Colin discusses the Padres taking a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLDS and why the swagger of San Diego is giving them an edge against their powerhouse rival. He talks about the fallout from the Jets firing head coach Robert Saleh and what this means for Aaron Rodgers' legacy going forward. Plus, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt joins the show in studio to preview a huge week of games including Ohio State vs Oregon and Oklahoma vs Texas
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This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher on Fox Sports Radio.
All Right, it is a Wednesday, busier than we could have expected live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Joel Clatt. One hour, we go into the biggest college football weekend of the year this Saturday, Massive games all over college football, biggest Saturday by far, and Joel Klatt will have his opinions in one hour from now. All Right, for the second time in three years, here are the San Diego Padres. The cocky San Diego Padres are one game away from eliminating the big payroll, classy lead the baseball world in attendance, LA Dodgers. They beat him six to five last night. Dodgers essentially have had one big inning the whole series. Yeah, and a Grand Slam last night, but that was it. Yeah, they had one to one big in So here we go. Because the Dodgers pushed Shoho Tawny's salary down the road, they only rank fifth in payroll, but they're fudging the numbers. The Dodgers spent over a billion dollars just this year in free agency. Next closest in Major Big Baseball was a little over three hundred thousand dollars. Okay, so let's not kid ourselves that this is the best team money can buy right now. The Dodgers have reward their fans though they do almost everything right. They've won the Division eleven of twelve years. It's a gorgeous, beautiful stadium environment. They're patient, they lean heavy in analytics, patient with their manager there R and D is incredible. They almost never make a bad trade. All their young guys come up and flourish. It is a really, really sharp organization. But they are two butts. But last two years, starting pitching can't stay healthy. Only one guy right now pitching in the playoffs was in their starting rotation to start the year. They can't keep people healthy, pitchers healthy. The second thing is the second butt. The Podreys that have become their primary rival, and they're really good, and they're young, and the Potteris are cocky and they're hungry, and they got more swag and they're not the least bit intimidated by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are, you know, let's be honest. The o Tani and Betts and freemen veterans there. Classy Podres are rebels, profars, taunting the fans, tat Tis, doing hip thrusts and dancing in the outfield. Manny Machado apparently through a baseball and the Dodgers dugout. They're rebels and they don't care. And all they care is that San Diego loves them. It may be a short drive. It's a world apart the Dodgers and the Padres. Through three games. One of these teams has an edge, and it's the Padres. They look at it now. Now, for the record, I'm all for Major League Baseball having more personality. It's needed it for years. I grew up in the seventies eighties, there was a ton of personality. It got muted, and the Padres are overflowing with personality, but they deliver and but they produce, so they're good for baseball. The stadium's rocking in San Diego. The players are cocky and they're hungry, and it works. I mean this, And also I do believe this massive LA payroll has put some pressure on this team. I mean, the Dodgers are only hitting two sixteen, and it feels like everybody's trying to get the big home run, all these high priced guys. Everybody's just swinging for the big home run to be the hero. They're not stringing hits together. Forget the era that's over seven. In fact, the only Dodger, you know, the guy that's really hitting Taioscar Hernandez. He's the only Dodger right one year contract. He's the hungry one, comes from I think Sea at least trying to prove it. One year contract. He's the young, hungry one. He's the guy that like, hey, I gotta prove. These guys are rich. They're great, they're Hall of famers, but they don't have the edge of the Podres. The Podres are cocky and young, and they're rebels and they're pushing back and they don't care. And they clearly in this series have an edge. The Dodgers have had one beginning. They can't they can't string hits together. You can blame blame the manager. That's what they do at the end of every Dodger season. But the truth is this organization, one of their strengths, one of their many is they have like cohesion and continuity. They're the opposite like the New York Jets. They're patient with their minor league prospects. They're patient when players, pitchers get hurt. They're patient with Dave Roberts. But right now baseball is in the urgency season and the Podreys are playing with it. The Dodgers feel like this very expensive rocket and on launch day every year there's malfunctions and there's clouds, and the Podrays were going one thousand miles an hour with a chip on both shoulders. They don't care. They've got an edge. They're dancing, they're taunting Dodger fans and here's Manny Machado. After that feels great to win.
You know, we got one more left, and you know, looking forward to going out there and battling tomorrow. I mean, it's it's a grind. It's a grind. Baseball is a grind. So we've runded twenty seven out tonight, and it was ahead of a I used to play in front of this crowd. This crowd was rocking tonight and will deserve for the city of San Diego.
So the series is not over by a long shot. But if you're watching it, there is no question there is one team here playing very free, very loose, with an edge with a chip and having a lot of fun and feels no pressure. And that's down the four H five and the five. That's not the Dodgers, that's the Podres. Okay, Aaron Rodgers' fingerprints are all over the Robert solid firing. I presume many of you who would turn in to watch or listen to a show like this read about it yesterday. Let's be very clear. This is Aaron Rodgers having his second coach fired. Now. I'm not going to bang on him for that, because Magic Johnson got a coach fired, and John Elway got Dan Reeves fired, and Tom Brady got Bruce Aria moved upstairs and Lebron. I don't have time for all the Lebron pushes out the door. I counted three this morning. There may be six, okay, So and I love Lebron so I'm not gonna bang on Aaron for that. But what Aaron has become and his whole brand now is lack of trust. He doesn't trust the government, he doesn't trust SLA, he doesn't trust the media. He doesn't. He's like alternative. He's become like very alternative. And I understand players wanting personality, but Elway was mainstream, and Brady and Manning and Mahomes they play within his system. They sacrifice, they don't bury their coach at the podium. I'm all for personality. I get it. Gronk and Travis Kelcey. But Gronk told you Bill get mad at me, and he laughed about it. Aaron doesn't laugh about that stuff. It's nark a mile long. He is not a conformist. He's anti authority and proud of it. And I talked to Drew Brees about this yesterday, like you don't have to love your head coach. But time and time and time again, it's Aaron at the podium, firing back, making sure everybody knows he doesn't take the hit. Drew Brees had an intense coach and Sean Payton. You watched Peyton screaming at bo Nick's this past weekend. I know Sean, I go to dinner with Sean. Sean's intense. But Drew says, there's a way to handle the podium.
There's probably some things that Salah said publicly that we were better just to be kept you know, private, and then there were probably reactions from Aaron that he probably should have just eaten and said, you know, hey, I'm going to go, you know, face to face with the head coach and work out whatever it is. I would always take the approach as a player that if the coach said something that even if I didn't agree with, I'm I'm not gonna I'm not going to disagree with him.
I'm not going to play that out in the media.
I'm gonna go talk to him one on one, you know, man and man player coach and come up with a solution.
Yeah. Aaron doesn't do that ever, under any circumstances. He'll go passive, aggressive or direct defend his territory. Nonconformist l Way, Brady Manning, you know, the all time greats better than Aaron understood. You can have a personality, but it's a conformist league for coaches. And quarterbacks. And I know Aaron doesn't believe anything in the media, but here's some cold, hard facts. I mean, he can do his own research, going to Joe Rogan podcast and push back, but Aaron Rodgers since twenty twenty two, you can google it or maybe you know they're corrupted too. Aaron's not very good. Two different teams since twenty twenty two. He has an eighty eight passer rating. That's who Aaron is. A couple of games with three interceptions, zero games throwing over three hundred yards last two weeks, by the way, last two weeks, just the last two weeks, Aaron's had the lowest passer rating in the NFL. The non conformist. It's not working. It's in this defensive coordinator, now head coach, former player. I'm going to go with Salas probably a better coach, maybe not, but I'm sure you can dispute all this stuff on a podcast. But this is what Aaron's become. I'm not going to crush him for getting a coach fired. Elway did magic did Lebron's done it several times. That's not what I'm going to do here. But what he's become is what I've been saying for the last three years. He's just not very good. He's not Packers Jets, they're the numbers. He's not very good. He's not as good as Kirk Cousins. That's indisputable. He's not as good as Dak. He's not look up the number like DA's got a lot of weapons, not like Dak's. Outside of ceedee lamb, what's stack have Kirk Cousins playing on another team with a bunch of kids. They're both better, all right, Joel Klatt. Biggest college football weekend of the year one hour. Adam Wainwright stops by last hour. Ran into Derek Jeter in the hallway yesterday here at Fox. Chatted him up. That guy looks great. Play tomorrow. It looks great, And uh, this is this Baseball lacks one thing and I think it would acknowledge that one thing, and it's urgency. But when you get it, it's fascinating to watch the Mets in this urgent situation. They feel like they're growing. Philly's I feel like they're shrinking, and the Podres have a complete like, Hey, let's go to the ballpark and have some fun with our crowd. Dodgers feel a little tight, little tight.
Do you get a sense that MLB's considering going back to a seven game series in this round because you're watching this year like geez, two losses and you're already on the brink of your seat.
Well, you know, you know what that baseball has always been that. Right now, this morning, I think the Podreys are the best team in baseball. I'm not saying they were over the year. There was a time early in the season the Phillies looked unbeatable. But right now, this second, the Podrays have everything.
It reminds me of when the New York Giants and Eli Manning. They weren't the greatest team during they lost to the Patriots the final week of the regular season.
Then in the playoffs you get hot for three games and.
You're in the super Bowl, And I new Podreys got to feel alan by the way, it's when you have this is very rare, when you have great talent and no pressure. The Dodgers have taken all the pressure on the pod They look tight. Yeah, the Dodgers are the Southern California team that's got all the money and all the pressure and leads Major League Baseball. In attendance. The Podrays are these little upstart guys down south, but by the way, have just as much talent and healthier pitching. Listen, I know you like this Mets story.
If the Yankees, uh, Phillies, and Dodgers are all down to one on the brink of their season, as great as the playoffs have been, Colin, that's not great.
Let me tay youth. The Mets, I know, and the Podrays. That is a juicy world.
So we've been waiting on Dodgers Yankees for you know, you know who.
We're not mentioning the Royals. They'll probably win the whole thing. You Listen, Baseball lacks urgency, but when it has it, some things become very clear. Dodgers feel a little tight, they're not stringing hits together, and the Podrays are playing loose. And it matters in these big environments. It matters in all sports. You see it in the NBA. You see Jason Tatum getting tight. You see these big stars getting tight and kind of kind of shrinking like.
The seven game series. In the NBA, you get more of a chance to rebound. You're down oh two, it's not a death sentence. I mean I'm nervous about the Dodgers. It feels like you.
But by the way, that's great. You have to watch that game. I know the ratings for the next You'll be big Podrais Dodgers game. They will break any records at this company for a divisional series. They'll blow it out of the water. It's goning out these games are They're intense.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Here we go our two.
It is a Wednesday, biggest college football weekend by far of the year. You're talking Texas Oklahoma stuff live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Ohio State Oregon is the game of the year. Oh wait, Texas Oklahoma, that could be the game of the year. USC season Penn State, that game is magnificent and gigantic. Briefly, I just want to read it. These names up for the Jets job. According to Jeremy Fowler, Todd Munkin, Ben Johnson, and Bobby Slowick. Okay, this is the Jets. It's a broken franchise. You need a grown man, You need an alpha. You need Mike Vrabel. Not three guys who want a ribbon at the local science fair, the hipsters, the whiz kids. Go get a man, a former player who's not going to be pushed around by Aaron. He'll take Aaron out in the parking lot for attitude adjustment. He doesn't care about Aaron Rodgers, nor should he. He's an average quarterback. Vrabel's proven leader of men, a tough guy. Nobody you conform, or you settle it somewhere else. Vrabel is nobs. He is the best coach available, Unlike Belichick, does not have to own personnel. All those coaches, by the way, hired in the twenty twenty one coaching cycle, think I'm wrong, including Sala, Two still have a job and one's keeping it. Dan Campbell a man's man, big, intimidating, rough around the edges, culture builder. There are times to finesse a franchise. This ain't it. Aaron gives you all the conspiratorial nonsense and the passive aggressive stuff you need. Mike Vrabel. Not about hiring another assistant. An assistant's great when Stan Kronke owns your team and you have a solid front office. Hey there's this whiz kid that's great, or San Francisco, The York Family. Kyle Shanahan great coordinator, never been a coach. You have stability in the franchise. Jets don't have any stability. You have to find a stability creator, strength, culture, intimidation, toughness, resilience. Mike Rabel for head coach and I approved this message. Mike Vrabel is the higher. When you have a wobbly wonky franchise, you need a guy that comes in and establishes toughness and culture. I like Rabel more than Dan Campbell, and Dan Campbell's the one guy out of that solid class that has worked. He is the and it wasn't about his schematic x's and o's, and he's a whiz kid. He's an offensive genius man walks in the door, sets the culture play. Remember those first early Detroit years with Campbell where they weren't very good and I would come on the air and go, I remember a game against like Baltimore. I'm like, I don't think I've ever seen a team with less talent play harder. The Lions were losing, but they were losing with passion and close. This team's a mess, it's a matter. I can't remember the last time that a coach got fired, and the game before he got fired. If they win, they're in first place, and Jets could be in first place by Monday night. They fired Sala and according to reports, he was blind sided. Not a lot of those easy get little. So you have an idea. And what's the other interesting thing is Sala's defense. His side of the ball was brilliant. Aaron stunk. I mean again, you'd fire solaf you like, we lost forty eight nothing and our offensive coach was shut out. The defense was amazing. Sauce Gardner was hurt, Quinnin Williams was hurt. Minnesota's on fire totally shut him down. So SLA's defense had a great performance. It was Aaron who admitted he stunk, and you fire him now before the Buffalo game. Wouldn't you just at least do the Buffalo game and if you win, you're like, okay, and then if you get blown out you can consider it. But it's so Jets. It is the biggest by far weekend of the year in college of football all no cocktails this weekend, Clear Eyes Joe Klatt on our show to Wednesday, this is going to be massive. What's even? The second level games are great? How you doing? I remember a time when you would just just bang on the franchises that hired defensive coaches. Remember that? I remember that, Jamack, You remember that? That was years ago. I'm sure it was. I'm sure it was their occasion. Apparently Now Aaron Rodgers is terrible and Robert Sala is the same. I like Tim Ryan's we love we love that. Hut you think Mike Rabel's going to fix the Jets? He's a man. Okay. I like those kind of guys. Okay, So then what does USC need? They're fine? Oh okay, interesting, the flight got a little bumpy over Des Moines, did it?
Did it?
I'll get to that in a second. Okay. First of all, Ohio State Oregon. So let's let's go So, Ohio State's got as good a talent as anybody in the country. Yeah, even Texas Oregon at home. If you've never been out there, you think, oh, it's got fifty thousand seats. No, yeah, loud, you have no idea. So you're gonna be d like, you're gonna have multiple penalties with your offense, can't hear? Just bake those in. You're gonna have four or five of those. I think Ohio State's better, but I don't know if they're better Saturday. I think that's fair in particular when you when you go on the road in these like super charged environments. Just think about these big matchups that we saw. Think about the environment in the first half of the Alabama Georgia game and how that carried, you know, Alabama to that big lead, which then they they kind of held on.
For.
The one thing that I think if you're an Ohio State fan you would take a little bit of backing in is that they're great at the line of scrimmage. Yeah, they owned Iowa at the line of scrimmage. And by the way, that's nothing to sneeze at. I was the top ten run defense. It's very rare that they give up two hundred yards rushing and over five yards per care. Always got a good defense. Oh man, listen, listen. This guy he used to to bang on defensive coaches. He used to bang punters. Their best offensive playing something else. Oh my flip flop. More than Kamala. Anyways, I will just tell you that this this Ohio State offensive line, they can get after it. Okay, I think that it was a question mark coming into the year. But they can run the football over two hundred against Iowa over five yards per carry. They've got this backfield that Chip knows how to work with. Okay, Travon Henderson and Quinn Shawn Jock gets back. The reason I'm nervous for Oregon is because I've seen even in that building, which I agree is a really difficult place to play Colin, we saw Ashton Genty run for one hundred and ninety five yards on that Oregon defense in that building. So the run game for Ohio State, how do you take a crowd out of it? How do you how do you minimize crowd noise effect? You beat them up physically, And that's I think what Ohio State is going to be trying to do, in particular early in that game, with with a run game in an offensive line that I think is pretty elite. Okay, So a lot of people are pushing back and old Lincoln Riley, but Revenables is facing Texas this weekend, yes, and could be humiliated. Well, their offense is terrible. So here's my take. Is Lincoln, because USC is so high profile and because he's a polarizing personality. After the exit, yeah, us, he's gonna be fine. It's the offense loses a running back in the center. They returned the entire team as freshman and sophomores on offense, unproven kids. They'll be fine. Oklahoma's in big trouble, and I think Texas has a chance to just this could get ugly on paper, it could. I mean the I think the numbers fourteen and a half, which in this game is a big number because you would always assume that the game is going to be closer than what the teams actually are. I mean, even look at last year. I thought Texas was a much better team. Oklahoma wins the game. Oklahoma's actually won five of the last six. I believe. The concern for me is OHU offensively is a hundred and twenty first in the country in total offense. One hundred and twenty first. That's not even near requisite enough against a Texas team that's really good on the defensive side. Right, they're much better than they were even now, maybe not than defensive tackle, but the secondary is better. Their linebacker corps is very good. This Colin Simmons guy. Have you seen this guy. He's a true freshman and he just plays on passing downs. He's like five sacks so he can get after it. And that's a precarious place to be for ou offensively, and they have been a nightmare offensively, by the way, all year. You think back in they couldn't do anything against Houston, they didn't do anything against Tennessee. They had to have a defensive performance in order to beat Auburn. So yeah, like Texas is a much better team than Oklahoma. Yeah, and they're gonna get youers back. They can run the football. They've got the best offensive line in college football. They're veteran, they're old. I think it's interesting, like the last couple of years, you know, almost rewarded in college football more than anything. Veteran talent, not just talent. Used to be you just had to have five star kids littering on your roster. That's fine, that's great veteran talent. That's what wins. Think about Michigan last year, think about Washington last year, Think about what Texas is on the offensive line this year. Look at what Ohio State is across their entire roster this year. Veteran talent. That's what Texas has. You know why, I think that doesn't really have that, And I think one of the reasons that is the transfer portal is forcing teams to have to constantly rebuild cohesion in chemistry. That's right. So if you get a junior senior team with a lot of like Texas O linemen that have been together for three years, exactly right, you not only have the talent advantage, you have the chemistry cohesion team advantage. There is no question what you just said is the most accurate thing that you've said in our segments and years. Well done. Get a shot of that right there. That was that was really I'm impressed because it's true as other teams lose that chemistry, the margin between the teams that are rebuilding every single year out of the portal, like a Florida State. Yeah, the teams that can stick together, like look at Clemson is a great example of this. We bang on dabble all the time. Yeah, they got there. They've righted the ship a little bit, you bet you they haven't. In fact, if you look at what they've done since Georgian. Was that good? No, No, it wasn't. They're lost to Georgia, it wasn't. But if you look at what they've done, they've grown, they've gotten better, they've developed, and now all of a sudden, they've got Garrett Riley as their offensive coordinator in Kide Club Nick, they can run the football, and all of a sudden, they're the number three scoring offense in all of college football since that loss to Georgia, scoring forty eight points per game. But like, who wants to play them? Guess I can guarantee you you know who doesn't want to play Clemson Miami.
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Let's go back to my brilliant point. Okay, so I will say this. I was saying it this weekend. I'm watching Mahomes Monday night. Yeah, and man, Michael Jordan had this. He just kind of made it looks And I like cam Ward a lot, but I always think he's a tad small, same height as Shadeur Sanders, and I never think about his height. I watch cam Ward and First of all, Miami's good. I don't think they're great. I don't think they stack up with a couple of the top teams. But they're really good. And he's excellent as somebody who played quarterback in college, and you do stuff in our draft coverage. I know this is more NFL than college question. I think Cam's an NFL player, But I felt this about Bryce Young and I kind of feel it with Cam. I'm like, I love this, but I'm not sure it translates. What do you see? The kids obviously talented. He was slinging it at Cam. He's slinging it now. I never think of Shaduur Sanders' size. He reminds me a little bit of my homes moving left right, front back. It just doesn't matter. Everything's easy. His accuracy is effortless. I want. My favorite thing about watching cam Ward play is that he plays the position unconsciously is for the results.
Go.
Have you ever like heard a great golfer talk about like Jack Nicholas's has said, like I never I never missed a putt. I never in my mind. You know, I would commit to it and I would hit the putt if it went in and or not like that was beyond what was in my control. My control was like put it on the line that I'm intending and hit a good putt. And he's I never hit a bad putt. I always hit a good putt, That's what he would say. And it's this idea of like removing yourself from the result, so so immersing yourself in the process. And I that's kind of how I see cam Ward as he plays, because there's a fearlessness which he drives the football down the field, no question, you know what I'm saying. So that's what I'm speaking. And so for those reasons, I've never really thought about his height. I like to me, is the ball on time and on target? Yes? Is the arm talent there? Yes? Is he accurate down the field? Yes? Does he have a competitive spirit that allows him to make everybody else around him better? Absolutely? Look at the games that they've just won against Virginia Tech and against Cal They're down what twenty five against Cal? So this idea that his approach and his fearless nature with which he plays the game almost removed from results. He makes throws and I'm holding my breath. I'm like, how do you make that? Throw and he does it with such conviction, and that's what I love about watching cam Moore. Now does that translate? I know you kind of asked more of translation. I think he has no self doubt and that is very important in the NFL's huge But it is funny as I look and try to guess who's going to be the best quarterback out of college. Sometimes I hit, sometimes I don't, Shador Sanders more and more, I'm like man in my lifetime when it's just looked easy. You'll remember this because you have you have appreciation for history. Remember Rod Carew, Yes, vaguely, I'm a little younger than you, But anyway, that was a shot at the point being Rod Carew made hitting look really easy. You know. The guy that I think of is like Edgar Martinez and Paul Mallitor like that and Griffy. Those are the guys that are like when I'm watching as a kid, it was just like, well, how could how could you miss?
Like?
It just made made it look easy. Mahomes did that? Okay, so let's get to USC. It could have gone either way, and there was a stiff seven mile an hour breeze. Oh gosh, but I here's what Here's just stopped with the first steam. Okay, so let me a defend them and then b be critical A we had said this. The offensive line is starting red shirt freshman and sophomores outside of center. They're gonna get bullied by some of the upper class o lines. Yeah, Like Michigan was predictable and I was I was like, hey, they had a bad half against Michigan. What bothered me here? So I'll pivot to the negativity. Minnesota had more passion, they were more intentional. Uh, USC's bad tackling, They're lined by Vickers, felt overwhelmed by the running back. Yeah. When I watch this game, all of the critics of Lincoln Riley one colin they're too soft. He's all about offense, and ioways pushed back. When Minnesota can punch you in the mouth, I lose the argument and you win the argument. They looked like a West Coast team trying to go to the Midwest and play their style of ball. Let's remember, though, what Minnesota under pj FLA what they are. They are trying to be bullies. They're gonna get in there and they want it in a phone booth. They want it in a fistfight. They're the guy that's never gonna win a sprint, and they want to grab you by the belt and pull you down to the ground, and they want a grappling match. They want to run the football over sixty percent of the time under pj FLA, no one in the Big Ten runs the football more. Maybe Iowa does over the last couple of years, but no one runs it more than Minnesota. They try to protect their defense. They are a veteran laden team. It's a very disciplined team like this is a team that candidly is a bad matchup for USC. Now here's where I'm critical of USC is that they've had opportunities to win every single one of their games and they have not. The turnovers are an issue. Two against Michigan, three against Wisconsin, three against Minnesota. Yes, that's a major issue. And they're not good enough because of their youth, like you've been talking about, to overcome turnovers. This is not the twenty seventeen Oklahoma Sooners that are gonna, you know, rack up eight and a half yards per play. They're not quite there yet on their offensive side. So when they make those mistakes, it's magnified, and what I see is that you've got a mistackle against Michigan and you lose the game. Okay, Kalo Mullings breaks the tackle and he runs and sets them up for the score. And then in this game it's a fourth quarter interception and you lose the game. And then there's been these two series, and this is what I can't get out of my head. And I've always been a Lincoln Riley defender. I think he's one of the best coaches in America, But there have been two offensive series in those two games against Michigan and against Minnesota where they rolled out there and you think, okay, here it is go time, go time. Three and out, and it's like, with USC's talent and that coach, you can't be three and out. You can't be three and out at that at that moment. And even with that great half of football that they had put put together against Michigan in the second half, offensively they go three and out and they threw the ball a few times and you're like, what what what is going on? And you know what, It reminded me of Lincoln's first year as a head coach. Rose Bull overtime against Georgia. I remember that, Baker Mayfield. I remember that they stopped Georgia. Defense was on the field for first and stopped Georgia, held them to a field goal. Baker Mayfield runs onto the field and you think to yourself, well, this is that they're going to win the game. Remember it was their offense is going to win the game. Yea, And it's like, wait what. For whatever reason, there's these moments where Lincoln offense kind of wilts in the face of what they need most. Maybe because it leans heavy on clever and not on power. Yeah, they've got to be able to run the football better, and they're not able to do that this offense. One of the reasons I like Texas to win the National Championship. Every college team has lulls. Texas is like, all right, let's just run it behind our three first round NFL guys up front, and it really gets you through. Listen, you take eighteen year olds on the road, they have bad Saturday. Of course, that terrible happened last week. Five of the top eleven teams in the country. Yess what usually gets you past that is Saban would do this, guys, let's run the football. Let's take the crowd out of it.
Let's do it.
Michigan. Last year, that's right, Michigan ran a thirty two straight times against Penn State. Great old lines in college. Now Ohio State's got a little bit of that. This year they're gonna go to Oregon. It gets loud, You're like, guys, let's do an eleven play drive and just quiet everybody out this This USC team. I keep saying like these are bad matchups. These are bad. This is a really bad matchup for USC. Just Penn State wants to run the football. They can run the football. They're one of the best rushing teams in the country with this duo of ca Tron Allen and Nick Singleton. Their offensive line is playing really cohesive together up front Andy kotal Nicky, their offensive coordinator, is a really good, creative, solid offensive coordinator. And then guess what their defense does. They get after the passer. In fact, no team in college football has more sacks over the last three years than Penn State. And they've got another excellent pass rushing duo and denied Dinnis Sutton on one side, he was a former five star and Abduall Carter, who could be an NFL star, probably a top five pick in the draft. Yes, style player. This is not a great matchup for USC. All right, let's give Kladeruski's a top ten. I don't have any pushback on it. I don't. Okay, no, you didn't. One of the things I like that you don't do. You don't sell the farm when somebody loses. Even though Bama lost, they're going to be fine. They're a good team. By the way, I have Georgia still ahead of Bama. By the way I have Georgia three. It's too early for me to get worked up. Okay, I'll say this. I'd put Tenant. I think Tennessee's fine. I think Arkansas can be a snake pit. It happened, so Tennessee. Here's the reason I've got Tennessee nine, and the reason I moved him down to nine is that now this is twice that their quarterback Nico Iomi Lava has played poorly on the road. He did not play great against Ou, but their defense was spectacular. They win the game in Norman, and then this week they've got a fourteen to three lead, a quality, competent offense and quarterback that can really get it done. They take over that game and they stretch the lead. He was unable to do so they lose at nineteen fourteen. He's got to get better of anticipating throws. Most young quarterbacks have to this, right, but he holds onto the football too long. When you watch the film, he does some things that are exquisite. Colin, I'm telling you he's play Tennessee. Tennessee on their best days when they host Alabama, watch out, yeah, because Alabama's defense is a wreck right now. Sixty two points and seven hundred yards in the last six quarters, and four of those quarters were Vandy.
Holy cow.
They may have to get rid of kaaln to moore those offensive coaches. Am I right, Where's where's Mike Rabel when you need him? Uh? Rabel's your kind of guy. You know what he brings to breakfast, A bow and arrow. My kind of guy. That guy is all we man. I'm just I'm America here. I've listened to you for too many years. I know you don't like defensive coaches. As soon as it goes poorly or in the postings, you're gonna be like these defensive coaches. They don't adjust. I'm not wrong on that all the time. Most of the time there rich But I like Rabel why because he texts me? No, I'm joking. No, I respect him. I like him. I've liked him forever. That was so good. What do you think he's gonna go in and set Aaron straight? Like I don't understand? Oh yeah, yeah, really yeah. Here's the here's the thing that you got to understand about the NFL. You know what he does. It doesn't matter who your coach is. Oh give me you know what. I'll tell you what matters who your quarterback is. Has Bill Belichick done anything without Tom Brady? No? Has any Reid done anything without Patrick Mahomes. Really well, he got to a super Bowl and did he win? Well, you're not gonna do that, are you. Barkley doesn't have any trophies either. He was pretty good. I'm not saying that they're not good, but you don't. What are we trying to do here? Are we trying to be good or are we trying to win Super Bowl? I'll tell you what, I guess the New York Jets are all in on trying to win a super Bowl. That's why you bring Aaron Rodgers in. And now you're trying to give him a coach that's gonna get him to what the divisional round? Good for you, you guys were kind of good. Okay, roll the tape on this. I'll tell you what Rabel does. He stands on business.
Oh my gosh, Okay.
I'm gonna get out of here. That's gonna be bouncing around my head for days. He stands. Okay, he's Arizona and BYU with class. It'll be awesome. We gotta go. That's so good.