Big Ten, SEC deep dive with Auerbach

Nicole Auerbach joins Not So Fast to talk about all things Big Ten, what Texas's season will mean for Steve Sarkisian, if Dabo Swinney can turn the tide for Clemson, and much more.

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Video Transcript

Welcome back.

Not So Fast.

Andrew Perloff, Paul Patch here at NBC Sports Now and Peacock.

Now Paul, if you're watching college football anywhere on NBC- Oh, yeah you're going to see a lot of Nicole Auerbach.

She's the lead college football analyst.

Of course, tonight, the debut of Rushing the Field with Joshua Perry.

We're so excited for that.

Nicole, how you doing?

I am doing great.

I am so excited to actually get football to talk about and not eligibility lawsuits like we've had all off season.

Now, your show tonight, is it gonna be in Ann Arbor?

Yes, it is.

Yep.

Oh.

Jealous.

We're at, Good Time Charlie's, one of the best bars in Ann Arbor.

Many a, many a trivia night I've spent at this bar.

So you went to Michigan.

We did our research on Not So Fast.

We do that.

Now, yesterday on the show, we played the clip of Appalachian State versus Michigan, I think '07, with the upset of number five Michigan.

Were you at Michigan at the time?

I sure was.

That was my very first game- Oh of my freshman year.

No way.

Like, my absolute first college football game.

I grew up in New Jersey, pro sports area.

Grew up going to Jets games, and this was my first college football experience.

Wow.

I obviously did not know that I would go on to, like, cover college football.

Right.

But very memorable start.

Did you consider transferring to Ohio State after that game?

No.

You sh- you probably went for the football- and you're like, "Oh, my God.

We're, now I'm the Mush.

We're not good."

Well, the crazy part is So yes.

I mean, I remember leaving, and it was just like this stunned silence, and being like, "That is not what was supposed to happen."

Yeah.

But also, so first of all, I was the only person that, like, my entire h- that went to Michigan from my entire high school and from, like, my entire friend group.

So everyone was texting me.

Everyone was calling me.

Oh.

Everyone was making fun of me for it.

And the worst part was, as someone who was so excited to go to a big state school, like, we had the student season ticket shirts, like T-shirts.

Yeah.

They were really cute.

I could never wear it again because it said Appalachian State- Oh.

Like, on the top line of the back of the shirt.

So I could never wear the T-shirt again.

Oh, before we put a bow on that, let, if you could find that shirt, we'll put it up in studio 'cause Darren Rovell would bid on that shirt.

That's a classic.

All right, Nicole.

You cover the Big Ten.

You're locked in on the Big Ten.

If you look at the Big Ten right now, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, and then it drops a tier.

Is that where you see it?

Yeah, that is.

I've been calling them the Big Three in the Big Ten.

I, you know, the, the rankings reflect that.

I actually think Indiana's a little low.

I had them number one in my ballot for the AP poll.

But in general, yeah, those three feel like the, the true national title contenders, true Big Ten title contenders.

And then the next group is, hey, is there gonna be a fourth team emerge?

Is there a fourth team in the college football playoff?

And there's a whole group of teams in that category.

You know, you could go obviously USC and, and what Lincoln Riley's trying to get, break through for the first time, with, with the Trojans.

I think Washington's a dark horse.

You gotta put it in that category.

Penn State's got a very friendly schedule.

And then Michigan, they've got a brutal schedule, but you still got Bryce Underwood.

If he can really take that jump, if Kyle Whittingham can i- you know, impact and, and have a program that is in his image, tough, physical, athletic, maybe they've got a chance too.

So all of those teams, and maybe even Iowa based on their schedule, are kinda in that middle tier, trying to fight to get into that top group.

Okay, Nicole, I'm gonna put you on the spot.

Best quarterback in the Big Ten.

Oh.

Ooh, that is such a tough question.

I, I go Dante Moore.

I understand all the arguments for all the other guys, especially Julian Sayin, right?

Like, he was fourth in the Heisman voting last year.

But I, I think it's Dante Moore.

I just think he obviously is pro ready, but he chose to come back.

And he just, he orchestrates such an explosive, electric offense.

But it's his play making ability that allows them to do that.

I, I love Moore.

I love Dante.

Okay.

I wanna go to the state of Indiana, not the school of Indiana.

The most threatening college football team this year in the state of Indiana is Okay.

So that's a tough question for me because I put Indiana as my preseason number one, but I have Notre Dame winning a national championship.

Okay.

I respect that.

And I have them beating Indiana to do so.

So, like, I'm all in on the state of Indiana.

I do think it's Notre Dame.

Obviously, their season comes down to just a couple of big games, but I think that that is the team that is best equipped to win a national title.

A quarterback who I think might end up being the best quarterback in the country this year.

The best defender in the country in Leonard Moore.

They just don't have any questions.

They don't have any weaknesses, and I think they're going to handle those big moments better than they did a year ago.

All right, Nicole.

I'm gonna take you down to the SEC.

University of Texas, Arch Manning obviously gets a lot of attention.

Let me ask about Coach Steve Sarkisian.

If Texas does not make the college football playoff- what happens down in Austin?

I think it gets very uncomfortable.

Like, it's, it's hard to talk hot seat about some of these coaches that have, you know, big buyouts, but big expectations.

And, and we got there, right?

To the point with, with James Franklin and Brian Kelly last year, that you would've said, you know, people were being financially prudent, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

But that's not what college sports is.

So I think life does get very uncomfortable, especially just with the disappointment of last year, not even making the playoffs, and all the hype around Arch Manning.

If he does not develop him, he's supposed to be an offensive guru.

He's supposed to have great quarterback play.

But this year, he added weapons around Arch.

He added the best running back and the best receiver that were available in the transfer portal this year.

So there really, there, there really shouldn't be any other questions, any other excuses.

I do think that they have a tough draw.

The SEC's gonna be brutal with the nine conference games.

I think it still goes through Athens.

But I, I, man, I mean, it's such a tough question.

I, I do think that we're gonna end up having hot seat conversations about Steve Sarkisian, whether or not he chooses to maybe m- look for other jobs and opportunities in the NFL or something like that.

Or we'll just be talking about his job status because that's unacceptable.

Yeah.

You know, especially after they were a couple plays away from making the national championship game not very long ago.

All right, Nicole.

Let's stay in the SEC.

Lane Kiffin's getting all the coverage.

LSU is good.

I don't know if they're national title good, but I wanna go to Ole Miss.

Trinidad Chambliss is still there.

He's like a Dr. Chambliss, he's been in college so long.

But Keywan Lacy, they've got a coach that people aren't talking about because it's, they're in the rear view.

More threatening this year for the national title, Ole Miss or LSU?

I think it's LSU.

But you're totally right about the Ole Miss offense.

They're gonna put up a ton of points, a ton of yards.

Trent Baumbach will be a finalist.

He'll be in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

I, I just, I think that LSU with Sam Levitt, when he's been healthy, we've seen this.

It's been a minute since he was healthy at Arizona State and we saw them go on their magical run to the playoff.

He is a difference maker and he can make a lot of plays that not a lot of guys can.

They, they obviously spent big in that portal to get, you know, the type of athletes that you need for LSU.

There's so much pressure, so much expectation on LSU to be ultra-competitive in year one, but I think they have the talent to do that.

Now, the question is, can they handle that trip back to Oxford mentally, physically, emotionally?

I mean, that, that could derail a season.

That could be difficult.

Even opening with Clemson with everything that's, you know, kind of clouded, or overshadowed this game because of eligibility issues as a potential distraction.

But Lane Kiffin's been very good at compartmentalizing over the course of his career 'cause there always seems to be a distraction somewhere.

So I'm not too too worried about those things.

But I do think that their roster, should put them in that top grouping in the SEC, and I do think not making the college football playoff in year one, not advancing kind of far in it, would be a huge disappointment for Kiffin and company.

All right, Nicole, you mentioned Clemson.

I know you got some attention for some of your comments on Dabo Swinney.

Is it possible that his old school approach is gonna work, or is the game passed him by?

That's been the question, and I think it continues to be the question with him.

I mean, he obviously feels he was the king of college football, like, 10 years ago.

Yeah.

And would love for college football to still be where it was 10 years ago, where it was not dominated by NIL and the portal and all of this player movement.

And you didn't have to re-recruit your roster.

You could He got great players and developed them at Clemson.

He had great coaches, a great offense coordinator, great defense coordinator that stayed with him for a very long time.

Some of them went on to other opportunities.

He's a purist.

He wants them to truly be student athletes and, and the, all the reasons that everyone gets into coaching college football, he's there for.

Now the question is, you know, can they actually do it at the high enough level to be an ACC contender, to be a national title contender in this era?

I'm not sold on it.

I'm not sure.

But in a weird twist of fate, they're kind of America's team right now- against LSU this weekend.

So maybe this turns the tide.

Yeah, it's a lot of upside for, Dabo in this game.

All right, we do the Heisman a lot on this show, even though it's week one, a lot.

We're debuting Getting the Heisman tomorrow on Not So Fast.

If I gave you Arch Manning or the field for the Heisman, where are you going?

I'm going with the field.

I, I just think there's too many other elite quarterbacks and programs that are gonna be in the national championship conversation.

Some great running backs.

You still have, like, two of the best The, the two players that I'm most excited to watch this year, Jeremiah Smith, Malachi Tony, receivers, but they are household names.

They could get in the mix too.

So I just think there's too many other big name star players elsewhere.

Now, if Texas goes undefeated or goes on some crazy run and, and runs through the SEC, that conversation changes because the spotlight is on them, and we'll be seeing that.

But I just think after how high the expectations started with him, I just don't know if he can exceed it, and you have so many other talented quarterbacks, which it's mostly a quarterback award these days.

Okay, we like to do a little lifestyle on this show, not just the games.

You've been around a little bit with college football.

You've been all over, and I'm gonna take Michigan off the board.

If you had to go tailgate for a weekend or recommend someone, a novice- to just go tailgate, where the game may not be the star, but the tailgate may be the star, give us one or two you'd recommend.

Well, Penn State is awesome.

Oh.

And it's basically in the middle of nowhere, right?

So, like, all the tailgating just, like, goes out from the stadium.

They've got RV lots.

They've just got regular, you know, cars and tents and all of that.

I tried a deep-fried turkey leg there for the very first time.

Respect.

It was phenomenal.

And they can also, very much like LSU, I put these two fan bases in the same category, they can sustain the drinking- Oh, wow throughout the day leading to the night game, which- Stamina is what you're saying stamina, which I think is very, very impressive.

And I think that that's one that I would give you, and then I would say Wisconsin just because, again, the stamina is there.

There's also cheese curds.

There's brauts.

There's really good food.

And that is a, also just a lovely college town to just wander around through all the bars and the restaurants.

That is a fantastic breakdown by you, by the way.

Fantastic.

Nicole, tell us about rushing the field.

Did you ever rush the field at Michigan?

I mean, obviously you got off to a bad start.

I went to Dartmouth.

We, we rushed the library, not the field- unfortunately.

Have, have you ever been in that mosh pit of a field like that?

So I have not personally done it as a student because, again, to your point, like Michigan, you're not supposed to be rushing the field.

Right.

But I have been in field storms and court storms as a reporter.

And they get a little crazy.

I saw someone break either it was an arm or a leg during a, a basketball court storm.

'Cause those ones, like, you're right on the court, and you can just get on the players and the court very quickly.

I was there when, Iowa rushed the field when they beat Penn State a couple years back.

And that was, like, the most polite field storm.

Like, it was, it was crazy.

Everybody was like f- It was like a stroll.

Yeah, it was str- And they were like, "Oh, part ways for the reporters.

The reporters need to get to the tunnel."

I was like, "This is, this is bizarre.

You guys are just too nice here."

Yeah.

"This is Midwest nice."

That was more, more of a field stroll than a field storm.

Before we get you out of here, we like to do a thing, such thing as a dumb question.

Now, you talked a little about the physicality.

You've been on many different fields.

Have you ever been run over or partially run over by a stray player on the sidelines, Nicole?

No, but you have to keep your head on a swivel 'cause I've seen that happen many times.

But I have not personally I'm gonna jinx myself by saying- that I have not had this happen to me.

Well, what are you doing, Paul?

My bad.

My bad.

Now we're, we're gonna watch all season long- I'll knock on- just to make sure Nicole's okay.

Nicole, can't wait for your, your new show and to watch you all season long on NBC.

Thanks for joining us.

Thanks for having me, guys.

Thank you very much.

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