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00:00What an absolute treat here on a Wednesday.
00:05Dubs Anderson for the first two and a half hours.
00:07The final half hour.
00:09Yours truly, Joe Lisi.
00:11Ready to step up and in right here on the early line.
00:14The vibes are high.
00:15We're ready to go.
00:16This man loves to talk and we'll let him talk.
00:18Joe, what's up?
00:20I can't wait.
00:21We're going to be in studio together on Thursday night.
00:25Nothing better, Donnie.
00:26So getting ready for NFL action.
00:28And obviously week number two of college football,
00:30nothing better, baby.
00:32Let's say, and some might say like Donnie went from 5'10
00:35to maybe about 6'4 on that telecast here.
00:39Find out why and only right here on Pro Football Today.
00:42So we're going to have a good time getting after that.
00:44But that is Pro Football, Joe, which starts tomorrow.
00:47We are excited.
00:48We're going to have a lot of fun.
00:49It's going to be intriguing stuff.
00:50Eight o'clock, make sure you tune in live.
00:52Pro Football Today, in-game live.
00:54We're going to be rolling all the way through that game
00:55with a ton of bets here.
00:56But Joe, I got a lot of questions in college football.
00:59And finally, it feels like it's been weeks.
01:01It's been months since a new poll has come out
01:03with the AP top 25.
01:05A lot of movers and shakers.
01:07Talked about it with Dubsy a little bit earlier today.
01:09The biggest movers, USC and Miami.
01:11But if we're looking at the AP numbers right now,
01:14are we in agreement in that top five?
01:16Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, and Notre Dame.
01:19Let's talk big boys first right now.
01:22Yeah, I think that's not a bad top five.
01:24I think clearly on paper, Georgia's the best team.
01:27Donnie, in regards to the dominating effort
01:30at 34 to three over Clemson,
01:32completely shut down Cade Kloepnick.
01:34They proved from an offense and defense aligned perspective
01:37that they are the real deal.
01:39And Carson Beck is deserving of the Heisman Trophy
01:42in regards to, you know, contending for it, right?
01:45He completed 23 of 33, 278.
01:48I mean, he got started well into the second quarter
01:51and then just lit up the Clemson secondary.
01:53So I think clearly Georgia's the best team.
01:56The one concern I do have, Don,
01:58even though Ohio State is deserving of a top five ranking,
02:02not sold on Will Howard
02:03in the consistency in the passing attack,
02:06I need to see better throughout the next couple of weeks.
02:10Take a look at the rest of that top 10 here
02:12and take a look specifically here at the top 10.
02:14Number 10, Michigan with, I guess you could say,
02:18if you're looking at the odds market, Joe, right?
02:20Closing line between 20 to 21,
02:21between where you're shopping at.
02:23They won by 20 points,
02:24but I walked away from that team in the top 10 going,
02:26you know what?
02:27Outside of the Oregon game,
02:28I thought it was a little bit interesting.
02:30Like the win, wasn't all that explosive.
02:32Six point game in the fourth quarter.
02:34Are we worried about Michigan this season?
02:37I don't think we're worried in terms of big picture.
02:40I think, you know, nine and three, 10 and two
02:43is gonna be there for the Michigan Wolverines.
02:45They do have an identity problem early on
02:48in regards to their quarterbacks,
02:49Alec Orji and Warren.
02:52They struggle with consistency.
02:54Rushing attack with Donovan Edwards
02:55didn't seem as dominant as they were last year.
02:58Were they holding a little in the tank?
03:00That was a Fresno State team, Don.
03:02That was averaging 305 passing yards per game.
03:05So from the defensive side of the ball,
03:07you look at what Wink Martindale did.
03:09They contained Fresno State.
03:11I think they're gonna be in each and every matchup.
03:13Can they run the football?
03:15They have a 23 home game winning streak now.
03:18They have Texas coming into their house.
03:20And every time they pound the rock for over 200
03:23over the past couple of years, they're 12 and 0.
03:25They're gonna need that rushing attack to take over.
03:28But I think they're nine and three, 10 and two.
03:30And they're gonna be there
03:31for a college football playoff appearance.
03:34And we look at them sitting in that top 10 spot right here,
03:3710th overall, which wasn't too kind to the team
03:40that was in that 10 spot the past two weeks.
03:42And that was the Florida State Seminoles.
03:44Now also a precursor,
03:45Michigan's gonna take on Texas this week.
03:47So if they get bounced,
03:48nobody's gonna want that number 10 overall seating.
03:51But let's focus on Florida State.
03:53As I use the words of Joe Lisi,
03:54a gutless performance in the Orange Bowl.
03:57Gutless over there in Ireland.
03:59Gutless at home on Labor Day
04:01in front of your own fans to jumpstart your season.
04:04What happened to Florida State or Joe?
04:07Are they just not as talented as some people thought?
04:09They were 10 overall to start the season.
04:12All right, so let's start with the bowl loss.
04:14That was a gutless effort with second and third teamers.
04:17They had about 14 players outside of Jordan Travis
04:20that opted out for that matchup.
04:22So that wasn't really indicative of that team last year
04:25that was 13 and 0 in ACC champs.
04:28It carried over to this year, DJAU very inconsistent.
04:31The play calling is absolutely atrocious.
04:34They do have an identity problem.
04:36They can't run the football consistently.
04:38And that defense of front seven
04:40is nowhere near where they were last year
04:42in terms of Jared Versk and Fisk just carrying that team.
04:47I think right now, Mike Norvell really needs to step in.
04:50He really needs to get into this team.
04:52But again, they're 0-2 overall, season seems lost.
04:56Are they out of contention for an ACC championship?
04:59Only time will tell, Donnie.
05:01I know your Hurricanes are sitting at the top
05:03and they're pounding their chest with Dam Ward,
05:05but they still have to play Florida State.
05:07They're 0-2 over the past couple of seasons
05:10in regards to that.
05:11Florida State does get Clemson in their house.
05:13There is parity in regards to the ACC.
05:17I don't want to say dead and buried.
05:18They're on life support right now.
05:20They need a better effort and they need to start it
05:23week number three against Memphis.
05:24But this is what happens when you have new pieces
05:27in college football and no preseason games.
05:31Here's what I want to ask you too about Florida State.
05:33We know obviously they're not devoid of talent.
05:35They're just not playing well at this point.
05:37What's the turnaround, Joe, for them?
05:39Is it moving on from DJ Uyenglulay
05:42or is it sticking with them and saying,
05:43we don't have any backup options?
05:45What does Mike Norvell do to say,
05:47look, the season isn't over.
05:49And if you win the ACC,
05:50you're automatically in the college football playoff.
05:52What's the next move for Florida State?
05:55Well, the next move is they're gonna be facing Memphis.
05:57And Memphis has got one of the better prices
06:00in regards to the group of five.
06:01They're five to one shot to win the college,
06:03make the college football playoff.
06:05They have a very high octane offense with Seth Hennigan.
06:08So if I'm Mike Norvell,
06:11I want to grind out a victory against Memphis
06:13any way possible.
06:15We have to get the rushing attack
06:16to take over with Cam Davis and Roy Dell Williams.
06:19Can we run it on a smaller defensive front?
06:23And can DJ Uyenglulay obviously work off a play action?
06:26If they don't get that victory against Memphis,
06:29Dottie, move on from them.
06:31There is no reason to stick to DJ Uyenglulay,
06:33but they have to try and grind out a win against Memphis,
06:38find an identity, and then try to come into form
06:41when they face your Hurricanes later in the year in Clemson.
06:45Those are the two maker to breaker games.
06:46If Florida State wins out and then knocks off Clemson
06:50and knocks off Miami respectively,
06:52they still have an outside chance
06:54to make the championship game.
06:57Look at that too.
06:58Doe Campbell down there trying to make some adjustments,
07:00renovate the stadium, sell a lot more high price seats.
07:03That's not going to work
07:04if you're not winning football games on the field,
07:06which the Seminoles aren't doing now.
07:07One team that was really impressive this weekend
07:09was another ACC opponent.
07:11That's the Miami Hurricanes.
07:12Went in and took on Florida in the swamp and pounded them.
07:16I was very impressed by what I saw out of Miami.
07:19And also you did get a little bit of resilience in that game
07:21with that 70 plus yard touchdown for Florida.
07:23The swamp turns on fire and quickly Cam Ward
07:26moved right down the field on a two minute drill
07:28and scored a touchdown to quiet that crowd.
07:30Loved what I saw out of Miami.
07:32And it looks like a forgiving schedule for them
07:34if they do want to win the ACC.
07:36Are we buying too much of the Hurricanes or Joe,
07:39is that hype warranted?
07:40Well, it's warranted if Cam Ward could play
07:42the way he did in the swamp.
07:44He was poised, 385 yards, three touchdowns,
07:47looked confident.
07:49He made the players around him better
07:51and they fed off of his intensity, right?
07:53He looked like he had everything at his disposal
07:56in regards to the passing attack.
07:58If that continues, Donnie, they're going to be there, right?
08:01Offense and defense aligns.
08:02They were stepped up.
08:04They were able to run the football.
08:05The secondary was very opportunistic as well.
08:08The schedule lines up for them
08:10for at least 10 wins on paper, right?
08:13Rogue matchups aren't difficult.
08:15They get their first one under the belt.
08:17The problem with Miami is maintaining their focus.
08:21We've seen this time and time again,
08:23not just out of Mario Cristobal's crew,
08:26but even Mark Rick back in the day when they were 11 and 0
08:29and had a college football playoff appearance
08:31staring them in the face.
08:33You can't lose to the likes of Pittsburgh.
08:35You can't lose to the likes of Georgia Tech
08:37or NC State.
08:39Can you maintain that focus?
08:41That's the biggest question
08:42if Miami is going to make a college football playoff.
08:45I'm still going to take a step back.
08:47I need to see it before I believe it.
08:50Yeah, it should be fun to watch it play out
08:52and me being a Miami Hurricanes fan,
08:53I'm telling you, it's been a long time
08:55that I sat down on a Saturday to open the season.
08:57You know what?
08:58They might have something.
08:59Does it equate to a national championship?
09:01Are they as good as Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, or Alabama?
09:03We'll find out.
09:04But just having meaningful hurricane football games
09:07into late October, that would be something for me
09:09and I'm looking forward to watch it.
09:11But you're right.
09:11Cam Ward looked every part, the number one quarterback.
09:14You need him to be for the Miami Hurricanes.
09:16We'll see if it plays out.