PMS 2.0 1622 - Rams vs. 49ers Recap, NFL Week 1 Preview/Picks, Nick Saban, Bill Cowher, Dana White, Kirk Herbstreit, & AJ Hawk

19:50A lot of sink, a lot of zone sink, you know, five down guys with two linebackers, Caleb Downs being able to play middle linebacker, wheel linebacker, whatever coming out of the safety position. And they had a lot of adjusting to do at halftime. And I think this probably contributed to some degree to Arch being confused They're not playing great in the game. So I don't know what he's going to do, but I'm telling you, I think Texas has better weapons, so they better not give up the big play, and they better control the line of scrimmage. Now, I do think Ohio State is very good in the defensive line.

20:26I think they're very powerful, and I think that's going to be a big challenge for Texas' offensive line.

20:32Pat McAfee:What did you guys eat for dinner? Who paid? I tried to pay, and he beat me to the punch. Oh, I like that. Oh, I like that. I like that he beat you to the punch. You might have got the waiter or waitress before you even had a chance to ask. What did you guys eat? Anything good? Was it good food? It was real good food. Steak meat, a lot of meat down here, right? I went with the pasta. What? Aizano. I know we had some of Tone down here. Rigatone. I like that a lot. Okay, Tone has a question for you back in the Thunderdome. A little grazie down here. It's 150 degrees. I didn't know we're doing pasta.

21:05Pat McAfee:Let's get some heavy stuff in there. That's Coach Saban football. Yeah, Coach, there's a couple SEC teams that are favorites traveling with freshman quarterbacks on the road this weekend. Obviously, Tennessee is going to Georgia Tech as a favorite, and then Bama is going to Kentucky as a favorite in kind of hostile environments for both of those situations. When you were coaching and you went into these first game of the year into a hostile environment with a potential young quarterback, how did you treat those situations, and how do you think those teams will do it this weekend? Well, you know, it's obviously a huge challenge anytime you've got to deal with noise.

21:41But what I tried to emphasize to the players was the fans aren't going to make any plays in the game. So it's up to us to be mature enough to be able to manage the situation, and we would practice actually two days, Wednesday and Thursday, with noise so that they had to practice and change plays and get in the right play and get the signals without being able to communicate verbally to try to get these guys ready for that. But is it a challenge for them? No doubt. Now, I think those two guys that you talked about, though, have the potential to be really good quarterbacks. I think this guy from Tennessee was fantastic in the first week.

22:18I also think you didn't mention Mississippi State going to Minnesota. That guy, Taylor, he's the real deal now. He's the truth and the light, and I'm going to see how that guy does.

22:27Pat McAfee:He was awesome. Yeah, you were talking about him this morning. You just called him the truth and the light. How come? What did you see from him? How well do you know him? Well, just watching the guy play a little bit last year and then a lot this year and then talking to Jeff Lebby. I mean, this guy's a very good passer, but athletic and can run and create plays on his own. So I think this guy's going to be a big time surprise for a lot of people in the SEC. Wow. Is the SEC getting deeper this year, maybe? Well, we've already got nine teams in the top 25. It's not like the Big Ten who has three good teams at the top and then nothing.

22:59Whoa!

23:00Pat McAfee:Come on! That's ridiculous. Hey, CFP conversation starting early this year. I mean, we're at college football week two, and we're already trying to plant some seeds down there. You hear this guy? We're down here in the south. Hey, they're saying like 130, 140 degrees on this, and now it's a night game, obviously. But I do think, yeah, dude, they're saying on the field. On the field, yeah. Fitz Field Turf, yeah, absolutely. They're saying 130, 140 degrees. Now, granted, that was last week because they're a day game. This is a night game tomorrow. and won't do that. But I do think where the Big Ten and the SEC play each other really matters.

23:34Pat McAfee:Like, I think that really, really matters. AJ, I think you even agree on that as you have a question for Coach Saban. But that Tennessee-Ohio State game a couple years back, negative 10 degrees, yeah, right. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, even northern teams are cold as hell. Not that Tennessee doesn't get cold, but I just feel like that was a neutralizer there and Ohio State dominated them. The SEC Big Ten conversation is only going to get louder, and you already heard somebody starting it right now. You already heard somebody. The field reads 106. Put that back up. 160 degrees. Triple-digit heat takes total.

24:06Pat McAfee:That doesn't seem safe. Cleats melt off. Have you seen the heat readings for grass fields versus turf fields? Another one, too. Yeah. I'm sure that will come up at some point. Yeah, but I think what this does, though, is it really challenges the depth on your team. So if you have a lot of depth on your team and you can roll players in there, especially the big guys, because, you know, the big guys, Once the big guys run out of gas, there is no coming back. The little guys, they can get tired, and in another minute or two, they're ready to go back. But them big guys, when that tank empties, it's done.

24:37They're done. So you've got to keep them rolling fresh so they can play for 60 minutes in the game.

24:42Pat McAfee:We've got no gas station coming to save this thing. Okay, there is nothing. Young guys, pulling to the side, going to top it off, they're back in there. These big guys, once they tap, it's over. I like that a lot. I don't know if you know this, Coach. DoorDash on Saturdays, if you utilize DoorDash on Saturdays, do you know what DoorDash is? That's a good question. Do you know what DoorDash is? Wow, that's a Miss Terry question, isn't it? Oh, yes. Miss Terry is here. If you had to guess, what would you guess it is? Or what does it have to do with it? Yeah, if you had to guess what DoorDash was, what do you think it would be?

25:13Is that somebody that delivers something to you? Boom.

25:16Pat McAfee:Yeah, not just somebody. It is an app that has a bunch of people that do that. You can order anything on there, Coach. You want a steak? You want some Italian? That can come. Want some shoes? More pasta? You want a Speedo, potentially. You know, banana hammock out here. You can get that on DoorDash. Literally anything. I think I'm past that. But at one point you were with it, though, huh? Okay, so let's talk about the time when you weren't past that. Can we talk about that a little bit here as we back up so we can do a split screen? I don't know if this one's back. This one's back here. DoorDash has everything you need delivered to your house.

25:50Pat McAfee:Okay, it's in the area. Obviously, anything you have available. On Saturday on game days, if you shop with DoorDash, you earn points, and you could potentially win a Haas. Well, money towards a Haas. Oh, great. Yeah, see, you need one. Good to know. Yeah, you need one. How about a Hellcat Charger? You could win a potential Dodge Hellcat Charger. 600 and some ponies under the hood. You know what I mean? That thing really gets going. You could win one of those. Use DoorDash on Saturday. What about my Ferrari? What about my Mercedes? You're not giving it away. Don't you tell DoorDash. Actually, that's funny.

26:21He just said that from our understanding.

26:24Pat McAfee:No, I can't say that. Actually, there's too many companies involved here. I was about to put up one of his Ferraris for this DoorDash thing. Can't do that. Can't do that. I cannot do that. We would like to give away. How much are those? How much is a Ferrari? Depends. They're quite expensive. 50, 60. What's the cheapest one? 50, 60 ,000? What's the cheapest one that we could do as a giveaway? 210? 300, maybe. Jesus Christ. I don't know if I want to do that big of a giveaway. Dollars? Maybe later. Maybe college football playoff time will do that. Good for you guys. Good for you guys, by the way.

26:57Pat McAfee:I love what you're doing, Coach. Anyways, Tone Diggs back into Thunderdome has a question for you. Shop on DoorDash on Saturdays. You can win a Haas. Not a Ferrari yet, but certainly a Dodge Hellcat Charger. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Coach. I wanted to talk to you then about the other big game this weekend in Oklahoma and Michigan. Obviously, Michigan, the whole talk was about the Hail Mary in that situation. But, you know, a lot of people, hey, Michigan offense looked horrendous. Oklahoma, obviously not the greatest defense that you want to go up after you looked terrible in week one. What are your thoughts on that Michigan offense, obviously going up against Venables in that defense in kind of a spot where you need to look good?

27:36Yeah, well, I think Venables is one of the best defensive coordinators ever. And I know he's a head coach now, but he's still calling the defenses. And he's the one guy that's so aggressive that he's always trying to put you behind the eight ball by creating negative plays on offense. And, you know, he does it by, he's one of the guys on defense that's taking advantage of the green dot all the time. In other words, he wants to see what you're in. He's going to keep messing around until they can't tell the quarterback anything else and then catch you in something that he wants to try to create a negative play.

28:09And I think in this game last year, he created 12 negative plays against Michigan's offense. Now, it comes down on offense to recognizing where this pressure is coming from and be able to block it up because it does lend itself to, if you do execute, to having the opportunity to make explosive plays, which Michigan didn't have a lot of success at last year. But it doesn't just come down to the quarterback. Everybody's got to recognize this. Everybody's got to execute. And then you've got a chance to make some explosive plays. And I think that's going to be the key to the game, that Michigan can minimize the times that Oklahoma can create negative plays against their offense and put them behind the eight ball.

28:49Because they haven't proven that they're an offense that can make up the sticks when it's second and 12 instead of second and six.

28:56Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think the stat says that Bryce only has two completions past 40 yards, including the Hail Mary, obviously, that took place in the postgame there against Western Michigan. There's a stat floating around about Clemson with Venables and then post-Venables. Can you tell me a little bit about him and how you guys all view his defense and why it's obviously so damn good? Well, we played him when he was at Clemson more than I like to remember. We won a couple, but we also lost a couple. And a lot of it was because of the things that he did on defense. You know, he makes it hard for the quarterback.

29:29I mean, like I remember the first play in a national championship game, Tua's the quarterback, they run Starfire, which is just a Sam blitz out of nickel, and they usually play middle-of-the-field coverage. So what does Tua do? Pulls the ball to throw a slant. They're playing two-trap pick right off the bat, first play of the game. So, I mean, but that confusion that he created with how you prepare the quarterback to play against that pressure and then how he changed the look was all the difference in the world in terms of them creating a big play. And he does that over and over and over. And if he knows what you're in on offense, he's going to know exactly what you like in that formation and try to take advantage of it.

30:11Pat McAfee:Yeah, the stats from Bill Jones, who does not have a blue checkmark, says, Elon, I'm not paying you three bucks. During 2008 to 2011, is Clemson before Brent Venables? 32-22. Clemson with Brent Venables from 2012 to 2021. 121-17 with two national titles. Ten first-round draft picks. Pretty good. Pretty good. Clemson after Venables, 37-18, obviously with what we just saw down in LSU last week, which leads me to this question. Are they dead, Coach? LSU really good? Is that the takeaway from last week? is that LSU is unbelievable. Clemson, obviously, Dabo says, he was asked if he regretted anything this offseason, and he said, well, we've got 11 more games.

30:49Pat McAfee:Okay, we've got 11 more games. Asked me after the finish of the season. He said, we can go 11-1. Technically very true. Obviously, he knows his locker room better than us. Should we take that as LSU is just a monster this year or Clemson down? How did you kind of view the first week? Well, you know, it's one week. You know, just like you're talking about the Rams. It's one week. So everybody needs to calm down. So LSU is very good after one week. They were dominant in the game. They played extremely well. They're well coached. Lane does a great job. They've got a lot of good players. Can they sustain that consistency and performance throughout the year?

31:22That's always the challenge for your team. Clemson, on the other hand, was not very impressive. You know, they couldn't run the ball. The quarterback wasn't very impressive. They turned the ball over. So they have an opportunity to make a big jump from week one to week two in terms of how they improve and how they can try to win in their league. But other than Miami, who are they going to play that's better than LSU?

31:47Pat McAfee:Well, North Carolina, maybe. Remember, I picked them to win the ACC. Everybody thought I was lying out there. Louisville also a damn good football team. The ACC has a lot more teams than people give them credit for. Last question for you, Coach. We appreciate you joining us. Actually, I might have a follow-up about the Rams because you just talked about us not overreacting to that. It felt hard not to. Conman has a question for you back at the Thunderdome. Yeah, Coach, speaking of the ACC, what about SMU? Can you just walk us through what the situation was and how you would kind of handle it? It was pretty crazy, obviously, Florida State.

32:16No lights game gets delayed by two hours. How do you kind of keep your team engaged? And then what did you see from SMU that makes you think maybe they are going to be able to kind of run the table, go to the ACC championship? We talked to Lashley, and he's incredible. It feels like they have all the resources down there. and they have a guy, Kevin Jennings, who's going to be able to take them all the way. What did you see from them on Monday night? Well, I've always been impressed with Kevin Jennings, and if he doesn't turn the ball over, you know, he's a fantastic player. He's athletic. He's a good passer.

32:47So I think that gives them a great opportunity. Look, Florida State played better in the game. They competed their tail off in the game. But to answer the first part of your question is, you know, We never had a game where the lights went out, but we had a couple where we had thunder and all that, and we had to go in and delay for an hour or whatever. So I tried to make it as real in the locker room to keep the players engaged, like I would make the coaches take the offense and the defense over here and sort of go over the first 20 plays or review the defense again that we were going to run or whatever it was so that the players just couldn't, like, lose focus.

33:27And obviously the longer that delay goes on, the harder that is to do. But it seemed to me like both teams came out and played pretty good football in this game. And SMU just wanted a close one.

33:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think Lashley was talking about how there was a time where they met under the stadium with the commissioner and the refs and both head coaches and both athletic directors. And there was a little bit of power that went up. And he thought maybe if that power drops back out, they're going to move that game to Tuesday. He's got a game on Saturday. All those things happening in real time in the bowels of the stadium just felt like it was out of a movie. And then SMU steals one there. Norvell seemingly in trouble down there. Seemingly in a little bit of trouble down there at Florida State. He's not the only one, though.

34:06Pat McAfee:Every year these coaches get into trouble because they can't win enough games. How hard is it to win a game each week? Can you just talk about that a little bit as somebody that won every single game? 17 years he was in the top ten. That got brought this morning. How many seconds got added to his clock, you think, during that time? Second added to the clock whenever you needed it? Yeah. No. At Auburn, that didn't happen. What was that? Grave Digger? Yeah. We should check the clock there. That was in Auburn, I think, wasn't it? Sankey might have. 31. Well, that was a Hail Mary last week in Michigan.

34:38Pat McAfee:I mean, nobody thought that was going to be completed, but they put an extra second on there to give them another shot at it. Yeah, but, you know, you have to actually practice those plays. How to defend those plays. just like I saw Western Michigan rush four guys on that last play we always rush three and put the extra guy deep so they're in formation we'd have played five under man with three deep guys and on the last play of the game we wouldn't even have covered the running back or the tight end we'd have just let them go because if they throw them the ball we can tackle them but we'd have played five so we have an over and under on every one of these players you see Western Michigan has plenty of guys in the end zone.

35:19They don't have anybody under them. And it's like basketball, man. You've got to box them out to try to get a rebound. And, you know, it's unfortunate that, you know, they had to play this play again because they did a much better job of defending the first Hail Mary than the second.

35:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think whenever you throw it out of bounds, it helps as well. Excited to see what Bryce Underwood's future is. Also, you're the man. We appreciate the hell out of you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. I always love being on with you guys. You ask great questions, and it's my football mind rolling. You look really good. Hey, the buttons here. It's pretty clean. I love that jacket. Is that the Aflac jacket? Do the buttons match the jacket? Yeah, the buttons match the jacket. I got this joystick here. And the logo, kind of. I'm flying the plane. You are something. Do you put all your stuff together, Coach, or is that Miss Terry or your clothing?

36:09Miss Terry. Look at that. The buttons match the jacket. Oh, Coach. Yeah.

36:14Pat McAfee:That's classic. Yeah, that's how you move Ferraris. Yeah, I was about to say, that's how you move Ferraris in South Florida right there. Got to accessorize. You're the man. Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Saban. We're just trying to show the class on the show. Thank you. We need it. We need it. You're the best. Thank you, Coach. Thank you, Coach. Thank you, Coach. Yeah, I don't know what – I think Nick Saban would still do a great job coaching in college football. Is there a chance he comes back in a year or two? I don't think so. He does seem to be a bit – I think the NIL stuff was a big reason why he wanted to leave, and it seems like that's kind of it.

36:46What if they got the guardrails in place that he's looking for? That ain't ever happened. Anyone get it? I mean. That ain't happening in any shop. You heard Samuel. It ain't happening. Can you hear me? There we go. Can you hear me?

36:56Pat McAfee:Yeah. He said, forget it. That's what he just said. Exactly. That's what he said. I said, hey, Coach, AJ just said you're going to come back to coach or something. He said, forget it, and just kept moving. He's got to save the world. Remember, he's doing politics now to protect college sports. He's doing PSAs. He ain't got time to coach. And when he's dressing like this, he might be too good of a dresser. This guy might be a fucking model by the time he comes next week. Coach, we appreciate the hell out of you, man. Good job, Coach.

37:24Pat McAfee:He said if he takes a coaching job, he'll have to commute. Because Miss Terry's not moving anywhere. Yeah, what's the school close there? Hey, West Virginia. He's a Florida guy. We'd love to have you. We'd fly you in and out. You got to do what you got to do. All right, you're the best. Ladies and gentlemen, from one icon and Hall of Fame coach to another. Hell yeah. Pittsburgh's coach. He's been on CBS, I believe. I don't want to get it wrong. Is it 30 years, 20 years? 25 years? Somewhere between 20 and 50. Going on year 20? I forget. It's a celebration. It is an annual. It's either 20, 25, or 30.

37:58Pat McAfee:Whatever it should be, it's a big one. 20. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, a man who's celebrating 20 years at CBS, a man who brought a Super Bowl to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of the most iconic Ingers of all time. His stash is glorious. The way he speaks, it's beautiful. Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Kyle. Yeah, Coach. How you doing, Bill? I'm doing good, Pat. How's Texas? A little hot down there? Dude, Coach, Coach, I know you spent some time down there at NC State and everything like that, and I know you bounced around in the warm weather a little bit. They're saying it was 160 on this turf last week, 160 degrees.

38:35Pat McAfee:Last week, LSU, I sweat through my entire suit. Tomorrow, I might faint. There's a chance I'm staying hydrated. I'm getting IVs in me. I don't know how the South does it, honestly, genuinely, Coach. But they're playing at night. You're at night tomorrow night, so there's no sun. You're good. Yeah, game day, same time. Game day, same time. Let me tell you something. We played Jacksonville opening day a number of years, and Jerome Bennis has asthma, but they made us wear our black jerseys. So that already started the rivalry. So that became a physical game from the very beginning. And I told you around, we will count the reps that you have, but every one of those reps, you make somebody pay with the way you run the football.

39:15So I just want you to know that there is gamanship that takes place with Southern teams.

39:20Pat McAfee:Yeah, there certainly is. And we know Miami, the U, certainly benefited from that. I think they had the longest home win streak in the history of college football. Let's talk about playing your first week and punishing people and everything. Did you play any international games? I don't remember how international NFL was back whenever you were the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, leading us, obviously, to titles. The Australian thing was interesting here. So far away, McVay, vastly different style than Shanahan, and Shanahan just beats their ass. What did you see last night, and what are your thoughts on how it was handled?

39:50Well, I totally don't agree with going in there 24 hours beforehand. Especially for a guy like Miles Garrett, who's already limited with his knee, a long flight like that, you're going to leave at least 24 hours just for that need to get back to its normal size. So we did play overseas games, Pat, but they really were preseason games. I've always enjoyed going over to different places. We went to Japan, we went to Ireland, we went to Barcelona, been in Germany. And so those were great games. But I think getting acclimated to where you're at was a big part of, like, to me, the experience. And so going in there that short of time, I don't think that was the right idea.

40:28But at the same time, you sit there and look at that game, the quarterback sneak, I don't know if I would have given that to Matthew Stafford. I'd give it to a running back. If they score right there, it's going to be a three-point game with a whole quarter to play. And then what happens subsequently to that is they drove 99 yards. So I look at that game, the ebb and flow that was a part of that game. And I think, as you've talked about already, getting a guy like Fred Warner back and Nick Boza and Dre Greenlaw on the defensive side. And I thought Brock Purdy played great. I think what you're talking about, too, with Keon Black, him being a great compliment to Christian McCaffrey.

41:02That's a good football team. Again, a big if is if they can stay healthy.

41:06Pat McAfee:Yeah, the question is always can they stay healthy. Hopefully they're able to. Keon White with a huge fumble recovery here. This felt like the football gods a little bit, didn't it? Didn't it feel like this was the football gods here? Especially as we saw Devontae Adams getting subbed off the field. Remember, he had like 12 red zone touchdowns last year. I think it was some sort of NFL record. He's unguardable off the line. and Stafford can throw the fade every single time, just like Brock Purdy was. So to go away from that with what you had last year and for this to end the way it was, felt like it was the football gods, Coach.

41:34Yeah, they stayed in the 13th personnel a long time. I feel like at some point you could open that up a little bit more and take advantage of all the weapons that you were just talking about, and I think for that secondary. So, you know, I don't know. I think they kind of played into the hands of this San Francisco team by almost trying to shorten the game and run the football like they did. But, again, it's just one or two plays that make a difference. And, again, that drive that Brock Purdy put together, that 99-yard drive, was very impressive.

42:01Pat McAfee:Yeah, it was certainly beautiful. Last question for me before the boys have a bunch about the NFL. Are we worried about the Rams? Are we worried about the Rams? No, no. Are we worried about Matthew Dafford? We're not worried at all. No, no. I think if Sean had to do it again, I think that decision of going over there the day of was just not a good one for that long of a flight. So, and that being the case, listen, I think you look at all the preseason talk about them being the team and going out and getting Aaron Donald will come back, Miles Garrett, and what they have on offense, the preseason pick.

42:33I think it's probably motivated Seattle and motivated the San Francisco 49ers. And again, this 49er team, they were beat up last year. They haven't had a lot of these players. And I think, call me, I made the spank. Devo Samuel in this offense is a great, great fit. Mike Evans is a great addition. And then you get them back healthy. If they can stay healthy, Trent Williams is still giving them something on that left side. I don't think that was anything close to Miles Garrett, but that is a good offensive line. It's a good quarterback, and I just love Kyle's system. That'll be the con man. Go ahead, AJ.

43:02Yeah, Coach, you mentioned Kyle's system there. There's a lot of talk about this motion. We see Juszczyk and even Kittle. There are a couple of different guys doing it, mainly Juszczyk, the banana return, all of this stuff where you don't really know where he's going to end up. I guess what are your thoughts on this type of motion? I'm sure a lot of other teams are going to try to use it, But how would you defend against this and what kind of problems does it cause? You know, AJ, I think emotion is deletion right now in the National Football League when you talk about everybody's using it. I mean, I think, and I would be using it first and foremost because like you just talked about, it's a little bit of deflection from the linebackers.

43:37In the past, a fullback would take you to the ball. Right now, you've got to eliminate that. All that stuff that's going on, you've got to be very tunnel visioned in what you're looking at and see a more peripheral element of what that triangle really looks like. So I think you're going to see, matter of fact, the game that we have on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings and going up against the Green Bay Packers. The Minnesota Vikings, when I got Frank Smith as their offensive coordinator, talking to Kevin O 'Connell, they're going to be a lot more motion than you've ever seen with them because he comes from a Mike McDonald offense, which uses motion more than anybody in National Football League.

44:07Motion right now is at its highest from last year. Almost 65 percent of teams are using motion on every down. So I think it's a part of the next generation. I think it's great. I think it gives you flexibility. It gives you confusion. And I think it's like, you know, almost kind of like the Canadian Football League. When getting people moving at the snap and other people sitting there stagnant, there's a lot to be said for that.

44:28Pat McAfee:Is the NFL going to crack down on it? Just like JJ kind of said right there. It's like, hey, if we're going to start getting, you know, running towards the line of scrimmage motions, I mean, that changes a lot of things, I think, for offenses, especially. I mean, I just immediately go with, like, Patrick Ricard up there for the Giants with the amount of meat they have. If we're going to really start, is this the next evolution of what offense has become here, Coach? Well, I think, listen, I think there's going to be adjustments made. I don't think they're going to allow him to be. I don't know if he was actually going toward the line of scrimmage.

44:57I think the one thing you saw yesterday is a tush push. We saw two offensive offsides called. So clearly right now in the offseason, they are looking at that offense and saying, you line up in a tush push and you have an offensive lineman. If he's ahead of that ball, we're calling it. So that is going to be something that was called twice yesterday with the tush push. That's going to be there. But I think the motion thing, I mean, he's still going backwards when the ball is snapped. So there's a lot. Listen, there's a fine line with that. Again, I think it's just the next. I think it's Kyle Shanahan being innovative.

45:26Like, what's wrong with that? I think there's innovation to always take place in National Football League. And I love the fact that he's doing it. Look at all the offenses. The Rams use it. Seattle uses it. The San Francisco uses it. You're going to see it. Miami uses it for years. So I think if you don't use it, I think you're behind the eight ball.

45:42Pat McAfee:Man, whenever they get Trent doing that, which is only a matter of time, he's going to have Trent doing this. He's going to have Trent be six yards behind the line of scrimmage, kind of do a little half turn and start heading forward. And some poor, sorry sap is going to be sitting on the outside and just going to have to take one for the team, and he's going to get put through the turf. Now, Conman, you complimented what he said earlier about Debo in the San Francisco 49ers offense. I don't know if you saw his quarterback. Three picks in the final quarter, obviously, to lose the opener. Connor has a question for you.

46:11Yeah, he didn't play too well, but neither did the reigning MVP. So I guess if you were in the MVP conversation last year, you might get off to a slow start. However, Coach, it does feel like a lot of these teams are just sloppy. The preseason has become this kind of session where the starters really aren't playing. Seattle, I think, had ten penalties. Obviously, Pat mentioned Drake May in the fourth quarter, throwing three interceptions. The Rams even, you know, Stafford looked a little rusty off the rip and then never really found a groove. Should we expect a lot of sloppy football this weekend?

46:42Is it one of those things where these first couple weeks now have kind of turned into the preseason for these starting teams? You know, of course there's going to be situations like Sam Fran where they just come out hotter than a pistol and there's nothing you can do and you're going to lose to those types of teams. But is that kind of what we should expect? Or do you think that for the most part some of these teams are just going to be ready to roll the preseason? they figured all their stuff out and kind of developed their team the right way. What do you kind of take away from the sloppiness so far?

47:11Well, I mean, I think, Conway, when you look at it, let's just say this for Drake May. If Romeo Dobbs catches a pass that's right in his hands in the early fourth quarter, that is a whole different football game. So I'm not going to say that one or two players have talked about the quarterback sneak, but this play, like right now, he catches, this is in the fourth quarter. You catch that ball, you're now going right there. It's first and ten, and you now go down and kick a field goal. It's a whole different football game. I'm in the field. That's what I'm saying. But I do believe when you look at the offenses early in the season, they are going to be behind the defenses.

47:43And I think in San Francisco it wasn't because they play a short passing game. I think the long passing games, the timing is going to be off. You really don't play game speed in the preseason. These guys aren't playing in the preseason. Obviously the short passing game, that's going to be there because you can time that up. The longer passing game, the deep balls, That's something that really does take time, and I think that will come as the season goes on.

48:05Pat McAfee:On the opposite side of the Patriots was the Seahawks, and they looked a lot like what they looked like in the Super Bowl on the defensive side. McDonald, I think you brought zone like 78 % of the time against the Patriots here, and then in the Super Bowl was like 76 % of the time. It feels like he had it figured out. We watched Hard Knocks. I actually became a fan of their team. Ty has a question for you about that. Yeah, Coach, I think a lot of people became a fan of Mike McDonald, didn't really know too much about his personality or anything like that until they saw hard knocks. But how impressed have you been with him?

48:33It seems like when it comes to Seattle, he hasn't been there that long, but we immediately, we already know he has established a culture. We know exactly how they're going to play. It doesn't matter if they're missing guys. It seems like they can plug and place anyone in there, and they're going to be physical. I mean, they're unbelievable. So are you surprised that Mike McDonald has been able to get this much out of Seattle this quickly? And would you put him up there? I mean, we always talk about these offensive head coaches, but it seems like if you were going to start a franchise tomorrow, he would be right at the top of the list of coaches you would want to kind of lead your team.

49:11No question, Ty. I think when you look at Mike McDonald, I love his approach to the game. He's going to bring you some pressures early. He's going to bring some pressures late. He's going to stay unpredictable. I think when you look at all great offenses or defenses, there's an unpredictability about that that makes you special. And I always thought, you know, always having, I still always say, I always wanted a blitz in my back pocket for the second half and make you have to make an adjustment on the sideline, not in the locker room at halftime. And I think that's kind of Mike McDonald's philosophy.

49:37You know, he's a guy that came from Baltimore. I remember talking to him when he was down there, went out to the L.A. Chargers. And I just think he's a guy that's got a great feel for the game. The players understand he's all ball all the time. But at the same time, he understands and respects his team. So he likes to run the football. I think to Derivine Price, you didn't miss a beat last night, losing Kenneth Walker for their offense. And I think they did a great job with Drew Locke bringing him in. I know there were some situations there they used up the clock and had some situations from that standpoint getting to play in and out.

50:07But I'll tell you what, they are a very well-oiled machine. There were a lot of penalties. I think that is the first part of the season. But I love Mike McDonald and what he brings to the game. Yeah, if he just had a little bit bigger jaw, you know what I mean? It comes with time, Pat. It comes with time, trust me. They had a lack of hair.

50:30Pat McAfee:I think I'm heading the same way, boss. I think I'm heading the same way. Now, McDonald announced, very opposite of the Los Angeles Rams, who have 11 captains. McDonald announced that he's going to do weekly captains. The other person that announced that was another Irish fellow, Mike McCarthy, for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tone has a question about that state. Yes, he did, coach. Do you know what? A question for you first. Do you know what happened on September 13, 1992? September 13, 1992 well it would have been 1992 was it my first or second game? that was your second game, it was your first home game and that was against the New York Jets yeah and you got a win on your first home game obviously as a Pittsburgh man in front of you but how do you think Big Mike feels also on September 13th his first home game taking on the Atlanta Falcons what do you think his emotions and nerves are going to be like going into this game, and how do you feel about them on Sunday?

51:26Well, Tone, listen, you know when you grow up there, there's something special about going back into that stadium. And I remember going back into Three Rivers Stadium on that particular day, and it was against the New York Jets. As a matter of fact, Pat Kerwin, who's off the series, he was on the Jets staff at that time with Pete Carroll, and he came down to look at us and he said, wow, they're doing a live goal line right before the game. I go, so we used to actually do a live goal line before the game. Let's get the pads. Let's get laddered up a little bit. Get the pads going. We did that in high school, coach.

51:56I love it. We did that in Pittsburgh my first year, too. So I'll tell you, we did a little live bull line. Let's get the pads going. And Pat went down. He goes, Pete, I don't think we have a chance today. He goes, we're doing a live bull line down there. But you know what? That first game is special for Mike. He's going to walk through that tunnel. Growing up right there in Greenfield, I said, you know, it's so ironic because I remember I was with you guys back there for the draft. We were in that office. I remember being in that office. That office, that window looks over the Monongahela right there, and it looks into Greenfield.

52:30So how ironic was him to come back to the Pittsburgh Steelers into a facility that's on the south side and be able to look out your window to where you grew up. That's got to be a reminder every day to him how the circle of life works, how the football gods work. And I think he's going to embrace this year, and I think it's a team a little bit under the radar right now. They're going to have a much better identity, I think, on the offensive side of the ball. I think Patrick Adams is going to start moving T.J. Watt around, and I think he'll bring something to the defensive side as well. So we'll see how they get off to it.

53:00I think getting to Atlanta with their first game is a good start. Obviously, their situation of quarterback is somewhat questionable. I think it's going to be really special for Mike to walk out of there when he comes out for the pregame.

53:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, news out of Atlanta. Cooper Rush is getting all the ones. Jack Strand, potentially backup quarterback for the Atlanta. We saw him play against the Colts. He spiked the ball in my daughter's face. Look out. He actually did. He was big. He was strong. Tua has a back thing, an oblique thing happening, so he might not be ready to go. Interesting spot for Kevin Stefanski. We also have some breaking news that has happened here while we've been live here this hour. A.J. Brown has officially been put onto the IR, which means he's out for a minimum of four games. Coach, obviously high ankle sprain, four weeks at least, and they also want him to get back healthy.

53:52Pat McAfee:And you can do this now with the IR. We can bring people back over the last few years since COVID, I do believe. Whenever you have a new weapon on the team, I was kind of surprised about how they didn't force feed him. I kind of expected them to force feed him a little bit. I guess McDaniel was kind of going to work his way in there. Just your thoughts on a new star coming to a team, and obviously this sucks for A.J. Brown and the Patriots, how this rolls out. Yeah, I think you also think about the other side of the ball. That's what they're thinking too, right? So I think a lot of times it's the chess matches that you're playing right now.

54:22And I think that they know that A.J. Bryan is going to be the guy. We saw what he brings to it. They did a flea flicker that was somewhat underthrown, but A.J. did a great job of creating the pass interference. But, you know, listen, it's a long year. It's going to be a great opportunity for other guys to step up right now. And I think that's what they're going to have to do. I mean, you're going to have to get Mario Douglas involved with the game. You know, we saw Matt Collins and Joshua Dobbs. Now he's got to be a part of that offense. The running game will be a part. So, you know, I think the injury sometimes early in the season, it makes you be resourceful and also gives other players a chance to play that have not played before in the real line of fire.

54:55So I don't think it's really that. I mean, it's a problem for the next four weeks, but I think in the long run of things, getting him, I think you have to manage, I think managing someone's workload through the course of a 17-game season and being healthy going into the playoffs. Sometimes I think missing a few games is not the worst thing in the world, particularly for some of these skilled players.

55:15Pat McAfee:Well, hopefully A.J. Brown gets back healthier than ever. Obviously, positive thoughts and prayers towards him and his recovery, everybody else that got hurt. And, Coach, you guys are live on Sunday, I believe, right? Aren't you live? Live in Minnesota, Minnesota against Green Bay. It's going to be a good one. You know, I'm just saying up there, Ty, I mean, how do you feel about your team? I don't know. I'm very excited for Sunday. I really don't know what to expect. There are a lot of question marks for the Packers going into this year. Coach, how do you feel about Ty's team? I think it would be a better question.

55:45Well, listen, I think you're going in there. We talked about you don't have Michael Parsons. You don't have Josh Jacobs, probably two of your better football players. But I tell you what, I like their football team. When you look at their quarterback, I think when you look at their head coach, Matt LeFleur, how about the fact that Gannon is the defensive coordinator. He knows Kyler Murray as well as anybody. So it'll be interesting to see how that chess match matches. And I think, you know, it's really still KOC's offense, so it's really not, you know, Jonathan Gannon going against Kyler. But I think the one thing Jonathan Gannon will be able to understand is when Kyler starts to feel it get a little messy in the pocket, what's his instinct?

56:20Do you step up? I know all right-handed corners like to escape to the right. I've always seen Kyler. He likes to step up, then step back, then get out to the right. He's going to find a way to get to the right. Getting to the right where he can throw right-handed is good. But he's one of those guys that works up and back. So it'll be interesting to see how he plays against it, because Jonathan has come out and said that Kyler Murray is the worst is when he's out of the pocket. He's got a great group of people, too, that he can throw to. It's a pretty good group of skilled players on the Minnesota side.

56:48Pat McAfee:I love how worked up you are. You're losing your AirPods. Have a great season. We appreciate the hell out of you. You're a legend. That's Bill Kyle, ladies and gentlemen. There you go. All right, Hour One wraps up. We're back on the other side. Going to make some picks. Dana White will be here. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. See you then. This episode is brought to you by the Hulu original series, Chad Powers, starring Glenn Powell. This season, the walls are closing in on Chad's biggest secret. And with his future on the field hanging in the balance, he'll have to win back the one coach who wants nothing to do with him.

57:19Watch the new season of Chad Powers, streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply. From the lights above the stadium to the jerseys athletes wear, sports run on energy. Oil and natural gas help create thousands of everyday products, from the rubber and equipment to the synthetic fibers and uniforms, and the fuel that gets teams and fans to the game. Behind the scenes, Energy Transfer helps safely deliver the energy that keeps it all moving. Because from everyday life to game day, it takes energy. Visit ittakesenergy.com to learn more.

57:59Our two of the Pat McAfee show. I am AJ Hawk sitting in for Pat here at his desk. He's down in Austin, Texas for a giant matchup tomorrow. Rams win 27-7. Football! It's really flying an all-time high, isn't it, Pat? I think football is really, you know, we're really doing it right now.

58:18Pat McAfee:Did I hit it or no? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You're spot on, yeah. Okay, because I found myself in your situation where you're a little bit of a delay, so you want to go a little bit ahead of time, but then your ears, it never tells you if you're on or not. AJ, you look fantastic. Pretty jocked. Looks like you're putting on a little bit of muscle. Are you trying to put on a little bit of muscle? Aren't we always, all of us always trying to put on a little bit of muscle? No. So I am trying to get shredded right now, actually. I am not trying to add muscle. I feel like I'm always in bulking season. That's why I joke with my kids.

58:47I'm trying to get up to 295.

58:49Pat McAfee:Is that what you're trying to do right now, actually? No, but maybe at some point. You look good, is what I'm saying. Because obviously your head, the size of that thing, you're going to have a strong neck just strictly because it's been working. I did manual neck the whole drive here. I had a three-hour drive here. I do manual neck for probably an hour and a half. Can you show us how you do that? No. Yeah, can you tell us what that is? Show us how that neck works. Just hold your forehead and put your head back and then do like 50 reps in a row. Full range of motion. You've got to make sure you get the full range of motion.

59:17While you're driving?

59:19Pat McAfee:How'd you work your throat? So what were you doing for your throat? I don't have any issues with my throat. No, I'm not sure exactly what you're alluding to. I thought you were working your neck and your throat. Not my throat. You don't have to work your throat. No, I'm very high. Ladies and gentlemen, one half of the hammer. Cowboys, Bubba Gumpino. Oh, good shot. How are we doing, everybody? Good to see you. Good to see you. You look good, Paul. Good to see you, too. What's up, Ogle? You look good. Hey, just a couple seconds ago, you guys would have maybe had eyes on Joe, who's right behind Gumpy.

59:49Pat McAfee:I should have cut that. Joe, Joe Newman to the crew. Absolute legend, this man from Long Island, New York. Used to be a police officer, now he's a security guy. Yeah. Incredibly hilarious. I'm talking about he's on it. He ain't got time either. So we've got a good crew here. Thank you to Texas for allowing us to be here. We're right outside where they walk in. I believe this is one of their field clubs. Obviously, the field is here. So thank you to Texas for being so hospitable. incredibly excited for tomorrow morning's college game day as Texas hosts Ohio State. Ohio State off a big win. Texas off a big win.

1:00:22Pat McAfee:Nice measuring stick game here in week two. AJ, your thoughts on how this one's going to unfold in beautiful Austin, Texas tomorrow night? I mean, I tell you what, I'm excited to see this because there are a lot of unknowns, I think, in this game. Like every year your roster's turning over with the NIL and different transfer portal guys, but you know you have tons of talent on both sides of the ball. Like Texas, they're loaded with talent. Ohio State is always loaded with talent, I feel like. And Arthur Smith, new offensive coordinator, he's still getting, you know, feeling out what his guys do best and will always adjust his game plan.

1:00:51But I feel pretty good about it. I feel pretty good about Ohio State. About Julian saying, too, last year, I don't know if you've heard, like, the old cliche, oh, they're going to take the train wheels off of saying this game. Last year against Texas, it was basically, hey, take care of the ball. Don't lose it for us. Now I think Julian feels very comfortable in what he can do. And let's see how they defend Jeremiah Smith because we know he garners a bunch of attention and see how it opens it up for the rest of the guys.

1:01:13Pat McAfee:I think taking the training wheels off is a real conversation piece, though, because it's a vastly different mindset than what it was last year. I mean, Ohio State's defense, what, last year Michael O'Donnell's won the best ever if they would have won a national championship? Yep. Because they didn't win a national championship, not talked about as one of the best ever, but should be considered one of the best ever, especially with the amount of draft picks. Who knows what these guys go on to do in the NFL? So, Arch Manning saying hello week one in Columbus against that defense with what we now know about that defense is just a wild start to his career.

1:01:42Pat McAfee:And then for Julian Sane, his career to start was, hey, our defense is unbelievable. Okay, we got guys outside. Let's just not be – okay, you just kind of – let's get through this. So if we lose, it's your fault, young buck, in this gigantic game against an unbelievable team. And that's a tough thing to kind of handle too mentally. It feels like Julian Sane handled it very well. We talked about him and Will Hard's development of leadership, watching Will do his thing whenever they go to the national championship. It's really a good time for Julian Sane to kind of take the reins and just kind of become a guy.

1:02:12Pat McAfee:And on the flip side, Arch Manning, I mean, all conversation about him over the offseason and beginning of the season is like, this is what we thought it was going to be. I was one of the loudest drum pounders for Arch Manning in front of a microphone that you could possibly have just strictly because I was very fortunate enough to kind of understand the way the Manning family operates. I was very fortunate enough to meet a lot of them. I was very fortunate to be around them. And it's like the Manning Passing Academy exists. This guy is a superhero, Manning. He can run and he can jump and he can dance.

1:02:40Pat McAfee:This guy can dance. Oh, yeah. Not a lot of Mannings can dance other than Archie. You know, I don't know if Peyton or Eli are out. Have we seen Peyton try? Yes. Don't you think we've seen a lot of sticks and bits? I bet he can. Texas two-step. I bet he can do that a bit. I bet he can, even though he's six foot nine. I'm thinking if you ask Peyton, he's going to tell you he can't dance for shit. I'm thinking that's what he's going to say. Eli, we assume Eli could get out there and have a good time, but I'm assuming he's not like a noted good dancer. Maybe, maybe. But Arch, this guy's got rhythm.

1:03:11Pat McAfee:Exactly. I mean, we remember these days. We remember these days. We're having a good time out there. Obviously, Peyton could get after it. But Arch Manning, the most athletic Manning we've seen, he had a lot more Archie in him. Then you assume Peyton and Eli will be able to get him to be able to spin. His dad, Coop, one of the best wide receivers that his school has ever seen growing up. He was the best athlete of the entire family, allegedly, the way they talk about it. So the high hopes and expectations that I think all of us potentially put on Arch to start his career was a lot. And I think we saw that for him at the beginning.

1:03:43Pat McAfee:And then he obviously grows through that, starts playing his best ball late. And then last week goes for, what, 100 touchdowns or whatever the case is. So I think we've got a great one here, Bruin and Austin. Lucky and thankful to be here. And it certainly is hot, but that's the way we lock it. And then Oklahoma-Michigan, the other massive noted game of the weekend. It's like, what is Michigan, man? Like, what is a Michigan man? And what is Michigan? Cheeks. I mean, there's like multiple questions. Conman says cheeks. There's a lot of people that are saying that, obviously not ranked. And Oklahoma, with Matier back, is this the Oklahoma that we thought they were going to be last year when they could maybe win a Heisman and a national championship and go on a run for the Boomer folks?

1:04:22Pat McAfee:This could be a big, telling weekend for both of their squads. Obviously, West Virginia is going to do their – and handle their business. Texas A &M got Dillingham coming in there. Alabama, U.K., Will Stein had to back off, you know, saying bring illegal booze into the stadium. He had to back off that a little bit. Hey, listen, you got a flask. You stick it in between your legs. They're scared to check that. So if you want to bring in some extra booze, bring it in between your thighs. They're not going to check it is what he came out and said. Then he had to go out later and say, actually, we got good alcohol at State.

1:04:54Pat McAfee:We have good alcohol at Stadium, actually. So do what you guys got to do. Nonetheless, this guy, I like his juice. I like what he did at Oregon. I like the success that they had at Oregon. I like the way he's come out. And he was asked, like, why do you think Kentucky is going to win now as opposed to before? He's like, me, man. I think I'm going to be the reason. And that's why he took the job. Anybody that has that amount of confidence, I respect. And anybody that's coming out saying, hey, snake some booze in this place. We need this place a little lit. We need this place turned up a little bit.

1:05:22Pat McAfee:Why not Kentucky potentially, especially with an Alabama team where who knows what we know about everything they got. Tennessee, Georgia Tech, obviously Iowa State, Iowa. We got the Cy Hawk Bowl. Let's go to the toxic table at Boston Conner and at Ty Schmidt. Ty, Iowa State about to run roughshod on Iowa here early in the season. in Cy Hawk Bowl? Is this normally when this happens? Yeah, it is usually either week two or week three before conference play starts. Boy, I can't see it. You picked Southeast Missouri State or Southeast Missouri, whoever it was, whatever direction it was, last week as your Superdog because, like you mentioned, about 100 guys transferred out of Iowa State when Matt Campbell left.

1:05:59They all went to State College. They all went to Penn State. They are a shell of what they were last year. Boy, I'll tell you what, It would be very, very devastating if Iowa doesn't just blow the doors off them. But, again, this is a night game at Kinnick. Iowa looked very, very impressive last week, so I am expecting more of the same.

1:06:19Pat McAfee:Did you see what Miami did last night, AJ? Yeah, they won by a couple, right? Yeah. Seems like that game was kind of out of hand. They won by 70. They won by 70. Fourth quarter was 10 minutes long. Is that correct? Yeah, the coaches agreed. We don't need to do the whole song and dance 15. Let's drop this thing down to 10. They can't do a moving clock or a running clock like you can in, like, peewee football, but you can certainly sub it down to 10 minutes so we can kind of drain the bleeding out. I think they had fours and fives in for Miami. They were still having success. Obviously, there was a turnover for FAMU that gets a pretty good little run and a score, but it was 77-0 in the third.

1:06:56Pat McAfee:And I know the FAMU coach wasn't happy afterwards. You know, there was a little bit of, hey, what's going on? And I could certainly understand that. But with the way this modern world is, especially with how they're going to talk about Miami's schedule, whenever it all comes down to it, it sucks that this is the case. But this is what you've got to do to these types of teams. This is what you have to do, especially if your schedule isn't considered a super tough one, whenever inevitably there's people voting on whether or not you deserve one of the 12 spots in the playoff. Now, granted, Miami could win the ACC.

1:07:28Pat McAfee:They've never done that before. Miami could win the ACC because they're the most talented team. Obviously, last year they make it to the national championship. The ACC is very weird, though. But having this on the resume is certainly something that sticks out and sucks for FAMU. But, boy, if you're a Miami fan, you've got to be pretty pumped up about what's possible. Mensah doesn't seem to miss. This guy seems to hit absolutely everything. His odds on the Heisman are obviously plus 480 going into the season. It wasn't like that. And then two back-to-back games are just going absolutely crazy, thrust him into the top of the limelight.

1:08:00Pat McAfee:So to say the U is back, I would say yes. AJ, have you ever been on the receiving end of one of those ever in your life? Oh, boy. I don't think I've been – I've gotten beat pretty bad at times, but I don't think 77 to 76. That is a lot. I mean, that's – Get your brothers in the backyard maybe once? Yeah, for sure. I got two older brothers. I'm sure they beat me up pretty good a few times. But that's a tough one on both sides. For Miami, though, like what a – it's a no-win situation. I mean, if you – if you didn't – if we rolled a team out there, the Thunderdome boys. Sure. We played offense and defense.

1:08:33Okay.

1:08:34Pat McAfee:Could it be worse? Oh, yeah. Do we have D-butt? Bones playing tackle? Yeah, that's what I mean. Could it be worse than 77-0 in the third quarter? I think it can, yeah. Really? Three quarters is asking a lot, I feel like. Can we get to halftime? Maybe a drive. Yeah. 75 % of us be throwing up after three plays. That's true. No, of course. That's what I'm saying. If we took a knee, knee'd it out. That'd be smart. Three straight downs. And then we're going to be punted. Okay, then yeah, we'll be all right. Pin them deep. Yeah, I think. Would they be able to get the 77-0? Oh, man. I don't think so.

1:09:12If we're taking three knees, we're chewing up a decent amount of clock and you're pinning them deep. I'd gamble irresponsibly on Miami getting over 77. Irresponsibly gambling I would be doing against us.

1:09:24Pat McAfee:What was the final score of that game? What was the final score of that game? 77-7. They covered their team total over on the fumble six, So good on Famu for that one. Yeah, over under three and a half. Three and a half, sorry. I thought it was two and a half, yeah. Gumpy goes, wow, Famu just sailed over their numbers. And I was like, what happened? It was like two and a half or something, three and a half, whatever it was. So if we took a knee, drained the play clock every single time, and then drained play clock for punt, snap it on one, and let's say I have the best punting game I've ever had, not that I would, but we pin them back.

1:09:57Pat McAfee:Do we kill enough clock that they don't get the 77-7 against us? I don't know, though, because they're going to score every play. Every play. Are we going to make a tackle? Every play. Who's covering Malachi Tony? Yeah, exactly. Who's making a tackle? Cooper Barkay. The family couldn't cover anybody. I'm just saying, if they chose to kneel it out from the beginning, is it a better outcome than what it was? I think so. Yeah, for sure. They probably had a negative EPA per play on offense, for sure. Jeez, I'm sorry, family. Don't quit on ball. I mean, they tackled Malachi three times. He had four catches but only one touchdown.

1:10:31I feel like that's a victory.

1:10:33Pat McAfee:Yeah, I mean, Malachi Tony was on pace for 102 touchdowns after the first quarter against Stanford. Now against FAMU, Darryl Mensah's on pace for 250 ,000 yards in a football season. I mean, I don't want to talk, you know, because people get really upset whenever we start mentioning schedules this early. You know, there's some sensitive alumni from different schools that are wondering why we're not bringing up, you know, the weak schedules across the board. Like, oh, I didn't hear you mention Penn State, Indiana, West Virginia. I didn't mention Miami. And that came from Shane Gillis of Notre Dame, obviously, because we talk about Notre Dame's schedule.

1:11:07Pat McAfee:But there is a lot of weak schedules for a lot of teams that could potentially be in the conversation late. And it's like a 70-point drumming of a team. is, it sucks, but in modern world, you kind of got to do it. It's like you kind of have to do it, AJ. It's not Miami's fault, but it is kind of something that has to take place in this subjective world of the college football playoff. That's how it is. I mean, if Miami won 28-0, don't you think you'd say, oh, what's wrong with this Miami offense? Like the voters would, too, at the end of the season. 28 feels like a four score. I mean, 28-0 feels like a pretty good win.

1:11:43Pat McAfee:77-7. That feels like a... At one point you think they're like, all right, we're getting 100. We got it. Yeah. And they thought they were going to get 1 ,000 yards of offense in one game. That is absurd. Cristobal obviously got the boys playing hard no matter what the situation is. Let's talk about a couple of the storylines here brewing around. We already talked about it last hour. Tua Tonga-Valoa has an oblique injury. He just sat down in the middle of practice yesterday. A lot of people didn't know what was going on. He was named a starter because Penix is not there yet, even though he has come out and said that he was close.

1:12:17Pat McAfee:Reggie Chapman was the one that posted a video saying, oh, I just watched Tua go down in a heap of pain. That did not look good. Obviously it looked uncomfortable. It's an oblique injury. Anytime you have something in your back, it could pop up out of nowhere. That man right there, Jack Strand, might get some rub this weekend. He's a player. So the Atlanta Falcons, Kevin Stefanski start. Obviously massive question marks at the most important position. Jim Harbaugh has come out and said a lot of things. He said that he thinks Justin Herbert is going to be the greatest professional quarterback in the history.

1:12:44Pat McAfee:He said that's what's possible. And he also made this statement about focusing on anything other than the Chargers. Yeah, to answer your question, that's where my mind's at right now. Yeah, it's September. It's time to play our first game. And I support no cause, foreign or domestic, other than the greatness of the Los Angeles Chargers. complete focus on this game Sunday. So he was asked by somebody like, hey, you want to go help out here, help out here? He goes, I'm thankful they're doing that, but I support no cause. How did he come, foreign or domestic, other than the greatness of the Los Angeles Chargers?

1:13:31Pat McAfee:I mean, I'm going to start using that as my own, so I appreciate Jim doing that anytime we are potentially asked to do something that is off the mission of what we have. But he's special. If him and McDaniel have a good season, I am praying to God that we have microphones around them all the time, AJ. They have to. Don't you think their social media team is going to be doing that? Like every game, they both should be mic'd up with cameras isolated on each guy, for sure. You have to. Well, Justin Herbert has a chance to have maybe the biggest breakout year of his life. And obviously, he's in love.

1:13:59Pat McAfee:He's doing commercials. I saw him acting. Was he acting? Yeah, pretty good. A couple of Wild Wings commercials yesterday. I missed that. Looked cool. Pretty good. He looked good. He had glasses on at one point. I thought that was awesome. I like the way Justin Herbert's maybe opening up. But the fact that McDaniel sees what Shanahan just did with this use check motion, I mean, let's assume McDaniel has some sort of trick up his sleeve for this Chargers offense as well. Should be fun to kind of look at. Speaking of fun, Aaron Rodgers talked to Cam Hayward. Did you hear about this, AJ? Yeah, I thought there were some notable clips came out of that situation.

1:14:30What did he say? Like what? What do you mean? People fornicating with other people for the four situations. I don't know. Just a lot of different. Aaron is a unique, creative human.

1:14:40Pat McAfee:You were around for all those moments, I think. Not all of them. I don't know if you were there for the exact statement of, hey, I need to go. Before we say no more to anybody else, I need to go ahead and do this. I don't know if you were in there, but he did talk a little bit about LaFleur and LaFleur's comment about Jordan Love. Obviously, that wasn't with Cam Hayward, but whenever he was talking about it, he said it was Wild and Tatch. Are those? Yeah, yeah. Wildey and Tausch, yeah. Wildey and Tausch. Mark Tausch. Wildey and Tausch. They're Packers legends, I assume? Yeah, Wildey's a writer, media guy that's been there forever, and Mark Tausch is an unbelievable, legendary tackle for the Green Bay Packers.

1:15:19Pat McAfee:I love that. Here's what Aaron had to say about LaFleur's comments about Jordan Love being the best quarterback he's ever coached at the line of scrimmage. He's probably still mad I changed too many of his plays.

1:15:33It was a big statement when you had a guy win back-to-back MVPs. I guess I wasn't doing too much at the LOS. Matt's a clown, man. He says some things from time to time that are funny. Then he's like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that. He's backing up his quarterback. I'm sure Jay loves a real good line of scrimmage. Come on, man.

1:15:57Pat McAfee:I'm a clown, Ty Schmidt, owner of the Packers. How do you feel about former quarterback calling your current head coach a clown in an interview with Wildey and Koch? Yeah, I love it. That's just vintage Rod right there. You can see just completely unbothered by it. Does not care what he – I mean, and him and Jordan Love still have a really good relationship, and I think he understands like that. You know, LeFleur was just going to bat for Jordan Love, but when you can – when that's all you have to say, you know, that is a crazy thing to say when you had a guy win back-to-back MVPs, and he is arguably a Mount Rushmore quarterback, one of the greatest of all time.

1:16:30So, yeah, I got a good chuckle out of that, especially when he called him a clown and then kind of just threw it away. Like, yeah, you can say that, but you're wrong. You know you're wrong, even though Jordan Love is a very good player, and he expects him to have a good year. But we're talking about Raj here. I mean, this guy, he's going to have his number retired as a Packer.

1:16:47Pat McAfee:Yeah, he's going to have his number retired as a Packer. He's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, we think. You have no idea. And obviously, it sounds like he, Cam Hayward, and the boys are very tight over there in Pittsburgh. They're talking about everything together. I like that. I like that a lot. Let's pivot off the NFL and let's go to a man who's a trailblazer, a groundbreaker, a man who has a massive weekend ahead. He is the president, obviously, and CEO of UFC, but also the head of Zufa Boxing. We got a chance to talk to both guys. that are going to be main event this weekend on Paramount Plus.

1:17:20Pat McAfee:And Garcia and Ben. I'll tell you what, two contrasting styles as these guys. One guy, handsome Squidward looking head, is going to have to see if he can hold up against that super quick. Brian Garcia and then UFC Noche also happening this weekend. The man is all over the place, but he's figuring it all out. We appreciate him for that. Ladies and gentlemen, Dana White. Dana! What's up, boys? You see that I've been watching Garcia on the internet do this to influencers. You've seen it too. Bang, hit him right in the body. Boom, boom. Can you tell me a little bit about Zufa getting this fight this early into your guys' promotion and what you can kind of expect out of tomorrow night's fight on Paramount Plus?

1:18:00Yeah, we pulled this thing off. It's got that big fight vibe in Vegas right now. Vegas is buzzing. On Saturday, I have two fights. I start in Arizona for Noche UFC, and then I fly to the Ben Garcia fight. both shows all guys have made weight um you know the big the big question going into this uh fight was could ben make the weight was it gonna uh affect him in the fight ben from what i hear has been going to bed the last three or four days at 149 pounds and uh he weighed in today at 145.5 so here we go all the talk is done everybody's made weight today we'll do the face-offs and Time to fight.

1:18:45Pat McAfee:I didn't even think about you shitting your pants every way in. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I could imagine you looking at a scale. Come on, come on, come on. Because there's obviously the conversation that we've seen behind the scenes of you and Cormier after John Jones failed the test and then Cormier is breaking down crying. There's a lot on these guys to show up prepared and ready and be able to fight. Managing a fight in Arizona with Noche, I love that you do this on Mexican Independence Day. I like that this is becoming a thing for you. Obviously, your respect for the Mexican culture and combat sports is gigantic.

1:19:20Pat McAfee:Handling everything happening with Noche and everything happening with Zufa, are you, I don't want to say on top of it all, but are you involved in all of this? Or how do you, do you have different teams? Is the UFC team also Zufa team? How do you kind of buy in to all the different stuff you have happening? Breaks in half and, you know, I have people on the plane with me coming back with me. for Ben Garcia. Yeah, it's my team is just incredible. There isn't anything we can't pull off from the sphere to the White House, the two fights on the same night in two different cities. I like trying to keep pushing and seeing how much can these guys take and how much can we really do.

1:19:58But yes, it's a sweater leading up. All these fighters have to do press. We had a press conference yesterday. Then everybody has to weigh in, be ready. And it's just this week could not have gone any smoother than it did. So it's been perfect. Congratulations.

1:20:15Pat McAfee:It's going to continue that way. Go ahead, AJ. Dana, we see clips of you, obviously, for years and years at these press conferences, sometimes getting in between the face-off situation. I guess, how has that evolved over time? And what is it like being in there? Do you, in a real volatile situation, when you're standing there at the podium and fighters on either side and you know you're going to face them off, like, is there real beef a lot of times? And how do you handle that? What are you feeling mentally when you're up there? yeah so what happens is you know the job basically is you can't let these guys touch each other because once somebody touches somebody and something happens that guy feels disrespected now the next time we get them together he's been thinking about you know for 24 or 48 hours how he's going to get them back and it just everybody thinks that i love that stuff it's the exact opposite i have security guys up there too because then what happens is it starts to break out with the camps and it the athletic commissions brown on it very much so uh we don't need any of that bullshit um but you know i've been doing it long enough we know so yesterday i don't know if you saw this online but before the face-off ryan garcia had two eggs in his pocket my security team saw it and he came up to me before he says he's got two eggs in his pocket what do you want me to do i said have him give you the eggs get the eggs out of his pocket we don't need him hitting Connor Bed with an egg, and then I have a face-off again today with these two, and, you know, what's Connie and Brennan going to show up with, you know?

1:21:41Pat McAfee:Okay, so hold on. He has two eggs in his pocket. We obviously don't know if he's looking to throw the eggs or splash them on his head. Oh, my God, you guys catching him. Yes, I love it. First of all, love that Garcia's trying to sneak some eggs into this thing, you know, get this thing a little active and get a little action. Love that you guys caught it because of how experienced you are in the fight game. Last question from me before the boys have a couple back there in the Thunderdome. Boxing, you're still relatively new to it. Okay, tell me a little bit about your feel right now and what the journey is ahead for Zufa because there's guys back in the Thunderdome, Zufa boxing fans.

1:22:14Pat McAfee:I love the big fights, never really got into boxing. Zufa boxing is going to be my promotion. I'm going to follow you guys. Great merch too. I got a hoodie, got a shirt. Let's do it. But what does the road look like for you guys going ahead with Zufa? What is a realistic road and success story for Zufa as you see it right now? Because I know you got a lot of people that aren't happy with you guys right now in the boxing world that means you're doing the right thing so you know we're eight months into this thing and uh you know we've we've done we can do canelo crawford type fights ben garcia type fights jayopataya fights and everything in between you know from the bottom up we can do contender style fights you know and basically my goal over the next few and right now i feel like i'm two years ahead of where i thought i would be uh eight months in and we're just going to continue continue to what we to do what we do put our head down keep grinding putting on the best possible fights that we can with the best fighting the best you know in three four or five years when you pop your head up you're like holy shit look at the business we've built over the last several years that's what we do trust the process you've obviously done great things with everything you have touched thus far excited to see what Zufa becomes.

1:23:28Pat McAfee:We'll obviously ride alongside of you. Tone Diggs has a question for you, Dana. Yeah, Dana, kind of speaking alongside of that, did building the UFC from the ground up and obviously kind of having that model, does that help with what you're doing with Zufa now because you kind of have the baseline on like, okay, this is how we did it. This is what worked. Or is there major differences in boxing and UFC that kind of make it a little bit different as far as building the business? Well, there's a couple different ways to explain that. So everything that I did when I built the UFC was based on all the things that I loved about boxing and all the things that I hated about boxing and look how it worked for the UFC so imagine how it's going to work for boxing and um not only that if you look at what uh how I built power slap and the massive numbers that it pulls the sponsorship that it does and the the revenue that it generates I mean imagine three, four years in the sport of boxing.

1:24:24Pat McAfee:Hey, that's power slap stuff. You are such a firm believer in that early. I think a lot of us were like, Dana, why? Everybody was that. Yeah, everybody was. I think a lot of us were saying just why, you know, like why is this a thing? And then what you built those into live event-wise and like ticket and then watching and then obviously the numbers on the internet and you taking advantage of it becoming a digital sport as opposed to a linear sport. It's like I like the way you kind of stick and move. You know, everybody said Dana except for the tortitas. I said, hey, I have an idea again. And they're like, how much money do you need?

1:25:02Pat McAfee:That's a good friend to have. And I certainly think you've done well for them in the past. So I think when you showed up in their basement or whatever and said, ultimate fighting championship. I got a good idea for this. You guys need to spend$1 million or whatever it was. It's an American success story that's beautiful. Let's continue to talk about American success stories. You know, you talk about next big fight maybe. We'll announce it. We'll announce it. Then there's been some rumors. Boston Conner has a question for you, Dana. Yeah, Dana, speaking of those rumors, you know, of course, the fight at the White House was incredible.

1:25:28The sphere was incredible. You always innovate, kind of looking for that next thing. Mount Rushmore has kind of been thrown out there, conversated about as a location. You know, I'd like to throw in the ring maybe the Pentagon, at the center of the Pentagon. That'd be pretty cool. I don't know where else maybe you're thinking. What is kind of that process right now? and where are your sights set on as far as the next big event for the UFC in that ilk? See, that's what drives me crazy about when you do a podcast or something like that. The rumor is now that I'm doing Mount Rushmore. So I'm doing this interview with this kid, and he says, I was thinking that you probably would do it at Mount Rushmore next.

1:26:11And I just laughed and said, but I didn't say that. The kid did. it's definitely not Mount Rushmore and when people ask me like yes I did a ton of media yesterday and everybody's like so if this guy fights this guy will this be the next fight I'm like I'm not even going to answer that because no matter what I say I'll wake up tomorrow and there'll be 250 ,000 little shit ball Instagram you know that'll be saying Dana White said that this guy's fighting that guy no I didn't say that no it is not going to be Mount Rushmore actually cocky Craig Borsari just landed last night he's been on the site where I want to do it for four days checking out the possibilities of getting this done so hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can break it on the McAfee show

1:27:04Pat McAfee:we can't wait for that, we can't wait for tomorrow obviously you got UFC Noche in Arizona, you got Zufa Garcia Ben in Vegas tomorrow night. Obviously, you have contributed so much to sports and to your fans. We can't thank you enough for joining us, Dana. Have a phenomenal weekend. And remember this, the whole thing is on the same platform, no pay-per-view. Whatever you paid your subscription for Paramount Plus is the cost of the entire night. And I think the way... Hey, Dana, I think the way they're clipping and posting the videos, I think it's becoming a really good platform for you guys. I assume you've learned from the other platforms that you guys have stopped that or the other streaming places to make this the absolute best stop for you because the evolution of where you're putting your shit at obviously you're with TKO now WWE way back they start the WWE network subscription base everybody says Vince is an idiot you're going to kill it then everybody kind of chases that model then he starts taking the network to other places Peacock has it then you've gone obviously licensing through different places Paramount feels like they're building the platform alongside you is that a is that a good way to kind of describe what's happening with you in Paramount?

1:28:12I've been in business with these guys for like eight months. They're incredible. Paramount and the CBS guys are absolutely incredible. What we've done in eight months is unbelievable. I can't wait to see, you know, at the end of this seven-year deal, what we do together. It's been phenomenal. And if you think about all the paywalls that I've been behind for 25 years, I am no longer behind. Imagine how big this sport's going to be in the next several years, and not just UFC, but boxing, too. You're the man. And yes, Pat, you're dead on. You're dead on.

1:28:45Pat McAfee:You could not be more of it. You're the man, ladies and gentlemen. That's Dana White. Thank you, Dana. Thank you, boy. That's a big weekend for him. Huge. Huge weekend for him. They were telling us, like, hey, Dana will fly down to Austin and come do your show down there. Then he's going to fly to Arizona. Then he's going to Las Vegas. And I was like, he doesn't need to do that, right? He doesn't need to do that. They're like, no, he will, though. He won't let you know that he will fly down there, chit-chat with you, and just pop over to Arizona. I'm like, we're good. He just told him to save himself a flight.

1:29:13Pat McAfee:He's okay. He's going to have quite a busy day tomorrow. But I do think what they are trying to accomplish in the combat sports world is, in their eyes, the intentions, I think, are pure. We want to find the best fighters, the best fighters. There's always going to be a lot of detractors, though. Boy, especially in that boxing world. It got loud. Bruce, you know it a little bit better, obviously, the boxing world. You become a Zufa mark. There's a lot of people that hate them in the boxing world. Isn't that accurate? Yeah, like other promoters and stuff. But like Dana said, usually these would be like$85 each, and you'd have to buy both of them to watch both of these fights.

1:29:47And they'd probably be on at the exact same time. But now Noche is leading in to Garcia-Ben, and you get them both right there on Paramount+. So for boxing fans and fighting fans, it's really all gravy. It's the other promoters that are getting pissed off at Uncle Dana for it all.

1:30:06Pat McAfee:Yeah, and Daniel said, if they're not pissed off, you're not doing something right. And boy, I hope that's true. There's a lot of mad people all the time in everything I do.

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1:31:21Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a man who's been to face it. Kirk Herbsh. Yeah! Kirk Herbsh. Oh, Kirk Herbsh. Good to see you, Kirk Herbsh. Good to see you. How are you? Super cool sunglasses. Do you see how cool his sunglasses are? Yeah. You should put them on. No, I think you should put them on the other side. Great hoodie, too, in 110-degree weather. Yeah, what's going on here? You're wearing a hoodie? Were you just outside? Yeah. What's going on? I don't know. It's weird. I go hoodies, lightweight hoodies in the heat. I think it's fine. Yours is back there. Block out the sun. I like it.

1:31:54Yeah, blocks out the sun. No sunburn. Get a nice lather going. How the lads are doing? Great, you. Lads are impressive. You've got a hoodie on. How's A.J. doing running point? Is he good? Center of Elk Grove? Like stalked him, bro. Feel good over here, Kirk. How you doing? Atta babe. Good, man. I know you always handle business there. How you feeling about this weekend down here in Austin? Well, that's funny you ask. I'm going to ask you about that. I would like to see how you feel. I feel pretty good, man. I love Julian Sane. The experience he got last year in this game, I know it's at home versus away and all that, but I think that's going to go a long way.

1:32:25And I hope they, me and Pat talked about it earlier, take the training wheels off and let this guy just go out there and let it fly and go make some plays. Yeah. What a difference a year makes with really all these guys. Are we over here? Yeah. Oh, there you go. Find a clear camera. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot. We got this. There you go. You can stand right there. Do that left tackle block. No, I think I'm with you. I think it's amazing the difference one year makes for both the quarterbacks. I mean, last year, Ohio State was very, very careful with Jules at this point as his first career start, you know, in that kind of atmosphere.

1:33:04And Arch Manning had the weight of the world. Weight of the world. You know, guys like Pat are talking about he's going to win the Heisman. He's going to win the national championship. He's going to be better than his uncles. And, you know, I think he personally he had what I think we all refer to as like the yips. You know, he just was mentally struggling to deal with all that hype and almost unrealistic expectations. And now both these guys have an entire year under their belt, and I think they both come in, and it's a very different thing. And I think with Jules handling this atmosphere, this place rocks now.

1:33:37Before maybe five years and earlier, it was just kind of a stadium, and now it is a really, really loud stadium. So how Ohio State with a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, how they're going to handle that I think will be interesting as well. What do we got here?

1:33:53Pat McAfee:Can we turn this one on here? Can we turn this bad boy on here? Can we turn this bad boy on here? Yeah. Yeah, I'm going headset too, so we look the same. Oh, okay. We're just kind of readjusting here, reorganizing. I love your takes on the quarterback strictly because you obviously Ohio State quarterback, former quarterback, and you did throw me under the bus there with what I said about Arch, but I said it earlier today on the show too. I was part of the problem. I was certainly part of the problem. I think those big expectations. You love the Manning family. I mean, you're in because of. because, I mean, I rode the coattails of that guy.

1:34:26Pat McAfee:I do a lot of great things. A lot of people even say maybe television because the only reason I'm on is because of Peyton Manning and letting me on to a lot of different things. But it's true, though. It's like I think we naturally thought he's more athletic than Eli and Peyton. I think he's more like his grandfather. And his dad. His dad, remember, wide receiver. Yeah, great athlete. Very, very athletic. But, yes, Archie, obviously, with the angst down there, was running all over the place. So I think we had high expectations. Hopefully that he's able to live up to him this year. I think he started out great.

1:34:52Pat McAfee:He's great. Coleman catches everything. Tomorrow we've got an absolute dogfight down here. Now let's go to Ann Arbor. Yeah. He's wearing a blue hoodie. AJ, did you see this? I did see that. Huh. You see that? Yeah. Well, you know, he's got some family. He's got some family ties. This is L.A. Rams blue, though. This isn't. Not a great day to wear that either. It's Kentucky blue. Kentucky, there you go. By the way, they can hang around. What is that spread? Ten. I think it's ten. I like that one. I like Kentucky. I like the way he was talking about bringing Flask in, and then they told him he can't say that.

1:35:29Pat McAfee:Get boozed inside the stadium. I like the energy he's bringing. I hope the fans show up for him. Quarterback's real. They got a real quarterback. And Will's real offense coordinator. Yeah. Oh, my God, yeah. Yeah, they got a Texas running back up there now, C.J. Baxter. And it's a night game, right? Mm-hmm. Ooh. Is it a night game? I think it's 3.30. I could be wrong. 3.30 on ABC. Yeah, we knew that. Triple header. Triple header on ABC. Yeah, it's part of a Disney platform. It's the ESPN ABC. I think Kentucky can hang around. I think they can hang around within 10. Okay, so you like the 10 and a half there.

1:36:00Pat McAfee:You think Elon Russell, maybe not able to bury Kentucky in Kentucky. Maybe a how you doing, this is still an SEC environment type game. Absolutely. Absolutely. And if Kentucky can take away that running game and put it all on Russell, who I'm a huge fan of, I don't know. I think Will Stein's got something going there. I think he's got some juice. And I think UK early in the year, I don't think they're going to win the game. I think they're going to hang around closer than 10. Okay, let me break this down to you. Last night, the Rams get absolutely smacked in Australia. What are your thoughts on that?

1:36:27Pat McAfee:I'm going to blame it on the travel. You know, not having their normal week of prep. Both teams had to deal with it. Give credit to the Niners, what they did last night. I mean, they looked about as good as you. By the way, those are two of the best teams in the league. Yeah. I know the Rams are getting all the hype. I still like Seattle. We were talking this morning in the game day meeting, just that division alone. how powerful it is. I still think Seattle could be the team to beat. I know everybody's on the Rams because of Aaron Donald, Miles Garrett, and what they're going to be able to do.

1:36:58But the beauty of the NFL, unlike our sport, is you lose 30-7, you get back home, regroup, get ready, get ready to go next week, and I think they'll be fine.

1:37:09Pat McAfee:You lose a game in college, though. It's like, are we going to get back to playoffs? Yeah, a national narrative is created, blink of an eye. And that's why you've got to win 77-7 if you're playing. Yeah. on Thursday night of your Miami against FAMU. Yeah. Like, it's actually something that has to happen. It sucks, but it has to happen. It has to happen. Yeah. By the way, you said LSU was going to win by 50. Yeah, 41. I was close. But it was almost a throwaway touchdown for Clemson at the end. I know, yeah. I thought you were just BSing there. I mean. Well, filling time for sure, because you heard the same thing I heard.

1:37:39Pat McAfee:It was like, hey, we've got a minute 40 left. It's like, all right, all right, we will.

1:37:48Pat McAfee:But, yeah, going into game day, I thought it was going to be very tough for Clemson to keep up with LSU. And then whenever I felt the crowd, you know, and that's what everybody talks about. Like, hey, whenever you have these people down here behind you and you're winning, it's a real weapon. And they stuck through that lightning. No one left. They were told, get the hell out of here. There's lightning coming. We had to go inside. LSU officials were telling us. They didn't budge. No. These people just stayed out there. Yeah. Then, obviously, torrential downpour during the day throughout the delays of the game.

1:38:17Pat McAfee:These people were just standing out there. I mean, it was like if this LSU football team. They stay healthy. If the quarterback stays healthy, I mean, they're going to be fun to watch. Fun to watch. I mean, they've got A &M in three weeks. Three weeks. They have Texas A &M coming down to Tiger Stadium. And, obviously, Ole Miss here in two weeks. Ole Miss, yeah. I mean, that's obviously the massive game next Saturday. but they have Texas A &M. That's the beauty of their schedule is every week as you say a banger. Every week they're going to be playing in games that you want to watch. Yeah, Louisiana Tech obviously is a big one.

1:38:53Pat McAfee:McNeese is a huge one. Good program. Okay, I didn't know. At Kentucky, you just mentioned Kentucky. Kentucky's not easy. Mississippi State may have one of the better quarterbacks no one's talking about. Coach Saban came in here saying his praise. Did he say the same thing? Who are you singing his praise? Auburn. Alabama. You know, this is what they say about the SEC. Look at that. Hey, Ty, I don't know if you're looking at the schedule. This is what the SEC has. Okay, this is what the SEC has down here, Ty. I don't know if you guys know anything about that. Big Ten, I feel like, has that, too.

1:39:24Yeah, they do. Herbie, you know that just as well as anyone else does. And the Big Ten has depth. The Big Ten may not have had the most impressive week last week compared to the SEC. SEC went 16-0. You know, the Big Ten went 14-2. But maybe didn't look quite as good. But I'll tell you what. I was ecstatic with how you guys talked about Iowa on game day last week. I really was. That was a real joy. And then Iowa went out, and they looked very impressive. They beat the absolute dog shit out of northern Illinois, 40 to nothing. How do you see this? Any issue this weekend in the rivalry? They're fine, right?

1:39:59Well, that's what I want to ask you. I would assume so, but this game, you know, I mean, you never know. This is a real rivalry game. you know and and I assume no one thinks that Iowa State can win with how many guys they've lost but it is very tough to play at Kinnick at night but after watching them last week and then you know based on what they do tomorrow like how close do you think Iowa is to potentially be in like a fringe playoff team do you think they're in that kind of next crust to the Big Ten of teams who really could you know maybe potentially be a playoff team I feel like they are every year But I just, I've always, I always look at Iowa with Kirk Ferentz as a team that is always knocking on that 10-win mark.

1:40:44I mean, I think they've averaged nine wins over the last, I don't know how many years. I don't think they get credit, to be honest with you, Ty, because of the style of ball that they play. You know, Phil Parker is as good as there is as a defensive coordinator. If you and I asked anybody outside of that region, tell me about Iowa's defensive coordinator, I don't know if a lot of people, do you ever hear Phil Parker talked about on a national a level? Never. Should he be? Yes. But I think because of the style of ball that they play, they don't necessarily win sexy. They don't outscore people. They hit you with a rubber hose.

1:41:17They just beat you down. To me, it's effective. It comes down to the quarterback play. Can they play with the big boys? Can they kind of get into... I don't know if we have their schedule. If you can put their schedule up on the board, I'd love to take a peek at what they have coming up because you know they're going to get to that 9-10 win mark and you know which to me gets them in the discussion but what are they going to do when it comes to those top teams in the Big Ten let's take a peek they have that three-week stretch of Michigan Ohio State Washington and it's you know personally I think if they can go two and one in in that stretch that they they do have a legitimate chance even wanted to oh boy if you go two and one and at Michigan, at Washington.

1:42:08Minnesota, I know that's on the road in a rivalry game. Wisconsin, you're right. If you get to 2-1-1, there's a really good opportunity for them to make a run there because, you know, who's going to beat them? Tell me who's going to beat them after they get through that three-week stretch. Purdue. Purdue's got a team now. Probably not. Maybe Hank Brown. Illinois. Have you settled on that quarterback? Yeah. It seems like they're both. No, I want Hank Brown. I want Hank Brown. Listen, I wanted to raise heck all offseason, and then I just didn't see enough. And the quarterback doesn't matter. I think they have one of the best offensive lines in the country.

1:42:44Every year. So we just need a guy who's just not going to turn the ball over, and he didn't. He led them on three consecutive touchdown drives in his first three possessions. So, you know, just stick with him. Just don't look by Iowa State. I hate rivalry games when it's like, oh, they don't have any chance. You know how that goes. Get by this sneaky one and then get on a run.

1:43:04Pat McAfee:Yeah, speaking of going on a run, I'm about to pick a perfect slate. Oh, let's do it. Yeah, let's go. I've decided. Gumpy, isn't that what we were talking about last night? Let's just go ahead and be perfect out here. First one, got to have it. Yeah, well, I already got it wrong last night with the Rams. That doesn't count because it was in Australia. That's its own. International games don't count. And Miles Garrett can't play football for shit outside of America. There you go. We found that out last night. Matthew Stafford a little bit different, too. Kirk, you're going to join us for these picks, yeah?

1:43:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, let's do it. Don't feel obligated to make a pick, but if you would like to help us, for sure. And if you want to make a pick. I'll help you. I'll help you. Okay, Saints-Lions. Lions favored by seven at home. Can I tell you what my immediate thoughts are? Yeah. Give me the Saints plus seven going into Detroit. AJ, who do you like? I mean, my immediate thoughts are the exact same as you. Give me Tyler Shuck and the Saints plus seven on the road. Do you like that, Herbie, or do you hate that? I feel like Detroit coming off a disappointing year, they want to make a statement early. And I know New Orleans has improved, but I like Detroit there.

1:44:04I think they're going to be all right.

1:44:05Pat McAfee:Foxy, how do you feel about me and AJ immediately going against the MCDC Lions to start this entire thing off? Yeah, I'll tell you what. I actually don't hate the Saints covering seven points here. Couldn't you guys see this being a really high-scoring game? The Lions' secondary is absolutely torched right now, and we're just going to throw for a million yards in this one, and then the Saints kind of backdoor cover that seven points. That's how I see this one going. Lions win, though. Yeah, I like the Lions getting a dub. Give me the Saints plus seven. And, A.J., I like the way we're starting the season.

1:44:33Pat McAfee:Nobody would have expected us to do that right there, first one. Baltimore Ravens traveling into the lot house. Okay. Welcome to the NFL as a head coach, Jesse Minter. You got the Indianapolis. Come on. Why are you laughing at, Kirk? What's your problem, Kirk? That's not how this is going to go. That's not. Loud house. I know. I know. You got Colts blue on. You're right, but I'm going Baltimore here. What? What was that all about? We didn't ask. Do you not bleed blue? What is it? We love them. Yeah, this is our team. This is our coach. We bleed blue. He had the Purdue Key Club, Glee Club, the sitting club.

1:45:17Varsity Glee Club.

1:45:18Pat McAfee:Matt JV. And I like that. A little bit of remix there. I like what he's doing. Duflo is obviously throwing heat here to start the season. You like the Ravens. You like Lamar Jackson. You like Jesse Minter. I'll have you know. Have you seen what Shane Steichen has done against Jesse Minter's defense before? Did you look that one up? I did not look that up. Oh, drumming. 38 points last year. Absolutely drumming. Now, Lamar Jackson does scare the shite out of me. Out of everybody. But in the Loud House, Colts getting three and a half to start this thing. Jonathan Taylor back with a new deal. Danny Dimes back with a new deal.

1:45:52Pat McAfee:Alec Pierce back with a new deal. Sauce Gardner back healthy. I'll take the Indianapolis Colts plus three and a half at home. AJ, your thoughts? Or you're going to ride alongside current Centerville elk hater, Kirk Herbst. I tell you what, when this first popped up, I was all on board with the Colts. And the more you talked about it, made me realize I'm taking the Baltimore Ravens. Might as three and a half on the road. I've got to trust my instincts on this one. Okay, Chicago Bears taking on the Carolina Panthers. Carolina Panthers, good football team. Yeah. That gets forgotten about. They're a good football team.

1:46:23They improved last year.

1:46:24Pat McAfee:Yeah, they had a home playoff game last year. Filled that place up, sold that place out. We obviously love Charlotte. We like the Carolina Panthers. They're getting three at home. Let's head to the toxic table. Connor, your thoughts on the Panthers getting three? And, Ty, you can obviously chime in as well. It just feels like we've been talking about the Panthers being a good football team for a couple years now, taking steps. Now, are they going to be a great football team this season? I kind of think they might be. Like with Ted McMillan, second year, Jalen Coker, He's nothing to sneeze at on the other side.

1:46:51Chuba Hubbard, reasonably healthy. I don't know about Jonathan Brooks. I think their O-line is a little banged up, but they also have a good defense. I believe in Dan Morgan and his boys. Now, Caleb and the Bears and Ben Johnson, people love them. I've seen Caleb being an MVP pick by a lot of people, and Ben Johnson's going to have them ready to go. So this one's tough, but three's been a pretty good number as far as the underdog goes. Three and a half for the Niners last night, they cover that. Pat's push at three. So plus three at home to open the season. I kind of like Carolina, and I hate that I do.

1:47:24Yeah, I sneaky love Carolina as well as a home dog, but I don't know how much of that is just me hoping that the Bears lose as well. So that's kind of clouding my judgment a little bit. So, you know, I'm going to stay away, but I do kind of love the Carolina Panthers here because, like you said, they are a good football team.

1:47:40Pat McAfee:Harvey, push comes to shove right now. Bears favored by three in Carolina. I wonder if Carolina is going to be able to score with Caleb. You know, that's the one thing. I have more confidence in an opening week. By the way, September football is sometimes tough to watch because of, you know, I think because of what we see in preseason football. So I think it's a continuation these first four weeks of NFL football. I'm going to go with Ben Johnson, and I think they're going to get the cover on the road to open it up, cover the three. Okay, 1 o 'clock in Carolina, home opener. I like the Bears. I'm a believer in the Bears.

1:48:13Pat McAfee:Ben Johnson said he wants to be the highest scoring offense in the history of ball. Who do you like, AJ? I like Carolina here. I like Carolina to probably win this one outright, but give me Carolina plus three. Okay, that's a pack. That's the all-time leading pack. Gumpy, your thoughts? I'm with Sir Perr, Bryce Young, Dan Morgan, drinking Celsius and water all day long. Yeah! Sir Perr. Forgot about Sir Perr. Fuck yeah. Sir Perr's their mascot. Give me the Carolina Panthers. So I'm on an island. Yeah, I'm on an island. I'm going to remember that. I'm taking the Panthers plus three is what I'm taking.

1:48:45Pat McAfee:Me too. I'm taking them plus three. I'm not saying – AJ said they could win. I'm taking them plus three. I like the Bears. I'm still a fan of the Bears. Buffalo Beals traveling down to Houston. Josh Allen 0-4, I believe, against Houston, Texas. Obviously, D 'Amico Ryan's defense is outrageous. He given up 14 sacks, 53 % completion percentage, 9 of 30 in 2024, 41.5 QBR, lowest at any venue he's ever played multiple games at. Houston, obviously very loud. D 'Amico's defense is outrageous. Josh Allen with Joe Brady. Is he trying to prove a point? AJ, who do you like? How do you like it? I want to pick the Texans here, but I just can't do it.

1:49:21I've got to take the Buffalo Bills. On the road, Josh Allen. I love this Houston Texans defense. I'm not sure their offense will be in their final form yet, so give me the Bills. Herbie, who do you like? I want the Bills to win because I have them the next week opening up their new stadium against the Lions. So I'm going to go with just polling for the Bills here.

1:49:41Pat McAfee:Okay, and I'll take the AFC South. Give me the Houston Texans.

1:49:49Pat McAfee:I don't like it. You don't like it? I'll take the Bills. I'll take the Bills. Wow. Take Buccaneers. Baker Mayfell. Yeah, Owen Ford. There has to be one where he gets back, right? Yeah. It has to be one. This will be the one. This will be the one. Now we go. Now we go. Houston defense did get worse. I don't know. Yeah. Did they? No, absolutely not. He's doing it. He's doing it. He's doing it. Blankenship now. Very good. All right, I'll take the Houston Texans plus a point and a half. They flipped you. Yeah, they did. Yeah, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals. Bengals favored by three and a half at home.

1:50:22Pat McAfee:Used to be a season ticket holder. Tampa Bay, obviously Baker Mayfield gets paid. Vita Vey gets paid. Obviously have some departures. Mike Evans is now a San Francisco 49er touchdown scorer. Who do you like? How do you like it, Herbie? When do you look at this one? I don't think the Bengals are allowed to win in the month of September. It's a new rule. NFL just came out with that the last few years. So I'm definitely going with Tampa Bay. Okay, Tampa Bay plus three and a half in Cincy. AJ, you rolling with Herbie? Nope, it's a new time in Cincy. Give me the Cincinnati Bengals minus three and a half.

1:50:47So he always goes to the teams he played for. That's the deal? That's not always the deal. You heard, you've seen Joe Pro. He's like this. He's like this. Yes, he has to. You've got to do what you've got to do.

1:50:56Pat McAfee:Obviously, people get upset. I'll take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plus three and a half. Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars. Jags favored by eight and a half at home. Deshaun Watson, obviously, starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Give me the Jags. Okay, Jags minus three. Boy, you jumped quick at that. Over-under is 39.5 and spread is 8.5? Yeah. Wow. It's going to be hot, too. 31-3. Oh, my God. It's going to be hot. Who do you like, Kirby? I'm going with the Jags. The Jags are going to win, but it's going to be closer than 8.5. So I'm officially taking the Browns. Okay. You've got the Cleveland Browns plus 8.5.

1:51:34Pat McAfee:I don't mind that, actually. I'll take the Jacksonville Jaguars minus 8.5. Falcons, Steelers. Are we keeping track all of these? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, all year. Oh. Oh, yeah. This is one of our only real segments. We do this every single Friday. People watch this. Every real segment? People watch this. I have no idea why, but people watch this every single week. It's one of our highest viewed things. Do they cuss you out after you? Oh, yeah. That's the fun part. Oh, yeah. First couple weeks, we kind of give a lot of excuses. We don't know what the teams are. Okay, Atlanta Falcons, we don't know who their quarterback is.

1:52:03Pat McAfee:That's real. Cooper Cush is leading them into Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh favored by five and a half. I'll take Pittsburgh. AJ, who do you have? It's up to six now. We're taking it at 5.5 though because that's what the graphic is We would take it at 6 though as well Give me Bichon, Robinson and Tua Making his first start He's out He's out Cooper Rush though Cooper Cush and Jack Strand Seemingly the quarterback says Michael Penix Awaits to get back Tua had no bleak yesterday in practice Went down, he is out I'm going Pittsburgh at home Steelers minus 5.5, minus 6 now live on the best sportsbook DraftKings Jets at Titans.

1:52:40Pat McAfee:Here's the game of the week. Jets at Titans. Who do you like, Herbie? Lowest total of the week as well. It's going to be that kind of game. It's definitely going to be that kind of game. Okay. I'm going Titans at home. Homer. I'm doing the same. He lives in Nashville. Obviously, he has to do that. New crew in town. Wants to have dinner with them. AJ. Yeah, give me the Titans at home. Washington Commander is taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. A lot of stories happening with personnel over there in Philadelphia. Some people are starting to tell stories and stuff. If Commander's not a lot of positive conversation.

1:53:10Pat McAfee:I don't know. That guy still has a microphone. I've been saying that a bunch of times. Philadelphia Eagles favored by six. Who do you like? How do you like Indiana? How he has a microphone?

1:53:22Pat McAfee:That's a real question. Let me go with Philly. Okay, Philly minus six. Okay, to cover. AJ? I'll take Washington on this one. Okay, you got the Commanders and Jaden Daniels. I will take Washington as well, plus six. Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, this CBS game. J.J. Watt will be on the call. We have a minute and a half here to get these last three games in. I will go with the Green Bay Packers, plus one and a half in Minnesota. A.J. will as well. Herbie, who do you like? Green Bay, for sure. Green Bay, okay. We don't know what Kyler is with KOC. We'll certainly find out. Cardinals, Chargers.

1:53:55Pat McAfee:Chargers favored by nine and a half. Not a lot of positive coming out of the Cardinals, other than they've got a new practice facility coming, and the future looks bright. A.J., who do you like? Nine and a half is a bunch. Give me the Cardinals. Herbie? I'm hoping it's a new era for the Cardinals. They're going to keep it closer. Maybe pull off an upset. Ooh. I like the cards. Wow. I like that a lot from you. Now, on that note, I just hope McDaniel and Harbaugh are on a microphone together, so I hope they win by a bunch of the Chargers. And then we've got Dolphins, Raiders. Let's go to Gumpy real quick.

1:54:24Pat McAfee:Gump, how do you feel? Come on, Gump. We're not going to win many games this year, but we will get this one. I like Malik Willis and Chris Bell to get in the paint for the Finns. Okay. Dolphins plus three is where Gumpy's at. AJ? Give me the Raiders. Minus three. I'm with A.J. I'm going Raiders. Okay. Cover the three. And I will take the Raiders as well. We're on the shot clock. And then Cowboys, Giants, Sunday night football. Cowboys favored by three at MetLife. A.J., who do you like? That was Cowboys. Herbie. I'm going with Shoddy there. Cowboys. I will as well. Cowboys clean sweep for us as we made our picks for the weekend.

1:54:57Pat McAfee:We will now obviously continue digitally as you get sent off to Big Day with Big Shrags. We'll see you this weekend on game day, 9 o 'clock Eastern, 8 o 'clock local. Have the best weekend ever. Goodbye. Okay, I think we nailed it. Well done. Well done. Good job for all of us. Good job for all of us. That was moving. That was moving. Because they're really moving. Yeah, we had to run. You had to get a lot of different people. And Gumpy's coming in with some picks. He went with the Dolphins. Boom. Two minutes. Boom. We ran two minutes. Bang. No timeouts. Boom. Need to get a, I think we need a touchdown, two-point conversion, and an onside kick there at the end.

1:55:29Pat McAfee:Bang. Nailed it all. Kind of pulled it all out there. You come to this walkthrough? Yeah, I would like to. Is that possible? Okay, let's do that. All right, boys. AJ, thank you for traveling out to Indianapolis to the Thunderdome. Obviously. He said it's bulking season. You see him? It always is, though, you know. Kirk gets it. Kirk likes to throw around heavyweight. No. No, I mean not.

1:55:55No. No, not at all. No. AJ and Bobby handle all that and schlags. Those guys. We're adults, AJ.

1:56:05Pat McAfee:AJ looks like he's packing muscle right now. Captain America. Plus no carbs on top of that. I love rice. I love granola. I'm a crunchy guy. I like crunchy things. Okay. How about some Oreos then? Someone grab some Oreos. And some chips potentially. Look at how big his wrists are though. Look at the wrist of the forearm. Fuck. I still haven't I'm waiting on my man strength. You know, like when you're young and you're waiting, like you see guys have man strength? No, you had man strength in 10th grade. He hit me at the temple. At the temple. People ask me about that all the time, Kirk, in case you're wondering.

1:56:43They always do. Killed me. About killed me.

1:56:45Pat McAfee:Well, people ask Kirk about it. He doesn't remember anything. I don't remember a thing. Yeah, because you knocked his ass out. So thanks for doing that. He had that beautiful Ohio State helmet on. As a 14-year-old. He had that beautiful Ohio State helmet on. He's trying to keep it. Yeah. Yeah, but hold on, though. Hold on. The fact that adults were playing you. It was the last one. No offense, it's Ohio. It was the last one. Yeah, we know why. AJ killed you. He killed us. But you as an adult going back and playing tackle pads football against a 14-year-old. That's Ohio. On the practice field, too.

1:57:15On the down, like the practice field down by the woods. It wasn't like made for any fans or parents or anything. It was just, it was practice.

1:57:22Pat McAfee:Yeah. They were just trying to see if you boys were going to represent the Elks right or not. And they did. When you put your forehead through his temple. I was like, sign me up. They're going to hurt people. This guy's a player. Tenth grade. AJ, great work this week, buddy. Proud of you. Good job. Go Hawks. Boys up there. Good work up there, boys. Good work up there, boys. You too. You too, too. Hey, guys behind the glass. Really good work this week, boys. Good work, boys. Good work, boys. Graphic design, boys. Way to go, boys. Good work, boys. I'll tell you what. Talking to D-Bone has become like two different languages, right?

1:57:59Pat McAfee:Doesn't it feel like? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you say something, and then somehow his ears go, oh, and then they go in there and something completely different. Thanks for battling this week, Bone. You did a fantastic job. Zito, Tim McAfee, great work out there. Great work. That's all, Tim. We got generator issues. We got power issues. Oh, wow. They're building around the bottom outside. We got internet that doesn't have a netting. It doesn't pass over from one place to another. I mean, they're – We got issues. Yeah, they're all – Tim's going to save the day, though. I'll tell you what, I think Tim, a little overwhelmed with the amount of pressure that has been placed onto his plate out of nowhere.

1:58:31Pat McAfee:He should certainly not be the one having the conversations he's having. But he stepped up for us. He's made it happen. We appreciate the hell out of Tim McAfee. Zito, great work over there. And then to the man, who's obviously a Canadian ship painter. Great work this week. Hey, let him be gone. Let him be gone. Good job, everybody. All right, to everybody that's set up here today, we can't thank you enough. Thank you. It's going to be a hell of a season. We can't wait to get on the road with all of you. to Texas. Thank you for the hospitality. Hell yeah. And let's have the greatest weekend of all time.

1:58:59Pat McAfee:Let's do it. Be a friend. Tell my friend something nice. It might change your life. We're sitting together. Team on me. You got anything, Kirk, for the boys? Go Hawks. Hell yeah. Go Hawks. Holy shit. Love it. Love it, Kirk. Ty's probably so thankful for that. Yeah. It's so hard. Man. Have the greatest weekend of all time. We're so incredibly lucky that we get to do this. Football is the best, and we're going to be reminded that all weekend long. Remember, September 11th, let's go thank somebody that serves our community. Let's go thank some people that run towards the fire as opposed to away from it.

1:59:30Pat McAfee:There are heroes that walk amongst us. Let's never lose faith in those folks. life is good. Team on me, team on three. One, two, three. Team! Goodbye!

2:00:03Pat McAfee:who are 18 plus at time of entry. For odds of winning and full official rules, visit www.esbn.com slash sblxi. Void where prohibited. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside a case that has captivated the nation. To many people, Luigi Mangione is a modern day Robin Hood. People were cheering the demise of this person they'd never met who was a father of two and a husband and had a life and was just doing a job. From the manhunt, ending in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to what authorities are saying about a possible motive. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burden of Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts.