College Football Live - One Month Out til Week One!!!

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Host Phil Murphy is joined by Jordan Reid, Harry Lyles Jr and Pete Thamel to discuss the Week One matchups you should be excited for, including Clemson v Georgia, Miami v Florida, Notre Dame v Texas A&M and Colorado v North Dakota State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Phil Murphy and it is July 31st. That means we are exactly one month from the first full college football Saturday. And coming out the tunnel, we examine the head to head of second year starting QBs when Clemson meets Georgia in Atlanta. And what do we expect from Riley Leonard now that he's in South Bend? Billy Napier enters year three at Florida. How much pressure is there to perform in Gainesville despite the hardest strength of schedule in the nation? Plus, it's bison and buffs week one in Boulder, has. Coach Prime done enough this off season to protect his QB and avoid an upset at home,

the weight is almost over. We ain't got next. We got now. Season for this moment. It's no time, that's. We back. 60 minutes for as long as it takes, you leave it on the feet. They're just going to make the conference even stronger.

We're going to see a lot of unexpected things happen. He's walking into the gold standard of college football. The great traditions in college football. Legacy big built in these games. I know what time it is. It's time for college football live. And it is exactly one month until college football consumes all of our Saturdays from noon to midnight Eastern. Actually earlier than that, if we count game day.

Jordan Reed, Harry Liles and Pete Bammel are all here. And here is what awaits all of us the weekend of August 31st. Again, the countdown is at exactly one month for the meat of this slate. North Dakota State and Colorado is a tasty Thursday appetizer. Then it gets going in earnest. Saturday, August 31st at noon in Atlanta when Georgia meets Clemson. You got Miami and Notre Dame both facing tough road tests. And USC and LSU both look to turn the page facing each other.

They got to replace high-profile QBs when they meet out in Vegas. Last year, looking at Clemson, they stumbled out of the gate in Durham, lost 28 to 7 to Duke. Pete Thammell, a repeat of that in week one this year would probably mean an ugly score line. What's this team been saying about this offense with Cade Klubnick and O.C. Garrett Riley back together for a year two. Well, the Clemson offense has been in a slump, and that's the reason Garrett Riley came for 2023, was to jumpstart it. But the issue of Clemson has been glaringly clear the last three

seasons. They simply haven't had the skill position guys that they had when Trevor Lawrence was there, that they had when Deshawn Watson was there. The good news is this is the best Clemson receiving core talent-wise in several seasons. Antonio Williams, back healthy from his ankle injury gives them a huge boost. Tyler Brown had one of the best true freshman seasons of anyone in the ACC. And if Bryant Westcoe, the freshman from Texas, who's a top 30 recruit, could bring back some of that juju from the old Clemson receivers, we will see that offense finally move forward. Yeah, Pete, couldn't agree with you more, especially on those skill guys. I think the other thing, too, that Clemson has sort of suffered from in a sense is the previous successes of a

DeShon & Watson, of a Trevor Lawrence, because those were two guys that. set an untouchable standard almost, right? Like we're talking about two guys that made immediate impacts in the NFL. And then so when a guy like Cade Clubnick comes in, still a very talented player, but people expect that sort of play from every quarterback that has followed since those guys. And that's just not a realistic expectation year to year. So now that he is in his second year with Garrett Riley, I think that you're going to see a Clemson team that is going to look more like their old selves,

especially with an offensive line that had only returned one offensive player last year, excuse me, one starter last year. they're returning four this year. So that's usually a good group. They could be great this year. And you're going to see a Clemson team facing a Georgia team that might have the top overall NFL draft prospect and the guy who could go number one overall. And Jordan, they are different people.

Carson Beck has added some weapons. How do you expect this version of these dogs to look? Well, I think it's going to be same old Georgia offensively. And that means a lot of 12 personnel. And then also good enough wide receivers on the perimeter. Yes, they do have a lot to replace Marcus, Rosemey, Jack, was a really good player for them. But the top two weapons last year was tight-in, Brock Bowers, as well as Lab McCona.

Now they bring in Kobe Young, who's a talented transfer from Miami, as well as Trevor Ateen in the backfield. There's a lot of excitement about him. So with Carson Beck, he has to take it to the next level with this Georgia office. Now he has to be a catalyst with them looking to replace so much. And also, they added tight-in Ben Yuresec from Stanford, who was expected to be a big boost for them at the tight-in position. Well, if Clemson can find a way to get a late lead in that week one opener in Atlanta,

it'll be unfamiliar territory for Carson Beck. All of last season, he took 17 snaps in the fourth quarter with Georgia trailing. It goes without saying very few full-time starters had fewer. Hey, in primetime August 31st in College Station, we have Notre Dame and Texas A&M linking up for just the sixth time ever. It's a reunion of former Duke coach Mike Elko now at A&M and his ex-QB, Riley Leonard, who's now in South Bend. We were on the phone about three weeks ago joking that we should come up with some scripted answer that we both give for the amount of times this question is going to get answered asked this off season. But, you know, he's extremely competitive. No, he's extremely competitive.

And, you know, we're going to get one shot at this. And there's not going to be a rematch. And so someone's going to be one and oh and one. And so I think we're both going to do everything we can to make sure we're on the right end of that for sure. Yeah, sorry for anybody who wants some animosity between us. I can tell you we're both very competitive. I know his defense very well, and he knows my tendency, so it should be a good game to watch for sure.

Eyes on the QBs here, but you were in South Bend with Riley Leonard this week. What can you tell us about his transition into this offense in the midst of rehabbing from ankle and toe surgeries? Well, for the most interesting thing about Riley Leonard is that he's chomping at the bit to get going. He joked with me that in high school, he was a zero-star recruit until Duke took him as a commitment. and they put three stars by his name.

When he got to the portal, he was obviously a five-star recruit in the portal when he went to Notre Dame. Well, he's felt like since he missed the entire spring with a combination of both ankle and toe injuries, that people think he's entitled, and that really, really grinds Riley Leonard's gears. We don't know what he's going to look like in this offense because he hasn't played yet. We'll find out once camp starts today, but Riley Leonard is 100% healthy and ready to let it rip. There's a lot of excitement about Riley Leonard, and that's simply because he has better weapons on the parade. perimeter. And in that Duke offense, a lot of NFL scouts and people around the country felt that it was very vanilla. And he didn't get a chance to really show off the strong arm that he

does have. But with Mike Denbrock coming over from LSU, we saw what Jaden Daniels was able to do in that system. Now you plug and play Riley Leonard in this Notre Dame system along with Denbrock. That's why we're seeing so much excitement about this Notre Dame offense spearheaded by Riley Leonard. Yeah, you mentioned Mike Denbrock. That's obviously a big addition in what we saw him do at LSU last year. I think the big key for Riley Leonard is going to be his health because I think the key that's going to be different for Notre Dame this season is obviously he is the most versatile quarterback that Marcus Freeman has had since he's been in Notre Dame and yes that is a short time but this team is really going to go as he goes. Riley Leonard when

he was at his best was one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football last year and when he was not at his best that Duke team definitely suffered greatly because of it so as long as Riley Leonard is playing a consistent brand of football this Notre Dame team is talented enough Jordan as you mention at the skill positions around him to really do some damage this year. Jordan, for Texas A&M, they have an incumbent. What are your expectations for Connor Wegman this season in College Station? It's kind of TBD, honestly, to be determined. But going into the season, he is one of the more talented quarterbacks overall in the SEC.

And you go back to the small, simple size that we saw of him last year, he only played in four games. But I go back to that Miami game. And I thought he was absolutely terrific in that one. He's making high-level throws all over the field. He has a very strong arm. We're talking about somebody that is a former baseball player as well. So he has that background that you love to see from an armed talent perspective.

This is a quarterback that is very talented. In the first year, under Mike Elko, we saw what Elko was able to do at Duke. Wegman is one of the more talented quarterbacks that Elko has ever had. Now he just has to stay healthy and prove that he can be the guy moving forward. A&M is the first SEC opponent in a season opener for the Irish since 1996. That was Lou Holtz's final season. 7.30 p.m. kickoff one month from today from Kyle. field on ABC.

A Florida opens this season on ABC four hours earlier. They opened up summer camp today with the hardest schedule in the nation. You're what Billy Napier says about the pressure on him in year three. Plus, LSU and USC face each other in Vegas to open their 2024 campaigns with both teams needed to replace generational QBs. What can we expect when kickoff arrives? College Football Live is brought to you by Ace, 100 years of helpful. Snap-up Ancestry DNA's lowest price ever in our incredible cyber sale.

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but those have proven elusive in Gainesville so far under Billy Napier. Six and seven in year one, five and seven in year two. Now in year three, the Gators have the toughest strength of schedule in the nation. That is just a projection at this point, but indulge me. Here in the SEC, which ESPN Analytics says is home to nine of the ten toughest FBS schedules, and Florida tops them all. Eight of the 12 teams. on the Gators' schedule are currently ranked in the top 25 of ESPN's Football Power Index.

ESPN Analytics says a bowl is far from a guarantee. Billy Napier said this about his job security. Every good movie, every good story, you know, has challenges, right? So we're right in the middle of this one. I'm hopeful that the things we've done to make change will help us perform better. I'm a firm believer that sometimes you need to go through struggle. And we've done that. And I'm hopeful that it will be rewarding when we do.

accomplish some things of significance. Harry Lyles, Jordan Reed, Pete Thammell here with us. Pete, the story arc says six and seven, five and seven, and now season kickoff exactly one month out hosting Miami. How much pressure is on Napier here? I think there's more pressure on Billy Napier than any SEC football coach and likely any college coach in the country. It's simply put, you need to win at Florida. It is not a patient fan base and it's not a place accustomed to back-to-back losing seasons.

The interesting dynamic that just changed last week at Florida is that they had a presidential change. Ben Sass stepped down to spend more time with his family because of an illness. And that brings in an interim Kent Fox. It's always hard to project what's going to happen at a school when you don't know who's going to be making the decision. And the decision on Napier is a $26 million one. That's what he'd be owed on December 1st if he's fired. Yeah, Pete, all great points. And you mentioned, obviously, winning is the standard at that Florida program.

and it becomes a little bit tougher and there's a little bit more pressure on you when metaphorically speaking, if you're Billy Napier, you step outside of your home and you look to your left and Georgia's there and they've only lost two games the last three years and you look to your right and Florida State should have been in the playoff last year.

So when your rivals are also performing as well as they are, it makes the fan base a little bit more tight, a little bit more tense. And I think when you look at that schedule, it's absolutely going to be a tough one. But this Florida team seems like one that is trying to position themselves well with Graham Mertz in the second year of that offense.

and an improved offensive line group too. You guys all make great points. And what I want to see from Florida this year is just look competent. I thought there was at times last year where they just simply play sloppy football. And I go back to the season opener against Utah where they had nine penalties in that one. And this wasn't just any ordinary penalties. We're seeing penalties for players with the same jersey numbers on the same side of the ball. Those types of equipment or uniform types of penalties, off-size, fault starts.

So how does the pitcher look? Is it clean? Does the operation look good? and now with Graham Merck's entering his second year with the Gators, who is an experienced quarterback, you want to see things improve. Even though they do have a hard schedule this year, getting bowl eligible, I think that would be a big win for Billy Napier. Yeah, Jordan, I completely agree with that. And sort of going back to that offensive line, this is a much more experienced group than in previous years.

Rob Sale has been with Billy Napier back to his days at Louisiana, one of the best offensive line coaches in all of college football. I think when you see that group in Graham Mertz and. year two of this offense and some of these skill guys that they're going to have around them. It's going to be a tough schedule, absolutely no doubt. But this is a coaching staff that is going to have these guys prepared for every single Saturday that they face. And Harry, if anybody's going to debate that toughest strength of schedule, go look at Florida's November. It is a five-week nightmare. What would you define as a successful season for the Gators?

Honestly, if you can get to a bowl game and you're a Florida fan, you need to, you need to buy in on that. You need to love that because I mean, this is just an absolutely daunting schedule. I mean, you're opening up with Miami and then like you mentioned, Phil, those last games in November. There's, except for the Samford game, I think you could look at almost every single game on that schedule and say at the very best it's a coin flip. And I don't say that necessarily is a dig against Florida. It just truly is a testament to one of the toughest schedules I think I've ever seen anybody have. It's without question the toughest schedule that I've ever seen, Harry. It's just a matter of they have to figure out a way to one.

win at least four of those first five games because once they get into October, that's when things get really difficult for them. And that backstretch of the schedule is absolutely brutal. So once again, even though the standard at Florida is, you don't want to be bowl eligible, you always want to have a double-digit win season, but I just don't think that's realistic for Florida. So them getting to a bowl game, I think that would be a big win for them. Catching two and a half points at home in the opener against Miami in exactly one month's time, you can circle the importance of that. The last time a Florida head coach failed to reach seven wins in any of his first three full seasons, you got to go right after World War II.

Raymond Wolfe, 1946 to 48, and Wolf was fired after his fourth season, 1949. Week 1, 2024 extends well beyond the typical window. Sunday night, September 1st at Allegiant Stadium. It's LSU and USC. Jaden Daniels just won the Heisman. Caleb Williams was a top to NFL draftee. Both got to be replaced for the Tigers and Trojans, respectively. Brian Kelly addressed his week one test at SEC Media Hays.

I think they're two similar teams. Lincoln does a great job with the offense. I think they've retooled on defense similar to what we've done. I think both defenses need to play better on both sides of the ball. And both offenses are coming back from, you know, they had a Heisman Trophy. One or the year before we had an Heisman Trophy. So we're both replacing Heisman Trophy quarterbacks.

Both offenses are going to have talented players on both sides of the ball. And I think it's a great matchup between two teams that, you know, certainly want to get off to a great start. So both teams have to replace QBs. Both QBs they have, though, did start the Bowls last season and both played well. Jordan, for you, what is that stake here between LSU and USC? Well, I think a lot is at stake. And these are two teams that basically are a mirror image of each other.

They're both replacing who were the top two picks in the NFL draft and Caleb Williams and Jay Daniels. And we had two quarterbacks that played very well in the bowl games with Garrett Nussmeyer. And then also, what I want to see with USC is what do they look like on offense? is what happens now with Caleb Williams being gone. There's so much production that they have to replace. One name I do want to mention is Zachariah Branch. There's a lot of excitement about him. It got off to a really fast start last year

and did struggle a little bit down the backstretch of last year. But with LSU, they're replacing a lot on the perimeter with Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas now gone to the NFL. So who are the weapons that step up for Garrett Nussmeyer in that offense? Definitely going to be a big key. I thought it was a pretty astute comparison there by Brian Kelly between the two teams, but I think the big X factor here, not just in this game, honestly, but in the course of the college football season is what is this USC defense going to be?

Garrett, not Gary Riley, Lincoln Riley has never had an issue scoring points. He has never had an issue getting the most out of any quarterback that he's had in front of him, but they have absolutely had trouble playing defense. They obviously brought in DeAnton Lynn from UCLA who did one of the best turnaround jobs in all of college football last year. They also added Eric Henderson as their defensive line coach who played under the great John And then they added Doug Belk who comes over from Houston with their defensive coordinator, one of the best defensive back coaches in the country.

So all of the pieces are there for USC to turn this thing around on defense. And if they do, it's really going to change the way a lot of people have seemed to have talked about Lincoln Riley at least the past month and a half. And Harry, that Dayton Lynn defense is going to get tested right away. LSU's game plan is going to be bullyball, plain and simple. USC couldn't hold the line last year on defense. And they're going to get tested. Jordan knows all too well that LSU has two of the best offensive tackle prospects in the country.

Left tackle Will Campbell is the top tackle prospect. Right tackle Emery Jones could end up as a first round pick when we're all set and done. Will LSU just be able to hand the ball off and push the Trojans around like Utah has done so many times recently? Yeah, you make a great point, Pete. There's a lot of excitement about both of those tackles in Campbell and then also Emery Jones. But Kyron Lacey at Receiver is another name that I definitely want to throw in there. as well. And if there's one thing we know LSU can produce every single year, is wide receiver talent. We saw two guys go in the first round last year with Malik

Neighbors and Brian Thomas Jr. So Kyron Lacey is that next guy that has to step up. For LSU, they've got to find a way to start their seasons a little quicker. They've lost four straight season openers. Their last week one win back in 2019. All they did that year was win all 15 games and a national championship. Well, Spotlight is always on LSU and it always follows Coach Prime. year two in Boulder opens hosting North Dakota State. Will the offseason changes be enough for the buffs to prevent a week one upset? The 24 NFL preseason kicks off Thursday with the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame game. Bears fans will have to wait a little longer to see Caleb

Williams as the team announced Tuesday. Starters will not play. It's Houston and Chicago from Canton, Thursday night, 8 p.m. Eastern with a special edition of Monday night countdown at 7 p.m. Starters will feature in the following college games, we presume, some notable ones in week one, nine-time FCS champ, North Dakota State travels to Boulder. He got Penn State making their first trip to Morgantown since 1992. Mountaineers have beaten the lion since 1988. The reigning two-time FCS national champs visit Stillwater. Here's Coach Prime on his week one test in Boulder.

And I'm mad at Rick right now for putting them on the schedule to open up with them. Like, can you give me a layup or something? Like those guys are wonderful. Their staff has always been amongst the best. Many people have matriculated from that staff to go to higher levels. Those kids play their butts off. They're tough. They don't make many mistakes.

Not to be underestimated back here on college football live. Guys, last year we saw Colorado start hot, then fizzle out. Jordan, I'll start with you. What must the buffs show against a perennial FCS power to prove? They have more staying power than they showed in Dion Sanders first season. in Boulder? Well, all eyes will be on the trenches in this matchup, just because if you look at the strengths and the weaknesses of both programs, North Dakota State historically has been

very good on the offensive and defensive lines. Now with Colorado, we know both of those units were at their worst last year. They led the FBS and SAC surrendered with 52, so they're going to have to be better in the trenches. They have done a good job of getting guys out of the Transcoil Portal and developing some of the young talent that they have to protect Shador Sanders. So I'm going to be looking to see what they're going to be looking to see what the trenches. this microwave offensive line for Colorado looks like against North Dakota State.

Yeah, Jordan, that's the thing that I'm really looking forward to, in part because new head coach Tim Polisek said, hey, this is a landmark game for us. So the way that Shador Sanders was talking about, a lot of people, we are their Super Bowl, like, they are that for North Dakota State. And I know Coach Prime said he wanted to lay up this game is going to be like a deep three-pointer for them. Like, they should win this game, but they're really going to have to play four quarters of good football because this North Dakota State team does not play. and have not played for about the last 15 or so years. Harry, North Dakota State is 9 and 4 in its last 13 games against FBS competition. And Jordan's 100% right. The problem for Colorado could lie in the trenches.

Meet the Mozart twins. Sounds like something from Harry Potter, but it's actually Will and Eli. Two twin defensive tackles. They're going to test that microwave Colorado offensive line early and often. New head coach at North Dakota State and a Colorado team that lost six in a row to close out last season after four and two start cost of a pole game. Big one here not to be underestimated. Doesn't sound like Dion is.

For Jordan, Harry, and Pete. I'm Phil. Thanks for hanging out with us on College Football Live.