00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Screen. We got Bill Bender from Sporting News in the house.
00:05It feels like a long time ago when Ohio State was just crowned the National Championship.
00:09Yeah, it really wasn't. It was last Monday night. Bill is with us here to go over the latest, Bill.
00:15It does feel like a long time ago because so much has happened since then. We know the Super Bowl teams and all that.
00:20But you were at the National Championship. You saw Ohio State get the job done.
00:25Certainly, Notre Dame kind of creeped back into it to make it closer.
00:30But pretty big signature win for Ryan Day at OSU.
00:35Yeah, and I think it offers a blueprint for betters in the future.
00:39When you're picking a National Championship team in this new format, maybe go with the deepest, most talented team.
00:46And that's what Ohio State was. You look at this defense, probably all 11 of those guys on the starting lineup are going to play in the NFL.
00:53Will Howard played very well in that final game. Craig, I don't know about you, but I could sense after about two drives that,
01:00man, this offense is too much for Notre Dame right now. And it was a very good Notre Dame defense.
01:06But yeah, I mean, when you're looking at odds for next year, you might want to take the team that has the most talent,
01:12has the most NFL players and is built to win three or four games.
01:18You know, the big story coming out of this for Ohio State was definitely a strange one as their defensive coordinator ends up going to Penn State.
01:25Now, Bill, in years past, you know, you and I growing up, you would never see anything like this.
01:29A coordinator leaving to go against a rival in the same conference.
01:34But look, I suppose if the players can do it, why can't the coaches?
01:38Yeah. And leaving on the day that they're celebrating a National Championship in Ohio Stadium.
01:44And so he wasn't there. And so a couple of layers to this for Ohio State.
01:49Who do they hire next? That's one of the best coordinator positions in all of college football.
01:54You're inheriting. You're going to have to fix some things because, like I said, a lot of those guys are going to go to the NFL.
02:00But you still have Caleb Downs, who is arguably the best player in college football.
02:05If Jeremiah Smith isn't so Ohio State will be able to build off those guys as for Penn State.
02:11What a pickup. By the way, Penn State has ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense each of the last four years.
02:16Manny Diaz did a nice job there. Tom Allen did a nice job there.
02:20And now you bring in Jim Knowles, who has a little bit of a different scheme.
02:25It relies on the safety quite a bit, but he's going to do things the way he wants.
02:29And I thought announcing it while Ohio State was celebrating was one of those petty things we love about college football.
02:37Definitely the case. And speaking of petty, nobody knows that word more than Brian Kelly does.
02:43My gosh, leaving Notre Dame, didn't think that Marcus Freeman would be more coveted as a coach than Kelly.
02:49But here we are three seasons later and Kelly's teams at LSU have lost three games every single year.
02:55Now, if Kelly wasn't the last name of LSU's coach and this was their record, you may look at it and go, all right, this isn't bad for LSU.
03:03But he came in with such fanfare and had four losses this season, Bill.
03:08I kind of feel like there's pressure on every coach at the SEC level, but maybe some extra on Kelly this year.
03:18Yeah, and he caught a lot of strays during the playoff from people saying, you know, Notre Dame got there without him.
03:24And I would be one of the people that said Notre Dame wouldn't be in this spot if not for Brian Kelly.
03:30He did bring an era of stability to that program.
03:33Yeah, they didn't beat Clemson and they didn't beat Alabama in those playoff semifinals, but neither did anybody else.
03:39So, but it does turn up the pressure for next year.
03:43They are one of the boomer bus teams, in my opinion, with Garrett Nussmeyer coming back quarterback,
03:49with the transfer portal additions they've made, and they've been very active in the portal this offseason as opposed to last offseason.
03:57And the schedule, you know, they haven't won an opener, Craig, an opener since 2019.
04:05And who are they playing in week one? At Clemson.
04:08So I don't know who makes these LSU schedules.
04:11Maybe schedule somebody easy in here in the opener one of these years, because Brian Kelly has been unable to win the opener.
04:18And here they are with another tough one.
04:20Yeah, they are.
04:22Garrett Nussmeyer is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy Award.
04:25One of the few quarterbacks is actually heading back to school.
04:28He is eight to one to win the Heisman Trophy.
04:30Their win total eight and a half going in the next year to win the SEC.
04:34They are ten to one.
04:35If that's going to happen, they're going to have to beat Alabama.
04:37The Crimson Tide nine and four last season.
04:40They're going to be ranked in the top ten again.
04:42I guess the question is, we mentioned pressure.
04:46I mean, is it fair to have pressure on Kalen DeBoer here?
04:48I mean, I guess there's going to be that on every team in the SEC.
04:51But, my gosh, I mean, year one, can we give the guy a break?
04:54I know that they lost the bowl game.
04:56They didn't look great in that.
04:57Nine wins on the season.
04:59He can't be a two and done, can he?
05:02I don't think so.
05:04But he just got a crash course in just how much pressure there is when you coach at Alabama.
05:09It is very much like Ohio State.
05:11They anticipate and expect to win every game.
05:15And here he is in year one.
05:17They had ups and downs.
05:18They beat Georgia.
05:19That was a nice win.
05:20They win the Iron Bowl.
05:21They beat LSU.
05:23But you lose to Vandy.
05:25And then you have the dud at Oklahoma.
05:27And you lose to Tennessee, which they've lost two out of the last three to Tennessee.
05:32Alabama fans don't like that.
05:34Compound it with a terrible performance in the bowl game against Michigan.
05:37So, I do think there's going to be some level of pressure on Kalen DeBoer in year two.
05:42September's not easy.
05:44Again, Florida State will be better.
05:46They play Florida State in the opener.
05:47Some people are coining that the anxiety bowl.
05:50I've seen Ralph Russo refer to that as the athletic writer.
05:53They play Wisconsin again.
05:55And then they play Georgia at the end of September.
05:57So, it is a high-pressure first month for Alabama, who I would deem another kind of boom or bust team.
06:04Alabama and LSU in all these way too early preseason top 25s, they're both in the top 10.
06:10So, we're going to see if they can live up to those expectations next season.
06:14Yeah.
06:15Bill, you're fair on all expectations there.
06:18Meanwhile, the University of Miami got a little lucky, Bill.
06:22I mean, let's just keep it real.
06:24Did Carson Beck just follow his girlfriend to the University of Miami?
06:27It sure feels like he did.
06:29I mean, I got to call it what it is.
06:31I mean, he just all of a sudden committed to Miami out of nowhere, and good for him.
06:35I hope he and Cavender, they don't break up.
06:37Their total is 8.5 to win the ACC.
06:40It's 3-1.
06:42I think personally, Bill, I think this number is too high.
06:45I think Beck is okay.
06:47But, I mean, he is not 60%.
06:51I don't think of Cam Ward.
06:52That's just my opinion.
06:54I think Miami is going to take a step back.
06:56They could.
06:57And he's got to limit the turnovers next season, regardless of what he's doing off the field in terms of the Miami lifestyle.
07:05Let's just put it that way.
07:07I think he – but I do – Miami did take a step forward.
07:11If he doesn't turn the ball over with their schedule, they could make a run in the ACC.
07:16Great stuff, Bill, as always.
07:18I know that we're winding down with you and me here soon, but we appreciate you coming on the show as always.
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