College Football Playoff Predictions (Hour 3)

We miss college football. Bennett takes the snap and the shotgun, throws for the corner.

Brock Bowers one on one. Caught. Touchdown.

He ate him alive. Falls down into the end zone. Six more for Georgia. We can't wait for the 2023 season. Caleb Williams throws the fade in the corner.

Touchdown Trojans. And we're counting down the days to kick off. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? We said no.

Are we there yet? What's wrong with your ears? Here is your college football fix only on the Zach Gelb show. And we welcome in one of the more entertaining voices that you could see as always on CBS as a CBS sports college football analyst and a man that loves his long horns, the great Brian Jones. BJ, how you been? Zach, I love my horns and I love my college football fix and that CBS college football music, baby. It don't get any better than that. I'm great. How about yourself? Well, I'm doing fantastic and we have this new affiliate, The Horn, which we're very excited about in Austin, so I said we got to talk some Texas football. We may as well go to Brian Jones because nobody better. Big year for the long horns this upcoming season.

A lot of buzz. I know people always say is Texas back? Is Texas back? But they got to go win their final year in the Big 12. What are your expectations for the long horns this year?

To do exactly that. Win the conference championships. Expectations are high. I'm not the only one saying they're high. The team is saying they're high. The coaching staff is saying they're high. Everyone understands how you manage those expectations as a player.

You just go out and put the work in. And they're putting the work in. Oh, so close in a few games last year. I think the roster has been overhauled to the point where, yes, they can contend for a championship. Almost getting to the championship game during the Big 12 a season ago. So kudos to Coach Sarg and his staff and the type of players they brought in. Man, these guys look the part now. I recall asking Coach Flood, their offensive coordinator and O-line coach two summers ago, hey, do you have some good clay you can mold?

And he said yes. And it was time for that clay to be molded. You got a young offensive line a year ago that they struggled.

Let's just be honest. They struggled. And the only reason they looked as good as they did is because they had a dynamite dynamic running back in Bijan Robinson. I don't think the running game falls off too much if those guys up front have grown to the point where they can now consistently open up holes. So that's going to be the big thing I'm looking for is that offensive line. And also, they need a bona fide pass rusher, someone that can get to the quarterback without having to dial in, dial up blitzes. So that's going to be the key for them. And I love this one transfer.

Well, there are a couple of transfers that are great. A.D. Mitchell, the wide receiver transferred from two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs. He's a phenomenal athlete, but all Jalen Cattelan in that secondary, if he can stay healthy. This guy really made a lot of noise when he was a freshman at Arkansas last two seasons.

He's been banged up. But if he can stay healthy, look out. The native Texan is going to make a name for himself in that Longhorn uniform if he remains available. We know what the talent is in the quarterback room. Quinn Ewers is going to be the starter. Malik Murphy right now is number two in the depth chart.

And then this kid, Arch Manning, that some people may be talking about just a little bit is listed at number three. If Quinn Ewers is able to stay healthy, what can Quinn Ewers do this season individually? Well, hopefully he can do what we witnessed early on in that Alabama game a season ago. He was dropping dimes, man. He was phenomenal.

And then he obviously gets hurt. He returns a few games later and he was just not the same Quinn Ewers. So hopefully he can revert to that guy we saw in that Bama ball game. There was a few remnants of that type of performance the rest of the season. But, you know, I think back, reflect back on the TCU ball game and seeing the whole field.

You had a wide open Bijan Robinson late in that ball game in which he didn't identify and obviously missed. So hopefully now he feels better and more comfortable in the system. And I don't think there's a ton of pressure on him.

There shouldn't be. And it's not all about Quinn Ewers, yes. I know the quarterback is a significant position. But collectively, he has some guys that he can lean on. And defensively, they've got to hold up their end of the bargain as well and continue to progress and get better. So not asking Quinn Ewers to go out and play like Archie's uncle, Peyton.

But definitely be more consistent and understand you don't have to make the wild throw all the time. And hopefully, once again, he's surveying the entire field and he has a better handle on this offense. I think he does. From all the reports I'm hearing, he's clearly the number one guy. And you mentioned Malik Murphy. He put on a show in the spring ball game. This is a big kid.

He's a true dual threat. And I think ideally you may see some packages for that young man as well. Brian Jones here with us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. When you found out that Arch Manning was going to commit to Texas and now be a part of that football program, obviously there was a lot of buzz around the sport with the last name and with how much we've heard about him throughout the years. And sometimes I think it's awkward when we talk that much about high school kids.

But that's just the nature of this beast. What did you first feel when you heard about the Manning commitment? A great recruit. That was a great recruit. And that was great for Texas to bring in a top notch recruit. Number one recruit in the land.

And if it was anyone else's last name, I would have said the same thing. Just an excellent job of recruiting that young man and his family and selling them on the University of Texas. And so that was it until we see him on the field. And he's gone about his business in the Manning way, waiting and understanding he has to earn a job.

It's not going to be given to him. And I think he's happy there in Austin and he's willing to bide his time until he can get back on the get under center. But when that was announced that he was going to Texas, that was that was huge. It's all about recruiting. That's the lifeblood, as you know, of all these programs.

So you can go out and get the number one recruit in the nation. That's a huge, huge win. Expectations are high, like we're talking about for this season with your Longhorns. We know they go to the SEC next year. I feel like even if they don't meet those expectations, SARC will still be back next year because of Manning. Do you feel that way as well? Do you think that seat's warm headed into the season?

No, it's not warm, not warm at all. But that can change in the middle of the season. We are talking about Texas, right?

That's not lost on me at all. But, you know, he's fine and he has the program heading in the ideal direction. The recruiting has been been excellent. They've got a roster that has a lot of depth now. And he rebuilt that roster. I remember when he first came in, he said the roster construction was not to his liking.

It was a little top heavy in positions where it didn't need to be and not in positions where it needed to be. And he's corrected that on the offensive line, on the defensive line. So he's getting the type of players you need to win in that conference they're heading to next year.

But they need to win right now. And so I think he's just fine and there's no added pressure. But he understands the expectations. He left a place to come to Texas with a ton of expectations. So he knew what he was getting into when he came to UT. But there's no way, no how that that seat's warm. It's not even lukewarm, man.

Not at all. He's doing fine and building the program the correct way. Now they just need to go out and finish the deal by winning a conference championship. Brian Jones here with us. The changes in college athletics. We know Texas, Oklahoma going to the SEC. And then you had USC and UCLA go to the Big Ten. It was like, okay, what is the Big 12 and the Pac-12 going to do? The Big 12 saved their conference. The Pac-12 did not. With all the changes in the last few days, how do you kind of react to it?

This is the new normal. It's just been amazing to watch the demise of the Pac-12. Obviously, there's been a lot of smoke and no fire with all the comments that over not just the last year, the last year and a half, two years coming out of that conference. And they have not been able to make good business sense or even present a good business plan to the broadcast partners.

So obviously, they wouldn't be in the position that they find themselves, whether they the Pac-4 currently. That's probably going to change as well. So it's the new normal. Everyone's trying to get their back. Get your money. It's a money grab. And these programs are realizing the athletic departments are not athletic departments they were when I was playing.

These are entertainment entities, man. This is a billion dollar category. College football.

That college football playoff. It's going to expand. And even more money is going to be generated just between those 12 teams that will play in that tournament.

So it's a huge business. I love NIL. As someone who understands all these traditions that are going away and can appreciate them, get over it. Because that's gone. And I keep hearing everyone talk about the integrity of the game. Well, what is the integrity of the game? Because they said when they brought NIL online, that was going to ruin the integrity of the game. They got rid of amateurism. That was going to ruin the integrity of the game.

All that was bull dookie. This game is about money, especially in today's world. And everyone's trying to grab their bag. And it's everyone for themselves. That's how they're rolling. And it's a big time business. And we can try to make it something else.

But that's what it is. There's a reason why the Big Ten now has three television partners. There's a reason why the SEC has two new members coming next year. And now the Big Ten has four new members entering their fold. And the Big 12 is going and poaching teams.

Man, it's about who can help me present my profile or raise my profile and my brand. And so that's what you're seeing, all this maneuvering. And it may continue with the machinations between the ACC and a couple teams out west. We'll see. But not surprised whatsoever. And if there's more moving, that will not be a surprise either. In a few years, how do you think we're talking about Deion Sanders at Colorado, Brian Jones? I'm trying to be nice here. That team may feel like they're the ones lying in a hospital bed after the season.

But I just don't see how they're going to be anywhere near competitive that they need to be. So he can coach. What he did at Jackson State, upgrading that program in every area. Each and every touch point of that program he took to new heights. And I believe he will be able to do that at Colorado. You know, all this huffing and puffing about how he overhauled his roster.

It was just ridiculous. And I know coaches will come out and certain coaches like Pat Narduzzi and others taking shots at him. But what the hell was he supposed to do?

You got a 1-11 team. Obviously, those kids weren't up to living up to expectations and capable of playing in the Pac-12 back then. So he has to come in and make changes. And you've seen that in this new world of the transfer portal, which essentially is free agency in college football. So tapped into the free agency and he brought in a whole host of new players. And it's going to take them a minute to jail, but I'd be surprised if they had monumental success this season. It's going to be a minute.

At least a year or two, maybe three before he can turn that thing around. Brian Jones, do you think Notre Dame should join a conference now? Why would you? Why buy the couch?

The milk is free, man. They're fine. They still have the cachet as Notre Dame. They're playing winning football under Marcus Freeman. They have a television deal with NBC. Just do your thing.

Go out and win. They're going to be prominent. If they're a bona fide, legitimate contender and they usually are a name, they're going to be just fine as an independent. I don't see why they would feel the need to change their status as an independent. They don't need to join with anyone. They can stand alone.

And then there are other programs that could probably stand alone. You know, a lot of these blue buds who traditionally have been in conferences could stand alone, but definitely Notre Dame would be at the top of that list. Right now, as we sit here, Brian Jones, on August 8th, if you had to give me your four best teams in college football, who are your four? You got to go with Georgia.

They just erase and replace. Alabama's going to be in there. LSU's going to be in there. I think they're going to get better and they can keep Jake Daniels healthy and look out for them. They're going to be in the mix.

A&M, if that quarterback play is solidified, I think they'll be in the mix. I may have given you more. Was that three I've given you?

That's tough, you know, just stopping at four. You got to let Michigan write Kenan into this year? Michigan, I was going to say Michigan, Ohio State. But yeah, love what Michigan's bringing back, especially defensively and with the running backs as well.

Edwards and Coram. There's going to be some great football this year. Let's go to the Big Ten. The Illini are on the come up.

What were they, seven and one, then they had a little slide. You've got Iowa, who's going to be much better with the former Michigan quarterback, Cade McNamara. To a man, all the guys and coaches I interviewed, and speaking of coaches, Coach Ferris, their head coach, at Big Ten media days, they all were just praising the leadership that McNamara has brought into that locker room. We know how woeful they were a year ago offensively. It's going to be some great football there in the Big Ten. And Luke Fickel, man, he's going to do an excellent job at Wisconsin. And they won't have to wait long for them to see some exciting football with him changing the offense to more of a spread approach. So it's hard. It's difficult to just name the four best because, you know, Florida State, they're back in the mix.

They're legit. We'll see who comes out of the Pac-12, too. What's that? We'll see who comes out of the Pac-12. Oh yeah, I mean Oregon, Washington, with their quarterbacks coming back, SC of course. Yeah, you can't just stop at four.

Alright, last thing I'll ask you. I know you mentioned both Alabama and LSU. People are starting to get down in the crimson tide. You had the idiotic comments about the legacy with Nick Saban by Paul Feinbaum a few weeks ago. I actually, though, and I always give Alabama the benefit of the doubt, I like LSU a little bit more than Alabama heading into this year.

How about yourself? Yeah, they won it last year. And the aforementioned Jay Daniels, he stays healthy. And look what they did against Georgia. They scored 30 points. Now they still lost by 30, but they scored 30 points. And I think Texas A&M bounces back.

Really? You believe in the Aggies? Yes, I believe in the Aggies. If they fix the quarterback position, yes. The way they've recruited, heck yeah. And Ole Miss. Just find some defense. We know they can dial up plays with Lane Kiffin.

Find some defense. That SEC West is going to be difficult. Tough road to hoe in the East. I think it's just Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina this season.

So yeah, that West, that one's going to be hard to pay. I'll tell you, though, the two coaches I just can't trust. And I know they have a ton of talent.

I hear what you're saying with A&M. And then Penn State, they got a lot of talent, too. Big years for Jimbo Fisher and James Franklin. They've got to win these games this year. Franklin loves the defense.

I asked him point blank, what do you like about these guys? What did they give up, 40 yards on the ground in Michigan last year? They're bigger on that side of the ball. And when you get smashed like that, man, and you have a chance to return and redeem yourselves, you better take full advantage of it. The key to them is going to be Drew Allard, the new quarterback. It looks the part, the small sample we've witnessed thus far. We know they've got a stacked running back table.

So if they can play better defense, not give up 40 bills anywhere close to that, and Allard comes as advertised, yeah, they'll be in the mix, but they've got to find a way to get over Ohio State, who they've defeated before, Michigan, whom they've defeated before. But those are the two workouts. All right, seriously, this is the last question for Brian Jones. I know I just last questioned you like three times in a row, but you get how this radio stuff works. My producer, Hot Take Hickey, went with the creepy mustache. I have to get a facial hair check on you.

Are you going with the beautiful beard on CBS in a few weeks once again? Hey, man, my now wife loves this. I like it. And we were just dating a year ago at this time. Congrats.

And she liked that. So I kept it and I dig it. Don't miss shaving one iota. So, yes, I'm still rolling with the salt and pepper Fred Sanford beard. Well, sources tell me that your old producer, Mikey B, is advocating for you to cut it. Oh, really? Oh, Michael, Mikey B should tell me that I don't have to ring Mikey B and have him stand up and tell me himself. Why would I listen to Mikey B when I listen to my fine ass wife? I'm just telling you the rumors that I'm hearing around here, even though Mikey B doesn't work here anymore. But he went out of his way to say, P.J. may want to cut that beard.

And I said, oh, no. Anyway, Brian, it would really, really appreciate you doing this. We're looking forward to seeing you on TV once again for CBS. Thanks so much. You got it, my man. Take care.

Hook them. You got it. There we go. Brian Jones joining us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Hickey, you know why I'm laughing? Because we know Brian really well. I know Brian is now going to call Mikey B and be like, you're talking crap about me. Mikey B has not said a word about his. You know who's going to go into witness protection soon, Mikey, Mikey B, Mikey B. Brian, if you see him on TV, he's still jacked, as you know, and if you haven't seen him on TV, he is still jacked. So every time Brian comes on, I like to bring up the old morning show that he hosted here on CBS Sports Radio, Geo and Jones. And I'm not I wasn't going to say, oh, Geo said it. I think Geo's on vacation right now. So I go, OK, Mikey B will probably be a good sport.

So good stuff for Brian Jones. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio coming on back. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show.

Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Hickey, people are wondering with this mustache that you now have, which is a little bit creepy. And Hickey went on a bachelor party. And for some reason, he thought he had to motivate the folks on the bachelor party by going away from your great beard. And I'm actually I wish I could grow a beard the way that that you can the way that you've had that beard.

And you go with this ugly looking mustache that basically looks as if you have a caterpillar on your upper lip. There was a question that was asked by Larry, who said, how many shower beers did this decision take? Now, a few weeks ago, Hickey, where were you when you were drinking all those beers and then you stopped off for in the shower to go drink a beer? That was not a shower. No cap reference, which is if you're new to this show.

Hickey on his own time will sometimes give you hot takes or as he likes to call them, takes from his shower in a segment called Shower No Cap. But where was that? I want to say it was a few weeks ago where you were drinking a ridiculous amount of beers. And the next thing I saw your eyes like all squinty and you looked very intoxicated drinking a Bud Light or it was either Bud Light or Budweiser in the shower. That was with some of my friends down in Ocean City, Maryland.

You guys are a motley crew, you and your different crew, different crew, actually. OK, but the collection of crews that you have, because the three things that I've seen on social media from you when you're hanging out with friends is what did you do to your finger again that you had to wear a splint dislocated? You dislocated your finger because you thought to hype up your friends, you need to jump in the pool and swim as fast as you can. And when you slammed your hand on the concrete outside the pool, you had the dislocated finger.

So that was one. Then on this bachelor party in one hundred and fourteen degrees in Arizona, of all places. And I don't know why you're going to Arizona in the summer in one hundred and fourteen degrees. Hickey goes, I got to motivate everyone by going mustache and you look a little creepy. And then you also had the beer day long drink, the day drink where Hickey was just slugging back beers. How many beers you end up having during that escapade that you had, that drunk escapade? We were going for twenty nine. We made it to like eighteen or nineteen.

What? What are you still in college? That's something I would do in college. Let's drink twenty nine beers, get the keg and the togas out. To be doing that as you're closing in on thirty.

Geez, Louise. So, so how many shower beers did you have before you said, OK, you're going to go a little mustache? Zero right after the show.

Right after the show on Thursday. We were talking about it for a while leading into, you know, they'd be kind of fun. Again, just guys being dudes. Screw it. Let's do it. And so after the show, got back, shaved it off, went to bed.

So zero beers is a totally sober decision. Now, you got me cactus candy. Do you have that with you right now? Yes, I do. OK. I don't need it right now.

I will try it during the break. But I'm really curious because a listener has been telling us we had to try cactus candy. We went out there to Super Bowl. Hickey got food poisoning. So we never ended up getting it, even though he did sneak some past me when he was in the airport. But I see the box of of cactus candy. So thank you very much. I appreciate that. And you said there was another gift.

This one. And then I'm a little worried here. You know, when I get you a gift and you sometimes get a bit worried because you always think it's going to be like a joke or something like that.

That's right. So I asked for cactus candy. You delivered.

Now I feel as if this is going to be a joke of a gift here. I'll take serious. Oh, wow. I'm putting you to the test. I'm flipping the rolls and moving the tables around. They have now turned officially on you. Should I close my eyes or should I turn around the other the other way?

And should we do like you have. You can I visibly see the game? No, it's small. Oh, it's. But I could probably see it from where I'm sitting, right? Yeah. You really can't get the one detail that is very important. Did you get me a shot glass?

No, I did not. I mean, that's like 15 years old. I don't give you a shot glass from Arizona. So it's a small Arizona. It's a small gift. Yes.

Can you give me a hint here? Yes. You ridicule me for my quote unquote not being open to try things. Now I'm about to see how strong you are in that take. Wow. Hickey challenging me here.

Challenging. OK, what is it? It is a lollipop. I like lollipop with. A real scorpion in the middle. That's right.

It is a scorpion sucker banana flavor. Well, can I ask you a question here? Sure. If I try this, will you eventually try as cargo?

I'm going to throw it back in your face here. Probably not that. Probably not. Probably not.

Here you are talking a big game and then you won't try. That's another hypothesis. This is today's not the hypothetical for me. This is the hypothetical for you. I can't really see it.

Can you just run it in quickly? Because I know we got to get to the update with Rich Ackerman. So Hickey got me some cactus candy and now a scorpion lollipop. Jeez.

And he tells me that there had to be a lot of beer on this bachelor party in order where you found this. Oh, this is disgusting. So I just have to try this.

That's it. That's all you want me to do is just try this lollipop. Well, you got to bite into the center. How it is is the lollipop. But in the center, you know, like a tootsie pop, you have the I don't know what that is.

Chocolate, I guess, or the blow pops. You have the gum in the center. This lollipop is a real formerly living scorpion. Now, fortunately, are they safe?

Yes. Because the as you can see, the spine or the tail is cut off. OK, I'll try this cut off. So I have to bite into this. Well, no, I just want you to try this. Because if you don't smash it and just eat the scorpion, you can you can I won't stop you there. But I think a bite into the scorpion.

Thanks for the birthday gift, Hickey. It gets me cactus candy than a scorpion. Death. Death by scorpion. I'll try it.

I got in the airport. They're not going to I wouldn't do that. But I don't want to bite into it because that's fair. This is this is a hard candy mess up my teeth.

I know. You know, how many takes or how many licks does it take to get the center of a tootsie pop? A lot.

Probably the same with that lollipop. So how did you how did you were just in the airport. You saw this. You go, OK, I'm going to mess with Zach here. Yeah, essentially. Yeah. I was thinking of ideas.

I said, you know what? That's very Arizona. I want to get you something like, you know, that's disgusting looking. And that's that's screen right there is one of those, you know, counter things that suck in right before you go to the cash register.

To their credit, suck me in. They sell these for a four count on Amazon for fourteen fifty nine. Should we get a show lollipops here? Ac, you want to eat a scorpion?

No, thanks. Well, let me ask you this. Should I try this tonight or should we wait until tomorrow on the air while I eat some cactus candy and then a scorpion? I think we do it tomorrow.

I think we build it up, let it marinate for almost twenty four hours and then tomorrow come back with a little, I was gonna say Texas two punch, Arizona two punch. I hope I don't die tomorrow on my birthday. That's all. I'm not liable for this. I'm not liable for this.

Should my antenna be up here? Is he trying to kill the host here so he could just swoop in and then take over? I've said before, don't turn your back on Hickey.

You said a lot of nice things about me. Because here's the thing. He looks creepy.

He looks like he's up to no good now with this mustache. So I must ask you the question, do I not eat this? I wouldn't.

That's just me. I wouldn't go near that. I know, but he questioned. Just looking at that thing.

Why would you eat that? Even though he won't try Escargot, he questioned my toughness here. And I feel now as if I have to deliver.

He did a very petulant game there and I think I'm going to try this tomorrow. Pride goeth before the fall. Yeah, I'm a very proud human being.

I'm a very proud human being. I'll try this tomorrow. Do I just... do you have to refrigerate this or anything? I don't think so. That's been in my backpack for a few days. Oh, great. Well, just one day.

I got it yesterday. You look like your dirty underwear and your socks. No, I'm respectable. And the razor with all that hair on it from that mustache that you got. No, that was well before. I took very good care of that.

Okay, it is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Man, look at these gifts that Hickey got me. Cactus candy and then a scorpion lollipop. I didn't even get... my friend Ryan went to Scottsdale and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Yeah, well, you know why?

Well, I think it's pretty apparent. I... well, multiple reasons, but I think yesterday he was offended with the way that you were going after him when I showed you the picture of what's on his upper lip. I was fairly kind. You didn't hear this probably yesterday, Hickey? Yeah, I was going to say, what is Ack talking about me? Ack erupted in laughter and he just gave me a look where what he was thinking, I could just figure out what he was thinking and he had a lot of fun at your expense. I was nothing but nice today when I saw Ryan for the first time. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Well, come on back.

I'll give you who I believe are the four teams that are going to the college football playoff as we sit here today in early August, but standing by for the latest CBS... You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. You know, I am a little bit disappointed in you, Hickey. Why is that? Because now we see what you look like with the mustache. We made this idea and this bet that if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't make the playoffs, that you would have to get shaved on the air down to a mustache.

But now we already know what you look like. I think it still happened, though. I mean, the beard's going to be back well before January.

Well before January. Yeah, but it loses some of the luster of it. So, alrighty. You have the mustache. And you're definitely keeping the mustache. Well, keeping it until my beard comes back.

I don't see myself anytime soon here shaving down the stubble to go back to a clean-shaven mustache. Have you got any weird looks, by the way? No.

Okay, let me ask you this. When did your girlfriend first see it? Your girlfriend of what, five years now?

Six years? Oh, Thursday night. She was right next to me as I was shaving it. And what was her first reaction? Uh, she was not a fan. She was... I wouldn't say, like, disgusted, but... She was like, ooh, that's disgusting?

Eh, I don't know if I like that. Because it seems like... Maybe I'm totally wrong on your girlfriend. It seems like she's a very quiet... A quiet girl, is that fair to say? No.

No? She's not afraid to voice her opinion. Okay.

I'm trying to think of the right way to word it. Like, does she go outside of her comfort zone a lot? Um, sometimes.

Not too much. I kinda gotta push her sometimes, but... Okay. But this mustache, she was like... She thought you were crazy. She looked at you as if you had, like, eight heads, pretty much. Um, yeah. Again, we're not the biggest fan, I'll say. So she probably liked it, knowing that I'm gonna go to a place and no girl's gonna look at me.

So that part I'm sure she's excited about. Okay. I kinda wanna bring Lolly on and get her true thoughts on this entire thing and get her full scouting report on the hot take hickey mustache. Anyway, we kinda discussed this with Brian Jones a little bit.

And he couldn't hour it down to four. Right now, we won't hold you to him, not the official predictions, but as we sit here on the eighth day of August, in the year of 2023. If I had to ask you the question, who are your four teams to make the college football playoff with the first coach's poll of the year coming out yesterday? Who would be your four teams that you would put in the college football playoff?

Get ready. Hot take coming in right off the start. Georgia. Georgia's in there.

Full take, man. Michigan is in there. USC, for me, is in there. Now you trust that lack of defense that they have. I do. I do. And fourth, definitely not last.

I'm sick of my guns. Penn State. Called it January 2nd. I think they're going to the college football playoff this year. And this is the first time I can say that confidently and truthfully in a long time. We're actually meeting. They're going.

This is the year. Okay. So you would agree that the four best teams are not always the four teams that go into the college football playoff. I'm talking about let me rephrase that before the start of the season. If I say who are your four best teams, that could be a different answer than who are the four teams that are going into the college football playoff. Do you get what I'm saying there?

Yeah, I get it. Because you may think a team may win their conference if they win their conference with two losses or three losses, then they probably played their way out of the of the 14 college football playoff. Last year, we saw two Big Ten teams get in. Usually we'll see two SEC teams get in. As I sit here right now, I would pick two Big Ten teams and two SEC teams. And my first team would be Georgia. My second team would be Michigan. My third team would be LSU. And then my fourth team would be Ohio State.

That's how I would I would go one through four right now to get to the college football playoff. Now, if you made me pick the winner of the SEC, that's Georgia. If you made me pick the winner of the Big Ten, that's Michigan. When we get to the other conferences, I'm going with Washington to win the Pac-12.

You're going with USC, clearly. In the Big 12, who are you taking right now? I am going with Texas this year. The Big 12, it's going to be a crazy race here because these teams are going to beat up on one another. I know Texas is considered the favorite right now, but you can't feel great about any of those teams. Usually I would bypass Texas, but I will hitch my wagon here to Quinn Ewers and the Longhorn program for this season. I'm going to go with Oklahoma.

I do not trust Texas whatsoever. They're a team that I will never, ever, ever anymore give the benefit of the doubt to until they actually do it. I don't like really anyone else right now in the Big 12 that really jumps out at me. Oklahoma has a lot of talent.

I like Dylan Gabriel, a quarterback. I'll go the Sooners. Who do you have winning the ACC? I'm going with Florida State and our buddy in Mike Norvell. I like that squad with Jordan Travis as well, and you have just a defense that I think could be really damn good this year. I'm going Clemson.

I love the addition of Garrett Riley. They have a lot of talent there as well, and I do not trust Florida State. Clemson's a fascinating team this year because they won the ACC last year, but that's not the standard for Clemson. It's to get to the college football playoff with the way that they put a major dent into Alabama for a while, and then you saw them with D.J. O'Gillele just never meet that hype, and they changed offensive and defensive coordinators.

The offense got stale. Cade Klubnick's going to be a major player this year, and you look at some programs. I'm curious how we're talking about Clemson at the end of the year, Texas at the end of the year.

I'll even say you continue to move through some of those teams. Florida State is another one, like I just said. Penn State as well because it's a big year for James Franklin, and I was kind of surprised how optimistic Brian Jones was with A&M. Because we all know A&M has talent, but they had a lot of talent last year, and Jimbo Fisher just didn't get the job done.

You go through their schedule, there's four layup victories, but then when you get into SEC play, they may be talented in some of these other teams that they have on the schedule, but I can't have this great amount of confidence in Jimbo Fisher. If you want to look at two coaches this year, I don't know if you would agree with this or not, Hickey. Two coaches that I put an enormous amount of pressure on heading into this season, and I know we define pressure in multiple of different ways, but it's sometimes losing your job or just pressure to win. I would say there's a lot of pressure on Jimbo.

I know what the buyout is, and it's ridiculous, but how much longer can you justify him being the coach if all he does is get talent but then doesn't win? And then another guy, I know he's won a Big Ten championship, but for James Franklin, you want to talk about a cupcake of a schedule. Outside of Ohio State and outside of Michigan, there shouldn't be any games that they lose, and they should be able to split one of those games this year. They should be able to split those two games this year with the amount of talent that they have. In terms of coaches at the end of the year, I want to see how we're talking about Jimbo and then also your guy and James Franklin.

Absolutely. I mean, yeah, I think Jimbo Fisher definitely should be on the hot seat. I think, honestly, outside of nine wins should be fired anyway if you can't win with that roster. The only thing with James Franklin is it is a two-year window.

That's all I'm going to say. Well, I'm not saying he's going to get fired because he's just, what, he's just signing a ten-year contract or whatever it is? I'm just saying he has two chances to bare minimum get in the College World playoff. Again, I just picked him to go. He absolutely should go with the schedule that's there.

But hold on, it is different. They go to 12 in a year from now, right? Yes. So if you make it in 12 and you lose in the first round, are we throwing a parade because he got into a 12-team playoff and he had no shot of really ever getting into a four-team playoff?

No. So that's what I'm saying. This is a big year for them. I wouldn't want to say next year just make it, but I'm saying you have two years to really capitalize on this. They have a lot of young talent.

A ton. And they have a good roster. They have a good roster. And I never give Penn State any compliments. They should only have one loss at the end of the season this year. You lose either the Michigan-Ohio State and then you should win out the rest of that schedule. But Franklin, he always drops the game that he shouldn't and up against the top 10 teams, the top five teams, he is just putrid.

Absolutely putrid. Would you agree you have a better shot at beating Ohio State than Michigan? Yes.

Okay, so we're in the same boat there. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We will take a break. When we come on back, we'll do a little NFL top 100 reaction. We have the full list and we'll get into the top 10 specifically.