Predictions for LSU's 2024 football season

intro [Music] hello again everybody and welcome to the LSU sports Insider podcast today is Thursday August the 22nd I'm Zach Ying along with K Riley Reed Darcy and moner Scott ravalet back from par uh we I'm super pumped about today's show we're doing our LSU football season preview podcast um we're also going to talk briefly to Scott about his Olympic experience this is his first time back in studio since he came back from Paris so uh lots of excitement want to let you know first of all that Today's Show is brought to you by the Baton Rouge clinic your trusted healthcare provider in the heart of Baton Rouge whether you're in need of primary care specialist services or Urgent Care the Baton Rouge clinic has you covered with a team of dedicated and experienced professionals visit batonrouge clinic.com to learn more or to schedule your appointment today the Baton Rouge clinic caring for Generations Today's Show also brought to you by Waste Pro tiger fans if you're planning a tailgate or event keep your guest comfortable with portable toilets from was Pro call 225 744 6400 and mention LSU sports Insider for a special offer so right after this break we're going to talk to RAB about his Olympic experience we got our LSU secc football season preview right around the corner talk to you in a minute football fans with a Caesar Sportsbook app you can be in the game all the time seeking instant action Quick Pick offers you the most popular games and Market already built for you and ready to bet experience the thrill when you stack your bets to create a super parlay build bets for your favorite teams and players across multiple games this season don't just watch the game download Caesar's Sportsbook and experience the game like never before you know how far I've gone now I'm home again I'm feeling more these days and I've ever been at the Baton Rouge clinic our sole focus is to provide exceptional healthcare for your entire family so that you can get back to doing what you love most we are caring for Generations [Music] Rab's Olympics recap all right this is the LSU sports Insider back in our baton R Studios want to start today as I mentioned Scott rabet back from Paris uh from the Olympic experience and really I mean I think the headline for for locals is it was a big Olympics for LSU yeah they were have there were about three dozen athletes with LSU and Louisiana ties in the Olympics and some of the biggest names obviously people like Mond duplis and Shakari Richardson uh Javon Harrison who didn't do very well he had a heal injury didn't do well in the high jump and then Kristen nson tearing cloth in uh in u beach volleyball uh so it there were it was a lot to keep up with it was a lot lot going on every every single day but every day was something exciting is and then you had the backdrop of this amazing City in Paris which was just a huge bonus yeah take us behind the scenes because I think most people never have attended an Olympics much less covered one is Media what was the experience like um just just kind of day-to-day how how did you handle things yeah we started my D usually started at the the the main media center which is on the western edge of Paris not too far from the oct treeumph and the buses that went from there to every venue and or but sometimes I take the metro or the trains or something like that so um getting back in the evening was the hard part because it was some late nights at the track Stadium or at beach volleyball and uh I spoke a lot of French uh a lot of very crude French to U taxi drivers uh trying to get back to my hotel at like 2:00 in the morning uh but then uh unlike what we have here where you go to an LSU football game and everybody's got an assigned seat with a with a with a name plate and all this stuff it's general admission basically for the media it's like there all these like the at the track Stadium at the stad de France there's like 1500 seats for the media and you just go find a seat and you know and and and cover cover the thing and then the the part that I missed from what we usually do is you have this mix Zone where the athletes have to come off the the playing surface or track or whatever and they come through and they can stop or they don't have to and they they may give you a quote or they may not may not and I was like man I just would love an oldfashioned LSU football post game press conference right about now but overall it was it was a a great experience and to see some amazing things like Mond duplis winning the gold medal again in the pole vault and breaking the world record which has only happened three times in the Olympics in the men's pole vault and U and just the the venue that was the Eiffel Tower stadium for beach volleyball which was just spectacular uh those were really really cool things yeah trying to imagine Tiger Stadium with general admission guys after a full day's tailgate like it's not would not be a safe situation would not be safe no no the fans had the sign seats we had general admission I'm still imagining it in my head the Press Box too and and we're glad you're back RAB we were kind of worried you'd stay over there you wouldn't come back so I was to wored I was going to stay over there too I wouldn't have blamed you if you stayed over there you know we're going to use this to transition oo right before he or right after he broke the world record in the pole vault compared on NBC in front you know National TV audience he compared the STD def France to Tiger Stadium to Death Valley at night the crowd pop that he heard uh did you could you make that comparison I mean did the crowd pop sound like it did when LSU beat Alabama in overtime a couple years ago well I mean it you know track meets first of all if you ever been to any kind of track meet it's just this everything's going on at everything's going on at once all kinds of events going running events and field events and and and and all kinds of things and but it was just him it was the end of the meet it was just him making that last of the three leaps at 20 6 in and you SE was I think they said 77,000 fans there and it was kind of a you know it's kind of went down to a buzz like maybe before like someone's attempting a field goal to win the game right kind of a low buzz and then the place just went off when when he when he cleared the bar and uh it it was you know this amazing moment for him and for the fans and uh you know the fact that he represents Sweden compared to being someone from France uh was uh it was immaterial at that point yeah it would it reminded you of that and it was it was late on a Saturday night too it was it was very very there were some similarities for sure I can see why you said that how do you say Death Valley in French yeah I I took enough French to where I should know this and I just can't Val Val is Mo de Val Val de Val de Mo that would be Previewing LSU's 2024 Season all right well this is our season preview for 2024 um let let's transition into football I it like American football American football it starts on Saturday we got a couple games on Saturday Thomas Cal is going to talk about Georgia Tech versus Florida State in our sports betting segment later in Dublin um in Du yeah in Dublin back in Europe and um and then the rest of the country kind of starts a week from tonight there's some games next Thursday night and and obviously LSU on September the 1st a week from Sunday against USC so uh lots to talk about Wilson Alexander who's our football beat writer is not here he's in Houston as his wife Elise undergos chemotherapy treatment so our thoughts are with him we all got The Wristband on um Team Elise and uh but he did offer some predictions as well so we're going to kind of go through what Wilson thinks as we yeah kind of go through some predictions some choices for breakout players we're going to do LSU first then we'll expand our Horizons into the SEC and the national front with some predictions as well so this is our 2024 season preview when we come back on the LSU sports Insider it'll be game week it'll be uh it'll be USC week next week so we're going to dig into USC uh a lot against LSU um first of all today's injury report as we kind of wrap up training camp guys today's injury report is brought to you by the Baton Rouge clinic and for the first time we actually kind of have some guys read who Injury Report sponsored by the Baton Rouge Clinic uh are banged up nothing serious but some some LSU players missing practice some Nicks and bruises um some just minor issues nothing nothing that it seems like will keep anyone out for the USC game I'll just run through them real quick miles Frasier was in a boot yesterday the Right Guard he has a minor ankle minor ankle injury I believe um Chris Hilton we saw him leave practice on Saturday um turns out it's a bone bruise and either his foot or ankle we're not sure um Sage Ryan has a little hamstring issue he did not practice yesterday um JK Johnson um the transfer from Ohio State who didn't play last year he ran with the ones in his place and then West weeks the second team linebacker he has a foot issue as well we saw him in a boot as well um and then the Freshman wide receiver galani Watkins he is still not practicing um Brian Kelly described his injury as like a foot SL ankle sprain not not sure what um but he's he's been out for you know a decent chunk of Camp um and we we don't know how long that'll linger but um that that's really it nothing longterm nothing Brian Kelly seemed to be um particularly concer about so that that's really it and they should be as healthy as they could be going into the USC week Reb obviously there's still a week and a half to go things could happen but your number one goal in any preseason camp is to get through healthy and it seems like LSU for the most part they've done that yeah I mean you you're you're used to and almost expecting unfortunately to have someone with some kind of U you know season ending you know you know injury you a torn knee a broken leg or something like that and obviously they still have practices to go I mean they're going to go kind of go behind their iron curtain and and not you we won't see any more of their preparations leading up to the USC game as they do a lot of installations of the game plan so they still have a ways to go but yeah I think as for a team with so much transition so much that they're trying to work on and improve on from from last year that this has been a uh as good as you could hope for probably because there's going to be some injuries it's going to be some some problems but but overall they've done pretty well okay so so let's dig into LSU and what we think and we'll give our record predictions K and Reed and I all kind of did a little bit of this on Tuesday with our over under podcast uh but first I I I want to kind of do something different for our star player segment today and our star player segment is proudly sponsored by was Pro ensure your tailgate or event is Who will be LSU's best player? a hit with clean and convenient portable toilets from Waste Pro rent yours today um the question is who is LSU's best player it's an obvious question last year Jaden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy second time in five years we've had a Heisman winner at LSU less obvious this year but it's funny I asked all four of you the three sitting here plus Wilson and three of you mentioned Will Campbell the offensive lineman K make the case for Will Campbell as as the best player on LSU team yeah I mean it's kind of the boring pick but he's just so consistent and um I mean gave him zero sacks last season um despite just just being a second year second year sophomore seconde starter and uh he's getting buzzed to be you know potential top five pick in this upcoming year's draft and there's just a consistency and a level of Excellence that we know that we're going to get from him as long as he's on the field and um as as great as Harold Perkins is and as exciting as Harold Perkins is Harold Perkins is the most exciting player on this team I think that's kind of undeniable um we we're still not quite sure how well he's going to transition to this middle linebacker spot right um he didn't take quite the step forward that we thought he'd maybe take last season so there's still like little question marks with Harold right but with will I to me at least there's it was almost no question to me that he's going to be one of the best tackles in the country and um I I I I mean I I vote for him for as a AP preseason first team All-American for a reason yeah he's expected to be a top five pick read like it's it is a solid choice I don't think it's a boring pick at all Kookie I think one of one of the great thinkers of our time Jim Harbaugh he he has he once said that offensive lineman he once said that offensive linemen are weapons um and I tend to agree with that will Campbell's um As Good As It Gets um he he having him in that spot uh left tackle is a luxury is going to help Garett nus Meer adjust to becoming a starter for the first time it's going to help the Run game it's going to help sort of um nullify some of the best pass rushers in the country that Eli will face so having him is you know you don't think about him enough and then that's good thing because if you're not thinking about the offensive line then that means it's doing its job so he he's a luxury um LSU is going to have to figure out a plan for him after this season because he'll certainly be off the draft but but now they have him and and I think they're pretty fortunate to have him and EM Jones as well you know the on the other side sure and re like if you're going to pick a position where your best player is you probably pick quarterback first but left tackle wouldn't be too far behind that I mean to have a a star left tackle who's going to be a top five draft pick that's that's a big deal we just judging by the draft you see how often teams pick a tackle right if they get that position like Ki said if he has the season we expect him to have he's going to go very high in the draft next year I I I go way back to two years ago when they had to start a freshman Will Campbell and a freshman emry Jones at at right tackle and it's like boy you know this you're asking for it because in the SEC to me what what is one of the things that made the SEC great great skill players obviously o over the last 20 years but great defensive line play I mean you know just dominating fast you know huge defensive linemen and to be as consistent as they've been and to to have gone through all the battles that they've gone through now for two two full seasons in the SEC and now they're emerging as uh as senior upper classman and and as Ki said Will Campbell didn't give up a sack last year I mean that's that's utterly remarkable considering the the depth of talent and and the quality of talent that you're going up against in this conference so uh yeah it's it's uh I don't think Brian Kelly would say it's it's boring to have a have a player like Will Campbell that left tackle and and and you could maybe make a case for for a few other players but but uh yeah I went with him too as being their best player and why not in ter yeah when I said boring I I didn't mean that actually like watching him play and you know his play is boring I'm just saying that like he's kind of the typical pick right in terms of just when you look at the salisu team I I you know gun your head who you're going to pick it's going to be probably be yeah he's the chalk pick I mean GMS would agree with you by the way and so that's you know that's a good sign the the one person who did not pick Will Campbell that's their answered this question by the way was Wilson who went with Harold Perkins and and I'll say this if Harold Perkins is LSU's best player I think that's good news for LSU you guys agree yeah it means he's probably the best defensive player in the country if not one at least one of the best if that's the case it means he's super disruptive and it means that the defense creates a ton of pressure and the defense If it creates a ton of pressure it's going to be a lot better than it was last year so if if he is indeed the best player than that bwell for issues playoff he becomes like a pseudo leader because I think Brian Kelly was talking about this yesterday in terms of him just you know not just elevating his own play but elevating the play around himself right elevating the play of others so um all the great ones do that right just pick a sport right um especially in basketball we see that because of all the passing and you know the the the two-way play but um if he can do that and Elevate the play of of the others around him because of his own greatness then that's just going to help LSU's defense you know like twofold outside of him just being disruptive so yeah uh switching the conversation to the best breakout player at LSU and I really thought this would elicit some varied responses and again three of the four of you mentioned Caleb Jackson the running back um RAB I guess that just goes to show how impressive Caleb Jackson is as as sort of a you you can see the physical specimen that he is and see the way he plays and practice and imagine great things for this guy I mean you get you get Leonard forette Vibes when you when you watch him sometimes and I'm not saying he's Leonard forette that's a lot of pressure to put on on someone maybe the greatest running back El you ever had but uh was one of the first things I asked when I went out to practice yesterday the one practice I got to go to uh this preseason camp I said has he been has he been running over people I think I asked Reed has he been running over people he yeah a few times so in in practice apparently he he uh he he ran over uh one of the weeks is Right W wit weeks took took a pretty nice hit a couple weeks ago um obviously he's you know you have to you have to say he's the number two running back at this point but he has the biggest upside and and the biggest potential and this is a team that is obviously obviously Garrett NM is not going to rush for a thousand yards like Jaden Daniels did last year that's not his not his emo that's not the way he wants to play the game that's not what he's best at so you so you don't want or expect that see as they said the movie Money Ball they have to recreate Jaden Daniel's stats in the aggregate right so they're gonna have to have to have to yall like that huh they need their Jeremy GI yeah they need they in the aggregate so they they got to get several guys to to rush for those yards that that Jaden took up last year and uh he's got to be one of those players and and the the upside I think is is tremendous tremendous there for him and he's just is one of those guys it's like when you K and I are both big movie bus some people when when you watch a movie you just you're just you're drawn to them every time they're in a scene you're drawn to them every time he's on the field I want to know what he's doing where he's going if he's in the back field if he you know is in motion or something like that I I want to know what Caleb Jackson is doing because you never know what it's going to be and I I I think the since elu needs a good solid running game to to support Garrett NM this year as a passer he's uh he's a huge play player and if he comes through like like he can like Harold Perkins can on defense that's another huge Plus for this team he he strikes me Reed is the kind of player who you know you get that double crowd pop you know what I'm talking about where you you know it's a good run and he's got an eight- yard run and the crowd going to goes ah and then he breaks a tackle or runs over somebody and the crowd thinks the play is over and is quieted down and then it's ah because it's now it's a 32 yard run yes you know like we're going to see that from Caleb Jackson he is literally a loud football player and what I mean by that is creates noise literal noise on the field like we we were about 80 yards away like the player we're talking about when he just leveled with weeks we're about 80 yards away from where it happened and we could hear it we could hear the pop um and it was very reminiscent of what he did at Mississippi State last year poor guy who he just um he absolutely trck trucked on a run so I think I think Caleb Jackson is the obvious choice I didn't want to overthink it but if I may I can throw out another name who I considered um real quick um Savon Jones I was glad you didn't steal kis because K's the one who's different I didn't have that one either I'll just throw out Savon Jones you you look at him he's got um all the potential in the world he's got great size great length and we we talked to him a couple weeks ago and and you can see him thinking a lot more about the pass rush you know you can see him imagining different things you can see him developing on the field using those techniques that that he's learned so if you take um his physical Talent right um his attributes and then you combine that with greater technique you know more past rush wisdom I guess for lack of a better word I think you could have a a real combination of um factors that can lead him toward a breakout season so I'll just throw his name out here I considered him but um I think Caleb Jackson was the obvious choice Wilson also went with Caleb Jackson K you had a different name you went with camor and pimpon Y yeah like um yeah I I I I think LS is going to run more 12 personal the season which is um one running back two tight ends two receivers um and we saw that a lot we've seen that more in practice this past week and that sort of gave me the confidence to you make this pick because it really came down to him and Caleb because it was like a playing time the problem was Jackson's just going to play a lot more than pimpton so why are you going to pick pimpon but now I see that evening out a little bit because of the the the greater use of 12 Personnel combine that with the fact that Garrett nus is just I I guess he's just more open Adept whatever you want to call it to throwing to tight ends than Jaden was um and using the seam a little bit more so I I I I I think they're going to use more tight ends this season we're seeing it already in practice um we're seeing nus Meers I guess openness to throwing uh to more tight ends and if they're going to run the ball more and have this more traditional running style it makes more sense to playing more tight ends right gives you more versatility between the run and the pass um it it On Any Given down and um yeah and in terms of pinman as a play though like I I think we know just how um how ridiculous his catch radius is um how his size is is obviously incredibly impressive and the fact that he's also improved as a blocker um this preseason as well he just seems a lot more polished this preseason and that gives me more confidence that he's going to play a lot more and um I think everyone was kind of drooling over him last year when he was just a freshman but he just wasn't quite ready yet he was quite polished enough to play but Brian Kelly's already said this as well and that he's really taking a step forward this preseason and he's taken the next step that they wanted to see from him in terms of getting him on the field more often the play I hope is in Joe L's Playbook is a button hook or a curl route to camor and pimpton like when it's like third and four and you need six yards send downfield and have him turn around and catch the ball if Garrett can deliver the ball and he's got the linebacker on his back or the safety on his back what are they going to do yeah if you deliver the ball in that situation it should be a first down so uh I I agree with you the I was I was drooling over him last year in preseason camps like this kid is going to be great he's got the size and all the things and he never quite developed it as a freshman but but yeah that's a that's a good one I like kamarian pipon can I throw out another name and and I I'd probably give you guys grief if you would pick this because it's sort of bending the rules but since nobody said it what about Garrett nzm as a breakout player I mean the guy has only started once in his career I you know I I think he's he's obviously well known around LSU how how well known is he nationally this is a good player who if Jaden Daniels had not been the quarterback if he didn't have the Man Trophy winner at quarterback last year people might be looking at quarterback as like a strength on this team am I wrong yeah I think it's if he does have a really good season I think it becomes a really cool story because when you think about who he is where where he's from he's from Lake Charles that's the place he considers home he he lived you know all over the country as a kid because his dad was a football coach is a football coach um but but he considers himself a Louisiana native and he's stuck around um through coaching changes through um Jaden Daniels Ascension he stuck around for this opportunity to be the starter LSU because he wanted to be the quarterback at LSU and represent the place he considers home so I think it'd be a really cool story if he goes out and throws like we're talking about on on Tuesday for 4,000 plus yards um leads LSU into the playoff yeah it could be really exciting to watch him um Blossom and to get National people noticing the story and to to pick up on you know what kind of a cool story would be okay so 10 days away from the season opener we kind of talked about the players and we boy Final LSU Record Predictions we followed this team since training camp started three weeks ago today um let's put it all together and kind of do final record projections SEC record where they finish um we all actually landed on one of two records so again there's consensus here to Bo we're going to look either really smart or really stupid on the show we've all got either 9 and three or 10-2 um so RAB where where did you land on your final projection 10 and two and again this illustrates how important the USC game is they got to get off to a good start because the SEC schedule is is so difficult they've got Oklahoma at Home Alabama at home Old Miss they go to Texas A&M uh these are the the the big games this year um I don't think anyone's getting through the SEC undefeated Georgia anybody I don't I don't think anyone is and so so you can't drop that first game and have much margin for error so I I went with 10-2 overall 6-2 in conference split the games with Old Miss and and Alabama at home and maybe you know that A&M's been a tough place for them to win lately and they're they're just good enough to beat you if you're not playing well so it they're going to have a week where just something doesn't go right the offense doesn't click the defense has given up a lot of points again so I think 10 and two 10 and two put you in the conversation I think that's where we see the preseason rankings with the with the coaches poll and the AP poll where they ranked 12th and 13th respectively people think LSU's got a shot they're right in the hunt but not solidly in the college football playoff 10 and two you know puts them right there with a chance to to be in that playoff yeah and we'll talk about our chances for them to make the playoff here in a minute but um man I I agree with you and that USC game is so important guys that if if you can win it all of a sudden the rest of your really tough games outside I guess A&M are at home um and and LSU will probably be favored in either 10 or 11 games not sure if they'll be favored at home against is they probably are underdogs against Alabama possibly you know you're looking at one point two points either way at A&M but they're going to be favored in 10 or 11 games the question is can they avoid slip UPS read yeah I think when you look at the the schedule Old Miss there's a real good chance if LSU beats USC there's a real good chance they're undefeated going into that game against Old Miss and a lot of people forget LSU has a byee before that game against Miss so they've got an extra week to get healthy to focus on all miss that could really be a game that that defines the season right you you win that game then all of a sudden you're thinking about the SEC Championship you're thinking about the playoff um but if you lose it then that sort of indicates that you're going to be out on the outside looking in you got to beat Alabama you got to beat A&M you got to beat all these other teams to sort of get get yourself back in that conversation so I think um that Old Miss game is really important and it's the one that we're all circling on our calendars um and I think LSU is probably going to be an underdog but again that could change if they beat USC and and they run the table through that first stretch of the season um so I I went with nine and three um just because I I see LSU being underdogs in two two two of their games at least and then you got to factor in maybe a loss that you don't expect so that that's that's where I'm at um and we'll see how the first stretch of the season goes and we saw this K we talked about it Tuesday that the win total depending on where you look is either nine or n and a half you know do you go over that or under that that's that's really what we're asking here on this podcast I said push at nine and now and now I'm a I'm a fraud because I just picked them to go 10 and two you found another win in the last two days yeah I did find another win just just thinking about it from a bigger picture standpoint like I understand what Rob's saying that they have a difficult SEC schedule well it's not I would it's it's not easy compared to the average college power four schedule I almost said power five it's power four um rest in peace of the Pack 12 um and anyway uh yeah so like I I I just think it does I I just think their SEC schedule does kind of pan out pretty well for them because if you look at a lot of their tougher SEC games are just at home right Miss is at home Alabama's at home Oklahoma's at home at the very end of the season and they catch Oklahoma after they have a really really brutal stretch um I I wrote this down here they fin Oklahoma finishes out the season at Missouri home against Alabama at LSU so you're catching them in a really good spot um and again the Alabama games at home the games at home they're at Texas A&M which is a game that I think they could definitely lose that's a really good Texas A&M team um top 20 quality team at least in my opinion um and then this there's also this USC game um but I I think them and USC are similar in a lot of ways right like third year head coach um new new start first year starting quarterback uh defenses that are going under an identity change I just think LSU is the better roster and they're just in a better better spot in that um sort of similar cycle so uh I I I I look at all this stuff and I I just kind of lean I and now I'm kind of leaning closer to them being three and two in those games instead of being two and three in those games and if Brian Kelly's history uh if history says anything about Brian Kelly he can he can win the games that he's very reliable at winning the games that he should win and all the other games on their schedule are games that I think they should win so I I I I take that all together and I'm and I'm just leaning at 10 and two yeah Brian Kelly has an exceptional record when he's the favorite in Las Vegas like that that is one of his strengths as a coach is taking care of business if they can do that tenant two is very much on the table which means the college football playoffs right on the table and we're going to talk about LSU's chances in the college football playoff as well as the rest of the SEC teams first I want to do our sports betting segment uh with Thomas cassali the queen of Baton Rouge prly sponsors the LSU sports insiders sports betting segment experienced the thrill of game day at 177 kitchen and Cocktails your Premier destination for elevated sports entertainment this week Thomas has telling us about that Saturday game in Dublin Georgia Tech versus Florida State and what he thinks you can do to get started with a win in your college football betting season thanks guys well we get college football season started this Saturday a Sports Betting predictions sponsored by The Queen little taste in week zero before our first Full Slate of the year next week the premier game on Saturdays Florida State and Georgia Tech we've seen a lot of line movement in this game at DraftKings it opened up Florida State minus 13 and a half now it's down to 10 and a half we've seen a lot of money come in on Georgia Tech over this past week I actually lean Georgia Tech when it was 13 and a half I thought that was a little high now that it's down to 10 and a half I don't think there's as much value taking the underdog I'll tell you what bet I I would look for in this game you know Florida State they've lost a lot of experience going to Ireland they could start this game off slow that tends to happen in these games that are overseas I would look for a Florida State second half bet if this game's close at halftime or Florida State's losing I think they get it rolling in the second half so that's my recommendation for the opening game of the college football season look for a Florida State second half wager tiger fans you can catch all the sports action at the queen casinos draftking Sportsbook bar and 177 kitchen and Cocktails with top-notch screens and live betting it's the ultimate spot to watch your favorite teams and enjoy a cold brew or signature cocktail the Queen Casino is the only landb landbased Casino in Baton Rouge and your go-to for game day or any day visit today and elevate your sports watching experience all right so Shifting the conversation more to the National side guys as Thomas got us started with Who from the SEC will make it to the CFP? there the big question can LSU make the playoff RAV you mentioned it ranked 12th in one poll 13th in the other would not be good enough to make the playoff if you finish the year there because you're going to have some automatic bids a group of five team may not be in the top 12 um unless you have big 12 champ ACC champ Big 10 champ will be in the top 12 but the other two and the group of five champ all in the top 12 12's not good enough you probably need to be top 10 um to make it in so the the way we phrase this is who makes the cut and we're going to start with which SEC teams you all think will make the college football playoff and then we'll we'll hone in on LSU um who makes the cut segment is proudly sponsored by Associated Grocers join our team and support the success of local independent retail grossers apply today for available positions at Associated grossers um so let's let's go through the room one by one Ki we'll start with you who who from the SEC do you have reaching the college football playoff yeah I went with um Georgia Miss Texas and Missouri okay um probably three there that a lot of people have their FA to make Missouri kind of like LSU I think they're ranked 11th preseason so they're kind of on the bubble too yeah absolutely and um I I I just love mou's offense I just think they're going to have a potential top five offense in the country this season um I mean last year it was like a borderline top 10 unit and they bring pretty much everybody back um they lost a couple pieces on the offensive line but um they did a good job of sort of reloading um at that spot through the transfer portal um obviously Brady Cook's coming back Luther Burton's coming back he's going to be one of the best receivers in the country another potential top five pick um I'm just super duper high at their offense and defensively there's a lot that's sort of the question mark with this team a little bit lost Blake Baker yeah they lost Blake Baker that's one they lost Kevin peop two corners to the to the NFL two corners in the in r y and and Darius Robinson um their best pass rusher he's gone as well so they lost quite a bit to the NFL they lost quite a bit to LSU in terms of from a coaching perspective um but at the same time like I I I don't think the roster is a disaster either and um I I just sort of have faith that they'll be able to do enough there that they're not going to be say you know LSU bad last season in terms of defensively or any were that close to that so as long as they're competent defensively I think the offense is so good that they're going to win so many games also their schedule is is is I wouldn't say it's easy because there's no such thing as an easy schedule in the SEC but it might be the easiest among all the other SEC schedules I mean the only tough games that I were I was able to sort of um fine what I listed out was at Texas A&M at Alabama and Oklahoma at home um really every other game they're I'd say at least a touchdown favorite and and that's an interesting point too because as we get into the playoff discussion could a could a again not a week schedule it's still an SEC schedule but a weaker schedule if you go 10 and two in your Missouri does that hurt you um because you don't have the signature win that's fair you know because there's going to be a group of five or six 10 in two teams and maybe three of them make the playoff between the Big 10 and the SEC so then you look at it and say okay well you lost Alabama you lost to Texas A&M so your best win is Oklahoma I mean like I I don't I don't know if that gets you in so that's that's going to be the the question mark yeah but I I I just think there's more paths to them getting two wins out of those three than there is for say LSU or Oklahoma or Tennessee to win the majority of the tough games that they're that they're that they have right and that's kind of what I kind of that's probably the best way to boil down my um uh thinking because I I kind of went through each team's schedule at like the top like 10 nine or 10 or so teams in the SEC their schedules and just seeing how like which tough teams they have to face against because a lot of this comes down to just how your schedule bakes out right like for example like I think Alabama's the top 10 team in the country I didn't pick them because I just I just think their schedule is really really tough and they got a really tough draw with road games and and all these sort of little things and I know this my this is probably overanalyzing this whole thing but at the same time like I think the schedule matters well it it does and there's also going to be some team like and I'll just throw out South Carolina cuz LSU play South Carolina like what if they're a lot better than people thought what if they end up being nine and three and that's a really good win at the end of the year we don't know there's there's teams like that every year and I'm not necessarily saying I think the Gamecocks will be that good but somebody will be that we don't expect it was Missouri last year by the way somebody will be really good that we don't expect um Reed moving on to you I think you I think you were the only one who had five yes uh SEC team is making the cfp and this would be a good sort of segue to talk about Alabama I think the SKC is good enough to get five in I had Georgia Miss Texas Alabama and Missouri I'm also high on Missouri for all the reasons K outlined um but Alabama I think I've I used to be a little lower on them but I think I've come around to them I think your opinion on them sort of depends on what you think about jayen milro and I really like Jaylen milro I see a lot of potential in him last year he um was a pretty good downfield passer but he kind of struggled in the short to intermediate areas obviously a dynamic Runner um a super duper athlete I I I I see a path to him becoming a Heisman Trophy candidate maybe a top 10 pick in the draft if he can improve as a passer a little bit and so I think if he makes those strides kind of similar to what we saw with Jaden Daniels last year when you combine that passing ability with his rushing ability you've got a super dangerous offense you've got a guy who's going to be leading the Heisman um discussion and you've got a team that um can be in the playoff hasn't lost that much talent from mavin I think Ken deor is a good coach I think he helps quarterbacks a lot um so I'm I'm higher on them than most and I think um they have absolutely have a shot to get in and I think the SEC is good enough to get five teams in uh Wilson has four and it's kind of a combination of of y'all's picks he he went with Georgia Texas Alabama and ol Miss as his four those are probably the four most likely um RAB you had another name on your list that I think folks might be interested in yeah I I said LSU is going to make it I have Old Miss uh Texas Georgia and LSU I see the LSU Alabama game as a pre-playoff playoff game round of 16 yeah yeah it's going to come down to that it's going to be that late you it's that early November game where teams are jocking for position and you're weeding out the contenders and uh and the certainly a game that could go either way but I I think LSU you know at home has has a bit of an advantage over Alabama and I'm I I think Alabama is very good too they still have a great roster and I think Ken deor is a very good coach but they're just going to be missing just that little extra Edge right that's going to cost them uh you know I think in in in the SEC with all all these tough games and the tough road games they have to play so I I'm I'm going with LSU I figured I figured there weren't going to be a lot of picks for LSU I i' to give LSU a chance at 10 if they go 10 and two as I said they're going to need some some help probably to to to get in but uh what if they uh I was I was on serious radio the other day and and Peter Burns asked me if you could pick anyone that if LSU hosts a college football playoff game in December first round game you could pick anyone to be the opponent what would you say and I think the is the easy pick is to say not today I said Michigan because they're coming off the national championship andu has never ever played Michigan in football that's the one National Power LSU has never played and I think that would be unbelievable no not would be great too but you know with all the Brian Kelly story lines but I I went with those four teams um uh I'm pointing the fickle finger of fate right at at Old Miss right they have not won the SEC since 1963 if not now when because they have gone all in they've broken the bank for for transfers and you know and nil you know players and stuff like that all right miss this is your chance to do it to finally prove that you're one of the big boys never been to the SEC Championship Game hasn't won the SEC in 61 years are you probably going to do it let's see I I I one thing I am so damn excited par say but but I am so damn excited about this season because I think the 12 team playoff it's just a game changer I mean like even with a four playoff you lost one game early in the season and you're staring at we got to run the table and get some help you lost two you could pretty much forget and now two two lost teams got in you know once in a blue moon but like you were pretty much done it now you lose two and you're still in it you're six and two going into November you got a real shot at this thing you you know you can see the finish line if you could run the table and be in that bubble conversation I I'm just I'm really excited for it so um moving the conversation from which SEC teams make it to what LSU's chances are guys and RAB you you just said you thought they had it but you also put what' you put 35% 35% you know so and the rest of us were in that neighborhood too I think ranging between a 20% chance and a 40% chance that LSU makes it like it could happen Reed but they're going to need some things to go their way they're going to have to play well too I see the path for sure I pegged it at 404 % you know not not even odds on the outside looking in a couple things need to break right um to get them in I think the offense like I mentioned Tuesday I think the offense is going to be great you know I I'm think Gary nosm looks confident comfortable the receivers all look good the offensive line we know is going to be one of the best in the country but I do have some lingering concerns about the defense um not that I think I I don't think they can improve a good bit um but I I need to see it right we we still have questions about the secondary um how they can play Man cover we still have questions about the pass rush can they really be more disruptive than they were last season we we don't know I need to see it in a game situation so maybe my opinion changes once we see how they look against USC but I I still think like I still have too many questions to really put them into the playoff right now I think they're close but I just don't think they're there yet and so that's why I said for 40ish percent the USC game and we'll we'll talk a lot about it next week but the USC game is so vital because first of all as you said it's going to let us know really what this team is off the bat second of all I don't know that if you lose a non-conference game you have a chance at the playoff anymore CU then you're looking at you better go seven and one in the SEC yep and probably win the SEC title game um you know I that's that's a tall order at that point so the margin for error even in a 12 team playoff K is pretty thin yeah absolutely um I I went with 30% in terms of U's chances of making the playoff because there's just so many outside factors that we're not going to be able to predict and and so many different teams that are going to be in the hunt that it kind of lowers the percentage from okay closer to 50/50 to something around the 30% range just in my opinion um and uh because like you're not just talking about like the Blue Bloods like you know in Alabama or or or even a Michigan or a Clemson right you're we're talking about like teams like Kansas State having real shot now seems like Arizona in the Big 12 right um like can like a smaller conference like that you know steal second bid because they win the because they unexpectedly win the Big 12 Championship or or and somebody else is sitting there at 11 and one and right yeah so and then you have to pick those two teams so like that's kind of what I came down to in terms of like not choosing LSU to to be one of those teams that make the playoffs that's why I went with four SEC teams instead of five so um it it was that close for me so like I like all these all these little permutations are kind of mostly why I kind of dipped it closer to 30% instead of like 40 or 50% but um I I would Echo pretty much everything that Reed said in terms of just like LSU as a team in terms of evaluating them um in in in in the bigger picture of the national landscape yeah and and Wilson went with 25% for the record we're all in the same neighborhood I think um you know when you look at the number of power Conference teams there are which is 607 or something like that now 68 you know only 12 are going to make actually only 11 of those teams will make it because there's one group of five teams so that's that's like a 15% chance per team obviously we think LSU is better than an average power five team but the chances for anybody to go into the playoffs saying oh that's definitely the expectation this year well you're either Georgia or Ohio State or you're kind of like are you sure about like over 50/50 is tough to get to when we're talking about that number of teams competing for 11 spots so uh are who make the who makes the cut segment was brought to you by Associated Grocers tiger fans Associated Grocers is hiring join a team committed to the success of independent retail grossers appli today at Associated Grocers and be part of something great I'm going to wrap things up today with a little cfp talk your final four and your National Champion first of all R I'm curious because you've covered college football longer than any of us maybe combined maybe College Football Playoff picks: Who's in your final four? combined I don't know definitely combined I had to throw that in there um yeah when I mentioned 2022 I was like remember for I did just turn 40 so I'm you know I'm not I'm not the you used to call me young Zach I'm not the young guy anymore um I am curious to know your thoughts on this change though a lot of people see this as a positive exciting change for college football I'm I'm one of them are you one of them I am but I I'm I'm still a guy who wants the bowls to be part of this thing and there's a lot of talk going forward that you may only end up with the national championship game being played at a neutral site and what's that going to mean for the show bowl and the Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl and things like that and people can say well that's progress then you just have the NFL light you you just have you have the you have the NFL type scenario and college football's always been different so I'm concerned about that but I I'm I'm I think it's going to be tremendously exciting and I I think it's going to be very very interesting to see how exciting these oncampus first round games are because because the quarterfinals the semis and of course the national championship game will be played at at bowl games and is that the way it's going to be going forward is that going to change so yeah it's tremendously exciting I'm I'm less excited about all the realignment and the the the the mergers and the the the demise of the Pack 12 um you know U Oklahoma's not playing Oklahoma State this year there's no there's no bedum in with with college football this year Washington's not playing Washington State for the apple cup these are sad things or is Oregon playing Oregon State I'm not I'm not entirely sure think they are okay but that's maybe one of the rare ones that that now Texas and Texas and Texas stadium are coming back together because Texas joined the SEC but I I I I wonder if we're going to we're going to um we're going to look up 20 years from now and people are going to say what did we do to college sports to College athletics and uh so I'm a little I'm a little pensive because of that but in general about the playoff and expanding yeah I think it's probably a good thing and it's only going to ramp up the excitement about uh an already exciting sport yeah conference reine in a separate discussion but I think the playoff is it's going to keep more teams more fan bases engaged I also think we've talked about this before too guys there is going to be a little bit of a this is a pass fail great if you didn't make the playoff this season was a failure especially at a school like LSU and not a little totally I don't know that that's always going to be fair because nine and three is a pretty good season or at least it used to be I'm not sure it is anymore or if you go 10 and two but miss the playoff is that still a good season I I don't know so the uh the Sugar Bowl this year is a quarterfinal the semi-finals are the cotton bow and the Orange Bowl and then the championship is in Atlanta so let's go around the room final four picks K and your National Champion yeah I went with Ohio State Georgia Oregon and Texas and my national champion is Ohio State um I think Ohio state has the best roster top to bottom in the country will Howard's the only I guess quote unquote question mark with this team how how will he how will he Faire uh piloting the most talented offense in the nation around him um but I just just the pure fact that he has so many great weapons and such a great team around him will probably help him so I'm pretty confident that he's an upgrade for them at quarterback regardless and uh because of that I have them at number one and I still have some small questions marks about Georgia like with their receiving core and like a couple other small things um but I think that's kind of the difference between Ohio State and Georgia for me and then with Texas and Oregon I kind of played this out in terms of like putting putting all all every team into seeds and just going through the bracket and Oregon and Texas were the teams that kind of came out of that um Oregon I think is a really great team I think out of besides Georgia and Ohio State if you had to pick another team that probably is over an 80% chance of making the playoff would be Oregon because I just think that um their schedule I mean they should I would be shocked if they had more than like one or two losses this season and um I I I just think their their roster is incredible I think they probably had the best quarterback in the country this season um and with Texas I I don't know they the the the the bracket shook out pretty well for them and um they're obviously a really good team all right Wilson similar Ohio State Georgia Alabama and Utah and he had Ohio State winning the Championships of Utah out of the Big 12 uh Reed what did you come down all right so I went with um Georgia Ohio State Oregon and I'm already starting to get some cold feet with this but I went with h Miss um I'm I'm high on Miss um Rab's kind of scaring me off saying they haven't won an SEC Championship since 1963 1963 I really didn't consider that um but I'm high on I'm high on them this this season I think they have a lot of talent I think their schedule lines up well I think when you every time you bring back your quarterback um and sort of give him weapons like they have uh I think that's that's a really positive sign that that makes me think that you know you're ready to build on last season and get into the playoff and I think combined that the returning production on offense you know established play caller coach L kein and the work they did in the transfer portal and the way the schedule lines up I see a path to them getting to the playoff um but I a lot people just turned off his feed by the way it's okay I don't feel great about it the pival gam is at LSU um I think when they go on the road play LSU they win that game then you can see the momentum start start to roll toward them um getting in so that that's you might disagree with me but super interesting because there's two different discussions here my national title pick is Georgia Georgia has a tremendously difficult schedule but it's hard could lose two games and be out right they could but but if they get in let's say they lose two and they get in as the seven seed you think the two seed's going to want to play that team like they could get in the seven seed and then win the whole thing they get a home game in the first round they don't get the buy if that if that's the case but the two seed is Ohio State or something Georgia Ohio State in the quarterfinals like we could certainly see something like that um so George is my pick but but R going let you finish up your final four in your Championship pick yeah a a little boring but then one one outlier uh my final four is uh uh Ohio State Georgia Oregon and Kansas State I was glad K mentioned Kansas State earlier um no no particular reason although they have a very good quarterback in Avery Johnson uh not the Southern University and NBA basketball great but another Avery Johnson the ponytailed quarterback and uh and they're just that solid consistent program that punches above their weight class all the time and I can just see them getting in the playoff and knocking someone off and then you know you know winning you know winning a couple of games so uh I I just wanted to pick someone different quite honestly I didn't want to go just all chalk Dar is going to be some team at least in the quarterfinals maybe not the semis but the quart who's like you know not ranked in the preseason poll like where do they come from and that that is what is so great about this um and that team is going to have a one in eight chance at at the national title and and and Ohio State I also said over Oregon is a national champ I also had Ohio State so Ohio State national championship picks I think we had three Ohio States I'm I'm going to go Georgia I'm like Georgia lost a game that're they're going to be like ticked off for three years about losing one game so look out for Georgia and and I really do think you're right R their schedule is so difficult you could drop a couple games and then you're the two seed and you're looking up in George's in your bracket you're going how you know thanks that's our reward for going 13 and0 like we got Georgia as the seven seed so you you could definitely see stuff like that uh as you can tell we're excited about it that's our show for today our thanks to our sponsor Waste Pro baton rou Clinic all the others uh our thanks also Scott rabet Reed Darcy K Riley our beat riters our columnist and behind the glass we had Alex Lee and Amilia cotton I'm Zach Ying this has been the LSU sports Insider for Thursday August the 22nd is football time baby we'll be back next week and we'll dig in on LSU USC we'll see you then