Warchant Report | Florida State SMU Preview, Predictions | FSU Football | Warchant TV #FSU

0:00Welcome into it's week two of the Warchant report presented by Zaxby's, but it's really technically week one of the college football season. Thanks so much for being here. I'm Azlan Hujavandi joined by Irish O'Fell, managing editor of Warchant.com and director of original content, Tom Lang, also executive producer of the Jeff Cameron show. You can hear that one to four o'clock. 93 three FM as well as YouTube TV. That's our Warchant YouTube channel. Hit the thumbs up, rate, review, subscribe. We're presented again by Zaxby's. And listen, I'm all about the classics guys. I just like a nice golden fried chicken finger and the tang of Zaxos, that marriage rock solid. But they got some new stuff going on. They got the lemon pepper dry rub. I'm going to have to give it a try either this weekend or next. See if it gives magic city in the A. It's run for is that the name of the place? It's like the the world renowned lemon pepper wingspot in all of America. I think so. So we'll see how it stacks up. I feel very confident. Zaxby's got it going on. Check out all the great locations around you. But if you're in the Tallahassee area, we prefer the following

1:01locations that are listed on your screen there. Zaxby's who's got the sauce. I also like that tagline. That's that's that's good. Whoever whoever did that in marketing, give them a raise lots going on this weekend. Obviously with SMU coming to town for a Labor Day clash with FSU. It'll be SMU season opener. It'll be the ACC opener for both teams. And as we get ready for that game, come on. Hang out with some of the folks that you see here on the screen and you'll see later on the program, Warchant doing lots of social events. Dare I say this weekend, Saturday coming out to the corner pocket bar and grill. We'll be doing a little bit of a watch party, I guess. As Clemson takes on LSU sort of capping off the first full Saturday of the slate Sunday, come out to the pickle pad. We'll be doing a meet and greet lots of staff there. 6 30 PM North Monroe, not sure if Ira's going to take on the world and show that he's king of a hill at the pickle pad. But you know, you might build up a beer and shake irons and take a photo with him. That's pretty solid too. And then in the lead up to the game, game day, Monday, pre game show, Jeff Cameron, Tom Lang 11 AM Tom or 1 PM 1 PM where it's because it's a week day. We're sticking

2:05to what we do. 1 to 4. So three hours. That's a lot of pre game for you, everybody. And then the tailgate, the battles and official tailgate going on over hotel end to go at 4 o'clock. Jeff Tom will be there. So come on out, hang out and then the post game show 10 to 15 minutes after we hope Florida state moves to 2 and 0 on the season. We'll begin with you, irons. We get into the show here now after our reads. I was a lot, everybody. Thanks for being here. Get hit the. Work as well. It feels like it was a breeze. You know, much has been obviously talked about the way Florida state looked going. The feelings, the expectations going into the first game and the way they looked and the way they performed in your mind. Are they in a better or worse place after that modest win over a fairly lowly opponent? Yeah, I think there's probably two realities. There's the fan media reality and then there's the football program team reality. From a football team standpoint, they're probably where they want to be. Honestly, you know, it's a week one game. It was a week zero game.

3:06They now know some things that they have to work through the kinks. They've gotten they've had their dress rehearsal. So you'd like to think that a guys who maybe were jittery or were unsure of themselves playing in a new program, playing with new teammates, maybe some of them they worked out those things out and they'll be calmer. Plus, the coaching staff may have a better idea of guys that, you know, they can't depend on or guys they can't depend on. So from that standpoint, inside the program, they probably feel like they're in a better place now because they've got more information outside of the program. The other reality, which is us and the fans, feel probably like in a worse place. Not because we had sky high expectations for this Florida State football team, but some of the things we thought would be solid didn't look all that good, particularly the past defense and the third down defense. I mean, that was so atrocious that there's good reason for people to be concerned. There were positives, but those are pretty glaring weaknesses when you're going up against a guy and Kevin Jennings and I know we'll talk more about

4:07SMU as the show goes on, but really high powered offense, a big time offensive head coach in Wretlashley. And you looked as bad as they did in some areas on defense. That's concerning. So I really think it depends on whose perspective you're looking at it from. Yeah, Tom, it felt like a tough kind of proposition for Florida State going to that game. If they blow out New Mexico State, people would be like, whoop, D.D. which New Mexico State. If it's not a convincing win, then the reality that we're living in now would kind of happen. But I don't know like reflecting on it like they were 156 a 7. Maybe we actually would have not felt like ads like that big of the way, but okay, they did fix some of these things. These things ultimately, do you think they're in a better place or a worse off spot after the way the game worked out on Saturday? I agree with Ira. I think it's split perspectives. If you're in that secondary room, maybe with the safeties, if you're Evan Cooper, who's coaching those guys, or if you are those players themselves, your confidence might be struck. And I think it's only reasonable to say that you took a hit to the confidence in terms of communication, pre-snaps, sorting things out. The trust factor between even the corners and the safeties, I think you might

5:08be in a worse spot there. But the coaching staff in general, I think they're very happy that this all happened against New Mexico State and not in the ACC Opener against SMU. So therefore, they know what to coach around. If they got to dribble the basketball, so to speak, to one side, left hand ain't working today. So let's go right hand only. So be it for a game against SMU. And that's one of the things that, you know, it was always a benefit of the schedule, was that you get the tune up for SMU. And also you get a bi-week to clean up whatever happens for SMU to prepare for a rode against Alabama. So this thing sets up nicely for Florida State. That doesn't change with a lackluster and disappointing performance against New Mexico State. You still have that advantage. But I, I mean, I think there's probably some guys who felt better before kickoff of New Mexico State that right now, maybe don't trust it just as much so confidence is going to be an important thing that they play with on Monday. It was only one game, Ira, but if I may channel my inner Corey Clark, the inner Corey Clark, we all possess they could get, they could get significantly better from that first game to the second game. So we'll find out just what their

6:09strengths and weaknesses truly are after they play SMU. But, but after one single game looking at that game, thinking about it, sitting on it, stewing on it, what's, what's something that you think is a legitimate strength? They'll be able to kind of rely on this season. What do you think is potentially one of those weaknesses that may linger beyond just that game against New Mexico State? Yeah, the strength is, is honestly the strength that I did expect coming into the season. I think most of us did, you know, the skill on offense. I mean, that is a legit strength. The running backs look fantastic. You couldn't really ask for more than that. Usman, Usman Kroman, some of the individual runs he had, not just, you know, sometimes a running back has 150 yards and he gets all the praise, but how much work did he actually do? Maybe just ran through a hole or ran past the defenders? I mean, he had to work for a lot of those runs and same single took, looked amazing. I mean, that was the best we've ever seen him look. So the running back room, I think, is as good or better than we hoped. And I still have high high confidence in the wide receivers. They didn't make a ton of plays in that game, you know, Duce and Danzy, each other, you know, one or two nice

7:12plays. But I expect that they're going to be a huge part of this offense. So I still feel really good about the skill on offense. The concern I have now is, is that secondary? And I'm a little torn on it because, you know, some of the guys that didn't play well in that game, we've seen play well before. I mean, Jibralt Rawls can play football. He didn't look great on that day. Part of it was not all his fault. As Tom was mentioning, the corners and the safeties have to work together and we saw that break down. So I think Jibralt's better than he looked. Ashlyn Barker's better than he looked. KJ Kirkland's probably better than he looked. You know, some of the new guys that, you know, this is the first time we've seen them have had success at the previous schools. Nehemiah Chandler, CJ Richard, Richard and some of those guys. So from that standpoint, I'm going to still say the secondary is a concern. But I do think there's some history there to think that maybe that was a one off, maybe it was just a bad first game and that they'll play better

8:13going for at least that's the hope. Yeah, it's crazy. I couldn't imagine thinking preseason that at some point, the secondary would be a concern. But with the way they played on Saturday, it could be valid. But maybe we sacrifice the secondary to have a good signal call or hopefully a quarterback we shows up in this game. What about you, Tom? I don't need to make any kind of bold proclamation after one game, obviously. But what did you see last Saturday that you think, okay, that's real. That's tangible. That's going to travel and follow the rest of the season. What's that one thing that you might have a more lingering doubt about now? I think offensively, the plays and yards are there for the quarterback run and all those elements within that game. You saw the potential of what Mike Norville might call against SMU, but maybe wrinkles, you know, five through 10. He did not run against New Mexico State one through four. He put on tape for New Mexico State and for SMU to consider. I think the reards out there for Ash and Daniels, dozens of them. If he kept the ball and decided to run the ball, I think that there was a governor on how much he used his legs and how much he put his body in peril in this first game. I don't

9:17expect such a governor in the game against SMU. He likes to run. He's not a kid who's afraid to do that. For example, on the other sideline Kevin Jennings, if he can pass, he will pass. Not to call him afraid of running the football, but he's a pass first kind of quarterback. If Ash and gets in the open field, he doesn't care. If it means five yards, and I got to lower my shoulder, that's exactly what I'm going to do. And so I would expect to see that this weekend because it was there for the taking against New Mexico State. On the concern front, it is the communication part. I could speak to the right side of the offensive line. I think we all saw that, especially in the first half, specifically in the first quarter. Things did not look very good there. It got a little bit more solid as the game went along. So I think when the offense is on the field, all eyes will be on the offensive line, but the larger concern is communication on defense. And I'll loop in something we didn't talk about nearly as much. But if they're going to play zone, the depth of the drops for the linebackers as well, scene passes, RPOs, these are things that Red Lashley likes to exploit. So that communication is going to have to be very much on point this weekend. All right, again, four states got one game under their belt. They're one and no. They're undefeated.

10:20SME, this will be their first game of the season. Lots of unknowns. So we're going to try to figure out exactly what the Mustangs will be bringing to town. We'll talk about that in the next segment. Coming up right here on the Warchair Report presented by Zaxpies. At Zaxpies, you can lemon pepper any way you want. Get lemon pepper wings, lemon pepper sandwiches, or lemon pepper fingers. Now that's lemon pepper perfection. Zaxpies lemon pepper dry rub. Who's got the sauce? Visit Tallahassee Zaxpies locations on Capitol Circle Southwest, North Monroe, Appalachia Parkway, Thomasville Road, Mayhan, Crawfordville Highway, and in Mariana and Thomasville. Welcome back. It is the Warchair Report. It is presented by Zaxpies. Number 19, SME, number 20, according to the coaches poll. They're coming to town, Monday take take on Florida State 730 and Dote Campbell Stadium. It will be their first game of the season. SME as we all know by now. I did some research guys. Or as you say, I tasked my robot that's going to replace my job in the near future, probably with finding this out. So apparently

11:22since 2021, there's been 17 instances of a team in a week one matchup having already played a game and then they were opponent having not played a game. Florida State's been on both sides of it, right? They had a week zero game against Duquesne in 2022 and then beat LSU in week one LSU had not played a game. Boston College in time in Castellano, snucked off the knolls in 2024 in week one after Florida State had played a week zero game in BC was at home. All that to say, it's happened 17 times. The teams who have actually played a game are 14 and three. Does that matter? Does it matter who knows? But we need to find out who they're going up against. What SME was built like, what they're all about. And to do that, we had our Nick Carlyle catch up with Billion Body over on the pony express. The more things change, the more they stay the same two years ago, Florida State traveled to Dallas following a win. It got blown out by the Mustangs and that loss was really the one that began the landslide towards two and ten that season. Now here we are two years later. And while the circumstances are a little bit different, there's still a lot to be played this season.

12:26Obviously, it's only week one. There is real palpable tension over on this side of the sidelines that a decisive SMU victory could once again be the tipping point for FSU season. That said, SMU was no longer a team that are dipping their toes in the ACC as first year conference teams. They've made a playoff appearance. ACC title game. What's the confidence level of Lashley and his team this season? What are the expectations coming into this season? The crazy thing is is Brett Lashley's confidence seems off the charts. They've been promoting Kevin Jennings as a Heisman trophy candidate that he's been talking up how he feels like this team has all the pieces. Defense is going to get better. They feel like they added some talent and key areas that can really take them to that next level, particularly in the run game and maybe the corner back room. They feel like they have a complete team that should be able to not only get a win and start things off the right way in Tallahassee, but take this season and really make it a special one. And especially with Kevin Jennings

13:27coming back for this third year as a starter, things are in place. And at the same time, SMU has to kick that door down and go out there and take it. They've not necessarily had the most success early in the seasons, but they've not had this big of a conference game. They've not had this big of a carrot week one to start your season out with. So they've been working towards this. This is a motivated group with how last season ended it being seven points short in three of those losses combined. That's crazy close to being really special. They missed out. They're hoping to write that wrong this year. Could you almost frame it as Florida State is a hump that SMU needs to get over in that sense? Because you mentioned the the the poor starts the seasons. I know we were already referenced two years ago, but SMU had a week zero game that year and they had a really, really close like seven point victory over what ended up being a two and ten Nevada team. So is that something that's conscious in the mind of not only the team, but of the fans that this is and not only an

14:29opponent, which they beaten before, but especially this season that they need to get over in order for them to have the season that they're clearly expecting. Yeah. Retlash is one and only in September ACC games and at the same time September has not necessarily been good playing power four games. So there's been a long climb. You know, the first year was a couple of losses and you kind of expect that to power four teams when you're in group of six. Same thing the next year losing at Oklahoma, but they kind of got things going in the right direction with that 2024 season bouncing back against TCU. So it's just been a build. Last year it was, okay, SMU beat a top 10 team for the first time in a long time beating Miami. They went on the road and beat a team in a truly hostile environment like Clemson. They want a bowl game for the first time forever. So this is kind of that conference power for road game box that they need to check. And I think there is some of that uneasiness because SMU does face this massive test as far as the spotlight and being the only game on and all

15:33those things. But at the same time, this is a team that talks differently. They are approaching things differently. Just our conversations with the players. It's very different. It feels like they have something to prove. It doesn't necessarily feel like it's it's cockiness. It feels like it's confidence built from the work they put in. We can't have you on and not talk about Kevin Jennings. And I must admit, I did get a sneak peek with the interview that you did for Wake Up to Warchant with Oslin. I think that went live earlier this morning. Believe you said something along the lines of he's looking the best he has ever looked. That's scary considering how good he's been over the last two years. Just what can we expect from Kevin? Obviously, it seems like he's fully medically healthy. And his legs obviously dynamic and that should be a threat that Florida State is going to be on high alert for. Yeah, he really just looks the part. And he's added another five pounds. You know, you kind of keep hearing that year after year. But for him, he's always been trying to build up his body to be stronger, be bigger and withstand the beating. And this is the

16:36year that they've pushed all the chips in. The recovery center, the Heisman campaign, the skill position players around him. They do have an improved run game. They feel like with Kendrick Rafael and Dremico Green. That is a huge piece. When Kevin was so good in 2024, we all know how good for Shard Smith was next to him in the backfield. So having a run game that they can rely on will help a lot. His velocity seems just off the charts like it has been for much of his career. But we're talking with a couple of people who were at practice earlier this week. And they just said, man, he's just got that arm just ready. You can tell the ball is kind of flying off his hands. I think he's got a ton of potential to be in that Heisman race. But a lot of that starts with FSU and Louisville this month. They can get out of that two and O and assuming your four and O leaving leaving September. The train can leave the station. And it's probably going to be because he's playing at a high level. Thank you, Nick. Thank you to Billy now. We turn again to our panel here. Start with you, Tom Lang. You know, it's not going to be Ashen Daniels versus Kevin Jennings, right? It's

17:39Ashen in the offense versus the SMU defense and vice versa. But ultimately, you know, they're got a Heisman campaign. There's a website. They're integrating Kevin Jennings's number and to all sorts of things to prop up this Heisman sort of campaign. They are going to put his name on this athletic performance rehabilitation facility. They're all in. They're all in the Methodists on their guy Kevin Jennings. A lot of pressure there. But obviously Ashen Daniels came the Florida state. He's only got one year to make this thing right. Might have not looked all that great in the first game, but there's some things left for him to explore that we hopefully will see on Monday. Who ultimately is going to be under more pressure? Do you think not just in terms of like a actual physical past rush, but just the emotional mental taxation to be in a quarterback? Will it be Kevin Jennings under more stress? Or will it be Ashen Daniels? I think it's Jennings. It would be a total landslide if this game was in Dallas because you have you're playing before your own fans as well with expectations. And SMU was unable to cash in on going to the ACC championship game last year. A game that for the conference was a black eye. And they lost

18:44the game against Cal on the road. And it was a clear shot at going to Charlotte and playing for an ACC title. They were unable to do it. He's been in that program for years. He knows the offense. He's not a transplant or a transfer. And so it's for him. There's only one thing left to do. His record in the ACC is stellar. The stats are just fine as well. A completion percentage extremely healthy. What's the only thing remaining for him in the eyes of the fan base? I mean, we know how these high-spin websites have gone historically. I had a couple of them created here at Florida State. I remember those press conferences for Christian Ponder and Jordan Travis. It's kind of a kiss at death. But the pressure is on him all the way. Now, I will say because the game is here in Tallahassee and because Ashen Daniels played fine, but not great against New Mexico State with some ugly moments as well, you asked him could be feeling some pressure to a Florida State comes out with a couple empty possessions to start this football game. But I think from national expectations, fan base expectations, you're talking about high-spin campaigns and all that kind of outside noise. It's Kevin Jennings who is going to be feeling the pressure more on

19:47Monday night for sure. What about you, Ira? Who do you think is going to be really feeling it, feeling the heat of just the circumstances of this game? I guess you know, SMU might have plenty of run-away to get themselves right, but you don't want to start the season off. Oh, and one. And then meanwhile, Ashen Daniels is going to have the weight of this entire program seemingly riding on his shoulders, which one of these quarterbacks you think is going to be dealing with the most external noise pressure, if you will. I think going into it, I think Kevin Jennings is probably going to be very confident. I mean, he's a guy that had played in the college. Football playoff, he's played in big games. He's been starting quarterbacks. He's passed from her 7,000 yards last two seasons. He's now healthier last year. You know, he played on kind of a bum wheel. And so I would think coming into this game, playing an FSU team that is still reeling, you know, it's interesting. Listening to the interview with New Mexico State Tech Coach after the game, after they lost the Florida State, he talked at length about how they thought they were going to win that football game. They came to Tallahassee to collect that big check and also win the football

20:48game. And that's how that team played. So I just don't think FSU strikes the fear in anybody's heart right now. And certainly not a program like SMU. So I think they're going to come in extremely confident. But I will say this, if the game starts poorly for them, or if FSU starts off well, the way the Alabama game did last year, and you get the crowd into it, now, and you're on, you know, dock Campbell Stadium has got some history to it now. And it's a big stage, Labor Day night, only game on. So from that standpoint, I think Florida State, if they can get off to a good start, get some pressure on him, play physical, get physical with him early in that game, now I think it switches. But going into it, I'd probably say Ashton Daniels just because of from a confidence standpoint, I don't know how much confidence Ashton in that offense can have real confidence. They can say what they want, press conferences. I don't know how much true confidence they have. Whereas I got to thank Kevin Jennings and that crew we're going to come in here thinking that they're going to win by, you know, two or three touchdowns. All right. Well, the SMU's got the, the, the, the edge of quarterback in terms of having a guy

21:50that's more experienced and has had better production. But what are some of the things that you think maybe work in Florida State's favor the most, Tom, going to this game? Is it having that week zero tune up? Is it the fact that, you know, SMU lost their defensive coordinator and instead of going and doing a nationwide search and trying to pluck the next greatest thing, rent lash, they just picks the guy in the room across the hall and has co defensive coordinators. They've got a defensive line that's mostly unharrowed. It is at Florida State and their second day, rather they're receivers, this talented skill guys going up against a up and down kind of jumbled up secondary. What are one of the two things or one thing from that list, I guess, or something else that you might have off your head there, Tom, that you think works in Florida State's favor going into this one. I think that's a great list that you put together. I think all those things are advantages for Florida state. The fact that you play the game and I get that there's continuity on the defensive side of the ball, perhaps schematically for SMU, but still they don't have the chemistry of playing together when everything is live. And so that's a big benefit. I think for Florida State, if they need to

22:52simplify some things on the defensive side of the ball, they learn that lesson in no uncertain terms on Saturday against New Mexico State. I'll tell you, just like the sponsor, Aslan, rent lash, it's like Zaxby's tons of sauces, all the options in the world. This is a multiple offense that they're going to face on Monday night. You look at the game against Miami last year that SMU wins and over time. There's verticality left and right. They're throwing the ball down the field. You look at the game against Wake Forest where they lose 13 to 12 or even the game against Cal until they rally late in the fourth quarter. Everything is underneath. So I mean, lashley can be very multiple here, but there are emotions, confusions. And so for Florida State to realize, wow, we thought the communication might be a B plus. I'm going to say that maybe it's a D minus. Let's get that grade up a little bit before Monday. Having that tune up, I think, is the biggest thing. But everything you listed there about continuity, about the defensive front, about newcomers on defense. It's all there. It's all part of the equation. I think that's why if you look at it from perhaps a futures market standpoint, that's why the number I think is still within

23:55touch here. I think Florida State having the game in advance of SMU certainly helps Florida States cause and their chance to win the game. What do you think? Ira, you know, people obviously might not feel great about Florida State's offensive line, but I'm not sure how great SMU's defensive line's going to be, you know, some fans might not feel great about Florida State's secondary currently. But I don't know how talented flush gifted they are out wide SMU. So those are some of those matchups that, you know, might be a wash and those are what you think are your perceived weaknesses. What is an advantage you think right now that Florida State has again, is it, is it having that week zero game? Is it just some more continuity that Florida State has on their side of the ball, rather than SMU? Yeah, I do think the questions on SMU's defense are legitimate. It's fair. Now, you know, I know you had Billy M. Boudie who covers SMU does a great job for the ontoree network. You had him on Wake Up or Champ this week and he's on this as well and he's very confident in where SMU is and he's confident in some of the changes they made. But there are questions about their defensive line. They've had to move guys to different positions. There's not a lot of proven

24:58talent. They've got guys coming back from injuries. So all of that could hit an SMU could just be fine on the defensive front or it doesn't. And in the best laid plans, don't always work out. And so I don't think Florida State's offensive line is quite as bad as some people think. I think there's there's some solid, solid nucleus there. I would like to see them give a chance to maybe a Paul bowling at left guard. I'd like to see maybe them give a chance to somebody at right tackle or experiment with moving maybe they paps around. I don't know. I'd like to see them give other things a chance if it's not working early in this game. But I think the skill on the Florida State's offense and as Tom mentioned earlier, when Ashland Daniels gets involved as a runner, I think that is going to make this offense look completely different. And so from that standpoint, that's where I'd hang my hat. I think this game could be pretty high scoring. I'm concerned if Florida State can't get after Kevin Jennings and really put pressure on him and knock him around, then I have a feeling Florida State's going to have to try to match touchdown for touchdown because I think it

26:01could be a tough day for FSU's defense. Will it be a track me? Will it be a slug fast? Do know. Is there going to have to make a prediction though? Best part of the show coming up game picks from everybody on the screen as well as everybody over at wortchant.com coming up next on the wortchant report presented by Zach Spees. Zach Spees just dropped new lemon pepper. So you can get that zesty lemon and crack black pepper flavor you love on the chicken you love. Lemon pepper phase. This one's for you. Zach Spees lemon pepper drive. Who's got the sauce? Visit Tallahassee Zach Spees locations on Capitol Circle Southwest, North Monroe, Appalachia Parkway, Thomasville Road, Mayhan, Crawfordville Highway, and in Mariana and Thomasville. Welcome back. It is the wortchant report is presented by Zach Spees. Check out all these locations in the greater Tallahassee areas. Well as Mariana and Thomasville, Georgia, get your zaxpes on. Who's got the sauce? The folks over at Zach Spees are going to that lemon pepper dry rub part of the fall season. That's approaching. I guess we could say, you know, also you can you can get that

27:04season on your fries too, everybody. And they've got like the garlic Parmesan available as well. So you can do the traditional. You can mix it up. Like I said, maybe you just want to go with just the good old fashioned golden fried chicken finger chicken tender the zaxos. I I comply when we were originally sidebar when we were on on wake up wortchant presented by Zach Spees, I would go like every week to get you know, like a free meal who wouldn't. And I stocked up on so much zaxos. It's correct. I have a drawer that's just nothing but zaxos in Tallahassee. When you when you just go when you start going through all the other sauces, I'm just sitting there going, but what's wrong with zaxos? Exactly. I'm good with zaxos. I don't need variety. I renews. I renews. You can see I ratio fell live in the flesh on Sunday over at the pickle pad along with Tom Lang myself, Gene Williams, Corey Clark, come on out. It's over on Northman Road, the pickle pad and listen, it is a place where people play pickleball, but it's got a full bar. They've got a menu of delicious food. There's going to be TVs all over the place because it's kind of got like a

28:06sports bar feel to it. So if there's a game you want to watch, it will be on. It's the pickle pad everybody. Come on out Sunday 630 on Saturday. We'll be at the corner pocket bar and grill. Corey, Jeff, a couple more of us watching Clemson probably get curbs, don't buy LSU. It seems like 10 points. I think according to the folks over at the poly market right now, the spread. So that'll be about seven o'clock starting. And then on Sunday or rather Monday, game day, there will be the pregame show with Jeff and Tom. And then there'll be the battles end tailgate going on over at hotel indigo in college town. Come hang out for that. And then if you're at home and you can't make it to that one, just hang out with Tom and Gene post game show 10 to 15 minutes after the conclusion of the game. All right. Well, we've set the table on things best as we possibly could. Now it's time to make our predictions and picks. We begin with the rest of the staff over at Warchant.com. Florida state will be at home for the ACC opener Monday night in a hugely important game against SMU. And it's huge for the program after two abysmal seasons. And it might even be even bigger for

29:11head coach Mike Norbell, who is hoping to save his job. And if he wants to do that, he probably needs to win the game this Monday night. So a little bit about this game. Look, a week ago, probably was leading towards picking FSU in this game. But man, I just can't undo what I saw last Saturday night against New Mexico state. Now on the whole, you look the very segments. Florida state was okay. And it might not have swayed my pick. But man, that second deri was so bad last Saturday night. Just continual breakdowns, especially on third down. I don't know if Tony White, the defensive corner, can clean all that up in a week. So man, with a good quarterback and Kevin Jennings, a well coach team, I just have a hard time seeing Florida state turning things around in a week and be able to overcome this weakness. So I hate to do it. I think Florida state's going to lose its ACC opener. Give me the mustangs 31. Doles 27. I've wrestled with this pick since the game

30:14ended against New Mexico state back and forth. I go part of me thinks Florida state's going to come out and fight like hell knowing that quite possibly any chance they have to have a good season is on the line right here right now on a Monday night at Doke Campbell Stadium Bobby Bowdenfield. The other part of me says the defensive problems from a personnel standpoint. Retlashley's ability to exploit and Kevin Jennings ability to execute said plan by Lashley is too much for a Florida state to overcome. In the end, that's the way that I lean. Give me SMU 34 for a state 21. What's up, Seminole fans? I'm here. I guess it's Thursday. I supposed to do this Wednesday, but I'm doing it right now. It's your old train Corey Clark, giving you your prediction. My prediction for your Seminole's game against that's the mute coming up on Monday night. Look, I think Florida state's going to play better than it did. I really do. I think there's a chance they can win this game. A decent chance they're going to win they can win this game. I don't think they're going to win this game. I think they're going to play better. I think it's going to be close. I just think when you're dealing with a quarterback who

31:19has been and seen and done all this. He's been in a playoff game. He's been an ACC championship game. He's won 20 games the last two years. You won seven. One team seems to know how to win. I know it's a different team than last year. One team hasn't figured out again, you know, it's a different year. One program right now seems to know how to win. One coach seems to know how to win. One program and one coach doesn't. So until that's proven wrong, I feel like I got to go with SMU. I'm going to say it's going to be close though. I think I think you're looking at something like 30 to 27. I also think the reason that I don't have is high expectations going into this game is because I think I think it'll be close. I think you might have a lead right now as we talk in early September. I don't trust this defense field. Get off the field when it matters. Hopefully they prove me wrong. Anyway, that's my prediction. SMU 30 Florida State 27. Sorry, but hey, I might pick going to beat Alabama next week. All right, I've gone a little back and forth with this one. I I did originally pick Florida State to win last week when we were asked to pick it in the round table.

32:21And I do think I'm going to stick with that just because I've already said it. So I'm going to stick with that. But I think it's going to be a close game. I think the most parts are going to be because of first game jitters because of SMU. And I do think Ashton Daniels will run the ball more for Florida State opening up a lot. And hopefully, you know, there's a little less glitzes, right? And the safeties are kind of staying back. I think there'll be a big improvement from this game from last game this game for Florida State. So I'm going to go to Florida State 28. SMU 24 going to keep it a close one. I've gone back and forth on this for the last few days. If there's one thing that's booing me to steal the Corey Clark look realism, it's that SMU has also struggled the last few seasons with their openers. They struggled against Nevada two years ago. They lost to Baylor on the road last year and over time. Coming on the road to Doke Hamel Stadium at night in a primetime game has to give FSU some advantage there. If FSU can get out of the gate well and not SMU settle in early, I like FSU's changes a little bit more. But if we see another 13-play multiple third-down conversion drive to open things up, I don't know. If SMU has the same first

33:25game cobwebs that FSU had, then I think that generally boats well. But Kevin Jennings is not an FCSQB making a jump up. He's been in that offense for three years now. It can flourish these defense. Get enough stops and play confident and aggressive enough to not let Jennings torch them and allow your offense to control the game with your running attack. This game is a toss-up for me. But you're making me decide right now. I know I picked FSU to win when we did our round table on Warchant.com last week, but I just don't feel that way anymore. SMU 28 Florida State 23. Thanks everybody. Over back on the ranch at Warchant.com, which again, I should say again, I haven't even said it once in this entire show. 75% off an annual membership at Warchant.com. It expire September 8th. So act now. It's a full year. You get complete access to Warchant.com. The on three network, rivals.com recruiting. You can also check out the message boards of rival fans. You can't troll them, but you can go ahead and read their misery, drink their tears, find sustenance everybody. Take advantage. 75% off. All right. With that said,

34:28it is a Labor Day Clash ACC opener for both teams. Irish O'Fell 730 and Dote Campbell Stadium. According to the folks over at Polymarket, Polymarket Partner, the spread on this one. Three and a half in favor of SMU. Your thoughts, your pick for Florida State SMU. Yeah, you know, it's just kind of a battle between the brain and the heart, maybe I don't know, or just my cynicism and my optimism. I really, I don't see Florida State being good enough to win this football game. But I feel like it'll be relatively close, but I'm not really sure why. I do think Florida State's offense can have some success. The defense concerns the heck out of me. I'm going to say that SMU wins like 34 to 28. But I part of me feels like maybe that's just hope. I was shook by what we saw

35:29from that FSU defense on Saturday. I think one thing that booze me a little bit to use Corey's word because he's always booing is that the confidence that Mike Norvel and Tony White seem to have made me feel like maybe they've got something up their sleeve. Like maybe they're a little rope adope on SMU. We'll see. I could be wrong. They could get drugged. But that has me at least feeling like it's going to be a pretty good game. But realistically, I'm concerned it might get out of hand. Tom, you got a little more, you're going to go towards the light. As it Corey likes to say right now, are you going to sing into the darkness? You know, what's interesting is earlier in the week, I thought that they would need to ground and pound this thing and keep the score low. But as Ira said earlier in the show and then here in this pick, the more I look at it, the more I think that this needs to be high scoring floor states kind of win it. The weather is emitting factor. We'll see what happens on Monday. But right now the forecast for Monday looks a little soupy.

36:31That might change the totals a little bit. Mike Norvel and Tony White can give you one in five. Where you go, well, where the hell has that been? The Alabama game last year being an example. Tony White's performances against like say Ohio State when he was in Nebraska. I'm trying to talk myself into this thing, everybody. I can't do it though. I can't trust that secondary. I really didn't mean at the beginning of this little monologue, as long as I was going to pick floor state, I can't do it. I'm sorry. It's SMU. It's 28 to 20 SMU. The rain gets in the way of things a little bit. All right. My goodness, guys. What's going on here? Am I going to have to salvage everything here now? I'm just going to kind of stick with, you know, going to try to not let Saturday bother me too much. I really shouldn't. I know it was a game. It happened. It's real. The thing is. Sorry to interrupt you. I was on real quick, but to clarify, I had before this season, when we did our roundtable, I had if it she winning this game, I think Tom may have as well. So to set up what you're saying.

37:33Yeah. I'm going to stick with my my initial pick. I'm going to I think that the week the week zero two and up, I think SMU, their defense. I do not think it's gifted. They got a new guy calling plays. I know he's been there. I just think in a first game where you have an idea of what Flores 8 wants to do, but not the full complement of it because they kind of held back a little bit. I think Flores 8 might be able to sneak this one into the wind column. So I'm going to say Flores 8 prevails 27 24. Who knows? Who knows? It's probably more likely that it ends up being a dropping though. But I think Flores 8's going to pull it out. I put my robot to task again, guys. In case anybody wants to wonder about that one, apparently there's been, I'll say the bigger number last. So since 2021, there's been 77 instances of a road favorite coming in and winning by two or more scores. So like not only do they cover, they cover big. So it ends up 77

38:35times. It's happened. It ends up being about a 31% or a 33% proposition. Thing is, that road favorite coming in, they actually end up losing 48% of the time. So I'm going towards the light, going towards the light. I don't think the folks at Polymarket and the market, I don't think they've spoken to a blowout. I think Flores 8's going to be part of the 48% upset taking down the road favorite. So we'll see 730 Monday night SMU taking on Florida State again, all the awesome things going on over around Tallahassee as we get ready for the ACC opener on your screen there, Saturday corner pocket bar and grills, Sunday, the pickle pad, Monday hotel, Indigo, Warchant.com around the clock, Jeff Cameron show gets us through the rest of the week, wake up Warchant, the Monday smash which I haven't even talked about. We got the guys from the Monday smash on the show, 7 PM's Monday, it's football season. They're back, slotted regular time, appointment viewing, check it out. And then the post game show before the Monday smash Sunday,

39:35or actually, no, that will be Monday. They played this whole Monday game. I'm, listen, I love the fact that we have some Saturdays to ourselves, but I'd rather be a Friday game than a Monday game. The Monday game is completely thrown me off, but it will throw off the noles. They're, they're going to be acclimated. They'll be fine. On behalf of everybody else at Warchant.com as well as Irish O'Fell and Tom Lang. Thanks so much for watching and listening to this edition of the Warchare Report presented by Zaxby's.