← The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Early College Football Playoff picks for 2026: Big Ten depth, 2 elite SEC teams and some shockers
01:02:40
College Football Playoff picks for 2026 are the topic of this episode of The Bill and Doug Show. Yes, it's early, but it's worth it to get thoughts down before spring football gets into full swing.
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Doug Lay, Maurice and Bill Landis. We're doing playoff picks today. We're going to pick our 12 teams for the College Football Playoff. It's March, Landis. It's way early. But I think it is important, I think we have agreed it is important over the course of us doing shows together that you got to get your thoughts out there and see how your thoughts evolve. So we are laying down first thoughts about the playoff bracket on March 3rd.
- [00:40]
B
Yeah, I think it's good and obviously you get more information as we get closer and closer to the season. So as you said, our picks world will evolve with that. This, this is at least for me anyway, kind of like mostly vibes based. I looked at some stuff but I, I'll be honest, this is not the most well researched batch of playoff picks that I will have before, before the season starts.
- [01:01]
A
Yeah, I think it's helpful to just like start your thinking about how you should think about college football. And one of the things I want to talk about is we did this on our old show Kings of the North March 5th last year. We did this exact thing and we made our 12 playoff picks and we were not very good. And in those picks you got four playoff teams. Correct. You had Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama and Oregon as playoff teams. I had three teams.
- [01:37]
B
Correct.
- [01:37]
A
I had Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon. I did not have Alabama because you couldn't have paid me a million dollars to pick Alabama in the playoff in March last year. But one of the other things that happened is that you and I both had the next three teams out of the playoff in our playoff brackets last March, which were Texas, Notre Dame and BYU and so like it. You know, there's kind of that like, well, you know, it's not about like oh, we were close. We aren't as stupid as you think. But it's just like did you, did we think about the NC this season entirely wrong. Last March were we kind of on it with a couple teams and, and it just didn't work out. And then there were a couple other teams that like the whole world was on and it's primarily Penn State and Clemson that both finished 7 and 6. That you had Penn State and Clemson second and third in your bracket a year ago and I had Penn State and Clemson first and second in my bracket a year ago. And I think that has to inform to some degree anybody's thinking about playoff picks, which is don't just pick everybody that the consensus thinks is going to make it because there's going to be a couple teams that people think are going to be good or going to suck. Yes.
- [02:51]
B
And I think there's. You and I were discussing before we started recording this that Penn State and Clemson were both pretty high up there in returning production. I think Clemson was second last year and, or maybe first. That's a very easy sort of road to walk down when you have a team that's, that is, you know, at the power conference level that is historically good, that has basically everybody back. That information is like not really available as of yet. So. But I think that's a good thing. I think it's, it's nice to not
- [03:21]
A
have that
- [03:23]
B
perhaps pull us in the easiest direction. Although I will say, like, I, I do feel like my picks are kind of chalky. But yeah, I think, you know, last year told us that you should maybe try to swerve away from the group think at least a little bit.
- [03:35]
A
So it is one of those. It's hard because, because a lot of people thought Texas, Notre Dame and BYU were going to be good and then they were good. They just like weren't quite good enough. But it doesn't mean that you're nuts. Everybody whiffed. Most everybody whiffed on Penn State or Clemson. I do think as, as our thinking evolves that I'm gonna be on the lookout for a couple teams that everybody's kind of in on that I'm like, I think they're actually going to be pretty mid. You know, I, I think this, I
- [04:01]
B
wonder which conference those teams will be from.
- [04:03]
A
I got a theory of the case. I got it. So might have. Love my picks. I can't wait. Can I just give you my theory of the case? I was gonna like, run through other background stuff. Theory of the case?
- [04:14]
B
Yeah.
- [04:19]
A
The top heavy versus depth discussion is gonna flip this year. And last year when the Big Ten was top heavy with Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State being clearly above everybody in the Big Ten. And that hurt the depth perception of the Big Ten. While the, the SEC did not have teams that were that elite, but it helped their depth perception. I think there are going to be two SEC teams that go undefeated in regular season play and very well and, and, and maybe undefeated overall. We, we might get a 12.0 versus 12.0sec championship game. We might have two SEC teams as the 1 and 2 seeds in the playoff and we might be scrounging around to figure out who the third best SEC team is while the Big Ten gets in five. And I think the discussion is going to flip. Which I. I welcome. My SEC overlords welcome 12.0sec team who are destroying everybody else in that mid tastic league and reminding everybody how mid that league is because there might be two really good teams, while the Big Ten has this cluster of teams who are kind of beating each other up a little bit at the top and producing like five or six real playoff contenders. And it is the conversation that drove me crazy a year ago that I will. I'll get on here every week this year and talk about. I'll tell you what, Kirby. Smart, genius, great coach. I don't know. Tell you he's awesome. Tell me. Find me the third best team in the sec because there isn't one. I'm ready for it. I. I'm so. I'm. I'm excited for it. Bring it on. Bring it on. Bring on five Big Ten and three sec, because that's what's coming in the Dougie bracket here in a minute.
- [06:22]
B
So you're saying that Georgia and Texas are Ohio State and Indiana. Yep, I can see it. No, I. I'm sure I did not take that line of thinking and apply it to my picks as much as you did, but I guess I was, like, going through stuff.
- [06:38]
A
I did.
- [06:39]
B
I did start to kind of formulate that opinion. I haven't picked it with this batch. I could see myself getting there in a batch down the road, batch of playoff picks down the road.
- [06:50]
A
So, I mean, you try to pull me back from the edge when I'm just being a Big Ten northern honk. Right. But you, like, you do that, right? Like, you acknowledge, you know, when I'm. Because I always mean it. I always mean it, but sometimes I just. There's a little more sauce on it. Right?
- [07:04]
B
Sure. Yeah.
- [07:05]
A
Like, don't you. Like, is it. Are you telling the world that it is not unreasonable for me to mean this?
- [07:15]
B
Yeah, I don't think it's unreasonable. And part of it, like, there. There are just a couple of SEC teams that, like, got, you know, new coaches severely, like, made over that. I just. I just don't know what to make of them right now. Could be good. Sure. Do I know they're gonna be good? No. And I just feel. I feel better about, like a batch of sort of like six Big Ten teams, maybe. Maybe five Big Ten teams than I do about, you know, once you get to the third team in the sec.
- [07:44]
A
Come on over, brother. Let's walk hand in hand through the midness that is the rest of the sec. Wait till you see who my third SEC team in the playoff is because I couldn't help. I couldn't let myself pick only two SEC teams to make the playoff. Wait till you see. Wait till you see Texas is schedule. Texas State, Ohio State at home. Gigantic game, obviously. UTSA nine game SEC schedule this year, by the way. Right. Nine game SEC schedule. Which means we're all going to be letting watching the SEC beat each other up a little bit more. Tell me where the Texas loss is coming in the SEC at Tennessee, Oklahoma in the rivalry game at the state fair. Home versus Florida. Home. Ole Miss, Home. Mississippi State at Missouri at lsu. Home. Arkansas at Texas A M. So it is a weird AF schedule.
- [08:39]
B
They don't. They play one game outside of the state of Texas through October.
- [08:45]
A
Yeah, one true road game. One true road game through October. They have the neutral site game and they have the trip to Tennessee and then three of their last four games are on the road. But it's Missouri, lsu, Texas, a number of those road games. And so like, you have to ask yourself what you think this Lane Kiffin experience is going to be at LSU because they brought in Sam Levitt, they brought in a bunch of transfers. But if you don't think Lane Kiffin is going to transform Tiger Nation in. In the season, I'm not sure who's beating Texas, brother. Who's beaten Texas?
- [09:23]
B
Yeah, no, I thought the same thing. Looking at it. I, you know, I think you could talk yourself into A M. Right? Maybe at the end of the season at Kyle Field.
- [09:34]
A
But I watched A M at the end of the season. I'm not talking myself in anything about
- [09:38]
B
A M, but Ohio State can go to Austin and beat Texas. I don't know. Yeah, but in the sec. Yeah, it's a pretty favorable SEC draw for sure.
- [09:51]
A
Yeah, so. So that's where I am with the Fighting Longhorns there. Hey, Fighting Longhorns. And then let's talk about Georgia. Georgia schedule is Tennessee State, Western Kentucky at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt at Bama, Auburn, Florida adult Missouri at South Carolina, Georgia Tech. Who's beating Georgia at Old Miss? Maybe at Alabama? I think Alabama. I don't know. Like, like, I don't. I don't see it because I think everybody in the SEC is mid other than these two teams. So like, again, I don't.
- [10:27]
B
Yeah, who.
- [10:27]
A
Who do you think is going to be the third best team in the sec? We can like, give away one of your playoff picks a little bit.
- [10:33]
B
I'm on Oklahoma right now. Oklahoma has a decent amount back.
- [10:37]
A
Okay, so Oklahoma does play Georgia and Texas. So that would be a thing. Oklahoma has a chance. But also Oklahoma plays Georgia and Texas and goes to Michigan.
- [10:47]
B
Yes.
- [10:48]
A
So like I, I, those are three losses to me right there, like Oklahoma on the road against Kyle Winningham and Bryce Underwood and plus Georgia and Texas. So is 9 and 3 Oklahoma getting in. So like that to me. Right. That's the discussion that we're having. So when I, when I look at the sec, I, I felt it a year ago and the result was like they got them all in. They got, they just took the whole collection. They took a shovel like a clown at the end of the parade and just picked up the last, the bits of the SEC and said like, we'll take them all. And they just, they just threw Alabama and Oklahoma and Texas A and M and they threw them all in the, and Vanderbilt wanted to get thrown in there too. They threw him in the playoff. I think maybe this year it's the same collection of stuff at the end of the parade, but they're not going to scoop any of it. They're going to let the horses flatten it with their hoof print and they're not taking them because I think there's going to be more Big Ten options that emerge. So that is my, that is, you know how, like when you're doing stuff and you're kind of like, what do I think about this? What do I think about this? And then it's like, you know, like it's the, the board, right. It's like, like the meme. And I was memeing it up and I was like, the SEC is going to be super top heavy in a way that we'll have to acknowledge how good Texas and Georgia are, but in a way that actually is going to benefit northern football in the Big Ten in 2026.
- [12:07]
B
I think that's. Well, I, I would, if I had to bank on one side or the other sort of of that coin, I think I would, I would be with you right now. I do think there's a chance that LSU is something better than maybe we're envisioning. I think Auburn's interesting, but their, their coaching change of bringing Byron Brown to the, to that program. So I, I don't know, but I think like, at the most there are going to be five teams that are even like mildly impressive in the sec, but I do think that, that Georgia and Texas will be a clear tier above those. Even if that's the case. Yeah.
- [12:47]
A
What'd you think of the Big Ten as you're going through this exercise?
- [12:51]
B
I thought the, the middle to me sort of felt better, but I also didn't really feel the need to like reach into that middle to find a team that I think could become a playoff team. I think it's fine to be an 8 win, 9 win team and be like a respectable middle of the pack team without me sort of having to pretend that you're actually a playoff contender.
- [13:15]
A
How many Big Ten teams do you have in.
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B
Four.
- [13:19]
A
Okay. Which would be an increase from this past season when the Big Ten only got three. So as, as you know, you and I were not great a year ago in March, picking playoff teams. As we said, you got four right, I got three right. There were four teams that were returners. So four teams from the 2024 playoff made the 2025 playoff, and that's the three Big Ten teams. Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, plus Georgia. When you think about returners, does that feel about right to you? If you are looking at the 2025 field, are you thinking to yourself, yeah, I think maybe like four of those 12 coming back is about right? Or do you feel like last year was a little crazy and maybe expecting more teams to, to return would make more sense?
- [14:07]
B
I'm not sure. Like, like, you know, Notre Dame not being in it throws a wrench in it. The ACC champ not being in it throws a wrench in it. But, but I also think like, Miami's just going to be the ACC champ this year. Yeah, I don't know that I'm expecting it to get like, like reshuffled all that much, to be honest.
- [14:25]
A
Okay. I only have four back. How many? How do you. Can you check? I only have four teams from last year's playoff in my playoff picks right now.
- [14:34]
B
Count them real quick. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. I have seven.
- [14:41]
A
Interesting. Interesting. Okay, Before we actually get to, to our, our brackets here, what, what else? What's like the craziest thing that as you were thinking about your bracket that you came across or decided upon or almost did and didn't do, was there a team that you were like, oh, man, I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on them, but I can't?
- [15:06]
B
Yeah, I mean, I considered five, five Big Ten teams. I do think the, the schedule may not support that because I, I think if the Big Ten were going to get five teams, the five would be Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, usc, and Michigan. But there's like some round robins in there that I think just might make it difficult for all five of those teams to get in. But I, I considered Five. Big Ten. I. I think there's some interesting things happening in the Big 12 because BYU and Texas Tech don't play each other this year. And I think those are clearly the two best teams back in the Big 12. And then, like, this is not what people ever really care about when they're doing this thing. But, like, I have no idea. With a group of six, Like, I don't even know. I'm assuming the American is still going to be considered the strongest Group of Six conference, but, like, now we have the new Pac 12. Like, I. I don't pack 12. Yeah, I'm. I'm not entirely sure what to make of all that yet. So. Yeah, yeah, it was a little difficult.
- [16:03]
A
I let myself get loose with the group of six because I do think it's. It's hard to wrap your. Your arms around here in March. Let's talk about the Big Ten before we get to the bracket. You're right on the round robin. I think Penn State, this is one of those, like, where you're.
- [16:22]
B
Yes.
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A
You're in a NASCAR race and everybody's, like, down, like, running into each other, and then somebody's just, like, up against the wall doing laps out of the traffic.
- [16:31]
B
Sixth. Yeah, you're sixth, and you missed the big one on the last lap. And it's like, that guy won.
- [16:35]
A
Yeah, that guy won. And so I will tell you that the five Big Ten teams, I have the Big Ten getting in five, and I have Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, usc, and then also Penn State. And looking at how often those teams play each other, USC plays all other 4. USC is like the. And we talked about this a little bit when we did around the Big Ten on Around the Shoe a couple weeks ago with Audrey Snyder and Matt Fortuna. Like, USC is really, like the linchpin to all of this. And so USC has Jade Maeva back. And I don't know why. I just, like, I'm kind of weigh in on Jaden Mieva this year. I might pick Jaden, my Eva, to win the Heisman. Like, I don't. Like, I'm just. Their entire offensive line is back, and I just think, like, he's been with Lincoln Raleigh enough now. Obviously, he played at UNLV before he got there. Like, he's experienced. I think he's talented. I just think there might be something there. And you go through, like, a Cursory look at USC's depth chart. It's not a lot of transfers. And I feel like that they laid a foundation and had, like, had a decent season last year and didn't get over the top. And as you kind of evaluate, you know, who's going to be the big transfer team and who's like, USC is kind of just like doing its thing. And as much as I think Lincoln Riley is a baby deer error, I'm kind of really in on usc, as many people are. But the fact is they are. They play the four other teams from the Big Ten that I think are going to make the playoff. So you have to think about that somehow. Like, they have to win some of those games. And so when you think about the other teams, Penn State doesn't play Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana. The only one of the playoffs teams to me that Penn State would play is usc. Ohio State plays Indiana. USC and Oregon, they don't play Penn State. Oregon plays USC and Ohio State. Indiana plays USC and Ohio State. So Penn State doesn't play anybody except usc and Oregon and Indiana don't play each other. But you have to think that usc, which doesn't have Notre Dame on the schedule, and like, you look at this schedule and you understand why USC didn't want to play Indiana and played Notre Dame this year. Right? It's just like one of these realistic things because as it stands out, they have to win two of the four. USC gets, gets Ohio State and Oregon at home, and they're at Penn State and at Indiana. And I think If USC goes 2 and 2 in those games, I think USC is going to make the playoff. But I also think USC has to go 2 and 2 of those games. I don't think going 1 and 3 and trying to get in at 9 and 3 is going to work. And so it's, it's not just about how good USC is. It's like, do you think they're good enough to navigate that, Landis? Because that's a lot.
- [19:12]
B
It is a lot. I mean, yeah, I have USC in, so, yes, I don't know. And my thinking will evolve on this, certainly. And like, a lot of this has to do with Ohio State because I think, I do think Ohio State is going to take two losses this year. And it's just a matter of, like, where I think they're going to lose to Texas and then like, where in the Big Ten does that loss come? And that when we first saw highest a schedule, I think you and I talked about that trip to USC that comes before Ohio State has to play Oregon at home. Like, it's just in a. It's in an interesting spot, but it
- [19:47]
A
is often off week For Ohio.
- [19:48]
B
It is awesome. Yeah. So, like, at the moment, I kind of have that game maybe circled for USC as a game that could kind of steal and put themselves in the playoff. And, you know, I might change my mind on that five times the next. The next five times we do this. But, yeah, I think it's possible. Like, I do. I do think. I think they have enough back. Like, I. Again, I didn't do, like, a comprehensive, like, returning production thing because I don't have the time to do that. But there is a. I did find one site that that sort of just does it by snaps, not like, statistics.
- [20:23]
A
Punt and rally. Is it punt? I found that, too. I started following that guy. I never heard of it before, but that was moderately helpful.
- [20:29]
B
It could be all made up for all. I know.
- [20:31]
A
I know.
- [20:32]
B
But they have USC 20th in returning snaps, which I thought was interesting. So I think it's possible. I don't. I don't love Lincoln Riley either, but. And, like, I don't. I don't know that I trust him to get it done necessarily. But I. I do think, like, I like. I feel like I like USC's chances of being that sort of bonus Big Ten team more than I like Michigan's with everything new that's going on there and Penn State with everything that's going on there. Even though Penn State schedule is very easy.
- [21:03]
A
It's one of those. Like, they lost Danton Lynn, their defensive coordinator, but they're bringing in Gary Patterson, the longtime TCU head coach, to be their defensive coordinator. What if Gary Patterson's Matt Patricia for them and it's not the NFL, but, like, it's a guy. Like, what if. And I don't know what a better comparison would be, because how often does a former college head coach retire for several years and then come in as a coordinator? But just what if he's a guy with gravitas? What if he's a guy who's been there and done that? What if he's a super confident guy who knows how to relate to players, who also maybe gives Lincoln Riley a kick in the. Is like, coach this team, brother. Like, what if. What if Gary Patterson is the most impactful. Like, you could look at it and say, that's a big loss for USC to lose on Lynn to go back home and be the defensive coordinator at Penn State. But what if they answered that question in a very interesting way that really maybe sort of changes their DNA a little bit? Because I'm not sure they don't need a change in DNA. But they had some, they played like, they played some good games last year. It sort of felt like last year was a little bit of a stepping up to the plate year. They didn't quite get there, but they' they're not as much of a mess as they were a couple years ago. It felt like they at least could like, compete in the Big Ten in a way that maybe makes them prepared to win a giant Big Ten game, for instance, beating Oregon or Ohio State at home.
- [22:20]
B
Yeah. Well, the thing they have to do also, I think to sort of take that next step is show that they can go on the road and win in the Big Ten, which they just really haven't done since, since joining the conference. And that would include like at Indiana and at Penn State. So, like, those are, I think those are actually the sort of the test of this. Now, USC could win all its games other than those two and still make the playoff, but I think the sort of be taken seriously as a Big Ten program. They have to. They just like, they go on the east coast time and they play like crap and they don't lose every game because sometimes they play bad teams. But like, having to go to Penn State and having to go to Indiana are going to be pretty difficult for a team that hasn't shown an ability to do that just yet. So, like, I think October 10th at Penn State, I don't think Penn State's great. I think with the conversation about Penn State in the playoff is more about their schedule than it is the quality of their team. But I would put a decent amount of stock into that game. If USC goes there and wins that game, then I think, like, it's okay, we're on for usc and, and I
- [23:19]
A
think that's, I think what I, how I get there, that it's, I think USC goes and wins that game at Penn State and then they, they beat one of the two of Oregon or Ohio State at home, not both, but they get one of those. They lose at Indiana, they lose the other home game, they're 10 and 2. They have some good wins and that's a playoff team. And then I think it's possible you look at Penn State, Marshall, Temple, Buffalo, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, usc, at Michigan, Purdue, at Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland. Now that's not easy because at Michigan and at Washington is real. Michigan and Washington, I think are teams certainly that could be in the mix. But, you know, I think Penn State could take that loss at home to usc, maybe not lose another game, maybe lose one of those trips to Michigan and Washington get a good road win in the other, like, run the table otherwise and squeak in kind of at the bottom of this thing as the last Big Ten team in, like, I think a 10 and 2 USC and also a 10 and 2 or 11 and one Penn State, which is again, primarily a result of a schedule. I. I think that's possible. So you have USC in. You don't have Penn State in.
- [24:35]
B
Yes. Yeah. So I have USC winning at Penn State. Yeah.
- [24:38]
A
And. But when you thought about Penn State, you did not make them a playoff team in your bracket. Did you come close to making them a playoff team in your bracket?
- [24:47]
B
No, not yet. I was like, if they're. They're interesting to me. We've done other shows where we've talked about Penn State as, like, a playoff dark horse because of just how. How easy that schedule is. That's that same site, Punt, punt and rally.com has Penn State is like the second weakest schedule in the Big Ten. Only. Only Rutgers is worse. So, like, that's, you know, that's pretty inviting, I think. But I think I want to learn more about, like, what's going on there, like, through spring ball, maybe before I really consider pulling the trigger there. But they were like, like, I made a list of whatever, like, teams are going to actually consider in the Big Ten. They were on it, but I didn't really come close to putting them in.
- [25:23]
A
So if we think. And in your mind, is there any reason to think Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana at the top of the Big Ten, and we probably should say the defending national champion, undefeated Indiana, Hoosiers first on that list. Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon. Is there any reason to not think of those three as the class of the Big Ten and for lack of a better word, default playoff teams? Sort of like you're filling it out in March and you're like, yeah, the three of them are in.
- [25:52]
B
I don't think so. I. I think the only one you'd maybe feel compelled to do that with is Indiana, because we're all kind of still getting used to this. But then I went and, like, Indiana's got, like, 10 starters, national championship. They bring back a lot of their defense, actually. And this coaching staff hasn't had bad quarterback play since they were, like, at Elon. So I don't know. I don't know why you would really doubt Indiana's ability to get back there. Yeah. Even though, again, like, it's a program that is doing something for the first time and that we don't, I think, fully have a grasp of but they bring back a lot on, on their offensive line and their defense brings back like decent stuff at all three levels. So I think they're very much going to be right there again.
- [26:36]
A
So that's like, that's where I am with this. That the idea of if you just put those three in and then I think between usc, I certainly, I didn't go all the way down the road with Washington, but they got The Damond Williams Jr. Stuff sorted out. They are going to miss Denzel Boston and Jonah Coleman, but I think that's a good healthy program. Michigan, if you believe in Kyle Whittingham, if you believe in year two of Bryce Underwood, if you believe in year two of Andrew Marsh, if you believe in. You know that like there they might have had a. I mean like just the more. Because there's just, there's more stuff now with Michigan. Like some of the stuff with the coaching staff at Michigan, like how Michigan win more than two games. Like the people in charge of this program, it feels like they were. I don't even know if they were paying attention to football. They were pretty busy on their phones, man. So like now you have like a, a dedicated football coach who I'm not gonna pretend I know Kyle Whittingham, but I don't think he's doing that. Like how much could that elevate Michigan? But if you think of those top three in the Big Ten and then you think of usc, Washington, Michigan and I don't know. Right. I thought I've talked about a lot about Wisconsin as a dark horse. I don't have them in my playoff. But that I think if I would, I would consider what Wisconsin different think about, I think usc, Washington, Michigan primarily. Can you get a fourth team out of one of those like good teams, good teams with good players and then like an. Also a Big Ten dark horse. Whether that's Matt Campbell and, and Penn State in year one or whether that's Luke Fickle figuring it out with a new quarterback at Wisconsin, whether that's Nebraska figuring it out, post Dylan Raiola, whether that's UCLA and Bob Chesney all of a sudden leaping up. Right. That's why I think you can get five in the Big Ten. Three borderline locks, a good group of next tier teams that I think one can emerge from that and then some possible dark horses who might get some schedule help and still steal one game and you get five.
- [28:38]
B
Yeah. And that's what kind of what I was alluding to earlier. Like if you want to, if you Want to take. If you want to take, like, the next batch of teams below, the teams that you just, like, are very confident are going to make the playoff in both the Big Ten and the sec. I don't know how you wouldn't feel much better about the Big Tens batch right now than you would the SEC's batch. And I'm not saying that'll carry through into next season. It could change. But at the moment, I feel much better about the Big Tens batch.
- [29:02]
A
Okay, we'll get into. You do some crazy stuff in March, right? It's okay to do crazy stuff in March?
- [29:08]
B
Yeah, of course. Yes.
- [29:09]
A
Okay.
- [29:09]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [29:11]
A
Let's talk about the actual playoff teams from 2025. And just again, if you were thinking about it, how you might have gone about it, the 2025 playoff teams. Number one seed was Indiana. They were a returning playoff team. Number two seed was Ohio State. Returning playoff team. Number three seed was Georgia. Returning playoff team. Number five seed with Oregon, returning playoff team. So only four teams returned, but they were for the top five seats. Then you had three of the top four transfer class teams from the 247, 247 transfer ratings. LSU had the number one class a year ago, according to 24 7. We know what happened at LSU. But the next three best portal class teams, number two is Texas Tech. They were the four seed in the playoff. Number three was Ole Miss. They were the sixth seed in the playoff. And number four was Miami. They were the 10 seed in the playoff. So as much as it's like, it's hard to figure out, and I almost. There's two group of five teams. Group of five is just a group of six. It's just a crapshoot. So there's only ten power conference teams that made it last year, and it was four returning teams. And three of the top four transfer classes is seven of the 10. And then the other three were like, SEC, overly respected, mediocre randos in Texas A and M, Oklahoma and Alabama and whatever. But as bad as you and I were, you were slightly better than me. You were 4 for 12 a year ago. I was 3 for 12. Like, if you just go like, well, let's pick the teams. Like, let's find the teams, for instance, Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia that you think are just kind of gonna be there until further notice. And then you look for the people who really. And I didn't believe it as much a year ago. Like, I looked at Ole Miss's transfer class, and I was like, whatever, bro. And I was like, looked at Texas Tech. And I was like, good luck paying all these guys to come from Stanford's like, oh, don't. David Bailey's awesome. Oh, okay. That actually worked. That worked better than anybody could have imagined. So I certainly. Whether I like it or not, why wouldn't I like it?
- [31:17]
B
Who.
- [31:18]
A
What do I care? Good luck to everybody. Like, sometimes the transfer stuff at this point, and it's not like I just went through all the transfer classes and said this, this, this, this. Some of the transfer stuff is actually staring you in the face if you're willing to accept it.
- [31:31]
B
No, I. Yeah, I think so, too. I looked at it a little bit. I. I do. Like, I prefer, I think on threes transfer portal rankings, because they do balance in and out, and 24. 7 is just in. They don't account. Like, you can look and see who left, but like, their class rankings don't account for who actually left.
- [31:51]
A
Yeah.
- [31:52]
B
So on threes team rankings, again, balance of in and out. Indiana is 1, LSU is 2, Texas Tech is 3, A. M is 4, Louisville is 5, Virginia Tech is 6, Arkansas is 7, Houston is 8, Notre Dame is 9 and Texas is 10.
- [32:11]
A
Okay. And that could inform some things, right? That could inform some things. All right, let's. Let's, let's.
- [32:23]
B
By the way, you're bat. Your badgers are 15th.
- [32:28]
A
I'm not all the way there now, but. But like, when you do things in March, then, like, well, I want to run through this. I want to pick. Run through what we did actually pick for our bracket a year ago. And then like, specifically how wrong we were and how our minds change. And again, like, we're just trying to get it on the record. We just want to be honest with you about how dumb we are. Right. That's all. Is that.
- [32:48]
B
That's all.
- [32:49]
A
Is that. Is that not good? Podcasting 2025, my bracket a year ago at this time, number one was Penn State. They went seven to six. Number two was Clemson. They went seven and six. Three was Texas. They almost made the playoff. And they. If they had not lost to Florida, they would have made it. I had them beating Ohio State a year ago. That didn't happen. Number four was byu for me. They almost made it. Number five was Notre Dame. They almost made it. Number six was Georgia. Number seven was Ohio State. They both made it. And then I was just wrong on some teams. I had Tennessee eight. But I think in my defense, like, we did it in March and then Nico left after spring. Oh, right. Or during spring. So that was a. With Nico Pick for Tennessee. They wound up 8 and 5. I was on Illinois all last year and just was wrong from the jump about Illinois. Indiana was what I thought Illinois was going to be. Illinois wound up 9 and 4. I had him in my playoff from March all the way through. And then I had South Carolina in, which was just like, I did it. And then the next time we did it, I was like, what was I doing putting South Carolina? That was ridiculous. And then South Carolina went 4 and 8. And then I had an Oregon who made it. And then my group of 16 was South Florida, who actually looked like a pretty good pick for a while and who I got off of by the time we got to the season. So, like, you know, my misses, you know, Penn State, Clemson, Texas, kind of everybody was on those teams and none of them made it. BYU and Notre Dame were close. And then I just, like, picked the wrong. I was trying to pick. Like I said, it was 3 sec randos made it Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas A and M. I just picked Tennessee and South Carolina instead. I picked the wrong SEC randos. So. So that's how I got it wrong. Here's what you did a year ago. You had number one, Texas. They finished 13th, two, Penn State, three, Clemson. Both went seven and six. Four was Arizona State, Nate. And five. And I'm not trying to. Do you remember what you thought about Arizona State last year? Were you just like you were down with Kenny and Sam and let's Roll?
- [34:47]
B
I think I was. I was, yeah. Not willing to buy the Texas Tech hype? I think at that point.
- [34:54]
A
Yeah. You had Ohio State, 5, Georgia 6. They made it Notre Dame 7. They barely missed Alabama 8. They made it number nine, Michigan, who wound up 18th in the final poll. Like, they weren't that far off with a coach who I think was put in about 12 hours a week actually, coaching football. You had Oregon 10, BYU 11. They almost made it. You had Boise State as your group of six team at 12th. Like, I don't like. And again, like, Michigan's not a crazy pick. Like, like Michigan was. Was kind of there for part of the season. You like a little more than I did.
- [35:26]
B
I was going to say, I'm remembering now, like they, they and Clemson were 12 in the returning production.
- [35:33]
A
Okay.
- [35:33]
B
So that's why. That's why I must have picked Arizona State. Yeah. I don't, you know, if I would have known what. What old Sharon was getting up to, I don't think I would have put it in my playoff. But I don't know. I Feel like I can defend all of those at the time. For the most part.
- [35:48]
A
Yeah, I think. Do you think it should be a rule that before you make College Football Playoff picks, you should be able to subpoena the phones of every coach that you are? See your phone putting in your bracket. Show us your phone.
- [36:04]
B
Just send us your screen time report that you get at the end of every week. See what's going on.
- [36:08]
A
Everybody's always like. Because that's the thing everybody does with, like, the coaches with their golf handicaps. If your coach's golf handicap is too low, they're like, you're. They're out on your team because your coach is playing too much golf. Screen time, baby. We can hack into that screen time.
- [36:22]
B
Sure.
- [36:24]
A
Like, I wouldn't mind knowing what the screen is on.
- [36:30]
B
You watching film or what. What's. What's on the screen?
- [36:33]
A
I'll tell you that Sharon Moore plays a lot of wordle. What is going on? Sharon, what's your starting word? Sharon, what's your starting word?
- [36:44]
B
His starting word is you up?
- [36:45]
A
Yeah. Oh, my God. I was wondering what the best joke was there, and you absolutely crushed it. Okay. Oh, man. All right, let's do our brackets. Let's do our brackets. Can I just give you a couple week one lines? I went into FanDuel. I just picked one of them, and there was only. I was like, I thought there used to be a national champ. There was only like, one national championship. Odd, for some reason that I could find on FanDuel. It was Boston College. They're like a million to one to win the national championship. I was like, what am I looking at? I did well, of course. Come on. I believe in Bill o'. Brien. He's the right guy. They got it. They got a transfer quarterback from a middle school. I'm sure it'll work great. Week one lives. You up.
- [37:43]
B
You up.
- [37:43]
A
I'm not gonna get over you up. Some week one lines. Clemson is plus 11 and a half at LSU, which I thought was a little heavy. Like, you consider what that game was a year ago. It's like again. But we went through, like, the trans. You know, this expected starting quarterbacks, and it's like Clemson's starting quarterback if some guy's been sitting on the bench for three years. Ohio State is plus two and a half at Texas, which is not week one, but that's like an early season banger, obviously. So the. The Buckeyes underdogs on the road. Oklahoma plus half at Michigan. Early season banger. I thought that was like A good sign for Michigan that, like, even though they get that game at home, but it's like, there's enough respect there with Kyle Whittingham and Bryce Underwood. And there was constant Notre Dame in Lambeau week one, Wisconsin's plus 16 and a half. And, like, my problem is I like both those teams, so 16 and a half feels heavy to me. But, like, I. I like Notre Dame. Like, I picked Notre Dame. I picked Notre Dame to win the national championship last year. I might pick Notre Dame to win the national championship again this year. Like, it's. I think there's just some stuff going like.
- [38:43]
B
Yeah, I think they're my pick last year, too, and would probably be my pick right now. Yeah.
- [38:47]
A
Yeah. So. All right, let's get to your projected bracket. Can we have the producer bring up the graphic, please, for this?
- [38:57]
B
I should have wrote it down in my notebook. I can just hold it up to the screen. Yeah,
- [39:02]
A
well, a double U. The W right in the middle of the word tripped up a lot of people on the U up. I didn't think it's an unusual W in the middle of the word. Middle of a five word, five letter word. Ah.
- [39:16]
B
I don't even think it actually fits.
- [39:17]
A
Right.
- [39:18]
B
Wordle.
- [39:18]
A
Spider. It actually fits. It's a thousand times funnier because it fits. Oh, my God. Oh, man. This is like one of those humble brags. I was just telling Bill, I was at the doctor, and the. The doctor was like, you gained 13 pounds. And I was like, what's happening? So this is not a humble brag, but I was walking into the gym last night and guy says, hey, Doug. And I was like, hey. And he was watching the show on his phone as he walked out of the gym. He was watching around the shoe. Chris. Shout out to Chris. What's your bracket, brother?
- [39:56]
B
Okay, number one, I have Notre Dame. I don't think. I don't think Notre Dame is gonna lose.
- [40:04]
A
Okay, so they got Notre Dame and they've got. Excuse me. They have Miami and they have byu. Are there two big ones?
- [40:09]
B
Right? But they don't have. And they kind of had two big ones last year. They lost them both, famously. And they were also in the first two weeks of the season. Those might. That Miami and that BYU game are not in the first two weeks of the season, by the way. Can I take a slight detour here for one second to talk about 17th when BYU plays Notre Dame? Because you're gonna. You're gonna want to. You're gonna want to clear the calendar for October 17th, okay? Did you look at the schedule?
- [40:34]
A
Did not.
- [40:35]
B
Have you looked at the schedule for that day? I was going to run through. I didn't write down all the cool games. I just wrote down some of them. So that's the day that BYU plays Notre Dame. That is the day that Ohio State plays Indiana. Oh, and then I'm just going to run through these others.
- [40:48]
A
BYU's Notre Dame for that game.
- [40:52]
B
No, I think it's in. I think it's in Provo.
- [40:56]
A
Okay. I was gonna say that's a heck of a day for the state of Indiana. If that was Indiana.
- [41:01]
B
Notre Dame at byu. Also on that day, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee. Okay. It's Florida, Arizona State, Texas Tech, which could be like a pretty important Big 12 game. The Apple cup is that day or not the apple cup? No, not the apple cup. What is the. The Sunflower game? The Kansas. Kansas State. Sorry. Oh, yep. Manhattan, Kansas threw me off. It's a little apple. Kansas, Kansas State's that day. Florida State, Miami is that day. Penn State, Michigan is that day. And then this is like a weird one, but I did put on the list because it's interesting. Pat Fitzgerald versus Northwestern is that day.
- [41:37]
A
Wow. No, but that is interesting. And it's also Aiden Childs versus Michigan State, which is a little. Aiden Child didn't get fired, so. No, that's a lot. That's. Okay. Well. Oh, that sounds too much.
- [41:54]
B
That's too much ball. One day
- [41:58]
A
I would hope. No, we can't do it. We have to go to not have to. We get to go to Ohio State, Indiana. Because there's a part of me, if it was three different windows for Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, BYU and Ohio State Indiana. Part of me wants to stay home and strap in and do like a 14 hour live show.
- [42:15]
B
You could do that. I'll go to Ohio State. Indiana.
- [42:17]
A
Yeah. Hey, how many live viewers does Doug have for his Notre Dame, BYU live watch without Bill, his wife and his mom. I wonder how Doug's breaking down Notre Dame's offensive line play against the new defensive coordinator for by. Great. I'm sure it's great. All right. Notre Dame is one. Who's your two?
- [42:41]
B
Texas is my SEC champ at two.
- [42:44]
A
Okay.
- [42:45]
B
Oregon is my Big Ten champ at three.
- [42:48]
A
Okay.
- [42:49]
B
Miami is my ACC champ at four. I think Miami's only loss will be that Notre Dame game.
- [42:56]
A
Oh, okay.
- [42:58]
B
And then. Okay, now five, I have. Ohio State is the Big Ten runner up.
- [43:03]
A
Okay.
- [43:05]
B
Six, Georgia as the SEC runner up.
- [43:08]
A
Okay.
- [43:09]
B
And I was a little. I'm. I'm not feeling great about the order these teams. I have Texas Tech seventh as the Big 12 champions. But I do think maybe I, that might be a little off. Indiana 8, Oklahoma 9, USC 10.
- [43:29]
A
Okay.
- [43:31]
B
I have two big 12 teams. I have BYU in okay. At 11. Okay. And then my group of six representative is new Mexico.
- [43:41]
A
New Mexico. Can you lead us a half step down the road on how you got to New Mexico?
- [43:48]
B
I think they're gonna win the Mountain West. They have a lot, but they were good. They were 91 team last year and they have a lot back. And I kind of, I don't. I kind of just want. I just looked at who has a lot back in the. Among the G6 ranks and to not pick South Florida because I, I don't know that I see Brian Hartline taking South Florida to the playoff in his first years. I had coach. I went away from the American and I picked New Mexico.
- [44:12]
A
Okay, is who, who did you almost put in? Who would have been like your, you said you made a list. Did you have like, who would have been your next team?
- [44:23]
B
That's a good question. I didn't, I didn't do it though. Probably Michigan.
- [44:29]
A
Okay, so you do have, you still only have 3 sec, but you don't have 5 big 10.
- [44:38]
B
Yeah, I have 2 big 12, but
- [44:40]
A
I respect, I respect 3 sec. That makes me feel warm inside. Thank you, brother. Okay, so let's do this. So I'll give you my bracket and we'll see how many we have the same. So I have my number one as Texas.
- [44:55]
B
Okay.
- [44:56]
A
I like, I'm not ready to say that. That means to me that Texas is going to beat Ohio State for sure. I just think Texas, this is Texas running the table in the SEC and then winning the SEC championship game. And so even if Texas loses to Ohio State, right. Because like I, because if Ohio State beats Texas, I don't think Ohio State's going to go undefeated with the schedule it has. So I think this could be a 1 loss. Texas potentially beating my 2 seed Georgia, who maybe was undefeated going in. Right. It could be 111 Texas versus 12, 0 Georgia for the SEC championship game. Texas wins. Texas is the 1 seed. Georgia, who was the undefeated number one team in the country, is now the 2 seed. So that's, that's kind of how I got that. I am not ready to feel strongly about this, but I also have Oregon as the Big Ten champ and the top seed here from the Big Ten as my three seeds. So we both have Oregon as the three seed. But again, this is kind of a march. Doug made me do this show. This is not a.
- [46:02]
B
We're.
- [46:03]
A
We're putting our sword in the ground and saying Dante Moore and Dan Lanning are getting it done.
- [46:07]
B
No, not yet.
- [46:08]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I have Notre Dame as the four seed, so that is also similar to you. I have Indiana as the five.
- [46:17]
B
Do you think
- [46:21]
A
I kind of had Notre Dame, like, losing a goofy one? So, like, even. And, like, even, like, again, like, maybe this is holding out a little bit of, like, that the Fighting Badgers get it done in week one. Like, I don't like Pat Fitzgerald of Michigan State. They have that game. Like, is there. Like, I don't know what they have. They have Syracuse on the road to end the year. Like, what if Syracuse. Steve Angelli. That's a revenge game. Steve Angeli as former Notre Dame quarterback who got hurt last year, like, ruining Notre Dame's perfect season. I don't know that. So that's. It's. It's probably an 11 one with a couple good wins, but that keeps them from. From being the 1 seed because they're not undefeated. Indiana 5. Which is. Which is probably Indiana winning at home in that game against Ohio State. Right? That. Like, if. If. I can't remember. We both. We did this on another show. We went through and we said. We both said Ohio state's gonna go 10 and 2. So it's like, well, if they're playing Oregon and they're playing Indiana and they're playing Texas, like, and. And they're playing usc, like, where's. Where exactly are the two losses? I don't have that definitively locked in my head, but I have Ohio State solidly, without question, in the playoff. We are pretty boring here. I have BYU 7. So we're 7 for 7 so far on the same playoff teams. I have USC 8. We are 8 for 8 on the same playoff teams. And now it gets loose. Strap in. Hold on to your presidents. Louisville.
- [47:52]
B
I thought about it. I thought. I. Actually, I didn't. Oh, I shouldn't say that. I saw there. I was, like, looking through some ACC stuff. I saw their logo. I was like, do I want to look into that? And then I didn't. But like, I. I did say before. I decided not to.
- [48:06]
A
I saw somebody who said that. That Bud Elliott, our. Our good buddy, has already put forth the idea of Louisville running the table, which, again, is. Is partly based on the schedule. And the reason I said hold on to your presidents is because our quarterback is Lincoln Keenholtz, the former Ohio State quarterback that I Was calling always for the presidential him to be in as a short yardage guy. He's gonna be the actual quarterback at Louisville. They open with Ole Miss. And this is like a Wake up the echoes. Like, I guess not Wake up the echo. That's another name thing.
- [48:35]
B
But like, wake.
- [48:38]
A
My God. Like I just said wake up and then just said echoes at the end of it. This is Braum. This is. You're getting Brahm. Like, Jeff Brahm's a good coach. So very good. Like, so like old miss, Villanova, SMU, Wake Forest, NC State, FL State, Syracuse, Stanford, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt, Kentucky. I don't know.
- [48:57]
B
It's a pretty easy schedule like that.
- [49:01]
A
That's. That seems doable.
- [49:02]
B
I mean, right. The back end of that schedule is kind of Halloween. They play Stanford and then Georgia Tech. North Carolina pick Kentucky. Yeah.
- [49:12]
A
And just like, can they get to. Can they get to the ACC championship game and be the ACC champ? Right. Like, their road games are NC State, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
- [49:22]
B
I think you're.
- [49:23]
A
Yeah.
- [49:23]
B
You're kind of asking yourself, like, is Florida State going to be any good?
- [49:27]
A
And then.
- [49:27]
B
And then can Louisville beat them and can Louisville beat smu? And both those games are home games for Louisville. Yeah.
- [49:34]
A
Yeah. So they are my nine seed, which is like. Like a pretty good record. That's like a 12, 1 ACC champ, Louisville there. Like that. That's. That's what that is to me. 10 seed Penn State just kind of skirting around the outside of the track, like getting like enough of a. Like a good win, whether it's on the road at Michigan, whether it's on the road at Washington, if it's both great. But like enough where it's like they're either 11 and 1 and they took advantage of the schedule or they like, they're. They're. The wins are enough and the Big Ten is respected enough that they get in as like the. At the top of the 10 and two pack. And now hold on to your skates, which is just like, if this happens. This game at the end of the year is an absolute monster because my 11 seed is Kentucky.
- [50:21]
B
Wait, what?
- [50:26]
A
Okay, Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville at Kentucky at the end of the year, like, for, like for both being playoff teams. Like, I don't know what they call it. The Beer Barrel Poker. What do they call that? The Bourbon Bowl. What is that called? What did they call the Louisville Kentucky
- [50:41]
B
Commonwealth Cup, I believe.
- [50:43]
A
Yeah.
- [50:45]
B
Do you know all the Commonwealths, by the way?
- [50:48]
A
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Kentucky. Is that it?
- [50:52]
B
And some others.
- [50:53]
A
Yeah. And some Others.
- [50:55]
B
That's the Governor. Sorry, it's the Governor's Cup.
- [50:59]
A
Kentucky schedule, Youngstown State, Bama in week two, Bama in week two with, like a new quarterback. Maybe like a young quarterback. Okay. At Texas A and M. I don't know. South Alabama at South Carolina, LSU at Oklahoma, Vanderbilt at Tennessee, Florida at Missouri, Louisville. This is two. This is almost. This is propelled by three things. One is crazy stuff happens. And. And is Kentucky any more crazy? Kentucky in year one of Will Stein making the playoff. Is that any crazier than Kurt Signetti making the playoff with Indiana in year one? No, it's not any crazier. Maybe the schedule is not quite as easy. Right. But I do. I'm already envisioning in my head, like, we kind of got this thing of like, Kurt Signetti and veteran coaches and guys who have won. And I'm waiting for what if Will Stein, the former Oregon offensive coordinator who's like the typical young coordinator hire, like, reignites he like, oh, wait, no, yeah, we like young coordinators who have never been a head coach before. We like those too. And then at least one Notre Dame guy at the combine was talking about how much of a dog Kenny Minchi is.
- [52:08]
B
Kenny.
- [52:08]
A
And the idea that, like, Kenny Minchi took the Notre Dame quarterback battle with C.J. carr kind of down to the wire last year. And then C.J. carr was like, quite good and Kenny Minchi was basically almost as good. And Kenny Minchi, of all these transfer quarterbacks, what if Kenny Minchi is the best transfer quarterback in the country? And they also. You went through their transfer portal class. I think they were in the top 10 in that transfer portal list that you said.
- [52:33]
B
Nope, they're 37th.
- [52:35]
A
That's what I meant. They were in the top 40 on the transfer portal class. I think they have an entirely. Louisville.
- [52:41]
B
Louisville was in the top 10.
- [52:43]
A
Yeah. I think their entire offensive line, projected starting offensive line is portal guys. So, like, there, it's just completely revamped, right? Including. Including Tiger Shabola, but including another guy in there that I heard of. Who's another guy in there? You're looking at it. They have another. They have enough. Oh, yeah.
- [53:03]
B
Olaus Allen from Alabama, big time recruit
- [53:06]
A
once upon a time. So I'm just trying to get a little loose and like, look for like something weird where there's at least enough of something to get me there. And Kenny Minchi was enough to get me there. And also Kenny Minchi looking for something weird. Will Stein, I think, is a pretty good offensive play caller. And I think The SEC is just full of mid teams and the idea that Kentucky can like jump all over Alabama. You don't think Will Stein is going to have something ready for Alabama in week two. Wolstein started studying Alabama film before he got the job at Kentucky. That's a pro. That's a coach defining program, defining game. What if Will Stein's like that? What if Will Stein's Lincoln Riley or Ryan Day. And it starts with that. It starts with knocking off Alabama in week two. So I did. But I wanted to look for something like that. Right. And so that's what got me there. You,
- [54:00]
B
you need to get this out there. You need to be. You need to be making the radio rounds in Kentucky. I even think you putting Kentucky in the playoff might get you on fine bomb.
- [54:09]
A
Okay. And the idea of Louisville and Kentucky both getting in too is extra juice.
- [54:13]
B
Yeah.
- [54:13]
A
They're gonna name a thoroughbred after me. This is how I do like the idea.
- [54:18]
B
I do like the idea of the. The SEC team you're willing to take a swing on is the one that's closest to Ohio quarterback by a former
- [54:25]
A
Notre Dame guy and coached by an Oregon assistant. They got a lot of juice in like four years. When a horse names named French Vanilli wins the Kentucky Derby. It starts with this. It started here. 12 is San Diego State.
- [54:46]
B
Oh, I consider them. Yeah.
- [54:49]
A
Sean Lewis head coach. I don't really know much more about them, but they have like a.
- [54:54]
B
They have don't return the quarterback. I think they don't the main reason why.
- [54:58]
A
But their quarterback was a backup for them last year, Bert Emanuel. I think it is a former transfer. They have, they have a schedule that is like resume opportunities because they play at UCLA in the non conference. They play Toledo, they play James Madison. So it's like if you go win on the road at UCLA and if you beat a playoff team from last year, like that's going to get people's attention and then they're part of the new PAC12. And just like as a. Like I'm glad the packed. Like on one hand I'm like, I don't know. Like what is this? Like the new Pac 12 is just the old Mountain west. But it. And the new Mountain west is just the old like something else. But on the other hand, like good for the pack. Yeah. Like, but on the other hand, good for the Pac 12. Like let's welcome the Pac 12 back. And the idea that the group of six team could be the Pac 12 champ, I kind of wanted to go there. And then in doing. So I thought San Diego State had a chance to get the kind of non conference wins that sometimes you need to. To have a chance to be the group of six teams. So that's why I went there. But that wasn't well researched. But I will say Bill Connolly, who does research this stuff, he. He picked Hawaii as his group of 16 when he did this.
- [56:11]
B
I thought about that too because they got their. What's that? Michael Elahato back at quarterback. He's pretty fun. They had a decent year last year. Timmy Chan getting it done.
- [56:21]
A
Yeah. So that's where we are. Eight the same. My top eight is the same. Has the same eight as you. So I mean like that's.
- [56:31]
B
You had Miami because I had Miami.
- [56:33]
A
No, I did not have Miami.
- [56:36]
B
Yeah, I have Miami fourth.
- [56:38]
A
Okay. All right. But my top eight is all Bill teams. Texas, Georgia, Oregon, Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State, byu, USC were my top eight and you have all those in. So I have Louisville, Penn State, Kentucky as my other sort of at large. And you have Miami, Texas Tech and Oklahoma. So we have different big 12 champs. But you still have BYU win as an at large. We have different ACC champs and then you have Oklahoma and I have Penn State. So that's how we get you.
- [57:12]
B
Did you game it out enough to know whether like, are you thinking that because byu, Texas Tech don't play each other, they. They both reached the Big 12 title game and BYU actually beats them this year?
- [57:23]
A
No, I didn't gain that out enough. I gamed it out of like they lost David Bailey. I'm not 100 sure that their defense is gonna be as good. They lost Jacob Rodriguez. Right. So it's like that's one of those.
- [57:32]
B
I, I did significantly better though.
- [57:35]
A
Well, Brandon Source is going to be a lot better than Baron Morton. Right. One of the things that I liked that I think is a little bit reverse and I'll. I like, I think I need to dig into this a little bit more is like what are the good teams that didn't send a lot of guys to the combine? Which I think is like a reverse good way to think about who has good players back. And for instance, Texas only sent seven guys to the combine. Like Texas sent fewer guys to the combine than Florida did. Right. Than Iowa did. So then Clemson did. Right. So Miami sent 10 guys to the combine. So it's like I know they have Darren Mensah, but like they lost sort of like the heart of that defense. So when you're picking Miami, it's like no Reuben Bain gone Akeem Mezador gone. Keonte Scott gone. You just think is it that they have enough, like whether it's Lightfoot or like the other guys on the defense.
- [58:27]
B
Justin Scott's back, Ahmad Moten's back, Muhammad to Ray is back. They were playing some young guys in the secondary like around Keonte Scott, including some true freshmen last year who are back. Malachi, Tony's back, Mark Fletcher's back. I think they have three offensive line starters back and I think Darian Menz is couple a good quarterback.
- [58:45]
A
Yeah, it's hard. I mean they have like three. They have, they have three first round picks. Right. Plus Keonte Scott who's gonna be like a second or third round pick. So. And then they're. They lost their left tackle too. The, the giant six nine house guy. So they lost both offensive tackles.
- [59:01]
B
So yeah, I think there's centers back and I think one starting guard and then the other guy who was like splitting reps at the other guard spot I think is what.
- [59:12]
A
Okay, so those are our picks. We'll mark them down, we'll update them. So the reason we wanted to do this is we wanted to get it out like before everybody really starts getting into spring football. So I think maybe we will do this again like sometime in the summer, which is like post spring football. Back in the old days, you had like old days meeting. Last year you had to wait like, like spring portal, but there's no more spring portal. So the rosters are set. But are there things that happen? Are there guys that emerge? Are there battles that are won or lost? I mean, unfortunately there might be some injuries. Just as recorded this today, I was like dorking around trying to be like, well, I had South Carolina a year ago and they went 4 and 8. Lenora Sellers is back. Should I think about South Carolina's like googling South Carolina and South Carolina? Shane Beamer announced the day we're recording this March 3rd, like their left tackles out for the year.
- [60:01]
B
I saw that. Yeah. Was that a. Was that a. He got injured like the first day of spring practice.
- [60:06]
A
I don't know. I just was like, well, I'm not picking South Carolina. Yeah. So I mean stuff like that really matters. Like Michigan's left tackle got hurt like before the season. Wisconsin's left tackle got hurt before the season last year. That's one of the reasons I like Wisconsin too. It's like Kevin Haywood's back at left tackle. That was a huge loss for them last year. So anyway, we'll see if I can get to Wisconsin. If I can get to Louisville and Kentucky in the playoff, I can get to Wisconsin in the playoff. Can I get the six Big Ten?
- [60:31]
B
I don't know what I was expecting, but Kentucky really blew my mind.
- [60:34]
A
Yeah, that's. I just want it to be clear. The only reason I pick Kentucky is because that's how bad I think the SEC is.
- [60:42]
B
I respect it.
- [60:44]
A
And they have the most northern influx of any southern team, so. But, but, but, but I don't think it's, I don't think it's like looking for a year one coach, like not only the signetti model, but it's like if you think like, hey, there's something here and you change coaches and does the new coach like, boom, hits the ground running now again, it's like hits the ground running. It's like every time there's a new coach, the whole roster turns over anyway. But I, I don't think looking for like the year one breakthrough coach is a terrible idea when you're trying to find a bottom of the bracket playoff team.
- [61:20]
B
I don't think so either. I just think, you know, if you're, if you're going to do that this year, you probably have to do it in the sec.
- [61:27]
A
Yeah, right. I can say it with two teams. I did with Matt Campbell, too, so.
- [61:32]
B
Oh, yeah. I guess you could you just consider Cal Tosh Lupoi.
- [61:39]
A
Not a ton, but maybe I should with our guy.
- [61:41]
B
Quarterback. He's got a quarterback.
- [61:42]
A
Yeah, that's like, that's a, that's a Landis pick. I think you'll get there by August. You'll have Cal in the playoff by August. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. All right. Thanks to everybody for joining us here. If you want to just talk Ohio State football, which we often do on this, this YouTube and podcast feed, you can find us even more doing more of that over on our substack. Bill and Doug osu.substack.com We'll have a big Wednesday show. We're gonna draft on Wednesday on our substack show the biggest questions facing Ohio State going into spring football. And then we will, we expect to have a guest later this week on this free feed where we break down Carnell Tate a little bit more as a draft prospect. But we wanted to kind of get this playoff thing out there. So we appreciate you guys indulging us. Again, try out the substack. But mostly thanks for being here. For Bill Landis, I'm Doug Lee Maurice and that was the Bill and Doug.