The Press Box - Ep. 183: College Football With Mallory Rubin and Ben Glicksman

Episode Date: September 15, 2016

Mallory Rubin and Ben Glicksman discuss a surprisingly exciting Week 2, the Oklahoma State loss, and Clemson's future. Then, Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel joins to preview this weekend's slate of games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Bill Simmons. Today's episode of Channel 33 is brought to you by Seat Geek, the presenting sponsor for my podcast, as well as the only fan-friendly app for buying and selling tickets for sports and music. With just two taps on your phone, you can instantly buy Seekkeek tickets to an event, and you can enter that event just using your phone. No paper tickets. Drop your old ticket app. Use one that's built for 2016.

Download the free SeatGeek app or go to Seekgeek.com. And don't forget to check out my fairly new website, the ringer.com, for the very best in sports, tech, and pop culture coverage. And don't forget about the ringer podcast network, which features Keeping in 1600, The Watch, Channel 33, Shackhouse, and our ringer shows for the NFL, MBA, and MLB. And finally, don't forget about my new television show, any given Wednesday, which runs every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. on HBO.

And reruns on HBO Now, HBO Go, and, HBO on demand. Some college football talk on Channel 33. I am Mallory Rubin, deputy editor of the ringer.com. A wonderful website that we'd love for you to visit frequently. And I'm joined today, as always, by Ringer Articles Editor and just wonderful human being. Ben Glexman. Hello, Ben.

Hey, ma'am. How's everything going? It's going. You know, I have a confession to make right up top. Wow. We're going to do a little week two chat. We're going to talk a bit about the landscape of the sport. And then later we're going to be joined by Fox Sports College Football Experts, Stuart Mandel, to preview week three.

But I just want to confess up front when we're talking about week two that I did not see any of these games because I was in East Hampton watching Andrew Sharp get married. So that was beautiful. I was honored and thrilled to be there. It was lovely. I cried a lot. I sweat a lot because it was really humid and I did not watch a lot of football and also I basically had no cell service so it was really hard to keep up on things other than the incessant push notifications I was getting about Mike Gundy being angry.

So, you know, I'm going to ask you to kind of walk me through some of this and talk about what happened. I'm going to do my best but I just wanted to be honest with you and with our listeners. All right. Congratulations to Andrew Sharf. And yeah, I'm really excited for all this week to Insight. you're about to provide all of our listeners because it's going to be it's going to be the best listen listen. Listen, I think that you know and I think that most people who listen to Ringer podcast know that I'm not really afraid to say what I think, even if it might be terribly wrong.

So here we go. That's good. Let's get into it. Before we get to week three and before we bring on Stu, let's just do a little, let's do a little in or out about some of the things that matter most right now. So to kick things off, let's talk about Mike Gundy. Let's talk about this Oklahoma State loss, controversial. First of all, I'm going to want you to walk us through just the Cliff's Notes version of what happened for listeners or co-hosts who might not be aware. And Ben, are you in or out on the college football playoff selection committee hand-waving Oklahoma State's loss? So the Cliff Notes version basically is that Oklahoma State was up by four points with the ball and four seconds left. They committed.

They basically committed a penalty. They called intentional grounding, which should not have given Central Michigan the ball back, but the refs called for one untimed down. And then Central Michigan pulled off one of the most incredible Hail Marys I've ever seen. They threw the ball all the way down the right sideline. The guy executed basically more of a chest pass than a lateral. And the guy who caught it ran into the end zone in Central Michigan pulled off an incredible upset. So should the play have happened?

absolutely not. Am I glad it happens? Yes, it was incredibly amazing to watch live, and I'm sure you've seen the replay. But as far as the committee hand-waving it, my sort of thoughts on this are twofold. One, I think for the most part, they will. But the thing is, like, if style points are going to play a role in the college football playoff selection committee's decision, like Oklahoma State still did not play a good game against Central Michigan. Like, that was, incredibly close. It should not have been that close. So even though they should have won the game, and based on the rules, which are key to the sport of football, they should have won the game. I still think the fact that that game was as close as it is does not look super great on their resume. The other thing is I ultimately don't think this is going to matter. That's the second part of this. Like Oklahoma State, the only way that they get into the playoff anyway is basically if they run the table. And if you look at their schedule, I mean, they have James Washington, their receiver is one of the more underrated players in the nation, I think, but they play Pitt this weekend,

which Pitt looks significantly improved. That could potentially be a loss. And then three of their toughest big 12 games, Baylor, TCU, and Oklahoma are all on the road. So I think this is, this was obviously an insane ending. I think that if Oklahoma State were to run the table, this probably wouldn't prohibit them from getting into the playoff. But I think, at the end of the day, it's going to be a moot point. Yeah, I'm pretty much with you. You know, I am in on, I'm in on the selection committee taking context into account, right? Like, if humans can't use their human brains and their human hearts to make human decisions,

then why have a selection committee stocked with humans in the first place? Why not just let the robots and the algorithms rule? Are you advocating for the return of the BCS? Is that what this is? I would never. I would never. So, you know, look, like that said, while I am in on the idea of committee members, considering the context for any win or loss and always properly weighing the given circumstances,

I'm not in on saying this loss isn't really a loss and it doesn't matter because the truth is, as you were just saying, that the cowboys were in the position to lose. You know, it took a bad, wrong call and a freak insane play for that to actually happen. but if they'd gone out and dominated, they wouldn't have been in that position. The play couldn't have happened and this wouldn't matter. They didn't. They let a middling Mack team that went seven and six last year, hang around and be in the position to take advantage of admittedly freak circumstances.

But still, Oklahoma State should not have been in that spot to begin with. And I don't really think we're talking about a playoff contender. So it's kind of a half and half out, I think, for both of us. Yeah. Here's the other thing I'll say to listeners. If Central Michigan is involved in a close game, you need to be watching this. They were also the team that was in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl, which ended in one of the most insane ways I've ever seen. They were on the wrong side of that one, Western Kentucky won.

But if the game is within like three points in the final minute and Central Michigan is involved, you should probably turn it on. Good advice. Good advice. All right. Next, are you in or out on Arkansas being a legit SEC West contender? So I watched their game against TCU. It for a while looked like they were going to win, then it looked like they were going to lose, and then they pulled it out. I am actually in on this. So with the caveat that Alabama is going to win the SEC West, which we talk about every week, but Alabama, I mean, that's basically one of the Ten Commandments is that Alabama wins the SEC West and plays for a national championship.

That's happening. But among the other teams of the SEC West, like the, why not Arkansas sort of emerging as their biggest contender this season? LSU didn't look great in week one. A lot of the other teams have looked pretty shaky so far. And if you look at even, if you dig into the numbers, over the past two seasons, there have been eight programs that have finished in the top 15 of S&P. Arkansas is one of those eight programs, despite finishing a combined 15 and 11. They suffered a bunch of close losses last year. You look at their schedule.

If they beat Texas A&M in a couple of weeks, they should be undefeated going into back-to-back games against Alabama and Ole Miss. I'm in on Bert and the Razorbacks actually making a little bit of a run this year. Ben, I'm out. I'm so out. And I'm going to use your own logic against you here, okay? Wow. Saying a lot of other teams had a shaky week one,

we can just use that same argument about Arkansas, right? Like here's the thing. This is classic recency bias to me because two weeks ago, two weeks ago, not two months, not two years, two weeks, we were all ready to write off Arkansas because the hogs barely survived Louisiana Tech. They won 21 to 20. And then, okay, yeah, beating 15th ranked TCU is impressive, but I think it's time that we ask whether TCU really deserve to be ranked 15th because, first of all, this was just a three point win. This wasn't like a throttling. And second of all, TCU barely beat South Dakota State the week prior. The frogs are a mess. So, okay, the schedule. That is definitely the one thing working in Arkansas's favor because amazingly, impossibly, every remaining game on the schedule against a ranked opponent is at home, which is just an incredible stroke of fortune. But those ranked opponents are Texas A&M, Alabama, Olez, Florida, and LSU. Some of those teams have problems, but those are ultimately, those are good, capable teams. So Arkansas's chances of winning out, according to ESPN.

FBI, literally 0% right now, 0%. The chances of winning the conference, 0.3%. Those are not good odds. I'm out. This is the thing, though. You mentioned week one. That was also a case of basically one game shaping our entire perception of this team. I mean, if you look at the past couple of years, they've been really unlucky. They have a good quarterback this year. They have a good running back. They have a tight end in Jeremy Sprinkle. And they have a 6'10 lineman named Dan Skipper, who blocked the field goal that ultimately sent this game to overtime, who's a big factor for that team. I mean, each of the last two seasons,

this team has gotten off to a glacially slow start, only to turn it on and be a real threat down the stretch. And this is why there has been buzz about Arkansas. It's sort of the way that they finished has always been with the look of a contender. I mean, if they actually can start hot this year, I think they're a team that we should not sleep on. You just used an interesting phrase, the look of a contender, right? And that conveys that it's not always about the numbers.

It's not always just about wins and losses. It can sometimes be about something intangible, which brings us to our next topic. Clemson, our favorite talking points so far this season. Are you in or out on Clemson being totally fucked? I love the way that we got into that, in or out on Clemson being totally fucked. I am out on them being fucked. I think they're going to be fine. Let's acknowledge, first of all, that they did look awful in a 30 to 24 win over Troy.

I mean, so here's the concerning thing to me about Clemson. The offense was supposed to be this world-beating group this season after the way that they played at the end of last year. They have Deshaun Watson, who's one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, probably the best quarterback in the nation heading into this season. They have Wayne Galman. they bring back the slew of receivers and get back Mike Williams, who missed all of last season with an injury. And that's actually been the problem so far, which is both concerning and also gives me faith that this team is going to be fine. I mean, they dropped seven passes in that win against Troy. Hunter Renfro, who was the breakout star of last year's national championship game, broke his hand and is going to be out at least a month.

But if you look at their schedule, it's really not that difficult. beyond the Louisville game in a couple weeks, and then Florida State way down the line. But they have some time to figure this out. I think I would actually be more concerned if Clemson's defense was struggling because that was the unit that was supposed to struggle. The offense is going to figure it out. I just think there's too much talent on Clemson, not to. I think that they have the feel of 2015 Ohio State, 2014 Florida State, which means they could be in for more shaky games than we anticipated. but both of those teams finish the season with one loss.

I think Clemson's going to be okay. I'm in on this. You're in. All right. What's the rationale? I'm not only in. I'm proud to say that we were on this corner so early, even if you're leaving me here alone now.

We were here together for a little while, and I'll always think back on that time fondly. Okay. Clemson barely beat Auburn in week one, which we've talked about, which was concerning. Clemson barely beat Troy in week two, downright alarming. and Deshawn Watson just hasn't looked like himself.

You know, he threw two picks against Troy. He just isn't playing like one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the country. The Tiger's entire offense, as you just noted, suffering. They currently rank 69th in total offense, 82nd nationally and third down conversion percentage. And the Renfro injury, which you talked about, that's bad because they have more receiver depth this year, but he's still one of Watson's favorite targets. So you look at the schedule. Okay.

The Louisville games in three weeks. the Florida State game is a few weeks after that. That's not around the corner, but it's not too far away. Clemson needs to get it together before those games, or they're both going to be losses. And the thing is, you're using the easy schedule as a Mark in Clemson's favor because they don't have too tough of a road. That's fair.

But I think we could also spin it the other way and say that the relatively weak schedule is going to work against them at the end, because even if they survive and go undefeated or only have one loss, they're not earning those style points. They're not actually doing enough or playing well enough to basically break a tie in the committee's mind between Clemson and another power conference team that's carrying the same record. I think that's the concern at this point, that even if the record is where it needs to be at the end, that intangible factor won't be. I think it's going to just come down to how they're playing. I mean, if they do, say they finish this season 11 in 1 and they split those games with Louisville and Florida State.

I think ultimately it's going to come down to how they look at the end of the season. We've seen so many times, well, not so many times. The playoffs only been around for two years, but both years we've seen. So many times in those two years, though. It's been amazing. You can count them on two fingers. But basically, you've seen teams lose a game early in the season and then come back to win the national championship. Clemson hasn't lost.

They've looked uninspiring, but, I mean, you mentioned them trying to find their footing. This weekend, they play South Carolina State. I'm fairly confident that they're going to look better against South Carolina State that they did against Troy. The week after that, they played Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech has was really struggled last year. That's an okay ACC team, but that's not a great ACC team. They have two weeks, really, to get this offense together before that Louisville game. And I mean, even if Deshaun Watson doesn't play at the level that he did against Alabama in the national championship,

there's a reason he was a Heisman finalist last year. That guy is really, really good at playing quarterback. I just have such a tough time seeing him continuing to play the way that he did against Troy. All right. I admire your faith. It's infectious. Last question. Last in or out before we get to our interview.

And I just want everyone to know that I am asking you this under duress because I refuse to accept that we live in a world where we will talk about Northwestern football every week on this podcast. However, that said. We talk about Syracuse now. So fair is fair. Are you in or out on Northwestern even being able to win three games this year? So let me just say how sad I am. First of all, I'm really sad now. I'm sorry, buddy.

So we'll talk to Stu Mandel about this a little bit later in the podcast. Stu is a national college football writer for Fox Sports. He is dear to both of our hearts. And he also went to Northwestern. So I'm excited to hear what he has to say about this too. But Northwestern went 10 and 3 last year in sort of the most uncertain way possible, which is to say that they won all of their close games. And their only three losses were blowouts to Michigan, Iowa, and Tennessee.

This year, they have lost close games to Western Michigan and Illinois states. And I'm out. I don't think they win three games. I think they go two and 10, which is really depressing. I mean, Northwestern has let me down a lot. And they seem to find creative new ways to let me down a lot. But last week's loss, they just sleptwalk through a 9 to 7 loss to an FCS team. I mean, it was a good FCS team, but it was an FCS team.

And the offense has showed no signs of progress. Last year, the offense finished 116th in the nation in total offense. This year through two games, they're 116 in the nation through total offense. So I know Pat Fitzgerald likes continuity. That is not the type of continuity you want. It's a depressing time to pull for the cats here, Mal. I'm sorry, buddy. Just think back fondly on all your special Venric Mark memories, and you'll be fine.

Yeah, Rose Bowl. All right, Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl. I'm not sure that I see a single win on the schedule for what that's worth. Maybe one. Maybe two. But I'm definitely taking the under if the mark is three. Wow. Sad times.

Sad times in Cats land. Dry your tears, because we will be. be back with some week three preview talk with Stuart Mandel after a quick word from our sponsors. Hey, it's Bill Simmons. It's a little known fact, but the first two people ever to have a podcast were me and Alexander Graham Bell. And now only one of us is alive to still have a podcast. Mine is called the Bill Simmons podcast. It's year 10 for me. You can subscribe to it wherever you get your podcast during the football season. Me and Cousin Sal will be breaking down the upcoming Slate of Games every Thursday morning throughout the NFL season. You get us

for 17 regular season weeks. You get us for four playoff weeks. You get us for the week after the Super Bowl when we won all our bets and weren't congratulating each other. It's great. I am doing that podcast at least once a week. Subscribe to it now.

However you get your podcast, thanks for listening. And now, back to your podcast. Joining us now, I'm overwhelmed with emotion because it is such an honor and a privilege to be reunited with my former Sports Illustrated podcast co-host, guys, if you have some spare time, go back into the archives, catch up on some old Mandel initiative episodes, Fox Sports College Football Writer, and podcast co-host of the Audible, Stuart Mandel. Stu, Ben and I miss you terribly. Welcome.

It's unbelievable. This is such a great reunion. Like, this is your life episode. And I'm glad, now, that you still use the phrase honor and a privilege, because I believe those people who who now will go back and find the Mandel initiative, know that you use that line every week. The two things I pretty consistently said were honor and a privilege and it's mailbag time, and I'm happy to tell you that I still do both of those things regularly. I'm keeping our beautiful experience together alive in my own small way, week after week. For the listeners who might not know what the hell we're talking about right now, let's give them a very brief bit of background here.

Stu, Ben and I all used to work together at Sports Illustrated. I had the sincere privilege of editing Stu for many years. And then when I left, Ben edited Stu. And we all love each other and we all love college football. And so here we are to talk about it. Is that an accurate summation, guys? That is an accurate summation. Stu, it has been a long time.

It's great to have you on. Thanks, Ben. I mean, this is like, you're right, Matt. It's like six years worth of college football editors that I had all in one place. And just to show you how small world and incestuous this really is, I was thinking about it. I'm pretty sure that I told Ben I was going to Fox at your wedding. Wow. You know what? That is correct.

That is correct. It was at your wedding that I got the devastating news that Stu was leaving S.I. But then I left S.I a couple years later. So here we are. What a world. Wow, one beautiful union, one tragic breakup, all happening at once. Life is so complicated. well but the irony guys that f i and fox are now partners that's true i'm right back where i'm right

back where i start so you really can go home again huh exactly okay i think we should uh we should talk about a little actual football nobody is still listening at this point i love talking about our feelings and i always i always want us to feel comfortable sharing our our deep inner most uh heartfelt emotions but let's talk about some actual football because week three is low And Stu, I want to start by asking you about not just week three in particular, but the beginning of the season in general. Can you remember a more exciting start to a season? You know, week one was pure joy. Week two was supposed to suck, but then it delivered a lot of notable chaos and week three looks completely loaded. Is this just recency bias on our part when we sit around and say this is the best start to a season that's ever happened? Or is this actually pretty special? No, it is because, you know, I can remember many times when this particular week, week three, this is often when Florida and Tennessee would play when this was, when it was the conference play is starting to heat up.

So that's not necessarily new, but that week one was just something we've never experienced. And so I feel like we haven't had time to catch our breath, and all of a sudden, we're right back to another loaded plate. Right, Stu, so one of the bigger games in week one was obviously Houston and Oklahoma. and we'll get to Saturday's games here in a second. But before we do, I'm sure you're aware, but the Houston bandwagon has become pretty popular at this point with Greg Ward and Tom Herman.

Before we look ahead to Saturday, is there any reason that Houston should be on upset alert on Thursday night at Cincinnati? Obviously Thursday night games are always weird. Greg Ward was a missed week two. He should be healthy for this one. But is there a chance that something pretty funky goes down tonight? Well, of course, Thursday night football is the stuff of legendary upset.

So you should always be on upset alert. And you should definitely be an upset alert when you go into the loudest stadium in America, 30-something thousand-seat nippered stadium. But, I mean, Houston is much better than the bear cat. As long as Greg Ward is healthy and his usual self, obviously they should win. But I always turn on Thursday night. expecting the possibility of an upset. Right.

Stu, let's pivot to Saturday. There are so many notable games, but the really, like, upper crust action kicks off first thing with number two, Florida State taking on number 10, Louisville. Some Louisville fans, including our very own intern, Haley O'Shaughnessy, calling this the biggest game in Louisville history. The Cardinals, Lamar Jackson, really seems to be grabbing the nation's attention right now. He's emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the country

at a minimum a Heisman contender and possibly a Heisman frontrunner. Right now he's on pace. I think I have the math right for a billion touchdowns. Can you give the listeners who might not have seen Jackson play a lot, who might not be super familiar with his skill set, a quick scouting report and sort of explain what makes him so special? You know, I can do that now with particular expertise because I went to Louisville in August because I had a sneaking suspicion, Lamar Jackson to be one of the breakout stars of this season. There you go. Yeah.

Well, anybody who watched their bowl game, we all, I know we were all tuned to the Music City Bowl last year. Wouldn't miss it. I don't miss a Music City Bowl if I can help it. You know, in that game, he really, really, really from the first game last year, he came in against Auburn. You knew he was back. And so that was everybody's initial impression of him.

But he's a really good pastor, too. Bobby Petrino said, he was going to get on campus. And so last year he didn't really know what he was doing. He was true freshman for the small grasp of the playbook. He knows it the whole playbook, and it showed in those first two games. I know that wasn't the greatest competition, but it's not like everybody goes out.

I think he's very talented, but this is obviously a huge step up in competition. And in particular, you saw in the game against all this, what DeMarcus Walker did. It's shredded. Overpowered their offensive line. Living legend, DeMarcus Walker? Mamba mode.

Oh, is he? Yeah, well, actually, I heard now from the last podcast, that you are the only person who's on an even bigger border state. I have picked them to win the national title, and I picked Dalman to win my husband, and I believe you did the same. Is that correct? That's right.

I'm always following your example, still, to this day. To this day. So, yeah, I think that he, you know, this is where he either, I mean, if he goes out and he has a big game against the number two team in the country, he becomes, what Bruce Feld and I refer to it, the Gino Smith's September Hidesman winner automatically. And then if he drug, I think people will jump right off the bandwagon because we're, there's so many other guys out there who have been doing it for longer. Right. Stu, first of all, I can't believe you named that award after Gino Smith and not Kenny Hill. Kenny Hill, always and forever, is the September highisman winner that I will refer to. Things have gone so well for both Kenny Hill and Gino Smith since, guys.

Yeah. What about State 14 and Bernard Robinson back to back? Oh, my God. Yeah, we'll get to Michigan later. Basically, you mentioned DeMarcus Walker. The other guy who was the headliner of Florida State's defense was Darwin James, but news broke. He's obviously going to be out five to seven weeks with him in.

Nisgastair, he's one of the best players in college football, and not as many people are as familiar with him as they are with Lamar Jackson as they are with Christian McCaffrey because he plays safety. How big of a deal is him being out for this Florida State team in particular, and particularly in this Louisville game where they're going against such a dynamic quarterback like Lamar Jackson? Yeah, it's a big deal in this game because he is the guy that would, if they chose to go this route, he would be the guy undoubtedly who would spy. Jackson. The reason he's sobered, he can stuff the run, he can flip. It's a huge loss. There's no question about that. But you know, with FSU, there's always some five-star recruit waiting

in the wings and it's not a complete drop-off. And then like I said, you know, it'll really come down to how offering those guys up front. I mean, if those guys don't dominate, then yeah, I could see Lamar having a huge game and taking advantage of that I should throw in it in out there. But as I said before, when I was there in August, Louisville, you know, you'd say great quarterback, great receivers, great running back. How's the offensive line? Well, we're not sure yet. Last season, ACC CCC competitions. What about the quarterback on the other side? You know, what about DeAndre Francox? And he, you know, I know, I know all this was ranked 11th, not 10th, but, eh, close enough. Can he beat two top 10 teams in three weeks when he wasn't even expected

to be the quarterback a month ago? It seemed like it. You know, the debut as you could ask. I heard now you're watching the Showtime series. Oh, my God. I'm hooked, man. I love it. Can't get enough. It's not quite as riveting at the other name one. No, no, no, no.

But because he just don't have, like, quite as few characters. But one thing that I noticed, one thing I found interesting, we always hear Jimbo Fisher, all these numbers. I get to see how that work. You get to see him coaching up the André Francois. And what it is is an instance, but he is so hard on him. And then he'll come back and be like, you understand why it was hard on you there, right? Like, okay.

Like, he's his own good, top, bad top. Yeah, he seems to, like, he seems to carry around a tremendous amount of guilt. It's pretty fascinating to watch. She really does feel compelled to apologize or not apologize, but at least explain and justify every, like, firm stance he takes. It's really interesting. Yeah, it's like he's a hard-ass, and then, but unlike other prominent hard-ass coaches, like, say, a Nick Stavent, he then, he then, once he's done being a hard ass, he wants to go back to being their best friend. He's kind of like a Jewish mother, you know?

Good analogy, Mal. Thank you. I think Francois will be fine. But I'm actually, I'm more curious, you know, Dalman Cook has not had a huge running season so far. They obviously got him into the passing game against Solmiss, but it's not like he's putting up the running back numbers that he did last season. so, you know, it'll be interesting to see how they choose to attack Louisville's defense.

I know now you were probably tuned in for every minute of that Syracuse game. Of course. And, I mean, there were times when Eric Dungey was having his success against that Louisville defense. I think the Louisville defense in general is basically built on making the big play. They're not one of those bend but don't break units. So, I mean, either way, this is going to be one of the headlining games of the weekends. It's going to have huge repercussions, not only in the ACC, but for the entire college football playoff race.

Stu, switching from this game to one of the other big games the weekend. Olmiss is going to try to beat Alabama for the third consecutive year. I guess just point blank. Do you think Ole Miss has any chance to repeat this for a third time? I mean, Nick Sabin obviously does not lose very many games in general, but let alone to the same opponent year after year. year after year. Yeah, and certainly we didn't expect them to lose again.

Last two free, the only only coaches that has had Nick Saban's number. But, you know, the memory of that Florida State game and the way that offensive line got so dominated in the second half, you know, that does not vote well against an Alabama defensive line that has been the best in the country two years running, used to run the ball. It's basically going to be all on Chad Kelly.

And I don't know. I don't know if that's going to work now. We know Saban's ticked off because they aren't running the ball so far the way Alabama usually runs. Maybe the same thing happens on the other side. But this is not – this is still a very talented Ole Miss team, but I don't think it's on the level of the past two years' teams. There's just too much inexperienced on the O-line and also in the secondary. What are your initial pressures so far of Jalen Hertz, the Alabama's freshman quarterback? you know, we know from years and years of proof at this point that Nick Saban does not need a star quarterback to win a national championship,

but does he potentially have one on his hands here? Yeah, I mean, it's early, but it seems like it. Now, I don't see them letting him, like, have a Lamar Jackson kind of just let him loose and do whatever he wants in the confines of that offense. But I found it interesting in the first game against USC that when he would come in, as opposed to Blake Gornett, their whole running game was so much better. Right. Now, it made me wonder if USC just had never, had not in any point in training camp prepared for the possibility that there would be a dual threat quarterback because they

seemed so lost. And last week, against Western Kentucky, they didn't run the ball well at all. So maybe a week's worth of tape on Hertz helped. I don't know. We'll find out this week. But it's telling that he had the faith in a true freshman to put him out there. and also that he just recognizes how much the sport has changed. I talked to Kirby Smart at Georgia,

and, you know, Jacob Easton comes in with all this type, and I get the sense that from what he's saying, though, that that's not actually his preferred type of quarterback, that he and Sabin both that come around to, you need a quarterback who can run. So this is like the beginning of Sabin 2.0 or St. on at this point where he's like... Wow, Sabin has a new iOS?

He downloaded the new version, correct. Ben, anything else you want to ask about this game before we move on to Oklahoma, Ohio State? I mean, I think that's mostly what I wanted to ask was about Hertz. I mean, I sort of think at this point Alabama could win with me playing quarterback. I mean, they put out Blake Sims, they win, they put out Jacob Coker they win, they put out Jalen Hertz, they win. Ben, you're a decent athlete, though. Like, you know, don't be too hard on yourself. You were one of the key members of the sports.

sports wiffles traded wiffleball team. Stu and I know well. Yeah, I think I think wiffleball success translates really well into SEC football success, so I'm confident that's a fair assessment that you're making. Thank you. I think so too. Ben is a great athlete. I don't know how he would fare

against like an Ole Miss type defense, but Ben, if you played running back, how many yards do you think you could run for on Texas Tech? Oh, God. On Texas Tech, I'm pretty confident I could run for 245 with four touchdowns. Conservative estimate. Conservative estimate.

All right. Speaking of the Big 12, Oklahoma and Ohio State, that's another big one this week. Amazingly, these teams have not played since 1983 before two of the three people in this conversation were born. Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer have not faced off since the 2009 title game. We've got two perennial powers to 2016 title. favorite. So this game would feel huge no matter what, right? But it feels particularly big in this

moment because of how poorly the Big 12 has begun the season. Oklahoma already has a loss. Obviously, we discussed Houston earlier. And Stu, as you talked about in your column earlier this week, the Big 12 is already five and seven against FBS foes. That is poor. So, you know, want to know what you think about, like, the conference's playoff chances surviving a high-profile loss here. If Oklahoma can't win this game, does that sink the league for 2016? I'm sure that you made a point of bringing up the fact that you weren't born in 1983 as a way to deflect from the fact that you have a very notable birth tomorrow. Oh, God. That, you know, didn't come that far after 1983 if we're being honest.

Wow. Wow. No, I mean, the listeners should know, you know, September 16th tomorrow is the big three-oh. I'm old. I'm officially an old person. person tomorrow. The scariest part of that is that I've known you that makes me realize how young you were I first met you.

That's true. We're going on a decade, buddy. Yeah. Well, you know, I was there for another notable birthday in your life, so, man, we are old. Oh, God. All right. Big 12. Thanks for embarrassing me.

I appreciate it. Now embarrass the Big 12th. Well, the Big 12 has done enough of that on its own, I mean, for being on. So true. I feel like the Big 12 has too much riding on Oklahoma in the game. They cannot afford Oklahoma to lose two non-conference games because that means one of two things, either if you still believe they're going to turn around and win the Big 12,

there's almost no chance the Big 12th is going to the playoff. And if you believe they're of trouble in Norman and they're going to go 7 and 5, well, that's not good for whoever does emerge at the Big 12's playoff contender because that's one less top 25 win or quality win on their resume. So that changes in a hurry. Oklahoma would be, what are they, number three, Ohio State. I mean, suddenly they're right back in the picture. They've got a huge win.

It looks good for the conference. But they need that. And also, it's no giving you that Texas is going to go win at Cal. And everybody's jumping on that bandwagon. Maybe Texas is going to win the conference a year ahead of schedule. Oh, I mean, all I know about that Texas Cow game is there's going to be a lot of points and not many punts. So it's a big weekend, say the least.

Right. Stu, you mentioned Texas. Mal is also heavily aboard the Texas bandwagon here. So I'm sure she's not thrilled to hear you say the Cal has a chance. I saw on your picks column, though, from this week that you have Oklahoma pulling this one out. You're not worried at all about, I mean, the Sooners past defense, both are past rush as far as Eric Stryker and Charles Tapper are concerned and their sort of secondary. with Zach Sanchez lost a lot of guys, and they haven't looked super strong early this year.

Going against J.C. Barrett, going against Curtis Samuel, going against Dantrae Wilson, you're not concerned about how the Sooners sort of past defense is going to fare on Saturday? No, I'm definitely concerned, and I'm also aware that, you know, this is the same, this is very much the Tom. Urban Meyer said he talked to Tom Herman. I'm sure they're going to take the same approach. Tom Herman's approach to was because Mike Stoops puts his corners on an island, we're going to attack, attack, attack

with those big receivers. And the only thing we don't really know in Ohio State's base is, and it sounds strange to say maybe Houston has better receivers than Ohio State. It's a completely new part. I mean, you mentioned Curtis Samuel, and he's been great.

But no, I mean, they're certainly going to try and you get the sense that if, you know, Oklahoma could win, but it might have to be a fairly high-scoring game. We'll see. Right. Ohio State can always use the Tom Herman game plan of pulling off a kick six that totally swings the entire game too. I think that's a surefire right to win.

Yeah, and that has in that play, you know, because of that play and the score that it didn't cause, people go, oh, you know, they blew them out. Well, not, I mean, they definitely outplayed Oklahoma. It was very impressive. But it wasn't so lost-sighted that you would say, oh, Oklahoma is really bad this year. I have a feeling it's one of those situations where everybody's, down on Bob Stoops again. And it's right at that moment that he, A, wins, and B, goes into the press conference,

and it's really surly about all of all you people who wrote us off after week one. You know that press conference is coming. Yeah, that's a great point. Can't wait. Can't wait for that. Stu, well, that was one prediction. Give us another bold prediction for this weekend from a game other than the ones we just talked about. It could be Michigan State Notre Dame. It could be something that's not really even on our collective radar.

Just wow us with your courage. very ill-advised trip to Boone North Carolina. I just think that even though they're obviously clearly not going to sneak up on Miami after what they did in Tennessee. I mean, Tennessee is better than Miami. That place is going to be crazy. They've never had a school like this coming to town. They were an FCF team not long ago.

So that's my upset pick for the week. I don't know if that would be considered that bold. I love it. It's bold enough for our purposes. I love it especially because it bolsters Tennessee's strength of schedule and makes the Tennessee law. Tennessee narrow win that look that that terrible. Stu, there's one other thing I got to ask you.

There's one other thing I got to ask you before you go. You went to Northwestern. I went to Northwestern. As you're probably aware, Northwestern lost to Illinois State the week after losing to Western Michigan. Those are teams that even by Northwestern standards, you probably should not lose to on a regular basis. Talk me off the ledge here, Stu. Are the cats going 0 in 12 this year? of that Illinois steak game.

I think that would have been, did you? I mean, that just seems like it would have been unbearable. It was bad. I mean, Northwestern has the habit of losing games in like a devastating manner, like Ron Kellogg throwing a Hail Mary at Nebraska and sort of ripping the cat's heart out. But this one was just like them sleepwalking through the entire game and then losing. I don't think they're going to all in 12, but I think it would be a pretty long year. I mean, when Fis comes out and says that,

so they dominated our offensive line. I mean, really? In what universe should, even a good FDS team dominate a big 10 team's offensive line? And I thought Teddy Greenstein and Chicago Tribune had a really good column this week. Calling out fits in that staff and saying, you know, the 10 wins season last year, it turns out was a bit of smoke and mirrors. And that two five and seven years before that, and this one may be more where the program is right now because they just are,

so bad on offense. They were bad on offense last year, too. I don't understand how they got to this point because the, you know, the five years before that, when it was in Persa and Mike Costa and all that, I mean, they were really explosive on offense. But now they're just, not only they bad, it's really ugly and hard to watch. Okay, guys, no one cares about Northwestern football. So we're going to end it there. I just want to say what an honor and a privilege, truly, it was to have you here today with us, Stu. People of the earth, go read what Stu is writing for Fox Sports, watch him on your many screens, listen to the Audible in your ears, and enjoy all of his wisdom. Soak it up. Thanks for joining us today, Stu.