Big Ten: Part 3 - USC, Michigan, Penn State and Dubious Beef [AD-FREE]
Ty Hildenbrandt — 00:18
Dan Rubenstein, welcome back to the Big Ten. This is Part 3. On today's episode, we're going to dive into USC, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota, UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland, yes, Maryland, and
Dan Rubenstein — 00:32
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 00:33
Michigan State. It's tough when you got the long list like that. Sometimes you catch yourself. Nine teams. I'm very excited.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 00:39
Welcome back.
Dan Rubenstein — 00:40
Thank you very much. I'm always trying to brand, Ty. Big Ten Part 3, pretty good. But as for, like, a post-colon, ‘Big Ten Preview: Part 3,’ it could use some work, which is why I'm here, Ty. ‘Big Ten Preview: Part 3: Associated with D'Anton Lynn,’ right? USC, UCLA, Penn State.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02
Okay.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03
It's not the best SEO.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:04
No, you need you need to keep workshopping. What else you got?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08
That's it. No, um, that's it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:09
Oh, that's it. Oh.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:11
No, my main one, my main one is, okay, so I have two more. One of them is ‘Big Ten Preview: Part 3: Here for the Vibes.’ Because when you look at a couple or three of these teams, maybe it's not a production year, per se.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26
No, no, I agree with that.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:28
So kind of like Michigan State, here for the vibes. Northwestern, here for the vibes. UCLA, here for the vibes. Even Penn State, who should produce this year.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:38
It's kind of secretly a vibes year more than anything because the vibes were so down last year that everybody at Penn State is kind of looking to Matt Campbell, both for on-field and recruiting and just program status, like a vibe shift, right? I think there's something about the vibes right now with some of these teams, that it's not a priority, but it'd be nice to have better ones than where they were last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 02:04
I think I'm with you.
Dan Rubenstein — 02:05
The other, my final one, is just much more straightforward. When I was looking at a number of these teams, Michigan State, Northwestern, UCLA, maybe to a lesser extent Michigan or USC, maybe to a lesser extent Penn State: ‘Big Ten Preview: Part 3: Dubious Beef.’
Ty Hildenbrandt — 02:24
Dubious beef. Well, there's a lot of
Dan Rubenstein — 02:25
Especially on defense, I would say.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 02:26
Yeah, I was going to say, on defense, we could talk about some of that dubious beef. I was detecting that trend as well. We've got nine teams that we're going to go through. Of course, go back and listen to Part 2, where we covered the other half of the conference. Go back and listen to Part 1, where we did our tier rankings and kind of put everything in perspective. We will have now gone through, after this episode, I guess, all of the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC, the entire G6, and, to boot, we have our Intro to 2026 episode, which we put out back at the beginning of July, that kind of covers the overarching themes and whatnot.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 03:03
Of course, a lot has gone on even since then, which, once we get through all of our previews, we can touch up and talk about news and, at that point, maybe legislation. Maybe Indiana getting back its all-world defensive lineman.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:17
Yeah, Stephen Daley.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 03:19
Depending on how things go, if it stays that way a couple of weeks from now. So we've got other things to discuss. We got to get through this first. We got to do our part to make sure that people have the adequate primer to officially get ready and excited for college football season, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 03:34
I totally agree, and my favorite part of preparing for this specific episode was the number of teams, when we talk about dubious beef, whether it's a preview magazine, whether it's preview podcasts we've listened to, whether it's Bill Connelly, whatever, it occurred far more often than I thought it would where I was like, okay, they have questions stopping the run, but they bring in this defensive lineman from Oklahoma State, and he is 334 pounds, right? There's no descriptor about how his previous coaches say he was super disruptive at the point of attack, or when he was on the field Oklahoma State was better against it. It was, ‘He is 334 pounds.’ Or, like, ‘Oh, but Minnesota is going to be plugging in this transfer, and he is 317 pounds.’ It's just...
Dan Rubenstein — 04:30
So direct and specific, and not at all informing if they're a good football player or not. So I enjoyed that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 04:36
Head on out to Verballers.com if you want to support the team, support what we do. I should add, the Verballer Portal is now officially open for business, Dan. Took the bubble wrap off it yesterday. We've got Grand Total in there, which is our preseason game. You go through, you pick the over-unders for all of the Power Four, and then you rank them by order of confidence. We've got the Verballer Top 12 poll that is open up until, I guess, the week before Week 0, so you can file your Top 12 ballots right away. Eventually, once we get to Week 1, we'll unveil Run the Board, our normal season-long game, and we're going to have a bunch of other community bells and whistles that we throw in there over the course of time.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 05:21
If you just want to check that out and see what it's all about, you do need to be a Patreon member to play. But portal.solidverbal.com is where you can go if you're ever so inclined and want to learn a little bit more about what we've got going on out in our Verballer portal this year, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 05:35
Yes, very exciting stuff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 05:37
If you made it this far, hit follow, hit subscribe so that you don't miss any of our episodes. We still got to do the SEC. Where do you want to start first, Dan? We've got nine teams before us today. Again, those are USC, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota, UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland, and Michigan State.
Dan Rubenstein — 05:57
I guess USC I was going to say Michigan.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 05:59
You guess. You guess.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:02
Yes, we're going to start out. Oh, I had another post-colon just because we're doing the L.A. schools. It was ‘Big Ten Part 3: Plenty of Room at the Hotel California,’ because it's Big Ten California.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:13
These really need work.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:13
It's too long.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:15
These really need work.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:15
It's too long.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:17
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 06:17
I agree. So, uh, I'm gonna say USC because my initial thought was Michigan because they were so newsworthy this offseason, but I want things settled on the field more often, and USC beat up on Michigan last year, did they not?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 06:31
They did. So you and I both had the same issue with USC when we did Part 1, because we both really struggled to figure out where they rank in the Big Ten, where we should place them relative to our tiers. I think we both agreed that they're right below that trio of Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana. We both think this team is going to be really good. We both had the same questions about defense and schedule. Would you agree? Just a blanket statement: at this stage in early August, is USC a fringe playoff team? Yes, no, maybe so.
Dan Rubenstein — 07:06
Definitely. I mean, look, if you're talking about USC as a top-15 team, where were they in the initial coaches poll?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:14
I think they're, I don't have it in front of me, like 12 or 13, somewhere in that neighborhood.
Dan Rubenstein — 07:17
Right. They're right in that range. I think it's totally okay to say USC fringe playoff team in that conversation.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:26
This is a team that went 9-4 a year ago. They lost in the Alamo Bowl, excuse me, to TCU in overtime.
Dan Rubenstein — 07:34
Number fourteen, by the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:35
Number 14.
Dan Rubenstein — 07:35
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 07:36
Okay. It was a top-10 offense. Despite all the comments about defense, it was the No. 36 defense per SP+. Not horrible, not catastrophic by any stretch. A lot of room to grow, which we can get into. I think there is a good chance we see some growth across the board this year for USC. No. 13 in returning production, they project out as a team with a very, very high ceiling, if nothing more.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 08:02
So as we get into this, I don't want to start with the schedule. I don't want to start with defense. I want to start with the offense and Jayden Maiava, because I think that's sort of the center of gravity for this discussion as we talk about USC. This is the thing, first and foremost, that everyone's going to be talking about. So how do you feel about that side of the ball for USC, where they were a year ago and where you expect them to go in 2026?
Dan Rubenstein — 08:26
I feel really good. I'm not at ‘great.’ I feel really, really good about where USC is on offense, just because quarterback, as we've discussed, is a developmental position. Good quarterbacks add things to their game and correct things that need correcting. And it is irrefutable that Lincoln Riley, hold on, irrefutable, is a good developer of quarterback talent and production, right? I think that's English-ish. What I worry about with Jayden Maiava is, okay, how much does he correct some of the mistakes? How much does he correct some of the forcing issues?
Dan Rubenstein — 09:02
Which I think he did a nice job correcting last year. So I assume he's going to force less this season. The problem, as I see it, is if USC is going to come near producing where they've produced the last couple of seasons, and obviously he didn't start all year two years ago, they're going to rely on true freshmen. And that's where I'm a little bit iffy on USC's offensive ceiling, whether they have two promising, it looks like two promising, freshman receivers, a very promising freshman tight end after losing their two most productive tight ends from last season. The offensive line is absolutely stable. I think it's pretty good. I don't know if it has cross-the-board star-power dependability, but I think when you look at where they are at running back, when you look at where they are at quarterback and when you look at, at least, what the upside is at receiver, just because of the scheme, just because of Lincoln Riley's history, they're going to have a top-10-to-15 offense this season.
Dan Rubenstein — 10:02
My question is: is it going to be an offense that once again scores 50 or 60 points against a lot of teams, but not the teams?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 10:10
Right, right, right.
Dan Rubenstein — 10:10
No, you're not going to score 50 or 60 points against Oregon and Ohio State, but can they produce like an obvious playoff team against those types of teams? Can they score 31, 35, something like that against a playoff-caliber team, Indiana? So that, to me, is the question with the offense: are there those types of gravitational receivers like what they had with those two NFL dudes last year, Jacoby Lane and Makai Lemon? And so, Tanook Hines is good, definitely good, and popped early in his career at USC.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 10:41
Right
Dan Rubenstein — 10:43
I think the running backs are good. But if we're talking about USC and what their intention is this year, I think it's a failed season if they don't make the playoff. Is that crazy to say?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 10:56
Yes and no.
Dan Rubenstein — 10:57
Even though we don't expect them to be an obvious playoff team, they're not taking a step forward if they don't make the playoff this year, to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 10:57
We'll get into the schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 11:02
Yeah, I would agree with that. Yeah, I would agree with that.
Dan Rubenstein — 11:07
So maybe fail is too strong a word, but disappointing season without the playoff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 11:11
I think that's fair. I mean, look, the floor is really high, especially on offense, because Jayden Maiava is back. Last year it was his first full year at the helm. There was this veteran presence out wide. Now it's Maiava's team. You know, I listened to our friend Ryan Abraham who does the excellent Peristyle Podcast, and they were talking a lot about how Jayden Maiava has grown this summer and like player-run practices and his leadership has taken a step forward.
Dan Rubenstein — 11:37
Thirteen pounds of muscle.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 11:40
You need to have offseason stories like that, I think, to feel good about a returning quarterback. And especially now, given the fact that he loses that veteran presence out wide, it's helpful to have this guy as sort of like the trigger man who is in command and knows the offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 11:55
He can get a little bit yippy with his mechanics. We saw that under pressure last season. But we did see, to your point, both his decision making and his touch get a little bit better. So, provided they've got options, let's say, out wide, I think they'll be fine. I agree with you. It hurts to lose some of that veteran presence out wide, but they've certainly got options, and wide receiver has never really been that big of an issue for a Lincoln Riley offense. I don't really have that many questions about this offense. Like, I am most excited to see what develops out wide and if anybody pops
Dan Rubenstein — 12:28
And they have three weeks. They have three weeks before Oregon to sort of figure out anything along the offensive line if they need to, but they return a ton there. Figure out running back rotations, the workload for King Miller or Waymon Jordan or whoever. Figure out which freshmen are or aren't ready to catch passes against the run of teams that they do play pretty quickly thereafter. They have a runway.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 12:51
They absolutely do. And, you know, more to the point, whether it's Tanook Hines continuing what he did or a young guy like Boobie Feaster, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Somebody's going to have to step up. Somebody will step up. That's just sort of the way that this offense rolls under Lincoln Riley. What I like about USC, bigger picture on offense, is it feels like they can beat you a number of different ways. To my eye, that makes them super appealing, especially against a schedule like this where they're going to be tested a variety of different ways by a bunch of different types of defenses and teams. So I like the fact that they've got a couple different pitches, and it's not just like Mariano Rivera in the cutter, which was very good, and he's in the Hall of Fame.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 13:33
But I like to have a couple different ways that you can beat a team if it comes down to that. The defense, though, is probably the most interesting part of the team, if only because Gary Patterson is now back in the game and running it. I think there is an open question for me on where they are with the installation of the defense, because Gary Patterson likes to do the thing where everybody knows what everybody else is doing. It's not just like you go out there and they give you an assignment. He wants everybody to know what's going on at all times across the defense, which I like, but for sure it takes a little bit longer, especially with college kids, to get them up to speed and knowing which end is up. If you look at the schedule, they've got about three weeks at the start of the season, to your point, to get it right before Oregon comes to town and then things heat up. I know that Patterson has been really effusive about the size of the defensive line, another one of these coach superlatives that I just love.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 14:32
We could probably make an entire episode out of this, but Gary Patterson is on record calling it the biggest line he's ever had. I think that's probably the engine for the defense. I think linebacker is a real issue here. I think the secondary is still somewhat in flux, if only because there were a handful of guys who were injured at times this spring. But defense should come as no great surprise. That's the thing with USC that could truly be a limiting factor. They're not going to be a catastrophe. They weren't last year. So whether they stay about where they were a year ago or take a little bit of a stride forward, obviously that remains to be seen. But as long as the offense can continue producing at a really good clip, a really efficient clip, their ceiling is pretty high, and their floor is also pretty high.
Dan Rubenstein — 15:18
Okay, a couple thoughts on the defense. We don't have a huge sample size of like, okay, this longtime head coach is now coming back to be a defensive coordinator. A position that he hasn't exclusively held in 26 years, in Gary Patterson's case, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 15:35
I know.
Dan Rubenstein — 15:37
It was his defense at TCU, to be clear. That was not his exclusive responsibility at TCU. So there's that. The sample size is like, okay, what do we think of Bo Pelini at LSU? Maybe we shouldn't ignore that if we're USC fans, right? What do we think of Gene Chizik at North Carolina? I think it improved early, but then we should probably ignore it soon thereafter, right?
Dan Rubenstein — 16:03
We've had a couple of these instances. I think Tom Allen probably did a decent job at Penn State. Not perfect, but he did decently, and he's once again a defensive coordinator, but he didn't have the longevity as a head coach that Gary Patterson did. Then we have Will Muschamp, who sort of bounced between, but has been a defensive coordinator a lot more recently, or at least a co-DC. Now that he's at Texas, he had that responsibility at Georgia. So that, to me, is an open question, that Gary Patterson has not game-planned as a defensive coordinator for the modern college football game, ever. He did it as a head coach with hands on the defense at TCU.
Dan Rubenstein — 16:40
At the end of the TCU tenure, mixed defensively. So that's a question to me. I thought the strength of this USC defense last year was its pass defense, the combination of its pass rush and its secondary talent. They're starting over in the back end to a certain degree. There are some health questions, talent questions. I think the pass rush should be good to very good, depending on how this defensive line, especially up the middle, is able to rush the passer, because there are definite pieces and there are young pieces coming in that should contribute pretty early if all works out. But this team was run through, different coordinator last year, but they were run through by a worse offensive schedule, seemingly. We don't know exactly what these offenses on this year's schedule are going to look like.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 17:24
Well, we're going to talk about that in a second.
Dan Rubenstein — 17:26
But when you look at who they actually played last year and the offensive ceilings of those teams, the talent level on offense, the star power on offense, they were run through by not a lot of incredible offenses. And so, yes, they're better. They have fortified things up front. There's reason to believe in USC's defensive roster, probably more so than where they were last season. But how much better did they get at linebacker? There are portal additions and stuff, like making changes along the defensive staff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 17:57
Um
Dan Rubenstein — 17:59
You're bringing in Patterson guys. Eric Henderson's out along the defensive line.
Dan Rubenstein — 18:03
New guy, new, new, new faces there. There are more moving pieces than I think USC fans would have you believe. The combination of transfers and new coaches on this defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 18:14
Five opponents ranked No. 21 or better in the preseason SP+, those being Ohio State, which is one
Dan Rubenstein — 18:23
Has a good offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 18:23
Oregon, which is two, Indiana, which is five, Penn State, which is 17.
Dan Rubenstein — 18:25
Good offense. Should have a good offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 18:30
It won't be as good as those other offenses, but it'll be fine.
Dan Rubenstein — 18:34
Yeah, should have a good offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 18:34
Washington at No. 21, I think, should be pretty good. Both Oregon and Ohio State come to L.A., which helps. But they're at Penn State. They're at Indiana. Clearly, those will be tough games. Basically, between the end of September and the middle of November, there are no breaks. The most winnable game in that stretch, again, between the end of September and mid-November, is Wisconsin, and that's a week before the Ohio State game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:04
So there are a bunch of landmines here for USC. If you're looking to see, okay, what's their over-under, I have it jotted down at 8.5, which I guess gives them enough wiggle room to lose to the big three in Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, but basically nobody else. So I have them down 9-3. I could see them being better. I don't want to say 9-3 is the ceiling for this team, because I think this is going to be a really good team. They are somewhat, though, at the mercy of the schedule, and it just keeps coming at them. So there's probably a conversation to be had later in the game about whether a 9-3 USC that perhaps loses to some of these better teams on its schedule, the big three, let's call them, in the Big Ten...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:47
Do they still have a playoff case? Well, we'll talk about that in November. Or Penn State on the road.
Dan Rubenstein — 19:51
That would likely mean a signature win at Washington or Penn State on the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:57
But you get my point.
Dan Rubenstein — 19:58
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 19:59
It's a really tough schedule. Obviously, Lincoln Riley has been the butt of some jokes regarding schedules as of late. As it stands right now in the Big Ten, this is a really tough schedule. They're going to have their work cut out for them.
Dan Rubenstein — 20:12
Yes. To go to Penn State when they do, after those two West Coast teams come home. You mentioned the bye before Wisconsin, but that's a huge look-ahead spot. Indiana, I believe, I'm looking at the schedule right now, they both have byes before Indiana and USC play each other. So that's nice, but that's later in the season. That's in the cold, flying east, a situation that Lincoln Riley traditionally has not thrived in, preparing his team to win in those moments.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 20:39
No. Where are you at? Where are you at with USC 9-3?
Dan Rubenstein — 20:44
Nine and three. Now, I'm willing to believe USC wins one of those three.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 20:52
I could be sold on that.
Dan Rubenstein — 20:53
I'm willing to believe that if USC's starting point is a quarterback in his third year of starting games for the team with high-level recruiting along the skill positions.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:05
I think King Miller is good. I think he sort of took advantage of a lot of down teams last year to puff up his numbers and wasn't great against Oregon and Notre Dame. And I think the defense under Gary Patterson will be fine. I don't think they're going to do anything atrociously poor like they did against the run, or just in general, you know, in recent history.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:21
Now
Dan Rubenstein — 21:26
I think it'll stabilize. But I'm not certain that there's enough there to dictate against Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana types. So they'll win one of those three and lose something not obvious.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:41
We just spent 20 minutes talking about USC.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:44
Is that true?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:45
20 minutes. They're an interesting team this year.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:46
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:48
I regret nothing. They're an interesting team this year. And frankly, if they go 10-2 against the schedule, they should be like the No. 7 team in the country.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:56
I think it's closer to 15 that we spent.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 21:58
Well, whatever. It's a lot of time.
Dan Rubenstein — 21:59
People will have the timecodes available to them.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:02
No, no, I'm not, I'm not judging.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:04
Oh, no, I'm great with it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:04
Not you, not me.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:05
They're super interesting.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:06
Super interesting. We'll see. But 10-2, maybe more, it's there. It's a good team. Defense, ever the question.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:15
Schedule, certainly the question.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:17
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:19
You mentioned Penn State. Shall we? Shall we dance?
Dan Rubenstein — 22:23
Let's do Penn State. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:24
Why don't I turn it over to you for a second? What are your questions? The same way that I turned the Oregon bit over to you after I asked a few questions. Why don't you pose a few Penn State questions and let me wax poetic? Because I've got a lot to say here.
Dan Rubenstein — 22:39
Here are my scratch, my chicken-scratch notes on Penn State as I was preparing. This is just so I can eyeball it during the preview. Coming out of last season, they were led by nothing. Completely new. They're not led by anything from what they did last year, right? You can't look to where Penn State was last year in terms of personnel, coaching, identity as a program and say, okay...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 22:58
No, no. Throw it out. Throw it out the window.
Dan Rubenstein — 23:02
‘They did this, and here's what you can build on. Doesn't matter.’
Ty Hildenbrandt — 23:04
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 23:06
Must improve. Vibes. Okay?
Dan Rubenstein — 23:08
So they're the first, like, true vibes team we're talking about. If you're going to kind of look at where Iowa State was last year, they're going to be starting a lot of key players from Iowa State's 2025 team, with Iowa State assistants, especially on offense. Pop, and then defense stopping pop, though this is D'Anton Lynn. But USC had issues stopping pop last year on the ground. Pass rush and run defense. And pass rush is a really weird thing to say with Penn State because they've been churning out monsters along the defensive line. But when you look at this year's roster specifically, and I think their, like, most promising, or one of their more promising, internal defensive end/edge-type guys is at USC now, right? So now the question to me is, okay, what can Penn State do? My last category is outlook.
Dan Rubenstein — 24:02
And I have written down here: a lot of Iowa State players need to meet the moment, slash, be excellent for three games. The schedule is awesome. Find a pass rush, no big breakdowns on defense, run the ball some, don't turn it over, convert third downs. The offense probably won't have pop, but if it's an efficient offense and an efficient defense, it gets you to nine-plus wins against this schedule. So if they are boringly pretty good, with a bunch of Iowa State players who can meet the moment of three games that are going to define this season, and they're not, like, crazy hard-hit by injury, I don't think we have any doubt that Matt Campbell is a good coach, who I think the culture will be strong. But, yeah, it's at this point where you're like, how many guys on this team are drafted in the first three rounds as it stands now? That is weird for Penn State, because that's an easy question to answer in previous seasons.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 24:59
So let me back up. You mentioned culture. I love the Matt Campbell hire. I really do. I think he is genuinely a good guy. There is a humbleness about him that will a thousand percent play in central Pennsylvania.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:14
Humility.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:15
Humility.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:16
Sorry, I was doing my perfume commercial.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:16
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:19
Now, I've had Iowa State people reach out to me and say, yeah, you're going to get sick of the clichés and platitudes by like week three.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:19
Continue.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:28
Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:28
I've responded to some of those folks by saying, why stop now? James Franklin did it for 12 years. It's not really anything new.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:34
Oh, Matt Campbell's a college football coach who speaks like a robot?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:36
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 25:37
Oh my god, he stands alone in a sea of different people.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 25:41
You mentioned Matt Campbell in Iowa State. For Matt Campbell to turn in eight winning seasons in a decade at Iowa State is something of a miracle because they do not have overwhelming resources. They do not have an enormous recruiting footprint. It is a very, very easy pitch, I think, to the Penn State community to say that the new coach has a good track record for both player development and doing more with less. The point of hesitation is something that you mentioned, though. And maybe it's splitting hairs. Maybe it's unfair to Matt Campbell. Yes, he did do more with less in Ames.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 26:17
That is, I think, undeniable. It still felt like there was some meat on the bone, though, didn't it?
Dan Rubenstein — 26:24
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 26:25
Like, I was, I was all in on Iowa State these last couple years.
Dan Rubenstein — 26:25
Yeah, there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 26:30
There were random disappearing acts that sort of drove me crazy. And I don't think they happened because they had less talent. I don't know if it was a lapse in focus. I don't know exactly why some of that stuff happened.
Dan Rubenstein — 26:41
I think part of it is depth, though. I think, like, you can build a really good starting 22 at Iowa State. It's just harder to weather injuries in the portal era if your place is not necessarily an annual destination.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 26:54
And I know, like, Taylor Mouser's talked about play-calling and stuff like that, and the role that it played, but that's sort of the point of hesitation for me with Matt Campbell.
Dan Rubenstein — 26:58
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 27:03
Otherwise, I'm all in. His job, though, is to now scale that up. He's going to have access to everything he needs at Penn State. Can he recruit at the same level as James Franklin? Can he build a more reliable offense? Can he keep the defense at or near where it's been all these years? And can he beat some friggin' teams ranked above him? That's how he'll ultimately be scored, not just in year one, but as we move forward here.
Dan Rubenstein — 27:27
But this is a post-hire conversation.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 27:29
This is very much a post-hire conversation.
Dan Rubenstein — 27:31
This is the season now, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 27:33
This is the season.
Dan Rubenstein — 27:33
Talk to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 27:35
This team is a blended family. I have seen it referred to as a blended family in like eight different spots. It is a combination of guys from Iowa State and holdovers who were with Penn State a year ago. For all intents and purposes, it's the Iowa State offense. They've got Rocco Becht at quarterback, Carson Hansen at running back, Benjamin Brahmer at tight end, both Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen out wide, and some others, some guys along the offensive line. I think this offense is going to look different, and I think it's going to feel a little different. It's going to feel like there's a vision behind it, which, again, talking as a Penn Stater, as someone who talks to a lot of other Penn Staters, that fact alone will be music to their ears because it didn't feel like there was much of that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 28:23
These last two seasons, maybe it was a personnel thing. Maybe it was an Andy Kotelnicki and James Franklin thing. It was probably a combination of things. But the fact that they've got, I think, an offense in place now, or at least that they're trying to build, under Matt Campbell and Taylor Mouser that has more of a vision is going to be something that's going to make the fan base kind of excited. This is an offense that's very much going to be built around the power running game. If they can do that well, then they could add in some play action, then they could take some vertical shots. So I'm expecting a very heavy diet of Carson Hansen, James Peoples, the running back who transferred in from Ohio State, as well as Quinton Martin Jr. on the ground. Quinton Martin got a little bit of action later in the year last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:05
Those three guys are going to be essential if this whole thing is going to work. Because if they work, then it sets up Sowell, it sets up Eskildsen, it sets up perhaps Koby Howard. Everybody's all about Koby Howard right now.
Dan Rubenstein — 29:22
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:22
Probably should have gotten more time out wide last year and didn't, but has, I think, impressed again. And we'll probably see some real reps this season. And Benjamin Brahmer, the tight end. Right? Like, giving those guys an opportunity to run some deeper routes because the rushing attack is working. That is, I think, the whole premise of this thing and should excite Penn State fans because it feels like it's going somewhere.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 29:46
It feels like there's a cohesion to it. It's certainly giving the offense a little bit more verticality. We've been talking about that for three years now, and I think we'll see that with Taylor Mouser at the helm. We saw it at Iowa State, so I'm optimistic about that side of things, especially because it's Rocco Becht, who may be somewhat limited physically, does have two bum shoulders, which we discussed back in Part 1 and really all offseason, but he knows the system.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:09
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:13
He's clearly a leader. It doesn't matter to me that he didn't get a ton of reps in the spring.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:18
He's essentially a coach on the field, and that's exactly what Matt Campbell wants out there. So I feel good about the offense. I feel good about the talent. My big question is, as you said, the trenches.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:30
I don't feel good about the talent.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:32
Why?
Dan Rubenstein — 30:33
Because I've watched Penn State before. This is...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:37
The guys I'm talking about were all playing for Iowa State last year.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:40
Right, but like, this is by far the least talented Penn State in recent memory, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 30:46
Least talented at some positions.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:48
Yes.
Dan Rubenstein — 30:52
How many players on this team would be playing two years ago for Penn State? Like, you're saying you feel good about the talent, and I understand that you feel good about the talent in a vacuum relative to their schedule. It's year one. It could be worse with how many guys could have left or, you know, could have chosen to transfer elsewhere. But, like...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:10
I'm not comparing him to the 2024 team, Dan. I'm just saying, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:14
No, I know. What I'm saying is, I know every year is different, every roster is different, but like I look at who's putting on a Penn State uniform this year. You're, like, going from Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to Carson Hansen?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:28
Carson Hansen was pretty good for Iowa State.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:30
You're going from Ty... Tyler Warren, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:32
Ty what?
Dan Rubenstein — 31:33
Tyler Warren a couple of years ago. I know that's two years ago. Like, the recent tight ends for Penn State, the best of what...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:38
Benjamin Brahmer is probably going to be a first-round prospect.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:42
He is good. He's legitimately good. I mean, just you look at some of the defensive linemen that have been in the league recently and where they are this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:49
Okay, all right.
Dan Rubenstein — 31:50
You look at some of the guys in the secondary at the linebacking corps. This is going to be the least-talented Penn State team of the Matt Campbell era, right? I would hope.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 31:59
Well, maybe. I guess we'll see what happens next year because a lot of these guys are going to be leaving. But let me get back to my point. My issue is not the talent, at least not at the skill positions. My issue is what they look like in the trenches. They've got four new starters along the offensive line. Clearly, the defensive front is a completely separate matter. I think they're bigger. I don't know if they're better. There certainly is no obvious answer for what they do at edge and in the pass rush.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 32:33
D'Anton Lynn, the new defensive coordinator, came over from USC. Penn State alum. I think he has built, you mentioned this earlier, but at least if you trust what he has said publicly, he is trying to build something that prioritizes run defense, which I think is smart in the Big Ten. But because there's no obvious solution, no obvious replacement for Dani Dennis-Sutton, who left, and just in general with the pass rush, I think there is a very real question. If you're not getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, maybe you can stop the run, but if you're giving them time, and if we have a few questions, and I have some, about the secondary, then what does that mean for this defense as a whole? How big of a step back, if we see a step back, is there going to be? I happen to think the back seven is solid. I could be biased there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 33:24
I love the linebacking corps if they stay healthy.
Dan Rubenstein — 33:27
I like the young corner. What's his name? Not Collins, the other one.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 33:29
The young Daryus Dixson, yeah, he is good.
Dan Rubenstein — 33:32
Yes, he's good. There are pieces. He could be a first-round pick in a year or two.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 33:38
I just, like, feel differently about the talent, but I am a little bit leery about what happens in the trenches. Their win total is 9.5 this year, I think mainly because of that schedule. They do not play Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Illinois or Iowa. There are basically three games on here that look like toss-ups, maybe worse: home against USC in Week 6, Week 7 on the road against Michigan, and Week 10 on the road against Washington. So, more to your earlier point.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 34:12
There are some other games on here, too, where you could see some of those disappearing acts, right? Like home against Wisconsin, a short-week road game to open the new Ryan Field at Northwestern.
Dan Rubenstein — 34:24
Mm-hmm. It's Ryan Field, to be clear.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 34:27
I know that.
Dan Rubenstein — 34:28
It's not, you don't get to choose.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 34:28
I'm just, I know that, but we can say whatever we want on this show.
Dan Rubenstein — 34:30
Okay. Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 34:33
Got Minnesota on here. They close out the year against Maryland. You could convince me of anything between, like, 8-4 and 12-0 with the schedule, but I'm going to stick at 9-3. That's where I'm comfortable.
Dan Rubenstein — 34:45
Yeah, I like how this schedule is positioned. Now, Michigan gets a bye before they host Penn State, which will be tough. And you would think Michigan by then, having been battle-tested on offense playing Oklahoma and Iowa, will be able to self-diagnose, hopefully, in a meaningful way. The Wisconsin game is not a sure thing because, as we saw last year, their non-conference schedule in no way prepared them for some of the rigors of Big Ten play. And so, obviously, you'd like to get that with a new coach and a new system and new talent everywhere, but it's Marshall, Temple and Buffalo before they face Wisconsin, then travel to Northwestern and get USC and Michigan. So it gets very real very quickly. I'm not even, like, that Wisconsin game, to me, is not an obvious win for Penn State.
Dan Rubenstein — 35:28
So I think if Penn State is hitting the best of its ability, has decent health and is just boringly pretty good, it feels like a 9-3 season to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 35:45
But you're going to go under.
Dan Rubenstein — 35:46
I don't think they're above 9-3.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 35:47
But you're going to go under.
Dan Rubenstein — 35:49
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 35:49
You're going to say what, 8-4, 7-5.
Dan Rubenstein — 35:52
I think it's eight or nine wins. I think the schedule is advantageous enough. I think the teams they're going to play near the end of their schedule, Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland, with Minnesota and Rutgers at home, are not particularly deep. And so those are easier games to pencil in. So I think their win total is going to be nice, and it's going to be absolutely something to build on. But I don't know. In some of these games, especially the middle portion of the schedule with USC, Michigan and Washington... Now, Washington has to travel across the country.
Dan Rubenstein — 36:22
That's going to be crazy difficult for them to do, just like it is for anybody to do that. But if Penn State's defense is not excellent, you're going to have to score at least 30 against Washington, right? If their defense is merely okay, decent, you probably have to score around 27 to 31 points to have a decent shot in that game. I'm just not fully there yet. This was a 7-6 Iowa State team last year, right? Scored 17 points at Colorado. Like, I think they have pretty good players, but I think my voice goes up way too much when talking about this roster and team in Year 1.
Dan Rubenstein — 36:57
I think it'll be a build-on year. I think there will be a lot to be encouraged about with Penn State moving forward.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 37:04
So we disagree, but at the same time we kind of agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 37:10
I don't think we're anywhere close spiritually. I think they're way better than you think, but okay. Maybe I'm biased. Look, I've got the Penn State road sign behind me.
Dan Rubenstein — 37:19
Look, this is Penn State, man. Not to, like, sort of rip off Dan Hawkins. Penn State's a huge deal. There's a gap between Iowa State and Penn State. Penn State is a big, big, big-deal program. Their intention is to win the Big Ten every year. It doesn't happen often. But, like, this is subpar in terms of a roster relative to where they've been recently.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 37:49
I mean, Rocco Becht is a pretty good quarterback, all things considered, compared to where they've been at quarterback over these last couple of years. And I know Drew Allar might be lighting up fall camp right now for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he had his moments at Penn State, but offensively, there was just not the level of consistency that they needed, and they did not get the most out of many of these top-flight recruits that they were bringing in. So whether Campbell is that guy, I think, will be the ultimate thing that we score him on a couple of years down the line. Can he develop these guys? Is he getting more with more?
Dan Rubenstein — 38:31
I don't think Rocco Becht was one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the Big 12 last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 38:36
All right.
Dan Rubenstein — 38:36
Might have been the injury thing. Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 38:39
Where do we even start with Michigan? Where do we start with these guys?
Dan Rubenstein — 38:45
I think Michigan has more immediate new-coach upside because of what it returns, what it brings in recruiting-class-wise and where its starting point is roster-wise. I think Michigan, with a tougher schedule, has more encouraging elements.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 39:06
9-4 a year ago, they lost the bowl game to Texas. Sherrone Moore was fired with cause. Kyle Whittingham, formerly of Utah, basically fell off the back of a truck and landed on his feet in Ann Arbor. He brought Jason Beck, the offensive coordinator, with him from Utah, along with Jim Harding, his longtime offensive line coach at Utah. He also poached Jay Hill, the defensive coordinator from BYU.
Dan Rubenstein — 39:33
That's awesome. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 39:35
Great signing. Michigan is 20th nationally in returning production. Clearly, not the easiest schedule, but there are a bunch of home games.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 39:44
I think there are eight home games, if I counted correctly. I also think, on the whole, this will be, to your point, a net positive for the football program. Obviously, the way the whole Sherrone Moore thing went down is not good for anyone. But from a football standpoint, even before everything blew up, we had people writing in saying, ‘Ah, we're not sure how long this Sherrone Moore thing is going to last. Ah, it feels like maybe he's a bit out over his skis.’ We're not going to get those emails about Kyle Whittingham. It might not go according to the grand plans, but Kyle Whittingham is an accomplished coach. He's an adult in the room.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 40:19
He knows what he's doing. I view this as a coaching upgrade. Would you agree with that?
Dan Rubenstein — 40:24
Yes, easily.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 40:25
It is not a talent question for me this year with Michigan. It's an assembly question. And what I mean by that is that Whitt sort of made his mark at Utah by developing really tough guys in the trenches and playing a really physical brand of football. At a minimum, we'd start this year assuming Utah was, what, a top-15, top-20-caliber team if he were still coaching, right? We might still be there with a different coach.
Dan Rubenstein — 40:54
Sure, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 40:55
He's been great at meeting those types of expectations, but the bar is higher now, and he's going to need to exceed that. I think he will put together a very physical offense. I think the running backs here will be obvious beneficiaries of that. But how he assembles the pieces and how he puts together a better version of what he had at Utah, that's going to be the big question this year, two years from now, three years from now. How is he getting more out of the philosophies that have been really, really good to him over his long career as a head coach while he was out there at Utah?
Dan Rubenstein — 41:31
That's all reasonable. What he has to work with is pretty good. Like, right now, with the experienced offensive line, it all sort of starts up front with Jason Beck and Kyle Whittingham together. The offensive linemen who came back and who were added to the rotation. I know they have, what is it, Babalola, who got hurt last year. Former five-star, a lot of promise, could be a starting tackle. They have options to kick tackles inside. Like, there are options for this offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein — 41:59
The running back duo should be very good to great.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:02
Man, Jordan Marshall had a good year last year, and he's going to be the lead back.
Dan Rubenstein — 42:06
And then you add in Hiter, the freshman.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:07
Yeah. Savion Hiter, a five-star freshman.
Dan Rubenstein — 42:10
He looks really real, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:13
Absolutely. Everybody has been talking this guy up. In a world in which now the line gets better, I think there's.
Dan Rubenstein — 42:20
In a world sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:21
I think there's a chance the line could improve. Jim Harding's got a long track record for being a really good offensive line coach, putting guys in the league. They, what, put two guys in the NFL just last year, right?
Dan Rubenstein — 42:29
Two tackles. Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:31
Like, I would expect Utah to be very present in this version of Michigan football, at least on offense, where we're going to see physical bully ball, we're going to see a really good offensive line. Bigger picture, I like that setup for Bryce Underwood. I think there'll be enough balance around him that he'll have time to develop. It won't all be on his right arm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 42:53
This is going to be the identity of this offense, and it's going to be very similar to what we saw while Whitt was still out at Utah.
Dan Rubenstein — 43:00
Right. Yes, there's a good amount to like. If the running attack is working, they have options to throw to. You know, the addition of JJ Buchanan. Andrew Marsh obviously emerged last season, then disappeared in that Ohio State game. I don't think he had a catch in that game. But where they are now, it seems like they have pass-catching options, even though it's not obvious at tight end, because I think JJ Buchanan is sort of a bigger slot-type hybrid.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:28
Yeah, hybrid. Yeah, he's going to give teams fits. I love that. I love that move for them.
Dan Rubenstein — 43:33
But tight ends develop, you know, under Kyle Whittingham and his intentions on offense, whatever they are as a defensive guy. Now, the question to me is: what specific usage does Jason Beck get out of Bryce Underwood?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:48
Well, that's it, right?
Dan Rubenstein — 43:49
Does he have an understanding of what Bryce Underwood is into, right, and kind of hide what he's not into?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 43:57
Are we speed dating here? What are we talking about? Can Kyle Whittingham develop a blue-chip quarterback? Let's just get it out in the open. Can he do it? Because he doesn't have a great track record for that.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:09
Or does he have the stomach to take risks downfield, taking chances? They did a better job last year with Devin Dampier, but that was after bringing in a new offensive coordinator. Even Devin Dampier is not a polished, polished passer downfield, but they had more of an appetite, it seemed, than usual last season, and it paid off basically 10 or 11 out of 12 weeks.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:32
My perhaps irrational fear is that Jason Beck is going to turn Bryce Underwood into Devin Dampier 2.0.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:40
Okay. Would that be so bad?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:43
I just feel like he's got more to give.
Dan Rubenstein — 44:46
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 44:47
We know for sure, just based on what they have said publicly, that Bryce Underwood is going to be put on the run a little bit more. And so you can see how that fits into this offense if you're going to build this physical brand of rushing attack and bully teams. Bryce Underwood can move. You can put him on the run, too. That's another guy the defense has to account for on the ground.
Dan Rubenstein — 45:09
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:09
Obviously, if he can throw, if they can improve his passing, there's a lot to like there. I don't feel like we saw Devin Dampier take huge strides as a passer.
Dan Rubenstein — 45:17
No, he was pretty beat up, but yeah. And Bryce Underwood was a freshman last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:20
And Bryce Underwood was a freshman last year.
Dan Rubenstein — 45:22
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:23
So I'm curious to see how they use him as well. I do think we will see him on the run more. I do think they'll get him outside the pocket and put him in situations where the defense has to make a choice. Are you going to go after Bryce Underwood? Are you going to drop back into coverage? I think stuff like that is going to work and is going to be very present in this offense. Again, he was a freshman last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 45:46
Mechanically, he's still working through some of his issues, trying to get everything in sync. I don't think it's going to be a situation where he's throwing 35 times a game, and I like that. I think that's a beneficial system for him. They will definitely work to try to get him some easier throws. Maybe that can aid his progression. But longer term, you've got to see the progression. And I just, I'm a little leery of that, to be honest with you. I like that he's got Andrew Marsh. I like JJ Buchanan.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:16
I love the talent around him on offense. I'm just, for the same reasons that maybe you're a bit hesitant to throw your hat fully into the whole Matt Campbell experience, you look at his track record and what Iowa State was. I look at Whittingham.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:32
I like Matt Campbell.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:34
It doesn't sound to me like you did, but that's fine.
Dan Rubenstein — 46:36
All I was saying is, like, is Micah Parsons on that team? Is Abdul Carter? Is there, like, this year's Abdul Carter?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 46:44
Whittingham has a bit of a track record for not getting the most out of quarterbacks like this. He's never had a quarterback like this, if we're being honest. Part of the development of this program is something that I'm a little bit worried about. On defense, I feel good as well. I've got a big question at linebacker, where they're kind of unproven.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:04
Yeah, they lost a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:05
Jay Hill is kind of a trusted hand. He won't ask those guys to do too much too soon. This is a defense that's very multiple, a lot of variability in how they create pressure, how they disguise coverages. Linebackers are obviously at the heart of that.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:20
We'll see what they do in week two when Oklahoma comes to town. But otherwise, I feel pretty good about it.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:24
Secondary is in great shape, by the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:26
They're in great shape. They're really in great shape. And I like them up front. John Henry Daley comes over from Utah and is, I think, going to be an instant boost for that defensive line.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:34
If his Achilles works.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:36
If his Achilles works, yes.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:38
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:38
Important caveat.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:39
Listen, if somebody were like, ‘Dan's a great dude for this rec league basketball game, provided his Achilles has recovered,’ I'd be like, I wouldn't count on Dan for this rec league basketball game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 47:49
I am going to hold out hope. I feel okay about that.
Dan Rubenstein — 47:51
No, I'm hoping, too, because he's a terrific talent. But that's a not-insignificant asterisk there. Yeah, Michigan's problem is all, like, you know, if you're going to oversimplify it, what we talk about, like the drive to six. What's the path to 28 against Oklahoma, Iowa, Penn State, Oregon and Ohio State?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 48:14
And Indiana.
Dan Rubenstein — 48:15
Excuse me, and Indiana. Whatever that magic number is, obviously it can come down if the defense is great. It's a sliding scale. What kind of confidence do you have that they can score three touchdowns on offense every week they play those types of teams? That, to me, is, if you're going to oversimplify the year, wherever the wizardry comes from at receiver, wherever the star power comes from up front with some new names and faces, great. I'm good with all those questions. But oversimplifying it: three-and-a-half touchdowns against those teams. Where are they coming from?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 48:55
The schedule is brutal. It really is brutal. Week 2 against Oklahoma at home in the Big House, I think, is going to tell us a lot. Whether or not, again, on defense, they can get everything installed by then, whether the line, whether, you know, the ground game that I was trumpeting earlier can come to play in a game like that very early in the season. Oklahoma should be pretty good. We'll talk about them a bit on our next few episodes. That game against Oklahoma in Week 2, I think, is a pretty big deal.
Dan Rubenstein — 49:26
Agree, also. Huge trap potential for the Fighting Bruins of UCLA.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 49:31
Yes.
Dan Rubenstein — 49:32
Get Michigan between road spots in Eugene and Columbus. Come on, Bobby C. Make that a fun game.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 49:40
Uh, 9-3 Michigan for me.
Dan Rubenstein — 49:43
What did I write down? I wrote down at the end of my chicken scratch, 8-4 and 9-3 with the uptick of Underwood's arm. Barely English, but they have 9-3. If you're like, oh, he's gotten better, this is an offense that is well-suited for him, this all makes sense, they're a 9-3 team.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:02
You have done something that you don't normally do on this episode.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:06
Uh oh. Oh, I'm wearing pants, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:08
Other than that, you've actually kind of annoyed me with your Penn State slander.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:10
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:13
Really?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:14
You've kind of annoyed me, Dan. I'm going to be honest. We're honest with each other. We're like brothers at this point. You've sort of annoyed me with your Penn State slander, which is why I'm going to say: talk about whoever you want to talk about next. Just take it.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:26
Really? I'm under your skin.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:28
You've actually done it. It's taken us nearly 20 years.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:30
Which part of it?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:31
You finally got here.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:32
I got to give you props.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:34
You just live in that Keystone State echo chamber, Ty?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:39
Who are we talking about next? Take it.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:42
Okay, we can talk. Let's talk about Illinois, another team I'm into.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:46
Oh, you love Illinois.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:47
Yeah. Well, no, I wouldn't say I love Illinois. I'm into Illinois.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:51
You're into... you live in Illinois.
Dan Rubenstein — 50:53
I do live in Illinois. I have Illinois friends, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 50:57
All right. I'm also interested in Illinois. I was kind of surprised to hear your optimism. I went back and took a harder look. My guess is you're still probably a little bit higher on Illinois than I am. But last night I'm sitting down here in the studio, probably 9:30, the dog's sound asleep. I scared the crap out of her because I looked at this schedule, I looked at my notes, I audibly gasped, and I texted you immediately. I said, I think maybe you were right. Maybe I was overlooking Illinois in a way that was sort of unfair.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 51:37
So, um, it's not hard. I don't think it happens, but it's not hard to envision a world in which Illinois goes 10-2 because of the schedule.
Dan Rubenstein — 51:49
A lot has to break right, but I agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 51:51
Two Goliaths on here: at Ohio State in Week 4, a week, by the way, before Ohio State goes to Iowa, so maybe a little bit of a look-ahead. They're also home against Oregon in Week 8. But otherwise, stop me when you hear a team on here that you think is a definite loss, okay?
Dan Rubenstein — 52:09
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:10
UAB.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:11
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:12
Duke.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:13
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:13
Southern Illinois.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:14
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:14
Purdue.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:16
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:16
Michigan State.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:17
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:17
Maryland.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:18
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:19
Nebraska.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:20
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:20
UCLA.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:21
Mm-mm.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:22
Iowa?
Dan Rubenstein — 52:23
Where's the game?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:25
I don't have that in front of me. Iowa.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:27
At home, final week of the season. Or final home game of the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:30
Iowa and Northwestern.
Dan Rubenstein — 52:34
No and no. So it's Oregon and Ohio State.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 52:38
If this were a tougher schedule, I'd probably feel differently because I do not think Illinois is going to be as good as they were a year ago, just as a team. But that's a very workable schedule. And it features a bunch of teams that, frankly, have much bigger questions than Illinois does. So that's my piece. I've got more to say on Illinois, but you're the Illinois aficionado. You're the Illinois native at this point. So why don't you take it? What do you got?
Dan Rubenstein — 53:03
They're a well-coached team. By and large, Bret Bielema hires decently well and recruits decently well. It is weird to me that Bret Bielema, in the Midwest, hasn't constructed just a wall of an offensive line annually. That's been, like, a weird weak point, though there has been a track record of Bret Bielema not only being, like, a ground-and-pound-type head coach. He threw the ball a ton at Arkansas. His reputation is not necessarily accurate, as far as I'm concerned.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 53:33
But that line last year looked like it was going to be a strength, and it really underperformed.
Dan Rubenstein — 53:39
Yeah, they didn't really run the ball. They're basically a run game away from solving their offensive issues. Like, I think they will be better on third down. I think they'll be better in the red zone, or at least more consistent. If you run the ball, you can score points in the red area. So, like, they're well-coached. They develop dudes at various positions, right? Gabe Jacas was tremendous for a long time for them up front on defense. Hank Beatty, and Pat Bryant before him?
Dan Rubenstein — 54:11
They've been developing receivers, they've developed DBs.
Dan Rubenstein — 54:17
I just think the talent level and culture are at a winning place for Illinois, especially when their schedule is not obviously challenging. Doesn't mean it won't emerge as a challenging schedule as the season progresses. But Illinois right now, if they can run the ball and figure out how to make sense of a new defensive scheme with Bobby Hauck coming in, the 3-3-5... Again, we said, like, the drive to six. I'm just craving boredom across the board with Illinois football. If they're just a top-58 defense with the 3-3-5 and they can run the ball as a top-58 rushing attack, 9-3 is not crazy. At a certain point, like I said in Part 1, we have to agree that Bret Bielema is a good football coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 55:10
Yeah, well, of course. Of course. I don't know how deeply you read on the whole 3-3-5 thing. I don't know how much in the weeds you got with that, but
Dan Rubenstein — 55:17
I mean, right.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 55:20
Bret Bielema is all about just trying to be different, is what it amounts to. So, new defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck, formerly of Montana. He was retired for, like, a few days before he jumped back in. Runs a 3-3-5. It's like a variation of the Rocky Long 3-3-5 back in the day. If you listen to Bielema, he wanted the defense to purposely be something of an eephus pitch.
Dan Rubenstein — 55:42
Yeah, he wants to throw ghosts. Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 55:44
He spoke to how hard it is to pick up top-flight defensive linemen. And that's part of why he is going in this direction. I'm oversimplifying here, but one of the philosophies of the 3-3-5 is that your defensive linemen eat up space so that your linebackers can make plays. Right. So he wants space-eaters up front. He wants to be less reliant on trying to get the big difference-makers along the line. And he's going to go in something of a different direction. That's unique, unique to a degree in the Big Ten. I am concerned about the front of this defense being good enough to eat that space.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 56:23
To unlock the back end, which is kind of how this whole thing runs. But if they can, there are a lot of good players in that back end that I do like. So I think defensively, it'll be an interesting story to follow throughout the course of the year. But I also don't think it's going to click right away.
Dan Rubenstein — 56:39
Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 56:40
So, to that end, I'm going to be paying attention. The other thing we should mention, I don't think we said his name at all, but Luke Altmyer gone. Katin Houser, now back in the Big Ten. We mentioned him in Part 1.
Dan Rubenstein — 56:50
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 56:52
Katin Houser's been at ECU.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 56:53
He's been extremely productive as a college quarterback, a very different player than Luke Altmyer. He's bigger.
Dan Rubenstein — 56:59
But he's played in the Big Ten, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:00
Yep, he's bigger. He's got a stronger arm and is not nearly as mobile, but he has good pocket presence. Probably won't run into as many sacks as Altmyer did. You combine that with, as you said, good running backs, good wide receivers. I'm not sure if that's going to solve their problems from a year ago in creating bigger plays. I'm not sure about the line. That's probably a whole other conversation. But I think they're in a good spot.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:27
The over-under that I wrote down was 7.5. I don't know if that is still accurate.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:40
Like, just pencil me in for the over on that one.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:43
Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:43
They're hitting over 7.5. I don't know how high they go here. 10-2 is probably a stretch. But if you woke me up in, like, five months and said, ‘Oh, yeah, Illinois ended up going 9-3,’ it'd be totally believable based on what I've got here.
Dan Rubenstein — 57:56
I'm seeing 7.5 at the time of recording as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 57:58
Okay. Give me the over then. Mark that down in Grand Total.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:02
Go out to portal.solidverbal.com, sign up to play. Go over with 18 confidence points on Illinois.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:10
Yeah, this was, by the way, not that good of a defense last year. I guess that's Notre Dame's problem now, right? You get that portion of your roster, your coaching roster, filled with...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 58:22
Aaron Henry. Aaron Henry.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:23
Yeah, they didn't. Illinois people didn't particularly, I don't know, Bret Bielema didn't care much for the production of this defense, obviously, because it's not just Bobby Hauck, it's like a bunch of new assistants coming with Bobby Hauck from Montana and taking over various positions on this defense.
Dan Rubenstein — 58:41
Yeah, I love the over there. I just think he's a good coach. I think the culture is strong. I think quarterback and receiver development has been good. They're essentially, yeah, once again, a running game away from being like where they were last year. They didn't win a bunch of one-point games. They beat teams soundly. They took advantage when USC's secondary was all beat up. I mean, USC's own defense and backup secondary made Luke Altmyer look like Joe Burrow that day.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:07
They're a good team.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:09
UCLA.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:12
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:12
Woo, we got some stuff to discuss here.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:16
I'm ready.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:17
Everybody loves the guy that they hired. Everybody. We like the guy that they hired. This part of the show, though, is about whether we like the team. Big difference. Big difference. UCLA was 3-9 last year. Credit to the coaching staff for kind of pulling it together, at least initially.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:37
They beat Penn State.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:38
The interim coaching staff, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:39
The interim coaching staff, because, yeah, the previous regime was kind of a disaster.
Dan Rubenstein — 59:40
Tim Skipper, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 59:46
It did fall apart later in the year when they lost their last five games by, like, 30 points on average. But it all made way for a new coach and what feels like, if you believe media reports, a very exciting new era. So that guy is Robert Edward Chesney, known by some less initiated as Bob. He went 21-6 in two years at the helm of James Madison. He took over for Kurt Cignetti. There are comparisons to Cignetti and the Cignetti model and what Cignetti did at Indiana. It is worth noting: Bob Chesney and Kurt Cignetti were not on the same staff at JMU.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:00:24
Okay? It doesn't mean he can't do what Cignetti did.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:00:27
Kurt Cignetti never took JMU to the College Football Playoff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:00:29
Also true.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:00:29
Fact-check true?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:00:30
Also true.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:00:31
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:00:31
Also very true. But it's not like there was a magic Trapper Keeper that was just given to Bob from Kurt, and this is how you're going to do it now when you go to UCLA. I don't want anyone to get that impression. Vibes are very high at UCLA. They are immaculate. Recruiting, donations, energy around the team. Nearly everything is better. Bob Chesney brought 41 players via the transfer portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:00:58
You factor it all in, they're actually ninth in the nation in returning production. So there's some experience here. There's some experience here. It is an assembly question, right? It's less checkers, it's not chess, it's Legos. How are we building this with all these new pieces that they're bringing in? He also brought staff with him from JMU and, I guess, 10 players from JMU, notably Wayne Knight.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:19
I was going to say.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:26
Where's my sound?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:28
Thank you.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:28
Wayne Knight, 5-foot-9, 190-something, kind of a bowling ball with thighs.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:32
Yeah. And there are other good running backs in that room.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:34
Other good running backs.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:34
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:01:35
He also got some help at wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, you name it. What are your questions about this team?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:01:44
All of them. All of the questions. Those are the questions I have. When I wrote ‘must improve:’ basically everything: talent, production, consistency, pass rush, offensive pop, red zone, third down, you name it. Now, that's from where UCLA and those players were last season, which is not terribly relevant to how they're constructed this year. But UCLA fans want to see things that they weren't able to see last season. Look, to me, it's a line-of-scrimmage thing with UCLA in this conference against this schedule. They start quickly.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:16
They have Cal, I believe, on the road. You better hope you can get some pressure on JKS. That release is quick. So there are strengths to this UCLA defense, we think, based on what we've seen out of James Madison players and some returning guys, and the Oklahoma linebacker coming in. Like, they'll have talent on this defense to cause teams some issues. I mean, look, this was one of the worst defenses in America last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:41
That was my point.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:41
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:42
There is nowhere to go but up.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:02:42
Yeah. Correct.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:02:45
Colin Hitschler is the new defensive coordinator. This defense was atrocious last season. He's got a system that tends to adapt more to the personnel that he's got on hand. He likes versatile guys who could play a bunch of different positions, especially in the secondary. I think they did a good enough job in the portal, especially on edge. And I'm optimistic that they're going to look better. They look fairly deep in the secondary, for whatever that's worth to you. I think teams are going to be able to bully them up the middle.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:13
That's the thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:13
But by and large, it's hard to imagine the defense gets any worse.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:18
It just has to be better than it was.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:20
Yeah. Interestingly enough, a lot of the teams on this schedule are not typically looked at as power-rushing teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:03:28
No, not at all. Not at all.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:03:30
So, not that they won't do it successfully against UCLA. I have down, if things break right and the good teams are able to take advantage, I think 6-6 is the ceiling this year. Just because, look, Nico took a team to the playoff, I understand. But with the line that's in front of him, I'm still not sold on what he has at receiver. I'm not sold on their ability to get off the field quickly, even though I do like this James Madison defensive coordinator a good deal and what they're bringing over. They're just thin. They're just so thin. Playing against both Cal and San Diego State is not nothing these first couple of weeks.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:04:10
San Diego State's been a pretty decent program lately. So if Bobby C. and the Bruins can get to seven wins, he's the Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade. He's going on Kimmel.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:04:22
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:04:22
He's, you know, he's doing the whole like LA celebrity thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:04:25
Terrific hairline, great hairline.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:04:27
He's made for it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:04:28
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:04:29
But I just think he's going to get there. He's recruiting like he's going to get there. He's building a culture like he's going to get there.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:04:35
I think UCLA is, if they continue on this path, we're suddenly upping the ceiling to eight or nine wins, at least in the short term. It just feels too thin to feel any more optimistic than 6-6.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:04:50
I also really like Dean Kennedy, who is their new offensive coordinator, also comes over from James Madison. I want you to get the sound ready because if you listen to him talk, he wants this offense to be more explosive than iceberg lettuce, Dan. Play it. Thank you very much.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:05:08
Thank you. Thanks, Marcus Freeman.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:05:10
This is a run-heavy system. They like to include the running back, or the quarterback, excuse me, in the running game. You know, we could talk about skill talent if we want. I don't know if we need to go that deep into this.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:05:24
Sure, Nico can move.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:05:26
Nico can move. I like Nico a lot. I think he's better when he's on the run, not when he's just static and sitting in the pocket. My expectation is that this offense is going to play into that. The spring reporting was all very positive on Nico taking a command, finding new ways to be part of this team, taking on a leadership role, which I think is good for him. Eventually, they are going to play defenses that can keep him in the pocket, that can overstress the line. I think that's when we'll see what this team is really made of.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:05:57
But back to your point about the offensive line. That is also my question, right? This is a scheme that I think wants to be heavy on the run. What kind of line do they have? Well, it's composed of guys from James Madison, South Alabama, Boise State and Harvard. And I believe they've still got one guy from UCLA from a year ago.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:14
Listen, Harvard was a quality team last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:16
No disrespect to these guys.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:17
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:18
None whatsoever. Big Ten is a step up.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:22
Big Ten is a step up. JMU got annihilated by Oregon's defensive front in that playoff game. How is a line built mostly from G6 and FCS guys going to hold up against a Big Ten schedule? That's my concern.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:35
Agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:36
I like Wayne Knight. I like Wayne Knight a lot. Where's my sound again?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:41
Thank you.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:41
I think he's going to have a good year.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:43
There's some... Oh, man, there are going to be a lot of pass rushers on this UCLA schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:43
But...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:48
Six and six is also the ceiling for me.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:51
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:51
I'm going to say 6-6.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:53
Now, to be fair to Bobby C., he wins everywhere.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:57
Yes.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:06:57
Patriot League, Sun Belt, like, he's a good coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:06:58
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:07:01
So whatever edge they can get, if they have health luck, if they have luck with regard to other teams' health and issues, you never know. But I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:09
Yep. Minnesota, let's do it.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:07:14
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:15
Minnesota fans, I want you to open up your calendar app. I want you to block off the evening of Tuesday, December 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. That's when we're doing this year's Minnesota Fan Therapy Zoom call. We did it last year. It was a lot of fun, actually.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:31
Night of fellowship, a night of therapy. If you want the invite, solidverbal@gmail.com. I will make sure you get an invite. Last year, I had the thing where people were, like, sending me DMs and other social media stuff. Don't do that, please. I really don't go on social media more than I have to. Again, solidverbal@gmail.com.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:07:52
If you want the Zoom invite, I'll make sure you're part of it. Okay, maybe this year we'll pull in NC State people too. But Minnesota must continue. Where are we at with this team? They were 8-5 a season ago with a bowl win. The season before it, they were 8-5 with a bowl win.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08:11
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:08:12
I think, looking at the schedule, there's a chance they finish with the exact same record. The win total is 6.5, although in our Grand Total game, we still have it listed at 5.5
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:08:23
from a little earlier this year. Frankly, I could see the case for both sides of it. We are going into Year 10, if you can believe it, of P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08:36
Yeah, wild.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:08:38
How do we feel here?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08:41
Similar to previous years with Minnesota, I have 7-5 written down here.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:08:45
So do I.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08:46
Here's the issue for me.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:08:46
So do I.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:08:47
Okay, so Minnesota, it's obvious, like, they need to figure out pop on offense and balance on offense and maybe some beef up front, dubious beef on defense, and they lost some star power from this defense. The issue with Minnesota, to me, is if their intention is essentially winning more than seven games, getting to, like, that annual eight- or nine-ish-win range and looking more complete and more dangerous more often. Last season's Minnesota team is the jumping-off point. Last season's team is not this season's team, but last season's team was three points better than Rutgers, a single touchdown better than Purdue at home, 2-10 Purdue, and three points better than a Michigan State team that fired its coach after two years.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:09:36
That was kind of a mess in a lot of different areas and benched its quarterback. Ten points better than Wisconsin, which is good. Three points better than New Mexico. Feisty New Mexico. Minnesota doesn't get to seven wins in an emphatic way. They're not beating Rutgers by a couple touchdowns, right? That's the issue to me. Their starting point is not that impressive. Now, I know a lot of people look at this Minnesota team as having upside because of Drake Lindsey. And physically, he makes plays, had a couple big games near the end of the year, is accurate and limits turnovers.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:16
Kind of just feels like we're talking about Drew Allar, right? Physically impressive. Nice arm. Throws a bunch of four-yard passes. He was a bottom-tier Big Ten quarterback as a freshman, and that's okay. You're allowed to be a bottom-tier quarterback as a freshman. You're a freshman. But...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:36
Man.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:36
I'm not crazy about, like, quarterback over quarterback over quarterback kind of looking the same in this Minnesota offense. I know you were bros for Brosmer, whatever it was.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:44
Well, no, man. Yeah. Look, they got to get better on offense. They got to get better on offense.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:10:51
Please score points.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:10:52
Yeah, 94th in SP+ last year. I've got some other numbers here that just blow your mind. 129th in rushing offense, 115th in yards per play, virtually no explosive plays. Bill Connelly said that they haven't had a top-50 offense in his metrics since 2020.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:11:13
Yeah, which is a weird year, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:11:15
Weird year. This year, the source of optimism, if you have it, is not just Drake Lindsey, but also Darius Taylor, Javon Tracy, Jalen Smith, three offensive linemen.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:11:28
They also brought over some decent players in the portal. That all amounts to 71% returning production on the offensive side of the ball. You know, barring injury, there's almost no excuse for them not to get better because there are good players here. There really are good players here.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:11:43
I guess.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:11:44
They just need to be a little bit less dependent on Darius Taylor. They definitely need to be less risk averse. They're very risk averse in this offense. And I think they need to be a little bit more comfortable letting Drake Lindsey air it out. They got to let him air it out a little bit more.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:12:01
Agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:02
Last year, it was something like 9.7
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:04
yards per completion, which was lower on the scale. If you listen to, you know, guys like Nate Tice, one of our friends, Nate Tice, he's all in on Drake Lindsey being something of an NFL prospect going into the 2027 draft class. He's not the type of guy who's going to outrun you, but he's pretty good with mobility within the pocket. He's got all the tools. We're just going to need to see some chunk plays out of him this year. And whether that's a Drake Lindsey thing that can be learned, or whether that's a Greg Harbaugh Jr. offense thing that needs to be called, I have not found a definitive answer on that. And I suspect the Minnesota people who are interested in my Zoom call will be the first to write in: solidverbal@gmail.com.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:12:50
And let us know what your thoughts are on this. I think this year they actually have good options to get some of those chunk plays out wide, whether it's Jalen Smith, who I mentioned a moment ago, Noah Jennings, who had a really good spring game, sort of blew the lid off the spring game, the transfer from Cincinnati, or others. Like, they have options that I think can help stretch the field. It's a question to me of whether they will even try. The threat of chunk plays would be a huge deal for someone like Darius Taylor, who is back, hopefully healthy, and was limited about half the season last year because of a hamstring. Per Athlon, you know, I sent this to you earlier, he has been working with a chef and taking Pilates classes this offseason to try to get into shape and be the best version of himself.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:13:37
Great. Hammer the core.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:13:41
He's now being coached by Mo Ibrahim. If you really want to feel old.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:13:44
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:13:46
We need to see some pop in this offense.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:13:48
And it's not like they were conservative to serve an excellent defense. The defense wasn't excellent. The defense was fine. It was a top, like, maybe a little above-average defense. But yeah, I'm curious about the intention because the way that they played last year, again, was very close to the Michigan State, Rutgers, Northwestern level.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:14:06
Exactly.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:14:14
And Northwestern's a bowl team, that's fine. But they were not figuring out ways to separate themselves and put themselves in a position to avoid calamity late in a game if something were to go wrong.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:14:23
No, they weren't. No.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:14:25
So I think you're right. It's about the intention.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:14:29
I mean, look, Anthony Smith is one of the best edge rushers in the nation, but there are enough questions that, when I look at this schedule, it feels trappy and travel-heavy. They're playing in both State College and Seattle this year. They're finishing in what could be very bad weather in Madison for the Axe game. They have Indiana relatively late, and that's after the Iowa game. They have Michigan after Washington. It's not an easy schedule, and they're not giving themselves a lot of options on how to win games. So even if Drake Lindsey is, like, clearly improved, and Ty Hildenbrandt of The Solid Verbal and of Eastern PA likes their receiving options...
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:11
I do, actually. I really do.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:13
Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:14
Did I mention Zion Steptoe from Tulsa? Another guy, another guy.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:17
You did not. They could lose to Mississippi State in week two.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:21
I've got, like, 9,000 words written here on Minnesota.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:15:24
Buddy, it was, like, a 7-3 game late in the first half against Buffalo last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:29
I know. I think, listen, I think this team is going to be fine on defense. It hurts to lose Koi Perich, who is now playing for Oregon. They lose a bunch up the middle, at linebacker and corner. But they'll be fine. They'll be fine. I like Anthony Smith. You mentioned him before. Defensively, I think they're going to be okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:15:51
The question is on offense: can they be less risk-averse? And yes, they've got five games here in conference against teams that are really highly ranked in SP+, teams that you listed off. So it's going to be a bit of an uphill climb. You could talk me into anything between 6-6 and 9-3, 9-3 if I am, like, drunk on optimism. I think it's 7-5.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:16
Oh, man, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:18
If you're seeing a little bit of a jump on offense, a big enough jump on offense, you could talk me into 8-4. But I'm on 7-5 here.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:26
7-5 for me. We agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:30
All right, where are we going next?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:32
You want to go Maryland?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:33
Maryland? Why'd you say it like that?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:35
Oh, I just, I think I know a few people from New Jersey and Long Island who went to Maryland. So I've heard it pronounced as, like, ‘Mary-land.’ It's right next to New Jersey, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:45
Maryland, yeah, it is.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:46
Maryland.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:47
Yeah. Can we make a case for believing in Maryland this year?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:16:52
Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:16:53
Can we build that case? I desperately want there to be a reason to believe in Maryland. I feel like I'm biased because I'm just open in saying I want to root for Maryland. I want to see that case. Maryland, as you know, started 4-0 last season. They lost their last eight games. Mike Locksley now going into year eight, which again makes me feel old.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:17:15
He has had three winning seasons, but he's never won more than seven games in a regular season. His last winning season was back in 2023. Since then, it's been back-to-back 4-8 years. They bring back a lot. No. 2 nationally, 71% returning production. They made a conscious choice to spend their money on retaining their young core instead of trying to chase a big portal class. So I look at this, and the reason I'm asking you about this: Maryland, to me, has the quarterback, and I think they have the defense, which is very much the Dan Rubenstein rubric, is it not?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:17:55
It is, if you believe they have the quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:17:57
Do you believe they have the quarterback in Malik Washington?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:17:59
Somewhat.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:18:01
Only a sophomore.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:18:02
Only a sophomore. I think there is a good amount to like about Malik Washington, but at the end of the day, you got to look at raw numbers and production and wins and how often he's putting them in a position to succeed downfield. It was not a great freshman year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:18:24
He definitely showed glimpses and gave people reasons to be excited. This year, I am very curious to see what the offense looks like because it's a new offensive coordinator.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:18:36
106th in air yards per completion last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:18:39
Clint Trickett, remember that name?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:18:42
I do.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:18:42
Clint Trickett is a new offensive coordinator, formerly a quarterback at West Virginia. Since then, he has been coaching. He was most recently the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State, built up a nice rushing attack, and is joining Maryland in hopes of giving them a little bit more balance. They need balance. The rushing numbers from Maryland last year were absolutely brutal. There was just no rushing attack to speak of. Clint Trickett seems to think it's because the offense was basically playing in a phone booth. Everything was very condensed.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:19:14
He wants to spread them out. I think we'll see more misdirection, more motion. To quote Ben Affleck, Dan, in the classic Boiler Room, motion creates emotion.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:21
Uh oh.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:24
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:19:25
Going to see some of that this year, I think, at Maryland. Here's the caveat: Maryland does not need to run for 250 yards per game. They just need to get better at some of the little stuff. How about starting with short yardage, Dan? That would really move the needle, wouldn't it?
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:41
I was going to say, they got to do something.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:19:43
If they could get a little bit better just in short yardage alone, I don't care what the numbers average out to, but just in short yardage, if they can make an improvement there, that to me would be a very, very big deal for this offense. It would take a lot of pressure off Malik Washington.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:19:58
93rd in third-down success rate, 102nd in third-and-1-or-2 success rate. Their stuff rate, 90th. Offensively, they were stuffed 19% of the time. Rushing success rate, 122nd. I can read numbers. Everybody listening can read numbers. It's not a pretty story that's told. Here's what I have written down for Maryland's outlook. The issue word is complete. A more complete defense, a more complete offense, more pass completions, complete games. If it's literally only clear improvement running and stopping the run, they're in a bowl game.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:20:34
Look at where they were last year. I know we've talked about starting 4-0 and losing the rest of their games, but last season, Maryland had winnable spots: against Washington, lost by four; Nebraska, lost by three; UCLA on the road, lost by three; finishing against Michigan State on the road, lost by 10, but it was close and a winnable spot as well. Like, they need to play four quarters. And running the ball will help their defense, will help their offense, will help them in the red zone, will help them move the chains. They're not that far away.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:21:07
But also, 6-6 is, like, kind of optimistic when you're just talking about so many different elements that need to improve by 40%. And so I have them 6-6. I have the optimism that comes with a pass rush and a quarterback with upside, even if he didn't have production in his first season. I don't know what they're doing at receiver. I mean, they lose everybody who was catching passes last season, even though it wasn't a great passing attack. Like, they're starting over there. 6-6 is where I have Maryland right now.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:21:37
Yeah, and more to the point about the passing game and Malik Washington, the balance will help. It can't all be on him. Otherwise, he's not going to grow as a player. I think we saw arm talent last year. Clearly, we saw it last year. As you might expect, though, for a young quarterback, the efficiency was not there. He needs to work on his touch. Malik does that thing where he throws every pass with maximum force, you know.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:22:04
Yeah, max velo.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:22:06
Yeah, he needs to get a little bit better with his touch. Whether it's five yards or 50 yards, he throws it with maximum force. An incredible prospect. In theory, this should be a pretty good setup for him if he has something of a run game, but the line picture, to me, looks a little bit messy. And it seems like you're going to be taking a pretty big leap of faith if you're going to assume that suddenly it's going to look exactly the way it did at Jacksonville State for Clint Trickett.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:22:30
There's definitely going to be a bit of a ramp-up period here. I like the defense. I think the pass rush is going to be really fun. I also like the back seven. Defense, to me, is not going to be the question. It is offense. I've got Maryland 6-6 as well. I don't think they're losing their last eight games again. And I think there is a very good chance they get to a bowl and maybe even dump somebody along the way when they come to Maryland, you know, on one of these road trips.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:22:58
But I'm seeing a step forward here. I'll go 6-6.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:23:03
By the way, just to tie the bow, tie a knot, whatever, on where they were last year: last year's 4-8 team did not play Oregon, Ohio State, USC or, and I'm including Penn State in this because Penn State has been difficult for those in College Park. So last year would have been the year to have an inflated record based on not playing those teams. I think, I mean, I know they beat USC a couple of years ago. But this year they do have Ohio State, USC and Penn State on the slate. So I don't know, man. 6-6 is where I'm going to land with you, but tougher.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:23:41
Michigan State went 4-8 last year. They won one Big Ten game. And they got rid of Jonathan Smith. They turned the keys over to Pat Fitzgerald. At this point, I think I've made it pretty well known. I'm not a huge fan of the hire, but Fitz was very successful, to a degree, at Northwestern for 17 seasons and won 110 games. He's an accomplished guy. He's got a huge network. I don't blame Michigan State for giving him a try. There have been plenty of other teams that have thought about giving Pat Fitzgerald a try.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:24:12
So I understand where they're coming from. My issue with Fitz: I felt like he ran out of ideas at Northwestern, especially on offense, unless he had a dual-threat guy at quarterback or a beast at running back, or both. It felt a little bit stagnant. They had trouble scoring. I never got the sense that there was a great vision on that side of the ball.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:24:34
No, they basically Hankwitzed and offensive-lined their way to whatever success they had.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:24:41
So I have a hard time now projecting that version of Pat Fitzgerald forward to Michigan State. And I worry that the same thing is going to happen all over again. That may not be something to worry about. That could be an entirely irrational fear, but that is my baseline for this guy and a big part of why I wasn't a huge fan of the hire. Now, if you listen to what he said at Media Day, for whatever that's worth to you, he's putting a premium on toughness, offensive line depth and leadership, which in Year 1 is not a bad place to start. Like, you would take that. Last year, the line was 123rd in the country in sacks allowed. It would help to be a little bit tougher along the line. They definitely need to get better there.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:25:24
And in general, this is absolutely a program that needs better culture. They certainly need better culture. I think Fitz can do that. Fitz can help them do that. Long-term viability, that's sort of where I start to worry a little bit more about this. But Year 1 is probably going to be rough regardless.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:25:43
Okay, so they're an interesting squint team to me, the more I dug in.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:25:48
Continue. I tend to agree with you. I don't want to get out over my skis, but I did find myself being a little bit more enchanted than I expected.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:25:57
Okay, so there are a couple holdovers. Notably, it's a Joe Rossi defense, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26:02
Joe Rossi defense, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:26:02
So he was retained as defensive coordinator, and he's had a good amount of success as a defensive coordinator in the Big Ten, going back to his time at Minnesota. You can squint and see a quarterback with some ability. I went back and watched some Alessio Milivojevic.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26:17
You got it.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:26:18
Thank you very much. He's got some ability. He can move in the pocket a little bit. He was able to find Nick Marsh across the middle. He was good across the middle, which I always appreciate.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:26:28
Played kind of fearlessly, even when things were definitely not going all that well. Now, say what you will about Jonathan Smith, but Jonathan Smith has been good for quarterback development. He puts quarterbacks in a position to succeed. And Michigan State was not in a position to succeed all that often last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26:43
They weren't, but Milivojevic played later in the season last year.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:26:47
Yeah, Aidan Chiles was benched.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26:48
I saw some upside here. He's not, like, a bottom-tier quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:26:53
No, I think he's pretty good.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:26:54
I think he's, like, comfortably in that middle tier with some upside. I like the kid a lot, actually.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:27:00
I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:27:01
More of a pocket passer. Like, he's going to need the line to play better than it did a year ago. If the line plays this year like it did last year, this probably is not a functional offense. Full stop. But if he gets some help from the line, there is a lot to like with this guy at quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:27:17
I'm with you.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:27:18
There is some upside on defense. The secondary has been productive at other places, whatever that means to you. Everybody's going to need to be wrapped in bubble wrap on both sides of the ball. There's zero depth. Nobody can get hurt ever when I look at this team. And so, I think they're, like, 4-8, 5-7, but I think there are squinty moments for Michigan State. And I'm not a fan of the Pat Fitzgerald hire either. And I think their intentions will be held back. I don't love the Nick Sheridan thing coming over from Alabama.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:27:52
Although it's kind of a buy-low thing, too. Like, he's probably better than what Alabama showed. That's a pressure cooker of a job. And it just was not happening last year for Bama's offense over the course of the year.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:28:02
But to the point, okay, line was an issue a year ago. We've already established that.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:28:07
Definitely.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:28:09
The engine for this offense, to my eye, looks like it's going to be Cam Edwards, a running back who comes over from UConn. A great pickup.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:28:17
Yeah, agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:28:17
If we know anything about Fitz teams, as I said a moment ago, they want to feed him the rock. They want to give that bell cow the ball. Nick Sheridan couldn't build the rushing attack at Alabama. We'll see if he can do it here. Maybe it's not fair, but I do have some reservations about putting him in charge of this ground game. You know, Fitz is talking about toughness and offensive line.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:28:39
Clearly, that's going to be a focus for them. Can he do that? I don't know. I like Cam Edwards. We'll leave it there.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:28:46
This is the note for Michigan State, if you are a fellow squinter like Ty and myself: the defenses on this schedule include Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA and Rutgers. When you look at where those teams were against the run last year, those specifically are enough defenses that a competent offense can score 20-plus against if they're not fully as good as they had hoped. There's opportunity for this offense this season to move the ball with intention. That's all.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:29:32
4-8 for me.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:29:33
Yep, agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:29:35
Final team. You want to get nuts? Let's get nuts. Northwestern. Northwestern went 7-6 last year after winning the last-ever GameAbove Sports Bowl, which they announced back in February they're going to discontinue.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:29:49
Ah, man, too bad.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:29:51
Yeah. All the greats going by the wayside here. 2026 is a monster year for Northwestern.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:29:57
There's sort of no other way to put it. They are scheduled to open their new stadium, which is Ryan Field, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:30:02
Is it the Ryan Arena?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:30:04
It's a field. October 2, Friday night game against Penn State. I actually just played this game in College Football 27 as Penn State, and I lost. So I don't know if that means anything to you, but perhaps you're someone who looks for signs in the universe. That could be one of them. David Braun, very much this offseason, acted like the type of guy who understood the excitement. He played directly into it by hiring our old friend Charles Chip Kelly to run the offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:30:33
They also hired some Kelly deputies, including Jerry Neuheisel and his beautiful blond hair.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:30:38
Tim Drevno coming over.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:30:39
Tim Drevno to coach the line.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:30:40
Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:30:42
Bob Bicknell is going to run the tight end room. The over-under here for Northwestern is 5.5. I am super intrigued by this one.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:30:52
In which direction?
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:30:53
I don't think they have enough along the line to run the type of system that Chip wants to run. Chip's system is fairly run-heavy. But I think, based on the personnel they have in place, they might be able to get close. It's not going to be a full Chip experience.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:31:10
But even if it's like 70 percent, that could be interesting. Aidan Chiles is the new quarterback. He comes over from Michigan State, which we just talked about. I would say that Aidan Chiles absolutely has physical tools that we're excited about. We just have not seen any of that stuff come to fruition. It's still a big waiting game to see if Aidan Chiles is going to be the Aidan Chiles we thought we were getting when he was recruited, initially to Oregon State with Jonathan Smith. This is a system that is probably better for him. If I'm being honest, there's a lot of quick reads and tempo and using his mobility. They do need to solve the ball security issues that he has. He has definitely had some fumblitis over these last couple of years when it comes to handing the ball off.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:31:53
But my question is ball security and line play in a Chip system that, again, probably favors the run more than the pass. I am intrigued by what they have around Aidan Chiles, though. I think they've got Griffin Wilde out wide, who might be one of the better wide receivers in the conference. Again, maybe capped a bit by the line, but the personnel is a little bit better than I expected. On top of all that, I feel pretty good about the defense. I don't know what the pass rush looks like, but they look fairly solid to me across the board, especially in the back end. The problem is the schedule. This schedule, man. Sixth-hardest in college football.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:32:35
They've got road games against the big three in the Big Ten: Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. They also go to Minnesota and Illinois, in addition to having both Penn State and Iowa at home. So this is a very, very difficult schedule with very real line questions, a quarterback who's a bit turnover-prone, and I'm trying to be nice here, and a bunch of moving pieces, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:32:56
I bet.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:33:05
So if it works, it's going to be one of the better stories in college football. If it doesn't, unfortunately, it's going to be a bit of a disappointment as they open up the new stadium.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:33:14
Yeah. Look, they hired 2024's best offensive coordinator in the sport, or at least the one who won the most games. You mentioned that they're not necessarily going to have the talent in place to run what Chip Kelly ideally would like to run. He had some bad offenses at UCLA, and he had some really strong offenses at UCLA, and only strong ones at Oregon. He'll know what he does and doesn't have. I think the architecture will be sound for this offense. I think Northwestern will come as close as humanly possible to maximizing what they have. If you hired a thousand different offensive coordinators,
Dan Rubenstein — 01:33:55
Chip Kelly would be in the top 0.1% of successful 2026 seasons. I don't think he's going to try to run the ball behind a bad left guard, or throw swing passes or something to a running back who can't catch, or throw it deep to a receiver who can't win 50-50 balls. Like, the decision-making will be sound. I think it's a question of interceptions, quick reads and an offensive line that's more dependable than it looks at the outset right now. So I feel fine about the offense. I think the offense will improve, and I think the defense will be okay. But as you mentioned, the schedule is brutal. And against brutal schedules, teams can win with depth, with obvious star power, with dependable quarterbacks. Northwestern is not checking a lot of those boxes, as nice as this new stadium is going to be.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:34:49
David Braun does win games. Like, we should give him credit. He was, like, the 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year as the interim who then got the tag taken off, as I recall.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:34:59
Yeah, I like David Braun. I think he's a good coach.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:35:04
I like their defensive coordinator. I like that they have the weird, well, in September they'll have the home-field advantage in the windy lakeside situation. And then hopefully the new stadium gives them a home-field advantage. But as you mentioned, those big games are on the road. I have them at 6-6. I think they are a bowl program that upgraded at offensive coordinator.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:35:26
And when they are playing teams that are not of that big-three quality, Northwestern can win games against the non-conference portion of its schedule, which includes Colorado at home, lakefront at Martin Stadium. They have Penn State at home in the opener, so there's going to be a ton of emotion there. I think it's Ball State the week after that. Michigan State on the road, so you have the Pat Fitzgerald emotion tied to that. They host Rutgers. And they play Minnesota late in the year, but that's a sandwich game for Minnesota between Penn State on the road and the Axe game on the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:35:58
Yeah, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:35:59
Northwestern can be that feisty, annoying loss for some of these teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:04
I've got them at a feisty 6-6, is what I wrote down here.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:06
Yeah, we agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:08
I think they're going to be really interesting on offense. And I say that regardless of whether it works or not.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:16
You know who their backup quarterback is, right? It's Nicco Marchiol from West Virginia. Look, say what you will. I looked at a couple of the backup quarterback situations across the Big Ten. Like, if Rocco Becht goes down, it's real bad for Penn State, it seems. I don't want to pick on Penn State because I actually like Penn State.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:36
No, you don't.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:36
But you look at a couple of the situations.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:36
You don't like Penn State. You've already established the fact that you don't like Penn State.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:38
I said 8-4, 9-3.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:40
Get out of here.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:41
I'm just not in love with them, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:43
You did it under duress.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:44
Anyway, if Aidan Chiles, who was benched last year, does not work out, they have a viable second option.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:45
I can see your eyes.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:51
All right, that does it.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:36:51
Northwestern does. That's all.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:36:55
solidverbal@gmail.com, write in. Let us know your thoughts on USC, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota, UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland or Michigan State. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know again what we got right, what we got wrong. Hit follow, hit subscribe, wherever it is you listen to or watch this podcast. It is the time of year when these things really help, as does leaving us a star rating or review wherever it is you find the show. All that stuff.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:37:25
It's important. It doesn't, like, boost our ranking on any charts. People think it works like that. It does not work like that. But it does offer important social proof that, like, hey, you should listen to these guys.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:37:38
Agree. Unless you're a Penn State fan who is now turning against me.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:37:41
Yeah, unless you're a Penn State fan. You can listen to me, but just mute it when Dan talks.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:37:44
I had a great time in State College.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:37:45
Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:37:46
Grilled stickies? Come on, Ty. It was a great place.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:37:51
Verballers.com is where you can go if you want to support the team and get ad-free episodes and bonus perks like our Discord. You can play all the games in the Verballer Portal, which you can check out at portal.solidverbal.com. And last but certainly not least, check out our newsletter, solidverbal.com/newsletter. Dan Rubenstein, we did, like, close to five hours total talking about the Big Ten.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:38:19
It's true.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:38:20
Maybe a little bit more than that. So, hopefully, you got enough out of it.
Ty Hildenbrandt — 01:38:24
Lord knows there's plenty of other things we could discuss if we had the time to do so. But why don't we leave the fine people here? For myself over here, Ty Hildenbrandt, the proud Penn Stater. For that guy over there, the Penn Stater hater, Dan Rubenstein, we'll catch y'all next time. In the meantime, stay solid.
Dan Rubenstein — 01:38:42
Peace.