Ep. 1078: Hot Take Monday: Pitchforks after an MSU football mess at Nebraska

We dug into our takes and yours — largely on Michigan State football after a mess of a loss at Nebraska, and concerns about Jonathan Smith's tenure as MSU's coach. Plus, some Tigers and MSU hoops.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Love a love.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Wow, oh oh oh oh.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
What do you get when you cross a know it
all newspaper columnist with an awkward, unsophisticated every man.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
Yeah, well I'm just not sure about that right now. Well,
Cow and the Room welcome to couch in the Room,
our Monday show presented by our friends at Muskox Quality Flannels.

(02:10):
You too can look as good as us or look
your absolute best by going to go muskox dot com,
where couching the Room listeners can get fifteen dollars off
a flannel purchase with the promo code Peacock. We are
also going to be giving away a Muskox flannel with
my earnings from the Tigers losing the Division of the
Guardians OOO. And to win this, I think the best

(02:33):
thing to do, Jason is to have listeners send in
a picture of themselves their ugliest photo with their best photo.
We have to see contrast. It's really unfair to the
good looking people if you know they're up against somebody
who's just ugly. There's got to be contrast. I got
to see you your worst, your worst shot, your profile,

(02:54):
the shot that embarrasses you next to a shot you're
really proud of that. You look fantastic. You got to
send both photos with the hashtag muskox man. Well, actually
it could be a woman too, So we'll just go screw
that hashtag. Just just hashtag couching the Rube. Switching hashtags already. Yeah,
into the show, couching the Rube Muskox, Couching the Rube Muscos.

(03:16):
There we go, couch the room muskox all along, couching
the r musket make it hard. So this is for
the really dedicated folks. Couching the Rube muskos and two photos,
one of you at your best and that's the one
you love, and then what you're absolutely ugly to.

Speaker 5 (03:28):
Get a All right, what was the hashtag against it?

Speaker 4 (03:31):
In the Rube Muskos? And capital you have to capital letters,
no capital and we'll find it. Just couching the Rube
muskox and throw no no, no, none of that. So
just that will be that's our thing you have till
the end of this week. So anytime this week, uh,
and I'll mention it one more time and I'll keep
the hashtag the same as we as we continue to

(03:53):
uh to mention it. How you doing man? Instead of
boo boo, no, it's gonna be a show. I mean
I felt all of fred human what's up, buddy, Yeah, it's.

Speaker 5 (04:06):
Not all call Cob. I mean, the Lions saved our weekend.
Thank god lost at school's start with the Tigers, so
we're down to two out of the three. It was
a bummer kind of a weekend. But again, thank god
for the Lions.

Speaker 4 (04:18):
Anyway, we have about eighty to one hundred listener takes. Yeah,
we'll see. I should just get to him right now.
You want us to start like spin zoning this. No, No,
I got this guy JR.

Speaker 5 (04:30):
Junior in the YouTube chat here. He's like, hot take
fire the Rube before he can say fire Jonathan Smith.
And I'm like, Junior, do you listen to the show
at all?

Speaker 4 (04:39):
Like I don't.

Speaker 5 (04:40):
I've never I don't want Jonathan Smith fire. You're not
a quick to fire guy. I'm listen. I can understand.
I'm also not a guy that really wants to give
him the thirty million dollars instead of buying him out.
I'm not saying fire him. I want Jonathan Smith to succeed.
I just don't see any juice in the program right now.
So it's just you know, there's two different things. You
can be pro and have Jonathan Smith make you eat

(05:02):
some sort of crow and I'm willing to do that,
but he's not doing that right now. So let me
just play this so you can do it.

Speaker 4 (05:17):
MSU fans deserve better than the spin zone today, but
I'll give I'll give a little bit here. The toxicity
is beyond certainly what Jonathan Smith deserves, right. It is
if you go online, it's like and we don't go online.
Hold on. What I'm saying is this sort of toxicity

(05:38):
would have sunk time azo nineteen ninety five. He lost
to Detroit three straight years to start his career. MSU
fans would have missed the last three decades of Izzo
had they taken this approach with him. Now. That said,
and I think there's I think one of the things
that I wrote this in the column about the idea
that every game feels like a referendum and there is

(06:02):
a part where there's just no in between. It's like this,
you can't even have a season, you can't even let
things play out week by week. It's already this is
what is. He has to be fired. There's no room
to This doesn't look great like. I think that's part
of the part of the issue I have with some
of the comments, just on the idea that let things
play out a little bit. The man still hasn't coached

(06:22):
the second game against Michigan. All of that said, this
was a really concerning, I would say, disheartening performance for people,
and one that for a lot of people hopeful the
Jonathan Smith's the guy or hoping they move on and
have been out of his camp for a little while. Disheartening.

(06:46):
Do I say disheartening already? I might say disheartening, but
certainly reason to It exacerbates those reasons. It exacerbates those feelings.
Sounds like you're at a loss for words. Sorry, you're
like out of spin for this thing. I have no
spin for this. I'm not going to spin it. There
really isn't.

Speaker 5 (07:04):
But can I ask you real quick though, those that
you read some of the comments, any of those people
do you respect Other than that, there are lots of
people will want lots of that's your thing.

Speaker 4 (07:14):
There are lots of really reasoned, smart MSU fans who
are either out on him or or out or don't
believe like me, like I just don't believe it I'm
somewhere somewhere in between or one or the other. I
think one of the things that they're three and two.

(07:35):
They're playing a season where it was always supposed to
be a season that was about getting some momentum, and
they don't have momentum right now. But they're three and two.
They're five games into a twelve game season. He's seventeen
games into his tenure. The problem is when you play
USC and you lose, that's a game you're going to
lose nine out of ten times on the road. That's

(07:55):
an understandable loss. And they didn't lose that game. I
didn't feel like because of coaching. They lost that game
because they weren't as good as USC. This was a
game they lost where they looked less prepared than their
opponent coming out of a bye called the Nebraska tried
to give it away too. They didn't look any worse
at the lin or, they didn't look any worse at
the line of scrimmage. It looked completely winnable. It was

(08:16):
a game they despite all those things. They led in
the third quarter, they had come back to lead. It
was a game they should have won based on everything
you saw at the field. On the field between the
two teams, and they didn't coach that well, and they
made a number of mistakes coming out of a bye week.
They just looked like an undisciplined team, and they didn't

(08:37):
look like a team that had a great game plan.
I thought the offensive approach. What really bothered me from
just a watching football standpoint, was the offensive approach. When
you have Nick Marsh and you have Omari Kelly, and
you have Grayshan McCrae who's got speed, and you are
continuing to push the ball downfield into the wind or

(08:58):
with the wind at your back, and it's not working.
You got to feature those guys. Those guys are your
difference makers. Those guys are your weapons. And m kelly
had three targets. Most of mccray's were downfield. I think
Nick Marsh had six. Like that just can't happen. And
you know, I have I this is the one area

(09:19):
in football. And I'm not a football savant. I am
not somebody who knows who can and watch a game
and watch the All twenty two and know exactly always
went went wrong. But I one of the things I
have very little tolerance for is somebody watching football having
covered Western Michigan having lived in Kalamazoo. Was the one
thing that coach did well for sure Bill Cubitt back

(09:40):
then is he could feature a wide out against anybody.
He had a third string quarterback pretty much at a
game at Virginia that was in the top twenty five
with Greg Jennings, and so they couldn't really throw the
ball downfield, but Jennings still had sixteen catches. They just
found a way to get him the ball. They worked,
they built, they featured him, they moved him around, they
built the offense around him, and you're just not seeing

(10:03):
that like you have. You have guys on your team
that you real difference makers, pros, weapons that you've got
to find and some of that look. Childs did not
play well and he reverted back to last year in
terms of his eyes looking around, and the pass protection
was bad. One of the ways out of that is
a quick passing game featuring guys moving around, and you
have to build a game plan to do that. And granted,

(10:27):
you know, maybe you show up and the wins worse
than you thought it was going to be, and it's
harder to do some of the things you want to do.
You've got to adjust. You've got to find a way
to feed that to me, of all the things like
it was interesting. Jonathan Smith talked today about the special teams,
and I think they had bought into the idea that
was a real strength of years of THEIRS, and Nebraska
then noticed a vulnerability and took advantage of it. And

(10:48):
that's something they got to be very careful of. They
try to be, you know, he's not a guy. We
talk about his lack of emotion. They try to be
some you know, he tries to be somebody who win
or lose, is even keeled and of self evaluating. But
I don't think they were with the special teams, and
it bit them, and they've got to be better in

(11:08):
that sense. I just think for all their blunders and
all the things that went wrong, the fact that if
they had just simply had that approach with the passing game,
I think they win this game. I think Chiles has
a better day. I think they find some rhythm and
I don't really understand why they didn't.

Speaker 5 (11:23):
And you know, what would you think of Smith's comments
after the game about the offensive line that Celari tweeted
out there. I thought that was was interesting, was it
a guy caught up at the moment and said something
like that, because there's no way that he would say
something like that today.

Speaker 4 (11:38):
He said it differently today. He said, after watching on film,
it was worse than he thought. The protection was the problem.
And I think we all sort of saw that, and
maybe because.

Speaker 5 (11:45):
I hate to say it, it felt like one of those
moments like a coach saying something like that and you're
going like, oh boy, here we go.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
That's not a good sign. And it's interesting because he's
a former quarterback and I do think he sort of
sees the game as a quarterback sometimes. So one of
the things he talked about was not just Child's mister,
but where Childs is supposed to be standing, Matt, Like,
if the offensive line is expecting, you know, this amount
of feet drop, seven step drop and you're at nine
and a half, Like there are times where I don't
think he is where he's supposed to be, or was

(12:11):
where he's supposed to be, but the edge was not set.
They struggled there. The right tackle position was a real prole.

Speaker 5 (12:19):
You mentioned a former quarterback, and it's like with Brian
ln Gren and talking about Marsh because he say it
all the time. It's like you should be getting that
guy or throwing it his way every other down. I
think Nick marsh that is right. I mean, why is
he not for some reason and getting targeted more? I mean,
just throw the ball up to him at some points
and let him do some sort of magic, especially if
he's single covered. I mean, I just I don't understand

(12:41):
some end a rounds. Get the guy, get the ball
in his hands. However, you got to do it no
matter how bad the offensive line is. Run a friggin
wildcat or something. If you have to with Nick Marsh
as a quarterback, throw them off if nothing else is
working and the offensive line is breaking down constantly for Chiles.
But yeah, Childs made some terrible throws in that game,
But you know, are you gonna sit there? I'm more

(13:01):
concerned with why isn't he targeted marshmore and just throwing
it up to him when things aren't working out. You
can't find a guy open to me Nick Marsh.

Speaker 4 (13:08):
And I understand he was ill a little bit during
the week, and that's a whole different issues. These football
players they put their hands in their eyes and their
nose and all this stuff like that's a germ issue.
You got to teach people that they are all ill.
That ought to be like we're all getting some sort
of flu. Like what are you talking? Come on man, freshman? Uh,
freshman orientation for football players needs to be do not
touch your face. Okay, that's how you get sick. Never
touch your face. And if you're an important player to

(13:29):
the team, don't be around when somebody coughs you get
out of their way. With COVID all over again. I'm
just talking about these kids are like nineteen premier athletes. Yeah,
don't touch your face. That's that's all I'm saying. If
you don't touch your face, chances are you don't get
you don't get sick. Yeah, he should be targeted. You know,
double digits twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen times a game every game.
Six is just not something.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
It's lingering to speak this week. I mean, I just
I'm saying, like, you don't have to harp on these
guys if they can sit there and talk, and like,
why aren't you getting Nick marsh the ballmore?

Speaker 4 (13:56):
I think you're I think Child's and both coordinators are
going to talk this week, so that'll be good. And
I think you know, to Smith's credit, there's been some accountability.
People's frustration with Smith is twofold. The football doesn't look
that great. It doesn't look different year to year. They
don't see progress.

Speaker 5 (14:11):
But it's not just Smith, though. It hasn't looked good
for a while grand and that's unfortunately Smith's problem. Now, yes,
this is the brunt so for ten years of a
football he is Unfortunately, yes, he is a product of people.
This is pent up frustration. This is for you know,
and and you know, one of the things that helps

(14:32):
me is and look, I'm not telling you shouldn't feel
that way. It's been a frustrating most of a decade.
It's been a frustrating few years. You watch your rival
really rise, regardless of how they did it or what
you feel about that they won a national title. Right,
you've lost a foothold in that rivalry. The coach you hired,
coaches worst game last year in that rivalry. You just

(14:55):
and meanwhile, your program just doesn't seem to be taking
the step towards that that level of football and a
level that you once knew. But a lot of that
did start before and what he took over is part
of the issue. Hang on, give me some how for
one second.

Speaker 4 (15:20):
Where I am and I just I'm sorry. That's Pep Pete.
I love Robin Alex. But yeah, they're they're the they're
they're very loud here. I had to shut the door
in the studio. I can't. I just can't. You know me,
I cannot.

Speaker 5 (15:38):
Hearing well because your headphones are up louder than most.

Speaker 4 (15:41):
Yeah. Yeah, anyways, I can't. I can't. I can't deal
with it.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
And you're looking at something up. I thought you were
storming out or something. I'm out here, not taking off. Okay,
I'm back, I'm back now. The issue, Look, the issue
is is is twofold. It's what's transpiring under him, and
it's what he took over and how long things have
been going and and I get that, but that's where

(16:05):
the emotional impatience and frustration begins with people. And so
that's a really hard thing to overcome. And he's not
the greatest rador in the world. He's not somebody who connects.

Speaker 4 (16:17):
With how he speaks or you know, he's just not
an he's not a guy who's an easy social connector, right,
And so, so is.

Speaker 5 (16:25):
That a guy that you're excited about running your program
in a twenty twenty five scenario where you've got nil
and does matter.

Speaker 4 (16:31):
That's all I'm saying. Doesn't matter if you win. It
doesn't matter if you win. But they haven't won yet
and people don't see a path to it and they're
just and they're frustrated and so but.

Speaker 5 (16:40):
Your description of Smith and his personality, it just goes
explain to me what would be the worst scenario case
scenario for a personality for a head coach for your
you know, college football team that you root for. And
if you describe that guy like ah, is that gonna
work here?

Speaker 4 (16:54):
A lot of guys have stuck around if you fifteen
years ago, hold on, if a lot of guys have
stuck around, if you like playing for the guy, if
you trust him, we don't know what he's like in
a living room, and in the nil area, you can
argue it's better because resources matter more than Lamborghini's and Swagen.
So I'm not saying, you know what matters for Jonathan
Smith is that he starts having his team have performances

(17:21):
that show competence, that occasionally overperform, that show progress instead
of always being defined by shortcomings. Right And that's what
he needs to happen to win back the fan base
or to keep those who are hopeful still with him.
And you know, the other question is how relevant all

(17:42):
of this is given you know, there is a new
athletic director, but he's got this massive thirty two thirty
three million dollar buyout that, like I mean, people talk about,
you know massive, It is a huge. It's huge, and
you better be right if you're going to do that.
And the other thing, if you're going to lay off,
you know, a percentage of your university employees and then

(18:03):
you're gonna be able to come up with thirty million
for football, better be sure you're again you're getting rid
of a guy who you know, I just think you're
not there yet. I don't, and I know a lot
of people are. But I think unfortunately some of it
stems from this being more than seventeen games for a
lot of people, because it's it's it, it goes.

Speaker 5 (18:18):
What could the final record be for to get there
this season? You're just saying, no matter what the record
is this season, do not buy about put that thirty
two million buyout money and let him cook and let
him work. I just don't know there's always the.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
Bobby Williams scenario, right if it's if you go oh
for the rest of the way and the team quits
Onny and there's just no you can have Martian childs
are already fighting against each other. They're not they're not fighting.
You have to pull the ripcord, you know. And but
I will tell you this, this this, I mean, I
want if you think about D'Antonio his worst, if you

(18:53):
think about and that was early social media days, I
think part of the problem is you just like I tried,
was their juice back then? I tried it. I tried
to do this. There were murmurs about getting rid of
Izzo for sure, the middle of ninety seven, ninety eight
or ninety Yeah, it's the American way after the Second
America has gone. And there was a poll in the

(19:14):
State Journal. There was an article in the State Journal, which,
by the way, I am quoted in as a teenager. Amazingly,
I went back to find this. It's embarrassing as hell.
I went back to find this this book. I was like,
because Ebling had talked about this pole yeah, fire Izzo,
and so they I don't know if it was a

(19:34):
formal poll but it was like an article on like
you know, interviewing fans, and somehow I got interviewed and
I didn't. I don't have no recollection of it because
I went back in all our archives and I finally
found it and all of a sudden my name popped
up in the middle of it. I was like, God, damn,
that's the taint. But you know, if what was going

(19:54):
on with him was and I'm not saying Jonathan Smith's izzo,
a lot of guys when it doesn't start quickly, year
doesn't go well early, won't make it won't be the
right answer. You do have a new athletic director. It's
unclear how he feels about Jonathan Smith right now. But again,
it's five games in and there's just no in between.
Right now, It's like guys either fired, no hope, some

(20:16):
you know, there's there's no room for.

Speaker 5 (20:20):
So let's take the fire, the no hope out of
the equation. I'm talking about just juice in the program
right now, out of u c l A and Michigan
State on a Monday, right now, who has more juice
in their program?

Speaker 4 (20:30):
Well, Michigan State's in a far better place, but UCLA
has more juice because they just want a game. They
want a game. It's one day they.

Speaker 5 (20:36):
Got new Heiseel's kid, his offensive coordinator, you know what,
carrying him off. I'm just saying all those guys say
in the future is bright for u c l A.

Speaker 4 (20:44):
L A is firing. Every every mffort getting carried off
the other day is about to be fired u c
l A. They've still got no fan base. You gotta
find the right coach. And yeah, they're they're gonna have
to find the right coach. But there're no that place
isn't a bad spot. You can get caught up in
the moment. This was a really bad moment for Michigan
State football and this was a bad game, and you

(21:04):
can't keep having those games. But five games in, there
was a chance they were going to lose at Nebraska.
There was a chance they were going to be three
and two, and I you know, I'm not.

Speaker 5 (21:16):
Hypothetically Let's say, how like it looks terrible on Saturday,
La UCLA comes in and beats Michigan State.

Speaker 4 (21:22):
Then where are we at? Right like?

Speaker 5 (21:24):
And then we have to just wait through the season.
But yeah, what do you mean where are you at?

Speaker 4 (21:28):
So I don't know.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
I'm not where are you at? I know where I
am at currently right now. There's no juice in the program.
I'm not excited about it. Do I want the guy
fired today? No?

Speaker 4 (21:37):
I want to say, I gotta be honest with you.
I want to watch the season play out. I want
to watch the season playout. I want to watch how
they handle this weekend. I want to watch how they
go to Indiana. I want to watch them play Michigan.
I want more data. You know, this was a bad
game on the road. I'm okay with that. I haven't
played with that. I'm just asking they haven't played a
home Big ten game yet. Let's see them like, let's
see three Big ten opponents. Well, it has not been

(22:00):
good to yet. But he's all I'm saying. It's just like,
there's no juice. There's no excitement for the program. The
recruiting thing is above my head. I know they're twenty
seventh for the next year, for the twenty sixth class.
Is that good? I don't know.

Speaker 5 (22:10):
Is that juice should to be excited about that? That's
all I'm saying. Let's see where they are at.

Speaker 4 (22:15):
You. I mean, it was interesting today they had a
kid who quote unquote decommitted, who never committed, a four
star receiver. And again I would remind people that there
are nobody's committed in college football at this point zero commits.
Michigan say, has the same amount commits as Alabama, Michigan, Ohio.
I say, everybody, none of these kids committed, they are
They live on emotional whims too. You do need momentum,

(22:37):
you do need this month to look better. But again,
it's if you think you have a competent coach and
you owe him a ton of money anyway, and you're
you know, let the man try to build something. It's
just part of the problem is today. And I understand
you don't need as much time as you used to,
but given where they took over the program, it's really

(22:58):
hard given the state of the program. Like I do
not think Kurt Signetti takes over Michigan State last year
and is in the playoffs. I don't think he did.
I don't think even if he brings him out, you
don't like him though. You just hate him. I don't
like his scheduling philosophy. You don't like his face, No,
I like his face. I don't like his scheduling, philosophy.
He's got a stupid looking face. That's one of those
said about him tenants. That drives me absolutely nuts. All Right,

(23:20):
what's your first take?

Speaker 1 (23:21):
Iguna Yaba Gita, Jared God, Oh.

Speaker 5 (23:27):
You might as well talk about something good yesterday. Let
me ask you something, Graham, and you're forty six years
on this earth. What is the best offense you've ever
seen in the NFL?

Speaker 4 (23:38):
Fo? Yeah? Or the show on turf? Right? Ninety five
Lions last seven games with the regular season Herman More,
Johnny Morton, Brett Pairman.

Speaker 5 (23:46):
The Lions lead the NFL with twenty two touchdowns scored
in twenty twenty five, producing thirteen passing tds, eight rushing tds,
and one punt return td The only other team in
NFL history to produce those touchdown totals through the first
five games of any season was the two thousand Rams.
The Greatest Show on Turf? Ben Johnson, who is what

(24:08):
we're saying today?

Speaker 4 (24:09):
On this Monday?

Speaker 5 (24:10):
They beat the Bengals, listen, Man, Jake Browning was tough
at the end there when you especially when you lose
every single cornerback you have on your roster. Hopefully Rock Yes,
Sin and Arnold they're gonna be all right. But yeah,
it wasn't great at the end. Wasn't the finish that
we wanted with Jake Brownie. But Jamar Chase and t
Higgins are there are good. Yeah, it's a win against Cincinnati,
but hey, we're moving on. We're going to Kansas City.

(24:32):
It's exactly where. Yeah, four and one out of a stretch,
you know, you should have been four and one out
of It's a really good look.

Speaker 4 (24:40):
Then Sam Laporta looked great yesterday. Jared Goff. They look
like a team that's in the middle of their window.
And that's great because there was a lot of a
lot of a lot of the windows over talk the
four or five weeks ago, and I would remind people that,
who see, here's the thing.

Speaker 5 (24:53):
But after that Packer game we did we talked about it. Well,
the season wasn't over, but god, that was a terrible
start to your season, the way they started. They came out.

Speaker 4 (25:01):
So but think about how you said that. I think
that's important. I think that's important now with m s U.
I think that's what was important then with the Lions,
and look, we're doing a take show, so fly off
the till we're asking for takes. I'm not I'm not
criticizing the idea of having a take, but it's this
definitiveness that that like, there was a lot of the
Lions window is over. Not boy, that's not a great look.

(25:22):
It's there's a lot of right now. Jonathan Smith can't
do it. They're not gonna win another game, you know,
instead of boy that really Sasset Liquor was tweeting that out.
It's not really promising, yea. And those are people you
don't really care about. Well, no, there's lots of good.
That's the smart people saying it.

Speaker 5 (25:37):
And and like who Nate, give me one name, Bill Simmons.
Oh wait, he's not smart.

Speaker 4 (25:44):
We'll go through them. Uh here in a second, do
we have anything on the Tigers Before we get to that,
we want to know you want to get depressed about
the Tigers.

Speaker 5 (25:49):
And Steve Steyn quarter Detroit scampling.

Speaker 4 (25:58):
And yawny. I mean, what can you say about it?
Losing a school ball start sucked. They're owing three against
the Mariners.

Speaker 5 (26:06):
It's a big dumper. Big dumper is a dumb nickname.
I'm sorry, not even hating against cal Rally. I mean
great hit sixty home runs as a catcher. The big Dumper?
Is that a nickname that you would want? What if
your nickname was the big blumpkin?

Speaker 4 (26:21):
Well, after today's hot takes, if there might be a
few who are going, I do hear your voice in
my head when I take a ship. It's an unfortunate
situation and most quote, yeah.

Speaker 5 (26:32):
I could have swore we talked about a blunkin before, like,
but we've done so many of these shows that it
bleeds together.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
Made me laugh. I don't remember the blunking conversation.

Speaker 5 (26:40):
Crazy anyway, But yeah, so go Tigers. I mean, it's
just sucks losing that game too.

Speaker 4 (26:45):
It's uh, especially with schoolbul but it's it's it's it's
not great. Boys. Let's start hitting here, all right, Let's
let's take into these listener takes. Oh yeah, I need those.
Hold on, I got you woo. You're pulling that up. Sorry,
I didn't know you were. You're off your game here?
Why why you're pulling those up? A reminder if you

(27:07):
are looking for ways to watch the Tigers, to watch
the Lions, or even watch Michigan State, and you want
to watch multiple games at once, so you don't have
to just watch Michigan State. Infinity has the multiview. Uh.
They've also got great packages for you know, for for
cable for internet, home internet, for for mobile as well

(27:29):
in their coverage area for mobile, same as Verizon. Better deals. Okay,
go to Infinity dot Com. You can type in your
address see what's available for you. They're great with customer service.
Just uh. I was telling you guys, just last week
I had to I had to make a quick switch
upgrade the upgrade the cable package for a game for
SEC network so I could watch a game with a
buddy and Boom, did it quickly, right away we had

(27:51):
the game. It was great. Actually got a better deal
now paying less than I was before at Exfinity dot Com.
Put in your address and chances are they'll find a
deal for you better than you can get somewhere else.

Speaker 5 (28:02):
Boom, I got it. Let's go Eric Schultz up first.
Number one that was as critical of a column i've
as the boot was Number one that was as critical
a column as I've ever seen. From coach roll start
to MSU has a better chance of going three and
nine than they do seven and five and three. If
the billionaires and Jim he Os feel like they are

(28:23):
going to have a seat at the table with picking
the next coach. Batt'll have no problem raising thirty million
to send Smith packet pound the bushes rights.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
Yeah, I'm gonna have to what if dev don have
to watch myself. My resentment toward the billionaires is going
to have something to keep an eye on, because I
you know, if you read about it, if you're not,
if you're never, if you're not going to give the
previous coach the resources ever to do it, and then
you decide, you know, because you're a little you're.

Speaker 5 (28:52):
Okay when something just doesn't feel right, though, I mean,
can you have that thought, you know what I mean, Like.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
You can be you can be really concerned about this.
You can think that Jonathan Smith probably not the guy.
I look. My dad said to me after David Thomas
Smith's two free throws to lose the Temple in nineteen
ninety seven, in December, we're at Breslin Center. I don't
know if isoh is gonna make it right? And I
remember that very vividly. That was a hot take back then,
and you know, but he didn't have Twitter. My dad

(29:19):
didn't go back right, fire off the Twitter machine and
like and then they went and you know what they
did that year they won the Big Ten championship, but
they had lost to Detroit three straight years. They weren't
very good. It did not look promising. And so it's
fine to have those feelings. And I think that's a
man talking to his son. You know, they're safe things
out loud. You don't mean something. This is a safe waight.
Nobody else hears. It's just you, me and in the listeners.
So know, like a thousand people, we're good, we're good.

(29:42):
The unfortunately for you, it's a few more than don't. Yeah,
if you have private thoughts, don't don't don't don't don't
say them here.

Speaker 5 (29:50):
Or if you want your job, hold on the air. Yeah, right,
don't tell Couch.

Speaker 4 (29:55):
I may do that. The idea that they're more than
two ideas. That column I wrote, you know, I didn't
was overly critical. I just tried to laster the situation.
Well you yeah, if you go back to the end
of the D'Antonio era twenty nineteen, was was some real
well not to even every week Chris McCosky couldn't spend
that shit. The better chance of three to nine than
seven and five right now, I would say, hmm, that's

(30:19):
really close. To be honest, well, that text your because
that's losing the UCLA, which I guess could happen. Yeah,
I would probably say that is true. Yeah, ce Seginga.

Speaker 5 (30:29):
Next, if today's Twitter spear existed in two thousand and nine,
everyone would be calling for d'antonio's head, and half of
those defending him would suggest he needed a new DC.
Not saying Jonathan Smith is or isn't the guy, but
building a strong roster takes time and or money. He's
not had enough of either.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
Yeah. The bottom line in college football, and this is
this is my one issue with the anti Smith stuff,
is that it still takes a minute to reshape a
roster and build a roster and develop a roster in
a sport where you gotta have older guys to win,
and he has not had the nil resources that some
other places have had. And so again the problem with

(31:07):
this week, however, is that you went into a place
where the talent you weren't at a talent deficit, and
you just didn't look as prepared and didn't coach as well.
And that's the problem. People can deal. They may not
like it, but people can deal with the talent deficit.
Games you lose as long as there's a plan to

(31:29):
eventually equal out that talent or get there where you
can compete with them. What they can't stand is when
it looks like it did Saturday. You just can't have
too many of those.

Speaker 5 (31:38):
Oh and I have a really hard time trusting this
MSU team to put together a complete game to find
more than one win on the schedule.

Speaker 4 (31:47):
If you at best, if you at best.

Speaker 5 (31:51):
They only win one more game, then I don't see
how Smith is coaching next year.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
Yeah, sorry, I should have edited that better. If it
one more game, so they're four and eight at the
end of this year, that would be a pretty tough go,
especially if it's this weekend and you know you've losed,
you know, your final six games, it gets trig The
thing is, again, you've got to have the will if

(32:17):
something like that were to happen, would you you know?
And that's the thing, Like, but.

Speaker 5 (32:21):
Four and eight and all of a sudden, you're like
for next year, You're like, all right, here's thirty mili.

Speaker 4 (32:25):
I just I don't think that's gonna happen. I don't
think this is going to come off the rails to
the level some people think.

Speaker 5 (32:31):
All right, Matt c Number one, Firing a coach in
season never works, Graham, it took UCLA's interim coach one
week to do something more impressive than Smith has done
in two years. MSU football is a joke, and two
it's official. What Alan Haller did to MSU football is
on par with what fascists did to Europe in the forties,
complete and utter destruction and baked. My only hope for

(32:53):
the MSU football team is since none of the billionaires
wanted John Noel Smith here, and they'll cut the thirty
million dollar check to get ned Flanders out of here.
Time to root for three and nine. Hey, why don't
you just keep John L.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
Smith? Buy a few defensive ends and maybe higher back.
Some of the guys have been laid off at MSU.
I mean, it's just it's just fucking football, you know, Like,
how about the rest of the university? What do you
do you care there? I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just
this is where I get a little like, it's just sports.
It's just sports what you're saying. Yeah, I mean this
is my job. I was about to say, then why
do you even do your job? Why do we have
to hear shit? Then it's it's the it's it's the

(33:29):
sistic boy football. Now, why can't we be in big
boy football? I don't understand why it's so tippy toe.
I feel bad for Jonathan Smith getting the blame for
the past decade, But Jesus man, you talk about.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
It like it you know what I mean, It's like, oh,
how dare you even bring up the thought? It's just
there's no juice. But even Haller knew that his legacy
would be tied to Jonathan Smith. So whatever happens with
Jonathan Smith is going to.

Speaker 4 (33:51):
Be you can't fire Haller and he's you're already out there.
But like, but like, if Jonathan Smith were to have
a really successful tenure, the his you know, the way
Alan Haller's perceived, you know, years.

Speaker 5 (34:02):
And night and Gale Nightingale.

Speaker 4 (34:04):
Oh no, he has he has some things on his
resume that are that are good and then there have
been some you know, if Robin Freelik has a really
good kid ten Yeah, like, no, I'm not Alan Haller
will be even if Jonathan Smith doesn't work out, or
even if Ja Batt doesn't give him the time to
let it work out or whatever they decide that would,
that would he will still have some wins on his resume.
But ultimately, you're defined as an ad by what you

(34:26):
do with your football coach, and Jay Bat knows that too,
and so he'll have to figure that out. The one
thing Jay Batt has going for is that this is
not his staff hire. This is not like he has.
Every AD gets at least one football coach higher in
them usually, and so, uh, you know, he has time
to like, he has the excuse to let this play

(34:49):
out because hey, that may be the wise thing to do,
it may be the financially prudent thing to do. And
then when he pulls, like, nobody's gonna blame Jay Bat
if it's still a year and a half from now,
if things haven't worked out, and that's when he makes
the move, right, there also is the financial implications to it,
and it's it's but again, I just five games in.

(35:13):
This was a bad week, and there were a lot
of bad games, and there need to be some good ones,
there need to be some promising ones. But it's just
to me, it's just unhelpful. The toxicity that that kind
of goes with this right now, this idea that it's
I mean, and the UCLA's interim coach, he beat a
team that was bummed out on a after a lost

(35:35):
Oregon flew across the country and no showed and uh,
you know we saw it with Harlan Barnett. They won.
They won a game, you know, like it happened. Like
I'm going to tell you right now. I think I
think UCLA is going to lose big to Michigan State.

Speaker 5 (35:51):
I think they're, by the way breaking another breaking news. Yeah,
Pittsburgh just scored again on Boston College.

Speaker 4 (35:57):
There you go, there you go. That team is quick
in college. I just quick.

Speaker 3 (36:02):
They quit.

Speaker 4 (36:02):
They've got a lot of injuries, but that has gone badly.

Speaker 5 (36:05):
Should we just be betting against Boston College?

Speaker 4 (36:08):
They got Clemson this week, and I think they're only
like a five or six point underdog or something. Maybe
it's more than that nine. Whatever it is. It's like
you do look at it and you go, I don't
maybe maybe that's I don't.

Speaker 5 (36:18):
Know, Matt Salisbury next they might not win another game.

Speaker 4 (36:22):
Yeah, I think They're gonna win big this week because
I think big. I think UCLA's gonna be drunk till Wednesday.
They're gonna fly across the country and play a nine
am start, and we'll see. I mean, maybe it could
go a couple of different ways for UCLA. Maybe this
is the invigorating moment and they're feeling good about themselves
and they're gonna keep it rolling, or at least try
to the other side of it is that was their moment,

(36:43):
and this staff isn't gonna be around anyway, and it
falls apart from here.

Speaker 5 (36:48):
David Jackson next, I cannot believe that MSU had no
better option at right tackle.

Speaker 4 (36:53):
That was a D two. That was D two stuff.

Speaker 5 (36:55):
And my god, the special teams coach has to go
kicking into a forty mile pro our wind our deeper
tournament were will actually deep leaving the kickoff to be
fielded by a couple of linebackers.

Speaker 4 (37:07):
Sheesh well, And the other thing is that the linebackers
did not I mean, that should have been Sam Edwards
ball and a teammate kind of came in and got
in the way, and so that there was a miscommunication there,
which is which is part of the problem. But yeah,
the the right tackle thing was real, and I think

(37:27):
they got to put Connor Moore back over there, but
you just it. Look, yeah, it was bad. It was bad.
It was you know, I walked watched the game back through,
and there are moments where you watch the game back
through and there are plays where at the time you
do think, boy, that's on Ashton Leppo, for example, and
then it's not really But there are a lot of

(37:49):
plays where it was rough too.

Speaker 5 (37:50):
That's why you crushed tape, Markamachi. Next, Oh, for the
Big ten? Is the real possibility. Good coaches lose when
they get beat Bad coaches lose because they beat themselves.

Speaker 4 (38:01):
You tell me which we've seen this season. Well, certainly
this last game you saw bad coaches beat themselves. You
saw some defensive improvement. I think you saw some good
coaching at times against Boston College when they won a
close game. But yeah, this is Look this whole season,
these guys are getting paid a lot of money to
build a program and to win, they're gonna have to

(38:23):
look it's gonna have to look different. They're gonna have
to go to Indiana and have it look different. They're
gonna have to play Michigan and have it look different.
They're gonna have to go to Minnesota and have it
looked like it's got to look different, but they've got
seven games left to do. I just don't buy into
the idea that it can't like that this staff's incapable
of it. And that's that's I think the difference. Now.

(38:44):
I know a lot of people are just out on them,
or they don't like this personality, or they don't think
he has enough of one. But I don't necessarily think
this staff. I don't think this is a bad staff.
But they did have a bad week, and again, those
you just can't have too many of those.

Speaker 5 (39:00):
Andrew Gotier cold take, MSUs O line is a serious problem.
Hot take. With the addition of a five stars center
and another strong wing, MSU hoops is looking at its
strongest class in a couple decades. End Bonus College Football
commercial breaks our ass.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
The Izzo recruiting wise has been Man, that guy's still grinding.
It's pretty amazing closet. You know what I think separates
him from like the way Beeheim finished is there is
still I think this fee is grumpy. Well no, but
what I mean is Beheim I think lost the love

(39:39):
for the grind. He was never a grinder the same
way he was, but he was a you know, home
by six o'clock guy. But the I think there's still
part of Izzo that fears he can lose at all.
Like I think that fear of losing the talent, of
not working his ass off, of knowing he didn't work
his ass off for every recruit drives him. It may

(40:01):
eventually drive him into the ground. But at age seventy,
he's like, I just hearing his schedule on the recruiting
I was exhausted last week. It was pretty impressive. It's
the American way, except the America has gotten sold.

Speaker 5 (40:16):
Dave Laken. After watching a weekend of college and NFL football,
I find that the NFL is much more watchable than college.
Whoever manages the TV contracts for college football needs to
adopt the NFL rule for TV timeouts. Please. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (40:31):
The Big ten and SEC need to have the courage
when they have these negotiations to demand that their product
is packaged better. And I understand these people are paying
a ton of money and they need the money. I
mean they're talking about needing more money. That's why there's
talk of private equity coming in. So they only have
so much leverage in this case, but the long term
viability of this sport relies on a better viewing experience

(40:55):
than exists today, and they've just got to do something.
A lazy approach from Fox right now. It's greedy and lazy,
but it's mostly lazy.

Speaker 5 (41:04):
Jebediah out Nebraska in Nebraska should be a fire bull
offence and bonus hot. Bryce Underwood is more athletic Andrew
Maxwell is it more athletic? Yeah, talented kid, no doubt,
but way too spicy.

Speaker 4 (41:16):
On his throws. So the and I had done that
comparison early on the type of throws I had seen
from him. The big difference is Maxwell, by the time
he became a starter, was like a red shirt junior,
and that was an issue for him. Bryce Underwood, Yeah,
he's got definitely has some heat, definitely needs to work
on touch, but he's a true freshman and I don't

(41:40):
know that that's necessarily going to be an issue for
him the way it was Maxwell in year four. Bryce
Underwood is still throwing with way too much heat on
certain passes. Then, Okay, that's an issue for Bryce Underwood
and maybe something that it's long term, but I you know,
he is that was an issue for Maxwell deep into

(42:01):
his career.

Speaker 5 (42:03):
Money Bag Next, this team looks no different than a
Mel Tucker team in terms of mental mistakes, discipline, and preparedness.
All three of those things have nothing to do with
having talent. It's inexcusable and bonus if you're right that
Smith gets three years no matter what, we're less than
halfway through. Things better improve in a big way or
it's going to be a long year and a half.

Speaker 4 (42:23):
See my big question for people too, and and you're right,
both of these are are on point, money Bag, is
are people rooting for like one of my I mean,
I sense there are a lot of people that are
rooting for Smith to fail, not just Matt c but
like who want change to the point that they'd rather
have change than see Smith succeed. And that's a weird

(42:44):
place to be. Once you rather just have the football
coach you have succeed. Now, if there's a fear that
he's not the guy who gets you, where do you
want to be? And he can succeed enough to retain
his job for a while, and that you know, that's
a that's a fair way to feel. But I also
sense this this sort of feel out there that no
matter what, this guy's gotta go, I'd rather have somebody

(43:07):
else than this guy succeed. And that's kind of a
weird take to me.

Speaker 5 (43:10):
Scotty Green's El Camino number one. The lack of preparation
and special team's disaster is concerning. Even in d'antonio's down years,
the teams had more fundamentals than tackled well. Jonathan dry
Rye Smith should be worried. I am I the only
one that feels he doesn't seem totally bought into being
an MSU. And two, Jonathan Smith is about as exciting
as a tax audit. Talking to him must really tickle

(43:34):
your feathers couch. He's one bad loss away from losing
this fan base. And Adan Childs sucks under pressure. The
floor is lava anytime he feels pressure. Oh and fuck
the old line. I like the last part. Oh by
the way, Yeah, a lot of feelings there. Child's has
been really good before this game. He was not good

(43:54):
the other day, and I do think that the wind
was part of that. And I wrote in the column,
you know, I remember the Connor Cook ascension year where
he had a couple of good games and then they
played Purdue and they won fourteen nothing. He looked just
like complete ass. And then the next week he was
fifteen for sixteen. They beat Illinois forty two to three.
Like it's progress is not always linear. I'm curious to
see what Aiden Childs is next, because he had been

(44:15):
legitimately good this year, so I'm not you know, I'm
not gonna write off Eighten Childs. But he reverted back.
I think the wind got to him, that the pressure
got to him, and you know that that was not
a good Were the winds high all gamer was a
certain half, No, it was it was really really well
would you adjust to try That's what I'm meant, marsh
of just trying to get.

Speaker 4 (44:33):
Some yep, totally inexcusable and and you know, I mean
that's concerning. Like I think Brian Lindern's had a pretty
good year till now. I thought he was very good
at USC, but he was not good in this game.
And it was in what seemed obvious. And again we
talked about this before. The worst thing you can do
is a staff is screw up the obvious stuff that

(44:54):
every fan can see and I or every dumb ass
writer like me, and that to me was I mean,
I know coaches who would have done more and would
have had a better result with the weapons at their
disposal in those circumstances.

Speaker 5 (45:12):
Jay brew next John Smith's program quits during adversity. We
saw it at the end of twenty four. I saw
it again with two thirty left in the third when
Rayola converted a twenty four yard pass. The staff is
now three and eight in the Big ten.

Speaker 4 (45:25):
Yeah, but though last year, it's not really his guys yet, right,
And again, you can't wait for people when you're talking
about none of these coaches have time to really build culture.
I'm not going to hold any coach early in their
ten year, be it Smith or anywhere else about what
it looks like at the end when the guys you
brought in are mostly a few transfers and freshmen, Right,

(45:45):
that's not really I think there are lots of things
to look at. And I don't think they quit in
this game. I think they they screwed it up. Yeah,
I still think they're fight and fire. If if there's not,
we'll notice it. But I didn't see that in this situation.

Speaker 5 (46:06):
David P. People forget that there is one man on
the planet who had any remote success with DJ Yeah
as their quarterback, and that was Jonathan Smith. Let's maybe
give the man a well rounded roster before we set
ourselves back four years. The quickest way to success is
through Smith not starting over.

Speaker 4 (46:25):
It's a reasonable take. We we just don't know it yet,
you know.

Speaker 5 (46:29):
And well it's reasonable to you because that's your take time, And.

Speaker 4 (46:32):
It's like, I don't know that it's my take yet.
I'm not saying that either. I may sound like it
because it feels like I'm defending him because everything's so
stark the other way, and I'm trying to give alternative points.
I don't I'm not. I'm not all in on Smith
being the guy who's going to take MSU football, Uh,
you know to where people really want it. I you
know I have. But you want to wait till the

(46:53):
end of the season, Yeah, I want. I want to
let this play out a little longer. I want to
let the man have time what he was hired to
do and what I think he did a job at
his previous stop, and I think he's got a pretty
competent staff. And if it does not play out that way,
I'll write that. But you know, one of the things
in my role is you get one chance to write that, Colm,
you get one chance to say you write, you write
once that this isn't gonna work, and you don't. You

(47:17):
don't say it before you know it.

Speaker 5 (47:19):
Youoper car all next two and seven in conference is
looking best case scenario for MSU, which will make twenty
two to twenty five the worst four year stretch in
MSU conference history at ten through twenty six at ten
and twenty six at twenty eight percent. Nineteen eighty eighty
three was ten and twenty four at twenty nine percent. Also,
five and thirteen is the second worst two year by

(47:41):
any coach, behind John L. Smith three and thirteen in
two thousand and five. Six has to be time to
make a change.

Speaker 4 (47:50):
Well, let's let's see what Let's see what the math
is at the end of the year, right and again
when it took over, well, then then it's yea four eight.
Then you gotta dread. Yeah, if it's really bad, then
you you have those conversations and you look at what's feasible.
I think it's one of those things you'll know in
those those sort of circumstances. If if the momentum has gone.
If if the team were to sort of quit, I mean,

(48:10):
what was the thing that got Bobby Williams fired in
the middle of a year and really spelled the end
for him right when they asked if they lost he
lost the team and he said, I don't know, right,
and it was that was it. You can't you know,
you kind of know it if that sort of thing happens.
I just this team's three and two, and if they
beat UCLA at home this week's with their favor to
do by seven and a half points, there'll be four
and two at the midpoint of a season and they've

(48:31):
got to win two more games to get to a
bowl game, which I think by most people's approach with
what most people's thoughts would be would be progressed.

Speaker 5 (48:39):
But when you first heard Smith's comment about the offensive
line post game, like we talked about earlier, the one
that Salarry did, any part of you, you're like, because
when I read it, I go, oh boy, I knew
he'd not gonna lie.

Speaker 4 (48:49):
Yeah, I mean I knew he wasn't. I knew he'd
see differently when he watched the film. That's what I
knew because I because I was pretty confident because what
happened is when it started becoming an issue, I started
really paying attention to it during the game, like I'm
watching you know, a lot of times I watch the
game like I do watching a game that I'm just
watching to as I'm gambling ou under a fan or
whatever is is. I'm watching the ball and I'm watching that,

(49:11):
you know whatever. But if something starts becoming a theme
during the game, you're trying to figure it out. So
you're watching the offensive line, particularly, you're watching the replay
of the line.

Speaker 5 (49:19):
But you're watching it from up there where Jonathan Smith
has a field view, and which is as a former quarterback,
you think you had noticed the offensive line was.

Speaker 4 (49:26):
I think the field view is sometimes worse, and that's
why coordinators sit up high because the field had been a.

Speaker 5 (49:32):
Lawyer, you're good, Well, you have to understand the angles here.
It's not a good angle for Jonathan.

Speaker 4 (49:40):
It was not a great comp I knew as soon
as he said it. I was like, he's wrong, and
he's gonna take ship for it, and he probably shouldn't.

Speaker 5 (49:45):
Say Dan Grave next number one, James Franklin can't win
the easy ones now too. At least MSU has six
months of basketball that people care about, right, Graham? Absolutely,
three Childs and Marsh will be gone next season if
something doesn't change. And bonus, no reason to buy out
Jonathan Smith and the coaching staff. Instead give them thirty
million for them to use in transfers and recruiting. Smith

(50:06):
has a history of double digit wins. They have done
it once and once with eight wins. So maybe Smith
isn't as proven of a coach as we are led
to believe.

Speaker 4 (50:18):
Yeah, this is you know, this is right, the dilemma.
If you're going to spend the money, where do you
spend it? And again, this is the revshare era, and
so what does that look like to you have an
ad who's committed to doing it through legitim and nil
and the rev share. And this is the first year
of the revshare. But most of the teams they're playing against,
or some of the teams at the top they're playing against,
got a lot of their players pre redshare Revshare pre

(50:41):
July first. And so what what next year looks like?
I mean, this is still a real tricky time in
terms of transition, and if you're not willing to blow
through those those rules which you can argue they should
be willing to do. Then it's it's tricky to compete
from a resources standpoint. From a resources standpoint, Jonathan Smith
to this point in his career at MSU played with

(51:03):
one hand behind his back, and that is one you know,
I don't. We don't have enough time for a careful
of that one hand behind your back. That is why
they lose at USC. That is why they couldn't compete
last year with Ohio State in the Oregon. It is
not why they lost it Nebraska. And so again this
is a different This is why these these opinions from people,

(51:25):
while some are maybe more than I agree with, are
fair feelings to have, right, And it's not some of
it stemming from years before Smith and all that's pent up,
and he's bearing the brunt of that. But when you
go somewhere and play a game where your team makes
mistake after mistake after making and you look your approach
and your preparation looks inadequate, you're going to get these

(51:49):
responses because this was not a Jimmy's and Joe's loss,
and so they they can't have too many of those.
I mean, you just you lose people quick and one
of the previous commentars said, what one one's got one
more bad game in or one game away from losing
the fan base. I don't know if it's you know,
you can get the fan base back with a win
of Michigan, so they're opportunities still ahead. But like the UCLA,

(52:15):
it's a must win this weekend. This is a must win.
Like I keep saying that these referendum games are are
becoming too much, but this is one because if you
lose to UCLA, you're three and three and there's just
no way you're going three and three in the back
end off that and people would really this is an
enormous game. The last game was it was really big
because it was a game that was a chance to
be a pivot point for a season that was pretty

(52:37):
good and they blew it. This is a chance. You're
just trying to salvage the opportunity to have some momentum
and you got to win this one to have it.

Speaker 5 (52:45):
Is though for PZ next Cohen Carr is my savior.

Speaker 4 (52:49):
Let's go basketball. That is the thing that saves MSU fans,
and it also is probably one other things hurt MSU
football over the years that people come novemberic and go ah,
fuck that noise. I'm over here at Breslin and I'm
telling you those places in the South where they live
in body odor and sweat all year long and they
care about nothing else other than you know, they're families

(53:09):
in football and not in that order. Like there's something
to that. It matters down there. I mean they you know, take.

Speaker 5 (53:17):
A shot if you're playing the couch drinking game.

Speaker 4 (53:19):
Yeah, there you go. Yeah, it's a classic.

Speaker 5 (53:21):
Sparty barb on this hot take Monday. I'm going to
be positive. Number One cam Ward makes the All Big
Ten Freshman Team. Two MSU women's basketball sweeps USC and
UCLA this season. Three Gray's and fans saluting Logs in
ten double doubles this season. In bonus, Jackson Cohler makes
his first BAKES first Team.

Speaker 4 (53:41):
All Big Ten. It's a fantastic winner at Breslin if
those four things happen. First of all, Jackson Cohler's first
team All Big Ten, and I'm not saying he doesn't
have the capability of having a really good season, but
you're talking in the league now, it's eighteen. I mean,
I just had to do a bunch of these preseason
All conference team listings and rank kings and stuff like that.

(54:01):
When you get up to eighteen and some of the
team there are just a lot of dudes. It is
hard to make the all conference team. They are like
fifteen to twenty guys right now that you could see
being first or second team All Conference. And so if
he had that sort of year, that would be MSU.
It would mean MSU had a tremendous year. Way do
you use their name? Next?

Speaker 5 (54:22):
Number one tight, but undermanned is one thing loose and
undermanned is concerning. And two, I understand they want childs
to be passed first, but when that isn't working because
of the wind or his player or whatever, why not
run option His legs got a score and they didn't
go back to what was working.

Speaker 4 (54:41):
They didn't really didn't find anything that was work. I mean,
he was running out of necessity. But you're right, the
approach just wasn't very good. And the downfield approach when
by the way, that was Nebraska's strength. And you could
see even in those throws that were didn't have a
chance because they were overthrows or underthrows, the defense was
plaster Demishu's receivers had good defensive backs that was that

(55:01):
was a real strength of Nebraska. But how you beat
that quick moves underneath, quick passing game and they just
didn't do it?

Speaker 5 (55:09):
Uh, Ryan Rockwell Number one Jonathan Smith's Oregon State twenty
one to twenty two offensive line was the same flash
in the pan that Mel Tucker had with Kenneth Walker.
MSU has been too quick to pay guys they give
us a glimmer of hope of getting back to that
twenty thirteen to fifteen run. And to Jay Batts, msu
career will be defined by what he does at the
end of the season when the football team misses a

(55:30):
bowl game. Hashtag Carl Pat Fitzgerald.

Speaker 4 (55:36):
So the counter to the idea that ms she's been
too quick to pay guys or or higher guys that
have give him a glimmer of hope is you know.
Nick Saban was a but coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.
Nobody knew what he was going to do, and it
took a while. He had four mediocre years before they
had a great year and he left. Mark D'Antonio was

(55:58):
like seven and five at Cincinnati and as he left
with his players, Brian Kelly took the program to another level.
There have been a number of guys who have been successful,
who you'd consider great coaches, who you know you didn't
necessarily see it. Now, the question is when you give
somebody a buyout of this level. The problem is these
days to recruit the coach you want, sometimes you got

(56:20):
to do that, and so maybe you go with somebody
else in that situation. I mean, this is going to
be on Alan Haller. Whatever happens with Jonathan Smith and
if it works out, and it still could, Dan Haller
deserves credit for identifying somebody he thought was a really
good coach and making a savvy, shrewd move. If he
pissed off his some of his donors and did it

(56:43):
on his own and it doesn't work out and it
costs the university a lot of money, that'll be part
of his legacy too. But Michigan State has made a
lot of hires that haven't worked out over the years,
and Jonathan Smith, certainly, regardless of what happens, not the
worst of them because at the time it seemed like
a pretty smart hire.

Speaker 5 (56:59):
MCV Next, Nick marsh needs to go to a team
with a coaching staff that can better utilize his skill set.
If and when that happens, the Jonathan Smith era is
effective effectively over and bonus State, Penn State's ad needs
to realize that James Franklin needs his full fifty six
million dollar buyout. There are a lot of sports betters
he owes money to over the last decade.

Speaker 4 (57:20):
You're still betting on James Franklin. H Stop betting like
that would be my advice and big and big moments.
I think Marsha wants to be at MSU. I think
that those guys want this to work. I don't think
they feel like you do. I do think though, that
it was an inexcusable approach. They just you can't, you

(57:43):
can't do. You've got weapons like that like that is
those are your difference makers. It'd be one thing if
it's windy, but your receivers are just good. Your your receivers,
your receiving core is an elite receiving corps. Like if
you asked anybody outside of Ohio State, probably anybody outside
of Ohio State in the Big ten, if they would
take Michigan State's receiving Corps, led by Nick marsh Over

(58:05):
what they had, they would say, yeah, like that's your
advantage and so you got to use it better than
you did.

Speaker 5 (58:14):
Matt Salisbury next, the fact that Smith didn't see anything
wrong with the tackle is alarming.

Speaker 4 (58:19):
He did see it, just took him watching the film,
so you know, and I'm you know, when you're a
head coach, you're doing a lot. Again, it was not
a great It was an alarming comment when he made it.
If he still felt that way on.

Speaker 5 (58:33):
The defensive minded guy though, Like if he was a
defensive guy, like I could understand getting buy.

Speaker 4 (58:39):
That, but well, if you're somebody with a pulses watching
the tackle, you're like, oh my goodness now, but it
is It is interesting though you say that. Even in
the box. I was sitting next to Connor Eirgood from
the Detroit News, and he was replaying a number of
the sacks of Aiden Childs and a lot of the
pressures I think were on Lepo that right side, and

(59:00):
the tackles and all that stuff. But when you walk
back and looked at the individual sacks one by one,
just the sacks, which don't count the hurries and not
so Connor was watching that and you were like over
his shoulder watching I wasn't watching it. Yeah, I was
just breathing on his ear and anyway, but it wasn't. U.
Most of the things that you thought were on the

(59:21):
right side of that offensive line sometimes weren't or weren't
on the tackles, and so some of the things that
in real time you think that's an issue with the
tackles aren't. And so maybe even from a field standpoint,
he's thinking, nah, there's more to that, or this is
why this didn't work, or the quarterback should have done
this because he's been you know, I don't know. I
thought they were great. Yeah, it wasn't a great I.

Speaker 5 (59:41):
Guys played their hearts out over there. That's a good
ball club. It was not good performance by the time
Spartan Dog ninety seven. Smith's legacy will be him not
seeing anything wrong with the tackle play on Saturday and
him joking about checking the Dodgers score on the sideline
versus Michigan and bonus Haller did more damage to the
football program than McPherson did. Letting save in one.

Speaker 4 (01:00:00):
That's not true. That's not true. That's because the difference
and let let him go over five hundred k right,
it was yeah, I mean Saban yeah basically said McPherson
lied to him about them, so it was not great.
I mean, McPherson that very difference because of what Saban,
but can't I mean, the m SU's football program was
in shambles when that when Jonathan Smith took over, it

(01:00:20):
won't be any worse than shambles when he leaves, you
know what I mean? Like Saban, you lost. You know,
one of the great coaches of all time was in
your house and you didn't recognize it and you let
him get away, and you would have had him forever
because that itch to go to the NFL. I mean,
if Saban tells the story he knew the NFL is

(01:00:40):
a mistake. His agent basically says, he said, you know
which would you rather be the next Vinsulambardier? The next uh? Who?
The guy was? Uh? Who's Alabama's great coach of all
time before? Not Gene Stallings chief Salling is a good coach,
but the first guy that popped and he said, Bear

(01:01:03):
Bryant and then he still took the Miami. He was
going to take an NFL job at some point. But
I think MSU could have gotten the LSU years those
five years and what he had built the way they
were in the end of ninety nine. I think MSU
would have had a couple of really nice runs under
Nick Saban, and by then maybe they would have had
a more fitting air apparent than Bobby Williams. Maybe D'Antonio

(01:01:27):
would have been, although D'Antonio the way, I don't know
if d Antonio would win the guy at that point,
But I don't know where this point was was going.
What was the question? How did I get here?

Speaker 3 (01:01:38):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (01:01:38):
McPherson. So yeah, the McPherson saving things way.

Speaker 5 (01:01:40):
Worse TMB number one. The Spartans are soft, undisciplined, poorly coached,
and have no identity. Doesn't help. The coach has the personality,
a personality of a rock that's not very nice too.
Enough about the wind, Chiles is closer to Braxton Miller
than an NFL quarterback. RPO helps cover up a bad line. Mccraye,

(01:02:02):
Kelly and marsh getting overthrown on every fade won't cut it.
We are wasting the talent we do have.

Speaker 4 (01:02:08):
The wind was was a real issue down there. I
mean it was. That was not We've seen childs throw
good balls this this year. I mean that that was
not indicative of what he's been. But he's a way
better quarterback than Braxton Miller. I mean, it just it
just is. Miller was Yeah, Miller was a flanker and
a quarterback's body or sorry to court playing quarterback and

(01:02:30):
that's not that's not what But.

Speaker 5 (01:02:33):
In pregame, when you're throwing the ball around on the field,
you see it's kind of windy. Yeah, adjustment, That's what
I'm saying. The approach sucked, and the approach sucked. It's
it's the least excusable thing of all this. You know,
it was interesting what Smith said today about the idea
of the special teams being something you sort of pat
yourself on the back. You think it's a strength when
you're dressing all these things in the bye week, you
don't think that's a problem, and meanwhile your next opponent

(01:02:54):
sees of vulnerability that leads to a block punt.

Speaker 4 (01:02:56):
Right. He talked about that. I mean, that was something
that he said. He's usually good at keeping a even
you know, even keel and not you know, assessing everything
win or lose, and that's that sort of stuff's at
least human nature understandable. Right, Like they thought they had
something great with the special teams that had been great,

(01:03:17):
and something got neglected and it was a really bad
game for them. The approach on offense just made no
sense given the conditions and given and it's one thing
if you try a few downfield throws and you're hopeful
you can do everything and it's just not working, and
they just stayed with it. It just you know, you
can't have six targets for Nick Marsh on any Saturday.

(01:03:38):
They just can't be the case. If he's healthy enough
to be out there that he needs to be a
double digit target guy.

Speaker 5 (01:03:45):
Tim tim next number one Chiles, Bean Smith's prize recruit
and still being ass is not going to give the
fan base any sort of confidence he can to turn
it around. Imagine what this team looks like post Marsh
and Chiles because none of the recruits in the past
two sights are even close to their caliber. And two
how long does MSU have to be asked before their
hatred towards Michigan sort of dies dies down when it

(01:04:08):
becomes too obvious that they're just playing two different sports
and MSU doesn't have the resources to compete. Maybe CMU
really will become their biggest in State rival.

Speaker 4 (01:04:18):
Definitely a Michigan fan here, Tim tim a couple couple points.
Childs isn't ass He's not asked he was. He was
really good for the three games before it, and he
had a bad game, And it's just that's not really
a fair statement or good analysis on that sense. To
your point on Michigan State fans will and I know
this is just a snarky h take here, but their

(01:04:42):
hatred towards Michigan is not going to die down, regardless
Michigan tried to keep them out of the Big Ten.
It is deep seated. It will be there forever and
and if for a while, if there is a point
where they're not playing on even resources, and they never have, frankly,
they have. Michigan's always been one of the few athletic

(01:05:02):
departments that's really beyond I mean, Michigan State's always been
to have as an athletic department, one that makes money.
Only like twenty three do twenty five tops, But Michigan's
always been one of the top, you know, five six
athletic departments in terms of revenue. They've always been playing
at a little bit different level in terms of that.
But if it comes in nil or resource in terms
of purchasing rosters different. Then MSU fans will continue to

(01:05:23):
demand that their administration get to that point and that
their donors get to that point, and finding ways to
get to the point. They won't be satisfied because again
they measure themselves against Michigan. That will always be the case.
That's made this that much more difficult for Michigan State.
Not only is the program falling apart, you know in
pre dating Smith, but it's happened during an ero where
Michigan's risen up and you know, a decade looks completely different.

Speaker 5 (01:05:48):
Dino spemy. Next, Michigan puts up five hundred plus yards
against USC and wins Big Blue as one ranked team
left on the schedule, run the table until the game,
and they are a play off team no matter what.

Speaker 4 (01:06:03):
Yeah, I'm still curious to see Michigan. Like, I didn't
think Michigan looked that impressive against Wisconsin, and Wisconsin maybe
isn't as bad all the time as as I thought.
Now they're as they are. Yeah, I'm still in Michigan.
Let down a little bit. I do think Michigan schedule
is favorable, but like you know, Washington when the Washington

(01:06:26):
is it two weeks, so they're at USC and Washington
at home. Washington is not a bad like that'll be
an interesting game. They ought to take care of that.
If they're really a playoff team. You know, the rest
of their schedule gets prett easy until Ohio State. But
they can only they can't afford another loss. They already
have one. You can't go You're not gonna go nine
and three and get in the playoff. So you know,

(01:06:47):
Michigan getting into the playoff is still in doubt, and
I think there are if I'm looking at you know,
any slanting will be feisty, it'll be you know, as
long as Michigan State things don't go really horribly and
the wheels come off in the next few weeks, that's
going to be a competitive game in East Lansing. It
was last year before Michigan State sort of shipped the
bet at the end of the first half that there

(01:07:11):
are When I look at Michigan schedule, sure, Northwestern Purdue
Maryland on the road by then, I don't think will
be But I look at least three losable games remaining.
Are they capable winning all of them? Absolutely? But I
would be. I think if you had to bet with
Michigan win them all, I would. I would sorry more

(01:07:34):
than four losable games, counting Ohio State three before Ohio State,
so I would still bet again to Michigan making the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (01:07:42):
Company Man next singular take of the Week, Jonathan Smith
was hired in the name of competence. Instead, mister potato
Head resurrected the SOS days, which traumatized generations. The fan
base is grinding pitchforks, not for losing, but losing hilariously
and grenading our eyeballs with dog shit football.

Speaker 4 (01:08:03):
Well said, if you look like a potato head yourself,
by the way, you need a Muskox flannel. And I
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Speaker 5 (01:09:14):
Andrew Zuiza next. I'm not out on Smith yet, but
what is so frustrating is MSU has won maybe one
game they weren't supposed to in three years. Even other
shitty teams get upsets here and there. It's a three
year de ja vu, and it's felt like we've been
the worst Big Ten team for a long time. Those
who want a motion to remember Gus Johnson is ass

(01:09:35):
and from Thomas. I'm in the being patient camp, but
MSU needs to get to a bowl to look like
they're making satisfactory progress rebuilding and bonus. Fans want intensity
from Smith, not emotion. I love D'Antonio, but man, he
had maybe three facial expressions. Ever, there's no emotional range there.

Speaker 4 (01:09:55):
Yeah, people want to connect. I just I don't think
they feel like they connect with Smith right now. And
you know, winning helps you connect, but he's not somebody
who they want to see you get pissed off. They
used to love sabing like yelling into the you know,
the headset as you you know, went up and down
the sidelines, and you know D'Antonio looking pissed off when
things go wrong, and they just want him to meet

(01:10:16):
them where they are right And that's not necessarily who
he is. And the strength of his strength may be
that he keeps it even keel, but people don't see
that as a strength, and when you're losing, people are
never going to see that as a strength. Let's take
a really quick break and we come back. We'll get
into more of your hot takes. Couching the Room. Our
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Speaker 5 (01:13:41):
Chris Next MSU has either won or covered in every
game this year. It lost to a decent Nebraska team
in Lincoln due to in large part to a block
punt touchdown and a fumble kickoff, and fans are ready
to burn down Smith's house. Building a program is a process.
You can't handle it. Go watch a Hallmark movie. I

(01:14:01):
think it's exactly the opposite. I think if you watch
Allmark movies like me, you have more patience. You just
think things are gonna end well. And that's generally how
I feel, because I've seen the ending. The ending's good.
They get together in the end. You know that's how
it works. There are a lot of different ways to
look at it. I do think it's still a process.
I do think Smith has not had enough time. But

(01:14:22):
sometimes that can reach a point where you just know
somebody's not the right answer. I think that rarely.

Speaker 4 (01:14:27):
I don't. I don't think we have enough evidence of
that yet, and there's not been a lot of promising
evidence at this point. But there's definitely I shouldn't say,
in my opinion, there's not enough evidence that he still
can't be the right person in Michigan State. But things
have to look different. You can't have days where your
talent is enough on the field and what you bring

(01:14:49):
in terms of preparation, approach, and discipline is not.

Speaker 5 (01:14:52):
Steve Izzo next number one, special teams was an embarrassment Saturday.
I know we have special teams coach, but what is
Smith doing to help it? Hiding yards for Nebraska in
a few good punt returns, flip the game on a dime.
No changes throughout the whole game equals poor head coaching.
And two, I want to see Smith succeed, but now
the cupcake first three games are in the rear view mirror.

(01:15:14):
I see two wins the rest of the season maximum Yeah,
and five and seven for a second straight year. Will
Will I don't think it'll it'll mark the end of
his tenure, but it'll It'll not be momentum, and this
program badly needs momentum. You know, if if you want
this program program to succeed, you want them to get
at least three more wins. You want the Bowl game,
you want. I do think there are people out there

(01:15:35):
who who don't, who are ready to move on and
would rather, And Matt See even bluntly said it would rather.
They're they're horrible, and it makes it makes it obvious.
I don't I don't necessarily believe in that approach. I
agree with you on the poor head coaching, though it
is ultimately like if you're the head coach and you
don't like that Brian Lindren's going deep. You know, you

(01:15:56):
get on a headset and you're like, hey, some underneath stuff.
You know, let's do something different and everything. The buck
stops with Smith forever. I mean that, as long as
he's the coach, it always will stop with him. Nate Hamilton.
The team's special teams are a reflection of its coaching staff.
Special teams penalties, substitution mix ups, and kick return misgues

(01:16:16):
in the seventeen games Smith era all point to a
lack of discipline and preparation.

Speaker 4 (01:16:23):
Yeah, I'm not going it was not a good game
on the special team's front. Even Ryan Eckley didn't think
it was very good. Now, the win was bad, but
where he put the ball was not where it was
supposed to be a couple of.

Speaker 5 (01:16:31):
Times, Munfield keg is Chad Wilt the new ross Els
guy is in charge of special teams in the Rush ends.
I know he was brought here because of his experience
with ROSSI, but at the end of the day. This
is Jonathan Smith's program. A bigger assistant salary pool doesn't
mean we are getting better coaches.

Speaker 4 (01:16:50):
Yeah, let's see how it plays out this year. I mean,
this is not a good day for special teams. Special
team's duties are shared with a bunch of different guys
on the staff, and maybe that's not the right approach.
I don't know, but that has not been their issue too.
I mean, they've had a couple penalties here and there.
Special teams have been the strength of this team. They
had a really awful day, don't I don't know that

(01:17:13):
they were ready to write that group is a weakness
right off? That group is a.

Speaker 5 (01:17:16):
Weakness, mad Rollette. I'm not confident this coaching staff can
help Childs maximize his talents. Starting to think the kids
are playing their tails off and the coaches are screwing
it up.

Speaker 4 (01:17:26):
Kids are playing the tails off. This coaches screwed up.
I do that.

Speaker 5 (01:17:30):
Well, Yeah, we just need a countdown next time so
we know when to turn the volume. That was right
in your ears there. Sorry, that was good one of
your better ones. Yeah, intense my combination Howard Dean and
John L.

Speaker 4 (01:17:43):
Smith.

Speaker 5 (01:17:43):
Good old Howard Dean, Mark v which is the biggest
screw up of the weekend Smith leaving child's in or
Hinge taking schooble out, or Mark Sanchez getting stabbed and
arrested and losing his job.

Speaker 4 (01:17:55):
Mark Sanchez definitely takes it. It's definitely like almost forty
years old, dude, what are you doing? Unbelievable there for
a game. Dude, You're getting heat, Like, what are you doing?
What kind of gunpowder you put in your blunts? Dude?

Speaker 5 (01:18:07):
Where you're doing like wind sprints before you get into
a fight and what So.

Speaker 4 (01:18:10):
If I take over the world, and there are few
things I would implement, one that children under eighteen would
have access to social media and if there was an
argument to get rid of Twitter, the Mark Sanchez version
of a situation is one of them. Like the hot
takes that came out when it looked like he might
have been stabbed about Indianapolis people. You got like fucking
Dan Dockicch out there going like, well there you go going,

(01:18:31):
I mean he's talking about he's like black people in
downtown Indianapolis, and it's like, ah, it turns out it
ain't that, but that's his bit. Now, if I heard
Docae say that, I go, Yeah, that makes sense. Dockage
would say that if your bit is just being a
racist prick, then you shouldn't have any followers. But that's
Dockage's bit though, So if you're following Dockage, stop, okay,
stop stop. Really need to tell people that apparently is

(01:18:51):
fucking followers blocked me years ago, neurotic pants.

Speaker 5 (01:18:55):
Number One, things are in my things are in my opinion,
still on schedule. Is that is there? Things are in
my opinion, still on schedule. But this shit traces back
to D'Antonio losing his step and not letting go. Any
good feeling I had about him as a public figure
has dried up, and to never forget the vanilla man.
Smith has rehabilitated one program before this one no promises

(01:19:17):
more bad years.

Speaker 4 (01:19:18):
Yeah, I mean D'Antonio has a hand in this. Now
you say, well, there's been enough time since him. Yeah,
but the coach after him, who took over for him
didn't get it there, So you know this is absolutely
I mean two eighteen nineteen. The defense may have still
been elite in eighteen and shown a little of that
in nineteen, but there wasn't you know, they didn't have

(01:19:41):
the young guys coming up in the program to keep
it there. And that's just some of this is on him.
And he also created the greatest year of modern Spartan football.
But you know it, some of them stuff they're dealing
with was way the way he walked away.

Speaker 5 (01:19:58):
Mojo Jojo of the blumpkin question is an all time
for me, on par with the creation of the gram voice,
the smooth dulcet tones, the even measure, the slight hiccup,
with going right to Hoff so Graham could look it up.
How did you not read into that it was pure
poetry hashtags, salute the room, salute the rube.

Speaker 4 (01:20:17):
Yeah, I did just say thanks, Mojo. Yeah, I didn't
know what I didn't I didn't know what a bumpkin was,
and now I do. Really, I will not google that again. Yeah, yeah,
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (01:20:25):
Who wants one of those, Jay Riemenschneider. With MSU's offensive
potential and after the Penn State defensive showing that guaranteed
loss isn't so inevitable. At the same time, with MSU's defense,
the one hundred percent certain UCLA win isn't in the
bag either. End bonus.

Speaker 4 (01:20:40):
I'm with you. Graham.

Speaker 5 (01:20:41):
I didn't know what it was and had never heard
of a blumpkin. I too thought it would have been
a fall time coffee drink or pastry.

Speaker 4 (01:20:47):
Thank you you and Jay. Yeah, well it does sound
like a good drink. I mean it's not, obviously, but
it does sound like it could be. The naming of
it is misnamed. That's part of the problem with the
Blumkin is it shouldn't be what it is. Well, I mean,
for the act, it's a proper name. It was true, true, yeah,
fair to that point. As you saw in the video,
You're right on the fact that, I mean, there is

(01:21:10):
no guarantees in college football. That's the funny thing what
a game like UCLA beating Penn State does. It just
takes the transit of property and says that doesn't exist.
Nineteen to twenty two year olds just can't be trusted
week to week, right, because there's no you can't come
up with a transit property that makes sense from what
we've seen from UCLA and who Penn State is a
team that is, but UCLA is not dead and not

(01:21:34):
being the dead man walking program that they were before
that game is something mshu's got to pay attention.

Speaker 5 (01:21:39):
To big John Hogg next number one. My new article
Bonnie Blue Blumpkins and Beijing Hour Couch made me laugh
so hard I cried too. MSU has talent, but it's
clear coaching is lacking. I hope they don't lose the
locker room and three Baked Our Best You Decide is
always making a Final four with this team.

Speaker 4 (01:21:57):
It's interesting. I was doing the preseason rankings for a
number of for the Big Ten, one I do and
for the for the actual official one for the USA
today one for the writers won a bunch of so
I and all had a little bit different request and
what they wanted and going through the different teams and
different people had written about them. And there's some people

(01:22:18):
do it pretty well in the off season, and the
Big Ten is gonna be tough it but Michigan State
is not getting overall, and I think you'll see that
when these polls come out. Enough credit for some of
the stability and some of the guys they have coming back,
and like Michigan from a talent perspective, looks fantastic, but

(01:22:39):
again it's a new roster. There's some size versus guard
talent questions and they may be great. They may be fine.
I think Purdue is the clear number one, but you
know U c La everybody's really high on but his
Xavier Booker, You're you're starting five, like you know, like
I mean, we've seen that. I don't. I don't know.
I think m s U is not getting They're gonna

(01:23:02):
need somebody to emerge. They're gonna need guys to take
steps forward. But they have a lot, a lot of
good things coming back. I do think there's a chance
that they're better than people think.

Speaker 5 (01:23:12):
The blunkin donut of Southern main Nest being protected by
an offensive line populated with twelve year old Palestinian boys
may break Aiden Childs. You say that, you can say
that bait on the asshole that was optimistic MSCU would
be competitive. I took MSU plus ten and a half
and I was punished for believing in my team when
they went for two at the end of the game.

Speaker 4 (01:23:32):
Fuck me, I guess that was a weird time to
go for two. I didn't really understand understand that ms
she was plus ten and a half with ems she
was I saw the line at eleven and a half.
It got up to thirteen at the end. You got
the worst line. Is what happened to you? They covered
every spread that I never saw that game at ten
and a half. I don't know, Actually I did at

(01:23:53):
the very beginning of the week. It was ten and
a half. You're right, it was up to eleven and
a half. I think it might have been thirteen by kickoff.
I'm sorry you got that line.

Speaker 5 (01:24:00):
Can chew next. MSU's defense was much better. Offense and
special teams will rebound. UCLA will be a tougher game
than we thought, and Penn State will be easier than
we thought.

Speaker 4 (01:24:11):
Penn State will be interesting because where that team is,
like hold on one second, could be small off series backside.

Speaker 5 (01:24:20):
I see the stars going out of the sky yet.

Speaker 4 (01:24:26):
So Penn State. Here's Penn State's two weeks before playing
Michigan State on the road November one at Ohio State.
The next week they host Indiana. Like Penn State has
an awful schedule, then coming out that Michigan State game.
If they lose one of those games, they're out of
the playoff. Now, the beauty is their schedule is tough enough.

(01:24:48):
If they have wins over Indiana and Ohio State in
the same year and they win ten games, you know,
and the lost to Oregon isn't going to hurt you.
That's a forgivable They'll get in at ten and two,
but they're gonna have to beat Penn State or beat
Ohio State in the road to do it, and they're
gonna have to beat Indiana, and if they don't, you know,
they could be a team that's lost to in a row.
Who knows what kind of shape they'll be in by

(01:25:09):
the time they roll in. Number fifteenth, That schedule sets
up well for Michigan State, which itself is coming off
a second bye week at that point. So the Michigan
State Penn State game is one that if MSU could
keep it seasoned together and this was just a blip
and a really bad performance all around, then you like
their chances there more than you did before.

Speaker 5 (01:25:32):
Rocko from Chicago next. Number one. The way to win
at MSU in the new era is to be different.
The way to be different is to attract and keep
young talent and build depth over time, and to firing
Smith is the exact opposite of what we need to
do to build this depth and maintain it. In three,
we are taking our medicine this year which is disappointing,
but where the program was with mel and in the

(01:25:53):
nil era, surrounded by Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, et cetera.
We have to be patient and hope that Smith and
staff clean up some mistakes over time.

Speaker 4 (01:26:02):
And nobody wants to hear the word patients. And you
can't ask people to be patient. They shouldn't be able
to be patient. What you have to ask is that
people who can't be patient and are are just downtrodden
and heartbroken over the and just angry over the last
four or five years, don't get to make the decision
on Smith. That's what you have to try, because ultimately

(01:26:23):
you want to make sure you make the right decision.
You want to if this if he is a good coach,
you know then and and he is, you know, I
just he got it. You can't know yet. Last week
was really bad. But I just don't see a way
you can know for sure yet. I do think there's
a scenario when you can know for sure at the

(01:26:43):
end of this year, and that could be problematic for him.
But I just don't see how seventeen games in, you know,
and if you're not going to give coaches three years
at least, what's the next coach going to want for
a buyout? We talk about it's irresponsible for like a
you know, thirty three million dollar buyout for somebody. At
this stage, you get rid of Smith after two years,
the next coach is going to be like, yeah, so

(01:27:06):
you know you got to get this right. And it's
not like Smith has never done it anywhere. When you
hire an assistant who's never been a head coach, or
a guy coming from a very different level where it
didn't work or where it worked but didn't have to,
you know, you can tell maybe somebody's overmatched. I just, uh,
you know, Roco's right as long as he is potentially

(01:27:27):
the right guy. The approach is to just let this
happen and not be toxic on line, not let people
think though. I mean, if you're being toxic on line
right now, and I'm not saying you should't feel every
way you are, but if you're reading toxicon line, you're
not helping your program. You should know that. Like that
doesn't help. And now every fan base is toxic to
a degree, but it does not help. I mean, players, parents, players, recruits,

(01:27:52):
they all read this stuff. And so if you want
to do your part just but we have.

Speaker 5 (01:27:56):
Channel that's going around to all the you know, the
moms on the on the team, and he shouts them
out and he you know, so we have there are
lots of positive yeah, lots of positive people that is
going around praising God and all that stuff. So he's
the one guy he axes out faucet liquor. And you
don't have to have your head up, your ass, your
head in the clouds. I mean, you can be real,
you can be concerned, you can have legitimate criticism, I think,

(01:28:18):
and and and frankly for the purpose of this show
and replying to the show, you know, we want your honest,
harsh takes and all that stuff. But there's a lot
of stuff out there that's that's beyond that.

Speaker 4 (01:28:28):
I think. Justin Thinn had a tweet that was was
was sort of on point. Let's see you pull this.

Speaker 1 (01:28:34):
Up real quick.

Speaker 4 (01:28:35):
You know it looks so good. I do hear your
voice in my head when I take a ship. Well,
he had he had a tweet just talking about people
calling for people to be fired. He said, and at
one point, replying to his own tweet of somebody else,

(01:28:57):
he said, don't get me started. On our fan base,
I posted a highlight reel high school senior and there
were eleven replies referring to Smith's firing, all which left
the kid tagged and in their replies, can't tweet anything
without the angry mob throwing an emotional fit. And this
during a season where every reasonable person predicted they'd start
three and two and they have started three and two.
Should it make me be happy? And what should ain't

(01:29:17):
even be happy? No, but the two options shouldn't be
I'm happy or fire him? And this is a good
point that there's no in the middle now, I think
there are. There are a lot of in the middle
takes here. I think there's reasons to be concerned. Last
week was a concerning game. There is no way around that.
I just don't think yet you can be sure.

Speaker 5 (01:29:36):
Mister ben jen Ohla from Buenos Aires, he gave coaching
a grade of three. Considering they had two weeks to
get ready, they score should have been as zero. What's
this team's identity? Where's the juice? That's the first half?
They draw up after a fortnight to prepare? Fire Smith?

Speaker 2 (01:29:53):
Now?

Speaker 4 (01:29:55):
So I gave the grade of three out of ten
by the way when I got a thirty percent on
a friendship Zam, you know it's safe to say that
it was not received well at home. Three out of
ten is not a good grade. And I did think
that the defense, because of the adjustments they'd made. There
five straight stops, five sacks forcing a fourth, and thirty two,
the defense played well enough to win that game. They

(01:30:17):
had two weeks and they brought something different so that
that grade was really done for the defensive staff in
the way they prepared.

Speaker 5 (01:30:25):
SLC Carl next number one, Offensive coordinators should spend at
least one quarter, if not a half, on the field
when there are windy or any types of inclement conditions.
They're too comfortable in the coaching coaches box. And then
Lin Grin seemed to play calls too often as if
they were no there were no win. I think it
affects their judgment. If he was on the field, maybe

(01:30:45):
he would have had the bright idea to you know,
run a goddamn screenplay or shorter crossing routes to account
for the win. Is brain dead coaching today by the
staff and to the only thing more asked than rooting
for a struggling team is rooting for a struggling team
in the transfer portal nil era. He used to at
least take solace in knowing there's still another year of
hope to develop and get better. Now everyone immediately assumes,

(01:31:09):
rightly or not, everyone's transferring postseason or opting out mid season.
Ship blows and bonus. Thanks for all you guys do.
This pod is the life support my MSU football fandom
needs during these trying times.

Speaker 4 (01:31:22):
Appreciate you, Carl Now. I do think there are a
couple a couple good points here. One is the angst
created by the idea that you can't easily build something
year over year because you got to always hang on
to your own dudes, and you know, you don't know
if you're gonna have Nick marsh one year to the next,
or this guy or that guy is while you can
build quicker. It's one of the things that I don't

(01:31:44):
think helps college football. You probably, I mean the wind,
though you should be able to tell from up in
the box and you should be able to see it.
You shouldn't. I mean I understand that maybe it helps
in real time to realize down load. This isn't, But
look at the flags or isn't there a wind sock
you've got where you're on the you're on the on
the headset with your other coaches were down there. Hey
is it Wendy down there? Yeah? How's it going hotly?

Speaker 5 (01:32:05):
Shit man?

Speaker 4 (01:32:06):
And in defense of him, they threw a couple of
screens that were overthrown that turned in new interceptions from
from Childs. But yeah, it was not It was not
a good good day for Lingern p HbA.

Speaker 5 (01:32:16):
Next, can we conclude that the cross country games are
a serious issue? Upsets can happen at any time, However,
it had to be a serious factor in the u
c l A Penn State upset.

Speaker 4 (01:32:27):
I think the loss to Oregon and not taking u
c l A seriously had a lot to do it.
I think if Penn State took that game seriously, the
cross country would have been less of an issue. And
and I think ultimately UCLA rose up and had a
game where they really wanted to show themselves and they
played they played well. I'll be curious to see what
UCLA like looks like week to week. But yeah, it

(01:32:48):
is a factor, There's no question that. And it's going
to be a factor, you know, moving forward, because these
teams are in the Big ten.

Speaker 5 (01:32:55):
Alex Mayor next. The Good. I still think MSU makes
a bowl this year.

Speaker 4 (01:32:58):
The bad.

Speaker 5 (01:32:59):
I think the type Ers have won their last game
in the series, and the baked. Getting Graham to google
Blumkin on the show was absolute perfection.

Speaker 4 (01:33:06):
In podcast getting all sorts of ads for things involving
Blumpkins now but otherwise great. Really, look just kidding. I
was a little worried about that. I was like, what's
the Who's advertising Blumkins? I don't know, But there's a
lot of more insights, like why would they It's got
to be a Blumpkin community out there somewhere. Come in.
I don't know, you know, dude, wipes, I don't know

(01:33:26):
what's going on. The Sorry, Gross just made it too real.
The Tigers have won their last game in this series.
This tells you how bad the Semisu game was. We
have not had one take on the Lions and now no,
they played the Bengals. It wasn't that big, and we've
had very We got a few more coming up on
the Tigers. But it's where people's heads are really well,

(01:33:49):
it's still tied one one, you know, in the first game,
so I think they give one of these with the
beauty of flarity in mice is they're usually they're not.
I mean, and Flarty played well, pitchwell the last game,
but odds are one of them will be asked and
the other will be okay, right, so clarity, yeah, well
especially with clarity. Yeah, I think. I think they get
to a game five back in Seattle and then they
get scooball in the mound and you know it's fifty

(01:34:11):
to fifty.

Speaker 5 (01:34:11):
You go either way, Professor. The Tigers strike out more
than I do at the bar on Ladies night. Both
are vomit inducing to watch. And bonus love Benetti on
Tigers games, but I don't like him on college games.
It bothers te too. It bothers t just because he's like,
why doesn't he just do the Tigers? He should be
doing the Tigers all the time.

Speaker 4 (01:34:33):
Do you not like him?

Speaker 5 (01:34:34):
I don't mind. I seriously, I don't mind Benetti. There's
a certain guy like I don't really hate any play
by play like I don't know, yeah, Summer really like
it doesn't bother.

Speaker 4 (01:34:43):
Me as much anymore. I can let the guys go
and he's not somebody like there are certain guys I
really enjoy, Like I enjoy bucking Akman on Monday Night
Football a lot. Sure, there are certain guys I really enjoy.

Speaker 5 (01:34:52):
Even though Aikman says nothing and he's so good at
talking just right up until they hike the ball. How
about your boy Tim Brando? Though some people really just
had enough of Tim Brandy. What did he do just
being Tim Brando? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:35:06):
Yeah, no, I most announcers are. I've just there are
very few that really annoy me. There are very few
that I'm excited to see doing the game, but they're
you know, they're in Bennetti with the Tigers, and.

Speaker 5 (01:35:15):
People don't like Bennetti because he's like, does the cheesy shtick.
But I just go like, what are these guys supposed
to do? It's supposed to it's a family broadcast that
they have to do, Like, how can you make that interesting?

Speaker 4 (01:35:27):
So? What is this? Every time he's doing football, there's
Teresa's like that when we see him on there's like,
why is he doing a Tiger game? Yeah? She misses
him on the Tigers games. It is, But that's one
of the best setups the Tigers. I mean, most places
don't have Dan Dickerson the fill in, like the Tigers
do have the one of the best.

Speaker 5 (01:35:44):
But even if he wanted, you know, he signs that
contract where he wanted to do some different games, and
he does different baseball games.

Speaker 4 (01:35:49):
And yeah, and he makes probably a lot of good
money doing that stuff. Sure, I'm sure he probably makes
as much that Shepherd was making five hundred K a
year when he was doing it. That's a lot of money.
I'm sure. I'm sure that Bennetti probably makes as much
outside of the Tigers as he does doing the Tigers.

Speaker 5 (01:36:03):
Jordan Villa Reale next number one. Fox has gotten out
of control, changing from the Lions game to the Chargers
game at the start of the fourth quarter in markets
outside of Michigan.

Speaker 4 (01:36:13):
Two.

Speaker 5 (01:36:13):
I know MSU is heading in the right direction, but
I don't know how much more of this rebuild I
can take. I have faith in Smith. Not sure how
much patience fans have. They don't have patients and and
that's you know again, they're not making the call. And
that's where good. Look, can you have patience and not
like the way the team is trending and go like, okay,

(01:36:35):
I can understand if you guys don't want to buy
him out for three to two mil. I'm willing to
wait till next year. But what if it's four and eight, Like,
I feel like that's what my opinion is, Like I
don't want to sit there and see the guy fired
right away. But I mean if it's four and eight, right,
I mean, it's like, Okay, what are we talking about here?

Speaker 4 (01:36:50):
Then what matters is how J. Batt feels, how Kem.
Guskowitz feels, how the top donors feel, how is O feels,
like all these things matter.

Speaker 5 (01:37:00):
I just think the math doesn't add up for Smith
hanging around for a while, And that goes back with
the ten years of just awful football fans have watched
the Hall or higher because it's not a J. Batt
kind of higher, like you mentioned, when you're an ad,
you want your guy in there because that guy's going
to keep your job, right. So, like, I just think
it's a mixture of all that that Jonathan Smith is
going through. It's just wrong time, you know, wrong place

(01:37:21):
for him sometimes. Yeah, I mean, look right, I think
you can feel that way and still be supportive of
the football program and not enjoy watching what you watched
on Saturday and let all of the other guy hot
take kind of shit go on and go like, all right, well,
I don't believe in that. You're entitled to your opinion.
I'm going to ignore it.

Speaker 4 (01:37:38):
And you shouldn't come away from Saturday hopeful like Saturday
was not a game to think okay, Saturday was not okay.
That's beneath the standard anybody should want for their football program.
And you know, even if the standard, like, people have
different hopes for what Michigan State football will be. Some
people want them to be Ohio State, you know, in

(01:37:59):
an Oregon and kind of compete there every year. Other
people if that team could be between eight and ten
wins and sometimes competing for a playoff and every once
in a while rise up and have the big year,
that'd be great, maybe more realistic. But regardless of where
you are for your dreams from Michigan State football, like
Saturday was not okay, you can't have that because that
performance wasn't Again, it wasn't. They they don't just have

(01:38:23):
the guys yet people can live with that and that
that's a reasonable excuse when you don't have the guys.
You know, sometimes you want them to play above themselves
and they have the guys at certain positions and they
didn't use them. And that's the other issue. Tom O'Malley.

Speaker 5 (01:38:37):
Next, Jonathan Smith should start wearing big shoes and a
red nose in the sidelines because he's a goddamn management clown.
I think he's already burned two timeouts for the UCLA game.
We don't need them. I only need one time out.
We'll say, yeah, say I'm the man long wooded hot take.

Speaker 4 (01:38:56):
Oh, I love these.

Speaker 5 (01:38:58):
This is you don't have to say it because I
see it. I edited to oh Jesus. The frustration with
Jonathan Smith is simple. He was supposed to bring stability.
He was the safe hire. The melt Tucker era had
huge highs and brutal lows, and so far Smith's tenure
feels like it has the same floor without nearly the
same ceiling. That performance coming out of a buy against

(01:39:19):
Nebraska was unacceptable. Graham keeps saying it's better to give
him thirty million to spend than pay the buyout, but
I don't trust his staff. This staff to build the
right roster even with the money starting over is the
death sense it used to be. And if you're going
to have the kind of bland personality. Smith as, you'd
better be elite somewhere, scheming leadership, player development something right now.

Speaker 4 (01:39:43):
He's none of those. So one of the questions with
player development is how long it really takes to see it.
Like Chiles, for example, until this last game, I thought
that was really good development there. I thought that that
was good player development. I think we'd seen some steps
on the offensive line that have that we didn't see
in this last game. Part of that may be injury
based and decisions on who to start at right tackle

(01:40:05):
and all that stuff. How long does real development take?
And you know, I talked to Smith about this before
the year and he said, you know, in the NIL era,
the Revshare era, one of the things you battle is
you have to think, you know, if a guy's worth them?
When do you cut bait on a player and go
find his replacement in the transfer portal. It's very different
than it used to be, right, And so I think
these are all conversations that they're having. I don't think

(01:40:30):
I would agree that seventeen games in there's nothing that
stands out elite. Certainly. His argument is there have been
some things that they've been better at this year until
this last week and that it's seventeen games in and
there will be games coming up in the next week
at Indiana against Michigan, Penn State visiting That will further

(01:40:53):
define his ten uere in the length of it and
how people feel. So we'll see, we'll see where that goes.

Speaker 5 (01:40:58):
Ben Kramer number one on North Carolina is the worst
power for a team this year. Also, Bill Belichick is
not a serious coach eighty seven and one O three
in games without Tom Brady, and two I would rather
be Penn State than Texas right now. This year's Texas
team is the most overrated college football team in my lifetime.
He says twenty seven years and three. Major League baseball

(01:41:20):
is not a serious sport.

Speaker 4 (01:41:21):
I don't know what you what you mean by what
do you think he means by that gambling related That
seems like something I would say after losing it. It's
a frustrating gambling sport at time to leg parlay.

Speaker 5 (01:41:31):
That you watch, you spent six hours of grinding a
baseball to leg parlay or something.

Speaker 4 (01:41:36):
The most when I'm betting baseball, I lose on a
lot of unders. I always think early in the game
it's off to a decent start. It's like, you know
too much zero? What's that you bet too much? You're
betting no, just like your bets are too you know
what I mean frequent. So you say, yeah, well no,
I'll be live better. Usually it's like that's what I mean.

Speaker 5 (01:41:54):
You're live betting, you're fire. And so that's not the
way I like to bet, like you know, Yeah, it's
you do a you do it, I do it a
boring way. Yeah, shep next. I think you are a
pretty smart guy, Couch, but I can't wrap my head
around your rev share nil take. You seem to think
that schools like MSU, who can't compete in today's nil

(01:42:15):
environment due to lack of funds, will somehow be able
to compete once revshare starts. If today a competitive roster
costs twenty million in nil pay for play, and tomorrow
every school gets fifteen mill in rev share, all that
means is that tomorrow is a competitive roster will cost
thirty five million. This is beyond obvious. Why don't you
get it? And bonus free column idea for you, Graham.

(01:42:38):
A statistical breakdown in comparison between MSU defenses led by
Chris Smeiland Scottie Hazelton and Joe Rossi.

Speaker 4 (01:42:45):
A couple things. One Revshare has begun. This is the
first year of it. So Michigan State is paying its
roster upwards of fifteen million now. And they you know,
they had the month they had. You know, I'm not
saying that money came easily, but that that's the cost
of doing business, right, That's what it is. Other programs
right now are paying a lot more because repshare hadn't
begun before July one.

Speaker 5 (01:43:08):
It is.

Speaker 4 (01:43:08):
I do not think rosters are going to cost thirty
five million. I think a lot of places that have
been donor fatigued. Michigan State's not alone in that. I
think what it's going to cost, and then the money
may go up with inflation and all sorts of stuff
over time. But if you're putting fifteen sixteen million into football,
I think the elite programs will have another ten twelve

(01:43:29):
to give it because the revshare is part of what
they It's not just adding to I mean they're not.
That's just not the way it's going to work. Some
of the money that's coming in to the universities from
those same donors just isn't being put into collectives and
other things. And Jay Batt right now, I mean that's
just not the way he sees it, so is being
what he wants to do. They want it to be

(01:43:50):
legitimate Nil. Now, I think that can get you burned.
But there's a lot of Jay Bat love out there,
and Jay Bat has the same philosophy on Nil as
Alan Hallard did. I think Bat may be in a
better position to raise money, and he may be more
shrewd in certain areas, but his philosophy and what he
thinks is right and wrong and how they want to
go about it is the same as Alan Haller's and

(01:44:13):
that front and a lot of ways. So we'll see
how it plays out and how nimble they are if
other schools break away and do things do things differently.
But the rep chair has started. This is the first
year of it. This is a combined year, and we'll
see what it looks like a year from now. I
think that gets really interesting, Scott.

Speaker 5 (01:44:31):
You Next, the UCLA game has the perfect makings for
a get right game for AMSU number one motivation due
to the road losses. Two Thanks James Franklin, there is
no way they overlook UCLA now. Three noon kickoff four
defense has positive momentum. Will they get it done hopefully
and bonus illness practice or no practice. Get the ball

(01:44:52):
in Nick Marsh's hands ten times a game these next
three October games. Just simply do it, no excuses.

Speaker 4 (01:45:00):
So to the I'll give you a fifth one here.
I think UCLA may still be drunk by the time
they pull up. I mean, I think they celebrated that win.
I think they felt good, and they should. I mean,
it's been a shit year and that was a big
win and a big moment by a staff that's probably
not going to be there and a lot of players
aren't going to be there. Like I'll be very curious
with the long hangover though, yeah, week to week what

(01:45:23):
they have now. I think they'll come out and try
and I think they'll try to prepare. But there is
man that is a and to be frank, if you're
evaluating that staff, if UCLA comes in and looks focused
and disciplined and plays well at Michigan State, then you
might want to hire the people who are running the
show now, because that's impressive. That's a really hard thing

(01:45:44):
to do, all right, Jared.

Speaker 5 (01:45:47):
If the Tigers make it to the ALCS, it is
a successful season and an improvement from last year.

Speaker 4 (01:45:54):
You you agree with that if they win this, if
they beat Seattle and they're in the in the ALCS.

Speaker 5 (01:46:00):
It's technically an improvement. But I will not forget what
this team did to me. You know, like, come on,
I'm not gonna you don't want to talk about that.
I mean, if they win the World Series, I'm still
gonna look back, Like man, dude, twenty twenty.

Speaker 4 (01:46:11):
Five was f and wild.

Speaker 5 (01:46:12):
And the other problem is it is in that division
lead and having to listen to Couch and then have
him come up with some Musko's flannel fucking contest because
he actually put twenty five dollars on the Guardians, you know.

Speaker 4 (01:46:22):
Thirty three to one or whatever.

Speaker 5 (01:46:23):
You know what I mean, Like the whole season is
it's it's stunk on ice of just like dealing with
the ups and downs and the lack of hitting in
the playoffs and sometimes you know, so yeah, I mean,
but if they win this.

Speaker 4 (01:46:35):
Series, sure, so. The problem I have with it is
this isn't nineteen eighties early nineties NBA, where like the
Bulls had to go through the Pistons, the Pistons had
to go through the Celtics. You get to the second
round one year, the next year you get to the
conference finals, you eventually get to the finals. That's not
the way it works. So yeah, yes, it would be
a step further. But the idea that they could be
a much better team baseball so freaking random, and the

(01:46:55):
postseason is such a freaking joke in terms of how
it's organized that they could eat usually be better lash
next year and not get as far. So it just doesn't.

Speaker 5 (01:47:04):
But Scott Harris doesn't think it's random. I think that
might be the problem.

Speaker 4 (01:47:08):
It's random. It's random, shit, asked the two thousand and
six Tigers. I mean, it's it's it's random. I mean,
that's the twenty thirteen I mean it's it's it's a
It is not. I'm not saying you don't have to
be good to win the postseason. I don't. I'm not
saying you don't have to be playing well. It's just not.
I mean, look, if I were the Mariners, I'd be annoyed.
The Tigers have to win. I mean, in granted, they

(01:47:31):
beat Schooball already, but they gotta face that guy again.
The Tigers don't need much pitching depth because twice you
gotta beat Schoobl's. That's that's kind of shit, and I mean,
that shouldn't be the way. I understand they're going cross
country and all that stuff, but to me, there should
be one day off in a series.

Speaker 5 (01:47:45):
Tops Austin Wolf next number one UCLA game no longer
looks like a lock to really not sure why marsh
isn't averaging eight to ten targets a game, whether he
practiced during the week or not. That's kind of a
poor excuse. By the way, if you want to watch.

Speaker 4 (01:48:02):
The Tigers and Michigan State football and other games, you
can do it on the Exfinity multiview. Also a good
you know, if you're not thrilled with your phone plan
right now, go to Xfinity dot com check out their
mobile offerings. You you likely will save money. They've got
the same coverage plan as Verizon. Uh, but some uh,
some awesome deals there with Exfinity Mobile. You can bundle

(01:48:25):
home internet and mobile as well. They have some great
like they have great offers for just that and so
my best. You know, if you feel like your whole
entertainment operation is a little too expensive and you're not
getting everything you want. Try exfinity uh and and and
you may just you may just find exactly what you're
looking for.

Speaker 5 (01:48:43):
Kurt was Newski next Number one, Nebraska football fans are
the best hosts in the business. We could learn a
lot from them. Two. MSU football's regression after a bye
week shows that Smith can't get this team to lock
and load. And three, my group is zero to ten
on the road MSU games. There are not enough groovy
don't nuts for this pain. So Kurt was in Nebraska

(01:49:04):
they do when they go to a game they're own
and ten. Holy, So I gotta say I think i'd
stop going. I'm superstitious dumb like that. Yeah, I mean
you probably ought to start going to rivals games. If
you care about Hurt. It's not dumb, so he'll probably
still go. So like, but I'm superstitious, like if the Lions,
we went and saw the line. Thankfully, we've been very,
very lucky and the Lions have it.

Speaker 4 (01:49:24):
So if you if, if, how many Lions games would
you say you've been at since the Lions have been
good and relevant and playing important.

Speaker 5 (01:49:29):
Games including away ten No, I don't know, eight, eight
to ten.

Speaker 4 (01:49:36):
Eight to ten, so if we have the two on
the road, I believe, okay with Green Bay in Chicago.
So if they were like, oh, for all your would
you stop going to me, I feel like you were heard.

Speaker 5 (01:49:46):
Yes, absolutely, I'm dumb, superstitious, Like I know, it doesn't
mean anything, like no one cares if I'm there or not.
But it's just for my personal thing. I just would
not be able to like, dude, if my branched you
know what I mean, Like if they have a bad
game like the Green Bay game, took my branch jersey
off at halftime. Just dumb stuff like that. I don't know,
try to switch it up. It's so stupid.

Speaker 4 (01:50:05):
Hey, I got a Barry Sanders jersey for Christmas in
ninety five. They immediately lost to the Eagles in that
game where Peraman Tour's acl and they were dreadful in
the playoffs. I viewed that Barry Sanders jerseys is cursed
and eventually sold at a garasha. Somebody else's cursed, now't
I didn't want that I was gonna get hit by
a truck or something that. That is a story almost
we're telling, but told anyway, presented by our friends. By
the way Midtown Brewing Company, really great weekly specials throughout

(01:50:29):
October and all the time, and also some fun, fun
fall cocktails going on right now, including the Cauldron Mule,
the Van Go Martini, Harvest Sangria, Cider Mill, Margarita Salem Sour,
some great stuff that they do at Midtown Brewing Company
in downtown Lansing. Great place for a date night, a
dinner out, catch a Tiger's game, football game, whatever it

(01:50:50):
might be.

Speaker 5 (01:50:51):
Kevin from Rochester Hills lost in Nebraska is the beginning
of the end for Jonathan Smith and Bonus Arch. Manning
is a D two quarterback.

Speaker 4 (01:50:58):
Oh, I don't look good. I don't. I don't really
know what's going on. He's obviously got some talent, but
I don't does he I think he's got that Manning
Jean does have a name. Like the question is if
my last name was Manning and I was on a
football field where people think I had.

Speaker 5 (01:51:12):
Talent Graham Manning. Yeah, not with those arms, that's true.
With armlink, I'm like, I'd be like, whos t Rex
out here?

Speaker 4 (01:51:19):
What the hell? Yeah'd be flipping those balls.

Speaker 5 (01:51:22):
Richard Kine. Graham said, find me a defensive backfield in
the NFL in the last ten years, anywhere that's had
four or five guys that have played more than thirteen games. Okay,
from twenty to twenty four, AFC East teams had sixteen
years where at least six dbs played at least fourteen games.
That's just one division. In just the last five years,

(01:51:42):
it's just six TV's played at least fourteen games. Starting
about starters, I mean, everybody's got yeah, yeah, somebody else
did some look in this and it's it's there's less
than you think. And look, maybe maybe the Lions did
have bad luck last year, but if you look at
what like the the Chargers offensive line or what the
Ravens are going through, I mean there's a well we

(01:52:03):
didn't say were the only happens that just feels like
it's a constant mash unit. And on Mondays and Tuesdays
we sit there and wait to see who guys are
gonna play.

Speaker 4 (01:52:11):
And and and sometimes there is really bad luck with it.
I think defensive backs are just a position that gets
hurt a lot. But I and and including with Jacksonville,
when they draft a guy who should you know they're
deciding dB or or receiver receiver receiver receiver because if
he's a DB's just on injured reserve. That's that's how
that whole thing, whole thing works. The thing that drives

(01:52:33):
me nuts is when it's the idea that it's like
the trainer's fault, like they got to fire their strengthen
conditioning and trainers people otherwise. I mean, the odds that
the Lions, Pistons, Tigers, Michigan State football and basketball have
all had the worst trainers in the world over the
last twenty years, just those teams is just it's unfortunate.
It seems unfortunate. Yeah, it's yeah, it's unbelievable. What are

(01:52:55):
the odds of that?

Speaker 5 (01:52:57):
Lions reply, Guy Graham, you keep talking about did you
read this one? No, Graham, you keep talking about injuries
in the NFL, but you're way overstating it. The Eagles
had twenty one of twenty two Game one starters play
for them in the Super Bowl. The Lions were snake
bit last year, but your take is trash.

Speaker 4 (01:53:14):
Respectfully, the Eagles did have a charmed year and that's
part of you know, making it to the Super Bowl.
I mean, you do have to have sometimes that charmed year.
You either have to have a great quarterback or the
charmed year, and the Eagles have Jalen hurt, so they
have to have the charmed year.

Speaker 5 (01:53:28):
Chris King. When MSU was up twenty one to fourteen
in the third quarter in Nebraska got the big gain
on third and ten, you just knew.

Speaker 4 (01:53:35):
They were in trouble.

Speaker 5 (01:53:37):
That crowd was turning on Nebraska and all the momentum
was with MSU at play completely flipped the game.

Speaker 4 (01:53:42):
It was a bad one, and you know it was on.
One of the things I talked about before the game
was could they get Nebraska's crowd to get surly on them?
You know? And you could feel it there. I mean,
they were they had some possessions that were really bleak
and people were not happy, and Michigan say blew that
they had a chance to really to really keep it
that way.

Speaker 5 (01:54:00):
Jeff Peterson next. This game felt all too familiar in
its Jeckyll and Hyde back and forth play. Smith showed
some emotion in the postgame conference. However, I'm beginning to
think that as much as I think he was a
good hire, he might not be the best fit. Oh,
can you think like Jeff, you think that he was
a good hire at the time. Might can you say

(01:54:22):
that is it okay? Very reasonable?

Speaker 4 (01:54:24):
Take?

Speaker 5 (01:54:24):
Oh, okay, very reasonable? Thank you, Maddy Bee. Number one,
This MSU coaching staff has put how many complete games
together since they've been here? That's my problem, not patients
waiting for depth building. The OC may as well be
doing coloring books between executing the run into the line
on first down every time a game plan.

Speaker 4 (01:54:44):
Two.

Speaker 5 (01:54:44):
You ignored it Friday, but I asked, where did we
earn the right to be arrogant against UCLA and assume
that that was a win? Well, here we are. Purdue
looks about even with MSU in year one. We have
been passed by Vanderbilt.

Speaker 4 (01:55:00):
Vanderbilt taking a nice approach with their with their nil
and everything. Yeah, no, it's uh yeah, I mean, we'll
see where this all goes. But it's a fair like.
They shouldn't be argant against UCLA. They shouldn't be arg
going against anybody. I thought, and I was wrong about this.
I thought UCLA was completely dead. I thought there was
nothing Penn State could do out there that would cost

(01:55:20):
and and U c l A, to their credit, to
their staff's credit, showed some likes.

Speaker 5 (01:55:23):
How would you think they had any fight, right u
C l A.

Speaker 4 (01:55:26):
There was no sign of it. There was a zero
sign of it. And sometimes you get the new coach,
new manager bump, you know, you see it in soccer
and maybe this was just that, and uh, like there's
there has not been complete games there. The Iowa game
last year is pretty much it. And you know there
are elements on yeah, I mean they're parts of the

(01:55:47):
Boston College game and again, Boston College just holy shit,
what's happened to them since? But that Boston College team
was not horrible when that game was played, and that's
one of the hard things for people to realize they
just weren't. I mean, I've watched that game back now
because I had to do the whole commercial thing, you know,
with when I was doing the story on like how
many how bad the commercials were with with NBC and

(01:56:09):
Fox and all that stuff, and you know, that was
not a that the team that played in Spartan Stadium
that night would not have lost to cal Or Stamford,
and I don't would have not lost forty six nothing
to pit c.

Speaker 5 (01:56:22):
Dubs ninety one number one, constantly blaming poor performances on
the field, that not being one hundred percent healthy is
getting stale. Just say you weren't prepared and got out
coached and promised to come out better next week. And two,
the first weekend in October is the best sports weekend
of the year.

Speaker 4 (01:56:37):
Proved me wrong. We got everything going because of the
playoffs and and yeah, I mean it's it's a good
timing year. I don't, I don't know other than the
baseball playoffs, I don't, but yeah, it's it's it's up.

Speaker 5 (01:56:50):
There during a Ryder Cup year. The end of September
is awesome too.

Speaker 4 (01:56:53):
Yeah, I mean this whole thing so lat Yeah, yeah,
you get the Premier League this this coming weekend, you know,
with the inner national break in soccer's complete ass.

Speaker 5 (01:57:01):
But otherwise, yeah, Spartan Frank number one, no more. Smith
doesn't have the horses. We're not asking to Natty this season.
It takes zero talent and step in front of a
free rusher and not get your punter killed. Zero talent
to not shit yourself on a slightly unusual kickoff. And
two he's done after the season. It's obvious he was

(01:57:21):
great pre nil tough shit, look at Fickle and Dabbo.
Game has changed. Let bat get his guy and ps
could be worse. Could be a Cardinals fan, a bad, bad,
bad finish for the Arizona Yeah, not not great.

Speaker 4 (01:57:36):
Uh. You know, I don't know if Smith was great,
pre would be great in the Annil area. He hasn't
had the nil resources, right, So that's that's the issue.
And if your donor base is you know, the real
question is where the donor base is on him, where
JABAD is on him and h and what resources are

(01:57:59):
going to be there for for this staff and this team.
And you know, there are a lot of different ways
to look at it, but you know, I don't and
I don't know how somebody like I SHOULDIA feels right now,
and you know, and how much that's going to be
needed because it is a different era, it'll be very
to me. The most interesting thing going forward beyond what

(01:58:20):
tappening with the football program is Jay Batt and his
willingness to adapt and adjust and do what needs to
be done in an era where you're gonna have rev sharing.
But what's going to separate a lot of programs is
that secondary funding wherever it comes from, however it's brought in,
that you're able to compete at that level and watching

(01:58:41):
that play out is gonna be interesting.

Speaker 5 (01:58:44):
Chris from New York Next, going for two when down
eleven is a microcosm of why fans are so frustrated
with his staff. A pointless, nonsensical decision that wasn't even
given or to give you a chance to win even
if the game was already decided. Do they not understand, Matt?

Speaker 4 (01:59:00):
Yeah, it was weird. It was at the end of
the game, so I didn't really it didn't become a
big story, but it was weird. It was weird.

Speaker 5 (01:59:06):
John Johnson Number one, Did Smith feel any heat regarding
his job or does he seem assured he has at
least next year no matter what UCLA now looks like
at minimum and toss up and even if Saturday was
an outlier, their quarterback can go nuts on any given
game and MSU defense is primed to make him look
like a top ten pick. And two, if MSU loses out,

(01:59:27):
is Smith gone or is your sense he's back no
matter what loses out?

Speaker 4 (01:59:32):
I mean that's a that's a three to nine year off,
a five and seven year and the spiral that would
feel like if that were to happened, You know, I
think they you know, they'd have to figure some things
out that I don't think that happens. But you know,
it's a good question what Smith feel. I'm sure he
feels some heat from the fan base, but you know,

(01:59:54):
I don't know. I don't know how he feels on
that front. I would I would think he knows he's
got If I knew if they fired me they owed
me thirty three billion dollars, I would not feel heat.
I wouldn't feel heat regard. I would just be like,
I'm gonna do my job and if they don't want
me here, I'm going to go have a lot of
money and I'm good with that.

Speaker 5 (02:00:12):
Rich number one, especially coming off a bye week, this
was John L. Smith level embarrassing. Blocking was awful, special
teams looked like a Chinese fire drill, and two after
UCLA decided to wake up and destroy Penn State, I
don't see how this team wins another game. As a result,
our best players, marsham Hall will bail on this team.

Speaker 4 (02:00:33):
Yeah, I mean that's a pretty doomsday Wait. I mean
UCLA did not destroy Penn State. Penn State played it
just wickedly shitty game and UCLA played well. But I
I on side kick. I think Michigan State is appropriately
a seven and a half point favorite.

Speaker 5 (02:00:50):
Beebe plump. The only team that looked worse than the
Arizona Cardinals this weekend was MSU and that Cardinals debaggle
will be on a bloop reel forever. Do you think
that will stop the Cardinals? And the guy that just
dropped the ball in front of the at the one
yard line, which has happened year after year, and guys
get ridiculed for it, Yet guys still do it.

Speaker 4 (02:01:09):
It's amazing how I have I don't understand that. It
would be my biggest I would be holding on so
tight to make sure I would never.

Speaker 5 (02:01:15):
Ever drop the ball in the field of play like
I would be in the you know, when you're in
the end zone.

Speaker 4 (02:01:19):
Sure drop it. I don't understand even then. I don't
know if I would. But how do you do that?
If you're all questioning it? Run through the end zone?
Do what you gotta do, Like, just don't don't. Yeah,
I don't get it.

Speaker 5 (02:01:28):
Grahamonito Couch. Chris Ilich needs to give Trek's scouble half
of Little Caesars. Trek's more done more for Detroit baseball
than Ilich has once he got the team from Daddy.

Speaker 4 (02:01:39):
Ilich is just such a non inspiring character too.

Speaker 5 (02:01:42):
He's as colint One Balbany. Five sacks and no victory
on Saturday. That's a shame to Michigan State needs a
national championship and something over the next two years, or
I'm gonna start watching soccer. Wait, I'm never gonna watch soccer.
Three Tigers beat the Mariners home.

Speaker 4 (02:02:02):
Michigan State could use a I mean, the basketball season
last year for MSU was tremendous. I mean, it was
invigorating for a lot of people. Win the Big Ten
by three games, get back to the Elite eight, right,
I mean, I just the problem is football sets such
a mood for a while. The good news for MSU
is that it doesn't set the mood all year and
basketball does that for them. And then whether that's good
or bad for the football program, I don't know, but
it sets the mood for a while and people move on.

Speaker 5 (02:02:25):
Steven Osborne. Next, how does MSU do offensive line roulette
the first four games of the year and then Saturday
leave the right tackle in there for three plus miserable
quarters without trying something else?

Speaker 4 (02:02:36):
Made no sense?

Speaker 5 (02:02:37):
Also hire a full time special teams coordinator already.

Speaker 4 (02:02:41):
So part of it is that they were down a
couple guys and so they don't have the rolette to
play anymore. But the Connor Moore to the right side
would seem like in his more natural position, would seem
like the move to make instead of putting them over
on the let that would be my move. And I
don't really understand, you know, if that doesn't happen this week,

(02:03:03):
I think that'll be and it may just be because
it's where other guys are most comfortable. And you have
to assume that. I mean, Jim Mahalchick's been you know,
I mean he's not an idiot. I mean the guys
I think thought of as a good offensive line coach,
and I think he put forward what he thought was
the best offensive line. It it just was if that's it,
then them issues in trouble.

Speaker 5 (02:03:22):
Zach Mhimstrey next, the long term cost of keeping Smith
and becoming irrelevant in football is much higher than the buyout,
and Graham did he seem extremely rattle in his postgame presser.
And bonus, this playoff TV schedule is so asked backwards.
I can't wrap my head around it.

Speaker 4 (02:03:39):
With the day games, the night games, and the it's yeah,
at least their night now, right, so I don't know
they're at like four. Oh, today's at four, tomorrow's at.

Speaker 5 (02:03:46):
Four, tomorrow's at like three or four, and then the
other one's at four. Yeah, it's not or three or something.

Speaker 4 (02:03:51):
Yeah. Smith did not seem rattled to me. He seemed. No,
I don't. I have not Smith does not like rattled.
That's not that would not be Uh. I've seen coaches
look rattled. This is me rattle rattle. He didn't even
know it. Yeah, yeah, he did not look rattled yesterday
on Saturday.

Speaker 5 (02:04:10):
Lucas, now we know why Smith gave Jay Bat that
game ball after the Western win. If we miss a Bowl,
a check may be cut to Jonathan to get the
fuck out. We cannot afford to wait years for rebuild.
Look at what sig and Elko did right away.

Speaker 4 (02:04:24):
No excuses. Well a couple of things. Elco right now
is playing with a well financed, you know, probably eight
million dollar defensive line, So there those are some advantages.
I think. Lucas said, no excuses, no excuses, Well, no excuse,
Gable there you no, no, I mean no excuses, you
know it? Uh yeah, yeah, no none. But and Signidi

(02:04:50):
brought in eleven guys with him, and maybe that's the future,
you know. I remember when uh Tom Nassis was the
MSU hockey coach and he was preaching patience and how
long it too to rebuild and how early hockey players
are recruited. And the thing I struggled most with that
with is I had just come from covering Western Michigan
when I lived in Kalamazoo anyway, and I had watched

(02:05:13):
the Jeff Blaschell one year era where they were just
awful and he took over and then all of a
sudden they made the NCAA tournament year one. And it
wasn't just the way they practiced in the culture and everything.
He also had all these us USHL ties and he
was able to identify certain guys late and recruit them,
and and the Kaisner and who was the other guy
there was a bunch of there were like two or
three NHL guys and other really good college players. And

(02:05:34):
so point being like, I thought, well, then that's got
to be the approach you got to, you know, if
you if your program's been shipped forever nobody has the
patience for this. Go get somebody with ties to the
you know, and and and look what it's done for
Adam Nightingale, who right away you know, had had got
the flip of Augustine at goalie who's committed to go
to Michigan, had played for him and the national development

(02:05:55):
team like that stuff matters, and so maybe and and
look and in Michigan State's suation they got eighten childs
out of that. But you know, so, look, kurtsing Nitti
is one of one. It should have been hired years ago.
I mean, every ad you didn't hire him for the
last twenty years probably should be fired. I don't know.
The guy's a freaking brilliant coach. Why didn't Mark Hollis
hire him? Why didn't Bill Beakman and Alan Haller and

(02:06:16):
who's you know, who's Michigan's ad what's his nuts? Jason?
Do you think that Bill Beakman? Why am I blanking
on the big guy for Michigan?

Speaker 5 (02:06:26):
Those were two hours and five minutes in and you're
telling your Blashel story for the nine hundredth time.

Speaker 4 (02:06:31):
What are we doing here? Yeah, let's keep going. Sorry,
Ward Manual thank you.

Speaker 5 (02:06:34):
Yeah, josh Enwood Graham, you've been watching this MSU football
team for a year and a half. What can you
point to that says we are laying any kind of
foundation for future championships. We are a bottom third of
the league team right now and I don't see that
improving anytime soon.

Speaker 4 (02:06:49):
Yeah, there's nothing you'd point to right now. There isn't really,
so you need to still see it. And that's that's that.
Believe it.

Speaker 5 (02:06:55):
Pasy. Jonathan Smith is not going to pan out Saturday
made that clear. The special team fuck ups were obvious,
but continuing to trot out that turnstile at right tackle
was pathetic and bonus very excited for the Pistons to
be back, thinking Kay gets into MVP convos if he's
more efficient.

Speaker 4 (02:07:14):
Yeah, look, I'm intrigued by this Pistons team. I want
to watch him. It's fun having the Pistons be good again.
You know, you hope the Red Wings are competitive because
the Winter Nights man when you can go, I mean,
it's just like when the Tigers are good, you know,
when the game comes out, it's like, oh the Pistons
played nights.

Speaker 5 (02:07:29):
Yeah, it's been a while, Yes, he said that Dan Mack.
Was there any explanation why the coaches decided to move
Connor Moore from right tackle to left tackle instead of
keeping him at right tackle and starting rusting Young at
left tackle. Young seemed to play decent at USC.

Speaker 4 (02:07:45):
Yeah. No, I don't know if it's been specifically asked
like that. There's been a number of questions about their
decisions there, and I just think they thought this was
the best and I there'll be more. I think we
get the coordinators on Tuesday, and maybe that would be
very specifically asked.

Speaker 5 (02:08:00):
Mall dog next. Leppo is unplayable moving forward. The offensive line,
except for Goldben, has been a major disappointment this year
and big take. I still believe we make a bowl
game with wins against UCLA, Michigan, and Iowa.

Speaker 4 (02:08:14):
It's it's very possible this team is going to be
okay in terms of the Bowl. I mean, I just
told you that the Penn State scenario. I think Michigan
will be competitive. I do. I don't think Michigan's gonna
run away from them. I think they'll beat you know,
I still think they'll probably beat Maryland and they'll they'll
beat Ucla based on the team they are, so can
they get another win somewhere? And I think it's if

(02:08:35):
you told me right now. I was asked earlier, better
chance three or nine to seven and five, and I said, yeah.
I mean, I don't think they're going to go three
and nine, but I would take three and nine if
I had to bet it over seven and nine or
seven and five, I would take six and six over
four and eight. Though, in terms of what I think
this team will be, I think they'll get to six wins.

Speaker 5 (02:08:51):
Bal Key Bartakamas bartakamis next number one. All I expected
from Jonathan Smith was a stabilizing presence that would set
a good foundation for the next coach. To me, he
was always the guy before the guy. After this week,
I no longer believe that we're heading towards another rebuild,
whether Smith is gone now or is allowed to stay
and to the game plans and in game decision making

(02:09:13):
continues to be mind boggling. If you're going to be
an emotionless, uninspiring dullard, it has to be balanced with
an exceptional all football IQ and brilliant mind. Seventeen games
in and I don't see it. What's one thing he
has done that's above average.

Speaker 4 (02:09:29):
No, those area, it's fair questions, and it hasn't been
an above average tenure to this point, and he needed
to start to see above average. It's very fair that
Christism is very fair Nate Hamilton.

Speaker 5 (02:09:41):
Number one, A team special teams are a reflection of
its coaching staff, and two special team penalties, substitution mix
ups and kick return miscues in the seventeen game Smith
Era all point to a lack of discipline and preparation.

Speaker 4 (02:09:55):
Yeah, I mean, you know what, And I don't think
it's weak to week though with some of this stuff.
I think there have been some substitution stuff. There's been
a couple of special teams penalties. This was a really
really bad week. Like usced, I didn't leave the USC
game at all. I thought they may have real problems
on defense. They fix some of those, but I thought
the other areas were really good and this was not
that G. E.

Speaker 5 (02:10:16):
Miller halfway through season two and you are looking for
increasing talent level in all phases, a team identity, player preparedness,
and coaching competency. We're not seeing any of that. But
with this buyout, the program will be stuck in purgatory
for years, Baked, giving any coach a thirty three million
dollar contractual buyout in this day and age and handcuffing

(02:10:36):
the future of the program is a d malpractice and
a fireable offense. That could be a number one reason
why Haller is no longer here. Inexcusable if a coach
demands it move on second, Baked, I'd like to introduce
the James Franklin comparison index. If your fan base would
gladly trade your current coach for James Franklin, it's time
to make a move.

Speaker 4 (02:10:56):
If not Stampa, I don't know. I think there are all,
but I think there are seventy eighty. Well even in
Power five, say the sixty four whatever, Power Fork schools,
I think there are forty that would trade what they
have for James Franklin.

Speaker 5 (02:11:11):
I do Pig Miller, Jay Batt needs to call the
big donors start fundraising for Smith's buyout. Another rebuild wouldn't
put us further behind than this team already seems to be.

Speaker 4 (02:11:22):
If it ever gets to that point where you have
to do it, it it's worth doing because that one player,
you know, you may lose, a Nick Marsh you may lose,
you know, a childs whatever. That stuff's never worth the
short term, hoping some guy gives you something some great
season than what you need long term. If somebody stops
being the answer long term, you have to make the move,

(02:11:42):
regardless of how much short term pain there is. I
just don't think they're there yet. Couch on fire.

Speaker 5 (02:11:46):
Advice to teams Spartan, start mill of Elyssio and throw
fifty percent of passes to Mini Megatron. You think their
approach is better. And Lions keep a couple of defensive backs.
Healthy Tigers please stop striking out so much, and baked
red Wings finally end the last playoff drop.

Speaker 4 (02:12:02):
By the way, you can get the Red Wings at
like plus two hundred to make the playoffs. It's a
nice preseason bet. On the fire Keeper's eye casino. In
sportsbook APU, I would look at.

Speaker 5 (02:12:10):
That original dark Mantonio number one mark d ruined. MSU
fans under forty think they should beat Michigan every year
and strive for Ohio State. Isn't historically real. MSU has
nine Big Ten titles in seventy years. He was a
ten year anomaly you should have once, but live in reality.
MSU never has never and probably won't ever be a

(02:12:30):
true big dog. And that's fine to flaming take. And
if you keep ignoring my mel Tucker Jonathan Smith question, Graham,
I'm gonna have to take matters into my own hands,
Oman deer. The show meets you at a flight of
steps and do what you did to the gay guy
or something even more sinister.

Speaker 4 (02:12:46):
Hey man, nothing happened to anybody. There's no pushing. There's
nothing to your first point, though, original on Michigan football.
Michigan's a football and not being the norm to compete
with Michigan. That is true. But you know also Woody
and Bow, you know where the ears of the veer offense.
And you know those guys couldn't coach high school football today.
I mean everything's changed. Nebraska was great and they haven't

(02:13:08):
been able to get it back since. So I you know,
I don't buy that you can't get there again. I
just think you need to find the right guy, and
so far Smith hasn't shown he's it.

Speaker 5 (02:13:18):
Blowboner next, fuck my life, an optimal sports weekend ruined
by states bedshitting seriously dead inside.

Speaker 4 (02:13:25):
You're not alone base.

Speaker 5 (02:13:26):
On these stakes, neither of mine. I'm dead inside. Right now,
two hours, fifteen minutes. Holy shit, Hans Jergen. Number one,
before you're too hard on Chiles, remember Spartan, Grades, Counter, Cook,
Kirk Cousins, Tony Banks, Jim Miller, Eddie Smith, Jim Ray,
Earl Morril, and Willie Thrower all lost in Lincoln.

Speaker 4 (02:13:42):
Two.

Speaker 5 (02:13:42):
Okay, Miller, Smith, Ray, Morral, and Thrower never played in Lincoln,
but Cook, Cousins and Banks did and lost.

Speaker 4 (02:13:48):
Three.

Speaker 5 (02:13:48):
The Browns should really stop.

Speaker 4 (02:13:50):
Bonus.

Speaker 5 (02:13:51):
Did you really think I would follow the hot take instructions?

Speaker 4 (02:13:54):
I never do, Hans, I never do.

Speaker 5 (02:13:56):
Thanks man the Hawk next number one, huge opportunity blow
on Saturday and Lincoln, Nebraska. That was absolutely inexcusable coming
off of bye week. You can't play sloppy football after
having a week off, Jonathan Smith. I know you played
and coached the game for a while, but no problems
with the offensive tackles. You can't be serious. And two.

(02:14:16):
Fox's Major League baseball coverage is getting to be watered down.
The strike zone looked inconsistent most of the time. It's
hard to tell the difference between a ball and a strike. Plus,
why the hell don't they show the pitch clock? Come
on now, maybe I missed Joe Buck calling MLB games
on Fox and three. I started watching Lioness on Paramount
Plus and can't believe I waited this longest start. It's

(02:14:38):
another damn good one from Taylor Sheridan Plus. Zoe's Aldona
is gorgeous and a badass. If you guys haven't checked
out any shows created by Taylor Sheridan, you don't know
what you're missing.

Speaker 4 (02:14:47):
There you go, Paramount Plus lion Ass, I haven't. I
haven't heard of that. I don't have you heard of it?

Speaker 5 (02:14:51):
No, there we go, And finally the upper deeck jerk guy,
the Detroit sports Renaissance will be epic bake take. Everything
is fine with Michigan's stay football takes long, slow bong hit.
Smith just needs some more time to bring in his
players and takes another long slow bong hit to develop his.

Speaker 4 (02:15:09):
Program his way being stoned while watching Michigan State football.
That may be, you know, maybe we have to go
back to the pure options days here to get through
the seasons. Yeah, Jason, I owe you a t like
reading all that through this. That was a long That
was a long one. We got through the mall. Nobody
got left out and There were a lot of good takes,
some reasonable, some hot. We appreciate them all. We appreciate

(02:15:32):
you all, and frankly, your passion for Michigan State and
other sports and commitment to the show is why we
do it. So we appreciate you again. If you want
to win a Muskox flannel, picture of yourself looking good,
picture of yourself looked for like shit, we need to
see the contrast. Hashtag couching the rub Muskox couching the room. Muskox.
You got till Friday and we will pick one person.

(02:15:54):
You can always go to go Muscox dot com and
order a flannel fifteen dollars off with the promo code Peacock.
We appreciate Midtown Brewing Company here in downtown Lansing. And
Infinity go to exfinity dot com, type in your address
see the latest offers for you. We'll be back. We
think Thursday this week. We got some scheduling stuff going
on Thursday. Good show man, touching the room,