Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BONUS EPISODE: College Football Kickoff Live: Deion Sanders Soars | Alabama Hosts Texas | Dabo, Clemson Stinks

Episode Date: September 8, 2023

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes dominated the storylines in week 1. The Clemson Tigers and Dabo Swinney face planted against the Duke Blue Devils. What is the state of Clemson Football? Plus, the big one this week between the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Who has the advantage? How worried are the Oregon Ducks that Texas Tech could ruin any playoff holes they had this week? All the biggest games to watch from the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, PAC-12, ACC and Sunbelt!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BirddogsGo to birddogs.com/lockedoncollege or enter promo code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for a free water bottle with any purchase. You won't want to take your birddogs off we promise you.NutrafolTake the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com/men and enter the promo code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Athletic BrewingGo to AthleticBrewing.com and enter code LOCKEDON to get 15% off your first online order or find a store near you! Athletic Brewing. Milford, CT and San Diego, CA. Near Beer.BetterhelpThis podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedoncollege today to get 10% off your first month.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Locked On College Football Kickoff Live. Alongside Alex Dono of Locked On Canes and Kenton Gibbs of Locked On ACC and Locked On Wolfpack. Drake Toll here from Locked On Big 12. Thank you for making Locked On College Football Kickoff Live your lunchtime listen every Friday. Guys, let's jump in. The biggest upset of the week, at least in the top 10, Clemson and Duke. You might remember that I said if Clemson loses to Duke, I would cut off. I think it was my left.

Kenton, was it my left pinky toe? I don't know. You didn't specify which pinky toe. You just said you would cut off a pinky toe. You did specify the tool, however. You said it wasn't going to be a butcher's knife. It was going to be a rusty knife. Well, Kenton, a man of my word.

I am down one pinky toe this week after saying, and I don't know how many toes I'm going to, well, actually I do. I have 10 that I can give away this year. But I'm down one after week one. So I'm going to have to start limiting my toe talk. Clemson, Kenton, gets just mauled by Duke and Davo Sweeney says in response I like what our offense did if we do it every week we go undefeated um I'm not sure what Davo is on but I will have all of it Kenton Gibbs Duke gets killed by Duke kills Clemson.

So I'll say this. You know, first of all, a little dad joke for you all. I'm sure that your favorite country music singer now is Toby Keith. But with that being said, let's stick to the facts. That was totally uncalled for, Kenton. Let's stick to the facts of this thing, though. Let's stick to the facts of this thing though let's stick to the facts of this thing because i'll warn you that this could happen but more importantly i think that that we need to start drug testing coaches in the ncaa we need to stop just testing the players it's high time that

some of these coaches get in on it too because in what world is what their offense did example and don't get me wrong they had over 400 yards of total offense. They won. They didn't turn over the ball a ton, but they turned it over in key moments. Phil Moffitt's fumble when they're driving and looking like they can finally make this thing a game. A big time deal. At the end of the game, that interception when the game was kind of out of hand or inconsequential was another thing. But that's indicative of the fact that all game, your passing game was out of sync. All game, you could hit nothing deep. There were no 20 yards or more air yardage plays for Clemson last week. So if you want your offense to do that, if you want your offense to do that, I'm sure the rest of the ACC is screaming, yes, Dabo, please give us that offense. Give us that because we've been waiting on Clemson to give us an offense like that. We have been

waiting for just this moment. It is here. Yeah, Dono, as the host of Locked on Canes, Clemson comes to you, that is October 21st, and I'm guessing after seeing this offensive performance, you are shaking based on what the Tigers are bringing to town. I never

thought I'd say this, but I'm actually happy this year that Clemson is on Miami schedule and Duke isn't. That's how I'm feeling about this. Now, as far as Dabo Sweeney goes, it's not just his postgame comments, fellas. I don't think there's any other coach right now in college football who is as disconnected from reality as Dabo Sweeney. I mean, his comments after the game,

his attitudes towards name, image, and likeness just go to show you that maybe he's not someone equipped to be in this era of college football. His attitudes toward recruiting as well. You know, Clemson has this policy where they don't like verbal commits to take visits to other places, and they, you know, threaten to pull your offer if you do that.

It's like, you have to wonder pull your offer if you do that. It's like you have to wonder if the game is passing Dabo. I think he's still a fine football coach. It's just a lot of the other stuff that comes with it. And listen, right now, obviously the stock is falling for Cade Klubnick, who didn't have the sort of season debut that people expected under center for Clemson. Meanwhile, Riley Leonard now, for Duke, I think he's going to become more of a household

name. You see what a dual threat he is with all the rushing yards and touchdown that he put up in that game. But listen, I if I try to parse through Dabo's words, obviously there are big time execution things that you would think Clemson can clear up in the future because it was an absolute horror show in the red zone for them. you you have four red zone trips where you come away with zero points I can see why he said this was the strangest game I've ever coached in like we've lost games before but this is the strangest one you wouldn't expect to go oh for four in the red zone zero points in those trips with turnovers and the block field goals of that you don't expect that to happen again but at the same time despite putting up more yards they were not the better team on the field last week

duke was no and it wasn't the biggest game of the week but i'd call it the most consequential game of the week with clemson losing to duke especially the way that clemson did however this week you turn the page to a loaded loaded week two that is let off with Alabama hosting Texas, a top 15 matchup in Tuscaloosa. And Luke Robinson of Locked On Bama joins us here on Locked On College Football Kickoff right now. Luke, my man, Alabama and Texas. Last week, the Longhorns were sloppy against Rice.

Alabama took care of business. Jalen Milrow, the new quarterback, stepped up big time and showed that there's a new signal caller in Tuscaloosa. How did you grade his performance? And is that good enough to beat a Longhorn team at home this week? Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me. Secondly, yeah, I think if he performs like that, it's certainly enough to beat a Longhorn team at home this week? Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me. Secondly, yeah, I think if he performs like that, it's certainly enough to beat Texas. Alabama is still uber talented, and I know Texas is too, but Alabama in terms of blue chip ratio, if you believe in

that type of stuff, and I do, they are up there at number one or number two in terms of blue chip ratio, so you know they've got the talent to do it. I think what was so great was Jalen Milrow's command of everything. Look, everybody was judging him on the way he performed against Texas A&M last year. And let me preface all that by saying his performance against A&M wasn't bad. He was forced into a starting role in what many people thought at the beginning of the season would be Alabama's biggest game,

night time in Bryant-Denny against A&M, a revenge game. It was a big deal. And he was forced into duty. He ended up throwing three touchdowns. He had some turnovers. There's no doubt about it. He had some turnovers and he had some shaky moments. But Alabama won the game and he performed admirably.

It wasn't a superb effort. It wasn't Bryce Young. But I've been on record saying, hey, I could call Bryce Young the best player in Alabama history. I mean, I don't think that's a stretch. So, look, whoever followed Bryce Young is going to be a problem. But, you know, Jalen Milrow put on a show on last Saturday against Middle Tennessee.

He accounted for five touchdowns. That's never been done by an Alabama quarterback before. So pretty unbelievable. And, yeah, it's – or I should say three passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, never been done before. But regardless, I think that's enough to beat Texas. And the subplots here, where he was once committed to Texas. He's from Texas.

Steve Sarkeesian coached at Alabama. Jace McClellan is from Texas. Just the rivalry, the idea that they're coming into the league. Alabama and Texas have played for a national championship in recent years. I mean, there's just a lot to digest here. And the fact that they're going head-to-head on so many other recruits is a big deal as well. So we don't have anybody from the Longhorns coming on this episode at least.

So I need you to speak for both teams right now. Bama wins if Longhorns win if. Talk to me. I think Bama wins if they play about as well as they did against Middle Tennessee. I mean, I think if both teams play in a game, I think Alabama wins. If Alabama has a lot of turnovers, if they play like they played against Texas A&M as a whole, I'm not just picking on Jalen Milrow, I think they could easily lose this game. And look, everybody points to last year where Quinn Ewers was picking Alabama apart. And that's true. They were doing that in the first quarter. But injuries are a part of the game. I think everybody could have a, what if so-and-so wouldn't hurt in whatever game. That's

a part of it. But I think Alabama wins if they just, if they play their game, if they go out there and establish the run. And look, here's what I was so encouraged about last week, that the questions I had about this Alabama team, I felt like a lot of more answered, you know, the quarterback play, the wide receivers, they had been, there'd like a lot of them were answered. You know, the quarterback play, the wide receivers, there had been a lot of rumors that they had been dropping a lot of passes in practice. They didn't have a single drop in that game. And the things that I thought I knew, the offensive line, very good.

The running backs, very good. They didn't perform as well. Jalen Monroe led the team in rushing with 48 yards. That's a little odd. But I know, I do know that those two unit rooms are better than they played. So if they step up their game just a little bit, and as long as they're in a huge drop off in Milrow and the receivers and the defense, I feel like Alabama is going to win this thing. Now, conversely, the way Texas is

going to win this game is by blocking out all the noise. I mean, if they come in and they can force Alabama into some situations they don't want to be in, a lot of third and longs, I think that Texas can win this game. That's going to be very difficult. And I'm going to tell you, as an Alabama fan, I have no problem admitting this. I mean, we've got Alex here. He's from Miami. He knows what I'm about to talk about. Sometimes our home field advantage, though Nick Saban is 102-8 in Tuscaloosa,

isn't the same advantage as other places. I know Miami is sort of the same way. Look, you always think about playing Miami at home, always so rough. Well, they don't usually have the same crowd unless it's a huge game. And when it is a huge game, that place gets bonkers. And that's going to be the way this is at Tuscaloosa. My co-host on Locked Open Bama, Jimmy Stein, lives in Tuscaloosa. And he said the atmosphere around the campus has been bananas. And that's not typical because we're so used to winning every game in Tuscaloosa that we sort of take it for granted. But this is not going to be

one of those instances. You mentioned Luke, coaching matchup is one of the bigger subplots, going to be one of those instances. You mentioned Luke coaching matchup is one of the bigger subplots you a Sark going up against Saban and you know former Saban assistants are just 2 and 28 against Nick in this case it's obviously an interesting one because Sark is an offensive guy Saban's focuses more on the defense so how do you think Steve Sarkeesian is going to try to attack Bama's defense because if nothing else he probably you know, which plays Saban doesn't like going up against in practice. Yeah, I think he's, look, Texas needs to try and take some deep shots. I think that's the way you can really mess Alabama up a little bit. I think that you can get in their heads defensively if you can take some deep shots. The problem is with that,

and this is something I learned just doing some homework this week, Quinn Ewers' longest pass, at least last year, and I think in his career at Texas, is like 49 yards, and that just seemed crazy to me. I mean, because you think of Texas, you think of them with Quinn Ewers and having Xavier Worthy and all these other superstar receivers, you think they'd be throwing 80-yard bombs every game. And that's not really what they do. So it's just a little bizarre to me. But I think that, look, everybody seems to be so scared of Kool-Aid McKinstry. And they should be.

He's the best defensive back in college football, best cornerback in college football, if you ask me. Now, but I think what you have to do is say, I'm going to go right at your best, and I'm going to see what he's got. And, look, it may not work out. That may not be the best thing. But if it does work out, and if you can get ahead of Alabama by say two scores and sort of keep it that way for a while and force it where Alabama is going to have to go more into a passing game and especially an intermediate passing game, because Jalen Milrow, two of his completions,

he didn't have a lot of incompletions last week, but two of his incompletions were in that intermediate stretch, and he didn't throw a lot in that window. He either went deep or he went kind of short or he took off with the ball. So if you can force Alabama to try and go to that intermediate passing game, I think that's huge for Texas. That's Luke Robinson of Locked On, Bama, Alabama, and Texas, our game of the week here on Locked On College Football Kickoff Live. Luke, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it, guys.

Absolutely. All right, boys, that was the game of the week this week. Last week, it was TCU and Colorado. We didn't know what was going to happen in that yet. LSU and Florida State, and then obviously that Duke and Clemson game, but we honed in on how Colorado was going to get dominated by TCU, and we were a little bit wrong.

Kevin Borba of Locked on Buffs is going to join the show. Coming up next, Dono. Did you know that 80% of men will experience hair thinning in their lifetime? I'm very much among that 80%. It's normal, but my fate doesn't have to be your fate. You can get ahead of thinning hair with Nutrafol, my friends. Nutrafol is the number one

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Look, another guy who's in that same boat, locked on buffs, Kevin Borba. You're going to see, you're about to see it. He is right now with one of our biggest upsets last week. Colorado, I told you, we had a lot of conversations last week. I told you this Colorado team is going to lose by three touchdowns, four touchdowns, maybe more against TCU. But what blew me away is that Dion Sanders took 70 plus curated players from

the transfer, not random guys, curated players from the portal. And one, have we entered the era of AAU in college football as displayed on Saturday by Colorado? I'll say people will try it, but I don't know if everybody has the effect that Deion Sanders does.

I think there's probably maybe 10, 15 coaches in college football that could realistically empty out the cupboard and then restock it with as much talent as he did, and I don't know if those coaches would even want to do it. I think it would be like Kirby Smart, Nick Saban. If Dabo Sweeney ever wanted to touch a transfer portal or acknowledge that it's real, maybe he could do it. But I don't think everybody could do it.

I don't think it's something that applies to everybody. I know Texas State kind of did it. But again, it's really not a one-size-fits-all type of thing. And so I think having Coach Prime is kind of the main factor that a lot of these kids went there. Well, Kevin, I want to give a nod to Coach Prime right now because I bought receipts too, baby. Of all the folks on Locked On, College Football Live,

who was highest on the bus? I was. I believed in the bus. I said their ceiling was higher than what everybody else believed. So Coach Prime, I believe, okay? I don't have nobody else tell you. I believe. Now, with that being said, Kevin, what do you think is the balance

between the coaching and the talent that created that upset? Because me personally, the more I watch film on that game, the more I say these young men were exceptionally coached. This game was schemed up perfectly. He beat Sonny – Proud beat Sonny Dyches in the chess game of football at multiple points. That's what I was seeing on tape at least. So tell me, what do you think is the balance there? Yeah, I think it's, I'd probably go 60-40. Honestly, I think the schematics were great. I've never seen an offensive coordinator receive as much hype as Sean Lewis did,

but he deserved all the praise. Every play he drew up was to perfection it seemed like he was kind of he would just take a look at the defense and be like okay we're running this and then it would be wide open every single time is kind of what it felt like i think colorado scored just about every time they touched the ball so you have to give him props or props is due but then you have to look at plays where i think it was like fourth and long whatever that i think it was 19 and scher Shader Sanders scrambles a little bit and delivers a strike or you have to look at the the throws that he made down the field his deep ball I think and I'm starting a little petition for this so if you guys would like to sign I think Shader Sanders throws the best deep ball in college football or at least one of them and we saw on multiple occasions he would hit guys down the sideline

in stride you guys had your previous guys was talking about Quinn Ewers Quinn Ewers hasn't been able to hit the deep ball in his college career. Shader Sanders has already shown that he throws arguably the best deep ball in college football. So I think the coaches deserve some praise, but the players executed. You can only call things that they can execute. And so I think everybody deserves a lot of praise. Now, Kevin, unlike Kenton, I was not a believer in the Buffs last week or this season. They're now only one victory away from matching my season prediction.

So I'm probably going to be eating some crow this season. So, yeah, my two thoughts watching that win over TCU, number one, how wrong I was. But then number two, I'm watching Travis Hunter and I'm thinking, this guy could win the Heisman, right? You talk about non-quarterbacks winning the Heisman, two-way player. Hunter played 129 snaps last week. Can he keep up a pace like that through 12 games? Yeah, that was kind of my biggest question too, because I think it was somewhere in the first half, he seemed a little tired or maybe just wasn't making the plays that he dropped a diving touchdown. Something else

happened where all my friends and everybody who was watching the game as well was like, is he tired? And I was like, it kind of looks like it but after the game he said he could play another game that day so i think it's just a matter of him keeping him fresh at all times i don't know if they're gonna try to keep him out for all 150 snaps every single game but why would you not if he if he says he's ready to go i think you gotta trust him um i think he's a playmaker he's a difference maker um i think you got to trust him. I think he's a playmaker. He's a difference maker. I think the biggest play that stands out was a diving interception.

I saw somewhere that he covered about like six yards on that play where he dove to catch the ball. And I think when you look at that play, you're like, why would Chandler Morris throw it that way? Well, Travis Hunter was nowhere near where Chandler Morris was trying to throw it. That's just how quickly he covered ground. And so Travis Hunter needs to be on the field as much as possible. I do think the Heisman hype is legit.

If he plays like this every week, I don't see why he shouldn't at least be in New York at the very minimum. I don't think we've ever seen someone who has this kind of effect on both sides of the ball. His stats for receiving have already essentially surpassed Charles Woodson. If everything goes right, he'll pass Charles Woodson by tomorrow. So Travis Hunter is that guy. And it's only been 13 days of college football. That's Kevin Borba of Locked On Buffs. Borba, thanks for joining us. Buying last minute tickets to sporting events should not be stressful. Folks,

I've been buying tickets day of events at game time. Flash deals and last minute tickets. They've got the best ones at game time. Easy to find and buy tickets for every kind of event in your area. That includes concerts. I'm taking my son to Disney on Ice tomorrow. Got my tickets at game time. Forget planning months in advance. Game time has deals on tickets right up to the day of.

Get those exclusive flash deals. And the game time guarantee means you'll always get the best price if you find tickets in the same section and row for less game time will credit you 110 percent of that difference so download the game time app create an account and use code locked on college for 20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on college for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Dono, I had no idea you were taking Dabo Sweeney to Disney on ice this weekend. There are so many games around the nation that stand out in week two folks.

Let's get some more insight into the biggest games from our biggest conferences in this week's Conference Confidential. We start with Craig Sheeman of Locked on Big Ten. There are 14 Big Ten games on the slate this weekend, and none bigger than Matt Rule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers going into Bola, Colorado, to take on Coach Prime Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, who shocked the college football world last weekend by going into Boulder, Colorado to take on coach prime Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes who shocked the college football world last weekend by going into TCU and winning 45 to 42. Nebraska is coming off yet another one score loss this time to Minnesota 13 to 10. Here's the deal. I think Nebraska's defense is much better than TCU's. I also think that Nebraska quarterback

Jeff Sims and running back Gabe Irvin can run the football. I don't know if you much better than TCU's. I also think that Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Gabe Urban can run the football. I don't know if you noticed, but TCU ran for 262 yards against Colorado's defense. I think it's there for the taking. Bottom line, I think if this is a high-scoring game, some sort of shootout, then Coach Prime and Colorado are 2-0. And who would have thought that

a couple of weeks ago if it's a lower scoring game with some actual defense in this game i think matt rule gets his first win at nebraska by the way vegas has the over under at 59 so it thinks it's going to be a little bit of a higher scoring game they also have the buffs at minus three on this one. Youngstown State is at Ohio State. I call this the Jim Trestle Bowl, given his importance to both institutions over the years. Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will both play quarterback for Ohio State. Devin Brown will play a lot more than he did last weekend in Bloomington against the Indiana Hoosiers. I've got to tell you right now, this quarterback situation is not resolved yet. So both will get a lot of snaps in this game.

In Ann Arbor, get out your bingo card for your coaching roulette. We'll keep track of who's coaching the team. Jim Harbaugh in his second of three weeks being suspended. Of course, last week against East carolina defensive coordinator jesse minter held down the fort this week against unlv special teams coordinator jay harbaugh will handle the first half meanwhile running backs coach mike hart will be the head coach in the second half got it got it and finally let's not overlook the cyh Trophy as Iowa takes on Iowa State for the 70th time in this rivalry. It's going to be a great weekend. Can't wait. Enjoy the games.

I'm Craig Schumann for Locked On Big Ten. Week two in the college football world is upon us, and all eyes will be on Boulder, Colorado, as the Cornhuskers of Nebraska travel to take on Deion Sanders and the Buffs. Spencer McLaughlin here for Locked On Pac-12. A lot of great games across the Pac-12 non-conference slate this week. A lot of big opportunities, but perhaps none bigger than the chance for Colorado to progress towards a 3-0 start before conference play begins on September 23rd at Oregon.

They host USC the following week, and they have a chance to show that week one wasn't a fluke, that TCU isn't a pullback team in a major way, but that Colorado is just that good. Shador Sanders set a school record in his first game as a buff with 510 passing yards. He was darn near flawless, throwing four touchdowns, no interceptions, executed the offense at a really high level. Thing to watch in this game is Nebraska's offense against Colorado's defense. The Buffs allowed 42 points and needed two red zone turnovers of TCU in order to hold them to 42 points on the road. A Nebraska offense, meanwhile, that managed just

10 points against Minnesota in week one. Is a weakened Buffs defense going to be exploitable for what appears to be a weak Nebraska offense? Or is the Buffs defense going to make strides from last week, their offense perform at a high level, and they end up winning the game? It's going to be a thriller either way. The homeowner opener for Coach Prime was always going to have a lot of interest and hype and intrigue. And somehow with that week one win at then 17th ranked TCU, Colorado has upped the ante on how excited and interested we all are to watch the Buffs play in front of their home fans at Folsom Field this weekend. Don't sleep on other games across the Pac-12 like Auburn and Cal, Oregon, Texas Tech, Utah, Baylor, and how about Arizona State?

Just a three and a half point underdog against Oklahoma State. Something smells a little bit fishy there, but should be a really, really good week in the Pac-12. And definitely don't forget Washington State hosting Wisconsin. A lot of great games and a lot of great opportunities for the Pac-12 as they look to stay undefeated in the non-conference slate in Week 2. Dave Schultz with your Week 2 Sun Belt preview. Much better matchups across the board in the Sun Belt for Week 2.

In fact, you have a conference ball game. The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns taking on ODU in Norfolk, Virginia. First time these two schools have ever met. But the big matchup is Appalachian State going to Chapel Hill to take on Carolina. This is a rematch in last year's crazy ballgame, 63-61 Tar Heels. But App State scores 40 points in the fourth quarter to fall short in overtime. But that leads to the victory over A&M, which leads to game day in lovely Boone, North Carolina, which leads to a Hail the victory over A&M, which leads to game day in Lovely Boo, North Carolina,

which leads to a Hail Mary victory over Troy. You do have Joey Aguilar starting at quarterback. He came in for the injured Ryan Berger. Aguilar threw four touchdown passes on just 11 out of 13 passing. But you also have the defense that's got to step up a little bit. Mountaineers gave up 24 points to Gardner Webb. That's not going to fly against Drake May and company in Chapel Hill. Sunbelt teams playing three other power five schools this week. You do have James Madison going to Charlottesville. Virginia hosting

their first ball game since the tragedy last year. And it's James Madison's first trip to Virginia in 40 years. James Madison also making the quarterback change. Alonzo Barnett III just struggled last week against Bucknell. Senior transfer Jordan McLeod, he came in and he righted the ship as the Dukes beat Bucknell 38-3. You got Troy going up against Kansas State, and the Trojans, the defending Sunbelt champions, they struggled giving up 30 points to Stephen F. Austin. They're going to have to do a much better job to shock the Wildcats. And then you got Southern Miss. Poor Golden Eagles, or look at it as a great opportunity, they get to go to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. The Seminoles destroying LSU in the second half, and can the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Will Halls pull

off a shocker? The other big ball game in the Sun Belt, you got Texas State. The Bobcats upsetting Baylor. They're going into UTSA to take on the Roadrunners. If Texas State beats UTSA, do they start 4-0? They got Jackson State and Nevada coming up. My goodness, G.J. Kinney is shocking the Sun Belt immediately. That's your week two preview in the Sun Belt. I'm Dave Schultz. Enjoy the Sun Belt football. That was our look around the country here on College Football Kickoff Live with Conference Confidential.

Now, guys, it's time for Sell Me Wahee! Five or six games where we're going to tell you we can help sell some of these on why the spread is where it is and who's going to cover. We start with Ole Miss minus six and a half. Everybody wants to see the SEC go down to a G5 opponent on the road.

That is the consensus amongst other conferences in college football, but I just don't think it's going to happen. Hi, I'm Stephen Willis from the Locked On Ole Miss podcast, and you are looking at an Ole Miss offense that is operating at maximum efficiency. Willie Fritz and the Tulane Green Wave are going to have to perform at an extremely high level to keep Ole Miss off the board. This is a game that even as good as Tulane is defensively, could see Ole Miss scoring 40 or 50 points. And with the line being as small as it is, I don't think that Tulane's offense is going to be able to match it. In fact, whenever you look

at the score of this game, I put it at somewhere around 31 to 14. So I would be okay with laying up to 12 or 13 points. So as this line gets a little bit bigger and I think it will before kickoff I do think that I would lay these points Tulane's a good football team I just don't know if they're as good as Ole Miss yeah guys Kenton Gibbs we'll start with you Ole Miss Tulane this game is a sellout this it's a Tulane team that won a new year's six bowl last year but a lot of people are picking are picking the the rebels to get it done yeah so the thing about this game is Tulane is another one of those teams and this is kind of because they're in a group of five more so than just a philosophical thing that we see from a lot of power five teams don't play

defense they're going to struggle defensively the Offensively, they can scheme guys up. They can find ways to get guys up. They can find ways. I enjoy watching Tulane's offense because whatever they want to do, they find ways to effectively do it. If they want to get the ball to the perimeter in terms of the running game, they find a way to do so. If they want to scheme up, hey, we're going to keep hitting you laterally,

laterally, laterally until all of a sudden you got two high safeties and now we can gas you vertically, they're going to do it. And so I could see Tulane saying, hey, not today. No covering on us, Ole Miss. But I could also see a couple turnovers going the wrong way for them, and then all of a sudden Ole Miss gets this thing and makes it up. Dono, seven-point game. Do you take the Rebels?

I do take the Rebels. It gives me pause because obviously obviously, Tulane is ranked. Tulane is talented. But the fact that they're ranked, that means you're not going to be sleeping on the green wave. I think I look at it from an Ole Miss perspective because sometimes when you see these strong group of five teams pull off these upsets, I know we're talking about a spread, not the straight up.

But either way, when you're talking about these group of five teams, when you can catch a power five sleeping, it's not going to happen because I think Tulane has enough hype coming in Jimmy's and Joe's guys I mean you know Tulane can try to scheme with their X's and O's but they just don't have the talent so this is a situation where I can see it being a close game heading into the fourth quarter and I just think the Rebels are going to wear them out and probably end up winning this game by two touchdowns look at New Year's to cover by the way New Year's Six Bowl is different than week two of college yeah all right you don't really throw out the kitchen sink to beat Ole Miss this week and maybe you can make the case that Tulane does but they they know what it's

like to win now they've seen that at one of the highest levels of college football I've got Ole Miss by at least a touchdown it's a weird line line, right? Vegas and the betters are suede on this one, but give me Ole Miss as well. But we've got Maction this weekend to an extent, like 50% Maction. Georgia, 43 and a half point favorites over the Ball State Cardinals. Clint Shamblin of Locked On Bulldogs is going to sell us why the dogs will cover the huge spread. Here we be, Clint Shaman, Locked On Bulldogs here, telling you why Georgia's going to cover no problem, no sweats against Ball State. One, Bubba knows his assignment. Look, last week, Kirby Smart got on him, told him,

hey, first and goal from the five can't be having that. We got to get more than a field goal. That's number one. Bubba's going to be on point. Number two, Carson Beck is going't be having that. We got to get more than a field goal. That's number one. Bobo's going to be on point. Number two, Carson Beck is going to be just fine. In this offense, Stetson Bennett did not have as many yards, completions, or touchdowns as Carson Beck did in his first game as Georgia's signal caller.

No worries there. And number three, this defense is nasty. It's the best defense Kirby Smart has ever, yes, I said ever, had. Talent all across the board. Composite is the best we've ever seen, which is why I think Glenn Schumann and Kirby's going to shut them out again. This is why Bulldogs are going to cover that point spread. Fear not.

Lay the points. It's just fine. Ball State is not going to score, and Georgia's going to get a 50-burger. That's why Bulldogs are going to cover oh the old backdoor cover here we're talking 43 points georgia did not cover that against ut martin what there are so many other things you could do with your life than bet a three point spread kenton gibbs i agree i agree this is throwing money out the window because you're counting on a lot working in a certain way. They're counting on Kirby Smart not calling off the dogs. You're

counting on the twos and threes from Georgia not potentially letting up a touchdown or two because Mike New, who's the head coach of Ball State, he's not going to pull his starters. That's not going to happen. We have seen him historically get the wheels whooped off him by teams, and those starters play deep into that game. If you look at the Tennessee game last year, Tennessee beat him by 49 points. So I know some people are thinking, that's for us who think Georgia is going to cover. But not really. Not so fast, my friend, because there were multiple moments toward the end of that game. Tennessee just kind of lucked into some moments, or not lucked into, but things went their certain way in terms of their twos

and threes getting picked, sixes and whatnot. I was like, oh, well, you know, this is how these things go. I'm never comfortable with a line above 40, just being completely honest. I'm never comfortable with that. So I'll get Ball State saying, not so fast, my friend. No soup for you. No cover for Georgia. I like it.

Now, this next one here, we're going to go to the ACC, Kenton's ACC, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are seven-point favorites over the NC State Wolfpack. Hey, college football fans. I'm Tyler Wojak, the host of Lockdown Irish for the Lockdown Podcast Network. Today, I'm here to tell you why Notre Dame is going to cover the 7.5 point spread on the road against the NC State Wolfpack. Like always, it starts with the quarterback, and Sam Hartman has been practically unstoppable in his first two starts for the Irish, leading the offense to 11 touchdowns out of 12 total

drives. I expect him to exercise some demons against NC State and have a big game on Saturday in Carter-Finley Stadium. But it's not just Hartman, though. The Notre Dame defense has been stout, and they have yet to give up a touchdown through two games, albeit against pretty weak competition. But still, they have been really good so far,

and I believe this is the first big test for Notre Dame this season, both offensively and defensively. And I'm confident the Irish are ready to rise to the challenge and get a statement win on the road against NC State. Our very own former NC State defense attack, Kenton Gibbs, go. Y'all are going to call me a homer. People are going to call me everything but a good Christian. They're going to say that I'm employing people to give away money.

But here's the deal. The Wolfpack and the Golden Domers have played three times and Notre Dame has never won a game outright outside of South Bend. And by the way, those three games weren't 100 years ago. The most recent one was in 2017. They lost in 2016 when a hurricane was coming through Raleigh. NC State wins 10-3. Guess what? There's supposed to be another hurricane that is on the brink. Fans, friends, family, I'm telling you, this is deja vu for

a reason. The more I watch film on Notre Dame, the more I believe they're not going to cover. Do I believe they went all right? I have them winning by a field goal, 24-21. But do they cover that 7.5? I don't think so. uh well speaking of games that are close to the chest for our host dono here's yours texas a&m

aggies are currently favored by three and a half on fan duel over the miami hurricanes here's andrew stefaniak to tell you why the aggies will cover that spread. Will Texas A&M cover against Miami? Man, it's a tough one. It's a good question. I think the Aggies are going to cover. Our friends over at FanDuel currently have the line at four and a half points, minus four and a half for the Aggies. And the way I look at it, I think they're going to go on the road and take care of business against the Miami Hurricanes. Texas A&M's offense looked dominant against New Mexico, and I think they're going to go on the road and take care of business against the Miami Hurricanes. Texas A&M's offense looked dominant against New Mexico, and I think that they're going to go and do the same against a much better opponent in Miami. Connor Wigman was throwing passes that were just perfect,

putting the ball right in the bucket, putting it right where it needed to be. We saw the wide receivers running open all game long, one of the most talented receiver rooms in college football. I think you're going to see that repeat itself. Texas A&M is hopefully going to have more of a rushing game, We saw the wide receivers running open all game long, one of the most talented receiver rooms in college football. I think you're going to see that repeat itself. Texas A&M is hopefully going to have more of a rushing game against the Miami Hurricanes and the defense. I think it's going to come down to whether or not you can stop Miami's rushing attack. If you can do it, the Aggies win, and they cover the 4.5-point line.

Well, comparing backdrops between locked-on Canes and locked-on Aggies, Alex Dono covers, do on Canes and locked on Aggies, Alex Dono covers. Do the Canes cover this Saturday? I think they do cover. And the magic number, I mean, it had been earlier in the week, three and a half. It's at four and a half. I think this game is going to be decided by three or four points in either direction. So I look at that number.

I feel comfortable taking Miami. Texas A&M hasn't had a great road record under Jimbo Fisher in bigger games. And the big thing, I thought that Andrew, he hit the nail on the head when he was talking about stopping Miami's rushing attack, because that's been an area where the Hurricanes have been completely revolutionized. three top tier offensive linemen since last year, Javion Cohen and Matt Lee in the transfer portal. It's funny because the Hurricanes actually have a true freshman starting at right tackle. And normally you'd say that's kind of a liability. But in the case of Francis Maui Noah, former five star recruit out of IMG Academy, he's been blowing everybody away so far at his time at the U. And most importantly, Miami can basically go four deep with starting caliber running backs and this is a time in the season when everybody at least all those four are still healthy right now when you talk about rotating between Henry Parrish, Mark Fletcher, A.J. Allen

and Don Chaney Jr. and Texas A&M as talented as their defensive line is fellas because they they've got five stars all over the place, basically too deep. They were brutal against the run last season. Different coaches, a lot of the same personnel. And New Mexico had a little success running into the teeth of their defense last week. So Andrew was right on. The Texas A&M stopping Miami's running game is a big key. I'll look at it on the flip side.

As far as the Miami Hurricanes go, trying to slow down the Aggies passing game, that's going to be where Miami either covers that four and a half point spread or not, because that trio of wide receivers that the Aggies bring to the table with Evan Stewart, who was suspended against Miami last year, Noah Thomas, who's six foot six and a nice Smith, who's just a gadget, you know, all purpose guy does a fantastic job. Miami's got to pressure their quarterback, Connor Wigman. And I believe the hurricanes have a defensive line where they're able to do that.

I think on a somewhat consistent basis, make him feel a lot more uncomfortable than he did against new Mexico. I think this is going to be a good game fellas. And I think, you know, I did go on record picking Miami to win by three. It could obviously go the other way but i think it's going to be close i think this is going to be three or four

point game and miami does cover yeah not to be left out i'm ready to be heard again the baylor bears and the utah youths utah open is a four point favorite it has now jumped to eight it is doubled i'll be in the house at 11 a.m. Central time between Baylor and the Utes with Kyle Whittingham. Give me, give me the Baylor Bears plus eight. They were terrible last week. They lost to Texas State. Who does that? One of the worst upsets in college football's recent memory for a Power Five team, but I'll tell you this. Sawyer Robertson, a Mississippi State Mike Leach quarterback, is starting for Baylor this week. His high school coach, a storied high school coach in Texas high school football, came on our show on ESPN Central Texas and said,

this kid doesn't need an offensive line. He'll do it by himself. I think we got an old Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe situation brewing in Waco. Baylor might lose by 45, but Sawyer Robertson might just win the game. That's why I like Baylor plus eight. That's a heart pick. Kenton Gibbs said he's not biased. I am. Sawyer Robertson plus eight this week against the Utah Utes. Now coming up next, the NCAA has done what the NCAA does best, and that's make terrible decisions that don't make any sense. This one comes from the ACC.

This is Locked On College Football Live. That's Alex Dono. That's Kenton Gibbs. I'm Drake Toll, breaking down everything from last week in college football and everything coming up this week. Now, one of the biggest storylines from the NCAA in their very finite wisdom, they have denied UNC

wide receiver Tez Walker his eligibility for the 2023 season, and Mack Brown was furious rightfully so somebody else who's also not very happy about it Isaac Shade of Locked On Tar Heels will take you there now breaking news the committee reviewing UNC wide receiver Tez Walker's case has voted to deny the reinstatement of his eligibility meaning that Tez Walker will not play for North Carolina this season this comes a day after the NCAA's tone-deaf tweet about supporting student-athletes in their mental health.

A biting statement coming out from head coach Mack Brown, quote, I don't know that I've ever been more disappointed in a person, a group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now. Plain and simple, the NCAA has failed Tez and his family, and I've lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport. In a quote from A.D. Bubba Cunningham, this decision undermines the fair treatment of student-athletes and further erodes the public's confidence in our national governing body. So what's next? Will we see legal action? Will Carolina accept this news and move on? We'll find out.

But on Saturday, the Tar Heels host App State, and we'll do so without Tez Walker. Yeah, nothing shocking from the NCAA here, guys. This is something that's been an ongoing problem. One thing that I like to mention, there was a tweet from the Baylor football account, who, again, I try to support, that said, starting year seven, one of their defensive guys starting

year seven in what you got 25 year old players who have gone to two or three different schools that are eligible to play for different teams but Tez Walker can't play for UNC Kenton Gibbs not shocking still abysmal yeah again the old me disappointed but not surprised right I mean the the reality is there are times where especially with the ncaa where the process procedure the way that rules are written and followed to the t are they they just they don't run concurrent with common sense yes it does not make sense that guys are allowed to play seven eight years whatever the case may be however by the lay of the law, by the rule of the law, they got a couple of hardship waivers for whatever reason

in terms of injuries or whatever the case may be. And they got a COVID year maybe, which we're seeing the back end of guys with COVID years. That's finally starting to wane off a little bit, but we're seeing that as well. And then you combine that in with the fact that they're graduate transfers. Graduate transfers have an entirely different ball game in terms of where they can and can't go and how they can move than undergrad transfers. But in this Tez Walker situation in particular, the thing that I find so important about this, so disgusting about this, is the fact that his first transfer was away from a school that didn't have football that year.

He committed to North Carolina Central out of high school. They canceled their season because of COVID. That should have been reason enough to say, hey, this doesn't count as his one free transfer. It shouldn't be, well, his grandmother is sick and that's why. No, no, no, no, no. Even if we're going by the law of the land here, if that team did not participate in football when he came,

why would he stay? With all due respect to NC State, I got my degree from there without having financial hardship. I just gave three attendance, more than most people ever will, but that's another story for another time. The reality is very simple. Without football, I would have been in Raleigh. If when I got down here

they said, hey, Ken, COVID is happening, and we're not going to be playing football. Okay. Y'all be real. Y'all stay easy. we're not going to be playing football okay y'all be real you know y'all stay easy i'm not going i'm in the words of magic johnson i ain't gonna be here okay that would have been me so it's i think that it's it's flatly preposterous to look at that situation look at this young man and say hey that still counts as one of your transfers that's that's nonsensical donna we're in an era too where anybody can transfer for anything i don't know why

we're picking and choosing these things where colorado's got 73 players the ncaa says nothing does nothing which i think's the right call i mean these kids want to transfer somewhere else it's whatever in an age where in a yellow so popular where the parody in college football to me it's getting better outside the top 10 which again conversation for another time but everybody outside of that top five or ten is beating up on one another. And now we're picking the most random little battles, the best kids and saying, hey, no, we don't think you should play. The inconsistency is the first thing that really drives me crazy. I don't know if they have like different arbitrators that all look at different cases.

And maybe it's like which umpire you get at a baseball game right the strike zone is bigger or smaller depending on who it is reviewing your case but you know to deny a young man and Kenton was so right to describe the first time transfer was because the football program was canceled and the second time transfer is to be closer to a sick family member closer to home it's like how do you look at that and deny it and I'm with you Drake like the Colorado thing it doesn't upset me but at the same time the inconsistency does where you basically allow an entire roster to be built off transfers who are allowed to play immediately and then you decide to deny a young man a waiver under these circumstances it's crazy the other part about it that bothers me is it's

very obvious the NCAA they're trying to flex what little power they have because they're losing control of their own sport of their own athletic landscape right where you know they they hate not having really any control over name image and likeness which takes a lot of control away from their recruiting rules uh and so now it's like the little power that they have left they need to show these players and these teams who's boss by flexing that power it's it's very upsetting to me and I know we we had a little talk about this last week but you know the years go on with the way that you know the conferences now and the universities are getting so much power at a certain point you're going to look at the NCAA and say why do we need them again like exactly

what do they actually do to make uh to make our situation better so that's where I'm at on this it's troubling to me yeah and we can sit and have this conversation for a half hour Kenton but nothing's going to happen this is not going to. And there are two things that I want to talk about real quick before we got to move on from this. Number one, the NCAA doesn't realize this, but decisions like this are driving toward that singularity thing that Chip Kelly was talking about, where football is a separate entity altogether. We are looking at a multi-billion dollar business and you're regulating where some of the stars can and can't go when they can and can't play i'm going to tell you this in these great united states of america

in the mainland and in hawaii and alaska if there's enough money behind it it will find a way and what they say life finds a way well money finds a way in america baby and there's too much money in this thing for you for the nca NCAA to continue making these rules arbitrarily. And second of all, I'm going to say this, and this is the NC State and me talking a little bit, and I'm going to be 100% honest about that. It is not right the way that this has garnered not only national, but the way that this has been treated locally. Locally, the way that we have the governor writing letters to the NCAA, the way that it's one of the biggest stories that's leading the sports block on the Central North Carolina news stations and all that. Where was this energy for the other players in the state who had similar situations? When Chandler Zavala of NC State was told that he wasn't going to be able to play and he had only played three games and got hurt and didn't get an injury waiver, which literally the injury waiver says if you play less than 16 quarters of football. Now, maybe it's just me.

The three games that he did play, none of them went into overtime. We didn't get free football. So I don't understand how four times three became over 16. Governor didn't write a letter for him, but he did for Tez Walker, who went to his alma mater. I didn't see WRAL breathing down people's necks to talk about that. I didn't see none of the news days. ABC 11, WTV.

I can't remember the other one. WNCN. Nobody was here talking about that. Cam Hayes going to ECU. Nobody's talking about that. Cam Woods going to NC State. Nobody's talking about that. And those players are in very similar situations where they're not going to get waivers either, most likely. And those players are in very similar situations where they're not going to get waivers either, most likely.

And for whatever reason, Tez Walker seems to be the spark plug that has got everybody around the nation swept up and wrapped up in. Things that make you go, hmm. Yeah. But, guys, it's time to whip around some of the poppiest, biggest headlines in all of college football. We'll take you around the nation with our czar of Locked On College. We have Heisman. Do we have a Heisman frontrunner already? Is it over in Colorado?

Zach Blackerby, let's go. It's the Blackerby Blitz on College Football Kickoff Live. Zach Blackerby, host of Locked On Auburn. Also the, I don't know, the savant of the college channel. Zach, yeah, you're welcome. Check's in the mail. Colorado knocks off TCU this week. Did Deion Sanders just prove that you can take 70 kids out of the transfer portal and win now?

Yeah, I think so. I think so. Now he's got to do it consistently. And it wasn't just 70 kids. It was 60-something kids and Travis Hunter. I mean, that guy counts as like 10 players with the amount of snaps he's going to play and how sustainable is that over the course of the season? I don't know.

But right now, I think you can make the case that Travis Hunter deserves the Heisman. That's kind of where I'm sitting with him right now. Wow. All right. Well, we can give Travis Hunter or TJ Finley the Heisman. That's kind of where I'm sitting with him right now. Wow. All right. Well, we can give Travis Hunter or TJ Finley the Heisman because TJ Finley, the old Auburn kid, put it on the Baylor Bears, a team that won the Big 12 and the Sugar Bowl now two years later, lost at home to Texas State,

giving the Bobcats their first ever Power 5 victory. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Yeah, didn't work out at LSU for T.J. Finley. Didn't work out at Auburn for T.J. Finley. But maybe him going to Texas State was the key to unlocking his potential because he's been there all along. The guy's ginormous.

He's got the arm. I think he's got the attitude. But, man, that was wild. And, hey, a lot of people were saying that he was going to be the third string quarterback or at least the backup when he transferred there so props to him for winning that battle and then taking it to the Baylor Bears and uh you know a few things about that team I do I I well I was in the house um for a historic historic upset it was either him or Malik Hornsby so a great transfer classxas state again proving that you'd rather have 30 juniors in college from a different school than 30 freshmen

in a recruiting cycle now in college football zach will take it to ames iowa where the where half of the iowa state football team is no longer on the football team due to a betting scandal where some were even betting on games they were playing in, including former starting quarterback Hunter Deckers. What do you make of college kids betting on their own games? I mean, it seems like it was so widespread within the locker room. How does somebody not step up and say, hey, guys, one, not only is this wrong, this is very illegal and much

bigger than just football uh it's just amazing me nobody stepped up and said anything drake that there was some kind of like culture of betting within the locker room very corrupt very stupid let's just be very clear here how dumb this is and yeah it's really wrecked the program that already wasn't in the best spot anyway. Now, if you are not a college football player, you can go to FanDuel, which is a proud betting sponsor and partner of the Locked On Podcast Network. That's right.

Zach, Caleb Williams' dad came out this week and said that if he's drafted number one overall and doesn't like where he's going, he'll just come back to college and make even more money through nil what do you think about the old john elway story coming back well uh he's getting money what from nissan because of the heisman house he's getting money from dr pepper it seems like that that commercial is on my tv every time a football game goes to a commercial break so i'm sure he's being well taken care of. And I think this is some of the beauty of NIL.

I think we saw it most impact college baseball when a lot of guys chose to not go play in the minors for $20,000 a year. When instead they can make $20,000 a year and also have all this access to college facilities. I think you're going to see some guys say, no, my gig right now is better than if I were to go to the NFL. And I think you're going to see it more in the later rounds. It's kind of interesting seeing it with a potential number one overall pick. But when you win the Heisman, you get that cheddar from more than just your school's collective, Drake.

And I think, I don't know if he's going to necessarily make more in college, but look, I don't know if I'd want to go play for the Cardinals either. So I do not blame Caleb Williams if this is all true. Well, look at Shander Sanders at Colorado. He gets the win at quarterback, and now he's multimillionaire through NIL, making more money than Joe Burrow's base this season. Does that show, hey, look, we're at an age, the longer you stay in college, the better if you're that guy.

Yeah, if you're that guy, it's all about the name, image, and likeness. I think NIL shifted to almost some pay-for-play with all these collectives popping up. But it is more than that. At the core of it, it is still about NIL. And these folks that are making a lot of money i cover auburn suny lee you know the best gymnast in the world she's a gold medalist you know for the most recent olympics she made a ton of money but it really wasn't from auburn it was from dancing with the stars and and all these other big brands that partnered with her and if you're that big you know you

deserve that sort of money, and you probably have more freedom to do that at the college level than you would in the NFL. A couple more, Zach. We'll take you back out to the south. The Clemson Tigers got rubbed by the Duke Blue Devils, and Dabo is in Spain without the S. What do we do about Dabo Sweeney?

I think you've got to start asking the question, if he doesn't have the best quarterback in the country, how good of a coach is he actually? I mean, this is a guy who had loaded teams with Taj Boyd, and he was throwing to guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Archivius Bryant, I believe, was on that team as well. DeAndre, or Andre Ellington, and they couldn't get it done with that roster.

But, hey, Trevor Lawrence was really, really good. Deshaun Watson was really, really good. Kind of makes you wonder, if he doesn't have the best quarterback in college football, how good of a coach is he? Chad Morris is on staff. That's all you need to know. Oh, my gosh. Why do people keep hiring him?

It doesn't make any sense. Offensive assistant at Clemson. Last but not least, you sent me this name incorrectly when you texted it to me. It's not Jaden Ott. It's Jaden Ott of Cal. The Bears said the name Auburn means nothing. Zach, it's your one Auburn headline of the week. I appreciate it. Are you fearful of the headline of the week. I appreciate it.

Are you fearful of the Cal Bears this week? I'm not. I'm not. I'm actually less fearful after he's kind of shooting his shot. Does he not know that he plays for Cal? This is a team that hasn't had a winning conference record, I think, since 2009. They haven't won a national championship since 1937. Like, what are we doing here you play for Cal you were just like not at a conference a week ago because

nobody else wanted you and you're having to stoop to the level of joining a conference where the rest of the schools are 12 hours away from you because you don't really have a say in the matter. So we'll certainly see. It's going to be the latest kickoff in Auburn football history. I think that may impact the Tigers, unfortunately. But look, I'm all for it. We're not going to get a whole lot of opportunities for this. ACC after dark.

How about that? Gross. That's Zach Blackerby, host of Locked On Auburn, and the savant of the Locked On College Football Podcast, right here on College Football Kickoff Live. Wouldn't you know, that was me on Tuesday. And thanks to Nutraful, this is me today. Kenton Gibbs, which of those headlines really sticks out to you?

Well, let's forget about the headlines for a minute. Zach saying he wouldn't want to play for the Cardinals either. How much is locked on paying you, brother? I don't care how bad the Cardinals are. If they want to pay me number one draft pick money, I'll get on a coconut and shake like a tree for it. I mean, I'd get on a tree and shake like a coconut for it if they needed me to. Had it a little backwards.

You know, that type of money daves and confuses you a little bit, shakes you up. They needed me to. Had it a little backwards. You know, that type of money daves and confuses you a little bit, shakes you up. But the headline that was very interesting to me, and I hate to say this, I hate to make it about the Auburn thing because, you know, I don't want to give Zach the satisfaction, but I got to do it.

Cal, what are you doing? A player from Cal trash-talking anybody? Brother, stop it. Stop it, okay? Unless you're talking, like, future, stop it. Stop it. Okay. Unless you're talking like future earning potentials after school, unless you're talking about, hey, we're going to start more startups than you quicker than you can think of. And even then you might not want to talk that talk to Stanford. What are you doing, brother? You play at Berkeley. I a thousand percent agree with Zach.

You know, there are certain schools, hey, sit there and eat your food. Cal is one of them. Not only did Cal have to go to a conference 12 hours away in ACC, but Zach forgot to mention, they're taking a reduced cut. They're coming in literally saying, the ACC basically looked at y'all and said, well, it's 2 a.m.,

the bar's closing down, and you're the only person left. Come on, I guess. You know, and I'm not saying we've all been there because some of us make better life decisions than that. I'm not going to say which side of that fence I'm on, but you never want to be there. You never want to be that person getting picked last.

It's the ugliest and nastiest thing there is, and Cal ended up being that. So maybe, just maybe, maybe do something special beyond have uh deshaun jackson on the cover of a game what over a decade ago as as your school's latest highlight in football just saying guys last week we laughed and laughed that the lock the level two lock of the week was west virginia plus 20 and a half and west West Virginia did not cover 20 and a half. We all had it right, but we take it back to our betting experts. We heard earlier from locked on Ole Miss host,

Steven Willis on why he thought the rebels would cover and Lee Sterling, your boy Q locked on bets. They see this matchup with Tulane and Ole Miss a little bit differently. What the f***? WTF. How about a top 25 matchup between Ole Miss and Tulane? Both teams come in 1-0 on the young season. FanDuel.com. Line on this one. Ole Miss minus 7.5 versus Tulane. Break this one down for us, Lee.

Tulane has been thinking about this game. It's what I call the circle game since they lost 61-21 in 2021. Popular pick last week of handicappers around the country was for South Alabama to knock off Tulane. People don't realize Willie Fritz, amazing coach. He coaches these kids up. They don't get in trouble. They do it the right way. They develop and they have a home field advantage. How about this? Last four seasons, they're 16 and four, 16-4 against the spread here at home. Ole Miss can't stop decent offenses,

and when Michael Pratt, the Tulane quarterback, is healthy, he is one of the best college quarterbacks in the country. He's our emotional leader here, and it's going to be sold out. They built this small stadium, like 30-something thousand, and every seat will be sold. I think it's going to be a great game, but seven and a half points at home? Way too much.

I think Ole Miss escapes 34-31, but I'll take the points here in the green wave. Oh, man! Yeah, I love it. 30,000 people sell out. Yeah, that'll get Ole Miss here. Half the fans are going to be Ole Miss fans. My level five lock of the week, I'll put my toe on it.

Give me the Ole Miss Rebels minus six and a half. I think our entire panel is going to agree. I mean, I already said it earlier, so I can't disagree, Drake. I did say earlier I think Ole Miss covers. I think their talent is going to let them pull away in the fourth quarter. So do you put the toe back on if Mississippi State covers? Like how does that work? I do.

I get a toe back. I get a toe back. I don't know if rigor mortis was set in in the toe by that point. I don't even know what that means, Kenton. I don't even know if they're using French words now. What are we doing here? Fair enough. This is America.

I'll speak American. And I'm going to speak some very plain, locked-on, level-8 host talk here. The truth is, I don't know why our locked-on bets guys want to cost these people money. I don't know what's going on. I don't know if they got an inside deal with FanDuel or something. Like, hey, we'll feed them bad info. You know, y'all put a little extra in our pot. But, boy, I'll tell you what.

I don't see – again, is it possible? Is there a world in the multiverse where Tulane makes this, that type of game? Sure. But I think the most likely outcome here is that Ole Miss, Tulane plays them close. They keep it close. But Ole Miss just pulls away late, and they pull away enough to where they come. I love it. Two-minute warning, guys.

30 seconds. Dono, your biggest take this weekend. My biggest take this weekend is that I don't hear Miami getting a whole lot of respect. I mean, I guess it's not too surprised that the locked-on Aggies host is going to pick Texas A&M to cover. Chris Gordy, he's caping up for the SEC. He's got Texas A&m covering no problem um i am really really curious to see how that game between miami and texas a&m plays out at 3 30 p.m tomorrow at hard rock stadium but um you know this reminds me we had a conversation about colorado and all the

new scholarship players 30 seconds dono all right well miami's got a much different roster this year and i think it's going to be a much much different game kenton gibbs he cut into your time 28 seconds sec this is your weekend to redeem yourself out of conference if y'all get embarrassed by the power five conferences you play again y'all got to change the slogan it can't just mean more if y'all are sitting up here losing to unc getting whooped on by Florida State, losing to Miami, losing to everybody and their mama, Utah, without Cam Rising. And don't cut me off, Brandon.

You can't have that and say it means more. Boom. The Big 12. Texas Tech beats Oregon. Baylor beats Utah. Texas beats Alabama. A trifecta to cover up a terrible weekend last weekend. And I'm not biased. Neither is Alex Dono of Locked On Canes.

Kenton Gibbs of Locked On ACC. And I'm Drake Toll of Locked On Big 12. This has been College Football Kickoff Live. Thank you for making your lunchtime listen every single Friday.