Ohio State is the new No. 1 | Updated College Football Playoff projections

Summary

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The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State is the New No. 1 | Updated College Football Playoff Projections

Hosts: Doug Lesmerises & Bill Landis
Date: September 2, 2025
Podcast: Ohio State Football Talk (Blue Wire)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into Ohio State's ascension to the No. 1 spot in both major college football polls following a momentous opening-week victory over Texas. Doug and Bill analyze poll results, debate updated College Football Playoff projections, review top national contenders, and share thoughts on notable shifts in team perception after Week 1. Throughout, they balance analytic breakdowns with fan-centered energy, a bit of rivalry banter, and their signature anti-Southern-CFB bias humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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Ohio State Ascends to No. 1 (01:25–04:54)

• Immediate Reactions to New Rankings
  • Ohio State claims No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls with 114 first-place votes.
  • Main competition: Penn State (13 first-place votes), LSU (4), Georgia and Oregon (1 each).
  • Polls delayed due to Monday night games and media suspense.
• Historical Perspective
  • Alabama: Most all-time weeks at No. 1 (141), Ohio State second (107).
  • OSU: 80 consecutive weeks in AP top 25 (only Alabama and Georgia longer currently).
  • OSU’s track record as AP No. 1: 75–12–1.

    "Ohio State has played 88 games as the number one team in the AP poll and is 75–12–1 in those games."
    – Bill Landis, 02:22

• Alabama’s Slip & Potential for an Upset
  • Hosts suggest Alabama shouldn't even be ranked after a Week 1 loss.

    "Bama dropped to 21. They shouldn't be ranked."
    – Doug, 04:19

  • Recall of Saban’s historic loss to UL Monroe; jokingly suggest calling former UL Monroe players.

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Early Reactions & Playoff Rankings Discussion (05:46–08:15)

• Intent to Make This a Weekly Segment
  • Hosts plan weekly "Tuesday playoff projections" until the official committee rankings start.
• Reasoning for Ohio State at No. 1
  • OSU’s dominant win over Texas (“the former No. 1”) seen as the best resume win.
  • Some minor support for LSU at No. 1 from media, but generally not a consensus.

    "I said that I thought Ohio State should be a unanimous number one. You beat number one... That's a win."
    – Doug, 06:31

• Questioning Penn State's No. 2 Ranking
  • Both hosts find Penn State's No. 2 status unwarranted based on results so far.

    "It's silly that Penn State's number two."
    – Bill, 07:31

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Biggest Perception Shifts After Week 1 (08:15–10:18)

• Miami’s Emergence
  • Bill and Doug both moved Miami up in their projections after an impressive win and physical, dominant performance over Notre Dame.

    "Miami look good. Sides of the line like, like dominated in a lot of ways."
    – Doug, 08:47

  • Special mention of Miami’s defensive line and new breakout receiver Malachi Tony.
  • Still cautious over Mario Cristobal’s game management.
• Debate Over Meaning of Big Upsets
  • Doug feels Miami’s win says more about the Hurricanes’ strength than Notre Dame’s weaknesses.
  • Skepticism about Alabama and Florida State based on current play and past performance trends.

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SEC Shake-Up & Alabama’s Future (10:18–12:27)

• Alabama’s Spiral
  • Hosts predict more Bama losses, speculate about coach Kalen DeBoer's quick firing amid internal criticism.

    "I think it's over in Alabama. I think it's over."
    – Doug, 11:36

  • Rumors of buyout negotiations for DeBoer, with references to discontent among Bama alumni and “softness” criticism from AJ McCarron and Trent Richardson.

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Live Playoff Projections: Post-Week 1 (12:44–16:32)

Bill Landis’s Playoff Bracket:

1. Ohio State (Big Ten Champ)
2. LSU (SEC Champ)
3. Miami (ACC Champ)
4. Penn State (Big Ten runner-up)
5. Texas (SEC)
6. Oregon (Big Ten)
7. Georgia (SEC)
8. Utah (Big 12 Champ)
9. Florida State (ACC)
10. Notre Dame
11. Iowa State (Big 12)
12. South Florida (G5 Representative)

Doug Lesmerises’s Playoff Bracket:

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Miami
4. Penn State
5. LSU
6. Notre Dame
7. Utah
8. Oregon
9. Georgia
10. Clemson
11. Illinois
12. South Florida

• Agreement on Most Teams
  • “You and I have 10 of the 12 same teams.” (Doug, 14:14)
• South Florida as G5 Cinderella
  • Deep dive on Alex Golesh (South Florida head coach, Ohio/OSU roots), schedule, and their significance to the Group of 5’s CFP hopes.

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Debates Over Clemson, LSU, and Texas (19:02–20:47)

• Clemson Out of Bill’s Bracket
  • Unimpressed by line play and receiver injuries.

    "I don't like what I saw there...line of scrimmage wasn't great."
    – Bill, 19:07

• LSU vs. Texas as SEC Favorites
  • Bill leans LSU (offensive upside), Doug still has faith in Texas despite loss.
  • Lighthearted tangent about former Patriot coaches and NFL connections.

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Notre Dame, Utah, and Ohio State’s Path Forward (21:58–28:59)

• Notre Dame: Not Panicking
  • Both hosts keep Notre Dame in their playoff field, chalk up loss to Miami’s strength rather than major ND flaws.
  • O-line youth and inexperience noted as a possible hurdle, but skill talent praised.

    "I have not changed my mind much about Notre Dame other than their offensive line needs to get its feet under it."
    – Doug, 24:14

• Utah as Big 12 Frontrunner
  • Impressed by Utah’s dominant victory; believe their physical style will overwhelm league opposition.
• Is Ohio State the Team to Beat?
  • Discussion of OSU’s national title candidacy; both Bill and Doug lean toward the Buckeyes as favorites if close to full potential.

    "If they're 100 percent Ohio State, Bill, I don't think anyone's beating them."
    – Doug, 28:27

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Pollsters inertia." (Doug, 04:26) — Doug’s jab at the ranking system keeping Alabama in the Top 25.
• "I think it's 100 certainty. Kalen DeBoer is getting fired..." (Doug, 10:18) — on Bama’s turmoil.
• "We both have [Ohio State] as the one seed. If you were asked for a bet-your-house national championship pick today, would you pick Ohio State?"
  "Yeah." (Bill, 27:31–27:42)
• "Ohio State vs. Miami in Miami for the national title. I'd watch that." (Bill, 29:17)
• "Banger, banger." (Doug, 12:34) — on a loaded college football weekend.

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------|------------------| | OSU returns to No. 1, poll discussion | 01:25–04:54 | | Weekly playoff projections plan | 05:46–06:27 | | Why Ohio State must be No. 1 | 06:27–07:31 | | Penn State at No. 2 is "silly" | 07:31–08:15 | | Biggest team perception change | 08:15–10:18 | | Coaching hot seat rumors at Alabama | 10:18–12:27 | | Bill and Doug playoff brackets | 12:44–16:32 | | South Florida G5 bracket talk | 15:32–16:32 | | Clemson, LSU, Texas debates | 19:02–20:47 | | Notre Dame’s future outlook & schedule talk | 21:58–25:14 | | Utah’s Big 12 dominance | 25:20–26:11 | | Is Ohio State the best team in CFB? | 26:11–29:17 |

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Summary

Bill and Doug break down why Ohio State is the clear No. 1 team, share skepticism about Alabama and Penn State’s current rankings, and offer detailed, updated playoff projections. Miami’s Week 1 rise and Alabama’s unraveling are hot topics. Both hosts remain bullish on Ohio State and believe the Buckeyes have the clearest path to another title, while also tracking storylines like Group of 5 upsets, coaching rumors, and the changing fortunes of national contenders.

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Tone: Analytical, conversational, irreverent, anti-Southern CFB bias as always.
For Fans: Regular Tuesday playoff projections are a new staple, substack/podcast feed links provided.

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Transcript

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[Doug Lay]

Ohio State is number one and I don't know when's the last time Ohio State was number one.

[Bill Landis]

Bill A couple months ago.

[Doug Lay]

Douglas and Bill Landis on the Bill and Doug show. Polls are out Tuesday afternoon delayed because everybody needed to wait and watch. Bill Belichick set his reputation on fire before they could. I think we're going to be ranking. UNC got a wait on the Tar Heels. Let's delay that poll until 2:00 clock on Tuesday. Ohio State is number one in both polls. They have a combined 114 first place votes in the AP and coaches polls. Penn State got a total of 13 first place votes. LSU has four, Georgia and Oregon each have one. The AP it's Ohio State one, Penn State two LSU three. Georgia four Miami five Oregon six. Texas former number one dropped to seven in the AP. Bill, Ohio State kind of been at number one before, huh?

[Bill Landis]

They have been a number one before quite a bit, yes. So this is courtesy of Ohio State Sid Jerry Emig who got this from the AP. Alabama still has the most weeks as the number one team in the AP poll with 141 all time. Ohio State is second with 107 which includes today's ranking. Oklahoma is third 101. Notre Dame is fourth with 98. USC is fifth with 91 some more stats about Ohio State and AP pollute. Ohio State has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 80 consecutive weeks. That is the third longest active streak behind Alabama at 279. When they fall out, we're gonna have a party. And Georgia. Georgia with 132 and one last note is that Ohio State has played 88 games as the number one team in the AP poll and is 7512 and one in those games. That is the second most games played as the number one team behind Alabama, which has played 123.

[Doug Lay]

I'm not saying Alabama's gonna lose to Louisiana Monroe this week, but I'm saying it's on the table.

[Bill Landis]

But isn't that who Saban lost to? Didn't Saban lose the Ulm? Yeah. When he was like his first year at Alabama.

[Doug Lay]

I think that's right. Okay, you could go down that road. Let's go down that road. But for real. Luke Fickle licking his chops. Wisconsin at Bama Week 3. Billy Edwards Jr. The Wisconsin quarterback is reportedly not going to play this week because he got hurt in week one. But if he can be back for that, Wisconsin certainly wasn't perfect. But Bama's there for the taken, is it not?

[Bill Landis]

Yes. If I, I would not have entertained the notion of Wisconsin beating Alabama before the season, but I will very much entertain it now and I hope it happens.

[Doug Lay]

Bama dropped to 21. They shouldn't be ranked.

[Bill Landis]

They should not be ranked. There's no reason for them to be ranked.

[Doug Lay]

Pollsters inertia. Rhys Davis, who does vote. I thought, I thought it was good of him to say he was the play by play guy on the Belichick debacle on Monday night and he said, I'm not putting him in my top 25. So good for Reese Davis, bad for everybody else who did vote. Alabama number 21.

[Bill Landis]

They did lose, by the way. November 17, 2007 UL Monroe 21, Alabama 14.

[Doug Lay]

Let's make some calls. Let's talk to some old UL Monroe guys. Let's make some calls this week. The losers from week one, as we said, Texas dropped to number seven after losing to Ohio State. Clemson dropped to number eight after losing to LSU. Notre Dame number nine after losing to Miami and Bama number 21. So those are the four teams in the top 25 who are 0 and 1. We're Landis. I think actually we didn't talk about this before. We may do a version of this every Tuesday because we're going to get into the playoff rankings at the end of the year. Right. The last six weeks, when the playoff community will actually do that. Maybe we'll just drop sort of our version of our playoff bracket every Tuesday evening. Drop it here on YouTube every Tuesday evening until the playoff committee starts going. And then maybe once the committee starts going, we'll start reacting Tuesday evenings.

[Bill Landis]

I think that makes sense. We're doing. We're. You're getting this one a little earlier. I think we were anticipating, not so much that Ohio State might not be number one, but there was a lot of discussion about Ohio State or lsu, who should be number one in the AP poll coming out of this week's games. And then the answer just started like it was Ohio State, emphatically. In fact, LSU is three. So, yeah, I guess this ended up, from that standpoint, being a little less interesting than we thought it would be. But, yeah, I think you and I would like to have our sort of playoff thoughts on the record every Tuesday as we get closer to. I think it's the November, the first Tuesday after Ohio State, Penn State. I think it's only the first rankings.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. So this, I think, will be a regular Tuesday thing here on YouTube and the podcast feed. Once our podcast feed gets rolling, which it will be shortly. I said that I thought Ohio State should be a unanimous number one. You beat number one. I. And I think Texas is worthy of that. It's not. Again, a lot of times people in the preseason are like, well, if you. If you go by rankings and then you're. You just know who has talent. You don't want to be beholden to it, but you have an idea. Texas has a lot of good players. That's a win. The only thing for the LSU case, because I thought Ohio State defensively was more dominant against Texas than LSU was in any phase against Clemson. LSU played very well and looked really good. That was on the road. So if you want to give LSU bonus points for winning on the road In a top 10 matchup, I would get that. It threw us off a little bit. The Athletic did their 1 through 136 rank Vikings, and they had LSU 1. They meeting a guy, Chris Vanini, and we respect his opinion to do that. But then, like, just nobody else did it. Like, as you said, LSU got three first place votes, Penn State seven, Ohio State 55 and Oregon one in the AP. You want to do our brackets?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Also, like, it's silly that Penn State's number two.

[Doug Lay]

Right. I would not add Penn State, too. I would go. I would go by who has the best wins and against the elite opposition showed how good they were. I thought for instance Oregon and Penn State both to do against inferior opposition. But I wouldn't have Penn State ahead lsu. I wouldn't have Penn State ahead of Miami.

[Bill Landis]

No, nor would I. Still in the top 10. Right. Like you sort of like you work your way through I think the big games and respect those accordingly. But there are only so many. And then you get sort of get back into like well this team is good. They just haven't played anybody great yet. But so like Penn State is still probably if you go that way like a top five team but not number two. Not after the way this week went.

[Doug Lay]

And then guess what, when, when Penn State hosts Oregon at the end of September, when Penn State goes to Ohio State, guess what Penn State will have the opportunity to do. Earn the right to be number one. But if you don't, if you're not going by results the whole time, then what are you doing? So yeah, but I don't have to go over that. People know what I think about that. What team did you change your mind on the most based off week one?

[Bill Landis]

Oh, that's a good question. Probably Miami.

[Doug Lay]

Miami look good.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I think, I think Miami both.

[Doug Lay]

Sides of the line like, like dominated in a lot of ways. I actually thought Carson Beck got bailed out on a couple things here and there. Obviously the, the miraculous one handed touchdown catch. But they also broke out Malachi Tony as a. A young receiver who went 6 for 82 and a touchdown. That was real. But I, I think it so it's like veteran qb. I'm not the biggest Carson Beck fan in the world, people know that. But just physically dominant in a lot of ways against a team. Notre Dame I think maybe on the defensive line can be a little undersized at times. I think that Notre Dame offensive line is good and Miami pushed him around a little bit.

[Bill Landis]

They did. Yeah. I think whatever you think of Carson Beck, I would consider him like at least a high floor quarterback. And now he's got some weapons around him. Right. He just has what he has. You know he never, he didn't get the, the Brock Bowers lad McConkey Georgia offense so last year anyway. So this is a different group of skill guys around him and that offensive line I think is very good. And like Reuben Bane on Miami's defensive line looked like a maniac. There's a lot of speed, they play with a ton of energy. Miami does I, you know you're still. And Mario Crystal Ball kind of did it in that game and got away with it. Like you're. You're a Mario crystal ball. Understand how clocks work situation away from Miami. Like losing a game and shouldn't lose. But from a talent standpoint, I thought they looked very good among certainly the most impressive looking teams over the weekend.

[Doug Lay]

When you have games like that early in the year, it can be sometimes hard to figure out who is this result more about? I think the Miami Notre Dame result was more about Miami. I picked Notre Dame to win the national championship. I have not really changed my mind on Notre Dame very much at all. I thought that was a really good Miami team, for instance. And I tweeted this. Alabama, Florida State. I think that's Alabama stinking. And I would not be surprised. People are getting very excited about Florida State. I wouldn't be shocked if Florida State goes 7 and 5 just because Bama lost to 2, 6 and 6 teams last year. So I think that's a function of. Do we want to have this come. I would like to do a fantasy draft maybe on a pod this week. Fantasy draft of next Alabama coach. I think it's 100 certainty. Kaylin Deborah is getting fired because the quotes coming out from former Alabama players apparently Trent Richardson and AJ McCarron I think have a podcast together and they both were talking about how soft everybody was and they were on the sideline and there's no energy. It's not the loss, it's that people associated with Alabama are saying we look soft, we looked poorly coached. I think it's over in Alabama. I think it's over.

[Bill Landis]

Pulling up Alabama schedule to see no losing to Wisconsin. We already just said they're losing when it might happen. I mean, but if they, if they lose a Wisconsin at home. This is Caitlin DeBoer coaching two weeks later against Georgia.

[Doug Lay]

So this is one of the things. He has a $63 million buyout. Like, I get it right. And so like Bama is the kind.

[Bill Landis]

Of place that would pay it.

[Doug Lay]

And also if his life is miserable, does he say, you don't have to give me the whole 63 million? Like just like give me half. And it's like, this is not working right? It's not working. It's not working. It was a bad hire at the start. Anybody who thought otherwise was wrong. And it's exploding. It's not going to work. They're not going to turn it around. It's over. It's over at Alabama. So like, and I think, I think everybody in the Bama, they're not fooling themselves. A lot of people will fool themselves this off season. Nobody's fooling themselves Now.

[Bill Landis]

We get Penn State, Oregon, Ohio State, Washington and Alabama, Georgia are all the same day.

[Doug Lay]

Banger, banger.

[Bill Landis]

Spread them out.

[Doug Lay]

You want to live? All right, let's do our. Our playoff brackets. You start.

[Bill Landis]

Okay, we'll do this. So, yeah, we're gonna do it every week. A small sample size reflective of what's happened thus far, and we have one set of games to go off of.

[Doug Lay]

But. But our goal here is to be right every week. We're trying to pick the playoff that will be at the end of the year based on the information that we've gathered. We're not saying this is who we would put in the playoff today. So this is different than a ranking. This is using more information to adjust our prediction.

[Bill Landis]

Correct. Okay, so I have. I think I had Ohio State 2 in the first one. We did, but we're not necessarily going for that. I have Ohio State is the 1 seed as a Big Ted champ. I have LSU as the 2 seed as an SEC champ. I have Miami is the 3 seed as an ACC champ, and I have Penn State as the 4 seed as the Big Ten runner up. You want to go through the remainder of it?

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, you do your whole thing.

[Bill Landis]

Okay. Five, I have Texas, second SEC team. Six, I have Oregon, third Big Ten team. Seven, I have Georgia, third SEC team. Eight, I have Utah, Big 12 champ. I'm drinking the Kool Aid a little bit. I really just thought that offense, like, looked. Looked physical. And I like. I like the way that Gus Mazon calls a run game. I have Florida State 9, second ACC team, Notre Dame 10, Iowa State 11, second Big 12 team. And then 12th seed, my G5 team, South Florida.

[Doug Lay]

Okay, so you and I have 10 of the 12 same teams. I have Ohio State 1, Texas 2. I want to talk about Texas, LSU here, Miami 3. We agree on that. That's my switch. That's why I had two ACC teams previously. Clemson as the champ, Georgia tech as the second team. I'm in on Miami right now. Penn State 4. Agree. LSU 5, Notre Dame 6, Utah 7, Oregon 8, Georgia 9, Clemson 10, Illinois 11. And also South Florida 12. Let's actually do the South Florida thing. You and I, we just did our playoff bracket, and we didn't want to be wrong before the show came out because we recorded it. What? That. That boys, we recorded at that point was on Thursday. Yeah, but we weren't putting out the show till Friday, so we both thought that South Florida was going to win that game, and we had targeted that. We were talking about South Florida, Boise State in May, about how this is a gigantic game for the G5. And then South Florida led by Columbus native, right. Westerville Central, former assistant coach Alex Gollish. He started his coaching career at the high school that I can see from my house. He's now the head coach at South Florida. He was.

[Bill Landis]

He was Moscow, Russia.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. He's got a great story, but he was a. He was a student at Ohio State, was like a grad assistant at Ohio State, like, as a young guy. Right. And then started high school coaching, was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee when they were good a couple years ago. Got the South Florida head job off of that. Big Ten's got to get him back. Big Ten's got to get him back. North, south thing. Big Ten, we're gonna get him back. Next Wisconsin, he's gotta be.

[Bill Landis]

Luke's gonna keep the job if they beat Alabama.

[Doug Lay]

He's. He's gotta be in contention, and they have to go get him before somebody else does. Next opening. So I. And I. And I don't know what that is. I don't know what that is. I'd be up for Cincinnati making a play if this gets away from Cincinnati.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lay]

So, like, would he definitely leave South Florida for Cincinnati? As an Ohio native? Probably, I think so. But, like, we. We got to get him north. But anyway, we just. We just didn't want to pick South Florida, so we picked other teams. I actually think this has a very good chance to be right now that South Florida's gonna be the group of five team.

[Bill Landis]

They're gonna be Florida this weekend. So when that happens, they play Florida and Miami. They play. Their next two games are against Florida and then either Miami or Florida State.

[Doug Lay]

So they have to win one of those.

[Bill Landis]

They play Florida at Florida this Saturday and at Miami on September 13th.

[Doug Lay]

They're gonna have trouble at Miami. They have a chance to be Florida. So this is one of those where.

[Bill Landis]

It'S like, what if they win both?

[Doug Lay]

If they win both, then South Florida is, like, the three seed. Now we're back to Boise State being a three seed. I did not help. I thought Toledo would beat Kentucky. I had Toledo as my group of five team. They. They hung with Kentucky but did not win. I'll be curious. Like, 11 and 1. Toledo not beating the SEC team on a schedule. They beat the SEC on a schedule. On a schedule. Last year, they beat Mississippi State and then lost. The next week, I'll be Curious how that goes.

[Bill Landis]

I had James.

[Doug Lay]

What'd they do? They duke it out.

[Bill Landis]

They hammered. They hammered Weber State 45 to 10. If they play, they play at Louisville on Friday.

[Doug Lay]

Take that, you Weavers. But we think South Florida could be it. So.

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[Doug Lay]

I want to ask about a couple things very quickly. You're out on Clemson. You don't have Clemson in your playoff. No.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. I don't like what I saw there. Part of it was with Antonio Williams, one of the three good receivers like got hurt and wasn't available and he's probably their best receiver. I, I thought liner scrimmage wasn't. Wasn't great. Wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be.

[Doug Lay]

You have. I think I still think they'll be fine. I think Club Nick will be okay. I think.

[Bill Landis]

Also. No, they're supposed to.

[Doug Lay]

They're supposed to be really good defensively. They have a lot of good defensive talent. I'm not out. I'm not all the way out. You have LSU as the SEC champ. You think LSU is now the best team in the sec?

[Bill Landis]

I think, yeah. I mean, I think maybe the Texas might. I think Texas has a better defense in LSU. I really liked what I saw from LSU's offense. I know they didn't score a ton of. But skill wise, I like Nuss Meyer. Arch is, I think, gotta go find himself a little bit and it might take some time. I could definitely like foresee a situation where Texas gets the ship right pretty quickly and by the end of the year, like SEC championship time, Texas is the better team. But I feel better, a little better about LSU right now.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, I'm still on Texas. I'm, I'm not.

[Bill Landis]

I mean, I'm not out. I haven't.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, I think I would still consider them the best team in the sec. I think they got Patricia in week one again. By the way, I was trying to double check the Patriot super bowl stuff to be like, did Bill Belichick even win a Super bowl without Matt Patricia? And he actually, I think won four of the six without Matt Patricia. But Matt Patricia propping up the second half of Bill Belichick's career. Is that where we are? Is that the official. Have we rejiggered history?

[Bill Landis]

Sure, I'm for it. Yeah, I'm, I'm in favor of that.

[Doug Lay]

I'm so glad that Bill Belichick got his doors blown off. The hubris, the absolute hubris involved here. I'm not here to make fun of a 73 year old guy who has a 27 year old girlfriend, but the hubris, oh my gosh. And most of it's his gm, that Mike Lombardi guy who thinks he reinvented football.

[Bill Landis]

It's like they're the 33rd NFL team.

[Doug Lay]

They're the 33rd NFL team. My God, they just set themselves up for it. Just come in and try. The hubris, the absolute hubris. Delicious. Was it not delicious? Oh my gosh, delicious.

[Bill Landis]

I can't believe I, I didn't think they were going to win, but I'm really glad they got hammered.

[Doug Lay]

And after they went down and scored on their first drive, like, go. I'm not here to call out national media. The national media reaction on social media was unbelievable. People really need to stop tweeting during games because it's like, well, five minutes in, I've made my decision. It's the greatest hire in college football history.

[Bill Landis]

Freddie Kitchens and Gio Lopez are an unmatched coordinator quarterback combination in college football.

[Doug Lay]

Anyway, Notre Dame, I, I see people. I'm not out at all. And I thought we talked about this a little bit. Like Julian saying sort of wasn't put in the position where he had to go win a game. C.J. carr did get put in a position where he had to try to lead Notre Dame back. He made some throws that called a really Good quarterback draw at the end of the game that got a touchdown. That looked like Riley Leonard. And it's like, hey, this guy can still be physical. I thought, like, that that was a. That was a bit of a. Of a thing down there in Miami because they don't always have a great home field advantage. But that game was so physical. It was raining. The crowd got into it. That felt like the old you. And that was C.J. carr's first start. I thought they held up pretty well. I know I was looking at PFF grades. Their. Their young left tackle, Anthony Knapp, who ended up playing as a true freshman last year, like, just did not. Did not have a good game. And I'm. I was a little surprised that they wound up keeping Nap at left tackle. I thought he was going to move inside and they were going to move some guys around. I thought maybe Charles Jaggisaw would wind up back at left tackle and said they said he was going to be the right guard. And then he broke his arm in an ATV accident. So he's out anyway. I wonder what he'll be back this year. I don't think he's not out for the year. The young guys. Emil Wagner got absolutely, like, spun in a circle on a key play late in the game that would just, like, absolutely destroyed. When Emil Wagner was really good last year, I thought at right tackle. So that was. I think they got. Their heads were spinning a little bit. So I know people. So Notre Dame's off this week, and then they have Texas A and M. They host Texas A and M, which is the team they opened with last year. I've seen people say, you know, they don't play a bunch of great teams. Actually, they have Boise State on the schedule, and the Boise State lost. Now, actually, if Notre Dame's looking from a resume standpoint, you don't know how good USC is going to be. They do have the USC game, of course, sort of saying like, 10 and 2 Notre Dame, like, they can't lose to Texas a m because 10 and 2 Notre Dame might not get in. I. I just, like, that's not where my head went. Even if that's true, I'm not thinking, like, oh, no, what are they gonna do? Because certainly Texas A M did not look great in week one. A team that I had in the playoff in the preseason. So I'm. We both have Notre Dame still in the playoff. I. I have not changed my mind much about Notre Dame other than their offensive line needs to get its feet under it.

[Bill Landis]

I changed My mind on Notre Dame like two weeks ago. Think, like, just like knocking them down a little bit, but still is a playoff team and I thought they were going to lose to Miami. So, like, I'm not surprised by that. So I don't think I've changed long term. It was a little jarring to see the offensive line play the way that it did. Yeah. And also, like, Jeremiah Loves got to get the ball more. But, yeah, I think he will get the ball more. I think they'll be okay. I actually liked a little bit of what I saw from the receivers, too.

[Doug Lay]

So, yeah, Jordan Faison was scooting a little bit. He's making, he's looking. Yeah. Malachi. Some big plays. Yeah. Better skill.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. I think, I think they'll, they'll be okay. It's. I think it's a tough. The thing that brought me back a little bit is, like, it wasn't an enthusiastic. CJ Cars our guy as a starting quarterback. Like, there was a lot, like, a lot of back and forth there that just made me feel like CJ Carr is going to have to, like, grow into this a little more maybe than I was anticipating before. Which is fine. He's a young quarterback. But that might also mean they lose a Texas A M. But I think at 10 and 2, they would still probably be in.

[Doug Lay]

But I think, I think that, I think he showed. He is the guy. Like, I thought he showed some gumption.

[Bill Landis]

He made some plays. Yeah.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Definitely made some plays.

[Doug Lay]

Utah, we were both in on and I think they like anybody. We've been trying to drag people along with Utah. I thought Utah showed it. I also think UCLA might see stink like garbage. No offense, but Utah destroyed them. And Devin Danpier running it and throwing it. I think, I think Utah showed everything you want to be. I'm very, I feel very good about Utah as the Big 12 favorite right now in my mind, which I, I.

[Bill Landis]

Don'T think UCLA is good. But then you want to make sure that Utah makes them look like they're not good. And they did right on the road. So. Dan Pierce.

[Doug Lay]

Fun.

[Bill Landis]

I think the running backs look good. They're doing. They're playing like two guys both ways with Lander Barton and Smith Snowden playing offense and defense. I, I, I, maybe that's not a ringing endorsement of their other offensive skill besides their running backs, but it's still kind of fun to watch both guys score touchdowns against ucla. So I just think they're going to, like, bludgeon their way through the Big 12. Yeah.

[Doug Lay]

Rushing attack and then wrapping it up. Is Ohio State the team to beat? They're the defending national champs. A lot of talented players left, both coordinators left. Whether it was Texas, whether you thought it was Penn State's year this year, a team like Clemson, a team like Notre Dame. I don't know that. There were a ton of people. I actually don't know that I. Did you see anybody pick Ohio State to win the national title this year, like a major media person in the preseason? I don't know that I saw anybody.

[Bill Landis]

I can't recall anybody. No.

[Doug Lay]

Is Ohio State the team to beat? Are they. Would you look at it and now say, man, I, I think they have a. We talked about this on a previous show a while ago. Like, it's not. A lot of teams have repeated, but a lot of teams have come close to repeating. Did you think they looked like a team on Saturday who absolutely has a chance to repeat?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I think it's fair to give them the, the treatment we were given Georgia a few years ago.

[Doug Lay]

Right.

[Bill Landis]

Like, Georgia came off national titles and lost guys and still got the benefit of the doubt. Ohio State, I mean, they were the number three team. It's not like if people were writing them off entirely, but they didn't have the same. They have people talking about them in the same kind of way as people talked about those Georgia teams for a couple of years. And maybe that wasn't entirely off base given what Ohio State did lose. But then they went out and beat the number one team in the country, and I think put themselves in that spot. So I think they're the team to beat.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, we both have them as the one seed. If you were asked for a bet your house national championship pick today, would you pick Ohio State?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lay]

I think maybe I would, too. I think maybe I would, too. And it's because it's more about, like, what Ohio State is. And it's like, okay, is Ohio State 89 of what it can be? Is it 92% of what it can be? And then if that's the case because they lost coordinators, because they're playing some guys who haven't started before, then that creates openings for Penn State or Oregon or Notre Dame or LSU or Texas. But if Ohio State's 100 of Ohio State, I don't know if anybody's beaten them. So it's not that your mind necessarily changed about anybody else. It's like, how close to 100 is Ohio State? If they're. And they were a hundred, they weren't 100 all last year, but they were 100 in the playoff. They weren't perfect on Saturday, but you can see what's out there. And if they're a hundred percent Ohio State, Bill, I don't think anyone's beaten them.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, it's, it's a, it's a tough task. I don't know. I don't know. If you, if you look at like all the rosters and say, like, this team's gonna absolutely maximize itself and like that includes Ohio State. Like, who would you say maximum version would be better than Ohio State's? I like, maybe Texas, I think, but it's hard to say that when Ohio State just be displayed the way it played against Texas.

[Doug Lay]

Penn State got good play from its receivers on Saturday. Like, I'm, I'm open to the Penn State discussion on that. I'm not writing on Penn State at all. Miami looked like a bunch of dudes. So like that's, that's probably where I would, I would lead that conversation. Is. Is Mario Crystal ball? I was head to Ryan Day going to get it done.

[Bill Landis]

I was watching that game on Sunday night thinking, like, I don't like Miami. Like, I don't like I'm gonna talk like Miami like the town. I don't want to really go to Miami, But Ohio State vs. Miami in Miami for the national title. I'd watch that.

[Doug Lay]

That would be pretty good.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lay]

Okay. We'll probably do this every Tuesday. We appreciate you guys being here. Try the sub stack. You can just. You can find Bill and Doug Osu substack. Got Google it. And then you, if you. You just put in your email to be able to get this stuff and you get a free trial. Right, Bill? And you can test out like what we're doing over there. And we certainly would invite anybody to do that. And then we're also going to keep dropping stuff here on yout. And again, our podcast feeds will be up and running soon.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, this week with the podcast feeds on YouTube, probably most days, if not every day. And then yeah, a bunch of kind of premium stuff on the substack page as well. So you can find us in a lot of places. And again, thank you for supporting this from the jump. It's been great.

[Doug Lay]

Greatly appreciated. The podcast feeds are live. We just like. So you can go. Go search on Spotify on Apple Bill and Doug show and get subscribed to it. There just might not be shows popping in there quite yet. But soon. So anyway, soon for now. Thanks you guys for being here. He's Bill Landis. I'm Doug Lay. Maurice. And that was the Bill and Doug Show.