The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd’s Instant Reaction - CFB Semis: Ohio State/Georgia, TCU/Michigan

Episode Date: January 1, 2023

Colin gives his instant reaction to Georgia outlasting the Buckeyes despite a career performance by C.J. Stroud, and TCU taking down Jim Harbaugh and Michigan in the other wild CFB Semi. Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates, check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action, and visit Cuts for the latest Fall fits! #Herd #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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My thoughts, let's start with the Buckeyes gutting loss to Georgia. Well, over the last 20 years, the recruiting momentum in college football has really tilted toward the South. That region, that footprint of eight or nine states simply has more great high school football players and programs than any other in America. And whatever program or programs have the most recruiting momentum, Saban and Alabama, now it's Kirby Smart and Georgia, LSU, Ed Orger, He's stacked the roster. That's the best team in college football. Bama, Georgia, LSU. I don't think that will change going forward.

I don't think Saban's retiring anytime soon, still has great energy. Alabama looked good yesterday. LSU has Brian Kelly. Georgia has Kirby Smart, both excellent recruiters. I did, however, and I said this for a month, think Ohio State would account for themselves very well. The way they lost to Michigan, they were pushed around by Michigan being told for a month,

they're soft, their finesse. That really fires up coaches in their preparation. It fires up the players. And the coaches for Ohio State, I'm sure, leaned into that. Really push that narrative. Everybody thinks you're soft. It's a tough loss because I really thought what Ohio State has struggled with in the last couple of years is a identity, not talent.

I think they recruit wide receivers as well as anybody in the country. Imagine that, saying that 20, 30 years ago. Yeah, best receivers go to Ohio State. They were defined by run game, toughness, physicality, linebackers. But those wide receivers gave Georgia fits. And so I bet the over on that game. I thought it was going to be a bit of a shootout. I thought Ohio State would move the ball.

Georgia is a really good football program and a good defense, but they lost so many defensive players to the NFL off last year's team, which I thought that was the best college football defense I'd ever seen. They just lost too many first and second round players. C.J. Stroud did himself some favors. So I've said he's obviously a first round NFL quarterback. Big kid, nice arm. But Ryan Day, obviously on film, said he can't win, we can't win,

just sitting in the pocket with five-step drops. They rolled him. They moved him. C.J. Stroud was obviously told, you know, run if you have to, move. He had a couple of great runs. I didn't know that C.J. Stroud. That was the most dynamic he's been. And I think that's how you beat a great Southern team.

Go look at Nick Saban's history. The team, you know, the Cam Newton's or the Johnny Manzels, the quarterbacks that can move always give great defensive coaches, Nick Saban, Kirby, smart trouble. They go off script. And I think Ryan Day smartly noticed that in the preparation. We're going to move our quarterback. We're going to move the pocket. Stroud was excellent.

And he and Bryce Young, both fantastic in their final college games. They're both going to go top three or four. No doubt about it. Gutting loss for Ohio State. The other issue, though, they have to address. is their defense. They gave up nine yards a play to Stetson Bennett. Okay, if you switch quarterbacks, you put Bryce Young on Georgia. You give C.J. Stroud to Georgia. Top five NFL quarterback is it uglier. So that's become a problem. I watched Oregon last year,

up and down the field, and Ohio State. Michigan last couple of years. Georgia, they've got to clean that defense up. And Ohio State has tremendous. Endishers historically, tremendous corners. Not quite as active at linebacker. It feels like to me in the last three or four or five years, just not quite as good at linebacker. But overall, Georgia, the most talented team in college football with a very solid college quarterback comes back to win.

You know, neither team had a lot of penalties. I thought it was really well-played game for most of it. And congrats to the Bulldogs and tip of the cap to Ohio State for their effort. And C.J. Stroud, you did yourself proud. All right, let's talk Michigan and TCU. That was officially the strangest game I've ever watched. So in that game, it's very different. Michigan out gained TCU.

Michigan had more yards through the air than TCU. Michigan won time of possession. There were times I thought Michigan beat Michigan. They tried to get too deceptive running the Philly special off a timeout down at the four or five yard line. Don't run trick plays off a timeouts. The element of surprise has always been the key to a trick play. I thought they outsmarted themselves. Now, TCU deserves credit.

TCU, Sonny Dykes, the head coach, admitted it after the game. It was a Michigan linebacker who had said, in preparation for that game, he didn't know what conference TCU played in, and it pissed TCU players off and coaches off. In the NFL, with just a week off, the number one seeds last year, Packers, Titans at Home lost. They were rusty. With a month off, you never know what you're going to expect. But with a month off, you've got to keep players quiet, coaches quiet. Ohio State told they would get rolled by Georgia.

look how well they played. TCU told by a Michigan player, I don't know what conference they're in. Sunny Dykes admitted after it was a huge, huge factor. Now, you still have to play, and I thought TCU looked really fast, and their speed was apparent. But, and this is not a shot at Sunny Dikes.

I think in terms of recruiting and personnel, it's the weakest team ever to play for national title, but the game plan was excellent. Max Duggan was good. wasn't great, had a couple of interceptions. I do think he's a second round NFL pick. He's going to account for himself well in the NFL if he gets an offensive coach. He's not talented enough to overcome a defensive culture, a defensive coach in the NFL.

But he's got, you know, a little bit of that Taylor Heineke thing going on where he rolls around, makes plays. Gamer can make the throws. But Michigan made a lot of mistakes when you have a month to prepare. They overthought things. Michigan's a power program. They had 10 blowout wins. lean downhill, run the football, power, power, power, wear TCU out, and they didn't. Again, all credit to TCU.

They played with a great spirit, very, very fast team. I think it's going to be a tough matchup for them. Georgia probably has 20 to 25 NFL bodies on that roster over the next two years. TCU may have six, four. So it's a tough matchup. And I also think that they were, with a month prepare, their hair was on fire after the Michigan linebacker tells them they don't. don't belong? Did they spend all their energy on Michigan? And now they have to step back.

And Georgia's going to say all the right things. Oh, TCU's great. They're amazing. What a game. My gut feeling is Georgia is going to hammer TCU. It's going to be a little bit of a disappointing national championship game. TCU emptied the tank on Michigan. And I think it's going to be 45, 24, Georgia. Now, there are already rumors and speculation that Jim Harbaugh is going to go to the NFL, that this is about as far as he can take Michigan. They're never going to probably match up in the playoff with an SEC team and have a personnel advantage.

So remember, he has beaten Ohio State back to back. He has created a great identity for the next coach. He loves Michigan. Or you could argue he gets Ohio State at Ann Arbor next year and his quarterback returns. And Ohio State doesn't have a quarterback for next year yet. So it's an advantage. Why not beat Ohio State three years in a row? Many of Michigan's best players return could certainly make that argument.

I look at it this way. What's available in the NFL? So Brandon Staley and Justin Herbert, that was the interesting job for a Sean Peyton or Jim Harbaugh. You can walk in, got some cap space, got your draft picks, have a star quarterback. That's a very attractive job. But now that Brandon Staley has elevated the chargers to the playoffs, he probably retains his job. The Spanos's don't like to pay a lot for head coaches. Staley's on the cheap and appears to be at least capable.

He's competent. I tend to like offensive coaches with star quarterbacks. but, you know, Sean McDermott with the bills. Brandon Staley now making the playoffs. So there's not a great job out there. I believe Sean Payton would go back to the Saints if they had a quarterback. He knows the GM. He loves the owners.

It's so quarterback-driven as a league. And the AFC right now, the best quarterback, is winning every division. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Patrick Mahomes. So I don't think there's a great job. So if I'm Arbaugh, I can come back. I get the Buckeyes at home. I don't have to reload or rebuild my roster. My quarterback comes back and I can be here next year and end my college career if I want to leave on three straight trips to the playoffs.

All right, that's my semi-instant reaction. Happy New Year to everybody. It was an interesting year. I want to thank everybody at the volume, including the people. people editing this and taping this this morning on our Zoom link. I asked them to get up early. They did. Hey, guys, it's earlier for me. I'm on the West Coast. It's 6-Eleven right now. Happy New Year, everybody. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smyl 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

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