Hour 3: Stewart Mandel, The Athletic

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0:35Plus, get free delivery on appliance purchases of$398 or more, no membership required. Upgrade your kitchen with a modern and sleek GE profile refrigerator featuring hands-free autofill for the perfect pour every time. And make laundry day easier with two-in-one washer-dryer combo innovation that completes laundry in about 90 minutes. Shop top brand appliances now at the Home Depot. Offer valid June 17th to July at the U.S. only C-Store online for details. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.

1:14Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorites. This is The Rich Eisen Show. The one and only. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about. That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Brian Weber. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. Brian Weber. I've got a long resume. Google me, it saves time. From The Rich Eisen Show's studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Brian Weber.

1:55Weber. is the final hour of the program appreciate you spending some time with us especially with a guest host in the chair for rich and the fellows you can share your thoughts on social media my handle on the x platform is bw weber weber with two b's straight ahead one final pass through the fallout of what happened last night to team usa on the wrong end of a comprehensive victory by a vastly superior Belgian team. We never get too far away from the gridiron, and there is justification today. College football is back officially with the Big 12 going first, the first of two media days underway in Frisco, Texas.

2:44I will use that as a platform to get you fully lined up for what's coming up in the fall. Just 20 minutes from now, when we're joined by Stuart Mandel of The Athletic, And it's back by popular demand, or at least that's what the voices in my head say, in 50 minutes, as much as I have strived to be comprehensive and complete with hard-hitting analysis. Perhaps I've missed something or two, like an epic comeback by Argentina against Egypt in the World Cup. But I'll take it behind the curtain. If I'm ever lucky enough to be a part of the simulcast on Disney +, you will see a man gesticulating a lot, waving my arms, who's got one, two, three, four manila folders with just a slew of illegible notes.

3:36So I'm better in an audio-only setting as we are today, unless there's a hidden camera and it's some other version of impractical jokers, but that would only be on true TV after all. I am reluctant to talk about other sporting events going on because I got so beat up as a young broadcaster when I was coming up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even though I was on the Giants flagship station, I was on their version of the Deuce. So the Giants were playing an important game. I kept giving the score and the PD came in and said, why don't you just come on there and say, hey, stop listening to my show.

4:10Flip over to that game. It's more interesting. I'll just say in passing, it felt like Argentina was in the ground, six feet under Egypt with a stunning 2-0 lead. Then everything changed. Of course, the great Messi getting involved. Argentina on top, 3-2. They're in stoppage time as it felt like a monumental upset was going to occur. And now Argentina on the brink of booking a spot in the last quarterfinal with the winner of this match, taking on the winner of the match coming up between Columbia and Switzerland. Let's talk Team USA. If you've been cycling in, cycling out, I've tried to be consistent without being over the top that my biggest issue with how things developed last night was just the lack of attention to detail for the United States, sloppy mistakes, mental miscues, and they just did not have enough of the resolve, the fortitude they had shown throughout the tournament last night, especially because they were playing a much better team.

5:20And that disparity was obvious from the early goings because it took less than 10 minutes for Belgium to grab the 1-0 lead on their way to that 4-1 beatdown. Let us get analysis from the great Jeremy Schaap of ESPN. Last night he added context. The United States lost to Belgium on game night here on ESPN Radio. We're talking about a level at which we've seen the U.S. crash out time and again over the course of the last quarter century. When they have gotten out of the group stage, when they have qualified for the tournament, so putting aside 2006 and 2018, this is where they exit. This is 2010.

6:02I was there. We lost to Ghana in the round of 16. 2014, it was Belgium, despite Tim Howard's heroics in that game in Salvador. 2022, it was the Dutch. And this time, it was the Belgians. And this was not one of those games where they can walk away from it and say, boy, we were so close, right? This was a thrashing. This was comprehensive. They were lucky to be down by a goal at the half. Jeremy as always summing it up well I like that thrashing I've been trying to be a little bit more polite because I want to be supportive of our boys but there's no way of sugarcoating what happened last night you could make it even more crass it was an ass kicking and I don't think it should have been that shocking because Belgium is good now I can understand how we all got swept up in the enthusiasm of what the United States was doing, but maybe since Jeremy, as always offering the proper perspective, alluded to what Tim Howard was doing back in the day in goal for the United States.

7:12After the United States erupted for four goals, beat Paraguay 4-1. And remember, Paraguay, although they mucked it up, they went with some goon tactics against France. They only lost to France 1-0. So that was another reason why, heading into last night's match, There was a sense of possibility for the United States. But after the U.S. started the World Cup run with so much promise and so much hype, Howard was asked, is it possible? Can this team win it all? And obviously anything's possible. Miracle on ice, Buster Douglas, Chaminade versus Virginia, the rise of Indiana football. but Howard summed it up and I'm paraphrasing here, but I remember his quote because I appreciated his objectivity.

7:59And he was talking about, of course, I want the stars and stripes to win it all. But with the expanded field bumping up this bracket, the 48 teams, that meant that anybody who was going to make it to the final would have to put together a series of impeccable results. And for United States, in fact, I found the quote here in the pile of all of these manila folders in front of me, quote, Howard, the U.S. will need to play their greatest game they've ever played in three games in a row. Sorry, four games in a row, as he caught himself remembering that there were more teams competing for the World Cup.

8:36So it was a major ask for the United States to wind up in the quarterfinals or, if we're daring to dream, the semifinals. And I'm not even going to talk about a World Cup final. But because they had the advantage of playing at home, especially in Seattle, and credit the mental toughness of that experienced Belgian team, they came out and immediately sucked all the oxygen out of that stadium that was rocking by asserting themselves in the first couple minutes with all of the pressure they put on, peppering Matt Fries with a bunch of shots. And then Fries, of course, effectively handed Belgium a goal in the second half when I still am wondering what his thought process was when he came that far out and seemingly had no idea what to do once he realized he was 40 yards away from his position in goal.

9:34Belgium also with the motivation, I think it's self-evident, of feeling like they had been victimized by FIFA's ruling. That ultimately got it right, and we know that red card. I think if you're objective and going back to what happened, the battle again against Bosnia, Herzegovina last week, shouldn't have even been a yellow, certainly not a red. But while the decision that was made on Sunday by FIFA got to the correct result, The process was terrible and completely lacked any candor and transparency, but it's FIFA we're talking about. Still, when the United States has its best player now suddenly available, think about the emotional boost that must have been felt across that roster to run out onto that field, to hear our anthem being played, and then within 60 seconds must have been feeling like, and this is me projecting, and I'm Brian Weber.

10:32I'm a mentalist now. I'm O's. And for Rich, I shouldn't say that because he'll probably be in when Seth Rollins is not available. The stars are out on this show. 844-204-RICH is the phone number, 844-204-7424. The United States, just watching them, they looked disorganized. They looked deflated even before that first goal went in at the nine-minute mark. I don't know why that was the case. And I've been heaping Mauricio Pochettino. Well, a lot of praise, but some of that comes down to coaching. And if we crush head coaches in every sport, that should be something that includes the beautiful game as well.

11:15United States did not look prepared to play. So if we're going to play the accountability game, Pochettino's got to be involved with that. And I think ultimately, especially because we all gravitate towards bright, shiny objects. And on cue, now that Argentina has officially completed the comeback, defeating Egypt, avoiding one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, 3-2, in part because Messi had the goal, we realize in this sport, the great ones take on an aura even bigger than the game. That's why so many of them just go by one name, like Cher or Elvis. You got messy. You think about the greats like Pele and Maradona, and unfortunately it's becoming clearer and clearer that Christian Pulisic is not on that level.

12:13Now, it's unfair to presume he was going to be there. The Kool-Aid was served by us in the sports media. were the ones who came up with the handle Captain America. But so much of that was based on the notion that Christian had a skill set that we had never seen from an American player before. But if you're going to carry the flag, two things have to happen. You have to be available. Unfortunately, injuries, a major factor for Christian once more in this World Cup. and then more important, you got to show up when the bright lights are on and you can't go through an entire World Cup competition with merely one assist and no goals.

13:00So to me, as the soccer conversation will drift away, understanding that the World Cup will continue, but the American focus will be diminished, what is going to be the outlook when we get to the next World Cup four years from now? If you care about the particulars, it's a similar setup to this one. three hosts Morocco Portugal Spain with the final held in Spain when we get there in four years is Pulisic still considered to be the face of American soccer or is it pretty clear as we saw with the best scoring chance other than Malik Tillman showing off his magic once more with a free kick goal when Baligan had that opportunity about 80 minutes in late in the second half and And he got denied by a brilliant play by the Belgian goaltender.

13:49Is this now Balogun's team for years to come? I think the answer is pretty clearly yes. Although the beauty of sports is you always have another opportunity. And Pulisic's still relatively young. He'll have a chance to show that he deserves all the hype and all the accolades that have been sent in his direction. But if you get that kind of reward by being a star, you also got to wear it when you don't show up and your nation falls short and you play a large role in that underachievement. Because as we sum it up, many positives for the United States, winning a game in the knockout round, but coming in, I had the mindset.

14:33that we, I'll say they now, I'll take a step back, had to make it to at least the quarters to match what they did in 2002 for this event to be deemed a success. And good enough isn't good enough anymore, considering all of the decades and all of the resources that have been invested in American men's soccer. And it's all the more glaring when you compare it to what the American women do routinely winning women's World Cups. I'm Brian Weber in for rich your opinions can be expressed on the x platform that is bwweber weberwood2b is coming up in 35 minutes we wrap it up with authority another sparkling edition of the worldwide Weber on the way straight ahead any chance I have to talk college football I'm going to seize it and it's legitimate today because big 12 media days on their way the first of back-to-back sessions in Frisco, Texas.

15:30So, although nobody in that conference wants to mention the name, Brendan Soresby, understandably, we will focus on matters on the field. What is Texas Tech season going to look like without the embattled quarterback as they try to run it back and win the conference title for the second straight year? We'll find out when we're joined by Stuart Mandel of The Athletic. I'm Brian in for Rich. Hope you're enjoying this Tuesday edition of The Rich Eisen Show.

16:242.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Rich Eisen here for Gusto. On my shows, we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight, the games, the highlights, and the moments that get replayed and debated. But in any successful operation, what happens behind the scenes matters just as much. Small businesses are no different. Payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job, but they still have to be handled right.

16:56That's where Gusto comes in. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget, and it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price.

17:30No hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich. Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debt play. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A., member FDIC, terms and conditions apply, nmls696891 fast funds terms apply at sofi.com slash debt play

18:24the rich eisen show podcast we're back with you getting closer to the business end of the rich eisen show still plenty of time for you to get involved on social media hit me up on the x platform B.W. Weber. Weber with two B's in 30 minutes. We wrap up the program with emphasis, logging out to the World Wide Weber just to make sure I did not miss anything. And if you've endured my act in the past, you know how much I love college football. I was not going to miss the opportunity to use the start of Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas to jump right in and get you fully lined up for the start of the season.

19:02And for that, always a pleasure to talk college football with Stuart Mandel, editor-in-chief of the Athletics College Football Coverage. Stuart, how are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing well. I'm following you on the X platform. Do you officially have World Cup fever? I do, though it's going to be a challenge to maintain it with the U.S. out, I'm not going to lie, but it's been a very fun term. And for those who don't follow you, and they should, it's at S.I. Mandel. Can you explain what you posted and what you meant when you wrote, Argentina is 20-25, Indiana won't lose? I'm always looking for college football comparisons because that's the sport I understand the most, and I'm still a soccer novice.

19:49But if you just saw what just happened, that's the soccer equivalent, I think, of the Indiana two-minute drive against Penn State last year to pull out that game. And when they did pull out that game, to me, that was the sign that, oh, this team might be capable of greatness. And they were, right, for 16-0 season. Not quite the perfect example because Argentina has a much better history than Indiana football. But, yeah, like similar vibes. Love the comp, and that gets us to the college football conversation. I know you've been tracking what's been going on in Frisco, Texas. as we prepare to talk about things that matter on the field.

20:31And I know a lot of casual fans find it tedious when guys like me keep going back to the Brendan Soresby story, but there's no way of denying how notable it is. So what did you make of Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormack today ducking questions about that entire situation? I understand the reasoning. You know, if you want this event to be more looking forward to the season, I was actually a little surprised, though, because it would have been a great chance for him to take a victory lap, because that was definitely the most trying moment of his tenure as Big 12 commissioner. And they aced it. You know, everybody thought at that, you know, after they, after Brendan Sorsby won his injunction, the thought was, well, there's nothing really anybody can do.

21:25everybody in that conference all 15 other schools were pressuring the conference to do something because it was such an unfathomable idea that he would be allowed to play after betting on his own team and they got a little help frankly in the form of that letter the Texas Attorney General sent threatening to sue them if they You know, at that point, they hadn't taken any action against Texas Tech Camp to stand down. Thank you for the context, because a lot of people, I think, tuned out with all the legalese and would there be another injunction. And that gets us to what people want to talk about the games themselves.

22:16I'm Brian Weber sitting in for Rich Eisen. as we get you set for college football. It's back with the start of Big 12 Media Days, chatting with Stuart Mandel of The Athletic. So if we look at the top of the conference, last year Texas Tech won its first Big 12 championship in school history. Stuart, how do you see Joey McGuire's team on the field as they now turn to Will Howard, a quarterback, coming back from his torn ACL? Yeah, Will Hammond, the richer freshman. Will Hammond, I beg your pardon. Hammond, yeah. Yeah. click because of Cody Campbell and all that money. Texas Tech is now in a position to reload every year.

22:56But for all the talk about quarterback, really the whole ethos of that big 12 championship team last year was that defensive line that they spent a lot of money to bring guys in and it paid off. And all four of those guys on their starting D line last year got drafted. So to me, that's a hard thing. I know they went out and they got more guys. They got a really good pass rusher from San Diego State. But that's hard to replicate, you know, regardless of the controversy around quarterbacks. So they'll be in the mix. No question they'll be in the mix again. I think BYU is going to be really good.

23:33And I think the thing about Big 12 is there's a number of teams in that conference that, like Arizona State two years ago, that can rise up at any moment. So I think it'll be a very fun competitive race. I don't just assume Texas Tech will dominate the conference again. Well, we know the Big 12 is wide open offensively, and that translates into so many competitive games on the field. Stuart, do you think it also means this could be the year the conference finally gets multiple bids to the college football playoff? Yeah, it's tough. Because clearly the committee basically at this point considers 12-1 in the Big 12 to be 11-2 in the SEC, basically.

24:18And I think that the way to do it, and what the Big 12 has frankly lacked the last couple years, is you need that big non-conference victory that sends a statement. That lends them credibility. Texas Tech doesn't really have a game like that on its schedule, but BYU does. When USC and Notre Dame canceled their series, Notre Dame already had its replacement lined up, a game at BYU this year. Notre Dame is on the very short list of national title contenders next year. If BYU wins that and then they're one of those two teams in the mix, like you talked about, maybe they win that game but don't win the conference championship.

24:56That's your recipe to get two teams in. Talking college football with Stuart Mandel of The Athletic. You hit on the SEC, and I got the point you're making from the perspective of the selection committee. As you know, the Big Ten has won three straight national championships, unseating the mighty SEC. as the superpower in the sport. Stewart, do you see that trend continuing this season? Which conference do you think is going to be more top-heavy? I think that the Big Ten is – it doesn't get much more top-heavy than what the Big Ten is right now. They have earned their status as the best conference.

25:33When I look at the early national title contenders for this year, I would take Indiana, Oregon, or Ohio State, frankly, over anybody in the SEC. Wow. But the SEC, I think, is stronger and deeper top to bottom. And as we know, you know, the preseason poll never plays out in real life. And of those three teams I mentioned, who all look like they'll be very good, probably somebody will disappoint. And in the SEC, you know, whether it's Georgia, whether it's Texas, whether it's somebody else, might turn out to be, you know, absolutely dominant. I think both those teams are very good and very talented, but flawed.

26:11But could be wrong. Maybe one of them turns out to be the Indiana of this year. And the Indiana story I said before you joined us is one of the greatest sports turnarounds in my lifetime, and I'm in my mid-50s, the fact that Indiana went from statistically the worst program in major college football to now a real and consistent winner is just mind-boggling. Well, as we go to the SEC, there's always the big personalities to address. So what are your expectations for Lane Kiffin year one at LSU? The expectations are very high. I don't know whether they'll live up to them or not. But when you go out and assemble basically a portal all-star team, like in the portal era, nobody has racked up that much high-end talent, starting with the quarterback, Sam Levitt, Deaton, the offensive lineman from Colorado.

27:09There are several guys in that class that were the best or the highest ranked player at their position. So the expectation is you should be at least a CSP contender, if not a Final Four national title contender in year one. Which is a lofty goal. Because frankly, most of the time we've seen a coach come in and totally flip a roster, it's still been bumpy. the year one. Signetti is the obvious exception. But, you know, it's a lot of change at once when you bring in entirely new coaching staff, entirely new players, and expect everybody to just gel over the course of one offseason. But I don't think they can make those excuses.

27:49When you have that kind of roster, when there's reports that it's a$40 million roster that we've gone from, you know, Ohio State$20 million two years ago to now we're hearing$40 million, you're expected to be very good. Stuart Mandel is our guest. It's the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio. He is the editor-in-chief of the Athletics College Football Coverage. Let's dig deeper in the SEC, and if we're talking about expectations and hype, there was no individual player with more hype, as you know, last year, heading into the season than Arch Manning, and he bounced back after that slow start, and I think a lot of that also was just matching expectations after the Ohio State game.

28:30Counted for 36 total touchdowns last year. So, Stuart, as you look at his limited body of work, what's your outlook for Arch this year? Well, I think we just have to – I think he could be a very good quarterback this year. He really showed it at the end of last season, especially in the Texas A &M game. I think the mistake going into last year was that people didn't just expect him to be good. they expected him to be number one pick good, even though he'd barely played before. Now he has a full year under his belt. There's no reason why he can't be at least an all-conference kind of quarterback, but I wouldn't expect him necessarily to be confusing these Indiana comparisons.

29:10Fernando Mendoza from last year. That's a tall ask for anybody, you know, and I think people need to stop getting so hung up on the last name and more compare him to other quarterbacks with that profile over the years as a five-star guy who finally gets his shot, and frankly, it was bumpy for about two-thirds of the season. So as long as he makes some pretty good progress this year and is better than he was, you know, frankly, he has to be really good right from the start to play Ohio State again in week two, then I would consider that a success. And you and I over the years have spent a lot of time focusing on two topics, realignment, which thankfully we can leave alone, I hope, for now, and the expansion of the college football playoff.

29:55Stuart, how long do you think we're going to stick with the current bracket of 12? And when we get to expansion, what is the number you think that ultimately is going to be settled on? The Big Ten and the SEC are just in a stalemate right now. The Big Ten is very, very adamant about going to 24. They're not settling for anything less. And the SEC, as of now, is very uncomfortable with that and is sticking with its preference for 16. So everybody wants it to expand. So I don't know that it's going to stay at 12 much longer. It's basically just who wins out in that conversation. It's going to be, I think, just like last year.