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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on SportsGrid. The small sample in college football is coming to an end.
00:08We've reached the month of October, which generally can make or break a lot of college football teams.
00:13We'll break down some of the matchups and how it pertains to this new playoff coming up.
00:17Bill Bender is with us from Sporting News.
00:19Hey, Bill, great to have you back here on the show.
00:21And really, you know, there's no winning the championship in October, but you can lose it pretty quickly.
00:28Yeah, and you're starting to see the one loss teams pile up.
00:30So on a weekend like this one, where there's only one ranked game, you just can't lose.
00:36And we got a couple top 10 underdogs on the road this weekend I know we're going to talk about.
00:41But as we get into these next two weeks following October 12th, October 19th, mega Saturdays,
00:46you're really going to start to see the playoff picture and the bubble come into focus.
00:51Yeah, there's no doubt next week's schedule looks insane.
00:54So, you know, lighter schedule this week, but we still treat it the same.
00:57All right, so A&M Missouri in this great SEC matchup, and this is, boy, a contrast in teams for sure.
01:03Missouri's been fantastic on offense all season long.
01:06They're two and a half point dogs to Texas A&M, which has just been, you know, they've been,
01:12I would say, playing well enough to put themselves in position.
01:15This top 25 this year, Bill, more than ever, has just been shuttling this back end, 23, 24, and 25.
01:22It's like you're in one week, you're out the next week.
01:24And, you know, Missouri is a dog on the road this week.
01:27They've been the better team, but are they a contender or a pretender?
01:30I guess we're going to find out coming up this week.
01:33Right, popular upset pick.
01:35Nate Knoll is part of this Missouri offense that averages over 200 yards rushing per game.
01:41Whenever I see a team that can get over 200 yards rushing, I know it can travel a little bit.
01:45So if they have some success on the ground early, it will open things up for Brady Cook.
01:50It's a noon game, not a primetime game.
01:52So that takes some of the shine off of being at Kyle Field, even though it is a tough road environment.
01:57And Texas A&M, whichever quarterback they have, whether it's Reed or Wigman,
02:03Missouri's defense is limiting opposing offenses to 50% completion percentage.
02:08So all of that is my way to say, if you're a top 10 team, go out and prove it.
02:13I'm going to take the Tigers here coming off of bye week.
02:16I think betters are punishing them a little bit for how bad they looked against Vanderbilt.
02:20I don't know if that's fair or not, but I like Missouri to get through the trend.
02:24Okay, two and a half points here.
02:26And a lot of people questioning also A&M's win against the Gators,
02:29which I think is fair to say at this point, too.
02:31Let's take a look at some of the odds to get to the college football playoff.
02:35And Missouri is right there.
02:36They're plus 125 right now to get in.
02:39I find it interesting here because I see a lot of light plus here that I don't even like.
02:44Like, I don't like Clemson.
02:45You know I don't like Notre Dame.
02:47We're going to find out a lot more about Miami this week after that shocker last week.
02:51My gosh, they could have easily lost that one.
02:53They're at Cal this week, too.
02:55That Miami game is why I like Clemson right now.
02:59I think they've found their footing since the blowout against Georgia.
03:02The offense looks really good.
03:04Cade Klubnick, 12 touchdown passes since the Georgia game.
03:07And they found some help at receiver.
03:09And Dabo's clearly got it going on in that locker room.
03:12There's a belief system.
03:13Their schedule and Miami's schedule is set up that both may meet in the ACC championship game
03:18with one loss or less.
03:20Best possible scenario for the conference because I think at that point, Craig,
03:23they probably get two playoff teams.
03:25So of those plus teams on that list you just showed, buy in on Clemson.
03:29They made the 14 playoff a couple times.
03:31I think they can make the 12-team playoff.
03:34So the next game we're going to look at here is the one where oddsmakers set a line
03:39and fans jump on one team in particular here.
03:42And they're all jumping on Michigan this week plus two and a half at Washington.
03:47But, you know, I got to tell you, Bill, this is just not understanding the dynamic
03:51of what the Wolverines are this season.
03:53I mean, this is a team that's going to – the game is going to come down in every game
03:58that they play right down to the end.
04:01And that's very dangerous.
04:02And for me, that's why I don't think Michigan is going to be in the mix
04:05for the championship at the end of the season.
04:07But their defense is undeniable.
04:09They're going to have to completely stop Washington on the road to win.
04:12I don't see any other way that they get it done.
04:16The bubble could burst this week.
04:18If you took one of those old projectors and overlaid the depth chart
04:22on these two teams from last year's title game to this year's game,
04:25you would scratch your head and be like, where are all these guys at?
04:28That's what makes it a coin flip to me in some ways.
04:31Washington hasn't been able to put it together.
04:33You look at their total stats, you're like, man, they have a ton of yards.
04:36They're good defense.
04:37Why are they not winning games?
04:38Penalties have crushed them.
04:40Terrible red zone offense has crushed them.
04:42They've had to settle for field goals.
04:43Michigan, we know what they're going to try to do here.
04:46They're going to try to run the football, build an early lead,
04:48rest on the defense.
04:49Looks like Will Johnson will be back.
04:51But that second half of that Minnesota game concerns me.
04:54Washington is going to go tempo here.
04:56It's a true coin flip.
04:57I don't blame bettors for going with Washington in this spot at all.
05:02I'm still going to take Michigan.
05:04I think the running game controls the game.
05:06Like you said, this will come down possibly to a late field goal.
05:10Michigan's kicker, Veda, four field goals of 50 yards or more.
05:13Can he make it in the clutch?
05:15Yeah, we'll find out.
05:16Because Alex Orji is just simply holding down the fort.
05:21If he puts up these numbers this week at Washington, they're going to lose.
05:26That would be my prediction this week.
05:27All right, now let's get to Rutgers and Nebraska.
05:31Not a lot of odds maker backing for the Scarlet Knights
05:34despite their undefeated record.
05:36Nebraska's had one blip on their radar this season.
05:39Otherwise, they have looked the part of a potential playoff team.
05:43Their 7.5-point favorites this week.
05:45Again, another low total of 41.5.
05:49We know what Greg Sciano wants to do.
05:51Same thing that Michigan wants to do.
05:53Run the ball, keep it close into the end, kick a field goal and win.
05:55Can they keep this game close enough in Lincoln to do that?
05:59Who do you believe can win a one-score game here?
06:02That's my question.
06:03Nebraska, 2-18 in one-score games since 2021.
06:07It's one of the most remarkable stats in all of college football
06:10that they have this curse in these close games.
06:12And here comes Rutgers, a team with a shaky run defense,
06:16but also, like we said about Missouri, averages over 200 yards per game
06:20on the ground.
06:21I do think it's going to be a one-score game.
06:23I think Rutgers is going to hang around and cover.
06:27Craig made to be foolish on a Thursday afternoon,
06:29but I like Nebraska to win the game straight up, though.
06:32I think they finally win a one-score game.
06:34It's tight.
06:35They come through.
06:36Fun game.
06:37Rutgers competes, but the Huskers finally win one.
06:40All right.
06:41Fair enough, Bill.
06:42I know we're going to have a lot more exciting games next week.
06:44We keep it real here on Newswire.
06:45We're not going to try and sell you on this week.
06:48Listen, every week is fun in college football.
06:50I'm not going to try and sit here and sell you on this being the best week
06:53of the season.
06:54Next week, it gets serious.
06:55Thanks again for coming on.