Jon Joseph

Nittany Lions Wire, the USA Today Wired-In site for PSU. I think you have to go to the Dark Web for The Little Game James Wire? 🤬

With two ranked opponents coming up in the next three weeks, I think this is exactly where Dan wanted the team to be. 4-0, things to fix, with the Ducks still flying somewhat off the radar. This Saturday, all of the pressure will be on James Franklin and Penn State. Following the model of 2023-24 champ Michigan, and 2024-25 Ohio State, PSU has many of its top players back, and added good players out of the portal, and like the champion Wolverines and the Buckeyes, played against thin air out of conference. PSU fans are in Natty or bust mode. Jim Knowles is a great D coordinator, no doubt. However, OBD is 1-1 versus Knowles, and Caleb Williams is not on PSU's roster. OBD's wins will not rock the boat, but two wins came against P4 opponents, including a win on the road vs. Northwestern. And going on the road and winning against a B1G opponent is a plus for OBD. In chomping down three cupcakes, PSU's D has looked the part, and the run game has performed, but Allar is still Drew Allar. Like the question surrounding Clemson's Cade Klubnik, is Drew ready to win a B1G game against a roster his own size? Is James ready to win a big B1G game? I trust Dan to have OBD prepared to play its best game of the season. No faux-furor needed to have the team ready to play this game. I think the game will be as close as the 2024 champ game, but I think OBD exits with the win. Neuter the Nits!

The 1st-ranked team that Indiana has defeated under coach Cig. 481 yards in the Hoosiers' favor vs. a top 10 team is a CFB record. Indiana's 63-10 beatdown of a top 10 team is a CFB record. Are you not entertained? 🤪

I get it! But Jonah Colman could be the best RB in the B1G, and Williams is a capable QB. This Saturday, I will not be surprised to see Williams play as well or better than TOSU's Julian Sayin.

Based on results to date, Miami could be ranked No. 1. Why is Ohio State No.1? A seven-point home win over overrated No. 10 Texas? Miami has defeated ranked Notre Dame, No. 28, and the highest G6-ranked USF, and a Florida team with a Blue Chip roster. Notre Dame was close, but the Hurricanes blew out 😁USF and Florida. Week 6 is the ACC showdown, Miami at FSU.

It's the Sports Information Directors Poll.

Putative AP Poll Playoff - Rose Bowl - No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 9 A&M at No. 8 FSU Sugar Bowl - No. 4 LSU vs. No. 12 USF at No. 5 Georgia Orange Bowl - No. 2 Miami vs. No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Oklahoma Cotton Bowl - No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 OBD No. 12-ranked Texas Tech knocks out No. 11 Indiana. No. 28 USF nocks out No. 13 Ole Miss.

No. 6 OBD at No. 3 Penn State - 7.5 NBC No. 4 LSU at No. 13 Ole Miss No. 14 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia - 7.5 ABC - Quite the Eye Ball race. No. 21 USC at No. 23 Illinois - Big Noon on Fox - 9 AM KO for SC. Also, No. 26 Auburn at No. 9 A&M/ No. 1 Ohio State at UW/ No. 11 Indiana at Iowa The SEC, in particular, and the B1G begin to sort IT out. I do not see 10 SEC teams finishing in the PO Committee's top 25, as is the case today.

WEEK 4 AP Poll - It will be No. 3 Penn State hosting No. 6 OBD on Saturday. AP NewsMiami jumps to No. 2 behind Ohio State in AP Top 25, Okla...Miami jumped LSU and Penn State into the No. 2 spot behind Ohio State in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll.

Week 7? Hoosiers could be a hard Cig to stamp out in Autzen. The B1G headliner this week is OBD at Penn State. (DUH 😜) However, Indiana's first road game of the season at Iowa could be interesting. The Iowa D looked bad in the 1st half at Rutgers, but Phil Parker's D shut down the Rutgers O in the 2nd half. I was surprised by the score vs. Illinois, but not the manner in which the Hoosiers played. Cig did a great job of improving where Indiana most needed improvement, both LOS. Mendoza is a step up from Kurtis Rourke. And Indiana looks faster and quicker than last season. Google Cig, he wins! 😁

Congrats, Arkie! Do not spend all of your winnings in Sam's Club. 😁

AMEN! Winning college football games is not easy. Even teams with poor rosters have rosters that would result in high school titles playing in the toughest high school conferences. OBD, No. 1 in the PO Committee's final 2024 ranking, is definitely one of the most hunted teams. And with Uncle Phil's role in the forefront of CFB coverage, and the weekly uni fashion show, one of the most hated. Oregon State was fired up to beat the team that, in the opinion of many Beavis fans, screwed OSU. OSU scored on a coverage bust, and that's all, folks. Montana State and OK State were swept aside in Eugene. OBD TCB'd against a P4 team on the road with a 9 AM body clock time start. On the road, close to every player who traveled played. Dan is not leaving the starters in to run it up or help Dante with Heisman stats. And, this team has not been immune to injury. Criticism, especially with the players bringing in a nice chunk of change, is fine. But no team based on talent alone will brush aside every opponent. Ask the good folks in Clemson, SC. The rubber hits the road this Saturday in Beaver (!) Stadium, and then two Saturdays later, when the Hoosiers visit Autzen. Put a Fork in the Franklins!

Both SC and UW are putting up points in bunches. UW and USC QBs are playing as well as any QBs in the conference. I believe they are in the upper tier with Mendoza and Dante. He doesn't have the WRS Sayin has at Ohio State, what QB does, but I will not be surprised if Williams is the better QB in Seattle in Week 6. UW's Jonah Coleman may be the best RB in the conference. Jedd Fisch can coach. He flipped the record at Arizona with a then-unknown QB when no one expected it. UW has played off the radar but has looked good doing so. SC's defense appears to be at least adequate, and how many B1G teams can keep up with SC on the scoreboard? If the weather is decent, I think SC will give Notre Dame all it can handle in South Bend. With the way Illinois played yesterday, SC could still be a close dog on the road at Illinois, and if Notre Dame can keep up scoring-wise when it plays at Arkansas, SC will likely be the underdog on the road at Notre Dame. Perhaps the game at Nebraska will be close, but I expect SC will win, and I also think that SC will defeat both Michigan and Iowa at home. If I am right, SC could travel to Eugene with one or two losses and will be ranked. In addition to Ohio State, UW plays Rutgers, Illinois, and Purdue at home before Week 14, when UW plays OBD in Seattle, and plays Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, and UCLA on the road. That's seven winnable games post-Ohio State and before OBD. If UW is not blown out by TOSU, and the game in Ann Arbor is a close loss, I think UW will be ranked. SC and UW, I grant you are as of today B1G Ifs. As to the Committee's rankings in Week 11 and Week 13, many of the currently ranked SEC teams will have three or more losses. The SEC SOS was dinged yesterday by Florida's loss to ACC Miami and Arkansas losing to G6 Memphis. Wins against Florida by LSU, Texas, and Georgia will not be sterling wins. Today, the ACC has Miami, FSU, Louisville, and Georgia Tech in the rankings race. I expect one of these four, if not two, will not finish ranked. The B12? The Fine Young B12 teams are having at it. Utah looked bad, getting blown out at home by Texas Tech. I'm happy to make The Dukes' Trading Places Wager, One Dollar! 😁

The season of roster turnover. Except for ... Clemson? Oklahoma has two good home wins. Miami has three solid wins. FSU has one excellent win over Bama and beatdowns of inferior opponents. Georgia had a gutsy win at Tennessee. Since the FSU embarrassment, Bama has played outstanding football. Indiana's roster, as I and others expected, is improved from last season at quarterback and on both lines of scrimmage. The proof is about to be stirred into the pudding. Next week sees OBD at Penn State, Alabama at Georgia, Ohio State at a UW squad that has looked solid so far, LSU at Ole Miss, Auburn at A&M, and Indiana at Iowa. The SC at the Illinois game has lost much of its big-game luster. UW is 3-0. Both UW and USC will win more than 7.5 games this season and provide Oregon with two ranked opponents to finish the regular season. The following Saturday sees an ACC showdown when Miami goes on the road for the first time this season against Florida State. Clemson and SMU both lost again today. On Saturday, Oregon will play a team with a Blue Chip roster. A team with a top drawer defense, and one that has not put it all together on offense. I expect to see a focused football team that has meandered the last two weeks against teams with nowhere near OBD's talent. After a bye, for both OBD and Indiana, Week 7 sees the Hoosiers in Autzen. Play as well against Iowa as Indiana did today against Illinois, and the Hoosiers could be a top 15 or higher-ranked team. We'll learn a lot about Oregon and other highly ranked teams over the next couple of weeks. The PO Committee's 1st ranking is on 11/4/25. Final ranking on 12/7/25. Neuter the Nits!

Holy Hoosiers. I thought that this season's Indiana could be ... Indiana. It won't be easy to put these Cigs out in Week 7. I'm old enough to remember watching Nebraska O-linemen who could block. Looking at Biff and Wink on the Michigan sideline, I'm pretty sure that neither is welcome at an all-you-can-eat buffet. 🤢 Jackson Arnold - couldn't go home again. The Red River Rivalry will not be another Texas blowout. Is this Ole Miss team better than last season's PO or bust and then busted Ole Miss team? Rutgers' 14 points in the first quarter were the most Rutgers has ever scored against Iowa. A record Scarlet Knight crowd of 55,000-plus saw Rutgers go 0-5 against Iowa. The costly Rutgers INT in the 4th quarter was Iowa's first takeaway of the season and Rutgers' first turnover. On the other hand, the Terps are now 1-4 vs. the Badgers. Pat Fitzgerald, where are you? The Pac-2 had a really bad day. 😁 Ohio State better be prepared to play ball next Saturday in Seattle. Pound, Punish, and Pulverize Penn State.

Winner - OBD Score - 44-17 TOs caused by OBD-2 Sacks - 3 Pass Yards - 240

According to John Canzano, this Saturday, College GameDay takes a look at the Civil War Trophy and its strange history. ESPN.comA deep dive into the mysterious Platypus Trophy of the Or...The story behind one of college football's most unusual trophies, which is an image of a most unusual animal.

Ducks Wire suggests other games for OBD fans to watch this weekend. https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2025/09/19/oregon-ducks-football-week-4-fan-viewing-guide/86227839007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_ca

Top 25 game predictions from the AP. OBD is predicted to cover -35.5. With PSU coming up, I expect Dan will take his foot off the gas. AP NewsCollege football picks: Average winning margin in FBS aft...The 2025 college football season has had a run of lopsided games. The average winning margin in the Football Bowl Subdivision is 25.5 points per game and 28.9 per game when one of the teams is from a

Terrific question and comments. As noted above, PSU has consumed three cupcakes. In the process, the PSU D looks great, but the O has sputtered in all three games, including QB Drew Allar. The PSU defense has surrendered only two touchdowns, but the offense has scored only 14 touchdowns. Both teams played an FCS opponent. OBD has played two P4 opponents, one on the road. Oregon's stats in the pass and run game are superior to Penn State's, a team that has not played a P4 opponent or left home to play a game. Heading into Week 4, Dante Moore is 3rd in Total QBR with Drew Allar 69th. USA Today notes that Allar, along with Manning, Klubnik, and Nico, has not played up to preseason expectations. (Duh 🤮!) Meanwhile, PSU transfer QB Beau Pribula is lighting it up for Mizzou. Coming off a bye week at Penn State, James Franklin is 3-5 against teams with a winning record. I think this season's bye weeks, 6 and 10, are perfect for OBD. Both Indiana and OBD bye in Week 6 before the Hoosiers visit Autzen, and the Week 10 bye comes before the Week 11 game at Iowa. Of course, Penn State is talented enough to flip a switch and put everything together. PSU is 12-8 in White Out games but has won the last five in a row. I hate to take the Corvallis Crud over anything, but I do think a home game for Oregon this Saturday is better than taking a nap. PELT THE BEAVERS!

Thanks, Coach. Much appreciated, as is Charles' comment. 👍👌😍

Wow, after this weekend, 25% of the regular season is over. 🤬 SEC out-of-conference vs. P4 opponents, 9-2. B1G out-of-conference vs. P4 opponents, 5-5. Games remaining: Florida at Miami, and Notre Dame hosting Purdue and USC. In a wired world, you can count on Recency Bias; however, all the metrics, except $$$ 🤑, still support the SEC as being No.1 top to bottom. As many have asked, what is the bottom third of the B1G doing with all of the money? No. 9 Illinois +3.5 at No. 19 Indiana -1950 was the last time these two met as ranked opponents. This game was broadcast in living black & white on four-inch TV screens that came in fuzzy but watchable if you properly aligned the rabbit ears. (Yes, the cane is waving!) 4:30 PM - NBC No. 21 Michigan at No. 34 Nebraska - 2016 - It's been 27 games since Nebraska defeated a top-25-ranked opponent. Ranked OBD 😧 lost in Lincoln in 2016 in the 'Let's Go For 2 Game.' Nebraska coach Matt Ruhle is not golden versus ranked opponents. 0-17 at Baylor and Nebraska. Series record: Michigan 8-4-1. Michigan interim coach Biff Poggi made money the old-fashioned way. He left coaching and joined his father-in-law's investment business. Biff left after making $10 million and returned to coaching. After last Saturday's beatdown win over Central Michigan, the now 1-0 interim coach Biff had this to say about QB Bryce Underwood: "I have a Labrador retriever who could coach this guy." WOOF! 12:30 PM - CBS No. 25 USC -17.5 vs. Michigan State - The series record is 4-4, with Michigan State winning the only Rose Bowl matchup in 1988, 20-17. To date, No. 25 USC is No.1 in the nation in Total Offense, and QB Jayden Maiava is No. 1 in QB Efficiency ratings. The game kicks off at 2 AM Eastern time, and Michigan State will not get home until Sunday morning. However, Sparty is off in Week 5, and USC gets the Week 5 early bird treatment with the game at Illinois kicking off at 9 AM Pacific. Been there, done that. 8 PM Fox The Civil War - No. 6 - 3-0 Oregon vs. 0-3 Oregon State - The last officially scheduled Civil War game sees No. 6-ranked OBD vs. the rank, smelly Oregon State Beavers. I think the line for this game says it all. No. 6 Oregon -34.5 - I can find no money line odds on the Beavers, which means the books believe that Beavis has no, nada, nudge, nyet, nothing-burger chance whatsoever vs. OBD. 😍 Noon - Big Ten Network B1G naps on Saturday - Minnesota (choke job in NO Cal), Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and (Didn't you use to be?) UCLA. Friday Night 9/19/25 - 2-1 Iowa at 3-0 Rutgers - Tune in to watch two future 2025 OBD opponents. Rutgers is 0-four Iowa but has an offense that is putting up points in bunches. In Kirk Ferentz's 206th record-setting win, his Hawkeyes put up an astounding 47 points! However, in the last five seasons, opponent UMass has surrendered the most points in FBS. 5 PM Fox Saturday - 9/20/25 3-0 Maryland at 2-1 Wisconsin - The Terps are 0-four Wisconsin. True frosh Maryland QB Malik Washington has been fantastic to date. Wisconsin's QB play has been anything but. 9 AM NBC 2-1 Purdue at No. 24 Notre Dame - The to date defeated Irish is a slight favorite at -26.5. Luck of the Irish? Notre Dame lost to No. 4 Miami and No. 10 Texas A&M by a total of four points. 12:30 NBC 2-0 Washington -20.5 at 2-1 Washington State - Look for UW to take a B1G bite of the Apple in Pullman, if the Huskies do not look ahead to the Week 5 game versus Ohio State in Seattle. The two B1G teams are -55 vs. the Pac-12. 4:30 PM CBS Other games with a PO impact: No. 16 Utah vs. No. 17 Texas Tech - 9 AM Fox No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma - 12:30 PM ABC Florida at No. 4 Miami - Come On Gators! 4:30 PM ABC PELT THE BEAVERS!

Dabo opened himself up for criticism by saying in the preseason that he believed his team had the talent to go 16-0. Three things I disagreed with the most from the preseason 'expert' nationwide nattering nabobs.😁 1. Archie Manning will win the Heisman Trophy. 2. Texas will win it all. 3. Clemson, with stud players everywhere, will roll through its schedule. Archie came into the season having never started a game on the road and unable to beat out a 7th-round draft pick before this season. The Texas O-line and receiving corps were wiped out. Sark won a conference title in the B12 with a superior roster (defeating OK State in the conference champ game), but other than this accomplishment? With road games at Florida, Georgia, and what looked to be an improved Oklahoma team in Dallas, the degree of SEC schedule difficulty ramped up from 2024. As of today, road games at Kentucky and even Mississippi State will not be layups. Ditto for Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and A&M at home. All of the highly touted Clemson players on D were on the 2024 team that was lit up by SMU and Texas and lost to Louisville and South Carolina at home. In the 2024-25 PO, Cade Klubnik played a very good game at Texas, but the rest of his stats were padded by his play against the weaker teams on the schedule. This season's 2024 Florida State? Clemson and Texas are in the running.

Cover Me! (No injuries, please.)

Gat, take down Mari-oh-oh Saturday, please! 😍 Hopefully, with GameDay in town, Miami goes down to your Gators and then to the Seminoles in Tallahassee on 10/4. And on 10/4, Florida Swamps Texas and puts another nail in the Arch Madness coffin. When in the heck will the Gators play a half-decent team? 😁