The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - What Tennessee’s upset over Alabama means, Michigan’s statement victory & Utah’s emotional win

Episode Date: October 17, 2022

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt discusses the biggest games and storylines from Week 7 in college football. Joel opens the show by sharing his thoughts on Tennessee’s thrilling win over the Alabama Crimson Tide and what it means for both teams’ chances to make the College Football Playoff. Then, Joel shares his takeaways from calling Michigan’s dominant win over Penn State, and what he saw in Utah’s big win over USC at home. Finally, Joel gives love to Max Duggan and the TCU Horned Frogs for their come back win over Oklahoma State and their fantastic start to the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oh, Loua Timmy, as well as right guard, Zach Zinter. They pull out, boom, those blocks right there, free Edwards. And now he's gone. And then it's about division in the cutback. He gets the cutback there, and it's a foot race to the end zone. And Michigan's ground game strikes again. What is up, everybody? Joel Clatt here.

This is Joel Clatt Show. I love Monday episodes. I know you do as well. Thank you so much for being a part of this show. Thank you for subscribing and downloading. Remember, just share with a friend, because it's always better to experience college football with a friend, so make sure to do that. I have been looking forward to this episode ever since Saturday night because it was an epic day of college football. It was just one of those

days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. And I'm sitting on my flight home from Detroit. I'm flying from Detroit all the way back to LAX. And I'm on the flight and we've got all the TVs going. And a lot of us are in that flight, right? So like Matt's behind me and a couple of our executives are up there and Rob's in there and Reggie's in there. And we're basically like watching it. It's like a sports bar at that point because we're cheering and everything. And these people in this flight are like, what are these people doing? But anyways, we were cheering because it was an amazing day of college football.

And we're going to get to all of it. I'm going to talk about that Tennessee Alabama game, which was incredible. I'll talk about the game I was at, Michigan, Penn State, which turned out to be an absolute beatdown. Utah USC was the nightcap that we all needed, even. even though we didn't think we needed it? And then a little praise for TCU and Max Duggan at the end. Let's start, though, with the epic battle in Knoxville. The kick on the way, and that kick is knuckling toward the upright,

and it's good, just gets over the upright. Chase McGrath wins the game for Tennessee. And here they come. Everybody sharing in the celebration, the student section, mob in the field, they're mob and Chase McGrath. Joy and jubilation as the Tennessee volunteers have beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide. Oh, what a scene it was in Knoxville. And I tweeted very quickly after that from the plane,

Knoxville doesn't stand a chance tonight. And that was absolutely the case. What a scene. What a scene. First of all, it was an epic game. And you know, you know how I am. I don't like to just like go back and rehash the game. But that was a terrific game.

Back and forth, back and forth, terrific quarterback play from both guys. Bryce Young for Alabama, Hinden Hooker for Tennessee. There were bad calls. And there's a whole uproar of, well, this official said that. And there were plays made. There were plays that weren't made. There were fumbles. There were defensive scores.

It was everything that you wanted. And then at the end, I mean, some of the plays and throws that Hooker made to get Chase McGrath into field goal range. That was sensational stuff. Lots of thoughts to get into on this. This is one of those games that it's multiple tiers of analysis. As you peel away from the game, as we get just a little bit of distance from that game, I think that we can start to see it a little bit clearer.

And so let's just start to break it down. Okay. Let's start with Tennessee. Tennessee, you're ahead of schedule. Tennessee, now, granted, I picked Tennessee to win the game going in because of the matchup. And I said it was a bad matchup for Alabama, and that's exactly what played out. Hendon Hooker in that passing game was a bad matchup for Alabama. I knew that based off of the first quarter against Texas in which Quinn Ewers,

really in his first important football in over two years, kind of took it to the tide and certainly had them on their heels. And I thought to myself, boy, this guy for Tennessee. Hennon Hooker, he is going to be able to do the same thing, and he did. And the passing game was absolutely tremendous. His performance is going to put him directly in the Heisman Trophy conversation. I don't know if it puts him in the lead or not in the lead. And, you know, I mean, every, the Ohio State fans are going to be mad because they think Stroud is, blah, blah, blah. The guy is firmly in the middle of the Heisman Trophy race, which as a Tennessee fan is, exactly what you wanted to begin the year is that you thought this guy was really good.

And guess what? He is as advertised. I thought he was absolutely tremendous. Some of the throws he made down the field, those are big league throws. He's playing himself right into that, you know, that first round of the NFL draft, the top end of the first round of that NFL draft. And, you know, 567 yards of total offense and 385 through the air with five tutties is going to put you right in that conversation for the Heisman trophy.

But you already knew that, right? that's nothing special. You knew that Tennessee's offense was special. I don't think you knew quite how special it was because they hadn't been tested to the degree that the Bama defense would test them. I thought that Bama defense was going to put up a lot more of a fight than they did. They didn't. Again, 567.

That's a lot of yards. A lot of yards. Let's put it this way. Tennessee was averaging a little under 550 yards per game and they were right up there, you know, top two offenses and college football, and their average actually went up after playing Alabama. That just tells you the level that they played at in this game. And I do want to give them their due in terms of that.

Josh Heipel has this team playing as good as anybody on the offensive side. I have said on this show countless times Ohio State is the best offense in the country. I still believe that because I still think they're a little bit more balanced. But Tennessee is right there, right there. That ain't a big margin between the two. And that is a huge compliment to Tennessee because you know exactly how I feel about Stroud and those Buckeyes on the offensive side.

Now, where does that leave Tennessee as far as the future goes this season? Does that win put you in the Ole Miss A&M category or in the Auburn, Georgia category? Well, what are those two categories, Joel? Well, those are the categories of do you just upset them? and then have the one epic night and that doesn't really do anything for a title chance for you,

like an old miss or an A&M? Or is it more in the vein of when Auburn beats them, they go on and play for the SEC title and they went on and have won national championships and played for national championships. Georgia clearly, they beat Alabama and win a national championship in the national title game.

Those are things that are lofty, championship goals. Okay? So the question that, the question that Tennessee fans are going to have after Saturday night, is our team ready to win a championship? Now, you might be thinking, boy, it's happening quick under Josh Heipel. And it is. And with this offense, they're playing championship level football. The problem is that it's not being reciprocated on the other side of the ball. I don't see this team as a championship team this year, except

for one caveat, which I'll get to in a moment. But the bottom line is, is that we've seen this style of team, frankly, over and over and over again in college football over the last few years. We've seen Oklahoma do this under Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. We're seeing USC try it right now. We've seen Ohio State try this, by the way. Great offense, not great on defense. really if you look at the last four years, five years for Ohio State, the only really good defense that they had was 2019. That's a year that I thought they had legitimate title chances. They ended up losing to Clemson in the playoff in an epic game against Trevor Lawrence.

The other years, though, they just didn't have the defense to go and win a championship. That was proven out even in a national championship game against Alabama when DeVonte Smith and Mack Jones and those guys ran all over them. Tennessee is in that vein right now. I don't see them as having title aspirations this year. Now, you might say I'm crazy because of Hinden Hooker, and I'll get to that in a moment. But the bottom line is that this team is 47th in the country

in scoring defense. They are 104th in total defense, and that's not even the worst one. They're 129th in past defense. Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. That means you're really good, but I don't think they're championship quality. This is still a team that's going to have to beat probably, well, they're going to have to go 2 and O against Georgia and then probably Bama again. I just, I don't see that. And the reason is, as great as Saturday was for Tennessee, this is still the same team that was in an overtime game with Pitt.

and Pitt was playing their backup quarterback who was hobbled. And by the way, let the last minute on the clock go to zero in a tie game and not even try to kick a field goal late in order to win it. They were just fine with overtime. And that was a very poor decision. This is a Tennessee team that has played two really close games at home in league. And get it. I get it, right?

The SEC is hard. But they were outgained by Florida. and Florida had more first downs than them in a five-point win. They were just outgained, not by much, but outgained by Alabama, and Bama had more first downs than them in a three-point win. I believe that that type of football is unsustainable. You can ask any of those Oklahoma quarterbacks that tried to win a championship this way, whether it was Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray or Jalen Hertz.

you know, I mean, quite frankly, and I know they've played a little bit better defense than oh, you did, but Ohio State's been trying this over the last couple of years. And what did Ryan Day have to do? He had to go out and make a change on the defensive side and bring in a new defensive coordinator and fix that side of the ball to try to bring a championship to Columbus. So that's why I just, I don't think it's sustainable at that top end for Tennessee, except for one caveat. And I've saved this.

And that caveat is if Hendon Hooker just goes absolutely berserk and carries them to a championship and goes to a level that we've seen from maybe like a Joe Burrow in 2019, well then maybe, maybe they can do it. Maybe they can do it if Hendon Hooker turns into Superman. And by the way, judging by what he did against Bam on Saturday, maybe that's in the cards. So there's a chance. There's not no chance for Tennessee.

Even a Tennessee fan, as great as Saturday was, in the back of your mind, you know trying to go 2 and O against Georgia on the road in Athens against Bama and now a neutral site, most likely, in that SEC championship game in order to get to the playoff and then having to beat a team like, let's say, even Ohio State in the playoff with a defense that's better than that and an offense that probably can match you, I just don't think it's sustainable the way that they're playing. That was an epic game, an epic game. And I don't want to take anything away from it. But as far as the future goes, their championship aspirations for this year, I would mute those expectations. Mute those expectations. As good as it was, I think that they're muted, unless Hinden Hooker goes absolutely berserk.

Okay. Next point from that game. Let's look at the Bama side of things. All right. So Alabama goes out there and loses the game. And it was a great game. Obviously, and Bryce Young was phenomenal. And you could think to yourself,

and I've seen some people do this. Oh man, hey, Bama struggled in three games now, and this might be the beginning of the end for Alabama. No, no, no, no. I've made that mistake before. I have made that mistake before. Those of you that believe that Alabama is trending down, that they are ripe for the taking,

do not fall into the trap. Do not fall into it. Yes, everything I said was true. Did they struggle against Texas? Yes. They were undisciplined. They had way too many penalties. Did they struggle against Texas A&M?

Yes. I throw that out because Bryce Young wasn't there and he clearly means everything to them. Did they struggle defensively in particular against Tennessee and lose in a sloppy fashion with a lot of penalties? Yes, they did. But that doesn't mean they're going anywhere.

Okay, so think of what it took in two of those three games. Well, really in all three, it took, one, Bryce Young had to be not playing for you to struggle against Texas A&M. And then in the other two, it took Quinn Ywer's having to play out of his mind in the first quarter,

and then Hendon Hooker having to be unbelievable in a five touchdown effort to beat you at home in a raucous environment against Tennessee. Folks, Ole Miss ain't beat in Alabama. Right? They don't have Quinn Yer's. They don't have Hendon Hooker.

They don't have Vendon. that. Jackson Dart ain't that guy. Lane Kiffin, they don't have that gear. So Bama's not going anywhere. Bama still controls their own destiny and their own side of the division. They still control their own destiny to win an SEC

title. Therefore, ergo, they control their own destiny to go to the playoff. They're not going anywhere. They're not going anywhere. In Tennessee, in order to win the SEC to win a title, to put something on the mantle, you'll have to beat them again. And this time, you're not going to get

an environment like you had in Knoxville on Saturday night. So Alabama's not going anywhere. They're not going anywhere, especially if Bryce Young is on the field. That guy was unbelievable. It's almost too bad that he's going to have to follow rung below kind of the top tier guys in terms of the Heisman trophy race because he didn't do anything wrong. My goodness, that guy was good. He was absolutely fantastic.

It does put Bama in one precarious spot. There isn't room for error anymore. Bama gets the benefit of the doubt. They do have, you know, playoff privilege, if you want to call it that. The burden of proof is not on Alabama, and they will go if they go and win the SEC. And that's just the absolute facts of it. So they're fine. They just do not have that backstop anymore.

They're going to have to go out and win out and win the SEC to get there. Last thing that I want to get to for this game. So we've got three points, right? We've got the first point, which was Tennessee is ahead of schedule. That offense clearly in the top two in college football. And Hinden Hooker has put himself firmly in the Heisman trophy race. That's what Saturday did. There's no doubt about it.

And I loved it. I loved every moment of it. It was an epic environment. What's number two? Number two is we can tell by what this team is, is that they are not championship material yet unless Hendon Hooker turns into Joe Burrow from 2019 and can just absolutely take them and put them on his back and take them to a championship. Number three, Bama's going to be just fine.

Do not write them off. They're likely going to be in Atlanta playing for the SEC championship and a right to go to the playoff and compete for a national championship. That's just the bottom line. They're not going anywhere. And then the last thing, the last thing that I want from that game. Fourth point. Fourth point.

And listen to me very clearly, clearly on this. Okay, folks, I remember when 1,100 total yards and over 100 points in any game inside of your conference meant that your conference was garbage, didn't play defense, and that you should not be taken seriously. And everybody in the Big 12 remembers that as well. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not going to do that, and I'm not going to throw those cards around, and I'm not going to say that you don't play defense in that conference,

and I'm not going to rip on that conference because that game was too good. Just like the Patrick Mahomes-Baker-Mayfield games with Texas Tech in Oklahoma, when all those SEC fans would just snub their nose at it and look down on it and say, you don't play any defense, and your conference ain't any good. I'm not going to do that. That conference is amazing. The game was amazing, and I don't care if there was 1100.

yards and 100 total points scored in that game. Those two quarterback performances were epic and they should be as enjoyed as such. Enjoyed as such. But it's not too far in my rearview mirror when I remember you all down there in the south saying, hey, 1,100 yards and 100 points. That ain't football. That just means your conference is trash and you don't play any defense. I remember that.

I remember that. I'm keeping receipts. And you remember it too. You remember it too. All right. Let's move on. Let's go to the game that I had up in Ann Arbor. Blake Coram with a lane.

Blake Coram breaks it back. Spritting, 61 yards. I'll tell you what. That was a dominant, dominant performance from Michigan. Dominant performance from Michigan. Against a top 10 opponent, an opponent that came in with the fifth ranked rushing defense in America, and got absolutely taken to the shed. The score, so the score ends up being, what was it, 40, 4117, something like that.

Is it 4117? and not even close to indicative of the style of game that we saw on Saturday. Not even close. Michigan dominated the game in every facet from Jump Street. And it was shocking when Penn State was even in the game in the second quarter. Shocking! They put up 418 yards rushing, Michigan did. against a team that had given up only 399 coming into the game in the season, in the season, right?

And this was as dominant of performance as I can remember in a top 10 game. And it's going to be forgotten because, you know, as opposed to in other conferences, we don't remember when it's like, oh man, that was a top 10 matchup. That was an undefeated Penn State team that, by the way, they don't have bad wins. on their resume. This is a team that has beaten Purdue on the road, and Purdue is leading the western side of the Big Ten. They went down and beat Auburn in Auburn by about the exact same score

that Georgia beat Auburn in Athens. Right? So it's like, I'm looking at this and it's like, I don't want to overreact. Okay. So I think it would be easy to overreact and just be like, man, Michigan is better. They're on their way. You know, they're the class of the Big Ten. And guess what?

Ohio State should worry. It would be easy after a performance like that. When you run 50 plays to the opponent's 14 in the first half, it's easy to go that direction. And when you've got Blake Corum doing what he's doing and Donovan Edwards and when you got their pass rush and their defense doing what they're doing, when you dominate a top 10 team like that, it's easy to be like, man, they're going to be great. The problem is not that far in my rear view mirror. I remember doing the same thing with Oklahoma after they beat Nebraska.

and I'm not saying Penn State's as bad as Nebraska, but I am saying that that Nebraska team that day clearly had a bad day. So if Penn State just had a bad day, I want to at least try to learn my lesson and not overreact with Michigan after Saturday because it would be easy to. It would be very easy to. I do think that that's a better offensive line than they had a year ago. And that was an offensive line a year ago that won the Joe Moore Award

as the best offensive line in college football. I think that they're actually, and this is the one that's going to be more controversial, they're actually a better defensive line than last year when you actually put it all together. They don't have any one player as great as Aden Hutchinson or maybe even David Adjabo. But they do as a whole interior pass rush, the rotation at pass rush, the rotation in the middle. when you look at them as a complete defensive line, it's actually a better defensive line than they had a year ago. So that's a really good team.

And they beat a team that I still think is actually pretty darn good. They just beat them up on Saturday. Penn State wasn't even in the same class. They were too light up front and Michigan's run game just ran over them like a Mack truck. And I think it definitely got the attention of Ohio State, who was on a by week. You know they were watching. and they're watching that and they thought to themselves like, okay,

we're about to see the same type of team that beat us last year. So we better buckle it up. We got a new defensive coordinator. We put the emphasis on toughness. We better buckle it up because we're about to get the same style of team that beat us a year ago and won the division and won the Big Ten. And I think that that's an important point because when we talk about Michigan, it's always got to be through the lens of Ohio State.

When we talk about Ohio State, it's always got to be through the lens of Michigan, in particular after last year. And how do you win the division? How do you get to Indianapolis? And clearly, it was Ohio State for a decade. It was a decade. But, but this is not the same Michigan team that Ohio State beat up on for a decade. It's just not. They've evolved. the same coach, they've evolved. I've really been a fan of this evolution of what I see now from Michigan. I just covered them for four straight weeks, and I will tell you this. Jim Harbaugh learned some really valuable lessons as a head coach, and even with all of the success that he had had.

I think he learned a couple of really valuable lessons in 2018 and 19, and then in the COVID year. Those three years were monumental in the direction that Michigan has now evolved as a program. In 2018 and 19, Ohio State absolutely obliterated them, in particular with their passing game and in particular with their speed. The schematics that they put on the field defensively, they were not up to par in order to stop Ohio State. And Ohio State put it on them. 62 points in that 2018 game, 56 points in the 2019 game. almost 400 yards throwing the football in 2018, over 300 in 2019. Like they were just, it wasn't really that close.

And I remember watching and calling those games and thinking to myself, man, I don't know when Michigan's going to beat them next. I really don't. Then the COVID year happens and Michigan kind of falls off the face of the planet and has a terrible year. And I think Jim Harbaugh did something really profound during that time. And it was a lengthy offseason, obviously, longer than they'd had in a long time,

having obviously not going to a bowl game and with COVID and everything, right? And he changed a couple of things. He changed the schematics of how they were going to play both offensively and defensively. And I think he changed really the culture and the chemistry of the organization, the program. And both of those things have come to a fruition

and make them a far different team than what they were prior when Ohio State was just beaten up on them for a decade. This Buckeyes team that we see this year, they're going to have to deal with a very good Michigan team. This is a Michigan team that is built now, both from a chemistry standpoint and a schematic standpoint, to face Ohio State. They've changed. They're more multiple on offense. They can run it with power and gap schemes, and they can run zone. They can get under center. They can get into the shotgun. They can throw it efficiently with J.J. McCarthy,

basically being the country's most accurate pass or as far as completion percentage goes, they can play action pass. They can do all those things. They can get heavy and run it 20 straight times at you. They can throw it if they want to. They can do a lot of things on offense, but it's what they've done on the defensive side

that I think it's been most impressive. Their architecture on defense was basically specifically to face Ohio State. They're really good and big in the middle of their defensive line. Guys like Mazi Smith, all the other guys that rotate in there, Chris Jenkins, as well. there's a bunch of 300 pounders in there. They build that run wall right up front.

Then they've got good, long, athletic edge players that set hard edges and get after the quarterback. Very NFL style. They've got hybrid athletic players at linebacker that do a great job tackling and they can cover in space. They've got the same type of player at safety, including the nickel with Mike Sainerstil. So they got three safeties that can all cover. They can all tackle in space.

They get after it. And then they got two lockdown corners and coming into last week's game. neither corner for Michigan was giving up over 40% completions when targeted. That's an NFL defense, hard on the edges, great cover players, great pass rush, and then really stout in the middle with athletic and hybrid players on the back two level and a big run wall up front. That architecture was specifically to face Ohio State, I believe, and their culture and chemistry has gotten so much better,

in particular with the winning that they enjoyed last year, that now that's a team that Ohio State's going to have to reckon with. not just the Michigan team that you can go put up 55 points on anymore. They're much, much different. The one thing that we don't know about Michigan moving forward, and all Michigan fans are going to agree with me on this, is I just don't know how good their quarterback is yet. And we may see a time in which J.J. McCarthy will be required to do what Hinden Hooker or Bryce Young did in the epic game with the Tennessee and Bama showdown on Saturday, which is, you've got to carry your team. Caleb Williams

and Cam Rising. Max Duggan. All these quarterbacks that I'm going to be talking about in today's episode, at times, the team has to go on their shoulders and they've got to go win the game. Michigan, we haven't seen that, obviously. They've never been put it in that position. And last year, really didn't have that with Cade McNamara. Never

really put in that position until the Georgia game, and Georgia was just so far superior than it never materialized. Now we wonder the same thing with J.J. McCarthy. I wonder if he can go win a game if needed. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I think he can.

I think he's really talented. He's doing all the same things that JJ did as far as game management and protecting the football and doing things extra like creating first downs with his legs, throwing it really efficiently. And I think it can get even better and the team can go on his back, but we just haven't seen it yet. So that's the one thing that I haven't seen yet from Michigan. And oh, there's one little last thing, Michigan. You better start beating Michigan State because that's not. not going away until you do.

Mel Tucker gets there. They beat him in the COVID year. They beat them last year. And if Michigan wants to kind of put that to bed, they better go beat Michigan State here in a couple of weeks. All right, a couple more games that I want to touch on and performances and players I want to touch on. I'll do it a little bit more quickly because those are the two games

that really took up most of the emotion of the day. But let's get to that epic battle between USC and Utah. for two in the league rising what a nightcap that was that was a great college football game a great college football game on par with tennessee and and alabama when you really think about it now granted it didn't have the scene although the scene in salt lake was epic sold out biggest crowd that they've ever had at rice echoes they had the the blackout going they were honoring uh tie jordan and erin low obviously with those epic helmets that was a great college football game And man, I loved every moment of it. These two quarterbacks on those two sidelines played unbelievable.

Cameron Rising for Utah and on the other side, Caleb Williams for USC. These two guys were an absolute pleasure to watch. And I will say, USC is ahead of schedule. I just didn't believe that USC in Lincoln Riley's first, year, even with how well it's gone so far, I didn't think that they were going to go into Salt Lake and take Utah to the brink like that. I didn't think that, right? I didn't think that they were going to have, I thought it was a bad matchup for them. I didn't think their defense would play that well in particular against the run, even though they didn't play great. I understand that.

But they forced Cameron Rising to have to throw the ball exceptionally well, which he did, by the way, for over 400 yards. So USC ahead of schedule. Ahead of schedule. Ahead of and still right there in the Pack 12 and still certainly right in the thick of things. But Utah, like, I just, I love the performance a week after losing, they've lost two games, and they still lay it on the line like that. That quarterback Cam Rising, I tell you what, man,

that dude is a good player. And I love what Kyle Whittingham did at the end. It's not just about the two-point play, but it's the acknowledgement that his player can make the play. And he doesn't want to extend the game for the other one on the other side. Right? Like we get into these moments where it's like at some point,

you just got to go, who's got the ball last? Let's go make a play. He's at home and he goes for the win. And I love it. I think Kyle Whittingham is one of the most underrated and best coaches in all of college football. And I continued to put Utah in my top 10. Part of the reason is,

is that even with two losses, I still think they're a top 10 team. This is a really good football team. By the way, this should speak volumes for how good UCLA is for beating them and kind of handling them. When I look at my top 10, Utah still is in my top 10. They're my 10th best team. TCU at 9, Ole Miss 8, UCLA 7, Bama 6, Clemson, Michigan, UGA, Tennessee, and Ohio

State. More on that in a moment. But Utah is still right there. And I got to tell you that performance from both of those quarterbacks, I just thought was absolutely epic. Now when you look at the Pac-12 moving forward, it presents just an unbelievable game this weekend. UCLA and Oregon now they're going to play.

Those are the two teams that are undefeated in conference. And there you've got Utah and you've got USC and they're sitting there with one loss. All four of them battling it out. The winner of this week's game, boy, they're going to be a full game ahead of anybody in the conference and put themselves in such a great position

to wind up in that conference championship game. Remember, no divisions this year in the PAC 12. So the winner of that UCLA Oregon game is going to put themselves in a great position. USC, you ain't. out of it. Utah, you ain't out of it. This is going to be a great end of the year for the Pact 12. I don't know if they're going to get a playoff team, but you know what? I'm just going to try to enjoy it for what it is, which is great football, which is exactly what it was on Saturday

with Caleb Williams and Cameron Rising. Last thing I want to touch on is that performance from TCU. Snap comes back, turn, handed off. Kinsry, touchdown. TCU wins. How about TCU and Sunny Dykes first year? You could talk a lot about Sunny Dykes and boy, what an amazing job he must be doing at TCU, but I'm not going to do that. And it's because there is a player in particular, and I know we focus on quarterbacks a lot,

and you know what? rightly so, because it's the most important position. But I just got to give love to Max Duggan. In this day and age, I think it's incredibly rare to find a young person that has the fortitude to face adversity multiple times and just continue to move forward and towards the goal. And I love Max Duggan's story.

This is a guy that has not quit, has battled adversity both in his own life personally and now in his career as a college quarterback, and he just keeps playing. He just stays the course. You go back to the COVID year. He's been a starting quarterback. He's enjoyed success. He's riding high. I remember those days. Right? Like, it's great. It should be the time of your life. And because of COVID and because of the scare that COVID was with heart inflammation, everybody started doing EKGs and heart scans for all of these young athletes to see like, all right, what are we working with here as a baseline as we are trying to play football through the pandemic? That's what was going on in summer 2020. And Max Duggan, they have an EKG and they find a rare heart issue

in Max Duggan that he's had, by the way, since birth. So not, not. COVID related. It's just like you have this weird year where you've got a global pandemic. And so all of a sudden, you've got to take a heart test that you wouldn't normally have to take. And they find an issue in his heart. And he has to go and he has a procedure. He's got indefinitely leave the team in order to get well and get healthy. So there was some question whether he would ever play football again. And here he is, he comes back. He comes back to the team. And it doesn't just come back. He comes back and becomes the starting course. quarterback, right? So he persevered through adversity and it's like, man, what a great story.

What a great story. And then guess what happens? He loses his coach. Gary Patterson, whatever happened at TCU happened, right? So whether he was pushed out, fired, you know, resigned, whatever it was behind closed doors. It happened. His coach no longer his coach. You know how many players in college football as soon as that happens. The first thing they do is they enter the transfer portal. Not Max Duggan. He's like, all right, like, what do we got? What do we got? Who are they going to hire? Sunny Dikes. Okay, Sonny Dikes comes in. I'm going to compete for my job now. Even though I've been a starting quarterback, I'm going to compete for my job. Okay, I'm going to compete for my job. And guess what? They give it to the young kid. So the new staff gives it to

Chandler Morris to start the year. So Chandler Morris gets to run out there against Colorado on that first game of the year. And Chandler Morris is playing. They didn't play great in the first half, but you can see Morris is dynamic and he's got some athletic ability. And, you know, it's pretty good and this and guess what? He goes down in the game. Well, hey, Max, you know, come on, buddy, hey, team guy, buddy, pal, don't worry about losing the job, go out there. And what has he done since then? 16 touchdowns, one interception. And last week's game against Oklahoma State encapsulated that entire career arc in one game. They're down. They're down multiple scores and the guy never quits. He just keeps playing and he just keeps playing as hard as he possibly can.

I love Max Duggan. He's one of the reasons why I love college football. I love that he has the fortitude as a young man to deal with adversity and come through it on the other side. And now he's sitting there and they're undefeated in the Big 12. They face K-State this week. I don't know what's going to happen in the Big 12. K-State, TCU, only teams that are undefeated in that conference right now. as far as conference play goes.

Texas and Oklahoma State each have a loss. You're sitting there and listen, they all could eat themselves, but it's all right in front of him. And for a guy that's dealt with all that adversity, the heart issue, losing a coach, staying, losing his job,

staying, coming in there and now competing at the highest level, all these ranked teams in a row, TCU, every single week in the gauntlet, and he just continues to play hard. love it. Max Duggan, I'm a huge fan of you, my friend. I'm a huge fan of you. And good luck the rest of the way. That's going to do it for our show here on a Monday. I'm Joel Clatt. You can follow me on Twitter at Joel Clatt. You can follow the show at Joel Clatt Show. Please download, subscribe and then share it with a friend. You can go rate us if you would because we would love a

nice rating in there. I got to tell you, I love college football. Saturday made me fall in love with it all over again as it did for you as well. New episode on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Make sure to check in, check back with us, check in and get those episodes when they drop. Thanks for listening to everybody.