College Football Live - CFB Live 7/11- Wrapping up BIG 12 Media Days

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

On this episode of CFB Live Zubin Mehenti, Tom Luginbill, Sam Acho and Pete Thamel break down which Big 12 teams have a shot at making the playoff, what the playoff format should be in the future, and impact Big 12 transfer portal players. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, welcome inside college football live. We're going to begin with bold statement a couple days ago at Big 12 media days by the commission. Joining me to break it all down. We're going four wide. Tom Lugan, Bill Sanacho and Deep Sam. Of course, I'm speaking about the always loquacious, Brett Your Mark, who let's just say has a lot of swagger and put Greg Sankey and Tony Petitini on notice. And once again, I believe we will be the deepest football conference in America.

No league offers the competitive balance that we do. I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple college football playoff bids this year. And to show once again that we can compete with anyone. He is exactly what this league needs, the way he talks. Look, this is the most unpredictable conference in America. I think that's a moniker they've actually embraced. Take a look at that. I mean, you've got a bunch of teams.

there that have a puncher's chance, if not better, to win the Big 12 and get into the playoff or at least be playoff caliber. We don't want to begin with you on this. Over the last four years, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Arizona State. We've seen four different schools in this conference. Why not go off the board and give me somebody maybe we're not thinking about? Well, it reminds me the old Bible version of the last shall be first and the first shall be last. That's been the theme in the Big 12 recently.

So Utah didn't quite finish last. last year, but they were predicted first. They only had two wins in the league. I'm going to go with the Ute as a surprise Big 12 title winner this year. The offensive line and the defensive line don't slump. If you have dudes there, it is slump-proof. Obviously, Utah quarterback health issues last year. They bring in Devin Dampier, they bring in Jason back in a more wide open scheme with some

QB run game. They have Spencer Fano at right tackles. He's the top 20 pick in the draft. His brother Logan is one of the star defensive. linemen, the youths will go back to bully ball and back atop the Big 12. Pete, they've got a great quarterback to start it off with, too. I'm really excited to see Tom, Dan here, you know, takes the stage with Utah. I think the thing about this conference that intrigued me the most is there are no blue ones,

right? That doesn't mean that it's not a solid, really, really good conference. It just means the top of the bottom, you have a bunch of teams. They're also competitively similar that the. The margin of error is going to be maybe more razor thin in this conference. It's going to be anywhere else in college football because I don't think this conference has a team where you walk on the sideline and bring a warm up. And you look at one team that's supposed to be the big dog. You could be the other team.

And that team over there doesn't look like that team. And to me, that means you're going to have to win close games, one possession games. And generally when the games are going to be this close. And I think they will be weekend and week out. The team that makes the fewest air, will win those one possession gains. And so whether at the 18 right now, the 10th team, the third team,

the first team that everybody is prognosticating over, I think that's what makes this conference so good, even though it doesn't have dominant blue bloods. But just because you don't have dominant blue bloods, it doesn't mean that you can't be a dominant team in this league. Look at Arizona State from last season. They lost their opener when it came to Big 12 play, but they won eight of their next nine games.

They won in the margins. They won when it came to the last year. the best teams that I've been a part of, they win in those close games. So I don't care if you're going to be a blue blood, if you're more talented, but the best team, they win it between years, they win in preparation, they win it when it matters most. And that's in those close, slow, light margin games. Sam, you mentioned the word close, leading to exactly where we need to go. Best chance to win the conference according to our analytics.

I mean, look at how bunch you are after you get below Kansas State. and even there, Arizona State, Kansas, BYU, and Daler all right there. And then even the second half of the screen, you are nipping at their heels. Unpredictability, Tom, doesn't just mean who's going to win the league or who's going to finish last. It can be across the board. So I ask you, finish this sentence. I wouldn't be surprised if in this link. Julie Fritz, year two at Houston has a major turnaround.

And I think a lot of that's dependent upon Texas, San. and transfer quarterback Connor Wigman coming in and staying upright. We've seen him be productive. We know he's counted. He's got to stay healthy. Willie Fritz is such a darn good football coach and has won so many games everywhere he's been. There's no way this Houston team is going to show up and be four and eight again. They've got some work to do.

They're going to be heavily transfer portal related in terms of the roster turnover. But I believe in that guy in the job that he's done. I would not be surprised that they cause problems throughout the league. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona State repeats as big 12 champions. Why do I say that? Not because of Sam Levin in the offense per se, more because of that defense and the defensive line. Remember this team, Arizona State, they gave Texas all the Texas wanted in the basketball playoff last year.

The defense held Texas, the 57 rushing yards. The defensive line was returning pretty much all of their starters led by CJ Fight on the inside. That defensive line again is led by the Ron Reynolds, who's their defensive line coach. Camp Scadaboo's he's gone. But they have a transfer running back in time to get good. So there's so much talent, but more than talent with Arizona State, there's a belief and a mindset and a culture that they can beat anybody. You know, Arizona State defeated, of course, Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game.

And speaking of the cyclones, at the mic a couple days ago, Rocco Beckett Big 12 Media Days, knows his team's got to reload. Yeah, I think having that young talent and inexperienced talent that's been able to have in the family of Iowa State or other receivers, that's when the time. That's when the titles come to play, like you said. We have a depth of a room. 12 personnel could be really big for us to get those guys out running and get them in the wall. But until they are able to succeed, we have the receivers in the back end.

And honestly, I think it's the most depth that we've had in the receiver room since I've been there. Even though we've used those two great guys, the depth in the room is insane. Sam, that guy led them to their best season in school history, first double-digit win season ever. Yeah, he did, but he's got some new weapons. One of them you see on your screen. Another one you see is his name is Xavier Towns. He's in transfer from UCF. He's 511 and 185.

Who just left and went to the NFL Houston, Texas? Jaylon Noah, who was about 510 right around 200. They could use Townsend in a similar way, kick return, punt return in the slide. So I'm excited to see what Rocco Beck, this veteran and a mature quarterback does with his new weapons at receiver. So my Sam can't wait to see it. Now let's talk a little bit about another big 12 quarterback. Sawyer Robertson spent some time at the Manning Passing Academy. Man, it was cool.

The Friday night throwing competition was awesome with all the other quarterbacks. Yeah, I made it to the finals. That was really cool. Just because, you know, the competitors just started flowing. Wasn't able to win it, but, you know, I was joker out. I know we remember this guy who got second place, but, you know, I'm proud of the way I competed. It was cool. And on top of that, it was just cool getting to meet everybody, especially all the big 12 guys who,

like, you compete against you were supposed to not like technically. I got to know them all really well and all great dudes. So that was really cool to kind of put a personality to a face and the guy you watch on TV. Tom, this guy is coming a long way. I had Baylor two years ago against Texas and they were reeling. They did not have any answers. He was thrust into duty, once their original starter, and he really struggled. He was a deer in the headlights and I'm sitting there.

I'm fine. Oh, boy, this might be the end of Dave Miranda. And then you fast forward to this past off season. He doesn't start the season. Baylor starts off two and one. They decided to go with him and they reel off six straight wins. This guy has developed, I think Jake Spatatel deserves a ton of credit for the development of Sorri Robertson.

He has come a long, long way. The well-traveled Jake Spavitol, no doubt. At the Mike, Oklahoma State and head coach Mike Gundy, he needs those name tags that say, my name is. We have 65 new players, 35 of them we've never seen practice before. And I'm not sure that I know. who will be the stars in eight of the 22 spots? That's not counting special teams.

So it's very unusual. Very unusual, Tom, would be a good way to put what happened Oklahoma State last year. This guy is a rock solid, consistent coach, and last year it just fell off a clip. What are we looking at here for 25? We're looking at the Big 12th expansion team. That's exactly what they are.

They just put together a collection of guys and a collective of coaches. And they're going to try to figure out where, who fits here and what do we have to make us better in this position and that position? But as he just laid out, take a look at all these new faces, all these new names. They do not have an offensive lineman who has started a game for Oklahoma State on this roster. The two quarterbacks have virtually played no football in Hossaney and Zane Flores. But the way I look at this thing is it's going to go nowhere but up. because whatever that negative energy,

whatever that negative chemistry was, that jumped up and bit them last year, and started to snowball on them. They've eliminated that from the equation. And so I think there's some positive to all this. The question is how quickly can you build a foundation and build a football team with that many new faces in a short period of time.

Yeah, I don't see the positive. Do you say there's nowhere but up? There is a way, and it's actually the same. You could be the same. I think this offense, you think about last year, I must say, Shurble. Yes, say, Ollie Gordon, But the box was loaded, eight, nine guys in the box.

Alan Bowman, at quarterback struggled. They have question marks with a quarterback, question marks on offensive line. They have different coordinators. And so we talk about this excitement and the newness, but there's also a level of, hey, what if it stays the same? So many other teams in the Big 12 are getting better. Colorado, you see how much talent that they're bringing in. You see out how Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas State with David Johnson, they're getting better,

whereas Oklahoma State, for whatever reason, it seems like they're staying the same. And so I have a fear, if you will, that not that there's nowhere to go but up, But this seemed could be just as bad as they were in years past. Well, if Sam's fears come to life, guys, I really think Mike Gundy's job will be in trouble. When wanting to know what institutions do, Woodrow and Burns said told us to follow the money. Well, Oklahoma State made it very clear with Mike Gundy's money what their intentions are. They gave him a pay cut of a million dollars last year after the winning this Big 12 team, and they also cut the amount of his buyout to fire him.

You don't need to be an investigative reporter to see their actions. leaning towards some type of action on Gundy if the results don't get better in 2025. They have run out of patience with Mike Gundy, and he certainly stepped in it publicly a few times. And so now Oklahoma State wants some wins for their investment. Correct. You think about the investment in the transfer portal. I hear Mike Gundy saying we have so many new players and so many different positions, but that's the state of college football.

Other teams are embracing it and getting better. Whereas you hear a level of concern with Mike Gundy. I don't want to have a coach who's concern a few weeks before the season starts. So that's my concern. It's the fact that Mike Gundy isn't embracing the new talent players that he has. Fair enough. And shout out to Deep Throat. Great reference there by Pete.

Coming up on college football live. Five plus 11? 4-4-2-1-13? What? What did you say at 12? All the expansion possibilities or no possibility. Next. Just a reminder, flag football, it is hugely growing in popularity.

July 18th to 20th and Cainton. Where else, right? A home of football on ESP and ESP and TV at ABC and streaming on Disney Plus. Back on college football, live in conventional wisdom, of course, the future of college football, largely in the hands of the Big Ten of the SEC, and I think that's pretty much true. But the Big 12 is not going to be a wallflower. Commissioner Brett Your Mark reminding people, they've actually been a trend center in the format that's now garnering a TACC,

ton of attention across the nation. We continue to believe the 5-11 model proposed by the Big 12 and the ACCC is the right playoff format for college football. We want to earn it on the field. We do not need a professional model because we are not the NFL. We are college football and we must act like it. Yep. So this is the 511.

11 format. Let's marinate on the screen for one second. It's pretty easy. Five highest-ranked conference champions are in and then you get 11 at large. The SEC is liking this because they believe with the 11 at-large they can get a lion's share of those bits. So Pete, I want to talk with you here about this. We need a decision by December 1st. You, of course, have the inside scoop. The biggest really problem seems to be the unequal number of conference games that are played across the power for it. That's a huge sticking point. Zuban is a huge sticking point and there's going to be a little bit of a chicken or egg element of what's going to happen for the 5-11 to happen for the 2026 college football season. The SEC would need to go to nine games. That's what the big 10

leaders would want. The ACC would also have to go to nine-game conference schedules. They see it as an equality thing. The SEC would likely have to do that within the next month or so, probably in the next six weeks. By then, we may not know what the college football player formats going to be. The So those two factors are going to run parallel tracks here, and one may not be able to be solved without the other. There is a chance, a realistic one that come 2026, it is a 12-game college football playoff. So all this is going to be resolved in the run-up to December 1st. And as usual, administrative decisions in college sports, they will go slowly. No doubt.

Deadlines make deals. That's what they say. On the other side of this, let's take a look at the format that's being proposed by the Big Ten conference. This one's a little more complicated. So basically, the Big Ten in the SEC, that's according to Commissioner Tony Petitini, who's put forth this resolution, this idea,

they would get four bids. The ACC and the Big 12 would guarantee themselves two bids. There'd be one guaranteed spot for the quote-unquote group of six champion, and then the committee would select three at-large teams. One of the reasons, Sam, that Petitini seems to favor this, he said last week publicly, is that it would lessen the role of the committee, because most of the teams have already been selected,

they would just need to see it essentially. What do you make of that? Yeah, I like the comments by Tony Petit. The reason why is that the committee is put in place. First of all, it's a committee of some of the best minds in college football. You think about it, these are former athletes, for either current commissioners, et cetera. There are people who watch games.

So it's not a computer system like the BCS. And yes, some of it is on the field, like if you win your conference championship. But I like the fact that the committee has the ability to be able to use their eyes and actually. watch the games because sometimes they don't play each other. And also to be able to use data and use some of the information that's there in order to decide who deserves to be inside the college football playoff.

And so for me, I don't think that a four, four, four, and two, and two and one and five, whatever they're going to. I don't think that makes any sense because I think that it's not fair for the other teams, a team like in Arizona State, you say, okay, well, why would they have got in? Will they nearly be Texas? We talked about it. So there are going to be opportunities, teams like SMU, et cetera. I don't think the four-four.

format makes sense. Well, certainly not under the assumption that there would always be 14 to the Big Ten, 14 in the SEC, better than everybody else year and a year out. There's no way to forecast that. And so if you're going to sit there and say, well, we'd like to remove the committee's influence on this and just leave it up to seating, then why do we have a committee to go back to the computer model? I think what we're hearing from your remark, and I don't blame him for having him for having.

this take and that is why would any conference the big 12b a cc what have you be in favor of just throwing out four automatic bids to another conference without any guarantee that those four teams are going to be any better in any given year than any 14s out of his conference or any four teams out of the a cc what have you to me that part is is mind-boggling so i i see this is a bit about self-preservation for the a cc and the big when it comes to making sure that, okay, we're going to give the five, then we're going to have the 11 if we moved to 16.

But the committee is going to have to figure out which 11 those are, and there's no already preconceived or pre-chosen teams in doing so. You talk to everybody in this sport. What is the appetite for just maybe saying, you know what, why don't we just stick at 12 teams? There is a deadline of December 1st as you referenced, but what about just having this model for just a lot? little bit longer, giving it more runway to see if it works.

I don't know if there's a huge appetite for that, because ultimately the commissioners generally all want more access to. When we were at four and there was a delay to go to 12, remember that that was when Florida State got squeezed. Remember, ACCC Commissioner Jim Phillips is one of the people who want to be pragmatic about expanding and it really backfired on him in the ACC when Florida State got squeezed out with Jordan Travis' injury. So I do think there will be momentum for more

access, it's just all these ancillary issues with the schedule and then how strength of schedule and the metrics that the committee uses. Those are the two big issues that really need to be ironed out. If they are not ironed out in time by December, we could see another 12 game playoff. Yep, got to keep an eye on executive director, Rick Clark. He'll be in charge of letting us know if that's the case. On the way. Prime letting us know, hey, remember when you guys were all over me for using the portal? There's another guy in my league using the portal.

And nobody's talking about him. you were talking about me. Wait until you hear this straight from Dion next. They recall Dion went on a transful portal spring when he came to Colorado. Joey McGuire doing the same at Tech with one notable difference. Joe got some money. Joy, we got the money. You guys were talking junk about me.

I love Joe. Joe, I know you out there, babe. I love you, man. I appreciate you. Can you send, you know, a few of those dollars to us so we can get some of those players too? I have to say, you guys know this. This is the same man who won. said, if you play good, they pay good.

So he understands where we're at. Let's talk about some of the top portal guys in this conference. Sam, let's start with you. And there's plenty of views to choose for her. Well, the first one is one of those guys that Joey McGuire. The guy is the name is Bryce Polack. He's a quarter out of Mississippi State. Six one, about 200 pounds.

If you're going to win in the Big 12, you have to be able to play a good defense and win on islands. That's what Bryce Polack was able to do on an island at Mississippi State. It's a passing league and you have to have great corners. Talk about the receivers. We're going to slow down some of these great receivers in this conference. Well, you're certainly going to have to, Sam, and that brings me to a wide receiver. It's a guy you touched on earlier in the show and Chase Salitt.

And I was saying, who I think is just coming in at the right place, at the right time, to provide a big play down the field target, yards after catch, contested catches in the red zone, go up and elevate and get the ball. And you know you've got the gunslinger and Morocco back to the yard to get a catch. get it done. We just heard Rocco Beck that he thinks he's got the best room of receivers as a hole despite their losses that they had in Iowa State since he's been there. I think this is a huge pickup through the portal for the cyclones. Yeah, Rocco Beck also said he's going to be a lot of 12 personnel. So they might have deep room, but there might be a lot of running backs in that room

and tight end shot makes some plays. All right guys, bottom line here, the transfer portal in your estimation, is it out of control or is this just something we've got to learn to live with? I'll go first. Learn to live with it. Not only learn to live with it, learn to love it. We've seen different players. I'll take a guy like Jimiari Giers, for example, at Georgia Tech.

Had a great year of Georgia Tech. All of a sudden, you transfer to Alabama to being one of the top draft picks in the NFL and I was having a great career. There's going to be guys who transfer and at success. I think there's a guy, Matthew Golden, from Houston, went over to Texas, had a great career as well. So for me, I think it's something you get used to, you embrace, but as a play. but as a player, you have to maximize your opportunity. Well said, Sam.

Adapt or die, right? As they say in any business, college football live, back action next week. SEC media days, and then the week after the ACC and the Big Ten will take. Center State programming note. We'll be with you five days next week, Monday through Friday. Right here on ESPN2. Have a great weekend. We'll see you.