College Football Live - Big 12 Media Day

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Today kicks off the first College Football Live show of the 2025 season. Big 12 Media Day was full of smiles, eagerness and strawberry lemonade? Kenny Dillingham joins the show and our crew breaks down possibly the best quarterback conference this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And we are 196 days away from crowning a national champion. The question is when one of these 16 schools taking part in the Big 12 media days at the star, the practice home of the Cowboys be there. We've got mascots. We've got humans. We've got media. Hypnotoat on the left already been to the playoff back in 2022. It's old news to him.

The season debut of college football live begins now. Welcome inside. It's great to have you. We're going to be here most weekday afternoons on ESC. PN2 as we move closer to crowning the 12th champion of the now 12 team college football playoff. I'm joined this afternoon by Tom Lugan Bill, Harry Liles Jr., and Pete Thamble, who joins his live from Big 12 Media Days, unless not waste any time.

There's so much going on there in Frisco. Let me run down the big storylines, and then we will chat. Very famously, about 364 days ago, Arizona State was picked to finish last. They ended up making the college football playoff quarterfinals. By the way, head coach Kenny Dillingham is going to join us a little bit later in the show. So forks up if you're a Sun Devil fan. Get ready for that. The Big 12, 1 in 7 in the CFP, the one win?

I mentioned it. The Hypnoto, 2022, and TCU shocked Michigan in one of the biggest upsets ever. There's Max Duggan making it happen back in 2022. And then, of course, so many stars. Cam Scataboo, the heart and soul, the Sun Devils is gone. Travis Hunter and Shador Sanders. everything that they did for Colorado. All three of those guys will now be playing on Sunday afternoons instead of Saturday.

So let's talk about the big storylines. Terry, I want to start with you. The last two years, this conference media day has been completely dominated by Colorado. But this go-around, plenty of different coaches and teams to choose from. Coach Zubin in some familiar faces. I'm looking at Scott Frost at UCF and Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. I think when you look at Scott Frost, he's been out of the college game for a couple of years now. spent last season as an analyst with the Los Angeles Rams.

He actually talked today a lot about how he was with the front office trying to figure out, hey, how am I going to work into this new era of college football? And then with Rich Rodriguez and the success that he had previously at West Virginia, he's known as a hard edge in those or his words, coach, where, again, a lot of people, I think, would call it old school. He's got a lot of the guys that we recognize Pat White, Noel Devine, Rashid Marshall, with him at that program, not just coaching guys up, but also letting them know, hey, yes, Coach Rodriguez is going to be hard on you, but it's not anything personal.

This is a team that is really trying to be hard edge, hard nose, and is going to be a discipline team. We know about the roster turnover that they had. I think West Virginia is going to be a very interesting team to watch in this conference. Zubin, when I look at what's going to happen with the Big 12 this year, I'm going to piggyback on what Harry said about Colorado. I feel like opening weekend for the Big 12 is going to be so critical for this league. as it covets two bids in the college football playoff.

The opening weekend starts with Week Zero with K-State playing Iowa State in Dublin, a great showcase for the league. And then every single night of opening weekend, the Big 12 has a prove-it game, Zubin. We'll start the opening Thursday. Cincinnati plays Nebraska on a supposedly neutral field at Arrowhead.

And then Friday night, Baylor hosts Auburn. We can fast forward to the Monday night when Josh Hoover and TCU go play Bill Belmont. in his debut in Carolina. The Big 12 needs wins in those games. They need Utah to win in the Rose Bowl, too, if they are going to increase their stature on the national stage. Well, Pete, I'll tell you what,

the one common denominator amongst those games is going to be great quarterback play. And I think with the transient nature of college football and what's become over the last couple of years, the one stabilizing force you can count on is the quarterback position. I don't think there's another conference in college football at the power four level that top to bottom is as good, or has a chance to be elite, as the Big 12 does under center.

We know the names of Sam Levitt at Arizona State. We know Avery Johnson, of course, at Kansas State. Well, let's not forget Devon Dampier, Utah. I think he might be the most impactful offensive incoming transfer portal guy, not just in the Big 12, but possibly the country. You've got Sawyer Robertson at Baylor. The list goes on and on and on. Let's not forget, Colorado goes out and picks up Caden Salter in the Transfer Portal for Liberty.

he's played a ton of football. So I think the conference is loaded with signal callers. They can run it. They can throw it. And while you try to create some stabilization within your roster, the quarterback can lead the charge in this conference. Yeah, Loux, I'm most interested to see how things work out at Utah. You mentioned Dampere and you know the things that he was able to do at New Mexico last year.

They also bring in Jason Beck as their offensive coordinator. This Utah team has been plagued with injuries at the quarterback position the last couple of years. We know Kyle Whittingham is always going to piece together a great team, especially defensively. Had this team had some offense the last couple of seasons, we might be speaking and looking at Utah a little bit differently this year. So I think the impact that those two are going to have on that team is something that I'm really looking forward to this year. Because again, this Utah team has been so consistent, but just so unlucky at that position. The quarterback I may be most bullish on in the Big 12, and there's quite a crop of experienced QBs is Cincinnati's Brendan Soresby. He's 6566, 234 pounds.

He's one of the fastest players on that team started hot last year. Obviously, Cincinnati lost its last five games. They also, when Scott Satterfield was blunt about this today, didn't have any talent at the receiver position. They were slow and they couldn't get open. They've upgraded significantly in the portal. They have a potential first round pick and Joe Royer at tight end. Look for the Bearcats to make a push, especially if they can upset Nebraska week one. It's a great point there, Pete, because when they got themselves into the Big 12,

after breaking through and making the playoff. People expected a ton. Haven't necessarily got it just yet. Maybe this is the year. They were thinking that through nine games last year at BYU when Jake Retzlap had led the Cougars to a nine or no record. They ended up winning 11 games, but this is really one of the biggest stories that's developing.

You may know he's planning to transfer. He ended up breaking the school's honor code and was looking at a seven-game suspension. You might imagine Kalani Sataki, BYU, head coach was asked about it at Media Days today. In fact, it happened just moments ago, and he was predictably mum on the subject. First of all, I love Jake Gretzlov.

We love Jake Gretzlough and appreciate all that he's done for our program. I think it'll be inappropriate for me to make a statement in his situation first. I think that's his right. I think it's a private matter that he can speak for himself, and I'm going to give him the opportunity to do that. Pretty predictable on the response there, Pete. But let's spin this forward. What is left right now in the BYU quarterback room,

couple months from their open. Yeah, there's a big mystery. It's going to be one of the most prominent quarterback battles in all of college football. Zubin will start with true freshman transfer Bear Bachmeier. He comes from Stanford with his brother Tiger, who'll be very competitive at the receiver position for BYU. Can he get up to speed in time? Is the question. There's two veterans who started games, who transferred in. McKay Hillstead comes from Utah State, and Trason Borges comes from Western Michigan. Kalani Sataki told me today, he feels good about the competitiveness they have at that position, they just have to find the right guy. No doubt. We've seen a Bachmeier play quarterback out in the West, Mountain West area not too long ago,

and he did just fine. All right, quickly, I want to hit you on some big news and notes since you're the top insider in the sport. The Big 12 was really the incubator of this 5 plus 11 format, and they are not backing down out here. No, Zubin. Brett, Your Mark, today was very blunt. He said he's doubling down on the 5-11. And I asked him very specifically after his statement today, I said, are you confident that this can happen by 2026, a 16-team format? And he said he's relatively confident. There are steps that need to take place.

Those steps include the CFP restructuring how it's organized in terms of scheduling and such. And obviously, the ACC and SEC would need to go to nine games. And then from there, we have big news from a former Big 12 team, Oklahoma, longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione announced today formally that he's going to be stepping down, likely after this season. He's going to be in a retirement tour, if you will, before he becomes AD Emeritus. Oklahoma is going to open up a search that's going to be both inside and outside the school, and they'll transition someone in this season with Castiglione. One more AD note for you, Zubin. Georgia Tech within the last hour has hired Ryan Alpert from the University of Tennessee to be its new athletic director.

to get the leadership in place at this point, especially after the House settlement. We're in a new era of college football, college athletics. These schools need leaders that are forward-thinking. Pete, hang tight. We'll have you back here a little bit later in the show. On the way, Tech hasn't won a conference title since 1955. When they were in the border conference, is it finally time for them to play in the Big 12 title game for the first time ever?

We'll discuss. And he promised to activate the Valley. And he has Arizona State Head Coach Kenny. Dillingham joins us live to talk about the last year and the rocket ship the Sun Devils have taken to the top of the league that's next we're back on college football live tongue planted firmly in cheek we're about to speak to the head coach of the man whose team likely ended the Big 12 preseason conference poll forever after what they did last year going from predictably to finish

last and instead maybe a bad call away I know that still stings some Sun Devil fans from maybe even making the college football playoff semifinals, but a breakthrough for Kenny Dillingham in the quarters captured the attention of the sport. Cam scattered with a heart and soul of the Sun Devils will now be playing for the Giants on Sunday afternoons instead of lighten it up under the lights in Tempe on Saturday. And you've got these two back. Leavitt and Tyson, you know what Sam did last year. And oh, what could have been for Arizona State had Tyson stayed healthy towards the end of this season.

It is great to be joined by Kenny Dillingham. Coach, thanks for joining us live for Big 12 Media Days. First things first, just take me through the last 12 months from sitting where you were being picked last

to giving Texas everything they could handle and then some in the college football playoff quarters. Yeah, obviously for us, you just can't get focused on what people talk and say about you.

Everything's about work. And if you want to be good at something, you're going to have to work harder than other people. And you're going to be good at something. have to continue to work harder. So I think the key is I got my two guys behind me. You can see them. The key is those guys back there. The key was those guys putting in the work to want to be the best version of themselves that they could possibly be and having fun doing it like you see

right now. That's our program. That's our culture. It's two guys that are going to play on Sundays, having a ball, getting behind a camera, and just family and connectivity. And that's what our program's about. I love it. They were standing over your right shoulder and that thing over your left shoulders, what you're ultimately playing for. One of those guys, of course, with Sam Levitt waving in there. Where's the biggest growth point moving forward for him in your estimation? Yeah, I think for him is never being satisfied. I think anytime you're an elite level player or an elite level athlete, it's about never being satisfied and never comparing yourself to other people. I think the more you compare yourself to other people, yeah, it may raise your game,

but for some people it may lower their game. So it's all about being the best version of yourself competing to be the best versus yourself every single day. And only you know if you maximize the day. Nobody else can tell you if you gave everything you had to get better that day. So what are his next steps? Improve quick game. Improve control passing game on early downs. Improve when to use his legs.

But I think he's going to do all that because he cares and his care level is super high. I knew you grew up in the Valley. You went to your first Arizona State game when you were six years old. Fast forward to where we are now. expectations for this team after they tasted being oh so close to being one of the last four state yeah the expectations for me is to be the best every single day we don't talk about championships we don't talk about wins we don't talk about you know getting over a hump I'm talking about any of that be the very best version of you today and repeat repeat repeat repeat it's all we talk about

that's all I ever talk about in our program everybody has long-term goals. They can talk about that outside of our walls. Inside our walls, we want to be the very best version of ASU football team weekend and week out. Last thing for you, besides the fact that you're definitely leading the nation in amazing post-game speeches. I think that became pretty evident last year. There's really no such thing as an off-season anymore in college football. It was a cliche at one point, but it's really true. So what does Kenny Dillingham like to do when he has a little bit of a chance to get away from it all? The lake. The lake with the family.

Put me on a boat. Let me drive a boat in a lake, and I will be the happiest person you've ever seen. Let me jump in a lake. Let me pull somebody on a tube. We're a wakeboard. Get me in the water. Get me near the water.

Anything like that. Great stuff. I'm going to assume it's Lake Havasu, but we'll have somebody double check on that. Coach, it's great to see you. And for a guy that grew up in Scottsdale and is now leading Arizona State, I imagine it's a thrill ride for the ages.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Go Devils. You got it. Forks up for Kenny Dillingham. Indeed. All right, so fellas, repeat, repeat, repeat. It's time to talk about Arizona State one more time. Lug's, let's talk about what we just heard from Coach Dillingham. You really believe in many ways they may have the quarterback in place to finally be that last piece to awaken the sleeping giant, something they've said about this program forever. Well, I think Sam Levitt's got a chance to be a difference maker. And if you watch that college football playoff game, It wasn't very difficult to see why Arizona State changed their fortune so quickly. You know, I thought coach said a couple of things that were very telling, and that is worrying about improving, worrying about getting better, caring about yourself and caring about your teammates. Because the biggest challenge for this football program in Kenny Dillingham is going to be psychological.

It's not going to be X's and O's. It's not going to be, you know, relationships with the players. It's going to be managing and meeting expectations that have risen so high, so quickly. Because with young people, it can be very difficult to maintain your focus when everybody spent the entire offseason pat you on the back and telling you how good you are. That's where the sign of maturity led by Sam Levitt and others is going to really play an important role. I look at Arizona State the same way I look at SMU out of the ACC. They have the same challenges that Red Lashley has with his football team, and that's being able to block out the noise and play really well when you're expected to. Luke's, I think you hit the nail right on the head. We had Arizona State against Texas State early in the season last year, and when I spoke with Sam Levitt, he said one of the things that he had been working on was how he spoke to his teammates.

And he said because of that, he wanted to be a better leader. And that allowed him to help Kenny Dillingham establish the culture that they wanted to have there at Arizona State. And I know a lot of people have talked about the departure of Camp Scataboo. We know how hard-nosed he was. Sam Levitt has built the exact same way. And even at the running back position this year, you want to talk about transfers. Kanye Udo coming in at running back. He is somebody that we all remember the name Bryson Daly last year with Army.

Kanye Udo was right there in the backfield with him being an absolute issue for every team that West Point ran into. I think he is going to help this team reach the potential that they could ultimately have. You know, it's interesting, Harry, because if you go back to two years ago, remember, this was a team that was picked to finish 16th in the league in the big 12. So they literally went from worst to first. Well, why did that happen? It happened because they made the right choices in the transfer portal. You can go out and pay a bunch of guys. You can go out and sign these guys and that guys,

but they better be the right ones and you better hit on a quarterback. They did that. Now we'll see if this crop, whether it's high school recruiting or this crop of incoming transters, make that same impact to elevate the program even further. It's going to be fascinating to watch, Tom, no question about it. There is no pressure on Kenny Dillingham after last year. But there is massive pressure on Joey McGuire.

Texas Tech is all in, but will it all pay off? Plus, the best comments from around Big 12 Media Days from the biggest stars and coaches in the league next. A quick reminder flag football, fastest growing sport in the world, and the NFL flag football championships all over, ABC and ESPN from Canton, Ohio. I mentioned we'll hear from the biggest stars at the mic. Are Pete Thammell asked one of the nation's best quarterbacks

about one of the perks of being one of the nation's best quarterbacks. What went into strawberry lemonade and what makes a great lemonade? Best thing that goes into ours is low calorie, low sugar. So it's a healthy alternative. It's not quite like a Gatorade or something that has a whole bunch of electrolytes, but it's a good taste and drink. Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just putting on muscle and not losing that speed. And I ran my fastest top speed this off season.

So continuing to add muscle and as my speed increases is definitely a great thing. So credit to our strength staff and nutritionist. Hammering Gatorie. They're not going to love that in Gainesville. Harry, what do you think? I love the low-calorie, low-sugar tip on the lemonade. Look, we all love just a delicious sugary drink. But when you're Avery Johnson, you're trying to reach your full potential this year, which I think he's absolutely going to do.

He's incredibly talented. Cutting back on that sugar going low-calorie sliming up, you know, sort of in the midsection in the face. He's going to have a good year. No doubt about it. Speaking of good year, they're expecting maybe the best year they've had at Texas Tech. Their head coach Joey McGuire embracing the expectations. It's been a fun offseason.

We were really aggressive whenever it came to the portal and meeting some of our needs. There's a lot of expectations on the team. We look at it as opportunities. This conference is really strong. There's a lot of teams that have some big opportunities this year to really make a statement. And we're planning on being one of them. They are talking big. Pete, you are there. The buzz and Lubbock has been palpable all offseason. Now you're in North Texas.

What is the vibe around this program and everything they've been building towards? Well, I think it's a lot like the NFL Zubin. When a team goes on a free agency spree, there's expectations that come with it. And that's what Texas Tech did. They went on a portal spree. Heck, they won one in softball. And the results ended up pretty good. So I do think there is a target on Texas Tech within the Big 12. Barron Morton comes back at quarterback. He has a the second most wins is a starter for the returning quarterbacks in the Big 12 behind Iowa State's Rocco Beck. The expectations are there. The talent's there. Will the results be there, Lugues? It's a great question because they have been unapologetic and not shy about diving in

both feet into this world of name, image, and likeness in the transfer portal, and they've got the resources to do it. We know that Texas Tech's going to have good players. They've got a good recruit returning core nucleus, but it's the fronts that they had to address. And that's exactly what they did. They did it with experience. They did it with talent. They've added depth and they've added starters on both sides of the ball. Let's not forget David Bailey from Stanford on defense off the edge as well as Romello Hype coming over from Georgia Tech. So the question for me, guys, isn't the athletes and the players? They're going to have a quarterback as you mentioned, Pete. What kind of guys did they bring in? Start throwing a lot of money around. Got the brand new flashy facility. Do they

love football. Are they great locker room guys? Are they your hardest workers? That's what I want to see out of Texas Tech. Well, and that's the challenge of modern college football luge summed up by Joey McGuire here today was, look, I'm a better coach when I have good players. And it's the coach's challenge now to meld those players together, the returnees and all those high, high-price pickups. There's no question about it. Keep in mind their MVP, maybe Morton, maybe coach of the year in McGuire, but get to know the name Cody Campbell. He's there Phil Knight for Oregon or T-Boon Pickens for Oklahoma State. Feet is nod in his head. He knows he's a billionaire booster that played a tech from 0-1-04, and he wants to see them succeed badly. Speaking Wednesday, Coach Prime,

hoping for the best for him. He's had some off-season health problems. Kyle Woodingham looking to bounce back off in at typically tough season. Rich Rod is back at West Virginia. Remember, they were on the cusp of the national title game the last time he was there and Sonny Dyke. of course is going to get ready, as Pete said, to take on Bill Belichick in his opener. We are going to be taking the day off, but you can, of course, check out Big 12 Media Days on ESPNU tomorrow. We'll see you right back here. Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN 2. See you there.