NFL International Woes, Eagles’ Fixable Offense, and the CFP Cinderella Race
Welcome back to another week of SMQB’s, where the takes are hot and the action is always debatable! Episode 242 dropped a few truth bombs on everything from the NFL’s global expansion plans to the absolute chaos of the College Football Playoff picture. Before you tune in, here’s a sneak peek at what Bison, Pope, House, and Rooster were duking out this week.
The conversation started with the business of football—specifically, the NFL’s massive international game push into places like Madrid, Brazil, and Australia. While the league is raking in the global money, the panel didn’t hold back on calling it a “raw deal” for the players, arguing the travel wrecks their preparation. The crew pushes for hefty player compensation (we’re talking five-figure bonuses per player) and advocates for putting an end to Thursday Night Football entirely. Speaking of institutional trouble, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are sitting at a shocking 5-5, forcing the question: Can they even get the 10 wins they’ll need for a playoff spot? The AFC is currently viewed as “boring,” but the NFC West—with the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers—is unanimously declared the most terrifying division in football.
In Philadelphia, the story is one of stark contrast. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio is hailed as a genius who is “single-handedly saving our season” with his masterful scheme. But on the other side of the ball, the offense is getting ripped apart, with the play-calling described as “ridiculous” and the team grappling with the “massive loss” of star Lane Johnson. The good news? The offense is considered “imminently fixable.” Over in college football, chaos reigns supreme. We dive into a mind-boggling stat that was broken over the weekend (a team came back from 27+ points down at halftime—a feat previously 0-283 in history!) and debate the baffling circular logic in the SEC: UGA owns Texas, Bama owns UGA, Oklahoma owns Bama, and Texas owns Oklahoma. What does it all mean for the CFP rankings?
Finally, the spotlight turns to the contentious 12-seed: the Group of Five spot. Is the current favorite, James Madison, truly deserving, or should the winner of a likely AAC Championship matchup between Tulane and North Texas get the nod? The panel breaks down why the SEC is angry about giving a spot to a team that would “get absolutely waxed by 40 points” and explores a future 16-team playoff as the only solution. Plus, you’ll hear the latest on the Plaxico betting league leaderboard, including which member has scored two straight wins on an “anti-Washington strategy.”
Want to hear the full breakdown of the playoff scenarios, the latest betting picks, and exactly what Bison wants to know about House’s film-watching habit?
Tune in to SMQB’s Episode 242 now!