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Texas' 4-0 Start, A&M's Struggles, This Week's CFB Slate with Chris Hummer · The Craig Way Show

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back on this Wednesday afternoon, a bye week for
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Longhorn football, but still plenty to discuss when it comes
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to a lot of our favorite sport. And here to
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: join us to talk about it is Chris Hummer from
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: CBS Sports. He covers the sport at the national level there,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: as well as over at 247 Sports.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Chris, hey, thanks so much for checking in with us here.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Thanks for having me on.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Well, we've seen the Longhorns now tested twice, first at
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: home against Ohio State, then out on the road at
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Neyland Stadium where they come away with the 20-17 win
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: a week ago.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: I want to get your thoughts.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: On kind of the good and the bad and the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: questions that you've seen from watching Texas so far four
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: weeks in.
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: Well, I mean, the good is you're 4-0. at the
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: end of the day, that is the most important thing
• 0:52
  Speaker 4: for Texas, a team with legitimate national championship aspirations. And
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: I mean, it could be as bad as two and two,
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: if you really think about how the Tennessee and Ohio
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: state games went. So that's a great thing for Texas
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: at the same time for really the second season in
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: a row, the offense continues to be a pretty big
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: question mark. I mean, it's 111th nationally and yards per play.
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: Texas isn't really running the ball the way, You were
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: hoping they would if you're a Texas fan with all
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: the changes on the offensive line and in the backfield.
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: And Arch Manning hasn't been as consistent as you'd like
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: him to be. And then obviously there's some of the
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: distractions coming out of that game and some other stuff
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: around the Texas football program. So I think ultimately Texas
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: will take it. They're 4-0, but it's been anything but perfect.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you talked about the inconsistency from Arch Manning
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: this year. It doesn't look as though he's necessarily carried
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: over some of the momentum he had from the end
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: of 2025 into the new season, but we've seen some
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: of the high highs at times for Arch. I'm wondering
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: if what you've seen from him this year so far
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: has changed what you thought this Texas team could accomplish,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: and that could be in either direction for the better
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: or maybe for the concerning terms.
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: Um, I don't think it changes what they can accomplish.
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: I think it might change their ceiling, right? Um, you
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: have less margin for error when you have a good
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: quarterback instead of an elite one. And I think a
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: lot of us thought, including frankly, some people on the
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: Texas program, that Arch would be an elite quarterback this season.
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: And he's been a good one. And at times a
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: maddingly inconsistent one. Um, and, If he's going to have
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: three to four games a year where he just looks pedestrian,
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: you can lose. You can lose down the stretch in
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: the playoffs that way. You can lose a key SEC
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: game that way. So I think Texas' margin for error,
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: if Archman continues to play this way, is smaller than
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: it's been. But at the same time, you also see
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: stretches from Arch in the fourth quarter against Ohio State
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: where he looks like one of the best players in
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: the country. So you don't always know what you're going
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: to expect. And if that's the case, the highs can
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: be very high. But I think on the whole, you
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: have to lower expectations slightly for Texas. And I'm not
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: saying you have to change championship expectations, but you certainly
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: have less wiggle room to get there with your quarterback
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: playing up and down the way Arch has.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the wiggle room already a little bit smaller with
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: the schedule. The Longhorns still have coming up. We're talking
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: with Chris Hummer, National College football writer. with CBS Sports
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: and 247 Sports. We talked over the summer after media
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: days about some of the awesome reporting you did on
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the kind of yo-yo effect between Texas and Texas A
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: & M over the really recent history of both programs,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: and now the last couple years have been an exception
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: to that. Hadn't necessarily played out that way for A
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: & M so far this season. I'm curious kind of
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: what you've seen over the last couple weeks where down
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: in College Station and has not looked like I think
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Mike Elko and company really expected it to.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, no question.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, I'm sure Texas fans have had their grumbles
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: early in the season, but that's nothing compared to what's
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: happening in College Station. Texas A & M' s offense has
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: been kind of a mess so far.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Like, obviously, the production hasn't been there for Marcel Reed.
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: But Texas A & M also isn't able to consistently
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: run the football consistently. Texas A & M' s weapons, other
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: than Mario Craver, aren't getting open. The offensive line has
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: been really bad. So they're not helping themselves at all.
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: They rank 129th nationally in yards per play. And I
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: think on the defensive side, that defense for a couple
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: years now has been counted on to carry so much
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: of the load for A & M. And you're starting
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: to see with the amount of draft picks that have
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: left that program, particularly on the defensive line, Torian York
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: leaving as their kind of middle linebacker who was responsible
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: for calling so many of the complicated checks that Mike
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: Elko uses. Without those pieces there, you're starting to see
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: that unit come back to earth a little bit too.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: You're seeing busts in the secondary.
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: And I, to be honest, like the vibes are not
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: good in college station right now. It's been very ugly.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: And I mean, the way, Texas A & M has
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: been playing. They could legitimately lose to Arkansas this weekend.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: I didn't think I'd be saying something like that going
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: into the season, but that is a realistic possibility with the.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Texas A & M product we've seen so far.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I certainly wouldn't have seen this level of struggle
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: coming from Texas A & M. Another team I was
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: high on coming into the season was Oklahoma. Bigger cause
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: for concern for you, the Aggies or the Sooners right now?
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Both Longhorn rivals have just really struggled to start the year.
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: A & M by a pretty decent margin, to be honest.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: I think Oklahoma still has something you can count on
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: from game to game, which is the defense. They have
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: an elite defensive unit. I know Georgia jumped on them
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: a little bit, but a lot of that had to
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: do with field position and some unfortunate circumstances.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: The defense got put in.
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: I think at the end of the day, Oklahoma still
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: has an elite defensive unit, which makes them extremely dangerous.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: I mean, has John Matier been great?
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: No. No.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: But John Mateer has definitely been better than Marcel Reed
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: so far.
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  Speaker 4: So I think Oklahoma, I'm not saying Oklahoma is going
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: to be fine. Like it won't be up to expectations,
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: but I think Oklahoma is going to remain very competitive
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: in the sec. And I think next week in Dallas
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: will be a very competitive game because it always is.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: And Oklahoma still remains to, is it still a very
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: talented program?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: So often the team that, that stumbles out of the
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: gate can, can then rise to the occasion.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: In the red river game.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: I don't think, the Longhorns will be taking that challenge
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: lightly in the slightest. I think a lot of teams,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: as I look at this week's slate, Chris, are going
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: to be tested in ways that maybe aren't at the
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: top of their list schedule-wise this season, but they're going
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: to be in unique ways. You got BYU, Miami, and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Notre Dame all going on the road. Top 10 teams,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: so BYU's going to TCU, Miami's going to Clemson, Notre
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Dame is going to Chapel Hill. If you were going
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: to get some chaos in that group, which matchup carries
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: the most intrigue there for you?
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  Speaker 3: Um.
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  Speaker 4: I wouldn't say, I don't know if I'm prepared to
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: really put any of those teams on full upset alert,
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: even though there's some intriguing games on the schedule. I
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: think for me, like it's TCU.
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Maybe that's just, I grew up in Texas. Like I
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: grew up watching the big 12.
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  Speaker 4: I'm very fascinated to see how TCU is going to
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: respond after a really bad loss to UCF. TCU is
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: the team going into the season. I thought, would be
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: right there for a big 12 championship. And they have
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: just not been so far this year. That offense has
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: really struggled. That defense is actually playing better than it
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: has in a couple of years with the offenses and
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: held up at the end of the bargain. And this
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: is a BYU team outside of a game against Arizona
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  Speaker 4: that hasn't really been tested so far. So I think
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: if I'm going to pick a team on upset alert,
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  Speaker 4: the team I'm most worried.
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  Speaker 3: About, it would probably be BYU.
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  Speaker 4: But a lot of that has to do with, I'm
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: just curious how TCU is going to look after a
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: really rocky start.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and Clemson had that rocky start in Death Valley.
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  Speaker 2: Now they get Miami at home. And look, it hadn't been.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: Pretty for the Tigers over these last couple weeks, but
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: they've found different ways to get it done. Miami, on
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: the other hand, has just looked unstoppable offensively so far
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: this season. How can Clemson potentially cause some trouble for
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: the Canes in this road matchup?
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: You got to run the ball. I mean, Clemson... Clemson
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  Speaker 3: at times this.
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: Year has really struggled to run the ball consistently, but
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: what it did last week against Cal was establish the run.
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: Gideon Davidson averaged, I think, seven yards per carry in
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: that game and took a lot of pressure off a
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: true freshman quarterback. Against Miami, you're going to have to score.
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  Speaker 4: I just don't see a way around that. Clemson's defense
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: is solid, but Miami's going to put up its points.
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  Speaker 4: That's why I just don't I just don't see a
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  Speaker 4: path for Clemson in this game to realistically pull an
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: upset because it's going to have to score to such
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: a degree to keep up with Miami. And they have
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: not really asked Tate Reynolds to do a ton offensively.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: I've kind of let him work into it as a.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: True freshman this year.
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  Speaker 4: So I'm not, I'm not really that worried about Miami
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: this weekend, but you know how it goes to Miami
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: every once in a while, once a season in the ACC,
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: they have a, what the heck.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Are you doing game? And maybe this is that one.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly could be.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Although I, I, think decently highly of the Wake Forest
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: team that they've already beaten on the road this season
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: or already in ACC play I meant to say you've
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: got some ranked on ranked matchups in the SEC here
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: and I know you and Brad Crawford put together a
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: great little preview and prediction article over at CBS Sports
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: diving into these matchups a little bit further we're talking
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: to Chris Hummer here on AM 1300 The Zone you
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: don't have to worry about offense when Al takes on
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Mississippi State. I mean, what a start it's been for
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: both of those young quarterbacks. Keelan Russell leading the tied
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: offense to sort of reach its explosive height, some of
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: which was missing towards the back half of last year.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: And then what Kamario Taylor's done at Mississippi State really,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: I think, catching the eyes of the rest of the conference.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, these are my two favorite quarterbacks to
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: watch so far this season, other than maybe Trinidad and Chambliss.
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: These guys are legitimately awesome.
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: In some ways, I think Kamario Taylor is a better
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: quarterback prospect than anybody in the country right now.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: He is that gifted.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: And I'm including people in the 27 quarterback class, potentially,
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: like Dante Moore, in that discussion.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: Kamario's that good.
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: And if you're from Texas, you are probably aware of
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: Keelan Russell for what he did at Duncanville. He has
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: been that good from the jump for Alabama as a
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: second-year quarterback this season. So it's going to be a
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: really intriguing matchup of two guys that I know are
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: close friends on top of everything else. To me, this
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: game really just comes down to can Alabama's defense generate pressure?
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: Mississippi State's been a top-20 pass-blocking unit, but I don't
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: think it's faced an elite pass rush so far, and
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: Alabama has been that. so far this season and Alabama secondary,
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: which was bus prone against Florida state a couple of
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: weeks ago. And it's supposed to be a strength of
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: the team needs to stay in front of Mississippi state,
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: which might have the fastest receiver group in the country.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: I like Alabama in this game, but I really just
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: hope it's a banger because I think these are two
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: of the most fun teams to watch in the FBS.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: And I'm more excited for this game than any other
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: this weekend for sure.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hard to overstate what this means for both
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: because you've got Mississippi State, right, trying to prove that
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: they've turned a corner, back up some of these big
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: results that they've racked up early in the season.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: And then you've got Alabama. You lose this one.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: All of a sudden, you've got a stretch coming up
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: that includes Georgia at Tennessee, LSU. And you got to
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: come through that with two losses or less to be
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: a playoff team. This feels like a really, really big
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: matchup in the SEC picture.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: One hundred percent. I mean, you can say the same
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: thing about Mississippi State, too.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: I think they go LSU, Oklahoma, Texas after Alabama. Like
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: there are no off weeks in the SEC this year,
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: unless I guess maybe you're playing Arkansas. But even Arkansas
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: is more talented than some others. So it's a it's
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: a game of pretty significant implications. I think it's going
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: to have Heisman implications by the end of the season.
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: I think one of these two quarterbacks is going to
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: be in New York City. So there's a lot on
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: the line for sure.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, should be a lot of fun to watch.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Florida's going to find out whether or not they can
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: take an off week in the SEC after that big.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Home win over Ole Miss.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: They go on the road at number 25, Missouri. You
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: were all over it this summer in terms of Jaden
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: Ball and the impact that him staying at Florida was
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: going to have. How about the work that John Sumrall's
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: done in just a short time building up that Florida
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: roster to get Aaron Filo to the level where he's playing?
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Do you feel like this Florida team has a lot
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of staying power here in the SEC this year?
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: I know it's early.
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: I think they're talented enough to be really, really competitive
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: the entire season. Would I go as far to pick
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: them as a legitimate SEC threat?
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: I don't think so.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: I think we've seen some of the limitations for them
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: defensively this year, particularly in the secondary.
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: I think they have really.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: Good corners, but the safety play has been a little
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: inconsistent for them. But we're seeing that offense and how
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: explosive it is. They have three of the best receivers
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: in the country. Uh, I think they might have the best,
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: like top three receiver room in the country, at least
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: the most talented. And, um, they have probably the best
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: running back in college football and Jaden ball. And John
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: Summerall went to that dude's house on Christmas season to
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: recruit him. Um, he is somebody that has made a
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: huge difference for them. And I think John Summerall has
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: basically made every correct decision so far. Um, there's obviously
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: a long way to go, but he's unlocked Florida in
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: a way we just didn't see. And, I think four
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: seasons under Billy Napier, maybe it was five, the years
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: run together.
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: But he's done an excellent job. And I mean, that's
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: not surprising.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: I mean, John Summerall's been a rising star in college
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: football for a long time. If you talk to people
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: behind the scenes, and I believe he's competed in a
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: conference championship game every single year, he's been a head coach.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: He can't do much better than that.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: You know, you've done a lot of great reporting just
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: in terms of the roster valuations and which coaches are
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: maybe getting the most bang for their buck. Is there
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: anything John Summerall's done kind of in that category that
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: is repeatable or is something that new coaches will use
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: as roster building teach tape based off this?
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: Well, I mean, I think he had a pretty big
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: advantage in that Florida's roster was way more talented than
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: I think a lot of people on the outside understand.
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: I know Steve Sarkeesian said something to that effect this
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: week at his press conference, too.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: But, like, Florida was legitimately very, very loaded.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: And I think what he did that was most important
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: was he prioritized keeping the right people. So on offense,
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: that means bringing Jaden Ball back, getting Vernell Brown and
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: Dallas Wilson to stay, the two freshman receivers. On the
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: other side of the ball, keeping Jaden Woods, star edge rusher,
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: who Texas fans are probably familiar with, too, if you
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: were following the portal cycle last year. So he kept
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: the core pieces around at no small expense, mind you.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: He took, I don't know if this is recommended all
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: the time, but he took a slight discount quarterback and
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: went with an unproven starter in Aaron Filo. But what
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: he had as an advantage was the right coordinator hire.
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: He brought in Buster Faulkner, somebody who knew Aaron Philo
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: by heart at that point. He was his offensive coordinator
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: the previous two seasons at Georgia Tech, and he saved
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: money there. And I think Florida has a very competitive
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: roster in the SEC. It's like in the low to
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: mid-30s in terms of costs, but it's not a top
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: seven or eight most expensive roster in the league. So Florida,
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: I mean, to a degree, is doing more with less.
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: And I think John Summerall hired the right GM. He
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: hired an NFL GM. He kept some of the key
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: pieces around from the old staff and the personnel office.
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: And I think he just found a way to bring
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: all that together. So yeah, I mean, he's doing more
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: with less and I think he made basically every right
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: call about who needed to come back and who he
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: could let go. Yeah.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: And it's, it's, it's, I think that's pretty clear, even
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: though we're early in the season, could be a tough
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: spot on the road against Missouri who lost on the road.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: Like we know it's hard to, hard to win on
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: the road in the sec, but, That's a Mississippi State
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: team that it sounds like you think pretty highly of.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Could the Tigers potentially pull a home upset here?
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, absolutely.
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: Missouri's playing really well this season in terms of what
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: they get from Austin Simmons at quarterback. The run game
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: has suffered without Ahmad Hardy. There's no question about that.
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: But Missouri is good enough up front defensively to at
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: least slow down Jaden Ball. Missouri comes into this game
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: as a top 20 run defense. I don't think anybody's
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: going to stop getting Bob, but they're good enough to
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: make Aaron Philo do a little bit more than he's
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: had to do at times this season.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: I'm not picking me out right upset.
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: Like I think Florida is really good, but I, I
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: have Missouri covering this game. I think Missouri is more
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: than good enough to cover that line. And it's really
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: tough to play on the road in the SEC.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Sounds like you've got a lot of the favorites kind
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: of hanging on through their road test this week. We'll
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: see if all that comes to fruition. We're wrapping up
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: here with Chris Hummer from CBS Sports. You can follow
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: him on X at Chris underscore Hummer. Got to get
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: your thoughts on the game in Iowa City where the
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Hawkeyes are riding high after that big win at the
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: big house. But they have really, like you pointed out, never...
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: stood up in these big tests against ryan day's ohio
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: state do you see this going a little differently this
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: time around as the hawkeyes host the buckeyes.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: Uh i mean i see it being close for a
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: while i mean i love by just the nature of
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: how they play are going to keep games closer to
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: me like if i was going to stick around in
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: this game it has to have long drives and it
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: has to be able to run the ball consistently um
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: and you know what to Iowa's credit this year, they've
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: been a different offensive attack. I think they're 37th nationally
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: in yards per play, and this is a team that's
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: hung out in the hundreds basically every year in the
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: last five years.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: So Iowa's offense is much better.
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: I think they lack some of the explosive pieces along
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: the defensive line that they maybe had in the past,
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: but nobody plays more sound and consistent defense than Iowa.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: They play zones, and they're in the right spots all
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: the time. But I just have a hard time picking
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: against Ohio State in a game like this. They're just
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: more talented. Obviously, I think Texas fans saw that Ohio
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: State might have some flaws. They gave up way too
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: many rushing yards last week in the game they played.
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: I think they're susceptible there. The pass rush isn't what
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: it has been. Do they have impact weapons beyond Jeremiah Smith?
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: I think that's a question mark, but at the end
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: of the day, I think Ohio State still might be
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: the best team in the country. I think they're on
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: the short list and They just don't lose a lot
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: of games like this to a team against Iowa that
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: just really has to play perfectly to.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: Stay in this game.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll see if they're able to do so.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: I tend to agree with you on that matchup with
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Ohio State getting the edge. 14.5 points, by the way,
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: is the spread in that one. Chris, we appreciate you
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: stopping by, sharing your expertise as always. Are you headed
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: out to any of the games this weekend?
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: No, I'm just hanging out on the couch this weekend
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: trying to take it all in.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: A lot of Longhorn fans are going to be doing
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: the same thing. Enjoy it.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: Hey, I hope Longhorn fans enjoyed it. their weekend off.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: I appreciate it.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Chris. Appreciate the time.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: That is Chris Hummer from CBS Sports. When we come back,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: inconceivable on this Wednesday edition of The Craig Way Show.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you hanging out with us on AM 1300,
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: The Zone.