7-25-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 3: What's next for Lincoln Riley; Dennis Dodd talks Big Ten & Rose Bowl future; Wimp Sanderson talks CFB
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McElroy and Kublik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kublik in the morning. Appreciate you guys tuning in. Talk some more Big Ten media days. A couple of big ticket items in college football that we haven't really got a chance to get to with Dennis Dodd here in just a moment. But quickly, I'll tell you about your CBD store. If you need a better night's sleep, if you need more energy throughout the course of the day, better focus throughout the course of the day, your CBD store can help. They've got those products at the largest brick-and-mortar CBD retail in the world.

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The Rose Bowl seems to be playing hardball, so to speak, again, being a little bit stubborn again. What is your opinion on, based on what they are saying, is going to be next for the granddaddy of them all? Yeah, I apologize for Dallas, you guys. Oh, no, it wasn't on you at all. Not your issue at all. Yeah, no, you know what? It's all about the parade. I was just talking to somebody on the phone this morning. I said, forget everything else.

This is all they've cared about for 90 years, for 100 years. The parade is bigger than the game. They would rather have the parade on, I think it's NBC or whoever has it, traditional tournament, Rose's Parade, keep it January 1st, game at 5 Eastern, than care more about the implications of Cincinnati-Tennessee at quarterfinal, if you know what I mean. That's what this is about, totally. And...

I wasn't really overly surprised, frankly. I thought it was kind of obvious that it would trend in this direction. But what does it mean for the other five that are all vying for contention to host those semifinal games? Well, the Rose Bowl is giving up their rotation in the semifinal. Obviously, they never will host the championship game.

So what it means, and I can't figure out the math, but within the six-year rotation of those bowls, the other five college football playoff bowls now have two more semifinal games to be distributed. Just don't ask me how the math works or who's going to get them, but the Rose Bowl is basically giving those up. This all has to be approved, but the more I talk to people and the more I think about it, I think it's basically non-controversial.

If they want to keep January 1st at 5 o'clock and a quarter, that's fine. The tradeoff is just what we talked about, two more semifinal games.

Dennis Dodd joining us from Big Ten Media Days. And before we get to the actual Big Ten, one other thing that appears as though it's coming is the implementation of new scholarship limits, football going to 105. What will be, I guess, the ripple effects or maybe even the underbelly of this if it happens, Dennis, that we're sort of not talking about, which usually seems to be the case when the NCAA makes a massive change?

Yeah, and this is all in the House settlement response, so it's in response to that. The thing that got me is that football turns into an equivalency sport. In other words, they don't have to give full scholarships. So I think the walk-on to me – I haven't done any reporting on this – the walk-on issue will be solved where, okay, out of those 105, you can give – if you're a coach –

You could give 10 guys one tenth of a scholarship, another 10 guys a quarter of a scholarship. You've done that in baseball for years. And there's your scout team. There's your walk-ons right there. Now, that doesn't account for injuries during the season, academic attrition, portal losses. I talked with Troy Dannen at Nebraska yesterday, and he went through that, and he basically said,

Given the averages of all those, you might be down to 60 guys at some point, I guess in December when the portal opens or something like that. But haven't we kind of seen that already where you just have to restock? Now we just have a cap on rosters instead of a cap on scholarships. How would that kind of trickle down to the other levels of football, you think? You think that could have unforeseen consequences on the G5 or other schools that are not involved in that scenario? Yeah.

Yeah, more separation. But, you know, there's schools, I don't want to name, you know, Sunbelt and Picker Conference, I don't know. It'll be hard for them to fully fund 105 scholarships, you know, if indeed that's what schools do. And that'll be a drag on the budget.

But, look, we've already got massive separation. We've got de facto separation right now, recruiting, resources, physically, everything. You know, we're about to have probably, when the House settlement clears, a group of four conference governance, which has never happened before. That's a big story. The four commissioners or the four conferences basically establishing a council that would run –

their, you know, their terms of government, what they need out of everything. And that could be a lot. It could be a little. But I think the separation has already occurred. I don't think there's any doubt. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline. He's live at Big Ten Media Days. I'm interested, Dennis, to get your thoughts on Penn State. Most of us are pretty clear on Ohio State. I think Michigan kind of goes both ways. Maybe we get to them in a moment. But Penn,

Should it be playoff or bust for Penn State this year? We laid out yesterday James Franklin against top ten teams, James Franklin against Ohio State and Michigan. However, he's had his team in the top 12 more years than not as the Penn State head coach. Playoff or bust, in your opinion? Yeah, you would think so. Look, the playoff meets them in the middle. This is where they should succeed. In other words, they don't have to play in the East anymore. No more automatic Michigan-Ohio State. They play...

one of them this year i think they have michigan i'm not sure but but that mere fact uh should help them a lot to get to that 10 and if penn state gets to 10 i'm sure they'll have every consideration from the committee for the playoff in some ways i think some of these schools that finish third in their league have it yes they don't have to play that extra game they don't have to get ready and risk their season in a championship game and i talked to uh

I talked to Tony Petitti about it this week. I'm posting a Q&A. He said that he said for years, the bar has been too high. 11 and one, 12 and 0 to get in now. And I reminded him, I don't have to win your conference. He said, exactly. And then I started thinking, well, how far is this going to go? I mean, he's, he's already kind of dropping breadcrumbs that like, well, if you don't have to win your conference, then we have to get as many teams as we can in. So I would watch,

larger picture on this answer. I would watch after the season when the commissioners take up structure and format for the playoff for 26 because I keep hearing and now I'm convinced this thing ain't going to stop at 12. Where do you think it will ultimately end up based on what you've heard? 16 because 14 is kind of that middle ground where you go, eh, that doesn't get it done. The structure is already there.

for 16. You play two more games on that Friday. You don't go head-to-head against the NFL, so there's nothing to risk there or upset them anymore. Then it's just up to the SEC and Big Ten to figure out, okay, do we want the 16 best? Are we going to bang our shoe on the table and demand more automatic qualifiers? But look, this is just like the expansion of the NCAA tournament. There's not going to be more Fairfields in there. There's going to be more fifth-place teams from the SEC and

an ACC and Big 12 in there, and that's what this is going to be if it is a 16-team playoff. Biggest takeaway from Big Ten media days for you thus far? Anything that sort of changed your opinion one way or the other on a certain team, certain player, certain coach? Well, Deshaun Foster went viral yesterday, and that was low-hanging fruit. We actually, our guys did a great story on it. Brandon Marcello and John Talty followed him around, and that's

That, thankfully, didn't define him. It looks like he's had anxiety issues, which, look, we all have. Part of me thinks that he wasn't prepped properly for, yeah, you're going to be in this giant stadium in front of hundreds of media and national TV, talk for five minutes and take questions. Well, I mean, you saw what happened, but he's not that guy. That wasn't my biggest takeaway. Lincoln Riley was as open and frank

Um, as I've seen him in those kinds of settings, uh, going into a new conference, you know, you have a situation where Joe Castiglione kind of trolls him on the SEC network and he comes out firing, not against Joe C, but said, we're behind, we're behind in every way you can think of. We're behind in facilities. We're behind in resource. I'm going, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. How's that going to resonate with the AD at USC when they're paying him $10 million?

to get it done, and so far he hasn't. 19 wins and a Heisman winner. So I thought that was my biggest takeaway so far. A lot of people jump at the conclusion on Lincoln Riley. Not saying it's not unjustified, because there has been something that is left to be desired with the performances up to this point, but I still think it's a little early to write off his tenure as a complete failure.

No. But how quickly can he get things back on track and what needs to happen for those steps to be taken? Real quick, you just jogged something in my memory that was in my story. Look at Lindy's annual.

that we all end up getting before this season. The opening paragraph of the USC preview literally says, who would have thought that a year ago that Lincoln Riley would be on the hot seat? And I go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. That's kind of your question. I don't think we're there yet. Yeah, does he need to get better defensively? Absolutely. Did he address it? Yeah. And that's kind of what yesterday was about. Dan and Lynn from

from UCLA. Gangster move, getting the rivals DC from across town. I thought a key indicator, I guess, is the word. He said the defensive line room has gained a total of 300 pounds. And I went, okay, that's good. Divided by what, Lincoln?

And he said, I like 14 guys in the room. Well, that works out to an average of 21 pounds per guy, which is number one significant. And number two shows that he kind of gets it. You're going to have to bulk up in the Big Ten to accommodate. I mean, if there's anything the Big Ten's known for, it's big offensive and defensive linemen. If a team like Michigan is going to make noise this year,

or keep making noise, it's going to be because of that defensive line that's there, been recruited and left over from Jim Harbaugh. So I gave him credit. I mean, he gets it in that sense. Yeah, can we criticize him for going too long with Alex Grinch? Absolutely. But when he pulled the trigger, I think he made the right move. Dennis, great stuff. Appreciate the time. Myriad of topics there. And thanks for running the gamut with us. Enjoy the rest of Big Ten Media Days. We'll catch up soon.

All right, guys. Thanks. There you go. Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports, 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 we've kind of covered the majority of Big Ten Media Days. Maybe something else we'll try to jam in before the end of the show today. I want to leave Big Ten Media Days. A couple of you want to get into the show, 800-239-9569. We'll get to your calls on the other side, get to some of your tweets as well, feedback that you've had for us here on the show. But obviously, we want you to continue to be a part, 800-239-WJOX if you want to get in.

And we'll go a little bit away from Big Ten Media Days, talk about some of the other topics that we brought up throughout the course of the show today. First, I'll tell you about 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. A lot of guys experience this, and there are a lot of ways that game day men's health can help you feel better.

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Go check out gamedaymenshealth.com to see what they can do for you. All right, some of your feedback on a few of these topics when we come back. And Jalen Milrow making the rounds on some of the major media outlets up in New York. You hear from him.

But later this hour as well on Mac and Cube in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kublik 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 Kublik in the morning, 917 a.m. Wim Sanderson coming up at 930. July 25th right here on Jock's 94.5.

Get to your calls here in just a moment. First, I'll tell you about Gusty Goulas and the Gusty Goulas Group. Listen, Gusty Goulas Group, the only agent that I would trust if I needed to sell a home in the Birmingham area.

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Good morning, man. It's been a while since I talked to you, so I just wanted to give you a call today. I was called to talk about Lincoln Riley, but I wanted to say something right quick. Back on the 4th of July week, for 10 days, my fiance and I went to – drove up to Gloucester, Massachusetts, went to New York, Boston, all that area up there. And I listened to some sports talk radio between here and there, and I was

And no one has anything on you guys in the three-man front. I just wanted to tell you guys that you're exceptional. Thank you. Appreciate you, buddy. On Lincoln Riley, I've got a good friend of mine that's an alumni out at USC, and he says that a lot of the USC fans equate Lincoln Riley to Lane Kiffin when he was there.

that he's not much more than Lane was, and they don't think he's going to make it. He's going to have to have a really good year this year. The administration at USC is getting a little antsy. So, anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that. Well, we appreciate it. I'm not sure exactly where they would go, Greg, but –

Obviously, I think the expectation has risen just a little bit with what he should be accomplishing. I can't see them, regardless of how it goes this year, pulling the trigger on him after this season. Golden Domer would like to chat. Lincoln Riley, welcome in, Domer. Top of the morning, gentlemen. How are you all? Morning.

Morning, morning. Hey, you know, Lincoln Riley's causing a little bit of stir. He had to kind of call some people out. And I really think what you saw yesterday was him trying to do his best Nick Saban impersonation by talking to his boosters without talking to his boosters. He's saying, I want some more money. And so I think that was one of Nick Saban's, I'm talking to the media, but I'm actually talking to my players, or I'm talking to the people writing the checks. Do you agree with that? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I think all of the coaches are kind of in that line of right now. It's like they're always in fundraising mode. So I don't think yesterday would be any different than what you'll hear from anyone else. I was why. Why couldn't he take the Mark Stoops approach and just say we need more money?

Yeah, well, I think he was taking the Nick Saban approach. I mean, Nick Saban was very famous for coming into press conferences wanting to deliver a message. Quite often, the person he was talking to was not the person he was actually delivering the message to. And he also brought up Nick Saban. I think he brought up when Notre Dame actually came up about continuing the series with Notre Dame, and he brought up Nick Saban, and he said, well, Alabama and Nick Saban were way ahead of the curve. They scheduled championships.

They did not schedule to get good games or for the fans. What's your reaction to that? I'm not really sure that I follow exactly.

Well, he said that they brought up Notre Dame. He said Alabama didn't schedule for their fans. They scheduled to win championships. That's exactly what Riley said, yes. He said that Alabama, well, they talked about do they want to continue playing Notre Dame now that they're in the Big Ten. What part of Alabama's scheduling do you think, under Nick Saban, that the fans didn't like that also led to them winning championships?

I think the fact that under Nick Saban in Alabama, they played very few out-of-conference games on the road. I believe maybe three out of, what was that, 17, 15 years? So you mean true road games. So you think the fans would like it better if they had to travel to an opponent's stadium somewhere? And, Cole, now that you bring that up, thank you for setting me up. How many great games came into Tuscaloosa? I don't know.

I seem to remember, I've been on the radio a long time, I've heard a lot of fans call and say, hey, instead of going to Atlanta and playing in the kickoff classic, we'd like to get one of these big boys come to Tuscaloosa. Oh, pull out your checkbook then. Donate some more money. It's a valid point, Cole. I mean, if you really look at it. It's also a valid point to do what's best for your program and get bigger checks to go play in those games. And when you were trying to build the recruiting to put your school in a spotlight, which was different then than it is now.

But just imagine, Cole, just imagine under Nick Saban, if Notre Dame had come to Tuscaloosa under his reign. Just imagine if Ohio State had come to Tuscaloosa under his reign. Can we agree to do this real quick and not ever compare Nick Saban and Lincoln Riley again? Because one actually canceled spring practice for a month because they got a couple guys dinged up, and another would literally pass out if you suggested that to him. So let's just leave those two out of the same boat.

they're not saying about what we can arrive in the same library as far as i'm concerned i agree with that but all i'm saying is when you're really looked at me kate and kathleen it's an example he was a place of college football and what rally said was in regard to notre dame why do we want to go out and make our schedule tougher have to go to south bend when we don't have to and that is kind of what next and indeed i'm just being honest i mean he

He did absolutely do that. And like I said, Nick Saban is an amazing coach and had a great run. Did you not come on this show less than a month ago to tell us that that was the greatest rivalry game that God had ever invented, Notre Dame and Southern Cal? And now you're saying that he needs to get rid of that to ease up the schedule? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not. You're misquoting me. I think that Notre Dame and USC needs to continue. And Lincoln Rally is just a peon. Nobody cares what Lincoln Rally thinks. USC doesn't care what he thinks. You were just

The greatest next to Nick Saban a moment ago. No, no. I said he compared. I think you're having a little trouble comprehending what I'm saying today, Cole. He brought up Nick Saban, not Golden Domer. He Lincoln Riley. So all I'll say to this, too, is OK, so he

USC, I mean, people may not realize this about USC, but do you know that Notre Dame has to agree that when we play home and home with them, they cannot come to our stadium past October because they're soft. They've always been soft. And there's a lot of politics going. They don't want to come when it's chilly and a little cold.

So now they're going to have to go to the Big Ten. They can't avoid that. I don't like USC. I'm a Notre Dame fan. And unlike some SEC people, we never cheer for our rivals. I want them to lose every game. We don't care about teams and clubs. I hope they lose every single game. The point that I'm trying to make here is Notre Dame's rivals are Michigan, one of the greatest programs in history, and USC.

USC and Notre Dame and Michigan. Look, Cole, if you want to get back on the rivalry topic, we will go down that road. I don't think you want to go down that road as an Auburn fan. But all I'm telling you is that Notre Dame, USC is going to try to – Lincoln Riley doesn't want to play Notre Dame because he doesn't want his schedule to be as difficult. But he doesn't pull the strings. The people at USC know how important that game is, and that game will continue.

because of the significance of the game and the rivalry and the eyeballs that playing Notre Dame regularly will bring to you. I just wanted to get your comments on what Lincoln Riley said, not what Golden Domer said, what Lincoln Riley said about Nick Saban scheduling championships. I would like your reaction to Lincoln Riley. Scheduling to win championships, I think what Nick Saban did was put his team in the biggest spotlight possible and played competitive one-off games,

on an annual basis that were going to prop his team up in the rankings, that were going to prop the perception of his team up when they would go out and win those football games. And Greg, has he lost one? Has he lost one of the neutral site big openers that they played? I don't think they lost one, did they? Because everybody thought you guys were going to lose to Clemson, and that didn't happen. And then everybody thought Kevin White or whoever it was in West Virginia were going to throw past him, and that didn't happen. No.

So you would say that Riley's wrong. I understand. See, here's the thing. You can say that I don't understand what you're saying or I'm mishearing you or I don't know what you're talking about. I know what you do. And what you're trying to do is downplay the way that Nick Saban scheduled when I look at it the other way. I look at the difficulty that came with it and what he was trying to do for the program early in his tenure. Now, did he need to continue it? No. But look at what was scheduled before Texas and Oklahoma came into the league. Were they not supposed to go to Notre Dame? Are they going or not?

Yeah, they conveniently always move around. Convenience doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Let me ask you from a player's perspective, Greg. I'd like to address you on this topic. I think you could be a good perspective. Would you not have loved to travel to South Bend, Indiana and play inside Notre Dame Stadium as a player and probably kick our butt?

In September, I would have. Let me guess. You're the guy that wanted to play in every SEC stadium, too. Like, oh, God, my SEC career was a failure because I didn't go to Lexington. Oh, it's not fair. Well, I'm just saying, there are some arenas that are historical. It would have been super cool, Domer. Like, there's no denying that. But you can't also choose the other side of the argument and disregard –

The financial decision, it's not a decision motivated with national championship implications. It's a financial decision. A home game will pay you roughly $3 million, thereabouts, I don't know, considering the overhead and what you have. Or you can outsource that, show up, bring your team, and get a check for $5 million. I'll take the $5 million as opposed to $3 million as a businessman. So I think Nick Saban also knew that if he –

schedule games in a non-conference setting, in a neutral site setting, he's probably going to have an advantage in the stands as well because Alabama fans care more than 95% of the other fan bases they might face in a non-conference setting. That's what he's trying to say. He's saying Nick Saban was afraid of going to play on the road.

I can promise you. Here's the thing that I think is hilarious, and I think cold-weather schools do it all the time. Like, y'all think you would have had a chance in a non-conference game in a neutral site. That's fine. You think you really would have had a chance in your home field? You really think it mattered to Nick Saban about whether or not he plays in Madison, Wisconsin? No.

Or if he plays in Atlanta, Georgia, or Chicago, Illinois, or Dallas, Texas. You think it mattered when SC came from L.A., played in Dallas, and got beat by Fitty? No, it doesn't matter. We would have gone to your place, would have beat the heck out of you, made you cry in front of your friends and family, and then we would have come home and gotten our private jet and come back and still chased a title. We did it to Penn State in 2011. Georgia team.

That San Jorge team that needed a miracle in South Bend. With a true freshman quarterback making his first start. How did that go? You had a true freshman quarterback making his first start that went into your house and dominated. And won by a point. By a point? He dominated by a point. I don't care if it's by one or a million. A win's a win. Tell them, Toretto. They dominated. SEC people, y'all love throwing that dominate word around. This is what I'd like to say. All I know is if we went to Notre Dame in 2012, we could have played it on the moon. It wouldn't have made a difference.

All I know is that... I agree with you, Greg. I agree, Greg. This isn't a Notre Dame versus Alabama debate. Well, what I'm getting at is I think the schools that have not had success against Southeastern Conference powers always point to, well, they don't play in weather. Okay, we'll go play in weather. It doesn't make that big of a difference.

That, I think, is the ultimate, oh, I'm a tough guy. Playing on the road does make a difference. It does. I'm just telling you, when you play in the SEC, going on the road to a non-conference team really isn't that big a deal. I'm just being honest with you. How do we know, Greg, because you don't do it? Because I go on the road every week, and I see these environments. I see these environments. I haven't been north of the Mason-Dixon line in 47 years, man. Y'all don't do it. I have literally called games, and

Pretty much every Power 5 stadium. Just about every Power 5 stadium. And I'm just telling you, God's honest truth. I think that the experience you get going on the road in the SEC is every bit as intimidating, if not more so, than where you might go at all these other big monstrosities of stadiums. It doesn't make them worse or better. It doesn't make them any of those things. I'm just saying it's not as difficult as people like to make it out to be.

I respect your opinion, but the statistics and the data don't support that opinion because it shows that when teams go out of road, they don't fare so well. I mean, just statistically, out of road conference games, they don't fare so well. Non-conference games? But your team can't have that conversation because there are no out-of-conference road games.

We'll be back with more right after this. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jux 94.5 and Jux FM.com. Hurry and... All right, welcome back in. Michael Roy and Kublik in the morning. We'll get to the coach, Wim Sanderson, in just a moment. Going to have to wait to hear what he has to say. But one thing you never have to wait for, G-Mac, is your dental care. That's because Family Care Dental has you taken care of. They're the urgent care office where you can be seen the same day.

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Coach, welcome in. How are you today? Oh, I'm doing okay. What Notre Dame needs to do is to get into a league and be done with it and quit jumping around. They're halfway to ACC and halfway out here and there. That's what they need to do to make their schedule a little bit more rivalry, I think, in that particular case. Whatever.

What do you make of how Coach Saban and Alabama scheduled their non-conference early in his tenure? Well, first of all, what happens here is the athletic director schedules them

Pretty much, he may mention to Nick a little bit about what's going on, but he doesn't really confer with him that much. And people are going to say, oh, that's not right. That is right, because I've talked to him about it before. They could talk a little bit about it, but as far as he's knowing exactly what they're going to do with the schedule. Back when I was at Alabama, the schedule was 10 or 12 years long.

in advance already. Coach Bryant and them had the schedule fixed a long time before you got ready to play them. So I think their schedule has been fine. I think you try to figure out the very best schedule to have you an opportunity to go for a national championship. I think they have done that.

And I just think it's been fine. I'm not saying it because I'm from there, but to answer that question, I think it's good. I have people ask me to ask you all because they're all smart and I'm not when it comes to football. For both of you, is there a team...

in the SEC of the 16 that will not lose a game? Both of you, if you don't mind, answer that. An SEC game or just go undefeated in the regular season? Go undefeated totally. I think Georgia has a good chance, too. I know the schedule's tough, but they'd be the team that I would put up there and say can do it. Greg? No. Nobody can go undefeated.

Okay, there's a lot of betting and gambling about that, and it's been interesting to me. And those are two good answers. When you look at the very top of the league in the SEC, through the Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss, when you stop there, is there a team, and both of you guys study the league so well, people ask me to ask you so well, is there a team of those four teams

Maybe include old. Is there a team on those old four or five that will be disappointing? Of the top four or five? Yeah. Is there a team that you're going to tell me how good they are, and we're going to talk about how good they are prior to the schedule start, and all of a sudden it's a disappointing. You study so much. Both of you do. Is there a team that could be disappointing? I think that there's a good possibility, Coach. It's just.

What, like, if Alabama goes 10-2, their fans are going to probably be disappointed, right? Well, according to whether they get in the league playoffs or not. 10-2 against what that schedule should be in, but still, I think people would be disappointed. Are there one of the four teams at the top that are going to fall on their face and win seven or eight games? No, I don't see that. Okay. What about you, Greg? I cannot imagine a scenario in which teams...

That lose four games would be in. I think three games would require some help. I think two games, it depends on your strength of schedule and, in particular, your non-conference strength of schedule. So I look at, like, an Ole Miss this year, non-conference game at Wake Forest. Not going to do anything for you. Wake Forest is like a four-win football team more than likely this year. You look at non-conference game for Missouri. They got Boston College at home.

So, I mean, that's not going to really help you a whole lot either. So if your losses are to A&M and to Bama, then you might not have a ranked win on your schedule. So 10-2 might not be good enough for Missouri. So I think it's – and to be honest with you, it's hard to put these schedules together. Some are more manageable than others. I don't think you should be in at 10-2 guaranteed. I think it should depend on who you played and who you beat.

Is it possible for the South Carolinas on down, and I don't think it is, but you can answer it for me, the South Carolinas, Arkansas, States, and Vanderbilt, from that number all the way down to 16, is there anybody that's going to surprise you enough to where they beat some people and get themselves in a situation to have a good, I don't know, get in the playoffs, but have a good year?

I think Goodyear, yeah, but Mississippi State goes 6-6, that's a good year. I think South Carolina goes 6-6, that's a good year. Really? But I think Mississippi State's offense is one that has a chance to surprise some folks, and if you can score points, you can catch somebody. On a bad day, they turn it over three or four times, and then all of a sudden, you've got yourself a ball game. I think Auburn's going to surprise some people, but I think that's seven or eight wins. I think Florida's going to surprise people, Coach, but people think they're going to win three or four games.

So much of it is dependent on what the perception is, and I think there will be some teams that surprise folks just because the perception is way too low of what they have a chance to be. Well, somebody's got to be 16, 15, 14, 13. Greg, there's someone down at the bottom of the list, and the people at the bottom of the list when the season is over with for two years in a row will be fired. Is anybody in your mind that's going to be better than projected, Greg? Yeah.

Uh, yeah, I think South Carolina's got a chance to be a little better than anticipated. I think Arkansas has a chance to be a little dangerous. Will they ultimately win enough to keep Sam? I don't know. I think it depends on how they look. Part of the problem with Sam Pittman's issues is that the worst position group arguably on their team is their offensive line, and that's his specialty. So that has been problematic, I think, for some of the decision makers at Arkansas. Um...

So those would be the two that I think might be a little better than people anticipate. Vandy's going to be Vandy. I think they have actually better personnel than I anticipated, but I don't know if they're going to be good enough to make any noise whatsoever. And then I think Florida. A lot of people think they're going to be average. I think they'll be pretty good, seven-win team or so. Mississippi State's going to be able to score. I just don't know if they'll be able to stop anybody. So you might have some shootouts with them. So I think the bottom of the league is actually better than people realize. Okay. But I think the top of the league –

It's probably not as good as people want to assume right now either. I think those games have more flaws than people are wanting to acknowledge at this moment. Well, the only place where I disagree with you all on past games, and you know a lot more, I just don't think Texas' schedule is anywhere close to Mississippi State's and the Vanderbilts. And when you play Oklahoma, you don't play in Dallas. I was at that game one time. I just think Texas...

for whatever reason, got the very, very best schedule they could get. Now, I know you're going to tell me they play Michigan. Michigan is a rebuilding bunch from last year. So I feel like they're not what I think they will be. I think they all think the schedule is better than I think it is.

I see where Nebraska has said, or coaches have said, talked about Ohio State, how good they are. And Ohio State has turned around and said that they probably gave $20 million to their team last year. Radio shows are fine, but parents and coaches, is there not, would there not be some problem? I want to know how much you make.

You're playing beside me. You've already brought it out of $20 million. Am I going to play as hard? Am I going to be as good? Am I going to be as consistent because of the money factor with my parents, with my girlfriend, beside the guy I'm playing against? Is that a dumb question? It's not dumb to me because I think the mental is the physical, what three is to one. Are those thoughts where that you may not –

be interested in playing quite as hard as you need to. I think it's always possible, Coach, but I think that's also possible in every other walk of life. I mean, I think one physician that's in a group wants to know what the guy down the hall is making. I'm sure that there are people in television that want to know what the person at the other network is making. I don't think that separates it too much. Now, some of that's going to depend on who wants to talk, who doesn't talk, and just how curious some people are and how easily they get their feelings hurt. I mean, it's

The unfortunate part is, as you know, there's a lot of people in their ears, and they're hearing a lot of different things, and that makes it complicated. So we always appreciate you hopping on with us, Coach, and you do it each and every week. Thanks to our friends at Coke and Piggly Wiggly. Well, Coke and Piggly Wiggly do a great job. Coke is a great product. I've been drinking them for years. Piggly Wiggly, if you go into Piggly Wiggly, you'll come out with a smile on your face. They've got great food. They've got great products.

Products of meat is outstanding. We've got nine locations in Birmingham. I hope that you'll go by Piggly Wiggly and tell everybody that you heard me for what it's worth, a basketball guy on a football show. And I appreciate you guys having me on. Yes, sir. We'll catch up next week, Coach. Thank you. All right. Thanks.

All right, when we come back, we'll hear a little bit from Jalen Milrow and give you a bad box score of the day right after this 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 Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubrick in the morning, 948 a.m.

Thursday, July 25th, right here on JOX 94.5. July 25th means you know what is coming up tonight. It's Auburn's annual kickoff Birmingham presented by the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club.

Finley Center in Hoover, big Auburn pep rally, bring kids, family, play area, face painting. Auburn's going to be there. Andy Burcham's going to be there. Silent auction. You can bid on unique items and experiences. Big send-off for Birmingham area Auburn freshmen. VIP ticket upgrades are available. Food, drinks, swag available.

Proceed to go to fund scholarships for Birmingham area Auburn students. That's tonight at the Finley Center in Hoover. Auburn's annual Kickoff Birmingham. You can find more information at kickoffbirmingham.org or you can get tickets at the door. I did notice just kind of looking at the Notre Dame schedule, I found this was intriguing during the break that they will play two neutral side games this year. It'll be at MetLife Stadium against Navy and Yankee Stadium against Army. It's not good for their fans. Biggest rivals, though.

Two of their biggest rivals, neutral side. I can't believe they would do that to their fans. Make them go to New York. It was intriguing there, just that that's kind of where we're going with that. It's just so wrong of Alabama to make their fans travel to Atlanta. Don't care about them. And we're already doing it once. A second time? It's so far. All right, let's get to our bad box score of the day quickly.

Personal file. 69. Offense. He was giving them the business. Intentional grounding. Offense number seven. It's a 10-yard penalty. I'm talking to America here at school. That's game. I want to try to get to some of the Jalen Millero audio in just a moment, but I will let you get a bad box score of the day first. We'll go to Major League Baseball. The Colorado Rockies. They took on the Boston Red Sox.

And they won 20-7 yesterday. Ah, this takes the point. 21 hits for the Colorado Rockies yesterday. It's tied for the most combined runs in a game this season in Major League Baseball. Orioles and A's did it, as my four-year-old would say, Orioles and A's did it. 27 runs on July the 6th. Rockies tied a franchise record for runs in a game. They've done it three other times, 2006, 2005, 2003. 20 runs tied for the most in a game by a Major League Baseball team this season.

Believe it or not, the A's did it when they beat the Marlins 20-4 on May 4th. Five players had three or more hits. That's one shy of the franchise record for the Rockies. Last time they had five players with three or more hits. Anyone? 87. 92. 2012. 2017. Jacob Stallings. Three for four, two doubles, home run, drove in four. First career game with three extra base hits. Most runs allowed in a game for the Red Sox since July 22nd of 2022.

Good Lord, that was 28 against the Blue Jays. Nick Pavetta, seven earned runs, tied for the most he's allowed as a Red Sox player. He's tied for the third most in a game in his career. So that was your bad box score of the day. And maybe not all scores appropriate, but you're talking about bringing out the bats yesterday in Major League Baseball?

The Padres beat the Nationals 12-3. They had 20 hits yesterday. Mets beat the Yankees 12-3. They had 14 hits yesterday. Rangers beat the White Sox 10-2. They had 15 hits yesterday. D-backs and Royals both had double-digit hits in their game yesterday. Pitching took a day off yesterday. Runs, hits, errors should have taken the over. All of them. There you go. All right. So that is our...

box score of the day. Jalen Hurts making the media rounds in New York City and he was asked about the one thing that he learned from Nick Saban that he will continue to take with him this morning on Get Up. There's so many things I learned from Coach Saban and it's

And it's hard to narrow down one. But if I were to choose one, I would say trust the process. Every process is different when it comes to just trusting your journey. And as a guy that came in from Texas and being acclimated to a new environment in Alabama and how you push every single day to accomplish any goal that you want to achieve, there's adversity that comes along the process. There goes times of self-doubt.

There's go times where you have to push through hard circumstances. And throughout that time, never waver from that. And it comes from a leader in Coach Saban pushing each and every day to be the best you. And that's very important, you know, just trying to go 1-0 each and every day and just trying to attack the day at hand. And it's all about trusting the process. Good with that, G-Mac? Yeah. Hasn't changed much since Coach Saban was there. I was also asked how he's handled the offseason.

And so when it comes to offseason, there's four stages. All right. There's number one. It's the fourth quarter process. That's our first opportunity as a team to go through adversity as a group and just our conditioning period is fighting through those battles. Then transitioning into spring ball, spring ball. Now you install and plays.

as a group, coming together as one, then summer one, then summer two. And so with those processes, it allows you to grow as a player on and off the field. And those are things that are done in the dark that come and shine on Saturday when it's time to play. And so with that, it's all about reps, reps and repetition, and just growing in your confidence. And when we talk about process, that's the process right there that leads us to having a successful season. All right, finally, Jalen Milrow, have the goals changed now that there's a 12-team playoff?

I think for us as a team, it's all about setting short-term goals and long-term goals. And to achieve those goals, you have to take care of right now and push each other to be the best us each and every day that we have an opportunity to grow as a football team so that whenever the time comes to go and attack a day as far as approaching the

preparation for our opponent. It's all about the preparation in the off-season that's going to catapult us to get there. But what a great opportunity to have a 12-team playoff team along, you know, to push us to be victorious in a sense. So it's a great opportunity for a lot of teams to compete and have another opportunity.

Was that the Blade 7 soundtrack? Felt like it. I got it. Blade was ripped. He was ready for the season right there. But yeah, it doesn't sound like a whole lot has changed. He was at the Yankees game last night, gave Aaron Judge a jersey. He was on CBS this morning as well, so making some of the media rounds there in New York, GMAC, but...

It sounds like a lot of the mindset for Jalen Milrow and this Alabama football team will remain the same. Yeah, I can't imagine it's going to change. I think that's been the whole process is trying to make sure that it's as consistent as possible for the players. I think the staff has done a great job of creating that consistency and continuity from one regime to the next. And nothing's changed. I mean, it's business as usual. Those guys all went to Alabama to win championships and to compete for championships just because the guy that's in front of them before the team meetings didn't.

is different. Doesn't mean that the goals internally within the locker room have changed. So Jalen Milrow, obviously talking about his offseason, where do you have the most confidence that his game will be different in a positive way this upcoming year? I just think he's going to be a little more decisive. Last year felt like

He's kind of focused almost exclusively in the first half of the year for seven games, focused almost exclusively on creating big plays. And that's just that's a that's a tough thing. If you're always centering your attention on creating big plays, you sometimes play out of rhythm. So I think he's going to be a little bit more decisive and play with a little better rhythm this year. There you go.

All right, that was Jalen Milrow on Get Up This Morning, making the rounds on a couple of national news outlets this morning. Appreciate Mark Packer being with us, talking ACC media days. Matt Stewart was at Sunbelt media days, gave us an update on Troy and South Alabama, multiple new head coaches in the Sunbelt this year. Dennis Dodd joined us, Wim Sanderson with us, talked a lot of college football, a lot of media days, some scheduling, some Lake and Riley, some ACC quarterbacks, the Rose Bowl.

Tomorrow, James Krepia is going to talk Oregon's first Big Ten media days. Also, might drop a couple of whammies in studio tomorrow. Oh. Do I bring the cowboy hat in? It's your doppelganger. You have to. You should. Think Anchorman tomorrow, live in studio here on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Three-man front coming at you next. This is McElroy and Kubelik in the morning.

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