CFP Quarterfinal Preview: Ohio State–Oregon, Notre Dame–Georgia, Texas–Arizona State, and Penn State–Boise State. Plus, Quarterback Draft Thoughts.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The McShay Show – CFP Quarterfinal Preview

Podcast Information:

• Title: The McShay Show
• Host/Author: The Ringer
• Episode: CFP Quarterfinal Preview: Ohio State–Oregon, Notre Dame–Georgia, Texas–Arizona State, and Penn State–Boise State. Plus, Quarterback Draft Thoughts.
• Release Date: December 30, 2024

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Introduction

In this episode of The McShay Show, NFL Draft and College Football Analyst Todd McShay dives deep into the upcoming College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinals, providing comprehensive previews of the matchups: Ohio State vs. Oregon, Notre Dame vs. Georgia, Texas vs. Arizona State, and Penn State vs. Boise State. Additionally, McShay discusses the current landscape of quarterback prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, highlighting key frustrations and insights from scouts.

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Quarterback Draft Insights

Cam Ward’s Decision and Its Implications

Todd McShay opens the discussion by expressing frustration over recent decisions made by top quarterback prospects. He specifically critiques Cam Ward for sitting out the second half of the Pop Tart Bowl, questioning whether this decision might negatively impact his draft stock.

• McShay’s View: "Cam Ward deciding to sit out the second half of a bowl game... I just can't like playing beer pong or darts or pool and I've got if I've got a teammate, let alone 10 other guys, and you're in a back and forth battle that was new to me." [24:45]

McShay acknowledges the changing landscape where star players often choose their participation in games based on various factors but remains skeptical about the long-term effects on Ward’s draft prospects.

Carson Beck’s Early Departure

McShay criticizes Carson Beck's decision to forego his final year of college eligibility to enter the NFL Draft, labeling it as a "foolish" move based on feedback from scouts.

• Scout’s Feedback: "Foolish." [28:10]

He argues that Beck's UCL injury and inconsistent performance make his early entry into the draft a risky move, potentially limiting him to a second or third-round selection with lower guaranteed money compared to staying another year to develop further.

Shador Sanders’ Pocket Instincts

The discussion shifts to Shador Sanders, whom McShay praises for his competitiveness and passing accuracy but raises concerns about his pocket instincts under pressure.

• McShay’s Concern: "His pocket instincts are scary. They will stunt his growth big time." [35:50]

Despite Sanders' strengths, McShay highlights that his decision-making under defensive pressure could be a red flag for NFL teams, potentially affecting his draft position.

Quinn Ewers’ Future

McShay also touches on Quinn Ewers, suggesting that he should consider a graduate transfer to further develop his skills before committing to the NFL.

• McShay’s Suggestion: "Quinn Ewers would benefit... another year would help Quinn yours." [45:20]

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CFP Quarterfinal Matchups

1. Ohio State vs. Oregon

Overview: This rematch in the Rose Bowl pits Ohio State against Oregon, a game highly anticipated due to their previous encounter in the Big Ten Championship.

Key Points:

• Ohio State’s Strategy: McShay and co-host Stanford Steve discuss Ohio State's reliance on a strong running game and the importance of balancing it with their passing attack to counter Oregon's defensive prowess.

  • McShay: "For Ohio State to strike the balance between run and pass better than they have all year long." [64:22]

• Oregon’s Defensive Challenge: Oregon's ability to adapt defensively is highlighted, with concerns about their offensive line's ability to protect their quarterback against Ohio State’s aggressive defensive front.

  • Steve’s Insight: "Oregon’s interior offensive line is a weakness, and Ty Lee Williams in that interior for Ohio State is going to have to play another great game." [71:02]

• Notable Players: The discussion emphasizes key players like Ohio State's Drew Aller and Oregon’s Quinn Ewers, their performances, and how they might influence the game's outcome.

  • McShay on Aller: "Drew Aller throws for 300 plus in every game." [87:43]

Prediction: Both hosts express confidence in Ohio State’s ability to dominate if they manage to effectively balance their offense, but acknowledge Oregon’s potential to leverage their skill players to challenge the Buckeyes.

2. Notre Dame vs. Georgia

Overview: This matchup features Notre Dame taking on Georgia, a team with a strong defensive reputation under coach Kirby Smart.

Key Points:

• Georgia’s Defensive Strength: McShay praises Georgia's defensive line for their ability to disrupt opposing quarterbacks, stressing the need for Notre Dame to protect their quarterback Gunner Stockton.

  • McShay: "Georgia doesn't have the perimeter weapons either... they have to do that on the edge." [81:00]

• Notre Dame’s Offensive Challenges: Concerns are raised about Notre Dame’s offensive line and their ability to consistently run the football, which has been a stumbling block in previous games.

  • Steve’s Observation: "Riley Leonard has the drop off in perception that people created." [80:59]

• Player Highlights: The discussion highlights key players like Notre Dame’s Running Back Love and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, debating their impact and potential vulnerabilities in the game.

  • Steve on Running Backs: "That's 10 NFL running backs we get to watch in these four games." [83:22]

Prediction: Both hosts lean towards Georgia’s experience in high-stakes games and robust defense, predicting a tight contest where the under might prevail due to defensive dominance.

3. Texas vs. Arizona State

Overview: Texas faces off against Arizona State in a game where both teams have shown strong offensive capabilities but different defensive strengths.

Key Points:

• Arizona State’s Offensive Prowess: Arizona State’s quarterback Sam Levitt is highlighted for his ability to adapt and improve, making Arizona State a formidable opponent against Texas.

  • Steve on Levitt: "Levitt has taken so many strides... a credit to them." [47:35]

• Texas’ Defensive Strategy: Texas’ defensive front is praised for its ability to dominate the run game, with specific emphasis on their edge rushers like Sawyer and Chase Abraham.

  • McShay: "Texas only gave up four touchdowns through the air." [46:50]

• Betting Insights: The hosts discuss betting trends and the potential for Arizona State to upset Texas based on their offensive versatility and Texas’ red zone inefficiencies.

  • Steve on Betting: "If I got to take one of the underdogs in these games between Boise and Arizona State, I would lean towards Arizona State." [51:17]

Prediction: Todd McShay and Stanford Steve view Arizona State as having the edge due to their adaptable offense and Texas’ occasional defensive lapses, predicting a possible upset with Arizona State coming out on top.

4. Penn State vs. Boise State

Overview: Penn State takes on Boise State in a matchup where Penn State’s balanced offense faces Boise State’s strong defense.

Key Points:

• Boise State’s Defensive Weaknesses: McShay and Steve discuss Boise State’s struggles with tackling metrics and their impending challenge against Penn State’s versatile defense.

  • Steve on Boise State: "Boise State's the worst tackling team in the country." [34:59]

• Penn State’s Offensive Strengths: Emphasis is placed on Penn State’s offensive line, talented running backs like Drew Aller, and wide receivers like Singleton and Allen, who have proven NFL potential.

  • McShay: "Drew Aller throws for 300 plus in every game." [87:43]

• Game Dynamics: The hosts analyze how Penn State can exploit Boise State’s defensive lapses and the importance of maintaining aggressive offensive plays throughout the game.

  • Steve: "It feels like Penn State could just bully the chess match anytime they want." [41:48]

Prediction: Both McShay and Steve favor Penn State’s superior offense and defensive versatility, predicting a comfortable win for the Nittany Lions against Boise State.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Todd McShay provides an in-depth analysis of the CFP quarterfinal matchups, coupled with a critical examination of the top quarterback prospects nearing the 2025 NFL Draft. Through detailed breakdowns and insightful commentary, McShay equips listeners with a thorough understanding of the upcoming playoff games and the factors that could influence the next NFL class.

Notable Quotes:

• Todd McShay: "Cam Ward deciding to sit out the second half of a bowl game will have zero effect on where he winds up getting drafted." [28:10]
• Stanford Steve: "Boise State's the worst tackling team in the country." [34:59]
• Todd McShay: "Shador Sanders just getting absolutely annihilated in that bowl game against BYU and holding onto the ball too long and not making the right decisions." [35:50]

For listeners seeking a comprehensive preview of the CFP quarterfinals and insights into the NFL Draft prospects, this episode of The McShay Show is an invaluable resource.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

It's the McShay show presented by FanDuel. It's time for the first 12 team playoff and you can bet on all of the action with FanDuel. Just think about all the opportunities we're going to have to bet on the College Football Playoff. We're talking about different conferences, home games for certain teams, the three or four week run that you're going to have to play. There's so much to earn if you're betting with FanDuel this College Football Playoff season. Why we love FanDuel there's so many markets like spreads over unders, national championship futures 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 gambling. 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 rg-help.com it was a frustrating week for the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft and we'll get to all of it. Carson Beck making the wrong decision in my opinion, to leave school early for the NFL. Cam Ward sits the second half of the Pop Tart Bowl. Shador Sanders. Is he going to get himself killed with his poor pocket instincts? Then I talked to a lot of scouts, their thoughts on Quinn Ewers what his future should look like. And finally, the Patriots now have the number one overall pick if they lose in the final week. So maybe it won't be a quarterback that goes number one overall. Steve mentions out Stanford. Steve is in. We preview the four second round College Football Playoff matchups. It's round two of the College Football Playoff. It's week 17 in the NFL and we're just 115 days away from the NFL draft. Let me hear my favorite beat we've got exciting show today. I mentioned off the top. Steve Mensch, I trusted longtime cohort and co host on this show, is not going to be here today and we're sending well wishes. He's under the weather, big offensive lineman, Teddy bear of a man. I just wanted to make sure that he's ready because we got a huge show coming up in a couple nights after the Jan.1 games. We got one game on the night before New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, the three games and then we're gonna have our, our live reaction show on YouTube. So please, you know, make a mental note, jot it down, come join us on, on, on January 1st. I know everyone's gonna kind of be licking their wounds, but you're gonna be watching football all day and at the end of it, you've got to come join our reaction show and, and, and we'll review all the games, but I want to make sure that Steve, who's under the weather, is having some time to rest so he's, he's able to join us that night. We'll, we're hoping for the best in that, that scenario. I also mentioned Stanford. Steve's going to join us. We had one Steve replacing the other Steve, and we're going to get to all four college football playoff games here just in a matter of minutes. But I didn't expect to do this and I'm shocked that we're having to do this, but I can't do this show without mentioning the fact that it's been an unbelievably frustrating week for the quarterback prospects. The whole, like, across the board, just watching the news, watching different situations, watching some of the play on the field. There's just been a lot of news and mostly frustrating in terms of the quarterback prospects in this class. So there are five things I want to get to real quickly before we bring on Stanford Steve and preview all, all for the Round 2 College Football Playoff games that kind of have jumped out to me that we've got to discuss. And trust me, we've got plenty of time between now and the, the last weekend in April when the 2025 NFL Draft is upon us to get into all of these discussions, all of these player evaluations. But it's, it's newsworthy and it's been driving me crazy, sitting on the couch, traveling, visit family, all like, as I'm getting information as I'm watching games, I just, I feel like we've got to touch on it. The, the number one thing that jumped out to me, and I know it's a big story, I just want to get it out there with Cam Ward, the situation that we had this weekend. And I'll preface it, for those of you who don't know Cam Ward, one of the top two quarterback prospects in this class was Shador Sanders. Unbelievable season. We talked to Jim Nagy earlier for the Senior bowl executive director. Probably the fastest rising prospect at any position in the entire class. What he's been able to do at Miami this year, coming in from Washington straight Washington State after transferring previously from Incarnate Word. So love the fact that he's been able to get better at every stop. Love the fact that he's been able to kind of maximize his abilities this year at Miami. Played huge and big moments, carried a Miami team with no, no defense to speak of. And I just like, I applaud him because of how hard he's worked to get to where he is. I also want people to understand this with Kim Ward. Every NFL scout I talked to, everyone who's evaluating these quarterbacks and this entire draft class says the same types of things about him. Unbelievable leader, dedicated, demands, demands excellence out of his teammates. That's what you're looking for. The quarterback position does it the right way. These are the quotes that I have, like, ingrained in my head, everyone I've talked to. But then we've got this situation in the ballgame. And mind you, there's a lot of factors in it whether quarterbacks or star players wind up playing. There's insurance policies that have to be taken out. There's all right, if it's not the College Football Playoff game, should they even play? It's not new news when star players, projected first rounders, decide to not play in a game that's not break. You know, it's not breaking news anymore. It's been frustrating. I can remember back a few years ago, Ohio State, like Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, didn't play. A whole slew of players, you know, even Jaden Daniels most recently didn't play. In LSU's book, that, that is normal. It's become the new norm, I should say. What's not normal is having a quarterback like Cam Ward, who's projected to be a potential top five pick. Every mock draft you look at, it's Shador and Cam, the top two quarterbacks going somewhere in the top five, seven picks. Okay, Cam Ward deciding to sit out the second half of a bowl game. Again, I applaud him. I applaud Cam Ward for actually going out and playing. I think it's part of an nil deal. The money these quarterbacks are making and play star players are making, that there's a. There's a responsibility to a certain degree to go. And the fan base is excited. The same people who supported you and have paid you a good amount of money want to see you play in a bowl game. And it's an exciting finish to the season to celebrate what you've been able to do. What's interesting to me, though, is this was predetermined and I want people to understand that. I got a text the night before from someone who's in the know from a really random source and I won't get into it because I don't want to expose it, but it was a source who's in the know who got this information from a very unlikely person. But I got a text the night before the bowl game and, and it said, hey, just a heads up, Cam Ward is probably only going to play a half of the game. He's probably going to sit out and, and right away I jumped it. I'm just going to be honest, I jumped it. I was like, no, no, like, as a competitor, as a former quarterback, as a teammate who spent the first half of my entire life on team sports, that, that doesn't jive with me. Right? Like, if you start a battle with your teammates, with your boys, with your brothers, and if it's, I get it, if they're up three touchdowns and now it's like, let's play it safe, we've got this under control. But I text back immediately. So you're telling me if it's a close game at halftime and they're in this battle that he's going to walk out and just, I'm done, I'm good. And he's like, I, I can't say for certain, but that's the information I'm getting. And so again, I appreciate that he played in the game, but when you're in it, I think it was a three point game at halftime. It's a battle back and forth, right. And, and Miami again, I wanted to, I want people to understand Xavier Restrepo, a lot of their wide receivers, like a good majority of their, their star players on offense, the game, getting ready for the NFL, we're used to that. What was different about this is I can't remember a player predetermining. I'm going to play in this game, but only for a half, no matter what the score is. And then we get to 56 seconds left and now they're trailing and Miami's got an opportunity to drive down the field and they obviously the cameras are on him the whole time and not, I mean, he was, he was helping the, the backup quarterback who was in warm up, but he was just kind of flicking the ball back, catching it and flicking the ball back. He clearly was not even thinking about the possibility of going in for that final drive and trying to lead Miami to victory. Listen, and I said, I tweeted this out, I'm a Realist. I understand that this is the climate today. I understand that he, that he deserves credit for playing in this game even a half. That he, he provided the Miami fan base and, and the, the boosters and supporters with something exciting, you know, to look forward to in the bowl game. I understand he's protecting himself. I understand all of these aspects of it. And I'm really not even here to knock Cam Ward and I want to make this perfectly clear. Cam Ward electing to not play in the second half of a game will have zero effect on where he winds up getting drafted. You can excuse it away. You understand that it's just today's college player and college environment and every individual player has become his own little business, right? And so I don't, I do not foresee this being. He'll have to answer questions about it and he'll have all these interviews with NFL teams and they'll want to know why and what was the backstory. But I'm certain that he's going to, that he's going to make every team he interviews with comfortable with, with why that, what went into that decision and why he made that decision. But it's, I'm still allowed to be like, it's just different. It's not what I'm used to and I don't like it. I, I just, I can't, I can't like playing beer pong or darts or pool and I've got, if I've got a teammate, let alone 10 other guys, and you're in a back and forth battle that was new to me. So I'm not going to hide from it because there are people out there who are blasting him. There are people out there on their phone saying, you're crazy. It's horror. And I saw the comments when I tweeted it. Both sides screaming at me or with me. And I don't think this has to be something we scream at, but I do think it's fascinating and it's, it's something that, that you just kind of file away. And I think it's important in NFL Scouts, I talk to like Gen Zers, all the comments and it's just, you know, entitlement and everyone's a business and the brand and all sorts of things. Like it's important that people in the league and you're seeing it, coaches are different than they used to be. Like the parcels, the Nick Sabins, like they're not wanting to, to coach in this environment anymore. Urban Meyer is very candid about how difficult the challenges, it's just different. And so this is another example of how things have become different and you've got to adjust with the times. But you also wonder, I'd wonder personally, what does this mean? Where are we going with all of this? I don't know. I just, I guess my answer is I don't know. I know it's different, but I just wanted to touch on it. So that's number one. Number two, this one's more direct and to the point. Carson Beck made a bad decision to leave early. I texted a bunch of guys in the league, GMs, former GMs, scouts, a handful of different personnel people didn't get response responses back from everybody, but got a bunch of responses back. One scout wrote back to me, one word answer, foolish. Carson Beck. Remember, he's got the UCL injury. It's not as bad as some other injury like the Brock Purdy injury was more severe, is my understanding. I'm not a doctor, I never pretend to be, but the bottom line is there's, there's timeout, there's surgery, there's rehab, and there's also the body of work. And the body of work is he, he played great in certain moments. I thought he played better late in the season. I talked about that old miss game that they lost. I thought he played better in that game. And it kind of was a springboard towards more playing within himself, not forcing things, understanding what he had to work with in terms of his receiving core that led the FBS and in drops this season. An offensive line that was inconsistent, inconsistent with protection, a run game that was great at times, but inconsistent as well. And I thought he improved, but he never this year played to the level that we, that many of us expected him to play to. I talked about all season long making his receivers work, study Shador Shador Sanders tape and how easy it is that he makes it on his receivers, catching on the run, hitting spots. Carson Beck, his receivers always seemed to be working for the football. I thought he got better late in the season, as I said, but I don't think he's there yet. And you look at, you look at so many of these guys and the experience they had in college, the number of starts, how much better they played late in their career, grad transfers, playing at two different schools, whatever the situation may be, Jaden Daniels, two different schools, 50 something, 56 starts or whatever it was. Bo Nix, the most starts in college football history at the time. Dylan Gabriel has now surpassed him. But, but Bo Nicks coming in the league and the success they've had as rookies because they're more prepared. Carson Beck comes in now not with that level, that number of starts, not in the 50, 60 start range. Coming off a year in which he struggled and regressed in some ways, even though he progressed towards the end, he regressed in some ways. I just don't know that he's ready. Why wouldn't you take this time rehab in the off season, come back with a better supporting cast. They got a lot of young wide receivers. I know they've recruited well at wide receiver. From what I can tell their offensive line will be better, they'll be more balanced. I just, every response I got from people in the league was, was not to the level of foolish. That was the most damning. But it was all he's making a mistake. It's just one more season. Come back and I want to educate you too. He's not going to be a first round pick at quarterback. So now you get into the second round or even third. Some people might say second, third round. You're talking about a four year rookie contract. The first, first round is going to be five years. The second round and beyond is four years. Okay. Guaranteed money in a four year contract as a second third round pick is in the range of like five and a half million to the high. Like the first pick of the second round. I think guaranteed money is 10 million. But assuming he's not going to be the first pick in the second round, it starts to drop there. The most likely range for him is 6 to 8 million dollars guaranteed money. I don't know what his nil is. I don't pay attention to that stuff. I wish everyone the best and get all the money you can and hopefully you go out and you earn it for the people who support you. But I got to imagine that Georgia, he's as the starting quarterback, if he were to return next year, he's going to make around 2 million, maybe 3 million, I don't know. But whether it's equal pay as a rookie versus one more year at Georgia or taking a pay cut, it's not, he's not making. That's my whole point. He's not making significantly more money by going to the NFL. Yes, he speeds up getting that second contract but. But in speeding it up, is he putting himself at a disadvantage in terms of being prepared if he's got to go start as a rookie or when he does eventually become the starting quarterback in the NFL? If he does, is he as ready as he would be had he gone back for one more year at Georgia. And everyone I talked to and my personal opinion is he's not going to be. So that to me was a mistake. I'm not used to ranting on my own for a while, but here we go. Number three, Cam Ward was one. Carson Beck was two. Number three, Shador Sanders. You know how much I love him. You know, I love his competitiveness. I've been screaming all year that he's the best pure passer in this class. I just talked about Carson, he versus Carson Beck in terms of the tape, the accuracy, the touch, the delivering the ball, you know, in perfect spots for receivers to create yards after they catch. I also think he's the toughest quarterback in this class. Like, you can't, you can't make an argument to me that he's, he's not. Like, he's the highest level of toughness at the quarterback position. The hits he's taken behind an offensive line, especially a year ago in 2023, but even this year at times, and to bounce back up and to play through it the way he does is remarkable. He's a competitor, he is an absolute dog. I, I love so much about Shador's game. I'm also a realist. Not the biggest, not overly mobile, creates extends, not a good runner. And his arm is good, it's solid, but it's not, you know, we're not talking about elite level arm strength, but I'm starting to get concerned and that's my point, my third point today. I'm starting to get concerned and I've seen it throughout his career. But just watching him in that bowl game and I know the $18 million insurance policy and all those things, it wasn't about. I'm worried about his, I'm worried about him getting injured before the NFL draft and all that. I'm just worried about his instincts in the pocket. He has such phenomenal instincts when extending plays, locating receivers down the field, knowing when to make throws, how to make throws, trajectory on throws. He really like he, that's one of his special traits. But the, the counter to that and it's, it's hard, it's, it's difficult to unpack mentally. Right, Is it? How can you be so instinctive with all of those things and still not understand where pressure's coming from? Still not having great instincts. Dealing with pass rush, the pressure, whether it's a blitz or four man rush or three man rush, whatever it is, his instincts concern me in the pocket and I And I know part of it is he knows he's so much more talented than a lot of the guys he's playing against. And he knows he's got a receiver in Travis and some other good receivers, but a receiver and Travis Hunter. If I buy enough time, there's a chance we can do something special here. Right. And. And Patrick Mahomes was the same way. There have been a lot of guys in college that have been able to get to the league and speed it up and play within the confines, if you will, of the. Of an offense, the construct. But you've also seen Caleb Williams is still struggling with that as a rookie, and there's a lot of other factors at play. But it was interesting. I got a text and I won't share names, but this guy is someone I have talked to and trusted and had unbelievable deep conversations about the quarterback position for over a decade now. Played quarterback in the NFL, won a Super bowl at quarterback in the NFL. Like, knows what he's talking about. It was interesting. He texted me and said people can say whatever they want about Sanders, but the pocket instincts are scary. They will stunt his growth big time. He's always waiting, quote, unquote, to make a play, and his pocket instincts might get him killed. Referring to the NFL, just one person's opinion, but I, I don't know that it's quite to the extreme. But. But there's concern and so just something to chew on. And again, we have months to get into it in the NFL draft, but you got Cam Ward sitting out the second half. You got Carson Beck making a. A decision that one scout called foolish to leave for the NFL draft instead of return to school for another year. You've got Shador Sanders just getting absolutely annihilated in that bowl game against BYU and holding onto the ball too long and not making the right decisions. And those are the three things that jumped out the most. Two more things, point number four, and this had really nothing to do with anything that happened on the field in the last week. But it's just, it's interesting. I've had multiple communications now, some solicited, more so unsolicited with folks in the league about Quinn Ewers. And it's really gone on for about a month or so, but really in the last, in the, in the. This past week, as I'm watching Cam Ward, I'm watching Carson Beck make his decision, I'm watching Shador Sanders struggle. And I'm just getting these random texts and kind of having conversations back and forth Every single person I've talked to in the league evaluators that are part of this process in the NFL draft thinks that Quinn Ewers should grad transfer. Some people are like, he needs to return to Texas. That's not an option, folks. Quinn Ewers ain't returning to Texas. I got news for everyone. Let's just be real. It is Arch's time in Austin the second this season ends. Whether that it ends in a national championship with getting rings and hoisting a trophy, or if it ends in disappointment when this season is over for Texas, it is Arch's time in Austin. So let's get that on the table with that in mind. And I know Quintus said he's he's leaving after this year and going to the NFL. I think he should reconsider. I look at guys like Michael Penix from Indiana to Washington. I look at Bo Nix from Auburn to Oregon. I look at Dylan Gabriel bouncing around a couple different places. Ucf, Oklahoma, now Oregon. Look at Jaden Daniels, Arizona State to lsu. I think Quinn Ewers would benefit. Is he going to be better coach than what he has a Sark in Texas? No. Doesn't matter where he goes. Might, might maybe there are a couple places out there he might get similar coaching level, whatever, but not going to get better coaching, not going to have a better supporting cast. You can say their Texas receivers were great this year. They still are better than the vast majority of colleges out there. Not gonna have better offensive line play. He's got a bunch of draftable offensive linemen in front of him. He's got a left tackle who could be the first, the first draft pick at the offensive tackle position. But I think playing more different environment getting out of Austin, different system, it could bring out the best in him, more game experience. This has not been a good season for him by his standards. Great Michigan game looked great early in the year. Had the oblique injury, had the ankle injury. Just has not we've mentioned, I've talked about it all season long. Has not looked like himself. Does not look like 100% Quinn Ewers. I think they've had to protect him at times. I think he's protected himself at times. I think even when he lets it rip. Is not. It's just not all there. And so I think another year would help Quinn yours. And I'm just going to throw that out there as well. Then finally the fifth point. Not really news. Not part of the quarterback frustration unless you're Cam Ward or Shador Sanders. Patriots, if they lose next week, number one overall pick. That's a departure. It was the Giants for a few weeks, the Raiders for a moment. I know Jacksonville was in the mix there for a little bit, but the Patriots don't need a quarterback. They've got their guy, Drake May. It's fascinating. I got my big blue shirt, sweatshirt on. Thank you. Jason Kalishman, lifelong friend, best friend in the world. He's a. He just became superintendent of Swamp Scott High Schools, and that's where I went to high school. So shout out to. To Jason, thank you for the sweatshirt. But I was with Cal and his, his and his kids yesterday, and we were watching the Giants game and it was kind of fun. Like, I don't root for any teams, but as like a draft guy, watching fans of a. Of an organization and how hard they were rooting for the Giants to win so the Patriots could get the number one pick. And that's where they are now. I got news for you like this. This should be Robert Kraft topped on down. Drake May doesn't play in week 18. Sit him out. He's now left the game. He's now left two games with head injuries. Came right back in this past week. But like, you don't have an offensive line that can protect him. You don't have receivers. You've got. If you're the New England Patriots, you have two assets. It ain't the coaching staff. You got Drake May, and that's the hardest thing to do in the NFL, is to find your quarterback. They got him. And you've got a cornerback who's an absolute shutdown star. And he left the game, I believe, with a concussion as well. Christian Gonzalez, you got two assets. Protect Drake May. Protect Gonzalez. Protect your two assets. They don't play. Go lose to Buffalo, play some backups. And yeah, it sounds like we never concede, and certainly Gerard Mayo is not going to want to do this, but I think organizationally, let's get that first pick. Let's trade out if we can. Worst case, we get Travis Hunter, the best player in the draft. But to me, you sit your two stars. Buffalo comes in with their backups, probably good, a handful of them, and you don't try to lose, but you're certainly not going out of your way and putting your quarterback in harm's. In harm's way. I just, to me, it's, it's a, It's a situation where you want to protect what you've got. You don't have much protect them. Patriots wind up with the number one pick. And if they do, then it gets fascinating because you've got, you've got the Raiders behind them, the Giants behind them. I just look down the line. All these different teams that need a quarterback potentially could trade up to that number one spot and the fastest, most effective way. Look how the Lions rebuilt Brad Holmes, stacking draft picks, hitting on draft picks. If you can get a first next year, obviously the first, trading back this year and like a second and then a fifth and all of a sudden now you got multiple first round picks two years and you know, multiple first and second round picks two years in a row. That's how you support a young quarterback, quarterback like Drake May. So that's going to be fascinating to watch in the final week of the season with some other playoff spots on the line. So here we go. That's it. That was my rant. The top five quarterback frustrations and newsworthy things. We've got Stanford Steve coming up in just a minute, fired up to have him. And we've got an awesome slate of college football games in this round two of the college football playoffs and can't wait again for you to join us after the games. I keep wanting to say Saturday night, it's not Saturday night, it's Jan.1. After that final game, Georgia Notre Dame kicks off at 8:45. We'll be sitting here waiting, ready to go. Come join us live. We'll have instant reactions to everything we saw from the night before and throughout all all three games that day. The McShade show is brought to you by FanDuel. College football is coming to an end and with the 12 team playoff going on, you won't want to miss a moment of the action. And right now all customers on FanDuel can score a 50% profit boost for Penn State versus Boise State. Here's how it works. Place a bet on the game, apply your profit boost and enjoy boosted winnings when your bet hits. And the best part, you get paid instantly when you win. As many of you may know, I'm not a huge fan of betting. A big favorite in these games but Penn State minus 11 and a half. It's going to be tough to pass on Boise State. Very one dimensional with Ashton Jinty. But this Penn State defensive front is one of the best in the country. And offensively the versatility Tyler Warren, Drew Aller. I just believe that Penn State this is a perfect matchup for them. So I like the Nittany lions giving that 11 and a half. Use your boost on bets like spreads over unders method of first touchdown and so much more. Don't wait. Visit FanDuel.com McShay to download America's number one sportsbook and make your playoff payoff even bigger. 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 [e-mail] call 1-800-gambler or visit rg-help.com well, we replace one Steve with another Steve. It's not, this isn't a pinch hitting situation, but you always know you're good friends when you're in a bind. And listen, no one wants to hear me for an hour. You know that Steve. Like no one wants to hear me for an hour. And our, our buddy men who's an absolute trooper when he tells me he's sick, I know he's, he's not able to join us today. You were able to fill in last minute to, to help us out and honestly, like, I should have thought about it in advance. It's a perfect time to have you back on. So I appreciate you coming to join us. I know you're flying out to the Rose bowl today. The greatest venue, I mean, honestly is one of the great pleasures and, and like privileges of my life to be able to go to so many Rose Bowls after going to my first Rose bowl with my grandfather, who's a Michigan guy, and then to come back and work, you know, pregame and post game there. It's just, it truly is one of the, it's a bucket list. If you're a college football fan, you've got to be there and you get to fly out there today. So it obviously be part of game day. You've got the SV pod, as you can see in the background. So check out wherever you get your podcasts. Yes, V Pod as well. But today, bud, I just want to go through some of these games. Let's just knock them out, right? We got four, four critical games, round two of the College Football Playoff.

[Stanford Steve]

Can I jump here for one second, Todd?

[Todd McShay]

Please do. Yes.

[Stanford Steve]

So we're the same age and I just want to tell you we're getting fricking old because Wednesday, Wednesday, 5:00pm, January 1, 2025 is going to be 25 years since I played my last game and that was in the Rose Bowl. Like, I, I can't, I can't get over like, I'm talking my kids. I got little girls, 11, 8 and 5. Like, I'm trying to explain to them. I'm like, they're like, how many years ago? And then my oldest was like, getting there. She's like, daddy, that's a quarter century ago that you were playing in college. I'm like, yeah, I know. Thanks for reminding me. But I just wanted to let you know. So all the, all the. I mean, it was a dream growing up that, I mean, it was in the back of the reasonings to go to a PAC 10 school back in the day was to try and play a game. It is my birthday also January 1st, so to be able to have that moment that day, and now I remember it like it's yesterday. I mean, you've been there a bunch of times. I know. I'm pretty sure you still say sc, Texas is the best game you've ever seen, right? In the Rose Bowl. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Ever. I'll never forget it.

[Stanford Steve]

The moments there. You know, it when you see it when the drive in. You know that everybody tailgating on the, on the, on the golf courses, the way everybody swarms in. It's, it's, you know, the Rose Bowl, Yale Bowl, Michigan. I went to Lambeau last week for the first time. There's only a couple of those just simple bowl structure stadiums that are left. And it's special. And to see these two teams and being fortunate that we'll talk about later on. I was at the first game, you know, on the sidelines, so there's some stuff there I want to get to. But those two teams, this venue and all the spotlight, what it should be. I'm fired up for, for the Rose bowl for sure.

[Todd McShay]

A lot of times, like the color on tv.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Is, is better than in person. Right. But like, I'll never forget the first time and like the eighth time and the twelfth time, like, all the same. The sun beats down in the first half. The grass is like, like, I've never played Augusta, but I've got a, like that level of perfection. The colors are bright and just pop. And then like the first half is in the sun. You know, it feels like you're out in California. And then the second half, the sun goes down behind the mountains and, and all of a sudden you're like, it's a night game and the lights are beating. I don't know, there, there's something about it where you just, you're like, it's very, very rare, especially in what we do. Go somewhere and, and be like, you know what? I've done this 10 times. It's just as good as the first time. And. And all the hype. It's actually better every time I'm there. So. Yeah, I'm excited for you, man.

[Stanford Steve]

I appreciate it. And it's. It's one of the places, like, you hear guys after a game and a crazy play, it's like, oh, it hasn't sunk in. As soon as you walk on that field, it sinks in. You know, it's one of those.

[Todd McShay]

It really is. All right, well, we'll get to the Rose bowl in a minute. Let's start the Friday night matchup, right? We've got 7, 47, 45 kick. Penn State minus 11 and a half. For those that are interested against Boise State, I'll just let you kick things off. What's the first thing that jumps out when you think about this matchup?

[Stanford Steve]

Boise State's defense. I know everybody's going to talk about genty and the run game and what they've done and what they've looked like in the mad dog at quarterback, but to me, it's Boise State. You know, I'm reading everything before the game and like, I. The metrics really aren't for me, but I do like to see what they say, especially when you get to games of this magnitude and reading. It's pretty crazy that, you know, there's tackling metrics, right? Boise State's the worst tackling team in the country. I read that in the country. And then you go into, you know.

[Todd McShay]

Expect that from Boise, like, it's disciplined.

[Stanford Steve]

They're playing the Mountain like nothing against the Mountain west te. I just, you know, a sound, sound Boise State program always, you know, playing games on the blue, you know, playing good defense, getting the ball to gente, you know, lower scoring games. They had a couple dog fights at the end of the year, but to see that, that was kind of eye opening. And then just how they're going to go about defending. They got some good guys. They got some scrappy guys on the D line. You know, they're up there in sacks, if not in the. The leader in sacks. I put that a lot against the competition that they played, but just in the, in the moment. Defending Singleton, k tron. Yeah, 44. Like, they haven't defended guys like this. And you talk about Tyler Warren and you love him as much as I do, the versatility he has and what. Something just clicked for me with Penn State in the Big Ten title game. I wanted it all year. I. You know, when you don't have receivers that could separate, how. How can you you know, still open up your offense. And they did it. I, I've been asked to throw the ball to Singleton and Allen. Those guys are NFL running backs and they did that. And then what happens? You know, you start helping with spacing. You got Warren running down the middle. I mean, they had Warren unguarded on some of their schemes against Oregon, who's as sound as there is. So to me, it really clicked. I thought the, this SMU game, I thought the cold affected them is just as much as it did smu. They weren't crisp on offense. They got just what they needed. Defensive jumpstart, crowd got involved. Jennings played his worst game of the year. So I think Penn State has a lot to gain with already playing a game here. And now all the focus is on Boise. So to me, it's that Boise defense. I still go back to Genty and what he's been able to do. There's no guys on that offensive line like what he does and breaking tackles and making guys miss is tremendous. It just feels like they're going to have at it. And when I'm talking about Penn State's defense in the, in the, I want to say complexity of it, but the, the versatility of their defense, I think is a big, big problem for Boise and it's really something they just didn't have. Now everybody's going to point to the Oregon game. And yeah, Oregon needed two kicks to return to beat Boise, but that was Oregon. I'm like, when you watch them on tape, they're still finding themselves back in that early game.

[Todd McShay]

Especially their offensive line.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, that's September. Their defensive line, you know, guys rotating, you know how much they like to move. I thought Boise did a good job of catching them in movement. Penn State's not going to do that. They got difference makers up front. Everybody talks about Abdul Carter. I think the other guys across the board are just as effective. And you saw that against smu. So it's, it's all stacked against Boise State. But something tells me either Boise or Arizona State's going to hang around in these games and Boise getting the, you know, the, the advantage of being the higher seed. So therefore the games in the Fiesta bowl, that would be different if Arizona State got to play in the Fiesta bowl, that whole thing. But no, I, I think, I think Boise is really up against it just because they haven't seen anything like it. And Penn State got the rust out of him.

[Todd McShay]

A couple things that jump out to me and I'll bounce from sides of the ball, but Go back to, to Drew Aller in the, in the Penn State offense. He. And I think it's a byproduct of not having having the weapons on the outside. But I just like when I watch him on tape, he is so much more comfortable targeting the middle of the field.

[Stanford Steve]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

When he gets the open seam routes, when he gets a matchup with Tyler Warren, when his running backs come out of the back, he just, when he's having to throw from inside the pocket to outside the numbers, that's when I think he, he becomes less than, I don't know, average or just. It peels him back in a little bit. The other thing though, I'll be interested to see because watching that SMU game, I felt like early on really for like a decent portion of the first half, the Penn State offense was struggling and I thought in large part because Aller was struggling with his reads against some own looks and different things that were being thrown at him. And so going back, if you're Boise State studying that tape, learning from some of the things that frustrated Aller. Now obviously Aller has that tape and he'll learn from some of those mistakes, but kind of getting in that mind frame of let's try to trick him a little bit, you know, an obvious passing downs, let's, let's throw different things at him to see if he can handle that. And, and you know, we've got to protect the middle of the field. You know, we've got to take away the running backs and tight end and we can, you know, we can kind of rely like A. Marion McCoy is a pretty good corner. Their corners are a strength for them. Now is it, is it the level of play are they going to. But I don't think Penn, I know Penn State doesn't have anybody on the perimeter that truly scares you. So if those corners can hold up and if Boise State can throw some confusion and kind of get Aller frustrated early, that might be their recipe to hanging around for a little while. Opposite side of the ball though. Maddox, Madison, Mad Dog, as you referenced it was interesting. We did this mention, I did this thing where we went, we ranked the top 12, the quarterbacks 1 through 12 going into the College Football Playoff. Okay. And I had, I had Madsen go at number 12, like, because I watched him and then I watched Levitt for, for Arizona State and Levitt like Levitt has a stronger arm, more mobility. They both, they both really feed off the play action as you would imagine. And, and that's what like if you go and even study the metrics of it. Madison's like, his numbers versus, you know, in play action situations are outstanding, but on obvious passing downs, when the play action is not effective, that's when he like really struggles. So to me, Penn, it's all about Penn State obviously shutting down Ashton Genty and keeping him in check, but forcing the more situations of third and five and longer.

[Stanford Steve]

Predictable.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, predictable passing downs. That's when I think Boise State is in a lot of trouble. Like, truthfully, like you almost want to get out of that situation and punt rather than put, put it on Madsen to potentially throw an interception, potentially take a big sack and kind of change the field position. So. And then in, in those situations, that offensive line, can it hold up against this front now the Abdul Carter versus Kane Casey. Kane Casey is their best offensive lineman, their left tackle, and he, he's graded out pretty high this year. He's a pretty good player. But like, am I trusting Kane Casey versus Abdul Carter one on one?

[Stanford Steve]

No. And that means you got to take more guys to help with protection and that's least, you know, less amount of guys out in routes that are going to help you. So, yeah, it's a, it's a chess match, but it feels like, it feels like Penn State could just bully the chess match anytime they want, you know.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Of the four games, this is the one that I, and I like. It's hard because I truly do respect Boise State. I love their effort defensively. They know who they are.

[Stanford Steve]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

I, I mean, this is a scouting dream, by the way. You know, you got to see Genti against Oregon earlier in the year, but like the level of competition, not the same. He gets a couple weeks to rest after like, you know, the amount of carries and the, the pounding that he's taken. So he's coming in rested against this Penn State defense. Like, this is a scout. Like NFL scouts are dying. This is going to be the first tape when coaches get involved in the process. And General, man, this is the first tape for all those teams that are considering, considering a running back in the top 20 picks that they're going to pop on. Right. And so that part of it alone, like, I'm all in, but I. Of the four games, man, this is the one I just, I could see Penn State pulling away and winning comfortably.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, I like, I'd love to see. Here's another thing I, I say all the time and I hate talking about myself, but it makes me think about these games all the time. And it happened to Jennings in smu? Who else that got, you know, run out? Indiana. When you get to this stage and you don't play your best, it really wears on you. And that's what sucks when I think about like Jennings was a difference maker for SMU all year. He, he. It got to him and he played his worst game on that biggest stage. And I just hope Boise State, for their sake, the season they've had, they come out and, and, and they play well for their sake, you know, because, you know, everybody's talking about the games and all that, but you know, the opponent has a lot to do with that also. And I'm with you with Penn State. I picked Penn State to go to the final when the bracket came out, when you talked about Aller, you know, more comfortable also in the middle of the field, which you don't see a lot. And this is, this is a, you know, an OC that throws a lot of eye candy and has, you know, talked about since the Ohio State game, you know, just banging him head against the wall, not giving the ball to Warren on the fourth on any of the four downs against Ohio State the way he could throw candy out on the perimeter. And knowing that, like use that as a read and get Drew's eyes there, knowing that he's coming back to the middle of the field. That's what I think. So impressive with Penn State scheme because when you talk about using that middle of field as you did, it's Warren, it's Singleton, it's Allen, it's guys that when they get the ball going in space in the middle of field, they're dangerous. So again, it's not Boise State's fault they haven't seen it. But I like Penn State big.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. All right, next up, we got the, the 1:00pm kickoff on, on January 1st, right? That's the peach bowl. Texas minus. It was 12 and a half last night. It's been 13 and a half at one point going against 14.

[Stanford Steve]

I've seen.

[Todd McShay]

It's been 14 at points. I actually this. You know, you remember Ben Fox from ESPN ESPN.com he now does a lot of the, the, the gambling stuff. I talked to him and he was going through like, you know, the fanduel and, and different, different places. Normally he sends out a tweet every week, right? And it's Fawkes. You can look him up on, on Twitter, but he sends out a tweet every week of where, where the action, like the early action is. And a lot of times if it's like 70, 80% of the tickets are on one side. Look at the other side a lot you know. But he also then will come back later and talk about where the Sharps are betting. I this week it feels like, it feels like fanduel who is a wonderful sponsor of our show and everybody else has kind of gotten it right because there's a lot more like 50%. Like 5050 on Texas, ASU 60% on Oregon, but 50% of the money on Ohio State. Georgia's the most lopsided. We'll get back to that when we cover the game. But like 56% on Boise State plus plus 11 and a half. So like there's not a lot of like one sided betting on this side which tells you that they've got the numbers right. But I did think it was interesting. He text me and I'll let you run with this and and what you see in this game that in the last couple days there's been a lot of action on from the the Sharps when the number went back up to 13 and a half on Arizona State. On tape like I see a kind of a one sided lopsided battle. I see a one dimensional offense for Arizona State but I also have seen a Texas team even in games where they are dominant. Like I think about A and M. The really the only game I can think of that pops out where they were dominant and the score reflected. It was that Florida game with the third string quarterback. So what do you, what do you see in this one?

[Stanford Steve]

I look at the team as Arizona State when you we, you know, I think the comparison is because of their first two games. Who's got better a better shot, Boise or Arizona State. I lean towards Arizona State just because of I love what Dillingham brings to the table and getting his team. They know exactly who they are. You talk about Tyson going out with the injury. I picked Iowa State in the Big 12 title game because I thought that was a factor and those guys stepped up. Guillory, you know, had three touchdowns all year. He scored two that day. Stovall 91 yards. He came in average at about 13 yards a game. They still throw the ball to scatter. Boo. He's the second leading receiver. Levitt is a guy when you talk about him and Madsen Levitt has taken so many strides.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Stanford Steve]

It's the beginning of the year because you know I looked at him, you know Dillingham got him. I'm like all right. You know Dillingham is a guy, you know, people don't remember. He, he was Bo Nix's first OC at Oregon. And that's when we saw Bo Nix turn into this. Oh, wow. He, he, he could possibly do it. So when you see that, you know, you think about, all right, how do they do it? And you know, we talk about all the time, all right, who's, who's a quarterback developer who gets guys better. And Levitt's a guy, came from a Big Ten program. You're like, ah, those guys usually can't do it. You're going to Big 12, you know, you got to score in that league. And week by week, man, they got better and better and I kept doubting them and it's a credit to them. So I, I believe they have the goods to hang in this game because on the other side, we know Texas issues red zone efficiency is not their strength. And they peed on their leg way too many times, missed field goals. We didn't have that all year. They did that. That burned them in the SEC title game. So that is, you know, when you get that extra defender in the red zone as a defense with that back line, you know, you could do some different things. And I think Texas has got that, let that get to themselves a lot. The issue I have for Arizona State is I'm going to go down the line here. They don't have one guy on their D line over £300. Swanson's 290, fires 295, Clark 285, Kagaika 290, Lona Wong 285. The way being, I think I, I mean, I was at 4, 5 Texas games this year, I believe really the way they can ma when they, When Sark knows.

[Todd McShay]

When they know.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, when he knows. And you, you're the same as me. You think the world of them love what he does, what he does with motion in the RPO game. It's. I, I can't imagine having to be a defensive coordinator trying to prep for them with everything they bring. So that to me it's, it's, it's. Can Arizona State throw the ball when they need to and can they defend them? And the issue I have is if it's high scoring, I think it gets too much for Arizona State the way they want to play, but I'm not going to doubt them. If I got to take one of the underdogs in these games between Boise and Arizona State, I would lean towards Arizona State. And then to your point about the number jumping back down with the sharps jumping on 13 and a half. That's just, that's just playing a number, you know, 13 and a half with that, with extra points and field goals. They're just grabbing it and, and it's been out there for a week. It hasn't moved. So they got that, you know, Texas, you know, to Arizona State's. That's with Levitt and throwing the ball. You know, Texas only gave up four touchdowns through the air. You know, Clubnik threw three this, you know, in the last game and he played out of his mind. I'm just like that kid. So happy for him, you know where Clemson. Just a team you've seen. You know, everybody talks about the quarterback position. They haven't had a guy since desean and Trevor. Well, they haven't. Look at watch the NFL. How many Clemson receivers are out there? You know, they haven't had those guys, but now they got some young guys and they exploited that. So to beat Texas, you got to throw it. You got to throw it on them. And I love their secondary, I love their personnel on defense. Now that they're playing six to eight guys on the defensive line, everything feels like Texas is building up to this point. As long as they don't have to play Georgia, and they won't have to until the last game of the year if both teams get there. So I think the idea of Arizona State's defense is the key to this game because if Scatterboo does struggle, if they get caught in negative plays, how much can they hold Texas's offense down while their offense is still trying to find a tread on their tires? That's the key. But it's a tall task. But I, I, I do think they'll play better than Boise.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Sam Levitt is, is the most intriguing part of this game. He really is because. Because he's going to have to play. You talk about Jennings having the, like the nightmare game in his College Football Playoff debut. Levitt's gonna have to have the opposite of that to, for this, to, for them to hang around. And I'm, and quite frankly, like, he might be able to, like, maybe he does. Like, I don't get the sense that that dude backs down from anything. I think he's as confident as you can be. I was reading it like weeks since week six. Third, third best passing grade in the FBS. Tied for the FBS lead with 21 passing touchdowns. Like Jordan Tyson. Without him, it's different, but I don't think that he believes it's different. And then the mobility aspect of it, you know, with Cade and what he Was able to do with some of the runs and extending drives. No chance in my mind, Arizona State pulls off this upset. But when we're talking about like keeping it close and giving Texas a run. Here's the other thing too. I go back and forth on like, does Texas not trust its quarterback in passing game to a certain extent that when it gets a lead, it's like air out of the ball. Let's trust our defense. Much more conservative. I keep on seeing or like on I'll go back or on the opposite side is do they just understand their team so well. And Sark is so in tune that he trusts his defense, relies on his running game. When he feels like it's starting to go like you were talking about. I don't know because I. I see a Texas team that comes out aggressively in games, big games. Like, think about it, George. Georgia, the first time around, aggressively, but things didn't go well. Second time around, came out aggressively. They were dominant in that game.

[Stanford Steve]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

I mean, I forget the number, but it was wild. Like the, the. It was like 203 yards to negative or to 6 in like the first quarter and a half, whatever it was. And, and they've had receivers step up recently. You know, I feel like the Isaiah Bond, like something had been going on with him, injuries. Then it got in his head. And when. When he kind of removed himself the last game and a half, you know, like Matthew Golden, DeAndre Moore, Silas Bolden against. Against Georgia combined for 176 on 17 catches in the last game. Like, big plays again from Golden. I'm interested to see against Arizona State, though, if they do they stay aggressive. It's almost like they have this initial script, 20, 25 plays, whatever it is.

[Stanford Steve]

Oh, he does. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

No, I know.

[Stanford Steve]

And.

[Todd McShay]

And it's so effective. But when they get through that, it's. I don't know if they're not. They're not adjusting in game or they've just make a decision. Hey, we're up by. Up by 10 points. Whatever it is. I'm just. I'm interested to see if Texas will stay aggressive for four quarters. It's like they. They're aggressive for a quarter and a half, for two quarters. Third quarter, they come out of the. They come out of the locker room and it's like, all right, let's get physical. Let's trust our defense. Let's be conservative. And then things get tight and they got to open it back up again. I've seen that play out so many times this year.

[Stanford Steve]

A couple Things on the defense going into the season, everybody made a big deal because they lost sweat. And Murphy, who were guys that were just game wreckers, you know, going back. And, you know, we saw what they did last year, but what they're doing.

[Todd McShay]

In the NFL, too.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, but guys on the staff were really encouraged about Texas defense because they said, now we don't have to bring heat to get pressure. We got guys on the edge, and you saw that they got. I mean, 11 is a true freshman. Can you imagine having to try and block that kid in high school last year? Like, forget it. I mean, it's. It's insane. So to me, they love what they have. And a couple things on the offense is being there for an A and M game.

[Todd McShay]

First.

[Stanford Steve]

First snap in the red zone, 16 comes in the game, and you just see this lift on the sidelines. I'm standing right on the Texas sideline. I'm right in front of the ball, and I'm like, oh, wow, they got it. And then I'm going back and talking to guys after the Texas game on the staff, and they're like, man, we were just so happy. We've been practicing that. That package for so long, knowing we were going to use it tonight. And, you know, it gave them that emphasis. They score the first play, and that place was ready to come off the hinges on Texas. I mean, them coming out and they're all pretty whites and A M getting that game like it was. It felt as big as. As we've been to all year. And Texas answer with. With throwing haymakers, and they ran the ball down their throat, and then they lose banks. And I'm watching Flood on the sideline, and this is where Sark in that office, I. I feel like our next level. So was it Goosby Goosebies, the kid that comes in? So I'm standing, I'm watching. I'm just watching Flood handle the offense. I love how he does. He sits right in the middle as he's the center. He gets the iPad. They're all sitting there. All right, hey, what do we got here? What do we got here? And then, sure, as sure as shit as they're in the break, as their defense is on the field, he gets a piece of paper. It looks like a script of the next six plays. And this is middle of the third quarter.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Stanford Steve]

So that just tells you Sark and the level that he's on with play calling. And to me, it's more designed, it's more precise because he's got a. He's got a 10 point lead. He knows he's got no left tackle who's a top pick in the draft. He knows what he's wanted to do. Give it to my, my, my office of line coach and let's get on the same page. Let's run the ball and let's get out of here. And they did that to a T. Was it pretty?

[Todd McShay]

Let's get out of here. I feel like there's a. Yeah, let's get out of here.

[Stanford Steve]

We're going to win. We're going to SEC championship. Let's get it. Let's, let's do it. So I, I just thought it was next level. And you hear about Sark, talk about guys, you know that coach with him, it's, he, he's, he's always next. It's always thinking ahead and, and you see that. So as far as a game plan in the script and you know, talk to Saban about how Sark, how diligent he is, you know, he tells a story about in the, in the 2020 year, they lose waddle for the year. And Nick's like, oh man, like not even the playoffs, you know, nothing. And Doc, and so he calls Sark in and he's like, hey, we're, we're down waddle for the year. And Sark's like, all right, great. We're fine. We're fine. World's gonna get introduced to devonte Smith big time. And look what happened. The guy goes, the guy goes and wins a Heisman Trophy. So I, I don't doubt him. It's the typical underdog. And, and, and Dillingham's got some bravado too. So they're going to come out with some, with some punches also. It'll be fun. It's a, it's a really good, good, really good way to start New Year's Day.

[Todd McShay]

I totally agree. All right, moving on. We've got the 4 o'clock game I think is the, I mean, you're going to be at it. Rose bowl, it has to start. Actually, I think it's 5pm Eastern.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So it's like 2pm the typical start time.

[Stanford Steve]

5 and 8:45.

[Todd McShay]

Yep, yep. And allegedly. Allegedly. Yeah, until, until we, until that.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, exactly.

[Todd McShay]

From one truck to another, pushing it back. But 5pm Rose Bowl, Ohio State, Oregon. We thought we were going to get it in the Big Ten championship. We get it in the Rose bowl. Even better. I, I, there's so many places to go in this game. Where do you want to start? Ohio State. I Should say Ohio State now minus two and a half against an Oregon team that already won at home. One point in that, you know, very entertaining, but frustrating finish for. For Ohio State fans.

[Stanford Steve]

I got to go back to the. To the first game. There was so much in there. And I go back and I hang for the game, and I'm hanging out with some Ohio State folks. First trip out to Eugene, and they're trying to tell me it's going to be like 60, 40 Ohio State. Or I'm like, you guys have no idea. I'm like this. Like, I know you think of, you know, the pack. You're looking at USC and ucla. No one goes to games. I'm like, these people love their Ducks. And you walk in and it's as good as it was, as it could be. I mean, Oregon was rocking that night. However, there wasn't one second in that game being on the sidelines where I thought Ohio State was going to lose. Not one. And then I want to go back to the game because there's a bunch of stuff that happened that I think that gets overlooked when you go back. Trayshawn Holden gets thrown out for spitting.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Stanford Steve]

Ohio State loses Simmons in the middle of the second quarter and still scores, 31 in the midst. And then they have obviously other dominoes over the offensive line through the season that affect them. The OPI call on Jeremiah Smith, you know, that. That sets up the landing. You know, too many guys on the field, the runoff. And then, like it all, so many things happened in that game, but was most evident was Ohio State came out running the football down their throat. Judkins got loose, Travion had a couple, and they didn't run the ball for crap the last three quarters of that game. And Lanning's a guy, you know, I always talk about defensive coordinators or having having, you know, bullets in the holster. You know, what's your plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D? Like, Lanning's going to have that covered. They're going to have options. So that's. That's the. That's the match to me is we saw Ohio State play. I've never seen a team look as bad in one game to as good in the other with what was at stake when your season on the line, being there for the Tennessee game that Saturday night. And boy, let me tell you, that weekend I was at Notre Dame, it was freezing. Columbus, it was freezing. I went to Lambeau Field that Monday night. It was cold. Columbus was colder than any of them. And you saw it Affected Tennessee. Ohio State came out guns blazing. And I thought the offensive staff for Ohio State felt a lot after the Michigan game. They got baited. I fell into a lot of deals where they maybe got too stubborn and ran the football. And talking to the Ohio State offensive coordinator before the Tennessee game, I'm sitting there at the 50 yard line and we love our guy and I, I just, you know how we feel. And I got the old, I got the old wink from the chipper and I said, oh boy. Okay. And sure enough, they came out. Tennessee's defensive game plan. I'm not sure what to get from that one when you're gonna leave four singled up in those situations.

[Todd McShay]

Well that, I mean they, they, the tape said that they love to play man to man and leave their corners on an island. But you also like to think common sense is going to step in at some point that four is a. Four is just a different human being. He's not from this planet. So like we, we got to do something like, and I know this so it doesn't even matter, but like Oregon certainly is not going to do that. So it's going to be a different look. But that's going to open up other things. But what I'm, I'm most interested in because honest to God, after like the first six, seven plays of watching that they're, they're, they're actually going to stick with this.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Then we got in like the second. They're. Oh, they're still playing, man. On the outside there was, it was like whatever, you know, Ohio State's going to put up the number that they want in this game. But I guess the interesting part to me is the balancing act. You just said like Chip, Chip. It wasn't without, it was with intention that Chip in situations where he could throw the football and knew that he had four in the outside and, and Amica on the other side still was running the football. The Michigan game was not his finest day. And I don't know if you talked to him about that. I think that they, they had more opportunities. But it's an offensive line that you don't necessarily trust. It's a run game with two star running backs. Your offensive line, I truly believe they, they believe in it more in the run game. But this, this game to me will need for Ohio State to strike the balance between run pass better than they have all year long. It was, it was the most confidence against Tennessee that Chip has shown. Chip and Ryan have shown in their quarterback. It was the most aggressive in the passing game that they have been. And then you go back to the previous several games, it was all about the run game. Despite what the numbers in the box were, despite the personnel, it was, we're gonna live and die on this run game because we trust it more. This has got to be a game, in my opinion, with Oregon and how advanced they are defensively, how kind of. I don't think that they're. I think they're. I mean, I know they're weaker in terms of the interior run defense, and I know that Ohio State should be able to push them around a little bit and have. Have effective, you know, inside run game, but I also know that it's. It's going to take balance between run and pass.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah. I think it's staying out of predictable situations. And to combat all this Ohio State talk, I look at Oregon as a team that could take advantage of what you have to do. Against Ohio State and pregame Ohio State, it was like Sawyer drank 25 Red Bulls before the game. I mean, still hopped up from.

[Todd McShay]

From the. The flag play. Yeah.

[Stanford Steve]

I mean, Tennessee's running off the field and he's thrown. I mean, he's calling every word in the book. And I'm like, wow, they found their edge. I'm like. And again, being the wise ass that I'm sitting there myself, like, where was this? Against Michigan? You didn't do this. You know, you showed a post game. But they, they play with an edge and going back and being there and watching the tape. Ohio State couldn't touch Gabriel. They couldn't get them and they didn't even try. They blitzed once. I think they got there. So can Ohio State get there with minimal guys? I'm not. I'm not sure they can. I love Oregon's system.

[Todd McShay]

This is where their tackles are really good, too. Connerly might be the best tackle in the class. Before I watch him. The left. I love them.

[Stanford Steve]

You love them?

[Todd McShay]

Go ahead. Sorry.

[Stanford Steve]

All good. I love it. I love it. They. No, but when, when you have that and it didn't matter. Igbosin, Burke, like, Oregon went Adam and those guys. I mean Stewart from A and M, the transfer, lightning quick Tez, you know what he could do. Jordan, the running back is a difference maker. So as much as everyone and being there and the thing that's the hardest thing in the world that we do in this is forgetting what a team looked like the previous game compared to this game and thinking about the matchup. And I still think Oregon could take advantage. I think it's high scoring. But I still think Oregon could take advantage of Ohio State secondary. And as much as has been made.

[Todd McShay]

That'S the biggest weakness on this team.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah. As much has been made of, of Ohio State's front with Sawyer and JTT and Ty Leak, you know, Ty Leak finally, I mean he dominated Tennessee.

[Todd McShay]

Yes, dominated.

[Stanford Steve]

I and that was surprising to me because where I thought Tennessee could do some things is I like Tennessee's interior of their offensive line with the center and his guards. I don't like their tackles.

[Todd McShay]

And it was just, it's the reverse with Oregon.

[Stanford Steve]

Yep. It was an ambush. And so I, I also factor in these two head coaches. How are they going to coach? I mean, there is plenty of pressure on both guys. I mean Lanning, you know, ran, ran the table. But when you go back and you watch them in tight situations, they still do things that I, I am surprised by the fake punt against Wisconsin. Like, you know, going back last year, going forward on fourth down against Washington, there's certain circumstances where I'm like, does he not trust what they're doing or is he just trying to jump start something? And I'm like, in a game, in a game of this magnitude, man, you got to be careful, you got to be careful with that stuff. So I also think they're putting plenty on Gabriel saying we got the advantage of the quarterback position. This is a game of two great teams. Our quarterback's got to be better than their quarterback and let's go win the game. So I, I don't love it, but I'm still picking Oregon right now. I, I, I do like the over. I, I think both teams are, are over 28. The projected score is 29, 27. Ohio State, so, and Oregon's the only team to score more than 20 against Ohio State. So there's a confidence in there where, where they, they already had from playing at Austin. But knowing that you did it already against the team and I, I give Lanning a lot of credit. When he was asked about the road compared to other teams in the playoff, he's like, if we're going to play Ohio State, it better, it's better. It's the best to play them now. We're as healthy as we're going to be. The whole playoff, they got a game in the cold, like this is our best. We're going to be, let's go take on the other best team. So I can't wait. There's so much at stake and in that venue it projects to be awesome.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I'm excited to see the weapons for Oregon. I mean, you know, Tez has been just awesome. I mean, in that Big Ten championship game, he was. He was lights out, just out of control. The speed, that run after catch. Evan Stewart didn't get a lot of run in that game. He's been kind of nicked. I'm assuming that this extra rest, like, he'll be. He'll be good. And he was a monster in the first game.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

They couldn't cover Evan Stewart. I talked to an NFL scout. I shared this on one of the most recent podcasts with Mensch. I talked to Evan Stewart. I was just talking about Tez and their weapons and Gabriel, and we went through kind of all the. Because he's a West coast scout and, and he's like, listen, I love Tez, too. He's like. But small guys in the league, I worry about them. You know, go look at the history and all that. He's like, he's like, Evan's a different cat, man. He's like, I'm telling you, he's like. He goes. I know he's not that much bigger, but he's like, he's in that range for us and he is. He's. He's got a chance to be. He's like, he's got some maturing to do, you know, but. But as a player, he's. I think he's one of the three, four best receivers in this class. I was surprised to hear that.

[Stanford Steve]

He's more the route runner. You know where Tez is going to move around. And that's another thing Ohio State did, and Saban called it, as he always does, is, oh, how. You know, we. We went back, he did the tape of the Michigan Ohio State game, and it's just Jeremiah split out on the left and he's like, they're going to move him around. And I just need 30 seconds on him again, Todd, because I, I can't tell you how much I like the way, like, you go back and watch that tape and there's a fourth down around the 50 yard line and Ohio State has the lead and they're going for it. And it's a simple concept. He's all the way on the outside and he's going to run a shallow. And first off, not many guys could get to where he got to on a shallow on a fourth and two when, you know, a team's ringing heat. But the way he lines the guys up like he knows there's a hangar in there and that guy's Got to run with him. So he's gliding off the line of scrimmage and he's by him in. In an instant. And the ball's perfect. And like that. He can't even get the guy that's defending. Can't even get a hand on him. But to be able to do that as the age he is and he sets up the. He knows who's going to have him. He sets him up and he gets yards on top of the catch at that age. And I just, I'm blown away by him. I don't know if I told you the story, but Chip told me in the off season, they did a preseason combine.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Stanford Steve]

Like, for all the new guy, like, everybody get to know each other. Here's who's good at what. And they did it just like the NFL combine. Jeremiah Smith's broad jump would have been the best broad jump at the NFL combine last year. I swear to God, it's stupid. Stupid what he could do.

[Todd McShay]

I, I said it. I said it coming off of that game. I, I legitimately, he's the number one overall pick this year. Like, the Patriots take him at number one.

[Stanford Steve]

I'm with you and I love Travis.

[Todd McShay]

Hunter and I get both sides of the ball and all those things in this, in this day and age it's been since 1996. Keyshawn Johnson says the number one overall pick was a wide receiver. I don't think the Patriots would even. I mean, it doesn't matter, but I'm not sure the Patriots would even bother moving down a spot or two to a team trying to, like, I want that guy.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

With. With a young quarterback, but, yeah, he's different. He's fun to watch, and I'm, I'm excited to see him in this game and how they. They utilize him. But I do think, you know, it's a final word on this for me. I think the interior on both sides of the ball will decide this game. I think Oregon's interior offensive line is a weakness, and I think Ty Lee Williams in that interior for Ohio State is going to have to play another great game, which we just recently saw. And I think the interior for Oregon's defense, which is. Has been like, Derek Harmon's been great, but I think that Ohio State can run the football on that interior a little bit. I think if Ohio, let's put it this way, if Ohio State's going to win this game, they've got to win the interior on both sides of the ball. If Oregon's going to win this Game. It's got to be Dylan doing what Dylan has done all year. And both his weapons have got to show up. You know, with Evan and. And Tez.

[Stanford Steve]

Ohio State's linebackers, too. They were. They were on a different level against Tennessee than I felt like they were all year. Yeah, you know, they. You got a tackle in space that's. That's enormous. And both teams didn't do that in the first game, so I expect that to be better. But I still see both teams scoring.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, but it's Styles and Cody Simon. Yep.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, Simon was both.

[Todd McShay]

Day three prospects.

[Stanford Steve]

Wow. All right, all right. Thought maybe day two.

[Todd McShay]

Watch it, man.

[Stanford Steve]

Gunner Helm. Day two. Come on.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Stanford Steve]

All right.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Stanford Steve]

There we go.

[Todd McShay]

One of my favorites this year. One of my favorites.

[Stanford Steve]

Love it.

[Todd McShay]

All right, so final game, 8:45pm Sugar Bowl.

[Stanford Steve]

12 rounds. 12 rounds.

[Todd McShay]

This is gonna be the beauty of all this, right? Like, yeah, you get done with the Rose bowl and you feel like that's the pinnacle. Like the Rose bowl rematch. Oregon, Ohio State. And now you're like, kind of. All right, I. I need a half hour. I gotta go out. Like, you know, whether it's a tobacco break, a caffeine break, a cocktail, like, you gotta reset, man. Yeah, you got to reset.

[Stanford Steve]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

And I know you guys will be watching. You'll be done with the Rose Bowl. You'll probably be watching the bus for a while. Maybe make your way to the hotel lobby, wherever it is you're going to watch. But now we're going to kick off. It's Notre Dame, Georgia, Carson Beck's out. Georgia's still favored by a point and a half. You trust Georgia in these big games for the, you know, like Kirby Smart. But Marcus Freeman, the coaching job, he's done. How far physical they are. Notre Dame is on both sides of ball. Do they have the perimeter weapons? Well, Georgia doesn't have the per. Perimeter weapons either. They've got a new quarterback. There's so many storylines. What jumps out at you in this game?

[Stanford Steve]

This is the game for me. Everybody talks about the Rose Bowls. The most excited, anticipated. Not for me, this one. Because you quarterbacks don't know about this, but this is an extra chin strap game. You got to make sure you have your extra chin strap because you got to buckle up. And you're going to have to buckle up a lot in this game. I can't wait. Because both you touched on both head coaches. You know, Marcus Freeman plays the. The good looking game really well. I mean, dresses to a tee. His fade is perfect.

[Todd McShay]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[Stanford Steve]

I mean, just as pretty as there is. But boy, let me tell you, first game of the year, being in the tunnel before they run out against A and M and watching him get his guys ready, I. I'm talking about smacking the out of guys that are like coming out and jumping up and out. I mean, he's put together like a. Like a Greek God. And right then that moment, I'm like, he, he. Like you could tell when that's fake. You right? You know what I'm talking about.

[Todd McShay]

Yes, you could talk about.

[Stanford Steve]

And his guys are giving it right back to him. And I just. I think the world of them. And then on the other side, oh, man, you got the ultimate bulldog with Kirby. The way he came out with. With snot coming out of his nose after giving his pep talk at the Texas game in Austin, I'm like, texas better. Better be after it here because this, this is a hungry dog coming in. So neither team's going to back down. I do lean Georgia because they've played in more of these games. I think that matters. And when. And when Georgia could go to the third down package where they bring in their rushers and they substitute personnel. No one else in the country could do that with the versatility they provide, the coverage they got. And Notre Dame strength is not throwing the football. And you have to do that on the edge. You saw Texas get to him in the second half throwing the football. And to me, a lot is on Riley Leonard in this game because on a third and six, he's not going to be scrambled, be able to scramble as if he was playing against Stanford or Army or Navy. Like this is. You got cats coming from all over fast. Yeah. So Notre Dame's offensive line has. Has made strides. They lost their best guy in the preseason. They got a true freshman playing now that's taking monster strides. And it's got another team developing. Guys, I mean, you talk about offensive line, look across the NFL. Notre Dame's got guys across the league. So can Notre Dame play and sign up for 60? That. That's the biggest thing in my mind because they haven't had to do with it. And on top of that, I didn't think Notre Dame played well against Indiana. I thought Indiana and you know, was it giveaways, takeaways, whatever you say, Indiana. Yeah, they gave him the ball and. But Notre Dame took advantage of it. You. You break. You break off the. The love long run. Who I think is an absolute stud.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, my gosh. In a running back class, that's Absolutely sensational. If he was eligible, I think he'd be the second back off the board behind Genty.

[Stanford Steve]

Wow. So. But then after that, Notre Dame really didn't run the ball. Now they opened it up, they got a lead again. They played to their strength. Their defense wasn't going to give up to Indiana in that environment, and they knew that. So it. I still think, what are we at? 44 and a half for the total.

[Todd McShay]

I. I like the under.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, I do, too. I in.

[Todd McShay]

In FanDuel's back, like, it's seven points fewer than the other three matches. Like the closest one is seven points.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

It's like they're begging you to take the over in this game. They had to get it low enough to get people to bet the over. And I still think you take the under 44 and a half. I just don't bite the cheese, folks. Like, they're begging the public don't bite the cheese. It's poison.

[Stanford Steve]

The one thing that would drive me nuts if I was Marcus Freeman is I don't know exactly what George is going to do offensively with this time off.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Stanford Steve]

Are they going to be quarterback run? I mean, Stockton has every Georgia high school record in the books and he took all those from Trevor.

[Todd McShay]

Why do they love this dude so much?

[Stanford Steve]

I think just because he's a Georgia kid and he's a program guy.

[Todd McShay]

Teammates too, though. And you can tell, like the backup came in, he did a good job. Something happened mentally with this team, like Carson Beck. There's a lot to deal with there.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

We could get into Carson Beck going in the draft and all that stuff. And I did earlier we talked about Carson Beck, the decision, all that stuff. I'm just saying, like, sometimes when a backup comes in, there's a rally around no doubt. And I felt that you saw it also. I also think everyone's kind of giving it a pass, like they're going to be just fine with Gunner Stockton. Well, I didn't see a quarterback where they're going to be just fine if they have to throw the football. So it's kind of like this balancing act where I truly believe the teammates and that team believes in Gunner Stockton. But I also think the challenges ahead in. In this game against Notre Dame are. Are going to be severe and steep and it's going to take a crisis, creative offensive game plan. It's going to take running the football and like, like iron versus iron and wearing down and. And then popping a big play here and there. Doing it creatively like the fake punt in your own territory fourth quarter like it's going to have to be some stuff from Kirby in this game to help offset the inexperience and and kind of the ceiling that you have with Stockton in his first start.

[Stanford Steve]

No doubt. And and to me I, I was there. You saw the lift that they got. Now a couple things think about if this happened to Oregon would people talk just assume it's going to go well.

[Todd McShay]

No, no no.

[Stanford Steve]

Besides Texas any Penn State. No way like Texas with Arch even.

[Todd McShay]

Even with Bo Per Bula who looked great in the second half of this that Wisconsin game And I know Bo is transferred on now.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

With the portal situation but he was probably the most experienced behind behind Arch coming in in terms of playing significant.

[Stanford Steve]

Snaps Notre Dame if they lost Riley Leonard like just think about the drop off and perception in these narratives that people created.

[Todd McShay]

That's why I said to you it feels like they're. It's like that's what makes it so.

[Stanford Steve]

Hard to think no what's going to happen.

[Todd McShay]

Right.

[Stanford Steve]

You know.

[Todd McShay]

Right.

[Stanford Steve]

So yeah if, if I thought it was I thought or you're saying it's one and a half.

[Todd McShay]

I mean it might have changed.

[Stanford Steve]

I looked last night I'm interested to see late. You know the late money on this game also I could feel like it could be. I think it's going to sway whatever it is but another thing is Notre Dame's been good against the number. Georgia has had its worst year against the number. So like you kind of got a flux like people that have backed Oregon against it like that teams when you find your team and they are a covering machine there's nothing getting you off.

[Todd McShay]

They become family around the holidays.

[Stanford Steve]

No doubt. No doubt. So to me I, I really I'm with you. It's an under. I. I'm really not. I'm not ready there yet versa pick but I do like I, I just go back to Notre Dame like this this Georgia blitz is so different than anything that Notre Dame has seen. How are they you're going to get got. How many times are you going to be able to make adjustments? Are you going to get caught when they do the same thing to like that's what you can't have happen. You can't. Because Georgia's negative play. I mean they're negative because when, when, when it's a sack it's a sack fumble because of the violence they come with. It's. It's driving an offensive line men into the quarterback and the quarterback doesn't Seem. And that's why the ball comes loose. It's a hand on a hand on the throwing arm and it's a ball up in the air. And those guys are rabbit vicious.

[Todd McShay]

It's vicious.

[Stanford Steve]

So Notre Dame's got to stay in the fight early on. If Love could break one, I think it's incredible. And then going back to your point, I. I wanted to get your take. I had seven NFL running backs in the playoff. I, I wasn't sure about the Texas guys, but if you go back, it's Singleton, Allen, Genti.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Stanford Steve]

Scatter. Boo Jordan for Oregon for sure.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, for sure.

[Stanford Steve]

Judkins, Trevian, that's seven. And then in this game, Love, that's eight.

[Todd McShay]

ETN, ETN's nine.

[Stanford Steve]

And then Frazier's gonna be one. So that's 10 NFL running backs we get to watch in these four games. And like Wisner and Blue, that they're not too shabby. And those are Texas's fourth and fifth string guy.

[Todd McShay]

I know, I know.

[Stanford Steve]

So I'm pumped for the running backs being back in the mix. They all have a chance to be a huge factor in their games. But yeah, when I was doing the numbers, it was 10, 10 NF. I mean, well, when we, we did a.

[Todd McShay]

We ranked the quarterbacks, but we also. Yeah, we, we ranked the running backs before the first round of all 12 teams. I got to. I think we got to 13 of grades in the top. So all 12 teams with 13 guys in the grades in the top five rounds. It was something like that.

[Stanford Steve]

Maybe it was 12 or 13 either.

[Todd McShay]

No, no. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Janarian Price, with Leonard and Love, those three combined, by the way, they average seven yards of carry. The problem is I just. I'm sure this is the hardest game to pick.

[Stanford Steve]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

I like take the under. I don't want to side on this because I can close my eyes and envision how Georgia is going to do it. Y vicious defensively. That defensive line is going to take away the run. Like you got, you got Kristen Miller, Mikel Williams, Jay Jaylon, Jaylen Walker. You've got, you got Nazir Stackhouse, Chaz Shamble has been awesome this year. Like, they're as good as I think in terms of like tackle to tackle run defense. They're. They're up there with any team in the country and that's what Notre Dame has to do to win. But I also can see like the quarterback situation for Georgia, the issues that they have no weapons on the outside that have been consistent. The lead the FBS and drops at wide receiver. So like, I can see it being an absolute struggle on the offensive side. And now you've got tape of, of, of Gunner Stockton and you saw what kind of his flaws are. Stockton obviously has a couple weeks, three weeks now to prepare for this game and they could put things in to tailor to him. I don't know. You're right. This is the most intriguing game. It's the hardest side to pick. I can see how both teams would win, but I also can see what would, what the limitations would be that would wind up being their fatal flaw in this game.

[Stanford Steve]

I, man, I, I do you. It's, it's funny you mentioned you got tape on Stockton. That's what we had our game day meeting. I asked Saban, like, break, break that down. What you saw when you're going into this game, you're Notre Dame. What you saw Georgia do with Stockton. Because being there, it wasn't a lot.

[Todd McShay]

No, it was not.

[Stanford Steve]

The first throws a third down. He throws a, he throws a comeback. That's a rope. I mean, no reason. Arian Smith caught it because it hit him dead between the one.

[Todd McShay]

He didn't have a choice.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah, exactly. And he had, you know, he's been a guy. I mean, I go back, he's a guy that won the Peach bowl two years ago with C.J. stroud. That game. Corner falls down. He has a couple other catches. He was. And this is two years later and he still has the same issues. And then when you get to a game like this, you got to trust them because you don't have anybody else. But so many smoke screens and slip screens. And then when they let him throw the ball down the field, he throws a pick, it almost blows the game. So that's a monster spot for, for Mike Bobo, who's coached in so many big games. And it's really, really hard to count Jordan just because especially this year, from what they've done, you know, back against the wall, going to Texas, giving him, giving them business at home against another back against the wall against Tennessee and physically pounding them for 60 minutes. Coming back against Georgia Tech in a game they were totally supposed to win. Winning the game against Texas with your backup quarterback, like, I just, it's so hard to doubt them. But then on the other thing, you know, you got Notre Dame who's built really, really well, and it's a coach that loves what he has in his team and it is super fired up. I'm sure to get on that plane and go to where they go New Orleans. Just watch out for the distractions in New Orleans. Don't let them get to you.

[Todd McShay]

You, I'm super pumped for you getting on that flight later this afternoon. Tell, tell Nick and the boys I say hello. I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I could, I mean, we could go on for hours.

[Stanford Steve]

I got a hot take before I go for you.

[Todd McShay]

Give me one.

[Stanford Steve]

Penn State runs the table. Drew Aller throws for 300 plus in every game. Drew Aller goes to the draft.

[Todd McShay]

I can see him getting the championship game. You see. All right, you heard it here first. I'm just, I mean, I'm not going to sit here.

[Stanford Steve]

I'm just throwing it out there.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I, I, I do. I absolutely think that that is a, a soft. I'm returning to school. Bo Prabula would be the loser in all of that. He could be the Penn State starting quarterback. And now he's already transferred. But I, not to get into it, but long term for, for Drew Aller. I really want him to come back another year.

[Stanford Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I think if he can build on this, like the improvement he showed from last year to this year, if he can have another jump, become more consistent with his footwork and all that, like, he's got the arm mobile enough, competitive, tough, all those things. I like him. I just don't think he's ready yet. So I think this is a smart decision to come back for another year. But I, I also could envision a scenario in a quarterback class that I touched on it earlier in our, in our open. The more time that goes on, the more questions there are than answers. Let's put it that way. No, best way I can put it.

[Stanford Steve]

No doubt. Another thing, just about Aller. I went back just because I was horrified for him. Not this year, the year previous at Columbus. He got absolutely swallowed by that Ohio State crowd defense. And then I put on the Big Ten title game this year against Oregon. It's. You can't even, you can't even fathom. It's the same player. I all credit to him for, for developing it. It's really cool to see him take these strides. It's really cool.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. No, no moment is too big for him now. That's, that's one thing. I have more confidence in this Penn State team than I have had in any James Franklin Penn State team, to be quite frank.

[Stanford Steve]

Oh, I'll go. Give me. Going back to the Kajana Carter Kerry Collins team.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stanford Steve]

Like, that's, that's when I, that's when I really felt like they were the best team. That's right. Gosh, that's 30 years ago.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, stop.

[Stanford Steve]

All right.

[Todd McShay]

Started. You started with old man stuff. I'm gonna end it with old man stuff. All right. Safe travels, brother. I'll talk to you soon.

[Stanford Steve]

You got it.

[Todd McShay]

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