The Big Ten and SEC Championship Player Draft | Rough Draft 1.6

Summary

The McShay Show: The Big Ten and SEC Championship Player Draft | Rough Draft 1.6

Date: December 4, 2025
Host: Todd McShay (with Mensch)
Podcast: The Ringer Presents: The McShay Show

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Overview

In this episode, Todd McShay and co-host Mensch dive into a creative “player draft” format, previewing the Big Ten and SEC Championship games by “drafting” the best players and position units from the four contending teams—Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, and Alabama. The approach is not based solely on draft stock, but on which players these experienced evaluators would want for a single high-stakes championship game. They break down QBs, RBs, wideouts, tight ends, O-lines, all defensive units, and even pick their dream head coach for these matchups.

The episode is rich with evaluation insights, back-and-forth banter, and plenty of debate—both serious and tongue-in-cheek—about personnel, big-game potential, and program strengths.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction & Structure

• [00:05] McShay introduces the episode as a test of their football evaluation skills via a draft of the best players and units from the SEC and Big Ten championship contenders.
• [02:24] Outlines the draft: quarterback, every offensive skill position, and various defensive units—including a surprise request from the producer to pick the coach they’d want on their sideline.

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2. Quarterback Draft

• [07:02] McShay takes the first pick and, after much consideration, chooses Julian Sayin (Ohio State) for his rapid progression as a first-year starter:
  • “I’ve seen an advancement in his game that’s just… astounding to watch.” (McShay, 08:23)
• Mensch, with the second pick, goes Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), citing his clutch, high-stakes wins on the road against Iowa, Oregon, and Penn State:
  • “The wins the way that [Mendoza] has won, where he’s won, gave him a little bit of an edge over Sayin even though Sayin’s playing at an elite level.” (Mensch, 11:22)
• Both agree the QB field is unusually strong—any of the four (including Ty Simpson and Gunner Stockton from the SEC) would be championship-caliber options.

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3. Running Back Draft

• [14:36] Mensch picks first, takes Bo Jackson (Ohio State), citing his explosive finish to the season and expanded role:
  • “For the last five games, he’s going over 100 yards rushing… He’s got it all. I think he maybe hasn’t reached his full potential yet, which is scary.” (Mensch, 15:07)
• McShay: Nate Frazier (Alabama), noting his explosive ability and recent turnaround after early-season fumble issues:
  • “He is fast. He is explosive. He’s got fresh legs too… and it’s going to be like three or four runs that could make all the difference in this game.” (McShay, 17:23)

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4. Wide Receiver Draft

• Each picks two WRs.
  • McShay’s #1: Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State)
    • “His presence is such a difference… you have to account for Jeremiah Smith, his impact, no matter how good it is production wise, is going to be massive.” (McShay, 19:44)
  • Mensch’s #1: Carnell Tate (Ohio State)
    • “If there’s a 50-50 ball, I expect Carnell Tate to come down with it. I think it’s more like 80-20.” (Mensch, 21:30)
  • Second WR choices:
    • McShay: Jeremy Bernard (Alabama) – praised for reliability and NFL-caliber route running.
    • Mensch: Zachariah Branch (Georgia) – “I just love the explosiveness… an extension of the running game.” (Mensch, 23:38)

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5. Tight End Draft

• Slim group, but both see Max Clare (Ohio State) as the top option:
  • “Claire is the most talented of the four. I agree.” (McShay, 26:17)
• McShay also highlights Oscar Delp (Georgia) and Riley Nowakowski (Alabama) as interesting but not “featured” options.

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6. Offensive Line Draft

• McShay: Ohio State’s line, citing both personnel and surging physicality
  • “This year they’re just being quiet, lining up and… being more physical.” (McShay, 28:55)
• Mensch: Indiana’s line, especially left tackle Carter Smith and the group’s cohesion
  • “Carter Smith, the left tackle, might be the best left tackle playing in these two games… this is a unit that’s really good as a whole.” (Mensch, 29:55)

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7. Defensive Front: Edge & Interior DL

• Edge:
  • Mensch: Ohio State’s group (Kaden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr.)
  • McShay: Alabama, for talent and depth (led by Yonze Pierre)
• Interior DL:
  • Mensch: Ohio State for Kaden McDonald’s high impact.
  • McShay: Indiana for the nation’s 2nd-best run defense and a collection of stout bodies led by Tyreek Tucker.

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8. Linebacker & Secondary Drafts

Linebacker

• McShay: Ohio State as the clear best, with two first-round talents in Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles
  • “There are two… first-round inside linebackers… That’s astounding.” (McShay, 40:54)
• Mensch: Indiana’s linebackers—Aiden Fisher, Isaiah Jones, and Relijah Hardy—are remarkably underrated and central to Indiana’s defensive success
  • “These Indiana linebackers are criminally underrated.” (Mensch, 43:38)

Defensive Back

• Mensch: Alabama, highlighting Bray Hubbard and the ascending freshman Dijon Lee
  • “I wanted to go in another direction, but I ended up on Alabama.” (Mensch, 45:14)
• McShay: Agrees but says Ohio State is very close, particularly with their corners’ play and the #1 pass defense.

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9. Head Coach Draft

• [48:54] McShay (surprise pick): Kurt Signetti (Indiana)
  • “He scares the fuck out of me. He’s a wild card… there’s something about that Signetti nut going into a weekend like this where they’re clearly outclassed… somehow, some way, this game’s going to be close late.” (McShay, 49:46)
• Mensch: Ryan Day (Ohio State)
  • “Give me Ryan Day… from the end of last year when they lost that game and the sky was falling until now, has put on an absolute clinic.” (Mensch, 51:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the four QBs: “Give me any one of the four and I'll roll with any of them. I really am. That's rare.” – McShay (11:22)
• “Anytime you go into two of the biggest games of the year… and we can honestly say we’re cool with all four quarterbacks, that’s... setting up for an awesome Saturday, right?” – McShay (13:36)
• On Bo Jackson’s development: “At the end of the year… he’s their guy.” – Mensch (14:36)
• “This was one of the easiest [positions to pick].” – McShay, on LB for Ohio State (39:33)
• On Kurt Signetti as head coach: “You are out of your goddamn mind… but I love Signetti.” – Mensch (48:57)
• “I'm not saying who's gonna coach my program forever. I'm saying he scares me Saturday night.” – McShay (51:43)
• “There are two… first-round inside linebackers. That's astounding. There have been two true off-the-ball linebackers drafted in the first round in the last three years in the NFL and [Ohio State's] got two playing on that defense alone. It's wild.” (McShay, 40:54)
• On Alabama’s secondary: “I would put this secondary up with any secondary in the country.” – McShay (45:42)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro & Draft Setup: [00:05-02:55]
• Quarterback Picks: [07:02-13:18]
• Running Backs: [13:54-18:09]
• Wide Receiver Draft: [18:09-24:50]
• Tight Ends: [24:53-27:33]
• Offensive Line: [27:40-31:17]
• Edge & Interior DL: [33:49-39:23]
• Linebackers: [39:26-43:56]
• Secondary: [43:56-48:28]
• Coach Draft: [48:44-53:07]
• Closing Recap & Bet Picks: [53:07-60:57]

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Summary Table: First Picks by Position

| Position | McShay's Top Pick | Mensch's Top Pick | |-------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------| | QB | Julian Sayin (OSU) | Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) | | RB | Nate Frazier (Alabama) | Bo Jackson (OSU) | | WR1 | Jeremiah Smith (OSU) | Carnell Tate (OSU) | | WR2 | Jeremy Bernard (Alabama) | Zachariah Branch (Georgia) | | TE | Oscar Delp (Georgia) | Max Clare (OSU) | | O-Line | Ohio State | Indiana | | Edge | Alabama | Ohio State | | Interior DL | Indiana | Ohio State | | LB | Ohio State | Indiana | | Secondary | Alabama | Alabama | | Coach | Kurt Signetti (Indiana) | Ryan Day (OSU) |

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Tone & Delivery

• Candid, lively, irreverent: Strong opinions and friendly needling abound (“You are out of your goddamn mind.”).
• Insightful and analytical: Offers both “eye test” football talk and specific stats/trends.
• Accessible expertise: Provides both granular player analysis and big-picture program context.

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Concluding Thoughts

This episode serves both die-hard fans and the draft-curious, providing a rare “all-star” lens on the Big Ten and SEC Championship rosters. With sharp debate, concrete reasoning, and entertaining chemistry, McShay and Mensch paint a detailed picture of the high-stakes matchups to come. The discussion is as much about traits, adversity, and game-altering potential as it is about sheer talent—making it a must-listen (or read) for anyone following the march to the College Football Playoff.

Transcript

[Mensch]

Foreign.

[McShay]

Some days you come up with a creative idea that you're not sure whether it'll be a hit or a complete flop. Today's one of those days. Mention I put our tape to the test. All the time we spend in the film room, we're testing it out by drafting the best players and the best units that are set to compete in the SEC in Big Ten championship games on Saturday. And you know what, Mensch? I'm feeling a rough draft in the air and just 140 days until the NFL draft. Men, you good?

[Mensch]

I'm great, man.

[McShay]

Roll that beat, Tucker.

You know, when we're breaking the biggest stories in college football, surrounding coaches and agents and everything else and getting out ahead of everybody else in the industry, personnel is what we do.

The McShay show is presented by FanDuel. FanDuel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live, and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month long. Download the FanDuel app or head to FanDuel.com McShay to get started, must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut.

[Mensch]

Kind of the bread and butter.

[McShay]

Yeah. It's kind of how we started this whole thing. We've been doing it for 25 years. Studying tape, studying players, studying units. What we're gonna. We're gonna put to the test today. I'm excited. It's kind of your idea. Piggybacking off of Dan's idea from last year and something that.

[Mensch]

Someone else's idea.

[McShay]

Yeah, but we. You decided to apply it, and I, I love the concept. And we'll see if it's. If it's a huge success or if people watch for 10 minutes and decide to click away.

That's what we're gonna do today.

[Mensch]

We're going through.

[McShay]

We got four teams in the two biggest college football conference championship games. You've got one versus two in the Big Ten title game. This is the first time I feel like every year the Big Ten title game, you go into it, it's like, so lopsided. Right. This, this is the best matchup I can remember, at least in the Big Ten championship game. And you've got one versus two. Ohio State versus Indiana, then the SEC championship game. It always delivers. And this year's no different. You've got number three, Georgia versus nine, Alabama.

[Mensch]

Right.

[McShay]

And so we're going to go through and we're going to pick the best, best quarter, the quarterback we would want. And it's not just based off of the NFL draft, but it's based off of who we would want going into that game. That's a tough decision to make with those four quarterbacks. And then we'll do every other offensive position and then we'll do units, offensive line, then edge rushers, interior defensive line, linebackers, secondary. And as our executive producer, kind of stuff down our throat in the last minute. But it's a great idea. Connor Nevis, great idea. Connor always just comes in off the top rope. I tell you all the time. He wants us to pick the best coach, the coach that we would want coaching for us in one of these big games. Okay? So that's that. This episode is brought to you by Fox 1. Fox 1 is now live stream all your Fox favorites together in one place from NFL on Fox to big noon Saturdays with Fox one. You get it all live. Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now. Quick side notes. Okay. Some housekeeping, if you will. The McShay report is out today and I went through mentioned. I know we're doing this, this exercise, if you will, on the show but I went through and I just did the top 10 prospect prospects playing in those two big games, the SEC and the Big 10 championship and also some other prospects. The five prospects you need to know in in the two other power four conference games, the the championship, ACC and Big 12. And then also gave you just every other prospect that I think is going to be a top 100 pick from the SEC in the Big Ten.

[Mensch]

Wow.

[McShay]

So a lot of stuff in that McShay report. You've been busy. I've been busy. It's been a busy day. Also had a big meeting today that I can't share yet. But we have exciting news that's going to be coming around the the corner soon. Buckle up. Also exciting this week. It's like I feel like it's Christmas around here a lot. I'm excited this week, man. This is Thursday. Saturday. We scrapped the one show on Saturday night. We're doing two. I know, I know. Matus and Haas and Cole Marie and everybody else.

Atb. Everyone's gonna be excited. We're doing two. Two live Shows it was too good. On this past Saturday after the game when we jumped on Ohio State, Michigan and like the, the reaction and the people in the chat and then also just the, the numbers that we did and we decided, you know what we need to capital. Like I know SEC fans. I've spent a lot of time down the South. They're gonna get, they're gonna be up at Lord knows what time drinking Lord knows what. And then by about eight, nine o', clock, like they don't care about the Big Ten championship game. And that's fine, that's what they do. But the SEC championship game is massive. So when that game's over, let's feed that thirst and, and like we have all this energy about the game. We're gonna jump in with five minutes left in the SEC championship game and we're all going to watch it together and we're going to go for about a half hour or so until the kickoff of the Big Ten game. Then we're going to stop down, men. She's going to go to his couch with his snacks and hang around the house taking his furious notes. I'm going to go downstairs. Lord knows what's going to be going on down there, but I'm going to be watching the Big Ten championship game and I in the, the ACC championship game as well. Duke versus Virginia. And then with five minutes remaining in that Big Ten championship game, we're going to be right back here. So come join us. It's going to be an awesome hang, basically the second half of your day on Saturday. Hopefully you're, you're hanging with us. So that's all the news. Let's get to it. Let's start with the four quarterbacks, men. We're talking about Ty Simpson, Gunner Stockton in the SEC championship game. We're talking about Fernando Mendoza and Julian say, okay, we got Heisman Trophy potential winners. We've got number one draft pick potential guys here. I'm gonna take the first pick.

[Mensch]

Of course you are.

[McShay]

I am because I, because I want to make a point and I texted you this earlier and you don't know who I'm gonna pick.

Of these four awesome quarterbacks. They've all played great.

[Mensch]

Like not a bad one in there.

[McShay]

Yep, there's not a bad one in there.

You get two first year starters. Three really Gunner style. You get three first year starters.

[Mensch]

Yep.

[McShay]

And another one in Mendoza, who's the first year starter at the place he's at in Indiana coming off of the, you know, Cal transfer. They've all exceeded expectations and the expectations are high at those programs.

[Mensch]

Huh.

[McShay]

I put a lot of thought into this today.

I will ride or die with Julian saying interesting.

And you I love Ty Simpson. And you know Mendoza with a win could wind up winning the Heisman. And, and honestly that win not only could get Indiana a number one seed, it could earn him. It, it will earn him unless he implodes in Indiana wins despite him. It will earn him the Heisman and it will very likely against that defense, if he goes out and plays a good game, let alone a great game.

Earn him the number one spot in the 2026 NFL Draft. And with all that said, I'm going with the guy making his 13th start in Julian saying because I've seen an advancement in his game that's, that's just, it's been astounding to watch. They won not despite him, but they won around him against Texas early in the season. And each and every week Ryan Day, Brian Hartline have handed him more access to this offense and each and every week he's responded and then you start to see some of the throws that he's making where you saw in the YouTube videos and the tick tock stuff when he was being recruited but now he's using it functionally and you're seeing him getting these wide receivers who are awesome. I'm not like obviously every quarterback would love to have those two guys. Mendoza's got some good receivers. Doesn't have Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith. Yeah, we'll get into some good receipt all of that.

I just trust him more. And even the interception against Michigan and to bounce back and to respond the.

[Mensch]

Way he did, the way he bounced back told me a lot about that kid. He's not, he. I had him as number two on my list. I'll tell you who I, who I, I'm going to take but I had him as number two on my list in part because of the way he bounced back again from that pick.

[McShay]

And again this isn't the NFL draft and he and saying is not eligible. Right. And Gunner Stockton will be back next year. We don't know if Ty Simpson will be back. And it's likely that Mendoza leaves early for the NFL draft, but it's not a guarantee and he's allowed to come back for another year as well. This is not about the draft. This is about going into conference play with the confidence and it's not, I'm not basing it on the supporting cast but knowing what they've been able to do and the way it's built. I'm taking Julian saying, who's completed 79% of his throws with 30 touchdowns and just five interceptions over the field. What do you got?

[Mensch]

I, I, I don't hate it and again, this is tough but it's Mendoza and, and I think it's there. It was enough for me to feel very confident about taking Mendoza. The reason I got Mendoza is the win at Iowa, the win at Oregon and the win at Penn State.

[McShay]

Yep.

[Mensch]

So it, you can't. I think if you look Iowa home or.

[McShay]

I couldn't think of it.

[Mensch]

I was thinking I was on the road. I was.

[McShay]

All three of those games were on the road.

[Mensch]

I'm right.

[McShay]

That was impressive. I thought so.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Impressive. And I also think that as good as Saiyan's been and we'll see what happens when he gets a chance. I, I'm not doubting him. I just haven't seen it yet. Those, the, the Penn State game in the Iowa game from Mendoza had to make plays. He had to make a play and he did. And we haven't seen that from sane yet. I also think the win at Oregon. I don't know if people realize how good that Oregon defense is. That win at Oregon is better than saying Ohio State beating Texas and Ohio State beating Michigan. So I think he has a bigger win now. I had a tough time with it a little bit because they've been both of them in so freaking consistent and accurate that they're both awesome. Give me both. Give me any of these guys. I'm gonna say this like honestly, give.

[McShay]

Me any one of the four and I'm, I'll roll with any of them. I really am. That's rare.

[Mensch]

And I'm guessing like you we'll get into in a second. I can't wait to talk about Gunner Stockton. But I, I Give me any of them. There's guys I prefer.

[McShay]

Sure.

[Mensch]

But they're all awesome. It was very, it was closer than I thought it would be. But Mendoza's wins the way that he's won, where he's won gave him a little bit of an edge over saying even though san's playing at an elite.

[McShay]

Level, if you, I mean everyone knows how I feel about Simpson and so it's probably, it might be a surprise of some people that I'm not taking him. But if you get someone Stockton, let it rip now because we're going to move on to running backs in the flag.

[Mensch]

We got Simpson. I think we both have Simpson third. Right. I think we both love y Yep. And I think you look at Stockton, you're like, little Gunner Stockton. And how is it still. Poor old Georgia man. How is it still. We're looking at that team and being like, oh, poor old Georgia man. Gunner Stockton's been awesome and he's the best runner. He's been the. He's the best runner of the group. I have no, I have no question that if this gets into a big moment, he needs to make a play, then maybe he doesn't make it. But it won't be because of nerves. It won't be because he melts. It won't be any of that. That kind of a thing. I. I think Gunnar Stockton is maybe underrated when people look at him around the country because of his frame. And he's not maybe as good of a pat. He's not as good of a passer as the other three, but he's a damn good quarterback. So I would have been happy with any of the four. They're all awesome. So.

[McShay]

And he kind of looks like he works. Works like a Quick Mart. Yeah, you would have to.

[Mensch]

You know what I mean?

[McShay]

Like, there's just. Yeah, there's not a lot of TV appeal. And I'm not talking. I'm not like picking at how. But I'm just saying he, he's not like your traditional quarterback who takes off his helmet. He's like this good looking, tall, like, statuesque. And when he starts talking, like perfectly fine, there's nothing like, I'm not. But he's not like, it's not even like coach speak. He just doesn't care about the interview. He just wants to be back in the locker room with his guys. And I've grown to kind of love it about him.

[Mensch]

It's because it's genuine. It's very genuine. Like, there's other guys who try to pull it off this. And. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's fooling me, but it's. I mean, I would be stunned. I mean, it just seems like who the dude.

[McShay]

That would be the best acting job of all time. That. That is completely authentic. Gunner Stockton. It just is who he is.

[Mensch]

Completely agree. Completely agree.

[McShay]

So that anytime you go into two of the biggest games of the year at the end of the year like this, and we can honestly say we're cool with all four quarterbacks, that's. That's a. It's setting up for an awesome Saturday, Right?

[Mensch]

Agree.

[McShay]

Running back is trickier because there's no Jeremy. Okay. I'm not disagreeing. And you have and you have the first pick here. And I'm. I'm guessing that you would. You are going to take the guy that I assumed. And I didn't even jot down a note on him because I kind of know where you're going. I'm just saying, while all four quarterbacks are clear cut, like bonafide dudes, right? Running back, like there's some by committee there. There's been some guys who have been up and down like it's not as clear cut as the quarterback spot. That's why it's interesting to me. But you have the first pick. Who of the four starting running backs, where are you going with this one?

[Mensch]

At the beginning of the year, we started prepping all these teams and giving the previews. You said this kid for Ohio State, Bo Jackson, watch out. At the end of the year, he's going to be their guy. And guess what? We're at the end of the year, he's their guy. For the last five games, he's going for over 100 yards rushing. Started to become a weapon in the passing game for four catches for 49 yards against Michigan. Size, speed, vision, balance. I mean, he's got it all. I think he maybe hasn't reached his full potential yet, which is scary. I think he's the best back playing these two games.

[McShay]

I agree, I agree. And I was just looking up a number. Like I, I think.

I think Indiana's got a committee that's really good and I think Roman Hemby and Kalon Black. But they that Hemby's 163 in terms of carries, black is 126. That's what I'm looking up right now. They're both averaging 5.3 and 5.7, respectively. Six touchdowns for Hemby, second seven for Black. Like they're splitting the load. You know, if you say which run game Indiana might be up in the.

[Mensch]

Top two, I thought the same thing, man. That's interesting that you said that. I agree with you.

[McShay]

But if you're saying there's one, if you could have one guy, I'm going, Nate Fraziers the number two behind. And I would agree. I would have taken Bo Jackson because Nate Frazier scares me defensively. You know what I mean? And. And go ahead.

[Mensch]

I was gonna say he had some fumbling issues. And if you remember in the first time these teams met, he only had four carries. He had that.

[McShay]

He got bench, second quarter fumble, he got benched. I don't know what he had.

[Mensch]

You know what he came in.

[McShay]

Well, you know what he hasn't done since the second quarter of Alabama hasn't.

[Mensch]

Put it on the ground. Put it on the ground since.

[McShay]

Yeah, not one time. And so message received. Yes. And. And they tried this stuff last year, and he kept fumbling. This year, he did it. And that. That big moment, the big game, and he didn't get to play again. And it's like, you know, you. You cut off the supply. All of a sudden there's like this. This hunger, like, oh, I better. Better pay attention. Yes, message received. But you watch him. And it's. Since then, coming back the last six games, not since. But in the last six games, it's been kind of consistent what he's done. Somewhere between 12 and 17 carries. He's been averaging 90 yards rushing per game. He is fast. He is explosive. He's got fresh legs, too, because he's not carrying 23, 24 times a game. And so I just. That Alabama defense, I told you, I documented it this earlier this week. It's gotten better and better as the seasons progress, but for him, for Frazier, it's not going to take necessarily 22, 23 chipping away. It's going to be like three or four runs that could make all the difference in this game. So I'm. I'm excited to see that. And then last week, 16 for 108 against Georgia Tech, so that, like, the season's gone on. We're late in the year now. What do you do? You got to lean on your running backs.

[Mensch]

And.

[McShay]

And Frazier seems like he's primed to kind of. Kind of like Judkins and Henderson last year, like, had really good seasons, but then you got late in the year, and those two dudes were the difference for Ohio State. And I. I think Frazier seen it the same way. Right. Okay. All right, wide receiver. So I have the first picket wide receiver.

[Mensch]

This sucks.

[McShay]

Not really.

[Mensch]

Look, there's. There's a lot of good guys I'm happy with. Again, this is another list where it's. I. At the end of it, I was like, I don't know who to take here, because I got three or four that I really like, but there's one. There is only one.

[McShay]

There is one. But I also want to. I want to remind people, because I just. I'm a competitive nut, and so is mention. And if you're in this business, you have to be Saturday night when that. When the ACC game, and more importantly the Big Ten game were over. Tucker's building a graphic behind that. Behind that window right now. I promise you. And we're going to revisit it. And while Jeremiah Smith looks great, if it's an NFL draft.

His production hasn't been massive, you know, and it's been really good. But. And he was maybe 75, 80, 85% this past week. He had the 35 yard touchdown catch, but he only had three other catches for I think five total yards. So what is he on Saturday is the big question. And so if we're doing some like, fantasy football kind of production and we're comparing what, what you and I have, I'm not so sure, even though Jeremiah Smith is clearly the most talented wide receiver in the country that he's gonna like, put my, my squad on over the top. But I mean, he's six three, he's 223. He's everything you look for in a wide receiver. I don't have to sit here and explain the talent, but I can say this. Even if the production isn't exceptional.

His presence is such a difference for that, for that offense. And whether it's freeing up Carnell Tate or innocent times or Max Claire at times or opening up things in the run game, because you have to keep a safety back to help in the double teams and brackets and all the different things you have to do to account for Jeremiah Smith, his impact, no matter how good it is, production wise, is going to be massive on Saturday. And I'm very interested because you've got, you got D pawns at one corner who's an NFL draft pick, right? D'. Angelo.

[Mensch]

I like that secondary, man. We'll get into that too.

[McShay]

I do too. But you've got, you got a nickel guy who's five, 10. You got ponds who's five nine, nine.

[Mensch]

Yeah.

[McShay]

And I'm talking about six three, Jeremiah Smith. I want, when the ball's in the air with Tate and Smith against that secondary that's been awesome this year, but does not have the size that you ideally would want. I think that's going to be a really intriguing matchup. Like the contested catches, ball in the air, big receivers versus very talented but smaller defensive backs. All right, who's your pick?

[Mensch]

Yeah. First of all, agree with you that the, the way he will change the coverage and the way the, that Indiana plays defense is going to be the real impact for Jeremiah Smith. I'm going Carnell Tate. Second, the, the two top Ohio State receivers are the, I think the two best receivers in this, in these two games. You kind of alluded to it. Ball skills. If he, if there's a 50, 50 ball. I expect Carnell Tate to come down to it. I don't come down with it. I don't think there's really 50, 50 balls with those guys. I think it's more like 80, 20, and I think that will be a big part of this game also. On top of that, I love Carnell Tate's route running. I mean, he is an elite route runner and he's been banged up in I think three or four games. I think it was three games. But when he's been healthy, the production's been through the roof. I think Cardinal Tate's the, the obvious number two here.

[McShay]

I agree. And it was a little bit harder in terms of what, because, oh, by the way, we're taking two wide receivers each for obvious reasons. Yes, picking wide receiver three was a little trickier, but I couldn't go away from my guy, Jeremy Bernard. And it's shocking, by the way. No, it's shocking though. And I know we've touched on this a lot in the show. It really is shocking that it wasn't like I didn't even consider Ryan Williams at three or four because I went four deep.

[Tucker]

Just.

[Mensch]

Me neither. Not on my list.

[McShay]

Isn't that wild? One catch, 25 yards the last two weeks and Jeremy Bernard has not had any massive games. Again, Florida State, he was over 100 yards receiving. I don't think he's been over 100 yards receiving since. In fact, I'm pretty damn positive.

But he's good for like 70, 80 receiving yards a game.

[Mensch]

Okay.

[McShay]

And he's also good for big time moments, third downs, games, getting away from them. They need a catch in a situation and then the little things he does because he's got a pro quarterback throwing to him in terms of what he does, in terms of what Ty Simpson does, the pre snap reads, the. The post snap, deciphering the throwing into small windows, leading receivers to spots, trusting receivers to be where they need to be. And sometimes they're not.

Jeremy's the perfect back end to that because he runs smooth routes. He's always where he's supposed to be. He's unbelievably instinctive in terms of finding and sitting in soft spots. He also is make. Make some tough catches, creates after the catch with that contact balance, the physicality, the vision. I just like him. He just screams NFL to me. And in a big game like this, when you need reliability against Georgia and the yards are going to be tough to come by. Georgia's defense has had trouble in the secondary, but they're going to protect themselves and they're going to make you earn it. And I think the earn it yards are where Jeremy Bernard really excels. So I'm going. Bernard is the wide receiver three and my second receiver in this exercise, if you will.

[Mensch]

Very similar board so far. I will say this was one of the, this was. You know, there are a couple of points in doing, going through this exercise that I struggled. This was one of them because I came down. I, I love the Indian Indiana receivers and you got to mention them here, but I went with Zachariah Branch from Georgia. I just love the explosiveness. I, I just, I just love what he can do after the catch. I love what he does for them in their scheme and that he's a gunner. Stockton, you know, security blanket. It's. It's an extension of the running game. I, I think Zachariah Branch gets a slight nod even though the other two, you know, if we're going back to the NFL, I think that that Surat and, and Cooper Jr. Could be better prospects in the long run.

[McShay]

Man, if you go. I went and looked today. They have, they've cooled down now.

It's been injured, but they've cooled down a little bit. So it'll, it'll be. That's a big thing on Saturday night, too, in Indianapolis. Like, are those guys. Is, is Surat healthy enough? Is. You know, and are those guys producing? Because that secondary for Ohio State is awesome, too.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Again, I try not to jump ahead, but yeah, I want Branch. I want Branch here.

[McShay]

Okay. All right, tight ends. Mensch, you go first.

[Mensch]

Ohio State's Max Claire's been my guy all year. He's my guy now.

[McShay]

I think it's.

[Mensch]

Look, I think there's two sides of this. There's two sides of this coin, though. Is that one. He has been my guy all year. He's been very productive for them. I think people understand his productiveness and. Or productivity. And on top of that, I think he's a talented guy who could separate catches the ball well, all of those things. But the flip side is that it's a pretty shallow pool in this game. There's not a lot of talent at tight end.

[McShay]

None of them are featured. None of them are massive features.

[Mensch]

No, no. And I'm interested to see who you come up with.

[McShay]

They're all good. They're four really good tight ends. Yeah, they're all going to be NFL draft guys, except I'm not sure about Nowakowski. They're all seniors. They're all veterans. They're all big except Nowakowski. But Noakowski's yards per catch might be the. The highest of all of them. Are pretty close. He and Delp.

Yeah. Riley Nowakowski is undersiz. He's 61, 249. He's at 296 receiving yards, 23 catches. Oscar Del said 17 catches for 235. So he's. I think he has the highest yards per catch, but he's only got one touchdown on the year. But he's 65. Cuevas is 63, Claire's 65. They're all in that 245 to 255 range, right?

[Mensch]

Yep.

[McShay]

They're all good players.

None of them are elite. Claire is the most talented of the four. I agree. And I've loved Oscar Delp and he's your guy.

[Mensch]

I have him as two, remember? I got to tell you, Cuevas probably isn't going to play. I considered Cuevas because I really like him too, but he's probably not going to play this week.

[McShay]

And so I struggled. So, like, if Cuevas can play, I actually would take him over Delt.

And you start to wonder with Alabama, there's a whole nother story. Like if Ryan Williams, like, what are we getting from Ryan Williams? And if cuevas is not 100% or can't play. Like now we're down to Horton and you know, like they, they still have targets, but they were rolling when they had five and, and Ty could spread it out. But to answer your question, I thought, I actually thought about Nowakowski because I just got a feeling that they're going to get him involved and I think that secondary, I, I think there's opportunity, but I'm going to go with with Delt because I've actually seen him improve as a blocker. I've seen him show up in big moments and I agree just a better while his product, he's 17 catches on the year, but it's one target over.

[Mensch]

The last two weeks. Like get him the ball, though. Like, get him the ball, dude.

[McShay]

All right, so moving on offensive line, this is where I'm going to go.

Good groups all around.

Alabama. I would probably put fourth on this list, to be honest with you.

[Mensch]

And they have them.

[McShay]

And they haven't been bad. I would put Indiana 3. I went with Ohio State. I think Ohio State's peaking.

[Mensch]

Oh, okay.

[McShay]

Good. And you're my office. Austin Searveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinsman, Tegra Shabola and Philip Daniels. From left to right on your Starting dial absolutely dominated Michigan's offensive front. Bo Jackson is on a tear. They're running the football and it's the first time that they haven't had to talk about being physical. They've just been physical. I feel like Ryan Day for years was trying to manifest physicality in Columbus. We're physical. Post game interview. We're a physical team. We're going to run into, into Grant and, and Mason Taylor and.

Graham. Mason, Graham.

[Mensch]

We're gonna, we're gonna run, right? Yeah, yeah.

[McShay]

Kenneth Grant, sorry. Grant and Graham. We're gonna run right into them.

This year. They're just being quiet, lining up and they're, and they're being more physical. And I, I like this about this group. Plus nine sacks allowed all year. 2.4% number two in the Big Ten. This group is pretty good. I'm not saying that they have the best talent. I know like Kaden Brock Proctor is the best offensive tackle. I know Indiana's got two guys are going to get drafted, the center and their.

I'm going with Ohio State here. I just like the way it's. The trajectory of it right now.

[Mensch]

Struggled here and I like Ohio State and I knocked Ohio State's offensive line last year. I, I do think it's the same kind of thing. They're starting to turn into those Michigan offensive lines and they probably want to hear that where the unit is really good, where the, the group as a whole is really good, but they don't have those studs like we've seen maybe in the past. I'm going Indiana. I think that. I think Carter Smith, the left tackle might be the best, best left tackle playing in these two games. I think he might be better than Kaden Proctor. I think Drew Evans at left guard.

[McShay]

Is really not as a prospect but as, but, but like as a player right now.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Okay.

[McShay]

Yeah.

[Mensch]

Pat Coogan, you got a three year starter who played in the national championship game last year. Here's a guy who like, he came over from Notre Dame, so he's got some experience and his relationship with Fernando Mendoza is borderline weird. That's how much those guys like each other. I mean, it's awesome. I, it's, it's awesome. Like they have a great relationship. I'll tell you something I really want to quickly mention because you did. I did have Alabama 4. I had Georgia too. And I think Stacey Searles, the offensive line coach from Georgia deserves a ton of credit.

[McShay]

Georgia too. I had Indiana three. But go ahead.

[Mensch]

That's interesting because they've had they had six different lineups in the first six games. They've been banged up. Now. Drew Bobo is probably not going to play. They were in the running. I really had. I consider Georgia, but Drew Bobo probably not going to play the center probably not going to play this week because.

[McShay]

I think Bobo was healthy. I, I think I would have gone with Georgia. That's how.

[Mensch]

Yeah, I mean it's they, they are an underrated group. Again, I think it's interesting and we're, we're about to make the transition so I'll mention this now. I think it's very interesting that you look at how these games look awesome because of the quarterbacks and the wide receivers and there's a lot of talent here. But if you're a trenches guy like I am, this is a little underwhelming. The best offensive lineman's in the offensive lines in the country are not playing in this game. That's Texas A and M. That's Oregon. That's Utah. Those are the best offensive lines in the country. The best defensive line in the country isn't playing this week. That's Texas Tech.

[McShay]

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[Tucker]

This episode is brought to you by Salty Cheesy Cheez It Crackers. Should this whole podcast just be me eating Cheez It? That'd be a top notch podcast. You could hear them crunching in my mouth. You could think about how salty and savory and delicious they are. You can just get cheesed on the brain. Oh man, those Cheez it cravings, they get you. Anyway, what was I talking about?

[Mensch]

Oh yeah.

[Tucker]

Oh, Cheez It. Yeah, Cheez It Crackers. Go check them out.

[Mensch]

I was a little overwhelmed with the defensive line group and I thought the offensive line group was good but not awesome.

[McShay]

We'll go to edge.

[Mensch]

You're.

[McShay]

You're going first at both edge and inside defensive lock and we split them up into two different groups because in today's game it really is because outside backers. Yeah, but I'll say this as a preface.

It is pretty underwhelming. The normally you get these big time programs, they've got like top five dudes coming off the edge. It's not. There's a lot of good players but it's a little underwhelming in terms of like edge pass rushers.

[Mensch]

I'm glad I'm picking. I'm glad I'm picking first because I think that Ohio State is the best group and I struggled with the rest of them. But I think the Kaden Curry with the way he is with his hands and his motor and he's just a really good edge player and I think that Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Is a little underrated. I think he's come on a little bit and I love the traits. I would also argue, and this is going to be interesting whether or not you go for this, that you could say that Arvell Reese is in an edge for.

[McShay]

Oh no, no, no.

[Mensch]

You absolutely could.

[McShay]

No.

[Mensch]

What do you mean no? What do you mean no? What do you mean?

[McShay]

Though he's places it off the ball Linebacker and you. No, no, no, no, no. You don't get. You don't get.

[Mensch]

I didn't know, I didn't know we couldn't do both. But, but I will say it still is.

[McShay]

Ohio State still has the best edge.

[Mensch]

Guys and that's what I settled on, even if he's not in that group. And again, I get what you're saying, that I still like Ohio State better than, than the rest of them.

[McShay]

Indiana's 14th nationally in sacks. Right. And, and when you start to look at it, you're like, well, that's a big difference between them and everybody else. Georgia's like, you got to keep scrolling down that list to get to Georgia. Alabama's been there.

But when I look at it, a lot of their production comes from like off the ball linebackers blitzing different, you know, like they, they spread out the way and, and their interior defensive line has gotten some, some sack production as well. And I'll get to that.

[Mensch]

It.

[McShay]

I am going to go with Alabama because the personnel, even though the sack numbers aren't there, the personnel is better and it's deeper than India.

[Mensch]

Truly, I settled in the same thing.

[McShay]

Yonze Pierre has been a revelation. I actually do you know what I learned today? But yon say Pierre is draft eligible. I thought he was a red shirt freshman. He's a red shirt sophomore.

[Mensch]

And yeah, I think, I hope he goes back.

[McShay]

I do too. Yeah, me too. But he, he leads the team with six sacks. Lt Overton's got four sacks. They rotate guys. As I talked about on, on Monday show with the tape truce with Jordan Renaud coming in on Early Downs, number 11 and then 4, Quay Russo as the, the other edge who comes in on obvious pass down. So it really is a four man rotation at the edge spot. But I like those dudes, they're just, they're good players. So I would go with, with Bama second. All right. Interior defensive line. It's actually more intriguing than I thought the Edge was. Who do you got?

[Mensch]

This one's tough. And I went with Ohio State because I think Kaden McDonald's the best player of them all. Georgia was intriguing to me because I think Kristen Miller is really good and I actually think Georgia's a little bit deeper on the inside. Indiana does some interesting things. I just went with Alabama, by the way. A lot of big bodies, but they don't play. They're not as rugged as I want them to be. I'll just say that Kane McDonald gave, gave Ohio State the edge. I will say This, I don't think they're nearly as good at defensive tackle as they were last year. I think when they had Tylee Williams and Ty Hamilton and you had K. McDonald still there, that was a different group. Again, this is a little bit of an underwhelming group up front, but I got, I gave Ohio State the edge because Kaden McDonald coming off an outstanding game and I think it's probably the best defensive tackle in the whole group.

[McShay]

Georgia has the deepest group of all of them.

[Mensch]

Right.

[McShay]

Georgia has some young guys that will, yes, develop into dudes. But if you're saying we got a lineup Saturday and I, and I tell me the, tell me the second best interior defensive line, I actually think an argument could be made. It's the best interior defensive line in terms of playing together and, and with depth and with everything they provide. I'm going with Indiana.

[Mensch]

Yeah, I like them.

[McShay]

It's the second best run defense in the country. And I know it's not all just the three man front that they have, but they played that, that nose tackle, defensive tackle and kind of a right, like a right defensive end who's, who's like.

61273 is Stephen Daly. Right. So you got Tyreek.

[Mensch]

He's come on, man.

[McShay]

He has come on. Tyree Tucker, who's an NFL prospect, he's had an awesome year. He leads. He's second on the team with five and a half sacks. Right. But. Yeah, but versus the run. He's a big, physical dude in the middle. Then you got Daily at the, at the end spot. But it's kind of an interior defensive lineman. 61 2, 73, awesome grades, is a run defender. He's just been consistent all year. Then you got Mario Landino, who's a defensive tackle in that scheme, who's very strong as well. And then the depth from the portal that they have I like too. Yeah. Hosea Wheeler, 63298 and Dominique Ratcliffe, 63296. You're telling me they didn't have a type. Both of those guys have been contributors as well. So I, I just. This is going to be a great matchup I think, versus an ascending offensive line and, and run game for Ohio State.

[Mensch]

All right, I, I agree.

[McShay]

Off the ball linebacker. I got lucky. It just sorted out. This way I don't have to spend a ton of time on it. It's Ohio.

[Mensch]

This was one of the, yeah. One of the easiest ones.

[McShay]

Let me just give you this nugget and we can move on for time's sake because we all know Marvel Reese and Sonny Stiles, right? Reese has emerged on the scene, taking over as a full time starter. He's been just as awesome rushing off the edge. He plays the spiral in coverage. He drops and covers man to man in zone. He is tall, he is long, he's 243. At six foot three, he is everything. If you plugged in off the ball linebacker in 2025, into a computer, into your chat GPT and asked it to spit something out, it would spit out Arvel Reese.

[Mensch]

Yeah, it was unfair.

[McShay]

And then you get Sonny Styles, who was awesome last year, who was out playing the what's his name, who was drafted next to him and got better as the season progressed and was better in coverage and did all those things. And this year everyone's like, oh, maybe Sunny isn't playing well. But as the seasons progressed, everyone has come to realize he's actually been better this year than he was last year. It's just he's playing next to Reese, so he's not getting as much credit. There are two. Those two guys, right, are first round inside linebackers. First round inside linebackers, off the ball linebackers. That's astounding. You know how astounding that is? There have been two true.

Off the ball linebackers drafted in the first round in the last three years in the NFL.

[Mensch]

It's crazy.

[McShay]

And they got two playing on that defense alone. It's wild.

[Mensch]

Now, Arville Reese is an edge, but that's okay.

[McShay]

Yeah, I'm just kidding. I'm kidding.

[Mensch]

I'm just trying to needle you.

[McShay]

All right, who do you got? Who's got the second best group after Ohio State?

[Mensch]

I'm gonna say this, okay. C.J. allen isn't. I mean, unbelievable inside linebacker for Georgia. I love CJ Allen, and I think Deontay Lawson from Alabama, I love him too. And if I think you put either one of those guys on Indiana, they're immediately Indiana's best linebacker.

[McShay]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on.

[Mensch]

You. You want to know why they have one of the best defenses in the country? It is 100% this linebacker core. I am telling you, I am telling. Aiden Fisherman is wildly underrated. How instinctive he is, how tough he is, how good in coverage he is. You. I'm telling you right now. And again, we're not doing the draft because C.J. allen's gonna get drafted way ahead of them. I think Deontay Lawson's gonna get drafted way ahead of anyone in Indiana. But Indiana has, and so is Justin Jefferson. Yep.

[McShay]

But.

[Mensch]

But Aiden Fisher is a dude.

[McShay]

Nakai Hill Green. I.

[Mensch]

Listen to me, I'm telling you, I am telling you. When you look at Isaiah Jones, Aiden Fisher, and this guy Relijah Hardy, who you look at and you say, oh, dude, he's 511, 229, and he's a little over aggressive. He gets caught out of position every once in a while. Guess what? He's got seven sacks. These guys, the linebackers for Indiana, you want to know why they have that? Their pass rush is so good. Those linebackers are really versatile, and they're very good at being disciplined when they drop into coverage, rallying to the football, limiting yards.

[McShay]

I don't mind lack of size.

[Mensch]

Like, but they're also.

[McShay]

Zach Thomas.

Bolton, Zach Thomas, London Fletcher. Like, I don't mind right size, man.

[Mensch]

I don't. But they're also excellent at getting to the quarterback. And when I say that, they're not just guys who are like, oh, I got a seam. I. Like, I'm a late add on. I could close pretty well. These guys can win when they go against running backs. These guys win when they get blocked. I'm telling you, I. This was the hardest. The hardest position for me to sort out. Quarterback was tough. These inside linebacker groups are outstanding. Outstanding. I love all of them. And I want to be clear about that. I think I just. I sat with it for a minute and I. I really thought about it. I was like, what are we doing here? Is this an NFL draft or is this a college draft? And I think these. These Indiana linebackers are, I mean, criminal, underrated.

[McShay]

I. Yeah, all four of these teams. You're right. Linebackers, second best group.

[Mensch]

There's a gap between Ohio State and everyone else, and that's why Ohio State's so good. But these other three are real damn good, too.

[McShay]

Yeah, this is. It's going to be a fun weekend watching these guys.

Defensive backs, you go first here.

[Mensch]

I. I didn't think I was going to end up here. And I. And I was like, don't let Todd sway you.

[McShay]

Bama. You're taking Bama.

[Mensch]

You're right, though. Like, if you're right, you're like, what am I going to do here? Like, make an argument. Like a stupid argument because your nose.

[McShay]

Just out your face.

[Mensch]

Yeah, Like, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. And I. I'll tell you, you talked a lot about Bray Hubbard. I won't go too much into Bray Hubbard other than he's awesome and He's a difference maker, and I think he can make a big play at any point in the game. I love Bray Hubbard. Keon's sad, man. When I, the other safety, when I watched him, I was blown away with how quickly he's reacting. You talked about the open field tackling, saw that his reaction time, the way he's reacting right now is, I mean, incredibly impressive to me.

[McShay]

Yes.

[Mensch]

And you look at, you look at their corners and you might say, like, I don't, I don't love them at corner. And you're right about that, they don't. But I don't really love any of these teams at corner. And when I look at Dijon Lee, the freshman, the big long freshman, I think he's a guy who's an ascending player. And you look at that size and that length and Sabian Brown's another guy with size and length on the outside, those guys are going to be able to compete. I, I, I wanted to go in another direction, but I ended up on Alabama.

[McShay]

I obviously agree, but I'll be honest with you, it was really close for me and I, I actually wound up kind of going through my notes from Alabama from Monday when I, when I gave that impassioned speech about this, I would put this secondary up with any secondary in the country. And then I started digging into Ohio State's defensive tape a little bit more and just watching them as a unit, it's not a huge difference in my opinion. Now, I mean.

Bray Hubbard's really damn good. I love him. I, I explained for three or four minutes the other day why I love him so much. And, and you just piggybacked on that. But he ain't Caleb downs.

[Mensch]

No, he's not Caleb Downs.

[McShay]

And those two corners are really, really good and, and more fluid and, and do some things that, that the Ohio State guys don't, don't necessarily do, but the Ohio State corners have been awesome this year. And Egg Benos. Yeah, Davis and Igbonosin gets too handsy and we could talk about all this stuff with the draft. He's going to be a top.

[Mensch]

Scares me, man. Scares me that he, he's going to make a penalty. He's going to commit a penalty at a key point. But he has played well. You're right. And the penalties are way down.

[McShay]

Like.

He has five penalties all season, man. Five. I just looked it up. Five penalties. How great is this? Pff. Ultimate. Like how quickly I just looked at five penalties season long.

[Mensch]

Right.

[McShay]

But.

And he's coming off his worst Game against. Against Michigan, but they didn't even throw that much, so it didn't matter. But my point is this. Igbosin's playing at a high level and Jermaine Matthews Jr. Has been outstanding on the other side, too. And when it's all said and done, and I know they're getting pass rush and I know all the things are going well up in front of them, it's the number one pass defense in the country. Something's got to give. Saturday night. If Surat's healthy with Cooper, with Mendoza, something's got to give. This Group gives up 121 a game, man. A game.

[Mensch]

I hear you there. Who's the best quarterback they faced all year? Arch Manning. Before he was really. He really had kind of gotten his feet wet.

[McShay]

Grambling? No. Ohio?

[Mensch]

No.

[McShay]

Washington. Better runner demand. Yeah, there's a better. Williams is a better runner than thrower. They obviously. They've got Denzel, Boston, Minnesota, now Illinois.

Wisconsin. No. Penn State? No. Purdue? No. Ucla? Not really. And Nico wasn't even playing in that game in Rutgers. Yeah, you're right.

[Mensch]

Here's. Here's who Alabama's faced Gunner Stockton, Diego Pavia, Joey Aguilar and that offense. Diego. Sorry, I. Dude, I don't know why I do that with certain names, but anyways.

[McShay]

No, I love it.

[Mensch]

Lenore Sellers with South Carolina. Garrett Nussmeier, lsu. John Matiere, Oklahoma. I mean, these are the guys that Alabama.

[McShay]

So I think we got in the right order. And I. I'm clearly not disagreeing. I'm just saying it was clear to me the second one was.

I mean, George's secondary is the. Is the weak link of that whole deep. Of that whole team. Really.

[Mensch]

It is.

[McShay]

And Indiana's group is really good, but I don't think it's at the level of. Of these other two, so. All right, now comes the hard part. Conor gets to just throw in a. Throwing a little bomb. Is it that hard? I actually. Goodness. I'm going to surprise you.

[Mensch]

Please. If you are going to give me a hard time if you don't take one of the two coaches that I think you're going to take and you're going to give me a hard time with the linebackers. I'm a riot. Who did you take?

[McShay]

Signetti.

[Mensch]

Stop it. Stop it.

[McShay]

Yes.

[Mensch]

You are out of your goddamn mind.

[McShay]

I know I am. I know I am.

[Mensch]

Got to be kidding me.

[McShay]

I'm taking Kurt Signetti and he has.

[Mensch]

Ryan Day from Ohio State, Kirby Smart from Georgia.

[McShay]

I know it's insane. You're a fraud.

[Mensch]

You're. You're just this clickbait.

[McShay]

I absolutely. I've had Ryan Days back through it all, I love Kirby Smart, but Kirby Smart gets beat by DeBoer. So now I got a problem with these two because DeBoer has been like, DeBoer loses Saturday night. His ass might be out of Tuscaloosa, but DeBoer beats Kirby Smart. So it's almost a wash. And I love Ryan Day and I know he's got Heartline and I know they've got Patricia and I know they've been awesome, but Signetti scares the fuck out of me.

He scares me. He's a wild card and he hasn't won massive games. They didn't win. Like, I get it, but there's something about that Signetti nut going into a weekend like this where they're clearly outclassed. So was everyone else in the country. It's not even a knock at Indiana. Clearly outclassed in talent. But I promise you, somehow, some way, this game's going to be close late and Signetti is going to have done two or three kind of wacky like things. And, and I promise you they're going to be prepared and they're going to do all the little things, right? They're going to have the gap sound, they're going to hat on hat and blocking and they're going to, you know, pinpole and all the things, right? But there's going to be a couple things that he does because he's kind of, it feels like he's playing with house money sometimes that's going to create an advantage and an edge. And I know that Ryan Day and Heartline and the Buckeyes will out coach them and the better players, all that stuff. I'm just saying I'm going to remind you this at like 11:30pm Saturday night when we're watching this game together. And I hope everyone comes and joins us on YouTube. Okay?

[Mensch]

And I still get cigarettes, cigarette gifts.

[McShay]

At 11:35 or maybe 11:20 whenever it is because it's a late kickoff. You and I are going to be watching the last five minutes of the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis, Indiana, inside that beautiful dome that we spend all week in for the NFL combine. And we're going to be saying that that's Signetti, man.

[Mensch]

He.

[McShay]

He did it. He did something. It's close. I'm not saying they're going to win, but it's going to be like a one score game in the fourth quarter and Signetti is going to have something right up that sleeve of his. Go ahead.

[Mensch]

I love Signetti. This is not the last time I will say this or the first time I'm saying it. You're an. You are an. Like, I just know other way of saying it. Like you're kidding, right? Like Ryan Day from this time last.

[McShay]

I'm not saying who's gonna coach my program forever. I'm saying he scares me Saturday night.

[Mensch]

Yeah, he scares me too.

[McShay]

I get that.

[Mensch]

Give me Ryan Day. Like, just give me Ryan Day. Like, that's, that's it. Like, I get the schedule is kind of, you know, whatever the, the schedule was this year. But Ryan Day from the end of last year when they lost that game and the in the sky was falling until now, has put on an absolute clinic. Losing coordinators, no problem. Losing tons of guys to the NFL draft, no problem. Freshman quarterback, no problem. We're just going to go ahead and win games. That's what we're going to do. We're going to keep our mouth shut. We're not going to plant flags. We're just going to go out and win games. Give me Ryan Day and Kir. If, if it's not Ryan Day, give me Kirby Smart. How is Kirby Smart right now?

[McShay]

Beats. Just beats him, baby.

[Mensch]

Just beat. Oh, my God. Like, we'll see what happens. We'll. I, I. By the way, we're going to get into some picks here, and that's not my pick of the week. I like, I like Georgia to cover against Alabama. I think that's going to be.

[McShay]

You talked, you talked a lot of them about losing this and losing that. There are two losers in all of this, right? The first one is, is Dan Comer, our giggling producer and executive extraordinaire, who said we can't do this in under an hour today because you still talk about your bets.

[Mensch]

You still have to talk about your bets.

[McShay]

Looking at 49 minutes, the other loser is team Mensch. Here's the, here's the breakdown. Tucker, throw up that graphic. I'm going to rip through it. Men, she's got Fernando Mendoza, Bo Jackson, Carnell Tate, Zach Branch, Max Clar at tight end in the Indiana offensive line.

You can't, you can't quantify outside of the win. But I, I'm going to argue that the game was closer than it should have been. Even if, even if Ryan Day's Ohio State team beat Signetti's Indiana.

[Mensch]

Here we go.

[McShay]

So it's got to be the personnel, where it belongs. And now on the defensive Side men has got.

Ohio, Ohio State's whole defensive line edge and interior. Indiana at linebacker. Get out of here. I've got. I've got Ohio State.

And. And that's just got this best secondary we both would argue in the country. Now you've got Team McShay.

[Mensch]

I have Alabama secondary. And you have.

[McShay]

No, that's what I said. I just. That was all. Team match.

[Mensch]

Yeah, okay.

[McShay]

That was all I'm saying. I agreed with your pick. We were both team in the country in the secondary. This is Team McShay. Julian saying @ quarterback, Nate Frazier at running back. I take an L there versus Bo Jackson probably, but maybe he rips off one or two chunks. Then you got wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, easiest pick in the draft, Jeremy Bernard. Then you got Oscar Delp. Dell's gonna have a big day. Offensive line for Ohio State just grinding it out against Indiana and that good.

[Mensch]

Group.

[McShay]

Good. Okay, Then we got Alabama's edge rushers. Might be a little underwhelming, but they'll play solid. Indiana's interior defensive line. Then.

[Mensch]

You. That's another one. Dude, get out of here with that one. No way. I got the no.

[McShay]

Way. Now, if you're a Mendoza guy and you're trying to. And you're trying to make a statement on Saturday night, and I've been a Mendoza guy, but somehow a lot of other people have raced past me. This is your opportunity to ruin my team because I get the back seven for Ohio State linebacker and secondary. All right, so that's that FanDuel pick of the week. And by the way, in Missouri now, it's a turbulent time in college football right now. We're watching Jimmy Sexton, the super agent, just kind of playing puppeteer. We got Lane Kiffin going from Ole Miss to lsu and then the dominoes start to fall. But the good news is, Missouri fans, you kept your guy. It's critical whether it's the. The January 2 to 16 transfer portal period that we have in college football right now, the recruit recruiting period coming up. Consistency is important. And now you've got Eli Drinkwitz signed to an extension, and you've got the stability there with this program. And I think that's going to lead to a lot more success moving forward. Been excited about what he's done the last couple years. I think it's only going to get better. And the great news is fanduel's in Missouri now, folks. So this is an exciting time to be in Missouri. We'll be in Missouri at some point. It's good to Know that I get the security blanket of the AT FD Sports book on in my hand. The app going on my phone. Love this baby. And we've been kind of on a tear starting in like early October through November. I feel great about where we are. I'm about to go book a vacation after the draft. I'm already looking at Italy right now. You know how I'm paying for it? Our good friends at FanDuel, because.

[Mensch]

I'm. You're.

[McShay]

Unbelievable. All right, go ahead. Pick of the week, Championship.

[Mensch]

Week. I'm interested to see what you come up with. But I got my pick of the week is I got BYU covering the 12 and a half against Texas Tech. I think it's going to be closer than it was the first time around. I.

[McShay]

Like. I.

[Mensch]

Disagree. Lj. LJ Martin, the running back from byu, who you love. I love banged up in the first game. He's going to play a much bigger role. I think that helps keep closer. Bear Bachmier has played better in recent weeks. Is maybe coming off his best game of the year as a passer. And then the coach, the head coach going back gives him a little bit of a boost. I. I don't think BYU wins that game. I think it's. It's closer than the 12 and a.

[McShay]

Half. Hey, by the way, did I tell you there was a plane in the.

[Mensch]

Air? I know, I know.

[McShay]

Yeah. You know.

[Mensch]

What? I. I don't know.

[McShay]

Why. Why is it that the NFL draft guys are here breaking all this news ahead of everybody else? I told you on. What was it? Monday?

It was Monday.

[Mensch]

Right?

[McShay]

Yeah. Watch out. If there's a plane. There's a plane going in the air that actually is in the air. When we taped it going out to Provo. Right. And Kalani Sataki and I also said they're serious about.

[Mensch]

It.

[McShay]

It. And I also said there's a real good chance that this Pat Kraft situation in Penn State comes to a head and part in part due to crumble. And I love all the cookies being dropped everywhere. Now as a. As an FD for Penn State from rivals. I think that's hysterical. But the serious aspect of this is. Is the right leadership there in. In Happy Valley. And I've been trying to warn people for months. And here we are.

Duke plus three and a half.

Over 17 Virginia. You warned me against this, so I'm going against you on.

[Mensch]

This. Yeah, but you did it earlier in the year. You called that Virginia was going to lose that one. I think the Louisville. And you got that One I.

[McShay]

Don'T, I don't like telling me I might be right before it.

[Mensch]

Happens. Oh, it makes me.

[McShay]

Nervous. No, I, I.

[Mensch]

Like. This feels dirty now. It's a dirty pick.

[McShay]

Now. They lost 34 to 17 in that game we talked about and it was at home. If you're a Duke fan and you remember it and I get it, but this one's kind of at home too, and it's kind of a, you know, playing in Charlotte, they're gonna show up. Not the Charlottesville folks won't be there. But Darian Mensah went 18 of 35 in that game. That ain't happening again. Okay. The run game for Duke disappeared in that game. Nate Shepard, Anderson Castle, they've gotten back on track since that, that game, 17 points was the fewest or the lowest point total that Duke has had all season long. That's not happening again. I'm not certain they're going to beat them, but I think this is going to be a game that's won at the very last second. I think it's going to be highly entertaining. I think for the ACC it is a nail biter because if they don't get in and in Miami doesn't, doesn't get. I mean, ACC could be left out of this whole thing or the messed up part is Virginia wins and Miami catches up with Notre Dame and the certain things happen the right way. They could wind up with two. That's how screwed up this, this committee. We have all day Sunday to talk about the committee before the reveal and after. We got Saturday night to do our final TMS top 12 of the season. And this committee that I, I was applauding with your, with your help. We were both applauding early on in the process putting more emphasis on the right things, less on the wrong things. They're in a, they're in a bind and it's going to be interesting to see how they bail themselves out. Starting with the Notre Dame Miami debacle they've gotten themselves into. Okay. This is an awesome show. I can't wait. Remember Saturday, we got Saturday after the sec. Five minutes remaining. The SEC championship game. Come join us. We'll take it until the kickoff of the Big Ten. Five minutes remaining in the Big Ten game. We'll come right back up here, knock it out. We'll watch it together and then we'll recap the whole day. We'll give you the TMS top 12 mention. I will go get a few hours of sleep. We'll get up in the morning. We'll prep our notes. We'll be popped up right here, noon Eastern time on Sunday. Don't go watch the big channel. Come hang out with a couple dudes. Get honest reactions that aren't dictated by whose agent is who's. I'm joking. All right, man. Had a.

[Mensch]

Week. Like we haven't had a week like this since the draft. It feels good, man. It feels good. Like it feels like it's starting to.

[McShay]

Build. It was a great idea of yours. This year is a great idea of Dan's last year. I had a lot of fun doing it. And for all of that, I give you five stars, sir. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ plus and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York.

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[Mensch]

Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching.

[McShay]

Us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and.

[Tucker]

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