PTI - UNC's Dud Performance, CFB Week 1 Recap

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss Bill Belichick & UNC, Week 1 of College Football, and Micah Parsons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's been more than a month since we have worked together, Tony. Did you miss me?

I'm Tony Kornheiser. I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name. Well, it's not Pablo. It's not Pablo? No. Not Frank? No.

Not Mina? No. I'm running out of names. Give me a hint. Not Stephen A. Not Greeny. No. Wilbon.

Oh. It's Wilbon. Welcome to PTI, Boars and Girls on today's episode, Art Struggles. Micah gets traded. Naomi Osaka may be back. But the pros from Dover are back. And we begin today with the debut of Bill Belichick as head coach at North Carolina.

It started out great. Carolina drove right down the field for a touchdown, then held TCU 3 and out. And that was all the Carolina highlights. The game ended 4814 TCU. It's the most points a Belichick team has ever given up in 511 games. Wilbon, what did you see?

not much from North Carolina wow that was stunning the mistakes the glaring mistakes that you don't need to watch the film 300 times or the 11 on 11 to see you can watch your TV and see picks going the other way for six

fumbles it can't be recovered missed blocks blown tackles you can see all that with the naked eye and so a Bill Belichick team doing that and giving up that many points which had never happened in his career That was stunning, Tony. And then afterward to sort of read, I was sort of trying to read some of the reaction.

And hearing the reaction, there seems to be some resentment of NFL coaches. And it coalesced around Belichick for maybe college coaches who are saying, okay, really? You're that great? You're going to come in and dominate our game? Maybe not. And so I wonder, like, is this just one game or is this something to pay more attention of with North Carolina? So if you asked me, what did I see?

I saw a game that at a football school, a football school, people would be on the phone calling their friends saying, what's the buyout? What's the buyout? You like Alabama and we'll get to that. And we'll get to that. And we will get to that. Right.

So, I mean, Belichick presented himself the way he always presents himself. He's on the sideline. He's, you know, got that stoic look on his face and he's got the sleeves cut on a sweatshirture. But his team did not present itself in the way that the great New England teams presented themselves. After that first drive, there was no offense. They had the kind of offense that the Patriots had after Brady left

and drove Belichick out of New England. And defense was terrible, and he's a defensive guy. So by the end of the game, I'm looking and I'm saying, well, he doesn't look stoic anymore. It looks like, get me out of here. Now, it's one game. Yeah. You know, it's just one game.

And you have to take that into consideration, the same thing as you have to do with Arch Manning. It's just one game. They have a very young team. They have 70 new players. They have all new coaches and 70 new players. So it takes time to jail. Now, it's possible.

And I know you think this too. It's possible Carolina is terrible. Yeah. But it's also possible that they get better. They have a very easy schedule. It's possible. The TCU. It's real good.

It's real good again. So they have UNC Charlotte, which is easy. They have Richmond, which is easy. And by the way, in the ACC. In the A.C. No, but they don't. They don't get Clemson. The good teams are Miami is a good team.

And Florida State may be good. And Clemson is usually good. and SMU is good. They only have to play Clemson, so they get a break in the schedule. I tell you, the thing they got to me is knowing how long I covered a lot of college football, knowing how long halftime is,

which is about a half an hour. You can go out and shop for groceries at halftime of a college football game. That's where Belichick always was lauded is doing his best work, and they come out, and TCU goes right down the field. That got me. I just thought, what was it, 20 to 7, maybe at halftime?

and I'm thinking, okay, Belichick's going to be Belichick at halftime. They're going to climb back in this game, and they did. But I can't stress this enough. North Carolina is not a football school. It's a basketball school. And he filled the gym. They're not firing him if he goes 0 and 11. That's not going to happen.

Now, I would see him different tune if that was Uber Davis's first game. But it isn't. He's still stunning. Let's move now to the rest of college football's week one slate. Arch Manning, Underwood. and Texas's loss at Ohio State. Florida State ran all over the previously mentioned Alabama. Notre Dame's fourth quarter rally fell short at Miami.

And LSU held on to be Clemson at, well, maybe Death Valley. The other one. Yeah. So there was a whole lot going on. What was your biggest takeaway from week one? So normally I would sit here and I would say it's Ohio State beating Texas because you have reputedly the number one team this year in Texas, goes to Ohio State, which was the defending national champion from last year.

You have the prime time debut of Arch Manning. And so it's got everything. Now, even though it's a dull game and even though Ohio State wins just by seven at home, and even though, as you say, Manning is underwhelming, normally we would say that's the biggest deal. Because it's one versus two. But that's not the biggest story. The biggest story is Alabama. Alabama losing.

Alabama losing to Florida State, which was two and ten last year. Yeah. Alabama now in its last 10 games, 5 and 5. These are numbers unheard of with Nick Sabin. And one of those is probably against Samford. Nick Sabin coaches 230 games at Alabama and four times loses to unranked teams. Kaelin DeBore has now coached 14 games as the fourth time. He's also an unranked team.

So I will sit here and say Alabama is not North Carolina. No. Alabama is a football school. Kailin DeBore is in trouble. And if the buyout isn't $70 million, he might be. walk in the streets tonight. Yeah, because Alabama doesn't have those Texas A&M oil field that every alum at A&M seems to have and is happy to write a check himself or herself for $70 billion. Hello, Jimbo Fisher. That's right. But Tony, so let's go back to the Ohio

State Texas game for a second. Here's what stood out to me week one and all the days leading up to week one. I don't want mass media, major media networks, including people that we like to call our friends to just ruin the watching of college football for me, the consumption of college football by exaggerating the hell out of everything. By overstating everything, Arch Manning is not Peyton or Eli or Archie just yet. Just let him simmer a little bit. Jeremiah Smith. He is not Jerry Rice just yet. I heard somebody who I probably like a lot saying, probably somebody I covered, say he's the best college football player I've ever seen. You know what my recommendation would be

then watch more college football over the last 50 years? Because he ain't the best I've seen. He's made some great catches and things that make you go woo. But can we just stop? The greatest weekend of it. I mean, all of it is just slobbered over

It was a fabulous opening weekend in terms of games. In terms of matchups. We intended to see that and we didn't get it. Yeah. Right? The Miami Notre Dame game kind of lived up to it. LSU Clemson has some... Give LSU some credits.

I think that's the first time that Brian Kelly has won at LSU in the opener. It was impressive. Yeah, yeah. Can we just let the season grow a little bit? Do you want to talk at all about Northwestern and Tulane and Jake Ratz up going from BYU to Tulane? I don't.

Did that happen? You didn't watch that, did you? I couldn't watch it. I don't have that... I don't have screaming for that kind of stuff. Let's move to the NFL. And Micah Parsons now playing for Green Bay. Parsons has practiced a little bit,

There are reports he will take an injection, if needed, to play against the Lions on Sunday. Wilbon, let's look at the trading of Michael Parsons. Yeah. What do you believe this trade will mean for Dallas and Green Bay? Wow. I think it sets, obviously, Dallas back a couple of steps this season right now. And even if you turn those two picks, and even if the defensive tackle you got from Detroit, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, from Green Bay.

Helps you in the run game. Helps you. And by the way, their run game was, we talked. People forget who talk on television. They talk for weeks at a time in the playoffs about Dallas getting run over and then act like they didn't say it or it didn't happen. Is there any accountability for Green Bay? I like your sheriff Wilbon. I like this.

You know, I like that. I come back angry from this thing. It's a combative that somebody in my house calls me. I look at Green Bay and you know I don't want this to work because I'm by birthright. They're going to play the bears twice. Twice. They're going to go after Caleb Williams twice. Okay, so let's block him.

Because here's what happened with Dallas with him in the lineup. I know their rating defensively was as high as they can get with him on the field. I get it. I get that he and Reggie White are the only two people to do something together with sacks, a number of in their first four seasons. But here's what Dallas didn't do. They didn't do a damn thing in the postseason. So if he's that great and rarely is a player that great, even a quarterback,

where's he in the postseason? What do he do? What do he do? He didn't do anything in the postseason. Now, I think he'll be better for the Packers because the Packers are a better organization in the Dallas Cowboys, and that's what I fear. So I just want to say that within 10 minutes of that trade,

I got this text, which I will quote, Nico Harrison is no longer the worst GM in Dallas, unquote, which is funny. It's not quite true because trading Luca Donchich is actually worse than this, but this is pretty bad. And it's all at the feet of Jerry Jones. It's all at the field. The statistic you are quoting,

that is out there is that when Parsons was on the field, they had statistically the best defense in the NFL, and when he wasn't on the field, it was the worst. If that's true, what are you doing? You can't actually do that. You and I had this conversation, though, contemporaneously of the trade. We were both watching independently of one another,

the NFL network. And we saw the beat writer. Well, I did not a beat writer, but the beat person, beat reporter on Dallas. She is there every single. day. She's not, as you would say, one of these guys who played in the NFL 15 years ago and floats into

a talk show without any real knowledge of Dallas now, right now. She's there every single day. And she said, and both of us made note of this, that there were a significant amount of people on Dallas who did not think that Michael Parsons was committed to that team and are not that

sorry that he's gone. Now, I'm sure. That's not familiar coming out of Dallas? Yeah. Came out about the other guy, too. I'm certain. I'm We'll see. He's a great, I wouldn't make the trade. He's a great player. He would be better for the Packers.

I wouldn't have it. And now Reggie White, the difference is. Reggie White was great in Philly and he was great in Green Bay. I thought your head would explode because of this, because they'd have to play the Bears twice. Let's see him do something first. He has sacked the quarterback. He hurries him. He rushes him.

He hits him. But let's see that make the difference. Is Green Bay ready for that? Let's take a break. When we come back, what are the chances that Wilbon's former neighbor Kyle Schwarber wins the NLMVP. And Naomi Osaka. My faith.

Yeah, you like her. Knocks out Cocoa Golf to reach the quarters at the open. You know, I think you like her too much. No. I mean, no. I'm just saying that's what I think. She's the best out there at her best. She's the best out there.

No, no, no. Okay. Pardon the interruption is brought to you by ESPN Fantasy Football. The number one fantasy game. Download the ESPN fantasy app. to play today. Trying to find out what's on the minds of the masses and mail times. Let me see what's first.

Go to my glasses here. Here we go. Masses stayed with us. Naomi Osaka beat Cocoaft to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Is the bigger story here, Osaka or golf? Osaka. And I'm not rooted against golf. I usually root for golf.

But golf's not Osaka? Osaka's a better player. Osaka's got four slam championships and they're all on that court. Either the U.S. Open Hard Court or the Australian Open Hard Court. She knows what she's doing. She stopped. She had life things. She had a child.

She's been out of it for four years, and she's not all the way back. But if she does beat Mohova and Ega and Sabalinka, you know I'm going to go nuts. Because I love a soccer. She's my favorite player, maybe ever. She is great. She's 5-11, which people don't realize. She can defend when she needs to play defensively. She can go on the attack and hit winner after winter.

She's a better server than golf. People get off golf. Golf can't beat Osaka yet. She's not as good as her. The story is Osaka. So you're right that the story is Osaka. You're right that she's a better player than Goff. She has four majors.

Goff has two. She's 27 Osaka. And if she played regularly, she would be in her prime. She would be in her prime. She has to play regular. She has eight majors. Goff is 21 and has said publicly, let's see how I look in the next three to four years. Fair.

Totally fair. I just want to broaden this out a little bit because I know how much you love Osaka. But I think that right now, and the words right now are very important, I think right now she is not as good a player as Fiantec. She is not as good a player as Sabalanka, over one and two in this tournament. All of her, as you pointed out, all of her majors are on hard court. Yeah. Fiantec has six. Yeah. And on all three surfaces. What surface that they play on are right now? Hard court right now. Okay. Sabalanka, I think, is the most powerful player in the women's game. And has three majors.

Here's what's interesting to me. All three of them have won the U.S. Open. Let's see who bubbles up on this way. Let's see. In New York City, who do you think is going to have a home court advantage in any of those matches, starting with Mohova in New York City? Osaka. Osaka. Okay.

Osaka. I see that even all the way back yet. I haven't expected her to beat all three of them. But if she does, could you see Kyle Schwerber? My boy. Yeah. beating out Shohei for NL MVP. Could I see this? Sure, I could.

Wow. Because Swarber at the moment has 49 home runs. It's numbers. Including four in one game last. He runs batted in. Okay. Shohei has 45 home runs. Yeah.

Swarber has a 119 RBI. 35 more runs batted in. Shohei has 85. Yeah. They both play DH. Yeah. They both lead off. I could see this happening the way that I could see Cal Raleigh beating Judge.

A lot of it is voter fatigue after a while. Now you can, and also, by the way, I should point this out, Philadelphia has a better record than the Dodgers. Game a half, too. But it's better. It's better right now. It's better. So now the other part is you will say to me, well, they have Trey Turner and Bryce Harper, and I will say to you, well, they have Mookie and Bess and Freddie Freeman.

You know, so. I agree with that. So could I see it sure, but there's one question you have to answer for what? How many innings is she? Schwerber going to pitch? Because that's what makes value. Okay, but, you know, Shohay's won it, and he only de-hed.

He didn't pitch a damn inning. That would be last year. But now he's pitching. So Schwerber has something that is surprising. I am biased for my former neighbor. I know. 245. Major League average now in these years with no one is 300.

I don't know what's happened to baseball. Everybody wants to swing and miss. Yeah. The Major League average is 248, I believe. At least it was on the line. So it's not like he's batting 190, which he has done. He's done that Rob Deere thing in the past. That's right.

And Shoahe's hitting 275, 278 is not like it's so. No, I want to see what happens at the entire. Not wide. The 30 RBI. That means you are driving in runs. I don't care how new school you are with your baseball metrics. Don't tell me that a run batted in doesn't count for much because that's garbage. I would vote for Schwabber.

Let me tell me how many innings that. that show hate pitches. Don't give me going to the second inning and he's out. He's pitching more now. I think he went five the other night. Let's take one last break. Coming up, Luke Donnell, Wilbon's boy.

Northwestern Zone makes his captain's pick for the European Riders Cup team. This was on that team, too. And the Giants announced an update to their depth chart at quarterback. You didn't mention, you didn't notice my Carolina Blue tied during the Belichick. Did Bill send you that?

No. Chapel Bill? No, I bought that. Happy time, people. Happy 77th birthday, Terry Bradshaw. The Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was recently in the news for his dismissive comments about new Steelers quarterback Aaron Rogers. Bradshaw grew tired of Rogers playing footsie with the Steelers

without actually signing and suggest that Rogers go home to California and chew on bark. Such a great comment seconded by millions. Bradshaw is much beloved on television and may well be underrated as a quarterback. When the greats of all time are listed, the top is most often. and Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Bradshaw won four Super Bowls. You'd think he'd get a sniff of that list. I dismiss any and everybody.

I don't care how long they played who tried to convince me that Aaron Rogers should be considered a greater quarterback all time. Then Terry Bratcher or John Elway. Stop. Just stop. That's nonsense. Not so happy anniversary, Milt Pappas and Mike Messina.

On this day, both pitchers lost perfect games with two out in the ninth. It happened to Cub starter Pappas 53 years ago when umpire Bruce Freming called balls two, three, and four in a row, putting Padres pinchitter Larry Stahl on first base. Pappas got the no-hitter but cursed at Freming in both English and Greek. On the state 24 years ago while pitching for the Yankees, Messina lost his perfect game. On a high and outside, one and two pitch, the Red Sox pinchitter, Carl Everett, swung at and lined

into left field for a hit. Messina got the shutout but walked off the field disappointed, saying, quote, I'm going to think about that pitch until I retire, unquote, which he did until 2008. I thought about that bad call on Milk Pappas. I was 13 years old, watched the game live on WGN, haven't forgotten anything about it all these years later. A melancholy trails to George Ravelling.

The Basketball Hall of Famer has died at the age of 88. Ravelling was team captain and assistant coach at Villanova before the DC native assisted Lefty-Drasel at Maryland. He later became the first black head coach in the pack eight at Washington State, Ravelling who also coached at Iowa and USC won three conference coach of the year awards, and has a gold medal as an assistant on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. But Ravelling is most known for two things off the court. One, he helped Nike sign a young player you might know, Wilbon, Michael Jordan,

and two, and somehow more remarkable, he owned the original copy of Martin Luther King Jr.' I have a dream speech, which King gave to Ravelling just eight. after stepping away from the mic at the 1963 March on Washington. Ravling later donated that speech to his alma mater of Illinois. I'm very lucky as a sports writer to have had many a meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner, which I always tried to put on an expense account, with George Ravelling. Yeah.

And George Ravling, John Thompson, and John Cheney, you have to consider them almost as a package, though they competed against each other. They changed basketball. They changed the dynamic of race in basketball. They changed my life. George Raffling, there was no one, and you know this better to sit around the lobby with and listen to stories than George Ravling. It is always, I knew this before about the Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech.

I've known this for years. It's one of the most important speeches in the history of the country, and he just gave it. He just gave it to George Ravling. It's an incredible story that it happened the way it did. Nobody better than George to have had it all those. What's amazing. Let's go to the big finish if we could. Matthew Stafford will start.

against the Texas despite an aggravated disc in his back. Your thoughts? I know he missed the first month of training camp. He said Matt Staff. He knows how to play. It would be fine, I think. The Giants listed Jackson Dart as the backup quarterback ahead of James Winston.

Does that matter? I think it's the right call. I watched some of the exhibition games. Jackson Dart looked like he got starred in the league. The Padres reliever Jason Adam blew out a quad. Is that significant? Yes, it is. Even as deep as the Padres bullpin in.

And the Brewers, maybe losing Shelby Miller for a while. He heard something pop. That's not good. Luke Donald made his captain's pick for the European Rider Cup team. You love the choices. Don't. Oberg, Hovlin, Stracham, Maddie Fitz, Shane Lowry, and hello John Rom. That is a squad.

Last one, four-seat Taylor Fritz against seven-seat Novak Djokovic tonight. Who got? I don't know. I'm still waiting for Taylor Fritz. I got to see it. But I got a front-row seat to that one. I'm not missing that. We're out of time.

We will try to do better than next time, Renee. We miss you. We do. I'm Mike Wilbon, same time tomorrow, knuckleheads.