Andy & Ari On3 - Dabo Swinney SOUNDS OFF on former NFL players potentially playing in CFB: “It’s embarrassing” | Virginia HC Tony Elliott joins

Episode Date: September 1, 2026

On Tuesday morning, Dabo Swinney commented on former NFL players potentially playing in college football. Calling it “embarrassing,” how did we get to this point? Watch here as Andy & Ari provide the latest out of the bizarre situation out of Baton Rouge. (0:00) On Today’s Episode (1:12) Presenting Sponsor (2:18) Intro: Dabo Swinney’s comments (3:06) What Dabo Said (14:15) Clemson QB1 (21:20) LMNT (24:18) Previewing Tony Elliott (26:10) Tony Elliott Joins (36:17) Dabo Swinney’s impact on Tony Elliott (39:12) Beau Pribula at Virginia (44:24) Learning from the tragedy at UVA (48:08) Rules for life (51:02) Truck guy? (59:26) Recapping Tony Elliott (1:02:35) USC Crowd = Big Deal? After the Dabo Swinney discussion, the guys head north to Charlottesville, Virginia, where Tony Elliott is coming off a big victory over ACC foe NC State, 34-8. What has Tony Elliott learned in his 3 years at Virginia? Watch here as Andy & Ari talk with the Cavaliers head coach. Next up, the fellas dive into the USC crowd for its week 0 game against San Jose State. Is this a big deal? Andy & Ari dive in. Our show is presented by Polymarket! New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $50 upon sign up https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3 Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up. 18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. We are sponsored by LMNT! Get a free 8-count sample place with any purchase: https://www.drinklmnt.com/andyari Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join Watch our show on YouTube here! https://youtu.be/wCHlJ3v1cFQ   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail]   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's Andy and Ari on 3 presented by Polymarket, Davo Sweeney sounds off. The Clemson coach is headed to LSU, and he calls the current situation where some teams, we won't name names, might be attempting to roster former NFL players. He calls it embarrassing. He also named a starting quarterback for this week. Plus, one of Davos' former assistants, Virginia head coach Tony Elliott joins the show. the Cavaliers looking like a wagon after a 34-8 season opening win against NC State. He'll explain how they came to be that way.

Plus, we all saw the shots at the Coliseum on Saturday. Very, very empty. Doesn't matter if your glass half full. That was mostly empty. What does it mean? Does it mean that USC fans are not good fans? Does it mean that USC won't be a good football team, that they don't have a sport? Well, we'll talk about it. Plus, Texas Tech Coach Joey McGuire will also chime in.

All on today's Andy NARN3 presented by Polymarket. We are sponsored by Polymarket. That's right, the world's largest prediction market. All the point spreads and the totals come from Polymarket where you can stake out a position on your team. If you've got a belief that they're going to win, well, you just say yes to that position. You think they're going to win by three and a half points. You say yes to that position. You're not working against the house with Polly Market. You are working against other folks who have staked out a different position than you.

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Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. Welcome to Annie Narion 3 presented by Polymarkets. and Ari, it's game week. It's officially game week because a coach stepped up to a microphone and said something that is sure to piss off the opposing fan base. Yeah, we think we know who that coach is. Before we get into the show, Andy, just wanted to say,

happy anniversary. This is my two-year anniversary and on three. Woo! Congratulations. It's gone by quickly. I'm excited to know what the next five are going to be like. But, yes, the best thing about my anniversary is always that the season is starting. So, like, we can get into, you know, the games and the things like that.

And, of course, Davosweeney rescued us from ever having the risk of a boring show. Yeah, I don't think there's any chance we're going to have a boring show in week one. But no, definitely not now because Davosweeney, whose team plays at LSU on Saturday, step to the mic. One, he had jokes. two, he had a starting quarterback announcement. Three, well, he answered the question he was asked. Let's start with the jokes and answering the question.

Here's Dabba. I actually got to go watch practice early June for the Brown, so I'm probably going to get turned in for tampering. I don't know. I wish I'd have known to pay it a little more attention. But, yeah, it's crazy. It's hard, you know. I mean, openers are hard, but again,

when you got a lot of new people and, you know, it's the same for them. We've got a bunch of new people, too. But it's a crazy world we're living in. Does that frustrate you at all? How do you deal with that? No, it doesn't frustrate me. I don't give it. I think it's, I mean, honestly, rarely am I in mind a loss for words, but Chappellamette

kind of a loss of words. I would just say it's kind of embarrassing. I mean, honestly, it's just embarrassing. that that's where we are. I don't blame the kids. And people trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it's embarrassing where we are with college football. And we've been there for a while.

So I just keep my energy and my focus on and my energy on the things that I control and the things that matter. And that's these kids here and our team. But, you know, all that outside stuff. I mean, we just kind of, no pun intended, we just stay in our lane, you know, here at Clemson. and try to. Every now and then, somebody will ram into us, but we try to just kind of handle our business here. But it's embarrassing. I mean, it really is. You know, we have no rules. There's no

governance. I mean, it's a joke. There's zero rules. And when you enforce rules, somebody just goes and finds a judge to say, no, you can't enforce that rule. So, I mean, never did I think I'd be living in an era like this, but that's where we are. You know, hopefully, eventually there will be some different things coming down the pipe. But all I can tell you is, man, we have great kids here. We have great kids. We've got great people here. And we try to just kind of stay focused on Clemson and how we do things.

If he says no pun intended, does it change the fact that the pun was obviously intended? Yeah, well, I mean, there's a lot to unpack there. First of all, what's embarrassing that Lane Kiffin's engaging in that or that they're able to do it at all? I think he was talking more globally. Okay. I don't think he was specifically calling out Lane Kiffin as much as all of it. Yeah. But the fact is, they're playing Lane Kiffin this week.

The way we're all going to clip that quote, and we gave you the whole shebang. We have to with that. It doesn't fit on a, yeah, that doesn't fit on a, that doesn't. doesn't fit on a social media quote card. So we're going to clip that quote in ways that will maximize engagement and enragement, mostly by LSU fans. And they're going to get mad. Other people who have no rooting interest in this game,

it probably will depend on how they feel about dabbo, whose side they take on that. But I do think he was talking more globally about just in general. all of the just stupidity and weirdness that has gone on over the past year where, you know, oh, I gambled on my own team, but I found a judge and I can play. And now, wait, the attorney general threatened the conference. And now the conference is suing school and now I'm not going to play. Or this guy was in Cleveland Brown's training camp or this guy was in in Saints training camp.

And we're going to put him on the roster. Like, yeah, all of it. It's all of it. It's not just, I don't think, LSU that he's talking about. Well, it's a really important season for Dabo, and I wish I could go back and give him advice in retrospect, but watching the Brown's practice is not going to help you get where you need to go. So, especially if it comes with tampering rules.

It's so funny. Every time the Browns come up, there's a joke attached. There's no earnest discussion of the Cleveland Browns whatsoever. The tampering joke was funny. But you also have to put yourself in Dabo's shoes a little bit, too, Andy, because Because, you know, let's not forget that this man once said he will quit college football when they start paying players. So, yeah, he is certainly, he's certainly turned on that. Because remember, Dabo's the one who after the tampering situation where they accused Ole Miss of tampering with the linebacker who is now starting for Ole Miss this week, he said he's all for collective bargaining.

Which is the exact opposite of I'll quit if they pay them. Well, the thing that I meant by bringing that up, because I know it's ancient history, was that like 10 years ago, he said that now? I mean, it's been a long time. More than that. I was it was like 12 years ago. Is that he's probably, I would say, in the top tier, if we're tiering like old school coaches from oldest of old school to new school in terms of the way that they view college

football, the mechanism for the why it exists, all these different things. So of all the people who, you know, have to accept the reality that they, there might be a former NFL mini-camp player on the opposing sideline. It would be him. So, you know, I think that the good thing that you did and River did was play the whole clip because with Dabo, if you see the three second or the four second, 10 second clip from a long rant, a lot of times what he actually meant gets lost in, in place here.

But I think that you summarized it pretty well, which was, I think he's more having a commentary on just how do we get to a place in college football where no one even knows what the hell is going on. anymore. So this is not changed the fact that if LSU wins by three touchdowns LSU fans will gladly throw this back in Davos face. Sure. Yeah.

And, you know, part of college football is just getting offended over everything. Everybody's got to be offended all the time. We're going to offend USC fans later in the show. Stick around. But it's just you know, I just don't think that anybody disagrees with him. I'm not even sure that Lane Kiffin disagrees with him.

I don't think. I don't think Lane does. I think Lane is still trying to do what he can. to get the best roster he can. The thing that I don't know is, you know, and I think about, you know, people like Cody Campbell, for instance, who told us when he was on our show a year and a half ago or however long ago it was that he doesn't like the current system that we're in

and that he would prefer a different system, but while he's in the system, he's going to do what he can to take advantage of that system, kind of like anybody with tax code or whatever. For people who want things to be changed, but Cody Campbell, one of the biggest proponents of the Protect College Sports Act, the bill in the Senate, which would potentially clear up some of this stuff. Maybe not. But also, the person who bankrolled Brendan Sorsby and was all for Texas Tech playing Brendan Sorsby when Brendan Sorsby had an injunction from a judge. So it's all, yeah, it's all tied together, all of them. I do wonder if the people who you perceive to be bending the traditional rules the most or the people who seem to be trying to find an edge in a way that seems not kosher the most are also probably proponents of some oversight and structural way of enforcing rules.

But there are also people who are proponents of structural oversight who also don't want to engage in this. Like, Davos Sweeney doesn't seem to want to engage in this. I don't think Kirby Smart wants to engage in this. Like, I haven't seen it from them. But they also would like some sort of structure. You know, I also think that part of the reason why you haven't seen things from everybody is, is that this is kind of a finite number of people involved, and the players who are involved in this specific instance aren't that good.

Not good. That's a bad way to put it. If you're an NFL minicamp player, you're a good football player. I mean, not a star. These were guys that were in training camp. Yeah. Yeah. Which, by the way, is a distinction because Sark came out very strong.

Steve Sarkesian, the Texas coach came out very strong. And everybody's like, you know you have Cole Hudson on your roster. He's a mini camp. He was in multiple mini camps, but never got a contract. Sorry, I was misusing minicamp. Yeah, that may be to this. But that's the thing. And I've seen a lot of people, and I certainly understand where they're coming from.

Like, that's a distinction without a difference. So if I'm an LSU fan, I'm jumping all over that. I don't blame them for jumping all over that. The question that I have for you back, and maybe it's not something that you'll ever get an answer to or you might not be able to answer. But if there were a really, really good player that left Georgia last year

and fell under the circumstances if Georgia would take advantage of it as a response to what's going on. Like I think that I don't want to say anybody is. You know what the really good players who left Georgia last year are? On NFL rosters? Yes.

Yeah. They're unavailable right now. Yeah. You know. I wonder if people who are abstaining from engaging in it just aren't in the position to capitalize on it. Probably. There's probably something to that. But there are also probably some players who played at some places who didn't make teams.

Yeah. Well, there's also. the question which I still am trying to follow. There's an ex-Nodame player involved in all this. Now, he was not in a camp. Or he was in a, he may have been a mini-camp guy, so he might be okay. Yeah. This is one of the LSU, one of the LSU signs.

But Notre Dame didn't take him back. Yeah. Here's a million-dollar question. And I don't have the answer to it still is, is the juice worth the squeeze? No. I think a lot of people are probably just not going to do it because the juice is not worth the squeeze. Go ahead. Nope.

That's the simple answer. No, the juice is not worth to squeeze, especially at this level, at this very high level, when we're talking about big-time power conference teams that have playoff and national title aspirations, the juice is not worth to squeeze because the best players on your roster are going to make NFL rosters.

So they're better than the people we're talking about here. Right. Right. Well, that wasn't the only thing that was entertaining about Davosweeney's No, he was busy today. He was busy today. He named a starting quarterback. Remember, I told you to watch the Clemson quarterback competition.

Our guys, Larry Williams and Paul Streelo at Tiger Illustrated, had pointed out a couple weeks ago that it felt like it was a little bit tighter. Now, they reported this week that Christopher's Vizina was getting more of the first team snaps by a lot than Tate Reynolds. But you kind of knew it was always headed this way. But I thought Dabo's announcement of the starting quarterback was also very interesting. I know everybody's going to be talking about the quarterback's CV will start for us this week. He's earned that.

It's been a, I think Chad and Taj have done a really great job of, you know, navigating the whole process. It's been a competition. I mean, you know, it's, it's, it's, uh, C.B really didn't have much competition in the spring because, you know, he was kind of, uh, clearly, you know, ahead and, and everything. And then you had, uh, four quarterbacks that were trying to sort through. We had Denson, we had Trent, we had Brock and we had Tate. And we kind of had to see how that, you know, and Tate by the end of spring had really separated from that group.

And so that gave us some clarity with, okay, well, now we know, let's see what we got here. And I thought Tate made a big jump at the end of spring that last week as he got all those two reps. And then I think it just carried on. And it's been a lot of fun. And, I mean, they've had a very detailed process on how they've gone through it. Every practice, every rep, every throw, everything has been, you know, graded to the nth degree. And CV's just a little hit. He's not a mile ahead, but he's ahead.

And, you know, practice matters. So there was a time where I really thought Tate had a chance to take the job. And then he had, you know, a couple of disastrous days and just looked like a freshman. But, you know, and then, but to CV's credit, man, CV has just been incredibly steady. So this is like last week when John Summerall at Florida announced Aaron Filo as a starter and went very in-depth into why he made the decision he made. I'd make the case of this was revealing a lot of information there. I was going to say that this was more revealing than John Summeralls.

Yes, agreed. Yeah. When he talks about the freshman almost took the job, but had a couple of disastrous, quote-unquote, freshman days. Ari, this tells me that if Vizena's not looking sharp, against LSU on Saturday, they'll go to the freshman. Yeah, that's what I heard. I don't know if there's anything else to hear.

So, you know, Vizina's been in the program. It's Clemson, you know. But if anybody has yanked a veteran for a young player, it's this guy. So I'm on high alert, not just for what happens in the LSU game, but what happens after the LSU game? That sounded like ongoing, ongoing question marks.

Yeah. When he says he's the starter this week, sometimes as coach speech, sometimes all, every position is up for evaluation every week. Not this time. Yeah. Yeah, that's not what I got. I don't think that's what this is.

This is, I'm really not sure. I think this is the guy. And the freshman had a chance to take it, but he didn't, he didn't take it. And look, when you're, when you're the younger guy, when you're the one trying to be the usurper, you do have to take it definitively, usually. Yes.

And that hadn't happened in this case. So it can happen in a game, though. And I think that's a very interesting way to lay it out. Yeah, I mean, the question here is like, does Tate Reynolds bring something to the table physically or, you know, playmaking-wise that CV doesn't? I don't know. But it's possible on Saturday we're going to see him. play. I took that. That's what I took from that. And I thank you to dabbo for being honest and

forthright about these things. Everything is so buttoned up and, you know, kept secret. But it's cool. He actually said these words came out of his mouth. I thought for a moment there that the freshman was going to take it. He said that. Yeah. So he has had to look pretty special at times. And this is something that you've been alluding to for months now. Yeah. He's a different. It's a different case. It's not like Deshawn Watson or Trevor Lawrence, where you knew when they were juniors in high school that the moment they set foot on a college campus, they were going to be in line to take the starting job away from a veteran.

This was a guy who was a good recruit, a highly-towed recruit out of Arizona, but not in that same vein. When he showed up on campus, they thought, oh, this is really interesting. We liked him when we recruited him. We're even more impressed now. Yeah, I don't even know which one.

one's more impressive. The five-star prospect that is viewed as a generational high school talent being named the starter or the player that they didn't have those expectations for, you know, at least from a recruiting ranking standpoint, who comes in and gives your coach no choice but to put you on the field. Maybe it's the same thing, right? Maybe they're both just really good. I mean, Deshaun definitely gave them no choice and Trevor, same thing. You had to, the talent was undeniable. So I think it's not quite so undeniable. reliable here. And again, Davo didn't start Deshaun right away. Now, Sean had a little bit of an injury early. So I think that's what got Cole Stout, the starting job early. Kelly Bryant had done a really good job in 2017. So you weren't going to just yank him for Trevor Lawrence, but it became clear in those first few games that Trevor Lawrence was the better quarterback. So they made the decision. Yeah. And look, you can say, oh, now Christopher Zina is going to be looking over his shoulder. Whether

Davo said that or not. They know what's going on. Yeah. Players aren't dumb. Like, they understand. It was going to be like this. Yeah. Yeah. What they feel in practice every day is more than enough of a giveaway of how things are going. So, you know, I also think looking over

your shoulder is good. Go play well. Yep. It's going to be quite a challenge because the LSU is going to be very good, very hyped, and that is going to be an incredible atmosphere in Tiger Stadium on Saturday in our rowback game of the week. All right. Next up, we've got someone who worked with Davosweeney for a long time. Virginia coach Tony Elliott, long time Clemson, offensive coordinator.

We're going to talk to him. First, I got to tell you about Element. I love Element. I am just absolutely over the moon with Element. I've been using these sticks every day. two, three times a day, before workout, after workout to hydrate. Zero sugar. It's an electrolyte, electrolyte drink mix.

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get your electrolytes on the address if you want the deal to get the free sampler pack www.w.d-drinklement d r n-r-n-k-l-m-n-t-t-com slash andy-r-r-r-ri so slash a and d-y-y-y-r-r-r-r-i. I'm telling you will not regret it. Ari. Ari, I don't know if the people can tell but I'm dealing with a little bit of a I don't know if flu is the right word. I've been drinking that and it's making me feel better. I don't know if that's a part of it, but it's been nice to have that hydration while I'm, I gave multiple boxes of the sticks to my son's high school football coach. He's been passing them out to the players to just dump in their water bottles during the week because it is really, really hot here. We'll talk about it being hot around football

a little bit later in the show. But that the idea is, you know, help those. Because if you are worrying about hydration when the game starts, you're too late. So you got to, you got to, you to prehydrate and make sure that you're ready to go. So that's... I bet you Tom Herman could have used some element in the locker room. You are a bad man. Remember that piss chart? Bad teammate.

You're bad teammate if you got hydrated. Wasn't there one that was like you're a bad human being? No, that was bad teammate. Okay. That was your... Yeah, a certain color, but that was what that was. Okay. But not if you're drinking element.

You're a good teammate if you're drinking element. Yeah. All right. We talked a lot about Davos Sweeney. We're about to talk to a guy who spent years working for him, who played for him. Tony Elliott is one of the more interesting stories in college football because he leaves the Clemson Nest, takes the job at Virginia.

It's not great at the start. But he keeps grinding, kind of changes his roster building philosophy. Not kind of, really changes his roster building philosophy. Last year, they go to the ACC championship game, they win 11 games, and you think, okay, was that a flash in the pan? Did they just get lucky with that? particular roster or is this something they can continue doing? That first game, week zero, against NC State, they went 34 to 8, just dominate them, absolutely dominate them,

especially on the ground. The offensive line was utterly dominant against NCState D-line. This may be something that can stick here. Yeah, you alluded to it in the interview, but having a veteran older offensive line that can move people. I mean, that's the takeaway from the game, I thought. I mean, you even, I think you sent a text in the middle of the game and said Virginia's offensive lines awesome. Yes. Yeah.

And it was something we talked about in the offseason like, okay, they're bringing back three starters. The other two guys were supposed to start, but they were hurt before last season started and they had to sit out. It's, it looks great. Now, it's one game. But I have a feeling that's the sort of thing that, that will continue. So very excited to see it and you're excited to talk to Tony Elliott about how

that all came together, including the drive after NC State scored, which was one of the most demoralizing things I've ever seen one football team due to another. Let's talk to Tony Elliott. We are honored to be joined by Virginia head coach Tony Elliott coming off a 34-8 win against NC State on Saturday. And we were just asking coach before we started recording. All right, Tony, how many 12 play, or excuse me, 23 play, 75 yard, 12 minute drives? Have you been a part of in your life?

That was the first. That was the first. And I think the second longest was the one in the Missouri game, the bowl game last year. That was 19 plays like 10 minutes plus. But that was a crazy. And when you're in it, You don't feel like it's going that long,

but then you look up and you hear how long the drive was and how many plays. I mean, it was actually a pretty cool experience. When you're in the middle, the drives are amazing for that, though, because you were shutting them out, they score, they get the two-point conversion, so it feels like they have a little momentum for the first time in the game. And then you basically steal their soul.

Yeah, I mean, it just, we needed to gain the momentum, because it was up for grabs right there. You know, they converted a third and 21. We were going to force a field goal, and they convert a third and 21 score, two-point conversion, now momentum. And with that quarterback on that sideline over there, you knew that if you let the momentum flip,

that he was going to be able to go do something special. So just proud of the guys for being in tune with the moment. We always talk about the break in the game. Like, let's find the break in the game. And that was probably the actual break in the game right there, that drive. Tony, you guys had a really successful season last year, obviously done a very easy opponent, your first week. How does that change your preparation going into the game?

And once you get a win, that's that convincing? Does it set the tone for your entire season? No, great, great question. I think that it goes back four years. And this is what I was talking about with the staff, was getting to a position where you're handling success. And early on, a lot of people couldn't understand what I was. was doing because we hadn't had any success. But I was creating the belief that we would get to this point. And to be able to sustain success, your preparation doesn't change, right? It doesn't

matter who your opponent is. You're working towards standards that you set for for yourself individually and then also collectively as a program. Tony, you got that job in 2022 or the late 2021. The whole world is changing at that point in terms of how you construct rosters, how you acquire players. How different are you on that front now than what you thought you were going to be when you're like when you're interviewing with Carla Williams for the job and you're like, this is what we're going to be. How different are you now? I'm very, very different. I think I came in the door. Guns blazing. Man, I got my my my philosophies and my procedures and the way we're going to do things. And I've had to, I've had to grow. And I made a lot of mistakes my first year as a first year

head coach and you know not intentionally and and and not because I was was being bullish. It's just I just didn't know and the landscape was constantly changing. So I've I've grown and matured a lot and I've had to figure out how to do things that allow you to be successful in this environment, but at the same time, don't get too far away from from what your core beliefs are. Well, I think that everybody during that time period had to take inventory on how they wanted to proceed into the future. But I think what's interesting, about Andy's question is, is that you came from a place that was so traditionally different from all those things, steadfastly different. How much of your programming as a person at Clemson

was hard to rewrite, and how much of it did you take with you? Yeah, so, you know, my background, I played for Coach Swinney in college, and then I was with him for 11 years, four years before the championship runs started. So I got to firsthand see an experience, and I believed in and aligned with everything that Clemson's about. And so a lot of just the core philosophies I was bringing with me. However, the environment here at UVA is different academically and socially, and then also the climate was changing. And I wasn't in a position to, I guess, put my... my foot in the ground, I really had to figure out how to adapt. So a lot of what we do is rooted in the core values.

However, the execution may be a little bit different because our situation is different. So when you go out with the offensive line, do they get the AARP discount? Everybody thinks you're cheating because your offensive linemen are so old. But you've got a weird situation where, like, you got a couple of guys that you brought in last year who had a ton of starts elsewhere. they got hurt in camp. Now they're finally getting to play. But it is a fifth year, two, six years and a seventh year. Is that right?

On your starting five? They're called the old guys. My left tackle is probably the youngest in McEl Bowley. And then my right guard, McElean Thomas, and then the other guys, you know, they even have kind of tried to use it to their advantage. Now they want up front parking. They want to get closer to the building.

They want to be first in line for everything. But it's a fun. group. And it's a new group, too. Like everybody talks about, you know, their age. But again, you know, three of them played together last year and then two guys in McKeeleyn and Monroe, they weren't available last year. So they were here as part of the program, but they didn't play any snaps. So that group is still growing together. And it was awesome to actually see all five of them work together in a game and had some success, but also a tremendous opportunity for improvement, too. Coach, you talked about dealing with success and

and trying to build on something. I'm wondering, after the year that you guys had last year, obviously a lot of things change year over year in rosters and teams and environments in this new age of college football. But do you get a sense that you might have something and how did you feel like your team did react to that success? You know, I was very proud of the team for the way that they prepared. And so what you saw on Saturday was really just a reflection of their preparation

all offseason. And again, I was laying the foundation from year one. I distinctly remember sitting in the old building in one of our first staff meetings and just telling one of our staff members, fellas, it's not where we are, it's where we're going. And that's how we have to think, right? We have to think about where we're trying to go and we have to operate with that mentality. And spending all those years at Clemson and all the success, you know, really it's double down on what you believe, man, find ways to get 1% better and really just fall in love with the mundane because, you know, having success or sustaining success, you know, is not as as fun and exciting as it is. It's like every Monday has to be the best Monday of the year. So regardless

of what happened on Saturday, you got to go back to work on Monday. So really just proud of the staff for, you know, believing in the words that I was saying and then going and living that every single day that led up to where we are. And the thing about it, like I told the team, I said, all you did was your job. Like, that's all you did was your job. That's what you're supposed to do. And you know what?

Now you gotta go do it again. And you gotta go do it again. And you gotta go do it again. There's no yellow brick road. There's no pot of gold at the end. It's just like mundane, falling in love with that, being fanatical about the attention to detail. And so to answer the question about, do we have something?

we still got a long season. Man, we got a lot to improve even from that last game. And if we're able to stay humble and stay hungry, then I think we got some pieces to be able to have a successful season. So I've heard that before. I sat in on a presentation that your strength coach out of Smotherman gave at the Coaches Convention this year. And he came with you from Clemson.

People may not remember, but Smo was the greatest get-back coach in America because he had to deal with Brent Vennibles. Yeah, he was the one riding Brent Vennel's belt loops like it was a ski toe rope. Now, obviously, he's higher up in the food chain now. But how much did it help bringing somebody who understood that, who is in contact with your players every single day? I mean, it was critical. So I started recruiting Smow way before I took this job.

So when I started to become serious about transitioning to the next step in the progression, become a head coach, I started recruiting him because one, the person that he is, first of all, he's a tremendous father, tremendous husband, you know, he's a person of faith. He's very devout in what he believes. And then there was alignment because we came from the same place. So he knew exactly the type of culture that I want to build. And he and his staff are the ones that spend the most time with our. players they have the most contact with our players throughout the course of the year so it was critical

and if i could give any advice to to anybody that's you know preparing to transition to the head coaching a position your first hire and your most important hire is your uh is your strength coach you know as the entire world is still digesting what indiana did last year uh in their national championship run i think the number one thing that everybody wants to know is how how did that How did you do that? What's the secret sauce? And, you know, I think the original person who built a program and turned something in from, from good to great to elite was Davo. Davos been a head coach for a long time. We've heard him say a lot of things over a lot of different topics over the years.

And it feels like less of a mystery. But if you could articulate what you think it was that made him successful in those first four years, building up into those championship games that you wanted to bring, how would you articulate what that secret sauce was from Davo and what you're trying to replicate there? So the secret sauce is, is one, creating a belief and an attitude of gratitude in the opportunities that you have. And then establishing standards and then not being willing to relent on your standards regardless of what may be the perception or what may be the popular thing to do outside of your organization. So it's the belief, it's the standards. And then the investment in people. I think that people don't realize how much he invests, you know, not just in individuals like me that are that are coaches, that are coordinators, but he invests in everybody in that organization.

And he can find, he can find the area in a person where they may be struggling with belief in themselves, and he knows how to activate that for other people. So for you, because you did take a little bit different path. And you mentioned that you changed as your path as a head coach progressed, but he was slower to use the transfer portal. You had no choice but to do it. How do you maintain the culture you want, the belief you want, people being together the way you would like them to be with a more transient population? Right.

You have to stay committed to looking for fit. Fit is the most important thing first. And that was what I learned while I was at Clemson or Coach Sweeney. It was always about the right fit. I remember some really, really talented running backs that I wouldn't recruit because I knew that they wouldn't fit inside the organization with the standards that we had and the way that coach operated. So really challenging the staff to make sure that we find the right fit.

And then once they're here, all of them are mine. It doesn't matter if I got them for six months or if I got them for six years. We're going to serve the heart, not the talent. We're going to invest in the holistic approach. And then I think if we do that, what we can do is retain guys that are in the program that truly understand the culture. And then if we find the right fit with the guys coming in the portal, then they'll mesh well together. And you can maintain the environment that you have here. But then also, too, staff-wise.

Retention on the staff was really, really big for me. because again, having to teach the staff, right, the culture, and then having to teach a bunch of new players, the culture will be very, very difficult year in and year out. There we go. There you go. 15 carries for 110 yards, coach. Yeah, too much.

Too much. Okay. Have you had your talk with Beaufort from people yet? Yeah. He's a little sore today. But I think, you know, a lot of it was, was, I think he was just eager to, to get back out on the grass, improve who he is. And so, you know, there was some options there for him to,

to maybe throw the ball and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and he was, and he had a look in his eye. So yes, there's, there's, there's been a little bit of conversation. There'll be more going on throughout the course of, of the next two weeks before we, before we play. But yeah, or, but at the same time, too, I think, I think he's willing to do whatever it takes. And I think if you go back and you watch kind of, you know, my progression over the, my years as a coordinator and in certain games, you know,

the neutralizer was the quarterback and his ability to run. And sometimes you got to use him. So would prefer him not to have to take 15 hits through the course of the game. But I think that game plan wise, that was the, the coach. It was electric. I mean, it was fun to watch. It was fun to watch. I just, you know, for him and, you know, that many hits throughout the course of, you know,

12, maybe 13, 14, 15 games because we want to play a bunch. I don't know if that's what's best for his career going forward. So we've got to do right by him. But he's willing. That's what you saw is that this guy is a selfless guy that's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. I mean, most quarterbacks, I mean, we only had three pass attempts in the first half. Right. So some quarterbacks would be coming to the sideline.

Like, well, coach, at least let me, let me try to throw the ball. Let's do something. Like he was like, nah, you just, hey, whatever it takes. That was my favorite part is you would run the ball 30-something times and thrown it three times in the first half. And you come out in the second half, flea-flicker, play-action, play-action, touchdown. All right. So this is where I guess I've grown as a head coach, right? Because Coach Kitchens has free rein offensively.

I don't interject too much. But also at halftime, man, I'm worried about the defense, special teams, all of that. So then they come to me right before the offense is getting ready to go out and like, hey, coach, how do you feel about a flea flicker? And I'm like, we're running the ball. And I said, all right, we got outlets. It's safe. I said, okay, just make sure that. And then next thing I know, we hit that one, then Kitz calls another pass play.

And then it calls the third one. I'm about to be like, hey, Kitch, run the ball. And then we hit the third one for a touchdown. So I guess I've also maybe I'm not as in tune as a play caller as I used to be. back of the day now that I'm a head coach. But, but no, you got to be, you got to be pretty good, though, to be leading 17-0 with three pass attempts in 2026, no? Well, it's just, it's crazy games sometimes, right?

And I think what I learned as a coordinator was, man, if it's not broke, don't try and fix it. Sometimes you can talk yourself out of doing what's best to give yourself a chance to be successful. I see X Brown's picture just popped up, man, super proud of him and how he ran the ball and played. So just, you know, the guys wanted to set the tempo running the football. And sometimes as a coach, you just got to get out the way and let the guys, you know, go play. He had a run near the goal line.

I want to say it was on a third and short or a fourth and short where he just annihilated a linebacker who was trying to tackle him. He's coming off in ACL. How gratifying is it when you see a guy who's, and you guys? got a bunch of guys on your team in that situation where the coming back from injuries to see them be fully healthy and and be what they're supposed to be. Yeah, that's, it's to be honest with you, it's, I'm not able to articulate the, the gratitude, the joy and, and just the excitement that I have for a lot of the guys on the roster, but X Brown in particular, because, you know, X. Brown was here, you know, through the tragedy, right? He was, he was, he was part of, he was

part of that class that committed to the previous staff that that that that we honored their scholarships and brought him in and he chose to come even though the the the staff he was going to play for was was leaving and he stuck around and he's battled through injury and and he'll do whatever we ask of him and so he's a true culture bearer for our program he's he's deeply ingrained in the fabric of of this staff and where this program is because of all that he's persevered. So to see him, I just, I can't fully articulate just how good that makes you feel when you see him have success. And I know that, man, he's, he's giving it up for the program, right? He's, he's laid it on the line. Like, he's got battle scars. And so, man, it's just awesome to see, to see X Brown have success. And I, and I didn't know what to expect to be honest with you, right? Because he's coming off ACL. He's having to wear a knee brace in practice. I thought he ran. hard. I thought he played fast. I thought I thought he really attacked his recovery and it showed. So you mentioned the tragedy. And for those who don't know, you had three of your players

murdered in your first season. How, and I know you've talked about this a ton, but I'm just curious, those of you who are still there, staff-wise, player-wise, how did that change you? And what have you done to honor? Yeah. So, I mean, it's just, it's put everything in perspective for me. Obviously, I walked in the door, you know, wanting to come here to build something similar to what I had left, right? And then we have the tragedy.

And it really, really connected me to the mission of the program. And so our mission is to build champion men, you know, to serve their heart, not their talent. And that having gone through that and to forever, you know, man, those three young men, I'll never see him again. Their families are still recovering. I've been devastated by what happened. Really, to be honest with you, how it has changed me is it's really deep in my faith, my level of faith, because there were many times where I question why me, why these guys, why these families, And now that we're kind of, you know, on the other side a little bit, right?

And we're still, you know, healing, but we're closer to healing than we are where we were three years ago or four years ago. So I'm just a, I think I'm a better human being because of it. I got a lot more purpose. And this program and what we do to honor them is, you know, we walk by them every single day. So in our facility, we have our gear. display where we display the different uniform combinations. We have them mannequins dressed in the likeness of LaVelle, Devin, and Deshawn all the way down to what they wrote on their eye black, a number of wristbands that they wore. So we're

constantly reminded of that. Every young man that joins this program knows that they may not have been here through that, but they're signing on to help us carry their legacies forward. Tony, I know being a football coach is a very deep thing a lot of times. You know you got to harbor student athletes you want education you want to be a good football team you want to follow the rules there's so many different things that go into it but when something like that happens just like being a human being yes right in a position of power like and like i mean how does that form you into the coach that you are yeah so it uh man it knocks you down to to rock bottom like like you you, there's no playbook for that, right?

There's no, and I went through a lot of different, a lot of programming to prepare to be a head coach, and that was never part of the preparation process. So there is no, there is no playbook for that. And so at the end of the day, the only thing that can get you through is what you believe in, and who you believe in, and leaning on that to give you the strength every single day,

because there were days that I didn't want to do it. There were days that I'm like, hey, look, I can walk away right now and move on to something else. And then the Lord reminds you that, hey, this is all part of the journey. And I chose you for this time. And so I think it takes the things that you described out of it, and it reconnects you to your core of why you got into coaching, which is to help young people maximize their potential. So for those who don't know, you graduated Clemson with an industrial engineering degree. You went to work at Michelin at a college.

You could have lived a very different life. Very different. If you could go back now and talk to the young Tony Elliott, who's got a good job. I think you told me what your starting salary was, but it was something really good for turn of the century. But if you could tell him how he was going to grow. by quitting that job and becoming a coach. What would you say? Oh, first I would say, don't change a thing other than if you can,

just try to be present in the moment a little bit more along the way. But, man, it was necessary for me to go that route, right? And I needed to experience things in that aspect of life to help prepare me to be a better coach. but I would just tell them, hey, get ready. It's going to be a heck of a ride. There's going to be some tough days ahead. But, man, just persevere.

And if you do, then the Lord will reveal to you the meaning of each of those situations and those circumstances that you went through. And I wouldn't change. I wouldn't change anything. I am endlessly and forever will be amused by the fact that Michelin Tires is a tire company that also rates restaurants. You know, I didn't know if that was a, there was a connection. I've heard of Michelin ratings.

Is it the same? Like, seriously? Yeah, they wanted you to get in the car and drive around Europe. Well, I actually went to Europe and there. Yeah, they want you to drive around, wear down your tires and go to restaurants. But it's a wonderful thing of like just randomness. Here's what I know for my time at, at Michigan. There's a reason why, you know, it's the best tire.

in the in the world of the standards that they have so it doesn't surprise me that you know that they would be the top of the the food rating industry as well just because of the standards that they have all right so we know michelin's rules for life now we need to know yours your first time guess so we always ask them the same question tony elliott what are your rules for life man uh really just treat treat people the way you want to be treated right uh for for me it's it's it's always about respect and I come from an upbringing where you give you give respect in order to get respect and just just treat other people the way you want to be treated and if you do that then you'll you'll put yourself in position to accomplish whatever goals you have have set for

yourself because you have the humility right to think of others before you think of yourself we got another one this is an easier question every head coach now we're asking this question because this topic came up over the summer. We just couldn't figure it out. With certain coaches, we could not figure it out. I was like, so I think Joey McGuire may have posted a picture of the Corvetti drives on Sundays if they win. But what is, are we a car guy, SUV guy, or a truck guy?

Oh, oh, man. All three. To be honest with you, all three. Because I'm glad, I'm glad coach pulled out his Corvette. because I got me one in the off season. So I'm not, and I kind of felt bad. But now that I saw Joe, I saw he did a, I think he was with Reese, right? And he did a special from his car.

And I'm like, okay, I'm not the only one. So I got the cars. I'm an old school car guy, right? So back when I was at Clemson in 2015, I got a 1996 Chevy Impala. So I got an old school. And then I just, I just traded my truck back for an SUV. So I used to be a truck guy because my boys rode dirt bikes and four-wheelers and did all that stuff. But now they're older playing baseball.

They're not interested in that. I traded the truck for an SUV. What's your daily driver in the back of the SUV? So do you drive every day? To be honest with you, it kind of depends. So the SUV is supposed to be the daily driver. But the 96 and Polly gets driven a good bit. And then the Corvette is usually like a Sunday car.

Kind of like Coach McGuire. Shout out Coach McGuire. He texts me after the game. I appreciate that. I mean, that meant a lot. So all three, this is the first all three answer we've gotten. So I like that. Well, I'm a car guy.

And they're on Michelin's, I take it. I got, well, most of them, most of them do have, do have Michelin's on. I do have one more car on the wish list that, that I'm going to work on here over the next couple of years. And what's that? It's a, it's a, it's a, 164 Chevy Impala. It's like the let, that's the let me ride video, right? Yeah.

You know what? I'm rolling in a six full do, do, do, do. Yeah. That's right. So having, having, having, was born in California lived there for, for 12 years until family circumstances brought me back east. I always said I want to, I want to get me one. It's going to be like, boys in the hood style, too. It's going to, it's going to sit on. We're going to have switches. Oh, yeah.

Hydraulics? Well, well, It may be air because hydraulics. I just, I don't have time to keep up the batteries and do all that stuff. But you should have seen when I was a kid, like my room, me and my cousin, we had Lowrider magazine and we just had 64 Impala's everywhere. So that's my next, that's my next. So I am truly a, so if there's anything about Coach Ellie, two things are true.

First, I am a car guy, right? I have proof of that. And I am truly a sneaker guy, right? So like, I don't just do like sneakers. to act like I'm cool. I really, I really am a sneakerhead. I know, well, I've seen the custom, you had custom Air Force ones at ACC Media Days a couple years ago.

Yep. What did we go with this year? So this year I don't, so, so actually, so what has happened is my wife has, like, she's kind of finally broke me down. So she, she picks out some designer ones, kind of the ones, you know, the ones that they wear, like the brands that I won't. Oh, the ones. the players were that I never I've never heard of brand and I know they cost more than my car yeah I don't have any of those but like I got a couple like I got a couple of golden goose like she she's got me into those but but mostly so so mostly I wear Travis Scott's on on game day so I really I really like that sneaker that Air Jordan won yeah I tell him how you got your Travis Scots huh I'm asking already to tell you how he got his Travis Scott's he got a lot of you get your Travis Scott's I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was

I hit, well, I actually have two different pairs. One, I hit on a sneakers auction. There you go. So I just got, or sneakers drawing. So I got lucky. And then I also bought one off of a website like Stock X. Okay. And then I, they came and I wear size 10 and they were a half size too big for some reason.

Although all AJ ones fit the same. These ones were too big. So I was like, I don't feel like, you know, you can't return shoes to Stock X because they're, they're not, it's not the retailer. It's somebody selling them to you. And I took them to a, uh, recent. sale store just to get rid of them because I was never going to wear them. They didn't fit. I just wanted to sell them, get some money back and just buy some other ones. And I found out that they were counterfeit.

So I got I got kind of scammed there. And I ended up just wearing them and just like not caring about them. I thought they sent you the real ones. That's right. They did. But I never, never worn the real ones. I still have the fake ones that I wear. You're smart.

You're smart. Nobody's like, nobody's going to know. other than you told everybody like you told it all like well it's not I'm not a the fake sneaker thing like I'm not doing it for for vanity I just like the way they look too like you

but that's right I was kind of upset because it was like it had one of those things on it that was authenticated it's like did anybody authenticate this like does anybody know what the word authenticate means because you failed they need some of that that Michelin Adam Smotherman

quality control Tony, the best sneaker ever made. What's your favorite sneaker? Ooh, the best sneaker ever made is the Air Jordan Four. The forest, the force to me is best. It's so funny because when that came out, I was living in Key Largo. We would go to the Cutler Ridge Mall, and I would walk by champs and just stare at it. There was no way in hell my mom was ever paying $100 for a shoe.

So I know I was never going to get a pair. And I just stared at them. And then I got old enough to buy the shoes. I wanted and I got a I got a pair of Air Jordan 11s and I was going to get some fours but then I put the 11s on my feet and I wear 13s and those are clown shoes they look terrible and I was like you know what I think the four is maybe not for me maybe it's something to stare at but never you ever wonder how Michael Jordan played basketball in those shoes they're so heavy in the four the fours the fours the fours the 11s are a little more comfortable than the fours

the fours are not very comfortable and so yeah matter of fact we watched the uh this this past weekend we watched i think episode five of the last dance because we only had 45 minutes we had another function to go to and that was his returns at a garden when he wore the ones again and his feet were bleeding he just beat up his feet because they were horrible oh he just beat up his feet because they were they were horrible but like yeah so the four is not a three the crazy thing is the threes are very comfortable yeah three's comfortable but the four is not not but now when you look at the types of shoes that basketball players wear now like i don't know how like michael jordan played in any of them.

You know, I guess like technology is improved, so they're different. But like, because everybody else was clunky. They're big clunky shoes. So they're, their standards were.

Exactly. Exactly. Like, I don't know how guys survive playing in Chuck Taylor's. Like how, how like they can still walk. Like, there's no support at all in a Chuck Taylor.

Yeah. And now you can get Air Jordan 11 cleats. So how about that? That's crazy. Like, and my guys got them too. They got them in all black patent leather. And,

and, but yes, I'm truly, I'm truly a, uh, a sneaker. head and collect, I collect sneakers and, and, uh, so. I'll tell you what, you keep winning the way you're winning.

That six four Impala's coming your way sooner rather than later. So, well, that would be, that would be nice. That'd be nice. I got, I got a kind of, I got a, I got my eye on, on, on, on planning. Like, in my head, I'm just planning like, okay, what, what, what color, is it going to be, is it going to be a heart top or is it going to be a drop top? Well, it, it's going to be so much fun to watch the rest of this. I don't know if there can be many more 23 play drives, but we shall see.

Tony, thank you so much and good luck the rest of the way. And congratulations. That was an awesome game. What a way to start the season. And hopefully it sets the tone for you guys. We're going to be watching and you making yourself available to us the day or a few days after that. That was great. And really appreciate you.

And good luck this year. No, I appreciate you guys. This has been a lot of fun. Thank you. Ari, that's Tony Elliott. And to get back to our Dabo conversation, you know, we've talked a lot about how Clemson is different since Brent Venables left to become Oklahoma's coach. But I think it's important to note that that was the same time Tony Elliott also left to become Virginia's coach. That's a lot to lose at one time.

Well, I also think that if Virginia continues on their trajectory, which is ACC championship game appearance last year and then. maybe it becomes a factor in the ACC again, that as Tony Elliott's profile rises, the thought process that applied to Brent Venables, which is, you know, Clemson was very successful with one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. You know,

maybe you start to appreciate the other side of the ball a little bit too. So, you know, I think that, again, I'm a Mr. Jump to Conclusions guy. It was a week zero game,

but it was a week zero game against one of the, most consistent programs in the conference that they play in. Yeah. And it wasn't just the win. They didn't just win. Yeah. And that was their like, their only ACC loss up until the end of the year, I think.

Well, that wasn't, that wasn't even an ACC game last. It wasn't last year. That was the weird non-ACC, ACC ACC game. But it's like this one was an ACC game though, right? Yeah. I mean, playing against the team in your conference in week one and beating them 34 to eight, the three pass attempts in the first half while having a 17-0-0 lead.

I mean, I don't know. There's a lot of. really good things that you can take from that win. And I have Virginia circled as a team to watch in the ACC now that I maybe didn't appreciate enough going into the year. Yeah, if we look at Virginia's schedule, it's manageable. They've got Flores State in Tallahassee on October 3rd. We'll see what floor state winds up being.

And then they've got SMU Duke Wake Forest Cal. that's that's the part that's going to determine whether they're in the mix for the ACC title again if they go three and one in that stretch I I bet we are talking about Virginia going back to the ACC title game for for a second year in a row so and if we are then Tony Elliott will come back on the show because that was awesome I had a really good time talking to him well we're going to have to have him back a matter what I want to I want to know if he gets the Impala the six foe because that is uh that would be fun because I remember watching those videos when I was a kid. Obviously, I didn't, I wasn't, I never went to Southern California until I was an

adult. So I never got to see any of those cars actually riding around. But that would be so cool. Yeah. It's switches. To go into adulthood, I think that a lot of times the things that we want or the things that we desire are just are reminiscent of our youth and where we're from and what we grew up wanting. And I hope for him that he gets that. I'm sure he will. Why wouldn't he? He deserves it. It's the head coach of a power for football program. We'll get the car to him. me. Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of things in Southern California, we've got to talk about the picture that was making the rounds on Saturday.

USC played San Jose State open its season, the week zero game. This was the replacement for the Notre Dame game. USC can claim all at once the Notre Dame ducked out of the series. We all know it was USC who ducked out of the series because their Big Ten schedule was really hard this year. Their fans did not show up at all. It was mostly empty at the Coliseum. It was very hot that day in Los Angeles. And that is the excuse that is being given out is it was really hot,

unseasonably hot, unusually hot, and it really was. It was in the 90s. It's unusually humid in Los Angeles right now. So the heat index was in the triple digits, I believe. And this is a place where the average temperature, the average high temperature this time of year is 77 degrees. So obviously the population not used to. temperatures like that. But those of us who cover the sport understand that the heat indexes

will be higher in places like Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Athens, Georgia, and maybe love it, Texas. And the opponents might not be that great either, and people will show up. So that's been the great debate is, you know, are USC fans bad fans? Because they didn't show up. And I don't think they're bad fans, but I do think Georgia fans and Alabama fans care way more than USC fans do. Like, that's undeniable. Yeah. I mean, I don't even know if that's a debate that we should even engage in. Like that's just a fact. Well, but that's what they're saying, I had USC fans saying, well, it doesn't mean they care more. Actually, it does. Like, it's okay. And that's okay. Like, if you don't care as much as they care or if you have better things to

do because you live in a place where there's more going on, that's fine. That's your prerogative. but they're going to laugh at you. So you're going to have to deal with that. Now, here's the other part from my standpoint, Ari. It doesn't matter if they have good fans or not. I only care if they have a good team. And whether the fans show up or not, like they play Fresno State on Friday night,

whether the fans show up or not for the Fresno State game, I don't care. I just don't know if they're going to be good or not. And the U.S. They are good. They were on the field Saturday. They looked awesome. So if they are a good team, and I think that they have a chance to be,

my thought process is if they somehow figure out a way to beat Oregon at the end of this month, the stands aren't going to be an issue moving forward. Obviously, the temperatures will come down. The games will be more competitive. But, you know, the funny thing about this whole thing is, you know, everybody's talking about the heat and weather, you know, their shade in the Coliseum and all the different things. There is none.

You had a good context in the discussion that we had off air about this, which is, it is unseasonably hot in California right now. Like, it's not, people who live there aren't used to it. And if you're not used to something, it feels more intense than maybe somebody in the south might feel. For me, 95 degrees with a lot of humidity is every day where I live for four straight months. So it's not unusual. It wouldn't be hard for people who live where I live. and they will do this, by the way.

They've got a night game at Florida the first game. So it's not like they got to worry about the heat in the sun. But they'll have afternoon games that are in the same kind of temperature. And they'll show up. There'll be 90,000 people. But that's what they're used to. If you put me in Michigan, you put me in Michigan on a February and, you know, Tuesday in February. I'm going to be miserable in being, and I'll be like, I can't even set foot outside.

I can't. You know what's lost in this entire discussion, though? enough of the weather. People don't want to watch bad games. Yeah. Like it would be awesome if they played Notre Dame. You want to know something? I know this for a fact.

They're going to say Notre Dame could have played in week zero and didn't. Okay. It doesn't matter. What I do know is if Notre Dame was playing USC on Saturday, the stadium would have been fuller. So like, you know, part of it is they're playing an overmatched opponent with their favor by 20 something points or whatever it was. I get it.

You don't want to sit out in the heat to watch your team beat the crap out of somebody. But the thing that bothers me more than anything is, we are in this perpetual cycle with USC of, is this the year they finally break through? Is this the year they make the playoff? Is this the year that Lincoln Riley coaches himself off the hot seat? And it actually looks like this team has a chance to do something really, really, really different. You know, I wrote a story after the game is over,

but Andy, they had 16 true freshmen playing in this game. Did you see that Luke Wafel play? Of course you did. The one where he, of course they did. Trinthe left. He was awesome too. These guys were as advertised. They've got a lot of really good true freshmen who can have an impact on top of the players that they brought back.

And if you are a USC fan who was excited about this, there's only one other team in the country. This is the question I asked last night in the text. But how many teams with national championship aspirations would struggle to fill out their stadium in their opener? and the only other one that could come to mind is another team that's very good that has had bouts of being made fun of for their lack of attendance and that's Miami. But as you pointed out, geographically has a lot of the same features. Yeah.

It got beaches too. Proximity to the ocean and nightlife and all these different things. Like, yeah, I get it. Like those are two of the coolest cities that anybody want to live. Miami set a program attendance record last year. And Miami is also dealing with a stadium that's harder to get. it to. Now, I don't know if that's an excuse because fans don't live on campus all the time. You know, like, but yeah, I mean, I don't know if that Matt, like the Coliseum is closer

to USC's campus than Hard Rock Stadium is to Miami's campus, but it's still like, it's L.A. But every traffic, every college program that has a stadium that's far away from campus struggles with attendance, don't they? Now, that seems to be the case. There's not many programs now, and UCLA is kind of the standard bear for that. And those, in UCLA also hasn't been traditionally really, really great at football the last few years. So, you know, that's also taking into account that. Okay. Joey McGuire, the Texas Tech coach, chimed in on this, which a bit of a stray coming from Joey

McGuire. But here he is talking USC. Not to take any shots because I have a lot of respect for, you know, USC and Lincoln Riley. But, man, it's really awesome to be playing in Lubbock, Texas, knowing we're going to be playing in front of 60,000. And it's going to be warm. It's going to be ever bit as warm as it was Saturday. The great thing is we got some really tough people at West Texas that love their football

and they're going to show up. And no matter what the weather's like, there's not going to be any excuse of why they're not going to be here for us. Not to take any shots. Sort of like no pun intended. Like, I'm about to take some shots here. Yeah. I can imagine, too, that it's probably going to be much hotter than Lubbock, right?

We can check the weather in Lovick. They're playing Abilene Christian, by the way. They're playing Abilene Christian. I do like that not to take any shots here and then takes a shot. And then I'm going to call the entire population soft. The high on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas will be 95. Okay, that's not as bad as I thought. So you will be dealing with triple digit heat and X's.

Yeah. My kind of I'm here for Joey McGuire being a commentator on all things happening in college football from Lubbock. Because I don't also a night game, but the way the weather works there is it's still really hot. Yeah. At six, six o'clock at night. So yeah. Yeah. So I guess there's really nothing new to be like we didn't learn that USC doesn't care as much as Georgia or Michigan or other teams.

We knew that. But I also think too that they have a really good chance of being very good this year. And if they do, then the attendance will solve itself. But there was a statement. River has the statement. I have never seen. Yeah, let's hear USC statement. This is good.

We understand the factors that impact Saturday's attendance. We have high expectations in a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage and an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program. We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and looked forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season. That's passive aggressive. Also, they use your favorite word. Electric. And that was the part of the statement that I stumbled over, believe it or not.

That you mangled. I don't know how that happened, but. Yeah, I don't know that was that just like get your asses to the games? Is that how you pronounce that? I think that's what that one. Is that pretty sure? Is that how you translate that? Yeah.

We spent way too much money in NIL and getting freshmen onto this freaking team for you not to show up and support these guys. Get your ass. Get those beer swords. You can buy beer in a sword now at USC. It's pretty cool. Pretty cool looking. I'm sure it costs ungodly amounts of money for domestic beer and a sword. But I don't know.

I might have a couple swords. words. A few weeks ago, we read an email from Richard and Eagle Rock. And he was a very eloquent USC fan and kind of put things in perspective for us. Well, he sent us another email. So we're going to now read this from Richard from Eagle Rock because I think he sums it all up very nicely from the USC fans' perspective. Andy and Ari, a few weeks ago, you indulge this USC fan's rant So how about another? Last Saturday, USC played San Jose State with poor attendance from fans, which is going viral. Now, I have been a fan for just over 20 years, and even with heavy traffic, I can be at the Coliseum in 45 minutes.

I saw the tickets at less than $20 for some good seats. Yeah, get your seats on game time, everybody. I proudly watched that game with my 74-year-old USC graduate dad. I tell you, I have absolutely zero regrets watching that game from home. I hear about soft fans and about how everyone or else the stands would be filled. That misses the point. College football isn't a duty. It's not taking care of your kids, elderly parents,

or fighting the Germans in World War II. It's supposed to be fun. What's fun about 94 degrees Fahrenheit that felt like 100 plus due to humidity that we normally don't have? Middle of the day with no shade, too early to really tailgate, all while being gouged on everything

from parking to concessions. The thing is that every bit of that could have been forgiven if they had actually played someone worth it. USC was a 38-point favorite, and what's fun about that? win how you're supposed to boring when close game that's actually good we're pissed off that it happened and in a full-blown depression about the rest of the season lose literal hell i've seen my team lose

as a 40-point favorite 20 years ago that was a stanford game and people still won't shut up about it people say la is in a sports city because of all the options we love sports but the options mean we don't accept the mediocre i may argue in defensive u sc not playing notre dame because that's my team but if you don't replace it at least a power 14 then i'm not going to support that You may say, well, Alabama versus Chattanooga, Tennessee versus Furman, and Nebraska versus Bowling Green, sell out. I don't think going to those games automatically makes you a good fan, makes you a better fan than USC fans.

These games shouldn't sell out. Why sell out those games and reward the mediocre? We can't complain about scheduling lousy teams, then complain that people don't go to them. That's complaining about the solution to the problem. Anyways, thanks for listening to the rant. Richard from Eagle Rock. He's right about that, though.

We, you and I are hypocrites. We are. Because you and I are the ones that are always screaming schedule better games. So maybe we should also be screaming vote with your wallets like USC fans did. And don't show up, vote with your butt. Don't go to bad games.

That could be a... So we're a hypocrite. Yeah, yeah, he's right. Alabama fans, Georgia fans all showing up. I also don't think that we were making fun of them. But, you know, like... Yeah, we were... Yeah, but I understand from his perspective, too, like, I mean, you're, you're in one of the best cities in the country.

Like, I wouldn't, I don't blame him for not wanting to go. I don't blame people for not wanting to go. But I do think that they're pointing out the difference between the fans is still fair. I still think that. Don't. It's, and he didn't argue this. It's the, it's the people who argue, well, we care just as much. No, you don't.

And that's okay. Just admit you don't. I mean, I probably wouldn't care as much either if I was 10 minutes from Santa Monica here. Exactly. It's okay. It's all right. It's when you call the people who live in Lincoln or people who live in Tuscaloosa, the people in Athens or the people in Columbus, dumb and Hicks,

because they don't have anything better to do than go to bad football games. Like, you're going to get some shade thrown at you at that point. I also think you can make the case that watching it on TV is also. supporting the mediocre because television ratings are more important than attendance. At this point, yeah. So why did USC go to the big 10? Why'd you watch it? Game casted, bro.

Why did you watch the game? But it's also, it's just a shame because if you are, because Richard, to his defense, wants good games. Oh, no, Richard. Listen, I can't, I can't argue with anything Richard said. Richard's right. Richard, Richard split the, like, he threaded the needle perfectly. But I also think that it's unfair to be like, don't go to the games or don't watch the games to the people who love it.

So like it's kind of like a catch-22. Yeah, although like it would be nice if Nebraska would schedule a good non-conference opponent. Yeah. They ducked. They were supposed to play Tennessee. I mean, I wish there was a way to forcefully prevent teams from scheduling bad games. Yeah. But the only way to do that is that by your own athletes.

I'm playing Tennessee State this weekend. Yeah. That's it. What is the point of that? But telling a Georgia fan not to go to the game is also to have them not be able to enjoy one of the 14 Saturdays they get a year of their favorite thing in the world. Right. And they're going to go. So they're going to go.

And the difference is just right there. People who live in Georgia in our bulldogs, their favorite thing in the entire world is Georgia football. Right. I don't know if that goes the same way for USC. It's different for you. Some people, but not every. Yeah. Well, I think to some people are the ones that show.

up. Right. I forget what the lady's name was, but, but Ben Bolts from the California Post had a great video of a lady trying the beer sword. And she seemed like an awesome hang. She's having a good time. Yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah. Yeah. But I don't think that we found out that USC doesn't have as much of a loyal fan base as Georgia today. We knew that. We already knew that. Yeah. Yeah. But again, and I will, I will hammer this point home over and over and over and over And if nobody shows up and the team is really good, doesn't matter. Yeah. Also, get your ass at the game against Oregon.

I'm sure that they won't have a problem with that. But I'm sure they won't. And I'm sure if they don't, the Oregon fans will fill in the gaps. That's a really big game. I think that you could go back and that might be the biggest game of Lincoln Riley's entire tenure. Oh, 100%. Maybe not as big as a TAC 12th championship game in year one.

Yeah, it just, but this is. It's more of a referendum because obviously, a Pactville Championship game in year one, going into that game, you are doing everything you're supposed to be doing, you're on pace to make the playoff. In the middle of the second quarter of that game, you were doing everything you're supposed to be doing,

you're on pace to make the playoff. And then Caleb Williams hurts his ankle, suddenly you can't tackle anymore, which, I mean, they weren't great tacklers to begin with. They really couldn't tackle on the second half of that game. And, yeah, that was the, But this is the biggest crossroads game. You're like, oh, you're just built.

You'll just build on this. But then they didn't. And now they have built back up. So yeah, this Oregon game is going to be enormous. This Fresno State game will be interesting. They're a good group of 16. It probably won't be as easy as it was for USC starters against San Jose State. If it is as easy for USC starters as it was against San Jose State, that is a really good sign for USC.

Yeah. Fresno's Daycare has a pretty robust fan base. I cares a lot about football too. I don't know if you know this about me, Andy, but when I was in college, I had an internship with MLB.com, but I didn't have one of the traditional ones. I had a minor league one where I had to go to California

and go cover a bunch of minor league games, like with, you know, players doing rehab assignments and stuff for the major league teams and go write articles on those. And you know where I lived? Fresno. Presno. Right in the, you could see the stadium from my bedroom window that I subleased there.

And I found out then that people were insane for Fresno State football. And I bet you they don't give a shit about how hot it is. It's really hot. It is hotter there anyway. But it will be an interesting situation Friday night because, again, if USC starters are rolling the way they were against San Jose State against Fresno State, that is another sign that things are going the way they're supposed to be going.

Now, you won't know until the Oregon game, really, because it's Fresno State this week, it's the Raging Cajuns next week, then it's Rutgers, which, I mean, Rutgers obviously will be more of a challenge and you've got to fly across the country. But the Oregon-Washington-Pen State stretch is what is going to tell you what you need to know.

And two of those games are at home. So I'd imagine that the folks will show up for. Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, all in a row. You want to make the playoff, buddy? Go earn it. That's right.

And hopefully there will be. I think there probably will be. I think in person and on television, there will be plenty of people watching when those games began. And, hey, as Richard from Eagle Rock says, just schedule good games, which it's a good motto to have.

Good motto to have. It is our motto here at this show. Just schedule good games. Just be good. Takes care of all your problems. Tony Elliott, a little golden rule. Rule for life. Treat others as you like to be treated.

That's pretty good. Car guy, SUV guy and truck guy. Just the guy's guy, period. Sneaker guy. We learned a lot today. We learned a lot. Yeah, we did. Robust episode that is over an hour and 20 minutes.

So, you know, we're in football season mode. Absolutely. And, you know, we've got games on Thursday. We got games on Friday. We do. Got games on Saturday. Sunday. We've got games on Sunday.

Do we have games on Monday, too? We have a game on Monday. What games on Monday? You got to run a mile if Florida State covers in that game on Monday. Is there an actual college game on Monday? There isn't, is there? All right. Am I forgetting one?

You have to run a mile if Florida State covers in the game that is being played on Monday. Oh, that's on Monday. I thought they were doing a bit. Like, you really forgot that. That game was on Sunday. My bad. No, my bad. Yeah.

No, we have, we have Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Ole Miss Louisville Sunday. Got it. And the Apple Cup on Sunday, too. But yeah, it, it, this is, this is going to be so much fun. Our friend George Reister, former Oregon Duck, former Jacksonville Jaguar, joining us tomorrow. We had a lot of fun with him a couple weeks ago. He's got some takes, some takes.

including a pick that is circulating on the web right now, a game pick that is quite controversial. We will put his feet to the fire. Although I think you may agree with him on it. We'll see. I don't think they're going to win. See how it goes. George Reister tomorrow on 8 on 3 presented by Paul.