Tape Takes! Our Unfiltered Thoughts on Oregon–Penn State, Georgia-Alabama, LSU–Ole Miss, and More Week 5 Matchups.

Summary

The McShay Show: “Tape Takes! Our Unfiltered Thoughts on Oregon–Penn State, Georgia-Alabama, LSU–Ole Miss, and More Week 5 Matchups”

Date: September 25, 2025
Hosts: Todd McShay & Steve (Mensch)
Podcast: The Ringer - The McShay Show
Episode Focus: Deep, tape-driven analysis and predictions on marquee Week 5 college football games and their NFL Draft implications; a sharp divergence from “hot takes” to a more grounded, film-driven discussion.

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

The hosts roll out their first “Tape Takes”—raw, in-depth college football breakdowns driven by exhaustive film study. Todd and Steve dig deep into pivotal Week 5 matchups (Oregon–Penn State, Georgia-Alabama, LSU–Ole Miss), explore player-specific storylines with significant NFL Draft impact, and offer sharp insight on quarterbacks, defensive fronts, and emerging coaching talent. The show is peppered with trademark banter, plenty of strong opinions, and an unsparing look at current narratives in college football.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. John Matier’s Injury and Oklahoma’s Quarterback Situation

[04:55–12:39]

• John Matier (Oklahoma QB) “Heisman favorite now moving into the first round NFL draft talk” suffered a hand injury requiring surgery. He finished OU’s big win while injured, showing remarkable toughness ([06:04] McShay: “This son of a bitch was playing with a hand injury that required surgery and he finished the game!”).
• Timeline: Four weeks out expected; return could target the pivotal Oklahoma–Texas game.
• Backup QB Michael Hawkins Jr. has impressed the staff: “We’re going to be all right. Trust me, this guy’s ready to go.” ([09:37])
• NFL Draft Angle: Matier went from a “Day 2 guy” to a legitimate round-one candidate by betting on himself at Oklahoma with a brutally tough schedule: “It’s Joe Flacco before the Super Bowl year, a bet-on-yourself type opportunity.” ([10:42])
• Oklahoma’s playoff/committee implications: Early absence might be better long-term: “You’d much rather be in the middle of the season with your star player out and have him come back and finish strong.” ([07:39])

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2. Oregon vs. Penn State: Quarterback Disparity and Matchup Dynamics

[13:02–30:44]

The Tale of Two QBs: Drew Aller vs. Dante Moore

• Drew Aller (Penn State):

  • Struggles beyond 10 yards, especially layering/touch throws: “The difference in level of play at the quarterback position between Aller and Dante Moore is staggering.” ([14:55])
  • “Struggles to throw the football past 10 yards,” especially in big games. Tape and departures of top WRs support the narrative.
  • Has drive, size, toughness – but lacks suddenness and the field-stretching ability for playoff runs against elite competition.
  • “Receivers are the truth-tellers, man… it ain’t addition by subtraction.” ([18:24])

• Dante Moore (Oregon):

  • After just nine starts, already showing “anticipation and timing” rare for such inexperience. Throws a "catchable ball" with velocity, impressive pocket navigation ([24:13], [24:48]).
  • Not the fastest, but sudden, “climbs the pocket” and excels in pressure moments.
  • “Outside of John Matier, I don’t know that there’s another quarterback in the country doing it at a higher level than him.” ([24:35])
  • Offensive weapons: Seven Oregon receivers averaging >14 ypc, tight end Sadiq “might be TE1 by the way” ([22:27]).
  • Key Tape Sequence: Two-minute drive vs. Northwestern highlighted advanced touch, anticipation, and poise ([23:18–24:31]).

Supporting Cast & Scheming

• Penn State WRs: Limited big-play capability; none averaging over 12.8 ypc ([21:21]).
• Oregon’s support cast: True freshmen, multiple deep threats, tight end producing at an elite level.
• OC Will Stein (Oregon): Emerging coaching star, “doing things with the most important position in sports that’s not going on in a lot of places” ([30:10]).

Game Prediction

• McShay confident in Oregon: “I like Oregon to win this game… I think you can argue Penn State’s better, certainly at running back… But yeah, that’s it. My rant is over.” ([27:18])
• Mensch: “Give me Dante Moore over Dylan Gabriel. I just think Dante Moore is a more talented player… I think they’re better at quarterback this year.” ([28:16])

Notable Quote:

• [14:55] Todd McShay:
  “The difference in level of play at the quarterback position between Aller and Dante Moore is staggering. It’s staggering, Steve. And I don’t say that lightly.”

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3. Alabama vs. Georgia: Changing Rosters, Quarterbacks, and Defensive Identities

[32:20–42:23]

Quarterback Surprises & OL/DL Battles

• Ty Simpson (Alabama QB): “Vastly underrated Ty Simpson. He’s a good football player.” ([33:02])

• Offensive focus: Alabama’s shift to a throwing team, especially since the return of star WR Ryan Williams.

• Alabama WRs: Outing vs. Wisconsin shows arsenal ready; Simpson "makes quick decisions, moves well."

• Alabama RBs: “They do not have Alabama running backs. That’s just the way it is.” ([39:39])

• Georgia Defense:

  • Lacks “dudes up front”—no Jordan Davis-level disruptors ([36:02])
  • Secondary vulnerability: “Jonelle Aguirre had an interception, but gave up five catches on seven targets. Dalen Everett was solid… Daniel Harris, tough day…” ([36:35])

• “This is not an elite Georgia defense based on what I’ve seen so far.” ([36:30])

Big Picture & Numbers

• Kirby Smart at home: 52–4 at Georgia (“Careful about going against this cat,” [40:40])
• Kirby vs. Alabama: 1–6 record, never beaten Bama in Athens.
• Key presence: Return of Alabama’s Tim Keenan on the DL changes run defense calculus.

Prediction:
Both hosts uncertain, feeling less sure about these two teams than usual by Week 5, but sense “this is going to be an interesting fight.”

Notable Quote:

• [36:30] Steve (Mensch):
  “This is not, this is not an elite Georgia defense based on what I’ve seen so far.”

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4. USC’s Defensive Transformation & Illinois OL Issues

[45:56–49:33]

• USC’s Defense (vs. Illinois):
  • Danton Lynn’s scheme: “Exotic fronts… never know who’s coming or going… twisting guys, different coverages.”
  • Key transfer safety: Bishop Fitzgerald, “just reads the quarterback. He’s got three picks this year.”
  • Front seven: Transfer and young talent, including Eric Gentry (6’6” LB)—“He looks like a small forward, Cam Chancellor, but he can close.” ([47:58])
• Illinois Offensive Line:
  • “We knew they sucked going in. We were going to go after them and they sucked as bad as we thought.” ([46:25])
• Illinois expected to struggle picking up edge pressure and interior disruption, especially as QB Luke Altmeyer holds the ball too long.

Pick:
USC “on the road, six and a half… I think Illinois is gonna drop the second one in a row.”

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5. Ohio State–Washington: Demon Williams’ Emergence

[49:54–54:48]

• Demon Williams (Washington): Praised as a “special, special” QB, able to create with his arm and legs; watch for him “gassing” the Ohio State defense.
  • “All he needs is like six, seven big-time plays to keep this thing frustrating for Ohio State. I think Ohio State’s walking into a war.” ([54:18])
• WRs: Chris Brazil, Denzel Boston, Jordan Tyson all make up a dangerous receiving corps.
• Both hosts emphasize: Washington is under-ranked nationally, “it’s because stupid people are not all, but there are too many stupid people.” ([54:23])

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6. LSU–Ole Miss: Revising Preconceptions about Mobile QBs

[54:52–61:21]

• LSU historically struggles vs. mobile QBs, not solved by simply having Harold Perkins on the field: “Maybe it’s not Harold Perkins. Maybe it’s…more than that... it’s just football.”
• Defensive improvement: LSU rebuilt DL and secondary through the portal, “gap sound, tough players” ([56:14]), but still face challenge from Chambliss (mobile Ole Miss QB).
• Offense/Coaching: Lane Kiffin praised for offensive adaptability—“That’s genius.” ([59:39])
• Game context: Home teams dominate the rivalry, “would not surprise me if the Tigers were upset this weekend.” ([60:30])

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7. Other Key Tape Takes

- Mississippi State’s Pass Defense Is a Mirage

- Stats impressive, but opponents (Southern Miss, Alcorn State, etc.) weak; issues exposed in details.
- “For a Power 5 school, that might have been the worst pass defense I’ve ever seen.” ([61:55])
- Predicting Tennessee to “roll them.”

- Auburn–Texas A&M: Covering Cam Coleman

- Texas A&M’s best CB, Will Lee, playing poorly. “If he doesn’t start playing up to his ability quickly, they’re gonna have a hard time covering on the back end… Cam Coleman’s a problem.” ([70:25])

- Notre Dame–Arkansas State & Playmaking QBs

- Contrast between Taylen Green (tall, tools, but turnover worthy) and Demon Williams. Notre Dame’s OL among best in country—“Their offensive line has been awesome.” ([75:29])

- Indiana–Iowa: Cautionary Game Script

- Indiana has “substantial edge in talent,” but if Iowa drags game out, “it could get interesting.” ([77:28])

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NOTABLE QUOTES AND MOMENTS

• McShay on Analysis Philosophy:
  “This is kind of our F U to hot takes. …I’m not here for the hot takes. You're not here for the hot takes, but I'm here for the tape takes.” ([03:44])
• On Oregon–Penn State QBs:
  “The difference in level of play at the quarterback position between Aller and Dante Moore is staggering.” ([14:55])
• On Alabama RB Situation:
  “They do not have Alabama running backs. That's just the way it is.” ([39:39])
• On Mississippi State Pass Defense:
  “For a Power 5 school, that might have been the worst pass defense I've ever seen.” ([61:55])
• Lane Kiffin Gossip:
  “Is there anything better than the SEC? Is there anything better than Lane?” ([58:14])

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TIMESTAMPS FOR MAJOR SEGMENTS

• Matier Injury & OU Outlook: 04:55–12:39
• Oregon–Penn State (QB analysis): 13:02–30:44
• Alabama–Georgia (defense, QBs): 32:20–42:23
• USC Defense/Illinois OL: 45:56–49:33
• Ohio State–Washington, Demon Williams: 49:54–54:48
• LSU–Ole Miss Mobile QB Issue: 54:52–61:21
• Miss. State–Tennessee, Pass Defense: 61:55–68:04
• Auburn–A&M (Cam Coleman): 68:07–71:09
• Notre Dame Offensive Line, QB Differences: 71:42–76:08
• Indiana–Iowa Game Dynamics: 77:28–79:26
• FanDuel Picks and 9-leg Parlay: 79:54–85:27

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FINAL NOTES — PICKS AND PARLAY

• Picks of the Week:
  • Todd: Oregon -3.5
  • Steve: USC -6.5
• 9-leg Parlay: Multiple alternate/spread line selections, built from their strongest tape-driven convictions for the super slate.

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EPISODE TONE & STYLE

Blunt, bantering, and transparent. McShay and Mensch lean into detailed football jargon (“layering throws,” “COVID-three,” “catchable ball”), supply plenty of side commentary, and are unafraid to sharply critique conventional wisdom—no “hot take” shortcuts here, just film-room grittiness. There’s consistent deference to the tape, competition level, and context—plus an authentic love for the sport’s unique, unpredictable character.

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This episode stands out for its relentless commitment to film-driven analysis, unvarnished opinions, and the trademark blend of McShay’s draft brain with an old-school love for college football chaos. If you want to really understand the Week 5 games—and the NFL draft futures they’ll shape—this is your go-to recap.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

Special Saturdays call for special treatment, so we're unveiling tape takes to get you prepared. It's a super slate in college football in Week 5, and my goodness, has it been a grind. All for you. Plus, yes, we will address John Matier, the situation in Oklahoma, the NFL draft ramifications and what it means to the Sooners. Just 210 days until the NFL draft met you. Good. Good man. All right, let's roll this thing. I still love that beat, don't you, Mensch?

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's great, man. It's great.

[Todd McShay]

Way to bring the enthusiasm. This is the McShay show, presented by FanDuel, and college football Saturdays are already delivering. Every game means something right now. Rankings shift, upsets hit, and the best place to stay on top of it all, fanduel. Whether you're riding a noon kickoff or betting the late games, FanDuel lets you bet it your way. Same game parlays, live betting, player props, alt lines. Whatever your angle is, it lives in the app. So if you're watching the action, bet on it with FanDuel. So download the app or head to FanDuel.com McShay and make every Saturday count. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rg d help.com Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. All right, hey, let me tell you something. When you're really confident in something, you say few words, right? When you what is it? When you lose, say little. When you win, say less. As Corso used to say. The McShay report it's a win. It's an absolute win. I mean, I don't know what to tell you. I can tell you that it's one of the deeper dives that you'll see in anything in terms of a game preview. But more importantly, like the draft content and everything that's going on with the top two quarterbacks or the two quarterbacks in this game, Drew Aller and Dante Moore and then the offenses around him and then what I would do if I were the defensive coordinator for Dan Lanning for Oregon, what I'm going to do against Aller and vice versa, looking at Jim Knowles, what I'm going to try to do to bottle up Dante Moore. And good luck with it. That was today's deep dive in the McShay report.

[Steve (Mensch)]

And I'll just say this my favorite one so far.

[Todd McShay]

Thank you, Steve.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah, good snapshot of two different quarterbacks and two different parts of their journeys and where they are in the process right now. It's really good.

[Todd McShay]

If you haven't already, give it a shot today. Google the McShay report. And if you don't like what you read, then don't subscribe. That's the best advice I can give you, truly. I mean, I'm not saying it's my Holland's opus, but yeah. All right, let's move on. Tape takes. I mentioned tape takes. Monday's the ten Truths Thursdays now is tape takes. And it's kind of our fu to hot takes. Okay. Like I had to get.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It kind of is actually.

[Todd McShay]

It absolutely is our fu to hot takes. I like, I'm not, I'm not here for the hot takes. You're not here for the hot takes, but I'm here for the tape takes. And so it was the best way. We talked to Dan Comer, D.C. our guy, trying to figure out like the best way to package all this information. And I swear I don't know in a 72 hour period if I've ever watched more tape when I haven't been like under the gun for like in April, like early April when I'm trying to finish up the book, you know, like I don't know if we can sustain this, this level. But, but good, good start to, to week five, I can tell you that much. And we're going to help you get prepared for all of it. I do want to touch on John Mateer. Obviously the unfortunate news before we get into tape takes to get you ready for week five, this episode is brought to you by Viori. As an analyst, I'm a rankings guy. I scope the landscape, look at all the prospects and then make the call. And looking at the Vuori Sunday performance jogger, it's safe to say I found your new favorite jogger. Soft, lightweight, four way performance stretch. The Sunday performance jogger moves with you. No restrictions. And get this, we just landed a deal for friends of our show. They're offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on The Planet at viori.com/mcshay. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. Hand injury surgery out approximately a month. I obviously made a phone. The first reaction was oh fuck.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Talking came out of nowhere.

[Todd McShay]

Out of nowhere. We're talking about Heisman favorite now moving into the first round NFL draft talk coming off another big win, second big time win for Matier and it turns out he had a hand injury and he had it in the first quarter. Steve. And we talked about on Sunday night, sorry Saturday night, into Sunday and then again on Monday how we wasn't his best stuff, wasn't OU's best offensive stuff, but they found a defense and my goodness, would you trust anyone more in the country than Mattier? Fourth quarter, game on the line and we both answered no.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

And then you find out this son of a bitch was playing with a, with a hand injury that required surgery and he finished the game men 24 of 36271 passing yards through that 31 yard completion that was overturned because it was rightfully a completion and then runs in the nine yard touchdown with 454 remaining. They go ahead ultimately the game winner. So what's the information? I'm getting kind of the same that's out in the public. I asked very poignant questions. Okay, like what's, what's the real timetable? Is this like. And the, and the honest answer was like it. We're hoping it's maybe it's three, maybe it's five weeks. Hoping it's going to be approximately a month obviously as quickly as we can get out there. And we're going to have to hold John back probably because he's that kind of competitor. But the other information I got was got to, got to have the surgery and then a little time to see like initially in the first couple of days that will give us a feel. So I think we'll find out. I don't know that we'll find out, but I think Oklahoma will find out more about what that timeline really is. After the surgery for understandable reasons, we got the buy right then they've got Kent State. So it's kind of if you're going to bring and I don't know this part, I don't know was it what we. And they kind of alluded to it. This now is the time for it. And obviously you're looking at the Red river rivalry and October 11th and the Oklahoma Texas game. And clearly that game's as big as there is for that, for that program and really is one of the biggest games in college football all year long. But, but to do it now before you got to understand you got ranked opponents, currently ranked opponents, the last five games of the Season, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Bama, Missouri, lsu. The other thing I want to mention too is the committee has made a precedent and they have, they have fault. It is in the, the bylaws, if you will, that key contributors, big time players, depending on the injury and what the circumstance are, is to be part of the equation when you're looking at the body of work throughout the year. So by getting this done now, it first of all allows him to get right and hopefully he gets right and he returns and he's playing at the same level. And for your program you'd rather, and this is all about John, right? Not just John, like the NFL future, not John this year, like just for, for John as the human being and the competitor and what he's, what he's trying to set up, what he set out to accomplish and trying to accomplish. Right. But if you're looking at holistically, globally from a program standpoint, you'd much rather, if you're going to lose a game or, or worst case, two, you'd much rather be in the middle of the season with your star player out and have him come back and finish strong. Right? That kind of the, that would be the mindset looking at this whole thing. So I think Oklahoma is in good shape in that regard. And also two things that I know now, now talking to a source in the program, like when Venables comes out, you think it's coach speak, right? And says our backup, Michael Hawkins Jr. Who now is our starter for the, in the, the go between, we believe in him and he's put in the work and all that stuff. Well, I'm being told, like we saw what Hawkins can do. He threw for like 783, three touchdowns, two interceptions, also ran for 240 yards last year. He's mobile, he's athletic, he's a big time playmaker, but he's raw. Apparently during camp he really like took that next step and I think being around John helped him processing, understanding the system, Arbuckle comes in, all that. And so I was expecting in my, my communication to be like, yeah, you know, we feel good about him. And all the things that Venable said, it was more like, no, we're going to be all right. Trust me, we're going to be all right. This guy, this guy's ready to go. So I don't know, what are your thoughts? Real quickly before we move on, It'll.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Be interesting to see what. All right, looks like. We'll talk about it more as we get closer to that Texas game and we'll have a better feel. I mean, how does he play against Kent State? And what do they show? I agree with you wholeheartedly on this is the time to get it done. Get it done now. Hopefully he comes back and everything's good. I also think it's a little too early to talk about draft implications. If his hand's healthy, great. If it's not and it doesn't heal well, then there'll be a different conversation to be had. But we don't know enough yet.

[Todd McShay]

The only thing I want to say for the draft is coming into the year, he was kind of viewed by scouts as like a day two guy who had a chance at putting. Put himself in a position by taking this opportunity. We talked to Big Cat. Big Cat's like, yeah, me and what we got on a call. We're trying to recruit him to Wisconsin. Like, I. And Wisconsin wasn't the only other one. He had plenty of places to go. And when you look at that Oklahoma schedule and you know this is a Joe Flacco before the super bowl year, bet on yourself type opportunity, you got one year to go show it's not just Washington State and. And that good competition, but not the highest level. It's. I can do this anywhere. My aggressive play. It's not like I'm not on the Pacific west coast just slinging around in this system where everyone puts up big numbers, like, where are the big boys? Where. Like, where the.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Where are the.

[Todd McShay]

Where the big dogs in the alley? Oh, they're down there. Okay, that's southeast. Yep. All right, I'm going down there. Oh, and find. Find me a place with the toughest schedule, like, outside of Florida. I don't know if there's a tougher schedule when you just look at it on paper for the year, and he's like, yep, accept the challenge. And so he does this. And through two key games, I know it's been four, but two key games against good, deep, really good defenses, Michigan and Auburn. He's doing some really damn good things.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And. And everyone I'm talking to, my own eyes tell me it. But, you know, you talk to people and confirm, like, yeah, like, if he can keep stacking games like this. So whether he comes back against Ole Miss on the, what, 17th or the 18th or whatever that that date is or a week later. No, it's. It's. Sorry, it's the 18th of South Carolina. Ole misses the 25th. But he's. No matter where he comes back in the schedule, it's going to Be ranked after, ranked after, ranked.

[Steve (Mensch)]

You know, he still got plenty of opportunities to show what he can do.

[Todd McShay]

That's the point I'm trying to make. You're just more concise. I appreciate you. Excuse me. So. All right, tape takes, let's go. Yeah, we just got to get into it. We've spent way too much time for us to be going back.

[Steve (Mensch)]

And you, you've got a lot to say about Oregon, Penn State, and I'm excited about it. I'm excited about this game. I can't wait to hear you dive in.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I did a deep dive and I talked to a couple scouts and I talked to another person who's intimately dialed into this game, let's just put it that way. Spent a lot of time on this game because, because on one hand you've got the, the veteran Drew Aller, a player that I, I don't think I've struggled with him, but it just took, it took a lot of tape and a lot of like sorting through what are the issues. And then you got this Dante Moore kid and in a pop and we're talking what, nine starts.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah. Did five at UCLA and then he has four this year.

[Todd McShay]

So this is two years and he had five.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Those five are two years ago too. So there's that, the year gap, which I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but it's worth mentioning.

[Todd McShay]

You and I had a conversation about quarterbacks the other day. I was, I was being coy a little bit because I wanted to save it and I hadn't quite finished all of the tape and I wanted to kind of take a step back and look at it all. I also was being very protective. I, I, I've come to know and appreciate and respect the responsibility that I, that I've earned and I've gained over the years in this space. And I really hesitate to dive head first into a young quarterback. Nine starts. He's going to be a first round pick. Ah, I had him. QB1. I told you the Nussmeyer thing drove me up a wall last year.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

I had QB1 after week two. Oh, item QB1 after week one. Item. QB1. Item. QB1. In the summer hadn't started again, like what are we talking about? This is not a race to get like your thumbs and get the news out. It's about reporting it correctly and, and part being part of the, the, the proper process. And so I hate diving in so early on a guy, even though I'm like, I got a niche. Like.

[Steve (Mensch)]

So you like them.

[Todd McShay]

Let me start with this as it pertains and we'll get to some of the other stuff, but as it pertains to this game in Happy Valley on Saturday. Monster game, right? Monster game. You've got Oregon number six in the country, Penn State number three in the country. The biggest takeaway I had from watching every single throw of both of these quarterbacks is that the difference, the difference in level of play at the quarterback position between Aller and Dante Moore is staggering. It's staggering. Steve. I agree and I don't say that lightly and this is not me just banging on Drew Eller, but when I'm watching Drew Eller, I'm watching a quarterback that really struggles to throw the football past 10 yards down the field especially. And I've said this from the summer and I'm going to continue with this as long as the, as long as the tape keeps speaking to me the way the tape's speaking. And that is the receivers running away from him, post corners, fades, nine routes, even like swing passes like the outlets wheel routes, the ones that you have to visualize and really have confidence in your touch and the muscle memory in those throws. And as a former quarterback and a not very good one, I always, always take a step, but there are certain throws you trust more and you just kind of gotta feel. And I didn't have a big arm and I wasn't very mobile and all that, but like the thing I could do was like touch and timing and kind of lead receivers and those sorts of things. I had a pretty good feel. So when I see a guy struggle with it, I can see that. And all are really struggles with that.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And, and it begs the, it begs the question of like. And I think Andy knows, I think Anthony Kotlinki, the offensive coordinator knows because he gives them shots and they take chances, right? They, they really do and they're trying to get that aspect of their game going but it's not working okay. And so when it's a, when they need it on third down or a fourth down or a critical situation, it's a curl, comeback, stop, crosser and even sometimes they don't do it on the knead it downs but there he does a decent job. If it's like a three step five, seven yard out or five step seven, ten yard out, he'll, he'll timings, he'll hit like if it's just bang, bang go, he knows where he's going and his feet are, he's okay on that out route. The simple out route. Right? Okay.

[Steve (Mensch)]

He drives the ball well. He has a big arm and he.

[Todd McShay]

Can, and I want to start with this, he's tall, he's well put together. He's competitively, instinctively athletic. And I talked to a person, he's like, it's tricky like because he's, he's like a multi sport athlete in high school and you know, he's athletic, he's just not sudden. I'm like, yes, exactly, speaking my language. But you have to ask this question too. Like Keandre Lambert, Smith, report out of there. This is two years ago after 23, report out of there was addition by subtraction. Someone I talked to is close to the situation. It's like, it drives me crazy. Someone says addition by subtraction. When it comes to a talented player leaving a program, then he goes to Auburn, has, has a year and now he's playing in the NFL, I think the character Chargers, right?

[Steve (Mensch)]

I think so, yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Okay, then, then this past year you got Harrison, Trey Wallace II and Omari Evans. Well, Wallace, after three weeks, Trey Wallace was fourth in the nation in receiving yards. Okay. For Ole Miss and, and still is like 26 in the nation with now a running quarterback. And, and Evans was dinged up and didn't play the first couple games. Came in last week, had a 59 yard touchdown catch. You have a first round, according to a lot of scouts and according to everyone in the media, a first round quarterback on a team that just played in the College Football Playoff and is primed to make a College Football Playoff run and believes and should, you know, rightfully so. They brought a lot back. National championship run. How are you losing those three? It ain't addition by subtraction. The receivers know. The receivers are the truth tellers, man, whether you like the truth or not. And so I'm watching all that tape and I don't want to focus on the negative because I told you a lot. And he's a fast processor, Alaris, and he can drive the ball into a tight window and he's a competitor and he's won a ton of games and all those things. But when you talk to me about the big games, why is it happening? Todd, my answer to you is two things. He really struggles and defenses know it down the field. Finesse, layering the ball, timing, anticipation, throws, leading receivers. He just can't do it. Look at the numbers. He had no, no completions in that Notre Dame playoff game last year to his wide receivers. And then the second part, I tell you all the time, and you agree mentioned we've gone back and forth on this competitively athletic, tough, he drops, tucks the ball, takes, knows when to take off and run. Good vision. But he can't do it against the Ohio States and the Notre Dame's and the teams that speed in the Oregon's speed up front pass rushers. So now I put in the Dante More tape the throws that I was. And I did it not on purpose, I just watched Aller first and then I put on more and I was like oh. Because the throws where I'm like I'm, I'm. I'm like bracing the fades, the nines, the post corners, the wheel routes, the swing patterns where he's thrown in the ground for Aller, this is where he excels down the field. You look at Penn State, right, Penn State's wide receivers this year, there's not a single one of them. I had it somewhere here. It's not the most important point, but.

[Steve (Mensch)]

You'Re looking for that. It's almost this simple for me. When you watch Aller it seems like everything's hard for him, everything's a struggle. And when you watch More it seems it just. The game comes to him. It's easy. I go here, I do that, I deliver it this way. It's almost just, you know, this is just what I do with all our, it's. It's like oh, I gotta kind of get this ball there and I'm trying to guide it and all of these things. More just seems to be enjoying it more. He just seems to be, it just seems to be more natural to him.

[Todd McShay]

Well, I'll get to his traits in a second. But, but the first thing that jumped out, and I agree with you, I totally agree with you, the thing that jumped out to me is these receivers for Penn State who we brought in. All right, it's 20, 2025. After 2024 we brought in some guy and we lost a couple guys and this. So now we got a new, we get a new group that'll solve our problems thrown down the field. Traybor Pena. No, Trevor Pena, Kyron Hudson, Luke Reynolds. Top three receivers, none of them are averaging more than 12.8 yards per catch. Then I, then I'm watching Oregon, I put in this tape and it's, and it's, it's Decorian Moore, true freshman, 17.3 yards. Malik Benson, 14.4. The frickin tight end, Malik Sadiq might be tight end one by the way. This guy can play.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I think, I think he is tight.

[Todd McShay]

End one, 17.2 yards per catch. Gary Bryant, 14.2. The other freshman, Jeremiah McClellan, 14. They're all averaging over 14 yards.

[Steve (Mensch)]

He has seven. Seven different guys have five catches or more for Oregon right now. Seven different players.

[Todd McShay]

He only has nine starts. Dante Moore, he's already throwing with better anticipation and timing than a lot of the other guys that we're talking about who have two, three times the experiment experience, including Aller. And I think he is. Here's the thing. You want to talk traits. He's not fast, but he's quick. He does have the suddenness. He will climb the pocket. That Northwestern throw, he had under two minutes left. The, the two minute drill that he's running from started with his own end zone. Four throws on that drive against Northwestern and it was first ball. First ball was, was a, was kind of an in cutting route between three defenders. Gets literally throws at his right foot, is on the goal line. Second throw is a timing route to his receivers in the outside. He's on the right hash. He gets a ball out before the break. It's an outbreaking route towards the sideline and, and, and leads him right to the. Where the receiver literally has to go down and catch it. Inbounds. Perfect throw. DB has no shot. They come back. The next passing is at pass rush northwest. We got to get pressure on this guy. All right, so they bring it. Pressure comes on him, quickly climbs, doesn't, doesn't drift. This isn't last year. This isn't the, the Cam Ward door Sanders stuff where everything's adrift and take four minutes. This is climb. This is Jackson dart the urgency. Right?

[Steve (Mensch)]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

Eyes up then. And he's got, he's got a receiver coming over the middle. Drills it in between three defenders. Then the final play of that drive, touchdown pass to Sadiq down the seam. Sadiq runs a little, little out up right, little quick double move. He drills it in before the safety has to come back.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's like, all right, enough said, right?

[Todd McShay]

This cat's different. I would say right now, honestly, outside of John Matier, if you're talking pure passing and the ability to make throws that are NFL style throws and down the field throws. I don't know that there's another quarterback in the country doing it at a higher level than him. Now pump the brakes, Todd. Oregon State's defense is Joe Bridge all gas. Northwestern's not very good. Like the competition hasn't been great and I know that, I understand that, okay? But you, if you know it and if you know it. When you see it, then you know it. Like, I don't know how to like, it's just there now. Trajectory on some of the deeper throws. A lot of stuff's on the line. Okay. I think you can improve in that area.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Forces it over the middle. Every once in a while you're like, oh, what are we doing? The pick against Northwestern and what I.

[Todd McShay]

Think Knowles is going to try to do for Penn State. The only time I saw him struggling when it wasn't like self his own footwork or throw or something. The only time I saw him have a little bit of trouble. Just a couple. A few isolated incidents. I think they're going to try to. You got to outside Rush, not to necessarily get there, but to keep him in the pocket. And then you got. If you got to have guys up the middle that can. You want him in the room so you can start to collapse the. The walls around him. Okay. And then I saw a couple Rush throws, a couple, you know, Oregon State. That one where he just kind of. So I think that's going to be the game plan for Penn State. But my gosh, the other thing, I was talking to somebody else and I don't want to give away what he's going to say about it, but I totally agree. Like the catchable ball some because he's got velocity on the ball, but the catchable ball, like C.J. strouds, Baker Mayfield's different levels of velocity. Tuatanga Bailoa and Baker Mayfield on very different planes in terms of the velocity they get on the football. But they throw catchable balls. Right.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I got you. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

That he throws a. Such a catchable ball. It's like the rotations, it's the way the ball comes out. It's so smooth like the ball. Oh, I. I think Penn State, it's not just a position, it's not just a quarterback game. It is a team game. And it's a hell of a place to play. And this cat's never played in anything like this. We're going to find out a lot about him. Like what? How this works, the mind works, how the. Right. Right. We're going to find out.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

But from what I've seen on tape and what his ability level is compared to that of Drew Aller and what we've seen from him in big games. And like, I like Oregon to win this game. And I think you can argue Penn State's better, certainly better at running back. Like, not even close. Oregon struggling in that position. They've had eight different guys with like, with 10 carries or more or whatever that number was. But, but yeah, that's it. My rant is over.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah, the Jim Knowles thing is really interesting because of the Ohio State. He was at Ohio State last year in the Ohio State matchups against Oregon. And if you remember that first matchup against Oregon, that as good as that Ohio State defense was, their heads were spinning a little bit. That was, that was the game that Oregon won and Oregon gave Ohio State everything they could handle. It's. To me, this is interesting for a couple reasons. One, I, I've said this before. I'm standing by it now. I give me Dante Moore over Dylan Gabriel. I just think Dante Moore is a more talented player and I get the experience. Oh yeah, he is all that.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Steve (Mensch)]

So I think they're better at quarterback this year. And Bulls. I mean, Knowles isn't coming with that Ohio State defense. This Penn State defense has good players on every level. Right. Tony Rojas and linebacker. I like Al Harris. A corner is a good player. You know, Dennis Sutton, Xander on the defensive line. There are guys everywhere right there.

[Todd McShay]

You don't love Dennis Sutton, though. Like, I, I, I, I, I want to stop being the show where we have to.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Good players.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Good players, not great players. That's, that's my point though. I would take either of the two edges from Ohio State that got drafted last year over denied Dennis Sutton. I've said this before, he's not Abdul Carter and they lost Abdul Carter.

[Todd McShay]

So you can come in there with.

[Steve (Mensch)]

The best game plan in the world, but you still gotta have.

[Todd McShay]

I think you're saying it better say like nobody's Abdul Carter. Like there's like no one's here.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Correct.

[Todd McShay]

But you're saying it better like the Ohio State guys who are good players, but we're talking like day two guys. He's not, he's not that. And, and I, and I agree he.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Could be a day two guy, but I think he's still behind those guys. So yeah, I'm just gonna say that. And it's gonna. There's some interesting things about that defensive line versus the offensive line, which was a bunch of, you know, the, they have three guys that they brought in from the transfer portal. Harky and World at offensive tackle are really good, but have been a little up and down, inconsistent.

[Todd McShay]

More so than World. World has been better.

[Steve (Mensch)]

World's heads up. He's had some holding stuff.

[Todd McShay]

He's just.

[Steve (Mensch)]

And again, this is the biggest test. But I'll say this more, gets the ball out quick he's really trusting what he's seeing. Will Stein, the offense coordinator, is a genius. He's got this kid playing with confidence. He's got him believing him in his eyes. He's trusting his eyes right now. He's going to get the ball out quick, and I'm not sure how.

[Todd McShay]

I don't know.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I don't know how Penn State handles Sadiq. I don't know what you do. He's that kind of a player. He's that different. So, like, you can scheme all you want, but the end of the day they're better than you, and that's a problem.

[Todd McShay]

I want to finish with this side note. I don't know him as a human being, so I don't know what, what I honor. I just don't know him yet. I'm not out in the college trail, so I haven't, like, sat down. I could find out in five minutes, make two phone. One or two phone calls in 25 minutes and get to know. But if I'm one of these, like, firms now in college football and I'm general manager and I'm looking at some places that appears there could be some openings, like, I'm getting to know Will Stein fast. Yes, fast.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Absolutely.

[Todd McShay]

Will Stein is doing things with the most important position in sports on that side of the ball. That's not going on in a lot of. I'm not saying he's the only one, but it's not going on in a lot of places. And so, and if I'm, if I'm a high school quarterback, he's on a very, very short list of guys that I want to go to to help me develop. So. Yeah, all right. We got to move on. Like, the slate is too big to get caught up in this, but I.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Know there's other stuff I want to.

[Todd McShay]

Say, but you're right, I know. And I got into so much. Please Google the McShay Report and like, listen, if you don't like this, that's fine. Don't subscribe when you're done, subscribe and then unsubscribe if you have to. I don't care. I'm saying, like, this is a. I, I feel like this is a really good example of what we're going to be doing content wise in the depth and kind of tying the draft in with, with the college and all that. So I felt really good about it. Moving on. Alabama, Georgia, also, at the same time, I should mention, everyone, Saturday night, come join us. A live show. We're going to Break into both of these games. Come watch it with, with us at the end if you want. If not, if you. If you're a diehard and you can't peel yourself away or you, you got a whole situation going on, come watch the post show with us. We'll. We'll recap all these games. It's going to be a wild night. It might be 3am by the time we're done. It could easily be. It's Tate's 11 birthday. I got a fucking hibachi guy coming outside to keep everyone outside. I'm like, I love you, Tate. But, like, come watch the games with me. Or, you know, I don't know who's going to come running into the studio in the middle of our show. It's gonna be a wild night.

[Steve (Mensch)]

But, like, that's our show, though. I like it.

[Todd McShay]

Embrace the madness, right?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yes. Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Saturday night, the McShay Show. YouTube page, you can find it. McShay 13 at. McShay 13 at you good mensch will send out prompts of where you can get it, where you can jump on and what time we're going to come on exactly, depending on how those games are playing out. Georgia. Alabama. Alabama at Georgia. I should say here's my, my take, my tape take. Yep. I, Todd McShay, son of Wayne and Deborah, am comfortable admitting when I made a mistake, I vastly underrated Ty Simpson.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Based off of what I've seen, he's a good player. I'm not saying, like, forget the NFL. Forget that. Like, he's just, he's a, he's just a good football player.

[Steve (Mensch)]

He's a tough football player, man. He's act. He'll make some throws right in the teeth of the defense.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I, I looked at this and I watched George's defense, specifically the Tennessee game, because that's the best, best view we have so far. And I watched. I watched Alabama vs. Florida State and then, gosh, I just watched it yesterday. I've watched so many games now. I know who did Alabama. Oh, Wisconsin. Wisconsin. Yes. In week. Week three, it was. And here's what I'm looking for, and I'll circle back to, to the specifics. The biggest thing I'm looking for this matchup is, is the passing attack of Alabama.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Going up against this Georgia defense that has shown vulnerability.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Okay, sure has.

[Todd McShay]

Can Georgia and specifically within that, can Georgia pressure Ty Simpson then? Ah, they.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I know you're. Go this route. Go ahead.

[Todd McShay]

They need their edge, guys, because I watched a lot of that defensive front for Georgia and I watched a lot of the offensive line and I know you'll get into the two, but I'm just going to ask this question and you can circle back on it. They need the pressure and they really are going to have to get it from the, the edges. Georgia's going to have to. Those tackles for Alabama are not playing to the level. But, but Bama's interior offensive line has been tremendous in pass protection.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I thought Proctor was better against Wisconsin last week and it can always elevate his game because he's such a freak of nature. Man. He is so, so naturally gifted.

[Todd McShay]

But I gotta test him.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah, no, you do and you should because he, he will give you a couple. He is. He will get sloppy with his footwork. But I want to switch it over to the other side really quickly. My biggest takeaway from, from the Georgia defense versus Tennessee, other than I think the corner, the corner situation is not great, is that there aren't a lot of dudes up front for Georgia. Man. I was looking for the dudes.

[Todd McShay]

I was gonna get to that.

[Steve (Mensch)]

They rotate guys, right.

[Todd McShay]

But that was Bata.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Right away. That's. That stood out to me. I was maybe 10 snaps in and.

[Todd McShay]

I was like, Christian Miller, number 52 had like three. Good player, good play. Okay. C.J. allen had had the only sack line. Wisconsin linebacker didn't cover very well. I thought that was interesting. They were the two guys that kind of. I, I felt like had good games. I also, I liked. I saw a flash or two from 18 Elo Medoi and then 95 is just a big massive. He's like 64340 Namdi Agbako, Agboko. But he shined in kind of a rotational role. But no, it is not your Philadelphia. No. Yeah.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Jordan Davis, like there's no one even like sniffing that in terms of, of, of jumping off, off the tape. We'll see if guys develop over the course of the year and they do still rotate guys. They will rotate guys in and out and they'll stay fresh. But if I need a guy to win a one on one or I, I. A guy who's going to take over a game or a guy who's going to force them to adjust protections. I'm not seeing that guy. I'm not seeing that guy right now. I told you. I thought they showed some cracks in their defense last year.

[Todd McShay]

I'm not sure.

[Steve (Mensch)]

This is not, this is not an elite Georgia defense based on what I've seen so far.

[Todd McShay]

I agree. In the cornerback position, you Touched on it. Jonelle Aguirre had. He had an interception, but gave up five catches on seven targets. Dalen Everett was solid. I thought number six, number seven, might have been the worst of the bunch. Daniel Harris, tough day. Three, they came at him three times. All three were catches. Two were touchdowns. Ellis Robinson, same category. Three targets, two. Two catches, both touchdowns. Like, there's some, there's some corners to get in this.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Robinson's young, so you hope that he develops a little bit. He's a red shirt freshman, but. But a tough day. Man, that was a tough. It was, it was to the point of how are you gonna adjust your scheme now to cover for these corners? And I thought Everett was solid. I think that's a really good way of saying that they need him to be special. They need him to be. And he can be. He's a talented dude and he can be. But even K.J. bolden, the safety is supposed to be, you know, a different kind of cat, and he hasn't played up to his level yet. So, I mean, you're looking at all three levels of this defense. And I've, I've made this mistake before, by the way. I've done this before with this defense. But I'm looking at that tape from Tennessee and I'm. I'm not seeing what I usually see in a Georgia defense.

[Todd McShay]

Now offensively, I'm not seeing what I usually see or what I got used to seeing with Beck and that offensive system. But I do want to go back to Alabama. Like these receivers, they lost against Florida State and everyone was out. It was a witching hunt against Caleb DeBoer and the whole program. What I think everyone failed to realize was the second best player, talent wise, maybe in the entire country, was concussed in that game. Yeah, missed him. This is a different Alabama team. It's going to rely on throwing the football as a lot of the Washington teams did with like Pennix and would before and like what, what DeBoer has had. And when you have a superstar leave the game and your number three, who you brought in, who's actually your ex opposite him, and Isaiah Horton isn't going. But now I watch him against Wisconsin, albeit it's Wisconsin, I get where they are as a program right now, but. Six targets, five catches, 165, 109 of those, that was for Ryan Williams. 109 of those were after the catch. Two touchdowns. Jermaine Bernard, Jeremy Bernard, you know what I feel about him? Just an awesome, awesome receiver. Seven targets, five catches. This is against Wisconsin Horton F catches. All five balls thrown to him. Your big possession target all five. Only 48, but had a touchdown. Now we got dudes and Ty Simpson's making quick decisions. He moves around well. He can escape. This is going to be an interesting fight. The thing that surprised me, though, Mensch, they don't have Alabama. Does not have Alabama running backs.

[Steve (Mensch)]

No, it feels like they haven't for a couple of years now though, right? It's.

[Todd McShay]

But it's like, I mean, think about the pipeline that was. Yeah.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Well, you think they're watching Michigan right now and being going, how do we let that cat out of our building? Justice Haynes running around for the Wolverines.

[Todd McShay]

I mean, Kevin Riley's nice. He's a freshman. He gathers when he's working outside, he gets tripped up. He's only 511, 191, averaging 5.2. Like, he's doing good things, but it's just. Richard Young's a bigger sophomore, 212 pounds. The other guy, A.K. deer, is an explosive freshman. He's also 212 pounds, averaging 12.1, but only seven carries. So, like, I. It's going to be interesting because it kind of feels like if this is going to have to be Alabama coming out and absolutely slinging it between the hedges and it's not what you're. You know.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah. So can I give you a couple numbers here?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, please.

[Steve (Mensch)]

What do you think that Kirby Smart. It's just Kirby Smart between the hedges. His record is 52 and 4. Care careful about going against this cat. But I'll say this. The other thing he has played. They've played Alabama seven times. You want to guess what his record is?

[Todd McShay]

Five and two.

[Steve (Mensch)]

One and six. No, that's what it said. I couldn't believe it.

[Todd McShay]

I. I thought you were just gonna.

[Steve (Mensch)]

One in six. It says not one of those games has been played in Athens. Remember, they pay a lot of championship games with Alabama. There was all those battles before Georgia really got over the hump. Right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. I should have thought about that before I answered it.

[Steve (Mensch)]

But, yeah, I still, man, I. It's tough to beat Georgia at Georgia. Man. It is really tough to do it. And every time, every time that I feel like there's a weakness in this Georgia defense, it's like Kirby sees the same thing and he addresses it and he fixes it and it finds a way.

[Todd McShay]

No, I don't disagree.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I will say this. Tim Keenan, the defensive tackle from Alabama, is supposed to be back this week. I think that's a different defensive front with him. This is a guy a lot of people were talking about, maybe a first round pick. I think he's a bigger run stuffer type. He's probably a day two guy, but he is. It's a different defensive front with Tim Keenan in the lineup. He's supposed to be back this week. That'll be a big help with them. Lt Overton I'm not very high on the Georgia offensive line. There's a lot of things that if I was just going off what's on paper and what I've seen on tape, I would feel really good about Alabama in this game. And I just, I feel like both.

[Todd McShay]

Of these programs, even watching as much shape as I did. No, I know. But with both these programs I feel like I know less than I normally would going into a week five about both of them.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It seems early for them to be playing too. Like this should be a this should be like a November game, an October game at least. It just feels early for this kind of put up or shut up time.

[Todd McShay]

The McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel. It's one of the biggest weeks in sports and FanDuel is turning it into a full on celebration. Introducing FanDuel Boost Fest where every day from September 25th to the 28th brings you 50% profit boost on the biggest matchups in football, baseball, golf and more. However you play, that 50% profit boost is ready to go every single day during Boost fest. Download the FanDuel app or head to FanDuel.com McShay to jump into Boost Fest where the games are big and the boosts are bigger. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms@sportsbook fanduel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-gambler or visit rg d help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut this episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Co. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger? Duluth Trading Co. Crafts hall of Fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer louder and tailgate longer. Trust me, like I'm a scene at the Grill, I know what this is all about. They've got bibs loaded with pockets, gusted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals and free swinging shirts. Tailor made for beanbag tossing or some like to call it cornhole. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duluth Trading this episode is brought to you by the Home Depot. The Home Depot is here to help you create the perfect game day energy. Whether you're hosting friends in your backyard, turning your living room into the ultimate viewing space, or even hitting the tailgate. Download the Home Depot app and get fast and free delivery on thousands of items plus tons of services, digital tools and guides to help you get your project done. Free Delivery on over 2 million online items subject to availability C Home Depot.com the Home Depot how doers get more done we got a bunch of other games and the way we're going through it now, like those, those were extended. Those are the two prime time games mention I spent a lot of time in the last 72 hours and obviously over the course of the season, but really trying to dial in what in in our tape study. Like what are our we're calling it the the tape takes. It's not because we're just trying to throw something out there to get splash or to go viral. It's literally like, all right, we've watched the tape and thank God it was raining here today. So I've spent the whole day inside not feeling bad about it and trying to figure out and explain to you our audience, what's the stuff that's jumping out the mic. What's the thing that you got to know going into this game? So I'm going to throw it to you, Mensch. We got those two big games kind of talked about in depth. Tell me something from one of these other games. The way I see it, there's like there's nine games. There's nine awesome matchups this week. So bring us to one of the other ones.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Listen, you've been, you have been talking up these Trojans for a while now, okay? And it's been all offense. All I'm hearing about is how good this offense is and rightfully so. I got a chance. They got Illinois this week at Illinois, I got a chance to see that their numbers, their sack numbers are some of the best in the country. And so I'm thinking to myself, Illinois had a hard time protecting. I'm going to watch this SC defense that I haven't seen.

[Todd McShay]

Talk about their offensive line, by the way.

[Steve (Mensch)]

No, what do you say quotes about Illinois's offensive line?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, let me paragraph paraphrase that was. That was pair that was paraphrased combined.

[Steve (Mensch)]

With so he buries them.

[Todd McShay]

Javon Hargrave, let me paraphrase. We knew they sucked going in. We were going to go after them and they sucked as bad as we thought.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I will get to it in a second. All right. I'm gonna. I have absolutely fallen in love with usc. I'm gonna start with the scheme, the defense corner. Danton Lynn's been there. Now, this is his second year. He's got an NFL background. He was at UCLA before that, but he was in the NFL before that. Dude, good luck. He has exotic fronts. He has guys walking up in gaps, dropping. You never know who's coming or going. You have no idea who's rushing. It could be. It could be anyone at any point. Then he's twisting guys. He's playing different coverages behind it. He's got this.

[Todd McShay]

He has a safe.

[Steve (Mensch)]

The strong safety from North Carolina State transfer Bishop Fitzgerald. Right. And he will just let this guy be like a robber underneath. And all he does is read the quarterback. He's got three picks this year. He excels at just watching the quarterback and making a play on the ball. And if you, if you don't. If you don't account for this kid on every play, you are going to be in trouble. And then they have guys up front that they, they can win. Anthony Lucas is a power rusher off the edge. Devin Tompkins between the tackles. If you have, have you seen Eric Gentry, the linebacker for them? He is 6 foot 6 and 225 pounds.

[Todd McShay]

He looks like a small forward, Cam Chancellor. But he can close.

[Steve (Mensch)]

He could close and he's long and he could cover. So if he drops, he's a problem.

[Todd McShay]

He.

[Steve (Mensch)]

If he rushes, he's a problem. And then you flip it over to the other side and you have an offensive line that I'm not sure could block. I don't want to be. You know, I'm not going to be overly mean about this.

[Todd McShay]

They can't handle what was rc? Rcf Resting. Signetti face had no problem. So why should you blink?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah, I would go too far. I'll just say that they can't. They're not picking pressure off the edge. They're not blocking guys between the tackles. And then you add on to it a quarterback that sometimes holds on to the ball too long and Luke Altmeyer and is not an elite athlete. It's a recipe. And, and all those different coverages and guys dropping and all that, you're going to hold on to the ball even longer. Okay, so you add in all of those factors. I Love USC at Illinois. I think Illinois is going to drop the second one in a row. I think the spread in that game is six and a half on the road. Usc. USC on the road, six and a half.

[Todd McShay]

I do want to let all of our folks know I failed to say this. We do have our, our fanduel picks of the week. We'll, we'll save them for the very end of the show. Okay? That's important. So like stick around and don't go fast forward, you pricks. Don't go do it. Stick around and watch the rest of the show. But we're me to celebrate this unbelievable week five slate. We're going to make a nine, nine leg parlay and I got a feeling that USC's in it. And you're, you and I are going to go back and forth. I'm going to put it in my phone and we're going to place it. All right, Go.

[Steve (Mensch)]

That's it. I'm just, I'm telling you, as much as we heard about USC's offense, this defense, keep an eye on it. It's for, it is for real. You're getting a lot thrown at you as the Wolf in terms of protection and as a quarterback. They can turn you over. They have guys that can play the ball. It's just that defense is as much of a reason as that offense that they can make a run.

[Todd McShay]

So we're taking USC and we're maneuvering that line a little bit in their 9, 9 leg parlay that we'll, we'll provide at the end of this. We're going to win some money this weekend. I got to pay for that Hibachi nonsense coming here on Saturday night. All right. My, my tape. Take three. Defending Demon Williams is going to be a different animal than Arch in week one. Like Ohio State. Washington hasn't leveled up to the Ohio states and some of the other like to the Miamis this year, to the.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Maybe the LSU talent, depth of talent.

[Todd McShay]

A depth of talent, all of that.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

Okay. I told you in the summer. I like when I watched him at the Manning passing academy. Like, this guy's special. He's not the biggest. We may not be talking like first round draft and all that, but this guy's special. Like, special special. I put on the tape, man, and I know it was Washington State and they haven't really played anybody. He's driving the ball. He is. I mean, and he's got burst in juice. He could be a little bit off the market times, but not like some of These other young athletic guys who are still kind of learning how to throw the football at the college level coming out of high school. This guy's in his second year. Demon Williams. Ohio State's gonna have a problem with him. They're gonna have a problem with him. He is so confident what he's doing and when he doesn't see it or read it quite yet. And Jed Fish does a really good job, right. He just gets himself out of trouble and then they, they lean into it and they're like yeah, let's just, let's run off tackle. Let's run a power with the, you know, turning the corner. That wash that. Against Washington State he had that run and it was a big hole and they did a great job blocking it up hat for hat. But he turns the corner.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's like he can move. Yeah, yeah. He like four fours, right. He accelerates and see you later.

[Todd McShay]

And then there's a. I was play 10 on my clip. Real. I don't know what. No, I think it was play 10 from the game against Washington State. Doesn't matter. He had the sail route. Waits for the outside cornerback to clear like it was assigned to me that he's starting to see it because it was like that fine line between. I got to make sure that cornerback clears and he doesn't, he doesn't have flat responsibility on the sale and this but this. The millisecond he did and as the receivers just going to break. The timing of it all was perfection. Balls out on time drills it from the. It was like 16 yards but it was from the right hash to the left sideline. As a right handed quarterback like that's not an easy throw. And I got news for you. I know I love Chris Brazil.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's going to be a new guy every week.

[Todd McShay]

No no. But I think his top, top competition might be that number 12 Denzel Boston.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Man, Jordan Tyson is not even.

[Todd McShay]

I love Jordan Tyson too. Yeah, they're all in the mix. It's early, it's. We're in September still. But I'm just saying.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I'm just needling you.

[Todd McShay]

I know you.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I love him. You know I love him. I love him. He had this catch behind him so.

[Todd McShay]

Good between the seams. It was a great throw by. By Williams. But my. The body control at six foot four, you know or six, three, whatever he is for scouts. But he's, he's a big guy. Hauled in the touchdown in the corner of the end zone is a head top.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Big body man. He's. He's good. And they throw in Jonah Coleman in that. In at a running back and.

[Todd McShay]

No, I know, but I'm just telling you, Ohio State, I don't know that they. I mean, I'm sure they know this is going to be a different animal. They're gonna. He's gonna gas this defense and Patricia is going to throw stuff at him. He's going to make him look young because he is young. And there's going to be some. It's. It's not going to be all beautiful, but. But he. All he needs is like six, seven big time plays to keep this thing frustrating for Ohio State. I think Ohio State's walking into a war, an absolute war.

[Steve (Mensch)]

There's still not, I think, Clat. I was watching Clatt the other day. I don't think Washington's in the top 25 in the.

[Todd McShay]

It's because stupid people are not all, but there are too many stupid people.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Fire them up. Let's go. Yeah. It's not good, man. It's not good.

[Todd McShay]

Washington. If Washington, with that cat at quarterback and that 6 foot 4 receiver and that Jonah at running belt.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Is not a top 25 team. I. I quit.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I don't get it. I don't get it either, man.

[Todd McShay]

All right, what's your next take? Take, take. Where are we going?

[Steve (Mensch)]

I'm going to. This is where this is. This is. It defines the.

[Todd McShay]

This is the.

[Steve (Mensch)]

The you to hot takes.

[Todd McShay]

Right?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Because I went in and thought I. I knew what I was going to say about LSU going to Ole Miss. We now know that the Trinidad Chambliss is starting at quarterback for Ole Miss. Trinidad Chambliss is much more mobile than Austin Simmons, the hurt starter right now. He's shown a lot that he can do with his legs. LSU over the last couple years struggled mightily with mobile quarterbacks. And I thought because they would have Harold Perkins, who was hurt early in the year last year, that that would make a significant difference. And then I realized, well, Harold Perkins was on the field when Lenora sellers went for 88 last year, and he was on the field when Jay Lemillro went off two years ago. He's going off the last two years against lsu. This has been a historical thing. So maybe it's not Harold Perkins. Maybe it's. It's more than that. And you know what it is? It's just football. I went back and watched Sellers, Marcel Reed and Milroe against LSU over the last. Some of the last couple years. Milro the last two years, the other Guys last year, okay, And I went back and I watched them because they. Stylistically, they're a little different. I'm trying to find something. And the reality is, it's just this. Guys were taking bad angles, guys were not tackling. They're frequently giving up the edge. The rush defender was getting out of position. It's just bad football. Okay?

[Todd McShay]

So it.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Has Blake Baker, the defense coordinator, been able to fix it? Here's why I think this is going to be different. They've really went through the transfer portal and improved their defensive line. And maybe not elite players, but tough gap sound tough players that can play the run. And I think that's going to make a big difference for them up front. I also like their backhand guys. Completely rebuilt the back end. I think they're in a better position for this in terms of angles and wrapping up and containing a quarterback. So to me, that's why I believe that LC is going to be doing. It's not that they've done. They're going to do anything different. Schematically, this is, you know, it's the same scheme, it's the same defense, but the players up front are a little bit different. And I think they're going to be in better position, but they better be. I will say this, they better be because this Chambers kid can run more.

[Todd McShay]

I didn't get to Chambers this week, man.

[Steve (Mensch)]

He's the. When you watch the power quarterback game against LSU over the last couple years, it's guys who are quick and they follow their blocks. And that's what Chandler does. When they give him a designed quarterback run, he's instinctive like a running back, and he is quick like a running back. And he's got good contact balance. He can do all of those things. And the other thing about him, like the quarterbacks they faced, if you want to just lock in on the run and play him like it's. It's Wildcat all the time, do so at your own risk. This kid throwing the ball pretty well. And you know the Kiffin head coach, Lane Kiffin for Ole Miss, as long as he's not distracted by his daughter dating the linebacker from lsu. You know the Kiff is going to be putting this kid in good position to make plays.

[Todd McShay]

How about this? Good on you wit weeks. And then how about Kiffin's response? Priceless. Take the old. Yep, yep. You ain't gonna win.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Love it.

[Todd McShay]

He'll go scorched earth. You ain't gonna win on social media with Lane. I. I mean, is there anything Better than the sec.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Is there anything better than Lane?

[Todd McShay]

We have daughters dating opposing linebackers and head coaches posting like, I just love, like college football's the best man. You don't find this nonsense in the buttoned up leagues everywhere else. Like this is. But I'll say this about Lane, for all the crazy and I'm sure people are speculating this was part of the publicity stunt, the Netflix and I can't. Is it Netflix or I don't know where the. Where his documentary. I don't know either.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I will be finding it though.

[Todd McShay]

And he's a, he's a personal inspiration. He's overcome things, all this stuff. And he's a character and he's a bud. Like, he's a good guy.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I, I like, just a smart man. He's like, he just incredibly talented.

[Todd McShay]

You know how you can tell like the real ones is when they are so good at something and have such a high level of success. And you think about him at usc and yes, there was Sark, but Lane with the, the success that he had at usc. Okay. With the west coast, principled Bill Walsh, like old school west coast liner Sanch, like, okay. And then he comes to Ole Miss and he can still have that success with RPO tempo.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And then they get, they get some running backs and it's like, we're going to rp, but we're going to go tempo, but we're going to grind you with it. And then we get Jackson Dart in his first year and we're doing the RPO stuff, but we're sprinkling a little of that west coast in. And then the second, and then his final year, they're like USC, they're like 49ers and now Chambliss comes in and it's, you know, like when you can have that level of success doing all these different things, that's genius.

[Steve (Mensch)]

You know, this is a dangerous game for lsu. This is a dangerous game for lsu. They're in a little bit of a spot here. I mean, they beat Clemson, Florida now and now we're looking at those games.

[Todd McShay]

Last five years, I was looking. Last five years this has been a home team wins rivalry series, whatever you want to say.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It would not surprise me if the, if the Tigers were upset this weekend.

[Todd McShay]

Well, if you hang on a few minutes, we're going to tell you which side we go with. And we're playing with lines to get a nine leg parlay. I have a feeling about this thing, man.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's, it's, it's not as the craziest thing I've ever seen.

[Todd McShay]

Thank you. All right, Tape take for. I like that when you go in with a preconceived notion and it blasts.

[Steve (Mensch)]

You, but you can't stick with it, right, man, you can't be like, oh, no, I'm gonna make something up.

[Todd McShay]

No, that's when you make.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I went back and I looked at. I was looking at analytics for Pro Football Focus, about. Are they running different coverages? Are they running different blitz packages?

[Todd McShay]

Nope.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's very similar to what they've done, man. Like, you can't just make shit up. You just got to play better football. But I do believe in momentum, and I do think the LSU defense has momentum right now, and I think that Blake Baker as a play caller has momentum.

[Todd McShay]

You know, it takes a certain kind of animal to go back two years. Men had to see it.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I had to know what happened.

[Todd McShay]

Going back two years in tape to watch mobile quarterbacks against. Against LSU without even the coordinator takes a total lunatic. And that's why. It's why I love you. All right. My, My, my. Tape take four. Don't buy Mississippi State's past defense numbers.

[Steve (Mensch)]

No, they're better, right?

[Todd McShay]

They're better now. Mississippi State's four. No. It's a wonderful thing. They beat Arizona State, and that's a wonderful thing. And it is in. In large part to what they're doing on the defensive side and how much improved that past defense is. But I want to begin with this. For a Power 5 school, that might have been the worst pass defense I've ever seen.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It was atrocious.

[Todd McShay]

It was almost like someone playing a trick on us or someone playing with the lines here, like something's up. It was that bad. But as a whole, Mississippi State's only allowed 47 points a season, the fewest through four games that they've had as a. As a school, as a program since 1999.

[Steve (Mensch)]

That's awesome.

[Todd McShay]

I get it. Who have they played? And I'll get to that in a second. Last season was the worst, by far, as I said, in the s. By far in the sec. And the tape, as I said, corroborated that story. Now, the difference has been, if you look at the numbers, has they haven't allowed more than 200 passing yards. So I'm reading these over notes, and I gave and I had these notes going into my tape study. So I'm like, awesome. I want to see, like, maybe transfer portal. Where's it? Okay, two. Having allowed more than 200 passing yards in a game. Mississippi State is 14th nationally, 129 passing yards allowed per game. Right. So then I put on the tape Southern Miss, Alcorn State, Northern Illinois, which ranks 132 in past. Past offense, and Arizona State with a quarterback in Sam Levitt, the UN I see the talent. We know how gifted he is and hopefully in 2027, we're going to be talking about him as an early round draft pick. He left a lot of completions on the field, man. He just didn't. I have a good game. And he did.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I told you.

[Todd McShay]

I know you did, but I have to see it for myself before I can. I know I can make it mine. That's what was so disappointing. Receivers, like just, they're, they're drops and then they're like, it's not a drop. Like, PFF's not going to write that down as a drop, but like make a play. Yes. Do you know what I mean? Like that.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah, we've gotten away from that a little bit. These receivers are getting a lot of, you know, it's, it's switched over. A little bit of the ball placement needs to be better for the receiver. It's like, well, you got your hands on him. I mean like, catch it.

[Todd McShay]

So let's spin this thing forward and let's look at this game against Tennessee because Tennessee comes in even coming off the loss a couple weeks ago. A lot of confidence, right. This offense is.

[Steve (Mensch)]

They should.

[Todd McShay]

Joey Aguilar. Aguilar is, is, is a dude. He's a college football dude. Okay, Chris. Chris Brazil, Braylon Staley, Mike Matthews and the gang are rolling in. Right, okay. And, and yeah, the cowbells are going to be ringing and it's going to be a nuisance. And Mississippi State's amped up. Mississippi State plays a lot of COVID three and man free on the tape I watched. That means for those. I'm not trying to talk overheads or confuse, like, that means a single high safety, a safety in the middle of the field that allows you to walk a safety up. They play a lot of eight. I wouldn't call them eight man boxes, but like eight men in the neighborhood probably, you know, minimum six, seven, usually seven, eight guys who are capable of getting involved near the line of scrimmage. Okay. So that as a quarterback creates concern when, when we know we're throwing the football with who, who's coming, who's going and all that. They show a lot of blitz on passing downs. So you'll have seven. Yeah, six. Seven guys kind of up, moving around and, and they got Levitt early in the game. If you notice one of them, he went bailing out to his left. They only rushed forward and he had a pocket. Young guys still learning, right? But so now you've got this Aguilar guy who's San Francisco to Appalachian State to tennis to UCLA to Tennessee. He's been through some wars, albeit not in the this level, but he proved like I'm here, like I'll, I'll pick apart Georgia. And so now he's going to see this Mississippi State and it's gonna be on the road and there's gonna be no more crowd noise and they're gonna be all worked up four and oh, best defense since 99. Right. He'll, he'll make a mistake or two. There'll be a communication thing. But eventually these corners and I don't like. It's just when you watch tape, you got a report like D' Angelo Brumfield, 6 foot 19 senior, he's the guy to target. He's number four. If.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Wow.

[Todd McShay]

If Tennessee can isolate Cold Blooded, if Tennessee can isolate Brazil. Brazil, why do I say I think Brazil's gonna have a huge game.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Who can cover him in the country? Right now I don't know if anyone.

[Todd McShay]

But then if you bring that safety over in a single high and you bracket them and then, then I've got, I got Staley and Matthews right on the other side. And so now, now if we go two back now I can run the football. So like something's going to give. It's going to take Tennessee coming out and making a lot of mistakes, something getting to it. Like it's going to take a really uncomfortable circumstance because. And yeah, and even in their pass rush, man, they don't have guys. The, the one guy that could, Will Whitson, he was there, I thought like their best pass rusher and even NFL scouts agree he would. He was their highest rated by one of the, the, you know, national bless. Highest rated defensive prospect coming in. Got off to a really good start this season. Suffered the season ending injury against Arizona State though. So I, I know everyone's talking about Mississippi State and everyone's saying this is a dangerous game and this is the watch. They could be looking ahead, get tripped up, all that stuff. I think Tennessee is going to roll them.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I agree. I think they're gonna, I don't even think it's gonna take them that long. I think they're gonna get out and go. I think it's gonna be a fast Start.

[Todd McShay]

All right, what's next?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Do we remember? Because I kind of forgot, to be honest with you. Do you remember how good the Auburn and Texas. The Auburn, Texas A and M game was last year? Four overtimes, 43 to 41. Oh, yeah. And Cam Coleman. Cam Coleman.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Seven for 128 and two touchdowns in that game. Okay. So they're gonna have to figure out a way to slow him down. Texas A M is. Because I think they got a bet. I mean, Auburn's got a better quarterback now. Jackson, Arnold. And I thought he. I thought Coleman played really well last week against Oklahoma. This is. Cam Coleman's a different. I don't know if people. If. I don't know if still, if people know him that well. He is like, on the level of Ryan Williams in front of. In terms of talent. And I mean that, like, he's on. In terms of talent. He's not the receiver that Ryan Williams is yet, but in terms of talent, he's in that conversation. That's how talented he is. So he's going to go against a Texas A and M defense. He's got a pretty good corner, will lead the third. Now, I went into this thinking this is going to be a great matchup. I'm going to be honest with you. I was startled at how bad Willie III is playing this year. And it better figure it. They. They need him to figure it out quick. He is a talented guy, but I mean, I'm talking about against Utah State. He wasn't playing well. Like, he's getting shook at the line of scrimmage. They need Will Lee to be able to compete one on one. I think in this game, I think there's a real chance that Coleman goes off again. The. The two things that stood out to me is if Willie doesn't start playing up to his ability quickly, they're going to have a hard time covering on the back end.

[Todd McShay]

But they're also.

[Steve (Mensch)]

They had better heat up that pass rush and they could do that. Auburn's offensive line has been pretty shaky. The kid Xavier chaplain is talented but has not played up to his ability. By the way, that's an ongoing theme I want to talk to you about. The offensive tackles in this class are talented but have not been playing well, man. Have not been playing well. So anyways, I love just like the.

[Todd McShay]

Mental image of you, like, pulling me into a room, like, yeah, like, hey, my guys aren't.

[Steve (Mensch)]

My guys haven't been doing what they were supposed to be doing.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. I think we need to make sure that you're, you understand these offensive are, they are talented, but they're not playing to the level yet. I'll get back to you when I feel like we're at a place where we can start talking positively about the offensive tackles. Okay, good meeting. That's the mental image I have of that.

[Steve (Mensch)]

So anyways, I really like to say I'd like this A and M team, but Cam Coleman's a problem and Will Lee's gotta, I think, play better. And the other thing is, you know, if, if you try, if you start doing the same things we were talking about a minute ago, where you're bracketing Coleman, you're creating single coverage for Eric Singleton, who is a beast in his own right. A different kind of player, but a guy that can really hurt you. So the Eggies, this is another one, man, where you're looking at it and you're thinking Auburn's coming off that loss. And you know, you know, this is an A N team that played really well against Notre Dame. This is a tough. This is an interesting game to me. This is an interesting game to me because there are ways that Auburn could really hurt Texas A and M.

[Todd McShay]

I could see that. Yeah, that defense, like, yeah, I like, I'm fired up to see it. I just think it's going to be a war. I think it's going to be an absolute war between those two schools. Yeah, I'd love to dive into more like we got to keep it rolling. My, my tape, take five. You know the difference between playing in the SEC and playing out in the Pacific Northwest?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Tell me.

[Todd McShay]

Thank you for playing along.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Like, am I supposed to guess here?

[Todd McShay]

No, but I just wanted a little something to prop me back up so I could continue it. So it felt, felt good. The difference is Taylon Green and Damon Williams. Taylin Green's been the talk the first few weeks and I. Obviously not after the loss to Memphis, but like through the halftime of. Okay. And coverage and tailing Gray, that doesn't affect NFL scouts. But I will tell you he's. He was a third rated quarterback, senior quarterback coming in. It was Nussmeier, it was Aller. And then it was tailing Green who's ahead of club Nick, head of Beck. Head of so very high grade. I watched his tape today and I want to say this. He is a tall, good looking athlete. He is throwing the ball with more efficiency. He is making n. He, he. He throws the ball well on the move at times. He makes some throws that are very difficult for a lot of other Quarterbacks in the world to make. But the difference is Demon Williams is like 5:10, 5, 11, plays out in the North Pacific Northwest. This guy's the same brand of. I'm going to make you miss. I'm going to be a headache. I'm going to give you four quarters of you. You're going to be on like, you're going to be exhausted when you're done playing. Me and I'm dangerous and one slip up, one can be six points like that on the ground, through the air. Okay, the difference is Washington 5 11, whatever, whatever Williams is. And Green 6. What is he, 64? 65 in the SEC? 66, 230. Yeah, I knew he was like, you look at him tape, he just stands out. Like.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So people are talking about Taylor Green the way they should be talking about Demon Williams. Taylon Green's a really good player. Taylor Green, I have seen improvement in his. In his game. Taylon Green, though, when I watched, he's still kind of javelin throwing the ball. Gets away with interception in the end zone versus Ole Miss. I think it was a penalty. I didn't go back and watch, you know, look it up in stats, but I believe it was called back because of a penalty. Should have been an interception. Back in the end zone against Ole Miss, bad decision. Doesn't get air under the ball.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Bad throw.

[Todd McShay]

Got away with another interception when rolling to his right down the sideline, throws a ball, cornerback undercuts it, but he kind of went out of bounds, couldn't make the play. But like, that's getting picked in a lot of situations. Overshot the wide open. Omega Black or. Oh, sorry. Omega Blake, back of the end zone, second quarter of that game. Those are just three examples, right? And there's just too many missed opportunities on top of too many plays that are turnover worthy, as we like to say these days. Okay, he's gonna kill you. Extending place. He's going to create big play opportunities. He's going to keep them in this game against Notre Dame. Big play here. Breakdown in Notre Dame secondary. I went into this thinking, hey, they lost to Memphis last week. But this defense has got a problem at Notre Dame. They've let up a lot of big plays. All that and I'm so let's start with Taylon. When I was done with Taylon, I was like, yeah, no, they're. He's gonna look like the score won't be 20. It won't be a 20 point. It might not be double digits. Probably won't be. They'll Kill keep them around and they've got a. Like they've. They. Their. Their offensive line might be the Playing the best in the country. I don't know how to quantify that. Qualify that. Whatever.

[Steve (Mensch)]

No, that's good. That's good.

[Todd McShay]

Their offensive line has been awesome. The center Kittler left tackle has been better than the right tackle. But as a whole, they're playing really good ball. I wouldn't bother blitzing this guy. I want him in the pocket. I don't want. And I'm watching Ole Miss and the. What was the other game of Memphis and they're blitzing them and coming at him and like it's almost like. So now you just took away another defender and now I can roll it because you ain't. You ain't catching me. I'm too long tall and athletic. So. And here's the difference for this Miami team. And I think we all. We didn't know how to put it in perspective. Not. I'm sorry. Notre Dame.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Notre Dame.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. We didn't know how to put it all in perspective until we found out Holy Miami's got dudes at receiver and that quarterback's playing at a high level. And then A and M, the shocker of the world, Concepcion Craver. They got dudes at receiver. We didn't know that. Nobody did. Except maybe someone in that building. They. They were hoping, right. Arkansas doesn't have dudes. Like. Blake's a good player. Got off to a fast start, but back to earth the last two games. Ole Miss in Memphis, he's 6 2. He's got to produce. He makes some big catches, but he's got to be consistent. I don't. I don't see him causing all sorts of problems for Notre Dame's defense. The slot receivers better than the number two, C.J. brown. He's been really steady, six one, 200, but. So I do think Notre Dame. Notre Dame is going to win this game. Is my. I think is the point I'm trying to make. Notre Dame is going to win this game for multiple reasons. And I could see a situation in which a couple big plays make the score look closer than it should. But I think Notre Dame is going to control this game. Having watched. Watch the tape that I watched. All right, one last thing. Rip through it.

[Steve (Mensch)]

The longer the Indiana Iowa game stays close, the. The more danger Indiana is in of that becoming a problem because I think Indiana should blow out Iowa. I think this is odd for me to say for someone my age to say, but Indiana, I think has A substantial edge in talent over Iowa. But this Iowa team don't like Mark Kranowski's settled in, man.

[Todd McShay]

First two games.

[Steve (Mensch)]

First two games, ugly. I mean, ugly, ugly. Last two games, he looks like a different player. He looks like he's starting to. To figure it out.

[Todd McShay]

And he's like, he was the FCS Heisman, like he won two national championship championships. Exactly.

[Steve (Mensch)]

And you look at this offense, you know, Tim Lester took over a year ago. This is his second year running the scheme. I always think of that. Iowa, I mean, in 20, dude, in 2023, the Iowa offense averaged 15.4 points per game. In 2022 is 17.7. Those. Those offenses were terrible. I mean, terrible. And I kind of think of that. But they actually, they bumped up a little bit last year, and it looks like they might be taking the next step this year. They're going to run the ball on you all day. That's what they do. They're going to run, run, run, run. But now they've got this play action package. They've got a quarterback, when you roll him out off those bootlegs, who can run. I mean, he's not an elite runner, but who can run, who can extend plays and then can also make an accurate throw on the run. So there. Iowa still has that recipe of smart, hard, tough defense. And then get these long drives going and try to minimize how many chances that Mendoza and that Indiana defense get again. I love Indiana in this game, but if you get into the. You go into the the half and Indiana's only up seven and they starting to tighten up, it's going to get interesting. It could get interesting. I'm just telling you that I love Indiana, but this Iowa team, I think is a little bit better than people realize when. When Granowski was struggling mightily early.

[Todd McShay]

All right, get your FanDuel apps out right now. And if you don't have your phone on you, get a pen and paper and write it down so you can go to fanduel after. Men and I are unveiling something, man. First of all, I will give you my fan dual play of the week. I'm now three and three and I'm pissed off and there's nothing. There's no train you want to jump on faster than. Than my train when I'm pissed off. And then we start to get to October when I start winning games. Oregon/3,2 is my play of the week.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Love it. Love it.

[Todd McShay]

Why quarterback? Okay, what's your play of the week?

[Steve (Mensch)]

I'm taking the USC, even with the 6 1/2 points. I wish that spread. Maybe you tease that spread down a little bit, but I'm gonna take usc. I really like them to beat Illinois.

[Todd McShay]

You sold me on that. And I was. I was the USC guy coming in.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I. I could not believe what I was saying.

[Todd McShay]

I'm a West coast guy now. I love Washington. I love usc.

[Steve (Mensch)]

They're good teams, man.

[Todd McShay]

They are. Here's where you have to have your app out, and it probably. You're probably gonna have to write it down and then get into your app. I don't know. It's gonna happen fast. I was gonna unveil it. We're going one through one. We've been here too long. Daddy's gotta just go.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Just go.

[Todd McShay]

Nine leg parlay. We've spent all this time watching tape, and I'm like, you know what could go wrong? My brainchild to celebrate the Week 5 Super Slate is this. And it's my brainchild in conjunction with my main man Mensch. We finished all this tape, and I was like, you know what? Why. Why not? There's nine games. I'm like, I've had this thing sitting up on my board right here. It's a slate of nine games. You get Notre Dame, Arkansas. That's 22 at Arkansas. That's a noon kick. Another noon kick. USC, number 21 versus 23, Illinois. Okay? Then you've got. Then you've got the 330 slates, okay? Notre Dame, by the way, minus four and a half. I like Notre Dame. USC minus six and a half. Loves USC. The 330 states, you get number four, LSU plus one and a half at Ole Miss. You got Auburn plus six and a half at number nine, Texas A&M, you got number one in the country, Ohio State minus eight and a half at Washington. You got number 11, Indiana, minus seven and a half at Iowa. Those are all I. I'm going to have to get out. I mean, the YouTube TV, mega screen four is get. You know, when it gets up, men at 4, 15. Because now I got.

[Steve (Mensch)]

There's too many. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So I'm hoping one of those teams. It's like a blowout. I need Indiana, like you said, to pull away early so I can pop Tennessee, Mississippi State into that sucker. That wraps up. Take a breath, Hibachi. Guys firing up the grill outside. By the way, he got at 7 o'. Clock. 7 o'. Clock. And I'll probably run out 7, 10. We'll eat for 20 minutes. Happy birthday. Love you. Tate, let's go 7:30 games. Number six, Oregon, plus three and a half at Penn State. Number 17, Alabama, plus two and a half at Georgia. And then last five, seven minutes of those games, we're on until probably three in the morning, wrapping this whole thing up. But here's our. Here it is night. First time ever on the McShay Show. We've lost our minds. We watch too much tape. This is a conjunction. Me and Mensch. Okay? The best of what we got. Our top tape takes resulted in this. And I'll tell you right now, I put $200 on it. 100 for mention, 100 for me.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Wow.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. And I get the. The. I want to see what the. I think it was plus 1800. I think it was plus 1800. Dan just wrote winnings go to the producers.

[Steve (Mensch)]

The.

[Todd McShay]

The winnings will start going. The producers. When. When you and. And Tucker. Grab your onions. Grab your onions and start coming on the show a little bit. No, Dan. Dan came up with Dan. Dan's had a dance. Had a great week this week. Just so.

[Steve (Mensch)]

It's a great year. Dan's had a great.

[Todd McShay]

Always great. But Dan, like, when you elevate, you know you need to be ready.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

I'm telling you, Dan is taking stuff to another level this week. Here we go. Us. And it's not by. Yeah, it is by time code. Look at us. Noon kicks, usc. These are all alternate lines we had. Yeah. You gotta win.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Alternate lights. Don't look at these and say, I'm not finding these lines anyway.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Alternate line. Get on your FanDuel app. It's real easy. Click two buttons, you're an alternate line. Find the number that we're giving you. USC plus three and a half. That's minus 350. Arkansas plus 17 and a half. I bumped that up because I couldn't, God forbid. But I had to keep it. Like, I just think they're going to keep it close. I know Notre Dame's going to win. They get. So I bumped it up to 17 and a half. Okay. That one is a big one. Minus 520. That was our biggest odds because I had. I just had. I know what I'm doing. But I also couldn't lose the nine leg parlay at 1:32 o'. Clock.

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

All right. So now we're in the 3:30s. Indiana, we got plus three and a half. Washington plus 17 and a half. A. M. Plus four and a half. Oh, miss. Plus 10 and a half. You and you on board with all these men?

[Steve (Mensch)]

Yes, I like. I. I think this is all reasonable, which is why the one that, is.

[Todd McShay]

That Auburn one, that's the one that scares me the most. Okay. After that Tennessee money line against Mississippi State, I shouldn't have even messed with that line. Get in, give as many points as you want. Away Oregon. Now the two night games. Oregon, I moved it up to ten and a half. We got to be safe if we've got eight. If we've gotten seven in a row, let's give Oregon ten and a half. They're not losing the Penn state by, by 11 and then Bama plus 10 and a half. I gotta believe that game's gonna be tight.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I agree, too. Yeah, there it is.

[Todd McShay]

But we put 200 down. It's like plus. It's plus like eight. It's like plus 900. It's like 1800 to win. So it. So that's. That's the deal. All right. Been a long week.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I think we did well.

[Todd McShay]

Take.

[Steve (Mensch)]

I think we did well.

[Todd McShay]

We did well. Take a day and a half, Rest up. It's going to be a long Saturday. I hope everyone enjoyed this. It's been a labor of love. It's been a lot of fun. 5 stars. Must be 21 plus and present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ plus and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit RGB D help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gambling Helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 247 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-Ate Hope NY or text Hope NY in New York.

[Steve (Mensch)]

This episode is brought to you by Warner Brothers Pictures. One Battle After Another is coming to theaters September 26th. Don't miss Legendary writer, director and producer my guy Paul Thomas Anderson teaming up with Leo DiCaprio for the first time ever. Pretty exciting. They almost teamed together in Boogie Nights actually alongside award winning actors like Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Benicio Del Toro in this hilarious action packed adventure following Bob Ferguson, an ex revolutionary, on a mission to find his missing daughter and overcome the consequences of his past. One Battle after Another Only in theaters September 26th. Get tickets now. Rated R. Under 17, not admitted without parenting.