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Speaker 1: This is Duke of Duke Seafood, letting you know that this hour of Softie and Dick on your home for the Huskies and Kraken is proudly brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why not make it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com on Sports Radio 93.3 FM. KJRF.
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Speaker 2: It's time for our weekly Pac-12 conversation with San Jose Mercury News reporter John Wilner. Brought to you by Simply Seattle. Our friends at SimplySeattle.com have the most amazing collection of all things Seattle. Seahawks gear, UW hats, and the largest selection of Sonics.
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Speaker 3: Gear anywhere in the world. Learn more at SimplySeattle.com.
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Speaker 3: At simplyseattle.com. Do they have Kanzler puppets? They might. Sock puppets? They might. It's a great idea. We should make it happen.
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Speaker 4: Here he is, the Pope of the Pack, the Big Ten Baron himself, our friend Johnny Willner.
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Speaker 3: John, how are you, man? How are you guys? Good. We are good. We are very good. Where do we start?
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Speaker 4: How about UW going into Lincoln, Nebraska, trailing 7-3 with four minutes to go and winning the game 17-10. One of the most improbable wins ever that I've seen in Husky football history. How surprised were you that UW walked out of there with a victory on Saturday as an almost 10-point underdog?
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Speaker 5: Yeah, it was a good win. You know, I've watched Nebraska lose a lot of games, a lot of close games. So in some regards, it's not surprising. But I certainly would not have guessed the way it happened, you know, with DeMond Williams coming in at the end and making a couple of big plays. I thought that was really a very.
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Speaker 3: Interesting development for Washington.
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Speaker 5: And I don't know who's starting that quarterback this week, but I have to think if he's healthy, DeMond Williams is going to start, huh?
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Speaker 6: I would think so. That's what the word is anyway. But is that the right decision, in your opinion, to start DeMond?
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Speaker 5: I actually think it is. And I was also in favor of starting Elijah Brown. But to me, what happened in Lincoln was almost like a restarting of DeMond Williams' Washington football existence. Like, it wiped out, at some level, it wiped out the vibes, the bad vibes from the transfer process. portal dalliance and he then comes back and he struggles and he kind of bottoms out with the injury and not playing well. And then he's got to come in and he's got to prove himself in a, you know, a road game in the fourth quarter close game. It was almost like a cathartic moment for him, I think. And to me, it like, you now have to evaluate him as Washington's quarterback for, from a different lens than you did before he was on the bench.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. No, I agree with you entirely.
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Speaker 4: And, I mean, when I saw him walking off the field on Saturday night, he's going back to the Husky locker room, and there's a bunch of Husky fans that are kind of lining like it's not even a tunnel. It's just more of a partition that they set up. to keep the fans away. And there's a bunch of Husky fans that came down from the stands, and he's high-fiving all of them. I mean, it was a totally different vibe leaving that game Saturday versus the vibe that's been hanging around. You know, I just wonder, if they do turn to DeMond Williams, what does that mean for Elijah Brown's future? He may feel like, hey, I've put enough on tape to maybe get some interest from somebody.
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Speaker 3: And go start.
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Speaker 4: Somewhere, do you think that whoever starts the opener game one next year, is that guy on the roster right now?
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Speaker 3: Will it be Elijah? Will it be DeMond? Or option C?
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Speaker 5: I think it's probably 40% chance it's somebody who's not on the roster. Just that's kind of the way the position is going these days. And, you know, we also have to see what happens these last few games. Maybe Williams kind of reverts. Uh, you know, and so Brown's like, I want to go somewhere where I know I'm going to start. And Jed's like, I'm not sure. Demond's my guy. I, you know, a lot of things could happen, but I think it's just the nature of what, of what rosters have become. And especially the quarterback position, there's a good chance that they're, I mean, heck they're starting quarterback next year. It could be starting for Oregon state right now. It could be Braden Atkinson. We have no idea.
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Speaker 6: Hmm. John, we had circled November 7th as potentially a 7-1 Washington team against a 7-1 Penn State team. It was going to be a big battle, and instead we got 5-3 against 4-4. So tell us, what does Penn State bring across the country to Husky Stadium on Saturday?
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Speaker 3: 12 roster.
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Speaker 5: That is not a very complimentary thing to say, but you know, Matt Campbell has got dozens of players that followed him from Iowa state to, to happy Valley. And I think that that is one of the main reasons why they are what four and four and one and four in the big 10 is a lot of those guys are not a high level, big 10 players. And I saw the point spread on this game, and I'm like, what the heck? I must be missing something because I think Washington should win this game handily. Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Well, they got a good defense, right?
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Speaker 4: I mean, that's the difference, that they're going to see another good D.
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Speaker 3: I'm not sure if they're as good as Nebraska.
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Speaker 5: No.
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Speaker 4: 8 total defense, No. 3 against the pass, 24th in scoring, No. 5 on third down. It looks like you can run on these guys, but is there any reason for us to not expect another slugfest in a low-scoring game? When you say win handily, UW could win it 17-3 for all I know.
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Speaker 5: Washington, my guess is, being at home, the offense will click. I But look at who Penn State has played, right? They played three cream puffs. So, and they played Purdue and we know they're not very good. So off the top, I don't have their schedule in front of me, but I don't know that that defense is, you know, those stats are necessarily built on shutting down high powered teams. And if Washington's quarterback play, whether it's Brown or Williams, if that, that quarterback is in rhythm, the Huskies should be able to score.
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Speaker 6: Speaking of cream puff schedules, UCLA's 8-0. They're ranked 8th in the country. They're going to Minnesota. I'm not even sure who the better team of those two is. I mean, what do you think about that game?
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Speaker 7: Me neither.
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Speaker 5: No, Minnesota's pretty good.
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Speaker 3: You know, they beat Michigan.
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Speaker 5: They beat Iowa.
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Speaker 3: They're actually, obviously, they beat the Huskies.
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Speaker 5: They're not bad. The middle of the Big Ten is better than it used to be, and they're a good example. It's a 9 a.m. Pacific kickoff, long trip. You know, UCLA, they are a defense and run the ball team, and that's kind of like Minnesota. To me, that's like a first team to 13 wins, and I certainly think the Bruins could lose. Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Penn State, by the way, you were asking about this. They were losing to USC 24-23.
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Speaker 4: With 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and they lost that game 31-23. So a tight game there. Lost a tight game to Michigan. Lost a tight game to Wisconsin. Got hammered by Northwestern and beat Purdue. So you're right. I mean, there really is not any big-time signature win on their schedule, but there really isn't one for UW either. I mean, their best win probably was the game on Saturday night against Nebraska. But, John, you mentioned the middle of the conference, and John Wilner is with us, courtesy of Simply Seattle. Can you remind people how the bowl situation works with the old Pac-12 allegiances and schedule that Washington, without a miracle run, winning out and finding a way to make the CFP, most certainly will have to abide by?
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Speaker 7: So, yeah.
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Speaker 5: It's remarkable that it's like this. But the bowl system is treating the Pac-12 like it never imploded. The 12 legacy schools are all grouped together. For the same bowls that they were grouped together with five years ago.
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Speaker 7: Right.
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Speaker 5: Right? And that's the Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun. There's a new one, the Poinsettia, which is in San Diego. The L.A. Bowl is gone. Right. But all those... all 12 teams, they're still tied to all those bowls unless you get into the playoff. So if Washington and the way they line them up is based on overall record, not conference record. So if the Huskies are like fourth, you know, or fifth in terms of the number of wins, they're going to end up in like, you know, El Paso or maybe San Diego for the point center of the holiday, something like that. But it's like the conference never exploded.
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Speaker 4: So right now there's only two teams from the old Pac-12 that are in the CFP, and it's Utah and UCLA.
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Speaker 3: Is that right, Dick, just those two teams? Yes, that's correct. That is correct.
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Speaker 4: So the other ten will then all be fighting for those bowl games you're talking about.
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Speaker 3: That's right.
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Speaker 8: John, let's talk about the rankings.
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Speaker 6: First thing I noticed is a whole lot of SEC up at the top of that college football playoff rankings, and you don't see that in the AP poll.
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Speaker 8: So what's the reason why?
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Speaker 5: Well, I think a big reason is... is the SEC is 10-2 against the Big Ten, the ACC, and the Big 12.
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Speaker 3: That's pretty good.
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Speaker 5: The Big Ten is 4-10 against the other three. The SEC has just got a lot of wins, and that success early in the season has created the multiplier effect where if you lose to another good team in the SEC, you don't get hurt. And we'll see how the whole thing shakes out. But, yeah, they got five of the top ten. They got ten of the 25, which I think mirrors the– The AP poll.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 5: But it's very SEC heavy at the top. Although I'll say there are some absolutely baffling decisions that the committee made that makes me just think the whole this whole thing is doomed.
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Speaker 3: Like what? Which ones?
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Speaker 5: Well, I mean, Alabama is eight spots ahead of Tennessee, even though Tennessee kicked their butt. And Indiana is eight spots ahead of Ohio State, even though Ohio State won at Indiana and played a much harder schedule. So there is like they don't really value head to head at all. And that is how they got into that trouble last year with Notre Dame in Miami. And, uh, I just, I really baffled by, by some of it, you know, UCLA eight, no. And yet there are five spots behind Utah eight.
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Speaker 3: No.
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Speaker 8: John, I got to ask you about this schedule this week.
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Speaker 6: This is the best college football slate in dot, dot, dot, like how long. And, and if you could only watch like two games, which are the two that you're, uh, that you're make sure you're going to watch.
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Speaker 5: Only the second time since the stats been kept that there are six games that are matching ranked teams. So basically 12, 12 of the 25 and the eight people are
playing each other.
00:11:59
Speaker 3: It's ridiculous.
00:12:00
Speaker 5: And the thing is, That's with Oregon and Ohio state, like being a sideshow, right? In August, that was going to be the best game of this whole week. And yet now you got three lost ducks and two lost Buckeyes in the backup QB bowl. So that's not even really considered. And it's still an incredible slate of games. If I'm watching two, it's the holy war at nine and it's Catholics versus convicts. at 4.30.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, does Notre Dame need to beat Miami to make the CFP this weekend?
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Speaker 5: Yes, I think they do. If you look at Notre Dame's schedule, they've only got three tough games.
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Speaker 3: BYU, they lost.
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Speaker 5: Miami and SMU. And if they lose to Miami, then combined with the loss to BYU, it's like the same position they were in last year, where they finished 10-2, but they don't have a good win. And the committee left them out. I think the same thing will happen. Notre Dame has got to win the game Saturday night. Miami does not. Miami's in good shape. Notre Dame, it is must win.
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Speaker 4: All right, well, let's get to it, because you did something last week you haven't done in a while.
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Speaker 3: You lost. Sorry, John. Oh, my God. That was brutal.
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Speaker 4: Oregon State got clocked by Fresno State at Fresno.
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Speaker 5: Totally misread that.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, well, the DeMarcus Shepard train just went off the tracks and blew up into a ball of fire. Who do you like this week to get back on track, man?
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Speaker 5: Actually, I like teams, but I'll ride with BYU. I think getting five points at Utah is just... That rivalry is one of the best in the country, and BYU plays very well in big games. We saw that against Notre Dame, so I will take the Cougars and the points.
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Speaker 3: All right, well, I got good news for you. You're getting five and a half. How's that sound? Oh, even better. All right, BYU.
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Speaker 8: Even better.
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Speaker 5: That game, I mean, that is such an underrated rivalry. I love it.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the fact that it's going to get played at 10 o'clock in the morning, mountain time, is a travesty, by the way, out there for them.
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Speaker 3: So, listen, great stuff.
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Speaker 5: They wanted to avoid going head-to-head against Miami Notre Dame.
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Speaker 4: No, I get it. I get it from the TV network's perspective. It doesn't mean it doesn't suck for the fans. John, you're the best. We'll talk in a week, man, all right?
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Speaker 3: Thanks, guys.
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Speaker 7: All right.
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Speaker 4: John Wilner likes BYU in the five-and-a-half against Utah. Can you imagine the Huskies playing a gigantic game against Oregon, and it's at 10 o'clock in the morning in Seattle? How much that would piss people off. For as much as we like to complain about kickoff times, late games, 8 o'clock kickoffs, whatever, can you imagine a game of— this is a top-10— holy war matchup and it's getting played at 10 a.m see the.
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Speaker 7: The fallout there is that you have to then wake up at six o'clock to get to the stadium by seven o'clock to do your tailgating right sailgating your boats have to leave with i mean it just the the fallout of an early game it never makes any stupid sense of them to do.
00:14:54
Speaker 4: That well i just and i've been saying this for years i think that the amount of power that college football presidents give the tv networks is ridiculous yes The NFL is, by all accounts, the biggest sports league on the planet. And outside of a couple of flex games here and there, they can tell you months in advance what time games are going to be. They can figure it out, but college football can't.
00:15:20
Speaker 3: Now, I get it.
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Speaker 4: There's maybe a little more parity in the NFL. Every game's big right in the NFL. You're going to have blowouts in college football. You're going to have games in college football that nobody really wants to watch. Everybody wants to watch every.
00:15:33
Speaker 3: Game in the NFL.
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Speaker 5: Right.
00:15:34
Speaker 3: Millen has said this before. He's exactly right.
00:15:36
Speaker 4: I could watch Jaguars-Falcons, but I'm not watching Rice versus Tulsa, right?
00:15:41
Speaker 3: So I understand it.
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Speaker 4: But the amount of screw jobs that the fans take where they have to wait some days, six days before a kickoff, especially one that they're traveling to, by the way, is bogus.
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Speaker 8: You know when this ends? It ends with the Super League.
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Speaker 2: Right.
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Speaker 6: There is a Super League. There will be two or three. There will be three time slots.
00:16:01
Speaker 7: Right.
00:16:02
Speaker 8: And all the games will be played in those three time slots. And we can stop complaining about it.
00:16:05
Speaker 4: Well, but even then, I mean, can we just know what time they're being played? Or do you say it's at 1, 4, or 7? I mean, I want to know what time the game is played before the season starts.
00:16:14
Speaker 3: That's what I want to know.
00:16:15
Speaker 7: And, Dick, the key to all of this, of us then getting to the point where we don't have to complain, is us being part of that.
00:16:21
Speaker 2: Right.
00:16:21
Speaker 3: Because right now, we are very much on the edge of that.
00:16:25
Speaker 8: I do not believe that.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: Well, if you have relegation, if you're a fan of relegation.
00:16:28
Speaker 7: We could very much be in the second division, the top of the second division right now.
00:16:33
Speaker 6: Are you talking about how many teams are in the Super League?
00:16:36
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'm just looking at a 20-30 league system, and that would have been a second tier of 20-30, and maybe that's it.
00:16:43
Speaker 6: Because they're building it based upon your legacy, your
finances, your draw, your brand, not what you've done this year.
00:16:54
Speaker 7: So I guess my point is, if that thing gets established and the Huskies play right now, play in the league like they're playing right now... then we're going to be in that conversation.
00:17:05
Speaker 6: That's different if there is truly relegation. But let's not forget, we're two and a half years moved from a national championship.
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Speaker 8: We're not a second division. We'll start there.
00:17:14
Speaker 4: But if there's 34 teams in this division, which is every team in the Big Ten and every team in the SEC... And if you want relegation, which I don't want, by the way, I want nothing to do with relegation. If you do want it, and I'm not saying it's going to work or not going to work, I just don't want to do it, then you do have to accept the fact that you're going to be demoted.
00:17:34
Speaker 3: If you don't play well.
00:17:36
Speaker 4: And the less money you spend, that may have a direct correlation on how many games you win. And you may end up getting dropped to a lower division where they say, you know what? We're scheduling some big games right now. We'll get back to you Saturday morning. Guys, this is European soccer. Let you know what time your game is played. How do they do it in Europe with kickoff times?
00:17:56
Speaker 7: Well, with kickoff times, it's pretty much similar because they're different leagues.
00:17:59
Speaker 5: Right.
00:17:59
Speaker 3: Everything that we're saying right now about.
00:18:02
Speaker 7: Oh, you're facing different teams, different opponents. For the other tournaments, you're in different classifications. The money is different. Players have an ability to opt out if you get relegated. All of that straight from a European soccer will come here.
00:18:14
Speaker 4: Well, let me ask you this. If there's, let's just say it is 34. Maybe it's 40, but let's just say 34. 18 and 16. How many of those of the 34 would never worry about getting relegated? How many of them would maybe worry about getting relegated? And how many of them would always worry about getting relegated?
00:18:34
Speaker 3: Where would we fall on that list?
00:18:36
Speaker 6: We'd be in the second list, and there would only be like 10 teams in the top list. Literally, there's like 10 teams in the country that should probably never have to worry about getting relegated.
00:18:48
Speaker 3: And if they're all in the Super League, then that's one-third relegated.
00:18:52
Speaker 4: That's one that's one ninth or not yeah that'd be 25 28 but it's probably a.
00:18:56
Speaker 6: Better question for jackson because jackson there are teams that you would have thought that you would do this to me well that you there's team that you would have thought.
00:19:03
Speaker 3: My team what your team.
00:19:05
Speaker 6: Would be like the alabama and they got almost got.
00:19:09
Speaker 7: Relegated tottenham nearly nearly got relegated and tottenham is like the top five spender in european football and they nearly dropped down it can't happen.
00:19:19
Speaker 4: I just am really curious, if that ever did happen, what would that year feel like?
00:19:24
Speaker 7: Last year, it was miserable beyond belief as a Tottenham fan.
00:19:28
Speaker 3: Okay, I don't want that. I'm sorry.
00:19:30
Speaker 4: I just don't want that. I don't want to be miserable beyond belief. I mean, honestly, would we even talk about them on the air?
00:19:38
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:19:38
Speaker 3: Would we go a whole year and not even talk about them? You're talking about them.
00:19:42
Speaker 8: Well, Ian still talks about the Cougs.
00:19:43
Speaker 7: Because you can go win the second.
00:19:47
Speaker 6: Oh, Jesus.
00:19:47
Speaker 8: Well, I mean, come on.
00:19:49
Speaker 6: You always say this, but is there not a massive difference between the Big Ten SEC and the rest of college football?
00:19:56
Speaker 8: Is there not already a split?
00:19:58
Speaker 3: Yes, there is.
00:19:59
Speaker 8: Okay, that's all I'm saying.
00:20:00
Speaker 3: There is a big difference, but.
00:20:02
Speaker 4: If we get relegated, we are going to be on the same level as the Cougs.
00:20:06
Speaker 8: That's correct.
00:20:07
Speaker 3: I don't want it. Better spend the money then, people. We're not.
00:20:10
Speaker 8: And we're not right now.
00:20:11
Speaker 3: I don't want it. I want nothing to do with it. We're going to break.
00:20:14
Speaker 4: Husky Hawks at six. Who do they think should start a quarterback against Penn State? We'll get to that and more on last night's miserable ass-beating by the Bears coming up on 93.3 KJRFM.