Week 0 Expectations + Qualities Will Howard brings to Ohio State at QB | College GameDay Podcast

The Most Anticipated Season Of All Time Is Here! [Applause] hey everybody and welcome into the college game day podcast for Monday August 19th yes it is the Monday of week zero Pete DL joins us now ree Davis is not here because he's currently on an airplane that I'm assuming is playing like you know Irish music and people are dancing jigs in the hallway in the aisle and all he's headed over to Dublin but we're here Pete daml week zero how you feel never been better I am mostly anticipating the most anticipated college football season of all time and I love week zero people don't know what we're getting into everyone F of playoff they want but me explaining to my wife oh and by by the way we can't take our annual trip right after what January the 9th to go to Key West or whatever we have to wait till right before I go to Daytona in February I used to get a month now I about two weeks because the season lasts until January the 20th and oh by the way we have football games in the middle of December and uh New Year's Eve is when things were really just getting started like you tell me do you think people really understand how the 12 team college ball playoff works because my answer is no so this would not go for the people listening to this podcast right if you're listening to college podcast you you know I would think for the vast majority of them at least if you're a yearr round listener if you're just like college football starting need to study up you know like like me when I took like hard classes at Syracuse like you know like deep up take the plastic off that book and like give this thing a uh give this thing a peak um I think I live in Boston so I'm around a lot of non-oled sports fans who are huge sports fans right spent a lot of time on sports fantasy sports they bet they watch the NFL you know they know an in-depth amount I would think if you hold a thousand casual sports fans or just general pro sports fans I would say only 40% of them could tell you there's a 12 te playoff this year yeah yeah and the on that would be my guess like that's it's fair and of the 40% who know I would guess I would put it at 15 or percent or lower that understand how it works and that's fine oh yeah once you start getting can't get the buy and like all that stuff no there is a uh there's going to be a constant re-education of this as we go through I'm sure you'll be doing it on uh on Nation I know we'll be doing it on game day um I just feel like that is there is a part of me Ryan the longer I've done this that every year you almost have to like tell the audience whether you're writing or on TV like who the stars are going to be hey this guy is going to be one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC and you might not know his name from last year and the leagues changed so much and the teams Chang so much and the players changed so much there's always a process of re-education I feel like that that the media day into August is part of now this is just a holistic like re you know I think people are GNA be like whoa Texas is in the SEC like what when did that happen yeah well this weekend week zero only four games and smu's first game as a member of the ACC I was at ACC media days which we'll get into in a minute but but it was it was the weirdest thing I posted it you're on the elevator at the hotel and you're going from the up to get credentials and they got all the school logos like you know stickers these decals on the thing and your only escalator going up and you know there's Clemson and there's Florida State and there's North Carolina and Duke and Virginia whoever else you're like oh SMU that's weird and then oh Cal that's super weird Stanford what the hell is going on like what what me where am I right now and but I but it's it's weird but to me it's also exciting but but I'm telling you when we get to January 20th which is also by the way I think inauguration day I know it's Martin Luther King Day yeah and oh by the way the college football playoff National Championship is that night in Atlanta it's just people don't know they do not know and it's going to be it's gonna be the I I did mcafe show I believe it was this past summer and set on the show man it's crazy right that we're going to be playing football college till January 20th and literally out loud M went what do we know this and Stay Ready, There Are Even More CFB Changes To Come you know he's on game day so I that to me I think that kind of sums it up like but it's gonna be great but it's just going to be it's gonna be very very different all right starts with week zero can I make one point about the ACC and the elevator real quick yeah please so I did that and then I went to Big 10 that week yep and I just looked around at all the different logos and all the different places in this moment of time especially the ACC and you see the count you see the Stanford and my reaction was okay this that's weird but it was so like this is not forever like we are going like like this is a very very uneasy truce of these 17 schools and obviously there's legal battles that are make a change but that was my primary action it's like 10 years from now we're like hey remember that season or couple Seasons where Stanford Cal SMU where it like it is just it is not forever and uh the the house um and the wise you know they'll be uh they'll be smarter judges and potentially juries looking at looking at those things but like for right now um it is just like okay this is a moment and it's an interesting moment and it's somewhat confusing moment and there going to be more moments down down the line so you know don't don't get the ACC standings tattooed on your bicep if you're like a really big SMU fan because that's probably not going to be forever let me ask you this Ryan I as Reese knows I like to hijack the podcast with thoughts that lightning bolt in my mind here what do you think Carolina does because that's really the future of the ACC is that's the Crux question this isn't new thought or concept people have been writing it I've been writing it for for months they are the lynchpin that is that is all known and it's such a powerful thing you liveing in North Carolina and knowing that league so well is one of the reasons I asked because North Carolina is the ACC y North Carolina doesn't want to be the sabator that ends up in the you know in the first line of the obituary of the ACC um it you and there they're like smart they're sitting back they're saying okay you go you go handle all those Leon County courts and we'll just watch and see what the path is but what how do you think where do you think that the mindset of that institution is right now well they have the best lawyers I think that's well documented you know it's it's how they got out of the academic Scandal they set the precedent now that everyone knows in this modern era you know if you're willing to wait out the NCAA or a conference or whatever if your lawyers are good enough you can do it I mean North Carolina's the one that showed everyone this path and so they're so smart and they're absolutely right and they know who they are and you know I grew up on Tobacco Road and you know every conference had has the school that the rest of the conference unofficially has to go through just how it is you know it'll anger people when to hear it but in in the SEC it's always run through Tuscaloosa it just has you know in the Big 10 it's always run through Columbus and ant Arbor in the Pack 12 it always ran through you know USC and and in the ACC it's always run through North Carolina it just has I mean I mentioned John Swafford he he was the athletic director there and became commissioner of the ACC so there you're exactly right that's the answer all due respect to Clemson and Florida State the real people the real power Brokers are watching North Carolina and then the question is who goes with North Carolina because if North Carolina does eventually make a move you know and you probably have heard this too the word is they kind of have a partnership with Virginia and the reality is is that Virginia Tech's probably a better fit for other conferences but if North Carolina says we'll come but we're bringing our friends from Charlottesville with us then that's how that's going to go down and so it's going to be really really but it is the interesting part to me is longterm what are these meetings like like what is it like for USC who has always believed that the Pack 12 went through them to sit in a meeting now with Ohio State who could care less that like like okay great congratulations on everything you did on the west coast we don't care how is that going to fly good job in water polo right well well long term Texas as we all know has believed whatever conference they were in Southwest Big 12 whatever it went through them now they got to sit in a meeting with Alabama and with Georgia and with you think they care and so when North Carolina who's used to having everything go through them has to sit in a meeting somewhere else that's going to be interesting but the reality is the money is important and all those things but in Chapel Hill basketball still rules and all they're going to care about is what will our basketball status be and it's the truth football pays for everything but in the end as you know as m brown will tell you um you know it is a basketball school first and foremost more than any other program in the country and so when they whatever they decide to do um if they decide to do it it's going to be do we still have the big boy at the end of the table and how does it affect basketball and so it's going to be really really but you know it makes a lot of sense with the SCC because they care very much about about keeping that map intact and every all the states connecting exactly right that's a big big big big big deal for sanki so if you were to add North Carolina and AD Virginia that that fits right through there so we'll see man what do you think I'll be curious if there's a legal tether to NC State there's been some smoke about that Will North Carolina Leave The ACC? remember the the one of the reasons why Larry Scott failed in getting Oklahoma in Texas is because they had to drag along Oklahoma State and Texas Tech right that would have happened right like talk about wild history bending moments you know what I mean like so um there's you know there's been chatter that there may be some attachment to NC State to UNC and how would that affect things right I think it would affect it pretty pretty dramatically yeah Virginia is an interesting case too because the the very divisive when you when you bring that up that they may be more attractive than Clemson or Florida State right because the results on the football field don't indicate that um it's great Market it's great School uh it certainly would be a great fit in the Big 10 right because you grab Virginia North Carolina you're contiguous going down too so that is as as those two leagues are now holding hands and singing Kumbaya Ryan like there's a Battleground right like you know it's it's north for sanki and it's and it's South for Tony petiti and it's going to be really interesting I don't think in fact I'm pretty confident we're we're going to have any distinct moves before the end of the regular season like I think we get a quiet couple months here I I think legal processes have to play out August 15th came and went with no uh which is like when you have to declare a year from now on August 15th could be a little bit different um there's the TV contract renewal that comes February 1st that I think is really the next important mile marker how does a cfp shake out in terms of access obviously I mean the cfp is now like Tony and Greg's uh ball of yarn that they bat back and forth to each other right like that's really what it's that's really what it's what it's come to I mean if you look at the deal the ACC could have gotten um when they when they did their grand filibuster and and such and and ended up pushing the expanded playoff back by a year um I mean it literally cost schools outside those power two hundreds of millions of dollars um because they they waited in filibuster and then um what happened was the the plate tectonic shifted and there's unequal ground now um it it was unequal before but it was equally paid ground and shanki patini looked around and said we're just GNA we're just going to packman up the the money in the land here and uh you know they floated the the automatic qualifier so there are some there are some big pivot Points here before I think we get to any kind of uh any kind of decisions um but yeah doesn't realignment just always hijack things like you can't have like a quick realignment conversation right it's just you can't at all and it's and it also just dominates everything because here we are with games on the schedule actual football games we like football games and and when Florida State uh is playing overseas there's no way you can talk about any of that without talking about the fact that they're in court right now against the conference and just just just football-wise I understand everyone's very bitter in Tallahassee about what happened last December and and and I get it rightfully so but looking forward the money's the money and I get it and and you understand your check's not as big as the check your that that schools in your state are getting in Florida right but ultimately the goal is to play for national championships and what's your pathway to get there it's why Florida state joined the ACC 30 years ago because now we have a have a chance to win a conference title and we have a CH we have a better path to play for a national championship that's what Bobby Balden knew and so the question is longterm if the ACC can hold it together and if the ACCC can continue into the future which I hope it does as North Carolina I don't think any I don't think there's anyone that wants the ACC to go away nobody want the Pack 12 to go away it's Preposterous that it's gone quite frankly I can't I still honestly can't I can't process it I can't it's like I Saturday Opener: Florida State vs. Georgia Tech know you just saw Springsteen it was a great line right when Clarence Clemens passed away Springsteen's line was you what's what's the world going to be like without Clarence clemency that's like asking what the world's going to be like without rain that's how I feel about the Pack 12 it's gone just it's the strangest I cannot process it but if you're Florida State and you're Clemson what's the easiest road to get to a national championship game or to get to the playoff I mean it's not even close you're in every year I just you got your off year but for the most part you're in the hunt all the way to the first weekend in December I just don't what if you're North Carolina Ryan and you haven't won the ACC since 1980 I believe yes La May 81 I think 81 was NC State yeah 81 was NC State yeah 0 was Carolina neither have won it since I grew up I grew I grew up a North Carolina State fan so I'm very bitter about all this but yes at least they haven't had any expectations they haven't met since then no until this year now we'll see right I mean greatest the North Carolina state has just had the greatest year athletic year in the history of the school without without without any question across the board College World Series women's men's final four I mean Dave Dorne had a great fall but this year they have a chance to continue that with think pretty good football team but yeah but what but if you but what's the better path to the playoff is it living in the ACC where Clemson and Florida State have Ruled The Roost with with some Virginia Tech mixed in there for a while or you know is it going and playing ball in the SEC or even in the Big 12 I just don't or the Big 10 for God's sakes it's just I don't it is what it is so uh I don't know it's it's a it's a weird deal and by the way Florida State plays there's there's a there's an ACC game this weekend Pete yeah I will be there I will be there when do you leave I leave uh Tuesday night into Wednesday I will get to Dublin from Boston quicker than the next week when I have to go to college station it will be a shorter trip for me yeah well College Station is not easy to get to no and and the good news is once you get there I actually feel better now because I'm going to Gainesville week one we're going to do Marty McGee and SEC Nation for uh oh fun yeah Miami and Florida first time that game has been played in a long time and I was I was complaining about the fact that I was gonna have to get out the Gold Bond uh because we're going to be sweating through six pairs of pants but I don't feel as bad anymore because you're going to College Station and college station is um only slightly less hot than the surface of mercury so on Labor Day weekend so enjoy that really excited for the game because I think it's going to be a good football game um I really think Georgia Tech is in a position where in in an opener with all the weird variables they can they can hang around and have a uh have a puncher chance now I like Florida State I pick Florida State to win the ACC I pick Florida State to make the playoff so I'm not uh shering from that but I do think there's an elite matchup in this game and it's Tech returning five starters on the o line against Florida State's dline which I think is the best in all college football yeah um really think Florida state has built this thing into a consistent playoff Contender and League champion last year undefeated regular season for the very simple reason that they have built their offensive line and defensive line to be like the SEC in terms of talent and in terms of depth and uh in the interior they have darl Jackson and Josh farmer who look like SEC defensive lineman they're big they're athletic um they like grew up together and are uh or like the closest of uh the closest of friends they grew up in a small town outside of outside Tallahassee farmer went straight to Florida State Jackson bounced around a little bit before making his way back I believe went to Maryland in Miami and I I'd be pretty pretty stunned if there's a better pair of edges in college football than Patrick pton and Marvin Jones Jr A&M may have an argument if Shamar Stewart comes on and there you you can obviously pick a couple but Patrick pton this is my favorite stat Ryan he had 10 tipped balls last year as a defensive end 10 10 like I like never heard of that for a d for a d linan i mean you're a first team All American Corner if you have 10 tip balls right um and then Marvin Jones Jr was obviously a big time recruit his dad obviously is one of the all-time great nolles one of one of the great nicknames in the history of of the world shade tree which was shade tree they call it shade tree shade tree you see you're so New England right I have to explain this to you all right so shade tree shade tree is a tree that is so big that it provides shade like a hot day you sit under the shade tree and they call and it's so big it casts a shadow over everything around it and so shade tree Jones to me was one of the all-time nicknames a great nickname this was the first time since I lived in Bristol Connecticut that I've had to explain what a shade tree is so that the look on your face was well Marvin Marvin Jr can give a little shade too because he's a big he's a big ombre coming off coming off the edge there so I feel like that is like where you start with Florida state is that this this could be this could up be a low-scoring game as dju gets accustomed to the Florida state offense and they obviously have a lot of holes to fill I think uh Lawrence toili their back who took over that ACC title game is really poised to emerge as as one of the top backs in college football this season and they have again a another very solid offensive line in in front of him and there's some new skill right sometimes takes some time to adjust DJ's going to settle in so I think we could see a short ground driven game line of scrimmage focused Florida State figures out a way to uh figures out a way to win Hees King obviously is uh one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC um he were you in College Station the uh the nighty beat Bama uh yes um it that was something else and and it's interesting now because we are living in this era where I I've seen him play I've seen DJ play several times and you know we're still covering him but they're in different places I like DJ a lot I just like I I like talking to him he's smart sometimes it just doesn't work and and so and so I'm I'm I love the second chance factor of the transfer portal and you know I always go back to Jaylen Herz I always go back to a lot of these guys that you know um you I go back JT Daniels is one of my favorite athletes I've ever interviewed great kid and people like to kind of crack jokes about the fact he was a St at four different schools I loved it because yeah it was four chances to hit a reset button and it was fun watching him be happy you know so so so that part of I like and and listen the wild card in this game we joke about going to Ireland and all that but I had a conversation with Mike no about this at um at ACC media days and I said all right you know tell me about the logistics of playing your first game of the year overseas and his response was well which answer do you want do you want the politically correct answer or do you want the honest answer and I go give them both to me he's with political correct answer is he goes and this is accurate he goes It's amazing he goes and we have we have the opening weekend to ourselves you know we have this prime time slot on ESPN you know I you know you know Pete I was out at d23 in Anaheim yep and we were doing this whole promotion of the of the opening weekend and they're the only week zero game and we got this you comic High Noon three hour game day going into it fantastic I mean you got no bigger no Pro two programs that have a bigger stage than Florida State and Georgia Tech do you remember that terrible Nebraska Northwestern games you off it was Terri one of the worst games I have to look it up but like eight million people watched that game yeah and it was God awful yeah yeah only game Northwestern won that year La Pat's last win I believe yeah and even the people overseas were like why did now why are they here like why why are these why are these schools here the fact that this one head coach looks like one of us the rest of it what why are we here but then all the good Catholic kids from Nebraska is that I mean why why are these two why are these two teams here but the um but then the then Norvell paused and he goes all right now I'll give you the honest answer he goes this is a huge pain in the butt huge pain in the B and he walked through you know everything you got to do and he he's talking about the opportunity for the for the for the athletes to go over there and he goes we're going to turn this into he goes most of the teams never been overseas we're going to turn this into a fantastic trip and a fantastic opportunity he goes but football-wise he said it is a huge pain in the butt yes and so there's that fact 4.4 million watched that terrible game by the way but I imagine we'll get a similar number noon have to have to I can guarantee you won watching from North Carolina but but but but that factor I don't think can be overstated which is you know how do you handle that and I think GE geordan Tech's done this before you know and and Florida state has not logistically and so it's going to be that that part of it I'm not saying it'll be a factor but I'm saying don't be surprised if it's very look clean in the first quarter yeah one never is Right week one week one is when everybody's figuring everything out from the from the officials to the coaches to the players everyone's still they're getting their sea legs and so now you're getting your sea legs with some jet lag and so it's going to be really it's going to be it it could be a factor might not be a factor but chances are the first half will not be the cleanest half of football that you will watch this year yeah week zero well this is my theory on like the start of college football is and again we love it right there's so so much buildup preseason rankings Power Rankings projections like all of a sudden those become realities y when we're really just guessing right like when it comes down to it we're really just completely guessing but those things get repeated and Amplified and copied and and all of a sudden that's that's reality and then they actually snap the ball each program has 40 new players nobody knows anything Ryan right like nobody really knows anything so all of a sudden there's just this like somebody breaks the wedge in all of that is like somebody in the top 10 it starts 0 and2 and they're like on a long climb back to the 12 team playoff and that's the beauty of it right like but we shouldn't never be surprised still especially with the amount of player movement there's just so much roster turnover that I like I can't even Reese and I have talked about I think it was danda Big 12 media day was like how do you guys even pick these like there's so many new players and I was like Hey Fair like totally fair um yeah so it's uh you know look we can talk about later but SMU I think is a 28 point favorite at Nevada right and we know a good amount about SMU they had a bunch of guys back they did well in the portal n matter has new staff a boatload of new players under Jeff Cho and we don't know anything about them no like nothing so we could talk about that game later but it's just like what about New Mexico God you know Bronco comes in and you know the it's a total reset and you know so um who do you like me Bronco men and Hall fascinates me I for I go back to I I am a I'm one of the things that I think isn't being talked about enough and certainly will be when the game gets here is the fact that in the new Big 12 you know BYU Utah is there right the holy war is there it's going to be there now it's conference game like all that I love that game so much it's it's the biggest it's the one game I've never been to that I have always covered like I'm very very open about as a kid I I was a mountain football junkie like I'm the one that would stay up till 2: o in Saturday Game Preview: Montana State vs. New Mexico the morning to watch San Diego State and Hawaii and so I love BYU Utah because of that I'm fascinated about Bronco menal because we all remember the video of him walking off the field and suddenly screaming at fans and the stands you know at Utah and all that and then I got to know him a little bit at Virginia which I still not sure why I took the job and it just it but but he did a job he just he wanted the challenge he wanted the challenge and now um you know as the now my think my 11th or 12th year at the bottom 10 I know New Mexico really well so T So taking do the bottom 10 is this like a a dozen years yeah this will be I think the 12th year W which is crazy um you really know bad football no I do and I say it all the time the best part of it is is when a team turns the corner oh sure and when I I send them off into the UTSA when I send UTSA off to a bowl game I feel like I'm again like I just dropped my daughter off of college that's how I feel when when Georgia State when Georgia State who is my inaugural uh bottom 10 Champions 12 years ago when they started going to bowl games I I felt like I was going to bowl games I felt like it was my moer so but but the challenge is there for Bronco but I that's he's D he he doesn't really care about the stuff that we think all these coaches are just laying in bed at night thinking about he just he's up for he wants the challenge that's the only reason you take that job and so I'm really fascinated to see you know what and then and then in a similar note he's there because of z moer um you know the night cap game uh will be Delaware State at Hawaii on week zero that will roll into Sunday and I love Timmy Chang and I love him because and I may have told you this or not but talking about my daughter she's in college now College sophomore but she was born in the fall of 2004 okay back then back then I wasn't traveling every weekend like I am now and my daughter bless her heart was a screamer I mean she just all night long she was and she wasn't she was sweet kid but she just she wasn't sick she wasn't she just she just didn't want to go to sleep so 2 o'clock in the morning baby it'd be me and that child in the basement of my house trying to let my wife sleep and every Saturday I remember Hawaii end of the year in 2004 with four straight home games and I had the ESPN goal line package and I would watch the local Hawaii broadcast at 2 a.m. eastern and Timmy Chang will be hanging four touchdowns and 500 yards on Michigan State I think it was Michigan State like UAB it was a weird but Timmy Chang set all his records so Timmy Chang's the only thing that kept me sane when my daughter was screaming and throwing up as a child as you have experienced recently and so God bless Timmy Chang God bless him he was my psychiatrist that fall yeah and uh that's it's it's interesting like how these games get scheduled right uh SMU had Vanderbilt ditch him in January um hard to hard to get a January game so they basically just begged Nevada to play him because you only had so many people who could play you if you play Hawaii on the road you can schedule a 13th game so that's basically how that game played SMU going to Reno um for for that game now I do think we're going to break down the barriers of week zero here soon Ryan and I do think week is going to become week one right as as all this happens like the The Embers are there does this happen next season the season after by the way great for the sport to have two NFL regular season free weekends of exposure to dive in hey get to know Garrett nus before Miller Moss before the season like take advantage of your windows what what's the crazy stat of like 96 of the top 100 viewed programs in America or NFL games yeah that's not going to change right so and there's going to be places on the calendar where they bump in I know the playoff is is one of those but I do think the the oxygen of an NFL free weekend at least of the of the regular season plus preseason I just don't feel like drives any NFL I just feel like people are like like you may watch your team if you really are like into the roster but um you know once that NFL regular season starts man it gobbles up a lot of America's attention so I really feel like if there's you know it college football leaders would be wise since they're already doing it anyway to go now look that's an extra week on everybody but also like Rett Lashley uh was was very blunt about wanting two buys throughout the season because they uh you know they're going to be traveling a ton in this new uh ACC now they traveled a ton in the AAC let's be honest um but you know they're they're kind of spaced out for them to uh to go through so um yeah God bless uh God bless week zero let me give you two Nevada notes Ryan um because they're they're fresh in my mind okay one is that uh they're they're gonna the kid is gonna get a lot of care Savon red who was a recruit who went to Texas who would probably be Texas is starting uh running back right now with the injuries they've had he wouldn't be the starter he and Jaden blue would be splitting carries he would be right in the front of that room uh I was told yesterday he's been a real dude during camp but the fun guy the most interesting guy in that game to me is Kon Crawford do you know who Kon Crawford is yes I have Saturday Game Preview: SMU vs. Nevada hav't thought about that in name in a while so Kon Crawford was the single best it's k i t an Crawford he was the single best special teams player in college football last year he would have been a fifth or sixth round pick he's a he's a defensive back for them um I think he's GNA play field safety uh he would have been drafted in last year's NFL Draft simply because he is such a special special teams demon like and that's that's rare you get maybe one of those a year that's that's like that's like that's like Steve Tasker Bill b like you know that does not happen at all Yes um so he had uh he had an interception against Bama last year he had a blocked kick a huge blocked kick in the Kansas State game but I remember talking to Scouts before Texas b and a couple brought him up they're like oh he's going to get invited to the combine he's going to get drafted just on special teams so he he he follows Cho to from Texas to Nevada to play more snaps in the in the secondary and round out his game a little bit but like don't be surprised if you know if he busts through the line at some point and blocks like that's a that's just a you know if you're uh if you're locked and loaded for that uh for that game which I believe is the 800m Eastern night cap kind of a fun player to uh to to track and watch in that game hey we were talking about players to track and watch and earlier we were talking about know Second Chances and transfers and all that Ohio state names will Howard starting quarterback um your reaction surprised not surprised I mean this is this is going to be Chip Kelly's guy now a guy that you know yes this is the same kid that we saw uh bring glory to Manhattan Kansas with a big 12 Championship um all right I'm not surprised um just because of the player that we saw play last year I don't think anyone's surprised but it's officially official now yeah so I think the one thing will Howard gives Ohio State this year Ryan that they didn't have last year is the threat of the Run Kyle McCord was a very good quarterback he had a very good season he was like sort of your classic statute dropback you know pareli and kind of era passer um especially now with Chip Kelly as the OC who's produced a a slew of top 20 rushing teams in a row at UCLA um you know the the threat of the run I don't think anybody can design a Zone read better than chip right like the threat of that run for will Howard brings another element of diamondis to the offense not to mention they have the best tailback tandem in the country so um yeah Will Howard obviously mechuka is there Jeremiah Smith has generated a ton of Buzz the true freshman receiver from South Florida there so yeah that offense is good to go my question remains the offensive line like I need to see it um to to really like get there in terms of belief ran but yeah Will Howard uh is is a a winner he's a gamer High character high IQ um um I'm not saying he's going to be first team all big 10 but he's a he's a very good college quarterback who I think has a great coordinator is going to design the right system around him a great coordinator who by all measures seems to be very happy right now and yes and by all measures um if anyone went out to Westwood to see Chip Kelly while he was head coach UCLA he never looked very happy to me like he always had that he he chip never looks happy anyway like even when even when Chip's having a great time he looks miserable right but but but but in at UCLA even when things were starting to turn around always looked like his underwear was about six sizes too small you know what I mean he does he does not look like that anymore in Columbus now we'll see uh we'll see what it feels like if we get into October is that a southern saying or is that a you say I made that up is it might be might be inappropriate it might might be me might be me already worried about going to Gainsville and going to College Station you know week one when it's 5,000 degrees with a humidity of 98% but the uh but yeah but it but it's but I I mean you I don't know if you've been to Columbus I if you talked to this guy but just what I've what I've heard from what I've talked to people about everyone says Chip Kelly looks like he's grooving right now like he's really enjoying himself because as you know the biggest transition for all these guys when you get the dream job and you become the head coach or whatever is you you miss coaching football and and the Chip Kelly at Oregon who really just focused on ball all the time and the chip kill at UCL had to focus on other stuff you know the jobs become this other thing it was always a CEO job I always tell the story about m brown when M Brown went from North Carolina who we talked about earlier to Texas and I asked asked coach BR so what's the biggest difference between you know coaching Chapel Hill coaching Austin he goes all right he goes first year he goes we're all walking from the building to the practice field he goes on like Tuesday and he goes in the helicopter lands coach you're coming with us what are you talking about he go I'm walking with the quarterbacks and they go no you got to come with us because it's in your contract you know it's the governor's wife's birthday you got to go make an appearance at the birthday party and he's like I'm getting ready for Oklahoma State or whoever but that's he said but that's the difference and so when you're in a job where and and I feel like most power for jobs are like this now where you have to spend so much time in your pie chart with other crap that's not football that you know I'm curious to watch Chip Kelly I'm curious to see what it's like in Fable Arkansas I'm curious to see what it's like with these we see with Will mus champ at Georgia who has quietly anonymously built this Juggernaut defense and no one's talking about it because he's not allowed to talk to the media but he when I see mus champ he looks so happy and no one looked more miserable than when mus champ when he was in games with Florida in particular and so I'm really curious to see because I like chip a lot and I'm really curious to see how it works but man has there ever been a program Pete DL that has done more during an off seon to create this monstrous roster seemingly overnight like Ohio state has done and the pressure they're going to face that Ryan day was already facing if they don't just obliterate everyone yeah so I uh I was going to point out that the job Chip Kelly has had the longest in his career was New Hampshire offensive coordinator 1999 to 2006 and I don't think would have ever left like if you gave if you gave him a chance again I think he'd just stay yeah and he'd probably become the head coach sea McDonald longtime coach there just uh retired within the last two or three years Ricky Santos who is one of Chip's quarterbacks there he won the Walter Payton award uh Ricky just uh Ricky just took over as a head coach within the last few years their quarterback actually is going to start at Minnesota on Thursday night uh opening Thursday Max brosmer um who was a prolific guy there and uh and ended up uh ended up transferring up but yeah I uh look I feel like the Buckeyes have created a monster I think it's the most interesting team in college football this year um I don't think like if they lose a game the world's going to fall apart because I think teams are going to lose games now and we need to like rewire our you know Minds a little bit for that like Georgia's gonna lose a game this year Ryan they're gonna lose a game in that they might lose two they're they are the best team in the country their schedule is awful like it's it's awful and it and it I I've said I've said this a lot of times over the last Take A Look At Georgia’s Awful Schedule two weeks no one's talking about that but it's not just who they play it's when they play them because even yeah you and you take the Auburn game now which is what first week of October and they got to go to Kentucky I mean there's there's games in there that they're going to overlook because in between those games is Alabama and then like right around the Texas game they got they got Tennessee in the middle of November now and so that schedule is awful and you know the good news is in the new playoff you know you can have a loss maybe two and still get there you can have two there's going to be two L teams in that playoff let's if Les Miles can win a National Title with two losses there's GNA be some two loss teams between you know five and 11 the Panic that's GNA set in yeah just the natural panic but yeah I'm I'm with you there but I interrupted you but yes Georgia's GNA have Georgia will have at least one loss I think in the regular season and I think they're the best team in the country they they could not win the SEC they could not be in the championship game in in December and still win an N Championship yeah I do feel like Ohio State's identity Ohio State quietly had a elite defense last year they were top three country most categories they return a vast majority of those players so while there is pressure on the offense there's questions on the o line we don't know what's gonna happen with Howard I am convicted that they will have a top five defense in the country this year just with the with Caleb Downs coming in the amount of talent and depth they have on the defensive line um they'll get both Corners drafted like I just really feel like they're you know the linebackers are good uh but like I really feel like there is like high high highend Talent on that uh on that defense so I think they there could be some really ugly scores these first three weeks they they borrowed Michigan's non-c schedule from uh from the last two years and they I think Marshall is their hardest game they open with akan so um it will be interesting to see the identity built at that point and uh and then when they get when they get going what uh what happens Akon by the way which spoiler alert is highly or lowly placed in the inaugural preseason bottom 10 which I think oh yeah they're gonna have a spot yeah they they're always there I know them well all right we uh we could talk uh forever you and I had had a chance to talk much this summer yeah but you have to pack and get a get on a plane you have to get your B12 and your hydration and all that before you before you uh it's not about jet lag it's about Dunkin Donuts not a paid sponsor actually just a masshole who drinks Dunkin Donut South Boston hydration is is the dunk but before I let you go I would be remiss as a journalist if I and I quoted Bruce Springsteen earlier I have to ask you about this the the viral sensation dude so so so Springsteen this was was in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh it's BTS: ESPN’s Insiders At A Bruce Springsteen Concert it's you shefer passen w right all four of you guys at one game yes so when I was a kid we would go to games at Clemson and for 10 miles you'd see all the South Carolina Highway the state troopers and my dad's running joke was this is the day to rob a bank in South Carolina because every law enforcement officer in the state is in Clemson handling traffic sure was this the night that if you were the GM of any professional sports team or or you the head coach of any I mean this was the night to pull off the deal if all or in the middle of like you know it's hard to be a saint in the city was one of you running up to the bathroom to take a call in the middle of Thunder crack one of you guys I got sorry I got to go outside I got to take this call what was that night like well it was a great night it was a great day and wge uh was the uh was the Maestro who organized it all he invited some basketball coaches too we had a we had a very uh very good time nice meal there in the steel city and then uh the show is awesome SE we had great we had great seats we weren't like in the front row but we were like perfectly positioned eye level like halfway back in like one of those old uh Northeast hockey arenas um so no it was uh it was it was a lot of fun I you know would be disingenuous to say everyone like you know pinky swore and put their phones away right like that wasn't gonna happen in that in that crew um I had uh the the one thing that was looming then was the Houston ad search and I was kind of tipped during the day that it wouldn't happen that night and I was very happy about that because W and I went to uh Springsteen at Wrigley last August and I had to leave for three songs because the ACC was meeting about expansion um they decided not to expand but it took a while to like you know they were meeting from whatever seven to nine and I had to I had to run out and miss a couple things but such as such as the the um such as the profession that we have signed up for right I hope you have a great time I know you will for week zero in Dublin and uh and we will be be uh what we got college game day right the whole three-hour deal leading up to we're going to be right by Trinity College is my understanding um not near the uh not near the St near the Temple Bar I think so um all those details will sort of float out as the uh as the week goes on here and our I mean talk about the the real heroes of that trip are the logistics folks right like game day is a tough tough ombre every week just to get all the all those people lined up and get the stage built and get everything ready so it' be really interesting to to see uh I mean those are the those are the most talented people in game day um the the the the the lead folks Logistics folks all that so it' be really fun to uh see how all that comes together to to make us look good so we're all the jerks that blow in like day before and go straight to the airport soon as the show's over with they've all been there for four days yeah so yeah and it's tough enough to haul it all to Durham or to haul it all to to Austin it's a whole other thing to put it on the ship corre yes but you guys have a great time and U and we'll uh we'll see you back State Side after Florida state Georgia Tech and uh and in the meantime uh y'all keep your ears and eyes out for the next edition of the college game day podcast and um assuming that everyone gets through customs uh Reese will be back soon thanks for listening [Music]