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00:00All right, Bill Bender's back with us from the Sporting News to talk college football.
00:07I want to start with a couple things we just talked about and it was Cam Ward and the performance
00:15he put on against Duke and the kid Rourke from Indiana what he did to Michigan State.
00:21I mean these are two of the top two scoring teams in the country and they both lived up
00:27to it on Saturday.
00:29Indiana was down 10 and then they just crushed Michigan State.
00:33I mean like a bug.
00:35And then Miami's second half, oh my God.
00:39Yeah, I mean, Indiana, first off, Curtis Rourke, if he had a Michigan helmet on, he would be
00:45in the Heisman conversation.
00:47I don't know if he's a first round talented quarterback.
00:49I think he's definitely a day two guy.
00:51It's particularly painful because he's from my alma mater, Ohio University, but I'm happy
00:57for him.
00:58I think his team's got a chance to shine here against Michigan this week and Cam Ward
01:01probably should be higher on the Heisman list given what he's doing for Miami.
01:07They've had lesser quarterbacks win the Heisman.
01:09The way that he's putting up the numbers, five TDs last week, the big play offense is
01:14real.
01:15Scott, I think they got a pretty straight shot to Charlotte as long as they take care
01:19of business this weekend.
01:20That's a really good Miami football team that I think is getting underplayed a little bit
01:24because of a couple close games.
01:27Do you think he's better than Dylan Gabriel?
01:30Because I do.
01:32Yes, he's less efficient, but they're not asking Cam Ward to do what Dylan Gabriel is
01:40asked to do at Oregon, where it's a fast paced, high percentage pass.
01:45How many chances do you think Dylan Gabriel throws in tight windows compared to Cam Ward?
01:51Cam Ward throws the deep ball as well as anybody in college football.
01:56If I'm given the two, now Cam Ward does make more mistakes than Dylan Gabriel, but it's
02:02different.
02:03Like I said, different types of offense, different types of play calls.
02:06Again, Cam Ward is carrying Miami, Miami, this brand to a potential college football
02:12playoff berth.
02:13I actually think it's getting undersold a little bit.
02:17What did you think of George's win over Florida in Jacksonville?
02:23Ugly in spots.
02:24They've got to stop turning the football over.
02:27Now you've got a situation where Carson Beck has three games with at least three interceptions,
02:32and that will catch them if not now in the playoffs.
02:35Imagine if we were talking about an NFL quarterback like a Joe Burrow or a Lamar Jackson, Jordan
02:42Love, where they had three games with three interceptions.
02:46What would we say in the postseason that's going to cost them?
02:49That's why Josh Allen is having the year that he's having.
02:52I'll circle all the way back to Georgia and say, if they turn the football over and can't
02:57lean on the running game this weekend against Ole Miss, they could run into some real problems
03:03because the other quarterback, Jackson Dart, is the most efficient passer in the SEC.
03:08I mean, what he did on Saturday was crazy.
03:12Yeah, and they've got a lot of momentum all of a sudden.
03:16They can't afford to lose.
03:17You're seeing a lot of talk that this is elimination weekend.
03:22You can't have three losses.
03:23I'm not 100% sure that a three-loss team won't make the playoffs just because the losses
03:29are piling up in these conferences, but if you're Ole Miss, this is the game that you
03:34stand on.
03:35You've got to beat Georgia at home.
03:37You need Jackson Dart to play well.
03:39You need the defense to come through.
03:41Lane Kiffin has had so many opportunities to do this.
03:45There is a danger, though, with Kirby Smart and how they didn't particularly play well
03:50against Florida.
03:51That means they're probably going to come in focused, especially on the defensive side
03:54of the ball when they go to Oxford this week.
03:56I still like Georgia to win the game, but in a close one.
04:00I watched Texas Tech, and I thought it was a great game in Ames, and they won that game
04:09against Campbell's Iowa State team, and I just thought it was really impressive.
04:14That last drive to win the game, that kid did a hell of a job for Texas Tech, getting
04:21them down the field and into the end zone.
04:23That's a huge upset.
04:24Yeah, and they've got a chance to do it again this week because Colorado coming in, Colorado
04:31is going to be ranked in the top 25.
04:33You're hearing whispers about whether or not Colorado can actually make the college football
04:38playoff.
04:39They obviously have one Heisman candidate in Travis Hunter.
04:42I actually think Shador Sanders should be the second one.
04:45What are we doing with Texas Tech?
04:47Barron Morton, 16 touchdowns, one interception at home.
04:51You know things get crazy in Lubbock, Scott.
04:54That's a potential upset.
04:55This is the one I think Colorado has to have if they want to get to 10-2 and keep all that
05:00momentum rolling, and that's not an easy task.
05:03Like you said, Texas Tech coming off that big win at Iowa State.
05:06I mean, they looked legit to me, and now they got this game at home against Colorado.
05:13That's a brutal road game for the Buffs.
05:16No doubt about it.
05:17You might be right.
05:18What did you think of Vandy again?
05:21And it's been, what, forever since they beat, you know, Alabama and Auburn in the same year?
05:27And they got it done at Jordan-Hare.
05:28Yeah, they did.
05:31And you know, another sign that Auburn's really struggling.
05:34If you would have told me that, you know, we have this great Saturday, right?
05:37We have Georgia Ole Miss of Alabama LSU, and yet South Carolina Vanderbilt could be one
05:44of those games that we would really enjoy watching this week, and that's normally an
05:47afterthought game.
05:48Lenora Sellers is playing great, Diego Pavia, only a few interceptions.
05:53They just don't turn the ball over.
05:54They play so efficient on the offensive side.
05:57I think the Commodores are going to pull an upset here, but they've got to hold back this
06:02South Carolina pass rush.
06:04Those guys are awesome at getting to the quarterback, and I think it's going to be a wildly entertaining
06:08game between those two SEC schools.
06:10Yeah, and you mentioned South Carolina.
06:14That was a nice performance at Bryce Williams in Columbia on Saturday night against A&M.
06:20They really cooled them off.
06:22They did, and I thought Texas A&M, the balloon popped when Le'Veon Moss went out.
06:29You know, their big running back, physical guy, and all of a sudden he goes down.
06:34Marcel Reed wasn't quite the same.
06:35I've been to games in South Carolina where it can unravel.
06:39Williams-Bryce, they showed the crowd.
06:41They get into those night games there, and Shane Beamer has really done a nice job as
06:45a road or a home underdog.
06:47You know, I think now he's six and six against the spread at home as an underdog, so they
06:51make it a tough place to play even when they get beat, and that's five straight up wins
06:55for him.
06:56So, yeah, I think Texas A&M, their backs are against the wall a little bit.
07:00I'm still looking forward to when they play Texas at the end of the year, but they have
07:04to get there with that nine and two record to have a chance.
07:09Did you see the people leaving Death Valley as Louisville was spanking Clemson?
07:15All the fans were walking out.
07:19That was probably the most stunning result to me over the weekend, believe it or not,
07:22and it's not just that Clemson lost.
07:24It was how they lost.
07:27Louisville running the football over seven yards per carry.
07:30Tyler Shalvigan, whatever he wanted, the Clemson offense really didn't have a comeback.
07:35At halftime, I still thought, okay, you know, bad start, they'll adjust and get a win, and
07:39now Clemson does not control its own destiny in the ACC race.
07:44I think we're headed for an ACC championship game.
07:46Looking at the schedule, it will probably be Miami and SMU, which the 80s kid in me
07:52loves that, absolutely loves that.
07:55It's fascinating, but I'm not sure that that conference is going to get two bids now because
08:00the committee will probably have SMU around 15.
08:03I wasn't surprised that they beat Pitt.
08:05I had SMU in that game, and at Gerald Ford in Dallas, they're tough.
08:11Yes, and Kevin Jennings playing very well.
08:13They take advantage of turnovers.
08:15They took it to Pitt, and I absolutely believe if you look at their schedule, absent an upset,
08:21they're going to be in the ACC championship game, which to me is wild in year one.
08:25Great run by the Mustangs so far.
08:27Yeah, no doubt about it.
08:29Real quick, is Stoops in trouble at Kentucky?
08:33They pay him so much money, and he doesn't win.
08:36They've got to get a quarterback and develop their own and bring him in.
08:40I think he does a nice job recruiting, but that quarterback roulette didn't work this
08:43year, and they've had some tough losses.
08:45They can compete, but they need to be better.
08:47All right, Bill Bender, my man.
08:49Thank you, brother.
08:50Great stuff.