GSMC College Football Podcast

What We Have Learned This Year & Winners/Losers From Week 8 | GSMC College Football Podcast

Segment 1: What Have We Learned From 2024? The Good & The Bad Of This Season | GSMC College Football Podcast
In this episode of the GSMC College Football Podcast, we take a deep dive into the highs and lows of the 2024 college football season. From surprise teams making waves to powerhouse programs struggling to maintain dominance, we explore the key lessons learned so far. Who are the standout players and coaches? Which teams have overperformed, and who has fallen short of expectations? Tune in for an in-depth discussion on the good, the bad, and everything in between as we reflect on the 2024 season’s defining moments.

Segment 2: Winners & Losers From Week 8: Georgia Wins, Rest Of The SEC Loses | GSMC College Football Podcast
This episode of the GSMC College Football Podcast breaks down the winners and losers from Week 8. Georgia continued to assert its dominance with a convincing win, but it was a rough weekend for the rest of the SEC. From shocking upsets to missed opportunities, we dive into what went wrong for other top contenders in the conference. How does this affect the playoff race, and what do these results mean for the rest of the season? Join us as we unpack all the highs and lows from a wild Week 8.

Segment 3: Week 8 Superlatives: Jalon Walker Shines, LSU Makes Statement | GSMC College Football Podcast
In this episode of the GSMC College Football Podcast, we hand out Week 8 superlatives! Jalon Walker stole the spotlight for Georgia in their dominant win over Texas, showcasing his defensive prowess. Meanwhile, LSU made a bold statement with their performance, reminding everyone why they remain a playoff contender. We highlight the standout players, the most impressive teams, and key moments that defined Week 8 of the college football season.

Segment 4: Questions After Week 8: How Concerned Should We Be About Texas? | GSMC College Football Podcast
In this episode of the GSMC College Football Podcast, we dive into the burning questions coming out of Week 8. How concerned should we be about Texas after their loss to Georgia? The Longhorns' struggles on both sides of the ball raise some important questions as they aim to stay in the hunt for the College Football Playoff. We break down what went wrong, how Texas can bounce back, and what this means for their season moving forward. Tune in for all the insights and analysis!

Segment 5: Top 12 Tuesday: Georgia Makes Big Jump After Week 8 Win | GSMC College Football Podcast
In this Top 12 Tuesday episode of the GSMC College Football Podcast, we unveil my top teams heading into Week 9, with Georgia making a big jump after their dominant road win over Texas. Who else has climbed the rankings, and which teams are falling out of contention? We’ll break down the performances that are shaping the College Football Playoff picture and discuss which teams are looking like true title contenders. Tune in to hear all the latest power rankings and analysis as we get ready for another big week in college football!

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Duration:: 1h 19m
Broadcast on:: 22 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

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Step into our bulk department to scoop up as much as you like from hundreds of bins filled with wholesome grains and limited time goodies. Visit your neighborhood Sprouts Farmers Market today where flavor fills every scoop. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hello everyone and welcome into another edition of the GSMC College Football Podcast brought to you by the GSMC Sports Network. I'm your host, as always, Tommy Berzi. It is Tuesday, October 22nd around here, and we have a great show for you today. We're kind of in that middle ground between week eight and week nine, but I want to take a break here to figure out just what we have learned this year. I have four different things that I think we can carry with us throughout the rest of the season and give us a good idea of the least to keep our head on a swivel. It's probably the best way to put it. Then we'll get into the winners and the losers from this last weekend. Definitely a lot of winners in that Georgia football camp, no two ways about that. Then we'll get into superlatives coming out of week eight, biggest win of the week, individual performance of the week, which if you're watching one particular game, I think you know exactly who's going to win that one. Then we'll get into some questions that we have coming out of week eight. I think one of the biggest ones is, what do we make at that Texas loss? How worried do we need to be about Texas moving forward and definitely a very nuanced question more than anything else? Then we'll get into my top 12th Tuesday, one that's been a little bit easier than the past couple of weeks. Although there was a bit of movement up top, I think feel very, very good about the teams that I have, but would love to hear all the criticism that y'all have for it, no two ways about that. Before we jump in, I do want to remind you all, we get tons of questions and comments throughout the show, and the best way for you all to get your question on the screen, we can have fun back and forth here, is to use that Super Chat feature at the bottom of the chat on the Sports Network page. You'll see a little dollar sign. Click on that at any question, comment you like, and your name and that question will pop up on the screen. Definitely want this to be very interactive, one of those things that we're getting into that thick of the season, there's definitely a lot of questions to be answered, so we'd love to hear from you guys as much as I possibly can, but let's go ahead and jump in here because we're over halfway through the season. We feel like we have a pretty good idea of what this college football season has to hold, a couple of teams that are going to, I don't want to say separate from the pack because I'll get into that here in a second, but at the end of the day, I feel like we've learned some things about this year that we can carry with us throughout the rest of this year, and maybe throughout the rest of the 12 team playoff era, and the biggest one is officiating needs to be fixed as soon as possible, period and the story, because you're looking at all the different things, even that happened this past Saturday, like, we could hold it just to Austin, Texas, and I could find four or five different instances where the rest did something they absolutely should not do. And the biggest one obviously was giving Texas the, or the reversing the offensive pass interference to give Texas the pick in that moment because the reality is, the damage has been done. You've set the precedent that if you don't like a call, throw some stuff on the field, you might actually get kicked out of a game, which I guess is a little bit of a deterrent, but at the end of the day, if it's $250,000 to possibly give your team a win, it's not the craziest thing in the world, and that very well could have given Texas the win if Georgia didn't respond the way that they did. So, one of those things that you absolutely have to fix, no two ways about that, and here's the thing, we're in a world in college football right now, we expanded the 12 teams, everyone's really excited about it, I'm a little less excited about it, but plenty of people are very, very into the idea. The issue with that is more games matter across the board, and that's not an issue, I don't want to say that that's an issue, but that being said, it means that more calls matter than ever before. More refs matter than ever before, more of these decisions matter than ever before, we have to be able to do this better. It is a multi-billion dollar sport, it is a sport that has infinite amounts of money to play around with, and they have part-time officials, it does not make sense, it should not be the way that we go about business, and it puts even the officials in a really bad spot, because the officials are in a position where they're trying to make the best calls as they see fit, they're being told different things, conference to conference, and they're trying to enforce it to the best of their ability. These refs in the Texas Bama game, I don't necessarily want to defend them too much, because they made an outright mistake, and I think they should never be able to be allowed to call a game of that caliber ever again, and I very much mean that. All that being said, these refs are being put in a ton of impossible situations, because the big 10 refs are being told to handle targeting one way, and the SEC refs another way, and we saw it on Saturday, they're being a little bit too ticky tacky with that targeting call, and we have to look at that just as a whole in general at the end of the season, but overall, you look at all of the different instances, even from this past weekend, the Georgia Texas disaster was the main among them obviously, but we've seen misses in Miami games in the past couple of weeks, including that targeting call in the cow game, we've seen crazy targeting calls just pretty much across the board this year, including one in the Georgia Alabama game where I believe it was Dan Jackson, that got kicked out of the game, Matthew Golden dropped his head too, they met each other right at the gap, I don't understand how that's Dan Jackson or Matthew Golden's fault, and if it's anyone's fault, kick them both out. That's the reality of that situation, they both initiate a contact with their head, and that's the reality of that rule, so I don't understand the way that we're officiating in general, I think the biggest problem is we have no earthly idea who is being told what. We don't know if the big 10 refs are being told to really crack down on targeting be very aggressive about it, or they're being told, you know, let the guys play a little bit more, be a little bit more lenient on that fact. We don't know all of this stuff, and that just is insane to me, we absolutely have to have some central governing body that says this is the way that we're going to officiate targeting, this is the way that we're going to officiate all these different instances, and this is the way we're going to handle it if a bunch of fans don't throw bottles on the field, we are not going to give them that call. Do you get the call wrong? Yeah, they absolutely would have. That would have been much less of an issue than if they, then what they did, actually, which is essentially just set the precedent of congratulations, you're going to see a lot of trash on a lot of SEC fields the rest of the season, I can almost promise you that. So we got to fix this issue. There's too many games that matter, there's too many teams that are going to be affected, and frankly, if we keep going down this path, there's going to be a number of teams that are left out of the playoff for reasons that are beyond their control. They're going to be left out because of one call at one point in a game that totally changed the outcome, and that just can't happen. So we have to make these people full time employees, we have to be able to get this to a central body, and we have to be able to move forward knowing what the rules are, because I can promise you, there are a lot of coaches out there that if you ask them to explain the targeting rule to them, they wouldn't be able to do it because it's so confusing across the board and everyone's enforcing it differently. So that's the number one thing, and I went a little long there because, man, am I a little bit fired up about the officiating in college football right now? It's one of those things that you have the money, you have the resources, you have to take care of it because at the end of the day, you're going to end up leaving a team out of the playoff that deserves to be there because your refs can't make the right call. But moving forward, the other thing that I think we've learned is bury a team after a loss of your own danger. You're more than welcome to bury a team after a week one loss or after a week two loss, but they can come back very strong. Well, I think Clemson might be a great example here losing that game to Georgia. In the first week, everyone said, you know, Dabo Sweeney's way of going about business isn't going to work. Frankly, that's what I was saying. After this game, it looked like they were just entirely on different level, and maybe they still are. Maybe they're not that elite team that needs to win a national title, but they bounce back in an incredible way. They're playing really, really good football. K Club Nick is playing about as clean football as anyone in the entire country, and no one would have picked Clemson to be in a position where they were. All right, rephrase the apologies. I'm going to rephrase that, but I think the best way to put it is six and one after you're by or going into your by week for Clemson. That's exactly where they thought they were going to be. They weren't worried about that Georgia game obviously was a tough one, but the reality is they were able to bounce back, keep going in. They're very much in the CFP conversation. And then we got Georgia. They lost the game to Alabama not a couple of weeks later, and now they're a team that just took down Texas in dominating fashion on the road. So they're a team that absolutely is handling all the business in front of them, and it's one of those things that you just need that sometimes. And I think Texas, you could say, you can make the argument, they needed that. They needed to get punched in the teeth, and we'll talk about that a little bit later in the show. But then you have teams like LSU. They lost to USC, and everyone said, "Oh, it's just the normal LSU team, good offense, bad defense, call it for the year." They bounce back in a huge way, and that defense is actually winning them games right now. And then you got Tennessee after the Arkansas game, ability to bounce back, it hasn't been all that pretty, but getting wins. Notre Dame after the NIU game, although I don't necessarily love that, the Notre Dame team right about now. But at the end of the day, a lot of these teams came bounced back, and I said it yesterday when talking about the Texas UGA game. This is now an era where you were not defined by the one loss, you were defined by how you were react to that one loss. So all of these teams that reacted really well, Texas could react really well next, and we'll see what happens. But at the end of the day, it's just one of those things that a team can take a loss and still bounce back and be a great team. Just be very wary, burying a team early on in the season like that. But finally, there's no elite teams in this year. I feel very confident saying that. Now we can make the argument about Oregon, and frankly, they're probably as close as anyone is in this conversation. But at the end of the day, I don't think there's anyone that leaps and bounds better than anyone else. I think Oregon has holes that can be exploited by Georgia. I think Georgia has holes that can be exploited by Ohio State. I think Ohio State has holes that Texas can exploit and kind of all the way around, although Texas didn't exploit any holes for Georgia this past weekend. I do think there are some there that if Texas were to play them again, there would be openings to exploit. But at the end of the day, I made a prediction early on in the preseason just saying there will be no undefeated teams in the power for it. It's gone a little bit further than I thought it was going to go. I'll be totally honest with you, but at the end of the day, I do think Oregon's going to get clipped. I think Penn State as well, Miami, Indiana, Iowa State, and BYU, I think all of those guys get got at one point. I don't necessarily know when it comes, but I do think that's going to happen just because of the next thing that I'm going to talk about, which is essentially just the chaos is not done by any means. I can almost promise you that. The chaos is not near to over in this sport because just circumstantially, let's just talk about the chaos that has already happened, obviously, incredible upsets all over the place, so many different things, but circumstantial just around the country. There are four undefeated ACC conference teams. There are six undefeated or one lost teams in the big 12. There's six undefeated or one lost in the big 10. There's seven in the SEC. It is going to be something where it's going to be cannibalism over the last couple of weeks, and that is going to create chaos. There's no two ways about that. And all that being said, I think we talked about going into the year, you know, could a nine and three team make the playoffs? Is that in the cards? I don't think so. I think it's way more likely that a number of 10, two teams are sitting on the outside looking in because of the no division model. It's creating a lot of confusion in the scheduling and how things break down. And then I think one of the biggest things here is you still have games of UGA, Tennessee, LSU, A&M, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M, you have so many games that are going to define all the things coming forward. And I think that doesn't even factor in the G5, which is going to be an absolute nightmare. We have a huge one against Boyu State and UNLV, which we will break down tomorrow. That's going to decide a lot of that. But this season has not gone to has been defined as unexpected. That is exactly the way this season has been thus far. And I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon to me. This feels like just a sprint. What 12 teams can get to the finish line quickest? And if they can, then congratulations. But at the end of the day, I think the chaos is going to continue with us for quite some time this year. And we're just going to have to figure out where we stand at the end of it. So the biggest thing that I've learned this year is that officiating in this sport is as broken as it as I don't want to say as it ever has been, but it's broken. And very much needs to be fixed. If you're going to have this many games matter and this many teams be in the hunt, you need to have all of the referees knowing what they're doing and being in the same wavelength going into these games, regardless of what conference you're in. So that's something that I'm sure people are talking about behind the scenes and they'll handle it in the off season, I assume. But I have a feeling there is going to be someone left out of the playoff because of a call that they didn't like, or because of a call that was just outright wrong. We'll deal with that when we get there. Definitely not going to be something that we're going to stop talking about by any means. But let's take our first break here and when we come back, we got to talk about the winners in the losers from this past weekend. We got to talk about, obviously, Georgia was quite the winner. I don't think the SEC, the rest of the SEC really won too much, but I'll break it down right after this. At Sprout's Farmers Market, we're all about fresh, healthy, and delicious. That's why you'll find the season's best organic produce handpicked and waiting for you in the center of our store. We bring in local farm fresh fruits and veggies bursting with flavor. Come on in to discover everyday favorites like juicy berries and crisp greens, but also unique peak season varieties, like moon drop or cotton candy grapes. Visit your neighborhood Sprout's Farmers Market today where fresh produce is always in season. Breaking news, and this one is almost unbelievable. Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365 because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5, and even better bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, and player props. There you have it, bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets, and see why. It's never ordinary at Bet365. The gambling problem? Call or text 1-800-Gamper, 21 plus only. Must be physically located in Colorado. Terms and conditions apply. Good sleep should come naturally, and with a new natural hybrid mattress, it can. A collaboration between Lisa and West Elm. The natural hybrid is expertly crafted from natural latex, natural wool, and certified safe foams to elevate your sleep sanctuary and support a greener tomorrow. Breathable organic cotton and moisture-wicking Joma wool consistently provide cool and comfortable slumber. Every purchase helps fuel Lisa's work with shelters and those in need. Visit Lisa.com to learn more. That's L-E-E-S-A.com. [Music] I want to be the greatest. Everybody on the face should. I look around and feel like everybody is the fakers. I make this. Every day and I'm in face here hoping one day I blow up from the basement statement. The top is so vacant. I don't need shit that I think is amazing. Waiting for my day when I'm playing. So that shows were a thousand faces. Give me that crown. Get in my way and it'll be put down. It ain't replaced all this by sound. If I want that shit that'll get it right now. I'm losing it. The news it fits. I'm losing shit. It's stupid if you choose to live. I choose to dip. You choose to fight. You lose your grip and lose your gift. [Music] All righty. Welcome back everyone. We just talked about all of the different things that we've learned from this first part of the season kind of getting into the back end of this season and the biggest one is obviously officiating in this sport is broken. It is the best way that I can put it and we need to fix it very very soon or there's going to be big time consequences and who makes the playoff and who doesn't but we'll see what happens. Going to be some chaos. No two ways about that. But let's get some winners and losers from this past weekend because I think there were a ton of kind of interesting ones. You know, there's obviously the ones in the big time marquee games of the week. No two ways about that. But there are a lot of teams that kind of snuck under the radar got big time wins that weren't necessarily celebrated the way that they normally would be if that Georgia Texas game, if that Alabama Tennessee game was not on the docket. But the first winner is the surprise undefeateds. They were able to stay alive this week in a week where it felt like I was getting a little nervous for a number of these and I picked actually to fall to Nebraska this past week. One of the worst picks I had last week. No two ways about that. And then army and navy looked like games that they were going to be able to win. Still ones that you feel like they could have struggled a little bit in and they were able to just totally railroad those teams. So it was great to see Indiana was great to see army and navy kind of handled their business for Indiana. The CFP doors wide open. I think a lot of people were waiting for that last shoe to drop. A lot of people were waiting for Indiana to become Indiana again. But this was the game that I think a lot of people circled for that to happen and they just went to work. It was absolute domination and I think it's one of those things that it's no longer, you know, it'd be cool if Indiana made a playoff run and it'd be awesome to watch. It really could happen. So it'd be awesome to watch it. No two ways about that. But it's no longer a hypothetical by any means. This is a team that hypothetically or I don't even want to say hypothetically can absolutely win 11 games this year. So cannot wait to see that. And then for the service academies, it's all about Notre Dame. Can you win that game? If you can, then you're in incredibly good shape. And frankly, probably the wildly the favorite of the from the G5 to get to the CFP. But if you lose those games, I feel pretty confident saying those two teams are probably out of the running with what boys state and what UNLV are doing over there. Although one of those teams will be taken out of the running this Friday and we'll get to that game tomorrow. But the loser is the SEC. And let me explain this here for a second because plenty of teams got big wins. Tennessee, LSU, a lot of teams are feeling okay about where they're at. I'm not arguing that. They did not want to see what they saw in Austin, Texas. I can promise you that. I think everyone in the SEC was willing to take a Texas close win. I think they would have been able to say, you know, this isn't George's best team. Texas is still not a team that's at right elite. And when they have to play a real game away from home in an SEC environment, they're going to fall. And then they saw Georgia just go to work. They saw Georgia be the Georgia of old and absolutely dominate Texas from tip to tail. And I think it's making everyone a little bit nervous. Now they won't say that. And there's no two ways about that. There's no coach in the SEC that's going to admit that they're a little bit nervous about what they saw. But I promise you, the scariest thing in the SEC right now is a determined Kirby Smart. And if you saw him on Saturday, he was determined. It's going to be an absolute nightmare for the rest of these teams. And I think a lot of teams in the SEC felt a lot better about their chances at 7pm on Saturday than they did at 10pm on Saturday. I can almost promise you that. Winners with the D-line performances. And obviously, Georgia is going to take the cake here. They were absolutely all over Texas for most of that game. And I've talked about that a little bit. I don't think the offensive linemen for Texas were quite as bad as it seemed. I think there were a lot of structural issues with Texas that allowed for this defensive line to just dominate from start to finish. It was really, really incredible to watch. And that's not even remotely where it ends. Tennessee went to work. And frankly, this is not a new thing. It's something that, frankly, you're going to see every single week from Tennessee. This D-line is an absolute monster to deal with. One of the best, maybe the best unit in the entire country. And one of those teams that absolutely put them into position to win the SEC title. Because when you have guys up front like that, it's a nightmare to deal with. And then finally, the Illinois defensive line deserves a ton of respect. They harassed Jack Tuttle all game. The run game did not necessarily get going the way that Michigan needed it to get going. It was just true absolute domination. And Gabe Jackus was just all over the place in that game. So really remarkable stuff from the D-line and all across the country. But I think Jalen Walker and Michael Williams might just take the cake in this one. No two ways about that. And then we got losers. Quarterback play kind of goes hand in hand with the D-lines playing well. But at the end of the day, there were a number of players. And we'll focus on the two big gains here because there wasn't really one quarterback in those two games that played very well. And the main thing was Queen Eure's 28 pressures in that one. And he was taken down six times and one other time was arch-manning. So it was tough. No two ways about that. Did not play his best game. Was able to bounce back in the second half a little bit and got a little bit more comfortable. But at the end of the day, not his best day by any means. And then Jalen Milro, one of the worst games that I've seen him play. I'll be totally honest. He was missing wide open receivers. Did not get his legs involved in. I do think he's a little bit dinged up. I don't know what the injury is. But the reality is, if you're Alabama right now, I think an 80%, 70% Jalen Milro is probably better than whatever else you have on the roster. And that might hurt to hear, but that's kind of the reality of that situation right now. You need his legs. You need his ability to keep defenses honest. And right now, it's just not necessarily where you want it to be. And then on the winning side of those two games, you had Carson Beck far from perfect. And then Niko Iamaliava, who was able to turn him on in the second half, but missed a lot of the throws that we have become weirdly accustomed to him missing over the last couple of weeks. But at the end of the day, those two quarterbacks Beck and Iamaliava are far from worried about that because they got the win and that's what matters. Winner was head coach hopefuls. They got a little bit of an opening this past weekend and I tend to believe those are going to start flowing in over the next couple of weeks. So we'll keep you updated on that front. But the big news coming out of this one was Mike Houston. The head coach of ECU was fired after that loss to army had not been a great team this year. I've been kind of up and down just all over the place. And this was one that probably had to happen. He had a losing record while at ECU and now they got to move forward and figure out where they have in the big time name has been Joe Sloan, the offensive coordinator over at LSU very talented young coach doing incredible things. We care at Nussmeyer and was a huge piece of what Jayden Daniels did last year, although Mike Dembrok was the offensive coordinator that year. So there's a lot of really, really talented guys out there. This might be one of the top ones. He's really, really incredible. I think he's fully ready to take that next step. He's floated with opportunities in the past, but this is one that I think is a little bit more enticing than some of the others and then kind of a dark horse candidate. There's one that I'm not necessarily sure if ECU is looking that direction but wouldn't be surprised if they were is Buster Faulkner, the offensive coordinator for Georgia Tech. He did an incredible job last year was one of the best, I believe the best offense in the ACC last year and has done a great job this year under not great circumstances with Haynes King getting injured and things of that nature, but he was offered the middle Tennessee state job last year didn't end up taking it and this could be another job that is very much after him. So a couple of guys to watch there, just alone is the one that I would really watch, but just don't be surprised, I suppose, if Buster Faulkner comes across your Twitter page as being considered for this job. The loser is officiating crews around the country and I am not talking about the one that was in Austin this past weekend because they deserve to lose. I'll put it that way. I don't want them around a big time game the rest of the season and maybe the rest of their careers, but that's totally beside the point. The officiating in that game was absolutely atrocious, pretty much from start to finish, but particularly this very moment, you absolutely cannot do that what they did, just plain and simple. I don't even care if the guy comes into the huddle and says, I got the call wrong. It doesn't matter. At that point, once the fans start throwing bottles, they have lost that call period end of story because you've just created a situation where every single crew across the entire country has to meet to figure out how they're going to handle this. They have to meet to figure out how they're going to handle fan throwing bottles on the field and how they're going to handle, you know, reviewing certain plays, you're making other ref crews do more work than they have to do because one ref crew just didn't do their job. And that is absolutely terrible. So it's all over the place. We talked about officiating earlier. I think officiating crews in general are just being kind of just made an example of kind of a scapegoat and all of this because they're making bad calls. I'm not taking pressure off them. The entire system's broken and they're just trying to officiate to the best of their ability. So I'm not necessarily attacking the officials by any means, but what I am saying is that officiating crew in Austin, Texas, created a new slate of jobs for every other officiating crew and it's just really, really unfair, more than anything else. The loser was the, excuse me, the winners were the coach of the year candidates because there were a number of big time wins this past weekend. I do want to give love to Mario Cristobal, Mike Elko, Brett Beelema. They've done incredible, incredible things and got some wins this past weekend. So definitely deserve some love there, but there are two names that really stand out and we'll start with the on Sanders. He has totally changed that Colorado program, whether you want to talk about the talent level of there, the coaching staff, the fan experience is totally different and really remarkable. There's so many different things that he's done incredibly well and one of the big time things that I've been watching for is not necessarily this year because although this year has been absolutely remarkable and they're answering a ton of the questions that I had going into the year 2025 is the year. Right? When you have, should they're leaving? When you have Travis leaving? When you have a lot of these guys that you transferred in leaving? How can they reset? And that'll be a really, really interesting thing to watch. But as of this year, I think Deon Sanders very much has to be at the very top of the conversation for Coach of the Year. I just think he's a touch behind Kurt Signetty. What Kurt Signetty is doing up there at Indiana is just remarkable. It's one of those things that you bring in a lot of talented guys. No two ways about that. They did come a lot from the G5 ranks, so it's not like you were inflexing a ton of like Alabama, Miami, like elite players. You were getting guys that were just driven by will more than anything else and they have played incredibly, incredibly well this year. And frankly, I can't find a coach in the country that has done a better job from the start of his job to now than Kurt Signetty has. It's been absolutely remarkable to watch and I don't think it's stopping anytime soon. So that's really, really fun. And then the loser is the Alabama of old. I think we could all feel it on Saturday. This is not the same Alabama. And I don't want to say that's, you know, entirely a bad thing. I think there's a number of things that could have changed over the last little bit. And frankly, a lot of this started when Nick Saban was in that chair. I don't want to put all of the blame on Kayla Naboor, because this is not his Bama team yet, because when he came into that program, a lot of stuff was happening. You had the greatest of all time walking out the door. You had about 40 guys that were looking to transfer or already transferred. He had to be a little bit kinder. He had to be a little bit nicer. He had to be a little bit more accommodating and it's created a little bit complacency in that program. And you can see it on the field. I mean, we all saw Ryan Williams and I'm not sure who else it was. Maybe Jerry Bernard hit a step back while they were getting stuffed on fourth down. That doesn't happen. It doesn't happen when Nick Saban is in the chair. That's just the reality of the situation. And I'm not blaming Kayla Naboor. I think he's going to be very successful at Alabama. I really do. I don't think he's the wrong guy for the job. I don't think we've even gotten close to figuring out if he's the right or wrong guy for the job. All that being said, this is a team that lacks mental toughness in a way that SEC teams just can't. They badly need that mental toughness. They badly need the physical toughness that Alabama is lacking a little bit right now. So there's a lot of things that are different about that team. I tend to believe that when we come back here next year and we're talking about this Alabama team, they're going to look a lot different. Not just from a personnel standpoint, but just from a energy standpoint, from a focus standpoint, I think they're going to be a ton different team because I think the circumstances around this is going to be a ton different, which is a huge win for Kayla Naboor, but no doubt about it. The Alabama vault is probably officially gone, and they're just going to have to figure out their way through the rest of the season. And then I think they'll be able to reset and be more than fine, but it's a very, very jarring thing to see Alabama at five and two in Vanderbilt at five and two as well. But and Vanderbilt should be ranked over Alabama. Totally different conversation, but I just wanted to get that out there. But let's take our second break here. And when we come back, we got to talk about superlatives coming out of this weekend. We'll give out the biggest win of the weekend individual performance of the week statement of the week loser of the week and everything else right after this. So stick with us. Breaking news and this one is almost unbelievable. Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365 because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5 and even better bonus bets can be used on the spread totals and player props. There you have it, bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets and see why it's never ordinary at Bet365. The gambling problem? Color text 1 800 gambler, 21 plus only. Must be physically located in Colorado. Times and conditions apply. Good sleep should come naturally. And with a new natural hybrid mattress, it can. A collaboration between Lisa and West Elm. 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Just search GSMC Sports Network on YouTube to catch one of your new favorite shows, like the GSMC College Football Podcast, Chip Shot Football Podcast, Hoops and Heels Women's Sports Podcast, GSMC Basketball Podcast, and so many more. Check it out for yourself, GSMC Sports Network. Now available on YouTube, absolutely free. Search GSMC Sports Network on YouTube right now. Alrighty, welcome back everyone. We just talked about the winners and the losers from this past weekend and now we got to get into some superlatives. And before I start, just want to give a shout out to all the people watching live. Always love to see a couple of numbers down there and see that people are watching. It always means the world to me, so really, really appreciate that. But let's get into some superlatives because this is kind of a fun segment that I started last week and I'm very much into it. And if you guys are as well, I will continue. If you're not, then we will find something else to do. No two ways about that. But we'll start with the biggest win of the weekend. And this is kind of an interesting category because I don't necessarily want it to be, you know, who beat the highest ranked team, who had the marquee win of the week, all that type of stuff. Just kind of who did the thing that maybe we weren't expecting or maybe they needed something late in the game to get it going, whatever it is. I think it's just whatever you interpret the biggest as that's kind of the way I'm going here. But let's talk about Georgia because although, you know, we don't want to talk about the biggest or the top teams, this was definitely a huge win. No two ways about that. And I think the biggest thing with me wasn't necessarily what happened on the field. It was what Georgia was dealing going into this game. I think there was a lot of talk about is this a Georgia team that is like what Kirby Smart has had? Is this, you know, a team that's going to be capable of winning the games the way that they were able to in the past and especially with Carson Beck not necessarily playing elite football week over week, how are you going to be able to get it all done? And they went into Georgia and just went into Texas and just absolutely railroaded them for four quarters. And I think it was one of those statement games where they said, we are still Georgia. You are not getting rid of us that easy. I can promise you that. So it was one of those huge time wins and definitely one of the biggest wins of the weekend. I also want to talk about Iowa State. This is a win that they badly needed because the Big 12 race is one of those who cannot lose that quote unquote Big 12 game? Who cannot lose that game that you don't expect to lose that you're not supposed to lose but a lot of people in the Big 12 have lost throughout this first part of this season. So whoever can avoid that disaster is probably going to come out on top and Iowa State did a great job of avoiding a disaster on Saturday. No two ways about that. BYU did the exact same thing. So one of those things that you're going to have to avoid those landmines and Iowa State barely avoided one on Saturday. Huge win for them. No two ways about that. The winner for me is Illinois. I think this was a little bit of a program defining win because obviously Michigan is not world beaters by any means this year. They are not a team that I necessarily love and I thought Illinois was I did pick Michigan to win to be totally fair but I do think Illinois is a very capable team. The thing is they don't usually beat Michigan. They don't usually beat these teams and I understand that this isn't a normal Michigan team. It doesn't matter though. It really does matter for a team like Illinois to beat a team like Michigan and say we can compete with these teams. We can compete with the teams that have been dominating this conference over the last couple of years and it's a remarkable confidence booster for that program for that team and for Brett Bieloma that is going into the rest of the season feeling like he not only has a team that can play good football week over week they can show up in big time moments and win games in different ways. They've been able to win shootouts. They've been able to win a slug fest like they did on Saturday so a really remarkable team and I think Saturday was just confirmation of everything that they've been working for and everything they've been building up for. That was the moment where they proved to everyone that they are very much for real. But then moving forward individual performance of the week was an interesting one because there's ones all over the place. But let's start with the quarterback that just finds this place on here quite a bit this year but Cam Moore just went to work again over 300 through yards passing for touchdowns and no picks. He was absolutely incredible and did just about everything he could do to catch up to Ashton Jnt in that Heisman race. I still have Jnt number one but at the end of the day remarkable stuff from Cam Moore this past weekend and just kind of becoming a weekly routine at this point. I also wanted to give a shout out to Jaden Ball over a remarkable performance against a Kentucky defense that is very very good against the run. We watched a freshman running back go for over a hundred yards and five touchdowns in that game. Really really incredible stuff and in the moment where they badly needed them. Montreux Johnson was out. They needed someone to step up and man did this kid step up. He's going to be remarkable going forward and whether it's Billy Napier or someone else taking over Florida going forward. They're going to want to keep that guy in town. I can absolutely promise you that. And then you got Jalen Walker. He's the winner. There's no two ways about that. If you watch that Georgia game you were thinking almost immediately you were thinking who is number 11 and how is he not the number one overall pick in the NFL draft and frankly I think he made himself quite a bit of money on Saturday. I think he is a first round pick after Saturday and frankly I think he will confirm that throughout the rest of the year. He's one of those guys that I don't know if people remember back or it's not too long ago but I don't know if people remember back to Trayvon Walker. The number one overall pick from Georgia a couple of years ago. Uber athletic kid didn't necessarily have the elite stats that a lot of the other Georgia players had but was all over the place. Was an absolute nightmare to deal with. This is kind of that type of guy. I don't think he's going to like this world on fire every single week like he did on Saturday. He is going to play really good football in any given moment. He can have a game like that. That is what's so special about this kid and frankly if he gets beyond the first round some GM is going to be very mad. And I can promise you that. And then we got to go to the statement of the week which team got the we've talked about the biggest win. Which team got the win that they planted their flag they proved that they are a team that is turning a corner. They are a team that's going to be have to be worried about going forward what have you. Kansas State is an interesting one here because I think there were a lot of people you know Kansas State starts the year really slow. They don't play very good football. They're a little bit all over the place get dominated at BYU. And then things start to kind of open up Avery Johnson's arm starts to really get involved in this offense makes it really really dangerous. And I think it's one of those teams that you start slow more than fine in a 12 team playoff era. You just got to be able to finish strong and as of right now it looks like Kansas State is revving up and it's going to be really tough to stop them going forward. And then we got to talk about Indiana. Obviously this was a huge massive win for them because as I talked about earlier. I think everyone was just waiting for that other shoot a drop. I think they were just waiting for Indiana to remember that they're Indiana and start losing these games outright domination over Nebraska and puts them in a position where they're not only a team that can possibly make a CFP run as an at large bid. If they beat Ohio State I know that's crazy. If they play incredible football on that Saturday and beat Ohio State this team becomes one of the craziest stories I've seen in quite some time in college football. They would be right on par probably above what TCU was a couple of years ago. The winner to me is LSU though. And I think this is one of those moments where I feels like a turning point for this program under Brian Kelly. In 2023 this is a game that they lose many Brian Kelly teams lose this game because you're coming off a huge win at home where you had to fight tooth and nail you got a couple of things to go your way to win that game. And now you go up to a really tough environment and they dominated them from start from start to finish from tip to tail. They were all over this team and it was really really remarkable to watch and I think it shows you that you hire the right guys on either side of the ball. They're going to make their difference and man has Blake Baker and that defensive staff made a difference on this team. Then we got to get to the loser of the week. I hate to do it but that's the reality of this segment. We got to get to it and Bama's got to be one of the biggest. No two ways about that. This was a moment where it felt like Bama could kind of flip the season a little bit. You get that win over Tennessee it's exactly what Tennessee did frankly because they were kind of limping into this one feeling a little bit nervous about where they were. If they won this one Bama fans would be right back to feeling like their national title contenders getting to the SEC title all of that stuff would be back on the table. And then they got punched in the mouth and I think it's one of those that they're just going to have to realize that this was going to be a weird year. In 2025 you can bounce back that's absolutely great but this one was really really tough. Another one has to be Nebraska. This was one of those games where it felt like Nebraska maybe has the ability to turn a corner as a program. Maybe has the ability to win that one big game they haven't been able to and then they just got dominated. Matt Rule I believe I can't remember the exact number so I don't want to say anything too wrong. He's very bad against ranked teams while bad Nebraska I'll put it that way and it's one of those things that Nebraska in general has just been bad. I don't know if it's a curse around there I don't know what it is but they got stuff to figure out and a lot of that stuff is really confusing to figure out more than anything else but the loser is Texas. There's no two ways about that I think everyone understands that this is the team that was on top of the world everyone singing their praises the entire game day crew just going crazy about how good Texas was. And then they got punched in the teeth no two ways about that and I think the good thing about this is it's about how you respond we talked about it earlier. That's all this is about if they come back out and beat Vandy by 21 28 points no one's going to be talking about this game in two weeks I can promise you that. So it's a team that obviously lost this week obviously got punched in the teeth and has to get back up but unlike a lot of the other teams including Nebraska. Everything is still very much on the table for this team so lost the week but very much can win the next week and just keep it on moving. And then the surprise of the week one of the bigger surprises to me and I don't know if it was the same for everyone else maybe I was a little bit naive on this front but just how dominant that UGA D line was against that Texas O line. This is one of the best outlines in the country and I don't necessarily that Saturday didn't take me off that take I'll be totally honest I just think Georgia dominated. I don't think Texas you know the offensive line played outright bad I think there were a number of places that they needed to play better but you look back at some of the issues that happen somewhere on Quinn no two ways about that he has to step up into clean pockets when he has them a couple of them were just Kirby smart and Glenn Schumann just being better just having the right play call at the very right moment and it was one of those things that I knew we were going to get an absolute absolute fight. It was going to be incredible to watch these two units go at each other but I didn't expect to be coming out of this game in the story of the game be the D line of Georgia dominating the Texas O line I expected it to be a little bit more of who made the plays on the outside. You were right about that alone so the dogs absolutely do rule but another surprise to me was just the entirety of the Miami Louisville game I don't know if there's anything to be said about that I mean the third quarter alone all over the place. I had no earthly idea what was going to happen next I could not leave my TV because at the end of the day someone was going to score that was the way that the game was going it was absolutely off the walls and I could not get enough of it. It was so much fun to watch and pretty much Miami is just becoming a team that you're going to want to watch and pretty much the rest of the way regardless of who they're playing because it's going to be tons of fun to watch. And then finally I think the biggest one to me was the big 12 not going crazy. I think there were a number of different places BYU Iowa State and a couple others where it could have gone very much haywire this past weekend of Colorado loss that would have been another haywire spot and everyone just kind of handled their business. Texas Tech was the only one that fell to a team that they probably shouldn't have and like we talked about earlier that's one of those big 12 games you just lose to Baylor on a weird Saturday and that might just be the season for Texas Tech. But at the end of the day it was one of those things that you looked at this week you felt like the big 12 could be a little bit more chaotic and the favorites pretty much won across the board. And then we got to get to the game of the week the most important one we have on here I think Iowa State BYU was really fun went down to the wire. Georgia Texas was just weird so I had not necessarily the game of the week but really fun one to watch no two ways about that and then the Tennessee Alabama game was interesting. It was ugly in the first half I'm not necessarily saying it was very pleasing on the eyes in the first half but it weirdly developed into this very interesting tight game down to the wire type game in the end of it and I was really into it. It was all over the place there were defenses just flying around and although we didn't get all the points on the board that we might have expected. We got all the big moments we got you know the cigar smoke after the game pulling down the goal post although I didn't love it but I'm not necessarily going to chastise kids for having fun. So at the end of the day really really incredible game and one of those that started really slow but then developed into just a really really fun one to watch down the stretch. And then we got Miami Louisville no two ways about that it was all over the place there was controversy elite plays explosives everything that you wanted in this game it was awesome. A cam ward when absolutely crazy made a couple of those cam ward plays and Tyler Shuck hit a number of big time plays down the field it was so much fun to watch this one but the winner is New Mexico Utah State and I know that sounds crazy but this one's very very simple. There were points in this game the over under going into this game was set at 78 and a half. I don't think I've ever seen anything that high they scored 95 points in this game it was 50 to 45 it's just absolutely incredible it's everything that college football is about is about missed tackles and broken coverages and a million points and everything being all over the place. So this was that game I absolutely love this New Mexico team they're so much fun with the Von Dampier running the offense and it's one of those things that whenever you see one of their over under is you're probably gasps because it is absolutely ridiculous how much they can score in a game and how much their defense can give up in a game it's a one of those teams that you're looking for something to watch late on a Saturday and they're on tune in because you'll see something just absolutely bonkers but let's take our third break here and when we come back we gotta talk about some I think the biggest one for me at least is where do what do we make of that Texas loss how do we feel about Texas going forward a team that was flawed from the jump and we just got exposed or is it a team that just had a bump in the road and can continue on and be a national title contender and I'll break it down right after this breaking news coming in from bet three six five where every nail biting overtime win breakaway pick six three point shot under dog win buzzer beater shoot out walk off and absolutely every play in between is amazing from football the basketball and hockey the baseball whatever the moment it's never ordinary at bet three six five gambling problem caller text 1 800 gambler 21 plus only must be physically located in Colorado good sleep should come naturally and with a new natural hybrid mattress it can a collaboration between Lisa and West L the natural hybrid is expertly crafted from natural latex natural wool and certified safe foams to elevate your sleep sanctuary and support a greener tomorrow breathable organic cotton and moisture wicking Joma wool consistently provide cool and comfortable slumber every purchase helps fuel leases work with shelters and those in need visit Lisa calm to learn more that's L E S a calm black Friday is coming and for the adults in your life who love the coolest toys well there's something for them this year to partition is the premier craft cocktail maker that automatically makes more than 60 seasonal and classic cocktails each and under 30 seconds at the push of a button and right now partition is having a huge site wide sale you can get $100 off any cocktail maker or cocktail maker bundle when you spend $400 or more so if the cocktail lover in your life has been good this year or the right kind of bad get them by teaching at the push of a button make bar quality cosmopolitan smart teenies Manhattan's and more all in just 30 seconds all for a hundred off amazing toys aren't just for kids get a hundred off a cocktail maker when you spend 400 through Cyber Monday visit barteason.com/coctail that's b-a-r-t-e-s-i-a-n.com/coctail For the best and latest podcasts available anywhere go to the podcast app on your cell phone and type in GSMC to access free content rich podcasts on health and wellness book reviews, sports, entertainment, relationships, social media, movies, technology, finance, and even weird news subscribe and download the GSMC podcast networks family of shows available everywhere podcasts are found and I'm sure you're welcome back everyone. We just talked about some of the different superlatives of the week the game of the week for me was a little bit off the radar it was that New Mexico Utah State game that was 4050 to 45 but at the end of the day a lot of really really fun stuff all around the country But let's get some questions coming out of week 8 because there's quite a few of them and the one I want to start with is How worried should we be about that Texas loss? How worried should we be about Texas going forward? Are they a team that is still a very much elite team? They just ran into the wrong team on the wrong day or are they a team that hadn't played necessarily the big time opponent that they Needed to and got exposed on Saturday. I tend to be a little bit more on the former than the latter on that one I tend to believe that this was just a bad Saturday Saturday where they got totally ambushed by a really good defense a really Good defensive game plan and Quinn yours got very confused early on in that game and it just kind of spiraled That's my initial read on it. Now the thing about that is there were real issues with that game You know Quinn you were is not necessarily being as Willing to step up into the pocket and maybe take a hit with that injury that he just suffered or that offensive line Just not necessarily getting the push in the run game that they very badly need to I've talked about that offensive line the tackles Then did not play great football, but Calvin Banks played a lot better than people are giving him credit for But that's just something totally side point But at the end of the day it was bad football no two ways about that. Oh Excuse me and There's a lot of things you're gonna have to figure out especially on the offensive side of the ball. I think for me where I stand with this team is If I see the same stuff on Saturday against Vandy a lot of things will change in a hurry obviously I think there's a number of ways that you can come out of that game and say you know Texas isn't ready for the moment Quinn you were just can't step up in those big-time moments the offensive line isn't as good as We thought it was and a lot of those things are true no two ways about that But for me at least in particular I have to see it one more time I have to see some of those issues continue into next week because from where I was standing I saw a Georgia team that was not going to be denied and that's just kind of the reality of the situation now A lot of those things can still you know cause problems for Texas going forward And it'll be interesting to watch just how many of them and which ones of them actually end up being big issues going forward but at the end of the day the way I look at that one is You ran into a Jordan team that was not gonna be denied and they absolutely took you at your dinner But you come back you win a big-time game against Vandy No one's really talking about it. It's probably a blip on the radar and you move forward So I tend to believe it's a little bit of a blip on the radar and they'll be more than fine be a title contender going forward That being said if we see it on the against Vandy we see a lot of the same problems I Would change that opinion very very quickly. I can absolutely promise you that no two ways But then we'll move over to the Heisman race has it become a little bit of a three-horse race in the Heisman? And frankly, I think it might just be a two-horse race But I'll get to that here in a second Ash and Jainty leads the way I will not accept anything differently because the dude is doing ridiculous things He did respond to that comment that Travis Hunter had and handled it pretty well No two ways about that I think he was very very right if there is a record that's been held for 37 years and he breaks it He's getting that Heisman trophy. I feel very very confident in that but at the end of the day He does have to keep up pace. We've talked about this before being at Boise State one bad game even this weekend against UNLV Likely takes him out of the running so he's got to keep up this pace got to keep you know making headlines But I think he very much can and then you got to talk about Cam Ward Obviously he's been someone that's been a little bit of up and down the last couple of weeks or at least two weeks before this game And then he just can't continue to go to work incredible incredible stuff from him pretty much week on week He has what feels like a Heisman moment every single week where You know, it's gonna pop up on that Heisman reel when they go to New York at the end of the year But I feel like there's a guy that if he just keeps pace if his team keeps winning And they keep making plays and he can turn over the ball a little bit as long as he's making the plays that he's made all year I feel very confident that he's gonna be in New York at the very least And then we do that do have Dylan Gabriel and this is an interesting one because I don't see Dylan Gabriel being a huge Player in this race down the stretch. I do think he's going to be someone that we're gonna talk about I'm not necessarily saying he's gonna fall off a cliff and Oregon's gonna play terrible football All that but I am saying I don't necessarily think he's going to have an Ohio State type game And I don't think he's gonna have a platform like that Ohio State game going forward until that big 10 championship So the way I look at it is yes We do have three people in this race that absolutely can win it those first two are the ones that I would pretty aggressively lean Towards as we go on to the rest of the season But obviously Dylan Gabriel could very much prove me wrong and just continue to roll and then we got to talk about the teams that are hitting the panic button or I've already hit it and It starts with Oklahoma. There's no two ways about that. We could talk about Florida State But that happened weeks ago, so Oklahoma has officially joined them in that ranks and this team and program is in a very weird spot I think they have a ton of really good players. I think the issue with it is the defense is your big-time strength You're losing Danny Stussman. You're losing Billy Bowman. You're losing Woody Washington at the end of the year in You got a lot to figure out on that front So there's a ton of things that are just off about Oklahoma right now and frankly it is Oklahoma They have every ability to get back on track and be one of the dominant teams in the country But as of right now, they're pretty far from where they need to be to be in that conversation And then you got to talk about Michigan. There's been a nightmare from pretty much start to finish It's been all over the place. They haven't had a quarterback for any length of time And I think they're still trying to decide one this weekend So they're all over the place and from start to finish and frankly when I look at this team going forward this program going forward I don't know what they're gonna sell to a lot of these recruits I obviously on the defensive side of the ball You're probably more than fine, but offensively. What are you selling wide receivers? What are you selling quarterbacks to say hey come play in an offense? We're gonna run the ball 35 times and no pass is gonna go over 10 yards You're not gonna get a lot of guys that way So I think it just has to be genuine structural changes to this offense And it's not necessarily something that shuromor is overly comfortable with so it's gonna be interesting to watch that down the stretch Cuz could get a little bit ugly over there Um, and then he got USC. I I'm having a hard time saying that Lincoln Riley's on the hot seat I can say very very confidently that there are some fans that very much want him there So that means that if he's not fired this offseason Which I don't expect him to be in 2025 the first sign of issues He might be out the door and that is a bad bad place to be going into the season So it'll be really interesting to watch that going forward the recruiting is going Fine not necessarily anything overly special over there But they badly need to get that moving in if they can then it's gonna be a nightmare down the stretch of this one But another one that I have is is the SEC becoming the most confusing conference in the country Or is they becoming the conference that we're just gonna have to you know throw darts at a dartboard to figure out who's in it? Because obviously the big 12 is what they are they're gonna cannibalize themselves It's gonna be a nightmare and there's gonna be so many different things to figure out But it has thinned out just slightly just the ever so slightly we've eliminated teams from the big 12 The SEC you have A&M and LSU leading the way Obviously one of those teams will lose this week and then take a little bit of a step back But then you have Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Vanderbilt all sit at one loss And then you have teams like Arkansas and Alabama that are right behind them That I don't think are gonna play into the SEC title race But could play into the CFP race? It's just one of those conferences that you knew it was gonna be crazy You knew there weren't enough there wasn't wasn't enough oxygen to go around in the room But at the end of the day we started the year thinking there could be five teams from this conference going in I think it's probably gonna be three teams something like that Maybe four teams depending on the way that it shakes out but as of right now I see a lot of cannibalism coming up and it could just be Really tough for the SEC to recover from and then we got to get into some surprise teams down the stretch Apologies for that surprise teams down the stretch are gonna be really really interesting to watch And one of the ones that I want to talk about is Virginia Tech I think they're a team that is kind of finding themselves offensively They have Clemson at home in a couple of weeks. They only have one ACC loss So a lot of things should happen in the hurry for the Hokies They're not necessarily a team that started the year very pretty But if you've watched by shalltoot and run the ball the last couple of weeks There's a lot of things that are possible for that team going forward Another team to watch a Cincinnati playing much better football than I expected them to play this year Brendan Sores will be playing really good football for them. I will coming over from oh, hi I can't remember where he came from I apologize for that But a very very talented team nonetheless and I think the biggest thing here is they got eyes They got Iowa State and Kansas State on that schedule They could just blow up the entire conference if they beat those two teams this entire conference would go crazy And maybe that team up there in Boulder could find their way into the big 12 championship But obviously we will talk about that later on and then you got Florida I think it is a team that is starting to kind of find their way They're running the ball much more effectively and they're one of those teams that they're not perfect by any means And there's a lot of questions They're playing some really really tough teams coming up and that kind of part of this to be totally fair That if you play all those teams at some point you're probably gonna nip one of them And if you do then it's gonna be chaos in the SEC once again So it's one of those teams that I don't necessarily expect to factor into the SEC title race pretty much at all I do think they're gonna be a team that's gonna possibly cause problems for some of those teams up top And then finally which conference is most likely to get only one team in the CFP I think I started the season thinking it's gonna be the big 12 and maybe I still slightly lean that way But I think the ACC is making a pretty good argument right about now And I think the biggest thing here is you have a ton of big 12 teams that have gone on defeated just further along Than I thought they would BYU Iowa State I did not expect them to be undefeated at this point this season over in the ACC you obviously have Miami you have Clemson You have even SMU there's a world where all those teams fall before the ACC title and then you have 11 and 1 against 11 and 1 I don't think an 11 and 2 team from the ACC is getting in even if it's Miami Even if it's Clemson because I think you'll have 10 and 2 teams in the SEC and 10 and 2 teams in the big 10 And let's be totally honest those teams are gonna get the benefit of the doubt So it's one of those things that I think between those two conferences the big 12 in the ACC will probably get one but At the end of the day I think it's very possible that every conference gets at least two teams in and that sounds a little bit crazy Especially going into the season, but at the end of the day there's so much chaos all over the place There's no teams really separating that I think it's possible that we have Miami Clemson from the ACC we have Kansas State Iowa State from the big 12 or someone else of BYU someone else over there Then we have, you know, Ohio State, Oregon Penn State from the big 10 and you have Georgia, Texas and Tennessee, I don't know from the SEC so I think there's a lot of different ways that this can go But I don't know if there's gonna be any team that only gets one and that's or any conference that only gets one Which sounds crazy, but I don't know It's been a crazy year and I wouldn't be surprised if we had a very even split once we get to that playoff But let's take our final break here and when we come back We got to get into the 12 top 12 teams in the country as far as I see it It is a very very weird week a couple of teams that have dropped out Just because some holes have been poked in that team that I'm a little bit more nervous about some teams that have jumped in after that big time Wind so we'll break it down right after this so stick with us breaking news and this one is almost unbelievable Yeah, it's all about new customers at bet 365 because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet five dollars and even better bonus bets can be used on the spread totals and players Props there you have it bet five dollars to get one hundred fifty dollars in bonus bets and see why it's never ordinary at bet 365 gambling problem color text one eight hundred gambler twenty one plus only must be physically located in Colorado terms and conditions apply Good sleep should come naturally and with a new natural hybrid mattress It can a collaboration between Lisa and West Elm the natural hybrid is expertly crafted from natural latex natural wool and certified safe Phones to elevate your sleep sanctuary and support a greener tomorrow breathable organic cotton and moisture wicking Joma wool Consistently provide cool and comfortable slumber every purchase helps fuel Lisa's work with shelters and those in need visit Lisa Dot-com to learn more that's L E E S a dot-com Black Friday is coming and for the adults in your life who love the coolest toys Well, there's something for them this year, too Bartetian is the premier craft cocktail maker that automatically makes more than 60 seasonal and classic cocktails each another 30 seconds at the push of a button And right now Bartetian is having a huge sight-wide sale You can get one hundred dollars off any cocktail maker or cocktail maker bundle when you spend four hundred dollars or more So if the cocktail lover in your life has been good this year or the right kind of bad Get them Bartetian at the push of a button make bar quality Cosmopolitan's martinis Manhattan's and more all in just 30 seconds All for a hundred off amazing toys aren't just for kids Get a hundred off a cocktail maker when you spend 400 through Cyber Monday visit Bartetian dot-com slash cocktail That's B A R T E S I A N dot-com slash cocktail (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music) Alrighty welcome back everyone we just got into some of the questions we have coming out of week eight I think one of the biggest ones is how worried should we be about Texas going forward are they a team that's just going to fall off the face of the earth or Are they still very much a title contender that just ran into a ridiculous Georgia team on that Saturday? And I tend to be a little bit more in the former but let's see what happens at the end of the day It's going to be incredible to watch that unfold but let's get into the top 12 teams and I'll actually talk about that Phenomenon here in a second but let's start with this off and I got to start giving Indiana love They're playing such good football every single week and it's one of those things that BYU was in the spot last week they were able to get a win Some of the worries that I had about BYU have started to kind of come to fruition In that game they did not necessarily get the luck that they had gotten in the past couple of games and it really showed It went right down to the wire they were able to win so I don't necessarily want to punish them too much But at the end of the day I do think if that happens again It's very likely that they fall on that game and I'm a little bit worried about them going forward So they fall out Indiana jumps in and losing Curtis Rourke does add a layer here No two ways about that if they can win this Saturday with Taven Jackson at quarterback against Washington They're very much off to the races but definitely a scary point No two ways about that and if they can handle that then they're officially very much a CFP contender if they aren't already frankly And then we got Iowa State playing really really good football I think when the BYU falls a little bit off of my top 12 in this one The worries for Iowa State aren't necessarily quite as big Obviously you got to get the run game under control but when you face UCF and a quarterback like to Corey Brown That can get going the way that he can It's going to be hard to slow those guys down They obviously have to figure out some of the stuff on that front But when you look at this offense I feel like they're starting to find their stride I think Jalen Noel, Jayden Higgins is one of the best duos in the entirety of the big 12 And to me this is the leader in the big 12 right now At least in terms of what I think they can do in the long term and win this conference Then I have Texas A&M at 10 They had a little bit of a tough game in Starkville this past weekend But winning on the road in the SEC is not an easy thing to do And I think Mississippi staged one of those teams that just not getting enough credit for how good they are They're not necessarily playing elite football by any means But Michael Van Buren came in a couple of weeks ago Played at Texas, played at Georgia, played A&M at home He played really good football during that time So I don't know what he's going to do against some of the lesser teams in this conference But really really incredible stuff And this is one of those teams that I think the biggest thing is what can you get from Wegman this weekend? If they can get a big time performance like they did against Missouri They can absolutely win in their whole year changes Now if they lose their whole year changes in the wrong direction Because they still have some games coming up They obviously have that Texas game at the end of the year They trip up in that one then Or they trip up this weekend I mean this one could get a little bit sketchy for A&M going forward And then you got Tennessee Tennessee's playing really really good football right Or Tennessee's playing good football right now They're back up into the top ten after that big time win I still do have worries about that offense No two ways about that But you look at it more and more They're not missing by much The deep balls are there They're just a little bit too far You know the run blocking is there It's just a little too late So a lot of this stuff I think is just rhythm And I think they'll be able to figure it out down the stretch of the season I don't think they're going to be the explosive offense That we probably expected coming into the year But I do think they're going to be able to do enough on that front And the biggest thing here is Your defense is going to dominate the vast majority of the teams that you face Whether it's regular season, SEC title, playoff They're going to be one of the best units on the field And it's going to be one of those things Where you have the luxury to struggle just a little bit If you're the offense And they did not have that even a little bit in 2022 So a huge development for Tennessee Where you can win rock vites now Where last year, a couple of years ago You absolutely could not I do have Clemson here at eight They just continue to handle business every week They're one of those teams that They haven't had that true quality win yet Obviously it's one thing that you had to check off the board And frankly, I don't know if they're going to face it for quite some time But at the end of the day, they're playing really really clean football K club Nick and Garrett Riley are officially on the same page It's something that we were waiting for all year last year And it just never quite came together It didn't come together in the Georgia game And then it finally did And everything has been absolutely clicking on that offense They have absolute dudes in their And really really good sync right now And that was really all they needed They had dudes all over the place But the reality was they just needed to get in sync And now they are and they're really really tough to deal with No two ways about that And then he got Miami at seven I did drop them just a little bit here Because I continue to see the same things I think there were a couple There was a part of me coming even out of the Cal game That said, if this team can get into the bi-week They can get right, they can handle their business And go up to Louisville, get a big time win They'll be more than fine And they did get a big time win I'm not trying to take away the win by any means You did give up 45 points You did have to kind of eke out a win You did have to have Cam Ward Totally take over that game For you to be able to win it And that is an issue There's no two ways about that Because I talked about it a couple of days ago Feels like the LSU team from last year It feels like a team that has an elite quarterback So many weapons on the outside So many guys that are going to play at the next level And then the defense is just not going to be enough When they very badly need them to be So they're one of those teams that I've been kind of flirting with Dropping the last couple of weeks And I think this was kind of just the final straw Now they could obviously write the ship That defense could get better And they could be more than fine down the stretch As of right now, I think they're one of those teams That is playing with fire And feels like they're getting closer and closer to that flame Then we got LSU at 6 This team is absolutely for real They're one of those teams that, you know, in week one Totally different than what we saw this past weekend I mean, I can't even fathom how quickly Blake Baker And that entire defensive staff has been able to make a change around there It's one of those things that Yet hope that this offense was going to be able to carry them a little bit more And the offense has played well No two ways about that It's not been near what they had last year And I didn't necessarily expect it to be near what they had last year But the defense has taken a huge step up And it's been absolutely remarkable to watch Now the big thing for here The big thing for LSU going forward Is going to be just staying in the moment There's so many big time games coming forward There's so many moments that you could stumble And find yourself on the outside of the playoff Looking in You just have to play really clean football The defense has to say very disciplined from start to finish Garrett Nussmeyer needs to continue to just make the right play Not the one that he wants to make the most A lot of these things just need to continue to happen And LSU is going to be a team that is going to be a problem to deal with The rest of the way I think I picked them to in my redo I picked them to make the SEC title Feel pretty good about that right about now if I'm being honest And then I do have Texas at five I could have dropped them further No two ways about that I think there was an ability to drop me All the way down to eight or something like that But when I look at this team When I re-watch all that game There are a lot of things that can be fixed And there are a lot of things that can just be fixed By Queen Evers going out there with a little bit better A clearer of a mind I think that was probably the biggest thing And you saw it in the second half Was able to kind of reset himself The way that Sarc said he would And he came out there And in the second half was far from perfect But was a lot better Was exactly it was pretty much what you kind of expected To see from Queen Evers against that defense And the reality was He just got shell-shocked At least from my perspective I think they just got shell-shocked I think they just got got on one Saturday It happened at UGA earlier in the year If Texas has some of the same issues this week They will drop quite a ways I can promise you that But at the end of the day I'm not ready to say this team has The goals for this team has changed even a little bit They are still a team that can win a national title They are still a team that expects to win a national title So I'm not necessarily going to drop them too too far Definitely this weekend will tell me a lot About how far I should drop them going forward And then I have Ohio State at 4 They were hanging out this past weekend Just watching all the craziness happen around them So they felt pretty good about where they were at And now they get to play Nebraska And it's one of those games that Nebraska is coming off an absolute rubbing You are feeling very very good about where you are Although coming off a loss But you get a little bit of a buy to kind of lick your wounds Figure out where you are and keep moving forward They should be able to dominate this game And if they don't then I think we have some issues But at the end of the day they are one of those teams That can get hot at any moment There are no two ways about that If that offensive Will Howard finds it a little bit more If that offensive line gets going with some injuries right now So definitely something to watch there But if they can get going on that offensive side of the ball Just that tinge more They are going to be a problem to deal with And obviously the defense had their fair share of troubles Against Oregon not trying to say The defense is perfect by any means I tend to believe the defense is going to be more than fine down The stretch I think there are a lot of things that were just kind of scheme based That they just need to fix up a little bit To make sure that that stuff doesn't happen again So I think they will be fine on that front And they are a team that at any given moment Could just decide they are going to buzz saw through the entirety of college football And then I do a Penn State at 3 They are another team that was kind of chilling this week After that win over USC two weeks ago And they are one of those teams that I love for so many reasons But I think the biggest one is They are adaptable For maybe the first time in quite a while Over there at Penn State They are adaptable They can win shootouts They can win slugfest They can win everything in between They can do things where they lose the turnover battle And still find a way to win They can win games because they find some crazy turnover Late in the game There are so many different ways that this team can go about business And it gives them the ability to beat a team like Ohio State To win the Big Ten to possibly make a title run Because there are so many different ways that they can win And there are so many different ways that they are going to have to win Down the stretch of the season So they are one of those teams that I don't necessarily think has I don't want to say they haven't wowed me But I don't think they have had that marquee game that really gave me This is an outright title contender No two ways about it That being said They are a team that is handling business about as well as anyone in the country And they are proving a lot to me Even playing the teams that they are playing And obviously that USC win proves a lot about what this team is From a just standpoint of resilience by itself And then George is at two I think we all saw what we saw I don't think there is any question that this Georgia defense is starting to get a little bit healthy And they are terrifying to deal with No two ways about that And if this is the group that you get the rest of the way and they stay healthy I don't know what opposing quarterback is going to do I will be totally honest with you But at the end of the day I think it is one of those things that the offense just has to get going They are one of those teams that they are number two in the country They are playing really good football Carson Beck threw three picks on Saturday He didn't necessarily play great football at some point I feel like he is going to flip a switch and Then it becomes terrifying Then we could just have Georgia and Ohio State just running away with this thing But the team that is going to have plenty to say about that Is the organ ducts They are my number one team in the country They got to hang out on Saturday After a worry if you win over Purdue on Friday And they are one of those teams that you could put them behind Georgia You could put them in front of Georgia They are undefeated And that is kind of the end all be all for me I am rewarding teams for winning games this year Because not a lot of teams are winning games consistently But the biggest thing here for me is Dylan Gabriel He played incredible football against Ohio State And has kind of grinded into form Just a little bit more But they go as far as he takes them And he is more than capable of taking them to a title He is also more than capable of missing the mark when it matters the most So it definitely will be very very interesting to watch this team down The stretch consistency is the thing to watch for this team as we go forward But to one of those weeks Where definitely some shifting in the rankings But feel pretty good about that group I did drop BYU out just a little bit Because some of the worries that I had Are starting to become a little bit more realized Up there in Provo And then I think Indiana just deserves their respect And frankly they are going into a game with a backup quarterback this upcoming weekend Wanted to give them love while I could I will just put it at that But at the end of the day that will do it for this edition of the GSMC College Football podcast brought to you by the GSMC Sports Network Your support means a lot to us So please remember to subscribe to the show Leave a positive review It does make a huge difference for us Also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram All of the social pages for all of the content and updates you could possibly need We have really great people doing great work across everything you could possibly want NBA starts tonight So go on over and hang out with Nelson To get all the updates on that Baseball is happening all over the place Got plenty of people covering that So definitely anything you need in the world of sports We have you more than covered over here at GSMC But thank you once again for listening And I will be back tomorrow to start picking some games for week nine ♪♪♪ Let's go ♪♪♪ Breaking news coming in from Bet365 Where every nail biting overtime win Breakaway, pick six, three point shot, underdog win Buzzer beater, shoot out, lock off And absolutely every play in between is amazing From football to basketball and hockey to baseball Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365 gambling problem, caller text 1-800-Gambler 21 plus only must be physically located in Colorado ♪♪♪ Good sleep should come naturally And with a new natural hybrid mattress, it can A collaboration between Lisa and West Elm The natural hybrid is expertly crafted from natural latex, natural wool And certified safe foams to elevate your sleep sanctuary And support a greener tomorrow Breathable organic cotton and moisture-wicking Joma wool consistently provide cool and comfortable slumber Every purchase helps fuel Lisa's work with shelters and those in need Visit Lisa.com to learn more That's L-E-E-S-A.com