College Football Live - ACC & Big Ten Double Feature

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

Double feature with ACC and Big Ten media days as host Victoria Arlen is joined by Sam Acho, Tom Luginbill, Pete Thamel and Andrea Adelson to bring you all the sites and sounds of the day. Hear from Ryan Day, Greg Schiano and Luke Fickell from the Big Ten and we welcome newcomers Cal, Stanford and SMU to the ACC, plus much more on this packed episode of CFB Live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get you and your crew to the big shows with Go Transit. Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. And Go makes it affordable with special e-ticket fares. A one-day weekend pass offers unlimited travel across the network on any weekend day or holiday for just $10. And a weekday group pass offers the same weekday travel flexibility from $30 for two people and up to $60 for five. Buy yours at go-transit.com slash tickets. The Media Day train rolls on and we've got the second day of ACC kickoff going down in Charlotte and we'll hear from Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry later in the show.

Plus, Big Ten Media Days kickoff in Indy and we've got Pete Thamble there. And can Ryan Day finally end his skid against Michigan? We'll discuss all that and more. Welcome into College Football Live. I'm Victoria Arlen and we're bouncing around from Charlotte to Indy while we continue to ride the College Football Media Day train. And today we're tackling both the ACC and the Big Ten. So with that, we've got Pete Thammell, who we just saw in Charlotte, now out in Indy,

as well as Tom Luganbell, who is now in Charlotte with his cowboy boots. And of course, Sam Acho. We've got a double dose of media days, and we're going to get things rolling with a team that is never far from our minds. Ohio State has championship aspirations once again. But first, it will need to turn things around against the team up north. Under head coach Ryan Day, the Buckeye. are one and three against the Wolverines compared to a whopping 40 and O against all

other Big 10 opponents. The defense returns 10 of the 14 players who saw 300 plus snaps last season. That includes their first team all big 10 performers JT Tui Moloowow and Denzel Berk. Meanwhile they will hand over play calling duties to new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Last season the Buckeyes averaged 30 and a half points per game their fewest since 2011 and Will Howard will likely step in as the new signal caller after spending four years at Kansas State. Here's Coach Ryan Day on the New Look offense. Chips here for a reason to run the offense, but I think it's my job as the head coach

to look on the horizon and figure out what's coming and in this conference, you know, have experience of what's coming down the road, the games we need to win, how we need to win, also with the type of players that we have. So that'll kind of be my input in the offense, knowing, you know, what we're doing. And the great thing for he and I is, you know, we see things the same way and we've been in the same offense together. in our careers. So I think there'll be a lot of that. But Chip's one of the best offensive minds in, you know, the history of college football, in my opinion. And he's a great play caller. So, you know, he's got to do that. He's just got to go and get a feel for our guys and let him call it.

All right, Pete, we just heard Ryan Day talk a bit about new offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly. What more can you tell us about the impact he'll have on offense? Well, Ryan Day memorably said today he trusts Chip Kelly with his life. He's also going to trust him with a ramped up run game with Quinshaw junk. in the backfield, along with returning star, Trayvion Henderson. The Buckeyes really have a chance to open things up on the ground. We've obviously thought of Ohio State with that great receiver room they've had for the past seven or eight years as one of the premier passing programs in the country.

But if you look at Chip Kelly and what he's been able to do, especially with the running quarterback, and the one thing Will Howard does as opposed to Kyle McCord is he opens up the element of the QB run game, Chip Kelly consistently delivers offenses that churn out yards on the ground. The last four offenses he had at UCLA, they ranked in the top 20 in all of college football. UCLA also had a four-year streak consecutive of having tailbacks drafted. The go-go-buckies start soon. Yeah, not only was it top 20 in all of college football, but UCLA last year under Chip Kelly led the PAC 12 in rushing yards last year and the year before. So you take that piece of information along with transfer from Ole Miss, Quinn Sean Jenkins, who was a star at Ole Miss, a stud, all of a sudden, all of a sudden,

now you have an extremely potent offense, but it may look a little bit different. As we mentioned, we're used to seeing Ohio State throw the ball down field, deep play actions. Now you have a two-headed monster, continue two-headed monster running back, right, Maya Williams was there last year. But then you have Will Howard,

who can do it with his arms and legs as well. Now, Lugge, do you want to jump in on that? I'll tell you what, I think the one, excuse me, Victoria, the one thing about this, and we talk about these types of transitions between a head coach giving up play, calling duties and a new coordinator coming in. This is about trust. So there could not be a better fit.

Ryan Day just discussed it. He knows Chip Kelly inside and out. This allows Ryan Day to go be the head football coach of the entire team, particularly on the sideline on game day. And I think a couple of other things that you may see out of this offense is you may see what we saw in those early days of the Oregon Ducks offense under Mike Bellotti and then coordinator Chip Kelly. And that is getting back to some true read option principles, some true. true RPO read option stuff that's going to incorporate the quarterback run game.

But I think this allows Ryan Day to feel relieved of the duties and trust that it's going to go the way he wants it to go. Let's shift gears over to the quarterback conversation in that competition because it could be Will Howard's job to lose. Sam, what do you make of his fit there at Ohio State? I think it's a great fit. Will Howard could have gone to the NFL draft last year. He got invited to the senior bowl right around the same time. thinking about transferring. And so the fit to Ohio State was the fact that he wanted to go to Ohio State Part 1, and Ohio State wanted him through for over 2,600 yards last year. He had of 10 interceptions, over 20 touchdowns, but he's a multiple type of quarterback.

There's a game last year against Oklahoma State, ran for over 100 yards, multiple games he passed for over 200 yards. And so I love his accuracy. I left his size 6, 5, 2, 30 or so. I think he's a great fit at Ohio State. Well, and I think that goes right into a lot. what I was discussing about the quarterback being involved in the run game. He can do those things. And he's an awfully difficult big guy to tackle. So he offers Chip Kelly the ability to utilize that within the offense on top of what you've got with Quinshaw Judkins and then, of course, Travion Henderson.

He's got to have more than one. You see the numbers right there for Will Howard really started to develop and elevate the Kansas State program. But I'll also make this argument. Well, Howard's not at Kansas State. And one of the reasons he's not at Kansas State and went into that trans portal is because of freshman Avery Johnson. So there's something to be said for that too, which leads me to believe that Will Howard still has to win and own this job at Ohio State. Well, Luke's for the first time since 2015, the Buckeyes will have five scholarship quarterbacks on their roster.

So what more can you tell us about Julian Sayin who transferred from Alabama? I believe if you took all five quarterbacks and you just said, okay, who's the best pure, most accurate? passer of all the quarterbacks in the room, it would be Julian Sayan. You'd now ask yourself, okay, well, maybe who's the best runner? Who's the best combination of the two? We saw a little bit of Devin Brown a year ago. I think that would be Will Howard. Lincoln Keenholz had to play in the Cotton Bowl.

I was not prepared for that. But Julian Sayan, I think, has an opportunity to be a special player. His time's not right now. It may be at some point during the season, but there's no question that they got a huge pick up in the transfer portal, Alabama here, because I think he provides depth. And if something does happen at quarterback, Ohio State's a good hands. I agree with Luges here on Julian Sane's ceiling. I think it's as high as any young player in college football at the quarterback position.

Danny Hernandez, the West Coast quarterback tutor, who's had some of the best guys come out of the West Coast last 20 years, told me that Julian Sane is as sure of a thing as anyone he's coached out there since Bryce Young. So he's in that elite elite category. Now, Julian's saying physically needs to come along. He doesn't look like much on the hoof right now. But in terms of pure armed talent and upside, he's as exciting as a young player as there is in college football. It'll be exciting to see how he develops.

And the Buckeyes portal shopping wasn't finished as they also added former Ole Miss running back. Queen John Judkins to the mix and now paired with Treviant Henderson. How lethal can this duo be, Sam? What would be extremely lethal. I know last year there was an injury history at running back. Mine Williams, Trayvon Henderson, back and forth, injured. Now, all of a sudden, Quinn Sean Junkins, who was an explosive running back. He finds a hole and you blink and he's in the end zone.

Like, that's what he does. He makes people mistackles. So now you have that in your backfield, along with Chip Kelly, who at least the last several years has loved to run the football, all of a sudden you have a very dangerous and potent offense. It'll be a lot more physical than I think we've seen in years past, which would be positive for Ohio State. Yeah, Sam, I,

I couldn't agree with you more in relationship to the one-two punch. Listen, there's no more load carriers anymore. The game has become so physical, and there are enough touches to go around for these backs. And when you add, we talked about Will Howard, we talked about Trayviona Henderson, we talked about Quinn Chon Judkins. You've now given yourself tremendous insurance policies that are elite playmakers. That is huge because it is a long season. It is a battle of attrition.

And you've got to keep that local motive running and not have a drop. down in talent if somebody gets dinged up. And of course, Ohio State is still trying to get that championship. They're now a co-favorite with Georgia to win the national championship for ESPN bet. And it marks the first time since odds opened in January that the Bulldogs are not the outright title favorite. Here's what head coach Ryan Day said on the Buckeyes' expectations this year. Well, I think anytime you're at Ohio State, you know, we know you're going to have expectations. But, you know, there's always going to be chatter.

There's always going to be noise, and it's our job to block all those things out and just focus on what really matters. And I think especially this time of year, the easy thing to do is focus on the goals, focus on the end of the season. But that's really is a waste of time if we don't build the foundation right now. Building that foundation and getting rid of the chatter should be something we all pay attention to. Now, Lug's keeping on the theme of expectations, would you say this is a championship or bus kind of year for Ryan Day and his squad? Well, absolutely when you consider the blueprint that they laid down at the conclusion of the postseason and the Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri. They've essentially pushed all their chips to the center of the table. This is the New World Order of College football.

And whoever the best players are that are out there on the landscape and you're in Ohio State, you are in a position to go out and make those moves and bring all of those pieces of the puzzle in on top of what's going to be an elite level of recruitment of the high school player each and every year. and they may have the most marquee special wide receiver in Jeremiah Smith of anybody in college football. The question's going to be, and this will be the question for many programs across the country, when you pay the big bucks and you push those chips to the table, now the other end of that means that the player has to perform. So now the player who's receiving the compensation that's maybe had a history somewhere else. Caleb Downs is a prime example.

Great player as a freshman at Alabama. Now he needs to come and take his game to the next level. So yeah, if these players perform to the level that a lot of people believe that they will, I do think it's championship or bus, and I think they're the best equipped to do it. Yeah, I don't think it's championship or bust for Ohio State this year. And the main reason why isn't because of talent, but it's because of this new playoff format. We know that now there's almost like a couple series that you might have to play. Let's say you don't get a first round by.

You have to win in the playoffs, maybe once, maybe another time. And so that to me may be the issue. No, it's not their schedule. I think that Michigan, that game on November 29th is a game that they're liable to win with all the players gone from Michigan, right? Historically, they've been able to beat Penn State, beat Michigan State, beat Iowa, Oregon's going to be tough as well. So for me, two pieces. One, the playoff format. And then the second piece is you start talking about a big 10 championship matchup, Oregon's a team that you're now going to have to match up against, which also has championship aspirations.

The feeling here in Indy is that there are championship expectations and certainly, championship pressure. The part I would push back on is the bust part. Certainly, Ohio State is locked and loaded, likely with the highest payroll in college football, ready to chase a championship. For Ryan Day, he has the highest winning percentage of any active coach in college football. He's ahead of Kirby Smart. He's ahead of Diablo Sweeney. He's ahead of Lincoln Riley. So the bust part, to me, especially in this new era where a loss or two can still get you in the playoffs, I think is a bit dramatic. I think Ohio State will be there in the end in the conversation. I think they'll be there in the playoff. But look, this is a new era of college football. Losses are going to be

the same as they are in the AFC East. Like you are going to endure them and take them. Perfection is no longer required. No, perfection is not required. And while Ohio State has the third most playoff appearances with five, they're trailing only Clemson and Alabama. They only have one national title to show for it. So can they change? We shall see. Now coming off, A military bowl win and returning more production than any team in the FBS. Expectations are high for Brent Prize squad. We discuss why you shouldn't be sleeping on the hope news this year. Plus, the ACC boasts the most hardest non-conference schedule in the country.

Find out if our guys agree with that. Claim still to come. ACC football kickoff continues on in Charlotte with Day 2. And we're going to talk about Virginia Tech because they could be a sleeping giant that could take the ACC by surprise this season. The Hokies are led by head coach Brent Pry, who enters his third season at the helm, and over his first two seasons,

he has gone 10 and 14. Now, Virginia Tech will have plenty of veteran experience this season as it returns more production than any team in the FBS. And our ESPN preseason poll has the Hokies ranked 21st, the fourth highest team in the ACC, and expectations are quite high in Blacksburg. Here's head coach Brent Pry earlier today. We've got great people that want to be a tech for the right reasons, players and coaches.

We've got players that decided to return and spurn the NFL, spurn other opportunities, maybe to make more money. We've got coaches that turn down opportunities to stay at Virginia Tech. There's a belief in our team. There's a belief in our process. The culture is strong, and to me, that's where it starts. We've got some good momentum, but nowhere yet are we the team that we can be. We need to have a heck of a camp.

The guy's got a great mindset. They're invested everywhere they need to be invested. I'm excited about the team that we can be. I want those expectations. I understand those standards. People talk about how you handle the expectations. Well, we all know that has nothing to do with the team that we can be when we go to Nashville. But at the same time, we all came to Virginia Tech because of those expectations.

This is a place where you should expect to compete for the playoffs. and expect to compete for a championship. That's who Tech is. That's what everyone's trying to do. Now, Lug's with Virginia Tech returning production more than any team in the country. How do we see things playing out for Virginia Tech this season? Well, it's been quite some time since there's been an expectation and a level of excitement like this in Blacksburg.

And I think sometimes when that happens with young people, and you have an off-season of an enthusiasm, and everybody's telling you, wow, this is going to be a great year and you guys are really, really good. young people can buy into that. And then what ends up happening is your focus can tend to wane. Your work habits tend to wane. I remember having this conversation with Mack Brown the year after Sam Howe was a true freshman

and they had this big year. They had a monster offseason. And I asked Mack Brown, I said, when did you know something was wrong? And he said, I knew in July. I knew something wasn't right. So if this team can show the maturity to handle expectation and hype and block it out, if you look at this schedule, they could not be in a better, position to capitalize on the momentum they took into the offseason. We know about the home field

advantage for the Hokies, and it's exciting to have Virginia Tech back and have us talking about them as it relates to the ACC race. So I'm really excited to see how this football team handles people being proud of them, people being happy, excited, and can they use that as motivation, or do they get caught up in it? And what are some key ways that Kairon drones can step up, Well, I think there's a couple of areas of improvement that I've seen over the off season when you go back and you watch him. Obviously, he's a dynamic athlete, clearly has a physical skill set that is very appealing and is only going to get better. There's still a bit of a raw component to his game. But what I want to see him do is I want to see him find his second and third choice when things aren't perfect in the passing game.

If you give him the clear read right off of the jump, he sees it, he gets the ball to his hand. everything's fine. But what does he do when things start to break down? Now maybe he has to navigate the pocket. He's got to show some presence and develop the ability to locate other targets when things aren't perfect. That's the next evolution in his game. He's shown excitement as a runner.

He's shown flashes as a passer. And I think now with the confidence that he has developed, he can maybe put this whole entire thing together and be one of the most dynamic passers in the ACC in a conference, which is going to have really good quarterback. play. Really good quarterback and he's not too bad at his passing yards either. All right, thank you. We're going to keep things rolling. But coming up, we have a couple of Big Ten underdogs. Wisconsin has a new quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke and find out why Sam isn't sold on the Badger's new

edition. And just how far off is Rutgers from being a four stick and ten with in the Big Ten? Big Ten media days kicking off next. Snap up ancestry DNA's lowest price ever in our incredible cyber sales. With 50% off Ancestry DNA kits, it's the perfect time to help a loved one unwrap the past. And with their latest update, they'll discover their family origins like never before. With even more precise regions and new and exclusive features, their best gift, our lowest price. 50% off Ancestry DNA only until December 2nd. Visit Ancestry.ca for more details. Terms apply.

Big 10 media days kicking off today in India and Pete Pham will caught up with Wisconsin head coach. coach Luke Fickle earlier today and asked him about his new quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke. He's done a phenomenal job. And I mean that in just embracing all things. You know, what I love about him is he's had he's been through a lot of adversity. You know, he's been a starter. He's been the ups. He's been the downs. He's had to handle, you know, sitting down and coming back. And I think all those experiences have allowed him to walk in, embrace so many things, earn everything that he's going to get. And really kind of start to emerge as a, as a great leader for us. From year one to year two at Cincinnati, you guys, to

took a significant leap. What about this team gives you the optimism? You can do the same thing, Luke. Well, I think handling the adversity that we had to go through last year. It wasn't a three and eight or whatever it was in year one at Sinci, but we found out a lot more about ourselves

in that stretch that we had to go through and our ability to pull out of it in those last couple weeks and even into the bowl game. So for me, that gives me the greatest, you know, confidence of moving forward to say, okay, we've seen some of the lowest points. We've had to handle some of the things that I don't know that any of us expected in year one.

and we came out on the other side, knowing a lot more about each other and a lot more about where it is we need to continue to go. Now, Wisconsin will be tested early at Camp Randall, hosting Alabama and Madison for the first time in nearly 100 years. The Badgers will hit the road in conference play twice in October and November, but host Minnesota and the battle for Paul Bunyan's axe. Overall, it will be the 134th meeting in the rivalry, the most played series in FBS history. Now, year two, under Luke Fickle and a major move this offseason was landing transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke from Miami. Sam, what does the addition of Tyler Van Dyke mean for this team? It means that he needs to be consistent. Tyler Van Dyke got benched last year based off of a four-game stretch, which is through five touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

NC State, or excuse me, Miami lost many of those games last year, and it's like, okay, how do we get over the hump? The first four games, there was consistency. Man, four and no, undefeated. And then some of the interception problems started to occur. And so if you get the consistent level of performance and controlling where the ball goes, not turning it over, that'll allow you to lean on the run game and not put the ball in harm's way.

So Tyler Van Dyck has to be consistent in order for Wisconsin to be competitive in the Big Ten. Yeah, I think this is just another solid piece of the puzzle for Wisconsin. Remember, they went from transitioning from big, big boy power football, 22 personnel for the last 25 years to bring it in Phil Longo, spreading things out a little bit with an entirely different approach. So I think the piece of Tyler Van Dyke coming in, plus the added year in the offense,

he go out and you get some better skill at the skill position spots, probably better than they have had in years past because that's what you've got to have if you're going to run this offense. And there's a lot of familiarity from where he was at with Ret Lashley initially at Miami, than Shannon Dawson at Miami and now Phil Longo. So I think it's going to be a nice transition. And I agree with Coach Fickle. The fact that he's been through a lot,

he's got thick skin and he's older is going to pay dividends for the badgers. That adversity is everything. It makes you stronger. And Sam, a lot of conversation about that competitiveness. So how much more competitive will they be? Yeah, I think they'll be more competitive this year. But the issue of identity for me is still at the forefront. For 25 years to lose point, Wisconsin has been a physical,

Run the ball football team. Guys like Braylon Allen at running back, right? Just running people over. That was their identity. And all of a sudden, the identity is starting to change. But they're not fully there yet. So are you going to be this physical run the ball team or what are you going to be? And the reason I ask that is because you play teams like Iowa, Penn State, Oregon.

Those teams are in the back half of your schedule. So if you don't have an identity, it's going to be hard to find out really who you are. When you're playing those teams on the back half, it seems like Alabama on the front half. I think it'll be a difficult task for Wisconsin. Sure, and another team in the Big Ten with the potential for a good run and maybe some challenges is Rutgers and their head coach Greg Shiano spoke with Pete earlier today about why Rutgers has been a good fit in the Big Ten. I go back to 2002 sitting there with Tim Prenetti after our radio show. He was our host and I said, you know, we don't belong in this league. You go, where do you think we belong? I said, we belong in the Big Ten. And that started a 10 year, which turned into a 13 year quest to get there. And I just felt we belong there academically.

We belong there the kind of university we were and athletically. And it's great to be here. We're blessed to be in the Big Ten. Well, Rugger showed it belonged last year. Seven and six. Pinchstripe, Bull, when you return a majority of your defense, the offense was where some of the issues were last year. 124th in the past game.

What can Aethin Calli-Ikmanus, the Minnesota transfer, do to rev up that offense, Greg? Well, I think he will. I think Kirk Sharrock and he have a great bond. I think he understands what we're doing. The biggest thing we've got to make sure, don't turn the ball over, right? Hold on to the football and you do that. Everything is to take care of itself. You have three New Jersey natives here with you today. You're now 16th in the latest ESPN recruiting

rankings for 2025. A lot of those are New Jersey players. You can talk a little bit about what has clicked in recruiting to get you at that high level right now. I think everything is just a lot better than it was four years ago, right? And these young guys are guys that we've been recruiting for all four of those years. So they've seen the development. You know, we're going to do this. And we do it. And as long as you can keep doing that, I think recruiting will continue. We got a great school, great place, and I think a fan base that's really finding their voice. So it's exciting time. All right. A lot of optimism for Rutgers in 2024. Thank you, great. Thank you, Pete. Love the optimism. Now, Lugues, how far is Rutgers from being a top talked about team?

Well, when you consider this year's roster and you take a look at their too deep, you've got to be, I think, excited about their age. You know, we don't often see in major, Power 5 programs and Power 5 conferences, multiple seniors, redshirt seniors along the defensive front or the offensive front, that's encouraging. That gives you experience. That gives you a mature football team. Ethan Calliak Manus is going to have to come in and show that he is consistent. But what I like about this team, two things.

The front seven is largely intact, particularly at the linebacking core. I mentioned the seniors and the size along the defensive front, almost six foot five across the board. you look at the schedule, they only travel out west one time, and that's on the road to USC. So they're going to be in their type of weather environment, either on the road in somewhat close proximity within the conference or others are coming to them. Sam, are there any pieces still missing for records? I wouldn't say missing per se, but I will say the quarterback has to be, like Greg Shiano

says, has to be consistent. You think about Rutgers. There's so much talent that comes out of there. One of the first games I called was Rutgers at Purdue. When you think about guys like Isaiah Pacheco, who's currently a star in the NFL right now, he was at Rutgers. There are some other receivers and other players on defense who played at Rutgers. So the talent is going to be there. Now it's just the offense.

Can your new transfer a quarterback come in and produce a little more offense? We saw last year against Ohio State. Ruckers had a chance to win that game. They kept it close for really three quarters. Can you find ways to get the offensive piece over the hump? I think the new quarterback will be a big piece of that. puzzle. Now, things could work in their favor because they don't have to face Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon in the regular season. They have the easiest schedule in the Big Ten, according

to our ESPN analytics. But let's shift back over to ACC Media Day in Charlotte because Commissioner Phillips had this to say about non-conference games yesterday. ACC football has the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. 27 games against power for including Notre Dame. Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 AP top 25 poll. 10 non-conference games against teams in the ESPN's 2004 way too early top 25.

All of these are the most of any conference. With 33 days until week zero, we know the focus will be on what's ahead for this year. ACCC football has the toughest non-conference schedule in the country, 27 games against power for opponents, including Notre Dame, nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 AP top 25 poll. 10 non-conference games against teams in the ESPN's 2024, way too early top 25.

And all of these are the most of any conference. Now, the ACC is going to be tested in non-conference play right out of the gate in week one. When Clemson meets Georgia and Atlanta later in September, we have NC State. Wake Forest will both be tested by the SEC playoff contenders. while Florida State will have to deal with a group of five contender Memphis, Notre Dame, and Florida. A lot of, threw a lot your way, Loux. But the ACC has been very outspoken on this topic.

So what do you make of all of this, Luggs? Well, let me touch on Memphis for a minute because they could literally go undefeated or they could be an 11-1 team. That's how talented they are. So that's not a gimmee game if you're Florida State. And listen, Commissioner Phillips is right. he's listing off all of the variables that show the strength of the non-conference schedule

and the success of a non-conference schedule. But in order to further that narrative, the ACC is not only here, here to stay, but here to thrive, you have to go out and you have to win those games. If you're Miami, you have to go beat Florida. If you are NC State, you have to go beat Tennessee and week two so that you can continue that momentum

as you head into for what the ACC is looking like, top to bottom, one of the most competitive balanced conferences in all a college football. So yes, these games matter, but you've got to perform big and you got to win them. Yeah, and I think before you can continue momentum, you have to start that momentum. And I think that momentum starts

at least for the ACC with that Clemson versus Georgia game, week one, essentially opening the season with a huge marquee matchup. Now, Clemson struggled last year. Didn't play as good of football as it would have hoped. The quarterback position included. Will Shipley's gone at running back. It's going to be Phil Moffa leading to

charge. Will that team be able to not only faced, but overcome a Georgia team that is coming in Hungary. That August 31st game in Atlanta, Clemson v. Georgia, is the ACC out-of-conference matchup that I am most excited about. I'm excited at the Florida at Florida State game. But Lug's, which ACC non-conference game stands out to you the most? I think it's NC State at Tennessee week two because there are such high expectations for the Wolfpack.

and Dave Doan in this program, considering you've got Coastal Carolina quarterback, Grayson McCall, transferring in. He's been remarkably productive. You've got a premier wide receiver in KC Concepcion. You're going to be able to run the football effectively, and we all know and respect what NC State has been and become on defense. And when you look at Tennessee, people are so excited about the quarterback position for the volunteers. They're excited about what Josh Heipel has accomplished in a short period of time. And there are expectations for the volunteers to be in the hunt. and in the race for not just the title of the SEC,

but to be in the college football playoff hunt. The good news for both programs is, can you afford to lose this one and get into the playoff? Yes, but the winner propels themselves with a really strong early season win that could pay dividends when it comes committee and their time to start looking at schedules. People are trying to get that bye week for sure.

Now that NC State Tennessee game is going to be a fun one to watch. All right, coming up, you might want to be to start calling the Atlantic Coast Conference, the All Coast Conference from here on with the additions of West Coast teams, Cal and Stanford. When we return, we discuss the challenges for these new ACC additions. Week Zero kicks off with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic from Dublin, Ireland. College Game Day will be there, of course, kicking things off at 9 a.m. Eastern before Florida State and Georgia Tech get the 24th season underway at noon. All of that on ESPN and the app. Atlantic Coast Conference is now going to be an all coast conference. After initial hesitation about

expanding to the West Coast, the ACC is now ongoing coast to coast with welcoming three new teams to the conference, including SMU, Cal and Stanford. Here's what the teams had to say about this new journey. Just an exciting time at SMU. We have so much momentum behind our program. We feel like we belong at this level. We're excited and humbled to be here back on the national stage where our program has been before. I like our team. I feel like we have a team that's going to compete very, very well, and we're excited to get out there and really just see where we stand. Unbelievable conference and some great traditions, great coaches, great area of the country, and we're excited about it. It's also good for us in terms of recruiting. A lot of our roster

comes from this side of the country, so the opportunity to come out and play here three times a year on this coast, I think is going to continue to help us in recruiting. We take a lot of pride and the way the guys, you know, pursue their education, what they do after football, but also the product we put on the field. We got some great representatives with us here, you know, smart guys, tough guys. They love playing football. We're looking forward to competing at a very high level against this great competition in the ACC, but again, couldn't be more honored to be a part of the conference moving forward. Andrea Adelson, joining us now, Andrea, with a stellar article on ESPN.com with how these three teams are preparing for the ACC.

I highly recommend everyone checks it out. Now, Andrea, how are teams logistically preparing to play in the ACC? Yeah, you know, it has not been easy for Cal and Stanford in particular to figure out how they're going to do this logistically. Both of these schools are having to double their travel budget alone. We're talking about bigger planes. We're talking about having to leave earlier for games on a Thursday for a Saturday kickoff as opposed to the usual Friday. We're talking about having to go on site visits to figure out new hotels, lodging, food, what all of that is going to look like. We're talking about their equipment trucks, having to leave on a Monday for a Saturday kickoff so they can get to the stadium on Friday and have everything set up.

And in the case of Stanford, for example, they've got back-to-back games on the East Coast when they're playing Syracuse and then Clemson. and the team is going to go back and forth, but their equipment truck is actually going to stay on the East Coast at a storage facility in Virginia. And look, there's a lot of trial and error here, a lot of consultation with sleep doctors to be able to figure out, okay, stay on East Coast time, go to Pacific Time. But the fact of the matter is the players that we talk to here today,

Jada Knott, Cal's running back, preseason All-American, said this will not be an excuse. No, I talked to Justin Wilcox, his head coach, about this earlier to, day and one of the things he said was we went to the administration and we said how can we travel more comfortably not necessarily referencing the time change they can determine when they're going to leave how much longer they're going to be there all those sorts of things you know adjust the meals how can we make sure our players are more comfortable so what they did is they went all in on having a bigger aircraft which the front portion of the aircraft will now feature full flat

lay down seating for their football team arguably probably the bigger guys. Now I said, now, coach, how's that, how's that going to be seated? And he goes, not seniority, production. That's right. That's, yeah, we're going to do. We're going to base this on merit. And so I love that. I thought it was a great answer, but they are prepared. They know what they've gotten into and they will adjust. Well, it's a difference between knowing what you've got yourself into and actually experiencing it. I remember even my time in the NFL playing in Arizona, right, closer to the West Coast, having to go to the East Coast. We'd often have back-to-back East Coast trips, but our teams would stay over there.

Well, you can't do that in college. You have to come back and go to class. And so that time difference, leaving early, sometimes maybe I have to leave class early, take an exam maybe earlier or study on the plane. Like, that's going to be a little bit more difficult than I think a lot of the players are giving it credit or credence for. I understand that you are not going to allow it to be an excuse,

but those miles are real, right? That up in the air, those five-hour flights, six-hour flights to get your body adjusted for a game and then to recover to get back to try and sleep in your own bed or your dorm, it's going to take a while to adjust and recover, though the players are young. On top of also being a student and getting good grades. And so, Sam, I want to jump more into that, too, with the new conference and obviously the added travel and all this back and forth.

How do you see SMU, Cal and Stanford adapting to this? I think starting with Cal, they'll be able to adapt based off of their talent. And we saw them last year take USC down to the wire, 52 to 49. They haven't got a great running back in J.Nott. And so I think from an adaptation perspective, I think Cal will be fine. I think Stanford may struggle based off of some of the transition they have at head coach. And then going to SMU, right? They're not on the West Coast.

They won't have to travel as much. I think SMU is super talented. I think SMU will be able to produce offensively. And so it's like three different expectations for the three different teams, some based off of talent, some based off of location, some based off of production. Yeah, Sam, I call SMU the walk-on with rich parents. That's who they are right now in the ACC. And so they've got the opportunity to pay their own way,

and they're probably coming into the league at the right time when you consider where are the strengths on their football team. Well, it's in the offensive line. It's in the defensive front, and they don't have just one, but they've got two quarterbacks. Now, we all know there's adjustment period going from the group of five to the power five. It hit TCU those first couple of years. It hit Utah those first couple of years.

But this is a program that is equipped, well-funded, right? And they are right smack in the middle of one of the most highly concentrated talent pools in high school recruiting of anywhere in America. So I think they're really set up for success. Well, make no mistake. SMU's not coming in here just to say, yay, we're in the ACC. They want to win and they want to win now. And Rhett Lashley told me he talked to coaches who've made that transition from group of five to power. His former boss just did it.

Absolutely. He talked to Gus Malzahn. He talked to Gary Patterson. He talked to Kyle Winningham. And the number one thing they told him, depth on the offensive and defensive lines. What did they do? They went in the transfer portal. 13 linemen from the portal to help SMU this year. Now the schools also what the they're going to be combining to travel more than 44,000 miles this season. So we want to see them win. We also want to see them get those miles as well. Now it's a new era for with college football playoff and with no limitations with how many teams can get in from each conference, find out why it's critical for the ACC to secure multiple bids. Still to come on college football

live. More spots in the expanded playoff field, how many teams from each conference could we see in December? According to ESPN's Football Power Index, each of the Power Four conferences have multiple teams in the top 25, with independent Notre Dame ranked 7. For more on that expanded playoff field. Kirk Herbstree breaks it down for you. The 12-team college football playoff is here. So let's dig into how the teams can punch their playoff tickets. The 12-team college football playoff will feature the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP selection committee. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seated one through four and received first-round buys with the

highest ranked conference champion being seated where it was ranked or at number 12 if its final ranking lands outside of the top 12. So that's who gets in, which brings us to where and win the games we play. The eight team seated five through 12 will play in the first round starting on December 20th with the team seated five through eight hosting a home game. Meaning the pageantry of on-campus college football is coming to the playoff by the first. time. Man, that is going to be incredible. From there, the playoff will play out as dictated by the bracket with no receding between rounds. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at traditional New Year 6 bowl game locations, followed by the National Championship game in Atlanta,

where our first 12-team college football playoff national champion will be crowned on January 20th, only on ESPN. I love a good visual display. Now, Lou, Lou, So how many playoff caliber teams do you think are in the ACC? Well, I got to say this first, Victoria. I'm not so sure it's playoff caliber teams. It's how many teams can get to double-digit wins. Because when we start talking about that 10th, 11th, and 12th seed, all right? You're going to have to be in the 10-and-2 range or greater to find a way to try to get more than two teams in the playoffs.

So for the ACC, for me, I think there's four potentially five. Florida State, Clemson, all right, Miami, NC State and Virginia Tech. Now we see SMU right there. You see Louisville. You know, Louisville's breaking in a quarterback Cam Ward. Obviously at Miami, everybody's excited there. Some more question marks on offense,

particularly at the skill positions with Florida State. But there are, I think, four potentially five teams that could get to 10 and two in the ACC. And that's going to be really, really important when it comes to what happens with the Big 12, what happens with the Big 10? Because if you can put multiple teams in, all right, now all of us. sudden you start changing and creating a different narrative. I would say there's two. And I would go with, excuse me, Florida State and Clemson.

Those are the two teams that I think have the best chance to make the college football playoff. Part of the reason is, yes, there are teams that might have 10 wins, but you're also going to look at the strength of schedule. We talk about the non-conference schedule, but if you look at teams in the SEC or even the Big Ten, the strength of schedule, for the most part, will be tougher. Obviously, Clemson has a big game against Georgia early in the season. And so I think those two teams, Florida State.

in Clemson have the ability, the talent, but also will have the opportunity to make it to the college football playoff. Now, Pete, how critical are multiple bids for the ACC this year? Well, Victoria, in this rapidly changing college football landscape, it's hard to overstate how important it is for the ACC to get multiple bids. Commissioner Jim Phillips yesterday in Charlotte was adamant that the ACCC was the third league. Their third league in revenue, their third league in wins. There's a lot of signage there touting their non-conference schedule. for the ACC to get multiple bids is just going to be so important for that conference,

especially with the ongoing litigation of Clemson and Florida State. They need some results on the field to help secure the future of that league. And I really think multiple bids could be distilled to that opener, which Lugge mentioned earlier, Miami going to Gainesville early on. I do feel like obviously Clemson and Georgia is a huge game, but Clemson can lose that game and go on. If Miami can go into the swamp and beat an SEC team that it's more talented than, It would be a giant boost for the ACC in terms of having multiple teams in that playoff conversation.

That could be huge. Now, moving over to the Big Ten, how many playoff caliber teams are in the Big Ten, Sam? I think there are five. And the reason I say that is obviously talking about Ohio State in Oregon. Michigan was just there. They have to rebuild a lot of talent. But then I go to teams like Iowa. Iowa is a team that oftentimes at the end of the season, they're one of the top 15, maybe 18,

maybe even top 12 ranked teams, but they don't always make it based off losing in the Big Ten championship. And so Penn State's another team. Their schedule isn't as difficult this year. And so I look at those five teams that all have opportunities to make the college football playoff. There's a high strength of schedule,

but also super talented teams and obviously the change in the Big Ten format. Yeah, I would agree with you, Sam. I think it's anywhere between four and five. And I would also agree that nobody's talking about Iowa. Guess what, y'all? They return everybody on that roster, and I bet you money they're going to be able to cross the 50 yard line on offense this year. So that has got to be exciting for Hawkeyes fans.

You know you're going to get a tough football team out of Iowa City. But it's going to be very interesting, in my opinion, with the teams out of the PAC 12 coming in with Washington, with UCLA, with SC, with Oregon. Is Oregon pound for pound? I know we talk about Ohio State, but is Oregon the most? talented team in the entire Big Ten? And if they are, all right, are they the team now that everybody's looking to knock off? I know we're talking about Ohio State, but Oregon coming in could be problematic. We'll get some answers about Oregon Luges in mid-October when the Buckeyes play in Eugene.

I think the one team in the Big Ten that deserves some playoff hype is Nebraska. I really feel like Nebraska returns a boatload of starters on that offensive line. They have the most intriguing young player in the Big Ten and quarterback Dylan Raola. And I really think from seeing their spring game, they fortified the offensive skill positions. Jamal Banks, who's a productive but injury-plagued receiver at Wake Forest, really flashed in that game. And I feel like Matt Ruhl will have a jump from year one to year two in Nebraska's schedule will allow them to get in that conversation, especially if they can beat Coach Prime in week two. I think it was definitely. Yeah, Matt Ruhl definitely needs that jump.

I'd go back to just what Nebraska was last season. And you saw so much inconsistency specifically at the quarterback position. To your point, Dylan Riola could be a huge answer to that, but he's also young. So there's youth there as well. So for me, I think it's early to say that Nebraska should be in that playoff conversation. You've got to have more consistency from the quarterback position and also consistency for the team as a whole. I think it was interesting how in the ACC there's a 50% chance to send two teams. And in the Big Ten, it jumps up to 94%.

So it'll be very interesting for sure. Let's talk ESPN fantasy football. It's the number one fantasy game with the season right around the corner. Sign up now and get your league started at ESPN.com slash fantasy football. And we're going to keep things rolling with media days because coming up, we preview the teams on tap for Wednesday in both the ACC and Big Ten with a surprise special guest. Wednesday will be another jam-pack day on college football live, starting with day three of ACC Media Days.

Is 2024 finally the year we see? say the U is back and what should we expect the new head coaches at Boston College and Duke. And over in the Big Ten, can this be the year the Indy Lions finally reach the playoff? We hear from the Newcomers USC and UCLA. Now by far, my favorite mascots I have ever met ruffled some feathers on Monday, putting out this message saying something big is coming and then this happens. Take a look at this. Just hanging out in the Indianapolis River.

It is not Photoshopped. That actually happened. That is continuing to happen. Now, Oregon isn't expected to speak till Thursday. But then they followed this up with a message saying, Dad. And Luke, jump on in because I am just here for the duck. Well, I love it.

Sam, I don't know about you, but how on Oregon. Go ahead. You got it. Too much excitement. All right, Loux, go, go, go. All right, I'll go. First of all, the duck is stuck. How's he supposed to get underneath the bridge?

You can't get under the bridge. You can't confine him. You can't confine him back. You can't hold him back. You can't hold him down. Right? I mean, Sam, come on, man. No, you can miniaturize him. You can miniaturize him.

You can minoturize him. But, I mean, Oregon is coming. I mean, we laugh and we joke about it all the time. But from a recruiting standpoint, from a talent standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, Oregon is coming to ruffle some feathers, no pun intended in the Big Ten. I intended that pun. I think they did have that one game. they did shrink the duck.

But I don't know how they're going to get that thing out of the river. So that is, I am standing by for this. All right. For peace, Sam, I'm Victoria. We got more college football live coming your way tomorrow. No ruffling feathers over here. I promise for now.