On this week's show we've got long time friend of the program, fellow twitter enthusiast Adam Kramer from the outstanding college football blog Kegs N Eggs. Adam does a bit of a double dip since he and I did our thang with the folks over at Barking Carnival earlier this week. Even though Adam's Hawkeyes lost last weekend we've got him on to talk a little Ferentz and Co. as the boys in Iowa City look to remain in the Big Ten race.

Iowa City isn't the only place we've got conference races up for grabs this weekend is heavy with league title implications as well as some major "let down" type scenarios for teams who have clawed their way to the front of the pack. Lots of ranked teams getting into the action, you couple that with teams in unfamiliar roles and you've got the Slate of Eight line up for Week Nine here at In The Bleachers:

Baylor - Texas
Oklahoma State - Kansas State
Stanford - Washington
Florida State - NC State
Mizzou - Nebraska
Florida - Georgia
Oregon - Southern Cal
Michigan State - Iowa

As you can see the slate if chock full of quality match ups and storylines so diving in we had plenty to discuss. The juxtaposition game of the week is Baylor at Texas as the Bears look to jockey for bowl positioning as they sit at 6-2 and 3-1 atop the Big XII South for the time being while the Texas is reeling from their two home losses in a row. In the "pretender" contest we get to see whether Oklahoma State or Kansas State is the "realest" real deal team that no one has a lot of faith in. Out west we've got Stanford on the docket, partially because we need to see as much Andrew Luck shredding Washington's defense as possible but also because the Cardinal appear to be in control of their own destiny, aiming for a BCS Bowl barring slip ups.

My own ACC gets back on the docket with a game in Raleigh that is the first step in deciding the Atlantic division and seeing if Russell Wilson can rebound from a few awful performances. Mizzou is leading the Big XII North but Nebraska has a shot to wrestle back the lead from the Tigers in Lincoln and Mizzou has to play from a position this group of players has not truly experienced; Big XII FAVORITE!

In our BIG THREE games I took the liberty of making sure The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was on the slate because it is definitely one of my favorite games out there. The Dawgs are surging offensively after three straight weeks of putting up 40 points and Florida is still finding themselves and trying to get bodies healthy. Richt has a helluva shot to win this game and that would do wonders to put Georgia in legitimate East contention and Richt on surely safe ground. In Oregon-Southern Cal you've got the potential for a great, almost Big XII style shoot out. Barkley has quietly put together one of the best seasons by any quarterback in the country and I'm sure Lane Kiffin is chomping at the bit to open up this offense and play to score with this Ducks squad.

Folks in this one the Hawkeyes welcome the surprisingly undefeated Michigan State squad to Kinnick Stadium and while this game won't be near the offensive explosion we'll get in LA it is a game that has a lot of BCS Bowl implications. Michigan State, if they escape Iowa City has just Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State standing in the way of a 12-0 season. Iowa, if they can beat Sparty, is still in Big Ten contention with their lone loss to Wisconsin. It is going to be strength on strength much like a week ago as Sparty's run offense battles it out against Iowa's defense and this one will be a dandy to watch folks.

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Happy Friday Folks! Kick start your weekend with some controversy and this special edition of the In The Bleachers Podcast as we welcome Yahoo! Sports Columnist Jeff Passan to the show to discuss his new book, Death To The BCS: The Definitive Case Against The Bowl Championship Series. Passan co-authored this manifesto with fellow Yahoo! Sports Columnists Dan Wetzel and Josh Peter and they truly take the BCS system to task as three writers adamantly opposed to all that the "cartel" represents. Yes, folks "cartel" is the name they've settled on the for the BCS and it makes their position quite clear, playoff or bust because the BCS sucks.

However, unlike many playoff proponents Passan and his co-horts make a painstaking effort to separate emotion from fact, arguing through the presentation of the corruption, false fronts, power struggle and misappropriation of funds instead of just wildly screaming we need a playoff. Death to the BCS hits on who controls the game and why the six BCS leagues are less concerned with money than they are with making sure the power stays consolidated at the top. As Passan puts it, "All you need to win today is a good coach and money" and by keeping the money BCS conferences help protect their own.

As we've discussed before, bashing a system without offering a solution is useless and Passan and Co. believe this as well and have duly offered an alternative that is fair and balanced; a 16 team playoff. Ran quite similar to the NCAA tournament on a small scale the Death to the BCS playoff would feature home games and, as the Yahoo! Sports Columnists speculate, a windfall of some $750 MILLION or $530 million in new revenue to be shared through the game. That cash could shore up Sun Belt, MAC and Conference USA athletic departments and create an element of equity that the game has never seen.

It is a compelling book and debate folks so be sure to get your hands on a copy of Death to the BCS and check out this interview as Passan lays out the benefits and the facts in an intriguing manner.

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This week on the show we've got fellow twitter all-nighter Adam Jacobi from the CBS College Football Blogstopping by to talk about the week's slate. Not only does Adam spit hot fire over at CBS, he also is an Iowa guy dropping knowledge on the Hawkeyes over at SBNation's Black Heart Gold Pants. That makes Adam a great get to talk about this week's slate since we're getting into the Hawkeyes' big contest this weekend along with seven other solid contests.

No ACC games on the docket this week, no non-AQ or Big East contests either BUT we do have plenty of SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big Twelve games to hit on. Undefeated match ups, several one-loss teams going after it and teams coming off of big wins or losses looking to build some success.

Here is this week's Slate of Eight:

UGA - Kentucky
UCLA - Oregon
Michigan State - Northwestern
Nebraska - Oklahoma State
Washington - Arizona
Oklahoma - Mizzou
LSU - Auburn
Wisconsin - Iowa

We'll kick it off with the SEC as the Dawgs look to build upon their recent success by getting to a Kentucky team that is still savoring their 31-28 defeat of the Sakerlina Gamecocks this past Saturday. Randall Cobb had some particularly surly comments about the crowd and it will be interesting to see how Joker Phillips handles that going forward. As for the other games in our early segment we'll see Oregon take on the best defense they've played to date while Michigan State gets to see if Northwestern is a fraud.

Nebraska, off of being beat down by Texas, heads into Stillwater against the Cowboys and while Oklahoma State is the undefeated team here the Huskers have to get back on the winning track to keep their Big XII title shot alive and well. Washington looks to be hitting their stride offensively after playing a very tough schedule they're reaping the benefits of testing themselves having banked wins over USC and Oregon State.

As we hit the Big Three this week we first must ask "why will this Missouri-Oklahoma game be any different than the other meetings we've seen lately" as both teams are undefeated heading into week 8. In the SEC we see undefeateds square off and since I've painted myself into this LSU corner I'm going to ride with the Bayou Bengals to stop Auburn, relying almost fully on Auburn's utter lack of defense as a means of staying in the game. Adam, predictably laughs.

Wisconsin at Iowa sees two solid squads square off. Wisconsin enters off their beating of Ohio State, the first of the career for Bielema and this group of Wisconsin seniors. Iowa manhandled Michigan last week and now we'll see strength on strength with Wisconsin's offense squaring off against Iowa's star studded defense. What this game boils down to is turnovers from Stanzi and Tolzien as well as how Wisconsin's defense plays against this efficienct Hawkeye offense.

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Folks the Slate of Eight got kicked off to a late start this week but we've got a great guest in Kevin McGuire aka The College Football Examiner on the show to talk about the eight big games you ought to be paying attention to this weekend. Kevin not only is the man behind the twitter machine he also runs the podcasts and site CFB Examiner, both of which are packed with great info for those serious college football fans out there. Kevin and I dive head first into this weekend's action on the show which, as you might notice, is now coming out of both sides of your speakers since I fixed it!

Finding games this week would have been difficult for a novice but since this is week seven I knew I was going to go heavy storylines when there werent the marquee ranked match ups that we generally look for. Here's the Slate we've got for you now:

Cal - USC
Oklahoma State - Texas Tech
Illinois - Michigan State
Oregon State - Washington
Iowa - Michigan
Texas - Nebraska
Auburn - Arkansas
Ohio State - Wisconsin

We're thin on SEC games, heavy on the midwest with a healthy dose of the west coast as well this week and with good reason; not a lot going on in the SEC and the ACC schedule looks laughable right now. The Slate runs through the early action as usual with Kevin and I disagreeing more than we agree, he uses logic while I straight roll with my gut and mix it up by taking Cal, Okie State and Washington to find a way to win.

In our big three match ups we discuss why Texas has struggled finding an offensive identity, going into their personnel issues along the offensive line and at the running back position. Nebraska should win this game we both agree but not in the blow out fashion that others have seemed to call for. Auburn hosting Arkansas is our lone foray into the South this week as the Hogs take that high powered offense to The Plains in what should be a high scoring affair. We're split here but as you all know I've been enamored with Petrino's route combos for awhile so there is no wonder I roll with Arky.

Wrapping it up we talk Ohio State and Wisconsin. Kevin discusses the "go for it" aspect of Bielema before we get into the nuts and bolts of this game. The seniors for the Badgers have had three other shots at the Buckeyes and have lost by an average score Ohio State 30 - Wisconsin 16; or two touchdowns, and that's largely based upon 2008 20-17 game. I think the seniors want this win bad, the game being in Camp Randall will help and while Kevin plays it smart and goes with Pryor and Tressel ball I get risky and take the Badgers. Must be all the LSU win-sauce going to my head.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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So by now you've taken the time to read our latest feature at In The Bleachers; the Positive Impact Factor. Created by our very own Pat Johnston this is a bit more technical that your's truly can explain without needing a break or an aspirin. Luckily we've got the creator and the maintainer of the PIF on staff and Pat Johnston makes his ITB Podcast debut by dropping some gold old knowledge about his baby, the Positive Impact Factor. Buckle up folks because this is an informative ride.

Pat takes us through the why and how he created this amazing statistic and then he puts it into practice with the current college football world. He hits on the leaders (Terrance Cain),some surprise highly ranked individuals (Trent Steelman) and two quarterbacks that aren't as high in the rankings as most folks would expect. Let's just say if you throw the football a lot and that includes interceptions you won't be enjoying this stat.

It will be here weekly folks and this is your guide to what all those numbers mean.

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This is a special edition of the Slate of Eight for more than one reason as we're joined by friend of the program, friend in real life, "Fun Bunch" blackberry chat group member, former UNC running partner and current college football blogger for CBS Sports the one and only Chip Patterson. Chip and I play the second part of our home and home series after I was his guest on a CBS Sports podcast a few weeks ago and this is another dandy as we get into the Slate of Eight; with a twist. I'll spare you the tease and let you know the twist now; I forgot to include Florida-LSU in the show prep email to Chip thus we've got the Slate of Eight PLUS ONE this week.

My little "screw up aside" here's the games that we get into this week:

Arkansas - Texas A&M
Baylor - Texas Tech
Clemson - UNC
USC - Stanford
Oregon State - Arizona
Michigan State - Michigan
Alabama - Sakerlina
Florida State - Miami
*LSU - Florida*

In Big XII country things will get heated in the Dallas Metro area with two neutral site games. Arkansas and aTm will be great to see how both rebound from tough losses as well as for the old timers to get together and kick around old SWC war stories. As for Baylor-TTU we'll get to see how Tubbs' boys grow up on defense in facing an explosive and remarkably solid passer in Robert Griffin III aka RG3.

Clemson travels to UNC in a must win game for both schools to avoid an 0-2 ACC start.

We head out west to hit on the Pac-10's two major showdowns of the weekend. Watching USC and Stanford lose a week ago dropped the hype surrounding this game but it will remain a crucial conference battle. Oregon State gets the first real crack at Arizona as a Top 10 team and we'll see how the Wildcats handle the success. We saw them a season ago with the Rose Bowl on their racquet late only to fold like a lawn chair against the Ducks at home. Hopefully for Stoops this season goes differently.

In our big three Michigan State looks to rough up the Wolverines while Rodriguez's team tries to out sprint the Spartans. Chip rolls with Sparty but I think Shoelace is too good to be stopped. In the case of Bama-Sakerlina the only debate is how long the Gamecocks are able to keep this contest close. I saw 3 quarters, Chip says a considerably shorter time. The U and Seminoles contests gets the proper attention as Sun Life Stadium will feature two of the schools many expect to be in the ACC title game.

Lastly we'll look into the Gators taking on the Bayou Bengals in the Swamp. Yes, somehow I forgot this game. Yes, I'm ashamed because I've spent countless hours explaining why LSU crazy end game scenarios don't bother me. Chip and I get into a pretty spirited debate here as he sides with the Gators and I take the Tigers on the road. Let's just say if you don't like my "LSU Curve" explanation then clearly you don't believe in the juju of the Bayou Bengals.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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Week Five rolls around folks and we've got an absolutely humongous Slate of Eight for you all to tune into as we are at the doorstep of one of the Top 5 greatest rivalries in all of sports; the Red River Shootout. Joining us today we've got Allen Kenney aka Blatant Homerism from the Boomer Sooner website Blatant Homerism. Allen joins us to not only hit on the big OU-Texas match up but break down the rest of the week's games as your fifth official "Slate of Eighter" to join the fray. With such a great week coming up this was the first time whittling the games down to eight was an issue and if we've left your game off the chart drop it into the comments or on the twitter machine and I'll give you my thoughts on it just for the giggles.

So here's what you're going to hear Allen and myself wax philosophically on this week:

Texas A&M - Oklahoma State
Penn State - Iowa
Virginia Tech - NC State
Wisconsin - Michigan State
Miami - Clemson
Stanford - Oregon
Alabama - Florida
Oklahoma - Texas

As you can see folks The Slate has got a great distribution this weekend with two trips to Big Ten Country, two jaunts into Big XII world, a shot out to the west coast for a huge Pac-10 contest, two solid looks into the ACC and of course the required heavy lifting of the SEC. Which game is the most important? That's a tough question since there are so many conference and national title implications with several of these match ups.

We'll take on the Aggies and Pokes first for a chance to see them play someone who isn't the Sisters of the Poor or Our Lady Assumption for their first Big XII contest. Iowa looks to remain on track against the Nittany Lions who were saved by a Bernard Pierce injury just a week ago. Someone rocks the Tar Heel boat by picking the Wolfpack to beat up on the Hokies in Raleigh and we get to see who is more real; Wisconsin or Michigan State. Allen and I get into the Kyle Parker vs Jacory Harris battle of extreme orange down in Tiger Town as both teams' have defenses that could cause problems for the quarterbacks.

When we get to the big three games we lead off with Stanford, a team that someone picked back in April to win the Pac-10, as the Cardinal travel up to Eugene to play the Ducks in Autzen. For the second straight week Andrew Luck will be on the national stage proving to folks why those in the know have already crowned him as the nation's best quarterback; ahead of Mallett and whoever else you want to run up the flag. Speed vs Power in this game and while Allen is right about Oregon has looked outright fantastic moving the football I think we get to see a repeat of Stanford out muscling the Ducks.

The Gators hit their stride just in time for this contest to get very interesting. Trey Burton is in the mix as a guy that could give Alabama problems and the Tide looks to recover from a week that saw them look vulnerable early but resilient late. Expect to see heavy doses of the rushing attack as McElroy works back into the swing after the minor injury he suffered a week ago. This should be a defensive slugfest and with the line opening at Bama -9 it is clear where Vegas has cast their lot. Florida has been impressive in just one week this season and in their first "real" contest I think the inexperience of Brantley shows itself in a big way.

Which brings us to the Red River Shootout. We hit all the odds and ends of this game as we discuss where each team stands going into Saturday. The Longhorns limp in off the embarrassing blow out loss to UCLA in Austin while the Sooners are reeling, albeit a lot less than Texas, following their nail biter in Cincinnati where they proved themselves incapable of stopping the mobile quarterback. The biggest concern here will be how Texas approaches this contest given their clear need to find an identity on the offensive side of the ball. From the looks of the Longhorn and Sooner defense we should be gearing up for a hard hitting slugfest and unless Texas somehow conjures up an option attack with a mobile quarterback I expect the Crimson and Cream to pull this one out.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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As we head into this weekend with Bama-Arkansas looming large on the horizon I figured I'd give a quick wrap up of the the "off campus" activities that you might have missed this week.

First up if you haven't noticed I've been doing some weekly contributing over at AL.COM. Getting a shot to hang out down in one of the true cradles of college football spinning out articles about Mark Ingram, big boy football and getting the most fantasmical of comments both in quantity and quality.

Check out the Pregame Warm-Up where we talk a little Florida discipline, conference round up and plenty more.

Thursday I got a chance to do some radio in my hometown of Charlotte on the new Fox Sports 730 during their afternoon show the Sports Yapp. We talked some UNC issues and hit on where UNC football can go from here before getting to the weekend's major contests of Sakerlina-Auburn, Boise State-Oregon State and of course Alabama-Arkansas. Also, I drop some Andrew Luck west coast love when host Bryce Johnson asks who my favorite quarterback has been in 2010. Thanks to Chris Kroeger the producer I'm looking forward to chatting football with these guys again soon.

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A quick Hoot & Holler Podcast with long time friend of the program, friend of Felder's and former All-American Strong Safety Trimane Goddard. We hit four quarters of football including discussing why tackling sucks, the anatomy of the wheel route, the thoughts behind "are you hurt or are you injured" and wrap up talking Alabama and why Georgia Tech's offense is so affective.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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The Slate of Eight is backed to the beefed up state with a cast of games that features not only some of the nation's best teams but also a few of the best players and storylines in the country. Joining us this week we've got Ty Hildenbrandt half of the dynamic duo that makes up The Solid Verbal, one of the best college football podcasts out there. This is a special week because not only do we get another case of CROSS PODCAST POLLINATION but we also have a bonus wager going on as Ty's Notre Dame squad takes on my adopted west coast baby; The Stanford Cardinal.

That's right, after losing my "Duke will throw for close to 300 yards" bet to Adam Caparell I climb right back up on the gambling wagon to take on Ty for this week's battle. The terms are as follows: I'm giving Ty 7.5 points and taking Stanford. You, the listeners and readers of In The Bleachers as well as the listeners and readers of The Solid Verbal get to set the terms of our wager. Nothing crazy folks but send those suggestions for terms in.

Before we get into  the show summary let's take a look at this week's Slate of Eight:

BYU - Nevada
Penn State - Temple
LSU - West Virginia
Miami - Pitt
Boise State - Oregon State
Auburn - Sakerlina
Stanford - Notre Dame
Alabama - Arkansas

We've got a great mix of games lined up folks and we kick it off with this Nevada squad that hung 52 on the Cal Bears this past Friday. The world needs to see this kid Colin Kaepernick play, he's got a live arm, live legs and is one of the most fun players to watch in the country. Temple heading into Beaver Stadium gets a look as the Owls look to finally give Penn State a game with Al Golden heading in on his preliminary job interview.

The Bayou Bengals taking on the Mountaineers should be a tailgate fiasco but surely Death Valley at night will overwhelm Bill Stewart's boys while the Hurricanes look to put the ACC above the Big East again by beating down a struggling Pitt squad. For the Broncos Ty and I discuss just how good this team is and why it is so difficult to pick the Beavers ahead of the Broncos given the Orange and Black's struggles on the offensive side of the ball.

Entering the final three games things heat up as Ty and I both love what we've seen out of Sakerlina thus far this season. Marcus Lattimore is the real deal, the Gamecock wide receivers are major players and of course that defense is going to give Cam Newton fits. As for Stanford-Notre Dame you definitely need to listen to that segment as we get into the details of the bet, where Ty's 7.5 Point Theory came from and why I think Notre Dame will not only lose by more than 7.5 but they will be lucky to avoid an out and out drubbing.

We wrap up, as always, with our game of the week. Bama-Arkansas is taking center stage this weekend and after seeing the way Bama has played there isn't much more to say than Arkansas might be in for another long one. The Tide are functioning on all cylinders and while the Hogs got a nice win over a very talented Georgia squad this Nick Saban squad appears poised to pounce with the return of Mark Ingram, their heart and soul.

Folks be sure to tweet in your wager suggestions for the big Solid Verbal versus In The Bleachers bet. Also, while you're cruising the interwebs be sure to sign up for OR make your picks in the In The Bleachers Pick'em Pool and set your picks up to play against Pat Johnston and your's truly, Michael Felder.

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Folks we're back for another edition of your new favorite weekly segment, the ITB Slate of Eight. This week's edition we've got Kyle Kensing, football writer extraordinaire for NCAA.com and the new Saturday Blitz.Kensing is a West Coast guy and with this week's heavy West Side influence it just felt right to have the friend of the program in to discuss a lot of football.

As some of my twitter followers have stated this week hasn't been quite the picnic when it comes to figuring out which games to put on the docket and which to leave off. We've got three legitimate "marquee match-ups" on the slate and then we decided to take advantage of being the boss of this and go hunting for storylines to enlighten your football knowledge. We've got a west coast feel so please enjoy the song that has been stuck in my head since I left for Atlanta two Friday's ago and I hope it seeps into your mind just like it has mine.

Now that you've been infected with the Katy Perry virus the way your fearless leader has been for weeks; take a look at this week's slate:

Wake Forest - Stanford
Texas - Texas Tech
Nebraska - Washington
Alabama - Duke
Air Force - Oklahoma
Arkansas - Georgia
Clemson - Auburn
Iowa - Arizona

The first five games on the slate are all interesting for a myriad of reasons. Stanford handling Wake's scoring attack and we get our first look at Andrew Luck against an out of conference foe without Toby Gerhart, Texas' first real "test" as Tuberville gets the Longhorns in Lubbock and Jake Locker against a legitimate defense as Bo Pelini takes the Big Red Machine to Seattle.

We spend a decent amount of time talking Bama-Duke and while upset is far from the either of our minds the look at this game has a lot of implications for the Bama-Arkansas game that sits a week away. Cutcliffe's attack on Bama's secondary could be the difference between a limited Penn State team being blown out and the Blue Devils cracking some big plays. As for Air Force and Oklahoma we'll see how "on track" the Sooners are against Troy Calhouns option attack. Have they rebounded after Utah State embarrassed them running the veer in week one?

Clemson vs Auburn or as we like to refer to it; Auburn vs Auburn with a lake. A cultural mirror match of squads and mascots that will see Clemson's underachieving defense square off against Cam Newton and what looks to be a Jekyll and Hyde offense from Auburn. Defensively the Tigers of the War Eagle persuasion will be tested by a potent Clemson rushing attack and we'll finally get to see how their bodies handle being pounded on.

Iowa at Arizona wasn't circled as a marquee match up on most folks calendar to begin the season but with Iowa as one of ITB's BCS Championship Game participants the Hawkeyes are all over our radar. Kensing is an Arizona guy so the game gets a bit of a debate as we split over who will take home the crown.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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