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Cover 3 College Football
Big Ten Show: Michigan-Oklahoma | Oregon-Oklahoma State | Iowa-Iowa State | Cover 3
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- [00:00]
Chip Patterson
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. On September 19, producer Jordan Peele asks what are you willing to sacri in a new horror film called him starring Marlon Wayans and Tyreek Withers. Stay tuned to hear an exclusive trailer for the film right now. On September 19, producer Jordan Peele asks what are you willing to sacrifice in a new horror film called him starring Marlon Waynes and Tyreek Withers. Stay tuned to hear an exclusive trailer for the film Reaction right now. And welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Danny Cannell, that's Bud Elliott, that's Tom Fenelli. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you live on CBS Sports Network. Fired up to get you set for Week 2 in the Big Ten with some big time non conference matchups. Before we get out of here, we are going to be giving you the keys to the game. The X factors going inside the matchup of Michigan's big trip to Oklahoma. Oregon taking on Oklahoma State on CBS at 3:30pm Eastern time, as well as Illinois's trip to Duke and everyone's favorite rivalry, the Cyhawk Trophy, Iowa and Iowa State. Before we get rocking and rolling, especially with a look at the Oregon Ducks, a little bit of a question of the moment, one that won't be that relevant in a couple hours. But at 2pm Eastern time we will get a new AP top 25. And since number one Texas has lost, there will be a debate because when you look at the preseason poll from the AP top 25, you had Texas get 25 first place votes. You had Penn State get 23 first place votes. Ohio State got 11 first place votes. That leads me to believe, Danny Canal, that we've got ourselves a little debate and it's between two Big Ten rivals. So Penn State or Ohio State? There are two questions here, Danny. Who will be number one? Who should be number one?
- [02:36]
Danny Cannell
Ohio State will be number one. I mean this is where I actually have no problem with that whatsoever because I want to see teams that play somebody and I think beating Texas is still a really good win. It's a significantly better win than beating Nevada. So from that standpoint, I think it should be Ohio State. I would even make a case for lsu, who's outside the Big Ten, that they had the most impressive win of the weekend. If you erased all your expectations, if you erased everything you knew about the teams coming in, I think LSU had the best win win of the weekend. But I would think Ohio State comes in there and checks in at number one because of what they did, making Arch Manning look human, dominating that game. There were some question marks, some things they definitely have to get figured out. Julian saying didn't ask him to do a whole lot because they didn't have to. Jeremiah Smith, couple drop balls who we've touted on here is the best football player in the country. He can get better. But I think Ohio State will probably be number one.
- [03:40]
Tom Fornelli
Is Danny stumping for an SEC team right now? My entire world is spinning like Bill Belichick's on the sideline last night as his team was getting its butt kicked by tcu. I am also thinking that Ohio State will be the number one team in the country in the poll because, Chip, as you mentioned, a number of teams got first place votes in the preseason poll. The gaps between them were not very far apart. And now that Ohio State's taken down Texas, I think the logical response we'll see from the voters is for them to then take Ohio State and give them Texas's first place votes from the preseason poll, which would then put the Buckeyes at number one. And I think that they should be. Because if you argue about what the most impressive win of the weekend was based on rankings anyway, it was Ohio State. Now, they didn't exactly look all that impressive in that win as much as Texas looked bad and couldn't win the game against them. But I think that just based on the resume, based on the fact that everybody was watching that game, it's pretty clear to me that Ohio State will be number one.
- [04:39]
Bud Elliott
Yeah, I really think there are so many teams who could be number one. We have the most wide open season that we have seen in a long time. If you look at the current betting hods out there, everybody is six to one or greater. There's nobody who distinguished themselves in the opening weekend as the clear number one team that everybody else is gunning for. Great win by Ohio State. Obviously a great weekend overall for the Big Ten for the most part in terms of positioning teams for the playoff. But I think there are so many teams you can make a case for. Ohio State, Penn State, lsu, all look really good. And several teams also crush their FCS opponents as well, which, you know, you don't take much from it, but that's something a good team should do.
- [05:16]
Chip Patterson
Hey, but let's overreact to it, bud, because crushing an FCS opponent can also allow us to learn a little bit more about your team. And what Oregon did to Montana State was clinical. And now we get a step up in competition because this Saturday, 3:30pm Eastern Time, you can watch it on CBS, you can stream it on Paramount. Plus, Big Time will feature the Oregon Ducks, the reigning Big Ten champs, welcoming in Oklahoma State. Now, we had already planned to go inside the matchup here today with our time in the COVID 3 podcast on CBS Sports Network. But then we got a little bit of spice, we got a little bit of sizzle because Mike Gundy first on the radio show discussed Oregon spending. Then he was asked to follow up at a press conference. And he didn't totally double down as hard as he went the first time, but certainly was indicating that Oregon maybe just bought their way to this much talent and success. But it is the response from Oregon's Dan Lanning that I'd love to share.
- [06:18]
Bud Elliott
With you right here listening to him, him talk. Like I said, I got a ton of respect for Coach Gundy. You know, ultimately, how blessed are we to be in a place that's invested in winning? If you want to be a top 10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. And we spend to win. Some people say to have an excuse for why they don't.
- [06:35]
Chip Patterson
Right.
- [06:35]
Bud Elliott
And ultimately, like he's a great coach, they've done an unbelievable job. But I want to be a team that's competing at the highest level and we're really fortunate to be in that situation. So I can't speak on their situation. I have no idea know what's what they got in their pockets over there. I'm sure UT Martin maybe didn't have as much as them last week and they played. So we'll let it play out.
- [07:01]
Chip Patterson
Thank you, Dan. I do appreciate that. But knowing the, the way these rosters are built, knowing what we have with in terms of the data, the projections, there is a large, large gap between these two teams. But where is Oregon's roster right now? Let's, let's look sort of spotlight the Ducks. They are without a doubt, as we know, by a 28 and a half point spread, very far away from Oklahoma State. But where is Oregon in relation to the other top teams? Because if we are to overreact to the way that Dante Moore played, the way that some of those young players looked, the depth that was on display as they continued to be efficient deep deep into the game and even comments from Montana State's coach after the game. It just really being impressed by what he saw on the other sideline. Where is Oregon's roster in your estimation in terms of being ready to go make a run at a national championship?
- [07:56]
Bud Elliott
Chip I would say it's potentially right there, but I need to see more specifically here on the offensive side of the ball. Nice debut for Dante Moore. They used a variety of running backs. Makai Hughes, the transfer from Tulane, barely played decori and Moore true freshman receiver who's probably going to be the the best true freshman receiver in the country. He was a five star for us at 247 Sports and the best overall receiver in the class in my opinion. But what are receivers two and three going to look like when they play some teams with real athletes? How's this offensive line going to hold up against a better pass rush than what Montana State offered? I think there's still a lot of questions about Oregon, but also a lot of promise that they're a team we'll be watching a lot early in the season for us to be able to figure out okay, just how good can these guys be they this year from a program and talent acquisitions building standpoint, there's no doubt that Oregon is built to last. It's just are they built to finish in the last week of the season this year? I think that's still tbd Tom, when.
- [08:53]
Chip Patterson
You'Ve got the asterisk of sorts in our analysis of trying to understand what we can and cannot take away. Montana State 151 Last year, National runner up at the FCS level. But at the FCS level, what were some of your takeaways from what you saw from the Ducks?
- [09:12]
Tom Fornelli
Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to the Mike Gundy Dan Lanning thing real quick. Yeah, where was Mike? Why wasn't Mike Gundy complaining about money in college football while T. Boon Pickens was still alive and he was spending every single off season flirting with open jobs to get a raise at Oklahoma State? Why didn't the money matter then? Why is it such a big deal now? Mike? That's one thing I'm wondering. As for what to take away from Oregon's win against Montana State. Like you mentioned, Montana State's a good FCS program and we have seen FCS programs give teams trouble. Last year in the season opener, Idaho gave Oregon trouble. It was a 24 to 14 game. So to see them come out and play as clean as they did. Considering all the new pieces that they have at key spots, I think it's an encouraging sign whether or not we could take a whole lot away from it. I don't know if we, if we should. Like this is a team that came out, they ran the ball 60% of the time in the game. And we wondered this offseason if the change in Oregon's offense with the new quarterback would be. We see them lean into the run game a bit more, especially after the Evan Stewart injury. So it looked like that in this game. But that could be far more related to the game script than anything else. The most interesting thing of the game for me came from something Bud just mentioned, the fact that Mai Hughes was one of the top transfers in the off season. He comes from Tulane. We thought he was going to have a big season for Oregon and he barely played in this one. He did not start. Noah Whittington got the first snap of the game, had a nice big run. Makai Hughes finished with one rush, one catch and really nothing else. And they've been kind of mum about the reasoning behind it. So I'm assuming it's a disciplinary issue and I'm wondering, will we see him a lot more in this week's game against Oklahoma State? Because he is a very talented player and I think that when you look at how the run game looked overall, you add him to it this week. This is an Oregon offense that might be pretty explosive on the ground.
- [10:53]
Chip Patterson
Danny, when you got.
- [10:55]
Tom Fornelli
Go ahead.
- [10:56]
Danny Cannell
I was going to follow up and say I would imagine you'll see a lot more. Makai Hughes might been one of those situations where you're able to take a disciplinary approach, send a message to him, whatever it was that he wasn't playing. You're able to send a message, get that wake up call. And I thought the Oregon Ducks were one of those teams where you just got an A. Like it might have been the easier test, but you got an A on the test. And I mean, Matteo Lungale delivered. We knew he was a special player. But Dante Moore, I think we have to remember he's not your average kind of first year starter because he didn't play last year. He did play as a true freshman at ucla and I really was optimistic about what this year could bring because sometimes you need a year, a red shirt, reset type of year. And for him to be able to watch Dylan Gabriel, I think had to have been invaluable for him to watch somebody who had played more college football than anybody else. Not only way he handles the media, leadership, play calling in game, but just the totality of it, preparation off the field, little things that you're supposed to do as a starting quarterback, the face of your franchise. I think that could have proved really valuable for Dante Moore and his stats. I know it's easier competition but that was very, very efficient without many mistakes at all. I thought he really, really impressed.
- [12:15]
Chip Patterson
Bo Nix had two years with Oregon and we saw the real jump there in year two. I know they had some coaching changes along the way, but just in terms of getting comfortable understanding exactly what the goal is, what you're trying to do. Will Stein did great jobs with Bo Nicks Year two, Dylan Gabriel his one year there. Now Dante Moore leading that offense again. It is Oregon Hosting Oklahoma State 3:30pm Eastern Time, 12:30 local out in Eugene. You can watch Brad Nestler, Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell on the Call on CBS or stream it on Paramount plus well coming up on the other side, it is a statement game for the Big Ten as Michigan goes on the road to take on Oklahoma. We go inside the matchup, tell you where this game will be decided. Look at our two new quarterbacks, give you X Factors and more next this episode is brought to you by PNC Bank. A lot of people think podcasts about in depth analysis on college football are boring. Sometimes, sure, but doing the research and understanding every game gives you the knowledge that you need to make small talk with any sports fan and anywhere. It's like banking with PNC Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring? It's what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life. PNC Bank Brilliantly boring since 1865 Brilliantly boring since 1865 is a service mark of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC Bank National Association Member FDIC Is your debit or credit card boring? If you could customize it, personalize it, what would you put on your debit or credit card? Well, what about a Cash App card? Because not only do you get those great personalization features, but there is so much more that the Cash App card can offer. If you weren't up to speed already, Cash App is way more than just a safe way to send and receive money. With the Cash App card, you unlock tons of perks without all the fees. Enjoy benefits like exclusive early access to nationwide concert presales like Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter, just to name a couple examples. Plus there's discounts on everyday purchases and popular brands you're probably already spending money on Cash App also adds security to your money by declining suspicious card transactions and sending you a notification to make sure the payment is really you. If your card is ever lost or stolen, you you can lock it with just one tap right in the app. Spend with confidence with the Cash App card today for a limited time only new Cash App customers can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash. For real. Just download Cash App use our exclusive referral code cover 3 in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's Money. That's Cash App. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's Bank Partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton bank member FDIC direct deposit roundups, overdraft coverage and discounts provided by Cash App, a Block Inc. Brand. Visit Cash App Legal Podcast for full disclosures back here on the COVID 3 podcast as we continue to get you set for Week 2 in the Big Ten. And they don't get much bigger in Week 2 than the matchup between Oklahoma and Michigan. Now the Wolverines have to go on the road to Norman after a 34 to 17 win against New Mexico, one where sure the final margin did not necessarily show a lopsided result, but to my eyes at least. I thought Bryce Underwood checked a lot of boxes. So did John Mattier. Four total touchdowns, nearly 400 yards passing. Let's keep it on the quarterbacks right here. Would love to hear from everybody. DK first, how do you see each of these quarterbacks after getting the first look of each of them with their new teams in week one?
- [16:27]
Danny Cannell
So I thought that John Mateer was like I thought we got what we we were we expected. There was more known. I thought he was the best target this off season in the portal. The fact that he comes in there with Ben Arbuckle as offensive coordinator, I thought he would. I pretty much thought we would get that. Now on the flip side with Bryce Underwood, I thought they would have run him more. They didn't run him that much. I think you could potentially see that something they were saving possibly for this matchup. You also gave him a ground game that Mater did not have. So that was a huge luxury piece to have where you were able to get Justice Haynes going. He went for close to a buck fifty. That opens up things so much for Bryce Underwood to be more comfortable. But you do want to see how do you look on that stage. I thought he Looked comfortable. I thought he'd look poised, but it's going to be a completely different atmosphere. And then kind of the flip side, like, yes, we got what we wanted out of John Mateer, but. But the thing that I think was significantly lacking was their inability to run the football. So that, to me is, you know, both of these quarterbacks are going to be compared, and I think you could go in and you could potentially see Michigan winning a game without Bryce Underwood lighting it up. But after seeing that first game, I think this puts a lot of pressure on John Mattier to have to deliver against that Michigan defense.
- [17:46]
Bud Elliott
Yeah, Dan, I. I think both opposing defensive coordinators are probably licking their chops and for different reasons. If you're Oklahoma's dc, you're like, okay, it's Michigan with an offensive line. It's questionable. With receivers that don't really scare us all that much. And with a true freshman quarterback who looks like an absolute stud, but he's still a true freshman who just turned 18. Playing Oklahoma in Oklahoma is a little bit different than playing New Mexico. But, yeah, if you're a Michigan fan, you were just over the moon about how good Underwood look and how many different throws he was able to execute. Touch throws, laser throws, stuff on time, throws on the move. You know, we sell on this show before he's. He's not Cam Newton, but he might be like, the best, you know, stylistically sense Cam, and I think you saw a lot of that. If you're Michigan, you're watching material, you're like, man, this guy makes a lot of plays, but there's also a lot of plays he doesn't see. And, like, can we force this dude to make plays in structure? I think I bet you Oklahoma's internal grade on material is far lower than what his surface level stats show. Because if you watch the tape and you get the all 22. I know, Danny. We put it in the group chat today. There's a lot of stuff. There's like, oof. Okay, like, against a good team, you need to hit this guy. You need to hit this guy on time. And he just never saw it, so. And it would make a throw in, a dangerous throw into coverage, so you will see how much that gets corrected. I think the concerning thing for Oklahoma fans is this is not a new offense for him. Same offensive coordinator came over, Ben Arbuckle, from Washington State to Oklahoma with him. So Matier should really hit the ground running there as far as seeing guys and hitting him on time, that was a little bit concerning. So I bet you this game maybe a little defensive sided.
- [19:22]
Tom Fornelli
You know, we were discussing during the break our fantasy football drafting philosophies and I take a much more of an analytical, statistical kind of model for the way I do it. And Chip and Danny were talking about they were very vibes based with their drafting. John Matier is very vibes based when he's playing quarterback. As Bud mentioned, there is a lot of stuff he doesn't see, but he's also also able to improvise a lot, keep plays going, extend and then make them either with his arm or his legs. And that is going to be something that Michigan will be aware of and be game planning around and maybe try to keep John Mateer in the pocket, maybe try to make him make reads and progress and don't let him scramble and buy time. But the other problem that Oklahoma is facing in here, which you touched on, Danny, like Oklahoma's offensive line struggling to get push in the run game against Illinois State, probably not a great sign. I, I, I think that Michigan's defensive line might be slightly better than what they saw against the Redbirds last week. So that is definitely something to keep in mind. I wouldn't be surprised if Wink Martindale, the Michigan defensive coordinator, you know, brings a little extra pressure to just get Mater into making mistakes. Because we saw while Mater was at Washington State last year putting up crazy numbers when he played better defenses, he was more prone to making mistakes. So that'll be something to watch out for in this one. As far as the Michigan side, I, I thought the offense was pretty encouraging. What you saw with Bryce Underwood, I am worried about the still seemingly over reliance on tight ends. The wide receivers were not nearly as prolific in their passing attack last season or last week as their tight ends were. Whether that's just Bryce Underwood's comfortability within the offense and he's still willing to grow in it, I don't know yet. But I do think there were a lot of encouraging signs that you saw from him. You got all the flashes of why he was so highly rated out of high school. But now this is a very different beast because you're not at home against a surprisingly solid New Mexico team anymore. You're on the road against Oklahoma and for all the problems I think their offense might have, that defense is good and the defense is very good and you're going to be playing in a loud, hostile environment. Probably nothing like Underwood has seen before. How is he going to handle that.
- [21:20]
Chip Patterson
If you are, you know. So Michigan addresser Jason Barham had his targeting call upheld by the ncaa, which yuck, sorry to editorialize. We already discussed this on the COVID 3 podcast on the Instant Reaction show on Saturday night. So you won't have Barum for the first half. He will be getting in after halftime for Michigan on the road defensively. Tom, you talk about Wink Martindale. We've lost a lot of the stars from that Michigan defense over the last couple of years. How's, how's that personnel shaping up right now from the same teams that were competing for national titles and even shutting down and taking down the likes of an Ohio State and Alabama at the end of last year?
- [22:04]
Tom Fornelli
First of all, let me echo your yuck sentiments because that was a horrible call and it will have an impact on a very important game for Michigan this week because yeah, there's a lot of inexperience on that defense who is now going to be on the road in a tough environment play playing a team that's not as good as what they or that's much better than what they saw last week. So you take Barham out, who is one of the more experienced players in that unit and also one of the more disruptive players on that unit and you are going to have to figure out a way to replace him. Now the good news is if Oklahoma's offensive line struggled against Illinois State, I think that Michigan will still be able to find success without him for a half. But you would like him in there because you want to be playing at peak capacity in a road game like this against a team like this in this kind of spotlight. But I do think the defense should be all right without him for a half as long as he's, you know, when he, once he comes back in the second half. So it will be a very important thing for them to figure out ways to maybe generate or simulate pressure without just a four or three man rush like they could have possibly done with him. But that'll be up to Wink Martindale and given his experience and his ability to show that he's done it throughout his career, I, I, I'm not that worried.
- [23:12]
Danny Cannell
I, I would tend to agree with you. I think one of the interesting matchups is Brent Venables taking over the defense for Oklahoma, going against Bryce Underwood, that I think would be a significant advantage in this matchup similar to what we saw now. Matt Patricia, different background, NFL background, but we saw him completely confusing Arch Manning and his big first, big start on the road. The one big difference is I do think they're going to have to be Accountable for. Accountable for Bryce Underwood with his legs. And that's sort of. Both of these quarterbacks are mobile. If they are confused, they can make something out of nothing. So you might have a great scheme, you might have a rush or get free. You just have to make sure that you stay after them, that you're db, secondary players are staying with their receivers or else you could possibly see that. But I'm kind of curious to see that Brent Venables game plan against Bryce Underwood on the road in a hostile environment with a pretty filthy defensive line like our Mason Thomas, Marvin Jones Jr. That to me I think is going to be an interesting matchup in itself too. Oh, you're muted. Did we get him?
- [24:21]
Tom Fornelli
Oh, did we get him on the new button?
- [24:25]
Bud Elliott
So looking at this, I think the one advantage Michigan may have is the ability to run the football right. Whereas we saw Oklahoma not have much of a run game at all. Oklahoma is also playing two true freshman starters on the offensive line. So yeah, Michigan won't have Barum and that, that's a huge loss and that's an absolute nonsense rule. We should just, you know, bring back the spearing penalty and let guys play football, especially take out the, the suspension aspect of it afterwards. But two true freshman offensive linemen for Oklahoma, I do think that's something Michigan can probably exploit. And you know, if you're Oklahoma, if you don't have a run game, you're going to drop mater back like 45, 50 times in this game. Like that's a lot to put on the guys. And I'm curious, how many times can Michigan create free runners at the quarterback by confusing those young offensive linemen for the Sooners?
- [25:13]
Chip Patterson
Something to watch for sure. It's a huge game with big implications for both teams and both conferences. Anytime we get a big 10sec clash, it'll generate a lot of conversation. You can watch that game 7:30pm Eastern time. Well, coming up on the other side, a team that the COVID 3 podcast has been extremely dialed in on and very much celebrated. We are a Luke Altmire Podcast. Luke Altmire going on the road to take on Manny Diaz's Duke Blue Devils. We'll take you inside that matchup and.
- [25:45]
Tom Fornelli
More.
- [25:48]
Chip Patterson
Back here on the COVID 3 podcast live on CBS Sports Network. The Illinois Fighting Line. I had a terrific season in 2024. You hit that awesome double digit wins after the bowl victory against South Carolina and you bring back a lot from this from last year's team for this season, including starting quarterback Luke Altmire. Now we had a chance to speak with Altmire at the Big Ten media days in Las Vegas last month and we asked him for who would be the wide receivers that step up to replace the very productive and talented Pat Bryant and Zachariah Franklin. Now he gave us a list of names that looked like a CVS receipt. No free ads. But Tom, I've got to ask, after seeing that opener against Western Illinois, do you know anything more about what this offense is going to look like in 2025?
- [26:39]
Tom Fornelli
Nope, I do not. I think, you know nine different players caught passes for Illinois in the opener last week. Now Hank Beatty, the senior among the bunch, he caught five for 108 yards. He had the biggest day of all of them, but nobody else on the team of the other eight guys to catch passes caught more than 25 yards. Justin Boek, a transfer from Ball State, caught two touchdowns. He was the clear favorite option in the red zone, as was tight end Tanner Arkin. So they're still mixing it around. Nobody, I think has emerged as an alpha. I think Hank Beatty having that kind of game is a good sign for him this season. He also returned a punt for a touchdown, which was the first line I punt return touchdown in 12 years. So there was a lot of first times for the Illini last week against Western Illinois. But overall, I don't know how much we could take away from anything that we saw in that game because it was clear they were trying to get everybody involved, trying to get everybody's feet wet with a big game coming up this week on the road against Duke. So I, I, I can't say I don't think we should take anything clear away from it. No, I think this is still very much a work in progress and they are still going to see if somebody emerges as the true alpha among that group.
- [27:45]
Bud Elliott
I'm also curious to see how many passes Illinois is actually going to throw against Duke. If I'm Illinois, I'm taking my super veteran offensive line, brett Bielema said. You know, to us there at Big Ten media day, it was one of the best he's ever had. Big stable of running backs, veteran quarterback to get them in the right play, to get them in the right pass or run check. And I'm taking my sweet time guys because Duke is going to go fast as heck. They want to chuck it all over the yard. I think Bielema is going to throw this thing back to like stone age Wisconsin days and try to possess the ball for 45 minutes and have a maybe a 15 pass to 45 run ratio, keep the ball away from Duke, try to pound on him physically and not let Duke get to play 75, not let Duke get to play 85 or shoot, even play 90. Where your defense is gas. They're really figuring out what you can't cover that day. Limit Duke's opportunities. I expect a lot of run game so. And maybe minimize the the effect of Illinois not having a true number one receiver to this point.
- [28:43]
Chip Patterson
Totally.
- [28:44]
Danny Cannell
And I think one of the strengths of Duke is their secondary. It might be one of the better aspects of this team that's still, you know, as the defensive line linebackers are kind of figuring their things out. Chandler Rivers is a pretty good player at corner. They've got some pretty good talent there. And with your question mark still hoping somebody would step it up at the wide receiver position, I think you lean on Duke. I mean this is a Big Ten team going into ACC territory. I know it'll be a pretty good crowd there of Wallace Wade in Durham. But I do think this is one. I totally agree with Bud. I. This is one where you lean on them. You minimize the exposure in the past game if you don't have to and you let your defense cook. Where I do think again. Another area where there's going to be a pretty significant advantage is Illinois defensive front versus Duke's offensive line.
- [29:30]
Chip Patterson
Danny, I want to get this started back with you. Quick side note here. Local local's corner. But Manny Diaz said the if you are a fourth year student at Duke, you've seen 26 wins in the last three years. You've rushed the field multiple times after wins against ranked teams. Illinois coming in as a ranked team. There is an expectation that Duke is going to be able to go in and compete and give themselves a chance to win this game. Now if they are going to win this game, they're going to need a better start than they had against Elon. Darien Minsa finished with a great stat line. But if we were going to spend some time, you know, talking about the garbage time All Stars, the Blue Devils poured on a lot of points late in that game. Danny, as a, as a, as a Elon supporter, you know, I know that you, you're dialed into this one. What do you think they have in Darien Mensah in that Jonathan Brewer led system in Durham?
- [30:22]
Danny Cannell
He's special. I mean there's a reason Malik Murphy was pretty good and they thought they would upgrade man 9 win season last year and they said, you know what, we think we can get better. So you like the standard that they've set. The thing that worries me for Darren Mentah is he's got a young tackle on the left side of the line that's going to get going against Gabe Akis, who, by the way, he was already impressive last year, had a couple sacks last week. He looks like a game record type opponent. So I don't know. We were talking about Illinois being able to run the football. I worry a little bit about a game where Duke could be made one dimensional if Darian Mensah can just put this team on the back and get a lot of yards, a lot of production through the air. And so that to me is the big concern for Duke. And they could. I mean, I think he's pretty dynamic. I think they have pretty good wide receivers. They had four different guys go over 50 plus yards, so they were able to spread it around somewhat. But if you can make anybody one dimensional and completely shut down their run and have Mensah running around a little bit, I don't think that bodes well for Duke.
- [31:22]
Tom Fornelli
Yeah, I think that's a very interesting matchup to watch as far as Duke's offense versus the Illinois defense because all off season, you know, the thought process was Illinois had a very talented secondary. That's where they had pretty much everybody coming back on the defensive side of the ball. Whereas the defensive line had lost a couple of key guys and they were bringing in new starters, although Gabe Akis did return. So the thought process was going to be the secondary is going to be very good. The defensive lines a work in progress. Aaron Henry, the Align I defensive coordinator all summer, was like, no, actually our defensive line might be the best unit we have. It's the the best one we've certainly had since I've been here. And based on what we saw last week against Western Illinois, I understand why Aaron Henry felt that way. Because even though it was Western Illinois, the Illinois defensive line looked phenomenal. Now I wonder how they're going to look against a Duke offensive line on the road where they're not just going to be able to overwhelm these guys with size and speed like they were able to do Western Illinois. So that is going to be a huge matchup. But I also wonder if the plan for Illinois, besides slowing things down on offense, to keep that Duke offense off the field, will be to kind of take the Lenora Sellers plan that we saw in the bowl game last year where they are just going to let him sit in the pocket and figure it out. They are not going to let him be a one read and go kind of guy, which he is at times. And we saw a lot last year in Tulane, especially when things weren't going well. He was scrambling a lot. That was his tendency. So Illinois is probably going to try to pen him in and make him make decisions and reads over the middle of the field to get things done. Whether or not he's able to do so will probably determine the outcome of this game. But don't make no mistake about this. It's a two and a half point spread for a reason. I know Illinois is favorite, but these are two very equal teams and Duke could easily win this game.
- [33:00]
Bud Elliott
The, the, the phrase used to be, hey, they're on scholarship too. I, I think in the rev share era it's like, hey, they're, they're paying up too. And Duke is certainly paying up. We know just from the reporting the offseason, Duke has a heck of a lot of money. This is a good roster. I'm curious to see how effectively Duke can spread out Illinois. How does Illinois handle some of this four wide, some of this empty set stuff that Duke might want to do? Can you isolate some of these Illinois linebackers in coverage? I don't know. That's a liability, but it's something I think Duke should probably test early and often. And if you're, if you're Duke, you are facing a very veteran quarterback. It's not saying that Altmeyer is perfect, but we saw in the opening weekend a lot of young guy mistakes from first time starters and you know, having Altmeyer there as a fifth year senior for Illinois, you know, should help them. But man, Duke still dials up a lot of really fun, exotic stuff, pressure packages. Almayer is going to have to be on his game mentally and also be on the same page as his receivers in their response to some of this pressure stuff. They need to cut their routes off at the right time, in the right depth. They need to work the conjunction. I think that's why it probably just, you limit how many passes you throw and you try to just stick with the run game if it's working at all.
- [34:06]
Chip Patterson
Golly, I'm fired up now. I'm sorry. Like I just, you know, we spend so much time looking at all the Week 1 matchups. They just stare at us on the calendar. And then you, you really throw yourself at week two and you realize all the fun chess matches that are about to unfold, not just this week, but all the weeks to come and we love breaking them down here with you Every single Tuesday, noon eastern time hour on CBS Sports Network. Well, coming up on the other side, we take you inside the matchup of one of the sports great rivalries. It's Iowa and Iowa State, the battle for the Cyhawk trophy, Keys to the game, X factors and more.
- [34:41]
Bud Elliott
Next. Abercrombie is an official fashion partner of the NFL, and I'm CeeDee Lamb, wide.
- [34:49]
Tom Fornelli
Receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.
- [34:51]
Bud Elliott
You know, I'm here for Abercrombie's Cowboys gear. That's not a question, but I need a whole wardrobe to go with it. No shade to the guys, but I'm used to having the best tunnel fits.
- [35:01]
Tom Fornelli
This season, Abercrombie has me covered. Shop NFL by Abercrombie in the app.
- [35:06]
Bud Elliott
Online and in store.
- [35:13]
Tom Fornelli
This episode is brought to you by Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels and music are made for each other. They share a rhythm in the craft of making something timeless while being a part of legendary nights. From backyard jams to sold out arenas, there's a song in every toast. Please drink responsibly. Responsibility.org, jack Daniels and Old no. 7 are registered trademarks. Tennessee whiskey, 40% alcohol by volume. Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee.
- [35:40]
Chip Patterson
Back here on the COVID 3 podcast live on CBS Sports Network. Going inside, some of the biggest matchups in the Big Ten ahead for week two. And if you are in the state, this is one of the best moments of the entire calendar year. It is the annual rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State, the Cyhawk Trophy. I mean, this is a, this is a matchup that sort of has a character unto itself and especially right here in the early part of the college football calendar in recent years. Before we get to the trends or expectations of the series, I want to specifically spotlight the Iowa Hawkeyes because there is a quarterback who our guy Danny Cannell was big bullish on. I mean, big time. So, Danny, and then, look, I, I understand the opponent here, but help me wrap my head around 8 for 15 for 44 yards there in the opening week. Were they sandbagging? Is there more? Is Mark Granowski going to show us a little bit more in terms of changing the tune for this Iowa offense?
- [36:43]
Danny Cannell
I hope so. I think they did. I think this was one of those ones. You got the final win. 34, 7 completely comfor. They're going to have to ask him to do more. Rhys Van Der Zee, one of their better wide receivers, was lost a couple days before the game. They look, their running back goes down, they have to go to a freshman running back. I think they probably were thinking a little bit along lines, let's make sure we get the win and get out of here. Don't forget either how much do you want to expose Gronowski when you don't have to? He's coming off a surgery himself where he missed the entire spring, so I'm not that panicked yet. I'm still bullish on Mark Gronowski being the quarterback. Thought he was very efficient, didn't ask him to do a whole lot and maybe Tim Lester was just keeping a couple things close to the vest for this big game in Week 2 against arrival.
- [37:28]
Bud Elliott
Bud, I'm interested.
- [37:30]
Tom Fornelli
Ask him to do a whole good.
- [37:33]
Bud Elliott
Go ahead Bud, I'm interested to see how this Iowa back seven responds to an Iowa State offense that has looked okay throwing the ball so far. Obviously they lost a lot of weapons to the NFL. Iowa's defensive line is still pretty nasty. We saw Iowa State's offensive line have kind of a pretty workmanlike performance in week zero there in Ireland against Kansas State. But this will be a test like who is more ready right now, some of the new players you have in the Iowa back seven or these new Iowa State receivers. You know they brought in sowell from from East Carolina. He's been a complete no show, but you have seen some other guys on that team step up so we'll have to see if that can continue.
- [38:13]
Tom Fornelli
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all, Danny, if you're right, they were. They might have been holding some stuff back knowing that this game was coming because this is a huge rivalry game in the state and Iowa State didn't really have that same convenience because they had to start their year with Kansas State and Ireland so they couldn't really go vanilla in that one. But I would hope that Mark Gronowski shows us more in this game than he did last week because the numbers were truly uninspiring if you saw if you watched Iowa's offense last week. But the good news is the running game was still very effective. Xavier Williams rushed for 122 yards and 11 carries and unlike last season where it seemed to be the Caleb Johnson show, it looks like the Hawkeyes have a bit more depth at that position that they're confident in to be able to mix guys in for carriers and keep everybody fresh late into the game. So that's a good sign. And if there is a decent reason to be optimistic about this matchup for the Iowa offense, it's this. Iowa State's looked very good through its first two games. It's 2 0. It won by like a thousand points last week. But I've seen Iowa State play twice now and I still haven't seen a pass rush. Like I don't know if it exists. I There's really nothing to speak of as far as the production that they're getting on that side of the ball. So Gradowski should have plenty of time. And also, Iowa State's defense has given up a lot of explosive plays through two weeks. We saw it against Kansas State in the opener in Ireland a couple of weeks ago. Can Iowa figure out a way to expose that back end a little bit and get some big plays in the passing game? That would be very much against the trend of Iowa offense over the last 40, 50 years at this point, but the opportunity should be there. Can Gronowski take advantage of well, speaking.
- [39:44]
Chip Patterson
Of trends, Tom, there is just going to be one of these narratives. You know, we pick these games. We've got our locks pod every single Thursday at 11am Eastern time. And this series has some very, very stark trends in terms of the style of games that we tend to see and in terms of the scoring that we tend to see. So given your concern about or at least like identifying a spot where I was offense might be able to have some success, do you maybe see a stray from what we have seen? I mean I think we're like 17 and three to the under in this series over the last 20 meetings. Do you think this will be more along that line or could we see something that's perhaps a little bit more higher scoring?
- [40:29]
Tom Fornelli
I mean, I think if you look at the total for this game, it's at 41 and a half. I wouldn't be surprised if you see an over. I think that as I mentioned, this Iowa State defense has been pretty leaky again. It was against Kansas State. It wouldn't shock me at all to see if I was able to break some big explosive plays because that's what Iowa did last year. That's pretty much what the entire offense was predicated on with Caleb Johnson. It would be two yard gain, two yard gain, two yard gain,. Bam. 70 yard touchdown run. That's how it worked. And then they were able to sprinkle in a bit more passing because of it. So I think that's going to be the game plan. I do wonder who's going to emerge at wide receiver or even tight end to be the guy that proves his ability to do so. But Iowa State's going to give you opportunities. And then on the flip side, I think Rocco Beckton this offense will be able to find some spots where they can get after this Iowa defense too. So I don't, I'm not going to sit here and tell you we're in for like a 38 to 35 kind of shootout, but I could see 27 to 20.
- [41:22]
Bud Elliott
Yeah, Tom, especially with, with number 95, Big Dom Orange in the middle there for Iowa State. That's a player we've been hyping for for quite a while on this podcast. Iowa State finally got him in shape. He wrecked shop for sure against Kansas State. The big nose guard there for the Cyclones. If I want to stay committed to the run, they're going to find out a way to get him blocked. And that is a lot easier said than done if you're Iowa State. After watching what I would did in the opening week, you're like, all right, yeah, maybe you guys can get that passing game to not awful status in one week, but we'll, we'll pay to see it.
- [41:55]
Danny Cannell
We've got the last five games. 20, 19, 20 to 13, 10 to 7, 2717 and 1817. Chip, I'm with you. I'm going with the trends. I'm going with the trends. I'm saying this game is still going to be one of those low scoring defensive affairs again. I would love for Mark Gronowski to step up there and throw for 300 yards and light them up for 40 for a 40 burger. I just don't know how that's happening. I still want to see who they're going to have emerges wide receiver too because that there's always been a question mark for them and I'm curious to see who emerges for Iowa to be a legit threat on the outside.
- [42:35]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, I mean that's, that's incredible coming from. Mr. Black is due at the roulette table. I love that you're going to follow the trends on this one. All right, real quick here, about, about a minute here. Do you think Iowa State is good enough to win the Big 12? I say that as we were incredibly impressed with what Utah did TC use crimes that were committed on Monday night against North Carolina. Is Iowa State on that level with a Utah, you know, with a, with a TCU or maybe even if you still believe in Texas Tech though, I don't know. We can take away Danny first, do you believe that Iowa State's good enough to win the Big 12?
- [43:16]
Danny Cannell
I mean it's impossible to say no, I don't think they are because this conference is so evenly matched. But I don't think they're going to win it. Yeah, like I think they could. I think you could make the case. I'm a little bit worried about the defense. I'm a little bit worried. Rocco Beckt is really good and I've disrespected him a lot on here. I think he's a really good, maybe the most underrated quarterback in the country. But for my money, if I was placing on a team in the Big 12, I would put it on Utah.
- [43:47]
Bud Elliott
I would agree with that. If you look at this, they're not on the list of teams that you can just absolutely exclude as far as like there's no way they can win it. I think they are kind of that list of teams that if they got considerably better in a few spots, receiver, the back end of the pass defense, they made it to the title game last year in this league. So I guess in theory they could win. But I don't look at them as one of the top two or three front runners just based on explosiveness we saw on the opening weekend and physicality that we saw as well, especially from Utah.
- [44:20]
Tom Fornelli
Yeah, I think Iowa State's capable of winning the Big 12, but they would not be my first choice. There's probably three other teams I would take ahead of them at this point, but it's, it's anybody's league. That's why it's great.
- [44:30]
Chip Patterson
Yep. Saturday noon Eastern time, Iowa. Iowa State. This one's going to be in Ames. Check out the battle for the Cyhawk Trophy. Well, coming up on the other side, every single week we like to leave you with a player to watch for the week ahead. Who have we identified in the Big Ten in week two? We'll let you know and more back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Every single Tuesday, we like to leave you with a player to watch in the Big Ten. A chance to give a spotlight, let you know where to turn your eyes. Let's rock this thing clockwise. Dk, who is your player to watch?
- [45:07]
Danny Cannell
I'm going with Oregon running back Makai Hughes. We talked about him earlier. We're talking about their week one win. He had one carry for two yards. I thought he was going to be a difference maker for this Oregon Duck offense. We'll see if he gets it going against Oklahoma. State should have a tremendous opportunity to do so. I'll take Makai Hughes.
- [45:27]
Tom Fornelli
You know a lot of freshman quarterbacks or first time starters last week struggled. One didn't. Maryland's Malik Washington looked very impressive in their win over Florida Atlantic. He threw for 285 yards, three touchdowns, only six yards per attempt. But he wasn't making mistakes, he was avoiding sacks. It was the kind of performance you want to see from a first time starter. He's got another game this week against Northern Illinois. Let's see him continue and carry on and maybe push the ball down the field a little bit more.
- [45:53]
Bud Elliott
I want to see Illinois defensive lineman James Thompson. This is a guy that Wisconsin was extremely excited about last year. Denny Torres. Peck was lost for the year he transferred to Illinois. All reports out of Illinois that he looks great. He's going to be really important for Illinois as they take on a potent Duke offense this weekend.
- [46:09]
Chip Patterson
I will be having my eye on Michigan State quarterback Aiden Chiles because it is very clear that when we discuss the Spartans, everything is going to come down to how he can play, whether he can be productive and whether he can avoid the kind of backbreaking mistakes that we saw. Michigan State's going up against Boston College. It is a sneaky, important game in terms of flipping Michigan State's chances to have a successful season one way or the other. In the opener, we saw 17 for, 23 for 155 yards, one touchdown. Very important though, zero interceptions. I think Charles needs to be a little bit sharper still and him avoiding that kind of backbreaking mistake is again going to be the key to giving Michigan State a chance to win against Boston College. Well, if you like what you saw, if you like what you heard, come and join us because we are live on YouTube every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday at 11am Eastern Time and on Saturday nights 11:30pm with an instant reaction to every single thing that we have seen. We would love for you to come and join us to continue the conversation@YouTube.com cover3 and you can follow him on Twitter at Danny Cannell. You can follow him@bud Elliott3. You can follow him at Tom Fornelli. You can follow me at Chip Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
- [47:36]
Danny Cannell
See ya.
- [47:39]
Chip Patterson
Now Streaming. Hi again, TV's quirkiest crime solver.
- [47:43]
Danny Cannell
I'm Elspeth Tasiomi. I work with the police.
- [47:46]
Chip Patterson
It's on the case.
- [47:47]
Danny Cannell
I like my outlandish theories.
- [47:49]
Chip Patterson
With a heavy dose of evidence and ready to go toe to toe with a cavalcade of guest stars.
- [47:55]
Tom Fornelli
Are you saying that this is now a murder investigation? It's starting to look that way.
- [47:59]
Chip Patterson
Don't miss a moment of the critically acclaimed hit Elsbeth. All episodes now streaming on Paramount and return CBS fall.
- [48:05]
Danny Cannell
That sounds like fun.
- [48:07]
Tom Fornelli
Obviously, murder's not fun.