UCONN to The Big 12, Buffs in Trouble, Week One Preview

[Music] [Applause] a [Music] Go Big 12 or go home live I'm Brandon Shanahan joined as always by Midwest broadcasting Legend Drew Russell repping the Gophers um live show because we got I we can't wait we got Big 12 games tonight we need to talk about so it it felt very icky to you know cut up a game of us previewing College out of North Dakota State um and then just taping out like hours after it's yeah it's airing but I we we got football games here uh Colorado kicks off here at the top of the hour so any minute now um UCF is is in a dog fight somehow um that's another big one um your your Hogs are playing they're they're giving it tonight Brandon 50 point favorites we're going to we're going to take it to Pine Bluff tonight I can feel are they really 50o favorites 50o favorites if they lose ton tonight Sam pitman's going to be fired uh I'll go that crazy right now yeah I I don't doubt that uh likely that they're in good spot they just R 140 um that that's uh 30 more points on the point spread than defending national champion Michigan hosting Fresno State put that in perspective maybe Arkansas's just better than Michigan this year maybe we just never thought of that Brandon more than four more touchdowns I that's also also Pine Bluff is bad P Bluff is bad um Fresno State's not very good either and Michigan just win a National Championship so I just want to throw that out there yeah well I'll tell you what Brandon right now this is an interesting college football season Big 12 Football is going be crazy this year and I'll promise our listeners out there too Brandon and I will try to have some big 12 gear on for next week's show we want to apologize right now we're just repping Midwest schools uh out of a different conference but we're going to have we're going to be repping Big 12 schools next week I can guarantee I'll be in Iowa State gear because that's s week so you can count on that right now ladies and gentlemen that's guaranteed without a doubt oh my gosh oh shawk week's next week I love it can't be can't be be rvtv is a famous you know W13 if you in the de Mo metro area they're doing their little tour next week they're going through our old stomping grounds Brandon with Brandon and I worked radio in Perry Iowa so big red radio I'm sure will be live on location so but shhawks next week Brandon and it's on CBS 230 we got the CBS 230 spot game Big 10 on CBS just how it supposed to be you just you dream about it I mean you can and the SEC is going to be on ABC now which is going to be a major adjustment for many older viewers in the United States like especially the ones in the South they're going to be very upset that'll take them probably 20 minutes to figure out they're it's not the SEC on CBS anymore what if uh what if they just don't realize like oh I mean I I hear Rumblings about uh about all the realignment maybe I when Iowa State I in the SEC could be you're right Brandon maybe there'll be a stunning moniker that says you know SEC on CBS next week oh I must have missed that realignment news anything can happen in college athletics and we're see it really can I'll tell you what I'm sure Iowa state would appreciate having that fourth non-conference game in November it'd be nice wouldn't it that'd be nice for B eligibility you know playoff that'd be kind of nice to have just a maybe a potential another freebie win just to look like it doesn't matter absolutely I mean it's really uh caking up the the schedule and I mean that's when forowa state if they can get uh you know Austin P in November as opposed to you know Utah or Kansas State or Kansas or you know I mean League games in November I that's a tough slate so I'm sure they would appreciate the the vacation there hey you know the SEC there's nobody like the SEC they just do it right right it just means more is what I'm told just means more best commercial on Earth let's get to let's go to Golf Shores Alabama brand let's recreate that commercial I love it but I mean with the way realignment is going I wouldn't surprise me um but some uh realignment news with the big 12 Yukon um lots of movement there with Yukon coming to the peg 12 backtack National Champion Yukons um they wouldn't be a football member until the next decade and then uh basketball member I think as soon as 2026 but some big news coming out of uh out of the Big 12 even still surprising a little bit because Yukon went like they pretty much sacrificed their football program a few years ago just to get back into the Big East really to save their basketball program that was the reason they're like well our men's basketball program isn't any good now in the AAC sacrific the football program the move worked out great for Yukon Hoops back-to-back national championships but they want money and I think they want an opportunity for their football program to be competitive again for Big 12 Hoops what a get if this actually does go through in terms of College athletics itself it doesn't really excite me because admittingly Yukon is a big East school that is their history they're famous in the Big East but you got to survive in this uh in the jungle out there Brandon and that's what they're trying to do right now but it'd be a great get for Brett ymark clearly obsessed with building the best basketball conference in the nation you get Yukon especially where they're at right now I don't think there's much debate big 12's best basketball conference in the nation right now but boy if he really wants to definitely make sure there you go I mean really doubling down on it um I mean looking at it from a a football aspect it doesn't I I'm not a huge fan um I think it's nice it to you know wait until the next TV contract maybe that helps things um I mean once you know you know you're going to be in a better spot like Yukon maybe that can help um and then getting them some extra Revenue to kind of build things up that would be nice um and then get the basketball impact right away I think that's huge so you're basically getting them at a at a discounts um and then bolstering up the the B brand um I don't uh the more I think about it the more on board I am with it I still think there are more better partners that I'd like to have I'd like to you know rumage through the uh through the ACC once that inevitably collaps so I don't want to you know I don't want Mark to like overcommit on something and be like oh well now we got 30 teams and I were trying to find find a way to add Louisville and uh and N State who by the way is an adult dog fight with West Carolina what's the score of that so uh West Carolina just went up uh 6 to zero um shout out friend of the channel Brooke burn um he's been real big on Grayson McCall um this year go at NC States and so he threw the interception that led to the uh led to the touchdown so um had to shoot him a message just a quick little Grayson McCook is that oh no no Brandon Brandon what are you doing hey it's going to be okay McCall's got this I yeah I think it's going to be just just fine here but um I mean we're just a few minutes away from from Colorado here but any final thoughts on uh on Yukon to the Big 12 yeah I mean honestly Brandon it'll be interesting to see how the big 12 continues to build their basketball brand because I think Brett ymar is aware and there's no other way to put it SEC and Big 10 have got them beat in terms of football tradition powerhouses a potential Revenue built within that uh doesn't mean Big 12 Football can't get to that level eventually but they've got work to do and he's aware of that I think it's a very safe bet to continue to invest in the basketball side of the league you can make a lot of money through March Madness obviously Revenue that comes into the conference through wins there and it's pretty marketable you get Yukon all of a sudden you're looking a Coast to Coast Conference where I mean they get Yukon you talk about potentially the ACC and who knows how that breaks down you can't tell me those Carolina schools all of a sudden don't want in the Big 12 just to be in a conference of powerhouses and how big does that conference be built there's a lot of questions but I'm not I shouldn't be shocked by the news but I am just because of the history Yukon has with the Big East but this is College athletics in the 2020s I'll tell you what what I am surprised I'm surprised about um the speed at which this is moving because we're not going to get any resolution with what's going on in the ACC for at least a long time um at least a while um and then you're kind of looking at it from the sense of um I kind of just figure that at this point in the season um that we would just kind of sit tight and figure out what was going on there so to see something like Yukon officials in Dallas look uh working with Brett yormark to get something going that's impressive or that me off guard quite a bit is is that the speed that it's moving it is but that you have to move at that speed though Brandon you have to if you don't it's too late and you look at how th quickly things can change so they don't really have any choice and that's why Brent ymark could go down I think might go down already as the best commissioner in conference history just because of his proactive approach to keeping this league alive getting money for the member schools and keeping everybody happy but again things can change on a dime this is positive news the Big 12 but who knows where we're at in certain months year zc you have to be proactive though uh you know I'll I'll push back a little bit I don't know if you have to be proactive about Yukon I don't think there's a whole lot of of uh buyers for for the huskys unfortunately I'll tell you this Brandon how about a conference game where you've got Yukon going all the way down to Tucson Arizona or Phoenix Arizona to play Arizona State like they're turning it that's the ACC right now Stanford having to fly across the country for games that's what the big 12's becoming big 10's there too the only you know area that would still be regionals sec I'll give them that at least they're all within a region of the United States even though they're pushing barriers soon too so New Era Brandon just a new era that's for sure one one final realignment thing that that I heard Drake tol talk about from lock down Big 12 is uh watch out for UTSA being in the mix um I don't know if anybody's stock has gone up more in the last two or three seasons um just from where they started at now they're in the AAC still having success playing it in that championship game last year it's going to be one of the one of the top dogs in the conference as long as Jeff trailers there but what Drake had brought up was that they are working on um some sort of medical school research program that would make them the third largest um school in the state of Texas as far as research and research brings in dollars which you know can really speed up the development of a program especially when you go to a conference like the big 12 that has Houston who just took out $10 million of an endowment to to pay their bills uh so I wouldn't be opposed to to adding the road runners into the conference um if we need if we need like another school to like even things out from whatever we get from the ACC but watch out for the road runners that's a good that's a very interesting kind of find Brandon because it makes sense I mean Dallas Fort Worth you have TCU that really does a great job of representing that area state of Texas is pretty well represented in the Big 12 obviously Texas Tech out out west Baylor is in between multiple big cities Houston's been a really nice addition and yeah I mean San Antonio the big three of Texas is Dallas Fort Worth Houston and then San Antonio if you can lock up the three major markets that's something that the Big 12 I can understand would be very interested in and even though they lost that burnt orange team that doesn't mean that they can't still survive and build a great brand in the state of Texas and that's what they're doing right now all right but now we're we're in the football season so and it's so nice because we get to talk about like ball as opposed post to you know administrative stuff like who's going to you know what teams are going to sign where so I'm super excited about this so we we'll just real quick uh go team by team uh initial thoughts here me pull up my notes I got a whole notebook full of of notes here for the Big 12 um and then I you know as my annual transition I went week by week in the conference and picked every single game and um I did something different with the big 12 this year and it it brought in some interesting results so we'll go over that here later okay okay um but let's get started with with the conference as a whole the only conference with two um two of the top five most experienced teams in the country Oklahoma State and Iowa States uh exactly like what we thought with the Pack 12 last year just an incredibly deep roster of elite quarterbacks now it's the big 12 with uh Noah faid um oh boy I'm blanking I'm blanking hard well you have if you get shadir Sanders You' got I was trying not to mention him but I can't you know Brandon I'm sorry he is my he is my fantasy quarterback just a reminder that's right you know I mean just you know I can't forget him you have you know Roco Beck is obviously a baller with Iowa State Jaylen Daniels at Kansas I mean it's just an absolute Force so I mean that's just a that's just a just ground base of all the great quarterbacks in this conference it is a QB friendly league this year it kind of feels like the big 12 from you know 15 years ago and you know and there other I mean transfer QBs are interesting um KJ Jefferson going to Central Florida that's a big one obviously as an Arkansas fan that was one that fascinated me as a multi-year all SEC player at Arkansas and he did kind of fade a little bit last year but he was a very good QB for multiple years with the Hogs so I mean the big 12 is famous for QBs they've had some great ones come through the last really the conference history since even the mid late 90s but especially the last 10 15 years and you've seen a lot of them succeed at the NFL level this is a very fun group of quarterbacks in general when you look at the entire conference as a whole it'll be a lot of fun the defenses we'll see if they can catch up or not but it it could feel like Old School Big 12 this year where we might see a lot of high scoring games real quick update on North Dakota State they two plays in in there in the Red Zone it's um not taking them long to move the field move down the field so shout out them um I think and and Brett y Mark said this during media days this is the most important year for the league and I think that's true for the league as a gen General optic point I think is true for each individual team um as far as uh the power Dynamic and the the whole that's been left left by Oklahoma leaving the conference um said last year was underwhelming I'm right there with him outside of um an improved Oklahoma team and that uh Texas team go going to their being top five their annual their um is it quad Centennial tradition where every 25 years they get a good team U they check that box off yep so they had that um but real big stuff and we've talked about this at an nauseum but with the power vacuum there's just such an opportunity for so many of these teams to compete not just this year but to really kind of take a hold on a power conference that you you never get to see yeah it's hu it's huge in terms of viewer habits too if the Big 12 puts out a fun product this year people will watch if they don't I mean habits are going to change this year obviously with the SEC their main game changing networks with CBS changing networks like there is a lot of just newness to college football 12 team playoff certain rule changes people don't even know what various teams are in certain conferences anymore I mean it's absolute Mayhem can the Big 12 find a way to carve out its Niche and find an audience they're going to have their fan base audience in place for right all all the conference but can they find new Watchers that might go out of their way to say I'm going to watch this week this Arizona versus Oklahoma State game would that be something that interests people or uh farmageddon with Iowa State K State or the butt rivalry of Baylor versus Texas Tech like can they find those new eyeballs can they find the right you know TV times find the right audiences that's going to be the big question for them but this is a huge year for the Big 12 and winning non-conference games we talked about about how important it was last year Brandon they we didn't do very well at non-conference last year and it really hurt the Big 12 later on in the season uh outside of Ro Texas Texas was able to kind of shine above they don't have that luxury anymore and not having a name brand teams are going to have to go out of their way to find a find they'll get one team in the college football playoff but hopefully they can find a way to get a wild card team in too real quick Arkansas related question have they ever had a play where a player was running into the endzone with the football and then dropped it before they got to the goal line I feel like I've seen that before from Arkansas that happened like 15 years ago I believe it was Joe Adams I got to remember that but yes that happened once it happened in the patrino era it happened in the patrino era did happen again it it might they're reviewing it it's close and I just want to make clear everybody the offensive coordinator Arkansas is Bobby patrino he must teach his players hey do you know what's cool Chuck the football before he go into the end zone then get on a motorcycle I mean grab a cheerleader it's great so it's it's close because he you can tell he's going to to toss it so that that motion gets started before he gets to the goal line um but it's still in his hand um oh my that yeah that's fascinating yeah that that might be a patrino problem that is a patrino problem that happened no that happened the patrio era I do remember that reversed it that it's uh they blew it well there's going to be a lot of stadium stairs that are about to be run for that guy you just know like I mean I thought that Trend was done I felt like that was a trend that was finally done after like a 5e stretch where guys were doing that in the NFL in college I haven't really seen that one in a couple years it's unbelievable that that's happened I think it happened a couple of times last year it's it's unbelievable that like that's happened more than once because I feel like when it happens once everybody can can point to that be like hey look how [ __ ] look how stupid this looks right and that should solve it but no I guess not unbelievable that's that's Arkansas football and I'll tell you what Brandon that'll be an interesting week two game Arkansas versus Oklahoma State that's a significant game for both teams for very different reasons I mean for Arkansas it's saving a coach's job and for Oklahoma State could be a springboard to a really nice season that's right but so we go down team by team um Utah the notes I have from them um their probably the most popular uh favorite uh like Contender pick in the in the league defense brings back nine starters and then of course cam Rising comes back from his injury um and even their offense strong units um but was really downgraded because of that quarterback injury last year yeah the Utah I mean you'd mentioned them being a conference favorite they've talked a lot of trash at least their fan base has their team is stayed pretty humble throughout the off season they're saying the right things the question is can they go out and produce a nice season they've got a schedule I think that is favorable to them they have a couple couple of tough games middle of the season they have a interesting game against I was stayed at home I think late November but this is for them they've got to be feeling they've got to make a big 12 Championship Game appearance uh the table set for them to do that so whether they can execute that or not remains to be seen but boy the definitely the stars align pretty well for them then down the list Kansas States um it's officially the Johnson show now will Howard's now at Ohio State um which I think goes to show just how what would they think of Avery Johnson that they had a quarterback who's now the qb1 in Ohio State and they were like we'd rather we'd rather roll with this guy for the next few years uh they bring back DJ gens Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards transferred in as well so the running game is going to be probably the one of the better R rushing attacks in the country from a quarterback and RB 1 and rb2 standpoints um it's real fronts heavy their schedule um so if they can survive for a little while um then they're going to be in in real good shape uh I really like H State tough not to they kind of similar situation as Utah they have a schedule that's relatively clean but they do have I think a few more tough opponents you mentioned all the returners Brandon but when I look at their schedule in general I mean they have to go to toan uh they have Arizona at home Oklahoma State at home Kansas at home and Cincinnati at home and that's a fun home schedule interesting Road game against Iowa State to the season also Colorado is an interesting game just to see how they play out in Boulder but R K State what an opportunity I for me personally Brandon I I'm keeping those are the two teams I'm keeping maybe my biggest eyes on in terms of making it all the way up to North Texas for a championship G Conference Championship game in December as those two teams not that there aren't plenty of contenders but it wouldn't shock me at all if that's the two that's the matchup um some more news um unfortunately Travis Hunter is still unbelievable in football so that's a problem good good I mean that's good for my fantasy team very good for your Fant kind of I mean there's a reason I picked him much to your Chagrin I I I I kind of do want to win you know I got yeah up next we got Oklahoma State the most experienced team in the country they bring back the most production had a good run to the Big 12 title game last year somehow was a weird team they get blown out by South Alabama they get blown out by Central Florida but they beat Oklahoma and make it to the Big 12 championship game what a year uh but I think out of all the teams that we've talked about so far they have the highest floor I I don't see a scenario where they're really bad in any way shape or form uh they bring back a lot of production on defense of course Colin Oliver Nick Martin uh big Elite linebackers uh and they play Utah and Kansas State back toback in September so again very frontload of schedule so if they can just survive September they're going to be in really good shape of course they don't play Oklahoma this year uh but they could absolutely be making a trip back to Arlington and I hate their game this Saturday they got to play South Dakota State who you know is the FCS champion they are extremely well coached in Brookings they're tough group they're only 10-point favorites in that game Brandon that is a tough week one matchup for the the Cowboys that's a game I am keeping an eye on because that will be I think trickier than maybe people nationally realize yes they have a lot of returning guys but so does South Dakota state so it will be interesed to see how that Dynamic plays out but it's front loaded and you're right Brandon can they find a way to get if they can get off to a better start than last year there's no reason why they can't make it back either I don't know if they can or not uh you have Arkansas thrown in I just mentioned that just a few minutes ago that'll be a big non-conference game in Stillwater next week so survive September and you could be rolling into December but a lot of work to be done for the cowboys that brings us to the Cyclones of Iowa State um probably the number one team I was most wrong about last year I didn't think they'd win a single Big 12 game and they were really in the thick they were in the driver seat to go to the big 12al championship game before that weird loss to to Kansas um we talked about experience with the Oklahoma State same exact thing with with Iowa State a very young team last year so they should be um a little bit more experienced um they had 26 points per games last year they could definitely take a significant step up in that area so a lot of of highend production um and it kind of doesn't seem like they're getting some of the love that like Utah and Kansas State and Oklahoma State are which I feel like is exactly where Matt Campbell likes to be yep I mean they a dark horse obviously know the team extremely well what their skill positions are great Brandon QB play is great old Line's going to be improved we'll see how much of a step they take but you look at all the returning starters 18 total nine on offense nine on defense what can Iowa State do I think to begin in the season and they got a very winnable game week one against North Dakota week two games they were big last year for the Big 12 and we just failed Brandon we just did not win non-conference games last year to really build momentum that was needed for the rest of the season Iowa State's got a good opportunity in Iowa to go beat that team out there whether they can or not that remains to be seen but that should be a very tight game and I think wi that game avoid the potholes of various Conference teams and other teams this is a team that be between eight and 10 wins there's no reason not and they are my Darkhorse to go the big 12 Championship I'm not going to be bold enough to say they'll make it because it is Iowa State but I mean it's a it's a it's up for for grabs this year Brandon for any team in the Big 12 that's my big message this week it's up for grabs if you want it go get it real quick um Colorado it's so cool to see the back with the big 12 logo I like I don't like I don't like them in in a lot of ways but I like them back in the Big 12 so if there's a silver lining to the way this game shaping up so far uh it's good news for the Big 12 so very cool to see that big 12 logo back on their jerseys helmets and the fields that's cool can't complain Brandon it's just nice to it's nice to just see that vintage x with two little eyes on it the Roman numeral for 12 for those who don't know out there that's what it means we don't teach that in schools anymore Brandon we're struggling it's tough but world out there people need to know their numbers that's right up next we got Arizona um 14 time Big 12 Champion uh I declared that if they beat Oklahoma in the bowl game that they should inherit their big 12 championships um it's a 14 uh time Big 12 Champion Arizona Noah f is a superstar I mean I it's unbelievable and he's got uh McMillan coming back could be the best quarterback wide receiver o Duo and the entire country um it makes me a bit nervous that they have a new head coach in Brett Brandon but I think it says a lot that he was able to retain as much talent as he did especially when they lost jetfish that was real late in the cycle that's a real tough spot you that that that's when teams go from uh you know midnight Mel in in Colorado to eventually being the worst team in in college football um so that's a real tough spot for them but it seems like that they're not going to take a huge step back on paper they're not whether they do or not in terms of coaching that remains to be seen I think they have a good staff in place I don't think I'm G to rip the staff at all keeping your quarterback around was huge I think keeping I mean that changes the whole outlook of the Season you lose him to the transfer portal and somebody else picks him up things are looking Grim in Tucson but they keep him I think that helps keep the team together I think that helps the coaching staff make that adjustment as well that hey this kid wants to stay at Arizona he wants to help us build this program and keep this go program rolling like it was last last year this team is quality they're tough they're well coached can they adjust to the Big 12 style of play that remains to be seen but why not Pack 12 last year was very competitive so I think they'll be just fine West Virginia oh my gosh what a what a weird what a weird spot West Virginia is in so they go n and four last year again a team I was very wrong about I thought this was going to be the last year for Neil Brown and shout out to him for locking in the extension because the schedule's brutal for him this year um I mean like they could be just as good as they were last year and lose three more games their schedule they got no favors um there's even a point where like they were making a run towards the Big 12 title game if they don't give up that weird Hill marry to Houston um they're right in the thick of it I mean if they don't give that up they win 10 games Drew Russ 10 win that's a 10- win team and that really was the most bizarre ending of maybe any college football game last year was that one because they scored touchdown less than 15 seconds left looked like game over they found a way to survive a upset attempt then Houston just Shucks it into the end zone cheap seats and they find a way to win you're right kind of crazy though that that was the difference between a 9 10 win season and for West Virginia I mean Neil Brown earned his right to come back and Coach what a chance week one to bring Penn State into Morgantown and they are underdogs at home but that's going to be an old school Morgan Town atmosphere I I haven't seen Morgantown go hyper hyper nuts for a college football game in a few years it will get going I guarantee on Saturday night whether they can find a way to upset I don't know but Morgan Town's different on Saturdays Brandon Shanahan no doubt about it TCU uh this was one of my surprising teams and and we'll go over like my final standings here in a little bit but this was the team where I I looked up and holy [ __ ] that's not the number I would have expected them to have uh but they bring in um year two under Kendall BRS their offense took a huge step back last year um it seems like they had their guy and Josh Hoover um they were happy and willing to let Chandler Morris go so shout out to to to Chandler Morris at un now uh they don't have a great Runway they got 11 power for teams on the schedule um that now that they play as Standford out of conference uh no other team in the country does that uh but they bring in former boys state head coach Andy anes uh so he's going to bring the defense back to a 4-3 front which is going to set them up to succeed a little bit more because their defense was also atrocious last year so they should be better than 23 obviously not as good as 22 but I I think last year we saw what their floor could be and like the worst case scenario under Sun Sunny dkes um I think this year will get back to more of the median and they're going to have to get back to the median because if they have a similar season to last year Brandon then there are going to be unfortunately some questions that start in t in in Fort Worth or maybe not heavy questions but some light questions is what we'll say which is crazy because Sunny dkes had a dream season year one I mean as good as you can ask for I mean it was unexpected it was amazing and they're going to give them the proper work but looking at their schedule brand and I mean they start at Stanford to on Friday night tomorrow night and then you know kind an easy game against long Island University week 2 UCF week three then they start going on the road they're at Kansas this year they're at Utah this year that's two very difficult Road games where they're going to be underdogs in that Texas Tech's not an easy game at home Oklahoma State and Arizona aren't easy games at home so TCU will have some chances to pick up some big wins but if they can't especially those home games Brandon if they can't defend HomeField and let's say they go one and two against those three teams I mean they might have a similar Mark as last season where they're hovering around 500 tough spot be and um this is the team I've seen a lot of juice for recently Drake to troll uh Drake toll of lock down Big 12 has Kansas in his big 12 championship game I I don't buy into them what whatsoever this year I um and I hate to be the guy that's like oh well Jaylen Daniels has made a glass he you know if he gets hurt this team collapses which is mostly true for everybody so I I I hate leaning into that but also like to project him to have a healthy a full season without missing games is projecting them to do something that they've never done that Jaylen Daniel has never done so I I I I think that that's fair territory especially the way that he plays you know I I look at cam Rising who was just out last year with a knee injury uh and I'm not putting that attack on him because of the style that he plays and the nature of his injury history so I I I also think it's very significant that they're not going to have a HomeField Advantage this year I I I mean I'm not buying that at all I mean like games like Iowa State there could be more Iowa State fans in in that in Arrowhead than the Kansas fans and I think that's going to be a common Trend so I'm not buying them whatsoever the most fascinating thing to be for Kansas this season isn't even the team itself it's where they're playing their home games I think that'll be they don't have a true home this season Brandon they're doing heavy Renovations with their football stadium in Lawrence non-conference games they're playing Sporting KC Stadium Mercy Park and then their conference games they're playing at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and what type of HomeField Advantage do they get in those conference games because two opponents I can guarantee are going to travel or will have interest Colorado will definitely have some of their fans Andor just people from around the country that are interested might actually make the trip to Kansas City to see him play an arrowhead and Iowa State loves Kansas City like that school just goes nuts for him that could be a neutral sight game instead of a home game for Kansas so can they adapt to not having a true home field this year is going to be my big question and those are two very nice stadiums it's not the field conditions or quality that's a problem I mean Arrowhead super nice so is so is sportting KC Stadium it's very nice but no home field advantage or a natural like Hey we're playing on our campus it feels like a game day atmosphere fans are going to have to travel almost an hour about 45 50 minutes to Arrowhead Stadium or or a little less to watch their team play will his fans do that I think so because they're going to be on paper pretty good this year but can they defend HomeField without being on campus and so I think that's where we draw the line on like teams that's at least consensus like I said I know I'm out out on Kansas but a teams that could really compete for a spot in Arlington this year um up next it brings up UCF I think they're going to have a better team than they did last year I I love KJ Jefferson of course woekie Legend um they got a lot of good good Defenders and then I'm not going to bet against Gustavo out uh Gustavo one bit no should you I mean Gustavo the goat uh and in UCF I mean I was pretty high on UCF last year I love what they did beat Oklahoma State pretty shocking like just absolutely destroyed them unbelievable in November last year like it wasn't even close that was kind of a stunning win the game that's going to be interesting for them they've got back-to-back games that I'm fascinated by late September they host Colorado which if they get a nice warm day can Colorado handle that humidity and heat in Florida and the game I'm kind of excited about for them they go to Florida the next week Brandon that'll be a very interesting game in the swamp because Florida's kind of going through this identity crisis which they have been for a lot of years now and they don't know who's going to lead the program they're desperately trying to bring back old magic which I don't know if they're going to be fine all their Rivals are extremely good right now even if Florida State just choked week one but we won't talk about week zero excuse me we won't discuss that though uh that's a big game for UCF and if they can find a way to win that game Brandon that feels like maybe some needed legitimacy in the State of Florida and some needed legitimacy or just bonus legitimacy for the the Big 12 Conference next Texas Tech um where I'm at with Texas Tech is we talk in October uh there schedules very front friendly uh they should be five and0 uh they've lost backtack or nonconference game in back toback years that they probably shouldn't have well okay last year they played no they they're the teams that got upset by Wyoming right yes and then they somehow almost beat Oregon weird weird ear buts um but it's also tough because they have not had any type of quarterback consistency just staying healthy so if they do that they'll be they'll be back up towards the top half of the conference yeah I they I think the big thing for them is they had such big expectations last year Brandon I remember you and I I think were they were a dark horse for me to make the big 12 championship game last year I was high on them they go to Wyoming week one and just play terrible and lose and that was a tough non that's a tough game to start the season but they still should have won that was a very they got to win that game and they didn't and that kind of set started the season poorly they kind of adjusted at the end but it set a tone they didn't need this year on the other hand they're going to get an opportunity to as you said kind of smooth get more smooth Seas to start the season and then what can they do in October and November as well for Coach Joey Maguire this is a big season they've had great donations with nil money so there is definite interest in West Texas that's always been a great fan base I've praised Red Raider fans for a long time one of my favorite fan bases in the Big 12 they will support their teams they deserve if we're going to have big 12 after dark put loic on a couple games like that's the perfect City to have those type of games it will be interesting though can they not can they navigate the smooth seas and can then they find a way to put together quality runs in the more choppy seas and stormy seas and see if they can find that eight n 10 wins that they didn't find last year but could find this year up next is Baylor um if I'm being completely honest I'm surprised that Dave Randa got another go at it um he's now gone from 12 wins to six wins to three wins um that's not a great Trend um but they're all in this year they got a new offensive coordinator that should help kind of speed things up offensively they get to Quan Finn in um at qb1 that should help um and now randa's going back to call on the defense so that's huge um I think they're the number one team that definitely won't contend but you won't want to play you'll have a bad time yeah and I hate their schedule Brandon I'll tell you that right now you want to hear this they played tlon State this week that should be a win then they're at Utah violent that's a tough week two game and that's a non-conference game but you know they put it on the schedule many years ago of course they're conference opponents now but that's non-conference Air Force week three that's not to say a gimme then they're at Colorado versus BYU they're at Iowa State at Texas Tech Oklahoma State TCU at West Virginia and at Houston and Kansas at home for the season that's not friendly that's not friendly much at all like that's that's a top three difficult schedule in the Big 12 this year is for Baylor and those Road games are all pretty violent I mean that's a tough road schedule I'll say this if they make a bowl game if they go six and six save the job he earned one more year I'll say that right now like that's a tough schedule if they can find a way to make a bowl game six and six is your target if you're Bor this year so I think when we're talking about the next two this team and the next team is Hope can you give me something to be hopeful for um because definitely nothing hopeful about Baylor's last season definitely nothing F hopeful about Cincinnati last year another team I got burned on I was real big on Cincinnati I thought them and UCF would be in the same tier that wasn't the case at all Scott saterfield might be an awful higher um but we'll see but like you said if just show me something get back to a bowl game um if not it might be a quick uh quick run for the SAT field era it could be and the keys to keep an eye on honestly is attendance what's fan interest Cincinnati is a very proud program great fan base as well just made the college football playoff just a couple years ago I mean let's not forget that little run that they put together yeah I mean they had some very poor crowds at the end of the season last year and if they don't play well this year they're gonna have some poor crowds again at the end of the season ads noticed this donors notice this recruits everybody notices this you have to have enthusiasm and energy in a program if a play feels like they have a chance to win nil money goes up if they don't boosters are going to say we need somebody else to come in here and give us hope and I don't know if they're going to find it or not Brandon that's going to be I think a top five storyline for me this season because Cincinnati when they came into the conference in my opinion was the cream of the crop of the four teams that came in last year just based on previous five years of of success who knows I really don't know on this program they're going to have to put it together and they're going to have to put it together quick can they of course they can but if they don't well I'm not going to make any predictions right now but things could be pretty dicey for a coaching staff late November up next is Colorado um weird weird I was so I predicted them go 2 and 10 last year they went 4 and8 and somehow it feels like I was mile off um it didn't look exact anything like I thought it would um but they went from horrible to just really bad um they went real deep back into the transfer portal again which I thought was an interesting move they had the smallest High School recruiting class I've ever seen six high school recruits um very interested to see how that goes um I'm I'm told that their offensive Line's going to be vastly improved um I was also told that last year and I guess it was kind of true so we we we'll see um but another team um I think their downfall is that they're they're the team that nobody wants to lose to they saw how everybody pointed and left at TCU and at Nebraska um and I don't think any team wants to be that team so I think they're going to get everybody's best effort and I think that's going to inevitably be their downfall here yeah I mean they made the headlines the most sometimes headlines are unnecessary but boy they warned to them this offseason and a lot of them deserved some criticism at times can they find a way to get above the noise a lot that they just created themselves not even like hey this is noise just to make headlines well they they're the ones saying this stuff you got to back it up now and that's going to be the big question I think for this program Brandon they got to make a bowl game I think that's got to be the expectation this year it's not an easy schedule but it is a winnable schedule they're going to draw eyeballs to the conference that's guaranteed and that's not a bad thing for the conference like it's good that they programs like this we need programs like Colorado they are necessary to help build and prop up this conference but they got to win they got to win they've talked a little bit too much nothing wrong with that nothing wrong with building yourself up but now you got to go back it up and if you don't people are not going to respect your program that can hurt stuff in the off season as well but who knows Dion get I will say this all over and over for Dion Sanders no one gave one rip about Colorado before he got there now they're one of the most talked about programs that the country non-stop Sometimes good sometimes bad but they're talked about and sometimes that's all a school once so in a lot of ways he's already done his job of drawing interest but now you got to make sure you find those W's on the field be you got some W's last year they started five and two uh they lost last five unfortunately so they missed the bowl game um and it should take a pretty strong step back uh but they have a path to a bow game week two against SMU is going to probably be the big needle mover for them um if we're you know talking in in political um whereas that's a swing game where if if you got to get if you're trying to get to six trying to get to 270 you got to get uh got to get SMU there have to get SMU and you're R bred like they cannot miss those type of games you miss on that game this season could go and get in trouble rather quickly I think the big thing for this program is taking their time taking it one week at a time and really just showing their best energy night in night out and you know for by I mean for them Wyoming is also an interesting game to me to go to SMU and then two Wyoming on week three Brandon that's a fascinating back-to-back Road games for BYU if they can navigate that they got a pretty fair home schedule for Big 12 they can get seven eight wins they should make bull eligible I'd be very shocked if they didn't make a up next Arizona State probably my number one like if you're going to buy stock in a team this is definitely when I I put on the list just because you're you're buying low I'm I'm a Believer in Kenny Dillingham I there's a lot of juice within that program they brought in a couple of quarterbacks Sam levit who I think is going to develop into kind of that uh Josh Hoover Uh Roco Beck tier where not going to be a first round draft pick but he's going to be a really good college football quarterback they also brought in Jeff Sims from so that's probably not great um hope you don't have to to see him too much uh but as long as they look better they got Marcus aoo as their offensive coordinator so hopefully they can settle into their Vision um defense is going to be thin and inexperienced but uh definitely a good good rebuilding year here for Arizona State I I like where they're going yeah and they're building a positive culture I think that's their number one thing this year they're going to be playing spoiler in a lot of games Brandon if they make a bow that's an outstanding season and I think as long as they're just trending in the right direction there's nothing wrong with a losing season for this program I like what they're building I think the culture is going to be there the players obviously they'd still you know they're trying to get more talent in the future but I think it seems like a group of players that want to play together they want to play for each other they want to play for their coaches vice versa and that's always a good start that's a good base ground floor whether they find wins or not I'm not sure but at least it seems the right piece pieces are being put into place and then last but C certainly not least Houston um their powder blues are the biggest or probably the best uniforms in college football um uh still infuriated that the NFL tried to sue them to to block them from wearing those considering that they let a team of Nashville Tennessee wear them um again another BYO team I love Willie Fritz I think they're going to do a lot of great things I don't think any of that's going to be this year they're going to be real bad this year but um again I I like where they're going as a team where if they can just build some momentum build some hope you know they they could absolutely be in that top half of the Big 12 here in the next few years yeah and I'll just do a copy and paste of what I just said about Arizona State and apply it to Houston Willie Fritz is a good coach he has found success at other programs Houston got a very good hire Dana hogerson just didn't work out and that was a little bit of a surprise because I thought it was a pretty good hire at the time when they got him from West Virginia didn't work out Fritz is the right guy southern guy loves building good cultures again I'm with you Brandon I don't know if I see big wins for Houston this year a lot of winning but they were really unwatchable various weeks last year like really unw West Virginia game except West Virginia game they play that was a great game they were watchable at least for one week they should just played on Thursdays uh that should they should have never played Saturdays that was the key yeah that was the key for them I guess but they're building the right thing but I'm with you it's going to take time Houston though is a sleeping giant I still think if they can find the right you know the fan base is getting there it's still not an Allin on htown but their basketball program has heavy support Brandon because it's well- ran players want to be in Houston I think football could have that same impact it's a large city they've got connections again they've just got to find a way to find that proper channels to build those connections and raise nil funds and get there and so as I do every year and it's my favorite thing to to do it's it's where I learned the most about teams I don't typically know about uh you know a way to kind of hold myself accountable for some bad takes uh I go through week by week and pick every single team for every single power five power four team now um and I did that for the for all four conferences again this year um big difference with the big 12 and the Big 10 is typically like I'll keep like a running standings chart as I'm going mostly just to help keep track but what what I found when I was doing like the ACC and the SEC is I was kind of influencing how I was picking games from a standpoint of well like I had North Carolina at 9 And1 at some point which just felt ridiculous but they had a lot of 50-50 games a lot of those are at home um but I was like okay well I don't think that they're going to go 11 and one so now I got to pick them to get upset here in these and it just felt uh not what the exercise is supposed to be uh so for the Big 12 I didn't follow any standings just like I'm looking at each individual that matchup and a vacuum and I got some pretty interesting numbers out of it let me pull up my my screen here I'm I'm excited to share these here with you um most notably and I didn't do Conference record for a lot of these teams because we don't need to know what used to did in conference uh but bottom line in Arlington Kansas State and Utah with Kansas State going 12 and0 I like them in every single matchup that they have um and then Utah 1101 that they only loss is that matchup against Kansas date um which I don't know if I would have predicted either of those two uh because I I really don't want Utah to be good I I'm not having uh fond feelings of their fans and the way that they view the Big 12 Conference uh but I qu CR credits too they they got a lot of winnable games uh Oklahoma State 10 and two their two losses R to Kansas State and Utah um another one that I didn't exactly have near on my radar and I was teasing this earlier TCU at 10 and two uh that again that if I was doing the standings they would not have finished 10- two but I like their individual matchups they played some of their tougher conference games at home um some of those 50-50 games um so they ended up with TW uh 10 wins and then Iowa State also getting that uh that monkey off their back that I would fans love to remind them of is the fact that they've never won 10 games um again the Ia going to be the big swing game here but they got a lot of winnable games on on the on the docket this year they do that's an interesting list Brandon I mean 12-0 for Kansas state would be a I'll say this right now if any team goes 12-0 they lose in the conference Championship game they're getting the college football playoff like so there you go there's the barometer right there for any team in the conference go 12-0 you're in I don't care like there's no way they're going to keep you out I think you know if it played out like that three 10 and two teams would be very interesting in the conference yeah because do any of them make the college football playoff how would they view that if none of them make a conference Championship game but they out like a 10- win team how do they view the Big 12 compared to the Big 10 and the SEC what will be those parameters and that's why it's so important for weeks one through three through four in various non-conference games Big 12 has to find a way to win these or the majority of them just to build respect within the league they were weren't able to do that last year they just got fortunate the Texas played extremely well in Texas is a national brand we don't have that National brand right now so who how do they overcome that and all that but that's a great list brand and that's very interesting yeah this is the path to the Big 12 kind of maximizing their their teams because like you said no matter what happens in Arlington um probably best case scenario is Utah wins that game um because they're not leaving out a 12-1 Kansas State team and then you're you're looking at it like so you got Utah at the at the four seed you got Kansas State probably in in the single digits then you look at Oklahoma state whose only two losses are to those top 10 teams you know is that a way where they sneak in where you know a big 10 team has a has a lesser loss than than either of those two teams so that's that's the path there but uh we got to get there one week at a time and so we are we're ready for our pick them um so you can see our season totals last year I I kept up with you for a while and then he he pulled away late shout out to to Drew Russell but adding a little wrinkle here this year um we're also ranking these games 1 to 13 and so we're going to keep a confidence po uh point total as well uh so we'll see know gross records and then we'll also see uh how you facilitate that I am taking three games off the board since we're already close to halftime in in three of these games um UCF up on on New Hampshire Colorado and in a bare knuckle brawl with North Dakota States and then um was only up 7 to0 on lindwood they're a huge favor they're unbelievable but well we'll get things started here um I'll go ahead and get a started with my 10-point game Utah uh over Southern Utah give give me the Utes here to to win big so one through 13 here yeah I've got Utah as well Brandon and I'll tell you what I'm just not gonna mess around I'm just gonna say 13 let just give me 13 for Utah let's keep that simple that's how much I believe that's I I'll just just won't even mess around I think they have a good opportunity and then uh Penn State the only ranked team in the FBS that's um that are going to be facing a a big 12 team so I'll I'm going to take Penn State and just because of of some of the other match ups I'm just going to give them a one point uh but I think I do feel more confident about that yeah I'll do I'm going to take Penn State as well and I'm going to go two points is what I'll go with not an easy matchup though because West Virginia Morgan Town's gonna be going those players are going to be on an emotional High it'll just come down to execution the second half but I guarantee West Virginia will hang in there in the first half just because it's sheer emotion up next probably the next game on this docket that I'm least confident in and that's Oklahoma State and South Dakota State I I I I can't imagine a world where in back toback years um Oklahoma State drops a game like this it's Dakota State's gonna g to give them a good battle but give me Oklahoma state with two points yeah that's funny Branden I I I'm going to take Oklahoma State as well and I'm going one point I just do not like this matchup South Dakota State can beat them I know they can I mean that's they're good but Oklahoma State also is a great team too but boy so many teams not just the Big 12 but in other conferences too have you know picked a top three top five FCS schools and those FCS schools comeing and win or at very least compete well so so Oklahoma State I think aware of the situation but they cannot mess around next we got Cincinnati and talson um I'm going to go Cincinnati three points here mostly just because of the fact that um we learned last night as as we unveiled this this new pick a model on corers connection is it's also tricky to keep track of your numbers so I'm going to try to keep it as as clean as as I can moving forward so Cincinnati three points yeah and I'm going to do Cincinnati as well give me give me five points feeling good about the the bear cats I think they can do it let's see here Iowa State North Dakota not North Dakota States um still a good ball Club in the FCS but give me Iowa States and then um give me let's see we got 13 give me uh give me 12 I really feel good about where they're at there so give me the Clones I would State sometimes the struggle in these games historically I don't think that'll be the case here I'll do Iowa State as well Brandon and I'll do 10 I'll do 10 all right up next Baylor and Tarlton States um we're not at tlon States podcast so so give give me the Bears they need this one um otherwise uh aanda might not make it until uh until Halloween but um give me them give me uh Four Points yeah this was a game that was a bit of an issue last year for Baylor uh I don't love it just because of their struggles there I got Baylor to and I was actually thinking the exact same thing I'm going Brett farre 4 there we go UNLV and Houston um boy if if there's going to be a big 12 team along the the rest of the way that that slips up it might be Houston um but give me Houston and Five Points yep same uh I don't love this match up for Houston but rep Big 12 this week Houston three let's see up next Kansas State and UT Martin Give me the give me the cats and then I'll use my 13p pointer here for for the wild cats I especially for what I just said about them going 12 and0 um you got to start with with this one hey you mentioned 12 and0 Brandon I like that number so let's just use 12 I'll take Kansas State as well you sold me Brandon I don't know if they're going 12 and0 but I'll take I got confidence this week abene Christian and Texas Tech uh give me the Raiders let's see what what what points do I have left give me give me n points I I like the Raiders in the spot here and I I think now that you have two years of dropping a non-conference game that you shouldn't have this is one that you look at and you think hey let's let's take care of business let's not mess around no I think for Texas Tech not not an easy game but a game that they should win I think I'm with you I think they take care of business well I'll take Texas Tech and give me an eight I'll take an eight pointer Southern Illinois and BYU um again not extremely confident I'm very down on on the Cougars um but I think this is going to be their best opportunity to pick up a a sure win uh but give me them what's the lowest number I have left six give me a six yep I'll do BYU 7 uh yeah I mean it's a winnable game but Southern Illinois had a good year last year the FCS so that's something to underrated effort team out the Missouri Valley Arizona and New Mexico I'm down to two numbers I think it's just seven and eight that's right um so give me give me the eight here for for Arizona yeah and I'm gonna take Arizona as well I'm gonna take uh let's see what I got I still got to do 11 so I'm gonna do an 11 for Arizona and I think we missed one Bren I think we still have TCU and Stanford I think we missed one up top I think we have two numbers left I think we each have two numbers left that's absolutely right so we'll get that we'll get that where ironed out correctly good call good catch there yeah um so let me so what so I got nine this became an unexpected little uh wrinkle though now we got potentially I mean that's kind of more of an interesting pick game TCU Stanford well especially as you look at it like the we got almost all we do have all the same picks so the this confidence factor is is is huge I love it it is I it's a good wrinkle this year so let's see what numbers I I know I got no I don't got nine uh six seven yep I got I got nine and six left let's see here one two three four five six so I got seven eight nine 10 so I got 11 and seven um give me Arizona State for 11 no no no give me them for seven okay I'm going to take Arizona State as well I'm going to take it for nine nine and then up top um I'm gonna count on the horn frogs bouncing back U this is a big one um oddly enough like I'm I'm very much ingrained on DC Twitter a lot more uh Stanford burner accounts than I expected but um I thought they were saving I thought they were saving lives at med school or enriching the future tomorrow I didn't realize they were just at home with cookie crumbs on their stomach just trolling you'd Beed well like the rest of America I don't like match up necessary for TCU but Stanford just has no juice in their football program right now so I'm going to take TCU as well uh and I've got six remaining so yeah you're the confidence factor is fascinating because yeah like if one of these teams slips up who's GNA lose more points like kind a fun wrinkle this season I I love it Brandon Shanahan I love it too it's it's a lot more number management but uh I I I think we'll we'll pick it up at as we go on got to have your business got to have your transactions that that's right and if we were picking the top three games again those games are already you know approaching halftime and H said I probably should have let off with this but it didn't feel natural to to lead off with pickham um but I would have taken Colorado UCF and and Kansas um probably not not a high number for Colorado but High numbers for UCF and and Kansas for sure yep I would agree with that but Colorado's gonna be in a dog fight though I mean they'll score but I'm not kidding that North Dakota State team usually can play they're trailing 174 yep I know I'm aware I'm keep an eye so but shout out to UCF they're off to a great start in lyndenwood they're trying to hang in there with Kansas Kansas got two touchdown lead okay so they're they're starting to pull away because I mean Kansas is a a CRA 45 and a half Point favorite well they got work to do but I they'll find a way all you gambling sickos out there I bet they find a way and Colorado got stuffed on fourth down we're so back we're so back to Russell I'm so happy college football is back yeah um I can't I'm so excited to have hate watching back which is exactly what what we're about to do here with with Colorado um any final thoughts on this glorious first weekend of college football this country needs to hate watch more it is fantastic to have college football back what an interesting season what an interesting season ladies and gentlemen it's going to feel completely different but once those Traditions come back once that football's played it'll feel back it'll feel like old times so enjoy it be happy we got football all the way through February [Music]