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The McShay Show
An Indiana-Ohio State Deep Dive. Plus: Jets Distress and Best Bets With Stugotz
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- [00:00]
Todd McShay
The McShay show is presented by FanDuel. College Football Saturdays are packed with action and FanDuel is where you can score every game day. Let's face it, November is everything in college football. The playoff picture is starting to become more clear. This is the first year with the 12 team playoff and we have some critical matchups throughout this month. Why we love fanduel there's so many markets like spreads over unders, national championship futures going to get a part of that and so much more. This app is safe, secure and easy to use. When you win, you'll get paid instantly. Visit FanDuel.com McShay to download America's number one sportsbook. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 and older and present in select states. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit RGH help.com is Indiana the most annoying team in the country? We Preview the Big Ten clash of number five Hoosiers versus number two Ohio State. Then we've got Menches Trenches 2.0. The reboot will explain. It's Thursday, so we also have our staple that's My Guy, followed by where are the scouts this week? And I can tell you that they're kind of off the beaten path, but my tailgating experience, it's not. And the one and only Stu Gotz makes his debut on the McShay Show.
- [01:35]
Stugotz
Ah, a couple of men. She's cutting it up.
- [01:37]
Todd McShay
That's the spirit, Stevie boy. It's week 13 in college football, week 12 in the NFL. And how many days left until the NFL draft? 154. Who meant you good?
- [01:49]
Stugotz
I'm good, man.
- [01:50]
Todd McShay
All right, let's strike up that band, all right?
- [02:10]
Steve Mensch
I'm not.
- [02:10]
Todd McShay
We don't even need a special instruction intro here. I'm telling you. We started this McShay show right, a month ago. And I've been waiting for this moment since the day we started. I. I grew up in Swamp Scott, Massachusetts. Right. Tiny little town affectionately known as a Jewish fisherman's village. Okay. You know, I grew up with like, Dave Portnoy. We all know what he's done with barstool. A lot of great Jewish friends. Todd Klein now just became president of of Chelsea. The Chelsea Club. Congratulations. Climb. My other good friend, Jason Kalishman, he just became the superintendent of schools in Swamp Scott. So. So I'm keen on the Yiddish. Right? And I love, I love every time Stu Gotch is like, it's a couple menches cutting it up. And every time he says it, I think I got a mensch too. And now, and now we got Steve Mensch with another mensch. Just a couple Mensches cutting it up. Welcome in Stugots.
- [03:06]
Steve Mensch
Thank you. I need another mensch. So it's funny because, Todd, thank you for doing this. I appreciate it. I'm happy that you guys have got the show off the ground. You guys are going, you're going strong. I did not like that one week. I gotta be honest with you. There was a week there where you guys were ranking ahead of us. And I hate that, man, because I'm super competitive. And as much as I love you and as love as much as I love Mitch, I was super concerned because I'm like, mcshay is kicking our asses, man.
- [03:35]
Todd McShay
So Rossillo told me early on, and that's the competitor in the, in the macho in Rossillo, you know, all the weight room stuff for him. He told me early on, don't get, you know, don't get inflated. It's just an algorithm. When you first start, you'll come back down to earth.
- [03:50]
Stugotz
And he's been short lived.
- [03:52]
Todd McShay
We're still in the top 15, but we're not up at number, number one or two. So.
- [03:56]
Steve Mensch
So I still was saying I know what he's talking about. I know the algorithms. And yet I still get concerned whenever a podcast gets launched and they launch right ahead of us. It's like, it's just concerning to me.
- [04:06]
Todd McShay
How long are they gonna hold this? Well, we appreciate your undying support. First of all, you are here, man. This gives you a peek into Stugotts, right? I shoot a note like, hey, just so I'm saying it properly, like, what do you want me to say on. In terms of your book? He's like, Stugott's personal record book, the Real winners and losers in sports. That's the title of his new book. And we're all excited about it. But then he goes on to write to me in a text. There it is, you can see.
- [04:33]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [04:35]
Todd McShay
He goes on to write me currently number one in sports essays on Amazon ahead of Green and Green and Stephen A. Comes out next Tuesday. I mean, just the absolute best.
- [04:47]
Steve Mensch
It was a total unnecessary fact that I threw in there in that text. Todd McShank. But Dan and I laugh all the time because Stephen A. And greedy, they take writing seriously. They're writers and they take it seriously. And it Must infuriate them, Mensch, that some guys to gods is ahead of them because they put a lot of thought and effort into their book and I promise you I did not.
- [05:10]
Todd McShay
Yeah, we'll get back to your book in a little bit. I've got a couple comments and thoughts. I did want to start here though. It is timely. We're going to have you on this week regardless, but it is timely.
- [05:21]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [05:22]
Todd McShay
Unfortunately, our good friends Steve, I'm not sure you're aware, Steve and I both played at University of Richmond with Joe Douglas. So we obviously have a personal relationship relationship with Joe and was communicating with him even up to this morning. And, and as I said the other day, Joe will be just fine and he's doing just fine. Obviously this is not how Joe intended it. Joe poured his life into it, his family poured everything into it supporting him. And, and the goal was obviously to. To hoist the Lombardi one day. Right. And. And he certainly brought in a lot of talent. Like every general manager, there were a couple misses. But you can't really argue with what he did from a draft standpoint and from a talent standpoint and what's on that field right now. I'm just curious, as a lifelong suffering jets fan, when you get the news early this week, I think it was on Tuesday, what was your response to a general manager? You don't see this very often, a general manager getting fired in the middle of the season during a bye week.
- [06:23]
Steve Mensch
So I'm thinking kind of along the lines of what you just said, Todd. I'm like, this is a guy who created a roster that was good enough that Aaron Rodgers in his final chapter decided, hey, I'm going to go from Green Bay to one of the worst franchises in the NFL historically. And so Joe Douglas, from that aspect through the draft, did a very good job. When you consider winning Williams and Garrett Wilson and Bree hall and Sauce Gardner and other guys like that, he put it, he put together a good enough roster that Aaron Rodgers wanted to go there and so that's a positive. But as you know, it's a bottom line industry and his record has been atrocious as the jets general manager. The one position he couldn't get right and he couldn't figure out and he tried to do it with Aaron Rodgers towards the end was the quarterback position. Everything else he aced, but he did not ace that position. And when the owner comes up, and by the way, I did not mind this, the reporting on this when Woody Johnson after week four is seeing what the fans are Seeing in Aaron Rodgers, which is, this is not the same guy. Maybe he got injured in week two, he's not playing to the level we expected. And he suggests because he has this talented roster, maybe Tyrod Taylor would be a better option at this stage of the season. And he is rejected. I kind of understand why Joe Douglas is gone. They should not be catering to Aaron Rogers. I think when the owner comes in and says that, it's not a bad thought. Tyrod Taylor probably would have won more football games for the jets than Aaron Rogers this year. That's how bad Aaron has been. So it's just interesting. You have a guy who, on one side did everything right. The roster is great. It's the most talented roster I think the jets have ever had in 40 years of being a Jets fan. But on the other side, he just couldn't get the quarterback thing right. And that's the biggest position. You have to get that right. You don't get it right, the rest of your team doesn't matter.
- [08:18]
Stugotz
Yeah, he was kind of a snake bit with, with Rogers getting hurt last year, I feel like. And then not coming back as the same player. Maybe I'm, I think it's interesting that you're okay with, with Woody Johnson going in and starting to kind of interfere with who's going to play and who's not going to play. I would think that, you know, as, as a fan of, you know, my own team, I would not want the owner walking in and saying, we're going to play this guy or not that guy.
- [08:40]
Steve Mensch
So I always criticize Woody Johnson for not taking this thing too seriously and not seeing what it is the fans are seeing. But I'm telling you, I was having that same discussion with my friends who were all Jet fans. Hey, is Tyrod. Now, listen, it's a ridiculous thing to say, but Aaron Rodgers is 40 coming off an Achilles tear. Is Tyrod Taylor a better option than Aaron Rodgers? I, I, I don't, I don't blame Woody for. He's the owner. He owns the team. When they get paychecks every two weeks, it's signed by Woody Johnson.
- [09:08]
Todd McShay
That's an impossible situation, though, man. I know.
- [09:11]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [09:11]
Todd McShay
And I was at the Patriots jets game. I told you before I was going to that game.
- [09:15]
Steve Mensch
And I know.
- [09:16]
Todd McShay
And I watched that game and my takeaway was, okay. Yeah. You ask yourself, okay, what's the problem? There were two problems stood out to me. Like, defensively, they just can't tackle, and they're not physical in the interior. They're just like they struggled to tackle and offensively it felt like every play was a struggle and there was a cap on what they could do because of Aaron Rodgers. So like I saw it too, man. And Tyrod comes in with some of his mobility, kind of like could light a little bit of a spark for a week or two. I could see that. Let Aaron rest, get. But I, I think Joe and, and, and more importantly, probably the coaching staff and people in the organization realized like the firestorm that would create, man. Like, yeah, but you, Aaron Rodgers lost his mind with Green Bay when they drafted a quarterback in the future, can you imagine they bench him.
- [10:11]
Steve Mensch
Yes, but, but Todd, you cannot allow your organization to be run that way. Like, that's the problem. I hear you and Mensch made a great point. This was all supposed to be last year. He tore his Achilles. There's nothing that Joe Douglas could do about that. So now, but now what you have, what you're left with is a 40 year old coming off a torn Achilles, which is very difficult to get over in your 20s, let alone your 40s. And so when you have an owner walking in and saying, hey, I think this guy gives us a better chance to win. You cannot let the inmates run the asylum. Aaron's been running that place for far too long. You can't say, hey, I don't want to offend Aaron Rodgers. Oh, that will rub Aaron the wrong way. Who the hell cares? What has Aaron Rodgers ever done for the jets that we're so concerned about Aaron Rogers feeling? It's absurd.
- [10:57]
Stugotz
I love it.
- [10:59]
Todd McShay
I don't, Yeah, I, it's true. I don't have a problem with like entertaining that conversation. I, I al, But I, I do have a problem with a lot of the other meddling, you know, I mean, and we don't need to get into the nitty gritty, but some of the reporting that has come out this week, and I, I'm fortunate, like, I, I, I know some, some of the behind the scenes stories and everything else, but just if you're trusting the reporting, you know, the decisions kind of, if you're going to handcuff your general manager, then you probably should have fired him at that point, you know.
- [11:32]
Stugotz
Right.
- [11:34]
Steve Mensch
Yeah, I don't like the meddlesome owner either. But Woody, this is not typical. I don't think of Woody, but for him to do this in this particular spot, it made sense to me. I understood why it is he was doing it. And I am actually surprised. I am shocked that Joe Douglas's response and the coaching staff's response was, well, Aaron's not going to take that well. Who the hell cares? I mean, at this point, why would we care? What, how Aaron Rodgers is going to take anything. He's not playing well. He's not playing well. And the other thing we criticized the jets for last year, Todd, if you guys remember, when Aaron went down, they didn't have a backup plan this year. They went out of their way to have a backup plan. And so Woody, the owner having the audacity to walk into his office and say, hey, maybe that guy that we got is the backup is the better option, I'm okay with it. I'm surprised they cater to Aaron Rodgers like that.
- [12:24]
Todd McShay
I've spent my career at ESPN and you know, you were there for a while as well, dealing with a lot of intelligent people who are jets fans, like Lee, fitting Seth Markman, executives at ESPN at the time, when I was there yourself, Greeny, you know, like the list goes on. So I felt like more so than any other organization, I'm dealing with intelligent fans and like there's always that lunatic fringe, right? But there's a lot of intelligent jets fans who are in the know in certain areas and all. So I'm curious as one of those fans and I use, you know, use the term intelligent loosely.
- [13:03]
Stugotz
But.
- [13:03]
Todd McShay
No, but seriously, like you've lived this thing your whole life. What's next? Like what do you want to see for the Jets? You don't have your head coach, you don't have your general manager who put together this talented roster. Aaron Rodgers is not likely to come back. So like what's next for the Jets?
- [13:22]
Steve Mensch
It's a great question. Being a Jet fan is being part of a, of a tortured fan base. I've been a jet fan for 40 years. I have not seen my team play in the Super Bowl. We have been close. Like every team stumbles into some sort of like three year, four year stretch where their team is relevant now. We had it with Mark Sanchez back to back AFC championship games, right? They didn't win either. They didn't make it to a Super Bowl. We had it back in 97. They were up 10, three and a half. I think at Denver Test Averte was the quarterback Keyshawn played. They didn't make it then I think we had it back in 84 with the dolphins. Don Shula soaked the field the entire night, put the sprinklers on, slowed down the track. The jets ended up. The jets, the jets ended up. I still have for giving Chilla for that. The jets didn't make it, then what do I want next? I want stability. I want to stop worrying every year, new head coach, new gm, new quarterback. And I think the only guy now, I don't think he would take the job, but it'd be someone like this. I just want stability. I want the person in charge making smart football decisions. I want the person in charge not to sign Aaron Rodgers, not to sign Jordan Love in 15 years when he's well past his prime. I want that guy to be a guy that's going to make smart decisions, that knows the game and that can hopefully get us to a Super Bowl. I just want stability. That's what I want. So is Belichick the name? Maybe. Is it Mike Rabel? I don't know. But then I'll swing the other way because this is what Jet fans do because we don't know exactly what our team needs because nothing has worked. The big swings on Aaron Rodgers, they haven't worked. The stability with Bill Parcells, it hasn't worked. Okay, I'll swing the other way and tell you. I'd also be okay if Deion and Shador Sanders came to New York. I'm okay with that. But if you're asking me, stability is something that's usually important. I take Rex Ryan at this point, Todd. I would go back to Rex Ryan at this point. It was the greatest six year stretch of my life.
- [15:19]
Stugotz
I mean, you sound like a desperate man.
- [15:23]
Steve Mensch
We are. I am. Yes. I speak on behalf of all Jet fans. Men.
- [15:27]
Stugotz
Yeah. What would you. What would you give up for a Jets Super Bowl? What would you trade in your life?
- [15:32]
Steve Mensch
Like a body part?
- [15:34]
Stugotz
No, I mean, would you give up a body part perhaps?
- [15:39]
Steve Mensch
I would not give up golf for a year. It depends what body part we're talking about. Are we talking about, like, is it. Is it a whole arm? Is it from the elbow down? Is it just a single digit? Like, are we talk. What are we talking about? I give a. Like a pink.
- [15:52]
Stugotz
Yeah, let's go with pinky.
- [15:53]
Steve Mensch
I would.
- [15:54]
Todd McShay
You would.
- [15:54]
Steve Mensch
I would give. I would give a pinky match. I would let you chop it off if the jets just got to the Super Bowl. Yes.
- [15:59]
Stugotz
I don't know if I have the stomach for it, but maybe we can do it.
- [16:02]
Steve Mensch
Okay.
- [16:04]
Todd McShay
All right. The other thing that Stigat's texted me is that. Because I told him I want to talk about the jets and I want your picks because, you know, you never know where he is on his picks. Wanted to talk about a couple of college games. He Also texted me that. I said, do you want to give me some of your college picks? And he wrote back, you might want to go NFL pick. Since I'm a documented 49, 29 and 2.
- [16:29]
Steve Mensch
Listen, man, I have to care about that stuff now. I'm in a free agent year, contract year, and I'm having a killer season, man.
- [16:37]
Todd McShay
Well, at least you got a number one selling book.
- [16:39]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [16:40]
Todd McShay
Give me some picks, man. Give me some picks. We're heading into. Into week 13 in college football, week 12 in the NFL. Make us some money, bud.
- [16:48]
Steve Mensch
Okay, I'll. I'll try to make you some money. You want the college or you want the NFL? Which one do you want?
- [16:53]
Todd McShay
Give us a couple college. We do a lot of college here. I'll. I'll give you some of my picks as well. But then. But then, like, it seems like you're on real heater.
- [17:00]
Steve Mensch
I am on a heater. All right. I am on a heater. So I think Indiana, like, they have the 106 worst schedule in the easiest schedule in the country. They're playing Ohio State this weekend. They're getting 13 points. I don't think Indiana is very good. I think they'll get exposed this weekend, guys. I think Ohio State will win that game. They'll win it.
- [17:17]
Todd McShay
Why are you showing me your phone?
- [17:19]
Steve Mensch
Like, by. I don't know why. I just hold things. I'm adhd, you know me. Like, I'm just all over the place. I'm scattered and I had to pick some. Now I found them on my computer and I'm making a point. I got to point at someone. So what I'm thinking here is Ohio State's going to win by four touchdowns. They went by 28 points. I'm not buying that. Indiana team. Yeah, they haven't played.
- [17:36]
Stugotz
Not even close.
- [17:38]
Steve Mensch
Not even close. Indiana will be out of the playoff. Ohio State will be in. The other game I like in college is Colorado minus three. They're at Kansas. Kansas has played better lately. Colorado was also played better lately. I just think Colorado is too talented. I think they have the playoffs kind of like in there in their. You know, right down the road they could see it, right? And so I think Colorado wins that game by 13 points on the road in the NFL, the game that I love the most and how.
- [18:04]
Todd McShay
Get your pens and paper ready, folks.
- [18:06]
Steve Mensch
You really should. The game I love the most.
- [18:10]
Todd McShay
Well, Todd, I'm going to actually write these down. I'm writing these down.
- [18:13]
Stugotz
I'm literally writing them down.
- [18:14]
Steve Mensch
You should. The Dolphins are minus Seven at home. The Patriots are good. The Patriots don't want to win. They know they're a smart team. Okay? They have good losses, they're close, but they don't win. Because why would you want to win at this stage in the season? To be the Patriots. The Dolphins are a totally different team when Tua is their quarterback. Everyone has now seen just how valuable Tua is to that team. They almost beat Buffalo and Buffalo impressive last week. So I think the Dolphins win that game at home and they do so by 17 points at cover to sprint.
- [18:43]
Todd McShay
17.
- [18:44]
Steve Mensch
Yes.
- [18:45]
Stugotz
Yes.
- [18:45]
Steve Mensch
It's the Patriots stuff.
- [18:46]
Stugotz
You do not shy away from the big scores.
- [18:49]
Steve Mensch
I do not like the Dolphins at home.
- [18:52]
Todd McShay
When.
- [18:52]
Steve Mensch
When. When that quarterback is healthy, when Waddle, Tariq Hill or Wright. Tariq's not right, but he's playing better because Tua is simply back. Jonah Smith's become a big part of the offense. That offense, if you remember when healthy at home, they would put up 42, 49, 50 points on a lot of teams. And I think they'll do that this weekend. To the Patriots. The Dolphins have a lot to play for. The Patriots don't have anything to play for.
- [19:13]
Stugotz
I love that running back aching, too. He's a good player.
- [19:15]
Steve Mensch
Yes. Yeah, he's really good. They're good. They're good. They're fast. You want some more NFL picks? I'm going to eat it. Yeah, More.
- [19:21]
Todd McShay
Give me one or two more.
- [19:22]
Steve Mensch
I'll give you one or two more. I like the packers minus two and a half. San Francisco is banged up. Packers need the game. I think the packers win that game. They win by seven points over San Francisco. And the other game that I like a lot here is the Eagles minus three at the Rams, Eagles favorites.
- [19:40]
Todd McShay
You're a sucker.
- [19:42]
Steve Mensch
I have plenty of underdogs, man. I have the Chargers plus three against the Ravens. But I do like the Eagles. And here's the funny thing. I'd be interested to get your point. Get your thoughts on this. Nick Sirianni is in his fourth year as the Eagles head coach. The first three years, he took his team to the playoffs. One year went to the super bowl, was a play away from beating Patrick Mahone. And now his team, I think, is 8 and 2. Nick Sirianni. The idea that Philadelphia Eagle fans want to fire that coach even after wins is patently absurd. I'm not certain he shouldn't be the coach of the year, considering all the shit he's had the guy go through in terms of the fans. He might be the coach of the year. And I will tell you right this right now, Todd, the four year run that this Eagles team is on is all I'm looking for for the Jets. So if they want to get rid of Sirianni, that's the guy I want in New York. Okay.
- [20:30]
Todd McShay
Try to get Howie Roseman too.
- [20:32]
Steve Mensch
Yeah, well, he's pretty good. He's pretty. I have never. Guys, this coach has had an incredible run in a city that is, you know, they care about the football, they care about the Eagles.
- [20:44]
Todd McShay
I give him credit man, because they do. They were Sandy Reid all over again. He's a different cat like, but he doesn't know how to handle like the PR of the whole thing. Let's put it that way.
- [20:55]
Stugotz
Right.
- [20:56]
Todd McShay
But you can argue with like the. To be able to like that thing was splinter the off season reports about how like but to be able to. To regain control and how however he's done it, relying more on his quarterback and leadership and all. It's been impressive. It really has. I did not. I thought this team was going to have kind of like a Cowboys esque year this year.
- [21:17]
Steve Mensch
Right. And Mitch, all I'm saying is I cannot stand spoiled fan bases. Like do you know what the Jet fan base would do for the four year run that the Eagles have had. Have been on and they're continuing it. It doesn't seem like it's going to go away because Jalen Hurts is young, that team is young, they're talented, they have drafted well. Howie Roseman is probably the top three at his job in the league. Fan bases would kill for what the Eagles have had the last four years.
- [21:41]
Stugotz
Yeah, we grew up in New England. We know all about the obnoxious fan bases who are spoiled.
- [21:46]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [21:46]
Todd McShay
And then, and then New England got spoiled. All right, so you, you know Stu Gotz from the Dan LeBatard show with Stu Gotz from God Bless Football, you know. Yeah. You can download those shows but not. But make sure you download ours first.
- [22:01]
Stugotz
Yes.
- [22:02]
Steve Mensch
And more and more often.
- [22:03]
Todd McShay
Yes, I want to talk about this book because here's my take on it. Okay.
- [22:08]
Steve Mensch
Yep.
- [22:09]
Todd McShay
It's Stugott's personal record book and I'll admit I'm a long time fan of the show. I've listened to Dan Lechar with Sugats for a long, long time. Appreciate just the absolute. I mean mention I like it's kind of similar the guys I grew up with, the guys that were friends with in college, it's kind of this. It's just absurdity. But like you Care. But there's just the day to day absurdity is what kind of attracts me to it. It's kind of like, you know, it's my home. It's what I know. And so if you follow the show, you understand how absolutely asinine some of Stugotts. His takes are like, yeah, but, but, but he'll like, but he'll, he'll stick with it. Like Kevin Durant, you know, he's, he's never won, he's never won a ring. Yeah, but, but why is it with this book that, like, I know how absurd it is. I know some of the takes are going to be wild, but I still want to have it. I still want to, like, I want it on my coffee table because it's something ridiculous to flip through and show friends and something to like, create conversation. So there's like some beauty behind all of this, behind the insanity of it. And I'm just curious, like, what's the. I know it comes out on. It comes out on Tuesday, Next Tuesday already. Number one sports essays on Amazon. I'm just, I'm curious. What, what has been the reaction? I know you probably had like a soft launch or, you know, other friends and family have read it. What's been the reaction so far?
- [23:36]
Steve Mensch
Everyone, surprisingly, they're surprised that I finished the book. Let's start there. Like, actually finish the book. I mean, like, yes, I know. And I don't blame them for being surprised. I have set the bar very low for myself. That's been done by, by design. Todd, just so you know, when you set the bar very low, you, you have a better chance of exceeding all the expectations. It's a brilliant stance that everyone has for you. So it's funny, it was a throwaway line on ESPN Radio. I don't have an actual personal record book, okay. So I use. I was talking about Kevin Durant and how he took the easy path leaving Oklahoma City and went to Golden State, a team that had already won a title without him. Like, they were doing just fine without Kevin Durant. Now, if you remember the year before Durant left, they were up 3, 1 against go against Golden State. Oklahoma City was. That was Durant, Westbrook and those guys. And then they couldn't get it done. And what Durant did is the complete antithesis of what Michael Jordan would have done. Michael Jordan, when he couldn't get past the Pistons, he went back, he worked harder. They added pieces, they came back, they tried again. Imagine Michael leaving the Bulls and going to the Pistons. Imagine that right Imagine shaking his head. Yeah, it would never happen. No, Durant did it. Yeah, well, Durant did it, and that's what he did. And so it was a throwaway line. So I said, listen, I don't care how many titles Durant wins with the Golden State warriors, with Steph Curry, with Klay Thompson, with Draymond Green, they didn't need them. And really what he stripped us of, selfishly, is seeing Oklahoma City make that climb and come back and try again against Golden State. Because we all agree Kevin Durant is the kind of talent that doesn't need to kind of hop around city to city, trying to win championships. People should be coming to Kevin Durant, not the other way around. And so I said, in my personal record book, I know Kevin Durant won two titles, but in my personal record book, he has won no titles because he took the easy path. That is not what sports is all about. He went to a team that was already loaded. He went to a team that had the regular season win record already, and he joined that team and won his two championships there and never won another. So in my personal record book, and this is what I said on ESPN Radio, I said, durant has no rings. Levitard started laughing. The guys started laughing. I remember Amin El Hat and saying, having a personal record book, whether real or not, is one of the greatest tools in sports radio history, because you could just stick everything under that umbrella.
- [26:04]
Todd McShay
It's undefeated.
- [26:05]
Steve Mensch
And so that's what I have done. And so Dan Stanzik, who is. Who works at espn, was one of my producers back when we were at espn. He started transcribing all of my takes because Lord knows I'm not writing a book, and I've never wanted to write a book. I could not sit down long enough to write a book. It wasn't happening. If I wanted to write a book, I would have done it years ago when I was at espn. Okay? But Stanzik, he did not let it go. He liked the concept so much, so he calls me during the pandemic and he says, hey, guess what? Your personal record book, if you want to do it, it's done. I wrote the book. And I said. I said, you wrote my book? And he said, yeah. He said, yeah, I transcribed all your takes. And then he tied it all together. He's a very good writer. And this was a dream of Dan Stanzix, who's a very good friend of mine, was to write a book, was to have his name on a book. It was never a dream of Mine, my dream was to be at espn, ESPN Radio, WFA in New York, and doing a lot of the stuff I'm doing now. I wanted to do this for him. I wanted to do this for me. And of course, I wanted to do it for the money the book has been received.
- [27:12]
Todd McShay
What percentage? What. This great friend of yours, Dan Stancick, what percentage are you giving him? 4.
- [27:20]
Steve Mensch
He's got a little bit more than that. If I had to pie chart the things I just said to you in matter of importance, I would say 90% money, 8% percent me, 2% stancic. Okay, so I have to write the phone, but here's the beautiful thing. And. And Todd, you'll appreciate this. When you work at espn, you make a lot of friends. Everyone, the talent at least very, very close, and people become family to you there. It's how you and I became close and people support each other there. And so I reached out to Mina K, to Tim Kirchen and Scott Van Belt, because you're right, these takes are absolutely absurd. And so we needed some credibility. We needed some credible journalists. We needed some people who had, you know, who thought rationally, and we needed them to rebut to some of my takes. So there are chapters in this book by Van Pelt, by. By me, to. By Stan Van Gundy, by Jay Billis, by all the people we worked with at espn. And what I told them to do was, hey, it's a blank page. Just take a sledgehammer to me and, oh, did they take a sledgehammer? And they ripped my takes apart. I have Leopard. He wrote the forward. So we're very excited about it. It's a cool book. It's a fun book. It's easy reading, it's doing very well. And I'll leave. And the last thing I'll say about it is we sent a bunch of copies out to many of the contributors. And I believe. I believe it was Sarah Spain saying, reached out to me via text and said, I can't believe you finished the book. I read it. She goes, I'm more shocked that it's actually pretty good. It's a good book. It's a good book. Like, I don't know if I had anything to do with it. They're my takes. But I think what makes it really special and unique is to have all these credible people willing to throw their names on it and willing to write rebuttals, because that really helped. So it's been a lot of fun.
- [29:13]
Todd McShay
That's amazing. And you can find it On Amazon. Go out and buy it, folks. And great Christmas gifts. How about this? Created. Stu got book dot com. Let's just get straight to it.
- [29:23]
Steve Mensch
That was, that was Random House. And by the way, as Lebanon said a million times, it's not just a Random House. Okay, Random House. Okay. Random House published this book. I think your wife.
- [29:32]
Todd McShay
But must be like, how.
- [29:36]
Steve Mensch
Well, listen, I mean, again, 92% was the payment. And so my wife's doing just fine. I mean, my wife hasn't worked a day in her life. Okay, so I don't think she had.
- [29:47]
Todd McShay
You pegged as a New York Times bestseller, though let's just put it.
- [29:50]
Steve Mensch
Well, I don't. No one had me pegged as a New York Times bestseller, let's be honest.
- [29:55]
Todd McShay
Well, we certainly get behind the book. Amazon Stotts book.com is where you go out and get it. And I'll tell you what, like, he's, he's known for talking out of both sides of his mouth. He's known for all of, you know, everyone likes to attack him. But I will say this mention. I've said it about David Pollock. I've said it most recently about the bear. Chris Felica and Stu got just to touched on it. Like, the people you work with become family and you, you start to lean on them. And when, you know, when I, like, was let go and the layoffs and everything, like, one of the people who reached out to me first was Stu Gotz. And one of the people I've talked to throughout the process and some of the advice I've gotten right here, Stu Gotts. And so I, I will always appreciate you for that, my friend.
- [30:35]
Steve Mensch
It's. It's been my pleasure. It's. This is a, It's a tricky industry to navigate through. There are a lot of ups and a lot of downs. We all go through it. We make a lot of sacrifices. We sacrifice a lot of family time in order to do what it is we do. And I don't think people see all that. And so it's great to have support. It's great to have people who can relate to what it is you're going through. So I just try to be there for people as often as I can. Like you, Todd. And I could tell you, like, when we left espn, that was a tricky time for us. And there were a lot of people who reached out to me and they were there for me during that time as well. So, yeah, that's what this should be all about. Unfortunately, in some spots it's not, but most of the places you find some pretty good people, you know.
- [31:12]
Todd McShay
Well, we'll always appreciate you. Can't wait to have you on again. And I'm sure I'll be jumping on with you with. It's certainly not with LeBatard because he doesn' talk about the NFL draft, but I'm sure on God Bless football and show us the book one more time. Let's see it.
- [31:25]
Steve Mensch
I'm showing you the book. There's a forward by leberton. There are some little blurbs on the back here. One by Joe Buck, one by Adam Schefter. Dwight Friedey. This is really exciting. How I convinced all these people to write a book for me is completely insane. But they did it. Diana Rossini. It's out of control. And Dan Patrick, DB wrote a very nice thing about my book. I know. Listen, I called you.
- [31:47]
Todd McShay
Got them all fooled, brother.
- [31:48]
Steve Mensch
Listen, I. Whatever. I had a certain amount of favors left in my life to call in on. I've called them all in for this book, okay? I will not bother anyone else. And McShay, if you're wondering why you didn't write anything, I promise you, chapter 11, next book is all yours.
- [32:02]
Todd McShay
Okay? Chapter 11. Perfect.
- [32:05]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. You don't know it's wrong. And now that me and mentor friends, a couple of mentors cutting it up meant you're writing chapter 14. How about that?
- [32:12]
Stugotz
Can't wait. Can't wait.
- [32:13]
Steve Mensch
Yes.
- [32:14]
Todd McShay
Yes.
- [32:15]
Steve Mensch
That's a five day agreement.
- [32:17]
Todd McShay
Get out of here. Stuff. Good having you, brother. We'll see you soon.
- [32:21]
Steve Mensch
All right. I love you, dude.
- [32:24]
Todd McShay
The McShay show is presented by FanDuel. Get out your game day gear this college football season on FanDuel because right now all customers get a profit boost every college football Saturday. Every single Saturday. I got three picks for you, Mensch. Not going to get into any detail. I'm just going to give you money. I'm going to hand you money. Oklahoma plus 13 and a half against Alabama. Auburn plus two and a half against A&M and Virginia plus nine and a half versus SMU. And you probably ask the question why? And my answer is this is trip to fan season in college football, folks. I'm telling you, right around Thanksgiving, you're sitting in your living room, you're on mom's couch, you got the smell of the tryptophan, the cookies, the. The turkey is cooking and you take a nap, right? This is the time of year in college football where like crazy stuff happens every week. Boost your winnings on bets like spreads over unders. Method of first touchdown and so much more. Just visit FanDuel.com McShay that's FanDuel.com McShray to download America's number one sports book and kick off every college football Saturday with a boost. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in D.C. opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration. See terms@sportsbook.fanduel.com call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit RG Help. What a piece of work, huh?
- [34:00]
Stugotz
I mean, amazing.
- [34:02]
Todd McShay
You talk about one of a kind, just leaning into who you are. So appreciate stugats coming on. I'm sure he appreciates being, you know, the promotional tool that this was. Opportunity. Yeah, exactly. But no, always a lot of fun. I'm sure we'll have stugouts back in certain times. But let's get to it, men. We got a huge game this this week. You know, talked about number two versus number five Indiana. We know the strength of schedule 106. We know they've controlled every game they played in. Even Michigan, the tightest game they played in. I want to get into this game specifically and you and I, it's always going to be about studying the tape and kind of looking, looking at the personnel, but also like how is it going to play out? What do we expect to see? Right.
- [34:47]
Stugotz
Right.
- [34:48]
Todd McShay
I took a deep dive in the last couple of days. A deep dive into Indiana specifically on the offensive side of the ball.
- [34:55]
Stugotz
Okay.
- [34:56]
Todd McShay
And I, and with the mindset of how are they going to do it against this defense. We talked about Ohio State. Right. Nine different players with draftable grades. Caleb Downs is probably going to be the earliest draft pick, but it won't be in this class because he's not eligible. It'll be in 2026. Could be a top seven, top 10 pick at the safety position. He's that special. So you're talking about 10 guys that we can look at right now and say are going to, are going to do something in the NFL. Indiana. It's not the case. But so I studied Indiana. Like what are, what are they going to do? And I really just dug in on Indiana offensively. I'll tell you this. They're fucking annoying. They like, they're just annoying with their, with the, with like their operation. Right?
- [35:49]
Stugotz
Yeah. Yeah, that's a good word for it.
- [35:51]
Todd McShay
They do everything right. This probably won't play well in the Midwest. Right. I just, it kind of like it popped in my head. But you go back to like the 80s, remember, like, how the American car manufacturers, all of a sudden there was like. There was Toyota and Honda. Right? And all of a sudden they were just. Just by killing us with the fact that they were producing all these cars. And it was like the big thing you see in movies and all the struggles in the Midwest. Right. And they rose to prominence not because they had the sexiest cars. They didn't have the most powerful engines. They didn't have the big Ford trucks. Right, Right. But they killed us with the efficiency of their factory. And when I watch Indiana. They kill you with the efficiency of their factory. It's their operation. They do everything. Right. That's what I just said. Like, they. So when I watch them, they block everything up. They catch everything. Those receivers don't drop anything. Most underrated wide receiver corps in the country. After I went and studied every single. Every single target. Most, I think it's the most underrated wide receiver. And deep. They're in the right leverage on their routes. They catch contested catches. They're up there with, I think, the number one team in the country in terms of contested catches. And they don't have the biggest dudes. Okay. And we'll get back to the receivers. But their backs are in the correct holes. They hit the holes hard. They protect like absolute maniacs and pass pro as running backs. They've only, as an offense, fumbled the ball twice this year. Okay. Their 12th is a team in turnover margin. Okay. And when I look at this offense, it's a really simple game. When you play Frank Signetti football the way the Hoosiers do, keep it simple.
- [37:43]
Stugotz
Stupid.
- [37:44]
Todd McShay
Right. They kill you with efficiency. And so that. That's the thing that jumped out to me. It's like you got a quarterback in Rourke who's come in. I think he's got 46 starts. And he's like the captain of the efficiency train, if you will.
- [38:00]
Stugotz
Starts right with him.
- [38:01]
Todd McShay
It starts right with him. Doesn't put him in a lot of bad situations. Sets the protections up well. They have a lot of, like, you know, the zone read stuff and he makes the right reads. But. But here's what I also know. While he's smart and he limits mistakes, he can layer the ball. He's. He's deadly accurate. Right. He like his ball. He does a great job, like over the linebacker before the safety, leading receivers. He does excellent timing with his receivers, like the. The back shoulder throws that he makes. The timing that he has with his receivers.
- [38:32]
Stugotz
Right?
- [38:32]
Todd McShay
Okay. So all those things, he does great. But here's what I do know about Rourke. When you're talking about Curtis Rourke, the quarterback, not a big arm.
- [38:41]
Stugotz
Nope.
- [38:42]
Todd McShay
Not a threat as a runner.
- [38:43]
Stugotz
Nope.
- [38:44]
Todd McShay
So if you're going to do it without a monster arm, if you're not Josh Allen, if you're not Lamar Jackson, if you're not bringing, if you're not Jalen Milroe with the mobility, right. If, if you're, if you're not Carson Beck with the mobility and the strong army, you better win up here between your ears. Okay? And my goodness, he does it. It's frustrating because I almost, I was watching, I told you when we started this, I was watching it from a defensive lens. What is Ohio State going to do? Can they just roll out their helmets and their nine draft eligible prospects and their safety who's going to be a top 10 pick in 20, 26 in Caleb Downs and just, yeah, we're better than you. Our athletes are better. They're faster, they're bigger, they're stronger, we're better. And my answer after studying the tape is really now we'll get to the bigger picture in all this, but I want you to understand like they're going to come out and they're going to be in 11 personnel. That's their base, one back, one tight end, three receivers typically right, more so than not, they pre snap motion. They're going to make you as a defense declare what you're doing. You in zone, you in man. I think Ohio State's should they mix it up zone and man, we've seen that we've done deep dive into Ohio State's defensive tape. We both agree their corners are better in press, man, use the physicality that they have. Right. But, but they're going to make you declare defensively with those pre snap motions. They're not going to come out. They're not going to tempo you a lot. Occasionally they'll mix something in when they need to. But this is not a fast pace. It's the opposite of what we've come to see in college football. When it started with Chip Kelly, when it's run 100 plays, don't care if we're in the right play, run it, run it. It's the opposite. So let's get to the line. Let's, let's check with me a little bit if we have to. Let's set the protection, let's see what they're doing. Let's motion guys around man or zone. Let's run the play. On our clock. If Michigan's any, any indicator or some of the other tougher defenses they put, they're going to feel you out. It's going to be screens, it's going to be quick game. It's going to be running the ball inside. From a personnel standpoint. I already mentioned, I. The thing that surprised me the most, we're. We're not talking about elite level receivers, but we're talking about a group that is all damn good. Like, they know the rules, they know where to be, they know their leverages, they block for you and they catch every. Like I'm watching the Michigan game and Elijah Surat is the, is the big guy. He's their number one receiver. He's had a phenomenal year. 685 catches, 18 yards per catch. He's number 13. He's their bigger receiver. 62209. Okay, he had a double move against Michigan. That was, it wasn't the best double move you've ever seen, but he, but he kind of broke the corner's ankles and goes for a touchdown. But I'm watching five, right, number five, Keyshawn Williams, who's got 12 catches, 156 the last two weeks. He's coming on right. He catches the ball, his helmet smashes against the ground. He had another catch where, where he's on the sideline. There's no way he was in right, but dips his tone, toe down at the end, catching everything. Smashes his helmet on the ground. And I'm like, I haven't looked at the injury report. Is he going to be here? Two plays later, he's back on the field. Then I watch omar, Omar Cooper, 22 yards per catch. Little guy, not the biggest guy. Another play, just whack on the sideline, left sideline. And I'm like, he's. He might not become like four or five plays. So like, these guys are tough. Yeah, they're in all the right position. And then the running backs. 7. I know 6. Justice Ellis Ellison was kind of the guy coming into the year. They still, they, they rotate and all that. He's really good hands. Only 11 catches, catches the ball well, blocks. They both block really well. And he's a tough runner, picks up the yards that are available. But Tyson Lawton, the other guy, 17, he's gotten more carries for a reason. He's. He's got a little bit more juice.
- [42:36]
Stugotz
Okay, they got two.
- [42:37]
Todd McShay
So I ain't saying that Indiana's got the personnel to go out and put up big numbers, but I Am saying defensively, my takeaway was Ohio State better be ready for four quarters because what they do is they'll, they'll efficiency you to death. Indiana will, they'll drive you crazy because they won't make mistakes. They'll block up their guys, they'll make the right reads, the receivers will make the contested catches, the running backs will hit the holes when they're open and 17's got a little bit more juice, okay. But then all of a sudden you make one mistake and they'll pop one on you. So it's like this weird dynamic. They're not taking a lot of shots, they're not a big play, they're not tempoing you, they're not going to wear you out that way. But they'll, yes, they'll wait for their moment. And so I'm fascinated to see this matchup with Ohio State's defense. And are they able to be patient? Are they able to play discipline, gap discipline? Are they sound in the secondary? They're going to be tested in this game in a way than you would think. Not by speed, not by size, not by strength, but by their discipline. And their patience in this game will be really put to the test.
- [43:53]
Stugotz
Yeah, I mean that, you know, the yards per catch, you some big numbers there, right. I think that speaks to Rourke's ball placement, puts it right where these guys can create after the catch. It also speaks to the fact that Ohio State's going to have to tackle after the tackle. Well, after the catch I will say, and I want to get your take on this. Were you concerned with the second half after Rourke through the interception against Michigan? Because that's my concern if I'm Ohio State.
- [44:19]
Todd McShay
This is a bad interception too, right?
- [44:22]
Stugotz
My, I'm trying to take away his first read, so I'm trying to really take away the inside receiver first. I'm going to crowd the receivers on the outside because I think my corners can match up. And if you can force Rourke to hold on to the ball, Indiana starts to get into trouble. Because as good, as much, as tough as that offensive line is and as well as they play as a unit individually, we'll get into this. A little bit more pass protection is going to break down against the Ohio State front. We'll get into this a little bit more and he can't. We just talked about. He's not a guy that's going to make a lot of off platform throws. He's not a guy that's going to, you know, scramble for a lot of, you know, Big plays. So to me, I felt like that was concerning, that I thought the offense kind of tightened up and he wasn't as confident after that interception.
- [45:06]
Todd McShay
His ball placement, I put in my notes. His ball placement after that interception was not the same. There were actually a couple throws before the interception. They went through like a. I don't want to call him streaky because I don't think he's streaky, but every quarterback kind of, you know, there are moments in games he went through like a, I don't know, seven, eight throw stretch where, like his first, I don't know, eight, nine throws, ten throws, whatever it was, were brilliant. You know, just like, like right where you want them and layering them. But, but yeah, he went through a little stretch and can he. I guess the question you're asking and I, I mean, only time will tell. I think the question you're asking, can he afford that same kind of seven, eight throw stretch like he did against Michigan? You know, it's not a night game. You know, it's big noon kick for Fox. There will be a lot. You know, these Ohio State fans are used to it and they'll, they'll be lined up the tailgating and all that. But, but it's, it's, it's not going to be the environment that it would be if it were a night game, but it's still going to be an environment and you're still going against those athletes. And I don't, I don't think that he can overcome that stretch against Ohio State because the difference is Michigan's got a lot of talent on defense. Michigan doesn't have an offense. Ohio State does.
- [46:18]
Stugotz
That was my point. You're not trying to keep pace with that Michigan offense. You're trying to keep pace with Orion Day Chip Kelly offense that, you know, we'll get into this a little bit more about the issues up front, but with weapons everywhere. Weapons everywhere. So you're trying to keep pace with that offense. The margin of error is, is not the same as it was against Michigan, so it'll be interesting to see. I agree with everything you're seeing in Indiana. I just, I, I do worry about the, the talent and the matchups in certain areas.
- [46:45]
Todd McShay
All right, So I, I would, I kind of tasked myself, if you will, with, with. I really wanted to study how Indiana was going to match up against this, this outstanding defense. We've talked about it. It's not the level of like, what, 2017 Alabama. It's not the level of like 2021, 2022 Georgia. But it's. But it's a damn good defense with a lot of NFL prospects on that defense. Right, Right. But I. But I also. And I don't even have to task you with it. You task yourself with it. The Trenches. And I'm excited. Menches Trenches, we're gonna debut it today. Okay. We're gonna bring it back. It's a reboot. Menches Trenches 2.0. Show me. I think we get some. Some imaging here. Show me that Bad Birdie had. We got to get you a sponsorship. That Bad Birdie hat.
- [47:34]
Stugotz
Right.
- [47:35]
Todd McShay
Mensch, former offensive lineman. He handles a lot of our. Our guys in the trenches. Great offensive line. Understanding what to look for and evaluating over the years. All of all positions, but certainly in the offensive line. I'm curious what you saw, and it's going to be so critical. And I know we've got an injury to talk about, but the floor is yours. Mensch. It was the most popular. I think it sold the Most subscriptions on ESPN.com ever. The most popular article ever. It outsold Kuiper and my mock drafts. It was a national sensation. And at some point, I think it got forgotten, but we're bringing it back. It's Mench's Trenches 2.0. We will feature on this show. It's a reboot. And I want to know for this game specifically, what do you got?
- [48:22]
Stugotz
Well, listen, we got to start with the injury. I mean, the news came out that the Iowa State lost their starting center, Seth McLaughlin, to a torn Achilles this week. Big loss. Well, first of all, I went back and I'm watching him on tape, and, man, he is. He's a. He's a dude. He moves really well. He's powerful. I mean, he can reach linebackers at the second level. He can get into space. He holds up in pass protection. It is a big loss for them. But I think not only are you losing now two of your three best offensive linemen, because you lost Josh Simmons. Simmons. To a knee injury earlier in the year. Donovan Jackson is probably your best. Best player, and he was.
- [49:01]
Todd McShay
He's a career. A career guard. Played only guard his entire career and could be, you know, one of the top two guards drafted. Two or three guards drafted in the upcoming draft, but they kicked him out to left tackle.
- [49:13]
Stugotz
Right. So now you're on your fifth this year, your fifth offensive line lineup. There's been a lot of changes, a lot of moving pieces, and it's. It's concerning to me. Now, listen, you got a guy in Carson hinsman who started 12 games at center last year. You're going to kick it sounds like this is what's going to happen. He's been playing left guard since Donovan Jackson went to tackle. So now you're going to move him back in the center, right? Then you're going to have Austin Sarah Saravold Saraveld come in at left guard. Retro freshman, started two games earlier in the year, Western Michigan and Akron. And then, you know, I think if you were looking at this at the beginning of the year, in ranking the offensive lineman for Ohio State, their right guy, guard Shabala was probably the weakest link for a lack of better way of putting it. Very talented kid, moves well, big body, but he's high cut, he overextends at times. His footwork's a little consistent. So the reason I'm bringing this up is the interior offensive line of Ohio State versus the interior defensive line of Indiana is something we need to keep a close eye on in this game.
- [50:20]
Todd McShay
And what's Indiana got?
- [50:21]
Stugotz
Indiana defensive tackle C.J. west is a game wrecker. Oh man. Big, powerful, violent hands. Doesn't have a high sack number, but moves the quarterback off the spot consistently.
- [50:32]
Todd McShay
One on one.
- [50:33]
Stugotz
He is a problem. And one of the reasons in James Carpenter, who's the guy next to him, not as strong as against the run as west, but really flashes a pass rusher, very good hands too. He's got four sacks. He's a guy can get off to the quarterback too. So you're looking at that interior offensive line and not only that, Indiana plays a lot of games. They will twist and stunt. So you know, again, you have a guy who started 12 games of center at your center position, now you're at home. That should help with the communication. All that's good. They're going to throw a lot at that offensive line in the middle and how well they adjust and pick it up is going to be interesting to see. And I'll tell you, I went back and watched because I want to see these guys. I went back and watched Western Michigan and I was watching Saraveld and I was like, good run blocker. We've got some issues in pass, bro. So I mean, I'm a little concerned about him and Prospero. And then I liked the way Hinsman played against Penn State at guard last week. And then at the end of the Western Michigan game, it's a blowout and I see Hinsman at center and he's getting beat clean in pass pro and I'm all those Things are adding up to. Listen, I think I'll be blunt about it. I think Ohio State can take advantage of the lack of depth Indiana has up front and I think that they'll be okay and eventually the offensive line, the offensive line will play well enough for them to win this game. I do think that. But if you're looking long term and we're talking about the playoffs eventually, this is a. This is a concern long term.
- [51:58]
Todd McShay
What are the. What's fanduel got for us? What are the odds in this game? I'm interested. Thirteen and a half. Indiana is getting 13 and a half. Five minus 520 Ohio State to win over under 50 one and a half with. Oof. That's interesting.
- [52:21]
Stugotz
Your mind is spinning. I can hear your mind spinning.
- [52:24]
Todd McShay
I. Yeah. Because I look at these honest to God before I really dug into Indiana and like. Like I've watched them all season but really studying their offense. I would have said that's the under. I kind of think the over might hit but then interesting offensive line for Ohio State and like I do think Chip is going to. Chip Kelly, the offensive coordinator and Ryan Day, obviously I think they're going to want to grind it out and wear them down. Wouldn't you want to wear them down and. And especially 100.
- [52:53]
Stugotz
That's their weakness is their depth.
- [52:56]
Todd McShay
So like that scares me too. I think. I think everyone's going to take 13 and a half. I'll be honest, after studying that tape of the offense, I'm convinced Ohio State's going to win this game. It won't shock me if this is like 10, 11 point game. You know what I mean? Like hanging around like a Nebraska game plays efficient. Ohio State kind of gets a little. Yeah, I don't know that. I don't know that's. That game's interesting.
- [53:27]
Stugotz
Yeah. Huge race.
- [53:29]
Todd McShay
Obviously.
- [53:30]
Stugotz
The flip side, I think that the Indiana offensive line has played really well together.
- [53:35]
Todd McShay
I don't see one dude there.
- [53:37]
Stugotz
No.
- [53:38]
Todd McShay
But my goodness like they. They remember we talked to Joel clad about like. Like. Like ballet or you know just like to when they the zone blocking. It's like. It's like what synchronized swimmers. They're all in the right spot. They met they hat for a hat and I know it's like okay, enough about hat.
- [53:55]
Stugotz
I think you called it a Russian ballet. I like that one.
- [53:57]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [53:58]
Steve Mensch
And it's.
- [53:59]
Todd McShay
It's. It's fun to watch. This might be and like there's a lot of great coach teams out there and we got a lot of great coaches this might be like play for play. The best coached football team in the country.
- [54:12]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [54:12]
Stugotz
We keep hearing about Signetti and I'm like, you know Ryan Day is. No, no punk. I mean like how, like it's kind of getting overlooked. It almost feels like how good of a coach. Ryan. Ryan Day is.
- [54:21]
Todd McShay
Yeah, yeah. I'm not. Let's.
- [54:22]
Steve Mensch
I love.
- [54:23]
Todd McShay
I'm not matching what. I'm just saying what he's been able, you know, do in a short. This isn't like a program that's been churning for a while. What Signetti has been able to do coming in the off season to get them playing like, like this is. Yeah. I told the efficiency of this, of this operation, this factory like. Like everything is just run. It's clean. It's clean this. So I don't know. I kind of if gun to head. I think I would. I think I would. Might just take the points but I don't know. And this is coming from a guy who says I'm not convinced that Indiana belongs in the. In the top 12. And so like those injuries up front.
- [55:03]
Stugotz
Let'S be honest, if they are healthy, if they had the guys that they thought they were going to be playing up front at the beginning of the season, I'm looking at this game a lot differently. I mean I love C.J. west. I. He is. Again, keep an eye on that defensive tackle C.J. west for Indiana. He's a good player but I just think if they're. They're fully healthy. And again, Donovan Jackson, I'll say this, I was encouraged by the way he played against Penn State. I mean he's lined up against Abdul Carter. He's gonna have another tough matchup against Mikhail Kamara who's a. Kamara is a good player. He's a good edge coming off there too. I wouldn't put him. He's not the same athletically or explosiveness wise as an Abdul Carter, but he is. He's going to give him a lot to handle. But make no mistake about it, Donovan Jackson is a better guard than tackle. This is a makeshift offensive line that they are trying to figure out on the run and again I think they have enough talent to get around. I do see Chip using a lot of. He's going to keep guys off balance with all that run pass option in the read zones. He's going to do a lot of play action. I think he'll use Will Howard in the running game though. By the way, the Ohio State backs, I don't know what got into them last Week, but they were blocking like maniacs. They were.
- [56:09]
Todd McShay
Reminds me of like, remember. Remember Ohio State years past, different regime with Ezekiel Elliot.
- [56:16]
Stugotz
Yeah, yeah. Remember, same thing. Yeah.
- [56:19]
Todd McShay
Just.
- [56:19]
Stugotz
They take me. They were taking pride.
- [56:21]
Todd McShay
Pride. Yeah.
- [56:22]
Stugotz
So if you're. Now you've got. Instead of having nine blockers, you've got 10 blockers. You know, I think there's enough that they can do. And again, they're really good at. You know, if you're worried about your interior offensive line, get outside. And they've got. I mean, Trayvon Henderson is one of the most explosive backs in the. In the country. He's not one of the most complete, but he is so explosive. And then Judkins is just a dude. I think they're going to attack the perimeter, keep them off balance with all the magic show that Chip Kelly can put on for you, and it'll be. It'll be enough for them to. I think they'll cover, but it'll be interesting.
- [56:51]
Todd McShay
Yeah. Indiana's run defense has been sensational.
- [56:55]
Stugotz
Yeah, those linebackers fly around again. Gap sound, always in the right place. Sound tacklers, tough. You know, all the things that you would think.
- [57:04]
Todd McShay
Their yards. I saw some stat this week. They've given up 31 rushing yards before contact. The next best was like 150 or something crazy. Yeah, think about that. Like 31 yards. So you. If they're going to have to earn it, if history is any indication, like Henderson, Judkins, Will Howard. They're going to have to like, you got to break tackles and force missed tackles if you're going to do it against this Indiana team. Unless they're just completely overwhelmed with. With this offensive front. So. Love the Mencius trenches 2.0, the reboot.
- [57:39]
Stugotz
Good to have the graphic.
- [57:40]
Todd McShay
Let me a fanduel like, I'm not going to get into a big thing. I've won the pool two weeks in a row. I've gone 12 and two in college football picks the last two weeks. Okay.
- [57:53]
Steve Mensch
All right.
- [57:55]
Todd McShay
And we pounded FanDuel last week. I'm just going to throw them out there. We don't have to. I don't need a big applause. I don't need any imaging. I'm just going to say we want to reward you for watching this show and listening to this show and we appreciate everyone who has downloaded, subscribed, spread the word. We're just. We're trying to make it here, but this is one way we can help out. I got three picks for you, Mitch. Not going to get into any detail. I'm Just going to give you money. I'm going to hand you money. Oklahoma. Oklahoma plus 13 and a half against Alabama. Love that. Because it doesn't make any sense. It should be 20, 21, 22 Alabama. You get the sense that they're. They found their way. Like they're going to finish steal now.
- [58:34]
Stugotz
We're from the Bear.
- [58:36]
Todd McShay
Two of them. I stole from the Bear, I think, and I'm fine with it. But I didn't steal from the Bear.
- [58:41]
Stugotz
I had to steal from him.
- [58:43]
Todd McShay
But you intelligent, intelligent players know where the plays are. I didn't. I'm not taking his. Colorado, BYU or no, Colorado, Kansas, Colorado, Kansas. But that, that one is fishy, too. So keep an eye out on that bear. And of course, Stu got stuff. Get out of here with your college picks. Your NFL picks will listen, they're documented. But get out of here with your College picks. Auburn plus two and a half against A&M.
- [59:10]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [59:12]
Todd McShay
And Virginia plus nine and a half versus SMU. And you probably asked the question why? And my answer is, this is tryptophan season in college football, folks. I'm telling you, right around Thanksgiving, you're sitting in your living room, you're on mom's couch, you got the smell of the tryptophan, the cookies. The turkey is cooking, and you take a nap, right? This is the time of year in college football where, like, crazy stuff happens every week, right? We're going in the only big game where we got. Yeah, we've got Army. We got Army, Notre Dame, later. But the big game everyone's looking at is number. Number two, Ohio State hosting Indiana, number five. Everything else is kind of like, yeah, we'll get on to next week. These are the weeks. Tryptophan.
- [59:56]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [59:57]
Todd McShay
Watch it. Okay. Alabama is going to get a scare. A M is going to be in a dog fight versus Auburn. SMU's got everything going for it, right? They had a scare last week. Maybe they go wrong. Virginia. Virginia's shown some signs of life. So those are three picks. Oklahoma plus 13 and a half. Auburn plus two and a half. Virginia plus nine and a half. Sorry, Fanduel. I mean, I'm just.
- [60:18]
Stugotz
Sorry. That's a new segment. Sorry, fanduel.
- [60:23]
Todd McShay
Thursday, staples. Let's get to it. That's my guy. Right? We love. That's my guy. What? We've knocked it down to one per week. These are guys that we're watching tape on. They stand out. We want to plant the flag on them early. Doesn't have to be. I'd rather not first round guys, but can be first round guys, can be late round guys, can be undrafted free agents. Let's start with you, Mensch. What do you got? That's my guy.
- [60:44]
Stugotz
I got Minnesota, no surprise here. Offensive tackle, Minnesota offensive tackle, Ariante ushery. Big guy, 6 foot 6, 330 pounds. Listen, first round, I guess there's a bad tape. There is. He is a guy who only played one year of high school football or didn't play until his junior. So two years of high school football.
- [61:04]
Todd McShay
I apologize.
- [61:06]
Stugotz
And he's been a three year starter at Minnesota, but he's still, I think he's still a little bit raw and there's some times where guys can get into his pads a little bit, he can sustain in the run game. So why, why is he my guy? You don't find dudes who move like that at that size. He is, he. His lateral quickness is impressive to me. He's a guy, once it all comes together in terms of technique is gonna, he's gonna be a starter in the league.
- [61:30]
Todd McShay
Draft the trades and offensive line.
- [61:32]
Stugotz
Right. And I'll, I'll say this. I did kind of break the rule. You're right. I, I think most years he would be a day two guy. I think he'd be a day two pick. He reminds me of Abraham Lucas. The kid came out of Washington State, if you remember, Abraham Lucas that year had a bad rep at the Senior bowl where he got ran over. Speed and power and everyone's like, ah, this guy can't play. And he's turned into a decent player when he's been healthy. He went in the third round this year. Ursaring might sneak into the first round. He tests as well as we think he could. He could sneak into the first round because I just don't think it's a great offensive tackle class.
- [62:04]
Todd McShay
Okay. I'm going to go the other side of the ball and I want to feature guys right now that I think, who are we going to be watching on Saturdays? What are the big stories? Colorado, obviously one of the big stories and it's not what you would think. The wide receivers, there's some players there, obviously. Shador Sanders, Travis Hunter. But I want to go with a guy that I think just keeps getting overlooked. Okay. Cameron Silman. Craig is a safety, started out at Jackson State with the rest of them. Right. Transferred over first year at Colorado last year, making the big jump in level of competition. Tied with Travis Hunter with three interceptions.
- [62:41]
Stugotz
Right.
- [62:42]
Todd McShay
Big playmaker. Okay. Fourth on the team and tackles with 44 second year he comes back, doesn't have the interceptions yet, but he's leading the team in tackles. And I've seen the confidence building this guy. What I love about him, the leadership, my goodness, you got, you got Travis Hunter, you got Shiloh Sanders at the safety, same position on that team. Coach's son, Coach prime son, you got Shador Sanders. But like, if you kind of look around you talk to people like the dog, like the alpha is, is Soman Craig.
- [63:16]
Stugotz
The passion is obvious. He loves playing the game in so.
- [63:20]
Todd McShay
So like best case, I'm not saying he's going to be this guy, but like I always try to, especially with day three guys. Like, I don't even think he can get to the level necessarily. But like, what, what does he remind you of? Who's the NFL comp? I think Jordan Poyer. Is that, that Type of player. 511, 185, undersized, but just a dog. Like, loves being, he's versatile. He loves being around the line of scrimmage, even though he has no business in that frame being around the line of scrimmage. Gets off the blocks, instincts, shoots gaps. He's like, I'm a Yellowstone guy, you know, and I've had to kind of get off now. I'm a landman guy. I like Sheridan, the director, producer, whatever his role is. I just, I like his stuff. But when you watch those movies or anyone who's around it, and I spent one, one day out at a Wyoming game and had. And sat on a horse and I actually owned a horse with Port. No, Portnoy.
- [64:17]
Stugotz
Yeah, I remember that.
- [64:17]
Todd McShay
Yeah, I remember that we owned a horse. I didn't realize until I, until I had a part ownership in a horse smoke show city, our horse. I didn't realize I was allergic to horses. I didn't know. So I now, Now I've got 25. I got 25 ownership in a horse and I find out that I'm. That I'm. That I'm allergic. And I didn't think it was that bad. And then I went, me and Steve Levy and Brian Greasy went and we did a, a bit for the open of our, of our game. It was with Josh Allen. There is the Mountain West Conference championship. Okay, so the day before we go to this rodeo and we're sitting on horses to do an open for the show.
- [64:55]
Stugotz
You're breathing out.
- [64:56]
Todd McShay
I literally had to walk out of the indoor facility there and my, my face goes like, now I'm sitting in the back like a, like a ambulance Patient. They're racing me to like a CVS to get me a Benadryl. I didn't know if I was going to be. I finally calmed down. I took a lot of medicine that night. But my point is I don't have a lot of great experience with lassoing and I boy, did I get off topic there. But Stillman Craig, you know, like when you watch those shows or if you've been around like how quick the lasso goes on and all of a sudden it's like, yep, as a tackler, I love this guy. Comes out of no. Comes out of nowhere. He'll. He'll face you up, but a lot of times he gets to your feet, takes your legs and just like snaps you off. And it's like watching all of a sudden like someone get like shot in the Achilles. Like, boom, they go down. Yeah, he's a great tackler. So if nothing else, like special teams backup role, I think is a day three player. His tape against Baylor, 14 tackles. The sack he had huge sack against Kansas State. Just the emotional leader. I just. There's a lot of little things that add up to be to a guy on day three that you can trust is going to come in and find a way to contribute. So I'm excited. Keep an eye when you're watching Colorado. Now talked about the Kansas game. Hopefully, you know, just for the excitement of college football, hopefully get into that Big 12 championship and can get in the College Football Playoff. But he's the guy to keep an eye on number seven on that defense. Also, where are the scouts this week? We touched on Indiana and Ohio State and I do think those Indiana receivers, two of them are draft eligible this year. I think the Indiana receivers are going to get more love than people expect. I think it's grossly underrated what they've been able to do. You talked about west and the defensive line. You talked about Kamara in the defensive line. They've got some guys. It's just not at the level when you compare them to the other teams in the top 10. But Indiana, Ohio State will be one where the scouts are.
- [66:55]
Steve Mensch
Where's it?
- [66:55]
Todd McShay
Give me another one.
- [66:57]
Stugotz
Boston College. North Carolina, I think is kind of under the radar because neither team is ranked. I mean, anytime you get to watch Amor and Hampton, the running back from North Carolina, you're gonna have. I mean, it's worth it. But they also have two edge defenders. There's one from Boston College, Donovan Az Uruko. I think I'm saying that right. Ezio ruku, who has 14 tackles for loss. He is very active, very disruptive. All over the Virginia Tech tape, all over it. North Carolina has a guy named Kmon Rucker who was injured earlier in the year but has been very productive since he's come back. Another guy you want to keep an eye on.
- [67:32]
Todd McShay
I got another one. Where the scouts have to be this week.
- [67:36]
Stugotz
Where's that?
- [67:37]
Todd McShay
135Th edition of the Capital Cup. The scouts are going to be flooding to Robin Stadium, the campus of University of Richmond. What a great game. Hey, the all time record in this Richmond versus William and Mary. I got ahead of myself.
- [67:50]
Stugotz
I was wondering if you had it.
- [67:51]
Todd McShay
Yep, 135th edition of the Capital cup, all time record. Richmond 65, William and Mary 64 and five ties. You talk about a balanced history between these two powerhouses. I'll give you a prospect. And you can, you, you can, you can cover our alma mater, Richmond. William and Mary though, they've got the, they've got the prospect. Charles. I'm fair imbalanced. Charles Grant, 6 4, 300, little undersized, but you know, what an athlete. What an athlete. I studied his tape. Lean, athletic, he's a three year starter, left tackle. He's got, got experience, obviously not the highest level. Got invited. He was actually the first. Jim Nagy was there. Charles Grant, six four, 300, lean but athletic. Move really well invited to the Senior Bowl. Could be the top small school prospect in 2025. Could be a run, could be day two. I mean we're talking like potentially second round. I think it's going to be a huge week. Obviously anytime the small school guys get an opportunity at the Senior bowl against some of the big time prospects, that's when they, we see them rise. And Jim was on with us, talked about the North Dakota State, the lineage of offensive linemen who have gone to that game and have risen from fourth to second round, fifth the third round. Like I think, I think Charles Grant has an opportunity to do that run heavy zone scheme. They're like 65, 35 run, run pass, but great range as a run blocker. A lot of developmental upside in, in pass protection as well. So keep an eye on that when, when you're studying and watching on the couch. Saturday, the 135th edition of the Capital Cup. What's, what's Richmond got, Mensch?
- [69:30]
Stugotz
Well, I had to call our guy offense coordinator Winston October and I was like, give me, give me a name. Yeah, I talked to him last night. Of course, you know, you think you're going to be on the phone for about five, 10 minutes. And then Winston's just, I'm like trying to take notes, my hands cramping. He's so excited about this game. So excited about the year. And it's always good to hear from the old teammates. Man, he's such a positive guy. But he, the guy he kept bringing up was Zach Palmer Smith, their running back. He is second in the CAA in rushing yards and rushing yards per game at 104.26 foot, 205. This kid runs behind his pads. He doesn't need much of a crease. He's patient, he's instinctive. And Winston just kept raving about the work ethic is how humble he is. He's. This is kind of kid doesn't want to take any reps off in practice. Wants to get as much many reps as he can in practice. Runs hard every time he gets the ball. And you know, I thought one of the more interesting quotes was he was at Wagner. He's Wagner transferred and he had never really won anywhere and he wanted to go somewhere he could win, so he went to Richmond. My kind of player.
- [70:32]
Todd McShay
I love that. And they've won eight in a row. Just won the. They clinched the caa and. All right, so now we've, we've worn out Richmond. Richmond, William Mary. But no, that's great. I love that stuff.
- [70:44]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [70:45]
Todd McShay
All right, let's. Let's wrap it up where we always do on Thursdays. Where would Todd, where would Todd be this week? Columbus, Ohio. Born and raised. That area in which Ohio State. We got it. We've done the sec. Beautiful place. We've talked about Auburn with Acre Restaurant. We talked about the unbelievable restaurant situation in Athens, Georgia with Chuck's Fish. We've done Baton Rouge. Brandon Landry stepped up with the greatest all time trip to Baton Rouge and all the places that he would go and the sights and, and tailgating things that you have to do this week in Columbus, Ohio. Let me explain this to you. Match. Okay. I grew up, I've told you my grandfather, Marshall Brown got me into college football. He worked with Bo Schembechler. He's recruiting coordinator in Northeast Ohio, the Sandusky area. Okay. And so I grew up with an intimate knowledge of this rivalry. And he was a Michigan fan living in Ohio, which always wasn't always the easiest thing. Right, Right. And so the pranks they would play on one another, the like intensity of the rivalry and they would be friends for, you know, 51 weeks of the year before, like it like legitimately got weird sometimes, like maybe a couple cocktails too many, doing some weird stuff. There was a toilet one year that was ripped out and put on top of a, on top of a chimney. I found out the story like 10 years ago after my grandfather passed, he ripped out a toilet in someone's house, an Ohio State fan's house, and put it on top of the chimney. So the rivalry runs deep. There's some weird stuff. But Columbus, Ohio, it is a very different feel when you and Columbus is. It's very different feel from the sec. Okay. It's more of like a lunch pail business trip. Weather's cold, we're hardened. We got to come in and we're going to dine on Friday night, but we're fueling for Saturday and we're going to warm. So.
- [72:48]
Stugotz
Right.
- [72:49]
Todd McShay
It's different than like the Southern hospitality and all that. I'm not saying wonderful people, but like they are united as one, as a front. So with that as the backdrop, every time I go to Ohio State, you know, ESPN would put us up in certain hotels and all that, but you get to a point where you kind of try to pick your spots and, and doing some pro days over the years, able to pick our own hotel, the Blackwell Hotel. I'm not saying it's. But I'm saying it's right there. It's on campus if you can get. Make reservation. If you're going to make a trip to Columbus for a game day weekend, try to stay at the Blackwell, the Blackwell Inn. Okay. Because it's right there on campus, right by High street, where all the action is and you just, you feel like you're a part of it the whole time instead of like staying out at a different hotel, kind of out of the way.
- [73:34]
Stugotz
Right.
- [73:35]
Todd McShay
Here's my suggestion. And it's not like there's not a lot of history with the restaurants and all that stuff. And so I'm not going to waste. No, I'm not going to spend time here overselling something that I. But I'm telling you, Columbus is, I believe, last time I checked, like the 14th largest city in America. And I didn't realize. I had no idea. Big ass city. Okay. And so it's not like when you go into like the Grove at Ole Miss, you know, that's this tiny little town where everyone knows everyone. It's not like Auburn, Alabama.
- [74:07]
Stugotz
Right.
- [74:07]
Todd McShay
It's not like Athens, Georgia. It's a different vibe. So you're going into a city, but again, lunch pail, we're Going to work. So on Friday, you fly in early. Some great golfing there, if you can do it. But that's not what this trip is about. This trip is about getting to work. Okay? You get in early, you got to have a lunch. Let's go play some place with, like, good, good vibes, energy. For now, I don't know if we have the menu here, but I love going to Forno. Every pro day, I go to right after, I'll go to Forno. There's energy, there's excitement there. You can see what I love. There's just a lot of different things on this menu, but I love cozying up at the bar. It's loud in there. They've got the screens on. And I'm not. I'm not going entree here because I got a big dinner, but I am going to put on probably 1500-2000 calories. Mitch, take you and I, like, we do a lot of this after, you know, after games, Senior bowl combine. Like, when we. You and I, we dine well. And a lot of times I'll force you, and you'll be like, well, I want that entree. And I'm like, let's get nine appetizers and different things. What jumps out to you there? Because I'm going to tell you what I would. What I would roll out.
- [75:15]
Stugotz
I'm going to be honest with you. I thought I had the exact same thought. I was like, I want to make sure that we bring two or three people so it's not embarrassing that we get every one of them. I'm going to get. I want the arancini.
- [75:25]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [75:26]
Stugotz
I want the crispy rice. I want the burrata.
- [75:30]
Todd McShay
Nailed it.
- [75:31]
Stugotz
The warm ricotta and the ahi tuna tacos. And that's just like, that's just the highlights for me. I really want to try.
- [75:39]
Todd McShay
I'm gonna get the meat. I've had the meatball. You got to get the meatballs there, too. The meatballs are good. So. And, and, and. And they've got a great oven there. They make their own dough there, fresh. It's, you know, in house every day. They've got a huge, huge up. Like, they take a lot of price. So we're gonna. We're gonna finish it off with a pizza. You know, one of the, like, the prosciutto. Listen to this. Ricotta, fontina, arugula, onion, olive oil with white balsamic reduction. Like, they're not messing around. This isn't like, yeah, can we have a pepperoni pizza?
- [76:11]
Stugotz
Right?
- [76:11]
Todd McShay
The Meat. Can we have the meat lovers? Like, this is no joke. So that's where you start off for lunch. All right. Cozy up to the bar, get some games, some screens in the background. Dinner is about. And again, it's different in the Midwest. It's about if you're in the Midwest, you gotta go out and you gotta have to have a steak dinner. Okay.
- [76:31]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [76:32]
Todd McShay
And I. For when you're in this, when you're in Columbus before a game, it's kind of about going out. Like, all right, where are the, where's the alumni gonna be? Where, where's Eddie George gonna be if not at his restaurant? Where. If Urban Meyer's in town? If, if Herb Street's where the, where are the people gonna be? The atmosphere. Okay, where's the, where's the game the crew gonna be? Where's Clatton Gus Johnson? Like, where are. Like Hyde park is the place that everyone. Like. I was texting with Urban yesterday. He was, he was telling me, and I gotta pull up because he'll yell at me. I was texting with Urban yesterday and I said, still, Still. It's still Hyde Park. He said, he goes, no, it's Urban. It's the Urban Meyer pint house. And he followed that with wtf? Like, come on. But, but I know this, his favorite restaurant. That, that is. And I said, but Hyde park still your favorite restaurant. That, that doesn't have your name on it, but it has his name in it. This is the only weird part for me, Mitch.
- [77:31]
Stugotz
Right.
- [77:31]
Todd McShay
Hyde park is one of the. And it's become a chain. It's spread out and there's different places, mostly like in the Midwest, a couple, one or two in Florida. But when, when I look at Hyde park, the only thing that's a little weird is I'm not in love with eating like your friends names.
- [77:47]
Stugotz
Right, right.
- [77:49]
Todd McShay
You know, it's. You get the right. The Ryan Day steak, the Kirk Herb street steak, the Urban Meyer steaks. Like, hey, what's up? Hey, Urban, I had your steak last night. Herby, I had your steak. You know, but it goes to show, like this is the place to be.
- [78:02]
Stugotz
Okay, Right.
- [78:03]
Todd McShay
And it's a classic steakhouse, but phenomenal, phenomenal food. Their steaks are second to none. Pick out. What's your menu here? I'm starting with the wagyu beef carpacci.
- [78:14]
Stugotz
Yep, yep, Absolutely. I'm a sucker for a crab cake, so I would probably get the crab cakes as well.
- [78:22]
Todd McShay
The thick cut bacon. I've had it before.
- [78:24]
Stugotz
Oh, but the carpaccio is a must. I agree on that one. And then you want me get into the entree or.
- [78:31]
Todd McShay
Yeah, go ahead, pick a steak. What are you doing?
- [78:33]
Stugotz
If I was 10 years younger, it would be the scarlet and gray. I mean that.
- [78:38]
Todd McShay
Tell us about it.
- [78:40]
Stugotz
40 ounce long bone tomahawk ribeye.
- [78:44]
Todd McShay
That's the 295 version of Mensch.
- [78:47]
Stugotz
Oh God, that looks. I just can't do it anymore. But I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go a little heavy. I'll go with the ryan Day, the 36 day dry age bone in ribeye, heavily marbled. I just, when I read those words, heavily marbled, I start to salivate. I mean, 26 ounces, not out of control, but that's a big piece of meat that I would, I mean, I would kill that steak.
- [79:13]
Todd McShay
All right, so now we fueled up, we've had a good lunch, A lot of energy gone. Probably back to the hotel, taking a little bit of nap to, you know, you sat at the bar for a few hours and, and then you go out to dinner. You have like an 8:00 dinner, home by 11, 11:30. The difference here, like we're not going bar hopping at night. This is, you're not like it's different than the sec and in some regards, but the sec, the tailgating in both places, that's the similarity. The tailgating in both places, the secular, the Big Ten, like, very different layout, different atmosphere. But the level of passion with the tailgate is absolutely similar. Here's what I'm going to tell you on game day. Here's how we got to approach this. So we've gotten a decent night's sleep back in the hotel by like 11, 11:30. Sleep, sleep until 6am but get up and be ready. Okay, get your gear ready. Make sure you get your hand warmers, you get your gloves. This time of year, you can see your breath. The first thing you'll notice when you're coming in, whether you're driving down with your grandfather as a kid from Michigan to Columbus and you're driving in like through the neighborhoods as you, as you get to the Olatangi river, the first thing you're going to notice. And it's a tradition both in Michigan and Ohio State, when you wake up in the morning, you better fly your flag. I'm telling you, it is an unbelievable seat. Like you can drive through the smallest neighborhood in Ohio or Michigan near Ann Arbor. It doesn't matter what part of the state the flag is flying. It is a tradition. Like I Get goosebumps thinking about, like how like my grandfather up at 5 in the morning, like, flying that flag, okay? So you'll notice as you're driving it, your first time ever going to a big time game at Ohio State, flags are flying from cars, from buildings, houses, everywhere. If you don't have a poll, you hang them off the side of your house. They're everywhere, okay? So that kind of, as you're driving in, you kind of get in the mood, okay? Then you drive in droves of fans. Scarlet and gray. O h I o, right? And they're walking the banks and the bridges of the Olotangi River. Everyone coming in all geared up, right? Scarlet and gray for as far as the eye can see. Then you get into town, okay? And I obviously working a lot, and when I was a kid, I couldn't do this. But. But the tradition is kegs and eggs. And it started with the Michigan game because there was always a noon kick. That's the tradition. Now you got big noon kick for Fox. And we've heard from frustration from the fans, but the rules still apply. Big game, noon kick. The. All the restaurants and bars Menge opened up real early in the morning. That's why you got to get to sleep the night before, right? So it's kegs and eggs in all these places, okay? And. And I'm telling you, from the varsity club to outer in out dash R dash I n n outer in to the library, which has been around since Woody Hayes days, to the homage bar to the Parlay Sporting Club. There's no shortage in Columbus. There is no shortage of watering holes with TV screens. I promise you that. High Street. So get there early. I don't care if you get up at 6. Be there like 7, 7:30. Get in there early. Enjoy the scene. Like, just the vibe. The scarlet and gray, the Ohio chance. But then you better get to the tailgating, okay? You walk over and again, it's professional. It is not fancy. It is not the grove. We don't have chandeliers here. This is blue collar, this is Midwest, that We got brats, we got burgers, smoke everywhere. Like, we're not. Yeah. We're not putting down white tablecloths. We're not. And honestly, if you're a Michigan fan, it ain't. It ain't like one of these sweet places with all the Southern hospitality. Like, don't come over here. Don't, you know, like, you. We got other lots down the street. Get out. Okay, so it's a different mentality, right? But Then you. And then the thing is, you better get your work done. Like, get to the kegs and eggs, get to the tailgate, get your. Get fed, because you're. When you're in there, there's no leaving at halftime. There's no going to the concession. I want you. Like I've had the honor and privilege of doing, I don't know, 15, 20. Ohio State gains over like 12 years. We did like five in one year. What always blows my mind is, like, there's not. In between quarters, blowout. No one's getting up. So whatever fuel you need, from lubricants to. To food, you better get done in that tailgate. Okay. Because that's going to last you three and a half hours. So you get into the stadium and these people get in early. Like, I remember putting on my mic, getting my mic pack ready, you know, walking around as they're warm. The kickers are kicking in pregame. They're the fan. Like, they're roaring in early. They want to see it all. Okay? So you get in the stadium, you're bundled up, you see your breath. It's a business trip. Totally different vibe, as I said. But when. When we kick off and even before. But when we kick off, it is awesome. Yeah, it's awesome, man. Like, and I was a Michigan fan growing up, so my grandfather hated it and I had, you know.
- [84:24]
Stugotz
Right.
- [84:24]
Todd McShay
Michigan. But like, you gotta respect it.
- [84:27]
Stugotz
Yeah.
- [84:28]
Todd McShay
From the script. Ohio. Like, the way that they. In unison, how they work year round, the things that they're able to do in unison. Do we talk about offensive lines? Like, yeah. It's wild to see how efficient they are. Dotting the I. A tradition since 1936 at Ohio State. Okay. Then you're in the stadium and it's not like, you know, you walk down the street in the olatangi and you're walking in and it's like, oh, IO. But in the stadium, they'll start one section. Like, let's say the northeast corner will go, oh. And then another section. There's a different side of the stadium. Age. And then another second. I can't do the things. Oh, okay. And so he goes around the stadium, right?
- [85:11]
Steve Mensch
Throughout.
- [85:11]
Todd McShay
Throughout the day, those Ohio chants. And then they do the swaying to the Carmen Ohio. Right? Everyone's swaying all in unison. 103,000 people. Okay. And then finally, and I know it's more in the new tradition, but throughout the game, you can't get the white stripe seven nation army out of your head for like five hours after a game. Going back to a hotel or getting on a plane to fly out. It's. And the whole like 103,000 fans doing it. So I love it, man. I just love the traditions. I miss being out there. Games. We'll, we'll get the show on the road next year. I'll get you out to a couple of games. But yeah, Ohio State is absolutely one of the special places in all of college football. And if you're thinking about making a trip there, even not as an Ohio State fan, but just as a fan of college football, that's a pretty good jumping off point at what you can do. That's all I got. Manch, what do you got?
- [86:12]
Stugotz
That's great, man. I'm just soaking it in. I got to get out there and see it.
- [86:15]
Todd McShay
All right, Fired up for this weekend. Listen, Saturday, please come. Go Spiders. Yeah. And when you're done with the Spiders game and you're done with the Ohio State Indiana game, you're done with the Army Notre Dame game, come join us. It's after that primetime game. We're going to be live on YouTube. Our favorite show of the week, It's Saturday Reaction show here on the McShay Show. And yeah, join us there. And then we'll, we'll be back next week. But, but this is a huge week, I'm telling you. Tryptophan college football season, some crazy shit is going to go down. I'm excited for it. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus in present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rgh-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York.