Andy & Ari On3 - Could USC QB Caleb Williams stay for his senior season? | Texas-Alabama, Nebraska-Colorado picks

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Andy Staples on three. It's a pick show. Jacob Hester, former LSU great, will join us to pick games against the spread and one particular total that we have to pick every single week and it's just, it's the law and you'll see, he brought a prop for it. It's perfect. But first we got to talk about a little bit of news. And this news comes from GQ where Caleb Williams, USC quarterback, reigning Heisman trophy winner, looking good, wearing the mesh Jersey and the pants that look like JNCOs, which I guess are back now, with a money quote from his dad that's very interesting and very 2023.

Starting point is 00:00:54 Not something you would have thought, because obviously we are operating under the assumption that Caleb Williams will be headed to the NFL after this season, and I think he probably will be. But Carl Williams, Caleb's dad, says to GQ, so if there's not a good situation, the truth is he can come back to school. And Carl Williams did not come to this quote lightly. He talked to Archie Manning, who his career,

Starting point is 00:01:22 probably not what it could have been because he got drafted by a really bad team the saints were a bad franchise at the time and his career got derailed archie manning also the father of eli who forced a draft day trade from the chargers to the giants because eli said i ain't playing for the chargers because at the time he didn't feel like it was a very well-run organization now they got it figured out with with with drew breeze and then Phillip rivers, but he wasn't going. So, and,

Starting point is 00:01:50 and that's, that was Carl Williams point. Like the, the you're going to go to the team that was the worst in the league. And a lot of times they're the worst in the league because they're poorly run and not just by the coach and not just by the GM, but by the ownership group. And listen, we all know the Cardinals are trying to tank this season. That has been made abundantly clear. If you saw the hype video with the pump up speech from the new head coach

Starting point is 00:02:19 the other day, they ain't trying to win games they are trying to lose for caleb so you're looking at that and going this is a franchise that just bailed on two first round quarterbacks remember they drafted josh rose and then a year later they're done with josh rose and they're drafting kyler murray and kyler murray was the number one overall pick, just like Caleb Williams probably will be. And so I get it. If Arizona winds up with the number one pick, and I'm the Williams family, I'm looking at this and I'm going, hmm, Caleb has a Dr. Pepper ad. He has a Wendy's ad. He has a deal with Beats. He's doing pretty well for himself. Maybe he has two Heismans at that time. His marketability will be off the charts. So while he probably wouldn't make as much as he'd make in the first year of an NFL contract

Starting point is 00:03:15 as the first overall pick, what's it worth to you to have that extra year to maybe land with a different franchise? That's the question. So again, we don't know if the Cardinals will be the team that picks. You know, what if it's the Texans? They just took C.J. Stroud this year. What would they do in that situation? And remember, the team that thinks they're going to be getting a number one pick

Starting point is 00:03:39 isn't always that team. Last year, the Texans probably should have been the team that got the number one pick, but Lovie Smith was playing to win. Davis Mills was playing to win on the last day of the season. And they won, I believe they beat the Colts. And then the Bears got the number one pick. The year before that, the Jets went on a mini winning streak. I think they won too late and it cost them Trevor Lawrence. So they end up drafting Zach Wilson number two. So you don't know who's going to be in that number one spot. You don't know which NFL team has the wheels just fall off, though it certainly seems

Starting point is 00:04:14 like the Cardinals are trying to be that team early and often. But if it's January and you've just got the draft order and you're Caleb Williams, you can look at this and make a really informed decision. And this is one of those that you couldn't make probably two years ago before NIL. This situation now, Caleb Williams can recoup a lot of the income he would lose through NIL. He'd be worth seven figures easy, multiple seven figures probably. Again, still not what he'd make, but if it's the difference between going to a franchise where you feel like you can be long-term successful and one you feel is going to ruin your career, I think it's a pretty easy decision. So that's a new wrinkle in college football.

Starting point is 00:05:06 And I know like the AD at Arkansas, Hunter Urachek, he wrote an op-ed saying this was somehow a bad thing that good players might come back to school, which is the dumbest thing ever because they've been complaining about good players leaving early. So no, a player who would come back with the ultimate star power

Starting point is 00:05:23 would be great for college football. As Lincoln star power would be great for college football. As Lincoln Riley says, be great for college football on the West Coast. That's what he says. USC has responsibility to the West Coast to be good. It would be great for college football on the West Coast to have Caleb Williams on the West Coast with USC again. This is, it gives them leverage. I mentioned the Manning thing, the Eli Manning thing. The only other situation I can think of like this where a quarterback actually had leverage

Starting point is 00:05:48 other than Kyler Murray, who could have gone and played Major League Baseball, was John Elway. Remember, John Elway in 1983 refused to play for the Colts. He said, if you draft me, I will not play for you. I have been drafted by the Yankees in baseball. I will go play for the Yankees. And he meant it. And so the Colts picked him, but they traded him to the Broncos after that, a few days later, because he was not going to report. He was going to go play for the Yankees. Now, if the number one pick in the draft still has college eligibility remaining,

Starting point is 00:06:23 there is a chance that they could decide they don't want to do it. Now, the deadline is still the deadline. That hasn't changed. It's possible those rules change also where you could enter your name in the draft and then still come back. But right now, the deadline is still the deadline. So we would find out in mid-January if that person is going or staying. But this could be a more frequent situation. There aren't many guys as obvious as Caleb Williams in terms of potential number one overall pick. And yes,

Starting point is 00:06:55 he might not be. We've done this before where we anointed somebody the number one overall pick for an entire offseason, and then the season happens and they're not. They wind up going somewhere else. Matt Barkley famously dropped way down in the draft. We were talking about him as a potential number one overall pick if he left early, but he came back. Caleb Williams, I don't think would drop. I mean, he's got a really special skill set. Now, Drake May, NFL folks love him too. But I just think this is really interesting because that potential number one overall pick is so valuable from an NIL standpoint that they do have a legitimate choice there.

Starting point is 00:07:35 They can live comfortably wherever they are. And Caleb Williams was living comfortably before he ever went to college. So that makes the decision even more, you know, even easier for him if he wants to stay in college. So a lot of people are going to be able to make this decision. We thought it was going to be lower in the draft. We thought it was going to be people who might be a fourth round, fifth round, sixth round pick who will come back, enjoy some NIL money and potentially make more money

Starting point is 00:08:05 by being drafted higher the following year. This is a different wrinkle to that. We'll see what happens, but I don't blame Carl Williams for saying that. If I were watching the Arizona Cardinals right now as the father of the presumptive number one pick, I would be worried about that too. So I get it. Just another piece of the NIL era that maybe we hadn't considered. That, hey, maybe he doesn't go anywhere. Maybe he just goes into the draft, goes number one, doesn't come back.

Starting point is 00:08:41 But I think there's a chance if it's the Cardinals, another year at USC would look mighty appetizing right then. Next up, our Matt Connelly on three was at Dabo Sweeney's press conference on Wednesday night and got this quote from the coach. If we do what we did off, he was talking about, he loved what he saw from Clemson's offense in that 28-7 loss to Duke

Starting point is 00:09:08 with the exception of a few mistakes. And obviously huge mistakes were two fumbles in the red zone that cost them points. They were going to score touchdowns or field goals. Probably they end up fumbling and obviously Duke takes it the other way. But here's what Davos said.

Starting point is 00:09:25 If we do what we did offensively for the rest of the year, we won't lose another game. It's just that simple. And I'd say, yes, if you average 5.3 yards a carry for the rest of the year, that's great. But if you average 4.4 yards a pass attempt, which you averaged on Monday against Duke, you will definitely not win every game this year.

Starting point is 00:09:44 You will not go 11-1. One thing, Duke may not be the best defense you play. Mike Elko, great defensive tactician, and Duke's talent has obviously been upgraded in the Elko era. So they are one of the better teams that Clemson will play. But in terms of defense, right now, Florida State, NC State,

Starting point is 00:10:09 Notre Dame, probably more talented on defense than Duke. I mean, almost definitely more talented on defense than Duke. Miami, probably more talented than Duke on defense. This is not going to be easy for them. And I just, that doesn't make any sense. And I realize you're trying to get your team back after a pretty devastating loss. I mean, that is a tough way to lose a game. But the other problem that should scare you if you're Davos Sweeney is you also gave up 6.6 yards of carry to Duke.

Starting point is 00:10:48 I don't know that Duke's going to have the best rushing attack of any team you play either. This is bad. This is very bad. You're going to have to play better, Clemson, if you're going to win the rest of your games and that's a that's a big ask right now given what we saw on Monday that's a really big ask but there no if they do what they did offensively against Duke if they do that again if that is the

Starting point is 00:11:17 offense we're going to see this season that team's going seven and five if the offense a little bit better yes they may win eight nine ten games maybe there are 11 and one if the offense a little bit better yes they may win eight nine ten games maybe they are 11 and one if the offense improves dramatically but if they do what they did the other night minus the the fumbles in the red zone they're gonna lose a bunch of games remember the only touchdown they scored was gifted to them by duke with a muff punt that allowed them to take over in the red zone they were not good in any facet of the game. You can talk about how weird it was, how he gained more yards.

Starting point is 00:11:54 I know there's a fan base when they heard people talk about Clemson gaining more yards than Duke in that game, it was going, oh boy, oh boy. Florida fans remember Dan Mullen saying that after losing to Kentucky in 2021. Who gained more yards? Don't matter. So he scored more points.

Starting point is 00:12:12 And if we're going to dive into the stats, let's dive into the stats. 4.9 yards per attempt. I think I said 4.4 earlier. I'm sorry. I shorted you half a yard. 4.9 yards per pass attempt is awful. Terrible. That's not going to get it done.

Starting point is 00:12:33 And all of the stuff that we said, and I was not the only person with that take. Lots of people said, Dabo, this is why you use the transfer portal. If you don't have receivers who can separate, you go find one or two receivers who can separate. And it actually makes it easier for everybody, including your quarterback. But you can't do anything about that right now. The portal's closed right now.

Starting point is 00:12:59 You're not getting anybody else. You got to work with what you got. And what you got is an offense that averaged 4.9 yards per pass attempt against Duke. And now you got to play Florida State and Notre Dame and NC State. And that doesn't seem great. But we'll find out. Maybe Dabo's right. Maybe they go on 11-1 for the rest of the season.

Starting point is 00:13:22 I just can't see it. It is, it is very hard to imagine based on what we saw at the end of the game the other night with Duke, just ramming the ball down Clemson's throat. That was probably the most shocking part of it. It was at, I was at the Florida state LSU game on Sunday, and it was very similar to the, how Florida State did LSU in the second half, where it kept going and going and getting worse and worse. And then at the end, Florida State was just roaring through LSU. And that's the same thing Duke was doing to Clemson, which is stunning to see because Clemson's defense just doesn't let that happen very often. So a lot of work to be done at Clemson. And I get that Dabo needs to stay positive and keep his team up.

Starting point is 00:14:10 And maybe he's ripping them behind the scenes and trying to put a good face on it for the public. But no, what they did the other night will not be good enough. It will not win them the rest of their games. It's just that simple. You know what else is simple? Picking games. There's a spread, sure. But you see who you like, you go with your gut, and you pick. We're going to pick games tonight. We have a brand new sponsor, and all these pick shows now will be sponsored by FanDuel, America's number one sports book.

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Starting point is 00:15:18 FanDuel is the official partner of the NFL, but of course you can play college football games on FanDuel as well. The games we'll be talking about today, Colorado, Nebraska, the Seahawk game, Iowa, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Miami, Texas, Alabama. A lot of huge games this week. FanDuel is the place to go. So go to fanduel.com slash staples. Download that app.

Starting point is 00:15:43 Get yourself signed up. If you're a new customer, $5 gets you $200 in bonus bets. Bandool.com slash staples. All right. Now it is time to make our picks against the spread. My special guest picker this week, former LSU running back Jacob Hester, he is, man, he's all over it. This is a guy who watches the tape. This is a guy who knows the schemes, understands how all these teams work. This was a lot of fun. Here's Jacob. Our guest picker this week, and we're going to make sure he actually picks the games.

Starting point is 00:16:23 Ours last week didn't always say what he was picking. So we got to keep records here. Jacob Hester, former LSU running back, star of Swamp Kings. They actually did mention your four touchdowns against the Gators in Swamp Kings. And also, you can hear him on Sirius XM off campus every weekday at 3 p.m. Eastern time and on 104.5 ESPN Radio in Baton Rouge. Yeah, glad to be here. I got a couple of questions. I didn't watch the Swamp Kings, so I don't know yet.

Starting point is 00:16:57 I mean, what's wild is that's like who I consider the rival for LSU. And I've got a lot of friends that wore the orange and blue you Doring Laura Rutledge Andrea Adelson I mean I just got like oh Steffi sorts of like all these people I'm like is it me like do I have too many gator friends like maybe I should watch it maybe I should you know turn definitely the other page listen you got as much airtime as Percy Harvin did because one of the one of the they talked to Tebow about the phone, the cell phone number getting posted. Right.

Starting point is 00:17:28 Because remember, that was the weakest cell phone number got posted. Yeah. So, you know, they score early in the game. Tebow goes to the student section and does the call me thing. Right. And, but so they mentioned, I can't remember who they had talking about it. It was one of the players from the games. Like, we couldn't stop Jacob Hester.

Starting point is 00:17:51 So, I was like, wow, they're giving Hester full credit here yeah hey hey I'll I will take it as a 38 year old washed up running back I will take full credit but then I've got to go back Andy I've got to ask who was the guest picker last week that wouldn't commit to a game well shockingly it was Ari Wasserman who has an opinion on everything and he just but but you you you know how Ari can can kind of get off on tangents and so he would he'd be talking about the game and then forget to say who he thought was going to cover hey he covered both bases he didn't give you a winner exactly well I uh I have a lot of crow to eat. I said that Colorado was not going to cover against TCU. I said TCU was going to cover a 20.5 point spread against Colorado. So I look really stupid on that one.

Starting point is 00:18:33 I do feel very, very good about take Florida State to win and take the over. So I thought I did okay there. But it was not my best week. The Colorado TCU game just messed me up completely. Yeah, I stayed away from that one completely. I just had no idea. I don't think any of us had an idea. I wasn't good, bad, or indifferent on Colorado.

Starting point is 00:18:56 I really just had no idea because we had not seen that team play together. We have not seen that group of young men. A lot of times in college football, you'll have some new new but new is like 10 or 15 even in the high numbers maybe you get to 20 like we're talking 60 different bodies on there so really honestly I wasn't one way or the other with them I thought TCU would be really good offensively which they were and I thought they'd struggle defensively outside of Johnny Hodges which they they did. But man, I did not have Colorado being able to answer, answer, answer in that heat, in that environment. And Travis Hunter, we used to call Anthony Richardson the unicorn.

Starting point is 00:19:34 He no longer has that title. I think it's Travis Hunter now because to do what he did and to play both ways is one thing. Like we've seen it before with Chris Gamble at Ohio State. We saw it with Champ Bailey at Georgia, Ohio State we saw it with Champ Bailey at Georgia and certainly we saw with Charles Woodson in Michigan but to do it that many times and to do it at that level and to be I'll say it be elite on both sides of the football that's what makes him a unicorn and I am fascinated to see if it can last this week with Nebraska coming to town

Starting point is 00:20:01 and then really throughout the entire season yeah that. That's what I'm, I'm excited to see with Tony White's defense, which played really well against Minnesota. Like I don't blame Nebraska's defense for that loss at all. How do they do now that they got film? Because before you had to watch this mishmash of, you had to watch Jackson state for Shador Sanders. You had to watch Kent state to see Sean Lewis's offense. You had to – and various different people.

Starting point is 00:20:28 And then there's no – you have no idea how Dylan Edwards is going to look in his first game. They probably recruited him at TCU, so they probably knew a little bit about him. But even – like that speed, I knew he was fast. I didn't know it was that. So there was things that you can learn from that tape. And it's always that next week.

Starting point is 00:20:47 I mean, you're right. Like if I'm looking at that game, it's like can Jeff Sims really, if this turns into a shootout, can he really make an impact? Can he keep up with what we saw the other day in Fort Worth? Like can he not throw into cover one when the game's on the line and he's a veteran quarterback and he's played that many snaps when you never throw the dig route in that coverage like those are still questions that i have and like there was some good but if it gets into a shootout like even though you do have that

Starting point is 00:21:14 tape like it's it's going to be hard to kind of play that type of game so nebraska's they really got to be careful yeah and we've seen that kind of shooter let's let's talk about that one let's let's just talk about nebraska colorado. It's Colorado minus three right now. I think this has got to be a tough one for line makers too, just Colorado in general, because they took a bath on the TCU game. Then they come back. They install Colorado as a touchdown favorite. The gamblers bet that down to three.

Starting point is 00:21:45 So the Sharps are like, no, no, no, it's going to come back. I don't know what to think because, like you said, there's tape. But if it's a shootout, yeah. I trust these guys now that I've seen them win a shootout against TCU, which probably has better talent defensively than Nebraska does. Yeah, I think you would be right in that. And then when I look at how the athletes are going to match up on the outside, like I'm going to give Colorado that advantage.

Starting point is 00:22:17 And with everything surrounding this game, now there's pressure on Colorado now because now the world knows what they did on Saturday against TCU. But this is Folsom Field it's going to be at its peak right and these are proud football fans they haven't had something to cheer for like this I mean the 2016 year maybe so you got to go back to like the early 2000s where they've had an opportunity to have a team like this and to have a real chance to go out there and do something special that's why you see like the lowest ticket I think and it's like 392 bucks like just to get into Folsom it costs more

Starting point is 00:22:51 to go to this game to buy the cheapest available secondary market ticket to this game than it costs to buy the entire season of Colorado football last year okay that that gives you a perfect example of what Folsom Field is going to be like so the home field advantage all the juice you have from this week if they can do a good job of not reading all the headlines and not seeing their name up there on the marquee blinking which I think with you know Coach Prime he's obviously he's been through that so maybe he has and they did it at Jackson State too I mean they were the talk of the town at that level and so they've certainly been able to handle that before a bulk of these players who play for him at Jackson State, too. I mean, they were the talk of the town at that level. And so they've certainly been able to handle that before.

Starting point is 00:23:26 A bulk of these players who play for him at Jackson State, honestly, I don't worry about that. I think this is an opportunity for them. And I don't think they fold under the pressure. I think they go in there, they are the aggressor, not the counterpuncher, and they just out-athlete Nebraska. And I'm high on Nebraska. Like, I'm high on what Matt Ruh rule can do, but just not right now.

Starting point is 00:23:45 And it's going to be athletes in space, basketball and grass, all the old terms that we use. And I just, I can't see this game if it plays into Colorado's hands, which I think they dictate the pace really, you know, staying close to that three number.

Starting point is 00:23:58 I think so too. And, and I'm, I'm scared because I was so wrong on Colorado last week that I feel like if I say it now, it's going to just boomerang back the other way on me. But it's a three-point spread. Like if Nebraska wins this game by two, I don't feel that bad. We'd be talking about a five-point difference.

Starting point is 00:24:18 We're not talking about a 23-and-a-half-point difference, which is what happened in the TCU game. So, yes, I will take Colorado to cover here. I, and, and, and as will you, we've been, we've been converted. I, I thought coach prime was going to work long-term, right? I just didn't think it would work right away because of the, the heart, how hard it is to get good offensive and defensive lineman out of the portal. I'm not sure they got either one,

Starting point is 00:24:44 but they've managed to come up with a scheme that hides that. That's exactly right. And so the surprises were not really that you went out there and played like that. It's like you played like that against who you did it against. Like I'm still not down on TCU. Like there's some things they got to fix, but I think that's still a team that's going to win a lot of games in the Big 12. That was the most impressive part. Then you're exactly right, Andy. They hid some of their deficiencies. They got the ball out of their hand incredibly fast.

Starting point is 00:25:14 If they felt like they couldn't hold up during periods of that game, they just got it out to the back and allowed him to go out there and make plays in space, which he certainly did, had three receiving touchdowns. The game plan itself, it was perfect. And so that's the challenge this week. If I'm Nebraska, certainly with the new rules and I have a running quarterback, you're not touching the ball. Like I'm trying to keep it away. That play clock is bleeding all the way until we get to like single digits

Starting point is 00:25:38 every single time. We saw Duke do it to Clemson at the end of the game and actually ended up just pounding it down their throats and blowing them out. But, yeah, it is – it's going to be – this is wild because it is – I was hearing the guys on part of my take talk about Dion, and they're right. He is just a fountain of takes. Like all he does is generate strong opinions from everybody.

Starting point is 00:26:03 And I do love how him being successful just makes certain people mad. So in that wild, it just makes people mad. Like almost like they are rooting for his failure. I'm like, that's not how you're supposed to do it. It's like, how can you live your life with that?

Starting point is 00:26:17 Is your attitude, the fact that you want, because he doesn't do it the way it's been done forever. You want it to fail. I'm like, look, that can be you. You're not going to catch me rooting against 18, 19 19 20 year olds because they're doing it a different way

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Starting point is 00:28:06 You get a free hydro flask style bottle with your order. That's birddogs.com slash staples. Promo code staples. Go ahead. Start living a life of maximum efficiency. Speaking of different, well, this is the next one is a game of different and same so Notre Dame and NC State Sam Hartman making his fourth start against the Wolfpack but this time for Notre Dame instead of Wake Forest he's one and two he's actually thrown six picks in the last two meetings

Starting point is 00:28:38 against that Tony Gibson defense is seven and a half point spread in this game people are really high on Notre Dame's offense. We have not seen them play anybody. They're about to play a really good defense. Yeah, they're playing a defense that yet again returns a ton of guys. That's a story really for them for the last three years. They've had veteran guys and they return a bulk of those guys. And last week, I guess if, and you probably know this, Andy, obviously,

Starting point is 00:29:03 but if you don't do a deep dive into college football, you see UConn and you just kind of hand wave it off. Jim Moore Jr. has actually done some really nice things there. It's a better football team. And so, yeah, you only win, I believe the final was 24-14, but that was a hard-fought, physical, tough football game. And so NC State to go on the road to get that victory, a lot of people are saying only by 10 against UConn,

Starting point is 00:29:25 I put more stock into UConn. so I actually think that's a nice victory and if you're an NC State fan you loved seeing Brendan Armstrong with his legs he can make the throws like we know that but now him being back with his offense coordinator we know how important that is as well but like he made the plays with his legs and I think that's the best version of him when he's doing he's a true dual threat guy I think he had right under 100 yards rushing in that game against UConn it's a tough place to play it's a place that's going to be at its peak because every place is at its peak whenever Notre Dame comes to town I like NC State to cover this this number like I don't know if they win outright yeah but I think they make enough plays they play their

Starting point is 00:30:03 style of football in their own building and again it's a veteran team that has a defense that can certainly confuse you so Notre Dame's going to have a real challenge here Notre Dame the first two weeks against Navy and Tennessee State has looked great this is a different challenge and it's going on the road in a nice environment like we're talking about here and I'm still like I was incredibly high on NC State last year I thought they were like a dark horse playoff type team they did not get there they won eight games Devin Leary went out and that entire thing didn't look like we thought it would they still have a lot of those jimmies and joes on that team now I don't have that expectation for them but

Starting point is 00:30:39 they certainly can go out there and they can win this game and I certainly think they cover the number so I'm fascinated by this too marcus freeman has actually played the robert and i brennan armstrong offense but brennan armstrong didn't play yeah so they they played virginia in 2021 when virginia had a very good offense but armstrong was hurt and notre dame won that game 28 to 3 so uh they've they've actually prepped. Marcus Freeman has prepped for the Anai-Armstrong combo, but has not gotten to play against it.

Starting point is 00:31:13 Transfer portal is a strange thing. It really is. Oh, man. I mean, get your red yarn out and get a board like in your office and just start drawing the strings of where guys are. Because even the ones that do deep dives into the portal like you'll say a name they're like he's where he's there oh okay i didn't realize that yeah i mean look this this nc state defense will be the best test we've seen for jared parker and that that notre dame offense and uh it's tony gibson who loves to rush seven or rush three and but does not like to tip you off as to which is coming until the snap.

Starting point is 00:31:51 And so that's that's the thing. You know, Sam Hartman in that Wake Forest offense, you're in the slow mesh. You're trying to wait for a passing lane to pop open. This is a little different. He's in the shotgun. He's taking a snap. Theoretically, his line holds up and those rush three moments he's got all shotgun he's taking a snap theoretically his line holds up and those rush three moments he's got all day to throw now the question is how well does nc state cover

Starting point is 00:32:11 uh it's those rush seven moments where you figure out how good is he how quick is he thinking how how how well does he know this offense because that's when somebody's wide open and he's either getting sacked or he's hitting them so yeah and we kind of talk about this when we talk about Mississippi State's defense right you go against Zach Arnett like he's going to bring three a lot but when he doesn't bring three it's like they are coming like he'll play cover zero quick and it's like okay man which one is he going to be because we're talking about completely different defenses and then in the slow mesh if you're dropping eight in the coverage there's not a lot there and then that three can get home because it does take so long so this will be

Starting point is 00:32:54 completely different for him it's the matchup and it seems cliche because we could go across a lot of games to talk about quarterback defense but that's what it is because Sam Hartman has looked like a Heisman trophy type candidate here in the early portion of the season. But this is without question the biggest test that he'll have and a defense that can confuse you. And you're right, like you don't know when it's coming. That's the best part about it. There's some of these defenses and certainly once we get into like a 3-3-5 discussion where they just they tip their cap and they tip their hand, I should say, and kind of give you an idea of what they're going to do. If you disguise it right, I mean, think about that.

Starting point is 00:33:27 The difference between three and seven as two former offensive guys, we know how confusing that can be. So if Sam Hartman goes out there and he goes to Raleigh and he dominates, then everything that we said in the first couple of weeks will be heightened and it will be true as well. Yeah. The hype will be off the charts for Notre Dame if they win this game.

Starting point is 00:33:46 And they've got Ohio State in week four. You know what? I'm buying it. I'm taking them to cover. You're taking NC State to cover. I'm going to take Notre Dame to cover seven and a half, which is, this is a tough environment. I made the mistake years ago of saying,

Starting point is 00:34:00 oh, NC State's not that tough a place. And then Florida State goes there, and you've got the giant dude waving his T-shirt on the pole, and it's like, oh, no, that place is nuts. Oh, yeah. It's great. Yeah, my NFL quarterback, Phillip Rivers, played there, and then we'd get in conversations about different stadiums,

Starting point is 00:34:19 and he would be quick to tell me it might not have the same amount of people as those SEC stadiums that you played in but it is an environment that everyone will appreciate so I went back after I retired and he's exactly right and I think they were playing like a directional school yeah and it was still a very good environment so I'm a believer in what that place can be yeah Carter Finley is a good football crowd all right another early game this is a just a loaded day. It really is. There's intrigue everywhere. Texas A& four-and-a-half point dog at home. I liked what I saw from A&M against New Mexico. It was just against New Mexico.

Starting point is 00:35:11 I liked what I saw against Miami against Miami. And not the spring game. They were playing Miami and Ohio. But Francis Malinoa started at right tackle as a true freshman. We were told he and Samson Okunola, who was another five-star-plus freshman, they'd play. And sure enough, Miami ran the ball really well. I thought that was impressive. This front seven will be much tougher to run on than Miami of Ohio.

Starting point is 00:35:42 Yeah, and it's a strength of A&M. Last year, it was kind of a weakness, but I think you have veteran players that understand their assignments a little bit better, certainly in the run game. And you watch A&M last year, and the run fits were atrocious. I mean, they were bad. I saw an improved front seven because you knew the talent was there. I mean, that's why you send two guys from the front seven to media day.

Starting point is 00:36:03 That's why you had those five-star guys up there because you have a belief in that position group. But I don't really know how to view this matchup because I think there's so much pressure in this matchup for both teams, you know, for the same reason, but for different reasons as well. And so like if I'm Texas A&M, like what are you going to do offensively? Like, are you going to have those one-on-one matchups that last week against New Mexico like you threw it up to Stewart because you said my guy's better than your guy are you going to have that same approach I'm fascinated by that because your guy may not be better than Miami's guy yeah yeah and their success last week was because they

Starting point is 00:36:40 thought hey our guy's just so much better hey Wegman Wegman, throw it up in the air, one-on-one coverage. He's wide open basically in our minds, and let him go make a play. Are you going to have the ability to do that? Will we see more evolution in Bobby Petrino at Texas A&M? It's still very early in the process. This game being on the road doesn't really affect me one way or the other. I don't think it's going to be a venue that's going to terrify Texas A&M. I mean, humidity is in College Station just like it is in Miami.

Starting point is 00:37:11 And so home and away doesn't really affect my decision in this one. I just want to know, how do you attack Miami if you're Texas A&M? Because I'm just not sure that you can have the same thought process. I think a lot of your receivers, but Miami's got dudes out there on the edge as well, very athletic guys playing corner, playing safety. So how they attack this Miami defense is going to be the story of the game. But I think A&M does realize they have to win this game. They cannot go out there and lose this game. And the number sitting there at four and a half, I like A&M to cover that number because I think they understand they have to.

Starting point is 00:37:45 Not they'd like to. They have to go out there and win this game. If they want to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference this year. And for Miami, I still think they're a little bit off. I still think they're a little bit ways of being where they want to be. The recruits are great. I love playing freshman as well. I love recruiting a five-star guy and saying, you know what?

Starting point is 00:38:02 We're going to grow through you. But I think that's what they're doing. They're growing through this recruiting class that they just signed. And so for that reason, I think A&M a little bit ahead of where Miami is. The losing coach of this game is going to get buried by his own fan base. Yeah. Buried. It feels like 2016, not to the same extent, 2016 Auburn versus LSU.

Starting point is 00:38:22 When it was like Gus Malzahn, town Les Miles who loses and who keeps their job after this game and Les lost on the last second play they thought they scored they didn't and Les got fired that night basically but it came out the next morning and it was a it was like the old thunderdome like two men enter one man leave it's not. It's not that. It's not that, but it feels like it could be that for the narratives continuing throughout the season. Yeah, all right. I am going to take Miami to cover here. I don't know that they necessarily win

Starting point is 00:38:54 because I think this is going to be a low-scoring affair. Yeah. But I will take Miami to cover here. I imagine this is going to be the defensive fronts and the offensive fronts just slamming against each other and maybe not a lot of movement, which kind of what it was last year. It was just a sloppier version of it. This might be a more high-level version of that.

Starting point is 00:39:16 Yeah, that game last year should have come with a warning. Like, if you don't enjoy exciting, fun, high-powered offense, look away. Like, it should have had disclaimer on the front of that game because, oof, I mean, even as, like, an old-school 21 personnel fullback, that was tough to watch. Speaking of tough offenses to watch, our next game is for the CyHawk Trophy. Oh, hey, I'm ready.

Starting point is 00:39:43 There it is. We put on the neck roll. Iowa and Iowa State, the neck roll has been applied. Yep. Oh, my. So my rule with Iowa games is we pick against the spread, but we also pick the total because, you know, you can't not. I laughed my ass off last week because they roll down the field on the first drive.

Starting point is 00:40:06 First series touchdown pass for Iowa is 1991. Look great. Second drive, go for it on fourth down on the goal line. You throw to the tight end. Oh, it's like they are rolling. Brian Ferentz is going to keep his job easy. 24 points total. I know.

Starting point is 00:40:27 I mean, isn't that just like college football poetic justice there? Like we talk about this number all season long, and you get one less than the number that we all talked about in the 25. It was like, of course they score 24 points there in the opener. And you're right, like Cade McNamara driving down the field is like, wait a minute, I can turn on this tape and not predict exactly what the play is going to be? That's different because last year I could.

Starting point is 00:40:53 I would get on to my film account and I'd be like, oh, inside zone, outside zone, play action. It was like an 80% hit rate. I shouldn't be able to sit in my office and predict what you're going to run because if I'm doing that, defensive coordinators are certainly doing that. And I'm like, okay, this looks a little bit different. But then you start to take your foot off the gas pedal just a little bit. And it's like, I don't know that you can afford to do that,

Starting point is 00:41:19 like literally because you've got to score 25 in your contract. But you've got to be more unpredictable because you've got a defense. Andy, you've got the number two overall defense in the country last year. You gave up three yards per play. You know how hard that is to do as a defense? You only gave up 17 total offensive touchdowns. You were so bad, egregiously bad on offense, 130 at the time the time 131 that you only win eight games like this is a team that if they just get something offensively they're going to be a 10 win football

Starting point is 00:41:53 team like and that has to create friction in the locker room how does it not we are doing our job at an elite level and you're so bad on offense that we only win eight games and so I was encouraged I was excited that's why I got the neck roll ready to go I want Iowa to be good I want Iowa to have a fullback because they still do and to line up and be able to run the football but the bad part about it is like we always used to make fun of the toss dive at LSU because yeah it was outdated it was old school like they needed to evolve but at least they had Leonard Fournette they had dudes still carrying the football right they had Darius Geis they had all these guys that were still out there in NFL backs Jeremy Hill so they were successful

Starting point is 00:42:35 it just didn't win them championships I was doing the same things but they're not successful doing it but they continue to do it and so I don't even know what the total of this game is. Okay, there it is, 36 and a half. 36 and a half. You could have said 26 and a half and I said under. Sure. Yeah, I'm taking Iowa to cover and the under. Me too.

Starting point is 00:42:54 And I'm going to take Iowa to cover and the under almost every week, not when they play Penn State probably, but most of the weeks of this season until they do something different, I'm going to take Iowa to cover in the under. I'm right there with you. Because Iowa's defense is that good. Their special teams is that good where they can go and they can cover this game.

Starting point is 00:43:14 But it's going to be under until the offense just continues to not do the same thing. I just don't understand why they continue to do it. The fact that Riley Moss, who got drafted to play corner by the Broncos was their best offensive player the last two years. And he didn't play offense. That tells you how bad it was. Like where would they be without his pick sixes?

Starting point is 00:43:34 Sam Laporta erasure here. I won't stand for it. I love Sam Laporta, by the way, he went to the perfect team. I mean, gritty. I mean,

Starting point is 00:43:42 you see the sweatshirt too gritty to be pretty like that. Sam Laporta. He went to the perfect coach, but gritty I mean you see the sweatshirt too gritty to be pretty like that's Sam Laporta uh he went to the perfect coach but I mean what are we doing here I would just evolve a little bit be true to yourself know thyself have your same identity but do it in ways where we can't predict what you're running okay because I want to wear this neck roll for you 24 points a game they're gonna have to evolve they're not gonna have a choice so all right let us move to a game where another team i was i was wrong on last week i i was so sure that utsa as a favorite against houston was going to cover and houston beat him and and utsa just could not could not score in that game this game's fascinating we had g had G.J. Kenny, the Texas State coach, on yesterday's show.

Starting point is 00:44:25 Jeff Traylor, the UTSA coach, was G.J. Kenny's high school coach. It's a perfect Texas storyline. It is an episode of Friday Night Lights. It's unbelievable. Texas State, UTSA for control of that part of I-35.

Starting point is 00:44:41 UTSA is a 12.5 point favorite. I am taking the bobcats here hester and if you have not had gj kenny on your show yet tell your producer call him okay he's he's a phenomenal interview one but just to hear how they built this team right and how they leveraged all their connections to find people in the transfer portal. Obviously, the headliners, T.J. Finley, because he was at LSU and Auburn before that, and he looked like an NFL quarterback in Texas State's offense. But G.J. Kenny's not shy about saying it. They beat Baylor last week, and he said that if you looked at those two teams,

Starting point is 00:45:21 you'd have thought we were the Power 5 team. Yeah. I mean, without question. The way they built this team was a way that's like a case study, kind of as we continue on with the transfer portal. And, like, our first real member of the case study was Michigan State. In the year that they had, they go win a New Year's 6 bowl game. And then, obviously, last year they kind of fall off the cliff. And it's like, okay, can this work?

Starting point is 00:45:43 Like, can you sustain success with this model? And so Colorado is going to be in that conversation, Texas State now firmly in that conversation, but it worked for them this year. I know it worked for them right now, and I am excited to catch up with them. We haven't had a chance to have him on, but I've heard that from everybody, Andy, that has had a chance to interview him, and so I'm looking forward to that day. And what I saw against Baylorlor and I know Dave Aranda

Starting point is 00:46:05 really well and I know his defense can be hard to crack they cracked it they cracked it wide open they get Thor's hammer and they just crack that thing wide open and I think they can continue to do that I'm going to take Texas State to cover here at 12 and a half you give me that many points I'll take them yes now same thing with Colorado like you know don't read your headlines know that you got to get ready for this game no UTSA is a capable opponent that certainly will beat you if you're not but TJ Finley has started in Death Valley right he has started in Jordan Hare Stadium like he is going to be ready for this moment and he has been through the fire already and now he's coming out on the other side a better quarterback because of it I mean that is a true arm talent wise Sunday quarterback now there's other things that got to play into that and we'll see if he continues to develop but we always talk about UTSA's quarterback and

Starting point is 00:46:54 Harris and I get that but like no this guy right here he can go out there and he can make all the throws and he is going to be the leader of what they do this year so that's a huge number in a game like this I like Texas State to cover this matchup in a game I think it's going to be the leader of what they do this year. So that's a huge number in a game like this. I like Texas State to cover this matchup in a game. I think it's going to be actually a well-played game. I think it's going to have some Christmas to it, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out because Texas State's a fascinating story and UTSA has kind of already been in the spot that Texas State currently is in. And so can they regain all that confidence we had in them? Exactly. And UTSA was the one that was getting picked by the transfer portal instead of state currently is in and so can they regain all that confidence we had in them exactly and utsa

Starting point is 00:47:25 was the one that was getting picked by the transfer portal instead of picking out but you know texas state didn't have a choice they fired jake spavidle a bunch of people left like they they had to fill the roster and so they had no choice but to to go deep into the portal and yeah 52 new scholarship players at texas, but it looked good. I mean, think about that number. Like when you and I were playing college football, like think about that. I think we had one transfer come in.

Starting point is 00:47:51 We had Sammy Joseph come in from Colorado and we had like two guys leave like in my four years at LSU, like leave and like go play somewhere else. Not like leave and just right. Like Lavelle Hawkins was the guy who ended up playing a long time in the NFL. A quick story. He ran his his first 110 test inside of Tiger Stadium. So, like, the first day that freshmen get there, right, he's from California. He came on his visit in, like, November, like, very end of the season, where it wasn't that bad of a weather day in Baton Rouge.

Starting point is 00:48:19 He ran one 110 test. He looked at all of us and said, fam, it's too hot. I'm going back home and flew back to California that day. Went to Juco, went to Cal, played seven years in the NFL. He got fooled by the crisp November weather there in Baton Rouge. That's like a spring official visit to Wisconsin. Yes. Where you're like, oh, this is wonderful.

Starting point is 00:48:41 Why does anybody talk about the weather here? Yeah, it is wonderful. Why does anybody talk about the weather here? Yeah, it is amazing. Now, one of those UTSA transfers was their best receiver, who's now at Ole Miss. Ole Miss playing at Tulane. Now, this is a really interesting line. Tulane is a 7.5-point underdog at home. Ole Miss favored by 7.5.

Starting point is 00:49:09 Ole Miss looked great against Mercer. But we had Jim Nagy from the senior ball on the show the other day and he was he was at Tulane South Alabama which by the way South Alabama is a very good team Tulane made it look easy yeah and Jim said Michael Pratt's even better than last year than when we saw him beating USC in the Cotton Bowl. I believe that. And Michael Pratt plays quarterback like he's a fullback, so you know that I love that. I mean, he has no regard for his body. Go back to the Oklahoma game a couple of years ago. Like, that's the only style that he knows.

Starting point is 00:49:35 Cam Rising is the same way, right? And sometimes it gets him into some trouble as far as injuries, but my goodness, I love the toughness. And if you don't think that was a big win against South Alabama, I think it was 37-17 was the final, then you just haven't been paying attention. In production, returning production, South Alabama was fourth overall in the country

Starting point is 00:49:54 from a 10-3 football team. That was a field goal away from beating UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Kane Womack is a star in the profession. Like, in three years, Andy, we could do this show again, and he's going to be somewhere that's a major power five. And I'm not trying to – Oh, yeah, Kane Womack versus G.J. Kinney is what we're going to see in one of those games.

Starting point is 00:50:14 Yeah, exactly right. And I'm not throwing shade at South Alabama because they have something pretty cool there with the facilities and, you know, the indoor space that they have now, and the senior bowl does a great job partnering with them. But that was a real program that Tulane just took to the woodshed. I mean, they were the aggressor the entire game. They were the better football team.

Starting point is 00:50:31 So you're wondering, after Tajay Spears, can they be the same team? You know, you lose a couple of other guys from that Cotton Bowl team. Well, Michael Pratt missed one pass in that game against South Alabama. Ole Miss better know that. Now, I think they do. I think they realize that. Now, this game being at Tulane is unique. It's better know that. Now, I think they do. I think they realize that. Now, this game being at Tulane is unique. It's not in Oxford. This game is going to be rocking. In fact, I don't

Starting point is 00:50:51 cover games anymore on the weekend, and it's life-changing. By the way, you get to watch games at home and go to the games that you want to go to. My oldest son's birthday is coming up this weekend. I'm like, hey, we can go to LSU Grambling right down the street but we also can go 50 minutes down the road and go to Tulane and Ole Miss and so like we're deciding between which game to go to and I'm not even gonna lie to you I wouldn't hate if he chose Tulane and Ole Miss because it is going to be a great atmosphere Uelmen Stadium has not seen a game like this we know Ole Miss fans are going to travel they want to go to Bourbon Street do the whole deal make a trip out of it but this isn't just for show like this isn't know Ole Miss fans are going to travel. They want to go to Bourbon Street, do the whole deal, make a trip out of it. But this isn't just for show. This isn't like, hey, we're going to give you a solid and come visit your stadium. Tulane expects to win this

Starting point is 00:51:32 game. The number's sitting right there at seven and a half. There's challenges for Tulane and Willie Fritz. How do you stop one of the best running backs in the country? Quinshawn Jenkins. I don't know how you get it done, but I got belief in Tulane that they're going to keep it under that number. I don't know that they get the outright win. I mean, it's seven and a half. It's like I can see them, a seven-point game certainly, maybe even a backdoor situation where it's a 14-point game, Tulane scores late, whatever it is.

Starting point is 00:52:00 This is going to be a game, in my opinion, late into the game. Is it into third quarter fourth quarter I don't know Tulane is not going to be afraid of this Ole Miss team I mean last year they beat the big 12 champion and they beat USC now obviously they have a slip up after K-State loses Southern Miss right you got to be able to handle success I think they learned that as they went along they revenged the loss against UCF. And so this Tulane team is battle-tested. They're quarterback. They're head coach.

Starting point is 00:52:28 They're battle-tested. This is going to be a slugfest, in my opinion. And Ole Miss better be ready for a full 60-minute game. Well, the receiver I mentioned before was Zachary Franklin, who's been hurt. So we haven't gotten to see him at Ole Miss. We did get to see Trey Harris, who transferred from Louisiana Tech. Yeah. Six catches, 133 yards

Starting point is 00:52:46 four touchdowns in his first game i granted it's against mercer i get it but it certainly seems like lane has uh has found what he needed in the portal to keep that offense going vertically again so yeah and jack and jackson dart kind of asserted himself in my opinion in that game i know spencer sanders played but obviously when the game was well decided, that was big for Jackson Dart because it's like, wait, man, we got Spencer Sanders, we got Walker Howard. Like, is this my team? I think he went out there and proved that it is his team,

Starting point is 00:53:16 which I thought was big. Even though, like, a lopsided victory, you can still take that from that game. Yeah, and I'm going to take old miss to cover here i i think i think they they've added you know weapons to create a better passing game to go along with the running game had to carry them last year oh yeah without i don't know that it's gonna have to carry them this year so i think they're a little more diversified and that's gonna be a problem for a lot of teams that they play. Team we saw last week that we had big hopes for that got upset on the road. Texas Tech went to Wyoming and lost. Now Oregon comes to Lubbock.

Starting point is 00:53:55 Oregon's only a six and a half point favorite in this game. I figured after Texas Tech lost to Wyoming that that number was going to be a little bit different. But I think there's still some faith in Texas Tech that they are going to be better than what we saw in Laramie. I just don't understand the Texas Tech love affair in the offseason. Not to say they're a bad football team, because I think they can be good. And Coach McGuire, I think he's a really good football coach. That was a defense that was like 123, I think, defense and had a first round draft pick yeah exactly you lose an

Starting point is 00:54:30 edge rusher like the most important position in my opinion on the defensive side of the football and everybody that we talked to on off campus anybody that had any ties to the big 12 it's like watch out for texas tech watch out i'm like and finally like i forget i think i was doing the show with chris button like kb why like tell and finally, I think I was doing the show with Chris Button. I'm like, KB, why? Tell me why. I think they can win games, yes, but why are we putting them in the same category as some of these other teams?

Starting point is 00:54:53 And I just never really fully bought into all the hype that they had in the preseason. And then they go to Laramie, and yeah, a different place to play. Altitude. Coach Boll, by the way. We had him on the show yesterday. Oh, he's awesome. That's who I would be when I'm 65 years old and as a head does not care not one bit like he was so old school and just like hey here's what it is here's what it was and i love that and so

Starting point is 00:55:16 like wyoming man they were down 17 to nothing in that game and they're like okay cool like we're just going to go out there we're just going to play our ball we're going to find our way back and they did so if you're a texas tech fan you're trying going to go out there. We're just going to play our ball. We're going to find our way back, and they did. So if you're a Texas Tech fan, you're trying to pump sunshine. You'd be like, we were up 17 to nothing. We just didn't focus. Maybe, but I never understood why Texas Tech continued to get love. Again, I think they can be that team because I think they have the right coach,

Starting point is 00:55:40 and we've seen Texas Tech reach heights before. Just didn't think they were ready. And then maybe they read those clips as well because well you go out there you lose to Wyoming and you got a team coming to town that has got a new identity Dan Lanning has this Pac-12 team that's always been high flying and fast and get on the edge well he's got them playing pissed off and mad and angry and physical and all those things and like for whatever reason like Willie Taggart, Mario Cristobal, you get to Oregon, it's a great job, you win, then you leave. And I don't understand why. I never have understood why,

Starting point is 00:56:13 even if it's to go back home for Mario Cristobal. Dan Lanning feels like he wants to be there and wants to build that program. And now they're going to the Big Ten. It's a program that has taken on an identity that I never thought you could get out of Oregon, and that's scary for every other team. I think they cover and cover easy. See, Mario Cristobal being the head coach there, even though he left, I think allowed them to

Starting point is 00:56:36 understand you can recruit good line of scrimmage talent here. It doesn't have to just be a bunch of good skill guys and some okay linemen. You can have really good offensive linemen and really good defensive linemen and then surround them with the same skill talent that you had under Chip Kelly. And I think that's the thing. They're going to potentially have it all once they get to the Big Ten. They have the capability to do that and they're going to be i mean texas tech has to play texas this year but other than texas they're probably going to be the most talented team texas that plays so i mean i and i would

Starting point is 00:57:17 argue right there with texas yeah because i mean you look at the oregon roster i mean it's jimmy's and joe's all over the place yeah so i i'm gonna take Oregon to cover here too even though weird things do tend to happen in Lubbock but I expected that number to be higher and it would take some it would take into double digits to get me to to back off that and yeah yeah I mean you're right weird things do happen in Lubbock my official visit to Texas Tech was a night where they beat Chris Sims. He was the quarterback at Texas there. They were maybe number three in the country. That was Leach's first huge win there. Yeah, Cliff Kingsbury, Wes Welker.

Starting point is 00:57:53 They went out there, and they played really well, like they did so many times in Lubbock. And tortillas were on the field and the whole deal. Libations were had after the game. How about that? My host for my visit there were cliff kingsbury and west welker that was that was not a bad time that was not a bad time on that official visit shout out to sonny dykes though first scholarship offer after that game for me listen the man always knew what

Starting point is 00:58:15 he was looking at always yeah i mean sonny dykes man i'll always appreciate my guy giving me my first opportunity to like no okay well maybe you can't play in college and then nick saban's like no we'll take you that did happen that was something that happened you're like i i think this saban guy might have a future in this business so i'm gonna go ahead and play for him yeah it didn't take me long like he couldn't get like the offer like out of his mouth before like i commit i was waiting on that one and i was actually committed to texas at the time because i was waiting on the lsu offer that i didn't really ever know if it would come and uh having to call and disappoint mac brown who is the best human on this planet was one of the hardest days of my life having to call and like let him know

Starting point is 00:58:59 jacob i understand you want you want to stay home and and i would love for you to be here at Texas with me, but I understand the pull of home. That's exactly how it went, and every time I interview him, he reminds me of that phone call, though. At least you made it. Now, this is pre-social media, so you couldn't just send out a tweet like, hey, I'm going to LSU. Forget you, Texas. pre-social media so you couldn't just send out a tweet like hey i'm going to lsu you know no my dad my dad's a marine and like family of military and policemen for 35 years no no that call was being made by by me nobody else not mom not dad not brother that was me and hey that's like an 18 year old 17 year old on the phone that was a rough one. And Mac's like the greatest person, like I said.

Starting point is 00:59:46 So I can't imagine what that call would be like calling like Kirby or Coach Saban or any of those guys. Bo Pelini. Oh, my gosh. Look, Bo Pelini's my guy. That was my defense coordinator at LSU. I love that guy. That call, I don't know.

Starting point is 01:00:02 I might have to ask that. Dad, can you make this one for me, please? That's one of those where you hold the phone about five feet away from your ear and just let him go. Oh, that's a great, that might be the one that might be the toughest one to call. All right. We've got a few more games here. Let's let's head out West for a minute. Wisconsin at Washington state. This was the game last year when Washington State went to Camp Randall and won the game, and you're like, uh-oh, Paul Chris. Uh-oh.

Starting point is 01:00:30 Well, now it's a completely different world at Wisconsin. Phil Longo, though, he promised it wasn't going to be pure air raid. They were going to run the ball, and they sure did run the ball in week one against Buffalo. I think you and I might have talked about this a couple of weeks ago that was a big misconception about Phil Longo's offense yeah he does have air raid principles but when he has like his best players in the backfield like he does with Allen this year Wisconsin he'll run the football he did it North Carolina he had

Starting point is 01:01:01 2,000 yard rushers because they were the best players on that offense. Sam Howell's a really good player, but it's like, hey, he didn't have the guys to throw it to. We can turn around and hand it off to these guys, and they're going to be special. So he'll do that. And Javante Williams and Michael Carter, by the way, both still good running backs.

Starting point is 01:01:16 Yes, still playing. I just took one of them in my fantasy draft last night. They're still really good running backs. And so he's going to look at his talent. He's going to play to that strength. And so not every coach can do that a lot of coaches are like no this is my way this is what we've always done you're going to learn my system he's like why would I do that we can still have the same principles it blows people's minds for some reason you can still run gap scheme runs out of spread principles it can be done it's different

Starting point is 01:01:44 people with the blocking assignment maybe you can still do it though and for whatever reason people just assume you're not you're just going to run inside and outside zone you can do that too or you can get into pistol and you can run stretch everything's available and it's what phil longo in my opinion does really really well in the run game is he has everything kind of up and ready to go. So you kind of keep yourself guessing. Josh Heupel does a great job by the way of this as well. But in this game, I have flip flop more than a politician. I really have gone back and forth, back and forth, and I haven't really settled. And I'm like, all right, what's going to be the deciding difference? It's going to be Luke Fickle. I think Luke Fickle is a top 10 coach in the country.

Starting point is 01:02:24 I think last year was an embarrassing loss. Even though Washington State seven wins, you shouldn't have been embarrassed. To Wisconsin standard and where they played that game, it was. And so even though Luke wasn't there, I still think this game means something to him. And so the deciding factor for me is Luke Fickle. They cover the six and a half and they get a victory,

Starting point is 01:02:42 a tough victory on the road. This atmosphere is going to be electric because this is Washington State on national TV, on ABC, a chance to show, hey, look at what you're leaving behind. Look how much we care. And we know they do. We see them on college game day. We understand. It's the third most like as far as like not the number because their stadium is smaller but as far as attending in their stadium to whatever their capacity is their third in the

Starting point is 01:03:10 Pac-12 the third it's like 98 full last year was the number they want to come watch good football so yes it will be a great atmosphere yeah unfortunately for for the home team and the and the crowd I do think Wisconsin is going to cover this one i i think like you said luke fickle makes the difference i would when when he took the job i said wisconsin has changed its philosophy this is something's different now so i'm going with that until i see evidence to the contrary the jobs he could have taken and waited for like this one that should tell you all you need to know yeah yeah because he could have waited out you know if if ryan day decided to go to the nfl or if marcus freeman didn't work out at notre dame or you know if james franklin ever left penn state all of those

Starting point is 01:03:55 would have been the ones you've hardball went to the nfl i know it sounds crazy i know for an ohio state guy but i mean that's a that's a job. All the best coaches were born in Ohio. It doesn't matter. Youngstown, to be exact. Yeah. I think Harbaugh was actually born on the Ohio side of the line, too. I think he was born in Toledo. Of course.

Starting point is 01:04:15 There you go. All right. One more out west before we head back south for the big one but jayden rashada gonna start again for arizona state oklahoma state goes in a three and a half point favorite uh young gundy will be starting yeah at quarterback for the cowboys we were kind of wondering how that was gonna was it gonna be alan bowman who who is it gonna be now we know. And this one's interesting to me because Arizona State looked pretty crisp in the first half against Southern Utah. The weather came in.

Starting point is 01:04:50 They were sloppy. I don't know how much you can say after a three-hour delay. I'm excited to watch this one, though. Yeah, both look clunky at times. I mean, the second half against southern utah the weather delay that that is a tough situation and trying to explain that to someone that's never been in that situation and maybe it's almost impossible because you get so juiced up so ready to go we had one like that against oregon state back in the day and it's like we were great high flying

Starting point is 01:05:20 and then we sat there for like three hours and it was just like what do we do you I mean you can't go anywhere you're stuck in this locker room so I agree with you right there that's a tough situation but you know they never were able to put that game away and Oklahoma State same thing with Central Arkansas like same kind of game it was it was kind of messy it was sloppy it didn't look like we thought and that's you know Central Arkansas is a good FCS team. I mean, they've won a lot of games. I know they're known for their purple turf, I should say. I know they're actually a pretty good football team. But still, it didn't look like the Oklahoma State that we have seen in years past.

Starting point is 01:05:56 And when you have a quarterback like Spencer Sanders that's there for so long and you kind of know what to expect. And so even though Arizona State is starting another true freshman opportunity here with Jaden Rashada and it's going to be different than Southern Utah I still like them I like them in this matchup I like this game being at home I'm a little worried about Oklahoma State I'm worried they're heading in the wrong direction and they haven't had that fall off the cliff moment since Mike Gundy takes over four less miles what was that 2005 yeah i haven't had that year yet but i think it's coming and i think i just i'm just not sure how well he's built for this era

Starting point is 01:06:31 of college football and and yeah he's gonna have to prove us wrong because it looked based on their transfer portal out and transfer portal in that he may not be suited for this era and we thought that sunny dykes will be i agree with you and we thought that Sonny Dykes will be. I agree with you. And we thought this would be an opportunity. Texas, Oklahoma gone. It's before we knew that you were going to get Utah and the other schools coming in. But we thought they were going to be able to have an opportunity to be the new standard of the Big 12.

Starting point is 01:06:58 I don't feel like that anymore. Like even if these schools that are coming in next year weren't coming in, I don't have you there. Like they're going in the opposite direction. And this is an opponent that's going to be a conference foe. So if you go out there and you stink it up again and you lose this game, man, that momentum is just sliding down a hill right now in Stillwater. And again, like it has been a program that has been stabilized for so long. I mean, we're almost 20 years into this deal.

Starting point is 01:07:24 And they haven't had that moment where you're like questioning, is this the guy? Can we move forward? No. I mean, he's brought your program to new heights, but now it's like you not only hit a U-turn, like you hit a U-turn and now you're rolling down the hill, and I'm nervous for where this program is going to go

Starting point is 01:07:39 and if it can get back to the level that we know it to be. Here's the thing. I still believe in Mike Gunny as a game day coach. And I know that Kenny Dillingham has really revamped that roster. This is Jaden Rashad's first experience with a team like this. I'm going to take Oklahoma state to cover here because again, I agree with all of the, the, the factors you're talking about. And I think in the macro Oklahoma state is probably not going to be what it has been in the Big 12. But again, on game day in this individual situation, I'm still trusting Mike Gundy. So I'm going to take the Cowboys in this one. And now we Tide are a touchdown favorite.

Starting point is 01:08:26 Jalen Milrow, Quinn Ewers. Who you got, Jacob Astor? Oh, man. I mean, this is a game we've all been waiting for for a long time since we had the epic battle last year in Austin. And for Alabama, we all know what the question was. Who's going to play quarterback? It was the offseason discussion that led every single college football show. And you brought in a quarterback and Tyler Buckner after the spring. And then

Starting point is 01:08:49 there was like bigger questions because nobody went and won the job, but they did what they needed to do. In my opinion, if you didn't have one separate himself, it was always going to be Jalen Milrow. It had to be, he's got a skillset that can go out there and win games in multiple ways is it perfect no but it can be dynamic it can be electric it can be explosive and it was last week against middle tennessee state now middle tennessee state no disrespect it's going to be a different opponent sorry chris chowder show pony i'm not hating on your squad but that's just what it's going to be serious xm big middle tiusXM, big Middle Tennessee State guy. But yeah, this is a different animal here.

Starting point is 01:09:32 And the thing for me, Hester, is this is a level of talent at Texas that we have not seen at Texas for a while. It's not about their recruiting rankings. It's about the output. It's about how they leave Texas. This group is going to leave Texas and get drafted. There's a lot. You look at those D-line, and Alfred Collins is one. Tavondre Sweat is a monster in there.

Starting point is 01:09:52 Look, Alabama's got those guys too, but Alabama's always had those guys. This is different for Texas. Kelvin Banks, the left tackle for Texas, he's only a sophomore, but he's going to be highly coveted. The interior of Texas's offensive line may be the key to this game. Can they hold up if, you know, you've got Jaheim Otis bursting through the middle

Starting point is 01:10:12 and getting after Ewers? Because, look, Alabama's pass rush is going to be good. We've got Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner off the edges. That's a problem. But it's a bigger problem if those dudes in the middle are pushing through and making the play implode. So that's the big concern for me.

Starting point is 01:10:28 Because I can handle edge pressure. Edge pressure, I have ways where I can try to handle. I can send a tight end. I can send a back. I can send multiple people over there. I can throw quick game. I can do all that stuff. I can step up in the pocket.

Starting point is 01:10:40 If it's from the defensive tackle position, and it's a big storyline in the LSU-FSU game, it's like if you had Mason Smith in there, that was going to be a strength for you because as a quarterback, I have nowhere to go. If you're bringing it from the edge, my guy can run you around the rail. I can step up. I can step up to the left.

Starting point is 01:10:57 I can find that window. But like you're saying, if it comes from right up the middle, that's when I'm in trouble. So that will be certainly a storyline to watch in the game. But look, if I'm Texas, if not now, then when? If I'm not ready for this game, after last year being right there, Bryce Young goes and wins the game for Alabama, and very disappointing, right?

Starting point is 01:11:16 And then I have a season that I was not satisfied with. And then I have all this talent, all this talent a year older. And I'm C. Sarkeesian, I'm going into the SEC. If not now, when are you going to be able to do it? Are you going to be able to live to that standard of eliteness and playing in a game like this and expecting to be not only competitive but have a chance to win? So no team in the country has more pressure on

Starting point is 01:11:47 them, in my opinion, this year than Texas does, even more than Oklahoma, because you're going into the Southeastern Conference, because you have every eyeball on you, because you've got people like Urban Meyer saying you're the most talented team in the country. I feel like they have the most pressure. And can they handle that pressure? Well, you know how you handle that pressure? You go out and you beat what is the standard of college football now george is in that conversation now too but coach saban and what he's built there like we still hold alabama on that pedestal right if you go and you beat a team like that then you get confidence and then you can move forward as a team that you know what we're going to go from a talented team to a damn good

Starting point is 01:12:23 football team that can win every single game that we play. If you want to be the true Texas, if you want to be the team that gets talked about in the benefit of the doubt club every single year because you've earned that right because you have what it takes to be in this game, and it's not physically. It's the mentality that you have to have to play and win a game like this. That's what I want to see from Texas. I want to see from the opening kickoff, you have the belief and the mentality that you can go take the fight to Alabama and win in a matchup, on the road, tough environment, against what is a standard, you know, whatever

Starting point is 01:13:05 you want to blue blood, blue chip ratio, whatever you want to call Alabama, right? They've always been that for the last 20 years. What an opportunity for Texas to go and try to prove a lot of people wrong. So last year I had to drink an entire bottle of Bijan Mustardson because Texas covered this spread. I know you're a foodie, but that still had to be awful. It wasn't bad until about 90 minutes later. Then it was really bad. But here's the thing about Texas. My only issue with Texas is always they lose the games

Starting point is 01:13:39 they're not supposed to lose. They don't get up for those games. They will get up for this game. They will be up for this game. They will be up for this. I have no doubt. And I agree with you about the pressure, but there is one game on the schedule where the pressure's not on them and it's this one. They're not supposed to win this one. They're the underdog. This is the only game the whole year where they'll probably be the underdog. And that's why I think they cover. I don't know if they win,

Starting point is 01:14:06 but you're going to give me a whole touchdown. I feel pretty good about Texas covering that number. So I just, I think the pressure, the pressure's on Alabama. Texas will be up for this. Now we'll talk again when Texas plays Texas tech about who's up for what game,

Starting point is 01:14:23 but they're going to be up for this one. So I will take Texas to cover. You going Alabama cover? No, I'm going Texas to cover this game as well. I am. I'm right there with you. And so when we talk about the pressure, and I do agree, like there's not that pressure on them in this game

Starting point is 01:14:39 because I don't think anybody expects it. But you play for Texas. You're the Texas Longhorns. Like, you should expect to be in this game. Like, you should expect to be not only challenging Alabama, but you should expect victory, right? I mean, I think that until Texas takes that step with their mentality, I think they're always going to be held back a little bit.

Starting point is 01:15:03 But, I mean, I agree with you. Like, nobody's picking them to win this game, but I think they need to expect themselves to win this game. And I need to see that change. Like when I was playing college football, like when you had Vince young out there, and even after I was done, you had Colt McCoy out there. They believed no matter who the opponent was, they were the better team. And it might not even be true, but they have to have that belief. Texas, show me that you've got grit. That's what we try to live by on off-campus. Grit, neck rolls, and low man wins. Show me all three of those things, please, in this game, because I need to see a mentality switch from you. And I think Sark has it. He's been around coaches that

Starting point is 01:15:43 have it, and Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. Show me that your team is finally going to have that mentality in a game like this. You might have to put the neck roll on for this one. That's the way to watch a game. You throw that neck roll on, kind of lean back. You can rest during the timeouts. Yeah, when you're almost 40 like I am, it's like it comes more of a pillow.

Starting point is 01:16:04 But, yeah, you know. 40 like you know like i am it's like it comes more of a pillow but yeah you know look at your cowboy collar i always felt like that was an easier one to rest your rest your head against so did you i mean did you have did you have like the old douglas collar i did not have the douglas when i had i had in high school i had a massive neck roll oh so you're like the all-star it made me look cool in the picture uh and then i switched to the cowboy collar and then in in college just the basic kind of towel neck roll. It was nothing special. Yeah, we used to have a check at LSU. And I hate to put this out there.

Starting point is 01:16:32 If you had a Douglas collar on playing linebacker and you had us in man coverage, like we would have check neck roll. And that meant that you could turn your route into an option route where you could break it out, sit it down, or go down the seam. Check neck roll. I love it. I love it. Well, we'll be watching for those Douglas neck rolls this week.

Starting point is 01:16:52 Jacob Hester, thank you so much. Yeah, absolutely, man. You're the man. You've been so gracious with your time. Anytime you need me, I'm here. Appreciate it. That's right. Those LSU Saban teams and the early early era less miles teams if uh yeah

Starting point is 01:17:09 if you were wearing the brian cox s neck roll and you thought you looked and played like brian cox the senior who played for the dolphins uh yeah they were gonna throw right at you in man coverage. So for our extra point today, we go to Tuscaloosa, site of the biggest game of the weekend. And we'll time travel back to Saturday after the Middle Tennessee game. And a reporter named Austin Hannon, who writes for SI's Bama Central site, he asked a question of Nick Saban after the game Saturday about Jalen Milrow's performance and what it might mean going forward. He talked about Jalen needing more experience moving forward.

Starting point is 01:17:51 How do you think tonight's positive performance will help him moving forward to next week and beyond? And who is that? Jalen Milrow. Jalen Milrow, positive performance, how will it help him build? So you're asking me to speculate and i ask i answer a hypothetical question about how some guy's going to perform in the future i don't really know i mean i love him i think he's doing well i know he's working hard to try to improve he's a good competitor he'll do everything he can to play his best but i don't i don't have, this is a Coke bottle, it's not a crystal ball. How do you think of play? Do you have any idea? Hard to know. It's what we all strive for, though. I mean, we want everybody to play well, and we're going to try to prepare them the best way we can but that's why

Starting point is 01:18:45 you play the games that was vintage nick saban saying something that he wanted to say kind of regardless of what the question was because the question was pretty pretty tame it was actually referencing back to something saban himself had said earlier. So he was correctly paraphrased in context and then asked the question. And he went off, which he has done many, many times in the past. Here's one thing he's not done. Come back and said, you know what? Maybe it was a little too harsh on that answer. Austin, look, you know, you didn't ask a bad question the other night.

Starting point is 01:19:30 I just didn't answer it very well. And, you know, when a guy plays well in a game at any position, it should help his confidence, and it should help him perform better in the future. But I do think that every player, you know, has to understand that just because I played well, I still want to try to improve the few things that I could have done better. And I think if a person keeps that mindset, then they're always improving, all right, because you're never satisfied

Starting point is 01:20:01 and you're always trying to do better, and you don't let complacency creep into your game. And that certainly hasn't happened with Jalen. So, you know, hopefully the confidence that he gained in this game will certainly help him to continue to play, you know, better and better in the future. That's what we hope for as coaches. That's what we try to encourage him to do. And that should have been my answer the other night.

Starting point is 01:20:34 Wow. try to encourage them to do so uh and that should have been my answer the other night wow a little bit softer side of nick savin did not see that coming that was wednesday night and clearly that bothered him the the way he answered the question the first time bothered him and he comes back because i mean he's been ripped before for saying stuff like this at a press conference or for answering questions that way and he hasn't come back like that so one of two things will happen alabama will win and we'll write a thousand think pieces about how it's a it's a softer gentler nick saban for the 2023 nil transfer portal era and now he's adjusted and adapted better than anyone else. And he's going to win seven more national titles or they'll lose to Texas. And the first thing you hear on Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern time will be Paul.

Starting point is 01:21:19 Nick Saban's gone soft. Think we might have started looking for a new coach. It will be nothing in between. It will be one of those things. Guaranteed. Got a big show for you tomorrow. We're going to be talking Nebraska, Colorado. We're going to be talking Notre Dame and NC State.

Starting point is 01:21:41 And ESPN's Tom Lugenbill will join us to break down his incredible performance getting to Mike Elko in the middle of a field storming after the Duke-Clemson game. Talk to you tomorrow.

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