The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Were Expectations Too High For Arch Manning? Bryce Underwood A “Generational” Talent? Rude Awakening For Bill Belichick, Miami A Title Contender?

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

Colin is joined by college football guru Josh Pate to break down the first weekend of the college football season. They start with Arch Manning’s extremely shaky start for Texas against Ohio State and whether his lofty expectations entering the season were far too high (3:30). They preview Oklahoma vs Michigan and debate whether Michigan’s Bryce Underwood is a generational talent at quarterback (6:45). They move to UNC and whether Bill Belichick’s inability to recruit good personnel could lead to an underwhelming tenure at Chapel Hill (10:15), and discuss whether Kalen DeBoer’s laid back style of coaching will work at a football crazed SEC school like Alabama, living in the shadow of Nick Saban(17:15). They highlight the resurgence of the Florida schools, particularly Miami, and debate whether the Hurricanes could be a national title contender (31:00).  Finally, they discuss the outlook for USC and whether Lincoln Riley is the type of head coach that can build a winning culture, and not just be a great scheme guy (38:00).  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 Acapella 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art.

The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win. She's an outsider to win the French fame.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. Football season's here, and if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, game time is the place for you. The game time app just gives you the, advantage back to you the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences and a few taps. I love it. Easy to use. The game time guarantee means you can trust you'll get 100% authentic

tickets on time and at the best price, 100%. So they even let you preview your seat on the app. That's special. Plus fees are always included. So what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with game time. Just download the game time app. Create an account if you use the code, call and C-O-L-I-N. 20 bucks off your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account, redeem code, C-O-L-I-N, 20 bucks off, swipe tap, ticket, go. Download the GameTime app today.

Well, if you like college football, and I've been watching Josh Pate for a long time, but there are very few people that cut through like Josh, and there's no clicks involved. It's just knowledge and prep and work. He is newly married. He's got a beautiful wife. he's got an incredible job, and it looks like he can bench Delaware. So his shit is rolling right now.

He is, Josh, it is a pleasure to have you on. So I don't like criticizing college athletes, but I have said, we'll start with this, that once they started making $5 million a year, you're a professional. Whatever level you play at, you're a professional. And Archmanning can handle it. And I said, listen, there are, and I feel this way about Belichick's opener. There are games in which you struggle. I've seen Patrick Mahomes just have bad halves, bad Super Bowls.

But with Arch, it was, I mean, when he first rolled out to the right and skipped that thing, about eight yards shy, that was more than nerves. It was arm slot. It was mechanics. And he'll bounce back in the next three games. It's, you know, it's, you know, really second tier programs. But I don't think it's just a, hey, it was jitters. I had some concerns. I can't unsee it.

and I know that's punitive and harsh, but this is Manning. I joke before the game. Family dinners are events. I don't want to hear he was nervous. It was more than that. It was kind of jarring, was it not? Yeah. I especially think if you bought into, I don't know, like the superheroification of him over the spring and summer.

You think about this. He has only just now become a college football starting quarterback, and you and I have talked about him over half a decade. So we've known about it six years. And I don't think we've ever said that about anyone. So I go out there in the spring, watching practice feel my way around the building. Sarks really just open about stuff,

especially when you get them off the record, that's staff. And the feedback wasn't, oh, we're worried about it. The feedback was we really hope that the world's realistic about what we're doing here, about what we're going to put on the field. Because they never expected it to be like, you know, the preview magazine culture experience. expected it to be. So it wasn't a shock to me that they tried to ease him in. I think the jarring part for me, I was up there. I was standing on the field is you didn't even have to watch secondary

line of scrimmage. If you just put your eyes on him, you can tell the moment the ball came out of his hand. That's not a good ball. And that's that's not going anywhere fast. So I think that part, you get rattled. And at that point, you're playing good defense. So you feel like you can just win a rock fight. And we'll tuck it back in. We'll go back home. We'll play a tomato can. and we'll get ready for our trip to Florida, I think is their next really big game. So it wasn't as jarring to me because I never did the Heisman thing with him. I never did the Archmanning number one picking the draft this upcoming year. My whole stance on him was, and it still is, he's going to be a pretty good quarterback this year.

And anything above and beyond that, great. But it's Texas. You don't have to carry them. For that matter, Nussmire doesn't have to carry LSU. Clubnick doesn't have to carry Clemson. A lot of these guys have really good supporting cast. He has got race horses around him. whether there's speed at wide receivers quite what it's been.

But the whole concept of Texas is we're going to load the roster up, just make good decisions, be big in the leverage moments. He was not that in week one. But, you know, you've got a much bigger safety net under you now because of the structure of the playoff. Yeah, and I'll get to a kid. You know, I think first glances matter. And I follow high school recruiting. Not as much as I used to just because I have more things on my plate.

But I'll just say, I don't know how good Michigan is. I love Oklahoma this weekend. I think if you look at Oklahoma's depth chart, that defense is juniors and seniors. That is an old team. They're at home. They got a lot of 22-year-old guys. And Mateer is a very talented quarterback.

I think Oklahoma's going to have a day. But my first glances at Bryce Underwood on YouTube in high school. And last week, Josh, that's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, that is magic. And I know he's going on the road now. You need about four snaps. I really think Underwood, a lot of these five-star guys, I never bought into Quinny Uers. I mean, out in Southern California, I've heard a lot of five-star recruits, and I'm like, I don't buy it.

I always say L.A. recruits, five's a four, fours of three. They get overhyped. But I like Oklahoma this weekend, but what were your interpretations of Bryce Underwood? Better than I thought he'd be sad. I had really high expectations for him. I do not throw around the G-word, okay, generational. You should use that about once a generation. believe that's the definition. He, even the guys I trust in the scouting world, the ones that assignate the star ratings, even when I listen to them coming up, you know, the ones who are really careful with their language, they said, that one's just different. Go watch him. And I don't think he came to Elite 11, so I went out there. I didn't get to see him in person, but eventually you get

to see his high school stuff. Okay, it's high school. He goes to Michigan. I know it was New Mexico. 99% of the country didn't watch the game. I don't care if it was air. there is a way that superstars look. It does not take mountains and mountains, games and games of film. You just look at it and you say, whoa. Now, that's not like you said. It's not a guarantee that he's going to go light the world on fire this week. In fact, it could overinflate him to where he tries to do too much on the road against

a Brent Venables defense, which has made like the twos of the world look inferior in years back. So I'm with you on the Oklahoma sort of dynamic this weekend, but long term, here's the way I've viewed. Michigan this whole year, they are not good at receiver. So they do not have the past catchers to probably have him fully feature himself. But what is going to happen is everyone is going to see what you and I are talking about eventually because it'll play out on the big stage. And they are going to be, I think, a portal magnet for wide receivers after this year. And I'm viewing Michigan 2025 through a 2026 prism because I think 2026, they're right in the national championship conversation. Yeah, I don't know that far ahead, and they're not good at receiver.

By the way, if you go look at Jim Harbonne recruiting through the years, he's never had good receivers. He didn't have him with Andrew Luck. Got in San Francisco. He had Michael Crabtree, and that was about it. Michigan, I mean, they were a run, defense, squash, you know, eat the clock up. But the ball comes out of Bryce Underwood's hand fast. Very different. I mean, it just doesn't look like other kids.

All right. So much like the archmanning topic, my question with Belichick, and a friend of mine, Ryan Rosillo and I got on this years ago, about seven years before Belichick got bounced in New England, Rosillo and I used to know his joke were like, he can't draft. He's sitting there with his dog in Nantucket on his iPad, and I'm like, he can't draft. And I people, and so what happens in the NFL, and it's, it, it, was Pete Carroll's undoing a little bit in Seattle, where there are coaches,

Jimmy Johnson, Sean Payton, who are really, really, Sean McVeigh, really good with personnel. They really have an eye for it. Then there's guys like Kyle Shanahan, who I think are great play designers and play callers. I don't love their personnel view. And then there's Belichick,

who's sort of tone-deaf to offensive personnel. I don't think he's toned-deaf to schemes, because he's the best defensive coach of my life. But his last seven years in New England, I mean, they got a punter who was an all-pro. That was it. They couldn't draft anything. Interior O-line, sideline, quarterback.

So my question was, why should I trust him in the transfer portal? I didn't like him drafting college kids. And when I watched Carolina, one of the first things after the first series that jumped out to me is TCU either had much better coaches or much better players because there were a lot of guys running free in the second half. I mean, pulling away from safeties and pulling away from safeties and pulling. pulling away from linebackers. I just didn't see the talent. Now, again, the transfer portal, you're getting used cars a little bit.

You know, if Georgia wants to keep a guy, they're going to keep a guy. I thought it was, again, is it possible that Bill's not the... Listen, Sabin was a brilliant personnel guy. I don't think Belichick is. Am I wrong? No.

I mean, I actually wish I did disagree with you. I completely agree with you. I looked at the dynamic. Look, I mean, take a step back for a second. So I didn't even understand the circus around it, period. I got when Dion came to Colorado, that is a massive circus coming to town, not even in a pejorative way. I got that.

A lot of people in my world made this huge deal about Belichick coming to North Carolina, and maybe I just don't pay attention enough to, like, mainstream sports talk. So I didn't get it. But that's just me. That's my personal preference. So then I start hearing these rumblings like, boy, they got a workable schedule this year. And I started to pick up what people were putting down. Plus the connotation there was, ooh, they could do something this year.

And I was, I know the personnel they have. It's terrible. And so I was looking at it saying, what are you saying about the schedule? Come out and say it. No one wanted to say it. So I finally got some people to admit, yeah, I think it's Belichick. It's a workable schedule. He could, yeah, I got the cattle prod theory.

He could cattle prod college football this year. I was like, if that's your expectation for him, you're in for a very rude awakening, and so is the rest of America. Like, I didn't get it initially. I thought people understood he's coming in there and, you know, it's a big show and it's going to raise the profile of Carolina football, but the expectations largely to do what Carolina's done. I was so tone-deaf on it.

When I realized people's expectations were he's actually going to elevate them to the level of maybe a fringe playoff contender, I was. was so out so quickly on it for 50 different reasons. But one of them is the one you talked about. I never talk about NFL. College football is my space. But I didn't think he did a great job at all of the personnel side of things. The last several years, he was in the NFL or he'd probably still be in the NFL.

And then the next part of that is, all right, if you're telling me that you want him to be more than a seven or eight win per year on average guy, which is Carolina football historically, well, that means he's got to do better in talent acquisition. and that also means you've got to beat Clemson for kids. You've got to occasionally beat Miami or Florida State for kids. He's just not going to do that. I don't know if you've gotten in the weeds a little bit and read some of the stuff that I've been hearing for months has now sort of started to go public about the impressions that

recruits or portal kids have had, the experiences they've had. They don't know how to do it, man. And it's no knock on them. They've never had to do it. Think about it this way. If you're watching right now and you're mainly in a. NFL and like you just dip your toe into college. Nick Saban, I think's the best to ever do it. He got to his early 70s after a lifetime in college football, a lifetime of mastering talent

acquisition. And he said, this isn't really for me anymore. Belichick at the same age is trying it for the first time. He's older than any three of his players combined. And he's trying that for the first time. I never even gave a passing thought to, oh, this will work. Of course it won't work. I was stunned and still am that people think it will work. Yeah. You know, And what's interesting about, you know, in pro football, you draft the player. But in college football, the player selects you. So if you're around Nick Saban, he's funny. I've been around him a couple of days.

He's funny. Mario Cristobal, Dan Lannning, they're dynamic men. Brian Kelly. They've got the personalities you have to sell. Yes. They're salesmen. And by the way, it's not all they do. bills better schematically than a lot of guys.

But there are almost, I mean, you'd have to go back to Don James at Washington in the, you know, 70s and 80s where a guy was fairly personalityless and was a really good recruiter. And I always thought James was doing it with coaching and staff composition. Their personnel was good. I don't think it was as good. It's never been. It was even in Don's best heyday, they had a couple, the Steve Edmund defenses were stacked. But basically they did it. They were just the smartest staff.

he had just, you know, they always had the best special teams, kind of like Frank Beamer. They'd beat you on special teams in defense. You never thought it was the most creative offense, but you get them in Blacksburg, get them in a Husky Stadium. They win a lot of games. But by and large, Belichick is kind of grumpy. Mike Lombardi, a smart guy. He's got that sort of jersey gruffness.

It reminds me a little of Charlie Weiss. Remember when he thought he had this schematic advantage? And after a while, you're like, Charlie, you're old lineman, your D-Lineman, and Notre Dame should be O-Linman. You're not pulling. You're not pulling the players. And I think it's got a Charlie Weissfield. I am telling you one of the lines, point blank,

that a head coach gave me top 15, like playoff caliber program, he said, you know how big a slap in the face it is? To listen to the media, tell us a guy who has never coached college of day in his life in the last several decades, is going to come teach us something. Like Bill Belichick's going to come teach college football or something. And he said, college football will teach him 10 times more than he's about to teach college football. Because the other thing about it is the insinuation is guys are either schematics guys, X's and O's guys, or their talent acquirers. Sometimes that's true.

Sometimes it's an A or a B. When you get to the higher portion of the college football pyramid, I know this shot some people calling. Some have both. Georgia's got both. Like Clemson's got both. they can get the talent better than you, they can also out-coach you. So unless you're going to go and really convince me that you're going to out-recruit in which you're not, or you're going to out-develop them and scheme them, not once or twice in your career,

you may do that, but you've got to do it about 10 or 11 times in a year to be able to get to the playoff, then I'm out on them achieving anything more than Carolina football historically has. I think the SEC, you know, every time the SEC loses a game, you know, it's like this guy is falling. listen, LSU went into Clemson and won. That's a really big boy football win. The SEC is going to be fine. But I do think there is a distinction between the SEC.

The Big Ten now is better than it was five years ago, no question. And the SEC is still really good. But losing Sabin, you know, it's like losing LeBron James in the Eastern Conference going west. It's not the same conference. The Kalin-Abor thing is interesting. When he was at Washington, there was an understanding. It was one of, and I just read this the other day somewhere, where coaches, you know how coaches sometimes pro scouts and pro coaches will come to college stuff in offseason.

And people were saying about Kalin DeBoer, why are you leaving, man? You got no pressure up here. And they love college football in Seattle, but they got the Seahawks and the Mariners. It's a bigger city. And they said, man, you got it made up here. And I think it is hard. It's one thing to replace Nick Saban. But I think DeBoer's personality is the polar opposite.

And I think the program had to be. a certain urgency and intensity built in by Nick. And I don't think they tried to divert from that. I just think Kalin DeBoer was the best candidate. I think Alabama sort of like that, sometimes, you know, dialing it up on the sidelines, getting in players' faces. They weren't offended by that. You see Kirby Smart do it.

In the South, that's much more understood, where it's just more intense and they get more restless and it's louder with the media. But I made the argument today. I'm not sure Kalin's a great personality fit. I watched Jim McElwain unravel. I saw it eat up Urban Myers' health. And I do wonder if Kalin may be, I think he's a terrific coach, but he may be better at Michigan, right? Like he may be better at Washington and Michigan.

It does feel different than Alabama. And it's what makes, it's what separates Alabama from the other program. I always said Ohio State's the only SEC team north. It's different in Columbus than Ann Arbor. I wonder about Kalyn. I just the more I read, I mean, I think he's safe. I guess I should start with that. Do you think he's safe for now?

100% safe, yes. Okay. But is it possible? Personality does matter. I mean, Kirby's smart. That's an SEC personality. He's just going to sell it to you straight. Or do you think Kalen Abor just turns this puppy around in three weeks?

boy, this is a pregnant pause. So I don't know if he's going to turn it around this year. I got to tell you, so to get back to the personality thing for a second, that was one of my suspicions. You know, I remember when he took the job, like I know him pretty well. So when he took the job, after all the dust settled, you know, I go down there a few times a year. I'll go down there and watch him practice.

I'll go down there and watch him scrimmage. I'm sitting there in his office with him. And what I wanted to know was the whole taking over for a legend thing. Not what you're saying at the press conferences. Like I wanted to know eye to eye shoot with me. How do you view that? And to, you know, not like ruin confidence or anything like that. But he couldn't have cared less about that.

What he wanted to make sure he had was the proper resources. Because he is a one percenter. He may have a different personality than Sabin, but please, like anyone watch and make no mistake, he, when you open the hood on him, is every bit as competitive as the highest level achievers in this sport. What he looked at is not who am I taking over for. What he looked at is, am I going to be given everything I need to win? Because I know what the expectation level is going to be.

Now, I will say there is no substitute for jumping into freezing cold water. When you jump into it, anyone's body is going to lurch. So I think he has had a bit of that. but the you don't want to take over for a legend thing in college football has always needed an asterisk next to it that it hasn't had you didn't want to take over Penn State post-Paterno even without the off-the-field stuff you didn't want to take it over because he stuck around 20 years past his prime so you're going to rebuild on your hands Bowden FSU you were going to have a rebuild on your hands with sky high expectations Sabin's last game was a playoff game so you had a pretty full cupboard yeah you know guys like him look at it and say, well, my words, not his, screw who was here before. Like, I'm a 1% or two. I wake up in the morning and look in the bathroom mirror. I think I could be the greatest of all time if I'm being given what I need. Now, he's got this demeanor that is the antithesis of that attitude.

And that's kind of what you're talking about. A lot more laid back. And when you've watched Sabin roam the sidelines for 15 years and, you know, scream at female trainers because the water's not full enough, then you get Kalin DeBore and there's music at practice. and it's a bunch of anecdotal stuff. It's a bunch of straw man stuff that if you won would be a credit to him, but because he loses is a detriment to him. But I think, now this is where rubber meets the road.

You could get away with what happened last year because there is a little bit of transition. They did lose some things. They look like you don't replace him. There was some staff churn as well. You cannot in any circumstances have what happened against Florida State. And so, again, you let the dust sell. a little bit. You ask around, Colin, I think they were stunned by it. I don't think they're coming. I was down there a couple of weeks ago,

watched them scrimmage. It was war. It was unbelievable. It was every bit as physical as a Nick Saban practice, as a Kirby Smart practice to the point where, dude, they, I thought they were getting guys hurt. I thought they were about to get guys hurt before the season started. And the reason I mentioned that is because it was the total antithesis of what we saw against Florida State. Guys look slow. guys look timid, guys didn't look physical, didn't look tough. And it was so jarring because I know my eyes didn't lie to me. I'm standing there with football-minded people, and we're all in agreement, right?

This is a pretty physical practice, pretty impressive looking secondary. So I think they were just as stunned by it as anyone else. So they got U.L. Monroe this weekend, but they go to Georgia within the month. Like they are going to play LSU this year. They are going to play Tennessee this year. and there are so many questions in the South right now. Everyone else hates a Bama, and they love this. And then the Bama folks hate what they saw.

And they're trying to figure out, like, do we defend this guy? Or do we not expose ourselves to getting our feelings hurt again? Do we call for his ouster? In reality, everyone wants to know one reason. One reason why it happened. One sound bite, one snapshot. It's probably 37 small things. And that's the trouble because you can't fix 37 little small things in a week.

I just, I am dumbfounded by what I saw against Florida State. Now, I will say this. I think Bama's the first one and not the last one to be kind of exposed. They just happen to play quality enough competition in week one. It could be we got some top 15, top 10 caliber teams elsewhere that just happened to be favored by 40 in week one. And so their tougher competition and maybe their exposure period is still to come. But I got to tell you, man, it's hard to trust a team. I picked them to win the national title.

So it was a tough Saturday, first. me. It is hard. Even if they do rebound, you know, even if they come out with their hair on fire, beat Wisconsin, go to Georgia, down to the wire, they win 30, 27, seasons back on track. Yeah, it would be back on track. I can't ignore that the Florida State game happened. Once that's in the cake, it's baked in there. So I can't fully trust it again, but that doesn't matter. They can win without me trusting him. It is a tough, tough task for him right now. Well, I'm fired up to announce hard rock bet as the volume's new presenting sponsor. Everybody knows hard rock hotels and concedos are iconic for entertainment. Well, now the hard rock bet app brings more energy and

excitement than ever to the world of sports betting. What does it mean for you? Well, here at the volume, you'll start to see us use hard rock bet's lines when talking about the biggest games, college or pro. We'll give you all the crazy stats from hard rock bet stats hub, which is right there in the app. Plus, we'll be taking the show on the road doing live broadcast, meet and great from the Hard Rock properties down in Florida. The Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook apps, the only legal sportsbook, whenever you're in Florida. It's also live in Arizona, Ohio, a New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, a Virginia, Illinois, and Colorado with more states coming soon.

So right now is the perfect time to sign up. All you have to do is place your first $5 bet. If it wins, you'll score $150 in bonus bets on top of your winnings. That's $150 more for you to bet this football season. If you're in New Jersey, you can also hit the Hard Rock Bet casino app. It has all the same casino games you'd play at one of their properties. All your favorite games from Atlantic City. Practically everything you want to bet across every sport.

All in the same top-rated, nearly five-star app. So head over, sign up today. Join us as we get this party started with Hard Rock bet. And roll with us all football season. Payable and bonus bets, not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in Alder States. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey.

Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1888. Admit it. In Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a problem, wants help. Call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 Dave. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis,

and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Gere. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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.

You know, it was interesting. I love to see all the Florida schools really good, and I'll wait for the gaiters. But, I mean, Florida State, Norville can recruit. Mario Cristobal is an unbelievable recruiter. I mean, they looked like, I mean, they had a swagger. They were physical. That O-line is something else. that's what he does.

I mean, it was less miles. He used to build good old lines. That thing was just Notre Dame couldn't get a pass rush. And my kind of takeaway is the SEC has always needed the state of Florida. And I'm like, I'm not sure Mario's letting a lot out of Dade County. Because I looked at those teams, I'm like, this is real football. And I remember when I was in Vegas out of college, they used to put the Florida, Florida state game on it, nine in the morning out west.

I'm not joking. That's how college football has grown. Now you have the big noon kickoff, but for about 15 years, there was a hole early in the day. That's why Fox went after it. I mean, it used to be college football. Biggest games, they put it nine in the morning, and it's all of a sudden, oh, wait, this has a big audience. We've got to push this back in the afternoon. But when I was watching Miami this weekend, I've always felt, Josh, there's three glamour programs in the country.

USC, Texas, and Miami. It doesn't mean to the best, but they're glamour programs. There's sex appeal. Austin, Coral Gables, Los Angeles. They feel different. Kirk Herb Street once said when Peter Carroll was at USC. He goes, it's not pro, but it's not college either. It's somewhere in the middle. So I'm rooting for Lincoln Riley.

I'm, you know, I'm really rooting for Mario Cristobal and Steve Sarkesian. Is Miami? I mean, Notre Dame's legit. I mean, they jumped out to a 21-7 lead. I thought that thing was going to get ugly. I mean, Carson Beck has time. I always feel like it's hard not to be legitimate. College or pro, Penn State this year.

If you have a dominant offense in line, could be the Eagles or the Lions or the Ravens in the NFL. It could be Penn State this year. And I watch Miami's O-line, Josh, and I'm like, oh, they can play with anybody. If Carson Beck may not be great, but with time, I don't know. My interpretation of Miami was there are going to be a handful.

First off, think about what you just said about the glamour programs, and there was an extended stretch there where college football is just surging, surging, surging. USC, Texas, and Miami are nowhere to be found. That doesn't disprove your point. What it says is imagine the turbo booster that adds to that scalability if they're all collectively. Did you see the Texas, Ohio state number today?

17 million people watch. Noon, noon, man. Unbelievable. Big noon kickoffs going, no. Where, dude. Yeah, that was unbelievable. I've always defended the noon kickoffs. I love them because I can get home that night.

And the sunburn on the forehead is still there from Saturday, but I loved it. So I can't remember when it was, it was like before their Wake Forest game last week. I flew down to Miami to visit with the staff, watched practice. When I go to Miami practice, Mario brings you right out there on the field. You stand right behind the line of scrimmage during live, during good on good. and he says he's just giving you play by play as practice is going on he says i want you to watch something i want you to keep an eye on 70 so 70 i don't have my eye on him he's in my peripheral vision it's a kid named markelle bell it is now they're starting left tackle he is a 69-360

at this point last year he says watch this we got this kid out of juco in mississippi so he steps in i've never seen humanity like that i've just never seen humanity move like that he said not this year, next year. Just circle number 70 next year. So you got Francis Mowanoa at right tackle, who's a surefire first day NFL guy, left tackle the other night. I think a lot of the world got introduced to Markell Bell. They have built that thing.

They have built that offensive line the way that you would expect Mario Cristobal to build an offensive line. But what ate them up last year was the obvious. They wasted Cam Ward, just like LSU wasted Jaden a couple of seasons ago. LSU course corrected with their. defensive hires and now they're reaping the benefits. Mario went to Minnesota and got Corey Heatherman and first thing I asked him is, is it a two-year thing? He said, no, we're about to hit the portal. We will get this thing fixed. And so, okay, everyone can say that. They get through spring.

They get halfway into fall camp. I check in again. And a lot of the feedback from Miami, Colin, was running game's going to be there. We've got no question about Carson Beck. Everyone questioning him, they'll be silenced soon enough. But I kept being told, watch our secondary. because that'll be the key to our season, because we could not stop anything through the air last year. We think we hit on all these guys out of the portal. And if we're right, it is the portal, so it's a crapshoot. But if we're right, then there's no limit to what we can do this year.

So it's a one-game sample size, new quarterback and C.J. Carl on the road. There wasn't a lot of business to be had through the air against them the other night either. And so if that's the case, if they hit on quarterback, early returns are they did, if that secondary is even just a net neutral, much less a positive, they are like the Swiss Army knife. That's what I prefer in a team to pick them. I want to know that you could win a game 3831 if you need to. I love you in a 1916 Slug Fest too. They're the kind of team that's very multifaceted, but I don't want to get excited because

consistency and performance has bitten them late game situational. So again, it is trust but verify with Miami. but if they are back, think about what we saw from Clemson the other night. Not a conference game, but think about what we saw from Georgia Tech. Clemson goes to Tech in a few weeks. Think about the ACC. Miami goes to Florida State within the month. The ACC is about to have the volume turned up on it really quick,

and I cannot handicap that thing right now. That thing's up in the air. Yeah, Mario struggled on the road at Oregon. He did not struggle in recruiting. He did not struggle at home. He would go on the road. Sometimes his clock managed. We saw that against Notre Dame a little dubious, but I love Miami, and it fires me up.

Let's end with this. And by the way, for the regular listeners of my show, when I noticed Josh paid over two years ago, I had told people, I'm like, this kid, he even knows West Coast football. And a lot of Southern College football writers don't really follow it, and you do. They don't go out there, Colin. They don't go out. If they'd go to, I had to go to a Washington game to get it. but when I went for that Oregon game a couple years ago,

I got it. When I went to a Utah game, I love it out there. Now, people in the South think I'm lying when I say that. I ain't lying about it, man. It's unbelievable if you can get out there.

It's just I grew up in rural Georgia. So, you know, Seattle might as well be on the moon. Eugene might as well be Russia to us. But if you ever get out there, it's awesome. So I like Lincoln Riley. I know him. But if you don't follow recruiting,

Until a year ago, they really didn't aggressively recruit Los Angeles. And it was very off-putting to the people here. You know, it'd be like, you know, Kirby's smart ignoring Georgia. Now they've gone full bore into it, and they have one or two or top three recruiting class in 2026 as a lot of Southern California kids, as it should be. I think kids, when you recruit the local kid, mom and dad are in town, they're less likely to get in trouble, mom and dad read the paper. I like the local kid. You know, they're showing off of their buddies and their friends. You get away from home sometimes.

It's just, it can change a young man's personality. I don't know if Lincoln Riley can create a culture. I know he can coach. I mean, he 12 wins, 11 wins, 9 wins, 11 wins at Oklahoma. I mean, he took over USC. I'm here to tell you, man, they had about 28 to 30. I was told this by somebody on Lincoln Staff. They had about 30 guys that could play at USC.

And very few were good. Their best players were Caleb Williams and George. Jordan Addison, and they were coming from other programs. But I don't know if he's a culture builder. I've watched last year they go to Maryland. I mean, they led in almost every football game. They couldn't close games out. And closing games out is fundamentally about physicality.

It's a seven-minute drive. Winning games comes in a variety of forms. Closing games out when you lead is physical football. Three first downs, close it down. They couldn't do it. The running back room is good. Do you have the same doubts I do? about we know he can call plays.

We know he's clever. I didn't even like their quarterback at UNLV when they got it. I thought, like, I watched him in the opener. I watched him last year. I'm like, well, he's better than he was at UNLV. I just didn't think he was an elite player, but the reports out of USC is Lincoln really likes him. But do you have concerns about USC and culture building?

Because there's a lot of, I mean, what makes Sean McVeigh great is not the schematics. Is the guy maybe 5'10. He feels like he's 6.8. He's like, he walks there, he's half Abe Lincoln, half Nick Saban. You know, he's like he is half Warren Buffett. Like, it's just big. And Lincoln can got to be soft-spoken, kind of be,

feel sometimes indifferent to certain kind of conversations. Where do you land on him? I think you have to be, you're in a really unique position because you get to be in the room with a lot of those guys. At the college level, I get to sit down with all of them. Most people don't get that. Most people may find themselves at some meet and greet one-on-one with their head coach, but they don't have the comparative analysis ability.

I agree with your assessment about him. It is the – I got two big questions about him. One is the culture piece. There's a lot of noise coming from Brent and Venables in the past couple of weeks about what they inherited there. You could pass that off as sour grapes. He could be shooting to you straight. I think it's worth paying attention to.

And so when Lincoln goes to USC, thus far, what you described is what makes a great coordinator. But he's not the coordinator there. He's a head coach. So you've got to be able to do more than just call plays and coach a position. It's about getting talent. It's about developing the talent. Now, one piece that they did is when they went and got Chad Bowden,

the GM from Notre Dame, they were going to take in-state recruiting seriously. Like, that was going to get turned up. I am very interested to see whether proof of performance on the field this year is necessary to keep that class together. That's one thing that I'm watching. The other thing that I've asked Chad about this, I've asked him, do you talk about like locking down the city, locking down the state, do you really think there's enough

line of scrimmage talent in the state of California? Good question. He said yes. I disagree with that. But, you know, he's running USC. I'm not. But even if all the talent's there, even if all the players are there, I have never thought that that one possession loss metric is randomized.

Turnovers sometimes or randomized year? Yeah, turnovers are. Dude, Nebraska kept losing one possession games because they didn't know how to win games. USC last year, the five fourth quarter leads that they lost, that's because they didn't possess the ability to take a game. And then go look at Kirby Smart in one possession games. He's got an incredible record. That's not by accident.

So the question is, do you just flip that once you get better players? You may have less one possession games when you have better players. But the bottom line is, even the best of the best, eventually going to find themselves in those positions, and you start talking playoff instead of let's make a bowl, that's a tight rope walk 100 feet off the ground instead of 10 feet off the ground. You fall 10 feet, it hurts. You fall 100 street pizza. So what you said is still in the back of my mind, totally fair. And I don't think anyone inside USC, I don't think Lincoln himself can really push back on that. Because if he's honest, if you inject truth serum in him, he knows what it comes down to.

You got to prove it. You don't say it. You got to. You got to. prove it. I was talking to a USC booster today, and I said that Illinois game, that's it. That's it. That's it. That's the Hinge game. They're not winning at Oregon. That's okay. They're probably not winning at Notre Dame. They're going to win their home games. I said, I don't know if they can win in Illinois, if it's 39 degrees or 42 or windy. I said, that is the kind of game where, and Illinois is good. I think, I mean, this year, they return a lot of guys on their lines. Offensive line, I think they may return four or five starters. Illinois is my dark team in the country. I don't think they're great, but I think they're really good, and they're

going to knock people off. And if it's 44, I'm taking Illinois, I'll tell you right now, if it's 42, 44, Lincoln Riley is not proven he can win that game with discomfort. Josh Pate, what a pleasure. We're going to make this a regular thing on Wednesdays for our audience. I hope you guys enjoyed it listening as much as I did. I just have great admiration for your prep, your intensity. You're obviously a very bright guy. I love your work. And I want to to say thank you. And this is the start of a lot of these sit downs and I loved it.

Love it, man. Love you, brother. I appreciate you having me. Can't wait for the rest of the year. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We have first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades.

Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Gentian win. Yeah, she's an outsider to win the French friend. And she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment

and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.