Debacle in the Big House! Does Clemson Have a Dabo Problem?

All right.

Welcome to the show.

Others receiving votes, SI.

com, Sports Illustrated.

I'm Pat 40, joined as always by Brian Fisher and Kevin Sweeney.

This is the Sunday overreaction show, except it's Monday because college football gave us so much we had to hold off a day to get the Sunday games, uh, into the discussion here.

Uh, gentlemen, The show is, we usually try to hit 60 Minutes.

In honor of Western Michigan and Michigan, we might go 600001.

Why not?

Looks like everybody gets an extra 2 now and then, now and again, if you need it, we might.

Uh, we're certainly gonna start by talking about that debacle Travis Shammockery fiasco in the big house.

Uh, I was watching it live.

I don't know about you guys, but, uh, I'm interested to hear your reactions as a viewer, getting the information that we got in real-time.

Kevin, why don't you start?

What was your reaction as this thing unfolded?

Yeah, I mean, the thing that was difficult, like, I think about times where a 2 has been added in the past, right?

Like, I think about like the uh the Yelon stepping out of bounds before they kick 6, right?

And you could very clearly freeze frame and say, yep, 1 2nd, guy standing out of bounds, right?

This was much more difficult in the sense that, first of all, the, the entirety of it was framed upon the idea that The guy had stepped out of bounds and then touched the ball to kill the play, which, if not, this game's over regardless, right?

Because even, even if there's 1 2nd, which I don't think there was, but if there was 1 2nd on that clock, it wouldn't matter cause the ball would still be in play, right?

So, that was the hard thing.

I, I, I had a hard time looking, like, how, like, how do you find the 2nd?

How do you find the 2nd, and then.

Again, they did, and I mean, I think immediately from there everyone was like, oh, this is going to happen, like the the the something weird is going to happen, obviously it, it did, it's, it's, it's, it's backbreaking, yeah, look, I think.

The, the, the questions about, like, what you communicate to the viewer, and like, this, hey, well, sometimes the clock isn't quite right, sometimes what we've got isn't what you've got, like, but it's supposed to be, but sometimes it isn't, like, that, those are not answers that like, People can live with, right?

Like it fuels the conspiracy theories, it fuels, right, like, I'd like to take everyone at their word that this is how it went down.

I'd like to, but when when when when you experience it the way that we did in real time.

I don't know how anyone's expected not to feel a certain type of way about it, and I think that's, that's what's what's most frustrating.

You know, it was funny, so I'm at Tiger Stadium for LSU Clemson, and there's kind of a break in the action, so you're obviously, you know, focused on other games, you know, and, and uh it it's been a blowout well before that, so, you know, everybody was kind of kind of doing other things and, you know, pecking away, and I, I, I'm watching, you know, the ending and, and , and I say, oh, OK, I got 1 2nd left and And then, you know, the, the play happens and, and they actually complete it, and I just, I, I'm the first one to react on press row.

Everybody's like, well, you know, what, what, what just happened?

Some something happened in another game, I'd say watch Michigan, Western Michigan, and then everybody else reacts, you know, a few seconds later, and uh there's just this disbelief and, and like it, the thing that I, I, I still don't get and Uh, we've, we've reached, you know, the Big 10 put out their explanation, the MAC put out their explanation, like, how is there two clocks?

This is a new thing.

Like they, every Saturday, it seems like you see something new, and the fact that there are two clocks now that we didn't understand before, uh, before at, at any other situation, in any other college football game of the thousands that have been played, apparently there are Two clocks, you know, the, the one that you're supposed to use for, for the broadcast and, you know, Mike Pereira, some others have come out.

Uh, there was an article in The Athletic where they spoke, uh, to, to Bruce Feldman about this, like, you know, you're supposed to use what everybody sees, what, what the people see in the stadium , which is what the players are obviously seeing on the field, you know, there's, there's what you're seeing at home in terms of the, uh, the TV feed that's, you know, piped directly from.

Uh, you know, from various sources, but the fact that we understand there's, there's some other clock, some magical secondary clock, uh, you know, it, it just, uh, was mind-bending at times, uh, to see, and, you know, I, I do give a lot of credit to Lance Taylor at Western Michigan and, and the entire.

Broncos staff, their administration right now, they are without an athletic director.

They do have an intern right now, but like the, the way they've handled this, um, which, I mean, you talk about one of, not probably the greatest win in school history, ripped away in one final second.

Um, you know, it, it just, uh, to, to, and, and then to, to come out and say, you know what, uh, we'll accept that and we'll move on.

Like I, I, I give them a lot of credit cause I, I think there's probably 100 other fan bases in college football right now who would not be reacting anywhere near, uh, you know, this, this, this amount of level, levelheadedness coming out of Kalamazoo there.

It is just wild to.

To think that, uh, you know, just to wrap your heads around the entire situation, plus the impact that it's gonna have on, on Michigan's season, not only going into the Oklahoma game this coming week, but like there's, there's gonna, this is gonna be hanging over, uh, Kyle Whittingham's entire season at this point.

You know, we're always going to be referencing this game, this second in this moment, uh, and for, for both the Wolverines and the Broncos.

Should Michigan go on to have a memorable, impactful playoff competitive season, Yeah, this will linger heavily.

This will be like Colorado's 5th down, in terms of something that happened that never felt right, uh, and people wonder whether, you know, Michigan should be getting what it's getting, if it gets there.

Now, the way they played, they could also go 4 and 8.

I expect them to get better, but that was a dreadful performance in general, and a valiant performance by Western Michigan.

Western Michigan is taking the incredible high road.

I think the Mac is taking too much of a high road.

I think the Mac basically is rolled over and said, yeah, whatever you guys say is fine.

And whether that is because the MAC is in a position where they depend on games against the Big 10, and they don't want to burn that multi-million dollar bridge in terms of buyouts or, or guarantee pays.

Whether it's because the Mac and the Big 10 share the same supervisor of officials, Bill Carollo, and Bill got on the phone and said, look, yeah, this is fine, this is, this is straight up.

I don't know, but Uh, I think the term known discrepancy is going to linger for a while.

That's, uh, that's part of the explanation for this, of the two clock situation.

And Yes, to you all's point.

Anything that is this.

Obscure, confusing, esoteric.

And unavailable to the public invites exactly what it has spawned.

If, if there is going to be a situation where the clocks are not synced.

And maybe they didn't know they weren't synced until after the game, but beforehand, you need to say, I think every broadcast from now on should either have a chyron graphic or an explanation from the play by play guy at the beginning or something saying, the clock we are showing you may or may not be the right clock.

And then college sports should get really serious about making sure.

We don't have a known discrepancy, and we have clocks that are at the actual clock, because the credibility of what we're watching is at stake.

And you can't have people saying, well, you know, what's really happening is they're sitting in a control room in Chicago, with an extremely vested interest in Michigan winning this game, and they decided there's a second left.

The bigger, the, the, the even more macro issue than this for me.

Why do we have this, you know, this belief, this suspicion that the fix is in?

And I think that's because of the way college sports has aligned itself, conducted itself, arranged its power structure so that the power teams always have the advantage .

Everything always, they get what they want, and nobody is more front and center of that than the Big 10, OK?

Tony Pettitti and Greg Sankey, the SEC.

are in charge of the playoffs.

Why is that?

Why did everybody say you guys are in charge?

Does that seem fair, or does it seem like they've got the deck of cards shuffled the way they want?

The playoff payouts are weighted in favor of the Big 10 and the SEC.

Who goes along with that?

Why is that the situation?

Tony Petitti, when they first talked about expanding the playoffs, said we need 4 automatic bids for our league.

Why is that?

That's not fair.

That's not earning it on the field.

So you roll all these things together, they've already got the most money.

And now, jeez, when the replay officials decide there's a second left that nobody in America can see or figure out, guess what happens?

Everybody thinks the fix is in, and maybe it wasn't.

Maybe the explanations are all correct, and this is just simply a known discrepancy that wasn't known to the majority of America at the time that it happened.

So I am.

I I, I'm just disturbed by the way all of this could happen, and the backdrop of why people think, wonder when these things happen, they go to the conspiracy.

So, any other thoughts on this uh from you guys?

Well, you know, I, I, I look at the entire episode and, and I, I mean, I've been arguing, I, I think I wrote a, a column more than a decade ago, just like, why do we have Big 10 officials?

Why do we have SEC officials?

Like this, this should be nationalized, you know, like there should be no distinction because number one, I don't understand why the conferences are not in favor of doing so because they, they understand, they're inviting this on themselves.

How many conspiracy theories do you hear every single Saturday about SEC?

Fans thinking the conference office has to fix it, is, is in for their game, you know, or their team.

Like, get rid of that, like get rid of that, that notion.

Um, and you know what, you know, kudos to the ACC and the Big 12.

They have opened up those replay booths and you're, you're gonna be able to hear them like, but like that's a step forward, sure, but there, there should be no, no reason we, we don't have the entire transparency in terms of the entire replay process where you can go back, you can hear exactly what they say, you know, um, you know, a pool report at this.

Point, it's just not gonna suffice for a lot of situations, particularly this one.

And, um, you know, like you need to rip the band-aid off, you need to go national, and you need to make sure that transparency is at a maximum because this is the one area where, let's face it, fans already are antagonistic in terms of what you've, what you're thinking in terms of this entire process.

And so I, I, I just, I think there should be a larger officiating discussion.

Hopefully, this is those, you know, the type of big picture.

The thing that everybody can understand that kind of leads to that.

I, I doubt we'll we'll even get there, but, um, you know, and, and I, I, I just, it, it boggles the mind sometimes how, how this sport operates and it's like, oh, well, we're just gonna keep doing the things that we've, we've always done, and, uh, you know what, you're gonna keep dealing with a lot of these issues.

I, I think the, the, the more esoteric question for, for Michigan is like, man, they got pushed around by what Midwestern Michigan, and I get that that's a MAC team that has been together for a long time.

Um, you know, they were really excited about this season in particular that that coaching staff, but, uh, you know, to, to see them pushed around like they were, um, I, I think that would be the, the biggest concern if you're Kyle Whittingham moving forward, um, you know, especially going into Oklahoma Week.

I know they probably didn't want to show a whole lot, um, you know, in terms of offensive and, and defensive cause it is a new staff for, you know, a, a number of new pieces on the roster, but, uh, that, that would be the most concerning thing, um, you know, kind of looking long term at Michigan and Um, man, the, the, the amount of crazy finishes that this stadium, I mean, obviously it's, you know, a, a major team, but like you got, um, you know, Desmond Howard and, and he had the drop, you had, uh, certainly Cordell Stewart going the other way with Colorado, you had the trouble with the snap in, in this exact same end zone, uh, there in Ann Arbor.

It seems like that you, you got the Appalachian State upset, which is, uh, we're approaching two decades from now.

So it, it's just uh the amount of crazy finishes that Michigan has had.

Um, but I, I think there's, there's gonna be some, some long term ramifications that are unique to the situation that, uh, we probably will continue to be to be talking about the rest of the year.

On the transparency front, I think one thing that would make Everything marginally better would be to put the 10 of a second on the clock and show that.

Yeah, right?

Like the, like, even small things like that, like, again, there was a video that was going around of someone who, like, hand timed the play, oh, it was only 8.5 seconds.

Well, OK, like, that's good to know, like, thank you, but, like, that would be nice to see on the broadcast.

And number 2, Like, that would be helpful to know, like, was it actually 9 seconds or was it 8.7, or was it 9.4, right?

Like, we didn't know where it's coming from from the start, like, that's crazy to me, that that's where we're at.

Um, so I would like to see that, again, I think there's a larger conversation about all sorts of things with officiating that hopefully this prompts, but, yeah, I would, I, I would certainly think that that that would be like a low hanging fruit, get that done, um, yeah, as far as the game itself, right, like, It's, it did not feel like a traditional upset script, right?

Like, how often have you seen the 4 touchdown MAC team, 4 touchdown underdog MAC team, like, Just push around the blue blood, right?

Like, it's one thing when it's like, oh, the quarterback had an unbelievable day and flew around or, you know, crazy turnover luck, like , no, like, Western Michigan just kinda, like, lined up, spotted the ball and was better than Michigan.

Like, that, that, that's extremely impressive for for Lance Taylor, who I think we all think pretty highly of and think he'll be a guy that people wanna talk about for future jobs, although, given The loyalty that his team has shown, I hope that, you know, that that that that goes both ways and, like, they, they have a chance to have a, like, a kind of special season that that they seem to be brewing towards, but I mean, yeah, unbelievable level of concern for uh for for Michigan, just in terms of the way that they played, the way they've looked offensively, um, again, the vanilla stuff goes out the window when you're losing to Western Michigan, right?

Like, like, if, if, if there was a switch to flip and they didn't flip it for Bryce Underwood, that's its own critic critic criticism of, of the entire offensive game plan.

They gave up a 20 play drive, it's crazy.

Michigan, Michigan gave up a 20 play drive to a MAC team, to a MAC team, yes.

Uh, very good points from both of you, and things I did want to touch on is that the, the, the conference by conference officiating, which again, creates appearances of favoritism.

A national officiating pool would be Better That's one of the reasons the NFL, and yes, people say in the NFL, oh, the, the, the league office favors the Patriots or the Cowboys or whatever.

Nah, I mean, you know what, the NFL favors itself, because the NFL is one giant conglomerate of, of cash.

Again, college football, it's all the fiefdoms, and when one fiefdom is in charge of its own officiating, and its own replay, and its own rulings, as opposed to some Can, uh, national office, you set yourself up for this.

Kevin, I, I thought the same thing, like the basketball has 10ths on the clock, basketball has a light-up backboard.

If there's anything you could do there, lighting up the goalposts or something, I don't know.

Now, We're also, OK.

This thing, first of all, it, it is fresh, it's huge, it feels like something needs to be done.

We can also look and say, the cost of changing out every clock system and lighting up every goalpost or whatever would be awfully big for something that happens, I don't know, once a decade maybe or something.

I mean, probably more often than that, but still, the, the Clock systems in basketball are so much easier, first of all, to see, to understand, and to get accurate information.

So, again, the, the opacity, opacity, whatever the , the, the uh pronunciation there, the opaqueness of this, uh, is part of the problem .

Um, one other thing that is, yes, the, the, every concern you guys have articulated about Michigan is valid, and then some.

One other thing that from an officiating standpoint that stood out and I saw it in real time.

This was early 4th quarter.

It's 7 to 6.

Western Michigan is driving, they're on like the 22, or I think the 22 yard line of Michigan.

3rd and 11th, they're playing for a field goal to take the lead.

Fine, makes sense.

Hand the ball off.

Running back, gets hit after a yard gain, and they push him sideways, and the whole time, there's a Michigan guy grabbing his face mask.

Like, there's a 10-step process of this guy getting pushed to the sidelines and out of bounds, and the Michigan player has his hand on the face mask for like 8 of those steps.

It is the clearest face mask imaginable, and it doesn't get called.

If it does, it's 1st and 10 at the 11, and they run 2 more minutes off the clock, or they score a touchdown.

And that, we aren't even talking about what happened at the end of the game, because it's decided by then.

So these are the other things where, you know, look, face masks get missed, holding gets missed, pass interference gets missed, but these are amplified in these situations.

And it's again, it's the home team with the Big 10 refs that gets a clear.

Uh, penalty in the 4th quarter of a close game that doesn't get called.

So, again, they, they, there are a lot of reasons people are cynical.

A lot of them also are crazy and the conspiracy theories are insane, but in this case, you're feeding into it, college football, by just being what you are.

Uh, all right.

If we're, if we're done with, with the Bail Mary, let's, uh , let's move on to the scene in Baton Rouge.

And I have to say, first of all, uh, the pure, Like sportswriters self-interest, I felt for Brian and every other hack that was there for a two-hour delay before what you knew was already gonna be a long game.

And here was my thought, my question, Brian, were you staying in Baton Rouge or were you staying in New Orleans?

I was staying in Baton Rouge.

OK, good, because I've been there for night games.

When you get out of there at, say, 1 a.m. and you gotta drive 80 miles, uh, with a lot of other.

Lubricated Louisianians back to New Orleans, and it is not fun.

If you add 2 more hours of rain delay on top of that, at least you avoided that.

Congratulations.

But tell us about the scene.

Obviously, massive anticipation for the Lane Kiffin debut.

They came through spectacularly.

Clemson was God awful, but let's talk about LSU first and just this whole scene down there.

Yeah, I mean this is, so this is my 3rd straight year I've, I've gone to a night game at, at, at Tiger Stadium, and it's obviously one of those things that, uh, I think if, if you got a bucket list in terms of places to go for, for, you know, college football, this is, this is definitely one of them.

It is a, a great scene.

I, I, I figured we, I, I knew things were up when like uh my normal 20-ish minute drive, you know, from, from where I typically stay to the stadium took me, you know, like 90 minutes, you know, like traffic was that.

Bad.

Um, you, you knew things were up, uh, in, in terms of the excitement level here, and, uh, you know, luckily the sky, when I was kind of walking around the parking lots and, and kind of around the stadium and campus area, like the skies had, had, had cleared, and, uh, you, you could just see the threatening clouds though, you know, kind of coming.

And it didn't stop the party, certainly, you know, the, the gumbo was still, still boiling and, and, uh, you know, it was what you expect, you know, from a night game there in Tiger Stadium.

The smells were, uh, unique, uh.

to certainly that region and to that, that stadium in in campus and uh then, you know, I was like I saw the I saw the clouds getting a little closer.

I was like, all right, well, you know what, maybe I better go up to the press box.

I'll I'll just drop my bag, right?

And, you know, probably as soon as I get up the elevator and and start walking out to, to my seat, like, man, it just, it just opened up and uh you, the, the, the boards flashed the lightning delay, and Kevin had just come into the stadium and, uh, you know, it was just like a biblical proportion.

Of rain, you know, just, just instantly, and not only was it uh delayed, which it actually was the latest kickoff they had ever said, uh, ever, ever, ever had there at Tiger Stadium, uh, for, for LSU, uh, not only did it delay kickoff, but like, you know, the students were, were still out, you know, they were, they were singing songs, they were, they were, you know, throwing their towels, they, they handed out towels to everybody, like it was just a, just a weird kind of scene, uh, that they kept getting delayed and, and Lane kept even said afterwards, like they said, do you wanna shorten.

Uh, the 90 minute warm-up clock, it's like, no, I, I, I want Clemson to stay in the locker room for, for as long as possible, uh, you know, like just, just, you know, to the nth degree, Lane Kiffin wanted to, to tweak his opponents, and then, and then the game started , and you, you know, the LSU throws an interception on the 2nd play, you're like, all right, well, you know, in terms of bad omens, um, this, this, they're coming on strong at this point for Lane Kiffin's debut, and, uh, and then, and then the, the real game kind of happened after that, and, uh, we, we all saw what happened.

Yeah, I mean, look, I, I think the chaos of Lane in this offseason at LSU does make us forget sometimes that, like, Lane Kiffin's offenses are usually pretty brilliant, and Lane Kiffin did a heck of a job at Ole Miss, and Sam Levitt's a really talented quarterback, and they've got dudes around them, right?

Like, this looked like one of the most expensive rosters, not the most expensive roster in college football for a reason.

This looked like that paired with one of the best offensive brain trusts in college football, right?

It was, it was, it was an optimistic debut in every sense of the word for, for me, for LSU.

I was, I was very impressed, I know.

The instinct is to go to Clemson, and I'm sure we will, and there's lots of, there's lots to say there, but I, I think, I think everybody should be impressed with where LSU is at and, and how dangerous they can be when, when Levitt looks as good as he did.

Yeah, the, the Levitt wheels are back.

He had off-season Liz Frank surgery, he's fine.

I mean, ran for over 100 yards.

Uh, they do, their, their running game, holy moly.

They had 309 yards rushing in this game.

Total yardage, they had 499 more yards than Clemson.

Then another power conference school.

I mean, this was the kind of beatdown you see people put on Missouri State or Arkansas Pine Bluff, except it was Clemson they were playing.

Uh, incredibly powerful performance by LSU.

And you're right, Kevin, that I think just the, the drama that constantly surrounds Kiffin.

obscures sometimes the fact that he does know what he's doing.

And I wonder now, if you put him, if he can, if he can avoid being an idiot and a weasel long enough to just coach the team.

Man, they're good, they're very, very good.

I would, if I, if I were a voter, I would put them number one right now with no questions asked, after one game.

The um Uh, that The thing that, that, that, again, that this does reinforce to me after watching them, why were they willing to go.

Kiffin missile crisis, as somebody put it to me, to the brink over a couple of former NFL guys.

They don't need them.

You don't need a second tight end.

You don't need another defensive back.

You've got everything you need right there.

And this is probably part and parcel of Kiffin and coaching mentality.

No, we need more of everything, more, more, more, more, more.

And this, you know, insecurity, we gotta get these other guys.

No, you don't.

You're going to war, you got a, a, a $50 million roster.

You, you found the people to pony up for that.

Just, just go out there and play, but a spectacular performance, I thought by the Tigers, and then absolutely disastrous performance by the other Tigers.

Let's go ahead and get to them.

Um, Brian, remember back before the season, we're talking intriguing coaches list, and you thought Dabo should have been high on my list.

And I said, no, I've already given up on him.

I stand by my words, stand by my words.

What was it like watching Clemson just get obliterated like that, you know, and, and like, you know, I, I've seen Clemson, you know, over the years, and I, I just, they've never looked so helpless, like even back into the early Dabo days or, or even , you know, going back to hit what was previously, you know, his, his worst loss that the Orange Bowl against West Virginia, when they, they just got absolutely trucked.

Um, this was worse, like, cause there, there's less, less hope nowadays, like I, I just feel like the, the Clemson fans even going into the stadium, like a couple of the Clemson fans when, when they were on the elevator coming up or, you know, walking around on the concourse, they're like, well, you know, make try not to blow us out too bad, you know, like there was, there was always like that expectation, you know, coming in, like this is, this is not gonna end well, and uh it certainly didn't, and I mean, there's gonna be a lot of talk about the offense, like, I mean, you know, to to have a 30.

First down, you know, disparity, you know, 301st downs, that's the disparity between what you put up and and what LSU did like that , that is eye opening and um definitely concerning, like I, I, I do think they, they still have talent, like I mean you saw some of the wide receivers made plays, like they, you know, I, I think, uh, you know, there are certainly concerns along the offensive line, but you know what, the, the linebackers, you know, played decently, uh, you know, at times.

Um, you know, even, even allowing as many yards as they did, um, you know, I, I think this, they're, they're just not gonna see, you know, that level outside of Miami, you know, in the ACC, so like that's maybe a, a somewhat of a positive takeaway, but, um, you know, this is, um, I, I think the concerns about Dabo, the concerns about the program at large.

They're not gonna go away.

This is only gonna accentuate them, and if this turns in, you know, one loss turns into multiple losses, like, I mean, you're, you're having Clemson fans worry about their FCS opponents on their schedule, like that's, that's not exactly where you want your program to be, especially when the, when the head coach has a 50+.

Million dollar buyout.

So, um, real concerns, I think there for the program itself and, you know, to, to me, it just comes down to quarterback, you know, like, uh, you know, you had a generational run there at times that elevated you into national titles.

They don't have any of those guys there behind center at this point.

Um, they didn't want to go out and get any of those guys either, like, you know, for whether it be in the high school recruiting, whether it be, uh, through the transfer portal, like, you know, they've been so focused on themselves, they have not, you know, kind of seen the forest of the trees at this point, um, because it, it's, it's, it's, it's a bad situation right now, and now there's gonna be a bit of a quarterback controversy when you, you haven't haven't insert the um.

Uh, young, young backup at this point before the second half is over and have him play most of the 4th quarter, you know what, that, that's just gonna invite quarterback controversy throughout the throughout the season, and, um, I, I think there's, there's gonna be some, some real big questions, big picture questions over, uh, Dabo, his approach , and what ultimately either needs to change for him or what the school needs to change with him, uh, moving forward.

Look, I, I think there is There's an interesting dichotomy and, like, learning to take from it being LSU that did this to them, and that, for better or worse, LSU has done everything in its power to win football games at all costs.

It will push every bound, it will have, like, again, like, there there's, there's no loyalty on the LSU to to the, to the current LSU roster.

Like, if there's a, if there's an upgrade, we will go get it.

We, we will nearly get kicked out of the SEC to do it if we have to, right?

Like, there is not that level of urgency inside the Clemson program, right?

And I understand why in 2022, or even in 2024, there was a feeling of, maybe we can still do it our way, maybe we can survive a different way.

If that wasn't the biggest, most glaring.

It's over, man.

It, it just is, like, it has to look different , and it has to be drastic in if if Dabo is going to avoid driving this thing into the ground.

It is going to take drastic change in how they operate, and how they structure the program, and how they recruit, uh, in the people around Dabo, and those are gonna be really, really hard conversations.

And I don't know who are who who who's the one who has to tell Dabo that, and how does it get done?

Because, again, with the buyout, like, what's the Like, are, are they actually gonna fire him?

Like, I, I, I have no idea where you go from here, other than, like, this should, they should have already been at this point, but this was the most glaring, hey, man, like, it doesn't work anymore.

What we're trying to do, it doesn't work.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, that, again, I thought that message was loud and clear last year, and it still didn't get through.

And that's the problem that the The situation when you have a legend, the best coach in school history, and he's lost it.

Uh, what do you do?

The buyout is astronomical , and Dabo Sweeney has Deserved cachet, capital, loyalty, admiration, and affection from the fan base.

I mean, 2 national championships, like 7 playoff appearances, it's unbelievable, unbelievable run.

Like, other than Nick Saban, nobody has had a run in the playoff era like him.

But now you get to this point, and I don't know how you, how you handle it.

Graham Neff's a very sharp young athletic director, but he is in a tough position.

As is every other decision-maker at Clemson here.

I just, I don't think there's a way you can fire him, but to your point, Kevin, you have to get him to sit down and say, We, we have to do this differently or we've got to figure out a way to, for everybody to move on, you know, it almost, it almost reminds me, Pat, of, of Florida State and kind of the situation with Bobby Bowden towards the end.

Like, you know, you're spinning the wheels at quarterback, spinning the wheels at offensive coordinator.

Like there was just a lot of issues.

Therefore, you know, Clemson and, and, and I think Dabo that, uh, you know, has led to this, and it just reminds me of kind of the, the, the end there for Bobby Bowden and Florida State.

Yeah, it reminds me, almost carbon copy of what happened with Denny Crum in basketball at Louisville.

Won two national titles in the 80s .

Uh, major changes to the sport, first of all, in the three-point line, Denny's like, we don't need the three-point line.

Everybody else is like, oh yeah, the 3-point line is gonna change everything.

Rick Pitino starts kicking his ass with the 3-point shot, and And then it was everything else too, it was recruiting, then he couldn't get academic qualifiers, and It, it was a Like a 15 year.

Erosion and a battle of, like, how do we fix this?

How do we get out of this and get somebody else in here?

And that's Clemson, obviously, this is football, this is 2026, nobody's waiting 15 years, but the, the ability to Maneuver around this or, or to navigate this is gonna be fascinating to see.

Kevin, I think your point is, is great that, like, yes, LSU is everything Clemson's, Dabo Sweeney's Clemson is not in terms of how you build a roster and what the The uh willingness to, to just say, we're gonna go get the best guys we can, period.

We don't care about the player development, etc.

etc.

you know, and, and that's, That's what's gotten Dabo in this position.

And you've, you've been around him, Brian, I know, and Kevin, you've certainly seen him.

I mean, Dabo is one of those guys that is always convinced he's right.

And he was for a long time, he was right.

And those guys are very difficult to all of a sudden get to move, and it takes something probably like a 41 point beatdown for anybody to probably even be able to sit down with him and say, look, that's not a fluke, that's where we are.

And we've gotta, we gotta change.

So, but, but it's the first game of the season.

You aren't changing this year, you got your hand, you got what you got, and it's a bad hand.

So, we will see where it goes from here.

But if you're a Clemson fan, like I would be sad right now if I were a Clemson fan, cause I don't wanna see Dabo Sweeney go out this way.

But I'd also be a little bit angry at his stubbornness and refusal to adapt.

Um, Another team that, uh, certainly willing to, to go do what they got to do.

I saw him last night in, in Nashville, Mississippi, Ole Miss playing Louisville.

Maybe the best game of the first weekend.

Really, really good game.

I was glad they played it.

I was glad they didn't opt to.

You know, especially for Mississippi and the SEC opt like so many other teams did to play somebody and beat them by 60.

So, uh, Really kind of a, a.

Struggling first half, both teams trying to figure some things out.

Trinidad Chambliss made a couple of mistakes, and then the second half was just.

Star Wars, it was fantastic.

I mean, quite a, a display of big plays and speed and capability out there, athletic capability.

Mississippi wins 41-38 on a field goal on the last play.

Uh, I thought Chambliss showed, reinforced why he's the best quarterback in the SEC.

He was super, super clutch when he had to be.

And Keywan Lacy, the running back, got hurt early in the second half.

Pete Golding said, Doesn't think it's serious.

Um, but they may do without him, mostly because Chambliss made it happen through to Deuce Alexander, who's incredibly fast, 262 yard touchdowns there.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Kienholtz's first start in college for Louisville, couldn't manage the play clock to save his life for much of the game, but then when he was on the line, just balling, I mean, making plays, running, throwing, getting some guys deep.

So, great game there.

Uh, how do you feel about Mississippi in particular, Kevin, let's start with you, and then any thoughts also on Louisville?

Yeah, I was, I, I was in Lambeau, so not watching a ton.

Oh yeah, right , it picked picked my spots, but like, like, I think the second half version of Champless was unbelievable, like, the, the moments you did watch, like, I, I, I saw a few comparisons to, like, Bryce Young, uh start to pop up and it's, like, it, there, there is something to that, where, like, this guy just has a magic about him, um, he's super accurate, he can push the ball down the field, um, and he makes winning play after winning play after winning play in big moments, you can count on this guy, and, you know, they got challenged.

I give Louisville's offense credit, they were up for it every time, and Chambliss just Strapped on the chin strap and said, all right, we'll get another one.

If that's what it's gonna take, that's what it's gonna take.

So I, I was impressed by him, without a shadow of a doubt.

I think that's where Ole Miss needs to be, I think they're a work in progress, they have to be better defensively, but again, I think credit to Louisville, they're, they're a very good football team and uh that was a real test, and we shouldn't punish teams for getting tested when we tell them that we, you should schedule tough, like, this, this is, this is a game that should make Ole Miss better.

Yeah, I, I was really impressed.

I mean, like, you talk, talk about a tale of two halves too, like, uh, you know, there was not only the dichotomy in the game in terms of like ping ping ponging back and forth in that second half, but, you know, Chambles had those two early turnovers and, and, you know, just didn't, didn't faze him.

Like he's still on the sidelines smiling and he's going out there and just dropping dimes, and, uh, you know, he, he is super impressive and you can understand why a team like Ole Miss just kind of rallies around him, whether it's in-game, whether it's given all the off-field issues that have gone on, like he, he just He is the leader of that team and, and you saw that, uh, with the way like I, I mean, as soon as Kleinholtz scored, you know, late, late in the, the, the 4th quarter there, you're like, all right, that there's, there's too much time there for, for Trinidad to, to let him cook and, and certainly he did that, getting his team down the field and, and getting in position to, uh, maybe even go a little bit overly conservative there towards the end, um, you know, for, for Pete Golding in terms of the coaching decisions that led to that long field goal, but, uh, you know, uh, you, you didn't really expect anything other than, uh, you know, Trinidad Shambles to do his job in terms of getting that, that.

Offense down the field.

I, I'm not sure that, you know, him being the 2nd leading rusher with 60 yards and Ian Lacey getting banged up in that game is, is necessarily, you know, a recipe for success moving forward, um, because you, you definitely want to see a little bit more, uh, on the, on the ground game, a little bit, just taking the pressure off of him at times.

I think, you know, if, if , if Ole Miss is able to run effectively, uh, with, with Keywan Lacey, you know, you, that does open up so much more in terms of the passing game and, uh, especially the, the play action passing game because, um, even if you're double covering Deuce Alexander going deep.

I, I'm not sure that that will be enough at times, uh, even with some SEC defensive backs on the other side and down the road.

Uh, I mean, he, he was phenomenal in terms of getting by guys, uh, you know, turning on the Jets.

I mean, like you could probably put together between him, Trey Richardson, Isaac Brown out there for, for Louisville as well.

Like, I mean, there, there could be a nice little 4 by 100 track team, uh, just from this game there in Nashville that, uh, you got to see Pat, but, um, you know, kudos to, to both sides for playing it.

I, I thought it was, you know, probably the game of the weekend at this point, uh, in terms of just entertainment factor.

And, uh, you know, I, I probably do leave feeling a lot, a lot better about both sides, you know, like, I mean, I, I think there were some, some question marks I had coming in just in terms of Pete Golding as a, as a coach, in terms of what the rest of the roster would look like, what the offense would look like without Charlie Weiss Junior calling plays, um, you know, cause, cause he definitely did that, uh, all of last season.

So, um, you know, I, I think there were some, some question marks in terms of can this really be another year where they compete for a college football playoff.

I think that, that check mark, uh, that box has been, been checked, and I think, you know, for Louisville, um, you know, yes.

There were some definite concerns and it was a slow start, but like, you, you look at this team, if, if they can stop making some mistakes, that is a team that can contend in the ACC.

Yeah, maybe not quite to Miami's level, sure, but if you're talking about making it to Charlotte, being in the, in the thick of the playoff conversation late in the year, that they showed enough.

They, they've got enough dudes, they, they've got enough on, on both sides of the ball to where they can be a factor in the ACC.

And I think if you're a Louisville fan, that that's probably the most encouraging thing, uh, you're, you're walking out of that Neeson stadium for, uh, saying, hey, we, we, we've got a team this year.

The other games Sunday night, and of course, they were at the same time, because why would, why wouldn't college football play 22 of the rare high-profile games of the first weekend at the exact same time.

Notre Dame, Wisconsin.

Kevin was there.

Uh, uniform matchup was something.

Uh, all red for Wisconsin, all blue plus the gold lids for Notre Dame.

I kind of liked it.

I was OK with it.

I, I don't like Wisconsin's regular uniforms, so I, I, I thought this was kind of a, a nice switch up.

But, uh, thoughts there.

Wisconsin, to me, acquitted itself pretty well.

But then in the end, Notre Dame, Notre Dame got down to business and exerted itself.

I, I did not see a lot of it because I was in Nashville.

Kevin, you were there, what did you see?

I mean, the two enormous mistakes by Wisconsin, the muffed kick, which, by the way, I thought was a really bad call.

I don't know how they didn't overturn that was out of bounds, right?

Yeah, like, he, he, to me, it seemed pretty obvious he was juggling it, and again, the, the, I, I, I, the, the benefit of the doubt would be, oh, you know, you couldn't quite overturn it, but to me, I, I thought it was an overturn, and that was a huge moment in the game.

And then the other big moment was, was the Joseph pick 6, which was a timing issue.

Um, that was the one thing I will say, like, I, I was generally pretty pleased looking at what Wisconsin did, you know, on both sides of the ball, I thought their, their line play was significantly improved.

Um, they pushed Notre Dame around a little bit with their defensive line and, and, and moved people and, and made life difficult, had two strip sacks that could have been huge kind of swing plays in the game, uh, they just, they couldn't come up with the ball on, but Yeah, I, I, I, I, I, I, I was not that impressed by Joseph, right?

I, I think, look, they're, they're gonna have to run him and run him really effectively because just the, the timing and the anticipation was lacking, um, with some of the throws, and there were some, look, I think they have some receivers, like, I, they have some weapons now uh to put around him, and I just, I didn't feel like Joseph was putting those guys in a great position to succeed, and then, obviously, the, the pick was, was catastrophic for, for, for their hopes, so .

I think Wisconsin will be fine.

I think they're probably, like, a, you know, 6 and 67 and 5 type of ball club, which is probably the worst case scenario in some respects, and that , like, it doesn't leave you 100% confident in Fickle going forward, but it doesn't.

You know , you gotta win, like, you gotta win games, it's part of it, and, like, they look competitive, I just, I, the, the, the, you know, this guy is gonna change the game, I don't know about that .

I, I didn't think Notre Dame played particularly well, um, I don't think it's, like, a huge concern, you know, it's like they they have time to figure some stuff out, but, again, I thought the line play had taken a step back, they didn't run it as effectively, um, it was, it was like a minus game from Notre Dame and they won by 4 touchdowns against the Big 10 team.

So, I guess from that perspective, you feel really good about it if you're, if you're Notre Dame, and maybe that's just the standard we put them to is the, you know, preseason favorite and all that, but, um, yeah, I think the things to work on, certainly for for Notre Dame, but very opportunistic, took advantage of the two big mistakes and uh able to put up a a a a compelling final score, even if the performance at times was up and down.

Yeah, this is not gonna be a stain on Notre Dame's resume, like maybe we kind of thought coming into the year, uh, you know, just in terms of not being a quality win, I think we, we will kind of look at this as Whether, you know, Wisconsin makes us a bowl game, I mean, I, I do think they are vastly improved and look, they, they went out and they invested in the roster, um, you know, this, this past offseason and, you know, that kind of showed up and they , they were better along the defensive line that will pay off dividends in, in, in Big 10 play.

Um, you know, I think there's probably some concerns if you're Uh, the offensive staff in terms of, uh, the ability to run the ball, I know it's gonna be tough against Notre Dame, uh, given that front seven and what they have coming back and, you know, what they, they are able to show, uh, when they really want to put the clamps on, on teams.

Um, you know, this, this was, you know, to Kevin's credit, like, I mean, this was a very, you know, modest effort , you know, I think for, for the Irish, like it was almost like, uh, you know, kind of preseason game number 2, you know, like they were just kind of warming up a little bit in the first half and then Uh, OK, well, we'll, we'll get the playmakers out, uh, you know, for the second half, we'll trot them out and we'll pull away and, uh, that, that's what good teams do and like that was not what Oregon did this weekend, you know, that is not what some of the other contenders that are kind of in that same bracket as, as the Irish did.

Um, you know, they, they actually put their, you know, foot down in in the second half, and I give, I give them a lot of credit.

I think they will be much sharper, you know, for, for game number 2 and moving forward, um, just because, you know, it did look like they were, um, you know, I, I don't I don't know if they, they just did, did too much specifically towards Wisconsin, you know, it was almost like they, they were, they were so focused on themselves throughout camp, uh, throughout, you know, spring ball, throughout, you know, even, even the lead up to this game, it's like, well, we're gonna play our game and, and you're just gonna be the nameless, faceless opponent on the other side.

And, uh, you know, I do give, uh, you know, I think CJ Carr is gonna be better than 19 of 29.

Like, you know, I think the running game is going to be better.

I mean, so many times like it was just like, you know, We're gonna run a draw right up the middle and, you know, into a massive bodies in the middle and that was kind of the run game.

Like there was nothing creative necessarily, you know, in terms of some of the play designs that they did.

Um, you know, I think that they, they were, it was just an overall solid effort for the Irish.

I, I don't, I'm not gonna dock them any points for that first half.

Uh, yes, they were a little bit lucky, uh, you know, to, to maintain the lead, but, um, this was taking care of business in the second half.

And at this point in the season, that's, that, that's, that's what you get, you gotta do.

And, uh, I, I'm not, uh, I'm not saying that there's anything that I'm, I'm changing my mind about Notre Dame at this point, but, um, you know, we, we all know that the tougher tests, what they need to build up towards, um, is, is gonna be later in the season when Miami, uh, you know, comes to town when they go to BYU.

Those are the games where, you know, you really gotta be on, on the top of your game.

And if you're building towards that, if you're peaking at those times, um, you know, that's gonna be, uh, lead to the postseason success that they, they really know and, and want there in South Bend.

Yeah, I, I mean, look, think of some of, think of some of the ways that Notre Dame has played early in the season under Marcus Freeman.

We've seen absolute disasters.

So, you, you'll take a 4-touchdown win, uh, in a semi-neutral site against a Big 10 opponent.

It was not dazzling, but it sure beats losing to Marshall , Northern Illinois, or starting 0-2 last year.

Uh, I'm not concerned about, about Notre Dame.

The other, uh, the other excellent game of the weekend did want to hit quickly.

Uh, Oregon, Boise State, much better game, I think, than a lot of us anticipated.

Kudos to the Broncos, really showed up in Otson and played really well.

Had Oregon on the ropes for much of the day.

Uh, I watched that and think, OK, I mean, Oregon's certainly got some, some players and some ability, but that's not Lanning, sometimes he doesn't start the season very well.

They've had some ugly wins, they, they've had at least one brutal loss.

Uh, but, but Boise, I'm looking at them and I'm saying even in defeat, that's the best group of six team.

Brian, uh, your reaction to that one, and we'll hit a couple other games real quick.

Are, are we firing up the bus, Pat, because I, I think so.

The bus is at least idling.

The bus is idling.

We're, we're, we're on standby.

I, I think we're about ready.

Yeah, yeah, I, I, I mean, look, you know, this is another group of six program that, you know, spent well enough to keep the team together, you know, they had from, from last year and you saw the carryover.

I think there was, uh, you know, Matt, Maddox Maxson made, made plays like he, you know, he, he went out there and against a pretty good secondary and pretty good defense, um, you know, even at times, uh, you know, Boise State kind of pushed around a really good, you know, front seven, and, uh, you know, we're, we're able to find some success.

I think it, even though it was a defeat and You know, they did have a 10-point lead at some point.

Like, I mean, this was, this was a game where you can go to the committee and say, look, you know, we're, we're capable of playing on the field of a national title contender.

And, and I think that's going to carry over, uh, down the road.

And look, this is a Boise State team that too is going to be the nexus of the Group of six discussion moving forward.

They're gonna play Memphis, they're gonna play Western Michigan.

So, um, you know, those are two massive games in terms of, all right, where is kind of everybody in this.

New kind of landscape.

All right.

We, we've got a great data point in terms of Boise State compared to contenders.

We're gonna have a great data point compared to maybe one of the top teams in the American and the MAC, uh, as well.

Obviously, they're playing in the Pac-12, so they got, you know, Colorado State and some of the others that they're gonna play during the year.

So, um, great thing for, uh, I think Boise State in terms of leaving this game, impressing everybody.

For Oregon, I, I think there are a lot of correctable issues like Dante Moore didn't play particularly well.

He, you know, he's capable of doing more.

Maybe it's just kind of those first game jitters with two new coordinators on both sides of the ball that that kind of led to this, uh, being a little bit closer than expected, but, um, less concerns, you know, certainly about Boise State moving forward, even though they, they do have a pretty good difficult schedule moving forward.

I think they're clearly the class of the, the G6 and we'll see what, uh, what happens with some of those other non-conference games and, and what looks to be a brutal slate, uh, for the Broncos moving forward.

Yeah, I mean, good step for Boise, more work to do for Oregon, um, but, again, look, I, I, I thought there were a few plays in that game, especially in the first half where, like, Boise's tackling was otherworldly, and it's tough to bring some of those Oregon guys down in space, they're super slippery, they're super fast, and I think, you know, Oregon moved the football well and could have moved a lot better uh if they had broken a couple of those, and I was, again, a credit to Boise, but also, I'm not sure how replicable it is, as a recipe to to to beat the Ducks.

Uh, a couple other games here.

I was at Indiana, North Texas, see the reigning champs, and They've got guys, again.

Turned the opening kickoff 67 yards, scored a touchdown 3 plays later.

Nick Marsh, who showed up in gold cleats and got ripped during spring practice, makes a ridiculous one-handed catch.

And then, uh, Charlie Becker is Charlie Becker, Josh Hoover was great, nearly got his head torn off, blood dripping down his face, still making plays.

And I will say, Fernando Mendoza was Underrated tough.

Like, he took shots and kept coming all last year.

This was a great moment for Josh Hoover to step in and say, hey, come with me, guys, I'm tough too.

Let's go.

And I do reference the, the 3 by 5 card on Kurt Signetti's desk says there will be no softness in this program.

Softness will not be tolerated.

Well, your quarterback is not soft.

Uh, their defense was kind of soft, really didn't play very well at all.

And Cignetti acknowledged that afterwards.

The other thing from that game was just how freaking hot it was.

Uh, the, the hottest game I've ever been to that wasn't in Florida or Texas.

It was just Boiling down on the field, supposedly the Fox thermometer said at 150, it's 150.

And uh I did, I stopped Sig on the way off the field.

I said , man, that was hot.

And he goes, bleeping A, and kept moving.

He wanted to get off the field as soon as possible.

Uh.

Anyway, I, I, I think Indiana's fine.

Indiana's rolling again.

I think the defense will get better.

If you look last year, they didn't start well defensively against Old Dominion and Colton Joseph, so.

Things happen there.

I think they'll be OK.

Uh, if you got anything there, and then also, uh, UCLA in California, Battle of two first-time coaches, Calimony game.

They should be playing each other always, they don't anymore.

UCLA big 4th quarter to win the game there, and a big start for Bob Chesney.

Thoughts on either, but probably not both because we're trying to get this done in 60 minutes and 1 2nd.

Uh, uh, the, the only thing I will add, uh, to the Indiana thing is, yeah, that the secondary in particular, a little bit concerning knowing that, you know, Jeremiah Smith is, is awaiting down the road some of those big courts including USC and, and Oregon like that, that would probably be the, the biggest concern and, and takeaway for me is, is, yes.

Indiana's offense, we knew they were gonna look good.

Um, you know, you have full faith in, in Sig to not only find a quarterback to, but to elevate their game.

He's done that again in Josh Hoover.

The question in my mind is just, you know, Brian Haynes and that defense, can they, can they gel over these next couple of weeks in, in terms of that warm-up to the Big 10 play?

Uh, UCLA Cal front, I mean, again, it sounds stupid to talk like this about UCLA, but, like, I don't know, man, the vibes just look awesome.

Like, their, their, their sideline looks amazing, like, Chesney has, like, again, he's, like, central casting for, like, what the UCLA football coach should look like, he's he's got a command of this thing, they've got, like, the old guys, you know, like Chesney Senior and a couple of the other guys run around the sideline.

They seem to, like, genuinely enjoy each other's company and love playing football, and they're really darn good and explosive in the run game and a lot of fun to watch, and I, I, I didn't even think Nico played particularly well in this game, especially throwing it.

I think there's room to grow here.

I've, I've talked about this previously, like, I think Niko Yamalava is, like, the, you know, the supercharged version of everything that Bob Chesney's had as far as quarterback play in, in, in his coaching career at at past stops, and so, Yeah, I mean, I'm bullish.

I, I thought they, they took some punches there in the 3rd quarter and got right back up off the mat and, and beat them by 3 scores, and that, that was, that was a statement early, and again, the schedule is manageable, especially early, like, again, I was sitting there, it's 1 in the morning, I'm probably probably watched, like, 13 hours of football that day, and I'm sitting there thinking to myself about 11, or, you know, 7 and 1 UCLA heading into November.

I'm thinking about it.

It's not impossible, folks.

It's really not.

It, it, they might be favored to get that, they might be favored in each individual game other than Oregon.

We'll see.

Let's, let's have it.

I want you, if you want to tell me I can go cover meaningful games in the Rose Bowl in November, I'm up for it.

Sign me up, uh, as opposed to maybe like trying to get to State College in November.

Come on, give it to me.

Um.

Yeah, no, I think, I think it's great.

And it, to me, you know, UCLA has been arguably the biggest underachiever in all of college football over the decades, really since, since Terry Donahue left, which was quite a while ago.

That's a program that should be better than it has been.

And promising new start.

We'll see where it goes, see if they can, can maintain.

Uh, all right, fellas, are, uh.

Two standing features here on the pod.

We, we hand out the Heisman every week and we fire somebody every week.

Let's, let's start with the, let's start with the Heisman.

Um, Brian, who you, who are you giving the Heisman?

I'm gonna go with, uh, with, uh, Duke running back, Nate Shepherd.

Uh, 227 yards, 2 touchdowns.

He carried the Blue Devils, you know, it was not a great offensive effort, uh, for them in, in a win over Tulane, but, uh, he really carried that team, uh, on, on, on his back, uh, amid some, some questionable quarterback play.

So, uh, you know, kudos.

Hi, I, I think Tuan's game plan was to, to get in there and, and kind of slow the run and all this talk about Duke kind of throwing over, all over the place with, uh, you know, a bit of an opening up on the offense.

Now, it's all about the run game and, uh, you know, he, he definitely led.

I think he's still leading the country, uh, as, as of week one in terms of rushing.

So, you know, kudos to Nate.

Uh, I, I , I, I went with, I know we talked about Trinidad Chamblis, I went with the other Mississippi quarterback, uh, Kamario Taylor, a lot of excitement, uh, I know he, he, he turned heads at the Manning Passing Academy, he's got all the tools.

I, I encourage anyone who hasn't seen it yet to go watch the 70 yard touchdown pass that he threw in the 3rd quarter of that game, uh, against, again, Louisiana Monroe, losing him, like, That was, like, I have never seen a ball explode off of a quarterback's hand, the way that that ball, like, it looks different, man, it looks different, and look, it's, it's cool to have really dynamic quarterbacks at places that are fighting the uphill battle, right?

Like, look, I think Mississippi State is gonna be an underdog and most of it's SEC slate, like, I'm excited about the fact that, yeah, like, We get Lenora Sellers versus Kamario Taylor in a couple of weeks.

That's a heck of a quarterback battle.

We get Keyon Russell versus Kamario Taylor a couple of, like, there's gonna be a reason to watch Mississippi State football, and for that, he gets, he gets Heisman week one, tune in.

Yeah, I saw, you know, he, they, they kind of surprise started him in the Egg Bowl last year.

And I mean, talk about something to shove a guy into, and he was, woo, he showed the, the skills, I mean, the, the talent and the skills, and then everything I heard, like, the Manning Passing Academy in the summer, he just dazzled everybody, not just with his throwing, but kind of the way he handled himself.

Um, and that's one of those things.

Like, that is such a job interview because the Manning's are watching very closely how you handle yourself.

It's one of the things that sunk Johnny Manziel several, many, many years ago, is, is you go to the Manning Passing academy, and you show your ass, and it will follow you, because everybody, the Manning's have a few connections in the NFL.

They might be able to pass along a recommendation or a thumbs down.

So yeah, I'm excited to watch him play.

Uh, I'm going with Malachi Tony.

I'm sorry to be obvious, but good God.

And I know producer Kent wanted to talk a little bit about JJ Smith and, and Malachi Tony, two South Florida guys who are friends, uh, and both played great and both kind of had dueling Heisman poses.

But Malachi looked like the Heisman winner to me.

Uh, he was unbelievable against Stanford.

Uh, 12 catches, 234 yards, 3 touchdowns.

He had 7 for 141 and 2 TDs after a quarter and a half .

Like he just could not be covered.

He is so quick, but also so, like, precise with his routes, you just can't cover him, and He's played a total, I guess it's like maybe 16 college games now.

I wanna watch him.

Play the rest of the season and next year and say thank you very much for being a college football player, cause he is really fun.

Uh, all right, let's get on with the negative.

Time to fire somebody.

Kevin, who are you firing?

I think I already fired Dabo, so I'll, I'll, I'll take a second.

I, I, I think, look, I think the world of Kyle Whittingham as a coach, but I was already a little skittish about, like, the , like, does he truly get what he's walking into here?

And if he didn't, he's either gonna get it now or he's never gonna, because the response to this game and their performance and their deserved loss uh will be uh will be strong.

I know I saw this morning, he addressed reporters, he said that, uh, Underwood's the starter for now, but he doesn't have an infinite leash or something to that extent.

That is not a great sign.

Underwood, as I've seen on Twitter, was more expensive than the Louisiana Purchase, um, that, that, that is the meme going around, like, good tweet.

Yeah, very good, so.

I, I, I am worried that there will not be the leash for Kyle Whittingham to build the type of program that Kyle Whittingham likes to build, uh, especially if he doesn't seem like he's, like, a true Michigan man.

Mm.

I will go with Greg Schiano.

I, I, I will put that one up there.

I mean, like losing to UMass, man, not only losing to UMass, but getting pushed around, getting blown out, blown out by UMass.

Put like, you're a Big 10 team and it's not like, you know, you have a $5 million.

budget.

You, you got significantly more than that, like, you know, like they, they were excited around this, about this team and what, what they had, and then like you talk about letting the air out of the balloon, like, uh, that the colors on WFAN afterwards were like priceless, you know, after this one.

And it like it, it, it rises to a level, you know, to, to get the Rutgers fans who have been there for decades at this point, who have watched some really, really bad football, start calling in WFAN and saying, you know what, I'm done.

I'm done with this.

And so for for that, for losing to UMass, a team that had, you know, not won a single game last year, uh, you know, Greg Schiano gets, gets the ax, although Brent Key was, was probably a close second choice, um, given the way the kind of mismanagement towards the end of the game against Colorado, the, the fact that his Offensive line did not look all that great, um, you know, against the Buffs that I, I, I think Britke also deserves a bit of an honorable mention in this category as well.

Can I just chime in real quick, Pat, and say that, uh, like, I think we should fire Brent Pry again for Pop Watson not being the quarterback.

Like, like they, they, they rode the Kyron Joes bus for multiple years.

They kept watching it over and over again, and they never thought, hey, this guy might have something here.

Like, what, that, that's, that's a bad look, he's really good.

I love Pop Watson, I'm all in.

Can't fire him again.

He's already been fired there.

So, but, uh, no, valid points.

The, the Rutgers loss was so bad , it became a political, uh, issue.

We saw the New Jersey GOP put out a tweet saying that the , the Democrat-controlled, controlled, uh, legislature had given Rutgers $5 million for athletics or whatever, and this is the product.

Uh, so it's now, it's a political issue going into the, the elections.

Uh, I don't think that's gonna be enough to turn New Jersey red, but stay tuned if things keep going that bad.

But that, I would absolutely have gone with Shana.

But there's also another candidate.

The worst debut game of the weekend.

Was Eric Morris at Oklahoma State.

They brought in The quarterback, the running back, the wide receiver, and a bunch of other guys from North Texas, they were gonna be explosive, exciting.

Uh, they were gonna be one of those teams that take this big jump up when you import a bunch of players from somewhere else.

Oh, except they lost by 2 touchdowns to Tulsa.

Just a disastrous opening performance.

They produced 368 total yards, 4.3 yards per play, very pedestrian.

Uh, and Eric Morris was, he's 1-0 against armadillos in his backyard, shooting and killing one, talked about that.

He's 0-1 against Tulsa, and that was a very bad start for him.

So, uh, producer Kent tells, I think we've gone past 60 minutes and 1 2nd.

So, we'll save any stupid story for , for next week.

That's the show.

I hope your daytimes out well.

You find an extra second for yourself somewhere, everybody.

Thanks for listening.

We'll be back next week.