Ralph Russo, college football writer for the Associated Press, tells McElroy & Cubelic why around 9 teams can even make the SEC Championship game
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This Chalks94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to MSPNOW.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Going to welcome in Ralph Russo of the Associated Press right here on Radio Row, day two, SEC Media Days.

Ralph, you good? I can't be better. I'm with you guys. SEC Media Day. You could be on a beach somewhere. You could be better. Let's say you could be with better people. We could all be better. We are the bottom of the barrel. I literally came off of vacation to SEC Media Days. But that's good because if you take a long vacation and you're really relaxed, you've got to jump right into the deep end. There's no easing yourself back into work after several weeks off. And, man, the season's here. That's it. Summer's over. The season's here. Don't say that yet. No.

There's still going to be a couple days of downtime that we need, I have to have. You guys were just talking during the break. Just an interesting conversation. LSU versus Ole Miss.

We've had multiple conversations already this morning about Ole Miss, Ralph, and how difficult it is to sort of poke holes in the roster, just the talent overall. But we have seen aspects of how the program's managed, let them down just a little bit. But we've also seen them exceed some expectations in other areas. LSU loses a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, two first-round receivers. I think three of their best four players on defense are gone from last year. But you get Blake Baker in as your defensive coordinator. You get Bo Davis as your D-line coach.

If we're on the scale of truth, Ole Miss, LSU, which way are you leaning? I think I look at this from this picture of sort of like expectations, and I just see it as Ole Miss is coming in with a lot of expectations, a lot of hype because of the great transfer portal class. And by the way, deservedly so. They should be a top 10-ish team to start the season.

But then I also look at what's happened with LSU the last couple of years where you kind of exceed expectations in year one because you beat Alabama. And then I think that they were essentially overrated going into last year. Like, I didn't think that was a number five team in the country. I thought, well, I think we still need a couple of years of recruiting to get a roster that Brian Kelly took over with 39 scholarship players up to SEC speed.

So when I, I think the general consensus on LSU is, oh, they were disappointing last year. The defense fell apart and the defense was really bad. But I think that like if you look at take the bigger picture, look at them and think of what a normal build looks like. Three straight top 10 recruiting classes. Brian Kelly says he's got the deepest team he's ever had. I kind of believe that.

I just think the reality of what we perceive Ole Miss to be, a much-hyped team that's getting a lot of playoff buzz, and LSU, a team coming off a quote-unquote disappointing year, the perception doesn't match the reality. I look at those two teams and think, those are pretty similar teams that I think have a chance to have similar seasons. So...

you throw in a little volatility, you throw in some good coaching by Brian Kelly, that's not a knock at Lane Kiffin, and I just think that I could see a scenario where we're sitting back going like, boy, Ole Miss had all the hype, but LSU had something going on there. I think they're far more similar teams than what

What's the perception? So, Greg, maybe October 12th, Tiger Stadium, Ole Miss at LSU now becomes bigger than some people are talking about. I think it's a huge game. I mean, let's think about this last year's game. And I know, look, I know Jay Daniels. I know the two first-round wideouts. I know four players off defense. I get all that. I understand that. They had 600-plus yards and scored 49 points and lost. You know how hard that is to do?

Doesn't happen a lot. It's almost impossible to do. On the road, mind you. So I think taking that into account, I think they match up pretty well. I think that game's going to be fascinating. My biggest question isn't so much about Ole Miss. I think Ole Miss is very real.

But I think Ole Miss is one of those teams that is not going to be afforded the benefit of the doubt at season's end if they have multiple losses. You look at their non-conference, and I think it's really, really, really underwhelming. That's not their fault. You schedule these things a long time in advance, and frankly, we're a couple years removed from Wake Forest being pretty good. They're no longer. I think you look at Ole Miss, and they are the one team in the SEC that if they're 10-2,

I cannot guarantee them a playoff spot. I cannot guarantee them one at 10-2. At 9-3, I don't think they have a shot. But at 10-2, I don't know, man. Everyone else, though, with their schedules and the wins that they might have, I think they're in at 10-2. And I do think you talk about the way, you know, the schedules are going to determine so much in this new SEC. No question. And we talk about, I know there's been a lot of talk about, well, how do we compare an ACC team with an SEC team and a Big Ten team with a Big 12 team?

I think we're all missing the boat on that. I think what's going to be the more interesting conversation is comparing the teams within the conferences because the conferences are so big that

Your SEC schedule, Ole Miss, is going to look a lot different than Oklahoma's SEC schedule or Texas's. And you could have a pretty severe imbalance in the schedules within the conference. So those, as you said, those 10 and 2s aren't going to match up. And I think the conversations about conference schedules and strength of schedules are going to be even more interesting than the

comparing teams from outside of conference and Ole Miss of all the SEC contenders yeah nobody's got an easy schedule in the SEC but I think that they have probably a little more manageable than some of their peers well I also look at two and that's part of the reason why I'm not like willing to bet my life on Georgia being in the SEC championship game how many teams would survive

a three-game gauntlet in which you have to win two out of three at Bama, at Texas, at Ole Miss. You have to win two out of three to be in the SEC championship game. Not to mention the games that you have at Kentucky, other places throughout the schedule. I mean, Georgia is...

10-2 is possible. It's absolutely possible. And 10-2 does not guarantee them a – they're in the playoff, I think, at 10-2. But I don't know if they are necessarily in the SEC championship game at 10-2. One game at home in September for Georgia. One. But they'll have a good non-conference win against Clemson in that scenario. Correct. I mean, like there's some – And they do get their last three games at home. Yeah. So you close out at home. That's good for Georgia. But the schedule, Ralph, we've talked about it a ton of times. Yeah.

If that's 100 other teams in college football, we're talking about the way we talk about Florida's schedule. Yeah, I think Georgia's the one team. They're still, to me, the one place where I feel like, okay, they've separated them. So for obvious reasons, right? They've built an amazing roster. Kirby's good. They've got the stability there. I think the interesting part about the SEC this year is there's enough uncertainty in all other aspects to wonder, okay, who's after Georgia?

Texas is really loaded again. I think there's an element of I'd like to see them continue doing it as opposed to thinking, you know, I think that the line I had about Texas is this is the season where Texas proves it's really back because it shows that last year wasn't just

a one-off. Last year was a starting point. For Texas, last year needs to be the new normal. We're going to find out what that looks like this year. The turnover in coaching at Alabama, it's a really good roster. I love Kalen DeBoer as a coach, but the fact of the matter is, it's a new situation.

And a coaching change creates a little volatility. We talk about Ole Miss and the way they build, I think, creates a little volatility when you bring it. Lane Kiffin even talked about this yesterday. We have a lot of work to do, and it's not just on the field. We have to make sure this thing comes together. He talked literally about...

You see a lot of pro teams, they bring in some free agents and the talent looks good and it doesn't work. So he is very aware of that dynamic on his team. We talked about LSU and their uncertainty. Tennessee, new quarterback, they fell off a little bit last year. So I just think it's such an interesting year because in other years we would easily pencil in Alabama.

as at least one of the top two teams. And when you sort of take that away and sprinkle in some uncertainty, then you sprinkle in two new good teams, I think you find yourself with Georgia I feel comfortable with, but the rest...

I'm not really sure how that works out. What, what does two through six look like? Yeah. I last yesterday, I was on set with coach Saban and he kind of laughed at me when I said, I think nine teams can make the sec championship game. And then I listed them and he goes in the next segment, he goes, yeah, I think eight or nine teams could probably make it. Uh,

Which I thought was, I'm not saying I convinced him of that. I think he had the same idea, but it's hard to think that way because it feels like so many. But with the new era of divisions being gone and things like that, I just think it's different. How many teams do you think have a legitimate chance to make it to Atlanta for the SEC title?

I'm going to go. As soon as you said that. I'm not saying win it, but like. Yeah, as soon as you said that, you start going through that process. And, again, I would put LSU on that list. So you're LSU Ole Miss. LSU Ole Miss, Bama, Georgia, Texas. That's five. That's five. I'd be tempted to put Tennessee on there. Because of that defense and what I think Nico could be. I'd be a little more leery to put Oklahoma on there. I'm not putting Florida. I don't know.

I'm not as... Missouri? That was literally the next thing I was going to mention. I don't know if I'm as high on Missouri as the preseason rankings will be. Now, this is going to be... It might not be the best reason, but I just look at schools like that when they have that sort of special season...

you tend not to sustain it to make it two in a row. Yeah. They had a lot of close wins last year. I just think that things regressed to the mean a little bit, and all of a sudden that's a 9-3-ish team, maybe with an 8-4 floor as opposed to a real 10 or 11 win team. So if I'm eliminating them and I'm not as high on Oklahoma. A&M?

A&M is a pretty interesting wild card to me. Very much. Yeah, that's another one of those teams I think I'm going to be higher on. But now, listen, nobody's been more wrong about A&M the last couple of years than me. Get in line. I could give you a few others. I am the Michael Jordan of being wrong about A&M. But I do look at...

try to sum this up relatively quickly. I think Michael, Mike Elko bringing a little like stability and normalcy to the program. Yeah. There's still a fair amount of talent there. I'm really high on Connor Wegman, but we don't know what that really is. Right. That's,

That's a theme with a lot of SEC quarterbacks, right? Like, oh, Nussmeier, that looks like a pretty good player, but small sample size, and I haven't really seen much of Nico, and we haven't seen much of Jackson Arnold, but there's some very high-ceiling quarterbacks, which also, by the way, I think adds to the volatility. Because if Jackson Arnold goes nuclear...

Now all of a sudden... Well, maybe Oklahoma is a legitimate contender in the SEC. But that could happen. That's what I'm saying. That's the thing. It's not a... And I think the same with A&M. And frankly...

It's crazy. I think it's the same with Missouri. So we are at nine if you include A&M and Missouri. It's crazy to think about that. LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri would give you six. Ole Miss, Oklahoma would give you eight. And then if you wanted to go A&M, that would give you nine. Yeah, I mean, I think you're pushing the envelope, but I'd also think that if we just spoke...

talked it out, I could figure out a way to buy into all those teams. But you start going through the destinations and stuff. It's like, okay, hang on a second. So Texas would maybe be... So let's say Georgia locks down a spot. Texas would be my second team potentially. They're at A&M. A&M could have the head-to-head if they win that. And then you kind of start piecing it together. It's like, there's a bunch of teams and a bunch of games that are going to factor into these conference championship races. And

home field is going to be really valuable. And then we go back to that scheduling component. All of a sudden you go, oh, that team got to...

7-1 because maybe, hey, they caught a little break. Maybe Jackson Arnold didn't turn out to be that good and Oklahoma was on a down year. Again, you're literally talking about one or two games are going to separate these teams. That's why they're having a lot of talk about tiebreaker situations in the SEC offices. You talked about, Ralph, and what Greg just brought up, it's one or two players from a lot of teams. It's either a guy or two in the portal. If he is what some people think they're going to be, that team's going to be really different.

Connor Wigman is healthy the whole season and is what a lot of people think. A&M is in that race. They're in the mix. The offensive line's got to be okay at least. But, yeah, it's just it's – the thing that I like about Oklahoma is the potential star power. Like you said, Jackson Arnold could go off like Billy Bowman can go off. Danny Sussman can go off. You've got a wide receiver that could be –

Bill Beatenboe could go off as the offensive line coach. Could be the best in the SEC. I mean, honestly. So you've got legit star power potential at Oklahoma that some teams don't have. They don't have the depth or they don't have the talent everywhere maybe, but in the schedules a little tougher. They've got some takeover guys, though. They've got some takeover guys. About 30 seconds, Ralph. What Greg was talking about with Ole Miss having to weigh their schedule, when we're talking about the bottom of the

Playoff. Teams getting in. What's the group of teams we're talking about there? Like, how many are we talking about? Oh, I think I could make a good argument that you're looking at maybe a 20-team race. If it's that, it's going to be a lot of fun. In November, if it's 20 teams. It's going to be awesome. Yeah.

Maybe even more than that. I'm buying college football. And the upside of a value of our sport, if we've got 20 teams in it, we're in good shape. All right. There you go. Ralph, great stuff, man. Thanks for hopping on with us. Kirby Smart live at the podium next. Day 2, SEC Media Days, JOX 94.5. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kublik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

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