Most Important Week 1 CFB games, Calipari's return to Rupp reaction + Alabama football's BIG move

John caliper is finalizing a 5-year deal to become the Arkansas Razer back's next head coach covering college sports like no one else the biggest guests in sports we now welcome in Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun such a proud I had I came to the legend Tim TBO joins us we'll run it back I like it the legend Hershel Walker welcome in everybody Tuesday night Edition a t Sports podcast I'm your host a tus hope everybody's doing well hope everybody's having a great day we got ourselves listen it's late August it feels good the news is starting to come a little bit faster and we got ourselves a jam-packed Tuesday night Wednesday morning episode of the air tourist pod here's what you need to know about today's show so we're going to open we're about a week or so away from the start of week one that first Full Slate five days starting next Thursday and what I want to do preview week one in a little bit of a different way who are the teams that cannot afford a loss in week one I got five of them I'm curious you guys and girls of course can drop your thoughts questions comments in the uh you know in the comment section on YouTube as well from there we'll take a quick break I do want to talk about a very interesting story from Alabama football a surprise name with a surprise job title gets himself a raise and a promotion before kayin dbor ever coaches a game but I do think it speaks to kind of the new age the new world of college football of college sports and finally listen I know I keep saying we're going to switch gears we're going to get off college hoops but stuff just keeps coming up and got some news over the last couple days the SEC has released its basketball schedule we now know when John caliper is set to return to Kentucky and also Maui Invitational bracket is released I'll just share some very very very quick thoughts on the Maui Invitational returning to lah in November before we get started couple quick reminders make sure that you are subscribed to the aror sports podcast uh new episodes three times a week we're Full Speed Ahead now maybe even more depending on the week you can listen on Apple you can listen on Spotify appreciate everybody's support if you want to do me a favor leave a quick fstar rating and review of the show really would appreciate that also if you're not subscribed on YouTube make sure to do so so that way when we go live every you know we're going to be doing live reactions things of that nature make sure to go ahead and put hit subscribe so that you know when we're live you know when we're reacting to stuff we'll be doing a lot during college football season appreciate everybody's support it is Full Speed Ahead we got some big announcements with guests with some advertisers things like that so it is almost here the season is almost here cannot wait and so with that said as far as our Tuesday night show is concerned there is no more time to waste let's go ahead let's get to that topic of the day and the topic of the day listen week one is coming okay and we're still kind of in the react to what we think is going to happen as opposed to what actually happens on the field but with week one now what nine days away that first Thursday is coming up big games on Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend it's coming fast it's coming Furious we get a little taste and preview in week zero this coming Saturday but I want to go ahead and focus on week one okay and so this is the time everybody's giv their week one previews this is is who I like this is who's going to lose this is what it means blah blah blah blah blah it's all just White Noise right what I want to do is something a little bit different in terms of how I want to go ahead and look at week one of the college football season we're going to preview the games themselves next week probably on Tuesday or Wednesday but today what I want the focus to be on is what are not only the most important games but who are the teams that need a win the most in other words come that Monday Tuesday after Labor Day weekend who are the teams that we are going to be talking about that it was a debacle or a disaster if this team lost or if that team lost and I want to go ahead and talk about before we do a couple quick caveats first of all gonna go ahead and eliminate any game that a team should win right like like we all know it'll be a debacle if Alabama loses to Western Kentucky in week one so we probably don't need to preview that game uh we also you know and you know who your favorite team is playing um you know kuy's playing Southern Miss whoever the bottom line is we're focusing on the big games the big results the results that matter but two I also want to look at it again from the importance of the individual game and the individual result and so to be really quick let me give you an example Georgia Clemson great game huge game I don't know that in the 12 team playoff era a loss is crippling for either side Clemson of course could be the ACC champ they could end up being the one seed two seed three seed four seed they got to just win the ACC the Georgy game's fun it's nice it's a litus test but It ultimately doesn't matter so I don't know that that game's big big for Clemson from the normal perspective that we would look at it and the same for Georgia Georgia is doesn't want to lose that game but if they do they got Texas on the schedule they got bam on the schedule plenty of time to make up ground so who are the teams that absolutely positively need need week one wins I'm going to give you my top five and I'm actually going to start in the order of most important in other words this team cannot lose let's start with number one and let's start with a team that I actually might be a little bit off the radar but I think is a very clear very obvious number one that is the Colorado Buffalo that is right coach Prime Deion Sanders opens year two at Colorado against North Dakota State we all know about them they are the FCS football power they play Colorado uh in week one on that first Thursday and what's interesting is Colorado is only about a 99 and a half Point favor and so why this game is important I don't think you need me to tell you but it goes without saying the bottom line is this one first of all just want to put all my cards on the table I am a Dion Sanders guy I am a Dion Sanders supporter um I don't think he's perfect I don't love everything that he does I think there's some stuff you know chirping at reporters that didn't even ask him questions like there are things that he does that I don't love but at the same time this was a guy that went 22 and three in his final two years at Jackson State and I do believe he can coach and I think Colorado has a chance to be pretty good this year I don't think they're G to be 12-0 don't think they're gonna be 10- two but I think seven and five eight and four is in play shador Sanders is back but more importantly not just shador Sanders NFL quarterback but what's actually important is they've basically improved the talent at basically every single s Le position group outside of quarterback uh running back room's better wide receiver room might be the best in the Big 12 uh offensive line is certainly better added a bunch of transfers along with Jordan Sean the defensive line they've added four five All Conference caliber guys from these power conferences so I think this team is going to be good I think they're going to surprise some people doesn't really matter what I think though what matters is what happens on the field and this is a game they have to come out they have to be ready to go and I think they have to not only win but make a statement they play week two at Nebraska week three at their rival Colorado State and from there they get into Big 12 play and the Big 12 is going to be good this year five teams ranked in the top 25 in the Big 12 all five of them are on Colorado schedule and so if you lose this game one any Goodwill anyone like me who actually believes in this team I think all that Goodwill goes out the window then you just become a sideshow then you just become a a punching bag laughing stock kind of program this is a game that you need to win and I'll also mention this very quickly North Dakota State we think of them as this Juggernaut power never lose Carson Wentz Trey Lance program they haven't been that for a minute you know the last time they won a national championship at their level 2021 obviously not that long ago but last year they went 11 and four their head coach left to take a a job at USC they have a new head coach so FCS program haven't had the high level success the last two or three years um new head coach you have to win this game if you are Colorado Colorado is number one in my opinion certainly the most important team in terms of need a win in week one need to make a statement by the way should mention that's a Thursday night game that's going to be a pseudo Standalone game you lose that game you become a sort of punching bag laughing stock you got to get that win number two in terms of teams that I think have the most important games in week one and absolutely positively need a week one win I'm gonna say the LSU ERS and Brian Kelly listen a couple things on Brian Kelly one much like Dion I'm a Believer I've told the story a million times um you know he came to Cincinnati many years ago as I was finishing up my time at Yukon and I watched him take Cincinnati from a very good program under Mark anonio to a great Elite program under Brian Kelly so the guy is a I've been following his career for 15 years and to his credit um he's had a really good probably four five months really since that game since that moment in the spring where he lost out on a few guys and he said you know we don't buy players here blah blah blah blah blah they've they've crushed it in high school recruiting they actually have the number three class in America behind only Ohio State State and Bama hired some good assistant coaches It Feels Like The Vibes are good around LSU but at the end of the day you know how VI you know how summer Vibes disappear like that go ahead and lose a week one game against the USC team that you're favored against but more importantly it's not just that you lose against USC because I think USC could be improved but two this would be the third straight year this is Brian Kelly's third year this would be the third straight year you lose the opener and the one thing I'll say about you fans they're as passionate as any in the SEC and it's all good it's all fun until you lose that first game and I just feel like the last two years Brian Kelly has really put himself behind the eightball with his own fan base in terms of like you lose that opening week game then you got explain in to do what's wrong why you doing this why you doing that and so for them I just think you have to get off on a good foot you lose this game again season's not over in the 12 team playoff era but you're just behind the eight ball people are questioning you again this is a game Brian Kelly has to win we'll see if he does because I think it's going to be a good game we'll start previewing it next week number three in terms of the most important teams and important week one games in my opinion it's the Florida Gator okay so Florida this is an interesting one and it's maybe sort of a little bit unfair they do open week one at home against Miami Miami and why I say it might be a tiny little bit unfair is because they're actually an underdog in this game and so Miami is a slight Road favorite in the swamp so if you lose this game Vegas kind of thinks you're going to lose it's not a shocker but the reason it's important you guys and girls all know it's all the stuff that we've talked about the last couple weeks and we talked about Billy Napier in the hot seat quite a bit on Sunday night show is that you lose this game listen for Billy Napier I I think you know kind of what I just said about Brian Kelly I think his fans were furious with him last December when the recruiting class fell apart when you finish five and seven when you don't make a bowl game but like any other fan base I think over time over the summer recruiting kind of stabilizes you kind of build some momentum and it feels like Florida Florida fans are back to we believe in this guy we want to believe in this guy it's G to be good he'll figure it out not everybody but I think more than you think same time here's the issue you lose week one all the credibility that you've been working eight nine months to rebuild within your own fan base it's gone in one day but more importantly to me why it's important is I don't know if you can regain it especially with that schedule like as an example Miami is Florida plays Miami at home week one well you play Texas A&M two weeks later at home and if you lose and say you lose an embarrassing fashion in Miami are fans fired up to show up two weeks later to to to watch Texas A&M I don't know that they are and so that's why this is so important and then there's obviously the big picture stuff of you don't win this game the chances of you uh putting together a season that you need to keep your job probably doesn't feel that good because we know what the schedule looks like forget the last five you got to play at tennessy early in the season you got A&M as I said Kentucky is a team that has given you fits the last couple years years so you start to look around it's hard to find all those wins on the schedule that you need to keep your job so this is an important one for Billy apier I understand he's an underdog but this one's important number four let's go to the ABC Prime Time game college game day is going to be in College Station where Notre Dame is about a three three and a half Point favorite right now against Texas A&M and to me this is kind of an important game for Notre Dame they're at number four now listen you go into 100,000 seed Stadium you win I don't think like torches are going to come out uh for Marcus Freeman and and and and his job status that's not what I'm saying but Texas A&M first year head coach Mike Elco just got there Connor wigman's coming off injury and if you're Notre Dame I think this is where it gets more important where it gets important in my opinion is if you lose that game look at the rest of the schedule we talked about this one of the shows recently I can't remember when but if Notre Dame loses this game they only have two other games all season long against ranked opponents they play Florida State at home in early November and they end the season at USC we don't know what either of those teams is going to be like there's nobody really on the schedule maybe a Louisville but there aren't very many other teams that you even see the scenario where they're good and so where I think it gets interesting is let's say Florida or let's say Notre Dame loses to A&M in this game let's say they then lose to Florida State let's say then that USC kind of does what we kind of think they are they're like a seven and five team if that's your best win to end the season and you're competing with an old Miss or a Missouri or a Michigan or somebody that plays in one of these super conferences with all these tough games you're not gonna have very much of a resume for an at large Bid And I think we always default to well Notre Dame has this record or if this SEC team has that record they're in the playoff and yeah I think if Notre Dame's undefeated they have one loss they win 11 straight games after Texas A&M they'll be fine but if you lose to A&M and you lose one other it's hard to find the great wins on the schedule so that to me is why it's so important I think it's more of a this will this this win I don't think there's any point in the season where that win won't matter at all for for Notre Dame because remember by the way Texas plays at at Texas A&M later in the year uh LSU plays the Texas C&M so that's a game also when you start comparing rumes late if LSU's 10- two if Notre Dame's 10 and two if LSU's 10 and two uh with Notre Dame with Texas G say wait a second now Notre Dame lost at Texas A&M but Texas just won there to end the regular season yeah Texas has to get in the playoff that's why not Dame is for to me number five really quickly before we switch gears get to some Bamba football some interesting stuff that happened there uh number five in terms of the most interesting and impactful and meaningful games it's the other side of that LSU USC game now this one's interesting I'm obviously talking about USC and it's tough because I I look at the USC situation I I don't think it's almost like Florida you can't really blame USC if USC ends up losing that game they're not favored so it's not about losing that game but it's kind of about the energy that you have coming in and the energy that you have going out because right now everybody's down on Lincoln Ry oh he stinks he's overrated TBO you know they call him TBO T tb0 TB W that b word out west that's that's how they refer to Lincoln Riley that's not my nickname for him that's everybody else's but you have this weird off season where you have no momentum you're coming off a seven and what was it an eight and five season you lost every meaningful game on the schedule until the bowl game the defense was terrible and even if people don't expect you to win this game by the way it was funny I was at the airport like two days ago LAX I happen to be wearing an old LSU had I bought at another airport a million years ago I had a USC fan come up to me say we're going to get killed in that game so it's not that like you know you lose this game the fan base turns on you let's say you lose this game 49- 31 and you're off your defense can't stop anybody just like they couldn't stop anybody last year and you're coming off a seven and five regular season and you're coming off an offseason where there's been just weird noise you want to cancel the Notre Dame series you tried to cancel this LSU game what is the vibe around Lincoln Riley after that week one game so for me it's not about winning or losing but you can't get embarrassed if you're Lincoln Riley those to me the five most important five most impactful week one games Colorado you gotta win uh Florida you gotta win LSU obviously we just talked about LSU's opponent USC and Texas A&M by the way about a week from now I think we'll give our official week one picks uh but I am so fired up for the start of college football season it is going to be a blast tell you what we're going to do going to go ahead take a quick break we're going to come back when we come back very very interesting news out of Alabama Alabama a surprise coach a guy that you may have never heard of in a role that you may have never heard of he just got a big raise and it is way more significant than you think we'll take a quick break discuss that be right back before we do uh many of you ask me all the time Tores what can I do to help support the show you give me hours and hours and hours of content every single week what can I do to help you well I'll tell you what do me a quick favor check out the Aaron Torres media merchandise store for all of your team specific shirts hats and more all available at Aaron Torres online.com merchandise a lot of you wondering taes what can I get in that merch store well first of all we got our Brand New Hope and Pope Kentucky basketball t-shirts that's right Mark Pope has arrived he is here to save the day get your hope and Pope t-shirts there also Arkansas fans the Big Pig invasion is here you can get your teas there basketball school Alabama shirts Mora Hurley 2024 Yukon shirts for your tailgates at wrencher field your games at the XL Center or gamp and oh by the way your Mike effing Woodson gear for Indiana if you love football we got you cover too we got more Dion shirts and hats than we even know what to do with the freeze warning has hit the planes Alburn fans grab your freeze warning teas now and of course our new era new rule shirt applies to Nebraska football and it's incredible fan base we have more coming for the fall plenty in stock right now so make sure to check out the Aaron Torres media merch store at Aaron Torres online.com merchandise and you can always hit me up with any questions Aaron Torres podcast questions gmail.com all right everybody hi back good to be back good to be back uh by the way YouTube chat very quiet drop your comments drop your thoughts thought there'd be a little bit more action in the YouTube comment section today go ahead drop your thoughts and your comments in today with that said what I do want to do I want to stay on football because I saw a very interesting topic that to me speaks to the present and the future of college football and I think it might have slipped under the cracks a little bit but it's something we got to discuss so you probably saw the headline but on Monday night a major assistant coach at Alabama a very important piece to kayn dore's First coaching staff got quite a significant raise wasn't offensive coordinator uh Nick Sheran wasn't defensive coordinator Kane wasn't any position coach wasn't even someone that is going to run a single drill at a single practice for Alabama this year instead it was a gentleman by the name of Courtney Morgan Alabama football's GM their general manager well on Monday night Courtney Morgan got a raise and an extension by the way before Alabama has even played a game in the Caleb deor era as he is now set to make well over $800,000 as Alabama's GM off the- field role player Personnel nothing to do with coaching but the bottom line is this if you want to talk about the new era of college football and college sports that we're entering I'm here to tell you this is like a flashing red light important moment in time for college sports Courtney Morgan alab GM officially the highest play paid player Personnel guy don't think it's slowing down but credit to Alabama for getting this done because again even though they haven't played a game they have the number two recruiting class in the country and this guy was hotly pursued by USC who is trying to hire him for a very similar role but again I think it speaks to the fact that we got a GM now making close to a million dollars it shows you where we're headed in college football what I want to do spend just a few minutes talking about this and really explain who this guy is and really explain what the GM actually does in college football because I think there's this perception about the job that I don't think necessarily matches Reality by the way we're actually there's there's a a GM of a power four program that I'm pretty close with I'm going to try to get on here in the next few weeks just to explain what the job is but first off who is Courtney Morgan okay so Courtney Morgan is in my opinion I believe to be one of the best and at the very least certainly most well-respected player Personnel guys in all of college football okay he was a guy that was at Michigan about four or five years ago right as Harbaugh really got things rolling he was the guy that helped put together that roster certainly played a role you know I think even if you ask him he doesn't want to take too much credit it's Jim Harbaugh Chiron Mor some of the other assistant coaches but he was kind of the guy that was in charge of player Personnel then kayn dor gets the Washington job he follows uh kayin deor to Washington helps them build a team that's good enough to compete for a national championship last year and this was actually a little bit of a story going into the title game how this gentleman had his hands in player personnel and helping build the roster at Michigan and Washington the two teams that played for the National Championship where I think he kind of came into Focus though was just actually a few days later when Nick Sabin retired and kayin dor took the Alabama coaching job and at the time I remember talking about this and I don't know if anybody else would remember but when kayn dor officially accepted the Alabama job there was only one person from Washington from Seattle that got on the plane with him coming from the Washington job to Alabama again it wasn't the OC wasn't the DC was it the Special Teams coordinator wasn't the passing game corner it was Courtney Morgan his player Personnel guy so it shows you the value that kayn dor had what what he what kayin dor saw in in Courtney Morgan's value and it shows you the increasing value of the GM role in college football now again to be clear I think this job's probably a little bit different than a lot of people think and what I want to do is just dive into what the GM does because it's probably a little bit different than the NFL I think in the NFL people think that or they don't think it is the GM's the guy that Scouts that evaluates that drafts that signs free agents that handles money that negotiates contracts it ain't like that in college football at least certainly not at some of these high-profile schools at Alabama like like Courtney Morgan and opinion and this is why he's so good I'm going to fully explain guy wears a lot of hats okay first of all he's he's in charge of player personnel and even that role in the last like four or five years has taken on a completely different role in responsibility used to be you know how it was you don't need me to tell you but it was you know you invite a couple hundred kids to to summer camp you work them out you offer 75 of them you hope 25 of them commit boom there's your recruiting class and I'm being a little factious it's obviously was more complicated than that but it was mostly just evaluating high school players watching Junior tape watching senior tape getting ahead on the younger classes putting out offers whatever well this portal thing has completely changed everything and that's why you see these player Personnel stabs increasingly getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger to the point that you have the Florida coaching staff that has like you know a thousand people on it it's not a thousand but it's it is literally like 200 people is because you're not just recrui you're not just evaluating High School seniors or high school juniors but you're doing all that while also having your finger on the pulse of the portal and understand portal recruiting doesn't start the day the portal opens and where somebody like Courtney Morgan where these player Personnel guys come in is that they're just kind of keeping their finger on the pulse of pretty much everything that even could happen during portal season so let's say Jimbo Fisher gets fired okay well we got to start figuring out okay who from Texas A&M is probably going to enter the portal who's probably going to stay okay that kid's dad was a player at A&M so he's probably not going to leave he's going to stay um what happens if if Mike Elko takes the you know like there's just so many variables that go into it okay who are the FCS all-americans that have the extra year of covid Eligibility that may want to get out who are the guys in the Ivy Leagues that are going to graduate with that degree from Harvard or Yale that are good enough to play at our level by the way who are the guys that are not good enough to play at our levels and here's the key too not only these guys enter the portal but you have to be ready for everything you have to be prepared you have to know who's good enough you have to know who's not but more importantly and this is where I think a guy like Courtney Morgan doesn't get enough credit and we need to make sure to give him credit it's about the relationships and the contacts with in the industry that you have to have to get the players to even consider your school let alone get them to commit and at the end of the day listen I I know we talk about nil nonstop in this world that we live in in college sports but at the same time to me it's actually much more complicated than that okay because listen if you're being recruited by Alabama it means you're also being recruited by Ohio State and Oregon and Tennessee and Texas and Texas A&M and whoever and it means that wherever you go nil is going to be there and so really what it is about is about having those relationships so that one you can get in the door but two the student athlete whether he's a trans whether he's a high school player whether he's whatever he knows if I go there hey you know if I'm in the portal I got two weeks to make a decision I got to go where can I go that I know I'm going to be in good hands and so whether it's the high school coach the seven on seven coach in basketball it's obviously the AA coach is it a parent is it an uncle who are the people that have influence and what are your relationships with them and so where a guy like Courtney Morgan is so valuable I think everybody oh you know b or Oregon they're just dropping bags that's all recruit no it's not and that's where a guy like this comes in is if there is a five star who does he have the relationship with do you know him how do we get to know him where where is he based out of is it a trainer that has his ear is it a high school coach that has his ear and then whoever it is do we have a good relationship with them can we get this kid to pick up our phone call can we get this kid to visit campus can we get this kid to commit does he want to commit on site does he want you know these are all things that go into the process as a matter of fact a lot lot of these general managers they they're not even the ones dealing with the money it's you get them to campus you do whatever then you bring in the collective to kind of help the the collective kind of handles all the money part now you might have an idea you might have an understanding of what the number the player expects is but at the end of the day that's not what a GM does and so that's why I just want to give Courtney Morgan credit because he is a guy that in a short amount of time I think he's about 31 32 years old he has built this wide ranging uh web of relationships and that is so important in this world by the way want to know why kayin debor is having so much success want to know why they have the number two recruiting class in the country I'm not saying it's not a group effort I'm not saying kayin theore doesn't play a role and assistant coaches don't play a role and Recruiters on the road don't play a role but it all starts with the relationship of the GM of Courtney Morgan so one credit to this guy because he's clearly great at what he did does built two national championship caliber roster uh at Washington and Michigan helped build them comes to Alabama they're immediately recruiting at an elite level and no it's not just nil fans of other schools I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but it's not just all about niil but then credit Alabama because Alabama listen I I respect the heck out of what Greg burn does down there I respect the heck out of what Nick Savin built and what Kalin dor is continuing to help evolve and develop is that at Alabama they don't take a backseat to anybody and you talk to people in college football behind the scenes they will tell you just how important this guy is to what Alabama has done to what all of these schools have done and how crippling it would have been for Alabama to lose them so Alabama keeps their general manager Courtney Morgan he is now making close to eight over $800,000 and it shows you just how much the player Personnel world of college sports has evolved and just how important a role like this is all right so what I want to do do want to switch gears do a hard pivot 180 degrees I want to talk a little college basketball so I know I keep saying it I know I keep saying that you know we're gonna get off college hoops and there's not that much to talk about and we're gonna go Full Speed Ahead on football and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah but here's the thing stuff keeps coming up in basketball that we have to talk about that we have to talk about and so the big piece of news there's actually been two or three big basketball pieces of news the last couple days but the big piece of news that I do want to address right now is that SEC basketball schedules came out on Tuesday I think it's kind of interesting by the way week before the season maybe get a little bit of buzz you know listen I I think the SEC does a lot of stuff right I think they got some stuff wrong with these schedules uh but I think they do a lot of stuff right and I think one thing that they've done right uh is get this out before football so guys like me guys like whoever John rosin whatever have a few days to talk about this before football takes over but I bring it up because the big story in kge hoops we've been wondering when will remember there's only one when will John calip Perry make his return to Kentucky as the head coach at Arkansas you see Coach Cal at the bottom of the screen if you're watching on YouTube well it became official on Tuesday John caliper the Arkansas Razorbacks are headed to rup Arena on Saturday February 1st plan accordingly and I'll tell you this if there is any way for me and producer Matt to be there in the building the plan is for me and producer Matt to be there in the building because it is going to be crazy it is going to be insane and I cannot wait couple thoughts on this game first of all I'm I'm going to say what we said when it was announced that this team would only play once the SEC doesn't miss out on much the secc doesn't screw up much I think Greg sank is as smart of a guy as we have anywhere in college sports and they don't miss very many opportunities they whiffed big time on this one not allowing Kentucky and and Arkansas to play twice and for people who don't remember the scheduling there's now 16 teams in the SEC that's obviously 15 opponents if you include your own favorite school and the way they're setting up the schedule at least for the first few years there are two permanent opponents and then one opponent that the SEC can just say hey this will be an interesting game let's make it happen so this year listen you can't credit you can't blame the SEC too much because they have Kentucky Alabama twice but at the same time as great as that's going to be as great as NATO's program is going to be it is just a colossal failure that these two teams are not playing twice because listen bottom line is this will be in my opinion the most anticipated game of the entire college basketball season and it makes zero sense that we're only playing it once because think about it like this think about if this game was on February 1 and the hype and the excitement and the enthusiasm and the booze and the vitriol and the cheers and we're going to talk about what I think the reaction will be but imagine if they were playing three weeks later to end the regular season you think CBS as they start to ramp up their NCA tournament coverage in Mar wouldn't love to have Coach Cal with that return home game at Bud Walt in Arena to end the regular season because to me it's a no-brainer and don't sell me on maybe the schedules were done we didn't know Coach Cal was leaving until April I don't care this schedule did not get released until today until August 20th figure it the freak out there is no excuse you need to figure out a way to play these teams to play twice what I will say if I'm going to criticize the SEC uh for only playing these game this game once the timing I will say is is at least pretty good okay now the best way to end this the best way to do this would have been to end the regular season with Coach Cal going back to rup that was maybe not realistic just because of the fact that um you know do you want two teams that have not played each other yet playing on the final day of the regular season feels kind of a little bit weird so I sort of get it but at the the same time let me at least say this February 1 is a very important date on the college's calendar and on the sports calendar really it is the weekend between the AFC NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl and so that's going to be the first weekend so we get Football starting August whatever it is 26th or whatever week zero is this this this week and we get football in some way shape or form every weekend through the final weekend of January and so that be comes an important date because it will be the first weekend that we will have no football from early August until the end of Jan or from late August until late January and so if the SEC was going to pick a weekend at least that's the weekend that they picked at least that's the weekend that makes a little bit of sense from the perspective of you know it's it's a place where um you know it's a dead spot on the calendar and it's an opportunity for the C to have center stage and for college basketball to have Center Stage as well so I love the fact that they picked that weekend I I was afraid it was gonna be one of these midweek games in January you know and listen love Carl ravage and Timmy Dykes but this feels like it should have a national stage a national profile a national whatever really quickly a couple other thoughts you know one I am curious and I'd be curious people can hop in the comments section if if you're watching live on YouTube I'm curious what the reaction of the fans at Kentucky will be and we talked about this a little bit in the spring when we knew that this game was gonna happen um and we kind of did a poll at that time but I am curious and the one thing I will say I think and this gonna sound crazy if you get in the YouTube comments section sometimes I think Kentucky fans I I think everyone's starting to take a deep breath right it's like I think at first it was so emotional this guy's leaving how dare he how's he going to leave us screw that guy we don't need him and I still think there's a degree of that which is screw that guy we're better off with Mark Pope but what I think is interesting is I think most Kentucky fans have said you know what we love cow we appreciate what he did it was time for him to go and he actually did us a favor by leaving he could be there next year and we could be miserable and he could be miserable and we're thankful that he gave us a fresh start because now we get to experience this Mark Pope thing uh you know from the start and so my hunch is I think it's going to be mostly cheers for Coach Cal especially when you get to February now the one thing I will say do think it probably depends on how each team is doing like I think K we're gonna talk about the teams in a minute but you know I think kck's gonna be better than people think I keep saying I don't understand how people are projecting them as a fringe top 25 team but if kuy's you know 16 and and 11 or whatever and probably that's probably not the right you know whatever if they're uh you know 13 and 10 or whatever they are then yeah I think the booze will be a little bit more vicious because fans will be a little bit more mad like why does this team isn't living up to our expectations especially by the way of Arkansas's good now if Arkansas's 13 and 10 I think most Kentucky fans would be like thank goodness he's gone and we're happy and Mark Pope's awesome and blah blah blah and this and that and so I'm curious what the response will be but lastly let me go ahead and say this is that I'm curious for the game itself on the court because to me these are two really good teams and I know everyone's gonna say oh Cal doesn't win the games that matter well guess what I watched him go finish second place in the SEC at Kentucky last year and I can't say that the his first Arkansas roster is more talented no Reed Shepard no Rob Dillingham no whatever it's gonna be good though got a bunch of guys that are older college players got a bunch of guys that are older college players that played for him a du theier DJ Wagner big Z Etc so I think this this Arkansas team is going to be really good and the one thing about Coach Cal his players swear by him his players fight for him you know Arkansas is going to give their best effort but I also know that rup crowd is going to be insane and like I said a minute ago I think that Kentucky team is way better than people give him credit for what is it seven fifth year seniors four guys who averaged double figures last year in power conferences Kirk kesa egga o Jackson Robinson Andrew Carr best three-point shooter in the portal Kobe Brea best perimeter Defender lamon Butler best uh interior Mari Williams they just beat the Kentucky TBT team in a closed door scrimmage so that game is going to be good I think kenty is going to be better than people realize but that game is going to be awesome I cannot wait and again I'll be curious if anybody has some thoughts on the game in the comment section below by the way I I did mention this a minute ago with this um just did not love how the SEC put together this schedule um you know listen I I get Bama Bama Kentucky is great but here's like here's another example of like what are we even doing like what are we even doing in terms of this schedule final day of the regular season Kentucky at Missouri what is that for a game like what are we doing by the way uh Arkansas they do open at Tennessee which is obviously Coach Cal against Tennessee that will be a very very very interesting game um but at the same time who do they close with they close with Mississippi State at home again I just feel like the SEC you know listen you got a chance to really make some waves new league 16 teams some intriguing matchups Cal versus arkans or Cal versus Kentucky just feel like you completely kind of whiffed on the decision-making process here really quickly one other note that I do want to get to uh from the college hoops world and did not think we were going to be talking quite so much college hoops on a day like today middle the week on a Wednesday um Maui Invitational bracket was released and the Maui Invitational to me bracket is very interesting because um one of the great events and it is worth noting uh not only is it a great event but it also it's worth noting um returns to lahina so remember last year there was the awful fires in Maui and Maui for people who haven't been I've been blessed I actually went on my honeymoon there it is an unbelievable Maui is an amazing place that arena is Tiny uh true story I think I've told it on the Pod before but uh made my wife uh try to drive by the gym where they play the Maui Invitational while we were in Maui and uh it's like basically a tiny little gym in like a wreck Center um that obviously can hold three four 5,000 whatever it is for big games but it's crazy how small that place is so the bracket comes out cannot wait to see this back in the the um in that space and there's really five six teams that are worth discussing I'm going to give you the bracket and we'll just talk a little bit about it Yukon two-time defending champs if you have not heard they play Memphis and then on the same side of the bracket Michigan State versus Colorado the other side of the bracket Iowa state versus Auburn and then North Carolina versus Dayton did not realize that my alma mater and producer Matt's alma mater are both playing not saying we'll take the road trip for Thanksgiving but uh you know be be nice to think about but terms of the the the Brack like I think the the the Intriguing thing is a couple things one first of all yukon's just playing in this event and right now they are no pun intended the top dog in all of college basketball and so I am curious the response the reaction you know North Carolina a school like North Carolina would normally be a headliner in an event like this but when you're the two-time defending Champion when everybody's looking up at you uh you're going to get everybody's best shot they open with Memphis by the way first of all interesting because of the Maui time change that game actually starts at like 9:30 local time so we'll see if there's a slow start there but Yukon they'll play likely Michigan State in round two Michigan State's just kind of one of these programs there's not much going on with them right now I don't I don't really have any amazing takes like Tom ISO kind of feels like he's just kind of still doing the job but is he still really doing it at a high level the other side of the bracket is where it gets interesting though because Iowa State remember they are the reigning Big 12 tournament champions they beat Houston in that tournament championship game and they made the the sweet 16 they lost to Illinois they were return like four of their top five guys and most people including me have Iowa State in their top 10 but Auburn also returns a ton as well Janai broom maybe the most accomplished player in the SEC that's returning his back um you know Chad Baker mazara a player that I really like even though I think he got thrown out of that NCA Tournament game if I remember correctly so interesting team they had a couple nice pieces in the portal I think Auburn's going to be really good I think we've spent so much time over the course of this summer talking about um you know we've spent so much time talking about Arkansas Kentucky Alabama even Tennessee I don't think people realize Auburn you know they might have outside of Alabama the best balance of returning Talent with high-end Talent wouldn't surprise me if they ended up winning the SEC and then Carolina in that late game uh against Dayton Dayton obviously loses a ton not only Kobe BR who transferred to Kentucky but also remember they had that kid drafted uh dur Holmes who was I believe a late first round pick so North Carolina plays the winner of Iowa State Auburn that Iowa State Auburn probably a top 15 matchup that'll be a fun one and then we would expect Yukon to come out of the other side of the bracket so it's either going to be Yukon Iowa State Yukon Auburn Yukon North Carolina uh but it should be a really really really fun event and it's crazy because um as quick as much as it seems like college hoops is a million years away and everything's focused on college football uh guess what college hoops is coming faster than you think all right think it's a little bit of a quieter comment section today that's okay it's no big deal uh we'll go ahead and get out of here appreciate everybody support everybody tuning in on a Tuesday night uh to our uh this edition of the Aaron Torres pod I'm so excited for football the start I'm so listen blessed to do what I do zero complaints but what I would also say I'm so ready to have real stuff to talk about and react to like I said we'll have some week zero coverage certainly in the coming days but then it's really week one it's starting to preview week one it's starting to talk week one um and I just cannot wait uh for what I believe will be a fascinating fascinating week one starting again on Thursday with the uh with the Colorado North theota State game we'll be reacting after that we'll be reacting after the Saturday night well probably do have to do Sunday Morning Show but we will be doing a Sunday night show as well right after that LSU USC game time to get out of here if you are not subscribed please make sure to do so by the way couple people asking me about Jasper Johnson the recruit um listen he he has set his commitment date for next week every day it changes a little bit two days ago I said I think ky's the leader now people are saying Alabama's back in control I'm going to stick with Kentucky for right now um you know this is a fluid situation but like I said Kentucky got all the momentum then he set his commitment date and until I hear otherwise like let me put it this way like I said on Sunday night show um you know let me put it this let me how do I put this delicately it's not just what you're hearing from the Kentucky side does Kentucky feel like they made up ground it's what are you hearing from the other sides as well does North Carolina still feel like they're in good shape does Alabama still feel like they're in good shape and again as of you know Sunday and the Monday I think those other schools felt like they were fading now maybe they've made up ground but I still think you know Jasper Johnson local kid has been spending more time around the state was at the TBT tournament his parents obviously still live in Kentucky uh unless I hear something different between now and when he actually commits and maybe I will I think it's still going to be Kentucky it remains to be seen but remember I said on Sunday night show I said it's not 100% it's not done done done done done I did say I think what you know 5545 that Kentucky took the lead over everybody else so we'll see what happens from there all right I think it is time for me to get out of here uh oh one more question tied men's basketball predictions uh that's from Bruce Bruce I'll tell you I think Alabama's the number one team in the country going into next year I call him Noah Arc they got two of everything and I think if anything the the only issue that Alabama has to worry about which is a it's which is the definition of a first world problem is they got to figure out do they have too many good players which sounds crazy but I don't think that it is you know you have Mark Sears I don't think Mark Sears is gonna be able to put up the stats he did last year just because there's so much talent returning but how do you manage Grant Nelson how do you manage uh jiren Stevenson who's coming back to be a pro next year you got the two McDonald's all-americans you got the the transfers Chris Young Blood and Hunter m coming off the bench um so I think it's going to be interesting to see Nate oats and how he um you know how he manage his minutes but what I will say I think it's the most talented roster in college basketball it's the number one team in the country as far as I'm concerned um and and you know I will say like the schedule is tough the schedule is going to uh to challenge some people I saw I think it was trilly Donovan had one of those discords where they had one of the Alabama assistant coaches on and the assistant coach basically said that they told Nate oats this isn't the best way to schedule for a high seed and Nate oats just said I want to play as many tough games as possible because I want to get my team ready for the SEC by the way I would note I think got him ready for the SEC last year remember they went into the final 10 days or so of the SEC having the opportunity to win the league remember they hosted Tennessee late in in February if they win that game I believe they were in sole possession of first place so Nate oats in my opinion he uses the out of conference and this year they'll play Purdue in in Alabama they'll play uh Illinois at some point they'll play in that Vegas event they'll play Houston in that event um you know they use that that that that a conference to see everything and play everybody so that they can be prepared for SC play but they're the number one team in the country to me like Kansas like Yukon like some of the other schools but Alabama in my opinion should be the number one team in the country I really like them doesn't mean they're going to win the national championship but I think they are the best team on paper all right I think it is time for me to get out of here appreciate a couple last minute questions but it's time for me to go do me a quick favor if you're not subscribed to the aent Tor Sports podcast please make sure to do so Apple Spotify Amazon music Google music wherever you listen to podcast make sure that you are subscribed also make sure to rate and review the show go ahead give us a quick five stars let us know what you like what you don't like all that good stuff make sure you're following on social media aonor Tores on Twitter Aon Torres pod on Instagram uh Aon Torres podcasts gmail.com also you know I'll tell you I I do have a professional Facebook page find me on on Facebook uh just search Aaron Torres probably a place I need to start uh putting out some more content but anyway I'm gonna get out of here appreciate everybody's support awesome show today appreciate everybody hopping in we'll be back on Thursday night probably a little bit of a week zero preview as well as anything else that happens talk to you see you then shout out to torrent Craig shout out to Rachel who hates my voice shout out to JJ reick you fad Unblock Me