CFB Teams that Could Cause CHAOS | Pod Dynasty Update #4 | NFL Preseason Check-In | MLB Standings

Intro welcome back to SM sports radio for what is our last podcast together here in cica South Carolina for the remainder of the year is I will be heading back to Auburn University this week to start sophomore year of college but it's been a great summer recording in person we've got a lot to talk about today some college football teams that might give the committee a headache later this year our kesas state UNLV Dynasty update some NFL training camp and preseason news and then as always the MLB but Samuel how's your week been week's been pretty good I'm just excited as I've said the past couple shows excited for some college football and you you talk about last shows this is the last show before we can start giving some college football picks so yes that's something I'm really looking forward to doing starting next week so stay tuned for that yes very excited for that as well college football picks are probably my favorite sport to pick out of all them I know you are parti of college basketball a lot of the time but college football is very fun for me and I know you enjoy it as as well but let's start off with some teams that we think might give the committee a headache later this year these aren't necessarily teams that we think will make the playoffs but these are teams CFB Teams that Could Cause Chaos that we think can make the committee's life very difficult because of some teams they have on their schedules and the talent levels of these teams and the first one is a team that I've actually had multiple people text me and ask me why they were not in my college football playoff I don't know if you have but that is the nutter Dame Fighting Irish led by Riley Leonard this year and this is a team where you pull up their schedule and it doesn't look off they play at A&M they get Georgia Tech and Louisville Some solid teams there obviously the Florida State game and the at Southern Cal Games stand out but I don't know this feels like a team that might get themselves in trouble because they don't have that conference tie in so if they're similarly rated to other teams we talked about like maybe Oklahoma state or a Utah they could find themselves in some Jeopardy yeah and kind of trying a similar formula they that they tried last year last year you bring in Sam Hartman an ACC veteran quarterback bring him over as your starting quarterback doing the same thing this season with Riley Leonard I think it's a little bit of an upgrade over Sam Hartman I would agree I could take a debate either way on that but Notre Dame honestly I think more than anything they could be playing spoiler for for a team like Florida State I don't think Florida State's going to be very good uh necessarily but let's say that Florida state has one loss going into South Bend November 9th I think that's sort of an an elimination game for Florida State in that regard unless Florida St still in contention to win the conference at that point and you as a Clemson fan know what can happen when ACC teams travel up to South Bend at night definitely don't try your luck there but in terms of Notre Dame's playoff chances I think it's GNA be an uphill climb I actually think Notre Dame and spoiler alert for two weeks from now's picks I think Notre Dame is going to go into college station and they are going to leave 0 and one interesting I'm still not sure on that game I have to look into A&M a bit more they're a team that is a little low on my SEC list to start the year I haven't quite gotten to them yet this is really my big two weeks of football study that we're in the middle of right now but the thing I love for nutre Dame is Mike denrock is back this time is the OC formerly was here under Brian Kelly and was very successful during that time this is a guy who is a great coach of tight ends and you look at Mitchell Evans now this new nutre Dame tight end you always expect the nutre Dame tight ends to be good most recently uh Michael Mayor you think of but Mitchell Evans is a very solid player FIU transfer Chris Mitchell I think is also going to be a fun player you obviously lose Rico fles the transfer portal but Chris Mitchell kind of gives you that shiftiness and also really a big deep threat which is something honestly I think he's the best deep threat to play in South B since will Fuller which not that's necessarily a high bar in the Deep threats that have been there between those times but I think he's kind of that mold of player which could really give this nutre Dame offense something it hasn't had before and Riley Leonard you talk about a better veteran quarterback coming in he I think is going to be able to build rapport with these receivers quickly I just I don't know that the talent level is there necessarily on the defensive line I'm concerned about I'm concerned about the receiving core outside of Chris Mitchell a lot as well Jeremiah loves a good player at running back and honestly the best player on this team is probably Benjamin Morrison at corner beo as they like to call him up there in South Bend I think he's honestly the second best corner in the nation behind will Johnson is an absolutely electric player so I think if Nutter Dame does manage to squeak into the playoffs this year it'll be because that defense is a no fly zone Zone yeah and just to kind of echo your sentiment on the receivers I just don't know if I can trust that receiver core Beyond Mitchell obviously we know what Mitchell is but you bring in a guy Bo Collins who just had the drop bug at Clemson super talented player could create separation at times did struggle with that throughout his career in creating separation but when he did he had a tendency to drop the ball and if you're a receiver and you drop the ball it's not a very good thing not a very good tradeit to have and another thing is I think I think Notre Dame is really going to miss audri ese not to say that Jeremiah love is not a good player I just think audri EST was super underrated during his time in college I think the fact that Notre Dame wasn't necessarily a National Power uh during his time in college audri estimate was a really good running back and you and I saw saw that in person a couple years ago just how good he was so very very good player that I think that Irish will definitely be missing this year but the next team we move on to on our list here is the Tennessee Volunteers and this is a team that a lot of people have in their playoff I just don't see it with this team I don't think the overall Talent level is there I think they're getting carried by a little bit of hype for what is a very unproven quarterback in Nico e malava and then James Pierce on the defensive end who is an incredible player I think he has a very good chance to go number one in this year's draft but you look at the talent around them I'm not sure this is the same level of Tennessee team we've seen the last couple years and you you look at the opportunities on their schedule though they have some interesting games obviously they play at Georgia we we know what happened last time they traveled there they lost it was a competitive game the one that stands out to me is the return of Alabama to Rocky Top obviously last time there was the crazy ending to that game with the knuckle ball field goal and the goalpost in the river we'll see if that happens again and then they also play at Oklahoma which is another one of those SEC teams I think is in that weird Zone where they're not in that top four or five flight but they're also not in the basement either they're just kind of right there in that tier B of the SEC so I I think if Tennessee puts a couple good games together they might have the committee in some Jeopardy there's I don't want to say this isn't a talented team because it definitely is Brew McCoy obviously back two lane transfer Chris brazelle is a very very good receiver I think not a lot of people will know about at this point in the year but you're going to know about him once the season moves on obviously mentioned James Pierce and then the big piece for them on defense as far as off the defensive line in my opinion is Keenan I think it's peely it's pronounced peely but former BYU transfer who was super hyped coming last year and suffered an injury missed pretty much all of last season so expect the anchor of that defense to be peely on the inside and I think this Tennessee team has tremendous potential I think if IAM malava puts it together you could see a very high flying offense I definitely think he's more talented than henden hooker was and definitely much better quarterback than Joe Milton so we'll see what the ceiling is for Tennessee but I I just don't think they're quite on playoff level but I think they could definitely play spoiler yeah I think I think we're kind of on the same page here I view Tennessee as a year away just simply because of the fact obviously got a lot of talent especially on the outside and receiver uh you bring back these defensive players and transfers but when is the last time we saw a first year starting quarterback really Excel yeah it's been a while it's really been a while and that's not to say that these young quarterbacks aren't good you can't throw them in the trash after uh six games even if they're rough because what we've seen in this this new landcape of college football is it takes a little bit of time for quarterbacks to really settle into themselves and uh start putting up the numbers that you expect uh prospects of their pedigree uh to do and I think this is kind of going to be a developmental year for Nico I'm not going to try to pronounce his last name I don't have it down like Micah does over here but yeah I'm on the same page I think Tennessee could definitely play spoiler I think they're a year away though from really uh competing in the National Spotlight yeah definitely and then the next team on this list is uh you'll see what I'm wearing right now you might call bias on this which I think is completely fair but I also think there's potential that is the florig Gators led by Graham Merz who was I think we're kind of getting B Nicks effect to a lesser degree with graham Merz as far as Wisconsin Graham Merz versus Florida grah Merz it's a little bit like Auburn bonick versus Oregon bonick where it's a completely different player now I wouldn't say he's on the same level that Bo Nicks was at Oregon but he's a very very good quarterback probably top six in the SEC underrated regardless yeah I think he's been very good and you look at obviously this Florida schedule everyone knows this a horrible tough schedule for Florida they play eight top 20 teams as far as the AP preseason poll goes which is just ridiculous but you look at the potential spoiler opportunities later down the road you get Old Miss at home in the swamp you get LSU at home in the swamp you get a chance for Revenge versus Florida State and Florida honestly has played pretty well in do Walker recently I think that's gone under the radar but the Gators have played well in do Walker the last few matchups obviously there's the chance at Tennessee we mentioned Tennessee and then week one versus Miami is a huge opportunity as well and Kirby Smart kind of owns us so I'm not saying George is an opportunity I doubt to get that done but I think this is I don't know how many of those games I would pick Florida to win outright but if you look at one of those games at home if the swamp carries them to a win over Old Miss or to LSU all of a sudden Florida's giving the committee a bit of a headache with these teams that maybe are right on that bubble up down let's say if Miss goes in with an extra loss somehow and ends up missing the conference title game and you have some good Big 12 teams come in I think that presents a big problem for the committee and Florida has a lot of talent there's obviously the issues on defense where pretty much no one's home after they all went to the transfer portal but the offensive Talent is there with Montell Johnson Graham Merz Eugene Wilson is great Arizona State transfer El Elijah Badger best receiver in the portal by the way yes yes and Wisconsin's trans for chamira djk who is going to be reuniting with former quarterback Graham MZ after he did nothing at Wisconsin last year so we'll see if the chemistry is still there I just this is definitely a make or break year for Billy Napier and I think he's going to know that and I think Florida's going to upset one of those last three teams on the schedule out of LSU Miss and Florida State I think they win one of those games I'm actually inclined to think that Florida wins two of these three games and I think the two are going to be LSU and Florida State we know how I feel about ol Miss we know how I feel about Florida State for different reasons I think that Old Miss game you'd have much more of a chance if it wasn't a noon game I like the fact that you don't know what time the LSU game is quite yet this has to be determined on the schedule we're looking at right now I think if that's a night game I think I think the spread comes down to three and a half to 5 and a half in favor of LSU but I think Florida's in a really good spot to win that game just obviously with you're you're kind of having to assimilate Elijah Badger into this offense especially through the passing game but by this point in the season I think Graham MZ is going to have built a rapport with him obviously we know what Eugene Wilson brings to this team uh in the receiving Corp montal Johnson um obviously the the bcow this season for Florida and I think Florida state is going to already have three losses coming into this game two at in the best case scenario in my mind so I think the Gators actually have a chance to win two of the last three here well I would definitely not be upset if that happens the reason I would be hesitant to say that myself is because in the LSU Florida matchup recent years the away team has really played kind of above their skill level going into those games most of the years and LSU's had recent success in the swamp including the infamous Marco Wilson game but the next team on this list is the NC State wolf pack as we move over to the ACC and this is a really interesting team team in my opinion you look at the top team I think we're all in agreement that the top three are in some order Clemson Virginia Tech Miami in this conference at the the start of the year with how you feel about Florida State yeah I think there's a conversation to be had between Florida State and Virginia Tech I'm not sure if I'm ready to Crown Virginia Tech in that three spot quite yet but I think the potential is definitely there yeah so then you look at NC State kind of this fifth team coming into the season in the ACC despite being ranked at the start of the year and there's no shortage of opportunity on this schedule you look at the game at Clemson which I highly doubt they win but NC State devil magic kicks in sometimes at Clemson we've seen not at Clemson against Clemson not at Clemson as much the the kicker the kicker missed that was a 30 yard field go the devil magic actually occurs in Clemson's favor in those match ups in Death Valley but that game is always weird obviously they have the game versus Tennessee and you look at NC State this is not a bad schedule if they if they can take care of business through most of the schedule if they can beat Georgia Tech and Atlanta and if they can beat Tennessee week one and all of a sudden you end up with an 11-1 NC State in the ACC Championship game I think that team at least gives the committee some pause especially if they play Clemson close both times and there's a lot of Talent on this team obviously Coastal Carolina transfer Grayson McCall at quarterback Kevin concepion is a great wide receiver one darari Collins great deep thread for him as well the offensive line is as strong as ever NC State really feels like an offensive line factory right now and for a guy like Grayson McCall who really likes to sit in the pocket and rifle it I think that's going to benefit him a ton I think you're going to see a great NC State offense this year I'm a little bit worried about the defense though you lost both of your top tacklers at linebacker most notably pton Wilson the defensive line not a lot of talent there I think your best defensive player Aiden white at corner and still the rest of the secondary leaves some questions in my mind but if the defense can buckle down I think this should be a very good team this year and I think it's good for NC State and for NC State fans that the question marks are mostly on the defensive side of the ball because that hasn't been the case in recent years you over the past few seasons we've just seen not Elite but really good Dave Doran defenses and that's that's kind of Dave doran's calling card is defense I think the the greatest point of contention for NC State is the fact that they avoid Florida State Miami and Virginia Tech they only face Clemson in that top four and I think that that uh outlines a very viable path to Charlotte at least for that ACC championship appearance and who knows say they go into Charlotte 11 And1 with that win over NC State and even if they lose to Clemson they're at least in the conversation they're not necessarily a lock to get into the college football playoff but depending on things that happen around them we talk we talk about the offensive talent and and the experience of Grayson McCall this is a team that will definitely have a major argument for in that large spot yeah and if you look at a team that's 11-2 with two losses to what according to our playoff bracket it's either the number two or the number three seed that's going to be a hard team to leave out especially when you're starting get into this mess that is the Big 12 what could happen there and our next team up here is not a big 12 team yet we'll get to that in just a minute it is Georgia Tech who we briefly have mentioned a couple times going over other team schedules but it is the Haynes and Haynes show this year with Haynes King at quarterback and Jamal Haynes at running back and I think are we both on the Georgia Tech beats Florida State thing week one right now we are so I think that they start one and0 and then you look at from there if they can pick up wins over Nutter Dame if they can beat Virginia Tech on the road if they can beat Miami if they can beat NC State the sky is the limit for this Georgia Tech Team in my opinion I think if you see the best version of this team you could see maybe a 10 and two team at the end of the year I think that's their ceiling that I'm saying if everything goes perfectly that is their absolute ceiling the last five games you host Notre Dame you go to blackburg you host Miami you host NC State and you go to Georgia that is one of the most brutal stretches I've ever seen on an ACC schedule I'm saying in an absolutely perfect world they lose two of those five I would expect them to be more in the region of an 8-4 team seven and five this year just because of that last stretch I think I think best case scenario you win two of those five just the talent disparity is so great and in all five of these cases that I think you're gonna have to get extremely lucky or fortunate to Come Away with three of these five WIS I think you can pretty much chalk up a loss in Athens I think that's yeah an utter lock fully agreement with that I think I think Miami is going to have this game circled so I don't I don't think Miami is going to lose to them again especially with um all their talent in the trenches especially they they're just I I think they're just going to overwhelm Georgia Tech Line's going to get bullied in that game they do not have the defensive line for that game that's that's uh very far in the future I think they have an outside chance uh the thing is in both home games against not but I think best case they probably split those and then and then at at at Virginia Tech that's tough too because if if Virginia Tech is what we think they are that's going to be about about a 20% chance to win yeah that's what I'm saying that's that's definitely fair I'm saying let's say everything goes absolutely perfect for Georgia Tech that's the world I I think they're 10 and two and I think like I said I would more expect a eight and four seven and five team I don't think there's any world where 10 wins on this schedule I think I think best case you get nine maybe but I'm thinking I'm thinking you you got to be really happy if you're Georgia Tech with eight wins because the win total right now AG the win total right now is set at five and a half and while I think they're going to eclips that rather safely I this this last five games I I was it's a brutal Str it is one of the most brutal I've seen and that and we've we've even talked about some SEC Florida with the last last stretch the unbelievable but a fortunate first half of the season for Georgia Tech especially if they can uh knock off Florida State in Ireland in week zero I think that's gonna that's going to set them up to possibly go six- one or seven-0 to start the season yeah I I definitely think that could happen as well and the reason I like their chances to maybe win more of these Than People expect is I like the quarterback I I think if you give me hannes king or Riley Leonard in a duel I honestly take Hanes King right now after last season I think it the hannes king the two that really split hairs for me are Hayes King Kiron drones and Haynes King Grayson McCall I think those two are whichever quarterback has the better game in that game probably wins that game I know the road environment is going to be tough at Virginia Tech but we'll have to see what happens later this year obviously a very intriguing team in the yellow jackets and our next team is the one that I think could cause the most chaos that this year and that that is the West Virginia Mountaineers they start the year with Penn State at home they get ranked Kansas at home they play at Oklahoma State they get number 18 Kansas State at home they go to Arizona that's a lot of interesting games for a team with a very very good quarterback and Garrick green and what is probably a top 10 offensive line in the country I think that's g under the radar you obviously uh lost Zack Frasier to the NFL draft but the rest of that offensive line is returning it is very good only allowed 10 sacks last season solid defense as well for West Virginia I love the running back Duo of CJ Donaldson and Jem white and Oklahoma State transfer at receiver Jaden Bray I think is going to be a very fun player to combine with Garrick green this season and you look at the schedule if they can pull off a home win versus Kansas if they can somehow upset Kansas State I doubt that happens but let's say things go Haywire they upset Kansas State let's say maybe they go beat Arizona what if they beat pennstate week one which I think they might and there's so many opportunities for them to just look at this playoff picture which we think is going to be crowded with a lot of Big 12 teams at the back end and just knock one of those teams out out of nowhere yeah I think I think there's definitely a world in which West Virginia wins two maybe three of these ranked matchups especially when you consider hey you get you get Penn State at home week one you get Kansas at home week four you get you get Kansas State at home like the only two ranked matchups on the road uh in terms of the preseason rankings like you said Oklahoma State and Arizona and I'm not I'm not especially high on Oklahoma State so there's there's a world where West Virginia is not not even just playing spoiler but I think there's a world where they're contending for the Big 12 oh there there definitely is as well and I the thing I like about this Oklahoma State match up for West Virginia is if these offenses both get going which I would expect I don't expect the Oklahoma State Defense to be anything incredible this year do you want Allan Bowman or Garrett green I think that's the easiest question in the world so I personally if I had to pick right now I would probably take West Virginia to finish fourth in this big 12 behind some order of Arizona Kansas State and Utah but they could definitely make a lot of noise I think they could upset a lot of people this season then the next team we have here to talk about is USC Southern Cal and this is a very interesting quarterback battle you would expect Miller Moss to start following the Bowl performance versus Louisville last season but UNLV transferred Jaden mavia I think that's how you say it mavia uh don't know uh correct us if we're wrong on that but that should be a very interesting quarterback battle between those two Zachariah branch is great at receiver and there's a lot of offensive Playmakers here the problem is outside of the safety Duo mainly led by Jaylen Smith what is there on defense for USC this year probably not enough yeah other than to maybe get hot offensively and win some shootouts yeah and you look at the teams they play this year the LSU game is so intriguing to me because I don't think LSU has a great defense either I think you're going to see a shootout in that game I think I think they might be Penn State just because Penn State having to go out there and play that I don't trust Drew Aller at all I know they talk about the crowd doesn't show up in LA but if that's a highly ranked matchup I think that should be a top 15 matchup by that point in the year I I think Penn State might not turn up for that game I think that could get sideways in a hurry the nutter Dame rivalry is always an interesting game Nebraska I think is going to be a very weird game for this team because you look at this late into the year with only three games left you don't know how much Dylan rayola is going to be settled into that offense I think you could see a crazy shootout there so this USC team is one team where I think you could see them maybe go eight and4 with wins over LSU and Penn State but losses to maybe uh Nebraska in the schedule somewhere they're just I think there's going to be a very weird team this season once we get to the end of the year yeah and I don't necessarily think they're going to be able to compete with any teams that have a pulse defensively but no they're losing to Michigan pencil that in right now you you can go ahead and chalk that one up as an L especially in in an arbor yeah and Wisconsin uh but but but some of these other teams like uh I'm not sure that LSU like you said is going to be able to really do anything crazy or special to stop this Southern Cal offense I'm not sure that Notre Dame is going to have enough to go in uh to Los Angeles and win that game I'm not not very high on Notre Dame like we talked about earlier the one thing there is though I think that Zachariah Branch gets taken out of that game completely by Benjamin that's fair that's fair but I think I think linoln Riley's kind of shown that he can he can work around a situation like that and it'll be it'll definitely be interesting to see where Southern Cal and Notre Dame are by this point in the season it's pretty much impossible to predict on that front but a lot of intriguing games like you said on the schedule for USC yeah one thing that's interesting to me about their schedule is they avoided Oregon completely which I did not expect at all I thought for sure they would want that game on the schedule but lucky for USC no they do get Washington oh do they yeah I'm blind these things happen but our final team on this list of potential teams that give kede a headache is the Wisconsin Badgers LED Now by Luke fickle so we'll see how that goes but this I think is chz Maloy season as far as the offense for Wisconsin was injured a lot last year so you saw brayan allenon transfer yes Clemson transfer you saw brillan Allen who I think is an amazing running back get a lot of the touches and rightfully so and the game that immediately stands out when you look at Wisconsin's schedule is week three they host Alabama which I'm not picking Wisconsin to win that game but if Wisconsin shows up I think that can get concerning for Alabama really quickly yeah it definitely could and I think they're going to have to heavily lean on this run game because I am not a believer in Tyler van djk at all based on what we've seen in his career so far but I do think Wisconsin has shown us over the years that they can just ground and pound and beat teams just by running the ball 40 times and if you get behind on Wisconsin and they keep on running the ball it's hard to catch up it's hard it's really hard to come back especially with as Stout of defenses as they've had over the past few years so definitely that Alabama game circled with them coming to Wisconsin I think like we already talked about the southern cow game that'll be that'll be an a nice test for their defense but I think they'll come away with that one and then you get pen State at home you get Oregon at home Penn State's so bad you go to Nebraska so I have no faith in Penn State at all so this this is a very navigable schedule for uh Wisconsin and I think they end up 10 and two honestly looking I think they lose probably Alabama and Oregon if I had to pick right now I I think maybe wild cards of games I could see going either way are the Iowa game and the Nebraska game I think be P State all day but I think they're around N9 and three for me right now but I I could see I could see a scenario where they're 10 and two for sure yeah and the defense my this is one of my favorite transfers of the portal season William and Mary transfer John Pas has transferred to Wisconson and if you don't know who that is he was a top 10 defensive player at the FCS level last year for William and Mary racked up nine and a half sacks and has done or has racked up nine plus sacks in back-to-back Seasons now coming into this year and you know that's a guy that Wisconsin is going to get performing at his absolute highest level so I'm super stoked to see what he does for the Badgers but that is our last team on the list here of teams we think might give the committee a headache and you'll notice one team that was not on this list or our playoff predictions list is Pinn State and I don't want this to turn into a pin State hate rant but don't believe in Drew Aller at all James Franklin's never won a big game at Penn State other than the Ohio State upset when they blocked the field goal that's the one that there is yeah I have no belief in Penn State to do anything I don't know if you guys are familiar with the things went around earlier this year on Twitter of the NBA we're done with the 90s I'm done with James Franklin Penn State yeah they're no belief they're the best they're they're an elite mid team if that makes any sense they're an elite mid team you can pencil them in for 9 and three 8 and four every year usually 10 and two before the Big 10 added all these teams but now that now that you add U more talented teams into the Big 10 I think that slips down to nine and three eight and four for sure yeah but so that's why Penn State's not in here at all but that is is our full list and that's it for real college football this week before we get into picks next week and now it's time for fake college football as we give you the kesas state and UNLV Dynasty update I Kennesaw State/UNLV Dynasty Update 4 took on Jacksonville State at home hosted the game Cox it did not go well I lost 31 to 17 while despite not turning the ball over at all we were just simply outclass at home by a better team and these things happen sometimes you know the the grueling schedules of conference USA are known to be very difficult and we saw that in this game is really struggled to stop the entirety of the Jacksonville State attack I will say QB Davis Bryson had an impressive game throwing for a touchdown Which is a great pass down the field from him also rushing for a touchdown that was where the entirety of the points came from other than our kicker and the defense didn't really do much as you can see by the 31 to 17 final score but that was the one game I had for this episode as I had a buy the next week my last buy of of the season and urban Meer still out on the recruiting Trail but we had a fourstar linebacker with high 80 speed that we were really going after commit to Mississippi State despite a Kennesaw State visit so clearly he wasn't a fan of Kennesaw and wants to head down to Stark Vegas which I mean why would you want to do that it's not like we're terrible and have won one game and are in Conference USA but that is the full kenas State update for this episode and now over to one a more exciting team and two some more exciting gameplay in the UNLV Rebels and a more exciting location he mentioned Stark Vegas how about the real Vegas and that's what is going on in the UNLV Dynasty Calvin Ridley had his team confident on a two- game win streak heading into a home game against Syracuse and let me tell you the offense has not missed a beat in this game UNLV 246 yards rushing and 372 yards passing did have a little bit of a turnover in the second half that allowed Syracuse to get back into the game but a first half pick six by Cameron Oliver really set the tone and got the crowd the lower bowl into the game and uh from there obviously Syracuse came back a little bit and ultimately tied the game in the fourth quarter but a game-winning field goal by Jose Pisano gave uh the UNLV Rebels their third consecutive win in a row uh for a 51 to 48 win to ADV to three and two that momentum was carried over into a game at Utah State the next week and this this game was not as competitive jet elad set the tone in the first half uh a linebacker with a user lurk pick that that was honestly one of my personal favorite highlight plays uh so far in my college football 25 career especially against the CPU on Heisman difficulty you'll be seeing that on the screen right now as I'm talking about it pretty proud of that one so had to throw it into the Highlight Reel and the defense was really the story of this game obviously uh just 14 points for Utah State a weaker offense but how about Cameron Oliver for the second straight week with the pick six and from there UNLV didn't really miss a beat established the Run game a little more in this game to choose some clock actually had chew clock on for this entire game just to kind of test it as an experiment and it worked out pretty well we're able to control the tempo and control the game overall limit Utah State's possessions forced a couple turnovers as I've already mentioned so yeah a pretty fun stretch for Calvin Ridley and the UNLV Rebels they sit at 4 and two uh at this point in the season and getting ever so close uh to that bull eligibility Mark uh as long as no investigations into the underground book are are made by the NCAA but we'll cross that bridge when we get there and Calvin Ridley has the boys huming after an 0 and2 start four game win streak good to see things are going well over at UNLV but that is it for the cfb2 update this week and now let's go over to the NFL for the first time on the Pod since free agency and let's start with injuries NFL Preseason Check-In because there are a lot we're just going to hit some of the big ones here um BJ o jalari Cardinals Edge rusher is out for the season Rond Del Moore Atlanta Falcons slot receiver is out for the season andry two receivers left dang it yeah Amry Thomas has broke his arm for yet another long-term injury feel really bad for him loved him out of Michigan I hope he's able to get on the field some more for the ners Dak Prescott has kind of tweaked his ankle they're looking like it's going to be back fine for week one Justin Herbert had a minor tear of the planer fascia in his foot that is being repaired with a boot and I want to die inside because ran Slater is also hurt and every one of my team is bad and Quinton Johnson's going to get replaced by Jim Harbaugh at this rate at the receiver position but then the big one is really JJ McCarthy who was rev he's going to have to have knee surgery which will keep him out for either a few weeks or a few months and if that doesn't feel like a clear timetable it's CU it's not so thank you to the Vikings for that but we'll see what happens with JJ McCarthy who looked really good in his first pre-season appearance went 11 of 17 for 188 two touchdowns did throw a pick but solid in my opinion and rookie QBs I think really played well overall Caleb Williams was four of seven for 95 yards Drake May didn't play much on the two of three for 19 yards is most time went to the zapinator and then Joe Milton over there in New England Jaden Daniels went two of three for 45 yards and then Michael penx was nine of 16 for 104 so solid first week of preseason football for these work QBs and I know we don't really like to take a lot from preseason you don't really know who they're playing against how representative this is of how they'll play actually in regular season but just from this one week who were you most impressed by I was actually most impressed by JJ McCarthy and I was impressed by JJ McCarthy because he did throw an early interception that looked pretty bad and this was this was before he had really settled into the game but then after that I think he proved a lot of people wrong with the Vikings on the right hash and him dropping back to pass he hit a receiver on the left sideline outside the numbers on a deep ball and that's that's a thing that uh Scouts and wannabe Scouts alike on the Twitter verse have kind of been questioning uh if that's a throw that he had in his bag shouldn't have questioned it if you watched the film he made an exact throw multiple times on third Downs this year people just want to ignore it because Michigan ran the ball a lot been saying it for almost half a year now yeah none nonetheless people did have those questions and I think that question was answered and I feel really bad for JJ McCarthy because I think he was putting himself in a really good position to be named maybe maybe not the week one starter but at least by week two or three I think you're going to see JJ McCarthy only takes one week of Sam darnold seeing ghost out there before MTH would have been in ex exactly I feel really bad for Vikings fans too cuz now you have to watch Sam darnold quarterback your team I feel bad for Justin Jefferson yeah who now has has Sam darnold as his quarterback for some time that we don't know how long it'll be undisclosed period of time and then uh selfishly as a Falcons fan I was a little impressed with Michael penck uh obviously made some big time throws I think even on some throws that weren't necessarily uh his bread and butter I think he's shown a lot of improvement in his short time in the league and then I know we didn't get much from Drake may but I did see a couple clips from a joint practice yesterday where he connected on a couple de balls so that was really nice to see as well yeah the arm is definitely there for me I think he's going to get better and better the more experience he gets I actually want to give a shout out to Bo Knicks who I thought played solid not incredible but I was also most impressed by JJ McCarthy I do want to talk about bonck a little bit though went 15 of 21 for 100 25 and a touchdown and a solid performance I would I would still expect Jared's STM to be the week one starter for the Broncos but I think bonick at least putting himself in the conversation which with how old he is a rookie is something he needs to do sooner rather than later but that's kind of your Roundup for preseason week one so far we'll have more news as the preseason keeps going but finally over to the MLB where there's some good MLB Division Races and Wild Card Standings division races happening right now namely in the AL Central and the NL West and let's start with that NL West we usually start with the let's start with the NL today as the Dodgers now sit only three and a half games ahead of both the Diamondbacks and the Padre's and who do you think wins this division do you think the Dodgers hang on or do you think one of these other two teams takes it I don't know who it's going to be but I will sit here and say on August the 13th of the year of Our Lord 2024 that it will not be the Dodgers it will either be the Diamondbacks or the Padres I'm not exactly sure who it's going to be yet I think if you held gun to my head I think I'm going to go Padre's but these Diamondbacks and Padre's both since July 1st account for two of the best three records in all of Major League Baseball and that's not that's not a small sample size you're talking about a month plus a month plus two weeks even and so I think both of these teams are really putting pressure on the Dodgers who are still dealing with a lot of injuries you're just now getting mookie bets back but a lot of a lot of injury problems still in that rotation and I think the Diamondbacks and Padre's for what whatever reason have kind of found that Swagger that teams need down the stretch here in the season I think the Dodgers are like you obviously can't play defensive baseball in the standings but that in my mind that's what's happening it feels like the Dodgers are just holding these teams off off and like I know I know this isn't a thing in reality but at least in my head it feels like San Diego and Arizona are on the offensive or on the attack in terms of this division race I I definitely agree and I would actually pick the Padre's outright I just like their nature a little bit more than the Diamondbacks right now I think they're less streaky the Diamondbacks they and the Padre's have both been good I think the Diamondbacks are more prone to go on a losing skid than the Padres just the way these teams are built and I love this Padre's lineup right now they are tearing the cover off the baseball you look at the rotation led by Dylan CE it's an incredible form right now I like the Padre's a lot to win this division how about Jackson Merill inserting himself into the NL rookie of the year I feel like he's hitting a home run every ninth inning every he loves nth inning home run recently and he's been incredible showing why he's such a highly touted Prospect but I think the Padres do get this done and win this division the next close race is over in the AL Central where the Guardians sit three and a half ahead of the Twins and five ahead of the Royals and the Guardians are not on good form three and seven in their last 10 and honestly I think the team playing the best baseball in this division right now is the twins it it definitely is the twins there was an argument at at a certain point whether it's the Royals but if you if you really look at the Royals schedule they've only won three or four Series against really good teams they've struggled especially against the Twins and Guardians so if you struggle within your own division against teams you're trying to catch in the Twins and Guardians I think you're going to have a really hard time but I I really like the way that the Minnesota Twins are swinging the bats especially right now and I think uh the Guardians hear the footsteps for sure I would completely agree with that and now let's look at the two wild card races over in the NL it's the Diamondbacks the Padres tied a top for the first two seeds both four games to The Good the Braves right on that line right now in the final wild card spot the Mets one game back of them Cardinals 2 and a half Giants 2 and A2 then Cubs at four and reds at 4 and A2 I would say that this really for me is Braves Mets Cardinals Giants for the last spot here at this point in the year I don't think the Cubs or the Reds have the juice to get back into this but I know you're a Braves fan so as of right now do you think this Braves team has what it takes to hang on to into a playoff spot I do and part part of that is because obviously for the past month month and a half you've had a lineup that featured three to four automatic outs and over the over the past couple weeks you're kind of dwindling that number uh further down and further down obviously the trade for Jorge Solair has an Ops over a thousand uh since coming over for the Braves the Braves have struggled in that time due to some regression from the bullpen that's been letting them down most notably on uh Saturday evening I believe the Braves were leading 8 to2 in the eighth inning and lost the game nine to8 after giving up seven runs in that eighth inning uh but back to the lineup you insert Solair in there you're getting Michael Harris back on Wednesday night uh so today by the time you're watching this podcast that takes out uh two automatic outs that you had been running out there every day and then in about three three weeks maybe four at worst you get Aussie Al back so by that time if the Braves haven't fallen all the way out of it by the time they're back at full strength without obviously without Ronald aunia and Spencer Strider I think the Braves uh are clearly more talented than the Mets Cardinals and Giants I don't necessarily think that they're playing better baseball right now they clearly aren't three and seven in their last 10 and having some issues pitching I think the pitching is going to regress to the mean or positively regress to the mean a little bit uh something I've talked about with you personally the Braves uh opponent batting average on balls in play especially out of the bullpen since the All-Star break is just an astronomical number it's I believe it's 417 batting average on balls in play for their opponents which uh if you if you're not too familiar with that St that is an absurdly high number for that statistic to be on and I I I kind of chock that up as just being incredibly unlucky honestly if if you're asking me about this in a wild card race I don't necessarily see the Giants as a threat just because of uh their lineup I don't I don't necessarily consider their lineup to be up to par with some of these other teams but I definitely think it's going to come down to the Braves and the Mets and maybe the Cardinals I'm not entirely sold on the Cardinals yet but long answer to a short question yes I do believe the Braves hang on and keep that third wild card spot I think the third Wild card spot is also an NL team but I think it's the Mets I am very concerned with this Braves Bullpen right now I know it's easy say well the bullpen will turn it around and the babip well it it the babip cannot get worse the babip cannot get worse I understand that but also I feel like part of this is just maybe the bullpen or gresling also in itself and I think that once a bullpen starts to do that it's really really tough to get it back on track and even if it's just a weird babit thing that can get in your head is a pitcher too and that can maybe kind of affect how you're pitching saying oh I don't want to allow a ball and play you try to make more swing and M stuff and all of a sudden you're out of the Zone more you're walking guys so I'm a little bit concerned about this Braves Bullpen right now and because of that I think if really you're looking at a a two- week stretch where the Braves are mostly relying on starting pitching to win games the other two facets of the game aren't there I think in that stretch they might fall just a little bit too far behind the Mets to catch back up on the other hand Mets notorious chokers at the end of the year so rebuttal to that is the Braves are coming out of a stretch where before last night last night you win well Monday night you win a game uh Chris S versus Blake Snell game in which uh the two pitchers for the for just the fourth time in MLB history the two pitchers went seven plus Innings with 10 plus strikeouts and less than less than two walks each and we've seen two of those games this year now the Braves able to uh kind of grit that one out with a one win not not something we're used to seeing from Braves teams of the past before that point the Braves had lost six of their last seven games and so I think I think Tuesday and Wednesday's games against the Giants are really going to be telling as to the trajectory of the Braves have they gotten out of this uh Valley as as they like to call it or are they gonna or are these wins uh just anomalies and I I don't really know for sure yet but I I think the Braves are I think the Braves Rock Bottom is behind them and for that reason and you consider who you're getting back from the iil you're getting raldo Lopez back as soon as Sun next Sunday that'll slot Grant Holmes back into the bullpen where he was when the Braves were an elite Bullpen and so yeah that's my that's my Mets that's my Mets rebuttal there I think the fact that the Braves have been so bad over their last two weeks and are still a game ahead of the Mets I don't think it can get much worse well I definitely think it's going to be close we'll have to see what happens then over to the AL Wild Card I think this is pretty clearly between Twins Royals Red Sox maybe Mariners for this I just I think whichever I think the AL West only gets one team in the playoffs I think whichever or the postseason I think whichever the asers and Mariners win that division the other one is not in the postseason whatsoever I just think the twins Royals and Red Sox are too good of teams compared to those other teams Red Sox obviously have had some interesting stuff go on recently and then the Twins and the Royals yeah interesting stuff to say the least interesting stuff Twins and the RS I think are both playing Better Baseball than the Red Sox right now and the benefit of being the twins of the Royals is you get games versus the lower half of the AL Central in the Tigers and the white socks and so I think that's really going to carry both of those teams I like both those teams to keep those last two spots over the Red Sox and whichever team does not win the AL West and then I think obviously whichever AL East team comes in second is a lck for that top wild card and I'm in in full agreement there I think the Red Sox kind of pose a little bit of a threat um I'm not sold on the Mariners at all as I've said all season but yeah definitely definitely got a a a clear two tiers of teams here and I think the Royals are the last team in that kind of first tier for this wild card race Yeah you mentioned you didn't believe in the Mariners I actually I'm still taking the Mariners to win this Division and it's because of one big stat here you look at record versus teams over 500 the Astros are 2 6 and 31 Mariners are 33 and 33 and that's sad and while that's not a huge difference I think one the Mariners hitting is finally showing signs of life after the acquisition of Randy Rosara the bats have kind of woken up and two I don't think the Astros can stay as absolutely on fire as they have been for the last couple weeks that's just not sustainable and I have no rebuttal to that other than the fact that I am picking the Astros until it doesn't work that's fair enough but that is it for MLB and the podast C this week next week we'll be back on the old virtual setup we'll have picks for week zero of college football Outro some more NFL preseason reactions and as always some more MLB breakdowns for yall but that is it for this week and see you next time