Calling all College Football fans, are you ready to kick off the season with some bold predictions? Want to know who’s topping the Big 10 and SEC? Join us on this episode of MBFS Quick Hits, where Mark Ritter and Keith Koval from MBFS dive into the gridiron action. From Pittsburgh to Penn State, we’re breaking down the teams to watch, like Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. Grab your game day gear and tune in for a chat that’s all about the thrill of College Football!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• (00:00) Intro: Meet Keith Koval
• (01:48) Keith shares his background as a Pittsburgh graduate and career path
• (04:10) Mark reflects on the joys of college football versus the NFL
• (06:02) Keith recalls childhood love for College Football, sparked by attending Pitt games
• (08:00) Predictions on the ACC and SEC for this year
• (10:54) Predictions on the Big 10
• (12:34) Notes Penn State’s favorable schedule, key to winning the  National Championship
• (15:07) Keith predicts Notre Dame in the National Championship, suggesting the winner of Ohio State vs. Texas is the other National Championship finalist

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Penn State and Ohio State are predicted to lead the Big 10. Mark Ritter points out Penn State’s loaded roster as a National Championship contender. At the same time, Keith Koval highlights their favorable schedule.
• In the SEC, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Mississippi are top picks, but Keith Koval notes their demanding schedules could impact National Championship chances.
• Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, Louisville, and SMU are Keith Koval’s top ACC teams, with MBFS’s Pittsburgh-based expert predicting a strong season driven by new coaches and key transfers.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Mark Ritter - Website

Mark Ritter - LinkedIn

Keith Koval -| LinkedIn

KEYWORDS: College Football, Credit Unions, Business Lending, MBFS, Keith Koval, Mark Ritter, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, Louisville, SMU, Big 10, National Championship, Notre Dame, Football Season, Game Day, ACC, SEC

[00:00:27] And you're either going to really like this episode or you're gonna want to turn it off. And if you turn it off 'cause it's not your thing, that's okay with me. Please subscribe to us and we'll catch you the next time around. So joining me today is Keith Koval from MBFS. Keith, how's it going out there in western Pennsylvania this morning?

[00:00:56] Mark Ritter - Host: we, we have gone from a heat wave up here in the mountains of [00:01:00] northern Pennsylvania back to the seasonally. Little bit. Cool. Barely into the seventies. So I'll take that as opposed to, uh, keeping my air conditioning on.

[00:01:38] So Keith, but before we get started, give people a little bit of your background and career journey and what you're up to here at MBFS. Well, I'm a proud graduate

[00:02:04] After the intern position ended, my boss asked me if I would like to stay on as a part-time employee while I was going to school and back then. The tuition reimbursement regulations were pretty liberal, so PNC paid for my sophomore, junior, senior year of college, and all three years of grad school. Then they had a hiring freeze and they let me walk right out the door.

[00:02:36] Keith Koval: It was a great thing, and back then it was every class, no questions asked, books, fees, everything. So pretty much I paid for my freshman year of college and PNC picked up the rest. If, uh, you're familiar with downtown Pittsburgh on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, or three.

[00:03:25] If you're familiar with our company history, we then merged with MBFS and I've been here as both a credit analyst and then a relationship manager ever since,

[00:03:44] Keith Koval: Yep. We started April 1st, 2007 is when Keystone started.

[00:03:53] Keith Koval: it was actually taken as kind of an April Fools joke because we put out the press release that credit unions [00:04:00] are now allowed to do business lending and people really didn't take it seriously.

[00:04:10] Mark Ritter - Host: So today we're gonna have you on for an episode in a couple weeks, but today we're gonna talk a little bit about college football. We are, we are one week into the season, so nobody will hold us down for our predictions.

[00:04:53] You can go to Los Angeles in Texas and the Southeast Conference and [00:05:00] throughout the Midwest. And I like the different styles. I like the different fan bases, I like the different stadiums and much to my wife's chagrin, you can start up in the morning and then watch 25 different games deep into the night and flip around, and they're all very different.

[00:05:40] So, and, and, and also I, you know, being a Penn State family, you know, I still have that care, that connection and an emotional connection to a little bit. I'm watching my alumni and these students, quote students are out there representing Penn State. So what, what are, what [00:06:00] brings you college football joy?

[00:06:24] They had six season tickets for pit, so they started taking me to pit football games in 1975, and I got to see Tony Dorsett. I got to see Pitt's National Championship, continued taking me up until I graduated high school and went to Pitt myself. I saw Dan Marino, I saw Bill Frale. I saw the three years in a row when Pitt was 11 and one, and I just fell in love.

[00:06:52] Keith Koval: to? Uh, I can't remember. I think Okay. Uh, Notre Dame or somebody like that. Alright. But I just fell in love with [00:07:00] college football as the game back then, when the pit was playing at Pitt Stadium, they used to let the kids after the games go down on the field. You would walk off the field with a player, some of them will let you carry their helmets out, and I think going to Pitt or any other university, you're in class with the players and I think that separates the college football from the NFL.

[00:07:43] Mark Ritter - Host: So I asked you to do a little bit of homework beforehand.

[00:07:59] Keith Koval: [00:08:00] Well, let's start with the A, c, C, because that's where pit is. I think you have a lot of question marks with the A, c, C this year. A lot of unknowns. You look at someone like Carson Beck.

[00:08:32] Jake Dicker at Wake Forest. Fran Brown at Syracuse. Manny Diaz moving over to Duke and Bill O'Brien at bc. I think you're gonna see the impact of these coaches bringing every program up. The four teams that I like, I think Clemson is gonna be the top dog again, in the A, CC, they have a a studded quarterback.

[00:09:17] They got a lot of their players back. So I think that's gonna be my top five. Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, Louisville and SMU.

[00:09:28] Keith Koval: The SEC always has a lot of talent and a lot of great teams, and I think one of the issues with SEC is that. They have such tough conference schedules that they eliminate each other before they even get to the college football playoffs.

[00:10:09] Mark Ritter - Host: Yeah, I, I would be pretty well in line with that. And I think, like you said, the, you know, South Carolina sitting there with one of the top quarterbacks in the country, but Ken. He lasts enough games and they don't beat up each other every week and eliminate each other.

[00:10:31] And then you look at someone like Texas that's starting off the season against Ohio State, just to add them to their, you know, to their schedule. That's a non-conference game. You got Georgia playing at Tennessee on September 13th, Alabama at Georgia. On September 27th, so you know right there, I just mentioned Georgia twice with two tough games.

[00:10:53] Mark Ritter - Host: You know, on when, when I look at the Big 10 this year, the Big 10 has [00:11:00] a cluster of goods and I also think some teams are gonna step backwards. I think Michigan will take a step backwards. And Oregon will take a step backwards after laying a duck, an egg in the playoffs, and you'll have Indiana take a step backwards and be, you'll have a cluster of very, of good teams, but nobody is going to beat.

[00:11:53] Everything has been set up for this year, for set for the last few years. You have one of the best [00:12:00] quarterbacks. You have two of the top five running backs in the country. The offensive line is loaded. The defense is absolutely loaded, and the only, the, even the, the, the tight ends are very deep replacing Tyler Warren.

[00:12:30] Keith Koval: Penn State's tough games this year? I, I think their schedule's pretty favorable.

[00:12:37] They have loaded up Oregon in the whiteout. And playing your, your white out at home is a huge, huge advantage. But they do have Ohio State on the road past that. They should be okay.

[00:13:05] I'm still not used to that. He,

[00:13:34] They have a massive upgrade at quarterback and I think they can finally put it together. The other surprise team who had a very good year last year will be Illinois. Illinois has one of the top offensive lines in the country, and, and offensive lines travel very well. They can control a game and take over and, and Illinois is [00:14:00] finally back up to that cluster of the very good teams in the s in the Big 10.

[00:14:29] Nebraska's gonna be a good, an improved team. So, but I, I think at the end of the season, Penn State and Ohio State will be seen as two of the top teams with the third team being very, very far away.

[00:14:56] Mark Ritter - Host: by far and away the national championship.

[00:15:07] Keith Koval: the two teams that I have in the finals, one of them I do not think is one of the best teams. I think they had the easiest route to get there, and I'll ask you for your opinion on this. I think Notre Dame is going to be in the national championship again.

[00:15:52] Mark Ritter - Host: So who's the, but I think

[00:15:57] Mark Ritter - Host: who, who's your prediction to win it all?

[00:16:12] Mark Ritter - Host: So this is I am all in, I'm pushing all of my chips in with Penn State being in the national championship game, and we are going back to the 1970s because they will play Alabama in the national championship in an old timey classic game with two of the best helmets. This is the year Penn State finally gets out from a 40 year drought into the national championship.

[00:16:50] Mark Ritter - Host: Alabama, I don't even know who's gonna win, but Alabama and Georgia will both definitely be in the playoffs. So, [00:17:00] well, Keith, we gotta cut it off. So I appreciate you joining me today. We could probably make this about a three hour show about college football and it'll be much easier than talking about our day job.

[00:17:18] Keith Koval: Thanks for having me on. And we'll have to get together in middle of January to talk about our predictions.