Welcome in to the newest edition of the Justin
Townsports Podcast. I am your owner and host,
Justin Jackson. In this week's episode, we will
be discussing the NFL, Week 5 and 6. We will
touch on college football as they are coming
up on a big weekend. And also, we will have our
best for last. Now, as always, don't forget to
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news updates and some highlights. Now, as always,
don't forget to sit back and get ready to learn
something. JTS. We'll be right back. Louisiana
till I die is where I'm from, I can't replace
it. Some people minds are obtuse, but I like
to be adjacent. Giving my opinion like I'm Nick
Wright or I'm Jason. ESPN better watch out cause
I'm coming for the spaceship. We even tweeting
on Twitter, you can meet us in the spaces. Highlight
clips of sports news, yeah, you gotta embrace
it. We never had it easy, we just came from the
pavement. I might be controversial, but I like
to make my statements. This is just a time sports,
come and get your weekly takes. His opinion from
the heart, he can never show you fake. If you
winning or you losing, he gonna tell it to you
straight. This is Just In Time Sports, come and
get your whoopie takes. He gonna tell it to you
straight. Welcome into the show. Welcome in to
Season 6, Episode 21 of the Justin Thomas Sports
Podcast. I am your owner and host, Justin Jackson.
As always, rocking out with you guys. This time
on a Wednesday morning by the time you guys hear
this. So, you guys know my schedule is a little
all over the place sometimes. So, I want to talk
with you guys and communicate with you guys whenever
I get the opportunity to do so. It just so happens
to be late on a Tuesday night. By the time you
guys hear this, it'll be Wednesday morning. But
I am over the moon excited to be back in the
studio talking to you guys, the Justin Time Sports
family, whether that be you listen to the show
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I know you guys want football. If you rate a
football show lower than a basketball show, I
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I want you to like, rate, subscribe, review,
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right? Because it helps us at JTS when I get
that feedback. But you guys want to hear about
feedback. You guys want to hear about what's
going to help me. You want to hear about my thoughts
on a wild and wacky NFL week. This is why you
love NFL, man. This is why you love football,
why you love the NFL. When it comes down to professional
teams, most games are decided by three -ish points.
Anywhere from three to about four and a half
is most of the games in the NFL. And we've had
a wild and wacky weekend. Let's get started off
in Philly. So Philly comes out there, and we've
been hearing seeds of dissension lately in Philly.
It's popped out in A .J. Brown's Instagram. It's
popped out privately with Devontae Smith. It's
even showed up in Saquon Barkley. And the complaints
are the offense isn't good. Like, yes, we're
winning games. Yes, we're finding a way. But
the offense is unproductive, and it's unproductive
for everybody. It's not like last year when passing
attack was down and Jalen Hurts didn't go for
3 ,000 yards, so on and so forth. But Saquon
Barkley darn near breaks the NFL rushing record.
He said, okay, I can see where the offense is.
We're still scoring a bunch of points. I get
my opportunities when I get them. You know, timely
passes, timely completions, whatever. But it's
set up to where, you know, We are still pretty
productive offense. Well, the NFL is loaded up
and decided, Saquon Barkley, you're not going
to beat us this year. So a lot of teams are taking
Saquon away. When that happens, two Pro Bowl,
all Pro level receivers and a Super Bowl winning
quarterback should be able to take advantage
of one -on -one coverage, so on and so forth.
And they are not. I mean, out of, oh my God,
I don't know the exact number of halves. But
this season in the NFL, just five weeks, you
get two halves a game, 32, 64 times five. What's
that? 320 -ish halves of quarterback play has
happened in the NFL this year. Jalen Hurts probably
has the two worst ones. He was 0 for 8 two weeks
ago, and they found a way to win the game in
the second half. And then in another game, he
was absolutely terrible as well. And again, same
thing. They found a way to win it. They blocked
field goals and all kinds of stuff and found
a way to win the game. Well, they played the
Denver Broncos. In another one of those, the
offense is off. Now, they gave a concerted effort
to pass the ball to Devontae Smith and A .J.
Brown and really, truly abandoned their strength
with this run on the ball. And it started off
decent early. You know, nothing real, nothing
real nervous. Nothing real concerning at all.
Run game could have been better, but they were
getting the ball to their stars. And you saw
happy A .J. Brown and happy Devontae Smith and
so on and so forth. Right. And then when it got
to the crunch time, it got down to the nitty
gritty. And the Eagles just couldn't put the
Broncos away. One of the better defenses in the
league. Several high -paid players on it. They've
got a good defensive coordinator. And the Broncos
just couldn't put the Broncos away. Ultimately,
the Broncos win the game 21 -17, and it was like
the floodgates opened. Now, earlier that day,
a report came out by Diana Rossini. So Rossini,
Diana, she puts out a report basically lambasting
the Philadelphia Eagles offense. And it also
had several points of frustration from their
best two receivers in A .J. Brown and Devontae
Smith. Now, Devontae Smith is an Alabama Nick
Saban kind of guy. He's not going to say a word
publicly. Excuse me, A .J. Brown has let multiple
things slip publicly. Interviews, Instagram stories,
anything to get his point across. He has let
it be known. I think that there's a offensive
problem in Philly that has been masked or perfumed
by winning. that the problem is there the organization
knows the problem is there everyone knows the
problem is there but it has been masked or covered
or perfumed by winning because what's the first
thing everybody went to where you're complaining
but you're winning oh yeah you don't get your
you're not getting your numbers but you're winning
oh you're not getting 10 12 targets a game but
you're winning that was everyone's kind of Everyone's
kind of thing. Well, if I'm getting more and
more frustrated, more and more frustrated, regardless
of how much winning we do, the second we don't,
that veil is gone. And it's pure frustration.
I think that's where A .J. Brown is currently.
It's just the veil of winning is gone. Yes, they
won a Super Bowl. Yes, they hadn't lost since
week eight or something like that of last season.
So, great. The veil was gone when they lost to
the Denver Broncos. following in and up second
half offensively. And just the pattern continue.
If you're an A .J. Brown, if you're a Devontae
Smith, the pattern of just not being good enough
offensively continued in that game. Now, granted,
Denver, like I said, is one of the best defenses
in the league, but it happened again. And so
something's going on in Philly. I think a move's
going to have to get made. I can see A .J. Brown
being traded. I don't know to where. I would
love it to be New England, but I don't know to
where. And kind of getting resolution on this
situation in Philly because right now it is toxic
for everybody. I don't think anybody's having
fun right now in Philly. And so that is a major
problem. But going from bad offenses to great
offenses to otherworldly offenses and otherworldly
uniforms, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers have one of the best quarterback
games. I mean, probably the best quarterback
game you'll see. All season. Also, two of the
coolest uniforms. Tampa with the white throwback
to the swashbuckler days. Not the creamsicles,
but the white version. And the Seahawks flashback
to the Steve Largent era. Baby blue, sky blue,
bright green uniforms they sported. I mean, probably
it was the best uniform combination battle all
season. And it was one of, if not the best, quarterback
game. all season. At one point, Sam Darnold and
Baker Mayfield, it was early fourth quarter.
Not quite mid, early fourth quarter. They had
seven total incompletions. They were combined
like 60 of 67 or something like that. Early in
the fourth quarter. It was insane. This is a
battle of the number one overall pick in Baker
Mayfield and the third overall pick in Sam Darnold.
Both guys have gone through the ringer in their
respective original franchises. Baker, in cleveland
uh sam in new york and it's kind of what i was
saying last week and i kind of circled this game
last week i said you know these guys had the
opposite paths in college right donald was the
high level prospect that went to usc was on scholarship
and was the man sophomore junior year and what
came out and was the number three overall pick
and right and got dropped into new york media
baker Came up the rough side of the mountain.
He chose to be a walk -on twice. He wins the
Heisman Trophy. He becomes, I don't think Baker
went one. I can't think of right now. But he
becomes a first -round pick. I'm pretty sure
it wasn't one. He becomes a first -round pick.
And where does he get dropped off into? Cleveland.
To come back up the rough side of the mountain
again. I mean, and so. However, oh yeah, he was
number one. Okay, yeah, he was number one in
2018. However, I say once they got to the NFL,
their careers have looked awfully similar. They
both go to, one go to New York, one go to Cleveland,
two poverty franchises. At one point, they're
on Carolina together. Both started games for
Carolina. They leave Carolina. Donald ends up
in Minnesota. Baker ends up in Tampa. Both have
their resurgence. Darnold in Minnesota. Baker
in Tampa. And then both go get fairly comparable
NFL contracts. Darnold got his from Seattle.
Baker got his in Tampa. And Sunday they met.
And they met. I mean, it was a quarterback masterclass
on both sides. To Darnold late. gets bumped on
a pass, he goes short, Tampa picks it, and he
went in on a field goal. 38 -35, I mean, it was
a master class of quarterbacking. It showed why
both of them were top three picks. It showed
why Baker has a Heisman. It showed why Sam McDonald
was, you know, one of them, not the top quarterback
in his high school class. I mean, it was an absolute
show to put into context. What this game was,
and it ended up being 4 -1 Tampa against 3 -2
Seattle. Baker Mayfield went 29 of 33, 379 yards,
two touchdowns, and a QBR of 90, and a passer
rating of 134 .7. So QBR has a max score of 100,
passer rating has a max score of 158 .3. Darnold
was 28 of 34, 341, 4 touchdowns, that pick we
just mentioned, a QBR of 95 .8 out of 100, and
a passer rating of 135 .4 out of 158 .3. Combined,
they had 10 incompletions on 77 attempts. I mean,
we're talking otherworldly numbers. I mean, they
were the first quarterback duo to go for 350
and four touchdowns. I mean, they were just going,
I mean, all kind of completion and yard and touchdown,
you know, first time ever. That game was a quarterback
masterclass between Sam Donald and Baker Mayfield,
and I was glad we had the opportunity to watch
it. The Arizona Cardinals won't spend a lot of
time on this, but the Arizona Cardinals made
the wave, made the headlines whenever they lost
to the Tennessee Titans. The reason why, A, Titans
first win, B, the Arizona Cardinals lost that.
The Arizona Cardinals found a way to pull defeat
from the jaws of victory. They were up 21 -7.
Running back breaks a long run. He drops the
ball on the half yard line, leads to a touchback.
So instead of the Cardinals going up 28 -7, probably
killing the will. of the Tennessee Titans it
ends up being Titans have new life and then they
make it interesting so interesting in fact that
at one point Cam Ward throws a pick the Arizona
Cardinals fumble it fumble the pick kicks it
around it ends up in the end zone for the Titans
to fall on it for the touchdown so an interception
thrown by Cam Ward results in a touchdown for
the Titans on the same play Like I said, the
Cardinals found a way to pull defeat from the
jaws of victory. So much so that Jonathan Gannon,
and we're going to talk about this in our news
section, ends up fined $100 ,000 for his outbursts
and physical contact with the running back who
dropped the ball that would have all but ended
the game 28 -7. The Arizona Cardinals, I mean,
after starting out pretty decent, have kind of
slid in a little bit. They're on a snide. The
Arizona Cardinals, as we sit here today, is now
2 -3. And again, they're currently on the snide,
not having, you know, won a game that many, myself
included, not even penciled in, chiseled in as
a W, especially when the running back was breaking
in the open field to go up 28 -7. So very interesting
in Arizona. And to our primetime games, our Sunday
night and our Monday night, my New England Patriots,
also Jai's New England Patriots. You'll see him
on the JTS YouTube show and the Hey Jai podcast.
Jai and my New England Patriots defeat the Buffalo
Bills in Buffalo 23 -20 in what's being named
the Stephon Biggs Revenge Game. It was Diggs'
first time being in Highland Park, I think it's
Highland Park or High Point Park, whatever it
is, Highmark Park, who cares, since he was traded.
Because even when he went to Houston, he didn't
play them and he had a 20 sale and so on and
so forth. Anyway, it was his first time being
back and it was a Stephon Diggs legacy game.
Drake May looks spectacular. Welcome to the Top
10 Club, kid. I mean, he was making a play all
over the field, very similar to what Josh Allen
was doing on the other side. Ultimately, Drake
May made the plays that he had to make, and his
defense didn't get the blunders that Buffalo's
defense got at certain moments. But kudos to
Drake May. Kudos to Mike Vrabel. Kudos to the
entire Patriots organization, staff, and fan
base. We have our guy at quarterback and head
coach for the next seven, ten years. It's a great
feeling. And then lastly, the Kansas City Chiefs,
or should I say the Jacksonville Jaguars, fall
their way into victory against the Kansas City
Chiefs in a game that was pretty wild, actually.
Another one of those topsy -turvy games. Chiefs
get a lead, 14 -0. Jaguars bring it back. At
one point, you think there's a big kickoff in
Kansas City. Turns out there's a kickoff violation.
And then... What an absolute show by Trevor Lawrence
late. He managed the clock perfectly. Even though
he stumbles, gets stepped on, falls, and doesn't
have the prettiest, most graceful game -winning
touchdown, it still was a game -winning touchdown.
And the defense ended up holding the last few
seconds. Travis Hunter was used more as a two
-way player. He played... About 60 -ish total
snaps, 30 -something on offense, 20 -something
on defense, 30 -something on offense. Regardless,
it was slightly leaned one direction. He made
a couple of highlights. He got a deflection,
and he had the crazy catch on offense when he
ends up being dropped on his back. Pretty high
up, but he gets up and continues the game, of
course. He had an injury scare on point, but
he came back in and finished the game. But shout
out Jacksonville, 4 -1 for the first time in
a very long time. Shout out Liam Cohen, the Baker
Mayfield's old offensive coordinator. He's the
head coach in Jacksonville. So shout out him
for, you know, having that team be 4 -1. And
then a little quick hitter news. We already discussed
the $100 ,000 fine for Jonathan Gannon for his
contact on the sideline. The NFL is fining Jerry
Jones, owner of the Cowboys, $250 ,000. Due to
his actions regarding flipping off fans at MetLife
Stadium, Jerry calls the incident unfortunate.
Odell Beckham was suspended by the NFL for illegal
use of PEDs last season. He would not be eligible
to sign with the team or participate with the
team for another six weeks. Trades. A couple
of trades went down. So, Joe Flacco. And a sixth
-round pick was traded to the Cleveland Browns,
or sorry, Cincinnati Bengals, rather, for a fifth
-round pick. And the Bengals are trying to get
Joe Flacco ready to play on Sunday. They are
officially moving on to Joe Flacco. And Owe.
Of the Baltimore Ravens was traded to the Chargers
in exchange for a safety or DB whose name escapes
me right this second. And speaking of Baltimore,
TJ Garner Johnson has signed a deal to be on
the Baltimore practice squad with a plan in place
for elevation to the main roster. But up next,
we are going to talk about NFL week six. Welcome
back into the show. And now we are going to jump
into NFL week six. We're going to get started
off with a Thursday night preview, kind of talking
about those Eagles. So those Eagles are playing
the Giants, right? And we're Jackson darts a
little beat up and it's a short weekend. I remember
on the YouTube show. we were kind of talking
about the jackson dart thing and i was like it's
gonna be after this stretch because there's a
stretch where it's like philly somebody else
i think philly niners philly again i think for
new york oh and i was looking at man that's gonna
be tough for jackson dart if he has to get dropped
in anywhere near that mix you know the quote
-unquote landing spot is the saints but then
after that it's Philly on a short week. Broncos.
Back to Philly. Niners. Bears, kind of a soft
spot. Packers. Lions. Patriots. Commanders. Vikings.
You ended with the Raiders and the Cowboys. I
would have waited until after Eagles won because
then you get the 10 days before Denver. To kind
of get them ready and have them ready to go.
And that was my point. I said, there's no easy
spot there. But I said, if you're going to do
it, do it after Eagles won. Because you have
the 10 days before you play Sunday. So you basically
get them a two -week prep period for Denver.
They didn't. He's on the field already. But now
he gets to play an Eagles team that's probably
coming apart. Hopefully not. But potentially
coming apart at the seams. But if they aren't,
they're pissed off and they're united. And they're
going to play you, Jackson Dart, who's beat up.
Very interesting that a QB was traded, Joe Flacco,
intra -division trade, juxtaposed to Cleveland
or Cincinnati, rather making a phone call to
New York for Jameis. I find that very interesting,
the fact that Jameis Winston and a sixth didn't
go to Cincinnati. for a fifth. I find that very
interesting that that didn't happen. It was Joe
Flacco in a six to Cincy for a fifth. But that's
interesting. But nonetheless, that is kind of
the game there. I expect the field to come out
and roll here. New Orleans handled New York.
The first thing was they got in front. The first
snap that New Orleans had all season with the
lead offensively happened in that game. And so
New York, like I said, losing 31 -19. New Orleans
took control and handled New York the rest of
the way. I expect Philly to come out. Pound the
ball, get some quick throw, easy money throws
to Devontae and A .J., kind of keep them at bay.
But I expect one of those Saquon Barkley games
where it's, you know, 20 carries for a buck 35,
couple of touchdowns. Jalen Hurtspring is going
to push two passing touchdowns. You're looking
at 35 -10 Philly. It's kind of what I'm expecting.
I don't expect much out of the Giants here. I
expect this game to be, quote -unquote, over
relatively quickly. And that is kind of where
I'm at. All right, but let's get into some games.
I am interested in a whole heck of a lot this
week. Cardinals at Colts. Colts are six and a
half point favorites. Now this kind of goes back
to my sentiment of the Cardinals pulled defeat
from the jaws of victory. They were up. They
were running into the end zone to go up 28 -7.
and instead they drop it, immediate 14 -point
swing, and momentum is killed, and sideline kerfuffles,
and so on and so forth. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis
Colts, led by Indiana Jones himself, Daniel Jones,
Danny Dimes, they are one of the NFL's best teams.
They're 4 -1. Jonathan Taylor looks like a legitimate
player, Officer Player of the Year candidate.
They are absolutely exciting to watch right now.
The resurgence of Daniel Jones is something to
behold. Another quarterback that has escaped
the situation looked a lot better. So, Donovan
and Baker both escaped Cleveland, New York, and
Carolina, respectively. Daniel Jones has escaped
New York, and we talked about that on the YouTube
show as well. Saquon Barkley, after New York,
was a different player. Daniel Jones, after New
York, was a different player. Brian Day will
be his offensive guy. The two best offensive
guys he's had since he's been in New York both
have looked better after leaving New York. Which
is saying something. Which is saying something.
Maybe he laid the foundation? I don't know. But
I do know whenever they are no longer on New
York, they are one of the best players in the
league. And, you know, the six and a half points
reflect that. I think Arizona covers. But I think
Indianapolis wins the game. I think it's closer
than six and a half. I think it's about four.
I think it ends about 28 -24. But I still think
Indiana finds a way to win the game late to go
at 28 -24 and to keep it that way. The Seattle
Seahawks at the Jacksonville Jaguars. So Seattle
just battled against Tampa. Now they go at Jacksonville.
Jacksonville is on cloud 100 after beating the
Chiefs. They are 4 -1. I believe there are two
games clear now of Kansas City. So absolutely
spectacular weekend for Jacksonville and the
Seattle Seahawks, who probably feel like they
should have beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And if they want to make that case, I would second
it, honestly. uh tembe buccaneer they should
have beaten them um but they didn't right and
so i think that is reflected in the points parade
it's only one and a half points now there is
a long way to go from seattle to jacksonville
but jacksonville had a roaring home crowd um
on monday night for the team against the Chiefs.
If they get similar, it's going to be hard for
Seattle to win the game. Now, Seattle is used
to the Thunderdome, basically. In Seattle, that's
curved and desire to bounce sound waves off,
so on and so forth. But it's different when it's
against you and when it is for you. So, that
is definitely something to keep your eye on there.
With Seahawks at Jags. Jags are one and a half
point favorites. I'm going to lean win and point
spread, of course. To Jacksonville. It's really
hard to win a game by a point. It's possible.
But it is incredibly difficult. So I'm going
to give point spread. And win to Jacksonville.
The San Francisco 49ers. At the Tampa Bay Bucks.
So the other half. Of that epic QB duel. He faces
the San Francisco 49ers. Ironically in the same
division as the Seahawks. So, obviously, the
Niners cannot match that explosiveness. Yes,
they've been throwing their ball around all over
the yard, you know, with 50 pass attempts or
something like that in their last game. They
can send it all through the ball 49 times. Absolutely
insane amount of throws in the game, especially
in the NFL. That's an air -raid college number.
49 attempts, that's an air -raid college number.
They got that done in the NFL. That's not really,
like I said, the NFL's style or technique. But
they were able to do it, execute it, and win.
Regardless, if the Niners were to come out in
that heavy pass stuff, you may get another historical
performance. It'll be another guy on the resurgence,
Mack Jones versus Tampa Bay this time, which
of course will have Baker Mayfield. So absolutely.
Absolutely awesome matchup in front of us, especially
quarterback -wide. I think Max Jones is going
to be the starter still, which means that a lot
of those quick, efficient throws that the offense
had are going to continue to be there. I think
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in response to the loss
they suffered, is going to win. Oh, no, Tampa,
I'm sorry, won. In continuation of that win.
Tampa Bay, I think, is going to continue on that
path. They're two -and -a -half -point favorites.
I have them winning the game, all right, to,
of course, take the points. But Tampa Bay is
going to win that game probably about four points.
I can see a 31 -27 situation going down. All
right, Sunday night football. The Lions are at
the Chiefs. Jared Goff, Dan Campbell. Sam Laporta,
Amon Ron St. Brown, Aiden Hutchinson, Panay Sewell,
Terry and Arnold, and the rest of the crew are
headed on the road against Patrick Mahomes and
Travis Kelsey and Xavier Worthy and Andy Reid
and the rest of that crew and the Hunt family
at Kansas City. Kansas City right now is two
and a half point favorites. I don't know. Legitimately,
I don't know if Kansas City has what it takes
to win this game defensively. And it's not from
a talent perspective. It's not even a scheme
perspective. Detroit is going to be Detroit.
They're going to run the ball right at you and
dare you to stop it. If you don't, they're going
to continue to find ways to run the ball right
at you. I actually have the Detroit Lions winning
this game, which will put Kansas City behind
the proverbial eight ball as far as making the
playoffs. That NFC loss wouldn't kill him, but
it does count on the record. So it could be a
situation they end up in a tiebreaker they don't
want to be in. But the Lions, in my opinion,
are going to defeat the Chiefs. I just think
they have a little bit too much defensively right
now. And I don't know what's going on with the
Chiefs offensively. So I am going to go with
the Lions. And then the doubleheader. On Monday
Night Football, you have Bills at Falcons, Falcons
plus three and a half, and Bears at Commanders,
Commanders minus four and a half. I think the
Falcons win the game outright. Watching the Buffalo
Bears closely, as I was being a Patriots fan.
I thought there were a lot of lapses in either
focus or preparation against the Patriots. I
feel like a lot of things that happened in the
game maybe shouldn't have. And I think they're
either going to be coasted out, allowed, or removed.
And I think the Buffalo Bills have to kind of
figure out what they want to do about those problems.
But first of all, IDing those problems and then
kind of working them out. I think it's a bad
week to do that against a good Atlanta team.
Now they're struggling. They've had their struggles
in the passing game, but that's a pretty good
defense to get right against in Buffalo. But
they've had their struggles in the passing game.
in atlanta and so i'm just curious to watch this
game atlanta is three and a half point favorites
i say take the um bill side of it maybe i think
the bills i think atlanta wins by a field goal
when a field goal is less than three and a half
so um that's kind of where i'm at with it gambling
wise i would lean to the bill side however football
wise i would lean to atlanta And then, I'm sorry,
the Bills are three and a half point favorites.
So the Bills come in by three and I'm still ahead.
So take the under three and a half. My apologies.
And then the Bears at the Commanders. The Commanders
are four and a half point favorites. On that,
I'm taking the over. But you have a situation
with the Bears. I just know, I know the Bears
ain't got enough right now. Ben Johnson does
not have the horses to run his scheme the way
he would like. And Washington is pretty set up.
I mean, the quarterback's there, the running
back's there, the tight end's there, the backup
tight end's there. The offensive line is, I mean,
it is crisp in Washington. Right now the Bears
trying to iron some stuff out. So I'm going to
go with the commanders here. I'm going to even
eat the four and a half and say they're going
to win by more than that, which would be anti
-conventional NFL wisdom. However, it is what
it is. But. Up next, I'm going to shift into
college football and talk about their big weekend.
Welcome back into the show. And now we're going
to jump into college football. So last week,
kind of a down week in the sport or was anticipated
to be a down week in the sport. And then winless
UCLA beats Penn State. It wasn't the only upset
of the weekend, right? Yeah, Alabama taking care
of their business. You had Texas falling to Florida.
The preseason number one and number two teams
in Texas and Penn State are both unranked. It's
the fastest it's ever happened in college football
history. I mean, it is a topsy -turvy season
already. A lot of questions, not a lot of answers.
A lot of wants, not a lot of definitiveness happening
right now at the college football level. But
let's get right into this weekend's slate of
games. So you have number eight, Alabama at number
14, Missouri. So the SEC is packed right now
with ranked teams, a lot of ranked teams in the
SEC. Texas is no longer one of them, but there's
a lot of ranked teams right now in the SEC. Very
conveniently, the Big Ten lost one at the same
time. Those are the two premier. college football
conferences easily in the nation, the Big Ten,
the SEC. They kind of mirror each other in how
they act, how they move in their rankings. And
so very ironically, there's a sinking submarine
of a team in both conferences in Texas and Penn
State. But back to Bama, Missouri. Alabama's
looking good right now. I think they've got the
Heisman frontrunner at quarterback right now
in Ty Simpson. I think Kalen DeBoer's kind of
leveled the ship. He's kind of playing. differently
now he's run this proctor package where uh the
offensive tackle proctor has gotten the ball
a couple times he's gotten thrown to him he's
gotten handed to him um and so they're kind of
playing that way and then defensively they woke
it up is it the alabama defense of old no but
it also can't be based on rules legislation play
time play styles it won't be right but they're
playing a lot better sec level defense i think
the board's kind of gotten this thing figured
out On the other side in Missouri, you've got
a team that's quietly having a really good season,
right? So Missouri is ranked 14th, right? And
so Alabama is ranked 8th. So you're not looking
at a school situation that's a massive gap. Because
if you look at it, Missouri is undefeated. Missouri
is 5 -0, right? Missouri is 5 -0. The quarterback,
Pribla. If I mispronounce his name, I'm sorry,
but Priebus, nine touchdowns, three picks. They've
got Hardy at running back. He's got a 730 yards
on nine touchdowns. And so they have one of the
better offenses in the conference. They're undefeated.
It's at home for Missouri, and I'm picking Alabama.
I just think Alabama right now is starting to
figure it out. I don't know the level of competition,
rather, that Missouri has played. I think pressure
matters. Missouri so far has beaten Central Arkansas,
Kansas, not bad, ULL, South Carolina, and UMass.
So no one in South Carolina, effectively. And
so they haven't faced a level of competition
like Alabama is going to provide them. It's a
lot of pressure. I believe College Game Day is
there. I think, no, College Game Day is in Oregon.
But maybe SEC Network, our nation's going there.
This is a big game. It's the biggest game in
the SEC this week. Probably a top five. I have
it a top four biggest game of the weekend. It's
going to be an absolute show. I've got Alabama
here squeaking it out. Point spread's about two
and a half. I've got Bamba about a field goal.
So I think the point spread's right on the money.
If you get it somewhere, three and a half. on
Missouri. Take Missouri there, but anywhere three
or less, I'd lean towards the Alabama side of
the bet. The Red River shootout between sixth
-ranked Oklahoma and unranked Texas. Again, Texas
was the number one team in the country preseason.
They have fallen to Ohio State, and they have
since fallen just recently last week to Florida,
and they are now unranked. Arch Manning seems
to be disaster right now um 2a level football
in louisiana is not the stiffest level of competition
especially in the district he was in not the
stiffest he usually got knocked out fairly early
in the playoffs um and never did the national
camp circuit had a very protected recruitment
uh under the advisement of the mannings which
hey smart decision right don't show them your
faults if you ain't if you don't have to Ultimately,
he ends up at Texas. He gets his money with NIL
and he got his football and all that stuff, right?
But he's struggling. I mean, he's looked bad
in most of the games except for UTEP. Meanwhile,
on the other side, Oklahoma doesn't have their,
what would have been a front -running Heisman
quarterback of their own in Mateer. Absolute
gamer. Reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield. Absolute.
baller of a dude he's a gamer he is going to
try to rip your throat out and tell you about
it I love that kid uh but but Mateer he's all
right and he's trying to push for Red River he's
trying to get back for the game but it could
be a situation where Oklahoma starting their
backup quarterback again against Texas um there's
a lot of issues there right now in Texas in Austin,
there are problems right now that I'm sure Steve
Sarkeesian is trying to get it figured out. He's
trying to get it legislated. I mean, he beats
Oklahoma. He's back in the top 20, and then he's
got to win out to have a chance at the at -large
bid in the playoffs, with your two losses being,
I think, the current number one team in Ohio
State and Florida. Not great on the Florida loss,
but he's on the road at the Swamp. Many, many
of team has fallen victim to the Swamp. Speaking
of a team that has fallen victim of the swamp,
well, two teams actually. Before, South Carolina
at LSU. LSU was off last week, so they actually
fell to 14 and then due to people losing, come
back up to 11. In a week, they didn't play football.
But South Carolina comes into LSU. LSU's a 9
.5 point favorite. Now, I'm not sure what offense
that's supposed to get 9 .5 point favorite because
LSU has the worst good team offense. in college
football right now. And I don't think it's close.
I mean, it's Garrett Nussmeyer was injured, then
he was healthy, then he played bad again, so
he was injured again. Now he's back healthy,
or he's healing, or whatevering at this point
with Garrett Nussmeyer. They can't run the ball.
They have one of the worst rushing attacks in
the country. Just a conference in the country.
And they're going to deal with South Carolina,
man, who has electric playmakers all over the
field. Of course, everyone in the world knows
about Nick Harbour. If you play EA College football
at all, you know about Nick Harbour. They also
have Lenora Sellers. They also have an offensive
firepower that can give LSU some trouble, especially
if the game stays close. So what you don't want
to have happen if you're LSU is that this is
a three -point game in the fourth quarter, and
now you're a play away. You're not a drive away.
You are a play away from being in a world of
trouble. And that's something that you want to
try your best to avoid. But again, if it's a
situation where it's close late, a Lenore Seller
scrambles for six could change the entire fate
of the game. Now it's in Death Valley, which
is. The real Death Valley, which is hard for
anybody to go in. I've got LSU winning, but I
don't think it's going to be nine and a half.
I think it's going to be a six -point game at
the buzzer. And then the big one. College game
day. The big one. Number seven, Indiana at number
three, Oregon. So, Oregon feels like in just
as many weeks they had number three Penn State
in Happy Valley. Now they get number seven, Indiana
in Eugene. Huge, huge game. for the program of
Oregon and Indiana here. Indiana, last playoffs
with the Cinderella team and got smoked in the
first round. This is kind of their first big,
big test since that point to see just how far
if... any they've closed the gap on those national
powers oregon is a lot of people's trendy national
championship pick them in ohio state a lot of
people's trending national championship pick
there's going to be a big game for them again
if they can crush indiana sends indiana back
down but also another feather in the hat uh for
this football team they would have beaten number
three on the road and number seven at home so
another feather in the cap for Dan Lanning and
his Oregon crew led by Dante Moore at quarterback
who is a lot of people's Heisman favorites usually
Dante Moore Ty Simpson these days as your Heisman
favorites but absolutely congratulations to Oregon
on just looking the way they've looked but Indiana's
no slouch right the number seven in the country
for a reason I think this is going to be a whale
of a game I just think Dante Moore makes one
more play and Oregon escapes it it's seven and
a half point spread I actually take the under
there I've got this thing playing about three
or four I just think Dante Moore makes one more
play late whether it's the first down to ice
it or the throw for the touchdown to win it or
something I just think Dante Moore man that has
a moment he makes one more play to win the game
but up next We're going to shift to our best
for last, which is going to be a talk about the
WNBA Finals. Welcome back into the show. And
now we're going to jump into best for last, which
is going to be a talk on the WNBA Finals. More
of a quick update. As you guys may or may not
know, the Las Vegas Aces have taken a commanding
2 -0 lead over the Phoenix Mercury. This is a
showcase moment. I've said it before and I'll
say it again. Asia Wilson is the best player
on the planet. Now, I've also said that you can
have the three, either of the three you want,
Nafisa Collier, Brianna Stewart, or Asia Wilson.
I won't argue. If one of your answers is that,
I won't argue. For me personally, it's Aja Wilson,
and she's about to cap off one of the greatest
seasons in WNBA history. Her team was dead in
the water with about 16 -ish games left. They
were dead. I mean, they were scraping the playoffs.
I mean, right around 500, they rip off like 18,
19 straight. She wins her fourth MVP, the first
lady ever to have four MVPs in WNBA. The WNBA
is only 26 or 27 years old. She has four MVPs
already. She won't be her last MVP, and she's
about to bring her team to the WNBA championship,
cementing herself as arguably the GOAT of the
WNBA. She's not even 30 yet, so huge moment in
time, huge moment in history, rather, for the
Las Vegas Aces. However, now they got to go to
Phoenix, right? Now they got to go to Phoenix,
and Alyssa Thomas is seeking her, I think, her
first WNBA championship. If she were to win that,
she puts herself on a very, very short list of
greatest players ever. Considering her prowess
for the triple -double, she's the greatest triple
-double person of all time. She's the utility.
She is the engine. I mean, she is flat out one
of the greatest players ever. Winning a championship
submits that and puts her at a level that few
have reached in the women's game. She would have
her own lane in history, which is rare. um in
sports anything really to have your own lane
in history which is where she's at right now
but i mean the mercury have to win some games
because obviously the aces are looking to close
this thing out sooner rather than later um sure
they'd love a sweet sure they love it even better
if they win it uh in vegas um but Absolutely
great series so far. Great, you know, wrap up
to the WNBA. A great conclusion, a great climax
to the WNBA season. And I'm excited. I think
the A's are going to win this thing. I kind of
went into it a week ago saying the A's are going
to win. A's is the best player on the planet.
The only people I thought could have stood to
her was either Nafisa Collier or Brianna Stewart,
both of which are not in this finals. Although
Nafisa Collier is making her waves. Both of which
are not on the court during this finals. I think
age is too much. I think Jackie's too much. I
think Chelsea's too much. I think Jewel Lloyd
is too much. I think there's just too many people
on the Las Vegas Aces. And no slouch to the Phoenix
Mercury. They've got Liz Thomas. They've got
Dawana Bonner. They have Satu Sabale. They have
Kalia Copper, right? Because there's no slander
as far as talent there. I just think when the
talent's close and you have that person, you
have her, which is Aja Wilson. That's going to
put you over the top here. I think the Aces are
going to win the WNBA championship. But that
is all I have for you guys today. I'm glad you're
able to join me, listen to this show a little
bit shorter than last week, which is expected
considering that last week we had so much to
get through because we missed multiple weeks.
However, we should be back on track for regularly
scheduled episodes probably once a week. I can't
guarantee what day of the week, but we're back
on track for regularly scheduled episodes and
release episodes. But this is your host, Justin
Jackson, signing out.