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00:00It is talking season in college football today on a Thursday afternoon, the fourth and final
00:09day of ACC Media Days in Charlotte, the third and final day of Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis.
00:18It should be a lot of fun to break down the topics that we are going to discuss live right
00:23here to start off this second hour.
00:25And we'll get into the first day, the opening day of the Olympics, even before tomorrow's
00:31opening ceremony.
00:32He's in already some controversy.
00:34So far, if you're keeping track at home, we've had an incredibly questionable ending to an
00:39actual match played yesterday in the men's soccer tournament between Argentina and Morocco.
00:45That followed a day where we had a spying drone scandal on the women's side with New
00:50Zealand and Canada.
00:52The Olympics off to a flying start.
00:54We'll have a ton of Olympic conversation here in this second hour.
00:58We need that.
00:59You need controversy right during the Olympics here.
01:01We got a lot to watch.
01:02So why not add on top of with some of these hot topics and also teams trying to get ahead,
01:06trying their best both on the pitch and off the pitch here.
01:09But the one thing you don't like to see is, number one, the crowd gets involved.
01:13Never a good thing.
01:14But number two, when technology gets involved very late, you figure you won.
01:18You didn't win.
01:19You got to go back to play again.
01:20The fans are angry.
01:22That just never should happen at that point.
01:23So who knows?
01:24And also, you said it might have been a questionable call as well, which is even worse at that
01:27point.
01:28Yeah, controversial, questionable, whatever word you want to use when it comes to talking
01:34season and media days and whatever conference to get ready for a new college football season.
01:41You never want to be the guy that takes over social media.
01:46You never want to say something either so stupid or incoherent that you become a viral
01:52moment.
01:53Enter Mike Gundy a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas at Big 12 Media Days when he said
01:58who amongst us hasn't driven drunk thousands of times knocking back a couple of beers behind
02:05the wheel.
02:06Well, yesterday, it was first year head coach Deshaun Foster, nothing inflammatory as he
02:12took the stage for UCLA where he played at his alma mater in the early 2000s as a running
02:20back for the Bruins and became the unlikely head coach after Chip Kelly back in February
02:26left Westwood to go become the offensive coordinator, a demotion of sorts for Ohio State.
02:33So Deshaun Foster maybe wasn't ready for his first Big 10 Media Days despite having plenty
02:39of time to prepare.
02:42Now I cannot believe because it was the viral moment of Wednesday that my co-host who loves
02:47these moments more than anything, Donny Rightside, has not seen this video.
02:53So here it is.
02:54You'll get Donny's live reaction of Deshaun Foster's opening statement yesterday at Big
03:0010 Media Days.
03:01How you guys doing?
03:03I'm happy to be here.
03:06Glad to be a part of this great conference.
03:10Definitely putting two great emblems together, UCLA and the Big 10.
03:18We're a school that's won, what, 123 championships.
03:21So this fits us being right in this conference.
03:25Football-wise, we're just excited.
03:28You know, I'm sure you guys don't know too much about UCLA, our football program, but
03:34we're in LA.
03:40It's us and USC.
03:45We um...
03:51Somebody save him.
03:56Somebody slap him a note.
03:57I'm just basically excited, really.
03:58That's it.
03:59Any questions?
04:00Man.
04:02I mean, all time, man.
04:07All time.
04:08Deshaun Foster, throughout the day, was interviewed a ton.
04:12He was on programs, on TV shows, everything that you would expect in the media car wash
04:18that is Media Days.
04:20And he actually is a very personable and energetic individual, despite describing himself as
04:26not necessarily a rah-rah guy.
04:30But that's like having to give a PowerPoint presentation in high school on a book that
04:34you didn't read a single word of, or the teacher randomly calling on you to do last night's
04:40reading when you haven't done a single lick of it.
04:44The great part about it, Donny, it was not a question, a hardball journalistic investigation-type
04:51question about some kind of scandal this year in Westwood for UCLA.
04:56That's the opening statement.
04:58He's supposed to have a pre-planned speech.
05:02One of the many sports information people and PR representatives of UCLA football couldn't
05:08have written him a two-line to go out there in state.
05:12They couldn't have given him even just that final bit where he goes, hey, I'm Deshaun
05:16Foster.
05:17I'm the new head coach of the UCLA football program.
05:20We're excited to be a part of the Big Ten.
05:21Any questions?
05:23It was all time yesterday, added Deshaun Foster.
05:27It certainly was.
05:28Again, sometimes I say to myself, okay, if you're first time in that position, it might
05:31be a little bit tough, but I even throw that out the door.
05:34Deshaun Watson lives in Los Angeles.
05:37They asked this man to go halfway across the country to Indianapolis and be excited about
05:41being in an empty arena at that point where I can hear it echoing in the background.
05:47The reason, Ben, why it was echoing, it's probably nobody there.
05:50Nobody goes to Indianapolis for this stuff here.
05:51He should have had it in Los Angeles.
05:54It would have been fantastic.
05:55The weather would have been glorious.
05:57There would have been a lot of superstars showing up, and the energy would have been
05:59high.
06:00I don't blame UCLA for being dragged out of Los Angeles, flown to Indianapolis, and expected
06:06to be absolutely on fire here at a press conference.
06:08Look, I'm going to give Deshaun the time that he needs at this point.
06:11You know what?
06:12I don't blame you, man.
06:13I'd have been the same way.
06:16Here I was, excited for you to see that clip for the first time, to crack a couple of jokes,
06:21to laugh.
06:22But instead, you take another shot at the greatest sports hosting city in this country
06:27that is Indianapolis.
06:30By the way, yesterday in Indy, Nebraska was at the podium, Iowa was at the podium.
06:36If you want to see a packed arena for media days, it's when those two coaches, and those
06:41two fan bases, and those two local reporting.
06:46They were hot.
06:47It was good.
06:48It was good stuff yesterday.
06:50Kirk Ferentz saying he expects to have a good offense this year.
06:54Matt Rule saying that the Big Ten should automatically get four programs in to the college football
07:01playoff.
07:02We spoke with Rhett Lewis yesterday, who was there at Big Ten Media Days, is going to do
07:06work for the Big Ten Network this year, the host in Believe in Big Ten, that might be
07:12on these airwaves in recent days, about the additions of the four West Coast newcomers
07:17and what they will add or bring to this conference.
07:21Donnie, I know you have a take on this, because the win totals for some proud powerhouse programs
07:27of the West Coast, entering their opening year in the Big Ten, are not overly optimistic.
07:33Oregon does have the second best price and the second highest win total in all of the
07:38league, 10.5 and at 2-1, only trailing Ohio State, USC 7.5, Washington, last year's national
07:46runner-up, just a 6.5, and UCLA and Deshaun Foster, not expected to make a lot of headwave
07:54this year in the Big Ten, 4.5 the win total for the Bruins, a team that has won at least
08:01eight games in each of the past three seasons.
08:04You know what's funny about this, because you know me, Ben, I've never been a proponent
08:08of the Pac-12, like I just couldn't stand the conference when it disbanded, we popped
08:12champagne bottles, but maybe this is a coup by the Big Ten, where they go to themselves
08:16and go, you know what, we're going to make a lot of money on this, and these teams that
08:19are coming over won't even have a say in who's going to win anything here in football in
08:24the Big Ten.
08:25Now, I understand Oregon's a quality program that might do some damage, but I was really
08:28caught off guard by seeing the USC Trojans, which all I've heard about since Lincoln Riley
08:32went, there was talent, talent, talent, talent, a 7.5 win total, when you know there's going
08:36to be three or four cupcakes already on that schedule, the Washington Huskies, who were
08:40trying to make runs at a national championship, now get into a real conference, get a 6.5,
08:45the UCLA Bruins at a 4.5 price point here, oof, man, the Big Ten might be the big winner,
08:50and I'm not talking about the acquisition, the teams that are already in the Big Ten
08:53getting a couple layups coming over on their roster.
08:57I mean, UCLA was gutted, Chip Kelly left as the head coach to be the OC at Ohio State,
09:04their defensive coordinator went crosstown to be the DC at USC, there's so much more
09:09to get into around college football next.
09:11Just to make one final point about the four West Coast newcomers into the Big Ten, of
09:16course, Oregon optimistic in year number three under Dan Lanning, second best price to win
09:22the Big Ten, only behind Ohio State, despite it being the Ducks' debut in the conference.
09:27They have the third best number of all teams to reach the college football playoff nationally
09:33this year.
09:34USC has lacked a little bit of luster.
09:37I think there are fair criticisms to Lincoln Riley, not getting the best of a generational
09:41type quarterback and a Heisman winner in Caleb Williams, just seven wins last year in the
09:47regular season, but Miller Moss did provide some glimpses in the Holiday Bowl for the
09:53Trojans.
09:54They have made a huge improvement on the defensive side of the football, getting rid, finally,
09:59of Alex Grinch, who came over with Lincoln from Norman, that was at Oklahoma, to Southern
10:05California.
10:06They had Danton Lynn, who was the former defensive coordinator at UCLA, conference rivalry still
10:12maintained in the Big Ten.
10:13He is now the DC with USC.
10:16The reason Washington DRS has just a six and a half win total is because only three starters
10:23returned from last year's team that made it to a national title game, albeit losing to
10:28Michigan.
10:29Of course, Kaelin Vohr is gone.
10:31Pretty much everybody that you know, Michael Pennix Jr., Roma Doonson, Jalen Polk, Jalen
10:35McMillan, everybody along the offensive line, Troy Fautanu, everybody on the defensive side
10:40of the football, as well, is gone.
10:43Jed Fish is the new head coach in Seattle.
10:46He built Arizona last year to a 10-win season, but his two main guys, Noah Fafita, the quarterback,
10:53and Teetora McMillan, who might be one of the best wide receivers in the entire sport,
10:58remained in Tucson.
10:59That's why things are not optimistic for the Huskies this year.
11:03Yeah, by the way, Jed Fish has been around the block.
11:05Good coach all the way around.
11:07So they do have a good replacement that they got in order.
11:09I'm just interested to see how it goes because also keep in mind, it used to be back in the
11:1380s and 90s when a lot of the major college football teams were still independents.
11:16Here's how they operated outside of a conference.
11:19Why did they use the structure of their schedule, Ben, a lot of times?
11:21Let's make sure we play a game in the Northwest.
11:23Let's make sure we play a game in the Southwest.
11:25Let's play a game in the Northeast.
11:26Let's play a game in the Southeast.
11:27The reason they did that was for recruiting advantages where they can go to your living
11:31room and show up and say, hey, look, man, you are going to play here at least once a
11:35year in this building.
11:36And even if we're taking a look at a football, even into basketball, the Big Ten now has
11:39that footprint on the West Coast where they can go into a living room in Los Angeles where
11:43a player and say, we are basically the Pac-12 Conference because this same team that you're
11:47going to be playing, we're going to be playing vice versa, East Coast and West Coast.
11:50I think it's a big win for a lot of Big Ten teams that usually had that footprint of let's
11:54stay in the rust belt here and it's really cold and nobody gets out to California.
11:58Now they're doing that.
11:59So I think it helps them.
12:01Speaking of recruiting, Donnie's favorite college football program on the mic and on
12:08the podium yesterday at day number three of ACC Media Days in Charlotte, Mario Cristobal
12:14at ACC kickoff quote, NIL has been around a long, long time.
12:19It's just actually legal now.
12:22Thank you, Mario, for stating the very obvious that we have known for a very long time, especially
12:27in South Florida with this Hurricanes football program.
12:30Exactly.
12:31So it's good to see the things that we're saying now appropriately, like, yes, we've
12:35always been around.
12:37Cheating has been here.
12:38Now we can officially do it.
12:39And quite frankly, my university is one of the best at the new cheating environment at
12:43laying out big dollars for players, whether it be basketball, women's college basketball
12:46or the football team itself.
12:48But if you're going to lay out all that money from the boosters, you better start performing
12:52on the field.
12:53And also was if Mario Cristobal goes, it was my dream to be a Miami Hurricane coach.
12:57I know they're not going to pay a lot.
12:58I'll take a pay decrease from Oregon to Miami.
13:00No, he got a big time pay increase here.
13:02And you're expected to start winning football games.
13:04Now they did have Cam Ward coming over.
13:06We'll see.
13:07It's not one of those guys that you had from your freshman year and you saw him build all
13:10the way up to a junior or senior.
13:11He's going to have to perform right away.
13:13Fletcher Junior still running back.
13:14Talented.
13:15There's Javier Restrepo, one of the better slot receivers in the NCAA college football.
13:20The time is now because the ACC isn't quite as powerful as it was.
13:23It was on.
13:24It's never been powerful.
13:25Clemson isn't the Clemson we've known for the past 10 to 15 years right now.
13:28As it seems, Florida State had a great season last year, a lot of turnover on their team
13:32as well.
13:33So if Miami is going to compete, they better start competing this year.
13:36And I want to say one thing, too.
13:37I always get a kick out of the ACC and Miami because Miami made its bones as an independent,
13:43which meant they can pick their schedule.
13:44Now, granted, they never shied away from anybody playing Florida, playing Florida State, playing
13:48Oklahoma way back in the day, playing Arkansas on the road, LSU.
13:52They did it all back then.
13:53But I also thought they would love the Big East because they were the big dog back then,
13:57which means you can run teams up the flagpole.
13:59Kids love to see it.
14:00And that's an advantage here in recruiting.
14:02Now, Miami thought that same thing was going to happen in the ACC, where it's going to
14:05be Florida State on one side, FSU on their city, Florida State on one side, Miami on
14:09the other side.
14:10It hasn't worked out in their way.
14:11So I laugh at this and say, boy, if Clemson moves on and also Florida State moves on from
14:15the ACC, but Miami stays, Miami will be back as a national power within five years because
14:21that record will be appropriate to what they have.
14:24And that brings in the talent and the recruits and the fan base will buy back in.
14:27So Florida State, have at it.
14:29You'll go to the SEC.
14:30We'll never hear from you again.
14:31Clemson, you'll go to the SEC.
14:32We'll never hear from you again.
14:33Miami will be a national power within five years if that happens.
14:38Bold words from a man that has not seen Miami win an ACC title.
14:43Just to say, the Hurricanes projected to maybe make some noise this year, plus 440, third
14:49best price in the conference, nine and a half, the win total for Miami, despite the
14:54fact that Mario Cristobal in his two years in Coral Gables has a losing record overall
15:00at 12 and 13.
15:03Nine and a half is the win total, but the under has the juice.
15:05Donnie, there was a lot of thought about Miami, that in year number three under Mario Cristobal,
15:10they can do kind of akin to what Steve Sarkisian did last year in Austin.
15:15Two relatively disappointing years, but a huge leap forward for the program entering
15:20year number three.
15:22They've got the pieces in place, Cam Ward, the transfer from Wazoo, Damian Martinez,
15:27the transfer running back from Oregon State as well, and frankly, you see the odds optimism.
15:33That is how they will be evaluated.
15:35I'll just wait with some patience to see it before I start to believe it.
15:40This year, Donnie, what do you think that ceiling is for your Kings?
15:46I'll tell you, you showed that graphic, which is so awesome for this season.
15:49I love it because mine is not supposed to do damage on the national stage.
15:52Win total nine and a half, which means a couple losses there, title 60 to one.
15:56Look at the college football playoff number, though.
15:58It's a plus 210 price.
16:00That is fantastic.
16:01To get in to win a championship, you have to get into the college football playoff.
16:05Now, Greg, when we take a look at long shots, 60 to one is a long shot, 20 to one is a long
16:09shot, plus 210.
16:11That's viability.
16:12If they just play regular football, by the end of the season, they're going to be in
16:16possibly making the college football playoff.
16:18That's all you can ask for nowadays.
16:21One of my favorite storylines entering 2024, how do those seven at-large bids go?
16:27Is it mostly Big Ten and SEC dominated, or will we see some in the ACC and the Big 12?