IB Countdown To Kickoff: Notre Dame VS Texas A&M

[Music] IB countdown to kick up first time we've got to say it this year guys we've made it the season is almost here we are like as we sit here and talk right now we're just a little bit more than a day away Notre Dame Texas A&M kicking off 2024 Vince stario Jesse Styers I'm Sean Styers can you believe that we're finally here I thought I mean this is I thought we were doing a show for the Backyard Brawl so I didn't realize that's right that's high school football that's going on but no I'm super excited about the Notre Dame game and uh I think I put it in the uh in the predictions that were just posted you know finally we're here and I'm always excited about the home opener or I mean the opener excuse me not the home opener but the opener but it feels like it took us forever to get here like we've been talking about this game for over eight months for the most part right I mean yes we've been talking about the whole season but really it starts with this game and it's like thank you we're finally here we get to actually talk about football that is occurring on the field like I I was riveted watching football Thursday night man like finally some college football to watch and then last weekend obviously but uh you know watching Colorado almost below it was a lot of fun so you know yeah I I am so ready and there's pretty decent slate of football tomorrow capped off with Notre Dame so I'm excited there is there is I think my the part I'm most excited about is we finally can get out of dealing with hypothetical and get into some absolutes for what we can actually see on the field you know not what we think the offense is going to look like what the offense of line is going to look like how the defense is going to look with the new linebacker core ideal in absolutes I like the concrete give me you know this is this is the cold hard facts you know like this this is what I've been waiting for all offseason Jesse is a math man you know he's an analytical man so you know that's that's kind of the way it is he he an absolute that's right he deals in absolutes we at least try to deal in facts I guess but I you know I'm I'm with you guys both from the excitement level and from there've just been like especially where we are right now the closer as this week is sort of inched along yeah all the predictions are coming out there's anger about who's predicting who to win and you know yelling back and forth and all this stuff you know look I'll just say this I don't always predict Notre Dame to win I'm picking him to win this game I'll give you the score at the end of this show we all will I don't always pick them to win if I don't think they're going to win so I'm not just picking them you know to make people happy that's not that's you know that's not the way we roll you know but people are just people are cranky right now we need this game we need football and you know like you said we've got dabbles of other people's football back in the picture but we'll have a Full Slate of football tomorrow nice little Premier kickoff at noon with Clemson in Georgia and you know smattering of other games throughout the day it's going to be fun with Notre Dame in Texas you know because that's part of this too we still have to wait all day Saturday before I know right but all that means is people have more time to listen to the show basically so I like your glasses half full attitude Jess I'll start with you on this one give me one word to describe notto Dame football right now um extreme optimism I think is two words um I knew he would try to find a way to bend around it he deals in facts but any time I say give me one of anything he gives me multiples gez I gave an adjective to Hype hype up my one word um again for me it's optimism because I think this season um there's a lot on the line and I think this is uh a season where Notre Dame can definitely you know like we've all talked about ceiling they're very capable of going 12 and0 this season um and I think that they have their best shot you know to make the playoff and make make some noise in the playoff as well not only get there but actually make you know some sort of run um compared to last season when they had a really good defense and you know an offense that didn't support I think it's crucial this year that the offense steps up so that's where the optimism comes that the offense can be kind of on that same level as a defense and and you know have the caliber to go on to a championship I got I got a good one I think okay precipice I think I think this team fancy I know right it's probably because I'm back in school like I'm feeling it but I think I think this team is on the precipice of something special now I'm not saying that they're going to go win a National Championship I'm not I'm not ready to go down that road okay give me give me at least like you know eight nine weeks of seeing this team play and then maybe we'll have that conversation but I do think this team is gonna be really good I think this offense is gonna be better than a lot of people think I think this defense I think a lot of people think it's going to be really good and I agree but you put those two things together along with the very least competent special teams which I think some people think it's going to be way more than that but I'm tempering the excitement but I and then you then with the coaching and the two coordinators and all of these different things and you throw that all into the Melting Pot I think this team can do something special so I I really do think it starts on Saturday with this game and I think you know it's a top 20 matchup a lot of people think Notre Dame's going to lose okay cool that's fine um but I think that they are going to make a statement one way or the other on Saturday and uh I I think uh I forget who it was I saw it on the message board um I think it was Joe clatt said there's gonna be people talking about Notre D on Monday and I I think that's accurate I really do I think they're gonna make he's one he's one of the few National tucking heads that's yeah kind of taking that stance right now but I think not to cut you off but I I do feel like there's been some general late by some of the more prominent Talking Heads and how they're analyzing this game I I I I think they're giving there there's just you know kind of a uh superficial surface kind of kind of view of this thing I don't think they're looking really deep at this well and they're you know they're they're reading like the uh the Lindy's two paragraphs or something like that and they think they know everything about this team and look I'm not saying that every National writer needs to be intimate have intimate knowledge of every single division one team but name's a top 10 team like dig a little bit deeper with a team that you're probably going to be talk a top 10 team with a top 10 defense a ton of veterans on that side of the ball and it's it's literally like that side of the ball doesn't exist for for for not for a lot of people I'm like what where's this coming from it's it's it's wild I I think Joe clad actually does a good job of learning the teams and learning kind of what's going I don't always agree with him but I do think he is knowledgeable in what he says and I'm not is blowing him up because he and I agree in this particular case but I think Notre Dame is on the precipice of doing something kind of special this year you know whether that's winning a few games in the playoff or you know whatever the case may be this is going to be a fun team to watch and a fun team to follow and I'm excited about it my words a little more boring mine is deep they're just it's the deepest roster I think that I can remember like when when you look just across the board now there are some particular spots offensive line obviously how deep that is like could they sustain another injur you know they could sustain another injury to the interior lineman but yeah you know to one of the tackles and you you're probably getting you know as we've said before you've got 23 starts sitting on the sideline you know for for the interior offensive line so there's you know there's depth in some places there but just you know whether it's quarterback running back wide receiver which again I feels like is completely overlooked with the receivers that they've added via the transfer portal and obviously Riley Leonard the quarterback room that defensive line the secondary linebacker is a question but there's depth and and young Talent there so there's just depth across the board let me ask you guys this do you like having a game of this magnitude two ranked teams going head-to-head to start off the season I like it because sorry Vince not to steal your thunder you're good brother I like it because um one you get a a very clear picture upfront kind of you know maybe some of the strengths and weaknesses of a team um I think a lot of these teams who play you know like look across the board for some of these teams that that you know some of the like Ohio State's playing akan are you really G to have an idea of who you are as a team after you beat akan by 40 points to open your season I like the idea of knowing kind of where you stand early on and I I think another you know Advantage is if you lose this game it's it's game one it's not game 11 it's not game 12 game 10 towards the end of the season where you want to be playing your best football so it doesn't hurt you as much having you know a potential loss in this kind of game early on you can still rattle off 11 wins 10 wins whatever it might be um and still feel good about your chances towards the playoff at the end of the season you know people forget about your losses earlier in the season I think they hold more weight with a lot of people when when you experience a loss towards the end of the season so I like it for those Reasons I'm on the fence about this one if I'm being honest I I as a fan it's obviously fun to look forward to a big game and being in prime time and you know all of those different things as a coach it's like okay well I'm not gonna have any problem getting my guys up for this game obviously but I wouldn't mind having a bit of a tuneup as well depending on what your definition of a tuneup game is right you know Navy last year was kind of a tuneup game I mean let's be honest Navy isn't the Navy of old uh and you know I don't think any of us thought that Navy was gonna win that game and you know Notre Dame was gonna be able to do some things right also probably raised everyone's expectations on what Sam Hartman was going to be that's fair too yeah that's a solid Point Sean uh I you get a false sense of hope when you just beat up on someone and then you expect that to kind of continue through season because there are both sides of the fence you know it's like oh you could use a you know like an akan or Toledo or whoever it happens to be to open up the season and work some things out and find some things out but you also don't put them on film there's nothing that you put on film that way and and if you're going to play a another ranked team right off the bat I guess there's there's nothing wrong with the element of surprise both teams are going to see some surprises Saturday night oh there there's there's no doubt about that like a year from now when this offensive line has like 80 starts to its credit I might feel a little bit better about having a big game like this right out of the gate you know what I mean but like with this with this offense I know we're going to get into the offensive line but you know with six starts under their belt I wouldn't mind an akan or somebody like that to at least kind of get the cohesion of this offensive line against somebody you know what I mean ex exact I think it varies year to year and obviously when you make schedules in football for at the Collegiate level you're making them so far out in advance you have no idea what your team is gonna be you know so at the end of the day to answer your question which I really haven't done yet I love it I think it's great as a coach I hate it like there's a little bit of a feel it's not the same as Notre Dame Michigan obviously but Notre Dame and Michigan like back in the know like late 80s early 90s used to open up the season against each other and it was basically like you knew who was going to have a big season right away depending on who won that game and most of them came down to the wire it it seemed like but they were you know they were always ranked and and you know so there's a little bit of that kind of feel I will say again you know just like going back to how this game is being treated this is a good Texas A&M team but it's also a Texas A&M team you know with a new head coach and new coaching staff and a lot of questions they brought in 26 players from the transfer portal that works out to varying degrees obviously when you when you've got to go add that many guys you know Notre Dame obviously is no stranger to the portal but they're very strategic with with who they're going to get and they've done a good job the last couple of years but it just like it it it feels like like this is not Ohio State this is not Georgia this is not Alabama or even Clemson you know one of those teams this is a good team but people are treating this like it is one of those Elite teams that Notre Dame is going on the road to play it feels like to me yeah I think that you make a good point because you know if you're Notre Dame I think this is more advantageous for them compared to Texas A&M Texas A&M has a new coaching staff new offensive coordinator they have a lot more more to figure out compared to Notre Dame who's in year three and kind of have more I would say of the foundation built right and if and the flip side is if you're Notre Dame and you win this game you kick off the season right like like Vince was saying Joel clatt amongst others they're going to be talking about this game on Monday so you want that attention for beating a team that might not quite be there in terms of where everyone believes they are nationally right because they're going to get there I think by the end of the season so I think it's fair to take advantage of a Texas Texas A&M team that's r that everyone thinks is going to beat you because it allows Notre Dame to springboard off of it more essentially right you know again it just it it feels like because this is an SEC team like more and you know because you've got probably the addition of of Mike elu it just feels like more is being given to Texas A&M than what they have shown they deserve you know we we all we we all expect this is going to be a close hardfought game but I I just don't see it with this sort of cloak of invincibility like like some people are are making it out to be how big a factor do you think Notre Dame's coaching continuity is though Vince because you know like you know again like this is you know in this matchup specifically going into a game like this this is year three for Marcus Freeman you know just a couple of moves made in the offseason for the you're like as this has gone on into year three he has an entire staff of guys that he has hired now and obviously adding Mike Den Brock they go back together to their Cincinnati gay days so does Gino guli so does Mike Brown so does Mike mickens you know so like there's just a ton of continuity how much you know how how how big a factor do you think that is I think it's more of a factor behind the scenes with communication and you know making adjustments you know things like that look Al golden is known for his in-game adjustments before halftime Mike demro is known for those things and I think the communication from the assistants to the coordinators to the head coach I think it's gonna be really good I mean these guys know each other they've been you know I don't like using like War battles and things like that analogies but they they've been to battle together a lot right and so they know what to expect from each other look there's going to be some wrinkles that they've got to get figured out obviously when it comes to like you know the in helmet communication and some things like that but the coach communication I think they're going to be right on point I think it's going to be I think it's going to be better than it's ever been frankly and I think trust and comfortability from a head coaching standpoint is so important when you're a head coach and he's getting into year three he's got the most Comfort he's ever had with his assistant coaches and I'm obviously talking about Marcus Freeman it's a big deal I think I think that's a big deal Vince took uh my my keyword in his last kind of sentence there I think the biggest say that this continuity provides is trust um amongst the coaching staff right you want to be able to trust people in those kind of you know crucial situations that you know they're going to you know make the right play or sorry make the right call you're going to trust them you're going to trust you know what what they have kind of planned you know on the offensive side the defensive side of the ball I think this is even more important because of you know where Marcus Freeman is at in terms of his coaching career this is year three you got to have it's a big year you know it no matter what program you're at there's really no more excuses that you can that you can use right as as a head coach you're now in year three you have a cycle of your guys uh your coaching staff everything is yours now all of the you know all of the blame I guess you could say at the end of the day is on Marcus stream because he's making the decisions with all this and so I think in terms of continuity if you want to if that's the kind of pressure that's going to be on you you want the continuity and the trust that your coaching staff is going to have your back in those crucial situations yeah absolutely and I think that you know I think Vinci made some some really good points just with the messaging and things like that but I but I also feel like just like from the fact that these guys know each other like that's got to make things easier in a lot of different ways and like when Mike Den Brock and gin gadul have that familiarity they've already worked together on game day I think that that you know there's got to be some something to that and when you're talking about again like what you know the points that you're trying to make that Gino gulli can reinforce to the quarterback specifically from a guy like Mike demock and it's like have you guys been able to see any of the peacock the the here come the Irish Series so far I I have the uh the IB login but I haven't had a chance to actually log in so yeah that that's on my to-do list actually uh for uh I mean it's not a secret where recorded on Friday but I for for night after high school football that's my plan I'm at least going to watch one episode and then maybe the next one tomorrow morning I feel like you're not g to be able to stop I Think You're Gonna Roll right into the next one probably I think the first One's Gonna fire your up and you're like ah I got nothing else to do kicking I gotta watch this next one yeah yeah go ahead I was just gonna say I did watch episode one and I thought it was pretty good I didn't just roll right into the next one but you know there there was some Mike Den you know most of the practice footage it looked like came from Spring practice that they were using but you know just some of the some of the bark from Mike Den Brock love it you know which which I do as well and I think I think these guys I think that they have responded to some of that hard coaching that they've got but you know again like it it helps when Den Brock has familiarity with the other assistants because you know you know like he can be he can be you know sort of of the the hard guy yeah and they can be you know you know it's like the mom and the dad you know you play different roles you good C bad cop yeah exactly you know that kind of stuff but the you know these guys understand because they've been with Mike Den Brock before just like they've now been with Marcus Freeman for a couple of years and and so on so yeah I think there's absolutely something to it just to kind of add on there I you know as to me as you know a former former player um and kind of you know a situation I'm dealing in with work right now it's like I respect I don't I'm okay with the bark if I respect you if you've got the the accolades to back it up Mike Dick's coming off an offense where the guy just won the Heisman and they put up a ton of points in the SEC right yeah carries a lot of weight that's respect and so when you when when when you're you know your manager or your offensive coordinator your head coach is barking at you to me it's a respecting because you take that and and it should motivate you right because you have respect for that person and you're like okay well this guy knows what he's talking about like so I need to do my part and make sure that you know I'm not letting the team down so we can succeed at the highest level so let's just go ahead and talk about the offensive line because we kind of touched on it you know a minute ago and you know you obviously have a you know an allnew offensive line none of the starters yeah none of the starters are the same as last year you're not only losing two NFL offensive tackles you obviously lost one of the replacement tackles and out of the blue Here Comes Sam Pendleton and you've got Anthony knp out there on the left side so just give me a word jesse that describes how you feel about this line one word going into this opener one word one word no adjectives no adjectives um that's hard I'm a man of many words I honestly I've noticed I'm just gonna have to go with unproven because I don't I don't want to say anything that takes away from their potential or something that would maybe you know discredit the talent that's there but it's just unproven to me because I think that the potential is there and the talent is there and I've said this kind of earlier on shows this week like I trust what the coaching staff is deciding to do they've been out there for all the practices they' put together different combinations and and to me it's like until they go out there and prove you know what they're made of what they can accomplish that's the word I have to go with because again I think all of the talent is there and I I think something fun to think about with this one is too is you know even if say jagas doesn't get hurt is nap the guy that takes over on the other side do we see jagas and nap both playing because it sounds like the guys had such a good camp that like it was hard to keep him off right so it's like that to me is like I don't think this would be as much of a conversation if jagas uh didn't get hurt and I I almost want to think that both of those guys might have been playing together in this you know this opening game so that's kind of where I'm at the situation that's actually a really good point and none of us have brought that up you know at any point since this happened you know you know like I've mentioned like we're not even talking about the fact that Emil Wagner who is a question mark even coming out of spring was it going to be Baker or Wagner over there we're not talking about the fact that ail Wagner is still making his F first career start and there's a lot of questions that come with that as good a camp as nap had could he have even overtaken Emil Wagner over there on the right side the way it turned out I just think that's kind of the angle like I we could have potentially saw it jagas f a nap sorry you're good my my one word is anticipation I I'm I'm I'm both like I I don't know what to expect because we saw nothing yeah in Ball Camp like we saw nothing correct to be honest like I I can watch guys go through drills and they could be practice all Americans and it means nothing right and we saw a lot of five period practices where we saw nothing so I have a lot of anticipation look all five of these guys are Marcus Freeman recruits right I mean we know there's Talent there we don't know how they're going to gel together as a group there's going to be mistakes but there's also going to be some really good plays I mean that's that's what I'm anticipating and it's what are the mistakes are the mistakes you knowy hey he didn't get this one block so he only picked up five yards or is it a complete whiff and Riley Leonard gets blown up and he turns the ball over you know what I mean like what kind of mistakes are they are they going to be I of course we don't want the lad you know uh but it's anticipation I'm anticipatory of what this is going to look like on Saturday night on the road first time together let's see what they've got you know what I mean like that that's where I'm at when it comes to this offensive line and yeah it's the biggest question mark on the team there's no doubt about it and but I think it's also fun to to figure out hey let's see this Talent on the field and and actually being able to lead this team and do the things that they need to do they just need to be solid they don't need to be the Joe Moore award winning offensive line in game one they don't need to be that just be solid make I don't want to talk about you in the game like that's where I want the offensive line to be yeah my word is unknown and I mean you guys have pretty pretty much covered everything I mean it's just it's it's unknown exactly what we're going to see from it but you know again like I saw a uh a tweet from Nicole hour back who's covered college football for a long time and she talked to Marcus Freeman I think she's with NBC Sports now she talked to Marcus Freeman and he he just said what he has said that Anthony knap and Sam Pendleton they feel like give them the best chance to win this game and you know I'm kind of paraphrasing what he said they give him the best chance to win this game they could have just gone the old familiar route like you know we know these we know who these guys are they've got a little bit more experience but they feel like these guys give them the best chance to win the game you know again like I think this is more than just Joe Rudolph's decision I think that Mike Den br and Marcus Freeman because of the importance of this game I think they figured they they factored into this decision quite a bit you know all three of these guys with with the decision to do this well look I've never met a coach at least one that is respectable who will play a kid if they don't think that gives him the best chance to win a game you know what I mean like I've met plenty of coaches who play kids that probably shouldn't be playing because they give you the best chance to win like from a behavior standpoint or whatever like they I don't care he gives me the best chance to win like coaches are going to put the players on the field they think give them the best chance to win nobody's out there being like well I like him better so he's gonna get I that's that's just not what you do you know what I mean and so they believe that this is what gives them the best chance to win and if that's what they believe then I've got to be there and be along with them at this point now I'll be judgmental if it doesn't work you know but at this point I I will trust the coaches at this point just not blindly let's see what the outcome looks like you know what I mean but I'm excited about it I think I think this offensive line is going to surprise some people I think it will too but again it's unknown so I can't say for sure but I I just I don't feel like they're putting Anthony nap a true freshman in a road environment like this if they don't think that he's the absolute best option going into this game AG okay let's flip it a little bit let's kind of start we're we're going to get specifics on Texas A&M here in a second but in terms of this game and what's at stake today if Notre Dame loses this game do they still have a path to the playoff what do you think Vince yes they still have a path but obviously that margin for error is Razor thin I mean right I mean look I I think an 11-1 Notre Dame team is in the playoff no matter what else happens I think 11-1 gets them in the playoff okay 10 and two they're going to need some help like that's how I see this thing playing out now who knows what's going to happen around them and across the country and all of those you know different scenarios okay fine I I can get on board with that uh 10 and two they got a chance at sneaking in and maybe the 10 or 11 seed you know that kind of a deal 11 and one I think they're in uh where they're seated remains to be seen but I think that they're in no problem and they're probably hosting at 11 and one so if they lose game one that means they got to go 11 and0 to finish off the season right just and that's the thing that's the thing you're you're margin for eror obviously completely disappears I do think there's a path to the playoff at 11 and one right getting in you people will still hold it well you lost your your your toughest game because that's probably that yeah could be what this turns out to be because there's just no meat on the schedule really when you look at the entirety of it but you're absolutely right they rip off 11 straight wins after that will largely forget about Texas A&M and and I think they're in just like you know like the Desmond Howard comment we talked about earlier this week he says if Notre Dame wins this game they are in the playoff well there's still a lot of football to be played over the course of those next 11 games I would love for them to be crowned as a playoff uh Team after game one be great it would give us a lot less to talk about over the next two and a half months but um I mean look if they win this game then I ly really like their chances because I do think and it's funny that you bring this up Sean because I hadn't really thought about it before I I do think this could be their toughest game because it's on the road it's the SEC there's a lot of talent there I think Mike El's a really good coach and I do also think that A&M is going to get better and better as the season goes on and a win for Notre Dame only makes that look better and better for them on their resum as the season goes on right so I think this very well could end up being their toughest game followed Maybe by Florida State but after what happened to Georgia Tech I mean who knows but at least that's at home right so I mean it's a different environment so Notre Dame still has to prove that they can be dominant away from home and outside of the first round they're G to be away from home in the playoffs so this is a big test for them I'm back gentlemen I had to take it a very important phone call they have decided to total my car and that is case scenario congratulations thank you thank you congratulations on getting your car total that means he gets a bigger insurance check so it's it's best case scenario with with this freaking car I'm just glad to have it um off my hands and now I have an excuse to get a nice new car Jesse I'll just go to you with this next question so we don't get hung up on your we we'll we'll touch on the card next week you know once we uh once you're back and we can get into more of those details Irish were three and two on the road last year and of course you know like started off slow against NC State before winning a lopsided game there came right down to the wire against Duke before they won that but then they turned around laid an egg the next week at Louisville and the Clemson loss as well so when you look at their performance on the road last year how important does it make this game to open up the season yeah I think it's honestly the most important aspect um kind of of this season they only have what is it like three true Road games this season um this is obviously the most important one and you know something that has been brought up before and kind of you know if you did an audit of Marcus Freeman's kind of coaching tenure this is one of those things that would get flaggs in the audit his you know his ability to play well on the road and I don't know how much you can blame you know Marcus Freeman because his job is yes to get the team prepared right but in Louisville against Clemson to me it was inep offense and so um the defense is g to be the backbone of this of this team inep offense and turnovers along with that but yeah and I think a lot of that gets just to be blunt I think a lot of that gets fixed with I think who someone who's going to be um a more diverse quarterback maybe the better word is a dual threat a guy who can also problem solve on his feet if the passing game isn't going well and to be honest a more you know a more qualified offensive coordinator too I think that when you run into tough situations on the road having Mike Den Brock in your corner to problem solve and to get out of the hole is going to go a long way and again that's nothing against Jared Parker but it's year one for him compared to an experienced offensive coordinator who can you know find ways again to you know problem solve have a solution you know maybe try something different when things aren't going well well and the difference for Mike Den Brock in his current situation as opposed to his most recent situation you know and and trying to problem solve and score points and do all those things he's gonna have a hell of a defense to help him out where he did not have that at his last stop right and so look Mike denrock has been at all levels right he has coordinated many a game where he might have had less Talent than the other team and found a way to win based on scheme and things like that there's a lot of talent to play with here at Notre Dame so I'm excited about it yeah I mean I I think you look at because of the fact like you said Jesse there's not a lot of Roach you know the amount of road tests after this you're going to open the season on the road you're going to close the season on the road against USC who knows what USC will be at that point they'll probably have a pretty good offense what they'll be defensively who knows but otherwi you know there's like you're you're largely judged by how you perform on the road against good opponents on the road and you know and again it was very shaky last year and based on the national perception of what so many people think is going you know the outcome is going to be in this game I think it's a huge straw in your cap if Notre Dame does end up going on the road and winning this game like that'll go a long way I think and you know just in terms of of what people think because yeah because they just think that that Notre Dame is walking into this unwinable situation it feels like but you know what they they need a good solid Marquee Road win they just do they don't have a whole lot of those in their back pocket right now obviously I'm not talking about this year I'm talking about in the last decade they they just don't have a lot of those right and so those aren't all Marcus Freeman's fault because he wasn't always the head coach but at the same time I mean they went to Ohio State they didn't get it done you know they've gone they went to Clemson they didn't get it done they they've gone on the road in hostile environments and they haven't gotten it done right that that that's the end that's the Beall end all this is a chance to say look we went on the road to a place where a lot of people didn't think that Notre Dame could win and they won and they won convincingly whatever that looks like right that's a huge that's a huge piece to this whole you know Marcus Freeman era puzzle in my opinion I mean this is a this is a game that I think we can look back on if they do what we think I think they they're going to do we're going to be able to look back on this and be likeed Freeman yeah how they play in this game do you think that it it truly tells us where this program is under Marcus Freeman I me I don't want to put a whole lot of pressure on it but yeah to a degree I do absolutely you have to take advantage of the situation because Texas A&M as a program isn't where you should be at year three in your program yes agreed Texas A&M is in year one after a disaster Jimbo Fisher was a disaster I mean it just did not go well they they recruited well for obvious reasons a lot of those guys aren't there right they're not where Notre Dame should be right now and Notre Dame needs to go in there and they need to prove it so I can live with you know the road loss to to Ohio State to kind of you know kick off Marcus Freeman's career like that was a tough a tough game I can't live with you know the sloppiness that they did against Clemson that they did against Louisville you weren't playing your best football no you need to play your best football and if if the cards don't fall your way then the cards don't fall your way but you can say you played your best football that's not the case last year I felt like there were Miss opportunities last season because they weren't playing their best football and we're obviously you know again this is year three so you you need to be past any well we can feel good about ourselves for performing well on the road against a good opponent and all that kind of stuff like maybe you did a little bit against Ohio State a couple of years ago and obviously it didn't work out the next week against Marshall or a few weeks later against Stanford but you you know like there's there's there's just there's no moral victories right now and again you know like going back to that peacock show there like they showed some of Marcus Freeman bouncing around the country talking to some of the the uh noted aame clubs and in the year three thing came up you know like the success of year three Paran and and uh Devine and Holtz of course all won championships in year three and Brian Kelly even you know went to a championship went to a championship game it had a perfect regular season in so yeah but still I mean there's he went there yeah look if this team go again this roster is in better shape this roster I think is even better shape than what Kelly had in 200 like he had some you know some really good front end players but I think again like when you just look at the overall roster like I was talking earlier this week about cavari Russell like cavari Russell one of the starting cornerbacks in 2012 was a high school running back you had to start at corner as a true freshman because of where the roster was right he wouldn't and he wouldn't sniff the field on this team it wouldn't I mean look no not with Christian Gray and Benjamin Morrison out there not a chance it's look that team had a really good defense right but the offense was you know offense was a struggle right that's not going to be the case this year it's just not going to be the case so this team has more of an opportunity and I'm not in any way saying they're going to go undefeated I'm not saying they're going to win the national championship but if they go to the national championship game in year three of Marcus Freeman's tenure oh this this program has turned the corner right because it's a heck of a lot harder to get to the national championship game in 2024 than it was in 2012 so I was gonna talk about the you know Riley Leonard Mike Elco I'm just gonna skip that because I feel like we've talked about it enough this week you know there's a connection there elco's a good head coach you know he knows his strength and weaknesses okay but Mike Den Brock you know I think he's going to put Riley Leonard in you know the best position to make some plays himself and Riley Leonard because the kind of playmaker he is is still going to make Place regardless of if Elco knows him has familiarity with him or not I said I wasn't going to talk about it and then I just talked about it Vince you look like you had something to say though so I mean look I I don't I think the I think the connection between those two is a little bit overblown to be honest with you it's a great story to write which is great I'm sure ABC will show them dabbing each other up during pregame you know that kind of stuff'll talk about it but you know Mike Elco knows Riley Leonard cool but Riley Leonard also knows Mike Elco so it is kind of a two-way street there to a degree like Ry Leonard went against Mike elko's defense the whole time he was there right I mean that that's that's true so he kind of knows what to expect from a schematic standpoint of course Mike 's going to throw some wrinkles and do some different things but riy Leonard knows Mike elko's defense right just as much as Mike Elko knows the Tendencies of Riley Leonard at the very least it's a wash in my in my personal opinion because look Ry loner's not coming to this thing empty-handed either he's got Mike demock in his back pocket so that kind of changes the the the feeling for me so it's it's a cool story but I don't think it has a whole lot to do with this game yeah I'm gonna Echo a lot of what Vince just kind of said it's it's a story that's what it is when the game starts the there is no true same situation you know like this is a completely different situation than when Elco was at you know Duke and and the players he had and the defense that he put together it's it's a completely different defense and Riley Leonard is now in a completely different offense so it's like to me it's a storyline but nothing is ever the same in college football so these are two completely different scenario situations that these guys are in now um and they're going to go head to head and really that's it might might there be some small things here or there like might Ry Leonard come to the to the sideline and communicate with you know G guli and Mike den brck and say hey here's what I'm seeing I know this kind of as a tendency that's the only thing I can really see out of it right just small maybe tidbits here and there that you know that they that each of them kind of be like well I know that's what each other likes to do or this is what we can maybe expect in in a situation like this that's that's it for me again I said we weren't going to talk about it we spent at least three minutes talking about it here we are well good that's all right we got it out of the way yes throw C balls were hitting him out of the park all right let's talk about something that I think is is a little bit more interesting and that's the other side of the ball in Texas A&M's offense they hired Colin Mike Elco hired Colin Klein from Kansas state had a really successful offense there will Howard the former Kansas State quarterback big guy thrived in that offense at Kansas State sounds like he was going to get beaten for the job and you know that played a part in him transferring to Ohio State but Colin Klein is at Texas A&M now Jesse did a great whiteboard breakdown on his offense with some specifics the other day a very 12 Personnel driven team or uh scheme traditionally 30 seconds I'm G to put you on the clock give us your best boil it down breakdown of what we should expect from Colin Klein's offense go I would say a lot of eye candy uh trying to confuse a young offensive or sorry try to confuse a young linebacker group where assignment sound football is going to be key um you just have to stay true and trust your instincts slow to go flow um don't don't feel like you got to make the play now again just kind of stay slow trust your eyes trust the process um and just don't bite for it just see what you see at the end of the day cuz he's try to do stuff to trick you it's very good I don't know if you hit exactly 30 seconds I started my watch a little bit late slightly under it was slightly under so good job give you a little bit of pressure and you responded you know like it's like game reps all these all these P or practice reps you know all these practice reps have got you paid off I gotta be in my best version for the countdown show so we had Texas A&M Insider Carter cars on the show this week because I I think pretty much everybody had Carter curls on the show this week he was literally the most popular podcast man in the land in this neck of the woods because car cars I mean car that's that's exactly I was gonna say that like give him props because he was on virtually everyone's show up here but he didn't have to he could have told any of us no but he told everybody yes it looked like so good for Carter being a good sport and uh you know taking up probably a good two three hours of you know of his week at least doing some of the interviews this week but my point Carter doesn't seem to have a whole lot of faith in A&M's offensive skill players based on what he told me here's how he thinks the offense is going to try to operate this season I think you're gonna see more of an offense that methodically moves the ball down the field stays ahead of the chains and and and doesn't get into you third and long has more of a third and manageable tries to limit turnovers tries to limit penalties and just tries to be that efficient third down offense that has these long extended drives to to give their defense a rest and kind of grind out these games you know we we saw Notre Dame kind of had a similar style a few years ago uh with Ian book be in that the the Plus game manager for them I think that might be the plan here maybe if you look back at some of the A&M teams in 2020 and 2021 that's kind of what they did they they weren't this explosive offense they methodically drove it down the field and then their defense took care of the rest and you know offense took care of the football so I think that's going to be what you kind of see Conor wigman so far he's only thrown two career interceptions through eight starts versus 16 touchdowns s so he's somebody that's not careless with the football and and can do that sort of offensive style so I think that's what you'll probably see from Vince I'll start with you slow grinded out you know grinding possessions move it down the field if that is the mode of operation how effective do you think that can be against al golden and his defense I don't think that that's an effective way to go about de feeding Al Golden's defense I mean I they they can give that a shot and it might work for a few first downs but I just don't see that being a successful game plan moving forward you know what I mean I just feel like Notre Dame's defense is too good and they're going to put Texas A&M in some long situations some second and long third and long situations that they're going to have to convert on and you know just moving the chains and doing that is not conducive to being in a bunch of third and long situations and I think they will end up being there right so I don't think that's a great way to go about it um but obviously as somebody who be not rooting for the Aggies I think go for it man see how that works out against his defense but I don't think it I don't think that's the way to travel if I'm Notre D's defense and I hear that I'm just I am I am ready to pin my ears back and create Havoc like that is that is blood in the water if your Notre Dame's if that clip is played for Notre Dame's defense because you you can't you can't expect that going against what we all consider you know minimum top 10 probably top five defense that's going to be in the country right like that cannot be your mindset and so just a couple things to hit on that doesn't remind me more of an em book that reminds me of the Drew Pine season for Notre Dame a couple years ago right like they they knew what their ceiling was with him at quarterback they had to find ways to have long drives can't turn the ball over got to be able to stay ahead of the chains you know those sort of situations didn't have a true you know wide receiver threat outside of Michael Mayer that more so reminds me of that team um and again to me kind of going back to what I was just talking about this makes the misdirection that Colin Klein is going to present even more of value right because what's going to happen is they're going to get in situations where they got to find ways to manufacture yards and that's to trick a defense to you know do whatever you can to squeeze out those extra yards and so again I just think that plays in such favor for Notre Dame because they're defense should just have a field day and and I don't think Texas A&M is really going to have much much success scoring the ball I agree I I feel like the way you're going to beat Al Golden's defense and we've seen this in in the games where he's given up some point you know Again Louisville and Clemson they both scored over 30 points against Notre Dame last year you can't put it all on Golden because Notre Dame's offense just was not a willing participant in those games you know like when you keep giving those teams the football and you know like as many turnovers as they had in those games that contributes to it but you know like even look at Ohio State you know Notre Dame Notre Dame Al golden in that defense contained Ohio State for most of the night but it was really a couple of Chunk plays that turned out to be the big difference the travan Henderson run was obviously the huge one but then also you know the the you know the pass that got him down to the goal line that set up the ultimate game-winning touchdown as well you know like like a couple a chunk plays that's what you're going to have to make you're going to have to hit explosive plays against Al Golden's defense if you want to win I just don't see ball control grinded out being the answer so you know be curious to see if that's really the case if that's the direction that they go but you know again like Jesse with some of the Whiteboard stuff that you you did you know like like Colin line wants to get the defense moving in One Direction and then try to hit you with something going the other direction so I think that they're going to try to make plays but but you know again like if you don't have that much confidence in the skill Talent around your quarterback and you're matched up against Notre Dame's defensive line and against Notre Dame's secondary I think that that is uh good luck that is a big check mark in Notre Dame's favor yep and again I think I think like Notre Dame Secondary is something that's not talked about enough well and that's the you got two freaking all Americans back there that's the embarrassment that we were talking about kind of to kick off this show is like how can I like how can some of these National people just not take that into consideration like it's the best aspect of of Notre Dame going into this season with how many question marks there are on the offense side of the ball like Notre Dame's defense is going to be The Shining point in this game and and it's what it's what's going to win them the game ultimately I agree uh Connor wigman Texas A&M's quarterback wigman Wagman I still don't know how to say his name correctly but you could just do W like friends over at ESPN Conor W that's right former five-star recruit eight career starts nine career games that he's played 16 career touchdown passes five of those by the way against New Mexico last year um any initial thoughts you have on him before I play a cut from Carter about Connor he's a solid quarterback I mean he's gonna make some plays you know he's got some ability with his legs that I mean you don't want him to get out of the pocket because he can move the chains but he's not Dynamic with his legs by any stretch he's got arm talent I mean there's no doubt about that we'll we'll see if the guys around him can make some plays I think that's the biggest question mark um I think you know obviously he was a solid recruit Jim Bell Fischer got him to come there to the SEC to Texas A&M like the guy's going to be a solid recruit um I don't think he has any he he does to me he doesn't have anything worthy of the resume like he he scored had some touchdowns in a few games hasn't been able to play a full season you know what I mean it's and it's not like the he's played this no Dame's goingon to be the best opponent he's ever played so it's I think this is maybe more of a true evaluation but like Vince said his his biggest strength as a quarter to me is his arm he there is not a throw that he probably can't make on the field it's just does he have you know are they going to be able to scheme Guys open against n name's you know very talented secondary um and so like that's the thing is are they is he even gonna have you know areas or zones to throw the ball too or is n Dame just going to completely you know lock that kind of thing up and then to kind of finish this thing off to to go back to how kle operates his offense he's got to be able to do stuff with his legs he's got to be able to pick up some first downs here and there um and and and those misdirection plays kle likes to get his quarterback on the perimeter with two lead blockers usually a tight end and an HB back right so he's got to be in my opinion show that he is capable of at least moving the chains picking up you know maybe five six seven eight runs a game where he he they're but they're crucial though enough to get first downs stay ahead of the chains that sort of situation I don't disagree he has 160 career rushing yards in his nine games and that'll just lead right into Carter's comments on Connor wigman you also see him run the quarterback a lot at Kansas state with with Will Howard and and Avery Johnson well at A&M Connor wigman not really a run first guy but definitely mobile so that's one of the aspects we haven't been able to see in practice since the quarterbacks aren't live but if you look at him he's gained a little bit of a weight you just kind of get the sense that A&M may run the quarterback a little this season which you know after all the injuries they had the last few years some people might say I don't know about that I think it they think of hey if we can just add one extra element the offense and while keeping this guy safe why not do it because I think you look at this offense there's not a ton of star power at the skill positions not a lot of proven guys uh no one who's had a 10,00 yard receiving season no one who's had a thousand yard rushing season so I think that this is not going to be an offense that is highly explosive and throwing the ball all around the field and having 40 yard gain after 40 yard gain I think you're going to see more of an offense that methodically moves the ball down the field so again I listened to those comments from Carter who is seen this in person and you know he knows what Colin Klein's offense looks like and Jesse has talked about about it you know I just I don't being able to put this game on Conor Wegman's shoulders and say go get him big boy against Al Golden's defense that just doesn't seem like a recipe for success to me because you know and then to go back you know yeah he's a five-star recruit and I think some of that plays into some of the evaluations that you hear about this guy as well but again he's played in nine games he's completed 76% of his passes against group of five teams versus 56% against Power five teams and he's going against Al Golden's yeah defense which was a top 10 defense last year well and and arguably one of the two best secondaries in all of college football so you know again if that's their game plan awesome um I you know if they're going to try to run like power with the quarterback and get them outside with lead block go for it because L Dame also has a very athletic you know set of linebackers and if they're if they're good at something it's coming downhill and making plays right I mean I think if you're gonna get if you're gonna get these linebackers out of position in in the pass game or you know something like that maybe some run fits but don't try to run outside because they're gonna chase you down like I don't I I I think you're playing into the strengths of not Notre Dame if you're going to put the entire game on Conor Wegman like I don't I don't think that that's really the way to go uh but if you're Colin kin and you're looking at this thing objectively and you're like okay looking at my offense I had a running back go down I'm not super enthusiastic about my offensive line like what do we do you know what I mean okay let's put it on the shoulders of the five star and see what he can do for us so I don't I I think that they probably think it's a great way to go about it but I also think it plays into the hands of Al gold you guys are just convincing me to double down on this money line the more we talk about it the more I'm like man why why don't I just kind of up the Annie a little bit more here's a final comment from our old buddy Carter Carl on what he thinks the keys to this game will be them I think it comes down to their skill positions are they can they can one of their receivers get a 100 yards and really show up can Levan Moss have a really impactful day on the ground and and and you know uh if it's wet conditions can he have almost 100 yards on the ground and then certainly A&M's defensive line will play a big role if your defensive line gets five sacks in a game it really doesn't matter what El what anyone else's does you know like taking over up front nothing else really matters and and that could certainly be in play for this this Aggie defensive line uh so I think it could all start with them for sure okay so if that's what it's dependent on Jesse an A&M receiver or running back having a a big game what's your confidence in a Notre Dame win um I'm extremely confident because you know this is a inexperienced wide receiver group um against a very good Notre Dame Secondary and I mean you can say the same thing about Notre Dame's wide receiver room very inexperienced right not a lot actually proven not a lot of sustained success um but definitely a lot of talent and potential there but on the flip Texas A&M secondary is nowhere near where Notre Dame's secondary is right so like and I think Notre Dame's wide receiver room is far more talented than Texas A&M's wide receiver room so to me I I kind of have to disagree I think this game solely comes down to the trenches is Notre Dame's offensive line able to hit and push and and you know hold their own as a young young inexperienced um offensive line against against like Carl Carle said like it's going to be a good Texas A&M front like that is not going to be a question right um and then on the flip side Notre Dame's defensive line just has to create Havoc you know put put pressure on a a Young quarterback that doesn't have a ton of experience as well so to me the key to this game is the trenches and how well Notre Dame's young offensive line can you know come together if Texas A&M is going to win this game I think Carter is absolutely correct one of those guys is going to have to go off right I just don't think going to happen I mean that that that's the bottom line right I don't I don't see this being like a balanced offensive attack you know it's somebody's gonna have to go off for them to be as successful offensively as they're going to need to be to win this game so if we you know in the postgame show and when we fire it up we're talking about a Notre Dame loss it's gonna be wow did you see the game that so and so had for Texas A&M they won the game for him like that that's just the only Avenue I see for them to score enough points to win I think so too I agree with what Jesse's saying about the trenches and you do have you you know again Texas A&M's offensive line is at least more experienced than Notre Dame's offensive line but I don't think they are a great offensive line they have their defensive line which is supposed to be their strength does have a question mark in the middle and that's where Notre Dame's offensive line is strong in the middle I just ultimately think feel like between these two teams the offense that makes the more explosive plays is the team that is going to win this game and I think that that is you know again like when I look at the quarterback who is a highlight reel when it comes to explosive play see Clemson last year in the season opener and the other guys that he has around him between both running backs love and price and the receivers that Notre Dame has you know again I haven't seen Texas A&M's receivers in person they have size but I don't think they have the same kind of speed that Notre Dame has and they and Notre Dame is going to be going up against a lesser secondary in Texas A&M so I feel like the teams the the offense that makes the more the the more the most explosive plays is the team that's going to win this game and I would put Notre Dame's chances of being at least three to one in in that category being a very good a very good bet like Notre Dame should have a three to one advantage when it comes to explosive plays made by the offense in this game and that's gonna win you say explosive plays um I I feel remorse in saying I can't believe we haven't said Jeremiah love yet because he is going to be the definition of explosive plays for that offense he is going to be the guy that Texas Texas A&M wish they had on their side side of the ball he's going to be in my opinion the ultimate Difference Maker in this game and and again when you talk about explosive plays the first name that comes to mind on the offens side of the ball is Jeremiah Love or yeah Jeremiah love sorry I feel some game props coming on I feel like you're right Vince are you guys ready for Rapid Fire there's run rapid fire baby let's go here we go countdown to kickoff game day rapid fire do you buy or sell this game starting with Vince as the biggest of Marcus Freeman's career up to this point that a game that hasn't been played yet yes you know I think the Ohio State game last year was big uh you know and I think the way it played out made it even bigger probably but up to this point I think you know in games that haven't been played yet if he can go win this game this is this is a benchmark moment for Marcus Freeman as in his tenure as the head coach at not like we like I said earlier if we look back and they win this game we're going to look back at this and say okay that's where things really got kicked off in the right direction so it this is this biggest game right now yeah I have to agree um with Vince on this one and again kind of echoing some of the things I said a little bit earlier this is year three for Marcus Freeman this is you know your most deep roster your best coaching staff your probably most talented quarterback um you have to find a way to win on this game on this stage um and springboard your season to where you need it to be right because a lot of people already view this schedule as you know kind of being weak and the true amount of road tests and all that stuff you have to take advantage of this data point because it is going to be very influential to a lot of people by the time the season is over and and again it's going to be I think what either springboards them towards their National Championship run or just another kind of you know maybe 10 and two kind of season right and and as fans the expectations ratch it up every year every year every year with the coach and so to me this is his most important game look you've rebuilt the roster it's the deepest rosters we've talked about that we that we can remember in quite some time there's Talent all over the place place there's different length and athleticism and everything else on this roster that we haven't seen in a long time it has become a modern college football program with the way that it's built but the bottom line now is you've got to go out and not just beat teams that you're supposed to beat you've got to beat teams also that you're an underdog against and you know in a road situation like this again I don't equate Texas A&M to an Alabama or a Georgia like if you're going to Tuscaloosa or Athens or one of those places but this is still the world thinks you're not going to win this game the world thinks you're going to lose this game you're going into a hostile environment and you're going into year three for Marcus Freeman and all the things that that year three has been for a head coach at Notre Dame last year that Ohio State game that you mentioned Vince was the first opportunity at a signature win for Marcus Freeman this would be a signature win for him and again with a schedule that doesn't have much teeth the rest of the way this would be huge for Marcus Freeman and this program so I'm buying that as well so Riley Leonard's season yardage over under on FanDuel 2,525 and a half over under on that guys can you give me um I don't have my laptop in front of me right now can you give me his number his full season number at Duke do you have that on hand over a little over 2900 that he had two years ago including his bowl game now remember this is this is a this is a regular season number so like 26 I think it's right around it's 26 something that he had for the regular season but including his bowl game it was 29 plus so um to me well I want to say easy over but you gotta look at the schedule right there might be times where he's not even playing what you would hope playing in the second half or you know four fourth quarter of these games right but you never know um I I still just really like the over because of who who his offensive coordinator is um the amount of weapons that he's gonna have uh at the wide receiver position you know Jayden greous Chris Mitchell Jordan Faison uh Bo Collins jayen Thomas Jeremiah Love out of the backfield like I I really like that in terms of you know fitting into a Mike Den Brock offense the only thing that has me hesitant is like I was saying the potential to get into some of these blowouts type situations uh that you that you would hope for um and he might not be able to rack up some of those extra yards that might be you know crucial by the time the season comes to an end but I'm still going over at the end of the day over that was a wonderful answer Jesse I I also am tempted to take the over here and I think that I would since I'm you know not playing with any money uh at the present so I would take the over I do think that he's going like there's going to be many opportunities for this wide receiving core for yards after catch and things of that nature right and and I think that Riley Leonard will be the recipient of some big plays where he doesn't even necessarily have to push the ball down the field I think the the players will push the ball down the field for him you know what I mean and so while I do think he will push the ball down the field and I do think he will rack up some yards uh it's funny like originally I was thinking like 25 2 600 and that neighborhood would be a good year in 12 games right I just you know I think he'll hit that I do even in the games where he gets pulled early I think he's going to rack up those yards in the first half you know and you know it might be a full gamees worth of yards in the first half against some of that competition so I feel good about it and I will take the over on this one yeah because you know like even you look at at you if he's in blowout games and and those kind of situations like how that affects his yardage and and all that different kind of you know like it's only 208 yards a game and that's what I was you know it's right around like I was just doing the simple math of my head if it's two you know 12 games 200 yards a game put you at 2400 right there so now you only need 126 more yards basically you know so it's not like a massive number now at the same time Sam Hartman had a similar number last year and hertman only ended up with 2600 I just think that playing in a more Innovative passing offense with the targets that he's going to have around him I think that that ultimately that is going to put him over the top because I think kind of like Jesse was saying just piggybacking on that you know even if they're blowing some teams out in the first half and he gives way and Steve vanelli gets to come in in the second half he's probably going to hit a couple of big pass plays just like Tobias marow weather hat you know on his big pass play last year you know so I'm going to go over his you know his his running and all that stuff factors into this as well like how much that takes away from him and everything else but it just seems like you know again 2525 it seems to me like 2600 is a very realistic number for Riley Leonard so I've got to go over what about his touchdown number 19 and a half and he got 20 for the season in 2022 when he was at Duke so I mean this is like right on that number there I feel like you Hammer the over on that I I feel real good about that number I I don't think that's going to be a problem in any way shape or form yeah I actually think this is easier than the passing yards because that boils down to just like one and a half passing touchdowns a game uh even if he only gets like let's say one against you know Texas A&M he'll EAS I think he EAS gets like three against you know Miami of Ohio or Navy or you know those sort of games right I think it's going to balance it balance balance out I look at him as more kind of like a 24 and a half kind of line at the end of the day so I think again this is easy o this is I I feel way more comfortable about this one than the passing yards yeah I've got to go over on this one as well because just what you mentioned in the in the four games against group of five teams and they are you know they're because they're playing two service acmy and two Mac teams this in those four games alone he could have 15 or 16 touchdown passes just depending on the flow of the game and and how things go you know so like or or at a very minimum he could add 12 in those games and that leaves you eight other games for him to get you know what eight more touchdown passes so I just feel like I I agree I think this is a really easy over as well on 19 and a half it's a real shame that Ohio is real lame I might have to uh cross come on scoot back into Indiana you're gonna have to do it pretty quickly you're gonna have to ride that River over here if you're gonna You're Gonna Make It come on over you see a blue Raph uh coming down that's that's me this is not a Vegas number for Jeremiah love but it we're going to do this over under he doesn't have one that I could find unless you guys have seen one 999 a half rushing yards for love this season I would I would take the I'm going to hesitantly take the under on this just because I think he's going to if you said combin yards I think he might hit that but jarian price is still gonna have a role in this offense he's still going to see his fair amount of touches um I I like Jeremiah love as more as you know the All Purpose receiving and uh rushing type yards but again I just think that it's a very very cautious line to kind of tread so I'm gonna take the under I would take the under on that one I would take the under as well for that exact reason I think he's he is a very versatile back he's going to get a lot of touches and he may hit that but I think the odds are that he is splitting carries uh because they're both really really good backs and uh you know jarian price gonna get a bunch of touches Love's Gonna Get a bunch of touches but there's only so many touches that are going to be had right and so I think that's what keeps him under yeah I agree I I think that 800 is probably his max number but I put it up you know like everyone's very high on Jeremiah Love so I put it up they're uh at a thousand to see if anyone thought that that he was going to get like I wouldn't be surprised if it's price is the guy who ends up with a thousand yard rushing season and love ends up even somewhere around between 13 and 1500 total yards something like that you know because of like just what you guys said the versatility the all-around play that he's going to have with Notre Dame of course opening at Kyle Field College Station Texas heat has been a big topic of conversation what do you guys think hopefully this is the last time we ever have to talk about this the bigger Factor the environment or the Heat this weekend oh it's the environment I mean the the heat okay like people are making a big deal about the heat well last time I checked it was hotter here in South Bend this week than it was down in Texas it was so I that it's a n it's it's null and void for me like it it is is not a factor in any way they practiced in it on purpose and they're used to it it's not even a factor for me they've been working on you know the the the fluids and you know the hydration and all of those different things and then they actually got to practice in the humidity and the heat okay so that part's not an issue for me so by default it's the atmosphere of the 12th man right and Kyle Field and you know the SEC and you know all of that and you know you you can play major college football this is what you signed up for I mean it's going to be a factor but I don't think it's going to be the Beall end all every time I get this opportunity I always take it heat kills bacteria The Only the Strong Survive the Heat and the thing is both teams are playing in the heat right and I I I think it's great that it was so hot that that we had this kind of mini Heat Wave this week it allows them the proper preparation that they need at the end the day so I've said this before and Vince I think you can agree with this like you get to a point in the game where your body just doesn't really feel the heat anymore right you're just playing like you don't think about the heat like every everything's hot you're all sweaty like it's fine you got cool Rags you're going to have fans you're gonna have cold water Gatorade on the sideline it'll take care of itself the only thing I'm worried about in terms of heat is how the body responds are you properly hydrated do cramps come into play you know that's the only thing I'm worried about with heat but environment man when you talk about a loud Stadium a young offensive line that's going to be trying to communicate picking up pressures um an offens you know a quarterback that might have to go silent count uh a Mike demra offense where they they like to motion they're going to have to hit their landmarks and no one to Motion in that short sort of stuff so to me that has a far more impact than what the heat will have I completely agree it's the it's the stadium environment the cyfield stadium environment I I don't need to rehash any of the you know the heat related stuff that you talked about I'll just throw in the fact that they are using the you know the new helmet headset Communications this year coach to player in the helmet so you know are they going to effectively be able to do that when Notre Dame is on offense is Riley lonard going to be able to hear everything or they're gonna have to go to hand signals and all that kind of stuff so I I I think it's definitely the stadium Factor the environment Factor that's going to be the bigger deal fill in the blank okay go ahead sorry last thing I'd say about this is like the only reason Texas A&M is favored is because they're playing this game at home and the environment that it creates if they're playing this game in South Bend and it was as hot as it's going to be you might see the line the line would be in N Dame's favor the line is switched up because of where they're playing the game at not because of how hot it's going to be I agree that's a great Point glad you brought it up F in the blank it'll be blank if Notre Dame has another 10 men on the field kind of moment this season agonizing I can't deal with that I I can't I don't want to deal with it I don't want to have to defend it I don't want to I mean yeah it'll be agonizing I I just come on now don't do this to me I would say I would say detrimental because like like you just can't do something like that again it's kind of like you're one warning right like we we we kind of got over it but if it happens again that's when it kind of becomes I I think more Det m al to you know people starting to question is Marcus Freeman cut out to be a head coach is he cut out for you know making sure that you know that sort of stuff the easy stuff I would say is taken care of at the end of the day yeah it it will be coach defining I think in the in the in you know in the the the the view of public opinion on Marcus Freeman that's kind of the direction that I was going to go that where Jesse finished there it'll be a a big referendum on where people think Marcus Freeman is in terms of his Fitness to be a head coach is this young charismatic guy as you know as as many good things as he has done for this program in a short amount of time is he really cut out to be a head coach if you have that kind of thing again that's that's just the way it go you know especially two years and it doesn't have to be 10 men on the field I'm just talking about some kind of stupid boneheaded Gaff that is otherwise preventable you know that that happens in the middle of the game at a crucial moment speaking of kind of coaching Fitness did you guys catch the you know he was on part of my take earlier this SE or earlier this week and they they gave him the hypothetical you know coach you're three minutes left you're down two scores you score are you going for two and then you know basically the whole go for two situation right you get two shots if you don't get it the first time you got the second time to get it but if you get one of them you end up winning the game got a lot of criticism for that because he said he's not going for two at the end of the day so I guess what would your guys's opinion be if you're if you're the coach in that situation are you you're down by three scores would you go for two you're down two scores you you just went in for your your first score um's we down 16 are we down 15 I mean there's a big difference in like sorry sorry sorry all right all right you're down 14 slow down scored there's about three minutes left in the game are you going for two or are you you go you go for one the first time and then you see what you know you see where you are the second time you say you don't chase points early because then that put you in a situation where you have to go for two the second time you don't go for two on the first touchdown not a chance so that's where he was getting a lot of flack because the the analytics say you go for two in that situ that's dumb you don't chase points at that point just like Sean said you you are down 14 points you're not down 15 where you know you're going to have to go for two if you miss like you said you then you have to go for two I I would much rather push it to overtime and have an opportunity to win the game even later or if i' if I feel like I've got momentum and maybe I'm on the road or maybe I have no business being in this game yeah okay then you go for two but give me that option at the end like right you don't even have that option if you go for two a Miss early yeah Terri that was kind of Marcus Freeman's actual rationality he said you know we get to that situation the second score I trust my team in overtime I trust my roster in overtime comparatively comparatively to you know whatever is going on so he has more kind of trust and faith in his team and overtime if it came down to it and I likeed the answer I don't I don't like the whole go for two as well I think you're thinking too much about it in that at that point there's a place for analytics it's obviously become a big part of sports that I think you know a lot of us don't even think about you know that because there's so much of it going on with what the coaches are thinking and stuff like that but look Brennan Staley got a head coaching job because of analytics he's also been fired already because of analytics how'd that work out for him like you have to have you have to have some feel for the game as well I think Marcus Freeman actually does a good job you know like with going when to go for it on fourth down some of those things like you know like I think he's done a good job with it so I I hadn't heard that that became a thing with you know with with with his answer to that so interesting I'd bring it up just kind of you know talking about people's perception of his of his coaching abilities I guess you would say sure so which is more likely to happen in this game Notre Dame Texas A&M one Jordan Faison returns a punt for a touchdown two Jaden Harrison returns a kickoff for a touchdown or three I looked at the wrong I had it all written out here or three um James Randell James Randell forces a fumble I think I had it written down here wrong that's what was confusing me Texas A&M fumbles a punt off the foot of James renell one of those three things it's the third one James renell fumble you know forces a fumble on a punt return you know that kind of thing because the ball comes down in such a weird angle there's no way to practice that and nowhere has that been put on film yet for them to practice that like they have no idea what's coming their way and it's super odd and it's super strange and I think there's going to be a muff in there someplace where Notre Dame could take advantage I do so I'm gonna be uh different and I don't want to copy what Vince is saying just for the fun of it um I I think that Texas A&M will probably might likely might see a punt or two and just get into a lot of Peter situations be like you know what we don't even want to deal with this just get away with the ball get away from the ball you know wherever get gets down it gets down so I I think I'm going to go with a Jordan fison touchdown at the end of the day because I think you know it's it's expected people they know you know if if Texas A&M did their due diligence in their homework they know who Harrison is as a kick returner he got brought in he was you know a very good player at Marshall I don't think a lot of people know about Jordan fison quite yet I think his shiftiness his ability to kind of you know eludes some tackles his size I think plays into it as well being able to be more iive um so again to be fun and to be different I'm gonna go with the Jordan fison pun return I like the Jordan fison answer and I've been thinking about like when I was writing this question up I was thinking like I think we're going to see some shiftiness and maybe he breaks one you know he kind of reminds me a little bit of like a joey gaol kind of guy from from several years back you know just kind of with that size and that wiggle that he's got to him you know but um I'm going to go with the with the Muff punt thing too it's something that we've talked about and having seen the way it comes down it is very unique I think that is going to be an issue for some teams this year it's interesting because when the coordinators you know they do it like the Tuesday media availability all three coordinators come out and someone asked Marty BAGI about it and he basically didn't want to talk about it like he didn't want I I don't think he wanted to sort of alert people that it could be an issue from them because they've never seen this guy you know punt over here before so I like especially if it's raining out there tomorrow night you know Saturday night like I can see that being big forg about the Rue so yeah all right Riley Leonard says his two favorite places to eat here in town are Mission Barbecue and PLO Pizza Jordan faon says Chicken and Waffles at pegs are his favorite so my question where do those three places rank for you in terms of local faites here do they do they register for either of you guys so first of all I don't think I've had Mission Barbecue if we're being honest I've always got first of all souin Indiana if you want barbecue you're in the wrong place brother I'm just gonna tell you that right no unless unless you make a PR pig isn't bad prize pig isn't bad it's a couple miles from where we live right here good I like Frankie a solid option but again if we're talking like top tier top end barbecue there's not a lot in in the southb Indiana region true um pegs I haven't been to in a while and and again even if I have gone I don't think it's maybe once or twice and then can you say the what you said plos plos plos Pizza yeah I again I don't know if I've ever had plos pizza when we're talking pizza in South Ben I'm I'm going with you know barnab Brunos that kind of situation maybe I've had plos cuz I feel like you guys have tried just about every pizza place in the in the area I'm sure I probably had it at some point I actually did some door Dash plos pizza because it's not far from where we live now compared to where we used to live I did some door Dash during a a couple football games last year from pitos nice so I I guess long story short I don't know if my answer would have a lot of weight um but if we're going so just say just say they don't register that's all you gotta say yeah that's what I'm saying write God Vince this one's easy for me although we had we had Mission Barbecue last night actually and you must went with Brian oh no it was actually the featured meal at the senior that's you did the yeah okay okay so which we also helped coordinate but anyway was really good uh but at the end of the day if I'm making a decision on where I'm going to eat it's plos all day and it's not close uh plos has amazing Pizza it's a little too far for a drive when I'm just like hey I'm want to go pick up a pizza kind of a thing because of the you know just the distance but we used to go to plos all the time uh when you know earlier on in our marriage uh because it was located in a different place right but then they move had kitchen fire several years ago had fire exactly so they had to move uh so it got a little bit too far away but I love me some plos pizza so it's plos and it's not close plos is good like I'm not as they've got a New York style and they've also got like a stuffed pizza and like I used to be big on their New York style I'm much more on their stuffed pizza now I really enjoy it it's like a stuffed with meat and cheese and stuff like that so you know like you said Jesse like from a family standpoint if we're going to like get a pizza we're we're more likely to go to barnab you know here in town but plos is very solid Mission Barbecue is not bad you know but it's a chain place I I prefer a couple of the local spots that I mentioned just because they're they're local and not chains I I don't I don't know that I've ever been to pegs if I have it's maybe been once never have yep did when he said the chicken and waffles it made me want to maybe check it out so I don't think I've ever had chicken and waffles I don't think I have either maybe once yeah when I'm going to a breakfast place that's not high on my list of things there's actually the Syracuse that I saw on Food Network that's like a big it's like a waffle place and you know like they do all different kinds of waffles and they've got like a chickenin waffle that I really want to try okay when I go there with basketball this year because I haven't tried so far if we St okay let's predict the 12 team college football playoff field so let's go around start with your four Conference champions start with that it helps when you look at the rundown Jess come on no I know and I actually suggested this question I think you did actually yeah he certainly did resources were limited today and I definitely forgot this was on the Queue but you got your car total so you know like got the car total um I I'll give the easy ones to start I like that we're going with the the easy ones uh Vince homework I like that man Vince is coming he's just saved that from from what he did like a month ago and I told him he did it the wrong way yep exactly what happened but it's here Miami Georgia Ohio State Utah are my four okay so you're going out of the box a little bit with Miami as your ACC champ okay there going hard on cam or not cam Hart cam Ward yeah I have no faith in cam Ward so Miami is definitely not my EC Champion I had Florida state which maybe isn't a great pick at the moment but we'll see how it all plays out obviously but I have uh Georgia as my one I've got Ohio State as my two I've got Florida State as my three and I've got Utah as my four okay so I've got basically Clemson we've all got somebody different for the ACC I've got the other three though Georgia Utah Ohio State Clemson and that's mostly because of the fact that Florida State didn't just lose that last week they lost a conference game right off the I know and almost out of my mouth I was like but conference play hasn't started but yeah it did and and they lost so they're already fighting an uphill battle so yep uh what about your group of five team who do you think is going to be the best group of five team which will get you into the playoff if you're the highest ranked group of five team this year this this was actually tough for me because it could go any direction you know what I mean it just it I picked Memphis um I I think at the end of the day it doesn't really matter who the 12 is uh because they have to go on the road to the and it's probably not going to be all that close uh but I I did pick Memphis in this case Jess Liberty Liberty was mine came down to Liberty and Boise State uh but Liberty is edging it out for me a little bit more experience I think on the national stage especially of recently I went a little bit different direction and I'm going with Troy as my group of five team Jared Parker Jared Parker that's right he inherited a team was in pretty good shape won 11 games last year so I'm going to say Mighty Troy is the group of five the top group of five teams that'll get into the playoff wouldn't that be something if Troy come to South Ben for a playoff game just to get just to have to head back with an L but it would be pretty cool you want to talk about storylines that would be one of them that's right okay so that leaves us seven other at large teams yes for the playoff who wants to go first you have ready Jeff go ahead yeah I I I refreshed my memory um okay Notre Dame Texas Oregon Alabama hen State Old Miss one more I think you got one more yeah I got one more but I can't decide who that my last team was the hardest one I felt like because I've got all the other teams that you just name Notre Dame M Miss Texas Oregon Penn State Alabama my last team was the hardest before you give yours Vince do you have any that are different than those six um I have Al I have Miss out okay so they are they are not in my f because I I only have three SEC teams three big 10 teams two big 12 teams and two ACC teams okay so so you've got Utah winning the Big 12 who's your second Big 12 team Oklahoma State Oklahoma State okay yes good pick yeah and then another ACC team then uh Clemson Clemson so you got Florida State and Clemson both making yes okay so Jesse your final team is who I gotta stick to what what the common common uh trend is in all of these and that's SEC bias bias so I'm just going to throw another one in and say our good friend Brian Kelly at LSU so you've got five SEC teams making the playoff in that case I do I've got I've got lot I initially didn't have Alabama in but it's like 12 team field it would like it would be pretty shocking if Alabama doesn't even make it in a 12 team field is not getting five teams in they're beat up on each other enough that that's not going to be the case I'm going a little Darkhorse here and I'm not feeling as good about it because they struggled Thursday night in their opener but I'm going with NC State they're a little bit of a trendy pick I'm going with NC State as a second ACC team okay to get in I've only got one big 12 because I just Oklahoma State's a pretty solid pick but I'm just not that confident in in most of the teams in that conference Arizona could actually be a little bit of a Dark Horse as a second team in the Big 12 as well Arizona's a trendy pick I just don't trust their quarterback everybody everybody just loves him so much and I just don't see it all right let's finish with some game props some individual and then we'll pick the uh the winner here at the end we don't have have to spend a ton of time on these Jeremiah Love over under 58 and a half rushing yards over yeah he might get that on one play yeah I'm going over as well or at least two plays I'm going over yeah as well Jaden greous over under 38 and a half receiving yards over over wr1 he's going to have more than that he's the most important wide receiver wide receiver in that offense I don't disagree I'm going over as well what about Chris Mitchell his over under 37 and a half yards this is the classic Chris Tyrie dilemma last year he could get this in one play if he ultimately wanted to I think he's going to get his shot eventually on some one-on-ones stretching the field down the sideline that's going to open up the middle of the field for the rest of the team um he'll get a one-on-one some point so give me the over yep agreed I'm going to go under I think that he's going to get a lot of the attention from the secondary because of the Season that he had at FIU last year and the rest of Notre Dame's receiving Court especially the the two noted a you know the the three returning guys Thomas greous and Faison who are going to be a big part of the rotation as well I think it's going to set especially a guy like great house like you were alluding to Jess so I'm going to go under on like he can easily do it in one catch but I just think he's going to get the bulk of the attention from Texas A&M secondary in this game what about A&M receiver moose Muhammad over under 40 and a half yards probably over because I think they're going to be throwing the ball a lot because they're going to be coming from behind yeah I mean again even if he's got five catches you know that's still only eight eight yards a catch and he's going to hit that over being a focal point of who they're trying to get the ball to I would just take the over it's it's a better bet yeah I'm going over as well don't know exactly who their number one is going to be just like we don't know who Notre Dames number one is going to be it's got to be somebody so I put it on Muhammad Riley Leonard's passing yards over under 201 and a half yards this one's so hard I mean I want to go with the over but I just don't know I I think his legs are going to be the X Factor I don't think it's going to be his arm I mean and I'm not saying he can't do it I just don't know if he will do it you know what I mean so I would stay away from this one but for for the argument I will take the over but not by a whole lot I'm gonna take the under I think this is more so like a 150 to 180 type range but don't make up the difference with his legs um and again Jeremiah Love jarian price are still gonna have a big impact as well on the kind of total yards for the offense yeah I'm hesitant on this but I will take the over I'm like my thinking is somewhere around 210 maybe 215 something like that plus about 75 80 rushing yards to go with it but I'd go I'll I'll go over on Leonard but again I'm not confident enough that like I probably just stay away from it Conor wigman's number is 230 and a half yards under I I'm gonna take the over just because of volume I think they're going to be throwing the ball a lot and they may Dink and dunk their way to 230 it's not going to trans to points but they he could get some yards I'm still going to go under like I I can see the path that Vince is talking about like they're chasing points maybe toward the end and they're you know they're they're throwing it around and stuff like that but I still heads toward the under on this team Point totals in this game were interesting A&M's over under for their score 24 and a half points noted Ames is 21 and a half points so that that shows you right there what you know where Vegas thinks this game is gonna be which is just absurd to me I'll take the under for sure on A&M's uh we'll get a better idea for my score prediction and I'm G to take the over on Notre Dames as well my score prediction y 100% on all of it exactly the game over under is 46 and a half points and I guess we'll get to that with our predictions right now Vince I'll let you lead it off what's your prediction for this game well I have to take the over if I'm going to stick with my prediction uh because my prediction is 48 total points so I guess I got to take the over I if I'm betting it though I would probably take the under because I think points are going to be a little bit more harder to come by uh but again I my my score prediction is over so I I guess I got to stay consistent obviously I would take Notre Dame plus the two and a half I would also take them on the money line I've got Notre Dame winning 30 1 to 17 you know you might to be honest with you at the end of the day you might be able to take a touchdown away from both teams and you might that might actually be more closer to the truth but I do think Notre Dame is gonna score and I just don't see A&M I mean honestly I'd be surprised if they put up 17 um I I think I feel like a late touchdown you know when the game's kind of already been decided could get them there that's why I put it uh but I think 3117 that's what I've got I'll just say this up front any team that gets to 30 wins this game no matter what if you get to 30 you win this game I agree with that for sure I don't think either team is going to get to 30 though uh my final score prediction is noted Dame 27 uh Texas A&M 13 mine's 27 to 17 so we're all kind of right in that same ballpark again I feel like the team the offense that makes the most explosive plays is going to win this game and I think that between Riley Leonard Jeremiah love and the running backs or the wide receivers rather and even Mitchell Evans the tight end that Notre Dame is is going to have on the field Notre Dame is going to have the much better chance to hit some explosive plays against A&M than A&M is against Notre Dame's secondary guys that's gonna do it game one is on the way we're almost there thanks everybody for uh watching or listening great to see you guys enjoy your l Labor Day weekend don't forget Vince and I will be back on Monday for the show and of course there will be a late night postgame show are you gonna be part of the postgame show again Vince oh I'm hosting the postgame show hosting the postgame show yeah baby that's right Vince is down there so all right the star student enjoy the game Notre Dame Texas A&M coming up IB countdown to kickoff and we'll talk to you next week