Aaron Murray, ESPN College Football Analyst

Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. Let's welcome in the former Georgia quarterback now does a great job for ESPN and Sirius XM. And that of course is Aaron Murray kind enough to join us once again, Aaron.

Appreciate the time. How you been? Yeah, man. Always always have to jump on doing well and just excited for a fun November where these playoff games really get ramped up for college football. So let's start with your Bulldogs.

And once again, I appreciate you jumping on board with us today. I still believe they're one of three teams right now that I view as a team. That could go on to win the National Championship, but I've been concerned the last few weeks with the quarterback in Carson Beck. There was so much hype.

There was so much expectation, right? Talks about him potentially being the number one pick of the NFL Draft. What's going on? Because when I keep on watching Georgia, even when they win games, he has a lot of turnovers man. Yeah, overall, it's not been a very fluid smooth season for Georgia, but defense kind of really has gotten going the past few games. You know, going back to the Texas game, but offense is just a lot of inconsistency and it does start with the quarterback spot. And I'm not here to really make a ton of excuses for Carson, but I will say this like it is. You lose Brock Bowers, who's I think is still leading the NFL in receptions.

I don't know if that changed after yesterday or not. Lad McConkie is killing it at in LA or at the moment. And there's just been a lot of ups and downs from the receivers and tight ends. You go to the beginning of the season, a lot of drop passes. So you had all this trust in the receiving corps a year ago.

A couple of those guys leave. The guys this year, I just haven't seen the chemistry really click. And I think that there's a lack of trust going on a little bit right now with Carson.

Those guys, I think, prime example of this past weekend versus Florida. It's third down and 10. It's a simple dig route with the check down. And you're reading the backside linebacker. If he gets any sort of depth, you check it down. If he comes up at all, then you're going to have that window to throw the dig route. Linebacker drops and the tight end sitting there wide open. It's a catch. And you have to trust that that guy is going to get you the first down.

You create separation. You got to go get it. And said he tries to force it and should have been his fourth pick of the afternoon. So plays like that were Carson feels like he has to be the hero.

He has to create the big play, because if not him, then who right now is a problem. You have to trust the guys around you. Are they Brock? Are they lad? No, but they are good enough.

And they have improved this season. You just put the ball in their hands and see what they can do with it. And at the end of the day, guess what? If they can't get the job done, if you don't turn it over, let the defense win. You don't have to be. This isn't Miami. You don't get to score 40, 50 points per game in order to win.

So he's just two things. Trust, take care of the football. If he does that, I'm with you. This is one of the best three teams in all of college football. With the pieces that they lost, right, you would expect a quarterback to elevate. And I know it's not always easy to do so, but if he's going to be that franchise quarterback at the next level in the NFL, you know, it's funny. You know, after hearing you lay it out the way that you did, I'm not saying he's going to fall this far because I still believe he's going to be a first round pick.

But, you know, similar conversations were had about Sam Howell when he was at UNC. Like, you know, at one point, first round pick then fell all the way out of the first round when he lost his running backs and wide receivers. Does Carson come off to you as someone that could still be a franchise quarterback in the NFL? Or is this one of those years where it's like, man, he's showing he's not as good as what we thought it was? No, I still think he could be a franchise quarterback. Listen, he checks off a lot of box.

He's great size, incredible arm strength. And I'll say this, you know, I even texted Bobo, the offensive coordinator, yesterday morning, you know, watching the game live. And then I woke up the next morning, Sunday morning, and went back and watched the coach's tape. And it was one of those moments where you hear this saying all the time, it's not as bad as you think it is. It's not as good as you think it is. And then this is one of the moments where it felt really bad in the moment.

It just did not feel smooth. It didn't feel obviously the turnovers were bad. And then you go back and watch the tape and you're like, there's a ton of good, a ton of good, especially from Carson. And even Kirby said that after the games, like he's making big time throws.

We just have to eliminate these mistakes. The throws he makes, and he's done it all year long, very few guys in college football are making those throws. So it's not something that's like in his DNA these turnovers. A year ago, he was great. He took care of the football. He was efficient. He found the check down. He's pressing a little bit right now. I think it's an easy correction to where instead of 75, 80% of the game, him playing at a high level, we're like, oh my God, that looks like a top 15 pick.

But then, you know, 25% of the time, it's like, what the hell is he doing? I think that 25% can easily be corrected because we've seen him do that. So will he be a top 10 pick? Probably not at this point. Will he be a first round pick?

I don't know. Maybe he falls into the early second round, maybe third round. But I do believe he has all the intangibles to go and be a franchise quarterback at the next level.

Aaron Murray here with us. You know, the last few years, Ryan Day was trying to tell us his football team was tough. And when I would watch him play, I didn't see that toughness that the coach would be talking about and going after like Lou Holtz and write all that nonsense before and after the Notre Dame game. I saw a toughness from Ohio State that I haven't seen in a long time on Saturday up against Penn State with that offensive line, a makeshift offensive line, all the injuries that you had, the moving around.

That was a tough effort. And finally, I look at Ohio State and I go, OK, that's a football team that I'm starting to see actually be a tough football team like their coach has been trying to sell us on the last few years. No, they definitely have. I mean, the defense has been there for a couple of years now. It's been more the offensive side of the football. And, you know, it's good to see Quinn-Sean Jutkins and that run game get going. But to me, the big there's two question marks in the season.

One, as you look to the offensive line, could you be physical? We didn't know that Michigan was going to completely fall off the face of the earth. But, you know, like, OK, listen, if you're going to want to be Michigan, you're going to be tougher. I think they're going to be able to be Michigan if they're tougher.

Not this year, unfortunately, for that football team. But the other question was, Will Howard and in through two games on the road into the most hostile environments in the country, in Eugene and obviously there against Penn State, he's played well. And I know that the interceptions suck to start the game.

You know, the fumble that that was ended up being a touchback, a couple of turnovers. But overall, I walk away saying that this is still an elite defense, probably one of the best defenses in the country. Quinn, Sean and Trayvon Henderson still probably the best team of running back to the country. Jeremiah Smith is a freak of nature. Abuka is still phenomenal. And then the offensive line showed me a lot this past weekend.

And Will Howard has answered the call for me pretty much the entire season. So there really isn't a weakness. I think the big question is like, OK, offensive line, we all challenged you. We all said, oh, my God, you're not good enough from what we saw a week ago to go into to Penn State against that defense line in that environment with one hundred and eleven thousand people.

You can't do it. And they did. Can they have that mentality going forward? Because now it's like, oh, well, you're good. You're now you're going to paddle the back.

Now you're saying you are tough. Like, can you keep that chip on your shoulder? Can Ryan Day keep that for the offense going forward? And if he does, man, I look at this team.

There's just really not a lot of holes that you can pick it at the moment. Yeah. Right now, I could only see three teams, like I told you, Mary, winning the national championship. Ohio State's won after what I just saw from Saturday. Georgia, clearly, even though they've had some problems this year.

And then Oregon. Like, is there another team that you look at and you go, OK, I could see them finding a way to fight through now twelve team college football playoff and win it at all. I mean, there's a couple of teams. I mean, when you have a quarterback that is having the season that Cam Ward's having, you know, he always gives you a chance.

I mean, at the end of the day, like that's just the way it is. He is capable against all those defenses of going out there and throwing four or five touchdowns. Can the defense stop any of them?

You know, that's another question. But like he gives you an opportunity to maybe, you know, sneak in and, you know, not not 100 percent confident, but I am loving what I've seen from him. I still think Texas is a really good football team. I think Texas's defense is elite. I think that that Quinn Ewers is still a very talented quarterback.

I think there's a ton of talent around him. The offense lines may be not as good as we thought they were heading into the season. But I think Texas, because of that defense, is going to me, I feel very similar about Texas and Georgia. And I know Georgia beat them pretty good there in Austin a couple of weeks ago, but they were gift. Georgia was gifted a lot of short fields. That defense kicked Georgia's butt, I thought, at the end of the day.

So there will be fine in Austin. I think they're going to have a chance to win. And I'm really interested what this Tennessee team ends up looking like. They've got a big matchup against Georgia in Athens in a couple of weeks.

Nico had probably the most consistent game that he's had in quite some time since probably the first first month of the season against Kentucky this past weekend. They can run the football. They can play defense.

And if Nico can get hot and be as talented as everyone thinks he has and then in kind of the glimpses we've seen from him. That's another team that can make a deep run in the playoffs. I like Indiana, too.

So I think there's more than we think. Like talent wise, probably Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State. Like I can make a case for, like I said, Texas, I can make a case for Tennessee. And I mean, we really don't know about Indiana yet, but like we'll see in a few weeks.

We'll see in a couple of weeks for Ohio State. Aaron Murray here with us. I know you haven't done your full draft analysis on these quarterbacks, but out of the guys that are eligible for the draft this year. And I think Chidor and Cam, you know, you could pick those guys one, two, whatever way you want. Those got to be the first two guys off the board for quarterbacks, right? Oh, 100 percent.

There's no doubt about it. Cam, if he can stop throwing the ball to, you know, across his body. I mean, I've never seen a quarterback maybe even once to it, but he's done it twice this year where he's running out of bounds and throws it to the opposite hash. One versus Cal and the one this past weekend both resulted in interception. So I guess it's it's the if I'm going to play that way and make all these great plays, you just have to accept the fact that I'm going to make some of the stupidest ass plays I've ever seen before in my life as a quarterback. But I guess it comes with the territory. But no, I've loved Cam.

You know, he's got the size to, you know, he's six to over 200 pounds. And I love what you're doing this season as well. And they're going to have an opportunity based on what happened this past weekend to be in the conversation to maybe win the Big 12, which would be absolutely crazy. Would love to see Colorado in the playoffs.

Those two are great. I guess I think Carson still has a chance, you know, depending on how he plays down the stretch. He's got a great opportunity against Ole Miss team this weekend and an SEC Championship game if they win that and a playoffs to prove that he deserves to be in the first round. I still think Quinn has an opportunity to be maybe a late first round, second round pick. And then it'll be interesting what Jalen does for Alabama, Millrow, if he decides to come out or not after the season as well.

But, yeah, I think those first two guys you talked about have created an enormous separation from the rest of the pack at the moment. With what Ole Miss' offense finally did last week, can you see Ole Miss beat in Georgia or do you anticipate Georgia to just find the way this weekend? You know, Ole Miss doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. You look at the team, you know, Jackson Dartz played in this system for three years.

I think he's having a great season. You know, we don't watch a lot of Ole Miss because they haven't had a very tough schedule and we haven't watched them a ton. But, you know, I've had one of their games.

I've seen them. I've talked to the coaching staff. He's having a terrific season. The receivers are great. You know, hopefully get Trey back this weekend if I'm an Ole Miss fan. But, hell, I mean, if Watkins continues to play like that, you don't feel as bad.

But it'd be good to have Trey and Watkins doing their thing and Juice as well and pre-scoring. Then the defense is the difference. Like that defensive line, that front seven is legit.

Can they hold up? Because Texas was the same way. Texas has a really good quarterback, great receivers, and a really good defense.

But guess what? Georgia whipped their offensive lines. But Ole Miss, that is going to be what everyone's watching. Can that offensive line hold up against Georgia?

And if they can, 100% Ole Miss can win this football game. But as we've seen this year, the teams that win the lines of scrimmage win the football games. We saw that at Penn State, Ohio State this past weekend.

We saw that at Georgia, Texas a couple weeks ago. That is the difference for all the fancy offenses and everything going on. Georgia showed it for two years when they won a national championship. Michigan showed it last year the way they played football. This is still a game where if you can't win the lines of scrimmage, you will not win big-time games. And Georgia right now has the advantage at the lines of scrimmage. So I do think Georgia can go out there and sneak a win out. But if they can't hold up, Ole Miss is more than talented enough to get the win at home.

Who does that, by the way, Aaron Murray, between Alabama and LSU on Saturday earlier in the week right now, getting a thought on that? I think LSU wins a football game. I really like LSU. I love Garrett Nussmeier.

I know he had a horrific second half against A&M. But I think overall right now he's the best quarterback in the SEC. I love their receivers. I like the fact that they've got a run game a little bit with Kaden Durham. And I do think the defense is playing good enough football right now. Where I look at Alabama and I still don't trust their secondary. I don't trust their pass game. And their offense line has not been as good as we were hoping they would be this season. So we'll see what they look like coming off the bye. Does the defensive backfield improve or take advantage because they were pretty young back there? But I just think overall, LSU at home, that passing attack going against a very young Alabama secondary who has not performed well this season.

I'd give the advantage to the Tigers. Let me just get back to Ohio State, Penn State. Aaron Murray here with us for another minute or two. James Franklin, he's just incapable of winning a big game. He usually wins 9, 10 games a year. But if it's a top 25 team or a top 10, top 5 or up against Ohio State, he just can't do it. I know he's won 70 percent of his games at Penn State. But I have no reason to believe that he's ever going to make them go from just being good to great.

How about what you're seeing with James Franklin? Oh, I mean, listen, there's a talent difference. He's beating who he's supposed to beat and he's losing to essentially who he's supposed to lose. You can't tell me right now that Ohio State or Penn State has better talent than Ohio State or what Michigan's had for the past couple of years. Like, they're in a really weird spot where, like I said, they're beating teams they're supposed to beat. And they're losing to the teams that they're supposed to lose to because they just don't have these not as good of a coach as those guys are. And he doesn't have the same kind of talent as them.

So that's as simple as it is. So the difference this year is they want to play Michigan. Michigan's not as good, obviously, as well. This will be an 11-1 football team. This will be a team that's 11-1. Not going to be in the Big Ten championship game, but maybe depending on how things unfold, we'll be hosting a first round game in the playoffs.

That's pretty damn good. You win that game, you make it to the second round of the playoffs. I would consider that a really successful year for Penn State. I'll tell you, though, if Boise State played them, I'd take Boise State who almost beat Oregon this year. I'd take Boise State to go into Happy Valley with Gente and run right through Franklin. I'd take them.

I don't know. I still like Penn State's defense. I really like Drew Allard, the way he's playing this season. Tyler Warren, maybe he's my favorite player in all of college football. They just lack receivers on the outside.

Plain and simple. Ohio State was able to play man-to-man coverage and commit to the run and they couldn't win. And then obviously some just horrendous play calling inside the five yard line where you just don't get terrible. Just give the ball to Tyler Warren five straight times.

Let him go out there and do his thing. I still really like this Penn State team because of Drew, because of the defense, because of running backs, because of Tyler Warren. So, like, I think they win their first round playoff game.

Then from there, we'll see what the matchup looks like in the second round. Last thing I'll ask you, Clemson. So Dabo had them rolling, obviously took them to a level that we've never seen Clemson be in. Right. They were elite. They were tugging right on Nick Saban's cape and they took it for a little bit. But he's just so stubborn. And even after the opening loss to Georgia.

Right. They've won all these games and then boom, Louisville walks in not intimidated and smacks them around. What do you say to the Clemson fan about how they should view Dabo Sweeney moving forward? Well, listen, the Georgians, the Georgia game, and that's Georgia. You kind of didn't expect it, but you don't sit back. It's like, oh, I'm surprised.

This this is so like I don't know if you're like, oh, my God, we need to burn it, burn the ships and start all over from the sense of our culture and how we utilize the transfer port or anything like that. This was the moment, though, at home, coming off a bye against Louisville, who's a good football team. I mean, Louisville has been competitive in all their losses this year, whether it's Notre Dame or SMU or Miami.

Yeah. And good last year, too. They got a good quarterback.

They got a terrific running back. But to get beat up the way they did, I'm telling you, like that first half, they were running through them. They were dominating the lines of scrimmage.

It wasn't until the second half that Phil Moffa was able to get any sort of one game going. You know, Cade looked hesitant throwing the football early on the game. And listen, this was not a game that Cade was the reason they lost. I think this was a complete offensive defenses.

They both got whipped. Louisville beat them on both lines of scrimmage. Both Louisville's offense was better. Louisville's defense was better. That is embarrassing for a Clemson football team at home coming off a bye with the supposed talent gap that you have compared to Louisville.

So, yes, this was a true now after this burn the ships. You've got to start all over and you've got to figure out how to make this roster even better going forward, because it is unacceptable to lose by double digits like that at home. He is. Aaron Murray does a great job.

ESPN and Sirius XM. Always great to catch up with you. Thanks, Aaron. Appreciate it, man. Have a great week.