LIVE: Week 1 Predictions: UGA-Clemson, Colorado-NDSU, UNC-Minnesota | GSMC College Football Podcast

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all righty welcome in everyone to another edition of the gsmc college football podcast brought to you by the gsmc sports network I'm your host as always Tommy Bree it is Wednesday August 28th around here and we have a great show for you today we're going to start with a couple of predictions for this upcoming week it is officially week one we're about 24 hours a little bit more from these games officially kicking off and we're going to have five straight days of college football so it's about to really get into kick into high gear and cannot wait for it but we're going to start with the Georgia Clemson game that's the one that I feel like I have the best beat on so I started with that one today then we'll get into the Thursday night football games we'll get into Colorado North Dakota State we'll get into Minnesota UNC and then we'll take a little bit of a break from the predictions until tomorrow where we'll get into a ton of predictions but we're going to get into Yukon possibly joining the Big 12 that is a big time uh news story that came out the last couple of days and definitely has a couple more hurdles to jump but a very very interesting product that we will definitely talk about in the third segment then we'll close the book on week zero we'll give you updates on what did we learn about SMU Florida State and Georgia Tech what did we learn about these teams and what are some people overreacting just a little bit about these teams then we'll get into my bold predictions for the 2024 season a couple that I think are pretty pretty uh pretty bold and I'm sure you guys will have a problem with a couple of them I can almost PR promise you that but definitely a really really fun show today but before we jump in I do want to remind you all we get tons of questions and comments throughout the show and the best way for you all to get your question on the screen we can have a fun back and forth here be a little interactive is to use that little dollar sign at the bottom of the chat it's a super chat you can click that button write any any comment question criticism anything you want in there and it will pop up on the screen with your name I will absolutely get uh get to you at some point sometimes the chat goes a a little bit too quick for me to keep track of so sometimes is a little bit easier to get your question known if you'd rather use the gsmc podcast. net page that is still plenty uh that is still up there for you to you if you would like to but Super Chat tends to be just a little bit easier so utilize that if You' like to but let's go ahead and jump in because we got a ton to get to today and we're going to start with Georgia versus Clemson the game that's happened about 15 uh minutes about east of me right about now so it's going to be incredible to watch this game unfold and Atlanta on Saturday and there's a ton going into this game you know Clemson coming off a couple of years that were not what they wanted them to be and they want to kind of bounce back and be on the right track well this would be a great way to do it in week one no doubt about it and then Georgia walking in being the big dogs uh being the dominant force in college football it seems like they're going to stay that way for quite some time but maybe this week is a a little bit of a stumbling block in that uh race for them but let's go ahead and jump into this and let's get into all of the different details around this one this one is at Saturday at noon uh ug is favored by 13 and a half points right now over under set at 4 48.5 and I think when you're looking at this from 50,000 ft takes when you're looking at just the whole thing Clemson is still a huge question mark on offense no two ways about that Georgia has seemed to be a well-oiled machine last three years and is going into a building that left a very sour taste in their mouth the last time they were there when they lost to Alabama in the SC CC title game so I think you're looking at this game it's very possible to fall into the Trap of Jordan just going to come out hunting and Clemson's going to be a little bit shell shocked and I kind of utilize that I I kind of buy into that but at the end of the day I don't know if I'm as gungho on Georgia just outright blowing them out as everyone else is but let's get into the big time story lines as we get into this and then we'll get into the specific teams but one of the big ones ug's running back situation is not great right now it sounds more and more like Trevor etn is going to be suspended in fact Pete thill yesterday put out a uh kind of prediction of sorts that he was going to be suspended for this first game it looks like rodri Robinson is going to be out he had to deal with a turf toe injury that had to get him surgery so that's something that they're going to have to monitor over the next little bit and then you have Branson Robinson who's still working his way back from a batella injury so not a lot of options in that running back room for Georgia that is obviously been the staple of that offense for a very very very long time and likely will be again this year it's going to be kind of a interesting start at that position that's for sure Clemson's wide receivers is the other thing that you're watching very very closely briy Wesco and TJ Moore have shown themselves to be the most talented wide receivers in that room throughout fall Camp they are definitely the best guys in that room right now and they're going into a game where we're going to find out a lot about them pretty quickly around 1: p.m. on Saturday we're going to be talking about them in one way or the other whether it's they're putting way too much on the these young kids shoulders or man these kids walked onto the field and just immediately started making plays now they do have to go up against guys like dlen Everett who I think is going to be a superstar at the end of the year if I'm being honest I think Julian Humphrey is a really athletic player I think Daniel Harris has made big- time strides this off season so I really like the back end for Georgia but maybe these freshman wide receivers can make something happen and TJ Moore and Bryant Westco can change the complexion of this game just a little bit and then it's a rematch from 2021 this was kind of the game that set off the ug dominance over college football they have not lost a regular season game since that day or well they didn't lose it that day but they have not lost one since then and have done an incredible incredible job now will we get a little bit of a repeat a little bit of a defensive battle again this time because it was 10 to three last time and Christopher Smith was the only one that scored a touchdown and that's a safety for Georgia so it was definitely a very very uh benign game at times definitely a uh a fight if you will but I think we might just get a couple more points this time around but let's get into the weeds a little bit here and talk about how Clemson can win this game what do they need to do to find their way into an upset in Atlanta and the biggest thing for me is you got to establish the run early this is an absolute must there's no two ways about that and Phil mafa is a darn good running back to be able to establish the uh run with when you have almost a, yards rushing a year ago 5.4 yards per carry when you out Rush will ship in that room it's going to be very impressive and now will Shipley's gone you have to assume more of the load is going that direction especially cuz the depth in that room is not necessarily incredible Keith Adams Jr is a guy to watch there but overall it's not necessarily the incredible incredible unit that you would think but Phil mafa is definitely plenty capable and then you look at the ug defense and if there's going to be a place to attack them at least the way that it seems it's going to be that interior defensive line so we'll see what can happen there I think that's something that if this doesn't happen through the first quarter if we're going through the first quarter and Phil mafa has about 10 yards rushing and can't get anything going on the ground it could be a really long day for Clemson um and then get Kate kumnick into a rhythm I I think that's something that goes right with the Run game if you get the Run game going early it's much easier for K kumnick to get into this game and get rolling and I think it goes it's a lot of really short passes a lot of passes where he knows where the ball is going where he can put the ball there it like screens drags all the stuff within five yards of the line of scrimmage just to get him going and then you can just go to anything he's comfortable with if he's really comfortable throwing dig routes over the middle of the field go to that if he loves throwing seam routes to Jake burning stool do that if he loves throwing out routes to a couple of the elite wide receivers on the outside that's the way they should go so it's all about getting him into a rhythm early on and then letting this kid's Talent take over because I know there are some questions about him last year but doesn't change this is a very very Talent talented kid and if you can get him going in a game there's not a lot of defenses in the country that could be able to stop him at his very best now we haven't necessarily seen that too often in his college career but maybe Saturday is when he flips That official switch and then the last thing for me is it's got to be the Peter woods and PJ Parker show uh throughout this game the ujo line is going to be incredible and we know the Run game might be a little bit more Suspect with those running backs being out this is the place where you're able to set the tone with Peter Woods in the interior and TJ Parker coming off the edge they're both very very special players you know TJ Parker having five and a half sacks as a freshman is outright ridiculous and I think he's going to be even better this upcoming year but he's going to go up against Xavier truss he's going to go up against Ernest Green III and he's going to have to be ready to go there's no two ways about that so it's going to be really interesting to watch those two especially go to work cuz I think them being able to possibly blow up the run or heat up Carson Beck in the pass rush game is going to make things so much easier for this backend that has just about a million things to keep track of for that ug offense and now let's move on to what ug needs to do to win and how they can pull it off this Saturday and trust your o line and running backs mainly your o line in this case because you obviously have some running back injuries there's no doubt about that but you look at the guys that are going to be available Branson Robinson is going to be available I think he's still recovering and likely won't be even near 100% if I had to imagine you do have cash Jones that that's a good veteran the guy that I'm watching is Nate Frasier I think this might be a coming out party for that freshman I think he is remarkably talented so many people have been tying him to uh uh Todd Gurley and if you remember in 2014 Todd Gurley did some mean things to Clemson so maybe Nate Frasier can pick up where he left off and uh do some mean things once again this Saturday but I do think cash Jones is another really good option here you know he's he understands this offense he knows exactly what he's going to do and frankly this offensive line I think there's a world where I could get three or four yards so I think you trust this offensive line to get the push on the interior with Tate rattl with Dylan Fair child with Jared Curtis and just say we're going to run the ball that's who we are and I can't imagine it's going to be anything different for the Georgia coaching staff frankly and then spread the ball around and frankly this is going to be the case for pretty much every ug game you watch this year because they got so many weapons out there they did lose raah Thomas because of some of the off the field issues with him but they still have Dominic love it they still have London humph coming over they still have a myriad of tight ends they still have so many running backs that can make play Dylan Bell who's one of the most Gadget players you'll ever find in football so many remarkable guys and frankly an elite facilitator and Carson Beck so the way I look at this Clemson defense is the strength is through the Middle where it's Peter Woods followed by Barett Carter followed by RJ mickens right through the middle of that field if you can spread this team out a little bit if you you can make it tough for them to really bear in on the run and really focus on one guy or one scheme you're going to be able to have a lot of success no doubt about that so I think spreading the ball out getting these defense a little bit more spread than they're comfortable with is likely the way that uh ug is going to go about business and then finally keep K clubnet confused uh that was a mouthful but keep him confused on Saturday because this is going to be a kid that you've shown that there are holes there are um you know issues in his armor no doubt about it and I think the biggest thing here is if you get him off on the wrong foot if you get after the quarterback uh we talked about this a little bit throughout uh building up to Georgia's season the pass rush has to be a ton better in 2021 when they first played Georgia had 49 sacks throughout That season last year they only had 30 I think it's going to be a little bit closer to that 21 but it definitely has to be in this game and then on the back end it's all about Malachi Starks he is the guy that makes everything so difficult for everyone around the country and frankly I think he's going to make a number of plays in this game and that backend in general it was a worry going into the off season I'm not so worried about it anymore I think Daniel Harris is a guy to watch that maybe isn't all the way uh where you want him to be but at the end of the day very talented kid and I have very very little problems with this back end as of right now but moving on to my official pick I am going to give you a score for some reason I know that's kind of a Fool's errand but I figured I'd take my shot at it um and I am going to go Georgia wins this one 27 to3 I do think that line at 13 and a half is right where it should be I think it could be a seven-point game going into the fourth quarter or in the fourth quarter and then Georgia does enough and Nate Frasier maybe just has a big time play towards the end of this game to win the game for Georgia so I'm leading Georgia I think it's going to be a battle so I am going to take the under 48 and a half I feel pretty good about that I think it's going to be a rock fight especially early on and I think this Clemson offense is not necessarily walking into a position where they can work out Kinks I think it's going to be pretty ugly week one and then we'll figure out what this Clemson offense really is starting week two but obviously an incredible game in Atlanta only about 10 minutes from where I am right now so maybe I'll try to make my way down there and see if I can you know sneak in the back and find this game but overall it's going to be an incredible game no two ways about that and I think it's one of those that is going to kick off the college football season at least for week one on Saturday just in an incredible way so I do have Georgia winning that one by about 14 I think the line is just about right but let's take our first break here and when we come back we're going to do a Thursday night football games we're going to do uh Colorado and uh North Dakota State we're going to do Minnesota UNCC and both of those are going to be very interesting games so we'll break them down right after this so stick with [Music] us in the world please Lord give me a [Music] a I want to be the greatest everybody on the F sh I look around I feel like everybody is the fakest I make this every day and I'm impatient hoping one day I blow up from the basement stay in the top is so vacant I don't need that I think is amazing waiting for my day when I'm playing sold ass shows or a thousand faces hey give me that Crown get in my way and to be put down it in your place all this my to if I want that then I'll get it right now I'm losing it the fit I'm Loos a stupid my you choose to live or choose to dip you choose to fight or lose your grip and lose a gift feel [Music] I'm in Lord [Music] me I feel like I'm alrighty welcome back everyone we just talked about the Georgia Clemson game I do think that one is right on the line for where it's supposed to be I think Georgia wins that one 27 to13 but it's going to be an interesting game could go a number of different directions and if Clemson comes out a winner we're having a very interesting conversation on Monday I can promise you that but let's get into the Thursday night football games because we have a couple of really good ones North Carolina is playing Minnesota Colorado is playing uh North Dakota State we also have Arkansas we have Utah we have NC State playing tomorrow so plenty of football for you guys to watch no doubt about that and we'll kick off the week one in really really good fashion but let's start with these games and I'm going to start with North Carolina against Minnesota North Carolina's favored by about two points in this game over under at 51.5 it is a Thursday at 8:00 p.m. going to be a really really fun game it's one of those that maybe doesn't jump off the page the same way in LSU USC and all these other incredible games of the year but at the end of the day two power four opponents going at it in Minnesota I got to love it and I love that these two schools actually scheduled this game cuz there's a world where both of them are playing FCS or pretty easy uh FBS opponents and just rolling on with their day so very much like this matchup I think it's going to be a ton of fun and a couple of stats to keep in mind as we get into the picks for all of this and breaking down this game Minnesota has uh won nine of the last 10 games as an underdog against nonap ranked opponents so doing pretty well against teams that are not in that top 25 uh North Carolina has failed to cover the spread in six of their last seven games that was kind of the moniker down the stretch of the Season where North Carolina was just not playing the football that they needed to play and then Minnesota has covered the spread in four the last five games against non-conference opponents at home which is a huge huge thing in this game and something will break down here in a second but but getting back into this I think I'll start with the quarterback situations because that is all over the place frankly uh you look at UNC Max Johnson I tend to believe is going to be the guy that trots out there first he will not be the only UNCC quarterback that trots out there on Saturday Connor Harold will absolutely get some reps at some point in this game and as we saw on Saturday with SMU it's not necessarily the best way to go about business so we'll figure out what happens Beyond this game but as of right now it looks like both those guys are going to get run and it'll be a ton of fun to watch on the other side you have a very interesting quarterback situation although they know who their guy is Max brosmer was a transfer from New Hampshire and this guy was up for the Walter Payton award in the FCS and that is kind of the Heisman of the FCS if you're not aware so a very very talented kid someone that absolutely was the top of uh cream of the crop in the FCS made his way up to the big leagues in the power four and we'll see how he kind of handles his first game but getting it at home is abs absolutely huge I can promise you that but moving on to the running game because that's likely where this game is going to be be decided more than anything else Omarian Hampton I could talk about for days he's one of the best running backs in the entire country over 1500 yards a year ago 15 touchdowns 5.9 yards per carry the guy went to work it was absolutely incredible to watch him and we'll get into why it might be a little bit of a step back this upcoming season but just a remarkable player and definitely will be the Catalyst of that that UNCC offense by a mile if I'm being totally honest and then on the other side Darius Taylor his uh status for this game is a little bit up in the air not super sure how healthy he is because last year he only played six games but in those six games he almost had 800 yards rushing five touchdowns 5.8 yards per carry so the kid's very talented no two ways about that if he's on the field he's going to make some play so a ton going into this game and I think the Run games are really going to be where you see a lot of this game decided but the case for Minnesota is pretty simple honestly first of all the quarterback Advantage goes Minnesota's way I feel pretty confident in that but also playing at home is huge this Minnesota crowd I understand it's not you know in top 10 list or anything crazy but they're going to be active I can promise you that PJ Fleck has done a great job of getting that fan base around this team even more than they already were and I think they're going to be absolutely incredible on the UNCC side I think the biggest thing here is you know exactly how you want to defend them there's not a question about how you want to go at UNCC where it's just Omarian Hampton absolutely stop number 28 and then let them beat you passing if Max Johnson and Connor Harold are going to be able to put together performances to beat you passing the ball then I think you tip your cap and you move on but at the end of the day UNCC returns one starter on that offensive line maybe they don't have the Run game that we think they're going to have this upcoming year and jaw Joiner a very talented defensive tackle for Minnesota who had seven and a half sacks last year is kind kind of licking his chops down there I can almost promise you that so it's going to be an interesting game but Minnesota it's pretty straightforward you got a home field advantage you have the advantage at quarterback and your defense knows pretty much exactly the way they want to go about business on Saturday or on Thursday um moving on to UNC this one is very very clear the Golden Gophers are not good at stopping the Run they're 100 uh gave up 1491 yards per game on the ground last season and multiple teams put up 200 and frankly Marian Hampton is a guy that could put up 200 by himself so maybe it's one of those games that UNC doesn't need the quarterback issues they don't need them to do anything other than turn the ball around hand it off to 28 and then just watch him go because this kid is downright talented and also overall UNCC just has the benefit of talent in this game whether you're talking about cameon Rucker on the uh defensive side of the ball Omarian Hampton uh Max Johnson all of these guys are plenty talented and definitely have just the slight Talent advantage over that Minnesota team and obviously they're going to go about business a little bit differently uh in Minneapolis compared to uh Chapel Hill so it's kind of a really really fun game and I think when we get into what I really think is going to happen for this game I like Minnesota I I've went into this game thinking one thing I thought UNCC was going to be able to run Omari and Hampton uh and be able to win this game kind of ugly just kind of gut this one out the further I looked into this game the more I felt felt good about Minnesota whether it was UNCC not having the offensive lineman they had from a year ago ja joyer being as dominant as he is or Darius Taylor hopefully playing being as good as he is I think Minnesota is able to sneak this one out and it being at home obviously helps this a little bit as well so I think UNCC starts the season off on the wrong foot I think Minnesota gets this one done 23 to 20 it is going to hit the under I feel pretty good about that 51 and a half teams pretty lofty for two teams that are going to do a lot of their work on the ground so I don't I I think this one is going to be a nailbiter down to the wire a little bit ugly at times no doubt about it but I do think Minnesota takes this one 23 to2 and starts their season on probably a better foot than some people thought they were going to but moving forward we got to talk about Colorado North Dakota State because everyone cirle in this one and it's a lot of people circling it because they want to see Dion fail that's just the plain simple truth that's the case around a lot of college football right now but there will be people hate watching this no doubt about it but Colorado is favored by 10 points going into this game 60 and a half is the over under so pretty lofty as you can imagine with the Colorado defense from a year ago and this one's going to be at the exact same time so might want to break out that second TV and see if you can get this Colorado uh game on at the same time as that UNCC won but overall some facts to keep in mind for this one Colorado went 4-8 last season obviously NDSU 11-4 so they are team that is coming off a really good season frankly it might be a little bit of a step back for the NDSU program but at the end of the day still a very capable team returns a lot of players and that's kind of the big storyline of this game but the underdog has covered the last five uh or five spreads in the last six games for Colorado and then Colorado has failed to cover the spread against any non FBS teams in its last five games so definitely a huge uh couple of things to keep in mind now the FCS one is going to be one that you're not necessarily going to want to put as much weight into because they haven't played an FCS team since Dion showed up a year ago so that's one a little bit of a wash but if you wanted to bet against Colorado and had an argument to make for it then you might as well throw that one out there I suppose but getting into this uh what the craziness of this game is going to be and for me it starts with the uh North Dakota State Run game I think that's the place that a lot of this game is going to be decided and they get after you in so many different ways a lot of the quarterback run game going to be a huge part of this and cam Miller the very talented quarterback is coming back for this fourth season cam P or Cole Payton excuse me is someone to watch as well both of them had over 600 yards rushing a year ago so these quarterbacks are going to get after you and then you have some other guys on the outside you have um a very talented kid and Berea uh pinu a very talented running back Shamar Brown another one to watch that got injured last year but is a very talented young player it sounds like Dion really likes that that unit but as of right now NDSU is going to be able to run the ball and they're going to run it a lot at them so we'll find out how much they really like their defensive line on Saturday and then on the other side of the ball it's all about D Hayden you got to get that guy rolling you got to get that run game rolling CU it gets that offense uh line a little bit more comfortable and especially give shadur Sanders more time and that's the end all Beall for this team throughout this entire season so overall I think you look at Colorado and the talent level is firmly on their side I think the transfer portal guys they brought in leonte Wester will Shepard on the outside are going to be absolute stars for this team throughout the year so I think a ton of very very talented players and very much like this group for uh Colorado on the outside for NDSU they did lose some big-time players like Eli green making his way over to Iowa State but Raja Nelson is a guy to watch a very talented player and likely going to see a lot of Travis Hunter on Thursday night so going to be an interesting battle to watch there but my case for North Dakota state is pretty simple um all things considered it's pretty simple it's not simple to execute but definitely simple to say keep that guy on the sideline shadur Sanders is the best player in this game by a mile he is a guy that absolutely can totally change the complexion of really any game but especially a game where the talent level on the other side isn't necessarily up to the talent level that he has he is going to be able to possibly take over this game if they let him so so the goal for uh NDSU is just run the ball control the clock make sure that that offense and that guy in particular is on the sideline for as long as possible and then on the other side it's all about that defensive line it's a really really good group Dylan Hendrick uh Sachs leader from a year ago very talented Edge rusher and then you have um a couple of really talented interior guys in uh will and Eli um Mo mostart I I apologize that's quite the last name but at the end of the day both those guys are very elite defensive tackles and they have a ton of experience so it sounds like uh Dion loves his defensive line I don't know how much he loves his offensive line he's been a little bit Koy when talking about them and it'll be interesting to see what these very very talented defensive lineman can do against this unit moving on to Colorado the case is very simple uh the skill position players there's a comfortable Gap here the wide receivers the running backs especially the quarterback there is a comfortable gap between what Colorado players can do and what North Dakota state players can do so that's the way you're going to beat him in a lot of ways is just get the ball in the hands of leonte Wester and will Shepard and all of those Elite receivers Travis Hunter another one and just let them go to work plain and simple and then the other thing I really like about this team is I do like this dline um the interior dline I'm still a little bit out on but at the end of the day I love BJ green I love Dion Hayes on the outside I think both of those guys are going to be huge huge players in we're huge upgrades for this team when they got him no doubt about that so if they can slow down that NDSU uh running game especially the quarterback running game they're going to be plenty successful but onto my picks for this game I think Colorado State or Colorado excuse me is able to win this one I do think they cover that spread of 10 but at the end of the day I don't think this one's going to be a blow up by any means I think North Dakota State's going to come out with a very clear game plan and it's going to impede Colorado's ability to really pull away now I do really think that Colorado is going to be able to control this game pretty much from start to finish but I think North Dakota state is just pesky enough to hang around and make this one at least interesting going into the fourth quarter but I do like the over 60 and a half no doubt about it I think this is one game that you're going to get a little bit of a track meet even with uh NDSU running the ball as you know as much as they're going to I think they're going to be able to score plenty so I think this is going to be a ton of fun and I do like that over to hit I just realized I was doing the Georgia uh caption in there apologies but at the end of the day I think this is going to be a couple of really fun games tomorrow that we're all going to want to tune into but that'll do it for the second segment here let's get into the third segment here in a second and we'll talk about Yukon possibly making their way into the Big 12 definitely a really interesting uh debate that's going on around Big 12 circles and one that I think might have a couple more hurdles to get over than a lot of people seem to think but we'll get into that right after this so stick with us looking for your daily fix of sports talk without having to pay for it gsmc Sports network is available on YouTube just search gsmc sports network get your fix of daily Sports talk shows on YouTube absolutely free NFL college football NBA MLB MMA UFC fantasy football and so much more gsmc Sports network has shows running all day long with new sports shows starting every 2 hours just like on your favorite Cable Sports Channel except gsmc Sports network is absolutely free just search gsmc Sports Network on YouTube to catch one of your new favorite shows like the gsmc college football podcast Chip Shot football podcast hoops and heels women's sports podcast gsmc basketball podcast and so many more check it out for yourself gsmc Sports Network now available on YouTube absolutely free search gsmc Sports Network on YouTube right now alrighty welcome back everyone we just broke down the Thursday night games that you're going to be able to see tomorrow with UNCC Minnesota and Colorado against NDSU I do have Minnesota and Colorado taking home those wins but I think we're going to have some fun games on on Thursday no doubt about it but let's get into Yukon possibly joining the Big 12 this has been something that's kind of been bouncing around the Twitter verse the last couple of days and something that is going to concern football a little bit down the road but I do want to get into the idea of this and all the different hurdles that could come up during these conversations because as we all know as we've all kind of learned throughout this reignment world that we live in today it does not stop there's no world where these guys can stop frankly at this very moment because guys like the big 12 just have to stay alive they have to try to keep up with the pack and Brett ymark is doing an incredible job of just throwing stuff at the wall he's doing everything he possibly can to add value to add Revenue to this program or to this conference and it's going to be really interesting to watch you know what the me next move is after this this is something that has been kicked around a little bit for the Big 12 you know they talked about possibly adding Gonzaga a little bit ago in the basketball realm it sounds like Yukon was that next choice and frankly it's a really good choice there's no doubt about that and it'll be really interesting to watch this unfold but obviously there are going to be some hurdles in this process there's no doubt about that Yukon is one of those teams that when you look at them at you know in basketball and some of the other sports you think of them as a great great athletic department then you get to football and things look a little bit different and that's kind of one of the big things in this is they would uh join in basketball and all other sports in 2026 so not too long from now they'd be able to join they do have to give the Big East 27 months to kind of figure out where they're going to land after this so do have to wait a little bit here but at the end of the day they would uh join in everything except for football in 2026 football would hypothetically come in 2031 if they were able to meet certain Financial benchmarks throughout that time and those are relatively unknown right now but essentially just put more money into that program get him to a place where at least they're relatively on the same footing as the Big 12 and there have been some complications as you can imagine with any of this realignment stuff there's always some things that get in the way and it's not just the presidents or the fans because I know that there are some people that are against it in that realm but it is the power Brokers of the sport in a lot of ways so so one of the bigger ones is it sounds like Fox is not in on this it sounds like Fox is not interested at all and they just signed a deal with the bigie so it's not surprising to see why they would not be in uh in interest for this because the reality is they signed a lot of that contract because of Yukon basketball and because of what they did on the uh in the men's side and what they've done for years on the women's side so I do think that's one of those things that you're losing a ton of money one way or the other you know you're losing the asset that is the Big East in a lot of different ways because Yukon is a huge name out there but also having to restructure a big 12 contract adding in Yukon would be an outright Nightmare and would cost a ton of money in legal fees and all of that type of stuff so Fox is not much in in favor of this ESPN very much is and it's for the exact opposite reason because they don't have a stake in the Big East and they very much want one so it's going to be one of those things that's going to be really interesting to watch and we'll see which one of these two wins out and frankly either one of them could hypothetically if enough money was you know waved in front of their face if I'm being totally honest but at the end of the day it will be interesting to see all of this unfold and it sounds like the presidents and all of the people around these universities have been approached with this idea sounds like about six of them are in favor at least CBS uh Sports has been able to verify six are in favor of Yukon joining two are not in favor and the two that are not in favor are honestly kind of in this scenario because the way that they're looking at it at least from the two or from the stories that I have seen is they're looking at it in terms of the playoff they're looking at it in terms of how does Yukon football how does that program itself how do they help us get better in terms of getting into the playoff more off often they would likely lower your strength of schedule even if you hit all those financial benchmarks they would likely lower the strength of schedule for all of the teams that they played across the conference it would likely put the conference in a place where they might even take a little bit of a step down in the National perspective because of adding a team like that and on top of all of this there are bills that have to be paid here pretty soon and that's kind of where the rubber meets the road for the rest of let's say five years or so around conference realignment where there are a lot of bills coming up that they don't know how much they're going to be they don't know how they're going to distribute it and they don't really know how the system is going to work around it so I think it's one of those things that a lot of presidents are sitting there and saying it would be great to have Yukon in this conference you know they would bring money they would bring a little bit of Revenue especially on the basketball side and would make you the best basketball program in the entire or basketball conference in the entire country by a country mile but at the end of the day I think they're worry that you bring them in you're cutting the pie just a little bit thinner and those uh BigTime bills that are going to come on for Revenue sharing and all of that type of stuff might just become a little bit harder to deal with and then on top of that you're not necessar really bringing in a football program that elevates you you're not bringing in SMU you're not bringing in Florida State or Clemson you're bringing in a program that you have to kick down the road because they're not there yet so it's not necessarily one of those things that I think is uh on the horizon I think it is something that we likely will see at some point frankly if I'm being totally honest with you just because that's usually how realignment works when something is wanted Enough by a group of people that are powerful enough it tends to happen but at the end of the day there are a couple of uh hurdles I suppose before they get to the end line here and obviously the Big 10 would love to add Danny Hurley in that incredible program that he's put together the last couple of years but frankly I don't know if Danny Hurley would be too in on that idea of leaving the Big East cuz that dude is Big East through and through but at the end of the day I think you look at this and at face value it sounds a little ridiculous right Yukon football being able to be in a power for conference sounds a little crazy Maybe maybe they meet those financial benchmarks and look like a totally different program at the end of this but overall I don't see a world where they add this team and it boosts their odds for the playoff where it really really helps them get to that next level in the playoff conversation so it's one of those battles that will go back and forth it sounds like private Equity has not been involved in these discussions at all and if they were to get involved some things would get a little bit easier very quickly I'll just promise you that but uh at the end of the day it's one of those that I think it would be cool at the very least because I think the case study of a team saying you know they're starting in 2024 20125 and they have till 2031 to essentially build up a football program now Yukon is still has some good things going for him Jim MOA has done a great job over there but at the end of the day there are Leaps and Bounds behind the majority of the Big 12 teams so it would be really interesting to watch this unfold uh if this deal goes through in the next little bit and if Yukon knows that they're going going in in as a football program in 2031 it would be fascinating year-over-year to watch this team just slowly get better or slowly not get better because maybe the infrastructure is the problem not the amount of money you're putting into the program so it's going to be a ton of different things that kind of uh unfold over the next little bit I tend to believe this has a couple more hurdles than some people think and it's going to be a little bit tougher to pull off uh overall at least in the short term I do think this is something that when you have some someone like Brett ymar kind of at the center of all of this a lot of stuff is going to happen he's a very very uh intense aggressive uh guy and especially in the world of realignment he's been at the face of it for quite some time and I think he'll continue to be at the face of it for quite some time to come so this is just another uh move in this massive chess board that is conference realignment and trying to figure out just how you elevate your conferences um brand you elevate your conferences Revenue while not taking away from what your conference is and not taking away from the possibility of your conference participating in a cfp or something like that so it's going to be a battle there's no two ways about that I think there's going to be enough presidents there's going to be enough TV Executives that just don't love this idea at least in the short term that maybe some things need to change to figure out how this is going to work and overall when you look at the uh basketball part of this it's an absolute slam dunk for the Big 12 now the Big East will do everything they can to hold on to Yukon but at the end of the day they would be the best basketball conference in the country and it wouldn't even be remotely close they would have Arizona they would have Yukon they would have Kansas they would have Baylor it would be outright ridiculous what they'd be able to do in terms of basketball but on the football side it's not necessarily the incredible Powerhouse that you're hoping to add to the Big 12 I can promise you that maybe by 2031 they can figure some things out and really come in as one of the big boys but as a of right now it looks like you're just hurting your strength of schedule uh in comparison to the big boys like the SEC and the Big 10 but definitely something to monitor going forward it's something that I will be watching very closely because frankly I love college basketball as well so would love to see some type of matchup between Yukon and Kansas in the middle of the season but also there's the other part of me that says Big East basketball is a special thing and I don't want to lose that so it's the ultimate battle of conference realignment it's been that battle since it started and frankly we're not done and I don't know how close we are to done I think the ACC is going to be the next big Landslide and we'll figure out where we stand from there but this is just another chapter and a long line of chapters for conference realignment over the last couple of years and this will be a very interesting one I think it'll be a little bit more drawn out but at the end of the day I would be slightly surprised if Yukon did not find their way into the Big 12 at some point I do think it's going to take a little bit of time to get Fox on board and to get all the ducks in a row but I tend to believe when enough people are behind one thing it tends to happen in college football so I expect that to unfold at least in sometime in the next couple of years but we'll definitely keep you updated as it all unfolds and as maybe Fox becomes a little bit more keen on the idea but let's take a break here and when we come back we're going to talk about uh week zero just one more time we're going to get into what did we learn about week zero what did we learn about Florida State about Georgia Tech about SMU you know not so great things about Florida State and SMU and some really good things about Georgia Tech but I want to break that down and then some things that some people thought they learned but maybe you didn't on Saturday so we'll break that down right after this so stick with us for the best and latest podcasts available anywhere go to the podcast app on your cell phone and type in gsmc to access free content podcasts on health and wellness book reviews Sports entertainment relationships social media movies technology finance and even weird news subscribe and download the gsmc podcast Network's family of shows available everywhere podcasts are found all righty welcome back everyone we just talked about Yukon possibly joining the Big 12 would be a very interesting thing for basketball would be something for football that we'd have to wait just a little little bit for I I believe till 2031 so definitely something that'll be a little bit more drawn out in the college football side but still something that's going to be very important about the future of all college sports going forward but let's get into week zero we'll close the book on week zero today I wanted to get into what did we learn in week zero because there are a lot of overreactions going around a lot of people going crazy about Florida State or SMU or Georgia Tech and I kind of just want to find the middle ground of what we actually learned what we thought we learned and kind of differentiate between the two but let's get into this real quick and I think the biggest thing that came out of that Florida state Georgia Tech game and it was on the Florida State Side by a mile to me the most important thing was they have a coaching and motivation problem at Florida State and it's not necessarily A glaringly obvious one and frankly it's not one that can't be fixed because going forward you can totally change your tune you can make sure that you're not necessarily pushing the same buttons you pushed on uh this past weekend to make sure your guys are ready but at the end of the day these guys were not ready to play plain and simple whether it's from a coaching perspective whether it's a game plan whether it's motivation going onto the field and just desire to play none of those things were in play uh for Florida State this past weekend they played straight up bad for pretty much the entirety of the game and there's a couple of different things that could be happening here whether it's the coaches just don't really know how to properly motivate this team with all the new players and all the different changes or possibly worse frankly excuse me possibly worse is they just don't know the Personnel they have they're not fully uh confident in the group that they have and this was a big topic of conversation around that D line in particular CU it was called by Pete thill and a couple of different NFL reporters and things as the best defensive line in the country and it didn't look that way on Saturday and I don't think these people were outright lying or saying that you know are trying to be biased in any way I think they just saw athletic freaks because you look across that defensive line those are four athletic freaks I can promise you that but at the end of the day doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win a ton of football games so the scheming part of it was left a lot to be desired on Saturday where you had a lot of these Elite athletes you had a lot of fantastic players even on that defensive line it doesn't mean you don't have to scheme them open it doesn't mean you don't have to make sure that they're running stunts that they're getting a little bit more dynamic in their pass rush in the way that the offensive line sees them and they didn't do that throughout the entire day it felt like they just kept kind of plugging away at we're bigger we're stronger and we're going to make something happen at some point and it never happened so I think the motivation problem is one that can easily be fixed cuz now the motivation uh flips to you're fighting for your life and we'll see what happens throughout that next couple of weeks for Florida State but it's definitely going to be really interesting to watch that the coaching problems might be a little bit harder to overcome because you got to fix a lot of things on the offensive and defensive side the ball when it comes to play calling or it's going to look look a lot like that throughout the season for Florida State and then the other thing I learned was the portal just wasn't as kind to Florida State this year than it was in past years and it's not like they took this Monumental step back but it was enough there's no doubt about that you know in the years past they brought in Johnny Wilson Keon Coleman Trey Benson Jordan Travis uh they brought in on the defensive side broughten Jared verse Bren Bradon Fisk they've done incredible incredible things on both both sides of the ball on the portal and I think they got good players this time around I think DJ is a good player I think Malik Benson is a good player I think royell Williams is a good player I think Jaylen Brown is a good player the thing is Florida State can't do good they have to have great players out there they have to have elite players out there if they want to do what they claim they want to do this season which is go to the ACC title win it leave no doubt get into the playoff and then possibly make some noise and all that stuff is technically still on the table if this is the Florida State team we're getting all year there's no chance they get to that point but at the end of the day I think there were a lot of people you know burying Florida State saying there's no way they come back from this and don't get me wrong I have my big time worries about this team going forward but I think the two things that you really learned is there's going to be some coaching uh changes in terms of personnel and in terms of play calling that just have to happen and these guys that you got through the portal just aren't quite as talented as the ones that you had before and maybe that's another coaching thing you have to pick up the slack through scheme and through design so it'll be really interesting to watch that but moving on to Georgia Tech Bren key has made all the difference in this program since he showed up and this has been a thing really since he stepped into that uh interm head coaching role back two years ago where they I believe were 0 and 0 and four going into uh into his tenure maybe one and three they went four and four the rest of the way and that doesn't sound crazy but it was quite the flip for that team and it's continued on and I think the biggest thing that you took away from that game was honestly after the game Georgia Tech got on the mics for ESPN and was doing all the interviews and everything and there were very very few people in that team and frankly maybe even no one on that team that talked about any of their personal accomplishments they all talked about how we're one of 20 uh we're one of 120 we all play together we all play for uh each other and that's the Mantra of this team and that's the reason that they walk onto a field with a team like EST state that is bigger that is faster that is stronger that is more talented and do not get faced because they know it's not just me out out here it's a 119 guys right behind me and it's going to be incredible to watch this team because I think that's the biggest thing I've noticed is just a total mentality shift in uh Atlanta Georgia and it's showing on and off the field in recruiting right now and then the coordinators have totally elevated this Georgia Tech Team there's a world where they're going to play a number of games this year where they are the least talented team on on the field they don't have the athletes that the other team has but they're just going to out scheme the other team with uh Buster Falkner on that offensive side of the ball absolute Superstar and then Tyler santui on defense did just an incredible job getting at uh DJ throughout this game with blitzes and coverages just to confuse everything on the offensive side of the ball for Florida State so you look at both these guys I would not be surprised at all if they were head coaches in the very near future I think Buster fauler in fact he turned down a couple of head coaching jobs this past off season I think a good one's coming for him this offseason cuz this guy is an absolute Superstar and is going to put on a show throughout this entire year so overall the biggest difference for Georgia Tech compared to the last couple of years is just they got the coaches they got the guys in that uh building that know exactly what they're doing have a a very strict identity and don't uh go away from that by any means so very uh huge shout out to them it felt very obvious that the coaching staff was just miles better than Florida States on Saturday and then moving on to SMU they played Nevada on Saturday and they had some issues there's no two ways about that and the biggest one for me is this team has a discipline Pro uh problem on that field there's no two ways about that I mean you walk out into a weak zero game where you're playing a Nevada team where you know that if you just execute the your game plan go about your business you're going to win you are more talented you have so much more going for you that you don't the only way that you lose this game the only way that they stayed in this game was if you keep them in and man did SMU keep them in this game they had 11 penalties 125 penalty yards and a lot of them were just stupid uh there was a guy lining up on a play and he decided he was going to he decided it was the right time to spit on another player that's going to get you a penalty believe it or not that is going to get you a penalty and it's one of those things that has kind of happened for Rett Lashley throughout his career where his teams are just missing that extra thing missing that discipline part of their game that could take them over the top and there's plenty of ways to fix that throughout the year but as of right now this looks like a team that might just hand a couple of teams games throughout the year and then the quarterback position because you got to find one and just stick with it frankly I do think it's Preston Stone I think that's going to be your guy going forward but it could be Kevin Jennings at the end of the day you just got to pick one because you walked out there on Saturday and started rotating these guys every single series that is not a way for any quarterback to get in a rhythm there's no quarterback on planet Earth that would be able to get into a rhythm going out there once one drive and then sitting for 20 25 minutes going back out there for another drive that just does not work now there is a way to work in both both quarterbacks whether it's Kevin Jennings being your outright starter I'd be more on board with that because maybe he's the best guy for it at the end of the day just pick the best guy and move forward now Kevin Jennings could still very much be in this offense whether it's different packages running packages that type of thing he absolutely can still be a factor you cannot put him in for an entire drive and then expect Preston Stone to come right back on the field and start slinging the ball around that's just not something that's going to be able to be done especially for college uh quarterback so at the end of the day they just got to find a guy um I think it's going to be pressed in stone going forward and they have a game this week against Houston Christian to maybe work out some of that at the end of the day but overall I do think it's going to be Preston Stone but even if it's Kevin Jennings just let it be Kevin Jennings do not bounce back and forth do not you know make this wishy-washy and confuse everyone and make your offense much less dangerous than it can be with just one quarterback call the offense for that quarterback and move forward from there so it's going to be incredible to watch this team develop especially because there were quite a few issues on Saturday that just need to be fixed plain and simple before they get into ACC play or they're in quite a bit of trouble this upcoming year but week one or week zero in particular is a hard one to guge you know you don't want to overreact back too much you don't want to take away that Florida state is terrible and they'll never get close to the playoff or Georgia Tech is a playoff Dark Horse or SMU is a team that's just not ready for the ACC I don't want to get into all that I I don't want to get into all the overreactions but what I can say is Florida state has a number of things to change when it comes to play call and coaching and motivation what I can say is Georgia Tech did an incredible job when it comes to play call and coaching and motivation and I can say that SMU just has to be more disciplined and has to find that qub back so all of those things feel pretty obvious uh coming out of that week zero and obviously there are a couple of reactions that aren't quite as obvious that people are making but I like to stay away from those at least for the first couple of weeks by like week two or three maybe you'll start hear me talking a little bit in absolutes about some of these teams but as for right now I think I'm going to give them just a little bit of leeway to get into this season and then we'll see where they are about week three or week four but let's take our final break here and when we come back we're going to do all my bold takes for the 2024 season this is something that I just had forgotten to do if I'm being totally honest with you so I wanted to sneak it in here before week one really got underway so stick with us and we'll be right back with that [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] alrighty welcome back everyone we just talked about some of the different things we learned from week zero and some of the things that maybe just be a little bit more overreaction than anything else but I do want to get into my hot takes as we head into the 2024 season this something that probably should have done about a week ago before we got into week zero but I figured before before week one is plenty of time uh so let's get into this real quick and I have a couple on here that I have feeling are going to be not so well received if I had to imagine and the first one I want to start with is I think Kiren Lacy might just lead the league uh lead the country in receiving yards and this one's a little bit taller of an order because when you go outside the power four there are some guys like Ricky White and Tory Horton it that might just cause some problems for this but at the end of the day when I look at what Kiren Lacy is in this offense I don't know if there's another wide receiver in this offense that is going to be able to take the pressure off of him I don't think uh CJ Daniels is the guy that everyone really wanted him to be down there in Baton rou I think he's a good player I think he's more of a wide receiver three than a wide receiver two I think Chris Hilton's a really good player I think he's more of a wide receiver three than a wide receiver two and I think Adam Anderson is going to be a guy that is going to make plenty of plays but at the end of the day Kiren Lacy is going to be the guy he's going to be the absolute go-to guy pretty much throughout this entire season and I think when you look at him the frame is absolutely ridiculous big physical absolutely someone that is a Red Zone threat but also he can kind of go he he can get out of the uh out of a break and really really uh burn someone on a deep route and Garrett nus can throw that those deep balls pretty beautifully now nus Meer has a little had a little bit of trouble with turnovers throughout fall camp and it's something that we'll talk about when we preview that LSU USC game but at the end of the day I do think they're going to be able to figure this out I do think that Garrett nus is going to be a really good quarterback this year and even with guys like Luther Burton and ttor McMillan and all of the incredible receivers all around the country I think Lacy has a little bit more on his shoulders this year I think he knows that and I think he's going to make a number of huge plays for this LSU team that might be have to be just a little bit more pass heavy this year cuz obviously you don't have the quarterback run game you did a year ago but also you don't necessarily have the running back room that you love uh as they've had in the past a number of different ways so that's one that I'm watching very very closely and one that I think is going to be really really fun to watch CU that guy is really really fun to watch play so cannot wait to see what that guy does on the field and it'll start on Sunday when they face off against USC but moving on I don't think Washington makes a bow game I think this is a program that is going to be good I think when you bring in someone like Jed fish it's a fantastic head coach a really really good offensive system and a guy that has every ability to get a ton of really good developmental guys in that room because of his ties to the NFL so I think they're going to be good in the long run there is just too much change in this roster to make me feel any type of confidence about what they can do because it's not like you're rebuilding you know one side of the ball it's not like you're rebuilding a couple of position groups here and there it's pretty much across the board you have to figure out an entirely new system entirely new Personnel entirely new SI like system in terms of how you're going to deal with these players there's a million different things that are bouncing around that program and I think you look at the schedule it's not the craziest thing in the world by any means they definitely have the ability to get to six wins and possibly make a bll game but you return you're 130th in the country at 134 teams and returning production and have done some good things through the portal but just not enough I like Will Rogers I think he's a good player but at the end of the day I do not see him starting throughout this year for Washington I think he gets a little bit ugly early on and I think Deon Williams Jr the uh talented freshman likely takes over at some point so and the big thing of this is starting on October 5th they have at Ruckers Michigan at Iowa Indiana or at Indiana USC at Penn State UCLA and at Oregon it's going to be really hard to find two or three wins in that thing it's going to be really hard to go two Ruckers go all the way across the country and beat a team that's not going to hand you much that Michigan game is going to be a nightmare for a number of reasons at Iowa you're facing a defense that might just be able to stop you and have you score three points that game and then at Indiana is a very sketchy one USC I think is going to be tough at pennate and at Oregon obviously are going to be really tough games so overall I think this is a team that very capable has a lot of things in place to possibly make some noise this upcoming year I just think they're going to start a little bit more Rocky than they want I think they're going to put in that freshman quarterback and then just kind of ride out the rest of the season and then maybe hit the ground running in 2025 but first year for Jed fish I don't think it's all that pretty in Seattle moving on I think Georgia vers Florida I think will end up being a top 20 game and this one might be a little bit less hot when you look at that Florida schedule I think they could go 5- two and still be a top 20 team when this thing comes around and that would include losses to maybe Tennessee and maybe Texas A&M but there's a number of other teams that could get in their way obviously that Miami game is huge and frankly if this were to happen I might need them to win this weekend against Miami we'll make that pick tomorrow but at the end of the day uh they have Tennessee they have UCF they have uh Kentucky at home so it'll be interesting to watch this unfold there's no doubt about that I think there's a number of games that are big time toss-ups for this Florida team but let's say they win in week one and then they dominate sford in week two and then A&M's coming to town and maybe A&M has a loss on their schedule or maybe they're riding high off a Notre Dame win and coming to Gainesville just a little bit uh soft a little bit not ready uh for that game and they're able to steal that one then you're off running and things get really really interesting I'm not too uh too worried about Georgia I think even if they lose to Texas and Alabama before this game I think they're likely still a top 15 or top 15 or 20 team so overall all I think this is going to be a really fun game and I think when it comes around it's going to have a ton of implications by the time the end of the season comes it might have a lot less implications because of the way Florida ends it but I do think Florida will start strong and make this game really really fun in Jacksonville moving on I don't think any team in their new conference is going to win it in their first year uh this is something that was obvious when I made my conference picks but Utah Texas and uh Oregon are the teams that everyone's really watching and Utah has the best shot to win their conference they are definitely the team that comes in and says we can win absolutely every game on the schedule no doubt about it but at the end of the day cam Rising does have to stay healthy and it's been quite a while since he's been able to stay stay healthy obviously not making any bets based on injuries but it's definitely something that could get in their way and also I think the changes in the Big 12 were a little bit bigger than some people are giving them credit for and I think Utah might not be able to play the brand of football they were able to play in the back pack 12 where it's just we're going to lean on you and lean on you and lean on you until you quit so it'll be interesting to watch but don't necessarily love Utah in the Big 12 race moving on to Texas I think this one obviously you have the advantageous schedule at least in SEC terms not necessarily easy but easier than everyone else around you I can promise you that and then I don't know uh really when it comes down to it you know when they're playing ug or Alabama or Old Miss in Atlanta are they going to be able to make the plays is the big time question that I have and throughout the year you know there's going to be so many many different environments that are going to be able to possibly trip them up whether it's going up to fville and playing Arkansas or um Oregon or not Oregon or uh um playing a couple of these teams on the road going up to Michigan there are enough games on this schedule that will definitely be able to trip this team up and I think they might just go 10 and two maybe they make the conference Championship but if you're playing Georgia in Atlanta it's going to be a tall order I can promise you that but moving on to Oregon this is the team that looks the most complete of the bunch right this is the team that has the most talent that the roster just looks the most clean from top to bottom but I think the difference in style as they walk into the Big 10 is being a little bit undersold they are going to play a totally different offense than pretty much everyone else in the conference and it's not that they can't be successful with that but it does mean against Ohio State and Michigan where maybe their defense are capable of stopping your offense they're going to be able to slow down those games they're going to be able to run the ball pretty effectively and if that's the case then it's going to be really hard to walk Ann Arbor and get a win or it's going to be really hard for even Ohio State to walk into your building and you're you to beat them so it's going to be really interesting to watch that one unfold I don't love Oregon in that I do think they're going to be a really good team and make the playoff I'm not necessarily burying Oregon but at the end of the day I do think some of those changes going into the Big 10 are going to be a little bit more precarious than some people are expecting at least for Oregon and then moving on I think the season uh this upcoming year will lessen the portal usage going forward and I don't know how much it will lessen and I think this could be one that kind of unfolds over the next couple of Seasons but it's something I've talked about a lot you know the season with all of the changes and all of the differences and so many different transfer quarterbacks all around the country maybe continuity wins out maybe it's the Georgia the Texas the Ohio States even with a new quarterback and the Oregons even with a new quarterback that have the ability to be standing there at the end because they have the depth because they have guys from high school that have been there for a couple of years that have developed that fully understand their offense or their defense so I think that's the biggest thing that I'm kind of taking away from this season is you have so many changes you have so many new teams like Old Miss Miami all of these incredible teams that absolutely are looking to Make Some Noise this upcoming year and frankly I think a number of them will but will they be able to be standing there at the end of the day holding the trophy I don't necessarily love that and I I do think there's a world where you get to February you get to March and everyone's kind of looking around that uh player Personnel department and saying maybe it's worth it just put a little bit more energy into High School recruiting start to build up the depth of this roster and then say okay let's go pick and choose our guys out of the portal I've always thought that's the way to go about business and I think team building out of the portal as we just saw with Florida State on Saturday is a very precarious uh conversation so it's going to be really interesting to watch this one this one might be a little bit longer of a burn than I thought than I initially thought but at the end of the day I do think there will be some conversations at the end of the year that'll just just say maybe we just push a little bit more into High School recruiting pull a little bit back from the portal and then pick our spots in a couple of years when we have a lot of the other things set so it'll be really interesting to watch that unfold but then finally likely my hottest one of the bunch I just realized I forgot to change the uh caption here I apologize for that but uh Quinn ERS I think is going to run away with the Heisman this year um and this one is definitely a very hot take CU there are so many good quarterbacks around the country so many incredible running backs and receivers that want to be heard from but I think he's going to put up silly numbers this upcoming year the amount of weapons and speed in particular that Texas has is just outright incredible um and it's not one of those teams in the past couple of years where if you take Xavier worthy out of the game plan if you were able to do that which not a lot of people were but if you were able to do that against Texas you felt pretty good about where you were standing now they still have Adonai Mitchell they still had Jordan Whittington they still had dudes out there but Xavier worthy was a huge part of this offense he was the Catalyst there's no two ways about that Texas now has about three or four guys that can fit into that role the three or four guys that could have 600 yards this upcoming season but none of them top a thousand or a couple guys that could have 40 receptions this upcoming year but none of them top 60 it's going to be a lot about spreading the ball around especially with the running back troubles that they've been having it's going to be a lot of the ball just in Quinn y's hands time and again and we're going to see if he's going to be able to make those steps uh from from last year where the Deep ball was not there the Deep ball was not nearly where it needed to be and a lot of that was footwork and timing and a lot of very uh Niche things that affected those passes so we'll see if he's taken that step forward I tend to believe he has it seems like he's been doing an incredible job in this offense throughout the uh off season and I think there's just a lot of things lining up for him the talent that he's going to have on the outside both at wide receiver and tight end the running back problems puts the ball in his hand just a little bit more often than it would before and I think being a third-year player in a Steve sarkeesian offense is a pretty special thing tends to be so I've talked about it before I think it could be a ma Jones type season but there won't be a Devonte Smith catching uh having 2,000 yards to kind of steal that Heisman away from him so I do think Quin yers kind of runs away with the Heisman and by the time we get to NYC it's something of a formality because we know Quinn y's name is going to be called and we know he's going to be uh lifting that trophy so that's definitely a hot take one that I know a lot of people are going to disagree with cuz there are a lot of people that don't love Quinn ERS but at the end of the day I think there are so many things going for him going into this year and I think he's going to put up numbers that are just going to be downright silly I I feel pretty confident about that but that'll do it for this edition of the gsmc college football podcast brought to you by the gsmc sports network your support means a lot to us so please remember to subscribe to the show leave a positive review it does make a huge difference also follow us on Facebook Twitter Tik Tok Instagram all the social pages for all the content and updates you could possibly need we have really incredible people doing awesome work across every single sport you could want so anything in the world of sports come on over to gsmc and we have you totally covered but thank you once again for listening and I will see you guys tomorrow for even more week one predictions 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