2026-08-11 SEC Preview Part 2 - Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida Belief (raw)
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:18 Dan Rubenstein, welcome to SEC Part 2.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:26 Today, deep dives of eight SEC teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:30 We've got Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:34 Florida, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt, my good friend.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:38 Welcome back to the show.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:39 How are you today?
Dan Rubenstein 00:40 I'm good.
Dan Rubenstein 00:41 And here's the full disclosure of SEC Part 2 here, as our first part of our deep dives: Ty is not at 100%.
Dan Rubenstein 00:48 But the good news is, the good news, people,
Dan Rubenstein 00:52 is it's more internal than anything else, limb-wise, soft tissue-wise, like...
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:58 Still good. Still, still hanging in there, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01 Ty's had some back stuff lately.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03 He's had some foot stuff lately.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04 He's had some shoulder stuff that's ongoing, but I think he's in a pretty good place.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09 And the even better news is:
Dan Rubenstein 01:12 Ty's medicals are out.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14 And should Ty choose, he does have an open spot to play right tackle for South Carolina.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20 Should Ty choose?
Dan Rubenstein 01:23 He passed muster, and they're saying, in an emergency, we'll take him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:27 In an emergency, it would have to be quite an emergency if I'm playing right tackle for South Carolina.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:31 Hello, welcome back to The Solid Verbal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:33 I'm Ty, he's Dan. Rate,
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:35 review and subscribe.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:37 Dan, why don't we jump right in?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:38 Let's start with last year's SEC champion, the Georgia Bulldogs.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:44 I would offer a bit of a
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:48 qualifier to that in saying that though we'll start with Georgia, the preview you really want to hang around for is a little bit later on in the show when I put on the clown nose and I probably make a fool out of myself talking about the Florida Gators.
Dan Rubenstein 01:58 Oh no.
Dan Rubenstein 02:02 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:02 I'm all in.
Dan Rubenstein 02:02 No, I appreciate that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:04 I'm all in on the Florida Gators this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:07 We both had Georgia at number four in our preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:15 This episode, I would say, is not so much about how Georgia fares within the national.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:23 We are keeping this relatively contained to the SEC.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:26 We can talk about the College Football Playoff and all that at some point down the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:31 But they were the highest ranked SEC team in our initial ballot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:35 For Georgia, I want to talk through what the path to Atlanta looks like because this is SEC part two.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:42 We're previewing all these SEC teams in three parts.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:44 Go back and listen to part one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:46 Because I feel like the pathway for Georgia this year to get to Atlanta is relatively straightforward.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:52 A, you've got a defense that's loaded.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:55 B, you've got an offensive line that might be one of the best in the country.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:59 C, you've got Gunner Stockton and his balls of steel, as we have mentioned many times on this program.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:05 You certainly do not need to be a rocket scientist, Dan,
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:09 to look at Georgia, to make the case for Georgia, you know, to be in the SEC title game, if not a whole lot more.
Dan Rubenstein 03:16 Agree, right?
Dan Rubenstein 03:18 As you mentioned with the offensive line, as you mentioned with Gunner Stockton's toughness and ability to improvise and
Dan Rubenstein 03:25 just withstand some of the beatings that quarterbacks in this conference are going to withstand, they should be in great shape in a number of ways.
Dan Rubenstein 03:34 With what they bring back on defense, you know, high-level talent and high-level potential on all three levels, continuity in the coaching staff for the most part.
Dan Rubenstein 03:44 There's something pretty easy about loving Georgia this season.
Dan Rubenstein 03:48 And so the only thing, and this is a little bit schedule-dependent and a little bit like the final taste in our mouths based on the 2025 season,
Dan Rubenstein 03:57 is you want to see a little bit more pop from this offense, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:00 Yep, I agree.
Dan Rubenstein 04:01 You want to see that dimension because they were one of the least explosive offenses in the country and still won like they won, which is ultimately great news.
Dan Rubenstein 04:11 And also getting after a pass rusher and even turning pressure into sacks.
Dan Rubenstein 04:17 And I know they've dealt with some injury stuff up front.
Dan Rubenstein 04:19 There's all the potential in the world with how they've recruited, and obviously, the track record is terrific in Athens.
Dan Rubenstein 04:25 But that final vision of watching Georgia football and have it involve not being able to match Ole Miss when things got chaotic and crazy,
Dan Rubenstein 04:36 when Ole Miss makes the comeback that they do in the College Football Playoff, and they need to match that and have that ability and show that ability to score quickly.
Dan Rubenstein 04:44 And also, get Trinidad Chambliss on the ground.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:47 Right, right.
Dan Rubenstein 04:48 And so the good news is, it likely won't matter until it will, right?
Dan Rubenstein 04:54 That you have to be of such a high level to be able to take advantage of Georgia in that specific way.
Dan Rubenstein 05:01 And when you look at Georgia's schedule, which I have up in front of me right now, it's tough, but it's not horrible, as we mentioned in part one.
Dan Rubenstein 05:10 You're nitpicking if you don't like Georgia, which is why I think they win so much.
Dan Rubenstein 05:16 And I just really like them.
Dan Rubenstein 05:20 I don't know what to say.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:20 Well,
Dan Rubenstein 05:21 They're so good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:22 I mean, I've said this on a couple different occasions when we're previewing teams, but there are some previews that you do where it's just kind of straightforward.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:30 And even the questions you do have aren't really that big of questions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:35 And I feel like Georgia really falls into that category as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:38 It's a very straightforward case.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:40 It's a big play thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:41 It's an edge rusher thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:43 We've mentioned that a couple of times over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:45 Now, Georgia's got plenty of potential answers for both of those questions, especially on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:51 The defensive line as a whole,
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:53 probably one of the best in the conference.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:55 Their linebackers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:56 Their secondary.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:57 Everything's ridiculous.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:59 PJ Fleck, Dan, your boy, would be handing out elite coins from a Pez dispenser to this defense.
Dan Rubenstein 05:59 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:06 That's what we're looking at this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:08 Down in Georgia.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:10 But yeah, super deep up front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:13 They've got a good young core with Elijah Griffin and others.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:16 Going to be a brick wall against the run.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:18 You can kind of see that coming from a mile away.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:20 They do need the edge rusher, though, to step up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:22 They brought over Amaris Williams from Auburn, hoping to try and fix that, hoping to get a little bit more pop on the edge, but then he blew his knee out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:31 Back in the spring, he's been done for the year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:33 Again, they will probably find somebody.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:36 I'm not all that worried about it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:38 The context for this, by the way:
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:40 the reason that you care about edge rush, obviously, you bring up a very specific situation with Trinidad Chambliss, but I would say just more broadly, the reason that Georgia wants a pass rush is not because
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:51 the version of a pass rush they have now is all that inadequate.
Ty Hildenbrandt 06:54 It's because if it's not just a little bit better against better teams, it might expose like their nickel back.
Dan Rubenstein 07:00 Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:00 And you know where I stand on teams where the question is your third corner or your backup safety.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:07 Generally, those teams are in pretty good shape going into the season.
Dan Rubenstein 07:10 Good problem to have.
Dan Rubenstein 07:11 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:11 Good problem to have.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:13 So they've obviously got a lot on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:16 My question, though, as you mentioned, is on offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:21 And...
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:21 I think we know what we're getting from this offense at this point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:24 We've got staff retention.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:26 It's a lot of the same players.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:27 The identity is going to start up front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:30 The line might be one of the best in the country.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:32 They're going to run it with Nate Frazier, with Chauncey Bowens, probably a little bit with Gunner Stockton as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:37 That's just how they roll.
Dan Rubenstein 07:39 Yeah, and Dante Dowdell is out.
Dan Rubenstein 07:40 Yeah, he came in and injured.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:42 Yeah, I haven't seen definitively what's going on there, but it sounds like he is also done.
Dan Rubenstein 07:42 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 07:47 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:48 They're going to have that aspect of their offense, I think, pretty buttoned up by the time the season rolls around.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:54 It's just someone needs to step up out wide.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:56 Like, there isn't a whole lot of proven SEC production out wide.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:00 I like London Humphreys, but probably not the dude who's going to stretch the field.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:04 So, whether it's Isiah Canion, who they got from Georgia Tech, or a freshman like Talyn Taylor.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:09 Somebody's going to need to step up and give them that big play threat.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:12 Again, I feel fairly confident that those names will emerge, but we also didn't see a whole lot of that big play threat last year when they had Zachariah Branch.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:20 So
Dan Rubenstein 08:21 All right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:21 TBD on that front, I think that's sort of the next step on offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:24 But this is a team that's in a really good place with an over-under of 10.5,
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:28 Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 08:30 Yeah, and I get it.
Dan Rubenstein 08:31 I mean, they're the when I looked at this, and I don't even look at those win totals beforehand.
Dan Rubenstein 08:35 I just wrote down 10 and 2 at worst.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:37 Yeah, I agree with that.
Dan Rubenstein 08:38 Just because their starting point is so far ahead of so many teams, not just in the SEC, but nationally.
Dan Rubenstein 08:44 But you're right to bring up the receivers.
Dan Rubenstein 08:45 You're right to bring up some of the skill talent.
Dan Rubenstein 08:47 I think we really do like Nate Frazier.
Dan Rubenstein 08:49 Chauncey Bowens obviously was a hammer in a couple of those SEC games late, but it's if they're matching
Dan Rubenstein 08:58 Cam Coleman, if they're matching Johntay Cook at Ole Miss at some point, if they're matching Dallas Wilson or Vernell Brown at Florida, guys like that.
Dan Rubenstein 09:09 What is their counter, right?
Dan Rubenstein 09:11 That, you know, if they have, if they have a team that has a weakness in the secondary and they're able to protect up front.
Dan Rubenstein 09:17 You know, what does it look like in terms of who they're taking shots with?
Dan Rubenstein 09:21 And that to me is still, and you mentioned names, that you know, the potential there, the transfers, the younger guys.
Dan Rubenstein 09:25 It's an open question because we're nitpicking Georgia because they're excellent.
Dan Rubenstein 09:29 And I would love to see if Gunner Stockton can be a little bit more like
Dan Rubenstein 09:35 step into the pocket, throw in rhythm to, like, a guy who's open 17 yards up the middle or down the sideline or something, where it's not just improvising and making incredible plays.
Dan Rubenstein 09:45 It would be great if he were
Dan Rubenstein 09:46 incredible at being boring a little bit more often.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:48 I agree with that 100%.
Dan Rubenstein 09:49 And I think he will be.
Dan Rubenstein 09:51 This is, you know, his second season now as the guy, second offseason as the guy.
Dan Rubenstein 09:56 After he was sort of forced into it.
Dan Rubenstein 09:58 And Georgia can't play in New Orleans forever, where I think they've lost their previous two postseasons, right?
Dan Rubenstein 10:04 Their postseason ended against Notre Dame in New Orleans and last year against Ole Miss in New Orleans.
Dan Rubenstein 10:08 So.
Dan Rubenstein 10:09 Maybe there's a black cloud there that can be lifted.
Dan Rubenstein 10:11 But yeah, you're nitpicking.
Dan Rubenstein 10:13 But yeah, you'd like to see where star power might emerge along the offensive skill positions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:20 They miss Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, and Tennessee.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:23 It's still
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:25 a relatively difficult schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:26 They've got Oklahoma at home, Bama on the road, Florida neutral site game, always neutral site game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:31 They've also got Ole Miss on the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:33 They also play Mizzou.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:34 So it's
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:34 You know, a gauntlet to some extent.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:36 Don't play the sound yet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:37 We'll get to that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:38 There are going to be other opportunities for you, I promise.
Dan Rubenstein 10:41 Thank you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:42 But I'm
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:43 I think, with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:44 Like we're both on Georgia.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:45 The reason we're on Georgia, frankly, as I look around the SEC, they have the fewest questions that I worry about.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:54 All right, Dan.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:56 I have an important question for you.
Dan Rubenstein 10:58 I have an even more important answer, I hope.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:01 Do you feel that Vanderbilt has risen to the point now where people, where college football fans, are going to stop treating them as an underdog story?
Dan Rubenstein 11:14 No, just because
Dan Rubenstein 11:16 the familiarity with Vanderbilt last season, the past couple seasons, I think nationally sort of began and ended with Diego Pavia.
Dan Rubenstein 11:26 And so I don't think people are writing off Vanderbilt.
Dan Rubenstein 11:29 I just think to a lot of people, this new version, even if they know about Jared Curtis and his stature coming in as a true freshman who looks like he'll be starting.
Dan Rubenstein 11:40 I think they're seen, they seem to be treated as an unknown quantity.
Dan Rubenstein 11:45 That they're not just looked at as like, well, Clark Lea always gets his guys and figures it out because this is his first time to prove that he can get his guys after
Dan Rubenstein 11:55 the greatest offense in the history of the program and keep it going.
Dan Rubenstein 12:00 So I think people admire the job he's done, but they don't look at the like, oh, Vanderbilt's going to reload.
Dan Rubenstein 12:06 They always do. They're not there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:08 Yeah, I mean, I think there are two things true at once with Vandy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:11 The first is that obviously Clark Lea had unparalleled success last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:17 They got to 10 wins for the first time in school history.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:21 It seems obvious to me at this point that he's got something of a long-term vision for where he wants to take this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:28 And I think that's become apparent to other people who follow the sport.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:31 Their win total this year is six and a half, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:34 which I guess, in the context of last year, is definitely a step back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:37 However, if you go back five years, starting off the year with a six point five win total for Vandy would have been unthinkable.
Dan Rubenstein 12:45 Yeah, agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:45 So clearly, there's been some progress there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:48 The other thing that's true, number two, clearly this is a transition year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:52 Clearly, like Diego Pavia was the engine the last two seasons.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:58 He is gone.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:58 He's not the only one who's gone.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:00 And he certainly wasn't the only reason why Vanderbilt had such success.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:05 In total, you got 14 starters that are gone.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:08 They're 104th nationally in returning production.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:11 Clark Lea, again, has definitely raised the floor.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:15 They've spent in the portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:16 The recruiting has gotten better.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:18 The roster as a whole is definitely in a much better place, just from a depth perspective.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:23 But it is hard to ignore
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:25 What appears to be a rather obvious step back in 2026.
Dan Rubenstein 13:29 Yeah, and the good news for Vanderbilt is the schedule doesn't start super quickly.
Dan Rubenstein 13:34 Austin Peay, Delaware.
Dan Rubenstein 13:36 NC State should be tough, and that's a tough stretch in the middle there.
Dan Rubenstein 13:38 NC State, and then road games at Auburn, at Georgia, and hosting Ole Miss.
Dan Rubenstein 13:43 And then they have some new teams or some teams with obvious flaws, and it finishes quickly: Alabama, at Florida, Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 13:49 So you understand where that six and a half number comes from.
Dan Rubenstein 13:52 The thing I'm not
Dan Rubenstein 13:54 fully enamored with, in your very obvious voluptuous ways, is if your team is counting on the portal to overhaul an offensive line
Dan Rubenstein 14:06 and overhaul a secondary when the defense wasn't all that great last year.
Dan Rubenstein 14:11 I don't love both of those things at the same time.
Dan Rubenstein 14:14 I like who they bring back up front on defense, productive guys, even though the defense wasn't incredible last year.
Dan Rubenstein 14:19 It was slightly below average, and everything was carried by a wonderful offense.
Dan Rubenstein 14:24 Too many moving pieces, especially in front of a freshman quarterback who does have really good skill around him, I think, productive skill.
Dan Rubenstein 14:32 But that to me is a ceiling limiter.
Dan Rubenstein 14:34 So,
Dan Rubenstein 14:35 Dubious beef up front on offense.
Dan Rubenstein 14:37 And look, they might come together quickly, and the offensive line did a pretty admirable job for Diego Pavia, all things considered, because that's a difficult quarterback to block for.
Dan Rubenstein 14:47 But this is a new look portaled offensive line and a secondary against some of the quarterbacks they're facing and some of the offensive systems they're facing, I just think is going to be stretched kind of thin.
Dan Rubenstein 14:58 So I wrote down,
Dan Rubenstein 14:59 in my notes for Vanderbilt, I think I have them at six and six.
Dan Rubenstein 15:03 I think they're too well coached.
Dan Rubenstein 15:05 So I guess I'm taking the under there, but...
Dan Rubenstein 15:08 On a razor's edge, I think they're right there.
Dan Rubenstein 15:11 And even with that freshman quarterback, and I never love true freshman quarterbacks, I have them of bowl quality.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:19 Yeah, and I mean, to make things a little bit more interesting with respect to the line, you're right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:24 They're replacing four starters.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:26 They did bring in a bunch of guys in the portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:29 They are trying to rebuild this on the fly, but it's not just a Jared Curtis thing or whoever is playing quarterback thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:37 The engine for this offense is going to be on the ground,
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:40 with Sedrick Alexander, Makhilyn Young.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:44 If somebody up front is falling behind, if that unit as a whole is not stepping up,
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:51 the engine for the offense goes away, and I worry what that does to a true freshman playing up against an SEC schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:58 Right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 15:58 So, like, it helps to have a guy like Sedrick Alexander back there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:01 He's actually
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:03 the perfect partner for a situation where you got a true freshman quarterback because he is pretty good in pass protection.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:08 You can use him out of the backfield in a couple different ways.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:12 Yeah, I'm a little leery about that setup as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:15 I'm also very interested, and you kind of alluded to this, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:19 very interested in the secondary.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:22 There are definitely aspects of this defense that I like, in particular the front seven.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:27 But this is a secondary that gave up nearly 250 yards per game a year ago, and they were not making plays.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:34 This was not, not this secondary.
Dan Rubenstein 16:34 Hold on, not this secondary, though.
Dan Rubenstein 16:36 There's a lot new in this secondary, but yes, this was the Vanderbilt secondary of last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:38 That's my point.
Dan Rubenstein 16:41 They were coached and they developed and they struggled.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:43 100%.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:44 100%.
Dan Rubenstein 16:44 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:45 And so that's kind of my point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:47 This was not a playmaking unit a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:49 They definitely left a lot to be desired.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:52 I have seen glowing reviews scattered throughout the internet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:56 Among people who cover Vanderbilt, who root for Vanderbilt, talking about what could be, what looks to be to their, I guess, eyes, a better secondary, better cornerback unit.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:08 The safety room looks like it could be a little bit better with a little bit more experience this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:13 So I think there's reason for optimism there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:16 And that also plays into that bowl case
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:20 that you were mentioning earlier.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:21 If they can get a little bit better against the pass, even if the offense takes a little bit of a step back, then maybe we're talking.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:27 Again, your over-under was right kind of on that number.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:30 And I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:31 I won't go higher than
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:32 six and six for Vandy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:34 I won't go higher than six and six.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:36 So I think, I, you said under, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 17:39 I think so.
Dan Rubenstein 17:40 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 17:41 I mean, I can say, look, essentially the NC State game is do or die for, like, bowl hopes, seven-, eight-win hopes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:46 Yeah, look, so I wrote, I wrote this down.
Dan Rubenstein 17:49 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:51 The bowl case for Vandy:
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:53 clearer by October.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:55 They open with Austin Peay, Delaware, NC State, and Auburn.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:59 Their final eight games, Georgia at home...
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:04 At Georgia, excuse me, home against Ole Miss, home against Bama, at Florida, home against Tennessee.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:09 They've also got Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi State on this schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:13 So a little bit of a runway, but that dries up pretty quick.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:17 By the time you get to October, if they don't got a couple of wins in the quiver, it's probably going to look like an under for sure on the Vandy side.
Dan Rubenstein 18:26 Yeah, I think that's right.
Dan Rubenstein 18:28 By the way, I do like Jordan Matthews in that secondary.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:30 Yeah, oh yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 18:31 In a rotation spot last year, he did play a good chunk.
Dan Rubenstein 18:34 It was very productive anyway.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:36 Yeah, and I've seen good reviews from Martel Hight as well.
Dan Rubenstein 18:39 Yeah, there seems to be upside there.
Dan Rubenstein 18:41 It's just a lot to ask, all things considered.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:45 Can I tell you something that I find disrespectful?
Dan Rubenstein 18:49 Ah, I'm always here for that, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:51 I can make a pretty easy case that a ten-and-three Texas team made its roster
Dan Rubenstein 18:51 Don't hold back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:00 made its coaching staff better this offseason.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:04 I think they're loaded.
Dan Rubenstein 19:04 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:05 I think they're loaded.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:06 I like this team a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:07 For me, it would only take a stiff gust of wind
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:11 to make me change my mind on who is winning the SEC.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:14 That's how much I like this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:16 The most obvious case against Texas is that they've got the hardest schedule in the country.
Dan Rubenstein 19:21 That's a decent start, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:23 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:24 But that's not what you locked in on back in part one.
Dan Rubenstein 19:28 No.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:29 That's not what you locked in on when we did our
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:32 little bonus episode talking through our AP Top 25.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:35 Every time we have the Texas conversation, Dan Rubenstein, if I peel back that onion, that is your weird-ass brain.
Dan Rubenstein 19:43 Yeah, thank you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:44 It all comes back to you not trusting Steve Sarkisian.
Dan Rubenstein 19:47 A little bit, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:48 And I wonder, I want to know why that is.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:50 I want to know why you're so disrespectful to Steve Sarkisian.
Dan Rubenstein 19:53 Disrespectful.
Dan Rubenstein 19:57 I am of the mind that Steve Sarkisian called the greatest offense of all time.
Dan Rubenstein 20:01 It was the 2020 Bama team with Mac Jones and all those receivers.
Dan Rubenstein 20:04 Najee Harris, I think Najee Harris was on that team.
Dan Rubenstein 20:07 I think he's a terrific offensive mind.
Dan Rubenstein 20:10 Part of my problem with trusting Steve Sarkisian lately is
Dan Rubenstein 20:15 it's not all happening at the same time with Texas, which is weird considering so many of the advantages that they have, right?
Dan Rubenstein 20:23 They went through these running backs that didn't work out.
Dan Rubenstein 20:25 They go to the portal for new running backs.
Dan Rubenstein 20:28 They build up this offensive line through the portal and through prep recruiting and development, and it doesn't work out last year, right?
Dan Rubenstein 20:35 Serious issues.
Dan Rubenstein 20:36 The receiving corps last year.
Dan Rubenstein 20:38 Like, I think Ryan Wingo is a really good big-play guy.
Dan Rubenstein 20:41 Parker Livingstone, for a freshman last year, really good, came into his own.
Dan Rubenstein 20:46 What, DeAndre Moore?
Dan Rubenstein 20:48 And, like.
Dan Rubenstein 20:48 Those two guys are out, Livingstone and Moore.
Dan Rubenstein 20:51 They bring in Cam Coleman.
Dan Rubenstein 20:53 They did a really good job with tight end last year.
Dan Rubenstein 20:55 They're starting over at tight end.
Dan Rubenstein 20:56 It just never feels like it's all coming together at the same time.
Dan Rubenstein 20:59 And that week to week the focus isn't always as locked in as it could be.
Dan Rubenstein 21:04 Last year, there was some Arch Manning injury stuff, and I happen to think
Dan Rubenstein 21:08 The ceiling of Arch Manning is still colossal.
Dan Rubenstein 21:11 I think he's so good, and I think he has a terrific opportunity to be of Heisman caliber this year, especially bringing in a guy like Cam Coleman.
Dan Rubenstein 21:20 You know, moving the pieces around and shuffling up the offensive line and looking at the pieces they do still have on that offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 21:28 But last year was a weird year, even still, with all those pieces, right?
Dan Rubenstein 21:33 Like, you can take into account the injuries and the Mississippi State game and the Kentucky game and...
Ty Hildenbrandt 21:33 It was, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 21:39 I thought Arch did a good job willing that team to victory against Texas A&M.
Dan Rubenstein 21:43 But like, what was the week of Texas football last year where you're like, came together really nicely against a quality team?
Dan Rubenstein 21:50 Like a half against Vanderbilt, which they almost gave away.
Dan Rubenstein 21:54 Again, this is a similar situation to Georgia, where like you're nitpicking if you have a serious, serious issue with Georgia.
Dan Rubenstein 22:00 They couldn't really figure out the pass rush against
Dan Rubenstein 22:02 Florida last year, and I know you like Florida, and Florida had very, very good pieces last year.
Dan Rubenstein 22:08 Florida should be a beatable situation for Texas, even in the swamp.
Dan Rubenstein 22:11 The Oklahoma game, it's impressive, but, like, there is kind of the asterisk of John Mateer's thumb.
Dan Rubenstein 22:18 That, look, John Mateer didn't do a great job throwing otherwise as well away from Norman, but...
Dan Rubenstein 22:23 You take care of business.
Dan Rubenstein 22:24 Winning is a skill.
Dan Rubenstein 22:25 You credit Texas there.
Dan Rubenstein 22:27 But what is that game?
Dan Rubenstein 22:28 What is that game for Texas last year?
Dan Rubenstein 22:30 Where, like, they scored a bunch of points against Michigan in a bowl game with a lame-duck coach.
Dan Rubenstein 22:34 I respect not losing that game.
Dan Rubenstein 22:36 That would have been embarrassing.
Dan Rubenstein 22:38 But now, like, what's that next step?
Dan Rubenstein 22:40 Are you hanging with Georgia for the first time, Steve Sarkisian?
Dan Rubenstein 22:44 What is that new thing, if we end up seeing Texas, Georgia?
Dan Rubenstein 22:47 Because I haven't even mentioned the defense.
Dan Rubenstein 22:50 New coordinator should be killer.
Dan Rubenstein 22:52 Going and getting good dudes from other places, developing Colin Simmons into somebody who is just nightmare fuel constantly.
Dan Rubenstein 23:01 Like, will they have the defensive tackles like they did a few years ago that were, like, of top-two-, three-round caliber?
Dan Rubenstein 23:08 I hope so.
Dan Rubenstein 23:09 One of the guys is named Hero, I believe.
Dan Rubenstein 23:13 It looks like they've got star power in the secondary.
Dan Rubenstein 23:15 Like Jelani McDonald looks like he's one of the best safeties in the country, right?
Dan Rubenstein 23:19 But new coordinator had some issues in the past in the back end last year, injuries, communication.
Dan Rubenstein 23:26 I just want to know when Sark at Texas, with all that he has available to him, is going to put it all together.
Dan Rubenstein 23:36 Because you could look at any position group and be like, oh yeah, that guy could be an All-American.
Dan Rubenstein 23:40 Running backs look really strong this year.
Dan Rubenstein 23:42 Arch looks like he should be very strong this year.
Dan Rubenstein 23:44 Cam Coleman is like all over Pornhub, apparently, with what he's doing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:47 Did you see, hold on, did you see the video that's floating around?
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:51 From this weekend with Cam?
Dan Rubenstein 23:51 It's filthy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:53 It looks like he's wearing anti-gravity shoes.
Dan Rubenstein 23:55 Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:56 Granted, they slowed it down to make it a little bit more dramatic, but even still.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:01 Yeah, you can work with that if you're Arch Manning.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:04 You will take a target like that who can jump out of the gym.
Dan Rubenstein 24:07 Oh, listen.
Dan Rubenstein 24:08 The replies from Texas fans under the Instagram posts and Twitter posts are borderline:
Dan Rubenstein 24:15 Send me to the OnlyFans to sign up.
Dan Rubenstein 24:18 Take my money.
Dan Rubenstein 24:19 Those clips were drooled over to that kind of extent.
Dan Rubenstein 24:23 So, I mean, that's
Dan Rubenstein 24:24 your prerogative more than mine.
Dan Rubenstein 24:26 I don't know that world, but Texas should be killer this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:26 Ah, hey.
Dan Rubenstein 24:32 The game against Ohio State should be incredible.
Dan Rubenstein 24:34 I cannot wait to watch Texas.
Dan Rubenstein 24:36 I cannot wait to see who emerges and surpasses expectations.
Dan Rubenstein 24:41 But in the back of my mind, I'm still like, I hope those two weeks don't happen for their sake.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:46 I mean, I fully expected that I was going to vote Texas number one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:52 And then I started looking.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:55 And of course, on one hand, on one shoulder, it's Arch Manning. He gets Cam Coleman.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:00 They're throwing Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers now into that rushing attack, which I think is an upgrade.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:06 I like Will Muschamp.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:08 I like the style, the aggressive, attacking Muschamp ball that he runs on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:13 I think it's much more aligned with what Sark has always wanted from his defense at Texas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:17 There's a lot to like.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:18 That's on one side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:20 But on the other, we ended up ranking him sixth.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:25 And of course, we're nitpicking because we think Texas is going to be awesome otherwise.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:28 But the questions that you're raising and that I had bouncing around in my head were all a little bit louder than I expected.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:34 You know, this was a really explosive offense last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:38 But their success rates, their third down numbers, they were bottom half of the FBS, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:44 The line was not physical enough.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:47 I've got a question this year about the interior line going into the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:52 And again, I really like what
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:55 I think they're going to do on defense with Muschamp, but it begs the question: if he brings a little bit more pressure, which they didn't do enough of last year,
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:04 but if he is bringing enough pressure,
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:07 can he bring enough pressure to paper over some of those issues maybe that we saw in the secondary from a year ago if they still exist?
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:15 And so for me, if I'm comparing Georgia to Texas, that's why I gave Georgia the nut, because I don't have
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:21 those types of questions about Georgia that I do with Texas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:25 On the Texas side, even if they fix like one of those things, they're going to be much better.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:31 And I have a lot of confidence in the players and the staff here that they'll find a way to
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:36 bring resolution to some of those issues.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:38 But I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:39 I just, I kind of was surprised at the questions I found myself asking after going through all the source material on the Texas side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:47 It's obviously still going to be a very, very good team.
Dan Rubenstein 26:50 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 26:50 The one thing, again, it's not a worry, it's a curiosity.
Dan Rubenstein 26:54 Anthony Hill did a ton for that defense.
Dan Rubenstein 26:57 Anthony Hill is no longer in the middle of that defense.
Dan Rubenstein 26:59 Now they go get Rasheem Biles, who, by all accounts, looks to be an assassin in the middle there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:04 I think he's going to be the green dot, dude.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:06 Yeah, he's going to be the, like, the vocal leader.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:08 Comes over from Pitt.
Dan Rubenstein 27:09 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:11 Yeah, I did accidentally write Simone Biles on my note sheet for those wondering at home.
Dan Rubenstein 27:16 Sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:17 It was a long night.
Dan Rubenstein 27:18 Yeah, consummate gymnastics guru, Ty Hildenbrandt.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:21 Yep, absolutely.
Dan Rubenstein 27:22 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:23 But no, I'm very encouraged by their portal haul.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:28 I think they brought in really, really good players.
Dan Rubenstein 27:28 Definitely.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:30 But, you know, it's just...
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:33 We often find ourselves in these conversations where there's a lot new and you're counting on things to hit.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:39 And I just, like, if we use the offense as an example, I don't know that we can just assume that, yeah, well, Kyle Flood will coach these guys up
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:48 along the offensive line, and they're going to be better on the ground because they have better running backs, and it's, you know, a new mentality or whatever.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:55 I don't know if I'm willing to jump to that conclusion at this point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:57 Not now.
Dan Rubenstein 27:59 Okay, fair enough.
Dan Rubenstein 28:01 Yeah, they're going to be really good.
Dan Rubenstein 28:02 They're going to be excellent.
Dan Rubenstein 28:04 It's a tough schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 28:05 Can't wait to see who emerges.
Dan Rubenstein 28:06 They got what, a Rutgers?
Dan Rubenstein 28:08 They've turned to the great state of New Jersey for corner help.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:09 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:10 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:11 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 28:12 I mean, they look loaded.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:13 The schedule's a joke.
Dan Rubenstein 28:15 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:15 You said it's hard.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:16 It is hard.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:17 It's also a joke.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:18 Because, to my eye, the two worst teams on here are Texas State, which has a veteran quarterback in Brad Jackson.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:23 I'm not expecting them to win, but he's at least serviceable. And UTSA,
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:29 who could potentially be a playoff team out of the G6.
Dan Rubenstein 28:32 In a bit of a sandwich spot between Ohio State and Tennessee on the road.
Dan Rubenstein 28:35 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:36 They open up with three straight home games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:38 One of them is Ohio State.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:39 The bye comes before Oklahoma, which of course is a neutral-site game, but then they play eight straight SEC games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:45 Their final month, they're at Mizzou, at LSU, home against Arkansas, at Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:52 Their win total is nine and a half.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:55 And I think that's a function of the schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:56 If they had Georgia's schedule, it would probably be 10.5
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:59 as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:59 But I've got them 10 and 2.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:02 I have them losing to Ohio State and LSU.
Dan Rubenstein 29:05 I have ten and two.
Dan Rubenstein 29:06 I don't know where the losses are coming from.
Dan Rubenstein 29:08 Ohio State's probably the likeliest, but that's actually a pretty good time to get.
Dan Rubenstein 29:12 Ohio State working in a bunch of new full-time guys on that defense on the road at DKR.
Dan Rubenstein 29:17 Not the most difficult place to play in the world, but that's a near impossible ask.
Dan Rubenstein 29:22 But Ohio State wins games as well.
Dan Rubenstein 29:23 So, yeah, I have them at 10 and 2.
Dan Rubenstein 29:25 I have them as a playoff team.
Dan Rubenstein 29:27 I think a 9-3 year is kind of a failure considering what they've put into this team.
Dan Rubenstein 29:31 And I don't expect them to go 9-3.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:33 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:34 Um
Dan Rubenstein 29:34 I'm in on ten and two.
Dan Rubenstein 29:35 They are, they appear to be much more dangerous than basically everybody they'll play.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:39 Yeah, and the final disclaimer here, and then we'll move on.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:43 I don't mean to be negative about Texas, but I think these are very real questions that we need to ask about this team at this point because the expectations are there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:51 As I said, my expectations were sky-high coming into preview season here, and I was fully prepared to vote 'em number one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:59 I didn't.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:59 I voted, we voted 'em sixth.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:01 It's not that big of a difference, especially in the preseason.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:03 But
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:04 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:05 These are very real concerns that I've been jotting down, and I'm hopeful that they can solve some of these and live up to the hype.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:14 So look, if you've made it this far, head on out to Verballers
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:18 dot com.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:19 That is our Patreon.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:21 We've mentioned it a couple of times now, but we did a bonus episode last week,
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:26 where we talk through how we voted on our preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:32 We made it free for all, so you don't have to pay to get that or anything crazy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:37 We would encourage you to go and listen.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:39 Give us your thoughts.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:40 Let us know where we're right and wrong.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:42 We'll continue doing some version of that on the Saturday night live streams that we do because I just think it'll be fun to
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Ty Hildenbrandt 30:53 Verballers
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:54 dot com, again, is the address: V-E-R-B-A-L-L-E-R-S
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Ty Hildenbrandt 31:24 And if nothing more, if you've made it this far, rate, review, subscribe, all that stuff really helps the show grow.
Dan Rubenstein 31:32 Nailed the grammar, by the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:33 Did I?
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:34 Did I finally get it?
Dan Rubenstein 31:34 I think so.
Dan Rubenstein 31:35 Not what Dan and me are doing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:37 Thank you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:38 It's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.
Dan Rubenstein 31:38 I'm just listing compliments.
Dan Rubenstein 31:41 Right?
Dan Rubenstein 31:41 I think I got that right.
Dan Rubenstein 31:42 Because you don't say it's a great way to support what me is doing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:44 I don't know, you're the grammar police, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:46 You're the grammar police, so whatever.
Dan Rubenstein 31:48 Grammar cops.
Dan Rubenstein 31:49 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 31:50 Um, where do you want to go?
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:51 Dan, to quote the wise prophet Forrest Gump.
Dan Rubenstein 31:54 Oh.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:57 South Carolina is like a box of chocolates.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:59 You never know what you're going to get.
Dan Rubenstein 32:00 Weird to use Forrest Gump as an intro to an SEC team and not have it be Bama, but that's what keeps you unpredictable.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:08 This is what we do here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:09 We zag when you expect the zig.
Dan Rubenstein 32:09 Also, I was very worried because Alabama is not scheduled to be one of the teams on today's episode.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:14 They are.
Dan Rubenstein 32:15 Now, by the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:15 They are.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:16 I was hoping you'd have that reaction.
Dan Rubenstein 32:17 Now that we're past Georgia and Texas, we only really have, and Vandy, I guess, but Vandy, I think, is included in what I'm trying to say right now.
Dan Rubenstein 32:29 After Tennessee, the rest of the teams we're discussing, now with South Carolina, are all
Dan Rubenstein 32:37 Man, I hope the offense is something.
Dan Rubenstein 32:39 I hope the offense can do something this year.
Dan Rubenstein 32:42 And maybe you could say that about Vandy, but at least Vandy has last year's track record
Dan Rubenstein 32:46 despite a different quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein 32:47 But South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma, who am I missing?
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:54 Uh I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 32:55 I guess that's it, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:56 Yeah, that's it.
Dan Rubenstein 32:56 South Carolina, Vandy, Oklahoma, Florida left a lot of mouths hungry.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:04 Last year was a huge disappointment for South Carolina.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:07 It was a huge disappointment because there was hype going into the year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:10 We talked it up when we did our previews.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:12 They end up going four and eight.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:15 Despite bringing back, I think, an exciting core of players, there's also a lot back this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:21 They are fifth nationally in returning production.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:25 They bring back LaNorris the Creator, Nyck Harbor, excuse me, and Dylan Stewart.
Dan Rubenstein 33:28 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 33:29 Number one on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List 2026.
Dan Rubenstein 33:32 I don't know if you perused yet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:32 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:34 I was, I jotted down a few other ones in here, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 33:37 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:38 Nyck Harbor, man.
Dan Rubenstein 33:38 Continue.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:40 South Carolina has headliners.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:42 They do.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:43 But it is ever the question of, well, what else do they got?
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:47 You know, what else do they got here?
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:49 Shane Beamer, to his credit, I think to everybody's credit, who watched South Carolina recognize that the offense needed to improve.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:57 So, found a way to hold on to LaNorris the Creator, which was a big deal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:01 Still, all the tools to become a first-round prospect, whether he gets there or not, conversation for another day.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:07 But he needs a better offense around him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:10 Like, if they want to get back to nine and four like they were two years ago, it needs to be better rounded than what we saw a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:19 So, Shane Beamer goes out there, he fires Mike Shula.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:23 He hired Kendal Briles from TCU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:26 I love reading the scouting reports and digging into what schemes or what ideas the new coordinators have to try and fix the problem.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:35 Do you do that?
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:35 Do you have that like hobby like I do?
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:38 From a collection of different sources, here is what I've been able to ascertain about Kendal Briles.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:44 His offense this year is described as
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:47 playing with tempo, width, RPOs, vertical shots, the quarterback running game, shifts, motions, huddling, and formation variations, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 34:56 Shifts and motions is borderline strength coach is wondering what they were doing around here before, the new strength coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:03 That's basically everything you could do as an offensive coordinator.
Dan Rubenstein 35:04 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 35:07 We're going to be multiple.
Dan Rubenstein 35:08 We're going to attack.
Dan Rubenstein 35:09 A lot of shifts and motions.
Dan Rubenstein 35:10 We're going to take some shots for sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:10 I didn't see triple option in there, but I did see quarterback run.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:14 I did see RPO, so maybe we can count it.
Dan Rubenstein 35:17 Right, I agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:18 To do all that, they need a line.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:21 And here is where we get into the nitty-gritty with South Carolina, isn't it?
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:26 I feel like we've had this question every damn year.
Dan Rubenstein 35:26 I think so.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:29 Every year, I've had a question about the South Carolina line.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:33 Again, like in years past, I'm curious to see what it looks like.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:37 They brought in eight transfers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:39 On the whole, it's a much more veteran group than I think they've had in a while.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:44 There will be a lot new up front, but new in the sense that they're playing for South Carolina this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:50 These are guys
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:52 with experience.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:53 So I don't quite have the same level of concern that I've had in the past, where you just throw in, like, new guys at the problem.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:00 The voodoo here will be getting them all to play in unison, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:04 Because it's a bunch of guys from other places.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:07 It's definitely a new collection.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:09 Hopefully, they can open up some kind of a running game to provide more balance for this offense because it is just not going to work.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:17 If it's going to be all on the arm and legs of LaNorris Sellers, he's a big dude.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:21 He can run.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:21 He can take a beating.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:23 He has taken a beating.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:24 But if they want this thing to fly, it...
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:28 We need balance, Dan.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:29 It can't just be one dude and Nyck Harbor running streaks every play.
Dan Rubenstein 36:34 It appears that LaNorris Sellers, I don't know LaNorris Sellers, I don't know how well, how you, how well you personally know LaNorris Sellers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:42 Personally?
Dan Rubenstein 36:43 Personally, from afar, that's true.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:44 Well, I mean, he was, he was in my wedding.
Dan Rubenstein 36:50 Rabbi LaNorris officiated your wedding.
Dan Rubenstein 36:54 He seems from afar to be like of high character, to be like a good, loyal dude.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:57 Yes, absolutely.
Dan Rubenstein 37:01 That he has stuck with South Carolina, that he has established his reputation as a super talented quarterback at South Carolina, has been the leader there.
Dan Rubenstein 37:08 For a while now.
Dan Rubenstein 37:11 After what they put on the field on offense, especially in front of him and what he dealt with, I think South Carolina had, they were last in the country in yards per carry before contact.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:22 Yes.
Dan Rubenstein 37:22 As in, like, the front seven of every team hit him and running backs attempting to run quicker than anybody else in the country.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:30 A little bit like calling the right play on defense in Tecmo Bowl.
Dan Rubenstein 37:33 Totally true, right?
Dan Rubenstein 37:35 Where it's just got the auto blitz.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:36 Just like a jailbreak, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 37:39 I always like when quarterbacks stick it out and try to improve things where they've been and where they've been leaders.
Dan Rubenstein 37:46 I would not have blamed LaNorris Sellers for looking around last year, given what his season was on offense because of the line, because of the play calling.
Dan Rubenstein 37:55 Like, Shane Beamer has
Dan Rubenstein 37:56 kind of quietly hired three straight disappointing offensive coordinators: Marcus Satterfield, Dowell Loggains, and now Mike Shula trying again.
Dan Rubenstein 38:02 This is Kendal Briles, and not that many years
Dan Rubenstein 38:08 trying to fix things.
Dan Rubenstein 38:09 Like, I would not have blamed LaNorris Sellers for, like, answering Indiana's call or Texas Tech's call or something like that.
Dan Rubenstein 38:14 Somebody who was just like a quarterback away.
Dan Rubenstein 38:17 And in a better situation in terms of guys around him.
Dan Rubenstein 38:21 But to his credit, he wants to win in Columbia.
Dan Rubenstein 38:23 So I tip my cap to him.
Dan Rubenstein 38:25 But.
Dan Rubenstein 38:26 It's hard to look at this year's version.
Dan Rubenstein 38:28 And I think it's of quality.
Dan Rubenstein 38:29 I don't think it's especially deep.
Dan Rubenstein 38:30 And they seem to be, what's Jacarrius Peak, the NC State transfer who's beat up.
Dan Rubenstein 38:34 But there's hope that he is in an okay position sooner rather than later to play for the South Carolina team.
Dan Rubenstein 38:41 I don't love where they are at running back or receiver.
Dan Rubenstein 38:44 I think Nyck Harbor is, like, a crazy athletic talent.
Dan Rubenstein 38:47 I don't think he's proven to be, like, a complete receiver
Dan Rubenstein 38:50 and a dependable receiver in different phases of that game of being a receiver.
Dan Rubenstein 38:56 I think the secondary could be quite strong.
Dan Rubenstein 38:58 I think there's a lot to like on this defense, especially if Dylan Stewart's back is somewhere near healthy after it seems like it's been catastrophically bad.
Dan Rubenstein 39:06 But they're just up against what feels like a very familiar problem.
Dan Rubenstein 39:11 And so if Kendal Briles can hide this offensive line or maximize what they are and mask what they aren't,
Dan Rubenstein 39:19 Okay, maybe we got a stew going.
Dan Rubenstein 39:22 But short of that, I'm still not enamored with South Carolina.
Dan Rubenstein 39:26 And they're going to keep developing NFL dudes in the secondary.
Dan Rubenstein 39:29 This year, it's what, Vicari Swain is, like, the star back there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:31 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:33 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 39:33 He's awesome.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:34 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:35 He was great last year, was returning kicks.
Dan Rubenstein 39:37 He was terrific.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:37 He was great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:38 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 39:39 But they lose some of their playmakers.
Dan Rubenstein 39:41 I just, I always have a soft spot for South Carolina.
Dan Rubenstein 39:44 I love watching games, South Carolina home games.
Dan Rubenstein 39:47 I think there's just an electricity there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:48 The stadium shakes.
Dan Rubenstein 39:49 I've said it year in and year out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:50 The stadium shakes.
Dan Rubenstein 39:50 It's great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:51 Yeah, it's great.
Dan Rubenstein 39:52 I just think they're maxing out at like a seven and five year with just too many questions on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:00 Yeah, I mean, uh, to the point on Dylan Stewart.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:03 Shane Beamer said he played through a broken back last year.
Dan Rubenstein 40:07 Jeez, it's ridiculous.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:08 Seems painful.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:10 He did miss the spring.
Dan Rubenstein 40:11 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:12 The most recent reporting I saw is that
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:14 there's optimism he'll be 100% and ready to go for the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:18 I'm fairly confident he'll be out there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:20 He played through a damn broken back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:22 So I think he'll be okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:24 Obviously, his status is
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:27 of utmost importance because they're a little weaker in the back end this year because of some of those losses that you mentioned, and they're going to need a pass rush.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:36 His pass rush wasn't where I think it can be last season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:41 And that might have had something to do with the injury.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:43 So we need him back 100% if South Carolina is going to get to whatever their high watermark looks like on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:50 They have some runway to figure it out, which I kind of like.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:54 It is workable early on the schedule, but it always seems like they get killed with a tough schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:00 And this year, it's really no different.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:02 After the runway
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:03 on the schedule, they've got Bama, Florida, Oklahoma, Clemson, all those games, all four of them, by the way, on the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:09 They also play Tennessee, they've got A&M, they've got Georgia.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:12 So it is not easy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:14 It's never easy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:15 But I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:16 I...
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:16 You know, I would love to go a little bit higher on Carolina, but I still have not seen the proof that it's going to be a well-rounded team that gives LaNorris a little bit more of a support net.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:26 I'm going to say seven and five.
Dan Rubenstein 41:28 Okay, but here's the thing though.
Dan Rubenstein 41:31 And I noticed this.
Dan Rubenstein 41:32 Maybe I'm wrong.
Dan Rubenstein 41:33 Maybe you disagree.
Dan Rubenstein 41:33 I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 41:35 If LaNorris Sellers continues to be LaNorris Sellers, AKA the Creator, and the offensive line is maybe even just below average, somewhere like, you know, it's the 73rd-best offensive line in America, something like that.
Dan Rubenstein 41:47 Nyck Harbor takes the next step, obviously a deep threat.
Dan Rubenstein 41:50 And whoever else they're going to, was it Nitro Tuggle is who they're counting on for something at receiver?
Dan Rubenstein 41:58 If you look at this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 42:00 And we do see the quarterback upside that we expect and things improve.
Dan Rubenstein 42:04 Does South Carolina have a quarterback advantage in maybe 11 of twelve weeks?
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:10 Possibly.
Dan Rubenstein 42:10 Depending on which, I guess, you think of Marcel Reed, which I think we're both pretty high on Marcel Reed, but I think LaNorris Sellers is more proven at this point of his career.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:18 No, no, I'm looking at it now.
Dan Rubenstein 42:18 Look at that schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 42:21 They have the quarterback advantage.
Dan Rubenstein 42:23 I mean, we'll see what Keelon Russell is at Alabama if he's the guy.
Dan Rubenstein 42:26 We'll see who it's, Tramell Jones or Aaron Philo at Florida.
Dan Rubenstein 42:29 We'll see if it's Faizon Brandon at Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 42:31 I think John Mateer is fine, but LaNorris Sellers is better.
Dan Rubenstein 42:36 Gunner Stockton is the one where you'd be like, yeah, I think he might be better at his best.
Dan Rubenstein 42:42 That's encouraging if you're a South Carolina fan to have that kind of advantage, but you could have said that probably last season a number of those games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:49 Where I thought you were going with it is if we see marginal improvement like you described, they're probably knocking off one of these teams.
Dan Rubenstein 42:54 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 42:58 Agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:59 You know, there's an upset or two in here if they take just a marginal step forward and build a little bit more of a net around LaNorris.
Dan Rubenstein 43:08 Well, that's also like when I put down I'd say led by, must improve, outlook, whatever.
Dan Rubenstein 43:15 They just kind of finish games.
Dan Rubenstein 43:17 You look at what happened against Texas A&M last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:17 Well, yeah. Too soon, too soon.
Dan Rubenstein 43:20 You look at what happened against Bama last year.
Dan Rubenstein 43:22 I know Shane Beamer was, like, quick to throw that side conversation away on Media Days, but, like...
Dan Rubenstein 43:28 Four quarters of football.
Dan Rubenstein 43:29 It's a different outlook to last year's season.
Dan Rubenstein 43:32 You know, finishing off A&M after that great first half and intercepting Marcel Reed.
Dan Rubenstein 43:37 And having that opportunity late against Alabama, it's a different conversation.
Dan Rubenstein 43:41 We're still worried about the offensive line, but those are quality wins, obviously.
Dan Rubenstein 43:44 Those are playoff wins.
Dan Rubenstein 43:46 We can build on that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:48 Dan, there's a lot of steam on Oklahoma this year.
Dan Rubenstein 43:51 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 43:52 I'm toot-toot coming out of my engine as well.
Dan Rubenstein 43:55 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:55 Yeah, I let you talk me into ranking them in our top 10.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:59 I love their defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:00 Everyone loves their defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:02 My biggest problem is that I want more proof.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:05 Offensively in the passing game, can they get a little bit more efficient?
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:11 Can they run the ball at all?
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:13 This year would love some proof on that front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:17 Instead, it feels like all we have to go on at this early juncture in mid-August is the shirtless picture of John Mateer that's been floating around.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:24 I'm assuming you've seen this.
Dan Rubenstein 44:25 Of course.
Dan Rubenstein 44:26 From every angle, Ty, he's looking great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:27 Yeah, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 44:29 Traps, delts, you name it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:32 But I dug in after we did part one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:37 Took another look at Oklahoma.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:39 I think I get it now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:41 I think I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:43 I think toot-toot's coming out of this engine as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:46 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:47 You were the OG Oklahoma supporter.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:50 In 2026, why don't you take this one first?
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:52 Because I got a lot to say.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:53 It probably overlaps with what you're going to say as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:57 I did not see it at first.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:58 I looked a little bit closer and it's like, okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:01 I kind of understand it now why there is this hype around Oklahoma and why this could be a much better year than we saw last year, which, by the way, was a playoff year, the 10-win year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:10 But there were clearly some issues with that team, and they were masking a lot with their defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:15 But I have real optimism that we're going to see a jump forward.
Dan Rubenstein 45:22 I mean, look, all three levels of their defense, there is experience in production.
Dan Rubenstein 45:25 Now they're replacing a lot up front, which is a little bit worrisome.
Dan Rubenstein 45:29 But I don't know if at this point you're not giving the benefit of the doubt to Brent Venables and his ability to evaluate, develop and have these guys executing.
Dan Rubenstein 45:38 I don't know what to tell you because they've been recruiting gangbusters.
Dan Rubenstein 45:43 Guys, especially at linebacker and in the secondary, are
Dan Rubenstein 45:47 super experienced.
Dan Rubenstein 45:48 If they can find somebody who's opposite Taylor Wein on the edge,
Dan Rubenstein 45:54 because it was R Mason Thomas.
Dan Rubenstein 45:56 It was unbelievable.
Dan Rubenstein 45:57 He had an unbelievable career in Norman.
Dan Rubenstein 45:59 If they can find that dude and find some depth on the interior, which they've been recruiting very well, and it's, you know, David Stone is back and he should be a force.
Dan Rubenstein 46:08 They're going to silence teams on defense.
Dan Rubenstein 46:10 Like they made the College Football Playoff last year without basically anything consistently working on offense.
Dan Rubenstein 46:18 Whether it was throwing the ball downfield, whether it was a running game, like it would appear against South Carolina, then disappear.
Dan Rubenstein 46:24 The offensive line, while they're moving parts around a little bit.
Dan Rubenstein 46:29 Or there's a portal guy or two coming in.
Dan Rubenstein 46:32 I think they should be fine.
Dan Rubenstein 46:33 They've upgraded at receiver, working Parker Livingstone into it.
Dan Rubenstein 46:37 They've upgraded at tight end, bringing in what, Florida's tight end into the fold.
Dan Rubenstein 46:42 They play a lot of heavier sets and didn't really have the tight ends to do it.
Dan Rubenstein 46:46 So, hopefully, this is an upgrade there.
Dan Rubenstein 46:49 So, if you're telling me
Dan Rubenstein 46:51 Oklahoma had a playoff roster last year without an offense, and looks like they upgraded their offense.
Dan Rubenstein 46:57 And it's another year of John Mateer with the same
Dan Rubenstein 47:03 coordinator he'll now have for the third straight season in Ben Arbuckle.
Dan Rubenstein 47:07 It's weird to think they'll be
Dan Rubenstein 47:10 Static.
Dan Rubenstein 47:10 It's weird to think they're going to take a step back given those realities.
Dan Rubenstein 47:14 Now, schedule is a different animal, and who knows, you know, it's going to be a difficult schedule to navigate, as we know.
Dan Rubenstein 47:29 But
Dan Rubenstein 47:30 I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 47:31 I like 9-3, 10-2.
Dan Rubenstein 47:33 You get Michigan on the road.
Dan Rubenstein 47:34 So that's a different bit of calculus for their playoff hopes.
Dan Rubenstein 47:37 That's going to be a difficult game, we think.
Dan Rubenstein 47:39 Not impossible.
Dan Rubenstein 47:40 They beat them last year in Norman, but.
Dan Rubenstein 47:43 I don't know, man.
Dan Rubenstein 47:44 Oklahoma, should they get Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina's coming to Norman?
Dan Rubenstein 47:51 They finish in a difficult way.
Dan Rubenstein 47:55 I just think basically all of these teams are playing against a team with the more difficult thing to contend with, which is the Sooner defense, which is, by the way,
Dan Rubenstein 48:05 we've watched a lot of Lincoln Riley Oklahoma teams.
Dan Rubenstein 48:08 Still weird for me to say out loud, Oklahoma defense, man, I don't know how you deal with them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:12 But you know, it's kind of in the same question.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:15 It's been reversed, but when Lincoln was there, it was, well, if the defense could just marginally improve, how much better would this team be?
Dan Rubenstein 48:17 Totally.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:22 It's almost like the opposite is true under Venables.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:25 Certainly, now with last year in the rearview mirror, knowing what they've got coming back on defense, everyone is crazy about the defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:32 But if we can get a marginal improvement on the offensive side of the ball, think how much better they'll be.
Dan Rubenstein 48:36 Look, Mike Stoops is nowhere near this program.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:39 No.
Dan Rubenstein 48:39 He can't hurt Oklahoma fans anymore.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:41 No.
Dan Rubenstein 48:41 So at least there's that.
Dan Rubenstein 48:42 Yeah, I understand what you're saying, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:43 A crazy stat that I saw from our friend Brett over at Pick Six Previews.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:49 Oklahoma forced a negative play, a sack or a tackle for loss on 15% of the defensive snaps a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:59 That sounds like a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:00 That is a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:01 This is very much a playmaking defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:05 You could talk as much as you want about depth concerns, and maybe there are some, especially in the front four.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:12 This is a pretty damn good set of ones out here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:16 And, you know, provided there aren't any catastrophic injuries, they're going to torment teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:20 They're going to be so, so good on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:23 It is all about offense, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:25 You know, last year's offense was better than the one before it, which isn't necessarily saying much, but there was actually some improvement.
Dan Rubenstein 49:25 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:33 John Mateer was not the same player after he hurt his thumb and needed surgery and then sort of rushed back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:40 Just wasn't.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:41 Was that because of the teams they were playing?
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:43 Was that because he was
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:45 still banged up and couldn't grip the ball?
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:47 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:49 But clearly, that played some factor in the course that things went for Oklahoma last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:55 And the running game was just not there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:58 It just was not there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:59 The fact that there was no running game to speak of meant that it was mostly on Mateer, and if he wasn't feeling it, then that's why it didn't work.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:06 So this year, I think the reason for optimism is that that line from a year ago was very young, took its lumps.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:14 Now, Brent Venables, to hear him say it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:17 He says he's got nine offensive linemen that he could win with, Dan, going into camp.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:22 If the line hits,
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:24 hopefully, that opens up something for more of a rushing attack from either Tory Blaylock or Xavier Robinson, whoever it ends up being.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:31 Kind of seeing conflicting reports on who RB1 is, but it's probably going to be a little bit of both.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:36 If you can get a little bit more balance, and again, these guys do not need to be Jeremiyah Love and
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:42 Jadarian Price, like just a little bit more balance, a little bit better than they were a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:48 You combine that with Mateer, who I think is healthy now,
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:51 obviously has been
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:52 buffing up a little bit in the offseason with a really interesting trio of wide receivers, namely Isaiah Sategna, who he had a great connection with for a bunch of big plays a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:03 Like, have I seen this right, that their over-under is seven and a half?
Dan Rubenstein 51:08 Yeah, I mean, it's a tough schedule, as we pointed out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:10 I know, but seven and a half?
Dan Rubenstein 51:12 Well, here's the other worry.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:12 Does this
Dan Rubenstein 51:13 Here's the other worry in terms of wins, losses.
Dan Rubenstein 51:17 They need to have the ability to approach 30 points more often, or else you get into, like, the Muschamp zone.
Dan Rubenstein 51:23 where, like, you're having to win games in very specific ways.
Dan Rubenstein 51:27 It was great that they went on the road against Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 51:29 They get, they scored like 33.
Dan Rubenstein 51:30 10 of those points were like a scoop and score, and I want to say like a turnover or something, like a short field goal.
Dan Rubenstein 51:38 Like it wasn't really an offensive drive to speak of.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:40 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 51:40 You know, scoring 17 points and wins, the weird win against Bama, where like they had a 6% win expectancy after that game, where you're just like, can you count on getting to nine or 10 wins if you need three of those a year?
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:41 I got you.
Dan Rubenstein 51:53 Because some of those games are going to be 17-16 losses.
Dan Rubenstein 51:56 If you're playing, what, what is Spencer's big thing, like the Big Dumb Muschamp Football?
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:00 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 52:01 Like, I got that wrong.
Dan Rubenstein 52:03 But you know what I'm saying?
Dan Rubenstein 52:04 Like, it's not necessarily a formula that'll get you to 10, nine or 10 wins every year because
Dan Rubenstein 52:12 you just, you're not going to win every 50-50 ugly game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:15 But it's going to get him to eight to hit that over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:20 That's my point.
Dan Rubenstein 52:22 I think so.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:22 Seven and a half for this team with this defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:26 Granted, the number three hardest schedule per projections.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:30 They do have Michigan, they have Georgia, they have Texas, all of those teams, by the way, before October the 10th.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:36 And then they've got a closing run of games where they're at Florida, home against Ole Miss, home against A&M, and at Mizzou in four straight weeks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:44 Also, of note here, and we talked about this a couple of times.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:48 I went back, there have been several references over the last couple of months.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:52 Nice little Lobo sandwich in week three, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 52:55 Oh, yeah, buddy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:56 This might be, might be Sandwich Game of the Year potential here.
Dan Rubenstein 52:56 Oh, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 53:02 Look, they're much better than New Mexico.
Dan Rubenstein 53:05 We can agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:06 Yes.
Dan Rubenstein 53:07 Georgia, Michigan, is that the sandwich?
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:10 Georgia, no, it's Michigan week two.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:13 It's Georgia week four.
Dan Rubenstein 53:13 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:14 And then sandwiched in between.
Dan Rubenstein 53:14 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:15 Yeah, you're, look.
Dan Rubenstein 53:15 That's what I'm saying.
Dan Rubenstein 53:16 They're the bread.
Dan Rubenstein 53:17 Georgia and Michigan are the bread in the New Mexico sandwich.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:18 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:19 Right in between, you've got New Mexico at home.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:24 New Mexico is a good team.
Dan Rubenstein 53:25 It's terrifying, man.
Dan Rubenstein 53:28 It's legitimately terrible.
Dan Rubenstein 53:29 I think Brent Venables will be ready.
Dan Rubenstein 53:31 It doesn't seem like a kind of program that would lose.
Dan Rubenstein 53:33 Even New Mexico is a conference contender in their own right.
Dan Rubenstein 53:37 But man, that's precarious.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:40 I'm on the over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:41 They're not losing five games.
Dan Rubenstein 53:43 I don't think so either.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:44 And I think it's probably closer to nine or ten.
Dan Rubenstein 53:47 Was it Big Dumb Muschamp Football?
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:49 Probably.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:50 I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 53:50 I think.
Dan Rubenstein 53:51 I know with Mario it was Gorilla Ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:53 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 53:54 But I think that's more ours, but yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:57 So I'm sure I'm going to sound like a broken record here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:02 I cannot get over this quote from Will Stein at SEC Media Days.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:07 I can't get over it.
Dan Rubenstein 54:08 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:09 I have tried.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:11 I can't get over it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:12 Quote: “Why do you think you could win big here?”
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:16 Apparently, he sort of like recoiled a little bit, caught himself, maybe trying to answer it, gave himself a moment to process further.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:27 Then he said it anyway, Dan.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:29 Quote: “I think because of me, to be honest. I think because of me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:35 I think I know what it takes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:36 I have seen it at the highest levels.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:38 I know what it takes to recruit at this level,” end quote.
Dan Rubenstein 54:41 I applaud his honesty, I applaud speaking his truth.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:45 I don't think he was trying to go full Cignetti with the bravado.
Dan Rubenstein 54:49 I don't think so either, because this is his first time as a head coach.
Dan Rubenstein 54:52 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:52 First time as a head coach, I don't think he was doing that, but I think he was kind of caught up in the moment.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:58 He's obviously excited to be there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:01 Played at Louisville, was from Kentucky, so this is like a homecoming of sorts for him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:06 I don't think he was trying to dial up the bravado.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:09 Obviously, if you take the first part of the quote, as we've seen,
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:12 you know, a bunch of places now, it kind of comes across that way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:15 But I don't think that was his intention here.
Dan Rubenstein 55:15 Sure.
Dan Rubenstein 55:18 Agree?
Dan Rubenstein 55:20 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 55:21 I think the message could have been more artfully crafted, but what's the fun in that?
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:26 What's the fun in that?
Dan Rubenstein 55:26 Who cares?
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:27 And also, you know what?
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:29 This reminded me a little bit of like when a baseball manager gets thrown out on purpose.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:35 This is a program that has been stuck in the mud.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:38 Kentucky fans who write into this program have been screaming from the mountaintops to make a change.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:43 Something's got to change.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:44 Don't know if it's Stoops or a coordinator or the players or the...
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:49 You got the change.
Dan Rubenstein 55:50 Well, it's always the same, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:50 You got the change now.
Dan Rubenstein 55:52 It's the Kentucky experience is like mostly struggles on offense, a defense that's good enough, they game plan well enough, they can jump up and bite somebody, but they're never really turning a noticeable corner.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:02 So yeah, get thrown out if you're the baseball manager.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:07 Get your team fired up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:09 Have them believe that you got their back and that you know what you're doing, and see if maybe you can light a fire.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:16 I don't hate it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:17 I actually don't hate it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:18 At first, I was like, why is he saying that?
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:20 But I could definitely see a world in which this fires up the troops, and I'm all for it.
Dan Rubenstein 56:26 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 56:28 I think they'll be fired up.
Dan Rubenstein 56:29 I think they're going to score points in a good chunk of these games.
Dan Rubenstein 56:33 I have questions about who they're stopping.
Dan Rubenstein 56:35 You know how I feel about Jay Bateman.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:37 You love Jay Bateman.
Dan Rubenstein 56:39 I would not be in love with Jay Bateman if my team hired him.
Dan Rubenstein 56:43 But maybe he is just like, here's the first guy that absorbs the transition in the way like Ted Roof at Oklahoma.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:48 Did you call him, I was gonna say, did you call him Diet Cola Ted Roof?
Dan Rubenstein 56:51 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 56:52 Yeah, just Diet Ted Roof.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:53 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 56:57 Look, I think there is obvious intrigue to Kenny Minchey.
Dan Rubenstein 57:01 We haven't seen him throw a meaningful pass ever in college football.
Dan Rubenstein 57:07 I think the offensive line is a terrific starting point.
Dan Rubenstein 57:09 Obviously, the focus financially and in terms of roster building with this transfer class, I think I like Nic Anderson.
Dan Rubenstein 57:20 I don't know how much I love the receiver room in year one.
Dan Rubenstein 57:23 I think it'll improve because I think quarterback development will be impressive in Lexington.
Dan Rubenstein 57:29 In year one, all of this sort of feels like if they can get to five and seven, then that's a message that they mean business.
Dan Rubenstein 57:39 Like five wins with this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 57:41 If I'm not really buying into the defense in this moment and I don't really know where the star power is at receiver
Dan Rubenstein 57:50 I think it would be like pretty damn impressive, don't you?
Ty Hildenbrandt 57:53 Well, you get to five and seven, you get back to where you were a year ago.
Dan Rubenstein 57:56 Right, but you're scrapping the whole roster.
Dan Rubenstein 57:58 I mean, there's so much new to the whole operation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 57:59 I know, but I would look at that if I were a fan, and I would say
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:06 We'll take it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:06 You know, there's a little bit of Virginia Tech in this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:09 It's not the same, obviously, but just from the standpoint of, and I mentioned this on the ACC show, where I was not picking up
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:20 sky-high expectations on the Virginia Tech side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:23 People were just happy that they made a change.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:25 They were excited about the new coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:27 They felt it was time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:28 I feel like this is the same case with Kentucky.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:31 I'm not reading much out there about expectations.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:33 I'm sure some people have them, but I think just getting Mark Stoops out of there and going in a different direction is enough to get people excited about the program.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:42 And there's a willingness here among the fans, again, just from afar, to kind of accept the lumps now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:50 In hopes that it gets better and that there's a little bit more of a vision.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:53 If nothing more, the offense is going to be better.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:55 It can't be much worse.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:57 They were a mess on offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:59 So I feel rather convinced that Will Stein will figure out a way to score the points, as you said.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:04 Whether they stop anybody, are they going to be a half-team?
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:07 These are questions we can get into once we get
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:10 rolling this season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:11 But I just think it's kind of exciting for Kentucky to go in a different direction.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:17 They're a huge unknown quantity.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:19 And so given the fact that their schedule kind of starts off with no runway and they got some teams early, that could make it for an interesting
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:28 start to the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:29 You know, maybe Kentucky challenges someone early.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:31 We don't see it coming, and it becomes a story that we talk about on Saturday night.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:35 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:36 But I just.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:39 To the point you mentioned, I think you did a good job putting a line together.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:42 That was clearly a priority.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:44 These are guys with experience.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:45 If you look at portal rankings, it might have been one of the best hauls of any team in the country along the offensive line.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:51 So that's good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:52 And the bigger picture portal class was like number 11, somewhere around there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:56 If you look at the 247 rankings, so they have talent.
Dan Rubenstein 59:58 And the high school recruiting, like there's momentum and vibes there as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:01 Yeah, there's, there's, like, the vibes are good.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:02 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:03 Yeah, agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:04 The vibes are good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:05 It's just that there's so much new.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:07 They're building everything around Kenny Minchey.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:10 Originally transferred to Nebraska, immediately transferred to Kentucky when he found out he could play for Will Stein.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:16 So there's vibes here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:17 There's good vibes here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:19 I'd feel better if there were runway to get things sorted out and maybe.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:22 Bama and A&M early, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:24 Yeah, I'd feel better if that weren't the case.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:26 But, you know, I'll go under four and a half right now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:31 I think that's the win total I've got in front of me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:32 Wow.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:33 I'll go under, but I think plucky.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:37 I think they will play hard.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:39 I think they will score points.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:40 I'm not sure who they're going to stop either, but there are worse things than playing in a shootout.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:46 On a Saturday against a team that is perceived to be much better than you, which will probably be the case in a bunch of these games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:52 So I am optimistic that someone's going to go to Kentucky
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:56 and have the fear of God put into them because this is a team that can score points.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:02 Yeah, unfortunately, they don't play a lot of the other teams.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:05 I mean, they have Florida and LSU in terms of new coaches, but I don't believe they have what they don't have Mississippi State or Auburn on here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:13 Right, right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:14 Or Ole Miss, who has a first-time full-time head coach in Pete Golding.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:20 Yeah, there are scenic routes to five and seven that are more exciting than bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:26 12 years in, 11 years in, whatever Mark Stoops was, going 5-7 feels a lot more disappointing than, oh, we have a quarterback of the future 5-7.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:35 Oh, this recruiting class is actually
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:38 filled with dudes who are a lot more exciting than what we're used to, five and seven.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:42 Or this offensive line is proof of concept that we can actually run consistently five and seven.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:47 And even though we can't stop people, oh, this guy emerged five and seven.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:51 You are what your record is, but I think people were done 12 years in, you know, not making bowl games.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:59 I think they lost their final two games like 81 to 6 or something, including the Louisville blowout.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:03 So,
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:04 yeah, ready for something new is a good way to put it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:06 Four and a half, you over, you under.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:09 I think I'm under.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:09 I think they're four and eight with, you know,
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:12 maybe a 50-50 game against somebody like South Carolina or LSU or something weird happening, five and seven.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:14 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:18 But yeah, I'm going to take slight under.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:21 Let's close this out with two swingers.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:24 Oh, God, again, your specialty here, Ty.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:27 Yeah, always.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:28 I'll trust you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:29 Tennessee and Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:33 I'm worried everyone's overlooking Tennessee, including myself.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:36 Dude, I was so much more in on Tennessee the more I read and watched.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:39 Yeah, I'm worried I'm worried we might have overlooked them.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:43 I'm worried about myself feeling this way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:48 This could potentially be a very good team that we're all just sort of hand-waving because of the quarterback questions, because of what's the new defense going to look like with Jim Knowles?
Dan Rubenstein 01:02:56 New coordinator, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:57 What are they going to do at edge rush?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:59 All these,
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:00 you know, important questions that we've posed throughout the offseason, definitely back in week one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:05 But like, I was just reading up on this team, and it just feels to me like there's still a lot there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:11 The quarterback situation is
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:13 obviously going to loom pretty large, but Josh Heupel usually puts up points, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:20 Yeah, top 10 offense last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:21 You know, and
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:22 First year quarterback for them, Joey Aguilar.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:25 So you had the same experience then.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:27 It wasn't just me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:28 100%.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:29 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:29 What was it that you were detecting here that was maybe hitting the nerve more than most?
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:35 I mean, it's the fewer questions than I anticipated thing.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:40 That I think they did well enough in the portal.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:42 I think they have enough weapons, whoever they settle on at quarterback, even if it's a freshman.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:46 And I hate falling in love with a freshman at quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:50 But...
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:51 It's a great offense for a younger or inexperienced quarterback in that they should be able to run and they should be able to simplify to make the reads more approachable to an inexperienced quarterback, because even George MacIntyre is on the younger side.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:06 They're both big, which I can appreciate that they'll be able to see over the line.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:07 Yeah, really big guys, really big guys.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:11 Like, little things, that they'll be able to absorb hits, and obviously Faizon Brandon, more athletic, and might be able to offer more in terms of options
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:18 at quarterback than George MacIntyre, but Tennessee's starting point is more impressive than I thought.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:26 I think there's a lot to like about the new guys that they've brought in on defense.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:30 I don't love that Arion Carter's out the first couple of weeks for kind of a garbage reason that, you know, it was
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:35 you know, accepting money for a flight from an agent when he thought he was going to the NFL, paid back the money, but the NCAA was still like, you're going to sit out.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:42 So we'll see wherever that lands.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:45 By and large, and I know this is Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:48 I know that there's a chaotic element to Tennessee football.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:52 By and large, I'm saying, yeah, I think I can marry this stripper.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:56 I think our vibes
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:58 I think we can make it work.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:02 I know what she does for a living, Ty.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:04 We've discussed this.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:06 But I can make it work.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:11 Only you. Marry the Stripper.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:12 This is what I have written down for Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:15 Marry the Stripper.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:15 Oh my gosh.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:17 Well, they need to finish games.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:19 Right, that was an issue last season.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:20 You look at the Oklahoma game, you look at the Georgia game, especially, the heartbreaker for Vols.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:27 I have written the outlook I have, pieces around the quarterback should be strong.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:30 I like where their offensive line is, and they've shuffled things around.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:33 They lost their left tackle, but they've got a left tackle of the future.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:34 It might be a top 10 line, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:36 It might be a top 10 line.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:37 It's like
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:38 And they've got DeSean Bishop back, who almost went for 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:42 So, like.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:45 He's also good in protection.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:47 He's also good out of the backfield.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:50 Sort of like a very, very underrated back.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:51 He'll be a complete back this year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:53 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:56 If you have a guy like that behind a line like this, you're already in a pretty good starting point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:02 Even if the quarterback you're trotting out there has zero career starts, that's an okay situation to be in.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:09 You know, like I'm kicking myself a little bit because I feel like I whiffed on Tennessee.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:17 I'll be very honest with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:18 I feel like I whiffed on Tennessee and
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:21 you know, a lot of the uncertainty is around A, the quarterback, or B, what's this defense going to look like with Jim Knowles?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:26 And Jim Knowles, the only reason Jim Knowles is there is because
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:30 you know, things didn't work out at Penn State with James Franklin going by the wayside, but, like, Jim Knowles has been in demand.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:36 He's a good defensive coordinator, even if there are some questions about what the defense looks like.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:36 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:40 So
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:43 Look, they lose Chaz Coleman, who never played a down for them, transferred in the wintertime and left after spring.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:50 And that was going to be like an edge answer that is no longer there.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:54 I don't know what their depth looks like on defense if they can absorb injuries.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:58 Obviously, they've been beat up and couldn't stop anybody on the ground last year, which is why they made the change.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:04 But I think the transfers in are intriguing enough.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:07 They looked at Penn State, obviously, to help fortify the depth there, coming with Jim Knowles.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:12 I think it was Amare Campbell as the other linebacker with
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:17 Arion Carter, excuse me, and was it Xavier?
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:21 Who's the defensive lineman?
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:22 It doesn't matter.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:23 We don't need to run through their roster.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:24 But from Penn State, they're bringing in beef.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:27 I'm ready to have my heart broken by Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:30 But I have down here 9-3 with mobility.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:33 I know it's a freshman quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:35 It seems to be as ideal a freshman quarterback because the offensive line, proof of concept, has been there in Knoxville.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:41 They miss Georgia and they miss Ole Miss, which are two big quarterback names to miss on this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:46 And their home-road splits.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:48 Obviously, everybody in the SEC plays a pretty difficult schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:50 But in terms of, like, who they're going on the road to play, in terms of who comes to Knoxville,
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:55 it's pretty great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:07:57 I know.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:57 It's pretty great.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:00 So I'm ready to be hurt, is what I'm saying.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:02 Xavier Gilliam's the guy you're thinking of, by the way, from Penn State.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:04 Thank you very much.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:06 Yeah, I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:10 I just, I think I'll just be very honest with people.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:13 I feel like I whiffed on this one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:15 I feel like I whiffed on Tennessee.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:17 I feel like I should have been giving them more credit all along.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:17 Well, you can make it up to me and Sparkle and buy something nice for us on our registry.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:27 Sparkle.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:27 What do you say, nine and three?
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:29 A nine and three with mobility, I'm ready to be hurt.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:32 Mobility.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:33 Good Lord.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:33 Right, like, if
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:35 you know, they're able to finish off a game against somebody huge in a way that they weren't able to last year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:40 If whoever is that quarterback immediately, not immediately pops, but
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:45 is put into a position where he doesn't have to do too much and you hide the weakness and enhance the strengths.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:52 I don't know, man.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:53 I feel about Tennessee the way I think you feel about Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:57 I could be convinced.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:58 I would say eight or nine wins.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:02 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:03 I just, I'm, again, I'm kicking myself because I was just...
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:05 Nine gets you the edge of the playoff, depending on which nine they are.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:08 I know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:09 I know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:11 I am all in on Florida.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:14 I love this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:15 I am all in on Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:17 Four and eight a year ago, fired Billy Napier.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:21 There's obviously, obviously, a huge list of questions we can kick around about this situation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:30 But I'm going to repeat what I've been saying since May.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:32 This is a top 15 caliber roster.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:35 It feels like a much more capable and organized staff.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:39 The new head coach, Jon Sumrall, is completely nuts, and I love it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:46 I'm going to go ahead.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:48 I'm going to set the over right here, right now, on that topic of Jon Sumrall.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:52 Over-under one and a half frosty handshakes in the postgame.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:59 One and a half?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:00 One and a half.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:02 One and a half frosty handshakes where maybe he blows a guy off.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:06 Maybe it's a quick, like, curt handshake.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:10 Maybe it's chest-to-chest with some war of words going on.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:10 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:13 Can you not see that coming a mile away with this guy?
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:16 You feel confident that Jon Sumrall this season blows a guy off?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:19 A hundred percent.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:21 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:21 So you've been thinking about Jon Sumrall blowing a guy off.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:27 With the handshake, with the handshake.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:29 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:32 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:32 I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:33 You seem very confident.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:35 Yeah, absolutely.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:36 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:36 He's going to run hot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:38 I love it.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:38 And...
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:39 I, he's, where's my thing?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:40 Where is this?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:46 Jon Sumrall, my one true God.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:48 Yeah, God guy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:49 I love the guy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:51 I love him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:53 This is a defense that is number one, numero uno in the nation in returning production.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:59 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:59 I think they're going to be really good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:01 I love that they've got Brad White running this defense, formerly of Kentucky.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:06 On paper, looks like this could be one of the better front sevens we've seen from Florida in a good long time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:12 The combination for me of Jayden Woods, by the way, number five on Bruce's Freaks List, with him at edge, Myles Graham as sort of the leader of this defense in the linebacking corps.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:24 I like Florida a lot.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:25 You don't need to sell me on it, but I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:26 I'm going to sell you anyway, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:26 But yeah, continue.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:28 You can.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:28 I'm going to sell not just you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:30 I'm going to sell the entire Verballerhood on this, okay?
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:32 Okay?
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:32 Keep it up.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:33 Keep it going.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:33 Floor is yours.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:35 Oh, that's really exciting to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:37 Then you layer in guys like Brendan Bett on the inside, some other guys who are either working their way back from injuries or maybe just arriving from the portal or from high school.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:45 I think they are loaded.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:47 I think this is going to be a very, very good defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:50 Also, I did note, just as a parenthetical, there are a number of guys who transferred in from Baylor, which definitely had the wheels turning: like, hey, was there a trade?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:59 A little two-for-one special where you get Lagway and we get the dude.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:00 Or the Lagway?
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:02 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:02 You know what I mean?
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:03 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:04 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:05 I like that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:07 The risk here is that they're asking a new quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:13 Along with a patchwork offensive line, a new coordinator to try and navigate a schedule like this, because this is a tough schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:22 It's real tough.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:22 Florida is another one of these teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:24 It's always a tough schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:25 At time of recording, they have not yet named the quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:29 I believe it will be Aaron Philo, given his familiarity with the system, now that Buster Faulkner is the new offensive coordinator.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:37 Both of them come from Georgia Tech.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:40 But he's not as strong-armed as his primary competition, Tramell Jones Jr.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:46 Tramell Jones Jr.,
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:47 from all the quotes I've seen, he might have a little bit more juice.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:52 Yeah, I think he's probably got a better arm, more athletic, but yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:54 So it wouldn't surprise me if we see playing time for him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:58 I don't know what Philo is going to look like out there against an SEC schedule if he is the guy who's throwing into the teeth of these defenses.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:04 But regardless of who it is,
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:06 I'm just curious to see how they develop as a passer because the wide receiver room looks loaded to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:12 I love this group of wide receivers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:14 Each guy does a little something different.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:16 All of them are freak athletic.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:19 Vernell Brown III, Eric Singleton Jr.,
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:22 Dallas Wilson.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:23 That's a hell of a trio, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:25 Yeah, all with, like, specific issues and things to correct or just stay healthy more often, but...
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:31 Dallas Wilson, a good example.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:33 Dallas Wilson came in last year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:33 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:35 He was going to be like the next big thing.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:37 Looked like it early.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:37 And looked like it early, yeah, but then hurt, missed the spring with a foot injury.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:42 Hopefully, he's back to full speed.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:44 It sounds to me like he's back to full speed, but that trio in and of itself.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:49 Eric Singleton, who can run like the wind, and has played for Buster Faulkner, right?
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:52 Mm-hmm.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:53 And has played for Buster Faulkner before, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:56 So you've got like enough connective tissue here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:00 Even though it's new, and even though it's a new collection of guys in some respects, there's enough connective tissue here to at least have you believe that they could hit the ground running with this thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:12 The offense runs through Jadan Baugh.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:15 Their star running back, who they were able to retain, who I love, is probably one of the better backs in the country.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:23 If he can get it going behind a line that lost a couple starters and, for what it's worth, spent the spring trying to figure out who their starting five was going to be.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:34 If that works out, if Jadan Baugh is able to give them the same level of output, then we're cooking with gas, baby.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:43 Then we're cooking.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:44 They're going to need that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:46 It's going to be a new starting quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:48 I don't know what the offense is going to look like with whoever that guy is behind center.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:54 But they need Jadan Baugh to hit.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:56 If Jadan Baugh hits, you combine it with that defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:59 I think we're in a really, really good place with this Florida team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:02 The win total for them is seven and a half.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:06 There are four very obvious games on this thing, on this schedule, that look like losses to me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:09 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:11 Those being week four against Ole Miss.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:14 Week seven, three in a row here, by the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:16 Week seven, eight, and nine at Texas, neutral site game against Georgia, home game against Oklahoma.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:24 Yeah, that's a stretch.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:25 If you assume that there is a loss to each of those teams, Florida still hits the over by winning out because, again, it's seven point five.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:33 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:33 I have eight and four down here, but yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:34 Yeah, I'm not sure we can just blindly make that assumption.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:39 I think they, again, I'm really high on Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:42 I think they probably dump one or two of those teams.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:45 And then they still end up 8-4 anyway.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:48 But I would be inclined to go over by a nose on this one because I feel really good about Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:53 The other thing about that Ole Miss game, you know when that game falls, don't you?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:01 Yeah, that's one week after that LSU game, which has clearly been circled and ticket prices are through the roof.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:09 So I just like this Florida team a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:12 I've been saying it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:13 I'll say it again until I'm blue in the face.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:15 Top 15 caliber roster.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:18 There's a lot here for these guys.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:20 There's a lot here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:22 And for what it's worth, Jon Sumrall has been very, very good at just sort of, like, knife-fighting his way into conference championship games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:31 I don't think that's going to happen here.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:32 Okay, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:33 But he's just been very good at like he's not coming in and running one specific system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:40 He's just kind of doing whatever he needs to do in order to make it work.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:43 I like a guy like this in a situation here where, granted, maybe new, you know, new verbiage, whatever, new coordinators at a minimum.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:51 I just feel like he's a doer.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:54 He knows how to get things done.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:56 Also, crazy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:58 And guys like to play for coaches like that.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:58 Yeah, I was going to say, does it worry you that he's the SEC coach most likely to
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:04 park his car after getting his drive-through meal, going inside, asking to speak to the manager because his Frosty tastes a little bit off.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:12 I think he is going to be an unbelievable quote throughout the course of the season.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:14 Do you stand by your Frosty?
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:16 You stand by this product?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:21 Like, Jon Sumrall may unlock levels of meathead not seen
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:25 for a generation.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:27 Trust is a joke.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:28 I am here for all of it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:31 All of it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:32 All.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:33 Where's my sound?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:33 Where is it?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:39 My one true God, Jon Sumrall, I'm all in.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:41 I'm sorry, this is not a Biggie Fry.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:43 I'm sorry, this is just not a Biggie Fry.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:45 I'm all in.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:47 You do have a tone, and I don't think you're wrong, you do have a little bit of, like, an LLM tone to your selling-me-on-Florida thing.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:55 You're like, no, listen to me, listen to me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:57 Everybody I know is doing the adaptogen thing, right?
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:03 Listen to me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:05 It's just a powder you pour in your water and you lose weight.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:10 Everybody I know.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:13 Yes, it's a new coach, of course.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:14 It's a new quarterback, of course, at the offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:16 Concerning. The receiver room has upside, but there are concerns.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:21 Are you doing an LLM impression?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:22 Is that what this is?
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:23 I think so.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:24 I've never had to sell or be sold.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:26 So this is just what I assume they're like.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:28 I just sort of very occasionally see them on Facebook from people I went to high school with.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:31 All right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:32 So I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:34 You're thinking of MLM, not LLM.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:34 I think they're going to be good.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:36 What did I say?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:37 You said LLM.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:37 I said LLM. Sorry, MLM, multi-level marketing, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:38 I thought you were, I thought you were trying to, yeah, you're...
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:40 Oh, an AI bot?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:42 I thought you were doing a ChatGPT impression.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:43 Ty, what you did was assume that I am bright on any level.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:48 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:49 That is your mistake.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:50 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:50 Thank you for correcting me, though, because I didn't need to see every comment correcting me, because I see that enough.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:56 Yes, an MLM.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:57 You're selling me on an MLM.
Dan Rubenstein 01:18:58 And I'm glad you caught that before a number of anonymous people.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:02 When you mentioned adaptogens, I was like, I've used some of these tools.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:06 I don't remember them trying to sell me on that.
Dan Rubenstein 01:19:10 Saffron Ty, have I got an investment for you?
Dan Rubenstein 01:19:13 Saffron.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:16 I'm on 8 and 4 Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:17 8 and 4 Florida with a really like interesting run of games here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:23 I could see him pulling a couple upsets.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:25 I could see it not being like perfectly smooth and efficient.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:30 I could see a couple questions about quarterback along the way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:34 Is it Philo?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:35 Is it Tramell Jones?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:37 Maybe a little bit of both.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:38 Who knows?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:39 But I think it's going to be fun as hell, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:42 I really do.
Dan Rubenstein 01:19:43 I think there's a lot of fun to be had with this Florida team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:50 All right, there it is.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:52 SEC Part 1 in the books, SEC Part 2...
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:55 now in the books. Go back and listen to Part 1.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:59 Listen to all of Part 2.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:00 Hey, if you made it this far, you already have.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:02 We appreciate your support.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:04 Please rate, review, and subscribe if you have yet to do so to help encourage other people to find the show.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:10 Verballers
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:11 dot com is where you can go if you want to help support the team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:13 Again, it is a lean operation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:15 It is Dan and I.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:17 And along the way, a few helpers. If you want to help, solidverbal at Gmail
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:21 dot com.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:21 We'll see what we can cook up for you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:22 But
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:24 Verballers
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:25 dot com is the best way to support what we do: ad-free episodes, bonus content, play in the games in the Verballer portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:32 All that good stuff is available to you if you enjoy what you hear here.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20:36 I just realized we get Jon Sumrall and Will Muschamp in the same stadium, maybe not on the same field.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20:42 I don't know where Will Muschamp is calling the game.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20:43 I suspect he'll be on the field, though.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:44 They're going to have an arm wrestling match at midfield.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20:47 This will be great.
Dan Rubenstein 01:20:49 Can't wait.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:49 Part three is coming up next.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:52 We're going to cover Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Mizzou, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:20:59 Hope you'll be there with us.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:00 For that guy over there, my good friend Dan Rubenstein, for myself over here, Ty Hildenbrandt, I got to go drink some water.
Dan Rubenstein 01:21:06 Do it, peace.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:21:06 Stay solid.