College Football Live - SEC Media Day 3!

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

It is day 3 of SEC media day and CFB Live hosted by Victoria Arlen with Greg McElroy and Roman bring you all the sites and sounds of the day. Tune in as we hear from Quinn Ewers as well as Alabama's new head coach Kalen Deboer and Florida's head coach Billy Napier. You wont want to miss what Nick Saban thinks about his former team and why Georgia is his may be his top dog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day three of SEC Media Day is underway at the Omni. We've got coach Caitlin DeBore, gearing up for his first season as head coach for the Crimson Tide. And another first, Texas, making their SEC debut. Head coach Steve Sarkeesian making his way into Media Day. And we'll hear from his quarterback. Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen. And SEC Media Day continues to roll on into day three.

And we'll be talking all things, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State, and the newcomer to the SEC. We've got a jam-pack show for you with Coach Nick Sabin here with us for the first half hour. Greg McElroy, Roman Harper also joining in and Pete Thamel joining in as well. And we'll also hear from Texas QB, Quinn Uers. Since we have the Bama legend himself with us today, it would only be fitting to start with the storylines in Tuscaloosa. Now, for the first time since 2006, Nick Saban will not be on the Alabama sidelines. In 201 games, he won six national championships and nine SEC titles. SEC titles.

Now, Kaelin DeBoer comes over from Washington following a trip to the national title game and his two seasons with UW. He won 25 games and went 12 and 2 against AP ranked opponents. Now Jalen Milrose return should ease DeBoer's transition. He and He and Heisman winner Jaden Daniels were the only two SEC players with 20 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns last season. Coach DeBore spoke this morning about his new job. I should never be surprised at the things that great programs do.

and have in the culture that exists, but what really has been awesome to see. And again, this isn't necessarily a surprise, but it's been awesome just to see our guys be completely one-and-hers-tip focused on the main things. And their chemistry and their trust and belief is one thing, and I think, and the accountability as well, but I think that the way they respect each other, you know, you could see it in Springball. And that's, again, a credit to Coach Saban and everyone that's coached in the program before and the culture that existed even before I got here.

But these guys, they know they need each other to reach the goals that we have as a program. Coach DeBore knows what it takes to win as he has won nearly 90% of his games during his nine seasons as a college head coach. He brings championship pedigree with him to Tuscaloosa. in addition to last season's runner-up finish. He won three national titles at his alma mater, Sue Falls. Pete Thamelh, joining us. And Pete, you just got finished talking with Kalin DeBoer. And while he hasn't secured his first win in Tuscaloosa just yet,

there's another scoreboard that college football fans have been keeping an eye on, which is recruiting. So how is he tackled that task? Well, Victoria, we know Kalin DeBore can win games from NAA to Washington. He's won everywhere. He's gone. The biggest question, covering over DeBoer when he got to Alabama was could he recruit at that high-end SEC level?

So far, so good. He has the country's number two class right now, including 15 ESPN top 300 recruits. That includes the number one quarterback in the class of 2025, Keelan Russell, from down the road here in Duncanville. DeBoer told me the word intentionality stood out when he talked about the recruiting philosophy. They were intentional in keeping staff members from Coach Sabin's staff, Robert Gillespie, Freddie Roach, and they also brought in two former head coaches. Kane Womack from South Alabama and Molyquist from Buffalo. That gives a head coach's attention to detail on the assistant level, and it's helped lift

the whole operation. One last thing, Victoria, they've been very careful about what players they bring and who hosts on recruits. They said that Alabama players have been the best recruiters on the staff. Ooh, we love, we love when the players get involved for sure. Pete, thank you so much. All right, let's bring in Greg McElroy. And Coach Saban into this discussion,

Coach, what kind of challenges do you see Kalin DeBore facing in his first year at Bama? I think the one thing Kaylan's done a great job of has gotten the players to really buy in to the things that he wants to do. But I think the biggest challenge is to get off to a good start,

to develop some confidence, so that that commitment to him continues to grow and develop. develops as a team. Secondly, quarterback always needs to play well, and I think Jadine Milro is very capable. And the third thing is, is they do have some issues on defense, which is mostly in the secondary with a lot of new people and young people. So how those things work out will be the challenges that he has early on in the season. He's really done an amazing job, I think, endearing himself to the players. And as a player, I experienced a coaching change. Luckily enough for me,

it was a really good coaching change. And I'm glad it worked out the way it did. But I do think that there's a certain amount of time that must kind of exist before you really are able to completely follow the guy that's in front of you. These players now have opted to have ended the portal. They didn't. They opted to stick around. They've now gotten to know Kalen DeBoer. And I think he's done a good job of keeping things relatively familiar. He's won everywhere he's been like Pete's referenced and like you referenced, Victoria.

But he didn't come in and say, hey, out with the old, in with the new. He really kept a lot of the same offseason practices in place while implementing. some of his own philosophies a little bit at a time. So I think that's been easier on the players, which should allow for a lot of comfort heading into year number one with the new staff. And of course, with year number one, there's a lot of hype and noise and pressure.

And coach, we talked about that yesterday. How does a coach navigate that noise and pressure, especially in the first year with a new team? Well, you've got to keep the main thing, the main thing. And you've got to focus on what you need to do as a player as well as a coach to keep everybody, with their eye and the right place in terms of what your goals and aspirations are. And it's really about the players.

You know, you're sitting in an locker room next to a guy, and your commitment to each other is what's going to help that team be successful. And that's the most important thing you can have on a team. So you can't be affected by external factors. You've got to keep the main thing, the main thing, which is technically doing the things you need to do to improve and grow as a team. I love that keeping the main thing, the main thing, and a main thing that Coach DeGore has is Jalen Milrow.

Now the Star QB returns to the Crimson Tide, and while he didn't lock down the starting roll until week four, he only used that as fuel to lead the tide to 10 straight wins and an SEC title in Alabama's eighth CFP birth. Now, he also found momentum as both a runner and a passer combining for over 3,100 yards and 35 total touchdowns. So let's hear what he had to say earlier today.

For me, I'm not a finished product. I think for me, today I stopped getting better today. Philips I need to retire. So with that, I can always seek information and try to be a sponge at the position, whether it's situation awareness, whether it's protection, whether it's coverages. There's a most of the two of the things that as a quarterback to play at a high level, you have to master that aspect. The great thing about last year, I can reflect on my film from last year and build upon that. And it's all about being around guy that's going to push me and uplift me and hold me to a standard of playing at a high level. And I have that with Coach DeBoar and

coach Sheridan that I'm so super excited about and for us we narrow some things down that we wanted to improve on and build upon and we're going to reflect on it as a group. Now Milro showed us he could stretch the field in the passing game last season. He had a higher completion percentage on deep passes than DeBore's former QB Michael Pennings, Jr. Both QBs ranked top three in deep touchdown throws despite Milro having nearly half as many attempts. Pete, early on in his career, Milro wasn't always seen as a strong quarterback. Now, over the last year, that narrative has significantly changed. You were talking to Kaylin DeBoer earlier.

What steps has Jaylen been able to make to continue to establish himself as an elite QB? Well, both Jalen, Milro and Kalin DeBore were very clear. There's another huge step that Milro can take forward this year. Kalin DeBore told us that they really focused in on Milro's first. footwork this spring, and they also focused on his pocket presence. And I think that's a really key thing. He was sacked 44 times last year. Some of those were certainly protection issues, but others were decision issues. So DeBoer said they've really walked through Milro on his decision making. DeBoer made an interesting point, Victoria. He said with the amount they're going to push

the ball down the field in this system that they bring, it's really going to open up a lot of running lanes for Milro. So that's going to make it incumbent on his decision making of when to pull and run and went to hold the ball to try to throw it deep. There is no doubt that that decision making has continued to allow Jalen to have the last laugh and let his actions and accolades on the field do the talking. All right, we're going to bring Coach and Greg back into this conversation. Now, coach, you played a major role in Jalen's ability to step up. Can you walk us through that evolution that has made Jalen the player he is today?

Well, I think pocket presence is the key word. And, you know, you can't lie to your tackles. They have to know where the launch point is. And, you know, with great athletes, sometimes want to escape and outrun people to the perimeter, which kind of change the launch point for the tackles, which makes their pass protection more difficult. But when you can get the guy to step up and have the right procket presence, not only does it open up the whole field to attack the middle of the field and all the field, rather than restricting the field when you go sideways with the scramble,

it makes you much more dangerous and effective run and pass. And that's the one thing that Jalen did in the second half of the year that made him so much more effective. And I really do believe because Jalen's ability to throw the long ball, his athleticism, his arm talent, and his speed make him a very, very difficult guy to defend. Difficult indeed. Now, Greg, where would you like to see Jalen grow from last year? I think kind of what coach just said. I mean, I thought he grew tremendously. And you can just see his confidence grow after the bye week

became a little bit more decisive, a little bit more willing to, hey, if it's not there downfield, I'll take what I can get either in the passing game or I'll tuck and run. No matter what you say, when you look at Jalen Milrow, he might be the most difficult guy on the field to bring down in the open field. So him being willing to just take what the defense gives him,

don't miss the layups, the occasional throws that he was sometimes inaccurate with, Sometimes it looked like he'd rush things a little bit too much. That's all about getting more comfortable playing the position. And I think the sky's the limit with his potential. If he can just continue to improve on the intermediate and the underneath the accuracy, he's got a chance to be as dynamic, a quarterback, as we'll see in all of college football this year. That'll definitely be one to watch.

Now, Coach, what attributes does Jalen have that stand out the most to you? Well, great athlete, really good armed talent. And a guy is really, really fast. and he's got great size and he's hard to tackle. So all those things contribute to his ability to run and throw and be a dual threat quarterback. But I think the number one thing is his ability to process quickly, get the bottom of his hand quickly,

and then make plays when things break down, I think is a great asset for him in terms of his ability to make big plays, throwing and running. That sounds like a recipe for success. Now, all this QBIT talk is going to continue with coach Hang with us. And speaking of QBs, we've got Quinn Ewers joining us to talk all things Longhorns and the decision to come back to Texas. And this year kicks off the new 12 team playoff and you won't want to miss what Clemson head coach Davosweeney had to say about all of it. Son I woke up this morning with a pounding in my head.

They got to take care of business this year. And Quinn Ewers will be a huge part of that story. Look at the eyes, look at the poise, the composure. Hewers from the pocket. Now he'll loft one downfield. Wordy's got it for a touchdown. It's all about cliches while it chains and feel good stuff. We haven't had this type of quarterback play in quite some time. Quinn Ewers will look to build on a stellar sophomore season where he completed 69% of his passes,

which ranked top 10 nationally. He also tied Colt McCoy's program record with 6,300-yard passing games. highlighted by his 452-yard performance in the Big 12 championship game where they beat Oklahoma State. We now welcome in Quinn Ewers. Quinn, many thought you'd be off to the NFL. What made you come back to Texas? Man, that's a great question.

You know, after that bitter loss we had, and there's a line of demarcation on, you know, I don't want to say success, but how comfortable you are, in the NFL after, you know, the number is about 25, so I wanted to have around at least 25, you know, games under my belt in college to be able to go in the NFL saying I had that many games and experience. I respect that for sure. Now, can you also describe the buzz and excitement from a player's perspective about this new era for Texas and the SEC? Yeah, for sure. I mean, we're all excited to get to the end. SEC and you know a lot of people say it means more and we're all excited to to get the full understanding of that saying and we're excited to get those old traditional rivalries back and

and experience you know the the southern the southern football where it's just football and family ball and family can't go wrong with that now have you made any adjustment for this conference I mean, yeah, we're going to be seeing some different defenses. You know, in the Big 12, we saw a lot more, you know, 335. And, you know, a lot of teams, you know, some teams still do that in the SEC, but we're not going to be seeing as much of it. And that's just something we're going to have to go in and take a deeper look at. And, yeah, couldn't be more excited.

And I know we're all fired up to be a part of the SEC. Oh, we're fired up as well. Now, every game is important, especially with the New York. 12 team format. But is there one game in particular that you have circled on your calendar that stands out over the others? That's a tough question.

We're really just trying to take it one week at a time and we're excited for all the games, especially the first ones in a long time, you know, whether that be going up to Ann Arbor and, you know, we're playing Georgia, playing, you know,

the A&M ones coming back, Arkansas. You know, just getting all those games back is going to be really fun for us. It's going to be fun to watch too. Now, we are also in the midst of a cover star for college football 25. What was that moment when you found out you'd be on the cover, Quinn? Oh, it was a very cool moment for me. You know, growing up playing the game and, you know, continuing to play the game even when no more games were being released. It's really just a blessing to be able to say that I'm on the cover. and it's not just good for me.

It's good for the whole university, and it's good for all of our players. Just having the name Texas on the cover is awesome for everybody, and the whole university is excited. So it's cool to see all that excitement for sure. Now, if you had to choose another quarterback to play, who are you picking, Quinn? On the game?

Yeah, on the game. Oh, that's a tough one. You know, the other day I was playing with Duke, actually, with Malik Murphy. And, no, we were getting after it with them. And it was a good time. Okay. All right. I respect that.

Now, ratings, we also have to talk with the ratings. We all know they can change, but we're going to pull up your ratings now. And can you take a look at these? Would you say these are pretty accurate? Yeah, I mean, that looks pretty good to me. I mean, the strength could be up a little bit. I've been working on it a little bit, but, you know, I'm happy with where the speed's at. And, you know, it's super cool to be able to see that, you know, the team's in the game.

And, you know, I'm in the game. And it's fun to play with. I've been playing the past couple of days. And it's been really fun to get to play. It's also cool. You're the third highest rated quarterback. So that's pretty, pretty epic. Now, one more thing, Quay, before we let you go, what are you looking forward to most this season?

I'm looking forward to finally getting back out there on the field with all the guys. I mean, we've been putting in a lot of work in the off season. And, you know, we go through spring ball and the only opponent is, you know, our own defense. So I know we're all pretty excited to finally play someone other than ourselves. So. Well, we're excited to watch you out there. Thank you, Quinn, for joining us and good luck this season. Thank you.

A lot of fun stuff there. Coach, you faced him twice. What makes Quinn so unique? Well, I think he's a classic NFL quarterback. He's playing in an NFL system. Sark does a great job. He's going to read the defense, process the information quickly. He's very accurate.

He can throw the deep ball and he can put the ball on guys where they can catch it and run with him because he is accurate. So I just think this guy is really, really smart, very intelligent and always well prepared with how he's going to go execute and beat the defense. One thing that we've really noticed, too, in his maturation from year one to year two, is in year number one, there were a lot of wasted plays. Friends, guys not open. I'm going to throw it out of bounds, and that's just kind of the way it was. Last year, he showcased with just an additional level of mobility that I don't think many people realize that he had.

Now, he's never going to be a guy that kills you with his legs, but he's not just throwing it away like he was in year number one. I think that really puts a little more pressure on the defense on a week-to-week basis. He really hurt Kansas multiple times in that game with his legs. I also think his anticipation grew tremendously from year number one to year number two, where his footwork was better. He was where he needed to be with his eyes. And he allowed the defense to in some ways predetermine what side of the field he might read. And that was something he struggled with in the first 10, 12 starts of his career.

So he's gotten so much better from where he started to where he's at now. And now it's just about taking it to the next step and elevating what is a less experienced group of Texas wide receivers. And elevating it in a new conference, too, something you know very well, coach. What kind of adjustments does he need to make stepping into this new conference and leading his team? Well, I think, first of all, he's got to focus on what he needs to do and what he's coached to do in his system because that'll work wherever he plays because he plays in a really good system. But secondly, I think there'll be more diversity in defense, which he mentioned in his interview. There's more difficult places to play in the SEC.

I mean, there's a lot of 100,000 seat stadiums. They've got a lot of passion. It's difficult to play on the road. And that's going to be a little bit different weekend and week out when you're playing on the road. But everybody responds differently to a challenge. And so far, Quinn Ewers has responded to every challenge in a very positive way. So his ability to stay healthy, which is a little bit of an issue in the past form, is going to be a key to Texas success as well.

Yeah, there's definitely nothing quite like the SEC. And Greg, you know very well what it's like playing in the SEC. From a quarterback's perspective, how do you mentally prepare to play there? Well, be prepared to bounce back. I mean, that I think is one of the most unique challenges of playing in this league. There's going to be two or three games in a 12-game season where you don't have your best stuff. Your offense doesn't have your best stuff. You've got to will yourself to victory.

Maybe the run game isn't going. and maybe the past game's out of rhythm. And you're going to have to, in some cases, in a very hostile environment, like coach referenced, kind of come together and find a way out of the hole. And I think in some of the places and some of the other conferences, with all due respect, there's good football being played everywhere, there's good coaches everywhere. It's a lot harder to bounce back in the SEC

the level of hostility and the quality of player that you're facing on a weekly basis. So I think dealing with adversity, something that not a lot of elite players deal with in college, football, but in this league, it doesn't matter how good you are, someone's going to get you at some point or another. Yeah, dealing with adversity and also dealing with 100,000 people not cheering for you. There's a lot to navigate there for sure. All right, we're going to bring in Pete. Pete, you just spent some time down in Austin. What did the folks down there have to tell you about their overall readiness for the SEC? Well, Victoria, if we can go hop back in the time machine

a little bit to Steve Sarkoians' first season in 2021. They played at Arkansas and got curb stomped, 40 to 21, and it was clear that they needed to upgrade their lines. Obviously, over the years in the SEC, as that conference has separated itself, the offensive and defensive lines have been the difference maker. Well, entering 2024, Texas returns four starters on the offensive line, and the offensive line, including left tackle Kelvin Banks.

He'll be Texas's first offensive tackle, and first offensive lineman picked in the first round since 2002. That's more than two decades of Texas not having a first round offensive lineman. But here's the difference in Texas and why Steve Sarkesian is recruited so well. They have an open spot at right tackle. Cam Williams will slide in there. He's 6.6.3.5, and I think the highest compliment you can give to this Texas offensive line is that they look like an Alabama offensive line from all those years that Coach Saban was there.

They are big and they are surly and they're going to protect Quinnieuers. as Coach Saban just said, yours missed five games the last two years. He just walked by me. He's bigger. He's going to play around 215 this year, but he's got the right front to protect him to bring Texas into this league. Speaking of Alabama,

from a coach's perspective, what kind of challenges present themselves with a conference move like this? Well, I think, first of all, Texas is built like an SEC team. You know, I mean, they've got big folks on offense,

defense. They can play in the trenches, which is different for most teams that don't play in the SEC, the quality of upfront people that you have. Texas matches that. So that's not going to be a problem. I think the number one thing is they're going to play a more difficult schedule from top to bottom. They're going to play more tough teams. How do you respond to adversity? Because you're going to have some. Some people love it and see it as an opportunity to have a great victory. Other people get frustrated and anxious about it. And that does not help you. your performance. So all these little factors are going to contribute to how well Texas can do. But I think they have a really good team and a really good shot. And I also think Arch Manning is

going to help the backup quarterback situation if Quinn Ewers does have issues from an injury standpoint because he played fantastic in the spring games. Yeah, he really did. And you look at the schedule like coach reference. And there have been a, and Coach Sark has done an amazing job in being able to get this program to finish better. That was a bit of a struggle early in his tenure was that they'd get off to great starts in the first half and not finish in the second half. But what's kind of continued a little bit is there have been two or three games every year where they haven't had their best stuff. And they were able to survive against the likes of a TCU last year. That's not going to be the case in the SEC. This schedule and this league

is going to demand a higher level of consistency and for your consistent play to be at a higher level as well. So they can't have those C plus performances and expect to still win in the SEC. And that, I think, will be a really big change from what they experienced at times in the Big 12th. And I do think Texas's roster is built with depth. Yeah. To your point

of how much depth do you have to be able to play well at the end of the season when you do have some issues and problems from a roster standpoint? Yeah, and I think, you know, building off that momentum of last season, they finished last season with the ninth most yards in the nation, three spots ahead of another new conference.

opponent, Ole Miss. But we're going to hear from Texas head coach Steve Sarkesian when he takes the podium at 320, and we're going to have that sound for you tomorrow. Burrow is launching down. S.U. sits on the throne of college football. Sabin for his seventh national championship. Intercepted. All the moon's be gone, and the drought is over. Georgia on the mountain top at Long Lab.

New Michigan, the champions of college football, 2020. Three took on all comers and the last one standard. And there it is the college football playoff national championship trophy presented by Dr. Pepper. And for the first year ever, 12 teams will play for the right to hoist it on January 20th, 2025. But here's a little refresher of the new 12 team playoff. The five highest ranked conference champs will be in while the top four getting a first round by. The remaining eight teams will play first round games hosted by the higher ranked teams at a site of their choosing. Clemson head coach, though, Davosweeney offered up his thoughts on the

expanded format on Tuesday. It's going to become all about the playoffs, which is fine. But I think there's probably unintended consequences for that too. You'll probably see some guys if you're four and four and probably out of the playoffs. Probably see some guys head off to Arizona and train. You know, maybe you're 11 and O and you got that rivalry game. But oh, you're, you're play your biggest foe next week in the conference championship. And if you win that game, you're going to get a buy. You know, so those are things that will probably decisions you'll see play out all throughout college football.

All right, coach. What are your thoughts on Davos comments? Well, first of all, I think that I hope that we can take into consideration strength of schedule. You know, I use the example of Florida going nine and nine in the SEC and baseball and almost winning a world series. So there's a lot of great teams in the SEC, so strength of schedule is really important. I do think that the expanded playoff is going to be great for fans. You know, where we had a four-team playoff, you only had maybe seven or eight teams that was their fan base really excited at the end of the season to see if they got in the playoffs.

Now you're going to have 25 or 30 fan bases that are excited to see who gets in the playoffs. The downside of it is, is I just wish that we could put the 12 best teams in the playoffs. not worry about conference champions and all that kind of stuff. And if you do get beat in a conference championship game and you're one of the best teams, you still should get in there because you played really quality opponents and you played good football. So that's my only concern about it. I just want to see the best 12 teams in it. And I think most people want to see the best 12 teams in it.

Yeah, the automatic qualifiers has been a real point of contention, I think for those that support the SEC for some time. I mean, winning the SEC, the prize of winning the SEC should not be the equivalent of the prize for winning the American Athletic Conference. It's a tougher test. There's tougher teams. Yes, the SEC will be rewarded with a buy. The American probably won't, but either way, they shouldn't be weighed the same as far as conference championships are concerned. The one thing that I like about the conference title game is that, or excuse me, where we've gone in the 12-team playoff is that for the team that might have some challenges in September,

And maybe they have a very difficult non-conference opponent. And maybe they have to play Alabama in the first game of the season, like USC did in 2016. They start September 1 and 3. They put Sam Donald in the lineup. And then next thing you know, they start to figure it out. They rip off six or seven straight games and root to a Rose Bowl title. So I think for the teams that might not have their ducks in a row early coach, it gives them something to still play for if they do have access to the play.

off at the back end. It's more on the line. Yeah, and I want to say one of the things. You know, I picked, I picked Georgia and Texas, but as a coach, I never wanted to get picked to win the SEC. The players that are out there disappointed in me for not picking Alabama,

it's because I never picked Alabama. It's a little inverted rat poison. That's what it is. That's all it is. Well, Coach, you've won seven national championships, six with Bama, with the field now expanded to 12 teams. Does it make it easier or harder as a coach?

Well, I think it's going to be much more difficult. You're going to have to play more games. You know, we won some championships when there was only a one team, one game playoff. It was harder when there were two games in the playoffs plus the SEC championship game to get in. So it's going to be much more difficult now. You potentially could play 17 games. We played 15 games several times, and that's a lot of games, for players to sustain the level of intensity they need to be successful and play at a high level.

So depth of your team is going to be important. Sustainability of your team is going to be important, which comes from maturity. So it's going to be more difficult than it ever has been to win a national championship. Especially in some cases. It just puts such a premium on winning a conference championship. To get that first round by is absolutely enormous because you run the risk, and the event in which you lose the conference championship game. Think about how massive that punishment is.

Not only do you not get the first round by, but you run the risk of having to now go on the road on December 20th and playing in a remarkably hostile environment in a do-or-die scenario. So I think the structure of the playoff and the 12 team, knowing that the buys are such a huge reward and the consequences of losing that conference title game, knowing you might have to go on the road, it's going to be absolutely massive.

a very interesting holiday season depending on which side you are on. Now, Coach, we are going to have to let you go hang with our other friends, but thank you so much for hanging with us. But we've got to share you with other folks, but thank you, Coach. Glad to be here. Thank you.

All right. Still to come on College Football Live, Billy Navier enters year three at Florida with the hardest schedule in all of college football. Greg McGoory and Roman Harper weigh in on their concern levels for the Gators. You know what they say.

Everything's bigger in Texas. The food. The boots. The hats. The attitude. And this week in Dallas, talking season is bigger than ever before. A bigger conference.

As we see a CEC. Bigger storylines. A bigger playoff. Plus. big shoes to fill. And some big old rivalries renewed once again and another in the SEC for the first time. Welcome to a new era of college football and in a conference where it just means more. This week, it's just bigger in Texas. Welcome back to college football live. Florida opens the season with three straight home games starting with in-state rival Miami.

The schedules really ramp up in November. particularly the first two games that month. Take a look over there. Now after taking on Georgia and Jacksonville, the Gators head to Austin to face Texas. Coach Napier spoke earlier today. I think one of the things I've learned in our profession is you've got to break things up into short periods of time for your players. And I think if we can execute consistently and get consumed with the work and how we prepare, how we train, the great thing about our schedule we don't have to take this on as individuals. We get to do this as a team.

And I believe that you have to have the ability, the self-discipline to prepare the same way each week, regardless the outcome, all right, ignore the noise, don't believe the hype, erase the board, start over, and every person in that building has got to prepare the same way. Not helping with that noise is, of course, the fact that Florida has the hardest schedule in all of SBS, but despite a history of winning, we haven't seen that in recent times.

And with that, we are welcoming a very stylish member of the squad, Roman Harper. Roman, I'm going to start with you. How would you gauge the level of concern for the gators? Sorry, Greg, but the pink, it's working. Right, Gators, Roman. Yes, yes. So I'm not as bullish on Florida as Greg is. And it really comes down to this, the schedule that you just brought up.

And everybody's going to talk about it. a tough schedule in the country. And Greg's going to kind of rebut and say that if it was Georgia, we'd look at them completely different, but they're not Georgia. And they have not been who Georgia's been. You look at the first five weeks. They've got to win four out of those five. I don't know how it does it or whoever they're beat or whoever they don't beat,

but you've got to get far out of those first five. And then after October 5th, no wins get really hard to come across at Tennessee. You better be better than Kentucky, which you haven't been that much lately. You got Georgia at Texas. I don't know about that one. LSU at home a crazy weird rivalry, then Ole Miss at home. And hopefully Florida State is not as good as they were last year. But that means I'm still depending on somebody else to help me out and not just myself.

I just think we were evaluating Florida through a lens by giving tons of respect to Miami rightfully, tons of respect to some of the teams they face. There's no denying that. But it's still Florida. Like we're acting like they don't have players. Like what are we doing? This is still when you look at some of the. quality from last year, for example.

It's the team that really didn't have a whole lot to play for down the stretch, and yet they go to Como and give Missouri a team that was excellent all they wanted. They're a fourth and 17 away from winning that game on the road. This is a team that thumped Tennessee early in the season last year. In Tennessee, I think, was an excellent outfit as well. So we're looking at this group as if they don't have any players. Like, they do have players. I think they have really good additions that they've made.

on the defensive side of the football, which, by the way, has to be significantly better than they were a year ago. But I think from a cohesive standpoint, they're going to be better at all three levels. They're going to be pretty solid on the interior of the defensive line, which is a nice place to start. And then offensively, they bring back their quarterback

and a guy that's poised, I think, to become a number one wide receiver in this league and Eugene Wilson. So I think they have a lot more in the stable than people are willing to acknowledge at this point because we're acting as if, They haven't recruited dudes for the last couple years. In Victoria, all I got to say is this.

All right, they got to force more turnerals on defense, which Greg alluded to. But then all the highlights that we just showed is Trevor Etyn, who's not there anymore. So that's another thing. You've got to continue to make up. That's all I'm saying. I mean, you said what I was going to say. All right, Greg. Then what?

I'm going to ask you, Greg, what is going to be in their favor this year for Florida? Well, I think they're kind of being overlooked, frankly. and you look at, they have a chance to be a spoiler. Now, I'm not sitting here saying Florida's going to win 10 games. I'm not getting out over my skis, but I think Vegas expects them to win like four. Four and a half. So, I mean, if you were to tell me, Greg, right now,

Florida is more likely to win three games or seven games. I'm taking the seven for sure, because I look at the veteran presence that is Graham Merzick quarterback. I think he's going to get him at least a couple games by himself. If he can just increase the level of explosiveness and the level of aggression that he's going to have, I think going into this year, year number two in the system, he's going to be more aggressive naturally.

They still have Montreal Johnson and running back. They still have, I think, a solid offensive line. So I look at this group collectively, and I think they're going to cause a lot of problems for an LSU team in November potentially, for an Ole Miss team that just six days later will be playing in the Egg Bowl. They have a couple of absolutely massive tests.

Miami, I think, is a top 12 team. Kentucky's a good football team. probably in the top 25. But it's not like they can't win those games. And Florida traditionally, they can match up physically with most of those teams. And they traditionally win those games. Roman, do you agree with Greg? Yes or no.

And the fact of if Vegas is saying four, I would definitely think, I would start to think that they could be able to get more than that. Just because I'm giving them four out of the first five games. You got to get the rest. I just don't know after October 5th where they come from and who they're going. going to beat because when I look at it from roster to roster, Florida's not better than those teams. That's my opinion. I'm right there with you, but we shall see. We shall see. We've got, we've got more discussion on that to come. All right. Flag football is the fastest growing

sport in the world. And the NFL flag football championship round of 16 will be on ESPN 2 Friday starting at 1 Eastern. ESPN Plus will have additional coverage from Canton, Ohio at 10 a.m. Eastern. For more information, go to NFL flag.com. Don't go anywhere. Roman Harper breaks down the top five SEC games that will impact the 24 college football season when we return on college football live. Welcome back to college football live. Roman, we are big fans of your Roman numeral segment on SEC now. So we figured in honor of SEC Media Day, we'd bring it here on college football live.

So let's start with your number five. I'm glad somebody likes it. Right here, Greg, you ready for this? No. I know you're not. No worry about it. So is the world. The world isn't either.

I'm ready. I got Texas at Texas A&M late in the season. Only because, and I have a starter, you know, start to throw around a lot of the same similar teams because this is who's going to affect the SEC championship and who's going to win the playoffs or have a chance to get to the playoffs. I'm leading it off with Texas at Texas A&M late in the season. That's one of the three games that would determine the fate of Texas the season. And who out of the Aggie land would not want to have the ability at the end of the season?

year to knock off Texas and upset their ability to go to the playoffs at Kylefield, they would love it. I think the Aggies will be ready for that one. That game's been circle for about 14 years. So I think they're ready for it for sure. All right. Number four, I have Georgia at Ole Miss. And the reason why is because Georgia has a very tough schedule and on the road matters

when and where you play teams matter in the SEC. And Ole Miss, we all understand that underlain. They're big. Akely's Hill has not been scoring points. Sometimes it's been defense, but the real hill has been Alabama. They do not play Alabama this year. Instead, they get Georgia at home. Hopefully they can beat Georgia something they were not able to do when Nick Saban was at Alabama.

Yeah, I think, and this will be really a test for Ole Miss. I mean, because at this point, they got blown out of the water last year. Yeah, they did. And they didn't look the part along both lines of scrimmage. Lane Kiffin feels like they've properly addressed it. that'll be a huge litmus test for just how far they've come. No doubt, especially on the defense. He talked about that a lot yesterday about how they look the part getting off the bus.

Number three, I got the Red River rivalry, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas, Oklahoma. However you want to say it, I'm just a guy on the outside delivering the information. And so the Red River rivalry, Oklahoma has been Texas eight out of the last ten times. Everybody's going to keep talking about that. Texas, they cannot afford to lose two or three of these games. looking down the schedule. You got Georgia, you got Oklahoma. You also have A&M.

You want to get in the playoffs. You got to win two out of these three. You can't be, you can't lose two out of the three. I think that games can be awesome. And to see both teams, I went to that game eight times as a fan, one time as a broadcaster. Like that's outside of the Iron Bowl, my favorite game in the sport. So I'm super pumped to have it in the SEC umbrella.

He's lying. That is his favorite rivalry game. It's up. It's neutral side. If they played. In the Arm Bowl in Birmingham, that would be number one. But that one being neutral is pretty sweet. All right.

Number two, I got Georgia at Bamma. The reason why it's so high at number two, number one, I'm an Alabama guy. Number two, it's because it kind of sets the tone for all of the big games because it's played in so early in the season, week four or week three or four right there early in the season. So that would determine the fate for who goes where and how desperate Georgia has to be going down the stretch. or does Alabama pull off a big win and now they get more wiggle room down the stretch with their schedule? Top two programs in the sport.

I know Bama's changed hands, different identity now with Kailin DeBoer leading the charge. So anytime you get them on the field together, I mean, that's one you can't miss. No doubt about it. And so the number one game that will determine the college football playoff opportunities is going to be Georgia at Texas.

The number one game, everybody will be there. If you are covering college football, you're going to be in the building that day. I feel bad for everybody else playing that day because we ain't watching. We are watching that game. All the Marbles will be on the line and I can't wait to see it. I won't be calling that game, so I'll be watching a different game. I don't know what you got to talk about.

Nobody's watching you, Grant. Maybe your kids, your wife. Everybody is going to say the opposite. Everybody else is watching. All right. Well, we'll be watching it. Okay. Well, we're going to go from room and numerals to win totals.

And we've got questions. Greg has some answers. How many wins for the tide this year? And will Texas see a double-digit win total? in the first year of the SEC, and are we overlooking the Gators? We talk wind totals coming up next. All right, let's get to some SEC win totals. All odds brought to you by ESPN bed, and we're continuing to do this all week long,

focusing on the teams that speak each day. And before we get started, let's take a look at Greg's picks from the first two days. Greg is currently, it's an even split with four overs and four unders, and that includes an over nine and a half win for Ole Miss and under 10 and half wins for Georgia. What about Bama over under nine and a half? I'm taking the over. I think there's the public's opinion on Bama is really been impacted by Nick Saban's departure. And really just a lack of acknowledgement of the greatness that Kailin DeBore has already done in his career.

I mean, Bama's roster is really good. And I think if you look at how they've played against Georgia and they've matched up against Georgia, like, I think they're in a great spot. Yeah, road trip to Tennessee, road trip to L.C. really tough, but I think Bama goes over that number. No, I got them over. And, you know, the Georgia game would determine a lot if Alabama stills won early versus them. Now they're really sitting in the driver's seat.

But that four-week window where you have, where is it at, you have Tennessee, Missouri, LSU, and two weeks later at Oklahoma, got to be tough. All right. What about Texas over under 10 and a half, Greg? I'm taking the under. I think at some point, the interior of their defense is going to get gashed a little bit. Plus, I think the transition from the Big 12 to the SEC will be daunting. So for anyone to just expect the Texas rolls in, 11 to 1, 12 and 0, I can't envision.

I think 10 and 2 is probably the number for the horns. Yeah, and look, I used to be a betting man back in my day, and that half is killing me, Greg. I'm going under with that one. Just because, like you said, alluded to, it's tough enough. And the schedule, that means they got to be perfect and not drop one. All right, we're going to Florida over under four and a half. I'm taking the over and feel like that's probably the most obvious pick based on how the show's gone up to this point. I think they got a lot better talent than people want to acknowledge.

I look at all those games that are at home, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, UCF, Sanford, Miami. All those games are winnable. And now will they win them all? Probably not. But I do think at home in the swamp, it's going to be a very difficult place to play the Gators. Oh, man, you know, this is a very hard of victory. but I'm going to go over the four and a half just because I think they get four out of the first five games

and then we just got to get one somewhere. I do think they get that. I don't think it's that hard if you just get one game out of the last seven. Just one. Things should get better in the swamp. All right, Mississippi State over under four and a half. I'm taking the over.

I don't know how good they're going to be on defense, but I do think Jeff Levy, the new coach, former OC of the Oklahoma Sooners, he's going to be real comfortable winning. shootouts. So I think that game against Missouri, very dangerous, game against Arkansas and A&M, all those games at home. I think those are games that they can win, especially if they put a bunch of points on the board like we anticipate. Yeah, I'm going over. I think they get the first three games, even at Arizona State. And then after that, Jeff Levy and this offense will outscore

enough teams that put enough pressure on them because of the offense. And they get those other games. It's going to be interesting. All right. Let's keep it rolling. We're going to come back in just a bit and talk a few more things. All right. Tomorrow is the final day of SEC media. We've got Arkansas, A&M, Auburn, and Kentucky. We'll be hearing from head coaches having more discussion. Thanks for hanging on college football live. We're back tomorrow.

3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN 2. And maybe Greg will agree on Florida. We'll all agree on that. Thanks for hanging.