Latest / The PatteFacts: A College Football Show / Ep. 130: Week One College Football Takeaways

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Ep. 130: Week One College Football Takeaways · The PatteFacts: A College Football Show

0:02
Durant makes. His move spins in the pace turn,
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puts it up, puts it in. John Morant knocks it down.
0:08
Chioza with the dollar the curve back.
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Take it down. LeBron No look like James.
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LeBron James with the rejection. And.
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Here we go. Episode. 130 of.
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The Paddafax streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever
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you get your podcasts from. It is September 2nd, 2025.
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Thank you so much for tuning in. I'm William Patterson.
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All right, we are back for my first.
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Real week. Of.
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College football takeaways. Obviously we had week zero last
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week and I did my takeaways from that and we had, you know, four
1:05
or five games to decipher. But now we've got a full week of
1:10
college football in the books, so many big games.
1:13
This was the best Week 1 we've ever seen.
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And that means we have. Plenty to cover, so happy you're
1:19
here a couple of. Housekeeping notes before we get
1:23
into it, make sure to follow at the pad of facts on Instagram,
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Let me show this for the camera real quick.
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But. Make sure to turn that bell
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notification on so you never miss a take.
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All right, Plenty to cover today.
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We're going to cover a lot of the big games from the weekend,
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LSU, Clemson, Texas, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State.
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I'll also have some Notre Dame, Miami as well.
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And then we'll talk Tennessee, Syracuse, we'll talk Auburn,
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Baylor, we'll talk UCLA. In Utah.
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I was really impressed with Devin Dampier for the utes and
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this is going to be a jam packed episode, so stick around for it
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all. I think it's all great.
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Let's dive right into it. I want to begin with this, and
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it's my Week 1 takeaways. And we'll begin with #9 LSU
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defeating Clemson 17. To 10.
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And I'm doing this old school now.
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I'm pulling out notes. I've got pages on pages of notes
3:26
I've printed out. Shout out to my friend Parker
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Davis, a listener of the Pad of Facts, for helping me print this
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stuff out. The library's closed on Labor
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Day. What?
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What? In the world, people have got
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stuff to do. I've got.
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Podcast to produce but you know this game was on my radar for a
3:43
long time heading into the season.
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Obviously, if you've been listening, you know how I feel
3:48
about the Clemson Tigers and. LSU under Brian Kelly has not
3:55
had much success at all and openers winless and openers O
3:59
and five heading into the match up on Saturday and the theme of
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all those games were OK, we have an early lead or we're hanging
4:08
around, but we cannot finish games.
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And you might remember last year, Brian Kelly had a very.
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Infamous post game press conference where he was banging
4:22
on the table kind of making a fool of himself.
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But that frustration was pent up and it was the same narrative
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over and over again with that repeat itself on the road and
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probably. The toughest environment that
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LSU has faced in an opener under Brian Kelly.
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There was also the side of, you know, both teams returned a ton
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of production. Clemson.
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Returns a ton of players from last year's team.
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A big reason why I believe they're the best team in the
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country and will win the national championship.
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LSU brings a bunch of guys back like a Harold Perkins and a Wit
4:56
Weeks. On the defensive side of the
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ball, Garrett Nussmeyer, on the offensive side of the ball,
5:00
Aaron Anderson. And obviously for Clemson you've
5:03
got Kate Klubnick and Antonio Williams and on the defensive
5:09
side of the ball, TJ Parker and Ashton Hampton.
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Avion Terrell, so many guys for both these teams, Peter Woods as
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well for Clemson, that's going to be an NFL guy and this was
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also going to be a top tier quarterback match up.
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That's all what we thought heading into this game.
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But my biggest take away, I really could not have expected.
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My biggest take away from LSU, Clemson is that LSU has a.
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Defense. Defensive coordinator Blake
5:36
Baker did an incredible job. There was a ton of pressure
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throughout the game on throughout the game on Kate
5:41
Klubnik. Made life really, really
5:43
difficult. LSU held Clemson, a top tier
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offense heading into 2025, to 262 total yards and 32 rushing
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yards. Clemson was 3 of 13 on 3rd down.
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They were two of four on 4th down the front was aggressive.
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They put pressure on Kate Klumnick.
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They made it difficult for him to get get shots and plays down
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the field. They totally took out the run
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game to where that was not a factor.
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And they made Clemson 1 dimensional.
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And Clemson's a really, really talented team.
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And LS US defense has struggled in years past, like ever since
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Brian Kelly has arrived, it's been The interior guys are good,
6:28
they'll make plays, the linebackers are solid, they'll
6:30
make plays. But the secondary has constantly
6:33
been the issue. That was not the case in this
6:36
one. The secondary looked like LSU of
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old and Mansoor Dillane, the transfer for Virginia Tech.
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Who? Brian Kelly said was one of
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their top portal acquisitions. Was phenomenal, 2 tackles. 2.
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Pass deflections, an interception that was really,
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really key in the momentum of the game.
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This was a a really, really strong showing from a defense
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that is continued to let down year after year.
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And then, you know, outside of the secondary, I mean, Harold
7:09
Perkins, a guy that was injured last year, surprisingly decides
7:13
to come back this season. He has five tackles, a sack and
7:16
1 1/2 tackles for loss. West and Wit Weeks, the
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linebacker trio, they finished with seven tackles.
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I thought LSU's tackling was very disciplined.
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They did not allow, you know, many yards after contact.
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And again, that front and the linebackers did a really good
7:32
job of eliminating the run game. It made Clemson really one to
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one-dimensional and when Antonio Williams got hurt on what was
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like the third play from scrimmage for Clemson's offense,
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things really got dicey because now Delane is matched up with
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Bryant, Wesco or TJ Moore. And I'm not saying those guys
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are bad, like I like Wesco, I like Moore.
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But the strength of this offense is Kate Klumnick and Antonio
8:01
Williams, one of the best quarterback wide receiver duos
8:03
in the country. Antonio Williams is a top five
8:04
wide receiver in college. Football, so you really needed a
8:08
guy like that and when he goes down, LSU did a really good job
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of taking advantage of those match ups.
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So hats off to Blake Baker, man. This was a really, really strong
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performance from them and one of the best defensive performances
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we've seen from LSU in a big game in a while.
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I mean, we're not too far removed from LSU getting
8:26
shellacked by Alabama last year in their own building.
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What was it, 42 to 3? Alabama ran all over them and.
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This defense was much, much improved, took advantage of the
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opportunity of no Antonio Williams.
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Kate Klumnick was forced into a lot of hurried throws, faced a
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lot of pressure throughout the night and did not look like the
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version of him that we saw in the College Football Playoff.
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Up against a really strong Texas defense.
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Kate Klumnick's one of one of his best games last year was
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against Texas in the College Football Playoff.
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He was dialed in. He was very composed, was able
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to deliver the ball accurately and efficiently and put it in a
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couple of tight windows. He did not have that time
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against this LSU defense because of Baker's scheme of of putting
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the blitz and putting the pressure on them and forcing
9:12
quick decisions. And when you're winning the
9:15
one-on-one coverage matchups and the secondary with guys like
9:18
Monsour Delane, it's really tough to win that game.
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And give credit where credit's due, LSU was able to do exactly
9:26
that. Now, that second big key point
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heading into this game was that LSU has had plenty of
9:33
opportunities in these opening games, but they've never been
9:36
able to finish. LSU was able to finish this
9:40
time. They trailed early, but they
9:44
made plays over the course of the game to stay within
9:48
distance. When they were trailing, they
9:51
tie it up and then they put the foot on the pedal.
9:53
They never let go. Now, there were a couple of
9:55
offensive possessions I thought could have been better, but the
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defense always held their end of the bargain.
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And that was the main difference here.
10:04
Like, the defense was better, but they finished the game.
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They found a way to win. And that was something that less
10:11
or not less Miles, excuse me, Brian Kelly continued to harp on
10:15
after, you know, losses to USC last year in the opener and
10:20
losses to Florida State in the opener.
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This time, LSU was able to finish the job.
10:28
Garrett Nussmeyer, 28 of 38230 yards, one touchdown.
10:34
The rushing attack was really, really solid for the Tigers,
10:36
where they go 29 carries for 110 yards.
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Caden Durham 74 yards and a touchdown.
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The wide receivers I thought were really really big and none
10:47
were bigger than Aaron Anderson who goes 6 receptions for 99
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yards and there was a stretch where he had like 3 receptions
10:54
in a row. Put LSU in scoring position for
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the game. The LSU wide receivers total 246
11:02
yards. A really big X Factor for this
11:05
LSU team going forward and I talked about them on my pre
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season top 25 podcast Trade as Green trades Green is a really,
11:14
really good player at 6-7 tight end kind of The X Factor a guy
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that you can just throw the ball up to now.
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He only had two reception and receptions in this game, but he
11:23
did have a touchdown and that was on Avion Terrell, one of the
11:26
better defensive players for this Clemson team and Green made
11:30
Terrell look insignificant. I mean look tiny out there
11:33
trades Green will be a guy to watch for for this LSU team.
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I look for them to get him more involved in this offense because
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I think he's really, really tough to defend.
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And I was really impressed with Garrett Nesmeyer throughout the
11:45
course of this one to where he took a couple of big hits from
11:48
ATJ Parker and was kind of hobbled, was limping, but.
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He. Never got thrown off his game.
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He continued to make accurate throws, continue to make the
11:57
right decisions. And you know, for a guy that,
12:02
you know, the jury's still out on what type of quarterback
12:05
he'll be this season. I know he faced a lot of praise
12:07
this offseason, was given a lot of praise, I should say.
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I thought he lived up to the hype and and played really,
12:12
really well. One of the things last year that
12:15
he struggled with in these big games was turnovers.
12:18
Go back to that Texas A&M game where LSU is up early and what
12:23
gave the game away was Garrett Nesmeyer turning the ball over.
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And he did not do that on Saturday, kept LSU within arm's
12:31
distance, kept the foot on the pedal when they had the lead and
12:35
LED a really good game-winning drive down the field and found
12:38
trade as green in the end zone. So my takeaways for LSU, they've
12:42
got a defense and they finished the game, which is 2 things that
12:46
they struggled to do last year. So I'm already seeing an
12:48
improvement year over year, which is a really good sign now
12:53
for Clemson. A lot of people text me Saturday
12:56
night. Oh my gosh, William, how does
12:57
your number one team go down in Week 1?
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They're at home. They're playing LSU.
13:02
I. Get it?
13:04
Antonio Williams missing the whole game I thought was really
13:08
significant because that's one of the best players in the
13:10
country. You need him out there up
13:12
against what was then, you know, in front of us, a much better
13:16
LSU defense. And though I think Bryant Westco
13:20
is really good, though I think TJ Moore is really good.
13:23
Antonio Williams is kind of that separating factor to where he
13:29
can win one-on-one match ups with some of the best in the
13:31
country. And you did not have that with
13:34
him out there to even where Klumnik was forced into a lot of
13:38
pressure and tough throws. It's like one of those things,
13:41
if you've got a wide receiver like Williams, you can just kind
13:43
of put in the area and and it's a 5050 ball.
13:45
Like they didn't have that. And I thought that was really
13:48
big on a couple of those key downs that led to a 2O four on
13:51
4th down and a three of 14 on 3rd down.
13:56
Check that three of 13 on 3rd down.
14:01
But I thought one of the other really big things was they
14:03
failed to establish the run. The run game was, I mean, not
14:07
existent, not existent. And I thought that was really,
14:10
really important. 19 carries, 32 yards.
14:13
Adam Randall, a guy I talked a lot about this summer.
14:16
I I thought Randall would be really good is he's a converted
14:19
wide receiver, was a top ten wide receiver in the 2022 class.
14:24
Ends up moving to running back. Played a little.
14:27
Bit to the end of last season. Had big, big expectations this
14:30
year at six, two and, you know, kind of a guy that you just
14:34
can't really prepare for at running back.
14:37
But outside of the touchdown he had and never never really had
14:41
any other big plays outside of dropping out of the backfield
14:45
and and and going into as a receiver on a crucial third
14:48
down. Randall was a a big no show for
14:51
me. And really the running back room
14:53
was a big no show. And that put a lot of pressure
14:56
on Clemson and Kate Klumnick to have success in the year match
15:02
that with not having Antonio Williams.
15:04
It it just set up for a really, really tall task.
15:06
And I thought Bryant Westco, TJ Moore and Tyler Brown stepped up
15:11
in Williams absence. They totaled 12 receptions, 154
15:15
yards combined, which is really, really solid from complimentary
15:18
production. But again, no running backroom
15:22
or no running game established, no Antonio Williams.
15:25
I I I just thought the the issues piled up for Clemson and
15:29
on top of how could of a job LSU's defense did, it made life
15:32
really difficult. But let me get this straight,
15:35
I'm not out on this Clemson team.
15:37
You look at the remaining schedule.
15:39
They host SMU in week 8. I don't think SMU is as strong
15:43
as they were last year. I project this team to lose
15:45
about 8 or 9 or excuse me, only win 8 or 9 games.
15:49
Sorry about that. I I see a nine and three season.
15:52
I think their schedule's tougher.
15:53
KJ Jennings, Kevin Jennings was not that good against competent
15:58
opponents last year. Clemson and Penn State had five
16:00
combined turnovers. So I'm not really worried about
16:04
that game at. Louisville.
16:05
Week 12 could get dicey, could get interesting.
16:08
Louisville's played Clemson pretty close over the last
16:10
couple of years and then at South Carolina.
16:13
Week 14 will also be a tough one, but I think Clemson will
16:18
ride a lot of momentum into that game.
16:20
Most likely be a one loss team. They'll probably be favored and
16:24
that one depending on how South Carolina wraps up an SEC play,
16:27
but they're going to be fine. This is going to be a College
16:30
Football Playoff team, I think Miami's.
16:31
Good. And we'll talk more about them
16:33
here in a minute, but I think Clemson's still the best team in
16:37
the ACC and they'll have a chance to make the College
16:39
Football Playoff despite their loss.
16:41
I'm not worried about Clemson folks.
16:43
And yes, I know they were my number one team and they lost.
16:45
But pump the brakes. It's a long season.
16:47
You can have a loss and still win.
16:49
We saw that with Ohio State last year.
16:54
For LSU. I think this team understands
16:56
how big of a year this is. They understand that this is the
17:01
most talented roster they've had under Brian Kelly.
17:04
They understand that they had a lot of returning players.
17:07
They understand this is the year if they want to win the national
17:10
championship, if they want to make the College Football
17:11
Playoff, this is the year to do it.
17:13
And I think you saw that level of attention to detail
17:16
defensively. I think you saw that level of
17:19
engagement offensively on Saturday and when you look at
17:23
their games to go, they've got to keep that up because you go
17:26
Florida Week 3 at home, that's going to be a tough one, really
17:31
a kind of litmus test for the Gators more so than LSU already
17:33
kind of proven themselves. But that could be a really
17:36
interesting game that could be a signature win for the Gators and
17:39
and LSU could maybe get caught sleepwalking a little bit at Ole
17:42
Miss week five. I think the Tigers are the more
17:44
talented team, even though that's a rivalry matchup.
17:47
I like LSU, South Carolina at home Week 7 off a by I think
17:52
sets up well for for LSU, especially after what we saw in
17:57
flashes from Lenora Sellers this past weekend.
18:01
Texas A&M travels to the Bayou as well in Week 9.
18:05
That's a winnable game at Alabama.
18:07
Week 11 off a buy doesn't seem as ridiculous as it may have
18:11
seemed a couple weeks ago. Like I thought Alabama at home
18:14
would be pretty comfortable, but after what we saw them look like
18:18
against Florida State, who knows?
18:20
LSU might be able to go in into there and get a big win at
18:24
Oklahoma Week 14. I still think is one of their
18:26
trickiest games on the schedule because that's a late season
18:29
game. We saw Oklahoma do that to
18:31
Alabama last year and this is a better Oklahoma team.
18:35
Depending on what the Sooners end up doing, that could be
18:39
either a last ditch effort to make the College Football
18:42
Playoff or a Oklahoma team that's nine and three, eight and
18:47
four. That's a good team that's just
18:49
been kind of battered and bruised with their schedule.
18:51
I think at Oklahoma is a sneaky one for the Tigers, but I think
18:55
both Clemson and LSU are College Football Playoff level teams and
18:58
they prove that this weekend. Really impressed with both of
19:01
them, even though LSU was the bigger take away this weekend.
19:07
I, I, the, the defense, man, the, the, the, the defense was
19:11
one of my biggest takeaways this weekend.
19:13
One of the most impressive units from year to year, LSU
19:19
defensively. And there's another one on
19:21
defense we'll talk about here in a little bit.
19:24
OK, we'll move over to Texas and Ohio states.
19:28
This was supposed to be the big one of the weekend and instead
19:30
it was the Buckeyes. Spoiling the Manning debut and
19:37
heading into this one. We knew this was, you know, the
19:41
long-awaited first game for Arch Manning as a full time starter
19:45
for the Longhorns. He's got a loaded roster around
19:48
him. Offensively, you've got, you
19:51
know, CJ Baxter and Contravian Wisner in your backfield.
19:54
You've got Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley, the 5th at wide
19:57
receiver. The offensive line was a little
20:00
bit of a concern heading in knowing you had to replace 4
20:03
starters from last year. But DJ Campbell was one of the
20:06
guys that was a starter last year.
20:08
He returns. And defensively I went on and on
20:10
about this defense. I mean Anthony Hill, Junior,
20:14
Colin Simmons, Michael Toff, Johnny McDonnell, this this is a
20:18
really good defense and I thought they showed that on
20:20
Saturday. But in terms of the offense,
20:23
this was supposed to be arch pretty comfortable with a pretty
20:26
solid group around him. For Ohio State, this is a new
20:29
look team coming off their national championship win.
20:32
Jeremiah Smith, one of the best players in the country, probably
20:35
the best player in the country. And you get an inexperienced but
20:39
highly touted quarterback battle between Manning and saying.
20:43
And instead we kind of got mid versus mid at quarterback
20:47
because I wasn't really impressed with either of them.
20:50
But Ohio State's defense was really impressive and key
20:55
moments. Texas goes 5 of 14 on 3rd down,
21:01
one for five on 4th down. The goal line tush push was one
21:05
of the worst executed tush pushes I've ever seen by any
21:08
team offensively. But Ohio State was there in that
21:12
moment and made a big stop. Ohio State was there to make a
21:16
big time interception from Jermaine Matthews, a guy that I
21:19
think is going to take a big step in this season.
21:22
Ohio State made the big plays defensively over the course of
21:26
the game, one of five on 4th down.
21:28
Texas would get into, you know, field goal position, position or
21:32
in the red zone having an opportunity to put up points.
21:35
But Ohio State would step up in the big moments.
21:38
They replace a ton of players from last year.
21:40
Jack Sawyer, JT, Tomo Luau, you could go down the list.
21:44
Cody Simon at linebacker, a ton of big time players gone, but
21:48
guys like Sonny Styles stepped up.
21:50
And Jerane Matthews, again, I mentioned him.
21:53
Arvel Reese, Caleb Downs. Like we know this is a group
21:58
that has talent. But I thought.
21:59
They over performed my expectation and that was one of
22:04
the big takeaways here. Like Texas, I think still has
22:07
the better unit, but Ohio State was really, really strong
22:11
defensively despite all they lost.
22:14
And then I, I do want to give credit to Texas as well, because
22:17
I, I thought Texas's defense was really good.
22:20
They hold Ohio State to three of 12 on 3rd down and 215 total
22:25
yards. I thought they did their job.
22:27
They they gave Arch Manning and company a ton of opportunities
22:31
throughout this game to put points on the board and get the
22:34
ball back. Obviously the offense wasn't
22:36
able to do that, but it wasn't Texas's defense that was the
22:40
issue. And not that we anticipated that
22:42
because this is going to be one of the best defenses in the
22:45
country. I think I was more so surprised.
22:48
That both of these teams have elite level defenses.
22:53
I was more so thinking it would just be Texas.
22:56
Ohio State loses a lot. We knew their.
22:58
Secondary was going to be good with David Igunison and and
23:02
Caleb Downs and and Matthews, but I was worried about the kind
23:05
of the front level guys and the linebackers.
23:08
Both of these teams have. Elite level defenses and put the
23:11
opposing talented quarterbacks in really, really tough
23:15
positions. Let's talk about that
23:17
quarterback battle, because that was one of the big.
23:19
Storylines heading into this one, and one of the things I
23:22
talked about leading up to the game last week was look, I think
23:25
we've got this narrative a little bit wrong.
23:27
Everyone's focused on Arch Manning in his first game, but
23:32
we're not really talking about Julian saying like Arch Manning
23:34
completed 68% of his passes last year appeared.
23:37
In 10 plus games, this is the guy that had plenty of
23:40
experience even though he hadn't started.
23:42
But against Mississippi State and University of Louisiana
23:45
Monroe, this is still a guy that has started an SEC.
23:48
Game and played a lot of snaps. Julian Saying went into this
23:52
game with 27 total snaps in his career.
23:55
So the experience level was a lot different and I thought
23:58
there was more pressure on Saying to be better.
24:01
And I'm not necessarily saying saying was better, but Manning
24:05
was not what I anticipated he would.
24:08
Be. Arch goes 17 of 30, a 170 yards
24:12
passing, 1 touchdown and one interception.
24:15
And my big take away from Arch this past weekend was he never
24:20
got comfortable. I did not like Steve Sarkisian
24:24
scheme that put him in a lot of tough positions.
24:27
There were a lot of third and longs.
24:28
I thought there was too much lenience on the run game.
24:32
And I get it, it's a really talented Ohio State defense, but
24:36
you've got to let your quarterback get in rhythm early
24:38
and I did not and I did not think that Texas gave him the
24:42
opportunity to do that. There were a couple of really
24:45
strong throws from Arch and that's the type of potential
24:48
that you see that could make him a top tier quarterback in
24:51
college football. But there are a lot of
24:53
mechanical things that he's got to fix.
24:56
The sidearm throws, we're not at the ballpark.
24:58
We don't need to throw it like a baseball, you know, hit your
25:01
receiver on time and accurately on a crucial 3rd down that that
25:06
Ryan Wingo miss was on Arch Manning.
25:08
That was something that decided the game as that put Texas in a
25:12
fourth down situation. I just thought he never got
25:16
comfortable. He made a couple of really bad
25:19
reads and put a put the ball in a couple of really bad spots
25:23
throughout the course of the game.
25:24
I hate to be critical of the guy because he's young, but for a
25:28
guy that's received a lot of hype and it's not necessarily on
25:31
him, he's got to be better. And he's got to be better with
25:35
mechanics and he's got to be better, better with getting the
25:37
ball accurately and on time, which is something he was not
25:41
able to do on on Saturday. Too many sidearm throws.
25:44
Missed too many early reads, missed too many easy throws.
25:49
Just the routine stuff that he's got to clean up.
25:51
But I get it, it's a tough defense.
25:52
But that was really disappointing to see from Arch
25:55
for saying. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't a a
25:59
needle mover for me per SE. 13 of 20, a 126 yards and a
26:03
touchdown did the job. Did enough to get the win, but
26:07
he wasn't. Wowing me, and I wasn't
26:09
necessarily thinking I was going to get wowed, but I think Ohio
26:13
State does have some concerns when they go up against like a
26:16
Penn State that I think has a much more established offense
26:20
with Drew Aller and a much better receiving core this
26:23
season, a running back tandem that's really, really solid.
26:26
Like games like that, I think Penn State has the upper hand
26:29
and you know, going into week two I would still rank Penn
26:32
State above Ohio State just basing off of my pre season
26:36
notions and what I believe are the two teams.
26:38
But Sands got to get in better rhythm with Jeremiah Smith, who
26:43
was uncharacteristically kind of out of it on Saturday. 6
26:47
receptions for 43 yards but had a number of drops.
26:50
And some of those were insane as well.
26:52
But some of those were routine throws that Smith was not able
26:55
to connect on. And again, a really good Texas
26:57
defense that was going to be a part of this the whole way.
27:00
But I was really surprised to see them be so out of sync.
27:03
I think Sands got to be better for this Ohio State team to be
27:07
back to the college football, you know, top tier list per SE,
27:11
a national championship contender and what the same goes
27:16
for arch Manning folks. So I'm not just picking sides
27:18
here, but a little bit of an underwhelming performance from
27:22
both those quarterbacks who received a lot of recognition
27:26
heading into the season. More so Arch than saying, but
27:29
again, it's early. You're going up against really
27:31
good defenses. You know, you can't expect
27:33
everything's going to be perfect.
27:35
But again, both these teams will be fine.
27:37
Ohio State, they got Illinois on the road and Week 7, Penn State
27:42
and Week 10, that one's at home and you've got at Michigan and
27:46
Week 14. I mean, that Michigan game can
27:49
be interesting, especially with the way that they have fared
27:52
against them in years past. I think Penn State is going to
27:55
be a really tough one, but it helps that they're playing in
27:57
the shoe. Don't overlook Illinois either.
28:00
Illinois looks strong this weekend against Western
28:02
Illinois. And I know you might hear that
28:04
sentence and say, William, there's no way you just said
28:06
that. But Illinois is a good team.
28:08
They're veteran led and they've got a good defense.
28:11
I'm interested to see Sands progression over the next couple
28:14
of weeks leading up to the meat of their Big 10 season.
28:18
And for Texas, you get an opportunity to get a big time
28:20
win on the road at Florida and Week 6.
28:22
That's going to be a tough one. Florida's going to look at that
28:24
as a resume builder building win.
28:28
Oklahoma, Week 7, neutral site. That's one where you've, you
28:32
know, got to get a win there at Georgia, Week 12 off a by.
28:36
It helps that you're off a by, but you are going to be in a
28:39
really tough spot there. And then Texas A&M Week 14.
28:43
So overall at Florida, at Georgia are the two games that I
28:47
think will depend or depict whether Texas is a College
28:52
Football Playoff team or not. They've got to pick up a win.
28:56
One of those has to be a win to make the the field.
28:59
I think they'll beat Oklahoma. I think they'll beat Texas A&M.
29:01
But at Florida, at Georgia, that's a resume building when
29:04
they have to have. OK, we'll go to another.
29:09
SEC battle with another conference, and this one I've
29:13
got a fired up opinion on. All right, Alabama and Florida
29:22
State, the Knowles put fire on De Boer is what I have titled
29:30
this one as as #8 Alabama falls at Florida State in embarrassing
29:37
fashion. The pregame storylines for this
29:40
one is Alabama returns one of the best rosters in the country
29:45
and could definitely take a Year 2 jump.
29:48
With Caitlin de Boer, I didn't love their quarterback.
29:52
Situation, but a lot of people told me this was going to be
29:55
just like Mac Jones on that 2020 team, right?
29:57
Oh, Ty Simpson with a really talented roster.
29:59
Oh, it's going to be all fine fun and rainbows.
30:02
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't believe that and I was
30:05
very outspoken about that. A lot of Alabama people told me,
30:07
oh, William, Ty Simpson. Remember, guy's been there for
30:10
years and he's barely seen the field.
30:13
I I'm not putting stock in that. I put stock in Keylawn Russell.
30:17
Who's? The Lamborghini at the, you
30:19
know, the shed house. He needs to be playing.
30:22
But that's another conversation we'll have here in a minute.
30:25
For Florida State, they're looking to turn things around
30:27
after a disastrous 2 in 10 season.
30:31
A brand new cast. Thomas Castellanos comes over
30:34
from Boston College after he basically quit midway through
30:37
the season. Kind of a box of misfit toys for
30:39
this Florida State team is me. Interesting to see what they
30:43
would look like in the opener. And boy, did we get an answer.
30:49
This is the lowest moment of the Kalin De Boer era at Alabama.
30:55
This is lower than losing to Vanderbilt.
30:57
This is lower than losing at Oklahoma in the final couple
31:01
weeks of the season. This is lower than losing to the
31:04
second and third strings against Michigan in the bowl game.
31:07
This is the lowest point that we have seen Kalin De Boer in
31:12
Alabama. Alabama was manhandled and out
31:17
disciplined once again on Saturday against Florida State.
31:21
The same characteristics they struggle with last season were
31:25
on display in the home and excuse me, in the opener of the
31:28
2025 season. You're trying to get better from
31:31
year one to year 2. You're trying to get better from
31:33
last season to this season. And the same characteristics
31:36
that continue to put Alabama in tough situations last year,
31:40
which resulted in losses, was exactly what happened on
31:43
Saturday. Caitlin De Boer has hit rock
31:46
bottom with this Alabama team. Out physical, out disciplined.
31:52
A disaster. Florida State had 388 total
31:56
yards, 5.1 yards per rush and 10.9 yards per pass.
32:02
So every two times they ran the ball, they got a first down.
32:05
Every time they threw the ball, they got a first down.
32:07
That's what the numbers say. That's horrible in a season
32:11
opener for this talented of a team.
32:13
There's no excuse and there's no excuse to continue to have
32:17
boneheaded mistakes. 8 penalties for 70 yards, Stupid stuff after
32:25
the play, falling on a guy that's already been tackled,
32:28
pass interference. Just just routine stuff.
32:32
Stuff that if you have better coaching, you don't have these
32:35
issues. I don't think the guys respect
32:38
Kaylin Devore. It looks like a free for all out
32:40
there. There's no discipline.
32:42
And when was the last time Alabama got out physicaled in a
32:47
season opener? Nick Saban would have these guys
32:51
running for miles. They'd be puking their guts out
32:54
after practice with the type of performance they put up on
32:56
Saturday. And let's get real about Kaylin
32:59
Devore. He's now nine and five as
33:02
Alabama's head. Coach.
33:04
And this is the Tides first season opening loss since 2001.
33:09
And he's now six and four against unranked opponents.
33:14
Nick Saban was 124 and four. Wow, wow.
33:21
Six and four against unranked opponents through 14 games of
33:27
his Alabama career. That's an issue.
33:34
That's an issue. De Boer now has four losses as
33:38
A2 touchdown favorite. Saban had three of those in his
33:42
tenure. And look, I'm not trying to
33:44
compare Caitlin De Boer to the best coach of all time.
33:47
I'm not trying to do that. But there is a standard that
33:50
Nick Saban set in Alabama, and Caitlin De Boer is letting that
33:54
down. That's the reality of this,
33:57
folks. These guys are not disciplined.
34:03
They're not prepared to play an opponent that doesn't have a
34:05
number in front of them. They think they're going to walk
34:08
into every building and just win because they're Alabama.
34:11
That's the type of motto that Nick Saban never allowed.
34:15
He called it rat poison, and sometimes rat poison would seep
34:19
its way into a situation, but never.
34:24
Four times out of 10 games against unranked opponents, this
34:27
is Alabama. Alabama doesn't lose to Florida
34:30
State in the opener, A Florida State team that replaces
34:33
everyone from last year on a 2 and 10 team.
34:36
Alabama doesn't lose to Vanderbilt on the road.
34:39
Alabama doesn't get embarrassed in the bowl game against a
34:43
second and third string unit, Michigan.
34:45
When Alabama decided to play all their starters, the same
34:50
characteristics last season, that hurt this Alabama team over
34:56
and over again. We're on full display Saturday.
35:00
That's my biggest problem. Ryan Grubbs, a good offensive
35:03
coordinator. Caitlin Dubois is a good
35:05
offensive mind. All that goes out the window if
35:08
you get manhandled and you're an undisciplined football team.
35:14
That's the reality of it. The second thing I want to talk
35:17
about is Ty Simpson. The funniest thing of this
35:21
offseason is everyone told me William Ty Simpson is going to
35:23
be just like Matt Jones. Mac Jones was on a really,
35:29
really good Alabama. Team.
35:30
And so was Ty Simpson. The difference is that Nick
35:33
Saban was on the sideline of one of those teams.
35:36
Caitlin Devore is on the sideline for this one and
35:38
continues to put out an undisciplined and underprepared
35:42
product. And Ty Simpson also has been on
35:47
this roster for four years and hasn't done a damn thing.
35:49
Had an opportunity to play two years ago against South Florida,
35:53
Didn't last. But more than two drives, he's a
35:56
disaster and he was on Saturday. 23 of 43254 yards, 2 touchdowns.
36:02
You might look at the 254 and two touchdowns and say Oh my
36:04
gosh, whoa, that that's really good. 23 of 43 AQBR of 46.91 of
36:10
the dumbest plays of the weekend on a crucial 4th down had a wide
36:15
open running lane. Instead of taking the seven
36:18
yards and taking the first down, he zips one in the dirt.
36:22
And I get it, he's a he's a first time starter dude.
36:26
He's been there four years. Like at some point you cannot be
36:30
making those mistakes as a four year junior, made a lot of poor
36:36
decisions throughout this game and I still see people backing
36:41
him up. If you haven't noticed something
36:45
is going to be good through four years.
36:47
It's not really likely something's going to be all of a
36:50
sudden good four years, you know, four years after the fact,
36:53
like backup quarterbacks in the NFL that you know, get drafted 3
36:58
or 4 years ago and hang around on the practice squad or hang
37:00
around as a second, second string looking for an
37:03
opportunity. They usually get cut or don't
37:06
make it because they're just not good enough.
37:08
If you haven't seen enough, then you know why.
37:12
Why play him long term? And I get it, Jalen Melrose in
37:15
front of them. But Jalen Melrose wasn't some
37:18
All Star quarterback last year. He made a lot of mistakes and at
37:21
times they turn them into a more of a running quarterback at the
37:25
end of the season because they didn't really trust him down the
37:27
field. So Ty Simpson has a lot of work
37:31
to do and I think Kelon Russell's the better option
37:33
here. Kelon Russell gives Alabama a
37:36
playmaker. Ty Simpson had a couple of nice
37:39
scrambles, but that's not a guy that I'm, you know, willing to
37:44
go to battle for a, a national championship.
37:48
I I'm not going into a national championship game and, and
37:50
saying. Oh, we're up against like a
37:52
Garrett Nussmeyer that gosh, we've got Ty Simpson.
37:55
Who the hell is saying that? No one.
37:59
I was out on Ty Simpson before this game started.
38:01
I was out on Ty Simpson this offseason, Keylon.
38:03
Russell's the best quarterback in that room, and Ty Simpson's
38:06
not moving the needle. Even if you want to compare him
38:10
to Mac Jones, he cannot be Mac Jones on this team.
38:12
It's a totally. Different group.
38:14
It's a transfer portal era where every team is different year in
38:17
and year out. I don't see it with Ty Simpson
38:21
and he he lost me this weekend. Again, I will give credit to
38:25
Florida State. I know I harped on Alabama a
38:27
good bit there, but I will give credit to Florida State.
38:30
Thomas Castillanos was not Tommy Castillanos and if you get that
38:35
reference, he was Tommy Castillanos at Boston College,
38:39
had a a rough ending there. Ends up coming to Florida State,
38:42
has revived his career. He was really strong, 152 in the
38:46
air, 78 on the ground, really made life difficult for this
38:50
Alabama defense. Kept them guessing throughout
38:53
and I thought it was a really, really impressive performance
38:56
from him. I'm not willing to put Florida
38:58
State as a national title contender yet or a College
39:03
Football Playoff contender yet, but I do think they're in the
39:05
mix of a top 25 level team if they look like that, up against
39:09
the roster that I believe is top ten in the country.
39:11
So I will give Florida State respect on my Patterson poll
39:15
this week heading into Week 2. But I do think the jury is still
39:18
out on if that offense is able to have sustained success over
39:24
the course of the season. How much of that was just Gus
39:27
Malzahn dialing up a really, really impressive performance
39:30
and not having a whole lot of tape for Alabama to watch
39:34
heading into it? So I do wonder about that.
39:38
Looking at Alabama's remaining schedule.
39:40
You got Wisconsin in Week 3. I think that's a win at Georgia.
39:44
Week 5 off a by. I had a person tell me today
39:46
Alabama's going to go to Georgia and beat them.
39:48
That's the stupidest take I've heard this week.
39:51
Almost stupider than Matt Jones is the same thing as Ty Simpson.
39:55
So Georgia will beat Alabama at home.
39:59
It's impossible to beat Georgia on the road.
40:02
I don't see how Alabama's going to go on the road and do that.
40:05
Tennessee Week 8 I think is a win.
40:08
Tennessee just can't beat the Tide in in Tuscaloosa.
40:11
I don't think that changes this year.
40:13
South Carolina Week 9 looks a little bit more dicey than it
40:16
did maybe a couple weeks ago. LSU Week 11 off a bye looks a
40:21
lot more difficult than it did a couple of weeks ago.
40:24
Then Oklahoma Week 12 at Auburn, Week 14.
40:26
This is a schedule. That sets up for a a possible
40:30
world of hurt if they're not able to turn things around here
40:33
quickly. And after what we saw this
40:36
weekend, things have got to change big time.
40:39
So if Alabama wants to find success, they've got to get rid
40:43
of the turnovers, They've got to get rid of the boneheaded plays.
40:47
They've got to get rid of the just walking into a building and
40:51
thinking you're better than everyone mentality.
40:55
That's not going to work in this transfer portal era where teams
40:57
are totally different year in and year out, continue to get
41:00
better and having the type of boneheaded mistakes just is so
41:06
shocking to see an Alabama team do week in and week out.
41:09
I'm interested to see how Alabama fans take the next
41:13
couple weeks because Kaylyn De Boer might not have a parking
41:16
spot here soon. All right, last game recap
41:23
before we get into kind of some smaller individual takes.
41:27
We've got Notre Dame and Miami and boy, do I have a strong
41:35
opinion about what the Fighting Irish did on Sunday night.
41:39
By the way, I I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend.
41:42
I loved having some Sunday Night Football.
41:44
That's college football now. Makes my schedule a little bit
41:46
tougher because we also had a game tonight as TCU just Molly
41:51
whopped UNC. Yeah, there.
41:54
I got rid of that one. It's already over.
41:56
That was the quickest fourth quarter of ever.
41:57
They they wanted to get him out of there. 4814.
42:00
Now the Horned Frogs get it done.
42:01
Really impressed with Josh Hoover tonight by the way.
42:03
But I did enjoy the schedule. We had some non-stop college
42:09
football. My Saturday was 10:00 AM to 2:00
42:12
AM, just college football. It was awesome.
42:16
Sunday, though, Notre Dame, Miami. the Hurricanes have
42:19
caused a storm, and this is another really, really
42:22
impressive performance from a team that I had a couple of
42:25
questions about heading into this one.
42:28
You know, Notre Dame's debuting a new quarterback, CJ Carr, but
42:32
I thought the return of the running back tandem of Jadarian
42:35
Price and Jeremiah Love would be really beneficial and cause a
42:39
lot of trouble for opposing teams.
42:41
Also plenty of defensive pieces. Back Christian Gray, Don
42:45
Schuler, you know, this is a group that has a lot of
42:51
insurance with what their defense was.
42:54
But you know, I was interested to see what does this Notre Dame
42:59
defense look like without Al Golden and Chris Ash takes over
43:03
defensive coordinator for Miami. It's Carson Beck and Shannon
43:07
Dawson's air raid offense. Well their defense that was one
43:10
of the worst in the ACC last year be better under Corey
43:13
Heatherman who was a defense coordinator last year for
43:17
Minnesota and and manned a top 10 defense.
43:21
So those are the questions coming in.
43:23
And similar to the LSU Clemson game, my big take away from this
43:28
one, Miami has a defense. And Corey Heatherman was a guy I
43:34
talked about a good bit on the preseason top 25 episode, and he
43:42
did a really good job with the Gophers with that 425 defense
43:48
that was top ten in the country. They were #8 overall in total
43:51
team defense and Miami last year was good, but their defense
43:57
continued to push them back and put them in tough positions and
44:02
I hope the defense was really, really strong Saturday or Sunday
44:05
night. Notre Dame was Darien Price and
44:07
Jeremiah Love only rushed for 94 yards.
44:11
Miami also forces 2 turnovers. One of the turnovers was one of
44:15
the craziest turnovers or craziest plays possibly of the
44:18
year. The.
44:19
Tipped interception off of someone's foot, that was.
44:22
Crazy, but the the the. Pressure that they were able to
44:28
put on CJ Carr was really, really good.
44:30
The one-on-one coverage was really, really strong as well.
44:33
And I look at guys particularly upfront like.
44:37
Raul Aguirre, Junior and Reuben Bayne.
44:40
Reuben Bayne was so good and Hakeem Mezador they combined for
44:43
17 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss combined.
44:47
That's winning football. And Reuben Bayne had his
44:50
footprint all over this one. Early and often.
44:52
Was constantly in the backfield putting a ton of pressure was
44:56
great and stopping the run. And Miami had a ton of questions
45:01
this offseason. They they have got a lot of new
45:03
players too, but they were so good offensively last year.
45:07
But the defense was just like pull your hair out bad.
45:09
Just like how do you allow Cal to run up the scoreboard in
45:12
Virginia Tack with Kyron droves. We saw how he looked this
45:15
weekend. Like how do you allow teams like
45:17
that to run it up last year? Do you bring in Heatherman and
45:21
having a player like Ruben Bayne, who I think is going to
45:23
be a first round pick, that was huge and those guys stepped up
45:27
and made big plays. It was even more critical to do
45:30
that up against a defense or excuse me, an offense with a
45:35
brand new quarterback in CJ Carr.
45:37
And Miami put pressure on them and made sure that you know that
45:44
they that that that Notre Dame had a tough time getting into
45:49
their rhythm and that that game plan I was not a fan of.
45:53
But I think if Miami is able to keep this up and is able to get
45:57
this constant pressure, they are a legitimate ACC title contender
46:03
that they they could beat Clemson.
46:05
Because we saw what LSU did defensively, a ton of front
46:08
pressure from the linebackers and defensive front.
46:11
They were able to win the one-on-one match ups and and
46:13
coverage that that's going to set up for a tough match up for
46:17
Clemson if they're not able to establish the run.
46:20
And if Notre Dame wasn't able to do that with Jeremiah Love and
46:24
Genarium Price, I have a hard time seeing how Adam Randall is
46:27
going to do that. So.
46:29
Miami Hats off to their defense, my top two most improved units
46:34
and college football in Week 1. LS U's defense, Miami's defense.
46:39
They have been. Huge question marks over the
46:41
last couple of seasons. They stepped up in big moments.
46:44
They put a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
46:47
They forced tight windows. They forced, you know, split
46:50
decisions. Those two units, the most
46:53
improved defenses that I saw this weekend and they have
46:57
elevated the ceiling of both of those teams.
46:59
Want to give a shout out to Miami and LSU for some really
47:02
good defense. We'll switch to Notre Dame
47:04
though, because one of the most mind boggling things watching
47:08
this game was Notre Dame's game plan.
47:12
I'm sitting there watching, you've got Jadarian Price and
47:14
Jeremiah Love. What the hell are you doing?
47:17
I get it. You've got a new quarterback in
47:18
CJ Carr. You want to get him acclimated
47:21
but dude, run the ball. Run the ball please. 6 out of
47:27
the 1st 7 plays of this game was a pass.
47:32
How does Jeremiah Love not get more touches?
47:35
The best running back in the country gets 4 carries heading
47:38
into the midway point of the third quarter.
47:41
How is that possible? How?
47:43
CJ Carr gets more carries than Jeremiah Love.
47:47
CJ Carr gets 11 carries for 33 yards.
47:49
Jeremiah Love goes 10 carries for 33 yards.
47:52
Jadarian Price goes 6 carries for 45.
47:56
Last year, Notre Dame had a running quarterback and Riley
47:59
Leonard and it worked. You could do this, but CJ Carr
48:03
is not a running quarterback. CJ Carr is a playmaker in the
48:08
passing game. And that was.
48:09
Supposed to be a big upgrade for this team.
48:12
CJ Carr should not be getting more running touches than
48:16
Jeremiah Love. That was huge malpractice.
48:20
I I get it. Trying to get CJ Carr involved
48:22
early was I guess smart heading into it.
48:26
But it's really dumb when you've got one of the best running
48:28
backs in the country in your backfield and one of the best
48:30
running back tandems in the country in your backfield.
48:34
That was a big mistake and I thought it allowed Miami to set
48:38
the tone on the defensive line because they were able to get so
48:40
much pressure on those RPO's and long balls down the field to
48:44
where the offensive line got tired out early.
48:47
And the pass blocking then allowed for Miami get a lot of
48:52
wear and tear on that Notre Dame offensive line, which then, you
48:56
know, they were not as successful in the run game after
48:58
that. So I thought it was a very
49:00
questionable game plan. I think that Marcus Freeman's a
49:03
really, really good coach. I did not like his philosophy in
49:06
this one. And I thought that was a big
49:08
mistake in a match up like this where Notre Dame plays a
49:11
schedule where you've got to make the most of these top ten
49:14
games. These these, you know, you know,
49:17
top 25 match ups. They're they're not a ton of
49:20
them on their schedule. They've got to make the most of
49:21
it. And they did not do that on
49:23
Saturday. So Sunday, excuse me, Sunday I,
49:29
I was a big, big no on the game plan.
49:33
And hopefully Notre Dame realizes that.
49:35
Don't go away from your identity.
49:37
Don't do what has worked in years past and worked all of
49:40
last year and abandoned it for a guy that has yet to take a snap
49:44
in college football as a starter.
49:46
I thought that was a bad plan. I get it.
49:48
You want to make him, you know, feel comfortable and get him
49:50
going early. But not when you have Jeremiah
49:53
Love and Jerry and Price. Carson Beck.
49:56
I was really impressed with him too.
49:59
Carson Beck's connection with his new receivers I thought was
50:03
one of the big takeaways from this Miami game as well, where
50:06
Beck has that injury in the SEC championship game, has a very
50:09
interesting offseason where he's still rehabbing and trying to
50:12
get back onto the field. Didn't have a ton of time to
50:15
work that connection with his new receivers.
50:17
There was a lot of talk on the broadcast about how he's, you
50:20
know, formed a connection mutual wise and personality wise, but
50:25
hasn't really been been able to form that connection.
50:28
In practice and and in reps but that practice didn't seem to be
50:33
an issue Sunday night as Carson Beck look dialed 20th. 31205
50:39
yards, 2 touchdowns. They've got a big time playmaker
50:43
and Malachi Tony who had 6 receptions for 81 yards and a
50:46
touchdown. CJ Daniels with the catch of the
50:48
year so far rivaling Vernell Brown of Florida.
50:53
Daniels goes 5 receptions, 46 yards, one touchdown.
50:56
A guy that was really good at Liberty didn't really get the
50:59
opportunity to flourish last year at LSU.
51:02
Was strong for the Hurricanes Sunday night and the Keelan
51:05
Marion. 3 receptions for 29 yards.
51:08
The connection and the chemistry that Carson Beck had with these
51:12
receivers was really, really impressive and I think was a big
51:16
reason why Miami was able to walk out of this one with a win.
51:19
Keep in mind, Miami was up, you know, 21, seven midway to the
51:23
third quarter of this one. And that was because Carson Beck
51:27
was dialed in and, you know, was, was really, really
51:30
comfortable. I I thought Carson Beck was the
51:33
top quarterback in college football heading into last
51:35
season. Again.
51:36
Heading into last season, I still am as a still had him as a
51:40
top ten guy this year because I do believe in Shannon Dawson's
51:43
offense. I think they were able to
51:45
establish the run well enough. To where it worked so.
51:48
Where you had that nice balance. I was worried if Damon Martinez,
51:52
you know, now him being gone, if Miami would be able to establish
51:55
that. But they did and the pass game
51:57
worked because of Carson Beck, the patience, the fluidity down
52:02
the field and also identifying those go to players.
52:04
Malachi, Tony, a huge hit. And that was a guy that wasn't
52:08
on my radar heading into this matchup.
52:09
I was looking at guys like Marion and and Daniels and Tony
52:16
was really, really good. That's a guy that's going to be
52:18
making plays in the future for the Hurricanes.
52:21
Looking at the remaining schedule for Miami, you've got
52:24
Florida in Week 4 at home. That now sets up to be a really,
52:28
really fun match up. At Florida State week 6 off a by
52:32
is a very interesting match up now with Florida State getting
52:34
the win over Bama. And then at SMU Week 10, I put
52:38
that on there because SMU is apparently striping that game
52:41
out. It's going to be a big deal.
52:42
They had to announce it like months in advance because
52:45
usually no one goes to SMU games.
52:47
But I feel like at that point in the season, SMU will be a two or
52:51
three loss team. Miami goes in there and gets a
52:53
win for Notre Dame. You've got to take advantages.
52:56
You've got to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of you
53:00
beginning with Texas A&M and Week 3.
53:02
Notre Dame is off this upcoming week, and they'll play the
53:05
Aggies at home. They've got to get a win there
53:08
at Arkansas Week 5, one of the most ridiculous matchups of the
53:12
season. Why the hell is Notre Dame going
53:13
to Arkansas? I don't know.
53:15
But that should be a winnable game.
53:17
Boise State Week 6A winnable game, especially after what we
53:21
saw them look like against South Florida and then USC and Week 8.
53:24
I threw that on there because maybe.
53:26
USC is good, but again, we haven't seen much of Lincoln
53:30
Riley and and and success in the same sentence over the last
53:33
couple of seasons. But Notre Dame's not out of it.
53:36
They need to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of them.
53:39
They need to run the damn ball and give the ball to Jeremiah
53:41
Love, the best running back in the country next to Nick
53:44
Singleton. Miami made a lot of progress
53:47
this weekend on my board and I thought was really, really
53:50
impressive. All right, a couple of other
53:53
notable takeaways. And sorry if you're watching on
53:56
YouTube, I had to grab a charger for my computer.
53:59
So that's why it kind of cut out there for a second.
54:02
Other notable takeaways, I want to talk Tennessee, Syracuse,
54:05
Joey Aguilar. Really, really impressive in his
54:08
debut. Josh Hypel debuted a couple of
54:10
new formations, some pre snap motions, some new looks.
54:14
That was a talking point this offseason.
54:16
Will Josh Hypel get back to that 2022 offense?
54:20
And I don't think that's achievable without having a guy
54:23
like Jalen Hyatt and a hen and a hen, excuse me, and a Hennen
54:26
Hooker. But what I do think is
54:27
achievable is revitalizing this offense.
54:30
And I think that's what Heipple did to where you saw basically 0
54:35
RP OS that are stretched out miles and miles away and more,
54:40
you know, 2 running back looks more pre snap motion, more 12
54:44
personnel. I thought Tennessee's offense
54:46
looked a lot more refined and a lot more modernized in terms of
54:50
the Josh Hypel offense. And Joey Aguilar goes 16 of
54:54
28247 yards, 3 touchdowns. He got comfortable early because
54:59
Hypel. Gave him a lot of easy throws.
55:02
Aguilar missed on a couple of them, but I thought he was in
55:05
rhythm as the game went on and one of the most beautiful plays
55:08
of the game was perfectly set up by Hypal and Aguilar.
55:12
They're in that 2 running back set and they run two run plays
55:17
off of it. Back-to-back plays sets up for.
55:21
A huge pass play, RPO Aguilar reads the safety coming down and
55:26
he hits Braylon Staley for a 73 yard touchdown.
55:30
The hit rate on those deep passes I thought was much
55:33
improved from what Tennessee had under Nico Imaliava and Joe
55:36
Milton. And that is more 2022 ask
55:41
hitting on those deep shots down the field.
55:43
So I love that from Aguilar and I thought Tennessee looked
55:47
really good offensively. That was a big question for me.
55:49
What are those receivers look like?
55:51
But Braylon Staley, Mike Matthews, Chris Brazell, they
55:54
were all strong. The running back room is I, I
55:58
think the strongest of the Josh Hypel era.
56:00
They did a really good job with Deshawn Bishop giving you some
56:05
really good ball carrier vision. Peyton Lewis being a guy that
56:08
can put his head down and go right through you * Thomas, the
56:11
Duke transfer out of the backfield, that is kind of this
56:14
utility knife player, a guy that can, you know, be used as a
56:19
runner, but also as a pass catcher out of the backfield.
56:22
The offensive line was really, really good too.
56:25
I thought Tennessee had one of the more impressive weekends
56:27
offensively out of any team in the country given everything
56:30
they experienced this offseason. So hats off to them.
56:33
They looked really, really good and Joey Aguilar was the better
56:38
quarterback in the quarterback trade this weekend as Nikko
56:42
Iyamalayava. I am AO and one was a big time
56:46
hit on Instagram. I appreciate if you follow at
56:48
the Paddafax. Nikko goes 11 of 22 for 136
56:53
yards, a touchdown, an interception.
56:55
I don't want to spend much time on UCLA, but that experience was
57:00
everything I expected when Nico decided to go there.
57:02
UCLA was one of the worst offensive teams in the country.
57:05
That offensive line, bad weapons.
57:08
Nico might have gotten paid and might say that he went there to
57:11
go see his family, but there was nothing about that game outside
57:15
of what Utah did that screamed college football environment.
57:19
The Rose Bowl is really fun when UCLA is not playing in it.
57:23
The stadium was empty. Nico overthrew a bunch of
57:27
players, excuse me, a bunch of throws, bunch of receivers threw
57:32
a bad interception. Just seemed to kind of have a
57:36
the same type of attitude he did last year.
57:38
And Morse and hearing a lot of the interviews from after these
57:41
Tennessee games when the players are talking about, you know,
57:44
kind of the the difference between last year and this year.
57:47
And they'll mention the leadership.
57:49
That tells me the type of leader that Nikko Imaliava was.
57:52
And that's not a guy that I want to face adversity with.
57:55
So it's going to be interesting to see what UCLA looks like
57:58
against UNLV. But Imaliava, I think, is
58:02
tanking his draft stock, you know, toiling around at UCLA,
58:07
who's going to be a borderline 500 team UNLVA team that looked
58:12
embarrassingly bad against Idaho State as only plus 2 1/2 against
58:16
this team. So I don't think UCLA is very
58:19
good. That was evident this weekend.
58:21
Niko Emilyava continues to kind of be made a fool or show he
58:26
made a fool of himself this offseason making the decision.
58:29
But Joey Aguilar stronger. Maybe Tennessee got the better
58:32
quarterback of the deal. Speaking of good quarterback.
58:35
Play. And I wasn't talking about Nico.
58:38
And the same game as Nico, however, Devin Dampier, the New
58:43
Mexico transfer was really, really good for the Utah Utes I
58:47
put them in my top 25 this week. 21 of 25293 total yards, 3 total
58:54
touchdowns. Got it done on the ground as
58:56
well. Devin Dampier, A.
58:57
Very, very underrated candidate for a Heisman.
59:02
I, I, you know, throw a little bit of money on him and I know
59:05
Utah is not going to be like the top team in the country, but
59:08
they've got a schedule that could set up to where they could
59:10
have some success. And Dan Pierre was really,
59:12
really strong, just dialed in, was accurate in all of his
59:15
throws, made really good reads and progressions, knew when to
59:17
scramble out of the pocket. I thought he was really, really
59:21
good. And a couple of my listeners
59:24
talked to me about it this summer.
59:25
This summer, the John and Will Hornsby were really big fans of
59:29
Dan Pierre. And I said, you know, I like
59:31
them, too. I didn't really realize it was
59:34
going to be this good this quick.
59:35
Dan Pierre was really, really impressive and Utah I think has
59:38
a much higher ceiling than I expected and that was on
59:42
showcase this weekend. Dan Pierce is going to be good
59:45
for this Utah team. Final other notable take,
59:48
Jackson Arnold and Auburn get a signature win, but I'd pump the
59:53
brakes a little bit on Auburn being back.
59:58
Jackson Arnold goes 11 for 17108 yards, which is good. 16
1:00:02
carries, 137 yards, 2 touchdowns.
1:00:05
I thought he looked the part of a five star quarterback, but
1:00:09
what I'm worried about is the amount of success that he had
1:00:12
during the game with the run. I thought it was more so bad
1:00:17
defense and bad containment from Baylor.
1:00:21
Jackson Arnold in the SEC is. Probably not getting 16 carries
1:00:24
for 137 yards. That's what worries me for
1:00:27
Auburn because yes, it is a big win over a Baylor team that I
1:00:30
believe. Was a top 25 team heading into
1:00:33
the season, had a top ten quarterback and Sawyer
1:00:35
Robertson. Robertson, you know, had a lot
1:00:39
of yards, but was not as impressive as I had hoped and
1:00:41
had a couple of, you know, was deceptive to a couple of really
1:00:44
key drops. But I'm interested to see what
1:00:48
Auburn looks like in that first SEC game because yes, this is a
1:00:52
big win. This was a lot of pressure
1:00:54
heading in this one for Hugh Freese.
1:00:56
But the method of how they won. Was a little bit fluky, you know
1:01:01
that that kick return touchdown and Jackson Arnold runs like a
1:01:04
chicken with his head cut off for 137 yards and that's not.
1:01:08
Happening against like an LSU, that's not happening against,
1:01:12
you know, in Oklahoma. I, I don't see them having that
1:01:16
much success in the run game in SEC in terms of quarterback run
1:01:20
play. So that's the only concern I
1:01:23
have from that Baylor win or it's going to be Auburn win.
1:01:26
It's a big win. They needed it.
1:01:28
They need some momentum, but I pumped the brakes on saying that
1:01:31
Auburn's going to be like really, really good now that
1:01:34
they got that win. Let's see what they look like
1:01:36
against an SEC. Team all right, and that is all
1:01:40
of my notes from week 1 of college football.
1:01:43
Man, this was fun. I really think this was one of
1:01:46
my stronger episodes. Hopefully you agree and you
1:01:49
follow at the pad of facts on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
1:01:56
Reminder, this one is going to be on YouTube as well.
1:01:58
So if you aren't listening, if you're listening and you want to
1:02:00
watch, go watch on YouTube. Really good stuff.
1:02:04
And at TP facts on sports on TikTok.
1:02:06
We've made a ton of progress, folks, over the last couple of
1:02:09
weeks in terms of our reach. I really, really appreciate it.
1:02:11
We're about to eclipse 9 million.
1:02:14
Views. On Instagram alone in the last
1:02:17
30 days, that's some big time growth.
1:02:19
We've got a couple of big time follows as well.
1:02:22
Shout out to former. Tennessee Volunteer running back
1:02:25
Dylan Sampson for hitting me with a follow.
1:02:28
Love watching him play last year.
1:02:30
But again, guys, we're making growth and we're trying to grow
1:02:32
this thing. So I appreciate all the support.
1:02:36
We'll be back later for more college football conversation,
1:02:41
more college football takeaways. Week 2.
1:02:43
Not as loaded as Week 1, but we'll still have a ton to break
1:02:46
down. And also going to be putting out
1:02:47
some clips from this episode on the social media channels to
1:02:51
make sure you're falling. And also YouTube, you see the
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new merch college football spelled the right way coming out
1:02:59
here pretty soon. So you get first dibs first
1:03:03
looks at it so. Appreciate you listening along
1:03:05
with me. I'm William Patterson signing
1:03:07
out.