With Amex Platinum, you can enjoy access to dedicated card member entrances at select events, because skipping the line makes you the star of game day. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more at americanexpress.com/withamex. Card member entrance access not limited to Amex Platinum card. Hello and welcome in. It's a Sunday edition of always college football. You'll have to excuse the voice a little bit. We were on deep end of the night in Lexington, Kentucky, and yeah, it was a crazy game. It was loud as can be, so I felt like I had to project my voice into the microphone. But it's a little raspy today. I think it actually sounds kind of cool, but they're not necessarily cool. But I just feel like I'm struggling to speak today. So I apologize in advance, but today's our Sunday show. I'm Greg McElroy. We have our streaming consciousness here on Sunday. And if you have not been with us on Sunday in the past, this is basically where we go and look at the initial reaction from what we saw in Saturday's action. Tomorrow's show, it's the 10 things I've learned show. That's when we dive a touch deeper. That's the upon further review. So today is an immediate reaction. Then we watch the tape all throughout today and we put our show out tomorrow that dives a little deeper in the weeds. So if you like today's show, but you want a little more, don't worry, we got that coming for you about 24 hours from now. Let's dive in. All right. Let's start in the morning with LSU and South Carolina. First of all, what a great way to start a college football Saturday. The energy level was coming through the screen in Columbia, South Carolina. Just amazing. And this is a team to last week, went to Kentucky and surprised the world with how they completely manhandled Kentucky along the front defensively. And then the conversation all last week was, well, that won't happen against an offensive line like LSU's. There's just no way LSU's got two first round tackles. They got guys that are legit. And sure enough, man, LSU at least throughout the entire game, especially in the first half, they didn't give Garrett Nussmeyer hardly any time. He was constantly on his back. He was getting hit before he was throwing, he was getting hit as he was throwing. And the receivers didn't have enough time to create big plays down field. Now, defensively, I think LSU still has a lot of problems. If there's a takeaway from this one, while I do think they're improved in some areas, and they did a better job of taking some of their best players and blitzing them and finding space for them, there's aspects of what I've seen from their defense that I like. I still think this is a group that is going to be behind the eight ball for at least another year, especially with their lack of depth along the defensive line. So the takeaway in this one is that LSU, man, that was a gutsy performance. But my goodness, if you're South Carolina, you've got to be feeling so disappointed. You had to pick six wiped out because of a horse collar tackle. That was the correct call. You had to pick six wiped out because of an illegal blindside block on the quarterback, and you had a fall start that extended the drive all on the same player. And that player is Kyle Canard, and he is one of your best players. So that has to be remarkably frustrating to see one of your best players have a couple of big players wiped off the board. But, man, South Carolina, they are going to be a huge problem for everybody moving forward. You see who they host here coming up in a bit. They play Ole Miss in a couple of weeks in Colombia. They play against teams. They play against Missouri in Colombia. South Carolina is a problem. So acknowledge that, and they became very real. But that was a resilient and gutsy performance from LSU. They almost had to have that one to start one and two. In year 300, Brian Kelly, that was a got to have a situation to keep their playoff hopes alive. So a good win for LSU. But, man, they were fortunate because of some of the mistakes that South Carolina made throughout the game. Also in the new window, let's go to Alabama and Wisconsin. Biggest takeaway here, I look at Wisconsin. They're a good football team. They're a well-coated football team. But they don't have the explosive capabilities that Alabama has. And when they lost Tyler Van Dyke on the first series, out, rolling out to his right, went down. Hopefully, he's going to be OK. He was, of course, in a knee brace and was on crutches. So hoping that he'll be OK, but doesn't look promising, at least at this point. They just didn't have anything in the passing game. And there really was no threat once Van Dyke went out. And then moving to Alabama's offense, which is probably the biggest takeaway, I'm after all, 42 points scored, is the most scored against Wisconsin in Camp Randall since 2008. I'm just really impressed with how this step is using Jalen Milra right now. They are using him like a featured player in the run game. Last year's staff, they kind of wanted to continue making him into a pocket passer. He's not a pocket passer. Like, use quarterback run. The guy's crazy dynamic. Run him. I don't care if he's got to have at least 10 carries a game. 15 carries a game. And against the best competition, it should be 20 carries. And the guy is really, really valuable to the team, for sure. But his legs are still, I think, his best attribute. Did hit some nice plays downfield, Ryan Williams at 17 years old, wide receiver, is a ridiculously talented player and a guy that's so far beyond where he should be from a maturity standpoint is amazing. 17 continues to be a go-to player in this offense. And once again, put him in the slot, touched down on the slot fade. You can just use him in a lot of different ways. Thought may, hey, this might be another, this is a big step up. Sure he played great against West of Kentucky. He sure he had some moments against South Florida. This is another step up against Wisconsin. And this step wasn't that big for him at all. He was perfectly fine. It will be a feature player moving forward. Now, Bama heads into the bye week before they face Georgia here a couple of weeks from now. Speaking of Georgia, a lot of reactions, very, very strong reactions. I'm getting text messages from buddies, from Georgia fans that are like, oh my gosh, the dogs are a mess. This was not a surprising performance, okay? You have a team in Kentucky that is a proud program, a very proud program. Mark Stoops has built Kentucky into a chip on the shoulder, giant killer, throw a haymaker type of program. That's who this program has become. And while their ceiling is not that of what you're going to have when you play against Georgia, there are few teams in the country that can match Georgia physically. I mean, I'm talking physicality in the trenches, willing to be in a heavyweight boxing match. There are very few teams in the country that are capable of playing at that level against Georgia. Kentucky is. And I think Kentucky threw their very best punch defensively last night. Now, do I think Georgia has some things to evaluate? Sure. I think they probably could lean on the run a little bit more. They have not this year been very good in staying out of third and longs. They've had a ton of third and longs. They were one of six on third down at one point last night. Carson Beck did not look comfortable. He was taking hits. He felt rushed. He was having to move in the pocket. And the coverage down field from Kentucky was really good. I think the offensive line is something that we need to watch for Georgia moving forward. Ernest Green, their left tackle. He actually at one point wasn't in the game. Monroe Freeling was in the game at left tackle. And this Kentucky defensive line was getting after him. I mean, they were really getting after him. Tate Ratlidge, their right guard got hurt. So I'm going to be watching that offensive line now moving forward. They're a little inconsistent last night. And that could be a significant problem when you think about what's coming up for Georgia against Texas, against Bama, against Ole Miss, and against the teams they might face in the college football playoffs. So the offensive line, maybe a position that needs to be monitored moving forward. People are going to sit there and say, well, Georgia's just not as good as you. They are good. This is a really, really good football team that played flawless football in the last six quarters prior to going on the road. And the SEC against the team that got embarrassed on their home field the week before. This is what happened. You had a tremendous bounce back performance from Kentucky. Offensively speaking, it was fine. It just wasn't enough. And settling for field goals, it's just not going to be enough. You cannot expect your defense to hold up the whole time. So there were some missed opportunities from Kentucky. But you have to be proud of the effort that we saw from the Cats. Either way, I think Georgia's still top one or two team in the country. And Kentucky proved that they will not go down without a fight. So I thought it was a really, really intriguing game, but we've seen this also from Georgia. Last year on the road at South Carolina early in the season, it was far from impressive. You look at 2022 early in the season against Missouri, far from impressive. This is not that uncommon. So I think Georgia now with the week to kind of look back and reflect, will evaluate areas where they can improve. And there are some, frankly, for Georgia, which is a juggernaut. But there are areas for sure to improve. Are you feeling stuck in your job? Is your career need to enter the transfer portal? The University of Alabama offers online degree and certificate programs that can really transform your career path. Our flexible programs are taught by the same instructors who teach on campus. Land your dream job, get the raise you deserve, or become a leader in your field. Invest in yourself with the University of Alabama online and unlock your full potential. Get started today at online.ua.edu/football, the University of Alabama online, where legends log in. This season on fansbill by Dr. Pepper, college football enters into the great unknown. Will the 12 team playoffs bear a new champion? Will conference realignment spark new rivalries? And will Dr. Pepper continue to have a one-of-a-kind taste with the unique blend of 23 authentic flavors? Okay, well, we actually know the answer to the last one, and it's yes. Most definitely yes. So prepare yourself for more drama, more angry comment sections, and more ice cold Dr. Pepper because this season, everything is about to change. Stop by your local retailer today to score some ice cold Dr. Pepper. College football, it's Pepper thing. Speaking of juggernaut performances, what about Notre Dame? The heck was that? Seriously. We said that we thought Notre Dame would bounce back. Okay, we thought that they would bounce back and respond in tremendous fashion. Thought they'd win the game. Did not anticipate them hanging 66 on the road at Purdue. Did not anticipate that. It almost makes the performance last week even less justifiable. And just completely and utterly unexplainable. The performance against NIU is really not. You look at how that this one, 362 yards on the ground. They held Purdue, which we said, and people were chiming in on us, saying like, well, Purdue can run it. Not against that group they can't. Purdue had 38 yards rushing. Purdue finished one of 12 on third down. It was Notre Dame's most points scored on an opponent's field since 1965. So putting things in perspective, this was a historically great performance from Notre Dame, the one that absolutely had to happen. And Riley Leonard, I thought they started to just kind of acknowledge who he is. Run the football. They just run him. And I know he's been banged up. I know he's got the shoulder, did not look phased by it whatsoever. The first FBS player with 100 more passing yards. 100 more rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a half since Lamar Jackson. Back at Syracuse in his Heisman year of 2016. So a tremendous bounce back performance from Notre Dame, but it has to honestly almost frustrate you as a Notre Dame fan to see them play that well this week, that poorly last week, and how well they responded to adversity on the road against what appears to be a pretty good Texas A&M team based on their performance this past week in Florida, appears to be a pretty good team. They handled them at their place in week one. So the up and down nature of Notre Dame, man, there's nothing more frustrating to see a team peak. And then you see the ebbs and flows of a team and the performances. Man, the NIU one is one that I just continue to shake my head about. Arch Manning, another big topic in storyline of the day. Quinn Eures gets hurt abdominal injury. Hopefully it's not something long term, but in the event in which it is, Arch Manning is very ready to take over as the starting quarterback. And I know people will point to the level of competition. Totally reasonable, totally fair. The guy looked like he had been starting at Texas for years. I mean, as comfortable and as composed. And another thing too, you look at Quinn Eures and while Quinn Eures has improved as a scrambler, Quinn Eures is not a guy that can really take the game over with his legs. Arch has that capability. Now, he's not going to be a guy that's like Lamar Jackson, it's going to run for 100 every week. But he's got some wiggle and he's got some straight line speed and you see the long touchdown run, you see a little shimmy shake and he's boom out the gate. And then some of the accuracy as well, man, Arch Manning. There are very few players in college football history that have come to college with the expectation level this high. And so far, albeit most of the time in mop up duty, spring ball game, spring ball action. And now his first extended time against the likes of UTSA. He might actually be able to deliver on the promise that was the five star can't miss prospect that was coming out a couple of years ago. So very excited about his performances. That was one of the stories and takeaways of the day. Other stories takeaways they Missouri, three game win streak now against AP ranked opponents. That's their longest since 1976. It was not a great performance. I thought it was a bit of a sloppy start, but Luther burden, Brady cook, settling in defense, picking it up there in the second half. It was a really nice response. And you got to give credit to to Boston college. It's a physical football team that's a well coached football team. Castellanos, I think has improved drastically. And I think Bill O'Brien's going to do a tremendous job there. I think he's he's perfect for what they want to be. But there's just too much athleticism and there was too much on the side of Missouri to kind of hold them off. So a great win for them there early in the day as well. Noon window, by the way, was packed with energy and excitement and great games. One that wasn't so great depending on your perspective was Florida State. And a lot of people are just treating Florida State as America's punching bag because of their antics and ridiculousness in December of last year and how they've been challenging the ACC grand of rights. Like everybody loves to hate Florida State. And that's fine. Florida State's just not a good football team. And I do think and I know people have pointed to, no, it's completely different. No, it's a different team, different personnel. I agree. It's different personnel. DJ, who a young little a so far has not been good, frankly, just not been good. The offensive line's been terrible based on the amount of expectations that we had coming into the season. The running game has been way too hit or miss and the receivers are a disappointment. Like it's hard for me to point to a position group on Florida State's roster and tell you that they're actually solid pretty much across the board. They are not what we thought they were at all thought they'd bounce back here. It was a sloppy performance. They lost along the lines of scrimmage. Got to give tremendous credit to Memphis. Seth Hennigan made a couple of great throws in the game and they just flat out won the game. Along both lines of scrimmage, they won the game and their receivers, I think, are better than Florida State's receivers. And their quarterback is better than Florida State's quarterback. So it is served to win the game. But I still believe that because Florida State made themselves into a victim last year after being snubbed by the college football playoff, they decided to boycott the Orange Bowl and got embarrassed in the Orange Bowl. That has a carryover effect. That has a carryover effect into this year's season. And they are playing lifeless football as a result. So you can tell me it's a different world. I think when their players all decided to opt out against Georgia and they got destroyed by Georgia. And a lot of the guys that were playing in that game against Georgia are now expected to be starters in this game. I think it's created a really, really bad situation. It's probably going to get worse before it gets better there in Tallahassee. Another great one, the backyard brawl. How about this game, man? This was an awesome, awesome football game. You think about what Pitt has been. All right, Pitt is not a team that has been very good coming from behind. From 2005 to 2023, Pitt was 0 and 72. When trailing by 10 or more in the fourth quarter. You heard that right. From 2005 to 2023, 0 and 72 down double digits in the fourth quarter. Well, this year they're 2 and 0. And they come back and they beat Cincinnati last week. They come back and they beat West Virginia in a rivalry game this past weekend. And Eli Holstein is the real deal, man. He is awesome transfer from Alabama. Excellent, excellent football player. Very encouraged by what I've seen from him. He looked at, he ran for 67, had some big completions there in the fourth quarter. And it led to them pulling out a tremendous victory. College football fans, what's the best part of being at a game live? The color. There's nothing more exciting than seeing an entire stadium completely decked out in your team's colors. So why not add to that? And put yourself right in the middle of it all because that color encompasses everything. From the tailgating in the fight songs to the marching band halftime shows, let your true colors show and get ready to yell and cheer until you're blue in the face by scoring tickets today at Ticketmaster. Get tickets today at ticketmaster.com. 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All or case go to Shopify.com/network to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com/network. Moving on to the Florida Gators. Florida, I thought Florida was going to win the game. I'll be honest. I thought Florida, this was like, hey, back against the wall. Gotta have it situation. Veteran quarterback, A&M, Wigman, banged up. Probably going to go back up. This was dominant performance by A&M in many ways. You can look at the score at the end and maybe it didn't look quite as dominant, but never felt like Florida really had a chance. Did it? It never felt like Florida was ever going to have enough to muster a comeback. It was very impressed by the offensive plan implemented by Colin Klein. Not really that sure. I'm not trying to create quarterback drama right now. But you look at the type of player that Colin Klein was as a quarterback back at Kansas State, and you look at what Marcel Reed is and how they might be able to. They looked, I thought, really good along the offensive line that they ran the ball with a little more efficiency. They were much more committed to running the football. And Florida just was not up to the test. But you can't turn the ball over. At the end of the day, three picks is going to be really, really tough to overcome. And people are already writing that Billy Napier's done. There's already reports out there saying that they have already raised the money necessary for the buyout. They have all these other things. Fine. If they let them go, we'll do an emergency pod on this at some point. But it feels like it's over, doesn't it? I mean, it feels like it's over, barring something completely unforeseen. No one, I didn't expect them to beat. I personally didn't expect them to beat Miami. I thought they really needed this one. I thought they could get this one. And to have a half-hearted performance and to have a performance that was mistake-filled has to be incredibly frustrating, but man, Florida, just disappointing. Disappointing start to the season. And it appears like Billy Napier, this will be his final year. It's just a matter of when will his final game be. And at this point, it does feel like a foregone conclusion. I hate that. I really do. I hate that. Billy Napier will be well-compensated. And people always say, oh, Billy Napier, $26 million to just walk out the door and not work. Yeah, but there's a hundred other people. If you look at their staff and all the analysts and those that they've hired, there's a hundred other people whose job security is impacted by Florida's lack of success. So it does make me sad to see the situation going down. And it does make me disappointed to know that things are not looking good there in Gainesville, Michigan, not looking good there either. You got USC next week, and you have three picks thrown by your quarterback this past week. And you beat Arkansas State by 10. This is the farthest thing from stellar in the performance whatsoever. They got to figure out the quarterback spot. Because SC is going to score. Can you move the ball against SC? If you can't, then we got major issues in Michigan. They're already two in one. I think they're losing next week to the Trojans. And then you look at what's coming up. This could be a really ugly year in Ann Arbor. The Apple Cup, it's got to feel good for Washington State. 2419, they get the win over their arch rival Washington. That's only their second Apple Cup victory in the last 12 tries. But it's got to be even better though, knowing that Washington left their in-state rival for the big 10. Got to feel pretty good too when you look at the opportunities that were missed by Washington and standing up like Washington State did. They got to the 7, the 25, and the 1, and didn't score in any of those drives. Washington State's red zone defense, tremendous. They also were great on 3rd and 4th down as well. Oregon, Oregon State. That's the Oregon that we expected to see all season. Thought Oregon State would battle, thought they'd hang in there. But their youth on both sides of the ball ultimately wasn't enough. Oregon, very, very impressive 4-quarter performance. Glad to see that. Colorado, Travis Hunter was amazing. I mean, 13 of 14, he was targeted 14 times, had 13 catches, did have a drop. And an interception, the guy was off the charts good. Was not surprised to see Colorado win this game. Convincedly thought they would, told you they would. Because everyone thought the Colorado State was going to play them really well. Didn't matter. They got too much firepower. And I do think Colorado's a lot better on defense than people are giving them credit at the moment. UCF takes down TCU, extremely dramatic game. Really impressive 4th quarter performance. It looked like TCU was just in full control. This one before UCF came storming back. And it was all the way up until the very end. I mean, they had to miss a field goal there at the end for UCF to hang on. A great win there, 4 Gus Malzahn, and a team 2 that was 2-4 on the road last year to get a win on the road in big 12th play is significant. So happy to see that. And then finally, Toledo. You go on the road and you pound an SEC team and take $1.2 million check along with you. Yeah, you're going to get credit for me. Tremendous performance from Toledo and Tucker Gleeson, their quarterback. So that'll do it for us here on the Sunday edition of Always College Football. Like I said, streaming consciousness. We will revisit some of the biggest storylines and dive just a touch deeper on tomorrow's show. The Monday 10 things I learned to takeaways. So keep it locked in here on Always College Football. Like, rate, and subscribe. We look forward to being back with you again tomorrow. And a couple more times this week. Hey, full steam ahead, man. Week 4 coming up, the season's flying by and we're starting to really learn what this season might look like here in the weeks to come. So for all of us here at Always College Football, I'm Greg McElroy. We hope you have an amazing day. And remember, it's Always College Football. (music) Hey guys, it's Greg McElroy. Thanks for watching Always College Football. Make sure you like, rate, and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel. And wherever you listen to your podcast.
