8-16-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 3: Most stable CFB programs; RJ Young ranks all FBS teams; Kirk Bohls talks Texas
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This Jocks 94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to msbnow.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. Welcome back. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Jocks 94.5. Final hour of the show. Final hour of the week for us here. And when we get back on the air three days from now on Monday...

Well, I actually won't be here. I'll be at jury duty. That's right, jury duty. If you guys are listening and you plan on putting a jury together on Monday, it'd be advantageous if I wasn't included on the jury. I am someone that has a microphone in front of me all the time. Maybe things from what I hear, it just comes out on the radio. I don't think it'd be a good play. But you're told not to talk about it. I've been also told not to...

Do a lot of things. And those things happen. Oh, okay.

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Go to callwaynes.com and let Waynes continue to create your happy place. Happy to be joined by our good friend Kirk Bowles, who has now moved over to the Houston Chronicle. So we'll get him back in just a second. Just lost him a moment ago. He's tapped into anybody that's going on with the Texas Longhorns. It's kind of fascinating.

How Texas is perceived this year and how different it was from a year ago last year. I remember having them in my top six in the preseason and everybody and their brother was like, what are you doing? Why are you on board Texas? And then urban Meyer came out today at the best roster in the sport. And I was like, Oh my gosh, urban Meyer doesn't know what he's talking about. This team stinks. And then sure enough, they go on to beat Alabama and week two and everybody then got on board the bandwagon and,

The rest is history, and we welcome men. He's Kirk Bowles of the Houston Chronicle. Kirk, congrats on the move to Houston Chronicle, by the way. Thank you, Kirk. Secondly, this Texas team, the perception very, very different from where it was a year ago. Last year, it was the same song and dance we always seem to do. Oh, this team is always overly inflated in the preseason, and then now this year, they

I think they might actually be a little inflated in the preseason. How have you evaluated them so far? Well, much different than a year ago. You're exactly right about that. And, uh,

It's a lot different coming off 12-2 than it was 8-5. It's funny how everything's just kind of reversed. The expectations are just going through the roof now. People are already looking into tickets to Atlanta to play Georgia in the rematch in the SEC championship game. It's probably out of control. Maybe the injuries to the running back brought them back to earth a little bit, but

Yeah, they're kind of in a fever pitch here, ready for Colorado State in about two weeks. I'm not against it. I think there's all the reason in the world to feel good about what they have, who they could be, what they might be.

But it's not without question marks. And everybody's got question marks to an extent. But with what they lost at wide receiver, with what they lost at defensive tackle, with the ineptitudes at times of what they had in the secondary, it's, I think, a little bit tougher transition this year, as some might assume. Couple that with the upgrade in schedule, right?

and how this team has occasionally, Kirk, played to the level of the competition. Do we anticipate that still being the same, or do you think they will be a little more consistent this year?

They sure better be. I mean, you know, how many times have we heard Texas is back? And what that only meant is that they're back in the standings. You know, it's, you know, you're talking dose of reality here, Greg. I mean, you see it for what it is. And as close as they were, it's so interesting last year, 12-2, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Last game of the season, Quinn, yours is throwing into the end zone to try to get the tying touchdown and the winning extra point to go play Michigan. They led Oklahoma with about 75 seconds left in the game, and OU scored with 15 seconds left in the game. Otherwise, they're 14-0, but...

they could have easily lost the houston game they maybe should have lost the tcu game the iowa state was you know a rugby match back and forth and so they were they were and that's that whole margin of error thing you know were they as good as 12 and 2 with that secondary they

you know, and, you know, Byron Murphy and Devondre Sweat masked a lot of problems on that defense because nobody could run on them. And still, they ranked 116th in pass defense. So, you make a lot of valid points. I mean, brand new receiving core. Secondary was kind of in shambles last year. Michael Penix never got touched by the pass rush. Murphy and Sweat are gone. So,

And then they had the four-bitch and running back issue. So they're not without flaws in question, Mark, and you're right to ask questions that we all will have until August 31st and beyond. What do you think is, like you referenced, the Houston, the TCU, the Iowa State performance offensively, do you think those are games that can be overcome in the SEC, or do you think...

We're looking at a really, really tough spot with the transition, knowing the level of competition amongst the teams that are considered, quote, middle tier or bottom tier. Do you think that this is going to be maybe a bit of a transition year as a result of that? Well, it could, because...

You're playing Florida, and yeah, that game's in Austin, and people are down on the Gators, and Philly's on the hot seat, but Florida's not Houston. If they play that kind of game against Florida, they get tripped up and loose. Kentucky's no slouch, as we know.

I mean, you know how tough they are on defense and how they like to run the ball. So, you know, and I don't know, Houston may have been the outlier because if you remember that, Texas was at 21 to nothing. And they're going in to kick the field goal with Bert Auburn, who is back and as automatic as they come. And he tries a trick play.

And it blows up in their face. And before you know it, the game's tied and Texas is playing for its life. So I think Sark even admits he got too cute in that game. But, you know, again, there are some flaws. But, you know, it is so funny, too, you know, being here in Austin for 500 years. You know, you see your team up close and you see all the flaws. You see the strengths, but you see all the flaws. But every team's got them. And so...

I sure wouldn't dash the hopes of Longhorn Nation because I think they've got so many other strengths going for them. It certainly feels that way. I was visiting Kirk Bowles of the Houston Chronicle. He does an amazing job covering the horns. You look at the running back spot, and that's been a bit of a question mark. Gosh, it's been crazy how many injuries they've had, whether it's Jonathan Brooks last year or two this season. It's just been crazy.

It's been a bit of a challenge. They do have depth there to an extent, but now down to three scholarship backs. Do they have enough? And in situations, who's going to be that short yardage guy? Do they have that guy? Or are things going to be a little bit more challenging for them to run the football?

It will be more challenging. I mean, C.J. Baxter, who was their lead tailback and starting, you know, day one here when training camp opened. I mean, he's a 6'1", 220-pound big guy. You know, Jadon Blue is maybe the fastest guy on the team. You know, he ran like a 10.2 in the 100 meters in high school. But, you know, he's not that big of a...

big, huge guy that's going to take on blocks and protect Quinn Ewers. And we all know with Deshaard Choice, their great running back coach, if you're not going to pass pro, you're not going to be on the field. So, and that's one of the reasons, Greg, they're looking at guys like, you know, Juan Davis, you know, it's six, four, 235 pounds tight in, you know, I mean, he was a quarterback in high school though, and he ran the 200 majors. He's a great athlete. And, and,

You know, another one is Darian Gallette, the retro freshman linebacker. He's 6'3", 235. They're looking at him back there, too, in addition to Ryan Niblett, who's kind of a smaller wide receiver type who, you know, has only played in three games here. But, yeah, I just – but you know Sark, Greg, he loves balance. You know, Texas was top 25 in running and passing last year. No doubt.

And he's had every full season he has had, except for the one where he got let go at USC. He's had a 1,000-yard runner, and he's...

So it's a little bit of myth, even though he may be a quarterback whisperer and a passing innovator, a great play caller, he's had the number one running back in the NFL draft the last two years with B. John Robinson and Jonathan Brooks. So he's not going to abandon the run.

But, you know, they're going to maybe put some more beef back in that backfield, maybe play more two tight end alignments, that sort of thing. And it does kind of add to the pressure of Quinn Ewers, don't you think, as a former quarterback yourself? Yeah.

I think so. And I mean, Quinn even saying the other day, like maybe I'll run more. I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah. Don't go there. No, you won't. It's not a great either. So I don't know if he did run a little bit better scramble a little bit better last year. He did. Yeah.

Doesn't always protect himself, and, you know, that's an issue, him having set out five games the last two years and with no quarterback behind him who's taking a meaningful snap. So, you know, that's going to take care. Well, don't say that, Kirk. You're not allowed to say that. You know who's behind him. So I think that –

I forget the name. He's a guy that might know a little bit about throwing it around the yard. And they're going to have to play Arch Manning in September. I talked to him about a week or so ago. Are you going to have to get him meaningful snaps

early in games, you know, in September, he said, Oh yeah. And I said, well, you feel like you're at, you're forced to cause Malik Murphy's now at Duke and you don't have a backup other than our two stone five passes. And he said, no, no, but he didn't elaborate. I don't think he wants to open that can of worms at all. I don't think that'd be one where he goes in there and gives them a lot of playing time. And all of a sudden arch is balling. That's that's,

A recipe for disaster. But wouldn't you, if you're the coach, Greg, would you play him? Say, you know, Colorado State, you know, then they have UTSA and Louisiana Monroe. Those three games, I would play Art Sum in the first half when the bullets are flying. You know, not give him...

six series, but give him a couple series just to get his feet wet. Would you, if you were the coach? I think it'd be beneficial. I remember my last year at Bama, first couple games, we played Penn State week two. I think it was FIU or San Jose State. I think we played week one. They gave AJ the fourth series. I didn't need it. I don't think we had any completion at that point. It's like, all right, we're good. Let's just...

Let's just stay the course. So, yeah, I think against a UTSA is pretty good and Colorado State's pretty good, too. So it's like there's a real slouch in there. You can get some good quality reps and some confidence building reps against. But maybe you can find some time for him in the first half if things look good in practice in the week leading up. Lastly, Kirk, as we get you out of here with this.

What are the Texas fans most excited about this upcoming season? They had a taste of the SEC the last couple years with the home-and-home against Alabama, but is there anything now that the transition is complete that really has them fired up? Well, more than anything, Greg, it's just...

the feel of big time games on the schedule and not to disparage the big 12 but the texas fandom had just gotten bored with baylor and our state in west virginia you know not to impugn those programs but they just didn't bring the same brand name of the excitement level you know that george is going to bring that florida is going to bring it

you know, Arkansas road trip to Fayetteville and what that means. So I think I just sense that an excitement, you know, plus the fact that the Texas is a top five team, according to the polls that I haven't seen since Vince was around. And, and, and to be fair,

08 and 09 when they played y'all for the national championship in 09. I hate to bring that up, but you just haven't seen that in about 15 years, Greg. They just can't wait until Saturday. I don't know if I'm

I don't know when the last time I saw this much anticipation. You know, probably maybe 05 season when they won it all with Vince and then 07 and 08 when Colt was doing his thing. So it's more the anticipation. And then a little bit worried about the grind. Like you said, the SEC brings it every week, and you better bring it or you're going to lose. Yeah.

You know, you're not playing Houston, TCU, or Iowa State anymore. So it's real, and it's coming soon, and people can't wait. Oh, there is no doubt it is coming soon. I really appreciate the time, Kirk. Thanks again so much, and we look forward to visiting again soon. Thank you, Greg. Have a great day. All right, Kirk Bowles joining us here.

On McElroy and Kubrick in the morning, does an amazing job. Just actually transitioned to the Houston Chronicle. He was at the Austin American Statesman forever, but now he's at the Houston Chronicle, and there's no doubt that the Houston Chronicle is better for it. He does an amazing job covering the Texas Longhorns. He's a legend, been doing it for a very, very long time. You can check him out at KBowls, B-O-H-L-S, on X, formerly known as Twitter.

to keep things so you can stay up to date with what's going on with the long horse. All right, when we come back and tell you about some coaching continuity, I was going through this the other day and there's basically program stability scores that I've never even heard of, but it found really interesting and I'll explain what they are and how they can be impactful and

towards assessing some of these teams in the upcoming year. I'll explain next on McElroy and Kubrick in the morning on jocks. 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 app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. Back with Kubrick in the morning, jocks. 925.

Here in Birmingham, Friday, August 16th, eight days away from the college football season getting underway. We're moving into football season so fast, I can't believe how quickly it's arriving, but it'll be here before we know it. If you're trying to create a move, do it with our friends at Crocker Movies, which is our local company owned by an Iraq war veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring, which is trust, complete full background checks, and run drug tests on every single employee.

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I told you a second ago about program stability, and I found this really interesting. I had never really heard about this, but there is a program stability score that can be used in applying what you had from last year, what you had from this year, and how it can ultimately really help you with assessing what these teams might be.

Now, I think part of it has to do with early in the season versus late in the season. Sometimes having no program stability a la Colorado last year had the opponents for Colorado chasing ghosts, which actually benefited Colorado. Does that make sense? Like when TCU was preparing to play Colorado in week one, they were chasing ghosts. They had no idea what Colorado was going to look like offensively.

Nor did they have any idea what Colorado was going to look like defensively. So they had to watch like 96 different games from all the assistant coaches and their history and what they've done. And that's almost impossible. So to put a game plan together where you don't know what they're going to do offensively and defensively is really dang tough. So sometimes this can work completely the opposite. But for the most part, the program stability numbers are fascinating. The most stable program, you're going to absolutely laugh at this,

And just so you know, how you come up with program stability. If the same head coach is back from the previous year, you get four points. Oh, okay. All right. New head coach, zero points. Obviously, right? So four points. The head coach by itself is worth four. Returning offensive coordinator, that's worth three points. Makes sense. Returning defensive coordinator, that's worth three points. So if you have the same OCDC and head coach, you already have.

10 points. Good solid 10. Okay. Really good. Really, really good. Now, there are also numbers that can be applied to returning starters. If you have 0-7 returning starters, 0 points. That's a pretty low number. I mean, 0-7, if you only have 7 starters back, that's not a lot. Not unlike Colorado heading into last year. Correct. Yeah. Okay. 8-9, that's worth 1 point.

10 to 12, that's worth two. 13 to 16, that's worth three. 17 to 19, that's worth four. And 20 to 22. If everybody's back, that's worth five points. Pretty dang good. So let's go into it. Oh, and starting quarterback, by the way. Returning starting quarterback, that's worth four. So that's as valuable as the head coach. So you have the same quarterback, same OC, same head coach, same DC. You're at 14. And then you go into the returning starters metric.

And that would potentially get you all the way to a max score of 19. So if you look at where we're going from a program stability standpoint, there are seven teams this year that are over 18, which is a ton, I might add. A ton. That means they return head coach, OC, DC, and at least 17 starters. There are seven schools that have that.

The team with the most stability from last year to this year, Virginia Tech. 21 starters back, including Kyron Drones, their starting quarterback, who ran for 800 yards last year. Brent Prye is back. And they, as a result of this program stability, might be a bit of a game wrecker. I don't necessarily believe it, but it's possible. Most stable team in the country. Guess who's second most?

I will give you $100 if you can guess who's second. UAB. No. Okay. Vanderbilt. No, I'm a new quarterback. You ready? Yeah. Ole Miss Rebels. Oh. The Ole Miss Rebels have 18 points. They have their head coach back. Right. They have their starting quarterback back. That is true. OC and DC. They're back. Yeah. Charlie Weiss Jr., Pete Golding, both back. You're at 14 right out of the gate. And then in a different way.

10 players on each side of the ball. Yeah, we knew one was missing, so yeah, only losing one other starter. Okay, that feels rather solid. All right, I'll give it to them. And the pieces that they lost, they actually upgraded. That is insane when you really take that into account. Absolutely insane. You know who also has a very high percentage of returnees and whose number is outrageously high? The Texas Longhorns. They have a stability score of 18.

They bring back Steve Sarkeesian, who's not just the head coach with the play caller. They bring back their D.C. Pete Kwiatkowski. They bring back their quarterback, Quinn Ewers. That's 14 right there. And then in addition to that, they have 15 starters back. 15. So you would think with Texas and with Ole Miss, with the amount of guys they brought in in the portal, they would not be programs that would have tremendous stability. But they do.

Really, really crazy to think about. Just so you know where Alabama sits. We'll go there. Alabama's program stability standpoint, 7. Ole Miss is at 18. Texas at 18. Bama's at 7. Of course, new OC, new DC, new head coach. Same quarterback and 13 starters back. Four points for the quarterback. 13 starters leads to three points. That gets you to 7. Solid 7. Okay. Not bad. It's not terrible. Auburn.

Has 12 stability points. Head coach is back. OC and DC both out. Yeah, they're gone. Quarterback back. Okay. And 17 starters, which is worth four points. So 4-4-4. Head coach, quarterback, 17 starters. That gets you four. Stability score of 12. All right, folks. Auburn's finally stable. Let's go to Georgia. Since everyone seems to think they are a bona fide lock,

for the college football playoff and the bona fide lock to potentially win the national championship. Hard to push back on any of it, to be honest with you. Their stability score is 17. Head coach is back. That's four. OC is back. Mike Bobo. That's three. Glenn Schumann's back. DC. That's three. Carson Beck's back. Starting quarterback. That's four. That gets you to 14 all by itself, plus three with 14 returning starters. Now, if a team that was already pretty dang good last year. Let's do LSU, since they're here in the backyard.

You think Alabama had turnover last year? LSU has a stability score of 6. 6. 4 for the head coach. New OC. New DC. New quarterback. 12 starters back. That's only 2 points. Score of 6. And then finally we'll do Tennessee. It's in our backyard. Stability score of 12. Head coach back. Yes. OC back. Yes. DC back. Tim Banks. Yes. Not the quarterback. This is one where it becomes a little interesting.

You don't have four points for the quarterback being back, but is Nico Iamaleava actually better than Joe Milton? I assume he is. I don't know for sure, but it doesn't help as it pertains to program stability. So I thought it was just kind of an interesting exercise. I never realized that there were actual grades for this thing. I never realized that it was really valuable information, but pretty interesting nonetheless when taking all things into account and

The fact that Ole Miss, I think of all the takeaways here, Ole Miss is among the most stable programs in the sport as far as returning production and coaching continuity. If you were to give me 100 guesses out of 134 teams, Ole Miss might not have been picked. And yet, here they are. Same head coach, same OC, same DC, same quarterback, and 20 starters back off last year's team. Pretty good starting point.

for the Rebels, who come in ranked number six in the AP poll. When we come back, RJ Young, who ranked all 134 teams for Fox Sports. He'll join us next. Before he does, I'm going to tell you about our friends at Iconic Karts. Iconic Karts gets you covered in really a lot of great things that you can find there at Iconic Karts. The Evolutions and Nago Karts are amazing. Tons of options. There's street legal golf carts with touchscreens, killer sound system, lithium power, you name it.

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Or we come back. RJ Young of Fox Sports joins us next on Macquarie Cube in the morning on Jock's 94.5. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jock's 94.5 and jocksfm.com. Hurry hand. Welcome back. Macquarie Cube in the morning, 935 a.m. Here's Jock's 94.5.

Have RJ Young joining us here in just a moment. Before we get to him, tell you about my friends at Bromberg's. You walk in, you feel like you're family, man. You walk in, you're going to be helped by their amazing sales staff. I have had such a great experience shopping with Bromberg's for years. I mean, years and years. I don't remember the last gift I bought for my wife or for a loved one that wasn't from Bromberg's. Whether it's fine jewelry, watches, gift wares, the best in customer service. You walk in, everybody knows your name. Everybody knows your preferences. You walk in, you feel like you're family.

Really sets the tone for what should be a one-of-a-kind experience. It's one of the oldest businesses in the state and one of the oldest in the country. Opened its doors for the first time back in 1836. So go and enjoy that luxury shopping experience you can only find at Bromberg's, one of their two locations, Mountain Brook Village and The Summit, or you can go online at Brombergs.com. Welcome him in. He's RJ Young. Does an amazing job for Fox Sports. You can follow him at RJ underscore Young.

You can also check out the quote number one college football show on YouTube. It does a great job for Fox. RJ, you had the unenviable task of having to rank teams one through 134. What the heck were you thinking, buddy? This is, that is a big ask for you to be able to go on that type of undertaking. Well, first I appreciate the time guys. And I appreciate the thought about that task. Look,

I love what I do, and this is fun. And it started as a thought exercise for myself because if you're going to claim to be a National College Football analyst anywhere, I think you owe at least a good effort to know every one of these teams that plays at the top of college football. Now, when you get past 50, you really got to start to work at it, especially in this day and age of roster change and whatnot. But it was really just that. And then I told my boss that I was doing this, and he said –

I'd like to see us do that too. And that's how this list became the 134. And we did all these other really cool things. We're separated by conference, separated by some players, separated by some categories. And what we came out with, I thought was pretty good and inspired some really cool debate. Well, I would imagine so. And I know that a lot of the debate will be had with the G5 or with the P5. But I'm looking here at 134 and that's Louisiana Monroe.

I'm looking at 127 Ball State. I'm looking at 106 Southern Miss. Did you notice some pushback from programs that maybe you didn't expect to hear from when you went through this list? Believe it or not, number 83 Washington.

That's the one. That's the button. I get, believe it or not, and some other folks are really unhappy about Alabama at number nine, and I'm going, all right, come on now. But to that point, I think Washington fans got a point that I needed to walk out for them. And it's simply put,

I started this by going, who has the best opportunity to win the national championship before we start winning football games based on what we know? And then I worked down, right? So you'll see teams like, I'm going to pick on a...

pick up my buddy G.J. Kinney, who played quarterback when I was at University of Tulsa. He's at Texas State. They're in the high 60s or high 50s, excuse me. And I'm going to look at UTSA, right? I think I have them 49. And I'm going to look at Memphis, who I think I got at 37, or Jacksonville State, who I think I got 67, ahead of number 83, Washington. And the point there is they have an easier path

to get to the playoffs than Washington because this is an unintended consequence of a 12-team playoff the way that we look at it. If Jacksonville State wins 11 games and their conference championship, they're probably going to be the highest-ranked G5 program as a champ, and there's your gateway entry to the playoffs.

For Washington to do the same, they've got to win at least 10 games. We think that's got to be against four ranked opponents, and I think they've got five on the schedule. And then we've got to think that they're one of the three best teams in the Big Ten against perhaps what I think is going to be the three best teams in the SEC. So when you match those things up and the things that have to go right for Washington –

are very, very important. Whereas things that got to go right for the G5 programs is, did we beat everybody and did we get the double-digit wins? Visiting with RJ Young does a great job on Fox Sports covering the entire college football world. And when I say the entire college football world, I quite literally mean the entire college football world. You can go check him out right now. His ultimate rankings from one through five

134. Your highest G5 team is James Madison. I don't think anyone's going to have a huge problem with that. I know they had quite a few disappearances off last year's team, like Kurt Cignetti. Their starting quarterback has transferred out, but there's quite a bit to also like about what James Madison brought in with their new head coach and Bob Chesney. So how would you assess kind of the G5 right now? And how many teams do you really think are in the running for James

I think that when we're talking about Bob's team in particular, we're also talking about some things that I took into account, like schedule. We're talking about changing head coach, changing philosophy. We talked about the change in personnel, and we talked about the league you play in, right? Number one, I believe the Sun Belt is going to be a big part of the game.

is the toughest G5 league in the entire world, and we got lots of data to point that out, right? So I kind of start with, okay, which league are they playing in? And I think the phrase they have adopted is the little SEC. And they damn near ran the table last year with Kurt, and I think that that culture...

has influenced the athletic department as much as it influenced the team. Also in there, I think I got, I'm trying to think, I want to say Memphis is at 37 ahead of James Madison here. Yeah, so I got Memphis at 37 and Madison at 39. But the point is, I think those two teams, along Appalachian State also, I think those are the three that I was really circling around. And I really like the guys that he had brought over from Holy Cross,

I mean, I didn't even know Dylan Morris was still playing football until I started to do this sort of homework, right? It's one of those things. And that dude actually might be pretty damn good, right? I just, I also liked what Memphis had done in the offseason. And that was why I moved into 37. They got the Florida State game, which can really help them. And as far as the resume goes, they play in a tough league.

We all like what Ryan Silverfield has done with that program. And then you get the $25 million in name, image, and likeness infused from FedEx going, we want to win football games. And I'm going, okay, here's another G5 program that knows what it wants to be. It wants to play big-time college football. It doesn't care much about –

who thinks they're a G5 or not. That sort of a mentality I really like. Those are the kinds of things I was thinking about as I put these lists together. Really good. As we visit with RJ Young, I apologize. You're right, Memphis at 37. I don't know how I somehow passed them by. Maybe because I think they should be in the Big 12. Maybe that has something to do with it. I have no idea. They do. They think that too. Yeah, well, it's hard to push back. When you look at the teams that have gotten introduced into the

P5 last couple of years, Memphis has been to the new year six. They've done a lot of great things. There's no reason why they shouldn't be at least under some consideration. You look at the sec versus the big 10, um,

I think the SEC is stronger and deeper, but I also am kind of fascinated by the contrast of styles that you're going to get in the Big Ten. I think the SEC with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, they kind of already play SEC-style football. It's not that different. When I look at the additions of Washington, Oregon, SC, and UCLA, it's very different from that of what we've seen in the Big Ten West for a number of years. So as you kind of compare the two leagues and...

which league might ultimately be more dramatic this year. Which way do you lean? Well, I lean on that ranking, right? The fifth best team in the SEC is the ninth best team in college football as I see it. And if you need any other definition for depth, I don't know what it is, man. Because I was looking at this and

Again, I want to lean on Alabama here just for a little bit because I think they're a very interesting test case for what this playoff is going to be. At nine, I think they've got some room to grow, and I think they just need to show me a little bit more than they've got to show some other folks because I think at number five with the roster that Kalen DeBoer has versus the roster that Coach Saban had last year,

I'm going to give Coach Saban the benefit of the doubt that I'm not going to give to Kalen DeBoer. That's just it, right? I understand that man has won 104 games and lost 12, but he ain't done that in the SEC, okay? So we're going to wait. We're going to see. And they got time here. I also think that we're going to see three teams from one of those two leagues make the playoffs, okay?

we might see three things for both of those leagues make the playoffs. And then it's about, okay, who do I think is going to beat someone? And then I lean on past results and I lean on what these coaches know about each other. So another great example is Ole Miss versus Penn State could be one of those at-large

conversations we're having. Well, we know how that looks because we watched what Ole Miss did to Penn State, right? We're going to keep going down the line going, okay, do I think Michigan is a better football team than Alabama? Right now, to start, but that could change come October. And I'm telling you, if Kalen DeBoer beats Wisconsin, they go to bye week, they come out of the bye week, they beat Georgia, we're all going to be talking about them as winning a national championship. So I left some room for error there, but I really do believe what you believe.

The SEC's got the better league, even though the Big Ten champion is the national champion from last year. But depth is something that I'm still trying to figure out because I think we all believe that Georgia, Texas, those two teams are going to be good. And then we're going to see who the third team really is. And I think in the Big Ten, it's Oregon and Ohio State, and then we'll see. So I'm kind of waffling on this because I'm not quite sure yet, but I think we're going to know something by October.

Finally, we'll get you out of here with this, RJ. He does a great job. You can check him out at FoxSports.com. You can also check him out on his podcast, Number One College Football Show, on YouTube. We'll get you out of here with this. As you assess Ohio State and you look at the rest of the Big Ten, you have Ohio State at one, you have Oregon at three, not that dissimilar to what most people have. How wide is that gap between Ohio State and Oregon right now? It's a good question.

It's not very wide at all. I would even say today it's a pick-em because that game is in Eugene when they play. I really love Dan Lanning, but who doesn't really love Dan Lanning? I'm very familiar with Dylan Gabriel, and other folks are getting very familiar with Dylan Gabriel. I think we're talking about a game that's going to be a one-score game at the end, and whomever wins it's going to flip, but they're hopefully going to get to play each other twice.

I hope. I hope. So I'm going to say I got them at four for Oregon because – or what did I say, four or three? Let me check my own damn ranking right quick because it's not that much. I can't waffle it on this, man. And it's hard because they look similar. I mean, they got great tailbacks. They got great wideouts. They're figuring it out on the offensive line for Ohio State. But the defensive line for Ohio State, I give the edge against Oregon. Yeah.

Yeah, I got him at four. So it's not very large at all, right? I would just say, come back to me after they play that game in Eugene, and I'll have a more definitive answer for you. But before we get to playing football, this is what I got. This is what I'm working with.

Well, awesome stuff, buddy. Great work. I know that was a monumental task to put that list together. So, you know, commend you for doing it and appreciate all that you do for college football and covering not just the P5, but also the G5 as well. Awesome stuff.

I appreciate it. Thank you for having me on. Thank you for considering it. And I appreciate anybody that wants to tell me what they think because this conversation I'm going to keep having and I really enjoy it. Oh, it's certainly, I would imagine it won't end. This will be something that will be revisited by many fan bases. I would imagine throughout the season when proven right and or wrong RJ, great stuff, buddy. Look forward to seeing you again soon.

All right. All right. RJ Young joining us here. You can check him out on Fox sports.com. You can also follow him at RJ underscore young on Twitter or X. All right. When we come back, do the TDs fine furniture, super sofa game of the day.

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TD's 5 furniture super sofa games of the weekend. Next on McElroy Cube of the Morning on Jock Sunday 4-5. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to McElroy Cube of the Morning. Last segment of the show.

By the time we get back on the air, we will be in game week. Pretty exciting stuff. First, we'll go to our friend Jimmy before we get to the Super Sofa game at the weekend. Jimmy, what's going on, buddy? Hey, Greg. Thank you for taking my call. I know you're short of time. I'm going to question to you. Coach Saban's on campus, obviously, down the street in an office building.

How much participation are – can he observe practices? I know he wouldn't go and give advice, but if Coach DeBoer wants to say, hey, what do you think about this or that, watching practice, can he do that without breaking any kind of NCAA violation? Oh, yeah. No, he can be as involved as he wants. He can't be on the field actively coaching players, but he can –

definitely lend an eye and go to practice and, Hey, I might want to consider this. Hey, might want to consider that. And the defensive staff have used him as a sounding board really all off season. Yeah. I don't know exactly how many meetings they've had, but I know it's, they've met with regularity him and, and Kane Womack and others have, have spent quite a bit of time sitting down and kind of going through the personnel and,

Coach Saban obviously knows these guys very well, knows the players really well, and it's beneficial to get Coach Saban's assessment considering he's coached these guys for a year in some cases, in some cases more. Hey, this is what makes this guy tick.

This is what I'd consider there when you're playing LSU. We noticed this about LSU. It just helps ease the transition for the new staff. So they're not chasing as many ghosts, knowing some of the uncertainty that they have in this part of the country, coaching against the guys that Coach Saban's coached against in some cases 10 times. So...

I think it's valuable. It's a great question. But yeah, Coach Saban is definitely not super hands-on, and he'll probably be less and less hands-on as the season goes about. But in the offseason, yeah, he was definitely there to help them out as best they could. All right, time for our TD's Fine Furniture Super Sofa Game of the Week. Get your super sofa at TD's Fine Furniture with over 200 brands of furniture in more than a football-sized, football field-sized showroom and warehouse today.

They buy in bulk to pass those savings along to you at TD's Fine Furniture in Summerton. Damian, where are you going? That would be my Tennessee Titans. They're taking on Seattle Seahawks NFL preseason tomorrow, 6 p.m., NFL Network. And we already announced that we're going straight twos, straight twos and threes.

Oh, so Will Lovis is starting. Okay. Get that all over you. Don't be disrespectful. Can't wait to watch that. Listen, man, we got to build that dip. We got to build that dip and see what we got. Man, what a great game to look at. I mean, what time is that at? Six o'clock. Tonight? Tomorrow. Oh, gosh. Cancel the weekend.

But, yes, that's my TD's fine furniture super sofa game of the weekend. Wow. I can't believe you would do that. Tighten up. That's just – okay, wow. Well, what kind of person would do that? Well, mine is the New Orleans Saints at the San Francisco 49ers. Wow. But it's Sunday on Fox 6 because, you know, at least we're a real and actual team without a quarterback that, you know, put mayonnaise on himself in public. But, yeah, I really –

I want to see what the boys can do and really kind of hope that Mike Tomlin or maybe Mike Vrabel or Bill Belichick wants to come coach the team next year. Wow. You guys are off to a blazing hot start. Let me guess. Who are the Dodgers playing this weekend? Not doing Dodgers. I'm actually going a slightly different direction. The Braves. You're watching a Braves game. Not if you paid me. So, you know, hey, we will always have Braves.

I promise you what I won't be doing, though, is watching them. That's for sure. How about tonight? Get this all over you. Eight o'clock here on TSN or on any streaming network. I don't know exactly where it's going to be. The Montreal Alouettes against the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. The Rough Riders come in as a two and a half point dog hammer. The Rough Riders.

I don't know why. Degenerate. You know why? Canadian football? Because Shea Patterson's their starting quarterback. Oh, boy. Ole Miss legend, right? Shea Patterson, formerly of Ole Miss. Formerly of Michigan. Full hearts can't lose. The Sasquatch Rough Riders in a Week 11 showdown against the Alouettes. Three-man front's next. Have a great weekend, everybody. This is McElroy and Kulik 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 MyBobs.com. Named one of the best personal finance podcasts, The Stacking Benjamin Show with Joe and his friends makes financial literacy fun. We see money inefficiency OG around us all the time. We've got a few skeletons sitting out in the open and maybe we need to broom them into the closet, if you know what I mean. Nope, take that out. What is...

Whatever you were going for didn't land right. Who's got a shovel and some lime? Maybe you need to do that with your financial picture. I don't know. Find out more by searching the Stacking Benjamins podcast wherever you listen. 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.