7-31-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: Why Penn State will (not) make the Playoff; Anwar Richardson talks Texas; Ohio State's toughest game
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McElroy and Kublik in the morning starts now. Hour number two, McElroy and Kublik in the morning, Wednesday, July 31st, right here on JOX 94.5. Some quick baseball scores from last night. Yankees take down the Phillies in extra innings, 7-6. That's two in a row now.

Judge three for four last night. Sixty eighth game of the season that he's been on base fastest Yankee to do that. Jazz Chisholm, two home runs again. First player in Major League Baseball history to have. Stay with me now. Multiple, multiple home run games in their first three games with an individual franchise.

Three for six, two home runs, drove in five last night. Braves take down Milwaukee 5-1. They get to 57-49. Dodgers go down to the Padres 6-5. They're now 63-45 on the season. Jack Flaherty picked up from Detroit, though, Greg. Does that excite you? Yeah. Bolsters the bullpen. I looked at his numbers yesterday. Pretty good. I mean, win-loss not great, but sub-3 ERA.

We'll take it. Okay. We will take a little conversation about the Texas Longhorns with Anwar Richardson, who joins us now on the Buyer's Right Hotline. Practice opening up today. What's your biggest question that you feel like you can get answered in fall camp, Anwar, that you might not be so sure about with this Longhorn team right now?

Well, good morning to you guys. Thanks for having me on. I would say the biggest question, the thing that I'll be looking at probably the most as we kind of get started is centers around the interior of that defensive line.

Texas did a very great job against the run last year. It is mainly because of Byron Murphy and Tavondre Sweat, their two defensive tackles. Well, Byron Murphy was a first-round pick in his last NFL draft, and Tavondre Sweat was a second-round pick.

replacing that kind of productivity. And you guys know, I know you guys watched a lot of games, especially the Alabama game as disruptive of a force as those two guys were saying that, Hey, I don't know. We're at a plug and play as far as saying next man up, as far as that is position is concerned. I know Texas is going to put in Alfred Collins. I know they're going to put in Vernon Broughton. I know they brought in some guys through the transfer portal itself, but

That being said, that's probably my biggest question mark going into the season is like, what does that look like? And it kind of flows into maybe what the second thing, which I won't be able to see as much in training camp is concerning really well.

know what it looks like until the season gets started. Pass defense though, this is a pass defense that was ranked about $1.16 last year. There were six games, Greg and Cole, last year where Texas gave up 300 or more passing yards in a game. And then of course there was the Washington game

where all of a sudden the Pennics hit the God mode button in that game and went for over 400, right? So the thing is, I understand, like, if you go to the NTSCC, this is one of those leagues that you may be able to get away with a couple of things in the Big 12, but this is a league that, hey, you can get exposed real quickly, really good coaches, really good players. So those are probably the two things. And, of course, you know, if you have the front end –

getting the quarterback pressure that helps the back end. So the two kind of intertwine, and I think that's going to be the biggest question mark for me. What about the weapons? Because I know last year we know what the roles were. I'm still bullish on all the guys that they brought in, but there are new faces, and sometimes it maybe takes time to develop that rapport and trust that Quinn Ewers had with the previous three. Is there any reason for concern there?

With the amount of guys that are now going to be wearing Texas uniforms for the first time in the receiver corps?

What's so fascinating about that question, and it's a good one, right, is that Steve Sorkisian, during SEC media days, said this is the deepest team that he's had in his four years that he's been here, which is crazy to me because, to your point, when you start talking about weapons, Texas had three receivers that were drafted recently. Obviously, I take it back in April. Then they also had a tight end that was drafted as well. So, I don't know.

I don't know how easily replaceable that they are. Now, don't throw in Isaiah Bond, who transfers in as some of the transfer guys that you're mentioning. Silas Bolden comes in from Oregon State, and he had a really good run that was out there. They have the incumbents as far as a John Tate Cook is concerned. They have a former five-star receiver by the name of Ryan Wingo that

If you want to be the smartest man in the room, just take a mental note of him, write him down. And then two years from now, everyone will tell you how smart you were. Like, how did you know who the hell this guy is? But he's a stud in the making that they absolutely just love, covet. I've done a lot of NFL comparisons that have been made towards him. So they feel like they have a lot of guys. You know, we were talking yesterday about,

I think it was Kyle Flood, who's also the offensive coordinator, but also he's also the offensive line coach. He said that they would probably rotate nine guys.

at the first and second team wide receiver position because they feel like they are that deep. So you'll see nine guys rotating between first and second team at least in training camp. So they feel really good about the depth that they have. And they also feel really good about having the quarterback with Quinn Ewers because they have a guy who's year three in the system that he should be comfortable by now. You know, he's going to be at least –

top three in the SEC. You know, you go with the guy from Georgia, you got Milrow there, and Quinn, you were like, he'll be at least in that conversation.

So when you've got the quarterback, you've got a bunch of good receivers. Steve Sarkeesian feels like they have a lot of depth at that position, and they have the system that everybody should be comfortable in. I don't know how easily it is to replace an Xavier Worthy, but the thing that they've said is that they're not necessarily replacing players. They're replacing the productivity from those players, and they feel like they have enough to replace the productivity.

Amar Richardson covers the Texas Longhorns. He joins us now on the Buyer's Ride Hotline. Camp opens today for the Longhorns. And you mentioned defensive line, the middle of it, obviously a big question because some extremely talented players being gone. A couple players back in the secondary, but it wasn't very good last year. What are your expectations for how much better it could be or just how much different it has to be for Texas to compete for another title?

Hey, yeah, you know, they have to be better, you know, like I said, from a consistency standpoint. You know, we saw the defense play well, for instance, let's say against Alabama, right? Like you saw like how well they played well against them. But then you saw them play against like Houston and they had trouble with just like the crossing route and how did they defend that. They gave up big yards against TCU. They gave up big yards against Kansas State. And so, yeah, they feel like they have guys

who can come in and compete right away not not compete that will be better than the guys that they lost right they feel like at the cornerback position they have a guy like malik muhammad who they were very high on uh as far as he is concerned from the safety position they have a guy by the name of derrick williams again another person that they're really high on as well um

They were able to bring in Javion Cole from the transfer portal. They were able to bring in Andrew Makuba from Clemson in the transfer portal. So they feel like overall they've gotten better at that position. They feel like they've upgraded that position, and they feel like they have a lot of young talent that's there. So they feel like it's almost going to be addition by subtraction. They lost some guys, but they feel like the guys that they have are actually going to potentially be better than the guys that they had there previously.

I think the thing that helps out Texas is if you look at their schedule, when you look at the first four games, outside of that Michigan game, which is going to be the toughest game, obviously, in that first four, they have games where a lot of guys should be able to get playing time. And so because of that, they feel real confident that –

they can, all these guys can get better. They open up against Colorado State, Michigan the following week, but then they have UTSA the week after Michigan, and then they have La Monroe the week after that. That should be, they feel like once they get out of that first four, they should have an idea of

of who can cut it, who cannot cut it. They'll play a lot of guys, at least in three out of those four games. I'm not expecting them to be able to go super deep against Michigan because obviously that's going to be a good game, a competitive game. But the other three, they feel like they should be able to get their bearings before they go into SEC play.

What about how this team has kind of ebbed and flowed? And I feel like this has kind of been lost because most of the nation has paid very, very close attention to Texas in performances against Oklahoma State, which is a big number, Oklahoma, which is a big number. They had so many self-inflicted mistakes in that game. The Alabama game, they looked like a juggernaut. But I think people are kind of forgetting how they looked offensively against Iowa State, how they looked defensively.

Both sides of the ball against TCU, how they played against Kansas State. And I feel like this team really, since Sark took over, has ebbed and flowed and kind of increased or decreased their level of consistency based on the opponent. So are they going to be able to continue to do that? And is that a trend that you've noticed as well?

I mean, you left out Wyoming. I mean, it was 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter. That was a bit of a look ahead. That was a look ahead, though. That one I can forgive. Week one look ahead. Like, that one makes us crazy. No, no, that was week three. Oh, no, that was week three. You're right. That was week three. Yeah, that was a hangover. They looked bad in week one, too, to be honest with you. They looked bad in week one. I forget who it was against.

That was right. Yeah, right. So to your point, though, there has to be that kind of consistency. To your point, and I've made this point as well, so I'm totally agreeing with you, is that I feel like the good teams go out and they handle their business. Now, Texas will tell you at the end of the day we pulled out the win, and whether it's a pretty win or an ugly win,

It doesn't count anymore. But that's in the Big 12 is my thing. I think in the SEC, you're not going to be able to rise and fall based on who you're playing.

Yeah, 100%. I still agree with you. They do feel like, though, they do get up for the big games, and they feel like every game that they play in the SEC will be a big game. So they feel like they'll get up for the Georgias of the world. They feel like they'll get up for the Floridas of the world. They'll feel like they'll get up for all the big games that are on the schedule this year. You know, for them, there are times where –

They get into a lull because it's hard to get excited about the TCUs of the world, even though they should. It's hard to get excited about the Baylor's of the world, even though they should or Iowa state. But I think we can agree that when you know that Georgia is coming to town, you're definitely going to get pumped up for that. When you know Florida's coming, when you know you got to go on the road against Arkansas, what that team did to you just a couple of years ago to really embarrass you. And then, you know, you've got Kentucky, then, you know, you got Texas A&M and

I think the ability to get up for those games. And we know when Texas gets up for games, sure. We saw what they did against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game. I know you said the Big 12. We saw what they did on the road against Alabama, beating that team by double digits, right? So we know that they can compete against SEC programs. We know they can beat SEC programs. So I think for them...

The thing is, is knowing that every single week, though, good coaches, good quality opponents, you can't look at a Mississippi State and shoulder shrug because we know what will happen against a team like that. You can't look at Florida, wherever they may be, at whatever time they play them in November.

and look at if they're a 500 team, you can't shoulder shrug them or Arkansas or anything like that. I think the SEC will take care of itself as terms of motivation because Texas doesn't want to be embarrassed in any of these games, and they still walk out like they have something to improve. Anwar, great stuff. Really appreciate the time taking a look at this Texas team before they hit the field today, and obviously we'll have you back again soon, but thanks for carving out a little bit this morning.

All right, you guys take care. There you go. M.R. Richardson joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline for all your insurance needs. Look to Buyer's Right Insurance. A member of the WRM group where relationships matter. So there are a few questions.

around this Texas football team. Amar, by the way, at Amar Richardson, follow him on Twitter, covering UTFootballfororangebloods.com. Some we feel like answered. Some maybe not as concerning as they are for a lot of other people. Don't let your HVAC system be a concern, especially this time of the year.

We'll be right back.

There's an SEC coach that had something to say that some people think may have been directed at one of his SEC coaching counterparts. We'll let you hear who it was and what he said next.

on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik 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. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Some quick recruiting news here at 8.17 a.m. On the final day of August, 2024,

July, I mean, as we head into August. You stay up past 11, watch the Olympics. It doesn't do you good. Golly. Does a body bad. It went off at 1030. Why'd you stay up so late? Pausing it? Bedtimes? Pausing it to put the kids to bed. I'm trying to get back to it. Four-star linebacker Jaden Perrot flipped his commitment from Georgia to Southern California. 6'4", 205 pounder from Beaufort, Georgia. He committed in December of 2012.

But now he says, go Trojans. Emoji, peace sign, emoji, peace sign, emoji, peace sign. 2025 defensive lineman Darren Smith committed to Tennessee, 6-3, 270. Baltimore, another big pickup for the Vols. And Alabama gets a commitment from 2027 linebacker Barack Willis over at Moody, 6-3, 230.

A little more oomph there. That's a movie star name right there. Some of these other linebackers that we're seeing. Not as sleek. A little bit more downhill thumper. I'm a fan of it. I like it. You like it, Greg? Yeah. The bigger, thicker linebacker? We'll call them the bounty linebackers. I'm not against a slightly bigger linebacker nowadays to at least have in the rotation.

Everybody else wants the – Everyone else wants Versatile at all the other positions. Why can't we get a linebacker too? We all want the hybrid safety, faster, sleeker. But I still prefer a little bit of umph. You want a thump. With my linebackers, absolutely. A guy that after practice has been knocking people around so much, he needs a golf cart to take him back to the facility. He probably could get one at Iconic Carts. Iconic Carts is a one-stop shop. You can go in one of their two locations. It makes it a lot easier on you to know that you can go –

To Chelsea, you can also go downtown. Iconic Carts has carts that you can also rent online.

The four and six passenger, so you kind of figure out how you want to use it. And that'll be really interesting, I think, for you. Figure out how you want to use it, where you want to use it, how advantageous it will be, and how it will add to your experience at either the lake, the beach, or around the neighborhood, or even for a corporate event. The new evolution, the Nago carts are amazing. Tons of options. You got killer sound system, lithium power. You got touchscreen controls. There's so many different upgrades that you can add to the cart.

So if you've been thinking about buying a new golf cart for a while, go and check them out at IconicCarts.com. They also have master technicians on hand who qualify to work on all makes and models of carts and off-road vehicles. There are two locations downtown Chelsea where you can go online at IconicCarts.com. All right, it's our team of the day, why they will make the college football playoff. We take a contender each and every day leading up to kickoff and tell you why we think this team is going to be in the college football playoff. You might not believe it, so we'll tell you why they won't be. Penn State...

our team of the day today. 10-3 a season ago, 7-2 in conference. Of course, lost to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl last year, finished 13th in the AP poll. And a team that has some pieces back that a lot of folks are excited about. Drew Aller is an extremely talented quarterback. One thing, watching a little bit more last night, Greg, is I do think his

I don't want to call it just straight mobility, but his ability to get out of the pocket and get north and south is a little better than people give him credit for. Yeah. He's not stiff as can be. Yeah, he's not Drew Bledsoe in the pocket. He can get out of there and move a little bit. And they'll design some quarterback run stuff for him occasionally, and he'll take advantage of that. Running back is going to be the other spot that a lot of people are really excited about with this team. A lot of experience coming back, a lot of productivity coming back.

There's a lot to like at the running back position for Penn State. I think the running back position is probably their best position. Hard to argue. I don't know. They have a one-two punch that can go with anybody. You've got great speed in Singleton. You've got some power with K-Tron Allen. They can get downhill. He'll run through contact. So I'm a pretty big fan of what they have at running back and the way they complement each other as well. Big fan of Tyler Warren at tight end. Kind of your old school dual threat tight end. Not afraid to get in there, mix it up, block a little bit. Can hurt you down the field. Good hands.

I think you've got a guy there that you can use in a lot of different ways, can do a lot of different things for you. The receiver position took a little bit of a hit. You get the highly touted Julian Fleming from Ohio State. Production has not necessarily matched the hype, but he does have the ability. He's a bigger, more physical receiver down the field that will bolster some of the losses that took place. It's not a position necessarily of weakness, but one that maybe not quite as strong as it was going into last season.

I would say the receiver position is just a big question mark in general. It might be as the thing is, it wasn't good last year. So while you had some known commodities, they weren't good. And I don't know if Julia Fleming's going to all of a sudden just step in and just be a guy. I just don't know. So I'm really optimistic about that group being solid.

But to challenge the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, you've got to be able to create some big plays. They just had none of that last year, to the point in which it was really frustrating. So the good news is Andy Kotelnicki, their new OC, will be a little more creative and will probably do more with less than the previous regime because you're kind of like an outside zone guy. Now I think they're going to say, all right, we don't have dudes. We're going to have to do stacks, motions, unbalanced formations, weird formations, whatever.

Have offensive linemen split out at receiver and receivers inside offensive linemen. And we'll hide guys. They'll be a little bit more creative when it comes to creating big plays, I think. Do you think the majority of it for this team last year, and watching a little bit last night, I kind of went back and forth on this, was...

targeting players that aren't going to give you a lot of explosive capability a little bit more, or did they have to get to those players? You go to the leading receivers from last year. Keonji Lambert-Smith, obviously now going to be at Auburn. Your two tight ends were your next two leading receivers, Tyler Warren, Theo Johnson, and then a running back, Nicholas Singleton, was next.

Was it play design targets or was it kind of having to get to that based on, like you said earlier, guys just not separating, not being open? Guys not separating. There's no catch and run. I mean, like nowadays, like having a guy that can catch it and run and make guys miss and all that's really valuable. And I don't feel like they had that.

crazy high level juice. They don't have the high level juice of Ohio state. Like everyone just looks at Ohio. It looks at Penn state. It's like, Oh, they got comparable dudes to Ohio state, not a receiver. They don't like, they kind of just had guys. The tight ends have been great. Love their tight ends, have loved them for a while, but I don't feel like the receiver core in general in the last decade has been anywhere near that of what you've seen at some of the other big 10 top tier teams.

And so the offensive line also brings some questions and concerns. A group that I think was a little bit better than some people gave them credit for a season ago. You and I were talking in the break. I watched the Michigan game last night. And specifically in the run game, I thought that group was a little better than they got credit for. Pass pro, that's not always all on that group. Some of that's running back. Some of that's just scheme, whatnot. But I did think that...

That was a group that was solid last year. And a lot of pieces of that group from last year are going to be gone. I don't really know what to expect from that group this year, G-Mac. I don't know if it's going to be really good. Average, great. And then you put on top of that a new system, that could help this group a little bit. Yeah, could, for sure. And I think that the offensive line last year was way overvalued. You went back and felt pretty good about them. I don't know.

Also, didn't hear anybody saying how good they were. I heard a lot of people saying how good they were. All you had to do was listen to Joel Klatt and everybody in the Big Ten's The Best Ever. I missed that. A lot of people. A lot of people saying how great they were because Olufusanu was a great player. Some people thought he was the greatest offensive tackle in the history of the game. If you just listened to the open of certain games, and took it to be fact, you would think that literally they were...

the Giants of 2010 or 11. But either way, I think they're good enough up front. I just don't know if so much of what they did at Kansas was just straight line speed. Kansas won with speed, and Kotelnicki is, hey, they won with power at Buffalo. They can do it a different way. So I think Kotelnicki's creative enough and will do enough things up front to be able to make sure those guys aren't put in difficult situations.

I do like Nick Dawkins at center. You get Nolan Rucci from Wisconsin. I think he has 40-some snaps in his career, so I don't really know what you're getting there. They'll try to plug him in and go. But as we stated before, good group of backs, good group of tight ends that could help assist. And then if you're going to go to some things schematically that help that group out a little bit more, then obviously it's going to offset maybe that group being elite defensively.

You got a pretty decent amount back on that front seven, a pretty active group that should be back and should be able to continue to be problematic with some experience in the secondary. I guess the question here is that they're going to be good on defense, Greg. It's just how good can they be? I agree with that. I think they'll be really good on defense. Part of that has to do with the fact that I don't think there's many offenses in the Big Ten that are great. I think that SC will score on them. I think Ohio State will score on them. But tell me on their schedule right now, as I look at it and you look at it,

How many teams will be able to effectively hang 30 on them? Yeah, I think it depends a lot on what, obviously, that Wisconsin offense is continuing to try to rebrand itself just a little bit. That's just a big question mark. I don't know. It doesn't feel like Jed Fish is going to be able to have Washington's group there year one with what's going to be gone off that roster, having to rebuild that thing. Maryland's going to be able to dial it up a little bit, but I'm not super confident. No. So maybe three? Yeah.

Three, maybe four. Yeah. Not even half the schedule. So yeah, defense should look pretty good. And then when you get to those games that you referenced, SC, Ohio State, maybe even West Virginia out of the gate, how good can you be there? But that schedule is one that a lot of people are going to look at and say, well, yeah, that's why they should be in the college football playoff this year. Not even really just holes in the roster or parts of the roster that maybe will exceed or not exceed expectations. It's just they have the schedule to be able to do it. They do. If they win on the road week one...

Now all of a sudden, the road feels like it's paved. Pretty smooth. Bowling Green week off Kent State. Then you've got Illinois-UCLA at home. Very winnable games. I think they're a playoff team. I just don't know. They'd almost have to completely screw it up not to be a playoff team. But hey, guess what? There's opportunities on there to screw it up. West Virginia game week one is a tough one, like you said. I mean, Ohio State, tough game. But if you actually look back, I want to say...

They would have made the playoff like seven times in the ten years that it's been in existence if a 12-team format was in existence. So it's hard to envision a scenario this year in which they are worse than 9-3. And I think with that schedule, with that schedule, that will probably be good enough to garner an at-large. And I don't think they're going to be 9-3. I think they're going to be 10-2. I don't really know how they could lose three, frankly. I think they'll lose Ohio State, but...

Yeah, so it doesn't feel like a lot of these teams are going to be ranked in the top ten, and that's the teams that James loses to. Exactly. Top ten teams. He beats the teams he's supposed to beat. Let's play the game that we played with Ole Miss and that we played with Missouri, and that is the narrative right now that, well, ten and two gets you in. And that's not with Penn State. That's with just about every Power Four team. Not so fast, my friend. Ten and two gets you in with this team? Yes. So we subtract Ohio State.

And take your pick. Which other one do you want? West Virginia? Maybe week one they have some headaches on the road. Knowing them, it'd be Purdue. Given their history, that's what it would be. Here's how you could defend it. You could say it's on the road and it's coming off of a stretch of at Wisconsin, Ohio State, Washington, then at Purdue. I could see them losing at SC or losing at Wisconsin. Those are the ones that. Okay. Who's your best win after that?

Who's the win that you lean on and say, this is why we should be in the playoff right here? You won this game. You won't have one, I don't think. But because of where they're ranked in the preseason and because of their personnel, they will be given the benefit of the doubt more than most other teams. You'll look at the schedule and stuff, but you'll also say, yeah, but they have good players and there are pros on the roster. If you just watch them and you'll have Fox carrying the baton

saying how great they are and how, oh my gosh, this is the best matchup in the history of the sport when they travel to Wisconsin. So it's, I mean, it's, I'm not saying it's like propaganda. I'm just suggesting that they will be viewed favorably by the nation. They feel like a team that'll benefit from not playing in the conference championship game. If they go 10-2, they're in. They have more goodwill built up over the last 10 years than Missouri in the court of public opinion. You can tell me that doesn't matter anymore.

But I don't think, and again, we don't know if A&M is going to separate, Auburn is going to separate, or Kentucky is going to separate, or if Washington or Purdue or Minnesota. But if you tell me 10-2 on this schedule, I feel the exact way I felt about Ole Miss and Missouri. Because I look at it and I say, all right, give me your best win. Is it a 7-8 win Virginia? Is it 6-6 Wisconsin? I don't disagree. I don't disagree at all as far as quality of wins.

I'm just telling you, I think they're perceived differently than Missouri. Yeah, that's fair. It's totally fair. And frankly, Ole Miss, even though they shouldn't be. Them and Ole Miss are like the same program. Yeah, but if it's preseason ranking, then Ole Miss should have the exact same equity that Penn State should because they're going to be in a similar spot in preseason rankings. And, man, there's going to be a handful of teams on this schedule that don't go to bowl games.

I don't disagree. But tell me this. If I had to gun to head right now, Penn State, 10.5 wins. Your life depends on it based on what they have versus what they'll play against under where you're going. Well, they're not getting Ohio State. Okay. I agree. All right, 10. Let's put it at 10 then. What happens if we push? Do I survive? If you push, you have to go to jail for 10 years. But you're alive. Okay.

Guantanamo Bay, too. It's not like, you know, real jail. It's not that upscale conjugal visit, you know, nice life jail. Martha Stewart prison? No. It's not white collar crime division. At West Virginia. At USC. At Wisconsin. At Purdue. At Minnesota. Well, I know I'll be alive because I'm not going 9-3. Unless something horrible happens.

Then again, me dying at 36 would be horrible. So horrible things happen every day. Taking a lot on James Franklin. James Franklin's a pretty safe bet, though. That's the thing. He's never had a schedule that was this manageable. Staying alive with the push, I'd probably take the over. If we're going life or death, one or the other here. But I don't feel extremely great about it. With the players they have on their roster, they shouldn't lose two. They definitely shouldn't lose three. No way should they lose three.

If they lose three, we should be looking up saying USC's a 10-win team or Wisconsin's a 10-win team or Minnesota's a 9-win team, something along those lines. West Virginia. They ain't losing at home, I don't think. Not against that schedule. Ohio State? Well, that. I'm removing Ohio State. They're in a different league. And to be honest with you, to be honest with you, with the exception of Michigan, no one in the last 10 years has played Ohio State better than

Then Penn State. They haven't won, but they have played them tough. So maybe this year, with a pretty decent group of players returning, a new offensive coordinator that's not going to be stubborn and say, we can do it. Maybe this is the year that they pull a couple tricks, but...

I don't see it. I think Ohio State gets them. All right, we'll give you the final verdict on the other side individually, each of us. Will Penn State be in the college football playoff? That's next right here on McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jocks 94.5 and jocksfm.com. Hurry and... Welcome back here. McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning, 838 a.m. Wednesday, July 31st. Jocks...

FM.com where you can listen online, tell your home smart speaker to enable the jock skill or just listen to jocks. You can always tune in that way. Apps in your app store, iPhone, Android. Go download that for free. Talking a little bit of Penn State. Will they be in the playoff? Definitively yes, no.

We'll ask you that question in just a moment. 800-239-9569 if you want to get into the show. 800-239-WJOX. Text in 205-834-9450. You can always tweet at the show as well, at Mac and Cube. Be dry. Something to know with a lot of the rain the last couple days. GMAC listeners in our area are going to want to know all about.

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Just because that feels like a lot of times weird things happen when you go on the road. Weather obviously can be a big difference maker. Yes. A lot of trinket games there on the road late. Come again? Trinket games. However. Like Rick Trinket? Trinket as in trophies. Coach Trinket. Trophies. The O-line coach. Not him.

UCLA for the first time since 1968. USC in the regular season for the first time since 2000. Washington in the regular season first time ever. Don't play Michigan for the first time since 2012. Don't play Michigan State for the first time since 2013. One road game in the first six weeks of the season should get off to a great start. I think ultimately Penn State is in, mainly due to that schedule, experience at quarterback. Running backs are going to be a position that you can lean on.

And that defensive front should be able to be problematic. Like you said, Greg, there's not a lot of high-powered offenses, at least as it looks right now, that are going to be on that schedule. And the obstacles that James Franklin has seen the majority of his time there, Ohio State, Michigan, 4-16 combined, you only get one of those, 80-18 against all other Big Ten teams. Pretty good. 3-17 against AP Top Ten. Feels like there might only be one of those on the schedule, so you'll be okay.

All that points to, in my opinion, Penn State will be in the annual 12-team college football playoff. I think they're in. I have a hard time seeing a scenario. And barring, obviously, catastrophic injuries at certain places, I think they have enough depth. I think they really nailed the coordinator hires. We've talked already about Andy Kolnicki.

But you also go and get Tom Allen, who was formerly the head coach at the Indiana Hoosiers. It's been a... I don't want to call him a guru, because that's just such a weird thing to call guys that aren't totally innovative. I don't think he's some crazy innovator, but I do think he's rock solid and will continue to attack. Not quite as aggressive as Manny Diaz, but...

I think he has the horses up front to get home. And if you have horses up front that can get home, that's a pretty dang good place to start. They got two guys on the edge that can flat out get after you. So he's going to be able to still do all the disguises and all those things that

in the backfield, in the back end defensively. So I'm really optimistic about what they have. I think they are no doubt a playoff team this year. And I actually think they got a real shot to be sitting there at 11-1. I think they have a chance to go to the Big Ten title game. I really do with how the schedule sets up for them versus other teams.

I actually agree with you. John threw it out earlier, benefit from not being in the Big Ten title game. I think there's a good chance they're in that Big Ten title game. John, do you say Penn State in or out of this year's college football playoff? When it comes down to it, I'm going to say out just because I don't know if I can fully believe that James Franklin won't drop one somewhere. And I think that'll put them at 10-2, and I just don't know if 10-2 is enough to get a team like that in. The one thing that we haven't mentioned about this whole 10-2 discussion is

What if all these teams we're talking about are 10-2? So if Ole Miss, Missouri, Penn State, Oregon, a lot of these teams that have a little bit lighter lifts are 10-2, some of them are going to get in. Right. We just don't know exactly who it's going to be, and we don't know the deciding factors of what the committee is going to utilize to put them in. So...

It's just one part of it when we look at all these teams that maybe don't have one of the more difficult schedules in their league, potentially being able to find their way in. Penn State, Damian, in or out for you in this year's college football playoff? I think they're in, and really and truly the only team on their schedule that I think they just don't beat is Ohio State and everybody else. I would lean more Penn State in those matchups. I think November could be interesting, but...

It's hard for me not to see that there are any. All right, so we looked at the schedule, looked at the personnel. One thing, Greg, you talked about creating those explosive plays. Yeah. Nick Singleton from 22 to 23, rushing yards down by around a little over 300 yards total. Right. Yards per carry down by over two yards per carry. 20-yard runs went from 12 to 4. 40-yard runs went from 7 to 0.

So he's got it in him. It's a matter of them being able to create that space, letting him find some of those lanes and get back to being able to create those explosive runs. Well, I think that Singleton, the problem with him is he's not a great make-you-miss guy. And he goes down, to be an elite back, he goes down a little too easily on initial contact.

That's why I think they started to shift a little more towards Cateron Allen, who will run through said contact. Singleton, you give him the edge, you give him some space. You look at how many untouched touchdowns he has, the guy will take it the distance from anywhere. But I don't think he's a great power back. And maybe with this next year and another year of development and evolution, he'll be able to kind of become that, but...

He's not really a make-or-miss guy. He's a burner. And if he gets some space, he'll run through there and take it to the house. But I think if you can get a little bit on him, you can bring him down rather easily. But Allen, he's a handful. I don't want any part of him. It's a team that forced 24 turnovers last year, plus 16 turnover margins, second in the country. Only Michigan was better last year.

And only Ohio State and Michigan were better at points per game allowed than this Michigan defense in the Big Ten last year. They were great in a lot of different ways. A lot. Some of the teams they played, 75.5 rushing yards per game allowed. Do you like their pass rush?

I do. You like it as much as I do? Both personnel and scheme, by the way. Because they're going to give you a lot of different looks to find their way to the quarterback. And they did that better than anybody last year. Nation-leading 49 sacks. 12.6% sack rate. Only Texas A&M was better. So if that's even close to what it was last year defensively, this group should be fine.

Especially like we said, minus what appears to be high-octane offenses on the schedule. I think Penn State's in. I think you bring up a good point that Penn State has a good chance of being the Big Ten title game. And they may be one of those first litmus tests of Big Ten championship game losers. Right. And then again, too, like for this one, what if it's Ohio State-Penn State again and they lose the same team twice? That's going to be sort of an interesting case study of...

Well, I think that's a punish significantly less maybe than some other teams by real strong possibility. Absolutely. I mean, but can you, you know, the whole age old adage, can you beat a team twice? Like I, I, yeah, first of all, yes, you can. It's never been something that I've felt as passionately about as other people. I don't understand why they say like you beat him once. Why would you beat him twice? Maybe I have the mental edge. Like I'm going to go roll you like we're good. Um,

Boy, it's hard to beat a team twice in a year. No, it's not. I think they can get Ohio State. I do. I think it's the toughest game on Ohio State's schedule, to be honest with you, this year. Okay, let's do this. Let's look at that Ohio State schedule, rank the opponents, maybe just top three, top four that Ohio State will face this upcoming season. We'll do that next.

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The time to make sure you come out on top. That's my buddy Ben Hedden for the Bham Realty Group at 205-568-2705 or visit the website at bhamrealtyco.com. Toughest team on the Ohio State schedule. We'll discuss it next right here on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik 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 Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back here. McIlroy and Kubrick in the morning Wednesday, July 31st, 8.52 a.m. Right here on Jocks 94.5. Move on to the Ohio State schedule. Most difficult game on that schedule? May disagree when you begin to have it. We did miss earlier in our top three today, National Avocado Day, National Mutt Day.

Like the dogs? Wow. What else would it be? I don't know. Maybe that's like a food item of some sort. I don't know. That's mutton in a mutton.

Different kind of chops, yeah. Also National Raspberry Cake Day. I can say I've never had a raspberry cake. I don't think I have either. That's okay. The picture that's with it is legitimate. It looks like a pound cake with raspberries jammed in it. So super creative. But it's got a day. It's got an entire day, all of it. Celebrate your raspberry cake day today from start to finish. Hope you enjoy it.

The Ohio State schedule, before we move to that, G-Mac, if people are looking to move out of their home or into a new home, who should they call? Crocker Moves, which is a local company owned by an Iraq war veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring moves you can trust to complete full background checks and run drug tests on every single employee. These are good guys.

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It's crockermovingservices.com. Support your veterans by choosing Crocker Moving Services for your next move. I do think this will be a three-team race, and a lot of times it'll come down to two teams being close, and then the one that's on the road, you'll say that's the toughest game on their schedule. The two that most people would probably select are both going to be on the road. It's not going to be Akron. It's not going to be Western Michigan. It's not going to be Marshall. Ohio State is at Michigan State. No one's going to really put that one there. Iowa, probably not just yet. We need to see more of this new offense. Nebraska is a no.

Purdue is a no. Add Northwestern, even though they're playing at some sort of training. Is that the complex, or is that at Wrigley Field this year? I think it's at Wrigley Field. I think it's Wrigley. I try to avoid the ivy in that one. Indiana. Michigan might be in play for a lot of folks, some because of what's happened the last couple of years.

Some because they're defending national champions, rivalry game. But at Oregon on October the 12th and at Penn State November the 2nd, probably going to be the two that people debate. You just went Penn State. What about Michigan State? No. What about Marshall? No.

What about Nebraska? They're back this year. A lot of close losses. All that we just ran through and said no to previously, but no. I just want to make sure. I just want to make sure it's on the record that he's taking Ohio State or Nebraska. Yes, right now. Take that. At Oregon, at Penn State, why Penn State the lean for you here as toughest game on the schedule?

I think it's one of. I don't know if it's the toughest, but I think that's obviously the toughest game for Penn State. I think the Oregon game is going to be interesting, just kind of with where it's at.

I think you're coming off a game. It's a six-game stretch before you get there. The road trip to Oregon is a unique one, but they've seen Oregon. They've seen Oregon before. They've played them before, and I think they have some revenge on their mind as it relates to Oregon. They got them a few years ago, right? Granted, it feels like forever ago. The cast of characters have changed drastically in the world of Transfer Portal, but I think Ryan Day's had that one circled for sure. Not that he's going to overlook Penn State, but...

I think there's just more offseason buzz about that Oregon game than there is about the Penn State game right now. So...

I think with how it's probably circled on the schedule, I would say Oregon's probably slightly ahead in the front of their mind, whereas Penn State's probably in the back. And Penn State's a remarkably dangerous team. I kind of go back to where you went with sort of where it falls. At Michigan State, Iowa, at Oregon, Nebraska, then you're at Penn State. Just feels like a very tough run of opponents before you get to that one. That's really the last one before it lightens up. Yeah, I might actually lean Penn State for going –

What appears to be toughest game on the schedule for Ohio State. And I think those two in Michigan are going to be in the mix for most people. All right. More college football next. This is McElroy and Gubelik in the morning. It's time for Bob's Dare to Compare. You get style. You get features. You get quality and thousands of dollars in savings.

Everyone's winner when you dare to compare. Insta-war at MyBobs.com. When you have sports mixed with your pop culture, along with humor and celebrity interviews, your earbuds are enjoying the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Bruce Feldman. The Big 12 landscape, I just know how Dion is, where he's coming from. His wins are measured differently.

The question is, as you said, it's got to go from four to eight. I think they can do that. It would be hard not to get better considering how bad they were on the offensive line last year. Now, their schedule actually feels harder this year than it was last year. Search for The Rich Eisen Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.

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which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have, I've gotten in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.