PMS 2.0 1398 - FIRST 15: CFB Week 1 Recap

1 Sep 2025 · 17 min · 10 chapters

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In short

“First 15” college football Week 1 recap—top five headlines, heavy focus on special teams, kickers, and early-season “who’s real” teams.

Guests

No named guests in the transcript; two hosts banter throughout (one “D” is referenced).

Key claims

  1. Bill Belichick’s UNC debut vs TCU should be “electrifying”; UNC is an underdog, and Belichick’s defense should be prepared pre/post snap.
  2. South Carolina’s Beamer Bowl win highlighted special teams; re-kicks and return impact matter.
  3. Several kickers/punters impressed: Miami’s 47-yard late FG; Iowa’s 55-yard FG; Iowa State’s Kyle Konrardi 63-yard FG; Tulsa’s punter Agnes Davies 80-yard punt.
  4. Ohio State looks dominant defensively; FSU’s Thomas Castellanos could flip cultures again.
  5. Ohio State honored Coach Corso’s farewell; Arch Manning/Steve Sarkisian struggled vs Ohio State.

Notable examples

Vakari Swain 80-yard return; Lenore Sellers; Devin Bale squib-kick scoop; C.J. Daniels TD catch; Utah’s second-half surge; WVU’s Rich Rodriguez turnaround talk.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Bill Belichick's Debut in College Football

0:18 to 2:14

Discussion on Bill Belichick's transition to coaching at UNC and the upcoming game against TCU.

“The Bill Belichick era debuts down there in Chapel Bill, North Carolina.”

Expectations for UNC's Performance

2:14 to 3:22

Analyzing UNC's potential performance with a new team and coaching staff.

“There is a stat about the betting here for Bill Belichick as an underdog.”

Highlights from the Beamer Bowl

3:22 to 5:30

Recap of the Beamer Bowl featuring standout performances and familial connections.

“Let's go to the number four headline from the weekend.”

Impressive Kickoff Returns and Strategy

5:30 to 7:20

Discussion on exceptional kickoff returns and coaching decisions during games.

“Everybody's very tired going down the field.”

Analyzing Recent Kicking Performances

7:20 to 9:28

Reviewing standout performances by kickers across college football this weekend.

“We looked that up because I was like, damn, very athletic kicker.”

Punter Highlights and Special Teams Success

9:28 to 10:34

Showcasing impressive punting performances and their impact on games.

“Miami, Notre Dame with the snap being outside.”

Who’s Real in College Football?

10:34 to 14:01

Exploring which college football teams are legitimate contenders based on recent performances.

“Tulsa punter Agnes Davies from Victoria, Australia, hits this thing 60 yards in the air, lands at about the 34, and then it gets a 24-yard roll.”

Pitt's Big Win and Texas's Struggles

14:01 to 14:55

Discussion on Pitt's victory and Texas's performance with Arch Manning.

“And then Pitt is able to get a big-time win.”

Coach Corso's Emotional Farewell

14:56 to 16:10

Reflections on Coach Corso's impactful farewell and the celebration of his legacy.

“We shall see how the rest of the year goes.”

Final Thoughts on Corso and the Season Ahead

16:11 to 17:06

Final reflections on Corso's legacy and light-hearted musings on his future picks.

“And maybe he could still send a text for his picks because it feels like he's seeing the board pretty good.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Pat McAfee:This will be the top five headlines in our eyes. Now granted, will our top five headlines match other people's top five headlines? Maybe. But on this particular sports day, the five things that we think you need to hear about, we're going to cover early in the first 15. So let's put 15 minutes on the clock, please. Yeah, we got an actual clock. I mean, things are actually happening. And let's start with roll that thing. Let's go with number five tonight. The Bill Belichick era debuts down there in Chapel Bill, North Carolina. They'll take on TCU in a game that's going to be on ESPN, a game that's going to be, I think, electrifying.

0:33Pat McAfee:Now, with the under-hit, we think so. We think what you saw of Matt Patricia against Arch Manning, which we will certainly talk about here in a little bit, they were saying Matt Patricia basically Bill Belichick, Steve Sarkeesian. Well, Bill Belichick is actually now in college ball. What will he do to the high-paced TCU offense? We shall see. There was an article written on ESPN.com this morning, actually pretty balanced, covered, you know, all the things that have basically happened since Bill has become the UNC head coach. Obviously, there's been some drama. There's been a lot of drama. But there's been a lot of good in the building as well.

1:04Pat McAfee:Like, for instance, tonight, I believe Michael Jordan will be on his side. Julius Peppers, Lawrence Taylor, Eric Church, Chase Rice, who I was actually there for his last football game as a North Carolina Tar Heel. They lost by one point to the West Virginia Mountaineers. I remember that. Oh, yeah. It was in North Carolina. And Chase Rice will be there, obviously. Same with Blake Snow. So whenever you're talking about the who's who of North Carolina, Mia Hamm is going to be swinging by. It's like the attention that this North Carolina football team is getting is obviously at a different level than it had been over the years, but will they be able to play football immediately?

1:38Pat McAfee:Will they be a team that will be able to gel quickly like some of these other teams that we've seen around college ball that got a lot of transfer portal people, got a lot of people that maybe didn't know each other just a few months ago come together to play good football? Or are they going to be a team that got a bunch of people that don't know each other come back and be bad at football? TCU is a tough task, but tonight should be electrifying down in North Carolina. Yeah, at 333 wins in the NFL, I think he's going to be able to figure out in college. 5-11, I think, was his year one record for the Patriots, so it might take a little bit here, but they're going to be in every single game.

2:07Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think it's going to be an under as well. I think it's going to get a little tight. That's the number five headline as they take off on runway 23. Remember the Michael Jordan sponsorship there. There is a stat about the betting here for Bill Belichick as an underdog. Yeah, I do. This is from Hembo, by the way. I don't want to take this as mild. Agreed. Clock ticking. From 2001 to 2019, which is the Brady-Belichick era, the Patriots were underdogs 53 times. New England went 32-21 with a 6-0-4 win percentage in those games. The best record in the NFL as an underdog over that span. UNC is a dog tonight.

2:38Pat McAfee:So we assume that this is going to go under because we think Bill Belichick will make you play left-handed. They said Matt Patricia Belichick, Steve Sarkeesian. What does that mean, actually, D? But as a man who was drafted at the top of the second round to the New England Patriots defense. That really means the defense is very, very prepared and prepared to show one thing pre-snap and then another thing post-snap. We're all good liars and we're all on the same page. A defense is tough to stop, especially for these young quarterbacks. So you talked about it taking time early on. He has free agency.

3:05He has the draft already. Brand new team. I think they'll be prepared. I got UNC winning straight up. Oh, I like that.

3:10Pat McAfee:He does have connections to – we all have connections to Lombardi and Belichick with TCU. Great football team. And at the end of last year, they got real hot. They figured out who they were. A lot of tempo. How will Bill Belichick manage that? We shall see. Let's go to the number four headline from the weekend. Hey, special teams are special special now. We're not just talking about a little special. We're talking special special. A lot of great things for the brand across the board. Let's go down to the Beamer Bowl where we had some Beamer Bowl. South Carolina return man, Vakari Swain, takes this thing 80 yards to the crib.

3:42Pat McAfee:10-8 game. It was a cagey affair. Both teams looked good, actually. Lenore Sellers is a guy. Cannot wait to see what he does in the NFL and also for the rest of the year for South Carolina. And Vakari Swain is an absolute menace. He's a DB who, great vision, great everything. And then let's go to immediately after the game. They're calling this the Beamer Bowl because obviously Frank Beamer, Shane's padre, his father, coached at Virginia Tech for a long time. Shane Beamer went to Virginia Tech. Shane Beamer started his entire coaching career at Virginia Tech. Now he's a head coach at South Carolina with the highest expectations that he's ever had there.

4:14Pat McAfee:Frank Beamer before the game said he loves seeing Shane live out his dream as a head coach. And taking on Virginia Tech, obviously going to be a little bit of a tear of heart. But blood is thicker than legacy is what Frank Beamer said. And after the game, this is what Shane came up to say to his old man. Oh, man. I let that one's over. No problem. Thank you. Thought you'd like a special team's touchdown. Yeah. Great, Scotty. Congratulations. Thank you. Love you. Beamer ball in the Beamer Bowl is a magical thing. Virginia Tech started out much better than they did last year. They had a lot more question marks around the entirety.

4:48Pat McAfee:But South Carolina gets a big win. Special teams are going to be good because of being involved. Lenore Sellers seems to be a guy. Yes. They're talking about him being a guy guy now. He's big. He's strong. Great leadership as well, which is great. And he can spin that thing. I love what South Carolina did here early. And also, if you're going to get kick returns and punt returns every game, you're going to win those games. Got to win that third phase. And you know this better than anyone. The Cardinals sin with special teams is a re-kick on punts. And that was a re-kick. Set them up for the DB to do its thing.

5:13special, special play in the Beamer Bowl.

5:15Pat McAfee:On that note, he elected for them to re-kick. Not every coach does that. It was like an illegal formation or something. Sometimes they'll just take the 10-yard penalty from the end of the spot and move on. Beamer, born and baptized in special teams. That's right. So we'll do the re-kick. All the coverage team's tired. Everybody's very tired going down the field. Now, he hit a good ball. I'm not saying he did not hit a good ball. Sometimes your second ball, too, Mulligan can hit a little bit better. But the people that are trying to cover that thing, They want that second ball not returned. We've already run down the field.

5:47Pat McAfee:Yeah, we have already done this whole thing again. And that ball was murdered, obviously. I'm not going to blame the punter. But a re-kick, you're right, is a great decision by – easy for me to say. A great decision for Shane to make. But also for them to make him punish. That's a beautiful thing for the Beamer Bowl. There was also a re-kick in Rutgers and Ohio this weekend as well. The second one was blocked. So a couple times this weekend where the re-kick has gotten shoved up someone's ass. Let's talk about punter Devin Bale, okay? Kickoff guy for Arkansas. Tries to hit a squib kick. Instead, boom, right off a guy.

6:17Pat McAfee:Over his head. Excuse me. Scoops that thing. Now, you can't advance it, but I do like that he got nasty with it. He put that ball immediately on his outside hand, too. He wasn't going to get stripped. He was actually looking to stiff arm folks. I think he was going to stiff arm a couple people. Hits a guy right in his thigh or his chest. Bounce up over his head. Grabs it. A lot of people say, hey, do this every time. I agree. I mean, I agree. Off the shin, actually, up over his head. We should do this every single time. Now, if he avoids that and that ball continues left and goes out of bounds, this is starting at the 40 as opposed to them getting the ball, so it's a little bit of a dangerous situation.

6:50Pat McAfee:But you rarely see anybody on a kickoff return team standing right in front of a kick, and that is by design. That is so that you don't get blasted with the ball. I respect and appreciate how athletic Devin looked there. And, yeah, if somebody's going to stand in that, go on, Devin. Now, you have no idea where that's going to bounce, But if that goes right back to you, if you can master it, that's a good trait to be able to have there, boss. Yeah, I mean, maybe we changed the rule, too, of not being able to advance the ball. Because after seeing him catch that, it's like, you know what? If he was able to execute this, let's let this boy maybe try to run it back for a touchdown.

7:21Pat McAfee:Could you imagine? Because it looked like he was ready to. And he had a full head of steam, too. He was going. And he was. Natural. That's a punter, by the way. We looked that up because I was like, damn, very athletic kicker. No offense to the kickers, but that's a very athletic kicker. Turns out he's a punter. That makes a lot more sense. As a punter, I'd like to let everybody know within the special teams group, I think we are the far superior athletes. Now, the kickers are going to say, yeah, but we're like brain surgeons. So who's more athletic? And it's like, yeah, we get it. But the punter, he's ready to move.

7:52Pat McAfee:Let's talk about some of these kickers. Miami last night, big one. Get it to 47-yarder, minute left, fourth and three. Now, I do not like the conservative play calls. I do not love what Miami did there late. I think Carson Beck can get you in and out of a play. I think Carson Beck can execute an offense. I think they look great. Carter Davis came in as just a kickoff guy at FAU. Now he's become the full-time starter. They put his stats up. Like, hey, this guy was 4 of 11. I think they were all real long. Because he was the kickoff guy. So I think he was probably the long field goal guy. And I didn't hear a lot of context being given when he put that stat up there.

8:24Can't do that.

8:24Pat McAfee:I'd assume he was the big, like. 50 plus. Yeah, sent him out there for the big one. Because he had a really strong leg. But whenever he stepped out there for that 47-yarder, and I only knew that 4 of 11 stat, I thought to myself, I don't know if this one goes through. Pured this thing. I mean, absolutely pured it. Well, it wasn't down the center still. That was a no-doubter off of his foot. And that thing is clearing the upright. I mean, if they would have had the little stat cast thing on it, we're talking probably 60-some yards. What a beast. Another kicker, absolute stud. Iowa kicker, Drew Stevens, hits a 55-yarder over there in Iowa.

8:56Pat McAfee:Ty, you got Kronoski, who didn't look like a quarterback early, but figured it out. You got a kicker that can hit 55-yarders? I didn't know that. Yeah, it's huge. I think the net happened. Oh, yeah. I mean, that looked like it was good from 65. It was the longest field goal for Iowa in like 12, 13 years. Iowa football, like, he's a massive weapon for them, and he delivers time and time again. So, yeah, Drew Stevens is an absolute stud, and he'll be vital for the Hawks. Big 10, you've got to be able to beat the wind. You've got to have a big leg. He's probably going to have some misses. I mean, nobody is going to go perfect in a Big 10, especially with how hard it is to kick.

9:26Pat McAfee:Snap, hold, everything operation. We saw that on display last night. Miami, Notre Dame with the snap being outside. It's very difficult to get a snap-hold kickoff with anybody, let alone in college when it's not a full-time job for everybody. That's a huge kick. Who do you got this weekend? Iowa State. South Hawke. Yeah, do you know their kicker, Kyle Conrardi. 63 yards. Opening week. Bang! So clean. Now, obviously, that put them up 27-7 over South Dakota. But what a ball there. 63. Just to execute that. Once again, snap, hold, block, kick, everything live in a game. unbelievable especially for a college guy that was a pure ball as well i like what i'm seeing yeah and he's slowly becoming like a legend at iowa state last year in the cyhawk game he hit that walk-off game winning field goal in kinnick 50 plus and then another 60 plus yarder this week like he's he's unbelievable yeah i think he has a 62 yarder under his belt as well i think they said this would be a record for himself uh i don't know but they also said the record was 58 so i mean whatever he's a dog yeah and love watching him iowa iowa state might come down to the kickers We'll see.

10:29Pat McAfee:And it'll be a showcase event. And then, obviously, there was an 80-yard punt. That's the greatest thing I've seen. Tulsa punter Agnes Davies from Victoria, Australia, hits this thing 60 yards in the air, lands at about the 34, and then it gets a 24-yard roll. Unbelievable 80-yard ball. 90 yards from foot to spot it stops. That's football. When I watch that, I get real excited. How could you not watching a torpedo fly that far? Everybody in that stadium,$150? Yeah, probably around$150. Everybody in that stadium. It was a dollar beer night? It was big, yeah. Everybody in that stadium. $5 ,000, man.

11:05Pat McAfee:That's one of those things. You hit that ball in the stadium, everybody goes, ooh. That's what you're looking for. When you punt, you hear, oh, that's not good. That means it's a check. You hear a hole. You just hear air just being kind of sucked. It's like, yeah, you hit a good one. That kid had to feel that immediately coming off the foot and gets a great bounce. Now, the return team is telling the returner, you catch the fucking ball. Catch the ball. You catch the ball. But any time a punter gets a good bounce, they always try to blame the returner. He put it over his head on purpose. He put it to a place that that guy wouldn't be able to get it so that he would be able to get a 24-yard return.

11:40Pat McAfee:Congrats to Angus. That's a big-time ball. And I love that special teams are special, special. Now, let's go around college ball. Who's real? Who's real? Who's real? Who's fake? is Ohio State all the way back because that defense is seemingly unbelievable. How about FSU and Thomas Castellanos? He flipped the entire culture of Boston College. Is he going down to FSU and doing the same damn thing? And there might be some sort of record on the line here for Castellanos. Yeah, funny enough, Thomas Castellanos becomes the first quarterback in the history of football to go into a team as an unranked opponent and beat a ranked opponent, then decide, hey, I'm going to transfer.

12:20transfer to the team that he beat, and then that same team that he beat a year later will then play for them and then beat a ranked opponent. He's the first player of the hashtag stat.

12:29Pat McAfee:Yeah, that might be a real stat. We don't know, but we do know he is real. And anytime you talk mass amounts of shit about an entire institution and you turn around and back it up, I love it. Shout out to Thomas Castellanos and Mike Norvell. Utah, unbelievable. Powerhouse. We'll talk about them here in a little bit because their quarterback might be the guy. Miami, obviously huge win. And Carson Beck in and out. He can get it done. And C.J. Daniels, one of the nicest catches we have ever seen, just so happens to come in week one in a massive – to take a lead right before half. Unbelievable catch.

13:01Pat McAfee:Carson Beck looks like he's right at home down in Miami. He's got handshakes for everybody on that team. Oh, yeah. I think he's potentially in the second floor getting shoulder rubs down there with the boys. I think Carson Beck's fitting in very well with the Miami LSU. They could be a squad after their huge win with Nussmeier over Clemson. And then, obviously, anytime you think about college teams that could be real, you think about who's Rich Rod coaching? WVU. Sure. Could be a real deal this year, bro. No doubt. He's worth buzzing. They were absolutely buzzing. Terrible first half. Hey, it's going to happen.

13:34Pat McAfee:Week one. 35-zip second half. Listen, Bobby Moe's not going to just go out there and lay down. I agree. Rob Morris is a really good team this year. Oh, yeah. Rob Morris is a really good team. Yeah. This is Nico Mozzarella here. No, Mochiol. He stuck around. We thought he would leave. He did not. Shout out to him sticking around. And then we got a couple guys that are all over the field. Now, if we win this weekend against Ohio University, we're only three-point favorites in Ohio, which is certainly something. I like us a lot in that. And then Pitt is able to get a big-time win. All eyes are on game day, potentially heading to Morgantown for Pitt, West Virginia.

14:07Pat McAfee:So who's real at this point? We're not 100 % sure, but we do know there were some highlights there put across the board. Let's go to the number two headline. From the weekend. How about some arch madness? Or maybe is it arch sadness? Oh, no. I was part of the problem. I was very loud. I called him Nito. I called him the one. I said, I know his boss just he's a young man. He's been going to Manning Pass Academy. This is going to be the one. I went to bat for him very, very, very, very, very loud. I think a lot of people did that have seen him play. And obviously people that think of a Manning and automatically think of some traits, he's certainly one of them.

14:35Pat McAfee:But what this Ohio State defense did to him and the Sarkeesian offense as a whole, We have no idea what Arch and Texas are going to look like this year. That is a fact. I don't think necessarily Caleb Downs at Ohio State defense is the best way to start the entirety of your career. But nonetheless, he's going to have to learn quick. Who do they got this weekend? San Jose State. Okay, so he might go crazy this weekend. We shall see how the rest of the year goes. Big loss for Texas. Huge win for Ohio State, who might not give up more than 10 points all year. And then the number one story from the weekend, Coach Corso's perfect farewell.

15:08Pat McAfee:Game day was an honor to be a part of. The people at Ohio State took care of us so well and cheered and celebrated a man who was given so much to sports as a whole. And he was perfect with his picks. And he was perfect. He was perfect. Very close. He was perfect. Pretty damn good. Pretty damn good. He was perfect. All the teams that he coached or played for won throughout the weekend. So, like, everything about it seemed like the proper send-off for the sports icon that is Coach Corso. and getting a chance to go out on that 50 and be on that desk as he gave that read, it was really cool. Obviously, he was emotional.

15:45Pat McAfee:A lot of parties have been around him a very long time. That Friday production meeting, obviously, he's ever-present. He's always active, and you can feel his sense of joy of life and energy and everything every single time. He will certainly be missed behind the scenes. I think everybody will understand that. But certainly on television as well. As the entire world celebrated one particular person who's given back to a sport and to a show more than maybe anybody in the history. So shout out to Coach Corso. Shout out to Ohio State. And maybe he could still send a text for his picks because it feels like he's seeing the board pretty good.

16:19Pat McAfee:Yeah, certainly. Sell him, Lee. Sell him, Coach. Yeah, he should. What if he makes a sub stack? That's not a bad idea. What if he makes a sub stack and puts that thing up there? That would be classic. Coach Corso is only fans. Just giving out his bits every single weekend. Coach, you're the man. I appreciate you. Went to a luncheon on Friday, the tail end of it, obviously because our show is during lunchtime. So I caught the tail end of it. Just like Tariko, Tom Jackson. You're talking about the people that were just there giving thanks and appreciation and then the stories that were being told about him.

16:54Pat McAfee:Yeah, he's a dog, dude. Always has been, always will be. And it was an honor to watch him work and see him do his thing. So that was our first 15, 21 minutes. Boom. That thing flew by. Yeah, pretty good. It did fly by.

From the publisher

Pat, Darius Butler, & the boys recap everything from CFB Week 1 in the FIRST 15 including Bill Belichick's UNC debut tonight, For The Brand Special Teams Special plays of the weekend, a look at Who's Real, Arch Manning Madness, & Lee Corso's perfect send off.

The entire show will be posted later today. We appreciate the hell out of all of you. Cheers.
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