7-23-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 3: UAB & AAC Media Days; Jeff Buch talk Big Ten; Olympics vs. Bad Box Score of the Day
47:43 Share

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big ROAS man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.

LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance.

Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors...

You're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. See ebaymotors.com. This Chalks 94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to msbnow.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium.

McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning, 9 o'clock, hour number 3 underway, Tuesday, July 23rd, right here on JOX 94.5. Cole Kubelik, Greg McElroy in studio at Mac and Cube. You can tweet in. Text in 205-834-9450.

Apparently, I have upset the Believe in Kentucky Sports Network. Oh, dare you. For saying that Kentucky dominated the Florida, or had been dominated by Florida in that series. Dare you. Should we check the Winsopedia page on that one? And what Stoops has done has been great in recent memory, but the point was that all time that has been lopsided in favor of Florida.

Auburn's annual kickoff Birmingham presented by the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club Thursday, July 25th at the Finley Center in Hoover. Huge pep rally. You can bring family, kids for the play area, face painting,

Join Albie and Voice of the Tigers. Andy Burcham, also linebacker coach Josh Aldridge, is going to be in the house. Silent auction to bid on unique items and experiences. Big send-off for Birmingham area Auburn freshmen. You could get a VIP ticket upgrade. Also with food, drink, exclusive swag. Corporate sponsors are available. Proceeds go to fund scholarships for Birmingham area Auburn students Thursday, July 25th. Tickets and more at kickoffbirmingham.org. That's kickoffbirmingham.org.

We talked a little bit earlier with Ben Hartsock about Big Ten media days, which begin today. Let's continue that conversation. Jeffrey the Greek, Jeff Book, former Iowa football player, joining us now on the Bioshock Hotline. Jeff, I'm interested first, is this league top to bottom compared to the last few years?

How much stronger, maybe a little less stronger at the top and the middle? How do you view this Big Ten going into this season, even though it's different because we had teams? Maybe just the overall strength compared to the last couple Big Tens we've seen. First off, Cole, Greg, thanks for having me on. Yeah, I think it's quite a bit similar to what it's looked like the last four or five years, but now we have Oregon mixed in at the top, so obviously that makes sense.

a huge difference. I don't know how much the other teams added in are, are going to make that big of a difference. Uh,

If anybody knows what's going on with USC, I'll call them a liar because I think they're a complete mystery team to me. But instead of having three teams at the top that are excellent, we now have four. And then I think there's a pretty healthy middle class starting at five with Iowa and the next, you know, four or five teams. So it looks pretty similar, but just a tick up with Oregon.

Just quickly before we kind of get into the rosters and everything, what is kind of the anticipation for the new look Big Ten? Being at SEC Media Days last week, I mean, the energy was palpable. With Texas and OU joining the league and the excitement, the amount of credentialed media members was significantly more than it usually has been. So there's a lot of energy and momentum, it feels like, within the SEC. Where is it for the Big Ten?

I feel like there's a lot of energy. I think the big difference is, you know, Texas and Oklahoma coming into the SEC, it's still sort of a regional fit. With four teams coming in from the West Coast into the Midwest, that's culturally, you know, completely different. I listen to...

It was the Oregon podcast. Maybe it was the USC podcast. And they were talking about, oh, man, why do we have to go to the Midwest to go to Big Ten media days? They're already asking for it to go out on the West Coast. So, like, to me, that is something to look out for. I would say in general, the old guard Big Ten fans, I think apprehensive is a word that can be used.

I think there's some proudness of maybe not wanting Oregon to come in and just run the conference this year. I think that's a common theme among

among a lot of Big Ten fans. So that's going to be interesting to see. But until we really get in the season, that's when we'll start finding out. All right, Jeffrey Book, Jeffrey the Greek, at Jeffrey the Greek on Twitter, co-host of the Eyes on Big Ten podcast, joining us on the Bioshock Hotline. You mentioned USC, a bit of a misnomer. I'm kind of with you there. Greg has a little more confidence than I do.

Another team that I feel like I have just a ton of questions about is Michigan. I love the front. I think it's going to be dominant. I love some of the pieces on offense, but a lot of turnover and some of the pieces that I felt like made them great the last two, three years, not going to be there. What are your realistic expectations for this Michigan team heading into this season?

My realistic expectations are high for Michigan. So I'm not on the same page with you on that. And certainly you're not alone. I've heard a ton of people talk about Michigan with a lot of the same situations, but Michigan,

For me, people act like this was a big, huge coaching transition. It's not. You know, there's continuity with Sherone Moore staying on. So I think that helps the offense, even though there's a ton of turnover on the offense. But you still got Colson Loveland at tight end. I know the offensive line is almost going to be completely new.

But there's some experience there, and you have Sharon Moore coaching them. A lot of people that are close to the program will tell you that was an offensive line-led team the last couple years. I don't see that changing. I don't see it at least dropping off a cliff. Then you mix that with this defense. I think the defense maybe takes a mini step back, but at the elite level that it was at last year, this is still an excellent defense.

in the running for the best defense in the Big Ten, and if that's the case, it's one of the best defenses in the country. So I am high on Michigan. They are right in the mix to me to get back to Indianapolis this year. When you look at the middle of the Big Ten, it's pretty obvious who the top teams are. However many you decide to include in the top team conversation is, I think, up to the beholder. But looking at the...

Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, what have you. Take those four out. The next contingent, Iowa's in that mix. Wisconsin might be in that mix. SC might be in that mix. How many people should we include in the next tier, if you will, when evaluated the Big Ten? I think you can put – it's on tiers, but I think two tiers and then with two teams being on that first tier –

and four in the next. So those six teams right there are the middle class or upper middle class, if you will. I would have Iowa kind of a strong standing by their self number five. And then after that,

You can kind of pull one of these teams out of a bag. USC, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, and Wisconsin. Each one of those teams I don't think is at all a threat to win in Indianapolis for sure. I think it will be tough for a lot of those teams just to get to Indianapolis. All of those teams can get you at home if they're having a good day, which is kind of what you expect out of the middle class at a conference like that. Then

I'd also like to throw in, I know this is going to blow people's brains, but watch out for Indiana and their schedule. I'm not saying, again, they're going to be any kind of a contender, but they're a team that could wind up getting an eighth or ninth win in a bowl. So just another team that people aren't talking about that I think can get up there. What's the buzz there, though? Because that recruiting has completely flipped. Yeah.

And some of the prospects that are just being brought to campus and some of the commitments that Indiana are getting is on a totally different level. Is that sustainable? I mean, I love Kirk Cimetti. We jokingly call him the Smokers' Caitlin DeBoer on the Eyes on Big podcast. Coming over from smaller college, the guy does not lose anything.

13 seasons in, hasn't had a losing season, and all of them have been rebuilt. So I just – I like what he does. I love Curtis' work coming over Mac player of the year and then even more the schedule. So I just think it's the brashness of Cignetti, and it's playing well with recruits. But they better win some games this year to capture those recruits, and I think they've got a chance to do it.

What about the teams that have traditionally kind of played the spoiler? I'm not sure anybody anticipates Indiana this year winning the Big Ten like you alluded to, but can they be dangerous enough? Michigan State, new coach, can they be dangerous enough? Maryland lose a lot, including their quarterback in Talia Tungvaluwa, but they've won seven games three years in a row. Rutgers, I think Rutgers actually has a real chance to make a big stride, partly because of their schedule, but partly because they finally have a quarterback that,

will complete better than 47% of their passes. So of the teams that are kind of down the list a bit, who do you think is the most dangerous? Well, if I could put Iowa in there. They're not allowed to put Iowa in there. They've won nine games, like, two of the last three years. Like, you can't put Iowa in there. Come on now. Appreciate that. If Iowa's in the same tier as Rutgers, we're evaluating this the entirely different way. Like, I think we're definitely seeing it differently for sure. But go ahead.

I like the positivity towards the Hawks. Yeah, I would say, I mean, you had a pretty good pick there with Rutgers. I'd put Nebraska in there as well. If Rayola develops, we already know they've got a strong defense under Tony White. They had pieces on offense last year, so really comes on to the health and performance of Rayola. They would be one of the best teams that I could see

rising up. They get Ohio State, albeit it's on the road, so that's going to make it very tough. They can come into that game hot. I'm going to talk out of two sides of my mouth because I do feel that the middle of the conference is stronger than people believe. Maybe the more southern-based listeners would tend to believe. It's just that I have so much respect for the teams at the top, specifically

Ohio State, Oregon, but again, I'd put Michigan and Penn State right there. It's just hard for me to see any of these teams getting over top of one of those teams unless it's perfect spot on the road. All right. Jeffrey Book joining us on the Biosphere Hotline at Jeffrey the Greek on Twitter, co-host of the Eyes on Big Ten podcast. We sort of brought him up, but I want to dive in a little bit more. Iowa, how different can it be this year, specifically the offense? Can this thing kind of turn a corner in 2024? Yeah.

I've been on a campaign on a podcast for just wanting the 88th ranked offense in the country for Iowa. I have definitely fallen short of that the last three or four years. I think we got shot this year. Tim Lester coming over to be the new offensive coordinator, that was a hire that I liked right at the beginning. I think a lot of Iowa fans have warmed up to it since then. I know the typical thought process is right, but Kirk Ferentz is still the head coach. He's going to put the shackles on it and whatnot.

I'm not saying that this is going to be a radical departure of what KF wants to do. It will still be a team led by a rushing attack, not turning the ball over, and defensive special teams. But I think the efficiency of the offense...

It's going to improve quite a bit. The quarterback room has drastically improved. As you guys probably know, Cade McElroy went down last year. McNamara, excuse me, went down early last year, and that just put everything into a tailspin.

So McNamara seems to be as healthy as he's been since he's been at Iowa. And I like Bretton Sullivan coming over from Northwestern as a backup. People have been with Grant and Raven. I think they're going to get some RPOs going. I think putting a little bit of pressure on the back seven will help out the O-line in the rushing attack. So I don't want to oversell this thing. I want to be a realistic person towards this, but I expect it to be quite a bit better.

Jeffrey, we appreciate the time today, man. Great stuff. Enjoy Big Ten Media Days. Interested to see what comes out of it. And we'll have you back once actual football gets started. Cole, I've always loved you since you talked very highly on hand placement from Iowa tight ends. I just want to say I appreciate that. So I'll come back on any time. Well, listen, if we could just have Linderbaum in there every year and give me that film to watch, we'd be good to go. So McElroy might not like it, but I love it. So we'll do it again. Absolutely. All right.

Appreciate the time. There you go. Jeffrey Cook, he played at Iowa. Co-host of the Eyes on Big Ten podcast at Jeffrey the Greek. You can follow him on Twitter. Good stuff there just around. I like kind of your thought, Greg, on where does, I don't know if I want to say the marketing, but like the messaging, like where does the imaging go for the Big Ten moving forward? Because you already heard Jeffrey say, like, SC's already like, man, we've got to go to Indianapolis. Yeah. Why? Why?

Where's Ben? Do you not want to go there again in December, by the way? I mean, is that what they're going to say in December? Like, we have to go there to play the Big Ten title game? It's just not a cultural fit, man. It's just so weird. I'm not saying they don't have good brands. It's culturally, the fit just doesn't work. At all. It's like, oh, we have to play night games? Ugh, I really wanted to go to Santa Monica after the game. Like, it's like, dude, it's just...

Football matters. Football matters a lot where we're from, and it matters a lot in the places that previously really occupied the Big Ten. Now, SC is a front-runner school, not in a bad way. It's just when they get hot, there's no better ticket in town. Back in the Pete Carroll days, everyone and their brother was on the sideline for those SC games. Man, that's just not what it's been for quite some time. Yeah.

I hope that it fits, and I hope the quality of play doesn't diminish because the travel will be that challenging. I think it will be. I think it's going to be that difficult. And I do think it will be somewhat exhausting for some of these teams that are having to travel multiple time zones, some teams that are playing 10 o'clock at night, and then following it up the following week with a 9 a.m. local kickoff and things like that. Yeah.

So that's going to be interesting. I'll be curious to see how it all works out. It's going to be a fascinating year to follow it. You also need to follow Ox Foundation's solutions if you're having any issues in your basement, basement wall repair, stabilization, crawl space, encapsulation, foundation repair, lintel repair, and more. Ox.

Ox provides free full foundation inspections and free evidence-based repair plans, fully transferable warranties. Listen, financing and multiple payment options are available. They understand, Ox does, home repairs can be unexpected. They do all they can to help you with financing options. They're currently serving over 350 cities in Alabama.

Ox believes in building relationships based on trust and mutual respects. For all your foundation repair and waterproofing needs, call 205-236-9500 or visit OxStrong.com. Guarantee to keep your foundation healthy and strong. How strong? OxStrong. 205-236-9500 or go to OxStrong.com today. All right, when we come back, UAB head football coach Trent Dilfer at the podium in American Media Days. We'll let you hear what he has to say next on Mac and Cube in the morning.

Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Gap or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in. McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. We'll take you to the podium live.

And American Conference Media Days in just a moment lets you hear Trent Dilfer taking that podium. But it is still summer. It is still hot. The bugs are still trying to come inside. The mosquitoes are still everywhere. Get that Mosquito Plus program from Wayne's today. They're out trying to take over your yard, porch, patio, all those outdoor spaces. Wayne's Mosquito Plus program eliminates the mosquitoes from your outdoor spots. Also, the EnviroPest technology, the summer roaches, ants, fleas, ticks, they're all trying to come in your house, including the rodents.

Wayne's is going to provide a perimeter protection around your home, securing a defense against roaches, ants, fleas, ticks, rodents, and more. It's environmentally safe. And right now, every subscription to Wayne's Pest Control, they'll add their fire ant treatment for free. Just a couple of the things that Wayne's wants to do for you, G-Mac. Yeah, Mosquito Plus, too. Actually, I just got a text a second ago. They were at my house taking care of the mosquitoes. Nothing worse than sitting on your back patio, whether it's lakeside, just the back patio here around town.

Nothing worse than mosquitoes just eating you alive. It makes you super uncomfortable. That's why I've done the mosquito plus...

at every single spot in our yard that we could have issues, and it's been a terrific investment. Four great services for your home, pest, mosquito, lawn, and termite. Whether you're in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, or the Florida Panhandle, give Wayne's a call. Remember, every new pest control service, you'll receive Wayne's seasonal fire ant treatment absolutely free. So call them today, 866-WAYNES1, or visit callwaynes.com, and let Wayne's continue to create your happy places.

All right, this is UAB head football coach Trent Dilfer taking the podium in American Media Days. We take it incredibly serious as a staff. The entire building wakes up every single morning on their boards in handwriting by me, relentless engagement.

We're going to relentlessly engage with these young people. We're going to try to pull out every bit of talent on the football field, but we're also going to try to help them reach their potential off the field, and I will never change that. So please, as we have these discussions about money, which is very real, and I applaud what's going on. I agree with Commissioner Pernetti that it's exciting that the student-athletes have a chance to benefit more from the product they put on the field today.

It's second to the relationships that we're establishing with them and the opportunity we have to help shape and mold their lives. So with that, I will take some questions. All right. If you have a question, please raise your hand and we'll bring the microphone over to you. Let's start right there in the front row and right to your right.

Coach, with the recent success of basketball at your school, have you seen the NIL been able to reciprocate both for your program and the basketball team? And also, is there any bit of pressure to kind of match the program since they just made the NCAAs last season? Yeah, Andy's an incredible coach, become a really dear friend in a short amount of time, somebody I've learned a lot from. He's a man, he's a fantastic coach, leader, builder, developer, coach.

You know, NIL is something that, you know, it's a reality we're all facing. Some of us have the opportunity to generate a lot of money for the collective. Some of us don't. It really doesn't. I mean, you're not going to write an article that we're not going to be judged. The rankings at the end of the year isn't going to have an asterisk. They had this much NIL money.

So it's really nothing I can control. Do I fundraise relentlessly? Yes. Does Andy fundraise relentlessly? Yes. Are we as successful as some others? I don't know. I try not to listen to what other people are saying. We're trying to...

work with our collective to help our student athletes be compensated in a way that is appropriate. Sometimes you can do that, sometimes you can't. I do think that, again, on this topic, you know, a student athlete feels valued in more ways than just economically.

We've been able to recruit some really fine players that were offered a lot more money elsewhere because they felt the value of not just we were able to collect, was able to help them in one way economically, but a fraction of what they're offered other places. But they also feel valued by opportunity.

They also feel valued by connection. And that's the formula that we're working off of. It's a formula that I got all my chips down on for it to work because if a player comes to you because you paid him the most money, money makes you more of what you were before you got it. And I would argue I probably got more money than anybody in this room at a young age. And it was not very good for me. I was immature. It made me more immature.

I was complacent. It made me more complacent. I can go on and on and on. So I lived it. And I'm not about to make sure the value of a human being is simply in the economics around him or her. I want that person. Yes, I do think they should be compensated. I think there's a there's a there's a price or there's a value attached to their skill level and the impact they can have in your organization.

But I only want that to be a third of it. There's an opportunity. There's an opportunity to compete, maybe play sooner, maybe highlight it. I mean, our offense is better than most. If you're an offensive player, you're probably going to want to come play for us. Our defense don't. You know, it's going to be hard to get defensive players if you go off last year.

But there's opportunity there, too. If you're a young defensive player, you're a player in the portal on defense, and you see a defense that's stunk, you're like, well, I don't stink. I can come help build something there. So there's opportunity. And then when you walk in our building and the connection we make, we don't recruit, we connect. We get to know everything about the young person, his family.

We do a very strong vetting on the type of player we're recruiting, and we want to make sure they're relational as well. I ask every parent of every recruit the permission to co-parent with them.

because I think that's a role that I have to take on. I've raised three, I've lost one. I have a lot of empathy again towards parents and the challenges there, especially I remember when I dropped my oldest off at Notre Dame to play volleyball, I had to pull over on the side of the road. I was getting ready to hit that highway to drive back to Chicago, take a flight out of Chicago and I couldn't drive. You know, I was crying so much. I was devastated. This is my baby. Well, every one of these kids that comes plays for me, that's their baby.

And it's my responsibility to co-parent with him. So, again, I'm not turning a blind eye that economics is a big driver of some of this stuff, but it can't be for us. And I don't want to build this program on making kids more what they were before they got it, knowing what I went through. All right. Next question will be to the far right.

Coach, Trey Smith, College Underdogs. You got Arkansas early in the season. Last year you had Georgia early in the season. UAB has not shied away from scheduling SEC opponents. In fact, last year, I know this probably means nothing to you as a coach, but y'all played the number one team better than some of their own conference opponents.

What is your philosophy with that playoff access and that playoff spot being on the line as far as scheduling goes? You know, the team that got in a year ago did not have any games of that caliber. You as a head coach, is it important to continue having games like that on the schedule, you know, at the highest level of competition, or would you rather have one that's?

similar to the team last year that might be more feasible to getting wins to getting in that spot? So a lot to unpack there. I'll start with I have nothing to do with our schedule. I'm the newbie. I did an interview process, asked Mark Ingram or AD, you know, what was his philosophy, and he agreed with SEC opponents. Obviously it's a good payday for the school, which we need. So I agree with that. I would like to play an SEC opponent every year.

Here we go. All right. They didn't want to hear this answer. Did you play that, John? This ain't me. No, this is at the Technologically Sound American Media Days. Were you just feeling it? No. There's only one way to win. It doesn't have shortcuts. Is he just still going? Yeah, I don't think he hears it. Send it. It's a spirit to outwork, outsmart, and outlast the competition. I was starting to feel it. Right when we got into scheduling discussion. Grit and guts.

Is he coming back? He does. Oh, okay. Oh, there we go. All right, Trent Dilfer at the podium in American Media Day. So when you get to the top, there's more satisfaction there. I remember when I was a high school coach and I took that job, that team was in the dust, you know, and they were scared to, you know, play their sisters.

And I immediately went around and started calling all the best programs in the state of Tennessee and outside the state of Tennessee. And they thought I was crazy. And I said, well, no, we need to be hardened by this. And if we end up being as good as I think we're going to be, we'll beat them. We'll find a way to beat them. It may not be year one, may not be year two, but eventually we'll beat them. And we played the dominant program in Middle Tennessee my second year in a lightning storm and played them pretty well, lost the game. But it's amazing what happened after that game.

I want to say we lost one game in three years after that. So I do think you should play great opponents. I don't think you should be scared of them. I do think it's a flaw that you don't get weighted by the CFP for a quality loss. I think SMU was at Oklahoma last year. They played their tails off. We watched that game and it was like, man, you would argue SMU is the better team that day. That should have been rewarded.

in my opinion. But we'll continue not shy away from anybody. I've told Golish we'll play USF in the Walmart parking lot if he wants a double header. You know, I just think that's the way we're wired. Again, I get a little on my high horse when people avoid competition. You know, when you've lived my life, you chase it. You chase hard things. You chase challenges.

You face the lion face to face. You don't run away from the lion. So that's the approach of our program. And I think the conference has that approach, too, which I'm really proud of. What do you want? The last one on the right there. Notice I do these long answers. So it's an immediate trick I learned a long time ago. So you have to answer less questions. Long answers equal less questions.

Hey, Coach. You talked about struggles on the defensive side of the ball. I'm right here. Sorry. I can't see it. Yeah, there you go. You talked about struggles on the defensive side of the ball and moving Michael Moore from the edge to the inside linebacker position. How do you expect his role to evolve on the defense this year?

He's an NFL athlete. So his length, his athleticism, ability to bend, versatility to play inside against the run, to move on the edge, to cover, to extend versus open sets is invaluable. You have to have this type of player to play any type of good defense. I know when we play teams and we can extend your stiff player into space or a shorter player, a player that lacks length, that we have a massive advantage there. So...

But I think more important is what we've done around them. You know, we signed 21 players out of the portal. I think 14 of those are on defense. I expect all 14 to contribute. I mean, there's a possibility we'll have nine new defensive starters this year. We lost one. We lost a very, very good player to UCF, but was able to replace him with an equally good player, I believe.

So, you know, if you look at my track record in football and winning, I was never the – I wasn't the reason we won. I was a supporting actor to a great defense. I am mindset on building a very good defense. It may not happen this year. You know, we may be a product in the works this year.

But we have been steadfast on looking at our defense very critically, owning how terrible we were last year and going to work to fix it. It was the first thing we talked about when the season was over. It's been countless sleepless nights trying to rebuild it, and we feel like we've done a good job putting ourselves in a position to where we can put really good defense out there.

All right, that's UAB head football coach Trent Dilfer interrupted by his own fight song and a motivational commercial it sounded like. Got me in. Or a hype video for the conference. Got everybody a little bit excited there, but either way. Some interesting things that Coach Dilfer had to say. We'll sort of follow up on a few of those and let you know how the media voted the order of finish in the AAC.

On the other side, but first, G-Mac, tell our listeners about B-Dry. Well, B-Dry has been serving Alabama.

We'll be right back.

With B-Dry, you get the strongest warranty and you get the best price right now by calling 942-1976 or visit BDryAlabama.com. All right, when we come back, order a finish in the American? Where would UAB fall according to the media? We'll discuss it right after this on Mac and Cube in the morning. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jux 94.5 and JuxFM.com. Hurry and... All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubrick in the morning Tuesday morning.

July 23rd right here on jocks. 94, five. Appreciate you guys tuning in 800, two, three, nine 95 69. If you want to get in text into the show, two, zero five, eight, three, four, nine, four, five, zero. You can listen online jocks, fm.com. As we continue the countdown to college football, don't go online to sell your vehicle. I did this a couple of years ago, listed my old pickup truck on Facebook. Thankfully, my friends at Royal automotive solid called me, said, just bring it here. We got you. It's all good.

I had to check in 30 minutes. They had my vehicle. It was easy. You don't want to deal with the hagglers. It can be dangerous. It can be a hassle, scammers. Just get it offline now. Go to Royal and tell them you're looking to sell your vehicle. And even like me, if you're not looking to buy or trade with Royal, they want to buy your ride.

If you want the best value for your car, truck, or SUV, forget Facebook. Put the for sale sign down. Only one way to go, Royal Automotive at the corner of I-65 and Highway 31 in Vestavia. I was out there at Royal yesterday. I can tell you right now, the inventory, whether you want that new all-electric Hummer or whether you want an SUV, Yukon, Denali, trucks, all different trim levels of trucks, they've got a loaded inventory right now at Royal.

And you can get started with a free no-obligation quote in person, over the phone, or online at royalautomotive.net. Remember, for every ride, there's Royal. Who would you assume, Gregory, that the media selected to finish first in the American? Memphis. You would be correct. I guess not a huge surprise. Not huge. UTSA would be next, then Tulane. What about USF?

South Florida would be fourth, according to the media. Not bad. Then Army, then FAU. Yeah. ECU and Rice would be tied. Then North Texas, then UAB. After UAB, you would have Navy, Tulsa, Charlotte, and Temple. I'm with you on South Florida. I think you're two in Alex Golesh's offense. That group could take a little bit of a step. We saw the defense be problematic at times last year.

I wonder how much of the UTSA finishing second, Greg, is holding on to kind of what they have been. I think that's part of it. There's so many good players that have left the last two years. Correct. So many. They've still won games, though. I mean, they won a lot of games last year, first year in the league. I mean, not...

Not an easy transition from where they were to where they were last year. I think the Americans are a pretty considerable step up, and yet they battled. So I can understand why people would feel pretty good about them. Tulane, I think you understand with John Summerall taking over, we love him as a coach, and there's still plenty of talent left on that roster.

Army, who ran into a bit of an identity crisis of their own last year, trying to sort of spread things out, and then towards the end of the year saying, you know what, we're going back to what got us here. And having played a lot of young guys last year, should be a much better football team. FAU, they lost some talent in the portal, but Tom Herman kind of has that thing on the upswing, so you could see that. I do think that in this sort of quarterback-obsessed world that we're currently involved in in college football,

Like why folks don't look at UAB bringing Jacob Zeno back and think that they can't be a little bit better than they're going to be is a little bit surprising to me. Like that part, that part is one that I kind of look at it and say, I mean, if you go, if you go nationally and you look at the national passing numbers from last year, Bo Nix is the only quarterback that had a better completion percentage than Jacob Zeno. Yeah. On top of 3,126 yards, 20 touchdowns, nine picks. Now you want to cut the picks down.

And a couple guys that are going to be off the roster that were there and helping you last year. But still, I think it's specifically in offense that has a chance to be a lot better this year. I think they've got a chance to be pretty good. I think the offense can be rock solid. But it's really not about what they've had offensively. They've been able to score. That's not a problem. The challenge has been stopping folks. And Trent's been...

pretty open about that. It's really not about what they have on that side of the ball. They're going to score, no doubt. But can they get enough stops to get in a position to win some games against teams with deeper rosters? That, I really don't know at this point. We won't know until we see it tee it up. I think Trent feels like they've gotten better, but at this point it's not...

It's not an absolute bona fide guaranteed, no doubt about it, Locke. You bring in Ladarius Cox from Ole Miss, Indiana, defensive tackle, should add a little bit more bulk there. O.C. Brothers comes in at linebacker, played at Purdue, played at Auburn. Also, Adrian Maddox comes in on the back end from Alabama State, a rangy safety that could help you in different ways, give you a little more versatility.

inside of that DB room. Eddie Towsom comes in from Navarro College at linebacker, add a little bit of depth there, along with Jax Van Zandt, who transfers in from North Texas. So they've gone to the portal to add some depth at different spots. It'll be interesting to see just exactly what that means defensively. But like you said,

This group should be able to lean on the offense. Yes. And if that offense is even better than last year, I do think that UAB can exceed expectations this year. But what are expectations? Let's look at the – Pretty low. Yeah. I don't know what the win total is. Win total is six and a half. Okay. That would be probably about right. I think that's better than what the public perception is. Yeah. And better than what the media vote just showed. Sure. Yeah.

Alcorn State at ULM. Then you're at Arkansas. Take a week off and you get Navy. I think there's a good chance you're 3-1 right there after those games. You got Tulane after that, but you get them at home. That's a big game to get at home. Year one, John Sumrall. We don't know exactly where everything's going to be for Tulane. Then you're at Army.

Tough to go up to West Point, of course, and then you're at UCF the following week. That's a difficult two-game stretch there for UAB because we think both those teams are going to be maybe a little bit better than they were a season ago. You're playing them both on the road. We saw Alabama struggle at Raymond James last year. A week off, then you get Tulsa at home, UConn at home, and then Battle of the Bones is at Memphis this year. You love the Battle of the Bones. It's a fun rivalry game. Heck yeah, it is. I like rivalry games. Then you get Rice at home.

Should be fine there. Charlotte wasn't a good football team. You've got to go up there to end the season. I think over six is beyond possible for Coach Dilfer's team this year. Absolutely that's possible. I think that Vegas is even begging you to take the under there and yet still would be bowl eligible. Still, I think for UAB, getting to a bowl game is always going to be first and foremost. And

So at this point, now competing for championships in time, you hope very badly that that's where they ultimately end up. But at this point, progress, little by little progress and acknowledging, okay, here's where we struggled last year. Let's address the struggles of last year and hopefully improve on one side of the ball. So...

I think all those things being considered, they can continue to maintain their momentum offensively. That's great. But I'd love to see them progress defensively so they can be a little bit more balanced type of team. And maybe that can allow for them to pull some victories that most people are not anticipating at the moment. Absolutely. So it's going to be fun to watch Zeno and Dilfer's team this year, see how much further that offense can go and if the defense is close behind defensively.

I do think they can get past that six-win mark. So get to our final break of the day. On the other side, we'll close it out with a little bit more from Media Days. A lot happening today. We'll sort of finish that up and let you know a little bit more about what to expect from the rest of Media Days today and the rest of the week right after this on McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. Mack O'Roy and Kubrick in the morning. Media Day is continuing today. Commissioner Tim Pernetti was at the podium for American Media Days a little bit earlier. Have some of that for you tomorrow. Big Ten Media Day is coming up today. Tony Petitti will take the podium and discuss media.

The Big Ten entering new territory for them. ACC media days continue. Sunbelt media day. Have a little bit for you from South Alabama and Troy tomorrow as well. There's a lot going on in the world of college football today, G-Mac, because we're going to hear from a lot of commissioners, a lot of coaches, a lot of players today. I wish that we could kind of spread these things out a little bit more. Some of the stuff kind of gets lost in the shuffle, of course, with Big Ten kind of front and center.

The ACC and the American, like some of the things kind of get pushed down the ladder a bit. I wish we could spread it out. But it is what it is at the same time. It's just cool to still have all these media days to kind of engage in because these things are expensive, man. And like some of these as budgets get constrained, you know,

I think it's going to be more and more difficult to put these events on. So enjoy them while they last because I'm not sure they're going to be around forever. Absolutely. Anything that you're looking forward or trying to learn from Big Ten Media Day today, the beginning of Big Ten Media Days? No, I do want to hear from Sharon Moore. That's probably of all the people I'm most probably looking forward to him because there's a pretty significant undertaking. It's not that dissimilar to when.

We wanted to hear from Kalen DeBoer last week at SEC Media Days. I mean, you're stepping into the shoes of a guy that just brought home Michigan's first undisputed national title in nearly 80 years. That's pretty amazing. Yeah. So I want to hear from him. And we heard enough from him last year when he was serving as the interim for those six games that Jim Harbaugh wasn't available. And I think people know him, but...

I'm curious what the mentality is of this team because it would be really hard to be the defending national champion and to be picked by most to finish around fourth in your league, maybe third, depending on what media members kind of balance you out between you and Penn State. So that'd be a tough thing to deal with, but also an easy thing to sell to your team to get them fired up. No, I have no doubt. So be interested to kind of see kind of where that goes at Big Ten Media Days today.

We'll have more on that for you tomorrow on the show. Jeff Schwartz is going to be with us at 7.30, live from Media Days. Ian Fitzsimmons is at Big Ten Media Days as well. He'll join us at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Could I interest you in a bad box score of the day before we go? Sure. I mean, is it Little League? Baseball? No. No, it's pretty big league, by the way. Personal file. 69. Offense. He was giving them the business. Potential rounding. Offense number seven.

It's a 10-yard penalty. I'm talking to America here. You can feel better thanks to Game Day Men's Health. If you lack energy, if you're getting poor sleep, if you feel on edge, it could be the effects of low testosterone.

Let Game Day Men's Health help you feel better. They're offering a no-charge consult that includes a free testosterone and PSA test. Struggling with weight loss? They provide medications like semiglutide, also known as Ozempic. They're helping me with my health, helping me feel better. They can do the same for you. Mention CUBE, C-U-B-E. Save 10% on any service that they have.

Listen, it's a low-key, low-stress environment, locker room feel when you walk into Game Day Men's Health. You're going to get that no-charge consultation, free testosterone and PSA test, holistic approach to health and wellness. They have multiple different directions and people that they partner with that they can point you to to be able to help you out. Minimal upfront cost also for the programs that they offer. That's going to separate them from some other folks in town. Book your free consult today at GameDayMensHealth.com. That's GameDayMensHealth.com.

We're going international basketball, Greg. The Olympic game world qualifications on the ladies' side. I'll take you to Puerto Rico versus Bahrain. Puerto Rico would knock off Bahrain yesterday 99-56. Wow, okay. Well, someone's not getting the medal. Sorry, Bahrain. Well, you don't necessarily know that yet. Bahrain shot 32% for the floor. Well, early.

They only made 12 two-pointers in the game. They were 7 of 32 from the three-point line. Okay, yeah, that'll do it. Puerto Rico, by the way, 14 of 39 from three. I can remember. Come on. 4 of 39? 14 of 39. It would be worse if it was 4 of 39. Now, it wasn't a great day on the glass for Bahrain either as they were out-rebounded on the offensive end 13 to 3.

Okay, good solid for Drupal. They did have 26 defensive rebounds, so they must just completely bail out on the offensive rebounds. I don't know if that's a strategy. If it is... They want to get back on defense. Well, they gave up 99. Let's maybe reconsider that one. But how many times did they get beat in fast break? I haven't seen the tape on it, but I'm going to guess a lot. We're not going to let them beat us this way. Okay, well, they found another way. Yes. Also, in the...

America World Cup qualifier preliminary rounds for the females. Costa Rica knocked off El Salvador 77-41. El Salvador shot 15-63 from the floor. One out of four ain't bad. They did shoot 24 three-pointers. They made two. That's not great.

If you're keeping up at home and can't do math in your brain as fast as Greg McElroy can, that's 8.3%. I would not have gotten that. It's too fast. I don't do decibels. Now, do give him credit. 9 of 11 from the free throw line. That's a bull's eat. Give him that. There were, in the game, 65 shots attempted by Costa Rica. Okay. Good, solid. El Salvador blocked one. It's not a goose egg. Turned it over 19 times in the game.

That should have been a good thing. Had 20 fouls in the game as well. So it was an aggressive performance for only 41 points, I feel like, for the El Salvadorians. Yeah, the Mississippi State. Okay, you're going to feel it the next day. I don't know if you feel 41 to 77 very much. Maybe the 20 fouls. I'm feeling pretty good about it, but either way.

In the previous game, by the way, Costa Rica knocked off Guatemala 94-47. Okay. All right. So we got the Monstars. Costa Rican defense is bringing it. Are they? Lockdown? In these qualifier rounds. Just get ready is all I'm saying. Sign of things to come? It's something that people are going to have to deal with. Not Team USA. Okay. Team USA is very human. Well, yeah. That's...

I mean, I think we can ask the question. Is that a bad box score? Oh, no, no, no, no. They won. Because it was close? Yeah. I don't know if I'm going to give you a bad box score for that, though. LeBron scored the last 11. Maybe what's-his-face is going to Duke next year. Probably. Maybe he really opened up some issues for Team USA. Yeah, he's not on the squad. I don't know if you guys watched the game against South Sudan, but JT Thor looked like... Thor. Thor.

Yeah, I was going to go more Giannis, but that too. I missed that one, unfortunately. It was on Sunday, and it was... So did Team USA's defense. Yes. I mean, Thor hit a three to go up one with about eight seconds left, and then LeBron checked back into the game and basically took the ball out and said, watch this, and went and laid the ball up with about three seconds left, and that was it.

But either way, South Sudan, you don't feel like they should be that. Shouldn't be competing. Do we have issues? Yes. Are we going to win a gold? I would right now say no. What? I'm just telling you. Wow. Watch out for the Serbs, man. What about, like, Argentina? Isn't there, like, a good team in South America? I don't think Messi's playing for them. My people hadn't liked them forever, so. South America. South America, I thought, had, like, a good team. I don't think it is. I think it's Australia. I feel like there's a couple of good teams. Yeah.

92-88 was your final. No, they don't even have the tie-dye shirts anymore. Dang. Opportunity missed. That was your final score against Germany yesterday. That almost kicked us in the boot. Can you name one player on the German national team? Dirk. Hans. I think Dirk shut it down. He's not out there anymore.

Franz Wagner does play for the Germans. I knew it. This is McElroy and Kulik in the morning. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. So

Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors...

You're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. See ebaymotors.com.

If you're a facilities manager at a warehouse and your HVAC system goes down, it can turn up the heat, literally. But don't sweat it, Grainger has you covered. Grainger offers over a million industrial-grade products for all your operations, including warehouse HVAC maintenance. And even better, they offer access to experts and fast delivery, so you and your warehouse can both keep your cool.

Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done.

We're all juggling life, a career, and trying to build a little bit of wealth. The Brown Ambition podcast with host Mandy and Tiffany, the budget nista can help. Let's talk about the financials behind locks. It can be quite pricey, but as your hair locks, it needs way less product. When I had my fro, it was way more costly as it relates to products because my fro was thirsty. I know it's very expensive. Yeah. Yes. I need the whole bottle. A dime sized portion of what? Girl, the laughter. Brown Ambition. Wherever you listen.