Sixth Gear | CFB Week 1

0:00Is there an epidemic against literature? More specifically, Black Literature. I'm Jack Wiespiece Thomas, and on this season of the Black Lits podcast, we're outside asking why. They don't want a whole bunch of little elevators, Malcolm X's and Martin with the King's on the round. And when you look at a lot of different cultures, feel like we need to know where you came from. And considering this is Black Reading Month, the only real question is, what are you reading next? Listen to Black Lit from the Black Effect podcast network on our iHeartRadio at Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The entire draft room groans, because you just took the guy they wanted. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award-winning late-round podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the late-round fantasy football podcast on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

1:03College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart. And that's why we make the Solid-Verbal College Football Show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand. He's Dan Rubinstein. Every week, we preview the games that matter in the storylines that are gonna ignite your group chat. And you can join us in the aftermath as we react to what happened, why it matters, and how the sport went completely bonkers yet again. Listen to the Solid-Verbal College Football Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Brett Coleman, and I'm Trevor Sikhaman. If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show, NFL Pro. Every week, we break down the biggest plays, trends, and matchups using exclusive next-gen stats, insights, and NFL content you will not find anywhere else. Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football fanag, or a die-hard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

2:03or wherever you get your podcasts. The new NFL season is here, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. It is in the name NFL Daily. You'll have fresh content in your feed every day, all season long. That game-winning drive, maybe it's Herbert, maybe it's Gino, maybe it's my homes. We'll have the highlights. If Fernando Mendoza or any of those rookies are ballin' out, we'll break down the tape, join me. Greg Rosenthal and an all-star cast of Co-hosts as we preview and recap every game. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The big vets on campus podcast, podcast. Podcast. All right, here we go. Alrighty. Here's the rest of it, and one haven's Pirates Team, Clown

3:13They're not gonna keep them up the field at night! Holy cow! It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the North. Welcome to the Big Bats on Campus Podcast. This is the sixth gear, your one stop shop for everything group of six football. I'm your host Mike Calibri, and I'm joined by my main man, Duck. Before we jump into the full week one slate, we so I want to remind you guys, follow all the BBOC guys in the action app. It's free, it's award winning, it'll help you get access to our picks right away if you do sign up for action pro between Stucky, Colin, Duck and myself. We are over 1.5 million followers, and you can be one of them for coming off a weekend where every single one of us ended in the black for week zero, and we want to get it done for you here in week one. But before we get to our picks, Duck, for a new segment, we took some feedback in the preseason. It's guys, name and dudes. Did you see that guy? That was nuts man.

4:13Those those are crazy. What's his name? Let me take a say. Very excited to get into this. It's a bit of a recap, it's a bit of a spotlight for G6 guys that we think deserve it, and also dipping into the FCS for anyone who follows Duck. That shouldn't be a surprise. Marcus Stokes, for me, Memphis, going to go ahead and grab the helmet, give him a little helmet sticker. The quarterback goes from West Florida at D2, beats out a blue chipper in Aeronol, and he's an absolute dog. From game one, he upsets UNLV on the road in Sin City, tosses in 45 rushing artis the perfect fit for Deckers RPO system. So looking pretty good for that Memphis 12-1. I even see some people out there on the Twitter sphere with 14-1 for the Tigers to make the college ball playoff. They got Boise just on the horizon. Don't look over. The paint bucket bowl against Arkansas State. That could be a place to trip up this week. Full getting to a bit more of Memphis. Really throughout the month of September because they're going to be a highlight team. My second helmet sticker, here we go.

5:15I got New Mexico with the pistols here. TK King. Yes, Florida State underwhelmed a bit in that game, and that's where the focus was. But I saw a lot of things to like, and that Aggie offense. He's lightning quick out of the slot. The little man now has 29 catches, 382 yards and 4 TDs. Across his last four games, that includes Tilt's with Tennessee and Florida State. He could be a ton of fun in Congress, USA this year. Duck, where are you going with your first helmet sticker, your first guy naming of dudes? We're going Stanford. Tevrua Tafiti, the linebacker. You know, Stanford was the right side, the entire game. They completely dominated and thwarted everything that Hawaii wanted to do for three quarters. And then Hawaii started playing out of desperation and bam, bam, bam, three touchdowns. Stanford answered, they're up three games on the line. Alahado gets strip sacked. Tevrua Tafiti gets the ball, takes it to the house, hesitates at the five yard line, considers going down before sending it home with less than a minute left. I mean, the hesitation was such a dude move.

6:16And to scoop it up, get the score, the right team covered, the guys are dude. And he balled out on Saturday night. So Tevrua Tafiti is my first helmet sticker. Second one up, going to the FCS Cal Poly, talked to me about Anthony Grigsby. Well, on everyone knows I love FCS football and we had a great weekend in the FCS leagues with a real fun slate. But the big sky stole the show this weekend in the FCS and Friday night was a big part of that with Cal Poly and Idaho playing on the flagship network. And I mean, Anthony Grigsby was just such a dude, all game. And he was under 19 yards passing 62 more rushing yards, five total touchdowns. And on that last drive after they had surrendered the lead, complete onions on that last drive with throwing dimes and evading pressure and making things happen with his feet. And the way that he placed that ball in the end zone on the last throw was just absolutely incredible. The poise, I mean, Grigsby is a complete dude. What can I say?

7:16Just in time for the football season, Bet sink is back in the action app and is better than ever. And automatically track your activity across 15 plus sportsbooks and prediction markets all in one place. Connect to your accounts once and your bets and trades will automatically appear in action as soon as you place them, no manual tracking required. From there, follow all your action with live win probability in game alerts and bet analysis throughout the game. Just open the action app, head to my accounts, connect your sportsbook or prediction market and you're ready to go. Download the action app and connect with Bet sink for free today. All right, Duck. We are in week one. It's time to wheel out our official vehicle for some of our bets this season. Every single week, you're going to hear from us in our section dubbed the triple option. That means three picks a piece. The true triple option. It's kind of like we don't know who to tackle. You better stop the apex of the offense. You're stopping us now. We're on a roll. And you're starting with an under between Navy and Towson sitting at 53 and a half in the market. Waiting back to 2003, odds makers have pretty much found a way to create an even playing

8:20field with Navy totals. 51.3% have cash to the under across those 23 seasons. But Andrew Kronk shows up. Overs are 16 and 10 in his two years in anapolis running the millennial Wayne T. But now that Horvath and Heijn Riker gone, they had to pull the midi car into the shop and perform an engine rebuild. Brexit and Woodson has experience in the system, but it's mainly been him toting the rock. 65% more carries than pass attempts in his career with the mid shipment. Where is the explosion coming from? Because when you look at Towson in year four of Peter Schinnick, it's not working. They're 18 and eight. They're treading water. They muster just 18 points. And the running game was dreadful in their FCS opener. You put all this together. You're smelling the under. How low do you think this can go? Well, I mean, the pace is going to be very, very slow. You look at Towson. They ran just 62 plays last week against Maine. They ran the ball 41 times for just 112 yards. Even with the experience quarterback. The game plan here has to be to run the football. When I look at what they did against Maine, they had a long of 13 yards rushing. They had zero explosive rushing plays.

9:23And when you look at the passing yardage from Andrew Indorf, half of their passing yardage was executed on two plays. So even with Indorf, who is a good quarterback, he's kind of the face of the offense. He threw for 2300 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. I do like that he takes care of the ball. He can run around a little bit back there and kind of evade pressure. But I can't imagine they're going to register a ton of explosive plays. I do think Towson will be able to move the ball on the ground. The biggest reason I don't think they're going to throw the ball is five of their top six receivers from last season are gone. Also, they're going to go run heavy. They're going to exhaust the play clock. There's not going to be a lot of tempo here. Towson's rush defense actually didn't play too bad last week against Maine. They do have some size on the defensive front. Shamir Boyd and Trayvon Adams have some decent size. They've got about three or four different defensive linemen on the interior that can be runstoppers. Navy is going to win this game comfortably. This is not going to be one that's going to be overly filled with pressure for Navy. But I do think the middies are going to miss Blake Horvath, Eli Haydenreich, Chapman,

10:24Alex Teska. These are just dynamic players that they had for years in the system. And this is not the typical bunch that you get in the general recruiting way of at Navy. So I think we're going to see a heavy dose of Charles Robinson. I think we're going to see Vick LaStority. We're going to see some QB run with Woodson. But how much of that will we see is there going to be an unveiling of some of the dynamic plays with a conference game on deck. I can't imagine that there will be Navy's D line is down compared to last year. And again, I think Towson will have some success extending drives, not necessarily getting into the red zone, but crossing midfield before they punt. This is going to be a quick moving clock. I can't imagine Towson scores more than maybe seven to ten points. I like this one to trend heavy to the under. I've got this one about 38 seven. So I would bet this to 51 and a half to the under. All right. To balance your under, I'm going to come with an over over 59 and a half points on the 40 acres. Texas State travel and to play the home state Texas Longhorns.

11:26Let's start with the fact Archmanting needs no introduction. He's entering his red shirt junior season as the high has been co-favorite. He closed the 2025 season on an absolute heater, posted an average QBR in his last three games of 94.5. Just I mean, really, I think the only concern is that do they go super vanilla with a high up state on deck? I don't think that they do because of what happened in last year's opener. And there's also reports about two weeks ago as a slow start for Manning. There were some timing issues with the offense and all the new pieces. I think they dialed up at least in the first half and tried to deliver a knockout blow to this Texas State defense that has holes up and down, whether it's in the box or in the secondary. There's going to be ways for them to hit explosives and potentially score 35 points in the first half of this game. Now statistically, if you want to just compare the quarterbacks, Texas State's Brad Jackson leaves Manning in the dust. The sophomore duel thread in his first years of starter completed over 70% of his passes, punched in 17 rushing scores. So when you think about them trying to stay on the field and extend drives, he can do that with his legs a little bit.

12:26In the final five games, by the way, he accounted for 19 total touchdowns completed 77% of his passes. And he's just someone who is brimming with confidence in GJ Kenny's system. The quarterback play alone leads me to the over, but the pace is what sealed it for me. Texas State 21st and 2nds between plays last fall, averaging 36.5 points per game, which was 12 best. I mentioned Kenny. He hasn't shied away from power for competition in his first three years. He got his Texas State debut off to a great start. He's got sets bailer on the road in 2023. They should have upset Arizona State in 2024. I think that's useful in a spot like this because sometimes when you're punching up, the lights can be too bright and you can kind of shut down. I don't know if this team's going to be fully intimidated. I know that they're not expecting to win this game, but I think they're going to be feisty offensively. When you look at Jackson, he's got weapons. He's got both sparks. He's got dawn junior. These are 2,000 yard receivers returning. I think they're going to be able to spread out this Texas defense a little bit. My only concern is that must champ just brings a lot of pressure and Jackson folds early,

13:27but I only really need them to get to 14. 17 points would be amazing. I think Texas will do much of the heavy lifting in this one. Doc, I'm very excited for your next pick. It's Tulsa plus 14.5 in an in-state rivalry with Oklahoma State. I know that you love the Golden Hurricane. You may have been a little bit early last year, but they were super feisty late. They beat the same Oklahoma State team in Stillwater a game that essentially ended my gundies career. This isn't last year's Oklahoma State team. They have a quarterback and a mastic maker. They got Caleb Hawkins. They got some nice weapons out wide. You're going to need to sell me a bit on this because it's nice to get that hook above two touchdowns. But isn't this a showcase game for Eric Morris and Game 1? TBD on that. I love this Tulsa team. I think the coaching has improved this group drastically. When you look at the end of 2024 for Tulsa, the defense had allowed 497 yards and 42.5 points per game. And last year, the hurricane cut that by 100 yards and a full 14 points off of what their defensive metrics surrendered. This team was very competitive against the upper echelon teams in the AAC last season.

14:31And they deserved far better than their 4-8 record. Had they had the quarterback situation figured out, they would have defeated New Mexico State. If you look at where Tulsa was at in the middle of the third quarter against Navy and Tulane and teams like that, they were right there, neck and neck. Baylor Hayes is going to take a huge step this year. He was exquisite as a freshman. Now he's the guy. He's not looking over his shoulder going through the quarterback rotation with Kirk Francis. Yeah, you get another year in the system. A full off season with spring ball and a fall camp. He's going to take a big step this year. The running back room is loaded. Demari Yolst and DJ McKinney, Trayquon Jones. The offensive line, Breezy, I'm here to tell you, these guys are going to look great getting off the bus. Brody Duffel, 66310. Cam East, the other tackle, 6-830. Hunter Urb in the interior of the offensive line, 66330. The center Malachi Preciado is experienced. Tulsa is going to run the football against Oklahoma State. They will have opportunities, multiple opportunities in the red zone. I don't think Oklahoma State's defense is exceedingly improved.

15:31It may mirror what North Texas is or was and that unit struggled several times last season. There's a lot to make about Oklahoma State's offense. Everybody loves the quarterback and the running back and the receivers and the electric play calling and all the things that we saw last year. But you know what? North Texas also shredded some future defenses. Lamar, Charlotte, Rice, UAV, South Alabama. And it's the Tulsa defensive line for me that could be the secret weapon here. They have some major dudes, Thai New House, Thomas Davis, Hudson Ball, but it's the freak. Kieran Duhon, strong player, a guy who made the freak, Feldman's Freaklist. These are havoc creators. These are guys are going to be nasty on Tulsa's defensive line. The secondary is improved. This is a team that's going to be very competitive here. I think, you know, at the end of the day, Oklahoma State will put up a decent offensive showing here, but I fully expect Tulsa to possess the ball to run the ball. And they're going to score some points here. I think this number is too high. So anything above 14, I'm absolutely playing Tulsa.

16:34My big concern in that one is Oklahoma State's defense. The offensive revamp, I think there's a lot to like. I'll put this to you just because the payouts really nice. Plus 280 Tulsa, delete at halftime any interest in a sprinkle there. You know, maybe, maybe I'll have to see if that one comes across the app after I look at it a little further. I think Tulsa is so under the radar. I think everybody, we saw it all off season. The steam on Oklahoma State, people were betting the win total over the alt win total to win the conference. And I think while the team is so significantly improved, I just, Mestermaker has never faced a power for opponent. And it's just a situation where you have a lot of the pieces that have come over, but you're still rebuilding the offensive line. It's going to take some time. The other thing about this game too could be a little of that Texas, Oklahoma Midwestern wind that rips through there, which would impede Oklahoma State's passing tag.

17:35All right, up next for me, Marshall, plus 24 and a half at Penn State. I know the punchline big game, James, he always struggled to get over the hump 4 and 21 against top 10 teams. That was his undoing. Essentially, he gets fired, but better is you're going to miss him, particularly in September. He was 29 and 19 in non-conference games, making Penn State the fourth most profitable power for the conference team since 2014. Matt Campbell arrives in Happy Valley. That is not the track record he's bringing with him in non-conference tilts. The 46 year old coach, 16, 18 and one as Iowa states leading man when facing teams outside of the big 12. And they also had some gimmies there against FCS teams, like beating Northern Iowa, South Dakota, in paycheck games. That doesn't move the needle for me. And this Marshall team is far from a pushover. You got Carlos Del Rio Wilson, one of the best returning passers at the G6 level. He's working with the same play collar for the second straight season. I think that's going to pay dividends against a historically very strong Penn State defense, but I'll get to some of their issues in a moment. Let me go back to this Marshall offense. Their offense coordinator, Rod Smith, he worked under Rich Rod for years.

18:37He's tailored his offense in this entire off season to bring out the best in CDRW. Yes, the guy can run, you know, had over 650 rushing yards last year in just nine full starts. I think he can get closer to a thousand if he stays healthy in this offense. And the effectiveness of them on the ground, I think, is what makes them so attractive, catching, you know, north of three scores here because of their ability to shrink this game down. Penn State, you know, I want to bring this up in the trenches in particular. They had 12 defensive linemen leave the program either through the portal, attrition or the NFL draft. That's a lot of experience and beef to replace. Now, this team is still incredibly talented, but not quite on the level that it was when James Franklin was getting people to sign on the dotted line. So I think there's a chance that Marshall scores 17, 20 points in this game. And then you're putting it on Rocco back to, I've been on record before saying, he's game manager plus he's totally fine. I think he could be a B B plus quarterback in the big 10. He's not someone who necessarily makes those eye popping highlight real kind of plays.

19:39And when I look at this, I just think that the Marshall defense is going to take a step forward. They bring in Brad Lambert for a second go around in Huntington. He was an incredible defensive coordinator of the first time with Marshall, ended up becoming a broil's award nominee. I think he's somebody's going to get the best out of this system. And Penn State, I think their fans just have to get used to a new reality, which is them not rolling over teams in the non-conference. I think it'll be a bit of a struggle. I think they win by 17 in this game. So to get it north of 24, I think that's a key number in this spot. I'm going to go with the Thundering herd plus the points. All right, talk your last one here for the triple option Lafayette against Yukon under 58 and a half. Mystery game alert. And I'm going to need your help here because Lafayette played Georgetown, but it was called at halftime due to lightning. Then the entire game was scrubbed from the internet. Its existence has been wiped out. No stats, no recaps. I know you were watching. So what did you see in the first half that has you confident in a rock fight between the Lebrids and the Huskies? Well, I want to get into that. I want to tell everyone listening in.

20:40Today's show has a decent amount of FCS flavor, given the nature of week one, how a numerous amount of the games involving FBS competition are crossover games with FCS. You're going to want to action pro because the good majority of my FCS content can be found there. And we were 9 and 2 on the FCS plays last week. It's going to be a fun FCS season, but I will cover this game. For Lafayette, Dean Denoble last year was the straw that stirred the drink for their offense and his electric play found the pards in plenty of high scoring games. But he's not there anymore and this offense is so much different than last year. We actually did see it play out against Georgetown. A game that you had mentioned was canceled after halftime. They said it was due to lightning. There was nothing on the radar. They should have kept going. Georgetown was actually leading the game 13 to 7 at the half. And they were catching 12 and a half with a total of 51 and a half. There was only one offensive touchdown in the contest. There's actually kickoff return touchdown by Georgetown, but it was such a slow burning grinder.

21:40Daniel Lipofsky threw the ball okay in limited action, but there was zero explosivity from Lafayette on the offensive side of the ball. And they were much more run heavy than what they generally deployed when they had Dean Denoble there. So for Lafayette, they're going through this offensive identity. Change will say because they don't have explosive receivers. They don't have a quarterback that played far beyond his capacity. And Denoble now is at Florida State. So say what you will about that, but he was probably better than the Patriot League anyway. Now you have an inexperienced quarterback. The offensive line is middling. And you have a nice dance partner here with Yukon because Jason Candles in, you've got Nunziou Campanille who's in at offensive coordinator. It's going to be a more pro style run heavy attack. It's going to be easy throws for the quarterback, shorter throws. Yukon is going to run a lot of 12 personnel. The weaponry is down. And if you look at what Joey Fannyano and crew were able to do last season, Yukon's offense is not going to be as explosive. You get Jake Merklinger who comes in at quarterback in a slew of transfer running backs,

22:43which should make the ground game competent. Yukon's defense actually, and I'm not very high on Yukon, but there is a decent amount of talent that is infused via the portal. Kavon Sherman was a great linebacker from Toledo, Ricky Williams is in, Avery Dunn, Chamberlain Campbell also from UT. Anus Lugman comes in and Joshua Mickens also produced along the D line. So you've got some pieces here that will be competent in this game. I think the secondary is the weakest part of Yukon's defense, but again, Lafayette's not equipped to take advantage of that. The methodical drives are coming, Mike. I don't trust Lafayette to execute in situations when they cross midfield. They couldn't do it against Georgetown, which plays in the Patriot League, but it's a non scholarship team. They don't offer athletic scholarship to the ball. So generally, Georgetown is regarded as one of the bottom four, three or four teams in the Patriot League every season, and they couldn't do it against those guys. And I don't think they're going to be able to do it against Connecticut here. This total is a hair too high, more than a hair actually.

23:43I figure this is a touchdown too high. So there's been a little movement on this for the pod. We'll call it under 57 and a half, but I think we're good. Anything 55 and a half or better, we're playing the under. Tuck, I think you're going to be proud of me here with this FCS research. As we know, Jason Candle, a long tenure in Toledo, scheduled a lot of FCS opponents. The last seven, dating back to 2018, those seven games, how many points do you think those FCS teams scored against Candle defenses? 24. 26 points. Look at you right on the absolute number. 3.7 points per game allowed against FCS teams. He loves to beat the Bajezas out of those squads and use that as a springboard, feeling good about yourself, particularly in the defensive side of the ball. So I like this play. It's probably one of my favorite totals that you've brought to the table. In this young season, I'm going to end up riding with the young and a bunch of the action episodes we're done recording.

24:44All right. I'm going to close out your global option here. Mississippi State, lay in 28 and a half against Louisiana Monroe, A. Normenta returns. Not a good thing for the Warhawk. He had a one-to-one big time throw to turn over worthy play rate. And that's without a strong running game last fall. He was Mr. Dinkin Duck 6.4 yards per attempt. Whether it's him or Austin Carlisle, the Houston transfer, he's an undersized passer. He's got some athleticism. I don't think that's necessarily going to help here. Maybe in Sunbelt play, but against Mississippi State, not so much. Last year OC, by the way, for ULM, had a great run as a Jucco head coach, Jesse Montalto. I don't think he has the difference makers, to be honest here. Don Cheney, maybe he's in the mix. At running back, he was someone who used to be a blue chipper, and it's kind of worked his way down the FBS ladder over his time. Their 20th and returning experience on the offensive line. But this line only ranks 70th and run blocking last year. And their best lineman, who finished honorable mention in the Sunbelt, Elijah Fisher, has graduated. So I don't necessarily think it's a good thing that they didn't replace some of these starters.

25:45Why do I harp on this? Because if a Bryant Vincent team can't run, they get pounded. Last year at Alabama, they'll 73 to nothing. Sub-100 yards on the ground. At Northwestern, 42 to 7. Another Sub-100 rushing yard game. In 2024, it Texas 51 to 3. And that was with the mod hearty. They still couldn't get to 100 yards. So if you put them in a box in terms of running the ball and playing keepaway, things get really ugly for Bryant Vincent. Now, Mississippi State's run defense. Let's just call what it was. Last year, absolute trash. What are they doing the offseason? They wisely hire back Zach Arnatt, who is not a good head coach, but he certainly has a quality defensive coordinator in Starkville. Fifth rated defense in the SEC in both 2021 and 2022 under his leadership. They add two four stars on the defensive line. Murray Williams from the FSU, the massive DeLynn Evans from Texas A&M. They also get Will Wittsen back from a knee injury. And he was a force pre-endery on the line last year. Played in two games, racked up four and a half tackles for loss. I think they're going to have a massive upgrade in the trenches.

26:46It's going to be noticeable, particularly against this ULM squad. I think they're going to smother this Warhawk offense. And then it's Kamario time. I'm super high on this kid. Talked about him in the Heisman preview. We already know he's a manus on the ground. 173 yards, two scores rushing in the egg bowl against Ole Miss. Then this offseason, he's anointed. He's the QB1, he's the future of the program. They're building around him. He goes to the manning, passing a camp and shows out. He impressed even Archie Manning. He was basically singing his praises. When you look at the weapons he has, they're healthy right now. And they're really good. Particularly when they're going to face a lowly sunbelt defense. Fluff Bothwell in the backfield, Anthony Evans in the slot. The great system that Lebi has put into place. It's been a slow burn. It's been building up to this season. You could see the offense last year in spots. Really start to look competent. Even when they're playing the Texas of the world, this team offensively I think it's about to pop. Final thing here. If you go ahead and you blitz Super Camario, you're in for a world to hurt.

27:46I think he's going to go for 150 on the ground, 250 through the air. My prediction, Mississippi State, 52, ULM 14, Klangat, Klangat, Big Old Wind there in the hailstate. What are your thoughts on that one, Duck, for a ULM team that we try to look at it from different angles in the sunbelt preview? We just couldn't find a silver lining. No, and this may end up being Brian Vincent's best team, but it is going to take some time. You have a major offensive philosophy change for Louisiana Monroe. If you remember back to what they did last season, it was run heavy. It was extreme run heavy and the pace was extremely slow. They're going to run up tempo. They're going to run some air raid. They're going to throw the ballad decent amount. I don't think that Louisiana Monroe is equipped with the playmakers to be able to do that. Nick Trujillo comes in, Parker Flugham, who played at Clemson, JP Coltier as a juco guy who they kind of like. This bunch is really going to struggle. I don't think Mississippi State is going to have a very good season, but I do think that it's going to look very good in this game. I think when you have a team that's limited in the amount of wins that you're going to

28:48accrue over the course of the season, you kind of want to get your fans into it early and give them a feel-good win. I also do think Mississippi State has a responsibility to let Camaro Taylor throw the ball a little bit. When you look at when Mississippi State was winning games last year, started 4-0, ended 5-8. But during the wins, it was the other quarterback that was throwing the ball around. When Camario had to throw, it was just a little jerky. I think that Mississippi State will serve themselves well to allow him to throw the ball and keep him in. We should get him for an honest three quarters in this game, getting meaningful reps, which will help him later on down the road this season for Mississippi State. I think this is absolutely a situation where Mississippi State scores a tremendous amount of points. I think what you'll end up seeing as well, which will help you, and ultimately probably help me because I like to play a lot. You're probably going to see an extra two or three possessions realized for each team, and that's going to give Mississippi State another chance or two across midfield to execute,

29:52even deep into the roster and make some things happen, run their stuff, and punch in a score or two late. I really do like this play. I don't think this game will be very competitive after the first half to 10. At the 10-minute mark in the second quarter, I can't imagine this is going to be very competitive. I do think Mississippi State could score upwards of 55 points. Let's say that they allow 10 or 17. I do like them to cover the number. College triple season is here, folks, and if you don't already have the Action Network app, what are you doing? Now is the time. Plus, to get the most out of the app, you're going to want to be an Action Pro subscriber. It's only with Action Pro you get real-time pick alerts from me, Colin Stucky duck, and the entire Action Network team of experts. You can access Pro projections powered by Sean Kernner and a predictive analytics team, and a ton of other benefits. Right now, Action Network Podcast listeners can save $20 off the annual price of Action Pro. Action Network dot com slash pro and use code pot 20. That's Action Network dot com slash pro and use code pot 20 for $20 off the annual price of Action Pro.

30:53Is there an epidemic against literature? More specifically, Black literature. Our books are being banned, scanned by AI, and destroyed. I'm Jack Weiss-Peace Thomas, and on this season of the Black Lit Podcast, we're outside asking some of the custodians of our stories, teachers, and our modern day writers why? They don't want a whole bunch of little elevators, Malcolm X's, and Martin Luther King's on the way out. They want to build children who have no empathy. That's really the ultimate goal. We want books that don't make white kids feel bad. So is the war on literacy and information or our ability to connect? We want people to know how Stucky reading is, and how fun they can be, and not always associated with education. They could be in a state, they could be entertainment. And that is the beauty of reading. And can be all of those things. And considering this is Black Reading Month, the only real question is, what are you reading next? Listen to Black Lit from the Black Effect Podcast Network on our iHeart Radio app, Apple

31:56Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room, groans, because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mail back, data-driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

32:56The new NFL season is here and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 61. Last year we had Mike Bicdonald. Sam Darnal on the field after the game, but that was last year. If you're a football sicko like me, NFL Daily is your kind of show. It is in the name NFL Daily, fresh content in your feed, everyday, all season long. Matthew Stafford coming off his MVPC. On a dazzling darts from Matthew Stafford. Big time trades that shake up the NFL. Hey, Jay Brown is loose. And of course, those sea hawks trying to run it back and win another Lombardi trophy. The sea hawks win Super Bowl 60. They are bringing Lombardi back to the Northwest. If it's happening on a football field, NFL Daily will cover it. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

33:56I'm Britt Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score, that's exactly why we created NFL Pro. Bro, it's got a man wide open. Touchdown, sea hawks! Every week we use exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories, matchups, and moments from around the league. We go beyond the box score to uncover the numbers, the tendencies, and details that help explain what actually happened on the field. There's it out the flat to Barclay, who beats one man, spins past another, leaps over a throw. And don't worry, this isn't just a show for stats experts. We use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game, turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy. So whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis, our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way. If you've ever wanted to know why a playwork, how a matchup was won, or what most fans

35:00missed on Sunday, NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey everyone, I'm Mike Am. And I'm Trevor Sikama, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Fantasy season is upon us, are you ready to dominate your league? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. Every episode we're going to dive into the biggest fantasy headlines. Injury updates that you'll need before kickoff. The best starts and sits across every position. And matchups you can exploit to destroy your leaguemates. You know, we're talking sleepers, breakout stars, and the guys you cannot afford to bench. From rookies on the rise to long time stars still at it, we cover it all. Whether you're a first-time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, we give you the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count. Weekly analysis, hot takes, and unique insider knowledge all in one place.

36:05Does fantasy dominance sound appealing to you? Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Happy Draft King's Game Day. The college football season is officially here, and there's no better way to celebrate them with Draft King Sports. We've got Game Day deals all day, so be sure to check the app throughout the day for exciting offers as the biggest moments unfold. And now, everyone can join in since the Draft King Sports app is available in all 50 states. From Florida to Texas to California, you'll never miss a beat, sweat all the games you love in a seamless experience, no matter where you're watching with one app. Some of the Draft King Sports app now, and use code BBOC, so you're ready when the action kicks off, Draft King's The Crown is yours. Turning Good Weekends into Great Weekends. It's time for the Moneyline Parlay.

37:05It's underdog Moneyline Parlay time. We're coming to the table with a Parlay here north of 4-1. You're up first, you like Wyoming plus 136 in Fort Collins against Colorado State in Jim Mora, Jr.'s debut. Pokes to We Croak, I guess is your thought here. You must believe a little bit in the quarterback. Tyler Hughes comes in and Izzy Asham the Arm to this offense that was anemic last year. We'll see. But I need a little bit more of this vision because Wyoming is 7-17 under Sovel, and we're not going to get any weird home field advantage in Lairdice as I mentioned with this one in Colorado. So why fade more junior in his quarter-war debut? We've got the board of war. We've got Wyoming against Colorado State. Wyoming blasted these guys last year, and I really don't hate to look for Wyoming. You've got both teams that are going through some significant transition. But Wyoming upgraded their offensive personnel, and I think getting offensive coordinator Christian Taylor coming in, there should be a little bit more of a dynamic approach. Maybe a little more fun involved in the offense.

38:08I like the running back room. Tode Harris and Mark Hellholman are really, really good running backs. The tight end play should be good here with Jake Wilson and Kyle Friend, along with Tyler Sidens. The old line is going to stay healthier and they are going to play better this year. This unit was an inconsistent group last year. Still only allowed 19 sacks. When I look at the defense for Wyoming, it's been very consistent and it's been relatively good. They were hung out to dry last year. They played the second most snaps of any defense in the conference because the offense could not sustain possession of the ball. I like the infusion of the transfers that come in. Although they were FCS players, they did contribute. Jake Duncley, who transfers in from Ducane, Donnie Wingate comes in from Southern Illinois, and also Faddeus Gianaris, who comes in from Dartmouth. These are going to be guys that are contributing along with defensive line. This D-line will remain tough. The safeties are strong and experienced. I think this defense will show well here. Colorado stayed on the other side of it. I love Jim Moore Jr. I think he's going to turn this program around and turn it around

39:09very quickly. Is that going to happen immediately in the very first game of the season? I'm not sure. I know the Rams are going to line up. They're going to run the ball. They're going to run some 12 and some 13. Mel Brown and D'Areal Robinson are the guys that they're going to let tote the rock. I do like Juice Verine, one of their tight ends, who will be a little bit of a difference maker. I look at Hoss Egini, who they're going to go with at quarterback. Guy hasn't played a lot of football. He's been hurt. They take a little bit of time to shake off the cobwebs. They retained DC, Tyson Summers, who was actually the interim head coach. The defense was just so bad last year for Colorado State. I do think they're going to show a little more toughness and some heart and some fight, specifically here in this rivalry game. I'm not going to try to pitch this as a cakewalk, but if you get a spirited rivalry game, you get Wyoming, again, who blew them out last year. They have the better quarterback. They've got the better defensive team. I really like what Wyoming brings to the table here. I still think this bunch is one that is kind of taken for granted in league play. I think this is a bowl team.

40:11I think they will be very competitive deep into the fourth quarter. I do think they have a chance to win. For my leg of this underdog money line, Parley, Nevada, plus 120 at home against Western Kentucky, this is more of an anti-hill topper play, a program that I've backed for years. I've really liked what they've done. They've consistently reloaded it offence of coordinator. That ends here. Bodey Reader takes over as the play caller for the toppers. What is this higher? Because at middle time of sea, his offence is stunk the last two years. Now he comes in. There's a significant talent drain at the skill positions, at least in my opinion. There's no Jarrah Sterns or Malachi Corleys walking into that receiving room. Katie Hutchinson is the alpha, but he's tiny at 5.8185. By the way, he's not even on the depth chart they just released. About an hour before we went here on our recording, they put it out. He's nowhere to be found. So is he inactive? And even if he does play, he's not a game breaker. He's never had a 90 yard receiving game against an FBS opponent, and he's played more or less for four years.

41:12So I think that's problematic. His Dale Jr. has been listed as the starting quarterback in this one. He's had turnover issues. He may progress because he was a young starter last year, but the offensive line won't help. It's a complete gut job up front in those starting five linemen. I don't see it right away here for the WKU offense. It would be a quality offense for the Wolfpack. I mean, they play hard for Chote, but it's a new system. Even when I try to talk myself into this, yes, it's an air raid. Yes, Carter Jones came on late and played well as a true freshman. Damian Morgan, an FCS star, he comes in at that H receiver spot. He'll take full advantage of an opportunity of working in this slot with his shiftingness. Brett Bartoloni and as OC, a Mike Leach protégé. He actually was a freshman all-American for Leach at Wazoo back in 2012. I think there's an opportunity for this offense to progress as the season goes on. How much in this game we're going to find out, but this Western Kentucky defense, I think if there's one vulnerability from game one, it's not against the run defense.

42:13It's against them through the air because when you look at it, their past rush was non-existent last year. It has slowly fallen off a cliff across the last three seasons and their corners are green. I think if you thrilled the ball of 35-40 times in this game and let the chips fall where they may, I think that's the right game plan for an advantage. It's a bad one. What's your take on this? I know we highlighted this game, this particular travel spot all the way back into our preview season. Has anything changed for you? You feel even more confident? Absolutely feeling so confident. When you look at Western Kentucky, everybody loves this bunch year after year after year and the conference USA title continues to evade Dyson Elton. You hit it right on the head with the OC higher. He's generally shown this pattern of hiring these young up and coming FCS offensive coordinators who bring their quarterback with them from the FCS system. He didn't do that. He settled on Reader from Middleton A.C. for the most jerky offense in the FBS last year. Just go put the film on with Nicholas Vadiato running around, getting no blocking from the linemen. Western Kentucky is in some big trouble in the trenches.

43:15Eight of their top nine offensive linemen from last season are gone. Now you're trying to rebuild along the offensive line. You have a new center, you have a new left tackle. What's that going to manifest to on the field? You're trying to communicate on the road the first three weeks of the season. That's what they do. They signed up to go to Nevada, Indiana and Georgia in consecutive weeks. I cannot imagine this is going to go very well. You know what? I like Nevada's new OC. They're going to run some air raid, but they're going to run the football. I stand firm that I don't think Western Kentucky, they might have the worst defensive line in the conference outside of Sam Houston State. They cannot stop the run. They're undersized. They had to pull to the depths of the FCS and junior college to replenish the trenches on the defensive side. I do not expect there to be a lot of havoc. I don't expect there to be a lot of pressure. And you know, I look at last year's matchup between these two teams. And Nevada was really in an impossible situation trying to go to Western Kentucky after just having this horrific situation in a game that they played against middle Tennessee where

44:18they were up 13 to nothing with five minutes to go. And they completely blew the game. And so I couldn't get off the mat. I kind of get that. And Western Kentucky was really strong at home, but I don't know, man. I think Western Kentucky is a team that is just middling in talent. They have kind of been surviving off of previous reputation. And I just cannot see a situation necessarily where this team is going to go all the way out there to Nevada with a very depleted offensive and defensive line. And a quarterback that I just simply do not have a tremendous amount of confidence. And I like Nevada to win this game. Duck, you've touched a little bit on FCS, but there's going to be a bit of a change in terms of that delivery throughout the season. You touched on it earlier in the show, but let's be crystal clear. Where can people find your FCS content throughout the fall? Well, everybody knows I love FCS football. And I really pride myself on delivering a lot of content at the FCS level.

45:19This year it's going to be action pro content. So we're doing a lot of fun things with action pro, which you are going to want to have. The cost will be well with worth it. We're doing action pro released articles. So we'll be writing up single game betting guides for various FCS games that I have best bets on. We're going to be doing a Saturday FCS roundup where we do a write up on four or five games every Saturday. And those will be considered best bets. You and I will be hosting an action pro exclusive show, which will be found on our discord. And that will have FCS content. I will have a segment in the Saturday live show where we recap and cover some of those best bets on Saturday morning, right before kickoff, which will be something you'll want to tune in for. But the FCS content is coming again. We had 11 plays for week zero. We won nine of them. I'm not going to do that every week, but I am going to deliver content. We're going to be consistent. We're going to work hard to find winners.

46:20And you want to have an action pro subscription. So that way you can get all of that content. You'll get the real time notifications, but you'll also have access to the articles and the exclusive FCS show that you and I are doing the season. All right. Those things out with a new segment, we're going to do a quick P4 play each because sometimes we're like pushing our nose up against the glass. We get to mid October and the G6 slate isn't as great as we want it to be. I think it's only fair that we should poke in because I mean, honestly, when it comes to the Saturday live show, it's open to whatever we want to pick. And we had a pretty good bowl season last year hitting a lot of those power teams. So let's keep it going here. We're ready for power. That's for big boys. We're going to level up. Yeah, it's time to take it to the next one out. I'm going to start with one of the marquee games of week one and it's LSU at home against Clemson. They're laying 10 and a half year. We know about all of the noise surrounding Lane Kiffin, but let's not forget he was the portal king in the off season. Brent Ciancia, who you know, you just interviewed from pick six previews.

47:23He brought up the fact that not only did LSU land the number one transfer portal class, they had 29% more blue chippers than the second best class in the country. I think that big talent advantage is going to be on full display at Tiger Stadium after dark LSU eighth in teen talent composite per 24 seven. I think they have a better quarterback and Sam Levit. They got nasty past rush. I think it's going to heat up Chris Vizina in this one. And Clemson has been continually ill prepared in early season matchups lately. They scored 10 points last year in the opener at home against LSU in 2024. They're bell rung by Georgia. They was 34 to three. 2023 they get smoked by Duke 28 to seven in the opener. Now Chad Morris is back in the seat six years removed from calling plays. A go tag as GE A U X LSU by 17. What's the power game that you've circled your duck? I'm taking Boston College anything over a full touchdown right now. It's seven and a half. Maybe some rogue eight and a half's out there. I've had this play in the app for about 75 days.

48:23We'll call it seven and a half here on the show. There's absolutely zero chance whatsoever that I could conceivably lay this amount of points with Cincinnati. I know the offensive line is going to be a strength, but the quarterback play is taking such a downgrade here going from Brendan Sores B to JC French who comes in from Georgia Southern. The offense last year for Cincinnati was so reliant on the explosive plays, the chunk plays, the quick scores, something that French could not procure at Georgia Southern despite this being an offense that he played in that was conducive to doing so. The top running backs and five of the top receivers are gone and they add guys in without FPS experience at receiver and that's going to be a problem. Boston College has experience in the secondary with four upper class men and I think they will end up fearing okay here. If you're getting a quarterback in for Boston College, it's going to be fun. You get a D2 transfer Mason McKinsey. He was the Gliak player of the year last year in D2. Where have we seen this before Mike, the Gliak player of the year, Trini over at Ole Miss.

49:24I'm not saying he's going to be that, but he's going to provide a unique running element. He's very fast. Boston College is going to be able to run the football here. Just put the film on for Cincinnati and see how they just were shredded, weak in and weak out on the ground and they quit down the stretch and that's very concerning because now they're trying to replenish the front seven and I don't think they did it effectively. The secondary for Cincinnati is also new and they should get burned by play action pass. I absolutely think Boston College is going to hang around here and keep this game tight. This is not a recommendation that Boston College is going to have this premonition that they're going to be this vastly great improved ACC team, but in this game, I think they can compete here and I think they'll have a chance in the fourth quarter. Since in Addies, not a good football team this year. I think this Cincinnati bunch will look a lot like Satterfield's first two and that's going to be very, very concerning for Cincinnati. I like what Boston College has in this game schematically. I do not like what Cincinnati did. We're punishing their talent in the portal.

50:24I don't like the quarterback. I don't like the fact that the defense generally pass coverage was optional. They couldn't stop the run and the offense. If you go back and look at the metrics, I know the points for game look good, but they were so reliant on the quick strike minute and a half, two minute scoring drives that were procured by Brandon's, Brandon Soresby. French is not that and he's not going to lead them down the field meticulously drive after drive after drive. Boston College plus seven and a half. It's time to jump into our best bet segment presented by Draft Kings. I'm going to go with Mississippi State Land, the big number 28 and a half at home. I think it's good up to 30 and a half. Stark Vegas is going to be bumping in this one. They're going to roll right over UL Monroe, big night for Super Camario. They start their bull push. They got to get to eligibility. They got to get to six wins to save Leppie's job. This is a tone setter. They get it started with a bang. They lay a 50 burger on the hapless four hawks, clang a clang a duck. What do you bring to the table? Navy Towson under 53 and a half, low and slow, minimal explosives, quick moving clock.

51:26This is an under. Those are our G6 best bets presented by Draft Kings. Don't forget to sign up using the promo code BBOC Draft Kings. The crown is yours. They'll do it for us here in week one of the sixth gear under the big bets on campus banner. Thanks for tuning in. As always, don't forget to download the free award-winning Action Network app and leave us a five star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts for duck. I'm Mike Calibri's Best of Luck with all your bets this week. And we'll see you at the window.