Barnhart: This fall will be the most interesting college football season yet

With all the conference realignment changes that took place this offseason, college football will look a little different this fall. With Week 0 just eight days away, Mr. College Football Tony Barnhart joined TexAgs Radio to discuss storylines surrounding the sport.

Key notes from Tony Barnhart interview

• Somebody asked me yesterday, “Are you ready for football season?” and I said, “We may not have a choice.” We are ready for what I’m calling, not the best college football season ever, but it’s the most interesting football season we’ve ever had, and I’m looking forward to it.

• I just talked to a number of people who are close to the Aggie program, and the vibe I have been getting is optimism. They felt like the Aggies simply were not a tough enough football team to get to the levels that they wanted to compete at. I like coach Mike Elko a lot, and if Conner Weigman can stay healthy, they got a shot.
   
• I absolutely believe in the possibilities. I’ve been to Texas A&M, toured the facilities, and everything is there. They are not missing anything that would help them win a national championship. What’s going to make the season interesting is that Texas A&M is not playing that SEC West schedule. There is so much that we won’t know until they start playing.
   
• It’s a great opening weekend. I think I have Notre Dame at No. 11 out of the top 16. Here’s what’s interesting about them. They can’t get one of the byes in the College Football Playoffs. They would have to host, but I like Notre Dame.
   
• As far as what we should expect, I think Texas has the roster to compete in the SEC Championship. It is more talented than Oklahoma’s right now. Texas is ready to compete for the championship right now, and Oklahoma still has some work to do.
   
• From a historical perspective, if Georgia had won the national championship last year, talk about unprecedented waters for Kirby Smart. If Georgia had gotten into the playoffs, they would have been the most talented team overall with the best quarterback, so I do think they would have won it all. 
   
• I’ll give you the response that Kirby Smart gave me. They replaced a lot of really good players with a lot of really good players. I think their last five recruiting classes have all been in the top four, so they have depth and talent. Oscar Delp is the tight end replacing Brock Bowers, and he is really, really good. It’s all about the depth in the roster and talent.
   
• I don’t think Clemson’s roster is where it needs to be. I think Florida State is going to win the ACC. If the ACC is going to get two teams in the playoffs, it would probably be Florida State and Clemson, though.
   
• You don’t lose the greatest head coach of all time in Nick Saban, and not think that there is going to be some sort of drop-off. I have Alabama as the third-best team in the conference. It’s Alabama! I had some time with Kalen DeBoer, and I was very impressed with him. They have Georgia coming into Tuscaloosa, and that is going to be a huge game. I think Alabama will be right there, but I have Georgia and Texas playing in the SEC Championship.
   
• I don’t see much of a drop-off for LSU. I think Brian Kelly is a really, really good coach. Their offense last year was generational, and their defense was, as my dad used to say, “boo-awful,” but they made some defensive coaching changes. I think they’ll be better. I just don’t know how much better.
   
• Alabama has got to make the playoffs. With all the losses they had, you can’t tell Alabama’s people that they aren’t one of the best 12 teams in the country. DeBoer came across as a guy who was very comfortable in his own skin. He understands the expectations at Alabama, and I think he is going to handle it. Let’s get together again after they play Georgia. I think we’ll be a lot smarter after that.