Mike Griffith battles Paul Finebaum ahead of UGA opener against Clemson

Mike what's up how are you I'm doing great Paul how you doing man that is quite a background behind you you like that yeah beautiful skies in Atlanta about 100 degrees today well good I'm I'm so glad you're here and this game has gotten more attention than I thought it would when we first saw the schedule so take us inside especially what's happening at Georgia a lot of question marks yeah it surprises me that that it wouldn't get more attention Paul I mean these coaches have won four of the last eight national championships and of course dabos Sweeney beat Nick sa two out of three in national championship game so and I I think people need to give DB o Sweeney and Clemson a little bit more credit than they have I mean this is a program that's won five games in a row they have some momentum rolling into this and and they have some continuity I mean everybody gets on Dabo because he's not taking in transfers but the flip side of that is that they're able to maintain continuity and their depth may be a little bit more prepared at the beginning of the year than some of the other programs that might have lost some older more experienced players who weren't starting to transfers so there there's a flip side to this for Clemson I think this is going to be a battle uh Georgia has some injuries and some availability issues some more documented than others that could put the Bulldogs in a more challenging situation than I think a lot of people realize so let's uh let's talk about the Personnel uh what do we know at this hour well we don't know much uh Kirby Smart hasn't made any official announcement on Trevor etn this is a player who had a very well publicized off field incident driving incident charges reduced now uh to a level where technically by ug's rules he could be able to play but then again ug evaluates these things on their own I mean yeah the judge had their say and yeah there may be some rules but this is done on a case-by casee basis and right now if I had to guess I wouldn't think that Trevor etn would play if I had to guess right now again this could change Kirby Smart has not made any announcements but right now that's kind of the feel well that's compounded by the fact that Rod Robinson who probably the second most experienced back he's been battling turf toe and he's doubtful at the very best I don't think many people expect him to play so now all of a sudden you're down to Branson Robinson who didn't play at all last year this kid had a serious knee injury hasn't played in two seasons or an undersized walk-on named Cash Jones and everybody likes this guy but he's not real big and there's probably a reason that he hasn't been placed on scholarship at another major institution so the Georgia backfield the ranks are a little thin it appears and that could affect the game plan in terms of how many pages Mike Bobo and Carson Beck have available to them in their game plan this this is a big game I I I don't want to short sell it but if you look at the the Georgia schedule Mike I mean there there are a lot of games that Georgia fans are probably more uh concerned about and excited about which which sounds like a ridiculous question toward Mike Bobo but how much does he show on Saturday afternoon I think he's got to show everything he's got I mean I think the days of holding things back and I know some people think that happens it really doesn't in a game like this you said it Paul Georgia plays three of the top six teams on the road this is ridiculous they play six teams out of the top 15 in the country I don't I don't know who was working in the SEC office that day or what they might have against Georgia I'm just kidding I mean sometimes these things just cycle this way right but Georgia does they they have a very challenging schedule uh three top six teams on the road first things first though Paul Clemson I mean this game was played in 2021 in Charlotte North Carolina Georgia won that game it propelled them to the National Championship if they don't beat Clemson in that 10 to3 showcase they don't get a second chance at Alabama after they lost to them in the SEC Championship game in 2021 they don't win that first title and I think if they don't win that first title they don't win that second title so it all started with Georgia Clemson and Charlotte in 2021 and it came right down to the final minutes so Griff uh do you feel uh comfortable do you think it's a tight game what do you think it's going to end up being Saturday well well like any other game Paul you you play it 20 times it it comes out 20 different ways Georgia probably wins 17 of those 20 certainly if etn is not available uh that kind of reduces the margin for error that Georgia has puts more pressure on Carson Beck that's the question I mean as if Carson Beck needed any more pressure p i mean he's he's one of the top two or three Heisman favorites he's a projected number one overall pick he's he's the leading returning passer in the country on the number one team he gets a tattoo on his leg of a space shuttle that says sky the limit I mean the the pressure couldn't be any more U heavy on Carson Beck's shoulders I think he needs to play a really good game because the only way I think Clemson wins this game is if Carson Beck turns the ball over something he has not done he has not had a multi- interception game 13- one last year as a starter and yet we still have these big game questions about Carson Beck he'll be able to answer them at noon in Mercedes Benz Stadium let's get let's move away from this game uh and and I know there there's a lot of uh food on at the at the breakfast bar that you could choose from and you would probably choose a lot of it but outside of the game you're you're covering uh what's the other storyline game that you are most intrigued by in the SEC well one thing I'm intrigued by Paul not not a game I'm I'm intrigued by what game day looks like I don't know if you saw Oklahoma States putting QR codes on their helmets you know they're trying to get in people's pockets there's going to be all these initiatives I want to keep my eyes peeled and see if there's any other creative ways that teams and schools are trying to reach out to the television audience and beef up their n earings that that's one of course I'll be watching kayin dor and Alabama against Western Kentucky of course I want to see that offense and of course I expect Jaylen milroe uh to throw for 300 yards and and produce some ESPN highlights and SEC network highlights that we'll watch all week and we'll probably Vault him into the top two or three of the Heisman Trophy race I want to see if these Alabama guys can tackle I mean they lost their be their best player said see you later to Alabama to go to Ohio State Paul you covered Alabama you worked at the Birmingham post Herald the Mobile Register long time Alabama Birmingham radio host can you believe that an elite Alabama football player would leave Alabama football to go play at the Ohio State I mean that's blasphemy I mean that's what does that say about the Alabama defense I'm glad you brought that up you know what's you know what really shocked me about that that he went to Ohio State instead of Georgia yeah not not me because that was one of the schools he was looking at coming out of high school these guys you know they have to kind of project where they can play right away and Georgia has a very deep and talented secondary I don't think he would have got much playing time be uh behind SEC champ or excuse me national championship game defensive MVP uh or Malachi Starks a listen I just want to make sure I understand you correctly um I you're talking about Caleb now you're saying he went to Ohio State because he didn't feel like there was a a good position for him at Georgia no I didn't say that I said just say there G I heard it one way and we can check the transcript but you basically said and I'll interpret the the the best player on Alabama's team wasn't going to play as much at Georgia correct as a true freshman correct last year they had Javon Bullard who was a national championship that's not what I'm talking about GFF I'm talking about the decision he made in January after kayin deor show why didn't L of did Caleb DS go to Columbus instead of playing for the guy he hugged after the SEC Championship Game be smart I get it you know a lot of times those relationships go way back Paul and and they go back to the recruiting times and I think that the DS family felt comfortable with the Ohio State and I think that they felt comfortable with the package that they were offering them I can't get didn't George also bring in his coach uh they absolutely brought him in they had a great visit but you know they picked Ohio State Over Georgia to play at the next level I don't know what Ohio State offered I just know that the best defensive player at Alabama did not stay in the SEC and you could argue that maybe the best running back in the SEC didn't stay in the league so the fact that the Ohio state is landing these sort of players and I don't know if you saw it uh there was a report out there somewhere saying that Ohio State might be interested in Nick Sabin if if they don't win a national champ where did we hear that first by the way I think it was in Dallas GFF I I I I did hear it from you and I think I was sitting next to you in Dallas when you said it what I'm most curious about is what report did you see that I mean I mean was that was that uh uh what did uh Jimbo Fisher say a couple years ago pork chops or bro bro Bible or I mean where did you see that I'm just saying the speculation is already listen Nick sa's out here cutting these great commercials he's going to be fantastic on game day I can't wait to watch he was fantastic last Saturday can't watch him but he belongs on a sideline I mean T-Rex doesn't want to be fed he wants to hunt remember the Jurassic Park movie Nick Sabin wants to hunt I'm sorry I'm going to keep watching this year we're going to enjoy him the insight's going to be f fantastic ESPN fans we already know that nobody in nobody in America is disputing how great Nick Sabin is and will be on TV what what everyone in America is disputing is what in the world are you talking about what in the world am I talking about there's a report that Nick sabin's going to Ohio State seen was that was that one of your grandkids uh kindergarten uh paper I mean where in the world did you get that I think we need to pull up a a a front row chair for the Big 10 and what's happened to Ohio State and how desperate they are there's a lot of pressure on Ohio State to win a National Championship they have they've bought everything they got everything under the sun they got every every kind of player at every kind of position from every kind of school if they can't win a National Championship now it's time to throw Ryan day out and bring in a championship coach that's all I'm saying meantime in the SEC we got four pretty clear tear we did this SEC power poll this week at the Atlanta Journal Constitution and time time again it's Georgia it's Alabama it's Texas it's Old Miss hit it on repeat hit the spin cycle I want to see if those four teams are really that much better than the likes Missouri and Tennessee two teams I expect to have strong outings and what about A&M playing Notre Dame how big of a game is that for Melco you want to know what fantastic I'm talking to you about Nick sain going to Ohio State could we kind of keep your eye on that for a second since you you dropped this uh in all your I mean you're a great reporter I knew you in the newspaper world I know you now uh do you have one cintilla of evidence to support this insane story that you're pedling right now about Nick Sab going to Ohio State and replacing Ryan day it's Paul it it's common sense it's a philosophy and you've seen enough college football to realize it when you've got a seven time National Championship coach who's ready and able look at this guy you you could he could be surfing out in the O gu job though Griffin he he was ready to move on okay he just bought yeah because the nil came along and he couldn't dominate the recruiting ranks like he used to Steve spur told us this was exactly what's going to happen writing's on the wall but you you asked about games so we're bringing the attention back to the field I was just kind of throwing a little okay I I just want because when tomorrow I get to Gainesville and I see sper and he says now what what was what was your boy Griff talking about I I just want to be able to answer him uh because I I mean I know what you've said but I I've yet to understand the justification for it other than all these extraneous things that don't make a bit of sense all right well I think as the season progresses it'll make more sense and when you're in Gainesville by the way you might want to ask Steve spayer who he thinks the next Florida head coach could be because if Miami beats Florida the drums are going to start to beat and they're going to beat loudly and I've heard a lot about Miami I was talking to an ACC Insider that had been inside a Miami practice and they said this Miami quarterback is plugged in they've got Playmakers they believe the hurricanes are going to control the line of scrimmage in the swamp can we really see Miami control the line of scrimmage in the swamp and then what happens to Billy Napier everybody loves Scott they love this ad he might be one of the most popular ads that I've ever run across but I don't think that he can pull Billy Napier along if Florida doesn't get off to a good start and win that game against Miami and let's see just how good Miami is this quarterback all of a sudden he just shoots up to the top of the ranks and the high oh he's athletic and he can throw all the is he really that good or is who's he playing against I I can't wait to see that game another game that could come down to the final minutes and we'll see if the swamp still carries all that weight one of my favorite places to see a game those fans are Dynamite they're going to need to bring it because from everything I've heard this is the best Miami team in a long long time Griff we'll leave it there enjoy the weekend I'll be reporting back tomorrow on how your uh reports on Sabin and Napier are playing no rush Ohio State going to roll akan what's the spread 49 lay the points they're going to steamroll those guys Ryan day is going to be king for tomorrow against or Saturday against akan we will see you next week thank you Mike you got it Mike Griffin