August 10, 2019 • 17 mins
Colin sits down with Bruce Feldman, FOX Sports College Football Reporter & Writer for the Athletic, for an exclusive inside College Football - Saturday Podcast! Dabo Swinney saying the SEC is really good but very over stated, Nick Saban’s decision to soften up the schedule, Jim Harbaugh saying competitors should want to play in Bowl Games rather than sitting them out and leading headlines for the top five college teams going into the upcoming season!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, welcome to our Saturday morning podcast. Oh the
camps are open. College footballs around the corner and Bruce
Feldman as a Fox Sports college football reporter, a writer
for The Athletic which is worth your money, New York
Times best selling author. So here we go. Bruce. Dabo
Sweeney this week said the grind of the SEC for
(00:22):
Alabama is overstated. I actually think it's a very good conference,
the SEC, but there's a lot of dysfunction Florida, Tennessee,
old Miss Auburn, you know, finding the right coach of
field stuff. I kind of believe what Dabo says, SEC
is really really, really good, but it's overstated. Is it
(00:44):
fair to say that? Yeah? I think it can be
both things. I think it can be the best conference,
but I also think there is some truth to that.
I mean, when you look at first of all, one
of the biggest thing that makes the SEC the best
concert is Alabama. Alabama doesn't have to play Alabama, right,
So after you take that out of the equation, you know,
(01:07):
you get Texas A and M, which has been pretty
good but not great in a long time. You know,
you have LSU, which Alabama has had their number. I
think they're the second most talented team in the West.
And then you have Auburn, which is all over the map,
and the Mississippi schools are okay but not great. And
then you know it's like they'll get Georgia probably in
(01:28):
the SEC title game. But it's not I don't think
when you look at it, especially what they're non conference, Yes,
they're an un conference. Schedule is putred right now, Duke,
New Mexico State, Southern miss Western Carolina. Those are four cupcakes.
I mean, there's no way around that. So for anybody
(01:49):
who's looking at it, going they have I don't want
to call it a cake walk to to the SEC
title game, but it's about as manageable as it could
get because they get LSU at home. You know, you
look at who knows what state Auburn's going to be
in at the end of the year. I mean, Gusto
Mileson's on the hot seat. I just think it's a
very very manageable path. And again I think it's I
(02:10):
think it is the best league, but because Alabama's in there,
when you take Alabama off Alabama, let's be realistic, it's
not it's not the NFL, right now yeah, and I
mean Alabama also has generally a bye week mixed in
with their four cupcakes because the SEC only plays eight games,
so he does a good job of manipulating the schedule.
I think it was in year four at Alabama Saban
(02:33):
lost three games and from that point he made a decision,
I'm not going on the road out of conference. I'll
go neutral once a year. And I think he's made
a real decision after he lost. I think it's three
games in year four to soften up his out of
conference schedule. Plus he has a buy in there, So
I think it's overstated by the way, last three years,
only one SEC team has a winning record. This may
(02:57):
have been on your tweet or somebody's only a SEC
team Alabama has a winning record against top twenty five teams.
Now there's only one ACC team that doesn't, that's Clemson.
But we always bang on the ACC and we elevate
the SEC. So there you go. Let's shift to Jim Harball.
He says competitors should want to play in bowl games.
(03:21):
Now we know, Bruce, there's there's sort of an elevation
of the modern athlete over the last ten to fifteen years.
They have more power, they make more money. Does he
have a point though, that it does on the construct
of a team. Having stars not play a final bowl
game is not great going forward for college football. Oh,
(03:42):
I think he definitely has a point. But we're in
a different reality right now than what it was when
he certainly played. And I think Jim Harbaugh, you know,
when you remember, look, two of his best players did
not play in that Florida game, and they really got
it taken to them. And I think, so, you know, look,
the big thing we see in coaching is it's it's
(04:04):
a self preservation business. Yeah, so I think while there's
you know, there's merit to it, and I think, you know,
there's this falls into the old school versus new school.
I mean, look, Jalen Smith, a great linebacker notre name,
had a really bad injury and in the bowl game.
There's a bunch of players you can go back and
look and say, man, that was that worth their risk?
(04:25):
And I know there's insurance business and everything like that.
But at the same point, you know, I can see
why some players, especially at certain positions, why they may
not why they may not play in the bowl game.
But you know, ultimately, I think we're just going to
see more of this, no matter what Jim Harba says
about it. Well, the Bowl games have been to some
degree of money grab We got like forty five of them.
(04:46):
There's about eight to twelve that have real meaning and
real tradition and real history. So I could see a
running back saying, listen, I've given you three hundred and
fifty two carries for four years. I'm not playing in
the you know whatever Bowl part I Again, if we
had quarterbacks dumping out of games, I think you'd have
a crisis. But I almost think running backs. You know,
(05:08):
analytics have hurt centers in the NBA. Analytics are hurting
running backs in the NFL. I think it's the running back.
I kind of sense this. They want to sign early
in the NFL, they want to bail early in college.
Could it be more of a position thing, You would
think that, but look, Greedy Williams didn't play in the
bowl game against UCF and Devin White, who's in the
(05:30):
middle of it as a middle linebacker, did you know?
I think it comes down to and look a lot.
I think some of these guys people can read, you know,
NFL personnel can read certain things into it. I think
where we'll have a bigger discussion is if and when
a kid sits out a playoff game, because what has
happened in this playoff era is And I don't totally
(05:54):
agrue this, but I think there's some truth to it
that it is devalue to every other bowl game. You know,
much as I love the Rose Bowl, we're out here
in Southing California. It's an awesome venue, it's got the
best history, and last year was a fascinating matchup with
Urban Meyer's last game, you know, Dwayne Haskins versus a
you know, a terrific Washington secondary. All that being said,
(06:14):
almost every other bowl game is feels even more like
an exhibition. And unless you're a gambler or a diehard
kind of those schools, the meaning isn't there. So it's
it's like, you know, you kind of shrug your shoulders
if a West Virginia kid isn't playing in his bowl game,
whatever bowl game it is, you know, if it once
it starts to get into the playoff. And I it
(06:36):
will not shock me when this happens. When some kid
makes quote unquote a business decision and maybe he will
do it under the guise of he's just not one
hundred percent and it doesn't really come out that and
then they'll be whispers around in the combine about what
was the real truth to it. But that's going to happen,
I think at some point, and then we're really going
to get a bigger, you know, a bigger argument about it.
(06:57):
But again, I think it reflects back to not just
a day age of where we are with athletes and
you know how you know, how savvy they are with
their careers and their futures. But I think it also
comes back to this Bowl system of what we have
with the playoff and how it's the value. Did Bruce Feldman,
Fox Sports college football reporter, all right, you're sleeper playoff contender.
(07:22):
Who do you have? I don't know if they're that
much of a sleeper anymore, but I'm gonna say, Utah,
you look at it. Kyle Whittingham told me this is
the best defensive line he's ever had. That is saying something.
They have a big, big time running back in Zach Moss.
You get two quarterbacks who've played a lot, they're really physical,
and the schedule sets up yeah, very very well for them.
(07:44):
I think they are a dangerous team. They're really well coached. Also,
Whittingham is very excited about bringing back Andy Ludwig, who
was his offensive coordinator in the last time he worked,
as they beat a Nick Saban Alabama team in a
bowl game. Okay, what team do you see having a
disappointing season? You know, when I when I look at
how much hype is kind of fostering about certain places,
(08:07):
I'm okay, I'll roll the dice here on in Michigan
and think they're going to be really, really good. The
one I think maybe to pump the brakes on at
least a little bit for me is Oklahoma. You know,
back to back Heisman Trophy owners. It's awesome what Lincoln
Riley was able to do there with those quarterbacks. I
just think they lost four offensive linemen, you know, from
(08:29):
what it was a terrific offensive line. I think that
they're still gonna be really good. I just think it's
hard to keep catching lightning in a bottle like that.
I think USC seven eight years ago you could have
made an argument maybe ten years ago it was the
number one Brandon college football with Pete Carroll Um. I
think Clay Helton will be fired at some point at
(08:50):
the either late in this season or immediately after the season.
I think their early schedule is brutal um I think
they have a pretty ridge staff. I think they're unsettled
at quarterback and I and I think they're best group
wide receivers that that group going into a season. I
have questions about both lines, especially the old line. What
(09:13):
do you think happens at USC this year? I think
they will be quite a bit better. I really like
the hire of Graham Harrold loved the receiver corps, and
you when you go out there and see them in person,
especially when you're like looking at all the you know
they were just five and seven, You're like, whoa, I
forgot they had this. You know they had this much
talent there when you eyeball it. The problem is I
(09:36):
think they need he needs to go get go to
the playoff. I think, being realistic, to save his job,
he goes nine and three. People are gonna go, yeah,
that's a four game improvement. I don't think that's gonna
be enough because think about it, if you're a USC
fan and you find out that they went nine and three,
maybe ten and three and win a Bowl Game, you
really have that much confidence at Clay Hilton. You are
(09:57):
all of a sudden, is like every time it's a
referendum on Clay Hilton. What is it going to take
for this fan base? That felt like and a lot
of people within the athletic community there, and I'm talking
about power brokers, feel like, you know what, he should
he should not still be the head coach right now,
right and they almost want to rip the band aid off,
and I think some of them would rather have him
(10:18):
go five and seven again. But nine and three is
not going to solve it. It's just going to be
more of the same, I think. And by the way,
they're in a really mediocre PAC twelve South with most
of the division is either had a coaching change this
year or last year. Yeah, I mean, listen, they had
their worst recruiting year in a decade last year. They
(10:39):
are off to a horrible recruiting start where many of
the best players have already been poached out of California.
And you know, again, their schedule is rough. At Washington
at Notre Dame, those are really really tough games for
even a top five team to win. Yeah, I have
real reservations about the direction of the program. Now let's
(11:00):
talk Chip Kelly at UCLA. I don't think they're a
top twenty five team. They beat USC at the end
of last year, not a ton of recruiting momentum. Has
the sport caught up to chip Kelly's kind of niche
specialty speed. I don't think it has. And I'll use
this example. Similar thing in the PAC twelve Mike Leach
(11:24):
came back to college football after being away a couple
of years, and he took over a worse situation than
Chip Kelly did, but they sputtered the first couple of years,
and a lot of people said, oh, yeah, the football
world is caught up to Mike Leach's system and what's happened.
Give him a little time, you know, once the players
(11:45):
figure out and his staff figures out exactly what he wants,
they just Washington State just won eleven games for the
first time in school history, and by the way, he
did it without any top thirty or forty recruiting classes.
I think with Chip Kelly, you have a guy who
is just smarter and probably more beholden to what he
(12:07):
believes than most coaches. And I think he's not worried
about what the recruiting guys say. You know, I've had
conversations with him about, you know, the recruiting side of things,
and when you hear him, I mean he is really talking.
You know, subscribes to much of a Bill Belichick mold,
which is he puts a premium on guys who we
feel like are smart football guys who he can count on,
(12:29):
and sometimes those guys are not the guys who light
it up and get all the stars. And I think
that was a problem, quite honestly, that that UILA had
at the end of Jim Mora where they got caught
chasing stars and had a lot of kids who looked
the part who really didn't love football or just didn't
kind of fit in, and it got sideways there, and
(12:50):
once Josh Rosen left, I think it got even worse.
And I think when you look at how much better
they got, this is UCLA because we had that that
USC game from the end of the year to the
beginning of the year, and now from where they are
in the spring, I think they're going to be actually
pretty good. Now I think pretty good man only be
like seven wins, But considering where they were a year ago.
(13:12):
That's saying something. And most of the best players in
this program, with the exception of Darnay Holmes, who's a
really big time defensive back, they're all younger players. So
I think they've they're going to get some momentum. Now.
Their schedule is pretty rough. I mean, they got Oklahoma
coming in, they go, they have a really good Cincinnati team,
they have to play on the road. But I think
this is a team that's that's going to get some momentum.
(13:34):
And much like his protegee Scott Frost at Nebraska, I
think you looked at a really rough start because there's
a big cultural shift and they have got it going
and I think they're building on it. And I wouldn't
pay that much attention to the recruiting rankings and look
at as all doom and gloom in this case. Okay,
I'm gonna give you four or five teams. Give me
(13:56):
a sentence, you're riding a column. Give me your thirty
seconds on all four of these teams. Going into the season,
Tennessee volunteers desperately need to get to a bowl game.
The patients will get really thin. He's recruited really well
on the offensive line, but Tennessee can't afford to have
back to back no bowl seasons when you're recruiting against
(14:21):
Georgia and now Clemson and Dabo. That the Dabo dynamic
was not that way in the recruiting region they work
in when Phil Fulmer was winning all those games Wisconsin.
Jonathan Taylor is a great player, but I think their
schedule is really rough. I don't think they get close
to ten wins. Look at their schedule, it's rough. I
(14:41):
think they're going to take a step back. Notre Dame
really like ian book. Think they got some athletes. I
think they're a good team. I don't think they're a
great team, but as we saw last year, good it
got them to a playoff. It might again this year.
Miami Hurricanes schedules really really soft. They will be a mirage.
(15:01):
They may win nine games, they may even win ten games,
but they're not that good. They have big, big issues
on offense. It was I think Bannie Diez is a
really good coach, but they're about two or three years
away from being a real legit top fifteen team. Ohio State.
I'm a believer in Justin Field. Saw him a lot
(15:23):
when he was coming off I think he's super talented.
That's the quarterback transfer. Yeah, quarterback transfer from Georgia. He
may be even more talented than Trevor Lawrence. A lot
of smart quarterback people saw them both and thought he
was It was one in one A that's how good
he is. I think Ryan Day is going to continue
everything because he kept a lot of the key components
(15:44):
of that program from Urban Meyer. But you know, sooner
or later they're going to lose to Michigan. I think
this may be that year. Finally, Bruce Oregon Auburn Week one.
It's gigantic for Oregon. They've got NFL guys up front
of the old line, arguably the best college quarterback who
will come out in the draft. Mario Cristo Ball can recruit.
But they have not always been great game day coaches.
(16:07):
They have really struggled on the road. Auburn Oregon Week one.
Who do you like? I like Oregon. I think Auburn
has loved this matchup. Auburn has a terrific D line
led by Derek Brown. Yes, like you said, Oregon. Mario
Christo Ball, former Alabama O line coach. He has taken
the blueprint from Nick Saban to try to build a
fully in the Pacific Northwest. If Justin Herbert plays like
(16:32):
a top ten quarterback and he's really talented, but sometimes
he has not really shown up. And you know, like
we had his bowl game against Michigan State, that's a
big time defense. They were really underwhelming. I don't think
the skill talent is not what it was under help
Rich and Chip Kelly for the quarterback. But I still
think that right now. I mean Auburn has to replace
(16:53):
a quarterback as well. And you look, Andy Avelos was
the defense quarter at Boise State. I think that was
an under did really good higher from Oregon. I think
Oregon will handle this because of how physical they have
become on you know, in the trenches, and I think
that maybe a difference compared to what happened last year
when Washington really stuffed it so on the red zone
(17:16):
and that's set the pack twelve back. Really, you know,
they need some big things to happen. I think this
won't fix everything overnight, but I think this will be
a big first step for the com Yeah, I think
Oregon has a very I think Oregon can argue the
best O line in the sport and the best quarterback
coming out. I think Utah has a nationally relevant defensive line,
(17:38):
but the conference as a whole could use USC coming
back in Washington, though young on defense popping a little
bit okay. Bruce Feldman, writer for The Athletic, Fox Sports
college football reporter, on a Saturday morning, we can't wait. Bruce,
good talking to you, Always good talking to football with you, Colin.
I appreciate it. Thanks Bruce,
All right, welcome to our Saturday morning podcast. Oh the
camps are open. College footballs around the corner and Bruce
Feldman as a Fox Sports college football reporter, a writer
for The Athletic which is worth your money, New York
Times best selling author. So here we go. Bruce. Dabo
Sweeney this week said the grind of the SEC for
(00:22):
Alabama is overstated. I actually think it's a very good conference,
the SEC, but there's a lot of dysfunction Florida, Tennessee,
old Miss Auburn, you know, finding the right coach of
field stuff. I kind of believe what Dabo says, SEC
is really really, really good, but it's overstated. Is it
(00:44):
fair to say that? Yeah? I think it can be
both things. I think it can be the best conference,
but I also think there is some truth to that.
I mean, when you look at first of all, one
of the biggest thing that makes the SEC the best
concert is Alabama. Alabama doesn't have to play Alabama, right,
So after you take that out of the equation, you know,
(01:07):
you get Texas A and M, which has been pretty
good but not great in a long time. You know,
you have LSU, which Alabama has had their number. I
think they're the second most talented team in the West.
And then you have Auburn, which is all over the map,
and the Mississippi schools are okay but not great. And
then you know it's like they'll get Georgia probably in
(01:28):
the SEC title game. But it's not I don't think
when you look at it, especially what they're non conference, Yes,
they're an un conference. Schedule is putred right now, Duke,
New Mexico State, Southern miss Western Carolina. Those are four cupcakes.
I mean, there's no way around that. So for anybody
(01:49):
who's looking at it, going they have I don't want
to call it a cake walk to to the SEC
title game, but it's about as manageable as it could
get because they get LSU at home. You know, you
look at who knows what state Auburn's going to be
in at the end of the year. I mean, Gusto
Mileson's on the hot seat. I just think it's a
very very manageable path. And again I think it's I
(02:10):
think it is the best league, but because Alabama's in there,
when you take Alabama off Alabama, let's be realistic, it's
not it's not the NFL, right now yeah, and I
mean Alabama also has generally a bye week mixed in
with their four cupcakes because the SEC only plays eight games,
so he does a good job of manipulating the schedule.
I think it was in year four at Alabama Saban
(02:33):
lost three games and from that point he made a decision,
I'm not going on the road out of conference. I'll
go neutral once a year. And I think he's made
a real decision after he lost. I think it's three
games in year four to soften up his out of
conference schedule. Plus he has a buy in there, So
I think it's overstated by the way, last three years,
only one SEC team has a winning record. This may
(02:57):
have been on your tweet or somebody's only a SEC
team Alabama has a winning record against top twenty five teams.
Now there's only one ACC team that doesn't, that's Clemson.
But we always bang on the ACC and we elevate
the SEC. So there you go. Let's shift to Jim Harball.
He says competitors should want to play in bowl games.
(03:21):
Now we know, Bruce, there's there's sort of an elevation
of the modern athlete over the last ten to fifteen years.
They have more power, they make more money. Does he
have a point though, that it does on the construct
of a team. Having stars not play a final bowl
game is not great going forward for college football. Oh,
(03:42):
I think he definitely has a point. But we're in
a different reality right now than what it was when
he certainly played. And I think Jim Harbaugh, you know,
when you remember, look, two of his best players did
not play in that Florida game, and they really got
it taken to them. And I think, so, you know, look,
the big thing we see in coaching is it's it's
(04:04):
a self preservation business. Yeah, so I think while there's
you know, there's merit to it, and I think, you know,
there's this falls into the old school versus new school.
I mean, look, Jalen Smith, a great linebacker notre name,
had a really bad injury and in the bowl game.
There's a bunch of players you can go back and
look and say, man, that was that worth their risk?
(04:25):
And I know there's insurance business and everything like that.
But at the same point, you know, I can see
why some players, especially at certain positions, why they may
not why they may not play in the bowl game.
But you know, ultimately, I think we're just going to
see more of this, no matter what Jim Harba says
about it. Well, the Bowl games have been to some
degree of money grab We got like forty five of them.
(04:46):
There's about eight to twelve that have real meaning and
real tradition and real history. So I could see a
running back saying, listen, I've given you three hundred and
fifty two carries for four years. I'm not playing in
the you know whatever Bowl part I Again, if we
had quarterbacks dumping out of games, I think you'd have
a crisis. But I almost think running backs. You know,
(05:08):
analytics have hurt centers in the NBA. Analytics are hurting
running backs in the NFL. I think it's the running back.
I kind of sense this. They want to sign early
in the NFL, they want to bail early in college.
Could it be more of a position thing, You would
think that, but look, Greedy Williams didn't play in the
bowl game against UCF and Devin White, who's in the
(05:30):
middle of it as a middle linebacker, did you know?
I think it comes down to and look a lot.
I think some of these guys people can read, you know,
NFL personnel can read certain things into it. I think
where we'll have a bigger discussion is if and when
a kid sits out a playoff game, because what has
happened in this playoff era is And I don't totally
(05:54):
agrue this, but I think there's some truth to it
that it is devalue to every other bowl game. You know,
much as I love the Rose Bowl, we're out here
in Southing California. It's an awesome venue, it's got the
best history, and last year was a fascinating matchup with
Urban Meyer's last game, you know, Dwayne Haskins versus a
you know, a terrific Washington secondary. All that being said,
(06:14):
almost every other bowl game is feels even more like
an exhibition. And unless you're a gambler or a diehard
kind of those schools, the meaning isn't there. So it's
it's like, you know, you kind of shrug your shoulders
if a West Virginia kid isn't playing in his bowl game,
whatever bowl game it is, you know, if it once
it starts to get into the playoff. And I it
(06:36):
will not shock me when this happens. When some kid
makes quote unquote a business decision and maybe he will
do it under the guise of he's just not one
hundred percent and it doesn't really come out that and
then they'll be whispers around in the combine about what
was the real truth to it. But that's going to happen,
I think at some point, and then we're really going
to get a bigger, you know, a bigger argument about it.
(06:57):
But again, I think it reflects back to not just
a day age of where we are with athletes and
you know how you know, how savvy they are with
their careers and their futures. But I think it also
comes back to this Bowl system of what we have
with the playoff and how it's the value. Did Bruce Feldman,
Fox Sports college football reporter, all right, you're sleeper playoff contender.
(07:22):
Who do you have? I don't know if they're that
much of a sleeper anymore, but I'm gonna say, Utah,
you look at it. Kyle Whittingham told me this is
the best defensive line he's ever had. That is saying something.
They have a big, big time running back in Zach Moss.
You get two quarterbacks who've played a lot, they're really physical,
and the schedule sets up yeah, very very well for them.
(07:44):
I think they are a dangerous team. They're really well coached. Also,
Whittingham is very excited about bringing back Andy Ludwig, who
was his offensive coordinator in the last time he worked,
as they beat a Nick Saban Alabama team in a
bowl game. Okay, what team do you see having a
disappointing season? You know, when I when I look at
how much hype is kind of fostering about certain places,
(08:07):
I'm okay, I'll roll the dice here on in Michigan
and think they're going to be really, really good. The
one I think maybe to pump the brakes on at
least a little bit for me is Oklahoma. You know,
back to back Heisman Trophy owners. It's awesome what Lincoln
Riley was able to do there with those quarterbacks. I
just think they lost four offensive linemen, you know, from
(08:29):
what it was a terrific offensive line. I think that
they're still gonna be really good. I just think it's
hard to keep catching lightning in a bottle like that.
I think USC seven eight years ago you could have
made an argument maybe ten years ago it was the
number one Brandon college football with Pete Carroll Um. I
think Clay Helton will be fired at some point at
(08:50):
the either late in this season or immediately after the season.
I think their early schedule is brutal um I think
they have a pretty ridge staff. I think they're unsettled
at quarterback and I and I think they're best group
wide receivers that that group going into a season. I
have questions about both lines, especially the old line. What
(09:13):
do you think happens at USC this year? I think
they will be quite a bit better. I really like
the hire of Graham Harrold loved the receiver corps, and
you when you go out there and see them in person,
especially when you're like looking at all the you know
they were just five and seven, You're like, whoa, I
forgot they had this. You know they had this much
talent there when you eyeball it. The problem is I
(09:36):
think they need he needs to go get go to
the playoff. I think, being realistic, to save his job,
he goes nine and three. People are gonna go, yeah,
that's a four game improvement. I don't think that's gonna
be enough because think about it, if you're a USC
fan and you find out that they went nine and three,
maybe ten and three and win a Bowl Game, you
really have that much confidence at Clay Hilton. You are
(09:57):
all of a sudden, is like every time it's a
referendum on Clay Hilton. What is it going to take
for this fan base? That felt like and a lot
of people within the athletic community there, and I'm talking
about power brokers, feel like, you know what, he should
he should not still be the head coach right now,
right and they almost want to rip the band aid off,
and I think some of them would rather have him
(10:18):
go five and seven again. But nine and three is
not going to solve it. It's just going to be
more of the same, I think. And by the way,
they're in a really mediocre PAC twelve South with most
of the division is either had a coaching change this
year or last year. Yeah, I mean, listen, they had
their worst recruiting year in a decade last year. They
(10:39):
are off to a horrible recruiting start where many of
the best players have already been poached out of California.
And you know, again, their schedule is rough. At Washington
at Notre Dame, those are really really tough games for
even a top five team to win. Yeah, I have
real reservations about the direction of the program. Now let's
(11:00):
talk Chip Kelly at UCLA. I don't think they're a
top twenty five team. They beat USC at the end
of last year, not a ton of recruiting momentum. Has
the sport caught up to chip Kelly's kind of niche
specialty speed. I don't think it has. And I'll use
this example. Similar thing in the PAC twelve Mike Leach
(11:24):
came back to college football after being away a couple
of years, and he took over a worse situation than
Chip Kelly did, but they sputtered the first couple of years,
and a lot of people said, oh, yeah, the football
world is caught up to Mike Leach's system and what's happened.
Give him a little time, you know, once the players
(11:45):
figure out and his staff figures out exactly what he wants,
they just Washington State just won eleven games for the
first time in school history, and by the way, he
did it without any top thirty or forty recruiting classes.
I think with Chip Kelly, you have a guy who
is just smarter and probably more beholden to what he
(12:07):
believes than most coaches. And I think he's not worried
about what the recruiting guys say. You know, I've had
conversations with him about, you know, the recruiting side of things,
and when you hear him, I mean he is really talking.
You know, subscribes to much of a Bill Belichick mold,
which is he puts a premium on guys who we
feel like are smart football guys who he can count on,
(12:29):
and sometimes those guys are not the guys who light
it up and get all the stars. And I think
that was a problem, quite honestly, that that UILA had
at the end of Jim Mora where they got caught
chasing stars and had a lot of kids who looked
the part who really didn't love football or just didn't
kind of fit in, and it got sideways there, and
(12:50):
once Josh Rosen left, I think it got even worse.
And I think when you look at how much better
they got, this is UCLA because we had that that
USC game from the end of the year to the
beginning of the year, and now from where they are
in the spring, I think they're going to be actually
pretty good. Now I think pretty good man only be
like seven wins, But considering where they were a year ago.
(13:12):
That's saying something. And most of the best players in
this program, with the exception of Darnay Holmes, who's a
really big time defensive back, they're all younger players. So
I think they've they're going to get some momentum. Now.
Their schedule is pretty rough. I mean, they got Oklahoma
coming in, they go, they have a really good Cincinnati team,
they have to play on the road. But I think
this is a team that's that's going to get some momentum.
(13:34):
And much like his protegee Scott Frost at Nebraska, I
think you looked at a really rough start because there's
a big cultural shift and they have got it going
and I think they're building on it. And I wouldn't
pay that much attention to the recruiting rankings and look
at as all doom and gloom in this case. Okay,
I'm gonna give you four or five teams. Give me
(13:56):
a sentence, you're riding a column. Give me your thirty
seconds on all four of these teams. Going into the season,
Tennessee volunteers desperately need to get to a bowl game.
The patients will get really thin. He's recruited really well
on the offensive line, but Tennessee can't afford to have
back to back no bowl seasons when you're recruiting against
(14:21):
Georgia and now Clemson and Dabo. That the Dabo dynamic
was not that way in the recruiting region they work
in when Phil Fulmer was winning all those games Wisconsin.
Jonathan Taylor is a great player, but I think their
schedule is really rough. I don't think they get close
to ten wins. Look at their schedule, it's rough. I
(14:41):
think they're going to take a step back. Notre Dame
really like ian book. Think they got some athletes. I
think they're a good team. I don't think they're a
great team, but as we saw last year, good it
got them to a playoff. It might again this year.
Miami Hurricanes schedules really really soft. They will be a mirage.
(15:01):
They may win nine games, they may even win ten games,
but they're not that good. They have big, big issues
on offense. It was I think Bannie Diez is a
really good coach, but they're about two or three years
away from being a real legit top fifteen team. Ohio State.
I'm a believer in Justin Field. Saw him a lot
(15:23):
when he was coming off I think he's super talented.
That's the quarterback transfer. Yeah, quarterback transfer from Georgia. He
may be even more talented than Trevor Lawrence. A lot
of smart quarterback people saw them both and thought he
was It was one in one A that's how good
he is. I think Ryan Day is going to continue
everything because he kept a lot of the key components
(15:44):
of that program from Urban Meyer. But you know, sooner
or later they're going to lose to Michigan. I think
this may be that year. Finally, Bruce Oregon Auburn Week one.
It's gigantic for Oregon. They've got NFL guys up front
of the old line, arguably the best college quarterback who
will come out in the draft. Mario Cristo Ball can recruit.
But they have not always been great game day coaches.
(16:07):
They have really struggled on the road. Auburn Oregon Week one.
Who do you like? I like Oregon. I think Auburn
has loved this matchup. Auburn has a terrific D line
led by Derek Brown. Yes, like you said, Oregon. Mario
Christo Ball, former Alabama O line coach. He has taken
the blueprint from Nick Saban to try to build a
fully in the Pacific Northwest. If Justin Herbert plays like
(16:32):
a top ten quarterback and he's really talented, but sometimes
he has not really shown up. And you know, like
we had his bowl game against Michigan State, that's a
big time defense. They were really underwhelming. I don't think
the skill talent is not what it was under help
Rich and Chip Kelly for the quarterback. But I still
think that right now. I mean Auburn has to replace
(16:53):
a quarterback as well. And you look, Andy Avelos was
the defense quarter at Boise State. I think that was
an under did really good higher from Oregon. I think
Oregon will handle this because of how physical they have
become on you know, in the trenches, and I think
that maybe a difference compared to what happened last year
when Washington really stuffed it so on the red zone
(17:16):
and that's set the pack twelve back. Really, you know,
they need some big things to happen. I think this
won't fix everything overnight, but I think this will be
a big first step for the com Yeah, I think
Oregon has a very I think Oregon can argue the
best O line in the sport and the best quarterback
coming out. I think Utah has a nationally relevant defensive line,
(17:38):
but the conference as a whole could use USC coming
back in Washington, though young on defense popping a little
bit okay. Bruce Feldman, writer for The Athletic, Fox Sports
college football reporter, on a Saturday morning, we can't wait. Bruce,
good talking to you, Always good talking to football with you, Colin.
I appreciate it. Thanks Bruce,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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