Clemson-Georgia, Notre Dame-A&M, LSU-USC, Colorado’s tricky opener and more Week 1 Previews & Picks

Intro we're giving you what you want more live sports where you're at college football's never been better interest has never been higher believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football it was an epic day of college football it was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over [Music] again it's game week we got games we have got college football games headed your way on Saturday oh my goodness I can't not wait for this uh I'm headed to West Virginia we've got game picks going on this is the Joel clad show I am Joel clad and we are presented by Hampton by Hilton remember to rate and review us wherever you're listening to your podcast follow us and subscribe on YouTube make sure to like the show get in the comments below cuz all of that is fun and we're finally here we have done it we have done it I know last week was just kind of a teaser week zero is just kind of a teaser we've got games to talk about and we're going to preview some big ones here in week one of the college football season you know I've been excited about this season for a long time I do believe that this is going to be one of the most memorable Seasons that we have had maybe ever just because of all the change we're always going to remember this first one this first 12 team playoff format and and what it means for the games in particular in November but really all season long and let's get into them right now and a nice little cool announcement also at the end of the show for a product that we're unveiling here at Fox Sports that I think you're going to really like so here we go my game big noon Saturday here we go No. 8 Penn State vs. West Virginia Gus Jenny and I are going to be in Morgantown West Virginia and I know that they are absolutely jacked about this Penn State travels to West Virginia Penn State is an eight and a half Point favorite they start this year ranked number eight in the poll here's some questions as you know I don't make a pick in the game that I'm going to call but here are some questions and themes that I just want to lay out for you as you prepared to watch this game the first and foremost is the fact that this Penn State team has been an elite team outside of playing against Michigan and Ohio State and one of the reasons that they have fallen short in those games is their offense just doesn't have another gear it's fine versus the regular teams in college football but when they get up against the elite in college football they fall stagnant and so that offense has got to move forward so what did they do they brought in a new offensive coordinator Andy Cal Nikki comes in from Kansas and he's going to spark this offense at Penn State can he unlock what I think is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the entire country Drew Aller from Penn State I think they need to push the ball down the field more if you take a look at what he was doing in terms of like air yards per attempt it's it's near the bot bottom of the Big 10 it's near the bottom of the country and certainly the power five from last year they've got to push it down the field that's his skill set that's what he's best at I think that they've got some of the talent on the outside in order to do that that's what Kansas did and I thought cotal Nikki did a great job as their offensive coordinator unlocking that offense in particular when they had Jaylen Daniels healthy in that offense and then on the other side West Virginia they were the surprised team in the Big 12 last year there was not much expectation for West Virginia last year in fact if you were to rate the hot seat meter Neil Brown their head coach was probably on the hottest seat in the country and what did he do last year in the Big 12 they were picked to finish last they won nine games and finished six in the conference including getting hot late so this West Virginia team is coming into this season with a lot more confidence in who they are and what they are than they did even a year ago this is a dangerous game for Penn State to be this highly ranked to have this amount of expectation be going in with not only a new offensive coordinator but also a new defensive coordinator because remember Manny Diaz was the defensive coordinator he moves on he's the head coach at Duke Tom Allen the former head coach at Indiana now comes in to kind of go back to his roots as a defensive coach and coordinate the defense for James Franklin and Penn State all this newness for Penn State and they're going to walk right into kind of a trap because that place is going to be on fire and I cannot wait to experience it the Mountaineer fan base is one of the great fan bases in all of college football and they are going to be piss pinned on Saturday and I'm here for it I can't wait West Virginia their ability to run the ball is going to be tested because Penn State last year had the top Rush defense in the Big 10 West Virginia needs to run the football Garrett green their quarterback had a great year last year and their two backs Donaldson and Jem white those guys can get it done on the ground that's where the game is going to be one and lost Penn State's ability to stop the run and Force the game onto the arm of Garrett green that's what I'll be watching for from the booth Abdul Carter the defensive Edge player moves from linebacker to edge for Penn State he's one of the Elite pass rushers in our sport Penn State led the country in sacks a year ago with chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac now they've got Deni Danny Sutton they've got Abdu Carter they feel like they've got an Elite pass rush but it's going to need to prove itself and then finally for Penn State it's can you get that run game going along with the downfield passing attack can one help the other can you get the ball can you get the Run game going in order to help yourself throw the ball down the field Nick Singleton he's coming back he's a big play threat obviously um KRON Allen those backs they are really good players wide receiver for Penn State is going to be a question remember they got Ohio State transfer and Pennsylvania native Julian Fleming from the Buckeyes so he comes in and he's going to be paired with Trey Wallace or Harrison Wallace Trey Wallace is a really talented guy that has missed time in each of the last two seasons and they feel like he's going to break out and be one of the best wide receivers in the country so I can't wait for this game I cannot wait for this game again Penn State eight and a half Point favorite on the road at West Virginia big noon kickoff big noon Saturday we're going to be there and we're getting things uh ready to rock Thursday night North Dakota State at Colorado Colorado is a nine and a North Dakota State vs. Colorado half Point favorite uh Prime bringing his bunch in and they will be much improved from what they were a year ago if you've listened to this show for the course of this preseason and lead up to the regular season you know that I'm high on Colorado and it's not just because I went there I think there's reason to be high on Colorado namely I think they've got one of if not the best quarterback in their conference in shador Sanders maybe the best quarterback in the country maybe the top pick in the draft they've also got a guy that I think can be and in a lot of ways should be considered the best non-quarterback in college football and that's Travis Hunter because of what he does in a variety of different different ways this guy is I think in the conversation for the top Corner in the sport along with guys like will Johnson and the top wide receiver in the sport just because of what he can do so his impact is going to be giant we saw that early in last season and if he can stay healthy then watch out for Colorado meanwhile North Dakota State watch out for the Bison they won nine of the last 13 FCS national championships now they did that with Craig bu Chris kman and Matt in all of those head coaches have since moved on Matt in of course joining the staff at USC on the defensive side of the ball North Dakota state is going to start the preseason the FCS ranked number two they lost in the semifinals a year ago and this is a team that's going to be really good this is going to be an incredibly tough game for Colorado this is not a pushover whatsoever and I believe it's going to be a very close game North Dakota state was fourth in the FCS in rushing last year with over 235 total yards so this rebuilt defensive line for Colorado will be tested right away their quarterback the bison's quarterback cam Miller he started 25 games in his career so he's an experienced guy now they lost their two best wide receivers but that run game largely comes back they can also use a second quarterback Cole Payton he 63 230 lbs and ran for 600 yards last year so this run game is going to be potent and I think Colorado's going to have to buckle it up and see what they really have on the defensive side of the ball in particular up front the North Dakota State Defense was top 20 last year but this offense for Colorado is better we know that we know when they're playing to their potential that they're going to put up a lot of points they're going to gain a lot of yards Colorado Started Hot last year we'll see where they go couple of things that I'm very interested in seeing from the Colorado side the rebuilt offensive line five new starters including Jordan seatan um you know one of the top recruits in the country last year chose Colorado in part to be part of the rebuild up front my contention is that this this offensive line doesn't have to be great they just have to be better and those are two very different things last year Colorado gave up 52 sacks 52 that's an astonishing amount if they give up 30 sacks which by the way is still not good but 30 sacks is 22 fewer sacks that's 22 more opportunities to push the ball down the field that's 22 more opportunities to convert on third down that's 22 more opportunities to get the ball into the Red Zone and potentially score that translates and in my estimation into victories that's what I'll be watching for and then a guy that's getting a not much Pub but Buckeye fans who listen to this show they're going to as soon as I say this name they're going to be like Yep this guy is totally underrated D hay the transfer running back who comes into Colorado Colorado to potentially get the Run game going which was virtually non existent a year ago that's going to be interesting for me nine and a half Point favorite it's too much for Colorado I believe that they win a close game fairly highs scoring at least for week one 3528 Colorado wins the game North Dakota State covers Clemson Georgia man this is going to be I can't wait to to watch this No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia Georgia team I really can't because all the talk was about Florida State last year and how how they got left out of the college football playoff and and yes obviously I mean they weren't undefeated don't you think Georgia was also a little bit like hey you know we were the two-time defending national champion we were the one with the nation's longest win streak and I get it they lost the wrong game at the wrong time but man you talk about an offseason that just Burns Burns in Athens they didn't win the SEC they didn't win the National Championship in that building that's complete failure I mean ask Kirby I mean he's going to talk about the process he's going to talk about a lot of things fighting complacency which he does a brilliant job of Kirby's the best coach in the sport that team is going to be highly motivated highly motivated and they've got a chance in this week one game against Clemson to really go out there and as nouch would do announce their presence with authority another Bull Durham reference please go watch the movie Georgia is a heavy favorite 13 and a half couple of touchdowns basically um close Drive I don't think the crowd's going to be a factor for for either team but maybe more so for Georgia just because their fan base is awesome one m not that Clemson isn't that was an imp just because I didn't say that doesn't mean I'm implying that Clemson's is is not major question looming over Georg is their run game okay um Trevor eten what's going on with him with everything that happened in the offseason rested offseason could be suspended we'll see rodri Robinson he is out with turf toe which I've had it's awful that leaves Branson Robinson um what's he going to be like he missed last year with a knee injury so the Run game for Georgia is going to be a little bit of a question mark trying to replace Brock Bowers is going to be a little bit of a question mark I think that they can do that Oscar Delp is a really good player he was a former number one tight end recruit in the country but he's not Brock Bowers so there's some things that I'm interested to see for Georgia no one's recruited better than Georgia no one has a better roster from a recruiting perspective than Georgia and you would think that they can overcome some of these losses year-over-year which they have proven to do over the last couple of seasons on the Clemson side I'm really intrigued to see what happens in this Kate kumnick Garrett Riley relationship on offense I thought it was going to be highly beneficial for Clemson and Club Nick last year to have Garrett Riley and I was wrong it did not materialize and now they go into this season and to me my question is will it be different in year two of this relationship I'm not sure they did not have much success pushing the ball downfield last year and it's really unclear whether they're going to have the talent on the outside to threaten Georgia which has been the sec's best defense for basically what three straight years you know and May and may be longer so Georgia is the favorite should be the favorite have the better quarterback Carson Beck was number one in my ratings of the top five quarterbacks in college football they're a 13 and a half Point favorite and guess what I still like the Bulldogs I love something in the neighborhood of like 2410 Georgia's not incredibly potent on offense because of the questions that I mentioned running the football and even trying to replace guys like Bower and on the outside okay so they're not going to light the world on fire but guess what they're not going to do give up many points to an offense that there's some real question marks around so 2410 I like Georgia winning this game and covering the 13 and a half huge one on Saturday and I can't wait for this game I think this is going to be a great game Notre Dame at Texas No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M A&M man the storylines are fantastic Marcus Freeman goes out and he gets another transfer quarterback second year in a row that he's done that this one is from Duke Riley Leonard Riley Leonard's former head coach what did he do oh he took the job at Texas A&M and so they will be facing each other as Mike Elco is going to be looking across the field at his former quarterback I do think it's telling by the way and there was a couple of instances of this and and take from it what you will Jonathan Smith left Oregon State and went to Michigan State and wanted to bring in a transfer quarterback Mike Elco left Duke went to Texas A&M and his former quarterback was going to transfer neither of those two head coaches brought their starter from where they were at DJ lay had to go to Florida State struggled against Georgia Tech Riley Leonard goes to Notre Dame not Texas A&M with his Old Coach does he struggle against Texas A&M not totally sure not totally sure in elco's first game the environment is going to be on fire and that's going to be very difficult for Notre Dame there's no doubt Notre Dame gets uh Mitchell Evans back he tore his ACL last year he's going to be back a a huge piece of this game could be Notre Dame's ability to protect the passer remember they lost their starting left tackle in preseason camp which means that they're going to be starting a true freshman at left tackle who's going to be lined up at least at times against a transfer into A&M that really was fantastic in the big last year Nick scorton led the Big 10 with 10 sacks he comes from Purdue now he's in Aggie will they be able to block him that's going to be a huge point in this game A&M starts as a favorite even though they're ranked 20th and Notre Dame is ranked seventh they're a two and a half Point favorite both of these teams have new offensive coordinators you've got Colin Klein on one side he's going to Texas A&M with Mike Elco he's the new OC in College Station and he's going to be tasked with getting wigman right and and I think that he can they did lose Ruben Owens for the year with an injury in Camp that's their running back and and that's a bummer Notre Dame's defense is phenomenal I think it could be one of the best defenses in college football Xavier Watts Benjamin Morris Howard cross they're going to need to lean on those guys in this game while their offense tries to find their footing which they probably will need to find their footing a little bit in particular early first games of the they're always sloppy offensively and then you're going to throw onto that what will be an insane environment it's a great Stadium it's a great fan base that's going to be on fire for the change and the feeling that they've got going on at at Texas A&M that's why A&M is favored by two and a half however I think Notre Dame's defense is going to be outstanding outstanding I think that they're going to stop largely Texas A&M I do not think Texas A&M scores over 10 points in this game I'm going 249 Notre Dame they win on the road and because they win and they win emphatically I think we immediately start talking about man is Notre Dame going to go undefeated and they are they a shoe in for the fifth seed in the college football playoff I think we could be talking about that come Monday or maybe we'll be playing this exact clip when they get beat and it'll be like wow you're an idiot could be either one we'll see and we're going to find out together I've got Notre Dame 249 Over Texas A&M Miami at Florida No. 19 Miami vs. Florida Miami is ranked 19th they are favored by two and a half over Florida in the swamp and this game is wildly interesting to me wildly interesting because the urgency has to be there for Mario chrystall I've talked about this during the course of the preseason the leadup to the season with this roster with this quarterback and transfer cam Ward with Damen Martinez the transfer running back from Oregon state with the offensive line the way that they've built it and recruited under Mario chrystall they need to be great this year not just like oh take a step forward be better with this schedule Miami needs to win 10 games they're better than Florida they're better than Florida I don't really know what Florida is yet they just absolutely floundered at the end of last season they lost their last five games and they've got what I think is arguably the toughest schedule in the country I don't expect anything from Florida this year I just I just don't I like Miami though taking a giant step forward the urgency has to be there I believe that there's a lot of pressure on Mario chrisal because the expectations need to be heightened they've supported their team through through nil and and other means to a point where they can and should expect a winner and with this schedule and with this roster and namely with this quarterback that needs to come to fruition Chris Ball needs to go out there and win 10 games maybe even 11 play for and potentially win the ACC I've got them in my playoff largely because I think cam W is one of the better quarterbacks in the country I know he didn't make my top five list but Manny was right there he was right there I think he's the best quarterback in the ACCC he's certainly the best quarterback in this game cam Moore Damen Martinez offensive line like I I like what Miami is Florida is coming off three straight losing Seasons this is not let's let's you got to forget about like what what we think Florida is or should be take that away narrative Florida doesn't exist reality Florida is a team that is just trying to find their footing and is not going to find it this year in particular with that schedule that they have Ruben Bane could be a breakout start for Miami by the way on the edge I think defensively he could be a player that we're talking about Graham MZ is in his second year starting at Florida again I think cam cam Ward is is better than than Graham Merz so take from that what you will I know merch everyone's like oh his completion percentage was high one of the most overblown stats for quarterbacks that you can possibly point to is completion percentage because the way some offenses work 73 is really like 55 because everything's at the line of scrimmage there's nothing read post Snap down the field timing oriented on time on target window oriented you know sometimes you got to stand up and make big boy throws and and that's not always the case all right my pick 2814 Miami wins and they're on their way to a big season watch out for this one I know I already talked about North Dakota State South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State facing Colorado North Dakota state is ranked number two in the preseason poll in the FCS Oklahoma state is hosting South Dakota State and South Dakota state they're on a 29 game win streak they're ranked number one in the FCS they've won two straight FCS national championships their last loss was a 73 loss at Iowa to open the 2022 season this is a really good program and remember let's remember even though Oklahoma State always ends up being tough they tend especially in the last two years to struggle early in the year let's let's let's not forget that they lost to South Alabama in the third game last year they only beat Missouri State by seven in the opener in 2021 I don't love this game for Oklahoma State and yet I love Oklahoma State in the Big 12 because of their experience I would hope that Mike Gundy is leaning on that experience that veteran presence to understand the urgency in playing and preparing for this game specifically because these older players went through that South Alabama game they went through that Missi State game so they have to understand that they need to give their full attention to South Dakota State South Dakota state is a damn good football program the jack rabbits baby they've got the reigning Walter Payton Award winner at quarterback Mark gronowski he reportedly turned down six-figure deals in nil from some of the power programs in the country he's experienced he started 40 games in his career and we've seen this this is not unprecedented we have seen an FCS team beat a ranked FBS team six times and people like all time yeah but that's still six times remember um Montana beat number 20 Washington in 2021 um and then the biggest one of course was the App State game back in 2007 when they knocked off number five Michigan lean on olly Gordon if you're the Cowboys lean on olle Gordon he's the he's the reigning doew Walker Award winner lean on your experience they've got 18 starters back and that cowboy defense was bad last year they've got to improve that's something that you got to look for if you're a Cowboys fan or just a fan in the Big 12 in general is what do uh what does Oklahoma State look like on the defensive side of the ball that's going to be a big question in terms of what they can do during the course of the season South dasta State Oklahoma State it's a 9 and a half point spread Cowboys are favored by nine and a half that's too many I like Oklahoma State at home winning what becomes kind of a slog Fest 1710 at home uscl LSU No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU uscl LSU this this game might have more implications on the college football season than any game in week one I believe that it sets the tone for the entire narrative about number of participants in the college football playoff from the Big 10 or the SEC because these teams largely sit in that same pocket whether you rank them between fourth and and fifth in their respective conferences this is a direct comparison between the two conferences the Big 10 and the SEC whoever wins this game starts to think of th those those playoff implications and what they mean and their path to the college football playoff if you lose this game you are behind the eight ball in a big way and you've got to win some games that quite frankly on paper it doesn't look like you should win during the course of the regular season LSU is favored by four and a half this is a neutral in Vegas it'll be Sunday night two teams that had similar issues last year two of the top three scoring teams in the country but defenses that were really bad so which team has improved the most on defense both brought in new coordinators Danton Lynn at USC Blake Baker at LSU USC I think that the big issue for them is pressure can you get pressure on uh Garrett nus and force him to make a mistake LSU probably has the two top tackles as a tandem I would say in in the sport uh left tackle is Will Campbell right tackle is Emy Jones those two guys probably first round picks um they lose their offensive coordinator Mike Den Brock LSU does he goes to Notre Dame he's one of those new cord coordinators I was talking about in that game uh they internally promoted so Joe Sloan he goes to OC they've got to replace the Heisman Trophy winner Jaden Daniels they've got to replace Malik neighbors they've got to replace Brian Thomas those are giant shoes to fill Giant and the coordinator I think that's going to be more difficult than they realize meanwhile you could be arguing Joel hey USC's got to replace Caleb Williams and fair enough but I've got history on my side with the play caller for USC not that Brian Kelly has not had good offenses but they certainly haven't compared to what Oklahoma has had and USC has had under Lincoln Riley I went through this stat earlier in the preseason if you look at yards per play which I think is actually a really good metric in terms of the effectiveness uh and efficiency of an offense during the course of a season what you'll see is that Lincoln Riley's offens is since he became a head coach in 2017 ranked in the country country in yards per play first first first 11th I think it's like third fourth sixth he it's a top 10 offense regardless of who the quarterback is and I understand that they've had good quarterbacks but Miller MOS just threw for six touchdowns against Louisville so the loss of Caleb Williams as crazy as this sounds does not impact me to the extent that looting losing Jaden daniels's Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas's because remember Miller Moss still has Zachariah Branch douche Robinson and jacobe Lane I think LSU is going to have great skill on the outside they always do Nick Sabin even touched on that last week in their show yes they're going to have great skill I just think it's going to be a lot to overcome Miller Moss will be more of a system quarterback than what they had previously that's not a knock on Caleb Williams that's just an observation of what I think their offense can and will be I believe that they're going to run the football better Woody marks transfers in from Mississippi State than they did a year ago L because of the willingness of the quarterback to hand the football off a lot of what they do is in the Run pass option category where the quarterback has the choice whether he wants to hand the football off or throw the football Caleb Williams used to bet on himself quite a bit which is fine but this offense probably is going to be a little bit more efficient and be run much more inside the lines I think Lincoln Riley's offense is going to be just fine I have questions about LSUS so LSU favored by 4 and a half having to come all the way west West and play in Vegas in what I think is going to be a supercharged environment and in particular facing a team that will be better on defense with deanan Lynn I've got USC in this game I think it's going to be a tight game LSU favored by four and a half I like USC to win it outright 3835 in what could be the game of the week of course outside of the barn burner that we're going to have in Morgantown on big noon Saturday those are my picks this week gosh I cannot wait for games I have been waiting for this episode all summer long I love doing big noon conversations I love talking about the sport globally I love doing all these things and pre-season and everything you know what I really love talking about games and we've got them on Saturday and I can't wait for you which is why we have built Announcement an incredible new product for you the fans here's what we're going to uh unveil this year it's called opening drive okay and here's what it is opening drive is going to stream wherever you're at we're going to come meet you we're going to stream in vertical video we're going to feature the the last 20 minutes of warm-ups leading into the first five minutes of actual game action that you are going to get all streamed in vertical format on CFB on Fox social channels we're giving you what you want more live sports where you're at right there on your phone boom vertical follow us CFB on Fox any of the social channels you've got live game action the first five minutes of the game right there opening drive will stream live wait for it for all Friday night games and all big noon Saturday games every Friday night every Saturday at Big noon you've got the first five minutes of game action vertically on the CFB on Fox social channels it's going to be awesome now little caveat we're going to start a little bit early because we're excited and and we act like children when we're getting ready for something it's like Christmas we want to run down the stairs and open up all the presents so get what guess what we're going to do we're going to open up the pres early and we're going to debut this Thursday night when Minnesota takes on North Carolina in week one so get to the CFB on Fox social platforms follow us and you've got the last 20 minutes of warm-ups in vertical you got the first five minutes of game action in vertical wherever you're at whatever you're doing we're meeting you the fan this is a great way to help Drive awareness for our games through you know social awareness being in the places that you're at Fox Sports we we feel like fox has always been going back to the early 90s when we first got into this business we're an innovator why is there a scoreboard on the screen Fox Sports why is is the first downline the way it is Fox Sports we have driven Sports in general forward we did it in golf when we broadcast golf why do you see shot tracers on almost every single shot when you're watching golf on on the weekends because when we got the US Open that's what we did and the level of expectation of production went up so we're innovating again in the live vertical video streaming space having achieved success last year Caitlyn Clark we did this with some of her games it was off the charts so this is a win this is a win for college football fans all the more reason to be following college football on Fox on social wherever you like the social that was awesome follow the YouTube channel subscribe make sure to get down to the comments below rate Outro review us wherever you're listening to your podcast and wait for it enjoy the games onale Saturday let's go everybody it's going to be awesome