Chargers and Belichick Need Each Other (Hour 1)

Live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates Sirius XM, channel 158, the free Odyssey app and of course streaming on YouTube. 855-212-4CBS is numbered to jump on in.

855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram. Where I'm straight flexing or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Whole lot to do today. Got Michael Samter, Stuart Kovacs rocking and rolling with me all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. We will be joined 20 minutes from now by the head coach of the Stanford football program coming off their massive come from behind victory up against Colorado over the weekend, Troy Taylor. And we got a bunch of other things to sprinkle in as well. But first, let me start you off with the game last night to wrap up week six. And the Cowboys needed a win.

They got the win. And I'm not saying that this makes us view the Cowboys any differently. I still view Dallas as a team that will compile a bunch of wins throughout the season.

And then when push comes to shove and they get into the bigger games on their schedule or the bigger games in the postseason. You will see the team that is more similar to what we saw two weeks ago up against the San Francisco 49ers. So we will circle back to the Cowboys in just a bit. But the Chargers are one of the more disappointing teams in the NFL. And I can't say I'm surprised by the Chargers inconsistencies because this has been what the Chargers have been all about for the last 20 years. But when I'm watching that game last night and I see all the talent they have on the offensive side of the ball where you have Justin Herbert, you have Austin Eckler, you have a solid offensive line, you have Keenan Allen, Quinnen Johnston, the rookie that they drafted out of TCU, the two tight ends as well. This is an offense, even though the Cowboys have a good solid defense, that should be able to put up more than 17 points in the game last night.

This is an offense that every game should be able to score bare minimum three touchdowns. And Brandon Staley is lost as a head coach. He should have not have been the coach entering this season.

He was. And their big offseason acquisition was bringing in Kellen Moore. And I don't know if there's a more overrated coach in the league than Kellen Moore. Because Kellen Moore was supposed to be all that in Dallas. Kellen Moore was supposed to be a head coach and then it doesn't work at the end in Dallas. And then his next job is an offensive coordinator with the Chargers and he's walked into a really good situation. And if it wasn't just his name, Kellen Moore, I would be saying, why the heck is he the offensive coordinator of the Chargers?

And what does he do really well? Because the two of them, Brandon Staley and Kellen Moore, are like dumb and dumber. And they should not be the head coach and the offensive coordinator for a roster that is loaded with talent in the Los Angeles Chargers. And the Chargers are not going to reach their full potential this year.

The Chargers are continuing to be an inconsistent team and they are extremely frustrating. So when I'm watching that last night, I kind of already waved the white flag. Where I don't want to give the players a pass because Herbert, for example, has to, I know they ended up getting a touchdown the next play. But when it's third and goal and you have Austin Eckler wide open, you can't wait.

You can't hesitate. You can't take a second and a half to eventually throw the ball to Austin Eckler because then the defender catches up to him and you get stopped just short of the end zone. Then they go for it on fourth and goal and they hit the tight end for a touchdown. But you have these players for the Chargers that will get a pass because of who the coach and who the offensive coordinator is.

And that's where we all gravitate to voice our frustration. But that offensive line did a phenomenal job for about 57, 56 minutes of the game last night. And then that final drive, Micah Parsons did what planet players do. And that's show up in a big spot when you've been quiet for most of the game.

And you also had Safon Gilmore show up as well. But when you're paying your quarterback that much money and you are giving Justin Herbert a lucrative contract. I don't care who the defense is, bare minimum, you have to march the ball, matriculate the ball down the field and bare minimum, get a field goal to send that game to overtime. And the Chargers couldn't even do that.

So the Chargers are so frustrating. The players are going to continue to get a pass nationally because we all know Brandon Staley isn't that dude. And also, Kellen Moore should not be the offensive coordinator of this team.

So I started to think last night because it is inevitable that at the end of the season or you would hope unless the Spanos family just continues to be cheap owners, you would hope that Brandon Staley is no longer the coach. Because when I just simply look at Brandon Staley's tenure, what does he do well? He builds good relationships with players. He does a good job in being consistent in terms of his teams are always not performing to the level they should be.

And he does these boneheaded decisions where he's too aggressive. But through almost three years now, Brandon Staley, there's been so much negativity and there's been such an outcry that he isn't the guy. It's like I can't even think of the really positive things that he does. Like if you ask me what's three positive things about Brandon Staley, well, he's a defensive minded guy. His defense stinks. And the offense, even with some offensive background that he has with all the talent, they've not taken that next step forward. So the more and more I go through it, the only positive thing I could say about Brandon Staley is that it appears that the players like him.

And then also he got the team to the playoffs last year. But with this talent, I don't need a coach that, oh, my players like you because you're player friendly. And I don't need a coach that could just get you to the playoffs. I need a coach that could go win. I need a coach that could go uplift this franchise and take them to levels that they've never been before. Because whether you believe in the charges or not, it is a fact that this team is loaded with talent. And every year, even going back to Philip Rivers, and now continuing here with Justin Herbert and some of that has to go in the quarterback, I'm cognizant of that.

You look at the Chargers and you expect them to charger. And it was almost as if it was the perfect matchup between the Chargers and the Cowboys because you knew the Chargers were going to charger and the Cowboys tried to choke that game away too last night. With the muff punt that set up the Chargers right on the 20, that should be an easy touchdown. They had to wait till fourth and goal to get the ball in the end zone. And then Dallas almost didn't get the field goal lead. It's third down and there's two penalties on the defense on third and long.

That's another part. You could have almost got off the field or set yourself up to get off the field. And eventually Dallas, I don't even want to say they moved the ball, but Dallas did get down the field a little bit and they had to settle for a field goal. Now Dak had Tony Pollard wide open.

I know Pollard is smaller. He's not a receiver there being a running back. He may have got hit a little bit by Murray. That could have disrupt the timing, but you have a guy that's wide open. You got to make sure that that's a touchdown and it wasn't.

So then they had to kick the field goal. So that was like a seesaw ride last night where the Chargers charged and the Cowboys did everything in their power to try to choke the game away and lose the game. But the biggest thought from that last night is it just once again reiterates that Brandon Staley through three years of being the Chargers coach is just not the guy. And the Los Angeles Chargers after this season have to get rid of dumb and dumber in Brandon Staley and also Kellen Moore. And you start to say, give me three names that could come in there and give me three names that could be the next coach of Los Angeles Chargers and number one, Bill Belichick, number two, Jim Harbaugh, and the third name is Eric Bienemey. And let's start with Belichick. Belichick should want out of New England. Belichick should look at Brady and say Brady realized he wasn't going to win again in New England and he joined the team in Tampa Bay that was more talented. Belichick constructed this roster in New England and he knows this roster isn't good enough.

They're heading to a top five, top 10 pick of the draft. If I'm Belichick, I'm begging, begging, begging, begging Robert Kraft to fire him, to trade him at the end of the year. And I want to go to Los Angeles Chargers because Belichick could still coach. I don't believe Belichick all of a sudden is this dog bleep coach. I don't buy that. If you give Bill Belichick, Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Austin Eckler, Mike Williams when he comes back next year, Bosa, Khalil Mack, he'll have that team at 12 or 13 wins competing for an AFC West crown and competing for a Super Bowl.

There's no doubt about it. I just don't know how realistic it is to go get Bill Belichick. But it makes sense for the Chargers and it makes sense for Bill. The question just becomes, will the Patriots allow it? And let's just say if the Pats don't get rid of Belichick and they want to see this thing through in New England because Belichick won six Super Bowls for them and saved the franchise. If the next call isn't Jim Harbaugh, and I don't know if Harbaugh is definitely leaving Michigan, but there is that pending issue with the NCAA where he had to sit out self-imposed by the university. A three-game suspension this year and they tried to agree to a four-game suspension. The NCAA, the Committee of Infractions, wanted him to admit that he lied to them over some like cheeseburger nonsense and Harbaugh wouldn't do it. So you would think that bare minimum, another game if not two more games are coming on Jim Harbaugh for a suspension. And I know it's been talked about with the contract and maybe they're going to get a long-term extension done soon between the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh. But I could see Jim Harbaugh maybe win a national championship this year and saying I don't want to deal with the nonsense and the petulant behavior of the NCAA and going right back to the NFL where he still has that itch of I was so close when I was the coach of the 49ers.

Where in four years I went to three NFC title games and also went to a Super Bowl where I lost to my brother in John Harbaugh. So those are the two names that the Chargers have to circle and they at least have to try to take a swing. Because the worst thing that you could hear from Belichick or that you could hear from Jim Harbaugh is no. There's no harm in trying to allure Belichick and Harbaugh to join the Chargers.

But if you can't get those two you have to give a call to Eric Bienemey who's done a nice job with the commanders who have good talent but not great talent and he knows the heck out of the Kansas City Chiefs who everyone's chasing in the NFL and you're chasing inside your own division in the AFC West. And not only that he's deserving of an opportunity and I believe he's someone that is the opposite of Brandon Staley and that's what you need. You need someone that is the complete antithesis of Brandon Staley where Brandon Staley is all about like oh thanks for showing up to work we love you here's a participation trophy oh I'm always going to say nice positive things about you. Bienemey what was the one criticism he received where Ron Rivera threw him under the bus which was ridiculous right before the start of the season oh he's too tough on the players. Yeah because that's something that should matter in the NFL if that's a legit criticism of a coach it says more about your players than the actual coach. And I'm not saying you need a dictator in the NFL now I'm not saying you need a my way or the highway guy but you need a coach that has the respect of the locker room and you need a coach that can really put his foot down and make it clear that this is his team and we're going about things one way and whatever happened with the last coach clearly held you guys back and now we need to thrive and now we need to soar. Because once they make that change at the end of the year with Brandon Staley the new coach is going to be under pressure but whoever they bring in the players now are no longer going to be let off the hook because attention is going to start to be drawn to Justin Herbert they paid you all this money you have all this talent and you're not winning enough games. So that game last night it was frustrating on both sides if you're a Cowboys fan you wipe the sweat off your head and you go whoop thank God for surviving that one and winning that one because we would have been three and three after six games it would have been a catastrophe for Cowboys fans today and on the other side if you're a Chargers fan for like nine of you that exists you're sitting back and you're saying another wasted season another year where we have to deal with this guy Brandon Staley who's just not fit right now to be an NFL head coach. And we're going to continue to be let down and we're going to continue to get disappointed so Chargers fans instead of just voicing your frustration today instead of just saying how annoyed you are with Brandon Staley start compiling a list and have your list of three names that you want coaching this team next year.

Number one should be Belichick number two should be Jim Harbaugh and if you can't get those two I would be jumping up and down if I was a Chargers fan like a fat kid in a candy store if I could get Eric the enemy one of those three guys have to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers next year. It is the Zach Gelb show right here on CBS Sports Radio off and running on a very busy Tuesday edition of the show. We'll come on back and we'll chat it up with the head coach of the Stanford football team. They were down twenty nine to nothing to the Colorado Buffaloes last week and they found a way to come on back and stun coach prime. We'll chat it up with coach Troy Taylor when the Zach Gelb show continues in five minutes.

We continue this is that Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio will be chatted it up in a few moments with the head coach at Stanford in Troy Taylor after their crazy come from behind victory over the weekend up against Colorado. They were trailing the buffaloes twenty nine to nothing at half and then they won that classic in overtime forty six to forty three some breaking news though right now in the NFL according to Adam Schefter seven time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones is signing a one year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles per sources Jones will be reunited with his former Tennessee teammate and AJ Brown who pushed for Tennessee to trade for him from Atlanta. So Julio Jones I don't know how much gas he has left in the tank but he's on his way to Philadelphia and Philadelphia is one of those teams that they're in the penthouse right now kind of similar to where the Dolphins are where you don't need to add another wide receiver. And we all know what Julio Jones has accomplished in his career and it pales in comparison right when you talk about Chase Claypool we know he's not nearly as accomplished as what Julio Jones has done but you kind of look at the Eagles they don't need to go and and pull the trigger on Julio Jones.

The Dolphins didn't need to pull the trigger on Chase Claypool but there are players that still have some talent left and I think it's a low risk and potential high reward and another body in that building for to a tongue of I lo and Jalen hurts is never something that I think is a bad thing. But let's talk about that crazy comfort behind victory over the weekend 29 to nothing down at halftime and Stanford ends up winning the game in a wild affair in overtime and now joining us is the head football coach at Stanford in Troy Taylor coach first off congratulations what a win that was for your program appreciate you doing this and how you've been. I'm doing great thanks thanks for having me. So let me start you off when you're down 20 nothing 29 nothing at halftime and then you have that comeback and then you go into the locker room after the game and you had a second or two to process it just what's going through your mind what was a wild victory for you guys. Yeah, you know, I mean as a and I'm a call play so I'm pretty in the moment throughout the entire game in terms of you know, Justin you're what you're doing schematically time management all those things and and then you get into overtime obviously and then you set up for the field goal and I had a pretty good idea. He would make it Josh Carty's an incredible kicker and then when the ball goes through, you know, I always check for flags first and then and then after that it hits you it's like wow, we really pulled this off and then then you allow yourself to celebrate and you're really happy just watching watching your players enjoy it so much and then, you know, embrace a few people. My son Noah was there and gave me a hug and then go into the locker room and there they want to celebrate.

So my message was really quick and then then we kind of had to do some other stuff media stuff, but it was fun. It's a it was an incredible experience one of those games. I told the guys, you know, I've played in a lot of games of coaching a lot of games and they have and will that is one that will remember forever for sure just naturally going into that game. Everyone's going to talk about what coach prime is building at Colorado and this is your first year as a head coach at Stanford and you're trying to build that trust build those relationships with your players. You know, not everyone coach could be Sonny Dykes and go to a national championship game in your one with the new program a win like this. Does it build a little bit more trust and camaraderie inside the locker room?

Yeah, I think so. You know, one of the things about our guys that I've been really impressed with is their resiliency and their focus from week to week, you know, we had some some tough losses that could have went our way and I was really worried early on, you know, because we just got here in December. So we're learning about our team and our guys. I was really worried about them going in the tank and losing some of their their their spark and it just never happened with our guys. So I stopped worried about him and they were resilient throughout the entire year. They come ready to go at the beginning of the week and really focused and then compete.

So for these guys, I tell them all the time. They're an inspiration to me how they prepare, how they go about their business. Our scout team guys, they give so much detail and effort. It's really an incredible group of young men. And so really happy that they were able to see, you know, a lot of times you get in those games and you come back and you know, you fall a little bit short.

And so there's, you know, whatever the moral victory or you're happy that your guys competed, but they got rewarded with a win there and to finalize it in that way is is pretty special. Being down 29 to nothing at halftime is Troy Taylor is here with us. What did you sense from your guys in the locker room at the half and what was the vibe like when you guys went to the locker room? Yeah, I'm disappointed. Everybody's very disappointed, me included. And so talked with our, you know, we split off offense defense, talked to our coaches and my message to the team was everybody thinks it's, you know, like I read Rudyard Kippelings if or something at halftime and did something inspiration. I really didn't. I just I said, hey, that wasn't very good.

First half, we're going to see how we compete in the second half. And that was it really. We went out, they were very focused. There was no bickering. There was no finger pointing.

There's nobody yelling, you know, come on or any of those ridiculous things. They were intent and focused and then we got to stop early on, you know, they Colorado got the ball to start the second half and they went forward on forward down. We got to stop, got the ball in a short field and then we were able to score. So right from the beginning of the second half. We had a little bit of hope and it would all start with our defense, you know, giving us field position getting off the field quickly.

And it's simple to have a comeback like that. You need players to be historical when you're down 29 to nothing. Your wide receiver did that when he scores a 97 yard touchdown. I thought that would be his best play of the game. But then in overtime, I still don't know how he real didn't in that catch coach.

That was insane. He is, you know, Alec Eimann or he's he's a he's really talented kid and he's but he's young and inexperienced and played a ton of kind of football, you know, and we knew he had it in him, you know, earlier in the game. If you probably remember Zach, he had a wide open touchdown. They kind of misplayed the ball and didn't come down with it.

A lot of guys will go in the tank. He did not. I don't think he caught a ball in the first half. He did all his damage in the second half. Yeah, and the catch in overtime, you know, I've seen many times guys try and pin the ball in the back of a defender, but it almost always comes out. So we had a great angle is right there on our sideline. And you know, I just didn't the expectation of him being able to hold on to it throughout that was very low.

And then I'm like, holy smokes. He hung on to it. So that was a that was an incredible play. Seeing Chidor Sanders and Travis Hunter and coaching up against them.

Just what were the impressions with that lethal combination that's now back together after the unfortunate Travis Hunter injury? Yeah, I mean Chidor, the quarterback is really talented. I have a lot of respect for him.

Really tough, determined. He's great at the end of the game. He's just seems to be the same guy. He's really carried them at the end of the games, which you know, you want your quarterback to do. And then yeah, they're skill guys are they're all good. I mean, Hunter, he's an exceptional player. You know, I know, you know, people are giving a bad time for the one-on-ones, but he was exceptional at wide receiver.

I mean, he really had an incredible game. So they're a talented team. Coach Sanders is doing a great job of getting that that city and really a college football world excited.

He's brought in some good players and some good coaches and they're going to be good for a while. But with the future of the Pac-12, we know everyone's leaving right now. And it's a shame to me because I look at the conference and you guys right now are the best conference in college football this season.

Navigating those waters this year, taking over a new spot in the tradition that Stanford has. Just how do you kind of reflect on what this has been like with all the uncertainty in college football with the changes? Yeah, there is a lot of irony that it's probably the best conference in the country this year and it's the last year. I'm really disappointed. I'm sad that the conference is coming to an end.

Now, I'm a, you know, I grew up in California and watched the Pac-10 and then played in it and then became the Pac-12 and a lot of great players, a lot of great teams, a lot of great coaches. Really sad to see it end. And that being said, you know, we're really in the moment. Our schedule is so difficult each week.

We're pretty focused on the now. We're very grateful that we landed a spot in the ACC. We think it's a great fit. It's a great conference. It's our recruiting blueprint, our footprint up the coast.

You know, our guys are a lot of them from California, but most are on that East Coast starting up top and going down to Florida. And so for us, we think it's really in our wheelhouse. It's going to be great. We're recruiting really well. And I think it will only get better than the fact that we can promise our guys that we're recruiting out there, that they're going to be around on the area probably three games a year. How do you reel your team back in after the emotions of a game like that? You know, it's a great thing to have where you get a big signature win, but there's a game next week against another really good team with a good coach in Chip Kelly and top 25 UCLA. And what have you said so far early through the week from your players? Yeah, our guys have been the same, you know, our message really is the same, a win or a loss is to move on, to enjoy it, but to be mindful. We're grateful it happened, but we're moving on to the to the next game and it just so happens. It's a really well coached team and a really good football team. So our mentality doesn't change.

Obviously, I think winning gives you a little bit more energy, a little bit more positive energy. But our guys said is the thing that's impressed me the most is they've been the same guys, no matter what's happened. I can count on them coming in and doing their thing and being focused and and get excited about competing against a really good UCLA team. Coach Short-Taylor, I have an idea for you. I don't know what he's doing right now, but I keep on seeing Andrew Luck on the sideline supporting his alma mater. Can we get him on the coaching staff here? We would love to get him involved as a coach. Andrew is, you know, obviously I admired him from afar.

And then once you know how much interaction had with him, but he is a he's one of the humblest nicest people you'll ever meet and he's been nothing but supportive. He comes to the game. He's encouraged and he knows all of our players after the game. He stood outside the locker room and congratulate every one of them that came out.

Awesome. He's one of the most unique best people that I've ever been around and the more we can have him involved in our program, the better. Last thing I'll ask you coach Troy Taylor after that incredible victory up against Colorado being down 29 to nothing in halftime and winning the game in overtime. You've gone up now against Caleb Williams this year, Bo Nix as well.

And then you just saw Chidor Sanders. Who was the toughest quarterback that you guys had to prepare for this season? That's a great question. They're all great. Obviously, they're all a little bit different. I would say Caleb is probably the most difficult. I think what's what separates him from guys that I've seen in the past. He's really difficult to get on the ground, you know, you think of some of the great quarterbacks have played in the NFL. They're just hard to get on the ground and part of it is quickness. He's a lot stronger than you would think. He keeps his eyes downfield.

And then when trouble comes, I mean, you better have them boxed in with a couple people or he's going to get outside. So obviously Notre Dame did it. I didn't see the game, but I saw Pops. They were able to do that.

I don't know how they did it. But he's pretty special. But they're all three of those guys. Bo and Chidor obviously have a lot of respect. I think they're all really tough.

They're really competitive and they got a huge skill set. And they, you know, the kid from Washington. And I mean, there's so many great quarterbacks in this conference, which makes it so difficult. How about your quarterback too? Yeah, we all talk about the all the other quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and how loaded it is from top to bottom. But how about Ash and Daniels?

Because I put up with nearly 400 yards of passing and four touchdowns and didn't throw it into reception and led you guys in Russia the other night. Yeah, thanks Zach. Yeah, he's he played really well. He's, you know, we've been playing two guys, Ash, obviously, and then Justin Lampson is another one. So they've been great for us, you know, it's tough. It's a tough, it's the toughest position in sports.

And, you know, if you're not always protected well, it makes it even more difficult. And we're getting better and are protecting our quarterback. But these guys have been, they've been tenacious and really good. Really happy for Ashton and how he played. Friday night at Colorado, he made some big plays, avoided a lot of sacks. And then Justin Lampson had a number of big runs for us.

So it's really a team effort and I love both those guys. Were you dancing in the locker room after the game? You know, I'm not, I, I grew up in the 80s.

So I break dancing and on a move on a piece of cardboard and all that. I don't think anybody would appreciate it. So be pretty good for the TikTok account. I'll tell you that. That is not my goal, but you are, you're right.

It would be pretty good on TikTok. Well, keep on piling up those victories, Coach. It was insane performance on Saturday night. We appreciate you giving us a few minutes today. Zach, thanks for having me.

Go Kart. You got it. There he is, the head coach at Stanford, Troy Taylor, after that crazy victory up against Colorado. I wonder how many people here on the East Coast at 29-0 said, oh, I'm going to go to bed and then wake up the next morning. And they're like, holy smokes, what the heck happened with Stanford? Ack is raising his hand. Stu is raising his hand.

And Samter as well. I thought you guys were believers here of Coach Prime. I guess you were believing. You said, oh, the game's over at 29-0. I'm going to bed.

And Troy Taylor went all Lee Corso. Not so fast, my friend. Oh, what a performance that was. And you know what?

Can I make it a mission too? Saturday night. So it was 29-0. Yeah, I went to bed as well.

Yeah, I went to bed on Friday and said, yep. Yeah, that game's over. Definitely over.

So what a performance. Appreciate coach joining us. We'll take a break.

We'll come on back. The Brock Bowers injury. How does it affect the rest of college football?

And there's one conference that has more pressure on them to win it all this year than any other conference. Get the latest CBS Sports Radio update in with the Ackman, Rich Ackerman. The defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, who proudly serves the Armed Forces, DoD veterans and their families. Their members are the mission.

Learn more at NavyFederal.org. This week's player is Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks. In Sunday's 19-13 win over the Bears, Hicks had 10 tackles, an interception and a critical 42-yard scoop and score in the third quarter. So two football notes. We told you right before we brought in Coach Taylor that the Eagles have signed Julio Jones. And this is from Mia O'Brien who covers the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Remember the Jaguars play the Saints on Thursday Night Football. Towards the end of the Jaguars victory up against the Colts, Trevor Lawrence did sustain a knee injury. And it's very ambiguous about the status of Trevor Lawrence, where it's not a serious injury but when you have a knee injury and he's the franchise quarterback for your team and you have a short turnaround going from Sunday to a game on Thursday. There's a lot of questions on if you're going to have Trevor Lawrence play in the game. Trevor Lawrence said to Mia O'Brien that I've been fortunate to not have any serious injuries, but I pride myself on being a guy who plays and plays through injury, pain, whatever it is.

Lawrence says he's optimistic that he'll be able to play to kick off week seven with the Jacksonville Jaguars going up against the New Orleans Saints. Talking about injuries, Brock Bowers, we know got surgery, going to be out four to six weeks. We kind of discussed it yesterday on Brock Bowers, who is the best tight end in the country. Arguably could be the best player in the country that is not a quarterback and he's already won two national championships, lined up to come back for the final regular season game, which the opponents are relevant so you could come back for the SEC Championship game. And I'm kind of of the thinking that if I was advising Brock Bowers, sure Brock, you get to make the decision ultimately. If you want to come back and you want to play and you want to be there for your teammates because you're such a dominant player for them, I respect that.

I would not tell you to do otherwise. But with that being said, I do actually think the right decision for Brock Bowers is thanks, Georgia. Love you.

I've given you everything I can. And I, if there's any hiccups in this recovery, or if he's not a hundred percent, I'm not playing if I'm Brock Bowers. That would be me.

That would be me personally. But sometimes what is the right thing from a dollars and cents perspective isn't always what makes sense for the player. Because from a money standpoint, you already got your NIL money. You've already won two championships. You've already cemented yourself as the first tight end that's going to be off the board come the draft in April where the draft's going to be in Detroit.

And there's really not an incentive for you to return outside of just pride, outside of just wanting to be a good competitive player and do right by your teammates. And financially, you have money coming your way because you're going to be a top 10 draft pick. I got to make sure that my body is a hundred percent right before I step foot on that football field. But now with the status of Brock Bowers unknown, because you could say he's going to be out four to six weeks.

How many times is there a hiccup in the recovery process? My immediate thought is the Big Ten better win the national championship this year. Because Georgia is still that team. Georgia is still loaded.

Georgia can still win a national championship without Brock Bowers. But with that being said, you look at the Big Ten. I don't think the Big Ten from top to bottom is the best conference in college football. They're top-heavy.

They are really top-heavy. But they are not as well-rounded as the Pac-12. We have so many good teams and those Pac-12 teams are going to beat up on one another. And I hope the team that wins the Pac-12 at the end of the year has only one loss so they could get into the college football playoffs. Because we've never seen a team have two losses in the era of four for the college football playoff get in to the college football playoffs. You have like Washington or Oregon or USC or Utah, whoever the team is with two losses as the Pac-12 champ, I still think they should get in.

But since we've never seen a two-loss champ get in before or a two-loss team get in before, I can't sit here and tell you it's a guarantee. But I look at the Big Ten and I don't think two teams from one conference are going to be able to get in this year like we've seen in other years with the SEC and we saw last year with the Big Ten. But if there's any conference in the nation that has a possibility of getting two teams in the college football playoff this year, it is the Big Ten.

I know you have a big game this weekend, noon on Fox. You have Ohio State going up against Penn State. So one of those teams are going to lose this weekend. But whether it's Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, whoever the team is that wins the Big Ten championship, we all know they're getting in because that team at most will have one loss if not be undefeated. But then you could have a similar situation occurs that we saw last year where you're on a collision course of Ohio State being undefeated, Michigan being undefeated.

They played in the game in the horseshoe in Ohio State. Michigan beat Ohio State. Michigan gets in because they go on to win the Big Ten championship game.

And then a lot of other chaos occurred and Ohio State didn't play another game. But since they only had one loss and it was to Michigan who was in the college football playoff, that propels and elevates Ohio State back into the picture last year. So if any conference, and I don't think it's going to happen this year just because of how many good teams we have, not great teams, but good teams in college football, if there's any conference that has a chance to get two teams in the CFP this year, it is the Big Ten.

But with that being said, just getting in isn't good enough. Because Michigan, if they get in, their goal is to win a national championship. And I do think Michigan's the best team in the Big Ten. That's not being disrespectful to Ohio State. That's not being disrespectful to Penn State. Ohio State, McCord's done some nice things.

We know they have the two wonderful wide receivers. We'll see how the battle of the trenches looks this year for Ohio State when they go up against Michigan with how lopsided it's been the last two years. And you look at Penn State, this is a big test for Penn State this weekend. Because the biggest problem with James Franklin, when you examine the James Franklin era at Penn State, he has not been able to beat the top ten teams.

I got to double check and see what his record is, but it's like two and 16 or three and 16, maybe three and 15, something like that, going up against top ten teams. And now this is supposed to be, right, the year for Penn State. We're all the Nittany Lions fans that are part of that cult in Happy Valley. They're saying, this is the year we got a team that's just as good as Ohio State, just as good as Michigan. Well, with the way that the Big Ten is structured this year, and I'll give credit to Ohio State, at least they had Notre Dame on the schedule, but Michigan has two games. It's Penn State, Ohio State. Ohio State has three games. Notre Dame, which they were lucky to survive, but they won. They play Penn State this weekend and Michigan Thanksgiving weekend. And like you go through it and you look at these games, for Penn State, you got a bare minimum split. Obviously, you want to win both. But for Penn State, you need to either beat Ohio State this weekend or you need to, if you lose, beat Michigan then.

I believe that game is November 11th in Happy Valley. Because if you go 0-2 against the only two legitimate opponents, the two teams that strike fear in anyone else in the nation, and you go 0-2, it's like, James Franklin, what are we doing here? Just to get two losses on the season and dress up all these wins like they actually mean something? It would be the most unimpressive two-loss team that I've ever seen in college football, with that schedule is. But you look inside whoever is the one team, but I think it will only be one, that gets to the college football playoff this year, with how top-heavy the Big Ten is, just getting there, showing up and losing the semifinals is not going to be good enough. You need to win the two games this year in the college football playoff. And Michigan, last two years, they got there.

And a lot of people thought they would never get there with hardball. And in year one, they got blown out by Georgia, is what it is. Last year, disgraceful performance up against TCU. For Ohio State, I know a lot of people put Ryan Day on blast. He only has six losses in his career as the head coach of Ohio State. But when two of those losses come to Michigan and Urban Meyer, or should I say Urban Liar, has never lost to Michigan, it's going to be a lot of blowback directed towards Ryan Day. And for Ryan Day, if you get in, I know last year, he did a nice job in kind of fixing the perception of you as a coach, showing up against Georgia and your kid just missed the kick right at New Year's. But you have a team that could win a national championship this year.

You just got to get in. And for Penn State, I don't think they're a national championship team, but if they get in, it's either one of two ways. It's because they split against Michigan and Ohio State, and someone else in another conference crumbled them with one lost non-conference champ they're in, or you have a situation where maybe Penn State does the unexpected, and they beat Ohio State this weekend, and they followed up in a few weeks, and they beat the snot out of Michigan, and the next thing you know, they're the team that gets into the college football playoff. And if Penn State gets into the college football playoff, even though I don't think they're a national championship team now, if they get into the college football playoff after beating Ohio State and Michigan, then the expectation is to win a national title. So for so many years, it's been the SEC, Clemson, and it was, you know, been Ohio State when Urban Meyer was there, who could win a national championship? For the Big Ten this year, anything short of winning a national championship is unacceptable, because I know Alabama's not out of it yet, but I do think Alabama will get another loss this year. The only team that really strikes fear in the out of the SEC this season is Georgia, and Georgia has their questions. Florida State, we know, is a heck of a team inside the ACC.

They still got to get there. They still got to outlast Duke and Duke, uh, UNC, excuse me, with Drake May, you know, was undefeated right now, and they just got their big wide receiver, Tez Walker, back. And then whoever comes out of the Pac-12, if they only have a loss and they're in the college football playoff, they're going to be a tough team as well. But with all that being said, you see the way that those three teams are built, and I order it before the season started, I think Michigan's the best team in the Big Ten. You know, Ohio State and Penn State are close. A few weeks ago, I said Penn State was better than Ohio State. This week, week of the game, I kind of feel like Ohio State is going to win the game, so I give the slight edge to Ohio State over Penn State. But whoever is the last team standing there in the Big Ten, there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You've got to go make this the Big Ten year, because college football is open right now, and the Big Ten last year has teams that have been very close, right, even in a national championship game, and they've come up short over and over again since the last time Ohio State won a national championship. Alrighty, Zach Galb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break when we come on back. Time is running out for Justin Fields in Chicago, and it's unfortunate. What does his future look like? Because I believe Justin Fields could be a player in this league.

I just don't think it will be for the Chicago Bears. Off and running, Iowa number one in the books on this very busy Tuesday edition of the Zach Galb Show. Coming on back, 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227.