Max Olson (The Athletic) on winners/losers in transfer portal

We are back! Tim Murray is back for another exciting college football season of the VSiN College Football Betting Podcast! Tim reacts to some of the released week 1 games. He welcomes Max Olson from The Athletic. They analyze the transfer portal in detail. Who are the winners and losers? Which teams are in playoff or bust mode? Also, Tim gives his thoughts on the return of the NCAA Football video game.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Vson's College Football Betting podcast. Welcome in another
edition of the Vsin College Football Betting Podcast. It is
great to be back. I am Tim Murray. The summer
months are here and we're starting to get game times announced.
Big news in the college football world today, nothing to

(00:23):
do with players or point spreads or realignment anything like that.
The football game is coming back first time in a decade.
We'll have a little fun with that to close out
the podcast. One of the main reasons, to be honest,
I am as big of a nut college football fan
as I am. Today's a lot of tasks to do

(00:44):
with the video game, believe it or not. So big
news today from that front, coming out July nineteenth. All right,
Today on the podcast, as we get into the off season,
we're going to bring in Max Olsen from the Athletics
senior reporter there. He covers the portal and recruiting very closely.
And what I wanted to do as we get back
into the swing of things here on this feed is

(01:08):
to take a look at the portal, the winners, the losers,
because you can look at the two, four, seven, the
on three, whoever you like. As you're recruiting experts rankings.
But what it doesn't necessarily account for is the detractions
as well. And I'll give you example. You look at

(01:28):
a team that is very high in the rankings, like
Texas A and M. According to two four to seven Sports,
they're fourth in the portal this year. However, they lost
a lot of big pieces. Walter Nolan, who is one
of the best recruits transfer recruits out there. He heads
the ole miss Evan Stewart wide receiver from Texas A
and M. He's gone to Oregon. So I wanted to

(01:50):
bring in Max and talk about the teams that hit
the portal the hardest and some of the teams that
got hit by the portal the hardest. So we're going
to do that with Max Olsen here in just a
little bit. Well, obviously, run down the quarterbacks. The list
is endless of new quarterbacks, new locations. Who's going to
be the starter? Is that an upgrade? Is that a downgrade?

(02:13):
You know? Could we see a quarterback competition at a
place like Ohio State. You know, Ohio State went out
and got Will Howard and they kind of, I don't
want to say, became the butt of a joke, but
people were wondering who is Ohio State going to get.
They get Will Howard from Kansas State, but they also
got Julian saying a once a time, once upon a time,
five time recruit, five star recruit, I should say, out

(02:34):
of Alabama. Does he have a chance to take that
starting job. So we're gonna get to all of that
with Max Olsen. A little business to get to if
you wouldn't mind subscribe, rate review to the podcast. We're
back up and running. Producer Steven has let me know
that sometimes iTunes makes it a little dormant there. So
the goal for the rest of the summer is to

(02:56):
have at least one episode in your feed each and
every week. We're gonna have different guests on different college
football handicappers, college football experts, and then obviously when we
get to the fall, we will be back up and
running with multiple episodes each and every week. Adam Burke,
Matt Eumans, they will all be back in the fold
with us and hopefully doing what we did last year,

(03:16):
which was another successful season breaking down games here on
this very podcast. So I'm excited for the summer. I'm
excited for college football to be back in our lives.
I'm excited to talk to you guys again all summer long.
Have some of these great guests that we had on
last year that helped us break down conferences in depth,
and boy, it's going to be a pretty wild summer

(03:37):
for all of us to figure out. Wait, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, USC,
they're all in the Big ten. Now the SEC brings
in Oklahoma and Texas the Big twelve. They added Colorado,
they added Utah. Who the hell is going to win
the Big twelve? So we got a lot to get
to and a salute to the pac twelve, who I

(04:00):
guess is still kind of in existence with Washington State
and Oregon State out there. They've got their agreement with
the Mountain West. So man, we got so much to
unpack this summer. I can't wait to dive into it.
You know, upfront, I have not placed a wager yet,
but we will get to some win totals, no doubt.
We will wager on some win totals as this summer

(04:20):
goes on. But before we bring on Max, I do
want to hit on this. So I am. I'm a
big time nerd when it comes to this. Jonathan von Tobel,
who is my co host of Vson Primetime Shameless Plug
six to nine pm Eastern time, each and every week.
He was giving me grief for me predicting when these
game times are going to come out. So we got

(04:41):
some game times, we have some point spreads. So I
wanted to run through a couple of these games and
these point spreads that we have for Week zero, Week one,
week two and just kind of get the gears go
of what we can't anticipate. So Week zero we've got
a handful of games, but only one really of note
as of this point. Florida State Georgia Tech College Game

(05:03):
Day will be there. This will be noon Eastern on
ESPN Saturday, August twenty fourth. Florida State dj Uyungalila, their
new quarterback. We'll talk to Max about Florida State and
get his thoughts on what they've done in the portal.
A year removed from getting snubbed because of the Jordan
Travis injury from the College Football Playoff and then getting

(05:24):
absolutely obliterated by Georgia, do they take out their frustration
on Georgia Tech in Dublin Last year we had a
Week zero game in Dublin Notre Dame one and covered
against Navy, winning that game forty two to three. Right now,
Florida State at DraftKings is a thirteen point favorite. Week
one is pretty interesting. So Week one, as we've had

(05:45):
for years, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. It is college
football's weekend until the NFL ultimately decides that they want
to take over Labor Day weekend, which day kind of
did with the first round of the College Football Playoff
on December twenty first. But how about this game? Much
to do about Colorado, as there will be until Dion

(06:05):
Sanders leaves, but Colorado, who brings back Shador Sanders brings
back Travis Hunter, did lose some pieces to the portal.
Certainly another team that we will very much discuss with
Max Olsen. What will they do after a four and
eight campaign just a year ago did go over the
win total at most spots, though Colorado did, I believe
closing around three and a half. Didn't get to a

(06:27):
bowl game. But how about them opening up the season
against North Dakota State. Now, North Dakota State isn't the
juggernaut that they once were. South Dakota State has actually
turned into that juggernaut in the FCS ranks. But I
am of the opinion that any athletic director that hired
that schedules North Dakota State or South Dakota State probably

(06:48):
should lose their job, Like what are you doing? This
is a no win situation. But it's gonna be eight
pm Eastern time in Boulder on ESPN Thursday, August twenty ninth.
We've got a point spread there. Colorado is a seven
point favorite. I think I wrote that up for Vison
dot com and put plus seven there by accident. Friday,
we've got a double header, not all that juicy, but

(07:09):
we've got a doubleheader temple at Oklahoma, Oklahoma, the Sooners
laying thirty nine and a half. Remember Dylan Gabriel has
moved on from Oklahoma. He is now at Oregon. Oregon
by the way, going to the portal and getting the
starting quarterback from Oklahoma and Dylan Gabriel and also got
a once upon a time five star recruit Dante Moore,

(07:31):
who was committed quietly at a Notre Dame, never officially
then I think, committed to Oregon. Ultimately played at UCLA
last year. Now he's at Oregon, so that'll be an
interesting conversation there when you look at that quarterback room
and then TCU at Stanford. You know, Stanford, as we
all know, part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now Stanford

(07:51):
catching eleven at home. So double header on that Friday,
ten thirty pm Eastern time. Then on Saturday. You know,
sometimes Week one has some great games all across the board.
I would say, for the most part, Week one is fine.
But this triple header that we have on Saturday of
Labor Day weekend is really as good as we could

(08:13):
ask for. Georgia versus Clemson noon Eastern ABC. Georgia and
Ohio State, folks, that's the discussion. Who's one, who's two,
and then it's kind of a drop off from those two.
Georgia right now lay in almost two touchdowns against Clemson.
Dabos Sweeney once again not going to the portal. Zero

(08:37):
players in the portal, so he's just sticking to his
guns and doing his thing down there. Coming off of
a four and four ACC year, I believe I heard
this stat from Bruce Veldman and Stuart Mandel that Clemson
in the previous four or five seasons was thirty eight
and three in the ACC. They lost four games last

(08:59):
year will be at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Then
can we bet on whether or not there will be
a weather delay in Miami at Florida three point thirty
Eastern That is going to be blazing hot. But as
we've seen in the past couple of years, you know,
Florida opening up two years ago against Utah, pulling the
upset against the Utes at home there with Anthony Richardson

(09:20):
making some ridiculous plays. Both these teams are Florida based,
obviously Miami and Florida, so maybe the heat won't be
that big of a deal. So Miami at Florida and then, yes,
I'm a Notre Dame guy, you all know that. But
Texas A and m Notre Dame. The intrigue level, the
interest level in this one as Jimbo Fisher finally fired

(09:41):
at Texas A and M with a record setting buy
out there for the Aggies, Giga Maggie, as we mentioned already,
and we'll talk to Max about this, lost a ton
to the portal, but added a ton from the portal.
And remember it's not that long ago that they had
the elite elite recruit classes. Connor Wegman, a guy that

(10:03):
certainly could surprise some folks, could be a first round
pick come next year, the Texas A and M quarterback,
and then you've got all the ties you've got. Mike Elko,
former Notre Dame defensive coordinator, was there for one year
in twenty seventeen, helped the turnaround saving Brian Kelly's career
at Notre Dame, and then he jetted for Texas A

(10:24):
and M when he didn't get the money that he
wanted from Notre Dame. Then he was the head coach
at Duke. He is now the head coach at Texas
A and M. Who was his quarterback last year at Duke? Oh,
it was Riley Leonard. Riley Leonard is now the quarterback
of Notre Dame. Mike Denbrock comes back from LSU after
being the offensive coordinator for Jaden Daniels in a Heisman

(10:45):
Trophy winning season last year. He's now the OC of
Notre Dame. If you want to get even deeper in
the weeds, Colin Kleine. Colin Kleine once turned down the
OC job at Notre Dame when they ultimately hired Jared
Parker to replace Tommy and guess what happened. He is
now at Texas A and M. So a lot of

(11:06):
unique storylines for this game. Notre Dame at Texas A
and M, a Notre Dame team that's got a win
total at ten. And you look at the schedule for
the Irish. If they could beat Texas A and M
at Kyle Field to start the year, it's on for
them to make the College Football Playoff. But if they
lose this game, the heat will be on Marcus Freeman

(11:26):
in year three and people will be questioning whether or
not he can ultimately get it done. All right, A
couple more games, Just a note here the Sunday game
here in my backyard at Allegiance Stadium, Las Vegas. LSU
at you are sorry versus USC. I beg your pardon there,
and I just want to run through this real quickly. USC,
who obviously is a team that lost Caleb Williams and

(11:48):
a lot of other pieces from a disappointing year just
last year. This is who is on their schedule, folks.
You start neutral side against LSU, where let's be honest,
the Bayou Bengal Faithful will be in droves here in
Las Vegas. Then September twenty first at Michigan. September twenty eighth,

(12:09):
home to Wisconsin at Minnesota home to Penn State. Then
it's a little you know, Maryland Rutgers. Then you're at Washington, who, yes,
what are they going to look like? Jedfish coming in
as their new head coach. Then you close out the
year home to Nebraska at UCLA home to Notre Dame.
Right now at DraftKings, USC and game of the Year

(12:32):
lines is an underdog in four games already, LSU they're
catching six Michigan, they're catching eleven, Penn State, they're catching four.
Notre Dame. They're catching three and a half win total
at circa seven and a half win total at DraftKings
at seven, folks, I would play the under seven and
a half. I am fascinated to see how Lincoln Riley's

(12:52):
team fars this year when it comes to that brutal
schedule being in the Big Ten with all of that travel.
So it's going to be very very interesting to see
how USC does this year. And it starts here in
Las Vegas against US or against LSU, So fascinating to
see how that all plays plays out real quickly before

(13:17):
we hit a break and bring in Max Olson. Texas
Week two, big noon kickoff at Michigan. Michigan losing a ton,
including their head coach Jim Harball to the LA Chargers.
They are a home dog. Very interesting to see that
Texas Land three, big noon kickoff. Week two. Alabama at
Wisconsin in Week three that should be a hell of

(13:37):
a game to watch. Big noon kickoff is there as well.
Is a bit of a bummer, to be honest. I
don't know about you, but I am a believer of
Camp Randall at night that should be should be the
way to go. Alabama right now at DraftKings is an
eight point favorite. And Week five Primetime ABC end of September,

(14:00):
Georgia lay in four and a half at Alabama. So
Georgia and Ohio State entering this year a unique year
with the twelve team playoff it is it's gonna be
a lot of fun. Man. I am so fired up
for the college football playoff to be expanding. What does
that mean for the Big twelve? How much of a
leg up do they have because remember four teams get

(14:22):
buys and they have to be conference champions. So there's
an early look at some of the lines that are
out if you're wondering about the game. Ohio State lay
in double digits right now against Michigan. Oh buddy, Ohio
State minus ten against Michigan. Do they finally get their
revenge after dropping three straight to their rivals up north?

(14:44):
All right, we're gonna take a quick break. When we
come back, we will bring in Max Olkson from the Athletic.
Winners losers from the portal. Who's where we'll find all
of that out stick around. It is the Visa in
College Football Betting podcast. As promised, Max Olsen from the
Athletic joins us right now, a man who's been covering

(15:06):
it all and maybe a little breather now that the
portal is pretty much closed, still a couple guys trickling around.
Senior writer for the Athletic. Follow him on Twitter at
Max Underscore Olsen. That'slso and Max. What I wanted to
do since we're kind of back from hiatus here on
the podcast was take a look at winners and losers

(15:27):
in the portal. And what I mentioned in the open
was anyone can go to two four to seven rivals
on three whatever and say, Okay, this team did really well,
but it doesn't account for what they lost, right, So
a couple teams I wanted to hit on right out
of this shoot. We'll start with Alabama. You lose Nick Saban.
Obviously when you look at some of the rankings, they're

(15:47):
around top five, maybe number three. I think it's what
two four seven has. But that doesn't account for they
lost Caleb Downs, who was thought to be the best
transfer out there. So let's start with calein de Bor's squad.
Were they a winner or a loser in this portal?

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah, it's a great question, and I appreciate you having
me on man this, you know, for for Kalen de Boor,
it feels a little harsh to label Alabama as a
loser because to some degree, it's like, what could you
do about it? Right, If Caleb Downs is going to
hit the portal, you're gonna have Georgia, Ohio State and
everybody in the world trying to get them. Isaiah Bond

(16:22):
transfers from Alabama to Texas, and that happened basically within
a day or two of Kalen de Bore getting the job.
It's like, you really had a chance to go win
him over. You know, some of the players have moved
on from Alabama. It happens every year of just like hey,
I'm behind a stud I want to get more playing time.
I'm gonna go somewhere where. You know, those guys are
gonna get highly recruited out of the portal because they're
coming from Alabama, and certainly, you know they were able

(16:45):
to bring some players with them from Washington. I think
Jordany Bernard is gonna have a chance to really make
an impact, the wide receiver coming in from from playing
in their offense a year ago. You know, you pick
up some pieces that I think are going to help.
But certainly when you have a coaching change at Alabama,
I mean, can you imagine if you're one of the
top players on that team, how many dms, how many

(17:05):
phone calls you're getting saying saving's gone, come on down?

Speaker 1 (17:08):
You know, yeah, there's no doubt and you know, just
sticky with Alabama. Caden Proctor left, goes to Iowa, comes back.
How big of it was for Klein de Bor as
we know, and as you've covered, I mean, the portal
for tackles is a hot commodity to get Proctor to return.

(17:29):
How big of a coup was that for Debor it's.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
A huge coup, absolutely. You know, I think the big
lesson there for coaches is, you know, if you pick
up a transfer, a big time transfer for your program,
don't let him go on spring vac spring break vacation
with his old former team, because you know you wherever
they went, they had a great time, and they decided
he missed him too much and wanted to go back

(17:54):
to Tuscaloosa. So that's a tough one for Iowa. That's
you know, that's a recruit that they'd been chased and
for years he'd been committed to Iowa. He ends up
flipping on signing day to go to Alabama. And you know,
Kaden Proctor had his true freshman struggles, as anybody would
if you're a true freshman starter on the offensive line
in the SEC. But I thought he got better over
the course of the year. I thought he played well

(18:16):
in the games that mattered late in the year. And
so to be able to bring in a guy that
you know has gelled with your offensive line and who
I think is his trajectory is pointing in a really
good direction. That was a huge one and certainly a surprise.
But the kind of stuff that now that we're living
in the world of unlimited transfers like that stuff can happen.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yeah, we'll also run through all the quarterbacks because that
could be an episode in and of itself. Who's where
what was the big impact? We'll get to that. But
a team that was very busy in the portal, it
feels like kind of an all in situation is Ole Miss.
Ole Miss does lose Judkins, which we'll get to Ohio
State very selective, but the guys that they brought in

(18:58):
were pretty impactful, but Old Miss brings it around twenty
new players, Walter Nolan probably be in the biggest name
coming from Texas A and M. And we'll get to
the Aggies here momentarily. But two four seven has Ole
Miss number one in the transfer portal. Similar question, though
the defections including Judkins, does the additions outweigh the defections.

Speaker 2 (19:23):
I think so. I mean, I think it's certainly, you
know not. There's not one player that is going to
replace the production of Quinn Shawn Judkins at running back
for Ole Miss, and they picked up several out of
the portal of this offseason. They got Ulysses Bentley to
come back for another year, so you know, it's kind
of the moneyball thing. You're hoping that a few different
players can combine to give you similar production, and that's

(19:44):
that's it's tough to replace. But I would say there's
still more of a a you know, they're absolutely near
the top of the list of winners, and I think
that it's you saw Ole Miss they looked at their
schedule for twenty four and felt like, all right, we've
got a ton of pieces coming back here with guys
that didn't go in the draft, similar to what we
saw from Washington a year ago of like, all right,
we got a lot of guys coming back, like let's

(20:05):
really make a run here and uh to go pick
up Juice Walls at wide receiver to compliment Trey Harris,
I thought was a big addition to to go win
on Walter Nolan against Oregon, which is tough to do
that that that was a huge statement I thought for
Lane Kiffin and and definitely for Pee Golding and their
defensive staff. And I think Princely Euman Miellen coming, you know,

(20:26):
to to play edge for them coming from Florida, I
think is another important piece Ole Miss has proven the
past few years. They know how to evaluate other people's
rosters and and when these guys hit the portal, ole
Miss is pretty pretty quick to scoop them up. And
so you know, you got to trust that the pieces
that they needed, specifically on defense, that was the focus
for sure. To add those guys I think makes a

(20:47):
big difference. They also picked up two of Kalen de
Boor's offensive starting offensive lignment from Washington to to fortify
the offensive line. So really, in terms of attacking needs,
Ole Miss as good as anybody this obse.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, you look at the schedules you alluded to, and
you know, with now the playoff being expanded to twelve,
ole Miss at DraftKings is minus one thirty to make
the playoffs. So they are a favorite to be in
that field. Non conference very manageable. And then you look
at the conference schedule. You get Kentucky at home, you
get Oklahoma at home, you get Georgia at home. Your

(21:17):
road trips to LSU was never easy. But when you
look at this schedule, when you look at the talent
that they brought in, Max, it does feel to me
that it is playoff or bus this year for ole Miss.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah, you know, if we had the twelve team playoff
last year, I think Ole Miss would have been like
the eleventh seed. Obviously, you saw how they played against
Penn State. I think by the end of the year
they felt like, you know, the only games you lose
er Alabama and Georgia, so you feel like you can
kind of play with anybody else. And I think they
probably would have liked their chances to win a game
or two in the playoffs. And so you saw Jackson
Dart you know, level up in terms of his play

(21:51):
last season, and I think that gives you more confidence too,
in terms of all right, let's go, let's go spend,
and let's go let's you know, if you've got the QB,
if you've got a lot of good seniors them and back,
you know, this is the time to shove the chips in.
And I think there's there's quite a few teams that
you could circle that. This offseason they looked at a
twelve team playoff format and they said, like, we're not
that far off. Let's go, you know, let's go talk

(22:13):
to the collective and let's go do what we gotta
do to add the pieces that can really, you know,
give us a lot of confidence that we got everything
we need to go make a run.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
I was looking at your your colleague Ari Wasserman's top
twenty five, and he has Ohio State one, Georgia two.
We'll get to those two monsters shortly. But then there's
Oregon and you know, another team that you alluded to.
They've got all the money in the world. They're very
active in the portal. According to two four seven Sports,
I believe they were number two in the portal. Not

(22:46):
a ton of defections, at least that I counted, I
mean here and there. But you bring in two quarterbacks,
Dylan Gabriel and Dante More. The thought process maybe being to,
you know, bring back more for another year and then
you know, some other big pieces. So when you look
at Oregon, how big of a winner were they during
this process?

Speaker 2 (23:07):
Huge? I mean, and that was Oregon's another one that
absolutely going into December, they knew like, look, yeah, bo
Knicks is going pro. We're gonna lose some important players.
But you know, after coming up short in these Packed
All title games, you know, and making a run into
Packed All title at the end of that league, they
certainly felt like, man, we're just a few players away

(23:27):
from definitely being a playoff team. And so to go
get Dylan Gabriel from Oklahoma, Like that's a guy that
should be in the NFL right now. And he's just,
you know, the most experienced player that's ever hit the
transfer portal basically at the quarterback position, and so to
add him, and I think he can still take his
game to another level. You know, he played well, I
thought last season in Oklahoma he was an All Big

(23:48):
twelve quarterback. But he certainly felt like, you know, can
he go, can he go be like a Heisman contender
type guy that goes and leads a playoff team. I
think he certainly can be. You know, they went and
got just really premium players out of the transfer portal,
whether it's Evan Stewart, the wide receiver from Texas A
and M who I think is setting up to have
a huge year. You know that. I liked what they

(24:10):
added in the secondary, like I just think you know,
defensive line as well. Picked up some really important pieces.
I think Derek Carmon coming over from Michigan State a
post spring pickup for Oregon that was a huge win
over a bunch of these contenders. So I think Oregon
feels like they've got they're in a great spot. And
look the fact that Dan Lanning was not going to
mess with the Alabama vacancy told you like he felt

(24:33):
like they're pretty loaded for this year.

Speaker 1 (24:34):
Yeah, you look at the schedule. By the way, minus
two fifteen to make the playoffs. So they are, you know,
behind Georgia and Ohio State most likely per the odds
to make the College Football Playoff this year. Road trip
to Michigan late in the season in November will be interesting,
But they get Ohio State in one of the premier
games of the college football season October twelfth in Austin.

(24:56):
That game's going to be absolutely unbelievable. Before we get
to the buck Eyes, Texas adem fascinating team.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
Right.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
Finally got the money to get rid of Jimbo Fisher
after another disappointing year. Really the only year that was
successful under Jimbo was the year they got outside looking
in of the College Football Playoff, the COVID year when
they got blown out by Alabama in the regular season.
So a lot of pieces go, but a lot of
pieces come in. According to two four to seven Sports

(25:26):
Max their number four. But you know, right out of
the shoot, they're playing Notre Dame week one, and I
opened the show talking about man the weaving of this game,
where you think about Mike Elko used to be at
Notre Dame as the DC, and then he wanted more money.
Notre Dame said, go kick Rocks. He went to Texas
A and M. Notre Dame wanted Colin Klein, he said no.
Now he's at Texas A and M. Riley. Leonard Mack

(25:48):
was Elko's QB last year at two. He's now at
Notre Dame. So a fascinating Week one game College game
Day is going to be there. But when you dissect
Texas ADM, because I think this might be one of
the more fascinating dissections because they got a lot of pieces.
But as you alluded to, Walter Nolan's gone, Evan Stewart's gone,
those are two of the biggest pieces in the portal

(26:08):
Max Texas A and M winner or A loser during
this offseason.

Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, I mean, if you talk about like the best
players on your roster between guys that went pro and
guys went to the portal, I mean A and M
certainly lost some big time players, and I think people
probably circle them as a loser in the portal from
that standpoint. But you look, they're gonna have a ton
of new faces this year, and that's you know, they
added a lot from the transfer portal, like twenty five
to thirty new scholarship players via the portal because they

(26:36):
had to. And so we'll see on like the evaluation
piece of that, like did you get guys that are
sec good that give you a chance to go play
with the toughest teams on your schedule. But I'm I'm
bullishaw in Texas A and M this year. I think
that Mike Elko feels like he's you know, I think
he believes he does have a lot of talent on
defense that he's inheriting and a chance to really, you know,

(26:58):
piece together a pretty sold to unit, you know. I
think to add Nick s Gorton from Purdue, I think
that's gonna be a guy that really stands out. He
was one of the best pass rushers in the in
the Big Ten last year and is going home to
College Station and it's on that I think is going
to be very productive and is gonna be pretty eye
opening for people. And then offensively, big fan of call

(27:19):
Incline and what he does. And I think that Connor
Wegman is just the QB going into the season that
nobody's really talking about because he hasn't been able to
you know, he wasn't able to stay healthy last year
and so he kind of faded the background there a
little bit. But very talented quarterback by all accounts from
people I've talked to you that have worked with him,
and I think he is setting up for a big year.
You know, we'll see if he's got the right weapons

(27:41):
around him after what they've lost. But that they are
an interesting wild card team for sure because there's just
a ton of new faces there. But I think Mike
Elko can also stabilize some of the like day to
day issues that they had towards the end of the
Jimbo Are.

Speaker 1 (27:54):
You know that Week one showdown right now? DraftKings as
Texas A and M is a one point favorite again
Notre Dame College game Day as alluded is going to
be there. We know Kyle Field's going to be rocking
for that night game. The weather is going to be
probably scorching hot. Notre Dame isn't a team that relies
on the portal, maybe like a you know, like an

(28:15):
old miss, but they plug some holes right a year ago,
they bring in Sam Hartman, they spent big money and
they fended off some people for Riley Leonard. First, let's
look at the Irish and what their offseason was like,
and you know, can you make an argument that I
would that their biggest addition wasn't a player, it was
a coach and bringing back Mike Denbrock because Jared Parker,

(28:36):
who's now the head coach of Troy, let's just say
Notre Dame fans, we're ready to pack his bags for him,
whether that was fair or not. So Max, what did
you make of Notre Dames albeit short a small but
what did you make of their hall in the portal?
And also what do you make of Week one down
there in College Station? Oh?

Speaker 2 (28:56):
I mean that game is going to be awesome. I
can't wait to see it. I think Notre Dame had
a really interesting offseason and I agree with you like
I think the addition of Mike Denbrock is is definitely
going to raise expectations for people. Uh, just based on
what he did with with Jade Daniels and with Lake
Neighbors and Brian Thomas and just that offense that was
unbelievable last year at LSU. I think Notre Dame. You're right,

(29:18):
Notre Dame is usually not in the business of of
the transfer portal very often, but they they had They
attacked the portal very quickly in December and picked up
a bunch of players, like in very impactful players. You know,
they really kind of made the decision they went Riley
Leonard over Will Howard and and that was one of
the first moves in the in the the game of

(29:38):
dominoes that was the quarterback market this year. And I
think they felt like he was a player, you know,
they've played him obviously and so they had a lot
of familiarity there. But I think they felt like he
was someone that can really take their offense to the
next level and replacing Sam Hartman. And if he if
he can stay healthy this year, Like I'm very excited
to see what he can do playing in in a
great offensive system. But I like, you know, they had

(29:59):
to add it wider receiver. They added Jaden Harrison for
Marshall bo Collins from Clemson. Chris Mitchell, I think is
going to have a chance to maybe be their number
one receiver this year, and I think that those are
you know, you got to hit on those, those are important.
But I really like them adding R. J Oben from Duke.
That's a good edge player that a lot of people
wanted in the portal. So I think that they were
pretty like I think they made it. Maybe it wasn't

(30:21):
as big a statement as some of these people competing
to be the portal king, but they picked up some
good players. They picked them up very quickly in December,
and to me, it's both to not just that they
had needs, but that you know, they felt like they
could go get some premium players that give them a chance.
And honestly, you look at that schedule, I mean, you
got to be in the playoff if you're Notre Dame
this year one hundred percent.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Now the pressure's on Marcus Freeman and you look at
the odds for them to make the playoff max around
minus one sixty five, and it all shakes down to
do you beat Texas A and M. Right, I mean,
if you beat Texas A and M, you've got a
home game against Louisville in September twenty eighth. You've got
a home game against Florida State on November fifth, and
then you close at USC and who knows what us

(31:03):
He's going to look like after that war of a schedule.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
So yeah, for.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Marcus Freeman year three. From everything I've heard and listened to,
you know, from your colleague at the Athletic Pete Sampson
and others, it's, you know, Notre Dame's kind of gone
all in, so to speak. You know, they're paying their assistance,
They've got nil healthy. So it's gonna be fascinating year
to dissect the Irish, another team that was selective and
probably bringing in some more premium players. You alluded to

(31:29):
the fact that Notre Dame and Max you can speak
to this more than I can, but I believe that
Will Howard wanted to go to Notre Dame and they
said we're going Riley Leonard. So ultimately Will Howard goes
to Ohio State. Very rarely is your landing spot Ohio
State if you don't go to Notre Dame. But that's
the situation. Look at Ohio State, they only bring in
six players, but they bring in arguably the best player

(31:51):
in the portal and Caleb Downs. They not only brought
in Will Howard, but they brought in Julian saying, so
let's start there is this definitely Will Howard's job. Is
there a competition a quarterback?

Speaker 2 (32:03):
So yeah, that's a good question. And I should have
mentioned saying on the Alabama losses, because to lose a
five star quarterback like that who had just enrolled at
your program a couple of weeks before he hit the portal,
that's a tough one to replace. I think this is
Will Howard's job. I think they like him a lot.
And honestly, when I talk to personnel people in early December,
when this quarterback market was kind of setting up, I
think a lot of people looked at Will Howard and

(32:25):
felt like we can win a lot of games with
this guy. And I think ultimately, you know, he went
to visit Miami, went to visit usc you know, there
was a bunch of people in the mix there. And
then ultimately, when Ryan Day decided after they lost the
Cotton Bowl to go get a transfer, you know, I
was a done deal pretty much. I think that that's
a very talented quarterback room. Obviously, it was interesting that
nobody decided to leave that quarterback room at the end

(32:47):
of the spring, so you know, certainly, if you're Devin
Brown and those guys, you feel like the competition's ongoing
and you got a chance and that you know it's
not worth leaving yet. But I think Will Howard is
certainly the favorite to do it. I think Julian Sand's
got a big ceiling, and you know, I think this
is obviously it's a must win year for Ryan Day.
So there's more risks to go with the true freshman
over the experienced guys you've got. But you know, it's

(33:10):
a great problem to have in terms of all the
competition they've got in their building. And yeah, certainly to
go get Quinch on Judkins when you already had Trevon
Henderson coming back is a huge deal. To beat Georgia
on kileb Downs was a surprise, I think to a
lot of people. And you know, I think that the
ohiow State, you know, I'm sure that those guys don't
come cheap, right, and so I think that's a again,

(33:30):
it's a big it's a big move. It's a big
span for a program that knows that you know, it's
not just for Ohio State. It's not just getting in
the playoff this year, Like you gotta you gotta do
something in this postseason.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
You can't talk portal without the Colorado Buffaloes. And I know, boy,
your article, who buddy, it wasn't even here's the thing,
and I'm gonna defend you here, not that you need it,
but please do it. It wasn't a a inflammatory article.
It was just an informational piece. That's the way I
looked at it, and I thought it was interesting to
hear from those players. I know it it led to

(34:03):
some some uproar, probably led to some more clicks for
your article, So good for you.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
But let's get know that look that, I'll say real quick.
That's that's how it goes. You know, the Athletic has
a subscription website, so obviously there's a paywall. So you
kind of understand sometimes these things. I've been at the
Athletic for six seven years now, you kind of understand.
Sometimes when people are really mad, there's a decent chance
they didn't actually read the article, and that's that just happened. Sometimes.
I think that was the case where the uh what

(34:29):
that kind of the outrage on that spun into a
very different conversation than what's actually in the story, and
That's that's how it goes sometimes. But yeah, let's talk Colorado.

Speaker 1 (34:37):
Oh man, it's they're They're gonna be fascinating until Dion leaves.
And obviously Schador is still there, Travis Hunter is still there.
But a lot of pieces out the door, a lot
of pieces in the door. So you know, the floor
is yours. Forty new players coming in. Last year, it
was a revolving door. Some pieces hit, some people did not.
The offensive line was a complete disaster. You know, win

(35:00):
total is five and a half. So essentially, will this
team be five hundred or better? Max? Is what the
question odds makers are asking right now. How improved is
this Colorado team from a year ago.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
I definitely think that they are better, you know, one
to eighty five than they were a year ago. And
I think that was the skepticism that a lot of
people had when they you know, cut twenty players after
their spring game, when they had fifty three scholarship players
transfer out of the program. After Dion got there, it
was just okay, you're moving on from these guys. We
get it. They went one and eleven. You don't feel
like you can win with them, But are you going

(35:33):
to get a lot better players out of the transfer portal,
and obviously we've seen a bunch of those players they
took after the spring last year have you know, became
backups and have transferred out, and now you're replacing them
all over again because we have unlimited transfers, which in
this case might actually be a good thing for Colorado.
So I you know, the attrition they've had this offseason.
You know, they're they're tied for the most departures with

(35:53):
Indiana among Power five schools this offseason. But other than
like Dylan, you know, Dylan's going to Case State was
a surprise, but there aren't a ton of players that
you would say, like, oh no, what happened there? Like
I think for the most part, you kind of understand
why the player's moving on. And so once again you
have a Colorado team that I think they're bringing back
like thirty scholarship players from last year's roster. So you

(36:14):
know it's gonna be like fifty new guys again, and
you know their success this year will be will depend on,
you know, what's the hit rate on all these new
guys you've brought in. Obviously very heavy portal, not very
much high school, but I think when you talk to
people who are recruiting against them, they feel like, you know,
Colorado did better this offseason in terms of the type
the caliber of player that they were picking up and

(36:35):
competing for. You know, certainly there's going to be some
very specific needs that if they didn't get the offensive
line right with all the transfers they took, then then
they're not going to be much better, right, so that
that piece is hugely important that they get that fix that,
and they address that very quickly in December. I really
like what they added on the defensive line. I think
they're going to be able to have very good competitive

(36:55):
depth there. I don't think they view Cormoni McLain as
a big loss because they just had so many headaches
with him in his freshman year. It'll be interesting to see,
you know, they have a brand new running back room basically,
and so can Dalen Hayden from Ohio State and rashot
Amos from Miami, Ohio those guys come in. Can they
kind of help be tone setters for the offense, which, again,
if the line's not getting pushed then it doesn't matter,

(37:16):
but can those guys kind of help fix it? Because
you know, Dylan Everard's and some of the pieces they're
going to count on are gone. But I think I
think when you've got a top ten quarterback in Shadura Sanders,
top five, whatever you want to consider him, I'm sure
they feel like they can play with anybody in the
Big Twelve. I think they will be improved and I
think they will be a bowl team. But I also
think the Big Twelve schedule is going to throw them
some different curve balls too, So I think it's gonna

(37:37):
be you know, they're once again gonna have to start
hot and then you just got to avoid the wheels
falling off in October November. And I think they're going
to have better competitive depth to be able to be
you know, to be able to play continue to play
close games at a new conference.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
Right out of the gates. North Dakota State, good luck there, Friday,
SAT Thursday night game.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
Just just a classic. Who scheduled that? You know what
I mean? Whenever you see North Kota State on the schedule,
we tuned in, we're like, why did they do this well?

Speaker 1 (38:04):
And I set it to open the show. Max. I'm
like any athletic director that schedules North Dakota State or
South Dakota State now South Dakota State, by the way,
open up the season against Oklahoma State, which will be
a war. You should be fired. You should be fired,
like no no reason, no reason to ever bring those
teams to your stot. All right, let's do some quick

(38:26):
hitters before I let you run overall. Biggest winner from
the portal this offseason when you think about players that left,
players that came in, who helped out their roster the
most via the portal, so we've hit on.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
A ton of them, I would also shout out I
think Texas did a great job in terms of the
pieces that it picked up. Obviously Texas knows that this
again same expectations. We're talking with a bunch of these
It's like, all right, we got quinn Ewers back. Yes,
we just lost like all of our offensive firepower of
the NFL. But they love what they've got coming back.
You know, they picked up Isaiah Bond, they picked up

(39:03):
Matthew Golden from Houston. I think the receiving core is
still going to be pretty strong. I think the running
back group without Jonathan Brooks is really good. And so
to get those guys to get tray More from UTSA
Andrew mccooba from Clemson. On defense, I think Texas did
a great job in terms of addressing its needs. I
think Florida State always does a great job in terms
of evaluating players in the portal and finding guys that

(39:25):
maybe haven't heard of who are going to be studs
for them. And so there's some of those that you're like,
maybe they didn't take twenty guys, but they got some
good ones. So I and certainly what does DJ do
at Florida State is going to be extremely interesting when
you're you're certainly hitching your wagging to him. But I
like what Florida State has done. I think to me,
the biggest winner is and we didn't mention Miami. Miami

(39:48):
did a lot this spring. They did a lot. Miami
shoved in for sure because they love cam Mood and
they feel like he gives them a chance to win
a lot of games and really make a run in
an ACC title. And so I think they were the
big winner of the spring. I would say in terms
of the you know, Damien Martinez from Oregon State and
some of the players they picked up. Certainly there that's
another school that thinks like, all right, we're really close,

(40:10):
and this is a year like Ohio State where it's like, man,
it's got to come together this year too. So those
are important ones to note too. I think the Big
like I love what where Oregon's at just overall as
a roster, and I think, you know, some of the
pieces that they added, you just really feel like they're
a very safe bet to be even with the new
Big ten schedule, I feel like they are decently safe

(40:32):
bet to like be in the top four at the
end of this. But I think Old Misses. I think
Old miss is what they did is huge, and I
know you know, I well that like George's in great shape. Obviously,
there's a ton of teams on that that Ole miss
is going to run into that are just as talented.
But I think in terms of what they picked up

(40:52):
and where they needed to get better, you could argue
that they're they're you know, Lane Kiffin, where's the crown
at the end of this In terms of who won
the portal cycle.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
Well, with winners, there must be losers and looks. As
a Notre Dame fan, and I don't hide it, I'm
not gonna lie. Maybe a smile crept on the face
a little bit when I heard Brian Kelly kind of
complaining about the portal just the other day. But they're
a team that didn't attack the portal all that hard.
They were loud about missing out on some defensive linemen.

(41:22):
I thought what Dabo said at ACC whatever that was,
I don't know if it was Media Days or whatever.
The moment was just saying, hey, you know we got
we got transfers. They're coming from high school. I was like, this,
just do something else. So biggest loser from their roster
being hit and them not adding enough in your opinion
in the portal cycle.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah, I mean certainly, you know, I don't. I guess
Clemson is ineligible to be a loser because they they
don't bring it in at anybody, which is you know,
and that's we could we could do a whole podcast
on that. I I understand what Dabo Sweny's point of
view on this, but obviously you have to go look
at what Brent Venables did and go into Oklahoma and
saying like, well, Brent, Brent's figured it out. Brent's figure
about how to turn things around by adding a lot

(42:01):
of transfers and really flipping his roster, and you know,
I imagine that was when he would look at it
differently if he was starting over at a different program.
So I understand, you know, I'm sure that they called
Caleb downs and called some of the guys that were
in the portal that were, you know, really premium players.
But you know, this is gonna be one of those
years where you find out can can just stick into
high school? Is that good enough? Or are your opponents

(42:22):
just getting better than you? Right? So that's one I
think LSU LSU early on in the Brian Kelly era
was very aggressive in terms of transfer portal and they
actually had a bunch of misses last year too, which
really hurt him, especially on defense. They weren't as aggressive
I thought in this cycle, in this offseason cycle, and
so again like the few that you take, are you

(42:44):
gonna hit on those, especially defensively, Like you know, we're
gonna We're gonna find out pretty quickly, So curious to
see with them for sure, I think, naturally and unfortunately
the biggest losers in this cycle ended up being Oregon
State and Washington State. And it makes sense because at
the end of the season, you know, these these guys didn't.

(43:05):
I mean, when Jonathan Smith loved for Michigan State, like
they had not even like announced, here's the twenty twenty
four schedule we're going to be playing, Like you knew
it was probably gonna be Mountain West teams. But like,
I think for those players and those coaches, you know,
obviously Jake Dicker and his staff State at Washington State,
but I think for everybody there, it's just like, man,
this is going to be a really tough situation in
twenty twenty four. And for the players, you know, it's

(43:25):
one of those like, man, you just want to go
play Power five football, and you don't know if it's
going to feel like that going forward. And so you know,
Oregon State loses dj they lose Aiden Childs, very promising quarterback.
He's going to Michigan State. They lose Damian Martinez, they're
all packed twelve running back to Miami. They lose Isaiah
Bolden to Texas. You know, that's that's it's just tough
for Organ State. We're gonna State lost a lot of
really good players and had to add through the portal,

(43:48):
and you just hope that they can kind of figure
out a way to patch those holes. And then you know,
certainly Washington State losing Cam moored and I think Washington
State got hit as hard from the portal, But certainly
cam mood is a guy that is coming back to
try and that you know, he's a he's an early
draft pick and I think he has a chance to
put together a huge year. So you know, to lose
a player like that is is tough and and you know,

(44:10):
I think it then it adds to kind of the
stereotype with other recruits looking at those schools of just like, well,
if all their best players are leaving, like that's that
makes it less appealing to me. So you just hope
that those programs can kind of stabilize after all the
change they've gone through in the last year. And you know,
they're usually very good at out evaluating others, and that's
gonna have to continue to be the case.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Yeah, I was. I did sidelines for the Sun Bowl,
which was the opt out Bowl, because neither team had
had a layer of their starters. But you just saw
the depth and Notre Dame just pulverize that with depth
in that game. And you feel for Oregon State, no doubt.
You feel for their fan base and that program. But
that's a good transition as we wrap on here because

(44:52):
we got quarterbacks and new faces, new places. It's gonna
happen every single year. I'm gonna run through some of
the notable names and and maybe you hit your favorite
or two kind of matches. So Aiden Chiles highly chowed
to recruit. He follows Jonathan Smith to Michigan State. Cam Ward,
as we've talked about, bunch, he goes from Washington State
to Miami. Malik Murphy who you know had a big

(45:15):
spring game right a year or two ago. He now
has the Duke where he's gonna be hanging out with
Manny Diaz who takes over there. Brock Vandergrift a nice
ad there by Kentucky from Georgia, Will Howard, we alluded
to him, Ohio State from Kansas State, Riley Leonard from
Duke to Notre Dame, Dylan Gabriel and Dante more go
to Oregon and then dj Uyunglola goes to Florida State.

(45:38):
So I named a bunch there. What were some of
your favorite matches when it came to the portal and
some landing spots.

Speaker 2 (45:47):
Yeah, there's a few that are just a little bit
sneakier that I think are interesting. I think Tyler Schuck
going from Texas Tech to Louisville is a super interesting one.
He just he's a very talented player. The Texas Tech
staff could not speak more highly of him, and just
kind of what kind of leader and talent he is.
And he just had the worst luck ever in terms
of injuries and his time in Lubbock, and you know,

(46:10):
so for him to move on, I think he's like
twenty four to twenty five years old and go to
Louisville certainly there, you know, Jeff Bram has had a
huge year one and they're trying to, you know, stay
in acc contender. And I think if Louisville can get
twelve games out of Tyler Shuck, I think people will
be very surprised by what he can do. I think
Aiden Childs you mentioned is not a name that everybody's

(46:31):
super familiar with because he was the backup to DJ
and Is. You know, he's just a true freshman last year.
But when you talk to his former coaches, I guess
now he's still his coaches at Michigan State. You know,
they loved him so much that they were just going
to put him out there for every third series basically
once they figured out what he can do, and he

(46:51):
would go lead him on scores nearly every time. He's
a very talented player, like very promising, like high upside guy,
and when you going through a rebuild like this, to
have that piece for the future that you're gonna have
for the next couple of years, I think is a
very exciting one. I think he will surprise people a
little bit in terms of like, wait, who's this guy,
because you know that's that's you talk to coaches, the

(47:12):
recruited amount of high school you felt like huge upside.
There was a very kind of a late bloomer in
terms of the way the recruiting industry looked at him.
But man, you could you know. I think brock Van
and griff you mentioned another one is like people haven't
really seen it yet. People haven't really seen what he's
been able to do because he's been behind Stets and
men have been behind Carson Beck. But again, you talk
to his coaches, everybody, Georgia absolutely loves him. Kind of

(47:34):
felt like he's somebody that if you know, he could
go to a little bit more of a spread situation
rather than what Georgia does. Maybe that's a little bit
better fit for his game, but I think he's someone
that walks in and makes Kentucky better or at least
helps them replace Devin Leary in his production for sure.
So I think there's you know, there's there's the there's
the big guys everybody fights for and that and and

(47:54):
probably has to pay a million bucks for and all that.
But there are definitely, I think going to be some
players that are are kind of sleepers. And let's not
forget too Bo Nicks, Jayden Daniels, Michael Pennix, These guys
that spend two years at a new place, you know,
the big jump in year two. So I think there
will be some guys that are not being talked about
as much that if they're just in year two of

(48:15):
their new situation, you kind of see them take it
to another level too. So you expect a lot right
away because you spend a lot on them, But I
think you got to have a little bit of patience
as well.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
Last one for me, Grayson McCall to n C State. Yeah,
people are gonna be surprised that he's still playing college football.
He was hurt a lot. Last year had the great
year with Coastal Carolina just a couple of years ago.
Last year was a dud with Brendan Armstrong there to
NC State win total send at eight and a half.
They got a big game. I think week two Charlotte

(48:46):
they're gonna be playing Tennessee there. I think ABC announced
that's the primetime game. What have you heard about Grayson
McCalls fit down there with the wolf Pack.

Speaker 2 (48:54):
Yeah, I think n C State is one that should
not be slept on in terms of the ACC race.
That's a team that year ago was you know, started
four and three and then just went on a big
run late in the year, finished had a top twenty
five finish in the eight people. Dave George just did
a great job with that team of kind of getting
it figured out. And you know, I think for Grayson McCall,
he was a guy that a year ago a lot
of people were trying to recruit out of the Portal

(49:15):
when Jamie Chadwell went to Liberty and just the academic
situation just didn't really fit for him to leave Coastal
Carolina at that time. And you know, so he goes
through a year with Tim back but I think people
are going to be reminded, I think very quickly, because
I think this is a good NC State team and
they added Waters the running back from Duke, who I
think is going to help a lot. I know Peyton
Wilson's a tough guy to replace, but I like what

(49:37):
they've got coming back. And I think Grayson McCall is
one of those players. I mean, he's from from the
day we first saw him at Coastal like he's always
been kind of an X factor of like one of
those guys that's extremely fun to watch. And you know,
I think if he can get comfortable with with, you know,
playing in the system, there a guy that has a
chance to you know, be very productive. And I'm sure
he's trying to prove that he can play in the

(49:58):
NFL too, So I think this is a make or
break year for him in terms of really putting it
all together and being a complete player.

Speaker 1 (50:06):
Max. Really appreciate it, man, and love the work.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
Hey, thanks so much anytime, man, This is this is fun.

Speaker 1 (50:14):
Thanks again to Max Olsen. Great stuff from him. I
know a lot of us are trying to put new
names to new places, and I had to get into
the Grays and mccallpiece because as I was doing my
homework getting ready for this podcast and starting to you know,
get ready to start betting again, I'm like man Grays
and McCall. You know, Brennan Armstrong was a complete dud
at NC State turnover machine. Fascinating to see that week

(50:36):
two matchup right now. If you're wondering NC State win
total sitting at eight and a half and they're a
week two line, let me double check it. I think
it was. Yeah, it's five and a half, which you know,
neutral site in Charlotte against Tennessee. There'll be plenty of
you know, Rocky Top there, but that's that's a fun
new spot. And if Grace McCall can stay healthy, I

(50:58):
know he's kind of coming from that funky system that
Jamie Chadwell had, But I'm fascinated to see how this
will work. Tim Beck going to Coastal Carolina that will
be a disaster, I'm telling you right now. So I'm
not surprised that last year was kind of all over
the place. Another one if they can stay healthy, and ultimately,
I don't know if they're just gonna have enough talent.

(51:20):
But Curtis Rourke, the longtime Ohio quarterback. He heads the
Indiana and this is a Indiana team that you know,
we can have a little more fun with moving forward.
But they bring in James Madison's coach who had so
much success, Kurt Signetti, And you know, this is a
James Madison team that hosted College Game Day, was very

(51:42):
much in the discussion if they were Bowl eligible to
be maybe the Group of Five representative, which ultimately went
to Liberty last year. But you know, it's a James
Madison team that that was phenomenal. I believe I remember correctly.
Did they win their bowl game? It doesn't matter, but
Kirk Signetti was a hell of a coach there, and

(52:04):
I think a really big coup for this Indiana team.
But it's Indiana football, as we all know, and that
is a challenge. Needless to say, James Madison lost their
bowl game well because they played Air Force. You lose
any Service academy, uh if you're if you're playing them,
and they had a bunch of opt outs there. So uh,
as the summer goes on, obviously we'll we'll dive into

(52:25):
more of the betting angles. But I wanted to start
this off by kind of discussing the portal, who lost
a lot, who gained a lot, who kind of stayed
the same, and Max is as good as it gets
when it comes to breaking all of that down. And
you know, the expectations are high for a bunch of
these schools heading into the year, and uh, you know

(52:45):
we will. We will dive into it every which way
over the next three plus months here on the podcast.
So once again a reminder, please rate, review and subscribe
to the podcast. Tell a friend, as my buddy stuck,
he says, Tell an enemy, I don't care, tell just
you know, tell random strangers to subscribe to the vs
in College Football Betting podcast. We're back, baby, So every

(53:06):
week we should be having a podcast for you. And
I think it's topical right now and this is not
betting related, but maybe you can bet on video games
at some point. College football's coming back. The game July nineteenth,
EA Sports, They're back. The ten year hiatus is finally over.

(53:27):
Max was tweeting about it. Last time we had this
game was NCAA Football twenty fourteen, so I guess it
was eleven years ago. But I just wanted to say
a couple quick stories on this video game which everybody
is talking about, and to be honest, I started the
show with it, and I'm not lying. Like there are
two reasons I love college football. You know, I grew

(53:50):
up in the Washington, DC area, and for those of
you who don't know, no one gives a bleep about
college football in that area. And I became a crazy
fanatical college football fan. One my dad went to Notre Dame.
My dad is not a huge sports fan, but every

(54:11):
Saturday always watched Notre Dame. So as a young lad,
I would watch Notre Dame and see the passion that
he had, and I took it to another level. And
as many of you know, I have become a bit
of a nut job when it comes to Notre Dame football.
If anyone's you know, watching there, I have a panoramic
picture of Notre Dame Stadium on my wall here in

(54:34):
my office. But secondly, it was the video game man
Bill Walsh Football and Sega Genesis back in I think
it was nineteen ninety four if I remember correctly, they
didn't have the licensing to the team names. I believe
it was like Tuscaloosa State College, South Bend all of that.
But as the years went on, that was the game
I played. I didn't play Madden all that much. It

(54:55):
was always college football. I remember, you know, you'd go
from Sega to place station and you'd be playing a
great game. Oh god, I got to go to I
got to go do a go to a baseball game.
You leave the console lawn, you know, you put a
note on it saying don't touch it. I'm in the
middle of the best game ever. You know, for me,

(55:17):
the nerd inside me, recruiting became such a fun thing
to do, you know, turning around these smaller programs. I
hope most of you out there that played this video
game didn't do the easy thing, right, Like I almost
never played with Notre Dame, And this is why I
got to know all these other schools. And I think

(55:37):
you're starting to see this with FIFA, you know, with
people becoming more and more into soccer nowadays. But you know,
you'd go into the MAC, you'd go into these smaller
conferences and you build it up and I remember, you know,
the most recent college football game that I had, I
think it was the twenty thirteen. I had a dynasty

(55:59):
going with UTSA before before they became the UTSA that
they are now with Frank Harris and all of that,
and having the seasons that they've had in recent years.
But you know, it's just it's awesome to see if
the game's coming back.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
You know.

Speaker 1 (56:15):
I remember in my senior year of college. It was
two thousand and nine, the spring of two thousand and nine,
I lived off campus and my house got robbed. So
we were away, all of my roommates and someone left
the door open. Sure enough, someone opened the door and
came in and knew what they wanted. They took all

(56:37):
our computers, they took all our digital cameras, and they
took our gaming console. So two thousand and nine that
was Xbox three sixty and PlayStation three. So in my room,
I had a PlayStation two. The only reason I had
a PlayStation two, you guessed it, college football. I had

(56:57):
countless dynasties going. And I remember my laptop got stolen,
my you know, nineteen inch flat screen TV got stolen.
But these asses took my PS two, which I'm sure
they could have flipped for what twenty bucks? And I
was so livid because look at insurance. We got, you know,

(57:19):
we got our new computer. We got a check from
the insurance company. It was an inconvenience, but you can
never replace what I had on those memory cards and
those dynasties that I had built over years of blood,
sweat and tears of sitting in my dorm room and
playing college football. But I'm fired up that it's coming back,
and you know it's gonna be fun. Man. I used

(57:41):
to I used to insert the names of players on
my roster, and you know, curious to see. Now I
got to figure out if I need to buy and
a whole new gaming console. I haven't played video games
in a long time, so I gotta figure out how
that's gonna play play out. But happy that it's back.
And July nineteenth, if you haven't seen yet, is when

(58:03):
it is. When it will come out once again. I'm
so fascinated to see the intricacies, the portal, the nil,
how they're gonna weave this all in. It's gonna be
gonna be incredible to see how it all plays out.
But all right, a little story time. There had nothing
to do with betting, even though I'm sure all of
us have bet our friends one way or another in
a video game and made some money, lost some money

(58:25):
that way. Maybe that was the origins of us betting
college football was playing some of these games. But all right,
that's gonna do it for this podcast. Thanks to Steven
producer of this podcast, Thanks to Max Olsen. Really great
stuff there. If, by the way, you have suggestions or
people you want to hear from, handicappers, analysts, whatever, tweet

(58:47):
me at one Tim Murray and I will try to
get those folks on. Over the summer months. We are
going to do, no doubt in depth breakdowns of the
acc of the of the Big Ten, of the sec
of the Big Twelve. As the summer goes on, just
like we did last year, we'll have some group of
five time. Also, Mountain West Media Days re at CIRCA

(59:08):
once again this year, so we hopefully we'll have a
bunch of those folks on VS in primetime. We'll put
that here on the podcast as well, so we will
cover it all every which way here on the podcast.
So once again, if you've got suggestions, fire them away.
I'm open. Let's have a great summer, let's get some
good bets in the hopper, and we'll be ready to

(59:30):
go come August twenty fourth, when Florida State takes the
field against Georgia Tech at noon Eastern in Dublin, Dublin,
Ireland on ESPN. All right, follow me on Twitter at
one Tim Murray. Catch me every weeknight, by the way
on VS In Primetime six to nine pm Eastern Time,
me and Jonathan von Tobel, And as always, please rate, review,

(59:51):
and most importantly subscribe to the Vsin College Football Betting
podcast