FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
Tiger Talk Overtime w/Doug Holton 8.29.2024 w/guests Brian Brinsfield, Kevin Fitchner, Coach Chuck Anderson, and Stu Donald with Tailgating Tips
It's time now for Tiger Talk Over Time. Time. We should embrace playing the gold standard of this conference right now. You should welcome that. You should want that. You should want that experience. It should burn within you to say, I won't that opportunity. Nobody's left. Give the ball up and over. And even if I believe it, take it off. Put that over. And now it's your second effort by both guys. But he just got hit behind the line of scrimmage. Everybody, they know what's coming. Alabama, they know what was coming. Both guys have just done a secure effort. Got it now to shotgun Patrick Nick. Alabama, bringing everybody. Nick's is going to blow one for Sanders. Sanders. Oh, he caught it in the tooth. And he died, damn. Touchdown Auburn. Touchdown Auburn. Oh, my goodness. Carmel Williams at the tail back. They'll hand it off to Williams. Up the middle. 25, that's an inside. 30, 35, 40, there goes Title X to the 50, to the 40, to the 30, to the 20, to the 15, 10. Go crazy, Cadillac. Go crazy. Touchdown. There goes Davis. Oh, my God. Davis is going right on the way back. Auburn's going to win the football game. Auburn's going to win the football game. He ran the best field. Go back. He ran it back a hundred and nine yards. They're not going to keep them off the field tonight. Road, home, dirt, grass. It don't matter. Just give us that opportunity. That's the fire that is within us. First down in 10, just inside of it field. Here's Tam on the fake, right up the middle, breaks a tackle. At the 40, stays on his feet. 35, 30, 25, 20. Here's Center, one man to beat at the five. He is in it. Touchdown Auburn. Flash that smile, Cam. Fire wipes for the snap in the place. There it is. The kick is up. The kick is good. Auburn wins. 22, 19. Tiger Talk Over Time is presented by Will To. Number one in quality and safe work for industry. To be a part of the show, call the Morgan Bradley Alpha Insurance Tiger Line now at 3, 4, 3, 0, 1, 0, 6. Now, here's your host, Doug Halton. And good evening, everyone. Welcome into Tiger Talk Over Time. I'm Doug Halton, and we'll be talking some Auburn sports for the next hour and an exciting show for you tonight. A busy show, and we want to get into some football talk, of course, as the Tigers open the season against Alabama A&M Saturday at Jordan Harris Stadium. We'll be talking about that. Brian Brinsfield will join us in a minute. Kevin Fickner will join us from Auburn to kind of set the scene for us. Coach Chuck Anderson will talk some Xs and Os, and about all the players, the new faces we'll see Saturday, and Stu Donald also joins us to talk some football, some college football, Auburn football, and give us a good recipe to put on the grill this weekend before the game, during the game, and what have you. But we want to start with a couple of notes. The Auburn soccer team is in action right now at South Alabama as we speak. The Tigers off to a good start, beating Clemson in their first battle. Clemson was ranked number five in the country, so coach Karen Hoppe and the team are off to a good start. So if you want to put the earbuds in, drive out to the stadium, watch the Tigers, support the soccer team, that would be great and listen to the show at the same time. All right, also a couple of Auburn golfers involved in some competition this weekend, Auburn sophomore Anna Davis and alumnus Megan Schofill, representing the US team in the 2024 Curtis Cup, which begins on Friday at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England. The USGA announced that the Tigers would be two of the eight players on the US team August the 12th, and we wish them good luck. You can catch some of the action Friday morning on the golf channel and Peacock and also on Saturday. And on Sunday, the golf channel will have the singles competition, which should be fun to watch. And we wish again Megan and Anna great luck across the pond. And also a little volleyball news. The 24th season has officially arrived as well, as Auburn hosts North Alabama, Georgia Southern, and Wofford in the War Eagle Invitational, Friday and Saturday in Neville Arena. Action begins on Friday. Bright and early when the Tigers go toe to toe with you and a at 10 a.m. The doors open at 9 a.m. for that match. Six new faces make their debut for the orange and blue over the weekend. Five freshmen, Laura Draves, Lauren Draves, and Kaylee Edson, also Emma Moore, who was a two time state champion here at McGill Tulin in Mobile, is set to make her debut. Grace Havochek and Bella Humphrey, along with transfer Alexis de Costa, all making an impact, hopefully in 2024. And we'll be keeping tabs on the volleyball team as well. But of course, the main topic of discussion is Auburn football, again, the debut for Hugh Freeze's 2024 team is Saturday night at Jordan Harris Stadium against Alabama A&M, a game that should be lopsided. A lot of anticipation from the Auburn people, the Auburn players, the Auburn coaching staff about this one and about the start of the season do they finally have all the pieces of the puzzle in place to contend for an SEC championship and make a run at the 12 team playoff at the end of the year. Coach Freeze, if you didn't hear him last hour, had some thoughts at his press conference this week about heading in to this weekend's ballgame. - I think most of you think that those of us who've done this a while know what to expect from our team and that could be very, that's so far from the truth. At least for me, I think you really are two, three games in before you, you really like, all right, this is who we really are and what we can do and so I still, as much as I've enjoyed preparing and coaching this team and being with this staff, I still think it's an accurate statement to say, I still don't know exactly who we are just yet. I think we're better at a lot of spots for sure, but you've got to go prove it each and every Saturday. And so that's something that I'm anxious to see for sure. - All right, we want to welcome into the show, Brian Brinsfield, former Auburn Tiger coming to us from the state of Tennessee. Brian, always good to see you. It is finally here, something we've talked about for a while, opening day is Saturday at Jordan Hare. - I'm excited, thanks for having me again. And it's always better to be welcome into a show than out of a show, I guess. - No, listen, I'm excited. I got, we got our first taste last week. I had a kid that I coached at the bar that transferred from Colorado State into Florida State. He had to play in the Ireland game last week, they lost, but it was fun to see Grady play in college footballs back. So real, I think it starts tonight. I think North Carolina actually plays tonight. I could be wrong in that, but some games tonight, some games Friday, Saturday and I think even Sunday. - I think the heels are playing Minnesota, if I remember correctly. - I think you're right, I think you're right. - I was quite a stadium they had in Ireland, by the way. - Yeah, it was, I think it's fun. There was a ton of Florida State fans that look like they traveled over there. But anytime, I mean, a kid, you're 20 years old, 19, 18, 21 years old gets to travel abroad and do something like that. I mean, only two teams are gonna do it a year. And what a great chance to go over there and play some football in front of people that really wanna see it, so. - Yeah, yeah, great experience. Let's talk about Saturday a little bit. Obviously, Auburn and A&M shouldn't be a great game, should be a mismatch, we're all hoping. 48 points is the line. But what do you wanna see, Brian, going into this ballgame, what are you looking for from the Tigers? - Just a lot of energy. I want them to come out and I think the crowd's gonna be there. I think the crowd's excited for Coach Freeze's second year and to see some of these guys who have either come in, transferred in, or we picked up through high school and then see some of the older guys play. But I just wanna see a lot of electricity, a lot of energy from the crowd, from the players, from the coaches. Listen, I hate to say it, but if we beat 'em by 65, we beat 'em by 65. But again, with the energy and with the electricity, I want them to have fun. And, you know, it's a game and it should be a game. And I know that there's the NILs made it kind of a business. But let's go out there and just have fun and play Auburn, good Auburn football. - All right, Brian, hold that thought. We'll be back in just a minute. The defense, as I understand it, in practice, very energetic under a new coordinator, DJ Durkin. We'll talk some more about that. We'll talk some more with Brian Brentsfield and we'll have Kevin Victor to set the scene for us from the planes and also later in the show. Coach Chuck Anderson breaks it all down for us and Stu Donald joins us later in the show as well. Glad you're with us tonight. Tiger Talk overtime on a Thursday night. We'll be right back in just a minute. (upbeat music) - Welcome back to Tiger Talk overtime, presented by Will2, number one in quality and safe work for industry. To be a part of the show, call the Morgan Bradley Alpha Insurance Tiger Line now. 3430106. (upbeat music) Now, back to Don Colton. - All right, welcome back to the show. Don Colton with you on Tiger Talk. Over time, Thursday night, glad you're with us. Chatting with Brian Brentsfield, former Auburn Tiger for a couple more minutes. And Brian, we were talking about what the Auburn people want to see Saturday at Jordan Harris Stadium. I think they want to see that offense. I think they want to see Peyton Thorn look sharp. And I think the number one thing they want to see Saturday is Cam Coleman going deep for six. Do you think Hugh Freeze will script that up on the opening play Saturday? - I don't know if it's the first play because I think the other team is probably thinking the same exact thing. I might run a draw on the first player. But yeah, let's get it in the first three. Let's get it under both of their belts. And you know, Mike Tyson, you say it's the first punch. It's not real until it's the first punch. So let's get that going and get confidence. But you know, I'm hoping, I'm hoping these scripts, this is from a, just a purely, when I did coach on offense, some quick hitters, let some guys get in space and open up the field vertically. I mean, a horizontal, laterally. And then, then let's try to maybe take some shots downfield later in the game or see what that opens up for Jack West and some of the other backs. But yeah, I want to see Cam. I want to see what the hype is about. And I think it's real. - Yeah, and along with the other receivers, I'm sure people want to see that. We talked about Perry Thompson from down here and Dray Lambert Smith from Penn State. I know everybody is excited to see what those guys can do. - Yeah, I think we've got a good comp, and that's exciting to me is we've got a good compliment of receivers that, you know, it's almost one of these things where if we don't do good, you know, who's fault is it? Because we, I think now we were getting the players around and we're getting the talent around these guys. And, you know, and so let's see a payoff. Is there one guy on defense that you, that you'll be looking for Saturday to make a difference? I'm thinking about the guys up front that we have now that we've brought in on the transfer portal, but are you looking for anybody in particular? - I think was 15, is it Falk? - On the outside. - On the outside. Yeah, and I think he can play with his hand down and play with his hand up, but Crawford, obviously Asante, I'm really looking forward to the front seven of the defense. And really, again, being energetic, flying around the ball, having good pursuit to the ball, seeing a lot of white hats, wherever that ball is. But yeah, I'm looking forward to, as a defensive long coach, I'm always looking forward to the big guys and, but let's get some rushes off the edge. Let's have some sacks, let's have some strip sacks, let's score on defense. And just again, make it exciting, make it energetic, but have fun doing it. - Yeah, I was just gonna say that, it'd be great to see pressure on a play. And then maybe from those cornerbacks, take an advantage of it, grabbing it out of the air, going for the pick six, right? - Yeah, it's always, that's always fun. You know, I go back to, I didn't get to watch much of it, I was in the hospital, but the LSU game in '94, we had what, four or five interceptions, and it's just always fun. I think of how energetic Jim Fife was on those calls, when Fred Smith and Brian Robinson and Kenny Albus went into the end zone, you know, in the fourth quarter, and that just is another sign of electricity. Now, I will say it's easier for the defense to have a lot more electricity and energy than sometimes the offense. The offense has gotta be a little more poised and think about what you're doing and avoid defense, let's react to the ball and go to it and have fun. - Yep, looking forward to it, Brian, always good to visit. I know you're busy up there in Tennessee, and appreciate you taking time with us on a Thursday. - Thanks, a big war eagle, and looking forward to Saturday night. - Okay, joining us now, live from the Plains Auburn, Alabama, our man on the spot, Kevin Fickner. Kevin, great to see you again, and we're getting close to kickoff Saturday. What is the buzz on the Plains? - Man, that's that time of the year, the tent guys are setting up their tents. The food's coming in, the water's coming in, it's gonna be hot Saturday. It is definitely football season on the plains. You can tell there's a good buzz, a good vibe on campus right now. - Yeah, no question about it. I think a lot of anticipation this year from the Auburn fans and even the coaches and players with having the staff more like Hugh Freeze wants it. I think people are really excited about making a run this year, and even a game like Alabama A&M this weekend, people are thinking, let's go out and make a statement and prove a point this weekend, what do you think? - Doug, Auburn hasn't had a winning record in four years. The fans are waiting. The players, I'm sure, want this, this is much of the fans do. Let's go out there and handle our business, listen to A&M, play their halftime band, and then put the, you know, the backup stands second half. What's steam roll these guys? Let's get going. Let's have a good year. Auburn fans want it. People want it. The media, I think, kind of wants it. Let's do this, man. We need Auburn needs to have a good year this year, and we're hoping they do. - Yeah, I just mentioned it to Brian Brentsfield a second ago. Just off the top of your head, what's the number one thing you want to see in the first quarter from the Auburn Tigers? What do you think? - Cam Coleman, our guys last year, we haven't been able to catch the ball. We haven't been able to get open. Hopefully the old line will hold up. I want to see Cam Coleman. I want to see the hype. I want to see a one-handed grab. I want to see a five-year-old past screen that he takes to the house. I want to see Cam Coleman. That's the biggest thing. The main reason why I want to go is to see Cam Coleman. - Yeah, that's exactly what I said. I said, if you're a Hugh Freeze, would you script it out and say, all right, first play from scrimmage, we're going to see what Peyton's made of. We're going to see Cam Coleman. Let's throw it out there. - Beat 'em, beat 'em. - Yeah. (laughs) - Hey, we got some other good games coming up this weekend as well. Georgia Clemson, Miami and Florida. What do you think, dogs and the Tigers? - Wow, awesome. - If Clemson win that one? - I don't think so. I think Georgia's the real deal. It is 11 o'clock kickoff, so that helps Clemson probably. But I don't know, Clemson's been good, but not as good the last few years. And Dabbo admits to that. I don't know who they have a quarterback, but we'll see. I mean, Georgia's preseason ranked one or two, whatever poll you're looking at. You also got game day going to A&M for A&M and Notre Dame. And hopefully Notre Dame will get blown out in that Deuce quarterback. We'll see that and he'll want to come here 'cause he'll be here Saturday anyway. And like you said, we got LSU as well. And also Miami, Florida. That's going to be whoever loses that game is going to be the coach first on the hot seat, I believe in that game. - Yeah, I think there are any on the hot scene. I guess Deuce is going to see a lot of Riley Leonard, although he'll be in Auburn this weekend to watch the Tigers. So hopefully we'll get a good look at him Friday night, close to Mobile and then he'll be in Auburn on Saturday. All right, Kevin, good to visit, always good to visit. And we will see you at the ballgame this weekend. - Where are you going to die? - All right, Kevin Fickner with us from Auburn, Alabama. And when we come back, we're going to talk some X's and O's. Get you familiar with some of the names. You'll see Saturday, Coach Chuck Anderson joins us on the way back in the next segment. Still to come tonight, Stu Donald. And his tailgating tips. And we'll talk some college football as well. Thanks for being here on Tiger Talk Overtime. We'll be back in just a minute. (upbeat music) - Welcome back to Tiger Talk Overtime, presented by Will To, number one in quality and safe work for industry. We're going to be a part of the show. Called to Morgan Bradley, Alpha Insurance Tiger Line now, 3, 4, 3, 0, 1, 0, 6. (upbeat music) - Now, back to Don Colton. - And welcome back to everyone. It's time now for the Horizon Financial Halftime Report. Brought to you by Horizon Financial. Come with us and experience the Horizon difference. Joining us on the Halftime Show this week is Coach Chuck Anderson, one of the great Auburn fans of our area, very knowledgeable. And we're excited to have him with us tonight. And Chuck, thanks for being with us at War Eagle. - Thanks a lot, Doug. And looking forward to a great season. I'm excited, college football is back and it's time to get excited. - Chuck, obviously, obviously a game that Auburn should win this weekend. They're a 48-point favorite, I think, over Alabama A&M. So we're not gonna see everything we wanna see this weekend. It'll be hard to pick out, you know, exactly where Auburn got better. But what are you hoping to see when the Tigers line up Saturday night at Jordan Hare? - Well, the biggest thing I think to coach your staff likes to see is how are they gonna react to any adversity? In other words, how's the offensive line gonna pick up a blitz? What is the defensive line gonna do? Or what is the defense gonna do when they run an odd formation that they have not scheme for? What's gonna happen when they have any type of adversity, especially with a lot of the young kids that they've got playing? I think the coaching staff's extremely excited about practicing or playing against someone else. You know, they're tired of hitting themselves and they've been pretty cautious with a few of the players. Obviously, we're not very deep in the secondary and obviously we're not very deep at running back. So I'm willing to bet Jaqua's Hunter didn't get hit very many times during practice. Now it's game time and let's see what happens. It's gonna be interesting to see how Thorn, you know, they talked about how good a commander of the offense he had, the coaches are wanting to see, you know, if he can make those checks at the line of scrimmage that they think he can make. And I think those are the type of things that the coaches are looking for. It's just a different color jersey on the other side for them to play and compete against. - If you are the offensive staff, coach, you freeze in the offensive staff, going into this ball game, do you wanna take control of this thing early and make some big plays, show what Auburn can do this year and really excite the crowd? - I think they really wanna see some new players play. I really think they wanna see what Hank Brown can do. I think they really wanna see what White can do. I think they're gonna get them in as quickly as they feel comfortable. They probably already know or think they know what Thorn can do. They probably already know what the kid from Penn State can do. But they need to find out what the freshman receivers can and Simmons, what they can do. You need to see what Ken Brown can do. Is he ready to make that step forward? You know what Kim Coleman's gonna do. Now let's see what Perry Thompson can do. So though, I think those are the things that they really would like to see, which of the offensive linemen are gonna step up? They're rotating and they're playing the Johnson Kid out of Louisiana at left tackle and I think that's who's gonna start. And you know what, six, six, 320 pounds, that's a big kid. So let's find out what kind of combinations work best on the offensive line. And then in the secondary and on the defensive side, you know, they're probably gonna be pretty cautious with keys that line back and probably pretty cautious with Scott at corner and let some of these younger kids play in this ballgame to see if they can trust them and depend on them if it gets to be a real tough situation. - As far as the quarterback situation, Chuck, we talked about it a little bit, but what I'm hearing is that Hank Brown, who Coach Freeze named as the backup, is very accurate, very deadly with a deep ball, still needs to work on his accuracy on the mid-level throws, perhaps. And the advantage that Peyton Thorn has is his speed and running ability and obviously his ability to pick things up a little bit quicker than Hank Brown right now. - Yeah, you know, plus the experience level. I mean, anytime you've got somebody that's played as many games as Thorn has played, you know, he's gonna recognize things quicker. I think the thing that they really like about Hank Brown is he stands in there when the fires and the guns are going off around him and throws the football. He's not gun-shyest, feet don't move a whole lot. He stands there and rips it. You know, is he gonna be able to pick things up as fast as Thorn know, because he hadn't seen those things before. But I think they're real comfortable with Hank Brown as a backup quarterback. I think they think that White is gonna be really, really good. He just played on such a small level last year. The game is going so much faster for him right now. His initial response is he catches the ball. He looks his first read, his second read. Those don't come, he takes off. And that's pretty common for a young quarterback. Hank Brown's going through his progressions. He'll go one, two, three, four, come back to two, three and rip the ball. Peyton Thorn is tending to do that now. So he trusts his offensive line more this year than he did last year. So, you know, I think that, you know, it's just experience as much as anything else is why Thorn is gonna be, you know, the starter out there instead of Hank Brown. But when you look at him size-wise, Peyton Thorn's definitely the smallest quarterback we got. I mean, those other two kids are huge compared to, you know, Thorn. - As far as Deuce Knight, Chuck, out of Notre Dame, the commit, there was committed to Notre Dame. Is he a lot now to commit to Auburn? What are you hearing out there? And also, I hear out of Chicago, Nate Marshall has committed to Auburn. He has flipped from one of the Big Ten schools. And he apparently is the number one defensive end in the country coming out. - Yeah, we got the kid that was committed to Michigan and he flipped back. I think our defensive line coach had a lot to do with that. He's from the Chicago area as well. And he and I had a conversation about that one day. My daughter lives in Chicago. So he knew a few of the places that I really like to go eat when I go to Chicago. So that was interesting. But I think they're really excited about that. And the players they've already got along the defensive line, you know, as last year, when we got probably the top-rated receiver class in the country, we might have the top-rated defensive line class in the country, which is extremely exciting. The quarterback out of Mississippi, you know, I think Auburn people now, that's not Auburn coaches, but Auburn people. And the people in Mississippi feel like that it's down to Ole Miss and Auburn with Auburn having the upper hand. I think Notre Dame's kind of, you know, resigned to that fact, but we'll find out. He's going to be at Auburn on Saturday and hopefully the fans will let him know we want him. And he's not a plug and play kid. He's not a plug and play kid. He's not real accurate with the football right now, but he's got every tool in the Arsenal. He's got a cannon for an arm, he's six-five. He's, you know, going to end up being 230 pounds, so and it can really, really run, but it's going to take some coaching and it's going to take a little time. So, you know, he'll be the perfect guy to come in and compete with White for the starting role after next year. And, you know, I hope we get him because he'll really solidify our class and might give us one or two more players that would like to come play with him in the future. - Visiting with coach Chuck Anderson about the Auburn Tigers this evening. I'll tag your talk over time. And coach, I wanted to ask you about a guy that you're very familiar with from down around South Alabama where you are. And that is Perry Thompson. It appears that he has come in and fall practice and gotten one of the spots in the rotation, one of the top receivers for Auburn this year. He'll be in the top six, it looks like. That's quite an accomplishment for a guy that didn't come to spring practice. - All you have to do is walk out on the practice field and look around and he stands out. He's huge. Gary Johnson, his offensive coordinator last year, fully did a great job. Gary's a personal friend of mine. And I know he just glowingly talked about Perry Thompson. He thought he had to refine some of his route running. But when he got in a situation where there were players that were just as good as him around him, he had a choice, he could either elevate his level or he could just be common. And he's chosen while up at Auburn to elevate his talent level and compete and try to make himself better at daily. And I think they're extremely excited about what he's bringing to the table. I'm not sure they thought he was gonna be able to play right off the bat, but I think there's no question now. They think he's gonna play quite a bit. And so Auburn's got a great rotation of receivers now and pretty deep in that receiving court. - Coach, let's talk some defense real quick. DJ Durkin taking over as the coordinator, Charles Kelly, as the co-defensive coordinator. And I'm not sure anybody really stands out that much different from last year talent wise. Auburn is certainly up to the talent level on the defensive line. I think obviously the edges are pretty good, but the ability to play the game at a fast pace in the excitement level is something that you've really noticed over there. - I love the enthusiasm level that Durkin brings to the table. I love the enthusiasm that the defense is practicing with. I hope we don't get a penalty the first time we intercept the pass by the entire defense running to the end zone with the defensive back. He has brought a level of enthusiasm which feeds to a defensive player's mentality. I'm gonna play fast. I'm gonna play hard. I'm gonna play with a lot of enthusiasm and good things are gonna happen. I think the players have caught on. I think they really like that coaching staff. Crime dog, we've always known that he was popular among the kids. Charles Kelly is extremely popular with the players. Our defensive line coach was, all our kids returning said, please name him the defensive line coach. We really want him back. And so I think there's a group of coaches that our players are really excited to play for and that they trust as coaches to put them in the best situation so that they can play to the best of their ability. I think Kendrick Fox said that, you know, he feels more comfortable in this scheme than any he's been in on his career. So, and I know he's only a second year player but that goes back to high school and everything that he just, he knows he can line up and play fast. And as a defensive player, that's what you're looking for. - Yeah, I think you really have to love the edge players for the Auburn Tigers this year. I anticipate much more pressure coming from that defensive line, the edge and also the interior this year. But when I look around, maybe the one guy that I look to or one guy that stands out that you want to really keep healthy in the early going and make sure he's there in the second half of the season is Jaren Thompson, that's safety in the back end of the defense coach. He's a guy that we have to have there. We're depending on him to be in that position for the entire 24th season. - No question. He's, no, there's no doubt that he is a quarterback of the secondary on our football team. And we really need him because of the lack of experience that we've got back there, not lack of talent, just lack of experience. And the way that we were playing in Durkon's defense, they're not, we don't have a field corner, we don't have a, you know, a field safety, with, you know, all those guys have to know every position. So if something goes a little wrong, you know, they should be able to adapt to it. And if you got somebody back there that can kind of calm everybody down and say, let's just play, just play. Don't worry about where you lined up necessarily. Let's just play. Then that can help the rest of those young kids that are back there. And, you know, we do have an experienced linebacker core. And, and I think that's gonna be big, but I think the thing that's gonna help our young secondary the most, like you said, was our pass rush. I think the kid from Arkansas State's gonna be a stud. I think we've got some other folks that are gonna get some freshmen that are gonna be able to come in and rest the quarterback. And I think you're gonna see a completely different set of pressures that we're gonna put on people this year. - All right, again, visiting with Coach Chuck Anderson here tonight on the Horizon Financial Half-Time Report. We'll come back in just a minute and talk about some other college football coming up this weekend right after this. Time out. - Fans, here's an event you're gonna wanna be a part of. Henry Hardy and the team at Horizon Financial have partnered with show Special Humans Outreach and Wellness to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals with special needs. So Horizon is hosting a golf tournament at Timber Creek in Daphne, September 24th at 1 p.m. Two ways you can get involved become a sponsor or participate by forming a team for the four-person scramble, which welcomes players of all skill levels to come together, have fun, and contribute to a fantastic cause. Proceeds support show efforts in Baldwin County, which play a vital role in covering cost of life-changing care for individuals with special needs, a cause deeply cherished by the Hardy family and by Horizon Financial. To get involved, call 256-504-8951. That's 256-504-8951. Show your colors with Horizon Financial's September 24th at Timber Creek Golf Club. All right, we've covered Auburn just a bit and let's talk about some college football games coming up this weekend. Coach Chuck Anderson is with us on the show tonight on the Horizon Financial Halftime Report. And Chuck, maybe the biggest game of the weekend has Clemson at Georgia. The dogs are a 13 and a half point favorite. Any way that Dabo and the Tigers pull it upset here? - Not unless Dabo's gotten better players in than he had last year. Him not wanting to go to the transfer portal has kind of set them back a little bit. I understand his concept, but they got a few kids this year, but not like most teams have done. And Georgia's just Georgia. They're really, really good, really, really talented. But they've had their struggles now with keeping kids on the team. So you never can't tell what'll happen, but I don't think there's any question that Georgia's the best football team in that game. - Yeah, so on the news this week also, the Dabo has ended live calls on his coaches show. So kind of an interesting move there. And of course he had the issues in the portal like we've talked about. What do you think about his status right now, Chuck? Does he survive all of these issues? - You know, Dabo's an amazing story. He's a wonderful human being. The knockabout Dabo was how good of a football coach was. Everybody knew he was a great recruiter. Everybody knew he was a great guy. Everybody knew that he could communicate with kids well. The question was, you know, what kind of football coach is he? Well, he's had a turnover of coordinators in the last few years. And I don't think he's set in on the coordinators that he really wants that'll help make him better. So, you know, we've got to find out what they're gonna bring to the table this year. I, you know, this world of college football is not a remember what I used to be rule, it's remember what I am now rule. And if he's not competitive this year, I think you're gonna hear some calls for his, you know, Oster. - All right, on down the list, we have Penn State at West Virginia, Penn State an eight point favorite. And looking at the roster today, Chuck, hard to believe that Neil Brown is entering his sixth season at West Virginia now. - Yeah, coming from Troy, he's done a great job at West Virginia, kind of saved himself last year by, you know, coming back and winning some games. I'm really pulling for West Virginia, but it's gonna be hard to pull against Penn State if, you know, Penn State's just got a, you know, they've just got a really good roster. And, you know, regardless of what everybody thinks of Franklin, they've got players. And a lot of times, you know, they, you know, they play with a lot of enthusiasm and they're playing, I think they're playing in Penn State, is that correct? - I have a Penn State at West Virginia this weekend. - If it's at West Virginia, West Virginia, you've got a better chance. If it's at Penn State, they got no chance. - All right, on down the list, my Emmy at Florida, in Gainesville this weekend, a couple of coaches that need a victory, Napier and Krista Ball, the Hurricanes, favored by two and a half Saturday. - Yeah, both of those guys are on a little bit of a hot seat, aren't they? They, Krista Ball didn't have as good a year as everybody thought he would have last year. And Napier at Florida is in real trouble. They've got the toughest schedule in the country, bar none, it's hard to find six wins for Florida looking at their schedule. It's really hard to find six wins. I think Miami's gonna go as their quarterback goes and we'll see how the transfer comes in and does. And what the transfer brings to the table, but we'll know pretty quick. We know what happened to Florida State and their transfer, he didn't light it up. So, you know, that's gonna be an interesting ball game. I picked Miami, but you can't ever count Florida out. They've got some talent. - Okay, since you mentioned the Knowles, we'll skip down to Monday night Boston College at Florida State coming off a loss to Georgia Tech in the opener. The Knowles are 16 and a half point favorite. And the opening game, of course, Florida State didn't want to lose the ball game, but I think they lost to a quality opponent in Georgia Tech. - Georgia Tech's gonna run the football. - Yeah. - Coach Keys is gonna be a hard nose, run the football type of coach. You know, that's what their bread and butter's gonna be. And Florida State had a hard time stopping it. Georgia Tech controlled the clock. They didn't give those athletes on the offensive side of Florida State a lot of opportunities. And Boston College can control the football by running the football, which they've done in the past. They might be able to keep it close, but I think Florida State has a bounce back game and they kind of realigned themselves. - Okay, a big one at Texas A&M Saturday as the Aggies host Notre Dame. Riley Leonard, the quarterback for the Irish now. And of course, his former coach, Mike Elko, is the new coach for the Aggies. So this will be a fun one to watch. - Yeah, Notre Dame better bring the bottle light in the Gatorade 'cause it's gonna be hot. And you know, Texas A&M and their revamped roster and all the transfers they got in, I don't know if they know what they've got. I guarantee you, Riley Leonard's a football player. I guarantee you, he's an outstanding quarterback. I wish we had him at Auburn, but we don't. And I wish him the best luck being from Fair Hope. And he's just a great human being and a really, really good player. And he's got a little better talent around him at Notre Dame than he had at Duke. So good luck to him. I hope Notre Dame beat Texas A&M. And I hope it's a good football game for Riley Leonard. - All right, coach, finally on Sunday, Southern Cow at LSU, the Bayou Bingo Tigers are four point favorite in this ball game, but trying to replace their quarterback and a number of players heading into this 24 season. - Yeah, but I don't, I think USC's got some question marks at quarterback. So the question is, can USC stop air? You know, I'm not sure that their defense is, it's much better than it has been. I know they got a new defensive coordinator who came in from UCLA and they did a really good job last year at UCLA, but LSU's talented. Now LSU's been known to lay an egg in the first game of the season. And it's probably a good time for USC to play them, but I just think LSU's a little bit too talented. And I think they think they've got a chance to be pretty good this year. And we'll find out how good USC's gonna be 'cause they're gonna play a fired up LSU team that wants to bounce back after that disaster start the last year. - All right, there you have it, coach Chuck Anderson with us on Tiger Talk over time. Tonight, I appreciate his thoughts. When we come back, we'll have some closing thoughts here on Tiger Talk over time. Glad you're with us as we move closer toward the season opener between Auburn and Alabama A&M. - Welcome back to Tiger Talk over time. Presented by Will To, number one in quality and safe work for industry. To be a part of the show, call them Morgan Bradley, Alpha Insurance Tiger Line now, 3-4-3-0-1-0-6. (crowd cheering) Now, back to Doug Holton. - All right, welcome back to the show. Every one Tiger Talk over time here on the 3rd of the night and our final segment now. As always, with Stu Donald of the Sip and Chew with Mike and Stu show, Stu, great to have you in with us tonight. It is finally here, the opening of college football. - Absolutely, War Eagle, it is game week. - War Eagle. Hey, tell me, I know you've got something special cooked up for not only the show this Sunday, but for Auburn tailgaters. - Yeah, I do. I'm gonna go with, since both teams are from Alabama, let's celebrate our heritage, but put a twist on it. Going with the LA Fish Taco, LA standing, of course, for lower Alabama. And what's great about this is, you pretty much use your own recipes. Start with your tortilla, you know, heat it up a little bit on each side on a hot skillet or put in the microwave for a few seconds. Then I want you to fill it with some cheese grins. Go with either a sharp cheddar or pepper jack, then a piece of fried catfish, and top it with a little bit of collard greens. Then a drizzle of Rambalade. - Wow, let's have a good, you know, just a few to get through the game, 50 or 60 or so. - Yeah, just a small party. - Yeah, and then you can, part of what makes the tacos so popular is how easy it is to get whatever the flavor combinations are into your mouth. You know, just wrapped up in a tortilla, just kind of stick it in there. It's easy, you don't need utensils. - That's right, great for tailgating indoor or out. - Especially out, if you're gonna drop it off. - Yeah, exactly. Well, we talked a little bit about Auburn last week, so anything new you're thinking about this, I know you're going to see, maybe you see deuce Friday night? - Yeah, yeah, Friday night, my plan is to go see deuce, and toying with leaving at halftime and stopping by MGM on the way back, because Gulf Shores is playing, and we got a couple of players on Gulf Shores team of the 2026 class. - All right, well, let's talk some college football. Auburn is a 48 point favorite, or they're about as we just talked a little bit, but there's some good games on the SEC this weekend. And I want to get your thoughts on them. First of all, Clemson and Georgia over in Athens, I think the dogs are a 13 and a half point favorite. - Yeah, I think they cover. I think Davos Sweeney is ending his career with his reluctance to participate in NIL and the transfer portal, and he'll probably be successful for a while longer, but they're not going to compete again for a national championship. - Yeah, and I just told Chuck, I don't know if you heard or not, but he ended live call-in on his coaches show this week. - Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, that's also not sitting well with the locals. So if he didn't throw up another trophy here in the next couple of years, he could be on the hottest of seats. - Mm-hmm, I think so too. Another good one in the SEC this weekend, or partially in the SEC anyway, is Miami, a two and a half point favorite at Florida, and coach Napier and coach Krista Ball, as we talked a few minutes ago, both could use a big W. - Yeah, they could, and I think G6 Billie's going to get it. They have the toughest schedule, not just in the nation, but quite possibly the toughest schedule in history. Their last six games are ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. They could be very much improved this year, and still a four or five team win. - Yeah. - You know, four or five wins tops, but everything's still new and fresh. They're playing at home, and I just don't have any faith in Mario Krista Ball as a coach. - So you like the Gators to get off to a good start this year? - Yes, I do. And then for it to fall apart about mid season. It's just such a tough schedule. It's, it would be a lot for Georgia to handle. Florida's not Georgia yet. - Yeah, yeah. Okay, we got Notre Dame playing at Texas A&M. The Aggies are a three point favorite. Mike Elko's our new coach, and Riley Leonard from Fair Hope is the quarterback for the Irish. - Yeah, well, I don't think there's going to be much luck for the Irish, Texas A&M in the heat of Texas. Honestly, I put a meme up when we started going back and forth with the Notre Dame fans about Doos Knight. - Yeah. - Notre Dame, the way they see themselves is like Thor. But the way the rest of college football looks at them is fat Thor. They are not what they used to be. They are more Joe Nameth with the Rams than they are Joe Nameth with the Jets. - I got you, I got you. I remember those days, by the way. (laughs) All right, so you got, who you got there, A&M? - Yeah, A&M probably by 10 or so. I don't think they're going to be world killers in their first year under Elko, but he is a good coach and they have so much talent. Notre Dame can't keep up with that. - Yeah, yeah. Okay, and then Sunday we have Southern Cow at LSU and the Bayou Bengal Tigers are a four point favorite right now. (sighs) I can't see LSU's defense being as bad again as it was, not with that much talent, but I can absolutely see any Lincoln Riley team having a worse defense than the year before. He always does. - Yeah. - I think Southern Cow probably puts up 35, 38 points and still loses by three touchdowns. - Wow, yep. So you're thinking the highest scoring game there, obviously. - Yeah, I'm trying to figure out who is the great value version of who is Lincoln Riley, great value Lane Kiffin or is Lane Kiffin, great value Lincoln Riley? 'Cause they're both great offensively, but defensively they just have never gotten it done. - Yeah, that's a good analogy there. - And how much would you kill to see Ole Miss and Southern Cow play in a bowl game? - It'd be like a track meet, wouldn't it? - Yeah, 100 to 102. - One of those NBA games, the NBA All-Star game. Well, what last weekend, we did actually start college football last weekend. I see Boston College at FSU is a Monday night game this week. But what did you think of the Seminoles and Georgia Tech? Did you get to watch that one? - I got to watch chunks of it. Georgia Tech is a team on the rise. They got a top 25 recruiting class right now, I believe, before Brother Hugh gets in a hold of them anyway. - Yeah. - But Florida State is just soft. Their defensive line was just getting blown off the ball. Their offensive line was lost. And that's where games are won and lost is in the trenches. And if you can't play D line and or offensive line, and Auburn has proved it for about three or four years now, you're going to struggle to have any success. I think Florida State is in for a long, long season. - All right. We'll keep tabs on the Seminoles. That is Stu Donald from the Sip and Chew Show. You can catch them Sunday here on FM Talk 1065. That's about all the time we have for tonight. Thanks for joining us on Tiger Talk over time this week. Again, the Tigers and Alabama N.M. Saturday night at Jordan Air Stadium. We'll be keeping tabs on that one for you also. Of course, join us all through the week on WarEagleTV.com for the latest on the Auburn Tigers. And you can join us on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter @TV_WarEagle @TV_WarEagle. Until next week, everybody, I'm Dalton. Have a great time at the game and WarEagle. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)