2026-08-13 SEC Preview Part 3 - LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and the Rest (raw)
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:18 Dan Rubenstein on today's show, we have LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, and Auburn.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:29 It is SEC Part 3.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:32 My great and good friend, it is our final team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:35 It is our final conference preview episode.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:38 I cannot believe we made it the full way through.
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:41 Welcome back, good sir.
Dan Rubenstein 00:43 Thank you very much.
Dan Rubenstein 00:44 This is an exciting episode for me just because I get to stop staring at rosters and depth charts and schedules.
Dan Rubenstein 00:53 and guessing based on all of those things.
Dan Rubenstein 00:57 And I'm very excited to get closer and inch forward.
Dan Rubenstein 01:02 To real football.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03 We're getting dangerously close, but yes, this has been a lot.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07 Wouldn't have it any other way.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09 Have a lot of thoughts on all of these teams.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11 Excited to get into it, but it's a lot of names.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14 It is a lot of names.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15 So I was telling you earlier, before we hit go.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17 My wife came downstairs this morning and basically caught me in a corner just staring at my hands, staring at my hands, and said
Dan Rubenstein 01:26 Like trying to figure out your thoughts on Dashawn Spears and whether or not he's going to hold up at nickel star for LSU in the secondary?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:33 Yes, but also there is an element to this of looking at all these rosters, you start losing your mind a little bit.
Dan Rubenstein 01:35 Huh?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:39 I know, woe is me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:40 I'm not asking for sympathy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:42 But she caught me in a virtual moment of crisis pondering my life after studying all of these teams incessantly over the last couple of weeks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:52 Like you said, wouldn't have it any other way.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:54 We are thrilled to be here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:56 We are thrilled to put a bow on our previews, go back and listen to all the ones we've done before.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:02 There are many to choose from.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:04 whether you're in the mood for a conference or a team or just an overall look at what has transpired here in the college football offseason.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:12 We did our intro to college football
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:14 Way back when now, over a month ago, on July the 7th, if you dig back through our feed and look to see what's available, we've got eight teams today.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:23 I want to start with LSU.
Dan Rubenstein 02:25 Let's start with LSU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:26 I want to start with LSU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:28 LSU is nothing if not interesting, huh?
Dan Rubenstein 02:30 Agree, absolutely.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:32 Let me start off the LSU preview with a bit of a hard truth.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:36 If you're
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:37 Okay with that if you've got the stomach for it.
Dan Rubenstein 02:38 I am okay with it.
Dan Rubenstein 02:39 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:40 I think anyone who claims to know anything about LSU is full of crap.
Dan Rubenstein 02:45 I think Lane Kiffin himself says he doesn't really know what's going to happen with LSU.
Dan Rubenstein 02:49 So I tend to agree.
Dan Rubenstein 02:50 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 02:50 I'm including myself, by the way, when I say that, because if you go back and listen to another episode we did on the Patreon feed, the Patreon bonus feed.
Dan Rubenstein 02:52 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:00 At Verballers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:01 com.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:01 We made this free for all.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:03 But we put together an episode where you and I talked through our first AP Top 25 ballot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:09 I was willing to go as high as number eight.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:13 For LSU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:14 And as I was digging into this roster, I was reminding myself of why.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:21 Because all too often we find ourselves saying things and then wondering about it afterwards, like, why did I why did I say that?
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:30 I don't have that wonder when it comes to LSU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:32 I know exactly why I said it, and I still feel really good about this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:35 There are a bunch of great players back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:38 Clearly, they did some work in the transfer portal, the top overall transfer portal class.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:43 But it is notable that this was not a team last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:48 These guys were not this team a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:52 And it's a lot of like projecting out how we think things are going to be.
Dan Rubenstein 03:55 There's a good amount on the defense, which was this team, I think.
Dan Rubenstein 03:59 There's a good amount.
Ty Hildenbrandt 03:59 Yeah, I would agree, but there's a lot here that is left to the imagination.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:05 which I think is probably the very point that you honed in on when you were a little bit more suspicious about going that high with LSU.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:13 Is that a fair assessment?
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:17 So we come into this preview now, basically all new.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:23 That makes it even more ridiculous to try and project them out, but we're going to try.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:27 Bill Connelly tried.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:28 He got them at 10.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:29 Brett from Pick Six has them at 12.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:31 Most picks that I've seen have them, at worst, a top 15 team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:37 Seven to six a year ago, Brian Kelly fired.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:40 We don't need to kind of rehash all that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 04:43 There was a fair amount of drama with getting Lane Kiffin into the door, but where do you stand with LSU?
Dan Rubenstein 04:50 There's a lot to like.
Dan Rubenstein 04:51 There's a lot to like, even with as much new as there is on offense.
Dan Rubenstein 04:56 You know, as I was going through the defense and what they return, I guess Dashawn Spears is fresh in my mind, but the secondary looks absolutely loaded.
Dan Rubenstein 05:03 What they look like in the middle of the defense at linebacker looks
Dan Rubenstein 05:07 Pretty scary, honestly.
Dan Rubenstein 05:09 The amount of experience both coming in via the Ole Miss in this case and the return of Whit Weeks in the middle of that defense.
Dan Rubenstein 05:18 There's a lot of upside in the defensive line room.
Dan Rubenstein 05:22 There's a lot new, but you can see why it could be quite productive, especially considering the continuity at coach on this defense with Blake Baker running the defense.
Dan Rubenstein 05:31 It's a really nice starting point.
Dan Rubenstein 05:33 Even with the schedule that LSU has, or what of the perceived difficulty in this moment of LSU schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 05:40 I think the entire season, the entirety of this year, the whole damn thing
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:45 The whole thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:45 The whole shebang.
Ty Hildenbrandt 05:47 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 05:48 Is whatever it is that happens right before the snap, right after the snap on the offensive line, and when the ball is in Sam Leavitt's hand.
Dan Rubenstein 05:56 Now, it's not a stretch to say, like, well, it depends how the quarterback is.
Dan Rubenstein 06:00 That's how the season's going to go, of course.
Dan Rubenstein 06:03 I don't know about this offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 06:05 I'm not sold on this offensive line being of playoff-caliber, of being like late November contending for the SEC caliber.
Dan Rubenstein 06:13 I understand a lot goes into overhauling an offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 06:18 There are very few instances of a team starting over along the line.
Dan Rubenstein 06:23 And putting together a high-level line, which is generally what you need to compete in the College Football Playoff and in a major conference near the end of the season.
Dan Rubenstein 06:32 I like where they are at a lot of these skill positions.
Dan Rubenstein 06:34 I don't know if I love whatever the ultimate pop is at receiver, but I think there's definite quality at receiver.
Dan Rubenstein 06:41 But look, it's not totally fair to say from the mines who brought you the South Carolina, Alabama, and
Dan Rubenstein 06:50 It was something that was another offensive line, the transfers coming in.
Dan Rubenstein 06:53 I guess that's more Texas A&M.
Dan Rubenstein 06:55 But the LSU offensive line to me, I think will be fine.
Dan Rubenstein 07:00 I'm just not sold.
Dan Rubenstein 07:01 I think I might be even thinking a little bit about Texas A&M and mashing these two lines together.
Dan Rubenstein 07:05 I'm not there yet.
Dan Rubenstein 07:07 I think they'll be good.
Dan Rubenstein 07:08 I think Sam Leavitt is not overrated, but there are concerning elements to his game, even when he's healthy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:15 Be careful how often you say the name Leavitt.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:17 He does bill.
Dan Rubenstein 07:17 I know, he does charge.
Ty Hildenbrandt 07:18 He does he charges.
Dan Rubenstein 07:22 That's where I'm at with LSU right now.
Dan Rubenstein 07:25 Because look.
Dan Rubenstein 07:26 The running back room is interesting.
Dan Rubenstein 07:27 It might be like the Wisconsin transfer starting, right?
Dan Rubenstein 07:29 Dilin Jones.
Dan Rubenstein 07:30 He's been flashing at camp early on, but everything's up in the air.
Dan Rubenstein 07:33 Jordan Seaton, hell of a headliner along the offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 07:37 Not necessarily known for paving the way on the ground as much as he is silencing dudes on the edge, rushing the passer.
Dan Rubenstein 07:46 I really like LSU.
Dan Rubenstein 07:48 I think they're going to be able to win games with defense and kind of not screwing up on offense.
Dan Rubenstein 07:52 I love that Lane Kiffin is calling this offense.
Dan Rubenstein 07:55 It's a lot in year one.
Dan Rubenstein 07:57 It's a lot to ask that they are like a double-digit win team in year one to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:02 I mean, it would be even more of a circus if they end up being a double-digit win team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:06 And I'm not even saying that in a bad way, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:09 it's fairly evident that if you followed this coaching search that got Lane Kiffin here in the first place.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:17 I mean, look
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:18 It was a coaching search that involved, at one point, the governor, at another point, scorned members of a yoga class, and then to put a bow on it all, the tender hug on the tarmac between Marty Smith and Lane Kiffin himself.
Dan Rubenstein 08:30 Never forget, never forget.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:32 So we've had a lot go on in a very short period of time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:35 Then, on top of it, you had this portal haul, which brought over Sam Leavitt, Jordan Seaton, Princewill Umanmielen, Ty Benefield, TJ Dottery.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:43 Tre Wilson, Jayce Brown, Winston Watkins, Husan Longstreet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:47 I'm sure there are I know there are names I'm leaving out, but that's a pretty damn big haul.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:53 To try and assemble all of those pieces into working order in a short period of time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 08:58 And then, if he can translate that somehow into a nine or ten win season, yes, the circus continues because they're probably a playoff team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:07 I agree with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:08 I agree with you on the Sam Leavitt front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:11 So, Sam Leavitt missed all of spring after having foot surgery.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:14 He had some hardware removed from a previous injury that he had.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:19 As of last week, no visible brace, no limp, seemingly no restrictions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:26 Lane said he's all the way back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:27 If he is back, I think he fits this system really well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:31 And I also think he's got a lot to prove, which is not the worst combination in the world.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:35 His mobility is absolutely something that they're going to take advantage of in this offense if it works for Kiffin in year one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:43 It's because, A, Sam Leavitt is playing and is healthy and is able to use that mobility.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:49 It's B, because the line plays better and they can actually build something of a rushing attack.
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:54 And it's C, one of, if not
Ty Hildenbrandt 09:57 Two or three of these running backs pop to varying degrees.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:02 And of course, I'm speaking of Caden Durham, Harlem Berry, and as you mentioned, Dilin Jones, who comes over from Wisconsin.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:08 Like, I'm not, I'm with you on the wide receiver room.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:12 I'm not fully there, but I like the names.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:15 I want to see how they use them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:16 But I really think, in the words of the wise prophet David Pollack, it all starts up front.
Dan Rubenstein 10:22 Point of attack Yeah, I think we are probably using
Ty Hildenbrandt 10:23 Point of attack.
Dan Rubenstein 10:28 A choice couple of games from Sam Leavitt to evaluate.
Dan Rubenstein 10:32 I mean, look, he wasn't their first choice, maybe not their second or third choice, but he's there.
Dan Rubenstein 10:35 We know he has upside.
Dan Rubenstein 10:37 But you're looking at the Iowa State game from two years ago and hoping to get that version, essentially.
Dan Rubenstein 10:43 It wasn't a particularly good game against Texas, so he put them in position to win a couple of years ago in the playoff.
Dan Rubenstein 10:49 And last year's performances, he's hobbled, and it's unfair to judge him based on where he was or wasn't last year.
Dan Rubenstein 10:54 But the performances weren't overwhelming for Sam Leavitt and ASU last year.
Dan Rubenstein 10:58 Some close wins, some disappointment, and an injury.
Dan Rubenstein 11:02 So.
Dan Rubenstein 11:03 I'm willing to believe that Lane Kiffin can get the most out of basically any quarterback, which is why I am a believer in what Sam Leavitt as a healthy quarterback can do this year.
Dan Rubenstein 11:15 It's just, I have a lot of curiosity about what you can do in that first year with so much new.
Dan Rubenstein 11:23 Because Kurt Cignetti has obviously thrown everything off in terms of expectations in year one, but I don't think Lane Kiffin is Kurt Cignetti.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:33 Now, I also think that he will have something of a backstop because of the defense.
Dan Rubenstein 11:33 I think he's a really good coach, but I don't think he's Kurt Cignetti.
Dan Rubenstein 11:40 Agreed.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:40 The defense is going to be a wall.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:43 Like, I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:44 I like that Blake Baker.
Dan Rubenstein 11:44 These corners, the secondary, the back half in general.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:47 Yeah, I mean, with Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery at linebacker.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:52 Then in front of them, you've got Princewill Umanmielen screaming off the edge.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:56 The secondary is really good talent.
Ty Hildenbrandt 11:58 Maybe a bit thin, but like DJ Pickett's the anchor back there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:02 They're really good at all three.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:03 Layers of that defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:05 It's just honestly, to me, it's going to come down to Sam Leavitt and the line.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:11 Sounds like it could be a little honky-tonk band.
Dan Rubenstein 12:14 Yeah, I mean, look, there's every reason in the world to expect progress and development from what was a very good defense, all things considered, with what the offense wasn't last year.
Dan Rubenstein 12:25 So there's terrific reason to believe that, you know, maybe short of obvious talent on the inside of the line, I think there's obvious potential and obvious upside.
Dan Rubenstein 12:36 But not absolute monsters or proven monsters on the inside.
Dan Rubenstein 12:40 Some youth, some rotation guys.
Dan Rubenstein 12:43 Aside from that, if they can stop the run and get off the field, they're going to smother everybody in that back end.
Dan Rubenstein 12:49 So I think the starting point is great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 12:52 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 12:52 It's a weird thing to say.
Dan Rubenstein 12:53 Like basically, two years after having a Heisman winning quarterback, or I guess three seasons after.
Dan Rubenstein 13:00 That the concern is, I mean, different coach, different system, different everything, but like the concern is offensive pop, something they haven't been able to find consistently.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:07 Yeah, it is.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:09 And there's not a ton of runway.
Dan Rubenstein 13:11 But that's why Lane Kiffin's there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:12 That's why Kiffin's there, but there's not a lot of runway.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:15 And so if you're already kind of building this thing, trying to get some cohesion from a bunch of guys who haven't played together before, um
Dan Rubenstein 13:15 No, there's not.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:24 At least on one side of the ball, it's going to be tough because they open up week one with Clemson.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:32 Say whatever you want about Clemson, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:35 Yeah, games at home.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:37 I think that'll be a tough game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:39 Week three is the monster game that everyone's got circled when they're on the road at Ole Miss.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:43 And then right back home in week four against Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:47 There's a softer spot on that schedule in between then and November.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:52 But then it's Bama at home, it's Texas at home, they're at Tennessee, they're at Arkansas to close.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:57 Win total is eight and a half.
Ty Hildenbrandt 13:59 I think for the people out there who our
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:02 You know, our community, certified and premium Verballers who can play the Grand Total game, the over-under game that we've got out in our Verballer Portal, check that out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:10 The win total is eight and a half, which is a really interesting number.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:14 It's a number that caught me off guard.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:16 I look at the schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:17 I get it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:17 Obviously, I understand the circumstances here that got us to this point in time with LSU, but that still feels really low to me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:24 Like, I think if it works, I think they're easily over that number.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:28 If it doesn't, I still have a hard time believing they're going eight and four.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:33 with the talent that they've got in this roster.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:35 So I'm inclined to be a fairly confident over here, but I certainly understand the case for the under.
Dan Rubenstein 14:42 I think I'm over.
Dan Rubenstein 14:43 I think they're probably a nine-win team.
Dan Rubenstein 14:47 I don't think I can go much above that.
Dan Rubenstein 14:49 Now
Dan Rubenstein 14:50 When you look at their schedule and your own private perceptions, right, of this team or of this team's schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:54 Private perceptions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 14:56 Oh, my gosh.
Dan Rubenstein 14:56 Yeah, well, I mean, look
Dan Rubenstein 14:58 You can't just say, like, oh, they have the seventh hardest schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 15:00 They have the 44th hardest schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 15:01 Like, whatever you think about Kentucky, or Arkansas, or Auburn, or Bama, or Texas, you know, that is going to color whatever it is that you think of this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 15:11 But,
Dan Rubenstein 15:13 There's reasonable minds that can agree that Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, and probably Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 15:22 At least after those first three weeks, we get Ole Miss.
Dan Rubenstein 15:24 We don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 15:25 But there's enough evidence with those programs right now.
Dan Rubenstein 15:28 We're like, it seems like those are going to be challenges for everybody.
Dan Rubenstein 15:33 We're not positive what Ole Miss is going to be.
Dan Rubenstein 15:35 Probably going to be a team that can score some points.
Dan Rubenstein 15:38 I'm not deeply in love with a lot of these teams on the schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 15:41 I like a lot of these teams to varying degrees.
Dan Rubenstein 15:45 The LSU question is going to be: how quickly can the offense come together, Sam Leavitt's health, and essentially, can they win 50-50 games?
Dan Rubenstein 15:55 And
Dan Rubenstein 15:56 What type of depth is going to be needed week seven, week eight, week nine, week 12, something like that?
Dan Rubenstein 16:03 Because you are throwing together starters on the fly and backups on the fly in a lot of these cases.
Dan Rubenstein 16:09 And they're not necessarily used to Lane's system or Blake Baker's system in terms of some of these backups and starters.
Dan Rubenstein 16:17 So.
Dan Rubenstein 16:18 That's what I question later on in the schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 16:21 That, like, they're up on Tennessee late, but they can't close the deal, and it's, you know, 3128 Tennessee or something like that.
Dan Rubenstein 16:28 So.
Dan Rubenstein 16:29 Nine and three is where I land as a, you know, guesswork projection.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:32 I could I could get behind nine and three.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:34 Yeah, I could go nine and three.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:37 I think there's potential to go higher, but I think 9-3 is a good starting point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:40 And I like the over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:41 I do.
Dan Rubenstein 16:42 Yeah, I I'm not again, I'm not in love with a lot of these teams.
Dan Rubenstein 16:45 Like, you can stack them up and say, like,
Ty Hildenbrandt 16:46 No.
Dan Rubenstein 16:47 Oh man, it just keeps on coming.
Dan Rubenstein 16:49 But then, like, when you actually break it down, you're like, hey, all of these teams have what appears to be pretty deep flaws.
Dan Rubenstein 16:56 Now, the home road splits or whatever.
Dan Rubenstein 16:58 But
Dan Rubenstein 17:00 I don't question that LSU is going to get to a good place offensively eventually.
Dan Rubenstein 17:05 It seems like it's going to have to happen pretty quickly.
Dan Rubenstein 17:07 You're going to be matching points against teams like Ole Miss or AM or something.
Dan Rubenstein 17:12 But no, there are obvious weak spots for basically all of these teams, maybe other than Texas, on this schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:20 Let's go to a team with another new coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:23 Let's go to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:27 I feel like our Arkansas listeners
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:31 deserve a little bit of respect, frankly, because I read the messages that these folks send in.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:38 They love the team as much as ever, but there is part of it that feels a bit like an abusive relationship over these last couple of years.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:45 I mean, they're just hoping against hope that something changes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:48 I guess they got a very notable change this offseason now with them finally parting ways with Sam Pittman, going in the direction of Ryan Silverfield.
Ty Hildenbrandt 17:56 Maybe we can talk through how we feel about that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:00 Obviously, Texas, Arkansas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:03 Obviously, Arkansas was in a position a year ago where they were a tremendous half team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:08 Had a very good offense, had a very poor defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:12 And that led us in no small part to this moment in time in 2026 where we're talking about new guys, new coaches, new players, you name it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:22 I am looking for reasons to try and be optimistic about this Arkansas team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:27 And something that I read a lot in the offseason was how it seemed as though Ryan Silverfield was able to get people to write checks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:36 It seemed as though that class of booster was on some level into what Ryan Silverfield was selling.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:42 If nothing more, he's just a new face who had success elsewhere that they could bring over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:47 you know, maybe install a system and get things going a little quicker than expected.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:51 I still see a relatively tough uphill climb here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:55 I don't think you can fix the defense overnight.
Ty Hildenbrandt 18:58 I'm not sure there's enough certainty at the quarterback position with K.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:01 J.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:02 Jackson.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:03 And just across the board, I just think this is the type of situation that's going to take a couple of years if it's going to work at all.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:09 This isn't to say they have bad skill talent.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:12 This isn't to say that the offense that they're going to put in with Tim Cramsey is the worst idea.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:17 This isn't to say that there is nothing to work with.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:20 It's not like the cupboard is fully bare.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:23 But I just think given the level of competition around the SEC, it's going to take a minute.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:30 It's going to take a minute.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:31 Even if Ron Roberts can coach that defense up, and I happen to like Ron Roberts a great deal, I just think you look at the schedule, Arkansas might have the hardest SEC draw of any team in the conference.
Dan Rubenstein 19:35 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:44 they're going to face 10 FBS teams that are ranked 31st or better in the SP+, including four of which in the top ten.
Ty Hildenbrandt 19:54 So speaking of no runway, speaking of having a really tough learning curve here in the first year of Ryan Silverfield
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:02 I'm not sure how Arkansas can pull that rabbit out of the hat.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:06 Maybe they'll surprise me, but I don't see a bowl here given the schedule and given just the size of this project.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:13 And that should not be
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:15 I think all on Ryan Silverfield, his starting point is drastically different than some of his peers in the conference who are also starting over, new coaches stepping foot on campus for the first time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:26 So I'm
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:27 I'm optimistic that he can turn it around.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:30 And I'm optimistic because he does have something of a track record for being very successful at Memphis.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:35 He built a really nice program at Memphis.
Dan Rubenstein 20:37 Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 20:37 But I'm just like, I'm having a hard time squinting and seeing it in year one.
Dan Rubenstein 20:43 Yeah, I mean, even looking for four or five wins could be quite tough.
Dan Rubenstein 20:48 And if, look, if they're more organized, if they have a good amount of health luck, I think Ron Roberts is good, as do you.
Dan Rubenstein 20:54 I still don't see them come.
Dan Rubenstein 20:57 Like I like the I think it's the Maryland transfer corner, La'Khi Roland.
Dan Rubenstein 21:01 He was super productive and I think he's a big value add and he was in high demand and Arkansas was the one who was able to prime away from College Park.
Dan Rubenstein 21:09 But I don't think there's enough talent.
Dan Rubenstein 21:11 I don't think there's enough experience to compete on a level to get to like six or seven wins in the SEC in year one.
Dan Rubenstein 21:19 It's just, I think it's too tall an ask.
Dan Rubenstein 21:22 Both with the schedule, the lack of experience.
Dan Rubenstein 21:25 I don't have a lot of trust in the lines of scrimmage.
Dan Rubenstein 21:28 And.
Dan Rubenstein 21:30 I can't get there.
Dan Rubenstein 21:33 You look at some of the guys they brought in, and they were guys who were not performing at their previous place.
Dan Rubenstein 21:39 And now they're going to be tasked with performing against a more difficult schedule, we think.
Dan Rubenstein 21:45 I'm just not there.
Dan Rubenstein 21:47 As fun as Arkansas was on offense and as close as they were to winning many more games last season,
Ty Hildenbrandt 21:52 And they weren't that far off.
Ty Hildenbrandt 21:54 They truly weren't.
Dan Rubenstein 21:56 No, but they also were basically exactly of Memphis quality in their close loss, right?
Dan Rubenstein 22:02 And now they hire the Memphis guy who had his team last season with a lot of these players of essentially Arkansas quality.
Dan Rubenstein 22:12 And so now he comes to Little Rock, he comes to Fayetteville, whatever.
Dan Rubenstein 22:16 And
Dan Rubenstein 22:17 I think it's just going to take a season or two.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:20 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:22 Yeah, I don't and even even on the quarterback front, and I know we've talked about this before.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:29 KJ Jackson seems like he's going to be QB1.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:33 I read plenty of reports.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:35 I was listening to podcasts.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:37 This offseason, where even the people that cover the team were like, we think he can run the system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:44 We think he's probably the guy, but there isn't a whole lot of confidence on that front either.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:49 Doesn't mean he can't be good, doesn't mean he can't run the system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 22:52 But I just feel like we're if we want to talk about LSU and a lot being new and trying to project forward what that might look like, Arkansas is obviously at a much different starting point.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:03 We're not asking whether Sam Leavitt can go out there and be a productive quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:07 We're asking, can KJ Jackson run the system?
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:09 And the answer is we think.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:11 That's part of why I'm a little bit more pessimistic on this team.
Dan Rubenstein 23:14 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 23:16 I don't see much in terms of explosion in year one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:19 And I feel bad saying all this because the Arkansas people who write it are very nice people.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:23 Just love college football.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:25 Kudos, guys.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:26 Kudos.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:27 But if nothing more, change in leadership, change in philosophy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:34 We'll see what Ryan Silverfield has in year one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 23:36 It's going to be a very, very difficult uphill climb given the schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 23:40 Yeah, I mean, the I guess the best you can hope for is there are some sandwich and moments where they're getting teams in a spillover kind of way, but like
Dan Rubenstein 23:51 I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 23:52 You can't count on letdowns and look aheads and sandwiches.
Dan Rubenstein 23:54 Like, it's just the body blow stuff.
Dan Rubenstein 23:56 You got to be able to get to, you know, 27 points or keep a team under 30.
Dan Rubenstein 24:01 And I don't.
Dan Rubenstein 24:03 It doesn't seem like it's in the cards.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:06 Let's go over to Texas A&M, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 24:08 All right.
Dan Rubenstein 24:09 This is the offensive line I want to talk about, not the LSU one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:11 This is is it?
Dan Rubenstein 24:12 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:13 Is it?
Dan Rubenstein 24:13 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:14 I mean, Texas A&M lost four starters off the offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 24:14 I'm very concerned.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:19 All of them got drafted.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:21 That's going to be a lot to replace.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:23 And the offensive line was very much the engine room for the offense a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:27 It was part of why so many people were high on Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:31 So you take a look at where AM's at this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:34 Again, there's a lot new on that front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:37 I think they feel okay about the guys that they're plugging in there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:40 It's notable to point that out just from the jump that, yes, this is something we relied upon a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 24:46 To what end can we rely upon it this year?
Dan Rubenstein 24:50 I don't mind having to replace four starters, five starters.
Dan Rubenstein 24:56 I don't mind that.
Dan Rubenstein 24:57 Teams have done that successfully.
Dan Rubenstein 24:59 The issue I have is the amount that is new, right, with new offensive coordinator and the guys coming in specifically
Dan Rubenstein 25:08 The goof I was trying to make before was like from the mines who brought you like the South Carolina LSU and Alabama rushing attacks from last year are now charged with fixing or filling the Texas A&M offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 25:20 That it seems that they brought in dudes who weren't that productive.
Dan Rubenstein 25:23 Nobody's born bad in pass protection.
Dan Rubenstein 25:25 This is a developmental position.
Dan Rubenstein 25:27 You can get better, you can get coached up, you can be in a system that's better built for you.
Dan Rubenstein 25:30 You can be a tackle who's really a guard, or vice versa.
Dan Rubenstein 25:34 You can get better.
Dan Rubenstein 25:36 There is something about this Texas A&M team that I like a good deal.
Dan Rubenstein 25:40 I think we're probably too low as a society, as a people, on Marcel Reed.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:45 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 25:47 Yeah, that's true.
Dan Rubenstein 25:47 He definitely had low moments.
Dan Rubenstein 25:49 He just happened to have like his lowest of moments, it seems, in the final game of his season last year, in Texas A&M season.
Dan Rubenstein 25:57 And I think there's absolute room to grow.
Dan Rubenstein 26:01 Another year as the guy in the offseason, what should be a promising run game.
Dan Rubenstein 26:05 Again, the offensive line is there.
Dan Rubenstein 26:07 A good number of quality receivers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:10 I mean, the skill talent's really good.
Dan Rubenstein 26:11 I think it's obvious.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:12 The skill talent's really good.
Dan Rubenstein 26:12 It's a really nice group of guys who can score points.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:15 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 26:18 So I think we're all too low on Marcel Ree.
Dan Rubenstein 26:20 When you look at the list of best SEC quarterbacks or whatever, I think he's a little bit, he could be a little bit too low.
Dan Rubenstein 26:26 There's a lot on the defense that I mean, there's a lot to like, but it just feels less obvious right now with the Texas A&M team as a whole.
Dan Rubenstein 26:37 I like them.
Dan Rubenstein 26:38 I like Texas A&M.
Dan Rubenstein 26:39 But the more I dug in, I was like, that's like two more questions than I thought I would have about this Aggie team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:45 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:46 So if we hit rewind for a second, A&M went 11 and 2 last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:53 They lost their last two games of the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:54 The first was on the road out of Texas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 26:56 The next was at home against Miami in the playoff 10-3 in that crazy wind game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:02 It was a terrible game to watch, 10-3.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:07 Something that's been bouncing around in my head since that moment, and you'll know this when I say it, I will redact names to protect the innocent.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:18 We have a loyal listener who writes in, I presume a Texas fan, who seemingly takes issue with anything remotely true, but also nice that we say about Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:32 He's never mean about it, but he's just constantly reminding us that, hey, you know, Texas A&M, their MO is that they always fall short.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:39 In case you forgot, they always fall short.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:42 And I usually just kind of hand wave it because I like this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:45 I really like Mike Elko.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:50 Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:51 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:52 But I distinctly remember.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:54 After they lost to Miami, this guy's comments.
Ty Hildenbrandt 27:59 And I distinctly remembered it all throughout, for whatever reason, better or worse, all throughout my studying process this time around as well.
Dan Rubenstein 28:06 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:06 Texas A&M falls short.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:07 Short.
Dan Rubenstein 28:08 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:09 That may be unfair, but it's also true to an extent.
Dan Rubenstein 28:12 I mean, like, so did the Chicago Cubs.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:13 And right.
Dan Rubenstein 28:15 You do it until you don't.
Dan Rubenstein 28:17 So do the Boston Red Sox.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:18 Exactly.
Dan Rubenstein 28:19 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:19 And that I think is why I kind of hand-wave these things.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:21 I don't necessarily believe that the past is always going to be the future, especially not when you've got a good coach, you've got all the skilled talent.
Dan Rubenstein 28:22 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 28:24 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:28 Even if the line is replacing guys, it's still going to be a pretty good line with a good rushing attack behind it.
Dan Rubenstein 28:32 But I guess after the twenty twenty five season, who would know better?
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:32 Right?
Dan Rubenstein 28:36 Who would have that expertise in coming up short than a Texas fan, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:39 Sure, exactly.
Dan Rubenstein 28:40 Playoff eligible.
Dan Rubenstein 28:42 Let's get that out there.
Dan Rubenstein 28:44 Continue.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:45 I um
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:47 I think I'm with you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:49 I had more questions in looking over AM than I expected.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:53 And it's not because they don't have talent.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:55 And I also happen to really like Marcel Reed.
Ty Hildenbrandt 28:58 But the combination of new play caller on offense with a defense that gave up a bunch of big plays a year ago that is now trying to figure out a way
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:08 To force more turnovers, to help try and change the game on that side of the ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:16 That combination kind of creeped me out more than I expected.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:20 I still think Texas A&M is going to be a really, really solid team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:23 I love the fact that they bring back both Marcel Reed and Mario Craver out wide.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:29 I love that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:30 And I think the line ultimately will be just fine.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:33 But they play five games after October the 25th against Alabama on the road, South Carolina on the road, which is not an easy place to play.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:44 Tennessee at home.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:46 They're on the road in Norman against Oklahoma.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:48 And then they close out the year at home against Texas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:52 Those five games are all very losable, and I think they're the ones that define the season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 29:59 So I think they'll have a little bit of time to kind of figure things out here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:02 But there is going to be a stretch of games that maybe we didn't see a year ago for Texas A&M, five really tough games that I think are really going to put this team to the test.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:12 And we'll see what they're made of.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:14 We'll see what that play calling looks like.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:16 We'll see if Marcel Reed can acquit himself of some of the late season failures from a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:23 That is my point of hesitation.
Dan Rubenstein 30:25 There was a lot to love about this defense last year.
Dan Rubenstein 30:27 The concern now with this year is it doesn't seem like their schedule is going to break
Dan Rubenstein 30:32 In the very specific way that it broke last year with the teams they ended up playing, I'm not saying last year's run to the College Football Playoff and being on the edge of the SEC Championship Game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:34 Exactly.
Ty Hildenbrandt 30:36 Exactly.
Dan Rubenstein 30:44 Was only because of that.
Dan Rubenstein 30:45 You still have to win the games.
Dan Rubenstein 30:46 You still have to make the plays.
Dan Rubenstein 30:48 And they produced, especially on defense, especially against the pass, especially on third down, like a terrific team should.
Dan Rubenstein 30:56 But also, they've scored two offensive touchdowns against Texas these past two seasons, right?
Dan Rubenstein 31:04 There's a little bit left to be desired against the best of who they could be playing.
Dan Rubenstein 31:10 And so I'm still very much in on what Texas A&M can be if everything continues to grow in the correct direction.
Dan Rubenstein 31:19 And dudes emerge, be they transfers up front, what it's the Northwestern Anto Saka, is that his name?
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:23 Oh, they love him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:24 They love him.
Dan Rubenstein 31:25 On one of the edges.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:26 Yeah, they love him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:27 They think he's going to be the next big thing.
Dan Rubenstein 31:29 Fifth year, dude.
Ty Hildenbrandt 31:30 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 31:31 There's a lot to like about a lot of this talent on all the levels.
Dan Rubenstein 31:34 Noah Mikhail, a linebacker, Dezz Ricks, one of the corner spots.
Dan Rubenstein 31:38 Like, there's obvious, huge talent.
Dan Rubenstein 31:42 But yeah, I just something screams eight and four to me.
Dan Rubenstein 31:47 And it's not a text AM joke.
Dan Rubenstein 31:48 It's not intended to be like they always, you know, win seven, eight games.
Dan Rubenstein 31:53 I think there's opportunity to win more, but man, I do not have a lot of trust in this offensive line right now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:01 I think they have a very strong case to get back to the playoff, if it works.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:05 Because the returning production number is still very high.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:08 There is a lot back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:08 They're 15th in the country.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:10 Obviously, included in that is Marcel Reed, the receiver room.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:14 As you mentioned, the secondary I think looks good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:16 They've got really good depth back there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:19 And to the point of this being, like, the portal era, they were really aggressive in going out in the portal and getting exactly what they thought they needed.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:28 They weren't spending willy-nilly.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:29 They were very targeted with how they approached that side of things.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:33 The case against Texas A&M is you've got a first-time play caller.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:38 Rebuilt line, which we spend a lot of time talking about here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:42 They are replacing some upfront on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:45 Turnover margin is a broader conversation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:49 Part of why they, I think
Dan Rubenstein 32:50 That's also that can be very random, too.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:51 Can be random, but this is not a defense that was overwhelmingly producing those moments last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 32:57 I think they would like more of that.
Dan Rubenstein 32:57 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:00 Lyle Hemphill, their new defensive coordinator, had a track record for doing that somewhat at JMU before he came over to Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:09 And the schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:11 The schedule is, I think, dramatically harder this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:15 So I think they've got enough skill talent to be there again.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:19 But for me, the hesitations that I found in going through all this were enough to
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:25 Really lead me astray.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:27 Lead me astray from where I thought I would be.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:29 I have nine and three for AM.
Ty Hildenbrandt 33:32 I could see the case for 8-4, but I think they lose early on the road at LSU and then two of those other five games that we talked about later in the year to get to 9-3.
Dan Rubenstein 33:44 Yeah, I think that's reasonable.
Dan Rubenstein 33:45 I mean, something that should be mentioned is Mike Elko is excellent.
Dan Rubenstein 33:51 You look at some of those close games against great teams last year, like Notre Dame early.
Dan Rubenstein 33:57 Maybe a little bit less so, and barely beating Arkansas or Auburn, those kinds of games.
Dan Rubenstein 34:01 They win the games.
Dan Rubenstein 34:02 They're prepared to finish four quarters of football.
Dan Rubenstein 34:06 And even though the Texas game didn't go their way, even though the Miami game didn't go their way,
Dan Rubenstein 34:10 It's much better to win those games than the opposite.
Dan Rubenstein 34:14 And so I think they're going to be well coached.
Dan Rubenstein 34:16 I think the rhythms of these games.
Dan Rubenstein 34:19 is largely going to come down to talent rather than putting the talent in a good place.
Dan Rubenstein 34:26 And so that's great news for Texas A&M because there is talent, there is coaching.
Dan Rubenstein 34:31 I just I'm not there yet with the overwhelming nature of what this schedule could hold.
Dan Rubenstein 34:40 compared to what it didn't necessarily present last year with some of these teams being kind of down who won't be forever.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:47 Five consecutive games against top-25 SP+ opponents.
Dan Rubenstein 34:53 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:55 That's a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:56 They didn't have that a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 34:57 So I think we agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:00 I think we're still pretty high on Texas A&M.
Dan Rubenstein 35:01 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:02 I could definitely see upward mobility with Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:04 That's not hard to see at all.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:05 But yeah, more more questions, I think, than I expected.
Dan Rubenstein 35:10 Yeah, that's fine.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:12 All right, before we go any further
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:14 I said it at the top.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:14 I'll say it again now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:16 Verballers.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:17 com.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:17 That's where you can go if you want to support what Dan and I do right now.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:21 We are in the process of collecting questions for an August Q&A episode that's going to drop this weekend.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:29 We also have opened up the Verballer Portal where you can go and vote in your Verballer top 12.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:35 Where you can go and play Grand Total, which is our win total game.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:39 It's kind of like a combination of what we did a few years ago, which was just tell us the over-under for every Power 4 team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:47 And a confidence pool.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:48 We kind of mixed the two this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:49 So you tell us over, under for all these teams that we're talking through right now, and then you rank them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 35:55 By number of confidence points, how confident are you that Texas A&M is going to have X number of wins?
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:00 That's the game we call Grand Total.
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Ty Hildenbrandt 36:07 get all these episodes a little bit early.
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Ty Hildenbrandt 36:34 Dan, let's talk about the Missouri Tigers, shall we?
Dan Rubenstein 36:37 I'm ready.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:39 I feel like we might have a spirited discussion here.
Dan Rubenstein 36:41 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:42 I like Eli Drinkwitz a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:45 I do.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:46 I think he's a button pusher.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:48 I think he's a line stepper.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:49 I think he's fun as hell.
Dan Rubenstein 36:51 Okay, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:51 He gets guys playing for him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:53 He has won 29 games in three seasons.
Ty Hildenbrandt 36:57 But here's the but: eight and five a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:02 Their record against unranked teams was 8-0.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:04 Their record against ranked teams was 0-5.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:07 A step further, 8-0 against teams that finished with losing records, 0-5 against teams that finished with winning records.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:16 Are you detecting a trend?
Dan Rubenstein 37:17 I am detecting a trend.
Dan Rubenstein 37:19 Yes, continue.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:19 I feel like we are in this perpetual state with Mizzou of waiting for things to click and get to that next level.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:27 And I don't know when that's going to happen.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:30 It always feels like there's a little bit more meat on the bone, doesn't it?
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:35 And I'm struggling to put into words how that makes me feel as a college football fan.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:39 I certainly don't think that's going to happen this year either.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:43 And I said it back in part one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:45 Maybe I was a little bit harsh in my statements about Mizzou.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:50 I think I'm fully out on this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:53 I think there are too many variables for me to feel anything good about them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 37:57 I can certainly see the potential.
Ty Hildenbrandt 38:00 The potential is obvious, and I'm sure we're going to talk through it here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 38:04 But part of why I'm expecting that discussion, that spirited discussion with you, is because I know we disagree on this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 38:10 I'm fully out.
Dan Rubenstein 38:12 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 38:14 Um
Dan Rubenstein 38:16 I don't think I'm as out.
Dan Rubenstein 38:18 We'll see.
Dan Rubenstein 38:18 I mean, look, a lot depends on Ahmad Hardy's recovery and how close he is to
Dan Rubenstein 38:26 Approaching where he was last year, which was one of the absolute best running backs in America.
Dan Rubenstein 38:32 You can't stumble into winning.
Dan Rubenstein 38:34 Now, they didn't get it done against ranked teams, as you mentioned.
Dan Rubenstein 38:39 I don't love the offensive coordinator hire.
Dan Rubenstein 38:41 I have a lot of questions about where Austin Simmons is.
Dan Rubenstein 38:44 I think there's a good amount of talent there.
Dan Rubenstein 38:46 I think there's clear upside at receiver.
Dan Rubenstein 38:50 I think the history of offensive line development is definitely good.
Dan Rubenstein 38:55 The history, where they were on defense last year was crazy impressive, and there's a lot changing personnel-wise on this defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:00 It's like all changing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:02 It's all new.
Dan Rubenstein 39:03 It's a lot new for sure.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:05 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 39:06 But I just don't think you happen into a super productive defense.
Dan Rubenstein 39:12 I think there is development that plays a part.
Dan Rubenstein 39:15 I think there's evaluation.
Dan Rubenstein 39:16 I think there is figuring out.
Dan Rubenstein 39:18 How to put your guys in the right place involved in Missouri's success on defense.
Dan Rubenstein 39:24 They didn't lose all these games to rank teams 52 to 3.
Dan Rubenstein 39:29 I think they're good with a self-imposed ceiling.
Dan Rubenstein 39:35 I don't think Mizzou has been able to fully figure out or keep healthy the quarterback position.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:42 No.
Dan Rubenstein 39:44 That's a pretty big position.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:44 No.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:45 It's a pretty big position.
Ty Hildenbrandt 39:48 It's a pretty big position.
Dan Rubenstein 39:48 Like they looked at Beau Pribula and they said, yes, he is ready to lead us.
Dan Rubenstein 39:54 Into SEC play and beat great teams.
Dan Rubenstein 39:58 And that didn't happen.
Dan Rubenstein 40:00 And it didn't even come close to happening.
Dan Rubenstein 40:02 And he was beat up, obviously.
Dan Rubenstein 40:04 That's the issue.
Dan Rubenstein 40:05 I think they downgraded offensive coordinator.
Dan Rubenstein 40:07 I think their quarter their defensive coordinator is very, very good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:10 Corey Batoon, yeah, he's great.
Dan Rubenstein 40:13 But I don't like the like the hiring of like the journeyman coordinator on either side of the ball.
Dan Rubenstein 40:20 I just don't like that.
Dan Rubenstein 40:21 It's like Chip Lindsey's been at like six teams in seven years, eight years.
Dan Rubenstein 40:25 I don't like that stuff.
Dan Rubenstein 40:27 Maybe it's bad luck.
Dan Rubenstein 40:29 It just, it seems like their, their destiny is now like as an eight-win program.
Dan Rubenstein 40:36 And
Dan Rubenstein 40:38 A ton of teams would take it in a major conference, but I'm not fully out.
Dan Rubenstein 40:44 I'm not there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:44 I am.
Dan Rubenstein 40:45 They've put themselves in a position to win enough that, like, breakthroughs are not far off.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:45 I am.
Dan Rubenstein 40:52 I cannot fully sell.
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:53 I'm of the mind that they're going six and six this year.
Dan Rubenstein 40:59 Wow
Ty Hildenbrandt 40:59 I'm not a Mizzou fan this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:02 I'm not rooting actively against them, but just based on what I've been reading, I'm getting weird vibes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:07 I was as high as anybody on Austin Simmons.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:10 Before we saw him a year ago at Ole Miss, it just didn't work.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:13 And he's young.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:15 He's now coming over to a new system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:17 And perhaps
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:19 This will work a little bit better.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:21 But the fact that Ahmad Hardy is going to be out for a while, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:25 He's healing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:26 I think medically he's been cleared, but he's still kind of.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:29 Working through the paces, trying to get back out there on the field.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:32 I don't believe he's practicing quite yet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:33 So we probably will see him at some point this season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:36 Not having him back there is.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:39 Already going to set this offense back a little bit.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:41 Albeit, they got some experience.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:43 We talked about that back in part one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:45 Jamal Roberts.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:46 You know, he's somebody who's very productive and can be used plug and play as a running back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:51 So I don't think there's going to be an enormous drop-off, but Ahmad Hardy is definitely a different kind of cat.
Ty Hildenbrandt 41:56 I have questions about the offensive line in front of Austin Simmons, specifically at right tackle.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:01 Austin Simmons is a lefty, which means the right side of the line is the blind side.
Dan Rubenstein 42:04 Wise idea.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:05 And they had a rather significant injury
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:08 On the right side of that line earlier this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:12 So it was supposed to be Josh Atkins.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:14 He was a transfer from Arizona State.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:16 He went down with a lower leg injury.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:18 Now it's basically an open competition to see who's protecting that blind side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:21 So.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:21 Young quarterback without the primary running back, and maybe open question about who is going to protect the blind side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:28 Don't like that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:30 Don't feel great about that situation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:32 And then on the defensive side of the ball, they're replacing all 11 starters.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:36 And I like this defensive coordinator, but that's a lot, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:39 That's an awful lot to lose.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:42 So you combine that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:44 And then you look at their schedule, which in the SEC, always you want to play the sound just because we haven't played it yet.
Dan Rubenstein 42:50 SEC is a complete
Ty Hildenbrandt 42:58 A little bit of runway, okay?
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:00 You'll take the runway of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who, by the way, I accidentally said played Oklahoma State a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:05 Apologize for that one, wrote it down wrong.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:08 Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Kansas, Troy, and Mississippi State first four games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:13 I think they're going 4-0 against that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:15 Great.
Dan Rubenstein 43:15 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:16 But then after that, the final eight games look like this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:19 You ready?
Dan Rubenstein 43:19 I'm ready.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:20 Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:23 You do have Arkansas in there after a buy, but you've also got Texas and Georgia back-to-back weeks, and then Kentucky and Oklahoma to end this thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:35 That's insane, man.
Dan Rubenstein 43:38 I will say this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:39 I don't think they're better than like most of the teams on the back half of that schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 43:45 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 43:47 So Florida has Ole Miss a week before Mizzou.
Dan Rubenstein 43:50 If you are going to feel anything about Missouri situationally as you roll your eyes at me
Dan Rubenstein 43:55 There is something to Mizzou's schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:57 I'm rolling my eyes with you, not at you.
Dan Rubenstein 43:59 You're rolling your eyes with me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 43:59 These are fair points.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:00 These are fair points.
Dan Rubenstein 44:02 They do have, there are some advantages to when they play these teams.
Dan Rubenstein 44:07 And I'm just telling you, all Mizzou has to be is good enough in some of these spots.
Dan Rubenstein 44:13 You're right that they could start 4-0.
Dan Rubenstein 44:15 They have Arkansas, which looks winnable in this moment in mid-August.
Dan Rubenstein 44:20 I don't think they're going six and six.
Dan Rubenstein 44:21 I think they're better than that.
Dan Rubenstein 44:22 Now, you're totally right to bring up the defense.
Dan Rubenstein 44:26 It's an insane projection.
Dan Rubenstein 44:29 With what they're changing.
Dan Rubenstein 44:29 When you change quarterback, you change defense, you change offensive coordinator.
Dan Rubenstein 44:33 You have offensive line questions, which you're pointing out correctly.
Dan Rubenstein 44:36 So.
Dan Rubenstein 44:38 I just, I don't think you happen into this kind of consistency.
Dan Rubenstein 44:41 So if they get anything out of Austin Simmons, Andy stays healthy.
Dan Rubenstein 44:45 Two big F's, I guess, given their track record.
Ty Hildenbrandt 44:46 I mean, the consistency last year was they couldn't beat teams with winning records.
Dan Rubenstein 44:50 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 44:50 Well, they couldn't keep the quarterback healthy again.
Dan Rubenstein 44:54 So, I don't know.
Dan Rubenstein 44:58 I just think they're well coached.
Dan Rubenstein 45:00 I think Austin Simmons is going to be fine.
Dan Rubenstein 45:02 I think the rotation guys stepping into bigger roles on defense are in a successful system.
Dan Rubenstein 45:08 I understand there's a little bit of hopium involved here.
Dan Rubenstein 45:11 Yeah, I think they can win eight games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:12 I reserve the right to change my mind if Austin Simmons comes out and is all world everything.
Dan Rubenstein 45:17 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:18 Because I was in on Austin Simmons before it was cool, and then I was out, and I'm still out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:24 But if he pops, then I'm going to get back in.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:26 So, I reserve the right to change my mind on this one, but I'm just like, I look at this and I'm like, what am I latching on to?
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:34 I'm latching on Eli Drinkwitz because I know he fires up teams and he's a bit of a wild card, which I love.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:39 Like the coordinator.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:42 But like I everything else, like you said, it's a lot of hopium.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:46 So I'm out.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:47 I'm not doing this to myself.
Dan Rubenstein 45:48 But like look when you look at these teams, once again, yes, we love Texas and Georgia.
Dan Rubenstein 45:52 I think we really like Oklahoma.
Dan Rubenstein 45:55 Otherwise, there's no real concept for what these teams are or aren't.
Ty Hildenbrandt 45:59 Well, we're recording this on August 12th.
Dan Rubenstein 45:59 Like, you don't know what floor is going to look like, what kind of quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:03 We don't know that about anybody.
Dan Rubenstein 46:04 I know, but I'm saying there's a lot new, and/or like you want to question how Mizzou is built.
Dan Rubenstein 46:09 Like, what's Florida going to look like?
Dan Rubenstein 46:11 What's Ole Miss gonna look like with all their new names?
Dan Rubenstein 46:14 You know, Kentucky.
Dan Rubenstein 46:15 Do you feel great about Kentucky?
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:17 No, but I'm what are you talking about?
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:20 I love Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:21 You know I love Florida.
Dan Rubenstein 46:22 I know, but what I'm saying is
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:22 We just talked about Texas A&M.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:24 We could see the upside there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:26 I think they're better
Dan Rubenstein 46:26 You're talking about uncertainty with Mizzou, and there's not certainty all along this schedule.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:30 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 46:30 That's all I'm saying.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:31 All right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:32 All right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:32 So we disagree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:33 Where do you have them at?
Dan Rubenstein 46:34 Eight and four.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:35 Eight and four?
Dan Rubenstein 46:37 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:38 Get out of here.
Dan Rubenstein 46:39 Stability is currency, baby.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:41 They're not stable.
Dan Rubenstein 46:42 Yeah, they are.
Dan Rubenstein 46:43 They've got a lot of dudes who've been in this system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:48 All right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:49 We disagree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:49 Yell about this down in the comments.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:51 All right.
Dan Rubenstein 46:51 Yeah, I look, there's a lot new on this defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:52 Yell at me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:52 Yell at me.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:53 Say hello to the bad guy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:54 I'm the bad guy right here.
Dan Rubenstein 46:56 Okay, fair enough.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:56 Right here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 46:56 Smiling.
Dan Rubenstein 46:59 Where are we going next?
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:01 Ole Miss.
Dan Rubenstein 47:02 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 47:04 I like a little miss.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:05 Can we go full kimono here?
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:07 Can we open up the kimono?
Dan Rubenstein 47:08 Please.
Dan Rubenstein 47:09 Please do.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:09 Full transparency.
Dan Rubenstein 47:10 Heart it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:13 We cast our votes for the preseason All-American team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:17 We voted for both Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:21 Seemed like in
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:23 A good time to do it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:24 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:25 Both those guys are back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:26 When your starting point is potentially an All-American quarterback and running back, I'd say you're in pretty good shape to start the year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:33 No, you'll take that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:36 This team returned sixty one percent of their production from a team that obviously went on a run to the semifinals a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:43 They added the number two portal class in America.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:46 I am, just speaking for myself, extremely spooked by the coaching turnover.
Ty Hildenbrandt 47:54 But I must admit, when we talk through our top 25 ballot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:00 I was not feeling Ole Miss.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:02 I wasn't into them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:04 Dugging a little deeper.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:06 Starting to feel the same way about Ole Miss that I do Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 48:10 Ooh, interesting.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:12 Starting to feel like, yep, I overlooked these guys.
Dan Rubenstein 48:13 You're talking yourself into them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:17 On paper, this looks like a very, very good football team with a ton of upside.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:24 Now the difference this year, obviously, is a coaching thing, not just with the head coach, also with their coordinator, John David Baker, who comes over from ECU.
Dan Rubenstein 48:33 It they likely have a worse head coach than where they've been.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:33 Again
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:36 Yes.
Dan Rubenstein 48:37 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:37 You got questions at both the tackle positions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:39 They lose a lot at receiver.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:42 But outside of that, there is an awful lot to like about this football team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:46 And
Ty Hildenbrandt 48:48 Like hand to God here, just being honest with the Verballerhood, I feel like this is another team like Tennessee that I kind of overlooked in a way that I now regret.
Dan Rubenstein 49:00 I like home this a good deal, too.
Dan Rubenstein 49:03 I think I like them a little bit more in part one, but again, their starting point is so much further than I think I thought about.
Dan Rubenstein 49:15 That's barely English.
Dan Rubenstein 49:18 I think they're further along roster wise as much as as many as as many dudes that are new on this defense.
Dan Rubenstein 49:27 I don't know, man.
Dan Rubenstein 49:29 I'm just seduced by fun sometimes, and I think they're going to be very fun.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:33 And I'm going to be honest with you here, and the Verballerhood, and people can annihilate me in the comments if they want.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:38 Solve Verbal at gmail.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:40 com.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:40 I really don't care.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:41 I've been doing this too long anyway.
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:43 I feel like part of my preseason bias towards or against, I guess, Ole Miss
Ty Hildenbrandt 49:52 Was rooted in the fact that I watched one too many Pete Golding interviews and I found him very uninspiring.
Dan Rubenstein 49:59 He was not convincing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:01 No.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:01 And that's probably the wrong reason to form any kind of opinion about a team.
Dan Rubenstein 50:04 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:06 You know, I know that now, and I think I recognize that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:09 And I'm obviously giving voice to it here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:11 But
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:13 We have a long offseason, and we spend a lot of time thinking about these teams, and especially the ones that have new coaches.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:20 And
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:22 To go from like that vortex of watching just endless Pete Golding interviews to this moment that happened within the last week and a half.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:32 Where I'm looking over this roster, I'm looking over the actual source material, the research stuff that we look at and we trust to put these things together.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:41 And I'm just like, oh, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 50:43 Oh man, I gotta have a conversation with myself because this team looks like they're gonna be a really, really good team again.
Dan Rubenstein 50:51 You're right to question the tackle thing.
Dan Rubenstein 50:54 I would be a little bit worried about the secondary, I think, if I were an Ole Miss fan and seeing some of the quarterbacks that seem to be high level on this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 51:03 If they're not getting home as often as this defense was able to last year, especially as the season progressed, that would be worrisome that a lot of these guys could be caught in bad positions against good quarterbacks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:14 Safety, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:15 Safety is the portal position.
Dan Rubenstein 51:16 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 51:19 Look, they have one of they have an All-SEC caliber linebacker, edge guy, whatever, do everything, do it in Suntarine Perkins.
Dan Rubenstein 51:27 But yeah, to me, it's also just like a star power thing on this defense.
Dan Rubenstein 51:32 I think they have good players, but gravitational type players, that's a worry they're counting on.
Dan Rubenstein 51:37 you know, rotation guys from bigger places to fill big roles up front on this defense.
Dan Rubenstein 51:42 That's not the thing that gives me the most confidence.
Dan Rubenstein 51:47 But I think they're going to be able to get off the field enough paired with this offense.
Dan Rubenstein 51:51 I think, look, a great way to develop receivers is to have a quarterback who's not only excellent.
Dan Rubenstein 51:57 But excellent at buying time, excellent at scrambling, giving your receivers more time to get open in the scramble drill.
Ty Hildenbrandt 51:59 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:00 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 52:03 It's a great way to develop as a receiver, or at least develop production.
Dan Rubenstein 52:08 So
Dan Rubenstein 52:09 I think Ole Miss is going to be in a good place this year.
Dan Rubenstein 52:12 I don't think they're as good as they were last year, but I'm not counting them out of basically any of these games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:16 No, I think that's a fair place to be with this.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:21 And more to the point of the new offensive coordinator, I don't think it's like a rebuild.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:25 You know, he's not ripping this thing down to the studs and starting over.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:27 I sit back in part one, it looks to be about 80% the same, or you know, maybe I'm confusing that with someone else.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:35 But regardless, I don't think they want to change
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:37 Too much of what worked a year ago, especially given that you've got the personnel at both quarterback and running back that propelled this team to crazy heights a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:46 So I like Trinidad Champus a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:48 Obviously, like we said, we
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:50 We voted for him for the All-American team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:53 He just of the choices available to us, he's arguably the most accomplished quarterback, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 52:59 So there's a lot to like here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 53:02 And if you've got that as a starting point, I think the floor can only be so low.
Dan Rubenstein 53:07 I agree.
Dan Rubenstein 53:08 Look, there's also the home road splits aren't bad.
Dan Rubenstein 53:12 For Ole Miss, especially as they finish at home a good deal, getting Missouri at home, Auburn at home, Georgia at home, Mississippi State at home in the back half of this schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 53:22 So getting some of those seemingly winnable moments at home.
Dan Rubenstein 53:27 Vandy on the road seems like it'll be competitive.
Dan Rubenstein 53:32 You know, the Florida game on the road after LSU is going to be extremely difficult for just environmental and situational reasons.
Dan Rubenstein 53:39 They get LSU early enough.
Dan Rubenstein 53:41 That game is fraught with emotion.
Dan Rubenstein 53:43 It's frenzied.
Dan Rubenstein 53:44 And it's, I mean, it's frenzied because it's in Oxford.
Dan Rubenstein 53:47 Yes?
Dan Rubenstein 53:48 Lane Kiffin returning home.
Dan Rubenstein 53:50 So, I just don't hate how the schedule seems to shake up, shake out.
Dan Rubenstein 53:55 So, yeah, I think there's an interesting ceiling here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:00 What do you think about Mississippi State?
Dan Rubenstein 54:04 I really like watching from a TV show perspective the Kamario Taylor experience.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:11 Yeah, okay.
Dan Rubenstein 54:13 Yes.
Dan Rubenstein 54:14 I think there's a lot there.
Dan Rubenstein 54:18 There was some shown in kind of a raw manner last year.
Dan Rubenstein 54:22 Has he got more and more snaps?
Dan Rubenstein 54:26 His offensive line might be catastrophically bad.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:29 Well, listen, Jeff Lebby says he feels great about six offensive linemen.
Dan Rubenstein 54:34 Great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:34 He said they're the best six offensive linemen he's had at Mississippi State.
Dan Rubenstein 54:40 That's not saying much, perhaps.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:44 Does not change the fact that they're still in flux at left tackle.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:47 Does not change the fact that
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:49 This line is a portal rebuild a year after they gave up like 40 sacks, whatever the number ended up being.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:57 I don't think they're looking for dominance up front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 54:59 I think they're looking for
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:01 some level of competence.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:03 I think if they can get some level of competence, they'll be immensely better for it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:08 I just don't know if we can count on that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:10 It's a lot new.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:12 Obviously, Jeff Lebby knew it was an area that they needed to address.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:14 That's why it was a focus of theirs in the portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:16 So I'm going to assume that it is better.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:19 And to your point, if it's just marginally better, the TV show around Kamario Taylor is very exciting.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:26 I mean, we saw a very limited sample size
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:29 Out of this guy at quarterback a year ago, 629 passing yards, five touchdowns, one interception.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:34 Not the highest completion percentage, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:37 Definitely can move with the ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:39 82 carries for 452 yards, 458 yards, excuse me, and eight rushing touchdowns.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:45 So he is a dual threat guy that you can build around.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:48 I love that we still got our guy, Fluff Bothwell, back there in the backfield at RB1.
Dan Rubenstein 55:52 Yeah, jags.
Dan Rubenstein 55:53 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:55 I like Anthony Evans III out wide.
Ty Hildenbrandt 55:58 It does hurt to lose Brenen Thompson, their receiver who set some records.
Dan Rubenstein 56:00 Yeah, I don't.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:02 But I think there is, provided the line can be sufficient.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:06 or marginally competent, I think there is enough around Kamario Taylor to at least make the TV show fun for the rest of us watching from afar.
Dan Rubenstein 56:16 I am not there with this offensive line.
Dan Rubenstein 56:18 I'm just not, and I'm not there with this defense as much as I like that Zach Arnett is back, hopefully to help stabilize it a little bit.
Dan Rubenstein 56:26 I just don't think it's built to compete week in, week out.
Dan Rubenstein 56:30 I think there's going to be so much asked of this offense.
Dan Rubenstein 56:33 It's just, I think it's too tall a task.
Dan Rubenstein 56:37 I think I could squint and say five and seven, six and six, but that would require such a surge forward to me.
Dan Rubenstein 56:48 It's hard to feel terribly confident.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:49 I'm I'm three or four winds.
Dan Rubenstein 56:53 So, you okay, so you have to win at Minnesota in week two, which is not an easy ask.
Ty Hildenbrandt 56:59 I'm not by the way, we're not saying they will or they should, but if you're trying to build the case for Mississippi State, yes, you would have to beat Minnesota for that.
Dan Rubenstein 57:02 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 57:08 You cannot like South Carolina.
Dan Rubenstein 57:10 You can make the case for not liking them.
Dan Rubenstein 57:12 You made the case for not liking Mizzou.
Dan Rubenstein 57:15 Vanderbilt is in Starkville, and they're starting over in a number of ways on offense.
Dan Rubenstein 57:23 Egg Bowl's always crazy.
Dan Rubenstein 57:24 Auburn's new and coming to town and has some questions.
Dan Rubenstein 57:29 Kamario Taylor has to be like of All-SEC quality for them to go to a bowl.
Dan Rubenstein 57:33 I'm not saying he isn't.
Dan Rubenstein 57:34 The best of him just might be.
Dan Rubenstein 57:37 And it could be a really good system that you play with tempo, you get the ball out quickly, you RPO and do the sort of wide option route type stuff that Jeff Lebby likes to do.
Dan Rubenstein 57:47 that you're making quicker decisions and you can hide an offensive line deficiency.
Dan Rubenstein 57:53 They have to be so clearly better immediately, though.
Dan Rubenstein 57:56 That's the question.
Ty Hildenbrandt 57:57 I don't think I'm quite as pessimistic as you on the defensive side, though.
Dan Rubenstein 58:02 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:03 Like you said, Zach Arnett is back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:05 A little bit of like a print pry thing going on, you know, seeing as how he used to be the head coach.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:09 Now he's back as defensive coordinator.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:13 He runs a 3-3-5.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:15 The 335, we've talked about it a couple of times over now throughout the course of our previews here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:20 It is different than what most teams see from week to week, sort of an enigma to figure out.
Dan Rubenstein 58:25 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:26 If you remember what Bret Bielema said and his rationale for switching things up, his whole thought process was: A,
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:34 Gives teams a bit of an Eephus pitch to try and adjust to when they're used to seeing other systems.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:40 And B, it's really hard to get blue-chip caliber defensive linemen.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:44 And Zach Arnett.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:47 To that very point, has proven very capable of getting more with less, especially up front.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:53 They're going to be relying a lot on Dealyn Evans.
Ty Hildenbrandt 58:56 Their transfer from AM to be that space eater, the nose tackle up front, who can enable the guys behind him to maybe flow a little bit more freely and create some of those plays that they're looking to get.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:07 But
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:08 I think the secondary looks like it could be solid.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:12 I'm not saying this is a finished product, and we know it's going to be a bit of an uphill climb for Mississippi State, but
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:17 I think there's reason for optimism on that side of the ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:20 And certainly the TV show on the offensive side of the ball could be a lot of fun as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:23 So when I say three or four wins.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:27 This is not me saying that they're going to be bottom of the barrel and unwatchable.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:30 I actually think the contrary.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:32 I think they'll be a highly watchable team.
Dan Rubenstein 59:32 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:34 I just think they're coming up against a bunch of teams that are
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:38 Way better than them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:39 And they won't have a choice but to be scrappy, maybe pull an upset, maybe keep it close for three and a half quarters before we eventually see them end up taking the L.
Dan Rubenstein 59:50 But isn't that what we saw last year?
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:53 Yes.
Dan Rubenstein 59:55 And they got to five wins.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:55 Yes.
Ty Hildenbrandt 59:57 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 00:59:58 So
Ty Hildenbrandt 00:59:58 When I looked at this schedule, I was thinking of that scenario that everyone's been in.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:03 When you're driving down the highway and it looks nice out, maybe it's a little bit cloudy, and then bam, a downpour hits the windshield.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:13 The microburst, you're driving into it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:15 Because, as you said, UL Monroe, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Missouri to start this thing off, which isn't all going to be easy, but it's considerably easier.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:25 than the games that they have after that, especially in October.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:29 Alabama at LSU, Oklahoma and Texas, boom.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:33 Get your wins early, man.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:35 Got to get them early if you're going to get them at all.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:37 They were look, how many minutes, seconds, whatever last year away from Tennessee, Florida, and Texas wins?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:45 Yeah, it's true.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:47 They were not that far off last year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:48 No, no, you're right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:51 All right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:00:51 I just yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:55 Two more teams, Dan.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:57 We've got Alabama, we've got Auburn.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:00:58 Let's start with Alabama.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:00 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:01 This is probably the deepest we've into an episode, a preview episode that we've ever gotten to Alabama.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:05 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:06 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:07 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:08 We're trying to keep people around.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:09 That's why we you know same reason they put the weather on at the end of the local newscast to try and keep people watching.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:10 That's true.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:14 Mm-hmm.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:15 You know how it works.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:16 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:17 We put Bama at number 11 in our AP poll.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:22 I think they've got a playoff-caliber defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:24 I think they've got an offense that is relatively unknown.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:28 As I said back in part one, I think Bama is actually quite easy to project this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:34 The ceiling depends on their young quarterback, probably Keelon Russell.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:38 And whether or not they rebuilt the line enough to actually run the football.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:42 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:43 That's the whole shebang for me.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:45 And they hired a new offensive line coach to help with that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:47 Adrian Klemm, right?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:49 So this is part of a broader conversation about what Alabama did now.
Dan Rubenstein 01:01:49 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:52 Kalen DeBoer recognized
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:01:55 Fairly early on last season and certainly this offseason, that they needed to get better along the line, that they needed to build something of a rushing attack, if only to try and support their young quarterback, whoever it ends up being.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:07 Whether it's a young guy, truly a young guy in Keelon Russell, or not as young a guy, but an inexperienced guy in Austin Mack.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:16 Either way, you need a run game to support that quarterback.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:19 And so that's what they tried to do.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:20 They went out, they tried to rebuild the line via the portal.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:24 They hired a new offensive line coach
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:26 They're hoping that they can get something of a ground game going this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:30 Because if they don't, again, I don't think it portends well for the success of this team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:35 I happen to like what they did.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:37 I happen to be very optimistic that even though we could look at the offensive line as something of a weakness in context given what we saw a year ago.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:45 I happen to think with some sort of like renewed focus on the position and changing the mindset, hopefully they can get things like jump started on that side.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:02:55 So I feel personally pretty good about what I saw on that side of the ball.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:01 I also happen to think that Keelon Russell is going to be the next superstar in college football.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:05 Okay.
Dan Rubenstein 01:03:07 Not unreasonable, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:08 I watched a ton of Keelon Russell clips before he ever stepped foot on a college field, college practice field.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:17 I watched a ton of Keelon Russell as a recruit.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:21 Keelon Russell, as a recruit, the comp was Jayden Daniels.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:25 Kind of a leaner build, but crazy athletic, has the armed talent to attack you everywhere on the field.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:33 And isn't necessarily a scramble first type of guy, but much like Jayden Daniels, if he does get on the run, he can kill you.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:42 That's the type of player I think this is, and I fully expect he will be QB1 when they make the official announcement.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:47 They haven't done that yet.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:49 So maybe there'll be something out of left field.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:52 Everyone seems to think it'll be Keelon Russell.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:55 I think he is a superstar.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:03:57 And I think if you can wrap him with a line and perhaps a little bit of a ground assault, it's going to make him all the better for it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:04 That's part of why I'm so high.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:06 on this Alabama team this year, especially given the fact that both Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb have such a track record in developing quarterbacks.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:17 Has anything I said sounded too far afield for you?
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:21 No, I think there's the star power upside of Keelon Russell is obvious.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:26 Anybody who's watched his high school or limited Bama cut ups.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:31 I think he should be throwing to, if these receivers are truly hitting their potential, a really good receiving corps.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:39 They're better than really good, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:42 Well, Ryan, it's now Ryan Coleman-Williams, but Ryan Williams did not have a good 2025.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:48 He didn't.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:48 Lotzeir Brooks had a pretty good year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:50 He came on.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:50 Lotzeir Brooks was great.
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:51 Lotzeir Brooks, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:53 There is something of a question about wide receiver depth.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:04:57 And
Dan Rubenstein 01:04:57 There's young guys that, you know, C.D. Morgan, Cederian Morgan, stepping in, guys like him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:01 Yeah, that's sort of my thing.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:03 You know, like we could sit here now in August and say, wow, they don't have depth at wide receiver.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:07 It's not the depth that we're used to.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:09 I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:10 This is a system that produces wide receivers.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:11 I think they'll be really good.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:12 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:13 I mean, they produce wide receivers.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:13 They have talented running back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:15 Wide receivers before, DeBoer has been very good at doing that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:17 So I'm not as concerned about that.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:18 Yep.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:19 Talented running back, we can agree.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:21 Whether or not the running game is productive and fixed, different conversation.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:25 Daniel Hill is a bowling ball with eyes, and I am enamored with their freshman E.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:28 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:32 J.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:33 Crowell.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:05:34 So, yeah, they've got talent.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:37 There's something very strange about watching Alabama because we had watched them play so many huge games under Nick Saban, and it's totally unfair, but Nick Saban casts a pretty long shadow.
Dan Rubenstein 01:05:47 with this program, where you watch players on this team and you look at who is going to step into specific roles and you think, it's weird that they're not obviously of Alabama quality.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:00 Even though Alabama is at school, just like every other school, that changes every year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:06 But you're just like, man, these monsters have been waiting in the wings and were like crazy good at rotation, defensive tackle last year, inside linebacker.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:14 Now it's their turn to shine.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:16 They don't have those dudes on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the way that they used to.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:21 Again, not fair to compare to the Nick Saban era.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:23 But when you look at who's stepping in along the defensive line, at least next to Yhonzae Pierre, who looks like a complete world dominator.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:31 He's going to be a problem.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:32 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:33 He's going to be everything.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:33 Yeah, he's going to be a problem.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:34 He's going to be so good.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:36 But like, they were so good at linebacker last year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:39 Now it's a question.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:40 Like, are they going to get pass rushing out of anybody else other than Yhonzae Pierre in that front?
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:47 Probably somewhat.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:48 It's not obvious, which is weird to say about Alabama in this moment.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:53 And so I look at their secondary and I say, yeah, they look to be of Alabama quality.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:57 Yeah, Bray Hubbard.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:06:59 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:06:59 Yeah, all these guys.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:03 But that's the worrisome thing to me that we're having line of scrimmage questions, or at least I have a line of scrimmage question.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:10 We had it, we saw it come out last year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:13 With the rushing attack or lack thereof.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:17 The other thing that I actually really like about Alabama is when they're strong
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:23 They seem to win games.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:25 When they're not so strong, they also seem to win a lot of those games
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:31 Kalen DeBoer is terrific.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:33 There's a tennis coach, Brad Gilbert, who I think wrote a book called Winning Ugly.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:38 Kalen DeBoer wins.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:40 It's not always pretty.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:41 It's not always dominant.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:42 You look at last year's LSU and Mizzou and Iron Bowl, and you're like, those are not pretty games.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:48 They won them.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:49 Winning is better than losing.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:50 Winning is a skill.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:51 Kalen DeBoer has that skill.
Dan Rubenstein 01:07:53 So I like Alabama a good deal this year, but damn, do I want to see the large bodies produce?
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:01 And it's still very strange to me saying, like, I have a large, I have beef questions.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:08 Yeah, I don't know.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:09 I'm very optimistic about this Alabama team, and I kind of wanted to put them higher when we were
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:15 They did finish looking like trash in the SEC Championship Game and like the playoff game against Indiana.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:23 They were not prepared to score points in either of those games.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:25 I mean, in fairness, everybody looked like trash against Indiana.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:29 Three points in a neutral site They did
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:31 I get it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:32 And Alabama, though they initially looked like trash in that playoff game against Oklahoma, came on like the full head of steam and ended up winning.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:40 So that's a credit to them.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:42 To get into that game, to win that game despite being down so much early.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:45 A team to whom they did lose ugly a few weeks prior.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:48 This is true.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:49 Oklahoma.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:50 This is true.
Dan Rubenstein 01:08:50 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:08:51 And I think Alabama fans, I know Alabama fans, would be the first to admit as much, that it's definitely been a transition going from the Saban era to the DeBoer era.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:02 It's still a very good team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:03 I happen to think this quarterback is going to be sensational.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:06 And that will cover for a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:08 It covers for a lot.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:09 So I think they'll be fine.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:11 I think the first month is manageable.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:13 But then they played Georgia, then they're at Tennessee, they've got AM, they've got a road game later in the year in November at LSU.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:19 The tough back to back to back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:21 Yep.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:21 So it'll get tough later, but I think like 9-3, 10-2 for these guys, I think this is going to be a very, very good team led by defense until they can kind of
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:31 Settle in on offense, provided the line pops and is something better than it was a year ago, maybe opening things up on the ground.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:41 I think this is a very, very good team with potentially a star at quarterback.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:45 Yeah, I have a missed tenant, too.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:47 We agree.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:48 We agree.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:50 Let's close this thing out with another new coach, Alex Golesh, Dan.
Dan Rubenstein 01:09:53 But yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:58 Alex Golesh.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:09:59 So they fired Hugh Freeze back in November.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:03 They hired Alex Golesh from USF to be the replacement.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:08 I think he's a great hire at Auburn.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:10 I think he's a great hire both in terms of his personality as well as the system that he's going to try and put in place in year one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:17 I talk a lot about John Summerall being something of a psycho.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:21 Alex Golesh isn't not a psycho.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:24 He's almost there as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:25 Some of the same tendencies, though maybe not as weird on Mike as we're seeing with Summerall.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:32 What I like about Golesh is that he's got a very defined offensive system.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:36 And now he's got the quarterback in Byron Brown, who already ran it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:40 Pretty well at South Florida.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:42 It's not just Byron Brown, it's a bunch of guys from USF who ran the system, who are now coming over with Golesh from USF.
Dan Rubenstein 01:10:51 Yep, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:53 Yeah, this is another blended family situation like we see up at Penn State.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:10:58 It's a lot of guys that come over from USF, fair amount of returners from Auburn as well.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:04 They're trying to piece it together.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:06 The offense is going to look like a lot of tempo, but it's also one that favors the run.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:13 He tends to call it a run-first offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:15 And so to that end, I like that they bring back Jeremiah Cobb at running back.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:19 Seen some reports that he looks bigger.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:21 He's going to need to be bigger because they're going to maybe lean on him a little bit heavier this year.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:26 Receiver room, again, more guys that ran this system at USF.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:29 Keshawn Singleton.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:31 And then let's just call it the law firm of Koger, Neptune, and Nimrod.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:36 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:37 Chas Nimrod, great name.
Dan Rubenstein 01:11:38 Okay, chairs, yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:40 Great name.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:41 If Byron Brown can translate, and if this version of an offensive line can hold up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:48 I think this system could take flight pretty quickly and be rather interesting, plucky, if you will.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:56 against other SEC competition.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:11:58 If it does not, or I should say if just one of those things does not, be it the line
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:05 Be it Byron Brown, be it receivers who for some reason can't get open against an SEC secondary.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:11 If just one of those things fails, they're not making a bowl.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:15 So I feel like there's a very, very slim margin for error here for Golesh in year one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:20 I like the guy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:22 I think he will build this program up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:24 I think he's got a track record for winning.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:27 And I think he will do that.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:29 But you got to give him time.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:30 And if it doesn't hit right away on all three of those fronts.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:35 is probably going to be a developmental year that we look at look at in retrospect and say, well, it took a little bit for him to get things going.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:43 But eventually he did.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:44 I'm confident that he will.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:12:46 I'm just like speaking truth to power here that a lot has to go right in year one in order for this to be like a bowl eligible type season for Auburn.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:55 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:56 I think I really like this Auburn team.
Dan Rubenstein 01:12:59 I'm not enamored.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:00 I'm not in love.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:01 But the more I think about it, right, it's a very specific offensive system.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:04 Byron Brown, I think, will be able to succeed to some extent in the SEC.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:08 To some extent, he was.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:09 He was lighting everybody up, basically, in the Americas.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:12 I'm just, and I said this back in part one: like, I'm not.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:16 I'm not ready to just sort of hand wave the whole idea of Byron Brown not working out because it is a step up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:23 He's playing SEC defenses every week.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:26 He's a tough guy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:28 And I think everyone likes him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:30 I think he's obviously a good fit for the offense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:32 It's basically tailor-made for him.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:13:34 But I'm just, you know, SEC defenses are a different breed than what he's used to being up against.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:39 I'm totally with you.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:41 Their schedule, by the way, if you're going to talk about like gumpiness and weirdness of opponent, it's pretty amazing.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:51 Like they get a ton in sandwich spots and let down spots and look ahead spots.
Dan Rubenstein 01:13:57 And if this offense is a pain in the ass, if Byron Brown is a pain in the ass, if the line in front of him does work out, which I think is an open question,
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:07 They're going to be such a pain for so many of these teams.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:10 I don't know what their defense is going to be.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:12 I think they take a step down in terms of upside and talent and star power, whatever on defense.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:17 Right.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:18 There's still some there, but they have had to bring in a lot in the portal.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:23 Yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:23 Jourdin Crawford, you know, you got new corners, yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:25 Yeah, I don't know what the secondary holds, but.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:32 I think they're going to be fun, feisty, and dangerous.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:35 I think they're an obvious bowl team right now.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:38 I don't know exactly what their ceiling is.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:40 I think they're going to be in a lot of like 30 to 28 type games.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:45 And it's just going to come down to like late fourth quarter execution.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:49 I mean, Byron Brown, I think the best of him is terrifying.
Dan Rubenstein 01:14:54 So I have them at like seven and five, eight and four, somewhere in there.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:14:59 Eight and four would be great.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:00 Wow.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:00 Eight and four would be terrific.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:01 I mean, I'm looking at the schedule.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:02 I have them as a bull team.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:05 I see Baylor week one.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:07 They should beat Baylor.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:08 I'm not crazy about Baylor at all.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:08 I think so.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:09 Neutral cut.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:09 Southern Miss, that's a win.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:10 That's two.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:11 Vandi, I think they're good enough to beat Vandy.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:13 That's three.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:15 Arkansas, Mississippi State and Samford, if they win those games, which all look very winnable, six and six is right there.
Dan Rubenstein 01:15:24 Yeah, Mississippi State on the road, which is its own, you know, can of worms, but yeah.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:28 Right.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:29 But the over-under is six and a half for Auburn.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:32 And I think for good reason, because who, in addition
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:37 Hold on.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:38 That memory card ran out of space, apparently.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:43 Okay.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:45 I'll mark the spot down.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:50 But the over is six and a half for good reason.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:53 Because after those six games that I just mentioned, who comes next?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:56 Who is the next win?
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:15:58 You know, and there are a lot of tough teams on here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:01 There's Alabama, there's Ole Miss, there's LSU, there's Georgia, there's Tennessee.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:04 And they're on the road.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:06 Tennessee, Georgia, Bama, Olmas are on the road.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:09 So I just look at this and I say to myself, they could be very dangerous and very interesting and extremely plucky if it all works.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:20 But if a couple of those systems fail, not only are they losing those six other games, but there are probably some that I just mentioned and counted as wins that could potentially be losses.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:33 So I like this team too.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:35 I like Alex Golesh.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:38 I happen to be on the side of like six and six or seven and five.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:42 For this team, I probably would say seven and five.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:16:47 But I'm very leery of what could go wrong given this setup.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:53 Another team, I mean, this is why we called Hugh Frees an elite loser.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:57 It's not a team that was far off.
Dan Rubenstein 01:16:58 No, it's different talent, it's different systems, different coaches, and whatever.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:01 But just in terms of the vibes, just in terms of the guys returning on both sides of the ball, this is not a team that was far off.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:08 This is not a like.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:09 Rebuild down to the studs, even though they are bringing in a ton of USF players to rebuild things.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:16 It's not a catastrophic place.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:19 Sometimes, maybe every other year it is.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:21 But Auburn is a place that the right coach, the right players can win.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:27 The support is there.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:28 Maybe the alignment's not there constantly to build it in the long term, but
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:33 One score loss is like they went one and seven, I think, in the SEC last year.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:38 I mean, they're like a minute and a half away from going four and three, four or five and three or something, four and four.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:42 Yeah.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:44 So
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:44 I don't think they're that far off.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:46 I don't think there's that much to fix.
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:48 The schedule works out if you believe in the situational stuff, but there's a lot of losses here.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:51 Seven and five, seven and five
Dan Rubenstein 01:17:53 Seven and five is fine.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:17:56 All right, you heard where we stand.
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Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:20 We will be talking more about it in the coming days and weeks as we build here for the 2026 season.
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Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:32 Flagship game run the board that we will open the doors to a little bit later on in the month of August, that we'll be talking a fair amount about.
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Dan Rubenstein 01:18:49 I think it's a great idea.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:50 Dan, we made it.
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Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:52 We did it.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:54 Go back and listen to the intro to the 2026 season.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:18:58 Both of the episodes that we put out there covering the G6 conferences, and then the three-parters that we did for the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:09 And now the SEC.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:10 We've got one more coming up.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:11 We will do a prediction special in advance of Week 0.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:15 But in the meantime, we're going to take a little bit of a deep breath.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:22 For that guy over there, my good friend Dan Rubenstein, for myself over here, Ty Hildenbrandt, thank you for downloading, for listening, for supporting what we do.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:28 We'll talk to y'all soon.
Ty Hildenbrandt 01:19:29 In the meantime, stay solid.
Dan Rubenstein 01:19:30 Peace.