CHICAGO — College football season is officially underway and CW college football analyst Max Browne, a former college quarterback at the University of Southern California and Pittsburgh, stopped by to talk all things Big Ten football, the oddity that is the Pac-2, and what he sees from new Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
Here’s how Browne sees the Big Ten, in tiers, as the CFB season gets underway.
Max Browne’s Tiers of the Big Ten
Tier 1: Ohio State, Oregon
Tier 1b: Michigan
Tier 2: Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
Tier 3: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue
“With that tier two, you could argue tier three is going to be fascinating as well,” Browne said. “Which of those teams start flirting with that tier one, which of those teams drop down into that tier three, it’ll be fun.”
Will Lincoln Riley find success in his first Big Ten season?
“LSU week one will be a huge measuring stick,” Browne said. “When you’re a blue blood program, if that momentum starts working against you and you don’t get wins early, I think it could be tough.
“I have confidence [though]. If you look at history, Lincoln Riley puts up points and his quarterbacks play at a high level. For the first time, maybe ever in Lincoln Riley’s head coaching career, he’s not getting that buzz preseason.”
Browne said this year’s USC team is a drastic departure from the star power of last year. That team featured the likes of Caleb Williams and came with plenty of publicity and attraction, while this team is flying relatively under the radar and has a chance to be more gritty and hard nosed than in times prior.
“Yes, you have Zachariah Branch, but outside of that, kind of a bunch of no-name guys,” Browne said. “When your left tackle is your most popular player, that’s the recipe for guys coming together and having your identity be a little bit more gritty and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if USC surprises some people this season.”
College QB to Watch: Jaxson Dart
“I think he sometimes hides behind Carson Beck, Georgia’s quarterback, Shedeur Sanders — Obviously because of Shedeur’s play [and] what having the Sanders last name does for you,” Browne said.
“When you look at Jaxson Dart, I covered him when he started as a true freshman at USC. To start as a true freshman at USC and be as productive as he was, that’s saying something. Then he transfers to Ole Miss and that first season was a little rocky, but last year, he played well.”
Last year as a junior at Ole Miss, Dart posted career highs in passer rating (162.4), passing yards (3,364), completion % (65.1) and touchdown passes (23), while tying a career low in interceptions (5) despite playing in more than double the games (13) compared to his freshman year (6).
“I’ve seen this story before with Jayden Daniels, a Joe Burrow — Guys that were established starters in the SEC, good quarterbacks in the SEC, that once they become vets, they take it to a new level and become great,” Browne said. “It would not surprise me at all if Jaxson Dart finds himself not only in the Heisman conversation later in the year, but we’re talking top 10 pick conversation if he takes the step like I think he can.”
Expectations for Caleb Williams
“My expectations are for him to be a functional starter from week one,” Browne said. “I don’t think he’s going to light the world on fire, per-say. I think he’s going to have his natural rookie growing pains, but not the level of rookie growing pains we’ve seen from other first round quarterbacks because of the talent he has around him.
“I just think he’s ready for this moment. He’s that good. He’s that prepared. I think the confidence is real.”
Browne was keen to highlight the confidence factor of Williams too.
The former Gatorade National High School Player of the Year said that in some cases, football players manufacture a confident personality because they feel they have to be that way and it really isn’t real.
With Williams, Browne said not only is it real, but he comes by it naturally, and it’s apparent from the moment you meet the Bears’ new QB1.
“Caleb’s going to be a stud. I think he’ll do big things for Chicago and I think Bears fans have every right to be excited this season.”