performance against baylor is this more of the same quarterback issues or is this just a work in progress

I mean, certainly it's a work in progress.

I mean, it looked like, here's the first takeaway.

Auburn won the football game.

I mean, listen, half the teams in the country are 0-1, right? Michigan fans are out here.

They're 1-0 too, somehow, someway, by the grace of God.

I don't know.

Yeah, why wouldn't you be?

Bama, new quarterback going on the road to a whole new regime over there at Kentucky.

Yeah, it's funny.

I realized earlier, guys, you asked me which SEC teams go down this weekend.

I was just thinking about the non-conference games.

I should have mentioned the game in Lexington.

An SEC team has to lose, right? So I do think it will be Alabama that will come out of Lexington with the win.

That game is so fascinating to me, guys, because, again, I just don't think anybody knows what we're getting from Kentucky.

But from what I saw last week, what did you see last week from Texas? I mean, I know – they looked the part there they looked we saw you know they gave up some yards but same time forced to turn over and a touchdown three big plays what'd you see from texas from your vantage point that leads you to picking them to beat the buckeyes on saturday night

Did it all come as a bit of a surprise that it all happened, or was there a bit of a bubbling under of actually this might be the summer of a reset?

Yes and no.

I think Kevin Mayer had come to the point where for both parties, I think a change was probably right for Kevin Mayer.

and also for the club's hierarchy.

I think that that was something that probably needed to happen for them both.

I think it would benefit them both long term.

I think it just reached... that point.

Were you, as a supporter, as a reporter, and were Southend disappointed to lose either? Surprised to lose either? And for Yeovil fans who maybe haven't seen a lot of these two just yet, exactly what are we getting out of Gubbins and Spasov?

just saying.

No, I mean, I love it.

I'm saying it's not the pressure cooker that is the SEC.

Right.

So you want the pressure, but yeah, man, if it gets out to a slow slug of start, you're going to hear a lot of, oh, Lane, what were we doing this preseason? You know, well, injunction, TRO.

You know what I mean? Clemson can go out there, and I think LSU covers.

I took them minus ten and a half.

that

just saying.

No, I mean, I love it.

I'm saying it's not the pressure cooker that is the SEC.

Right.

So you want the pressure, but yeah, man, if it gets out to a slow slug of start, you're going to hear a lot of, oh, Lane, what were we doing this preseason? You know, well, injunction, TRO.

You know what I mean? Clemson can go out there, and I don't, I think LSU covers.

I took them minus ten and a half.

Who do you think will have more SEC wins?

Yeah,

I absolutely am.

And I think really exactly the school of thinking that you just pointed out, Texas has the most talented roster, but Georgia's the best team, at least going in, I think is the way I view it as well.

There's just a trust factor with Georgia.

And I think...

At the last two seasons, after what you've seen, we've seen a Georgia team that kind of wasn't at its best.

We've seen a Georgia team.

And then could this be the year where Sark has attacked the portal with guys like Cam Coleman and company, and maybe they can tip this thing over as Kirby did to Nick Saban?

What is the upside of the former five-star recruit getting an opportunity to play under a Kalen DeBoer and a Ryan Grubb-led offense that we've seen historically, Chris, uh, really lead to, uh, great quarterback play?

Well, Tim, first things first, a pleasure to jump on with you once again.

Yeah, Keylan Russell I always thought was the...

It, it was the worst kept secret or one of the worst kept secrets in the SEC.

I think we, we knew for a while, those of us that stayed pretty connected for a few weeks now, that it was probably going to be Keylan.

And I think it came down to, from the folks that I talked to, that I think in practice Austin Mack checked off every box, right? From a standpoint of I think the coaches would feel really comfortable if they had to trot him out there tomorrow to go out there and win a football game.

But when they got in 11 on 11, Keylan Russell just does things that you cannot coach.

W- which would you power rank as a stronger team? Would you go with Georgia?

It's all

for semantics.

It doesn't really matter.

Back to your question, though.

True dark horses, like outside the likes of Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, I don't think Alabama's a dark horse.

Some people would say they are.

I've got Bama in my playoff.

Do you think that Josh Heupel will announce a QB1 or is he going to kind of use maybe the first game as a little bit of a tryout?

How would you power rank these three teams right now in your mind's eye? Um, you know, Ole Miss, LSU, A&M, how do you rank them as we, uh, get into these deep discussions the next couple days?

Well, yeah, first thing, Aaron, and I think you saw that in the coaches poll and the AP poll, it's that, it's that next group of teams right after Georgia and Texas who were in the preseason top five in the AP poll.

It's that cluster of Oklahoma, Ole Miss, A&M.

You know, LSU's right in there as well.

Again, I think that's just a microcosm of the, th- that next group.

We're all kind of wondering, those are your college football playoff hopefuls and contenders, if you will, but who's gonna emerge from that group and maybe even challenge the likes of Georgia and Texas at the very top? But for me, of those three you mentioned, I'd go Ole Miss number one, A&M number two, LSU number three.

Um, I am giving benefit of the doubt to Trina- Trinidad Chambliss and Quan Lacey.

We'll know who, where these two teams are, you know, within the first three weeks of the year, which I think is a lot of fun.

A big miss and how will he be replaced?

Yeah, he was a real talisman for Southend, really.

He was the main man.

He was player of the year three seasons in a row and got 17 goals from right wing back the last two seasons.

And fair play to him.

He came in, he was absolutely fantastic.

He deserved that opportunity to play in the Football League and to play higher.

Just looking forward to this season then, what's your expectation for this season? What would you take as a success and final one really for a score prediction as well?

So to your buddies there in, in Tennessee who are fans of, of the N- of the Vols, uh, what are they optimistic about?

Yeah, and I feel like I was vindicated, Aaron, because I've been for a while the last couple months saying that I felt like I was higher on Tennessee than most, um, coming into this season.

And, you know, I was vindicated by the preseason coaches poll that you saw drop about a week or so ago, when the coaches had them in their preseason top 20.

Now, that's not the end-all be-all, of course.

You know, last year we had teams like Penn State, Clemson, and LSU in our preseason top 10, and we see how that went.

So again, it's, it's not a end-all be-all like I mentioned, but like you said, Aaron, there's a lot to like with this group, right? I mean, if you look outside of the quarterback, and that's obviously really important, but you got one of the best offensive lines in the conference.

You got 1,000-yard rusher back in Sean Bishop.

Right.

Are, are they a playoff team? How close are they, uh, in your eyes to making it back to the playoffs this year?

You know, for me, Tim, they were just on the outside looking in.

I've got them at nine and three, but I tell you, I've got a group of teams at nine and three, four or so.

They are the one team that of the nine and three I think is the most likely and I would feel the best about.

Like, if I had to pick one of them to go to Atlanta and win the SEC championship, it would be the Oklahoma Sooners.

I, I think that if they can take that next step offensively, which I think there's a lot of reason to believe they will, I think they'll be able to run the football conventionally for the first time under Brent Venables.

What I mean by that is hand the football off and give it to a running back and not just depend on John Matusia every single play and his scrambling ability.

[laughs]

He got Lane Kiffin right the whole

time.

I think it's...

I'll put it to you this way, just we're switching gears.

Okay.

I think when you're this neck and neck going into fall camp and you have...

I think rule of thumb generally, you go with the younger, more talented, higher upside guy.

there?

Yeah.

Because the more people I talk to, the more I think that potentially just making postseason play and getting to a bowl game, I, I don't...

I know what the fans want.

I don't know how Jeremiah Donati, the athletic director, feels about him, right? I don't know if he's- Mm ...

itching at the bit to get his guy in there.

Um, from what I'm told, they have a pretty good relationship, but I will side with yes.

I think the fan uproar will be s- to such a degree because as you saw in the predictions, I have it as a typical Shane Beamer South Carolina year, very, very up and down.

... uncertainty and all that kind of stuff, that they were still that high.

What did you make, if anything, of the coaches poll? Who's too high? Who's too low in your mind?

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I think Georgia being ahead of Texas, I understand.

I think Texas is the you could argue the most talented team in the SEC, Georgia, you could argue is the best team in the SEC.

And I think it's part of it is benefit of the doubt to Kirby smart and what Georgia has done last couple of years.

So I, you know, I didn't have much of a gripe there.

I agree with you.

I could have bumped Indiana and Miami up.

Sure, Lane

Like, what did you learn that you needed, right, that was a surprise after you'd gotten out with, with the product?

Yeah.

Uh, I think it was...

I mean, everyone I think intuitively understands this, but making, making the onboarding and the setup process kind of like a, basically just a, a progress bar.

And I know that's tactical, but it, it, it really gets back to the, you know, I'm a, I'm an, a volunteer or I'm a pastor.

I have know nothing about payments You're asking me for my EIN and for my address.

I have to fill out all this information.

Uh, these insights that you've learned from your initial launch and then obviously since then, how does that shape how you think about launching additional fintech products?

Oh

... that potentially could make the SEC Championship game and win it.

I think they're on the short list of teams that can realistically win an SEC title.

And, um, being a game away from a national title, I, I will not sit there and say on the short list that they're one that, you know, I feel most confident in winning the national title.

But with that being said, if you feel good about a team winning the SEC, therefore I think that equates to feeling good about their chances of winning the whole thing if they get hot.

So, um, no, I, listen, I think the sky's the limit for them.

I think with Trinidad Chambless and Kaywan Lacy back, which is a big piece of that at running back, um, you got two of the best players not just in the SEC, but all of college football.

Uh, which Gamecock squad do we get? Last year's or the one from the year before that really impressed everyone?

What were your takeaways from Sark and Arch and Colin Simmons?

Confidence.

I think they know they have a good team.

That was the number one thing.

I like how Sark leaned into the expectations, leaned into the idea of they have a team capable of doing what I think Texas fans hope they can do and what many of us think they can do.

I appreciated that.

There's a lot of coaches that come.

Do you think this is the year Texas can get over that hump?

Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

The playoff, at least be like in contention for it later in the season.

I mean, I think context matters.

You know, how does the offense look? Can they run the football? Does the defense take another step forward under Blake Baker? So there's contextual things that can make the season a success or failure.

To me, year one of a new head coach success is laying the foundation for the future.

I think that still matters.

I know we've completely lost the plot in college football of like, roster building and culture building like i don't think you have to accomplish it all in year one though um i think the folks in baton rouge have very realistic expectations because again the expectations have evolved from when he first got hired we kind of just didn't know it's a rebuild then it evolved into well you know college football playoff or bust and now it's evolved this week into this whole national title or bus thing i think for most of them probably the majority of lsu fans want to see them make the playoff I think that would be labeled a successful season.

Which of the new coaches really stood out to you? Are you going to go with John Summerall because everybody took his words so seriously about the phone thing?

He never made an

SEC title game at Ole Miss.

So that's a whole other topic for another conversation.

I mean, listen, I think a successful year one for Lane Kiffin looks like they, I think they need to scare the playoff, at least be like in contention for it later in the season.

I mean, I think context matters.

How does the offense look? Can they run the football? Does the defense take another step forward under Blake Baker? So there's contextual things that can make the season a success or failure.

To me, you're one of a new head coach.

Which of the new coaches really stood out to you? Are you going to go with John Summerall because everybody took his words so seriously about the phone thing?

Where do you stand on the Rebs post-Kiffin?

Yeah, they gotta replace over 3,000 yards receiving from that team last year.

I think that's the most glaring thing that jumps out.

And you're right, there's a lot of questions on the defensive side, no doubt, although I would say if there's one side of the football that should be shored up, it is Pete Golding.

What does the offense look like post-Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr., who sort of engineered that thing? Can John David Baker be the answer? He was, uh, a Kiffin disciple to a degree, so can they pick up where they left off? Guys, all of that being said and all the question marks that we mentioned, which are valid, you give me Trinidad Chambliss and Kaywan Lacy, and I'll take that bet every single day of the week.

I think Ole Miss is a fringe playoff team.

I've got them at nine and three, so it's really gonna come down to does the committee look favorably upon the schedule that the Ole Miss Rebels played, which games did they win and which they lose obviously I think will play a big part because I think there's a couple of teams on their schedule, Oklahoma, Florida, those specifically, that I think they could be fighting for a playoff spot with.

Right.

I guess talk to us a little bit about your job, the day-to-day of what you do, and what should players expect from the handling experience in Clutch?

As I said earlier, I'm the guy that makes the car drive.

There's actually a team of us.

So there's a team of us, three designers, two physics engineers, working on creating what we think is the best handling for Clutch.

Excuse me.

And the route we've gone down is we are a Simcade.

I think it's very important when you go down that route to kind of define what Simcade means.

here? Go crazy.

Okay.

The only one I have not been to is Kentucky, which- It, I can confidently say probably is not a top five- I've been to Texas ... or even top 10 venue.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[laughs] All due respect to Kroger Field.

Sure.

I'm sure we got a lot of- I ain't been there ...

B- Big Blue Nation's tuned in right now.

[laughs]

Yeah.

But, well, you know, what the heck, it's what I'm doing and it's what I know, and so I did.

And, eh, you just kind of ignored it.

It was just back on, on the back burner for quite a while.

And a few years later, I started thinking, "Oh, maybe I'll just put a little effort into this," and I did, and the group started to grow.

People started to join it.

And shower door installers, glazers in general, are just very proud of their work.

Yeah.

But, uh, it sounds like you're a little bit more sold on Oklahoma with John Matusiak back and an elite defense with Brett Venables.

Yeah, I'm, I'm still high on OU.

I mean, I think the two teams for me, you say boom or bust, and I, you could throw Ole Miss in there.

Throw Texas A&M in there as well.

I, I think just, you know, how do they follow up what they did a season ago? I mean, realistically, are they gonna start 11 and 0? Probably not.

The schedule's much more daunting.

Um, right? You got a lot to replace and, you know, especially in the offensive line and, you know, ask Texas fans how big of a deal it is to have a lot to replace on the offensive line, right? It's just, it doesn't always work out The way you think.

What's your read on Mike Elko with Marcell Reed back, but a lot of NFL production gone?