USC's win vs. LSU big for Big Ten, Lincoln Riley, Texas a mismatch for Michigan? | CFB | THE HERD

the voice of college football at Fox Joel clatt joining us for his first Wednesday visit oh and what a visit it will be I don't know if you got I don't know if you got a heads up on it but um somebody uh somebody down there in uh Los Angeles had quite a weekend in Vegas did you hear about that I did hear about that I did hear about that now because you're from Colorado yeah and let me identify something for I just I always just can't wait to where this is going to go I I'm so interested right now so as a USC Insider I've watched the score points with Sark Lane and Klay hton that was the first game since Pete Caroll where they went up against the big dog and I would argue were more physical than LSU an SEC I don't want to hear about LSU is not good they're LSU they have two guys that are probably first round tackles and the tight ends of stud and the linebacker first time since Pete Carroll it wasn't first quarter second third by the end of that game they were hitting running backs and knocking them off their feet i s like four times the the defense was such a substantial upgrade it was almost shocking it was you know and it was almost like well wait is LSU good up front and then you have to remind yourself like yeah those tackles are that good um I I I will tell you I've always felt like if you can just get aligned properly if you can know your assignment and do it with any amount of of effort and then run to the football you can play adequate defense like just on those things those are kind of Basics wouldn't you say Colin and and unfortunately for for USC and Lincoln Riley last year and really some of the last two years they they were so far out of position as far as being in in the right Gap being fundamentally so they couldn't even get into the Align and assign portion so even if guys were trying to fly around they weren't tackling very well and and the effort then never even paid off even if they were trying really hard it didn't it didn't pay off because the alignment and the assignment weren't there now what you see with dant and Lynn is that they were in the proper positions and then all of a sudden the effort was rewarded and then all of a sudden you get more effort and so it's it's it's like this feedback loop where they started to have success and they're like oh wait we we are better than everybody thinks we are better players than everybody thinks we are highly recruited we are talented and we are physical and then you started to see that play out during the course of that second half and I think that was what was most surprising for everybody watching that game is that it wasn't 4241 USC and LSU went in there and they got in a fist fight in the second half and USC won yes and and it was it was an impressive win for USC and it was a really big win for the Big 10 because of what everything that we talked about in the offseason remember I I told you I told you all the way back in in July I said one I think USC is going to beat LSU that was number one and number two when and if they do they will immediately be a playoff uh Contender a cfp contender because of what that means in the narrative between the two conferences because these two teams you can say pretty confidently were sitting in the preseason in a very similar spot within their conference and they both felt like 12 13 in the country yeah that's right I thought that uh I thought that USC was was underrated by the AP so I thought that they were right around 15 or something along those lines and and and in a very similar spot within their conference of the Big 10 uh as LSU was in the SC so now like it or not folks college football is still a narrative business and it's still subjective and we're still going to assign 12 teams and some of these at large teams based on narrative and subjective viewpoints and and you've got a direct win of USC over LSU so it's big for the Big 10 and it's massive for USC you and I both talked about this USC gets Penn State and Notre Dame at home and they don't face Ohio State and Oregon yeah it's a favorable schedule for us michig not this weekend next weekend and that's going to be I think kind of a lowc scoring another physical tough game well USC's got it remember remember when I told you everyone was saying like oh their schedule is tough I'm like no no no no their schedule's actually really good they got a huge break a huge break they don't travel east and have to play a cold November game that's that's number one cuz that's what everyone would immediately assume and so they don't have to do that they get Penn State at home which is a a great get for them and Penn State looks to be in the elite team and played well against West Virginia and then the other big piece of this was you get Michigan before they develop into the tough hard-nosed Michigan that inevitably will show up in November you get them in September that's a great schedule for USC I I was saying this to a friend over the weekend if my son played quarterback he'd be tall lanky with a great great pocket present and I'm sure he would process information quickly he would know what he's seeing and he could react right away just like Tom Brady I said I'd send him to two coaches Sark or Lincoln Riley and and I want you to address this I watched Miller Moss you got one start big stage high leverage sophomore wide receivers freshman left tackle freshman Right Guard he looked like a fouryear starter yeah so I love that you brought this up I love that you brought this in the heck does Lincoln Riley do to get these quarterback transfers Baker Kyler it doesn't matter where guys come from you give him an offseason with a guy as a starter taking first team snaps they all look like this do you know what he gives his quarterback answers answers and options that's what Lincoln Riley and Sark to that matter you can you can lump them in this and and Lane kein all the great play callers even Ryan day will do this to a certain extent they give their quarterback answer and options what is the defense doing what are they trying to do to me what do I have in my toolbox that I can combat that with on every play and Lincoln does this as good or better than anybody is that he trust his quarterback to put the football where the defense tells him to put the football not where Lincoln wants him to throw it but what where does the defense tell me this football should go how about the evidence of some of those run plays late in the second half half or on third down why why do they do that it's not because Lincoln Riley is brilliant it's like oh he timed that run call brilliantly that's not a run call that is a play with options it's a package play with options and the quarterback Miller Moss says what is the defense doing okay I have answers and options for how to combat that and then he uses those now this is what's what's not a very popular take because Caleb was such a generationally talented player at qu right but Caleb didn't always go in the right spot with the football based on what the defense was doing because he thought to himself listen I'm a generational talent and I'm going to make this play and then a lot of times it worked so this is not a knock it's just it's it's just a framing of what's going on with Miller Moss who is not going to play outside of the system Baker didn't play outside of the system Jaylen didn't play outside of the system guess who else didn't play outside of the system for St sarkeesian late in his career as an old journeyman gets one year to start ma Jones who quarterback one of the great offenses in college football history in 2020 with the Alabama Crimson Tide Miller Moss feels a lot like ma Jones from Alabama that that and and they have guys that give them answers and options that's why you run the football on Third and eight and get it it's not a lucky play call it's that the defense tells you you should run the ball based on the ratios and the numbers why do you throw the ball in certain spots and it's always open well because he gives you answers and options it's a long-winded answer to tell you like if I'm a quarterback I want to play for a guy like that he broke 44 records at Colorado of course most have been broken since but Joel cloud is joining us okay okay it's true it's true and they should be yeah they outlawed the past do you know what record I didn't hold though thankfully career interceptions thrown I was close I was charging after that thing didn't quite get it congratulations let's move on to relevant stories um Texas Michigan Texas Michigan I don't I don't like this match up for Michigan well that's cuz Texas is really really good I don't think they're going to move the ball on Texas I don't know I'm not as concerned about Michigan's offense as some you know what I'm concerned about Texas is speed Texas looks like Alabama has looked and Georgia has looked they started a little bit of that last year yes they they didn't have the back end defensively but you watch them against Alabama you're like oh wait a minute they can run and and they're just as big as Alabama that's exactly right Texas that's what Sark is building he he left Alabama and he left the the Nick sain tree and that's what he he's building for moros and and what I like about what sarc has done is that he didn't go try to copy Nick Sabin from a personal personality standpoint or philosophy but he did look at that roster at Alabama and say oh yeah that's how you win that's how you win this looks like an early 2000s USC team it looks like the Alabama teams and the Georgia teams they're big they're experienced upfront in fact four of their offensive linemen this is their third year starting they're veteran they're as good an offensive line as anybody in the country and you you couple that with a quarterback that I think is as good as anybody in the sport like Quin I do and I think he's going to be a Heisman guy at the end of the year for me I mean his Drew locky to me I don't know if I will be as high on Quinn in the draft process as I am for him for Texas now and I think those can be two truthful stat ABS to your point um but having said that he's an experienced guy with a lot of confidence that has weapons around him and this is going to be a difficult game for Michigan I will I will say this and and I know you love like you love history we sat on a desk together it might have been like one of your first weeks at FS at Fox at Fox Sports it was uh Jim Harbaugh's first game yeah yeah I remember that Utah at Utah and that came up this week in my memory and and it wasn't because you were blowing me away with smart takes although I'm sure they were fine it was more so this Michigan team reminds me more of those early Harbaugh teams Jake rudock at quarterback Wilton Spate at quarterback developing trying to be tough up front leaning on the Run game really good defense tough defensive line that can play little limitation offensively a limited offense but trying to get it done complimentary football both of those teams in 2015 and 16 110 football games in fact in 16 you know they were that overtime game with Ohio State away from going and playing for a big 10 Championship so I I still think that Michigan can be very good I just think that they're vastly more limited than what they were a year ago when they had all of that NFL Talent namely at the quarter back position and and JJ McCarthy so that's how it frames in my mind and I think it's an uphill battle for Michigan this week because Texas is really good and remember this the last game Texas played their defense was riddled with mistakes they didn't play well against Washington right their whole off season the offense is fine I I I tend to look at what was your last game like like Miller Moss last game Louisville Holiday Bowl got some confidence sure Texas got Washington just was a hot knife through that secondary and I think Texas going to come with a chip on their shoulder to prove to everybody we're not just flashy we can hit you in the mouth and play defense well I Texas this year reminds me a lot of what Michigan was a year ago uh a team that lost in the previous semifinal and you can see the train coming all off season and and you can see and you're like oh man they're really experienced oh man their quarterback is is very good college quarterback they're they've got talent they've got they've got speed they've got toughness and they've got a culture and uh like Texas is real they're they're going to be a problem for Georgia they're going to be a problem for anybody in the country Texas is legitimately a national championship Contender and at least in this September with this roster with all the newness at Michigan I can't in in good conscience say that Michigan is a true National Title Contender right now they might develop into that I'm not sure the Wilton Spate 2016 team did they developed into that late in that season behind an incredible defense um and maybe that happens this year for Michigan but right now Texas is the team that walks in there but with that by the way with that expectation comes an immense amount of pressure they if they lose this game to this Michigan team that is awful awful for them and their fan base and their narrative and their momentum because of the expectations of what we just talked about so that's on Fox Texas at Michigan First top 10 matchup it's going to be such good TV it's going to be it'll be great that's good good I'm happy for you I am I appreci I poke you a little bit but I am happy for you know what you still hold some Colorado records some of them there's there they're deep down in the fumbles in a quarter yeah something like that you know like most drop snaps okay so I'll get to Clemson next week Florida State's done I'm GNA throw I you and I liked Oregon a lot yeah time out I don't know what that was but that doesn't look like correctable in a week well that was the Idaho could have won that game yeah and by the way if Idaho would have won that would have been a bigger upset than the appstate Michigan game from the early 2000s that would have been the biggest upset in five star fourar guys all we know Dan lanning's a good coach what was that that was as concerning as any game in in the first week of the Season there's no question about it and here's the thing it's because it's not like they went out there and turned the ball over seven times and were all of a sudden in a close game Dylan Gabriel threw for incredible production including 41 of 50 they had to throw 50 passes against Idaho that is concerning to say the least if I'm Dan Lanning I'm going in there and it it's it's fire and brimstone all week with that team because a lot in a lot of respects you've got to take this team that won the football game and treat them like losers right you've got to take them and humble them down and say this has got to get better namely the offensive line oh no the offensive line was a problem three starters back they ran the ball for under three yards per carry against Idaho five of their eight penalties were on the offensive line and they gave up three sacks and you might say to yourself like well three is not not terrible they gave up five all last season and by five all last season starters they return these are four and five star guys yeah they're good players they recruit high-end linemen they're they're good players and and you know this Oregon team I'm going to I'm going to R ride with Oregon this week and say okay that's what I feel Bo I'm going to give you your pass and say you're going to go back to the grindstone and you're going to correct those issues Boise State comes in By the Way Boise state has has never lost to Oregon they're three and0 against Oregon in their history I know that that that sounds crazy program good program Ashton jenty their running back is an excellent player that might be the top running back taken in next year's NFL Draft just he's he's that good but I think Oregon writes the ship and I think that they win in a big way yeah I'm I'm watching that thinking we got ourselves a problem yeah that was that was big problem here's clatt top 10 oh there there does a apparently uh as I said to clatt on Twitter he does he only has Direct TV he did not see the USC game clatt does not have USC and that physicality and Miller Moss I put them at 11 oh okay I was it I I don't understand what your problem I watched Oregon and I watch USC like I said I'm I'm going to give I'm giving Oregon one last chance I felt the same way I'm like no what this is something happened that the bus broke down they they're playing not in cleats they're playing in I don't know I don't know what that was man you know what was so great about that week one of college football that was so good it wasn't just like well Georgia and Alabama looked good I mean Georgia looks great you've got freshman for for Ohio State Texas looked great Notre Dame with a big win Bama looks like they're rolling with a young wide receiver that could be B next adun you got Miami Oklahoma like you've got a lot of really great story lines including West Coast Football USC with that huge win that was really big it really was um let me I got something else here I was going to bring up oh you didn't even bring up Colorado Nebraska it's a huge game okay I'll just listen I was for Deion Sanders I think he has brought awareness to the program and energy and he can recruit I like Nebraska I think Nebraska is the Sleeping Giant in the country they're going to knock off good teams including USC as that sandwich game right in the middle of like pen it's like UCLA Penn State Nebraska think of it this way for Nebraska you'll love this last year they won they've lost four games by a field goal in those four games they turned it over 17 times 14 of them were by the quarterback Dylan Rola the true freshman doesn't have to be great he just has to to be a net positive for them to turn into an 8 n maybe 10 win team if they're able to beat Colorado on Saturday night they'll be undefeated facing Ohio State which means even if they lose that game they'll go into November as an 8 and one team playing legitimate college football playoff games you know coaches love Matt rule I told the staff this this morning people can say what they want about the Carolina experiment but nothing works in Carolina Matt rule is one of those guys when you talk to other coaches you talked to Urban me he's like no that dude can coach Matt rule does stuff guys rip off the the problem for Nebraska and Matt is that Colorado has three or four players that are better than any player that Nebraska has so this is the problem for Nebraska is the better team I I I will fully admit but if shador goes off and Travis has a couple of picks colado could easily win this game because those two guys are just better than everybody else well Travis maybe the best player in the sport this year I think he is I think best overall player yeah I would agree with that clatt is excellent I'm going to give you a on this one you brought it the fact that you had all those numbers up there I'm a high processor you are you can trust you on Third and three to audible to a third play that's what I like about yoube sometimes even a fourth was like well now you're pushing your luck I don't want a fourth read from clatt you just let her rip okay hi everybody it's me Uncle Colin subscribe here to get the latest from the herd including exclusive behind the scenes videos and more wherever you may be however you may be watching thanks again for making us part of your day