Week 4 College Football Predictions (Hour 3)

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AutoZone's free battery testing and charging is available for free at your local AutoZone. Get in the zone AutoZone restrictions apply. We'll be joined momentarily by the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Alex Highsmith coming off his monster game up against the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers are now one and one to start off the season with a Sunday night showdown in Vegas up against the Raiders. And now joining us is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week linebacker from the Steelers in Alex Highsmith. Alex, always appreciate when you join us here on CBS Sports Radio.

Thank you for the time. And how are you? Yes, sir.

I'm doing great. Appreciate you having me on. Well, let me start you off with the performance on Monday night. So it wins you AFC Defensive Player of the Week. We know you start the game off with the pick six for a touchdown. You ended the game, force of the fumble, and TJ brings it into the end zone.

Your story has started to gain a lot of traction. You were rewarded with the contract this offseason. But to do what you did on Monday Night Football, what do you think you showed people individually about Alex Highsmith? Yeah, I think, you know, just the main thing, you know, I was happy about was just being able to get the victory. You know, we didn't come out and start very well against the 49ers that first game. And so getting a victory, a home victory against A's, you know, opponent was huge for us. That was the goal for the week. And so we came out and did that, you know, I just wanted to do whatever I could to put my team in the best position to win. So, you know, on defense, you know, we pride ourselves in making splash plays and getting the ball, getting turnovers and stuff like that. And so we just want to kind of build on that from last week. And so I think, you know, there's still a lot of areas that we can improve on, but I think we did a good job of taking the ball away.

We just got to continue that culture. You mentioned it coming off that blowout loss to the 49ers. People are wondering how you guys were going to respond in a tough spot up against a divisional rival.

What was the vibe? What did you kind of sense from your guys leading up to that game to elicit the performance that we saw from your team? Yeah, we knew we just wanted to get that taste out of our mouths, you know, especially, you know, losing like that at home. First game in the city, you know, you're hyped up and ready to go. And, you know, you hate that feeling.

And so we just wanted to get that that nasty taste, that sour taste out of our mouth. And we did that by getting the victory over the Browns. And, you know, it's just the AFC North, you know, it's a rivalry game.

And so those games are weighted differently. You know, Coach Tomlin always says that. And so, you know, not only was it the AFC North game, but it was a prime time game as well. So look, all the peers are watching us. So, you know, we came out, we got the job done. But, you know, we got a lot of ways we can improve.

And looking forward to showing that, you know, this Sunday night. The AFC Defensive Player of the Week, Alex Highsmith, is with us. When you look at a pick six for you, a forced fumble, and also a sack in the game, was that the best game that you've ever played? I mean, probably, probably, probably one of, I would say, because that was probably my first touchdown since like Pop Warner.

So it's been a while since I've had a touchdown. But, you know, I feel like I could have played, you know, even better. And I just always want to have that mindset and never want to get content or satisfied with how I perform. You know, there's looking at the film, there's so many more plays that I could have made in that game.

And so I just never want to get content on like a performance, no matter how I play, whether, you know, I do have sacks or I don't have a sack in the game. You know, I always just want to be one to get better and play better than I do. And it's so cool to see the way that you played. And then we also know what T.J. Watt does week in and week out for the Steelers for a long time. What have you been able to learn as a teammate of T.J. Watt from him? I've been able to learn a lot, you know, ever since I came in my rookie year. He's just been able, he's just been willing to help me in my growth and development, in my process. And, you know, I came in, I was like a sponge.

You know, I always wanted to circle as much information as I could. I was talking to him meetings and stuff like that. So it's been cool, you know, seeing how we started to, you know, get out there and work together and stuff like that. And, you know, on that strip sack play, we both knew that it was going to be some type of play action on that play. And so just, you know, we've started to communicate a lot on the field and that's grown a lot over the past couple of years. And so it's cool to be able to ball with that guy, man.

You know, he's the best in the world at what he does. So, you know, definitely blessed to be able to go out there and ball with him. I love your story, where you were a walk-on, you end up becoming a third-round pick.

You got a $68 million contract this offseason. What do you want people to know about the story and the grind of Alex Highsmith to become the player that you've been the last few years in the NFL? Yeah, I'm just, I'm grateful. You know, I'm grateful for the path that God has had me on. And I believe he's blessed me in unbelievable ways. And so I play for his glory and, you know, for me, it's always been, you know, about working hard.

And I truly mean that. Like out there, I would do extra stuff at practice all the time. I would get there early. I would stay late, watch extra film and stuff like that. And so, you know, I've been given this platform for a reason. So I want to make the most of it.

And, yeah, so I just want to be someone who's known as, you know, a blue-collar, hardworking guy, you know, who always wants to get better. A big topic of conversation this week was the hit Minka Fitzpatrick had on Nick Chubb. Personally, it's an awful injury. No one wants to see one of the game's best running backs get injured. I didn't have a problem, though, with the hit. Were you surprised by the reaction of some going after Minka for the hit?

I mean, yeah, I was. Because, you know, and I absolutely hate it because Nick Chubb is, he's one of the best running backs in the league. And, you know, he's a great player. And you hate to see injuries like that happen. It's just the terrible part, you know, the terrible part of the game that we play. You know, everyone's out there and we're playing, we're playing hard.

And things like, I just hate to see things like that happen. But, you know, I don't know why people were coming after him. But, you know, I'm just, you know, praying for him and that his recovery would be really fast. And, you know, he gets back on the field, you know, because he's a great guy to go against. You know, I like going against him. He runs hard. He really makes you work, you know, work to get that victory against him. And so what you hate seeing, guys go down like that.

You know, you really do. When you guys were preparing, you had a lot of success up against Ishawn Watson. What was your view going into the game when you watched him on film the quarterback Ishawn Watson can be? Because people are wondering, can he get back to being a great quarterback in this league? Yeah, I definitely think he's still a really talented quarterback, you know.

And, you know, because he's very, he's very, you know, multi-dimensional. He can throw it. He can run it. He's dangerous in the pocket. And so we let him out a few times in the game.

And so that's why he's dangerous in that way that he can get out of the pocket and run as well. And so we knew we just had to contain him. We knew we had to get after him.

We sacked him, you know, a good amount of times last year, the last game of the season. So we knew we had to get after him again this year. And so, you know, he's still definitely a very talented quarterback. You know, I love competing against him, you know, because he's a competitor. Being in that locker room, being a big voice in that locker room like you are as the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, Alex Highsmith is with us. A lot of people are wondering what your quarterback is capable of in Kenny Pickett.

When you go to battle with him, what does your quarterback bring to the table to this league? Yeah, he's a competitive man. And I know, you know, I know he's going to bounce back, you know, coming up this week and stuff. And I'm just excited to see just how he continues to grow. I've already just seen him step up in leadership of him just throughout the offseason and through training camp and stuff like that. And so I'm excited.

I know all the guys on the team respect him. And so I'm excited for him to, you know, to bounce back. I know they're going to have a good week and I'm just excited to, you know, see what they do. When you get to this game on Sunday night up against the Raiders, right, you got Josh Jacobs. There's Devontae Adams.

You have Jimmy Garoppolo who's been in this league as a long time. Throughout the week, what has been the number one point of emphasis when you go up against this Raiders offense? Yeah, you know, they got a lot of good guys on the offense. You know, they got a good offense.

You got Jimmy G. Like I said, Josh Jacobs and Devontae Adams. So they got a lot of weapons on their offense. And so we got to be able to shut those guys down, you know.

We haven't played the best that we can in the run game this year. And so we got to really lock in on that because Josh Jacobs is a really good running back. And so we got to be able to stop him.

And then, you know, Devontae Adams being one of the best shooters in the league. You know, we got to lock him down. And so it's going to be a good challenge for us. You know, I'm ready for the challenge. You know, I can't wait to get there on Sunday night.

You know how this works. Before the year, a lot of people were singing your team's praises. And they were saying, watch out for the Steelers. They're going to be a good team. You lose to the 49ers and everyone's off the bandwagon. Now people are jumping on board following the game against Cleveland in that Monday night football game where the defense was awesome.

You're there each and every day. What do you think this team is capable of this season? You know, we're capable of a lot, you know.

And I'm just excited to go to war with these guys every week. And, you know, we know we didn't start the season the way we wanted to. But coming out to get the victory was a step in the right direction, you know, this past week. And so I'm looking forward to taking that step again this week.

And so, you know, it's another product of the game. It's another opportunity, you know, for us to show. You know, everyone's going to be watching. So it's a big opportunity for us to show what we've been working on this week and how we've been preparing. And so, you know, I'm ready to go to war, you know, with all my guys.

You know, I just can't wait for Sunday night. Last thing I'll ask you, Alex Highsmith, if I would have told you when you walked on at Charlotte that a few years into your NFL career you'd be a $68 million player. You'd be an AFC defensive player of the week. You and T.J. Watt would be causing havoc together as teammates up against the Cleveland Browns. What would Alex Highsmith have told me when you first walked on that Charlotte football team? In my mind, I would have been blown up.

I would look at you like, for real. But, you know, I've always had, you know, the goal of being, you know, a top-tier guy in the NFL and being someone, you know, who causes havoc and causes production. So I've always, you know, had this dream in my mind.

And, you know, it really didn't become reality for me until later in my college career, like my junior, senior year. But, you know, like I said, I'm just grateful for my journey and the process, you know. I feel like I'm process driven.

I've fallen in love with the process. And, you know, being a walk-on has taught me a lot. And it's just still the work ethic and the mentality.

I mean, I probably wouldn't have had if I earned a scholarship. So I still carry that with me today. And, you know, I'm always going to carry it with me. Well, good luck coming up against the Raiders. Once again, congratulations on winning the AFC defensive player of the week. And thanks so much for jumping on board. Always love when we get to talk to you. Yeah, thanks, Zach.

There you go. Alex Highsmith with us on the Zach Gilb show on CBS Sports Radio. Wonderful conversation with him. And one of the more motivational stories and inspirational stories in the NFL.

Just once again, incredible. A walk-on to a third-round pick to then becoming a $68 million player and seeing the performance that he had last night. Like, Hickey, that performance on Monday Night Football. After a week where everyone's doubting the Steelers and everyone's saying, man, did we all overestimate the Steelers heading into this season? To be able to start the game with that pick six and then you basically end the game forcing the fumble and T.J. Watt picks it up and takes it into the end zone.

This story just keeps on getting better and better for Alex Highsmith. And now when you look at the Steelers, like, I don't want to say that everyone's now back in on them because the Browns have their own issues and the Steelers have to start getting things going offensively. But when you look at the Steelers, they should win this week in Las Vegas. Then they play the Texans after that. They should be 3-1 going into that game up against the Baltimore Ravens. And then it's another enormous test inside of this AFC North Division. So it's all about in this league when you suffer some adversity how quickly do you bounce back? And that's how the Steelers are going to win some games this year. We all know T.J. Watt and his potential and what he could do and how great he is, one of the better defensive players and not the best defensive player in the league, which is up for debate. But to see the way that Alex Highsmith was flying around and it just shows you that the Steelers do a great job in identifying talent and then also developing that talent to see where an Alex Highsmith has now become just a dominant force and a guy that won AFC Defensive Player of the Week. I'm just still laughing at the question of was this the best game of your career.

He goes, yeah, I think so. I mean, you start the game with a pick six on the first play of the game. You score a touchdown for the first time in your NFL career. You end the game with a strip sack that allows T.J. Watt to go in the end zone to score.

Get your watts right. I know. My apologies there, T.J. To score the eventual game-winning touchdown.

It's like, I mean, in a game where you needed those or else they lose, that's a hell of a game. The reason I ask that always because you never know what story you're going to get. And the story still of Alex Highsmith is not fully told yet. Like, I'm talking about on a national stage. If you're a football fan, you obviously know he is. You know how good of a player he is.

There's a reason why he's, you know, just got nearly a $70 million contract. And I remember having him on, what, two years ago and talking to him about his story as well. But sometimes, like, a player will go, oh, yeah, that was actually a game in college where no one watched me at Charlotte where I had, like, 23 tackles, two touchdowns, an interception and a sack. Or when I was nine years old, I caught five touchdowns in a Pop Warner game and then also picked off the quarterback twice.

I'm always compelled to see what the story's going to be. But as a pro, yeah, that gave – the way that he – he was really the bookmark. Where, like, you started the game with the bang and then you ended the game with the bang and the Steelers' defense is the reason why they won that game. Both of those offenses stunk with the Browns and the Steelers, but it was that defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers putting up two touchdowns in the game. Just what a remarkable performance from week two. And then you go up against a Raider team on Sunday. I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen on Sunday night because the Raiders are a team where no one's expecting anything out of them. They win week one up against a bad Broncos team, but they still won, right? And a lot of people at the Broncos are better than the Raiders headed into that game, so give them credit for that. And then week two, they go right down the field, first drive of the game, Devontae Adams touchdown. And then it was a blowout in favor of the Bills the way that we thought the game was going to go. Now for both these teams, you kind of don't know what to expect the rest of the way with the Raiders and Steelers, and usually that makes for a really close, good game, hopefully, when we tune in on Sunday night on NBC.

Let me tell you, Kenny Pickett, he should be one. Thanking Alex Highsmith for saving his you-know-what last week. But if he replicates that performance on Monday night, again on Sunday night, I know it's still two nationally televised games, but that's going to be a quarterback under scrutiny a lot going forward. And the Raiders defense isn't good, but you do have a great defensive player in Max Crosby. So there's some big defensive names on both sides in this game, a lot more on the Steelers than the Raiders. But yeah, you would think this could be a favorable spot for Kenny Pickett where you go up against a great 49ers defense, a Browns defense that is solid and good as well, and now it's like, oh, you could probably breathe that you got out of those first two games one-on-one, and things open up a little bit with a porous Raiders defense. I know D'Amico Rhines is a great defensive mind, but now not having a ton of talent with the Houston Texans.

So these are two big weeks where they should win both these games, but you got to see the offense start to gel and really start to hum. Alrighty, this is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll update you on some of the biggest stories in the world of sports when we return with the news brief.

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Extra, extra real about it. Time for your daily news brief. We get you caught up on the rumors, reports, and reconnaissance from the day in sports. All right, let's hear from Kyle Shanahan on how proud he is of the way that Brock Purdy played in the game last night as the Niners are the first 3-0 team of the season, with the first team that played in Week 3 with the chance to do so, taking care of the Giants on Thursday Night Football. He missed a couple today, and guys made a couple real good catches also. I thought it was just a huge challenge, one of the biggest ones Brock's been in, just the short week to prepare for a scheme like that, just how much they do. They had six guys on the line of scrimmage throughout the game. Half the time they're coming, half the time they're not. There's not a comfortable play throughout a game from a play call standpoint and from the quarterback just because there's a lot of plays that don't work versus that.

So you've got to constantly be looking at it. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, which is a huge challenge for a quarterback. I thought he settled down throughout it as the game went and ended up playing good enough for us to win. Let's go to Trent Williams.

So this was the big topic of conversation. Trent Williams on his brush-up with A'Shawn Robinson right before halftime. What happened at the end of that, just before halftime? I don't remember. That was a long time ago. So yeah, I don't know.

I think it may have been Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson. Little right hook. Yeah, I don't know. Just mixing it up, man. But, you know, it's a lot of tempers flaring out there. It's a competitive game and, you know, sometimes things boil over a little bit. Do you expect NFL to come after you a lot?

I don't think so. It was a love tap. It wasn't that hard. I'm pretty sure they were pretty frustrated at that point. You know, we had a couple long drives, 11, 12 play drives, and ended with points. So I'm pretty sure that kept frustrating the plays and defense and, you know, tempers fly. So it's amazing what gets called and what doesn't get called in the NFL and what leads to an ejection and what doesn't lead to an ejection.

This one was so weird because Robinson is not even touching Trent Williams and Williams just shoves him. And then I guess you could call it a punch to the face. Yeah, he has a face mask on.

When you look at it, Hickey, is that a closed fist? It looked like it was, like, partially open as well. But, like, if that's what we're deciphering here, it was a bad job there by Trent Williams. You're right in the sense that he should not have put himself in that position in the first place.

He should have known how valuable he is and he should have known. The only way the Giants get back in this game is if I get tossed and one less guy out there. And let me be clear. I'm not sitting here saying that you have to toss a guy there. And I'm okay with not ejecting a person there. But I understand why the Giants fan is annoyed and why Brian Debo was furious. The guy just walked up to him and shoved him in the face for no reason. Especially going to halftime where they took a knee. Like, you never see that. I am, I don't want to say I'm glad he didn't get ejected, but I guess I'm more surprised that there was a few times where there was some pushing and shoving after the whistle.

I'm truly surprised we didn't see, not a brawl, but some real fists actually thrown. A questionable right hook from Trent Williams. The other thing too is Trent Williams has been around the game for a long time.

He knows the questions that are coming and you have to face the music. I love that he started off saying, oh, that was at halftime. That was right before halftime. That was a long time ago. I just misremember what happened. That's a savvy move from the veteran in Trent Williams.

As George Casanza would say, it's not a lie if you believe it. Well, I thought I saw something on Twitter about this. Was there some beef between these two guys at one point in the offseason that may have led to this? That I'm not aware of.

Okay. And that would explain as to why the chippiness started fast, because you would think these two teams are not really rivals. They're not played these drag-it-out games where there's some bad blood, like let's say between the Eagles and the 49ers that we'll see in a few weeks. That would explain the chippiness. I was unaware, but that would definitely make more sense as to why.

This gave me a chippy feel. Yeah, and to be fair, I don't know if that's true or not. I just saw some people were speculating it, and who knows with what people speculate on Twitter. But it's one of those things where it was... I know that you get into a sort of mentality when you're a player, and then sometimes things like that just happens, and you lose your cool if you're a guy like Trent Williams. But it was just so random, there's really no build-up to it that we could see on the field, and maybe there was something. It was just weird when you went back and watched it. It was. And the timing, too, of again, right before halftime on a kneel down, it's not like he just piled, drove him into the ground.

All weird. It's amazing how quickly Jerry Jones gives quotes. Jerry Jones, I know he does 7,000 interviews with 105 through the fan, and it's the best interview segment in sports, in my opinion. Jerry Jones says he's not looking to make a trade after the Trevon Diggs injury.

No one has the impact that he has. Does that make you say, you know what, this is a championship-type team, I need to go find somebody at that level, too, and add it to this team? Well, you can't do that.

That's like saying that I want to be Tom Cruise. You don't replace these irreplaceable players. No, you're not going to probably find someone that is at the level of Trevon Diggs, but you could find someone that could help your team. I don't think you need to say yes right now, and who knows with Jerry Jones in terms of how many times he does these interviews.

He'll probably say something different on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. But there's a lot of times where players become available right before the deadline, and I know you're a few weeks away, but a few years ago, Stefan Gilmore, who's on your team now, got traded. So there's going to be someone available where he may not be a lead, he may not be great, but he could be a productive piece to your football team where it doesn't totally give you the production of Trevon Diggs, but even if it gives you half or 75 percent of that, there's a way, Hickey, that it could make your team better than whatever the current plan is right now. Well, you're not looking for Trevon Diggs 2.0.

You're looking for a better corner than his replacement's going to be. I'm just shocked that Jerry Jones had, I guess, the self-awareness to say, oh, I can't be Tom Cruise. I'm not going to be as good-looking as Tom Cruise.

I give Jerry credit, I guess, for some self-awareness. Plastic surgery, though, could maybe, I'm sure he's already had enough work done, but you get a little more plastic surgery? You think? Tom Cruise, maybe. I don't know about Jerry. I think he's all natural. Can I give you a hot take here?

Sure. When people obsessed with plastic surgery, and I don't know if Jerry Jones got a lot of plastic surgery done or not. I hope not.

If so, oof, get a refund. But what I'm saying is, I feel like a lot of times, it doesn't make people look that much better, where they look like too fake, where I don't think it's actually a good look for them. Oh, I agree 100%.

It never looks natural and always looks robotic. Micah Parsons says, what can this guy not do? He's gotten some reps at tight end.

This was on the Pat McAfee show. Big Mike actually let me get a couple of scouting reps at tight end. Oh, okay. He might not let y'all know that.

I probably shouldn't spill the tea. I do patent goals with the receiver. I say, Mike, you see me tracking this thing? He's like, yeah, it's a gift.

I see you have it. I just keep trying to show him glimpses of whatever opportunities I can get to let him know I'm trying to touch this ball in the NFL. What's your biggest takeaway from that clip there? Is that he's right?

Put him on the field. My biggest takeaway? This is how you know that you've made in the NFL and you're really comfortable when you could call your coach Big Mike. I've never heard anyone, he's not wrong with Mike McCarthy, if you want to refer to him as Big Mike, but I feel like the only big title we use for a coach is Big Red in the NFL. I kind of like that Big Mike. Well, I don't know if this helps or hurts your case or not, but I cut out the question. Pat McAfee in his question did call him Big Mike. Oh, did he? Changes it.

Okay. Changes it because you put the thought in his head. I don't want to say this is a lack of respect, that's not what I'm saying, but the way NFL players view their coaches and talk to their coaches compared to the way college players talk to their coaches or about their coaches, it's more of like a, not friend, but I think if you call him Big Mike, it's nowhere near disrespectful in the NFL compared to college. But like for example, let's say we had Alex Highsmith on just a few moments ago. If I said to him, you know, my producer Ryan has a thought, he's going to say, oh, yeah, this is what I think about Ryan's opinion. But then if I go, oh, my producer Hot Take Hickey had a thought, he'd be like, oh, yeah, that Hot Take Hickey fellow, this is what I think about his opinion. When you say the nickname there, it sometimes puts that thought in your head to just repeat it because you immediately heard it. So Pat opened the door. Yeah.

Okay. That does change it a little bit. If he just went on the air and was like, oh, my guy Big Mike, I'd be like, okay, I like Micah Parsons a lot. Here is Aaron Rodgers providing an update on how his rehab is going.

This is also on the Pat McAfee show. It's tough though. It's tough. It's that easy. But there's been some progressions with the rehab the last couple days and it kind of gets the hope meter kind of trending upwards a little bit, the joy meter trending up a little bit. It's so clear Rodgers is trolling.

I know you have this special surgery and all that. There's no way. Like the Jets have to make the playoffs first, which they're not going to. But there's no way he's coming back this season, but he keeps on playing into the game.

He keeps on dangling that carrot and keeping himself in the news, and I kind of respect that. Aaron Rodgers and what his goal is with this Achilles rehab. I'm going to do everything I can rehab-wise to put myself in a position to be ready to play football again at some point. Obviously when this happens, there's a lot of thoughts about like, is that it, cash it in, you're done.

I just don't feel like I am. So I'm going to put myself in a position to be able to play again and then see what that is. So there you go. The comeback player of the year award that I said he's going to win next year. The quest for that to happen starts right now. Let's get to Ryan Day.

I have not heard this. He predicts Ohio State will beat Notre Dame. Hickey, can I just ask you one question before we play? Sure. Is this going to meet the slug line here or is this going to be disappointing? Is this very rah-rah?

I wouldn't say rah-rah, but I don't think I'm also misleading you in the headline. All right, go ahead. Just never know what's going to come in this game, how it's going to shake out, what the back and forth is going to be. And, you know, the ultimate goal is to win the game. That's it, you know? And that's what we'll do in this one. Eh, I guess it is again. And that's what we'll do in this one.

The ultimate goal is to win the game. That's what we'll do in this one. If you're going to guarantee a victory, Ryan Day, we're going to kick their ass, we're going to beat Notre Dame, and we're going to crush them in South Bend.

Like, just something like that. It's so boring. I almost fell asleep listening to him. I just hope if Notre Dame wins, he doesn't misremember and or forget that he said those words like a LSU coach may have forgotten that he said they'll take care of the Seminoles, and then three days later forgot he said that on a radio show where the receipts were brought up very quickly and very easily. Mr. Family with Brian Kelly and his family and the LSU Tiger family. Let's keep it going with coaches that say some things.

Dan Lanning said nothing with this basically last night, but then he goes on Sirius XM, and he takes a little shot at the Colorado program. We can win in a multitude of ways. You talk about going down and having a tough game there at Texas Tech early in the season in the road, and I happen to do it with some takeaways and some resiliency earlier, some big special teams kicks. You talk about a team that has been explosive at times on offense and a group that's taking care of the ball and taking it away on defense. So certainly not a complete game yet.

We're still looking to have one of those, but we've got a team that's going to have a chance to have some real success this season. Preseason's over, boys. We get to play. Every one of these matter, and all of them matter from the jump anyway. But the way we practice, like these guys, I promise you their chin straps are buckled tight, right?

And they got them bra straps pulled and tied on the shoulder pads too. We don't have to change our mindset when we go out there on the practice field. I mean, at the end of the day, YouTube videos aren't going to win football games, right? You've got to play the game between the white lines, and that's the plan for us this week.

I'm not really concerned about outside noise. This is all about playing the game, not the occasion. You could tell coaches they get so worn down as the week goes on with all the hype surrounding Deion Sanders and how it feels like every media member is trying to get the coach to say something controversial, so then Coach Prime uses it to troll the coach after the game if it does go his way. I thought Dan Lanning last night with this was very measured, very calculated, wanted to give nothing for the most part when talking about Colorado. And now at the end of the week, he may have met his breaking point there with the small slip-up, which ends up being a big slip-up about how YouTube videos do not win games.

So there you go on that front. Finally, here is maybe the sound bite of the week. Kenny Dillingham, the new head coach at Arizona State, they have USC this weekend, and he said no team should ever expect to lose a game, but listen to the way that he said it. If you don't expect to win every game, you have a problem. I don't care if I'm playing Michael Jordan in basketball. I'm not playing to lose. Otherwise, why would I play? I'm not just going to play because it's fun. No, what's fun is competing to win. So you're playing to win.

That's it. And if you don't, whatever happens after the game, it doesn't matter. You then watch the tape and you get better and you grow and you get better and you grow and get better.

And eventually, right, Saturday nights are going to feel better. But if you don't take the field and you expect to win the football game, something's wrong. You should expect to win. Otherwise, you shouldn't be on the field. I love that because Arizona State is going to do nothing this year, but you're trying to build culture and you're trying to speak to your players when you do that, and he's probably sensed that a lot of his players realize this week they're not going to beat USC and then gets all the questions about it. So you get a good sound bite like that.

You know, other people see it. I don't know if it directly leads to helping recruiting Hickey, but I like that passion when you're building. You're building from the ground up there from Kenny Dillingham, and you can tell he's put in all the work. That coaching voice right there, that scratchy kind of voice, seems like he's been yelling all week. Oh, that passes the radar for Zach Gelbin, something that could be a good head coach one day. I was just going to say, I mean, he sounds exhausted just from probably the practice they came from. So I call it Imagine.

Come game day, the energy must exude, ready to win. You know who he sounds like? Oh, what's the dude's name?

I could see his face. He does the podcast, busting with the boys, not Taylor Juan, the guy that went to Nebraska that played in the NFL for like a bunch of years. Compton, Will Compton? Yeah, Will Compton. Sounds a little bit like Will Compton after the Nebraska loss. Kenny Dillingham leading into a week where no one thinks you're going to win.

I would do a little comparison side by side with both those voices. All right, that's the News Brief, Zach Gelb's show, CBS Sports Radio. We'll give you some college football predictions next. When you need to know what's happening, it's time to get hit in the huddle. The big question is Desmond Ritter. The problem that I think a lot of fans are having and looking at Desmond Ritter is they just haven't seen enough. They want to trust him. They want to believe. But I will tell you this, Jason.

In the training camp sessions that I had a chance to go check out, the one thing that bothered me was his aggressiveness to throw the football when he needed to. Listen and subscribe to In the Huddle, available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Carvana Value Tracker. Visit Carvana.com to start tracking your car's value today. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. Oh, thank you very much.

And you can think of Riley Auto Parts where all your car care needs get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. So during the break, Hickey was eating some pasta. What kind of pasta you got tonight? You have some sauce on that pasta. Was there a little sausage in that pasta too? A little spinach as well?

What do you got? Kale, turkey, ground turkey, and some little corkscrew pasta in some red sauce. Gotcha. You call that sauce? You call that gravy? I call it sauce. Yeah, I call it sauce as well.

That's what I end up doing. I think the real Italians call it sauce too. I don't think they call it gravy.

I think it's the... I'm just asking. The gazes. I'm not judging.

I'm just asking. No, neither am I. I'm just... Well, I thought you were looking like James Franklin there for a second. You started to choke on that pasta. You were looking like James Franklin up against a top 10, top 15 team. I was a little bit concerned about you.

Thought I'd have to give you the Heimlich. Not this year. Not with James this year. No way.

All right. So let's start off with picks then when we go into the college football world. We'll start with your Penn State Nittany Lions. They're a 14 and a half point favorite at Happy Valley, and they welcome in the Iowa Hawkeyes with everyone's favorite AI friend and Brian Ferentz coming on in and fooling the whole world this week. I'll let you start here since it's your football team.

I'm assuming you're laying the points and drinking the Kool-Aid. 100 to 25. That is my score prediction. Okay.

What's your actual score? I'm being serious. Kirk Ferentz accused Penn State two years ago multiple times of faking injuries when Sean Clifford was out for the game, when their defensive tackle was out for the game. I want to make Kirk Ferentz retire tomorrow night.

There is not a... I'm not kidding. ...enough that they could put up with a score that would make me feel satisfied with the score. So I was going to lay the 14 and a half points here, and I do think Penn State's going to win the game, but now I feel as if this is going to be a closer game than what you anticipate. I'll go 24 to 14 here. I'll say that you guys win the game here, but it's not going to be as much of a blow-in as you think.

All righty. Saturday night, Ohio State, Notre Dame. The Buckeyes are now down to a three-point favorite.

This opened up at three and a half. I like Notre Dame plus the three points. I'll take the points in South Bend. I think Notre Dame's going to win the game outright, but I do believe this is going to be a close game right down to the wire. I got it at plus three and a half, so I like that hook there in case if Ohio State does win by a field goal, then it wouldn't push. But I do think Notre Dame's going to win the game outright, and I like the way that Notre Dame runs the football with all of your guesstimate.

I think that's a recipe. Big physical play in the trenches. Run the ball with all of your guesstimate. Sam Hartman's a good quarterback. He's better than Colin McCord. I will go Notre Dame over the Buckeyes. Ohio State.

Wow, I'm surprised. Notre Dame has the quarterback advantage without a doubt. But I think on the offense the rest of the way, it's Ohio State. Better running back or better running game, I will say. I was going to say, I don't think it's better running back. Better skilled players, better offensive line.

I think the Buckeyes, not high-scoring, 24-20, they win. I just don't know what to expect out of Colin McCord. I understand what you're saying in terms of the talent on this Ohio State team. I just do not know what to expect from this quarterback in an environment that, yeah, there will be Ohio State fans there. There's no doubt about it. There will be a ton of red in that stadium.

But that's a big stage. Everyone watching. And I think we'll learn a lot about Colin McCord coming up on Saturday evening. Oregon State, Washington State. I don't think we're talking enough about this Oregon State defense. Everyone's looking at both of these offenses. Going to Pullman, it's tough, but I think they're up for the task. They did not play well last week. I'll lay the three points here, kind of hold my nose, and take Oregon State in this one.

Same. This is going to be trench warfare, offensive line, defensive line, both in the advantage of the Beavers. They can win in multiple ways. They go up to Pullman and win. Ole Miss, Alabama. I got this at Ole Miss, plus seven. It's now down to plus six and a half if you're taking Ole Miss. Alabama right now is six and a half point favorite.

I would still plus the points here. I think this is a close game. I think we'll see a bunch of scoring from Ole Miss. The question is, can Alabama keep up? You know that Ole Miss is going to have a turnover, two up against this Alabama defense. But I will plus the points here with Ole Miss, plus the six and a half, seven points. You ask the question, I'll answer it. Can Alabama keep up with Ole Miss?

No, they cannot. Ole Miss goes in and gets really, I mean, not a great win, but probably the biggest win of Lincoln's Ole Miss career. That's a great win for Ole Miss. It's a great win for Ole Miss.

UCLA, Utah. I'm scared this weekend. And I love the Utes, especially being in Florida, being in Baylor, without Cam Rising. Cam Rising expected to come back.

I feel like it's one of those games where you survive. Now you get your quarterback back and you're the back-to-back Pac-12 champs. I think this could be a close game. I'll take the points here, plus the six points with UCLA and the Bruins. I'm going Utah. Even if Cam Rising plays what he's projected to, I don't think he's playing the entire game and going to be, you know, peak Cam Rising like we've seen him before.

But I think Utah's physicality, plus two huff environment there at Utah for a freshman quarterback, they win and they win this game and cover. Come on up for Cam Rising. You could do a little Bruce Springsteen right there. I don't have the voice, but come on up for the Rising. I always like that with the come on up for Cam Rising. Always a fun one for me. And I probably just ruined a lot of people's hearing on this Friday evening. Colorado, Oregon.

Maybe I'm a sucker here. I don't think Coach Prime's squad is losing by 22 points, plus the 21 points with the Buffaloes. Their defense does concern me in this game, but I think their offense will be able to do enough to cover the 21-point spread. Colorado is 127th in the country in rushing the ball. They are 119th in rushing defense. Oregon is going to run the hell out of the ball.

No Travis Hunter, which stinks, but also the reality. Ducks win, Ducks cover. I think you became a little bit of a scaredy-cat going into Colorado State because the first week of the season, like most people, oh, TCU is going to win. TCU is going to win. Colorado is going to do nothing this year. Then going into the Nebraska game. Oh, folks, everyone's overreacting.

Nothing to see here is what you were saying. You picked Nebraska to win. Then after their 2-0 start, you believe a little bit. And then after the Colorado State game, now going into Oregon, you're back on being king douche here when it comes against pick it against our guy. Next time he joins us, friend to show because that'll be the third time he comes on in Coach Prime and Deion Sanders. I'm not saying you got to pick Colorado to win the game, but to not cover the 21 points, I don't know where you are.

You keep on jumping in, jumping out, jumping in, jumping out. Well, again, it's a bad Colorado State team last week. Yeah, they should have won by 24 points.

I think you would have made fun of me and I wouldn't have been genuine myself. I would have been a hater if I picked Colorado State to keep it close. I for one game, I believe that I'm being realistic. And now you're going to play in a tough environment.

It gets a very physical team. I said it week one I was wrong, but this is where reality actually does come and punch Colorado in the face. I know that we're on in Colorado right now. Maybe Coach Prime's listening.

Coach Prime, just know hot take Kiki, non-believer, non-believer. Florida State, Clemson. I am a little bit afraid that this spreads only two points. I know Florida State did not play well last week up against BC.

They looked past them. Jadvers told us so when he joined us earlier in the week. For the love of God, Florida State, please annihilate Clemson this weekend and their arrogant head football coach in Dabo, Sweden.

I went on a rant earlier how I'm just sick and tired of Dabo, Sweden. He doesn't adjust to the transfer portal, doesn't embrace NIL. And he just kind of mocks it and clowns it. Florida State's a better team. This spread to me is weird. It scares me. But I'm laying the two points of Florida State.

I already did it earlier in the week. And I hope Florida State has a party all night long in Clemson, South Carolina. I had two gut feelings. One was Ohio State. The other was Clemson. I don't like the fact that Clemson is just getting written off and already written out for dead. Dabo, I'm not a Dabo fan. I just don't think he's going out this easily. I don't think he's dying this quickly.

I think he rises up, beats the Seminoles, upset Florida State's season, takes a U-turn. What gut are you talking about? You have no gut. Oh, I got guts. B-Y-O-G. Bring your own guts. You have no guts.

As Dabo once said. There's no stomach there. Yeah, that's not a stomach. That is a gut that you can trust. There's no gut there. If I start slapping my tummy, that's a gut. But you can't be a guy you little emaciated S.O.B. saying, oh, it's a gut pick here and then picking up your shirt and just going, oh, look what I got here. Caserna's on line one. He's saying hubba hubba. Zach Kelp's show CBS Sports Radio, Kurt Warner will join us next.