The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - College football talent

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

Colin raves about the talent on display in college football so far The NFL will have plenty of elite football players to choose from during the 2024 NFL Draft Thoughts on the Niners admitting they made a mistake drafting Trey LanceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us. Jason and I, part of your day. J-MAC, I had, that's the longest break I've had in a long time. I've got to tell you. Energized, a few walks on the beach. Lodd in my head right now.

I hope you had a good vacation. A little minor surgery. Rebounded nicely, it sounds like. I'm back. Well, well-earned vacation from you. But by the way, we want the smoke in the flag football game from these guys. No, we don't.

We do. Come on. You can guard Irvin. They got to guard us. They got to guard Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase. Come on, buddy. All right. We start with this.

So I like college football watching it, like many of you for a long time. I saw something this weekend. And over the last two weekends that was literally jaw-dropping. That blew me away. For years and years, We've had these coaching clinics, seven-on-seven summer camps. Oh, man, it is a gold rush. The quality of quarterback play in college that I have seen in two weekends is unbelievable.

The Pack 12's quarterbacks, just that conference, have completed 73% of their throws for 43 touchdowns and five picks. Bo Nicks, first rounder, Caleb Williams, number one pick. I had no idea. Dionne Sanders, Chadour Sanders, was that good? Michael Panix Jr. of Washington, all four first round picks. That's just the Pact 12. I'm not sure if Deion's son will leave. He may want to stay with Dad and Travis Hunter. I get that. The quality is insane. Caleb Williams, we all know, is great. He didn't have the best weekend in his conference. There are so many I can't name them. Dionne Sanders son, Shadour Sanders, I had seen him on YouTube

at Jackson State. I didn't know how good he was. I text two general managers in the NFL during the game against TCU. I said, I'm absolutely blown away. Am I nuts? They're like, no, he's a first round. First round quarterback. The kid last night for Duke, Riley Leonard, that's a first round quarterback.

Six, four, mobile, 360 dunks. These kids are incredible. I've never seen any. Jordan Travis at Florida State. If I left your quarterback out, it's because there's too many the name. It's a gold rush. All these years of seven-on-seven camps and personal coaching, Notre Dame as a guy, Hartman, people like him, and I'm like, yeah, I do too.

In many years, you could talk yourself into a first-round pick for him. He's probably a second or a third because there's so many. We may have seven, eight, nine first-round quarterback picks. And what does it mean? I'll tell you what it means. your NFL team and your NFL executive, they watched the same thing I did. They watched the same thing you did.

You noticed it. Don't tell me you watched college football the last two weeks and didn't think, damn, this is kind of good. Like way better. College football in the 70s and 80s teams literally were running like wishbone stuff in the 70s. I can remember watching Nebraska earn their national championship year. Tommy Frazier was a runner, not really a thrower.

These guys are four wide, five wide. They can run. They can jump. It can pass. It's deep. It's underneath. And what does it mean? It means your NFL executives are going to be very impatient with their quarterbacks. Jordan Love, bra, win now. Green Bay is drafting a quarterback if that kid doesn't look good by Thanksgiving. Justin Fields, I think it's going to work. If it doesn't, we're moving on. There's too much town out there. Kirk Cousins is 35. You know what? He's kind of expensive. Brock Purdy. Maybe it was a fluke. What if he sputters? They're not going to give it to Sam Darnold. They're drafting another. one. Gino Smith. Can you do it again? Seattle's roster is built, built, because it's so young for another young quarterback and then start spending money on free agency. Desmond Ritter. Everybody in Atlanta is like, ooh, I like Desmond Ritter. You better. If he's not good in the first six to eight weeks, don't kid yourself. They're looking at tape. Dak Prescott's gotten really,

really expensive. C.J. Stroud, do you give him a second year? These guys I'm watching are more athletic than C.J. Stroud. That's what I saw from Riley Leonard last night. Deon Sanders' son's insane. What a talent that kid is. I YouTubeed months ago just to see, you know, can he play it all? And it's like jaw dropping. So Jared Goff, if the Lions all this hype disappoint, you don't think they're going to draft the quarterback next year? So I am sitting there and I'm watching it and I just it was astounding how much talent there was absolutely astounding um you know I'm a dummy of course Dion Sanders son's a great player he's one of the greatest athletes in the history of the NFL but all this talk about Caleb Williams and drake may and I'm sitting there

thinking just don't forget about Shadoor Sanders and the kid at Duke George Travis I I haven't mentioned six or seven other ones It was phenomenal display put on this weekend. Look at this kid for Duke. Riley Leonard. He's 6'4. He's out running corners. Good hell.

Bow Nix. It was a video game. Throws it deep, throws it short, throws it on the run. All-time stuff. And it makes the sport, for the record, so much more enjoyable. Yeah, I should mention Drake May because many believe he's number two and he's classic. Another big kid. Move, run, throw.

jaw-dropping. Just absolutely jaw-dropping talent, and it's all now come together, all the clinics, all the seven-on-seven, all the summer stuff. Keep your eye on the lefty from Washington, Michael Penix. He throws as pretty a ball as any quarterback in college football. He's got great receivers, but it's gorgeous. Okay. So one of the things the media does, and we've seen over the last 20 years, you, the public, trust the media less and less. We all make mistakes. That's not it. But it's this vulture mentality, this over-dramatizing normal events. I read this headline today. This is the worst headline ever.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan finally admit drafting Trey Lance was a mistake. What the hell do you want? You want him to admit it when Trey was there? That'd be like announcing your divorcing your wife before you told her. Finally admit it was a process. They rolled the dice. It's what successful, aggressive people do. They gave it time and they moved on.

One, two, three. All within reasonable frames. A year ago, in fact, it may have been a year and a half ago, I said on this show, I have been told they're deeply concerned with his inconsistency throwing the ball. I got major pushback. They had major concerns about him throwing the ball

a year and a half ago. They called two quarterback, coaches I know. Look at tape. What do you see? We're concerned. They're not going to announce it then. The media is always seeking an apology or to admit you were wrong. Do you realize that the top venture capitalists in America, VCs, the top angel of investors

in America, the smartest people who do this for a living, they buy young companies, They seed young companies. Do you know the percentage they hit? And this is the billionaire club with inside information, tons of experience, access to the best information. Do you know the percentage of hits they get? 8%. But at least they take the big swings, headline writers.

They take the big cuts. It's what a successful, aggressive people do. They're not paralyzed by being wrong or paralyzed by missing on an investment. The Niners are smart. Go look at their team. How many lower round draft picks have succeeded George Kittles in all-time tied in. They got him in the fifth round.

Brock Purdy last pick in the draft. Yes, they took a big swing on Trey Lance. Took a big swing, tried to make it work, eventually moved off. Do you realize the Miami Dolphins since Dan Marino, left have had 25 quarterbacks start a game. Twenty-five. You know how many GMs they've run through? It's hard. Sports is hard. Winning's hard. Drafting's hard. It was easy. Everybody 'd make seven or eight figures. It's hard. The Broncos since Elway left, I've had 23 quarterback start.

48 total. Dolphins, Broncos. Finally, Denver just said, hell with it. Let's go buy Peyton Manning. End of his career. So yes, on a station in San Francisco, the Niners, Kyle Shanahan, finally admits they made a mistake.

When you move up and it doesn't work out, definitely that's a mistake. But we did like our decisions on When we looked into the veterans, the two veterans that were available, and we didn't get that. And we knew what way we were going to have to go two years from then. We knew we needed to go up and get a quarterback at that time. I went this morning and looked at Mel Kuyper's draft prospectus on Trey Lance. He said, quote, it's the definition of a boom or bust prospect.

It busted. Kind of. I think he'll find his space in Dallas. But people say playing quarterback is the hardest thing in sports. No, it's not. No, it's not. Drafting a quarterback is the hardest thing in sports. It's really hard.

What the Packers did far to Rogers almost doesn't make sense. Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck, that is just like a rare meteor flying through the sky. The media too often acts like vultures waiting for you to admit your mistake. Successful, aggressive people take down. big cuts. It's okay. I like them. They're fun to hang out with. They're fun to watch. But you're not going to get there being timid. San Francisco could have gone Mac Jones. But asked New England Patriot fans. They're all out on Mac Jones. I like Mac Jones. More than Patriot fans like him. Mac Jones had a ceiling. Mac Jones can't add lib. Tray Lance's tape was

really interesting. I thought he would work. You know why I thought he would work? I didn't know much about him. I thought he'd work because Kyle Shanahan. Everybody works with Kyle Shanahan. But Kyle made a mistake. So just to make sure we're all okay now. Finally admitting it as if he should have done it when Trey was there. All right, J. Mack, all sorts of that, you know, I got to say this, having been off for 11 days, I pretty much shut it down. You know, didn't watch, you know, I watched a lot of college football, but shut it down. A lot of lobster and beers on the East Coast.

Didn't do much. Didn't check out too much. but I will say there is a reality check on your Jets. Oh, okay. I saw something said in the last 48 hours, and I didn't see a lot, but got to bring it down a little bit, the hype bubble a little bit. Oh, really? Okay. I thought you were talking about Dauvin Cook and Breece Hall splitting carries in week one.

That's how granular I am for the Jets. Hey, by the way, on the Niners real quick, you see, no Bosa yet, and Kittles banged up may not be a go this weekend in Pittsburgh. Oh, yeah, I've seen that. We told the audience, what, three months ago about the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one? You told the audience. That was your bet in the NFL, and you are getting some breaks. Some of the Sharp Books in Vegas have it down to two. And if Kittal definitely doesn't play, we don't know.

He's sort of big deal. We're going to see Pickham. Because Bosa, I don't know what's going on Bosa. Chris Jones, NFL's getting a little crazy here leading into week one. By the way, no Chris Jones with that Detroit Lions offensive line? Points, baby. Absolutely. My takeaway is everybody says Detroit's not going to be ready for the moment. That lion's O line is a top three O line, and the Chiefs don't have their only, only consistent pass rusher from the interior.

By the way, are Chiefs starting two new tackles against Aidan Hutchison? It's crazy. I don't know what Detroit's going to be. I don't. I haven't picked to win the division. I think they're more of a 9-10 than a 12-13. But the idea that I would give them almost a touchdown with that O line, that rookie running back who's got nothing but energy, and the Chiefs do not have their only dominating defensive presence on their front. That could be a ball control lion's game. Remember when they played that great old line for the Browns in the playoffs years ago with Baker? And basically Mahomes sat and watched the first half.

Remember that? And it's like, now they came back to win that game. The way to beat Mahomes is not pressuring because it's hard to get. It's having him watch the game with long. sustained drive. Detroit can do that. By the way, who's wide receiver won for the Chiefs going into week one? Is it Skymore or MVS?

Listen, I know the Chiefs are going to be good. I'm taking the points. I just, there's some concern for the Chiefs, unless we've been just been digging into this for too long. But if you're telling me six and a half, I'm taking the points. I think you have to. Right. Be sure to catch live editions

of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and

entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, great to have you back. So as I was pretty much off all the devices, I did watch TCU, Colorado, and I had about as much fun as you can have watching a college football game. Props to the Fox people.

Great, great watch. Fascinating TV, the pregame shows, post game shows. But there was this sort of narrative over the course of the game and after the game that nobody, nobody thought Colorado. was going to work. Can we stop with that? I've been at this company for seven years. We've never promoted a season opening football game more than Colorado and TCU. We weren't there for TCU.

We were there for Colorado and Dion Sanders. And by the way, we also scheduled next week, Nebraska. So the first two big games for Fox are Colorado. That's never happened in the history of the program. So this company, which knows football, was all. in on it. And by the way, my opinion on Deon to Colorado was very much in line with, I think, most

reasonable people. The Colorado football's been like as anonymous as a prank phone call for most of my life. Okay? So he's going to give him attention and juice and he can recruit like crazy. And by the way, we also knew he was a good coach because in Jackson State, he was like great in three years. He was really good immediately. So you know he can recruit. You know he can coach. He did it at Jackson State.

and he's going to give it juice. But did I think they were going to beat TCU on the road? No. I thought they were going to get clobbered. Why? Because 70% of their roster was transfer portals. That was amazing. The fact that you can bring in virtually three out of four players were brand new

and not have a lot of penalties and be efficient. That's impressive. Nick Sabin's first year at Alabama, I watched it. They went seven and six and lost a Louisiana Monroe. at home. Pete Carroll's 6 and 6. Curvy Smart, 8, and 5. And those are football powers. Colorado's not even a medium program. It was bottom five in the country last year, offense and defense. It is a bottom program that is not well funded. But this idea that nobody thought it would work, virtually everybody, including this company, couldn't wait to watch it.

I mean, I can't tell you how many times in my life, I've literally woken up on a morning and thought, God, I can't wait to watch Colorado football. That happened exactly never, except with Dion. People thought it, don't conflate the two, not thinking they'd be very good in game one with 70% transfer portal kids. I mean, I watched schools last year, Lincoln, Riley, Brian Kelly, big transfer portal, not close to 70%. And those teams were choppy and uneven and chaotic.

They were basically flawless in the first quarter. Now, TCU, a lot of guys went to the NFL. This is not a great TCU team. And Colorado, by the way, could get pushed around by Nebraska. I don't love their defensive front. Don't be shocked if they lose against Nebraska, right? But this guy won't be falling. But the idea that nobody believed in Dion.

We knew he was a good coach. We know he knows talent. The most shocking thing to me wasn't about Dion. It was about his son. His son's unbelievable. Now, you know, I'm a dummy. Of course Dion's son would be asked. athletic and capable.

Dion's the best cornerback in league history, and many think by a mile. But I didn't think his son would go Jackson State to Power 5 and look like a first round quarterback playing with all new teammates. That was insane to me. But everybody, I mean, there's belief and then there's suspension in belief. Logic doesn't go out the window. I mean, I think my kids are smart. I didn't think at 12 they were ready for college.

I think Dion Sanders is a good coach. I didn't think in game one was 70% of transfers. They'd be that seamless and penalty-free. Maybe my kids could go to college at 12. You know, her dad's pretty smart. The point being is, don't conflate the two. Most people thought Dion was good for Colorado. A little surprised how well they played against kind of a down-tCU team.

Let's not go overboard. They're going to lose some games. May lose to Nebraska. I don't know. Got to watch it. Can't wait. Here's Dion yesterday on undisputed. Man, I'm loving these kids.

Put a parameter or a limit on the schedule. Skip, we're going to win, man. We're going to win, boss. We told you we coming. Like, we're going to do it. We got a great coaching staff. We got the right players in the right positions, and people think we don't have depth.

We do have depth. And the sky's the limit. It's fun. But I've been here seven, eight years. I've never seen us promote a week one. one game for over a month. So the idea people weren't excited, people didn't think it would be good. We put Colorado on back-to-back weekends.

By the way, Urban Meyer came on my show a month ago and said, you're not going to believe how good they are. I pushed back as America's honesty broker. That's my job. Joel Clatt came on the show and said, they're going to be great. I said, I'm going to push back. Too many transfer portal kids. but nobody said this is going to be a disaster from day one we have networks it's all they're talking about

last two days it's all anybody's talking about people are excited for dion they like dion jackson state proved he could coach just didn't think they'd be this seamless this fast and i had no idea how good his son was at quarterback j mac with the news no no turn on the news this is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with Joe Burrow in the Cincinnati Bengals. Things looking up for Burrow. He returned to practice last week after that calf strain.

Zach Taylor weirdly has not committed to Burroughs starting against the Browns in week one, but I think we know Joe Burrow is going to start. You know, Colin, Bengals are favored by two and a half here on the road. And I'm just saying a lot of things line up for Cleveland in this one. Remember, Burrow did not play last preseason the appendectomy. he was a disaster. I think he had five turnovers, four picks. I think his first series, he had a pick six against Pittsburgh.

This is going to be a tough game for Cincinnati. I like the Bengals this year, but I think I'm going to be on the Browns in week one. Well, I think Cleveland is that team that I don't like as much as all the sharps, but to deny the truth is trouble. They have a stacked roster again. They have at the best places, you know, edge rusher, weapons. Cleveland's got, in a lot of divisions, I mean, I'll tell you how good the AFC is. Cleveland can finish fourth, and there are divisions in the NFC.

I think Cleveland would compete for the division. Yeah. And they may finish fourth. Now, I'm not saying they're going to, but they have the best edge rusher, arguably in the world in Miles Garrett. And that's the second most important position. Deshaun, we know is talented, not my favorite, but he's talented. A number one receiver, excellent corners. Well, a quick word on the cornerback, Denzel Ward.

suffered a concussion in the final preseason game. Missed practice yesterday. This is big. First of all, Stefansky's taking some heat. Why are you playing Denzel Ward in the final preseason? And he also has a history of injuries. I think this is Ward's third or fourth concussion. So there is some concern.

If he doesn't play, he's historically done well against Borough. That could be big. By the way, Burrow, one and four against Cleveland in his career. Yeah, he has struggled. They've had his number. It's an interesting game. A lot of things line up for Cleveland. You know, we like to talk about in week one,

the public bets on playoff teams from last year against teams that didn't make the playoffs. Well, you know what we want to do go the opposite way. Cleveland did not make the playoffs. Bengals did. I think there's value on the Browns here. But you've got to monitor, Denzel Ward. Next up, 49ers and Chiefs, two big favorites to win it all this season. But both have their best defensive players, Nick Bosa and Chris Jones, holding out and in danger of missing week one.

According to Ian Rappaport, Jones and the Chiefs are not close on a deal. 49ers have offered Bosa a deal higher than T.J. Watts 28 mil per year, but Bosa's looking for more. What's your guess here? Both miss week one? Probably. They're both really valuable. Now, Chris Jones feels like he's more valuable because they don't have other pass rushers. Whereas the Niners defense from Fred Warner, they just have more, they got more dudes. So I think San Francisco, but I agree with you, I think, The Bosa situation, the quarterback movement, I think that opener for the Niners at Pittsburgh's a mess. I think that is as tough an opener.

And by the way, Mike Tomlin's career is, the world doubts us, the Niners have a huge brand, huge expectations. That is classic Steeler. Was it last year or the year before, everybody loved Buffalo? Pittsburgh goes to Buffalo. Well, that's right. Two years ago, I believe. And Steelers, it just, it was one of the most surprising outcome. That was old Ben.

You're like, no way. And they went into Buffalo and just outplayed him. Buffalo had this big national profile. Everybody falling in love. We all love the Niners. That is a rough opening assignment against the Steelers. If you're Kenny Pickett, you're very excited about Bosa not playing. Now, I'm just curious.

Let's say a Bosa deal gets done today, tomorrow. Do you rush him to play him week one and risk a soft tissue injury? I don't know that at this point, like Chris Jones, I cannot imagine, even if a deal's done. He's not playing Thursday, right? Has it practiced? You're not rushing him back. So these are two of the like seven best defensive players in the league. These are massive holdouts right here.

I don't think people are considering them as much as they should for week one. Final story to college football. LSU, boy, listen, you liked LSU to go to the Natty, I believe. Well, by the way, they're going to reel off nine straight wins. So you guys just get used to it. No, no, yeah. They're going to be fine. But Brian Kelly was not happy.

They led 17, 14 and a half and then gave up 31 straight, leading to LSU's largest defeat as a ranked team since 1936. How about this? LSU's not bad. Florida State's really good. Florida State's really good. Really good. And by the way, their quarterback.

How about Jordan Travis? Oh, my gosh. I'm telling you, these kids are not only good. They're getting better year to year quick. Riley Leonard was barely on the, I mean, Last year, did you ever mention Riley Leonard? I watched that game last night specifically to watch him. I'm just like, that kid is, if he put on 12 pounds, there's some Justin Herbert there.

Well, Justin Herbert, rich man's Daniel Jones, you know, kind of the Vanilla Vic look, look like the running white guy. That's what they call him, too. Vanilla Vic. That was what they called him last night, Jared. I'm dealing with the stupid spectrum issue. I don't know if you are. I can't watch ABC or ESPN, so I think I'm dumping cable today. Anyways, Brian Kelly on the LSU letdown.

This is a total failure on a coaching standpoint and a player's standpoint that, you know, we have to obviously address and we have to own. I know adversity is always going to strike it sometime in this game. And this is our first real piece of adversity, if you will, that we have to address. we thought we were somebody else. We thought we were the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs or something. I don't know what we thought, but we were mistaken. How about the mighty SEC taking some ELs over the weekend? South Carolina lost to North Carolina.

LSU got crushed. Florida went to Utah, got smoked. Mighty LSU, tough start. And I think you need to keep an eye. eye on Alabama this season, Colin? Yes. Are we on Texas this weekend or no? I got on a little text chain during the LSU Florida State game.

The smart money in the South is like under the radar Nick Sabin's the best Nick Sabin. You know, this year everybody's talking about how good Michigan is and Georgia repeats. So you like Bama. Well, I'm not saying I like that. I thought LSU was going to be. I knew LSU didn't have the depth, but I just liked the coach, the quarterback, some of their And by the way, college football is becoming college basketball. With the transfer portal now, do not make sweeping generalizations on a team.

Colorado played great. This sport now is like college basketball. These teams have like half their roster are new players. I watched the Ohio State's offensive line. It was awful. Do you really think it's going to be awful in six weeks? I watched Texas's old line. It was awful.

Well, Texas looked like they were thinking about Alabama. They look like they were like hiding some stuff. You've got to be very careful about just bailing on LSU. LSU's got tons of talent. But Florida State brought back maybe the right set of veteran talent, and maybe Florida States way better than we thought. Yeah, I'm looking at LSU's schedule. They have to travel to Ole Miss.

Will not be easy. Ole Miss is kind of good. And then the big game at Alabama. But Alabama this weekend against Texas. I'm just to... The stuff I'm hearing is Sark was slow playing last week's game, showing nothing, keeping his bag of tricks for Bama this weekend. The Texas Alabama's this weekend, isn't it?

Yes. That, I kind of am leaning toward Texas. We shall see. I've been full before going against Bama. You and I, I know. Part of what makes sports great is you don't know. No, nobody knows. Nobody is it.

That's why the best sports gamblers in America hit 56.5%. You don't know. My guess is Bama Alabama is going to be unbelievable. I, you know, I forget this point spread. I'm going to take Bama to win close. But I will say this, I watched the Texas game in the first half, and it did feel like they were, it felt kind of like we're not showing you anything. And then, you know, Rice hang around.

But it's, my guess is do not, with the transfer portal and all these kids moving, we all know in college basketball, you don't even watch it until January. You don't make any judgments on Bill Self's teams or, you know, Carolina. It's all new players. That's what's happening in college basketball. college football. Like everybody's shocked about, what's shocking about Colorado isn't that they could play, that they would be good this good this early. Whole damn roster was transfers. Well, by the way, did you see the line for Colorado, Nebraska? I talked about it yesterday. So they were seven and a half

point underdogs against Nebraska. And that's now flipped in Colorado's favored by, it was three yesterday when I looked. That's a 10 and a half point swing. That's too much. That's way too much. And I know people are like, oh, Colorado's going to kill them. That's overreacting. You got to take Nebraska. I think if you're going to bet it, that's the only way to go. Nebraska, right? Yeah, that's a 10-point swing. Over one game. I will say this, though.

It may be one game. Be honest. You were blown away by Dionne Sanders. You had to be. But when they go to class this week, they're getting standing ovations in the cafeteria everywhere they go. And you start to believe your own hype. Maybe you're not as fired up for the next. You know how this works.

Love football. Keep an eye on Nebraska. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health. purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

Really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years for black people in American history Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast This weekend, Boulder will be rocking as Big Noon Saturday kicks off on Fox with Coach Prime's home debut. Catches Colorado Buffaloes as they take on Nebraska.

It all begins Saturday at noon Eastern on Fox. Yeah, again, I think if Colorado wins, it's because that quarterback is just really his son. Shadour Sanders is just shockingly good. but don't be surprised. If it's not as seamless and there's a little pullback, we tend to all overreact because it's the first football. Generally Mondays or Tuesdays or overreaction days anyway, but when we haven't had football and we've been starved for football,

you get major overreaction, so I can't wait to watch that game on Fox. So DJ Reed is the second best corner on the Jets, but Soss Gardner's probably the best corner in the league, so it's the strength of their football team. We've talked a lot about the Jets and their own. line and Aaron Rogers, but the truth is, people are a little over their skis talking about this defense like it's the 75 Steelers. The NFL doesn't allow you to play defense, like even the Ravens years ago with Ray Lewis. You can't do some of the things after they paid $900 million

or whatever it was for the CTE deal, the NFL, they changed everything. This is an offensive league. Nick Saban acknowledged in college, you got to score, you can't win the championship. You can't hold good teams to 17 or 23 points. But DJ Reed, is talking about the Jets defense, and he is falling for the trap. I think we have the potential to be the best defense in NFL, and honestly, I think we could be historical, not just the best defense in the league, but I think we can have an historical defense like the 85-86 bears, like the LOB in 2013. I think we could be that dominant if we put all the things together, and we just

focus on the now and we're deliberate, and everyone plays up to their potential. I think the sky's the limit for us. You will not be the 85 bears, who has a lot. had two shutouts in the playoffs. The NFL does not allow you to do the things the Chicago Bears were allowed to do. There is zero chance. You'll be as good as the 85 Bears defense. Oh, by the way, the Jets defense wasn't even the best in their own division last year.

Buffalo was second. Jets were fourth. The Jets had 16 takeaways last year. 16. That's 29th in the league. the Bears had more. The Philadelphia Eagles had 25 more sacks than the Jets did. The Jets have one sensational corner and one really good defensive linemen.

But the Niners and the Steelers have bros, dudes, players, everywhere on defense, every unit. The Jets have an amazing set of corners. I went this morning and I looked up, I mean, the Jets were an underdog in their opener. Let's slow down on the Bears, who I think went 15 and 1. Here's the Jets, according to ESPN. These are not my rankings. They're ESPNs. The Jets defensive ranks by position group.

Their interior D-line, 15th in the league. Edge Rushers 11th, off-ball linebackers 21st, safety's 21st, Corners number one. For the record, the most overrated position in the NFL, in my opinion, is corner. The most underrated is center. Go look at teams that end up in Super Bowls how often they're really good at center. The best corner in the league last year was Sauce Gardner. How do they do?

Patrick Sertana, Denver, how they do? Edge rusher, left tackle, quarterback, webbler. There are positions we know that are essential. The Chiefs just won a Super Bowl the year before they gave up their best corner to the Niners. Corners are great. I mean, they have names like prime time. I mean, the great corners are very, very memorable and centers aren't. But this defense wasn't the best in their own division.

25 fewer sacks than the Eagles. Less takeaways than the bears. Let's slow down a little bit. on the jet strain, this is not a Super Bowl team. It's interesting. It's fascinating. But when you start talking about the 85 bears, we all know this. There's certain things you could do and say in the 80s you can't do or say today. The world changes. And the NFL for safety reasons wrote almost a billion dollar check for CTE. And about that time, they realized we got to get out of the head injury business. So receivers now love going over the middle.

When I watch football the 70s, 80s, 90s, they used to use a term every broadcast. It was called alligator arms. Nobody wanted to go over the middle except Michael Irvin. Like nobody, tight ends and an occasional bigger receiver. Nobody wanted to go over the middle. Now you can't hit everybody. You can't hit anybody except running backs. So everybody wants to go over the middle. The middle of the football field is the offenses. For most of my life, it was the defenses. That's why Belichick suddenly without Brady, does the win as many games. There will never be another

1985 Chicago Bears defense. It will never happen. Not only was it star-studded, well-coached, ahead of its time, schematically doing things people previously hadn't done, but you could literally grab players and drive them into the astro turf. That doesn't even exist. So it's like, take a deep breath. Defense could be good.

Could be a playoff team. The bills have more defensive personnel, in my opinion, more high-end defensive personnel. The bills do than the Jets. And the best defensive coach is in New England, not the Jets. Let's take a deep breath. Now, J-Mack has rolling his eyes on this, but of course, I am accurate here. Some of this stuff is way over the top, is it not? Listen, I see what you're doing here.

You know, I see what's going on. You're back after 10 days. You're like, ah, let me needle McIntyre over there. They're probably not going to, probably not going to be the 85 bears. But let's not diminish the talent on this defense. And the one big issue I have with what you said is takeaways. Takeaways are luck. Fumble luck, interceptions like Gino Smith of the Seahawks led the league in turnover-worthy plays,

according to pro football focus. But he had a great season. So this idea that just didn't create turnovers, I say that's a bonus. What happens if turnover luck goes their way with that incredible defense? and oh by the way will macdonald did you see him on hard knocks the young kid coming off the edge you got all the piercings he's nasty and germane johnson the young guy they got last year they're not even starters colin they're in the rotation for the pass rush so this ESPN rankings like toss that garbage out the window okay this defense but did you see sauce gardener when the giants are throwing at him yeah he's taught why you testing sauce why you do it he's just yelling at that one awesome he's by the way read and sauce are great i'm not denying that those are great corners. But I've said this for years. Corners valuable. I mean, nobody would dispute it's valuable. You just said they're your most overrated position. Well, I'm saying we put them in the

same breath as edge rusher. I don't. I mean, Bosa's going to make $30 million. I would never pay a corner of that. Okay, so after edge rusher, what's the second most important position? Left tackle, quarterback. No, no, defense. Just defense. I think you just have to have somebody in your front five that can play. And after that, do Kansas City. Get young and cheap. You got to have a Chris Jones. You got to hit. Like, Kansas City's hit on the linebacker Bolton. This is football. They all learned to hit.

No, no, you know what I mean. You got to nail the draft picks. Kansas City's done that. To me, I'd spend all my money on offense with the exception of a dominating defensive player or two. I think Cincinnati's got to somebody. Oh, you mean like Quinn Williams and Sauce Gardner?

Yeah. By the way, those are really nice players. And it's even nicer. They're not paying Sauce Gardner yet. But eventually you can't pay both corners. You just can't. You can't have an issue at tackle, but have great corners. Eventually, they're going to have to go out on this market and move off one of those corners and go get a top five if you want to win Super Bowls.

I mean, the whole week one is going to be so fascinating. This thing's going to unravel really quick. Thank God von Miller's not playing. Yeah, I would agree. This thing could unravel overnight. That's a lot of teams. That's a lot of teams that could unravel. Look at the Rams right now with the Cooper Cup stuff.

I'm the idiot who kept Cooper Cup on my fantasy team. And now he's seeing a hamstring special. What the hell is that? I don't even know what that is. I've never heard of it. I've literally never heard of a ham. I had to Google this. I'm like,

some of the best doctors in the world are L.A., San Francisco, Seattle. They had to fly them to like, where did they go? Minneapolis? Listen, man. I never, there's not a hamstring specialist in L.A.? Sean McVeigh came back for this? It's interesting. Where's Matt Stafford quarterbacking next year?

Because it ain't going to be the Rams. It's not happening. They're going to be bad. Once your business gets to a certain, size crack start to emerge. You deserve a customized solution. NetSuite.com slash heard. Check out their popular KPI checklist, absolutely free. NetSuite.com slash H-E-R-D. Our two next. 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,

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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars. related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.