Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Podcast Network’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we travel down I-80 to talk all things Big Ten Football. This is the only Big Ten Podcast that’ll cover all 18 teams. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to for the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.

The guys are back to discuss this never-ending season! It’s been fun but there is no reason college football should be going to the middle of January. In other news, Iowa lands former South Dakota State quarterback and two-time national champion Mark Gronowski in the transfer portal. With over 10,000 passing yards, 1,700 rushing yards, and a combined 130 touchdowns in college, Gronowski is by far the most dynamic quarterback Iowa has had in years. If their offense clicks and they find a weapon or two don’t be surprised if Gronowski leads Iowa to an at-large playoff berth in 2025. 

This semi-final is historic for multiple reasons including the fact that it is guaranteed to produce the first black head coach to lead his team to a national championship berth. It is also huge because the four coaches involved, Ryan Day, James Franklin, Marcus Freeman, and Steve Sarkisian, have never won a national championship before. With other two active head coaches with championships, a first-time head coach will soon join that elusive club. As the head coaches of two of the biggest brands in the Big Ten, we try to identify who is under the most pressure between Ryan Day and James Franklin, two coaches who win the games they should but struggle to win big games throughout their career. 

In our semi-final preview, we break down the two matchups starting with Penn State-Notre Dame. Penn State-Notre Dame is a game of mirrored opponents, it’s strength on weakness for both teams as they have really strong defenses led by their secondaries and average offenses. This game will be won by which team can make the big stop or play in a key moment. This game can easily be swung by a bad turnover or poor special teams' play. Ohio State-Texas has the potential to be a snoozefest. Texas is the fourth team, third straight, that plays a heavy RPO offense that tries to lull you to sleep and win with big plays and getting their playmakers in space. The problem is Jim Knowles' defense is created specifically to stop these types of offenses which could lead to another Ohio State blowout especially if the offense continues to go through Jeremiah Smith. 

In their pitstops, Dante doesn’t believe Mufasa is worth being in the conversation for awards while Jordan takes a moment to recognize his fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. which celebrates its 111th year on January 9th. 

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