CBS Sports' Bud Elliott talks top storylines as Week 0 kicks off on Saturday

so our next guest is somebody that I wanted to talk to for a long time in fact I get messages on the boards like when are you going to talk to Bud Elliott well we're going to talk to Bud Elliott today from 247 in CBS Sports Cover 3 podcast here on the boss Firearms hotline bud man what's going on what's going on man just uh just getting ready for college football season looking over all these you know preseason notes and kind of figuring out some of our coverage for the year I'm I'm excited yeah we're we're super excited too and I'm excited for football this weekend how much uh Intrigue or interest do you have in this match up between Florida State and Georgia Tech we've got our former quarterback Haynes King going at it versus dju I pretty good bit I it's you know kind of the the match up of of the weekend uh you week zero is kind of a nice little little appetizer for the regular season kicking off U you know I thought Haynes King was pretty effective at times last year I think Tech has a really good offensive coordinator in Buster fauler and they bring back you know quite a bit on defense of a really bad defense like maybe they'll be better this year I think there's certainly that you know that possibility um Florida State's a very different team this year that they are uh I don't think anywhere near as explosive at receiver as they were at times uh last year but I think it's probably the best offensive line they had like since 2014 so maybe a decade all uh all seven of their their top offensive linemen are 23 years of age or older and they're like finally healthy whereas last year they were pretty banged up and then defensively I was a little surprised by I I knew they were good up front you know I've seen them Pete DL said they're the best defensive line in the country period with A&M kind of the only one in the conversation and he expects all four of their defensive linemen to be drafted in the top 100 next year so uh if they play like that they will win in Ireland right uh and and the corner combo is I think very good um probably the only two I would take over in the country as far as you know one two would be like vek in Ohio State so there's some pieces there but it's going to be like a much more like defense Run game you know physicality type team this year than it is or than it was last year but I do want to move to the SEC and A&M specifically here in a moment but for the ACC are you one that buys Florida State winning it is it a Clemson year even though dabo's kind of taking his his time with evolving with the game if you will or potentially Miami who's added all these guys and we're still waiting for Miami to reach that PO I I David I really have all three of them about even like I don't want that to sound like a cop out answer but I I think Miami probably has the highest ceiling if it all really comes together in the right way but also that kind of counts on Mario Chris all coaching well and to me like when I do my power ratings I start with talent and then I make some coaching related adjustments and I'm sure you can guess which direction that coaching related adjustment for Miami typically comes in so they certainly could win it Clemson could like NC State vatch and Louisville could win it if everything clicks because they have the path to get there especially vek like they could be a surprise you know team to make the playoff if they run like 11 and one you know lose the conference title game type thing or or maybe win it so I think it's kind of Wide Open When you mention uh teams that may be losing some points for coaching I was wondering if you're talking about the previous staff that was here at Texas A&M because there's always been Talent um I saw you took the over on the 8 and a half in Vegas for A&M uh tell us a little bit about your thoughts there yeah I I I like how the schedule falls for the most part for A&M I I I feel like where they get the games and when they get the games uh is generally favorable to the type of team that I'm projecting for the aies this year it's kind of like the conversation we just had about FSU right if if they're going to be good it's because the defensive line needs people alive they scr together enough points on offense they you know they punt well they kick well they they play you know sort of smart football execute in the Red Zone um I I like I like a lot of where the games fall uh for them um like I kind of like how they match up against Missouri Missouri's got a lot of turnover on their offensive line and I think A&M you know could probably score a little bit against that defense the the thing I liked better actually than the over eight and a half uh there were some like plus 350 and plus 325 out there to make the playoff uh you know and I was like well looking at this I I think it's more like a 250 shot so I thought there was some Surplus value there so I ate some of that up and uh yeah I I like this A&M team um and you know like you mentioned I for a long time Aon fans did not want to have me on the air and then you know it it seems like now we kind of agree on on on the last tier you know it's interesting with Jimbo I thought initially he got a little flak you know I'm talking about the 21 season after 20 um because his quarterback was injured and the last three years you could say that but it did become apparent he wasn't evolving with the game did you see that early on even after the 20 season yeah I I I mean I had my doubts like I I remember talking to Billy uh you know in 20 whatever year that was 2017 I think it was you know pretty early in the season like like we we had Vibes that something was up um in tasse and and I was like man he's not the same guy that he was as a coach in like 2010 to 2014 like like it's very different in Tallahasse now and you know guy is like really stubborn you know we knew he had some guys on his coaching staff in Tallahasse at the time who were not FL State quality they just weren't and we were proven right almost immediately because he didn't take any of those guys with him to A&M I like dude if those guys are actually good and you're stubbornly saying I don't need to make any changes here take him with you right or like what what are you doing and he took zero right I think or or maybe maybe one try to remember if Coy was on the staff or not at the time um so yeah I just I think he's a really really smart guy but like also managing people and communicating with people is is is an important skill set as well I think sorry I didn't mean to cut you off there's a little bit of a the job that Elco did last year with that staff when Leonard was down and the their backup was down and they had to get like the third Stringer ready to play in that weight game and a couple of those gam like I really was impre me third string true freshman kid he got him ready they moov the ball like they Elco just kind of finds ways to win and doesn't make excuses I I I like the guy a lot as a coach well but and I'll add to that the the staff overall right like you can have your opinions on Jimbo's previous staff I'm really bullish on this staff that coach elko's put together we know he's a great headman but he's put on some other guys around him to really make this I think offense pop with Colin Klein defensively Jay Batman's an extension of coacho Tommy Moffett strength and conditioning a lot of others as well and I think baitman is an underrated higher here u in looking at this people want to say like hey he was benefited at army uh because of the tempo that Army plays with and sure on the surface numbers I agree with that but even if you adjust for Tempo like Army played well above its Talent score uh for me and then I don't think that anybody's going to have success running a defense at North Carolina uh because of the lack of physicality at North Carolina I think it's kind of a soft program and also the tempo they run with is is real difficult so I I really don't bang B for that I think B Ban's a pretty bright guy and I I like that hire a lot I I think the staff that OKO has put together is is really pretty good if I have a question honestly it's uh the the receiver coach Choice was interesting to me I I thought Bama's receiver development over the past three or four years has been horrid and I'm like that maybe he knows something there that I don't know uh but like that's the one that kind of stood out like huh kind of funny but the rest of the staff I love we we've been pretty uh bullish with Holman Wiggins he's a really recruiter and unfortunately we haven't seen a lot of wide receiver development here ATM the last few years as well so we think it is an upgrade and also o line coach yeah no doubt I I thought the o line coach was a great was a great pickup too so I started the show with this thought if I have any hesitation on A&M this year it's the beginning part of the season because sometimes it takes time to figure the new system out against so you know big teams and they're taking on Notre Dame early on they're taking on Florida on the road they haven't won on the Road since 2021 when they beat Missouri that's the long that's a long time so how important do you think to their season this first couple of weeks of the Season really uh what what it will propel them to I I I think it's huge for them if you look at look at the schedule here I mean if you get Texas a if you get Notre Dame in that opener A&M's gonna be favored to make the playoff like that that's how hard it's going to shift because if you can beat Notre Dame I mean at Florida I've been read in Florida's practice reports as I'm sure a lot of agie fans have as well and they're doesn't look great so maybe they're not that much better than they were last year I do have them as an improved team but they played pretty poorly at times I like MCN I mean I picked Bowling Green to win the Mac this year mainly because I think the rest of the Mac has kind of cut like I don't know that bowling Green's amazing I just think Toledo and Miami Ohio have regressed a little bit uh from where they were last year but that's still a team that you should pretty easily handle uh I haven't read a single good thing about Arkansas's offense so far like other than patrino magic I guess but the scrimmage reports have been iffy I guess they do eight picks in the last scrimmage so maybe some work to be done there still I don't know how many plays that is like maybe it's 140 plays so you know it's like a four pick game and a 70 playay game right um and then get Missouri at home like I talked about you know going at Mississippi State off the buy so you get you get the buy to work on that interesting offense they're going to run and you we'll see how much defensive depth Mississippi state has getting off to a fast start is really important I agree with you yeah talking about Elliott here on texx radio presented by David Gardner Jeweler's r Insurance Studio it is the boss Firearms hotline so let's look at these opening Week Games Beyond zero week let's talk about the the Miami Florida game when you see that game lot like we talked about a&n what it's going to mean for the rest of their season same with both of these programs so I think Miami is the better team but playing in the swamp is is really hard like it just it is like the fans will pack that thing out it'll be sold out there's a renewed hope for you know year three of Billy Napier they return a lot of production on both sides of the ball U I just don't know how much better Florida is I think Miami is potentially a lot better you know and and who has the coaching Edge in this game I I would normally say Napier but you know Florida last year they they kind of played like dummies a lot to to be frank I mean they were dead last in the country for most of the season in both uh special teams EPA lost due to penalties and then short yardage penalties so in Florida critical situations just false starting not enough men on the field too many men on the field it was uh it was kind of a clown show over there so I think Miami is gonna win this game um I I I trust their quarterback cam Ward more than I trust Graham Merz I don't know that Florida's weapons are all that amazing they took a lot of transfers in the uh the offensive line room I will tell you that Florida state is really happy with Richie Leonard who they got from Florida so you know the from a lot of Florida fans has been they upgraded I I'll believe that when I see it because I I I I think FSU thinks that Leonard has a chance to be a draftable player so if they upgra if they upgraded over a draftable guy good for them I don't know if that squares some of the practice reports that I've been reading so far Miami like even people who typically are conservative on Miami predictions you like guys that last year were more than that like eight and four or seven and five range they're like all in 11 and one so the stuff they're hearing I think sounds pretty real but I uh I believe in LSU versus USC because I just don't believe in Lincoln Riley that being said LSU has struggled to start off Seasons the last couple years how do you see those someone kind of playing out yeah if I'm an LSU fan I'm kind of like what what are we doing in this transfer portal Market this offseason you know I said this on Twitter and I got some blowback for it but I don't really care like you got four linemen on offense who are probably going to be drafted you think nus Meer is sneakily like one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC and I do I I've been betting him 60 to1 55 to1 to go first overall because I just I don't really trust some of these early mock drafts you know you you think you got pretty good receivers to replace the two first rounders you lost why the hell are you not all in to to get an extra defensive tackle in the portal like why are you not going out to get another corner like to me that's a that's a Miss by LSU I think their High School recruiting is great I think their portal stuff is bad honestly relative to how good they they are at the high school talent acquisition stuff so um I I think ls's offense will score I think they'll be a little more physical I think they can probably push USC around I mean it's Blake Baker he's a good coach they didn't add much in the portal they lost three linemen to the NFL draft I believe so I don't know man I'm a little skep skeptical that this defense is going to be just magically fixed because of a coaching change you mentioned us there uh we didn't really get to talk about Conor wigman just your thoughts on Connor we when we've seen him playing those eight games he's been brilliant what do you think how that how does that look long term over a season yeah I think his ceiling's really high um I'd like to see I mean he's got to stay healthy obviously right I'm curious as can is A&M gonna run him because Klein you know ran the ball with the quarterback a lot both as a player and as a play caller so you know how much different does this A&M offense look because he doesn't look to me like a guy who's going to be a great rusher of the football uh so they're going to have to probably call it a little bit differently uh I heard in Spring he was kind of toughing through some stuff I don't know if that squares to what you guys had heard yeah but they were happy that he he got out there but he didn't look very good so like is he better this fall I I I really haven't read a whole lot that he's like killing it but I don't know that he's had a bad fall I I just I'll be watching an opening game pretty you know pretty closely but he's got some talent I think he looks great this fall from the few practices I've been to Billy's coming back and he's been to uh several their scrimmages uh he looks like the old Conor wigman at least from Mobility standpoint and we know he's got a little bit of the stature the Swagger in the pocket so I I think he's going to look like the Connor we've seen before we got to obviously see it in in a game time nice man I'm I'm I'm excited about that then uh I want to ask you about something fine bom said the other day he said that the Alabama Dynasty had ended during the Sabin run not after what what do you think about that because I think he had his best coaching year last year and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that that's interesting um I guess all great coaches eventually see their runs and either because of like some you know like a rule change in the sport that they were previously exploiting and they could no longer do so or uh you know maybe a um various factors right but one of the ways that that oftentimes these like legendary coaching Runs run out is you just kind of your connections dry up as far as bringing assistant coaches you know um I think it's pretty clear that they have a better staff now than they did they did last year overall now granted like losing next sa is a is a pretty big thing to lose but the rest of the staff I I don't think was all that great personally and you know you saw it you saw in tallah hasy with Bobby Bowen eventually like your your tree is going to kind of run out because you haven't personally worked with these guys at other stops and maybe you're like some of the new guys you're bringing in haven't worked with guys elsewhere and you know at that point you're like you're really relying hard on your agent to suggest guys to you and sometimes those hit and sometimes they don't but I think your hit rate is higher on on guys that you've worked with before so you actually know and you know Nick sustained for so long bringing in guys with whom he really had no connection which is mighty impressive but eventually I think it kind of ran out I think he had some guys on his staff who you know probably weren't the quality that he had on his staff maybe a decade ago uh but I mean the the way they got BMA last year to the SC title and winning it was super impressive so I I do agree like they adapted during the season and would it have sustained like probably not the the nil stuff I don't think B Embrace that as early on as as some other schools did and and clearly like you know kiry's doing his thing in Georgia So eventually it runs out so I'm conflicted when I talk about Texas for obvious reasons but also because of their recent history not last year which obviously Sark was able to hit it but they have in his three years here his numbers are similar to what did in his first three seasons at at A&M so when you talk about Texas and the issues in the back field but I think a very manageable SEC schedule uh I'm curious what Michigan's going to look like there in week two when you look at Texas how high are you on them yeah I I uh to me there's like a top two in the sport right now and then everybody is pretty consensus Oregon Texas and some order for 34 which from like an you know a number ranking standpoint sure I I get that uh but I think that like three and four is also really close to like 12 13 14 personally I think there's a lot of clustering at least in my model and it'll it'll start to separate as the season goes on but in the preseason I'm not super confident that that Texas is is you know three with a bullet they could be nine who who knows uh I'm a little concerned about their red zone offense they were poor in the Red Zone last year relative to all of their their other metrics and think about who they lost at receiver think about who they lost at tight end they got a lot smaller than it I mean Balin is 5'8 bond is like 5'11 you know golden is six flat NYL from from Bama is smaller than the tight end they lost his name I'm forgetting now to the draft and then you lose your bigger back right in in CJ who I I know he's from Orlando I've seen him play a bunch like are they better in the Red Zone because they like the narrative all offseason is they're going to be better in the Red Zone most teams get better in the Red Zone by having a quarterback who doesn't run losing their big PowerBack and getting a lot smaller at receiver and tight end but that's just my opinion I mean maybe that they can find a way to scheme it up better that's possible but they're gonna have to show me on that so like if I'm if I'm playing Texas man I'm not allowing the big player over the top you got to show me that you can you can win in the Red Zone because I I don't know that the Personnel is set up to be better in the red zone and they already struggled last year but how hard is it to evaluate Michigan considering what we know obviously the offense is going to look different Donovan Edwards is back the defense should still be just as salty new regime but similar faces yeah I I think it's um pretty simple in most of their games and the analysis is you can't block them so uh you know for about nine of their 12 games I think that they will not always win comfortably but but win because the opponent just cannot really handle what they have up front they I think their front is potentially better than it was last year adding Jon Barham from Maryland is not fair like if this was the NBA the commissioner would veto that trade like that that's not that's not allowed on a team that is already that stacked the secondary is a little thin so that'll be a spot to watch right like if they start getting injuries there then maybe they're a little more vulnerable uh but you know offensively that's where I think you really call into question in the three difficult games they play the you know the Texas game the Oregon game and the Ohio State game can they actually score points can they score 27 if if they need to if something goes a little squirely my guess is they're they're going to run with orgy and run a lot of like spread option type stuff and play super slow again but there's been a lot of Davis Warren chatter to which I ask is that because orgy can't play or do you actually like Warren and if so who are you throwing to I mean I don't know that I love their their receiving options with the exception of the tight end levelin who's he's a stud butd man big fan of your work thanks for making time and uh let's do it again okay enjoyed it see you guys appreciate you [Music]