College Football Live - A Divine Week 9

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

Victoria Arlen, Sam Acho, Desmond Howard and Pete Thamel go over what was a hectic weekend of College Football throughout Week 9. The crew discusses big wins from teams like Texas, Pitt and Colorado and Pete gives us injury updates as we head into Week 10. All that and more right here on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, enjoying a good night's rest in your lie flat seat, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome to College Football Live. I'm Victoria Arlen. Happy Tuesday. Let's go out the tunnel. Now, after a weekend of scares, some teams are breathing aside of relief after escaping with winds.

But could that also mean trouble is just starting to brew? And with over nine weeks in, can you say who is a playoff contender or are they just a pretender? Sam and Des are here to break down the teams that are truly legit. Plus, the buffs are bowl eligible for the first time in four years and we're going to talk how Coach Prime has turned things around for the program. This is College Football Live. Let's go. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. So we've got a lot to get to and the best to help me do so. I'm Victoria Arlen alongside Sam Macho, Desmond Howard and Pete Famill.

Now Halloween isn't until Thursday fellas, but quite a few teams got a little spooked a little early this past week. So let's take a look at the ranked teams that narrowly avoided an upset, but had themselves the case of the Saturday scleries. Texas barely escaped from Nashville with a three point win over Vanderbilt, 24 to 27 to 24, despite having a two touchdown lead in the game. Quinn Ewers threw for three scores, extending his streak to 19 games with a touchdown pass.

That's the longest by a longhorn since Colt McCoy in 2007 and 09. Now Kansas State had to work to fend off lowly in state rival Kansas. A 51 yard field goal by Chris Tennant with under two minutes left gave the Wildcats their 16th straight win over Kansas, which extends the longest win streak by either team in either team in series history. And a wild one in Durham, SMU defense stepping up to stop. stop Duke's two-point conversion attempt in overtime, securing a 28 to 27 win. SMU overcame Kevin Jennings five turnovers, while SMU's six turnovers were the teams most in a game since 2017. Nebraska gave Ohio State a scare in the shoe. Will Howard's go-ahead

nine-yard touchdown with six to go in the game, secured the 21 to 17 win. It was the Buckeyes' 45th straight win versus an unranked opponent, the longest active streak in the FBS. And Penn State Moves to 8-0 after their win on the road at Wisconsin, but it wasn't pretty. The Nittney Lions needed a Jalen Reed pick six to help swing the momentum and their backup QB to step up after Drew Aller went down with an injury. Now, speaking of Penn State, Pete, what's the latest you can tell us on Drew Aller's injury status? Well, Victoria, heading into this huge matchup on Saturday,

the status of Drew Aller is the biggest question hovering over this Ohio State Penn State game. He's dealing with a left knee injury. he left the Wisconsin game at halftime last week. I've been told the next two days of practice are going to be really key for how Allard goes and his availability on Saturday. Sources told me that there's no structural damage to that knee, and the early read is that he's trending towards playing in this game against Penn State. James Franklin said earlier this week that it could go all the way up to a game time decision for Aller.

Remember, Bo Probula, excuse me, came in after halftime and played about as well as you can as a backup quarterback. He was 11 for 13 with a touchdown pass. But for now, it's trending towards Aller for Penn State. Now let's keep that Penn State discussion going because they enter this matchup against Ohio State undefeated, but they have lost seven straight matchups against the Buckeyes. And now the line starting QB situation, as Pete mentioned, is up in the air. So, Des, what adjustments must PSU need to do on offense? Well, I mean, Pete said it.

Drew Aller, if he plays and I think they don't have to make any adjustments, they just need to go with their game plan. I mean, their new offensive coordinator, Dakota Lickie is just doing a fantastic job of giving defenses a lot of eye candy and things to just keep them on their toes, so to speak, so they can't get comfortable. But, you know, if bowl plays for Pribula, he's a guy who can run the ball too. So he's a running threat that, you know, they will have to account.

for in the running game. But I think that as far as the game plan is concerned, I think Cotoniki is going to do what he's been doing all season long because they have such a weapon. And Tyler Warren, number 44, the tight end. He's like a Swiss Army knife. Guys, he's played six positions so far this season. And he's also throwing the touchdown, too.

So I think they have the weapons that no matter who lines up at the quarterback position, they'll be just fine and comfortable going up against Ohio State's defense. Well, they may have the weapons, des, but the game plan may need to change. If Beau Pribula is at quarterback, he's not as good of a thrower as Drew Allen. So I could expect, yes, more run game, but more specifically, more quarterback run. That'll be probably a difference in this game. Pribula on the quarterback keepers. Now, of course, Ohio State may be ready for that if Pribula's at QB.

And so that'll be part A of this game plan. If Penn State wants to be to Ohio State. Part B is also the defense of Penn State. Last week, Penn State was losing versus Wisconsin in the second half until that pick six gave them the lead. And so if you're playing an Ohio State team that struggled really to throw the ball down field, maybe a defensive score can be the recipe for a success with a backup quarterback. Now Penn State is 20 and 0 in Big Ten play versus teams not named Ohio State, but let's get to the other side of the ball with Ohio State because they have not shaped up to be the team that we thought they were. Now, we saw this weekend how at home they were behind in the fourth quarter against an unremembered. ranked Nebraska until a touchdown in six minutes remaining, save them from a second straight

loss. But Sam, what is your concern level for Ohio State? Yeah, it's relatively high for a team that just has one loss. Ohio State is a team with tremendous talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Yet last week versus Nebraska, we saw them struggle to really get it going offensively. Defense, I have no concerns, but offensively, I want to see Will Howard throw the ball downfield more. And yes, you might still be able to win versus. versus lesser opponents with the big time run game. What happens when you play a defense that shuts down the run and that tries to shut down Jeremiah Smith?

Will Howard is going to have to grow in his opportunities to stretch defenses so that they can't dial in on Quinshaw Jenkins and Trayvion Henderson. Yeah, Sam, I agree with you. They have a lot of talent. And we saw that in the early part of the season when they were playing inferior opponents and they looked like they were dominating guys left and right. Now there had been some question marks. that that's come up because of the way they struggled defensively on the road against Oregon.

You know, Oregon could have put almost 41 points on them, you know, left some points on the field that day. And the first, you know, the first five games, you got an offense that average, what, 46 points a game, only allows 6.8. Then the last two games, when the competition has become a little more stellar, they've only averaged 26 points on offense, and they've given up 24 points. So what happens in this situation is, you know, I kind of look at Ryan Day and his staff, like they really didn't know what they had early in the season. They had big name talents, right? They brought in Judkins. They brought in Wilhauer, right?

They brought in Caleb Downs, big name talent. But you get a false impression of how great you are when you're going up and down the field against inferior opponents. So they really didn't know what they had. The Oregon game, when they came up against talent that's equal to theirs, now you look at Jim Nose on defense. You look at Chip Kelly on the offense. Now they understand just what they have talent-wise when things get tough and things get thick. So now I thought coming out of Dubai week, we will see a better performance. But then Nebraska gave them all that they can handle to.

And to be honest, Nebraska talent-wise isn't on the same level as Ohio State. when you look at recruiting and we look at the $20 million they spent during the offseason to bring the talent in. Yeah, well, I have one counterpoint to that, though, Dan, because we're bringing a lot and talking a lot about the game against Oregon, the loss versus Oregon. But let's not forget, if it weren't for a, I would call it brilliant timeout by Dan Lennon to cause that penalty, they actually could have a game that Ohio State could and would have won. And this whole conversation could be different. It could be an undefeated number one ranked Ohio State team. And so I think that, yes, they need a place significantly better,

but the great thing about this game of football is that those players on the football field have an opportunity to rise to the occasion and show that they can not only compete against inferior opponents, but also win against an opponent like Penn State. And we love to see it. It's going to be. Sam, the thing is they didn't do it against Oregon. That's the problem.

Well, you will see it first, Sam, because it's going to be a game to remember. And before the action on the field kicks off, you can catch the college game day. Crew Des will be there live from Penn State, starting at 9 a.m. on ESPN. All right, on to the SEC. It was what Coach Sark called a, quote,

culture and toughness win for his longhorns as they barely beat Vanderbilt 27 to 24 in their SEC road debut. Kubey Quinn, you were shook off an early-tipped pass for an interception to complete 17 straight passes. But what does coach think they have to do moving forward? At some point, I don't know if we're ever going to have to play a perfect game, but we're going to have to play closer to perfect

to go achieve the things that we want to achieve. And there's nothing wrong with that as a competitor, right? We're not a finished product. I think our best football is still ahead of us, and we're looking forward to that. Now, there's no such thing as perfect, and Texas is far from that. So, Des, where do they need to clean up

to become somewhat close to achieving that? Yeah, I think that first we need to give Vanderbilt and Clark Lee, you know, their due respect. because, I mean, he's a coach that he does more with less, so to speak, because he's not getting this type of caliber of athlete that a Texas would get or an Alabama would get because of the academic requirements at Vanderbilt. But you get a Diego Pavia who's a guy who supremely believes in himself, and then that becomes contagious.

And everybody in the football locker room, they start to believe it too. And then they go out there and they play the Goliath knocking off all of these, I mean, they play the David knocking off all these Goliath or at least going toe to toe with them. So you have to give Clark Lee a lot of credit. As far as Texas is concerned, I still want to see better out of Queen U.S. Now, I would say he had a really good game. Not a great game because he threw three interceptions, I mean, three touchdowns, but he also

threw two interceptions. But don't forget the Oklahoma game, you know, he didn't look great, one touchdown, one of course we saw what Georgia did to him. He had to come out in the first half and they put Arch Manning in there. And I know Sam, people are going to say, well, you know, Georgia's defensive line was, you know, just dominating the trenches, which is part of the story. But if you watch the film, there were also throws that were there to be made that Quinn Ewers just did not make. No, Des, I agree with you. And I will, but I will put a pin on the point of the offensive line for Texas does need to play better because Georgia,

dominated up front, but also Vanderbilt looked pretty good. Vanderbilt got a couple sacks on Texas' offensive line, which leads me to the point of, okay, what happened in the Georgia game? Well, there was quarterback mobility issues, so they made a switch to Arch Manning temporarily. And so if the offensive line isn't protecting and if everyone's taking away the deep shot and stopping the run game, maybe there could be other windows for Archmanning, who's a more athletic quarterback to get in the game to try and slow down some of the pass rush for opponents that they play.

Now, the biggest opponent they play is going to be, in my opinion, a couple weeks when they play A&M, but there could be opportunity for the offensive line to be better. And also for Quinn to your point to be more accurate as well, down the field, not just side to side. And Texas still has about a 78% chance to make the playoff, according to our Allstate playoff predictor. And I guess we'll truly find out whether they are a contender or a pretender. And speaking of that, because coming up, are these teams legit contenders or just pretenders after the break,

Des and Sam, let us know which teams have a legit chance in the postseason. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel And in part by Elka Seltre Plus, bounce back fast with fast, busy relief from Elka Seltor Plus. This Giving Tuesday, Cam H is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where Canadians can get the health they need, when they need it, no matter who,

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so you can focus on the big stuff, like your small business. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at dejerdin.com slash business coverage. Welcome back to college football live, presented by Google Pixel. At the end of the day, you've got to win the game in the fourth quarter. Loss in left corner, got it for a score. The Buckeyes shipped ahead of Nebraska.

I win it. I win it. Texas keeps its playoff hopes alive. About that trickery for some fun out there on a Saturday. I'm going to push through every single obstacle. Oregon put together a convincing win. No one wants to play that team. With Jalib Milrow at quarterback, that was impressive.

12 in the building. Will not be caught. Touchdown, 76 yards. A&M needs a resex. They will shove it into the ex-out for a touchdown. The match it continues. The Aggies alone atop the Southeastern Conference. All right, let's take a look at the All-Safe playoff predictor to see who are the biggest risers after week 9.

BYU and Texas A&M got the biggest jump to make the playoff this week. Both teams' playoff chances went up by 15% while Alabama's big shutout victory spiked its chances only by 10%. Now, the Aggies 47% playoff chances are the lowest by any team from the top 5%. risers. All right, it is time for our playoff contenders and pretenders, starting with Texas A&M, who is currently first in the SEC, playoff contender or pretender, Sam. They are a contender, a dominant contender. A&M is a team that's showing up on both sides of the ball, but I want to focus on their defense. Their defense last week for SLSU forced three interceptions. Their defense and another ranked win versus Missouri completely dominated. And the offensive side of the ball,

they're finding ways to get the ball into the end zone. A&M is. a dangerous team right now that I go back to that end of season game versus Texas the first time they'll be playing it over a decade at Kyle Field that could be a game that gets A&M not only into the college football playoff but as one of the top few ranks teams all right BYU won at UCF despite being underdogs playoff contender or pretender does guys I could not believe that they were an underdog I was on game they talked about stop the disrespect okay show the some love. I think they're a contender. I really do think that they will contend for a college football playoff. I like their style. They're gritty. Their physical, very disciplined, one of the

least penalized teams in the FBS. And they already smashed Kansas State 38 to 9. And they do not have Iowa State on their regular season schedule. Give them their flowers, Des. We love it. All right, Notre Dame destroyed Nevis' undefeated streak by 37 points. playoff contender or pretender, Sam. Notre Dame is now a contender. Before I have some question marks. Now those questions have been answered. Why?

Two reasons. Number one, the way in which they beat Navy. That's the way that you would expect Notre Dame to beat a team like Navy. But here's the real reason why they're a playoff contender, because I go back to their week one win versus A&M, a team that's going to be in the top five or top 10 as they continue to play this way. The playoff committee is going to circle that win and say that's a really good football team that Notre Dame beat.

They'll have wins over Navy. potentially Army, and it's going to look good for Notre Dame. All right, Pitt's still undefeated coming off a massive win over Syracuse playoff, contender or Pretender Des. I really do think that they're a contender. I love their style of a play. I'm a huge fan of Pat Narduzzi. He's an old school coach.

These guys are playing really good on defense. They're kicking butt, taking names. They got a player named Desmond Reed, who's number zero, who's just an all-around, like, weapon as a running back. There he is right there coming out the back field. He has four touchdowns through the air. So, you know, he's going to catch. I love the way that this pit team plays.

You look at their schedule. They got UVA. They get Clemson at home. Then they have at Louisville and at Boston College against the fighting Bill O'Brien. So I think they're a contender. All right. We love to see it. All right.

We're going to bring in Pete back for more news around college football, keeping things in Pittsburgh. Pete, big game for Pitt this weekend. But there's a chance they might be without their. starting QB. What more can you tell us? Well, Victoria, both quarterbacks in this big SMU pick game are in flux. We'll start with Eli Holstein,

Pitt's starter, who's been revelatory this season. Pat Narduzzi said this week, they're in wait and sea mode on Holstein's availability in Dallas on Saturday night. And a little bit earlier today, SMU coach Rhett Lashley said that starter Kevin Jennings is going to be questionable for that game. That means either veteran

Nate Yarnel for Pitt or veteran Preston Stone for SMU could end up seeing time, depending on how those situations play out. As for Curtis Rourke, there's still optimism that he'll be able to come back and play at Michigan State for Indiana on Saturday. He had thumb surgery on Friday. Today is a really big day for him to test that injured thumb. Indiana practices later this afternoon. How flexible that thumb is ends up being a big factor in his availability. As for Michigan, quarterback Jack Tuttle is not going to play anymore. He announced his retirement.

He's obviously a seventh year senior who came out in the class of 2018. He said on Instagram last night that he had suffered his fifth concussion and that he was making this decision in order to prioritize his health. And then finally, in the melee after Michigan, Michigan State on Saturday night, the Big Ten came out today and said no action would be taken. Big Ten said in a statement that they reviewed the film of the incident and there was nothing conclusive they could come up with. So there'll be no action for either Michigan or Michigan State in the wake of that Donnybrook.

Well, thank you, Pete, for all of those updates. We always appreciate you. All right, coming up, the Colorado buffs are running straight into bowl season for the first time since 2020. After the break, we hear from Dion and is number one fan about the success. of the team. It's the Nissan Black Friday event where you can... Wait, wait.

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IKEA. Bring home to life. College Football Live is Presented by Google Pixel. Here's our ABC college football Saturday triple header. Fifth ranked Miami is undefeated. They host Duke at noon. Then it's Georgia and Florida at the swamp. And we end things with Texas A&M taking on South Carolina.

Let's take a look at this week's college football rankings, brought to you by Chick-fil-A. No change in the top four spots in this week's poll. Both Notre Dame and Texas A&M got the biggest jumps in the poll with each moving up four spots. The Aggies are in the top 10 for the first time since 2022. Colorado, one of two new additions in the top 25 and also bowl eligible for the first time since 2020. And Coach Prime knew exactly who to call the Buff's 99-year-old super fan, Miss Peggy. I want to congratulate you to being able to go to a bowl game this year.

Oh, thank you. Thank you, Dea. Now, Miss Peggy should be proud because this is the first time since 2016 that Colorado has had six plus wins because they only had five total wins in 2022 and 2023 combined. So, Des, how impressed are you with Colorado and Coach Prime with what he has done in two years? I'm very impressed. You know, you look at what happened a year ago and they started the season off strong. I mean, they pretty much owned the month of September. Everyone was talking about Colorado, but they finished with six straight losses.

And then to week two, go on the road, play a Nebraska team and lose. People are like, yeah, they're not any good. Coach Prime is in over his head. But he was able to write the ship the guys, the players, they continue to believe in him. And he has two superstars and his son, Chiodura Sanders, and of course, Travis Hunter. So kudos to Coach Prime and his staff and his players for becoming bowl eligible. And for overcoming adversity. That's what's been most impressive for me over the past several seasons.

The adversity of changing conferences, the adversity of losing the way you did to Nebraska. of that tough game early versus North Dakota State. Yes, for whatever reason, everyone inside that locker room continues to believe. And so I've been really impressed by Coach Prime and the belief he's instilled in his team despite the adversity they faced. I think in the adversity of being able to drown out the noise, too, and how important that is. We've talked about being able to kind of put those blinders on and he's been able to do just that. And he's proven to us.

They're going to a bowl game. They're bowling. All right, for Des Sam P. I'm Victoria. Thanks for watching college football live. We'll see you tomorrow.