Browns select Justin Jefferson

  The Cleveland Browns took a big name with the second of their fifth round draft picks- Justin Jefferson, but this JJ is a linebacker from Alabama.

Jefferson is a little small at six feet and 220 pounds, but he is very fast and, at worst, should be a terrific help on the coverage units on special teams.

Jefferson transferred to Alabama from junior college and played three seasons for the Tide, starting for Bama last season.

Jefferson finished with seventy-seven tackles, three sacks, and an interception for Alabama in 2025.

Jefferson's speed could make him a productive tackler, and as mentioned, a special-teams standout.

Jefferson's ability to cover the field could be a nice fit for the Cleveland defense, although his slight frame is a question as far as durability.

Cleveland would trade the final of these fifth-rounders, peddling number 152 to the Denver Broncos for the Broncos' fifth rounder (170) and the first pick of the sixth round (182).

Browns draft Parker Brailsford

    The Cleveland Browns didn't use their basket of fifth-round picks to move up into round four, but they did pick some players, added a sixth-round pick, and a pick for 2027 with those selections.
 

Cleveland used the first of the four (146, 148,149, and 152) on a position where the Browns needed some depth at center as they nabbed Alabama center, Parker Brailsford.

Brailsford played his first two seasons at Washington before transferring to Alabama for his final two years.

Brailsford is a little undersized at 6'2 and 289 pounds, but is prized for his strength and agility.

The biggest question with Brailsford is whether he can handle the bigger and stronger defensive tackles in the NFL.

If Brailsford can bulk up enough to deal with that problem, the Browns could have a steal at a position where Andrew Berry has been trying to find a young answer for several years in the draft, having drafted Nick Harris, Dawson Deaton, Luke Wypler, and now Brailsford in an attempt to draft a long-term center.

Cleveland then traded pick 148 to the Seattle Seahawks in return for a 2027 fourth-round pick.

I like those types of moves, and with the Browns trading for the Giants 2027 fourth-rounder on day two of the draft, Cleveland now owns three picks in the fourth round of the 2027 draft.

Cleveland would make their pick at 149, and I'll write about that player shortly.

I Tell Ya' Herbie

 It's our weekly look at college football, which we like to call I Tell Ya' Herbie!

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            The biggest surprise in week one saw Florida State, coming off a 3-9 season, batter top-ten Alabama into submission.

Florida State not only defeated the Tide, but they also bullied them, as Bama hadn't been pushed around in years.

Alabama allowed 230 yards in rushing, and while I'm open to this being week one jitters, it's possible the Tide lost the punishing defense that was such a force during the Nick Saban era.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Still, it's reasonable to see the week one results, which are often overexaggerated, and think back to Florida State's week zero loss last year to Georgia Tech.

It was a major shocker at the time, but when the season ended, Florida State finished 3-9 and Georgia Tech 7-5, so a game that looks huge at the time often is meaningless by the end of the season.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            It may not have national implications, but I'm happy to see Kansas and Missouri playing each other for the first time since 2011 and the Tigers' move to the SEC.

This is a huge rivalry and was so filled with animosity (mostly Kansas towards the departing Missouri) that the Jayhawks refused to play the Tigers in any sport for years.

The teams will play in Missouri this season and return to Kansas in 2026, but I am not aware of any further commitments.

At a time when regional rivalries are dying due to conference realignment, it's nice to see games like this played, even if only for a short time.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Another one of my favorite rivalries appears to be a potentially important game come playoff selection time, as Iowa and Iowa State meet for the Cy-Hawk Trophy in Ames.

This is usually a fun rivalry, and with both teams having playoff hopes, a big non-conference win could go a long way come selection time.

Plus, with the added attention for Kirk Ferentz, who needs one win to become the winningest Big Ten coach in history, the Cy-Hawk is a game worth watching.       

I Tell Ya' Herbie

  The conference title games have been completed and the bowls are on their way, so it's time for an interim edition of I Tell Ya' Herbie.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             I believe that Alabama is a better team than Florida State is currently and I also think that Florida State is the more deserving team and should have been the fourth seed no matter their status at the quarterback position.

The games should stand for something and this year they didn't.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

Many have theorized about how Alabama was selected but one possible reason has yet to be mentioned.

Could this be the quiet backlash against Jim Harbaugh's various shenanigans at the University of Michigan? 

Washington could have arguably been placed first, yet Michigan was slated there, and had Florida State made it into the field, the battered Seminoles would have been a strong underdog against the Wolverines.

Instead, Michigan faces Alabama with the legendary Nick Saban and close to a month to prepare for the supposed favorite.

Could it be allowing Alabama in over Florida State be as simple as wanting the best shot at avoiding the humiliation of the scandal-plagued Wolverines and the man that flipped the bird to the NCAA and the Big Ten holding the trophy on the game's highest stage?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The hire that I've liked the most in the coaching silly season?

Bronco Mendenhall at New Mexico, a school that usually struggles at football, looks to be a perfect fit.

Mendenhall was very successful at BYU with a record of 99-43 and while his tenure at Virginia could have been more successful (36-38 in six years), he still made three bowl games and turned down a fourth bid.

Mendenhall coached at New Mexico as an assistant for four years, is from the West Coast, and will be coaching at a school where bowl bids are celebrated, so I think the Lobos have done well with the addition of Mendenhall.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The committee got it right with the selection of unbeaten Liberty over two-loss SMU as the G-5 representative in the New Year's Bowls but both schools got the shaft to certain degrees.

Liberty got an awful draw in the Fiesta Bowl against an athletic team in Oregon, and while the Mustangs and their two losses didn't deserve the G-5 slot as many had stated, they weren't treated fairly as the AAC champions to be relegated to the Fenway Bowl against a mediocre Boston College team that is basically playing a home game.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             I wonder about how many bowls will still be around five or ten years after the twelve-team playoff begins.

I think the smaller bowls that many don't pay attention to will be okay as ESPN owns many of those and they are cheap programming at a time of year when they are searching for them,

However, the middle-range bowls like many of those held in Florida on or around New Year's Day may eventually have problems.

Those bowls won't be prized as much as they are currently and fans aren't as likely to travel to those games. preferring to save for the future when they can go to tournament games.

Should they become money-losing propositions, the bowls could cannibalize themselves, leaving middle-class teams either accepting lower payouts to be in the postseason or bowl games going out of business leaving fewer slots available. 

I Tell Ya' Herbie

      I Tell Ya' Herbie returns with a few thoughts from the world of college football.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Those who announced the demise of Nick Saban and Alabama may worry that they were a bit premature.

The SEC West may not be the best division in college football this season as LSU cannot stop anyone on defense, Ole Miss has already fallen to the Crimson Tide, and Texas A&M continues to underachieve despite their lauded recruiting success with a loss to Bama this season as well.

Alabama may still lose to Georgia in the SEC title game but they look likely to win the West and get their chance at the Bulldogs after almost being written off after losing to Texas and struggling by South Florida.

I Tell Ya' Herbie: 

                            The Pac 12 is so loaded in its swan song season that you can find games to be excited about almost every week and that doesn't count the Oregon, Washington, and USC triad that is almost certain to provide one team for the CFP, and I wouldn't be stunned if it's two.

Oregon State, Washington State, UCLA, and Utah are all quality squads with the capability to upset any of the three powerhouses and even Arizona drove the Trojans of USC to overtime just last week.

Yet an argument could be made that the conference might be too strong and unless a conference champion finishes with only one loss, it's not out of the question that the Pac-12 could be left out in the cold.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             An under-the-radar team for the Group of Five spot in the New Year's Day Bowls is the Mountain West's Wyoming Cowboys.

Craig Bohl's Cowboys have upset Texas Tech in overtime in Laramie, gave Texas all that the Longhorn wanted in Austin, and last week, dumped undefeated conference favorite Fresno State 24-19 at home.

There is still a long way to go and Wyoming's next two games are on the road at Air Force and Boise State but should they win those two games, the Cowboys might be the favorite to win the NYD bowl slot at the end of October.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Mario Cristobal is in only his second season with the Miami Hurricanes and considering his contract and status, Cristobal shouldn't be in any security issues as far as his job but the Miami loss to Georgia Tech is one of those losses that can linger for a long time and should Cristobal enter the hot seat eventually, the loss to the Yellow Jackets will certainly be mentioned.

In case you missed it, Miami has the ball on a third down on the Georgia Tech thirty-yard line with thirty-five seconds, the clock running, and Georgia Tech out of timeouts, Miami calls a running play rather than kneel down and allow the clock to expire.

Predictably, Miami fumbles and Georgia Tech recovers at their own twenty-five but still trails by three and has only twenty-five seconds without their timeouts.

Georgia Tech throws an incomplete pass followed by a completed pass to get to the Miami forty-four but the receiver couldn't get out of bounds, and Georgia Tech raced to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball, which they do with only ten seconds to go.

Miami allows a wide receiver to cut across the field with four defenders yards behind him to grab the ball and score easily for one of the most epic meltdowns that you'll ever see.

Hard to believe.

                           

I Tell Ya' Herbie

    Back for more thoughts on the world of college football with the latest post with I Tell Ya' Herbie.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:  

                             Ole Miss's upset of LSU was interesting for a few reasons.

One is the sudden loss of defense in Baton Rouge, another is how once every year or so Lane Kiffin pulls one of these upsets, and yet another is why Ole Miss doesn't use those light blue jerseys and helmets more often but there is another going back before my time.

Why didn't Ole Miss become the power that Alabama did?

Both southern state schools were without pro sports, with tradition up to the early sixties, and both were hampered at that time by refusing to recruit African Americans.

Ole Miss had a top coach in Johnny Vaught, was Bear Bryant that superior in building a program?

Vaught's record against Bryant was 6-7-1, far from being dominated, which makes me wonder just how two programs made such a divergent change in fortunes?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            One coach that I often see mentioned in coaching rumors although rarely at the top of the list is N.C.State's Dave Doeren and I'm trying to figure out why.

N.C.State is arguably the ACC school that has the most potential and just when they seem to be ready to make the big move they disappoint.

This wasn't expected to be one of those seasons but more had to be expected from the Wolfpack than a 3-2 start with a 13-10 home loss to Louisville and close wins over weak squads Connecticut and Virginia.

Perhaps Doeren's name could be better placed on a hot seat than one positioned to take another job as he has been one of many mentioned for Michigan State.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Michigan State looks pretty weak and the Mel Tucker fiasco hasn't helped things any but with all of that understood, the Spartans gave a strong effort in Iowa City in a loss to the Hawkeyes that was not decided until late in the game.

I'm not sure if that was a result of a better-than-expected game from Sparty or yet another edition of Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz's ineptness in keeping a game closer than it should have been?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Is it time to consider Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford for a bigger job should he have the interest?

Tedford may not have ended well at California but the Golden Bears' years under Tedford were the best times for that program in decades.

Tedford then finished 10-4 and 12-2 at Fresno State before a 4-8 season that saw Tedford leave at the end of the season for health reasons before returning last season with a 10-4 record and a 5-0 start for the Bulldogs.

Tedford is 61 years old and that could play into consideration for some programs and maybe even for Tedford himself but I am surprised that I don't hear more about him in the coaching silly season.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            If there is a game that you need to look up highlights from last Saturday, it has to be Baylor's come-from-behind win over Central Florida!

Central Florida led 35-7 in the third quarter only to have the Bears rally for a 36-35 lead late in the game.

Then perhaps the play of the year- fourth and long, UCF quarterback Timmy McClain scrambled from his own thirty-yard line under the Baylor rush to eventually reach his end zone and yet still made the first down to the Knights forty-six-yard line!

UCF would miss a fifty-nine-yard field goal at the gun that would have won the game but what a play from Timmy McClain!

                            

                            

                            

Red Tide: Bama Rolls over OSU 52-24

 Heisman Trophy winner Devonte Smith and his Alabama teammates were just too much for the Ohio State defense as Smith and the Crimson Tide defeated the Buckeyes 52-24 in Miami to give Nick Saban another national championship.

Master Teague ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns and Justin Fields threw for another to Garrett Wilsom for the Buckeye offensive highlights.

The Buckeyes next game (assuming we have Covid-19 dusted by then) will be September 2nd in Minneapolis against the Golden Gophers.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Ohio State didn't play a perfect game for sure-BUT Justin Fields wasn't intercepted, no one fumbled the football, and there wasn't any serious breakdown in the special teams, so from that aspect you cannot say that Ohio State handed the game to Alabama.

2) SO what that does mean is this- that Alabama was a much better team and OSU shouldn't have any excuses. 

It's pretty clear that there were four tiers in college football above the field

Bama at the top, Ohio State at tier two, Clemson (with Trevor Lawrence) on tier three, with another handful of schools below them-Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Iowa State, Georgia, Cincinatti and then the rest.

3) Ohio State did make some things easy for the Tide though.

I have written many times about how you play- go for broke or play the perfect game.

Anything else- No good

To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi- Take big chances-Yes, Play tight to the vest- yes. Play so-so- No good.

4) An example of this was the defensive backs against Heisman winner Devonta Smith, who caught 12 passes for over two hundred yards and three touchdowns and he didn't even play in the second half!

Ohio State played Smith and the returning Jaylen Waddle soft in order not to get beaten deep, but instead allowed Smith to catch the ball underneath, get rolling in space and still rip off huge gains.

The end result is the same- so why try to throw Smith's pattern off a bit and rough him up?

I make no claims that would have worked any better, but Ohio State never varied in their coverages.

5) And with Alabama clearly throwing at will with their tremendous speed, why did the Buckeyes never try using an extra defensive back rather than sticking with their base defense?

I'm not saying that would have worked either, but what they were doing was not working, so why not?

6) Ohio State suffered a blow on the first offensive play when Trey Sermon's two yard carry proved to be his last as he injured his collarbone and was taken to a local hospital.

Master Teague is a quality back, but the Sermon of the late season is a completely different animal and his loss removed the home run aspect from the ground game.

7) Then the offensive line took a shot when their best offensive lineman in guard Wyatt Davis's second quarter injury.

When you lose your best back and best lineman, the running game is going to be weakened.

8) Ryan Day was surprisingly timid- Even to the point of comparing to the meekness of Mike Tomlin the night before in Pittsburgh.

Punting on a fourth and nine on Alabama's side of the field is arguable either way, but at that point the game was still an up and down the court scoring game.

I know fourth and nine isn't optimal, but it might have made sense to go for it there.

9) Then the field goal try on fourth and goal from the six.

I'm harsher on this call than the other because you know going into this game that field goals aren't winning it.

You need six- as many times as possible.

Bad call.

10) Remember earlier when yes or no is fine, but so-so doesn't work?

At the end of the half, Ohio State could either be safe or aggressive, but not so-so and so-so is exactly what they selected as they went three and out, giving Bama the ball back and time to score-which is what they did.

11) Ohio State really missed Tommy Togiai and Tyreke Smith on the defensive line and those two missing starters might not have been the difference in the Alabama running game and putting pressure on Mac Jones, but it wouldn't have hurt!

Replacements Jerron Cage and Zack Harrison combined for one solo tackle and one assist, both by Harrison.

12) All of that said- I don't know if changing everything would have made a difference.

This Alabama offense is that good- among the best I've seen and the defense is just good enough to get an occasional stop and that's all that offense needs.

The best team won and even at the top level of any sport, the best team usually wins.

Back later with both the Cavaliers game tonight vs Utah, combined with a mention or two from their Monday loss to Memphis.

I tell ya' Herbie

Our weekly notebook on college football starts with a complaint and an excellent group of five game this week in the AAC.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco suggests there is a double standard against his league on two levels.
The first is his league is underrated against the power five and the other is that his league is held to a higher standard than the other group of five schools.
Aresco might have a mild case in the former, but still, the AAC's small disrespect isn't enough to make a difference in the big picture as even if they were as respected as possible, it wouldn't make enough of a difference to reach the final four.
Aresco's complaint in the group of five rankings is that his teams sometimes are underrated vs the other four conferences weaker schools as he doesn't feel that his third-place SMU Mustangs with one loss deserve to be behind one-loss teams such as the Mountain West's Boise State and especially the Sun Belt's Appalachian State.
Aresco points to his conference's tougher schedule as why his teams are better and he may have a point, but it's always going to be tough in the G-5 for one conference to have the top three teams.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          Aresco's other complaint could come with his league with the deepest amount of quality schools out of the group of five, looking out at another conference earning the group of five bid to the New Years Bowls.
How so?
His two division leaders (Cincinnati and Memphis) playing each other this Saturday and could play each other again in the AAC title game.
Cincinnati holds a two-game lead in their division, but Memphis is tied with SMU and Navy in their division (SMU and Navy play each other Saturday) and should Cincinnati win along with the SMU-Navy winner winning their final game, it would be a bit different, but should Memphis win this game and then Cincinnati win the rematch, the AAC champion would have two losses and likely not receive the bid as the rules stipulate the G-5 bid go to a conference champion.
On this, I can understand Aresco's problem.
Cincinnati vs Memphis could be the game of the day on a day that will see Ohio State host Penn State and several rivalry games.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I'm torn on Tom Herman's Texas Longhorns.
On one hand, Herman's Horns are just 6-4 after a season with big expectations.
On the other, Texas has three of those losses to ranked teams (LSU, Oklahoma, and Iowa State) by 7,7, and 2 points and a ten-point loss at occasionally explosive TCU.
Junior QB Sam Ehrlinger has thrown for almost three thousand yards, 27 TD"s and only eight interceptions, but his offensive line has already allowed 26 sacks with two games to go.
After a Sugar Bowl year, Texas has to be considered a disappointment, but in 2020 Texas has to be all-in as the team will be completely Herman recruited and if Ehrlinger returns, Texas will not have any excuse for anything less than a double-digit amount of victories.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I don't understand how anyone other than the most fervent Alabama homer can boost the Crimson Tide for the playoff after their loss to LSU and the following week's injury to Tua Tagovailoa in their game against Mississippi State.
Bama's best wins would be over Texas A&M (currently 7-3, but the Aggies final games are road games against 4th ranked Georgia and top-ranked LSU, so likely to finish 7-5) and assuming they defeat currently 15th rated Auburn, an 8-4 Tigers team.
Add the weak schedule to the season-ending injury to Heisman contender Tagovailoa and unless several things occur such as Baylor defeating Oklahoma in their Big 12 title game, either Oregon or Utah losing a game before the end of the season and then the other wins their Pac 12 title matchup, Clemson losing a game before the end of the season and perhaps even a non-Ohio State Big Ten champion, Alabama would deserve to be on the outside of the final four.
I give teams breaks on non-conference schedules if they try to play at least one tough team when the contract was signed as often times teams that are strong when you schedule them but aren't but the time in between scheduling and the actual games, but Bama doesn't even have that luxury as no one can defend Duke being the best team on a non-conference schedule.
Had Bama scheduled someone such as Florida State, which would have been a power when scheduled, but aren't currently, I would give them far more leeway than I am willing to do now.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          Remember last week when I wrote that Minnesota was sitting on a loss against Iowa coming off a program-defining win over Penn State?
Well, now it's the Hawkeyes with the target on them as suddenly surging Illinois arrives on a four-game winning streak that not only has made the Illini bowl-eligible but may have saved Lovie Smith's job.
This has possible upset all over it and the only thing that keeps me from picking Illinois as the winner with certainty is that the Hawkeyes will be at home at Kinnick Stadium.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I've been asked two questions about this column, so I'll answer briefly.
One is why I don't mention Ohio State often here.
I figure I write about the Buckeyes enough in other posts, so I try to keep OSU out of "Herbie" unless something is really interesting and yet doesn't fit in game recaps.
The other is why does the top five for the power five, group of five and the Heisman only appear on occasion?
Answer; I'm an idiot and forget them sometimes!
Still, these will change from week to week, such as Tua Tagovailoa rated fourth in the Heisman rating now, but will fall as the season moves on and Alabama rated fourth currently, but will likely be passed as other teams win bigger games and conference championships.

Top Five's

Power Five
1) LSU
2) Ohio State
3) Clemson
4) Alabama
5) Oklahoma

Group of Five
1) Cincinnati
2) Memphis
3) Boise State
4) SMU
5) Appalachian State

Heisman
1) Joe Burrow QB LSU
2) Chase Young DE Ohio State
3) Jalen Hurts QB Oklahoma
4) Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama
5) Jonathan Taylor RB Wisconsin

I tell ya' Herbie

I tell ya' Herbie is back with our weekly thoughts on college football, and the coaching silly season is off to a surprisingly early start with news from the home of Sabre' in Tallahassee.

I tell ya' Herbie:     
                          Florida State started the silly season early with their firing of Willie Taggart after just a year and a half.
The Taggart buyout was large (expected to be between 18 and 20 million, which won't be a small sum for Taggart to move to his likely next job at a group of five schools), and Florida State has always been a school with large budgetary issues.
I've heard several names from coaches with national championships (Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops), group of five schools (Memphis' Mike Norvell, Cincinnati's Luke Fickell) heavy hitters from power five schools (Penn State's James Franklin, Washington State's Mike Leach), program builders from power five ( Minnesota's P.J. Fleck, Kentucky's Mark Stoops) and even the off the wall ideas (Deion Sanders?) are being tossed around.
Some of those names will be interesting, and some are pipe dreams in Tallahassee, but one thing is for sure-Florida State needs to get this right.
Two bad hires in a row, and Florida State could find themselves in a hole that takes quite a while to be able to dig out of.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          Going into this season, one narrative was about Jim Harbaugh and Michigan and how this is the year that they have everything in their favor against Ohio State, with the addendum "If they can't beat them now, when?".
I'll put the Buckeyes and Wolverines aside until the end of the month, but it seems like the same narrative can be applied to LSU and Alabama this Saturday.
LSU has a Heisman candidate in Joe Burrow and even though the game is in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers have plenty going their way in trying to snap an eight-game (the streak includes the 2011 season's BCS title games) losing streak to the Crimson Tide.
When you look at some of the scores of those losses, even in games with larger scores, LSU hung tough in those games and gave Bama, in some cases, their toughest game of the season.
Alabama has a Heisman candidate of their own in Tua Tagovailoa, but he may not play, and if he can play, he won't be at top form.
This may very well be the best shot that the Tigers have for a while, even on the road, so if there is a chance for even a brief change at the top, it needs to be now.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          USC hired a new athletic director in Cincinnati's Mike Bohn, and with Clay Helton holding onto the Trojans' head coaching job by a quickly fraying rope, one name that suddenly jumped to the front as a candidate is Bohn's head coaching hire at UC, Luke Fickell.
Fickell's squad hasn't lost since being rolled by Ohio State 42-0 in the second week of the season and is in a position to possibly win the Group of Five position in the New Year's bowl games.
Could Fickell land the USC job?  Fickell does seem to have an inside position for the job, and he'll be mentioned for many openings with his success with the Bearcats.
Still, Fickell lacks a West Coast connection, didn't recruit there often with Ohio State, and he might be waiting for a Big Ten job to open (Michigan State would make sense if Mark Dantonio decides to move on) rather than tackling the attractive yet troubled USC program.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                           There's plenty of hype around Minnesota and the P.J. Fleck row the boat routine, but the Golden Gophers 8-0 record is softer than a defrosting Icee machine, and I think Penn State is going to puncture that balloon quickly, and in my eyes-Penn State is so much better than Minnesota that their game isn't the game of the week in the Big Ten.
That goes to the battle for the Heartland Trophy between 13th-ranked Wisconsin and 18th-ranked Iowa in Madison.
Both teams are 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, two games behind Minnesota, and even though you would normally think that being two games out in November is a tough hill to climb, this is a special season in the Big Ten Western Division.
Minnesota's 8-0 start was aided by a weak schedule both in and out of the league as only two of their eight opponents have a winning record (Illinois 5-4 and the Sun Belt's Georgia Southern at 5-3), but their slate is back-loaded with Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin waiting as three of their four opponents to close out the season.
The winner of the Heartland Trophy is my pick to travel to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game.'

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          The Heartland Trophy game is one of the most fun games that I watch each season.
I usually root for both Wisconsin and Iowa, when they aren't playing the Buckeyes, both recruit the same type of players in the same region, usually have strong offensive lines and running games, play a physical brand of football, and both teams almost always have a quarterback that drives their fan base crazy.
The Hawkeyes could be undefeated had they received decent quarterback play with their losses at Michigan by seven and by five to Penn State at Kinnick Stadium.
The Badgers lost at the gun to improving Illinois and lost big at Ohio State, but gave the Buckeyes their toughest game to date, playing them close for two and a half quarters.

However, put all of that aside because what makes this game so enjoyable for me is when I can watch this one with Ryan and Jeff and watch the fireworks fly!
I'm sure if you are even a casual reader, you have to know Ryan is the biggest Badger booster around, but you may not know that my nephew Jeff is a huge devotee of the Hawkeyes.
Take that fandom and combine it with the genetics involved in rooting for your team, and you have a great day of fun in watching both the game and those two going at it for three hours as the Badgers and Hawkeyes pound it out on the gridiron.
I'm not sure if they plan on watching the game together on Saturday, but if so, I want in!