Illinois Rewind, Franklin Fired, and Wisconsin Preview

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
We lookin everybody time for another episode of the Silver Bullets podcast.
I'm Michael Citrow and I'm chip Minnick Chip. The Buckeyes
are Bowl eligible, beating Illinois to improve to six wins,
no losses, no ties. There haven't been any ties in
a while, but I thought i'd throw that in there
for the old timers out there in the audience. Six
and oh, and you know, a fairly comfortable win over

(00:42):
a good team on the road, thirty four to sixteen.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, it wasn't their greatest performance, but like you said, Michael,
six and oh, bull eligible and obviously room for improvement
is because you know, Ryan Day is always going to
be finding little things.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
That need to be improved upon as the season progresses.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
I felt like we saw the continuation of another big game,
so let's be conservative offensively, that's.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Fair to say.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I think this was kind of once they established the
lead that then they were like, Okay, let's work on
some things that need to be improved upon.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
But I would agree with that conservative assessment.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
A lot of running plays against the strength of the
Illinois defense. Illinois front seven are you know, the better
part of that defense, and it just seemed like there
was a lot that could have been done. I know
Illinois kept a safety deep, they talked about that at nauseum,
but it looked like whenever they wanted it, they could
have Tate or Smith or both of them open on

(01:42):
the sideline just past the sticks.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
I would agree with that.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, So anyway, big win. It was thirty four sixteen.
So let's look back to our predictions. And you were
extremely close. You Look, I was within six total points
of the two scores from the two teams, and I
lost to you because you were only three points away.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, it was one of these things where, you know,
as as the game progressed, I was kind of just thinking, like,
there's just I don't know how this is.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
Going to wind up.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
I know that there are obviously people that are more
gambling oriented, which I am not. That we're probably hoping
that Ohio State would put more points on the board
and all of that, and they probably could have, Like
we were just talking about how conservative they were, but
the reality is I just it was just one of
these things. I when I look back on my score prediction,
that was more. You can listen to last last week's episode.

(02:38):
If you doubt me, it was more of okay, I
think they're going to pull away in the fourth quarter
versus the way that it actually transpired.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah, and they got out to an early lead, but
because they got the ball first, but again they bogged
down in the red zone. They did that a couple
of times in this game. And it was a very
strange play call. I mean, it's twenty twenty five. Chip,
When was the last time you saw a shovel pass
gain more than three or four yards?

Speaker 3 (03:08):
I haven't.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
You know? They go to an inside shovel pass to
the tight end. It's fine if it's third and two,
but it was third and four and it picked up
two and so they decided to take the early points
rather than go for the fourth down like they have
done previous times this season on those early drives. This
time they wanted on the road to go ahead and
get points on the board and to kick a field goal.

(03:32):
But there were points left on the field and that
was one of them. I didn't understand the play call.
I'm fine with that play call if it's third and two,
because if you don't pick it up, you're probably going
to get a quarterback sneak for the first down. But
four to go seems like a heavy lift for a
tight end in the middle of the strength of that

(03:52):
Illinois defense.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
I would agree with that.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
So anyway, it's a nice shiny new toy that Brian
Hartline put on display that teams are gonna have to
get ready for. But I don't think it's scaring anybody, No,
not at all. All Right, well, let's go through the
scoring play. So that was made it three nothing early
in this game, and it's always nice to get out

(04:18):
to a lead when the other team gives you the
ball first. And then the Buckeyes from there, they got
a stop, they went down the field, CJ. Donaldson scored
on a one yard run, made a ten to nothing
and that's how the first period ended. And then in
the second quarter the Buckeyes tacked on another field goal,
and again this was bogging down in the red zone.

(04:42):
And this one was kind of a weird thing because
the second I think it was the second down play,
they got a short run on first down and they
tried this play. It looked like they were going to
have Julian say and roll out to his right and
Carnel Tate came across the formation. Looked like it was
go to be a pass to him, and there was
plenty of space for him if they had if he

(05:04):
had actually gotten across the line of scrimmage, but he
ran into his tight end Chip.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
So then third down came and then it looked like
one of several miscommunications. Is not several, There were a
few miscommunications that looked like between say And and his receivers
in this game. There was that third down play in
the corner of the end zone and there was a
I think it was a it was a first down
play call where it was an RPO, I believe, and
he tried to go wide receiver screen to Jeremiah Smith,

(05:36):
and Jeremiah Smith did not look like he was ready
for the or expecting the ball to come to him,
and it fell in complete. There were a couple of
instances of that, and it's kind of important to remember
Julian say And still in his first year as a
starring quarterback.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, and making his second road start. Not that.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Not that I I again, I've never been to Illinois,
but from what I understand, it's it's usually in terms
of the stadium. It's usually more difficult when the weather
is not necessarily the most pleasant. And I don't think
any Ohio State fan could objectively say, oh, yeah, that
was that was a factor. I know that there was win.

(06:15):
It's just the way that the stadium is situated. But
the point I was I would make is yeah, it
that that whole series, it just kind of seemed as
though that they weren't all everyone.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
The offense was not all insane.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yeah, And I will say I have been the Memorial
Stadium and the atmosphere is good, but I would I
would guess the Husky Stadium is about twice as difficult.
That's fair not having been to Husky Stadium, but just
watching it on TV, you can tell it's a madhouse.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Right.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
So anyway, uh kick a field goals thirteen nothing And
then there was some interesting stuff there toward the end
of the second middle middle to late in the second
quarter where it looked like Illinois was going to try
to get the two for one because they were getting
the ball first in the second half, but Ohio State
stopped them and Bo Jackson scored on a seventeen yard

(07:10):
touchdown reception, and then Illinois was able to tack on
a field goal late in the second quarter, another goal
line stand for Ohio State. Another red zone stop.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Very impressive. The Bo Jackson touchdown I've seen on different
social media outlets. I can't remember who, but somebody said
this is probably the least exciting touchdown call in football,
college football history or whatever, because you know, when it
was thrown out to Bo Jackson and he scored, but
there was there was not the exuberants that you're usually

(07:46):
associated with the touchdown reception and getting back to the
goal line stand by the High State defense. I mean
they say what you will about you know, defense, you know,
not necessarily being exciting, but I mean I get excited watching.
I mean, they're just to say that they are like
a brick wall that you know they are. I realized

(08:10):
that that Illinois did score, but they are that defense
that Matt Patricia has been putting out on the on
the field is so impressive.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
It has been extremely impressive. Was so the halftime score
was twenty to three. A couple of big plays in
that first half, obviously the tip ball that was intercepted
by Peyton Pierce. Big play for the defense. Cayden McDonald
just ripped the ball out of a running back's hands.
I love that. That's the kind of stuff we used
to see from the monster Ohio State defenses of the past,

(08:43):
and I'm glad to see it again. I mean, Caate
McDonald's a big, strong dude, no reason he shouldn't tried
rip that ball out.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
No Caateen McDonald is I don't think he's He's underrated
by Ohio State fans, certainly not by the coaches, but
I think in the national media.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
And that's okay.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
The fact that the national media publicity is focused on
Caleb Downs and r l Avalize, I mean, because there
that's just a viable as well. But I think Caden
McDonald is certainly one of the unsung heroes of this
Ohio State defense, and he is certainly worth his weight
in gold on that interior defensive line.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
He's been a fantastic player this year for the Buckeyes.
So it was twenty to three at the half. Illinois
got the ball to start the third quarter, went down
the field and it looked like it was going to
be yet another red zone stop. From like a foot
from the goal line, they stopped the running back and
then they stopped the quarterback on the scramble. Luke Altmeyer

(09:43):
made a nice play in the backfield to get off
of a would be tackle for loss and he was
stopped at the goal. I believe Sonny Styles made that tackle,
and then it brought up a fourth down. Brett Billima
decided to go for it. They broke out a trick
play and that's the only reason Ohio State finally allowed
a rushing touchdown. It was a handoff to the tight

(10:04):
end who then pitched it. So it was it required
a fourth down trick play to get a rushing touchdown
from the one from inside the one against Ohio State's defense,
it was twenty to ten.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, that I have to admit, even though I was
hoping that Ohio State was gonna hold them, I like
that that play design that was that was kind of
interesting to see. So credit to Illinois, but yeah, I
mean Ohio State defense.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
You know, every streak.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
Has to come to an end, you know, So it
was one of these things where you know, credit to Illinois.
And again nothing has made me, you know, retract or
go back on what I said a few moments ago
about that Ohio State defense.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
They're still playing phenomenally well.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
And you and I both said this is too good
of an Illinois defense or offense too, for Ohio State
to keep out of the end zone. They're going to
score one or two touchdowns, and they did precisely, So God,
we're smart. So yeah, started to get a little tight.
It was twenty to ten, but the buck Eyes restored

(11:11):
order with a two yard touchdown run from CJ. Donaldson,
and then the buck Eyes scored again on a two
yard Jeremiah Smith pass and to start the fourth quarter
kind of distance themselves and Illinois added a late touchdown
Colin Dixon from Luke Altmeyer went for two, did not

(11:33):
get it, and Ohio stages basically ran out the clock.
There were some There were some curious calls in this game.
There was a referee so excited about throwing his flag
on Devin Sanchez for pass interference. Devin Sanchez getting the start,
the freshman in place of injured Lorenzo Styles Junior. He

(11:54):
was so excited about throwing that flag he didn't bother
to look to see if the catch was made in bounds,
which it was not. No part of the receiver landed
in bounce. He called it a touchdown. I'm like, are
you kidding me?

Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, I'm glad that they that order was restored after
reviewing the play, because I know precisely what you're talking about. Yeah,
Devin Sanchez, I thought, even with the fact that you
know he was was being picked on, he's showing tremendous promise.

(12:26):
I mean the fact that the coaching staff it was
kind of, as you said, you know, kind of like
a late substitution. The fact that Lorenzo Styles Junior wasn't
able to play, so it kind of necessitated some shuffling.

Speaker 3 (12:37):
I think Devon Sanchez is going to be fine. I
wouldn't I wouldn't worry about that.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
Like you said, I mean that that specific play, like
you said, was it was a gross oversight by the
official to rule that as past interference when when the
receiver was out of bounce.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
I think the officials and I think both teams have
a case for the officials being extremely inconsistent with passer
inference calls and on calls. In this game, there was
that there was a play where it appeared Jeremiah Smith
came down in bounced with the ball. He was interfered
with for sure, as his right arm was I think
his left arm was pinned to his body as he

(13:13):
was making to catch and then he landed in bound,
skid it out of bounds, and then the ball got
slapped out of his arms and they called it a
catch on the field for some reason that was an
obvious error or deemed an obvious error and overturned. And
you know, there were a couple of other curious calls
and no calls in the game. It was just a
very inconsistent, inconsistently called game in that respect, I thought.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, And you and I have both in the past
have been I don't want to say overly critical, but
we've been critical of.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
Iganosen He.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
I think, you know, to be fair, I thought that
there were some non calls that you know, I know
that ratt Bielimo was was was irate about. So I'm
I guess I'm publicly imploring to get the oven mits
back out they try and get this, you get get
this figured out, because uh, even Thoughson isn't turning, he's

(14:14):
not turning his head. Uh, and it's going to maybe
not that obviously, you know, like it didn't it didn't
impact Ohio State this game, but somewhere down the line,
it's going to. So that's where I'm hoping that during
film review that the coaches will kind of recognize, Hey,
we need to do something here.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, need to be a little bit more careful. I
thought he has done a good job early in the
season of avoiding that, like he's he's physical, but he
wasn't grabbing hold. In this game, he grabbed hold a
couple of times. I didn't mind the no call in
the end zone because I felt like that wasn't catchable.
That thing landed basically at his ankles. I don't think
the receivers getting back to that. I would have liked
him to turn back for the ball because he might

(14:54):
have intercepted it exactly, but he did not. And uh
and then one down the sideline again, I think that
one was overthrown and there was a I think some
holding on both sides, but there was There were probably
one or two others they could have called. But there
were also others that they could have called on Illinois
that didn't get called. So I felt like both teams

(15:14):
had a right to be mad at the officials in
this game.

Speaker 3 (15:17):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
All right, let's get to chip our picks to click,
and I feel like I feel like we did pretty good.
Just you know, I don't think Cayden Curry had big
numbers in this game. But Cayden Curry was I thought
pretty good. Rvel rees certainly clicked. Let's let me look

(15:41):
for the this is great podcasting. I'm looking for the
stats as I go here.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
I'm I can tell you while you're looking, I can
say just to just to amp up on Kayden Curry.
He didn't have nearly his dominant performance as rvel Reeves. However,
Kayden Curry is a guy that.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
I think his.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Presence is always felt and known along the along the
defensive line in being disrupted. He's credited, to the best
of my knowledge, he's credited with a sack, I know.

Speaker 1 (16:16):
This sack, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
Plus he was part of the goal line stands at
the one yard line getting penetration.

Speaker 2 (16:23):
And the fumble recovery. That's where I was going to
That's where I was going to culminate with that.

Speaker 3 (16:27):
Is that?

Speaker 2 (16:28):
Now?

Speaker 3 (16:29):
Did he cause all that?

Speaker 1 (16:30):
No?

Speaker 2 (16:31):
He was you know the in terms of being able
to you know, for example, you know, get on the ball,
you know after it was squatted loose, I believe by Jermae.
Matthews Junior was the one who squatted it and then
and and so okay, right place, right time. But my
point being, I think you and I and probably our

(16:52):
listeners have watched en up games where you know, so
how often is it where you will see a defensive
lineman trying to to you know, pick up the ball
and run with it, and then the ball winds back
up in the and the you know, on the opposing team,
So it's like kayten Curry just falling on it. That

(17:12):
to me, that kind of justifies what I was saying.
Earliers like his presence is certainly a positive for their
High State defense.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
Yeah, also saw him dropping into coverage a few times
in this game. I feel like this was a conservative
game plan both ways. I think that they Matt Patricia
looked like to me for most of this we didn't
see a lot of pass pressure, and I think that
was by design. I think it was back to the
Washington game. They didn't want Altmeyer to get out and

(17:39):
make plays with his feet, so they kind of just
maintained their lanes. And you know, you didn't see a
lot of spins and twists. You know, you didn't see
guys you know, twisting, you know, two different linemen when
they criss crossed, you know, they call that a twist,
and then you didn't see the guys on the end
spinning or getting up field. So I think that the
idea here was Keith Luke Altmeyer in the middle and

(18:00):
try to affect him that way as much as you can,
let your secondary do its job, and when they really
needed to dial up the pressure they did. That was
to me one of the big failures from the officiating
crew was on that touchdown drive that made it twenty
to ten, because they would have been facing a second
and nineteen had they called the obvious intentional grounding on

(18:23):
Luke Ollmeyer. He was getting pressured up the middle from
Kenyata Jackson who came free, and he threw the ball
not within fifteen yards of any receiver. I don't know
how you don't.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
Call that very good point, very good point. And to
your point about the ohighest state defense going into it,
I don't want to say that I was necessarily concerned
thinking that, Okay, this is how a high state's going
to lose. You know, just Hank Baby had seven receptions,
but he was not nearly I mean, when you think
about the previous week, the game he had at Purdue,

(18:57):
and he was I mean, don't mean I think the
ohiost A defense they knew where Hank Batty was as
a wide receiver. I know that in terms of the
scoring that you were just talking about that Colin Dixon
had had touched on reception.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
But you know, Hank.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Beatty was not nearly as much of an impact, did
not have nearly as the kind of impact on the
Ohio State game that he did the previous week against Purdue.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Yeah, which you would understandably think that would be the case, certainly.
So yes, I would say kayten Curry did click. I
would also say R. L. Reese clicked. He had nine
total tackles, one and a half tackles for lost, one
and a half sacks. He was an extremely impactful player
on the offensive side. You had Max Claire and I

(19:44):
had Carnell Tait, and I have to say that we
have to kind of grade this on a curve based
on the fact that Brian hartline and call as many
passing places as I would have expected against a weak
pass defense, and that maybe that's a a product of
the coaching staff thinking, you know, we're we're comfortable that

(20:06):
we can win this game. So let's go ahead and
run the ball into their strength of their defense, because
if we can do it against them, that should open
up things against other opponents.

Speaker 3 (20:17):
Yeah, I would agree.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
I mean, it wasn't you know, and I know that
you know, Colonel Tate he had by my recollection, I
mean the fact that he had four receptions, but the
one in particular, I mean a sideline reception where.

Speaker 3 (20:32):
They would have been it would have been good in
the NFL, you know.

Speaker 2 (20:35):
And then you know with Max Claire again he had
four receptions, you know, but a little better than nine
yards of reception. So not he's not putting up the
same kind of stats that he had when he was
the only offensive weapon at Purdue. But I think that
he's starting to kind of become more and more of
a viable part of the passing offense.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
And we at Land Grant holy Land, we were talking
at halftime and I said, you know, the fact that
they're keeping a safety deep means that there's going to
be a lot of underneath stuff open. And also if
Smith and Tate can occupy the safeties, you know, by
staying wide, that's gonna open up the seam, and sure

(21:16):
enough in the third quarter they threw a seam route
to a deep seam route to the tight end Max Claire,
and you know, a nice gain, twenty two yard gain.
So four catches thirty eight yards Max Claire, I think
clicked inasmuch as we're grading on a curve here from
the the pass attempts were not what we normally see
from Ohio State, and Carnal Tate four catches forty one yards,

(21:37):
and I think all of those catches were impactful catches
for Carneal Tate, So I'm gonna say that he clicked
as well.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
I would agree with that because I.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
Think I may be wrong, but I think all of
his catches except one, I think three of his four
went for first downs and the other one that didn't
go for a first down was like eight or nine
yards that set up an easy first down. So I
think good job by everybody. And every week now it
seems like we see Carnel Tait bring in an NFL

(22:07):
sideline catch shed, you know, just dragging his toes.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah, I think, like I said a few moments ago,
I think Carnel Tate, he is definitely putting on a
show for NFL scouts because joy and while we got
him because he'll be gone after this year.

Speaker 1 (22:27):
Julian saying his completion percentage took a little bit of
a hit this week. He went nineteen twenty seven, not
bat one hundred sixty six yards two touchdowns. He was
not sacked. Luke Altmeyer, on the other hand, was sacked
four times. Even though he threw for two hundred and
forty eight yards thirty of forty four. He also threw
an interception and there was another one that was deflected

(22:48):
that was almost intercepted, and Caleb Downs had nearly had
an interception, so there were he was putting the ball
in harm's way. I will say this about the Illinois game,
and that is that I think it has given Ohio
State something to work on because opponents are going to
try to mimic what Illinois did in terms of when

(23:08):
they used tempo, because when they use tempo, they were
able to have some success finding some holes in the zone.
So now the next next thing at Matt Patricia needs
to work on is being able to show those multiple
fronts when he's not able to substitute guys, and he'll
have to adjust to next time. Somebody goes tempo against us,
how are we going to continue to confuse them?

Speaker 3 (23:31):
I think it's a really good point.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
I'm probably, you know, looking down the road the next opponent, Wisconsin,
when I wouldn't worry about them trying to do that.
But certainly when the calendar goes into November, there are
some teams on the on the November slate that will
certainly try to replicate that.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Yeah, Bo Jackson was the most impactful running back. Ten
carries for forty seven yards, and most of that came
in the first half. He didn't have a lot of
runs in the second half. He tweaked his ankle, we
saw it getting wrapped a couple of times. He was
having a nice game until then. Averaging four point seven
yards against a pretty stiff Illinois front is pretty good. CJ.

(24:10):
Donaldson had forty four yards rushing and of course got
in the end zone a couple of times. James People's
we didn't see a lot of him. Five carries for
only seven yards, and we even saw a little bit
of Isaiah West in this game. Late Nate Roberts got
to carry.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
And a touchdown, So congratulations, did you get a touchdown?

Speaker 3 (24:34):
I thought he got a f No, he got a touchdown.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
He was it was it was a late touchdown and
Nate Roberts, Yeah, the carry that he had resulted in
a touchdown.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
So all right, that's not what I'm seeing in the
box score. I'm seeing Donaldson touchdown, Jackson touchdown reception, Donaldson
two yard run, Jeremiah spokeyard pass. I don't know where
that came from. Chip, I'm like, like, wait a minute,
am I losing it.

Speaker 3 (25:05):
I know it was by the goal line. That's why
I thought it was a touchdown.

Speaker 1 (25:07):
I think he picked up I think he picked up
a critical third and one. I think that's what I
think that's what happened. But that's okay, because you know,
I can't be expected to remember every play. I mean,
we're still better than Gus Johnson. Because Gus Johnson didn't
realize that Bo Jackson got into the end zone. Yeah,
that's true, which is why he didn't say anything. But yeah,

(25:28):
Jeremiah Smith did his normal thing. Five catches, forty two
yards in a touchdown. And again, they they could have
done more with him, They could have done more with
Carnell Tape. They just chose to work on the run.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
Game.

Speaker 1 (25:39):
I don't think it was incredibly successful when you look
at a two point nine yard average, but they're starting
running back at almost five yards to carry, so I
think it was fine. Exactly. We do need to talk
about the punter chip Okay, Joe maguire is not it.
He only had one punt over forty yards and that

(26:01):
was forty one yards into the end zone for a touchback.
I don't know. I don't know why Nick McLarty isn't
getting more play. He's one punt this year went for
forty five yards, which would have been further than anything
that Joe McGuire did on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
I think there has to be we're not since we're
not at practice, we can't really, you know, say with
authority as to what Nick McCarty is doing that is
keeping him behind Joe McGuire.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
That would be my contention.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
One of those was a shank that gave Illinois. Illinois
had the ball at their own thirty nine and their
own forty on two of the shorter kicks, and one
of them was in late in the second quarter, which
could have set them up for a late score. So
I mean, I feel like I need to see Joe
McGuire's birth certificate to see if he's really Australian.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Very good point.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
All right, anything else we need to talk about from
this game, Chip.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
No, I think Illinois.

Speaker 2 (27:01):
I they have a tough game at Washington coming up,
but I think there's a legitimate chance that Illinois can
run the table and get themselves into the Collge football playoffs.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah. I think Illinois will give Washington a game. I mean,
Washington's been been played very closely in their last two
games since the Ohio State game, and I feel like
they are maybe experiencing some growing pains at the moment.
They've trailed at halftime in the last two games, and
I would have expected those two wins to be much

(27:35):
more comfortable than the end of being. But we'll talk
about the Huskies in a little bit. I also want
to shout out Sunny Styles for double digit tackles in
this game.

Speaker 2 (27:44):
He's certainly showing why that blocko Jersey was well rewarded.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
All right, Chip, we've still got a preview the upcoming
game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Emphasis on bad in Badgers.
They're not good. They're not a good football team. So
we'll talk about the Badgers in a bit. We'll also
go around the Big ten, including another coach losing his job,
and we'll get to those things right after this. All right, Chip,

(28:21):
we're back, and I guess we'll start with we've got
to go around the Big ten. So we know that
Penn State lost at home on a home coming to Northwestern.
We'll talk a little bit about the score, but the
bigger story coming out about this is James Franklin lost
his third game in a row and he has been fired.
As of the day that you and I record this

(28:42):
on Sunday, James Franklin is out. I'm hearing that a
reporting online says that Adidas helped buy out his forty
nine million dollar buyout, so they are ready to move on.

Speaker 3 (28:56):
I wasn't aware that Adidas agreed to that.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
I seem to recall recently that Penn State signed with Adidas.
They were one of the original Nike schools. But for
them to be switching over to Adidas that that's not
surprising that Adidas might be offering to chip in. So
it's never it's never a pleasant thing whenever a coach

(29:22):
loses their job. I mean, you know, we're fans, and
I know that you know, we speculate on whether or
not a coach is in trouble, but somebody posted I
think a Penn State player or former player, I should say,
post it on social media. I mean, the brutal reality
of it is that there are families that are impacted
by this, like the assistant coaches and kids having to

(29:44):
be uprooted and you know all of that. You know,
in the off season, you know, looking for another job,
another place to you know, another place to live, that
kind of thing. So there's always some sadness. But getting
back to it, personally, I'm more surprised by the time
of it, simply because of the fact that I mean

(30:04):
Penn State they're going into the teeth of what is
going to be the difficult stretch of their schedule, and
the fact that Drew I know we're going to talk
about it. Drew Aller is out for the year, so
certainly things are not going to be looking too promising
for Penn State for the rest of the season.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Unless Penn State hires UCLA's interim coach.

Speaker 3 (30:29):
I think Tim that that is, it's going.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
To be interesting to see how UCLA progresses. I know
we have to talk about it, but yeah, Tim Skipper
has certainly, you know, everyone keeps confusing. In fact, Jerry
Neuheisel is not the head coach, he's the offensive coordinator.
But Tim Skipper got to give him a lot of
credit because he's certainly showing what the right but having

(30:54):
the right person in charge and the right person calling
the right plays, what that can do for a program.

Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, let's go around the big ten chip. Let's start
in Washington as Rutgers went to Husky Stadium and led
at the half thirteen to ten, and then the Huskies
put things together in the third quarter and they end
up winning it thirty eight to nineteen. Not a surprise
that the score isn't surprising, It just a little surprising
that Washington struggled so much in the first half.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Yeah, I really thought that Washington would have had this
well in hand, considering that just I mean, it's no
disrespect to Rutgers, but I just thought that Washington's offensive firepower,
which eventually manifested itself, would be too much for them.
But I really did think Washington would have been in

(31:43):
control the entire time.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
But in the second half they really turned it on.

Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah, it kind of started late in the second quarter
and then it went from there. But Rutgers is three
and three on the season, starting to get a little
concerned about Bowl eligibility zero and three and Big Ten play.
Washington five and one on the season, two and one
in Big Ten plays, so they're still kind of in
the thick of things if the front runners stumble. On Saturday,

(32:08):
we talked about Ohio State's thirty four to sixteen win
over Illinois, and probably the game of the week that
we all wanted to watch was Indiana going to Oregon
and the Hoosiers. Chip got it done thirty to twenty,
winning on the road. And I have to say some
of it was Indiana and some of it was just

(32:29):
the way he played. But Oregon's quarterback, who was getting
a lot of Heisman talk, he did not look good
in this game. I mean, he threw some pretty poor passes.
Some of that was again Indiana, some of that was him,
like he can't do anything about the deflection interception. I mean,

(32:49):
that happens. But then he had one later in the
game where it was it was thirty to twenty, they
still had a chance. They were like a few minutes
left and they would have needed to score organ on
site kick and score. But then he starts off the
next drive with an interception that was just his receiver
was never open. So it was a probably not the

(33:12):
best performance by the Ducks. But you got to give
Indiana so much credit for going to Austin and getting
to win.

Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, very much. So Indiana their first win. I think
I can't remember what the actual on screen credit was,
but I think it might have been the first top
five win in program history or something like that.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
First road win against a top five team, Thank you,
in the history of Indiana football.

Speaker 3 (33:40):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
So I mean that that in and of itself, and
you know, compounding the adding insult to injury for Oregon
Oregon's first Big Ten conference loss. You know, I realized
that Ohio State beat them in the Rose Bowl and
the COP Football Playoff last year, but we're talking regular season.

(34:04):
Indiana went out there and was not phased by Oregon,
Like you said, you know, hats off to Kurt Signetti
and the job that he did getting his team ready
to play, and.

Speaker 1 (34:15):
The defenses really kind of played well and just came
Fernana Mendoza was only was twenty of thirty one, but
only two hundred and fifteen yards, one touchdown. They played well,
but you know, the numbers weren't huge. But Oregon is
now five and one and two and one in Big
Ten play. Indiana is six and zero. Hoosiers are Bowl
eligible three and zero in Big Ten play, And right

(34:36):
now it would be Indiana Ohio State playing in the
Big Ten championship game.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
And that would I think they'd be able to sell
a few tickets for that.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
I think they would. All Right, here's a game that
I felt like USC could win, and you expected Michigan
to win. And USC crushed Michigan. Thirty one to thirteen
was the final. It was close at halftime, just fourteen seven,
but the USC pulled away. Unfortunately, USC lost a running
back in this game for at least several weeks, so

(35:09):
I don't know if that how that's gonna affect the Trojans.
But I was a little surprised that Michigan struggled to
score points because USC's defense has not been impressive.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
I wasn't because I'm not impressed with Race Underwood's passing.
Everything comes out the talent's there.

Speaker 3 (35:27):
Doesn't me wrong.

Speaker 2 (35:28):
I mean you can see, I mean the physical stature,
the arm strength, but everything I realized, we're I'm mixing
my sports here. But it seems as though everything is
like one hundred miles per hour mile per hour fastball,
and there's there's very little touch, there's very little, you know,
just kind of you know, recognition of the fact that, okay,
not everything needs to be gunn dat you know, his accuracy.

(35:53):
I think I think these are things that will improve
as time goes by. But I'm happy for USC in
this that now they can kind of I don't want
to say that it's completely buried, but they can at
least put it in the ground to kind of oh
that they can't play a physical style, because that's exactly
what they did. And they were able to go toe

(36:15):
to toe against Michigan and beat the Wolverines on their
home field.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yep. Not not easy to go out there and win
at USC and USC is five and one, three and
one in Big Ten play. Michigan falls to four and two,
two and one in the Big Ten. And now what
we were talking about earlier, UCLA went to Michigan State
and I knew this was going to be I expected
this to be a high scoring game on both sides,
but it was only a high scoring game on one side,
as UCLA wins thirty eight thirteen in East Lansing, that's

(36:44):
a tough loss for Sparti. But you know, getting back
to the coaching changes there, and when Deshaun Foster was fired,
you know, they had fifty six points scored in four games.
Now they've scored eighty points in two games.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
I don't know what was going on in the preseason
prep because I mentioned, you know, watching Big ten Network,
all the different training camp things like all the not
that you would expect at any of the schools for
anyone to not have positive things to say, But it
just certainly seemed as though, okay, with Deshaun Foster, kind

(37:20):
of this is his program, and Tino Sinceri, who was
the offensive pornader, that oh, we're really excited about the
direction we're going. And then, like you just said, they
came out and that basically face planted the first part
of the season and now for a complete change. I mean,
and let's not ignore the fact that I know we're

(37:40):
going to talk about Northwestern and Penn State here momentarily,
but when UCLA now granted they had a bye week
after the firing of Deshaun Foster when they went on
the road to Northwestern they now granted they lost that game,
but they played even there, they played better in a loss.
So I don't know what it is about what Tim
Skipper is doing. And certainly Jerry Neuheisel, the way that

(38:02):
he's he's calling plays, I think deserves a lot of credit.
I'm just happy for the for the players at u c.
L A because and I'm I I'd have to say
that it's refreshing to see because so often when things
start to go south, I mean we saw it last
year with Purdue. I mean they basically quit, you know,
as soon as as soon as the season started to snowball.

(38:26):
They want to know no part of playing anymore. These
the players from UCLA have have really proven their resilience.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, I'm very impressed with the way that they've handled this,
the adversity and bouncing back the way they have. So
I think it's Jerry new heeisl he is he's an
understanding the quarterback situation at nico. Iamaleva uh is being
put in better positions to make plays and he's responded
to that three touchdowns passing in this game. And I'm impressed.

(38:54):
So UCLA is two and four overall, but they're now
two and one in Big Ten play. They're actually contention.

Speaker 3 (39:00):
Chip, let's not get too far down the.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
Road, one game out of first place in the Big Ten.

Speaker 2 (39:07):
I'm merely making the point that I think when it
comes to, you know, with UCLA, you know, for example,
we were just talking about you know, Indiana, I think
that that's their next opponent, you know. So it's one
of these things where that or excuse me, Maryland is
going to be their next opponent.

Speaker 3 (39:27):
I know that.

Speaker 2 (39:29):
When it comes to UCLA, they certainly have to continue
to improve. But yeah, it's great to see. It's good
to see.

Speaker 1 (39:36):
Now Michigan State falls to three and three, they're zero
and three in Big Ten place. So the Spartans have
a lot of work to do. And one thing that
they had had going for them was a good or
at least a decent offense go with a terrible defense.
But the offense didn't show up for this game either,
and that's that's not great. Uh, Northwestern was supposed to

(39:57):
be Penn State's homecoming victim, and that did not go
according to plan for the Nitney Lions twenty to twenty
one Northwestern. The Wildcats outscore Penn State nine to seven
in the fourth quarter to win by one point. Obviously
big blow to the Nitney Lions with Drew Aller being
hurt and is out for the season. But you knew,

(40:20):
I know that they would fire James Franklin that you know,
in mid season. But you heard the run, you heard
the rumblings before this game. But you can't lose at
home to Northwestern on homecoming, and you know James Franklin
paid the price.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
Yeah, like I said a few moments ago, very sorry
that somebody loses their job, but that's just the nature
of the major college football business. And as far as
Penn State now, they have to regroup. And you know,
I'm sure that you've heard the expression. I mean, you know,
it's a lot easier to you know, fix the plane

(40:56):
when it's on the ground rather than when it's in
mid air. You know, that's essentially what Penn State's going
to be doing because this next week they're going to
Iowa and that's never an easy place, let alone considering.

Speaker 3 (41:08):
All the turmoil.

Speaker 2 (41:10):
And oh, by the way, we're going to have Ethan
Gruckemeier make his first start against one of the most
well respected defensive coordinators in college football. That's going to
be it's going to be rough sledding for Penn State
for the remainder of the season.

Speaker 1 (41:26):
I think it'll definitely be difficult in the next stretch
of games, that's for sure. So Penn State is three
and three, zero and three and Big Ten Play. Did
not see that one coming. Northwestern's four two, two and
one in Big Ten Play. So though the Wildcats are
hanging around, Here's a game that I thought would be
a good game and end up being a good game,
thirty four to thirty one. Nebraska goes to Maryland and

(41:48):
wins a close game, and Nebraska had to come back
and this game outscored the Terrapins ten nothing in the
fourth quarter to win this. And you and I talked
about this last week that the winner of this game
would stay in the race and the loser was pretty
much out of the race in terms of, of, you know,
not necessarily Bowl eligibility. Obviously there's still a long way
to go, but in terms of hanging around for maybe

(42:09):
a chance at a Big Ten championship game, Nebraska's still
in it. Maryland is now one and two in Big
Ten Play four and two overall, Nebraska five and one
two and won a Big Ten Play, so they stay
within one game of the lead. And I don't know
that either of these teams is what I would call great,
but Nebraska's back in the I believe they're back in
the top twenty five with that win, and they're certainly

(42:32):
going in the right.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
Direction they are.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
And you know, we were talking about Penn State. You
know already, like the the rumor mill is starting to circulate.
Matt Ruhle, being a former Penn State walk on linebacker
back in the day, I understand why if you're a
Penn State fan, why his name would be in contention.

(42:55):
I'm of the belief that with this buyout, Penn State's
going to have to get very creative. I know that,
like you just said, you know, like there's some external
factors that are assisting with it. But you know, seven
hundred million dollar renovation to Beaver Stadium, forty nine million
dollar payout, I mean, there's gonna be some some hefty

(43:17):
bills to pay. So I'm not necessarily sure that Matt
Rule is going to be the next Penn State head coach.
I just know don't be surprised that that's, you know,
going to be a major topic of conversation. I'm very
happy to see Nebraska is turning it around. Matt Rule
postgame was kind of saying about how Nebraska, you know,

(43:38):
can't win the close games anymore. We can, we can
beary it kind of you know what we talked about earlier.
It is like Nebraska, they're they're getting closer and closer.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
To full eligibility, which you know.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
Years ago, you and I would never have thought that
that was ever a concern for North Nebraska. But it's
nice to see that they're doing well.

Speaker 1 (43:57):
Yeah, maybe that's so let's not get carried away. You
want a close game against Maryland. Yeah it was against Maryland.
Let's granted Maryland's been a little better this year, but yeah,
Matt Rule at Penn State, I mean, I don't know.
I saw a funny tweet today James to the bank

(44:20):
Land because don't feel bad for James. Frankly, he's got
forty nine million dollars.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
My early thought I realized that, you know, we've got
a long way to go, a long way to go.

Speaker 3 (44:33):
This is I mean, it's the body is still warm.

Speaker 1 (44:36):
Yeah, you know, like you know, when.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
We're talking about this, the decision to fire James Franklin.
But my early prediction is I think a call will
be made to Manny Diaz at Duke, who former defensive
coordinator at Penn State, so he knows the lay of
the land, and what I just said a few moments ago,

(44:58):
I'm not sure that the eye out from Duke compared
to you know, like all these people saying like, oh,
Kurtz Signetti, It's like, no, you know, he just signed
a very lengthy extension in Indiana. I think contract buyouts
and that kind of language within contracts for coaches is
going to be adjusted going forward.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
Because you know, we talked.

Speaker 2 (45:19):
About Jimbo Fisher a few years ago seventy five million
dollars from Texas A and m Penn State forty nine million.
You know, at some point the university's gonna be like, Okay,
we can't afford to be writing these big checks, even
if we get assistance from like an Adidas or something
like that.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
Yeah, yeah, well, we'll see how that goes. I guess
the good thing for Penn State is they see what's
happening around the country to some of these in some
of these other cities, these other college towns. Florida State
lost again. They're you know, there's going to be other
schools looking for coaches, so they they get an early
start on the search. Iowa went to wiscon chip and

(46:00):
did the jump around on the Badger's heads. Thirty seven nothing.

Speaker 3 (46:06):
It's ugly, truth be told, and I not that again.

Speaker 2 (46:09):
I'm not hoping for it. But if there was going
to be a firing today, I really thought that would
be the news coming out of Wisconsin. I think it's
it's going to happen. Maybe Wisconsin is waiting until later
in the season. But yeah, that was that was very bad.
And Luke Fickle just looks like he has no answers.

Speaker 1 (46:28):
Yeah, he his comments after the game were I'm a
loss to describe this, to figure out what happened. It's
my responsibility. He tastes taking responsibility. He's got a big
buy out too, so maybe Wisconsin's just looking for the
booster or corporate help to get that paid for. But yeah,
thirty seven nothing. What can he say about that? Iowa

(46:49):
is four and two, two in one of the big ten.
It's hard to say how good Iowa is based on
their opponents, but I mean, they're a tough out always.
Wisconsin's two and four, zero and three in Big Ten play,
and they look like they're going to finish dead last
in the Big Ten the way things are going. And

(47:09):
then finally Perdue went to Minnesota. This game end up
being a little closer than I thought it would be,
as Minnesota wins at twenty seven to twenty. I think
it was Koy perrich interception return for a touchdown was
a winning touchdown.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
I think all I know is Perdue they have fulfilled.
I realized it.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
It's very you know, like empty rhetoric, but I really
do think that Perdue they have.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
They have certainly turned the corner. They have.

Speaker 2 (47:37):
They have happied the Greg Ciano twenty twenty Rutgers blueprint
being the annoying you know, like gum under you know,
like on the bottom of your shoe that you can't
you know, you know what I mean, Like just that
kind of an irritant. They're no longer the easy out.
And I realized Minnesota. I mean, Ohio State had no

(47:58):
problem against Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, but they
were in that game, and so you know, we were
just talking about Northwestern, I believe that's who Purdue is
playing next week. So you know, if I'm Northwestern, I'm
keeping my eyes and ears open because I think Purdue
is certainly capable of going in there and taking care

(48:19):
of business.

Speaker 1 (48:20):
Yeah, Purdue is doing the thing that they wanted to do,
which is to be scrappy and be in the game.
And that's the first step. Being competitive is the first step,
and then you could start getting results, you know, when
you get a little bit better and recruit a little
bit better. And you know, Purdue was leading this game
going to the fourth quarter. Chip and yeah, Koy Perrich

(48:41):
with an interception return for a touchdown was the game
winning score. Okay, Purdue is two and four h and
three in the Big Ten. Minnesota is two and one
in the Big Ten, four or two overall. So again PJ.
Fleck is getting it done in terms of doing what
you can do with that Minnesota program. Now, we turned

(49:02):
our attention to week eight, Chip, and I mean, I'm
I'm excited to see if we could get a big
lead at Wisconsin. We'll talk about that game in a
bit and see if we can get some backups on
the field. You know, one of the things that we
didn't talk about. One of the plays we didn't talk

(49:22):
about was a nice reverse setup for Jeremiah Smith, and
then both Austin Siraveld and Max Claire decided, I'm not
sure I should block this one guy or you should
block this one guy. So neither one blocked that one
guy because that could have been a touchdown, and instead
the linebacker made the play and Smith came down awkwardly

(49:45):
and it was you know, he was ginger the rest
of the game.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
Yeah, I think if anything, my goal for Ohio State
at Wisconsin, I'll just say it right now, is to
play as many of the backups as early end is
as much as possible. Because you mentioned previously about Bo Jackson,
you know, having you know, to retape his ankle, and
Jeremiah Smith, I mean that looked that looked very very

(50:14):
scary for lack of a better adjective, because I mean,
that could have been much more serious, you know. So
I think Ohio State they have the advantage of, Yes,
I know Camp Randall is notoriously a difficult place to play,
but the fact that I think you're going into I'm

(50:34):
just going to say, a an environment where the Natives
are are they are already turned on Luke Fickle and
I think Ohio State. They jump out to an early lead,
and if you want to play conservatively, even if it's
not exciting, that'll probably be more than enough. At Wisconsin

(50:54):
and playing as many backups as possible going into their
second bye week and get try and get rested for
this very important stretch run in November.

Speaker 1 (51:03):
Shouldn't need a lot of points to win that game.

Speaker 3 (51:06):
No, not at all, all.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
Right, So let's go around this week. Nebraska will visit Minnesota.
That's a big game too, because again that's a game
that's coming up on Friday night and it'll be a
national primetime game. The winner stays in the race and
the Big Ten. The loser is not going to make
the Big Ten title game, and probably, if we're being honest,

(51:28):
neither of these teams will. But one stays in the
hunt the other doesn't. Big game exactly then on Saturday,
big noon kickoff Washington Michigan, and Washington has to start
better or they could be at risk on the road.

(51:51):
They didn't play that great at Maryland. They did get
it done in the end, but I think they need
to play cleaner in the Big House, and I think
Washington could win it. But if they turn the ball over,
Michigan is capable of winning at home.

Speaker 3 (52:05):
Yeah, Washington is certainly capable of winning it.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
I'm skeptical about the Washington defense. Granted, I'm not I'm
not as fearful of the Michigan offense because I respect
the fact that Michigan wants to run the ball, nothing
wrong with that. I am thinking that Washington may not
have the same amount of talent on the defensive side

(52:30):
of the ball as USC, and they may not be
able to follow that blueprint that USC demonstrated. So I'm
thinking Michigan will win this, but I'm thinking it's going
to be a close game.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Yeah, it will. To me, it depends on does Demon
Williams Junior have time to throw. If he does, I
think Washington can win. I don't know who's going to win.
When Perdue goes to Northwestern, that's a toss up to me.

Speaker 3 (52:57):
Yeah, very very.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
I was just singing the praise is nothing nothing against Purdue.
I know, you know that, you know close, but no cigar,
you know, is something that is a very difficult thing
to have to endure Northwestern. I mean they're kind of
punching above their weight. So yeah, this truly is a
toss up. I'm gonna go with Purdue simply because I

(53:25):
just think that they I mean they a couple of
weeks ago, they were scrappy against Illinois. Granted they lost that,
They they led most of the time. Against Minnesota, they
lost that, But I think that they've got enough to
go on the road at Northwestern and win another win,
another Big Ten game.

Speaker 1 (53:43):
I certainly think they're capable of beating Northwestern, even on
the road. Michigan State is going to get absolutely blasted
by Indiana on the road.

Speaker 2 (53:52):
Yeah, this is this is where you know, and I
feel I feel for Jonathan Smith because I do think
he's a good coach.

Speaker 3 (53:58):
I think that.

Speaker 2 (54:01):
Last week was a major setback for that program losing
to U c l A. I certainly thought that Michigan
State was going to beat U c l A. But
you know, they took a major step back. And now
you're going into I'll just say it, one of the
top five teams in the in the country, number three,
into their backyard. So I think, yeah, like I think

(54:24):
Indiana is going to.

Speaker 3 (54:25):
Have their way.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
Indiana at number three, I have to live in a
worldship where Indiana is number three in the country.

Speaker 3 (54:33):
Be even might be higher than that. It's true, higher
than that.

Speaker 1 (54:37):
Indiana will win and they might score seventy points against
that bad Spartans defense. Yeah, Michigan State needed to do
better against UCLA and needed that u c l A
win against Penn State to be a fluke. It apparently
it wasn't a fluke. Ucla can score points now and
it's like, really not good that Michigan State couldn't score

(54:58):
on UCLA's defense, But it is what it is. Oregon
will go to Rutgers to try to respond and rebound
from the Indiana loss. I feel like Rutgers is they're
gonna They're gonna feel every ounce of pain that Oregon
felt after the game last week.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
Yeah, I think Oregon. I you know, you're you're.

Speaker 2 (55:17):
Hearing more and more of these West Coast teams adjusting
their travel schedule to try and be as well rested
and all of that, and the fact that it's a
I don't want to call it a night game, but
we're getting to that part are Yeah, we're getting that
part of the fall where it's gonna be dark by
the time this is done.

Speaker 3 (55:35):
But I think Oregon is there.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
They've got just too much offensive firepower. So yeah, I
think they're gonna take it to Rutgers.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
Rutgers is going to be in trouble. There'll be three
and if they lose the game, I'm I guess we're assuming,
but there'll be three and four, oh and four to
Big ten. That's not good Penn State going to Iowa.
This is not a good time for Penn State to
go to Iowa with a first time starting quarterback and
a lot of chaos. But teams have gotten a new

(56:04):
coach bump before Hello UCLA. I would not rule out
Penn State because they have talent. They have enough talent
to where they should not be in the position that
they're in right now. But I was certainly going to
do everything it can do to confuse the quarterback and
get after them and make it difficult for Penn State.

(56:26):
The only question I have is can Penn State's defense
rise to the occasion. And I think they have a
good defense. They haven't necessarily shown it every game, but
I think they have a good defense, and I think
they can hold Iowa a few points, So I think
this could be an interesting, low scoring game.

Speaker 2 (56:46):
I agree with everything you said about except with the
word interesting similarly because and I'm not you know, I
realize you know how smarty that sounds, but Iowill, let's
face it, you know, when it comes to offense, they've
never really been known to be on the cutting edge.
I agree with you about the Penn State defense. The
talent is there, Jim Knowles. Now you want to talk

(57:08):
about somebody who is getting an earfull and rightfully, rightfully
so because of the four performance the Penn State defense
had this past week against Northwestern. But yeah, I think Iowa, defensively,
Phil Parker is going to do anything and everything he
possibly can to be confusing to Ethan Grnkemeyer. I think

(57:30):
Penn State they're going to try and keep it simple
by running the ball, which is which is smart. But
all right, Iowa, I think we'll be prepared for that.
So I think it's going to be low scoring, and
I'm going to give it to Iowa simply because of
the fact I'm just gonna go with Okay, like the
Iowa the Kinnick Stadium voodoo that has often befallen other

(57:50):
good teams, Penn State's not a good team. But I
just think that the circumstances dictate that Iowa wins this one.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
All right, Well, I'm enough to I don't want to
have to go look up when the last time Penn
State lost four games in a row was. Okay, it's
probably been a while. Maryland will go to UCLA. Not
a good time to go to UCLA. That's a seven
o'clock start, So a night game at UCLA, although it'll
be four o'clock when it kicks off in LA. But

(58:19):
Maryland coming off loss. In fact, they're one and two
in Big Ten play. UCLA looks like they've figured it out.
I don't know if it's all smoke and mirrors. It's
been two games. This will tell us really what UCLA is.
If if you get on a roll, you know, then
I think teams are gonna have to start taking the
bruins a little more seriously.

Speaker 2 (58:39):
Yeah, I think this game is going to be the
complete opposite of what I just talked about with Penn
State Iowa being low scoring.

Speaker 3 (58:46):
I think this is gonna be high scoring.

Speaker 2 (58:47):
I think Maryland, you know, Maryland, you know Malik Washington
is a star on the rise. Nico is playing so
much better than he did at the beginning of the season.
And so I I think I'm gonna I'm gonna go
with UCLA simply because I think that they have they're
really failing confident with the way Jerry new Heisel is

(59:09):
calling the plays. I think with Maryland, it's one of
these things where you know, within the Big Ten, and
I it's kind of weird to think about UCLA and
the Big Ten. It's just that something about when the
calendar switches to conference play Maryland, all of a sudden,
it's like it's it's worse than the you know, like

(59:30):
the you know, like the carriage turning into a pumpkin
for Cinderella. It's not like they just start to fall apart.
And so I'm going to say the cross country travel,
UCLA's newfound confidence, I'm gonna go with the Bruins.

Speaker 1 (59:43):
I am too. And it's it's funny because this Maryland team,
the results are kind of the same story. But they've
been in these last two games that they've won, that's right.
They they almost pulled the upset and beat Washington, and
they were in that game against Nebraska. It was a
close game. So maybe they're taking a step in the
right direction, but they're not quite there yet. No, they're

(01:00:06):
not all right. And then finally, USC will play a
primetime game on NBC against Notre Dame on the road,
so we'll see is USC physical enough to beat Michigan
and Notre Dame in back to back weeks. This is
a much better team they'll play this week, and they're
playing it on the road, so I don't know how
they'll do. It doesn't affect the Big Ten race, but

(01:00:28):
it certainly affects USC's potential ability to get in the
college football playoff at the end of the season.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
And when it comes to Notre Dame, and I agree
with you the fact that it doesn't have any impact
on the college football payoff, but for both teams, you know,
college football playoff standings or possibilities are very prominent. The
good thing for Notre Dame is, Okay, they're four and two,
and I'm not excusing Notre Dame, but the fact that

(01:00:58):
like theyre two losses, one that they were both close
losses to Miami and to Texas.

Speaker 3 (01:01:04):
A and m who are both both those teams are undefeated.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
So Notre Dame's resume is not being hurt as much
with the two losses. I think with USC, the margin
for error dramatically decreases if they lose to Notre Dame
because they still have a game against Oregon and they
still have a game against their longtime rival of UCLA.

(01:01:28):
So I think USC needs this game even more so
than Notre Dame. But it should be a great game.

Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
I don't know if I agree with they need it
more than Notre Dame. I don't think a three loss
Notre Dame gets into college football playoffs. I don't think.
I think three losses is going to put them at
best on the bubble, and then if enough teams only
have two losses, I think they're out.

Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
Depends depends on again, you know, when you start looking
at you know the other result.

Speaker 3 (01:02:00):
I'm not disagreeing with you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
I just I think the Notre Dame, the fact that
they're ranked thirteenth and they have two losses, I think
that that kind of speaks kind of where a lot
of the national media and I realize Notre name as
a large following, but the fact that their two losses
were close and to two undefeated teams, You're probably right,

(01:02:23):
three losses might keep them out, but you know, I
think as we get into the stretch run and the SEC,
we're going to start to see more and more teams
start to beat each other up.

Speaker 3 (01:02:33):
So Notre Dame might be able to capitalize upon that.

Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
On the other hand, if they get in with three losses,
I almost can guarantee you they'll be expanded playoff next
year because a lot of teams with two losses are
going to go absolutely bananas, especially especially if there are
SEC teams with two losses that get left out.

Speaker 2 (01:02:53):
Yeah, and well, yeah, that's where that's where the going
next year to the nine game schedule, conference schedule is.

Speaker 3 (01:03:01):
Going to help this.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
I think.

Speaker 2 (01:03:03):
I do believe that there's going to be a strength
of schedule component. I don't know which, but I believe
that that's going to become more and more of a
topic of conversation when you start to get to college
football playoff conversations.

Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
Yeah, and also, if Miami and Texas A and EM
each lose a game, that's going to hurt Notre Dame
as well. Exactly. We'll see, We'll see how it goes.
I think it's going to be an interesting game. And
then finally, Wisconsin three point thirty Ohio State going there.
I don't want to necessarily talk a lot about this
game because I don't expect this to be a close game,

(01:03:38):
and if it is a close game, that's an indictment
on Ohio State. This is not a good Wisconsin team.

Speaker 3 (01:03:43):
No, it's not, and.

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
It was It was obvious in the season opener when
Wisconsin they didn't look impressive against Miami of Ohio. No
no disrespect to Miami Ohio, but the Wisconsin offensive line
had difficulty blowing the Miami defensive line off the ball.
And they have, I mean some substantial size advantage that

(01:04:06):
they were not able to capitalize upon. So that's the
That's exactly yeah, that's exactly it. So I think Ohio
State is going to have little to no resistance from Wisconsin,
and I think things are that the Boo Birds are
going to be out in full throat at Camp Randle.

Speaker 1 (01:04:25):
Now, if you obviously you have to play the game,
and obviously anything that we've seen strange things happen in
college football before. But I'm not expecting that Ohio State's
defense the way it's played thus far. I don't know
if Wisconsin will score points, and if Wisconsin does, it
will maybe be because of a big play in special
teams or a turnover on Ohio State's offense.

Speaker 3 (01:04:49):
That's fair.

Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
I don't know how how can the Badgers drive down
the field on this defense if it shows up and
plays with any kind of passion at all. I just
don't see it.

Speaker 3 (01:05:01):
Right. I mean, I thought Wisconsin.

Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
I don't want to say that they turned the corner,
but they looked better a couple weeks ago at Michigan,
and then for them to come out and be as
just flat and uninspired and without any kind of intensity
at home to Iowa and get shut out just spoke

(01:05:27):
volumes out where this program is.

Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
I don't even know who are they back to? Are
they on Danny O'Neil now? Is that who's under center?

Speaker 3 (01:05:34):
Now? They? I mean Simmons?

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
Was they had him at they had him last night
again or last night against Iowa?

Speaker 3 (01:05:44):
I should say they had Simmons. Maybe they're going to
go back to him.

Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
I just think that if you're Luke Fickle, you need
to figure out what you are good at. And that's
a hell of a thing to say when you are
mid season and you still haven't really figured that out,
and just go with that. It seems like Hunter Simmons
was their best answer at quarterback. Maybe his bad performance

(01:06:09):
against Iowa has completely changed that narrative.

Speaker 3 (01:06:12):
But what a what a thing to Okay, Danie O'Neil.

Speaker 2 (01:06:15):
Here you go go up against this, go up against this,
this brick wall Ohio State defense.

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
It's it's just so weird because Daniye O'Neil is completing
seventy percent of his passes, but he has five touchdowns
and five interceptions as well. It's six hundred and forty
yards in five games. Is not that impressive. Hunter Simmons
has three hundred twenty nine yards in four games. He's
only completing fifty six percent of his passes, and he

(01:06:41):
has one touchdown at three interceptions.

Speaker 2 (01:06:45):
Again, since we're not at script at the practices, you know,
not knowing what we're what has been seen. I know
that Billy Edwards was supposed to be their guy and
he didn't even last like a half for the season opener.
So it's just they're cursed at that quarterback position.

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
Usually one thing you can count on from Wisconsin is
a just a machine in the backfield that can carry
the ball thirty five times in a game and rack
up one hundred and fifty one hundred and eighty yards rushing.
They're leading rusher is a freshman running back, Dylan Jones,
who has rushed for two hundred and eighty six yards
and two touchdowns.

Speaker 3 (01:07:27):
Yeah, it's just not good.

Speaker 1 (01:07:30):
No, that's that's an average of forty seven yards per game.
Did you ever think you'd see a leading Badger running
back only rushing for less than fifty yards a game, No,
not at all. I also did not. And then they're
leading receiver. They got a couple guys over two hundred yards.

(01:07:51):
Vinnie Anthony Second has two hundred and seventy four yards
and a touchdown, and Lance Mason has two hundred and
thirty six yards and two touchdowns. They also have a
guy named Jaden Ballard Chip who has two touchdowns, but.

Speaker 2 (01:08:05):
He's pretty much he's pretty much a non factor. I'm
saying that with a smile on my face. I mean,
like the lack of offense, it's just it's a plague
up there.

Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
So I know, I know Buckeye fans will know the
name Jayden Ballard seven catches one hundred and fifty yards
of this season. Really, Wisconsin, their best chance is if
they have a big game defensively and maybe make create
some turnovers, maybe make a play in special teams. You know,
we've we've seen kickoff returns and things like that from

(01:08:40):
the Badgers in years past against Ohio State. But I
honestly don't expect a lot of resistance, especially if I
have stake can get a couple of touchdowns in the
first half.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Yeah, I think this is I think this is going
to be a get the lead and all right, let's
just ride this out and head for home and you.

Speaker 3 (01:09:01):
Know, make sure everyone's healthy and get ready for November.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
All right, Chip, that means it's time for us to
go with our picks to click. And last week we
started on the defensive side of the ball, so we're
going to start on offense this week, which might make
it interesting because we think this will be a blowout.
We think there'll be a lot of backups in so
maybe Bo Jackson rests this game, Maybe Jeremiah Smith gets

(01:09:25):
some rest in this game. We don't really know the
severity of you know, what his injury is and if
that's going to hamper him at all. I know if
he is capable of playing. He's a type of kid
that wants to play, but I'm sure the coaching staff
will want to be cautious with him in a game
like this. So who do you think will be your
pick to click on the offensive side of the ball.

Speaker 2 (01:09:47):
Well, you just mentioned that the coaching staff might be
cautious with Bo Jackson, So I'm going to go with CJ.

Speaker 3 (01:09:53):
Donaldson.

Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
I think that he's not necessarily the most exciting and
you know, obvious choice, but I really do believe that
they're going to try to emphasize the run.

Speaker 3 (01:10:07):
H CJ.

Speaker 2 (01:10:08):
Donaldson, I think at the goal line is one of
these guys that that they call upon. So I wouldn't
be surprised if you know, that's kind of where he
gets the early opportunities.

Speaker 3 (01:10:20):
And then you know, let's let's let's rest bow and
let's let CJ take us home. So that's kind of
what my rationale is for that.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
All right, I'm going to go where I went this week.
Maybe I was a week early. I'm going to go
back to Carneal Tate. Even though I think you did click,
you know, on the curve that we graded them on
this week. I think Carnell Tate will make some big plays.
I think we'll get some explosion plays out of him
this week, like we've seen in in weeks past that
flips us around to the defensive side of the ball,

(01:10:51):
and I think I will take the Caleb Downs free
space this week.

Speaker 3 (01:10:54):
Chip okay, makes sense, I'm going with defense. I'm going
with Sunny Styles.

Speaker 2 (01:11:00):
I just think that he kind of was was very
much involved.

Speaker 3 (01:11:07):
At Illinois. I could see him.

Speaker 2 (01:11:09):
I mean, it was very tempting to not pick Rvel Reese,
but I'm going to just say that.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
I think Sonny Styles is going to have another big game.

Speaker 2 (01:11:16):
So I think, you know, just kind of being disruptive
and shutting down what little semblance of a Wisconsin offense
there is. I think he's going to be very much
involved in it.

Speaker 1 (01:11:27):
All right, nothing left to do but our score predictions. Ship,
what do you think is going to be on the
scoreboard at Camp Randall at the end of that game.

Speaker 2 (01:11:34):
I think Ohio State is It's going to be almost
kind of like watching paint dry. I just think that
this game, Ohio State is going to have it well
in control, and because Wisconsin is so offensively inept, and
I think Ohio State's going to look at this as.

Speaker 3 (01:11:53):
An opportunity to focus on things that they want to
work on. But I'm not picking a shutout. I'm going
to say, Ohio State thirty five, Wisconsin three.

Speaker 1 (01:12:04):
Well, once again, Chip, you are you are thinking very
similar to, very similarly to how I'm thinking. As I
had written down. My final score is thirty eight to three. Okay,
so it should be easy. It'll be easy math this week.

Speaker 3 (01:12:21):
Again the price is right, it'd.

Speaker 1 (01:12:24):
Be definitely easy math because if it's if it's under thirty,
if it's thirty six, then it's you, and if it's over,
if it's thirty seven or more, it'll be me.

Speaker 3 (01:12:38):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (01:12:39):
So and I changed it because I initially had forty five,
but I think that there'll be enough running place where
I think there won't be enough possessions to get that
many points. So I'm thinking thirty eight.

Speaker 3 (01:12:51):
Yeah, I really do.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
I I I you know, you brought up the very
scary moment of Jeremiah Smith the BoJack.

Speaker 3 (01:13:00):
It just kind of influenced me.

Speaker 2 (01:13:01):
I'm thinking, you know, like they're going to do what
they can to make sure that they're ready to play.
If they're not, they're certainly not going to rush them
because they know how important both those players are, and
then I think you kind of do an overall assessment
of the entire team, and everyone's going to have their
their their bumps and bruises this time of year, so
it's like, okay, let's just win, even if it's ugly

(01:13:24):
and I and unfortunately for Luke Fickle, I think it's
it's not going to be much of a contest. That's
why I just figured it's like, Okay, they're going to
run the ball and be kind of, you know, very
boring offensively, but we'll see.

Speaker 1 (01:13:38):
We'll see. I also think Ohio State will do something
wacky in this game. I have just a weird feeling
that we're going to see I don't know, a fake
punt or a fake field goal, or an on site
kick or something weird, just to put it on tape
to make other opponents have to look at it.

Speaker 3 (01:13:56):
And that's not a bad thought.

Speaker 1 (01:13:57):
Yeah, I think that we're starting to see those maybe
once a week. This week we got that shovel pass.
We got that what I think would have been a
pretty cool little pass play to Carnel Tate with with
say and rolling and everybody kind of looking at going
one way and then he goes the other way, but
of course take out caught up in the wash there
at Illinois. I think we're seeing some wrinkles thrown in

(01:14:20):
every week by Ohio State's coaching staff, and I think
this week it might be on special teams, just to
take the heat off the special teams, because there's there's
a lot of grumbling about Ohio from Ohio State fans
about special teams.

Speaker 3 (01:14:31):
No, it makes sense.

Speaker 1 (01:14:33):
Although I will give credit where credits a due. Brandon
Innis had a nice kickoff return in this game this
week against Illinois, and of course Jaden Fielding made his
field goals.

Speaker 3 (01:14:44):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
So there's you've got to give credit where it's due,
even though the punt team is not getting it done.
And I will say not all of it's Joe Maguire's
fault that that forty one yard are into the end zone.
The gunners were in position and they got faked out
by the old fake. I'm going to catch it play,
but the ball is ten yards behind him. You got

(01:15:08):
it all right, Chip, That should do it for this episode.
Then why don't you remind our listeners where they can
find you and your fine work on the internet.

Speaker 2 (01:15:17):
I can be found as a contributor to Buckeyehuddle dot
com as well as Saturday Glory dot com. I usually
for Saturday Glory usually write something about the entire Big Ten,
so we've kind of talked about what happened this past week.
And with Buckeye Huddle dot com, I kind of usually
focus on the upcoming opponent.

Speaker 1 (01:15:35):
All right. You can find my work at Landgrant holy
Land dot com every Monday, of course the Grumpy Old
Buckeye column following every Ohio State game, and I will
tell you well all of the things that made me
want to go fighting a line eye on Saturday this week.
And also you can follow me on Twitter or Blue
Sky at Mike thirty six fan. You can follow Silver

(01:15:57):
Bullets Podcast on Twitter at silver Bullets Pod with no
E in the word silver, so s I l v
R Bullets Pod. And then you can write to us
at Silver Bulletspod at gmail dot com. That is our
email address. We'd love to hear from you. You do
use the E and silver for that, and we would
like to hear from you, hear what's on your mind
and apologize for a lengthy show, but you know, James

(01:16:21):
Franklin doesn't get fired every week exactly. So we'll be
back next week to break down the Wisconsin game, and
Chip will be getting ready for bye week number two.

Speaker 2 (01:16:33):
Yeah, and if anything, the Big Ten games are just
getting more and more interesting as we get closer and
closer than November.

Speaker 1 (01:16:40):
I am very much enjoying college football. We had a
wacky Hawaii game again this week late, some really interesting
games out on the West Coast, and I just couldn't
be happier. This is my favorite time of year. I
stayed up late watching BYU and Arizona and then caught

(01:17:00):
some of some of the Hawaii game. There were some
crazy trick plays in that game. Very enjoyable. Really can't
speak highly enough about this dumb, wonderful sport that we love.
Well said, all right, we will be back next week.
So the only thing left for us to do is
to sign off, and we always do that the same way,

(01:17:20):
and that's by saying, go Bocks, Go Bucks.

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