Alabama Makes a Statement, Florida Falls & Is Beamer Ball Over? | Sunday Walk-Through

Seth Saunders: Where do you see the South Carolina job in the the echelon of college football coaching gigs? Well it might have been a different generation, but Steve Spurrier proved that you can win in in you know in Colombia, right? you look at that stadium, you look at those fans. ⁓ I got to visit Columbia, South Carolina last year. Mm-hmm. There's got a lot going for it. You know, I I think the money's there. So I think You can definitely win in South Carolina. You know, you get the right person in there, have that place rocking. ⁓ you can get recruits. I mean, ⁓ Beamer has been able to recruit. There's no question about it. Right. I think that's a disappointment. The disappointment is that the recruitment hasn't easily turned into ⁓ performances. But there isn't ⁓ a school in college football, especially the SEC, that wants to go to you know, Columbia, South Carolina on a Saturday night. I mean so so to answer your question, can they win? Yes. Can they can they get into the college football playoff? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Fire up the grill, crank the speakers loud. Saturdays feel holy in this college crowd. Seth and James on the mic. Gospel true, talking rivalries, legends, red, black, old and blue, from dead valley lights to the camp, Randall Cold. They're telling stories. They never get old. Ain't no bench warm hearts on the show tonight. They're walking on proud on the stadium lies. Let the preferred walk on, no scholarship still putting it on from the church until gate hands in the air. Welcome to the preferred walk on show, the People's College Football Show. I am your host, Seth Saunders, and I have a extremely Special guest today and hopefully a new segment, a recurring segment for Sundays after all of the madness of college football. I have my good friend, George Somerville from the Elite College Chaps Podcast. George, it's awesome to see you, brother. How you doing this morning? Jose Saunders, good morning. ⁓ I'm good afternoon, but you're good morning. How are you? I I I couldn't be better. And ⁓ a lot of that is due to the fact I get to hang with you this morning, man. This is a this is a treat. ⁓ First off, I wanna encourage anybody listening to the show or watching the show today that if you are not already following the college chaps on all podcast platforms, on YouTube, on all their socials, I don't even know what we're doing here. Like y'all are missing out. Get on it. George and Ollie and the crew have incredible guests, incredible content, incredible passion. ⁓ and I think are what's so beautiful about this sport, right, is that it has ⁓ such long reach and ⁓ it just picks heart strings all over the world, which is which is what's so great about it. So I was f just a little backstory, i if you don't already know this, because George and I have been on each other's shows a couple of times, but I had the pleasure of meeting George in Nashville at SEC Media Days in twenty twenty three and it was the best part of the trip, brother. So ⁓ it's it's become a friendship and ⁓ I I'm super grateful for it. So yeah man Without without a without a shadow of a doubt, I mean i the the the absolute best part about getting across to the US and aside from the football, which is why I'm there, is getting to meet new people. And as you say, it's interesting that SC Media Days will be back in Nashville next year. And that's a full circle moment for me because that'll be five years. ⁓ and getting to meet you and all the other people that I I've got to meet and you know, established friendships with and ⁓ it's awesome. I love it. And ⁓ yeah, ⁓ our friendship has ⁓ has just gone from strength to strength and here we are sitting on a Sunday morning chatting about football from the night before. That's right. Yeah. So the reason we wanted to do this is ⁓ it's just a nice touch point to kind of rehash what has happened the weekend before and there's things George and I are excited to talk about and I I think we just jump right in it, brother. So I I think the big one for me, the storyline of the day, and I I think for me this was probably the thing I was most excited to watch yesterday was the showdown in Starkville between Alabama and Mississippi State. I think that Mississippi State and Camario Taylor have been one of the media darlings thus far this season, and and rightfully so. It's been an incredible story. You got a hometown kid who's been pretty transcendent and they've looked awesome. And then you've got the traditional Goliath in Alabama who in some ways, George, I feel like people haven't been talking about as much. And then you have their own quarterback who said, Hey, hey, wait a minute. ⁓ maybe we should be talking more about me. ⁓ and he was fantastic yesterday. So so let's start there. Let's talk about I had when we had messaged about this, I had said this was the Kamaria who segment, which was ⁓ you know Keel and Russell had quite the day yesterday. Alabama looked great. They were dominant. I felt like start to finish gave Camario problems. They pressured him, ⁓ turnovers, all these things. So ⁓ I guess let's start here. How did Saturday change the way you look at Alabama, if it did it at all? ⁓ it did. ⁓ and Alabama, I think, have progressively improved as the weeks have rolled by and we see the the level of competition get higher. ⁓ and I know we'll we'll touch on next weekend ⁓ in a bit. But, you know, Mississippi State for me was the the biggest test that they had faced. ⁓ Camario Taylor rightly ⁓ was built up to be something special. And and and he still is, right. And and and what I really hope is that that Mississippi State team doesn't start to kind of unravel a little bit as a result of that. Because what what was quite a convincing ⁓ win for Alabama ⁓ yesterday. Clearly he got off to a very poor start Cario Taylor got off to a very poor start, right? You know, ⁓ two two turnovers in the first two plays of the game. Just not ⁓ what anyone was expecting from him. ⁓ perhaps he got caught up in the moment. I I I think there's a lot. I know that Mississippi State is a story programme. I know it's a big program. I know it's an SEC programme. I'm not belittling any of that. But you know, the whole circus was in town yesterday. Anyone who was you you and I were the only two who weren't there yesterday, Seth, right? I mean that's right. Everybody had camped in ⁓ in in Starkville. And and and to my mind, that that's difficult, right? Because you have to try and get rid of the noise and when Nick Sabin's saying you're the greatest thing since sliced bread, then you know, i i unless you can completely shut it out and we we kinda forget just how young Camario Taylor is. I think they got caught up in the moment. ⁓ notwithstanding that, your question was about Alabama. And yes, I have increasingly been more impressed by Crimson Dide as they march along, to be honest. Yeah, I'm with you. I I think it's one of those things where in and in some ways I was thinking about this yesterday while watching the game. I remember for me anyways, and and I'm sure for most of America, the first glimpse at Keelan Russell was in the Rose Bowl last year. And even though obviously that didn't end up being a great day for Alabama, I remember when he came in thinking, ⁓ boy, like there are some tools here that if they are able to harness, this kid could be an absolute weapon. And I think what we've seen thus far is that all those things are true. I mean, he has the arm talent that is as good as anyone in America, Kamario Taylor included, and then can do things with his legs that I think present incredible problems. For opposing defenses. I let me ask you this too, George, because I always find this interesting and it's maybe it's something I put too much weight on, but I I do think culture matters. And Alabama has such a a ⁓ history of winning and such a history of the expectation is that we are going to win. And I always find, I don't I mean, how do you quantify that right? But they just certainly were not ⁓ the moment was not too big for them. And to your point, you wonder, because in so many ways, everything is in Mississippi State's favor. They're on their home field. many of the controllables they get to control. And Alabama walks in and just wipes the floor with them. And so then it kinda it makes me pivot to this question for you, which is should we be having a more serious conversation about Alabama being not one of the best teams in the nation, but potentially the best team? in the nation based on what we've seen thus far. That's a million dollar question, or as college football goes these days, the billion dollar question, right? ⁓ the I I I don't know. I I I think the most important thing for Alabama yesterday was they managed to keep Keelan Russell upright. The O the O line, how everyone had question marks over, which goes back to your point about why no one was speaking about Alabama preseason. I was asked at SC Media Days about ⁓ what I thought about Alabama and I said, Well, no one's speaking about them, no one's talking about them, everyone was talking about, you know, Ole Miss and LSU and ⁓ and no one's talking about Georgia Eider, to be perfectly honest, or you know, Texas. Texas were the were the team everyone wanted to chat about. And the question marks were about the old line, which has been entirely rebuilt. and ⁓ whether Kane Womack, Steve Hens could take another step. step forward and I think both of those were answered yesterday. Obviously both those questions are going to be further tested next week against a team who actually are and should be considered national championship, you know, if not favourites, one of the favourites. But I do think you raise a really interesting point about culture, right? The culture is there there at Alabama, you know, it's where legends are made, right? But I think, without being anywhere near the program, that Kaelin de Boer has struggled a little bit with that, because Kaelin de Boer has tried to implement his own culture into that ⁓ that program on the back of the most successful culture that college football has arguably ever seen. So he's managed to move on in a nice way, the players who were there who grew up under Sabin's regime. And he's the I mean, this is really This is this is properly his team. So so dabor sinks or swims with this team this season. Insofar as if they go out and win or even just progress beyond the national the playoffs more than he did last year, then I I think he's heading in the right direction. If they regress and they have a bit of a struggle, then I think he regresses with them and and and the question marks about ⁓ you know periodic coaches football next season start to come up again. I I I I think that's year three for Kaelin de Boer I always thought was going to be so incredibly important based on historical experience. And and I think we are we are now seeing a a a proper Kaelin de Boer football team. I want to pivot from The first darling of the college football season to another. And I think if you're looking at lead stories from this weekend, they could have been one A and one B and you interchange them how you want. But boy was there a, I would say, shocking result in Columbia, Missouri yesterday as John Summerall's Florida Gators, who are coming off an absolute walloping of Ole Miss last weekend in the swamp and had had as hot a start as anyone to the season. Buster Faulkner's offense has been humming and all the buzz has been around the Gators. Are the Gators back? Are the Gators what they used to be? All of these things, right? These have all the questions and and all the things that have come up. Now, they go into Missouri yesterday, and Missouri said, wait a minute, we're pretty good football team too. And they put 560 yards up on this Gators defense. Jaden Baugh has held to what was it, 12 carries and 13 yards. I mean, it was a unbelievable performance by MIZ. And Eli Jingetz his staff should be commended for that. I thought their defensive line was transcendent yesterday. They controlled that game from start to finish and didn't even have two of their starters. And so, ⁓ wow. I I think a game like that though, George, is is the beauty of this sport, is we never know. We can talk about it, we can think what we think. But you still gotta tee it up and play. So as you were consuming that game yesterday, what was going through your mind? Well, you and I messaged during the game, right? And ⁓ I think the general consensus was Missouri are just constantly underrated ⁓ w when it comes to the we love in college football the shiny new thing, right? We love to have something which catches our eye. And the job that Eli Drinkwitz has done in Missouri is neither flashy or, you know, ⁓ exciting or catches the eye. But I maintain throughout all of this that Missouri probably is top ten team. ⁓ and they don't feature like that in the polls. They're very difficult ⁓ to play at home. they're they're very strong defensively. And isn't amazing and I and I wrote a piece about this ⁓ at the start of the season. They're not missing Ahmad Hardy at running back at this moment in time. Right. Now they they knew that what they had coming in behind him was was enough. Eli Drink which said that. Now you could have said at the time, well, that's just him being, you know, he needs to promote and and promote confidence in the in the replacements. But I mean, I thought Missouri did to Florida, which what Florida did to Ole Miss the week before. Right. I mean i i it We talked a lot about ⁓ Florida defensively ⁓ the week before and how they shut down Ole Miss. Now what remains to be seen is whether last week was a hangover for Ole Miss from the week before. And I think a lot of people did say that, you know, with all the circus and you know, Faldera that went with that game against Lane Kiff, and ⁓ there was just an emotional draining of everything that in Ole Miss that that remains to be seen, right? But by word I thought ⁓ Missouri were just so incredibly impressive yesterday and and and they will they will continue to do that this is what drink does. ⁓ they will continue to do this for the rest of the season. Now, whether they end up a playoff team, I don't know. I I I always think that, you know, Missouri's on the on the cusp of something, right? ⁓ I don't know if they make it into the the top ten, which which, you know, guarantees you a a playoff place. But ⁓ I think are I think they're pretty Pretty good. You bring up an excellent point that you're talking about a massive piece from their team last year and just a massive piece from the SCC conversation in general from last season and Ahmed Hardy hasn't even played yet. And you got Jamal Roberts going off for two eleven yesterday and busting runs. I did feel like by the end of that game the attrition got to Florida. They were so physically beaten on both sides of the ball on on each line yesterday that by the end of that game, Missouri had snatched their will a little bit and you could see it. And so I I think this is the beauty of the sport, right? Is now we get to see how Florida responds to getting drubbed and do they make the turn? And and I think these are the types of things that end up being somewhat of referendums on regime and How does John Summerall get the the program to turn? Because it's easy when all is going well. Now we see what happens when they face some adversity. And I do think that's right man, right place. I like him. I think I know you were taken with him at SEC Media Days and and thought he was impressive. And I and I as an outsider, I think that that's true as well. And so, you know, I feel like we always are are quick to judge what has happened, but the short answer for all of this is still, we'll see. We're gonna see. what Mizzou does after this, ⁓ and how they handle it. I do think it's interesting, and you and I messaged about this, but I mean, Austin Simmons, I feel like nobody is talking about, or at least not enough, and what a talent he is. And this isn't new. This is what he was supposed to be at Ole Miss, and circumstance didn't allow it. And so college football produced Trinidad Chambless last year, and we got that storyline. And so ⁓ There's so much I feel like left to unpack. And and this is why this is one of the reasons, George, why I have always liked the idea of a playoff is because I think college football and really just football in general, maybe more than any sport, is such a living, breathing organism. And who I was the first week in September is not who I'm going to be the last week in November. And I think there needs to be space for that development. And so, yeah, man, I'm I'm fascinated to see what happens with it. Quick Quick tie up on this. Who for you, after what you've seen through the first month, do you think is better equipped to make a playoff push, Florida or Mazou? Well, I I absolutely would have said Florida up until yesterday. And you know, I just I I do wonder I do wonder if after all the dust is settled from yesterday, that Sumrol thinks that the defeat's out of the way. Right, because that was that was building into so you were Forda fans are like, that was building into something, right? The the enthusiasm, the exciting was just reaching fever pitch in in Gainesville. And I do wonder he he he he he ⁓ I think I I I think I know him. He definitely did not want to get beat and he did not want to get beat by by the the way that they did. But I do wonder if that's a kind of like, right, okay, let's just reset for a second. That's ⁓ you know, and his rhetoric throughout the week was we've won nothing, we are nothing yet. You know, yada yada. If they can bounce back from that, I think Florida have looked so impressive so far. And i listen, I think we all know that a resurgent Florida in the playoffs would be great. You know, you imagine maybe maybe they're not seated high enough to have a home a home game, but you imagine them playing on a campus and games well, right? I mean that'd be just off the charts. I go back to what I say about Missouri. I think they're they're not the flashy pick, they're not the you know, the sexy choice. a so it depends where they go from here. If if Missouri continue to do what they're doing, the the th th the bookies pick, right? Vegas will have them as ⁓ as someone who's going to end up in the the college football playoff. You look at how Vanderbilt have fallen off this year, right? Missouri have just ⁓ maintained their trajectory. But I tell you if ⁓ if Florida can keep moving forward and I'm excited for that because I'm I'm heading across. I'm going to be at the With a cocktail party in Atlanta at the end of this month. So ⁓ I'm excited that ⁓ John Sumrell can just keep the the train moving in that direction, and that that would be a an explosive matchup if he could. My one question with Florida, and this is always my I I I think my point of emphasis for most teams is I am of the opinion, and this isn't unique, but if you've got a quarterback, you've got a chance. And Mizzou's damn sure got a quarterback, and so my questions then go back to What's the ceiling for for Aaron Philo in that offense? And ⁓ I think Buster Faulkner does as good a job as anybody of getting the most out of his guys. And I think Haynes King is a prime example of that. And so I I'm interested to see how they develop. We know we know we know they've got a running back. Yeah. Right? Yes they do. Yes, they do. And and and what what I think people have been very quick to do is to put their put the quarterback in the same discussion as a running back and that's been largely unfair because he's not and I think y th your point about Buster Faultman is a good one. I I think they just assume to drop Aaron Fuel into that scheme and it'll work. And so far it has, but but also he did not get much protection on ⁓ last minute. Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true. Well John Somerel's an a great example of what ⁓ hiring the right man can do for your program. ⁓ Florida has made a quick pivot. And so I I want to transition now to a game in Columbia, South Carolina yesterday. So we go ⁓ Midwest to Southeast from Columbia to Columbia in the SEC and everything that's going on with the South Carolina program. Okay. ⁓ we had Shane Beamer on the show this summer. ⁓ I obviously love his background. as a walk on and what he's done. And, you know, I I liked what he talked about and I liked what he's trying to do with that program. The long and short of it is the results have fallen short, especially given how long he's been there now of what the expectations are. And notably given that Lenoris Sellers is now in year three. They go up 17 nothing yesterday, George, at home. Will Stein and Kentucky come all the way back. South Carolina gets the ball first and OT. They score Do what you normally do in the first OT, kick the extra point. Kentucky answers that and Will Stein says, Hey, we're gonna put ⁓ all on the table, and they go for two and they get it, and the game go home heartbroken. So a juxtaposition here, right? Of Will Stein quickly transitioning and having success at Kentucky as a first year hire, and Shane Beamer on the very opposite end of that spectrum at South Carolina where maybe his rope is all the way out. Does yesterday in your mind mark the end of Beamer Ball at South Carolina? Or where do you see that that progressing? I think that Shane Beamer finds herself in a really difficult situation. ⁓ the athletic director that hired him is no longer there. the fans are not happy about what's happening in Columbia. I think that just does not bode well for Shane Beamer. You make the really good point about the difference between the two head coaches. ⁓ you know, I was not convinced about the hire of Will Stein. I didn't know a ton about him, so I'm gonna I'm gonna just admit that. ⁓ but I ⁓ he certainly was full of bravado when he appeared at SEC Media Days. And to be honest, he's and to be honest, he's backed he's backed that up, right? So if he uses that kind of confidence to project to his players, it certainly worked. And and and what what would say about the end of that game, to have been down by that level on the road and come back, that team was full of confidence as it moved into that team wanted to win in you know in in regular time. By the time it came to ⁓ that extra point, which turned into, you know, two points, there was no doubt in Will Stein's mind he was going to go for two because all the momentum was with the Wildcats. And that's the problem, right? The Gamecocks had lost all of their confidence. and I the whole situation with Lenoris Sellers is just confusing to me. ⁓ he did have a great season last year. ⁓ you know, his first year in Colombia was sensational and everybody said that, you know, he was gonna be the he was gonna the he was gonna be a Bisman winner, etcetera, etcetera. Last year he c his performance fell off. This year ⁓ i it's even worse if that's possible. Yeah. We saw that seventy five yeah when when you had that seventy five yard run, I thought, ⁓ is this the is this the point is this is the point that K South Carolina's season completely changes. Right. They go on and win this game and it but but they just didn't. and I'm not a big fan of changing your coach ⁓ midway through a season. I don't think that's the right time to do it. And I don't know if the from the coordinators perspective there's you know, th they're they're good enough to take take things forward. Conversation for another time, if you get rid of Beamer, who are you gonna get? You know, ⁓ it strikes me that Rhett Lashley thinks he is he's gonna win something at SMU. So unless the you know the Alabama job comes along, is is he gonna is he gonna jump ship, right? ⁓ i I I I just don't know. But it feels like Shane Beamer can't buy a win just now. And I think when you're in that situation As I say, with an athletic director who's feeling the heat from, you know, the boosters and the fans, it doesn't really bode well. That gives me a necessary follow up question, George, which is from your viewpoint, is South Carolina a job and a place that can catapult itself into the upper echelon of the SEC and let's just say college football in general, given the landscape. and dynamics of today's game. And I find it fascinating that you bring up Rhett Lashley because I think SMU is a really, really interesting case study given given modern college football, where, and I have said this many times, SMU was NIL before NIL was cool. And so they are situated for the landscape that we're in and have pumped tons of money into facilities and all these things. But there is a lack, I I would say, history and culture at a place like SMU. And and maybe you could make the argument that there is a there is a ceiling there. And maybe you can make the same arguments at South Carolina, but it is the SEC. It is a talent rich state where you can recruit. Not that Texas isn't, ⁓ if you're an SMU, but ⁓ yeah, what are your thoughts on that? W where do you see the South Carolina job in the the echelon of college football coaching gigs? Well, maybe the definite generation but Steve Spurrier proved that you can win in in you know in Colombia, right? and well, you're but a stone throws away from there, Seth. But you look at that stadium, you look at those fans. I got to visit Columbia, ⁓ South Carolina last year. It is a sensationally beautiful place. Mm-hmm. There's got a lot going for it. you know, I I think the money's there. you know, a lot of debate about, you know, Arkansas and programmes and Mississippi State and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, still the SEC I I think, you know, South Carolina's a step up from that current situation without a shadow of a doubt. So I think you can definitely win in South Carolina. You know, you get the right person in there. And who's to say that Shane Beamer isn't and can turn it around, but I don't think he's going to get a chance. ⁓ and have that place rocking. ⁓ you can get recruits. I mean, ⁓ Bieber has been able to recruit. There's no question about I think that's a disappointment. The disappointment is that the recruitment hasn't easily turned into ⁓ performances, but there isn't ⁓ a school in college football especially the SEC that wants to go to, you know, Columbia, South Carolina on a Saturday night. I mean, so so to answer your question. Can he win? Yes. Can he can he get into the college football playoff? Yes. Arguably he should have been there a couple of years ago. I ⁓ I I I I I think so. I think it's a really good job. Let's let's go to a different area of the country and a and a different coach, ⁓ who has captured my attention for a long time. And so when when George and I were banding in about ⁓ what topics to talk about today, I told him I have no problems ever talking about ⁓ PJ Flack. And so I I want to talk about it just because obviously a monster win for Minnesota yesterday in the battle for the Little Brown Jug. And George, you may be aware of this, but we are very affectionate about a rivalry trophy here on this show. So I'm always delighted to talk about one, especially one that goes as far back as the Little Brown Jug. So just a little brief history on this for those that are uninitiated. Little Brown Jug, one of the oldest rivalry trophies in all of college football. Goes back to 1903. And its origin I love because it is so college football. At the time in 1903, Michigan was on a 28-game winning streak against the Golden Gophers. And head coach Fielding Yost thought, I'm a little uneasy about using the water provided by the Gophers when we go to Minnesota. So we are going to bring our own brown jug, fill it with water, and drink it ourselves. And They tied that day and after the tie, Michigan forgot their brown jug. And so Minnesota's AD put the score of the game on the jug, and when Michigan asked for it back, essentially said, Come back here and win it and we'll give it back. And they've been playing for it ever since. So much like the big streak in that game. This is the first time Minnesota has won the Little Brown Juggs since 2014. And the first time, George, they've won it on their home field since 1977. So a huge win culturally for that program. And I just thought: if you're going to consume any college football content from this weekend, just go on Minnesota's socials and watch all of the PJ Fleck content from his post-game interview after the game, from his postgame press conference, which was outstanding, not just about his team, but just about what college football is, right? ⁓ and then the video of him running into the locker room, chugging water out of the brown jug, and then crowd surfing with his team in the locker room. I I mean, just A plus start to finish. So ⁓ I just ask you this, George, are are we where do we sit on this Minnesota team in I would say what no one would argue is a top heavy Big Ten picture. Well, that's a really interesting question because Michigan seemed to be going backwards at this moment in time. And you look at the resources that Northwestern have put into their program recently, ⁓ and they got off to a winning start ⁓ yesterday in that new fantastic facility of theirs. And Iowa Iowa State are sorry, Ohio State are always going to be at the top. I I just think that programme, as much as everyone wants to criticize it, and I am I'm probably top of the list, they just continue to to to to dominate that conference. Who fits into that next challenger, I I I don't know, but I tell you this, the Minnesota defeat to Mississippi State isn't looking quite so bad at this moment in time. Right. Yeah. Now I I had a quick look at I don't have it in front of me, but I had a quick look at Minnesota's ⁓ schedule ⁓ before it came on, it gets pretty tough actually. And and this is part of the Big Ten. And and actually this may end up being in their favour, actually, because the Big Ten schedules tend to bump into each other this year. So there's going to be some cannibalization that that we've seen in the SEC over the last couple of years and we certainly s we're seeing just now. So I think teams will start to fall. And this could easily be the first nine and three season for teams getting into the college football playoff, right? Could be this whole debate about how how and when. But I think Minnesota just now are going along quite nicely. And who can't buy into the enthusiasm and the you know, the the infectious desire and positivity of PJ Fleck? I mean, who doesn't want to row the boat, right? So I thought it was a great result for them. ⁓ they've they've they're moving along. Whether they end up being ⁓ I I don't know what's gonna happen with Penn State if I'm honest under Matt Camel. but you know you look at the table, Nebraska are up there, ⁓ Wisconsin had a great result yesterday. The but the powerhouses in the Big Ten are starting to waken up a little bit and that to me makes the Big Ten really exciting because those big dogs have been asleep for a long, long time. So if you throw the northern powerhouses into the equation, the Big Ten could actually get exciting for a change. Yeah, I I agree with all that. I feel like the the players in this are right now Ohio State and Indiana. And then Oregon, depending how they can hopefully continue their momentum after the big win against USC and and whether it ends up being Dillon Rayola or if Dante Moore gets healthy and comes back. ⁓ I think those are obviously the familiar players there, but then to your point, who who is the fly in that ointment? Who who can do that? And and traditional powers, Penn State and Michigan, tough time right now. And both dealing with coaching transitions. ⁓ and so who's out there to fill that void? Ohio State goes in and just dunked on Iowa yesterday. Iowa continues to struggle with ⁓ offensive football. And that was evident yesterday. Boy, their defense was valiant in the first half. But yeah, I it's fascinating to see, but man, I I love that there are characters like PJ Fleck in college football. And I was I loved getting interact with him at Big Ten Media Days and I thought his players too, it was neat to hear them talk about the affection that they had for him. And that I've always wondered, is he a put on George? Is is that energy for us and for the cameras? And then when all the lights are off, how is he? And to a man, the reps at Minnesota, the player reps, were all like, ⁓ he's literally like this all the time. Like, this is not a put on, this is just who he is. ⁓ and and you can see that. I mean, he he is infectious. And so he's good for college football and and characters like that are good for college football. And just just on just on the big ten, right? ⁓ who would ever have thought that UCLA would would would would come back with such a bite, right? And I love the fact that ⁓ I I think there should be an and a Los Angeles team in the mix for college football playoff. Everyone just assumes that it's going to be USC. Well, they continue to certainly flatter to deceive, I think. ⁓ but who would have thought UCLA could make that bounce back the way they have? Now whether they can continue that, I I I don't know, but it's it's awesome to see them sitting what third in the table just now in the in the Big Ten table. That's that's fantastic. I am delighted that you brought up UCLA. You know, they were off this week, so no game result to talk about, but gosh, they have looked excellent with Bob Chesney, and he's done a good job of taking what they had on that roster, including a much ballyhood quarterback prospect at one time in Nico Amelava, and bringing pieces from Harrisonburg and JMU with him. And ⁓ George, where have we seen that story before? No, but but I give that gives that that gives programs hope. Right? That that's what an Indiana win does. It gives programs hope that they can you know, it's that whole one once you break the barrier, you know, the the the the dam is open and other teams can come in and and it just gives them the not necessarily the template, but it certainly gives them the hope that they can they can do that. Okay, quick closing remarks today. I want to make a pivot. This is not a preview episode, but There is a massive matchup in Tuscaloosa this weekend between Georgia and Alabama. And I would make the argument, and I would make it passionately, that it is the best, and in some ways non-traditional, right? But the best rivalry in college football over the last decade plus because both programs have just been excellent. And for so long, obviously it was the easy. foil of Nick Saban and his protege, Kirby Smart. And now that's obviously transitioned, but the battles on the field haven't gotten any less compelling. And you're coming off a season last year where Alabama is Georgia's only regular season blemish between the hedges and one of the only blemishes between the hedges in Kirby Smart's entire tenure. And then Georgia finally can exact some revenge against the Crimson Titan Atlanta, which has been a house of horrors for them. against Alabama. And so you have Georgia who has been steamrolling. And then you have this Alabama team who has been, shall we say, quietly steamrolling and has a plant the flag win yesterday. How excited are you to watch these two teams face off next weekend? And and as we were talking about before we got on air, doesn't it always seem that like a magnet, they find each other? They really do. And I mean, this is a f for for me as a you know, someone who follows the SEC closely, this is a this is a mouthwatering matchup, ⁓ particularly given it's in Tuscaloosa. Because home advantage in the SEC is everything. So I think Georgia coming into Alabama. I think Georgia's the better team. ⁓ I'll just put that out there. ⁓ I don't think they are we've talked about the kind of flashy versus the kind of underplayed People people are talking about Gunnar Stockton. But he is probably w one of the most underrated quarterbacks in college football, right? And you know, I I I I will I will die on this hill if you can win a national championship with a I've lo I've forgotten his name, ⁓ Stockton, right? You can you can win a you know, a national championship with ⁓ It's Stateson Bennett, sorry. If you can an internal championship with Stetson Bennett, then ⁓ absolutely Gunnar Stockton is a is a fantastic quarterback to have in Tilge Line, right? And he's resilient and he drives them in a quiet, efficient manner. In many ways, Georgia is like their quarterback, right? You can't you can never get two words out of Gunnar Stockton. So I think and they are they're favourites. I think they're what three and a half point favourites at this moment in time and going into Tuscaloosa. So that shows you what Vegas thinks of how tight this is going to be. I I listen, there's no rocket science attached to this. It's a battle of turnovers. ⁓ Georgia defense I think is very good. I think you've got some question marks over the the secondary. I I think at this stage of the season everyone's got question marks over the secondary, right? I think it's gonna come down to ⁓ busted plays, explosive plays, turnovers. and we saw that in the first fifteen minutes in Statville yesterday, right? I mean it was ⁓ it was a the beautiful, glorious chaos of college football. And I think you could see some of that. It's who protects the ball best. Alabama didn't protect the ball particularly well in the first quarter, they managed to sort that out. Do that against Georgia and you find yourself twenty one zero down and and I don't think you come back from that. So I think it's gonna be fascinating, Seth Yeah, the interesting part for me, George, is Keelan Russell is the type of quarterback that has traditionally given Kirby Smart's defenses problems. And look, he's not unique to that. ⁓ anytime you have a quarterback that requires a defensive coordinator to game plan eleven hats on eleven hats, it's a problem. Okay. And that is that's that's the thing I'm watching is who draws the role of spying Keelan Russell. How good is George at keeping contained? Most importantly, how good are they at pressuring the quarterback? I feel like that that's the kryptonite for every quarterback. And we saw it with Camario Taylor yesterday. I thought Kane Wamick and that defense did an awesome job yesterday putting him in situations where he had to move his feet, where he was hurried, and the results showed that. They turned him over. You know, Camario still got his plays and the numbers look fine, but if you watch that ball game, they affected him. And the same will need to be true. For Georgia next weekend in Tuscaloosa, because if if you let Keelan Russell just sit back there and get comfortable and use his feet and and extend plays, it's gonna be a long day to be a Bulldog fan because he just presents problems and they're gonna have to be extremely, extremely disciplined. ⁓ I do love your point though about Gunnar Stockton. I I don't feel like he gets talked about enough. My big question with him, George, and this is fair or unfair, but until we I think see it on a on a stage like the one he'll be on Saturday, it's still unquestioned for me. He obviously had his moments last year, like in Tennessee or down on the plains in Auburn. But I am curious about him, George, is if he has to win you a football game in a big time environment like that, can you put all that load on his shoulders and can he do it? He almost did it in the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss. ⁓ and he almost did it against Alabama in Athens last year. But That's the one box for me that he still needs to check is, hey boys, everybody hop on. I'm Ocarious right now and we're gonna go do it. ⁓ and I think Kirby has intentionally always built his team, so it's hopefully not that way. But it has to be that way at some point, you know, ⁓ if you're gonna get over the top and and win it all. So yeah, I love how you describe it though. It is a mouth watering match out. Really is. I it is great. And I and I think you just look at Brian Danny on Saturday night, it's gonna be jumping. ⁓ it's gonna be where everyone wants to be, frankly. I wish I was there, but ⁓ not to be sadly, but it will be a great I'll be I'll be sitting watching several thousand miles away. Yeah. Yeah. Well, hopefully, George, this is the first of many of these where we are catching up on Sunday morning. And so hopefully we have lots to talk about next Sunday as it comes to that matchup. But ⁓ Boy, I had a good time talking with you. It's always good to spend time with you. And before we let you go this morning, please tell our listeners how they can support you and how they can support the chaps. Thank you. I appreciate that. And it's always great to catch up. ⁓ never need an excuse to do that. ⁓ so the College Chaps can find us on YouTube. ⁓ we've got our dedicated channel where we've got the vast majority of our podcasts on it and video now. And we'd really love for you to come and visit that and ⁓ subscribe if you feel inclined to do so. We've got some pretty good guests coming up over the next few weeks. That that's predominantly ⁓ we are a guest oriented show, but not exclusively. And then you can find us on ⁓ Twitter or X and Instagram ⁓ at the College Chaps, and then you can find me at GeoSummerville on ⁓ all of those platforms. So yes, come along for the ride. Well, I can assure you guys there is ⁓ nobody better in the college football space than George. He is ⁓ he's salt of the earth. So it's always good to see you, brother. And ⁓ I hope everybody has a fantastic week. And ⁓ we'll tee this up again then. We'll we'll talk to y'all soon.