McElroy & Colin Cowherd discuss power struggle between the SEC & Big Ten | Always College Football

Intro Colin Cowherd joins the show the SEC is going to be shocking to Texas Oklahoma I think the Pack 12 schools creativity jedf fish Lanning Lincoln Riley you're going to find out they're not Ian Purdue hello and welcome to always college football I'm your host Greg mroy and welcome to a Wednesday Edition it's August 14th and we have a Bunch that we need to get to today along with me as always Mark kubak Jack Foster and Jake Garcia we have a very exciting show as one of our favorites good friend of the show Colin cardd will join us for a season preview if you haven't been following what Collins had to say about college football he's very bullish on a handful of big 10 teams and he's always been very supportive of the SEC so be curious to see where he falls now and maybe there's a sleeper that he leans towards out west that might just might be very close to his hometown of Los Angeles California we also are going to dive in to some more wh ifs we've done a handful of these already today we have four a couple that relate to week one and a couple that relate to teams that have most notably been Elite on defense and maybe that won't be the case this year but will the other side of the ball potentially Elevate we'll find out as we move forward with our conversation with Colin coward I kept saying on the 12 team playoff in the nil on the transfer portal college football will be different it'll be magnificent it'll still be lob sided the big dogs will still have the best rosters but it'll look it'll look a little different it'll end differently it's going to be fine so the audience the consumer is telling you Greg we're more excited for college football than ever um in the South where you have your footprint um there was a lot of consternation about change because the SEC was king How the SEC is dealing with NIL and the 12 team playoff and you worry about the Texas money and the Michigan Ohio State Notre Dame money what is the sense about nil transfer portal 12 team playoff as of today in the South well it's still actually Willy really well received Colin I mean the the thing about the SEC is they still are going to have more access to Talent just because of just your proximity um and while I've used this analogy a couple times the Alumni network is not nearly as big as that of an Ohio state where they have a million living alumni 60,000 undergrad for the last 100 years however many years it's been the level of intensity and passion that we have in the Southeastern part of the United States for the sport and for the teams is unrivaled so while you make a 100 I make a 100 you live in Los Angeles I live in Birmingham Alabama I'm going to give $22 out of the hundred to Alabama because that's the team team I support whereas you might give 11 it's just kind of the the way things have worked but for all intents and purposes it's kind of been viewed as a personal challenge to the teams in the Southeast to step up from an nil standpoint compete with the big dogs and even if they don't have the deepest pockets they have access to the most players and then the portal when guys might leave for the big payday as a freshman when they go in the portal after year one they might be more likely to come back home at second stop so a lot of programs have taken that route as well yeah so um there's a lot of different things to talk about I i' I've said that we need to um temper not only expectations but criticism of coaches when they go to schools uh look how long it took dabos Sweeney or Jim Harbaugh so when Harbaugh and Lincoln Riley are Are we being to hard on Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley interesting comps so we we know they're both good coaches nobody disputes that Jim had a longer resume and obviously the transfer portal is uh a more vigorous I mean there were people transferring 10 years ago but not to the level now the machine it is right and I said but if you really look at Brian Kelly and Harbaugh you know they doubled the wins very quickly but it was sort of pseudo um not can't compete with Alabama Georgia but they won the games they should have won and Brian Kelly gets to annati and gets blown out and and Michigan you know would face Ohio State and it was Fool's Gold it took both about seven years eight years to stockpile Talent where they could play a Georg Obama and the games are good and you could on television you're like well there's pros on both sides uh you know the the Manti Tao Notre Dame team of the national championship you know it felt like it would have finished third in the Pack 12 but a lot of it scheduling so I say with Lincoln Riley as bad as Notre Dame was and Michigan was I don't think they were as bad as USC under Klay Hilton not only were they 4 and eight but people inside the program believe they only had like 12 NFL maybe late round players that it was Lincoln Riley identified after two practices there's maybe 30 guys we can keep yeah and so by being a play away from 12 wins in his first season was fairly remarkable for those of us closer to the program and then the second year they had injuries Jordan Addison was gone and frankly they just no NFL players it was Caleb and they kind of shut him down once they lost a couple of games they had a defensive coordinator completely over a ski so my takeaway is this idea that USC was going to VY for a national championships they were way better year one than expectations that's not really who they were they were an early Notre damer Harbaugh team you know Harbaugh got from five to 10 wins year one that one the national championship team USC couldn't beat any good teams they were just beating the crappy teams on their schedule because of the Wizardry of Caleb and the coaching of Lincoln so my take is I think we're being too unrealistic even with a transfer portal to Brian Kelly right now in Lincoln in that it's still the sport still comes down to high school recruiting in chemistry and culture and you can't do it in two years your thoughts the problem is you've had guys that have ruined it for everybody the the Josh Hypes of the world that in year one progress year two Game Changer right we've seen it with Urban Meyer uh his second year at Florida I believe they won the national championship and we've seen it a handful of other times Nick Sabin at Alabama 2007 six- six six uh seven- six 2008 12-0 with a Chance in the lead in the fourth quarter to go to the National Title so yeah you're right in normal circumstances I think it takes four years to get a a real evaluation on the trajectory of your team that's my personal opinion I understand the big dollars are in play here and uh also along with I think tempers flare and egos are involved and the collective doesn't feel like they're getting what they have paid for they're going to be quicker to pull the trigger um but at the same time I I completely agree with you and and those that have said Lincoln Riley is not he's not he doesn't know what he's doing he doesn't he's he's way out his so far I've saw an analyst a national analyst call in the other day say oh his his tenure at se has been a quote disaster well to be a win away from the college football playoff in year one with the Heisman Trophy winner signed me up for that disaster most of the we most of the week with two NFL two NFL players one of them Caleb was a sophomore that team had no Talent well and he did a great job with them the one thing that does concern me and I've known Lincoln when I was a commit to Texas Tech Lincoln picked me up at the airport I've known him for 20 years so it's a little bit close to home with me and followed him to his years at East Carolina followed him in his time at obviously Oklahoma so I'm I'm wanting what's best for him as a fan of his and it's a fan of the sport I think it's great when se's relevant so I acknowledge all that he's done offensively but I don't know this is my observation from a distance I don't know if they practice the way they need to practice to be as good along both lines of scrimmage to compete for championships and that's the only question I have and will he be too proud to adjust maybe the amount of full contact periods that they have will they maybe do some things offensively in a drill setting that might give the defense a slight Advantage will they do things like that to help attract more defensive personnel and to create a tougher more physical mindset because I saw last year they were a little banged up in Spring this was spring of 23 they said after like nine practices yeah we're we're good we're just going to do you know walkthroughs or whatever at Georgia they're like I don't care if we have managers putting helmets on we're practicing so I think that's the mindset that I'm just a little concerned about but sure I think the I think the hey the the jury's out right now and I'd be I'm actually really optimistic about SC this year more than most calling to be completely honest well they get a schedule break no Oregon in Ohio State Michigan in a total rebuild same with What does success look like for USC in 2024? Washington and LSU lost Jaden Daniels that's the loss on their schedule everything else is winnable they're only cold weather game is first week in November in Seattle and I'm from there you may get a sunny 64 degree day I mean seriously you don't know what you're getting right until Thanksgiving so they they got a scheduling break Ohio State and Oregon are clearly the best two teams I think Penn State's third and the Big 10 and uh they get Penn State at home by the way they get Notre Dame at home so they got a huge it's almost like the conference said let's give them a break as Lincoln Riley builds up so they got a huge scheduling break so I don't think eight or nine are of the question but I don't think they're in the same class as Georgia Ohio State Oregon Texas Bama I don't even know if they're in the same class as Missouri um I think Iowa is better than people think I think Utah's is actually Good Old Miss is excellent I don't think I don't know but I I I I guess my push back is if you go back to the first year folks they were a play from 12 wins with two NFL players and that was if you recall the last two years have been by pack 12 historical standards the conference was about as good as it's been our basketball school Arizona won seven straight to end the season beat Oklahoma like we're not the SEC it was really good by Pack 12 standards we had like Oregon state was viable right so no question yeah yeah I'm I'm with you though I am curious though what does success look like in year three because I look at what was lost with Caleb Williams and well I think Caleb Williams was the ultimate neutralizer if there was a talent advantage on the other side like Caleb could Elevate and neutralize that talent but often times he played so much out of the system and this is not a negative I mean he improvised so much and he just didn't really stay true to what made Lincoln Riley a an eight figure a year head coach I think it's going to be okay with Miller Moss or or you know there's Buzz about Maya having really good and K having some momentum I'm not buying it but I still think with that Weaponry I think they have four game changers that at wide receiver all sophomores I might add I really like sc's Personnel offensively and I think it will allow Lincoln's EXO Acumen to shine this year as opposed to just seeing Caleb run around and create Magic the last two seasons it's it's like um I have a source inside USC football no there's no way I'm shocked to hear that there's based on how much Insider information you have you have literally touched on something that is the great unspoken with the program is that they played actually in more structure in Caleb's first year right by the second year injuries to the o line Lincoln got very tentative once the National Championship Playoff was out to get Caleb hurt and frankly he felt he almost owed it to Caleb you know he got a Heisman he didn't want to get him hurt they didn't trust the offensive line and it became kind of an ad Libby offense in the last three or four starts for Caleb and there are people that have told me it'll go back to being Lincoln Riley's offense yeah it it was the first year with Caleb and parts of the second it it's sort of dovetailed and it's not a criticism of Caleb it's they didn't want to get him hurt they didn't trust the o line they didn't call stuff because they didn't want to put him in a bad spot and it really became it there was a backyard feel yes to a lot of what seie was doing and Lincoln Lincoln felt he lost the offense a little so Miller Moss at the Holiday Bowl ran Lincoln's offense and looked fantastic yeah and so I I think to your point you're literally touching on some that's why you're so connected you're really touching on something that in the program there's a feeling that Miller's going to play um the tempo um it it it won't look like Oregon Dan Lanning and B Nick where it's like you know ex you know like they're dialing up where to go right it won't be quite that because I do think they have really good young a perimeter talent but it'll be more it'll be Lincoln's team I'll give you an example in the NFL when Aaron Rodgers was there with young Matt leflour it was kind of Aaron's offense right completely if you watch them last year with Jordan love it was the first time I had said this on the air that I watched the Packers and thought Oh that's Matt lefleur's offense right you know what I mean and you're not it's not a knock on Aaron but Superstar quarterbacks are going to blow off the coach they're going to go in the Huddle roll the eyes sometimes for self-preservation I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do you wouldn't do that with Sabin no but that happens more than people think and I think it happened at SC it's that's my point it's a completely Fair assessment but tell me this if you're Caleb Williams are you gonna hand it off in an RPO probably not why would I we're better with the all in my hands I think I'll just kind of I'll I'll take this thing over and we'll see where we go what do you make of the Big 10 as a whole because I I I think you obviously with your alignment and and do an amazing job covering the sport and appreciate frankly on your National platform how you cover the sport because so many people are like oh yeah we'll do college football because we have to you do it because you love it and and I appreciate your coverage but when you look at the big 10 I'm I think that they're solid I think at the top they're super Elite How Colin views the Big Ten vs the SEC Ohio the best team in the country fewest questions Beyond them I think Oregon we we've kind of put Oregon in in kind of the chosen group of hey this group's right there and and they didn't like their wins last year were fine blowing out a Utah team was was impressive but it's not like you know we got way been out of shape about oh they beat Cal by 30 like we we kind of annoyed them I think before we needed to and then we found out against Washington that maybe there's still work to be done I think they've done that right so I think they are now on the inside looking out at the rest of the college football world but how do they stack up against the SEC like when you look at the big 10 you size them up cut them up 18 deep versus the SEC 16 right who do you think is superior well I think Oregon is something that we haven't seen out west since Pete Caroll and Ed oron uh they've just done it differently they've purchased big bodies so I think Oregon Stacks up in the I mean they went out and they' bought the best left tackle on the west coast in the last several years two years ago he started um they've went and Phil Knight has essentially said before I die I want a national championship and I'll spend whatever it takes people talk about the Texas nil Oregon is unlimited they'll just buy whatever they have to that's really how it's done USC's is 13 million I have that on 13 million uh depending on the Ascension of the program it could get to 15 but USC is fine they're not they're not Texas they're not A&M they're not Ohio state they're not maybe not Georgia they're not Oregon for sure so I think Oregon has purchased re and I this is not a criticism this is all legal now right right it's um they've gone first of all their marketing is enhanced even with Mario crystal ball their recruiting to me is the best on the west coast the best on the west coast USC's is consistently second because of the name brand um but Oregon's been recruiting the West Coast crystal ball very well if they want a receiver or a DB they get them yeah if there's a top Edge rusher they they just get them uh they own the Northwest mostly for the players they want it's a very weak recruiting year in my opinion in the west coast uh this year especially the Northwest I think they match up fine I think it test Texas looks really big uh when they faced Alabama last year the last couple years I I looked at it and I thought God this is what Alabama looks like the last 10 years against everybody else you're like man Texas passes the test I think the I I think Oregon's going to beat Ohio State in Eugene yeah yeah because I think Dan Lanning has done something that I didn't think a southern guy was going to do with no head coaching experience um he's immediately I know what Oregon is I really do they play they're they're a little Detroit Lions Relentless they play hard they got I I think privately they would admit kin dor out coached him and Washington had a b bizarre set of great offensive Talent almost no NFL bodies and they matched up with Oregon I mean frankly penck deep ball Rome adun Oregon wasn't getting beat because they were being fooled it's just it was just a bad matchup I said it before Washington was GNA beat Texas they were not gonna beat Michigan is um and so I think it was I think I watched Oregon play Washington twice once live I thought Oregon had more good players I just thought Washington was a terrible matchup so I think Oregon matches up with Ohio State and I think if you match up with Ohio State you match up with everybody um I think Alabama's underrated I think kayin dbor is magnificent I think he you know what he is reminds me of he's really Chris Peterson yeah he have some Peterson Vibes for sure where you're like they will never be out coached at Alabama ever there are games with Nick Sabin where I felt if you had a quarterback that was good Off Script you could frustrate Nick um I didn't think he was out coached I thought there were things Nick did better than other coaches Kalin dor it's almost magical like Washington's Talent on the defensive side is they had an interior defensive lineman who I think the Rams got undrafted free agent Tuli Luli nasan NOA he have any Talent so a lot of it was magical and Chris Peterson gets the huskys to a playoff and you're like how they don't have Alabama's players so I think Oregon has purchased recruited and developed players I think Lanning has a plan I think they match up um I am not as confident with Ohio State Is Ohio State physical or finesse because I just have felt for three years and I'll ask you Greg it's not that Michigan beat him it's how they beat him yeah they just outrushed him they took over all the second halfs Ohio Ohio State's never been prettier but they' never been more finesse I'll ask you what what are they Beyond talented what are they I think it's a look they have been a sports car where winning the Big 10 the last couple years has required a a big diesel vehicle uh a douly uh if you will like I I don't want to say GMC or Ford and like tick people off I would say Ford it's Michigan so that feels fair right let's just go with that they an F-150 or an F250 that was one in the Big 10 the last couple years just the reality um so I don't think that they're finesse though like I don't know if that's entire and I I understand the characterization and the way yeah by Ohio State Standards they're finesse to compared to the Urban Meyer version 2015 Ohio State versions that's finesse but that was a group that was so outrageously talented I remember watching that game in 2015 against Bama on New Year's Day the first iteration of the cult playoff with Zeke Elliott and Cardell Jones like these guys are freaks now not only can they fly but these guys will pound you they are so crazy physical and I think that the Big 10 has long been a league that was won with physicality and then Ohio State found hey we can win with physicality but we also have some high octane machines on the outside that we need to feed so I think they've kind of gotten away from themselves a bit and that's why the hire of Chip Kelly was so massive because if you look 23 consecutive years the team that has outrushed the other in the game between Michigan and Ohio State wins the game you ain't G to out Rush Chip Kelly that's that's that's who he is that's that's what he believes in and while people will look at the Oregon years and and think oh they were finesse no they weren't just because they used Tempo doesn't mean they were finesse look at the UCLA years oh because they wear the light blue they're finesse no no no UCLA was far from finesse UCLA ran it down LSU's throat yep in the Rose Bowl a couple years ago yep he has gone out and prioritized running back they go out and get quinon Judkins they already trayon Henderson the offensive line is a question mark but what Chip Kelly can do is they're going to play hard and they're going to get by a little bit running the football with smoking mirrors so I think their traditional run sets that they've used the last couple years you're not going to beat Michigan with that because Michigan's got better D lineman than you have o lineman I don't know why they just do and they've had that for years and they're probably GNA have it again this year based on what they bring back up front defensively but if you have one side of the offensive line blocking One play the left side of of the offensive line blocking another play two completely different plays you're reading a guy right in the middle you can't block him so you might as well read him and you got a pass play off of it now you're cooking with gas so I think Chip Kelly being hired by Ryan day Ryan Day acknowledged that his Run game was a blind spot and and that's a really hard thing for coaches to do too right yeah I mean hey I've won a lot of games I've lost five games in my career as a head coach like yeah I got to acknowledge though that that's a little bit of a blind spot for me I need Chip Kelly to come in I'll handle the pass Concepts he handles the Run concept and now we're going to make this thing work together perfectly so I really like Ohio State this year but you're 100% right I mean Michigan had their number it was a terrible matchup much like you just talked about with Oregon and Washington terrible match up for Ohio State and I wasn't surprised at all to see Michigan win three straight against them yeah so I I'm predicting Oregon beats Ohio State and Eugene but Ohio state gets further in the playoff and plays for the national championship I don't know who they'll play um I think Alabama is the most underrated team um you know I think Texas and sark's history let's talk Texas I love Sark there's things he does very well um he really knows he understands Texas under Sarkisian need to get everything together to win a Natty because he lived in La he understands under Pete Caroll branding yeah recruiting he can really sell Texas I mean he he watched the master in Pete Carrol take over college football like he gets branding he gets recruiting he gets you know all gas no breaks he really gets that that's really he it's like a marketing Mentor uh his teams can be a little light on the details sometimes I think they play with more passion than smarts I think sometimes I'm I'm pulling my hair out watching his team play but I like him I like his story he had some personal issues he's overcome them impossible not to root for him I like him I really do I root for people who have been bullied or have struggled who or you know people who just fall off the edge and climb back so I love that story hey Nick Sabin made a career out of hiring guys whose careers looked over he was a life preserver for Lane kein and Sark and I think that's an incredibly redeemable part of Nick Sabin but you tell me and I love Texas but I don't trust Texas there's a big difference I I fell in love with girls when I was younger didn't trust them but I loved them you know there's right like and that's my perception I trusted Harbaugh teams I trusted Sabin teams I trust Georgia teams God Texas is I there's in a big spot I'm just like H uh how do you view them it's perfectly Fair uh here's my frustration with Texas you see what they should be and you see what they could be and what they sometimes are Allah the Alabama game last year the Texas Tech game at the end of the season yeah the Oklahoma State game in the Big 12 title it's like you see what they're capable of and it's like my god there there's no one this is the most complete team in the sport like they're they're winning it like Michigan does want to see him Bama doesn't want to see him Florida State doesn't want to see him like nobody wants to see Texas except for Washington because they're going to throw it over their head yeah but for whatever reason you don't still get that performance every week and you don't really get that performance every quarter like when I saw and you look if you watched the the best teams in the sport for a number of years whether it was the urban Myer leet Ohio State teams uh whether it was the Nick Sav LED Alabama teams um the Pete Carroll LED USC team something miraculous had to happen for them to lose games I mean it was like Miracle right like Sanchez has to go to Coralis on a Thursday it's raining sideways you know and it's like the the team has no business losing to Oregon State but because of the circumstance they lost um Urban Meyer at at Florida like jevin sne had the game of his life scored 21 and beat him 2120 on a last second field goal or whatever it was Nick Sav I mean Johnny Manzel had have the most ridiculous thing ever Cam Newton had to have the most ridiculous thing ever kick sixes like weird stuff had to happen for those teams to lose you look at Texas they'll play to the level of the competition and I I can't understand why Oklahoma last year you have three turnovers in the first quarter biggest game of the year at that point after beating Texas or beating Bama three four weeks earlier you have you know you block a punt you get back in it you're you know you end up almost winning the game and then you give up a drive at at the end quarterback draw really to set the drive up and then they go right down the field and score then you look at TCU five and 17 you win by three you look at the offense of performance against Iowa State and you're like what was that you know there's just some perform Kansas state they're in overtime uh and Kansas State's got the ball inside the five for four consecutive plays can't score I mean like that to me is strange the year before that if you want to go back a year before you the lose to Texas Tech on the road you have I mean just circumstantial losses that just really don't make sense so I understand the thought process because they are navigating to a league now where the TCU of the world don't exist anymore that's no disrespect to Texas Christian at all they're a good program they're going to do great things they're going to be back in the playoff hunt again at some point because of the league that they play in but if you took TCU and put them in the SEC I don't think it'd Faire very well just the reality we saw that on the national championship stage a couple years ago so they're going to have to play on a consistent basis with more regularity and that's I think the next step in the evolution to building Texas Foundation that Sark wants to build is that doesn't matter who you're playing against where it's at what's the score this is the expectation this is the standard and we got to play to that standard every week yeah it it's um I think what's happening in the Big 10 and the SEC is Texas and Oklahoma are both Texas and Oklahoma will have tough time adjusting to SEC schedule going to discover that you can end up going and facing Missouri and you think oh LSU in two weeks we've got you know we got better personnel and you look up and you Trail Georgia went to Missouri yeah was it last year the year before and you're like Missouri is kicking their ass yeah you don't get that in the Big 10 now Purdue once crushed Ohio State I think that was an urban team it was like what is happening I think he had 2017 like that was that was aough one at the end it was like what was that exactly yeah yeah but that happens a lot in the SEC where you're like you think it's the game before the game and you're you're in Colombia and you're like we're getting pushed around yeah and and and and so I I don't think Texas and Oklahoma you can talk about it you have to live it for a year that doesn't exist in the Big 10 whereas Ohio state has significantly better Personnel than a good program like Wisconsin like almost every position so it was like you may have had a Penn State Roadie and Michigan they kind of match up the diff and so the difference is whereas Texas Oklahoma are going to go into the SEC and go all right we gota we got to take a deep breath here this is a little more consistently difficult than we thought I think the inverse is true I think Ohio State's G to go oh at Seattle at Eugene I think the Pack 12 teams going are more creative I think they're at much better at home people have no idea how good tough it is to play in Seattle in November everybody's talking about the cold weather in Purdue go to Seattle when it's raining November 18th yeah so I think the Ohio States I mean Buckeyes don't go to Eugene no it's 58,000 it's the loudest stadium I've ever been in in my life except gamesville so I think the Ohio the Big 10 is thinking oh all these soft teams Washington and Oregon plan Cy weather Ohio UCLA is irrelevant now that chips left USC Lincoln's very you don't face a lot of Lincoln Riley offenses by the way in the Big 10 so I think the The Pac-12 schools might have an easier time in the BIG 10 SEC is going to be shocking to Texas Oklahoma I think the Pack 12 schools creativity Jed fish Lanning Lincoln Riley you're going to find out they're not Iowa and Purdue that they both of those those programs Oregon and USC are buying good players they they have real collectives so that's my take your thoughts on that my take on that I think it's 100% accurate and we've all said and I I got into an argument with with a buddy of mine who I respect greatly um and and he I asked him hey what what kind of style of football will win out in the Big 10 uh can the RPO and and the high volume offense could that potentially you know find its way to immediate success in the Big 10 or is it going to be a line of scrimmage League where hey you're not running it on us like no matter what I don't you look at all the Big 10 teams I don't care if you're Northwestern or if you're Michigan State like the whole identity of big 10 football is like you're not running it between the tackles like we're going to have 33 PB 6 foot one dudes that grew up on farms that have been doing Farmers walks with 400 pound dumbbells for for 20 years since childhood and just on a for fun they go bale hay like you're not moving these defensive tackles so they got to get a little creative in the Run game from time to time but that's been the identity the Pack 12 played the game on the perimeter it doesn't mean they can't go Toe to Toe I mean they can they can but it was a perimeter game and that's why Utah I think found great success in the Pack 12 in the last few years because they could play the perimeter game but they really were rooted with brass knuckles you know what I mean like their core was brass knuckles they forced their tight ends to block like you're yes 100% so here's the thing that I'm curious about I don't care how bad sc's defense has been yeah if Iowa has to score 30 to win can they do it and and Iowa is a team that I they're in the AP Top 25 like they're a team that I have great respect for yeah but in the event in which hey it's a race to 28 you ready to go I I I really don't know how many teams the Minnesota of the world the Iowa of the world the Illinois of the world how many of those teams are going to be comfortable getting into shootouts because I know SC will be perfectly fine you want to play to 50 we'll go first one there I I think Washington will be perfectly fine in that setting as well in the event in which the defense has a bad day the offense is a step ahead are you comfortable getting the 42 to win because I don't know how many teams in the Big 10 are the other thing is SC comfortable winning a game 1310 because you go play a team like Nebraska or a team like Iowa that might be cther the game that you run into and I don't know will Lincoln get frustrated will Lincoln get impatient like he did at Oklahoma and the reason why Iowa state became a thing under Matt Campbell is because he could frustrate Lincoln Riley because it could never manufacture big plays they would just play three safties over the top you're not throwing it deep you had to take a bunch of check downs and I bet if you have to snap the ball 17 times on an offensive Drive you're going to get greedy you're going to get impatient and you're going to throw us one so that was kind of the the most so I I just think it's going to be fascinating to see how that all works but I think the Big 10 is probably collectively sleeping on how physical the Pack 12 is um not that that's their bread and butter it's not and they won't be as physical as the teams that they face in the Big 10 but I think that they're they can go toe-to-toe more than people are probably assuming at the moment so I want to um address something people uh I always think it's funny because I have uh Thoughts on Michigan and Connor Stalions defended Jim har ball who I think was viewed as uh uh my pesky rival years ago because a clunky interview I did but that was not the truth behind the scenes I had reached out to him and his family so and Jim's been great that um the reason I have defended Michigan and Connor stallions is this if in society we decided suddenly that bank robberies were legal I would have a hard time buying into throw ing somebody in jail for jaywalking that the number one thing you're you were never allowed to do in college football it was the death penalty was buy high school players bu any player but you buying a high school player is a death penalty that's now not only legal it's encouraged it's the model so I'm not a crooked mustache on a sideline pass with a fuzzy iPhone it just it seems ticky tacky now is it appropriate no it's not appropriate uh is there a a level two violation absolutely but when I read that of the multitude of level two violations one of them was verifying an Instagram account by a Michigan assistant I'm like time out so you can get into a bidding war for a sophomore linebacker from Ann Arbor that so my take has been it's all nonsense is that the culture in the world changed and jaywalking doesn't matter to me anymore you let you let bank robberies now are legal and we see this stuff in Tech Politics the world changes so 10 years ago I would have been much more punitive on Michigan like hey you can't do that because you couldn't do anything now I'm like guys it's bidding wars for high schoolers I don't even care anymore I really don't care whatever you do you do so that's my take throw it back at me and why I'm wrong uh I I don't entirely disagree with you I I think that when you look at look at the world of coaching through a lens of morality you're you're probably let's just be honest like it's it's one of those if you're not cheating you not you're not trying if you can't beat them join them it's like right that it's do it's eat or be eaten and and I'm not condoning what went down at Michigan I will never do that but here's my thought and I come from the Nick Sabin School of personal accountability right okay this is my own personal opinion if you steal my signs that's on me that that that's my own personal opinion now I played college and the NFL every single time I was sitting on the sideline not as a starter I'm trying to steal signs every single time NFL go and look 2013 Cincinnati bank Les against New York Jets I had gotten cut by the Jets earlier in the year Gino Smith was playing quarterback Pacman Jones is playing left corner I'm staying on the sideline I know Marty morning wag and the entire West Coast offense signals Gino signals under to the wide receiver I tell Pac-Man under under Pac-Man jumps it takes it to the house all is fair if if Marty morning wag and I they know that I was with them in Camp and I was now on the Bengals and you are going to just keep it as is you're going to keep the same signal if I were if I were morning morning egg this signal the under signal that would have been a stop and go that would have been an under and go because Pacman would have jumped it and they would have been out the gate for a touchdown I think we won that game like 497 or something along the lines of that it was a lot to a little so I think back at my career and if you wouldn't change your signals and that gave me access to them I was be able to create a competitive Advantage now a bridge to far is using recording devices that to me is completely uncalled for and unnecessary but the gamesmanship of stealing signals on game day that's that's life or trying to get other information about guys that might have played there in the past or whatever like if you can get information say hey guy transfers from Michigan to Ohio State you think the Ohio State coaches aren't asking the player that transferred in from Michigan about Michigan schemes of course they are it's not illegal but it probably wouldn't be very smart for the Michigan coaches in that scenario to use the same signals that they used when that PL that player was on their team so I I think that while it looks really bad in the court of public opinion and while people think it had an impact on the Integrity of the game it's hard to disagree with that but also things could have been done by the opposing team to not allow col Conor stallion's information to become relevant on game day so that's my whole thought process on it but I think you're I think your reasoning for feeling the way you feel is perfectly fine but my reasoning just coming from a players perspective yeah probably we're kind of saying the same thing it's just coming from it a slightly different angle yeah Ohio State felt two years before it was announced it was happening and my take is okay if you're not switching stuff up especially for Michigan it's one thing if you keep some of your signals but the Michigan game is you prepare for that differently and if you knew two years out they were doing it I don't want to see I don't want to hear that you know they stole our signs if you don't have to your initial Point separate signs for the Michigan game I mean Urban Meyer talks about they were they scouted Michigan every week you win that game John Cooper won 11 games a year he couldn't beat Michigan all right Hardball was a bum four years ago he was winning 11 a year he couldn't beat Ohio State so to me it's like if you knew about it two years ago and you were investigating it then you had to have been changing your signals or you have bad coaches so I think we we both get to the same spot is that it it's not perfect it's kind of there but it's murkier than people are saying is what I'm saying it's it's murkier everybody's stealing signs I love your Marty morning went stuff because I've had Pro players the backup quarterback's job in the NFL that's it that's it that's I have an NFL pension because I was good at that I mean that's hey I couldn't throw it but I'm GNA figure out your signals I'm GNA know your protection adjustments like we're gonna figure this thing out it might be quarter four before I get it but I'm gon try I can promise you I'm gonna try Okay um I'm gonna Let's do let's do most overrated underrated teams and close it Is Michigan overrated in the polls in 2024 out this way I think Michigan's the most overrated in the in the top 25 they lost not only a depth they lost like leaders they lost like locker room leaders U you know 50e seniors also lost the best quarterback Harbaugh's had who I watched him before he got hurt miniscus te had a terrific debut uh it's very difficult um to lose not only quality starters but veteran quality starters like who were were Clubhouse leaders um I I think Michigan will not be a top 20 team overrated I think underrated um I I I don't know I think Brian Kelly's gonna figure it out um Daniels he so he's so good and I look at all those teams above him and I'm like yeah they're not going to beat Georgia maybe Alabama Ohio State but people have them 11th 12th 13th I'm like nah they're better than Utah and I love Utah they're better than Utah though Utah returns a a guy that's I think has been starting quarterback for them for 11 years cam Rising so a little underrated LSU a little overrated a lot overrated Michigan what say you yeah I I'm good with the Michigan we're on the same page there I my problem with Michigan is I've just heard a lot of Buzz and I it's hard a little bit with that place to all right is this real or is it not I've heard a lot of positive Buzz about their offense and Alex orgy and how much he's progressed and I've seen him run I know he's a superstar with the ball in his hands but I've also only seen him throw one pass uh I've heard that he's got a monster arm and I tried to watch him in pre-season or in pregame warm-ups every time I've called him Michigan game and when I was on the field I stood right behind him and watched him throw it I thought Tuttle threw it pretty good too by the way uh for Michigan so I thought hey when JJ leaves they're probably going to be all right at quarterback regardless but I just I look at the rest of the top 10 uh Ohio state they're going to be there no doubt so if you're gonna quantify it as quote overrated Ohio State's gonna be there George is GNA be there they're safe bet uh I think Texas and Oregon are going to be there I think bam is going to be there uh so the top five feel very very safe people people have been saying Notre Dame look at their schedule like Notre Dame they What should we make of Notre Dame and Ole Miss could go nine and three and and not beat a team ranked in the top 25 by the way the end the year on the road in LA and also I don't know how good Riley Leonard is I have no idea what he is I know that Mike Den Brock the OC though did a pretty good job with Jaden Daniels whose skill set was similar to Riley Leonard's when he arrived from Arizona State so I think the development portion of bringing him along Riley L's been naturally kind of an inaccurate passer on the downfield throws that's got to grow his whole career his whole care he's wild still optimistic though that it's in there because I've seen the underneath throws if you can throw the underneath stuff you can throw the intermediates you can throw the deeps it's just changing the arm angle changing the shoulders changing the trajectory all that I think Den Brock will do a pretty good job with them I really do because I think it's a comparable player to what they brought in with Jaden Daniels and that obviously worked out very well um I can't take them out of the top 25 though their schedule's too manageable I mean the toughest Games book in the season SC and A&M and people say well Florida State I I think Florida State going to South Bend is a pretty good spot people say maybe Louisville well you don't think Notre Dames had that one circled they got blown out by Louisville last year at their place so I think I think Notre Dame's appropriately ranked Miss if people are not on their bandwagon it's because they aren't familiar with what Lane kin's done from Talent acquisition standpoint they're not overrated they're appropriately rated you're just not comfortable with seeing them ranked that high then you look at Penn State they're going to be Rock Solid I am worried a little about their offense but their defense will keep them in it especially with their schedule they have they're gonna be fine their schedule's very manageable in the Pack 12 or in the Big 10 I think uh Missouri I think is the other that I would say maybe slightly over our skis there uh so Missouri and Michigan the two that I'm just not so sure about Missouri I think it's 11 Michigan at nine uh as far as underrated now you're going to say I'm crazy I know this I'm comfortable with this I've been singing the Praises all “I love Miami this year” - Greg McElroy offseason I did this last year for a team and it ended up working out I love Miami this year I love Miami this year they coming at number 19 now a lot of people are going to sit there and say well it's Miami we we do this every year you know the same people that are saying that right now are the same people that said well why are we building up Texas why like Texas hasn't done anything since 2009 why are you continuing to say that they're going to be good this year because they were on paper Texas going into last year was great now it's about allowing it to come to fruition Miami on paper is great now it's just about can they take the next step as a program and not beat themselves this was one of the best teams in America in the first half of the season last year and they turned the ball over against Georgia Tech give up the big play on the fumble and the couple touchdown you know then they end up that has a huge ripple effect throughout the rest of the season Tyler van djk can't shake the turnover woses and he gets benched and they they give Florida State all they want and then their starter who replac van dijk gets hurt van dijk's back in the lineup I mean it was just a it was a disastrous season last year they've upgraded a quarterback with Cam ward he doesn't turn it over they couldn't score in the Red Zone with any regularity last year well what helps in the Red Zone quarterback run game cam Ward can run it they went and got the best running back available in the portal and Damen Martinez and that was kind of a revolving door of players last year with three or four different guys were all solid none have rushed for 1,200 yards in the season like Damen Martinez did last year the offensive line was a strength last year it's strength again they get their top two wide outs back defensively they have the best Edge defender in the ACC who's only going into his sophomore year and Ruben Bane they added three more five stars and a couple guys in the portal like they are stocked the one question mark is secondary and by all accounts that group is playing well above what they anticipated at this point of the season so I think Miami people are going to be I think people are going to look at them and say well we're just here we are again we always pump up the Blue Bloods I think Miami is extremely capable with the Personnel they have and and I'd be surprised if they're not in the mix in the ACC and ultimately in the mix for the playoff Greg mroy what a pleasure to see you you've crushed it you are as thorough and as entertaining and fair and that's that's a thing college football can be Regional and tribal um despite the fact that you live in the south and cover uh you know the SEC you're I I've always thought uh in a sport that is often way too Regional you are the king of common sense and I just love you really are a lot no you know your stuff um you really bring a lot of credibility in my opinion to what you do because I have to cover everything I'm a mile wide you're a mile deep and your knowledge is just Supreme you're really great and I just I think I hope the audience enjoyed this as much as I did Buddy well it's always so great to visit with you and I told you in the interview thank you for all you do for culture ball really means a lot I I don't say that in you tongue and cheek either like you could cover the NFL three hours a day and the fact that you carve out a little slice for college football almost every day means a lot and you do so much for us in the fall so we appreciate the coverage you give us good to seeing you man good to see you buddy great discussion there with Colin coward fascinating to get his perspective on what the season looks What if Florida beats Miami in week 1 like from his viewpoint he does a great job what we have always tried to do though is we try to serve the fan and we have always felt like Mark kubak is our resident fan and Mark in this case wants to answer these questions these are things that have been kind of percolating with us I've had a couple he's had a couple Jack's haded a couple well he came up with a couple today what if Florida beats Miami in week one that's right you heard that right me as the resident my Miami Homer in the National media what if Florida beats Miami in week one it's not completely out of the realm of possibility Miami is a slight favorite about three three and a half which is pretty considerable on the road at your rival in a home opener but if that happens it's one of the most significant victories in the recent history of Florida football not because Miami is ranked in the top 20 Florida's had wins against top 20 teams but given the perception of the trajectory for Billy Napier this would have a lasting impact and if it's going to happen on the field it's probably going to happen along the lines of scrimmage if you think about what Miami has solidified the last two years offensive and defensive lines that's Mario Christ balls bread and butter he wants to be great along the front offensively he's a former offensive line coach and should come as no surprise but he also has already gone out and put a high priority on getting additions not just in high school recruiting but in the portal to fortify his depth along the defensive line well if Florida beats him it means their offensive line had a heck of a day and against an outstanding defensive front Miami last year finished 12th in the sport against the Run Miami also thrived on negative plays last year 11th in college football forcing a negative play 11% of the snaps so this is a very aggressive group this is a very Dynamic group means the offensive line clearly did a pretty dang good job it also means that Graham Merz probably took advantage of a secondary that W right now I've heard great things but it's still fall Camp probably took advantage of a secondary that was somewhat Gable last year they were 55th last year in past defense so gram Merz and his talented wide receivers everyone's been talking about well Ricky peaw is gone who are they going to throw it to well that means maybe Wilson had a big day maybe a couple other guys that they've added had a big day maybe jacobe Jackson who's filling in for the injured Montrell Johnson maybe he was able to create some seams in the Run game at running back and created a couple big plays it also means too with the additions that Miami made offensively cam Ward Damen Martinez some of the holdovers from last year at wide receptor wide receiver with Restrepo and Company some of the holdovers maybe Florida's defense has made drastic improvement from where they were last year in year one under Austin Armstrong to year number two now they lost some pretty significant pieces Prince Ley uman mellen's no longer there he's at Old Miss now but they feel really good about the young players they played last year how many true freshman and firste starters got tremendous reps last year and they've been very bullish all off season about the progress they've made well clearly that progress is Vindicated with a big win over a ranked foe a rival in week one now how would it affect Billy Napier I think it would take the monkey off of his back to a certain extent people have already put him on the hot seat and all sort of stuff I don't subscribe to that necessarily because I think he's got a good team this year and I think they're going to get the bowl eligible I think they're going to get to seven and maybe it wouldn't shock me if they surprise some folks along the way but wouldn't that cool things off quite a bit for Billy Napier I mean wouldn't that just kind of calm things down a little bit and kind of prove hey we might not be where we want to be playing for and competing for SEC championships competing for national championships maybe we're not there yet and in year three you'd like to be but we're moving in the right direction and just trust trust the staff enough to believe that in time they're going to be able to finally knock down the door go toe-to-toe with some of their rivals in the sport and potentially Elevate to the point where they get to that Championship Contender status and how would it affect Mario chrisal I think it'd be a lot of Fallout from this game I think this is the most significant game week one in terms of writing a narrative for each coach Billy Napier loses the game oh well he's you know Dead Man Walking well he wins the game he's everybody's all American same can be said for Mario chrisal he wins the game Miami's back he loses the game mari's can't get it done I don't think either is true by the way I think Billy Napier could lose this game and still go on to have a really nice season Miami is just that good and I think Mario christall and Miami could lose this game and still rally and end up making the playoffs it could definitely happen with their roster and with the Personnel they have on both sides of the ball but people would immediately overreact to whatever the outcome is and in this case that we presented if Florida beats Miami in week one people are going to be suggesting that the Mario crystal ball experiment hasn't worked it's not accurate but that will be the reaction it'll be strong it'll be visceral and it'll probably be unnecessary but that's why we love college football We Care a lot and we overate react a lot as well let's move on next to what happens if USC beats LSU in week one now What if USC beats LSU in week 1 so much offseason about this game how USC has been trying to get out of it since Lincoln Riley got the job and this has been that and this has been this like I don't really care it just doesn't bother me like if I were Lincoln riy I wouldn't want to play the game either if I were Brian Kelly I don't know if I'd want to play the game like that's a tough game week one you don't know what you got you're going against an offense it's super Dynamic what if your defense isn't ready I mean we're gonna overreact to whatever happens in this game if LSU beats USC or if USC beats LSU and the final score is 5652 which wouldn't really surprise anybody then the immediate reaction is oh well the deanton Lynn experiment at defensive coordinator for SC didn't work oh well the Blake Baker experiment at LSU same problems that they had before nothing's changed there's going to be strong overreaction in this game as well but if USC beats LSU wouldn't that cool things off a little bit for Lincoln Riley now whoever ends up being the quarterback let's just operate right now under the assumption that it's Miller Moss whoever ends up being the quarterback people have always said well Lincoln Riley is only one with first overall picks at quarterback he's only one with Baker and Kyer and Caleb but wouldn't this prove that clearly the system is tried and true and that the guy can win with whoever and maybe he can still recruit super Elite Talent at difference making positions offensively now look at their offense guys they're going to be very difficult to defend so if SC beats LSU you know what that probably means it means Zachariah Branch probably created a couple of big explosive plays and there's some Buzz already coming out of LSU's camp that they've given up some big plays in the passing game probably means that Duce Robinson their 6'6 weapon that's now moved to wide receiver he's probably caught a couple of one-on-one jump balls probably means that they went to the other Trio of wide receivers that are all excellent Jobe Lane tyon Hudson maai lemon means that those guys probably went off and these guys are blue chip prospects and they're going against the defense that has questions so it means that they probably won in a shootout in a track beat and while I think if SC beats them in more conventional score say 3531 will the reaction about their defense's challenges still be pretty much the same probably people probably say well the deanton Lyn they're still going to have to win with offense they're still going to have to win track meets they're still going to have to win and and it's not going to be the improved defense that you would expect well maybe you should just give an deanton Lyn time Deon Lyn took UCLA for 90 seconds in scoring 117th in negative play rate and 97th in qbr all the way to 14th Fifth and 19th respectively that's pretty good that's pretty good over the course of a very short period of time Lincoln Riley also packed the staff he went out and got Doug Bel who was the defensive coordinator at Houston he went out and got North Dakota head St uh State head coach Matt n they went out and got NFL defensive line coach from the Los Angeles Rams who's coached Aaron Donald for the last couple years they've stocked the staff so if things don't look great week one does that mean they won't look great week eight I don't think that's necessarily true because that group will likely improve as the season goes along so I think if SC beats LSU it's probably going to have to be in a high-scoring affair because I love LSU's offense and I love USC's Personnel off offensively but we're probably going to draw some major conclusions based on what LSU's defense didn't do and what USC's defense didn't do as well hey thanks so much for being with us it was great to visit with Colin coward get his perspective on the upcoming college football season and dive into a few more wha ifs because the wh ifs is pretty much what the offseason's all about what if this what if that I love diving into these possibilities because they're real some of these one hips will come to fruition and the Fallout from some of them will be pretty significant so we always appreciate you guys being here like rate subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcast if you are new to the show we appreciate you being here but spread the good word tell three friends about always college football and if you haven't told three friends then I can't help you but it'd be awesome if you could continue to spread the good word about what we're doing here in covering the sport that you guys love just like we love as well so for all of us here at always college football for Mark Jake Jack the other Jack I'm Greg we hope you have an amazing day and remember it's always college football hey guys it's Greg mroy thanks for watching Always college football make sure you like rate and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel and wherever you listen to your podcast