No One Is Really Expecting West Virginia To Win That Game Against Penn State | Eli Lederman

[Music] Eli Letterman ESPN with us on 365 Sports with Craig and Paul David smoke thank you for your time today we appreciate that Eli uh thanks for your time what are your thoughts uh uh there's some great games this weekend there's Notre Dame and A&M uh there's the Clemson Georgia game and and then obviously a couple of others that come to mind Penn State West Virginia let's start with that one what would a win against West what would a win for uh West Virginia against p state mean to Neil Brown and it also be a nice little uh notch in the belt so to speak for the Big 12 yeah he notch in the belt for the Big 12 would be huge for for West Virginia you're talking this time last year if you remember Neil Brown shows up to big time uh Big 12 media days and basically says everybody has it wrong on West Virginia you know we all thought he was maybe on the hot seat and he he was right and as they go into this year I think maybe we've talked about this before I think the Big 12 is wide open and so if they were to come in in week one and and take down Penn State a team I think a lot of folks have pretty comfortably in their playoff pictures that that'd be huge and and you'd be then I think putting West Virginia into that conversation at the top of the conference where we're we're probably right now talking about Utah Kate State Oklahoma State whoever you want it would be massive Eli is this a bigger game for West Virginia than it is for Penn State or is it a bigger game or is it the same um I think if you're Penn State as I just said like if they're if they're going to be what they're supposed to be and finally you know they can go the 10 and two that Penn State seemingly always goes right under James Franklin and that'll mean the playoff rather than just falling short of Michigan or Ohio state that piece of it probably makes it bigger because that would be a big dent we know the 12 team means you can lose a game early uh and it doesn't knock you out but I think that would be a major stumbling block on the whole in terms of what Penn State hopes to do whereas West Virginia all all things told no one's expecting them necessarily to go in and win that game and and their season won't be um you know inex altered by by that loss that's how it goes down Saturday Eli are you a believer in Garrick green and the Mountaineers in terms of of a big 12 Contender it seems like sometimes they can get lost in the shuffle uh just because there's a handful of teams that typically rattle off people's brains Utah K State even Arizona Oklahoma State before they get to to West Virginia do you feel there's a a level of disrespect or is it just such a crowded field nowadays in the Big 12 probably mixed of both but I think maybe that's you know one of their weapons again last year we all were riding off Neil Brown and and the Mountaineers this time of year and they went out and had a heck of a season and I think you know gar green we I've seen it both covering Oklahoma State and Oklahoma he's dangerous um and uh they're a team that you know maybe maybe lurking in the weeds is is the spot for them right now but um I have to imagine there's going to be a team or two at the that we consider right now to be at the top of the conference who's going to fall short whether that's on performance or injuries or anything like that and there's going to have to be a team or two that surprised us and and West Virginia might be that group so did the opening weekend of the Season just give us a glimpse of there's always crazy uh there's always stunning upsets I don't know if Georgia Tech was a stunning upset but obviously with the Florida state number 10 in the country did that weekend just tell us this is going to be bat crazy because of what's going on and also the college football playoff expanding to 12 well I think yeah we're in for probably what's going to be the most exciting and wild college football season any of us have ever watched which I think is awesome and and yeah this is a really good appetizer for it um you know does it mean we're going to see upsets Gore I don't know I think that the best teams in the country are probably still going to perform but um we just saw you know we spent a lot of time in the offseason wondering what Florida state would look like both um as a team that lost a lot and had to add a lot through the portal but also a program that um you know whether it was within the walls of the program or or on the outside of the fan base however much it matters that was still very much hung up on what happened last year and how it ended for them just a sour taste and obviously not the start they would have wanted and and I think for me that the piece that was most interesting is we heard so much about the line play for Florida State and how they were going to have you know maybe the best defensive line in the country and an offensive line that could go against anybody and they got pushed around and so that to me was the most interesting aspect there yeah um I believe me I heard a lot of it Eli abely but um I uh I'm wondering for you which game do you think will be closer Clemson and Georgia or no name in A&M that's a tough question I think I've got more faith in cleansing this year than I do and and they're very different spots obviously so I'll I'll take Clemson and that maybe is betting some on the fact that Georgia may not be hitting you know 10th year on the opening weekend of the season but uh I'm really intrigued by that game in College Station I I think Notre Dame is probably one of the most interesting up and down programs to look at this year you know the high end of this for them could be really high but um as we know with Notre Dame that that when things don't go right and everything around Marcus Freeman that there will be a lot of buds there and at the same time Texas A&M I mean they're they're undergoing quite overhaul with M ELO I think uh sooner or later it's going to be uh you know in a really good spot but how far along they are on the football field this fall we're going to start to see what that looks like in week one Eli off the field um you know you'd hope they kind of would just quiet down in general but there's there's still plenty of of things going on whether it's realignment rumors or whether it's you know tweaking rules and one of the things that we've heard about uh and it's been discussed for quite a few months is changes to the transfer portal once again and looking like we're maybe zeroing in on having one portal that would occur towards the end of the season uh what are your thoughts on that kind of a shakeup when it comes to the transfer portal and uh whether you know it's a good idea or is it just making it uh more difficult for for the the bigger picture well I think it probably simplifies things in a lot of ways and and coaches will probably in one sense feel like all right we we know that we can uh focus on one portal period whether that's in outgoings or in coming um and it'll certainly make that December period which of course only Falls at the same time that you're signing a high school class and potentially competing in the postseason so it's busy enough that'll get really packed in but here's the thing what does every coach at the end of of spring camp tend to do or a program they tend to offload guys who are not cutting it or are not going to be where they want to be on the death chart and that's when you go you know in the summer spring and summer and you shop for all of your needs here in Oklahoma you know OU went and got Dominic Williams from TCU in the summer you can look around the country that's it's been a lot of the real targeted portal work of of the spots where you go into the summer needing a guy um that's where a lot of that work gets done if you take that away uh maybe it just gets done in December instead but I do think that for all the Manpower and probably extra stress that comes with it it's been a valuable time for programs to add further uh even in probably a smaller Market compared to December and so if that goes away you you do lose that element of it you did a story about Notre Dame's head coach Marcus Freeman a couple of weeks ago Paul brought up the game with Notre Dame and the agies in College Station on Saturday he didn't just take over a team and there's the normal transition it's like he went in and started to do a complete renovation of how they were running their business and it appears Eli that more aggressive when it comes to recruiting than even Brian Kelly or and maybe anyone else how did he do that well it's as uh I appreciate you referencing as how golden mentioned in the story maybe the perfect guy at the right place at the right time as Marcus Freeman because look Notre Dame is not some small program I mean there's only a handful of programs you know in the country you'd rather be at than that with the prestige and everything they have but there's limitations around Notre Dame in C in terms of academic standards in terms of you know lower SE conservative in terms of uh their approach to nil things like that in the past but I think uh Marcus Freeman has been able to take what is a really attractive product in not Notre Dame and he's modernized it whether that's in pushing their nil arm and and how they're doing that or pushing in recruiting to taking them to places they haven't gone before we know Notre Dame is always going to recruit the highlevel uh private Catholic school kids across the country but he's gone into Texas he's gone to New Jersey gone to places they haven't always gone and found kids as he puts it who maybe don't realize that they fit the Notre Dame mold and and I think over time that's going to work and I hope you know for his sake that there's patience there in South Bend we know that runs thin fast and I do think you know this year is pretty pivotal for them to make the playoff but I think over time he's going to have those incremental pushes to make them better in terms of the talent they've got and if you consider the fact that Notre Dame's passed now to the playoffs like most programs but especially theirs is so much smoother in a 12 team format I think that could be kind of the combination that brings nland football back a bit Eli what were your thoughts uh of the story earlier this week that popped out with Yukon at least at the discussion first of all we didn't like the timing of it we're not so sure it's a good idea your thoughts about Yukon the Big 12 Football later basketball now obviously with what Hurley has and Gino uh just just the fact that story came out this week when we've had this entire summer yeah as far as the timing I maybe it was just about when that meeting was like as we know it was quote unquote an informational meeting but that also tells you that it's far enough along that you know you've got you know essentially the group of people trying to make this move happen presenting it to uh Big 12 presidents and ads as far as I'm concerned I see why the Big 12 would want it for basketball but if if you're a Yukon fan you know you're what's the bread and butter there it's it is those basketball programs and they don't need the Big 12 to to win back-to-back titles they don't need it to power uh the best uh women's basketball program of the 21st century so I don't really know what's there for Yukon other than obviously More Money More exposure but playing a league and and having those Road games and you know stores Connecticut to still water is not a pretty uh frequent trip I don't think many take and and same too and and so on so I struggle to see it from a practical standpoint but as we all know you know it's not about practical or it's all about football and it's all about the money and it's it's for that reason that it's being presented and it's why I think it's it's certainly a possibility even if for all of us who might kind of look at it and say uh doesn't quite make sense Eli you're doing well than that's greatest you're at ESPN thank you for being a part of the show when you're available appreciate the knowledge thank you appreciate it guys thank you Eli Letterman ESPN with us on many things college football as we bring you as many different eyeballs and opinions and columnist and analyst and stuff uh each week not just this week or last week or three months ago but each week