7-30-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: Why Notre Dame can(not) make the Playoff; Andy Burcham talks Auburn; BOUT IT, BOUT IT & best performances from last weekend
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McElroy and Kublik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kublik in the morning, Tuesday, July 30th, 8 a.m. Jocks 94.5. Appreciate you all being a part of the show.

800-239-9569. Way to get into the show. You can also text in 205-834-9450. Follow up on the top three or begin the discussion around Notre Dame a little bit later this hour. They are our team of the day where we ask the question or tell you why or why not they can make the college football playoff. We begin our weekly visits with Andy Bertram.

Joining us now on the Buyer's Right Hotline, an Andy Fall practice set to begin for this Auburn football team tomorrow. When you think about just what's going to need to happen, what you need to try to learn about this football team through fall practice, what do you want to try to be able to come away with before kickoff that you either see, hear about in fall for Hugh Freeze and his team?

Well, I think it's got to start at the quarterback spot. I think that's pretty obvious. I think we all want to see Peyton Thorne take that step forward and

with what I believe will be an improved offense around him. I think it's going to be an improved offensive line in front of him. No question that there's more talent at the wide receiver spot, albeit they'll be relying on some freshmen, some very talented freshmen there. And then I like the guys that they brought in, the older pieces at that wide receiver spot, like a Sam Jackson V and Keandre Lambert Smith,

And Robert Lewis, guys that are in from the transfer portal. It's a better wide receiver room, but it was desperately needed. A tight end room that is back primarily intact, led by Revalvo Fairweather. And then Jarquez Hunter, who should be one of the premier backs

in the Southeastern Conference, along with Demaree Alston and Jeremiah Cobb. So I like this offense. To me, the question mark primarily not only is Peyton Ford, does he take that step forward offensively, but defensively, how does Auburn play?

respond to the losses that they anticipated up front. And it's new guys up front. Trill Carter and Gage Keys and Isaiah Rikes and Phillip Blady are all guys in from the transfer portal in the middle. Does Keldrick Falk take that step forward in his sophomore year after a freshman All-America first season on the Plains? Is Jayden McLeod finally healthy? I thought he came on for Auburn.

On that other side, for Auburn a year ago, is he healthy? Is he the player that Auburn thought they were getting when he transferred in from Appalachian State last year? So those are a couple questions, I think, early on to answer with this ball club. And there are others to come, but those are the ones that come to my mind right now.

What about the defense? I feel like so much has been made of the improvement at wide receiver, the improvement and focus on Peyton Thorne's growth and development, continuing to run the ball with an effective clip. But defensively, I don't feel like there's been hardly any conversation. So when you go and you watch the defensive side of practice, where will your eyes be navigating towards? The middle up front, just because they lost so much from a year ago.

And it's brand new. It's brand new names, as mentioned. Carter, Rakes, Keyes, Bleedy, Malik Blockton, Jason Jones is back. But, I mean, it's a cast of new guys at nose tackle to defensive tackle for Auburn. So that's where I'll be watching is that middle up front, Greg. And then, you know, I like the linebackers, but do they have the depth at the linebacker spot? With Austin Keyes and Eugene Asante who return tomorrow,

The late transfer from Fonage Gote from Maryland, who Auburn played against, of course, in the bowl game. What does DeMarcus Rennick do in his freshman season at Auburn? Highly touted out of Chilton County and one of those premier recruits that Auburn brought in. And then in the secondary, you lose a lot in the secondary, and you've got guys like Keontae Scott,

Coming back, but then Caleb Wooden and Champ Anthony, Sylvester Smith, Tan Lee are all guys that played for Auburn a year ago, but they weren't the starters for Auburn a year ago. So I will look up front first, but there are spots all over that defense to see how well this team is rounding into shape as it gets ready for that August 31st opener.

Andy Burcham joining us on the Buyers Rite Hotline. We'll have weekly visits with him all fall discussing this Auburn football team. You've seen the recruiting ramp up the last couple of days just like we have. What do you make of that? Is this just timing? Is it kind of the correlation of guys wanting to make decisions at the same time? Why has it ramped up so much here in the last four or five days?

Well, I think probably a great deal has to do with just the recruiting weekend last weekend. Big Cat weekend started with Gene Chizik on the planes, and I'm not sure they've had a better Big Cat weekend, apparently, than they did this past weekend where they were getting commitments for 24 and certainly, or excuse me, 25 and 26. And you've got to get those guys to December, December of this year, December of next year,

and get those guys signed because we've already seen guys that have committed and then decommitted and then recommitted, and there's a lot of time to go. I think that has a lot to do with it. I just think that this is a good recruiting staff. I think Hugh Freeze is a really good recruiter. I think that's one of the reasons that John Cohen hired Hugh Freeze a year and a half ago.

on the Plains is because what he can do in the recruiting. And I think he has hired a staff that has put together a magnificent recruiting class, and it appears that, you know, that 25 class is going to be very, very good. That 26 class may be even better. I just, I think this team, this staff recruits very, very well. And so I'm not terribly surprised by it, but this is what Hugh Freeze tends to do.

He's done it everywhere he's been, and he's certainly doing it now at Auburn. What about you reference him being a really good class? Do you think that was a priority when Hugh Freeze started to put the staff together and being able to bring in Nix, who's a known commodity as a recruiter, being able to bring in DJ Durkin, also a guy that's had a lot of success on the recruiting front for many, many years? How much of a priority do you think that was when they were putting the staff together?

I think it's a huge emphasis, and add Charles Kelly to that mix, who has been at Florida State and Alabama, and just most recently at Colorado. When the season ended, and it was a disappointing end last year, losing to Maryland in the Music City Bowl, I was talking with Coach Freeze, and he made mention, and it wasn't just to me, he mentioned this to his staff, he's mentioned this to the media,

Listen, that first class when he got here a year and a half ago, he had to fill out a roster. And so it was transfer portal heavy. And I'm not saying that the transfer portal was always going to be a factor, I think, for the foreseeable future. I don't think unless the rules change with regard to the portal. But he made a conscious effort with this current class, this 24 class, and has maintained it through 25 and 26.

that he is going to build, rebuild this team from the high school level up. Now, it doesn't mean that they're not going to go to the portal, because obviously they have, and they had to, especially up front defensively this year. But he wants to build it from a high school student athlete up and then fill in with the transfer portal. And that's the concentration that they've had

Big measure to the 24 class, and that's when you see a Perry Thompson, a Cam Coleman, a Bryce Kane, a Demarcus Riddick, a Morris Williams, those guys that are going to play a great deal as true freshmen at Auburn. I think that that will continue for the years to come, and I think we're continuing to see that as you read about

the various commitments that Auburn is getting in this day. It's primarily out of the high school ranks right now. And then they will fill in, I think, they will fill in the JUCO ranks and the transfer portal. But I think they want to go high school heavy in rebuilding this program at this point.

Andy, we always appreciate the time. Looking forward to visiting with you throughout the course of the fall and beyond. And I hope you have a great rest of the week. Next time we catch up with you, we'll be talking actual players on the field in pads. So looking forward to that. Looking forward to it. Looking forward to it, guys. Have a great day. War Eagle. War Eagle. Thank you, Andy. Andy Bertram 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. You go back to that defense, G-Mac, and I'm with you. A lot of questions that I have there.

I did feel like Hugh Freeze had some confidence at SEC media days when we talked about the middle of that defense and I asked him about it. It's an area of concern for me. I just don't know how disruptive the individuals at Auburn's going to have are. Good news is,

You have some real numbers to at least be able to choose from. Justin Hokanson joined us yesterday. If you missed that podcast, available jocksfm.com. Jason Jones, he has every bit of talent, ability, size, frame to be a big-time interior defensive lineman. Hasn't turned on consistently yet. We've seen Isaiah Rakes at A&M be a pretty good player.

True Carter gauge keys come in from power five programs that could help add some numbers and give you some guys that are, that are worthy of being inside on an sec defense. It might not be a dominant group, but I do think that,

with Eugene Asante, Austin Keyes, you bring in Dorian Moussey from Duke, you have some numbers at linebackers. If you can protect that group, maybe that can sort of become one of the strengths of the defense with Keldrick Falk up front also. So I'm anxious to see kind of, I guess, really and truly sort of where DJ Durkin's going to steer it and who he's going to try to lean on as a part of that defense position group that can maybe be the most dominant.

Well, I think if you have enough good pieces up there, though, like I think Bleedy is a good ad. I think they've had some good additions in the portal. They've gotten mature. They've obviously been solid for a while now at linebacker. So I'm not super concerned about that position group. But now in this group and in this league, frankly, uh,

You don't have to have complete takeover the game difference makers at DTACL, but you got to have a bunch of guys that can kind of weather the storm that can give you 30 good snaps. Because most good players are going to be able to play at a pretty high level for 30 some odd snaps. You get to 40 in some cases, maybe. But it starts to drop off pretty significantly, and the less talented you are, the more you have to strain on those plays.

that you're out there on the field. So I just hope there's adequate depth. I think they've done a pretty good job of addressing that, but I don't know a team in the league that doesn't have concerns about their defensive tackle spot. That's why it's not as big a concern for me with Auburn because they're one of about 10 that are concerned about that position group. So look, if it might not be your best position group on the team, but how is it relative to the other teams in the league that are also struggling at the exact same position group? So Auburn,

I don't know. That's not the position group that concerns me for whatever reason. I'm a little more concerned about the back end, but that's only because I feel like they've been really solid there for quite a while, and I think the weapons that they're going to face based on the schedules that they're going to play are going to be a real challenge. But you could put a great secondary back there, and they're still probably going to have their hands full. So I'm just curious to see how that group kind of comes together as things move along.

The Alabama heat and humidity can be brutal, especially this week. Don't let it affect your home and family. Keep them comfortable with an affordable train cooling system. Train is our official partner here at Jocks, and they've been recognized as America's most trusted brand 10 consecutive years. Find a comfort specialist near you at train.com. All right, when we come back, daily segment that we are going to have leading up to kickoff.

We take one team and we tell you why they can make the playoff. Today, Notre Dame. Next, on McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McIlroy 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 Tap or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning, 8-16, Tuesday, July 30th. Your time to get in now. You want to talk Notre Dame in the playoff. Why they're going to get in. We'll do this with a different team each and every day. Start in just a few moments. 800-239-9569. 800-239-WJOX. You can also text into the show 205-834-9450. Tweet into the show at Mac and Cube. Always great ways to be a part of the show.

We'll move on and have that conversation about the Fighting Irish in just a moment. But first, GMAC, if people are looking to move in and out of a new home, who do they need to call? That'd be Crocker Movies for Sir, a local company owned by an Iraq War veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring movies you can trust to complete full background checks and run drug tests on every single employee. These are good guys, and you can trust them in your home. I've had them in my home, used them multiple times. We'll use them again.

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10-3 last year defeated Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Mike Denbrock in as offensive coordinator. Sam Hartman out as quarterback. Riley Leonard, former Duke quarterback, in as new quarterback at Notre Dame. Audrick Estime out. Chris Tyree out. Defensive backs DJ Brown, Cam Hart, Thomas Harper all out.

And you do have a good cast of characters that are going to be back. Mitchell Evans is back at tight end, super solid. Howard Cross back on that defensive line, super solid. You get R.J. Obenin from Duke, who was a really good player there. Jack Kizer back at linebacker. There's some veterans on this team that can give you some confidence in some different spots. A lot of it's going to be how do the new pieces fit. Chris Mitchell comes in from FIU. He's a big play machine there.

Wide receiver Jaden Harrison comes in from Marshall, has been productive. You get safety Rod Hurd in from Northwestern. He led the team in tackles a season ago. Schedule a little bit tricky, but the first thing when you look at Notre Dame that you really like, G-Mac, about this upcoming season, what would that be? First thing is the defensive front seven. I think the defensive front seven has a chance to be really good. You got dynamic defense.

One-two punch at defensive tackle. One guy's small, undersized, twitchy, athletic in Howard Cross. You got Riley Mills at the other defensive tackle. He's really, really big and eats a lot of space. Love that. I think the edges have a chance to be really solid. You mentioned RJ Oban. I think that was a really nice pickup. Heavy-handed, really solid. Not a twitch guy that's going to go and just twitch it up and make a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage in obvious passing situations. But...

There are a million examples of times when you kind of watch him and it's like, all right, he's got more athleticism than you anticipate. So I thought that was a really nice pickup and one that Notre Dame learned quickly about last year. Last year, actually, they gave he kind of gave Notre Dame a lot of fits.

in their game against Duke. I think also losing John Baptiste off the edge, you need a little extra something out there. He wants some one-on-ones for them. 100%. I also think they have some defensive ends last year that were just young, but they feel pretty good about some of the pieces that are coming back that are growing at those spots. Jordan Botello would be a name that I'd try to remember. As far as linebackers are concerned, you're going to focus on

Guys that left. You're going to focus on Marist, Leofau, and J.D. Bertrand. Both were solid. Good locker room, glue guys. Very, very solid players. Both got drafted in the NFL draft. Jack Kaiser's been around forever. He'll fill the void of J.D. Bertrand. And then on the other side, you're going to have Jalen Sneed, who's a monster. He's got a lot of athleticism, probably more athletic than they've had at that position in quite some time. So really optimistic about what they have in the second level, and I think they're the best secondary in the country.

I really believe that. I think the secondary is that good. Benjamin Morrison, pound for pound, as good as any corner in the country. Xavier Watts had a bunch of picks last year. He's a ball hawk, great hands, great eyes. His first year really playing the position. The guy's been playing...

for quite a while. And then at the other spots, they had a really nice addition from Northwestern and Rod Hurd, who I really like as well. So Notre Dame's one of my favorite defenses at all three levels this entire year. And then the offensive coordinator hire, no one's really talking about Mike Denbrock and how much he did for Jaden Daniels, how much he did for LSU the last couple years. That was a massive coup for Marcus Freeman to go and get him and improve that side of the ball because they were really not what they needed to be last year.

Den Brock is fantastic. I'm really anxious to see where he and Riley Leonard fit in, sort of how the offense is steered because Den

You saw Jaden Daniels with some of the run dynamic that he offered last year. I don't think that's something they were originally going to build the offense around, and it kind of morphed into that. Also, you go back the year prior, they didn't plan on going as fast as they did early in the season and realized that Jaden was more comfortable doing that, so they kind of turned in, altered into that. So I think

I personally think Denbrock can be a bit of a chameleon based on what he has on his offense. It doesn't have to necessarily go one way. We've seen him be ground and pound at Notre Dame where they literally run duo 32 times a game. We've seen him be Jaden Daniels shotgun 92 percent of the time and throw it around, let quarterback run just a little bit more. So they'll they'll teeter it to what Riley Leonard's doing best and what his strengths are.

Um, but if they did want to be a run first football team, are they going to have the capabilities to do that? Offensive line takes a couple of hits. Running back takes a couple of hits. How proficient can they be prolific? Can they be running the football G Mac by far? My biggest concern. Um, I'm not sure if you echo that concern, but it is by far my biggest worry is their offensive line and whether or not they will be collectively as good as they've been. Um,

And I'm not sure I can answer that at the moment. I'm really not sure. I look at the tackle spots last year. You're not going to have a Joe Altback. He had the best tackle in the nation last year. Yeah, but the right tackle was average. And to be honest with you, it was at times a liability. So I'm not super bullish on them being as good, but I don't think the right side is going to take a huge drop off. So that, I think, is something that...

Would have maybe had me a little bit anxious, but when looking at where they were last year relative to the right tackle spot in the past, it really wasn't as good as it needed to be. Also, when was the last time Notre Dame was bad on the offensive line or had a major liability on the offensive line? They might not be the best group in the country, but they're probably going to be pretty good. Like 14, 13 maybe? It's been a while.

All right, the schedule for Notre Dame. You're talking about getting into the playoff, though. We know there are certain advantages they may have in the regular season that could lead to some disadvantages in the postseason from a scheduling perspective. Two neutral side games. Does that ring a bell for anybody on this show that seems to be a point of contention of teams playing neutral side games and not going and playing at the other team's place? I guess that's not a rivalry then. I feel like we heard that here on the show that you're not supposed to do that. Correct. They have to. Oh, okay.

They open up at Texas A&M, then they get Northern Illinois. At Purdue, Miami of Ohio at home, Louisville at home, Stanford at home, at Georgia Tech, Navy neutral site, Florida State at home, Virginia at home, Army neutral site at USC. I mean, how many are losable, Greg? Just right out of the gate. Not many. Three? Max?

Four, Max? Not many at all. It's borderline amazing how manageable their schedule is. I, for one, have never been one that said, well, Notre Dame's got an easy path to the playoff. I don't believe that, personally.

I've felt like many times it's not their fault that SC hasn't been as good in the last 10 years as they've been historically. It's not their fault that Stanford hasn't been as good historically as the last couple years as they were there for a while in the mid-2010s and the late 2000s. So I happen to think that they have played quality schedule. They've had to play multiple games against quality ACC opponents.

But this year, it lightens up drastically. And I think it's going to be pretty manageable for them to kind of get to a point where they can be at 11-1, potentially even be a 10-2 team that's still very much in the mix. But, man, 10-2, it's hard for me to envision a scenario that they are for sure in if they're 10-2. Similar to the Ole Miss-Missouri conversation we had, correct? As if you're 10-2 on this schedule, what are your best wins?

Let's say you drop A&M in Florida State. Louisville is going to need to be pretty good. Georgia Tech probably need to be pretty good. Purdue need to be pretty good. You might not have the wins just to get in, bottom line. So it is an interesting schedule, and it's an interesting schedule to look at because we don't know exactly how things are going to work with the committee and how they look at certain things. But going along with what we said with Ole Miss, Missouri, there are a lot of people just saying, oh, 10-2, you're in. Yeah.

I'm not sure that's applicable for Notre Dame this upcoming season. So we answer the question when we come back. Is Notre Dame in or out of this year's college football playoff? That'll be 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... All right, welcome back in. McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning.

8.30 a.m. Tuesday, July 30th, right here on JOX 94.5. Sidebar on our Notre Dame conversation, Greg. I don't know why I didn't pick up on this, because I actually did watch a fair bit of their offense last year, and maybe it was only a couple of games. Do you ever recall what USC was doing with their splits last year? Yeah. I was watching the Notre Dame game last night being like, what are we...

They would run normal splits, but then when they wanted literally to run the ball inside, they would go to like three-foot splits. I don't understand. That's not like crazy abnormal. The way that they did it was, I thought, now you could get to Kansas State where they'll extra split one side at a time and then the whole group and then none of the group. They're all wonky with theirs and how they do it, but actually I think they used it to their advantage. But it wasn't difficult to figure out what they were trying to do.

It was my part of it. I don't know why you didn't just overload the middle because they wouldn't have been able to pick it up. You can throw it quick if you want, but at least you're getting hits on the quarterback. Back to Notre Dame, just something that I saw last night that I hadn't really paid attention to last year. When you see the schedule, when you know what's coming back for this team, how critical is the A&M game as far as actually making the playoff? Massive. I think that is the biggest game on the schedule. Because like you said, you dropped that one, Greg. You might not have...

Another mulligan on the schedule. Well, that's going to be one that hopefully for Notre Dame, it will hold up over time. The others, I just don't know. I mean, you look at the schedule seriously. I mean, you go through it. And while it's great to be undefeated, that gets them in. That goes without saying. But you're sitting there 11-1, 10-2, and this new 12-team playoff has given you life.

In the event in which you lose a couple, it takes you maybe a little while to get going. But I look at the schedule in general, man. This is one that I think will hold up. I'm a believer in A&M this year. I think they're a top 25 football team. And I can't tell you without a shadow of a doubt outside of Florida State who else is going to be a top 25 football team. I think Louisville will be on the cusp, but it's at home. Florida State at home. Road trip to SC, maybe SC is better than we anticipate. It could get tough.

tough in a hurry. Right. If Louisville gets good or if Florida State gets good and then if Georgia Tech's a handful. I mean, it could get good in a hurry, but as of this moment, I'm not as sold on Louisville. I'm not as sold on

I'm not as sold on Florida State. I still think they'll be in the top 25. But yeah, it's tough to envision a scenario where they lose that one and run the table the rest of the way en route to a playoff spot. It is an interesting thought how this schedule could go from very manageable, maybe average. A&M could be a 7-win team. Louisville could be a 7-8-win team. Florida State could be an 8-win team.

Florida State could be a 10-win team, as could A&M, as could Louisville. Georgia Tech, a team you and I have talked about, a lot of juice on offense could maybe go past what people are expecting from them this year. They'll be a 6-7 win team. Yeah, USC is somewhat of a wild card. I don't know if they're... They'll be a 7-8 win football team, yes, you will. But things start going their way in 9-10, maybe not out of the realm of possibilities. The schedule could...

The variance in where this schedule is going to be from a strength perspective at the end of the year is going to be intriguing to watch because there's just a lot of unknowns. We just don't know exactly what it's going to be. And because of that, because two of the teams have a ton of transfers, Louisville and Florida State, the other team has a new head coach in A&M and and the other just lost their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. There are four big opportunities this year. Every single one of those teams has major question marks. It could rally up or rally down pretty quickly.

USC, new quarterback, we know a lot gone. A&M, new head coach, new system, first game. Obviously, that's going to be difficult to manage. Florida State, complete overhaul. We'll see. As you stated, it's Louisville, new quarterback. Don't know exactly how it's all going to play out. I'm with you on the defense. I think the defense will be good.

How far past that they go, I'm not 100% certain. I think Oban's a big part of that. Can you give them a little bit of juice off the edge? I'm not as high on the linebackers as you are. I do like the defensive line. I like the way Riley Mills plays. I think Howard Cross is a handful, major, just undersized motor guy that just understands how to play the position. The D-line's fun to watch. I think the linebackers are a little overrated, but the secondary could make up for a lot of that.

A lot. And that's why I think Oben's huge. If they get a little bit of one-on-one pass rush from him and the secondary is as good as you say and other people think, defense can be solid. And as you just said a moment ago, how many great offenses are on the schedule?

We don't know what A&M's offense is going to look like. It's probably not going to be great week one. It might be pretty good, but to think it's just going to be great right out of the gate? Louisville will have a good offense. SC will have a good offense for sure. Florida State maybe? Georgia Tech will be pretty good. I don't know about Florida State. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know anything about their wideouts. I don't know anything about their quarterback. And Georgia Tech should be good. Georgia Tech will be a handful offensively, but they might not be able to stop anything.

And you can probably run your way to victory in that one. And armies will actually be a handful because they're going to go back to triple option. I think they're going to have some veterans on that side of the ball. But not many, not a ton. And if you're leaning on your defense, it's a good schedule to have. I just have real questions about the offense, what the identity is going to be. Are they going to be able to consistently run the football? Are the weapons going to fit in? I had one of Chris Mitchell's games last year. He feels like a legitimate big play threat.

I don't know how he's going to fit in the scheme, the system, and at this level, football consistently. But it feels like they went out and at least attacked what they were going to need outside. I think they dropped two and they don't get in. That's me. You got them losing A&M. Go ahead and guarantee that. I bet you got to lose it to Florida State. I think those could be. I think...

I think the games at Purdue and Georgia Tech are tricky just because they're road games. They're not going to have many of them. I think the Army game late is tricky because you're at USC the next week. I just think there are a lot of tricky games. And because I lack a lot of confidence in the offense and what it's going to be and how it's going to be able to go, I just don't see it. I don't see a team with a ton of juice. Solid team, good team, not a ton of takeover guys in my opinion. Is Riley Leonard a takeover guy? No.

But then again, I mean, there might be more in the tank than we know right now. Absolutely. I mean, he played most of last year on one leg. I think they're just on the outside looking in, but that's kind of my thought. I think they're 11-1. I think they'll get in. Let me ask you this. If it's 11-1, 10-2, this first year, where does the benefit go? Does it go to those conference championship game losers? No.

Or those teams that were number three in their conference, they're one of two lost teams? Or does it go to a one-loss Notre Dame? We don't know the answer to that. Depends on who the teams are that are being measured. Who do you like, two-loss Missouri or one-loss Notre Dame? Give me one-loss Notre Dame all day and twice on Saturday. Now, you might have some comparable opponents there. Yeah, I was going to say. You got A&M on the road at A&M. Both teams do that. But I like Missouri. I mean, they really only play one other team.

that is likely going to be in the playoff mix. And I don't even know if A&M will be in the playoff mix. I just think they're talented. So I think Notre Dame's going to have four wins against teams. I think it's a similar question, though, if you asked. Two loss Missouri might have one other really good win. Notre Dame, one loss, might have one other really good win. Their one win might be a little bit better. Oh, really good is one thing. I think Notre Dame, by season's end, will have three wins against ranked teams. Okay.

More than light are three teams that are within striking distance of being ranked. Now, I don't know how you have Louisville. Maybe they're 27th in one poll and 21st in another. I don't know. I think Louisville will be right on the cusp. I think Florida State will be in the top 25. I think USC will be right on the cusp. And I think A&M will be in the top 25. So if they win three of those four, they're going to have three pretty good wins at their disposal. John, Notre Dame in and out. So you're saying 11-1 in? I think 11-1 in. Okay.

John, Notre Dame in out of this year's college football playoff for you? I think they're 10-2, and if they're 10-2, they're out. I think they can get to 11-1, absolutely. I'm not saying it's not possible. Right, right. I have the feeling that I do think they lose to A&M, and they'll catch another one somewhere. And sitting at home on championship weekend...

10-2, I don't think that's going to be enough because I do think the committee will reward, maybe not all, but some of the conference championship losers. And I also think that even if, say, a team like, say, Missouri is 10-2, they're sitting at home as well, but they have some good wins on their schedule, but don't make the SEC championship game. I think they'll get the nod over Notre Dame.

I'm not as confident as you with the A&M game. I'll bet the house on A&M, on Notre Dame, making it over Missouri if they're both 10-2. I quickly want to run through Texas A&M. Hold on a second. The beginning of your statement was... I'll bet the house. On two 10-2s? Yeah, A&M 10-2, Missouri 10-2. Oh, okay.

I'll bet the house on Notre Dame getting in over Missouri if they're both 10-2. Granted, it's totally dependent on which losses are what. You can't just bet the house on the North. If Missouri beats Bama and loses to South Carolina, is that going to be good? Or whoever it is, they also play. If they lose to Auburn and South Carolina and beat Bama and A&M.

Is the committee going to value the bad losses or the good wins? I don't know. I quickly want to run through Notre Dame-Texas A&M to open the season and maybe kind of what we like and don't like on both sides of this. I do think the offensive line that has a better game goes a long way because both defensive lines can be a real problem. I probably have a little bit more confidence. I'm not going to say probably. I do have a little more confidence in Notre Dame's group right now. I'm not real sure what we're going to get from A&M's. I think there are a lot of question marks there up front.

Both quarterbacks, I think that there are things to like. There are things to be a little bit worried about. But I don't think A&M is going to be able to line up and run the football. Can they protect, though? That's what we talked about with R.J. Oban coming in from Duke. Are they able to get to the quarterback, win some one-on-ones, things like that? That's obviously going to be a big difference. Notre Dame offensive line handles A&M's defensive line.

I mean, there's familiarity there with Elko. They have an idea of what it needs to look like, what it needs to be. But I think when you start going down the position groups stylistically, I begin to lean Notre Dame in that game. Now, it's also going to be at Kyle Field. It's also probably going to be 111. And those are things that may favor A&M a little bit. Not at 630 at night. I've been there for some hot ones. When done blow too hard down there, Kyle Field. That thing gets a little stale.

Then you've got the track going around the outside and the heat just radiates off that thing. All the horse poop from the wagons going around. It can get muggy. Wait until Oklahoma comes around. You've got two sets of them. The A&M ones, they do it at halftime and before the game. Bevo comes in and just lets it go. He doesn't move around much. I know, but that's true. It begins, Greg, when you begin to break it down by position group, that it's easy to like Notre Dame in that game. Notre Dame's the more complete team.

Damian, Notre Dame in-out the playoffs this year? I think one loss, bury it. Okay. We are split here on the show, so our Twitter poll is going to have to answer it. At Mac and Cube, you can go there, vote Notre Dame in-out of the 2024 college football playoffs. Sure, we'll get a real partisan, real nonpartisan response to Notre Dame and the evaluation we're going to get on them with our listening audience. It's a national fan base. With all those rivals. Yeah.

What a shame on those other teams playing neutral site games every year, by the way. I can't believe they would do that. All right, when we come back, one segment a week we celebrate individual greatness. It doesn't matter what you've done in the win column or the loss column.

How great were you individually? We get bad about it 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 cap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. We celebrate individual greatness once a week on the show. We get bad about it.

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about it about it i'll start with the olympics uh men's basketball greece goes down to spain yesterday 84 77 yannis 27 points 11 rebounds three assists not enough to get it done though for his country but still yannis onto katumto which i completely believe that i butchered his last name there but hey we knew who you're talking about he is about it about it

Say his last name again. I'm not even going to try it again. You say his last name again. I think I missed 1K somewhere. Everything fell apart from 1K, just like your Duke. Also, Toledo Mudhens shortstop Spencer Tarkelson Sunday goes 2 for 4, 7 RBI.

He had a grand slam and a three-run home run. Also had a walk in the game in a 10-5 win. So not necessarily celebrating individual greatness in a loss, but still Toledo Mudhens shortstop Spencer Tarleton was. About it. About it. Hang on a second. Did we just give a about it to a loser? We did. To a winner, we did. A loser and a winner there. Yeah, but it's Giannis. Giannis gets it. Sorry. It's Giannis.

Wow. To be honest, man. And it's the Olympics. I mean, I'm good with it. All right. I will go to the women's basketball team. Yes, sir. It's kind of hard to find bad about it right now. I'm just not going to go through baseball box scores right now. I'm just having a hard time with it. I don't know. I've tried. So I will give a little love to Asia Wilson. Yes, sir. Who was 10 for 16 for 24 and added 13 rebounds. Six of them.

Coming in the offensive end, she also had four blocks. So Asia Wilson, leader of Team USA women's basketball, was? About it. About it. You bet she was. Also, second career game of 20 points and 10 rebounds at the Olympics. Her first since she went for 20 and 10 against Japan in Tokyo in 2020. Third player in U.S. Olympic history with multiple such games, joining Katrina McClain and Lisa Leslie. So, yes, Asia Wilson was about it.

I'm telling you, man, did you watch the game yesterday with them in Japan? No. Dog. The women's team is winning gold. You don't say. I think they're favored. Yeah, they kind of have yet to stumble. No, I'm just saying, as far as their domination, dog, they— Go figure, Damien jumping on a bandwagon. You know what? I think this team is winning gold. Too bad the WNBA All-Star team beat them.

With Kaitlyn. We're not talking about that. It was 102-76. It almost ended up in the last segment of the day. It was close. They are unstoppable, man. Apparently not. I mean, except for the WNBA All-Stars. Correct, right. With Kaitlyn. Most points in an Olympic game since 2016.

Well, I'm actually going to the gridiron. The Indoor Football League. Yes, sir. Y'all know we are. No, no. We're talking about indoor. That's a separate league because Nashville Cats, they run that. But I'm telling you. Where were they at the mall? I didn't see them in the championship game. They ran it. They fell in conference. Oh, okay. Championship game. But I take you to the Indoor Football League. Nate Davis. We're familiar with old Nate, right? I don't know, Nate. I haven't seen the tape. The guy that played for the New York Knicks.

That was Nate Robinson. That's Cole's favorite, Nate Robinson. No, but Nate Davis for the San Diego Strikeforce. 15-30. 50%. 216 yards. Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six touchdowns for the San Diego Strikeforce. Passing? Yes, sir. With only 216 yards? They're only playing 50-yard fields, though. Nah. No, it's...

He was locked in, and he also was. About it. About it. San Diego Strikeforce. All right, John. I'm going to take it back to the Olympics. May do a little double up. Number one, you may recognize this name, but you don't know him. Jose Alvarado. No, not that one. He plays for the Pelicans, but he represented for Puerto Rico. He put up a game leading 26 points, was 9-16 from the field, 6-8, 3-8 from behind the arc.

Sadly, in a losing fashion as they went down to South Sudan, 90-79. So he was simply just... About it. But I got to give it to the Frenchman, José Marchand. Oh, Marchand. Excuse me, Léon Marchand. Oh, Léon. My bad, yeah. I don't know, maybe parents maybe stepped out a bit. I'm not quite sure. But in the 400 individual medley, he won gold, as everyone kind of expected him to.

His time was 4 minutes and 2.95 seconds, which was an Olympic record. He set the world record last year at 4 minutes and 2.5 seconds, and he smashed Michael Phelps' Olympic record, which originally was 4.03.84. So Leon Marchand definitely was. About it. Marchand. Also about it yesterday.

Diabra de los Santos of the DSL Diamondbacks Black. You may hear about this game again later in the show. It wasn't a win. However, shortstop for the Diamondbacks Black went 4-for-6 yesterday, drove in nine, doubled twice, homered, scored four times, and walked. In one game? One game. Four-for-six, nine runs driven in, two doubles, and a home run. You are... About it. About it. About it.

I can only imagine what this score was. Carried the team, granted a loss, but still. He drove in nine and they still lost. No, I did not say it wasn't a loss. I just said you may hear about the score of the game overall a little bit later in the show because it was, the box score was bad. But when somebody goes four for six, walks, three extra base hits, scores four times, drives a nine, you're probably going to have a bad box score, which we will discuss a little bit later in the show.

So.

All right, that is about about it. We celebrate it once a week. Doesn't matter if you win or lose, just individual efforts. Djokovic, I feel I could be there with that win over Nadal, 6-1, 6-4. Fairly dominant there with what he was able to do and then having that winning record against the other big three that he's played for the majority of his career. So keep you updated on the Olympics as well. A little bit of an issue with the triathlon today. They're going to have to delay that again.

uh because of high bacteria levels in the river oh you don't say i feel like they knew about that one a while back i feel like it has been there they've been talking about that for a minute we're talking about the mayor took a plunge in and she didn't totally get sick a week after well that's what i'm trying to figure out like they've been saying that this was going to happen for quite some time right like how is this how have they not had some type of

A way to adjust where they're doing this. You're telling me France is a proud nation and don't want to listen to no one? Yeah. I don't understand how something like this happens. They can move the surfing to Tahiti. I think we can make some arrangements now. There you go. You do get more surfing today, Greg. Can't wait for that. It's going to be tonight at 834. You'll find that on Peacock. I mentioned that the gymnastics, it's at 1115 today.

And, of course, you'll get the replay tonight, I believe at 6.15 on NBC. So see if Team USA can grab a gold in the all-around. 3-on-3 basketball gets started in like an hour. I'm excited for that as well. Yes. Men or women? I don't know. I just saw 3-on-3. Knowing you, you're probably women, so, yeah. Ryan Howard, Derek Ahamby going to be going for –

Team USA, Haley Van Lith also joining the group there for three on three. Back with more 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. In store at mybob.com.

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