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SEC Football Unfiltered
Which two SEC teams were underrated in preseason predictions at media days?
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- [00:02]
A
Each of the SEC coaches have made their stump speech at SEC media day. So who won us over? Who convinced us that their team is going to be better than what we previously thought? And what do we think of the predicted order of finish that came out at the end of media days last week? We will discuss today on this edition of SEC Football Unfiltered, our podcast from the USA Today network, Blake Topmire alongside John Adams. John, last week we heard from the SEC's 16 coaches. Some made more headlines than others, I suppose. But I'm curious. Did anyone move the needle enough or catch your attention enough that it made you rethink their teams and made you think this team might be better than what I thought heading into talking season?
- [00:56]
B
Well, you always have to catch yourself because there does a tendency everybody talks a good game in this league. Now, I think overall this group of coaches is very good at making a strong case for its program and its team upcoming, what the upcoming season might be. So I was impressed with overall, how optimistic they sounded, how authoritative they sounded, how one guy that really got my attention was Will Stein at Kentucky. He's never been a head coach and when a Kentucky coach starts talking about championships and says he's the one to change it, make it a championship program, that gets my attention. I remember when Bill Curry did that in the early 90s, mentioned championships in Kentucky in the same sentence.
- [01:46]
A
Remind me, John, how'd that work out for him?
- [01:48]
B
He had 7 consecutive losing seasons, non winning seasons. He wants 6 and 6 one year, 7 consecutive non winning seasons and was fired. So the championships never came to fruition. But the thing about Bill Curry, he's an adept speaker, he's very authoritative. And I remember him on the sidelines. He would stand there, arms folded, reflector sunglasses on, and it was kind of like the message, we've got this all in hand. Kind of like the way, hey. Kind of like the way Shane Beamer looked at South Carolina when they were playing up on Texas A&M, 31 to 30 to 3 last year at halftime. Same kind of look. But, but Will Stein just, he did make a really positive impression. He made a good case for his program and, and he said this one of the best offensive lines he's been around.
- [02:42]
A
Yeah. I thought Will Stein had a little bit of Kurt Signetti vibes. Of course Signetti at Indiana said I win. Google me. And, and Stein was. Was asked, why do you believe Kentucky football can be successful? Yeah. Turned things toward himself and said because of me.
- [03:01]
B
Honestly, I love that.
- [03:04]
A
Yeah. Now the. I think the comparisons between Stein and Signetti sort of in there. I mean, if you googled Kurt Signetti, you did see a resume full of victories. Now, they weren't at the power four level, but Signetti had won everywhere. He had been up to Indiana and then he continued doing that. If you Google Will Stein, you will see a 0 and 0 record. This guy's never coached in a game. He's been a very successful offensive coordinator, obviously at, at Oregon, but doesn't have Signetti's resume. But he does have Signet. Signetti's bravado Pete Golding I created a lot of buzz with his comments on, on the tampering situation and basically said, and I'm paraphrasing here, but he said if everybody's driving 85 miles an hour down the interstate, what do you do? Do you drive the speed limit? No, you drive 90. And that, that was basically the gist of what Pete Golding said. John Sumrall the national media are ready to build John Sumrall a statue. They think he's the greatest coach since Steve Spurrier and he only enhanced that reputation after a stirring performance at media days. A couple others, John, that I'm wondering if they move the needle for you. Josh Hypo is boring at the podium, but I think just his presence up there made you really look at in the questions about what Tennessee is going to do at quarterback, made you look at Hypo's history with quarterbacks and you were reminded of, at least I was. This guy gets it done with his quarterback every year. So if you're concerned about Tennessee is that you don't know who the quarterback is going to be. For me, I say that's not that big of a concern because Josh Hypo won with Joe Milton. It was pretty good anyway, had a winning season. He had an 8 and 5 season with Joey Aguilar. Now, as we discussed last week, didn't beat anybody of consequence, but beat all the teams that he should have beaten, finished 8 and 5 and then had some really good seasons with other quarterbacks. And it just, you know, then I see Tennessee at number eight in the predicted order of finish. And I don't think that was maybe too far off the mark, but I think it's possible we're underrating. You know, when I say we, I mean the media collectively are underrating Tennessee just because Hypo, you're in and you're out, you know, it doesn't matter if you know who the quarterback's going to be or if he hasn't become a star yet. This guy is about as consistent as it gets when it comes to quarterback development, so. So Tennessee was one that I thought, even though Hypo doesn't necessarily, you know, whip the masses into a frenzy, it is a reminder, I think, that this guy just. He wins with whoever he's got at quarterback.
- [05:39]
B
I'm just imagining Josh Hyple at the lectern and the media worked into a frenzy. I just. Yeah. Can't quite picture that. No, but it's. It's a good thought. I know that you're right about that. He always finds a way to move the ball. Sometimes not as well as others, but you look at overall, five years, averaging 38.5 points per game. That's. That's pretty stellar. So also different types of quarterbacks. And going back to last season, Joey Aguilar comes in there after spring ball and Josh Hyper gets him better. And a lot of that credit with Joey Aguilar for. He's been around the block. He was. He proved adept at picking up the offense, but give the coaches credit for that, too. They got him ready to play and things worked out and he put up 40 points or so on George in a close loss early in the year.
- [06:36]
A
Yeah, and let's remember, John, I mean, Joey Aguilar was the guy that UCLA decided they didn't want to be their quarterback. And usually that's not like a great first line on your resume. Yeah, UCLA didn't want me to be their starter, but that was the line on Joey Aguilar's resume. And hey, the offense looked pretty good with him at the control. Yeah, credit to him, but also credit to Josh Hyple.
- [07:00]
B
Yeah, it's. When UCLA decides, nah, you're not quite up to our standards. That's kind of a. That kind of a message is, well, maybe I need to steer my career course in a different direction. Maybe this football thing won't work out. But it did work out with Tennessee. Another thing about this Tennessee team, it is better overall. I'm pretty sure that it's better overall if you look position by position than it was last season when it went 8 and 4. Disappointing season, regular season, 8 and 5 overall, but a disappointing season nonetheless. It wasn't a disastrous season, so I think this team overall is better. I would be more concerned about the schedule, perhaps with Tennessee, than I am what Hypo will do with his quarterbacks because it's a tougher schedule. He's got a scheduling break the last two seasons, Tennessee didn't beat anybody of significance last season and now he's facing Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama could have a tough game against Auburn and road games in Arkansas and South Carolina. So and even Georgia Tech is tougher than what it had on his non conference late last year. So yeah, that's but you, you bring up a good point that his track record with quarterbacks, he doesn't always pick the right guy initially, but he eventually finds a way to win with that guy and be effective enough offensively.
- [08:34]
A
Another one I wanted to ask you about, John, did your opinion of Oklahoma change at all? And the reason I ask is I think you and I have not been all that bullish on the possibility of Oklahoma going back to the playoff this season. I don't know if it's because of the way last season ended. They lose a home first round playoff game against Alabama or maybe it's something else. For me, part of it is they they had some several significant losses on defense. Also John Matier now we think is healthy but you know, the last we saw him last year was after that broken thumb and he just wasn't the same quarterback after that injury as he was before. Also the competition picked up after the injury and, and that may have had something to do with it too. But I'm asking because I think there's a real chance that when the preseason polls come out, preseason coaches polled, preseason AP poll, I think Oklahoma could be in that like 8 to 12 range nationally. We don't know that, but I'm going to, I'm going to say somewhere in that 8 to 12 range, I think that's where the Sooners are going to be in the poll. But you and I really haven't thought that much of their playoff chances. And then you look at the predicted order of finish here in the SEC and it feels like the media collectively may view Oklahoma a lot like we do. Oklahoma was picked seventh in the SEC in in the media's preseason predicted order of finish. But I'm wondering if after hearing from Brent Venables and media days, sort of makes you take another look at the roster. That's generally the way it goes. Did your opinion of Oklahoma change at all after last week?
- [10:13]
B
I would say that was the one team where my opinion might have changed the most. And that's because as you said, we have it just not that high on Oklahoma. But I believe it will be better than I expected. However, where I would position it in the standings probably not that much different. Again, as I mentioned with Tennessee, the schedule, the Schedule is tough and if you want to be optimistic about Oklahoma you can say Brent Venables is a really good defensive coach. I don't think anybody would argue that. So even though it lost some key personnel and doesn't have the depth up front on defense that he did last year, you can pretty much predict he'll be one of the top four or five defenses in the sec. I think that's, that's not a reach. And John Matier, I mean my guys, the guys throwing with the. He had a broken bone in his thumb and they rush him out there to play against Texas, which I thought was ridiculous, didn't go well after surgery he couldn't grip the ball properly so he has to be better. I still wonder about Oklahoma's offense. So in part of that might be an unfair assessment because of Oklahoma's history. I'm just following Oklahoma all my years of watching college football. It is so many times just had spectacular offenses with, with great skill players at wide receiver, running back, Heisman Trophy quarterbacks. I mean they, you know, 40 point games for them was ho hum. And I look at this roster and I don't see a dynamic running back. Its receiving corps might be better than I thought. So yeah.
- [12:10]
A
Quarterback John. I like Matier. I don't know if I love Mater. You know there's some other quarterbacks I like a lot better than, than John Matier and part of that maybe he'll prove that, prove me wrong. Maybe with a healthy thumb he'll come out and be the best quarterback in the SEC this year. But all I know is what I saw last year which was a good quarterback but not, not an elite quarterback. And I think there are some elite quarterbacks in, in this league.
- [12:37]
B
Yeah, I like John Matieres personality and I like the way he plays the game which is kind of a reckless abandoned. It's not he doesn't have a quarterback's personality. It's just he's like out there on the playground. I'm gonna find a way to score on this play and he's just scrambling around back there and I would like to see him do well. Maybe he will. I think he has a better, he will have a better receiving core and I do think his offensive line will be better. That's been a problem for Oklahoma the last few years offensive line and so maybe he will be but I would like to see him do well because he's, he's got a fun personality. All right.
- [13:20]
A
I'm going to throw out a few teams that I think were underrated and overrated in this preseason. Predicted order of finish. John, and we'll see whether you. Whether you agree with what the media consensus was or my take. So I'm just going to quickly breeze through the 1 through 16 here and then I'll ask you about some overrated. Underrated. So Georgia was picked to win the conference, followed by Texas. I don't think any surprise there. I think most of us would have expected it would have been some order of Georgia and Texas at the top. Georgia's got the easier schedule. Also, they're the reigning SEC champions, so I wasn't terribly surprised they were 1. Texas is 2. Proceeding 3 through 16. Quickly, it's Ole Miss at 3, Texas A&M at 4, LSU 5, Alabama 6, Oklahoma 7, Tennessee 8. Number 9 is Florida. 10, Missouri 11, South Carolina 12, Auburn. Continuing 13 through 16. You have Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas. Okay, John. A few that I thought were underrated and then a couple overrated. Underrated. I think LSU is underrated at number five. I probably would have had them about number three. I think Auburn could be underrated at number 12. And I don't know that you'll agree with this one, but I think Alabama could be slightly underrated at number six. A few overrated Johns or a couple. Anyway, I think Ole Miss is overrated at number three. I think that's a couple spots too high with the transition and coaching staff. Ole Miss at three is too high. I'd probably have Ole Miss and LSU flipped. And then South Carolina at 11 I thought was maybe a little bit high. As Shane Beamer pointed out, a lot of the same guys are back from last season. That's true. I'm wondering, is that a feature or a bug, though? South Carolina went 4 and 8 last year, including 1 and 7 in the SEC. So I think 11 is too high on South Carolina. So what's. What's your reaction to that? You agree with my overrated. Underrated, or you agree with the general consensus there?
- [15:41]
B
Yeah, I agree with you on some of these and not on others. First of all, underrated. LSU really sticks out to me. I would have LSU at least third. So I agree with you on that. It's under. I mean, then I look at Auburn. That to me might be the Most underrated team.
- [16:05]
A
12 for Auburn. That just feels like a vote on the history of their last five years. But history doesn't matter anymore, particularly when you got a new coach. He brought in his old roster from usf, including Byron Brown, that I don't know, maybe we're off there, John, with Auburn, but both of us feel like they could, they could be a sleeper team, I think, in the sec.
- [16:25]
B
Blake, don't, don't doubt us. Okay? Don't.
- [16:29]
A
Sorry.
- [16:30]
B
Especially compared to other media types. Right, so Auburn. Yeah. Because we talked about this before, but Auburn was a team that had more talent than its record set. And it lost all kind of games last year by seven points. Six of its losses, seven losses were by seven points or less. And then in even the, the only other game was lost was by maybe 10 or something. It wasn't getting blown out. It had a bad, bad coaching, inadequate quarterback play. I don't know how good Alex Golish will be, but I don't see if he, how he could be any worse than what we've seen the last Auburn's last two hires. And I would bet money that, I mean, geez, Byron Brown, he's got to be a better quarterback than what they've, than what they've had.
- [17:26]
A
Yeah, I don't know if you could find a sports book to give you a line on that, John. How could Byron Brown not be better than what they've had at quarterback the last few years?
- [17:35]
B
Right here, here. How about this? If you told me Byron Brown was, he could play quarterback and would stay healthy all, all year, but he wouldn't be able to throw the ball. I would still take him over the other quarterbacks, even if his arm is in a sling. I would take him over the air because he's a terrific runner, rushed for over, just over a thousand yards last year. So, so those two things alone and, and then you start looking at Auburn step chart. Plus, as you pointed out, bringing all those players. I'm not saying this will be a James Madison to Indiana success story with Signetti.
- [18:14]
A
Right.
- [18:14]
B
But we do have a, we do have a president on this. You bring a lot of guys with you from your school, so the transition goes smoother. And you know, Signetti is all about production. These guys produced at a, at a lower level in South Florida. Maybe they can, maybe their production will continue in the sec. So that to me, Auburn to have South Carolina. Boy, I don't know what they were thinking to have South Carolina had Auburn. That's just. If I had, that's one thing I would bet on. If you want to bet on something. I'll bet Auburn will finish with a better record than South Carolina.
- [18:57]
A
Yeah. I'm wondering how many South Carolina media were in Tampa voting in this polling. South Carolina at 11 might be the most surprising. Surprising Listing of any team in this predicted order of finish. I don't know how you justify that one off a four and eight season. One and seven in the sec. Sure, a lot of those guys are back, but again, is that a, is that a selling point or not? I think I'd rather have a bunch of transfers come in and take their spots.
- [19:26]
B
Yeah. For the fan base, that's an absolutely terrifying point. Yeah.
- [19:30]
A
Yeah.
- [19:32]
B
The other team you mentioned, Alabama, and we don't agree on Alabama. You think Alabama would be better than I do. So I, I, I would side with the, in fact, I would have Alabama lower than, than what the media had it. I would have it at seven instead of six. Not a lot.
- [19:50]
A
Yeah. That's when we don't see CI to. I wouldn't have, I mean, I wouldn't have a much higher. Slightly underrated, maybe. I'd probably have him at five. I'd have him at five. So that's not really a major, major arguing point. They, the media had him at six. I'd probably have him one spot higher, I think, at five.
- [20:08]
B
And yeah, yeah, I, I'm looking. You're, you're overrated. I agree wholeheartedly on those. We already mentioned South Carolina. You know, everybody talks about Lenora Sellers, what a great player he is. He does have talent, but he didn't have a good year last year. And then you talk about Dylan Stewart, one of the sec, one of college football's premier pass rushers. When he's healthy. I'm not sure if he's going to be 100%, so. And those are their two stars. So I just think there are a lot of questions with South Carolina. Ole Miss, do you agree with me?
- [20:44]
A
Ole Miss is overrated at three. John, I know you like Ole Miss quite a bit. We both, everybody loves Trinidad Chambliss, but yeah, they're a little overrated at three.
- [20:54]
B
Yeah, I think. Yeah, probably. But the thing about Ole Miss, that's a team that I say they're overrated, but it wouldn't shock me if they ended up being the third best team in the league because of Trinidad Chambliss. I saw what he did last year. He carried that team. He's. I just think he's one of those guys that makes everybody better. And I can't find any real faults with his game. And having him back is just a huge benefit for Pete Golding. So. And I'm looking at their depth chart. They don't have the depth at wide receiver they have, but I think the wide receivers Are okay. And they, they still have Kawan Lacey at running back in a fairly experienced offensive line. Not all of it there at Ole Miss, but there is experience there. I question the defense, but I questioned the defense last year and it almost played in the national championship game. So. Yeah, that's. I think anytime you have a player like Chambliss at quarterback, it's hard to say. It's hard to say, well, this team's only so good it can't get above fifth six. You know, I look at Ole Miss as maybe number six in the league, but I don't rule out the possibility that it could just soar. Mainly because of Chambers. It's, you know, go back to Johnny Manziel at Texas A and M. What he did for A M. He's. I'm not saying he's just quite as good as Menzel, but he's really good and I don't know if I'd take anybody over him at quarterback.
- [22:41]
A
I wouldn't. He'd be number one on my board, particularly if we're just talking sec.
- [22:46]
B
Yeah.
- [22:47]
A
And even next quarter he's number one on my board. And I think the question is, the better question is who's number two? I'd probably go Gunner Stockton at number two and then Arch Manning. I think maybe number three. I understand if people are buying into Arch enough to put him at number two, can certainly see that. Particularly with the way he finished the season against Sports Michigan. But I like the proven results from Gunner and I saw those guys play head to head last year in Athens and Gunner won that head to head matchup hands down. I mean, he was far better than Arch was that night in Sanford Stadium. And that brings me to the next question for you, John. Do you agree with Georgia at number one in the conference predicted to. To win? I do. I think part of this is, you know, Texas has as talented of a roster I, I think as Georgia maybe has a more talented roster than Georgia. I think you could make that case. I don't think it's leaps and bounds different but, but I would hear arguments that Texas has a. Is a slightly more talented roster than Georgia or at least as good. But for me, I would pick Georgia to win the league for a couple of reasons. One, I've seen it happen. Kirby's really good when he gets to that game. He gets his team up for it. Georgia does not treat that thing like an exhibition, even though it pretty much is. They beat Alabama last year and they didn't move an inch in the college football Playoff rankings. So it is an exhibition. But Kirby convinces his players that it's not. It's a de facto home game for Georgia. And you look at the schedule, I think Georgia's schedule breaks incredibly well for them. They only have three teams on the schedule that I think will be ranked in the preseason top 25 rankings. Not out yet, but I think Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss will be the only teams ranked on Georgia's schedule. I think Texas schedule is tougher. So I agree with Texas as the front runner to win the conference. But I know you like Texas a lot. Do you? And you like LSU a lot. Do you agree that Georgia is the front runner? Would you have somebody else?
- [24:45]
B
No, I would have Texas and I. Yeah, you're right. Everything you say about Georgia, if it comes down to Georgia Texas game, it's hard to cut. It's kind of hard to pick Texas because even though you might think Texas has more talent on game day, Kirby gives Georgia an extra edge and he certainly does that in the SEC championship game. The main reason I like Texas is Steve Sarkeesian is an excellent offensive coach and he's loaded with offensive talent. When you give an offensive minded coach all the pieces, I think back to when he was an offensive coordinator at Alabama and he had all that talent to work with, how dynamic that offense was. So that's, that's kind of why I favor Texas. But there are a lot of good reasons not to pick Texas. Mainly the schedule. And I just. And also that the fact that it might have to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game, I like, I loved. I mean Kirby's always talked about toughness. Toughness, toughness. A lot of coaches talk that, but his teams really play that way. It's as though when that you said he convinces them in, in that SEC championship game that this matters. He's really good at selling stuff to his team. They believe what he's saying and I think that's why he's so good in some of these big games. And you pick, pick him, put him in a. You know, when he loses, it's just talent differential usually. I mean the other teams just better. The coach can only do so much. Georgia, my, my problem remains and I think everybody questions us with Georgia. Does it have playmakers at wide receiver? Can it in? My question isn't so much about Gunner Stockton. He's proved it in big games, big moments. But I don't know if he has quite enough help in the passing game.
- [27:03]
A
You mentioned a couple questions with Texas, John. One, the schedule. Two, you know if they have to meet Georgia in Atlanta in that game where Kirby's won three out of the last four SEC championships. That's a tough, would be a tough matchup. I would add one more to the if you have reason to be skeptical about Texas's status as a front runner. The other one I would add is how much do you trust Arch? You know, it was an up and down season last year for him. Much more than it was for Gunner Stockton or Trinidad Chambliss, who I put at the top of my conference quarterback pecking order. How much do you trust Arch? Do you think he's the guy who looked magnificent against Michigan in the bowl game, both passing and running? Or do you think he was the guy who completed fewer than 50% of his passes against Texas A and M? I mean, people talk about how Arch got better as the season went on. That is true. That's a true narrative. But it wasn't like he was aces every time out toward the end of the season. He wasn't great against Texas A and M. Texas won that game because of its defense. And he wasn't very good at Georgia last year either. That was a November game. That was a game toward the end of last season. So he did get better as the season progressed. But again he was in aces every time out in November. So how much do you trust Arch now in his second year as a starter?
- [28:29]
B
Well, I certainly trust him more than the Arch Manning I saw in the first third of last season or maybe even the first half of last season. I think Sarkeesian might have thought Arch could handle more than he could too. And I think he understands right now that Arch is nothing like Peyton or Eli. He's not a drop back, pure drop back thrower. I mean he, he makes stuff happen with a run and I think he's a better quarterback when he can run. I think it gives him confidence to make plays in the running game. It gets him into the game. Other quarterbacks are that way and I, I think that will help him. The other thing are his receivers. With Wingo, Mosley and Coleman, he's got a great set of receivers and he's got good running backs. I don't know if the, I think the offensive line will be solid. I don't know if it will be exceptional, but there's so many weapons there. I think he can be more successful. But that's still a valid point and maybe I did. I think people got two down on Arch last year. Too high on him to begin with, too down on him in the middle and then. And then maybe too high on him against. For what he did against Michigan.
- [30:00]
A
I think that's very accurate.
- [30:01]
B
Yeah, that was one game. So.
- [30:04]
A
Yeah. An observation with Sarkeesian, John. And I don't know that this is anything more than an observation. I'm not sitting here predicting Texas will win the national championship, but, but food for thought, Sark has made the semifinals a couple times now, right? So I guess you could say he's come close. I don't know how close it was, but if he would have beaten Ohio State in that semifinal two years ago, I think Texas would have gone on to win the national championship. I've mentioned it before. I think that was the defecto de facto national championship game. In a similar way before Ryan Day won his first national championship, I would say he came close because if you remember that semifinal against Georgia and Mercedes Benz Stadium, great game. And you know, came down to the final play, final, final field goal that missed for, for Ohio State. And so Georgia wins. If, if Ohio State wins that game, Ohio State wins the national championship. Because what came next was, was tcu. So we could say that Ryan Day came closer to. Before he ultimately won his first national title. And Kirby Smart, it took him six years to win his first national championship. He had some really good teams and came close. You know, of course, the infamous national championship game against Alabama was in the mix there where, where he came close and then get it done. So. So Kirby did not win his first national title until year six. He was really good up to that point, but he didn't win his first national title until year six. Ryan Day did not win his first national title until year six. Now, Steve Sarkeesian, this is year six at Texas. Do you make much of that? I don't know. It's an observation. I do think you can connect some dots there between Sark, Kirby, Ryan Day, guys that were really good earlier in their tenure, but it did take them six years to win their first national championship. I think you could make that case for Sark. I'm not necessarily making it, but I think that's a case that could be made.
- [32:11]
B
I think Sarkeesian puts a lot into thought, a lot of. A lot of things into thought about why he didn't win. I mean, all coaches have to self evaluate. You'd have to be a. Just a complete idiot not to. Not to do that. But he, he talked about that a lot at media days about self evaluation and his actions kind of back that up. I was impressed with what he did in the portal. He, he had some running backs returning that had played and, and they weren't, they weren't awful or anything. I mean they give them another year. They might be really good running back. CJ Baxter went to South Carolina. He's there, I think Design. Not South. No. Where did he go? C.J. baxter? Yeah, he did go to South Carolina, didn't he? Anyway, I think he went to, he
- [33:07]
A
went to Kentucky, didn't he John?
- [33:08]
B
That's right. C.J. baxter and Christian Clark, another Texas running back went to South Carolina. So those guys might do well there. But my point is that Sarkeesian realized he knows Texas has to get better in the run game and so what does he do? He goes out and he outbids Alabama and takes Hollywood Smothers away from Alabama and he gets really brown from. Where is he? Arizona State maybe? Yeah. And 1000 yard rusher. So he just went out in a position that you wouldn't really say, oh, they're just can't get it done there. They're desperate for running back. They weren't desperate. He, he looked at it and says we got to get better in the running game. I'm going to get better. Running backs kind of dealt with the obvious thing.
- [34:01]
A
That's a great point, John. And to your point, those, those top two running backs from, from Texas last year, as you said, they transferred to SEC schools with Baxter at Kentucky and Clark going to South Carolina. They were good players. They're not scrubs, but they still managed to get better by bringing in, by bringing in Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers. Those guys are thousand yard type of backs, each of them. So great point. They up. They upgraded at running back. I think they upgraded at wide receiver by bringing in Cam Coleman. I think Texas is, is stacked. We heard that from Colin Simmons, the defensive lineman. He put, that's. Those were his words at SEC media days. So we're stacked. I think he's right. The schedule stacked too. And they flopped. Yeah, they flopped last year, but last year does not mean that Texas is going to flop this year. You know, sometimes we fall into that trap of we overrated them last year so we can't expect anything of them this year. No, you, you. They maybe they were a year away last year. I'm not excusing what happened last season. Texas with that team should not have missed the College Football Playoff last year. They should not have lost to Florida, a bad Florida team that kept them out of the playoff. As much as Sarkeesian wants to point the finger at the selection committee. No, Sark, you lost to Florida, a bad Florida team that had already lost to a group of six opponent just a couple weeks earlier. And oh, by the way, Texas almost lost to Kentucky and Mississippi State too. So Texas, even more so than the committee factored into it, not going to the playoff last year. So they underachieved. But also that doesn't mean that they can't live up to their talent level this year. A lot. Some of the guys on this team weren't on last year's team. Hollywood Smothers, Relik Brown, Christian Coleman. They're not responsible for last year's flop.
- [35:50]
B
I look at, you know, what Texas did and a big problem for the most obvious thing about you talk about their law, they shouldn't have lost to Florida, certainly. But if Texas just doesn't schedule Ohio State, that's true. It plays a place, North Carolina State or Arizona or Kansas State or anybody for its non conference opponent. It couldn't have picked a tougher game than Ohio State in Columbus. Now what I wonder, and maybe this will be absolutely not a non factor, but playing Ohio State again in early September, if Texas lost that game at home, would that have lingering effects, do you think, do you think that would shatter its confidence or is that.
- [36:48]
A
I think it depends how it looks. I mean, if they get blown out by I've stayed at home, then yeah, that, that might shatter their confidence. It's going to shatter my confidence in Texas, I'll tell you that. They get blown out at home in week two, yeah, that'll shatter my confidence in, in Texas. But you know, Ohio State's, they're, they're a national title contender full stop. Like they're, they're, they're odds makers favorite alongside what, Notre Dame. Right. They're right up there. And so if you lose in a competitive game against Ohio State at home, nobody's going to throw you a parade for that. You should win your home games. Right. No matter who's out there. But to me, that doesn't shatter your confidence. Losing, losing a week two to Ohio State, a title contender. It's, it's how the game looks, how's the team look? How does Arch look in that game? You know, you lose 28, 27 to Tech to Ohio State, week two. To me, that actually would probably buoy my confidence in Texas. Well, them losing a great game to Ohio State, I'm not, again, I'm not going to applaud them for that, but I would probably come out of that thinking, yeah, Texas is a, is a. Is a title contender.
- [38:04]
B
I just wonder if that continues the narrative. Well, Sarkeesian's a good coach, but he just can't win, beat the very best team. But how about the other side of that? Texas is absolutely dazzling in that first game. Beats Ohio State at home. Would overconfidence be an issue, do you think?
- [38:29]
A
I. I don't know about that. Hard to say. I think the good thing with Texas, though, is two weeks later you got a game at Neyland. So you really can't afford to be overconfident because Texas is a better team than Tennessee. I, I think certainly on paper they are, but I, I mean, how hard is it to refocus your guys and catch their attention of, hey, look at Josh Hypo's record in Neyland Stadium since he's been Tennessee's coach. Like, it'd been really tough to beat at home. And then a couple weeks after that, you have Oklahoma game. So I don't know. I think you got a couple games on the schedule to refocus the team after that.
- [39:09]
B
In retrospect, I think those were two really bad questions.
- [39:13]
A
Maybe. Yeah.
- [39:14]
B
Yeah. Let's just move.
- [39:16]
A
Let's see if this is a good question. John, this is. This is the final thought I have for you. So I was looking. It's Big Ten media days this week. I was. I was looking inside the Big Ten recently with media days coming up. And also I voted in USA Today's preseason, all Big Ten teams. And I was struck by how stacked Indiana still is. You know, they had some notable losses, most of which Fernando Mendoza. Right. But they bring in Josh Hoover from tcu. I'm starting to trust Kurt Signetti, really, in anything. I think he's going to get a lot out of. Out of Josh Hoover. But their offensive line is very good and their defense, they lost a couple key players, including d' Angelo Pons. But as I was filling out my preseason, all Big Ten. John, that defense is loaded, every level of that defense, and they are stacked. And so Indiana is still darn good. They're not. I would say Indiana's a national title contender. Ohio State is a national title contender. I think Oregon is a national title contender. Bottom line, I think the Big Ten has three national title contenders. Now, they got a few other teams that we could say are playoff contenders, but true frontline national title contenders. I think they've got three of them. Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon. My question to you, does the SEC have three national title contenders?
- [40:44]
B
It would be a stretch but you wouldn't have said. I mean, Lane Kiffin didn't think Ole Miss was a national title contender last year, and yet it ended out. Ended up almost beating Miami in a semifinal game, mainly because of Trinidad. Trinidad Chambers at quarterback. LSU has an extremely talented roster. Lane Kiffin has proved that he can bring in all these transfers from wherever, mold him into a winning team, maybe even a championship contender. So to me, you'd. You'd have to stretch that, but I agree. When I did my preseason, I'm doing a preseason big 10, SEC top 25. I did that last year each week, and I'm sticking with Texas number one.
- [41:36]
A
Okay, so you obviously think Texas a national title contender, right?
- [41:40]
B
But then I've got. But then I've got Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.
- [41:44]
A
Yeah. Okay. Yes. Looking for a yes or no here, John, Is Georgia a national title contender?
- [41:55]
B
I would say no.
- [41:56]
A
Wow. Well, if Georgia's a no, then I don't think the SEC has three title contenders.
- [42:01]
B
Well, I shouldn't say that. Kirby Smarts won two national titles, so, yeah, they are contender. I just don't see the playmakers at wide receiver that can win those kind of games. I just, just.
- [42:14]
A
So if Georgia, you say sort of, kind of reluctantly, that you think maybe they're a title contender for the SEC to then have three to match the Big Ten. Does it come down to lsu? Would anybody else enter your conversation of national title contender, or does it come down to whether you think LSU is a title contender or not?
- [42:36]
B
No, it would be whether LSU is a title contender. I think it has. You look at the level of talent on the roster, both sides of the ball. I don't think people realize just how much talent Kiffin picked up in the transfer portal. And it wasn't like LSU was bereft of talent, even though it won, you know, went seven, six or whatever. I. I just. It had returning talent, too, but I look at them position by position, and I think it's one of the most talented rosters in the country. I just don't know how that will meld together that quickly. But Kiffin does have a track record for pulling that off.
- [43:18]
A
Do you think LSU at number five in this preseason, predicted order of finish. Do you think that is a reflection of the reputational damage he inflicted upon himself by leaving Ole Miss? Because I. I just. I think LSU should be higher than 5. And, and I have my suspicions, maybe I'll be proven wrong on this, but I kind of think LSU is not going to be preseason top 10. And I think they should be. And again, I think part of the reason they won't be will be because Kiffin just left a sour taste in the mouth of a lot of people, his industry peers, some coaches and I think media members certainly left a sour taste in their mouth by leaving Ole Miss on the doorstep of the playoff. And not that it's any real payback like, oh, I'm going to take it out on Lane by not voting his team that high in the preseason pool. Oh my goodness, he'll laugh all the way to the bank and cash those 13 million dollar paychecks. What, I mean, what you're not really getting any, any revenge on him by. But I just wonder like if that is sort of a reflection of the sour taste that was left by him leaving is because I just, I can't think of really other reasons why LSU would not be getting a little bit more buzz than they are right now. Unless it's just people are tired of Lane.
- [44:32]
B
I think it might have something to do with Brian Kelly because Brian Kelly has great resume, took Notre Dame to a couple of playoffs, great record, won everywhere he's been and he wasn't successful at lsu.
- [44:47]
A
That's fair. So just looking at LSU a little more skeptically than maybe we used.
- [44:51]
B
Yeah, because of last year, I mean I had picked LSU was number one in my preseason poll.
- [44:57]
A
I wasn't going to mention that, but yeah, I know.
- [45:00]
B
Full disclosure. So we're super talented roster. I thought, and I thought Brian Kelly was a good coach and it just didn't work out. Garrett Nussmaier was, was affected by an injury really all season long and that was a big factor in it. But it's certainly not the only factor. You can't excuse some of those losses because your quarterback won 100%. So now I look at, I think again the quarterback, I think there are questions about Sam Levitt. I, I really do.
- [45:37]
A
Well, I could buy that argument, John, because you look at the top four teams in the SEC's predicted order of finish, they all have returning starters at quarterback. Georgia Gunner, Stockton, Texas Arch Manning, Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss and then Marcel Reed at Texas A and M. So I would buy that argument a little bit. I mean, Sam Levitt, sure he was a starter at Arizona State, but, but he's coming in as a transfer, never played in this league before coming off the foot injury. And so maybe it's just not, maybe I'm wrong that it's not voters being vindictive toward Lane. Maybe it's some of it is like you said, a little bit of. Well, LSU was over hyped last year. Maybe they could be again. And also the four teams ahead of them have guys that are more battle tested in the sec. Sam, Sam Levitt's been to the playoff before, but since then he broke his foot and also he hasn't played in this conference yet. And it is a different beast going through the SEC than playing a Big 12 schedule, let's be honest.
- [46:33]
B
Sure. I, I just, if Sam Levitt's 100%, he's got good receivers, good running backs, offensive line has to be better than it was last year. So. Yeah, and I think, you know, who knows, maybe I would have LSU in the top five nationally if not for, if I hadn't misjudged it so badly last year. Because I do look at this roster in every, every level of defense has at least one really good player and the offense a lot of good wide receivers. And Levitt was really good. I remember he almost beat Texas in the playoffs in 2024 at Arizona State.
- [47:22]
A
Yeah, I think the conversation around Texas, a lot of it comes down to how much do you trust Arch Manning for lsu? I think it's a similar deal. How much do you trust Sam Levitt is healthy and is going to transition smoothly to the sec? Well, we'll leave it there. John, pick this conversation up next week. Maybe, who knows, maybe there'll be something out of Big Ten media days. Never know. We'll see. Until then, thanks for listening to this edition of SEC football. Until.