What a win would mean for Colorado & Michigan + Notre Dame’s new ceiling | Always College Football

Intro knowing a lot of the pieces and parts um my expectation for this team was to be 12-0 this year uh and and floor probably 11-1 I said that before the season uh started hello and welcome in it's always college football I'm your host Greg mroy today is a Wednesday Edition it's September 4th we're at hump day had a game just two days ago Florida State and Boston College we've broken it down we've talked about it in other places that's yesterday's news so if you're looking here on a Wednesday for some type of breakdown about what the NES can't do you've come to the wrong place we might address their inadequacies in the future but not today today we're kind of looking ahead we always do this on Wednesdays we try to bring in a Big Time guest today we're going to bring in former Notre Dame quarterback current Fox big noon kickoff commentator analyst expert Brady Quinn and we're going to have a discussion about some of the games coming up this weekend what's on the line for Michigan what's on the line for Texas what does the win against A&M mean for Notre Dame hits some of the biggest picture topics and I'm gonna ask him too I mean I'm gonna ask him about what he might do if he were Mike norell at Florida State so all the big picture topics we will hit with Brady Quinn and then we will dive into the mailbag with some of the questions that you guys have submitted over the last couple weeks let's not put off any more of your time even though I want you to like rate and subscribe all that other stuff you guys know the drill tell your friends all that stuff let's get to our conversation with Brady Quinn well we're so happy to have him with us he's one of the guys I respect as much as anybody I know he watch a ton of tape always super schooled he's a great watch on Saturday mornings on Fox's big noon kickoff Brady Quinn Brady what's what's going on my man how are we I'm doing well Greg uh I was just saying to you a few moments ago I feel like I'm Brady Quinn interview a bit behind this week with the holiday weekend but that's life especially as you know when you're a family man got everything else going on outside of uh of work but thanks for having me on always enjoy the opportunity no it's great and yeah this week is a little unique a little uh little behind um especially with Labor Day being what it was and trying to enjoy some semet of family plus we had games like all the way through at Florida State and everything we'll start there because I I don't want to spend too much time on Florida State I I feel like it's it's like beating a dead horse at this point I'm I don't want to say I'm like frustrated by how it's being covered because I don't feel like the teams that beat them are getting the credit they deserve uh but at the same time it's hard not to look at a team that was this Can Florida State get fixed this year close to the playoff last year and not be disappointed with what you've seen through two weeks so we'll just start here can it get fixed Brady I think it can but I mean not to get into a whole another conversation this is part of my issue though with preseason rankings and I understand the importance to some out there but U given what this team lost uh to the draft and and really what wasn't going to be there you know last year when he want to talk about the quarterback or in their bowl game it's an entirely different team that I think what we watched last season and the optimism I think comes when you are able to get a transfer quarterback that uh had this the career like he did during his time at Oregon State and DJ OU young LA and the problem is is you know I kind of take a step back I look at this whole transfer portal process and go well didn't his head coach go to Michigan State you know why didn't dju end up there now there could be a lot of reasons for that but I think oftentimes you know the writings maybe on the wall as far as you know why certain decisions are made and why players go certain places and and maybe it lends you to think that they feel like maybe DJ hit a ceiling you know during his time with Jonathan Smith or they feel like Aiden Charles would be a better you know Prospect and better player in a system moving forward whatever the case may be and I don't want to put all this blame on dju but he struggled mightily you know and I think a lot of the optimism comes with you know him being a part of this team other players who transferred in as well to replace what they lost so I I never felt like they were going to be a top 10 team um I think that leads to two parts of this conversation one us not giving Georgia Tech enough credit BC for that matter enough credit but also because we look at Florida State we're like well they're over ranked it's like well of course they are like the season just started we have no idea how some of these teams are going to be you know Michigan was able to beat Fresno State which is a tough non-conference opponent to open your season with but they don't look like the same Michigan team that we saw just a year ago that won the National Championship so um I again we don't need to spend a ton of time on this but I think that's one of the things that as we look at the storylines outside of the actual game itself is if you got a coach that leaves to go takes another job he doesn't take their quarterback you should be a little bit aware of of you know what's why why why is that you know what's the case there I mean I'm not sure if you looked at with that with some side eye um but was something that I think kind of concerned me for dju going to Florida State and kind of wondering why that didn't happen there at East Lancing yeah and to take it one step further take his backup Aiden Charles with him to Michigan State so uh good observation for sure and definitely unique but I look I like you said I think Florida State's problems uh really are kind of at the line of scrimmage as much as they are on DJ I just if you're supposed to be elite on the offensive and defensive line like why aren't you and then there's really no excuse like they have guys that have played so like I said I don't want to be super negative here early I want to spin it positive because I do think there's more to play for and hey maybe they figured things out after the bye and they become a better team down the road let's talk about someone who looked great in week one uh well great at times Notre Dame is not just a CFP contender in week one Notre Dame Fighting Irish excellent start to the season this was not a game that felt like they've won in the past this was one not that dissimilar to an Ohio State game last year where it's like they found a way to lose it at the end instead they took control of the game as the game went along the running game got going a little bit they showed great Poise I think down the stretch to win the game and make the plays that you need to make to win the game so based on just a couple things that need to be cleaned up are you feeling more optimistic about Notre Dame based on what we saw last Saturday uh I guess I'd answer by saying no only because I was already really high on this team and and and knowing a lot of the pieces and parts um my expectation for this team was to be 12 and0 year and floor probably 11 to one I said that before the season uh started uh to a few different people and and it's it's for these reasons you know if you really look at what they did this off season they were able to extend Al golden who I think is one of the best defensive Minds in college football he does an unbelievable job at scheming out protections and finding ways of applying pressure to quarterbacks I mean it's very much of an NFL style scheme it's one of the reasons why he's constantly talking to different teams at the NFL level about becoming their defensive coordinator because understands how to scheme up around that to really impact and affect them with the rush style the types of pressures the types of looks that he gives them from a coverage standpoint but he can only do that if he has the Personnel I'll go out and say this much I think they have the best secondary in the country like go find me you know a better Corner than Ben Morrison we might be you I have one this week and will Johnson from Michigan but I would say those are probably the top two uh a safety and Xavier Watts who you know what led this led the country in interceptions last year already you know grabbed one this game um Christian Gray who's a Young quarterback made a nice play to really end the game they have so much more depth and they're so much better in the secondary but that really allows Al golden to do the things that he does from a rush standpoint from a pressure standpoint but but that's kind of like their their staple that's their Foundation is there a def team that's built defensively and then on offense they want to control the line of scrimmage that was the big concern you got you know Five Guys who've started a collective I think what six career starts before this past week and I thought they did an unbelievable job I mean really an unbelievable job when you take into account that it's a new offense with Mike Den Brock you have a new quarterback who's out there who wasn't even the spring game let's not forget Riley Leonard wasn't even a part of the spring game so this is like really the first true live action in that sort of Stadium environment that you get on the road so a remarkable job by by all parties involved on that side of the football I thought Riley did a much better job than maybe even the statline Showcase I went back and watched all his throws today and and look there's some conservative nature I think to you know some of the the plays that were called I mean there wasn't a ball uh there think there was like one ball that traveled over 20 yards uh but the reality is you know that's that's part of it you're on the road you've got a team with a really good pass rush a young offensive line you're probably not GNA be holding on to the football very long um but but that being said this is an offense that will continue and grow uh as Mike Den Brock gets more comfortable as Riley Leonard gets more comfortable but at the end of the game you saw the Stars emerge and that's the rushing attack and and Jeremiah Love and jaran price those those two guys should be able to help carry this offense and as Bo Collins gets more comfortable developing chemistry with Riley Leonard and Chris Mitchell and when Jordan faon comes back and all these other pieces they have and Mitchell evern is more healthy this is going to be a team that's goingon to be in the college football playoff they're gonna host a home playoff game and I think they're going to be able to make a run depending on how good that offense can become by the end of the season yeah it's hard not to it's hard not to really acknowledge what what they could become assuming the passing attack get a little more consistent I think they can run it they're going to be great and the offensive Line's only going to be better as season goes along but they passed their first big test with flying colors uh let's transition to this week Texas Michigan we always kind of like to play What if Michigan loses to Texas - does it change anything Brady like what's the reaction on Sunday in the event in which blank happens so let's just assume Michigan goes and loses at home to a Texas team that we all think's great and but it's convincing what's the reaction surrounding Michigan in the event in which that goes down well I think obviously they'll be upset about the Lo but it still opens the door is still there for them to win the Big 10 and and you know following the Ohio State Michigan rivalry every single year since uh I've started doing big noon kickoff and since I've been calling games and just growing up in Columbus Ohio I understand the importance of that game where you know people might think it's crazy when I say this but you could win a National Championship obviously in this expanded playoff format but potentially lose you know to Ohio State Michigan vice versa and it would be a bit of a disappointing season to a degree like that's how people feel in both those parts so uh all their goals and everything is still out there for them um and you're not going to play like you know the Horseshoes like hey it was close or it was a blow it doesn't really matter it's a loss uh I think at the end of the day they realize that this is a Michigan team that probably better reflects you know what they looked like with Jake rudo if you can go back to the year where they got the Iowa transferred quarterback yeah he came in and it's a much more run heavy defensive minded team um that's going to eventually grow to be able to have a little bit more in the passing game but someone has to emerge on the outside it can't just be Corin Loveland um and and from a running perspective I don't know their offensive line at least against Fresno State again tough matchup for a group of five noncon to start the season they're better than people give him credit but I don't know that the offensive line is gonna be as good as it's been the past two years and so that's a concern and I also wonder for St Moore even though he's been in this head coaching position last year um just now wearing that hat full-time like you're not waiting for Jim Harbo to come back it's your job I I do wonder how much that impacts the game planning perspective from the offensive perspective his impact on that side of the ball as compared to what it was a year ago um when he was still wearing that interim title but I I think they'd be disappointed um but I don't think they're gonna look at like their season's over I mean this is a rare matchup however there's still everything out there for them in the event in which they win though um and Texas is on the losing end Now if Texas loses to Michigan that changes things would that kind of quiet the concerns about their having been a massive step back for Michigan this year like because I I for one think that much like Florida State Michigan's in route to an eight and4 season I think they're gonna have an underwhelming year personal opinion it doesn't mean they can't finish nine and three 10- two I just think that there's a gap between them and the Oregons the Penn States and the Ohio States in the Big 10 but if they win this one how significant is that for the Big 10 to know that maybe the fourth best team in the Big 10 just beat what might be the second best team in the SEC yeah I don't know that I'm willing to give Texas that much yet you know I mean Alabama looked great Old Miss look I mean Tennessee looked great there's there's so many competitive teams in the SEC so I think Texas could be one of them but but I think both teams we have a lot to learn about both of them and and to me these are the two biggest questions that we'll find out out of this game Michigan style of football and their success over the past two years like stop with the Conor stallion stuff you know I don't know your opinion on that but everyone who wants to attribute their success to that it's like well he wasn't really a part of the team last year so yeah how do you look at that I'll just say right now I don't care about it I don't care either like like it's one of those things where like everyone acts like had the biggest impact in their season you're going a lot of a lot of teams do that I I I you don't want to open up Pandora's Box and when it comes down to it there's still a lot of things that happened on the field that matter a thousand times more but the point is for Michigan and I bring that up about J.J McCarthy the past couple of years because their identity was defense running the football but when he needed to make a play he made a play yeah and that's not the question about Michigan as we look at them with somewhat of a two quarterback system with Davis waren and Alex orgy is does one of them kind of emerge as that guy can Davis Warren make that clutch throw make that clutch play or can Alex orgy do that with his legs I don't know but we're about ready to find out because this is a big boy game where if Michigan wants to and thrown more for that matter wants to keep that same exact identity that Jim Harbaugh tried to maintain that's what it comes down to you have to have a quarterback that is capable and has the ability to make that play in the clutch and and and he every time he was called upon he did that last year so that's their question for for Texas I'll go as far as saying I think a loss to Michigan would be more disappointing for Texas than it would be for Michigan in this matchup I think with where they are winning the Big 12 last year getting the playoff and and what they feel like coming back it's it's more important to Steve sarkeesian to kind of keep climbing and building up or feeling like you are as opposed to losing a game like this on the road where you're favorite you kind of probably should win um and and my biggest concern for them is like no Byron Murphy no dandre sweat yeah those guys were huge and especially in a match up like this where you know Michigan's just gonna try to pound away and lean on you and grind you down they would have come up huge and so can are they able to stop that because I don't care if it's Michigan then it might be Ohio State in the playoff it might be Georgia when You Face them like it's going to be so some of those teams are going to just grind on you want to run the football and test you in the interior because you don't have those big boys as much talent as you did a year ago so that's my biggest question I think for Texas in this is is like their defense was the most consistent piece last year in a large part because what they had up front what what do they look like this year versus a team that's kind of onedimensional and you know what they want to do lastly it's it's kind of a thin If Colorado beats Nebraska does that up the ceiling for the Buffaloes weekend as far as like really high quality match up are concerned like I'd love to ask you about Tennessee and NC State but I I don't know if that one does as much for me as the Nebraska Colorado as far as big picture conversation is concerned Colorado wins this one hype train is gonna be out of control back to where we were a year ago like it's GNA be oh my goodness cancel the season like Dion's coach of the year uh next coach GNA buy a place in Boulder or Denver at that point because we're probably like you're better off you're going to you're going to fall in Boulder like people summer some people winter like no you're going to fall in Boulder if fact that happens uh but on the other side I think this game means so much to Matt rule like people that support Dion are going to support Dion regardless but for Matt rule to prove that hey we can now play and you saw the Gap that existed between Nebraska and Colorado last year was considerable especially in the second half now it's like this is real progress that's being made and maybe we can win a bunch of games this year that just don't anticipate so what side of the aisle is needs this one more Nebraska or Colorado ah it's a great question I I I think it's to me it's still Colorado because after watching week one my biggest takeaway was I didn't really see any differences in this Colorado team from what we saw a year ago it is a you know top or maybe top two quarterback in college football that's leting them putting them on his back making throws under duress with a ton of poise and big moments and it's Travis Hunter and some of the star power of guys like Jimmy horen Jr like that's what that team is comprised of they still don't run the football their defense can't stop anyone and it feels like from a coaching standpoint you know you look at the end of the game the clock management towards the end yeah they gave him an opportunity to come back in that game right that might not come back to bite you when you're playing North Dakota State but it could when you're playing Nebraska and you have back like uh Dylan riola who who I think is very capable of making some plays as we saw at least from the small sample size in week one so I think it's more it's a bigger moment for Colorado to prove the progress they've made at this point but also say this for Nebraska it's big in the from the standpoint that you know we always talk about Matt Ru as a program Builder and what he did at Temple and what he did at Baler and now even probably even looking back on what the Panthers were like it's like well it was actually like they were fairly competitive like their defense was playing good this last year's there they maybe they didn't figure out the quarterback spot but it was a lot better what the what the Panthers look like now so maybe there's something to that but I I think what's on display here is his ability to be able to stop a team that isn't Essence a quarterback and some star studded wide receivers and a special player in Travis Hunter like that's what this is it is has he built this program at Nebraska as a team to be able to come up with a scheme come up with a game plan and executed where everyone's on the same page of believing in that to be able to beat out a couple of unbelievably talented players but by and large that roster Nebraska is man Forman better with the exception of shador Sanders and then Travis Hunter Jr and maybe Jimmy horn Jr but but but but that's really what this comes down to so it's also big I think for a lot of fans in Nebraska given it's a home game and you want to see that sort of progress in year two to beat it to beat a team that I think the perception is like they're no different than they were just a year ago right I think it's 100% well said I mean I think you're spoton and hey if Colorado wins this game like look out like the amount of coverage that we're going to have to pay towards a team that still doesn't have a ranked win in over a over a year is phenomenal but hey it's going to be interesting nonetheless Brady awesome stuff man look forward to watching you this weekend can always watch Brady's work on big noon kickoff alongside my teammate Mark Ingram are you keeping him under control I'm trying to him you see him he was all dressed up like the Mountaineer last week and then he comes out looking like an investment banker man it's it's hard to hold him down he's trying to crowd surf I'm just hoping he doesn't have like a wardrobe malfunction one of these days when he's jumping up there like that well he's got a lot of range there's no doubt a lot of range uh but I look forward to watching you guys again this weekend great stuff as always and we look forward to visiting again soon man thanks for having me great discussion there with Brady Quinn about where we're at in the sport right now heading into week number two Mailbag - Can North Carolina win with Connor Harrell but we always really appreciate those of you that interacted with the show for the last several years we wouldn't do this if not for y'all so if you could continue to submit your questions to the mailbag on our social media at always CFB you can do it on Instagram and on Twitter you can also submit questions to the comment section on the ESPN college football YouTube channel so if you go to our videos you can submit a question there if you'd like to go there as well we watch those things we make note of those things if you have a great question we will put it in a future episode so where are we going today CBS all right we're going to start with Cameron in North Carolina and he asks as a UNC fan I'm happy we beat Minnesota but the injury to Max Johnson kind of deflated us we have a very manageable schedule please tell me that we can still maybe win 10 games with Conor Herold well without going through the schedule and I we don't need to go line by line okay let's just acknowledge things where they're at right now the ACC is very much in flux some people have gone on to say well the ACC is not good or it's not this or it's bad or whatever it is I'm not going to go there just yet because just because Florida State might not be having the year that you anticipated doesn't mean the League's not good it's just your perception of the league is through the lens of contenders and if one of the teams that you thought was a tender is having a disappointing season doesn't mean the league stinks it just means that your perception of the league needs to be adjusted because if Louisville goes on and has a great year if Miami goes on and has a great year if Clemson rebounds from a week one disappointment then maybe things for the league really aren't that bad maybe NC State beats Tennessee this weekend and we still feel great about the about the ACC moving forward so I think things are in a pretty good spot right now with North Carolina I would love to have a veteran in there quarterback that'd be really helpful I hate that Max Johnson dealt with that injury you saw it the right leg grabbed it immediately you saw the reaction of his parents in The Stance it was awful it was just a terrible terrible moment but I think Connor Harold is a guy that is super athletic very gifted athlete can run can take off but nothing I saw in the performance against Minnesota last week made me feel super confident about him as a thrower looked like he was throwing it with a lot of velocity but the ACC accuracy was a little Hit or Miss looked like the nose was down a little bit when he released the football and that's tough for wide receivers to catch the good news is you still have one of the best backs in the sport in Amari and Hampton you have an offensive line that I think did some nice things last week and I think you have skill position players at wide receiver and tight end that will make life a little easier for Conor Harold and in the event in which Harold can't get it done you're lucky because you have jacobe Criswell available as well he was there a couple years ago he ran into a buzs saww that was Drake May in the quarterback competition but the staff really liked him when they were competing head-to-head a couple years back so you do have that as an insurance policy as well but I think North Carolina's in a good spot in a league right now that's in flux and you're not quite sure what the pecking order may be all right next question comes from Corey Mailbag - Can we stop with the preseason rankings please in South Carolina it's time to not rank teams for the first month of the Season let teams earn a ranking what do you think I think it's understandable why you feel this way because you over the years and me over the years frankly I get tired of people suggesting this team is ranked this because that's what they were in the pre they've looked God awful these last four weeks they're four and0 and they've looked god- awful in the process it's required miraculous comebacks but hey put them in there they deserve to be there because they haven't lost and that's where I thought they would be in the preseason pre-season's rankings mean nothing to me they don't hurt at all like my perception of teams does not adjust based on what teams were in the preseason like if you look great week one and you were unranked I'll move you in I don't care if you looked awful week one and you were ranked number six I'll move you down to 22 I don't care I will do it that's in my rankings it might not necessarily be in the AP poll or in the coaches poll so I would always take those rankings with a grain of salt do they matter sure but they're more to generate conversation than they are for anything else and those that say well the committee the committee sees those rankings and it has an impact on how the committee perceives these teams if that's the case then we need to get rid of every single person that's on the committee because if your perception of what these teams that we're evaluating if your perception is what was being said about them in the preseason and here we are in week nine and you're holding on to their preseason ranking then you have no business being on the committee you don't so I don't have a problem with preseason rankings and I'm not sure why people do to be honest with you it's just to generate conversation it's to generate Buzz the reason why nearly 8 million people watched Clemson and Georgia in a thorough Beatdown in the second half is because there was a 14 next to the name of one team and a one next to the name of the another the reason why 8.3 million people watched Texas A&M against Notre Dame yeah the brands matter but I'll tell you what also matters that number next to A&M and Notre Dame's name there's a reason why these things matter and the rankings help Drive interest and interest will ultimately help the sport so rankings are fine you can choose to ignore them if you want that's perfectly fine but they do serve a purpose and that purpose albeit small and unemploy important as the season goes along it does generate some interest before the season and creates a little positive momentum before we head into week one unless of course you're Florida State I'm sure they wish they did not have a preseason ranking but I digress last question here comes from Tim in Dallas he says I'm so happy that college Mailbag - How can we improve the schedule so we get more exciting games in week 2 football is here and week one was great having games from Thursday to Monday night but looking at the schedule week two looks like a dud except for a few games what can be done to fix this in the future well week two certainly has fewer matchups that most casual fans would consider to be compelling just being honest if you are a casual college football consumer and you're not a Die Hard like us like I'll be watching South Florida against Alabama until the early morning on Sunday Sunday morning if that's what it takes like I don't care I was up watch watching Teto and McMillan until two in the morning the other night like I don't care if it's on I'm watching I've watched Hawaii games until 2:30 in the evening that started at 11:59 Eastern so I've done it like I love the sport I'm goingon to watch it regardless and if the spreads are 40 plus points I just don't care there's only so many weeks of college football that I can consume it so I'm going to watch as much as I can for as long as I can until we get to the postseason and then I watch every day but it's only one or two games it's a little easier to manage your time at that point here's how we solve the dip in weeks two and three in quantity of high quality games one you force every conference to play nine conference games will that happen I I don't know I really don't know two we get rid of FC s games all together and for those that say well we need the FCS games like we we got to have them because those FCS teams need the money well let's find a way to subsidize that level of football by taking a small I'm talking a minuscule percentage of the college football playoff revenue and we put that money into a pool for FCS teams that earn based on how they Faire in the postseason the year before so get rid of FCS games all together and then three at the end of the year this year you need to promote I'm not saying like Elevate but to an extent promote the non-conference games involving power five teams so for for example let's just say Michigan loses this weekend to Texas and Michigan is sitting there at 9 and three at the end of the season and they're being measured against a 10 and2 Old Miss team okay that did not win their conference Championship and that lost their two most difficult games of the season to LSU and to Georgia so you have a nine and three Michigan that lost to say USC Ohio State and Texas against an Old Miss team whose best win might be uh a a solid win against an eight and4 Texas A&M team well you actually reward Michigan because Michigan's third loss that I'm referring to was against Texas in the non conference they challenged themselves in the non-conference whereas ol Miss played against wake forced and that is a game in which Miss will be heavily favored so that's how you do it three things one you force every conference to play nine conference games two you get rid of FCS games alt together and three you reward teams that challenge themselves out of conference even if they lose I'm not say now if Michigan gets boat raced by 49 this weekend then no you don't get credit for a close loss you don't get credit for having challenge yourselves and then embarrass yourselves like no you don't do that but if it's close if it's a photo finish before two team between two teams at the end of the year for that number 11 spot in the college football playoff that at large spot the last spot in then reward the team that challenged themselves in the non conference opposed to the team that didn't play anybody of significance in the non-conference that'll do it for us here at always college football continue to encourage all of you to like rate and subscribe to the show wherever you get the show on the podcast platform in particular I listen to podcasts all the time I just Get ready for Thursday previews - they are coming in hot download them I have my shows that I like it shows up on my apple carplay right on my right of my car and I just press and listen to all those shows just go ahead and download And subscribe to that show like subscribe to our show and it'll pop up so if you like what you hear you can listen at 2x speed if I talk to fast you can listen to 0 five speed like whatever you choose to do like rate and subscribe to the show would be awesome for us here on whatever podcast platform that you use if you're here with us via the ESPN YouTube channel and you want to be a 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