The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Colorado, RJ Young

Episode Date: September 4, 2023

In this hour of The Herd, Doug Gottlieb—in for Colin—reflects on Colorado head coach Deion Sanders' surprising win at TCU to begin his tenure coaching the Buffaloes. Doug also has a few questions about Deion's comments following the win. Plus, FOX Sports college football analyst RJ Young stops by to share his insight on Colorado's inspiring win in Fort Worth as well as other surprising results from college football's Week 1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What up? Welcome in this, the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be making this part of your day. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlieb, in for Colin Cowherd, live from Los Angeles, atirac.com studios. Welcome in on a Labor Day Monday, where we celebrate your laborious nature with a day off. With myself and my man, Jay Stu, is the exception. Hope you're having a great weekend. Hot in the Midwest. Pretty warm here out on the West Coast. And no idea on the East Coast. But I'm guessing kind of fall is starting to arrive in some places, especially north of the Mason-Dixon. We have a weekend of college football in our back pocket to discuss.

And we have opening weekend in the National Football League to look forward to. As a matter of fact, we are T-minus three days away. T-minus three days away, right? Is it three days away or is it four days away? Or is it two days away? It's really hard to, because, right, if you go like Tuesday, Wednesday, then Thursday, is that two days away, is that three days away, is that four days away? It's a lot like, and again, you're going to date yourself.

When somebody used to, used to pull over and ask for directions back before we swore that the phone and the computer or the gremlin in the phone was the absolute and it's the easiest thing to, well, the computer sent me the wrong way, right? like you are no longer allowed to make decisions for yourself. But if you remember when you were younger, there was the old, do I pull over, ask for directions? And when you do, they go, hey, you go up to the sixth light here, you take a right.

Like, okay. And you realize, do I count the first light or is that a neutral light? Anyway, Thursday, the NFL season kicks off. Let's start with, which without any question is the story of the weekend. Primetime has arrived. And look, I get that if you are a new, neutral observer to the sports landscape, you probably felt like it was a lot. I'm on social media.

I haven't been one who's been asked to tout the fact that Dion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes were opening up their first couple of games on Fox, including the kickoff against TCU in Fort Worth this past weekend. But there was endless promotion of it. And at some point, you start to go, But to those of you who thought it was too much, I would only point out that sports radio mirrors old top 40 radio. Remember when you were a kid or you listen to Kiss FM in Los Angeles?

She's like, man, how many, I was in a second, how many times can I listen to borderline from Madonna? It just, it felt like it was on all the time, didn't it? Well, there's a reason to it. People are in and out of their cars, have listened to radio. and so, yeah, it may feel like it's all the time on repeat because it kind of is. It's called play the hits. And then it's the idea of if you're not promoting yourself, who is?

It's not like any of the other networks. You're going to go, hey, hey, guys, we got some good college football games, but you should really turn over to Fox because they have Dion Sanders against TCU. Nonetheless, I think it's fair to say that was a surprising outcome. I have, we have no idea how good TCU is this year. You could have made the case that last year they were very fortunate to have gotten to the college football playoffs. Didn't win the Big 12 championship game, right? Had many a close call within the Big 12.

But the fact is that they were ranked, what, 17th in the country and three returning starters from last year? It's a whole new football team. But I don't say this to diminish what Colorado had. Colorado had 80 new players, 45 of which I believe are on scholarship as transfers. and they go into Fort Worth and light up TCU. And you can do the, oh, well, you know, TCU doesn't throw red zone interceptions. Ifs were fifths, we'd be drinking every day. Dion Sanders obviously has resurrected in terms of importance Colorado football,

but I can make the case that the story is so big, so transcendent, he brings positive attention to college football in a different, part of the country in a different way than has been done in the last 15 to 20 years. And while, look, when I, when I tweeted out early this weekend that he may have saved college football, of course college football guy goes, Ed didn't need saving you dope. It's been great. Again, it's not the people that love college football that are the problem. It's growing the sport to other parts of the country.

The Western United States has been like, we ain't really got in on this thing. why are we even watching in the college football playoff? And with the expansion of a couple of leagues, it's really condensing the power. And so there are many communities that are like, yeah, kind of disillusioned. We're not going to be part of this thing anyway. So you may think college football is super, super healthy.

I would tell you, not sure that was the case. And then Saturday, Colorado, with one of the greatest football players we've ever seen. scene. Just, so we dial it back. Like, if you didn't see Dion Sanders play football, if you're

that young, don't worry. I'm not like talking down to you. I'm just kind of explain. This is like trying to explain to somebody the greatness of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson that somehow get lost in the greatest of all time shuffle. If you didn't see Dion Sanders, he

was one of the most amazing players to ever put on a uniform. He's without any hesitation, one of the greatest kick and punt returners ever, even though he didn't do it for the life of his career. And I think unquestionably the best cover corner in the history of the league. He was that good. And he's had this mercurial kind of journey, right?

On broadcast TV, on cable TV, he was at his own prep school, which failed. Then he takes the Jackson State job. Now he takes a high major job at a place where one would think the only, the only The only limiting factor for Colorado had been the ability to attract talent. Colorado doesn't produce great football talent. And back in the day when Darian Hagen and Eric B. Enemy were starring for the buffs, they used to take guys from elsewhere. Take guys from California.

They used to recruit the hell out of California. Now the players are in Texas. You get Dion, who of course, Texas is still kind of his quasi home. It all makes sense. but we're all liars if we thought they're going to go in and Shador Sanders, his son is going to throw for 500 yards, and they're going to beat TCU in a great football game, week one of the season with 80 new players, 45 new scholarship players.

I mean, in these stories and you're like, well, what happens if they lose Nebraska this week? Like, okay, they lose Nebraska this week. They won one game last year. were completely non-competitive. And it would be fair to say that Dion Sanders' method of, hey, I got some, I got some Louie luggage, I got some great luggage coming with me, and running guys off, and doing so in what seemed like public fashion, and the bizarre nature of the sold-out spring game when

most of those guys weren't coming back anywhere. Like, that hit some people who are unaccustomed to the sport and how it actually works like cold water. But when you when you talk it that much and then you walk it that soon, it deserves the praise. All right. This is this is coach prime after the game on the field right after they beat TCU. What's up, boss?

You believe that? Hold on. Hold on. Oh, no. Do you believe in that? Huh? Oh, no, no. I read through that bull junkie wrote down.

I read through that. I sifted through all that. Yeah. Oh, no. Come on. Do you believe? You don't believe. You just answered it.

You don't believe. Next question. All right. So that's after the game. He's sitting there at the press conference. And I get that, you know, you could do individual segments on the incredible nature of the story, the surprise of the performance,

or maybe that it's going to be hard. hard for Shador even to get the acclaim that he deserves because all this stuff being said, if Shador Sanders couldn't play, they're dead in the water. That's just the reality of it. That's the guy. That's the beacon. That's the quarterback. If he can't play, you got no shot. And he can play. But the also part of it is the defensive nature of Deon Sanders. Really? We're making reporters and writers in a post-game press conference. All the sudden, bow at the altar at the altar of Dion Sanders because he won a football game. It's a bit much.

It's a bit much. He also went on to say this about how he believes his style makes people uncomfortable. We're going to continuously be questioned because we do things that has never been done. That's the way our life has presented themselves. We do things that have never been done and that makes people uncomfortable. When you see a confident black man sitting up in talking his talk walking his walk, coaching 75% African Americans in the locker room, that's kind of threatening. Oh, they don't like that.

But guess what? We're going consistently do what we do. Because I'm here and ain't going nowhere. And I'm about to get comfortable in a minute. So the question becomes like, I don't think what he's saying in the first part of it is dead wrong, right? It is different to publicly state, hey, we're bringing in better players. because privately, it's always stated when guys come in, and we've got to flip this roster.

And especially now with the transfer portal on NIL and how dynamic a personality is in recruiting, like all of that is usually unspoken and he's spoken. But I think the place that he chose to go that I think is borderline ridiculous is the idea that because he's black, it makes people uncomfortable. just if we just study kind of the history of the sport,

the big personality coach has always been discussed. I mean, Steve Spurrier did this exact same act at Florida and then at South Carolina. Didn't publicly say, well, we're going to bring in better players, but he used to, well, we played Georgia.

I'd like playing first couple weeks in season because they always got guys suspended. We've had guys walk it, talk it, and then walk it. The part, we haven't had is the public, the public flipping of a roster. That's the part that's new. But the idea that, well, we're not ready for a confident black man. Like, okay, let's look at the history. Four of Colorado's last five coaches counting Dion are actually black. Like, we're actually

very accustomed to having an African-American head coach. The former star football player, the Hall of Famer, having the work ethic that Dion has to be a great coach, that's, that's not, that's, that's, that's new. That's not normal. The public flipping of the roster, that's new. It happens everywhere now, right? All these rosters are being flipped. This is the way of the world. But then there's the racial intonations like, really? Is that really a portion of this? I think that's, if I was to list the things that make people uncomfortable, I would say running off college football players, regardless of what they do outside of playing football,

it makes people uncomfortable. It just does. I would say the use of God in every other sentence, right? I think that makes people uncomfortable. I think the idea college football coaches, college coaches, you ask them, like they have a reputation,

which I don't believe is earned, but they have a reputation like that of the used car dealer. I mean, think about this for a second. Somebody walks up and issues, what do you do for living? I'm a college football coach. Like, ooh, eh. I'm a, to be a college football coach, you have a college degree,

many times a secondary degree, and generally you help players achieve their dreams and goals and get a chance to play college football, may play professional football. That does not have a nefarious undertones. and yet somehow societally, we do look at it that way. A lot of that is, in all fairness, us in the media painting that picture. But if I was the list of things that make people uncomfortable, coaching your son,

that can make people uncomfortable. I actually think the part that he's a black head coach and we're uncomfortable with a confident black man, I don't see that. But again, that's me. I've seen an appreciated Dion for the incredible dynamic personality and talent that he's been. And yeah, it remains very reasonable to try and figure out just how good is Colorado. But my point would be, who cares?

They won the season, even if they don't win every game this season. I mean, that's an incredible task. I don't care how good TCU becomes. I don't care that it's week one of the season. They may switch quarterbacks three times over before they get. It doesn't matter. They won one game last year. He came in from the FBS, which is the what, not even,

honestly, Jackson State is below, like, high level FBS level. Flip the roster. And it wasn't just that they won. They looked really well coached. They looked like a team. And the quarterback as well as a couple of the skill position guys, Travis Hunter, looked like they can really play. That's the story.

That's, to me, that's the story. Give me your thoughts. At Gottlieb's show is the Twitter handle. We'll get to LSU taking the L and added to LSU. By the way, that was Collins, one of Collins' national championship game picks. We can do where Colin was right, where column was wrong. I actually think that just shows how difficult it is to know who's any good in college football. LSU may be really, really good by the end of the year.

Florida State got way better at the end of the year. And look at what happened. The first, obviously they didn't get embarrassed, but look at how they lost the first game last year. Happy Labor Day. If you have the day off, I'm sure you've earned it. So enjoy it. It is the unofficial end of summer. And, of course, we're getting you ready for the National Football League.

I'm Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. Coming up next, RJ Young is going to join us. Of course, covers college football for Fox. I'll get his thoughts on Dion and what this does to change the landscape of college football. And the Pac-12's going out of business sale is really kind of impressive. That's next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Hurt.

Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD. weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio. 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, Clivert 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 I Heart Reef

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And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survive. 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 all day, but just so you all 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, so.

Thank you 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. important years from black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Wow. Happy Labor Day to you. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. This is the herd. Fox Sports Radio. Iheart radio. Iheart radio app.

By the way, we will get into Team USA falling flat to Lithuania, the end of pool play out in the World Cup. A little bit later on the show. Plus, Cooper Cup is getting some form of second opinion as he continues to try and heal from his hamstring injury, getting ready for week one of the season. We got some Messi and Beyonce news, some Brian Kelly sound for you. And, oh, Aaron Rogers at the U.S. Open had pretty clever, although felt a little dated IG post. Aaron, we do. We're aware of where you stand on the facts, but.

all that upcoming. But first, let's welcome in R.J. Young. He's a national college football writer for Fox Sports.com. And of course, he has the number one show podcast, which of course covers college football. What were your thoughts on the likelihood of Colorado's success going into Fort Worth over the weekend? Well, I picked him to win on Tuesday earlier in the week, not out of some sort of misguided faith, but just by taking a look at what they had done in the past, they being coached Prime and then they brought in to coach those players and just what kind of talent they had at their disposal. And knowing just what USC was able to do last year, Lincoln Riley turns four and eight

into 11 wins and a cotton ball bid. And of course, Texas Christian turns five and seven into a national title runner-up finish, knowing what Prime was capable of at Jackson State, knowing the resources that he had available to him at Colorado, I felt good about them going into Texas Christian and getting their first true road game win since 1995, when they traveled up to Wisconsin, to throttle them 43 to 7.

Felt real good about it, Doug. That's amazing. I had no idea. And the background of it is, I think, like most people, it's like, regardless of what the rankings look like, they hadn't played a game together. They hadn't played spring football together. Like, how is anyone going to know?

But I think the biggest question I had, honestly, was for Shador. Not because he was an awesome last year at Jackson State, but because it's Jackson State. And we had no idea what he would look like on a high major football field. Did you know he had that in him? Yeah, I did. Number one, I made him my high-sman front runner in December of last year on the strength of two things. One, Caleb Williams going back-to-back, is just really difficult to do. do because Heisman voters are fickle and I have my issues with those voters, if not the award.

Number two on that is there were only three players in all of FBS and FCS last year who passed 4,000 TDs and six interceptions or fewer. One of those is the Heisman winner. Another one of those, the number two overall pick in the NFL draft, C.J. Stroud. And the third was Shador Sanders. Everything I know about his work ethic, everything I know about how he has learned to play the position and how he goes about preparing for games led me to believe that with Sean Lewis as offensive coordinator, who's going to get lots of opportunities to throw the ball around,

he got 47 against Texas Christian, and they're going to move the ball down the field if you give him time. The only question I think that anybody was right to ask wasn't about Shador or Travis Hunter or even the skill positions. It was the offensive line. If they could give him time to operate, he was going to do just that, and they did give him time to operate because it's a veteran offensive line. I believe there are 69 starts among those guys and three grad transfers among those guys. They were ready to play.

R.J. Young, joining us. He's a National Collegeball writer for Fox, the host of the number one show podcast. I would, and I again, you live in Tulsa, okay? I've obviously spent a ton of time in Oklahoma in Big 12 country. It all revolves around the Metroplex

Dallas, Fort Worth, the Metroplex with all the talent and football. I mean, I feel like the Big 12 and frankly, maybe even the SEC put on a bit of notice. Not because Colorado is able to compete now, but man, that's going to be a, you know, like a, just a force of will of, of, it feels like for Dion Sanders now at, at Colorado, the way to you see it, if you believe it, it will come to fruition. now one big win. And people can say it's week one of the season, but I would make the case that RG3

won the Heisman because of the first week and the last week of the season. The rest, there's just too many games on. That was the one game everybody's watching. Am I crazy, RJ, to think that win completely changed the dynamic of recruiting in the DFW? No, you're not. You're right to say that it revolves around DFW.

Me being from Tulsa means I follow a lot of Oklahoma football and Dallas is home base for Oh, That's how important it is to recruit that place in particular very well. And then I look at Texas as four different states, right? You're going to get Dallas Ball over there and knowing that Prime is going to be basically back home where he still owns a home in the Dallas-Port Worth area to recruit guys is is one thing. But it's another thing to know he's not just going to get a talent that was already going to come to him because of who he is and what he's done in the past. He's going to get guys that were on the fence now. Like that's what that win did.

He's going to have his phone blowing up. need two or three to hold it down. The other way to look at this is they had a couple of really talented players who didn't even play on Saturday in Cormani McLean, one cornerback in 2023, and then out in McCaskill, who I think the world of is a tailback, they didn't even need him and they went three deep at that position. Now to add that sort of talent on top of what he may be able to get in the future. Yeah, Colorado is a problem for the future for the Big 12, if not the SEC.

What do we make of the Big 12? and frankly, the SEC, and the losses sustained by each league. I made LSU number 14 in my preseason ranking, and I caught hell for it, right? But I asked this question, honestly, when's the last time you saw a top five program give up 45 to anybody in week one? And the answer is actually Oklahoma in 1968, it's been that long. I also looked and I saw North Carolina put a hurting on South Carolina, Utah put a hurting on Florida. we're not used to seeing the middle and the bottom of the SEC look as vulnerable as it did in week one.

Now, Alabama is still Alabama and Georgia is still Georgia. I think Tennessee is a great football team. But after those three, I think they could lose to anybody. Like, Ole Miss has got Tulane coming up this weekend. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that Michael Pratt has something to show them in Oxford. I'm also looking around and going, man, what a time for the Pac-12 to come together, right? They become the first conference to go 13 and 0 in week one, and it's their last. together, but it might also be the first time that they get a team into the college football

playoff since Washington in 2016. So I'm watching them closely, and I'm really watching to see how the rest of the SEC comes together around perhaps what is a surging for to say, and certainly what I think is going to be a capable of Clemson to say nothing of what the hell is going on up at the Big Ten with Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State in particular. Yeah, it's interesting, though. Like, I will caution people. The Pact 12, it looks great, and I understand that, you know, that, you know, that,

that there were some bizarre losses from the Big 12, even at Purdue losing at home to Fresno, right? There was some, on the other hand, like, tell me the, tell me the opponent that could have won any of those games, you know? It's like, all right, I mean, SEs played two nobodies. Everybody kind of played a nobody. And granted, they didn't lose any games, but like, let's catch our breath and see what happens when they step up in level of company.

The best win, well, Utah at home. against Florida, and we have no idea of good Florida, and obviously the Colorado win, a team that they're losing to the Big 12. RJ Young joining us, of course, National College Football Writer for Fox. What do we make of Penn State? You know, the Big Ten has been about Ohio State and Michigan for the past half to full decade with Penn State kind of lingering. What do we make of Penn State in their desire to get into that discussion?

Two things. They started really slowly. and they had a bunch of us going, really, Penn State? You look great in uniforms, but you're going to have a close game, if not lose to West Virginia after the first half. I think it was 14 to 7. And then we got to see Drew Alar come alive. Like, that dude going for 325 was the best news for Penn State fans across the board

because you knew what you had in the backfield. Nick Singleton and Capron, Allen, are dudes. You even knew that Dante's defense was going to be able to help you on the outside. You knew that Manny Diaz's defense was going to find a way to continue to play great football. But knowing that you finally got to be able to play. a quarterback that for the first time since probably Trace McSorily makes you feel like you can go to 300 a game and you don't have to depend on the defense and the run game to bail you out. That feels good.

And as bad as West Virginia looks, it's not necessarily an awful football team, right? They're not supposed to win that game and talk about it a little bit. Neil Brown's kind of up against it. But I think like everybody else, your right to reserve your opinion until Penn State gets Michigan at home. Remember, they got embarrassed by Michigan at the Big House last year. That's one to circle. then they had Ohio State on the ropes last year.

JT. 2ie Mowel had a game of games, and they end up losing that game, right? But the third best team in the Big Ten last year, won the Rose Bowl last year, and that's Penn State. I think they're right there. We just have to wait and see. Florida State in my lifetime, and obviously you're younger than me, but among the greatest runs in the history of any sport, 14 straight years finishing in the top five of the country is remarkable. And while people talk about the ACC being down or whatever,

it really comes down to three or four programs, right? Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Miami. If three of those four are good, the league is going to be a legit top two league in the country. That's just the reality of it. It's just like the Big Ten, right? It took Michigan being back in order to make that conference more legitimate among the top two in the country.

What do you make of Florida State and the dominant finish against LSU last night? I felt that was more about LSU either folding or just not having it in the bag than it was Florida State taking it from them. I know how it looks on the scoreboard, and I know that Jordan Travis and Keon Coleman came alive, particularly in the second half when I think they scored 31 unanswered points to really put that game out of reach. But we're talking about a Florida State team that had seven penalties in the first quarter and was adamant about giving the ball back to LSU. and Daniels was the only dude out there that was absolutely making plays for them offensively.

And then, you know, you're playing without Mason Smith. I think you play that game again, it's probably much closer. I don't know the outcome changes, but I still think that right now, having not seen Clemson play, Water State has to prove to me later this month, as a matter of fact, that they can go beat Clemson before I can anoint them as the heir apparent to that conference's fortunes in the college football playoff. Now, in regard to VOT Tech and Miami, yeah, I'm not that much older than you because I remember you didn't go on to Blacksburg expect to win when Frank Beamer was there. You just didn't do it, right?

You didn't expect to beat Florida State at all when Coach Bowden was there to say nothing of what has been in the last 10 years. And I honestly remember that Miami 2001 is one of my favorite football teams of all time. But the chasm between Florida State, Clemson, and everybody else is there. I don't care what you want to tell me about North Carolina. They have to be able to close that up or one of those teams is going to have to absolutely run the table as Clemson's done in the past. for us to take them seriously.

But you're right, right? It's those four teams that we care about, but only two of those teams, I think, are capable of carrying the mantle in 2023. RJ, you cover O.U football. That's how you cut your teeth. I mean, they just obliterated Arc State. Are there any takeaways from that game,

though? I'm just such a – Arc State is such a debacle and OU look great, but are there any legit takeaways from it? Pardon me if my voice rises, because I understand that my voice is not always match my face, but goodness me, Doug, you put a goose egg up. You know,

I don't care who you're playing. I don't care if it's an FCS opponent putting zeros up in the scoreboard is the thing at Oklahoma. That has been the missing ingredient for the past 15 years. Oklahoma didn't get beat the college football playout because he couldn't score a point. It got

beat the college football out because it could stop other people from scoring points. Now, I understand that Arkansas State is down. I understand that Bush Jones was even taking a knee toward the end of the game because he brick by brick got bit in the head. But it is impossible to overlook that defense pitching a shutout at a time when they could have let up, right? It's 4.5-0 at half time.

I did not expect them to come out there and keep up the intensity through the twos and the three. That is exciting. Now, they were three and oh before they got in the conference play last year and we saw how that went. So I'm trying to temper my expectations just a little bit. But that is the one thing I take from that. I don't care about 73 points against Arkansas State. I care about you didn't surrender a single point in week one. That's outstanding.

Okay, we're going to see Clemson tonight. And, you know, you finally, for Clemson, you got Cade Kublich, who most people thought, like, had he started all last year, maybe the outcome would have been different. But I feel like, you know, now you got Florida State to win. If Clemson is back to where they were four years ago, doesn't it complete? changed the entire dynamic of how we look at these conferences in terms of SEC, then Big Ten, and then looking for that third league? Like, if Clemson is Clemson and Florida State is anywhere near competitive, ACC's right there, aren't they?

I think you're right. I think that it's really going to be about running the table for one of those two teams. Like, that's how Texas Christian got in despite losing the Big 12 championship. We're given a lot more credence to power five teams that can run the table 12 and 0 than we had in the past. even Ohio State could lose a bad game to Michigan and still get in there based on what they had done going 11 and 0. So I think, yeah, you've got something there. I'd also add here, Clinton won 10 games last year in what was a transition year for them, right?

Like, that's amazing. When they're having a quarterback derby going into November, they're still good enough to go and win 10 games. That ought to terrify most. I'll add in here, Cade Clovenick was a five-star quarterback at Austin Westlake and beat Quinn Ewers, who's the starting quarterback at Texas in the state championship game and was throwing passes to Jaden Greathouse, who is the best wide receiver at a really great Notre Dame team as a true freshman right now.

What I'm saying is with Garrett Riley and Will Shipley and Kaye Klubnick, I have no reservations about whether or not the offense is going to find its pulse and be good. Whether or not West Goodwin can keep that defense doing what it did last year, I'll ask about that, but he had two preseason AP All-Americans at linebacker on that team. one of the reasons I'm still all in on Clemson. They've done this before. They know how to do this from the past. Florida State is probably going to try to go places that they haven't been in 10 years.

And certainly Mike Norville and that group has never been. So I'm really interested to see how badly if they do. If they beat Duke, I'm just going to say, hey, Duke, I don't expect you to win this game. I'm not going to hold it against you. But if Clemson puts up 45 and surrender 7, yeah, we're probably going to look at Clemson as that third team or Florida State is that third team or to your point. ACC is that third league that gets into the college football playoff. But hey, man, unless you think there's two SEC teams or two Big Ten teams getting in there, that still leaves some room for the Big 12 and the Pac-12 to try to find a way.

And that's exciting. Great stuff. RJ Young, check out his podcast. It's really, really good. Guy has a ton of knowledge and obviously passion for college football. The number one show and readers work at Fox Sports.com. RJ, great stuff, man. Thanks for joining us.

I appreciate you having me on, Doug. Have a good Monday. Let's get to Heardline News with Jason Stewart. Jay Stewart, what he got? No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Hello, Doug.

Hello, Jason. Big weekend in Los Angeles. 22,000-plus fans at BMO Stadium to watch L-AFC against Leo Messi's pink team from Miami. Star-studded affair. Prince Harry was there, Doug, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton. I saw Selena Gomez. You know who else was in town this weekend? Beyonce.

And the Braves. And the Braves were in town. Oh, the Braves were in town, too. Ronald O'Coo. I mean, you had, this is one of those things, right? Where we can be, people are often critical of like, well, U.S. like USC, that wasn't totally full against Nevada. But, I mean, think about you got a weekend. Right.

It's Labor Day weekend. A lot of people, you can go out of town. You can go to the, you know, you can get out of town. You go to the river. You can go, don't go to Burning Man. That was a bit of people were still stuck there. but if you stay in town, you had Beyonce, Messi, or Braves Dodgers at the ravine,

all within probably what, 10 miles of each other? Yeah, no, crazy. Now, people at the soccer game paid more than $700 on the secondary market. I'm guessing the Beyonce tickets were upwards of that range. I don't know about you, Doug, but I kind of put these two in the same category. I respect Messi. I respect the accomplishments. I respect his art.

I respect his craft. Same with Beyonce. I really do. I respect what she has done. There seems like there's a butt coming. I have no interest in seeing them live, especially paying upwards of $700. You?

Yeah, I mean, I would say the messy thing only in that, you know, it's like one of those, like, would you like to see maybe the greatest soccer player of all time? Like, yeah, sure. Why not? Would I pay that much for? Like, no. No. I mean, it's also like varsity versus JV.

They'd be like, oh, my God, he's amazing. Well, he's not what he used to be, but he's playing against such a much lower level. It's like, you know, again, it's like watching one of these pros come down and play against college kids. Like it's not really a fair fight. Okay, would I pay money? Probably not with the exception of if you have kids

or you just want to say, hey, I did go see, if not the greatest, one of the, the five, ten greatest soccer players of all time. That would be the only one. The Beyonce thing, no, I mean, if you have somebody who is really into it, but no, there's no, what's the, no. Because it's not going to be our last tour, right? And is there a recent song that you want to go see in person?

I don't know. I mean, I'm sure it's a great tour. I'm sure it's a great show. But yeah, I wouldn't. You know who doesn't pay to go see a sporting event? or Taylor Swift concerts. Oh, well, that one you can't avoid, yes. Aaron Rogers.

I'm guessing he got his comped U.S. Open ticket yesterday. I think it's the last thing he's going to do in New York before the football season starts. He's gone to every single event in town. Now, he made some waves last night. On his Instagram, he posted a picture of Jukovic with the Moderna advertisement behind him, he's ready to serve.

Well, clever Aaron Rogers crossed out Moderna, and he hashtagged, what was it, some kind of Novax Jockovich. It sounds kind of like an old joke. Like in 1999 when someone had like a wears-a-beef joke, and you're like, nah, where have you been in the last few years, my man? Yeah, I mean, it's pretty obvious that, but I would also say it's playing to his core audience, isn't it?

Oh, it is. They love that time. This is leaning into it. Leaning into New York. Leading in, leaning into the, he was in Green Bay forever and didn't have anything to do. And now you have everything to do. He's a man about town. He's always smiling.

He's different. And then leading into the, it's, you can try and say you weren't anti-Vax guy, but you're anti-Vax guy. Anti-Vax guy. Got it. Noted. Not a surprise. And that's Jason Stewart with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I'm Doug Gottlieb in for calling this as The Herd. The Rams looked to be in for, man, a long season, including one of the best players in the sport, doing something which you only do when you don't get good news. What is it? Find out next in The Herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich Davis. And together we are Kavino and Rich. Kavino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Kavino and Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show. Heard weekdays from 5 to 7 Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app.

Every Kavino and Rich show is available as a podcast. Just search Kovino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and subscribe. I'm such a rocking dude. The show features our unique take on sports, injected with some fun, humor, and relatability. Listen to Covino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Covino and Rich, give me a hell, yeah. 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, 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 which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Cliver 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 job, dream, this is right what you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 J. 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 was 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 that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for 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 podcasts. Happy Labor Day to you.

If you have Labor Day off, you've earned it. I'm Doug Gottlieb. I'm in for Colin Cowhart. Call him back tomorrow. Fired up to recap college footballs week one and get you ready for the kick. of the national football league. Speaking of the kickoff of the NFL season, the NFC West went from dominant division to at the bottom, right?

Arizona with the no-name players, no-name offense, and a coach who gave a laughably bad pump-up, did you drive here or take the bus here speech? And then you have the L.A. Rams, who just two years ago won a Super Bowl. last year it was a bit of a mess this year doesn't look great. You have Matt Stafford, whose wife Kelly outed him as being out of touch with his young teammates. You have a team that for the last half decade has told us draft picks don't matter, only now to tell us, no, we said that before because we were kidding. All our draft picks matter.

And then Cooper Cups Super Bowl two years ago. the final drive, which was all Cooper Cup, I believe we'll go down as one of the great individual performances in the 50-plus years of the Super Bowl when we kind of catch our breath. Because there was a lot of like Indamkins, I mean, not they got an Damoosu, what is, offensive line. What am I blanking? Aaron Donald.

I'm Aaron Donald, incredible performance. Matt Stafford, good performance, right? But Cooper Cup won in that game. That's why he was the MVP. So Ian Rappaport, the NFL media, reports that Cooper Cup has traveled to Minnesota to see a, quote, noted body specialist to further understand his hamstring issue. The goal per the report is to determine what's the root of the issue. Remember, Cooper Cubs had two pulled hamstrings this summer. I mean, I could tell you that once you get to 30 years old, you start pulling your hamstring.

I'm guessing a lot of it is something in terms of tightness in his back or maybe the overall body. But what it strikes me as is, do you realize no one ever gets a second opinion on good news? If Cooper Cup, the week of the season is getting a second opinion, that's not good news for the Rams. The boundlessly capable EQS SUV from Mercedes-Benz takes electric to places it's never been before. That's not only because it's impressive, 305-mile range. From behind the wheel, sumptuous three-row cabin, you'll enjoy the most tech available. Other automakers only dream up. Get the 51-inch hyperscreen?

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Do we realize what a weird start to the NFL season Thursday night's going to become? Yes, the chiefs are going to kick it off. They're defending Super Bowl champions. But have we looked at the other side of the field and realized, I'll explain next. I'm Doug Gottlie, this is the hurt. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations

with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.