The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - USC & Lincoln Riley are "not dynamic" enough to win Big Ten

Episode Date: August 31, 2024

Colin Cowherd predicts how the USC Trojans will fare in the Big Ten. How will Lincoln Riley's offense look without Caleb Williams at QB? Does Colin believe USC can make the college football playoff? (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit are armed? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume. Let's talk about something really, really important. If you're ever injured, check out Morgan and Morgan to America's largest injury law firm.

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Morgan and Morgan has a proven track record of fighting for you to get a full and fair compensation if there's an unexpected accident in your life. This is a paid advertisement. Well, you know, there are many that claim simply because of my proximity to the University of Southern California that I am a Trojan Homer. Well, these claims, egregious as they are, also took place when I worked at another sports company 3,500 miles away. I will admit that I was a Pact 12 fan growing up, and I've always rooted for the top dog in the Pact 12 to represent my region of the country where I was born and now live. In USC, Oregon and Washington have been the teams in my lifetime when they're really, really good, they can at least vie for a national championship. And so I'm just going to lean into it and give you a little 15-minute season preview. I know this is primarily for you, L.A. peeps.

But for you Big Ten fans now, as the Trojans join the conference, I think I have pretty good access to that program. I've been talking with people today on the phone. So I think schedules are really important for good teams, not nearly as important for great teams. I think Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama are just going to win a lot of games, period, regardless of where they're played. USC will not be a great team. They're too young offensively. They're too thin offensive. and on the D-line to be a great team.

But let's start with their schedule. They got several huge breaks. Ohio State and Oregon, best two teams in the Big Ten, in my opinion, not on the schedule. Penn State, Notre Dame, to me, arguably, two of the top three teams on their schedule

are at home, an LSU neutral field, but in Vegas, closer to the west. That's a break. That is a schedule. break. In fact, the only part of USC schedule that's a bad break is the Nebraska game, which is scheduled in between two rivals, Washington and UCLA. I think USC is better than all three of those teams, but sandwich games are killers. USC, if you go to the last decade, is often played very

poorly before the UCLA game or the Notre Dame game. So Washington and Seattle, UCLA in Southern California, right smack dab in the middle is a very clever head coach Matt Rule, and a Nebraska team I think is underrated, undervalued. That's got upset loss written all over it. Outside of that, though, a lot of the go-either-way games, Penn State, Notre Dame, you know, LSU, they don't have to go on the road. So that's a scheduling break, and no Buckeyes or ducks, and they are not as good as those teams.

I think USC is too young and thin on offense to be great and not talented enough on the defensive line to be great. Let's talk about the offense. So they've got four sophomores who will get a majority of the reps at wide receiver. All of them talented. Branch, Deuce Robinson, Lemon, Lane, unique body types, some more possession than others. Deuce Robinson's a great baseball prospect. tight-end hybrid wide receiver. They put him out wide.

They're tough matchups. A lot of different body types. All sophomores, all really, really good four-and-five-star prospects. Not a lot of depth behind them, but I think they'll get a majority of the snaps. All are capable of beating coverage. I think Miller Moss is very coachable. They'll be less ad-libbing. It will look more like a Lincoln Riley offense.

Now, what do we know about him? He was dominant against a pretty uninspired Louisville team in a bowl game where those young receivers flourished. The offensive line, again, really talented. A lot of four-star recruits. Elijah Page left tackle. They flipped him from Notre Dame at the very last second. He's a red shirt freshman. I think he's their second most talented offensive lineman to Monheim, who will be one of the top five centers in the country.

He's moved around the offensive line. I think he anchors it at center. I couldn't tell you the last time USC had a really high-end NFL caliber first or second round center. Been a while. And Monheim will anchor it. Page at Left Tackle is exceptional, but young. Everywhere across that line, it's sophomores, redshirt freshmen, some actual decent depth on the interior, but most of it unproven. But again, these were highly acclaimed prospects that USC beat out bigger schools or big

schools, big brands. And so, and I've been told the coaches like what they see up front. But this offense is not deep. At running back, talented, not deep. At tight end, not that talented, and not that deep. So it's not going to be a dynamic offense like we've seen the last couple of years, but I think it can be at times a ball control offense. I think there were times last year with Caleb Williams, that the staff didn't want to get him hurt once the national championship was out of reach. There were some calls they wouldn't make. You know, Caleb was running for his life, breakdowns on the offensive line. I can tell you the staff really likes the talent level of this offensive line. They were greatly disappointed in last year's unit. But again, it's a really,

really, there's a lot of stuff here, body types, speed, dynamic running backs, just thin. And I I've said this before. Jim Harbaugh could double Brady Hoax wins the first year at Michigan. Brian Kelly could do the same at Notre Dame. But those teams really didn't look like a Georgia or Obama or an Ohio state until about year six for Harbaugh, year six for Brian Kelly. USC fooled a lot of people with Caleb Williams. They were a play from 12 wins the first year. They were not an 11-win team. Oh, that may have been their record. But it was a lot of Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, and, you know, people in the Pack 12 didn't know what to make a Lincoln Riley. I'd never faced him before. He had a competitive advantage.

Last year came back down to Earth. Miller Moss, more than capable, four-star kid, good body size, decent arm, willing to throw the ball down the field. I think he'll be really strong, but it will be a different offense. Maybe less ad-libbing, a little less risk-taking, more of it in the pocket. But I think they're going to score high-20s, low-30s, on most Saturdays. Saturdays. Defensively, the secondary, due to transfers and good recruiting, is about as deep and about as talented as I remember it. Even during Pete Carroll's great years, Corner was kind of a soft spot. You know, Pete did so well at linebacker defensive line, skill players offensively,

built great staffs, Norm Chow, Sark, Lane Kiffin, but Pete's teams weren't great at Corner. This team's actually got size and depth and speed and experience at both safety and corner. I think it's the strongest part of the team. I really do the back end. I also think they have some depth finally for the first time in years at Linebacker. And a couple of their, if you go to this past year's recruiting class, they'll be special teamers. But they've got some young true freshman at Linebacker. It won't get a ton of snaps in games.

They also have some commitments going ahead. It was a unit that has been down at USC for a team. years. I think it will be a stronger linebacking core. They do not have the size. Bear Alexander has an NFL body. He's hit and miss when it comes to effort. I don't, I think they'll have a decent edge rush, more talent there. I don't think they have the depth of the size of the talent on the interior. I think they'll get pushed around a little bit by LSU and the opener, by Penn State, and by Notre Dame at various times in the season. But I think the biggest upgrade to this entire staff is the defensive coaches. Whenever you leave a program, Nick Saban leaves, Michigan State to LSU, hey guys, who's

getting on the plane? Who's getting on that booster's jet or that school jet and fly into the new job? Whoever gets on that jet on your staff, you're not going to move their family for one year. There may be guys getting on that jet that you wouldn't have chosen, but Alex Grinch got on that jet as a defensive coordinator for USC. And Lincoln Riley was disappointed after year one, suffered greatly in year two. They have significantly paid for and upgraded the defensive staff. I talked to two people that have been at practice this week, and they said they think the defense, especially early in the season, will lead the team. It will not be the offense. the offense is young.

The feeling with USC is the offense will get better as the season progresses, but it will be the defense initially that carries the team. And that's hopeful because Michigan is very early in the season in the first month. They are really rebuilding that offense. LSU lost two world-class college receivers and an excellent number two pick in the draft, Jaden Daniels is a quarterback. And this LSU program, like USC, can't get their defense right. So facing LSU first game, bit of a break.

They could be really good. I don't think they'll be great early. And I don't think USC offensively will be a great team early. That'll grow. But I think what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing in a camp from people I really trust is the defense has really come together. It's been simplified. There's been an elevation of coaching. And when I looked over the schedule today, I said LSU is a coin flip.

They're favored LSU by six. So let's say it's a loss. I think they beat Utah State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and at Minnesota. I think they lose to Penn State. I think they beat Marilyn Rutgers and a close one over Washington. Washington and in a complete offensive rebuild, though I do think Jed Fish is a really talented offensive coach. Nebraska, I'll put that as a loss. It's a sandwich game.

They beat UCLA, lose the Notre Dame. So I have four losses, eight wins. And that's kind of where the draft king. and Vegas has them. I think the offense by the end of the year will be very hopeful. I think the defense initially will stand out as a major upgrade. But I've tried to pump the breaks for all the people that are critical of Lincoln Riley. First of all, there's a lot of good news at USC. The collective may not be Texas or Oregon, but it's around 13, 13.13 and a half million. And if they if they beat LSU, if it feels very good up to that Penn State game, which is a

toughy. Penn State is, to me, the third most talented team in the conference behind Oregon and Ohio State. It's at home. It's the Coliseum, but it's a tough one. You know, that collective may improve. Fans, boosters, donors can be fickle based on momentum of the program, momentum of the program. So, you know, I think there's the collectives good. I think Jen Cohen and Lincoln Riley have some symmetry now. May have been bumpy early. They have some symmetry. I think the defensive staff has been upgraded. I think the freshman class, that just came, arrived here in Fall Camp, has some real size in the defensive front. It's going to be a lot of special teams guys and redshirting, but there's some promising

size on the interior of the defensive line. And I think Miller Moss is going to surprise people. Miller's a guy that I had been in a conversation with him and a friend about a year ago, and, you know, it was tough for him. Not that he was considering transferring, but it had gone through his mind that he knew he wasn't going to play much at all last year. And it was tough for him. He was a very Ballyhooed local recruit. But I think he was smart to stick it out. I think he's talented. And I think he's a risk taker. He's not going to play it safe. He'll let it rip. But I think the offense will look different. It will look more conventional. It will look a bit, maybe more predictable, less out of the pocket. And that's okay. I felt, you know, I said this with

Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rogers. It felt like a 50-50 split. Half Matt's offense, half Aaron. Last year with Jordan Love, I felt like it was Matt Luf Llewer's offense. At the end of last year, mid to the end of the year, I thought it was Caleb's offense, right? Right, right. The first year was a combination of Caleb and Lincoln. I thought there were times last year. It kind of felt like Caleb was doing what Caleb wanted to do.

And as we've seen in the preseason, that's okay. That's not Miller Moss. But I think it'll take a step back in terms of being dynamic. But it'll work. I still contend that Lincoln Riley's one of the smartest offensive coaches in football. ball, is he a great culture builder, staff builder? That's yet to be seen. But the expectations off that first 11-win season, which could have easily been 12 if they hold the lead in the last 45 seconds against Tulane, raised the bar beyond reasonable expectations. Third year at Michigan,

Jim Harbaugh won in only eight games, and they were losing to Michigan State and getting clubbed by Ohio State. This stuff takes time. The idea that the transfer portal is this magic Elyxer, go ask Dionne Sanders, Brian Kelly, or Lincoln Riley. You can improve, first of all, people that leave programs, there's usually a reason, mostly except quarterbacks. You know, quarterbacks generally, they're going to go find the best coach available, the best receivers available. A lot of receiver moves in college football, I get. They're upgrading to better coaches and better programs. But a lot of transfers in the transfer portal, nobody's losing any sleep when they leave. I mean, if you're a USC fan,

Look at all the players that have transferred out of USC. How many stars did you lose? Super valuable players. You know, players transfer when they're not playing or when they're unhappy with their situation. So I think there's limitations on cultural development, chemistry. You know, Jordan Addison and Caleb were obviously home runs. Who's the third best transfer they've had? Seriously.

So I think Brian, Dion, and Lincoln are all sensing that. high school recruiting has to be the backbone of your program. So there you go. Say it again. LSU, close to LSU, close to Penn State, Notre Dame in that sandwich game against Nebraska. But I see eight wins. Don't get into the playoff, but you'll feel good when the season ends. The offense is young, getting better, you got your quarterback, and the defense finally has the legitimate coaching staff. The volume. Hey, what's up, everybody? John Middilcoff here from Three and Out podcast. The NFL season is right around the corner.

And if you want some of the best football content out there, I got you covered. Training camp through the preseason, throughout the entire season. Subscribe and follow the Three and Out podcast with me, John Middilkoff, on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcast. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and

head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at a podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men. experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.