The Real Jonathan Smith Show 8/29/24

e e e e e e e e e e ladies and gentlemen it's time for it's the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports ticket 1430 a.m. and 995 HD2 what's going on it's the real Jonathan Smith show here on Indies Sports tiet happy Thursday hope you guys I hope I hope you're doing well I know I am fantasy draft last night I like my team we'll see how it goes I just honestly I just don't want to come in last that's really how I feel about it you know if I win that's cool but really I just I just don't want to come in last so someone who else who who doesn't want to come in last because if he does he will be fired talking about the one and only you know Chris Ballard he had to do a bunch of Media stuff yesterday was asked about cuts and Anthony Richardson and if if he felt like he was on the hot seat all sorts of things but one of the hot button topics for this Colts Team all off season that Chris Bor was asked about was the secondary he was asked how he feels about this young unproven secondary heading into the season they're young they're they're gonna get they're GNA continue to get better um sometimes you got to be able to meet like things don't always work out even when you're trying to acquire a player not saying we didn't try to do some things sometimes it just doesn't happen but we do think we have good young Talent back there and we have a lot of belief in our front um so we'll continue to to let these guys grow and and come on they don't become players without playing I mean I think sometimes we forget that you know they gotta just they gotta play that was coach GM Chris Balor talking about this young secondary and you know I I get what he's saying you got to play in order in order to develop and become better and all of those type of things and we've seen this happen to players before we've seen players you know start the season off a little bit slow especially young players but as the season progresses they progress with it and by the end of the year they're pretty solid and I hope that this Indianapolis Colt secondary has a Jordan love like performance this year okay last year year was Jordan love's first year as the starter in Green Bay sat on the bench for three years behind Aaron Rodgers and there were some ups and downs through the first half of the season a lot of those were Downs he wasn't very good just like how I expect for this Indianapolis CT secondary to not be very good to start the season when you look at Jordan love and how he played through the first half of the year he was bad No Way Around It people were completely out on him people ridiculed the Packers for drafting him in the first round trading up to draft him in the first round and rightfully so because the first eight games of last year Jordan love was terrible he threw for about 1700 yards 12 touchdowns eight interceptions and he only completed 59% of his passes that's about what Will Levis did in nine games last year Jordan love was Will Levis for the first nine games last year that's not very good and they were three and five three and five they weren't winning games and Jordan love was a large part of why they weren't winning games and then things turned around in the final nine games of last season for Jordan love he threw for 2400 yards 20 touchdowns only three interceptions and he completed 68% of his passes okay and the Packers won enough games to sneak into the playoffs and and beat the Cowboys in the first round it's pretty incredible it was quite the turnaround he completely flipped the script from the first half of the season the more he played the better he got eventually the light bulb went off and Jordan love became one of the better quarterbacks in the NFC last year now he's making a ton of money everyone loves them everyone loves the future of the Packers but early in the year last year there were a lot of struggles and the Packers didn't look like a playoff team because their Young quarterback that hadn't played a lot just wasn't very good they were three and five seemed like they were going to be drafting a new quarterback this year but then Jordan love figured it out and gez I hope that that's what we see from this cold secondary because Chris Ballard is right this secondary is incredibly young Jaylen Jones who's going to be Corner number two alongside Juju Bren they're both only in their second years in the NFL Julian Blackman's been around for a decent amount of time but he's only like 25 Nick cross is 23 you know he's going to be the other starting safety like this Colt secondary is Young and like young quarterbacks young players at every position have ups and downs and we saw this with Jordan love last year playing quarterback and eventually he figured it out and because of that I don't think it's out of the question to say that this Colt secondary won't eventually figure that out right because quarterback is a much tougher position to play than corner cornerback or safety right if Jordan love can figure out how to play quarterback at you know in at an incredibly Elite level 20 touchdowns three interceptions 2400 yards passing like if he stays on that pace this year he'll hands down win the MVP so if he can go from bad to Elite over the course of eight games then this Colt secondary can't go from bad to above average over the course of the season I don't think that it's out of the question okay and the other thing about this when I look at this secondary and and I listen to that quote from Chris Balor talking about how young this secondary is and you know in that quote he mentions that they're really going to lean on the defensive line because they love the defensive line and they should all right and because the defensive line is as good and as deep as it is Chris Ballard has this luxury that he can take a gamble on the secondary later in his press conference he he Ted talks about how every team in the NFL has holes and he's right right because it's a salary cap League there are certain positions that you have to sacrifice a little bit of money at maybe be a little you know less good there to be better somewhere else and that's clearly what the Colts have done on the defensive side of the ball they've invested less money in the secondary and more of it into the defensive line and because of that Chris Ballard and this this team believes that the Colts defensive line is going to make up for the lack of production for the Youth that's in the secondary until they hopefully eventually develop into good players and look like this Colts defensive line should be good okay they were good last year okay the Colts were third in sacks as a team last year in the NFL pretty good to me and they bring all of those contributors contributors back minus ebukam who tours ailles even though he's still he's on the IR but could potentially return this season Chris Balor said yes though that that's a long shot look the dude tours Achilles he's not coming back but ibuk com's gone but they're bringing in Leu latu who people swear by right and they're bringing in rayquan Davis who was pretty good in Miami last year Isaiah land is knew as well I thought he looked good in the preseason I think they're better up front this year than they were last year and hopefully over the first half of the season when the secondary is hopefully developing into good players and they're struggling hopefully this Colts defensive line can make up for the lack of talent and the lack of experience on the back end if the Jordan love development Arc happens for the Colt secondary this year then the front has to dominate early but the back half of the Year while the front is hopefully still dominating and the defensive backs have gotten better then this could be a really good defense but that secondary has to develop and if it does then this Indianapolis Colts team should make the playoffs and that is the expectation that Chris Ballard has for this unit he was asked yesterday like is this a team that should compete for something and here's what Chris Balor had to say about that I mean we feel like we will be in the mix I mean I'll say I mean look we were in the mix a year ago um and sometimes I think I said this earlier where sometimes the scars are good for you you know hard times can can be good for you defeat failure can be good for you if you handle it right I have a lot of belief in the leadership one of Shane but also these players you know from guys that have been there and been through a lot and they're all good players and they're all committed um it'll be fun to watch this team grow through the season and go through it Chris ballor talking about how he expects for this team to be in the mix and by in the mix he means compete for a playoff playoff spot and he's right they were in the mix last year had a real opportunity to make the playoffs if Gardner muu can complete a swing pass then it probably happens but look you heard it from Ballard right there he thinks that they should make the playoffs he thinks that this is a playoff caliber roster everyone else does as well I don't if you remember K Kirk herb Street waxing poetic about how good this roster is and he's right they should make the playoffs this year they really really should they're bringing everyone back who you know should have made the playoffs last year and you know Anthony Richardson's going to be the best quarterback ever this year he has to be because he's he's on my fantasy team that's just that's how that works right but no seriously look if Anthony richson is able to be just as good as Gardner MCH was last year if he can be a little bit better then that would be great but look if he is then this Colts team should make the playoffs okay they should at a minimum be a wild card team and potentially even compete for the division and look we all know this we can talk about the secondary we can talk about how great the defensive line is we can talk about you know how deep the offensive line is all those things but ultimately the Colt success this year comes down to one person and that one person is Anthony Richardson everyone knows that when you look at this Colts team it's like I like the receivers I like the defensive line the secondary is going to keep me up at night but man it all comes down to Anthony Richardson and Chris Ballard was asked about what his expectations were for Anthony Richardson this season to play winning football there's gonna be some roller coaster moments I I don't even all you know I want say all but most quarterbacks when they're young go through those moments there's going to be but learn from them grow and keep moving forward I think you can just kind of look around the league with you know some guys that with Anthony's skill set it was a little bit up and down um one thing I have a lot of confidence in Shane and Jim Bob and all the offensive staff they they'll do what he is really good at and comfortable doing and then what the offense can do Chris Ballard man just preaching to the choir if if if the choir was was was just me Chris Ballard is exactly right in that clip Anthony Richardson is going to be up and down like any Young quarterback PT Manning was up and down Jordan love had some up and Jordan love Andrew Luck had some up and down moments okay you know Patrick Mahomes had up and down moments early in his career Josh Allen has been up and down early in his career Lamar Jackson was up and down early in his career Jaylen Herz was up and down early early in his career I could just keep on running through him because it's normal for 22y old quarterbacks in the NFL to have some up and down moments especially when they're the second youngest starter in the NFL which as of right now if Drake May winds up being the starter in New England Anthony Richardson would be the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL and guess what if Drake May doesn't start in New England which he shouldn't if you ask me then Anthony Richardson will be the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL this year he's going to be up and down but that's why Shane styken was brought here Shane styen was brought and hired by the Indianapolis Colts to help develop Anthony Richardson he was hired and brought in to consistently put him in good spots that is why Shane styken was hired and that is what he is expected to do this year and there's a part of me that kind of feels bad for Anthony Richardson people love Shane styken I am one of them I am one of the Shane styen apologist I will defend that guy and the way that the Colt season went last year for forever but here's the thing because people love Shane styken so much it's to a point where if Anthony Richardson is bad then people are going to blame Anthony Richardson because Shane Sten is so great that if a quarterback's bad it could never be Shane Stein's fault and if Anthony Richardson's good then everyone's going to sit back and be like oh this young raw quarterback that's only started 23 games in his life from high school college and His Four starts last year there's no way that he can be good all of his own all on his own so it must be because Shane styen is great that is really where I feel like we are going to wind up this year it's going to be a lot of you know if the Colts are good it'll be a lot of ranting and raving about how great Shane styken is and if the Colts are bad this year it'll be a lot of ranting and raving about how awful Anthony Richardson is so I kind of feel bad for the guy but hey man it comes with the territory of playing in the NFL something else that comes with the territory of playing in the NFL is knowing that you're in a competitive league and your job is entirely dependent upon your success just like just about every other job in the world your job and whether or not you get fired or not is directly dependent upon how successful UC F you are and Chris Ballard hasn't been successful so he was asked once yesterday if he felt like he was on the hot seat Chris Ballard likes to talk he didn't like answering this question though his answer was short and straight to the point I think every year you do I mean that's kind of how I'm wired but no no different than any other year yeah whatever as soon as the guy started asking the question Chris Baler was shaking his head like no I'm not on the hot seat I'll be fine no no different than any other year even though the Colts haven't made the playoffs the last three years and I know that we like to make fun of Steven holder on this radio station in general but he he did a good job yesterday he didn't let Chris Ballard off the hook he followed up with another question later saying you know what you have done and you know what you haven't done you know that you have a losing record why should Colts fans believe that you're the guy for the job and here is what Colts general manager Chris Ballard had to say about why he thinks he's the guy for the job I've never want I guess maybe because my DNA is not I've always had a strong belief in myself and those around me strong belief in what we do um and if you just kind of look through the first few years and you know we made the playoffs two of the first four had to overcome a you know quarterback retiring on us still found a way I thought 20 I thought our 20 team was excellent we just lost a tough game to Buffalo that end up being a really good team and I thought in 21 was another really good football team and it all kind of fell apart uh the last three years not Mak in the playoffs it's a disappointment I'm not going to sit here and say it wasn't um but I still have a very strong belief in what we're doing how we're doing it and how we're going to get there and that will not either you believe for something or you believe nothing like it's easy to vacillate easy to vacillate and go with what the world wants you to do you either believe in something or you don't this what we believe it gets me fired so be it Chris Ballard just going on and on and on right there I some of it was a bunch of hoey you either believe in something or you don't well yeah that's that's a line straight from Hamilton okay I guarantee you Chris Ballard out here watching Hamilton and quoting it that's funny but he's not changing his ways he's not changing a single thing about how he has built this team he is committed to building through the draft he is committed to not signing free agents he is committed to not trying to make big trades and he's committed to focusing a lot of the Colts resources to the offensive and defensive line like like it's pling this day right there in that clip he's not wavering from how he has continued to build this team and look it's all going to come down to Anthony Richardson if Anthony Richardson's good Chris Ballard's going to look like a he's going to look like a genius people are going to sing his Praises but if Anthony Richardson's bad then uh Chris balard is running right out the door behind him and as I sat back and and as I listened to this man all I could think about was Pride seriously like like there are a lot of people in the world where their pride has ruined their careers and it looks like it might ruin Chris Ballard as well they a lot of successful people in the world who had to change their ways to become successful that's not Chris Ballard though he's too prideful it's he's going to do things his way and if it works out for him then it works out and if it doesn't work out for him then it doesn't okay he needs to be a little more humble I think if you're failing you need to be willing to listen to other people and make some slight tweaks to how you're going about things and when I look at Chris Ballard he's got two simple options he can be humble he can change his ways he can listen to outside counsel or he can continue to be prideful continue to do things his way and continue to go nine and eight and eventually no longer be the Colts general manager and it feels like we are headed in that direction based off of what he just said right there and as I listened to the entire Chris Ballard um press conference yesterday something stuck out to me like a sore thumb and I I I gotta talk about it Chris Ballard one of his biggest issues something that I haven't even talked about yet but something that I've probably been missing for way too long Chris Ballard one of his biggest issues I'm going to tell you what it is when we come back here in four minutes e e e e e e e e more winners more often it's the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports ticket 14:30 a.m. and 995 HD2 more winners more often Zack gray professional sports Gambler set to join me top of the hour 11:00 giving out college football picks for the weekend cannot wait to have him on I'm sure we'll end up talking a little Colorado as well they play tonight 8 o'clock against North Dakota State yeah give me nor give me North Dakota State telling you that right now I got more on that later I want to talk about Chris Ballard and this new thing that I have realized with him just listening to his press conference from yesterday I believe that Chris Ballard is simply too concerned with 5 years down the road there's a saying that General man managers are concerned about what the team is going to look like in five years and coaches are worried about what the team looks like right now and I would say that that's true right because coaches their job security is soly based on are we winning right now whereas general managers their job is solely based on selling the future of the organization to the owner okay and so whenever I I was thinking about this I thought you know general managers Chris Chris balard to be more specific directs the franchise like how my wonderful wonderful wife drives when we go on vacation love my wife she's a good driver but the way that she drives just drives me nuts can't stand it okay and it's not because she's like cutting people off and like doing dumb things she's just incredibly patient and it's a wonderful wonderful know virtue that she has you know like gets in the right lane sets the cruise control to the speed limit hey Jonathan I really like this new song can we listen to it yeah sure that's fine oh Jonathan there's this new podcast that I found it's wonderful can we listen to it sure that's fine meanwhile I'm sitting there I'm looking at how fast she's driving and I'm trying not to be like hey can we go like five miles an hour over the speed limit like is that is that like even an option but no I sit there I keep my mouth shut I read my book listen to you know whatever she wants to and we we have a good time meanwhile coaches drive or coaches direct their teams like how I drive when I go on vacation I'm not putting this thing on cruise control I'm getting in the left lane and I'm going by everybody CU I want to get there right now okay it's it's not about the journey for me when I when I go on vacation that's like you've probably heard that saying before you know it's it's not about the destination it's about the journey yeah that's a load of crap I'm getting in the left lane I'm going 85 miles an hour and I'm getting to where I need to go because I don't want to be stuck behind this stupid semi that's going under the speed limit okay that is how coaches direct their teams quickly impatient let's win now general managers though hey let's let's slow down let's en let's enjoy the ride right that's how general managers act and more specifically that that is how Chris Ballard behaves and he is simply too patient when Chris Ballard speaks it is always about development it is never about this year it is always about oh we think next year this guy is going to be really good it's so it's saying like oh Nick Nick cross he just needs more reps and he's going to be a good player you know he said yesterday it's not his fault that we drafted him when he was so young you're right Chris Balor that's that's your fault you probably shouldn't have wasted a pick on him if you didn't think he was going to be good but you know whatever he just needs more reps you know Anthony Richardson he just he just needs more reps Leu latu he's he's gonna be a GameChanger he just he just needs some reps maybe in like a year or two he'll be awesome he makes statements like that all the time which is partially understandable because he is the general manager and it is his job to oversee the future of the Colts franchise but at some point at some point this thing has to click off in your brain as a general manager where you say we have a good team we I I like this guy at quarterback I I I think this guy's good if we add this one piece then we can win right now and Chris Ballard hasn't shown that he has that switch in his brain right the best general managers Brett V in Kansas City does a beautiful job of this yes general managers are supposed to be concerned about the future but they still have to have the presence of mind to think about the current season and Chris Ballard hasn't shown that he has that in eight years if he had that then he would have gone and gotten Leger sne this year because let's be honest if the Colts had a shut down corner like lerus Sneed then people wouldn't be saying oh everyone's sleeping on the Colts they would be talking about the Colts winning the division because when you look at the Colts obviously there's questions around Anthony Richardson but the other question is what does the secondary look like and Chris Ballard and the rest of this Colts organization has voiced the confidence that they have in Anthony Richardson and they voiced the confidence that they have in Shane styken for to make Anthony Richardson work okay and so if Chris Balor really felt that way how could he not have sat back looked at the secondary and been like you know what if we make this trade for lerus Sneed then we could be good this year not in two years and Chris ballor has just shown a lack of awareness to go and get players right now and be good right now Chris Ballard is simply too concerned with five years down the road and that is one of his biggest flaws as a general manager so instead of going out and getting you know lerus sne or or any good cornerback or going out and signing Justin Simmons to play safety instead of doing that Chris B's like you know what no let's give cross some more reps Juju Bren just needs some more reps Jaylen Jones just needs some more reps so that in five years we'll be good look at some point Chris Ballard has to take the Colts off cruise control and floor the pedal to go get guys to win right now at some point that has to happen and I just don't think that Chris Ballard has the awareness to actually do that speak speak of awareness my guy Zack gray very aware he's joining the show in 30 minutes to give you winning college football bets also speaking of awareness some of these NFL players are just dumb okay we saw it with you know the the top 100 list right where all the players vote on the the best players in the league well ESPN sent polls out to players and you know ask some questions about quarterbacks you know who are the best three quarterbacks in the league who's the most overrated quarterback who's the most most underrated quarterback yada yada all that stuff and they got some stuff right not really though according to NFL players the best three quarterbacks in the NFL are Patrick Mahomes Lamar Jackson and Joe burrow don't mind it I would have Josh Allen there um kind of tough for me to put Lamar Jackson in there when his playoff success is almost non-existent there's there's not much there it's tough for me to put Joe burrow in there over Josh Allen when Joe burrow just doesn't play he's been hurt like consistently throughout his entire career in in the NFL like like that's kind of an issue and I was like but you know what they've got Josh Allen at four then you know like I'm not I'm not going to throw a fit and then reading through the article and I realized that Josh Allen was voted the most overrated quarterback and I had to like stop I was like that is blasphemy and it further proves that just because you played a sport doesn't mean that you know more than I do because anybody with a set of eyes that that watches games on Sunday could sit back watch Josh Allen and be like geez the only guy in the NFL who's better than this dude is the guy that wears number 15 in Kansas City he was voted the most overrated quarterback in the NFL it's to a point now where I think that Josh Allen might legitimately be underrated seriously like I I've got people out here telling me that you know Patrick Mahomes best quarterback ever you know could could wind up being that and all and all those things the only guy that Josh Allen has lost to in the playoffs is Patrick Mahomes that's it okay like when we look at Buffalo it's like ah that defense is you know not very good I mean they've got Matt Milano but that's really it and somehow someway the bills won six games in a row last year to win their division and look if Stefon Diggs makes a catch last year in the playoffs then they beat the Chiefs and they potentially go on to the Super Bowl the fact that NFL players can call Josh Allen overrated is just it's absurd to me considering that he beats literally everyone not named the Kansas City Chiefs so I saw that yesterday it really bothered me and I I wanted to bring it up on the show and then finally they asked who the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL were and they got one right they missed on on the other one two guys tied as the most underrated quarterbacks they both play in the NFC West one Matt Stafford and the guy who tied with him Brock birdie I'm I'm glad that they see that because mat Matthew Stafford is awesome he's been awesome his whole career he was just buried in Detroit one of the what was when Matt Stafford was there what was one of the worst Rand organizations in the NFL they've obviously turned things around with with Dan Campbell and their new general manager in part because of Matthew Stafford they traded him away Rams gave him a bunch of picks and they have capitalized on those perie I don't know I still think that he's propped up by you know Kyle Shanahan okay be to be totally honest I think Brock P should have won the vote for the most overrated quarterback in the NFL he got votes for both by the way which I think speaks to No One honestly knows how good Brock pie is no one has any sort of idea but we do know how good of a basketball player Caitlyn Clark is the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun last night Caitlyn Clark played well I wonder who said that the fever we going to win and I wonder who said that cayin Clark would be a lot better I I don't I don't know who said that I think it was someone who host a show on Indie Sports ticket between 10: and noon I don't really know though I've got thoughts on that game when we come back here in four minutes e e e e e e e often imitated never duplicated it's the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports tickets 1430 a.m. and 995 HD2 the real Jonathan Smith show here on Indy Sports ticket top of the hour 11:00 I'll be joined by the one and only Zack gray Prof profal Sports Gambler he's got a little algorithm thing I don't know I'm not I'm not quite smart enough to understand it but you know he's going to join he's going to tell you who's going to win who's going to cover all those things top of the hour about 20 minutes away from that cannot wait to have my guy Zack gray join the show but you know I got 20 minutes to talk before he shows up and I have to discuss the Indiana Fever when last night at home against the Connecticut Sun 84 to 80 that is a potential WNBA playoff preview with where we stand today the Indiana Fever are currently seventh in the standings while the Connecticut Sun are second but the Indiana Fever are only half a game out of six out of six so there's a world where they move up and you know we kind of maneuver from there so they look good last night Caitlyn claw continues to play well I I said it on the show yesterday I I I thought that she would 19 points five assists five rebounds she didn't play as well as I thought she would I thought she'd have a real dominant performance but much better than how she played in the first three games that they played against the Connecticut Sun you know previous game she's going like minus 30 minus 18 like like she just had some really tough games and the fever just didn't look very good when she was on the floor where as opposed to last night plus three when Caitlyn Clark was on the floor second leader in scoring on the night with 19 points Kelsey Mitchell just continues to be nothing but a pure bucket getter she's so good plays incredibly fast love the speed that she plays with she shot the crap out of the ball last night eight of 14 from the field four of seven from three 23 points look when when she leads the the fever team in scoring man they're just they're really really tough to beat they just are aiah Boston another just outstanding game 10 points which is a little less than what she usually does she had six rebounds but she had eight assists Aaliyah Boston dishing from the post impressive really impressive so fever looked good once again when Kelsey Mitchell Leah Boston and Caitlin Clark all three play well I mean you're you know good luck good luck beating this team and then when Ro players start shooting the crap out of the ball like Lexi Hull did last night oh my gosh five of nine from the floor four of six from three she had 177 points I mean and you know she's guarding the crap out of people too like this Indiana Fever team they're fun they're really good like this is a like this is a legitimate playoff team they now have more wins against teams over 500 than the Las Vegas Aces the back-to-back WNBA Champs in search of a threee yeah the fever have more wins against teams over 500 than the aces do and the fever have a great opportunity coming up to tomorrow night they I'm not too too sure if they're at home or or if they're on the road but I do know that they're playing against you know everyone's second favorite player in the WNBA Angel Reese that's right we got a little Caitlyn Clark Angel ree action going on tomorrow night I will be completely and totally tuned in to that game I I can't cannot wait for it they're on the road at Chicago 7:30 game's going to be on ION the Indiana Fever are favored by five and a half but you can throw the lines out the window when comes to these games Angel ree Caitlyn Clark like you know that you're going to get some sort of drama something fun and and entertaining to watch that's tomorrow night but and I just I've been really impressed with this Indiana Fever team like right before the Olympic break you could tell that they had just figured some things out you know Caitlyn Clark was playing better Distributing the ball better her teammates were finishing better like they they had just clearly turned a corner okay like seriously like they've just they've turned a corner and they're incredibly fun to watch half a game out of sixth place they win on Friday they'll be 500 like they could finish with a winning record which I don't think many people really expected from this team Lind Dunn is scheduled to join the daket show today at 1:5 to to talk about the fever to talk about Caitlin Clark and everything that that they've got going on because they've got a lot going on like that is a really good basketball team right now they they play well as a team you know they're they've added I wouldn't say they've added depth but Lexi Hull has really emerged post the Olympic break uh they got this new girl that I that played last night I've never noticed her before her name oh I'm gonna Butch it [ __ ] Binny that's that's I'm assuming you say it she played 17 minutes she scored zero points she only had three rebounds and a block but she was plus 18 in those 17 minutes like she defended well did a good job Shoring up underneath like a truly like impressive performance like man this this fever team they're fun they're good I I think that they're going to continue on winning and oh man it is fantastic something else that's fantastic is college football I love college football and we have college football tonight once again my guy Zack gray top of the hour 11 o'clock he is set to join me he's going to give you who's gonna win who's gon to lose he's gonna give you bets that you can cash in on okay he's he's one of the best sports gamblers that I know like would put him right up there with the the SackMan okay they're like one a one B okay like that's the kind of level that my guy Zack gray is at you know still working on the formula it'll probably be a little up and down to start the year but by the end of the year he's going to figure it out and you're gonna want all the bets that he gives out he's joining me top of the hour at 11 o'clock and big it it shouldn't be a big game and maybe this is part of why I don't like Deion Sanders it just it bothers me because they aren't very good they went 4 and eight last year but they're on ESPN tonight at 8 o'clock playing against nfcs team people are going nuts for it I'm like like like why are we so excited to watch this team that went 4 and eight last year and I get it Deion Sanders polarizing figure all those things but come on now there's not another sport in the world where a team could go 4 and eight the previous year and people be legitimately excited for them the following year like that it doesn't exist okay especially when you look at Colorado like it's not like they had any major players hurt last year like sh shter Sanders played all year Travis Hunter played all year like like their two like it wasn't like they were missing one of their two best players like they were legitimately a bad football team last year and everyone is so incredible incredibly excited like oh I can't wait to watch Colorado and Travis Hunter and Sher Sanders and oh coach Prime he's got he's got that gold headset that's pretty cool I I don't care about any of that it went 4 and eight last year why are we why why are people so excited about this and look I'm telling you right now North Dakota State's going to cover at at a minimum okay they are nine and a half Point underdogs I I gota be honest like I would probably take him to win seriously like I think North Dakota state is going to I I think they're going to win tonight I almost said that I think that they're going to crush Colorado I don't believe that I I do think that North North Dakota state is going to win tonight okay like when I look at Deion Sanders and Colorado and just I I think they're all Flash no substance seriously they're like the rappers that rent really nice cards when they go to like Premier Events and stuff like that that is who they remind me of seriously I just I all Flash no substance okay like they're they're the dude that walks around in like fake fake gold chains like that's that's that's who they are all Flash no substance that like that is really what I think it boils down to with this Colorado team seriously like like you sit back and and you watch them and it's it's not about blocking like when you when I listen to Nick Sabin and Kirby Smart and Lane kein even the best coaches in the landscape of college football the things that they talk about they talk about quarterback play they they talk about their offensive line how well they tackle like they focus on these really important aspects of football and then I look at Colorado and I look at Deion Sanders and shadur Sanders and and the way that those guys talk it's it's never about football it's always about all this other stuff I think Colorado is just too wrapped up in other things like the fact that Dion Sanders would ban a media guy because he called him some names that he didn't like you know like the Bruce Lee of BS which is funny by the way like the fact that he would ban a guy over that it's like why are you even worried about that guy like you're Deion Sanders you're about to start a football season and you're worried about some reporter that people don't even know like I didn't even know who the guy was like and and you're overly concerned with that come on now come on now I think Colorado is just worried about the wrong things that's that's ultimately what it comes down to and on top of that when it comes to tonight their roster is completely revamped this isn't college basketball it's not in basketball you can bring in 10 new players eight new players you can bring in a whole new rotation of guys that are going to play and because it's only 12 guys you can mesh semi- quickly okay you know we'll still probably take you two games toig a few games to figure it out probably so but still like it is much easier to get 12 new guys to mesh than it is to get 22 new players to mesh like that is much more difficult and when you look at Colorado they have once again hit the transfer portal incredibly hard and like it's a whole new starting offensive line new defensive linemen new defensive backs new running backs new wide and everything's new everything is new except for shadur Sanders Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders other kid don't even know his name everything else is new and I just have a hard time believing that they're going to be meshed enough and ready enough to play against North Dakota State who is one of the more Premier FCS programs in the country okay like this is this North Dakota State team they are notorious for beating FBS teams like that's what they do they are notorious for running through the FCF FCS playoff every year like nor North Dakota State like that is a legitimately good football team and they're kind of old school yes they'll they'll spread you out but they're tough and they're physical and I think that when we watch the game tonight that is what we are going to that that's what we're going to think about we're going to sit back and we're going to watch this say FCS North Dakota State team go on the road I I I believe I believe that the game is is at Colorado very rarely do FBS teams travel to to FCS stadiums but North Dakota state is such a big deal that that could actually be wrong so I'm I'm going to double check that but tonight eight o'clock yeah North Dakota state is GNA go into Colorado tonight and they are going to push them around more they're going to be tougher more physical Colorado is going to have a couple of big plays that pop up on your Twitter feed and bleach your report and ESPN and all these places are going to go crazy like oh my gosh did you see that completion that Travis Hunter you know or that shadur Sanders had to to Travis hunter that resulted in like a 78 yard touchdown oh my gosh like like that like things like that are going to happen because the topend talent Colorado was probably better than the top talent for North Dakota State but I'm going to bet on North Dakota State and their toughness and their physicality I think that they slowly lean on Colorado throughout this game and we look up and there's four minutes left in North Dakota state is up by four they have the ball and it's just like Okay can they run the clock out and I think that they're going to I think they're going to push Colorado around and it's gonna be tough for Dion after the game because he's gonna have to go to the podium and be and you know and have to listen to people question him and people should question him they went 4 and eight last year four and eight like like like why are we expecting for Colorado to be good sure shadur Sanders is a good player shadur Sanders is probably one of the best he's he is one of the best quarterbacks in college football but here's the thing that we have to remember college football and the NFL are different they are so incredibly different Nick Sabin he's on the record saying this Nick Sabin left the Miami Dolphins because he felt like they put together a good team at every single spot except for quarterback right and the NFL is such a quarterback dependent League that if you don't have a good quarterback it doesn't matter what you do everywhere else but he looked at college football and he was like I don't have to have a great quarterback to win I need I need an average guy who can come in run some plays maybe complete a couple of third down throws but if we're good everywhere else we can beat anybody and if you you watch Nick Savin he won multiple national titles without a great quarterback so while quarter back play is important in college football like of course it is okay like I I saw Johnny Manzel single-handedly beat Alabama like quarterback play is important but it's not like but it can be overcome if you if your quarterback isn't as good if you're good in all the other areas and that is honestly what I think we're going to see tonight North Dakota State bigger more physical tougher I think they're going to tackle better I think they're going to block better and that's ultimately what football comes down to can you block the guy in front of you and can you tackle if you if you do those two things better than anyone else then you're going to win a lot of football games and once again when I look at Colorado their brand is huge like Sher Sanders just signed an nil deal with Nike I I think he's he's like the first college or Collegian player in football to to do that and I'm like why why you sending a guy who just went 4 and eight okay like with Colorado it's all about the brand it's all about the Flash and it's not really about much of anything else and that is their biggest issue it's their biggest issue they're all about the Flash and there's just not not enough care about the actual substance right and the substance is your offensive line and your defensive line college football if you don't control the trenches you're not going to win very many games that's why the SEC has dominated college football for years because for whatever reason a lot of the best offensive linemen they're in the south they're in Louisiana Alabama Florida and they wind up at those SEC schools and they push other teams around that's what college football is about it's about the trenches and I think North Dakota State wins in the trenches tonight they beat Deion Sanders they beat Colorado and I come on the show tomorrow with a big smile on my face and I continue to preach that Deion Sanders just doesn't get it because I don't think that he does someone that does get it though Zack gray he said to join me here in five minutes top of the hour he's going to give you you know college football bets for tonight and for the weekend cannot wait on that Zack gray joining me here in five minutes to give you some winning bets e e e e e e e e e [Music] ladies and gentlemen it's time for it's the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports ticket 1430 a.m. and 995 HD2 what's going on it's the real Jonathan Smith show here on Indies Sports ticket it's the top of the hour been teasing it all day my guy the best sports G that I know my guy Zack gray joins the show Zack what's going on man Jay Smith it's a beautiful Friday Thursday and college football is back dude it's it could be raining right now and it still be a beautiful Thursday just because as you said college football's back I've been annoying everyone today like talking about Colorado North Dakota State like completely obscure FBS FCS games tonight that I am just pumped for is is the Colorado North Dakota State game obscure though I feel like everyone's G to be tuned in even though Colorado went 4 and8 last year and usually people wouldn't care well everyone is a hater with Colorado you included so it's like I I have to make I have to be the supporter of the Ohio area because I I don't know anyone else that likes col fair enough I don't I don't know anyone that that really likes him either that's not true they're like I think I don't know Bleacher Report seems to really like him n Nike clearly likes them I don't know if you saw that that was a sick campaign that was a that was a really good way to introduce a partnership it was but I'm sitting there I'm like why are they signing a quarterback that went 4 and8 last year oh here we go I I think it's a fair question Jo joined by my guy Zack gray professional Sports uh Gambler just does a a fantastic job but I'm just saying I feel like that's something that we should note even though it is even though to be fair he probably will be the the number one overall pick yeah they have two top 10 draft picks on their roster and we just hate them I don't know man I I I don't know I just I'm just not I don't think I hate them I'm just not a believer in them eventually being good at some point I think that's a little more accurate well well we'll see but I uh I just I just am excited for this little appetizer you know today um you know if you check my Twitter I have a play for tomorrow as well um you know so I'm kind of getting into the Rhythm tonight and then tomorrow is when we'll see you know the Great Vine come out what are the plays that you you like for tonight I know you you you sent me a couple and I don't want to go off script so what are the plays that you like for really just all all the college football games this uh weekend including night yeah so uh there was a time where I was leaning Colorado um that line I think you haven't checked it today but I think it got all the way up to like 10 10 and a half there's some injuries for North Dakota State I believe some I think their best players is hurt but um so nothing there but tomorrow night there's a play um if you go to the Twitter but two plays that I really really like this weekend are Troy minus8 and a half and Penn State minus8 um you know we could you know I know you have your thoughts about Penn State so I don't know where you want to start but those are my two plays you know if you don't check my Twitter if you don't go to my patreon those are the two to get introduced to what I do over here um so yeah Penn State or or Troy which one you want to talk about let's start with Penn State because you're right I'm I'm not a Penn State guy I I think that they're overrated every year but with that being said I don't think that West Virginia's very good when the line came out and they were favored by eight I was like that felt low so I'm with you I like Penn State to cover that but when it comes to Troy I gota be honest don't know anything about Troy so if you want to Enlighten us on that after you you give me your thoughts on the on the Penn State game yeah so so the Penn State thing I feel like it's super trendy right now to like be on the West Virginia bandwagon and I kind of understand it Garrick green um you know starting to become a pretty darn good college quarterback only had five turnovers last year you know they were turning some guys their backfield good like they're a good team they're a solid Big 12 team but at the end of the day like I don't think they even come close to the talent level of Penn State and you know this is the same coach that that was on the hot seat just last season before they went on their run the fans wanted him gone like like legitimately they wanted him fired in the middle of the season after their start and now all of a sudden I'm supposed to buy into the fact that they're going to make a run for the Big 12 make a run for the playoff no Penn State has a new offensive coordinator um I don't want to butcher his name I believe it's colon Nikki and uh you know he's coming in I don't think that it fit last year with Aller it's make or break for him if he wants to you know earn some money a high round draft pick in the NFL it's time to get going their backs are awesome we all know Singleton um but yeah it it just all lines up for me and my for my projection backs it up that this this game is going to be at least 10 plus I don't see how it and you know the road crowd maybe but still Penn State's used to playing in the big house in Ohio State like the road crowd isn't really going to be a big impact for me but yeah I I just think that there's too much hype on West Virginia and I'm kind of playing against the the hype in the market I I complet completely agree with you once again joined by my guy Zack gray professional sports Gambler clearly he knows his stuff I'm with you like what let's let's be just brutally honest about Penn State they're more talented than everybody not named Georgia Ohio State Oregon like they're they are who the the college football playoff expansion was made for the team that's not quite good enough to be top four but they're like seven eight n like that that's who Penn State is that's who I expect them to be and look when you're more talented especially in the trenches which is where I think Penn State also has an advantage over West Virginia I think they're just going to kind of move West Virginia around they'll win by two touchdowns that's that's kind of how how I feel about it my project have the final score being 33 to9 so you know not a crazy I mean Penn State's not going to come out and whip them like you know they're not going to beat him you know 42 to 10 but I think they'll pull away um yeah yeah like late touchdown like late cover yeah yeah exactly exactly like that hopefully not with four seconds left in the game though hopefully not let's let's move to Troy because you texted me about that one specifically wanting to talk about it and it just shows why why the service you offer in terms of the sports gambling is great so if you want to elaborate on that I will give you the floor I think this is another uh me going against the market and you know the hype because we just watched Nevada play SMU down to the wire you know Cho is their new coach and you know he he's he's a good coach and there's just a lot of uh like course correction on Nevada like people thought they were going to win like one or two games this year and I still think they only win one or two games I think we see this a lot I think we see this a lot early in the season with these bad teams like other their opponents are trying to figure themselves out throughout the season Nevada's playing with their hair on fire already like they know they're out match they know they're outclass while other teams are trying to feel it out I just think that SMU game last week we're going to look back on that and say dang what happened there smu's pretty good and Nevada's got one win um so and my projections have Troy winning by like 17 and the line's eight and a half so it's a it's an automatic play for me Troy is always talented I know they lost a lot of guys and um they don't I think they only have four total returning starters this year um but they're always talented they're in a recruiting hot bed down there I think they're I think they're just gonna put it on them joined by Zack gray follow on Twitter at zg the Grapevine for all of these wonderful college football plays he'll have NFL plays too whenever the the NFL season starts but that that line opened at like six right and then it moved to eight and a half correct that so good segue Jonathan that was James Madison there it is that's the third one which J James Madison's perfect for these IU people because Kurt edti coming from James Madison uh I love Kurt edti geez man he he always makes me smile he always has audio for me to play whenever he speaks which is great I'm glad he's in the Big 10 I like him like I I gota be H I didn't watch a ton of James Madison last year to be fair but the way that he talks man like he he expects to win and that's where I think it really starts with anything if you have guys showing up and they're like God it's going to take us a few years it's that's that's a red flag for me like I want guys to show up and expect to win immediately ins signity definitely does that he wanted James Madison from my understanding they're kind of in a good place to recruit they're traditionally a pretty good program you've got them to cover you you got them at minus 6 now the lines up to minus8 eight and a half what did you see with them why do you like JMU this year yeah it's something that we talked about off air I just kind of wanted to highlight it you know to to kind of highlight the services that the patreon offers so I released my projections on Tuesday when JMU was minus 6 so if if I release my projections on Tuesday and and I got a minus six it's all the way up to minus8 now you got two and a half points of clv closing line value so that's just kind of one of the things that I that you know I think my service offers we get in the market early at the best line and kind of you know have that cushion there of what the public now thinks and what's being bet handle hold all that stuff so just a value value that I wanted to to relay but like we have to stop acting like James Madison isn't wasn't an FCS Powerhouse for years and then came up to the FBS and immediately won and I think you know you can draw a lot of comparisons with James Madison and North Dakota State North Dakota state had has had like four or five coaches since they started their run and all they do is win so I think it's just one of those programs where we see Signet leave um and we automatically assume like rebuild or down I still think they win nine 10 games this year I think they have the roster to do it they're talented and they have some guys on the defense that I think are like future NFL players so like a lot of you can tell early on with not a lot of Da data in the first part of the Season you can tell a lot of um you know projections obviously but it's also kind of you know the market isn't settled in yet so you can kind of find those holes off public opinion and off the you know the vibe of each team to kind of get those plays in like I have yeah and look I I say it all the time before you come on that you're you're one of the better you're you are the best sports Gambler that I know and that's with all all the respect to the sack man who does a lot of gambling stuff on Dan show um once again joined by my guy Zack gray follow on Twitter at zg the Grapevine you can find his patreon in the link in his bio all right zg so yesterday first off before I move on do you have any other picks that you want to go into yeah uh no no more picks they're all on my Twitter you can find every projection for every game but I did want to did want to highlight starting today through the end of October 40% off all of my college football and NFL picks on patreon so if you go to my Twitter sign up you get 40% off each month you get both uh every week so uh had to plug myself J Smith come on of course yeah yeah yeah I get it that's that's part of why you want it's nice so yesterday I officially locked in my predictions for the upcoming college football season I have and I've got Oregon winning the Big 10 and don't ha it I love oh how like I don't love oh how State I love their team this year I think they're awesome but that game being in Eugene je when they play each other I think that's the difference that allows them to be you know undefeated in the Big 10 and so I I I took them to win it I I do obviously have Ohio State making M making the atlarge bids but here's here's my question and this is something that I haven't heard anyone else talk about Notre Dame not being in a conference you know how like there's a group of five team that makes the playoff would Notre Dame not be that team I don't think so they treat Notre Dame they give I by the way I am not a big Notre Dame guy but they they give Notre Dame a ton of like weird privileges because they're independent so like there's there's scenarios like the reason why they are okay with not getting a buy is because there's scenarios where they're playing the easiest schedule through the playoffs as a five seed like but I don't think it counts as a as a group of five team but yeah I just had to get that off cuz not like oh poor me poor me I can't get a buy knowing darn well exactly why they chose not to yeah that's that's very much how and like they do get a buy they don't have to play Conference Championship game like that that is the buy and so I was because like I was sitting down and I was making my uh predictions and I was like who's my group of five team is it could it be Notre Dame like is that how that works my group of five team though is the the University of Texas at San Antonio ro road runners wow I love that that is like I'm sitting here I'm looking at everyone's like Boise State Boise State and I'm like Boise State lost their starting quarterback he's gone Go Go hogs by the Way's he's gonna start for for Arkansas this year and it's like oh well they had this big time five star transfer former five star transfer Comm in and it's like no that guy's the backup so people are loving Boise State I've seen some people on Memphis a little bit of uh Appalachian State as well Liberty too those are the big on I've heard too and I'm looking at UTSA and I'm like Jeff trailer has shown up and done nothing but win there consistently 12 and2 in 2021 11 and3 in 2022 nine and four last year like I'm willing to bet that he wins 10 games this year coming out of the American so I I like UTSA who was kind of your off theboard playoff pick for for this year so I I've already kind of uh I've already kind of mentioned it but I I do think that that JMU has a chance to kind of keep it up um like I think I think they're severely underrated I think you know I think they're as talented as any of the teams that you just said I think they can certainly do it it's just a matter of you know seeing this this new coach kind of be consistent and go through it I like JMU and I I think I think if I had to pick from the group the original group we just said I think UTSA would be on the board but I like Liberty I do there's something about Li like um I know we saw him last year get destroyed by Oregon and you know it could be perceived as a you know one hit wonder type of thing but I think they're they have just gotten better and better and better every year so I think I think Liberty's a candidate to be like the next Boise state joined by Zack gray F on Twitter at zg the Grapevine for all of your winning G gambling picks so Liberty's interesting because they kind of rose to power when Hugh F was there he's not there anymore and look like whether you like hre or not he he's a good football coach he's not there he coached from a hospital bed you have to like him yeah that's so true it's so true and the thing with my thing with liberty and you're were like I don't know what it is about Liberty and the answer is they're incredibly soft schedule like they're probably gonna go undefeated they don't really play anybody so they're they're probably the the safe pick I think the other like did you ever make a prediction and you like surprise yourself because you realize that because I said this therefore like this other thing has to happen has that ever like happened to you yeah where you're get where you like it's going through a season or something and like you're like oh crap like I this this team that I like has to do this because I have this predict yeah definitely and that's a bad spot to be in and I find myself in that spot an awful lot with with betting so I think the Big 12 only gets one team into the playoff and I think it's Utah but you could tell me that it's going to be Arizona or Kansas State or even Kansas but like I was sitting here and I was like I don't know I think that the Big 10 gets three teams in Oregon Ohio State Penn State I think the SEC I think I've got them as as four teams that get in Georgia Alabama Texas and will miss I think Notre Dame gets in and I think the ACC gets two teams in in Miami and Clemson I'm sitting here I'm I'm looking at the the Big 12 you you grimaced a little bit when I said that do you not like Clemson or Miami I just think there's more of a chance that the non that a fourth non Big 10 team gets in over a non-ac champ team that's totally fair so so you think that Michigan would have a better chance of getting in over Clemson yeah I mean if if it was similar similar resumés in terms of record and Conference play I think the nod goes to the Big 10 in this new system almost every time at this point that's that's totally fair I wouldn't mind that but but even even if that happens like no second Big 12 team which is which feels really weird because I thought coming into it like okay like every conference probably get two SEC and Big 12 you know or Big 12 I mean the the Big 10 like they probably have three or four but I don't know man like when I look at the big 12 they're all even like they are the AFC South of college football where they're like I've got some question marks I think a lot of the teams are are really similar I think like we look at that conference and we come out of it and we're like gez like everyone's nine and three yeah so know you can kind of feel that pushing pull from the media and the Big 12 Conference like it's it's on the side of like everyone's going to disregard the Big 12 they're going to cannibalize each other there's no great teams there's no good teams and you have the big 12 trying to Brand itself as the deepest conference in football as you know the most competitive cross like top to bottom conference in football I think that's been an interesting offseason storyline on how we're going to view the Big 12 this season I don't think anyone really knows um but yeah I think the something to look out for just like off storylines and and media purposes is how the big 12 is perceived throughout the season because if it's you know just right now knowing the ACC knowing the Big 12 you know if it was similar resumés and you had to fill one of those last spots in the playoffs are you picking the Big 12 I think I think you'd rather I think you're picking a Clemson or a Miami yep that's that's exactly how how I feel about it um oh man I'm I'm so I'm so ready man like you know I'm I'm I would consider myself once again Jo joined by my good friend Zack gray follow on Twitter at zg the Grapevine for all of your gambling selections so I would consider myself a bit of a college football purist like I don't love and but like I I get it like like we want to be more inclusive we want for more teams to feel like they have success you know everybody gets a trophy I get it I get it but it's I gotta be honest though like I'm excited to debate with people about why nine and three so and so should get in over 10 and two so and so I think it's going to be a lot of fun that's way more fun than trying to pick you know four teams out of five great teams in a four team set I would rather debate the edges than the than the top than and I the top deserves to play and that shouldn't even be a question the debate should be around the edges and I think we kind of finally found that yeah it's it's gonna be fun it's it's going to be to be interesting I have to ask you you don't have to give bets but just who you think wins because we've got some pretty big Marquee games coming up this week on the schedule I can't wait to get started tonight 7:30 Arkansas against Arkansas at Pine Bluff I know that's one that everyone has circled um can you believe that there are people in the chat here on YouTube who thought that I didn't know who Matt Jones was I I can't believe it but anyway we we don't have to talk about that seriously though Colorado North Dakota State tonight I know which way you're leaning but you can go ahead and tell the people yeah think Colorado wins I don't think they I you know 10 11 12 kind of the margin of Victory um but yeah I don't are you concerned at all about just like the newness of the roster like it's five new offensive linemen like like part of why I like for for for North Dakota state to cover tonight is just because like they're a pretty solidified unit like there hasn't been a lot of change whereas like for Colorado it's a lot of these guys first games playing for Colorado yeah I just I think specifically on the offensive line is where we will see a pretty big Improvement um you know they they did like cycle out a ton of players on both sides of the ball that's the Dion way but I think they're better I think they're just more talented I think they're bigger I think they they're more physical specifically on the offensive line Jordan SE a true freshman's going to start like Ohio State wanted him bad like those you know Georgia wanted him bad like you know yeah he's a true freshman but he's he's clearly better than what they had last year so I think that I don't think we see too much difference you know offense defense as a whole but I think we we kind of see the play elevate a little bit because of the line play and you know being able to kind of you know control the clock all the all the cliches is kind of just going to help the team in every aspect defense as well so I think you'll see that slight Improvement and it'll make a big difference okay once again joined by my good friend Zack gray follow on Twitter at zg the Grapevine for all of your gambling selections Clemson Georgia that game noon on Saturday Georgia pretty easily right yeah Georgia by Georgia by at least two touch Downs I think Clemson's going to surprise some people this year I think they're still really talented um but like I just don't know davo just doesn't seem to to have that spark anymore I think they'll be good I think they'll be in the mix for the playoff but Georgia I feel like Georgia's just kind of Georgia yeah like look the only guy who's proven that he can beat Georgia is working for college game day now and so it it's tough to pick against him the issue with Clemson is dbos Sween refuses to use the transfer portal like that until that problem is fixed there'll there'll be you know somewhere between the 10th and 17th best team in in in in in college football are you at all interested in in South Dakota state in Oklahoma State like South Dakota State one of those kind of power FCS schools does that game interest you at all uh yeah I actually so I picked a couple of those games um to to project out on my projections just some of the notable ones and that was one of them that I had um I have Oklahoma State winning you know by like 12 my projections um I find it interesting though Oklahoma state is like a uh like a flagship program in our life time like they are they are always at least Baseline good and can beat someone um so I think it's just kind of crazy now that we're seeing the the lines come out for these major FBS teams versus FCS teams and they're kind of small I remember I remember like years ago where there was you know some of those games were in the 60s on the spread like it it just feels like the it feels like the gaps Clos a little bit I don't know why but I don't yeah it just feels like that Gap they have oi Gordon they have oi Gordon one of the best and they're they're only like what what is the spread like 11 or something like that something like that yeah that's I think part of it is like the transfer portal I'm sure we've got guys transferring down to play at at at these these FCS schools at a little bit of a higher rate but I'm sure that's part of it Miami plays Florida at 330 Miami last time I checked only favored by like two and a half which kind of surprised me I like Miami a lot of people do which makes me nervous to like Miami um my boss though that dude's crazy I've got Florida really yeah not by much um I think it's going to be wire to wire I wouldn't be shocked if Miami wins but um you know just trust in my data I have Florida buy a point okay fair enough um Notre Dame Texas A&M that game's a big one I think Notre Dame goes 11 and one this year and I think that their one loss comes on Saturday to Texas A&M yeah um been saying it you know the the market has tells us what they think now you know Notre Dame started out favored in this game it flipped all the way to Texas A&M minus three um not sure what it's at now but to you know Notre Dame losing their best offensive lineman like doesn't help but I also even with him I don't I just did not see Notre Dame winning this game Mike elco's got a bunch of talent he's a great coach Texas A&M isn't you know Little Sisters of the they still have dudes like very very much one of the most talented rosters in football still like and I don't like Notre Dame so it's a little biased right there with you last question for you Zach and I'll let you go once again joined by my good buddy Zack gray follow him on Twitter seriously gives out a ton of winners every week for football at zg theg Grapevine check out his patreon to to get all those picks F 15 bucks a month right for for all of them uh so you know it's it's I think it's $25 for college football 25 for NFL um and it's 45 for both but again you go and and use the code zgt you can get 40% off the the the both package and you're sitting somewhere around $27 a month okay USC at LSU that is the Sunday Night Football game I'm fascinated by it I I I think Brian Kelly is overrated as a coach not saying he's a bad coach I just don't think he's as good as everyone else does Lincoln Riley on the other hand that's the best offensive mind in college football I think USC is massively underrated this year because when when Lincoln Riley's your coach he scored points with Kyler muray Jaylen Herz you know Caleb Williams obviously Baker Mayfield when he was the OC no matter who plays quarterback for us for for Lincoln Riley his team score points that being said I I do like for LSU to win I knew you were gonna do the switch um I actually I I'm gonna I'm going to leave this one on a cliffhanger I have a play on that game um who knows what side I'm on unless you go to the Twitter so um yeah I like it I like it Zack thanks for your time on camera which is great we rocking a that's an awesome Pacers hat you I need you to send me the the link for that because that thing looks pretty sick I got it at um at at gainbridge oh nice when you went to watch LeBron no it's the fir I went to watch um Cleveland the first time yeah oh okay there you go there you go Zach thanks for your time man you you were great as always thanks Jay Smith see you that's my guy Zack gray the one and only follow him on Twitter at zg the Great Vine seriously he puts out a ton of winners clearly very knowledgeable in the world of college football and the NFL coming back in four minutes Chris Ballard sat down at the podium and was asked a lot of questions yesterday I've got a lot of audio for you from that when we come back here in four minutes e e e e e e e e welcome back to the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports ticket 14:30 a.m. and 995 HD2 the real Jonathan Smith show here on Indie Sports ticket thank you to Zack gray for doing like 30 minutes with me there on college football bats over the weekend oh man geez Chris Ballard said a lot of things yesterday a lot of things and let's be honest we're all highly concerned about the secondary and look Chris Ballard pretty bullish about the group and he was asked why he is so bullish about the group they're young they're they're gonna get they're going to continue to get better um sometimes you got to be able to meet like things don't always work out even when you're trying to acquire a player not saying we didn't try to do some things sometimes it just doesn't happen but we do think we have good young Talent back there and we have a lot of belief in our front um so we'll continue to to let these guys grow and and come on they don't become players without playing I mean I think sometimes we forget that you know they gotta just they gotta Play Good Old Chris Balor there talking about the secondary and why he's bullish on the group why he thinks that they could develop and develop is the main word there because they have to develop because they aren't very good right now they weren't very good last year it's the exact same room the exact same guys are in in the Colts building set to play corner and safety and let's be honest it is the worst group of players on the team like if you go by position groups you know offensive line defensive line linebacker quarterback receiver all that secondary hands down the worst it's not close but as Chris Ballard said In that clip this Colts you know secondary is incredibly young incredibly young and when it comes to this Colt secondary I think that the Colts really only hope for them is that is for them to have a Jordan love like year okay Jordan love people are just they they love him right now everyone loves love everybody and last year was Jordan love's first year as the starter of the Green Bay Packers and there were some up and ups and downs throughout the first half of the season and by ups and downs I mean nothing but Downs first half of the Season Jordan love was terrible people were completely out on him people you know made fun of the Packers for trading up to draft him and it was so terrible and Jordan love's first a games last year he threw for 1700 yards 12 touchdowns eight interceptions and he only completed 59% of his passes that's what will loves did basically in nine games last year okay Jord Jordan love started the year like he was Will Levis and people were completely and totally out on him then in his last nine games a light bulb went off and he was awesome he threw for 2400 yards 20 touchdowns three interceptions and he completed 68% of his passes the more he played the better he got now he's making a ton of money and everyone loves him seriously everyone seems to love Jordan love right now because of the way that he finished last year and they just completely ignore the struggles that he had in the first half of the Season like the first half of the season the Packers didn't look like a playoff team they were three five and they looked like they were about to have to draft a new quarterback then Jordan love figured it out and I really hope that we see something similar from this Colt secondary this season okay I that's what I kind of hope we see because Chris Ballard is right in the idea that players don't become players until they actually play especially young dudes that don't have a ton of experience okay like like Nick cross has looked better this preseason than he did last year he hasn't look it's the preseason so it doesn't really mean all that much but he could have looked worse but he hasn't he's looked better Julian Blackman looks amazing this year after having another year under his belt and hopefully Julian Blackman's able to cover for some of these guys as they work out the Kinks early in the season maybe he can even help bring them along a little bit but when I when I look at this Colts secondary like in order for this Colts defense to be good they need a Jordan love type season where maybe it's rough to start but by week seven week eight they figure things out and they go from being this horrendously bad secondary to being above average right because look I I think that if Jordan love can learn how to play quarterback the most the most difficult position to play in football if he can learn how to do that at an elite level in eight games after being horrendous and you know the first nine or whatever then I don't think it's inconceivable to think that these young Colts secondary players couldn't do the same you know go from being bad because that's how it's going to start to being above average I don't think that that's out of the question and when Chris Ballard was talking about the secondary and why he's bullish on them he mentioned the defensive line Chris Ballard because of his Drafting and his willingness to go out and get these defensive linemen he's got a bit of a luxury to gamble on this secondary while they lean on that defensive front because that defensive front should be dominant the Colts were third in sacks last year as a team it's pretty good they bring everybody back minus iuam who who tours Achilles you know he could potentially come back this year but let's be honest that's not going to happen and they also add latu latu who by all the counts is going to be awesome this year rayquan Davis who was decent last year in Miami and Isaiah land who I thought played pretty well during the preseason they are better up front on the defensive side of the football than they were last year so hopefully that buys the secondary a little bit of time to figure things out okay if the Jordan love development Arc happens for this Colt secondary this year then you know the the defensive front has to be good early and by the end of the year the Colts have a pretty good defense but that development has to happen like Chris Ballard wants for it to and Chris Ballard talks about development all the time and I think that that is one of his biggest flaws as a general manager and I will get into that when we come back here in about four minutes e e e e e e e [Music] the best takes stories and entertainment it's the real Jonathan Smith show on Indie Sports ticket 14:30 a.m. and 9 95 HD2 the real Jonathan Smith show here on Indies Sports ticket hope you guys are having a good one Chris Ballard said a lot of things yesterday and look I haven't you know I've lived in Indianapolis for three years now listened to a fairly decent amount of Chris Balor press conferences and I've just I've I've noticed this trend about Chris Balor just the way that he discusses things so there's a saying you know in sports you know football basketball baseball whatever it is there's a saying that general managers are concerned about what the team is going to look like in five years coaches are worried about what the team looks like right now and it makes sense because the coach's job is directly dependent upon how many games they win that year right now whereas for the general manager their job is dependent upon being able to sell the future to the owner of like hey I know know that we went you know seven- 10 this year but we got this new quarterback we're thinking we'll go you know 10- seven next year and then the year after that will go 13 and four and we'll be competing for Super Bowls every year like like that is how the general manager keeps his job whereas you know coaches are I gotta win right now or I'm gonna get fired and it creates this interesting push and pole between the two and I was I was thinking about this and I was like you know what general managers direct fr ches like how my wife drives when we go on vacation my wife good driver okay like not going to cut people off know very you know defensive driver I know that when she's driving you know we're pretty safe right like I I I know that but she is incredibly patient when she drives you know she's gonna set the cruise control to the speed limit and we're going to just kind of creep along the interstate while we're heading to you know wherever we're going and love her she's great uh it's good that she's patient but man it drives me crazy whenever we're driving you know we're going like under the speed limit she's like oh Jonathan you know I found this new song that I really like can we can we listen to it I'm like yeah of course we listen to the song and then she's like oh I I found this new podcast that I really like can we can we listen to I'm like yeah that's that's great can you just go like a little bit faster can we just go like five miles an hour over the speed limit please and you know she's very patient and I believe that this is how general managers build their teams very patiently not in a rush just you know very patient whereas coaches they want to direct franchises like how I drive on vacation I'm not putting the car on cruise control I'm getting in the left lane I'm going by everybody and we're going to get to our destination as quickly as possible okay you know that that saying that it's not about the destination it's about the journey yeah that's a bunch of whoie it's about the destination okay I'm going you know to the beach because I want to be at the beach not because I want to be on the interstate for the next 12 hours that's just kind of the way that I view it and I believe that's how coaches are as well they they are impatient they want to win right now and when I look at Chris Ballard he is the most patient and I think that that is one of his biggest issues when you listen to him do press conferences and you know he's asked about you know the secondary or he's asked about you know the you know Anthony richon whatever it's it's always about development it's never about this season hey Chris Balor what do you think about Nick cross I think he just needs more reps you know like he just you know he's young he he needs more plays he he needs more opportunities he hasn't played a ton of football and eventually when he gets enough reps then he'll be good and it's the same thing with Anthony richon hey Chris Ballard what do you think about Anthony richon this year oh you know he's really young he's 22 he only played 12 quarters last year and you know I thought when he did play he was good but he just needs more reps he's gonna be up and down because he hasn't had enough reps and eventually he'll be good that is the bulk of the message that we hear from Chris Ballard whenever he talks about players in the team it's never about right now it is always about what's coming up down the road it's always about what's going to happen in five years and part of it is understandable because he is the general manager and him keeping his his job is directly tied to the future of the Colts okay like he has to be able to walk into Jim Mer's office and Jim mer say hey why did we go nine and eight and then the answer is ah well Anthony richon was a rookie you know we think that when he gets you know a few more reps we'll you know we'll be good enough to do you know whatever and then Jim mer has to buy whatever Chris Ballard's selling say okay and then send him on his marry way but here's the thing yes general managers are supposed to be concerned about the future it's incredibly important but but general managers still have to have the presence of mind to realize when they need to M when they need to make a move for the current season look I haven't been look I've lived in Indianapolis for three years haven't seen Chris Balor do this he is yet to show that he has a concern ER for the current season everything appears to be about the future and if you don't believe me let's just look at this offseason Colts linebackers solid defensive line heavily invested in that defensive line is going to be good this year offensive line bringing a bunch of guys back everyone tells me that this Colts offensive line supposed to be good there's been investment at receiver over these past couple years Josh DS you know uh Alec Pierce apparently had a good camp edin I Mitchell they're bringing in Michael Pitman Jr had a great year last year you know they're they're good at running back you know Jonathan Taylor you know there's some questions around Anthony Richardson but there's clearly confidence that Shane styken is going to help Anthony Richardson have a good year the one glaring hole in the team is secondary especially at the cornerback position and it's in moments like those where Chris Ballard needs that light bulb to go off and say you know what if we have a great Corner this year if we can bring one in like we could be good and instead of people talking about how everyone's sleeping on the Colts even though apparently everyone is instead of that being the conversation around Indianapolis they brought in lerus need if they had made that trade like I think people would be excited about the Colts the the conversation wouldn't be ah you know the Colts they might sneak into the playoffs no I think the conversation would be hey the Colts could like win the division but but instead of making that move that clearly needed to be made like that trade for lerus need needed to happen for the Colts instead of doing that she's like ah you know let's give Juju Brent some more reps because that's what he needs that way he'll be good in three years let's give Jaylen Jones a few more reps that way you know he's good in you know about three years or whatever it is there is no switch that goes off in Chris Ballard's mind that says hey we have an opportunity to be good right now if I do this that switch just doesn't exist in his brain it doesn't like at some point the best general managers especially Brett Vach in Kansas City they have to be able to flip that switch of hey we have an opportunity to be good this year so we should probably do that especially when you haven't made the playoffs in three years you would think that you know that switch would be dying to get flipped but for Chris Ballard it isn't he is incredibly content to Pedal around the middle and and compete for a playoff spot even though based off of what Chris Ballard said you know yesterday he does think that this is a team that should compete for the playoffs I mean we feel like we will be in the mix I mean I'll say I mean look we were in the mix a year ago um and sometimes I think I said this earlier where sometimes the scars are good for you you know hard times can be good for you defeat failure can be good for you if you handle it right have a lot of belief in the leadership one of Shane but also these players you know from guys that have been here and been through a lot and they're all good players and they're all committed um it'll be fun to watch this team grow through the season and go through it Chris Balor talking about how he expects for the Colts to be in the mix just like they were last year look last year wasn't good enough man being in the mix isn't good enough never has been okay like like being in the mix should not be the standard and that's what it feels like the standard is here in Indianapolis like like I really thought that Chris ballor was gonna say you know what yeah we expect to make the playoffs this year we think Anthony Richardson's going to be good we like the rest of our roster nope we expect to be in the mix we expect to hover around 9 and8 or 10 and seven and you know maybe we make the playoffs if we get lucky maybe if Jacksonville loses in week 17 to the Buccaneers by 12 points like they have to then maybe we'll make the playoffs pedaling in IM medoc in mediocrity we wouldn't feel that way though if he went and he got lerus Sneed if that light bulb in his head had gone off of you know what we need help in the secondary let me go make a move and bring in lerus Sneed or let me go sign Justin Simmons or let me bring Stefan Gilmore back or let me go sign xaven Howard or any one of these other free agent cornerbacks but no instead we're we're going to run everything back we're going to give Juju brins more reps we're gonna give Jaylen Jones more reps so that in three years they're ready to go that's what we're gonna do come on man you got a young rookie quarterback like people talk a lot about how you need to surround young rookie quarterbacks with weapons on offense but you also need to give them a defense that can bail them out the cols don't really have that because that secondary is so horrendously bad so horrendously bad brutal brutal brutal thanks for tuning in to the real Jonathan Smith show today the Dan doet show is coming your way next from noon to 3 I know Lyn Dunn is set to join his show at 1:5 talk about this Indiana Fever team that won a big game last night at home against the Connecticut Sun I told you yesterday that that they were GNA win last night they play again tomorrow night as well big game on the road against the Chicago Sky another Angel Reese versus Caitlyn Clark matchup should be fun should be entertaining because whenever Caitlyn Clark and Angel reace play basketball against each other it's awesome it's wildly entertaining Twitter's going to be an awesome place over the course of those two and a half hours should be a blast so Lindon joining the show at one and uh another quick little announcement here the Dan doet show not happening tomorrow Dan is off tomorrow go gone on a little short vacation I believe for for Labor Day weekend the real Jonathan Smith show will not be 10 to noon the real Jonathan Smith show will run from 10 to 1 pm so covering that first hour of the Dan doet show so I'll be on for three hours tomorrow thanks for tuning in I appreciate it I will talk to you tomorrow from 10: to 1 pm the Dand doet show is coming your way here in about five minutes