NCAAF Best Bets: College Football Season Opener Insights
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00and we'll see you next time on the football show.
00:08Now the fun never stops here on the early line. Dubs Anderson
00:11first two and a half hours of the show bringing that heat.
00:13We'll see him on Wednesdays during football season right
00:16here on the early line. But now it's some fun here from a guy
00:19that we all know appropriately called the Pope of Greenwich
00:22Village. It's Joe.
00:24With us this morning, baby. Who's ready?
00:27This is becoming too consistent, Donnie. I don't know.
00:30Hey, you know, you know, the people have spoken. Could this
00:33be it? I don't know, you know, pro football today.
00:36About two weeks out. I can't wait. Can't wait to chop it
00:39up for you. The season's here. Finally.
00:42They took my thumb, Charlie.
00:45So there you go. Anybody watch the Pope of Greenwich Village?
00:47Check it out.
00:48It's fine. It's performance. Yeah, David. Fantastic stuff.
00:51We can talk movies or we can talk coaches
00:54who might frankly could be doing movies. That's Deion Sanders.
00:57Take a look at the game starting out. By the way, Joe, I love
00:59this Thursday football, Friday football, Saturday football,
01:03Sunday football, Monday football. The boys at CFT have been
01:06working overdrive this weekend and I can't wait to get it
01:08started right away. Colorado and North Dakota State a favorite
01:12here opening up at the Fandul Sportsbook at eight and a half
01:15a little bit of a shift. Now Fandul now showing nine and a
01:18half as a favorite towards Colorado a fifty nine and a
01:21half point total here. Let's go two-pronged attack here, Joe.
01:24Give me your analysis on this football game and also what are
01:27we thinking about Colorado on the season as well?
01:31Well, big picture Colorado and I've said this from the get-go
01:34Donnie needs to get back to bowl respectability and eligibility
01:38six wins. I think is is within the realm of possibility now
01:42with the move to the Big 12. They have the quarterback in
01:44regards to Shadur Sanders 27 touchdowns three interceptions
01:49Travis Hunter when healthy is one of the best dual threats
01:52that we've seen in college football. I could catch it and
01:55then what he does in regards to the defensive side of the ball,
01:58but the concern for Colorado not just in terms of big picture
02:01Donnie, but in terms of this game with North Dakota State
02:04and Cam Miller their quarterback is that that offensive line
02:07needs to get better. Colorado had the worst rushing offense
02:11in all of college football last year only rushing for 68 yards
02:15per game. They allowed 56 sacks on the season that needs to
02:19get better. Otherwise, they're going to be in a dogfight. I'm
02:22going to take the points with North Dakota State. This is a
02:25team at the FCS level that has won multiple national
02:28championships. They have a veteran quarterback in Cam
02:31Miller a veteran offensive line. I think they can run it early
02:35on and that really will dictate the tempo and I said this too
02:39you look at Colorado last year Donnie. They won three games
02:42right out of the get-go once they lost their first game to
02:45Oregon. It's like they packed in the season. It was gone,
02:48right? That cannot happen this year in your number two with
02:51Deion Sanders. They need to get back to a bowl. Like also let
02:55me talk to you about this game itself to does this feel like
02:58it's going to be a referendum on the Colorado Buffaloes and
03:00Deion Sanders like we're not like last year. It was like
03:03what are we going to get? Oh boy, they surprised and beat a
03:06ranked TCU team. Now. We found that at the end of the season
03:08Joe TCU wasn't really supposed to be that ranked team that
03:11they were in week number one. So you do get the surprises but
03:14what does happen if Colorado loses game number one year
03:18because you look at their win total. It's five and a half
03:20obviously baked into that is they're expecting a victory in
03:23week number one to win the Big 12. We probably don't think
03:26that's going to be possible but a 25 to one. What are the
03:29outcomes of this game because let's just say they lose this
03:31game Joe, but what happens if they win it convincingly does
03:35that change anybody's opinions? I don't think it changes
03:38anybody's opinion in regards to big picture, right? They're
03:41one of the most heavily bet teams in regards to not just
03:44win the Big 12 championship, but more importantly to actually
03:48make the college football playoff with a five and a half
03:51win total because it is Deion in that program, right? Here's
03:55the thing if they win it the way they did against let's say
03:58TCU last year where they come out they put up 45 points and
04:02they give up let's say 30 and they still cover this game.
04:05The the nobody's going to change their perception, but
04:08if they come out and lose this game to North Dakota State
04:11everything is still in front of them. But what is the mindset
04:14of this team? That is the biggest thing that in question
04:17mark that I have for Colorado big picture is is their mind
04:21into it. Do they have to go 12 and O or their sights set on
04:25getting back to a bowl and potentially challenging for a
04:29Big 12 championship. So again, it is this game is going to be
04:33critical to the outcome for the mindset of Deion, but I'm
04:37taking the points Donnie. I mean North Dakota State plays
04:40very good defense. They play a lot of zones. So they're going
04:43to limit should do or Sanders and Travis Hunter in terms of
04:46big plays over the top. They're going to force them to be
04:49patient and that's going to be a cause of concern for that
04:52Colorado offense to NFL guys for sure on that roster and
04:56we'll talk about your door Sanders here to win the husband
04:58at a 40 to one price and also Travis Hunter to win the
05:01husband at a 60 to one price. What's the outcome? What we
05:04can't anticipate from them is Travis Hunter going to be a
05:06full way, you know, 60-minute man both sides here and also
05:10Ken should do or Sanders live up to the hype and be that top
05:13five quarterback in the draft that some people expect him to
05:16be. Yeah, great questions. I think when Travis Hunter you
05:19look at it the first game against TCU last year, he
05:22played what a hundred and eight plays if he continues that
05:26from the start of the season through the end and plays 12
05:29games or 13 games this year. He's going to be mentioned in
05:33regards to the Heisman trophy assuming that he's close to
05:361000 yards receiving or he scores multiple touchdowns on
05:39the offensive side of the ball and leads in regards to
05:42interceptions for the team. So I think he has a very good shot.
05:46He's the only player potentially from a dual threat
05:49perspective that can win the Heisman. We haven't seen the
05:52defensive player since Charles Woodson, but he's that type of
05:55player that could shut down the opposing offense's best player
05:58and really do it on the offensive side of the ball for
06:01Shador Sanders. Yeah, he could put up the numbers. But again,
06:05are they going to give the Heisman and I'll ask you are
06:07they going to give the Heisman trophy to a player that let's
06:10say throws for 5000 yards 40 or 50 touchdowns and their team is
06:15four and eight Bailey's happy didn't win it a couple of years
06:18ago. That's the biggest question mark. And when you look at
06:21your door big picture, is he the type of guy that could really
06:25lead his team from behind or get this team to eight wins if
06:28he can then he's going to be mentioned in regards to the
06:31Heisman. If he just compiles stats. I don't think they give
06:34it to him. Yeah, if we were going by just by statistics a
06:38couple Hawaii quarterbacks will be running away with the
06:40Heisman trophy race over the past 20 years. So I agree with
06:43you in that instance. You have to have your Heisman moment not
06:45throwing for 400 yards against an FCS team. It's throwing for
06:48400 yards against your best opponent in the Big 12 while
06:51you're trying to challenge to win the Big 12 on that spot.
06:54Now week number one Joe, we love it because there's many
06:57more games than week number zero and they cover a multitude
06:59of days, which is great, but we are going to get our fair share
07:02of blowouts. We also are going to get the first look at some
07:05of these top 25 teams Western Carolina taking on NC State
07:09with a 32 and a half point line Murray State, Missouri 47 and
07:12a half point line Lindenwood versus Kansas 44 and a half
07:16Southern Utah versus Utah 38 and a half and then Temple my
07:19Temple Owls going to play Oklahoma at a 42 and a half
07:23point favorite. How do you approach this weekend betting
07:26wise Joe? We see all of these numbers. You just ride the
07:29favorites out or there's some spots that you say, you know
07:31what? Maybe these dogs can at least hang around and get a
07:33cover. Yeah, like that that NC State line again, you have
07:38Grayson McCall that comes over in regards to that and Jordan
07:41Waters the running back from Duke that are a new dynamic
07:44one-two punch for NC State, but Dave Dornan and the Wolfpack
07:48have been this methodical type of offense. And even though
07:51they were nine and three last year and they they're a very
07:54good home team 32 and a half. Donnie is a huge number to be
07:58laying with a quarterback that came out of Coastal Carolina
08:01and Grayson McCall was one of the best FBS quarterbacks
08:04throughout his career, but struggle last year with some
08:07injuries. We saw Brennan Armstrong struggle in that
08:10offense. I might be inclined to take the 32 and a half with
08:13Western Carolina. And again, when you look at Oklahoma and
08:16Temple Temple is so bad Jackson Arnold in Oklahoma should be
08:20able to rip them early on. That's the biggest thing is
08:23that the sites in the temperament and perception
08:26of Oklahoma's down this year with a seven and a half win
08:29total. This is an opportunity to really make a statement at
08:32home and they beat up on non-conference opponents early
08:36on. I would lay it with Oklahoma and take the points
08:38with Western Carolina. Yeah, should be a fun start to the
08:42weekend. As we said, we're going to that Colorado Buffaloes
08:44game prime time in prime time should be a lot of fun and
08:47also boy. Oh boy with that postgame press conference is
08:50going to be heated up either way because a lot of people
08:53hoping that Colorado loses Dion understands that he'll be
08:56ready to return fire if his team really comes prepared, but
08:59if they lose are we going to get to see one of the all-time
09:02press conferences with questions flying left and right
09:05at Deion Sanders. This is the great part about college football
09:08starting up and also the Dallas Cowboys. They signed Dalvin
09:11cook this morning in aging backfield to go along with Zeke
09:16here. Who knows what's in stake for the Cowboys in 2024. We got
09:20some big game from the docket this week in college football.
09:22We got Joe Lisi here to talk about it. Come on backwards.
09:25Joe Lisi, Donnie right side right on the early line talking
09:28about college football and a new season is upon us a new set
09:31up for Joe Lisi in the home studio. We are absolutely ready
09:35to go people Clemson, Georgia neutral site the big dogs. Yes
09:41pun intended Georgia Bulldogs favored by 13 and a half points
09:45over Clemson that total which opened up at 15 and a half Joe
09:48actually dropping to 48 and a half. We know what Georgia
09:52brings to the table. Is this the same old Clemson were used
09:55to basically the last 10 years or are we getting a glimpse of
09:59maybe the not so strong side of the Clemson Tigers? Yeah, if
10:03Clemson does not show well in this game Donnie, it could be
10:07the end of the dynasty that we know it in regards to dabble
10:10Sweeney now from the series perspective. It's been owned by
10:13Georgia. They've won seven of the last eight in terms of the
10:16series. The last Clemson win came back in 2013. That shows
10:21you how long ago Clemson knocked off Georgia. They haven't
10:24played every year, but they did play a few years ago with DJ
10:28you and Georgia won that ball game 10 to 7. The fact that
10:31this line is coming down actually has me a little bit
10:34intrigued because in order for Clemson to win, they're going
10:37to need Kate Klobnik to step up and stretch that defense over
10:41the top. It wasn't the same dominant Georgia defense that
10:44we've seen in terms of years past in regards to just taking
10:48games over when they want to Natty just a couple of seasons
10:51ago with what 1415 defensive stars that made it to the NFL.
10:56They were a bend, but don't break defense, but in the
10:58bigger game stepped up. The biggest thing when you look at
11:01this time is that Georgia last year had the number one ranked
11:05third down offense 55% conversion rate and the number
11:09one ranked third down defense. So, you know, when your
11:12defense is giving you short fields and multiple
11:15opportunities to score and opposing defenses can't shut
11:18down Carson Beck in your offense. What does that mean?
11:21They just roll away and cover numbers. So again, 13 and a
11:25half with a six months of preparation. This is do or die
11:29for Davo Sweeney. They did win five games down the stretch
11:32last year and won by 10.6 points per game. I think Georgia
11:36wins, but I'm going to take the points with Clemson. I'm
11:39starting to like the over though. Yeah, always
11:42intriguing to watch some of these opening battles where so
11:44many times you're supposed to have that layup or that
11:47cupcake on your schedule to start the season before you get
11:49going. But these two teams going to tangles to power five
11:52opponents, both of them hoping to make the college football
11:55playoff. This would be a big springboard to either team
11:58wins this game 7 30 p.m. On Saturday night to a 9 to 10 on
12:02the rotation. That is Notre Dame and Texas A&M. How about
12:05this line at the FanDuel Sportsbook? Joe opened up at
12:07one and a half. Now, we're seeing it as high as two and a
12:09half other outlets going as high as three points. Now
12:13totals typically in college football. You're going to see
12:16routinely high 50s 60s, sometimes 70s. Take a look at
12:20this one opened up at 48 and a half at FanDuel now down to
12:2446 and a half. Is this going to be a defensive struggle and
12:28who takes the game here Notre Dame or A&M? Yeah, Donnie.
12:32This is the most intriguing line that I've seen. Again,
12:35they have an eight and a half win total Texas A&M and tell
12:39me the last time Texas A&M overachieved expectations.
12:43Kevin Sumlin didn't do it. Jimbo Fisher didn't do it. RC
12:46Slocum and Jackie Sherrill and Mike Sherman didn't do it.
12:50Why do we believe Mike Elko is going to do it, especially in
12:53year number one. I'm starting to like the under here. You
12:56have two defensive-minded head coaches, Marcus Freeman, Mike
13:00Elko. Elko also knows Riley Leonard, the starting quarterback
13:03for Notre Dame very well because he started at Duke last year,
13:07almost led the upset over Notre Dame in Durham. They were a
13:10five and a half point dog before Sam Hartman and the Fighting
13:14Irish pulled that ball game out in the last minute. But again,
13:17I still believe that Notre Dame is the better team. I think
13:20they have the better quarterback. Leonard over Connor
13:23Wegman. Wegman struggled in big games with consistency last
13:27year and I'll throw a stat out there. Marcus Freeman last two
13:30years on the road or on a neutral field side straight up
13:3310 and 4 overall might be ugly, but I'll take Notre Dame with
13:36the points. I'm just not buying into the hype of A&M,
13:39especially in game number one. Yeah, a lot of new moving parts
13:44as well as you talked about Riley Leonard coming over to
13:46play quarterback here for Notre Dame fresh off of Sam Hartman
13:49last year. So we'll see if he can provide that but not a lot
13:52of returning starters on that Notre Dame offense for that
13:55game, but it should be a good one. Let me just ask you a
13:57quick general question about this weekend's games too,
13:59because Boston College is going to take on Florida State on
14:03September 2nd. The fact though the last game of the weekend
14:06looking at Florida State season and at the advent of obviously
14:10the 12 team playoff Joe, you can afford a loss at this point,
14:13but I don't think too many people thought that Florida
14:15State technically was going to lose that game 13 and a half
14:1810 and a half point favorites, depending when he got it at
14:20what's the mo for Florida State in this game? Are we now
14:22worried that they're favored by two touchdowns and can they
14:25even be Boston College or is that more of a Mirage that we
14:28saw in game number one for FSU? Well again, it's a conference
14:32game, right? And we talked about that in regard to week one,
14:35you know, it's Boston College's first game of the year and it's
14:39the best team potentially on paper heading into the regular
14:42season and let's not forget last year in Hill. They were a
14:4620 and a half 21 point underdog and Castellanos Thomas
14:50Castellanos almost won that game single-handedly with his
14:54legs. They lost it. I believe 3229 now you come back home to
14:58Tallahassee again. Do I put a lot of weight into that loss?
15:02Yeah, absolutely. It was a terrible loss by Mike Norvell
15:05in Florida State. I thought they were walking through the
15:08motions, but it's still not the same team that we saw last year
15:11DJ you comes over. There's a lot of defensive players that also
15:15have transferred in the continuity wasn't there from the
15:18offense and defense line perspective. I probably this
15:21had no play for me, but I probably would lay it with
15:24Florida State hoping that they kick it up a notch. They're
15:28more intense and I got to believe that that defense comes
15:31to play the fact that it's in Tallahassee. Now, you're
15:35getting a basically a four-point discount. I would lay it
15:39now. It is hurricane season in the state of Florida here. Big
15:43big chest Mario out here as a favorite against the Gators in
15:48Gatorland. I mean, is this the Hurricanes year? They put that
15:51all together and all that money spent on NIL comes to fruition
15:55with a playoff appearance for those Hurricanes. Absolutely
15:58not. And I was going to talk on the last half of the segment.
16:02I was going to bash them and keep continue to bash them.
16:05I'll do it after you're gone, but I'll just say this Mario
16:0812 and 13 in South Beach. Everybody's praising Cam Ward
16:12and Damian Martinez and rightfully so but they were
16:15two and four last year Donnie on the road or on a neutral
16:18field site and they he might not even have the best quarterback
16:22potentially in this matchup. I'll talk about it on the break.
16:26Come on now Joe. Come on feel the need right here. Sebastian
16:30the Ibis is here. No, you can't fade Sebastian the Ibis. Lay
16:33the points with the Canes. Take up the with the National
16:35Championship. Mario Cristobal one of the best coaches in this
16:38nation is going to show up this year. Cam Ward go Canes go.