Penn State, USC = B1G Disruptors | Week 1 Concerns | Michigan-Texas, Iowa-ISU PREVIEWS | B1G Nation

Cold Open some big 10 teams look great other big 10 teams didn't look so great and we're looking ahead to Big Time week two matchups this is big nation let's get it Open rolling from Pasadena to Piscataway College Park to the Coliseum Seattle to State College Columbus to Camp Randall the zoo to the Rock and everywhere in between this is where Big 10 fans gather to talk America's Premier National Conference with your host Big 10 Ted all big 10 all year long this is big [Music] nation don't overreact to week one don't Show Intro overreact to week one been hearing a lot of that on the Twitter's spere been hearing a lot of that in the YouTube comments but here's what I want to say to that statement yes we don't overreact to week one absolutely but we don't overreact to week one but we also don't forget and we also don't ignore what happened in week one we don't just push aside what we saw with our own eyeballs you got to find a good balance between the two welcome in to big nation 5 I'm big tented you can find me on social media at Big tented over there on Twitter big tented on Spotify the audio platform over there and of course right here on YouTube for those of you watching on video make sure you hit subscribe so you know when big nation is coming to you we got a lot to talk about today what's on the docket what's on the game plan the two maybe most impressive performances in the Big 10 I think without a doubt it were they were the two most impressive performances in the Big 10 USC's win over a top 15 by you Bengals Squad Las Vegas and of course that Domination by the Penn State nney lions in Morgantown can those two teams Penn State and USC can they disrupt things on the road to Indianapolis we're going to be talking about those about those two squads as far as the postseason is concerned that one postseason game that we do have here within the Big 10 conference now for every USC for every Penn State there is a Wisconsin There's a Michigan there is a group of teams within the Big 10 that have different levels of concern some of them have low concern medium concern High concern we're going to break down all of those concern levels as well and we're looking ahead of course to week number two we got to keep on churning we got to keep on going down the tracks man we're going to be previewing shawk Iowa and Iowa State kinnick stadium that's 3:30 Eastern on CBS and the big noon match up the Texas Longhorns coming to the the big house to take on the Michigan Wolverines we're going to break down those two games in the second half of this show as well before I really get into the meat and potatoes there's a handful of things that I really want to talk about big shout out to two specific teams I'm not going to be talking about them a ton in this specific show but I wanted to make sure that they got their flowers in this specific show how about Hudson card and the Purdue boiler makers Man video game type of numbers that accuracy that efficiency right I've been saying it for I think over a year now if Hudson card can get some protection from this offensive line This is he's a quarterback that can sling the football he's a quarterback that can certainly move it up and down the field and how about the Illinois fighting a line ey man I think Luke alm's got that confidence in his head throwing the football down the field Pat Bryant as well looked really good in that week one victory over Eastern Illinois so I wanted to make sure I got both of those squads their shout outs here to start things off as well now naturally when the Big 10 gets a big win over the SEC there's a lot of talk about Big 10 there's a lot of talk about SEC and I wanted to bring up a tweet here from Tom forelli of CBS Sports also the cover three podcast as well maybe some things in this tweet a little bit tongue and- cheek right he's got a he's got a very good sense of humor he's got a very fun person personality over there on the cover three podcast as well but you know when you look at recent history between the Big 10 and the SEC and there is a reason I think why the SEC everybody claims SEC bias and the benefit of the doubt always seemed to to go that the way of the Southeastern Conference when you win as much as they have over the years when you've won as much big games and national titles as they have over the years you generally start to lean that way now you can argue whether that's right you can argue whether that's wrong and we can have that discussion but I said it prior to the rosebowl prior to Michigan and Alabama if the Big 10 wants to get that benefit of the doubt that the SEC receives you need to win playoff games you need to big win big non-conference games and check and check now there's maybe a little bit of pick and choose in this tweet from Tom you know you look at some of those maybe games that don't mean as much at the end of the year those bowl games we love bowl games but you know opt outs of course contribute to this where it's not the full roster and full teams you know in this tweet he's not including Penn State and old miss you know he's not including Iowa and Tennessee right at the end of this last season as well but when it comes to those big non-conference games when it comes to those playoff games you see it on the tweet for those of you listening on podcast Tom says fun fact in games that matter and he's talking regular season and playoff the Big 10 as currently constructed has won three straight against the Southeastern Conference of course USC beting LSU Michigan over Alabama Washington Over Texas in last year's college football playoff and he kind of jokes at the end saying is the SEC dead the SEC is not dead the SEC is certainly a big time power in college football but the momentum you can see is certainly going the way of the Big 10 conference and if they continue to win more of these games like Tom says regular season and playoff if they continue to win more of these games hopefully and you got to think the benefit of the doubt is going to go the way of the Big 10 conference now lot of success in week number one for the Big 10 it wasn't just USC beating LSU and Penn State's dominant win over West Virginia it was 17 hot of the 18 teams and one team came up on the short end of the stick and it was the one game that I was at on Thursday night when Minnesota took on the North Carolina T Tar Heels you see it here in the Tweet Big 10 17 and one this past weekend and for those of you listening on podcast the Big 10 went 17 and one I tweeted only Minnesota fell in week one I apologize Dragon kesich missing two field goals for the Golden Gophers but here's the hope Minnesota is going to respond these next two weeks and get ready to go by the time the Iowa Hawkeyes come in to Huntington Bank Stadium to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers but that is an impressive start to this season for the Big 10 conference now I predicted them to go 18-0 they came oh so close to getting to that point 17 and one still a pretty darn good start in gaining that confidence and momentum for a majority of these teams to start the college football Penn State & USC Big Ten Disruptors season all right it's time to really dive into the meat and potatoes of this particular program the two most impressive wins in the Big 10 conference this weekend Penn State's dominance in Morgantown against West Virginia maybe took them a little bit longer than they anticipated with the weather delay and of course the USC Trojans in Las Vegas defeating the sec's LSU Tigers and it wasn't only in the big 10 I thought these were two of the more impressive performances in all of college football you get outside the Big 10 bubble here for just a minute and I think there's really two other performances that stand out to me Georgia's thumping of Clemson it's not really surprising Georgia is just an impressive program they're probably the best program in all of college football uh right now so that result isn't necessarily surprising but it is still very impressive doing what they did to a top 15 Clemson Squad uh over there as well well and then you look at the Miami Hurricanes man going into the sweaty swamp and what they were able to do cam W Damen Martinez Simeon Barrow some of these players that they've brought in I think this is a really good Miami team I think there's a shot that maybe Miami could pull away in the ACC you look at Virginia Tech losing to Vanderbilt you look at what Florida state has done going 0 and2 to start the season in Clemson Miami might be like old time in the late '90s and early 2000s where they're kind of looking down at everybody else in their conference right now but getting back into that big 10 bubble I think a big reason why Penn State and USC were so impressive in week number one and maybe this is what this segment is all about and maybe why they could be big 10 Championship disruptors on that path to Indianapolis is because of their quarterbacks when you get outside of Dylan Gabriel I think Penn State and USC have the best quarterbacks in the Big 10 and there's always been you know since last season there's always been this talking point about the accuracy of Drew Aller he shows it sometimes he doesn't show it other times but he looked really confident in that game against West Virginia and he's got a big arm like he's got the arm strength to push the ball down the field and we know that's what Penn State has needed to do they needed to push the football down the field and you saw him with some of that confidence a little shaky at first but once he kind of got his feet in his head under him a little bit you saw exactly what Drew Aller can do and if Drew Aller can take that next step up to be a great big 10 quarterback and be a top 10 to top 15 quarterback nationally this is a pennstate program that can also take that next step up and you know what is the step where they're currently at the step of where they're at right now is a top 10 program and a college football playoff Contender that next step up naturally is a disruptor to Ohio State and Oregon both of them getting into Indianapolis and the Big 10 championship game uh as well and of course the quarterback for the USC Trojans Miller Moss no moment was too big for Miller moss in Los Vegas in just his second career start this kid had ice water in his veins man and this is what I love because we're going to take a look at USC schedule here in just a moment they've got big games everybody talked about their schedule at the of the year maybe why they wouldn't be as successful Miller Moss is going to be in a lot of big games and to get that out of the way early against LSU and to be able to make those big throws in key spots that offside call hit it to jobi Lane to for the touchdown to tie the game you really saw what he can do in crunch time situations he's going to need need to be able to do that because if USC wants to be a big 10 Championship disruptor he's going to need to make big time throws in Big Time spots as well we know all about the USC offense and I think one reason why they could we are not overreacting by the way we are not saying Penn State and USC are are contenders to get to Indianapolis I'm saying they could be a threat they could disrupt the path for for both Ohio State and Oregon for both of the Bucks and the Ducks to get to Indianapolis but of course that defense has through one game we've seen it of course that game coming up against Michigan in a couple of weeks is going to tell us a lot about where USC really is if they can put out a duplicate performance against a really good football team but if this defense can play like they did in Las Vegas against LSU and we know all about Lincoln Riley and what he can do on the offensive side of the ball that is a combination you stir it together you pull it out of the oven and maybe maybe just maybe you're playing in Indianapolis all I'm saying is that is a really good combination for the USC Trojans and it is a dangerous combination potentially for the rest of the Big 10 so we know based on what we saw in week one remember we're not overreacting but we're not ignoring what we saw in week one based on what we saw with our eyes these are two teams that at the very least can contend for that college football playoff spot but we're talking about being disruptors to get in to a big 10 Championship spot potentially maybe with some tie Breakers mixed in there get into a big 10 Championship spot now the big test before October 12th is going to come for the USC Trojans because Penn State has a very favorable schedule before we get to that big- time weekend on October 12th let's talk about it for USC Pretender or Contender right this is something that this last result against LSU is a result that peaked a lot of people's interest it piqu my interest that maybe this team can be a contender they are going to be an even bigger Contender if they can go on the road into Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks and beat the Michigan wolver Reigns and the schedule actually plays in their favor they play Utah State they have a buy and then they go to an Arbor Michigan has a game against Texas of course here this week and they don't have a buy before they play the USC Trojans as well so that plays into the favor of USC I look at what Michigan's offensive line looked like where Fresno state was able to go nose to noose with them for a majority of that game and then I looked how USC performed against what I think is a better offensive line than Michigan in the LSU Tigers USC will not take on a better offensive line than what they saw against the LSU Tigers so I think that favors in to to how they approach that game against Michigan and if they can keep this Michigan Run game in check and they can at least create a stalemate at the line of scrimmage Force Michigan to beat you through the air and then they just do enough against this Michigan defense this vaunted Michigan defense there's a certainly a path to victory for the USC Trojans over the Michigan Wolverines I think that is almost a must-win for USC if they want to be that Dark Horse to get to Indianapolis you need to beat Michigan even with the college football playoff even with their cfp spot even with the win over LSU if they can back that up with a win against Michigan no matter what happens the rest of the year they play Penn State later on in the year they play Nebraska later on in the year they play Notre Dame a little bit later on in the year having wins not at the Coliseum against the LSU Tigers and against the Michigan Wolverines that could be one of the better resumes in college football at that point in time so I think that they will be a legitimate contender in my eyes they're really really close I certainly think they can be in that playoff category but they can I think be in that big 10 Championship type of category at least or at least be a contender for that we know Oregon and Ohio State have stacked rosters but USC with a little bit of help maybe with some tiebreakers a win over Michigan will really show me that this team is for Real this year in 2024 so let's talk about October 12th why don't we that has become the weekend I talked about it a few weeks ago that says hey no November 2nd is where the men are going to be separated from the boys and that's still going to be a pretty darn big weekend right that particular weekend Oregon plays Michigan Ohio State plays Penn State that still will probably determine who plays in Indianapolis at the end of the season but October 12th is maybe the greatest day in college football history the greatest slate of games regular season wise in college football history maybe and really when you take a look at this you've got pen State going on the road to USC and I want to talk about this from the Penn State perspective because you know ever since 2016 when they won that big 10 Championship they just haven't been able to get it done on a consistent basis in most years at all against both the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes now there's no Michigan on the schedule this year which is why a lot of people thought hey Penn State they can go 11 and one maybe they can get into the Big 10 championship game with that record if not they'll still be a very high seed in the college football playoff but they've got a new Michigan on the schedule I think USC going on the road to the Coliseum is that new Michigan that is a new type of big game that James Franklin has to win I think this year whether it's USC or whether it's Ohio State James Franklin you got to win one of these big games you got to win big games I think eventually if Penn State wants to get to that next level level as a college football program they looked really good in week number one like they could get to that next level I talked about Drew Aller and his talent and if he can develop into the quarterback we all know he can be then they can make that jump to the next level but you got to get big wins over really good teams going on the road to col to the Coliseum that is almost guaranteed to be the CBS game because it was leaked by Joe clatt Ohio State and Oregon is going to be the Big 10 Saturday night game in NBC so that is almost guaranted to be the CBS game this particular year what a weekend of college football that will be and this these two games along with November 2nd will tell us a lot about who's the leader in the clubhouse to get to Indianapolis uh at the end of the season now if both of these teams want to be disruptors if in the Big 10 Championship picture if one of them wants to get into Indianapolis whether it's over Ohio State or over Oregon you got to look at the schedule after this date and I want to start first with the Penn State nney Lions when I really start to talk about this of course on November 2nd you got that big game against the Ohio State Buckeyes right now but outside of that it's a very favorable schedule arguably their toughest opponent outside of Ohio State they get him at home in a white out and that's the Washington Huskies who I expect to be ranked here this week and you know going to Wisconsin Wisconsin looked a little bit shaky out there in week number one but then you have other teams on the schedule like Maryland Minnesota and Purdue all teams that Penn State should be able to handle so really what does it come down to for Penn State to be a big 10 Championship Contender it comes down to winning one of two games USC or Ohio State they need to find a way to win one of those games now if you lose them you still feel pretty good at 10 and two that you can get into the college football playoff but if you want to take it one step further State you need to win one of those football games let's look at it from the USC perspective now we know this is a little bit of a tougher schedule we're going to push Notre Dame a little bit to the side since it's not a big 10 game but you look at this schedule okay before this schedule they've got Michigan they've got Penn State and then you've got Nebraska down the stretch as well and don't sleep on November 2nd as well where USC travels to the greatest setting in college football to take on the Washington Huskies beginning of the year I predicted losses for four losses for USC I predicted Notre Dame I predicted Michigan I predicted Penn State and this was the fourth the upset at the University of Washington so I think that's a little bit of a sneaky game uh in there as well USC over the last 10 years or so hasn't fared well against the Huskies from Seattle as well so but if they are able to beat Michigan and then we'll see what happens against Penn State you look at this slate the rest of the way it really comes down to that Nebraska game now which one of these teams based on these schedules has a better chance to be the disruptor personally I think it's Penn State I think they have a little bit more of a favorable schedule down the stretch Washington and Nebraska in back-to-back weeks I think that can certainly be a little bit tricky for the USC Trojans as well but USC they need to prove it I think against the University of Mich if they prove it in that game I can certainly see a path for them to continue that momentum to continue building that and if things bounce a certain way maybe just maybe this is a USC team that is playing in Indianapolis at the end of the year now not every team can be like Big Ten Concern Levels USC and Penn State not every single team right now is saying hey based on week one we can be a disruptor in the Big 10 conference there are teams there are a handful of teams in the Big 10 conference that I think have some concerns based on their week one performances now we've been saying it at the top of the show now in the middle of the show we're probably going to say it towards the end of the show as well we don't overreact to week one but we don't ignore what happened in week one and we follow up on what our eyeballs tell us so let's dive right into it the concern level for a group of football teams I want to start with teams at the high level of concern let's start first with the UCLA Bruins man you know I maybe used a little bit of a harsher term on Twitter than maybe I needed to when describing this offensive line for the UCLA Bruins but it's got to get better if you if Hawaii is able to do that to your front and disrupt Ethan garbers the way they did Imagine what's going to happen when you face some big 10 teams when You Face LSU out of conference a little bit later on in this season they got to get it together they got to patch those holes no question about that if that offensive line for UCLA if they play like that the rest of the season I I don't know if they're going to win four games all year I don't and then Ethan garbers was inaccurate he turned the football over two times okay I was high on Ethan garbers at quarterback and this wide receiving core this season I and I still think that they can get there but they need to turn this thing around quick because if they continue these issues we know they've got a daunting middle of the schedule you know Oregon is in there Penn State is in there LSU is in there if this continues and then you face that schedule man you could be pretty be be beat up physically you could be beat up mentally so Deshawn Foster Eric bemy the offensive coordinator they need to find a way to figure this thing out now now very quickly because it was not good it was not good at Hawaii in game number one let's talk about the Michigan State Spartans I also got them on high alert I kind of considered them for medium concern as well but Aiden childes man you just got to protect the football like this kid's a gunslinger and this is also a note to Brian Lindgren their offensive coordinator if the Deep ball doesn't work the first seven or eight times let's just maybe work on completing some short to medium passing Concepts as well they were going to live and die by they were going to make sure that they hit that deep ball down the field eventually and it just didn't work out he's got to be able to protect the football and here's the thing about Michigan State I really like the running tandem I saw some really good things from kayin rench Adams in that season opener against Florida Atlantic but look at their schedule and what's coming up for Michigan State they got to go to to Maryland this week and then look what Boston College was able to do against Florida State all of a sudden you're if you lose to Maryland which that's what I predicted in the beginning of the season and I find myself staying with that based on what both of these teams showed in week number one was very impressed with Billy Edwards over there at Maryland but if they fall to Maryland and then they come back they beat Prairie viiew A&M they're two- one now you go on the road to Boston College and then you look at that stretch that's coming up these next four games this is a team entering the month of November that could be staring two and six in the face and then where is your team at that point where is your team mentally at that point where is Aiden Charles at that specific point in time where you have tossup games against the indianas against the Purdue against the ruter against some of those teams like that so I think they got to figure it out there's an opportunity that Michigan State could be 4-0 and they could flip this thing around but this game against Maryland I think is going to really tell us a lot and considering what this schedule looks like down the road from Michigan State I think they got to get it wred and they got to get it wred quickly protect the football you can't turn this in to the team like it was last year where they continue to turn the football over I want to get to some teams with some medium concern and let's talk about Wisconsin this was an offense that played really within 10 to 12 yards of the line of scrimmage it looked like old Wisconsin just in different formations just out of the shotgun right this was a team that did fairly well running the football t Walker you look at tesma Lucy okay that looked pretty good but when it comes to Tyler van djk he threw a couple of balls that should have probably been interceptions and they didn't really stretch the football down the field at all and I think that makes things a lot easier for defenses to really come up at defense so they need to find a way whether it's Vinnie Anthony out there whether it's will Pauling kind of working out of the slot Bryson Green they need to find somebody to be able to stretch the Field South Dakota is a top five FC s team just just be aware just be aware I'm not overly concerned I'm not panicking per se we're not pushing the panic button we're not overreacting to what happened in week one in Madison but you looked at the defensive side of the football when they lost James Thompson Jr for the season on a already thin defensive line that was fairly concerning and then what I saw at times where Western Michigan was able to establish their girth and their run game at the line of scrimmage Alabama's going to come into to Madison in a few weeks and they got m one of the best offensive lines in the country they might be able to run the ball right at the Badgers all afternoon long so you got to get some things fixed and figured out before Alabama comes into Madison for that big noon game as well now Minnesota is an interesting case study because the Golden Gophers did not have Darius Taylor in that week one game and I said it in my reaction from hunted in Bank Stadium I think d I Taylor getting him back is going to be important but it's not going to fix every issue on your football team specifically defensively okay and then on the offensive line as well but let's talk about defense a little bit some M tackles in that football game against North Carolina they found pressure at certain points in time but I think when you look at maybe some of these teams on the schedule they need to get better in the back end of this defense as well back there in that secondary uh and then you look back at the offensive side they need to get in a rhythm Max brosmer kind of like he did on that last Drive where he started to build some confidence you need to figure it out the positive thing for Minnesota is that you came a Miss field goal short of beating North Carolina we don't know how good North Carolina is going to be right now but the good thing is you turn it around against Rhode Island you turn it around against Nevada you get Darius Taylor back and now you get min you get Iowa excuse me come to your place all of a sudden you can flip this narrative pretty quick if Max bro rosmer builds some confidence boy these receivers need to get open I think you need more than just Daniel Jackson on the outside that that's also a big level of concern so hopefully somebody can emerge whether it's Elijah Spencer or lcky Brockington here within the next few weeks uh as well so that's something that needs to be working we're not hitting the panic button yet because this could because Minnesota could easily rattle off three straight they beat Iowa all of a sudden you're feeling pretty good about yourself once again Michigan uh offensive line don't think was maybe as good as some people thought it was coming out of fall Camp Fresno State was able to do a really good job pushing back at them up front the Run game was contained for the most part I know C Mullin got over 90 yards in that game but I think the concern for them is that quarterback okay we're not panicking but we look around and say man maybe we underappreciated JJ McCarthy a little bit because there were times last year when Michigan run the ball run the ball run the ball but you could have have JJ McCarthy on a play fake roll out he could put it on a dime 20 30 yards down the field he could stretch the defense and that open up the Michigan offense to do so many different things you don't have that this year they're playing kind of a lot like that M Wisconsin offense right within 10 12 15 yards to the line of scrimmage you know coulston Loveland is really your top Target going down the field can you separate against some teams with better secondaries that's going to be the question because the game plan against Michigan is fairly simp simple score enough points against a really really good defense crowd the Box stop the run make the quarterback beat you Michigan needs to be more diverse than that if this if they want to be a college football playoff team by the end of the season I'm going to finish things off with a low level of concern of course Oregon right when you when Idaho now Idaho is a seventh ranked team in the FCS but Oregon's the third ranked team in FBS so it should not be that close even though Idaho is that highly ranked at their level of football but this offensive line they need to get it figured out they need to gel together a little bit better uh and they just need to play better and Oregon needs to be able to finish drives like you look at the stat line that Dylan Gabriel put up in week number one and I'm flipping back and forth between this game and I'm seeing him make some plays in the middle of the field but you need to have that killer instinct to finish drives sh up the offensive line Oregon you're still going to be an elite football team so low level of concern if we see games like that against Boise State against Oregon State you might move up a concern level Maybe to the medium level uh Northwestern look I it did not surprise me that that was a onep possession game with Miami of Ohio the defending ma Champions uh over there but there were some good things that I did see in this game I thought the defense played really well limiting the Red Hawks to just six points in this particular matchup I thought Mike Wright made some good throws at some points in time this is low concern even though Miami of Ohio went toe-to-toe with them it's low concern because that's what I expected it to happen I didn't have super high expectations for Northwestern uh this season I like what I see on the defensive side of the ball the offense I think as we get further into the schedule is going to need to be more Dynamic if the Northwestern Wildcats want to be able to make a bowl game it's week one we don't overreact but we don't ignore what we saw on the field these teams just need to sh some things up as we get into the meat of the Big 10 schedule coming up on the other side we're shifting our Focus to week two previewing Iowa Iowa State and Michigan Texas that after these big [Music] [Applause] B1G Facts [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] facts it is the game of of the week in Michigan - Texas Preview the Big 10 and of course probably the game of the week in college football as well the Texas Longhorns coming into Michigan Stadium coming to Ann Arbor come into the big house to take on the Michigan Wolverines a top 10 battle this one is going to be a whole lot of fun all right let's dive into it let's let's really start to break down this game because I think week one went as expected for Texas they threw the ball really well they moved the ball up and down the field a lot of production a lot of points but then you look at Michigan against Fresno State and I'm not sure it went as expected for Wolverine fans you saw this offensive line there were returns coming out of fall camp that said hey I know we lose what we lose up front on the old line but this offensive line I think is going to be better than a lot of people think Fresno State went nose to noose with this Michigan offensive front look this run game it was fine it was certainly not what we're what we're used to scen from the Michigan Wolverines C mulling led the Wolverines in rushing with just over 90 yards in this particular football game Donovan Edwards did not get much of anything on the ground and that's where I kind of want to start because we know what Michigan needs to do to succeed they need to be great up front in the offensive line and they need to be able to run the football I emphasize need a little bit more because you rewi back to last year and the year before with JJ McCarthy at quarterback of course the Run game and establishing that push on the offensive line of course that was important that's the identity of Michigan football after all but JJ McCarthy could save him a little bit if they didn't get it going on the first couple of downs you get into a third and seven a third and eight JJ can rip it down the field for a 15 to a 25 yard gain he can stretch the field and I think that helped out so much more things in the Run game they don't have that threat Michigan's throw game and really Michigan's offense as a whole against Fresno State was working within a with within a 10 12 15 yard box within the line of scrimmage you didn't see a lot of those JJ McCarthy rollouts where he can stretch it down the field and get it to a guy like coulston lovelin you didn't see that okay I think maybe the reason the quarterback battle really took so long is I'm not sure if one of these guys really pulled away from the other you didn't see someone really take control of this job because I'm not sure if either of these guys are Ultra great options right now for the Michigan Wolverines I think they're fine options I think Michigan can win some games with Alex orgy or Davis Warren Davis Warren of course is the guy right now but Alex orgy certainly saw some time also in this offense as well but they need more production because if I'm Texas coming into this football game and I look at that Fresno State film I'm like all right this is simple let's load the Box make the quarterbacks beat us and Michigan has to provide that threat whether it's getting the ball up the seam to someone like Colston Loveland or getting your other wide receivers involved they need to have that threat otherwise Texas is going to be able to load the box and C mullings or Donovan Edwards okay if if they can't run it Ultra effectively against Fresno State what happens when you bring a more talented defense like the Texas Longhorns into town I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult so a key for Michigan in this game you need some type of downfield passing through okay it didn't look you didn't get a lot of it against Fresno State maybe they were holding some things back for this particular game against Texas it didn't look that way necessarily to me but this is a team that needs to have that balance down the field I think to in order to really compete with Texas in this game I really thought coming into this season that especially with the injuries at running back for Texas their top two running backs went down to season ending injuries I thought okay this is a Texas team they're going to rear back they're going to throw the football if Michigan can get pressure on quines establish that Smashmouth football that Chiron Moore wants to do with the line of scrimmage on offense maybe this is a Formula where Michigan can win but if we saw what we saw from this offensive line last week this week against Texas I think it's a pretty good challenge and I think there is a reason why Texas is 6 and 1/2 Point favorites on the road at Michigan let's talk about when Texas has the football of course course Quinn yours one of the best quarterbacks in the country there's a there's a reason why he is Mr fansville right now there's a reason why he's in that type of Spotlight because he is one of the very best quarterbacks in the country right now now I know you bring in a good amount of transfer receivers Isaiah Bond of course is the guy that everybody looks to but there's guys that have had production at other schools there's guys across this formation for Texas that I think maybe could give Michigan some problems I think the key form Michigan is to slow down Quin yers you got to get pressure wink marale what have we heard about him all off seon long this guy loves to bring pressure and I've Got a Feeling I've got a feeling that Michigan is going to have to bring pressure outside of the front four now that's a big time matchup for me because I think Michigan has one of the very best defensive lines in the country and we just talked about last week when we were previewing USC and LSU on three in their rankings rated LSU as the number one offensive line in the country you know who's right behind them at number two the Texas Longhorns they've got a great uh left tackle in kelvin Banks Jake majors at Center has 41 career starts with the burnt orange so there's a lot of experience up front that's going to be I think one of the battles okay A lot of people are going to look towards this flashy p passing attack of Texas can Michigan run the football things like that those are things that a lot of people are going to focus on but this is Big 10 head after all right when we talk about the Big 10 conference we talk about those battles in the trenches I think Michigan is going to have to get pressure with their front four up front they have to because I think if you start to bring some of the the guys from some of these other levels of the defense I got a feeling we marale is going to do that anyway but when you start to do that I think you you get some of these one-on-one matchups back there in the secondary and if Quinn yers can get rid of the football quickly before the pressure gets there you know outside of will Johnson these matchups May favor the University of Texas Michigan's got to get home they got to get home they got to get in the face of Quin yers that is a huge key for me because if that's able to happen and they get the timing off of this Texas offense and Texas you know they didn't run the ball all that much in week number one and like I said before their top two running backs are out with injury this is going to and it's a Steve sarkeesian offense and football team they're going to look to throw the football around so you know if they can keep this passing game in check I think that gives Michigan a chance throughout this football game as well but they need to be able to get pressure to get this offense off their Rhythm um as well now Texas's defensive front right they don't have dandre sweat they don't have Byron Murphy right those two NFL draft picks first round type of guys in the middle of this defensive line it's good I think it's solid I still think Michigan is going to be challenged up front but this run game is almost going to have a little bit of a dual purpose based than what I just said with the Texas Longhorns on the offensive side of the football I think you need to control time of possession you need to keep things easy for this offense if this offense does not run the ball as well on first down they don't get into third and shorts instead if they're getting into third and Longs you put your quarterbacks into a disadvantage at that point in time so playing well in the early Downs I think is going to be ultra key for the Michigan Wolverines in this football game you know I want to rewind one more time to that USC LSU game I mentioned it once before in this preview I want to mention it one more time I was curious how Danton Lynn had soft coverage and keeping everything in front of him he kind of played off a little little bit I'm curious to see I know wink marale is a more aggressive defensive coordinator but I'm curious to see if Michigan schemes up that coverage where says we don't want to allow any big plays over the top let's limit things see if we can make some stops in the ren Zone let's Bend but don't break maybe we can force a couple of turnovers give our offense a short field Donovan Edwards really needs to have a great game in this one I guess C Mullins could have a great game as well but I'm specifically looking at Donovan Edwards in this game because when you look at Donovan Edwards historically he shows up for games like these doesn't he he shows up for games against Ohio State he shows up for national championship games against Washington the when the big bright lights are on there won't be lights because the Sun is going to be out it's in the afternoon it's at noon uh after all but in this type of environment this is when the da really comes into play can Michigan get a couple of those big Donovan Edwards runs for some turnovers that seems to be the formula and keeping those big plays in front of them that seems to be the formula to be able to go toe-to-toe with the Texas Longhorns I think that this is going to be a challenge for Michigan I think they need to win the battle in the trenches both on offense and on defense they need to drag Texas down to their LEL you know if we start to see Texas in a rhythm and we start to see points on the board this Michigan team is not really built to come back from behind so they need to jump on the horns early I think to really have to be in an advantageous spot if Michigan is able to do that early get on the board early keep Texas contained I think you get them into the fourth quarter with a three-point lead or a seven-point lead if you're the ma and blue give yourself a chance to just make a few plays down the stretch and the question of course when you try to pick a winner or you try to really evaluate this match of when you see a game like this is It's just Texas more talented do they just have more pieces that even if Michigan can drag them down and try to get them into that type of scenario that I just laid out is Texas just have that much more Talent on offense that they're just going to be able to just make one two three four more plays during this game that's just one thing that I've had in the back of my head that kind of like whatever Michigan wants to do or whatever game plan they have or whatever situation that they want to get to late in this football game does Texas just have more pieces on offense to be able to make those plays down the stretch we're going to find out but this is a very intriguing game certainly for me and if Michigan is able to pull out this victory you know a lot of people kind of backing off Michigan they dropped one spot in the AP Pole to number 10 now if they're able to get this win I think that says a lot about Chiron Moore I think it says a lot about this football program and you're kind of riding the roller coaster a little bit um in this first half of the season but it would be a big statement Victory if they do end up on the short end of the stick against a national championship Contender like the Texas Longhorns I certainly don't think it's the end of the world as well all right right let's get into our second game that we want to preview in this one as well this one is one of my Iowa - Iowa State Preview favorites it is sigh Hawk time man this game exists within its own Universe man just because you win this game doesn't mean that you're going to win 7 eight n games during the season just because you lose this game doesn't mean that you're going to have an average or poor year the rest of the year that's what makes this game so fun living in its own universe and this is a very interesting and heated rivalry in the state of Iowa between the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones as well let's dive into the matchup and the story lines that exist within the specific Showdown let's start first with Iowa State okay when you look at their offense little bit of an inconsistent Run game last season some games it was good maybe some other games wasn't so good I think as this season went on once Iowa State got past this game last year Ronco Beck really started to improve at the quarterback position game by game by game and now I think that's the strength of this Iowa State offense is Rocko's ability to push the football down the field to guys like Jaylen Nell eight catches one35 and a score in week number one for Jaylen null so that's going to be the big Focus I think for Phil Parker and this Iowa defense can Iowa win the battle up front and just get pressure with the front four like that's a defensive coordinator's dream I've said that before here this season that if they can get pressure up front with Ethan herit with Aaron Graves with ya black with Deontay Craig and get into the face of Rocko Beck that allows Phil Parker to do so many different things with his coverages and we've seen it in this very game remember when Brock 30 a couple of years back interception after interception after interception you saw last season what Sebastian Castro was able to do in this football game this game lately for the Iowa Hawkeyes has been and their ability to win these games has been their ability to create turnovers getting in the face of rock Ock disrupting this Iowa State passing game I think gives Iowa a tremendous advantage in this game if Rocco has time and if he's able to sit back there you know I know this secondary is really really good for Iowa but he might be able to find some spots he might be able to convert a third in five he might be able to convert a third in six or seven keep the chains moving and then that maybe gets Iowa just a little bit off balance I don't think there's going to be a ton of scoring in this football game okay I think your possessions are going to be very valuable which I think favors the Iowa Hawkeyes certainly in this matchup let's talk about Iowa was specifically their offense they put up not five not 10 not 15 but 40 points in week number one against well it was the red birds of Illinois State it didn't start off too well started off a little bit sluggish didn't it but it was like that that analogy that I made on Twitter it was a little bit like that pull start lawnmower you pull it once wasn't there you pull it twice it wasn't there but once you got it started that thing started to get H huming and once you're p and you mow a few rows of your lawn okay now it's running good and now you kind of see what this Tim Lester offense can certainly be I think a key for the Iowa Hawkeyes is going to be their run game Tim Lester said it before the season we have to be a team that needs to run the football and they've got four running backs that can legitimately get in there and run the football you saw what Caleb Johnson was able to do breaking out some big runs in week number one in that game of course Kamari Molton the red shirt freshman was the starter so I think rotating backs keeping them fresh and being able to go right at Iowa State's defense it's going to open up the pass game down the field we saw what ree vandery was able to do in week one we saw what Jacob Gil was able to do in week one I think a big key to this one not only is the return of Kirk ference who I think is going to be very motivated in this game he's always motivated of course when he takes down the Iowa State Cyclones to notch up another win for the black and gold but I think he's going to be motivated to see another guy that was out week one and that's kayb brown come in and have a big game here against Iowa State now all of a sudden in week one you were able to build some confidence with those two receivers I just talked about Rees vandery and Jacob Gil you add Caleb Brown you got two tight ends on Luke Lee and Addison EST stranga I talked about the depth in the running back room the offensive line looks pretty good if you keep Kade mamera upright and you keep Kade mcamera healthy all of a sudden things are coming together this is where we go back to not overreacting but we take a look at week one and just that confidence that was needed for Iowa so being able to run the football is so important then this is a good Iowa State Defense I want to get that I'll make sure that's out there this is the top returning defense in the Big 12 from last season and they return a lot of key parts from this team as well but watch out for one key injury Caleb bacon at the linebacker but we we'll be out for for a little bit for Iowa State so that could be certainly something that could impact this game specifically in the Run game right one of those top guys from that linebacker spot that can try to come up and stop the run so if they can establish that I think it opens up the play action it opens up so much down the field but if Iowa state is able to go nose to nose and get on the other side of the line of scrimmage and Iowa doesn't have as much success running the football I think that's now now you're leaning on the throw game now you're leaning on Kade mcam can he convert some of those throws we saw him throw it down the field pretty well against Illinois State it's a completely different monster when you take on somebody like the Iowa State Cyclones I look at this Iowa offense this is the ultimate measuring stick right we talk about week one and not overreacting like I mentioned before but now you're going up against a team that has a pretty good defense in Iowa State a rival this is where we're going to really find out how good or not good how much progress the Iowa Hawkeyes have made on the offensive side of the football that's why I'm so curious to watch this game because if Iowa goes out there and they put up 24 points they put up 27 points and they look fairly efficient against the defense like Iowa State I think now maybe you need to start to look at this offense certainly a little bit different and I think you need to start to look at this Iowa football team a little bit different going forward because if you can combine like USC right you look at their competent defense and now the combination that can become now if you have a competent offense that proves it against a capable defense and you combine it with what Iowa has on the defensive side of the ball all of a sudden that's coming together pretty nicely isn't it all of a sudden you're feeling pretty good about the Iowa hawkey now being a team that can get a good get it done on all three phases offense defense and special teams ultimately I think this game comes down to the defenses I think this game comes to which defense can make more plays in the end and when it comes to making plays specifically in this matchup I think Iowa has that Advantage I think they have that Advantage I think they can get pressure we'll see how much but I think they can get pressure on Rocko I think they can force some turnovers put their offense into more favor situations this is a series where Iowa has performed well more than not uh I think Iowa state is one of the 10 or 11 teams maybe that could win or the Big 12 or I should say get to the Big 12 championship game in Arlington this season but I think when it comes down to it Iowa is just a more complete team right now for Iowa state but I would be very surprised if this is not a one possession 10-point game in the fourth quarter I think that this is going to be a close game I would be surprised if this game is like a a couple of years ago you know when college game day was there for Iowa and Iowa State and Iowa just runs away with it I'd be surprised at that result I think this is going to be a tough physical game it is going to challenge Iowa both on offense and defense as well but limiting those plays over the top from this Iowa State passing game is going to be the key I think Iowa is able to get it done but a challenging game against their inate Rivals all right man week two it's starting to be here we got a big week Outro two here on big nation coming up on Thursday show we're going to be talking Kansas and Illinois Kansas is a ranked team Illinois coming off a lot of confidence in week number one and then we're finishing things off with the doozy Nebraska and Colorado we are going to be previewing that on Thursday's show as well remember folks don't overreact to week one help don't even overreact to week two but also don't just push aside or ignore what you see on the football field until next time until Thursday until the next big nation I'm big 10 Ted we will see you in the next one thank you for watching and listening to big nation make sure to subscribe and follow Big 10 Ted on X YouTube and podcast platform forms to stay in the know on all things Big 10 football