Aaron Murray College Football Show
The Aaron Murray College Football Show: the SEC through a quarterback's eyes. Aaron Murray, SEC Network Prime Time lead analyst and the SEC's all-time leading passer, uses his experience under center and detailed film study to give you honest, fair analysis for every fanbase.
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Aaron Murray College Football Show
Week 2 CFB Preview
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Aaron and Eric discuss the biggest games in college football heading into week 2! Can Texas finally beat Ohio St? Will Michigans QB show up against one of the best defenses in the country? Those topics and more on the top CFB Podcast out there.
Into the Mac and Murray College Football Show. This is our week two preview, and we're starting to get more really good games, some more conference games across the country. So we'll be breaking it down. Eric McLean, I'm Aaron Murray, and let's have some fun. Make sure you like, subscribe, all that good, good stuff. Follow us on social media as well. Um, Eric's gonna be in Atlanta this week uh with ACC uh network doing the pregame show there before Georgia Tech and Tennessee. We'll talk about that game. I'll be in Auburn, excited to see what the Auburn looks like after their big win a week ago against Baylor. So um I said, man, it's it's just it's good to be on these campuses. I think that was the first thing. Like last week I was in Gainesville, and you would have thought that Florida was a playoff team a year ago with all the energy on that campus. I mean, it was incredible in the stadium. Like they have a true belief in this coaching staff and obviously this roster, and it showed week one, yes, against a lesser opponent in FAU, but man, just the energy on these big campuses are so much fun to be a part of.
SPEAKER_02There's nothing like it, man. And it was fun, you know, obviously watching you and and hearing like the juice from the game. Like typically you can hear it, but it was popping, man. When there was a big play, you heard that, that crowd pop, and you know, those guys getting excited. And and for me, uh, I got a healthy dose of of a lot of different places last week. Um, you know, hanging out with with Stanford and the Canes on Friday night, Cal Berkeley. Hanging out with Tiger Woods, hanging out with Tiger, me and Tiger, best friends. Um, you know, I told him how to use a seven iron. I gave him some tips on that. And uh that's about it. Uh, he has some big hands. Have you ever met him or seen him? No, brilliant. His hands are almost as big as mine. That was kind of impressive uh from that guy. And then uh got to see my tigers get their ass handed to them. Uh, first time I'd ever been in in uh Baton Rouge, that place is nuts. Incredible.
SPEAKER_00How would you how would you rank that place? You know, now that you've experienced it. I've never experienced I've called games there, not a game to that magnitude. How would you rank the atmosphere?
SPEAKER_02So the interesting it's up there. I mean, it's probably it's probably one or two, but it would have probably solidified it if it was a good game. Like, you know, they all are gone by the third quarter because they're like, there's better things to do than watch this. Um, so I was actually really disappointed in that that our team, my team didn't uh hold up their end of the bargain. But like Tennessee's up there too. Like Tennessee is probably my number one, and LSU is probably number two. But uh I've seen Tennessee like Tennessee, Florida, Eric Berry, Tim Tebow going at it. That game, I thought I was gonna get something and I didn't, unfortunately. Um, so I would like to see it. But you're right. I mean, the juice, the energy being at Tallahassee Monday night, that place was rocking, even with a crazy frickin' delay, not paying their light bill. Um, still, those fans all stayed and it was rocking. And that was a horrible great game. So they were in it the whole time.
SPEAKER_00Good to be back on these campuses. Well, we got a full show. And before we start diving into these games and breaking them down, obviously the big news continues to be LSU and Lane Kiffin. And now the threat of the SEC kicking LSU out of the conference. And yeah, I'll jump on this first right now, Emac, and in kind of my thoughts on this. I think it's absolutely absurd to be honest that they would think about kicking LSU. Lane pushed the boundaries. Yes, he did. And that's what Lane does. He he tried to find a loophole to add these NFL. Are they NFL players? Are they not NFL players? Because they weren't technically on a roster for the regulars. I who cares? Like they were on a roster for you know OTAs in in camp and in preseason. So I consider them NFL players trying to come back. He tried to find a loophole through the five for five, trying to make his team better. But at the end of the day, guess what? The SEC came barking, he backed down, he did not put him on the roster. They then went and filled the roster 105 with two more players that do hit the criteria of being college football or college athletes and never went through with it. So technically, no rules were broken. He pushed it, it made a lot of noise. Yeah, it probably pissed Sinky off because Sinke, the week before week one, is in a courtroom for three, four plus hours having to testify instead of worrying about getting ready for the first week. So there's a lot of people pissed off, and it felt like a big waste of everyone's time as we're trying to get ready for the season. But once again, no rules were broken, no foul. Let's just move on past this whole thing and just be done with it. I think it's just it's it wasn't. I I know Lane being Lane, and you kind of maybe want to punish him eventually, and Lane stopped doing this crap, but it brings a lot of attention, good or bad, to the game of college football. And I guess LSU's, which I, you know, I guess all publicity is good publicity, but you know, I your thoughts, Emacs, is like I said, he nothing was done illegally. So LSU needs to stay in the SEC. Straight out of the same thing. I think for sure they are.
SPEAKER_02Totally. They totally do. Uh 100%. But I it did piss some people off. And it pissed some people off that have a lot of power and a lot of say-so, um, you know, kind of in that realm. And and so, you know, what what are the ramifications for those actions? We'll see. You know, is there any type of uh, you know, scholarship pull? Is there any type of probation? Well, whatever it is, I have to think something is.
SPEAKER_00Well, what's the reason? Because the head coach pissed people off? You're gonna pull fellowship?
SPEAKER_02Well, that they the SEC cited lack of institutional control, which that's the death penalty. Um, so I think it was more so the fact that Lane and LSU is saying all this stuff and there was nothing from their president condemning it. I don't know. It's a weird like balance of uh, you know, kind of the the chaos. And and I hear you, and I agree with you that nothing was done uh, you know, with the roster, but is it enough of bad mouthing? Is it enough taking them to court and suing that they're like, yeah, this is this is punishable? And I think the bigger picture, man, is is the SEC is looking at future events and saying, we're cutting this off now. Like we're not gonna be challenged by these, you're you're invited because of us. Like this is our sandbox. And if you're gonna follow the rules, you can play. If not, see ya, or there's there's something to it. So to me, I I do think it is actually a much bigger picture thought from the SEC because if you give LSU any type of win here, Bama's gonna do something like that. Well, I just think it's we can do whatever we want, and we're not gonna get in trouble. I think that's where LSU thinks right now. I think that's the the thought process.
SPEAKER_00But they didn't do anything. Like they, they, they, they didn't, nothing, nothing, no harm, no foul. They didn't play these players, they didn't put in put them on a roster. Yeah. They tried to get through a loophole and and and add these guys through. And then obviously, like I said, back down, you know, when push came to shove and they said, okay, fine, we'll we'll fall in line.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I even think it's the four part of it. Like LSU schemed to get this done. Like LSU tried to go around. They reached out to players, they went against the NFL saying, come back, like come back here. So there was like some sliminess, I think, that occurred, you know, out of the lines. But the a big result, I do hear what you're saying. I'm not disagreeing with the overarching thing of they didn't play. That is a thing, but there's a lot that got to that that I think is is punishable. Again, the severity of it, I don't know. Um, and I'm a hundred percent with you too. This sucks because LSU might be the or one of the best teams in the country. And yet, what do we see on on every television is what's gonna happen to LSU. You know, and so I do think that's unfortunate that this like rainstorm is is kind of you know darkening the parade that should be LSU is a fantastic football team.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think I think everyone realizes LSU is a fantastic football team and did not need those NFL players to fast the other thing.
SPEAKER_02Like, what the hell are we doing? Why?
SPEAKER_00What's the point? I think this is you know, he made the narrative about them, he made us against the world, then you know came out there and kicked some butt. I I just you know, as I look at college football, and obviously we love college football. Um it was a sloppy weekend, unfortunately, with this ordeal at LL Shu, with what happened at Michigan, with as you alluded to, you being there at FSU and the lights and the power going out and the game being delayed. It just feel like it felt like amateur hour for a lot of the weekend. Right. And I do feel like that is somewhat of a turnoff for people, especially as NFL gets going. And like you watch the college and all this craziness, and then we just see NFL and everything's just like in line, perfect, and it's just, it's, it's just bam, everything just falls into place. There's so many things that need to get fixed in our game. And it's just unfortunate that we have so many opposing forces, all these conferences, their own best interests, and no one's trying to figure out how do we make all of college football better, how do we make rules that protect the teams, the coaches, the players, the fans. This game, it's not like that. And it's just until we get to a point where everything is working together like the NFL, and the rules are set in stone, and you can't just go sue, you know, the SEC or the or the NCAA if you if you don't like what the rule was, until we get to that point, it's gonna be chaotic. Totally. And it's it's just it's unfortunate because there was so much good that did happen this weekend, but it's overshadowed by LSU and this fiasco. It's overshadowed by this craziness at Michigan, and and we miss all the cool little details about what makes this game special.
SPEAKER_02Right. No, I I'm right there with you, man. And and the uh nothing going in the same direction part, that's the the biggest concern. And it's been that way for a long time, but it feels like now it's at the absolute height. And you you're right. Every conference is only worried about themselves, every school is only worried about themselves. Nobody is worried about the game. Nobody is worried about Division I college football. And that is an issue. And it's it's it's something that we have to figure out. And are we five years away from that? Are we 10 years away from that? Are we a hundred years away from that? I don't know. But we have to get there. It feels like it's getting to a little bit of a head.
SPEAKER_00It feels like it's getting to a head, which stinks, which stinks. So we'll hopefully it's pushed up and get some change. All right. Enough of our soapboxes, too many good games this weekend to talk about. Let's dive into it. We're gonna be all over the place here, jumping from conference to conference, which makes for a really good weekend for y'all to sit your butts down, have a couple cold ones, and enjoy some college football. Obviously, the big one, the rematch, Texas now welcoming Ohio State into their house and Austin, Texas. This team's played, these two teams have played twice playoffs, and obviously last year, week one, they're at Ohio State. Ohio State's won both those games the previous two years, but this game's in Austin. Two, I I told someone this the other day, uh, Emac, it feels like the New York Yankees versus the Dodgers, and not necessarily for the sense of like championships, but the amount of money that are on these rosters. The Dodgers and the Yankees will just pay everyone and just build these, just like they just bring in guys they don't even need, but they're just like, we got money, so we might as well just bring them out. That's what the Yankees and Dodgers do. It feels like that's what Ohio State and Texas have gotten. These guys have 45 to 55 million dollar rosters. Um, it is going to be a NFL GM's dream to be on these sidelines, watching these skill players, these coaches, you know, defensive line play. I mean, it is it's it's gonna be awesome. A lot of these guys will be playing on Sunday. So um, I'll give you first crack at this one. What are your initial thoughts as the Buckeys face up against the Longhorn 730 Eastern on ABC?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, echo everything you just said there, man. What a fun matchup. Um, you know, and really you you look at that line, okay. Typically we give, you know, the the home team three points for being at home. The away team, you know, kind of suffers that. So the fact that it's only one and a half really to me feels like Ohio State is the favorite here when you look at the numbers. I can't wait to see it. You talk about two quarterbacks that just get the attention of everybody. A week ago, you know, seeing Arch go over 300 yards. I think he did that three or four times a year ago. So a great start for him. The weapons that he has. Uh, Coleman, man, like you you were so high on that cat last year. And now in this offense, are we gonna see him fully unlocked? I think so. Like going to him early, knowing that he's that good, and having a quarterback that quite frankly can can get it to you is is a really big piece of the puzzle there. I think Texas is going to want to run the ball heavily. Like they didn't do it great a week ago. Um, you know, but I think that's gonna be what they want to do. And can they, you know, because this is Ohio State defense that, you know, held a again, a lackluster team, but to 40 yards rushing, you know, and and that's what they do, right? Like this game last year, if you guys remember, was an absolute slug fest and a mistake here, mistake there, and and game's over. So, you know, looking at that from Texas, the weapons, man, I just love to see them on full display. Obviously, there's like four All-Americans on the defense. How much does that, you know, going to pose a threat to Ohio State here? But saying, like, I want to hear your thoughts kind of afterwards, but this dude is so accurate, accurate all the time. Like he just bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, ball out, getting it to his guys, and and not just dink and dump. I mean, they're ripping it downfield. Jeremiah Smith proving why he's one of the best players in the world. That dude, it seems like every time I watch him, it's just like, is that Julio? Is that Jeremiah Smith? Who am I looking at here? I've said that from the beginning. He looks like Julio. It's unbelievable. It's freaky, man. It's freaky. So, I mean, the star power, the the just quality of football that we're gonna watch in this game late at night is going to be electric.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you're talking about two first round draft picks at receiver, like maybe top both. Jeremiah might be the first pick.
SPEAKER_02I mean, that might be a Megatron, can't miss type of guy coming in.
SPEAKER_00Well, then Cam may also be top 10 as well. I mean, you're talking about two top 10 NFL picks at the end of the day. Like both these guys had the size, had the speed, have the the awareness, ball in the air, go up there and get it. You know, Texas has slowed down Jeremiah. I mean, if there hasn't been a team over the past, you know, year and a half that's been able to slow him down, it's been Texas. And and I think obviously they, as you alluded to, like, they have the talent. Like this team has plethora. Obviously, we talk about Simmons a lot, but at all three levels defensively, they got dudes. And obviously, Mush Champ now is a new DC this year. I think he's gonna obviously do wonders for that side of the football. And I do think we get stuck talking about quarterbacks and receivers a lot, and obviously skilled guys. Like we get stuck talking about even the receivers with Smothers and how good he looked, and Relique Brown and how explosive he has a chance to be, obviously, this year. And Bo Jackson and you know the other Jackson both looked good for Ohio State last week, running the football, and and you said Jeremiah Smith and Cam Cole. There's so much talent on the outside for both these teams, Ryan Wingo for Texas as well. But what kept Texas and Ohio State from truly competing for a championship last year? Oh, Pittsburgh. It with the big boys. Yeah. You go back to Ohio State's loss in the playoff game. They couldn't protect Julian Sand. You go back to Texas last year throughout the season. I said it hell early in the season. I said, everyone wants to blame Arch Manning.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Look at this offensive line. They're horrendous. They can't protect. They're playing some group of five team, and uh, Arch is back there getting his head blown off. I'm like, you guys can't protect him at all. Six-man pro, keeping a tight end in there, they can't even protect him. And and and obviously that hurt him all season long. And obviously, that's always hurt them against Georgia. The inability to run the football against really good defensive lines and the inability to protect your quarterback. So, like all these elite playmakers, all these quarterbacks that have all this first round talent, guess what? If you can't block run play, pass play, you can't get crap done. So, like to me, it's whatever team can early on establish any sort of run presence and just slow down that front. But if you're gonna be a team right now against these defenses who have really good players, like I said, all three levels, really good defensive lines, guys and get after the quarterback. If you can't get to third and manageable, it's gonna be a long night. Yeah. And it's gonna be a sloppy night. And then turnovers are gonna happen because quarterbacks are gonna be trying to force balls down the field. So, you know, who do we trust to run the football more efficiently in this game? I think it's gonna be obviously the X factor.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I do say Texas, I lean a little bit towards Texas because I do think it's a coin flip game. You know, obviously you said Vegas has it as a one-point spread, the game's in Austin. I do think the crowd will make the difference. I do think being on the road with two very similar football teams, I mean, I mean, the identical football teams, to say the least, I'll give a just a tiny bit of edge to the home team in Texas in this one. But I think it's gonna be an epic football game.
SPEAKER_02No, I think I think it's a smart pick. And and everything you just said there about the offensive lines and even who can run it better, because of Arch's mobility and his ability to run, I think that's where you can find an edge. And do you just get him out? You know, if you if he's getting hit early, start booting him, start rolling him, just moving that pocket, and just allowing him to run, get an extra hat. That's the great equalizer in this game if you have a mobile quarterback because it changes the numbers, it changes the angles. And can you take advantage of that? So I'm right there with you. I I think that Texas gets the slight edge here, kind of slays this giant, you know, that they couldn't for the past couple of years. And um, they've got some real momentum, you know, sprinting and into conference play.
SPEAKER_00God, if they win this game and he plays well, get ready for the propaganda. Get ready. Arch Manning, first pick in the NFL drafts, Arch Manning Heisman, give it to him right now. I mean, like it is going to be uh Paul Feinball, front and center, just on every show, just praising Arch Manning, which listen, if he wins this game and he plays well, then give him his flowers. Like he should be in the conversation. I think there's um other better quarterbacks in college football this year than Arch Manning. We there's a boy, if we learn one thing in week one, there are some elite. You know, and it's so young talent. Young talents.
SPEAKER_02Last year, you know, we had this expectation for like 10 guys and they all sucked. And we're just like, oh my gosh. This year it's the opposite. It feels like guys really delivered, uh, at least in the week zero week. Well, yeah, who knows?
SPEAKER_00Let's let's see how these guys fare once conference play starts and you start playing on the road. You know, that's gonna be some, there'll be some questions answered about a couple of the quarterbacks we're gonna talk about here soon on the road in hostile environments, but uh another highly recruited quarterback as we transition to our next game that just had maybe one of the worst weeks of any big time quarterback. And that's gonna be we're gonna talk about obviously Oklahoma at Michigan, Bryce Underwood, and a lot of conversation about obviously what went wrong. You know, he just did not look very smooth in this new offense, you know, besides really that first drive, not accurate with the football, couldn't really get going using his legs. And it's not like he was very accurate a year ago, but looked even worse in this system right now. They couldn't get the ball running against Western Michigan. I mean, they had Jordan Marshall, their second leading rusher, 11 for 44.
SPEAKER_01Crazy.
SPEAKER_00Hitter had five for 15. Like, this is Western Michigan. So, like, yes, we all focus on the quarterback, and I think the head coach said this like everyone has to be better. Like, that is unacceptable. Like, we should have been able to hand the football off. We're Michigan. Like, we are built in the trenches. We are built to one run the football. Hell, if we want to 50 times in a game like that and Bryce throw it 10, and the fact that you could not run the football tells me that's just it's more than just the quarterback. The problem is, Emac, they're facing your boy Brent Venables in Oklahoma, who if I'm if I'm Oklahoma and I'm Brent Venables, I'm licking my chops because you have a quarterback right now that I'm not saying he's a mental case, but he's gonna be in his head. No case. And you've got a fan base that I think is ready. If things don't go well early in that game, you may start hearing some pretty boobirds, yeah, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_02No, I'm I'm right there with you, man. It's just it's not clicking, it's not processing right now for that young man. And listen, talented, absolutely, all the skills that you want. For whatever reason, it's not getting to the field. And this is the guy you don't want to see coming down the tracks. And in B V, the defensive mind there for Oklahoma, their head coach, he's gonna show him stuff he's never even seen before. I mean, the stuff that he doesn't have any idea what to do with. I went back and was watching their tape and trying to find just some fun blitzes for you know, Sports Center. They were up by 40 points and had eight guys on the line of scrimmage. Like, what are we doing? They're sending all kinds of stuff, safety blitzes, double A gap mug, dropping both, crashing the defensive ends. I mean, it is bonkers to see what they're gonna do, what they're gonna present. And you know what's interesting? His mentality. You would think, okay, you want to save that for whoever. He's like, I want you to see it to prepare. You got to prepare for everything. You got to know everything that we're sending.
SPEAKER_00And even when you do, you don't understand how long, I don't think people understand how long and how much time is obviously not wasted, right? But how much time is spent in past protection meetings, right? Figuring, I remember there's we were in can in Kansas City one year and we were facing a team that did a lot of like double A mug pressure. So you're just lining up, you know, two linebackers in the A gap, and they would bring both guys. They would bring one guy, they would bring a nickel, or they'd bring one and a nickel, or they'd bring us, and there was like a million, it's like we would we literally spent two days of blitz meeting, two days only trying to figure out double A pressure. Right. We weren't even focused on any other blitz. Like we spent hours and hours trying to figure out how to stop this double A mug pressure. So, like do you understand? Like, yeah, let's not waste this. Like, no, no, no. You are wasting their time exactly trying to figure out how to pro protect this against all their protections, right, all the situations, all the plays, what's the call is gonna be, what are the tendencies? It is a pain in the butt when you start doing that stuff and putting it on film.
SPEAKER_02It is, man. And that's why I'm a big fan of just getting it out there because that's more you have to watch, that's more you have to prepare for, especially on the The defensive side of the ball, and they were hitting. Like they were getting after that quarterback. They were trying to do quarterback run a week ago. So it's kind of a good prep game. Again, I know the talent level is dramatically increasing in this game, but it's going to look kind of similar, I think, what they want to try to do. And obviously they passed that test really, really well. So that's just kind of my question, man, is what is this guy going to do? His coach is kind of questioning him in the media, which again, maybe you you need to do that to get him going. But his answer to it, because he didn't even know that was said, he's just kind of like, oh, okay, cool. Like, great. You know, where is he going to be mentally? And then on top of when he gets there and sees that. So I think this defense is going to go nuts. I think they're going to hit him a bunch. And, you know, looking on the other side of it, just seeing John Matheir's progress. I mean, his throwing motion looks like it's been changed a little bit, would kind of lean on you for that. But and it looks like the skill around him is better. So I I was a big fan of him a year ago. I think he's that Superman type of guy, rally around. Let's, you know, kind of get the wagons going with him.
SPEAKER_00No, I going back to Michigan real quick, you know, I think they got to use his legs. I think that's one way to get a quarterback going, is just get him going a little bit, gain some confidence, running the football, um, and then play great defense, you know. But I just I said I worry if things aren't going well early, which I'm not anticipating they will. Man, those fans, be gentle. Just be gentle, Michigan fans.
SPEAKER_02Well, they're you know, it's a lot of money invested in this cat, man.
SPEAKER_00I know, but dude, it's a different game now. Boobirds second the season. Um flip it over to Oklahoma because I do think Oklahoma wins this game. And I think Oklahoma wins it. Not I think they win it by two touchdowns. Not two touchdowns, but two down.
SPEAKER_02Five and a half. That's the number. I agree with that.
SPEAKER_00I think they went by two scores. I think they think they win by 10, you know, 10 plus. I just I don't know if Michigan is gonna be able to score on this defense. Yeah. My question is for Venables your defense was elite a year ago, and you got to a point in the season where I felt like you pulled back the reins on Mateir and you said, just let this defense win us games. And that can get you really far. It can. But even the great Georgia defense needed sets and bennett in that offense in the playoffs to win football games. At some point, the offense is going to have to win football games. No matter how good your defense is, your offense is gonna have to do it. At what point do we start to see Venables, who is a defensive-minded head coach, start to let John Matheer be John Matthear? Or is this going to be the same thing it was a year ago? Of guys, as long as we don't screw up, we're gonna win this game. Because if you play with that mentality all year long, you won't win a championship. You'll be a playoff team, but you're not gonna win a championship. You have to build the confidence in your offense that we can go out there and yes, shut a team out, but also score 40, 50 points. Like, I need that mentality from John Mateer in the offense. I need that mentality from the offensive line, from Isaiah Centeny on the outside. Like, I need go, go, go, not guys, just don't screw up.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00And once again, that will win you a lot of games. But it may hold him back for a championship, which it did last year. I think that mentality from being more competitive in the playoffs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. No, I'm right there with you. And and I think, you know, how much did the injury have to do with that? You know, did he come back too early? Was he even ready? And just how did that affect? But I I do think there's a good point of that you you have to be multifaceted. You have to have multiple things that are elite and you gotta go. You know, it's gone are the days of, oh, we can just rely on this run game. Oh, we can just rely on this defense. You gotta do it all and you have to be able to attack because you will run into a dog that's gonna be better at that than you. Do you have an answer to it? Do you have something else that can really go? And that was Alabama in the playoffs, like you mentioned, beat them by 10. You know, a team, a team that couldn't do anything the first go-round against Oklahoma, figured it out, got the dub there. So I think we're both kind of on the same page. I I think Oklahoma blows these dudes out, and those boobirds are gonna be a real thing, man. It's gonna be it's gonna be bad mentally, I think, for this offseason.
SPEAKER_00It's going to be ugly, ugly, ugly. Um, but I think I'm with you. I think Oklahoma rolls, I think they continue down the stretch. All right, let's go uh at a true SEC on SEC. Let's I'm before we get into that, let me just ask you this. A lot of the conversation this offseason was SEC Big Ten. If SEC wins both these games, does it change the mindset of the Big Ten's the better conference because they've won the past three years? I think uh Like how important is that in all the time? I think Michigan right now.
SPEAKER_02Like I know they won one of those ships, but like that doesn't really swing anything for me. If it was probably Oregon or uh maybe Penn State, I'd feel better about it. Um and and here's the thing too. I think this is this is a great conversation. I think that when you look at the Big Ten, the upper echelon can hang with anybody. When you look at the ACC, Miami right now, probably the maybe Louisville. I like what Louisville did in a lot of people. I do.
SPEAKER_00I like SMU can probably hang with some.
SPEAKER_02SMU, yeah. I would say Miami right now can hang with anybody.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The SEC just is it's just deeper. Now, they haven't been able to make any runs, and maybe you could say they beat each other up, maybe you could say this and that. So I I think their elite can obviously hang with anybody, but it's it's kind of the the first seven or eight that can also hang pretty well as as well. So obviously the Big Ten has the staying power, but you get to the to the middle back of the big, I mean, it's horrible. It's not good. It's not good. So that's kind of my my thoughts on that. And maybe that's just because I live in the South and I'm biased too. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I agree with that one. 100% agree. All right, well, let's get to an SEC on SEC game. Alabama on the road against the Kentucky Wildcats. Will Stein, obviously, new coach for Kentucky. They had a nice first game a week ago, but let's I want to I want to start with Alabama first in this game and kind of some of the things that you know we saw from them in their week one victory um against East Carolina. I think this Keelan Russell guy, obviously, right decision. You know, this guy's he's he's gonna be special and he may be already special. Um, it's just hard to tell with a young quarterback, and you don't want to put too much stock in a game like against East Carolina. Like this is this is the first real test on the road, SEC game, SEC stadium. How do you handle all that? How do you handle the noise? What are some improvements you've made from week one to week two? And I think we saw like improvements from year one to year two. There's a lot of improvements just from week one to week two, too. Because like you actually played in a game, and now you can kind of see like, okay, these are some of the things I do well, these are some things I didn't do well, this is some areas I need to work on. So I think you'll get even a better, you know, possible Keelan Russell in this game. But man, he's accurate, he moves well in the pocket, um, he's got an arm, he's got the legs. I think he's got the maturity of keeping his eyes down the field and not being a he's being a passer first and not a runner when things break down, which is absolutely incredible for a young quarterback that has that athleticism. The same narrative is going to be played out all year for Alabama. At what point can you run the football with your running backs consistently? Right. At what point can Daniel Hill and E.J. Cruel and company be your leading rushers and you can just lean on your offensive line to just run the football. That was an issue a year ago. The worst running performance in Alabama history. And nothing proves me that it's any different right now other than if you have a really mobile quarterback. But can he do that all year? Like I you can't put that much on a young quarterback. We just talked about John Mateir and the issues that happened last year with Oklahoma when he got banged up. You cannot put that on Keelan Russell, right? Who is even more, you know, more inexperienced than than than John Matteir is obviously heading into last season. So I need to see this run game, this offensive line, lean on some people and take some pressure off the young quarterback.
SPEAKER_02Right. And, you know, very different body type, right? Like John Matir's jacked. He's he's you know, dense. This guy's 200 pounds, a 6'3. I mean, that's you start running crazy all over the SEC, you're gonna get hurt. You're gonna get hit uh a bunch of, but maybe he's elusive enough. We'll see. I did like that he showed his legs. And I think again, we we keep mentioning that. That's it's a fun piece of the offense to have. It can be an eraser and hide a lot of issues there. But the biggest thing for me is, man, just these drops. Like, golly, when when I see you know, Ryan Coleman Williams come down with a big dog, and listen, he still had 130 yards, electric. That guy can you know really do it, but you've got to be that guy all the time. That that's part of it. That's where you are. And the elite receivers don't drop any passes. Exactly. Come on. And they don't, they don't jump for no reason. Like it was weird. It was just in his head. He's wide open. He's like jumping, catching the ball with his shoulder pads. I'm like, brother, this is not good. And so did that settle him down a little bit towards the end of the game. Uh, again, knowing that he has a good quarterback that's gonna get him the rock. But you're a thousand percent right. This run game is just gonna continue to be an issue. And will it be an issue in this? I thought it was interesting. Alabama didn't have a passing touchdown from Russell. Um, you know, they get so close and then they just kind of hammer it in. So we'll see against this team because I know Coach Stein, man, he he wants nothing more than to get started in SEC play with a big dub. He was really confident at media days and uh kind of feeling himself.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and listen, Kenny Minchie, their quarterback, as we transition over to talk a little bit more Kentucky here. I thought he looked good in week one, efficient. Obviously, you know, think about the the team they faced. I I still worry, does he have elite enough traits to play against this type of defense and be that successful?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, I thought he moved well in the pocket, he threw to the right, he got some rolls to the right, you know, athletic enough to move to his left, throw some nice passes. I don't know if he is, and it's always hard watching tape compared to seeing someone in person. I don't know if he has a super dynamic arm. It really did pop off the tape to me. Like, man, this guy's got, like we said, we you see Keelan, you see kid from from Mississippi State, you see some of these quarterbacks, like, okay, that you can tell like there's some fire coming behind that football. I didn't necessarily see that with Kenny. And I was saying you don't need that to be super successful. Can you be in fish in the offense? Can you take completions? But there is a point where you have to be against an Alabama defense that is this good. Like it is that good. The same thing. You gotta be pretty, you gotta be special in a in some in some area, whether it's your arm or legs. And I don't know if he necessarily has that special trait in either of those areas. It's just it's it seems like it's good and it's efficient.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's good for most competition, but not against a defense like this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I totally agree with you. Alabama, a 10 and a half point favorite. I I'm going with the tide here. I think this defense is going to be something that you know Minchie hasn't seen and uh it's gonna overwhelm him. You know, maybe some turnovers there. But, you know, if this Kentucky defense can stand tall, maybe it gets interesting. But 10 and a half, I feel pretty good. Alabama covers that.
SPEAKER_00No, I agree. I think Alabama wins a football game and uh and covers it. Nice, nice win for the young quarterback, and they keep it moving. All right, let's go to a little SEC versus ACC. Uh, give you first crack at this one. You will be in Atlanta, as we talked about at the beginning of the show. Tennessee against Georgia Dodd, Georgia Tech and Bobby Dodd Stadium, Georgia Tech not look good in week one. Tennessee looked very good in their quarterback, looked really, really good in week one. What are you looking for in this matchup, Emac?
SPEAKER_02You know, man, just looking at it from you know Tennessee's lens first, like Faison is sick. That dude is fun to watch, super dynamic. He's a big player, you know, 6'3, 6'4, 230. Uh, ran it really well, made some nice passes. Um he he really impressed me. Just how Tennessee's offense operates with him. I think it's gonna be fun all year long. He is a freshman. He is a young cat. So, what, you know, does something confuse him down the road? Does something give him angst? We will see. Um, but if I'm Tennessee, I'm running the ball at will. Like I am leaning on this offensive line. I'm trusting my freshman quarterback and handing it to these receivers or excuse me, these running backs because Georgia Tech showed such an inept ability to stop the run against Colorado that I'm testing that time and time again. And they might run for 300 plus yards. I mean, it's just if you haven't made any changes schematically or who's in, it's gonna be bad. It's gonna be bad. And that's probably the most disappointing thing, you know, looking at Georgia Tech really quick before I talk Tennessee defense. They like Coach Key has built them off toughness, physicality, and focus on the line of scrimmage, particularly the offensive line. And those guys got bullied. They look lazy, they look soft. And that that's that was shocking to me. Now, I don't know if they were reading what I was saying or reading the press clippings of Colorado's too small, Colorado can't do this and that. And they thought they were just gonna walk in their home stadium and dominate because it was it was the opposite. I mean, we have got to get more from those guys. MA's galore, Aaron. I watched that tape and I'm just like, what the heck am I watching? Guys going the wrong way, not targeting the right linebacker. I mean, it was just a clutter, it was a total cluster, and still you lost by one point. Like you should, you probably should have won the game with a with a field goal there. So, you know, how much can they bounce back? I know Coach Key, one of the best to do it, gonna get them going, but you know, lean on Mendoza, right? He looked good throwing the ball. It was wet, it was rainy, it was humid. Maybe that's just who they are this year. They've been so run heavy for so long with, you know, guys like Haynes King. Maybe Mendoza's gonna sling it all over, and maybe that'll cause some issues. But with that said, Tennessee had seven sacks last week. They're licking their chops saying, let's go, boys. This is gonna be a game we dominate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, listen, I George Gotze is, I believe, the new office coordinator for Georgia Tech. And, you know, I think a very, very brilliant offensive mind, but I I am just so high on Buster Faulkner.
SPEAKER_02Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_00And I think you saw maybe some some of that loss of Buster going to Florida in that in that week one matchup. But you gotta be able to run the football. And I think that was the most disappointing thing is to see a Georgia Tech team, a Brent Key team really lose the lines of scrimmage. And it's just not something that I would have would have ever thought, especially against Colorado, who, hell, maybe they are that much better at the line of scrimmage this year. Maybe it, maybe it's a different Colorado than what we're used to seeing, who had all the skill, had all the flash, couldn't do anything up front. And and obviously uh Coach Prime really recruited a different type of player this year, got some more guys on both sides of the line of scrimmage. And like I said, they they looked better there, or is it just that Brett Keaton, those guys are not the type of team that obviously, like I said, we're accustomed to seeing with Brett Keenan. We'll find out after this concern. We will know we'll find out. We'll find out after this one. I do think there's a lot of talk because it's Alabama about Keelan Russell. I think FaZon Brandon's just as good. Sure. Why not? I think he's just I think he I and he may have a better offense and offensive skill players around him. So like at the end of the day, a year, if you're gonna compare stats of of which quarterback's gonna have the more successful first season, I think you could kind of lean towards Faison Brandon. He's got Bishop at running back, a proven running back. He's got Matthews and company at the receiving position, better offensive line. Like, this is a Tennessee offense that now after watching Faison play with inside the offense, play with confidence, poise, his ability to push the ball vertically down the field, his ability just to take completions. I mean, that's the number one thing I want to see from these young quarterbacks. See green grass, take completions. That's the number one thing in this offense, too, because this offense is so predicated about creating space, finding the green grass, and then being on the same page with your receivers, if they're gonna stop or are they gonna keep going? And then getting that ball out on time so where they can catch it, have that separation from the DBs, and then get those yards off the catch. He was in sync, which is great for week one to see that. And like I said, has the athleticism on top of it, has the ability to push the ball down the field. So Tennessee fans, man, bullish, bullish, bullish on phase on Brandon in week one. This will be a bigger challenge. It's gonna be on the road. This is to your point, a Brett Key. Brett Brett probably went off on these guys. They've had an extra couple days prepare. You know they're gonna be pissed off, ready to go, perform better than they did versus Colorado. But at the end of the day, you are who you are a little bit. And you ain't gonna be that much more physical than what you were versus Georgia Tech or versus Colorado. That's the one thing. So I think Tennessee rolls.
SPEAKER_02I do I do too. And it's 12 and a half is the number I think they get that done. Just because we we haven't seen it. You know, we uh there's nothing that gives me positive vibes, you know, with Georgia Tech there and the things that they're bringing. But you mentioned something earlier about you know, year one to year two jump, week one to week two. You don't just get more physical. You don't just get bigger, stronger in a week. So that's one of the things, as we mentioned with Georgia Tech, it may look cleaner, there may be less MAs, but physically, it might be the same thing. We'll see against a much bigger, better opponent, we think, uh as of right now. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00If you can't be physical in a Thursday night matchup, first game of the season, that ain't gonna just magically turn on. Yeah, exactly. That ain't just gonna magically turn on at all. So uh Tennessee, I think, takes care of business against Georgia Tech. All right, let's get to a little um ACC versus Big 12 action. Pitt, boy, that Mason kid, seven touchdowns. Like you were high on him a year ago. I'm still was a little iffy. You know, I forgot who they were playing as end of the season. I was like, yeah, Notre Dame. Notre Dame and got hammered. Notre Dame will humble a lot of people, so I get that. But looked really good week one, seven touchdowns, moving the ball around. Yeah. Um, I think they just overpower UCF. I do. I think this is now more of a veteran quarterback. And you know, Scott Frost, another season at UCF. I know obviously he's done wonders there previously before he went to Nebraska. Now he's back again. But uh this Mason kid, I'm with you. I'm starting to buy a little bit more stock in him.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he he's fun to watch, man. And it's crazy. Seven touchdowns. I mean, it's an ACC record, most ever thrown in an ACC game. And it was a variety of stuff, right? I mean, he threw the deep ball, he was scrambling around, he checked down to a guy who just made a play. Like it was fun. And the more I watched this tape, this dude's got a little Baker Mayfield to him, man. A little swagger, little jump pass, touchdown throw. Um, I I like what I saw about this. And and the interesting thing to me is I would love to see balance and see them run the rock, but I think of Pitt when they were at their best with Kenny Pickett, they threw it 40 times a game and then just let him deal. So if you've got the talent around him, which Mason does, uh, you know, I think Mason Heinschild turns into that. And, you know, we're looking at a 40 plus touchdown pass season from him because that's what they have to do to really stay in games. The uh the the running back from UFC to or UCF, excuse me, UFC. Whoa, what are we doing? Uh he's a good runner from Louisville. Duke Watson had 100 plus yards last week. That'll be a challenge for this Pittsburgh team. But I'm with you. I think Pitt wins by double digits here on the road.
SPEAKER_00No, and I like UCF's quarterback. I actually covered him a year ago, Alonzo Brady.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, JMU, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, at JMU. Obviously, he had a great career at JMU. He's played a ton of football, uh, 23 touchdowns a year ago, 26 touchdowns a year before that. Um, you know, he is he's pretty darn good, and he can run the football too. He had about 600 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. So he is a dynamic guy that, you know, he starts going running the football. And then obviously we know what Scott Frost can do with those type of quarterbacks. Very successful in the history of having guys that can do both throwing it and running it as efficiently as Alonzo Barnett. So if he has he is a potential of a game, and like I said, veteran quarterback. So watch out if they're gonna win this game. Let's see what he can do with his legs. Yeah, um, all right, next game. Let's stay in the ACC here, and I think this might be our final game of the day. Cal, really disappointing week one. I mean, very, very, very disappointing game going against my use and Jelly, baby. Golly. I wish he was healthy all last year. I know. But man, that dude can sling it, man. I just think back to that game against I know bad thoughts for you, that game against uh Clemson and how well he looked in that one. I mean, he can throw that ball.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and two very good quarterbacks. Obviously, I love JKS, you know that. Um, but man, just cow, very disappointing first game.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just a lot of defensive busts, defensive MAs. I mean, they had the game right there, and then, you know, just can't play complimentary football. Wide receiver gets hit right in the hands, it gets tipped directly to a uh a defensive back, and then the next play it looked like kind of a on a different page from his wide receiver and back-to-back picks. I mean, you you blink your eyes, and you know, UCLA scored 21 points. You're just like, what happened? This was a game Kyle was in control and about to win. Um, some weird decision-making, you know, play, Colin. But listen, that's Josh Lupoy's first game as a head coach, and they'll figure it out. You got a great quarterback. Hopefully, they do that in a hurry so you can keep him. But man, I love Angeli too. This dude can spin it, and it is fun to watch. Think back to Qes two years ago. Kyle McCord, you know, they threw it for almost 5,000 yards. Maybe he got close, maybe 45, uh somewhere around there. That's a lot. I think that's what they're gonna do again. They're slinging it and they're trusting that guy. This is a fascinating game.
SPEAKER_00How are the receivers for Syracuse?
SPEAKER_02They're good. A lot of guys that are back, you know, that have been in this offense. And, you know, they they unfortunately lost a couple to uh Ole Miss. That's that's old Miss's receiver core now, is two of the best from Syracuse, but it's guys that have been in the system, guys that have played. And again, I think when you throw it at this high a clip, like it almost makes the receivers better, you know, because they're getting more opportunities. I think they get this game. Cal's got to travel the country. I think Qes makes it happen. I agree.
SPEAKER_00I think the Qs get it done. Well, that is it for us here at the Murray, the Mac and Murray colored football show. We hope you tune in. Go see E Mac. Like I said, he'll be on the ACC show uh Saturday mornings. And what else do you guys go? You guys go Saturday morning, obviously, pre-game. Yeah, we go Friday night.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we got Friday night, we've got uh Sports Center, Sports Center in the morning, and then our big show in like a halftime, then we're done. So they can turn it over to you to watch.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And then uh you catch me Saturday night on the SC Network covering them, Alban Tigers, see uh if that offense can kind of improve from where they were a week ago. But a lot of college, great college football. We'll be back next week with a reaction show. This past week was crazy because Emac was I mean, he might have you know earned a whole new status on whatever delta you fly. With all the all the flying. He he was going in the Florida State Fiasco late night. So we'll be back with a normal schedule next week. So we'll have a recap show um and then a preview show, then we'll start bringing some guests on as well. So it was just our first week of the season, too. Some mix-ups. And if you saw me in the booth and my boy Matt Schumacher, we also had a little oopsie with the fist bump uh miss there. How about Matt? He doesn't tell me he's gonna we do two warm ups brutal and we never do it, and then lights come on and he decides he wants to add something. I'm just like cheesing in the camera. It's week one for everybody. It's week one. Week one for every way, but to that be said, we'll be back. Normal schedule next week. We love y'all. Have a great weekend. Enjoy some college football.