AUBURN, Ala. – Every week during the college football season, the various ESPN announcer crews play the schedule game. They look at all the games on the calendar for that week and circle the game or games that they hope to broadcast. When the Week 1 schedule came out, the trio of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay were assigned to the Auburn-Washington game in Atlanta.
"I can tell you our group definitely circled that game," Levy said. "So we were fired up."
We caught up with Levy, Griese and McShay when they were in town last week to preview the season opener and ask them about this year's Auburn team.
Q: What stands out about the Auburn-Washington game for you?
Steve Levy: "It does seem to have the most national implications from both schools. I love the unfamiliarity factor that these schools have never played each other before and that they're so hyped. That has me hyped up for this matchup."
Brian Griese: "Obviously, from Washington's perspective, there's been a narrative out there about the Pac-12 and the fact that they were 1-8 in bowl games a year ago and they got left out of the playoffs. So this game – I know it's a little bit different for the SEC team – but for the Pac-12 team, this is a huge game. And I think they're very experienced with the number of players they have coming back and probably the best coach in the Pac-12."
Todd McShay: "I'm looking forward to the quarterback play. You've got one of the most experienced starting quarterbacks in the country in Jake Browning. He's had a lot of success, trying to bounce back from a season in which was not his best a year ago. And Jarrett Stidham is coming into his second year. He understands the system. He knows what he's doing a lot better and operating quickly. And to me, the quarterback matchup is going to be a lot of fun to watch."
Q: What are your early impressions of Auburn?
Levy: "We noticed a different Jarrett Stidham ourselves. And then talking to the coaching staff and Jarrett, everybody also said the same exact thing. It's like night and day how different he is. We saw him as a group Week 2 last year when he was still getting beat up, 11 sacks at Clemson. Obviously, he was in a new system there, new surroundings, really new everything. So I think having the full year under his belt, much more healthy than he was at the end of last season also – he seems much more cool, calm, collected and definitely in charge of what appears to be a very young offense. He has to be the man, and it kind of seems like he is right now."
McShay: "It feels like it's his team where last year it was more Kerryon Johnson and the running game. This year, 10 different receivers, four freshmen that could play, a young backfield – this is his team to run, and it seems like he's thrilled to do it. He understands everything. And it seems like things are just coming a lot faster to him while the game has slowed down to him in this system that he really understands now. It's going to be fun to see him in his first game where he's kind of completely control, and the offense is running through him."
Q: Are these games part of what makes CFB so great?
Griese: "I love these games. And the reason I love the four-team playoff and not eight-team playoff is because if we had an eight-team playoff, then this game would not have the kind of significance that it will have. So I love that part of it."
Levy: "I would say that it's so fascinating – in no other sport do you come in, especially for Washington, and say arguably their season is on the line. They can sort of make or break in the very first game of the season. That's one of the reasons college football is so special, and these opening-weekend games have gotten so much bigger in recent years.
"And the other thing I think is cool about it, I think it focuses the players from maybe six months ago. If you have a lesser opponent, maybe the guys aren't as jazzed, they're not as fired up. But when you know you're playing a ranked team in a neutral setting, in an NFL stadium where they're going to have a Super Bowl – I think that captures everyone's imagination immediately. We're just so excited we're going to be able to be in the stadium and watch it with everybody."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf