Season Preview Extravaganza Part 3: Season Predictions -- #Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football

good all right welcome back to part three of our supersized season preview blowout for Ruckers football in the previous two episodes if you listened along if you haven't already please go out and listen to them I think it'll provide a lot of context for what we're about to talk about but this is part three where we talk about the schedule and we talk about the predictions that we all think are going to happen this year with Ruckers football uh in terms of wins and losses before we get into that this podcast is once again brought to you by Night and Day apparel get ready for the football and tailgating season with night and day apparel our apparel is designed to keep you comfortable and stylish from pregame excitement to the final whistle whether you're grilling in the parking lot or cheering from the stands our high quality gear has you covered with un beatable comfort and team spirit use our promo code Ruckers Rivals to get 10% off your purchase score big this season and keep chopping with night and day apparel so this schedule as we all know is unlike any that Ruckers have seen in the Big 10 thus far because they avoid all the big boys they avoid Ohio State they avoid Oregon they avoid Penn State they avoid Michigan they avoid Iowa we've all talked about that at nauseum we all kind of know the table setting uh for that but let's kind of go into individual games and we we'll have three topics we're going to go over what we think is the hardest game on the schedule what we think is the most important game on the schedule and one Trap game on the schedule before we go into game by- game predictions so starting off with you David what do you think is the most important game on the schedule for for Ruckers football this season the most important game on the schedule for Ruckers this year that's a that's a really tough question uh because I think games they could lose and if they Rebound with a win the next week it would be big um I I think the most important game is actually gonna be that Minnesota game coming out of the second buy and the reason I say that is because I think Ruckers has to win that game I think Ruckers should win that game rers has proven they have done a good job always when they're coming off of a buy or an extended break whether it be a bowl game season opener under this coaching staff I just think they have to win that game because all those last four games are winnable and if you come out of that with a loss then that might really sour either chains at a bowl game or trying to have a special season yeah I think that's a really good choice I'm going to go with Washington on Friday night short rest Big 10 home open er uh that Virginia Tech game is really difficult game uh in blackburg I personally think Brent pry has had the Ruckers game scheduled for a long time uh they have pretty much every starter back on both sides of the ball I'm not saying Ruckers can't win that game but that's going to be a very very difficult game to win and then after the Washington game you go to Nebraska and then Wisconsin at home so things get real very quickly I do think the Washington game I think too many Ruckers fans to be honest kind of counting it as a w pun intended with Washington but I think that uh if you lose that game things could unravel pretty quickly uh and obviously being on short rest which Washington will be as well uh but it's a blackout game if you want to keep the momentum uh in terms of the fan excitement uh and just build some confidence back let's just say a they do win that game at Virginia Tech you have a chance to be 4-0 going into October that would be massive just for perception and the confidence to this team and then if you lose that game if you then lose Washington you're two- two going into a pretty tough stretch where you could go one and three in October so I think that Washington game uh is the most important game on the schedule just in terms of where it falls in the schedule and what it could mean for the rest of this season I'm going to go in in the same vein there but a little bit different I I think Virginia Tech is is the most important game and the reason is similar to what Aaron said you build up that three and0 schedule there and you won on the road against an old foe who's formidable uh you take an L against Washington I mean we'll get into game by game but I think there there's a DEC chance to split the next two games regardless you build up that uh thre win cushion and you lose Washington it's not gonna be good you know a lot of fans think we can beat them we can beat them but you're three and one now you still have plenty of time to reali uh you lose that game and not that it's you know some huge blemish that you can't recover from it's a road game it's a tough game uh but you are now you know you do drop to Washington or you Dro to Nebraska now you're looking middling instead of building up this momentum I think it's important to be early in the season I think not only important to beat them if it's a close game um it's important to um and it's important to um decisively beat them line up the way we did against Northwestern and VTEC last year not necessarily dominate to the point that there's no uh doubt about it because it's a road game it's going to be a tough environment but build some confidence that you're a big 10 team this is an ACC team for this tough stretch in the Big 10 it's extremely important to go out there and take a tough game on the road to set yourself up at three and 0 to take whatever es and flows the Big 10 schedule's going to offer you if you drop that VTEC game things are a lot tougher against Washington and Beyond so I think we got to go in there and win that yeah I think I think Virginia Tech's probably the the toughest one uh it's it's the most important game because you like you said you just kind of echoing what everyone else said basically you lose that game and then all of a sudden morale is down everyone's like oh well we can't even beat this middle of the pack ACC team but I I know they're not really middle of the pack they're more towards the top of the ACC this year I guess um but you lose that game and it just kind of hurts everything from uh from people showing up in the stands I think that next Friday night be a little bit more empty than you probably previously expected um and then the probably the Trap game of the year would be that Washington game if you do beat Virginia Tech you're gonna be riding an ultimate high and then going into game four it's it's a Friday night it's you're gonna have the crowd on your side if you're three and0 everything's going to be Rowdy everything's going to go nuts and then all of a sudden you might just fall fight on your face yeah so I'm gonna I'm gonna be boring and also pick Virginia Tech but for a few reasons one it was a team that the team should have confidence playing because of how they performed last year I mean I don't expect another 19point Beatdown um we all kind of went into why that was for a lot of reasons one we played them the first game Kiren drones started on the season it was a team that kind of didn't have an identity but as the season went on Brent pry really established that but if you look at you know some of the expectations for this team this year that I am in part responsible for kind of pushing I think they're in line for a potentially big season if you're going to achieve that ceiling outcome you really need to go in and win this game early because you're going to be playing a lot of tough road games this year you know people are looking ahead of Michigan State late in the season but like Michigan State I think has a pretty wide variance in terms of you know what they could be as a team given they have a really good coach in Jonathan Smith Aiden Charles could be a fully formed uh high-end quarterback by the end of the season but if you go in and win a game in blackburg in that kind of environment I think it really does set the tone for the whole season similar to how the 2006 season opening day we play at North Carolina they were it was a pretty rowdy crowd like I I know that Larry's got a connection to that team on the other side of things but Ruckers went in and they won a really tough game opening season something North Carolina ended up being a good team by the end of the year but that team was fairly even with Ruckers and Ruckers showed the grit to finish him off unlike the previous year when they started at Illinois and lost in a heartbreaker late in that game um so I think this is the key for the tone setting of the season it's not the end of the world if they lose it because it's not a conference game it's not going to go against you know their final standings in terms of big 10 but I think in terms of setting a tone for the year if they win that game I think you can seriously raise the expectations of the season um for the rest of the year let's talk about the hardest game now Aaron where do you see the hardest game on the schedule lying for Ruckers yeah it's at USC short rest Friday night uh in the Coliseum I think on paper their toughest opponent just in terms of talent uh you know from a recruiting perspective USC has you know four and five stars everywhere it' be interesting to see where USC is at that point um but they're obviously the only ranked Foe on the schedule as of right now uh but I think in terms of just looking at the schedule going into the year you could see ruter being the biggest Underdog they'll be in any game in that situation uh so I think that's the toughest game especially coming off a short rest uh and the stretch we talked about in October that's uh you know and right before the Buy as well uh you know this team is going to be needing that buy very much so I think this is the toughest game for a lot of reasons yeah it's it's USC and by the way to allude back to what Mike said one day when I get permission I'll tell some stories about 06 I have a few 06 stories that's the best one but these football dudes are super close to the vest unlike me who's just out there with everything but anyway USC um USC we're we're 11m kickoff good team what's expected to be a good team all the way on the west coast I think we got lucky with a lot of the West Coast travel west east coast travel this year where teams are coming to us but that game we're going out to them uh getting through you know UCLA we could say is maybe the maybe like there are no real breaks in the Big 10 but maybe the break after those two uh games against at Wiscon uh at Nebraska and home for Wisconsin now you got to go out and you gotta in the middle of the Season play USC toughest game on the schedule by far uh from where I'm sitting you know although we don't have the disparity we usually have where just games are unwinable and some games are just completely you know without a doubt going to win aside from probably the first two uh it's the toughest game on the schedule it's going to be tough for us yeah I'm going to say the same thing um Friday night 11 pm kickoff I know after talking to some people within the team that they're going to hire a bunch of sleep specialists to kind of help them adjust and help the team adjust to that uh that 11: PM kickoff you got to think that game's probably not going to end till what 1:30ish around there maybe long oh I'm thinking later than that later than that yeah you're gonna have a trouble keeping Pat flarity awake like it's not gonna be easy H you gotta keep these guys up like it's it's gonna be tough and I mean I'm not saying that because of their offense and it's just very boring a little bit sure a little bit boring uh but that wait time it's gonna be tough for those older guys but not just them but the team themselves I know you can do all this you can hire whoever you want to try to help you sleep better there's no adjusting to a time zone difference it's just not a reality you kind of just got to figure it out as you go in my opinion on top of that it's a The Gauntlet of the schedule that's going to be game six in the six weeks um and that's the big one because you have two games by six games by then four games to finish it off so that that is the end of The Gauntlet and people are probably gonna be looking ahead to that by week they're probably dinged up they're probably not 100% they're probably just saying hey if we can get to that bye we can recover for at least a week uh or two weeks whatever and uh I think that game's just everything kind of adds up to make it a hard game as is plus the fact that USC's got a pretty pretty good head coach they usually have a pretty good offense um and they're a pretty good team so it's not going to be easy um nonetheless but just kind of have to wait and see so I I want to agree with the sentiments that there are no automatic L's in the schedule like there previously were I think we have there's not a scenario where you tell me Ruckers Wins Game X or game why on this schedule where it blows me away I think USC makes a lot of sense for a lot of the reasons you guys listed but it's also their sixth game in six weeks that they'll be playing uh they tend to struggle with physicality if you look at who is given them struggles over the years it's been Stanford I know this is different coaching staff but it's been Utah in recent years so I do think Ruckers matches up with them well it's more so you know the short rest it's the long distance travel it's six games in six weeks I'm gonna go a little bit of an audable here I'm gonna say at Nebraska Nebraska's gonna have 96,000 fans there Dylan rayola you know if you've watched any of the the tape on him uh at least like you know preseason spring game stuff the guy looks like Patrick Mahomes not saying he'll be that as a freshman but if he hits kind of the upper end of his outcome range this year I think that's going to be probably the best quarterback we could potentially face all Year Matt Ru in year two I think he's gonna take that team forward they've landed a lot of really highend transfers they've recruited well I'm gonna say Nebraska just to be a little bit different but my 1B is certainly USC on the road I I'll say USC number one is the only game that ESPN fbii has them below a 43% chance of winning so pretty much everything else is much higher than that uh I I will pivot though and I will say I think that that Virginia Tech game is g to be really tough as I've said to Aaron and at our previous stop I think the big thing for this team is always getting the monkey off their back for their first Power five or even uh Conference win and blackburg is not an easy place to play Ruckers may be a little overconfident after last year um I I think USC is the toughest game game but I think that Virginia Tech game is going to be less than a 50/50 even if they you know every analytical site says that rord is between like 48 and 51% chance um so to round out the the topics here if there's one game on the schedule that's either a trap game or you look back at the end of the year and say how the F did we lose that game uh which team do you think that is which game do you think that is Larry it I don't expect a loss here per se but if it if something could go completely off the rails kind of thing I'm tempted to say Washington because you know I I personally think they have a better chance of probably winning that game but I think UCLA could be a if we're talking about a true Trap game where you you get caught you know nodding off look at that you know you you say we win or we drop one of those Virginia Tech you know Washington Nebraska Wisconsin games or or even if we're on a winning streak there and we're coming off a high from a home win against Wisconsin say and we performed well at Nebraska well at Washington win or lose uh you're getting ready for this big Showdown that everybody's hyping up about USC you know how our board is that's going to be going crazy with speculation the media is going to be looking ahead the big west coast East new Big 10 Showdown everybody's gonna be getting crazy and all the sudden you're home and you think you're on this sleepy home game against UCLA and all of a sudden you shoot yourself in the foot or they come to play now from what I understand they have a gauntlet leading up to us and they have to travel from west to east not going to be easy but that's why you call it a trap game right that's the kind of game where you start start making all these reasons why we're going to walk through it and all of a sudden you don't I don't expect the team to do that I don't know how the schedule's going to shake out but if I'm looking at this schedule for what we traditionally call a trap game in between two games and not paying attention that could be it to me it it's that Washington game it's Friday night the crowd's going to be into it if there's three and 0 people are going to be hyped like this is going to be a soldout Ruckers crowd at SHI Stadium um but you could fall F in your face this is a Washington team that we there's so many knowns from new coaching staff who I think is a good coach in his own right but also is bringing in an entire new roster new quarterback um they replaced what out of the 22 starters I think it was like 18 19 something like that so it's it's an entire New Washington team you really don't know what to expect and if especially if you're 3 and0 after that big Virginia Tech win uh and you're riding that high you could literally just fall flat on your face and just be like I I don't know what the hell happened we just we were up here and then it just went I'm going to also say you CLA because I think a lot of people are pouring a lot of dirt on them um their their coach uh Deshawn Foster really kind of he pulled like a Nick serani if you remember Nick sani's first press conference it looked like he had never been kind of media trained at all um so I think everyone kind of expects an epic failure out of them they still have a lot of talent especially at the skill positions uh the quarterback they have talent that doesn't mean that they're going to perform well but I think if you had to look at a game on the schedule given where it's positioned especially if you come come off a big win over Wisconsin the following week I mean it is homecoming so I it will be a good crowd especially if Ruckers is kind of on a rooll at that point but I you know shano has kind of had those kind of games in the past not not so much as much recently like there's not really a game I could think of in the last two or three years where it's just clearly like at the end of the year it's like if we face that team at you know Game 12 instead of game three we would have won it um so maybe he's exercised those WTF games a bit but I'm gonna say UCLA is my game I hope you guys still have me here y you're still here I I think it's between that UCLA game and the Illinois game Illinois I just I pulled up my Lindy's preview here just to check because Illinois has a stretch where they have to face at Nebraska at Penn State Purdue Michigan at Oregon and then a few weeks later they will have regrouped before they play Ruckers I I do think shano has the advantage against other Big 10 West style grounded pound coaches but Ruckers lose to Illinois in some pathetic showings and I I just it's either UCLA or that game and so to me I mean those are two games where I think they really should win barring some bizarre situation so that's why I would say since you guys said UCLA I'll take Illinois um these are all these are all good answers sorry Mike the good these are all good answers uh and I think you know UCLA is probably the best one uh but being such a veteran team on homecoming I'm not as concerned to that but if they are five in one at that point could be but I've being the Elder Statesman of the group I'm G to be paranoid and I'm gonna say akan because Sho said today on shano said on Monday that you're gonna see a lot of new faces playing uh against Howard which I'm going to also parlay into probably thinking that going to be the case against akan no one on this panel I'm confident in saying is going to pick them to lose against akan no ruers fans expecting them to lose against akan it's a Mac opponent you never know what's happened we've seen ruter face plant against Mac opponents in the past so I for me a true Trap game in terms of game no one would expect them to lose that Aon game for me uh is the one that I probably will worry about starting Friday morning [Laughter] I mean I don't blame you we have started slow against lesser opponents many times under shano like you think about that Temple game a few years ago we ended up winning 367 if you just look at the you know the box score or you just look at the scoreboard it's like oh okay we one handly that game was 13-7 in the fourth quarter like that it wasn't until late that we opened The Floodgate so struggling against weaker teams is something shano has done but he hasn't actually like blown the games in his 2.0 errow fingers crossed let's hope that doesn't happen because uh it would be an epic meltdown if they were to lose that game um I want to talk about something real quick before we get into predictions and it I wrote an article about it on Rivals and has to do with like the net rest Advantage Ruckers has and I did this also for Penn State for Richie and it kind of just gave me a more clear picture as to like how big of a deal it is for Ruckers so some Topline items that I think are important Ruckers does not face a single team coming off thereby this entire season which uh is not common and is a huge Advantage when you're talking about you know uh especially in the middle of the season when you're facing a team com off their buy who can install more of their playbook who can get more into you know training their their you know the younger players uh it's just a huge Advantage now Ruckers faces four teams with a net buy Advantage so if you look at virgin Tech you look at Washington you look at Nebraska you look at Minnesota the first three teams Ruckers faces all three of those before any of those three teams had a buy so they face Virginia Tech before they've had their chance to have a first buy Washington before they've had their first buy and Nebraska after Ruckers has had their buy and Minnesota will have had one buy versus Ruckers having two leading into that Ruckers also faces three teams that will be playing their sixth game in six weeks playing Scarlet Knights that's Nebraska that's UCLA and that's USC and they play Washington playing their fifth game in five weeks um on the season they have a net plus seven rest Advantage so just kind of table setting everything for the entire uh schedule talk is there anything that really sticks out to you about the schedule construction before we get into predictions I had a quick question do we do we know is ruter a homecoming opponent for any team are they homecoming from Nebraska they are homecoming from Nebraska yep okay well in past years they've been two or three three games have been homecoming opponents so that's better is three yeah that's crazy and I mean I think that's why you alluded to the crowd that's going to be in that the Braska game not that they don't turn up every week anyway but that adds to it I think I would just add to everything you said which I think is a big built-in advantage to us I really do um is the the East West travel too you got some playing all these games and then you know you kind of mitigate it against USC because they are on the six game of a six you know six game leg and then with Washington they're playing five and then they have to travel all the way I think when you add that in too we really can't complain about the schedule you're years's past I think it makes a big difference uh and it's a it's a big part of other than just the opponents the way the schedule breaks down I think is a is a A plus for ruter you should try to take advantage of it I think it matters but I don't think it matters as much as you're saying I I think I think these tossup games a lot is just going to be dictated once they kick off the football and and things break I I I would put stock in it but I just I think these are enough of toss-ups that it's not going to matter as much I I think these teams are going to be prepared and that's how it's going to go David as somebody who's I probably played more football than any of us and I don't want to speak for anybody in the the uh the room but I think you're the the person who's got the most uh football snaps both from a coaching and playing perspective is there a significant bump you can get especially the college level to having a team uh getting that bye and the performance you might see in the following week afterwards I mean I think it matters for veteran teams who know how to take care of their bodies and know how to rest because often what you'll do like again I didn't play football that much until I was in college by the way so but in our college team like what we would do is like the starters wouldn't really like play but those of us who are on second or third team would play almost like a mini scrimmage that intermediate week and whether you do it on the Saturday or a different day is beside the point but I I think that for veteran teams it doesn't they know how to Pace themselves the coaches know how to communicate with the players and I feel like since Ruckers is a veteran team it won't impact them as much I can't speak to like the Washington of the world who have a completely new roster so perhaps Ruckers will benefit from it by default but I don't think it necessarily helps Ruckers as much as it would potentially hurt other teams because the other thing to keep in mind is you get used to your schedule like Tuesday we practice in the afternoon on grass Wednesday we practice late on Turf Thursday we do a walkth through whatever the schedule is and the older you are the more you know how to arrange simple things like sleeping eating all those things to make sure that even if this week's game is a Friday versus a Saturday that you can adjust just so I mean again I think it hurts inexperienced teams more than it helps experienced teams but it could matter and if that's the difference between one or two wins like that's a huge thing for a season that only has 12 games sure yeah it's it's really nice hearing a perspective of somebody who's kind of like gone through the the grind of it uh because to me as just like a you know spreadsheet guy it just seems like it'd be a big Advantage but hearing you actually talk through it it might just be you know might be huge for some teams but not others like you were saying um let's get into some predictions I have a uh spreadsheet here where we're all going to kind of have it filled out as we go game by game and so you guys have a visual aid to see who is going to be the most accurate predictor on the season um now the first two games of the season does anybody have any objection to me just filling both games out as wins for all of us does anyone think that the either of the first two games are actually going to be a loss or if you want to make a significant argument for it let's do it now I think Aaron's bad dream says that but Aaron have nightmares I have still have nightmares about that 14er hole they were in against Howard in before Jian Grant took over uhuh Mex Howard got some good skill position guys but to assume rer is gonna win ESPN has them at 99% for that so so Aaron's got a point technically like 16 in the last 17 years a Mac team has taken out a big 10 team the only time it didn't happen was last season and if you look at last season akan lost to Indiana by two 2927 Toledo lost to Illinois by two 3028 so I think it's going to be more competitive than people think Joe morehead's an offensive genius mind you now he doesn't have the weapons that he did at like say Penn State or Oregon but I still think they're going to be competitive yeah and and guess who akan plays in week one at Ohio State so that man that could be a positive for Ruckers because maybe they just come in Walking wounded from that game or they could come in with some confidence as well so that could I think that could go either way I think obviously worst case scenario you know it's a disaster players get hurt or certain play key players are missing I think that's kind of The X Factor in how close that game could be uh and again shano alluding to that today I thought was a little concerning um with that being said does anyone want to mark this as a loss or are we all going and win on the all right Perfect all right here's where things start to get interesting Virginia Tech game I'm just gonna go in order of how they're listed on here rather than do the the cycling we've been doing this I've marked as the most important game of the season I've already talked about it being a game that uh we won last year at home by 19 points points it's a much different team we were very fortuitous playing Virginia Tech when we did last season because if we played them week 11 instead of week three when we did I believe or week four of last year's season I think it would have been a totally different game similar to the Northwestern game with that all being said this just feels like a game that Ruckers finds a way to pull out um at least in my uh head in my fanhood I'm gonna mark this as a win for me Richie what do you think Virginia Tech I'm gonna say loss um I want to pick wins so badly but Kiron drones has just been phenomenal since that Rucker game last season um he went from not even a starter to what 17 touchdowns and three interceptions on the year so they proved that they finally had a quarterback and that was one of their missing pieces on their offense last year returned their two top wide receiver weapons in dayquon Felton and uh I think it was Jaylen Lane and they also added a guy from Old Dominion um they added a tight end transfer they still have the same running running back if I recall in b ball toon um I think he's a jersey guy actually is he is yeah so they they return a good chunk of their team there's a reason they're receiving votes in the top 25 polls I think blackburg on top of all that has one of the best college football atmospheres in the country so it's going to be extremely tough to play there um God forbid it's a night game with that whole white out effect thing that they're doing it makes it even tougher um I just I think it's going to be a very very tough game uh between two former big 10 defensive coordinators as head coaches now between bent Brent pry and Greg shano I I just don't know if Ruckers has the offense to kind of keep up with Virginia Tech and I think it's unfortunately it's probably GNA be a loss well first I'll say I hope to be at this game uh hopefully we'll have a good contingent like attended the Ruckers Wake Forest basketball game last year but I unfortunately think it's going to be the same result I'd say it's 5050 but I'm going to give Ruckers a loss here even though fun fact I'm pretty sure the Virginia Tech offensive coordinator was the cooc at Penn State with saraka in 2020 I definitely would give Ruckers the advantage at OC especially I think it was a good point one of you Richie Mike made last year how did they not realize Kiron drone should have been their starting QB like that coach should have been fired immediately after that um but beyond that I mean I just think the luck is eventually going to hit Ruckers with this streak of beating non Big 10 opponents and this is a tough place to play and then I'll go to my tie my my tiebreaker Factor here which is I always put stock if you played a quote real team or whoever's played the highest level of competition and because Virginia Tech will have played Vanderbilt who's a lesser SEC team but in SEC nonetheless this weekend I'm gonna mark it as a loss even though perhaps we watch Vanderbilt kick their butts this weekend and we all Richie and I want to change our prediction yeah I hate to say it but I'm gonna go lost as well uh I think I I think a theme in terms of how I'm looking at the season is injury concerns and you know this will be uh pot hopefully if there are guys that Miss uh the first two weeks this will be their first test I think there might be a little bit of an adjustment there I think I think where this is going to be in terms of the ceiling of the season is I think this is a huge game for Athan CI commis and whether ruers can come back in games I think this is a game that very predictably they'll fall behind in and it's how are they able to get back into the game it's one of the toughest environments in the country uh I think Brent pry as I said I can't remember when I said it in these episodes but that he uh has had this game circled and I think that Virginia Tech is going to be amped up for payback so I think it's going to be a very tough game for rers to win and I think it's their first loss of the Season uh Virginia Tech is going to have it circled Virginia Tech improved a lot last year after they played us uh good quarterback play good coaching uh but we're coming off a buy we had two games before that to work out the Kinks and get ready we're going to have guys I'm telling you there's going to be guys banged up these first couple weeks and we're going to be like what are we gonna do when are they coming back I think you see a good amount of those guys come back for Virginia Tech and this is a game where look this program wants to get over the hump and and get where it wants to go uh you're a big 10 team you could be a really good ACC team you could be on the road in a really tough environment um we've seen kind of ACC teams too look pretty good in conference um and and against okay teams from out of conference and then come up against mid-tier teams or upper tier teams which we hope to be this year from the Big 10 and and they don't look exactly the same there uh caliber wise so I'm not taking anything away from them I think it'll be a back and forth game I think regardless of which way it goes it'll be a close game I agree with Aaron we're going to have to play from behind it's going to say a lot about our offense our offense coordinator our quarterback most of all um it's also going to say something about our defense I'm up in the air as to whether I'll make the trip just because I love that part of Virginia it's a nice road trip to take we'll see um but I've said on my show too and I predicted a win there I'm predicting a win here if it's a loss it's not the end of the world but if we want the season to be what we think it can be and at some point one of these Seasons where it's laid out for you whether it was last year we were sneaking up on people but we didn't have the quarterback play or this year where we're not really sneaking up on people but the schedule SCH breaks pretty well our way you got to bring home some of these games that are tough games you got to find a way to win them and I'm going with ruers pulling it off I'm glad somebody joined me in the pool here because it would have uh would have felt pretty uh pretty pretty solitary but I I do want somebody mentioned uh you know playing tough road games and I just want to mention some of the the road atmospheres that Athan has played in he's played in a white out at Penn State he's played at Nebraska he's played at Wisconsin in a big rivalry game he's played played at Iowa he's played at Ohio State and he's won more than half those games he won at Nebraska he won at Wisconsin he won at Iowa so he's won big games um and I don't think the environment of blackburg will intimidate him but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll play his best game of the season there either but I don't think the the atmosphere will have him running uh with urine down his leg like it would maybe somebody else making their third start at Ruckers um good point that's not a shot at any individual player just that he's been in those environments uh so next up we have Washington that Friday night game I'm gonna continue on the the copium optimism train here I think Ruckers finds a way to win the new staff in Washington the new quarterback with Will Rogers they lose so much talent you know three NFL receivers they lose an NFL left tackle they lose you know tons of defensive players I think Ruckers finds a way to win uh in this game which if things go the way I'm predicting my schedule uh that Friday night game in in Ruckers might be the best atmosphere that we've seen since maybe Michigan 14 that that atmosphere will be absolutely insane if they find a way to win the first three games even if they don't but I think it's gonna be one of the best environments at Ruckers in recent memory and Ruckers finds a way to win yeah I'm gonna have Ruckers winning too um this this team is depleted um they lost their their quarterback they lost their 3,000 yard wide receiver core like it's just it's not happening for this team this year and I I think fish is a great coach I think he'll eventually turn it around there it might not even take him long he might actually end up getting a bowl game this season um which isn't crazy to say considering they lost what I say 19 other 22 starters so I think they're a good coaching staff I think they have some weapons I think Rogers is a good quarterback but it's just not going to be enough um traveling across the coast on a Friday night short rest it's it's just not realistic uh in my opinion for Washington to even think they're going to win this one I I think that uh fifth game in five weeks somebody already mentions their first road game good quarterback I think they'll have a pretty good defense but and I think we'll all change our opinion on this after we see them play their first game in terms of how confident we are but I I it just feels like you guys are saying that Ruckers is gonna win this one I flip back and forth three times but I'll go with the win yeah I agree uh it is a first roow game four straight home games they play Washington State Northwestern and then go to ruter on short rest I do think it's going to be very physical game a grinded out game I don't think Ruckers is going to run away with this one but I think uh obviously the crowd the momentum of that I think this is where the veteran leadership of this team really pays off because I think win or lose at Virginia Tech uh emotionally this team's going to have to regroup rather quickly so I actually think I have confidence in ruter to do that uh regardless of what happens with blackburg simply because of the strong leadership on this program the culture how many veteran guys they have that we be playing in this game uh and then getting home and having a true rockus environment for the first time all season will give them that extra Edge that I think they get the W I think they get the W I'm I'm hesitant I was gonna say uh just because I know we're gonna wind up on a Washington Message Board now just like look at these guys like always happens with us but I still got to stick to my guns and say win and I think the reason is um I don't think it'll be an easy game by any stretch I think it'll be a tough game this is a program that's storyed a program that's normally at the top there and doing well but the turnover is just so much they're traveling from west to east the crowd's going to be off the chain especially if we're going by my prediction and we're three and0 even if we're two and one the team's going to need it that much more uh put me down for the W so this is where I'm gonna end my optimism streak I have Ruckers losing at Nebraska again it's a game I could see us winning David mentioned that Ruckers doesn't have a an RPI projection by ESPN of under like 43% of any game outside of USC the six game this is that 43% this is that 43% so easily could see this game being a win for Ruckers especially if Dylan Rola struggles uh early on in the season which true freshman quarterback playing in the Big 10 very easily could see that happening but uh just for the sake of not being called a a homer I'm gonna have this as a loss as the first loss of the season they they have a good defense on top of that uh Dylan rayola is is the guy I think I think he's actually pretty damn good I've gotten to see him in high school a little bit um whether it be Rivals camps and stuff but uh I I don't know I just can't see them winning this one I think it's too tough for them I think Nebraska like Mike said before what 90 something thousand fans um it's another crazy atmosphere I think it's going to hurt him uh I just I don't think Ruckers pulls this one off all right I'm going to go against the grein and I'm going to pick a Rucker Victory here and here's why first of all I think Ruckers is going to be by far the best defense that Nebraska has faced all season and I'm gonna give you Larry the shout out here because you know who Nebraska's offensive coordinator is it is one Marcus saterfield who was fired after his 2017 season where he dis decided not to play Hayden redig at Tennessee Tech and then you know he didn't free redig got fired somehow ended up at South Carolina got fired and now he's at Nebraska and what I saw from their offense I don't think last year could have been saved by a good quarterback I I just I didn't know what they were doing at times so I gotta win I love the optimism uh I do think in terms of it being homecoming for Nebraska I think that you know Matt rule the I think one under kind of talk talked about storyline for this game is just a familiarity between the staffs obviously two Northeast coaches going at it uh and I think this is a game that Ruckers represents well but fall short on the road but I think a game that could pay dividends down the road in terms of uh how they play uh to actually give confidence for the rest of the season despite having a loss uh I I I early on looked at this schedule and and I was fairly confident that we drop one of either Nebraska or Wisconsin and and I think there's a couple reasons why you could go either direction on that I stand by that uh that will lose one of them I'm not positive which one but my thing is this I think Matt rule we know he's the real deal especially at the college level uh the quarterback could struggle you know he's young but he's the real deal we're at Nebraska it's homecoming uh it's a traditional team who hasn't necessarily had traditional success as of late but it's still been tough for us to get over the hump against some of these teams that are decent teams on the road um they're going to have a packed house and if we're coming off the high that I think we're going to be coming off based on my predictions and now we're going on the road I think that's that's a time where we might come back to earth but similar to what Aaron said that could build and bold well for the rest of the season because it's a lesson we'll have to learn and reflect upon I'm giving us a loss on the road so next up we have a home game at against Wisconsin Ruckers obviously has never beaten Wisconsin as a big 10 team I think they break that streak this year just because I think Ruckers is just such a senior leading team I think they have enough offensively both in the Run game and pass game that they're going to win these games that maybe they wouldn't in the past uh I think they find a way to grit this out I think they're able to find a way to I I think Wisconsin's still in that like weird teenage uh like puberty stage of trying to adapt from like a Smashmouth Run game to a a pure like Air Raid Offense under long I don't know like we said earlier if that's going to work out um but I I see Ruckers winning this game they're breaking Wisconsin's breaking in a new quarterback again this year so I I think Ruckers finds a way to win uh against Wisconsin I I mean speaking of quarterbacks I'm very anti- Tyler van djk I just think he had that one good season like two years ago and he's still kind of riding that high uh I don't think he's going to be that good for them uh on top of that their defense isn't really the best there was nine times last season where they allowed quarterbacks to to hit on over over 62% of their passes um and if you look among those quarterbacks one of them was Jane Daniels of course another was um cam Ward both good quarterbacks but the rest were kind of me and I think if athan's able to complete his passes like we think he's going to be able to on top of Kyle manga's Run game I think this should be a win for Ruckers I'm gonna go the reverse I'm gonna go with a loss Ruckers just has not beat them higher on V djk than you I probably watched more of his time when I was living in Miami I think that they have good coaching at all three levels they best defensive players they lost a lot of guys but hullman and wer who are their two most important are back maloy's back who I think is a good college running back I just prove it to me Ruckers proves me wrong on this one but we have never been close with Wisconsin I I hope this is I'm hope I'm wrong yeah I this is a tough one I think this is one of those where it really can change the ceiling of the season season uh in terms of what Ruckers needs to do but uh I I think this is going to be a really close game but I actually see it as a loss also I think uh physicality wise uh Wisconsin you know it's always a tough game ruter obviously kind of you know let them off the hook last year in Madison it's certainly a game those seniors want to win uh I think the crowd should be a great crowd for this game I think it's going to be another close loss that again I think uh is something that I guess my theme of this team is that I think you're seeing a different start to the season than last year uh and I think uh a lot of people have kind of underestimated this four game stretch with Virginia Tech uh Washington Nebraska and Wisconsin and I see another loss here I I think you know like I said earlier when I was talking about Virginia Tech if you want to get where you want to go you want to be that program you got to win these games I have not been bullish on ruter beating traditional Powers you know have stuck to their guns like in Iowa you know last year there was a lot of Buzz I had predicted a loss from the beginning and it didn't change it when we were starting to look good because Iowa had certain strengths in the trenches and their style of play that were tried and true that was going to be difficult for us to get past Mike made a good point about the fact that this team program is kind of like in puberty trying to go away from their old tried andrue you know uh institutional strength and trying to switch up to what they you know want to where they want to go uh we almost beat them last year sa for some turnovers and some you know a game got away from us and that was on the road this game's at home this team is not the Wisconsin of old I think we're pretty tough ourselves we showed that last year grinding out yards in the Run game it's time to to to grow up and to beat Wisconsin when we have the chance at home and I think we do it this year man I'm fire I'm fired up and following uh Larry I guess just isn't easy I didn't uh I didn't have myself in your shoes there earlier rich but yeah told you tough act to follow let's go to our homecoming game we're now halfway through the season I got us at five- one Richie's got us at four- two David's got us at four- two Aaron the uh what I think would most of us would call um the eternal optimist around Ruckers has three and three and Larry has five- one I don't see us losing this game in in uh in reality I know we I talked about it as a trap game I personally think UCLA is gonna have tough time I think they might be in line for the worst team in the Big 10 this year um given their coaching changes so late in the process Sean fost is a first-time coach their talent is a pretty steep drop off from last year I think Ruckers wins this homecoming match up against UCLA and it sets up a one of the biggest games in Ruckers history especially in the Big 10 that Friday night game against uh whis us USC on the road and that's supposed to be one sorry geeez put a loss already um yeah no Foster new head coach uh I know he's got Eric benmy running his offense do we really know how good Eric benmy is um I mean no that's the big question mark there you go um they're also losing two pass rushers that combined for what 21 sacks in total last year that's gonna hurt their defense a ton new head coach guy that's never been a coordinator before new new old quarterback in uh garbers gers I forget how which one it is but uh either way I mean he got replaced by Dante Moore pretty quickly in the season now he's back as a starter again it's there there's just too many question marks about this UCLA team I think Mike's right I think they're going to be one of the worst in the Big 10 this year and I think they'll just preach its transition phase it's a transition phase just give us time which I mean I you kind of have to I guess if you're UCLA because you can't afford to keep firing coaches like this or well losing Chip Kelly like that yeah I gotta win I mean the bemy factor is interesting they had a really good defense last year pretty much all those guys are gone Ruckers better win this one Kyle manung is not gonna let ruter lose to Jaylen Berger and UCLA Bruins I forgot about him on homecoming I think they bounc back after a disappointing loss the week before and uh they they beat the Bruins pretty handily they don't fall into the Trap they beat us us you see La and take care of business no that's not a foreshadowing of my prediction is that an LA is is the UFC in La is UCLA in in Los Angeles I'm just making sure well it's in Westwood it's in Westwood which is part of La Oh I thought you were making a joke I was that's what that's yeah see Aaron got it yeah there we go at the press conference he said if you didn't know we're in La we're moving slow today um so Ruckers will have it six game in six weeks at USC pre as I previously mentioned when we're talking about the General Schedule USC has struggled with uh with physical teams the last few years in the well not just the last few years but under Riley um I think USC is also going to have a really hard time adjusting to the rigors of playing a big 10 schedule I think they could adapt by the time they play Ruckers but they'll also be playing their sixth game in six weeks I just think the talent discrepancy and playing on a short week is GNA do in Ruckers but this game would not surprise me if they won but I'm not gonna predict that they win this game I have Ruckers losing at USC before their by game before their bye yeah I'm kind of in the same boat it's just a short week Friday night 11: pmm I made a joke before about flare staying awake but I'm dead serious about that one like that's that's a tough one it's gonna be late um they're still a good team at the end of the day I know they lost cable Williams they lost a couple other pieces but they're still a damn good team damn good coaching staff Mike said it before there'll be adjustments to the Big 10 game but I I don't think those adjustments are going to happen versus Ruckers I think they'll be fine versus Ruckers um I have USC winning well having sat through the State game at Fresno State under similar circumstances I'm going to go with a loss the thing that scares me is when shano faces a quarterback and Coach that are very good and I just I just think that's what's GNA happen in this game especially on a short week it is interesting USC plays at Maryland the week before after hosting Penn State so they're coming home on short rest after East Coast trip Ruckers was home two weeks prior to that obviously on their own West Coast trip but I do think yeah it's it's a lot to ask I do think Ruckers plays well but I think they fall short and uh there's just too much talent on the offense for USC Aaron brings up a point that gives me pause on this because of the travel you know situation with uh USC I wasn't aware of but at the end of the day I mean as much as I say we've got to go and make things happen sure we do but you know traveling to the West Coast 11 pm kickoff if we're riding as high as I've predicted thus far and doing you know so well we're going to come back to Down to Earth at some point I don't necessarily think this team's very good but World beaters I don't think so I'm predicting a loss so the only unanimous loss so far on the schedule through eight weeks I have us at six and two Richie has us at five and three David David has us at five and three Aaron has us at four- two or four and four Larry has us at six and two we have a buy leading into the Minnesota game I think this is a situation where Minnesota might be really on thin ice at this point as a team because you know PJ Fleck had a lot of turmoil the last few years uh he had that great 2019 season but he seems like a guy who kind of hits a cresendo and is has a really hard time keeping that momentum of a program um I think aan cak Menace probably had this game circled on his schedule since he signed up the play for Ruckers Ruckers has 15 days between USC game and Minnesota shano is very good after buys historically I'm I'm gonna say Ruckers wins this game against Minnesota and it might cause Minnesota to actually have to change in terms of leadership in their program after the season um similar to what we've seen in the years's past I mean the storylines right themselves PJ fle coach for shano Coach Shaka and Harris samc both coach for both head coaches um Cory heatherman is now the DC at Minnesota Athan K Manis is now the quarterback at Ruckers it's there's just so many storylines among this game um don't think they're that good of a team now I like brosmer I thought he was a good get for them out of the portal but uh and I like Darius Taylor I think their running backs are stud and it's a similar style the Ruckers but their OC is a little incompetent it seems like currently um and I'm I'm uh shano after a bye is just a different guy uh they just he when you give him time to scheme against the team he just doesn't lose for the most part um what was it the one bowl game I think it was that they lost out of the five or six he's made you give him enough time to scheme up against the team I think he'll win this one and I they'll win it not handedly but it'll be a pretty close game I got a win on this one as well uh just talking about Minesota just I think when I watched their show about the Big 10 Road Show they just blamed every failure last year on their QB that's with every single person side coaches players and I'm I don't think that they're taking seriously some of the foundational problems that they have within their program and so the biggest takeaway I'll have is this when there was the Berlin Wall which direction were people going and I think that's kind of the same thing here with all respect to Cory heatherman geez uh first off I wanted to say that uh I'm not rooting for a 4 and four start but uh as a uh a gesture to my friends at the night report the message boards would be off the hook during the bye if they are four and four so that would be a benefit of that start but uh I think the CI Manis game uh I think you know I don't think it's uh and this I'm not trying to start anything but I think it's been kind of quelled in terms of C Man is leaving Minnesota and maybe it's been pitched just kind of amicable but kind of to David's Point that he's kind of gotten thrown under the bus since he's left I think he's going to be fired up for this game uh ruter coming off a buy great points about shano how ruter is prepared after a buy game this is where I kind of flip because I feel like last year they had that hot start they started six and2 had the brutal November I think I'm much more optimistic about their November schedule this year uh and I think that things could start to turn around with Minnesota a win at home this is a team on the ropes you guys hit all the points that needed to be hit it's at home we get the victory it's a win so now Ruckers goes on the road to a Maryland team that for years Ruckers was kind of neck and neck with them but I think as the ash era lingered on into shano the separation started Ruckers has typically struggled against Maryland in recent years and it's like a few of you had said you know they were one of the few pass heavy teams Ruckers would regularly face and it was kind of a change in style that would give Ruckers fits especially late in the season um with that being said Maryland lost arguably the best quarterback in program history and I don't fully believe that he's the best in history because they've had some really good quarterbacks in the past like Frank Reich and Boomer asias but doia I think Lee is the all-time leader in terms of passing yardage in Big 10 history when you include some Oh you mean you didn't hear them say it 50,000 times last year yeah um so I don't like I don't really respect Billy Edwards as a quarterback Who is the one guy uh in the competition for winning the quarterback job and MJ Morris is a transfer in from NC State I think Ruckers gets the monkey off their back here and finds a way to beat Maryland even though Maryland does have very good skill position players I think Ruckers finds a way to win um and continues the momentum of a really good season I I know you said this about the last one about if Ruckers wins PJ Fleck might be uh on the hot seat there I think Mike Oxley could be on the hot seat if Rucker well if and when Ruckers wins uh they don't have an answer at quarterback Tal's gone you can't kind of ride the coat tails of him anymore if you're Mike Loxley it's it's game over MJ Morris isn't isn't that good and Billy Edwards is worse he went six of 20 against Auburn last year like that's that's brutal like six of 20 is Gavin whimit numbers I'm sorry to keep bringing the guy up but like these are bad numbers they don't have a quarterback they have a decent defense I think their secondary is okay or actually shouldn't say Okay their secondary is actually pretty good but their just offense is just so lackluster without Talia that I just don't think they're going to have an option to uh to even score points this year really all right well I hate the turtle more than anybody here probably but I I think you're correct about the QB accuracy I think Loxley needs a QB who's accurate to really be a look like a good offense but I'll put this out for you Ruckers has only beaten Maryland three times in the last decade the first one they had to come back from a 25 Point deficit the second they had to beat a fifth string quarterback who completed a touchdown pass that was called back for a penalty and Ruckers held on in 2017 and in 2020 Ruckers had to get a a personal foul on an inter that wiped out an interception that would have iced the game for Maryland so until they can just win I got to mark it as a loss as much as I hate to say yeah I think uh you know that that's some sound reasoning in terms of their lack of success against Maryland actually to Mike's earlier Point uh at one of these episodes I in terms of Ruckers being in shootouts we've seen some great Ruckers Maryland shootouts in the past I think this is going to be one of those and I think in terms of you know Maryland's at Oregon the week before uh and I think that they could be have a worse record than I have record at this point and I think although Maryland has more Talent from a recruiting perspective on the roster and I think a bad matchup typically with their speed I think this is a a gutted out you know senior leaden Victory on the road they finally break through on the road this season and they get to six and four with serious momentum going down the stretch uh I I kind of echo Dave here I mean we should beat this team we could beat this team I won't be surprised if we beat him but I had us losing one of the last four uh games of the season I just don't think we win out completely especially with how bullish my predictions are in general Maryland has out recruited us in a lot of ways I don't know that it translates with tug and byoa still there this year that being said they just have a plethora of Playmakers still and until we can go and beat them I mean the last three years it's teed up for us to at least be competitive and we just get blown out of the water I mean I just until we do it that's the loss I'm going with it could just as easily be at Michigan State but I'm giving it to them against Maryland could also be another Trap game you put Minnesota out of business maybe PJ Fleck out of a job and you're feeling high and you're feeling good and you go on the road to to Maryland and all of a sudden to a mediocre crowd you lose certainly see that um heading into the final two games of this season our final home game Senior Day against Illinois Illinois is a team that has kind of fallen off a bit um in terms of you know they've won some big individual games like the nine overtime game at Penn State the one year where Penn State I think was in the top 10 um Brett BMA is a really good coach but I just think they don't really have the horses this year I'm going to say Ruckers wins on Senior Day put them at nine and two and I hope these predictions are correct because I look like a huge Homer right now uh I'm not gonna go super in depth on this one but they lost their two starting defensive tackles this year I think you just kind of kind of pounded up the gut with manangi at this point uh in the season and just kind of run the run the ball Run the game out run the clock out I don't think it's going to be a crazy scoring game I think it could be into their last matchup where I think it was 2014 224 in a Ruckers Victory and I think it's going to be similar to that add in senior day a little bit more uh momentum for the Scarlet Knights and three in a row so keep the keep it riding that High I mean I know we're at the point where like we're really losing grip on what will actually happen because so much can happen between now and then but I'm just gonna say win because just like I said chano has struggled with that coach quarterback tandem he doesn't usually struggle with facing other like-minded coaches unless there Brian fence so or Kirk fence I should say Brian obviously got the best of him last year but Kirk is a good coach but other than that shanon usually takes care of business against these like-minded coaches Illinois is one of those programs I think Ruckers fans tend to think Ruckers is better then but hasn't had you know hasn't proven it really head-to-head in recent years obviously a lot of that was with Ash uh but I think this Ruckers team above all else is built for November uh in this schedule and on senior day with this group I can't see them losing I think it'll be close but I think they win their third in a row and uh go into a big opportunity in the last week I'm going with a with a win I think Illinois you know they're just if this season shapes up the way we think which there's a lot to be discovered between now and that game ruers should line up toe-to-toe and and just be better than them at this point and it's at home so now we're at our final game of the season at Michigan State I think this is where Ruckers Falls in that final stretch uh I think Jonathan Smith is one of the most underrated coaches in college football I really like Aiden Charles as a quarterback this is a team that you would hope to face in week three or four as they're trying to establish themselves but facing them in the final week of the Season where they could you know be playing for ball eligibility here playing for a lot more than Ruckers is playing for because I don't think a nine and2 record uh with two big 10 losses uh Ruckers is going to be in competition for a big 10 title appearance or potentially a college football playoff appearance given their schedule I have Ruckers falling the Michigan State here in the final game of the year yeah I mean Dave's kind of said it before I think Aiden Charles hasn't showed a lot yet but I think he's a good quarterback and I think he's he's reunited with the same head coach that he had last year that he was developing with and working with um I think on top of that a certain running back for Michigan State's going to have a little bit of a chip on his shoulder going into this one in KRON Adams so you got to watch out for that one um and I just I think Michigan State's a they're a sneaky team I think by this point in the year they should have not the culture completely fixed but they should have it a little bit more fixed compared to what it was under Mel Tucker um and I should they should have some of the younger guys up and cominging guys starting to play more and more I think Jonathan Smith's a good head coach and I think he's eventually going to turn Michigan State around and I I think this year they might not be phenomenal but I think they have a shot at Bow eligibility and I think that this win here should help them all good points uh but I do think Ruckers is going to win this game I think last year Ruckers a lot better than I know they needed to pull a miracle but I thought they had generally outplayed Michigan State in that game you could make an argument they almost outplayed him the year before in 2021 they were burned by big plays and they beat him in 2020 if you look at Michigan State they're outgoing quarterbacks I know two of the three already lost their QB battles so that kind of tells me that I don't think their talent level is as good though I do like childes um and I really think Smith I mean he was a great quarterback at Oregon State they went 11 and one during his uh one of his years there as a player and he's been a great coach but I I think what's gonna ultimately happen to Michigan state is that the the new staff is all this energy is GNA run out of gas by the end of the season and I'm hopeful that this is the year that Ruckers doesn't run out of gas so I gotta win yeah Michigan state has a crazy middle part of the schedule where they play Ohio State Oregon Iowa and Michigan three of uh two of on the road uh they have a better November uh and they Mike they probably have this is the only game Ruckers plays where the opponent has an extra day rest they played Purdue the Friday night before uh but I do agree with David I think this is a game Ruckers can win I know it's a new coaching staff I really like Jonathan Smith but shano has has proven that they've uh been able to compete with Michigan State in a way Ruckers hasn't had previously and I think that there's a lot of players on this team that lost that game two years ago when they were became really close to winning and I think they were able to gut it out and uh really uh finish this season on a big high note uh with an undefeated November look I I remember when we beat Michigan State uh in 2020 the covid year we were at whatever I forget the name of that that taco place right in in New Brunswick but we were there and we watched it we went nuts and it was like the jump off point for the shano 2.2 era I think I mean 2.1 era you know and people started to believe I like shano's record against Michigan State I like everything you guys said I think by the end of the year here again you know if we're a team on the rise and we're a matured program by now and Michigan state is still rebuilding this year and trying to get where they want to go the last game of the season uh ruter should go win it and and end it the right way I think our programs are just we're a little bit ahead of them and we should show it I think we get the victory so Larry you don't think that Joe rosi is going to completely shut us down as their DC or what God I forgot oh remember those years sadly I do I think we all do but geez no I don't buy the Rossy hype now just sent a a shudder down my spine um so the final record predictions I got us going nine and three and three six and three in the Big 10 Richie has us going eight and four six and three in the Big 10 David has us going eight and four six and three in the Big 10 Aaron has us going eight and four six and three in the Big 10 and Larry has us going 9 and three six and three in the Big 10 so we're very consistent with Conference record predictions the for a little bit I I would just say that the I have us at nine and three and I understand that's that's bullish and that's confident and optimistic I think the margin of error where this could be a great season like I've predicted here and a much less you know I wouldn't say we're going to have a disastrous season hopefully but a much more underwhelming season the margin of error game by game is is so p p paper thin um and that's game by game you could have a game you thought we going to win that we lose but then come right back and win a close game and it's going to be really interesting to deal with the es and flows of this season I'm banking on you know the fact that this is a matured program and that they can string wins together and string close wins together and overcome and bounce back from adversity when we lose a game to get to where this program wants to be if they can't do it this year it's just you know it doesn't get any easier you know schedule wise and things so I'm banking on that but it could go either way so it's going to be interesting two two things uh first off you know shandro loves to say this is developmental program you have a lot of players in their final year that are at the end of their developmental cycle you have to show results to be able to Market your program that way and to be able to keep momentum on the recruiting Trail so it's obviously for many reasons it's such a critical season uh and I totally agree with Larry it is uh you know this could certainly turn upside down pretty easily injuries obviously a major concern uh but this is so critical for the long-term success of this program to keep momentum uh and to be able to show real results in the developmental process and then lastly I just wanted to say this was awesome and uh for all the Scarlet faithful listeners and watch people that watch me on a regular basis thank you and I hope you enjoyed this and it was a great opportunity to collaborate with Larry and David as always but then Mike rich we've been talking about this for a long time uh for everyone that listens to the night report you know this is what the Ruckers fan base it's it's all about in terms of community and supporting each other and I think we've all independently done that so to have us all as a group has been a lot of fun and uh really appreciate everybody's efforts and putting this together I'll say that appreciate you guys having me I know I'm predicting eight and four they always have a clunker I hope it's one of the ones I predicted as a loss because there's always a game when something goes wrong so tell fans Please don't panic um I think that this season it unique is that pretty much every week you can go in as a fan thinking that Ruckers has a chance and that's really something that that's really all we ask for as fans obviously we all hope that they go 15 and0 or whatever it takes to win the college football playoff but uh really it's not it's about entertainment and for H fans and I'm hoping it's a good season on the banks just for all of us to enjoy it eight and four Duke's Mayo Bowl January 3D Greg shano is getting Mayo dumped all over him and I are you guys all coming are you coming my house are you guys coming to my house for the tailgate or what the beers are flowing that's it I might not even work that game is is the Big 10 a part of the Duke's Mayo bow though it is yeah okay okay that's good to know because I I know a lot of people are like throwing out these like it'd be funny watching Greg shano ritually sacrifice a poptart it's like well you can actually participate in that game though so all it would be hilarious that's okay so I'm glad to know that Dukes Mayo bill is in uh the realm of possibility yes and the Pack 12 teams can't get it because they have to go to their bold tie-ins still so we got a shot baby I'm hoping for uh if if the Big 10 gets three teams in the college football playoffs maybe Ruckers can sneak into the Music City Ball yeah yeah that'd be a lot of fun that'd be a good one yeah anything that's not Detroit the day after Christmas oh my God no after that it really falls off yeah it does all right well I want to thank everybody who joined us everybody who's listened everybody who's likeed subscribed to all of our channels we really appreciate you guys it's been a banner year for Ruckers content and I hope that it continues into a banner year for Ruckers Athletics we will see you uh in a future episode hopefully I think we'll we saw how well this collaboration worked I think you'll this won't be the last time we all get together but thanks for listening and see you next time [Music] hey hey hey