Dear Andy: With Texas-Michigan on tap, is the Big Ten catching up to the SEC?

The marquee non-conference games are in full swing, and you, the listeners of Andy Staples On3 , have questions. Let’s dive into the latest edition of Dear Andy to answer your college football questions.

From Tim
Hi Andy, I am a huge fan. You are Ari are the best college football podcast and I am very excited that you all are back together. I have two questions:

1. The last three big games in which a Big Ten team has played an SEC team (Alabama vs Michigan, Texas vs Washington, LSU vs USC) the Big Ten team has won. Is that indicative of the Big Ten moving closer to the SEC or is that just a blip?

2. I know your dislike of mayonnaise (to put it mildly), do you hate sauces with it as a base like honey mustard, Big Mac sauce, Canes sauce, and chick fil a sauce too?

Just to clarify, we’re counting Texas as an SEC team and Washington as a Big Ten team even though each was in a different league when they played in the Sugar Bowl? And also to clarify, the Missouri – Ohio State Cotton Bowl and the Ole Miss – Penn State Peach Bowl weren’t big games?

Tim is doing a tiny bit of cherry-picking here, but it probably is fair to say the Big Ten is having a moment against the SEC. Michigan ’s Rose Bowl win against Alabama — in what turned out to be Nick Saban’s final game as the Crimson Tide coach — is the headliner here, and I actually think it’s OK to give the Big Ten a W against the SEC in the Washington-Texas Sugar Bowl (because everyone in the SEC office absolutely would have had Texas won). Plus, USC’s first game as a Big Ten school on Sunday was a win against LSU that made us think differently about the Trojans’ chances their first season in their new league.

This little run is great for the Big Ten, which is 20-27 against SEC teams since the bowl games of Jan. 1, 2015 (the end of the 2014 season). I chose that date because that’s when eventual national champ Ohio State beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, which was the biggest Big Ten-versus-SEC win until Michigan beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Between those points, the Big Ten was 0-4 in College Football Playoff games against SEC teams and got outscored 166-76. (Unlike Tim, I’m not counting Alabama’s CFP semifinal win against Washington in 2016, which would have made the tally more lopsided.)

What makes this even more fun is we’ll get a monster Big Ten-versus-SEC game in each of the next two weeks that can extend the Big Ten’s happiness or swing the the momentum back to the SEC. Texas visits Michigan on Saturday, and the Longhorns were favored by 7.5 points as of Wednesday afternoon. The big question: Would Texas fans chant “S-E-C” to celebrate a non-conference win? It’s a strange new world.

The following Saturday, old-line SEC and Big Ten schools clash when Alabama visits Wisconsin . Luke Fickell and the Badgers will try to spoil Kalen DeBoer ’s first game against a power-conference opponent as Alabama’s coach. (UCLA will travel to Baton Rouge the following week to face LSU, but the rebuilding Bruins probably would rather not be playing that game.)

To answer Tim’s bigger picture question, it feels as if the Big Ten and SEC are pretty close at the top. Wisconsin probably isn’t on Alabama’s level, but in addition to Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State feel as if they’d be pretty competitive against the top teams in the SEC. The good news is we’ll get more data points with the 12-team playoff starting this season. The best teams in each league now will see one another more often in high-stakes games.

As for question No. 2, I absolutely hate all the “secret” sauces that are just another vessel for mayo. (I also hate the sauces that  are essentially Thousand Island dressing, which is mayo and ketchup with a dash of pickle. Don’t try to sneak mayonnaise into my mouth calling it by another name. That’s perhaps the most dishonest thing a restaurateur could do.

And thanks to Tim for his kind words about the big change to the show this week. I’m so thrilled to have Ari Wasserman at On3, and I’m incredibly blessed to get to do shows with him again. It’s going to be a fun, fun football season.

From Luke:
I am a lifelong Texas Aggie. I know that I am insane for feeling this way, but this loss against Notre Dame feels more like the App State loss than any others in recent memory. Why is it when we play a close game against Clemson in Jimbo’s first game I’m disappointed but OK, yet when we lose a close game against Notre Dame in Mike Elko’s first game I am extremely demoralized?

Is it because I never thought the Conner Weigman would be the problem? Was I too excited at the prospect of revenge for the 2020 CFB selection?

Is it because we lost a close game due to poor offensive play, just like we always did with our last coach the previous three years?

Is it because it is a missed opportunity to make a huge statement against a top-10 team with Gameday there? Help me understand myself so that healing can begin.

I’ve been perplexed by the reaction from Texas A&M fans to their team’s 23-13 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. Yes, it’s discouraging. But it’s game one under a new coach against a team that likely will be favored in 10 or 11 of its 11 remaining games.

The major source of frustration seems to be the play of QB Conner Weigman , who was making his ninth start in three collegiate seasons. Weigman completed 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards with two interceptions. That’s an objectively awful statline, and Weigman said this week that there are no excuses for how he played.

But allow me to provide one: The Notre Dame defense might be the best one the Aggies see all year. Texas A&M is scheduled to face some excellent offenses in SEC play (Missouri and Texas and maybe Auburn), but the Aggies miss Alabama and Georgia. Those are the only two SEC teams with defenses that are as good or better top-to-bottom than Notre Dame. It’s quite possible this particular Fighting Irish defense makes every QB it plays look terrible. Luke’s comparison to the Appalachian State loss in 2022 makes no sense, because being worse than Notre Dame this year might mean the Aggies are still capable of winning 10 games if they improve as the season goes on and a few games break their way.

The Florida game next week should allow us to measure Texas A&M more accurately. Against Miami, the Gators generated almost zero pass rush and allowed Cam Ward to dissect them for 385 passing yards. If Weigman struggles against that defense and new coordinator Collin Klein’s playcalling seems out of sync, then worry a lot. But if Weigman looks more like he did at the end of 2022 or the start of 2023 — before a foot injury ended his season — then the healing should begin in earnest.

From @FireBillyNapier
What struggling major CFB program is in for the longest period of stagnation?

This question clearly came from a rural central Florida basement dweller. I kid, of course. As a resident of (fairly rural) north central Florida myself, I can confirm that there are no basements here.

But I’m going to make this person feel better, because they probably asked it while worried I’d say Florida. I’m actually not going to name any team here. Instead, I’ll offer a name: Lance Leipold .

This isn’t me saying Florida should hire Kansas coach Leipold if the decision is made this season or after to part ways with Billy Napier . (Though I do think Leipold can win anywhere.) It’s me pointing out that if someone can turn Kansas from the worst program in power-conference football to a nine-win team in three years, then there is no depth from which the right coach can’t pull a program.

From 2010 to 2020, Kansas went 21-108. Because of the bizarre circumstances of Les Miles’ firing, Leipold got the job just as spring practice ended in 2021. He inherited a barren roster and went 2-10 that first year, but one of those wins was a 57-56 overtime victory at Texas. The Jayhawks went 6-7 the following year and 9-4 last year.

There is no hole deeper than the one the Jayhawks occupied, except maybe the one Kansas State was in when Bill Snyder was hired before the 1989 season. This is a long way of saying that there isn’t a situation that hiring correct coach can’t fix.

Clemson was a perennial underachiever until then-athletic director Terry Don Phillips made a young receivers coach named Dabo Swinney the interim coach and then made Swinney the head coach following the 2008 season. Tennessee seemed doomed when the Volunteers fired Jeremy Pruitt and players began pouring into the transfer portal. I remember assuming the Volunteers would need at least five years to dig out of the rubble. Josh Heupel won 10 games in year two.

Though Swinney might not believe it, it’s easier than ever to immediately reverse a program’s fortunes with a coach who knows how to evaluate and develop and an administration/collective willing to let that coach go get the players he needs right now in the transfer portal. That capability didn’t exist 10 years ago. But at this point, you should know by the middle of year two whether your coaching hire ultimately will succeed or fail.

One of the more frustrating aspects of Napier’s offseason hearts and minds campaign was the insistence that fixing a program takes time and more patience would be necessary. It doesn’t usually take long when a coach actually fixes a program. When the right coach comes along, the progress is almost immediately visible even if it doesn’t immediately take the form of wins. If it looks the same game after game and then year after year, then it probably just means you hired the wrong coach and now have to go try to find the right one.

A Random Ranking

Matt would like me to rank burger toppings, and I’m happy to oblige. I’m only going to use the generic “cheese” because I could fill half the list with different kinds of cheese to go with different kinds of toppings. For instance, I want cheddar with bacon and Swiss with mushrooms.

1. Cheese
2. Bacon
3. Sautéed mushrooms
4. Fried egg
5. Ketchup
6. Mustard
7. Dill pickle
8. Lettuce
9. Jalapeño
10. Heinz 57 (with no other condiments)

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