The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - College Football Reaction: Playoff Bracket Should Be Re-seeded, Bill Belichick Interested in UNC? Alabama Left Out

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

College football reaction is presented by JLab! Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the College Football Playoff bracket and the top storylines from college football.  They start with Alabama not making into the playoff and why they aren’t losing any sleep over that decision (3:15). They dissect the College Football Playoff bracket and argue that it needs to be re-seeded after the conference championships (6:30). They break down why it was unfair for Oregon and Ohio State to get punished with difficult routes to the championship while Penn State ended up with a glide path through the first two rounds.  They preview the Texas vs Clemson matchup and identify the glaring issues with both teams (12:30, discuss whether Bill Belichick’s interest in coaching at North Carolina is legit (20:00) and why the transfer portal might be hurting player development (23:30).  Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #Herd  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Their price points, really good. All right, it's time for our Sunday collaboration. John Middlkoff, former NFL scout with the Philadelphia Eagles, has the three-and-out podcast. All right, let's talk college football. The 12-team playoff has come out. Listen, let's get the one thing out of the way. I think Bama is better than SMU.

But Bamba does. doesn't have an argument. I watched them get completely shelled against a Oklahoma team that was two and six in conference with like a minus 79 point differential in conference. Oklahoma was a bad team and they got, I mean, literally, overrun by them. So I don't have any problem. Again, the regular season has to mean something. Yes, Bama's beaten more good teams. If Bama got in, I wouldn't lose any sleep of SMU did not. But I felt the same way. both ways. I would have taken probably a Bama, but SMU, after a really hard-fought loss, kind of felt like the move. And I also think, listen, Bama's not consistent enough to be a national

champion. SMU is not going to be a national champion. SMU may be a better story. It's better for the sport, big picture. I don't think anybody on the heels of Alabama's, you know, 15-year dynasty is losing sleep because they don't get in. I don't disagree, but if I was part of the SEC, here's what I would say. College football, I mean, based on the numbers, has never been more popular. Yeah. Like more people consistently have never watched more. And the SEC ratings have been insane. So we are carrying the popularity of the sport as a conference and have carried the sport really for a long time now. And we only get three teams in. That's where you can just see them, even if it is justified as it is in this situation. All these teams, Ole Miss, lost to Kentucky.

If any of these SEC teams is 10 and 2, they are easily in over SMU, we all agree. Yeah. But, like, we want guarantees, and this is where I think college football is going to go. If I'm the Big Ten, who the SEC is carrying college football with the ratings, the ACC is simply not. Like, I want to know because getting into the playoffs is very financial, viable, viable for the conference. Right. Right. That's the same thing with the NCAA tournament.

And now we only get three. We only get one difference. Like the difference of us in the SEC and the ACC is one team. That seems crazy. Yeah. Like I watch an unhealthy amount of college football. The gap between the two. Huge.

It's Grand Canyon wide. So even if you could justify it records and everything, that's a big picture problem for me if I'm great. Thank you. Yeah, I get it. We need some assurances. And this is where like the NFL, you know, what do tiebreakers go? Conference record.

It's impossible to do tiebreakers and everything. thing in college football because the SEC goes, my eight and four, what is that worth in the, in the ACC? Am I 10 and two in the ACC? Like, my big 12, Arizona State's an incredible story. What would their record be if I put them playing LSU, Bama, Ole Miss? Oh, yeah, Arkansas. You know, so it's, it's not apples to apples at all. And that's the hard part. I think we all agree on that, even if we go, yeah, SMU deserves it. But it's like, it's a little out of whack. Now, it's first year, I'm not going to complain that much. I don't feel that bad. And I think the committee wanted Alabama, because I do think Alabama, the needle moves a little more when you got Alabama

playing, because whose SMU is playing Penn State? Yeah. Alabama Penn State is just a better television product. Yeah. So here's the one that really cracked me up. So the regular season, the committee said the regular season matters. We're not going to give Bama three losses, two of which are Mulligans, Vandy and Oklahoma. But yet in Oregon has the most impressive regular season and arguably the most impressive championship game performance. George is up there as well. They get the winner of the Tennessee Ohio State game,

which is a team capable of winning the national championship. Then they could face Texas than Georgia. How did Penn State get an easier route? They lost it home to Ohio State and got hammered by Oregon. I think they have, now they play another game. I think they have a much easier route. then Oregon. I thought Oregon kind of got hosed. Yeah, to me, them copying the basketball bracket where you're forced to play team instead of the NFL bracket where you recede by the round.

To me, you've got to change football-wise, reseed by the round. Yes, yes. Because Oregon has the only undefeated team, clearly if you just watch the best team in the second best conference. And they get stuck with Ohio State Tennessee. That seems pretty outrageous. I thought so. Because if they could pick. the opponents, I think there's a decent chance that Ohio State would be the last opponent

they would want to play. Maybe Notre Dame second, Tennessee would be high up there too. Like the SMUs, the Clemsons, you got a receipt. Now, this is where I'm not going to freak out year one. Same. You got to figure it out. But you cannot keep this. How can Boise and ASU potentially get easier opponents than Oregon?

Well, I mean, Penn State. Now, I think they would say Oregon's going to play the Rose Bowl. like that's where their game's going to be. I think in the like their home game. So it's kind of regionality. But playing Ohio State potentially, that's pretty different. Yeah, and Ohio State will fill half that stadium. I mean, Penn State gets SMU and Boise State.

I mean, potentially. It's like, Jesus. The biggest game of the year at home, they lost to Ohio State. And, I mean, they got pushed around. I mean, they could not stop Oregon. I just thought Penn State. And I understand punishing. If you flip Penn State and Ohio State in the playoff, I think it's more fair.

Now, Ohio State, again, the Michigan loss was not only bad, not only at home, but it made you question the entire program. Like when Penn State lost Ohio State, you didn't question the program. You're like, well, Ohio State's better. That Michigan, I mean, listen, if you want to ask yourself who's getting punished, it's Ohio State. I think Tennessee is the sleeper national championship. picking this thing. I thought Herbstree had a good point during the show when they released the bracket of, you know, Ohio State maybe would rather go on the road because a couple early

three and outs, maybe you're down seven nothing, 10 nothing, that place will turn on you fast because that group's edgy. That group's already pissed off. Yeah. Like in a weird way at 10 and 2 hosting a playoff game is a major disappointment. Yeah. You know, watching that game last night, I thought it was so insane. that Clemson is now in the playoffs

and Miami's just long gone even though all season Miami was like a top five or six team and then Penn State my takeaway with Penn State Oregon's tough and that's their skill group is better top to bottom I think Penn State has their front seven full NFL guys best tied in in the country

they have a one two running back combination quarterback a little all over the map but he is extremely talented and you saw a couple passes where you, whoa, that's a top 10 pick. And then you saw a couple other passes, you're like, that's a six-rounder. Right. But you never really know what you're going to get with them.

But they have a lot of talent on their team. Like to me, if the quarterback has a B-plus, A-minus game, they could play with most anyone in this tournament. I'm with you on Tennessee. Their defensive lines really good. Yes. And what's Ohio State's problem right now? Well, they're offensive.

He's had a guy terrible Achilles. They've missing. That could be a rough. I'm telling you, that plays. start booing if it's like 10-0 in the second quarter. The weather forecast for this weekend in Columbus is 40 degrees and wet. It's not playing to a finesse down-the-field team. So Will Howard, who's been hot and cold in big games, it's 40 degrees, the pressure's on,

you'll be favored. And Tennessee D-line and Ohio State O'Line, if you're forced to run the ball against Tennessee, that's got a 17-13 field to it. That's not going to be a high-scoring game in my life. opinion. One thing that's going to be, you know, for the most part in college, you get a couple, and you hammered this home when they went, when the West Coast teams got in the Big Ten. There aren't as many cold weather games as you think.

In the NFL, there are. Why? They play all through December, through January. Yeah. College football usually ends home games the last week in November. And then they go to warm weather bowls. That's right. So that's where this changed because they don't, they're playing in two weeks, right?

and it's Friday night, Saturday night, at South Bend and at Ohio State, which makes sense. I mean, two of the biggest brands. Those are going to get huge ratings. Plus, the NFL play Saturday. So it gets a little lost in the shuffle, you know, like Texas, the Texas game and the Penn State game are going up against like Raven Steelers. So, you know, but those two night games are going to be by themselves. It could be really cold. Yep.

I mean, it's, so it's going to have one thing with playoff football, even with the, best teams, it's usually not 35 to 30 scores, right? It's usually lower scoring. You can't, you can't feel your hands. I mean, you could have a game in two weeks at Ohio State with, couldn't it be 27 degrees or Notre Dame? It could be freezing cold. Okay, let's talk Clemson at Texas. I really like Texas in that spot. But I'm watching that game against Georgia. Georgia gets their quarterback knocked out. And suddenly, forced to run in the second half, they found their run gig. There was a, when they went to overtime and the Texas series, they do, they throw the ball

out of the end zone, then they do a fade pattern, and then they throw it out in the flat against, you know, Georgia's linebackers and corners or NFL guy. I mean, Georgia's got a first round safety, a first round corner, a first round defensive end. It's like, you're not going to beat in the flat. You're not going to be Georgia for the last eight years. I thought, For an offensive coach, Sark, I hated the overtime Texas play calling. I thought it was awful. Listen, I've been one of his biggest critics. I will defend him.

I don't think he trusts his quarterback at all. And I don't blame him because I don't think he's very good. And early on in that game, when actually he wasn't playing that bad and Georgia was a little show shock, instead of being up 17 to 3, it's 6 to 3. Yeah. And then as the game went on, I thought Uers became much. much more to who he's kind of become this season as very, very average. Yes.

And he's just not an explosive player. He's not a good playmaker. That's a great line. He's a former scout. You're nailing it. When I watch him, he's not an explosive player. No, he's just, he's not a playmaker. Like you watch one thing Bryce Young, his comeback story, he's starting to make plays.

Yes. Right. Most decent quarterbacks can make throw a slant route or an out route from the pocket. But half the plays you're going to have to scramble. You're going to have to move. You're going to have to throw in the run. You might have to break a tackle. And you watch Quinn Ewers, he cannot do any of that.

So as the game goes on, what does George do? They start getting pressure on him. He starts getting sacked. He's not a very dynamic guy. Carson Beck, like one thing when the other guy, Gunner Stockton, what an incredible name, by the way, comes in. He is so mobile that he can just keep plays alive. They don't have that.

Texas does have that with Archmanning. Now, I don't know if Sark believes he's as good of a papyr. right now is Quinn Ewers, clearly by not playing him. You've already paid Quinn the NIL, but I think they have no shot to win the national championship with him at quarterback. You remove him if every team just has the same quarterback. Like whatever, every, if you put all 12 teams equal quarterback, Texas has as good of a chance to win the national championship as anybody.

You watch Oregon last night, that little quarterback looked like Tua did at Alabama. I mean, some of the throws he was making us like, this guy is playing quarterback in college better than all these guys. Yeah. Yeah, I think. And that's a huge advantage. Obviously, Oregon has really good skill guys better than Georgia. You watch Bowers. I mean, he's making, they miss Bowers and McConkey, but still,

Dylan Gabriel right now is playing the best at quarterback for all these teams, even though Georgia, Texas, like they have a bunch of talent, but their quarterback plays shitty. Yeah, and it's really interesting. When I watch Georgia, they have an incredible defensive lineman, McAil Williams. they have a great safety. When I watched Georgia, I mean, they're running backs last night. They're bringing in second, third, fourth.

They are running. That second half, it was violent. They are running over guys. You know, in Texas, I know they have a bunch of good players, and Kelvin Banks, who got hurt is a really, really good tackle. But it's funny,

when I watched Michigan win the Natty last year, they had Will Johnson at Corner, Mason Graham, Blake Corum, J.J. McCarthy. They had about six players. that even in a game against Ohio State, you're like, wow, those are great players. Georgia's national championship teams. It can be Pickens, Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, it can be one of, you know, Jalen Carter.

Jalen Carter. Jalen Carter. Yeah. In Bama. Ohio State has four or five guys like that, many at receiver. Caleb Downs for Ohio State, the kid they got from Bama, he'll be the number one pick next year. He's an insane generational talent. When I watch Texas, this is weird, John.

they got a bunch of good players. But I watched that offense, and I'm like, they have good backs. They have good receivers. I don't see a lot of wow. And I know it's a really good roster. But if you look at national championship teams, Michigan last year, Georgia teams, you know, when Clemson was winning, you'd have like a Mike Williams, you'd have a Trevor Lawrence, you'd have a linebacker that you're like, oh, okay, that's different.

Even in the game against Bama, that player's different. ATM, the running back for Clemson. I look at Texas, and I know this sounds crazy because their recruiting's been great, but I just don't see enough, wow. I see very good everywhere, but they couldn't score against Texas A&M. They can't move the ball against George in the first half. That's with Sark and an NFL quarterback and the best left tackle in the sport. Yeah, they should be able to run the ball better.

Number 26, I mean, he should average like 100 yards a game. I mean, that's one element. I mean, I think sometimes the depth this gets back to these top teams are not 10 deep. Like they don't go, you know, back to back. Their backup offensive line are not future pros. And that's where I think when you look at these former teams, Clemson in their heyday in the late teens, beating Alabama, they were going too deep with pros getting drafted. Yes. Sabin's team forever.

The last of Kirby, like this version of Kirby's teams, relative to the back, don't even have anything in common. Right. I think Michigan's team last year would easily win the national championship again. Easily. Even Washington last year that lost in the Natty. I mean, you were looking at Roma Dunzee, Michael Pennix, they're receiving core. Up and down, they had a right tackle and an interior offensive lineman. You were like, you could just tell this is like eight really good players.

Team was real. And I think is that a little bit why, you know, at first of the first of the first of, First, I thought Belichick was just interviewing with North Carolina to just, you know, it's like the guy who's trying to impress the girl and brings another girl to the party to get people to notice them. You just want to show NFL teams like, hey, I'm talking to people. And then you start reading, like, what if he realizes it actually might be a little easier in college because the parity is there. Yeah. And it's not like, I'm not at a huge disadvantage most of the time. And you watch in college football, like, like you said, Tennessee is a good value.

You could say Notre Dame, if the quarterback just said, all these teams, would it shock you like, in theory, Oregon. is the best team, but then you look at the bracket how hard it's going to be. Plus. I don't take Boise and ASU seriously. I expect both them to get knocked out. But I would say of all the SEC and the Big Ten, like Indiana, they'll be won and done.

But I think, you know, Georgia could win any game, could lose any game. Texas could easily be like, I could see them look like shit. Yeah. Who knows? I mean, I think it's all on the table, which makes this tournament pretty intriguing. Maybe the Transfer Portal and the NIL spreading out

makes the 12-team bracket even that much more intriguing because back in the day, you put a Pete Carroll USC, a Nick Sab in their heyday, they would kick the shit out of all these teams. Wouldn't even be fun. Yeah, no, I think that's the benefit of the transfer portal is that nobody has depth, even the top teams. Just you lose a left tackle at Ohio State, then you move a guard to left tackle, then your interior lineman gets hurt, you get weak, you have a unit that is a liability very quickly

in college football now. Do you think I haven't heard your take on the Belichick, North Carolina? Do you think that's more just trying to prove or do you think there's some real substance behind that? I think he wants to get his son the job. His son's at Washington. I think he wants to get his son ahead coaching job. And I think Bill is so big on the East Coast. People out West don't care, but people out East do.

I don't think he would have to have an incredibly young collegiate staff, which I'm not sure he has the patience for. I just don't know if he has the patience. You know, Bill was always the grinder. It was always sacrificed for the team. Shit, kids aren't sacrificing. Now, they'll bounce in a second. Now, do I think schematically, I mean, Charlie Weiss was schematically excellent. He just couldn't recruit.

He just didn't want to get out there. Bill's not going to, you know, Bill will do some private jet stuff, but Bill, Bill's not going to be on the road. He views himself as he should as a different level. Andy Reid, again, is a funnier guy, a more social guy. I don't think he'd want to be on the road recruiting. Did you see Albert Breer's report about how many homes? Dion Sanders has been in the last 18 months.

Uh-uh. Zero. Because in this day and age, they used to have rules. Like when I worked at Fresno State, only like six or seven of your guys were eligible to go recruit and go into someone's home. Now there are no rules. Anyone, you could hire a recruiting staff, you know, former players that just go recruit. You don't have to go into homes anymore. And it makes sense.

Like when I saw, they technically had like a. early recruiting signing day a couple days ago, right? And some of these kids were saying like, you know, this guy just recruited me. No, you got paid the most money. The game is completely changed. And maybe Bill, who views it much more from a strategic business mindset of like, hey, if you give me 10 plus million in NIL funds, I feel I have a pretty good idea.

I can bring a couple of my guys from the NFL to figure out how to allocate this pie. I'll pick the players. And maybe he views it much more, because it is, it has much more of an NFL feel. Now the difference is like when I sign you to a three-year deal, you're under contract. Right. You know, in college, these guys, as someone texts me around college, he's like, if you've noticed some of these random teams, and I didn't, did a kid just won't play the last couple weeks?

You know, on a team that's like going to be six and six, they'll just be sick. Yeah. Well, they're transferring. Yeah. And they'll just go to the coach on Wednesday or Thursday of like week 11 when the team's not going anywhere. And like, coach, I just don't feel great. I'm out. And that's happening all over the play.

Before, I mean, that guy would just keep playing. I said this before about like Kyle McCord transferring. In the history of the sport, Kyle McCord just would have been Ohio State's quarterback again. And what if he just would have taken the next step? And all of a sudden, Ohio State was 12 and 0 in the number one seat. But instead, they kick him out. Everyone's so quick to move. We're in the NFL.

Sometimes you just have to keep a guy because you drafted him high and he improved. Yeah. And now in college, you know, coaches and players are just so quick to like point the finger at the other guy. and bounce or basically cut them. And it reflects when you watch these teams because, listen, the games are still fun. But you can feel that these teams aren't as good, the high-end teams as they've been. Oh, no, no, I mean. I don't even think, like, is this the best Oregon team in the last 15 years?

I don't think so. I don't think so. No, I mean, the other thing is players in college are leaving now, and it's not that they're not productive. USC just lost a kid Sam Green. He was playing a ton. He was, I think he was a red shirt freshman or a freshman. He was playing a ton. Somebody offered him more money. Bottom line, somebody played USC and went, you know, could be a Penn State. The kids from that part of the country. So kids aren't even disgruntled. They're leaving. You're getting cherry-picked. Penn State could go, hey, we're losing like all of our, we're losing four really good guys up front. That Sam Green kid, we lost out to USC. Let's just go buy him. So a guy doesn't even have to be disgruntled. It's, it's, can you imagine the NFL if you didn't have contracts? And you're like, let's just make a bid on, you know, a great left tackle. You know, one thing I was talking to a buddy that says,

said that the top end of this draft is not very good. It's not. And I said, isn't that a back-to-back a couple years now where it's just, it doesn't feel loaded with guys? Are we concerned? Like, do we have any theories? And I started thinking, I wonder if guys now bouncing left and right, you don't develop as you used to just being in a program for three or four years, consistent practice, consistent training. Well, now guys are just mercenaries on the move. The other thing is more guys are playing baseball. Moms don't want their kids to play football. Now, it doesn't matter in the or Texas or maybe Pennsylvania. But there is lower high school football turnout.

And a lot of these great athletes are looking at these baseball contracts and going, you guys get 10-year baseball contracts. So I think it's the mom. You know, moms are like, hey, I don't want my son playing football. And I'm not picking on moms. That's just been discussed, right? Like that's been. But is the O-line D-line doing that?

You know, are six-foot-six, 300-pound guys playing baseball? Well, I still think. They just don't exist. I still think there's a lot of good football players. And again, for sure. I think high school football turnout has decreased. And by the way, the NFL smartly 10 years ago, I talked about this on my show, targeted moms in their ads.

About 10 years ago, the NFL was around that CTE stuff. Remember, when that was getting the big payouts for CTE, the NFL pivoted and said, hey, we have to make sure that both parents are into football. And by the way, it has worked. It is remarkable. The number of women who love football, it's half the league's fans. It's like 50-50 last time I looked. So this has been a point, a real distinction.

The NFL has tried to own the household. You know, not just dad and dad loves it. Nope, that's not what it is anymore. They want everybody. And I think that's part of it. And the other thing is, to your point, I think players aren't as devout. I think, listen, it's like anything else. If you're bouncing around for money and not management, you're never going to be quite as good.

I don't care if it's an AI or tech or football. If you had four bosses in six years, I mean, one of the real, look at you at our company. You just keep developing, getting bigger, bigger, bigger. Part of it is the salespeople know John. It takes a year or two for the salespeople to get aligned. And we know you. And then we can build your YouTube page. Everything takes growth.

You know, my first couple years at IHeart Radio. weren't as good as the last four. Everything. It's a hierarchy you have to build. It's a staff you have to build. So to your point, when some of these players are bouncing around, a lot of times they get the money and they get a worse coach. They get a worse position coach.

It's Brady's point that he hammers nonstop. Like going through some challenges in college is a healthy thing. Like you learn a lot about yourself and improve because in the NFL, it's really hard. Yeah. So it's easy to get in the tank. Yep. Look at Bryce Young, who I would have bet against falling off a cliff. He was mentally prepared for the challenges why he had spent three years next to Nick.

Yep. You know, and who knows? You know, back in this modern day to, you know, Jalen. I don't know, Jalen transferred at the end to Oklahoma, but he was there for a couple years, essentially, with the backup going back and forth. That had to benefit all those guys. Yep. No question about it.

All right. John Midlakov, former NFL scout. three and out podcast on a stacked weekend. Good stuff. Thanks, buddy. Talk to you soon, Colin. The volume. All of these college football reactions presented by J-Lab, I'm wearing my J-Lab earbuds right now, they're awesome.

They have the best audio products in the game. They're ready to take care of you this football season. Okay, whether you're traveling to watch your favorite team play or just streaming the game at home, find the blue box. That's how I first found it at an airport, Logan Airport in Boston. Find the blue box at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and More, or just visit jaylab.com. Their price points, really good. Hey, guys, it's us.

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We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. you just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to,

he's like, you know I love you, dog, you know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is.

Getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akila Hughes. And Rebel Spirit, season two, is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city in which there were more homages

to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.