir gigs Uh, the running back from Alabama,
transfer from Georgia Tech. So he practiced with Alabama in
the in the lead up to the College of Football
playoff games because of the you know, the eligibility rules
there with the transfers. And I heard at that point
before he even really had a chance to play, even

(01:01:16):
when he was just practicing, that he was the best
player on the field on Alabama's field. So we'll see
if that I've heard that transfers over to the summer
and we all know what we're getting with Bryce Young. Now,
they lost a lot of wide receiver talent, but I
think Bryce Young still scares a lot of people enough
to where Jamir Gibbs, who I think if we see
props for him pop up on the bed MGM at

(01:01:37):
by be betting them immediately, he has a chance to
be a Heisman fringe contender. We haven't seen a running
back win I think since Derrick Henry, but I would
I would put Jamir Games on that list for me
right now. You know, I want to see how it
comes together for USC. I can't say I'm running to
my TV to see them play Rice. So I'm running
to my TV to see George's defense. Like you said, Georgia,

(01:01:57):
they lost a ton of talent. They still have a
ton of talent, but how does it come together? And
I'm really curious in this matchup against Georgia against Oregon
in particular, how that defense looks out of the gate.
All right, coming up next, Christian Cippolini from bed MGM.
He's gonna talk some lines some picks, try to earn
you some money. First though, let's invite il in here,

(01:02:19):
Mr Isaac Loewenkron, what's the latest man Fellas. College football
is the latest all over the place today and last
night has never fifteen Michigan State got four touchdown passes
from Peyton Thorne, defeated Western Michigan thirty five to thirteen.
Old Dominion knocked off Virginia Tech twenty to seventeen, while
Indiana led Illinois in the final seconds twenty three to twenty.

(01:02:42):
Let's listen in on Don Fisher, legendary voice of the Hoosiers,
as well as Rerent Lewis on w YBC. Here's the
step back to the beetle back to trol bi Us
off of the middle ball is cart had a lateral
to what a b crick for insday at the university?

(01:03:07):
Stand up? Who's your fans? The defense is back, the
offense can throw it when they need to. It's gonna
be a fun year and rich hoping that I can
play a similar highlight of yours sometime tomorrow. After your
game today against the Arizona Wildcats for San Diego State,
TCU went again Colorado thirty eight to thirteen. TCU ran

(01:03:28):
for two hundred seventy five yards. They have a nine
yards to carry baseball Friday night padres over the Dodgers
seven of one. The Giants broke a seven game losing
streak with a thirteen to one victory over the Phillies. Finally,
and tennis Serena Williams took us for one more thrill
ride Friday night. In round three of the US Open.
She staved off five match points before losing to Australia's

(01:03:49):
Isla tom Lanovic in the deciding set of events that
wind up lasting three hours and five minutes. Brian Rich
and Jared all yours great stuff. I appreciate that. Oh okay,
money doesn't stay stagnant, it moves. Let's dive in. Follow
the money, real good money. Yes, we like to welcome
in Christians Cippolini bet MGM sports book trading manager joining

(01:04:13):
us here on countdown to kick off. Christian Welcome in Bud.
Any big line movement right now? You're seeing any of
these points spread shift that catches your attention? Hey, thanks
so much for having me. Um, it's actually uh, I mean,
you know, games are kind of moving all over this place.
We haven't had too too many that have had massive

(01:04:33):
swings this morning, at least nothing out of out of
the usual couple points here and there. This is you know,
Week one is is a little bit interesting because these
lines have been posted for for months at this point now,
so a lot of the work has already been done.
It's just kind of uh managing these little day to
day moves. What are you strongest on today, Christian? Do

(01:04:54):
you have a play that you feel very confident about? Oh? Yeah,
mean I don't. There's a couple here and there. Um
for what else? I guess I'll tell you kind of
where the sharps event because that that might be a
little bit better than myself. We've had a few people
all over Michigan. Um, Arkansas has actually one for sure.

(01:05:16):
We can't get anyone, uh Tibet Cincinnati super lops out
on Arkansas. A lot of sharps that were on that
side too, So I think that's right. Go Arkansas. So
far it looks like to be the best bet mm
hmm fighting Sam Pittman's Christian. So we saw a little
bit of movement off of Notre Dame this morning. Um.
Is that just because it moves so much towards Ohio

(01:05:37):
State in the last couple of weeks that someone saw
it at seventeen and said, I'm gonna gobble this one up,
or do you think that we're gonna continue to see
movement towards the Irish before we get closer to kick off? Yeah,
that's uh a little bit of that. I think it's
just around that seventeen key number. A lot of people
are just kind of seeing the value and just having

(01:05:58):
that number at seven team and just kind of pushed
us back, uh into the sixteens, where at sixteen and
a half or a little bit in the sixteen. Now,
I'd imagine maybe a little bit towards the Irish, maybe
that fifteen and a half, but I wouldn't expect to
too much. I think we'd probably end up. I think
we're probably right at the right number right now. So
what's the action look like? Do we got any monster

(01:06:19):
bets coming in? It's actually been a little bit quieter
than usual. We have a you know, a couple of
a couple of ten twenty k here, but nothing too major.
We actually just took a ten dollar bet on Alabama
money line, which would met a better one hundred dollars
Rich Rich, That to me, that's the bet that you

(01:06:41):
want to make right there, Alabama money Line. I don't
think we're going to see a loss there today, guys,
I feel like they're going to get across the finish
line against you talls day. So to me, Christian, I
I think when I look at the landscape in week one,
and I'm glad you mentioned it because you echoed my
point from earlier about the market has been beat up
with these Week one games for a few weeks now basically.

(01:07:03):
But when you get to game day and the limits increase,
is it like a flood of Is it like Black
Friday when Best Buy opens its doors and people just
rush in. Do you see it kind of steadily go
throughout the day or is it when those limits expand
on Saturday morning that's when you see these big bets
really start to come in fast and furies. Yeah, it's
a little bit of that. A lot of people sometimes

(01:07:24):
just wait until the last minute to kind of make
up their mind and putting their bets. There was a
few games that we hadn't had open yet, some of
the lower tier games, and as I'm opening up, it
just bets they're just flooding through. So there's there's a
lot of excitement in the air. Just people are just
ready for twelve o'clock, ready for action. To start. You know, Christian,
I love the stupid bets because a couple of people

(01:07:45):
have you mass winning a national championship and stuff like that,
anything that just makes you completely roll your eyes. Uh,
I mean, we do get those all the time. And
we just took a couple. I just took a fan
Houston States beat Texas A and m uh we took
uh yeah, thirty yeah, Miami is forty nine and a

(01:08:10):
half point favorites. We took a few, uh, a few
money line bets on bet Cookman, which is you know,
I guess, but I don't see it happening. Fun fact,
I've actually called a game at the Cookman before college
basketball back in my days working in Florida Atlantic. That
is a very that's going to be an interesting game too.
So the regional bias with bet MGM is fascinating to me, Christian,

(01:08:30):
because you guys, you know huge stronghold of Michigan and
you mentioned it off the top, Michigan is one of
your biggest bets of the day. Do you shade lines
in those stronghold regions because we all know about Detroit's
bet MGM. Uh, you know kind of foothold there is,
is it not as good of a bet on Michigan
because you guys are getting so much action in that region. Uh,

(01:08:53):
we don't typically make trading decisions, uh, you know, based
on that. We know we're gonna take Michigan a ton
of Michigan money right now. We're about our best on
Michigan versus Colorado State, which we actually have a decent
presence in Colorado also, But it's just more being that
right number and things will kind of even out over time.
You know. If we try to go too much towards

(01:09:14):
the Michigan side, you know, we'll get some big that
are coming off the opposite way. So, um, you know,
there's kind of risk in both sides. We do try
to stay on that key number, you know, regardless of
kind of what's coming in any popular futures beds getting
a lot of action week zero into week one here. Uh,
I guess nothing to two out of the ordinary, you know,

(01:09:36):
like I'm gonna go back on Michigan, But we keep
taking bets on them, even though you know how states
have the favorite to him the big ten, they're um,
nothing to two out of these ordinary. There's always a
couple of you know, weird ones here there. He's Christian
Cippolini from bed MGM. He's their sports book trading manager,
joining us here on count down to kick off. You know, Christian,

(01:09:58):
do you see any trends in terms of betting and
in week one, meaning let's take parlays for instance. Is
it normally a little lighter on parlays to begin the
season and then it picks up some steam as the
season goes along. How does that typically work out? I
was gonna say the opposite. I think Week one is
actually probably where we see someone our most parlay. It's

(01:10:19):
just just the excitement. Everyone's ready to be back and
you know, you want to hit that big winner week one. Uh,
Everyone's got their eyes wide open and ready to go.
So I think it's a little bit more. You just
took a parlay from me, so I just tweeted it out.
The parley platter has been served, so I don't know
if that's included in your parley handle. Trust me, Christian,
it's not going to be a big winner if it
does hit. So I think that I think the books

(01:10:41):
will survive if this one gets across. Just sprinkled a
couple of units, just yeah, just not just kidding. Half
a unit, which for me is like fifty so not that,
not that, not that liable. Um. I got a question
just about because we were talking about college football playoff
expansion and what this could mean obviously for the sport
and for the fans and for these conferences and for

(01:11:03):
these programs. What does it mean for the books. I mean,
it's it's wonderful for the books. I mean, we'll take
any more playoff action than normal. Obviously, with an uptick
on any of those playoff games, we get, you know,
significantly more handled there than any other game. That I mean,
who doesn't who doesn't want more football? So I think
it's I think it's great, it's great for the books,
it's great for everybody. Well, hey, Christian, appreciate your time today. Man.

(01:11:25):
Any game that you're most looking forward to, just out
of the fun of it, out of the fun of it.
I'm kind of interested to see how Rutgers looks this year,
Notton College, but that's just more the fun of it.
But I mean, of course, Ohio State, uh, Notre Dame
is going to be the game of the day. That's
going to call as you're gonna be on. Do you

(01:11:47):
have a relative over there? At Rutgers or something. Christian
I do it's a nude game and just looking forward
to that one. What enjoy the scarlet nights and all
the action today, Christians, thanks for joining us. Man there

(01:12:09):
he is Christian Cippollini, bet MGM, sports book, trading Manager,
fun stuff. Man, I'm excited. Rucks not on my list today, Guys,
that did not make the radar for today. It's not
make the radar. We have the parlay platters right next
to my protein bars and my apples and bananas. It
just ruckers just slid off the plane. Yeah, that did

(01:12:32):
the list, not even the loose crumbs. Hey, every time
you make a wager at bet MGM, you earn bet
MGM Rewards points that can be redeemed for things like
free bets and risk free tokens. They can also be
converted to bet MGM rewards points that can be used
towards dining shows, hotel rooms and much more. At twenty

(01:12:55):
MGM resorts are we got much more to come. We
still have more hard hitting questions and what the heck
is not live yet live betting. You'll find out around
the corner. I'm Brian No alongside Rich Hornberger. And Jared Smith.
It's Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet MGM.

(01:13:18):
Smells like ball kickoffs are coming, Sue, and we're leading
you up to that. This is Fox Sports Radios Countdown
to Kickoff, presented by bet MGM, the King of Sports Fox.
Once again, here's Brian no, Rich Hornberger and Jared Smith.

(01:13:38):
Are you jurning me? Ah? Yes, Welcome in Fox Sports
Radio's count Down to Kickoff, presented by Bett m GM.
One of my favorite lines is we'll do it live. Huh.
So that's exactly what we're gonna do right now, not
live yet, live betting. Okay, Jared, So you've got some

(01:14:03):
advice for in game betting before the game's kick off.
You have that, right, I do, and I'll be honest.
This is going to be a popular topic. Obviously the
games won't be live when we are live, but we
can prepare just like practice. Rich, you get off the ball,
you run that play, you practice it a hundred times,
so when it actually does take place on game day,

(01:14:26):
you don't need to think. You just react. Now. The
one thing about live betting that's fascinating, so in Europe,
live betting actually accounts for about seventy of the total
handle of all that. Yeah, in the US, it's only
about thirty to but that number is increasing dramatically with
each passing season. Because it makes sense. You're watching the

(01:14:48):
game a lot of times, you're in the stadium and
you get a really clean look at what's happening. You're
ahead of the line sometimes, but you see something take
place and then all of a sudden, boom, the line moves.
So you just have to approach it with that mindset. Now,
let's take this Utah Florida game for example. Utah is
a slight favorite. In this game. Let's say billion eight

(01:15:10):
year has been practicing scripting the first ten plays, he's
ready to go. Anthony Richardson gets it first, and they
march right down the field and stick one in the end. Well,
that's gonna move the line. All of a sudden, Utah
will go from a two and a half point favorite
pregame to maybe a pick up or maybe even a
slight underdog. And at that point you have to be
prepared because first of all, Utah might take it, drive

(01:15:31):
right back down the field, score again, and that moves
the line right back. But you need to watch that
and then be immediately ready to fire up your bed
MGM app and place the wager on Utah as an underdog,
or if you think the game is gonna go the
other way, then all of a sudden, Florida, who was
a favorite to start now is a small favorite after
scoring the first touchdown of the game. The odds usually

(01:15:54):
tell you that the team that scores first wins, but
you're getting a more favorable line on Utah. So I
think if that does take place today, and that game
is taking place a little later in the afternoon, so
we have some time to stew on it still. But
if Florida gets the ball, scores first, and Utah flips
to a dog, I will be very interested in taking
the ut as a dog in that spot. That's just

(01:16:15):
my personal opinion. Obviously, the game parameters might change once
I see what happens after kickoff, but if we can
get Utahs an underdog at any point during that spot
against the Gators, I will be very interested in fat No,
it's smart to think of it that way because when
you're following these lines in live action, you might not
have a whole lot of time to fire off a

(01:16:36):
bed because it's constantly changing, So it might seem like
a great idea if you think about it for five seconds,
but if you're thinking about it before the kickoff, that
makes a lot of sense. Let me ask both of
you guys this, how often does it go the other way?
Like Jared in particular, where I hear you on Utah,
you like Utah before the game. So if they give

(01:16:57):
up a touchdown early and the it's change and it's
a pick them, you like the favorite even more? Does
it work the other way where let's say there's a
dog and they get off to a bad start and
they're a bigger dog. Do you find yourself making those
blazes as well? M hm yes. But to me, the
team that scores first, if you're the favorite and you

(01:17:20):
score first, to me, that matters a little bit more
because you relax a little bit as a favorite. So
with Utah, I mean and again Florida at Home. There
there's some really smart people that think Florida at Home
as an underdog is a good bed and I understand that.
But to me, when the favorite goes down early, that
is when I would be more interested in betting a

(01:17:41):
favorite that is behind by a touchdown early in the
game because they're still supposed to win that game, at
least that's what the pregame odds say. So if a favorite,
you know, scores early and the underdog line gets better,
I'm not as interested in betting underdog at a more
favorable christ than I am betting a favorite. What about

(01:18:03):
in the second half, though, Like, so as the game's
taken place, and and we were just talking about this,
so say, uh, you know it's it's Marcus Freeman on
the road in Ohio State gets out to a roaring start.
They're up by three scores at intermission. You know, we
know how it is sometimes when you're an underdog and
you want to get be too bad in that spot.

(01:18:24):
If that number improves in the second half, will you
will you will? You bet a dog sometimes because you
know that the offense may get a little conservative, sort
of protect what's happened and fear making it worse a
little bit in the second half. Yes, the one thing
that concerns me with live betting later in the game.
So when you're live betting something in the first quarter,

(01:18:46):
let's say it's five minutes into the game, there's still
fifty five minutes left in the game the time. We
talked about it in the finance world all the time.
The time horizon you have to make up that deficit
is much bigger. In the second half, there's less than
thirty minutes than the game. There's not as much game
time left for you to switch and tilt the momentum
back into your favor. I am much less inclined to

(01:19:09):
live bet a game in the second half than I
am in the first quarter. In my opinion, the first
five to ten minutes of a game is the best
time to live bet because sometimes you see something very
early on and the market will overreact, and that's when
there's value to live that. So to me, the second
half doesn't offer as much value as live betting the
first half, like an early injury, a receiver limps offer

(01:19:31):
the field, stuff like that, where all of a sudden,
lines are getting tilted and wonky and you see, you
see an opportunity to capital wise. Yeah, that's that's fascinating.
I'm learning about number two pencils everywhere are coming out
people right one on one in the forum, for example,
because you don't like second half betting. But take a

(01:19:52):
team like TCU last night, they couldn't do anything. In
the first half against Colorado, they barely move the ball
at all, and you're watching this live like they can't
move the ball, and you're thinking all these things, like
I'm gonna take the under team point total or whatever.
Do you have any advice when it's staring at you
in the face one way and it might change dramatically
the other way. Well, that's the beauty of college football, guys.

(01:20:13):
Is the to me, there really is no ideal time
to live bet. It's just it's a feeling. It's a
it's seeing things and then digesting it and then reacting
to it. It's a lot more instinctive than it is
intuitive when you're live betting. I like gut, Go with
your gut. Be sure to follow bet MGM across all
socials at bet MGM. Coming up next, one of the

(01:20:36):
top match up matchups includes one of the possible biggest
mismatches of the day as well. Fox Sports Radio has
the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all
of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and
within the I Heart Radio app search f s R
to listen live. Are you really to its? Great college fans?

(01:20:58):
Welcome to the Big Guess tailgate party in the nation.
Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff presented by Beat MGM,
the King of sports Book. We're setting you up with
the information you need to watch your team win. Let's go.

(01:21:18):
We're here to break it all down. Let's go, let's go.
This is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by
Bett MGA. We're live from your tail game. Here's Brian No,
former Penn State All American, Rich Mornberger, and Picks Wise
lead Betty analyst Jared Smith. Oh, what's going on everybody?

(01:21:41):
Hope you're enjoying your Saturday morning. Less than an hour
away until kick off? Here, baby, let's go all these
early games. How about Michigan? What do you guys think
about the plan from Jim Harbaugh starts McNamara in week one,
you get a j McCarthy in week two, kind of

(01:22:02):
treating the beginning of the season like pre season NFL.
What do you make of that plan? You like it? Well?
What's old saying when you uh, when you don't when
you have two starting quarterbacks you don't have a starting quarterback?
You know, Like it's really it's one of those things
where there there is some truth to that I played
on a Penn State team. Gosh, this is going back

(01:22:24):
to two thousands. In four two thousand five season and
uh we we had Michael Robinson and Zach Mills and
they were sharing time. And I'm telling you it's it's
a little bit of a locker room divided. You know.
You have a situation where, you know, some of the
guys say, oh, yeah, well, he's the one who's been here,

(01:22:45):
and he's the one who's he's he's the one who's
been in that spot, and we're used to hearing his
voice in the huddle, and then all of a sudden,
it's like, yeah, but but but he's he's the guy
who's got the talent or the upside or the potential
or the Hey, you know, there's something we kind of
need to scratch beneath the surface and see what's going on,
you know, so it can have an effect long term

(01:23:07):
on your season. So my advice to two coaches doing this,
make your decision quick. If this has to be a
regular season decision, by week three, you better have it
figured out. You know what the funny thing is about
Rich and I we were at Pennce State during the
same time we were I I. We were born fourteen
days apart, by the way, so we're the same age.

(01:23:29):
And I was I was at I was at the
Penn I mean at multiple Pence Day games that you
played in, obviously, but that season particularly, I was at
the six four Iowa game. Man. That was a great match,
wasn't it. Crawl and the irony is Robbie Gould one
of the best kickers of all time. It's like a
one D or one in the game. But my point

(01:23:53):
being that off season when they went to Michael Robinson
and then all of a sudden the tooth that it
and five team happened and go to the Orange Bowl.
I was at that Orange Bowl too. There's so many connections, Rich,
we have to sit down and have a beer and
talk about all these amazing Pence connections. But when but
when m rob took over that team, it felt like
it jelled very quickly. But there wasn't a ton of

(01:24:17):
talent discrepancy between the two thousand and four team and
the five team, besides maybe Derrick Williams and you know,
some of the wide receivers. But when m Rob galvanized
them in two thousand and five, it just it was
a completely different team and and that is important I
think for Michigan to have one of those guys take
control of that huddle. Right This Michigan thing reminds me

(01:24:37):
of It's kind of like Cave McNamara is a poor
man's Jimmy Garoppolo. Well, if you think of Michigan, they
had this magical season, they make it to the College
Football Playoff, they beat Ohio State, they win the Big Tens,
this huge year, and we've got J. J. McCarthy starting
week two. It's like, wow, that is eye opening right there.
And if Jimmy g is one of the reasons the

(01:24:58):
Niners get to a Super Bowl, get to an NFC
Championship game last season and they're still trading for Trey
Lance and now all of a sudden he's the guy,
it's like wow. That tells you exactly what each you know,
team thinks of their starting quarterback, where hey, it's all right,
but we need to get better. And that's what Jim
Harbaugh is signifying with J. J. McCarthy starting in week two.

(01:25:22):
Let me get to this because we've got a couple
of huge matchups today. I mentioned it might be one
of the biggest mismatches, at least quarterback wise. You've got
c J. Stroud, who his numbers are just gaudy from
last year. Right. You look at the touchdowns to picks
forty four touchdowns, six interceptions, throws for over forty hundred yards,

(01:25:42):
and you've got Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buckner and he
threw for a stout two nine yards last season. And
what do you guys think about that? The quarterback showdown
or the quarterback um you know matchup today between c J.
Stroud and Tyler Buckner. Do you think it's gonna have

(01:26:02):
a huge impact on the today's game Notre Dame at
Ohio State. Well, I'll make a comparison to the NFL
briefly and then I'll return to this game. You know,
Patrick Mahomes before he took over the league at quarterback
the season prior to doing so through for two hundred
sixty yards or something in Denver, he had one game

(01:26:22):
under his belt and then he came out in his
sophomore season in the NFL and dominance ensued. So yeah,
just because we don't know him, you know, just because
this is uh an anonymous quantity at quarterback doesn't mean
we're embarking on. We're not embarking on a special season
for Notre Dame at that position. But Stroud, Look, it's

(01:26:45):
difficult to deny first and foremost, his ability and secondarily
the weapons he has around him. It's unique and and
it's unique in a college football where you have an
environment where there are a lot of great skill position
players across the see see obviously the Big Ten, many
in the Pact twelve. But but this Ohio State team

(01:27:05):
is particularly loaded on that side of the ball. So yeah,
in terms of the QB matchup, you're you're obviously leaning
buck Eyes. Luckner only attempt at thirty five passes last year.
That's scary. And again, I think the story the most
fascinating thing about college football betting. Early on in the season,

(01:27:27):
we have very little preseason information, unlike the NFL, where
we watch these teams play three games. And I know
we don't take a ton of the NFL preseason and
carry it over to what we've seen in the regular season,
but at least we can see it with our eyes,
how a quarterback reacts a certain situations, how the defensive
line looks they're getting off the ball, etcetera. Etcetera, etcetera.

(01:27:48):
In college football, we have nothing to go by. It's
just what we saw in in the spring game and
what we hear from camp. And it's very hard to
know and to predict how a lot of these unknowns
coaching changes, offensive coordinator switches, defensive coordinator switches, new quarterbacks,
how they react to game conditions. I have no idea

(01:28:13):
how Buckner is going to react to the horseshoe Ohio
State new scheme. Jim Knowles great defensive life. I mean
it could be dear in headlights or he could be
Patrick Mahomes and you know, have that very steady heart
rate and and handle the pressure well. We really It's
Fox Sports Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by bet MGM.

(01:28:33):
I'm Brian Note alongside Rich Ornberger, Jared Smith, you know,
and leading to another game with what you're talking about there, Jared,
think about this Oregon Georgia game where if it's Bo
Nick's going for Oregon. I know there's a little bit
of coy Hey will you be this guy? Will be
that guy? You'll find out on Saturday it's gonna but

(01:28:57):
Bo Nicks coming from the SEC at Auburn obviously he's
familiar with the SEC, but he's with the brand new
team with the Ducks. So I think that dynamic is
really interesting. Also when you have the transfers involved here, um,
I can't wait for this, this Oregon Georgia matchup. All so,
and there is a little bit of pretending. There's a

(01:29:18):
little bit of faking it until you're making it when
it comes to Dan Lanning or anybody frankly, when you're
taking over a position that you've never done before. He's
he like he's he's in his freshman year, right, he's
back at the bottom of the totem pole, just learning
the ropes as a head coach in college football major
FBS program, and you've seen it before, you know what

(01:29:41):
it looks like. You have no idea how it feels,
and you have no idea how it feels in an opener,
and you have no idea how it feels you know,
on the road at the old place you used to
coach for. You know, to your point about about the
quarterbacks at Michigan or the quarterbacks that I played for
at Penn State during my time there, experience matters. It
really does. Now. Sometimes it's special and and we're We're

(01:30:04):
so aware of those special players or coaches who have
automatic success, but it is rare. Those are exceptional moments,
those are exceptional people. And yeah, we lionize them and
we talk about them a lot. So it sounds like
where it seems like it happens more often than it does,
but it's rare. So Oregan's got a herculean task to

(01:30:26):
go in there and play the Bulldogs, Landing's old team.
And and even if he is playing Coy, who's his
starting quarterback? I mean, is that enough of you know,
a tactic to to get them in an early scored. No,
they still gotta roll their pads out there and play
football today, Lion eyes, that's like a bed MGM reference, right,
That's that's a dual that's dual marketing right there. So

(01:30:49):
the fascinating thing about this Oregon Georgia game for two
teams that are you know, ranked, you know, supposed to
have high expectations, the unknowns are fascinating here. So a
very well respected professional college while better Brad Powers he
dipped Georgia six points in his power ratings based off
of what they lost defensively last year, which you might

(01:31:11):
think is a little light because they fifteen guys were
drafted between offensive defense for Georgia. But listen, Kirby Smarts
the best recruiter probably not named Nick Saban or Ryan Day.
And I do think the identity will change of this
Georgia team a lot, whereas last year they were a
defensive team. And I think we're gonna see a little

(01:31:31):
more aggression from Monken and from Bennett. And I mean,
the tight end room is elite. You know, maybe Brock
Bowers the best in the country. The front seven is
still really good. Jalen Carter at defensive line. Some people
thought he was the best player on the field last
year on this great Georgia front and he comes back.
You've got Nolan Smith who's explosive at the linebacker position.
And my concern for Oregon when you watch the tape

(01:31:55):
of the Utah games last year, that is what Georgia
is going to try to do. Physical football at the
point of attack. Can Oregon. And I know Dan Landings
a defensive guy obviously former DC at Georgia. He understands physicality.
But are the players ready for that kind of game?
They weren't last year they got smoked by Utah. Twice

(01:32:17):
and that's what scares me in this spot. For yeah,
they better be ready for it. And that's the other
part where the offensive coordinator at Oregon, Kenny Dillingham, he
wants to open it up, he wants to be more aggressive.
I called it with Mario Cristo Ball the prevent offense.
You hear about prevent defense play a little soft, But
I saw the prevent offense with Justin Herbert time and

(01:32:38):
time again where they had a lead and it was
just ultra conservative, let's run, let's not do anything too risky.
So Kenny Dillingham wants to open it up. But how
much can you open it up against George's defense today? Well,
if there's ever a shot, if there's ever a moment
to take your shot here, it is because when you
lose pieces, integral pieces all across the defense, I don't

(01:33:00):
care who you are, it takes a little time to gel.
And if you look back to last year with Nakobe
Dean meant to that Georgia Bulldogs defense, I'll argue he's
the reason why they were so successful. He was the
glue guy. You saw him communicating over communicating, shifting defensive
lineman into their proper gaps, shouting, turning around and telling
safeties to get depth. Yeah, I mean, he had the

(01:33:22):
whole thing wired tight on the field. He was a
general for his defensive coordinator. And guess what now he's
in the NFL. So who's gonna fill that void? And
you really don't know a lot of times until the
games start rolling week three, Week four, week five, who's
gonna be the voice of that unit, who truly feels
that that vacuum of leadership? And so if there's ever

(01:33:43):
a shot for Oregon to capitalize here, it is Week one.
It's right there. Absolutely make a major statement if Oregon
was able to move the ball effectively, you know, because
you're thinking, this is Georgia. Even though they lost all
these players on their defense, eight starters, they still have
first round talent. They might have top five talent with

(01:34:04):
some of these guys Jalen Carter, Keiley Ringo. So that'd
be quite the statement if the Ducks are able to
move the ball effectively. Hey, be sure to check out
the new look and features in the bet MGM app.
It's fast and easy access to the sports you love,
whether it's live betting, the Daily Lions Boost, or the
cash out feature, and new users can use the code

(01:34:24):
countdown for a special offer. That's code countdown in the
bet MGM app alright. Coming up next Heisman's or a
Super Bowl. If you have a curious look on your face,
we'll explain, We'll iron it out. That's on the way.
I'm Brian though, alongside Rich Ornberger and Jared Smith. It's
Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by bet MGM.

(01:34:48):
Welcome to the biggest tailgate party in the nation. You're
locked into Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff Touchdown and
it's presented by bet MGM, the King of sports books.
Once again. Here's Brian no, Rach Hornberger and Jared Smith. Hey,
once again shout out Kansas, Welcome to the party. We're

(01:35:11):
happy to announce that bet MGM is live in Kansas
this week. It's the latest state to join the world
of sports betting. New users can use the code countdown
for a special offer that's code countdown in the bet
MGM app alright. Fellas the Heisman odds right here, c J.
Stroud the clear favorite at plus two hundred, followed by

(01:35:31):
Bryce Young at Alabama plus three seventy five. Caleb Williams
at USC at plus six hundred, and then it just
goes from there. There's a lot of money coming in
on Will Anderson Jr. Who was just all everything for
Alabama last season. How do you see the Heisman race?
As we interwake week one here, Fellas, what do you like?

(01:35:52):
I think you gotta go with Stroud. I mean, just
when you think about what they're gonna be offensively, even
if some of the defensive struggles continue. Ohio State is
a cut above the rest, and if they can compete
against Michigan and win the Big Ten and get back
to the CFP, it's going to only increases his national profile.

(01:36:14):
So after the monster second year, the retrot freshman year
throwing plus yards, with the forty four touchdowns, the six interceptions,
completing over of his passes, I think the party continues
here in two. So betting the Heisman's fascinating. First of all,
there's only been one defensive player, primary defensive player it's

(01:36:34):
ever wanted. So as much as love that Will Anderson's getting,
president said he's not gonna win it the market. When
you're betting a season long market that you know there's
gonna be twists and turns throughout the year, and you're
betting at at this stage in the four week one.
The goal in my eyes is to make a bet
that is going to gain value throughout. So with c J.

(01:36:58):
Stroud being at the top of the list, I mean,
I can't argue with him being worthy of a favorite,
but to bet it and to invest my money now
where I don't think there's going to be a lot
of upside to that bet. He's probably going to be
a two to one favorite in that vicinity for much
of the season. So I'd rather wait to bet c J.
Strout until later on con forbid an injury, something where

(01:37:21):
I have a little more information about the market. The
bet that I'm willing to make now, I mean, think
about it, it's the vaste Smith mac Jones effect. I'm
willing to bet on Jackson Smith and Jigba right now.
I got him at sixty two one a few weeks ago.
I'm seeing thirty forty two one in that vicinity now.
Because if c J. Strout is going to be the
Heisman candidate, the podium guy that we're all expecting, he's

(01:37:43):
got to be throwing the ball to someone over there
over the next few weeks, someone's got to be catching
all those passes. And again it's the precedent. The recent
precedent says a wide receiver quarterback tandem can be on
the podium together. And that's where I think the number
with Smith and Jigba, the upside thirty to one could
be twenty to one, could be ten to one in

(01:38:03):
a few weeks of Ohio State starts as fast as
we all think they're going to start. That's where I
see value in betting the Heisman market at this preseason stage.
I'm gonna take you in a bit of a strange
direction here, building on the Heisman conversation, but which do
you think would be a bigger accomplishment? Would it be
winning to Heisman trophies or winning one Super Bowl? Which

(01:38:24):
do you think would be the bigger deal? Wow? In
terms of life after football, it just depends on what
your aim is like when you when you have a
Super Bowl ring on your finger. You know, if if
you plan on having a voicing, communications or broadcast or
as an analyst one day, I mean that that gives

(01:38:45):
you seat at the table, It gives you front of
the lion car blanche. College football obviously, the Heisman gets
you that, so it's like, what what are you angling
towards post career? But I I look at it. I
look at it from from the standpoint of an individual success.
I know football is a team sport, but the Heisman's yours.

(01:39:06):
That's your trophy, the super Bowl Trophy shared amongst the
fifty three on the active roster, the staff, to coaches,
everything that came into building the stew as as it's
heard on this Fox Sports radio network, the Babache. You know,
so if you're gonna, if you're gonna put it together,
the Heisman obviously it's an individual thing. And so yeah, yeah,

(01:39:27):
I think I would rather have a Heisman trophy staring
at me rather than the ring. You know, the Heisman
trophy is yours. Unless it's Reggie Bush then yeah. So
back to back, It's happened once Archie Griffin right, too
high and but and and then go back to the
Super Bowl. There's been multiple back to back Super Bowl winners.

(01:39:48):
Pats have Donna, Cowboys, Broncos, Niner, Steelers, Dolphins, Packers back
in the early day. So the precedent for winning a
Heisman twice, in my opinion, is so rare that if
you're able to do that, I mean, you're on a
list that is literally one name long. So I would
say the Heisman Trophy. Winning that twice obviously back to

(01:40:10):
back years would be expected just because of the way
that award is with the upperclassman and ah man. That
would be fun. Yeah, I just think about that with
raining Heisman winner Bryce Young, He's got a chance to
go back to back here, and so it's kind of like,
what's the bigger announcement if he walks into I don't know,
a club, he walks into a luncheon or whatever it is.

(01:40:32):
Is it two time Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, or
is it you know, insert the blank here, super Bowl champion,
you know, whatever quarterback there is. And there are a
lot of Super Bowl champion quarterbacks in the NFL. They're
not one two time Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in college football.
I think that would be the bigger deal. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah,

(01:40:54):
And I mean it also, I guess depends on what
part of town you're walking into in the United States,
you know where, like certainly in Tuscaloosa or down the
Bayou in Louisiana. Like that Heisman Trophy has a way
more sway than any Super Bowl ring. Those people don't
care about your Super Bowl ring. They want to see
the bronze statue, you know, show me the Heisman. That's

(01:41:16):
a great point, no doubt about that. All Right, we'll
get to our guy Bill Krackenburger, we call him Crack.
He'll have a have some selections for us here getting
you set for a big day of college football just
over a half hour away from kickoff. Let's invite our
guy I low in here, Mr Isaac loewen Kron for
the latest. Alright, fellas, let's run down what happened on

(01:41:38):
Friday night in college football. With fifteen rank Michigan State
defeating Western Michigan thirty five to thirteen, bond for Peyton
Thorne touchdown passes, Old Dominion led Virginia Tech in the
final seconds twenty to seventeen. Here are Ted, Alexander and
Andy Majah w vsp Wells back to throw sending his
menteep looking kicking down the middle. E goes, this one's

(01:42:01):
gonna go over the midfield stripe and it's going to
be intercepted Lamarian James, and the dress is in the
bag for the second time in the room over the
Hokeys Hare in Norfolk? Is it a rivalry now? Hokeys?
Is it arrival ry now? Check? Please? Anyway elsewhere? Friday night,

(01:42:22):
Indiana knocked off Illinois twenty three to twenty on Seawan
Shivers game, but a one yard touchdown run it with
twenty three seconds to play. TCU ran for two d
seventy five yards at a thirty eight to third team
victory at Colorado. Guys, we've got three top twenty five
teams kicking off at the top of the hour. Number
six Texas A and M hosting Sam Houston, a thranked

(01:42:43):
Michigan meeting Colorado State and and Arbor. Bet MGM has
Michigan favored by thirty one. By the way, fellas observed
at the tailgate outside the Big House a short time ago,
five enormous coolers labeled craft i p a hard Seltzer,
hard cider, cores Light, and my personal favorite miscellaneous beer

(01:43:06):
Curious what's in there anyway? NC State on the road
at East Carolina bet MGM favoring NC State by twelve one.
Final tailgating note. A video making the rounds on social
media a short time ago showing an enthusiastic Miami Tailgator
in advance of their game against Bethune. Cookman standing on
the tailgate of his pickup truck enthusiastically shouting good morning

(01:43:30):
my neighbors, to which one of his neighbors responded, bleep
you college football is back, fellas. That is awesome. I
tremendous stuff. Right, there's no Fox Bach Radios Countdown to
Kickoff presented by bet MGM. I'm Brian Noah alongside Rich

(01:43:51):
Ornberger Jared Smith. I was just thinking what would be
the worst tradition I automatically go to football with the
Bill's Mafia and going through tables. What do you think
the worst college tradition? I mean best, worst, right, because
I think going through tables is awesome at the same time, Uh,
but maybe not great for your health. Is there something

(01:44:13):
awesome in college football it's also bad for your health
as well? I've got one. How about dumping the mail
on the coach's head after the Mail Bowl? Can we
get rid of that? Please? That's gross. I thought he
was gonna go into concussion protocol. Did you see him
get smacked in the head at first? I mean, I'd
be pretty weary about that. Too. I mean that's pretty
that's that is That is a Newtonian fluid mayonnaise. I mean,

(01:44:36):
you gotta be careful with that. You could get a
near infection for crying out loud. I'll say this um
for me as a as a player, I'm so glad
that the tradition wasn't in place at Penn State when
I was playing to have to sing the fight song
after the game. All I wanted to do as soon
as the game was over is get into the locker

(01:44:57):
room as soon as possible and get a shower going.
That was for the glory of Old State, baby, like
I was ready to run off that field because oftentimes,
as an offensive lineman, your hands smell like the armpits
of the defensive lineman that you're blocking all game long,
and so you're just like, now, now, get me out
of here, please. All right, guys, we've got some cash

(01:45:18):
to earn. Let's get to it here. Follow the money,
good money. Yeah. We want to welcome in Bill Crackenburger.
We call him crack over here Professional Sports Better. You
can get his stuff at crack wins dot com as well.
Also very interested, very excited to announce that starting Next Sunday,

(01:45:39):
it's the launch of our Pro Football Countdown, the Kickoff Show,
presented by BET MGM. So tune in three hours before kickoff,
so ten am to one pm Eastern Time or seven
to ten am Pacific Time. It's featuring yours truly, also
eight year NFL veteran Jeff Schwartz and professional sports better
Bill Crackenburger. To listen right here to Fox Sports Radio

(01:46:02):
on Sunday's leading up to kickoff. It's presented by BED MGM.
So it's your It's your place, Saturday's Sunday's three hours
right before a kickoff? Crack. What's going on? Man? Anything
that you're hot on today in college football? Hey guys,
how you doing? I just I just ran out of
the casino because, uh, I wanted to get a clear connection.

(01:46:24):
Catching my breath. I'm in Atlantic City today, um, terrorizing
some some bookmakers and what have you? Terrorized them with
their crack? Uh See, I can't even tell you how
many games I bet today. I've been up because early
this morning, uh, waiting for these extra games. The extra
games are the real Strong Move games, extra game Board

(01:46:46):
and also the SCS games which are smaller market but
yet there's less eyes on the market. Now what that
means is there's less media eyes, so I can get
a better grasp of the line, better grass for the lines.
Then uh then the bookmaker gets touch. Just be honest.
So um, yeah, I absolutely have. Like just now, I

(01:47:06):
bet just to give you an example, most people want
even know what state the school, and I bet Sacred
Heart and uh Lafayette over thirty four and thirty five
this morning, And like people would say, what do you mean? Well,
how come mean I've bet Notre Dame or one of
the big team whatever, the big the big games are
today Ohio's Staton Texas and stuff. No, I'm looking for

(01:47:28):
some some big edges on smaller games. So there's a
total that I bet. Um, there's there's going to be
a couple more. Actually, Um, I like betting totals, and
you can bet overs in college football. You can even
lay favorites in college football early in the season. I
have no problem laying you know, uh, fifteen sixteen seventeen

(01:47:50):
points on on on favorites in college football. Um, given
out another game, let's do that's something that has a
moved yet much. Here you go, here's a game for
you guys, Uh, chattan Nuble was playing Woolford. There's two
big teams and a lot of eyes on them, right.
I think chattan Nuga covers the the nineteen points, uh
and the minus seventeen and a half in some books

(01:48:10):
minus nineteen. And now there's a game. I think that
can can can definitely cover a big favorite double digit
favorite time. I never trust me. I'm a double digit
dog mostly in a lot of different sports, especially um
college basketball, even the NFL. I will never lay double
digits in the NFL never. I look to take them
at a lot of times. But I am I I

(01:48:31):
did uh, I did bet a couple of these games.
I guess I'm guesting now, Jared, you don't bet these
these type of games because you're you're they're not even
up yet when you're when you're starting right, So crack.
It's funny because the South Dakota State Iowa game has
been the one that I've had my eye on all day,
the FCS extra game, and we we saw some injury
concerns with I will push that line fourteen now I'm
seeing ten. I saw fandal, I saw one of the

(01:48:52):
spots of MGM. I think it's down the nine and
a half now, then it gets back to ten. So
those games are fascinating. The one thing I want to
ask you about though, because you talk about the NFL,
I hear a lot of teasers. I hear a lot
of this. Teasers in the NFL are one thing, but
I get asked about college football teasers a lot. I
think there is very little to no value in teasing

(01:49:14):
college football games because of the volatility of the market.
To me, that's where I see. I would just rather
bet the game straight up. When you think about teasing
college football, that's a no no in your eyes, right, Craig.
I've been saying that for years. Man. There there is
just no reason why you should ever tease a college
football game, and never tease even in the NFL. I

(01:49:35):
just don't tease totals either. But I say never tease.
But um, I do bet college football. Uh you know.
I will bet college football sides and and buy by
by honor off the seven, but not really in the
in in any other number, And teasing in college football
is just something I don't do now. I do know.
I have a friend that's pretty sharp and he will

(01:49:58):
tease based the total. Now seems I can get a situation.
I'm talking about guys. In other words, when when you're
betting a teaser on a total of like fifty nine,
and say I look at North Texas like seventy or something.
You don't want to tease something that's so high, but
I'll tease on a total. Now, when I'm saying a total,
let me explain this a little more clearly, because sometimes
I think I know what I'm saying, but no one

(01:50:19):
else may know because I have to put it more
a little more Layman's terms. Now, what I'm saying is,
let's say you take a particular side on a game,
and you want to tease that game. I'll look at
game Boston. I'm not betting this, by the way. I'm
just giving an example. I look at Boston College. Boston
College is an eight and a half points favorite. It's game.
It's rotation number one eighty on the schedule of Boston
College Rutgers. Now they're eight and a half. Now, you

(01:50:41):
could take that game down through the seventh through the three,
down to the and down to the one and a
half or even the two and a half. Uh, because
you just want to get over you just want to
get onto the three and the total on that game's
forty seven and a half, Like, he'll tease that type
of a game. But yet if the total was like
sixty eight, you don't tease that type of game because
those big totals, those big numbers can get out of hand,

(01:51:03):
the big the big totals. So if you've got to tease,
which listen, I don't do it. But if you're gonna tease,
you want to stick to the lower totals. Uh In
in football, in terms of of betting sides, I know
you like point totals, but will you will you live
bet sides like you know if all of a sudden
something occurs that that moves the line in a direction

(01:51:24):
that you like. Listen, I really don't live bet a
lot of college because I'm betting so many games throughout
the days and following moves and and I'll be real blunt,
I maybe we even trying to manipulate lines. But bet
the uh bet the big books the wrong way, so
so they move and everyone else copies them. But live betting,

(01:51:46):
there are a ton of edges. I know that for
a fact. I know live betting syndicate groups that are
so sharp, super sharp. I do know there's edges and
doing that. I really don't do it a lot. And
if I do it, I got NFL Sundays like, I'll
be doing it, but I'll do it only on only
on the commercials. I just don't like the delays that

(01:52:08):
some of the some of the books have and and
well there's not only the books. Is just a TV delay.
I'll be watching a you know, a game. I'm here
in Atlantic City at the Bargado. I'll be watching the
game on the screen at any one of the casinos,
and you have about a seven to twelve second delay
on the live AM feed, the AM frequency feed that
the sports books use. So I'll bet thorn the commercials

(01:52:29):
and I will actually do some live betting if I
like something or a situation. Let me tell you we're
gonna get We're gonna get into this at on my show.
I'll tell you you guys will be shocked at my
thought processing system and being around and schooled by the
sharpest guys in the world. The the process that goes
into a live bet and why you should make why

(01:52:50):
you should think outside the box and you should bet
a certain way by the way crack. I'm just curious
and interested what causes you to grab it hate towards
say a sacred heart compared to like Ohio State Notre
Dame matchup or you know what I mean? Going with chetogle,
it's a great it's a great question, A great question.
So uh not like I said at the beginning, but

(01:53:12):
I probably didn't explain it. You know, I talked so fast,
grow up and grow up in a Jewish Italian house,
just basket box. So um uh yeah. So so anyway,
I actually there's not a lot of eyeballs on that. Now.
What that means is this morning when I woke up,
and I woke up nice and early five this morning, Uh,
there wasn't a line anywhere. No one had a line
on those particular games. So the bookmakers did not know

(01:53:35):
anything about that game. One originating bookmaker will put up
that line, and all the rest of the sports books
will copy that line without any research or anything at all.
They just copy that line. Well, to be real blunt,
you can't put up a line on a day like
today in SCS and expect that line to always be
right because you have a hundred different lines to put up.

(01:53:57):
In college in college football. Now, don't forget. You still
have baseball lines, you still have UFC lines, you have boxed,
and there's so many lines they have to put up
throughout the day. They just can't get everyone right, especially
if they're putting it up literally a couple of hours
before kickoff. Hey love it, crack Thank you for the insight. Man.
Hope you enjoyed the the games today, and I hope

(01:54:18):
you make a killing as well. You guys have a
great thing on you. Guys are doing great. Looks forward
to next week. Thanks guys, absolutely, thank you. There he
is Bill Crackenburger, Professional Sports Better. You can get them
at crack wins dot com as well. Good stuff. Hey,
earn a fifty dollar bonus by signing into bet MGM
and clicking on refer a friend to invite a friend,

(01:54:41):
and in just a few simple steps, both you and
your friend will receive a fifty dollar bonus. Bet MGM,
the King of Sports books, the King of Parlay's all right,
coming up next we go rapid fire style, some picks
before we get on out of here. Maybe make you
some money. It is Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff,
presented by bet MGM. Kickoffs are coming, Sue, and we're

(01:55:07):
leading you up to that. This is Fox Sports Radios
Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Bett MGM, the King of
sports books. Once again, Here's Brian No, Rich Hornberger and
Jared Smith. Are you and welcome in. We are live

(01:55:41):
here on a college football Saturday. Jared Smith alongside Brian
know who I think is having a couple of technical difficulties.
I'm Rich Hornburger with you. It's Fox Sports Radio and
a collaboration with Bet MGM, and we got two huge
games coming up later today. Jared, I know you're pumped
up about the Notre Dame fighting Irish visiting the Horseshoe

(01:56:03):
and of course the Ducks have Bulldogs. When for No
to get back? If he does, we'll get to the
quick picks if he doesn't. But uh, just in terms
of the game, you're most keyed up on watching, uh
Bulldogs hosting Ducks or buck Eyes hosting the Irish buck
Eyes Irish? So again, because I don't put Oregon or

(01:56:25):
Georgia in the National Tighter title contender candidate just yet.
Maybe Georgia gets back into that conversation if stetson Bennett
takes a step forward. But I'll be honest when I
look at Ohio State. First of all, I got some
exposure to Jackson Smith and Jigman in the Hives and market.
We talked about that in the last hour. But I
I think when you talk about this Ohio State team,

(01:56:48):
can they live up to those expectations? Because right now,
it's Alabama and it's Ohio State, and every sharp smart
better I've talked to over the last three or four months,
they all view this college football landscape the same. There
are two teams that are head and shoulders above the rest,
and those two teams, only one of them is going

(01:57:09):
to get be challenged in any stretch of the imagination
today because Alabama's a forty two point favorite. So don't
look at Alabama's game and take a whole lot of
you know as salt with you too. Next week, it's
can Ohio State show how good they are, how good
they're supposed to be against the team that's in the
top five. Say what you want about the points, bread

(01:57:30):
they should win this game by two touchdowns or more,
but it's still Notre Dame. It's still a big time matchup.
It's prime time it's at the horseshoe where I don't
know if Georgia Oregon are ready to take that step
forward into the national spotlight like Alabama and Ohio State
have taken over the last few months. Good stuff, man, Okay,

(01:57:50):
so you want my three picks over here? Jared thumbs down. Okay,
rapid fire, Okay, let's do it. I'm taking you to
the Alamo Dome firework Scalore. I think that we're gonna
hit the over sixty one and a half Houston against U.
T s A two good offenses, defenses, and that is good.

(01:58:14):
I think the over hits. I'm gonna go with the
Oregon Georgia under. I see this line creeping up, but
at bet MGM, it's at fifty four and a half.
Still George's defense, man, I don't expect Oregon to just
light it up. I'm gonna take the under fifty four
and a half and then this Notre Dame Ohio State matchup,
highly disrespectful sixteen point spread over here. The Irish keep

(01:58:36):
it within at least that margin. So give me the
Irish plus the six team. Those are my three plays today.
Of course, he wants the Irish plus the sixteen. Okay,
here my rapid fire. Kent State Golden Flashes going to
Washington play the Huskies. The point totals at fifty nine
and a half. I want the under. Okay, Washington's offense

(01:58:57):
they were slow last season. They finished as one of
the first Power five schools offensively. The Golden Flash has
loosed their quarterback from last year, an all time great
dust and Crumb. I got the under fifty nine and
a half. Utah State Aggies they're getting spotted forty one
and a half against the Tide. Last year Aggie's eleven
and three record. I think they keep it closer than

(01:59:20):
forty one and a half with the Crimson Tide. And
then the organ Ducks they're getting spotted sixty and a
half points going to Georgia. This is a rivalry now
because Landings they're coaching the Ducks. I don't think Organs
getting enough credit. George is getting too much respect for
what happened last year. I get close half, close game
at the half, vibes all over this matchup. So I

(01:59:40):
like the Ducks getting the sixty and a half. I
so I got the under and I got the dogs.
I'm an underdog today. Wow, look at that. All right,
I've got two for you here and then I'll get
my play of the day, which is really the that's
the woman really want to talk about. So Utah money line. Listen,
I love this Utah team. Market bullish on Cole witting
Ham and Cameron Rising line flips. Florida was the favorite.

(02:00:00):
Now Utahs the favorite. I think they're going to be
more physical than this Gator's team upfront Alabama first half,
so maybe utass State covers the full game, But Alabama's
twenty one and seven against the number over the last
two seasons. In the first half, I'm laying twenty seven
and a hook. I think Nick Saban starts fast and
then maybe they call off the dogs in the second
half and the play of the day Jacks South of

(02:00:22):
Kota State catch it. They got everything so excited. Yes,
I just totally I just totally stepped all over that one.
But we're still going South Dakota State. Hopefully the Jacks
are just as excited as I was about this pick.
I think I was susceptable. We've seen this line move,

(02:00:44):
huge line move towards South Dakota State today. I think
the Jackson went out right, don't forget to sprinkle the
money line. Awesome man, Well hey, fun debut countdown to kickoff.
Enjoy the action today

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