The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Snaps - Week 0 Recap

Episode Date: August 27, 2023

With no T-Bob tonight, Aaron is joined by J.D PicKell to breakdown Week 0. The guys react to ND's dominating win over Navy, USC's slow start against San Jose State, and preview some of the top games for Week 1. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. Hey, what's up, Bill? T-Bob here reminded you that you can come hang out with me and Aaron Murray live on AMP Monday through Thursday. Amp is a new live radio app. You just download it from the Apple store. You can actually call in, text in, chat with us directly during the show. It's a ton of fun.

We're at Snaps, right? Snaps, your favorite college football podcast at Snaps Monday through Thursday, one Easter, new central on AMP, download it. and come hang out with us today. Hey, what's going on? Aaron Murray here with snaps. No T-Bob tonight. He's at a birthday party or wedding.

I don't know, some BS excuse. He just didn't want to watch Week Zero, I think, at the end of the day. J.D. Pekyll at On 3 is joining me tonight. He watches all the football. Great content. Make sure you go subscribe to him on 3, all their stuff. They do tremendous stuff based out of Nashville where there is a game going on right now. a little closer for some SEC fans.

The commenters up 21 to 14 at halftime versus Hawaii. We may touch a little bit about that, but we're going to touch the bigger games, Notre Dame versus Navy. USC's in the fourth quarter right now, but kind of a little bit scary at a halftime. They seem to have things under control right now. And then Jady and I will look ahead to some of our,

I would say, top five matchups heading into week one, just a slight preview as we kind of move on from the appetizer and get ready for the main course next. weekend. JD, man, appreciate you jumping on. I think your first time with us. I know I've been on with you guys before. Happy to have you on the show. Yeah, man, glad to be on this show. Those are both literal and metaphorically big shoes to fill with Teabob out. But I'm glad to be on here, man. I'm glad that we woke up and it was a real college football Saturday, not like a spring game

Saturday, not like, oh, we're getting so closed. It's media days. It's like, no, they got real ball being played. And I'm excited to talk about it with you, man. Well, you're doing it so, Because usually when Teabob and I are doing a Saturday night show, one, if not both of us are a little intoxicated. So the fans will be getting sober. I don't know if you've ever seen our Saturday night shows before, but Teabob usually dresses up in some wild-ass costume. Like sometimes he's like an elf or he's gand-off. He has his big pipe. And so the problem is he goes from an LSU game to he does an LSU post game at a whiskey bar.

So he's smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, and then he jumps on this show with me afterwards after drinking and smoking, you know, cigars for two hours. And it's an absolute blast. We have a great time. This is going to be a little bit more facts, less craziness. But we're going to have some fun too along the way and hopefully entertain you guys. So appreciate y'all tuning in. We're recording this on Saturday night.

Probably going to release this on Sunday morning. So hopefully USC doesn't blow their 49-21 lead. and Jady and I look like complete idiots as we talk good about the Trojans and most likely their offense. But we'll start with a game, J.D., that has concluded Notre Dame versus Navy earlier today. And all eyes were on the pretty boy, Sam Hartman. And what this offense was going to look like, regardless of the opponent, it's still week one. And you and I both know this, like offenses take a little bit longer to get going in the defenses. And to me watching it, it looked like they're in mid-season form, regardless of the opponent, them going out there and doing it in a week zero matchup, I was like, damn, that's pretty promising.

And it was if you had never seen Sam Hartman play at Wake Forest and you just told somebody, hey, this Notre Dame's quarterback, like, oh, two-year starter for them, he's been in the system for a while. And he goes out and he's just like the epitome of a fishing. He was 82% completion percentage. And Aaron, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. to me it looked like he was super in rhythm with his receivers. Like making the ad lip throw to Jaden Great House, hitting Thomas in the back of the end zone where he comes out of his break. Like stuff like that where you kind of think, okay, you've repped that quite a bit. There's some chemistry there to where you're not just rolling the ball out there during fall camp

and figuring each other out. So if that's the base for Notre Dame going forward, if they're going to build upon that and they can be multiple, I mean, Adric Estime, it's a grown man getting downhill. They can have the downhill run and then also be. multiple in the past game. There's going to be a lot of games now that Notre Dame is able to win. They weren't able to win last year just because of how dynamic they'll be. So I'm excited, man. It's Navy. It's week zero, so we're not going to overreact, but like, looks pretty good so

far. Returns are pretty good so far in Sam Hartman. Well, and I, so I had the opportunity to cover Sam last year for a game and he's a really good quarterback. So was there going to be some, some possible hiccups on the way of a transition to a brand new offense, especially when it's the slow mesh to now what they're running in Notre Dame? Yeah. There could be. It was near perfect. And I'll go to the offensive line first. The offense line was great, man.

They run the ball effectively. And if you're able to run the ball, and that was another big question, like Logan Diggs moves on to LSU, what's this running back situation going to look like? And they got some grown-ass men there running the football, kind of that running back by committee four or five deep right now. But they're able to do that and run with that kind of effectiveness.

And Sam Hartman was essentially able to, show a comfort level in the offense because he had time. And the one thing I do worry about when you do face a better football team or a defense, what are those habits? It's easy to take a three-step drop or a five-step drop when you know you're not going to get hit. You know you know you don't got to move in the pocket. When you're having to react while also learning something new fundamentally, that's when those old habits or the fact that you haven't taken a lot of reps in that offense can kind of peek its nasty head out. So not saying they are, not saying they are because I do think Sam,

Sam Hartman is a good enough quarterback to play in any offense out there. I think the offense line is going to continue to be one of a dominant force. Hopefully the running backs continue to what they do, like the town at the receiving position. But I will say this when you talk about the timing and it felt like they just rolled the ball out there. I tweeted about this earlier. Some of those like Oki routes, which is timing, man. It takes time to be able to trust. And when I hit my third step, I can just throw it out there, essentially.

pick a spot on the sideline at 12 yards in depth and just trust my my sure he was going to be there and he was hitting those the five yard outs the speed outs and he wasn't thinking man he was throwing before the guys were breaking it's acting like those guys been working together for two three four years so to me that just shows how good of a quarterback is he's able to elevate the play of the guys around him the leadership the quality of football quarterback he is so I love that um was impressed by the defense obviously you know it's Good and bad having to go against triple option. Good because you get camp to prepare for it.

So you should be ready to go. Bad in the sense, JD, the fact that you did waste so much time preparing for this offense when you're not going to get the seat the rest of the year. The curious thing to me going to this game was, is Notre Dame going to be able to be disciplined enough for four quarters to be able to commit to like just to be real, like just the boring offense that the triple option is? And I'm a triple option guy. I was a triple option quarterback in high school. Like if you're playing against the option, it is freaking annoying. If you're an edge defender to have to, you know, sit in the middle, are you going to crash?

You're going to make them pull it. And so credit to Notre Dame, especially early on. Like there was a couple plays in that first quarter area where you're like, oh boy, some of that tape came to life. It's not the scout team running this anymore. Now Navy's kind of getting down ill and creating some, you know, some explosive runs it looked like and they were able to kind of hold their water, figured out and adjust like Marka Sherman talked about.

So I was impressed that it was like, hey, this is what we got to do this week. It just, it takes what it takes and we consider to get a win in Ireland. So we found a way to get it done. And I think you kind of probably felt this too. Like at the end of the day, it felt like Notre Dame, as long as they didn't have some wild schematic error was just going to be so athletically superior. No disrespect to Navy. But like they just, they got more Jimy's and Joe's than what Navy was going to bring.

And in the triple option offense, like you're trying to take advantage of angles and things like that. and at a certain degree when you're playing Notre Dame, like those angles just aren't quite there like they might be against the team like Air Force or Army. So, I mean, all in all, pass the test, on to the next. And, you know, a win's a win. It's a thing is a bad win. And now all of a sudden people are saying, okay, do they have a shot versus USC?

Do they have a shot versus Ohio State? You know, we'll get into this USC matchup right after this. But before we put Notre Dame the bed and move on, watching them today, there's always the question of does Notre Dame have the talent to compete for a national championship? Brian Kelly, who I think is a top five coach in America, got them there, got them to the playoffs, got them to a netting in 2012, but wasn't able to finish it because of that there is a talent gap. Watching them today and knowing that Sam Hartman's a quarterback, probably the best

quarterback they've had in quite some time, is he good enough to close that gap to make them competitive versus Ohio State versus USC and make them a legitimate playoff contender when it's all sudden done. I believe he is. My big question is, is that receiver room when you roll the ball out there against a team like a Georgia? Like when you go one-on-one with the corner at Georgia, you got, you know, Kamar Laster on the other side of you.

Like, I need you to be able to win a percentage of those one-on-ones. Not all of them, but right now with Notre Dame, I think the question mark is still too big for me. I like what they have on the offensive line. I mean, Joe All is going to be probably what top 10 pick maybe in next year's draft. Like they got a lot of guys up front that can do some good things. And you got a quarterback that can close the gap for you, like you mentioned. But I worry about those guys on the outside when you get in the ring with the beast like a Georgia, like a Michigan, like an Ohio State.

Yeah, I agree. I agree. I just love Sam Hartman. So we'll see. All they got to do is when one of them, man. They go 11-1. I think they're in the playoffs at the end of the day. regardless of the fact that they're not going to be in a conference championship game

because it is a pretty damn good schedule. All right, let's win the USC and Santa, San Jose State, a little bit of a scary first half. But the good thing for USC fans, you have the next coming of Reggie Bush, and he can get paid so we can actually keep his damn Heisman

once he does win a Heisman at some point. The freshman stud receiver, Zachariah Branch, catching the ball, kickoff return for a touchdown, just another weapon for this offense. and before we get to the negativity of the defense and bashing it or not bashing it,

whatever we want to say, this offense is elite. This is going to be an offense that can score with anyone in the country. Caleb Williams making miraculous plays look easy, left and right. Fourth down, doesn't matter. His ability to hit his back step and rip seam routes over and over again this game. It's effortless. I don't know what you believe of him, but I've told Teabobb this.

I think he's the best quarterback we've seen in the past decade. just an absolute stud, the ultimate confidence, and you throw the receivers around him and that talent. Was there any concern as you watch this offense tonight in their first go? You know, not so much as an X and O's standpoint. I mean, like you said, the snap is going past Caleb Williams. He's picking it up and throwing it 76 yards in his touchdown. So like life is good when it comes down to the Demetian Joe's.

Aaron, my concern watching the USC offense, when things didn't go their way, I couldn't help but notice the Caleb Williams body language. Saw a lot of palms up, saw a lot of like rolling over the eyes. And I get it's week zero at San Jose State. They shouldn't even be on the field with you if you're talking about what Vegas says. But I was like, hey man, like it's 1421 right now. Like I need you to kind of set the tempo here for us because I mean, Stan Jose State, it's not going to get a whole lot easier than where we're at right now.

So that was a little bit of an eyebrow rate to me. It's week zero. I mean, he's a competitor. He wants to fire on all cylinders at all times. He has enormously high standards for himself. But that was kind of a thing. I'm like, hmm, if we got Notre Dame at this out of the field and it's the fourth quarter, I don't want my quarterback saying, hey, what are you doing to his tight end or whatever else

is going on there? So I don't pretend to have inside information there or what's going on like Caleb Williams's head. Didn't like the way that looked, Darren? I wasn't a fan of that personally. No, no, I wasn't either. And I remember one play it was a sack. I think it was at the end of halftime.

he gets sacked right by the three-yard line. He kind of rolls off the field, kind of like what the F is going on. You're like, you know, I know this offense better than anyone else on that team. You've been in it for three years. There is a level of expectation that I want guys to do something, and there are new faces. I mean, you do have a freshman receiver playing a lot. You have a top transfer receiver coming from Arizona.

They're going to have hiccups because it's their first game. There's going to be some miscommunications. Like, you have to kind of roll with it and understand that, hey, man, I got to go, you know, wait to the sideline and then go talk. with that guy to make sure that him and I are kind of seeing I to I agree with that. I think the one thing that jumped off to me, I felt like at times in the first half, the offensive line was not as good as they were last year. And it's still the first year.

But a couple times you saw miscommunication where San Jose State has a guy, a defense to tackle that doesn't get touched. Senator goes one direction, D tackles running, and all of a sudden, Caleb's having to obviously be Caleb, which he's great at doing. But I don't want to put him in the situation. versus Oregon or Washington or or Notre Dame where you're getting a bunch of uh-oh, watch out blocks and he's going to have to go be, you know, Caleb week in and week out, which he can do that.

But they got to get a little bit more secure up front. I think they got the town up there. First game, you're still working out some of the communication with the offensive line. So you got the quarterback. You have elite receivers. Once again, branches and absolute stud. That freshman is only any. get more and more confidence as the season goes along.

So offense ain't the question. It looks like it's still the defense, man. Alex Grinch, you got all these guys coming in. And at times you saw like, okay, wow, I saw some better tackling. Oh, I saw some improvement. And then you saw some massive plays given up as well to a team that you are significantly superior than when it comes to talent. Did they get better?

Is it just week one? Are we already overreacting, or is this same old, same old? I think to a degree the talent is so much better than it was a year ago, based on who they got through the portal. Like Bear Alexander was just abusing some of those guys in the offensive flag for San Jose State, like just noticeably knocking them back to three yards, whether he got back there or not for a sack. But when it comes to the talent right now,

I think it is going to take a second for a timetion for us to get on the same page. and there's an element of this too where like USC's defense is kind of an easy punchline for people on Twitter right? Like it's easy to say, oh, USC's defense, this, that, and you kind of dismiss it. Like, Shevin Cordero was bawling. Like, dudes is a six-year player now.

I mean, has played a lot of games and he was dealing. So I think there's also an element of like, yeah, USC's probably figured it out, caught their stride in the second half, knock on wood. But that, I mean, that's a good quarterback they're playing against. I mean, it's not Bo Nix and it's not Camry. but I mean, that's a good quarterback they're playing against. That's tough to draw in week one, or week zero rather.

Yeah, I covered in my previous job with CBS, I had an opportunity to actually cover San Jose State a bunch because we had a big relationship with covering the Mountain West. And it was just so funny. I mean, the last time I covered them, Nick Nash was the starting quarterback. You know, he was kind of battling back and forth. And he was the athletic quarterback.

He was the one that was obviously the better runner. And then now watching him tonight, I mean, literally the last time I saw Nick Nash, too, I think is two years ago, maybe three, he was a quarterback. And then tonight he's making that one-handed juggling catch. He's going, you know, what, two touchdowns, three touchdowns now. They just scored another touchdown. It's currently 56 to 28, Shevin Cordero's 23, three touchdowns, 178.

They have another 154 yards on the ground as well. So I agree with you, Jay, like the talent is better. So now it goes to Alex Grinch. Like, you've improved the talent. through the portal, through recruiting. So then what's now the problem? Well, then it's Alex Grinch. I mean, his ass is on the chopping block.

So I don't know if you make a move at some point during the season. I also don't know right now if it is just a, hey, man, we are talented, but we're still kind of working out the communications of what this defense is going to look like. You got some time, man. You look at their schedule the next four or five weeks. Nevada, Stanford, Arizona State, at Colorado. We'll see what Colorado looks like offensively, but that's going to be interesting.

Arizona, I mean, to me, you don't face a for sure fire home run offense until October 14th when you play Notre Dame. I mean, they got time to make some improvements. I don't think they're going to be stressed and worried about losing the next five weeks. so you're hoping that the defense can figure it out by then. But if they do keep performing the way they do tonight, say the same thing come Arizona and they're giving up 28 points to Arizona, what does that change your mentality of what this team will be in the Pac-12

and as they get ready for Notre Dame? And I think also to your point, like with the first half of that schedule kind of being the ramp up, like it has to be a ramp up and not just, oh, we're going to play this team that we're better than and we'll beat them. by however many and we'll walk in, it'll be great. Like, it's in charge of, you know, the guys that are leaders in that locker room to say, okay, the back half of the schedule, I know if y'all check, gauntlet.

We got Notre Dame, we got Oregon. We got Utah. Like, like, we better be ready to roll here for this last five, six game strip. Because if we're not, if we don't take this first half seriously as a true, like, progress period for us, we will not accomplish our goals. And so for USC, I mean, just like you said, when it comes to the talent, it's no longer a matter of do we have the guys. You're saying, okay, Alex Grinch, are we doing it?

the things in practice or we're doing the things schematically to be set up for success. They missed over 150 tackles last year, Aaron. And you know, like, you're just not doing the right things from getting a lined up standpoint. You're not doing the right things from a tackling and practice standpoint. Like, that doesn't just happen because you don't have the guys. So I think, like you said, Alex Grinch, like, that heat's turning up a little bit more in L.A. right now. No, it's, it's getting around. And a lot of it wasn't, I mean, there was mixed tackles tonight.

And you can kind of chalk that up to first game, too. but there are some just wide open receivers, man, some explosive plays. And give San Jose State credit for those who don't watch San Jose State or watch the Mountain West. Like you said, man, that's the quarterback heading in was, I think, preseason player the year for that conference. Like that is a good team with a good quarterback, a quarterback that knows that offense. So let's not just, you know, say that they're playing a bunch of scrubs either.

So let's, let's, I'll give him a couple weeks, man. But I'm panicking just a little bit. a little bit if I'm a USC fan. All the clock here. You said that back schedule, Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA, five of their last six games of the season. They better figure out on the defense side of the football. So that's the first two big games, man, week zero, a little bit of a teaser,

a little bit of an appetizer. We got some football. It was great. Just get that palette wet and get ready for Thursday night to Monday night football. So Jady and I are going to kind of break down our top five games that we're looking forward to most this weekend. And I would say probably the top headline, J.D., is the Sunday night game, which I thought you did a great job with your analogy the other day with talking about Mason Smith. And I watched it.

I was like, man, it's 100% correct the way you broke it down. So for those who haven't seen it, make sure you go watch JD's breakdown of how it just is fucking stupid what the NSA is doing, essentially. but a little drama added to the game with Star Defeckel Mason Smith not playing in it. What does that change your mentality as we head into this massive Sunday night football game? I think it's more so like a loss of what he could have been in that game. I mean, six foot six, three 15. Like he could have been at his best, maybe a game wrecker. Maybe he puts Ellis or excuse me, puts Florida State into like, you know, more third and sevens or maybe more behind the stick.

that kind of thing. But I mean, they'll still be solid in that in that defensive line. Like, Mackay Wingo's going to be a guy for them. I believe Jacobian Gillerie is going to step up behind him. But, I mean, my real question is if this becomes a situation where, you know, Florida State can score some points, can Jane Daniels and company? Can they answer? Like, I mean, we saw last year, they just kind of figured out what they wanted to do in the

first half in the second half. It was like, okay, now we'll kind of do our thing. And it was in this game last year where they messed around for the first two quarters and took it all the way down to the end of regulation and really should have been playing for overtime. Obviously, a very different team, LSU fans feel from that game to this coming season and what they learned in the second half of last year.

But, I mean, a lot of eyeballs on Jaden Daniels and a lot of eyeballs on how much they can improve that offense from a vertical standpoint. And I'm excited to see it, man. I think that's the question because Jordan Travis and Company, I mean, Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, I mean, they're just playing above the rim out there. So I think they're going to score some point.

It's tight end. Kyle Warlock, like six foot nine. They're like them on stars out there, dude. The thing that worries me, like, I look at FSU and you kind of look from top to bottom on both sides of the football. You're like, all right, you get the quarterback, you got the running back, you got the receivers a tight end. Offensive lines back.

The defense is back. Like, there really isn't like this glaring like, man, like this is where we can really expose FSU. Like there's certain positions that obviously aren't as good, but there isn't like this massive like, oh, God, we're in trouble because of this. where I think you do look at LSU a little bit, and I think they got talent at DB. Like there's not like there's a bunch of walk-on guys

that that have never played SEC football before, that their eyes are going to be huge come that first game and they're going to look like a deer in a headlight. Like they got dudes. Some experience, maybe not as talented as what LSU's had in the past at the defensive back position, but it is a weakness.

And like you just brought up and I kind of fin like up all the guys, you're going against a quarterback who was red hot to finish last season. a good offense line that's going to give him time, a tight end and Jeanne Bell that can move around and create matchups that you're going to have to communicate with, and then three or four deep, really talented, lengthy receivers that can stretch the ball vertically down the field.

It's like, I am now worried if you can't put consistent pressure on Jordan Travis, who's also athletic, so you can't just rush the hell out of them, can those guys in the back end hold up? I think it's going to be a shootout, man. This is going to be fireworks because I do think Jaden and that offense with Malik and a really talented offensive line.

I mean, that offense line here and nothing but great things about how they've performed in fall camp, good stable of running backs, Taylor at tight end. Like, they're going to get theirs. Like, they're going to score points. And I had the opportunity to cover LSU in the spring game and seeing Jaden's progression as a passer. It's like night and day from where he was last year, even at the end of the season, to where he is now heading into this season.

And so they're going to score. I think FSU is going to score. It's going to come down to who has the ball last. And in cliches it is, who protects the ball, what crazy turnover can swing the game way in the game is going to be the big difference. But I just think it's going to be hilarious. Like I would love to watch my do this at some point, watch last year's game for how ugly and sloppy it was right before

and then watch that one. And it's going to be night and day because it is going to look so, professional and good to the best teams in America when it's all said and done. Are you leaning anyway of the other right now? Too early in the week. Still need some more time. Yeah, you know, we'll pick it on our show to like kind of lock it in. Man, I'm leaning LSU a little bit right now.

Like the team speed that they have, Brian Kelly's going to have him ready to play. And my big question for Florida State, like you said, it feels as though there's no glaring weakness across that roster. my big question is how have they handled the last couple of months with everyone saying they're a playoff team they're maybe a team that's going to win the ACC and like this is a team that yeah they've got a lot of guys that are experienced and a lot of leaders in that locker room but they've never had this kind of buzz in the mike norval era around a florida state team like last year we were talking about is mike norville going to make it to Halloween and now we're like are they a college football playoff team and so when that spotlight gets a little

bit hotter, you know, do you, you know, kind of put the blinders on and use that as motivation and find a way to lock in? Or is it like, all right, we've arrived, baby, let's go roll the ball out here. Monday and Sunday in Orlando, you know, we're just going to walk out there and play because LSD, this is personal for them, for sure. I mean, you heard Mason Taylor in some offseason interview talk about, like, you know, we got to get back what's ours. This, this didn't go the way it was supposed to last year. So they're going to come out swinging. So I'm leaning LSU right now. You got a feel on this one? Man, how was leading LSU?

And now I'm kind of freaking out. I'm not going to lie, the more I kind of study FSU. I'm like, damn, that's a good football team. I've been talking FSU up all offseason as like my team in the ACC. And then not having Mason, I'm just like, oh, man, I just, not Mason. And once again, like just hearing all the negativity towards the DBs a little bit for LSU just spooks me a little bit. But I do trust Brian Kelly, like I said a little bit earlier when we were talking about Notre Dame. Like I think Brian Kelly, like I said a little bit earlier when we were talking about Notre Dame.

Like I think Brian Kelly. is a premier coaching college football. And now year two at LSU with that talent, it's hard for me not to believe that this team is just not going to be focused fundamentally more sound than they were at the beginning last season and ready to go kick some ass and get some revenge on Florida State as well. So a little bit towards LSU,

but man, this is going to be, it's crazy, man. Like this game can just almost determine, part of the playoff already because the thought of Florida State having to go undefeed the rest of the season and then obviously same thing with LSU this is a make or break game for both these teams man because that

margin of error is so razor thin when you got to play Clemson probably multiple times. You got to play Alabama and the entire SEC West and then Georgia SEC Championship like this is an important game for both teams. It's going to be fun to watch. Thursday night game Florida versus

Utah my big worry in this one because I love Utah great defense physical team is two things one you lose Dalton Kincaid who is your Superman tight end and I don't believe Cam Rising can play like I've come back from a tour in ACL like if you can go back and play at a high level in seven months like man good for you but like that kid is a hell of a player if he can play I don't know how effective he can be like his four self and then first off, I don't even think he can play seven months coming off the ACL. I know, I know surgeries have improved and, you know, these guys are, you know, they bounce back like

nothing, but that's, that would be, that's a lot to ask for a guy who got surgery what in January. And what happens at Florida stroke scoring points? Like, I mean, you have a backup quarterback in there for Utah, potentially. You got Graham Roots who's played like a million some odd games and has got two of the best backs quietly in the country right behind him. Like, let's say Florida gets up, I don't know. 10-0 in the second quarter. And that defense from Florida is improved.

And they do have more depth. And all those things we've heard are true about Austin Armstrong. Like then Utah's kind of messing around, trying to find a way to get points on the board. And then Florida's just holding the ball for longer drive. So it feels like on paper, Utah, this team that's coming off back-to-back, Pack 12 titles, and they've got so many guys back and Kyle Whittingham, this guy.

But like, Aaron, I'm kind of thinking the same way as you. If there is no cam rising, that drastically changes the way that I look at Utah, what they have around them because he is what makes this whole system go with his arm, yes, but also with his legs, which either way, if he plays, probably isn't an asset for them in this game. No. No, I think that's a key factor right there. So if if if can was healthy, if there was no surgery, no tear, like I would say, okay, yeah, Utah is the better football team. From top the bottom, you tell is the better football team. But there is just such a massive drop from Cam rising to to what they had behind them where I'm like, I don't have faith that they can

win this game, even at home, even though that they're probably, if you want to compare position by position, I would kind of lean Utah more in a lot of the positions that I would Florida. This is a big game for Graham Mertzoh, man, like going on the road, first game in a new uniform, it's going to be hostile as hell, man. It's a hell of an environment there at Utah. And a lot of expectations, honestly, because you said it, like Florida knows, like we have a run game.

We have two great running backs. Utah knows, hey, this team's going to want to run the football. We go back and watch last year's tape. I know they had Anthony Richardson a quarterback, but this was a run first offense. Offense line performed well. The running backs perform well. And obviously Anthony Richardson perform well too.

They're going to load the box. They'd be stupid not to. We got home field advantage. The stadium's going to be shaking. We have a quarterback who doesn't perform well against top defenses. And good receivers, maybe not great receivers, good receivers. Like the ball is going to be in his hand, man. Like, Grahamurch, you're going to be asked to win that football game.

You're going to get a lot of eight-man boxes and it's going to be one-on-one. You better be accurate to sound. You better take advantage of it. And how much has been talked about with him? When he was the guy that transferred to Florida, like that feeling around, you know, the Gator fan base was kind of like a, really? Like, you know, there was all these guys that were, you know, there was at that point in time,

Jason McCall is in the portal and Devin Leary's in the portal. and I don't know if they had committed at that point in time, but you're kind of thinking as a Florida fan like, Graham Hurts, the guy that wasn't necessarily lining up at Wisconsin, that's our guy. And so I'm super fascinated by what this fresh start could mean for him. Because, I mean, he was highly recruited at a high school. We saw him do it at times for Wisconsin.

Like, the dude can spend the rock. I wonder if his receivers are going to be able to separate when they do load the box. Is a Eugene Wilson, that true freshman they're excited about? Does he get loose a couple times? Does Ricky Pearsall win one-on-one? and when they give him those open shots, does Grahamers take advantage.

Because like you said, if that comes out to a wash where Utah just kind of throws the kitchen sink and says, we're going to make you beat us, Gramerts, how sweet would that be for him on the road in Salt Lake City

against the back-to-back Pack 12 title champs and to just be able to kind of walk off and say, that's why I'm your guy. Yeah. That's why I'm your guy. I think they got it, man. I'm leaning towards forward in this game because of the quarterback situation for Utah.

all. I just, I'll be honest. I know there's going to be fans like, oh, you just, you just, you're, you just don't like Florida because you, man. I'm trying to talk good here in the sense of like this is still a rebuilding here. Like, I have never been through an off-season in my entire life where I feel like we've talked less about Florida than we have this year. I think that's a good thing. Like, let Billy Napier do his thing. Just let him. Vegas has him. Yeah. Cooking, man. Just let him keep cooking. He'll be fine. Just this don't, don't think this team. should be a eight win team. If they somehow find a way to do it, then you better be celebrating and maybe throwing a damn parade. But like just get through another year, let him keep building. Florida, you'll be finding out plenty of talent. So that's going to be a great game,

great game, great game on Thursday night. Let's move to the Battle of Carolina, UNC versus USC to really good quarterbacks, Duke it out, Drake May, Spencer Rattler. Any polls on this one for you of kind of how you feel going down. Dude, I love Drake May. Like, Drake May, one of the best quarterbacks in the country, obviously, like, I mean,

the best quarterback not named Caleb Williams and NFL draft circles. My issue, Drake May doesn't play defense for North Carolina. And South Carolina, I mean, they got to bring it a little bit as well in the trenches and be able to do something against the run. But with the way that they ended last year and the things that are being said about Spencer Rattler behind closed doors right now, which is just talking, you know, it doesn't mean anything Just yet, there's some confidence for me that if South Carolina gets rolling, I wonder about who Drake May is going to throw the football to.

At the time I was recording this, nothing with Taz Walker, and Josh Downs did a lot for them last year. So I love Drake May, but when you put the entirety of this game on his back, I look at South Carolina and I see Juice Wells, I see Spencer Rattler, I see a defense that's got some things to prove. So I love Shane Beamer. I'm leaning South Carolina right now on this one, Aaron. You have literally my notes. My notes says Drake May all the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Yeah. Because it is, man. Like you don't have, because there's always going to be the comparison of him and Caleb. And you look at the numbers last year, and they're actually eerily similar, which is crazy. And you look at USC right now. And yeah, the USC doesn't have a defense. You can say the same about UNC. But at least they have receivers and talent and playmakers at USC Southern account,

not South Carolina as I talked about this one. And Drake doesn't have that this year. And maybe someone emerges. So maybe there's someone that, and I always talk about with quarterbacks and kind of what I talked about earlier with Sam Hartman. Like guys of that caliber make average receivers good. They make good receivers great because guess what?

They can put the ball on time in rhythm for a spot to make that guy catch it in stride. And then all of a sudden you give a good receiver ball a foot in front of the numbers where he can go, he's going to make a big explosive play. And then that guy starts to build confidence, and that just kind of builds throughout the season. But this is still week one, though. That confidence needs to be built

with this young, inexperienced offensive line, or excuse me, receiving court. And once again, a defense that just frankly is probably not going to be great again this year for UNC. So I'm with you, I'm leaning a little bit towards USC. I like their skill. I'm interested in what that tight end looks like,

the five-star freak athlete, how they get him involved. It should be a fun one though, man. I hope Drake balls out. I do because I kind of feel bad for the kid because he doesn't have all the town in the world. I was kind of hoping he'd go to Alabama this offseason. And he could have.

He probably could have. I would imagine everybody was blowing him up and saying, hey, come play here. And he's like, want to be at UNC. So there's some loyalty cred there for sure. Yeah, I mean, good for him. But I still would have loved to see what Drake would have looked like with a bunch of five-star receivers around him,

how good he could have been. Florida. That's that game. Thank you and I both lean a little bit towards USC. The one everyone's going to be watching, which we probably would not have been watching if it wasn't for a major coaching move. Colorado versus TCU, time to see if all the roster moves from Deon Sanders

actually works and they can create any sort of noise against the team. The defending, I guess number two team in the country losing the Georgia Bulldogs last year. TCU loses the quarterback, their offensive coordinator. They bring in Kendall Bryles from Arkansas, going to be some new faces. I think TCU takes a step back a little bit this year.

I mean, TCU is so a good team. And you look at TCU over the past 15 years, like they have been really damn good. So they hit the portal extremely well. They got some good receivers. They got some good running backs. It'll be a good team. I just don't think that you can expect them to,

to kind of hit those numbers that they did last year. Man, I hope Colorado kind of wins one of those first two, though. I just really do because I'm, I know how you feel, man, but I'm a fan of what Dion's doing there at Colorado. At the very least, it is just fascinating, right? Like, everybody kind of has an opinion on it, and there's nobody's really in the middle on pro-deon or not so pro-deon. But to say that anybody has a gauge for what he's going to be with just overhauling

in a completely new roster. Like, they're just, they're lying to you. Like, we have never seen anything like this in college football because it's never been possible. And now it is with the portal. And Dion says, we got to get better. We're 111 last year. Okay, let me bring my Louis luggage and let's get after it here.

But yeah, if they do steal one of these early two, that's going to, that's going to pour some fuel on the, on the coach prime hype train. However, I cannot get out of my mind, Chandler Morris and what he did in relief. I believe it was of Max Duggan in 20, I guess it was 20, 20, where Baylor came to town. And Baylor's, you know, thinking college football playoff and they're on the march for a big 12th title. And Chandler Morris was like the reincarnation of Johnny Mansell that day. So he may not be Max Duggan and Quentin Johnson may not be running around out there, but I think they're still in really good hands with him at quarterback.

And I wonder how long we talk about, you know, transfer guys and all that meshing. Like a lot of pieces at Colorado that are going to have to get. working here pretty quick, fast in the hurry. So for week one, I'm leaning TCU there right now, Aaron. Yeah, I definitely lean TCU too. I'm interested to see Travis Hunter how much he can play both sides of the ball because I think they're going to put a lot of pressure on him to be that go-to guy of, hey, you've got to lock down the top DB, our top receiver on defense, and then you've got

to flip it over and be our playmaker on offense. And then you can do that when you're playing, you know, an HBCU, where you're the number one player in the conference. and there's a massive gap. Now you're in the power five. And the dude you're going against, yeah, you may be better,

but that gap is shrunken. Can you go both ways at a high level? Your first game, when the adrenaline's running high, you're probably going to be juiced out of your mind and pregame warmups. You're going to be wearing yourself out a little bit early because there are a lot of expectations for him and Dion and and,

and Charade, like, are they ready to, you know, handle the spotlight? But I do want to see how much Are you truly going to put the pressure on Travis to go both ways to be that superstar that we think he could be? And we haven't seen someone play at that kind of level on both sides in quite some time.

Just fascinated by Colorado. I'm with you, man. Does this experiment work? Because we've seen in smaller ways at different universities. Riley did a little bit at USC last year on offense. We've seen Lane Kiffin do it at Ole Miss where he brings in a lot of guys to the portal and kind of re-identifies what the team looks like. But, like, there's little, like, parts of the team, not the entire football team, essentially. Like, this is, like you said, brand, brand new territory could be the way of the new future for teams that are one and 11 the previous year.

Last game, which I think is actually going to be pretty damn good. Battle in the ACC, Clemson versus Duke. I am, I get crushed by Clemson fans. Just crush. I am not sold on Clemson this year, to be honest. I'm not sold on Clemson. I'm not sold in Alabama. And somehow everyone in college game day thinks that Alabama

is going to win national championship. So I don't know. They get paid a lot more money than I do. So maybe they know some stuff that I don't. But these are two teams of mine, like two megas that I just can't buy in for two reasons, J.D. Quarterback and receivers. And I think in today's game,

you need that to win a championship. And I think both have questions at both key positions on offense. Yeah. I mean, to your point, with Kade Klobnik, he's kind of a name that based on what he did in the ACC title game and what it was at a high school. Like, there's a lot of excitement around for good reason. But I think to your point, we need to maybe dial back the Kade Klobnik buzz. And not in a negative way.

It's just like, hey, we have two sample sizes on him. We have the ACC title game where, again, North Carolina, I don't think they believe in defense. And also in the Orange Bowl, he had a lot on his play, and that's a big spot. but he wasn't necessarily like lighten it up in that game. And so I think if he goes out and looks pedestrian and they beat Duke by seven points, like, it's okay. Like let's let the kid kind of get his seat legs a little bit and figure it out in a brand new offense. Enormously talented.

But the buzz around him, I think, is maybe just a little bit unfair. And to your point, the receiver room, I'm very curious how Garrett Riley schemes some guys open for them because they didn't have that guy that was just, you know, Mike Williams or a, Sammy Watkins are like that alpha wide receiver that we've seen Clemson have in the past. Adam Randall is a guy that I know they're excited to get back. He's been clocked like 4-4. He's like six foot. I believe he's six foot two, six foot three, two-twenty.

He's rocked up. So if he can get back to what they hope he can be, he could be a guy for them to go with Antonio Williams. But overall, that tempo, the motion is kind of that. I mean, really what he did at TCU last year with creating explosives. I'm curious if that doesn't maybe make up for some of the things they don't have or haven't seen yet across that receiver room. Well, I think it's less excitement. I think there is an excitement for Clubneck heading into year two.

It seems like, okay, he got all the wraps. You know, there wasn't, you know, he wasn't sitting behind DJU kind of waiting his turn. So, and there should be that natural progression from year one that year two. I think it's more of everyone just the narrative of, you know, if Riley runs your offense and, you know, one of them, they're going to be great. And the quarterback's going to put up stupid numbers. So, I mean, it is an impressive track number.

And you kind of sit back and say, like, damn, when is the last time? that he did have a quarterback that didn't put up stupid numbers and they have a lot of talent and a lot of positions. I just still need to see it because what I saw from Kate last year was just a young quarterback. I'm not saying he's good or bad. I'm just saying that he was green. And I need to see him take that next step before I crown him as a all-ACC quarterback.

I need the receivers to take massive strides in that right direction. I mean, you literally had an offense last year that relied on Will Shipley running over four or five guys every single play for that offense to move up and down the field. So they'll be great on defense. And I do think the offense will be better. Will it be good enough to win an ACC championship? I think it should be. I mean, it should be right there with Florida State.

They're going to be one of the two favorite teams. Is it good enough to win the national championship? I don't think so. I just don't think so. But they're going to have a good test, man. Duke's a good football team. They return their quarterback. Mike Elko is a hell of a defense of mine.

you saw those numbers from two years ago giving up like 39 points per game or three years. Two years ago was 38. Then all of a sudden last year was 22 points per game. Like that's a hell of a jump when it comes to defense production. They lose their top two tacklers but return everyone else. Like this is a team where yeah, you're more talented than them. But they got a great coach. They're playing with with a lot of confidence after what happened last year.

And once again, I think possibly the better the two quarterbacks heading into this game. could they make it a single score game, you think? 100%. I mean, I think if you're Davosweeney, like, you're going to this game, and if you win the game by one point, like everybody is going to say, wow, Clemson really struggled on the road against Duke, you know, what are they going to be? And it's like, man, new quarterback, new offense.

If you win by one, great. You win by 41, awesome. But like, you get out of Duke, you get at Durham, North Carolina, with the win, any way you get it. like that is that is a good thing i don't think there's such thing as a bad win here for clemson i mean it's on a monday it's on the road and like you mentioned like raleigh leonard we talk about you know drake may and caleb williams raleigh leon right now at least is that name that gets mentioned right after both those cats so if he decides to just show up and like

just kind of be that guy that day what happens in that game so i'm i'm curious to watch that one but no it is not going to be a thing where clemson i don't think runs away and wins by 20 or 30. If they do, maybe they pull away late, but I think it's, I think it's a thing where this is going to be a dog fight and just a horrible spot after Clemson. Like it's a week, weekday game. Weekday games are always weird. You're on the road. It's not one of those neutral site Monday games. So I'm fired up for this one. This is going to be a good one. I think it's, I think for people in the outside, I think it's, for those who aren't educated of what Duke did last year and what they're returning, I think it's kind of like a no-win situation for Clemson, essentially, because if you do win close,

the national perspective is like, oh my God, Clemson won a close game to Duke. And if you blow them out, people are going to be like, yeah, we expected that. So for you and I who do know how good Duke is, I do think if Clemson does put it on them a little bit, and if they produce on offense and can create some explosive plays, I start to feel better about what was it,

that week four matchup where they do host FSU there in Death Valley. I'm like, okay, man, that's going to be a hell of a ball game. So I'm just happy football is here. Week 0, the appetizer. I got my belly nice and primed, a little soup, a little little Caesar salad. And the next week we start to get into some of those main courses. Well, I think some great ball games like you and I said, I mean, maybe two or three games that are already going to shape what the playoff is going to look like in about four months,

which is crazy. We're already getting that to start the season off. JD, man, I appreciate you. Once again, love everything you guys do it on three. Love what you do with them. make sure you go follow him on all of his social media. He does a great job. And I'm sure you're going to kick some ass this fall as well.

And once again, man, thanks for jumping on with me on a late Saturday night after week zero. Heck yeah, man. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Football's back. Let's have a great year, baby. Appreciate you having me on.