Bill Bender, Sporting News College Football Reporter

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Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. Bill, how are you? I am doing well. How are you? Thanks for having me on.

No, absolutely. I appreciate the time. This is a good time to have you on because it means football is right around the corner. No shock to see Georgia at number one. Ohio State expected to make some big moves with Michigan kind of out the way at number two. And then we have Oregon at three, Texas at four. We're full of a Big Ten and SEC schools. Is there anything surprising you about this top twenty five?

Not really. You know, I think the top ten is pretty standard. Alabama, I think we've the market corrected itself. You know, if you looked at spring top twenty fives, Alabama was probably eight, nine, maybe even 10. But once we figured out that, oh, yeah, they still have a ton of talent and Jalen Melrose really good and Kalen DeBorac and coach, they make sense as a top five.

I tell people, you know, one of the things I hate hearing is the pools don't matter. I say, you know, the last 10 years when you look at those polls, the lowest a team started in the college football playoff era, the lowest national champion in the preseason pool was number six. LSU, 2019. So the polls since 14.

So the polls definitely matter. Well, Bill, we know that we have some some teams that have switched conferences and some new places. Whether you want to take a look at Oregon or Texas, how do you see them competing in both the Big Ten now and the SEC?

And Oregon's going to be good. I was dug up a stat today. You know, you look at the Big Ten and it used to be I grew up with that conference. So it used to be three yards and a cloud of dust and Woody Hayes and legends of all that.

Now it's kind of like you have five yards to carry. Michigan did that. Not last year, but they ran it like 580 times. Ohio State has done that in the past. And I think they need to get back to that with Chip Kelly.

That's a long winded way of saying Oregon had 5.9 yards per carry last year. They have a fun, exciting offense with Dan Lanning. They've got two NFL tackles. Got a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball and they're going to be fast and fun to watch.

And they're not irreverent, but they take pride in being different. And I think that's going to come as a culture shock to some people on the Big Ten. And that's why I'm looking forward to October 12th when they play the Buckeyes. Well, they got a former soon-o who's going to be throwing the ball around. What should we expect from Dylan Gabriel in this offense?

High efficiency. I think that's one thing that stands out with him. Whenever I look at a quarterback that's played as long as some of these guys have, touchdown to interception ratio.

His is really high. Throw in to Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson. They're going to make big plays in the passing games. The hard part is when you get that transfer quarterback, you get more out of them the second year. And there's countless examples from Joe Burrow to Bo Nix to everything in between.

Jaden Daniels is another one. So you're going to have them for this one year. They're going to have to make the most of it.

But if he picks up that system, he'll be right behind me next. Bill Bender is joining us from the Sporting News. We're talking about Oregon, and you had mentioned Ohio State.

Can't wait to see them play each other. You talked about Chip Kelly, who's now going to come in and help Ryan Day with the Buckeyes. What should we expect from Ohio State? They got a new quarterback as well now, Will Howard. Kind of hinted at it a little bit. I think they're going to run the ball more.

And why wouldn't you? Will Howard had 90 carries last year. Treveon Anderson is amazing. Quinshot Judkins led the SEC in rushing two years ago, second last year.

I think he used the running game to set up the pass. And they have Jeremiah Smith. I think of all the freshmen they've had, a lot of good things being said about him coming into this year.

So that's another really good receiver. They're going to be awesome. And when you have 11 guys bypass the NFL draft and come back on top of that, I think they're all in based on the Michigan losses. It's weird when you tell somebody, and I live here so I know what the mindset is, their first priority is probably to beat Michigan. Because I think if that happens, then it unlocks college football playoffs Big Ten, national champ. And here's something.

I don't know if you've talked about this a lot, but I ask people this all the time. I don't know how the 12-team class is going to work. I don't know what surprises are going to come out of it. I think there are going to be some quirks to it and some teams get knocked off. So it's really hard to predict a national champion. Do you think so, Bill? I mean, do you think we're going to have some type of magical Final Four-esque run? I don't think so. I think maybe we'll have some interesting games on the outside. But I think when we boil it down, I think we'll get to the Georges of the world.

Maybe, I don't know, winning ultimately. Well, my point being, I go back to that first year of the 14th playoff. I pulled this story a few times where I remember going to Florida State and Oregon. And Florida State had won like 29 in a row.

Jamis, they were at their height. Oregon blows them out. And I remember thinking, well, Alabama's going to beat Ohio State, surely. And Ohio State won as a team that some people didn't think should have been there.

And that's my question. Maybe it's not in the – I think the first round on campus may not produce a ton of upsets. You're right that we'll get to Georgia and Ohio State and the teams that have enough competitive depth to do it.

But I wonder what the curveballs are. When you're playing in a 16-team conference like the SEC that has eight or nine teams that could make the playoffs. And the Big Ten where Ohio State might see Oregon three times.

These are the quirks I'm talking about. Like I think we'll end up with like a Georgia-Ohio State or a Georgia-Alabama, something like that. But who gets knocked off along the way is what I'm interested in. You know, Bill Bender is joining us here from the Sporting News.

But doesn't that allow – and maybe this is a quote-unquote a one-year type, I don't want to say initiation. But doesn't this give some of the teams a little bit of false hope as they kind of move forward year to year into the future? Oh my God, we made the playoff and now we're juiced up for next year. And I mean it's excitement for now. But is it long-lasting for some of these teams that are kind of in that next tier?

Like let's be real. Clemson, people are waiting for them to wake back up and maybe even jump into the recruiting a little bit more. Nobody's looking at Clemson. They're ranked 14. They're not winning no national championship.

I'd be shocked. What is that going to pacify if they get in the playoff? Nothing. Right. Well, and that's, you know, not just program Blake Clemson. I'm wondering what the playoff does. I always use this analogy in basketball. You know, when a coach is on the hot seat, they go to the Sweet 16, suddenly everything's fine. Right.

Does that mean they have to get to the quarterfinal to be fine? James Franklin and Penn State's another great example. I've probably taken more questions about them as much as any program, because had we been in the 12 team the last 10 years, they would have been a regular. Now the pressure's on them to actually get there in an 18-team environment. Ole Miss, same deal. These are the highest.

That's one AP pool reaction. Look how high they are. They've been that high since Archie Manning was there. So there's huge expectations around Ole Miss.

The schedule's favorable, but you've got to go out and do it, like I said, in a conference where seven or eight of those teams can make the playoffs. No, Bill, let me ask you this. Who vote? Do we know? Who gave Colorado a vote one? Who did that?

One vote? Who did that? I don't. I don't know. Somebody that believes that, you know, here's the thing. And I've said this about the Big 12 all summer.

I have no idea. That's great. That's why you brought me on for this great analysis. I would say this. If you and I did a Big 12 draft, and one of us has to find the champions, I think we'd both sit there at the end of the draft and say, I've got two or three that I think could win. And I feel that way about the conference. I think there's a half dozen teams that can win.

I think Colorado, I don't know that they can win the Big 12, but I know they have arguably the best quarterback, Chidora Sanders. They have the best player, Travis Hunter. Now that they have an offensive and defensive line, we're going to find out.

And they run the football. Don't ask. Do not ask Deion Sanders about that. He will have a fit and cut you off.

Don't ask him. Well, no. About that, too. I mean, so I've been in a lot of press conferences. I was texting buddies about that afterward, and I got both sides. And they're not journalists. So one was like the reporter there was wrong. And the other one was like Deion was wrong there. And they asked me what I thought I said. I would have not pressed it on my end.

I probably would have just shut up at a certain point. But at a certain point, Deion either answered the question or just moved on. You know what I mean?

So I think that did go both ways. Well, Bill, let me ask you this. When this season is over and it's set and it's done regardless of what happens, do you think Deion is going to be sticking around with the Buffaloes, with his son and Travis Hunter both gone?

That would be an interesting question. I've never, as I've been pointed out to by a couple of Colorado reporters, he's never not coached his son. And the health you can't – I'm not going to speculate on Coach Sanders' health.

But those are two things to consider. I hope he sticks around. He's good for the game. The game, college football needs characters. And we lost two of them, not like lost from the earth, but with Nick Saban's retirement and Jim Harbaugh going to the NFL, we lost a couple of characters. I like having characters on the sideline. And I like having guys that you're going to pay attention to win or lose.

You can call them polarizing, whatever. Beyond that, I hope he stays in the game, honestly. And I hope Colorado gets better. It's good for the Big 12. I mean the Big 12 wants to sell sponsorships for the side of their helmets and everything else.

So I know that they certainly want the attention. Bill Bender joining us here from the Sporting News. Right down the road from me in Athens, Georgia, everybody with the Bulldogs, they're waiting just to see what the year looks like.

I mean it's been years. They haven't lost more than two games. Would you consider them to be your favorites on the national championship?

Is there somebody else you're taking a look at? The high state Georgia won A1B. And if they played, I've kind of since they played that game a couple years ago, I kind of want to see the rematch.

It was an amazing game last time they played. I think Carson Beck and Georgia, they're loaded. We've got our preseason All-American team coming out Wednesday. There's a handful of guys from both of those teams on there. And a lot of NFL talent both ways. So I think Georgia, they've got a tough schedule.

I mean that's something I haven't heard a ton about. They're playing Clemson. They're playing Alabama. They're playing Texas. I mean they're playing Ole Miss. They're going to – I think a 10-2 Georgia team would get in the playoffs.

I think a 9-3 Georgia team would have a case depending on who they beat and who they lose to. And I'm wondering if the committee is going to honor those schedules. Like are we going to put 9-3 teams in over 10-2 teams based on strength and schedule? Or are we just going to talk about strength and schedule? That's one of the most interesting things I think is going to come of these big SEC and Big Ten conferences.

Well I know one thing, we're not going to have to worry about taking one loss and then the defending champs kind of being knocked out of consideration at all. So hey, expanded field, we'll see what it looks like by the time we get into January. Hey Bill, thank you for taking the time to join us. Where can people follow you and all of your work with the sporting news?

Yeah, I have Bill Bender 92 and we're working hard. It's here, right? So every day we'll have something on college football leading up to week zero. I always enjoy talking to you. It's like a conversation, not a Q&A. Those are the best ones. I really appreciate it.

Oh, well thank you. I appreciate it as well. I like to talk to folks, man. We need to feel like I'm back in school.

I hated school. Same, same, same. My man, I look forward to chatting with you soon. We'll catch you on down the line, Bill, okay?

Yeah, no problem. Thank you. Listen as Selenia tells us why she chose to vaccinate her daughter. I definitely felt like the pros far outweighed the cons, the diseases that I am protecting my child against. They're still here and at the end of the day, it's my job as a mother to keep my child safe.

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