Notre Dame Dominance (Hour 1)

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Shop in store or visit Ashley.com today. Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gilb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS, number to jump on in.

855-212-4227, you can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gilb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We'll get into everything going on with the Chicago Bears coming up an hour from now. There is a lot to unpack here from their old defensive coordinator where there's a bunch of rumors circulating about him. And then the quarterback of the Chicago Bears, Justin Fields, who I said the other day that next year he will not be their quarterback and they'll be drafting someone in the first round.

He really put his foot right into his mouth today and then had to backtrack and clarify and blame the media for him blaming the coaches today at a press conference. So, like really, death taxes and the Bears always being a mess with their quarterback and their organization always being a mess as well. So we'll get into the Bears coming up an hour from now.

Producing the extravaganza today for the next four hours is no other than Hatte Kicke. Brady Quinn is going to join us coming up 20 minutes from now. So let's start the show with a little college football. I am really excited for this weekend in college football. This is the first enormous college football weekend that we have this season.

Florida State Clemson going to be a big time game. Colorado, Oregon. UCLA, Utah. Ole Miss, Alabama.

You also have Oregon State and Washington State. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Iowa, Penn State. Even if you want to say that this is potentially a decent game, UNC going up against Pitt. There is a lot of games this weekend where you say, ooh, ah, I want to tune in. Where the last few weeks it hasn't been bad college football, but there's not been a lot of big headline games that you go into the weekend saying, I got to see this.

I got to see that. And still with that being said, right, like last weekend people said going into the weekend for college football, oh, it's going to be boring. Oh, it's not a big weekend in college football. There's always things that happen that are unexpected week in and week out for college football. But what helps is we're supposed to have a bunch of marquee games coming up on Saturday. So I want to run through the five things that excite me the most for this weekend in the college football world in no particular order.

Colorado. This is their biggest test yet. We all know Coach Prime has been sensational. Shiloh Sanders, Shador Sanders, Travis Hunter, who's not going to play because of the lacerated liver with that dirty hit that was suffered in the game up against Colorado State. And this has been the best story in college football and such a joy to watch with Colorado. And they beat TCU. They smothered Nebraska. And then when they were expected to smother that Colorado State team that ended up being a great game going into double overtime. But now you have a two week stretch with two big time opponents and two opponents that both could go win the Pac-12, which you play in in the final year of existence for the Pac-12. You have an Oregon team that really knows how to play defense. Dan Lanning did a phenomenal job last year. And after a slow start with that terrible week one performance. And now he's in year number two and Bo Nix is back with this Oregon football team.

This is a really good team. And then the week after that, you have USC. So you look at Vegas. Vegas has been dead wrong about Colorado throughout the entire way. You know, they had him as a big time dog to open up the year. They won the game outright. Then they only had him as like a two and a half, three point favorite up against Nebraska.

We all said that doesn't make any sense. That maybe could be a fishy spread. And they ended up blowing up Nebraska. Then it was what, a 24 point spread last week and they needed double overtime to take down Colorado State. So usually Vegas gets it right. But Vegas has not got it right yet with Colorado. And this weekend, the spread jumps out all the way to Oregon by 21. Well, the moment I saw that spread and maybe I'll end up being wrong, I plus the 21 points. Like, I don't think Colorado is winning the game this weekend, but is Oregon going to be three more than three touchdowns, a little more than three touchdowns better than Colorado? I would be surprised by that.

I really would be. Even coming off of a game where you're going up against an inferior opponent and you let that be a game. Like, Hickey, I know you believe Oregon's going to win. I believe Oregon is going to win the game as well. But I don't think this is going to be a game where we're sitting there in the fourth quarter and Oregon is up by 22 points or more. If you want to tell me Oregon wins the game by two touchdowns or they win the game by 17 points, OK. But to win this game by 22 points or more with how everyone has doubted Colorado and what Colorado has been able to do through the first three weeks of the season.

That seems a little bit too rich for me in terms of what the spread is and too big for me. And maybe that's what Vegas is trying to do here on the fourth try, is that everyone's going to see that spread and everyone's falling in love with this Colorado story. So maybe this is Vegas begging you to be an idiot potentially, which maybe I am, and plus the 21 points. And the next thing you know, this is a four touchdown game coming up on Saturday afternoon. But with the way that Colorado has competed this year and the way that Coach Prime has motivated this team and that they're eating up every word that he says, I don't think they're going to win the game, but I'd be very surprised if this is a 22 point or more finish when it's all said and done. I am with Vegas here.

No Travis Hunter. Oregon's a lot more physical and bigger on the offensive defensive lines. I think it's going to be a three or four score game. I always say that going into the season with TCU and TCU is a big time favorite. I know that TCU lost and Oregon's a better football team than TCU and TCU lost a lot of players from that team that went to the national championship game a year ago. But everyone told me, oh, in the trenches, TCU is just going to be so much bigger than Colorado.

And it never looked like that because Colorado just killed them with their speed. Also, whether you think Oregon is a much better team than Colorado or not, which they are a better team, with Shadore Sanders at the quarterback position, they're still going to even up against a defense that looks like it's a great defense. I still think they're going to be able to put up a few touchdowns, which if they put up a few touchdowns, I know the Colorado defense is a question mark and Shiloh Sanders had a great game last week.

I have a tough time seeing, as great as this Oregon offense could be with Bo Nix, outscoring Shadore Sanders by a little bit more than three touchdowns. That's why for me, when I circle on Colorado this weekend, I don't think they're going to win the game, but I got to think this quarterback is going to keep it within 21 points. Now, the other thing that excites me for this weekend, I can't wait to see what the Ohio State quarterback and Kyle McCord looks like up against Notre Dame. Because the first three games of the season, he didn't do anything spectacular up against Indiana, then he played better up against Youngstown State, and then everyone's buzzing after his performance up against Western Kentucky. He had three opponents that I don't care what the kid did, it's not going to make me say ooh or ah, it's only going to cause concern. It only could be set up for him to do bad things the last three weeks, because even if he plays really well, people are going to bring up the opponent. Now you're going up against a really good Notre Dame team, I think we'll start to see how much of a concern or how much of a positive McCord is at the quarterback position for Ohio State this weekend.

So that's something I'm excited to see. Another thing that I'm excited to see, Florida State up against Clemson. Clemson has been the top dog, Clemson has been the team in the ACC, and made a big impact nationally with the national championships they won and how many times they got to the championship game in the college football playoff, and they won seven out of the last eight ACC championships. And we know Florida State, I don't think they've defeated Clemson since like 2014 or something like that. Florida State has a football team that they showed you not only how good they could be week one, but how great they could be week one. Like they beat LSU last year by one point.

This year, they beat the crap out of them in the second half, 45 to 24. You have a player that joined us yesterday in Jared Verse, that could be one of the best defensive players in the country. He's not played like that yet though, through the first three games of the season for Florida State.

And on the offensive side of the ball, if he stays healthy, Jordan Travis is expected to be a Heisman Trophy finalist in New York City in December. So you look at this Florida State team and you credit to the patience of Mike Norvell and what he's built the last few years, and you started to see that they were getting it right last year, this is their year. This is their year to win the ACC, and not only win the ACC, because Clemson won the ACC last year and didn't go to the college football playoff, but go to the college football playoff. And you have Clemson now, you're going to their turf, Clemson is backed up into a corner, Dabo has refused to wave the white flag in this season, nor should he, but I don't think Dabo is admitting the problems that this team has.

Whenever you hear him speak, even after the Duke loss, he was very happy with his offense, when they only scored seven points, and he's like, oh, well he threw for 200, we ran for 200 as well. I believe you have a Clemson team that still thinks they're the top dog and still thinks they're all that, and we're going to find out on Saturday if that is still in them for this year. Because this Florida State team is one of the best teams in the country.

And if you're Florida State, you have to take advantage, and you have to put the nail in the coffin for Clemson this year, because hey, they can still find a way to bounce back and make an ACC championship game, I get that, but when you're looking at four weeks into the season, you have two conference losses up against Duke and Florida State, that's going to be tough slang and it's going to start to show you that when they play Charleston Southern and they play FAU, sure, they could go have blowout victories, but when they play better competition, when it was a team in Duke that's solid and Florida State that we think is great, they just weren't ready for the moment and they're not on par right now with those programs in the year of 2023. The other thing I'm very fascinated to see this weekend, you know Ole Miss is going to be able to score points. How many points is Alabama going to be able to score? And this spread started out during the week at seven, Alabama by seven.

I thought that was too high. I plus the points of Ole Miss. I don't know who's going to win the game, but I'll take the points there. It's now down to Alabama minus six and a half.

I wonder where it will close at right before kickoff. But last week I thought Nick Saban elected to go to Buckner way too early to start that game. I know Milro did not play well up against Texas, but he won the job.

I don't get why you pull someone two weeks in the season and bench them after two weeks into the season, when you know that there's not other good options with what, Simpson and Buckner right behind him. I want to see when Alabama panicked last week and then it was quarterback Roulette up against USF where they just couldn't score. And I thought going into that game, Saban heard some of the noise after the Texas and felt pressured for the first time in his career to make a decision that probably he didn't want to make. I want to see how Milro responds this week up against Ole Miss.

And then finally, we won't find out until tomorrow. I know last week we had Kyle Whittingham on the show and he made it seem like there was a shot that Cam Rising was going to be able to play. Last week I kind of threw the analogy, Coach, it kind of feels like you're a kid the night before Christmas and you know the president's under the tree and you just want to go rush down and open up the present. And he laughed and he said that's a good analogy, but we didn't see Cam Rising last week.

If we didn't see him last week, I would have to venture to say that we're going to see him this week. And you're going up against UCLA and Chip Kelly and you expect a whole lot of points in that top 25 matchup. So when Cam Rising, assuming he plays and I know earlier in the week they said they'll probably make a decision tomorrow on Thursday, I want to see how much rust there is to knock off with the ACL tear that Cam Rising did suffer going back to the Rose Bowl because when he's healthy and he's a full go, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country and the last two years he's won the Pac-12. So those are the five things that excite me the most this weekend in college football and what is a monster weekend. Colorado's biggest test yet, going up against Oregon, what will Kyle McCord do up against Notre Dame, will Florida State prove to Clemson that their run is over, what will the Alabama offense look like, and then the hopeful return of Cam Rising. If I had to give you a six, like if we ended up kicking an extra point here and a touchdown, let's say it was only five, it would also be the high octane offensive game that we're expected between Oregon State and Washington State.

And I love that conversation that we had yesterday with D.J. Wungole and I don't think people are talking enough about this Oregon State defense and we'll see what they're made out of going up against Ward this upcoming Saturday night, 7 p.m. Eastern on Fox. Alrighty, let's take a break here on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. What excites you the most this weekend in college football? 8-5-5-2-1-2 for CBS, 8-5-5-2-1-2, 42-27.

When we come on back, former Notre Dame quarterback, former NFL quarterback, now big time broadcaster on Fox, Brady Quinn will join us. Facts are facts, like how contributing to employees' financial security makes them want to work harder for their company. In fact, according to a 2023 study by principle, 87 percent of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work. The fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future. So consider this, principle helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive. When you take care of your team, they take care of business.

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All righty. This is Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio, a big weekend of college football upcoming. It's only Wednesday and we're counting down the days trying to fast forward through Thursday and Friday to get us to Saturday because this is the first big monster slate in the college football world through the first three or four weeks of the season.

So we're really looking forward to that. And now joining us is the former Notre Dame quarterback does a sensational job with big noon kickoff on Fox. And that, of course, is Brady Quinn here with us in the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Brady, appreciate the time. How are you? I'm doing well, brother. Thanks for having me on, Zach.

Well, thanks so much for coming on. So let me start you off with Notre Dame, Ohio State. All eyes this weekend are on Kyle McCourt to see what he's going to look like up against Notre Dame. What type of performance do you think the Ohio State quarterback will give us on Saturday? Well, I don't think it's so much about Kyle McCourt. I think it's more about the offensive line for Ohio State and really the running backs led by Trevion Anderson. You know, I think that group is going to do the best they can to try to take the pressure off of Tom McCourt.

So he doesn't have to win it with his arm. I mean, remember, this is a Notre Dame defense that only gave up twenty one points to Ohio State last year. That was the lowest output. And they've gotten deeper and they've gotten better. And so I think it's a tall task to then ask a guy, Kyle McCourt, in his first year, starting to go on the road to South Bend and try to be able to dice up a defense that's been really stingy so far this season. Maybe not so much tested, but potentially have to go, you know, throw for throw with a guy like Sam Hartman, who's one of the most prolific quarterbacks we've seen out of the ACC and now doing the same thing at Notre Dame so far. So I think it's going to be more about, you know, Ohio State and if they can run the football and if they can't. And they have to rely on Kyle McCourt. That could be a tall order, even as talented as they are on the outside of wide receiver. Yeah, I know when we always talk about these games and you know better than anybody, we all talk about the quarterbacks. I started off with Kyle McCourt.

You of course talk about Sam Hartman. But the last two years with Ohio State, when they were exposed up against Michigan, they just got beat up in the trenches on both sides of the ball. And then the running backs for Michigan just took care of them. Like when I look at Notre Dame, I can't wait to see what type of game Audric Estime has, because the first few weeks of the season, he's looked like a stud and I want to see if Ohio State could slow him down. Yeah, they've really got a stable of backs, even behind Audric Estime. You know, when you're looking at Love, their freshman, seeing a little number 12, he gets out there.

And there's really five backs that you'll kind of rotate through and see. Estime actually leads the country right now in total yards as a running back. But they've got a great group. They obviously mix them in, kind of play with their strengths.

The outfit, the line probably never gets enough credit. If you look at Joel, he's arguably the best left tackle in the country. There's a few other people that might be in the conversation for that, but he's amazing. Blake Fisher at the other side, the amazing Zeke Corll on the inside at center is great. The two guards are inexperienced, but for the most part, they've really been able to pound and physically dominate teams thus far. I think this is going to be by far and away their greatest challenge really this entire season. I mean, this Ohio State defensive front is sound, they're solid.

They're probably best suited up front in the interior. There's no Chase Youngs on the edge. However, the tackles will be tested. I mean, this is the best defensive front Notre Dame seed yet to date. So, it's going to be fascinating to see how Notre Dame goes about trying to run the football. I wouldn't be shocked if you don't see Sam Hartman keeping the football a little bit more to utilizing some of his legs as well. On a scale of one to ten, one no confidence, ten most confidence you've ever had, how confident are you that Notre Dame will get the job done?

Ten. I mean, I saw this team week zero up close and personal in Dublin, Ireland. Granted, it wasn't so much about being there for them playing Navy. It was just seeing the team and seeing the size, the depth they have really in the trenches, looking at their skill positions. They're as long and as athletic and as skillful as I've seen in my lifetime. So, this is a group that's been, they've recruited well, they've developed well, they've kind of been primed now to try to have that breakthrough. And I think Sam Hartman's the guy that's now opening so many things up for them on the outside, a wide receiver, where they've had talent.

They just haven't been able to have someone who can really stretch the field vertically and then really give them that. And they've got a quarterback now that can do that. I mean, it's been a long time since the Notre Dame team has had this much talent on one roster.

I think it's going to surprise a lot of Ohio State people. You know, you mentioned how Ohio State's matched up versus Michigan. This group feels very similar to Michigan as far as how this team is built. They're still built through the running game, dominate you physically, but sound, solid defense. They can get pressure, they can get turnovers, but now they've got the ability to make the big plays too with the quarterback.

Very similar to how Michigan can do it. So, we'll see where Ohio State's at because this is going to be the closest thing they'll face before they have to go up to Ann Arbor and have to play the Wolverines. So, how far can Notre Dame take it this year? Because when you say 10 out of 10 confidence they're going to beat Ohio State, that's a pretty big claim. And I like Notre Dame this weekend, let me add. But, you know, this team at the end of the year, how do you think we're talking about the Fighting Irish? Yeah, I think they're going to be potentially a college football playoff contender. I mean, the biggest question is, if they do win this one, you know, the USC game is going to be the biggest USC game probably since I was there back in 05. Now, granted, you're not talking about a team that was on a 27-game win streak and won back-to-back national championships, but they've got the Randy Heisler trophy winner, their offensive juggernaut. They've gotten better on defense too, especially through the transfer portal.

We've got six guys basically who have been starters that they got through the portal this year. USC is a much better team and much more poised to try to make a run at the college football playoff. And I think if you get through that game, you know, based on how Clemson looks so far, even though that game's down in Clemson, South Carolina, you know, the schedule, it's not easy. I mean, Duke now, they're on the road, that's a tough game. Louisville's on the road, that's a tough game. But I think they've got a shot, you know, of being that team that I think makes it in if they can go unscathed. If they drop one, you know, obviously your fate's not in your hands anymore. You're hoping then that you're going up against, you know, potentially two lost conference champions.

That's the only way you can really assure yourself potentially a shot. But with their strength of schedule, I think it's going to play out pretty well. They'll be in the mix at the end of the year.

Brady Quinn here with us. So Clemson is vulnerable. Florida State's clearly a better football team. You know, Clemson's been the standard in the ACC seven out of the last eight years winning the conference. Is Florida State going to take care of them, take care of them pretty good this weekend?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's crazy to think through that line before the season started. I want to say it was, you know, Clemson, I think given seven or four, whatever it is, you know, now you've got Florida State. I believe they're going there too, if I'm not mistaken.

They're given a point and a half or whatever it is now. I mean, the tough thing for Clemson is they just don't have the offensive firepower on the outside. Will Shipley's a fantastic back.

They also have stable backs. But, you know, Dabo hasn't bought into the transfer portal and NIL as big as some of the other schools. And I think that's hurt them, at least in recruiting or potentially supplementing their roster to be able to find some of those dynamic playmakers they're accustomed to having on the outside. And you look at Florida State. I mean, they went and got Keon Coleman from Michigan State.

He's had a huge impact. They've already got a big target in Johnny Wilson. They got Shaheem Bell from South Carolina at tight end. Those guys are really tough to match up with, especially when you combine, you know, that with the rushing attack for Florida State and Jordan Travis's mobility. So I just, I don't feel confident that Clemson is going to be able to go, you know, blow for blow Florida State if they start, you know, scoring some points and it becomes a track meet on the field. I think that's my big concern there for Clemson.

Brady Quinn here with us. Big noon kickoff, which is sensational. There'll be Oklahoma-Cincinnati this week. When we get to Ole Miss-Alabama, it's been quarterback roulette for the Crimson Tide through the first three weeks of the season. Now they're going back to Jalen Milro. They're going up against Ole Miss this weekend.

3.30 p.m. Eastern is kickoff there on CBS. What does the Alabama offense look like this week if you had to take a stab at it? A lot of running to football. You know, if you're looking at Ole Miss right now, they're getting about 350 yards a game so far. And they really haven't played the toughest opponents.

About half that's on the ground. So I think you're going to see a lot of running to football. Jalen Milro will obviously be part of that.

And they'll sprinkle in and try to build some more concepts of the things she feels comfortable with. Look, everyone's going to make a big deal about what happened last week with USF. I think that was a game that Alabama felt, it was very winnable for them. And if they were ever going to try to give a dress rehearsal to Tyler Buckner who transferred there or to Ty Simpson who lost out in the quarterback battle, that was the game to do it.

And so we're all going to make a big deal about, hey, Milro isn't a part of it. They've benched him all stuff. It wasn't that. I think they wanted to give these guys some live game reps. You don't have preseason in college football. This is a quarterback battle that dragged on to the start of the season. And that was the game that they selected to try to give those guys a shot.

Clearly that's not the answer. So they go with Milro now. I have no reservations whatsoever about Bama. I think this has been an extreme overreaction of what we saw last week.

And I think this is one where Alabama is going to take care of business. Their defense has been the most consistent piece for them. I don't think Kim's had success versus Nick Saban's defense in the past. But Jackson Thorne had to carry this team last week running the football. I just don't know that they have the dynamic playmakers on the outside like we've been accustomed to seeing in years past. The Jonathan Mingos, the AJ Browns, etc.

So I think that's where they may be lacking a little bit. And this is one where Alabama takes care of business. Talking to Brady Quinn right now. UCLA-Utah, if Cam Rising plays, I think they're going to make a decision on it tomorrow. It's a big plus for Utah.

Even though they're 3-0, they've done a heck of a job to start off this season for the back-to-back Pac-12 champs. But what can you realistically expect from Cam Rising coming off that ACL first game back going up against UCLA? It's a great question, Zach, because he's been practicing for the past couple of weeks now. He kept thinking maybe it was last week he was going to get a chance to play and get out there.

So I'm not sure. I know it's all based on the medical and the docs to clear him. But they probably want to wait until he's as close to 100% as possible. And I spoke with him before the season even started. He led me to think that he was going to play this year and he was going to show out. Maybe this is that match that he had circled in his rehab process. But either way, the matchup comes down to UCLA's ability to run the football against that Utah rush defense.

That's always so good. Second right now in the Pac-12. UCLA is running the crap out of the ball.

It's a little skewed because of their last game running for about 400 yards. But Utah wants to put this game on the true freshman quarterback, Dante Moore. He's a five-star recruit, highly talented kid. He's a good decision maker.

He's checked every box so far. But this is that big challenge. He's a two-time Pac-12 champ. Morgan Scallard, their defensive coordinator, knows how to get pressure. He knows how to frustrate young quarterbacks.

And that's really what it comes down to. If UCLA's throwers run the football, I think Utah can take care of business whether Cam Rising is there or not. Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes have done a really good job backing up from there. Staying in the Pac-12, Oregon State-Washington State. This is going to be a fun one between D.G.

Young-Golay and then also Ward. Going to be a lot of points in this one. I think people are sleeping on this Oregon State defense. But what do you think will ultimately determine the game between Oregon State and Washington State and Pullman? Isn't it fun talking about all these Pac-12 matchups? And the conference is going away. It's crazy. It's the best it's ever been with eight teams in the top 25. And the conference is dead.

Yeah, and the swan song too. And I hear people saying, hey, if Deion would have been at CU last year, maybe they would have worked out a TV rights deal. Who knows?

Maybe they would have. But Cam Ward, the quarterback for Washington State from incarnate Ward, he's been phenomenal. He's one of the best players in college football that you don't hear about because they can yell as loud as they want from Pullman.

And no one on the East Coast is able to see it. Hopefully people will watch this young man. He is an absolute star.

And look, he's facing his biggest challenge so far this season. Oregon State's the more complete team. And you're seeing D.G. Young-Golay kind of reborn under Jonathan Smith, who was a former quarterback there at Oregon State. Really good offensive mind. I just think Oregon State, it's going to be too much for him to ask. I think they'll be able to run the football. D.J.

useful is really comfortable within the system. And defensively, it's just too tall of a task. So tight game. But I think Oregon State will take care of business versus Washington State.

I think it's good also when you're trying to get the East Coast fan involved in Oregon State, Washington State. This is 7 p.m. Eastern. Kickoff on Fox. Last thing I'll ask you in terms of the games this week. And we know the biggest story in the sport right now is Coach Prime with Colorado.

They have their biggest task yet. Going to Eugene, going up against the Ducks who are a sensational team with Dan Lanning and Bo Nix. Right now, Oregon's a 21-point favorite. Earlier in the week, I plussed the 21 points.

I just think it's too many points. I expect Oregon to win the game. But I just have too much respect for Colorado to think that they're going to lose this game by 22 or more.

Yeah, we've seen it in the past three weeks. And Shadore Sanders is an absolute star at the quarterback position. I mean, you've got a guy who can distribute the football, be as accurate as he is, as poised as he is. And the ability to make plays like he did last week, a 98-yard drive, really to help take them into overtime.

I mean, he's always going to give you a shot. And this is going to be Oregon's really biggest test so far this year. So it's going to be a track meet. I think both teams will be able to score some points. Eventually, though, as long as Oregon doesn't shoot themselves in the foot like TCU did week one or Nebraska did week two, they should be able to manhandle CU in the trenches. And that's where they'll be able to get pressure on Shadore Sanders. They'll be able to obviously run the football at will if they want. And I think that's the battle that CU is up against these next two weeks.

It's the talent of obviously what they're playing with that can match them. Because obviously Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr. will be the star of the highlights. Michael Harrison will play more now with the injury to Travis Hunter, the last rated liver.

So Harrison will play more at the tight end spot for CU. And you saw that at the end of last week's game. But, you know, teams can match up evenly with their skill.

It's really about the trenches. And that's where the Oregon, the USCs are just that much better up front. Where it's hard to imagine that they're not going to be able to get pressure, not going to be able to do what they want. And ultimately, I'm with you, I think Colorado can keep it close. But it can be miraculous to see them be able to go to Eugene and get a win.

But I kind of find it hard to believe based on what they're up against right now. If Chidor leaves Colorado after this year to go to the pros, I don't think he'll surpass Caleb Williams. But could he move past Drake May in some of these mock drafts in your opinion? You know, maybe. I mean, as far as the mock drafts go, sure.

I'm sure someone's going to throw that out there. As far as what the teams think. Well, in Brady Quinn's mock draft, let's go. I mean, I would say I have him right up there with them. I mean, obviously you want to see him play a little bit more this year too. But look, he checks all the boxes. I mean, he's got the prototypical size. He's he's extremely accurate in particular downfield, which is really what the games become at the next level is all the vertical passing game.

So, you know, that combined with the athleticism, compliant, combined with the fact that you get the decision maker. He's right there after those guys. I think you're Caleb Williams is on an island on his own.

That guy is just a decent alien. You know, he's that talented of a quarterback. He probably should win the highs in two years or I don't know if we're going to give it to him or not, but he's that damn good. You know, Drake made somewhere after that. He hasn't looked quite as good this year as I think people felt about it last year.

And she doors kind of flew up on the scene. So, yeah, I think there's definitely a debate to be made between those two. And then obviously there's some others that I think we're going to throw in the mix when it's all said and done. Yeah, because we're talking about Michael Pennix junior at the end of this year because personally, I have Washington Brady winning the Pac-12. I feel like we all know that they're a good team. But when it comes to winning the Pac-12, just people are looking elsewhere this year, whether it's USC, you know, Colorado, Oregon, and maybe even Utah for the third straight year. Well, yeah, as I say, Utah gets no love. All they do is just keep going out there and physically beating you up and winning a football game winning Pac-12 championships. It's like, everyone's like, well, who's going to beat USC?

I'm like, I don't know. There's a lot of teams that should. I mean, it's a gauntlet for anyone in the Pac-12. It's probably why they wouldn't get a team in the playoffs because no one can survive that.

I mean, you mentioned Washington. You know, the two wide receivers out there right now, their defense, I mean, they're as good as anyone. But that team should be probably a top six team right now based on how they look. And Michael Pennix has been phenomenal.

He's helped himself in his draft stock. So, look, I gush talking about the Pac-12 because you turn on the tape. All you're watching is great quarterback play at the college level, so it's a ton of fun. But it's going to be fascinating to see how the next few weeks play out. I feel bad, but in the final year, it might be the best year for the Pac-12.

But they might even play themselves out of being a part of the playoff. All right, last thing I'll ask you, Brady Quinn, from a broadcasting standpoint, you know how special game day is. Now you're on big noon and you guys have done a great job.

This weekend you'll be at Cincinnati for Oklahoma, Cincinnati. To hear people now say that they think big noon, and I've heard some people say this, big noon is a better show than game day. When you hear those compliments and those comments, just how does it make you feel? How do you kind of look at that?

Boy, it's a huge compliment. I mean, look, game day has been around forever. You know, it's the staple that a lot of people grew up turning on. And all we try to do is provide what we feel like is our best form or presentation of college football. And try to have fun, educate people, entertain people, and really talk about the game that's been so good to us and the game that we love. And so if we're able to change people's habits out there, or when they tune in on Saturdays, they're tuned in to big noon kickoff at 10 a.m. Eastern time, you know, awesome. That's our goal, obviously, is we want to try to be out there to reach as many people as possible with our way of communicating our love for the game of college football.

So come join us, 10 a.m. Eastern, every Saturday on Fox. You can obviously, you know, see the whole crew having some fun. I mean, last week was like a con.

I mean, we had Lil Wayne out there. It was nuts. I've never been a part of anything like that.

It was the world's biggest frat party. That's the way that I described it. That's one way of putting it. I feel bad for the kids. I'm not sure they were all able to make it to the late kick at 8 p.m., I think, local time there.

A lot of naps during the middle of the day. There's no doubt about it. You wake up at probably 7 and go, oh, got an hour to get ready for the game. Anyway, Brady Quinn, keep on kicking ass. Always appreciate when you join us.

Thank you. Thanks for having us, Zach. When you need to know what's happening, it's time to get hit in the huddle. The big question is, Desmond Ritter. The problem that I think a lot of fans are having and looking at Desmond Ritter is they just haven't seen enough. They want to trust him. They want to believe.

But I will tell you this, Jason, in the training camp sessions that I had a chance to go check out, the one thing that bothered me was his aggressiveness to throw the football when he needed to. Listen and subscribe to In the Huddle, available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. We definitely make you an expert on your car's value. Carvana value tracker.

Visit Carvana dot com to start tracking your car's value today. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. All right. This is Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Hickey, have you ever heard of the seaweed snack? I don't know if it's starting to become popular, but have you ever had seaweed as a snack? I've heard of it.

Never had it. OK, so I was doing my weekly hit today with my guys, Hochman and Crowder and 560 WQAM in Miami, one of the one of our RDC stations. And I saw on Friday that they were trying seaweed on the air and they're big proponents of the of the seaweed snack. So I did a quick Amazon delivery and I brought it on the air today because they do this via StreamYard.

So they had the video of it. And I tried the seaweed snack. It was delicious for something that looks so gross, for something that you would think is not at all tasty.

I will go to my locker here in a second. I'll grab some for you during one of the breaks and maybe we'll have you try it. I was tasting popcorn. But it looks nothing like popcorn, clearly. But every bite that I had in this small package of seaweed that I got, it literally tastes like movie theater popcorn.

If you kind of get the drift and the vibe that I'm going with there. Like I was going to say, I would imagine it being salty. Definitely salty. Maybe I guess more of a chip flavor, like more salt than I guess a popcorn taste. But interesting.

Not surprising. Definitely screams salt, though. And it's not fattening. Mark Hochman said it's not healthy, but it's not unhealthy.

So whatever that means. He just goes, it's kind of just like empty. He goes, it's kind of just like empty calories, but something that you eat and that you say, oh, okay, it's pretty good. No fat, no sugar, no calories probably, but salt.

Maybe too much salt intake could hurt you. Interesting. Okay. Yeah.

During the interview. So they give you like a six pack of this stuff and I don't know, there's probably like eight sheets of seaweed. I ate the entire eight sheets during one little segment. So I have five other packs of eight here of seaweed.

So we'll have you try it later. You had eight sheets? Yeah, they're very small. Like bite size?

No, they're like. How many bites to finish a sheet? Oh, I don't think it's enjoyable in one bite just because it's not the most tasty thing in the world. It doesn't taste bad, but because of the salt on it, it is tough to do it in one bite. But it's it's not that big where you're like, oh, you're you're a savage if you end up going more than one bite. So they eat it for the taste, eat it for the, I guess, not the health, but they like the taste more than you do.

No, I like it. I thought it was good. But they think it's great.

And that's why they eat it. OK, I thought it was I thought it was popcorn. I love popcorn. I got some popcorn last night after the show. I thought it was it exceeded my expectations.

I thought it was enjoyable. I'm surprised, though, that you're not putting up a fight here. To try this, because usually, like when you hear things like, I'm not going to try it, it just sucks. And you would think just when you hear a seaweed, you go, oh, that's going to be awful. I'm a little bit surprised. Maybe you're making progress in the food. I told you I'm open. I'm open.

History hasn't backed that up. I'm open to certain things like I don't think slugs with 10 pounds of butter. Escargot is delicious. And what's the other thing on it? What's in escargot? Just oil and butter. Oil and butter. With a snail. I don't think that you basically just give me an IV of oil and butter, then if you're just going to put that much on a snail. Have you ever had alligator?

No. Alligator is also delicious. I would like to try alligator. If you ever go to New Orleans, make sure you get alligator. That's the first time I had alligator.

It kind of tastes like chewy chicken is the way that I would describe it, but it was very good. Sounds about right. Yeah. All right. We'll get you to try things.

So we'll try seaweed with you later. Anyway, Brady Quinn just joined us. I think my biggest takeaway from the Brady Quinn interview, and I know it's easy for people to say, oh, he went to Notre Dame, so obviously he's going to pick Notre Dame. But on a scale of one to 10, I asked him, one, no confidence in the world, 10, all the confidence in the world. How confident is he that at South Bend this weekend, Notre Dame is going to defeat Ohio State? And his response was 10.

Now, I believe Notre Dame is going to win the football game this weekend. I'm not going to put my number at a 10. I would say it's probably at, I don't want to go six and a half. That sounds like a lame number. I'll go seven.

I think it's at a seven. Notre Dame has one of, if not the best offensive lines in the country. I believe Audrick Estimate is going to bully Ohio State. I know Ohio State's defense improved, but the last two years, we've seen the run game for Michigan when they go up against Ohio State, and that line, which has been the best offensive line in college football the last two seasons for Michigan, just dominate Ohio State in the trenches. And for Sam Hartman, he's the more experienced quarterback, and I think the better quarterback than Kyle McCord, which is a big test in a big environment for McCord. So, I like Notre Dame to win the game. I don't think it's impossible for Ohio State to win this game. I think it will be a close game, but I will go 7 out of 10 confidence level for me that Notre Dame, and I usually never pick Notre Dame in a big spot, is going to take down Ohio State. I was surprised, though, that we were at a 10 with Brady Quinn. How about yourself? What's your number?

3.5. I don't think they're winning the game. I am very leery of the fact that Ohio State would steal a lot of talent and a lot of wins under Ryan Day, who knows how to win a big game.

Only lost six games and he's great. Is getting overlooked severely. I think a lot of people are in Brady Quinn's camp that Notre Dame is going to win.

A lot of people feel good about it. I do think Ohio State, granted it was Western Kentucky, I think they found something on offense last week, and I am very nervous that they are getting overlooked big time. So, we know the wide receivers at Ohio State are sensational. They're wide receiver you. They're the best wide receiving core in the country each and every year. But, what you just said, the way that we're talking about the Ohio State offense, more importantly, the quarterback after one game up against a lousy opponent, that's what really concerns me, knowing Sam Hartman is a better quarterback. And then, also, Estame has just been phenomenal this year behind that offensive line.

We've seen Ohio State come up small against Michigan in the trenches, and the Notre Dame offense, at least, is just a bunch of studs when you look from left to right across that offensive line. Who is it? Mike Sanford, who was the former college football coach, and last year was the interim coach of Colorado, and he used to coach at Notre Dame when they had that ridiculous offensive line with, who was on that offensive line? Quentin Nelson. Quentin Nelson.

You had? McGlinchey. Yes. Ronnie Stanley.

Ronnie Stanley, yep. Yeah, was on that offensive line. That's perceived to be one of the greatest offensive lines ever in college football. He said that this group this year at Notre Dame could be on par better than that offensive line with all the players that they pumped into the NFL.

So, that's a formula. We'll learn a lot about Ohio State, because this is a big prove-it moment for Ohio State. We will learn how different is this Ohio State team than all the teams the last two years, because Brady Quinn is right. In terms of the philosophy, and I think Hartman could be better than McCarthy, even though McCarthy's really good. Michigan and Notre Dame are similar.