College Football Live - Bubble Watch!

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

Victoria Arlen, Tom Luginbill and Sam Acho are here to start previewing Week 9 of the College Football season. The crew goes in depth with some of the parity taking place in some of the major conferences including the SEC and ACC. Plus, a discussion surrounding one of the biggest games of the week as Navy puts their playoff hopes on the line against Notre Dame. All that and more on College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, dining on a world-class menu at 40,000 feet, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome everyone to college football live on this wonderful Wednesday. I'm Victoria Arlen. Let's go out the tunnel. The SEC might not be as dominant as we once thought. Now, after eight weeks, there have been some major shake-ups,

and Lugz and Sam are here to discuss why teams have been struggling and what's at stake for them in week nine. And speaking of week nine, we've got some major games in the ACC to discuss that could have a big impact on not just the conference champ, but the playoff picture. Plus, Navy head coach Brian Newberry joins the show later to talk about his undefeated team and what has led them to this point. This is College Football Live. Let's go. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. We've got a jam-packed Wednesday for you, and Sam Acho and Tom Luganbel are here to help me try and control the chaos. But we embrace all the chaos, and chaos would just be one of the many words we would use to describe this past weekend, and especially in the SEC.

And that's exactly what went down over the weekend because it was a wild week eight in Knoxville when Tennessee secured a second consecutive victory at home over Alabama while also sending shockwaves through the SEC. and that win underscores the volunteers' resurgence and solidifies their positions as major contenders in the SEC. And then the Bulldogs handed the Longhorns their first loss of the season by a score of 30 to 15. The upset disrupts the SEC equilibrium, marking the first time since 2007

that every team has suffered at least one loss before October's end in the SEC. George's victory reignites their championship aspirations as the race to Atlanta only intensifies. Now, as the SEC heats up, Let's take a look at the top teams with the best chance to make the SEC title game. Texas still leads with a 49% chance to make the conference title game, despite their loss to Georgia, followed by LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia trailing close behind.

But Lugues, what did we learn about the SEC after last weekend's results? What we've learned is that this weekend could set up some potential elimination games, most notably the contest between Alabama and Missouri, and then off of that last graphic you saw right there, LSU also taking on Texas A&M the following week, LSU's got to take on Alabama, and down the road, Texas A&M has to take on the University of Texas. So the loser of Texas A&M, LSU,

going to be sitting there with two losses. Obviously, if Alabama were to lose this football game, Missouri were to lose this football game, you're likely looking at the Alabama Crimson Tide being out of the mix as well as Missouri. So here we are, and we're not even in November yet. As the cannibalization begins, I think it begins this weekend. And the great thing about college football lugs is that no one knows what's going to happen.

We're talking about the SEC and how many teams could or could not make the college football playoff. But so many of these teams, Alabama, Missouri, A&M, LSU, they're going to play one another. And so the greatest thing about college football, greatest thing about live events, greatest thing about life, is that we don't know what that next step is going to be. Alabama could go and run the table and all of a sudden they could flip the script. Jalen Miro could have a resurgence like he did last year after getting back. So that's what I'm excited to see is how do these teams, not just in the SEC, but across all of college football, redefine their seasons.

Why? Because they're the ones on the football field who can take control of the outcome of the games. Now, speaking of redefining, Sam, that was not the Texas team. We expected to go against Georgia. How did Georgia expose that team? Well, they show them what championship football looks like. Georgia show Texas what championship level football looks like and not just championship level, but what actual champions do.

They step up at the biggest moments at the biggest. occasions. But this loss to Georgia was the best thing that could have happened to Texas if they wanted to go and win a national championship. Why? Because Steve Sarkees just said it earlier. He said, I'd rather get knocked down in the sixth round than get knocked out later on in the fight. He got knocked down. And this Texas football team, the offensive line, the running game, the quarterback, Quinn Ureys, they got knocked down round after round after round. But now you know what to expect. If you want to go and win a national championship, you know that you're going to have to step up to that standard to that level that Georgia just showed you because that's the best you're going to

see as far as that that caliber of play with that level of intensity. Step up to that level if you want to be able to win. Well, and what's crazy, too, is Texas had just 38 total yards at halftime, which is their fewest in a first half in the last 20 years. So that's definitely a wake-up call, if you will. All right, from the SEC to the Big Ten, we've got some notable Big Ten games for week nine coming your way, starting at new Nebraska visits number four Ohio State and Washington classes with clashes with number 13 Indiana and later number 20 Illinois faces number one, Oregon at 3.30. The day caps off with number three Penn State at Wisconsin at 7.30. Don't miss these epic showdowns.

Now speaking of the Big Ten, Sam, what Big Ten game do you have your eye on this week? I'm focused on the 7.30 p.m. matchup Penn State at Wisconsin. Why? Because Penn State has an offense. That offense is led not only by quarterback Drew Aller, but by offensive coordinator Andy Kodonicki. Andy Kodoniki is one who's drawing up all these trick plays. All these plays where the center snapped it to the quarterback. They throw it back and he's the one who catches it. He's the one who's building the confidence of Drew Aller,

who's having his best season so far. Andy Kodonicki came from Kansas with Lance Lippold. He came from Buffalo as well with Lance Lippold. And they had one of the most explosive, not just run games, but offenses in all of college football. So we're seeing Penn State, who's known for their defense, have some explosion on offense. And that's what I'm so excited to watch versus Wisconsin.

Yeah, Sam, it's a great slate in the Big Ten this weekend. And another game involving a team that seems to be receiving all of the buzz is Washington at Indiana. And the Hoosers have gotten off to a remarkable start, a dominating win versus Nebraska a week ago at home. But here's the challenge. You go from a senior veteran-led football team on offense with Curtis Rourke coming over through the transfer portal. Now you get younger and less experienced at the quarterback spot. and Tavian Jackson. Now, Jackson, all he did was coming to the game last week,

go seven of eight through two touchdowns. But there is a difference when you're going to a game plan, when you're not coming off the bench, but now you're the starter. You're the four-quarter guy. So Kurt Signetti, Tino Sincere, what's the plan for the young Jackson? How much will he have on his plate?

How much do they trust him? And then from his perspective, how much poise and composure and management of his emotions can he accomplish if things aren't going well? I think that's something watching this game because Indiana has everything laid out in front of them. You can have an injury to a running back or an injury to a safety or a wide out. But when you lose the quarterback, that can change things dramatically. And let's not forget that Washington Husky's football team is the team that, for lack of better terms,

exposed Michigan when we were still trying to figure out who Michigan was. Is Michigan a team that didn't have a great quarterback play, but they could still find a way? So when Washington said, hey, we don't care about that, we're going to find a way to defeat you while you're a top-ranked team. So Washington could do the same thing to an Indiana team that is one of the top. top scoring offenses in all of college football, but their opponent's slate so far hasn't been the best. We'll be talking more Indiana later on Champ Drive, but don't forget, college game day is headed to Bloomington, Indiana. Saturday, what a reunion. It will be as Coach Corso returns to the campus where he coached for a decade. That will be Saturday starting at 9 a.m. on ESPN. Now, let's get over to the ACC because we've got some notable games in the ACC this week.

Thursday at Heinzfield. It's all eyes on Pittsburgh. The Panthers are. are still undefeated and eyeing their first seven no start since the early 80s. But with Syracuse rolling into town, can pick keep that dream alive. Then on Saturday in Miami, it's all about maintaining momentum. The hurricanes, well, the favorites,

like never before, against their old rivals are led by Heisman hopeful Cam Ward, but can Florida State muster the defense to stop them or will the Cains roll to another dominant win? And last, but certainly not least, we get SMU with their incredible road win streak taking on Duke. Both teams are bowl eligible and Saturday's game could really shake up the conference standings. But speaking of the current ACC standings with Syracuse coming in at number six, followed by Duke, Pittsburgh, SMU, Miami and Clemson holding on the top spot.

But keep an eye on Miami and Pittsburgh. They're the only two undefeated teams on that list. All right, let's keep things rolling in the ACC. It's time for What's Your Beef presented by Old Trapper. So what makes the ACC so hard to evaluate Luz? I think it's scheduling because if you look at the teams that are still in the mix, Clemson and Miami don't play each other during the regular season. SMU doesn't play Clemson or Miami, all right? And Pitt likely has the most difficult road to hoe the rest of the way through. The one common denominator, though, and one of the reasons why this is such a difficult gauntlet to navigate,

is look at the quarterback play of all of these teams that we're talking about. Kyle McCord has been on fire. Eli Holstein has been one of the biggest surprises in the transfer portal at Pitt. Kevin Jennings has been lights out now for four weeks in a row, and we all know what Cam Ward and Cade Clubnick are doing. So when you put all of those teams together, and eventually they all got to somehow match up, the quarterback play is what makes the game and the margin of error so thin in the ACC.

and when you're starting to track this race. But Luke, to your point, you said, the hardest thing is that these teams don't really play each other. But when they do, we will see who's who. I know that we're talking about Pitt and they're undefeated. Eli Holstein has been unbelievable. Pat and Arduzzi, their defense has been outstanding. But in a few weeks, Pitt's going to have to play Clemson.

That might be a date that they're not ready for. And then Clemson talking about that Clemson football team had that big loss to Georgia early in the season. Well, Miami didn't have to play them in their regular season. But if Miami wins out and goes to an ACC championship game, they may be due for a day. with Clemson as well. And that might not be pretty. And so as much as the teams may or may not have to play each other in the regular season,

things will be exposed when teams play each other either, let's say, playoff time or championship time. And I think the competitive balance top to bottom here, Sam, in that league is you better be able to do two things. You better be able to win on the road and win one possession gains because that's how close the margin is amongst the top five to six teams in the league. And being able to adapt as it goes and as the competition gets heavier. Now, we're going to take a break because after the break, we have Navy head coach Brian Newberry joining the show to discuss how Navy has become such a dominant team in what lies ahead as they face Notre Dame. Plus, Luz is here to share his top freshman of the week and reveal which freshman stands out among the rest. Don't miss it.

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Welcome back to college football live. presented by Google Pixel. Welcome back. Notre Dame takes on an unbeaten Navy this weekend and the biggest game for the midshipman in several seasons. Now a win over the fighting Irish means Navy is in the thick of the playoff hunt. Well the fighting Irish are hoping to hold on to playoff hopes while battling injuries. Here's coach Freeman on prepping for this weekend. It's going to be a great challenge for our program. They're putting up big numbers offensively.

And, you know, their offensive scheme is enhanced from what we saw last year. It's not your traditional, just every play quarterback under center, triple option. It's some type of option, but they can do it out of gun under center. They have some good playmakers. And that's something that we're going to have to make sure that we truly prepare for. Lug, what advantage does Navy have in this game? Listen, I think that they've got scheme advantages. We just heard Marcus Freeman discuss that a little bit about what they're having to prepare for.

I would actually add the Delaware wing T, the single wing, the triple option, the spread option. And then, oh, by the way, this football team can throw it off a play action. And they're operating their option principles out of the shock gun, as coach just referenced there. And on three and a half days to prepare for a game like that, how are you supposed to put? to get it all in. How are you supposed to simulate the speed of all of the mesh points in the backfield and the eye candy and the misdirection and all of the things that are set up to get you into a conflict of assignment? It is a nightmare preparing for this and it's one of the reasons why programs who play a service academy always during the week going back to spring

football to prepare for this type of game because you have to. You don't have enough time to get it executed the way you'd like to. And time? People say, the time is money. Time isn't money. Time is everything. And that's what's happening when teams try to prepare for Navy. They don't have enough time to prepare for all that Navy does. Navy runs the triple option, but it's a triple option with a twist on it.

They call it the triple option spread. So you have to prepare for the triple option, which is a totally different scheme that you've ever prepared for if you're a defensive player. Then you have to go and say, okay, now let's try and take some of that practice time away to prepare for their spread offense. Okay, now let's prepare for their play action offense. So there's so much

to prepare for and so little time. You better start breaking the 20-hour rule. That's about the only way you're going to be able to pull this off if you're going to really spend a lot of time in the meeting room and on the field. I'll tell you the other thing too. And this gets glossed over a little bit, but they don't deal with any transactional issues with their roster. They're not dealing with guys going out the door, guys coming in the door, the constant turnstile. They have a core foundation of their athletes, all right, and they always know coming into the building each and every day, who's going to be on the football team and developing that camaraderie in those pillars

of what you're going to be in today's college football landscape is really, what, exclusive to three or four programs right now in college football? It's nice luxury to have. And it's not just camaraderie looms. It's also culture, right? When you have a culture that does run this triple option offense and you have to be self-sacrificial as an offensive lineman, you have to be self-sacrificial as a wide receiver. or a slot back.

You have to be self-sacrificial. It makes you realize, okay, you're really bought in. So everyone else has bought in to something bigger than the team. Well, speaking of Navy, let's bring in the leader of that team. Let's bring in head coach, Brian Newberry coach. How would you put into words this season so far? Welcome into the show. Thank you for having me.

It's been good. You're at the halfway point now, but I'm really proud of where we're at and what we've done. far, proud of this football team and just the growth and the development, the way they've been able to keep the blinders on. And we talk about going to want to know here every week. And I know that's a little bit of coach talk, but our guys have bought into that. It's really pleased the way they've gone about their business and approach each week. And, you know, we're work in progress and that's things that we need to do better and are going to have to do better in order to sustain

success. I've got a big challenge coming up this week, but excited about where we're at and where we're heading. Coach, this is Sam Acho. What is the biggest challenge that you have for this week preparing for Notre Dame? Notre Dame. It's Notre Dame. They look like an NFL team. They're super talented. I've got a ton of respect for Marcus Freeman and the staff there. Not only are they talented, but they're extremely well coached. They play hard. They're fundamentally sound. You know, what they do on both sides of the football is problematic. And listen, we, you know, we know we're going to have to be at our very best, you know, in all three phases and for all four quarters, just to have a shot.

And we're excited about the opportunity, obviously a huge challenge and looking forward to it. And coach, Drew Cronick, your offensive coordinator has been a huge addition. We've spent so much time talking about your offense. What is his relationship with you? What does that look like? It's really good. You know, it's hard not to have a really good relationship with, with Coach Cronick.

He's a fantastic football coach, obviously, but he's a great person. And I can't overstate the impact he's had, not just on our offense, but on our program. And a phenomenal coach, great human being and spit right in here. And it's awesome to have a guy that's been a head coach,

you know, a guy that you can bounce things off of, lean on at times. And I just can't say enough good things about, you know, who he is the person, the job he's done. Coach Tom Luganbill here.

I want to further that just a little bit. and get a sense from you devised and put together what your offensive identity was going to be. I mean, there's everything from the wing tee to the single wing to spread option to flex bone principles. I mean, you run the gamut and then you got all the eye candy in the backfield pre-snap. How did you guys develop this scheme into it being right for you? Yeah. Well, I think that's the thing about Coach Cronick, you follow his history in the places he's been. He's had success everywhere he's been in a lot of different ways.

And, you know, the wing tee, sling tea, whatever you want to call it, as his base. But obviously, you know, the cup block changes. It's hard to line up and true double slot all the time and have success. And so, you know, we've had to evolve in things that we're doing. And, you know, here at the academy, you know, we've got to be unique and different is what we do. You know, hopefully what we do on both sides of the football is a little bit of an equalizer. And, you know, I think it's been a really kind of a perfect marriage of the things that he's done in the past. And I wanted to be able to continue to run the triple.

And you got guys on our staff like Ivan Jasper and several other guys that have been here for a long time and really gurus in that field. And to watch those guys collaborate and put together something that's truly unique and different. It's been fun to watch. I love what we're doing. I think the addition of using it tied in to create some services, the shifting of the old line, the eye candy, the motions, keeping people all balanced, going from under center to, the gun. Those are the things that I felt like we needed to do to evolve our offense. While I continue to do with some of the things, same thing, some of the things that we know we've got to do around here to be successful. Coach, you've been having an incredibly successful

season. We're excited to watch you this weekend. Good luck. Thank you so much. Appreciate you guys having me all. Of course. Now that game this weekend is part of a ranked triple header on ABC starting at noon. We also have Alabama hosting Missouri and we cap the night off with LSU and Texas A&M and college station. What a football lineup on ABC and ESPN Plus. Now it is that time, Loubs. Now, who were your top freshman of week eight? Well, we've got some fresh faces coming off of last weekend.

So let's start it off in the SEC with a pair of fellow Gators. Back Jaden Baugh, the true freshman reminds me an awful lot of Ketron Allen when he was a freshman at Penn State. But what a big day. 16 rushes, 106 yards, five rushing TDs for Jaden Ball. He is now starting to become the load carrier. He does not look like a freshman in any way, shape, or form

as the gators seem to continue to be improving weekend and week out. How about DJ Lagway at the quarterback position with the loss of Graham Mertz? Now you've got to invest everything you can in the freshman phenom who's got a ton of ability level. and now all of a sudden the experience is going to come. Seven for 14, 259 pass yards. Just really, really starting to come into his own,

starting to feel it a little bit, knowing he's now the starter. He's going to make some mistakes, but he's going to make some great plays too. How about Anthony Knapp at left tackle for Notre Dame as they took on Georgia Tech? Zero pressures allowed, zero blown blocks or blown assignments

in 67 total snaps against Georgia Tech, and Georgia Tech's got some edge rushers. So a big day for Anthony Knapp. Remember, their offensive tackle at Notre Dame went down during training camp. Fighting Irish has done a great job of managing the offensive line position. But Knapp had a huge day last weekend in Mercedes-Vent Stadium. We're going to see him go up against Navy, which is going to be super exciting. But we are nearing the end of October.

But we still have 28 teams who have at least a 20% chance to reach the playoff. And we continue to talk all things, CFP, next on championship. CHAMP Drive. You don't want to miss it. Champ Drive is next because we're nearing the end of that October, like I said. But there's still, like I said, 28 teams left with a 20% chance to reach the playoff. And we're going to continue to talk all those things with Heather Dinnage joining us next on champ drive. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel.