College Football Live - Beware of the Dog

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

Jen Lada is live in Athens, GA with Pete Thamel, Steve Coughlin, and Desmond Howard to get you ready for the SEC Showdown between 7 Tennessee and 12 UGA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

College Football Live, presented by DirecTV. Hard place, as there are strange times bruin for a Georgia program that is used to kick in butt and take it names, and they will welcome Tennessee into Sanford Stadium tomorrow night. We kick off week 12 here on college football live from Myers Grove. He's Desmond Howard, Stanford, Steve. This is the authority, Pete Bamel, and I am Jen Latta. Let's talk about this game between Tennessee and Georgia because, wow, Georgia is usually in a very comfortable position at this point in the season.

But the SEC guys is in full chaos mode following the reveal of the top 25 rankings on Tuesday. Georgia needs a big bounceback game after their 2810 loss to Old Miss. And Tennessee's quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in question this week. So can Georgia's defense control the narrative, take back their spot as topped off? The head coaches spoke this week about the matchup. Two top teams in the country, getting ready to play. Thank goodness it's at our place. We get to come home and play night game should be an electric atmosphere.

It is every time we play them. They've got a tremendous team. Josh has done an unbelievable job with this team. They're playing at a high level. You look at them really in every phase of the football game. Extremely talented. Coached extremely well. They play hard.

They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every way. Let's take a look at today's road test. and by good year, despite the recent struggles, Georgia is looking to defend home field this weekend, and they put their 28-game home win streak to the test. But the dog's offensive line will be tested against the balls this weekend. Tennessee is allowing a QBR of just 2.9 when sending pressure

that is good for second in the SEC. So when we talk about this matchup, folks, we have to begin with the quarterback position, since there have been questions about who will be under center this week for the visiting balls. Give us the latest on that. Well, Jen, I think there's going to be questions right up until tomorrow on Nico Iamaleava status right now. The good news for Tennessee fans is that Nico has shown signs this week that have given people at Tennessee optimism that he will be able to play.

He obviously left that Mississippi State game with a head injury. He did not return to the sideline for the second half. He was seen walking out of the locker and postgame with towel over his head. Sources told me this week he's been in concussion protocol. But he did practice full Tuesday. He was full go on Wednesday. So he appears to be ramping up, but still he's in protocol. He does need to pass these thresholds before he's officially cleared to play.

What do we need to know about the backup who might be under center if Nico can't go? Well, we don't know a ton about Gaston more because he hasn't played a ton. He's a 50-year senior. He's a walk-on. He does have a little running ability. He was five-for-eight in his most extensive action of his career in that second half against Mississippi State. Let's just say it would be a drastically different game plan philosophically. He does not have the explosiveness that Nico does, and he certainly doesn't have the arm talent.

So you would really see Tennessee lean on the run game at that point. All right, Steve. What do we need to see from Georgia to get a bounce back performance from them after that loss to Ole Miss? They got to tighten things up offensively. Last week they didn't give their defense any help as their defense kept bailing them out, you know, giving up field goals when they were backed up in the, you know, bad field position. But the offense, whether it's turnovers, whether it's extra. executing up front with just easy one-on-one blocking assignments and in the quarterback position.

It's not just his fault, but he could be better. Receivers got to be able to separate better from taking care of the football. Turnovers have crushed them. He's leading the country in interceptions. Georgia has to give their defense some help. They've been on the field for way too long last week. Tighten things up for the offense, Georgia will be all right. Yeah, I agree with you.

I think it starts in the trenches, though. I think when you look at this Georgia team, they're normally built from the inside out, meaning they're going to dominate both sides of the line of scrimmage. We haven't seen that lately. They can't even run the ball effectively, and that's a big problem. We get to Carson Beck. We understand. He's regressing.

There's no doubt about that. There's a lot of blame to go around, the offensive line. Look at the wide receivers. They don't have guys making explosive plays down the field. And on top of that, they have like the second most drops in the FBS at 27. So there's a lot of blame to go around. But in my opinion, when I look at a Kirby Smart, team. They're always built

from the inside out. They're going to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and we haven't seen that yet. They're going to have to do that tomorrow night against Tennessee if they're going to have a chance. And Pete, I just have to say this. I think that Nico is going to play.

I know there's a lot of smoking mirrors coming out of Tennessee but that guy, he has to play at this guy because like this game because like you said, Gaston Moore we haven't seen the laugh of him and there's too much riding on this game As far as the CFP is concerned, no doubt. So we talk about the turnovers, obviously, for Carson Beck guys.

And a lot of people talk about the interceptions. But our researcher Marissa reminds me there have been fumbles as well, too. And those 14 turnovers for him this season, that is third of most turnovers in all of FBS. That's got to change if you want to get this team to where it wants to go in the college football playoff. All right, we mentioned Nico Iommaleava. Obviously, we addressed that at the beginning of the show. What else should we be focused on this weekend? Well, a huge factor for Georgia in this game, Jen, is going to be Trevor ATN.

He is injured and he is not going to play for the Bulldogs this weekend. That means we're going to see a lot of true freshman Nate Frazier. He's supremely talented, explosive young running back from Los Angeles. He is a pinched fumble prone. He's shown that in practice. He fumbled twice against Old Miss. They lost one. I imagine Kirby had him going around campus with the ball on his hand this weekend in order to hold on to it.

As for Florida against LSU this weekend, we'll see the return of DJ Lagway. back he's going to start. I don't think anyone who saw him at the turf in the cocktail party and grab his hamstring thought he'd be back this quick. This is huge for Billy Napier. It's huge for the Florida program. DJ Lagway is back and starting, which is, which is remarkable, considering how it looked when he went down against Georgia. And for Boston College against SMU in Dallas tomorrow, they're going to have a new starter at quarterback. Grayson James is going to take the place of Thomas Castellanos. Castellanos announced on social media this week. that he's leaving the program.

This came after Bill O'Brien informed him that it was being benched in favor of James. James has done well in limited appearances this year. Led them to a win over Western Kentucky and the comeback to Syracuse. So he's two comeback wins on his resume, but it is a limited one. Strange situation there with Boston College.

All right, guys, we move on here on college football live. What an SEC on ABC we have for you on Saturday. Number three, Texas, taking on Arkansas. That's at noon eastern, 11 a.m. Central. Then it's off to the swamp for number 24. 22 LSU and Florida, and we cap the night between the hedges right here in Athens, number 12, Georgia, hosting number seven, Tennessee. That is a great football lineup on ABC and ESPN Plus.

But coming up next on college football live, we take a look at the top 25 and see how chaos seems to be the driving storyline, our takeaways, and who is most vulnerable as we enter week 12? And speaking of vulnerable, could Kansas play spoiler to BYU or Korn. Colorado. Big 12 on the line with those matchups. Can Colorado catch the cougars? We debate after this. College Football Live is presented by DirecTV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream Direct TV, satellite free. Welcome back to College Football Live, presented by DirecTV. One, two, three, four. 24th overall.

So when you see those standings guys, you see the college football playoff rankings. Des, what is your biggest takeaway from that list? It seemed to be like this uproar about Georgia moving down to 12. Obviously, it didn't look great against Ole Miss. We get that. But on top of that, if the CFP playoffs started today, these guys will be the first ones out. That's when people really started to get up in arms about how can this Georgia

team be left out of the controversial ball. And if they lose tomorrow, there's still people think a three lost Georgia team should still get into the CFP. So that was the biggest surprise of me. They got knocked down to 12 and say if it started today, they will be left out. I look at Tennessee in the distance there is

between them and other one-loss teams like Texas and Penn State. Tennessee has a win over Alabama. Yeah. You know, Texas and Penn State don't have anything close to that. Nope. On their resume, so it really starts to make you think, What are they prioritizing as the committee? I can't figure it out.

Tennessee should be just as high as those other two teams because they have that great win against Alabama, especially even better now, looking how good Alabama played last week. Exactly. Well, Notre Dame's playoff run really started after they lost to Northern Illinois. They knew they couldn't lose anymore. And let's face it,

who would have thought they'd be in the thick of the playoff conversation after that day that Thomas Hammock stole the world? I really think for Notre Dame, the most interesting thing down the stretch, they go Virginia, they go Army, they go USC. who would have thought that Notre Dame's Army and Navy games would have more juice for them in the playoff than Florida State and USC.

A remarkable ode to 2024 right there. Well, and I'm glad you mentioned the remaining schedule for Notre Dame because if they win out guys, they have a 99% chance to be in the college football playoff field. If they lose any one of those last three games, it drops all the way to 23%. So that is exactly, do or die, must win for all of the remaining games. Now, all of that considered, guys,

what are you watching this week? as teams get back in action does. I'm watching Clemson. I think because Miami lost last week to Georgia Tech on the road, I think Clemson has new life, right? They're like, okay, we have a shot. And watching them against Louisville,

they played to me just like uninspired football. They got controlled at home. It was a night game in Death Valley. They were coming off of a buy, and they still played to me kind of uninspired. So I think this gives them new life with Miami getting knocked off last week by Georgia Tech. Want to see how these guys look on the road.

against the Pitt Panther. So that's why I'm keeping an eye on. Clemson versus Pitt. I'm looking at all the teams that have done so much great work to this point of this season, not get caught looking ahead when they have games this week.

You look at BYU. You look at Notre Dame. You look at SMU. You have done so much great work, but you cannot slip up here with a game. You can throw Texas into that category because when you have it, you know, Coach David talks about it all the time,

keeping your eyes focused on the goal. that week. That's what these teams need to do this week. San Jose State is going to play Boise State. Watch out there. We know what Jet T's done, but those teams that have done so much work and being in the top ten, don't get caught watching the paint dry ahead.

Don't overlook Tulane, the newcomer to the top 25. They'd need some help from someone in the Mountain West to knock off Boise. But right now if Tulane wins at Navy on Saturday, they'd be in the AAC title game for the third straight year. And once you start dicing into their resume, it doesn't look bad.

Their two losses are to Oklahoma and to Kansas State, both ranked in the top 20 at the time. The Green Wave, the angry wave, is at least going to make an appearance and some relevancy if they went out here. They're going to push Boise, especially if the Blue Trip. Oh.

The Blue Trip, got it. I was like, if the Blue Trip, what? If they trip where? But I got it, the Blue Trip. Got it. All right, let's take a look to today's player to watch, brought to you by today's military. Drew Aller looks to keep up the great quarterback play

when he and the next. Nittney Lions take on Purdue tomorrow. Aller's 32 explosive pass plays are the third most in the Big Ten behind Oregon's Dylan Gabriel and Indiana's Curtis Rourke. With that information, Steve, let's get to your gambling guy.

All those explosive players against the Buckeye. Yeah, exactly. But we're going to get a lot more this week. First off, pick, we're going to go with his Penn State minus 28 and a half. No team in college football in the last four years has been better as a double-digit spread on the road than Penn State. You look what they look like last week off that brutal loss to Ohio State.

Aller had the offense cranked up that defense will travel. They dictated what happened in the second half in that Wisconsin game right there. You're watching. So we're going to take Penn State minus the points. The next one is kind of hard to say. There is no team worse against ranked teams against the spread the last five years than Stanford. And when you look at what Louisville is putting on tape week after week, that offense is great with Coach Brom. And, and, uh, and Tyler Shuck. So Louisville, not really a home field, if had any advantage for Stanford.

So we're going to take Louisville minus all those points. Next, San Jose State. We just touched about Boise looking ahead. San Jose State plus 14. Coach Ken's got the Spartans playing. Nick Nash, senior receiver, just got passed in the year and total receptions category for the season.

But he's a number two receiver in the country. San Jose State will keep it close against Boise State in a tough spot for Boise State as they keep trying their trek towards the playoff. And how are you doing this year? Pretty well, right? Very well. Yeah, absolutely.

So ride with Steve this weekend. Coming up, we take a look to the Big 12 headed into Week 12. Can Colorado surpass BYU as the leader in the conference? Someone on this set thinks they can. College Football Live is presented by DirecTV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. stream direct TV, satellite free. This Heisman update is brought to you by Nissan.

Premier partner of the Heisman trophy. Yeah, guys, the game within the game to keep an eye on tomorrow. Now, it's going to be Georgia's offensive line against Tennessee's defensive front. Now, on this running play right here, they want to build a wall by slanting. They want to slant Hobbs to the A gap, James Pierce to the B gap, And Elijah Simmons right here, the defensive tackle, he's going to take on the double team. Now watch how discipline these guys are with their gap integrity. They're not going to give up right there.

B gap, A gap, and Simmons taking on the double team, that creates a wall right there. So there are no running lanes for the tailback. This is something Georgia is going to have to contend with all night in their running game. Then when they drop back to pass, keeping out number 27, James Pierce. He's 6'5, 245 pounds. He's right here in a nine technique. Now, what's so impressive, I talked to defense. His defensive coordinator, Tim Banks, he talked about his snap anticipation.

Watch him right here. He's about two steps into his rush up the field before his teammates have crossed this black line. Fast, quick, twitchy, able to bend without losing speed. And that's why he was able to sack Jalen Mill Road. So the game within the game. Tennessee's front seven against Georgia's offensive line. Let's take a look at it on the field. Tennessee here in Athens looking to earn its first win against the dog since 2016.

But it is a must-win game for Georgia who is outside of the CFP top 10 for the first time since 2016. That of course Kirby Smart's first season at the hell. Then Texas hits the road to take on Arkansas. They look to snap its two-game losing streak to the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks are looking for their second win. against an AP top five opponent this season. Let's stay in the SEC, Missouri heading to Columbia to take on number 21 South Carolina.

The Tigers have won five straight matchups against the Gamecocks. That's their second longest streak versus an SEC opponent. And we've got BYU putting its perfect record to the test, hosting Kansas. The Cougars look for their first 10-0 start since 2001. Kansas looking for back-to-back wins

versus AP-ranked opponents for the first time. since 1995. And we will get a battle in Boulder when number 17 Colorado hosts Utah. The Buffaloes have three straight double-digit wins for the first time since 2017. The last time they did that, guys, when they got four straight. That was 2001. The last time Colorado won a conference title.

Now it's time to take a look at the Heisman update brought to you by Nissan. We got to start with the favorite. And that, of course, is two-way star Travis Hunter. his nine receiving touchdowns this season, tied for sixth most in FBS and most by a Colorado player since Shea Fields. That was in 2016. He is followed on the list by Dylan Gabriel, Ashton Gentie, and Miami's Cam Ward. We got to talk about the Big 12 a little bit here because they're an interesting conference to be paying attention to as well. Pete, anything that we should know about Utah, it's not a guaranteed win when they're taking on Colorado, right? Well, I think this,

if we looked at this game before the season, Jen, we would have seen. said Utah is everything Colorado isn't. They're strong, they're rugged, they're tough, they're efficient, they bully people. Well, Utah's gotten pushed around this year in the Big 12. There's no other way to say it. They still do have that DNA of toughness in that program. The big step forward for Colorado this year, we knew they had the receivers, we knew they had the quarterback. It's come on both lines. So this is a really interesting litmus test of Colorado's lines. Can they go toe to toe with Utah? And will Utah be able to survive with Isaac Wilson starting a quarterback? Utah's lost three quarterback.

extra season ending injuries this year. Kansas playing spoiler to Iowa State, only lost to Kansas State by two. Then they have BYU, Colorado. Who's more vulnerable there? I think BYU may be a little more vulnerable just by the way they've been getting by the skin of their teeth in some games. You talked about Utah. Utah played a tough week ago, but that's the Holy War.

Like, it's going to bring out the both best teams. I understand that. But BYU, their team is gritty, well disciplined, but then you wonder how long can they keep skating like this on? they're nice. I think they may be a little more vulnerable. What I see from Colorado, I think it's very sustainable. I don't think they're too high or too low and they're able to get, you know, get things done in the trenches like you talked about. So I think BYU is a little vulnerable. For me, it's BYU for sure. When you look at one score games, they're four and oh

in score games. So they're playing, Kansas is 0 and 5. That's just a flip of the season. Exactly. BYU, 9 and 0, and then you look at Kansas and how they struggle. But Kansas has been in every game. And you touched on Colorado being more. more balance, just the wild factor they bring to. You know, Utah's got to try and dictate. That's been hard to do against Colorado with how good Schernerner says. But I would just say, BYU, watch out. So is there anyone at this table who doesn't think BYU will be in the playoff?

You think it'll be a different team from the Big 12? A little hand up here. I can take Colorado right now. I agree with you. I think coach prime and the Buffaloes. All right, really good. I'm going to take BYU. I mean, look, there's some magic in this team.

Yeah. Ralph Russo from the athletic comparatim to TCU two years ago. They just figured out ways to win. There's something to be said for teams that figure out ways to win and they appear to be that team this year. Did not go well for TCU, of course, in the championship game. I remember leaving that one.

You're right. You're right. They got it. The playoff predictor gives Big 12 just a 20% chance to send two teams to the college football playoff. Three teams or more guys, it's less than 1%. So likely one maybe a second team sneaks in from the Big 12. All right.

Tomorrow, college game day comes your way, nine to noon Eastern. We've got a huge show, great show plan for you, and all of the fans here at Myers' squad. We've got the kicking contest, $150,000. Cody Rhodes from WW. Coach Saving, sitting right up here, spitting all kinds of football knowledge. Tomorrow morning.