Big Game Breakdown: Keys To The Game, X-Factors For Oregon-Iowa, BYU-Texas Tech, more! | Cover 3

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Episode Title: Big Game Breakdown: Keys To The Game, X-Factors For Oregon-Iowa, BYU-Texas Tech, more!
Release Date: November 5, 2025
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell, Bud Elliott

---

Episode Overview

This week, the Cover 3 crew dives deep into the looming high-stakes matchups in college football's Week 11. The main feature is a granular breakdown of the Oregon-Iowa showdown, examining keys and X-factors for both squads in a top-20 battle with playoff implications. Other spotlighted games include BYU-Texas Tech (crucial for the Big 12), Texas A&M at Missouri, and quick-hitting previews on several more undercard matchups. Additional segments include the staple "Day Trading Danny," conference power conversations, and candid commentary on playoff committee decisions.

---

Oregon at Iowa: In-Depth Breakdown

[Starts ~03:00]

Keys for Iowa

• Turnover Margin:
  • “When they have won the turnover battle or just not lost it, they've won. They're 6-0 in games with an equal or a plus turnover margin, and they're 0-2 without it.” — Tom Fornelli [04:00]
• Weather as an Equalizer:
  • Forecast is cold, likely windy, possible snow—favors Iowa's ugly, physical style.
  • “This could be a weather game… That will matter." — Tom Fornelli [03:43]
• Offensive Limitations/Defensive Reliance:
  • “Iowa's offense is still not explosive...the defense giving it short fields, whether that's by creating a turnover or just getting off the field with a punt.” — Tom Fornelli [04:15]
• Recent Defensive Strength:
  • Improvement in pass defense since early struggles (“They got absolutely torn apart by the Rutgers passing attack” [04:00]), but competition recently has been weak.

Keys for Oregon

• Offensive Slippage:
  • “Oregon’s offense has not been very good lately... averaging 1.94 points per drive; that would rank 95th nationally.” — Tom Fornelli [05:48]
  • Stars like Kenyon Sadiq (TE) have faded from recent production.
• Weather & Patience Required:
  • “Dante Moore’s gonna have to be patient. Iowa’s probably going to do a pretty good job denying their first looks on anything intermediate... you're going to get a bunch of zone from this Hawkeyes team.” — Bud Elliott [06:28]
• Schematics & Matchups:
  • Oregon OC Will Stein vs. Iowa DC Phil Parker, both seen as top minds.
  • “Can Iowa’s OL push Oregon around and stay ahead of the chains? Can they make this an ugly ass Iowa game?” — Bud Elliott [07:06]
• Officiating & Physicality:
  • Physical play increases in poor weather; refs’ willingness to call (or ignore) penalties could loom large.

X-Factors & Notable Analysis

• Oregon Defense:

  • “Pretty damn good up front. Nice size on the edges.” — Bud Elliott [10:41]
  • Oregon’s played and dominated several “non-competitive offenses” but have been less tested lately.
  • “Oregon has a darn good defense. We don’t spend a lot of time really looking at them that way.” — Chip Patterson [10:44]

• Will Oregon Blow Iowa Out?

  • Unlikely due to style and weather:
    • “I don’t think Oregon's gonna blow them out if they win. Weather combined with the way Iowa is going to try to play it probably will end up looking a lot like the Indiana game.” — Tom Fornelli [14:39]

• Motivation Angles:

  • "This is worst possible scenario for Iowa. They're all excited...But you got Oregon who's pissed off. They just dropped. They're not getting respected.” — Danny Kanell [16:08]

Memorable Quote

• On Iowa’s shot vs. Oregon:
  • “There is a greater chance for an Oregon blowout than there is for an Iowa win. Blowout—I mean, two touchdowns.” — Danny Kanell [16:47]

---

BYU at Texas Tech: Big 12 Showdown

[Starts ~21:11]

Main Points

• Spread and Respect:

  • BYU undefeated, but Texas Tech a double-digit favorite due to physical mismatch.
  • “That’s why. Because there’s just a talent gap between Texas Tech’s defensive front than everybody else in the Big 12.” — Tom Fornelli [23:18]

• Key Question for BYU:

  • “Can BYU block Tech? That’s the question every Big 12 team has to answer.” — Tom Fornelli [23:18]

• Texas Tech Defense:

  • NFL-caliber talent up front, especially Jacob Rodriguez (LB, 7 forced fumbles).
  • TTU's defense: “Well constructed, they play nasty. It is a recipe that is clearly worked here in 2025.” — Chip Patterson [28:50]

• Texas Tech Offense:

  • Inconsistent, especially during injury shuffle at QB (“Has that just been a result of the inconsistency who’s playing quarterback?” — Tom Fornelli [26:29])
  • Explosive, but also prone to stalling out — "They’ll spin their wheels for a little bit, especially in the run game." — Chip Patterson [25:05]

• BYU’s Path:

  • Keep low scoring, avoid 3rd-and-long (“if you can't run the ball, you're in trouble and it’s going to be a long, painful, eventual road loss.” — Chip Patterson [25:03])
  • Rely on defense to keep things close enough for late upset shot.

---

Texas A&M at Missouri: Upset Alert or Trench Battle?

[Starts ~31:05]

• Missouri starting backup QB Matt Zollers (described as a high-upside "blue-chip" freshman — [31:47]).
• The story: Can Missouri’s offense, with extra bye week prep, attack A&M’s vulnerable secondary?
• “It’s going to come down to Zollers—if he can give them a passing attack that's better than what they had with (Beau) Pribula. Because…the one real vulnerability of Texas A&M's defense has been their secondary.” — Tom Fornelli [33:11]
• Missouri’s run game (Ahmad Hardy) could be a wrinkle, but losing Pribula makes them one-dimensional [36:11].
• General consensus: “A&M has been the better team all season. I think Texas A&M escapes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a little hairy.” — Chip Patterson [35:05]

---

Rapid-Fire Around the Country: Notes & Segments

Day Trading Danny

[38:15]

• Buys:
  • Matt Zollers (Missouri QB) “buying low”
  • Julian Sayin (Ohio State QB) to break the single-season completion % record
    • “He’s over 80% still, which is pretty phenomenal.” [39:41]
    • “We agree that Julian Sayin is likely headed for being a Heisman Trophy finalist, right?” [40:46]
  • Mason Heintjl (Pitt QB) to pull playoff-shaking upsets
  • Cutter Bowley (Kentucky QB) as the one to beat Florida
• Sells:
  • Remaining D.J. Lagway (Florida QB) stock
  • “SEC fanbases overrated. The Big Ten, the most underrated fanbases in the country.” — Danny Kanell [45:41]

“The SEC is overrated for game day atmospheres. The Big Ten knows how to get it done.” — Danny Kanell [46:17]
“Most SEC fans by the time they get in the stadium are already blotto.” — Tom Fornelli [47:32]

---

Brief Hits: Other Games & Storylines

[Rest of episode: 51:12–end]

• Interim Coaches Week: Several top-20 teams facing struggling, “zombie” squads with interim coaches (e.g. LSU at Alabama, Auburn at Vanderbilt, Indiana at Penn State).
• Wake Forest at Virginia and Memphis at Tulane highlighted as close, competitive, under-the-radar matchups.
• Georgia at Mississippi State labeled a “trap game” but panel thinks UGA is safe if they show up [55:00].
• ACC playoff image:
  • Ongoing discussion about the committee’s perception trend (Big 12 parallels), and the seemingly impossible task for ACC teams to gain playoff leverage.
• Miscellaneous Quotes:
  • “All them white boys from Carolina look the same to me.” — Bud Elliott, joking about committee chairs [62:53]
  • “You root for a business.” — Bud Elliott, regarding the cold reality of CFB coaching carousels [67:09]
  • “If we didn't mention you, you suck.” — Tom Fornelli, closing remarks [76:47]

---

Notable & Memorable Quotes

• “[On Iowa] the defense giving it short fields, whether that's by creating a turnover or just getting off the field with a punt.” — Tom Fornelli [04:15]
• "Can Iowa's OL push Oregon around and stay ahead of the chains? Can they make this an ugly ass Iowa game?" — Bud Elliott [07:06]
• “There is a greater chance for an Oregon blowout than there is for an Iowa win. Blowout—I mean, two touchdowns.” — Danny Kanell [16:47]
• "Can BYU block Texas Tech? That's the question every Big 12 team has to answer." — Tom Fornelli [23:18]
• "The SEC is overrated for game day atmospheres. The Big Ten knows how to get it done." — Danny Kanell [46:17]
• “If we didn't mention you, you suck.” — Tom Fornelli [76:47]

---

Time-Stamped Highlights

• 03:41: Fornelli on Iowa’s must-win turnover margin
• 06:28: Bud Elliott analysis on weather impact, offensive line, and zone scheme
• 10:41: Oregon defense: dominant up front
• 16:08: Kanell on Oregon’s motivation
• 21:33: BYU-Texas Tech: spread, respect, and matchup dynamics
• 38:15–47:32: Day Trading Danny: CFB stock up/stock down, Heisman chatter, fanbase banter
• 55:00: Georgia at Mississippi State – “trap” potential debated
• 76:47: Fornelli’s playful sign-off

---

Episode Tone & Style

• Smart, lively, and irreverent. Hosts blend deep-dive tactical discussion with lighthearted banter and strong opinions.
• General attitude: even-handed but unafraid to call out soft units, soft schedules, or committee inconsistencies.
• Audience is assumed to be well-versed, detail-loving college football fans who appreciate the inside jokes and quickfire asides.

---

For Listeners On-the-Go

If you want the deepest insights on Oregon-Iowa, listen from 03:00–18:30. The BYU-Texas Tech segment runs 21:11–30:45. For “Day Trading Danny,” tune in starting at 38:15. Sprinkled through the rest of the show: rapid previews and raucous debate on playoff resumes, conference power rankings, and more.

---

Skip the ads and intros, and dive straight in for your ultimate CFB Week 11 primer.

Transcript

[A]

This episode of the COVID 3 podcast is presented by Cash App. For a limited time only, new Cash App users can use our show's code when they sign up for a reward. Just download Cash App, use our code cover 3 and send $5 to a friend. Within 14 days you'll get $10 right in your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App.

[B]

Hate shopping for pants? You're not alone. Jack Archer's Jetsetter tech pants are basically the answer to every guy's closet struggles with their With a customizable fit, wrinkle free fabric sourced from Japan and all day comfort, these pants can take you from work to weekend without missing a beat. Seriously, these might be the only pants you'll ever need. Style them with the Jetsetter tee legacy button down shirt or the buttery legacy polo sweater and you've got timeless staples to meet your everyday wardrobe needs. Jack Archer is just better For a limited time, get 15% off using the code [e-mail] and again, that's promo code GetJack@JackArcher dot com for 15% off your entire order.

[C]

Welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football coverage from national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3PO.

[A]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli, that's Bud Elliott, that's Danny Canel. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 and everywhere. Get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that, subscribe, Smash that like and comment. Join us in the chat aka the COVID 3 tailgate where they are asking for a Kansas football note. Kansas at Arizona. You know that's what we got on deck in week 11. So here's the deal. We hear you, we appreciate you getting the conversation coming early. We got a lot to get to though. We're gonna do big game breakdown. We got to do day trading, Danny, a few news items and then before we get out of here we will do kind of like we did last week, a little bit of rapid fire. Just sort of like games of notes, matchups to watch. Thoughts on games that might not be the absolute headliners. I'll go ahead and throw Kansas Arizona there at the end of the line. But it is a Wednesday. We've got business to get down to. We take you inside the biggest matchups of the week. It is big game breakdown 3:30pm Eastern time big Time on CBS features the Oregon Ducks heading to Kinnick Stadium to take on Iowa and hello, Iowa Hawks guys, someone loves you. More specifically, about 13 individuals in the conference room in Grapevine, Texas. They love you. This is a top 10 top 20 matchup here in Iowa City. Let's leave all the playoff stuff over to the side. Let's talk about the football of it all. Tom Fornelli, We've seen different editions of the Oregon Ducks so far this year. Iowa is a team that you've been highlighting for a while, just kind of continues to get a little bit better and a little bit better, a little bit healthier. Right? You know, some of that early on was a big factor. What's, what's going to be the most important thing for Iowa to do in.

[D]

This game when the turnover battle? I if first of all, I mean, it's, if you look at the forecast, this could be a weather game when it is played. Could be very windy, very cold, even a slight chance of snow, I heard is possible for this one. So that will matter. But if, if you look at Iowa this year, I mean it's, it's almost, you know, it's kind of like a stereotype at this point, but it's also true, like when they have won the turnover battle or just not lost it, they've won. They're, they're 6, 0 in games with an equal or a plus points off turnover margin and they're 0 and 2 without it. So with Oregon coming to town, you feel like Iowa's offense is still not explosive, it is still not incredible, it's effective enough and when it gets into scoring position, it is typically pretty good at finishing drives. So the best way for it to do it still remains the defense giving it short fields, whether that's by creating a turnover or just getting off the field with a punt. So that is going to be what they need to do against this Oregon offense. Can they, I don't know if, if we go back to Iowa's game against Indiana, they lost 20 to 15 at home. They did a very good job of slowing down Indiana's rushing attack, but they still got picked apart pretty good in the passing game. And this was a week after they had played Rutgers and they got absolutely torn apart by the Rutgers passing attack, which is why I was so skeptical of Iowa's ability to even hang in this game going in because like, if their secondary can't cover Rutgers, what are they going to do against Indiana? And since Then their past defense has been much stronger. But they've played Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota.

[A]

Who's your favorite passing attack in that, that run?

[D]

I mean, Minnesota, I think. Yeah, because it was Gronkermeyer for Penn State in that game. So that, that remains to be seen. Like, what can they do against Oregon? But at the same time, like, and I've discussed this as well, I've written about it, Oregon's offense has not been very good lately. Like if you look at their last three games and you take out the Rutgers game, Oregon is averaging 1.94 points per drive. For context on the season, that would rank 95th nationally. They have a 41.2% success rate. That would rank 90th and they have a 9.7 explosive rate which would rank 120th. Kenyan Sadiq has kind of disappeared in the passing game. He has not been nearly as productive in the last few weeks. Decorian Moore, he's very talented, but he's a true freshman and he's still playing well, but he's come back down to earth a bit compared to what he was doing earlier in the year. So we'll see. I, I think it's an interesting matchup and I think the weather was going to have a huge impact.

[C]

I mean, look, this is a big time game for Dante Moore. He's gonna have to be like, patient. He's got to be on time. I was probably going to do a pretty good job denying, denying their first looks, especially on anything intermediate, right? Like they're, you're going to get a bunch of zone from the Sockeyes team. I, I actually like Will Stein's ability to scheme some of that up in conjunction with Dante Moore. I mean he's had what, he's had a bye week to work on this, right? Like, I mean they, they've not played a team that was an actual threat for them in about a month since an Indiana game. You know, Wisconsin's a dead team walking and Rutgers just does not have anything, you know, defensively. Like Wisconsin's got something defensively, just not offensively. It's almost like they, they had kind of a test there and they like no tests at all in Rutgers either side of the ball. But to me this comes down to like dance. What brung you right? Iowa's offensive line is on that very short list of like maybe the best offensive lines in the country. Can they push Oregon around and stay ahead of the chains like that? Can they control the ball? Can they make this an ugly ass Iowa game? Right. Running the Ball frustrating the hell out of Oregon defense picking up those third and fours. Quarterback run, smash mouth stuff. You hit some play action, maybe you pop a screen. You're probably not going to win a game if you have to score 35, right? I know Iowa's offense looks a lot better now that Granowski's kind of grown into the role. He looks like a lot healthier by the way. Looks kind of he was last year at the fcs. But no, I do think that's a really good offensive line of Ryan and Chat's a really astute viewer. We have. He says the O line good or do they just have a dual threat quarterback? I, I bet you that offensive line is going to have several guys drafted way higher than that quarterback gets drafted. I think they have, they have some real dudes there, you know, for sure. And defensively, I mean, I think how the refs call this is going to matter as well. Right? Can, can you be a little clutchy? Can you be a little grabby in that weather? Are we sure we see PI that will. I mean I don't want to like say it's an excuse. It's not but certain games, the way they're officiated just matter. Right? Like Patriots probably don't beat the Rams in that super bowl if they're not allowed to just grab, grab, grab. Same thing when they back when they played the Colts. In this kind of weather, like you can get away with some more stuff, I think. And if I'm Iowa, I'm making them call it all the time also, like, are we sure Oregon's receivers are really good, like sitting down and being on the same page against some of the zone stuff. Like I, I trust Malik to run by you on play action and that's about it. I don't trust him to like, hey, I'm getting this. I'm gonna sit presenter target for my qb. So it might have to be just all decor and decorum. Decorian or as Tom mentioned, I thought was like a really good rundown by him. Good, good analysis. If Kenyon comes back, I don't want to like double talk here. So I'm gonna see the Ford.

[D]

Danny.

[E]

I think you guys all covered it pretty well. I do think this is an opportunity for Oregon to showcase some of the athletes that we haven't seen on display recently. Kenny Sadiq was a weapon for them. I mean early in the season and even last year. Be curious if they can get him back involved in the game plan. Phil Parker is one of the best out there. In the business. I do think with a bye week he'll have some stuff for Oregon as well. To try to confuse Dante Moore, who hasn't seen that many different defenses. And then Gronowski's just been, he wasn't, he wasn't this dynamic threat that I thought he was going to be and kind of make this offense, you know, one of the upper tier in even the top half of the Big Ten. But he has given him an added dimension of quarterback run. Where I do think that to me is a priority for Oregon is to try to make Gronowski beat you with his arm. You know, try to. Because I don't know if he can do that. You know, we saw the Iowa State game early, was one that we were all watching a lot and he looked like his, his internal play clock was as slow as molasses. Like you just, it was like, well, he's got to get rid of the ball. Oregon's got to do a better job that teams haven't done recently of making Mark Gronowski uncomfortable.

[A]

Is. What do you. What, how do you grade Oregon's defense?

[C]

Pretty damn good up front. Nice size on the edges.

[A]

I mean who's lit them up? Like, I mean we can play the who have they played game. But I just. The overall profile as we're sitting here on November 5th says Oregon's a darn good defense. We don't spend a lot of time really looking at them that way and they will need that group to come out here and show those athletes they'll have to get pressure on them. They'll have to be able to make plays. You know, when Granowski gets out there and breaks the pocket. I think this is a, I think it's a big game for the Ducks defense as well. We always, you know, we throw X factors in the promo of some of big game breakdown. That's that sort of second, third level stuff. I'm looking at that in a game that carries huge, huge significance. The Ducks defense, I mean Indiana moved it on him a little bit. I, I know the weather was a huge factor for both teams in the Wisconsin game, but I don't know if anybody has really carved that group up.

[C]

I mean so they have played four games against offenses that are just non competitive offenses in college football. Right, right. Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Wisconsin and, and Northwestern, Rutgers actually holding them to 10. It is somewhat impressive to me and I know it's like a boiling point thing and like Rutgers athletically probably can't play with them, but like Rutgers is a like More than competent college offense this year, and they did shut them down. So that is a. That's a good game in their column. I think honestly, Indiana kind of moved it when they needed to. You know, I, I know that they had a defensive score in that game to. To get to 30, but scoring 24 offensive points when you're down a drive because you lose one, obviously to the defensive score in Austin, that's not bad.

[D]

I think the matchup matters a lot here because I think Oregon is strong up front. I don't think they have a particularly outstanding pass rush, or at least they haven't shown that. Yeah, I don't know how much they're going to need it in this game. Like, if you're. Are you worried about Iowa moving the ball vertically in the passing game against you?

[A]

No. But you want to contain the quarterback, force them to make mistakes, speed them up. You want to get. You want to stop the run on early downs, put them into an obvious passing situation and try to take advantage of that.

[D]

And that's. I think they can do that because it's like if I had a concern about Oregon overall, it's the secondary. And I think part of that, again, is they don't have an elite pass rush. And I think the secondary gets asked to cover a lot. And I think we saw that against Indiana. I just don't have much confidence Iowa can do it. Indiana did.

[E]

And I do think Oregon's. One of their strengths is interior of the defensive line. Amari Washington and Bear Alexander, they're pretty good players. Like that should be a pretty good matchup up front with that offensive line of Iowas.

[A]

So does Oklahoma State's total ineptitude just mean we have to write that result off? Because. Okay, man, but that was just one of the biggest ass kickings of this season.

[D]

That game didn't count.

[A]

That was a. It was a little ass kicking.

[D]

It counts in the standings. It doesn't count for evaluation. Not to me. I mean, most of that was like. What was it, Bud? Would you estimate like 50% of that game was garbage time?

[C]

I mean, trying to look at the box score here, but it was six.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, it was 41 to three. Yeah. Into the first half, according to EPA.

[A]

Per snap, every single snap on offense and defense, Oregon got about a half point better.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

I was looking at the biggest ass kickings of the season. Of the top 11, Oregon had two of them. They were against Oklahoma State and Rutgers. Five of them were against FCS teams. Four of them were against group of six teams and then you've got the Oklahoma State and Rutgers. I just.

[E]

If Russ is impressive, if we're gonna.

[A]

Play the tail end results, is there any chance the Ducks can come in there and kick ass?

[E]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

But I don't think that they will. Like I, I don't think Oregon's gonna blow them out if they win. I, I think that the weather combined with the way I was going to try to play it probably will end up looking a lot like the Indiana game. And the key will be can they force Indiana to make a mistake or limit the explosives that like Mendoza was able to hit in that game because Indiana was not consistent. But they did hit some big plays.

[A]

Yeah. And it was timely big plays too. Like the, like being able to hit those deep passes right as you're starting to flip the field and get Austin feeling a little bit puckering up a little bit. That was, I mean obviously it was one of the best wins of the season. Any other, Any other notes here on. On big time on cbs? Any stuff we're watching for.

[C]

I mean chat brings up a great point like Oregon or Iowa has nobody at the skill positions or quarterback who would start for Indiana. Right. Like this is a meaningful step down. It's just like the offensive line is gonna have to win this for them. I think a key matchup to watch. But like Oregon's edges are heavy, you know and like can they hold the edge? Like those guys have some real bulk to them. Like they're not like these light speed rusher types. Like can they. That if you can't move them, those guys can actually hold the point like that. That's a fairly big deal here against what Iowa wants to run.

[A]

Trying to get the outside run game going. Yeah, that's a good, good shot right there.

[E]

You. I mean this is worst possible scenario for Iowa. They're all excited that they're ranked in the top 25. But you got Oregon who's pissed off. They just dropped. They're not getting respected. And you had the Phil Parker talking about the roster has just been handed a silver platter of motivational meat that he can serve up to his team. I think this will be a highly motivated Oregon team. Doesn't mean like I, I think there is a greater chance for an Oregon blowout than there is for an Iowa win. Blew out. I mean two touchdowns. Like I don't. It's not going to be like the Rutgers game.

[D]

I, I don't think gorgeous. Unless Iowa really plays horrible.

[C]

Well, let's think, let's that could be, that could be a fun bet, right?

[A]

Hi, Danny. I'm with you. Yeah, let's, let's see. See what those prices are. I. And, and two things. Number one, I'm glad you brought it up because when you said Phil Parker, one of the best in the business, I was gonna say for all the experience that he's had, you thought he'd know better than to just, you know, step into that talking about the well funded roster. And then number two, I know you and Tom Fornelli are artistes when it comes to our computer generated images. I need motivational meat. I need motivational meat as a product cover three can sell. Hey, do you need motivational meat? Come on down to cover three where we've got two for one motivational meet this Friday.

[C]

All right, so I Oregon to win by. What'd you say, two or more touchdowns?

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, because it's gonna be too low scoring like it. Two touchdowns would feel like a blowout. But a 10 point win we'll get, we can get an alt line.

[E]

They could win 38, 13 and a half.

[C]

So I mean Oregon minus 13 and a half, plus 188. Money line on the games, plus 195. So to Danny's point, like it's, it's basically a coin flip.

[A]

The odds makers, the oddsmakers have set this spread, but no one actually believes it's going to come down to this spread.

[C]

But like, okay, if you just put it in layman's terms, that's basically a touchdown either way. Touchdown either way on, on the spread, Iowa wins. Touchdown either way, the other way or it wins by two scores. That's, that's a fair way to price that.

[A]

I'm, I'm excited. Should be a really, really fun game. All right, coming up on the other side, we continue our run through some of Week 11's biggest games with an eye on a top 10 battle in Lubbock. Get your tortillas ready. BYU, Texas Tech and more next. Whether you're raising a glass to your team, winning, catching up with old buddies back in town, or just trying to stay sane with a house full of relatives, how you feel the next morning still matters. That's why you can try pre alcohol zebiotics. Pre alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists, specifically scientific, to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's the buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration. That's really to blame for those rough next days. Pre alcohol produces an enzyme that breaks this byproduct down so you can feel your best tomorrow. Just remember to make pre alcohol your first drink of the night and of course drink responsibly. Had a big night with some of my best friends from high school recently. It was a steak night and of course in that kind of night when you might have a cocktail, you might have some wine with dinner, and of course a big meal, you knew there was going to be a lot going on in the gut. But my friend showed up, he had the prebiotic from Zbiotics and sure enough, the next morning felt a lot better. No sluggishness, no regrets. Make the most of every toast, tailgate and touchdown this holiday season. Just don't forget to bring pre alcohol along for the ride. Go to ZBiotics.com cover to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use code COVER at checkout. ZBiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee, so if you are unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zebiotics.com cover and use code COVER at checkout for 15% off.

[F]

If you love the NFL and NFL draft, you'll love with the first Pick A part of CBS Sports Podcast Network, CBS Sports draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Titans GM Ran Carthon come to you twice a week to give the front office perspective on the biggest NFL storylines of the day. We also follow the NFL Draft closer than anyone, weekly updates on our favorite college players, names to know based on your favorite NFL team's needs, and all the mock drafts and big boards you could want. If you love football, you're exactly where you're supposed to be. Download with the first pick and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere. Podcasts are found.

[A]

Back here on the COVID 3 podcast BYU and Texas Tech an absolutely massive game for the Big 12 title race. BYU, of course, still undefeated on the season, Texas Tech with just one loss and the Red Raiders are heavy favorites in this game. Danny, you think that's fair?

[E]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[E]

I think Texas Tech is playing as good as we've seen them. I thought it was a really impressive game they had this weekend on the road at Kansas State. I thought that was potentially an upset spot for them. I think the defense is playing good. A healthy Baron Morton makes a world of difference. Yeah, I do think that and I as good as, as much as I have made the case for byu, I mean, this is easily their biggest challenge. I think even more, like, even more impressive, a bigger challenge than even Utah was in the holy War. That game was at home. Right. That was in their backyard. And yeah.

[A]

What are we looking at?

[C]

It's the same analysis every time with Texas Tech. Can you block them?

[D]

Yep. Like, literally the first sentence on my nose.

[C]

We need to get, like, we need to get this, this video to eight minutes. But, like, really within the first minute we're going, no. Can you block Texas Tech? Like, Kansas State did a lot of stuff last week. They played hard. I thought they were. They were creative in some ways. But down the stretch, when they had to have it, when they had to get those crucial third downs, when they had to find a way to score in the red zone, can you block them? Because, like, Texas Tech paid up for real. Like, you know, defensive linemen who have a shot to be drafted and you just don't see that in this league. It's like we talked about this Kansas State last week. They hadn't seen anybody who could do that. It's the same deal now. Utah is not as good on the D line this year as they typically are, and they did beat Utah, but it's a. It's a different conversation. Right? Like, can you block them? I. I don't know. But, like, that is what we're going to find out.

[D]

The first, like, in my notes, the first thing I have written is, can BYU block Tech? That's the question every Big 12 team has to answer. And it's true. I mean, that's why it's. You're looking at the spread, seeing, wow, ten and a half. How the hell is it ten and a half? BYU's undefeated and ranked out of them. That's why. Because there's just a talent gap between Texas Tech's defensive front than everybody else in the Big 12. And BYU's offensive line has played well this year. They're tough, they're physical. They look like a BYU offensive line, but again, yeah, Utah's probably the best defensive front they have seen. They have not looked great all year. Like, they've struggled. Sometimes I feel like in pass protection against like, Arizona in particular. Going back and watching that game, I was kind of surprised by how overwhelmed BYU's offense offensive line looked at times. And I think that it's going to be really interesting to see, like, Bear Bachmeyer sack avoidance. Because when you look at the stats and look at all the numbers, that kind of Give you the clues. He's slightly above average in all of them. But the eye test kind of makes you wonder. And I do think this is going to be one of those things where when he's facing a very, very different kind of pass rush this week, one that might be able to get pressure on him consistently, do some of the habits he has that he's been able to get away with against other teams, come back to bite him in this game and put BYU behind the chains and in bad spots. And if he can avoid that, I think BYU has a shot to, you know, pull off the upset here. If he doesn't, I think this one could get lopsided.

[C]

So I mean, should we approach this like if they can block them, then what?

[D]

Then they're gonna explosives?

[A]

I think, I think Texas, Texas. Texas Tech's offense will stall out from time to time.

[C]

It does.

[D]

That's a good point. The last two games.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that's, that's what I've, that's one thing I've got is like, look, you know, the, when you look at sort of the B plus areas or the B graded areas of each of these teams games, you, you look at Texas Tech offensively and it can, you know, they'll spin their wheels for a little bit, especially in the run game. So for byu, you just hope this is lower scoring. You know, you understand that you're probably, if you can't move, if you can't run the ball, you're in trouble and it's just going to be a long, painful, eventual road loss. But if you can get a little bit going in the running game, like Tom, as you mentioned, BYU's passing attack isn't particularly intimidating, you know, and so third and long with a less than intimidating, intimidating passing attack against one of the best pass rush groups in the entire country, third and eight plus as a losing proposition for the BYU offense. But if you can just have some decent drives, play some field position, live to see another day. I think BYU hopes that their defense can hold up and just make this low scoring enough that you've just got a chance. And that's kind of where I'm approaching this in terms of, you know, what is the path that this doesn't end up being? Texas Tech runaway. It's BYU doing some of the things that they've done all season long, you know, winning at the margins, being able to play like, do the small stuff well and just giving themselves a shot late.

[D]

You mentioned something I do think is important and worth discussing though. It's like Texas Tech's offense has not been great lately. And it's, it's interesting to know and we're going to maybe get a better idea is because like they've been doing like the shuffle back and forth between Morton and Hammond because of injuries and now Hammond's gone, so Morton's back. Like, has that just been a result of the inconsistently inconsistency who's playing quarterback? Or is the offense just kind of stalled out because their last three games they're at 2.1 points per drive, negative 0.04 EPA per play, and a 39.3 success rate. I know they've scored 40 plus in two of them, although one of them was against Oklahoma State. But it's, it hasn't been efficient as much as they've just had the ball.

[A]

A bunch and they'll pop an explosive like the run game, it'll just be like not much. Not much. Not much. 45, not much. And the fact that you can pop those explosives obviously is like the advantage of like, yeah, well, that's how we're able to score 40 plus points in these games. But if you're BYU, you think like, hey, if we can win enough of these downs and limit those like huge long plays, then we might be able to cause some problems for Texas Tech.

[E]

Both of these teams are really good with turnovers, creating them and also, you know, minimizing what you do. I think it is worthy to note that in Texas Tech's loss. Remember Baron Morton, before he left the game, had two interceptions. You really haven't seen Bear Bachmeier struggle that much with turning the ball over. Jacob Rodriguez, the linebacker for Texas Tech who is not getting enough credit, has seven forced fumbles, including two last week against Kansas State. That's one thing I would be preaching to Bear Bachmire this week. As much as he runs the ball and every ball carrier is secure, the football turnovers teams thrive on, especially when you're playing on the road. I think that's going to be a priority in this game is kind of ball security, turnover battle. Who wins that, by the way? You guys know about Jacob Rodriguez wife, right? She flies a Blackhawk helicopter.

[A]

I did hear that on the broadcast.

[E]

Yeah. It's pretty cool. She's a badass.

[A]

And that's the, the second, second most badass person in your house happens to be this.

[E]

I don't know, might be her.

[A]

That's what I'm saying. Like Jacob is the second most badass person in the house.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that's and that's the thing too is it's not just Romello height and David Bailey. The interior of the defensive line still has dudes. Jacob Rodriguez at the linebacker position. They've got other linebackers that are really impressive. This whole Texas Tech defense, well constructed, they play nasty. That's a. It is a recipe that is clearly worked here in 2025. If Joey McGuire can continue to match funds and resources to this kind of roster building technique, Texas Tech will be a Big 12 title contender for a long time. Anything else here before we go to Como?

[C]

How do they handle the bliss packages? Like I, I do think byu, they're gonna go play their game defensively and like they do a really good job of bringing it bring a lot of different blitz looks like can they find a way to get those hits on Morton that rattle him that like make him get some turnovers going on like that. That to me is really pretty important here. I I don't know if they can just get home with pass rush. They have a lot of really nice pieces. I think seven who you can bring the blitz coverage wise. I don't know that BYU has faced a lot of really good passing offenses this year. Right. So I mean Iowa State is down at receiver a little bit. Utah is as well. Arizona is okay. East Carolina like for a G5 is okay. And I don't know, the Texas Tech has amazing receivers but this is probably the best passing offense that they've seen. Right. Unless I'm like like definitely not Colorado. So there's a lot of what ifs here that we don't know. But like really it's going to be, you know, could Texas Tech continue to get home with four so they can protect their, their back seven and prevent explosives. And you know on the flip side can be why you get home with those blitzes.

[A]

Fafita hit a couple deep passes in that. I remember you were talking about that Arizona game earlier, Tom. That was a. That was a spot where BYU was hanging on a lot with that one. Any upset alert for the Texas A M Aggies?

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

Okay, explain.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Coming off a buy. So this is one of my purchases in Day Trader Danny is Matt Zollers the quarterback who will be starting for Mizzou. I thought he looked pretty good against Vanderbilt. Granted limited time off the bench but I thought he, I mean he is a five star, correct. He is not just a slouch coming off the bench.

[A]

I've been calling him blue Chip. I think we might be.

[C]

Yeah four star but like fringe Bluetooth all right, four star, nice guy.

[E]

So he's not a bum. He's not. And I think with a week to prepare like you are an extra week to prepare this whole time for Eli Drinkwitz, get in his bag a little bit. And I don't know, I wasn't that sold on Beau Pribula as like the answer for Missouri. So like losing him I don't think was as devastating. And I still think Missouri's defense will be a pretty good challenge for Texas A M.

[C]

It's fair to note that like how many teams can really chuck it around very well? Who Arkansas or who Texas? A scene, right? Arkansas throws it better than I think Missouri does with soldiers. Notre Dame, I know does, but like LSU kind of. But they've been largely a mess. This is in Como. It's not insane to think Missouri can win this game but I, I do think that A M can block them pretty well. So if, if the QB is okay, doesn't turn it over too much, I think you got to feel pretty good about A and M getting out of there with a win.

[A]

Phenomenal matchup Texas A and M offensive line against Missouri defensive front. Maybe you could even argue the others. I mean just lines of scrimmage in this game are going to be a lot of fun. That's a very, very competitive trench war that we've got here in this game.

[D]

I mean it's going to come down to Zoellers if he can give them a passing attack that's better than what they had with Pribula. Because as we've kind of touched on already and we've discussed, the one real vulnerability of Texas A M's defense has been their secondary. They have been taken apart a little bit by good passing attacks. So can Missouri do that? But even before Beau Pribula got hurt like the offense is dropped off a cliff in conference play, they were off to a great start to the year in in non conference Missouri was averaging 3.92 points per drive, had a 54 success rate, 0.29 EPA per snap and had a negative play rate of only 21.2% in conference play those numbers dropped to 1.95 points per drive, 41.5% success rate, 0.04 EPA and a 33.1% negative play rate. It's hard to score points when a 30 year plays are going backwards. Can they keep the ball going forward and staying on schedule against this Texas A and M defense with their backup quarterback? Now I do think the buy plays a part because it gives them the extra week to prepare, and I think that's huge. I don't think you can really overestimate how big of an impact that has with a kid who hasn't started before. And the fact that this game is at home and not in Kyle Field will also play to their benefit, because now you're not asking this kid to go play in front of those crazy people. And I mean that kindly. Okay. Not the cult way, but like, I just.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah. Also yes, but. So I. I think that there's a lot that's going Mizzou's direction, so I don't think it's crazy to think Mizzou can pull off this upset. I just don't think it's very likely.

[A]

My apologies to Matt Sollers. I've. Over the course of the last two weeks, I've called him about every regular old name. I've called him Sam. I've called him Dan. I've called him just like. Oh, I mean, I might have called him Jim. Bill. He's. He is going to be as well prepared for this moment as you possibly could ask for, given the circumstances and as Eli Drinkwitz continues to be a name that's just sort of sifting around Danny. I'm not going distraction. I'm going to job interview. I'm going resume booster. Look what I can do. Alpha nerd getting on the board, drawing it up. We'll see. I mean, it's going to be a long game, and as Mike Elko will remind you, this team outscores everybody in the second half. But I think that if, if Missouri doesn't come out and make a good statement early in this game, they're not winning. They need to be able to come out, hit a couple plays, give the kids some confidence, get a couple stops against the Texas A and M team that is playing on the road in Columbia off a buy when they're top three in the country and feeling like a lot has been accomplished but Texas A and M has been the better team all season. I. I think Texas A M escapes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a little hairy. Anything else?

[E]

I just think Ahmad Hardy and the run game for Missouri could provide a problem for Texas A defense.

[D]

But see, my. My thought about that is without Pribula, will the run game be as effective? Because with Tribula in there, you've got to account for him. Now, if you don't really have to account for Zolers, Hardy might be easier to stop than he already had become in SEC play.

[A]

Good point. All right, coming up on the other side, we got ahead to the market with day trading Danny. Plus more week 11 previews and games to note storylines and more next.

[G]

Carolina basketball isn't just a program, it's a legacy. I'm John Henson and will be the host of Tar Heels247, a UNC basketball podcast for fans who bleed Carolina blue. Each week I'll be joined by players, coaches and insiders for real unfiltered conversations about the team, the tradition, maybe some funny stories and everything in between. No filters, no.

[A]

No fluff, just hoop talk.

[G]

The Tar Heel ways. Subscribe now to Tar Heel 247 at UNC Basketball Podcast or wherever you get your podcast at. We're gonna have a good time. Let's get ready to go.

[H]

What's up, everyone? It's the counselor of Cash seeing Ajad from the Early Edge, a daily sports betting show powered by Sportsline and part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network. If you're looking for the best bets, picks and analysis for the day in sports, we're your one stop shop. We're locked up in every day with NFL bets and player props, college football picks and so much more. Download and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere podcasts are found. Subscribe to the SportsLine YouTube page to watch us live at 10am Eastern Time every weekday. Make sure to turn on those notifications so you don't miss a single pick all season long.

[C]

Good luck.

[A]

Back here on the COVID 3 podcast. It's always important to stay abreast of your financial situation and that's why we've got one of the best advisors in the business. Time to check in with day trading, Danny.

[E]

All right, markets open. A lot of buys today. You know, I was trying to find guys to sell. I don't know, I feel like I've sold a lot of them already. So one of my first purchases, we were just talking about Matt Zollers. I'm buying up some Matt Zollers. Potentially could beat the Missouri, the Texas A Maggies at home. Good defense, good run game. What's that, a prospector? Yes, prospector, exactly. We're going out there on a little bit of a whim. This is buying low. Everybody accuses me of buying high. So I'm not going to buy him after he pulls off this upset. I will remind, just a final point. We were just talking about Notre Dame. Put up a lot of points on that team. C.J. carr in that game did not rush for anything. He was pretty much pocket passer in that one. So I don't know if Solar's has to do that much with his legs. You did see Jeremiah Love and Darren Price have a pretty good game against Texas A and M's defense. So that is the formula for that one potentially happening. I, I, I, you know, I've been getting my runs in on Sunday morning, so I've heard some shots fired at your boy from Buying High. So you know what I'm gonna do? I'm adding to my Julian same, which I did purchase over a month ago as you guys were like, oh, I bet Dan is going to buy some Julian Saying. Here's what I'm buying though. I'm buying Julian Saying is going to break the single season completion percentage record. He's over 80% still, which is pretty phenomenal. No, this thing gets broken every single year. It's kind of crazy. So when I was a senior and we were going into that game against Virginia when we lost, I think I was at 71% and I was trying to catch Steve Young's completion percentage record which had been since like 1980 something. 83. 80. No, he was 88, I think something like that. It was a long time before. If you look, this thing gets broken almost every single year. The last two, Bo Nix and Mac Jones both had 77.4. I think Julian Saying does it. He is playing that good. The schedule. Sure, the Michigan game could become problematic for him, but I just think he's been so on point. He's got such a good grasp of the system right now. I, I think he's going to break this record, which might go a long way in the Heisman race. I still think it'll come down to the Big Ten championship game. But if you do something like that, then all of a sudden I do think it separates you. It's like, oh, this guy's record setting quarterback 80% at this point of the season in November is pretty wild.

[A]

We agree that Julian Saying is likely headed for being a Heisman Trophy finalist, right?

[E]

Oh yeah, he's done there.

[A]

Was Bo Nix a finalist in 2023 when he broke it?

[E]

I think he was there for some reason. I feel like he was in New York.

[A]

I was looking at it and it just looked like a bunch of fun. I mean, Mac Jones finalist, not a winner finalist. Yeah.

[D]

In 2023.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

He was third.

[A]

Yeah. No, no, no reckless connection there. But I mean it doesn't, he's, it is not a, no one is alleging an accuracy issue for the Ohio State quarterback. He's got incredible wide receivers, but, man, he's delivering it right where it needs to be.

[E]

All right, I got another purchase here. This one. Maybe guys consider it buying high, but I don't think we've talked enough about Mason Heintjl, the quarterback for Pitt, who is undefeated as a quarterback. I am buying that Mason Heitchell will ruin Notre Dame or Georgia Tech or Miami's season hopes. One of those, because they're all in the playoff conversation. I know Miami feels like a long shot. Georgia Tech still has that opportunity to beat Georgia, But Mason Hychel and Pitt are going to ruin somebody's season. They're going to pull off one of these upsets, and I wouldn't be shocked if they pull off two of them because two of them are at home in their backyard.

[A]

Undefeated with Mason Heischel at quarterback. Is trying to get the pit at large argument put together.

[E]

Absolutely. And it should be like, absolutely. If I'm. If I am Pat Narduzzi, I am bringing this up every chance that I can get because they are. It is a human committee that's supposed to be. I mean, they're telling us they're watching tape last night. I. I wasn't fired up enough last night, but then because I didn't hear enough of Mac Rhodes comments. But when I was.

[A]

I mean, that's one thing that is tough about the instant reaction. The way that we got it set up right now is that we don't get to hear both macros on the broadcast and also on the teleconference, because the teleconference comments can be just as damning.

[E]

Oh, so that was one thing that had me fired up because he was talking about why Ohio State was number one. And he said he thought Ohio State's offensive line play was the difference. And one of the reasons that might be their biggest weakness, that might be one of the issues in their inability to get the run game going. I was fired up on that one. But if I was patting our doozy, I would be pounding the table saying, we are undefeated with our current starting quarterback for the committee. And that's one way you get past that West Virginia loss. That's one. Hey, this was. That was a different quarterback. You don't want to throw anybody into the bus. But it has been a different offense.

[C]

I mean, it's almost like they just kind of make it up as they go and that. Like, if you're doing this to sell a TV show, you really don't need to do the teleconference after Just put it out and let people argue amongst themselves. Right. Absolutely.

[D]

I thought yesterday's rankings were perfectly fine.

[C]

I mean, we. We almost all guessed them perfectly.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Like.

[C]

Like within a slot or two.

[D]

Okay, so it's like, what do you. What can you really be mad about? We kind of knew what they were, and then they.

[A]

I was eight spots off on Miami.

[E]

Oh, that's.

[D]

That's more about you than it is the committee.

[A]

That is a choice ranking.

[E]

I didn't get upset enough for Louisville. I didn't get upset enough for Louisville. They have a really strong case to be ahead of Notre Dame with two losses. They beat the same team that Miami or that Notre Dame lost to in Miami. They've got a couple significant wins. Like, I. I think there have a case to be ahead of Notre Dame. Granted, they'll have an opportunity to do so, but that one just bothered me. All right, one more buy. I'm buying Cutter Bowley.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Quarterback at Kentucky, as the QB that can beat the Florida Gators this weekend. That is where I am buying. I am very curious to see how the Gators show up in Lexington this weekend after a rough loss to Florida where it felt like they laid it all the line. And I feel like I sold DJ Lagway a long time ago, so I don't know if I can sell it more, but, man, he had opportunities in that game to potentially win it. So I would sell any remaining DJ Lagway Scott stock. Even if you do have it in your portfolio.

[A]

You ever cashed out for 10 cents?

[E]

No, never. I just let it go to zero. I do not know how to cut losses. That's. That was one of my biggest problems when I was day trading. Danny, just hang on.

[A]

DJ Lagway with no healthy wide receivers, and the season's kind of sliding off the rails. Dallas Wilson shutting it down. Hey, Florida got it all together. They threw one big punch. But a lot of missed opportunities, as you mentioned. They're going to be tough to trust the Gators the rest of the way.

[E]

All right, my last sell, and this one might rub some people the wrong way, but facts are facts. SEC fan bases are overrated. The Big Ten, the most underrated fan bases in the country. As far as being rowdy, being able to kick back some beers. Do you realize there was a study that was done that showed of the stadiums now that are selling alcohol, it is not even close. Seven out of the top 11 schools in total revenue and units sold, any way you want to look at it, are from the Big Ten school Starting with Wisconsin. I witnessed that firsthand in person. They don't care what the season's going like. They are going to kick back some beers, they're going to kick back your spotted cows. They know how to do it. Nebraska came in second. Then you have Tennessee, lsu, not to be, you know, they're, they're in the mix. But then there is another run of Michigan with Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State. They are the most represented school in there. So the SEC is overrated for game day atmospheres. The Big Ten knows how to get it done.

[D]

Matt Brown of Extra Points, who is one who released this information yesterday, did issue a retraction today.

[E]

Oh no.

[D]

He had. No, no. The seven of the top 11 is still very much the same. It's just that he had Wisconsin's numbers wrong. Wisconsin is not number one overall. Wisconsin is actually eighth overall. It is Nebraska who was first overall. But still there's only remains. There's only two SEC teams in the top 11 and that's Kentucky and LSU and.

[A]

Go ahead.

[D]

I will defend the SEC here. Tailgating at SEC schools goes on much longer because the weather is typically nicer than what you're going to get at the Big Ten. So you're not standing outside as much for three or four hours drinking pre gaming before you go inside. So you're getting inside and you're drinking, drinking once you're there. Most SEC fans by the time they get in the stadium are already blotto. So they don't really need to keep drinking as much as they need to sober up. So I would say that if you charged for drinks outside of the stadiums the same way you do inside, I would wager that the SEC would fare very well against the rest of the Big Ten counterparts. Now it's the acc. Those are the weaklings. Those are the guys sitting there who can't. That is just a bunch of sad, sad, soft little, you know, with their.

[E]

Well, that's because they're studying.

[A]

That is a family atmosphere.

[D]

Okay?

[A]

Look at all this space. Like I don't have to worry about losing my 5 year old in a crowd at an ACC football game. They've got tons of room to run around.

[C]

Your own row. Yeah, Boston College doesn't even let you tailgate.

[D]

Exactly.

[E]

10 doesn't get enough tailgating because they're all noon kicks.

[D]

That, that doesn't help either. Oh my God. If I had, you know how many times while I was in champagne, it'd be like you'd be out until 5am on Friday night and then you just never go to bed and you go straight to Memorial Stadium. Start tailgating at six. Oh, my God.

[A]

Also outside the stadium, if we. I don't know if you were able to count, but, like, have y' all been to DKR at Texas recently? Like the concerts and bars and sort of. The whole strip is like an economy to itself. It's outside the stadium. You can buy beers inside. But the. That is a whole other sort of world that's happening where Nebraska's got it too, though.

[E]

We were set up there at that little railroad station that was pretty, pretty similar.

[A]

Yeah, well, Nebraska is just crushing it. And I do think if Wisconsin had a better football team and more state, more fans in the stadium for longer.

[E]

Maybe they would drink less.

[D]

They're sneaking it in. Trust me. Wisconsin, I. You spend a lot of time in Wisconsin. First of all, they're showing up ready and they've got plenty in their pockets.

[A]

The, I guess, statute of limitations has passed, but allegedly, you know, you. You got to make sure you got high socks for those football games, right?

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, you got to make sure you got high, high socks. Walking in sounding like a percussion instrument.

[D]

You wanna. If you wanna drink cheap, now's a great time because baggy pants are back in.

[A]

Let's go. All right, dk. Anything else?

[E]

Markets closed.

[A]

Markets closed. All right, let's keep our conversation going with some of the games of note, storylines to watch and more. I noticed that we had three top teams, top three top 20 teams, but certainly two of the top four teams got a lot of interim coaches and big stuff spots. We've got Indiana traveling to go play Penn State. Lsu, led by Frank Wilson now is going to play Alabama. Auburn, led by DJ Durkin, going to play at Vanderbilt. Any. Anything feisty or anything interesting or is this. This kind of sad? You know, these. These skeleton zombie teams walking in against ranked opponents. It gets a little spooky, right. When you're dealing with these kinds of squads. Anything to watch that has your attention about any of those matchups.

[E]

I do not expect much out of lsu. Like, I like the Florida potentially upsetting Georgia was more about a pretty good Georgia team that still had a pretty good defensive line, offensive line. Like, if you could just get a little bit more out of DJ Lagway, which you couldn't, and that they probably could have won the game if he makes a couple plays there. Lsu, there's not much you can do about an offensive line that has just struggled all season long. I don't know. There's not much you can do to mask that. I do think Auburn is interesting. I told you that I. We had tequila spikes on the show yesterday.

[A]

Him too. Is he trying to promote DJ Durkin for the job?

[E]

He said he deserves a look with the defense that they have in place. So I do think it is something to keep an eye on that. I think that defense now again, I don't think you can do much with the offense. Maybe having one play caller as the.

[A]

Players already did that he said Derek Nix calls the plays. We need one person to call the plays.

[E]

So maybe that helps. But I do think that defense could provide some issues. That's. That's probably the one I look at and say that that could be interesting. And if. If he somehow wins the last three games, which includes the Iron bowl against Alabama, then I think the conversations get much more serious. But he has to go out and beat Vanderbilt first.

[A]

Bless you.

[D]

Double bless you again.

[C]

Good job crushing me today. Mute buttons on point though. Look, I. Bandy has not been able to run the ball in like two games.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So could it get to a situation where you get kind of risky turnover prone Pavia and Auburn finds a way to get this? Like certainly. Yeah. I think that is. That's possible. And Vanny's played a bunch of tough games in a row. So maybe Auburn gets off the mat here? I think that's possible. I, I don't think Penn State has enough to catch Indiana. I will say like, Indiana's pretty banged up. If you watch the press conference from Cineti, like he does note they're, they're hurting. So I, I mean I, I don't think they're like not going to keep the, like the throttle down. But also, you know, maybe.

[A]

Do you know how many times Penn State interim coach Terry Smith asked the officials to stop the clock in last week's game against Ohio State?

[C]

00.

[A]

He had three timeouts in his pocket when he went into the locker room at halftime. He had three timeouts in his pocket when he walked into the locker room after the game. We are in. I'm here so I don't get fined territory. We are getting hurt and don't want anybody to get hurt. We are not introducing any additional exposure that is not needed. You know, lots of different ways you can play with that information, but that is just a behavior that I witnessed. It was Ohio State, Penn State. If you really wanted to win the game. There were opportunities to try to assert some control. But you know, I think he's doing his job.

[D]

I am disappointed in Sig not going with like a pain, don't hurt kind of line to explain away the injuries. Like just questioning his team's toughness. It's like come on Kurt.

[C]

Yeah, I, yeah I think there are some interesting non like non interim coach situations here this weekend.

[D]

Memphis too maybe.

[C]

Memphis two Lane's pretty interesting wake. Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi State. Like these are very small spread games.

[A]

Well yeah, yeah, I mean obviously that's, I had Georgia at Mississippi State next on the the rundown. It's a, it's a Google Doc. It's shared with you. Georgia is Georgia on upset alert kind.

[C]

Of I think trappy game. Georgia like, like for all their, their kind of just you know, non, like what's the word? Not vulnerable. I'm looking for a word here means like just kind of like normal human like oh, you know what I'm talking about.

[D]

Yeah. Empathy.

[A]

No, no, no, no, no, no. They can bleed. Georgia has shown us they are human.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[A]

Superpowers. Right.

[D]

They're vulnerable.

[C]

They're talking about their feelings like crazy. And when Mississippi State can't run that past game and that pass row situation is rough. So I, I, as long as Georgia shows up, I think they'll shut down this specific state run game pretty well. They've done a really nice job playing this hypo offense before and I, I don't think Mississippi State's defense is anything special. So like I, I, I, I would be pretty surprised if Georgia falls there.

[A]

A look ahead spot. You got Texas on deck. You're coming out of the cocktail party.

[D]

It's trappy.

[A]

It's a sandwich spot.

[C]

So it's interesting here. I mean Florida State, Florida state closed like 10 and a half against Wake. Right. They blow them out. Now Virginia who beat FSU is 6 1/2 to Wake after seeing what you saw from that Wake offense on Saturday in Doak.

[A]

I mean I'm not going to spoil my Thursday lock, but I don't like that spot for Wake Forest at all. I thought Virginia, I play, I thought Virginia played a couple bad games in a row. And while you were correct to point out, I think yesterday on the CBS Sports Network show that was a scoop and score or pick six ended up flipping a close game into a a 10 point win. Yeah, I do think it was the most life we had seen from Chandler Morris in the offense in a couple games because they looked super bad against North Carolina and the week prior. And so it did seem as though they got in a little bit more of a rhythm. Not to mention it's at night Scott Stadium. I mean, whatever you're going to get in terms of home field advantage, you're going to get from UVA on Saturday night. And Wake. Penalties, turnovers, sloppy play. I mean they just second road game in a row. I don't know. Do you, do you think that. Are you putting the who's on upset.

[C]

Alert with the way they play? Like they're kind of on upset alert every week. But no, I agree with you. I think the spot is not great for Wake.

[A]

You guys got any thoughts on the. I guess, I guess this would be even nicer than Vineyard Vines Bowl. This is more like the Peter Malar Bowl, Wake and uva, right? Or, or maybe it's just your custom tailor. You know, everything's.

[D]

Everything's custom measured line in the tailgate.

[A]

What about Memphis? Tulane.

[D]

Very interested in watching that on Friday night. That's a huge game.

[C]

Tulane's offense show up enough because I, I do think Memphis will find a way to score. Brennan Lewis has been one of the best quarterbacks in, in the, the G6 this year. I, I'm fairly confident they're going to find ways to score. So like Tulane has also got to be able to match scores with them. Find a way to get some turnovers from Lewis if you can and see if you can hold on here like there. It's not like Memphis is way better than Tulane, but I think their offense is the most trustworthy part as far as like, you know, Memphis offense, Memphis defense, Chilean offensive, lane defense, like that, to me they're the most trustworthy thing in this game.

[A]

Two lanes offense.

[C]

Yeah. No, Memphis offense's offense. I agree with that.

[D]

If Memphis is able to run the ball effectively against Tulane, I just don't think Tulane's gonna have a shot to win. They could ask. They got to figure out a way to slow that down.

[A]

I think Tulane's resume looks better than how it's looked to watch them play.

[D]

Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

[C]

That makes a lot of sense.

[A]

Like if I just tell you, it's like, hey, look at this team's record. This team's beaten couple power five teams, a good ecu. You know, like you start to stack it all up. But to just watch them, even in some of those wins, you know, it's. There's some mistakes, there's some errors in critical positions on the field. Like I, like I've referenced before, John Summerall himself admitted that this team is going to give him a heart attack. They're the, the level of performance. I think they're A super talented team. They get it all going. They play a clean game, they should be able to win. They just have not been playing clean football regularly throughout this season.

[C]

Totally agree. What if we could do tomorrow's headlines now? Like how many of these upsets do you think we get this weekend? Like, like do. Do we have a chaos weekend coming?

[A]

I mean famous last words, but get out the Erasers.

[E]

We'll get a couple because what, two weeks ago we got none. Right? Like two weeks ago was sort of a sleeper. That was a sleeper.

[C]

Yeah. We got some exciting games that ended up with the favorite winning.

[A]

Right.

[D]

You know, UConn's undefeated at home. Duke coming to town coming into Jim Morris house is like a 10 point favorite after getting extremely lucky last week to be Clemson. Does to the scales of justice. Flip back the other direction there, buddy.

[A]

If you don't think that Jim Moore Jr's house is going to get a. I'm going to be taping together tablets to make a quad box and and I will give. I will give some attention to Jim Moore Jr's house. Architects of their own demise. The Blue Devils see if they've. See if they can play a clean game on the road with a bunch of. A bunch of ACC opponents left.

[C]

That is so ACC to go play Yukon in the middle of the season on the road.

[D]

Yeah, it's an interesting spot.

[A]

The recently deemed betting favorites to win the acc who could lose the game outright and not have their odds to win the ACC change one bit.

[C]

This league sucks. Oh my God.

[E]

Hey, I sent you guys talking. I thought I sent you the video of Jim Phillips saying what a great, great shape they were in for the College Football Playoff in the pregame show on Saturday.

[C]

There's no gate on this neighborhood right now, guys.

[A]

So the again, like it's just, you know, we don't always get to respond to the committee. But the. You should have known that you were doomed when committee chair Mack Rhodes invoked Arizona State when talking about the acc. He said, no, we're just going to treat you like we treated the Big 12 last year. There's going to be like four of your teams in the top 25. We're going to throw you all outside like the top 12 and just throw us your champion. Just whenever y' all are done, you know, messing around doing your own little thing, you send one over and we'll let you come to the dance. They are treating them intentionally like they treated the Big 12 last year.

[D]

Who. Who does macros? Where? CD athletic director at Baylor. Oh what league are they in?

[A]

The Big 12.

[D]

It's not so fun when the rabbits got the gun, is it? Acc.

[E]

Funny, funny.

[D]

Bubba Cunningham ain't choosing the teams for this tournament.

[C]

He didn't really choose him when he had the chance in 23.

[A]

Hey, get your athletic directors right. I understand that between Boo and Bubba, it's hard to keep. Was the committee chair, the NC State athletic director in 23 that chose Alabama over Florida State? Bubba Cunningham was the committee chair of the basketball tournament when North Carolina was one of the last teams in last season.

[C]

And Boo is the one that Chip kind of looks like.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

All right.

[D]

All them. All them white boys from Carolina look the same to me.

[C]

But Bubba, Same wig store, Bubba.

[A]

And he will laugh at this himself. But Bubba's got a lot more forehead. Like his gray hair goes back. Boo's got some of the gray tussle as well. Speaking of the acc, you backed us into this corner. I'm gonna back you into this. What are we gonna do in Death Valley?

[E]

I don't know, but they're getting all the homer calls. With Dabo Sweeney out there complaining all week about the officiating, just making sure they get every single call to go their way this weekend.

[A]

It is beneath. Do you know how many years we've seen Clemson get the home flags? I can't believe that they got screwed for once.

[C]

They said they had home games.

[E]

14. They said they had 14 calls. They wanted to submit. They can only submit 10. And he said five of them. They got apologies on. Oops, we're sorry. The only thing he is right on. And I do think this is true and it's accurate and needs to change is they do need to start paying the officials as full time employees. The amount of money that's going around here, I think that's a start in the right direction. I don't think it solves everything, but there was an article out this May, I think, that said ACC officials make 2500 bucks a game.

[C]

Plus travel.

[E]

I would hope so.

[A]

I don't.

[D]

Would they go to like a. Would they go to like a training academy then if they were full time, like, what would they do between games?

[A]

I could tell you.

[E]

Study?

[A]

No, no.

[E]

Watch film.

[D]

Like run a simulation. Like they'd have. They'd have them in like, you know, like they got the F1 drivers in those simulators. They'd have refs doing it. Like spot the hold.

[A]

All right. Do you want a real answer?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So it used to be that if you were like, you could not officiate a school that was in the city where you lived. And so what ends up happening is you go and you work the practices because the coaches want to have the ACC officials be the officials for your practices. So Ryan McGee's father, Jerry McGee, is a famous. Yeah, Famous, longtime official. They lived in Raleigh. So he would go and he would work the NC State practices because he was not allowed to do the NC State games. And then, you know, travel for the weekend to go do officiate something else. Yeah.

[E]

Have officiate practices.

[A]

Get you Repson. Absolutely.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And Bud, to your point, it has been since October 19th of 2024 since Clemson fans have been able to gather at the paw after a home win. That is more than a calendar year without a win in Death Valley.

[D]

Is it the curse?

[A]

No, we've.

[D]

Florida State ended its ACC losing streak last week. Maybe Clemson can end its home losing streak this week. Anything is possible.

[A]

No, what the truth is Jeff Brahm just stole the program soul. That stunning result last year was like confidence shaking, I think. Haven't had the good since then. So what happens in the game?

[C]

I mean, if Clemson shows up offensively, they should score like 40, but there's no guarantee they will. I mean, Wake's offense looked awful last week. They did hit a couple explosive plays that were called back via penalty. So that's probably a slightly different result, not in terms of who wins, but in terms of the margin if that doesn't happen. Yeah, I don't think FSU's defense is fixed, but, you know, Clemson's offense has also been very up and down. Not last week, though. Like, last week they got it together defensively. Man, like, that team just looks. They both look like a mess. Honestly, I. I have no idea what's gonna happen. You could tell me either team wins by 20, I'm like, yeah, I buy it.

[A]

What do you make of. Is. Is Mike Norvell coaching for 2026 with all of these games coming down the stretch?

[C]

I mean, I don't think the AD wants to fire him. Right. But they're not building anything there. Like, they lose their entire offensive line. Like, they lose, you know, a lot of their best defensive players. It. They're gonna have to portal this thing again. It's not like you got young guys in the. In the wings who are ready to step up and are looking good.

[A]

So.

[C]

I mean, it's a good reminder. You root for a business.

[D]

I root for people.

[A]

Hey, that's right. College football. Most human sport in the world. The Navy at Notre Dame will be in a prime time game. How much.

[E]

For Notre Dame's defense is God awful.

[A]

I was gonna say, how many open field tackles are we gonna see in this game?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, it's like how many possessions is Notre Dame gonna get? If they get 10 possessions, they're going to score 50. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Their team total, by the way, is 42 and a half, so.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. So it's.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, Navy's defense is bad.

[D]

Bad.

[C]

North Texas ran the hell out of the ball against them last week.

[A]

Yeah, that's gonna be. It's gonna be quite an affair in the prime time slate. 7:30pm Eastern Time kickoff. What other games across the country have your attention as we look ahead to the Week 11 slate?

[C]

Well, can Marshall clip JMU?

[A]

I don't think maybe they've been.

[C]

They've been scoring more points recently. I'm a little curious to see that.

[A]

Do you know who else has been scoring more points? Jmu.

[C]

Yeah, that is true.

[A]

I think. I think that's gonna be high scoring. But I think that I trust JMU to get stops if it gets a little sideways.

[C]

Nebraska is a dog to ucla, by the way.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Don't hate Nebraska, but you know, we'll.

[C]

Game for San Diego State at Hawaii. Yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Spreads under touchdown.

[A]

That one. That. Washington at Wisconsin.

[D]

What about it?

[C]

Is Wisconsin gonna start the freshman?

[D]

I do not know. I have heard there's a possibility.

[C]

Yeah, that's something I'm kind of monitoring for this weekend.

[A]

It's funny because it's going to be nasty weather, but they're coming from Seattle, so I don't know what 41 degrees and rainy does to throw them off game.

[D]

That's a beautiful spring day in Seattle.

[A]

That's so. But I was. At least you know it because of what we've seen. When Demond Williams doesn't take care of the football, there is a way to play down into a scary situation. I read that one as a Jimmy Joe's issue. Washington wins running away. But you know, we're. I'm just looking. Looking at spots. Right. We're sitting here in early November.

[E]

11.11, 11 and a half.

[D]

On the road.

[C]

Arkansas State and Southern Miss is. Is a battle, I believe, for first place in the Sunbelt West.

[A]

That's right. Don't forget that the Sun Belt still uses divisions, which I think I might. I think I might ask that we bring divisions back.

[D]

Everybody wants visions back now. When we had them, they were horrible, but now we want them back.

[C]

Is Colorado gonna get off the mat. No, no. Okay.

[A]

Oh, I did promise. Arizona, Kansas. That was one that I circled. I was like, I have no idea what to do here.

[C]

I mean, Kansas has been like so up and down.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I think slightly better than its record. Yeah, Tom, exactly.

[A]

Arizona's been better than its record and better than I expected so far this season. Arizona's playing at home. I think I trust Arizona more right now than Kansas, but coin flip ass game as Tom just. Just flipped that coin up in the air. Also, I don't think Colorado gets off the mat against our new freshman quarterback at West Virginia, Scotty Fox.

[E]

He's been making some changes. He said Dion.

[A]

Oh, yeah, we'll see. Juju Lewis right.

[D]

In a road start.

[A]

I think your cutter Bowley shout out is a good one, Danny.

[E]

Yeah, that game is interesting.

[D]

I'm interested in for disgusting reasons. In Rutgers, Maryland. I mean, I think the spread on that's a point. It could be. It could be a really fun, stupid shootout.

[C]

I agree with that. Texas State is winless in the Sun Belt and they're favorite at Louisiana.

[A]

G.J. kenny for whatever job you want, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Texas State got pounded by JMU midweek in some of the last midweek fun belt action. Tough loss for Chuck Martin in Miami Ohio last night.

[C]

I was. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, give up. A return touchdown. Busted coverage late.

[D]

The original wagon.

[C]

It is definitely, to the chat's point, a big game for the Rutgers team.

[D]

Total for the year.

[A]

Oh, for the. For wins. For the win total.

[C]

Do you guys have any. Any subtle ones that we need to update in the spreadsheet here?

[D]

I have updated a few.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

How's everybody looking?

[D]

Mostly good. But it's, you know, it's still early, so like a lot of them we gotta wait on.

[A]

What's up, Trevor?

[C]

I. I kind of need Houston to take care of business against UCF to get my UCF under five and a half. If I clips Oregon, then I win.

[D]

My Oregon under Bud's currently four and one. Chip, you are three and three. Danny, you are three and two. I am two and one.

[C]

I don't think Georgia State over three and a half is going to get there.

[D]

No, it's looking tough.

[A]

I think the ponies are in trouble.

[D]

I gotta say. I'm looking at my calendar five and a half that I got a whole lot of crap for from the Calgorithm and I'm just wondering, just wondering if maybe you guys are spiking that football a little soon.

[C]

Wait, who's.

[A]

If the sun is in the sky and we're fighting. What's up, Trevor?

[E]

We're all in trouble with our Michigan under.

[A]

Bill o' Brien is gonna have Boston College ready to go for red bandana game.

[E]

You don't think.

[A]

Bill o' Brien's gonna have Boston College ready to fight for the red bandana game against smu?

[D]

Is he?

[E]

He's ready to fight some reporters.

[C]

Hold up. We're in trouble for a Michigan under.

[E]

Yeah. It's nine and a half.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And how many losses they have now?

[D]

2. So just one more.

[C]

And I do. There is a game at the end of the year. It's pretty big, pretty important.

[E]

Oh, yeah, we're fine on that one.

[D]

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[A]

Famous last words on that.

[C]

Speaking of end of the year stuff, if you have not looked, or if you have looked, don't guess. What is the current line on FanDuel for the Big Ten championship game?

[E]

Oh, they have that up.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Ohio State minus two and a half.

[D]

And a half.

[C]

Three and a half.

[E]

Wow.

[D]

Seems a little.

[A]

I. I would not make that the line. But I understand why you would put that line out there.

[C]

But you wouldn't make it more than a touchdown, right? No, no, no.

[E]

I would have said make it sort.

[C]

Of in that, like, not dead, but. But less significant portion of, like, you'd make it somewhere between three and a half and six and a half.

[E]

No, no, I'd have it under a field goal.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[D]

I'd have it at two and a half.

[E]

Yeah, I would.

[C]

I would like two and a half all day.

[D]

Oh, you got. Indiana's got the home field, but I'm.

[C]

Fairly low on Oregon. Like, I. I was. Oregon under, you know.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to say, Tom makes a good point. While Ohio State makes every single game a home game. Do you understand how insane this Indiana fan base is going to get if all they have to do is get to Indianapolis?

[D]

Do you know how many people live around me that went to Indiana that I had no idea about until this year? Suddenly, Indiana fans are showing up in the fall. They're just coming at you like you're out walking the dog. And they just jump out of a bush with, like, a hoocher's hat on. It's like, where the hell did you come from? I've lived here for years.

[E]

It would be like the split in last year's Big Ten championship game because Oregon Duck fans were like, well, go watch them play in the Rose Bowl. And you had a ton of Penn State fans. It would be even that and then some.

[A]

Yeah, Ohio State Fans like, oh, we'll just save up for the title run. You know, we saw how expensive it was to try to get to Dallas and to get to Los Angeles, and we're going to be going to my.

[C]

You know what?

[A]

Ohio State's going to actually rent Airbnbs in the South Florida area because they're going to play in the quarterfinals and the title game in the Orange bowl on New Year's Day and in the championship game.

[E]

They can stay at my place. I'll rent it out.

[D]

You don't want them in your home.

[A]

No, Danny, you just replaced your air conditioning. You've been working on getting things tightened up. You've been getting scammed. You can't have anybody in your house. Keep. Keep things buttoned down. All right, Any. Any other games that have your attention for the weekend?

[D]

No. Okay, if we didn't mention you, you suck.

[A]

So no one's gonna see Bill Belichick against Frank Reich putting together their another edition of their incredible coaching rivalry. Next chapter 4:30pm on the CW. A great test of North Carolina's maturity coming off their first ACC win. Let's see.

[D]

Yeah, but Bill doesn't want them too mature. And on that note, we will be.

[A]

Back at 11:00am Eastern Time on Thursday. It's the best time of the week. It's when we give you our locks for the week ahead. Come and hang out. Get up the likes you give up the likes we give you the locks. The locks move the lines. So please come and join us as we go live. And you can follow him on Twitter at Tom Fradel. You can follow him@bud Elliott3. You can follow him at Danny Canal. You can follow me at Chip Underscore Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.

[D]

Thank you.

[C]

See you.

[A]

It's football season and you gotta keep up with the action. Listen in the Pushing the Pile part of CBS Sports podcast network with Mike Renner, Kyle Long, and now me, Jp Acosta for smart analysis of everything between the lines. With four episodes a week Sunday night recaps, film review, power tiers and weekly previews.

[E]

You will know ball.

[A]

Stick with us until one team lists the Lombardi download and follow Pushing the Pile on Apple podcasts, Spotify and anywhere podcasts are found.