00:00College football rankings. It's a rite of passage. Each and every year, we find out who the top teams are, even though they haven't played yet, haven't seen a quarterback, the offensive line, or don't know much information about the squads. Why? Because in the NFL, we have beat writers that watch practice every single day. We have preseason games. We have guys with active social media accounts. In college football, it's a little bit different. Now, granted, the information highway, Joe, in college football is opening up more where teams actually have to start to put out injury reports, which you love to see, as opposed to the old, hey, wait a minute, I bet this football game, this kid's in,
00:29sneakers, shorts, and a hoodie on the sideline. What actually happened there? Oh, he's suspended for the week. Don't worry about it. Oh, there goes your bet down the drain. So at least we get a little bit more information. But in the past, the poll used to be huge, Joe. And not because we cared about if Texas or Ohio State or Penn State was the best team. Like, if you were number one, you had an inside track on being in the mythical national championship game, as opposed to the team that might be better than you, that's ranked 17th, but could never get up in the top two spots because of how late they started in the poll to start the season.
00:59So give me your feelings here when the polls get released, what it used to be and what it is now for you.
01:05Look at what it was last year, Donnie. It means absolutely nothing. Just listen, look at what week two is going to look. Do you think this top 10 is going to be the same after week zero? Because Texas is playing, right? Ohio, one and two are playing one another.
01:25You've got number five playing number 10. Notre Dame is playing Miami. This is all in week zero. Just by those results, when we head into week one, this entire ranking, coaches, Paul included, is going to be thrown out the window, Donnie, because it's going to look totally different.
01:42Mix in one other upsets in week one and your entire top 25 looks totally different. So no, it means absolutely nothing, especially since we all know if you're going to lose a game in your Oregon, Clemson, Alabama, LSU, lose it early because there's plenty enough opportunity for you to climb the board and make it into a playoff with this current format that they have.
02:08Yeah, and also, it's 12 teams, right? That expanded college football playoff where it's not as devastating if you lose because the topics that I'm talking about were, let's just go back to the early 2000s.
02:19Like if you are the Texas Longhorns and you're ranked number one, and I'm just going to scroll down to, let's just say, Texas Tech at 24.
02:26Well, Texas Tech is 0-0, so is Texas, but there's a big discrepancy.
02:30Both of these teams, let's just say Texas loses in the first two weeks, they drop down to like nine, whereas Texas Tech might be 7-0 after seven weeks and be like, wait a second, we're 10th in the country.
02:41Texas has a loss. How'd they get back up to number two? And that used to be a major factor in who makes the national championship game back in the day, even in the BCS era.
02:48But now you have a team like Texas Tech, who again, I'm just using because they're ranked 24th, go, all right, we'll let things play out.
02:53All we have to do is really get into the top 12 at this point. One or two losses will probably hang out there. It's no big deal.
02:58But where you used to start was a monster factor on where you used to finish.
03:02But let's understand this. The coaches' polls are always going to come out on year to year because they're fun to talk about.
03:07But we have a couple of discrepancies here, Joe, in that top three. Texas is number one, 28 first place votes.
03:12Ohio State is number two, 20 first place votes. Penn State is number three, 14 first place votes.
03:18So we have a pretty tight and compact one through three, Joe, with Texas, Ohio State, and Penn State.
03:23So I'll ask you this. Do you agree that Texas should be number one? And also, where Ohio State and Penn State factor into this?
03:31Well, the part of the process with the old BCS, too, Donnie, was there was a big issue with the fact that, all right, listen, I know I'm going to be top three, top four, top five, right, in the poll.
03:44Okay. My out-of-conference schedule to start the year, I'm playing, you know, I'm playing Marist. I'm playing Rutgers.
03:55But, you know, I'm scheduling cupcakes because I want absolutely nothing to do with being upset early, right?
04:02Now, all of a sudden, it's changed. Look at the games we're getting in week zero.
04:06Look at what we're going to get the first couple of weeks of the season.
04:09All of those teams that you just mentioned in the top three, two of those are going to play each other here during the season, Donnie.
04:17Or they're going to play other teams in the division that are also somewhere listed in the top 25.
04:23So, the scheduling alone has really worked into the favor of, hey, even if you are second or third to start the season, number two, number three,
04:34you're going to have plenty of opportunities for other teams to devour those guys in front of you if you lose or behind you.
04:41You have multiple outs in order to be able to keep yourself within a top 10 and a shot at a playoff,
04:47no matter what happens in the first couple of weeks of the season.
04:50Yeah, you take a look also at the top of the standings, at least in the odds market.
04:55Texas hitting 6-1 price to win a national championship.
04:57Georgia plus 650.
04:59Ohio State plus 650.
05:00Penn State 7-1.
05:01There's Alabama from the SEC at 11-1.
05:03Same thing with Clemson and Oregon and a little bit of a drop-off there to Notre Dame.
05:07If you say, Joe, I'm going to give you one free play on this season for you to pick a national championship winner.
05:13Who is that team you're picking to win the national championship?
05:16Wow, it's kind of hard.
05:18I mean, everyone loves Texas.
05:19Everyone loves Ohio State.
05:22I mean, it's like, wow, going down a list here.
05:25But I would say until somebody beats them, Ohio State has still got to be considered the team to beat.
05:33Even at their lowest point last year, they got an issue in the quarterback room at Ohio State because, quite honestly, here we go.
05:39We have no idea who the quarterback is.
05:41There's a lot of changes at Ohio State.
05:43But I'm a big believer here that until somebody takes this team down before they play Michigan, by the way, because Michigan seems to have no problem beating them lately, I think Ohio State should still be the odds-on favorite to win it all.
05:57Yeah, and it should be fun to watch a playoff get started week zero.
06:01That's August the 23rd.
06:03Joe, look at my calendar right now.
06:04It's August 5th.
06:05Before you know it, me and you, handicapping these games on Fridays, getting you ready for the weekend card.
06:11Exciting times coming up.
06:12College football.
06:13The coaches' poll is out.
06:14Of course, it's not going to stay the same even after week zero, week one, and week number two.
06:18Well, let me ask you this, Donnie.
06:19What happens if Ohio State beats Texas in week zero?
06:24Where does Texas go?
06:26Yeah, what if they just flip-flop spot?
06:27Like, they just go down one spot, two spots, maybe?
06:30Do you know what I mean?
06:30If that, yes, exactly.
06:32You put them at 26, like they're out of the poll because they lost, you know, a top three game?
06:36Like, no, like they'll be right back in it and bounced up for it.
06:38And they'll certainly be.
06:39Sometimes you look at it and say there's moral victories.
06:41There's never a moral victory.
06:42Anybody who loses that game still getting a moral victory.
06:44What did you want them to do early in the season?
06:47You know, give it, get up.
06:47Two top five teams playing it, getting after it here.
06:50It is the way it is at this point.
06:51We have a tweet yesterday, and we'll keep it in the college landscape here, college basketball.
06:55Pete Thamel tweeted out from the NCAA's Dan Gavitt, quote,
06:58Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men's and women's basketball championships.
07:05However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships here.
07:14I want to start this because there's people out there that just hate change, no matter what the change is, even if it's better.
07:21Like they said, hey, Joe, I'm going to give you a $10,000 tax break.
07:24What?
07:25That's ridiculous.
07:26I never had a tax break.
07:27I don't want one.
07:27Stop the man this year.
07:28You're telling me that we have the majority of people going, thank God there's not 76 teams, man.
07:36We can't handle 76.
07:38Boy, I love 72.
07:40What's the difference?
07:41Well, I mean, you have 363 schools that play Division I basketball, Donnie, right?
07:49So what are we increasing this to now?
07:52If you want, let's say, 25% of those teams, you're going to have 90 some odd teams playing for a national championship.
08:01And I don't know if we're, are we hoping that a Cinderella pops out somewhere?
08:05Because we know that's a force, Donnie.
08:07We know Murray State is not running the table and beating the Dukes of the world.
08:12It's not going to happen.
08:14And I'm going to beat the Arizona.
08:15It's not going to happen.
08:16So what are we increasing this number for?
08:20It certainly isn't to give the little guy a chance to win a national championship.
08:24Instead of going to the NIT, we're going to put you in the tournament.
08:27You're not even good enough to win the NIT.
08:30So I just, I don't understand it outside of money.
08:33I don't think it's because we're giving anybody a chance to run the table and win a national championship.
08:38But that's really what it is.
08:40It's just about the money factor.
08:42But I do love the hill that people stand.
08:43Like, to me, again, I love the tournament the way it is.
08:45If four more teams got in, it doesn't bother me.
08:47If four more teams don't get in, I don't care as well.
08:49But the fact that there's people out there right now that love college basketball, it's like,
08:52if this tournament starts on that Monday instead of Tuesday, I'll never watch it ever again.
08:59Stop it.
08:59You will watch it and you will absolutely love it.
09:02It's not a big deal.
09:03So the people falling on their sword, like, we have to die on this hill where the NCAA can't have four more teams in
09:09to play one extra day on a Monday where nothing goes on.
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