Big Ten Preview: Part 2 - Oregon's Year, Ohio State's New Look and Indiana's Encore

Ty Hildenbrandt 00:18 Dan Rubenstein, welcome back. Today is Big Ten Part 2. We've got Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Washington, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Rutgers and Purdue on the menu for today, good sir. Welcome back. How are you?

Dan Rubenstein 00:38 I'm good. There's a lot of meat on this Big Ten bone today. Is there not?

Ty Hildenbrandt 00:42 It is. It is very meaty today. Very meaty.

Dan Rubenstein 00:45 All I ask is, because the episode in front of us has a number of teams that a lot of people are going to have a lot of opinions about, August, September, October and November are your favorite months. When will we finally know more? December.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02 December, that's right. Always.

Dan Rubenstein 01:04 I trust everybody listening or watching, youtube.com/@solidverbal: Do not use anything we say against us should we not be fully, 100% accurate in any of our very specific predictions. Is that fair to ask?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:22 By downloading, by playing this episode, I think it means people just sign off on the waiver.

Dan Rubenstein 01:25 Yes.

Dan Rubenstein 01:32 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:33 That you just described. You can't use it against us. I'm sorry, guys. Find another show if you want to go that route, but we're all in the circle of trust now.

Dan Rubenstein 01:42 Ty is doing his best. I'm not sure I am, but Ty is definitely doing his best. So I'm very excited for this episode. I got a lot of opinions. We got a lot of, again, a lot of meat on this Big Ten bone.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:54 I don't even know if I'm trying my best on this episode with respect to that, because I was prepared to lead off this episode by announcing, I think, a rather significant promotion.

Dan Rubenstein 02:06 Oh, which is what?

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:08 I think this might be the first time I'm talking about this.

Dan Rubenstein 02:10 I'm ready.

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:12 You know, our little company here, Solid Verbal Media.

Dan Rubenstein 02:14 Mhm.

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:15 As of today, I've officially been promoted to Chief Colandrea Officer, Dan.

Dan Rubenstein 02:20 Oh, nice. CCO.

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:22 I'm the CCO now, yes.

Dan Rubenstein 02:24 Was it somebody else before? Are you replacing somebody else that I didn't know about? Somebody in accounting or something?

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:31 I think I've been informally the CCO for the last couple of years, but now we made it official, more of a corporate thing for anyone interested at home.

Dan Rubenstein 02:39 Big Tony C, sure.

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:41 As I said, we've got nine teams today. It's a big conference. Go back and listen to Part 1 if you are at all interested in how we stack these teams up against one another. Part 1, Dan. You know, we got some questions about Part 1.

Dan Rubenstein 02:56 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 02:56 How would you explain Part 1 to the layman out there, maybe just diving in and checking out The Verbal for the first time?

Dan Rubenstein 03:03 Part 1 is our 10,000-, 20,000-, 35,000-foot view, although we have, I think, pretty advanced telescopes from that plane, from that weather balloon, wherever we're looking down from. And so, yeah, it's what's new with the conference, what's new with teams, what schedules are looking like, who misses whom, new players coming in of note across the conference, new coaches coming in across the conference, and which teams seem to be intriguing to us and why. I mean, that episode did, like, what, an hour 45 or so? So, 18 teams, a lot of thoughts. Even though we kind of went into every team and our thoughts about every team, this, I hope, is the first part of a more granular look at each team, about who is scratching our specific Wisconsin itches. Also, if you have a Wisconsin itch, there are over-the-counter remedies, but I suggest you go see a physician to get, you know, maybe something stronger.

Dan Rubenstein 04:07 But yeah, you know what I'm saying. Ty, we're going a little bit more specific with these programs. Our thoughts, our hopes, our dreams, our concerns.

Ty Hildenbrandt 04:15 Yeah, in Part 1, we ranked them according to tiers: which teams we like, which schedules we like, how we stack them up. On today's episode and the one to follow, Parts 2 and 3, as you said, we dive into each of these 18 teams, and we start with half of the conference today.

Dan Rubenstein 04:28 Stop you.

Ty Hildenbrandt 04:34 We purposely structured this episode so that we could talk about Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana side by side by side.

Dan Rubenstein 04:44 Perceived favorites, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 04:46 The three presumed favorites in the conference. And the reason that we did that, notably, is because if you go back and listen to Part 1, we didn't give a prediction. We didn't give a prediction for what we thought the conference title game was going to be. We didn't give you a prediction for who we thought was going to win the conference. Today, I thought, could be a better opportunity to do that because, as you said, it's going to be a little bit more granular. I'm going to zoom in a little bit more. Going to talk about these three teams. Maybe there will be other teams that we want to put in that conference title game. If you feel differently, if you want to go that route, for sure, let us know at solidverbal@gmail.com.

Ty Hildenbrandt 05:19 Of course, after you hit follow or subscribe, we'd love to have you with us here in the Verballerhood the full way through. But why don't we start with Indiana, Dan? We've gotten into this habit of starting with the conference champion, in this case the national...

Dan Rubenstein 05:29 I would agree.

Ty Hildenbrandt 05:34 Champion, Indiana Hoosiers, which still kind of feels unnatural to say, but nonetheless, here we are. They project fifth in Bill Connelly's SP+. Curt Cignetti brings back the same coordinators and had a top-10 portal class. It is not really a question at this point as to whether or not this is a real thing. We're not asking the same questions about Indiana that we asked two years ago. I think now the question is: Can the infrastructure that he has built up in a very short period of time absorb the loss of someone like Fernando Mendoza and, frankly, stars that they had at every position, which I think is how I set it up on the last episode?

Ty Hildenbrandt 06:15 So, 16-0. A pretty good second season for Curt Cignetti. They ripped their way through the playoff, beat three marquee opponents, and now here we are on the heels of all that. Boundless optimism, I would say, about Indiana just in terms of where it's headed under Cignetti, but fairly significant questions about what it looks like now on the heels of that.

Dan Rubenstein 06:40 Agreed. And look, at this point, it's not a question of if Indiana can keep this up, but, sort of on the margins, what do they look like as they keep this up? Are any of those close wins from last year not quite where they were last year, when they had the greatest player in the history of their program in Fernando Mendoza at the helm? They also lose, I think, the quarterbacks coach, right? Chandler Whitmer is gone, and Fernando Mendoza credited him with a good amount of development. Obviously, a ton went into Fernando Mendoza's development, not just a quarterbacks coach in his final season, slash, I think, co-offensive coordinator. But yeah, the question now is, if we're all agreeing that Curt Cignetti and the job he's done is an all-time effort, okay, it's Year 3.

Dan Rubenstein 07:32 Things are a little bit different in terms of roster construction and where they attacked the portal. But the continuity is there with coordinators and a number of players who have been big-time contributors these past couple of seasons, especially last year, their national championship season. So now it is: Okay, with a lot more expectations, a much bigger spotlight, a schedule that looks to be decently challenging but not overwhelming, because they don't, I believe, play anybody of note in the nonconference portion of their schedule, what do they look like in a larger fishbowl when there's a ton of attention on Indiana and the sport and the sort of Big Ten SEC-ification of it all? Indiana was looked at as sort of a referendum on continued Big Ten strength last season. Now the question is, with major, major holes to fill, can we pencil Curt Cignetti in as a coach that we can count on to win double-digit games year in and year out? Three quarterbacks in three years. Some of the star power on that defense is gone. You know, what does the replacement look like after building a national champion?

Dan Rubenstein 08:44 We've seen it happen successfully at a number of places. There's no reason to think Curt Cignetti can't do it. But what does it look like, and how quickly does it take shape?

Ty Hildenbrandt 08:52 This sort of goes back to what I said when I introduced Indiana like five minutes ago. The question after 2024 was, 'Was that a fluke? Are they going to come back down to earth?' The question after 2025, obviously, after winning the national championship, is different. You answer a bunch of questions, but it is really striking to me how quickly we have moved from, 'Are they a fluke?' to, 'Okay, how do the new players fit the scheme?' Like, there's just a lot that we panned over there in a very short period of time in my lifetime as a sports fan. I was trying to think before we hit go here: Is there another example of moving that quickly from, 'Are they a fluke?' to, 'Okay, well, how well do the players fit the scheme?' I can't think of one.

Dan Rubenstein 09:39 No, I think college football is just unique in the amount you can overhaul things year to year. The difference, and this is sort of a broader question or topic, is when we've had Nick Saban teams reloading, when we've had Kirby Smart teams reloading, when we've had Pete Carroll teams reloading, they're reloading with internal dudes, right? It's guys who are the twos and threes, who were spot linebackers or No. 5 receivers or quarterbacks in mop-up duty, or the secondary coming in once they're already up 31. It's a little bit different when you are projecting out dudes you haven't coached before, which is when you look at the edges that they brought in, when you look at where they might be in the secondary, when you look at where they might be at No. 1 or No. 2 receiver. That's the difference right now with Indiana. They're not necessarily solely reloading.

Dan Rubenstein 10:39 With dudes who are just like, 'Oh yeah, yeah, we came in when we were down 50, or we were up 51 last year in the fourth quarter.' That's at least the difference and, I think, for a lot of coaches, I don't know for Curt Cignetti, the added difficulty in getting back to the top back-to-back.

Ty Hildenbrandt 10:54 So, as you said, 2026 has given Curt Cignetti and Indiana a bunch of holes to plug. They plugged a pretty big one, QB1, with Josh Hoover, who comes up from TCU. They also have a new running back in Turbo Richard, a great name, from Boston College. They've got a new wide receiver in Nick Marsh, who comes down from Michigan State. I think the Indiana line will again be very, very solid. For the moment, center is a little bit up in the air. I know how you feel about center. For the moment, it's more a question of who is playing which role among the beef that they have up front.

Dan Rubenstein 11:32 Very much it.

Ty Hildenbrandt 11:32 Quality. I say they're in good shape.

Ty Hildenbrandt 11:34 So I'm not worried about that aspect of things. I think the risk, though, for college football fans is assuming that Indiana must certainly be worse because of everything that they lost from a year ago. Just one man's opinion here: I don't think they're going to be 16-0 again. But if it's a step back at all, it's very marginal. Very marginal. This team is built in a very similar way as it was last season. I'm especially interested in the passing game. I think the passing game is going to be damn dangerous this year.

Ty Hildenbrandt 12:11 I love their receivers. I love that they got Nick Marsh. Notre Dame wanted Nick Marsh. He didn't even visit Notre Dame. He went to Indiana and just committed kind of right away. Um, he's a physically imposing receiver. He's not a burner, but he is quick. I think he's sort of like their high-volume guy, maybe the trusted hand that Josh Hoover is going to have out wide. The guy I really like is Charlie Becker. I think Charlie Becker out wide is going to scare the crap out of teams.

Ty Hildenbrandt 12:37 Remember, this is a guy who only had six catches through the first eight games of last season, but then came on late, sort of emerged as a bona fide deep threat. I think he is going to give teams fits. And I also think that Omar Cooper Jr.'s slot role, though it isn't fully defined, like, there's a guy, Tyler Morris, who had a really good spring. There are some other names that could slot in there. But if you were wondering, if you were hoping that maybe Indiana would take a step back on that front, I don't think that's going to happen, at least not in the passing game. There is a question about Josh Hoover and some of his, let's say, I don't know, willingness to turn the ball over.

Dan Rubenstein 13:15 Or take unnecessary chances, sure.

Ty Hildenbrandt 13:17 Take chances, right? It's sort of well-known territory at this point.

Ty Hildenbrandt 13:21 Thirty-one starts, 42 turnovers. I just really like the way that they have surrounded him with what I think is a good line, what, to my eye, looks like it's going to be a very good receiver room, a deep receiver room. And if they can hit on these running backs and provide a little bit more balance, suddenly Josh Hoover is not on TCU, where he's having to go out there and play some hero ball in order to win.

Dan Rubenstein 13:37 Right.

Ty Hildenbrandt 13:45 Suddenly, he's got a much better defense that is helping support the effort as well. So, provided all of these things work, even if they don't work as well as they did a year ago, if they just work as well as it appears that they will on paper, I think they're going to be just fine. I don't think that this is a situation where we're going to see a massive step back.

Dan Rubenstein 14:04 No, I don't think there's going to be a massive step back at all. A couple questions: If he's turning the ball over against a Big 12 schedule, all due respect to the Big 12, throwing into some of the defenses that seem to be more talented, and if he's in the playoff, which I suspect Indiana will be in the playoff, it's a different animal, right? If he's a little bit too careless, I imagine he's going to be less careless this season. I think he's going to get better coaching. I think the system—I mean, he had good coaching at TCU. He was a good quarterback at TCU. But I think maybe it's going to be more specific, and he'll be put in a better position to make smart choices.

Ty Hildenbrandt 14:37 It's also going to be more balanced. And I pulled this stat out just because I was curious, but just for context.

Dan Rubenstein 14:40 Yes.

Ty Hildenbrandt 14:43 Josh Hoover had 413 passing attempts last season in 12 games. That's 34 more than Fernando Mendoza had in 16 games. So it was certainly an offense at TCU that relied a lot more on the arm of Josh Hoover than what we saw at Indiana with Fernando Mendoza, which was a lot more balanced, which I think...

Dan Rubenstein 14:55 Wild

Ty Hildenbrandt 15:05 You know, if you ask Curt Cignetti, if you give him truth serum, 'What's your offense?' he still wants to try and build it around the rushing attack. This year, again, Turbo Richard. Khobie Martin will be back again for Indiana. So I think they've got names, and certainly along the line, that will give them a push on the ground as well.

Ty Hildenbrandt 15:23 I feel pretty good about the balance of this offense and what it could mean for Josh Hoover.

Dan Rubenstein 15:27 Yeah, I mean, with Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, there's a good case being made that they have two No. 1 receivers. So he'll be put in a position to succeed, especially going downfield and winning some of those 50-50 balls. I'm curious about the Riley Nowakowski thing, him not being there, right? Where are they at tight end? He was sort of an unspoken or unheralded glue-type player for this Indiana team last year. Tight end, H-back, a little fullback-type look. And he was a great safety valve for Fernando Mendoza when he needed it. And so I just wonder where they're going to be without him. And he was maybe, what, a sixth-, seventh-year-type player last year, the Wisconsin transfer. They're not as old on either side of the ball.

Dan Rubenstein 16:13 Charlie Becker was a sensation the back half of last year. Turbo Richard has played a lot, been a couple different places. The offensive line has decent age to it, but it's not like the average age was out of this world, like Indiana was last year on both sides of the ball. So I do just think it's fair to expect a little bit of youthful inconsistency, especially on offense, transitioning away from, again, the Mendoza standard, which is crazy to approach or meet. But we can see it at times from Josh Hoover. He is not new to this sport.

Ty Hildenbrandt 16:50 No, no, no. I like Josh Hoover a lot. Josh Hoover wanted to go to Indiana originally, by the way. So I'm glad that he finally ends up there and we can see what he can do. What do you think about the defense? How do we feel about defense? Because I look at this and I say, all right, we know the deal with Bryant Haines, right?

Dan Rubenstein 17:07 Yeah, he's back, coordinator.

Ty Hildenbrandt 17:07 He builds a defense that is heavy on disguising its fronts. It is, I think, overly emphatic about how much they communicate.

Ty Hildenbrandt 17:18 Last year's team, that was sort of their charm. Their charm was how well they communicated, how well they worked after the snap. And so, I guess, as there are new players now integrated into that side of things, I like that the schedule gives them a little bit of runway to get moving, shake off some of the rust, get things settled in before you really get to the meat of the schedule. I am going to stick my neck out a little bit, though, because I think Indiana is going to be gettable through the year. Like, I have some questions about what they look like on the back half of that defense. I have some questions about what the pass rush looks like this year. This is not to say that they're going to be a bad defense, that it's going to be a glaring hole. It's probably still a top-10-caliber defensive backfield. But there are matchups on this schedule that I don't like.

Ty Hildenbrandt 18:07 You know, like, I don't, I don't like the matchup at all against Ohio State. I don't like them going to Michigan a week after they host Ohio State. I don't like them going to Washington a week after hosting USC. I think you could talk me into being wary of a road game at Nebraska, Dan.

Dan Rubenstein 18:24 Yeah, by the way, those first three teams, Ohio State, USC, Washington, all built pretty nicely on the offensive line. Again, not to say Indiana can't defeat them up front like they did a ton of teams last year, but those are strengths of those three teams: the experience and quality along the USC, Washington, and Ohio State offensive lines. And they obviously did see the Ohio State offensive line last year with some other players for Indiana and dealt with them just fine in the Big Ten championship game.

Ty Hildenbrandt 18:54 I'm less bullish on Indiana this year. I like Indiana. I think Indiana is a playoff team. Okay, let me just get that out there. I don't think Indiana is playing for the Big Ten title. I've got Indiana at 10-2.

Dan Rubenstein 19:06 I think that's totally reasonable. I said in my notes: no nonconference. I mentioned your back-to-back Ohio State, Michigan. Bye before USC and Washington. Washington's on the road in Seattle, which is a very tough place to play. If Hoover is very good, 10-2 seems like the absolute floor.

Ty Hildenbrandt 19:23 Yeah, I could I could go with that, yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 19:24 In those big games, the two against Oregon, the one against Ohio State specifically within the Big Ten—they don't play Oregon this season—it was especially edge and the ability to move around, confuse the Oregon offensive line, both with scheme and just, obviously, pure talent on Indiana's side, that they were able to at times overwhelm Ohio State and Oregon up front. And so they bring in some replacements via the portal, and they might be even better. I don't know.

Dan Rubenstein 19:53 But they're new. They're new to the system. And those dudes were obviously older for Indiana last season, and that was such a leg up for their own defensive backfield, which does have new pieces but does have a lot of experienced pieces back. No D'Angelo Ponds. We'll see if they have, like, true No. 1 corner star power in this group. But it was just such a special pass defense last year, you know, from the top down, from Bryant Haines on down, that I think it's fair to wonder if they can accomplish that same level of success working in new names in the pass rush and new names at linebacker—experienced at linebacker, too, with good names, but new names in that rotation, like many teams have. So Indiana is just another team that has new-name questions.

Dan Rubenstein 20:46 So, I think you're right. I have 10-2 as the absolute floor, and I think that's where I'm going to land. 10-2 with this team. They're a playoff team.

Ty Hildenbrandt 20:53 Indiana knocked off Ohio State in the Big Ten title game last season. Ohio State finished 12-2. They lost that game in the Big Ten Championship, 13-10, a low-scoring affair against Indiana. Then they went on to lose by 10, 24-14, against Miami in the Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoff. This was a team that had an outlandishly good defense. My favorite stat about the defense comes from our friend Brett over at Pick Six, who noted that Ohio State did not allow a first-half touchdown until its eighth game of last season, which is crazy. That is a crazy stat, Brett. Ohio State was also loaded on offense, albeit a tad conservative, which maybe we can get into here. As our friend Bill Connelly put it...

Ty Hildenbrandt 21:47 They kind of had a conservative setup that protected their new quarterback, Julian Sayin, early. But then, when they had to shift gears, and particularly when they were forced to chase—when they were forced to chase the game against both Indiana and Miami—it was almost as if they couldn't find that next gear. So, look, this year, you find a dart laying around, you throw it at a preview publication, a set of metrics, you're going to find Ohio State as the preseason No. 1 team in a million places. Everyone is high on this team. That shouldn't come as a great surprise, but there are a lot of moving pieces here, Dan. There are a lot of moving pieces that I think make Ohio State more interesting, at least in the preseason, than I can remember in a couple of years.

Dan Rubenstein 22:37 So they go to the portal on defense, which, obviously, they've recruited quite well on defense as well. But in terms of being ready to compete for a national championship, they thought they needed some more on defense after losing the playmakers that they lost, and not insignificant ones, right? Like Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald—Caleb Downs, excuse me.

Ty Hildenbrandt 22:57 Caleb Downs, yeah. Yeah, it's Kayden McDonald, Caden Curry, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, Davison Igbinosun. Yeah, I mean, it's a huge number of guys, big-time starting talent that is no longer on the roster this year.

Dan Rubenstein 23:12 Right, so we have the Matt Patricia continuity, which is terrific. There are obviously rotation dudes who played last year who are stepping up. Terry Moore is a huge name coming in from Duke. If he can regain health and form from where he was before at safety, he'll be moved around a bunch and hopefully is an answer to approximating what Caleb Downs was able to accomplish in that defensive backfield. So I don't worry in any sort of meaningful way about where this Ohio State defense is going to be by the end of the season. They play Texas in Week 2. They've got some big games along the way as they try to figure this out. And last year was just such a crazy-special group that it's kind of impossible to think that they'll go, you know, eight games before allowing a first-half touchdown once again. But I'm fascinated to see how it works out.

Dan Rubenstein 24:00 We get Devin Sanchez as a major player in this defensive secondary, who looks like he's the new No. 1 corner and looks...

Ty Hildenbrandt 24:05 Yeah, yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 24:10 Like he could be all-everything for Ohio State. So, not terribly concerned with this defense. I think the big thing with them is third-and-eight: Who's making a play steaming off the edge? That, to me, is where last year those answers seemed obvious, where they've been these past few years. Now, you know, they have Alabama transfers. They've got all sorts of stuff to look at. I think it's Beau Atkinson, the North Carolina transfer from a couple of years ago. He could be that answer off the edge.

Dan Rubenstein 24:37 They have options, but nothing completely proven in this specific defense at the moment.

Ty Hildenbrandt 24:44 Yeah, I mean, I think my broader point is, for as good as Ohio State is and probably will be, especially on defense, let's not act like the guys they lost are going to be easy to replace. You know, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese are not growing on trees. Caleb Downs was one of the better defensive backs in college football the last three years. They will replace them. Ohio State will be very good. I'm very high on Ohio State.

Dan Rubenstein 25:11 Counterpoint, Buckeyes are literally grown on trees, right? They're nuts that grow on trees.

Ty Hildenbrandt 25:16 They are nuts.

Dan Rubenstein 25:16 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 25:16 So I think, just based on what we saw from Matt Patricia a year ago, when we had a lot of questions—Is this going to work? What's this going to look like?—Matt Patricia basically stuffed everybody in a locker. So I think we can take that concern and put it to the side. It's more of a personnel thing. I'm curious about the offensive side. So, on the offensive side of the ball, they bring back Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, Bo Jackson, Brandon Inniss and most of the line. I've seen some wonder what happens if defenses sell out to stop Jeremiah Smith. What if they double-cover him?

Ty Hildenbrandt 25:47 What if they triple-cover him? I've got to be honest with you, I think they're still loaded out wide. They also added Devin McCuin from UTSA, who I think is a hell of a receiver. I love the spring that we saw out of Chris Henry Jr., who made a nice move kind of up the depth chart. Brian Hartline left for USF, and I think there was this question, at least in the immediate aftermath, whether or not we'd see any kind of drop-off in recruiting out wide. Thus far, we have not seen that at all, at least not in terms of options this year and certainly not in terms of prep recruiting for future years. They've been really...

Dan Rubenstein 26:20 Yeah, right? Marvin Harrison Jr.'s brother is now committed.

Ty Hildenbrandt 26:23 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 26:24 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 26:24 So the question, though, is: What does the offense look like? They've got the personnel. They now have a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. Arthur Smith, NFL guy, noted track record for a quarterback-friendly system that uses a lot of play-action. B, physical rushing attacks. I think we're going to see more under-center stuff. I think we're going to see heavier sets. The kind of stuff that maybe sets them up a little bit better for some of the teams that they're going to be up against the deeper they go into this.

Ty Hildenbrandt 26:59 Like, I can just see a situation where, you know, this was one of the talking points a year ago: You're going up against some of the better defensive lines in the country. If you can build a really strong, physical ground attack, where suddenly now teams have to pull resources from the back to try and stop what's going on up front, in theory, is that not a fabulous idea to unlock the likes of Jeremiah Smith or really whoever you've got out wide? You put a defense in a pickle if suddenly you're building that ground attack up front and they've got the line to do it. You build that assault up front, maybe a little bit more under center, maybe a little bit more contained, maybe it's a little bit more play-action, but you're trying to put that defensive front in conflict, trying to pull resources from the back so that you can unlock things over the top, which is another aspect, I think, of Julian Sayin's game that I know pro scouts would like to see a little bit more of, right? So I'm curious to see how this looks. I like the theory behind it.

Ty Hildenbrandt 28:00 I've never been a huge Arthur Smith guy, but the same could have been said for Matt Patricia a year ago. So, I'm curious to see how all this works out. Certainly, he's going to have plenty of tools to play with here.

Dan Rubenstein 28:10 Yeah, I look, I wonder how it actually looks and how it actually performs against the best of their schedule. And if they are playing heavier sets, what does the personnel look like? This is not a team that is stacked with proven tight ends who have succeeded in Columbus. I get that, you know, the play-action can open up a ton for Jeremiah Smith, but is this now a passing-friendly offense like we had come to expect in previous years under Ryan Day?

Ty Hildenbrandt 28:38 Right.

Dan Rubenstein 28:39 The vibes are not there.

Ty Hildenbrandt 28:41 That's the thing. Like, I like the idea. I think it's smart. I just don't want to see them force the physical ground attack the way they did a couple of years ago when they lost to Michigan at random, because that was—that was—now, they went on to win the national championship. Maybe they learned something from that. It felt like a different team from that point moving forward. But I hope this isn't some sort of effort to kind of, I don't know, get redemption for Ryan Day for what went south against Michigan a couple years ago.

Dan Rubenstein 29:12 Look, we saw the sort of beginnings of this last season, running heavier sets with the intention being, like, 'We want to control games more. We want to keep our defense fresher for the playoff, and we want to just run fewer snaps in general.' And so we saw that identity shift last year. And we saw them become a little bit less explosive, or at least less often explosive, offensively last season. It was Julian Sayin's first year. He struggled in some of those bigger games, especially early on in those bigger games. And I don't mind having a vision. I don't mind this being the vision.

Dan Rubenstein 29:50 It feels a little bit unnatural for recent Ohio State, but teams evolve, teams change. You're sort of building teams for your opponents. So Ohio State absolutely has, essentially, Indiana, Oregon, and December and January in mind with how they are building this team out.

Ty Hildenbrandt 30:06 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 30:08 I think there is probably a step back from where they were under Chip Kelly to where they now are under Arthur Smith in terms of game-planning and variability and familiarity with college defenses. But I could be wrong. I don't know. I don't think their talent at receiver is as deep and high-end, in terms of proven quality, as we've seen from previous Ohio State teams. Look, the transfers may work out swimmingly.

Dan Rubenstein 30:34 Chris Henry Jr., the five-star, all-everything freshman, might work out swimmingly right away. It's not as obvious an answer in 2026 as it's felt like in years past. And maybe Brandon Inniss steps into that spot. It's all possible. But Cortez Hankton is the new receivers coach. There's just a lot new happening at the same time. Offensive line isn't a question in terms of floor, in terms of quality, but, like, how do they respond to the best of this sport come December or January? A lot of those same offensive linemen are there.

Dan Rubenstein 31:09 I think they'll improve. I think they'll continue to develop. And I think we'll end up not really looking at this offensive line as big a question as where they were in December and January last season. But it's a lot at the same time.

Ty Hildenbrandt 31:21 That's why I say they're interesting. They're nothing if not interesting. And then you layer on top of it the schedule.

Dan Rubenstein 31:28 Which is brutal.

Ty Hildenbrandt 31:28 Because the schedule is brutal. The schedule is a major talking point with Ohio State. They play six preseason top-22 opponents per SP+: at Texas, at Iowa, at Indiana, at USC, and then home against both Oregon and Michigan, if you look through the schedule. As such, their over-under is 9.5 now, which feels very uncomfortable to me. That feels uncomfortable.

Ty Hildenbrandt 31:57 And I get it. There are a lot of really good teams on the schedule. I personally find it very hard to believe that they're going 9-3. They'll be tested. But I think this is an 11-1 team with a loss somewhere along the way that gets into the Big Ten Championship Game.

Dan Rubenstein 32:14 I've gone back and forth. I think they're no worse than 10-2. I would take the over. But I could see growing pains. Once again, this is three coordinators in three seasons. Obviously, Ryan Day is always going to have a heavy hand with this offense, and he has been. Obviously, continuing to be in—that's not English—but he has been a steady hand as they've turned into a national championship program and are competing for a national championship once again. I don't know. I see some cracks for this team just because there's so much new on both sides of the ball and the expectation in this kind of conference, which has this level of talent at the top and this level of competition at the top, alongside what's happening in the SEC, ACC, Big 12, wherever.

Dan Rubenstein 33:00 They can win the national championship, absolutely. I don't think they're going 11-1 or 12-0 against this schedule this season. I have them at 10-2 and likely competing in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ty Hildenbrandt 33:14 So, look, you're the Oregon grad. I'm going to defer to you on the Oregon preview. You know them better than I do. But let me just set the stage a little bit. 13-2 last season, lost to Indiana twice, once in the regular season, once in the playoff semifinals. You had Will Stein, the offensive coordinator, leave for Kentucky. Tosh Lupoi, formerly the defensive coordinator, is now the head coach at Cal. They are 11th nationally in returning production. They're projected as the No. 2 overall team in Bill Connelly's SP+. I'll say this. You can tell me if you think it's fair, okay? The questions for Oregon are less interesting than the ones I have about Ohio State, okay? But I feel like the ones I have about Oregon are far more existential. Like, if we zoom in, it's two new coordinators promoted from within. What does that look like? You know, okay, that's the tactical stuff. But if we zoom out, the question, the cloud, I guess, that looms over Dan Lanning and the Oregon program at present is: How does Oregon get over the hump?

Ty Hildenbrandt 33:44 In Bill Connelly's SP+. I'll say this. You can tell me if you think it's fair, okay? The questions for Oregon Are less interesting than the ones I have about Ohio State, okay? But I feel like the ones I have about Oregon are far more existential. Like if we zoom in, it's two new coordinators promoted from within. What does that look like? You know, okay, that's the tactical stuff. But if we zoom out, The question, the cloud, I guess, that looms over Dan Lanning and the Oregon program at present is: how does Oregon get over the hump?

Ty Hildenbrandt 34:19 Because Oregon's been right there. They have. And Oregon's got the roster this year to go pretty damn far, if not win the whole thing. 'How does Oregon get over the hump?' is a question that, look, Lanning's going to have to answer. Plenty of people throughout the history of sports have had to answer this one. It's always the elusive question that, at some point, the greats have to answer. And that's where I think Oregon finds itself now as we go into 2026, which is why I say it's existential. How do you get past that, Dan? What is the answer? Has Dan Lanning found an answer?

Dan Rubenstein 34:52 It's a great question. I wish I could just plainly and simply tell you. To me, right now, it is: If Dante Moore, along with new offensive coordinator and internal promotion Drew Mehringer, are on the same page, and Dante Moore develops, and they just look flawless on third-and-sevens and are constantly getting the third-and-ones, are dictating things and are able to build up enough leads to build up depth on offense, you know, with younger receivers or running backs or whatever, they should be in a special place. I think it would be very nice if Oregon's coordinators weren't also head coaches as they game-plan for big playoff games. That would be nice. But Oregon also lost to Indiana during the regular season in kind of embarrassing fashion in that fourth quarter. They were overwhelmed.

Dan Rubenstein 35:43 So what's the difference in getting over the top? Really, it's just the little things coming through, with new players ascending to starting roles or younger players taking over starting roles and looking like they have a plan in ways they didn't before. It was impossible before the season started last season to be like, 'You know what's going to go wrong? Fernando Mendoza is just going to have their number. The Cal quarterback transfer, who I think Oregon had beaten while he was at Cal...'

Ty Hildenbrandt 36:16 That's right.

Dan Rubenstein 36:17 I think.

Ty Hildenbrandt 36:17 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 36:18 '...is going to just own this Oregon team. The Indiana defensive front is going to give Dante Moore and the protection fits.' That would have been a difficult ask, twice, by the way, given fits.

Dan Rubenstein 36:31 So they've exclusively lost to excellent teams these past three years under Dan Lanning. They bring back a ton on both sides of the ball. And so now it's a question of: What does the evolution look like under the broader umbrella of kind of similar expectations to where Penn State was last season, and it broke Penn State internally early on? Oregon had its own role in breaking Penn State last season. This is championship or bust. You pay the entire defensive line to come back. You have the experience in the secondary. You bring in somebody like Koi Perich to take over at safety.

Dan Rubenstein 37:10 The young corners who showed out very impressively last year are back. They paid to retain basically everywhere important along the starting 11s on both sides of the ball. It sends a clear message that anything less than a national championship in 2026 is coming up short. Whereas, yes, they took that step forward and made the final four last season before losing to Indiana. But when you look across this sport, there's no other team that brings back last year's accomplishment combined with this year's promise, right? You can say, like, 'Oh, Texas looks great with what they're bringing back.' I don't believe they played in a playoff game last year. Is that correct?

Ty Hildenbrandt 37:51 That's correct.

Dan Rubenstein 37:52 So Texas' next step with Arch Manning at quarterback, with a lot of these players, is making and winning a game or two in the playoff, even though they themselves have national championship expectations. Oregon has what looks to be the best defensive line in the country.

Dan Rubenstein 38:08 They're elderly, which has been very helpful for recent teams in going deep in the tournament, if not winning the damn thing. So you can't really look at Oregon and say, 'This is a backbreaking weakness.' Now, the linebackers aren't as good as other teams' linebackers, but they're okay. Jerry Mixon's pretty good. They replace this receiver or that receiver. Well, they bring back one of the best receivers in the country, when healthy, in Evan Stewart, who looks to be fully healthy, next to Dakorien Moore, who also looks like a No. 1 receiver. They bring in a five-star receiver, a couple five-star receivers. They lose Kenyon Sadiq.

Dan Rubenstein 38:45 They might have the best tight end in the sport in Jamari Johnson. They lose their tackles. Their tackles were kind of looked at as their weak point along the offensive line last year. And they have experienced dudes who are probably stepping in, maybe even a true freshman stepping in at right tackle if things break a certain way. But this is, I mean, this is a stacked, stacked, stacked team. The schedule is not perfect, but it's fine.

Ty Hildenbrandt 39:10 I mean, there are three and a half games on this thing that scare me. They're at USC Week 4. They're at Ohio State Week 10. Week 10 again. Please, first weekend in November, get your affairs in order.

Dan Rubenstein 39:20 Huge.

Ty Hildenbrandt 39:24 Don't do anything that day. There's a ton of football on. The following week, they are home against Michigan in Week 11, and then they close out the year at home in a rivalry spot against the Washington Huskies. So, yeah, it's relatively spaced out.

Ty Hildenbrandt 39:41 I guess more backloaded than front-loaded with respect to what they've got coming up in November. But all told, Oregon's over-under is 10.5. And I looked at this for probably, I don't know, five hours over the last couple days, trying to make heads or tails of, okay, where are the losses coming? Where are the matchups? I don't see them losing two games. I'm not sure I see them losing any games.

Dan Rubenstein 40:07 I mean, it's all poured into this year. And Chris Hampton, the new defensive coordinator, has been a co-DC, has been up in the sky while Tosh Lupoi has been on the field, and has been involved in game-planning and play-calling. They should be able to rush the passer. They should be able to cover receivers. They should be able to stuff runs. They've played against Ryan Day, and they've played against Jeremiah Smith, and they've—like, the experience and just the dirt under their fingernails is there. They've won close games. They've blown teams out. It doesn't look like their coordinators will be hired away in the middle of the portal season. It's hard to nitpick.

Dan Rubenstein 40:50 Other than the fact that they have this elephant on their shoulders constantly: Don't fall for the Oregon thing again. They always come up short. It's not a season in which there is an obvious team that has also done what they've done in retaining the talent they've retained. So, other than my own skepticism and having my own heart broken in January, I think they're competing for the Big Ten Championship. I do. And they don't have to play Indiana during the regular season. So there's that.

Ty Hildenbrandt 41:21 I think they are the Big Ten champions. I've got them 12-0, winning the title.

Dan Rubenstein 41:28 Okay, 13-0.

Ty Hildenbrandt 41:29 In the Big Ten, yes, so I guess 13-0. We'll talk about the playoff and all that stuff a little bit later on. It's kind of hard to project out who is playing whom. But with respect to the Big Ten, yeah, I've got Oregon over Ohio State.

Dan Rubenstein 41:42 I'm not there.

Ty Hildenbrandt 41:45 Who do you have then? Who do you have winning Big Ten?

Dan Rubenstein 41:48 It's tough to say because Indiana misses Oregon and Oregon misses Indiana. Ohio State gets both, correct? And there's nobody else I feel confident in on that level. Oregon gets Ohio State on the road during the regular season. I guess, push comes to shove, I think Oregon goes 11-1, and I guess I'm going to flip it and say, yeah, Oregon's going to win the Big Ten Championship, maybe get revenge on Ohio State after losing that game in Columbus.

Ty Hildenbrandt 42:19 I do think it comes down to those three teams. We will talk about USC on our next episode. That was another one of these squads that you and I sort of kicked around a fair amount, trying to figure out, all right, where do they slot in? How high can they go? Another situation where you've got a team with a brutal schedule. I just, you know, sometimes the easiest answer is the right answer. And it feels to me, just in looking at these teams with what is new, with what is changing, Ohio State's got the defense. Indiana's got a ton new that they're trying to replace and piece together. I think both teams will be outstanding.

Ty Hildenbrandt 42:56 I think both of those squads will be in the playoff. But Oregon just has the fewest variables to me.

Dan Rubenstein 43:03 They do. I mean, you know, the offensive line thing gives me a little bit of pause: two new tackles once again, and a new guard. But there's a certain benefit of the doubt that they've earned up front that I just can't linger on it too much, because I think they're going to be able to overcome it, game-plan around whatever. I didn't even mention Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr.'s names in the backfield. They're deep there. They're deep at receiver. We'll see what tight end two looks like, right? Those are the questions now with Oregon. So it just feels like it's all pointing to 2026 for them.

Ty Hildenbrandt 43:42 Speaking of Jordon Davison, Jordon Davison had 16 rushing touchdowns a year ago. He was tied in the Big Ten with Jonah Coleman and Kaytron Allen. I should say 15 touchdowns, because the guy who actually had 16 was one by the name of Mark Gronowski over at Iowa, Dan. My guy, Mark Gronowski. I went on our show. I might have gone on Josh Pate's show. I don't remember when exactly we talked about it, but I think I made the prediction that Mark Gronowski would be the best Iowa quarterback since Brad Banks.

Dan Rubenstein 44:15 Yeah, were you right?

Ty Hildenbrandt 44:16 I don't think we quite made it there, to be honest with you.

Dan Rubenstein 44:18 I don't think you hit that.

Ty Hildenbrandt 44:19 He did get 16 rushing touchdowns.

Dan Rubenstein 44:19 That's okay. He got a little bit better over the course of the year, for sure. By the second half, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 44:25 Iowa was very, very Iowa last season. They went 9-4. They beat Vandy in a bowl game. All four of their regular-season losses came to ranked opponents by a combined 15 points. They were tied or leading in the final two minutes in three of those. And Iowa also blew a 14-point lead in another. So it bears repeating: This is Iowa. It does not need to be pretty. It just needs to work.

Ty Hildenbrandt 44:55 They have lived by that mantra. Last year, it almost worked a little bit better. But this is very much the philosophy of one Kirk Ferentz. So, as we go now into 2026, my view of Iowa, which is certainly not as high as yours, I view them as a top-25-caliber team. You've been talking them up, potentially as 10-2, on the fringes of the playoff conversation. Like, I also like their schedule, but I think there's just way too much out there pointing in the direction of regression.

Dan Rubenstein 45:26 I like Iowa a good deal. Look, they return a couple—at least a couple—decent pieces along the offensive line. I never am really terribly worried about Kirk Ferentz's offensive lines. Those dudes tend to develop and tend to be fine. I like where they're at at running back. We'll see at receiver. Obviously, the huge question that is hanging over this offense is where they go at quarterback, what that means for how this offense accommodates two kind of different skill sets. Hank Brown's bigger and more of a pocket passer. Jeremy Hecklinski is smaller. He was at Wake Forest briefly, and he's more about playmaking and improvising. He's the smaller guy.

Ty Hildenbrandt 46:01 From an entertainment standpoint, Iowa fan, not an Iowa fan, Jeremy Hecklinski is your improv guy.

Dan Rubenstein 46:03 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 46:11 You know, he's more mobile, uses weird arm angles, probably a lot more fun just as a Saturday viewing product.

Dan Rubenstein 46:11 Yes.

Ty Hildenbrandt 46:21 It does depend where you look, though, in terms of who's, quote-unquote, ahead at the moment. This strikes me as one of those QB battles that might go a few weeks into the season if it's not settled overwhelmingly beforehand. And even if they decide to go with Hank Brown, I think there are probably some sets for Hecklinski, just given, like you said, he's smaller, he's more mobile, a different kind of player altogether. So I could see them finding a way to incorporate him, even if he's not QB1 when camp breaks.

Dan Rubenstein 46:49 Yeah, look, whoever that quarterback is, if there's any way to generate—I know we say this annually—any sort of pop on this offense downfield, it could be to a tight end. They've got a nice tight end room. Could be to receivers. They've got an improving receiving room. But if there's any way to get any more pop out of this room, you talk about those close games, you talk about the blown leads, you talk about the struggles in doing different things on offense when those things are needed. And obviously they're trying to play to a certain identity, protect their defense to whatever extent. If they can get that, they don't have to win every game 10-9, 16-13, 17-14, right?

Ty Hildenbrandt 47:28 But we've been saying that for ten years.

Dan Rubenstein 47:30 I know. Ty, I absolutely know this. This has not been a place where quarterbacks develop.

Ty Hildenbrandt 47:32 Saying it till we're blue in the face. Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 47:36 I absolutely know. Sometimes you can accidentally happen into something like that if your quarterback is merely competent, if your receivers are merely pretty good and standing on two feet and healthy, and there's enough in the rushing attack to generate something in play-action, right? Or you get a bunch of short fields because your defense is turning over Illinois or whoever. There are reasons to believe that Iowa can ascend to merely below average in terms of finding explosives on offense. There are those reasons. The defense has some questions in ways that they don't always have questions, right?

Ty Hildenbrandt 48:12 Well, the line, the line's the big one. So the defensive line is being completely rebuilt.

Dan Rubenstein 48:15 The line is new.

Ty Hildenbrandt 48:19 Also, the linebacker room is relatively new. The secondary needs some work. I think we have, at this point, a certain amount of trust in Phil Parker, the defensive coordinator, to kind of get that figured out, but to what end? To what end, I think, is an important question. They will be fine defensively because they're always fine. But more often than not, we're talking about a team that is driven, that is powered by its defense, giving itself enough of a margin that the offense can kick some field goals, maybe score a touchdown and win a low-scoring game. If the defense isn't up to that same standard, then maybe we've got a little bit more of a problem here.

Dan Rubenstein 48:58 I think the defense is going to find its guys. I think guys will. Look, I think there are just fewer obvious losses on this schedule. That's the interesting thing to me. Now, I don't...

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:11 I think we disagree on this one. I know we disagree on this one.

Dan Rubenstein 49:13 Well, there's no Indiana, there's no Oregon, right?

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:15 Yeah, I know.

Dan Rubenstein 49:16 Iowa State's starting over. Not to say it's automatic. Rivalry games are not automatic. I'll throw out those records.

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:21 Always.

Dan Rubenstein 49:22 It's a good year to have Iowa State on the schedule because maybe they turn into something eventually this year. Maybe they turn into something eventually the next two or three years. They're starting over, and this roster is completely new for Iowa State. So I'm just saying, that's a team that's generally pretty standard competition.

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:42 I mean, if I told you that Iowa State won that game 13 to 10.

Dan Rubenstein 49:47 Sure. If they win that game 13-10, quarterback has not worked out once again.

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:52 You would buy it.

Dan Rubenstein 49:53 Totally.

Ty Hildenbrandt 49:53 I've got Iowa down at 7-5 or 8-4. Like, I think they're going to be a tough out, but I'm not picking up what you're putting down here. And I think the quarterback thing is a much bigger deal. I think the defense is a much bigger deal. I do think they'll be good on the ground. I like Kamari Moulton.

Dan Rubenstein 50:13 To be clear, the guys that they're going to be starting on defense have been in this program playing.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:17 I—listen, I know.

Dan Rubenstein 50:17 They're not, like, looking to the Great Danes of Albany to overhaul their defense.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:21 Fair point.

Dan Rubenstein 50:21 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:22 Absolutely fair point.

Dan Rubenstein 50:22 Although teams who have done that have succeeded.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:24 I am skeptical that they can do better than—I've got 8-4 as my ceiling. I think they'll be a tough out. They're always a tough out. I think there will be plenty of ugly games featuring Iowa. I'm not in.

Dan Rubenstein 50:38 You're not in.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:39 I'm not in. No.

Dan Rubenstein 50:40 That's okay. I don't even know. When was the last time they had a defense that was, like, kind of disappointing?

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:45 I don't know.

Dan Rubenstein 50:45 For Iowa within like the context of Iowa.

Ty Hildenbrandt 50:46 I couldn't even tell you. Yeah, we'd have to go back and look, but yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 50:49 It's pre-COVID, right? I'm scrolling through, Ty. Like, a legit disappointing Iowa defense. I'm back in 2017 right now. Nope, the 2017 team was good on defense.

Dan Rubenstein 51:02 2016? Nope, the 2016 team was good on defense. Like, look, it doesn't happen until it does, but all one of these quarterbacks has to be is a B-minus for me to think, okay, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 51:13 B minus. Take a C plus.

Dan Rubenstein 51:16 You can take a C. That's fine.

Ty Hildenbrandt 51:18 Take a D plus.

Dan Rubenstein 51:19 If I'm telling you that they can run the ball, get stops—look, they didn't even force that many turnovers last year and had a good defense. That's, like, a note for improvement this year. I know turnovers can be random, but Iowa right now...

Dan Rubenstein 51:34 I don't know, man. They always seem to find the star power. They always seem to develop that star power. They've got the tough at Michigan, Ohio State, at Washington, right? Back-to-back-to-back. We've got Illinois late on the road.

Ty Hildenbrandt 51:45 I'm going to plant my flag on 7-5.

Dan Rubenstein 51:47 All right, I'm going to say 9-3. This feels like a team that, if there were still divisions, would again lose the Big Ten Championship 42-3 to the team on the other side, the Big Ten East.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:00 So while we're talking about Iowa, let's make the casual transition now over to Nebraska. All the kids are doing the six-seven thing, Dan? Is this something that's no longer a thing?

Dan Rubenstein 52:10 Not anymore. I think we're past it.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:13 We're past it.

Dan Rubenstein 52:14 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:14 That's probably good for humanity.

Dan Rubenstein 52:14 Mhm. I agree.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:16 Meanwhile, Matt Rhule is still trying to make 7-6 a thing. Am I right?

Dan Rubenstein 52:23 Oh, Ty.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:24 Am I right? Come on.

Dan Rubenstein 52:27 I don't think he's trying to get to seven and six. I think he has higher aspirations.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:32 7-6 for the second straight year for Nebraska. Second straight year, also, where they started 5-1 and finished 7-6. What's crazy is, go and look at the schedule again, Dan. It looks like it sets up almost identically.

Dan Rubenstein 52:49 Five winnable games to start.

Ty Hildenbrandt 52:51 In 2026. We'll talk about that in a minute. But last year, Dylan Raiola went down. He was out. The offense was not explosive. The run defense was very bad.

Ty Hildenbrandt 53:02 This year, a lot back. A lot back. If that's your starting point, okay, we can work with this. They are third nationally, 69% returning production. It's 69% back on offense, 69% back on defense. Of course. Of course. Very, very nice for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. My sense as the Chief Colandrea Officer is that there is going to be a lot more boom or bust in this offense in 2026. So Colandrea comes over.

Ty Hildenbrandt 53:34 You know his deal. He was previously at Virginia, made the move over to UNLV, was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, had nearly 3,500 passing yards, almost 650 rushing yards, 33 total touchdowns. He will dazzle you. He will depress you. To my eye, he seems like the type of guy who is your prototypical Dana Holgorsen quarterback. He's that dude. He's an improviser through and through. No window is too tight. He's going to scramble. He's going to take some shots. Sometimes it works.

Ty Hildenbrandt 54:10 Sometimes it works famously well. Other times it is a spectacular failure. But he is nothing if not interesting. I love the guy. I have always been a fan of Anthony Colandrea. The best of him is fabulous. The worst of him can be, like, head-scratching. But I love the fact that he is paired with Dana Holgorsen, and I think they can do some really fun things together.

Dan Rubenstein 54:32 I'm with you. I found myself liking where Nebraska is right now. Not loving, liking. And in no small part due to the upside of Anthony Colandrea.

Ty Hildenbrandt 54:44 I think you pair him with a wide receiving corps that looks to be a relative strength on this offense.

Dan Rubenstein 54:53 Perhaps.

Ty Hildenbrandt 54:54 I think the line will be in a much better place this year. Although, like Evergreen tweet, we say that every year.

Dan Rubenstein 55:00 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 55:01 I just feel like there is enough around Colandrea. You don't want it to all be on Anthony Colandrea. I emphasize, for as much as I like the guy and think he's got real potential in this offense, we do not want a situation where it is all on the right arm of Anthony Colandrea, because I do not think that will work. But if they can achieve some level of balance, if you can unlock some of what he gives you, moving the pocket, some of his improvisational ability, taking some shots over the top with this receiving corps...

Ty Hildenbrandt 55:33 I think there is a really strong case to be made that this could be a much more exciting offense, especially as compared to last year, which, even before Raiola went down, was a lot of dink and dunk.

Dan Rubenstein 55:43 I think I would like Anthony Colandrea to Nebraska a lot more if he were transferring in as, like, the last missing piece to an offense. Like, they've got the offensive line finally to a good place. Can't say that. Hopefully they have, but this is not an existing good offensive line already. This is a hope for a good offensive line. We're not talking about a loaded receiving corps, even though you look at it as a relative strength for this team, with the upside that they may have. It wasn't stocked with dudes torching Big Ten teams last year. They obviously had the injury last year. The Dylan Raiola experience, experiment, whatever you're going to call it, fizzled out. It didn't work out. He took too many sacks.

Dan Rubenstein 56:29 The offensive line allowed too many sacks. Didn't take a ton of chances downfield. He was just not the quarterback—not for the times at—that's not English—for Nebraska. It didn't work out. It was a failed stretch of time for the Nebraska offense. Now you bring in Anthony Colandrea, who, to your point, is a wild card. So you're adding a wild card who, you go back to some of his time at Virginia, if you're going to play devil's advocate, threw, like, seven picks in three games against the best teams at the end of the 2024 season for the 'Hoos. He's going to take chances. He's going to try to play hero ball. I don't love that for this Nebraska offense, one that ran the ball really well last year.

Dan Rubenstein 57:15 They just couldn't protect the quarterback. I think there will be signs of brilliance, and then there will be signs of, 'What the hell?'

Ty Hildenbrandt 57:24 Boom or bust. It is boom or bust.

Dan Rubenstein 57:27 And I just don't think that's what Nebraska needs.

Ty Hildenbrandt 57:27 That's what this is.

Dan Rubenstein 57:29 They need somebody from what they had in the room. I just look at it like, I think their defense is actually pretty interesting this year. I think their defense is going to give them a pretty good chance to win some games.

Ty Hildenbrandt 57:41 They hired a new defensive coordinator, Rob Aurich, from San Diego State.

Dan Rubenstein 57:46 San Diego State, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 57:47 He's retooling the defense. He's switching to a 4-2-5, away from the 3-3-5. John Butler, no longer the defensive coordinator. I have never been a Butler guy, nor have I been a 3-3-5 guy. So I like the fact that they are making this switch now. I really like the move for Williams Nwaneri, their five-star defensive lineman. I saw a quote somewhere along the line that he feels more comfortable where they've got a four-man front up front. It kind of unlocks him.

Dan Rubenstein 58:16 Four down linemen, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 58:19 I think we'll probably see a really solid defense and, to your point, kind of a volatile offense.

Dan Rubenstein 58:25 I don't think they have the depth on defense. I don't think they can weather too much on defense. But I think the guys that they'll be putting out there, if health is reasonable, should be able to get off the field. Now, a lot is on that defensive line to stuff anything on the ground, which they couldn't do last year. That's job one. But if they're merely okay against the run, I think there's talent against the pass. The schedule's real hefty on the back end.

Ty Hildenbrandt 58:52 Well, they miss Michigan, USC and Penn State, but they have five preseason SP+ top-25 opponents in Ohio State, who's one, Oregon, who's two, Indiana, who's three, in addition to Washington at 21 and Iowa at 22. You can throw Illinois in there. They're, like, a top-30-caliber team as well. So this is not an easy stretch.

Dan Rubenstein 59:18 And by the way, it's Ohio State, Iowa back-to-back, and it's a short-week road game before Iowa.

Ty Hildenbrandt 59:23 Yeah. That's right.

Dan Rubenstein 59:25 They play Iowa in Iowa City on I think it's the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend.

Ty Hildenbrandt 59:30 I think this is a 7-5 or 8-4 team. I'd be willing to go as high as 9-3, but I would need a few drinks in me before I'm willing to go 9-3.

Dan Rubenstein 59:42 Yeah. By the way, didn't Anthony Colandrea finish his year out losing to Ohio in a bowl game? Yeah, 17-10. He did not have a nice day against the Bobcats. I think there's a good shot we have another, like, 'Oh, they started 5-0 and they're No. 23,' and they finish 7-5.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:02 I'm worried about the hero ball. I'm worried about that because I don't know what they're going to look like on the ground. I feel like they really need a running back to step up and give them some balance. And while it'll be okay, it'll be fine, unless they have some element of balance, I am fearful of what that means for this offense. If he's playing hero ball and they don't have any semblance of a ground game to try and offset it, they're going 5-7. It's a 5-7 team if it's all on Colandrea, who I like, but you're right, is a wild card. They've got to try and, like, I don't know, prune some of those thorns.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:43 I don't know how you do it if you're Dana Holgorsen, but to my eye, the best way to do it is to give him a little bit of balance. I think that unlocks the offense. I'm pretty high on this team, generally speaking, but I have some reservations about what that might look like if we don't see any kind of ground game emerge.

Dan Rubenstein 01:00:59 Look, if you're going to say in those final seven weeks that you feel best about them going on the road and beating Rutgers, right? If that's that game, right? I think that's what you would assume. If you look at those final seven, you're like, I feel best about them traveling across the country to play in New Jersey in November. It's not great. Like, I think it's absolutely on the board of them starting 5-0 and finishing 5-7.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:27 Okay. Washington went 9-4 last year. It was Jedd Fisch's second year. I think they were better than a lot of people realized. They did have a bit of a scare in the offseason when LSU came sniffing around Demond Williams Jr. It was a weird situation. As we discussed in Part 1, Jedd Fisch compared it to a player demanding a trade and then it not working out and ending up back with the same team that he's been with. Kind of turned into a big nothingburger. I watched Media Day. Was there any kind of tension?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:00 Was there? There was no tension. It's just, whatever. Nothing to see here. I like Washington a lot this year. I've been calling them my pet team now for a few months. But important caveat. The important caveat is this is a maybe-good, definitely-unproven kind of team. An MGDU. Also, Washington and Demond Williams both had a pretty serious problem in big games last year. Twenty-two touchdowns and two interceptions in Washington's nine wins; three touchdowns, six interceptions in their four losses, including a three-interception game against Michigan. Against Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Wisconsin...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:43 Washington averaged only 9.3 points per game and 4.3 yards per play. So there was a problem when they got to the better teams on that schedule. Now Jedd Fisch is calling the offense, and we can discuss what that means. We can also discuss what it means to get Ryan Walters back in Year 2. But I see this as a team with a lot of upside, a team with a lot of potential, but a team—like, I don't want to say that they're budget Oregon. I don't mean that in any derogatory way. But just in the sense that we've got a question about how they perform in big games, Washington is also there.

Dan Rubenstein 01:03:19 I kind of liked Washington more than I thought I would when I dove in. I like Demond Williams. I like that receivers, skill-position dudes tend to emerge out of Jedd Fisch offenses. Talked about this a little in Part 1. I don't love where they are on, like, the inside of their defensive line. But I think they'll get it figured out. I think they have enough bodies to throw at the problem. They've recruited in interesting ways. Linebacker's in a good place, albeit a little thinner than where we thought they might be. The secondary does lose its starting corners, but I like where they are at safety.

Dan Rubenstein 01:03:59 And I like the guys that they have options with at corner. Like, I don't hate where this Washington team is from a talent standpoint and where they are top to bottom.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:10 But to the point of the defensive line, to the point of the cornerback room, maybe good, definitely unproven.

Dan Rubenstein 01:04:11 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 01:04:18 Right. It's unproven, and it's...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:19 You know, that's the theme.

Dan Rubenstein 01:04:23 Dependent on youth coming through, especially against the back half of the schedule. Like, they get SC on the road, and I think they get SC the week after SC plays Oregon, right? Like, Oregon softens SC up for Washington. So that's nice. But yeah, the back half of the schedule, when they're at Nebraska—and look, I'm not saying that I think they're a better team than Nebraska right now—I am confident that Washington, in 1,000 simulations of the 2026 season, gets closer to double digits than Nebraska does an overwhelming majority of the time.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:56 I think I'm with you. Yeah, I agree with that.

Dan Rubenstein 01:04:57 And they have a bye before that game, but the game is on the road. It's difficult.

Dan Rubenstein 01:05:01 It can be a difficult place to play. They finish with Indiana and Oregon, and the game is in Eugene against Oregon, and I think it's going to be quite difficult. But it's a good year to have Penn State travel across the country to play against you. Like, I don't hate this schedule. Even if we agree that Minnesota is frisky, they get Minnesota in Seattle. Like, there is going to be something about these teams flying across the country to the corner of this country to play against Washington in a difficult place to play. Like having a difficult game in Eugene, Oregon, and having a difficult game in L.A., these are not new things. These are not difficult trips. So I think they're going to get it figured out.

Dan Rubenstein 01:05:43 They have three games, three winnable games before Minnesota to work in the youth and some of the new names. Now, the problem is they don't see a truly challenging quarterback before they get Jayden Maiava.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:55 Yeah, I mean, look, a big part of why there was such a huge jump last year for Washington was on defense. I think they need to get a little bit more disruptive up front. I think that's going to be a theme going into this year. But I do think maybe good, definitely unproven applies on defense. I like where they're at, though. I think, like you said, they've got bodies they can throw at the problem. My bigger curiosity is on offense. I like the fact that Jedd has taken a little bit more of an active role in calling the offense, and I like the line in front of Demond Williams. My issue with the offense is that this is a system built around the pass and around some of that, like, wide-zone stuff. I don't know how I feel about the pass-catchers outside of Dezmen Roebuck.

Dan Rubenstein 01:06:44 Yeah, playing inside now, right? He's moving to the slot.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:47 Maybe good. Definitely unproven again. A recurring theme here. I certainly don't know what the running back room looks like, because they lose Jonah Coleman. He's gone. Adam Mohammed transferred out. I thought it was going to be Jordan Washington, but then he had a pretty serious injury. He was at the spring game, but unfortunately he had a neck brace.

Dan Rubenstein 01:07:04 Yeah, not ideal.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:07:04 Right. So it's, like...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:07:07 Not an ideal situation. I like, as you pointed out, that there is some runway in September to get things figured out. But once they get to October, there are a few stretches on the schedule that I think make it really, really complicated. And I also worry, much like I described with Nebraska, that if there's not a little bit of balance here, even though it is built around the pass, very much so built around the pass in a Jedd Fisch offense, I do worry that, unless there's a little bit of balance, if it is all on Demond Williams, that is not necessarily the most successful setup. I like this team. I've got them at 8-4. I think they're going to be feisty. I definitely think we're going to see another jump from Demond Williams.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:07:49 I think he's the real deal. There's a reason why people wanted him. But for me, it's more a question on offense about skill talent. Who are they putting around Demond Williams? I trust the line, but what does the support staff look like beyond the line? Who is going to give, you know, maybe beyond Dezmen Roebuck as well, who is going to give Demond Williams another one of these out pitches that he can turn to in a high-leverage moment?

Dan Rubenstein 01:08:17 Right. And if you need to score 24, 27 points against SC, Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, Indiana, and they couldn't get to 10 points last year against a lot of those types of defenses and teams, and they're not obviously as talented as they were last year when they had some of those names you mentioned, you better hope Trez Davis is awesome kind of immediately when they get Iowa and USC. So that's the—like, there's just a lot of balls up in the air, and it's not like they've got a super-promising young defense. I think a freshman, a defensive lineman, an edge guy, Derek Colman-Brusa—is that the answer for this team that erases all doubt? Like, that's the question. There's just a lot riding on very few names.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:13 The over-under is 7.5, which to me feels like the exact right number. That's exactly where I would put it if I were setting this as well. I just don't know. I like a lot about this team. I like the talent that's on this team. And I think there's a pretty good chance that there are more wins on the board than eight. I could see it, but I don't want to put my name to it. So I'm at 8-4.

Dan Rubenstein 01:09:38 Yeah, they get Indiana, by the way, a week after Indiana hosts USC, traveling kind of across the country.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:45 Kind of a tricky setup for Indiana.

Dan Rubenstein 01:09:49 How many points do you need to beat Indiana this year? You got to get to 20. If the defense is good, you got to get to 20 still. And that's TBD.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:59 Wisconsin 4-8, huh?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:05 4-8 last year. Missed a bowl for the second straight season. They went 0-5 on the road. They finished with one of the worst scoring offenses in power-conference football. They decided to keep Luke Fickell. So this is the year. This has got to be the year. It's got to be the year. You've got to make the jump, or it's going to be somebody else in '27. And I think that's as clear as day.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:27 They did a couple things to try and facilitate that. First off, new offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who comes up from Arkansas, did a good job while he was there. So we've talked about the Arkansas offense, but the Arkansas offense was actually quite good.

Dan Rubenstein 01:10:40 They had the number one rushing attack in college football last season.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:42 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 01:10:44 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:44 So you'll take that. If he can, you know, conjure up some of that magic, you'll take that if you're Wisconsin. They desperately need to get a little bit more push up front. That would be the whole catalyst for the Jeff Grimes RVO offense, Dan. RVO. I know this isn't a new thing. I know this is not a new thing. You can go back, and he was doing this five years ago now when he was at Baylor.

Dan Rubenstein 01:11:08 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:10 The reliable violent offense.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:13 Which kind of sounds like AI slop. I assure you, it is not. It is a real thing.

Dan Rubenstein 01:11:17 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:19 You need the line, though. You need the line. The offense starts now with a rebuilt line. And I think it extends out to Colton Joseph, their new QB1, who comes over from ODU. Hopefully, a little bit of a deeper running back room, and hopefully a little bit more tight end involvement. I think that's what it looks like. That's what the RVO looks like this year if you're Jeff Grimes, provided it all works.

Dan Rubenstein 01:11:43 Who's had some good offenses these past few years. Like, since the Zach Wilson stuff at BYU, Baylor's had some decent offenses. I think he was only at Kansas for a year or so. But, I mean, it was a disaster last year.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:55 It was not good last year, but yeah, the track record is there. I do think they landed a good one in Colton Joseph, the quarterback from ODU. If you don't know his deal, dynamic runner, truly a dual-threat guy. The risk with him is a 20% pressure-to-sack ratio while he was at Old Dominion. What does that mean? That means, for every five times he was pressured, he took one sack. You layer in that he also had 10 interceptions and seven fumbles.

Dan Rubenstein 01:12:30 These are against Sun Belt defenses, correct?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:32 As I said in Part 1, as I said in Part 1, the concern is you've got a rebuilt line.

Dan Rubenstein 01:12:34 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:38 You got a mobile quarterback who they're certainly going to put on the run with a recent track record for turning the ball over.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:46 And just Wisconsin as a whole has a problem with quarterback health. There is your downside, okay? There is your risk. The upside is obvious because he can throw, he can run. They just have not had luck with transfer quarterbacks. So what it looks like up front with that line, what it looks like with respect to, can they also—like we've discussed with a couple of teams here—can they also get a little bit of balance on the ground? That, I think, is going to be overwhelmingly important to whether or not this project takes flight now with Colton Joseph at the helm.

Dan Rubenstein 01:13:20 There are pieces to this team, even pieces to this offense, that I could squint and see working. But I have to squint.

Dan Rubenstein 01:13:31 I like the hires. I like the transfers on the offensive line. I like that I can kind of see what they're going for. I like that they know they probably, if they get anything out of receiver, it's a bonus. There's so much unknown at receiver. They're like, okay, let's lock in on running the ball, tight end, the athleticism of Colton Joseph, figure out how to put him in a position to succeed, both arms and legs, whatever, limit turnovers. They're not going to be bombing it down the field. They're not going to be running the Air Raid like they had been trying to do previously. Listen, if Tanner Mordecai didn't get hurt...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:02 Do you remember that? I remember talking about that with you. I liked Tanner Mordecai. I did like Tanner Mordecai.

Dan Rubenstein 01:14:12 But I like that they're going in a very specific direction with this wing and a prayer, I guess. The defense, we'll see. I think there are terrific pieces on this defense, especially up front—maybe not along the defensive line, but edge and linebacker, front seven.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:30 They are kind of reassembling themselves, you know.

Dan Rubenstein 01:14:33 At least, like, that middle of the defense at linebacker. And maybe, you know, they line him up at edge rusher or something. I'm fine with Wisconsin taking a step forward. But what does that actually mean for Luke Fickell? What does that actually mean for this program? Like, are we putting in all this money, all this effort, all of these transfers for Wisconsin, who finally has some breathing room on its schedule—which, by the way, also starts at Lambeau Field against Notre Dame? Like, they still have to travel to Penn State in, I think, the first month of the season. They're traveling across the country to a UCLA team that might be more realized by the time they play, and then follow that up with SC, follow that up at Iowa.

Dan Rubenstein 01:15:10 And then the schedule opens up some more, but you're saying to yourself, okay, are they putting in this much effort into a year where they don't have, what, Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana? But they do have Notre Dame, so they do have a playoff team in there. All this effort for 7-5, 8-4 to fully max out? I don't know. That's where I'm at with them. What's their number? What's their win-total number?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:34 Yeah, right now, Wisconsin's at six and a half.

Dan Rubenstein 01:15:37 I think I have them at 7-5. I think they're a bowl team. If they win a bowl at 8-5, does 8-5 say, 'Okay, we're going in the right direction. Let's keep spending'? Wisconsin should never be a 7-5 program, in my mind, my history with them. It's a different Big Ten. It's a different time.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:54 What's the cutoff for Luke Fickell keeping his job? How many wins?

Dan Rubenstein 01:16:01 I just don't think you can put this much money and effort into a program and not win eight games.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:07 So eight wins, then? 8-4.

Dan Rubenstein 01:16:08 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:09 7-5 isn't good enough.

Dan Rubenstein 01:16:10 I don't think so.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:12 7-5 would be progress, though.

Dan Rubenstein 01:16:14 It would be progress, but again, we're all shaped by how much better teams can get quickly. It depends, I guess, who the seven are.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:26 I also think it depends who else is out there. It depends who else is out there on the coaching carousel, because part of the reason why—and I believe this—I don't think Wisconsin made the move a year ago is because it was a very crowded field. And if you can avoid it, you never want to be in that situation where you're, like, the fifth-best job. You want to have your pick of the litter. So I could certainly see it in 2026. Let's say they get to 7-5. Maybe even it's a shaky 8-4. I don't know.

Dan Rubenstein 01:16:56 We've seen a lot of shaky eight and fours in this sport.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:59 I could see a situation where they're looking around to see who else might be gettable. And because I don't expect it to be as active a cycle in the coaching carousel, Wisconsin makes a move, even if they do a little bit better than they have in past years. I could see them making that move simply because they've got better options with respect to where they go next.

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:20 Okay.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:22 I've got them at 7-5 again, just like you do.

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:24 Yeah, I'm at 7-5.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:27 I could see anywhere between 6-6 and 8-4, but I'm going to go 7-5. I'll go right in the middle.

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:32 All right, we...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:34 All right, we got two more teams, Dan. We got Rutgers, we got Purdue. Which to you is more interesting?

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:40 Rutgers.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:41 Why?

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:41 Absolutely Rutgers.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:42 Why?

Dan Rubenstein 01:17:44 I don't know. Like, there is something about a Greg Schiano team making wholesale changes on defense, going extreme in the portal, hiring a new coordinator, a history of Greg Schiano teams figuring out defense, and finally taking a really interesting step forward on offense last year that—maybe I just have a soft spot. Maybe I'm rooting for him. Maybe I've just liked watching Antwan Raymond last season as he came on, and the receivers, both receivers, under the Greek Freak.

Dan Rubenstein 01:18:15 I don't know. A feisty Rutgers, to me, is not out of reach.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:21 Rutgers went 5-7 last year. The offense produced a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time together since 2007. So it felt as if there was some progress on that side of the ball. But on the other side, on defense, Rutgers was terrible. They were 95th in defensive SP+, 136th, dead last, in explosive plays allowed, second from the bottom in sacks. A bunch of numbers here that I could list off that all prove that they were really, really bad on defense. And then, to boot, they had four blown second-half leads. They had three of those blown in the fourth quarter alone. They also had a late interception after a really good first half against Iowa.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:13 They botched a shotgun snap before they missed a field goal in a three-point loss to Minnesota, and they had a scoop-and-score in that Penn State game on a play-action fumble that tipped the balance of that one as well. So you can kind of see it a couple of different ways, depending on your point of view on the Rutgers side. On offense, definitely meaningful improvement. On defense, it was horrible. But then somewhere in between, you had these moments. Often, football is a game of moments. These moments went against Rutgers and no doubt contributed to a 5-7 season.

Dan Rubenstein 01:19:51 I agree. I agree. I just think there's life there. I'm choosing to look at the competitive nature of some of those games. Their schedule this season, combined with—look, if they get something from quarterback once again, a reclamation project, it might be, what, Dylan Lonergan at quarterback? I still like the skill talent. Their schedule is situationally kind of interesting. I don't know how much you've looked at their slate this year.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:17 I've looked. I've got it in front of me, yeah. Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 01:20:20 So they get SC before SC's stretch of difficulty, and they host SC. SC has to fly to New Jersey before SC hosts Oregon and Washington, before they themselves go back to the East Coast to play Penn State.

Dan Rubenstein 01:20:35 Okay, so there's that element. When you look at the potentially winnable games for Rutgers on this schedule, they have Maryland on the road, but a week before then, Maryland has Ohio State on the road. Northwestern has something brutal, I believe, around it. Yeah, Northwestern, right after it, has Oregon, Iowa, Ohio State, right after they host Rutgers. Rutgers has Wisconsin on the road a week after Wisconsin has Iowa on the road. There are just moments here for Rutgers that, if there is something feisty about this Rutgers team, if some of these smaller-school transfers—because that's what they are, a lot of these guys for Rutgers—if some of these guys work out, I don't have a ton of confidence that they will, but I think the schedule does put them in enough of a position to make it an interesting conversation.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:27 This is one of the more interesting sandwich games that I circled in all of the notes that I've been taking for all these power-conference schools.

Dan Rubenstein 01:21:37 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:39 Michigan Wolverines, okay?

Dan Rubenstein 01:21:40 Mm.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:41 The Michigan Wolverines come off of a bye.

Dan Rubenstein 01:21:41 Agreed.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:45 They host Penn State. They host Indiana. Back-to-back weeks. On Halloween, Dan, they are on the road against Rutgers. So two teams that I think at that point will be ranked, no doubt, Penn State, Indiana. Now you're on the road against Rutgers. The following week, you come back home to square off against Michigan State, a rivalry.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:22:08 And then after that, as we get into November 14th, Week 11, you're back on the road, this time against Oregon. So clearly, in that stretch of games, Michigan State might end up being the worst of the lot, but for sure they're going to be on the radar for Michigan. The team that I think they are most inclined to overlook would be Rutgers, away on Halloween, where everyone's going to be dressed up. I'm not saying they're beating Michigan, but in terms of sandwich spots, there's, like, a double-decker layer on both sides of that Rutgers meat that I think is going to be a little bit more on Michigan's radar than, certainly, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Dan Rubenstein 01:22:41 Yeah.

Dan Rubenstein 01:22:48 Absolutely do not go to the Rutgers meat subreddit, by the way.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:22:51 No, do not go to the Rutgers meat subreddit.

Dan Rubenstein 01:22:52 Not what you think it is, and I know what you think it is.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:22:54 No.

Dan Rubenstein 01:22:56 Not what you think it is.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:22:57 Schiano did respond, though, by kind of nuking the defense. And he's bringing in Travis Johansen, who comes over from South Dakota. He's been very successful at lower levels of college football. It's an open question as to whether or not a contingent of FCS and G6 transfers are going to hold up against the likes of USC and Indiana and Penn State and all the teams we just described. But he's at least trying something different, and he's at least turning to a guy who's had some success, albeit at a much different level of college football. I agree with you. I also think, like, to your point, Antwan Raymond at running back is a really interesting piece. KJ Duff out wide is a monster. If they can get any kind of consistency at quarterback, presumably from Dylan Lonergan, who played a season ago at Boston College and has some Power Four experience...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:23:52 I think there are elements of this Rutgers team that, again, if you squint, you could find quite interesting. I'm just not sure what the ceiling looks like for these guys.

Dan Rubenstein 01:24:01 It's a bowl. It's 6-6, 7-5.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:24:03 It's 6-6 or 7-5. The over-under is 4.5. So I've got them—it's a Drive for Six situation, for sure. I've got them at 5-7.

Dan Rubenstein 01:24:11 Yeah. I got 6-6.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:24:14 Okay.

Dan Rubenstein 01:24:14 Look, their winnable games are set up nicely, right? They get BC—I don't think BC's on the road—UMass, then finish with Michigan State a week after Michigan State, I believe, hosts Oregon again. So Oregon's softening up another opponent for Rutgers.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:24:26 They gotta steal one.

Dan Rubenstein 01:24:26 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:24:27 If they want to get to a bowl, they're going to need to steal one of those games. It just doesn't look obvious to me who that team is going to be. But I do think that, at least on offense, there's enough talent there to be interesting. It's just, can they get any better on defense?

Dan Rubenstein 01:24:40 Look, Rocco Becht knows a lot of things. He doesn't know Rutgers.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:24:45 Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. Let's close this out, then, with Purdue. Purdue last season, oof. New coach, a lot of new players, 2-10, 0-9 in conference. This year, they've got four new starters along the offensive line. But they also want to lean a little heavier into the run game. So, see how that works. Don't know. Kevin Kane is back now as their defensive coordinator. He was with Purdue, then he spent the year away with Minnesota.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:25:17 Kevin Kane is a havoc guy. Kevin Kane wants to dial up pressure. He wants to create sacks. He wants to create TFLs. He wants to try and change the game. Again, can you do it with the talent here? I don't...

Dan Rubenstein 01:25:30 Would it be T's-FL?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:25:32 I don't know. I guess. Tackles for loss.

Dan Rubenstein 01:25:35 But I don't know if it's—the, okay, TFL is self-contained enough. Okay.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:25:39 I have TFLs on my thing.

Dan Rubenstein 01:25:39 I'm good either way. Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:25:41 I think that they will be better just in terms of talent on the roster. I think there is clearly more depth on this Purdue side. I also think it's going to take a minute. I still think this is very much a work in progress. I'm not crazy about Ryan Browne, but at least there's some continuity on the offensive side at quarterback. But I don't know what the receiving room looks like. I think they had a huge problem with, just in general, offensive efficiency a year ago. That's probably going to rear its ugly head at some point here before long. I guess, for me, it's really a matter of: Is another year of Ryan Browne and some depth around him and maybe a renewed focus on trying to run the football going to be enough for them to take some meaningful step forward?

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:26:26 I'm leery on that.

Dan Rubenstein 01:26:27 Yeah, and obviously always having Indiana on the schedule, at least for the foreseeable future, while Curt Cignetti is there, is not going to be terribly pleasant.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:26:36 And I mean, it's not just Indiana, okay? It's not just Indiana.

Dan Rubenstein 01:26:38 Right.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:26:40 It's also Notre Dame, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, Penn State and Iowa that are all on this thing. So if you look at the schedule and if you're trying to figure out where are the must-win games if we want to see some real, like, meaningful progress here, you're looking at Week 2 against Wake Forest. There's just not a lot on the schedule that looks like it's that gettable for Purdue.

Dan Rubenstein 01:26:59 That's tough.

Dan Rubenstein 01:27:03 Agreed. And their path to scoring 30 points, 27 points more often, is just not obvious. Like, they want to run the ball more. Ryan Browne wants to continue to develop and get more accurate. And I just... I'm not seeing it. I like the pressure they were able to get a little bit on quarterbacks last season. I like how, for stretches, two, three quarters at times, they were looking competitive against some of the better teams they played. I like that on this schedule, there are opportunities at home if Maryland doesn't work out, if Wisconsin doesn't work out relatively late, but those are crazy sandwich moments, too, between Penn State, Iowa and Indiana games.

Dan Rubenstein 01:27:47 So the schedule isn't terribly forgiving, as you've sort of alluded to when you get Notre Dame outside of the conference slate. I just don't see a path to five wins.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:27:57 No, I don't either. I don't either. I will root for it, though, and I will send a shout-out to our Purdue contingent that listens faithfully.

Dan Rubenstein 01:28:06 Yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:28:08 And roots on the Boilermakers. I hope our guy, Verballer Eric, continues sending us the long write-ups about Purdue football. He does a better job, frankly, than...

Dan Rubenstein 01:28:16 I feel like he sent us an email resigning that role.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:28:20 Well, he needs to get back at it because he's been sort of like my go-to source for all things Purdue here over the last couple of years.

Dan Rubenstein 01:28:21 Let's get back.

Dan Rubenstein 01:28:27 Right, Eric, yeah.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:28:28 Verballers.com. Okay, so we've got nine more teams that will be coming your way when we jump on over into Part 3. We covered, I think, the Big Three on today's episode, and then a collection of other teams that were of interest for one reason or another. But this is such a big conference at this point, it's not hard to find interesting teams. In Part 3, we've got USC, Michigan and Penn State. We've got Illinois, Minnesota and UCLA, and we've got Northwestern, Maryland and Michigan State.

Dan Rubenstein 01:28:59 Yes.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:29:00 Which I'm very excited about. That'll be coming your way on our next episode this coming Thursday.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:29:05 And then after that, we've got the SEC. Before we, I guess, snap into form, we talk about some of the other news that's been going on around college football, be it jersey patches or perhaps congressional legislation. What's going on with the class of 2022? Do they get more eligibility? There's a lot going on around the world of college football as we go through these previews. So we'll try to touch base on those fronts as well. If you are new here, please make sure you hit follow or subscribe. If you want, go on out to Verballers.com.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:29:36 Dan, I'm about to switch the portal on, by the way. Did I tell you this?

Dan Rubenstein 01:29:39 Ooh, love that.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:29:41 I'm going to switch the portal on this week. So, at the time of recording, it's not done officially yet. I'll probably be making a post out on Patreon at Verballers.com, giving people a little bit more detail about what they can expect and how they can get in and check it out.

Dan Rubenstein 01:29:57 Love to hear it.

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:29:58 solidverbal@gmail.com if you have any thoughts on anything you heard here today. If you want to add any flavor to, I don't know...

Ty Hildenbrandt 01:30:06 Our preseason projections for any of these nine teams or any of the nine that we're going to discuss on our next episode, we'd love to hear from you. Again, hit follow or subscribe if you have yet to do so. For that guy, Dan, for myself over here, Ty, thanks again for your ongoing support. We'll catch you all on Thursday. In the meantime, stay solid.