WEBVTT - Season Kickoff Special + CFB’s Biggest Unknowns & Show Updates 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.000 It was the longest July of my life. And if 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.200 you don't believe Satan's at work, let me tell you, 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.800 man are a seas out. There's no air circulation in here. 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.440 Our system was busted when we came back in. This 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:38.480 is why you can't take vacation, Jesse. This is why 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:40.760 you just got to grind it out through July. But 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.040 we're on air. We were not going to be kept 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.239 out of here because it's Sunday, August two, the Year 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:48.239 of Our Lord, twenty twenty six, and we need to 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:52.680 talk jam packed high top of pulsating downtown Nashville, Tennessee, 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.080 and we need to talk like old friends who haven't 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.600 seen each other in a month, and who know that 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.480 college football is either for Saturday days or five saturdays away, 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:05.000 depending on how you're interpreting week zero whatever. It's right 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.480 around the corner. Camps are opening up. We got coaches 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:10.960 at the podium for press conferences. How about the quality 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.040 of Lincoln Riley's camera situation out there in his new building. 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.960 So we've got a jam pack show. We're three nights 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.360 per week pretty much until they crown a national champ. 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:21.680 From here on out, you know, there are a lot 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.840 of unknowns, which is beautiful. You got to find beauty 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.400 in the mystery. But there are a lot of unknowns 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.520 around college football, and so as we kind of dive 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.680 into August, I wanted to talk about that now. I 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:33.800 wanted to let you know where my mind's at. I've 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:35.080 listened to a lot of you. I know where your 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.200 minds are at. It got some big ten sec stuff. 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:40.360 I made my way down to media Days for a 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:42.679 couple of days. I knew what that scene was going 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.920 to be this year. Didn't love it, but there's some 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.960 hard truths that have to be accepted. There's some realities 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:51.440 that have to be faced. I want to talk about 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.120 Marcus Freeman tonight. I want to address some rumors and 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.520 some things that have been said about the show, but 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.720 also just about me in general, about the future. There's 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:03.280 always a fair amount of fear mongering out there, Jesse, 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.360 fair amount of people saying this and that. Well, we 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.240 are the source on us. It's good quote, by the way, 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:11.600 and so I'll address it all. We got a whole 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.040 lot to get to and we'll try and do it 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:18.000 in a responsible amount of time. They're watching us in Biloxi, Mississippi, 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:22.000 they're watching us in Seattle, Washington, Columbus, Ohio, Elberton, Georgia. 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.760 Is just so good to be back, Oh so good 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.080 to be back. I just want to encourage you subscribe 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:30.400 to the channel and let your boys know and your 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:35.080 girls know that the show's back. Strap in. It is 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.320 going to be one of the more unpredictable, wildest college 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.560 football seasons that we've seen. I'm going to talk about 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.600 some of those reasons later, but Man, massive season ahead 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:47.160 for us, no other way to put it. Norther agitude 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:52.680 to use. Massive season ahead for us cannot wait. So 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:56.119 many unknowns in college football this year, I just want 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.200 to start talking. I just want to start rattling these 0:02:58.240 --> 0:02:59.960 things off. I've been sitting around in you a lot. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.680 I went to the beach, I went all over the country, 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.520 and I'm just sitting there with time on my hands, 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:07.799 thinking about what people like us think about in July, 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:12.040 and that is, Man, how big or small is the 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:15.600 college football playoff title bubble this year? 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:16.160 Like? 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.720 How big or small is that window? You remember we 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.120 played a game last year, I think it was Kublic 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.359 Jesse that we had on and I told him, hey 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.680 create a bubble and put as many teams as the 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.320 bubble in the bubble as you need to make sure 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.480 the national champ is in there. But if the national 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:37.200 champ come seasons in as outside your bubble, you die. 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.440 It was all theoretical. Obviously Cublic did not agree to 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:42.800 the actual terms. But think about that. I mean, if 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.360 your life was on the line and you had to 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.120 take all the teams you think could win the national 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.000 title and put him in a bubble, but you want 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:55.240 the bubble as small as possible without having the eventual 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.200 winner be outside the bubble. I think a lot of 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.400 us would have perished by the way of Indiana winning 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:03.040 it all last year. So who would I have in there? Well, 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:07.600 I'd have Ohio State, I'd have Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Miami, 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.400 pretty much those Big seven, so to speak. In some 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.920 shape form or fashion, most people agree on that right now. 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:16.839 Is Texas Tech in there? Is Ole Miss in there? 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:20.520 Bama Oklahoma? Are they in there? As LSU going to 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:22.400 be in there? I want to know if we get 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.599 to mid November, how big that bubble looks, because you know, 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:27.840 on one hand, you could have a team that just 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:29.680 runs away with everything, but I think that's more and 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.680 more unlikely by the year. In college football, there's another 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.919 more likely scenario where two or three teams, four teams 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:40.920 or so start to separate from the pack. But it's 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.640 kind of one of those modern age deals of even 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.880 though it's like Ohio State last year, even though they're 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.160 a clear number one, they're still reachable. And they were 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:52.840 and Indiana got them and Miami got them and they 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:56.920 were done. But those kinds of teams could emerge. But friends, 0:04:57.440 --> 0:04:59.920 what if the third kind of season starts to emerge 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:02.120 where at one point in a year, you think notre 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.640 Name's the best team in the country, then you think 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.920 Miami's best team in the country, then you think it 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:10.000 maybe Indiana again, and then Texas starts to surge, and 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:13.440 we get to December and you realistically looking around and say, 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:15.600 I can see nine of these teams winning it all. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.560 How big is that bubble? How many bids does a 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.240 conference like the ACC get the Big Twelve? If I 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:23.960 were to put the over under it two and a 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:28.200 half total playoff teams for the ACC and the Big Twelve, 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:31.200 would you go over or under? You're thinking maybe Miami, 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.679 maybe Texas Tech. Is there another one. Does Louisville sneak 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:36.440 in there? Just bringing me young sneak in there? Do 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.080 Miami and Texas Tech do what they're supposed to? By 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.520 the way, does anyone have Indiana potential? Is there an 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.360 undefeated season out there? These are the sorts of things 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.520 that are on my mind this time of year. Speaking 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:51.520 of Notre Dame, think one of the other big unknowns 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:55.120 right now. It's a big boy question. This is an 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.600 adult question here that we got to ask about Notre Dame. 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:00.680 Is Notre Dame a big time program? Notre name a 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:04.400 big game program that is still an unknown because as 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:08.039 much as as much respect, as much belief, as much 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.159 willingness as I have in me to maybe even rank 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.440 Notre Dame number one in the preseason, if you wanted 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.880 to be a skeptic, you could throw out the schedule thing, 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.120 but move past the schedule thing for a second. If 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:22.120 you wanted to be a skeptic, if you wanted to 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.280 be an Irish hater, or if you wanted to just 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.359 sell me on the fact that there are valid doubts 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.640 about this team and maybe Marcus Freeman's ability to win 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.760 a national title, you could say something like, well, what 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.480 did they really prove last year? They had a shot 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.160 against Miami, they lost close game, but they lost. They 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.880 had a and m at home back against the Wall 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.040 early in the year, and what did they do? They lost? Again? 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.520 What are the big games? Did they really have? Go 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.640 back to the year before, and someone like me would say, 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:53.520 what are you talking about? Just one year before they 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:57.160 played for the national championship. You could say, yeah, but 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:01.679 they lost that game handedly and they had this perfect 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:04.400 runway to get to the national title game where they 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:08.720 beat Indiana a year before Indiana was really premier Indiana. 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:13.640 They beat Georgia without their starting quarterback. They beat Penn State, 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.800 which was also a non big game program under James Franklin, 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.200 so one of them had to win it. Point being, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.200 you could deconstruct the concept that is Notre Dame the 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.080 national title contender if you really wanted to, and I 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:27.560 would push back on it, but ultimately Marcus Freeman has 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:29.880 to push back on it. Ultimately Notre Dame has to 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:31.840 push back on it. So yeah, I guess that's kind 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.760 of an unknown right now. The true nature of the 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:41.200 SEC's Tier one is what how many teams? I think 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:44.360 the working theory out there is oh, Josh, is Texas 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.160 and Georgia. That's what the odds board says right now 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.400 at FanDuel. That's what the media in the South says. 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.560 And I'm not necessarily here to push back on it. 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:57.280 I just am wondering. It's called unknowns. It's not called doubts, 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.560 it's not called affirmative statements here, It's just an unknown 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:02.880 right now. Is it really that simple? Is it really 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.360 Texas and Georgia then a little bit of a separation, 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:10.520 then this huge like hodgepodge of LSU and Oklahoma and 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.840 Texas A and m Alabama whoever may end up being 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:16.400 in there. Is that the way it works out? Or 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.520 is there some other combination? There could be a world 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.520 where Texas is just head and shoulders above the rest 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:25.600 of the conference, and come late in November, Texas is 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:28.320 buzz sawing the entire league and Texas is in a 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.720 route to going undefeated and the next best team's nine 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.680 to three, and we look in November say why do 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.760 we overthink the room so much? In July on all this? 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:40.520 Or Georgia could do that and Texas could falter and underachieve, 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.480 and there could be all sorts of uncomfortable conversations to 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:47.000 be had about Steve Sarkisian or this is probably the 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:50.679 more fun of the three possibilities here, not that there 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:54.040 were only three. What if Lane Kiffin just does it 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.600 and you're one at LSU. What if all the ifs 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.040 become green check marks at Alabama? What if Austin max 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.480 starts gives way to Keelan Russell, Alabama takes advantage of 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:07.440 a soft early first month of the season and then 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.960 they round into form. What if Texas A and M 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.160 lost all that NFL talent and still got better. What 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.240 if Oklahoma can run the ball and play good offensive 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.640 line this year? What if one of those things falls 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.559 into place and one of those other teams elevates. What 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.439 if the Tier one table is more crowded. What if 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:26.880 it's not crowded. What if there are still two teams 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:28.920 like you thought there would be, it's just a different 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.680 combination of those two teams. That's kind of fun to 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.320 talk about. And then in the Big Ten, I don't 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.439 so much care about Tier one. I got no doubts 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.960 about Tier one. There. What does the Tier two table 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.600 in the Big Ten look like? If we are to 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.959 assume which I do that some combo of Oregon, Ohio State, 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.120 and Indiana make up your one, two three in the 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:49.680 Big Ten. I don't know how you look at it 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.400 any other way coming into the year, but if we're 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:56.320 to assume that, it is my belief, maybe the biggest 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.360 story in college football coming into the twenty twenty six 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.160 season is the tier two situation in the Big Ten. 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:06.920 Because this right here, our first paper Popper stat of 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.640 the twenty twenty six season is an old stat, but 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.480 that's the way it be sometimes, Jesse, do you understand 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:18.040 that out of those Big three, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.680 they are forty eight and one against the rest of 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.360 the Big Ten the last two years, so there has 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:27.440 been such clear separation. Now a lot of folks are 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:30.400 going to clip that out of context and claim I 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:32.720 said what I didn't say. I didn't say anything the 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:36.000 stat didn't say. The stat is the stat. So my 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.160 whole point there is Texas was one of the best 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.600 teams in the SEC last year. They lost to Florida, 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.880 They got taken to the limit by Kentucky and Mississippi State. 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.719 That stuff doesn't happen in the Big Ten, and that's 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:49.880 due to a couple of factors. Number one, the top 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:52.120 of the Big Ten is better than the top of 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:56.840 the SEC, but number two. Because of number one, there's 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.480 a lot more separation between tier one and tier two. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.680 It's nice, neat and clean in the Big Ten, or 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.160 at least it has been. So what does Lincoln Riley 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.280 have to say about that this year? What is Kyle 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.200 Whittingham or Matt Campbell have to say about that this year? 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:13.240 Does Jedfish have something to say about that this year? 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.880 Kurt FERRYNX, Kurt Ferrence, Matt Ruhles, So you gotta say 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:22.400 something about that this year? Maybe even Luke Fickle I 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.000 could have made Wisconsin their own Big Unknown. Here. My 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.560 point is, is there a little more mixing at the 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:30.440 top of the Big Ten or is it still just 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:34.760 this nice, neat, tidy, compartmentalized product which has been great 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.080 for the league, although I would argue maybe from a 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:43.800 pure television watchability type standpoint, it hasn't been great because 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.439 the TV numbers struggle just a little bit on that front. 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:48.440 But the Big Ten is not struggling much at all. Here. 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.760 I just wonder about that, But that pales in comparison 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:56.319 to how exciting maybe the overall quarterback picture in the 0:11:56.360 --> 0:12:01.959 country could be this year, which quarterbacks meet or exceed 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:07.240 preseason expectations. I've been consuming this game a long time. 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.440 Most of you watching this show have watched college football 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.880 your entire lives. You've seen some years where the quarterback 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:18.240 picture was really loaded. You've seen somewhere maybe a little 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.920 more sparse. I would put this year's preseason quarterback picture 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:26.560 up against almost any preseason quarterback picture that I remember 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:31.160 in my lifetime. The depth of potential quality quarterbacks in 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:34.560 college football this year is utterly insane, and you can 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.480 get past the lead pack. So of course CJ. Carre 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:42.079 at Notre Dame, arch Manning at Texas, Mensa Miami, Trinidad, Chambliss, 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:46.280 Don at Ole Mess, Julian Saym, Dante Moore, Josh Hoover 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.680 is headed to Indiana, Gunner Stockton's at Georgia. You could 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:53.520 get through that group, and then you've still got Mayava 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.240 at usc whoever wins the job at Bama, because they 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.400 probably have two guys that could end up playing at 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:03.600 a high level. You've got Sam Levitt having transferred to LSU. 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.520 Byron Brown goes with Alex Golish to Auburn, Rock Obeck, 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:11.800 ditto with Matt Campbell to Penn State. Bryce Underwood is 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:16.040 in his second year as a starting quarterback. We didn't 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:20.080 mention Kevin Jennings at SMU in either of those groups. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:26.040 We didn't mention Noah Fafida, Austin Simmons, man Like this 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:31.000 time last year, it was Lane Kiffin proudly like hitching 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.920 his wagon to Austin Simmons as his starting quarterback, and 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.720 now a year later, Eli Drinkwitz has done the same 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:39.760 thing because Austin Simmons transferred to Missouri. That's not an 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.760 exhaustive list. I didn't even get through it all, man. I'm 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:46.120 trying to think there are some guys that we haven't 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.000 even listed. Like Leonora Sellers wasn't even listed here, Jesse. 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:52.640 I feel like I just listed twenty guys and I 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:56.040 didn't even say Leonora's Sellers. So the point there, obviously 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:00.240 is not everyone's going to deliver here. You'll have some 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.800 guys get hurt because it sucks, but it happens every year. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.680 You'll have some guys just underachieve. You'll have a couple 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:07.199 of guys come out of nowhere to make up for 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:09.960 the guys that underachieved. But just think, if a critical 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:15.200 chunk of those names live up to or slightly exceed 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:19.160 whatever the expectation is, you're talking about an insane year, 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.120 because that leads to a lot of volatility, because if 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.360 you're getting pretty good quarterback play, a lot of teams 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:26.520 could beat a lot of other teams. You don't have 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:30.080 this like defined class system down the stretch like we 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:32.520 do some years. And then the other part, which is 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:34.760 not fun to talk about for me, although I think 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.440 some of you in a more sick kind of way, 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:38.640 I think some of you have a lot of fun 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:42.000 talking about this anytime of year. The hot seat had 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:46.120 a real quick trigger last year. I mean, Hugh Freeze, 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:53.000 who else, Billy Napier, Brian Kelly. I think obviously when 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:54.760 you look at what happened with James Franklin at Penn 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.240 State last year, those guys not only lost their jobs, 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:01.720 they lost them early. By Halloween was a disaster, and 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.880 a lot of athletic departments had a quick trigger. So 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.240 what happens at Wisconsin this year if it goes bad early, 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.720 which I by the way, have some different theories on 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:13.920 what may be in the cards for Luke Fickle and 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:15.920 Wisconsin this year and then the rest of America does. 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:18.280 But let's say I'm wrong, and for the time being, 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.000 let's say you're right, and let's say they lose some 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.480 games early. Is there a quick trigger? There? Is there 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.600 a quick trigger at Florida State? What about dave A 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:29.560 Randa at Baylor? What if it goes bad early for 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.640 Lincoln Riley at USC Again, you could differ. You could 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:34.480 think one or more of these guys are going to 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:36.800 make the playoff and therefore it's a point. But I'm 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.600 saying worst case scenario. What if it goes sideways? What 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.320 if Shane Biemer were to get off to a really, 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:47.200 really bad start. What could theoretically happen if we have 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:51.680 an off the rail season like we had with Clemson 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:55.880 and Penn State and LSU last year, like some stuff 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.760 that was really hard to see coming. What if that 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.120 happens this year? What if it goes just really bad 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.120 for like a Tennessee I think it's irresponsible to even 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:05.840 talk about it. I don't even like talking about this 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.440 because this gets into the lane where if you ask 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.200 me who would be most likely to be this year's 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.800 James Franklin, I don't think there's an answer to that, 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.280 because the answer last year wasn't James Franklin up until 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:22.520 the point where it actually happened. The whole crazy part 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.160 about that is it's impossible to see coming. So if 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.720 there was a this year's James Franklin, by saying that, 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.600 you're insinuating, oh, there's a preseason top ten or top 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.720 five team that's going to lose its coach for merit 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.200 based reasoning by Halloween, I don't know how you find that. 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:40.480 So I was trying to come up with the craziest 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.760 scenarios like sark at Texas or something like that, where 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.240 no one would have seen it coming. I don't even 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:49.040 know how you responsibly talk about that, and therefore we 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.520 will not. Those are some big unknowns for the year. 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:02.160 So another unknown, which will be known in the not 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.880 too distant future, I hope, is some of the rumors. Jesse, 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:07.920 you've seen this. You got internet. I assume I don't 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.760 know what you did on vacation, but you looked tand 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:15.560 well rested, different hair. But a lot of people were 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:17.679 talking while we were on break. This is what happens 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.000 when we can't address our people. Every forty eight or 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:23.520 seventy two hours. So Nathan in Stanford, Connecticut hit us 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.639 up and he said, great appearance on the bus, thank you. 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.000 Busting with the Boys hit him up last Monday. Will 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.879 Compton was strapped positive and couldn't be there, but he 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.920 got the vaccine, so he is fully vaccinated against strap 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:38.919 now and he's back. He's back on his feet and 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.760 happy to report that he's back amongst us. But in 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.159 the absence of Will Compton, I went and filled in 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:45.639 on Busting with the Boys, and I think we went 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:47.200 like two and a half hours. It was pretty crazy. 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.720 He's like a TimewARP. So Nathan said, great appearance on 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.600 the bus, Thank you, Nathan. He continues, Can you comment? 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:55.399 This is where it gets a little murky. Can you 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.840 comment on the whispers and rumors about you guys and 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.800 ESPN or is it just a fun rumor you guys 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:06.960 are starting. Look, as I always say, when I can 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.560 talk about such things, I'll talk about such things. All 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.040 I'll say right now is the same thing that I 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:17.200 said back in January and February. We kind of talked 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:19.560 about this a couple of times. I liked what we 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.560 did with ESPN last year. We got a really relationship 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:27.360 with the ESPN, there has been motivation on both sides 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:32.400 to broaden and expand that relationship. Now here has always 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:36.800 been my stance. I am not someone whoever calls an 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:40.080 agent or something and says, go get me this, because 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:44.320 that'd be stupid, because that's asking someone to force feed 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:46.879 the audience something that the audience is not asking for. 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.199 So on the other lane, if you feel like the 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.840 audience is asking for something, or if you feel like 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:54.880 there's an absence in the marketplace for something and you've 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:56.600 got a good idea or someone else has a good 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.000 idea and you think it would work, well, it's a 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.560 different thing. So yeah, we've had some conversations like that, 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.400 and I'm sure in the not too distant future we'll 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:08.119 be able to talk more on it. But broad strokes 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:12.399 purposes Nathan through the paper down already. I think it's 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:15.280 going to be a really good year for college football 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:19.600 content this year. And my general thirty thousand foot view 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.080 on this has been for a long time. If this 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:26.320 is the number two sport in the country, my number one, 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:32.000 it needs to be covered and discussed accordingly. And I 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.879 have felt for a long time on the national landscape 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:38.120 the college football has not been covered appropriately. They've done 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:42.840 a great job broadcasting the games, but college football itself, 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:47.760 just as an entity, as a Sunday through Friday concept, 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.399 has not been treated nearly the way it should. So 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:55.119 that could change one of two ways. It could be 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:58.960 covered by the wrong kinds of people, or hopefully it 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:02.320 could be covered by the kinds of people. I, in 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.720 some small way, hope I'm the right kind of person 0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:08.119 that can help broaden and expand the horizons of college 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.800 football conversation for the better in this great country of ours. 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:14.760 So I say all that to say, stay tuned. I 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:17.040 think some stuff's coming around the corner. Nathan. We move on. 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:24.480 Oh boy again, July interesting month. Some stuff happened, Jesse, 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:29.840 some media days happened, some press conferences happen. So our 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:33.680 buddy Jackson in Chicago, he was just asking me about 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.399 the shots back and forth over the past month or 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.480 so between the SEC and the Big Ten, and did 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:41.399 I have any thoughts on it? And I got to 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:44.520 tell you, guys, yeah, I've got thoughts. None of the 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:48.040 thoughts are particularly new. I'm tired of talking about it. 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:51.560 But since I haven't spoken to you in the better 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:53.880 part of a month about these sorts of things. Yeah, 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:56.160 I guess I got some thoughts about it. My thoughts 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:59.800 are until further notice, the Big Ten gets to say 0:20:59.800 --> 0:21:01.520 what what ever it wants, and the SEC needs to 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.919 keep his mouth shut. Those are about the long and 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:07.720 short of my thoughts on this whole situation. I don't 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:11.680 really care what your hypothetical scenarios are. Hypotheticals only matter 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:14.520 in the absence of reality. But we've got reality. We 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:17.639 got results on the field. I watched the Rose Bowl 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.119 last year. Now, I don't care so much about non 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:23.120 playoff bowl results, by the way, and I've always held 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:26.159 that stance, including when the SEC used to dominate. Like 0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:28.800