Teeter Teams: Florida, Arizona State, Wisconsin & Teams Living On The Edge

In this episode, we examine the most interesting college football teams hovering around the bowl eligibility line in 2026. With win totals sitting at 5.5 or 6.5, these are the teams that could just as easily surge to 8-4 as stumble into 5-7, and we try to figure out which direction they’re headed before preview season officially begins.

We start with Florida and the Jon Sumrall reboot, then dig into Arizona State’s questions, Kentucky’s brutal SEC schedule, Minnesota’s surprisingly low win total, and Virginia Tech’s fascinating reset under James Franklin. Plus, we debate whether TCU has enough runway and whether Wisconsin is finally ready to clear the bar under Luke Fickell.

Also: Dan searches for a new lease, Ty searches for a Seattle soccer ticket, third-quarter sing-along traditions, the dangers of too many stadium sound effects, and how fuzzy June math led us directly to today’s concept.

Cleaned Transcript

[00:17] Ty Hildenbrandt: Dan Rubenstein, my good man, welcome back to The Solid Verbal Podcast. I am Ty. You know who I am. We've been doing this show for a long time.

[00:25] Dan Rubenstein: At this point, yeah, of course.

[00:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: Now, if you don't know who I am, there are deeper issues that we need to explore as part of this episode over the next 45 to 60 minutes or so. My good man, how was your weekend?

[00:37] Dan Rubenstein: Pretty good. Got a good amount of sunshine. It did rain a little bit. I pitched you on doing a leasing episode today because I'm in the middle of texting random salespeople about leasing a car, and I don't even know if I should be leasing or buying in this economy. I do know that I don't want to deal with humans in person at a car dealership for the rest of my life. So I'm just spraying out text messages and emails and telling people, I'm not coming in. I don't want to do anything. Just give me as low a price as you can, and I'll figure it out. And you said, no, that's a pretty good idea, but how are you going to turn that into at least 45 minutes of content?

[01:16] Ty Hildenbrandt: That's what I said. Can we get 42 minutes out of this that the Verballerhood would enjoy? And I think that's where we came to a bit of an impasse.

[01:23] Dan Rubenstein: I say probably, but I can never guarantee it because I'm pretty good at stretching. And I don't know. It's June. I'm very excited about where we landed on today's show, and I'm excited for the directions you are able to take it because we are flipping roles a little bit from where we were on our Sark Tank episode with, I think it's Sir Andy Staples. He did get knighted in this last round. So everything is great, Ty. I have no complaints, and I'm always better. Summertime Dan, like what was it? Playoff P? Paul George in the playoffs? Summertime Dan is a great Dan, in my humble opinion.

[02:01] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, that's right. Well, if you get any updates, because I know you've been sending these messages out, if you get any replies from the salesmen that you're seeing...

[02:13] Dan Rubenstein: I already did get one. It seemed okay. We'll see.

[02:17] Ty Hildenbrandt: Well, keep us posted throughout the course of this episode because I know the Verballerhood would care.

[02:17] Dan Rubenstein: I'm going to keep spraying out those messages, of course.

[02:22] Ty Hildenbrandt: You're distracted by that. I'm distracted by the fact that I'm going out to Seattle later this week to watch the U.S. play against Australia. I am elated to be going to this. I am thrilled beyond words.

[02:33] Dan Rubenstein: I'm so jealous. I think you're going to have such a fun time.

[02:37] Ty Hildenbrandt: The latest thing that I'm trying to pull off, I don't think I told this to you earlier, but I had to buy an extra ticket for a friend who is seated in a completely separate area of the stadium. So now I'm trying to see if, at the last second, albeit with way more expensive tickets now because everyone's excited because the team won 4-1, I can find a ticket that brings him into our section or a little bit closer, into generally a supporters' section, so that he's not off on an island on his own. But if anybody out there is going to the game...

[03:06] Dan Rubenstein: What does that mean, a supporters' section?

[03:07] Ty Hildenbrandt: They have certain sections that are grouped off for U.S. soccer supporters, that type of thing.

[03:12] Dan Rubenstein: Like, are these the ultras? Are these the hyper-serious, loud and...

[03:17] Ty Hildenbrandt: I don't know. I mean, I think I technically am one, but I'm pretty normal.

[03:22] Dan Rubenstein: Do you know all the chants and cheers?

[03:23] Ty Hildenbrandt: I don't know any of the chants or cheers.

[03:25] Dan Rubenstein: Okay. Well, you've got to quickly learn.

[03:26] Ty Hildenbrandt: No. So that's probably on me. I could learn quick, yeah. But if anybody is going to the game on Friday and you've got an extra ticket and you don't want to sit next to a weirdo, you can sit next to my friend. Just email me: solidverbal@gmail.com. And if you are new here, if you are just stopping by, I promise you this is a college football show.

[03:46] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[03:47] Ty Hildenbrandt: Hit follow, hit subscribe so that you do not miss any of our episodes. Verballers.com is where you can go to support the team. And you can also sign up for the newsletter, solidverbal.com/newsletter.

[03:58] Dan Rubenstein: By the way, sidebar, if I can just take 11 seconds-ish. I love the between-third-and-fourth-quarter sing-alongs in this sport. Not necessarily just “Jump Around,” which I do love as well. But I love that Florida now does the, after Tom Petty passed away, “Won't Back Down.” I love that. I love the “Dixieland Delight” thing at Alabama.

[04:22] Ty Hildenbrandt: Man, Michigan, “Mr. Brightside” at Michigan. That was such a cool experience.

[04:25] Dan Rubenstein: “Mr. Brightside,” and it wasn't that big a game and people were still into it.

[04:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: When we were at that Oregon-Michigan game two years ago. No, but when we were at that game and they played it, we looked at each other in the press box.

[04:33] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[04:39] Ty Hildenbrandt: We're like, whoa, this is pretty awesome. That was great.

[04:42] Dan Rubenstein: It is awesome, and I want to stress to people and to teams, whoever's listening: even if your team doesn't have a sing-along post-third-quarter tradition, “Mr. Brightside” is relatively new to Michigan. The “Shout” thing is relatively new to Oregon. You can create a new tradition if you select the song smartly and for a specific reason, or even if it's just a fun song to sing along to. I remember seeing a clip of, I think it was Padres fans. I think Tom DeLonge was at a Padres game, maybe a playoff game, and they did “All the Small Things,” and it was cool as hell. It was great. So I really want to see more new sing-along post-third-quarter traditions in this sport, to all who have the power to institute such a thing.

[05:33] Ty Hildenbrandt: You just need to make sure that whoever is the trigger man on this operation is organized, and whatever song you go with feels part of the greater thing, feels cohesive with the full game day experience. Because the opposite end of that would be what goes on up at Penn State, which is, they just hit all the buttons, I think, for all the sounds all the time during the White Out.

[05:55] Dan Rubenstein: Right. Weird.

[05:56] Ty Hildenbrandt: And there are like eight sounds going off at once. I'm a Penn State alum. The White Out is a religious experience for me. I know it was for you.

[06:03] Dan Rubenstein: Oh, it was unbelievable.

[06:03] Ty Hildenbrandt: It's an incredible bucket list type of thing if you're a college football fan. Whoever is in charge of the sound buttons, we don't need more sounds all at the same time. Cut a few out. Be organized. Have a spreadsheet that tells you when to push which buttons, because that was a little much for me. It didn't used to be like that. It's like that now. So that's the risk if you go too far in one direction with either a third-quarter or fourth-quarter tradition or just general game day sounds.

[06:34] Dan Rubenstein: I just looked it up, Ty, and there is the state connection. Any school in Massachusetts that is willing, your UMass, your Harvard, your Boston College, take your pick. That is the home state of Spider One, aka the lead singer of Powerman 5000. So you could have “When Worlds Collide” between the third and fourth quarter and have everybody going nuts. That's a free tip from me, from Summertime Dan to you.

[07:07] Ty Hildenbrandt: Can you imagine Bill O'Brien and Ted Roof rocking out?

[07:13] Dan Rubenstein: No-brainer. Everybody just pretending like they know the words, just losing their minds to a song from 1998 or whatever.

[07:22] Ty Hildenbrandt: On that note, we're going to peel back the curtain here.

[07:23] Dan Rubenstein: I think I had on that.

[07:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: We're going to go full kimono on how we arrived at today's topic. June is the sixth month of the year. We are recording this on June 15th. You had the foresight, the wherewithal, the gumption to add one and five together to get to six. Your initial thought was, hey, let's talk about teams that went 6-6 last year and which direction they're headed.

[07:51] Dan Rubenstein: Teetering is the word I used, yeah.

[07:52] Ty Hildenbrandt: Teetering was the word. Teetering. And then we kind of took that through a few more points of contention, a little bit further discussion, and we decided that the whole idea of teams teetering on that edge is very interesting to us. So before us today, you have compiled a list of teams with a win total of 6.5 or 5.5.

[08:17] Dan Rubenstein: The over-under number, yeah.

[08:18] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yes, in each of the power conferences. And it is going to be your duty today, just as it was mine in the Sark Tank episode, to present these topics. You're going to present to me which teams. I have a general list of the teams, but I don't know which ones you're going to throw at me. You are going to be in charge of throwing the teams at me. You are also going to be the keeper of the schedule because this is something that I know is of particular interest to you. And we're going to have a discussion on which side of that bet we are on.

[08:50] Ty Hildenbrandt: Now, the disclaimer is this: previews don't start up for another month yet. They really don't. So this should not be taken verbatim as any kind of gospel for whether or not you should go over or under. We will have a game for picking over-unders once we get into preview season, but we're not there yet. So take it with a bit of a grain of salt. Be mindful of the fact that this is just sort of gut reactions, even though we do have 138 team previews ready to go. Just be mindful that this is more of Ty and Dan shooting from the hip than it is any kind of real-world betting advice.

[09:30] Dan Rubenstein: Correct. I have a very smooth transition, Ty, because I just mentioned the Florida Gators and “I Won't Back Down” with Tom Petty.

[09:39] Ty Hildenbrandt: Okay, we're going to talk about Florida.

[09:40] Dan Rubenstein: So in this win total, Florida is listed at 6.5. So they are teetering with bowl eligibility, with 6-6, 7-5, 5-7. They seem to be in that range, in that department, ahead of Jon Sumrall's first season. We had Richard Johnson on last week, who did not seem as high on Florida initially. So this is before fall camp as Summertime Ty. So my question to you is, when you look at the Florida schedule and you make Florida considerations, not in a detailed preview kind of way, when you see that 6.5 number, where does your teetering brain go?

[10:22] Ty Hildenbrandt: Well, I get why Richard has the skepticism looking at the schedule, because there's not really a big soft spot that you can look at. When we're going through these schedules, we often look at these run of games where a team can kind of find its footing, get itself together, figure out the formula, and then build from there. It's better if that's in the beginning of the season, but it can really happen at any point throughout the calendar. We've got three months of this thing, right? So you're just looking for spots where...

[10:50] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[10:52] Ty Hildenbrandt: It's obvious that a team can try some stuff out and improve. I don't think this schedule really gives them that. There are some games on this for sure that I look at and I say, all right, I like Florida here. But I think you take that combined with the question of who's playing quarterback. Is it Aaron Philo? Tramell Jones Jr.? Some unresolved questions, I think, at tackle as well. And certainly, if you look back at what they did last year, I was just looking at Bill's SP+ on offense. They were like 89th on offense. New regime now. But there's plenty of reason to be skeptical if you want to come down on that side of the argument. I'm on over, though. I'm on over.

[11:37] Dan Rubenstein: You are on over. What's the defense of over with a lot of new and a lot of questions? What is the upside internally and on the schedule?

[11:46] Ty Hildenbrandt: A ton back on defense.

[11:48] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[11:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think their defensive returning production is almost 80%, like 70. I don't have that in front of me. I saw it earlier. 77%, somewhere in that neighborhood. There's a ton back on offense as well, albeit new regime. But Bill C. ranked them pretty highly in his first pass of the SP+. They were like number 19 overall. So a top-20-caliber team, in most cases, is going to get seven wins.

[12:18] Ty Hildenbrandt: And then I think you lay on top of it that this is a really, really talented offensive skill group. It's not just Jadan Baugh, but Vernell Brown III is back. Eric Singleton Jr. is coming over, who can be a very productive receiver. I like what their skill talent looks like, completely separate from whoever is playing quarterback. And I also would layer on something that we talked a little bit about with Richard with respect to Jon Sumrall. I think Jon Sumrall is crazy, and I mean that in a good way.

[12:48] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[12:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think he's nuts, and I think he's going to be able to fire up this team maybe in a way that Billy Napier couldn't. He definitely has a bit of a track record for building that defensive spine that I think you need to win ugly, especially when you've got an offense that might take a little bit of time to grow. Even though the skill talent is there, with the questions at quarterback and at tackle, it might take a little bit to try and figure this out. But I think Jon Sumrall is familiar with the ways that you need to win ugly.

[13:17] Dan Rubenstein: Right.

[13:17] Ty Hildenbrandt: And so that, for me, I think is the bedrock of the argument. The offense, albeit very talented, might take a little bit to get moving. Defensively, I think the Sumrall mentality, combined with Brad White, by the way, who comes over from Kentucky to manage the defense, I think defense is what I am building this case upon. And granted, SEC gauntlet. If they do end up being a top-20 team, though, that's at least 7-5.

[13:48] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, we talked about it with Florida, what their schedule looks like. And they get Ole Miss, I believe, after the Ole Miss-LSU game early on, right?

[13:56] Ty Hildenbrandt: Right.

[13:56] Dan Rubenstein: There are some interesting situational plays, a lot of quarterbacks in new places or first-time quarterbacks, first-time coaches, right? Obviously, Florida has itself, and you can say that about a team playing the Gators. I think I'm with you pre-preview season, which is the end of the pre-preview season, as our previews begin pretty soon, actually.

[14:15] Ty Hildenbrandt: Right. Yeah.

[14:19] Dan Rubenstein: I think I'm with you. I mean, you also have to find a team that's probably teetering that you're going to say is below that six-win mark, right? If there are a lot of teams bunched in there, there are only so many wins to go around. But if your starting position is a proven, very good offensive coordinator and a quarterback who has experience in that system, high-level when healthy receivers and a running back. You know, wins are ultimately decided at the line of scrimmage, and so this is why I'm saying it's just a starting point heading into this conversation.

[14:51] Dan Rubenstein: I think I'm with you. And look, also the starting point is going to always be, if a Florida team is at least interesting, they will have a pronounced home-field advantage. That is a very difficult place to play, as are a lot of places in the SEC.

[15:03] Ty Hildenbrandt: 100%.

[15:05] Dan Rubenstein: But that's another thing that could be good for a 50-50 type matchup, winning late. Yeah, the Sumrall thing is interesting too, because look, he won, I believe, nine games in his first season. He was only at Tulane for two years, but took them to the American Championship in his first season. So he was able to sort of rally the troops pretty quickly at Tulane. They ran out of gas there at the end. The track record seems good for stepping into a role, and obviously it was an advantaged Tulane role when he got there, and showing upside pretty quickly.

[15:40] Ty Hildenbrandt: The thing that kind of bothered me when they hired him, completely separate from him, was immediately there was this comparison drawn to Billy Napier.

[15:47] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[15:52] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh, well, you're hiring the same coach from the G5/G6. Why don't we go out and get somebody with a sexier name? They were flirting with Kiffin for a little while there until they pulled their name out. Okay, fine. Different coach, in my view. Completely different coach. And it's a good roster, Dan. It's a good roster. It's not like they have to reboot the whole thing. They kept a lot. They lost DJ Lagway, they lost Eugene Wilson. It's still a really good roster. And so, yeah, the schedule's tough. They play in the SEC. But I like the coach. I think they're going to be able to lean on defense. It wouldn't surprise me if they're playing and winning a bunch of ugly games, but they all count the same in the standings. Mark me down for over. I might have a change of heart, but based on some of the pre-work I've done for our previews, my hunch is I'm going way over. Way over.

[16:48] Dan Rubenstein: Here's one that on its face seems like an easy over call, just because we do have experience seeing the upside of this team as a playoff team. And I found connective tissue. Thank you, Jaden Rashada. Arizona State. ASU, I believe, is also in that 6.5 zone. So they are looked at as another teeter program now in the Big 12, which they won immediately with this same coach, went to the playoff, a very different-looking team roster-wise, but a lot of the same assistants and a lot of reasons to believe in, again, the upside of ASU with a couple of huge ifs at this moment. So where do you stand on ASU? Because, I don't know. They've sort of, in a small sample size time, shown themselves to be capable of a lot in this conference, but there's also a lot new.

[17:47] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think inherently there's a lot of upside with Kenny Dillingham. I think he's proven that he's a motivator. He gets the most out of his guys, and so I hate betting against that. The program now is deeper and I would say overall better than it was certainly when he first got there, but even then, a couple of years ago. They had a good portal class. I think they've got good infrastructure in place, and it's no longer just a story of the scrappy upstart with the fiery coach. It's a thing now. And so that in and of itself, I think, is definitely a testament to what he's built.

[18:20] Ty Hildenbrandt: More to the point, I think the receiver room got a nice upgrade. I've talked about Omarion Miller.

[18:31] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, Reed Harris also. Big guy. Yep.

[18:31] Ty Hildenbrandt: I really like him. Yeah, I mean, they did well, I think, in the portal, and the defense has enough pieces as well that I think there's not going to be a huge drop-off there. I'm on under, though.

[18:42] Dan Rubenstein: Under 6.5?

[18:42] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm, yeah, I am.

[18:46] Dan Rubenstein: What's throwing you off the scent?

[18:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm not sold at quarterback. I'm not sold with their offensive line. I look at the schedule. I see a lot of travel on this schedule, if you want to pull that up.

[19:03] Dan Rubenstein: I'm doing it right now, yeah.

[19:03] Ty Hildenbrandt: I mean, they go to A&M. They play Kansas in London. They go to Texas Tech, they go to BYU, they go to UCF. I think they go to Arizona as well, and it doesn't look like they have a bye situation in their final stretch of games.

[19:25] Dan Rubenstein: Okay.

[19:26] Ty Hildenbrandt: So that's a lot. And even though I generally feel like the defense still has pieces that will keep them in a good place, they've got to fix the pass defense. Last year's pass defense was really bad, and I believe their top two tacklers are gone as well. So that's a lot. It's one thing to kind of trade on the vibes of Kenny Dillingham and to look at the talent in place and look at what he has done structurally with the program. It's another thing, I think, to consider some of those very real questions that I have going into the season around key positions, quarterback and line, right? Pass defense, a big problem. On top of it, you've got what appears to my eye to be a lot of travel, and I just don't like that setup. So I'm on the under.

[20:15] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, there are a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball. I don't remember their pass defense being especially bad. I thought their offense was behind where the defense was, but a lot of that is due to the health status at quarterback, right, that you're rotating in a bunch of different faces. I think you're right in questioning that as a concern. Also, look, look. The Texas A&M thing, Kansas in London, getting Hawaii, who should be a quality team, and that's at home, I believe. Texas Tech on the road, BYU on the road, UCF on the road, as you mentioned, Arizona on the road. There aren't a lot of “pencil that in as a win” situations on this schedule.

[20:56] Dan Rubenstein: You can probably feel pretty good about Colorado. We don't exactly know what Kansas State's going to be. We feel pretty good that they should be able to move the ball against the Baylor defense this year. And the Kansas defense is here. But again, that's in London, so who knows what's at play there. Arizona's defense, while it's probably not going to be where it was last year, it was a really nice step forward and should still be competitive in that game. Once again, the Territorial Cup is on the road, yes?

[21:27] Dan Rubenstein: So these teams also have to play the best of ASU as well, which can be very difficult. But we're also measuring this year's team losing what was developing into a star-level running back in Raleek Brown to Texas, having quarterback questions. And we're looking at the ASU upside perhaps through a Cam Skattebo-Sam Leavitt lens, that could have been lightning in a bottle to have that kind of top-level production and winning. And so we still are kind of yet to see it now in year four, are we, of Kenny Dillingham, without those two in a consistent way. So I understand your skepticism. I'm going to have to dig in deeper with what they're doing on defense before feeling super confident in an under, like ASU not getting to a bowl game in the Big 12.

[22:13] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah.

[22:15] Ty Hildenbrandt: Let me put it to you this way. You mentioned the pass defense, right?

[22:18] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[22:21] Ty Hildenbrandt: So in terms of yards per game, they were among the worst in college football.

[22:26] Dan Rubenstein: Okay. That's a total counting number, yeah.

[22:28] Ty Hildenbrandt: The efficiency numbers are not quite as skeptical with regard to what they did on defense. It's more middle of the pack. All right. So before people jump in and ask, yes, there are definitely bright spots, and maybe it's a bit harsh to say that they were terrible against the pass. There were bright spots.

[22:47] Dan Rubenstein: But they should be starting maybe three transfers in the secondary.

[22:52] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, yeah.

[22:53] Dan Rubenstein: And I think maybe both of the edges are new transfers. So whatever their pass rush is this year, whatever these new bodies are like at corner and safety this year, it's sort of a mystery. But the continuity certainly isn't there with regard to their pass defense, it seems right now. So I don't know. I guess it kind of depends on how you feel about the quarterbacks they'll be facing. And there's a good amount of experience there. Again, we'll see on Texas Tech.

[23:23] Ty Hildenbrandt: We'll see. We'll see.

[23:26] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, I get your skepticism.

[23:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: All right, where are we going next?

[23:29] Dan Rubenstein: Okay, of the next teeter teams, we'll go with a 5.5, at the time I saw this win total, team: Kentucky. Kentucky is at a number of 5.5. Another new coach, new quarterback, new situation. I mean, all of these teams are playing with new quarterbacks for them. So there's only so much data we have to go on. So if you're just shooting from the hip, Ty, on Kentucky, who I believe just named a new AD as well.

[23:57] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yep, J Batt.

[23:58] Dan Rubenstein: So a lot.

[23:59] Ty Hildenbrandt: His first name is the letter J. J Batt.

[24:02] Dan Rubenstein: Great. A lot being refreshed in Lexington. And so that 5.5 number, we have no idea what Kentucky is going to look like. Obviously, there are a number of different data points that you can point to as being very positive for the short-term future of Kentucky football. When you see that number, do you say to yourself, okay, that's interesting, I think they can clear it, because if your router's on the fritz, just reboot, refresh. Nothing bad can happen with a quick little refresh. On the other side, it's a first-time head coach, a first-time starting quarterback, and a lot of new on that coaching staff. How do you feel about that number this fall?

[24:45] Ty Hildenbrandt: Dude, load the schedule.

[24:47] Dan Rubenstein: I'm loading it right now.

[24:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: You got the schedule in front of you?

[24:49] Dan Rubenstein: Kentucky.

[24:50] Ty Hildenbrandt: I know you have slow Internet these days, but...

[24:51] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that a Youngstown State opener?

[24:55] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, but keep scrolling down.

[24:56] Dan Rubenstein: Okay. All right, we have Bama, at A&M. Is that South Alabama? I'm just seeing logos on my little schedule matrix here. At South Carolina, LSU, at Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, a bye before they play at Tennessee, Florida, at Mizzou, before, of course, finishing at home against Louisville.

[25:15] Ty Hildenbrandt: So I hate to make this all about schedules, but I think this one is an exercise in examining the schedule.

[25:18] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah. Okay.

[25:24] Ty Hildenbrandt: They're going to beat Youngstown State. They're going to beat South Alabama. I think they're going to beat Vanderbilt.

[25:31] Dan Rubenstein: Buddy, I hope so.

[25:33] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm not high on Vanderbilt. But beyond those three, I'm not looking at this and saying there are gimmes to get to six. This is a brutal schedule, and this is brutal in a conference where we like to joke that every schedule is a gauntlet. This is a freaking gauntlet, especially for a team that is doing the control-alt-delete approach this year.

[25:56] Ty Hildenbrandt: Now, I think it's easy to look at Kentucky with renewed optimism. I really like the Will Stein hire, and they were aggressive in the transfer portal. They had the number 11 transfer portal class. I'm not going to sit here and list off guys, but Kenny Minchey, CJ Baxter, Nick Anderson, there's a bunch of other guys that they brought in that I think are really talented, that can help them win. And I think the defense has enough pieces right now to be solid. Bill Connelly was fairly high on them. He had them at like number 36 in his defensive SP+ in the preseason. Six wins is not impossible by any stretch, but they've got to get an upset. They've got to get an upset along the way.

[26:41] Ty Hildenbrandt: And I'm looking at the schedule in particular and I'm looking at, all right, which ones are at home? How many of these home games can they pull off in the SEC as dubs? Are there enough to get them to six just on that basis alone? And I don't really see it personally. So I'm on the under here, if only because of the schedule, but if only because so much is new as well. Even if they've got enough returning production among guys that have been on other teams and done fairly well, acquitted themselves well enough to be a target for Kentucky, this to me just looks like it's a year-one rebuild of some kind.

[27:20] Ty Hildenbrandt: Kenny Minchey, like I've said this before, I said in the last episode, if you believed some of the Notre Dame beat writers before CJ Carr was named the starter, they were of the mind that Kenny Minchey won that job a year ago. He's that good, or could be that good. What's that going to look like in the SEC? We have no idea. So this is a bet on upside, but he's certainly not a proven quarterback. Not in the least bit.

[27:57] Dan Rubenstein: So here is what. You'd have to believe in the sort of pixie dust of the letdown/look-ahead situations. They're in constant letdowns for other teams on their schedule. So Kentucky has to handle their own stuff first. They have to create a quality program and offense, defense, and communicate with culture, everything first. If that is in place, here is what Kentucky has this year. They have A&M after A&M plays Arizona State. They have South Carolina after South Carolina plays at Alabama. They have Oklahoma after Red River. Okay? After Oklahoma is obviously playing in Red River. They have Mizzou after Mizzou plays at Georgia. I don't know who Louisville has the week before.

[29:05] Dan Rubenstein: I'm looking at the matrix schedule here. And Florida plays Oklahoma a week before they travel to Kentucky. So if Kentucky is not great, but kind of clearly dangerous doing X or Y, they've got a lot of teams, especially if they are very specific in the way that they play offense, or they can just sort of lean on who they are and not try to do too much, they can be quite trappy for a lot of these teams in a letdown spot.

[29:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: I don't hate that logic. I really don't.

[29:29] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah. I mean, that's like five, six teams that I just rattled off.

[29:32] Ty Hildenbrandt: I got them at 5-7.

[29:33] Dan Rubenstein: Okay.

[29:34] Ty Hildenbrandt: I got them at 5-7. I just think the schedule's brutal. Every SEC opponent on this schedule, Dan, is ranked higher than Kentucky in the preseason SP+.

[29:48] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[29:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: Now it's a preseason ranking. Take it with a grain of salt. But Bill's numbers are usually pretty good at at least giving us an indication as to who's going to be good going into the year. And I saw those numbers, and even before I saw them, I was kind of leaning in that direction. So I'd be inclined to go under. I've got them down for 5-7.

[30:11] Dan Rubenstein: I got another 5.5 program.

[30:13] Ty Hildenbrandt: Okay.

[30:14] Dan Rubenstein: Minnesota.

[30:15] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh, man. Don't talk about my Golden Gophers.

[30:19] Dan Rubenstein: Your beautiful, beautiful Golden Gophers.

[30:21] Ty Hildenbrandt: I haven't set a time yet for when we're going to do the Minnesota Zoom call, the support group that I did last year.

[30:26] Dan Rubenstein: Oh, in December?

[30:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, yeah.

[30:27] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[30:28] Ty Hildenbrandt: But we had a lot of people jump in on that. That was awesome. That might have been my favorite thing that I did all of last season.

[30:30] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah. It was a smart idea, and you followed through, and you gave people a space to be themselves.

[30:33] Ty Hildenbrandt: That was awesome. Number seven nationally in returning production. A lot on offense, not as much, but still pretty much on defense.

[30:46] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[30:49] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think P.J.'s got a nice little foundation. They won 8-5 a year ago.

[30:54] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[30:56] Ty Hildenbrandt: I have a soft spot for Drake Lindsey. The Drake Lindsey-Darius Taylor combination, for me, is where I go first when I think about this. Again, not a preview, but you've got both those guys. That gives you a continuity that is definitely something you can build on. And I am excited to see what Darius Taylor looks like, as I always am with Darius Taylor. But he is, I think, the engine that makes the offense work. Talk all we want about Drake Lindsey being...

[31:26] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[31:28] Ty Hildenbrandt: The NFL prospect, but Darius Taylor is your guy in the run game. He also can catch passes out of the backfield.

[31:37] Dan Rubenstein: When healthy, which has been just bad luck, obviously, but yeah.

[31:38] Ty Hildenbrandt: When healthy. When healthy, right? You beat me to the punch on that. But yes, when healthy, his talent, I think, is undeniable. And I still think the defense has some really high-end pieces that you can get excited about if you're a Minnesota fan. I want you to pull up the schedule, though.

[31:58] Dan Rubenstein: I have the schedule in front of me. Defense, I believe, clearly ahead of where the offense was last year.

[32:03] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yes, yes.

[32:06] Dan Rubenstein: So again, it's a decent starting point. Schedule this year for Minnesota...

[32:10] Ty Hildenbrandt: I want to look at home-road splits specifically.

[32:11] Dan Rubenstein: They do get... All right, they have Mississippi State in the non-conference portion of things. They're in Seattle, they're in West Lafayette, they're in Bloomington, they're in State College, they're in Madison. They miss what could be the two teams in the championship game in Ohio State and Oregon. And they had Oregon on the road last year. So they get Michigan at home, Iowa at home, Northwestern and UCLA at home in the Big Ten portion of their schedule. So all things considered, I don't hate this schedule.

[32:46] Ty Hildenbrandt: I don't hate it either, but the reason that I bring this up is because Minnesota went 7-0 at home and 0-4 in true road games last year.

[32:49] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah. Right.

[32:55] Ty Hildenbrandt: And so something's got to give, right? Something's got to give on that front, on the scheduling side. They need to be a little bit better on the road, one way or another, if they want to hit this over. To your point, the offense definitely has a lot to prove. I mean, this was not a great offense last season. Let's just be real about it. They did not generate chunk plays. They've got a lot to show on the ground as well. Darius Taylor's got to be healthy. I think if he's healthy, they've got to improve. But this was just a unit that let me down a little bit a year ago.

[33:38] Ty Hildenbrandt: My problem is I'm always bullish on Minnesota. So I would encourage people out there listening to this: if you are using this for any kind of real-world betting advice, don't take my word on Minnesota because I have a weak spot for them. But I'm going over. I'm going over. I do trust in P.J. to some extent, and I like the tandem of Drake Lindsey and Darius Taylor on that offense. I think they have to improve on that front. And the schedule's not terrible either. So give me over 5.5.

[34:04] Dan Rubenstein: Yes, schedule is not terrible. They need to be better on the road. Three of the last four years, they've gone 5-4 in conference and gotten to 7-5, if not 8-4 in the seasons. They had one down year in 2023, and they still managed to go 6-7. So it seems like that is an inappropriately low number considering P.J. Fleck's track record of figuring out how to just get to seven, right? That's the number that he's generally able to navigate to. Obviously, 2019, they get to 11. And then his first season was a nightmare, but they got to seven wins in his second year and got to a bowl game.

[34:49] Dan Rubenstein: So I think unless it's sort of disastrous injury-wise, six wins seems pretty reasonable to me considering their starting point, considering P.J. Fleck's track record, considering that they have a returning starter at quarterback who should improve, especially if the running game is at least healthier. So for those reasons, I am in on at least Minnesota going bowling, if not more.

[35:16] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah.

[35:17] Dan Rubenstein: Because I just don't think...

[35:18] Ty Hildenbrandt: I was surprised when I saw that number.

[35:25] Dan Rubenstein: And look, to your point with the schedule itself, so we have new at Michigan. I believe Washington is playing Minnesota the week before they get USC.

[35:30] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yep. Now that game's at Washington, more to the point I made earlier.

[35:33] Dan Rubenstein: I know, the road thing.

[35:34] Ty Hildenbrandt: Minnesota was not a great road team last year, but sure.

[35:36] Dan Rubenstein: Right. Their tougher games. They get Iowa after Iowa has a bye, which should be tough. Indiana is going to be tough regardless, but Indiana does have Ohio State and Michigan leading up to that Minnesota game. They're a supremely well-coached team. They'll be prepared for every single one of their games. Minnesota gets UCLA a week before their tough ending stretch of Illinois, Michigan, USC. And Minnesota gets, I'm looking at the other, what could be like toss-up games. Again, it's on the road against Penn State, but that's after a Washington game for Penn State traveling across the country. So again, a lot of these major conferences are just always going to have stacked situations either before or after. But if Minnesota is at least decent, they could be advantaged situationally. So, yeah, I'm in on the over there.

[36:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, I mean, again, Darius Taylor, hamstrings have got to be good. Drake Taylor, Drake Taylor, Drake Lindsey, excuse me, needs to take more shots down the field. Was good as a freshman starter. Did not do a whole lot in terms of yards per dropback. They need to improve that. I want to see more of those 20-yard plays.

[36:49] Ty Hildenbrandt: We did not mention that they lost Koi Perich, your boy, now at Oregon.

[36:53] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, he's going to be starting at Oregon this year, yeah.

[36:55] Ty Hildenbrandt: That's leaving a lot of tackles on the board. So I'd like to see what they do on the back end of that defense. The interior of the defensive line is another question that maybe we can discuss more.

[37:05] Dan Rubenstein: They've developed safeties really nicely, though, in Minneapolis, with Antoine Winfield going back.

[37:07] Ty Hildenbrandt: They have. They've done a really good job. But we need to see. We need to talk a little bit more about this in greater detail when we get to the Minnesota preview. But I'm in. I'm in on the over.

[37:18] Dan Rubenstein: Final nug here, by the way, on the Minnesota schedule.

[37:19] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah.

[37:22] Dan Rubenstein: They get Northwestern, and it's a road tilt. It's at the new Ryan Field, should it be open. Northwestern has the following defenses leading into the Minnesota game: Oregon on the road, Iowa, Ohio State on the road.

[37:35] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh my gosh.

[37:36] Dan Rubenstein: So if you're a big believer in the body blow theory, Northwestern's offense might be, look, it should be better with Chip Kelly, but Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State in a row before the Minnesota offense gets their shot on the road.

[37:48] Ty Hildenbrandt: Geez, man.

[37:50] Dan Rubenstein: Yep, that's a lot.

[37:50] Ty Hildenbrandt: Okay. All right.

[37:52] Dan Rubenstein: Next team.

[37:53] Ty Hildenbrandt: Thanks, team.

[37:54] Dan Rubenstein: So how many have we done so far? We've done Minnesota, Florida, Kentucky and Arizona State.

[37:58] Ty Hildenbrandt: We've done like four teams, yeah.

[38:01] Dan Rubenstein: All right, next team. Virginia Tech, 6.5.

[38:04] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh no.

[38:06] Dan Rubenstein: We've talked about them ad nauseam, more big picture. James Franklin, what can he do? And the recruiting has been superb. This year, 6.5. Virginia Tech. Where do they teeter?

[38:23] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think it's over. I think it's over. James Franklin. Okay.

[38:35] Dan Rubenstein: You're resetting just as Virginia Tech is resetting.

[38:37] Ty Hildenbrandt: I am.

[38:37] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[38:39] Ty Hildenbrandt: In the old world, this would have been a guaranteed under because it would have taken a little bit to get the recruiting game in order, to assemble the pieces, to do all the things that coaches used to have to do before the transfer portal.

[38:52] Dan Rubenstein: And you could pencil in an Old Dominion loss.

[38:54] Ty Hildenbrandt: And you could pencil in the ODU loss, of course.

[38:55] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[38:59] Ty Hildenbrandt: But this was a huge haul for him in the portal. And now, if you want to take the numbers at face value, number four in the nation in terms of returning production, not necessarily returning to Virginia Tech, but returning to college football. A number is not everything, but that's a really high number. Teams like that don't always regress. More often than not, I would argue they take even small steps forward. So I think that is notable here. It's not like your standard-issue reboot.

[39:32] Ty Hildenbrandt: James Franklin has immediately come in and made the organization of the program infinitely better. Not only are they getting money, but it is now an interesting place for recruits to consider. I feel pretty good about what he has done on very short notice. And then I would just say, in terms of the actual on-field talent, the combination of Grunkemeyer, who I'm still a little bit leery of, but I thought he acquitted himself well in half his season for Penn State.

[40:03] Dan Rubenstein: Okay.

[40:08] Ty Hildenbrandt: But just the combination of him and the tight ends that they've got around him. That's your offensive plan right there. So I feel pretty bullish about Virginia Tech. I really do. It is still something of a lift to ask a 3-9 team from a year ago, albeit with an entirely new cast of characters, to now suddenly jump up to be a seven-win team. But I also don't want to take that number at face value, just because it's completely different. It's a lot like what we see with Penn State this year. We can use the Cignetti example from a couple of years ago. Sort of like Virginia Tech in name only. These are guys from other schools that are now putting a Virginia Tech uniform on.

[40:55] Ty Hildenbrandt: The things that I would point out if you are a skeptic here: new primary play caller, first timer. Curious to see what Grunk looks like in a full season. And offensive line, to me, I think the jury is still out on that front. I do think the schedule works to their favor, but I'm mindful of the fact that, at least to my eye, the toughest games are on the road: Clemson, SMU and Miami.

[41:27] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah. Well, and look, you look at their schedule, and it's realistic that they could lose three of their final four. On the road against SMU, and it's after a bye, but it's on the road. On the road against Miami, and obviously Virginia in the rivalry game to close out the year, though that game is at home. The fourth one in that string of games is Stanford at home, which appears to be winnable. Stanford traveling across the country with a lot of work to do. The Cardinal have a lot of work to do. So that means they likely have to start off 6-2, if we're talking about the end of that schedule being pretty difficult, which then you look at, okay, where are the 50-50 type matchups to get to 6-2? Traveling across the country to Cal. Getting that Maryland game in week three of the season, and they have Georgia Tech and Clemson, Clemson on the road back to back, which means they have to win that Maryland game to me. If they lose that Maryland game, it's hard to see them winning seven games or seven-plus.

[42:26] Ty Hildenbrandt: All James Franklin has done is beat Maryland.

[42:29] Dan Rubenstein: That's my final point.

[42:31] Ty Hildenbrandt: Formerly at Maryland, right, before he became a name as a head coach.

[42:31] Dan Rubenstein: Yes. Yeah.

[42:38] Ty Hildenbrandt: Like, I'm looking at this.

[42:39] Dan Rubenstein: Beats them 45-3 every year at Penn State.

[42:41] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah. VMI, ODU, Maryland, Boston College.

[42:41] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[42:46] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm looking at those as four wins. And I know there's been recent baggage with ODU, but he's going to beat ODU.

[42:49] Dan Rubenstein: As am I.

[42:55] Ty Hildenbrandt: Pitt, I think Pitt's a win. That game's at home. The Cal game across the country is interesting, right?

[42:58] Dan Rubenstein: Yep. It's a short week for that Pitt game, yeah.

[43:02] Ty Hildenbrandt: A short week. And Georgia Tech, they get them in Blacksburg before they go into that run of games at Clemson, at SMU, home against Stanford, on the road at Miami, before Virginia and the Commonwealth close things out. But James Franklin is not a 6-6 coach. He might have been last year if he stuck around at Penn State, okay? But I don't think this is the same situation, and I feel pretty confident that this is the team that's at least going to get the seven wins. So I'm going over.

[43:32] Dan Rubenstein: The thing I'm bummed out about, with absolutely no data points, is Virginia Tech situationally has no advantages. Like, there's nobody who plays Miami the week before they play Virginia Tech. There's nobody who plays at SMU the week before they play against Virginia Tech. There's nobody who's traveling across the country to play Cal the week before. I know we're far too high on Cal, but we can't help it. We're high off the Cal supply. That to me is worrisome. You'd love to pick up one or two that are close, but a team is worn down, or a team had a huge win the week before upsetting Miami or one of these teams and then plays at Blacksburg. So they don't have that. So they'll just have to rely on whatever they are or are not.

[44:18] Ty Hildenbrandt: Let's still make one or two more.

[44:20] Dan Rubenstein: Okay, next.

[44:21] Ty Hildenbrandt: Next.

[44:24] Dan Rubenstein: Let's go to TCU at 6.5.

[44:27] Ty Hildenbrandt: Hmm, 6.5, huh?

[44:29] Dan Rubenstein: TCU 6.5. Okay.

[44:36] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm really on the fence with this one. I'm on the fence with this one. They lose Josh Hoover, Eric McAlister, a number of other guys, Kendal Briles also gone, and there is not a lot returning on offense. I think I saw it's like 40-something percent. Jaden Craig is the new quarterback. There is a jump for him coming from the Ivy League.

[45:03] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, Harvard. Ivy League, yeah.

[45:06] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think he could plausibly be the answer. He brings mobility. He brings with him a successful tenure at Harvard. I think the new offense will be tougher and a little bit more varied than the one that we saw previously, and I think he fits into that.

[45:25] Dan Rubenstein: Mhm.

[45:25] Ty Hildenbrandt: So I am encouraged by the Jaden Craig hire. Hire? Acquisition?

[45:29] Dan Rubenstein: Transfer, yes.

[45:29] Ty Hildenbrandt: I don't know. You know what I mean. I'm leery about November. I'm leery about this November schedule, if you've got it in front of you.

[45:40] Dan Rubenstein: Okay. Why? Yep, I do.

[45:46] Ty Hildenbrandt: It just feels to me like it's almost tailor-made to expose their flaws. I'm looking at this. It's at Arizona, who I think is going to be pretty good this year. Home against K-State, kind of a sandwich spot before they have Utah coming to town. And we don't really know what version of K-State we're going to get. We don't. Utah, I think, should still be pretty good. And then they close out the year on the road at Texas Tech. That is a tough stretch with which to close out your season.

[46:17] Ty Hildenbrandt: It's considerably easier before that. Going to Dublin to open up against North Carolina, that should be a win. Grambling, Arkansas State, at UCF. They've got a BYU game in there at the start of October that I think is going to be a bit of a tester. At Baylor, home against West Virginia, home against Kansas before they get into that stretch. What's that number again?

[46:40] Dan Rubenstein: 6.5, TCU.

[46:41] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm right on that number, man. I'll go over. I'll go over. Remember, this is a 9-4 team from a year ago that beat USC in the Alamo Bowl.

[46:57] Dan Rubenstein: Mhm.

[46:57] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think the schedule is such, and I hate to make this all about the schedule, but for me, this is really what it comes down to. This and Jaden Craig, frankly. I think the schedule allows them to bank enough wins before they get to that tough stretch in November. And so I think they're able to get to seven before it gets super ugly.

[47:19] Dan Rubenstein: Right.

[47:19] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm inclined to go over here, but I think it's like an early over.

[47:23] Dan Rubenstein: An early over. They don't finish all that well.

[47:26] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, just because it's tough. I mean, I'm not saying they're going to lose all those games, but we're doing this mid-June, before we get to previews and all that. I don't know, when you lose so much of your identity from a year ago, what I want is a runway, a runway to sort of settle into the new normal. And I think they have enough of that to get over the 6.5, but I am leery looking at the end. That looks tough.

[47:51] Dan Rubenstein: Here's what I wonder about. I wonder about, and I like Jordan Dwyer, who is the unquestioned, I believe, best returning receiver there. What does the star power look like with this TCU team? At best, you could probably describe their defense as bend but don't break last year. They couldn't run the ball at all. And they've got what looks to be a pretty tough roster of quarterbacks that they'll face this season. I don't know. There is something extremely 6-6 about this team. A slight under from me for TCU.

[48:20] Ty Hildenbrandt: This is why I'm saying I'm right on that cusp.

[48:23] Dan Rubenstein: Well, and to your point, right, November is tough, but North Carolina is not automatic. Playing in Orlando at UCF, not automatic. The games you'd want to pencil in and be hopeful about a win. Even playing against the Baylor defense, that's a rivalry game on the road in mid-October. Who knows how healthy anybody's going to be by mid-October? West Virginia should be hopefully improved. Kansas obviously is starting over in a number of places. At this point, with what TCU is offering me, it's a lot of questions and a lot of trouble on this schedule. I have them at 6-6.

[49:05] Ty Hildenbrandt: I'm genuinely curious to see what the offense looks like under Gordon Sammis, their new offensive coordinator.

[49:13] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[49:14] Ty Hildenbrandt: I think it figures to be a little bit more built around the run, like more pistol. More commitment to the running game, which, as you said, has not really been a feature as of late. But I get uneasy when I look at this and I feel like there's a lot changing. And we can go in the press and talk about all the interceptions that Josh Hoover threw, but Josh Hoover was still a pretty good quarterback. There's a reason why he went to Indiana. And Jaden Craig, I think, is a different profile of a quarterback. Certainly, what he did at Harvard was really solid. I understand why TCU would be after him. I'm just not fully there. I'm not fully sold on this, even though I am going to go over.

[50:00] Dan Rubenstein: Wisconsin, 6.5 points. Six and a half points, six and a half games.

[50:07] Ty Hildenbrandt: It hurts.

[50:07] Dan Rubenstein: Hit me.

[50:08] Ty Hildenbrandt: It hurts. I'm really in on Wisconsin this year, Dan.

[50:12] Dan Rubenstein: I think I've convinced you.

[50:14] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh, I'm in. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm in. They have a bowl path, just looking at the schedule. There's 6.5, you said?

[50:23] Dan Rubenstein: Wisconsin 6.5. Wisconsin and UCLA are 6.5 within the Big Ten.

[50:28] Ty Hildenbrandt: If the offense is merely functional, this is a bowl team. Because for the first time in what feels like forever, the schedule isn't a gauntlet. They miss Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Indiana. Meanwhile, they've got Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Minnesota. All right. We can say what we want about Minnesota, but those other three teams should be beatable for Wisconsin.

[50:54] Ty Hildenbrandt: I love Colton Joseph. I love Colton Joseph. I think he gives Jeff Grimes a completely new toy to play with.

[50:59] Dan Rubenstein: Yep, Grimes has something.

[51:00] Ty Hildenbrandt: He also had a bunch of runs for more than 10 yards, which gave them a little bit of pop. Wisconsin as a team had 33. Colton Joseph had 37. So he is definitely someone to keep your eye on, provided he can stay healthy, which has also been a problem for Wisconsin, keeping these guys healthy at quarterback.

[51:20] Ty Hildenbrandt: The other reason, though, and probably the main reason why I'm bullish on Wisconsin, is because I think the defense is actually going to be pretty good. I think it's like a top-20-caliber defense. The defense should be able to keep them in close games. There's enough returning production that I feel fairly confident saying that. And I think that Luke Fickell knows what's on the line here. Luke Fickell knows that he's got to show real progress. Otherwise, he's done.

[51:50] Ty Hildenbrandt: So now I guess the bear case for Wisconsin is that we're still projecting on offense. This was a bad offense a year ago. Offense has been a very tough nut for them to crack in the time that Fickell's been there. We're just projecting that Colton Joseph is going to be healthy and going to give them a lift. That's obviously not a guarantee. He's also kind of a volatile player too. We can talk as much as we want about the dual-threat capabilities that he brings to this offense, but he took a lot of sacks, threw a bunch of interceptions, fumbled seven times. And they get some fairly early stress tests against teams like Notre Dame and Penn State and USC and Iowa. It's not a cakewalk. It's just not a murderer's row the way it's been.

[52:34] Ty Hildenbrandt: On offense, I think this is the year we're going to hit that over. I'm hoping, because I like Luke Fickell, that this is going to be the year where he turns the tide and changes that narrative a bit for Wisconsin and kind of builds better from here moving forward. But you sold me on it, man. I think I'm in. You did. I blame you.

[53:02] Dan Rubenstein: Here's the problem. I'm so much more romantic than I should be about these teams, right? I just want Wisconsin to be a factor in this sport. I love going to Madison. I love everything that Wisconsin represents, right? Just the brand of, oh, we've got the big, bashing offensive line and all these talented running backs and these defenses that are incredible over the years. And they've not shown anything under Luke Fickell consistently on either side of the ball for any stretch of time since he's been there. And I'm just annually ready to be hurt again.

[53:40] Dan Rubenstein: We all watched this Wisconsin offense last year. We've all watched these Wisconsin quarterbacks either get hurt or play in systems that were not built for them. When you saw the upside of Tanner Mordecai early on, you'd be like, all right, this is interesting. And then you just can't stay on the field. And the TVDs and the Graham Mertzes of it all, and just not limited to Luke Fickell's time, where you just want so much more for this Wisconsin offense and more recently defense as well, and that they're reduced to being like, okay, we're going to lose, or maybe we'll win barely 13-10 in the rain, or 21-10, 7 in the rain. I just don't want them to be only a bucket of wrenches in this conference. I want them to be more every year. So I'm just higher on them than I should be every year.

[54:34] Dan Rubenstein: This year, it's the Colton Joseph thing, which I think you're right to point out, the volatility there. But if they're decent, which I suspect that they will flirt with decency this season, you talk about the schedule. They are advantaged situationally with some of their bigger games. I think they get Michigan State after they play Notre Dame and somebody else. There's just a lot to like pending decency for Wisconsin when they get these teams. Even when they get Minnesota at the end of the year, right? Though I think they get UCLA after UCLA plays Oregon, stuff like that. So pending decency, I think they can get to seven wins when I look at this schedule.

[55:02] Ty Hildenbrandt: The one thing I didn't mention, and it's not nothing. They lost their top three receivers, every player who intercepted a pass, a ton of production at edge. There is going to be...

[55:18] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah, they have a ton of new faces on both sides of the ball.

[55:20] Ty Hildenbrandt: Yeah, and this is the case at a lot of places. It's not unique to Wisconsin. But if I am basing a lot of my argument, let's say on defense, there are some chemistry questions. There are some chemistry questions.

[55:35] Dan Rubenstein: Yeah.

[55:36] Ty Hildenbrandt: Anytime you're bringing in transfers, there are chemistry questions. It doesn't always hit. For every Indiana, there are five other schools where it kind of goes awry. So we'll see. I don't know. I am bullish on Wisconsin. I really like Colton Joseph. I really like Colton Joseph. I hope they can get the most out of him, and I hope they can hit this over.

[55:54] Dan Rubenstein: Look, the 2025 Northwestern Wildcats went 7-6. Okay? The 2025 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 7-6. The 2025 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 8-5. With these big conferences, and we'll say it again, your schedule can work out so that you get six of your nine games, seven of your nine games, against so-so or below-average teams, just because there's so much variance in these enormous conferences. So it's not crazy that an average team could win eight games when all is said and done, or perhaps seven games before a bowl game. So I'm taking the mind, if them, why not us?

[56:43] Ty Hildenbrandt: Okay.

[56:45] Dan Rubenstein: So I'm going over here.

[56:47] Ty Hildenbrandt: Why don't we leave it there? Solidverbal@gmail.com is the email. Let us know what we got right, where we got it wrong, where you disagree or agree, either via email or anywhere you can leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. If you've made it this far and you have yet to click follow or subscribe, we would encourage you to do that. It helps grow the show. And if you've been with us for a while, you know I say this every episode now, but as we round the bend into preview season, it is helpful for those star ratings and those reviews. It encourages others to give the show a test, see if it's for them.

[57:20] Dan Rubenstein: Yes. Agree. Anything else going on? You got Seattle?

[57:24] Ty Hildenbrandt: No, reach out if you've got that ticket in the supporters' section. But I don't know what the soccer...

[57:28] Dan Rubenstein: Reach out.

[57:32] Ty Hildenbrandt: The level of soccer fandom is here among the Verballerhood. But if you've got an extra ticket and you don't want to sit next to a weirdo, you can sit next to my friend.

[57:40] Dan Rubenstein: If you are a person who can get me a deal on a Mazda, reach out. That's all. I don't have anything else to ask for here. Ty, you're living a much more glamorous life than I am this summer.

[57:56] Ty Hildenbrandt: You know me. You know me. Ibiza, yeah.

[57:57] Dan Rubenstein: And you go in, what, a month, to Ibiza? You are just Ibiza.

[58:03] Ty Hildenbrandt: Oh no.

[58:04] Dan Rubenstein: I can't believe your life these days. But this is what happens when you're Ty Hildenbrandt.

[58:08] Ty Hildenbrandt: It is what happens.

[58:08] Dan Rubenstein: What are you going to do?

[58:09] Ty Hildenbrandt: All right. Wherever you may be, thank you, as always, for your ongoing support. We appreciate it. We will be back with a new episode on Thursday. If you want the episodes a little bit early, without the ads, and to chat with our Discord community, you can go to Verballers.com, V-E-R-B-A-L-L-E-R-S.com. It's the best way to support what Dan and I do.

[58:23] Dan Rubenstein: Yep.

[58:23] Ty Hildenbrandt: In the meantime, for that guy over there, Chicago, Illinois, Dan Rubenstein, for myself, Ty, over here in Eastern PA.

[58:34] Dan Rubenstein: Thank you.

[58:37] Ty Hildenbrandt: We'll talk to you on Thursday. Stay solid.

[58:39] Dan Rubenstein: Peace.