ESPN's Adam Rittenberg joined Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Radio to discuss the latest surrounding college football as Week 0 approaches. Rittenberg also chats about his expectations for Texas A&M as well the biggest storylines in the sport.
Key notes from Adam Rittenberg interview
- I think A&M fans should be thrilled they are even in the AP Poll. They’ve got the potential to be a top 25 and top 15 team, and they’ve got the talent. Texas A&M was not in my power rankings. At the top, it will be interesting to see if Washington, USC and Florida State can back up the preseason hype.
- I think Texas A&M played better down the stretch, and their final game was intriguing. There’s optimism around Conner Weigman at quarterback. We still need to see how Bobby Petrino and Jimbo Fisher work together, but until then it’s hard to make a proclamation of value. There will be moments things don’t go well, so how will their players respond? More importantly and interestingly, how will their coaches respond? What will that relationship be like between coaches if play calls aren’t working?
- Bobby Petrino handled the press conference perfectly. He’s been around. There’s a healthy amount of respect, but none of it matters until the season begins. You’ve got two guys who have built their reputations around being elite play callers and not having to answer to anyone, but we won’t truly know until September 9. I’m most intrigued to see how they get back on track. Bobby Petrino is excited to be there. He knows what to say, and he handled that perfectly.
- It will be intriguing to see how Georgia looks on offense. Now, with Carson Beck leading that crew, how does he handle those situations that Stetson Bennett handled so well? Todd Monken is gone. It’s Mike Bobo now calling the plays. Defensively, we come to expect excellence from Georgia, so anything less than that should raise some alarm bells.
- Alabama, to me, is more intriguing. They’ve never had a quarterback situation with uncertainty like this, especially following the run of Bryce Young, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. We know they have the talent, but do they have the difference maker at quarterback? Jayden Daniels, Carson Beck, Spencer Rattler and Joe Milton are back, but there are questions around Alabama’s quarterback situation. They start Week 2 with Texas, a team who pushed them last year, and that should be a pretty good test of who Alabama will be this season.
- At Alabama, there is uncertainty at quarterback, whether or not their offensive and defensive lines can get back to being elite, and who is going to replace Jahmyr Gibbs, a multitalented threat? You have the greatest coach of all time, but both 11-1 and 9-3 are possible, given the question marks on the team.
- It’s the middle of August, and Ohio State doesn’t have a starter. There’s a competition between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown, and we haven’t seen separation. They say Devin Brown is not the kind of guy to go down without a fight. Kyle McCord was seen as the next guy behind C.J. Stroud, but Devin Brown is making it interesting.
- I think Ryan Day can sense some frustration that they haven’t had a guy separate themselves. As Michigan showed last year, you can play a few quarterbacks and figure things out during the season. You look at Week 4 against Notre Dame. Ohio State needs to have an answer at quarterback by then.
- Nothing has happened today so far with Florida State. I think they are looking at their options and made it very clear to the ACC about their position. I think Florida State has rallied its base, but now you need to act. The fact that Florida State is so motivated to challenge the ACC is very interesting, so we will see how it evolves over the next few years.
- I don’t think Stanford will fold because they’ve got money and history at a high level. They are just looking for a home, whether that’s partnering with the ACC schools or the remaining three Pac-12 teams. The portal and modern college football don’t work in Stanford’s favor, so they need to figure out where they belong and what they can compete for. But also, where will the other teams compete? The rest of their athletic program is better than their football team, and they produce a lot of Olympians and high-level athletes.
- The football situation with Pat Fitzgerald generated a lot of attention and open the floodgates for Northwestern. Northwestern pushed back a lot against the baseball allegations, but there are a lot of questions about what is going on. There are people at Northwestern who would like to see changes made.
- The quarterback landscape is really exciting. Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are the headliners, but there are guys who can improve their draft stock. The Pac-12 might have the most productive returning quarterbacks in a conference ever with Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, Cam Rising, Michael Penix and DJ Uiagalelei. There are a lot of really productive players coming back.
- Last year, the ACC was the talk of the town, but they’ve still got Cade Klubnik, Drake Maye and Jordan Travis. The Big Ten and SEC don’t have as many familiar names, but they still have lots of talent. It’s an exciting group of quarterbacks, but right now, everyone is chasing Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. KJ Jefferson has shown really good efficiency. He’s a big dude who is hard to bring down, so it will be interesting to see what he can do to improve his draft stock and help his team this year.
