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SEC Week One Predictions, Ole Miss Rebels Season Debut - SEC Squad

Welcome to Week One of SEC Squad! 🎙️🏈

Join Chris Gordy from Locked On SEC as he brings together top voices from across the SEC to dive into all things college football! In this episode, we kick off the season with an in-depth roundtable discussion featuring hosts from:

  • Locked On Gators
  • Locked On Auburn
  • Locked On Gamecocks
  • Locked On Aggies
  • Locked On Razorbacks
  • Locked On Kentucky
  • Locked On Ole Miss
  • Locked On Vandy
  • Locked On Vols
  • Locked On Sooners
  • Locked On Longhorns
  • Locked On Bama
  • Locked On Bulldogs
  • Locked On Mississippi State
  • Locked On Mizzou
  • Locked On LSU

We'll break down the latest matchups, share our predictions, and discuss key storylines that will shape the SEC season. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just looking to get a jump on the season, SEC Squad has got you covered!

📅 Subscribe Now to stay updated on all the latest episodes and never miss a beat in SEC football!

🔔 Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more weekly insights and analysis from the best in the business!

#SECFootball #CollegeFootball #SEC #LockedOnSEC #SECUpdates #FootballPodcast #CollegeFootballPredictions #SECSeason2024

Duration:
42m
Broadcast on:
29 Aug 2024
Audio Format:
mp3

**Welcome to Week One of SEC Squad!** 🎙️🏈 Join Chris Gordy from Locked On SEC as he brings together top voices from across the SEC to dive into all things college football! In this episode, we kick off the season with an in-depth roundtable discussion featuring hosts from: - **Locked On Gators** - **Locked On Auburn** - **Locked On Gamecocks** - **Locked On Aggies** - **Locked On Razorbacks** - **Locked On Kentucky** - **Locked On Ole Miss** - **Locked On Vandy** - **Locked On Vols** - **Locked On Sooners** - **Locked On Longhorns** - **Locked On Bama** - **Locked On Bulldogs** - **Locked On Mississippi State** - **Locked On Mizzou** - **Locked On LSU** We'll break down the latest matchups, share our predictions, and discuss key storylines that will shape the SEC season. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just looking to get a jump on the season, SEC Squad has got you covered! 📅 **Subscribe Now** to stay updated on all the latest episodes and never miss a beat in SEC football! 🔔 **Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe** for more weekly insights and analysis from the best in the business! #SECFootball #CollegeFootball #SEC #LockedOnSEC #SECUpdates #FootballPodcast #CollegeFootballPredictions #SECSeason2024

[MUSIC PLAYING] It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Five-hour energy shots give you the feeling of alertness and energy you need to get in the zone and get things done. With zero sugar, a convenient portable size, and coming in several flavors like watermelon, tropical burst, or my personal favorite grape, it's exactly what you need to get through the day. Head to 5hourenergy.com, the set number 5hourenergy.com, and use our code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourenergy.com today. Can LSU take it to USC? Is Georgia really going to blast Clemson by multiple scores? There's a ton to look at in the SEC's opening weekend. Time to get the squad together. MUSIC You are locked on SEC. Your daily podcast on the Southeastern Conference. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, everybody? Welcome in to today's show. Today's episode is presented by five-hour energy fixes tired fast with zero sugar and a convenient portable size. It's the perfect pick-me-up for getting stuff done. Go to 5hourenergy.com, use our protocol locked on CFB. Get 20% off your order that offer only valid until September 30th. On one order and cannot be used with other promotions, go to 5hourenergy.com today. Welcome in, everybody. It's our SEC squad. So sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage and join us. As we get you ready for week one of the SEC, which should be a wild week. And we welcome in our panel of guests as they join us. We've got Zach Blackaby, host of locked on Auburn, Brandon Olson, host of locked on Gators, Steven Willis, host of locked on Ole Miss, John Miller, locked on Mizzou, Jay Smith, locked on Sooners, Matt Moscono, locked on LSU, Jonathan Davis, locked on Longhorns, Clint Chamberlain, locked on Bulldogs, and Chris Marlar, host of locked on Game Cocks. My goodness, we have got a full house today and plenty to discuss, gentlemen. How are you? Great. All at once, also. Yeah, that's what I wanted. And a full panel response. All right, guys, we are going to jump into it and make some predictions. Just what's a prediction about your team and the game they're playing this weekend? We're not asking for scores. We'll just give me a prediction of something that's going to happen in your game this weekend. Zach, let's start with Auburn, because they got a cupcake. Yeah, yeah. Hosting Alabama A&M. Not Peyton Thorne starts his high spin run? No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I think we feel a hope on the planes for the first time in several years. I think we get a feeling of hope. What could look like a competent, modern day, college football offense returning to the plates? Brandon Olson, Florida Gators. They got dead man walking ability Napier. What's the vibe this weekend? That the Florida Gators are going to start this year with a ranked win. That's their sort of one and no against top 25 teams. Who would have thought? It would certainly be a huge feather in his cap, knowing what's coming on the back end of this game. Yeah, I know all you are, boys. Shake your head, know all you are. That's fine. You'll find that. I got a coin on that. Let's go. Steven Willis, big year for Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss Rebels pre-season. Ranked as high as they've ever been. And Man-O-Man, a tough one against Furman out of the games. Yeah, it's going to be great. It's going to actually going to really be great for the fan base because they get to see that number one transfer class on the field. I do not think it's going to be a very tough game, but it should be a whole lot of fun to see the reps, because they haven't seen them since Penn State. Job Miller, quick thought. Dude, they get a Thursday night opener against a cupcake, but Eli Drinkwits the company. They're feeling really good. Pre-season number 11 and number 10's already taking an L. That's right. Yeah, we move up a spot. Haven't even played a game. You got to love that. But the thing with Missouri in week one, I think Missouri has one of the best offenses in the country, or at will in 2024, but they don't run at warp speed. So this 47 and a half point spread, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I think Missouri wins easily, but not by that much. So take that advice for what you will. Marlar over there in Columbia. It's Old Dominion. Couldn't even point out where Old Dominion is on a map, but the Lenore Sellers error gets underway. They're the monarchs. So I'm pretty sure they are over in England, but I could be wrong about that. I haven't done a ton of research this week. No, I think they're looking forward to the most outside of Lenore Sellers, that defensive line and the Ed Drushers. I think it's a unit that struggled a lot last year, but Old Dominion gave up like 61 or 63 sacks a year ago. So they might be able to reach like a quarter of their season output a year ago in game one. This is going to be interesting to see how good Lenore Sellers is for the gamecocks. Clint, man, Georgia, they're going to keep this train rolling and they get a tough opponent in Clemson. And yet they are. But said about two touchdown favorites for them and a really good Clemson team. Yeah, that's right. I think the thing we're looking forward to is Georgia regaining the defense that we had before the last two years. We slipped last year according to Kirby standards. I think we're going to see back to what two, three, four years ago, defense was like for Georgia. Be excited for that. Clemson doesn't have the offense that they should be having. So I think there's going to be a good time for Bulldogs fans everywhere to see the new and improved defense that Kirby Smart has. Yeah, it's it's but you know, they give up like 20 something points a game and suddenly they were slipping defensively there at Georgia. Jonathan Longhorn say get Colorado State. Not the toughest opponent to open up with, but a good kind of easy way to start the season one and all. Yeah, a couple of bold predictions. I don't think Texas will go to double overtime with Colorado State like Colorado and Dion Sanders did last year. And the most popular player on the team archmending will score his first touchdown in a Texas jersey this Saturday. Couple of bold predictions. Texas will have a lot of fun on the field and DKR this weekend before things get tough next weekend at Michigan. Matt Moscona, LSU, I've got a prediction. This will be one of the rare cities where the LSU faithful will not drink the city dry before the game starts. Maybe not the city, but the stadium. I wouldn't rule that out. Yeah, I think for all the talk about Garrett Nussmeyer and the receivers, I think LSU is going to run the ball more than they throw at this weekend. You want to protect a bad defense and try to get them off to a good start. You run behind your big, very talented offensive line. I think LSU tries to short the game and they run it a lot on Sunday night. Yeah, everybody expecting a shoot out there would certainly be Lincoln Riley wouldn't like that if LSU plays keep away and just eats the clock and runs the ball. Jay Smith, Oklahoma, they got a Friday night affair against Temple. Not the greatest opponent, but first first time we're going to see that SEC logo on the field at Oklahoma. Absolutely, so from me, I'm expecting a couple of things. One, the defense to score more points than Temple in this game. Since that's the one things the main focus of. Shout out to Brent Venables trying to pull off what he did at Clemson. And then the next expectation is that we run for more yards than we pass. Kind of proving that that offensive line is going to be SEC ready. Does anyone have a prediction about another team this week in the SEC they want to share? Yeah, everybody got quiet. You know, I like Brandon's prediction actually that the Gators take down Miami. I think for the last few years, it just seems like, hey, Mario Christoball. Hey, this is the year. It seems like everybody's discounting the Gators because of that schedule. I'm telling you in the swamp opening week, not exactly hard to imagine an upset there. That's not even much of an upset. There are any three straight wins there. I like it. I like the call. I think I mean, the SEC kind of sticks its chest out a little bit and says, you know, we're still the team on top. I think Florida takes care of business against Miami. And I think LSU makes a statement against USC this weekend. Let me add to the hate and be a hater here, right? I think LSU goes out there and blows the doors off of USC. And as much as Matt even said that the defense isn't that good. I think they show that they're a lot better than people anticipate. I think they'll be better than they were a year ago. No doubt. But that don't take much when you're the worst defense in the history of the program. Two shot. Two shot. Two shot. They'll be better. But yeah, how much better? One spot better. It's still better. No doubt. That'll be better than one spot better. But I don't know, man, the Lincoln Riley thing still I think spooks a lot of people here because his offenses have always gone. I mean, you know, you look back at ever since he showed up at Oklahoma. He's never he's in one season where his offenses have averaged less than 40 points per game. And it was his last year at Oklahoma. They averaged 39. So they score, but it's got to run the ball and control the clock. The good thing there is that he's got he's breaking in a new quarterback. So we don't know. Moss is he whiffed on his five star quarterback. So we're got to see what that's actually going to look like. I don't think he's going to be able to dance the same way that Kayla Williams was last year. I'm just curious. You said that Oklahoma is going to run the ball against Temple, proven their SEC ready. What the hell you going to learn? Run the ball against Temple. Just run the ball against Temple. That John Chaney defense. They run Matt. Hey, man, you never know. So, yeah, they may pull out the Matt rule version of Temple in that game. So look, all we know with the Marco Murray won't be on the sidelines because he's been out here cheating text number Cruz when he wasn't supposed to be. Hey, man, if he ain't cheating, he ain't trying. OK, let's get out of this. I was a part of a lot of Oklahoma or Texas saying something like SCC ready at some point. I was just it was a drinking game to see who was going to do it first and the one game. You're welcome right there. Texas only talks to Texas. So they wasn't going to be them for sure. Fair point. That's a great drinking game for this weekend. Watch the Texas game. Watch the Oklahoma game and how many times the broadcast says, oh, these guys are SEC ready. You'll be dead by the first chain to possession. Only as they first drive, you're done. You're cooked. And how much of a trap am I having right now? I'm looking forward to the Vandy Virginia Tech game. I think that would be the one that we can stick our chest out the most in the SEC if Vandy beats Vatek. Well, look, Diego Pavia got the he got the big win over Auburn last year. I mean, anything. What are we doing? Why don't we always got to bring that up when we talk about it again? The Vandy state. You know, does anybody think Vanderbilt is going to win that game? Well, no. Okay. All right. Well, just make sure he's calling the plays on defense now. So I don't know if that helps at all. The tech returns 21 starters. They got five senior starters on their offensive line. Like that's a sleeper in the ACC. The no one is dead. Take a flyer from the top five in the country and returning players. So yeah, definitely one team to keep your eyes on. You got a bunch of juice in that bet right there for season wind tolls as well. Way to go, Steve. I agree. Sorry for everyone else's response. I was on board. All right, fellas. We've got some other big some big games in the conference. We are going to dive a little bit deeper into. So let's dive deeper into Georgia and Clemson and LSU and USC. The SEC squad talking all four more ball next. Quick reminder. Today's episode brought to you by friends over at five hour energy. And look, let's be real. You're going to be sitting around the house watching a lot of games all weekend. Long grab yourself a five hour energy shot to stay alert to watch all your favorite games. Or if you stayed up late to see that intense overtime game, you're going to need that five hour energy shot in the morning to start your day. So look, stock up on five hour energy with zero sugar and a convenient portable size. It is a perfect pick me up for getting stuff done. The five hour energy website has flavors galore like watermelon, tropical birds, great berry. There is a flavor for everyone. You can try them on and on their site, even have the option to build your own 12 pack or 24 pack. You can choose the flavors and is delivered right to your door. Go check them out right now. Go to five hour energy dot com. That's the number five five hour energy dot com. Get some five hour energy product today. You can use our promo code locked on CFB. That's going to get you 20% off your order. This offers only value until September 30th on one order. I cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. But go to five hour energy dot com today and get started. You know, we love talking stats here at locked on. Here's one that's super simple to remember. Discover automatically doubles the cashback you've earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with cashback match. That means with discover, you could turn a hundred fifty dollars cashback to three hundred dollars. That's right. You could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network. You earn and discover doubles. See terms at discover dot com slash credit card. Continue on here getting ready for a big week one in the SEC. And we're going to dive a little bit deeper to some of the bigger match ups this weekend. And we've got to start with the early one. This is the one we'll get at 11 a.m. Central 12 Eastern is Georgia and Clemson from Atlanta. And the other year, this would be an awesome matchup. The line would be like six and a half and you'd be like, "Oh yeah, brother, let's lock it in, rip the knob off." But Georgia's been dominant the last few years. Clemson maybe been not as dominant. So Georgia's been sitting as a two touchdown favor. Clint, give us a breakdown here. Are you nervous? After watching Florida State lose to Georgia Tech as a double digit favor a week ago. Are you nervous at all for this one? Look, there are two things that are true. Davos Sweeney is not a good coach and that doesn't mean anything at Clemson because you can still win games there with a good defense and a good running game. This is what travels well in college football. And they got rid of the lesser running back via graduation and draft. And they actually, I think, improved in running back and they have a talented offensive line, a couple of unknown wide receivers and a defense that returns a lot of very, very high caliber, high ceiling players. So yes, nervous is the case because all of a sudden you look at Georgia and what two running backs, one being Cass Jones might lead this team in rushing attempts this game. And that's not a joke and I'm not being facetious and I'm not like that might be real. If that's the case, holy jeez. Yeah, Carson Beck on your shoulders right away. You said you want to go to New York, go out and prove it. All of a sudden things get a little sideways and get really weird with a good, very, very talented defense and a good running game that can propel. So of course, every single game, any other season, six and a half, something like that is true. This is point spread. I'm not touching because I don't like it to begin the season. We saw what happened last time. Clemson and Georgia played. It was a very, very close affair. Went to turnovers and DJ Ungerlay not knowing how to throw the football, which continued even into this year. But yeah, of course, of course, I'm looking out for this game and I'm not taking Clemson lightly at all. Moscona, are we getting too much Georgia fatigue? Because it's like every poll has been Georgia number one, Georgia's the pick, Georgia. Like are we over rating this Georgia team all too much? No, they deserve it until proven otherwise. I mean, it's they've they now see if they can maintain it for as long as Alabama did, but they're at the Alabama standard where it's just default, put them in there until someone beats them. I mean, if do any of us believe that if Georgia had gotten in the play off last year, that they wouldn't have won it? I mean, I do. I think they would have won it. So no, it's fatigue is the conversation you have about Notre Dame. Fatigue is the conversation about a team that's a program that's not really a contender that everyone tried the Miami. I'm so sick of hearing about Mario Christopher Miami. Like he's these things. I watched him win one game at FIU. That's what I'm sick of. Like do something and then I'll talk about you, but Georgia deserves to be talked about. Like they beat everyone and they're the standard. So if you want to win, you got to beat them. Marlar, I know you hate both these teams. So your thoughts. Well, I just I'm still trying to move past you saying rip the knob off. I'm scared to Google what that means later. I will say, I think there's still time for this line to come down because Georgia could lose at least two to four or five more players before the weekend if they're still behind the wheel of a car. So we never know. I think that Clemson is going to be good defensively. I think they're going to be very, very average offensively. And like I think that Georgia goes into this place, which has been a house of horrors for them when they play one specific team. But it hasn't been otherwise and they are going to have a massive chip on their shoulder and honestly do it for the state. I think we all thought they were going to do a week ago, but probably worse to this Clemson team because like nobody motivates their team better or more than Kirby Smart. And you've had that they know that in that building eight, nine months ago, they were three points away from having a three-peat. And they are going to come in there. I think it beat the brakes off Clemson. Let's get John neighbors in here. Those hosts have locked on Razorbacks. John, you've got a basketball program that's taken advantage of recruiting and NIL and all this. Why is Dabo not done the whole NIL thing? Has he made a mistake because Clemson, it feels like they've been knocked down a peg here the last couple of years. Well, when you don't have the chicken man and John Tyson, like Arkansas does, you know, you got to improvise, I guess. But yeah, it's kind of funny because, you know, as we get closer to the season, just being actually two days away from Arkansas or just a couple of days away from Arkansas, it's kind of at the point now where people are tired just to talking about everything. But they're also not excited about this game. It being in more Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. LSU knows all about that dump. And so it's a tough spot. So it's like, people are kind of just hoping that this game gets over with quickly with no injuries and they win. And then they can just move on to the other really great city of Stillwater the next weekend. The good news for Arkansas is you play on a Thursday night. So you got all weekend to watch all the other games to kind of get a scouting report on some of these other teams that you guys are going to play. Stephen Willis, quick thought on on Georgia. I mean, you guys played Georgia later this year. So a little scouting report for you guys. Yeah, you get to see exactly what they have. And what they have is a top 100 ranked defense on the back, all the top 100 players all over the field. And they're going to be scared for anybody, scary for anybody watching them. The one thing that I know about this game though is Tyler from Spartanburg, kind of broke about swing. Tyler broke him in half bad. Spencer, Spencer McLaughlin hosts a lot of college football. Quick thought on Georgia Clemson is this is this one close at all in your mind? You're the you're on biased objective person here. Yes, I think I am the least biased person here on this particular matter, apparently, because Clint has got some strong statements about the only coach other than his own, who has two national championships because apparently that guy's not any good as a football coach, which is incredible. So I wonder what Kirby Smart is at this point, but I think that for Georgia, they have been my number one team for a long time. I have not seen anyone make a move to knock them off of that preseason pedestal because this is one of the best rosters in the country. You have got an incredible coach. You've got a great quarterback, maybe the best in all of college football and Carson back. And the reason I continue to bind to Georgia, Chris, is the last time I picked a champion for this reason is the only time I've ever correctly picked a national champion in March madness, North Carolina, 2016 goes to the national championship game. Men's basketball beat by Villanova and Chris Jenkins at the buzzer. They return most of their core and their head coach. They were so close and they came up just short and then they went back and they rolled and they won the national championship. I think that's Georgia this year. So you give me the team, the roster, the coach, the motivation. They've been there before. I love the Bulldogs. And I like them against Clemson, who I think is fine. I don't think Clemson is going to win the ACC this year. I do think they're a good team, but I'd take Georgia to cover that number. If I can't jump one quick point about that, Spencer, I said the same thing about Alabama three years ago when they lost the national championship. They came back and being a lot of us, I know we're at SEC media days and talking to guys like Will Anderson and Bryce Young, those guys were pissed. And it looked like they were ready to go rec stuff and that didn't happen. They lost in Baton Rouge. They lost in Knoxville. I'm just saying, sometimes you think that's the motivation. I thought that was the case for Bama that year and they just didn't have they just didn't have the dudes to get it done the way they did in the past. So I hear you on that point and I think it could be more applicable with Georgia schedule because it is so unbelievably brutal. I think Georgia schedules the only reason their win total isn't 11 and a half, according to our friends at Fandall. It is among the most brutal in the country. I think they're going 11 and one anyway, but if you took out the Alabama road game or the Ole Miss road game, they might have a win total of 11 and a half. You gave them a Missouri schedule? I think their win total might be just set at 12. It's just you could you could just bet them to go 12 and 0 or or nothing else. I think this team is that good and they're ready for it. Well, hopefully we've scared Clint a little bit and he's got a lot to think about. Matt, let's touch on the other big game this weekend. It is LSU. It is USC. You will be out there in Vegas. I'm actually going to be out there for that one as well. So. Nice quarter. On the long day, we'll have cocktails. Yeah, let's let's let's do it or lost my ass last time with the Vegas. So let's run Kelly does a lose his ass in Vegas. Give me a give me a quick primer. You kind of gave me a thought earlier about more run game, but a little bit deeper thought on this game. It's man. These two teams are interesting because they really are mirror images. I've joked all off season. It's kind of like the Spider-Man gift where they're pointing at each other. The same the Spider-Man. I mean, that's really what this is. I mean, you're talking about teams that lose Heisman winning quarterbacks. They were placed by guys that were their fourth year players that started for the first time in their bowl game through for over 300 yards in the bowl game. Even their profiles are similar. Both quarterbacks are six to 200 pounds. Both teams had historically bad defenses, replaced their entire defensive staff. I mean, it's I mean, it all you could have a you could go look at any preseason conversation about USC or LSU, redact the names of the players, the teams, and just read the context and you wouldn't be able to tell if it was LSU or USC. So you have two teams that are very similar. The one like gigantic difference really is LSU's offensive line. I think is the best unit that either team has on the field. And so if they decide to line up behind that offensive line and run the ball and play some ball control, I think that's probably LSU's best advantage in this ball game. They try to get into a score fest. Ooh, that's dangerous territory with a Lincoln Riley offense. And I don't know that that's too favorable for LSU if they try to do that. Yeah, they were able to do it last year with the Heisman Trophy winner Jane Daniels. It's a big challenge to try to do that again this year. John neighbors, you almost you guys almost beat LSU last year. You were in that game till the very end against the Tigers in Death Valley. Quick thought on this LSU team. Do you think that this is maybe a little bit more of a vulnerable LSU team? Or do you think they bounce back this year? You know, I love how it just gets introduced. It's like you almost beat that team one time. I mean, you know, one time, many times they're actually going to end up winning, but you know, that's what's weird is about like the greatest rivalry in the history of college football, the battle for the Golden Boot has, of course, been a three point margin for the past four years. Arkansas only won one of those and granted it was down in Baton Rouge when Edward Jerome was a lame coach. But last year down in Baton Rouge, the three point game year before that, a really high scoring affair, 13 to 10. And you know, it was just kind of been weird like that. So I don't think even if I felt like LSU was the best team in the country, number one, I always feel like that game is going to be weird. And Arkansas, they may not win, but they're going to keep it close because they really care about that boot. And I know LSU doesn't except for T-Bob. He's the only one that really does. So yeah, I feel like they're like, oh, she's going to be a good team. Are they going to be a national championship contender? No, I don't think so. I don't think they're going to be even a playoff contender. But they're still going to be a really good team that probably gets that 9-10 win range. All right, real quick. As we wrap up here, guys, quick, just show of hands. You have Georgia beating Clemson. Raise your hand. OK, 7-0. Real quick, do you have LSU beating USC? Raise your hand. OK, Spencer, taking USC. We shall see. Spencer, you're not invited back. Thanks for coming on. Well, it was fun while it lasted, fellas. I would also like to say I'd pick LSU with an extreme degree of caution and skepticism. Like, I do not think that that's a run away. I think this is like a field goal game. I think he's coming down. It's like one of the only ones that's moved. It's moved. Late money is sharp money, friends. Well, I want to see how she uses Harold Perkins. That is my number one question in that game. I want to know why that boot trophy weighs 175 pounds. If you just put a four-hour football game and you got to go lift that damn trophy, that's a tough, tough scene. I got it. Don't give me a chore. The Magnolia both would shop. So, yeah, I guess. It's the only way they broke it a couple of years ago. They let me that throw the damn flower fell off. They broke the trophy. And no one gave a damn. No one cares about these big trophies. What we do give a damn about is two other big games happening in the conferences this weekend. Does Billy Napier's path to getting fired continue this weekend in a must-win game against Miami? And Mike Elko has his hands full with Notre Dame. Oh, you in Texas, they get things going. The SEC squad talking more right after this. Today's episode presented to you by friends over at FanDuel. Look, you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel all throughout this summer. And they are America's number one sports book. We got something a little different for you guys going on. Now through September 22nd, over at FanDuel, all FanDuel customers can bet five dollars and get a three-week trial of the NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Of course, the NFL is back. You want to be watching all the action going on across the league. And of course, when you get to take advantage of that free trial with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season, Sunday, afternoon, out of market game. 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Marcus Freeman was thrusting to this job two years ago. We quickly lost to Marshall. Much better season last year. But Mike Elko and you're one coming over from Duke. Zach here at Auburn guy, Texas A&M is always giving you guys a tough games, but what do you make of A&M and Notre Dame? Yeah, I mean, it depends on the day you ask me about how I feel about the higher of Mike Elko. But but right now, I think A&M, I like them against Notre Dame. And I don't know if that necessarily means anything about Notre Dame. I just like the talent that's on A&M's roster. I think, you know, with the best team money could buy for several years. And I think this roster is still really, really talented. So I'm going with Mike Elko to get his first big win as the coach for the Aggies. Jonathan, as our Longhorns aficionado, I know you never root for the Aggies. But Notre Dame, there's a lot of folks on the SEC side here saying we got a root for the A&M Aggies because we don't want Notre Dame coming in and stealing it at large bid at the end of the year. So where do you fall here, John? They're not saying you're going to root for the Aggies, but maybe more root against Notre Dame? Yeah, something like that. You know, I think Zach is right when you look at this, you know, team that did lose, you know, four players that were ranked, you know, in the top 30 in the transfer portal. But still a ton of talent. This could be one of the best defensive lines in the country. I think they're still strong on the offensive line as well in the trenches. And Connor Wigman was playing really, really good football before he got injured last year. I expect him to be one of the top quarterbacks in the country. So, you know, I guess this weekend I can, you know, root for the SEC, even if it's the Aggies at Kyle Field, that building is going to be rocking. I'm with Zach. I think Texas A&M wins this game. Mike Elko gets his first big win at A&M Spencer. Spencer, where are you falling this one? I know they announced this week. Notre Dame's going to start two freshmen and three sophomores on the old line. I'm looking at that A&M defensive line. Big Nick's court and coming in from Purdue. You got Chamar Stewart, Chamar Turner, like the Aggies defensive line, just going to reach havoc on the Notre Dame old line. Well, it's certainly possible. And when you go in with that sort of youth into that environment, it doesn't instill a lot of confidence on the Notre Dame side of things. I am still going with the Irish here. I'm, once again, the contrarian. Of course you are. Of course you are. Because I've got a year three head coach against a year one game one head coach. Continuity versus everything is brand spanking new. And I do feel better about A&M's chances because Connor Wigman's there. So you're not working in a freshman quarterback or brand new transfer. He's got some experience, but Colin Klein comes in as the offensive coordinator. And I think Klein is incredibly capable. Oh, by the way, who did Notre Dame hires their offensive coordinator this offseason? That's Mike Denbrock who just coached Jayden Daniels to Heisman Trophy. I'm a big Riley Leonard fan. I think Marcus Freeman year three over Mike Elko game one year one. If you put this game in week three, I might lean A&M. But first game, there are going to be some nerves on the Texas A&M sideline, I think, compared to what you have on Notre Dame's. Can I jump in here real quick? I just think Texas A&M is perennially one of the most overrated programs in the entire country. And you're not making that up. And what I totally agree with Spencer, you're telling me that, oh, Mike Elko, maybe it'll work in the long run. Oh, game one with all these new transfers. Hey, all systems go. Give Marcus Freeman a Notre Dame a little more credit than that. I'm a little bit shocked. Maybe this is my bias from the big 12. Again, college station. It's not exactly like playing in Tuscaloosa, guys. I mean, let's calm down a little bit. I like Notre Dame too. Sure. And I think that's an argument. No question about it. But if we're going to say overrated programs, we got to put Notre Dame in that conversation too. How many playoffs is Texas A&M made compared to Notre Dame, though? Oh, I'm winning. I don't think either of them are elite programs, right? Well, I didn't know with you. If Notre Dame is farther along. If they would join a real conference, maybe they could be tested a little bit more, but this whole independent thing, you just get, you know, get in if you have a good season. Their schedule is incredibly favorable this year. Notre Dame beats Texas A&M this Saturday. They will be a college football playoff team. You can sharpie that in. If they win this game, if they lose, then it's a little bit testier. But if they win this game, they're going 10 and two at worst, and they have a great chance to go 11 and 1. They have about a six-week stretch in the middle of the season, where they don't play a true road game, which is wild. But that's the way they've made it work. This is what I want to ask Spencer. And, you know, I guess John Miller, obviously, you know, we know Mike Ocho is in, you know, game one at Texas A&M. But what exactly has Marcus Freeman done at Notre Dame that just makes us think that he's going to dominate this coaching match up on Saturday? Well, a totally fair question. I just think if you're giving me the couple two and a half points or giving me plus one 26, I'm going to go that way. That's kind of the way I'm looking at it. I don't look at Notre Dame over the last couple of years. Yeah, it got off to a terrible start. But last year, would you describe Notre Dame as some horribly awful, no good, very bad team? Did it feel like they were a disaster chaos? No, it felt like they took a step forward from Marcus Freeman's first year. And when you were a young, unproven head coach, that's what I look for to have confidence in you, to make a pick like this. So I saw improvement from year one to year two. I love the offensive coordinator higher, love the quarterback move by stick with the Irish. Jay Smith. So me personally, I'm riding with Texas A&M on this. I feel like we overlooked this portion of it. Mike Elmo's returning back to Texas A&M. This isn't his first stint there, right? He had a two year stint at Duke as a head coach, cool. But a lot of those recruits at Texas A&M, he recruited them there. So he knows a lot more of the players than a lot of us are giving him credit for. He's going to walk in there, refine things back to when he was there, even though I mean, Jim Beaufisher, you know, did what he does best. But he's going to be able to have that continuity or at least some type of rapport with these players because he brought a lot of them in. So I'm on Texas A&M actually surprised and everybody that they're a lot better, their first game than expected. And I'll say this, John Miller, I've been to college stage. You can't feel this way better now than it was maybe 10 years ago. It's a lot louder. They've added more seating. So I'll give them that. It is more of a rock and atmosphere. And look, they're going to have college game day. You got all them. You know, it's going to be a huge to do on campus all day long. And those fans will be fired up. They'll bring out last year or revelry as we call her. And it'll be a lot of fun. All right, the other big game. And again, I don't think we're talking enough about Florida hosting Miami, guys. But for Billy Napier, this is a must win for him. He has to win this game knowing what's on the back stretch of the schedule. And I feel like where Miami's gotten all this high. Look, they've bought recruits. They've bought guys to the transfer portal. Cam Ward at quarterback. But are we talking enough about what Florida's got? Graham Mertz is back at quarterback. They got the five star DJ Lagway behind him. They got my truck Johnson. I run it back like I feel like Florida's going. Maybe we'll be in a little bit. Disrespect here that everybody's talking about. It's having the toughest schedule in the world. But we're actually got a pretty good team. I agree with you. I think that's a great take. And to me, if you're looking at anybody who's a slight underdog at home, especially in a place like the swamp against a traditional rival like Miami, you don't think the Gainesville is going to be popping that night? That is going to be a tough place for anybody to play. And in this modern world of college football, of course, traditionally, every first game is weird. I think it's even weirder in a world where you have so much roster turnover. So I like the Gators in that spot. I really do. Sorry for me. Yeah, I was going to say, I think for me, what's going to be most interesting about this game is they both have a very high, as you would say, blue chip ratio. I think Florida's sitting here at 63 percent, Miami is 61 percent. So it's going to be a lot of good players playing, especially with all the pressure on both coaches back. This game is kind of critical for both of them. I think the loser of this game is going to have the trajectory of getting fired by around, you know, the second by week because we all know that both of those seats are very hot because they've got too much talent to be as bad as they've been the last couple of years. Now I'm picking Miami in this game because I just think Ken Ward is really good. I think he's probably one of the better quarterbacks out there. He's probably one of the best ones to come out of the portal. And whenever he's hot, he's on point. Now it's going to be about Florida trying to force the turnovers, which he's, you know, kind of susceptible to doing. But if Miami does a really good job of controlling the turnovers and controlling the time, they should win this game. I don't think I agree on the level of pressure being equal between the two head coaches. Mario Cristobal has less pressure though. Certainly there is a hope, a desire for him to win going into year three. I think it is a much higher pressure gauge on building Napier because of how his record is going to look at the end of the year. Making a bowl game would be a tremendous accomplishment, whereas Miami is looking at conference championship, college football, playoff appearance. That's the standard. So a bad year for Miami is eight and four. Bad year for Florida is four and eight. Eight and four would be a second straight year of improvement from Mario Cristobal and Coral Gables. And I don't think gets him fired though. It would be disappointing relative to their season expectation with that Pac-12 backfield that they've got. But why do you just want to add it? Not enough fun. I mean, Cristobal went five and seven and seven and six. I mean, they're basically it's a mirror image of what Billy Gaepier's got it done. And you know, oh, by the way, Miami, you know, blue, blue, a monster game. What was that last year that year before where they didn't decide not to kneel? Yeah, decide not to kneel. That was last year. Yeah, that was last year. That's to me adds to his pressure and him being kind of on fire because this is the second time that's happened in Mario Cristobal's career as a head coach. You'd as unexcusable if you know that you're going to win this game. Thank you for bringing up that wonderful memory, Jay. I appreciate that. My apologies. I'm just saying if that's the thing that's to me is what adds to the fire of his seat is that people are starting to believe that he's incompetent. And so yes, conference championship should be in their radar. But if they go seven and five, maybe eight and four, there's a good chance to be like, you know what? It doesn't feel like you've got a good grasp of what you need to do to win here. He got a big contract. I think he would be pretty solidly set into having one more year. I think what he does this year affects the warmness of his seat going into next year. I don't think there's a world barring a three and nine season, which is not going to happen where Mario Cristobal gets canned. Well, at least Miami, they've got John Ruiz might write in the checks. Hey, many more millions do you need to buy a quarter back in Florida? They're getting sued because they didn't follow through with paying their record. So quite the different worlds there at Florida Miami. All right, real quick guys, show of hands. Do you have A&M beating Notre Dame? Put your hand up. Okay, so we've got about four and two on the other side, Miami and Florida. Do you have the Florida Gators beating Miami? Okay, five to one. So pretty good there. And it should be a good weekend for the SEC. And to be honest, guys, the SEC needs this. We started off on a rough sour note out of the gates last year. Florida loses to Utah. LSU loses the Florida state. Everybody's going, what's wrong with the SEC? They need to come out strong this weekend. Final thoughts, Zach, as we wrap up? Yeah, like I said at the top of this, I think it's going to be a huge, huge weekend for the SEC. I don't know if they go, you know, Florida and these big games we've talked about, but I do think I do think it's three in one or better. John Miller. You know, I just want to say, even though I picked Notre Dame as a Missouri fan, I hope Texas A&M wins because I'd like to see basically anybody outside of the conference, including Miami. Maybe that's the bias toward Florida. If I'm going to be on the fringe of the playoff, I want all these other fringe teams to look mediocre in the ACC and the big 12. Get them out of here. That's my thought. It is a real life game of thrones. It is indeed, we're all trying to come up and get that 12 team playoff. It's going to be a lot of fun, guys. Always fun to talk all things SEC with you guys and appreciate you guys taking the time. All right, thanks again to our panel of hosts and our SEC squad as we call it. A reminder to follow and subscribe to your favorite SEC team will be covering your favorite teams every day throughout the season. Do not forget I'll have you covered on the entire conference every day with locked on SEC, part of the lockdown podcast network covering your team every day. 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