Big 10 & ACC Predictions + 1 on 1 with Greg McElroy | The BFW Show 8.24.26

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We will do that today, along with an interview with ESPN's Greg McElroy, which we'll run at the end of the show. We'll do some voicemails. We're not going to get too fancy here. I am live. A lot of people think, just because I'm driving to camp from Barcelona headquarters on Monday, that I didn't stop at my house to do this live show at 6 p.m. So, hello, FreckleFart69. Hello, Chief Queef. Hello to Borg. I don't know what kind of name that is. What's up, boys? I'm here. I'm obviously here. I'm not driving to Rhinelander. We did not record this on Sunday night. We just didn't do it. Did we, Liam? No, we had not. I'm currently sobbing because all. Well, you guys are going away for camp, and this is the last great look at life I have. Well, the next time we see each other, we will have had football to talk about. So, think about it like that. You ever think about a glass half full? Empty? Which one's better? Glass half full. Glass half full's better. I just think about it in the Eeyore way. Actually, I would say a glass half empty's better. That means you've already drank half of it, and you're not as thirsty anymore. True. Think about that. I'm thinking about it right now. It's a lot of good sweet tea. So, we're going to be doing the Big Ten and ACC today. And, listen, I'm wearing this shirt. We might as well just start with the Big Ten. My goal is to do these previews in about 30 minutes and then have you guys let you have a good Monday night because we've got McElroy coming up. You know, I don't want a two- and three-hour podcast for you guys, so I want to keep it tight. But let's just start with the Big Ten. And we did this on Unnecessary Roughness for years. We just have these categories that we do. Preview the season for that conference via the categories. Your champion, your runner-up, your player of the year, your coach of the year, the disappointing team, the surprise team, the most underrated game, and the breakout player of that conference that year. So, we've got that. Those are the categories. Within these categories, always crop up some conversations. So, that's the way we attack it. That's the way I've always attacked it. And that's the way we're going to do it this year. So, without further ado, we're going. Right into the Big Ten. The Big Ten is the best conference in America right now. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Last three national champions with Oregon sitting on deck as a favorite to be the fourth in a row, fourth different team. Liam, I'll bring you in now. Before we even get started and dive into our categories, it's a conference that is very, very exciting at the top. What with Oregon, with Indiana, with Ohio State, then I guess, you know, your second tier of your Michigans and your Washingtons, your USC. I'm not sure how far that tier goes. Towards the back, it gets to be a little not as great, but that's any big-time conference. Just your bird's-eye view of the Big Ten coming in from a million miles away. I think it's really exciting in that middle, that me and potatoes of the Big Ten. I want to see if Wisconsin can make a leap and Luke Fickle can save his job. Obviously, I want to see if Bob Chesney sparks UCLA in year one. What Penn State's able to do with their opportunistic schedule. Pat Fitzgerald, like, I'm just excited for this league as a whole, top to bottom. Yeah, I do think this league being as big as it is really creates, I think it's the poster child for schedule and inequality. A couple years ago, I'm not sure Indiana was one of the very, very, very best teams. Two years ago, when they first made the playoffs, they got by with an easy schedule because they played the bottom eight teams in the Big Ten. Now, they turned out to be real. When Cinderella tried on that shoe, it fit absolutely perfectly. But you can be fake and get one. You can get one of these easy schedules and get to the playoff. And I'm wondering if that year's team, this year's version of that team is Penn State. So, we'll just rip off the band-aid right from the beginning. Liam, who's your champion in the Big Ten? I am taking Ohio State. You're taking Ohio State. Wow. I am taking the Oregon Ducks. Why are you taking Ohio State? I'm taking Ohio State because I do believe that the early season win at Texas gives them a great domino effect down the road. Playing great, confident, this, that. I just trust them a lot right now. So, I am a big schedule guy. And when I talk about a team, I weigh their schedule out very, very heavily. The more I look at this, and I'm just opening this Athlon right here just so I can see the schedule. The more I look at it, and you just gave them a win over Texas immediately, but that's fine. So, they opened with Ball State. Then they got at Texas. That's tough. You say they're going to win, whatever. It doesn't matter for this conversation anyway. Kent State. Kent State. They opened Big Ten play Illinois at home. And then what happens over the next six or eight weeks might be the toughest Big Ten schedule I can remember in recent memory. They go at Iowa. We all know that's usually tricky. Maryland at home. At Indiana. At USC. So, in a four-game span, they're at Iowa, at Indiana, and at USC. They follow up that four-game span with Oregon at home. They get Northwestern. Then they go back to Nebraska. They get Michigan. That is nasty. If they were to lose to Texas, and their margin of error for being a playoff team is dwindled down by about half, this is a tough schedule, Liam. Yeah. It is. But the best teams in the country are built to take on the best and to beat the best. I'll have them losing to Oregon. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Yeah. I've got Oregon winning the Big Ten. I've got Oregon winning the national championship. You know, it's just a matter of, in this NIL day and age, when you can get guys who are going to be first and second-round picks to come back, to come back for whatever you're paying them and come back for one more go. I mean, Indiana pretty much outclassed everybody just by being older. Now, Oregon's going to be older than most teams and just flat-out more talented than both teams. They're going to have the combo. Is my hair gel? Okay. I like Oregon to win the conference. I thought about Ohio State. I am going to ding them for the schedule. I'm going to ding them for how tough it is. You know, at Indiana, at USC is a wild card. Like, there's just so much. He's a quarterback who, Julian's saying, didn't exactly play great against elite defenses last year. When the other defense got great. Now, he's going to be facing that problem a lot this year. Anyway, I got Oregon. You got Ohio State. Who's your runner-up? I have Oregon. I have Oregon being Ohio State in the first matchup. Ohio State being them in the second matchup. I have Oregon beating Indiana in the Big Ten championship game. I have these two teams, I believe. No, no, no. Okay. So, two years ago. Who played for the Big Ten title two years ago? My brain don't work like that anymore, Chief. Yeah, it's fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine. I'm focused on 2026. Anyway, Indiana won the Big Ten championship game with a 13-10 win over Ohio State last year. I got Indiana getting there again. I got Indiana with hosting Ohio State with the defense they bring back with Hoover. I think they're going to be good enough. They're a playoff team. I think they lose the Big Ten championship game to Oregon. All right. Player of the Year. Player of the Year in the Big Ten. Liam Blutman. I had a very difficult time deciding between Sayen and Josh Hoover, and I kind of just land on Julian Sayen because, in my opinion, best team winning the conference, give it to the quarterback. Defensively, Bran Finney. Well, I'm actually going to go with that principle, too. I'm not going to overthink it. I've got Oregon winning the Big Ten championship. Therefore, I've got Dante Moore being the Player of the Year in the conference. He'll put up numbers. He just has to win the Big Ten championship. the same question saying has to answer. to be better against great competition a year older with the you know the receivers now healthy again I think he can do it Dante Moore is the player of the year in the Big Ten for me now we get interesting now we get into categories with some variance because at the top of these leagues it feels awful chalky but you know I'm not going to sit here and pick Northwestern to beat Maryland in the Big Ten championship game but now you can get a little creative with your answers as we go a little further who's the coach of the year in the Big Ten Liam I feel like this one is chalk for both of us mine's not chalk well I guess mine's a little chalky but go ahead mine's Matt Campbell I think Penn State is very legitimately a playoff contender schedule is super easy first year in the Big Ten I think they'll lay it up for Matt Campbell if he gets nine ten wins yeah that's chalky uh I have Matt Campbell as well that's the the definition of chalk but like if you come in after the bottom falls out last year and you bring Iowa State over with you you bring the quarterback and you put the car back in the middle of the road and you get them to 10 wins and they're in a playoff conversation it doesn't it's not going to really matter if you do it because of your schedule it's just going to matter that you do it and if they're sitting there at 10 and 2 at the end of the season and very much in the playoff mix well 10 and 2 there's in the playoff if they're in a playoff I I don't see a world where it's not Matt Campbell and I I thought about it you know I thought you know could Fitzgerald get it going at Michigan State quick enough I I had a wild hair about uh you know wouldn't be awesome in Maryland I kind of got a little sleeper vibes on them I but ultimately I just I just kept coming back to who's legitimately going to win the Big Ten coach of the year and if Penn State goes 10 and 2 it's absolutely him now now now now now Chesney if Chesney were to engineer a quick turnaround at UCLA that's somebody who could do it um if if Lincoln Riley got them to the playoff don't you think he might be able to win it like there's a lot of options here to me the most obvious is Matt Campbell yeah Matt rules got definitely the most obvious is Matt Campbell a definite chance too if Nebraska makes a leap yeah if but that's that's that's I I'm I'm I'm ready to throw the baby out with the bath water on that roll of Nebraska I'm I'm I'm about done I'm about done considering them for turnaround potential because where is it what what what would it be based on it's it's a great question Brian Walker I I I not the guy that's gonna have the answer for you I'm not rolling Nebraska let me tell you about DraftKings um during this Big Ten X ACC special is that really the graphic we came up with Big Ten X ACC special that's what that's what we came that's what our end who are the ad Wizards who came up with this one yeah I do want and to be honest I want an ampersand there that's what I want why why is there an X there this is a 10x this isn't 10x multiplication by the way you just getting a week off Liam I I'm still gonna work are you kidding I'm gonna work do social I'm gonna watch ball and prepare for ball I don't even think you're allowed to go to the office I know that's an issue I gotta work from home all week all right something big is coming on September 2nd DraftKings game day arrives with massive deals exclusive deals and an all-day celebration built for sports fans the countdown has begun all roads lead to game day the DraftKings Sports app is now live in all 50 states that means from Texas to California to Florida every fan is in on the excitement one app every sport all 50 states DraftKings game day is yours remember the date September 2nd DraftKings game day is the kickoff get ready to celebrate new DraftKings customers sign up with code Walker and spend five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days includes all markets that's code Walker in partnership with DraftKings the crown is yours that's with DK Sportsbook gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER 1-800-MY-RESET Connecticut call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas that tax pass through may apply in Illinois 21 and over void in Canada event contract trading with DraftKings predictions involves risk of loss availability varies predictions offer void in New York bet to get bonus bets that expire in seven days trade to get predictions dollars that expire in one year fifty dollars in rewards issued every seven days via click to claim for 21 days one non-withdrawable reward redeemable terms at dkng.co/offer limited time offer nationwide based on Sportsbook predictions and free-to-play sports contest availability varies by state I kind of wish one of us uh for the graphics sake had not taken Matt Campbell there I feel like we might run into an issue of choosing the same things a lot yeah well no I think I think we'll get I think we'll get a little different here uh but let's talk through this I like Loxley at Maryland hmm should I change no I'm gonna ride with Matt Campbell because I I generally think that's that's where we're going to be at the end of the season although you know for as much for for as much as we say Penn State schedule is easy I'm gonna pull it up real quick this is my pulling it up this is how we used to pull things up you know uh pull that up Jamie for as much as we say Penn State schedules easy let me just go through it here nobody by the way oh like Whittingham if Whittingham gets them to the playoff same principle applies right yeah most certainly I just don't think they're gonna if he fixes Underwood yeah uh so Penn State uh that's Washington schedule pins where the is Penn State need your glasses no I don't need glasses okay I just want to read Penn State schedule that's all I want to it's all my entire life is about reading Penn State schedule right now they have taken over my life where the are they there they are all right for as much as we say Penn State schedule easy let's just go through it real quick so they got Marshall at home easy at Temple easy Buffalo and they got Wisconsin at home so that's probably a 4-0 start right they're at Northwestern to open that stadium um and then and then they got USC at home at Michigan Purdue and at Washington like they can lose those three right USC at home at Michigan and at Washington yeah it's just in the the realm of looking at Big Ten schedule right that's on the easier end of the spectrum that's the only one long shot that's the only three tough games we've had in the last couple weeks that's the only three tough games we've had in the last couple weeks that's the only three tough games they got then they got Minnesota that's the only three tough games they got then they got Minnesota Rutgers at home and at Maryland they got Minnesota Rutgers at home and at Maryland yeah yeah I I can't talk myself out of Matt Campbell yeah yeah I I can't talk myself out of Matt Campbell as much as I want to and I don't want to put I don't as much as I want to and I don't want to put I don't want to put the Michigan logo on my on my want to put I don't want to put the Michigan logo on my on my graphic all right who is the most disappointing graphic all right who is the most disappointing team in the Big Ten this year Liam Blutman I'm team in the Big Ten this year Liam Blutman I'm making an executive decision you go first I'm going to making an executive decision you go first I'm going to be the USC Trojans um everybody everybody be the USC Trojans um everybody everybody does this every August man if that defense just comes does this every August man if that defense just comes along a little bit they're going to be right along a little bit they're going to be right there this could be the year for Lincoln Riley at what there this could be the year for Lincoln Riley at what point are you just banging your head up against point are you just banging your head up against the wall and it's never going to happen Jaden the wall and it's never going to happen Jaden Maiava looks great looks great I I get it they've Maiava looks great looks great I I get it they've had quarterbacks and and athletes that look great had quarterbacks and and athletes that look great forever and now they're picked in a very very forever and now they're picked in a very very good conference they're picked third fourth fifth good conference they're picked third fourth fifth they're picked up in the mix and what if they're they're picked up in the mix and what if they're not up in the mix well what if this is a seven win not up in the mix well what if this is a seven win team that's extremely disappointing but team that's extremely disappointing but extremely believable it is extraordinarily believable that extremely believable it is extraordinarily believable that they could not take a step they could not take a step forward on defense and again they play a tough schedule I got USC forward on defense and again they play a tough schedule I got USC is the most disappointing team is the most disappointing team who you got if they won seven games is that a mutual parting of ways who you got if they won seven games is that a mutual parting of ways I think so I don't even know if I think so I don't even know if mutual I might it might just be a firing which is now now firing mutual I might it might just be a firing which is now now firing like a seven at seven and five in like a seven at seven and five in a year what is it year four year five I think you're fine they're a year what is it year four year five I think you're fine they're longer than you think yeah I longer than you think yeah I think it's year five um at seven and five in year five that's not up to think it's year five um at seven and five in year five that's not up to USC standards that has to be USC standards that has to be an auto firing that has that has to be automatic if you're never going an auto firing that has that has to be automatic if you're never going to do more than this when you had a chance to get your entire that's an entire rebuilding cycle if you haven't rebuilt by year five you're not going to do it and that would be it yeah and in the midst of his rebuild or whatever you want to call it Indiana won the title correct yeah yeah yeah especially and especially if like Penn State were to go to play off this year like like like so many teams are just passing them on the rebuild um real quick through their schedule uh San Jose State Fresno State Louisiana they start three and oh at Rutgers they're four and oh and then listen listen man listen that six game stretch listen I don't know how many teams have a six game stretch as hard as this uh they're talking about USC here they're home to Oregon they're home to Washington the next week at Penn State at Wisconsin Ohio State at home at Indiana and then they finish at UCLA Jesus like seven and five is on the table who's your most disappointing team in the Big Ten you kind of allude to it and I'm picking them because so many people are expecting us that Ford you're just going to disappoint yourself Nebraska they're not taking a step forward this is a again a six or seven win team under Matt role it doesn't matter it's same old Nebraska the yeah why do this dance again yeah but how many people expect them to be more than that I uh way too many people I see on the Twittersphere talking about Nebraska win nine games so uh most um the biggest surprise team in the conference uh I'm gonna hit you with the Uno even though it was super young last year and I seemingly can't quit their head coach I went with Washington because I do think that there's a realm where they could get to 10 wins so I think it's going to happen probably not but when I'm looking at the landscape of the Big Ten I can't find a true surprise yeah I can't either but I do have one that I listed here again um my my nipples are a little erect at the process of prospect of Maryland possibly being a little something this year I like them but I didn't go with them I went this is kind of self-defeating but I went with a team that plays my team this year you know with all the uh upheaval and the coaching in the Big Ten and you know you got Fitzgerald and you got all these new guys you got matt campbell at penn state something about just steady as she goes pj fleck you know pj fleck like the quarterback who was pretty good last year he's going to be a sophomore they they had some transfer departures but they backfilled a little bit i like i like minnesota to sneak up and you look at the end of the year and you're like wait a second minnesota went nine and three what the hell that's what i feel about minnesota i think minnesota could be the surprise team in the big ten this year all right we're on the opposite end of the spectrum with minnesota last show i said i think they'll bomb out six wins i hope so i hope so because that would mean that we're going to be you got one that's camario taylor's uh that's camario taylor's coming out party uh the most underrated game of the season in the big ten what you got liam blutman i tried not to pick a game that we played in but i had got through like 20 25 30 games and consistently it was ucla at cal week one saturday night where's the be able to watch correct because i'm a i'm a prisoner of the moment with your show that i host the winner of ucla cal is building off and starting their new era such a great clip and could build that momentum going forward that that's the no-brainer option so i've got there's a world where at the end of the season they're like nine and one there's a world where the quarterback who's who was held hostage there is now happy again he is a game changer at quarterback you're going to have so many of these so many of these games in the big ten whether they're home or on the road are going to be like minus two and a half minus one and a half like they're all gonna be a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and we're going to have a lot of toss-ups in the big ten and Washington has a very good quarterback somebody who could emerge as a top five top ten quarterback in the country I think Oregon at Washington at the end of the year because Oregon under Dan Lanning historically if they're going to have trouble in a game like Washington's giving them fits a couple times and I just I know that was different Washington I know that but it's still Washington it's still Oregon I got Oregon Washington at the end of the year as kind of a low-key game because there's so many you want to talk about when the SEC was really rolling and I'm I mean really rolling and you had one week Alabama at LSU and next week LSU at Florida the next week Florida at Georgia the next week Georgia at Auburn like you had all these things now in the big ten you got Indiana you got Oregon you got Ohio State then you got the the next group Michigan and Penn you got all these mixers USC like they're all kind of playing each other this year there's a big game in the big ten every week and it didn't it hasn't felt like that in recent years that's why I had such trouble going through because every game to me felt big like Oregon Washington to me maybe it's just because I'm a West Coast guy yeah that is always a big time I'm watching every second of that game so I think we defer in there and I'm now upset why didn't we do like predicting a big upset for a category should on that let's do it all right well I did think a biggest upset okay you want to you want to just on the fly do biggest upset here I want you to go first well I how am I gonna do it on the fly you said you did think of it that we both got to do a little thinking all right let me let me just work let me work with you yeah we're both gonna work through it right now on the fly this how the the the cookies get me I just do it can I can I just fucking do it I'm gonna rip the band-aid because I wanted to get them in a category give me Maryland beating Penn State at home at the end of the season okay give me give me call my shot call my shot give me Maryland Maryland's gonna gonna get somebody imagine Penn State coming in nine and two going into College Park and then my answer to the next category just raises up rushes for 150 yards throws for 300 I give me Maryland over Penn State do I believe in it no but you just throw this category on me who's your biggest upset all right for no reason at all give me Michigan State over Michigan yes now we're fucking talking I don't I don't have a graphic I don't have a reason or anything that was just I felt in my plums yeah I and and listen I just shed all over my Matt Campbell for coach of the year because if he goes into Maryland loses that's over but whatever whatever all right breakout player of the season in the Big Ten I've already said him a couple times Malik Washington at Maryland this guy's a dude man I don't know was it was it messed a maker on on your interview where he's like the guys that were great were Camario Taylor and Malik Washington like yeah they're they're a quarterback there's listen I know there's a top 10 hierarchy of teams and and players and like Indiana's great Ohio State's great but there are great quarterbacks hidden throughout this sport right now one's in College Park Maryland he's about to bust out ones and start one Mississippi's about to bust out like I think Malik Washington has a chance at the end of the season to be one of those true great players in the Big Ten that's my pick for breakout player of this conference I didn't want to do quarterbacks yeah but he is the guy that is like so prime to have a stranglehold on the position going into 2027 when can I ask can I ask you something yeah are you stifling something right now do you have a breakout player for every team I have a player to watch from every team yes who's your breakout player in the conference yeah so when you were watching USC last year it was Jacoby Lane making big play after big play the you also had in McKay Levin of course he also had to new kind show out of nowhere I think it was the Illinois game he went crazy and established to new kinds is unbelievable so hey I had him as the offensive breakout player of the year and I had Dylan Robinson corner from Washington as defensive breakout who's your breakout player candidate from Nebraska I had freshman running back Jamal rule who's your breakout player from Rutgers from Rutgers I hit big last year with KJ Duff this year I went Dyser Carter I believe a freshman wide receiver is your breakout player from Michigan Andrew spray great tackle I think he's six foot eight who's your is your breakout player from UCLA Brian row wider see where Chesney can't stop in high can't stop talking about him transfer South Carolina this episode is brought to you by blue shoe guys what do women want and need they need stability reliability be her rock with blue shoe they're sponsoring this podcast and sponsoring your bedroom performance blue shoe gold is better sex and a tablet they combine four ingredients into one powerful solution two ingredients get you hard physically and to support arousal and desire in the brain it works fast and at last guys have a complete experience in the bedroom with blue shoe gold there's a reason blue shoe is the number one brand for better sex experience it yourself at blue shoe dot com and we've got a special deal for our listeners right now when you buy two months of blue shoe gold get the third free with promo code Walker that's promo code Walker you'll receive an additional 10% off and free overnight shipping on your first order visit blue shoe dot com for more details and important safety information we thank blue shoe for sponsoring the pod in the bedroom all right to recap in the Big Ten my champion is Oregon Liam Blutman's champion is Ohio State my runner-up is Indiana Liam Blutman's runner-up is Oregon my player of the year is Dante more Liam Blutman's is Julian saying is that right yep my coach of the year is Matt Campbell his coach of the year is Matt Campbell should I just rip the band-aid off and pick Loxley because I don't know if you want to do it so just do I do fuck it fuck it Matt Campbell so boring man I might Loxley from Maryland I'm calling my fucking shot I like Maryland this year my my disappointing team was USC his disappointing team is Nebraska my surprise team is Minnesota his surprise team is what was it Washington boring most underrated game Washington and Oregon for me for him it's UCLA Cal my breakout players Malik Washington he has 15 breakout players and his main one was who the new kinds from USC all right let's go the ACC that's the Big Ten let's go the ACC and I got a write down we're gonna have to do an upset right yeah figure that out on the fly so as much as you want to get on here and go anti chalk in this league right now it's not possible because what happened last year was a miracle upon miracles where where a seven and five team won the conference when the almost national champion didn't win the conference that's that's just not gonna happen again that's just not gonna happen again and I feel like Miami is as far ahead of their conference as we've seen a team be as far ahead of their conference in a long time do you agree with that yeah we felt that way last year about Clemson is the massive stain on this whole thing we did we did we did all right my champion in the ACC is Miami who's your champion Miami and there's just no I mean I don't understand there's just no way around it not only not only are they the best team but like the schedule is it's just what's what's there to stop them I don't get what's there to stop like the road game and SMU last year doesn't really exist this year my runner up is Louisville who's your runner up Louisville and this is this is a team that I if they're three and oh on September 19th if they're three and on September 19th they will have beaten in Ole Miss and they would have beaten SMU, I think that's the resume like playoff lock is a lot to say in september but playoff lock yeah they'd be as close to a playoff lock as a non-true college football power can be player of the year in the acc i'm staying with my chalk here at the top darian minza which is crazy he might not be the best player on his team might not be the second best player on his team because like mark fletcher and malachi tony are both going to be great but ultimately the quarterback usually wins these awards i'm going to go with quarterback darian minza from miami who you got yeah quarterbacky award so it's boring i went cj bailey at nc state though if nc state's gonna win eight nine games cj bailey's gonna have a massive year another guy like malik washington who just needs more eyes on him such a pure thrower the footballer on one leg was absolutely unbelievable i forgot i forget against who it was whatever uh cj bailey my coach of the year is james franklin at virginia tech it's a program that desperately needed to be woken up i think it is a wake i don't know how many games they're going to win this year but i do feel like he will be the coach of the year at the end as if he's sitting there in nine and three maybe even eight and four um i had several several you'll see in surprise team later as i pick three teams but i had several coaches here that i thought about who's your coach of the year i i need to find their win total i went with cal's uh tosh lupoi i think i think cal could still carve out a pretty good season regardless of their week one game against ucla if you look at cal's schedule very very manageable and they have the best quarterback in the conference well i mean that's he's good i think i think he's the best quarterback in college football going in that's fine you you may think that i still think mince is probably the best quarterback in the conference but hey that's why that's why you're here we can have differences of opinion so you're fired um okay bud who's the uh who's the disappointing team in the acc you go first i'm going with clemson i'm seeing people buy back in on clemson and i don't understand it this is a team that severely underperformed last year and lost a lot of talent to the nfl they had the guys last year they just couldn't put anything together and now we don't know who the quarterback we don't know what we're going to do next we don't know what we're going to do next we don't know what we're getting from the clemson quarterbacking him so i'm going with clemson i'm taking a swing here give me the smu mustangs i feel like everybody's got them up there with miami and louisville they of course play louisville in week three can i paint you a picture real quick can i paint you a picture of an smu team who comes out of september 19th one and two one and two in the league because who opened the season going down to tallahassee last year do you remember yeah hard to hard to forget the events that transpired on that sloppy football field what disgrace you give mike norvell an entire offseason maybe to to rally the troops to get everybody going they can do funky things on that field before the grind of a season catches up to them they did it last year now you've got uh florida state smu in week one they got uc davis and they're at louisville in week three if they're oh and two in the acc before the game before the end of september that's a problem that's a big problem they got boston college at home they got virginia home cal at home they're at syracuse they're at notre dame they're at stanford they got virginia tech wake forest like what's disappointing to smu seven and five is massively disappointing is it not eight and four is disappointing i think that's the path their own i'm not guaranteeing they're starting one and two but i kevin jennings is a good college quarterback but they need a lot of transfers to hit for this thing to go in the right direction um and i just i i think it's volatile and i think that early season schedule especially the game at louisville i think they're going to lose that game and that could harm the rest of the season i'm taking a shot here because their roster is better than most in the acc but smu is my disappointing team who's yours i had clemson oh yeah i forgot i forgot you went first on that one um the surprise team in the acc who you got i have more of a wild card you almost hinted at them on the last show syracuse won 10 games two years ago and won what three last year they had no healthy quarterback last year if angeli is healthy why can't syracuse disrupt and maybe beat smu on halloween why can't they be more than they were last year by a significant margin i wrote two teams down before i crossed them off for surprise team i wrote cal down um and i crossed them off i don't know why i just figured you'd be big on kc al i kind of thought this would be your surprise team and then i i wrote down syracuse i crossed them off uh i don't think there was a bigger gap between the offense with angelic quarterback and then the backup at any team in the country as soon as he went out as soon as he got hurt they went straight down like they walked into i know clemson is is you know had a bad year but like early in the season they walked into clemson south carolina and just dropped their nuts all over that team and you still got to go on the road and do it even though clemson was disappointing like syracuse looked like they had a little something to them angeli gets hurt it all goes out the window but the team i i ended up picking here the pit panthers um i i like i like the quarterback i like hi what is it mason heintzel i don't like saying that mason heintzel that's he needs a better name anyway mason heintzel uh six and one in his starts last year they need to head on a couple of transfers to uh schedules pretty friendly i got the pit panthers as the uh as the surprise team in the acc but i did scratch off syracuse and i scratched off uh cal because i thought about them both to death and but really past like the top three isn't everybody eligible to be the surprise team in the acc yeah and every acc schedule you look at looks pretty manageable and pretty good yes it does yes it does um speaking of manageable and delicious you weren't but i will uh reese's i'm going on a road trip tomorrow you know what i'm gonna do i'm gonna stop and get reese's wherever i shop whenever i stop to get a little quick bite to eat my road trip snack will be a reese's maybe a little beef jerky and reese's good combination i like on the movie theater reese's with popcorn hello i like it reese's the official candy partner of barstool sports i don't have to tell you how good reese's is although i do have to say sales people has anybody integrated reese's better than this this looks good i got the entire college football set here and then reese's just seamlessly fitting in right there looks very good i love the old school peanut butter cup i know they got the new stuff the j all that stuff it's great they've got great candies all throughout the spectrum of their candies give me the old school peanut butter cup reese's the official candy partner of barstool sports go get reese's wherever you shop all right a couple more categories in the acc then we'll do a couple voicemails we'll bring on greg mcelroy and that'll be our show for today thank you to um uh beelzebub's penis 92 thank you beelzebub's penis for being here and blutman sucks 38 wow that's i don't know why you're here but that was marky okay sauce burner that's his that's that's his what's a single site that's his hinge profile blutman sucks it's a promise to the ladies um um did you ever okay you never talked to him about dating vanna white right okay all right here we go surprise team was pit for me and who for you syracuse wild yeah and most underrated game why did i write that down i don't know why i wrote that one down go ahead you do your most underrated game in the acc this year i wrote down smu at louisville that's like the it's like like that second such a big like the second biggest that's a gigantic game why did i write that now uh most underrated game in the acc go this would have been such a big game most years and these two programs aren't what they have been in the past clemson at florida state on halloween i made the call last year that billy napier gets fired after the mississippi state game right and it happened making the call this year this is the game where they fire mike norvell after clemson beats florida state on halloween and tell how i see this is the last game he coaches my uh most underrated big game i'm going to the end of the year let's get this rivalry kicked back up again man virginia tech at virginia with james franklin there they're going to improve a lot virginia one of the most disrespected teams in the country as far as i'm concerned they played in the conference championship game last year they won 11 games people act like they're not in the top 25 they're nowhere to be found nobody thinks they're going to be good bro perbula and then um eli holstein like they're going to have a quarterback they played well with these transfer quarterbacks they always find receivers i don't know how they i don't know how virginia finds receivers but they always have a stable of receivers virginia is a disrespected program virginia tech's trying to get back on the map give me that for most underrated game big game in the conference this year and lastly in the acc the breakout player of the year i'm gonna i'm gonna make history here i believe and i'm not we'll have to go back this might be the third year in a row i picked this guy for breakout player in the conference but liam mentioned him earlier but god damn it a cj bailey breakouts got to come sooner or later right he's been pretty good But so much talent is in there, he ought to be dominating the sport he ought to be big time but he just hasn't gotten there yet I'm banking on CJ Bailey to finally break out and be that star player NC State needs this year third year in a row I'm picking him for my breakout player of the year Liam Blumman who's your breakout player I went with pit safety Josh Gurdia what and I got Jalen Cooper wider receiver at SMU for the offensive side who's your breakout player for Duke Jeremy Haisley tight end who's your breakout player for Florida State uh Mantrell to see your edge rusher but he's pretty good last year who's your breakout player for Boston College this one's tough six foot seven from Senegal he was in the uh NFL Academy he just started playing football a few years ago Pape Abdule Sai offensive tackle a behemoth that's why you're the best in the fucking business that's why you're the best in the business all right um people say why is Blumman on that show did you see what he just did Pape Abdule Sai he just brought up Pape Abdule Sai he's like this right now he's doing the little says he's uh in the ACC my champion is Miami Liam's champion is Miami my runner-up is Louisville Liam's champ uh runner-up is Louisville my player of the year is Darian Mensah Liam's player of the year was CJ Bailey my coach of the year is James Franklin his coach of the year was Tosh Lapoi from Cal my disappointing team was SMU his disappointing team was who Clemson um my surprise team is Pitt his surprise team is Syracuse and he always says wild card I don't know why card because they're not a true surprise it's more of a wild card like they could disrupt shake things up a bit but not win a bunch of games my most underrated game in the conference is Virginia State and Clemson my breakout player CJ Bailey his breakout player is somebody I've never heard of that is on your like surprise theme to see her what was his name wait who's your surprise team Pitt yeah yeah yeah Josh Gurrier Josh Gurrier God bless you also dude what Virginia Virginia Tech with the Bo Burbula James Franklin storyline it's gonna be so sick dude I'm telling you dude I think people are not paying attention to the state of Virginia and I I think there's some interesting shit going on over there man I I don't I I'm I'm preaching too much about Virginia upset that you felt in your plums oh we didn't do upset yeah what'd you feel you got one yeah I went Cal at SMU I talked about before or I thought about before you had SMU is your disappointing team I know SMU's been winning games last year so it just all hasn't worked out for me I don't know what's going on with them I don't know what's going on with them I've always been impressive and pretty if Cal's gonna take a jump this year went all I did look was like seven and a half they gotta find some games I like them to win that one on the road JKS what a what a talent my mind goes to pit picking somebody off hmm my mind goes to pit picking somebody off I'm just looking let me let me just go through my skin yeah just look around look around let me look around because Cal Cal you know you know when we talked about the big 10 they didn't talk about certain teams we just never talked about didn't talk about Michigan enough we haven't mentioned the word Georgia Tech on this conference preview at all they're very very that like the arrow has been pointed straight up now Haynes King is gone it feels like they're just kind of floated back to the middle but I don't think they're going to stay in the middle I don't I don't know what I think about them at all they got Mendoza right yeah they have Alberto who we need to see play legitimate quarterback like I don't know what to make of them until I see them I have no idea what to make of them so I'm just I'm just uh going through here yeah look out for Phoenix Felton on Georgia Tech though Phoenix Felton yeah safety one name let me uh let me let me oh no Virginia Tech's not going to beat Miami Virginia Tech had Miami at home I would think about that one like somebody it makes sense somebody like Miami might get got by somebody but I'm looking at one right now but there's no way week two Brandon Friday night on the farm Stanford hosts Miami yeah yeah didn't they all way it was two years ago they almost got him was that Stanford or was that cow with the targeting that was cow that was the targeting on Mendoza that was Cal was up in that game crazy everybody I want to beat SMU has to go to SMU how about Florida State beating somebody how about Florida State beating no that's all on the road dude come back to me on my upset I'll uh I'll add it for the graphic later you guys can watch it on later um so before we get to voicemails and then Greg McElroy I got to read uh I got one more ad to talk about college football Saturdays are not normal Saturdays they are a full-blown operation you wake up early you you put on the right polo you check the line you argue about quarterbacks and then somehow you're spending money on more cowbells this is a good copy right here and enough tailgate supplies to feed an offensive line so when your buddy finally venmo's you back don't just let that money sit there with the venmo debit MasterCard your venmo balance is yours to spend on what you want including funding whatever game day tradition your fan base swears is sacred well there's Cowboys cowbells ringing in Starkville setting up let me I said it was good copy whether it's cowboy cowbells ringing in Starkville setting up in the Grove or barking in Athens the college football is filled with tradition and venmo is there to help make game day spend your balance instantly with the venmo debit card no monthly fee pump card all right lukies ID verification required to use a balance the venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank in a ID verification required to use a balance the venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank in a okay luki 312-685-1889 is the number I will give you a chance to redeem yourself with voicemails last one was pretty good I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself with voicemails last one was pretty good the last one was pretty good they were serious I like more serious voicemail especially to begin the season so give me voicemail number one hey Brandon Michael from Michigan uh day one follower um just curious his thoughts on Kyle Whittingham um here at Michigan he realistically this year eight nine wins would be a solid season with that schedule but do you think with the NIL and the resources he has he can bring Michigan back to national title contender and if so long until he gets that point I love you Brandon oh one one hundred percent and get him back to national title and real national title contender not somebody who has to get there by corrupt ways but actual national title contention I think this year is about making sure Bryce Underwood is a legitimate future of your program you win nine games with this schedule that's great that's phenomenal you want to eight but Bryce shows that he is the quarterback of the future then you go into 2027 as a legit national title contender the defense is always going to be there the running program is always going to be there and he's going to have the meat and potatoes of a program always there just based on his ability to get players with the resources at Michigan I have no doubt Whittingham is going to have a national title roster starting next year but it's all about can Bryce Underwood can they make sure this season is about getting Bryce Underwood ready to be the quarterback of a national championship caliber team and I think they probably can because he's actually getting coached for the first time voicemail number two Brandon my favorite storyline from last season was James Franklin getting fired in the middle of the season this coming season what coach do you think is the most likely to receive a mid-season firing and what game would be the nail in the coffin I mean Blutman pretty much hit it every single well it's funny you said that at the end every single game Mike Norvell coaches is just one closer to when he inevitably gets fired during the season um would it be crazy let's let's just put it put out the guys who could be fired in the season Mike Norvell Luke fickle would it be crazy if Nebraska's three and five this season and Matt roll gets fired like it's just it's for whatever reason this rebuild is not happening it's not taken would it be crazy if if they lose a game they don't think they should lose and he gets fired Kalen DeBoer is also a guy they were to lose three games by the end of October that could be on the table but probably not because they're not going to lose three games by the end of October we haven't mentioned Keelan Russell being named the starting quarterback there either but that was a no-brainer you're not going to go into a make-or-break season with Austin Mack as your quarterback but uh Norvell's getting fired during the season I would say fickle is on deck and then rule is third am I missing anybody Liam Belichick yeah Belichick Belichick could be fired at any moment you're right Belichick's one Belichick is definitely one um all right voicemail number three hey what's up Brandon this is Joe from New Jersey I have a question for you if the U.S government decided to fire you for the first time and you're not going to be fired you're not going to be fired if the U.S. government decided to fire you for the first time and you're not going to be fired if the U.S. government decided that they wanted a service Academy to win a national championship and gave one of them an unlimited budget to spend on NIL players could they win a national championship given the rules of a service Academy and which service Academy This is one of the great questions I've ever heard. If the goddamn U.S. government said enough is enough, we're winning a national championship. We're moving Defense Department funds around to buy players. So Army, Navy, Air Force. It's got to be Army, right? It doesn't feel like it has to be. If they're going to – Air Force, I feel like – I don't know. Are there size limitations in the Air Force? Probably not. It just feels like they're going to put the money in the U.S. Army and say, watch how tough the U.S. Army is. You know what? I'm not even worried about the limitations of the rules of service academies. If the U.S. government is getting behind them and throwing a bunch of taxpayer money into it, they're probably going to say, they're probably going to say to hell with the rules anyway. They're probably going to say a change of rules. So I'm going to say on the banks of the Hudson, Army becomes a 12-0 magnificent powerhouse just to show off our might. That's a hell of a dream right there. Liam, what do you think? Well, I was trying to think what would happen at head coach. I feel like you can't replace Munkin. Do we need to replace the head coach? I'm just thinking – that was the first thing I thought of was if we're putting all this money into the program, are we also trying to – are we trying to pay the most for a head coach too, which I'm like, I want to replace Munkin. He is Army football. But are we – also, are we having to change the offense? If we don't have the limitations, we're not going to run the – we're not going to run the option anymore, are we? We're going to go out and we're going to get a real offense. We're going to – right? Yeah, and that's pretty – Imagine Lane Kiffin, Coach of Army, just tweeting from the bar with two chicks just with an Army hat on. I don't like thinking about Army not running the little option. Well, I'm just telling you. I didn't like that. If we went out and invested all the money into the players, we're not running the triple option anymore. It's okay. Don't worry about it. It's not happening. I'm sorry. See you. May Liam sad. Next voicemail, please. D-Walk and Bluntman. This is Lewis from Pittsburgh. But I want to be the first to say, eat shit, Pitt. I'm a Mountaineer, man. Backyard brawl is good every single year, even if the teams are dog shit. Which rivalries, not the big ones, are good every year that you look forward to? Thanks. Let me know. The Mountaineers. BYU-Utah is always good. I like the Kansas-Missouri are playing again. The backyard brawl is way, way up there. It's fucking bat shit insane no matter what. I think the Egg Bowl always has intrigue, even though we've been dog shit for the last five or six years and they haven't. We still manage. We've managed to, like, make them sweat a little bit. What's another one, Liam? You want to throw one from the FCS here that's crazy? Oh, well, Montana. Montana State brawled the wild. I was thinking Cal, Stanford. Remember how much fun we had last year with the Axe battle at the end of it? SMUTCU, the battle for the Iron Skull. And then it was always, growing up for me, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, was always at the top for me. And then we said we ain't playing bedlam no more. Yeah. What are you doing, boy? Yeah, I'm done. Sorry, sorry. Can you do me a favor? Can you go just turn that TV off? Thanks. My son emerged from his cocoon from his hibernation, his summer hibernation. I haven't seen him in weeks. What are you doing with your hair? All right. Anyway, good one. Last voicemail, please. This is Mitch from Omaha. Lifelong Huster fan. But I'm done talking about the Huskers until they win at least nine games. So I just got a fun hypothetical for you today. If you had a Freaky Friday situation where you woke up in one of these two coaches' bodies, which one would you rather stay in? So we got James Franklin at Virginia Tech at a historical conference that seemingly has a lot of support but not a lot of expectation, or Kyle Whittingham at, at a proven program that's had a recent success that needs a little bit of rehab in the public eye, but you have the resources to win right now, which one would you rather be? Thanks. I'll hang up and listen. I think it's pretty easy. I think you take Whittingham. I think you take the job. I mean, they've proven they can't win a national title over the last three years. You take Michigan. You've got a five-star quarterback. Everything James Franklin is going to do at Virginia Tech is because James Franklin is at Virginia Tech, whereas Kyle Whittingham is getting there and taking. He's taking control of a kitchen that's stocked with wonderful ingredients. All he has to do is cook a presentable meal. James Franklin has to grow the ingredients, has to bring the ingredients, has to bring everything, whereas he has to be, like, farm to table. Kyle Whittingham just has to be a decent chef, and I would take Kyle Whittingham for that. That was one of the craziest analogies. I had no idea where it was in my head, but it worked out pretty good. Blubman, your body switched tomorrow. Are you Whittingham or are you Franklin? I guess. I'm James Franklin, but that's on the caveat. I'm not staying at Virginia Tech. I'm tired of acting like this guy's at Virginia Tech in four or five years. I'll be gone after two. But they are the team that swooped in, gave him a chance when his name went low. Yeah, I'm sure he really cares, real loyal about that. Second the paycheck comes off, he's dipping a better school with better facilities, all this, that. Yeah, he's gone. You know that. So, that's our Big Ten ACC preview. We'll be back on Thursday with our SEC Big 12 preview, but we're not done yet. We've got Greg McIlroy from ESPN. We had his partner, Sean McDonough, last show. Now we've got McIlroy to talk a bunch of crap. No, he didn't talk any crap. I talk some crap, and he is one of the respected voices in college football. Here's my interview with Greg McIlroy. Something big is coming. On September 2nd, DraftKings Game Day arrives with massive deals. Exclusive deals and an all-day celebration built for sports fans. The countdown has begun. All roads lead to game day. The DraftKings Sports app is now live in all 50 states. That means from Texas to California to Florida, every fan is in on the excitement. One app, every sport, all 50 states. DraftKings Game Day is yours. Get ready to celebrate. New DraftKings customers. Sign up with code BSS. Spend $5 to get $200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code BSS. In partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Event trading offered by DraftKings Predictions. A CFTC-registered introducing broker. Trading involves risk of loss. Market availability varies. Eligibility restrictions apply. $50 every seven days via click-to-claim issued in non-withdrawable prediction dollars that expire in one year. Terms, dkng.co slash predictions promo. Nationwide based on sportsbook predictions and free-to-play sports contest availability varies by state. All right, interview time. We continue to roll through the best and the brightest of college football. Considering I am not one of those guys, I got to bring them in here so I can talk to them. And this is a very fun kind of back-to-back for me. We did a one and now we're doing a two. Because the last show we had, we had Sean McDonough, the great all-time legendary play-by-play announcer. And now we're bringing on ESPN football analyst and a partner of Sean McDonough. We're bringing on former Alabama quarterback who absolutely just drove a stake in my heart multiple times, Greg McElroy. Greg, thank you for joining the show. Good to see you, beat up. Everything good, bud? Everything's good. Everything's good. The show is shockingly going well so far. I haven't been shut down by the FCC. I haven't been shut down by Dave Portnoy. I'm at six episodes now. So I've beaten all the expectations. That's good. That's it, man. Just keep rolling right along. I don't think the Southeastern Conference is too worried about shutting you down. I think they'll be all right. Oh, I said the FCC. Oh, the FCC. I thought you said the SEC. See, my brain's already going there, dude. My brain's already going there. I can see some of the things I've said. The SEC may be like, hey, maybe just shut up right now real quick. So I want to start there. Because I had him on the other day, and I thought the conversation we had, you obviously haven't seen it, but the conversation I had with Sean McDonough was amazing. What a legend of the game and what a wealth of knowledge about college football. Just what an awesome dude, man. Yeah, it's funny. Like, I mean, you know, when I get the call and I'm working with Sean, I was like, first of all, this is awesome. I've been listening my whole life. You know, he's kind of a, he's obviously a legend, a guy that I've always looked up to, a guy that I've always enjoyed listening to his calls. So to get the, and I remember talking to Palmer about this, like Jesse Palmer had said the same thing when he was working with Brent. He's like, it was weird when you got in the booth and you like, look over and you hear and looking live. Like I get the same feeling when I'm sitting there and listening to him make a call and his voice cracks or he captures the moment so perfectly. It's like, I can't believe I get to work with this guy. You know, he's just that good. So yeah, he's a wealth of knowledge. He loves the sport. He actually has a more of a, a coaching background than I think a lot of people realize. And he's hilarious too. So he's got that dry wit that, that makes it really fun to be around him. So a lot of when you're on the road, dude, like what you see on the air is just three and a half hours. But when you're together for three days a week for 15 straight weeks, like you become very close. So he's one of my best friends in the industry. And we've had a great time together putting shows on the last few years. He also says he beats you in golf constantly. That was his word, not mine. Well, um, that's just what. what I've heard I can only report what I've heard dude well that's fair and I wouldn't push back on it I have three kids under seven so I will say that the game has regressed yeah um but at you know my best day against his best day I really like my chances however my best days are very very few and far between as evidenced by this past weekend uh club championship I shot 80 86 uh so not not exactly what you're looking for to go 26 over when the winning score was three under so yeah I'm really not trending in the right direction that's about where it should be come football season right if I shot an 86 I would spike my putter on 18 and turn to the clubhouse and crotch chop like I'm dx and I would absolutely I would absolutely be the most insufferable person on the golf course even if I probably already was all right let's dive into football uh I've kind of asked this of everybody we had clad on a couple of weeks ago and all right he was on PMT a couple weeks ago and he laid out something that I think we're all kind of using not as a blueprint I kind of agree uh he said there are seven teams that can win the national title kind of unanimous that's what he believes I look at those seven teams I got Ohio State Oregon Indiana out of the uh Big Ten I got Texas Georgia out of the SEC I got Notre Dame Miami those seven and then you can add or you subtract however you want to do it but you think that seven team is that seven that group of seven teams is kind of our elite group this year or would you add somebody no that's where I've been all off season two you got to have like seven there's a slight gap and then you have the middle tier and it kind of depends on on who you're talking to and and how they're perceiving things like how many teams are in that second tier if you will but my question to everybody and and we said this last year too it's like well there's eight teams that can win the title like and then the year before well this year there's seven the next year there's ten like last year the 20th ranked team in the preseason the court of the AP went and won the title went six you know in the process first thing to do in 130 years so like yeah do we really know every it's it's harder and harder now to anticipate who's going to be good because rosters turn over like crazy and then the other thing too is injuries kill you now like you're dead like you get an injury outside of the anomaly that was Ole Miss last year who loses their quarterback week two and their backup ends up being better like an injury you're done no one's deep enough to weather the storm of a significant absence so like yeah I think seven are a cut above and the seven that that clad ugly I think it's kind of universal we all kind of are in the same boat um the big question to me because I think every team in tier two could win the title but it required the Stars aligning whereas the top seven it's like they can maybe not play as well and still potentially be in position to win it whereas teams eight through say 15 they would need a I'm not saying a miracle but they would need someone to maybe their quarterback to play above their weight class or or a defense to be really optimistic and turn people over at the right time or have a favorable schedule what have you the way I differentiate those two tiers I think you're right I think this is a very clear three-tier system this year it's it's the first seven probably the next eight or nine and then everybody else in the portal and not an IL is absolutely clumped that last group up to where they all believe they have a chance so but anyway that second tier I think they can all win the title yes but unlike the first tier that second tier all has bus potential as well they all have something something going on that could like with Oklahoma I I would add Oklahoma as a team to win the national title but their schedule is capital B brutal yeah Texas A&M you're you're you're bringing back a playoff team bringing back a playoff quarterback but you're replacing almost everything on the lines of scrimmage with Ole Miss you're changing coaches with Alabama you don't know who the quarterback's going to be like all of them have something that that is kind of like bus potential I'll talk about Oklahoma here but you think I I would put them in the first group kind of because I think they have huge national title potential with Mateer who was one of the best quarterbacks in the country for six weeks last last year and that Elite defense plus and this is the thing that we we often just don't notice remember how Indiana made the playoff two years ago and then we discarded them well making the playoff and not winning is often a very key step into winning the playoff later it's a you got to kind of get on the green before you can make the putt Indiana did it Ohio State did it Michigan did it Michigan made it two times before they finally won it and Oklahoma made the playoff last year they lost but I think getting on the green taught them how to putt a little bit anyway those are I I believe that about Oklahoma what do you think there's a team in the second tier you would favor to get out of that second tier and into that first tier well the biggest thing first of all is there's a lot to unpack there so I love it way too much you're right I don't know but let's just start talking too much that we shot we thought for sure last year were games that had great personnel everybody back it's an all-in year no way this this team goes wheels up like no no chance they're toast right and it's Penn State Clemson and LSU all of us were like oh dude look at those three look at those rosters yeah like all those and then all of them finished a combined what 21 and 18 yeah in that vicinity so two fire coaches you're correct I mean and you know if Davo hadn't had the skins on the wall people would have been coming for him too and I'm sure there's several that were so and so I I think that now like the whole well teams 8 through 15 can bust well teams one through seven can bust too they almost look like locks at this point right so we'll start with that number two with Oklahoma I love Oklahoma's roster like there's a I'll agree with you on the tier when healthy I think he's great the defense will be awesome that group travels I think getting in helps you for sure I think the offensive coordinator with a year under his belt in the Southeastern Conference kind of understands the lay of the land a little better and I do think there is a learning curve there because he came from Washington State no disrespect the cooch of the teams they played but you didn't have to worry about your tackles and pass protection like it was just they're gonna block them it's fine yeah whereas in the SEC it's like well that dude could take over the game if our tackles on an island we got problems so I think there is a bit of a learning curve there and I think that is probably helpful so I there's a lot to love about Oklahoma but you know if they get there they can win it all but getting there is going to be a beast and you look at forecasts and projections people are saying like seven and five based on projections and way too early lines and and sports betting applications and stuff like that like they're going to be underdogs in at least four games so that's tough to wrap your head around and they had to navigate that beautifully last year and got there but can they do it again that's the big question they've already been a little banged up in Campbell on the offensive line so I love Oklahoma this year I love their personnel it's just hard for me to have them higher than say 10 ahead of maybe Bama and A&M who have a more manageable path to the playoff whereas Oklahoma has an absolute gauntlet so let me ask the Alabama question uh right now I have them at like 14 or 15. I just I personally my my take on it I don't believe in DeBoard Alabama I think it isn't that they've lost games it is how they've lost games I really thought they laid down against Florida State last year I really thought this year and that's just not the Alabama I grew up with Alabama is a team that's supposed to get off the bus knocking you around the field they I don't feel like they do that anymore so that is my take coming into the season you seem higher on them what do you think the key for DeBoer in year three to make sure this thing gets back up to the saving level well I think he getting it back to the saving level is almost untouchable almost impossible because the era doesn't lend itself to stack that type of death yeah so like you lay down in a game now like you can't get replaced because you're you're clearly the best guy you know like because back in Saban's day there was just a natural built-in level of accountability that if you don't perform you're replaced because the number two in some ways is every bit as good as the one they maybe just haven't had the experience you know what I mean so it's difficult to create that same type of culture and consistency I do think though that this year's team is more evenly spread and the talent is more evenly dispersed whereas last year it was kind of consolidated at quarterback with Ty Simpson who was an unknown going into last year it was consolidated on the back end defensively you had veteran presence at second level defensively but I frankly don't think that that group was ever that good I mean it was reflected by the NFL draft where guys were not drafted as high as the traditional Alabama linebackers have been drafted I think if you look at Alabama the last couple years just relative to what we've come to expect from the tide they wouldn't have a bit as talented I mean like I don't know what else to say then when Saban retired they had 46 guys go in the portal so they just didn't have the dudes I just think this year's roster is a little bit more capable and maybe a little bit better across the board so it's going to lead to a little more consistent performance um but they got to get quarterback right I mean at the end of the day this is Kalen DeBoer's offense and quarterback is a very important part of that offense more so than a lot of other other places um where maybe you can get by with a great run game or your quarterback's a magician running the football and and you can create quarterback run and things like that but I think you gotta have a guy that can drop back and rip it and they have two capable guys I think Keelan Russell's got an insane ceiling so if it's him I mean there's no telling what what could happen I think Austin Mack's kind of the safe pick yeah where it's like all right maybe we need guy we've got a great defense let's just play it safe on offense not make mistakes so uh where where will it go no telling I think it's a really close call but if they need the upside of quarterback Keelan will probably be the guy and if they want to play it safe it'll be Austin Mack so I think the the biggest reason why I'm bullish on Bama this year though is because schedule is more manageable than it's been and if you look at some of the other contenders in the SEC especially the schedule is nearly as tough as some of the other teams that sit in front of them like an a and m's got tough one texas brutal oklahoma's brutal uh a handful of others are very tough whereas bama's you know 15 16 17 in college football which isn't that bad relative to most sec teams yeah greg's sitting there saying that like they don't have a trip to starkville in week five i mean i'm playing there dude so like let's not get it twisted like that's no cakewalk i've walked into there and left with the bloody nose multiple times i mean i remember walking in in 2000 what was it seven yeah seven little crop duster flyover before the game one of the coolest flyovers i've ever seen were you there by chance 2007 i was not but i remember the game i remember uh we had 100 yard pick six on uh john parker wilson 102 yeah to be exact yeah on a spider 2y banana that's right mike johnson got blown up by titus brown shout out mike johnson so yeah that was i mean i'll never forget that game but yeah dude that's a tough place to go and i think they're kind of a sneaky team so like yes on paper bama's schedule is more gettable doesn't mean that it's without potholes they're still there um at kentucky at mississippi state like those are not cakewalks by any stretch so you got to take care of business on the road i want to ask about a couple of quarterbacks for the next two questions uh you obviously have the expertise in quarterback for all of college football but you know you're a quarterback yourself so i have a criticism of more i feel like dante more is probably the most beloved quarterback coming in either him or trinidad chambliss people really love him could be number one pick in the draft i'm just going to levy my criticism now and you just answer it um i think dante more is a great great great player when his team is more talented than the one across when they played elite defenses or good defenses last year i really thought the quality of his play dropped a lot uh i'm talking about the the first game against indiana the second game against indiana um even the road trip to iowa i i really feel like when there was an elite defense on the other side he didn't play that well but he is a year older a year wiser a year better is that a fair criticism or should i just shut up well it's fair because every super high level quarterback's gonna drop off a little bit against elite players right that's to be expected i mean the biggest thing with dante more when i've watched the more i've studied the more he got hit the more quickly it affected his game you know what i mean so like if he's taking hits and he's getting sacked and he's and he doesn't feel good about it he's not going to be comfortable and and by the way the greatest of all time tom brady like the greatest ever right you hit him and he wasn't seeing the rush or the pressure the way he normally did like it you saw his game drop off from time it doesn't it's not a it's it's very natural it's very normal it's understandable yeah it turns out getting hit by a 300 pound man probably sucks yes like if you listen to any defensive coach or like hit the quarterback affect the quarterback that's what they say right affect the quarterback by hitting them by being having guys that are not going to around his feet making him uncomfortable and and i do think that ty that dante more at times would look a little uncomfortable against an elite pass rush now the good news is he's got pretty good offensive line they have a really good run game like there's a lot of things to like about his game and when things are clean in the pocket like he'll kill you kill you so the big thing when playing against him i think is hey muddy the pocket muddy the looks have people around his feet make him move in the pocket and see if his accuracy is as good because you look at the games he wasn't as sharp last year the iowas uh the indiana games things like that they all hit the quarterback they hit him so like if you can hit him you can bring him back down to earth so he's not superhuman anymore maybe he's just really really good he's not crazy elite where he's going to carve you up um so i i think what you're saying is understandable and great defenses will tend to get home but he also is a young player so i happen to think that he can probably weather the storm a little bit better this year than he did last year and even it starts back in the day at ucla second quarterback i wanted to ask you because the internet just is so divided and i feel like the media and football guys are not divided on this guy and it's arch manning and and and i feel like i got arch manning ranked as the number one quarterback in the sec coming into this year and that is acknowledging that in september last year he wasn't very good it's acknowledging it took him a while to get better but we have forgotten how to let quarterbacks develop we've forgotten how to let them learn we've forgotten as soon as they suck or as soon as they stink we're like oh he stinks forever and i feel like the internet kind of holds on to that a little bit but coming in i look at the weapons i look at coaching i look at the full package the fact that he can run and i think this year you're going to see an arch manning that is that is unparalleled in college football i think he'll be the best quarterback i assume because you know what you're talking about and i know what i'm talking about you're big on arch this year too but what do you what do you think about that setup of the internet some people divided on him but but uh what do you think about arch manning is the question well it's it's the same reason why everyone wants the five-star freshman to start because he hasn't disappointed yet yeah you know but but now it's like you already hear rumblings at michigan like maybe bryce underwood isn't the answer it's like dude he was a freshman like relax like let it play out like let's not let's not throw the baby out with the bath water just yet like there are plenty of guys that had some challenges early in their career and played their way through it dante moore is a good example of that like he was very average at ucla gets to oregon sits out a year learns from it has a great season last year so i think arch is fantastic i really like him um his athleticism is big i think a lot of people will focus on the inadequacies of his first six seven games sure which is totally fair because the expectation level is a little unfair you know it's yeah it was i mean it just it was it was not it was not right it was it was over the top um not intent i think a lot of us were just excited you know it's the next manning i grew up with payton my favorite player ever is payton manning so like the next manning like i'm great naturally just want to watch this young man and not necessarily critique him dude he didn't have any help like if you look at his first couple games the receivers were all banged up i mean parker livingston became his number one receiver for the first five games of the year he's the number three at oklahoma now but again he was the number one for texas last year when ryan wingo got healthy things got a little cleaner you look at the games against like utsa and utep it's like who cares like i mean he was just trying to find himself probably trying to do a couple things against competition that isn't same level you tried some things maybe you you roll the dice a little more than you probably should have done but i think he's the number one you should you get got and you learn from that against florida he got destroyed i actually thought he played pretty well in the florida game people look well he looked at a couple picks look at where he threw the ball look how often he was getting hit that guy got killed in that game he got killed against kentucky and and hung in there ended up winning the game and no it wasn't pretty like his old line was a disaster so you can say it was about arch but you can't play quarterback by yourself like no one can and i do think those around him didn't allow him to necessarily shine the front and starting in the fourth quarter of the mississippi state game i know yeah i'm aware i'm aware greg let's not get to we don't need to go to the details yeah it was finally like arch stopped playing not to make a mistake and started saying dude we're down 21 i don't give a damn anymore let's rip it and it's like he started ripping it and all of a sudden they erased that deficit win the game in overtime he's like look what happens when i just cut it loose and i just don't care and throw caution to the wind i just start slicing yeah they went on a tear from that point forward same uh and i think that will carry over into this season so i'm i'm super bullish on him i think he's got all the skills in the world and honestly the mental toughness is what i'm most impressed with that dude took more heat than any college player maybe in the history of college football last year and he was able to weather the storm i'm not talking about like the off the field stuff i'm talking about on the field performance no one took more heat than arch and he lived to tell the tale so i think he's gonna have a great year and now he's poised and they bring in cam coleman like he's poised for a big one um i think we're still going to have a great year and i think we're still six for six you're the sixth guest on the show we're six for six on somehow the fourth quarter of the mississippi state texas game getting brought up it's unbelievable how it keeps coming back we are all the all the uh guests are texting like hey dude make sure you get yeah mississippi state fourth quarter against texas in that's been a real topic of conversation in the group chat for sure josh pate's running that group chat just his his bald ass just you guys are like best friends what do you mean no i don't know about that we're we're kind of enemies i'm going to see him tomorrow but i'm probably i'm probably going to ruin a show um all right so we got let's see uh i want to ask you this old miss would be good this year lsu would be good this year yeah lsu has lane kiffin i don't know if you're aware he coached old miss for about six years that's insider scoop but i pretty i think yeah that's that's out there yeah we're putting really some some good stuff out there um what do you think this year laner golding laner pete golding who's standing taller at the end of the season and that's just you can take it any way you want i know you're an unbiased guy i'm not but laner golding that's the question well i mean i it's one of those weird situations it's not a cop-out dude i'm just telling you like as your boy like i'm just telling you yeah it's one of those weird situations where actually both sides are in a better spot as a result of what went down you know what i mean like it's a weird thing where it's like it's a little like notre dame when brian kelly left to go be the head coach at lsu lsu was immediately benefited because they improved they improved they improved they improved they improved they improved they improved their head coaching and the prowess and all that stuff and what bk had done in his career like him dislike him whatever but there was a lot more there was there's a lot of accomplished there's a lot of wins that showed up in baton rouge when he went to baton rouge agreed and then you promote from within and guess what it kind of galvanized notre dame when he left they're like wait hang on saying dude he just left for notre wait what he left notre dame like we're and all of a sudden marcus steps up and everyone rallied around marcus to demonstrate that hey we are more than just one guy so i know that's a weird way of thinking about it but it's like lsu was better off because because they got their guy, Notre Dame was better off because they finally woke up and said, all right, we need to start playing big boy football again. And they invested and the resources came pouring in and now they're off and running, right? So I think the same is going to happen here at Ole Miss. Like I think LSU is going to be in a better spot because of what Lane Kiffin brings and his approach to the modern era of college football. I also think that because Lane Kiffin left, all these boosters around Oxford have stepped up and now they're not taking a backseat to anybody as far as finances and resources. Like they got tons of dough down there in Mississippi now. So I think it's one of the situations where it's better off. In this season, I lean Ole Miss and one, because they host LSU. And that to me is like a must win. If you're Pete, you got to win that game. And I think everyone senses that and that might be a heavy burden. I think a lot of people would say, I'd love to get Ole Miss the week after. So Florida plays in the week after. So yeah, they might get LSU. They better be careful with the Gators. But I digress. I think Ole Miss is better situated this year to have success. They're just more continuity. I think they're a deeper team this year. I think they're actually a more well-rounded team this year. If they can make sure that the wide receivers are good to go, which I think they will be just knowing the style of offense, they're going to be in a good spot on offense. Then defensively, they've reinforced like multiple spots on the defense front. Like their front seven is going to be legit. Their linebackers were a liability last year. Now it's a strength. So I actually think they're a better football team this year overall. And I wouldn't be at all if they had similar results the last year. Whereas I think LSU, there's a lot of new, there's a lot of new, and there's a lot, it's a different culture. It's a different identity. It's a great job of talent acquisition, but can it all come together and doing it in year one, I think is going to be a challenge, especially if they get punched in the mouth early. I mean, you, let's just say you play a close one against Clemson. You win, you win week two, you lose at Ole Miss and it's ugly. I don't think it will be, but just saying, what if it's gets sideways? Yeah. Are the guys going to hang together? Because they've all kind of been brought in and they only have six months where they know each other. So that's a question for me on LSU this year. A couple of basic questions here about the sport of college football. I get asked this all the time and I'm not a former player or a broadcaster who's there every week. I want to ask if you can differentiate this or if they're the same, you're allowed a stadium as a player and you're allowed a stadium as an announcer. Cause I know it's two different experiences, two different preparations, two different everything, but maybe I just want to see how similar. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. Uh, it's a great question. The loudest stadium for me as a player was Arkansas. Uh, and that was, yeah, 2010 dude. It was, Oh, they were loaded that year. They were loaded. They were loaded. Ryan Mallett. Like they were stocked. Yeah. We were number one. They were number five. I mean, top five matchup. It was like, it was their first, it was their first like massive home game. It felt like in 30 years, whether it was or not, I don't know. I don't know. I'm not an Arkansas football historian. They scored on like the third play of the game and we're down seven, nothing like before we even got off the bus. And it was like, Oh boy. All right. We got a day. Like it's going to be brutal. And that touchdown on the third play of the game was the loudest I've ever heard a stadium. They had those metal bleachers back then too. Yeah. You know, so it kind of reverberated and like, it was kind of all on top of you. So that was the loudest as a player, as a broadcaster. It's going to sound crazy. I'm going to go. And it was last year. It was Bryant Denny, Alabama, when Alabama intercepted the pass at the end of half against Tennessee. And he took it to the house. That was the loudest I've, I couldn't even hear. I mean, it was buzzing like you wouldn't believe. The other one that I can remember, it was prior to a play. It was also an Alabama game. It was on the road in Starkville. I want to say it was 20, no, no, no, Greg, Greg. It was 2017. Yeah. And, and Calvin Ridley stepped out of bounds on a long route and the ref threw his hat and he then came back in bounds and he caught the ball and he ran it down and Alabama went in 24 to 17, even though Mississippi state was leading that game for the whole time. And then Calvin Ridley was out of bounds, ref threw his hat. And then he waved off the penalty. That was the game you're talking about. The one I was thinking of, maybe it was a close game. I just remember the, the defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham. Yeah. And it was Mullen. Yeah. He, he brought all out blitz, like three straight plays and they got them on the first two on the third one. Jalen Hurts threw like a little slant to the left. I don't know if it was Devante Smith or who it was. It was Calvin Ridley. Was it Calvin Ridley? I'm pretty sure it was Calvin Ridley. Whoever it was, it was like a slant to the left. And before that snap, you know, the whole ring responsibly, like that was not observed. That was gone. That was probably one of the loudest, like in a pre-snap leading up, building up to the moment. Oh, you know what place I've been? It was Devante Smith. You're talking about the game winning touchdown. You're right. It was the way it was. It was going in towards the, uh, the opening stadium with the building. Yeah. The slant was from left to right. That's right. That was the, that was the loudest I experienced pregame, but reactionary was probably the pick six last year against Tennessee. All right. Now here's a good one. Uh, if you were coming out of high school today and I'm going to make you a high four star, maybe even a low five star quarterback. Whoa. We really like you. I mean, everybody wants you. That's big faster than I am right now. Oh my God. You are, you are as good as you could possibly be at football. Um, if you're coming out of high school right now and you got your choice coast to coast, sea to shining sea, which coach do you think you're honing in on? Cause you, you know, your own coach is gone. Saban, Saban, Saban doesn't coach anymore. Um, which coach are you thinking? Wow. I could really, really like to play for that guy as a quarterback. Yeah. I mean, I'm from Dallas Fort worth. Um, so like Southlake Carroll, big, like program in Texas. So for me, it would have been really hard if I could go anywhere, it would have been really hard for me to turn down the Texas long horns. I was like my team and to play for Steve Sarkeesian, like he's good enough for the Manning family, probably good enough for the McElroy family. Uh, so that would probably be right there as maybe my number one. 0 : Uh, just where I was from. And if I could do it all over again, um, granted, like I love where I went. I have no, no call. Like I go to Alabama 10 times over for sure. But you asked me specifically, it's all hypothetical. Yeah. If 18 year old Greg had to go anywhere in the country, I would have ended up at Texas. Uh, but I don't know, as I've gotten older, like there is a real appreciation and soft spot in my heart for Notre Dame. Like I, I love Notre Dame. Wow. Uh, I love Marcus Freeman. I think Marcus Freeman does a great job with this team. I think they play like their hair's on fire all the time. So like, I think he's done a great job too. And Den Brock, their OC has done a good job developing quarterback, kind of adjusting their offense to the skillset. So he'd be another guy and there's a million of them. Um, they're all good for different reasons. That's, what's kind of cool about it. There's no right answer. There's no wrong answer there. It's just, what are you prioritizing? And as like an 18 year old kid coming out of high school, like Texas and Notre Dame would have certainly been at the top. But man, I tell you what, dude, my experience, Alabama was like next second to none. So like Alabama will always be a one a, but I'm not gonna pick that one. Cause that's the one I actually chose. If I had to go in a secondary direction, those would be the two last question. And I thank you for your time again. Uh, I know, I believe you're going to be in week one, uh, in Nashville for Louisville Ole Miss. Is that correct? Yeah. It's Louisville though. You can't say Louisville. You got to say Louisville, Greg. I learned the hard way, Greg. I am from West point, Mississippi. Okay. I am doing the best I can. It's a town of 8,000. You're doing a great job. Just South, just South of Starkville. There's another town called Louisville, Mississippi. It looks like Louisville, but it's Louisville, Mississippi. So I've been growing up with them my whole life. It's hard to get out of the habit of having Louisville and then respecting Louisville. So I'm doing my best anyway. You're doing great. And West point, Mississippi, a wonderful town, home of old Waverly. If I'm not mistaken, that's right there. Neat area, uh, frequented the area many times. So it's a great spot. Um, do you have a Saturday circled yet? Or, or I don't know if you get your schedule before the season, or if you go week to week, I really don't know how you guys get the assignments. I, I haven't researched that. I don't know if you know that you're going somewhere every all 15 weeks or what, but do you have a Saturday circled yet? Like I can't wait for this moment right here. Yeah. I don't have the date in front of me. I'd have to look it up exactly, but there is a day on ABC where we're going to have, and we get the second game. So Herb street and Fowler, we'll get the top game. We get the second game. So we can usually boil it down to two or three different destinations a fair, depending on how the chalk flies. Like, yeah, you know exactly where you're going. If you have some upsets and stuff, it could certainly shuffle the deck, but there's one week where Bama is hosting Georgia. And on the same day, Texas is playing Oklahoma. Yeah. So I think it's like October 10th or October 13th. And that's saying like mid October, early October, we'll be in one of those two places. I don't know which one yet, but like two of the biggest games of the year. And we're going to be fortunate to be on the call for one of the two. And I'm not sure you can go wrong in either direction. All right. That's Greg McElroy ESPN college football analyst and a very, uh, is awesome conversation. I appreciate it. You're very mature and measured in the way you talk about college football, the exact opposite of me. So thank you for, uh, thank you for stopping by and doing this for me, man. I appreciate it. Hey, this is a good balance right here. This is a good balance. Like you can just throw haymakers and hot takes. I'm great with that. I support that entirely. And I'll just, I'll try to clean up and make sense of it. You know, we'll just, we'll balance each other out. It was a good, good visit, buddy. I enjoyed it. And I didn't cuss. Not one time on this show. congratulations to me thank you very much greg mcelroy i appreciate it