Intriguing College Football Teams (Hour 2)

Hour number two of our radio program.

That's right, it is the Zach Gelb show. Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. What an impressive showing by Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland to kick off the season as they beat Navy by a score of 42 to 3. And now joining us is a running back for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and that of course is Audric Estime who had 16 carries in the game for 95 yards and did find the end zone on that opening drive and he's kind enough to join us right now on CBS Sports Radio. Audric, appreciate the time as always. How are you?

I'm good. Appreciate you guys for having me on here. So take me through that experience kicking off the season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Another year of football getting ready set to go and this time it was in Dublin, Ireland.

How was that experience for you? It was a great experience to play the game we love overseas. A lot of people don't even get the chance to travel overseas but we did and this game gave us that great opportunity and we took advantage of the opportunity that we had. You never know how the season is going to start off and sometimes it takes a while for a team to get going. But right out of the gate you get the ball. 13 plays, 81 yards in 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

You cap it off with the touchdown. Just what made that team be able to gel right away on the first drive of the season? It's something that we've been preparing for a couple of months and we just got the opportunity and we just started rolling with it.

We all know Audric estimate you're going to be a big part of this football team. What did you really hone in on and work on this summer when you were looking to improve your craft? I really just worked on trying to be a better leader for the young guys because I'm a junior now. I'm an older guy. I've been in the system for a couple of years now. So I just want to be more of a leader, a person that guys can rely on and look on when the times get hard so they can look at me. So I want to lead by example no matter how I'm feeling.

I just got to go and that's what I'm still trying to work on at week in and week out. Last year you guys got off to the slow start. You lose to number two Ohio State.

Then you lose to Marshall. But after that you really were able to get hot and finish off the season on a strong note. Winding up being nine and four after that bowl victory against South Carolina. When you look back at last season, what did this team end up proving that you guys could like carry over into this season to be even better this year? Yeah, like coach Freeman always prize one get one game at a time, one day at a time. So we don't really look at the full picture all those 12-14 games. You look at every one day of practice at a time, one week, one game at a time. That's what really our motto been this year and we're just trying to keep on it, trying to reach our full potential.

We're not even trying to look at the win. The win will be the result of reaching our full potential. Now I remember the emotional video when Marcus Freeman got the job. So far though this now being year two as him as the head honcho for Notre Dame football. Just what has he really brought to this program and what's a new era for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? Yeah, Coach Freeman is great. I feel like there's no better man for the job.

He's he's a guy who's not even about himself. He's a guy that I'll put the team, the teammates, the players all above anything. He's a good players coach and he's a great leader for us. And we were all in that wait and see period who was going to join Brian Kelly and who was going to stay with Marcus Freeman. I remember the elation from you guys is Audric Estimes here with us when Tommy Reese elected to come back. Now he's he left and he's the offensive coordinator of Alabama. When you found that out this offseason that Tommy was leaving and also with your connection with him, had you kind of process that news?

Yeah, it was pretty hard. But at the end of the day, you come to Notre Dame for Notre Dame, you come to Notre Dame because it's one of the I feel like he's the best university in the world. So no matter what, you just got to stick to the same strip and remember the reason why you came here. And the reason I came here was to be great to be successful. And no matter what coaches here, what who's in the building or not, just stick to that plan. And that's what all the coaches and everyone who was here when that time was preaching to us.

And that's what everyone did. The decision to go to Notre Dame, it doesn't seem like you regret it whatsoever with the way that you just described it. But is it just as you you expected it to be or is it even better than what you expected it to be?

Oh, that's a hard question, honestly. I honestly didn't even know what to expect. But looking back at it, I feel like it's a little different. Like it is a little different. Like I feel like nothing in life will be what you expect, but it's very different.

It's different in a good way, though. Audric Estime here with us. Had a touchdown, 95 yards rushing in the opening victory of the season for the Notre Dame, fighting Irish in Dublin, Ireland, up against Navy. I know Gerard Parker was on the staff last year. Now he's the offensive coordinator.

What is he kind of fine-tuned with this offense to make it even a little bit different than what it was a year ago? Yeah, Chris Parker, he's a great guy. He just brings juice. He brings energy and he's all about the work.

Honestly, he's a guy that he like Coach Freeman, doesn't care about winning, doesn't care about losing. He's quick, cares about putting the work in. And he's a guy that brings the juice. And he's always on the he's always on the field with us during practice, like he's one of the players. Sometimes we got to tell him to back up, but he's a great guy. He's a smart guy.

He knows what he's doing and he's a coach that you trust no matter what's going on. So you had that touchdown to open things up. Then I saw after a big run, you put the ball in the turf. I know Notre Dame was able to maintain possession of the football. Then you got benched a little bit, but you came back and you had a nice finish to the game.

Just where does that mental toughness come from for you to be able to block that out, not let it affect you? Then when you get back on the field, you take advantage of the opportunity at hand. Yeah, to go back to what I said about what Coach Freeman preaches all the time is one day, one life, one play, one life. And that was one play. It was a bad play, but no matter what, I got a couple of plays left and just put that in the past and keep moving forward and look. And I had a job to do.

And no matter what, I just got to execute that job. I think everyone's take, and you know how we do things here in radio, we always talk about the coach and we also talk about the quarterback. We all know what Sam Hartman is capable of, but he really put it on display up against Navy with the four passing touchdowns, 19 to 23 for 251 yards. How would you describe your quarterback's debut for the Fighting Irish? He did really well.

He did what everyone expected him to do. Sam, he's a great player. He's a great teammate. He's a leader for us. He's a guy that played a lot of ball. So he's a guy that everyone rallies around and he's a great quarterback for us. And I'm looking forward to what he does for the next couple of weeks. Why has the connection when you bring in a new quarterback, and I know like you said, the quarterback is the leader of the team, so maybe it makes it easier. But why have you guys been able to get on this on the same page so quickly, not only you and Sam, but the rest of the offense as well with what we got to see over the weekend?

Yeah, because Sam, he's a Notre Dame guy. Like when he came in the wintertime, he was like, he'd been there for all five years. He's very adaptable. He's just taking it one day at a time like everyone else. He's here working. And even though he's Sam Hartman, everyone in the world knows who he is. And when he's in a facility, he's one of us.

He's just here to work, just like all 11, all 22 of us are. You have an opening day performance like that, people start to wonder what this team is capable of. I know later down the road, right, you get some tougher opponents with Ohio State, USC, and then towards the end of the year, Clemson. But you being a part of this journey, you knowing the hard work that this team has put in all throughout the offseason and the summer, what do you think this team is capable of accomplishing this year? We're capable of accomplishing real big things, but honestly, we're taking it one week at a time. This week we have TSU, and we're just trying to reach our full potential every week.

But if we do that, I feel like we'll do really good things, really great things. I've read about your story, and I just have so much respect for you, and I saw the video that Notre Dame put out when you elected to sign on board. Can you just take me through your upbringing a little bit and whatever you feel comfortable about sharing in this conversation? Yeah, so I came up with my older brother. I have a brother who's two years older than me.

I've been with him my whole life. My mother raised me. She was a single mother. She passed away when I was 10 years old.

Dude's sick of selenemia. So since that happened, my aunt and uncle, her brother and sister took me and my brother and our legal guardians, and they have kids themselves, so they're our cousins. But they're like my brothers and sisters. And yeah, I have a real big family, and they're a big supportive family no matter what I was doing. Even if I wasn't playing football right now, they'll be supportive no matter what.

So I just really have a big supportive family and great people around me and in my corner. And your cousin slash godfather, he played in the NFL, right? Yes, sir. He got drafted in 2014, and ever since then, I'm like, yeah, that got to be me. I got to make that happen just like he did. So you said that, and it's one thing to say, okay, I want to be an NFL player, and you want to go to maybe like a college like Notre Dame. But when did you start to realize all your guests demand? I know you have some nice accolades attached to your name that you said, okay, you know, this is something I could really go pursue it.

It's not just something I enjoy doing, but something I'm really damn good at. Yeah, so like every 10 year old believes that they're going to NFL, and I was one of those 10 year olds. But growing up, I was always a little ahead of my grade. And once I got to high school, college coaches started to talk to me. And like at that point, I spoke to my head coach, all the Hoffman, and he sat me down. He was like, you could really be special. You can be you're different than any other guys that we had come through this building. And ever since that point, I guess I think it was my freshman year high school.

I feel like it could be a reality. And last thing I'll ask you, I know that you're a team oriented guy, and you talked about the leadership, but individually, like what do you individually want to show and accomplish this year? Individually, I want to show that I'm one of the best players in the country, honestly. Love that answer. Perfect way to end it. Hey, good luck this upcoming weekend. Love hearing your story. Good luck the rest of the way, and thanks so much for doing this. Thank you for having me. You got it.

There he is. Audra Guesdemay joining us right here on CBS Sports Radio. It is the Zach Gelb show and that Notre Dame football team. Let me tell you, they could be dangerous this year.

And I feel like not a lot of people are talking about them. I know it's always Notre Dame and we hype them up and we discuss them. But those three games and I think last year, some of the early adversity will help this team this year as they take a bigger step in year two with Marcus Freeman, who I like a lot. But you lose to Ohio State. They didn't get embarrassed last year, but you lose to them. And we know how great Ohio State is in the Marshall game was definitely a tough one for them. But they were able to bounce back, finish off the year strong, and now they have the quarterback, which is enormous.

And we've been saying it for the last few weeks. Ohio State, USC, Clemson, tough, tough, tough this year. When you look at the Ohio State Buckeyes, we know how many guys they have at wide receiver USC. They have no defense, but clearly they have Caleb Williams. And then Clemson, you got to think that a team that won the ACC last year with all the question marks at quarterback, even though Florida State could challenge them for that ACC crown, you take a look now with Cade Klubnick being the guy for the full time. Maybe that brings a different version of the Clemson Tigers from what they've got away from the last few years.

But if they go in two out of those three games, that would just be a really strong showing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Alrighty, I want to get back into this Ron Rivera stuff. So we read you the quote right before the break. He said to Albert Breer, you could ask my wife, Stephanie, all we bleep and talk about was the quarterback, what the quarterback did, who he was.

I kept saying, bleep, if I would have known this, I would have played him sooner talking about Sam Howe. So, Hickey, I look at the commanders this year where I've been saying I believe they're going to swap and flip places with the Giants and they're going to make the playoffs this year. But I look at the commanders and yes, they've had some hiccups, right, with the Terry McLaurin turf toe. But you hear Ron Rivera in just the last month, he said that the whole B enemy thing, when the coaching style may be too tough for the players and some players are complaining about it, added more gasoline on the fire. You even go back to last year. Remember when he was annoyed with the Carson Wentz article, how it wasn't his decision and he stormed off?

You didn't need to do that. And even in that week 17 game, and I guess this was just a natural moment, so it's something he could have prevented, but he didn't even know that the team had a chance to get eliminated from the postseason. So you go through a lot of these things that Ron Rivera has been saying the last two years. I have reservations now about the commanders where I look on paper and I see this team, I see a really lethal front seven. You have an offense that you have guys like Brian Robinson Jr. You have Terry McLaurin, you have Jahan Dodson. If the tight end could stay healthy, he could be a big player too.

You got pieces here in a weak NFC where you should be able to compete and be that final wildcard spot and be the seven seed. But Ron Rivera just keeps on giving us too many answers. And you look at Ron Rivera, who is so well respected, and I have so much love and respect for Ron Rivera, but let's call it how it is. The last two years, I just don't get what he's doing here. Even when it comes to the quarterback, it was at first, you want to build the roster, then go make the move for the quarterback. And then it's like, oh, we're still building. And then it was like you had the quarterback, they went all over the place in this. And some of it was just natural rejection because no one wanted to play for Daniel Snyder. But now in what should be really just months of positivity because Daniel Snyder is no longer there and Josh Harris is now in, it's almost as if Ron Rivera, I'm not saying he's intentionally doing this, but he just keeps on saying things that makes me scratch my head and say, like, what are you doing? That doesn't make you look good. That's your job. I know you don't know everything about these guys, but that's your job to help evaluate the quarterback position.

And you know what's a little bit concerning here, Hickey? I think Sam Howell will be fine this year. I don't think he'll be great, but I think he'll be fine. You're going to base one game off now all of a sudden saying, I know that's my guy. And based on all the other evaluations, if it wasn't for that game, then he would have never been your guy because that was the moment you said, OK, he could be the quarterback of this team.

And sometimes you get belief off one game, but that isn't long term belief. And it's like admitting this doesn't make Ron Rivera look good. And it's like, why did you admit this? It makes no sense to me. That's the thing is like, where's the benefit coming from Ron to say basically what's on his mind or be honest and the benefit? I don't see it again.

The Airbnb thing. All you do is bring in more distractions, not only to your offense, but to yourself. And let me just be clear. He was asked about the enemy. But there's a ton of times, right, where coaches get asked something and you know what the answer is, but they still don't give you the answer. Because the way that this works, media member ask a question to the coach. If the coach takes the bait and gives a truthful response, it becomes a bigger story. If Ron Rivera just said when he was asked about the enemy, not issue, the players have a lot of respect for the enemy, whether that was true or false. That's kind of the end of the story until a player runs to the reporter and says something off the record or on the record.

If he's that annoyed and that perturbed the enemy. And in this case, Ron Rivera is one of the more media friendly head coaches in the NFL. Everybody knows that. That's why we like Ron Rivera on this show a lot. Also, he's a great dude and everything that he's overcame in life, too. There's a lot to like about Ron Rivera. So part of that is you probably feel comfortable with a lot of these guys that you're talking to.

I'm not saying the media is the enemy, but it's still the media. So to just give this quote to Albert Breer at this rate, maybe he's thinking that's like another vote of confidence to Sam Howell. But once again, it doesn't make you look good. And Sam Howell doesn't need a vote of confidence. You named in the starting quarterback. So I'm with the hickey.

I don't see what there was to gain here. And we're starting to see a pattern with Ron Rivera where he just keeps on giving too much. And like you said before, look, he I don't know what he's doing in practice, but he's not paying attention to Sam Howell, even though the quarterback situation is far from settled in Washington all last year.

Where it's Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinecky, back to Wentz, back to Heinecky. You never got any sort of actual quarterback settled. Why Sam Howell is not getting more of a look then makes no sense. But then also now you're going to basically go into the entire offseason building your plan around Sam Howell as a guy. Sam Howell could be great. If he flops and this is another wasted year with a talented offense and you had Ron Rivera basically blocking out any other quarterback possibility. Because he saw one game in week 17 or week 18 with Sam Howell also flawed logic big time. So it's so tough to predict with the new owner.

So that's all I'll ask this. Like if they missed the playoffs. I think you're going to have Josh Harris fire Ron Rivera if they make the playoffs and they lose on wild card weekend. I still think that's a successful season for the Washington commanders. But does Josh Harris get rid of Ron Rivera still?

Let's say they go 9-8, make the playoffs and they lose in the first round by like two touchdowns. Does he just bring in a new coach for the sake of bringing in a new coach because now it's his team and he wants to do things his way? Or do you kind of wait a year and see if Ron can replicate that? I would say it's more likely than not there's a new coach of Washington next year. Because Ron has had, he's been there now four years, he's had a chance to at least show you something. And they made the playoffs once but they were below 500. Hey you had Eir Heineke in that game against the Bucks!

You did, you did. And since then it's been downhill for the most part. Which is again, you're seeing no progression. They're just a team that we say every year they have a lot of talent.

But then we don't see them get to where they should be going. And they still haven't figured out the quarterback as well, easier said than done. And you know who I think will be the next coach of the Washington commanders? Jim Harbaugh.

Yeah, right? Bring some excitement. If you're Josh Harris, you're looking to make a big splash and ego does factor into this as well. Everyone's basically bowing down, genuflecting to Josh Harris. You go take a big swing at Jim Harbaugh who you know is dying to go back to the NFL because of the whole situation with the NCAA? That would be a wildly popular move and it would only continue for people to say, all hail Josh Harris.

I'm barring a playoff win. And we've seen coaches win playoff games before and get fired. A malarkey with Tennessee, remember?

When Marcus Mariota caught his own throw for a touchdown? We've seen coaches get fired. Sam Howell would really have to light it up. And the commanders would have to be ridiculous this year for Ron Rivera to be back next season.

Because I think it's just the timing of a new regime, feeling it out, and then usually owners like to bring in their own guys. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio and Diavolos, the head football coach at Boise State, will join us at the top of the hour. Tyler Minnikevich to preview the Buffalo Bills at 8.20 p.m. Eastern, 5.20 p.m. Pacific, and John Gamodoro will join us to preview the Arizona Cardinals that are tanking up the season this year with their GM and their owner at 9.20 p.m. Eastern, 6.20 p.m. Pacific. We will take a break.

When we come on back, 10 intriguing teams in college football for this season. The Zach Gelb show is sponsored in better part by BetterHelp. Sometimes in life we're faced with tough choices and the path forward isn't always clear. Whether you're dealing with decisions around career, relationships, or anything else, therapy helps you stay connected to what you really want while you navigate life. You could move forward with confidence and excitement. Trusting yourself to make decisions that align with your values is like anything.

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That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P dot com slash Gelb. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. Alrighty, this is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Week zero in the books. Now we get set for week one of the college football season. Let's get a little college football music going. Hickey has compiled a list of teams that he thinks are intriguing and I'll give you my thoughts on them right now. How about friend of the show now, Coach Prime and Colorado?

So I'm really intrigued with Colorado and here's why. Not only as Coach Prime said to us, they have maybe, he said, the most exciting player in college football on both sides and Travis Hunter. I also saw, I forget who it was, but someone said, could Travis Hunter have a Shoei Ohtani type of impact? And I thought that was a good cross-sport analogy.

We're Shoei Ohtani, elite at pitching, elite at the plate. And Travis Hunter, as Deion Sanders told us, is going to be someone that gets drafted in the first round to play both sides of the ball. And I even said to him, it's probably your background why you haven't made him pick one side. And he goes, that's what this kid wants to do. He wants to play both defense as a cornerback and then offensively as a wide receiver. So he's very intriguing to see on a bigger stage how great he could be and we know how highly recruited he was. And then also the buzz of Shadore Sanders with what he was able to do the last two seasons at Jackson State. We've said it before for a program that had one win a year ago and you have a few toss up games and then like one or two guaranteed victories. If this team gets four or five wins this year, I think it's a success. But I want to see if they can maybe go further past that just with the energy that Coach Prime has brought to this Colorado program. This team when it comes to intrigue, a yearly staple, Hoka, Texas.

I believe it in Texas. Now you look at the Big 12. It's a really good conference. But is there a great team in this conference? And I don't think so. But that's what makes this a dangerous conference because you have a few or more than a few really good teams.

And that's where chaos doesn't sue. It's an enormous statement. Week two for Texas up against Alabama because Alabama is good. It's not as great of an Alabama team as we've seen before. Clearly, we don't even know their quarterbacks going to be and everyone else is going to have to step it up for Alabama because you look at that team. It's kind of what they were before. The Jalen Hurts of the world, the Tua Tonga Vailoa of the world, the Mac Joneses of the world, the Bryce Youngs of the world where their quarterbacks didn't really move the needle for you.

And it was everyone else. But that was a game that Texas should have won last year and could have won last year if Quinn Ewers didn't get hurt. I know no more Bijan Robinson, but this is a very winnable Big 12. And I think Quinn Ewers is going to be good enough to win the Big 12.

And also, even if he struggles a little bit, I know there's one guy in between right now on the depth chart, but you know, then the cries will be there for Arch Manning. So that's always factoring into the intrigue factor of Texas for this year. How about Florida State? I'm a big believer in Florida State. See, I look at Clemson and you have Cade Klubnick, and Cade Klubnick is going to be much better than D.J. Ungolaile, but you look at this Florida State team, they took a big step last year for Mike Norvell. And now you look at their quarterback and what he's capable of when you see Jordan Travis.

And on the defensive side of the ball, you have verse as well, who is going to be highly touted all throughout the year, and you're going to see his impact with the way that he plays the game. Since I am, I don't want to say pessimistic on Clemson, but since I have my doubts on Clemson, where can they get back to that elite level? Are they just going to be a team that wins the ACC, and for them that means they'd be better than Florida State? I think Florida State's really intriguing, and this game, to open up the year up against LSU, my oh my, I know we saw it last year, but it has a much different vibe this year than it did last year, because those two teams could be two of the top five teams, in my opinion, in college football.

You mentioned them a little bit before, let's talk about a little more in-depth now. Alabama. There's always intrigue with Alabama, and I am usually an Alabama fan, and every year I pick Alabama to make the college football playoff, I don't have them in this year. And I have two teams in from the Big Ten, and two teams in from the SEC, and neither are Alabama.

I have Georgia, I have LSU, I have Michigan, I almost, hickey, almost, went with your Penn State Nittany Lions, I was thinking about Florida State as well, but then I went back to the well of Ohio State, who did announce their starting quarterback today in McCord, so I ended up going with the Buckeyes for that fourth and final spot. Let's talk about those Buckeyes, what's your intrigue level with them? We know they have so much talent, it's what is Kyle McCord going to be, and here's why it's intriguing for Ohio State. Ryan Day has only lost six games, think about it. I've never seen a coach hickey that has only lost six games, and Ohio State fans want this guy canned because he can't beat Michigan anymore.

And did you see that photo of Ryan Day yesterday? College football age people, being a college coach will age you, but Ryan Day looks like he hasn't seen sunlight in about like five years. And the guy almost won a national championship last year. If that kick goes through, up against Georgia at midnight, they're in the national championship game. And Ohio State, even after getting their doors blown off once again by Michigan for the second consecutive year and not winning the Big Ten, they would have defeated TCU with Max Duggan who got cut the other day by the Chargers and Quentin Johnston.

So look how close they were last year in what was considered a disappointing season where they still got to the college football playoff and they still almost got close to the national championship game. But let's be real, the intrigue this year for Ohio State and Ryan Day, even with what we just said about how they almost turned it into a positive last year after losing to Michigan, it's about beating Michigan. If they lose to Michigan for the third straight year, you know what every Ohio State fan is going to say, even though Urban Meyer was a disgrace. A great football coach, but a disgrace of a human being with the whole Zach Smith situation and how much he lied at Ohio State. Everyone's going to be saying Urban Meyer would have never done that. Urban Meyer would have never done that because Urban Meyer had never lost to Michigan. And remember that, that COVID year, right? The Ohio State fans saying Michigan's afraid to play us, afraid to play us.

And then ever since then, back to back, not only defeats, but massacres. So that's the intrigue level. Because no matter what Ohio State does all throughout the year, the Ohio State fan will say, Ryan Day, you want to impress us? You better go beat Michigan. We're talking the most intriguing teams in college football heading into 2023.

What is your intrigue level with? Texas A&M. I don't like A&M at all this year. Now, they'll win games because they're really talented. But their talent should be the way and present them in a position where we're talking about them competing for an SEC championship.

But that won't be the case. I don't trust Jimbo Fisher, so here's what's intriguing to me. And you already had the whole Jimbo Fisher very ambiguous about Bobby Petrino's role. And I think the quarterback Wigman is going to be good.

I think he'll be solid. But for Jimbo Fisher, you know he's one of the more arrogant coaches in college football. And when things don't go his way this year, I want to see how he's going to handle the pressure. He's getting a lot of cash. If he succeeds or fails this year, he's getting a lot of cash, even if A&M wants to move on from him. But what makes me really irate is when a coach isn't having success and then he becomes just an obnoxious, arrogant quote. And you know Jimbo Fisher is good for that this year. Arguably the most intriguing conference is the Pac-12, one of those big teams everyone will be watching this year, the Washington Huskies.

Hi. I have a high level of intrigue with him. Can Michael Penick stay healthy and can he repeat what he did a year ago? Which people were talking about him being snubbed as the finals for the Heisman Trophy. And also we've talked to Kalen DeBoer a lot. I think this dude is going to be a really good coach for a long time. And they're actually my pick to win the Pac-12. You talk about going a facelift and maybe overhauling or having the most dramatic overhaul from one season to another. How about Wisconsin?

Going from ground and pound now to air raid in Luke Fickel's first year. Where's your intrigue with the Badgers? So not high because even if they win their side the last year of the division, like even if they win their division, what does that mean? You play the right to get probably beat up pretty good by Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State. There is a clear separation in the Big Ten where it's Michigan one right now, Ohio State's two, Penn State is three, and Penn State's coming this year. I'm not a fan of Penn State.

You know that. You hear the way that I talk about Hickey and his just delirious love for Penn State. Penn State has no excuses this year. That's a heck of a team. That's a darn talented football team. And then there's a drop off and it's like, oh, wait, who's the next team after the drop off in the Big Ten?

It is Wisconsin. Luke Fickel did a heck of a job at Cincinnati, got to the college football playoff. But you look at their schedule. Wisconsin will win a lot of games this year. You play Buffalo, Washington State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, tough game against Ohio State, Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota. Oh, this should be a team that only has like maybe what, two or three losses? Even with the new head coach and not knowing what to expect out of, I don't want to say a first year head coach, but a coach in a new situation. So you never know what to expect, but they'll win a ton of games. They'll probably be in the Big Ten championship game, but that's not a team that I'm going to be saying like, wow, oh, my goodness gracious. This is a team that is going to go get a college football playoff spot.

Another new face in a new place. Hugh Freeze at Auburn. Well, they took control of his social media, right? Last we found out, no crazy tweets right now from Coach Freeze.

Like, mild intrigue. Because you know how that fan base is at Auburn, where Gus Malzahn had some good success up against Alabama and they couldn't wait for him to get out of town and they had to settle for Brian Harsin. Now you actually have a guy that feels like he's made for Auburn if he could just take care of everything off the field. So I don't really have high expectations, but Cole Kublick, who is not a homer, I know he went to Auburn, but he tells you how it is. He talked about how aligned the university is now in the selection of Hugh Freeze and some of the players that they brought in. It's like a little bit of interest, but I'm not going to say I'm jumping up and down for Auburn football this year. How about Clemson? Huh. Well, you know what I just said about Jimbo Fisher?

Yes. Clemson coaches don't have things go their way, and then they're arrogant. It's tough to say that Dabo hasn't had things go his way because the guys won national championships. He has taken Clemson to levels that we've never seen before when everyone thought he was a joke of a hire and wasn't ready for the position.

But for Dabo, this ACC, it's either going to be, what, him? Florida State? If you want to put a little stock in a long shot like UNC because they have Drake May, okay. But this is really Clemson and Florida State. And I said this to Isaiah Simmons at the Super Bowl where he was like, how can you say Clemson has fallen off? They just won the ACC because the standard for Clemson to be in the college football playoff. And when I look at that team this year, could you say maybe they won the loss and they're in as a college football playoff team? Sure, but I don't view them as a team that I believe are going to be a college football playoff team. And you know, Dabo, he's always a wild card when speaking to the media. That is for sure. Last but certainly not least, the LSU Tigers. A lot of intrigue.

Brian Kelly, he has a lot of receipts, and it wouldn't surprise me if he claps back. I expect with Perkins, with Daniels at quarterback, I know week one it's tough up against Florida State. But you have a team here that has, they could accomplish anything they want this year. And you know how tough it is, right? I know Georgia went back to back. I know they're going to be everyone's pick until seen otherwise, but it's not easy to go back to back to back.

Right? And you no longer have, even though you're back there now as the quarterback, you no longer have Stetson Bennett. But you look at LSU, as Ed Orgon used to say, like, we're coming, we're coming, go Tigers. The Tigers are coming this year. And that should be a team that once again is in the SEC championship game.

And I think they should be in the college football playoff this year. So a big level of intrigue for the folks down in Baton Rouge. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a break.

We will come on back. We'll discuss a little bit about Jonathan Taylor. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. This is Ryan Hickey of the Zach Gelb show. The date is August 23rd, 2023.

It is 804 p.m. Eastern Time on this Wednesday show. There is a negative 100 percent chance Jonathan Taylor in a week from now will be on any team not named the Indianapolis Colts. He is not getting traded to pull Charles Barkley guaranteed. How about that? Hickey throwing a little counter punch. May have already been knocked out.

They already said the fight was over. But look at Hickey. Blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Hot take Hickey. Hot take Hickey. Hot take Hickey.

Better than Jack Stern. I like you in a lot. Not even really attacking him. Three words. Never a doubt. You got a little uneasy the last week. You felt a little nervous regardless of the persona that you put out. I went from zero to negative 100. Opposite of yours.

I think a lot of that was shtick. But I give you credit. You stuck to your guns here. Now I will fully say I never thought there was a negative percent chance here because they went from we're not trading into them will take phone calls and let you seek those trade opportunities. But you should be disappointed today. I don't think you should be happy with this outcome because now he's going on pup.

So he's going to miss the first four games. You still don't know when he's going to come out, come back after that. And his mentality and his mindset right now is I don't want to be there still in Indianapolis. And here's what I'm going to say.

And you bring up a great point. I will give you full credit for this where you say if Jonathan Taylor isn't on the field as much as possible this year, he's going to hurt himself in the off season when it comes to trying to get that contract that he desires. As much as Jonathan Taylor seems to be like a good guy from when we met him. And other than this is a team player.

And I know eventually to look out for your own. There's also a level in any professional athlete where your own bleep doesn't stink. And you don't need to put your best out there on the field just because your reputation should get you your contract. But with the position that he plays, they always look for reasons to not give you that amount of money. But I don't think Jonathan Taylor gets that yet where Jonathan Taylor will probably look at this and say, oh, there was a few teams that were willing to give me X, Y and Z in the contract front, but the Colts didn't want to have me get traded for like a third round pick, let's just say.

So I think hearing maybe some of the offers from the other teams and there were some teams that legitimately interested. And we don't know the details both ways, what the picks were they wanted to give up and then what the contract was that they wanted to give up. I think that is further going to allow Jonathan Taylor to believe that he could get the deal that he wants or close to it elsewhere. And I think he's really done with Indianapolis. And that's why if I'm the Colts, I would have traded him. Now, I know that's tough to say because you don't know what the Colts would have got back.

And there's been no report out there what the offer actually was. But I don't think the offer is ever going to get better for the Indianapolis Colts, where maybe you could circle back to this in a few weeks. If he comes back from PUP, plays a game or two right before the trade deadline, another team says we have a chance to go into Super Bowl.

It's open this year. Let's go pounce on Jonathan Taylor and maybe you revisit it then. But in the offseason, if he's already missing four games, I don't think his contract value goes up. He's probably going to get franchise tag.

Is the Colts going to look to trade him, maybe? Or they try to give him a contract or offer him, you know, just that tag and play it out of the year and ride it out. But I don't think you're going to get more for him if you wait until the offseason. There's still a chance to trade him by the deadline. But if I'm you, Hickey, as much as it would ping you to see him go, I would have traded him.

I would have got rid of him now because he doesn't want to be there. And I don't know when he's going to return for this football team. The thing is, like you said, when you are running back and this is where the leverage works in the Colts' favor, he can't afford to sit out. He can sit up on Pup, but also the longer he sits out on Pup and the more games he misses, the less money that's in his pocket and the less leverage he has when trying to get a deal or trade in the offseason. But do you think he realizes that?

Because I don't. Yes, I think he does. He's not stupid. Well, now he's missed the first four games of the season. Does he really need to miss the first four games of the season or is this like a bleep you to the Colts? He's actually hurt. I mean, which is a different discussion. I think also probably why he wasn't traded and why he's not going to get traded in season. But that's also, I mean, I hope he's not faking it.

If he's faking it, he's only hurting himself. But did he get the surgery in January? I know there's complications. You're supposed to be ready to go by like February and March, right?

It was a one-month recovery time and we are now going on month nine. Something seems fishy there. But then also you could say, what is the benefit for the Colts to, right, let's say, quote unquote, do right for him and then cover up for this. I think he could like say that he's still hurt, but I don't know how actually he's still hurt is and how the Colts could even contest it. But we'll see what happens here. I would have just dealt him. Andy Avalos joins us next. Boise State.