College Football Live - CFB Live - 9/26- College Football Live from State College

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

Join our crew Jen Lada, Desmond Howard, Stanford Steve and Pete Thamel for another episode of College Football Live. Live from State College in Pennsylvania, the crew prepares us for big matchups headed into the weekend. Penn State and Oregon looking to give us a Big Ten championship rematch as Alabama and Georgia get ready for a down south battle. LSU and Ole Miss will duke it out in Oxford along with a few other contending matchups to look out for. Tune in now to CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This Black Friday, you've got a whole month to catch all the exclusive offers waiting for you. See your local Nissan dealer or nison.ca for details. Conditions apply. this quaint little area in the Appalachians. And guys, there's a lot to be happy about here at Penn State. How about an undefeated season? How about a little ice cream action? How about a big game against Oregon right here with the whiteout at Beaver Stadium on Saturday evening?

Going to be electric, going to be fantastic. Another top 10 matchup that we will get you set for here on college football live. Welcome in to Old Maine. Howard. This is Stanford Steve, the authority Pete Thammel, always with us on Fridays, and I am Jen Latter. Let's dive right into that big game, guys, because the road to Indianapolis starts right here in Happy Valley when the ducks and nitty lions square off. Oregon, 10 and O'N. In conference play since joining the Big 10 last season, but this will not be your everyday average road game. Penn State has won six straight whiteout games. Their defense allowing less than six points a game

this year and Drew Aller talked about the big game on Pat McAfee today. That game last year left a bad taste in my mouth and I think that can go for a lot of guys in our team and that's a big reason why we all came back because we knew we had unfinished business and you know a couple of our games last year and we were close to accomplishing a couple of our goals and we fell short of them but now it's about having another opportunity to potentially reach those goals and write those wrongs. James Franklin, a guy who has opportunity after opportunity to change that record against top 10 opponents. I'm sorry, but it is still something we're going to talk about until he improves it off of the

4 and 20 mark that it exists at. What do you see as the X factor for the Nittany Lions to get the win here on Saturday night, Pete? Well, Jen, I just think we saw him. I think it's Drew Aller. Drew Aller has 26 wins in his third season here as a starter at Penn State. He has two postseason wins. Does he really have a signature win? Does he have a put a stake in the heart type win that changes the narrative? This is an inflection point for Drew Aller. It's an inflection point for Penn is a program as it chases its first national championship since 86. First Big Ten title since 2016. They have the roster.

They have 11 players. NFL already says it's draftable. Can they meet the big game moment? And it's on Drew Alters, new Popeye biceps to try to bring Penn State there. Steve? Yeah, I look at the Penn State defense because everybody is more impressed with Oregon because they're coming an average of 50 points or more in, you know, in these three games or four games. For them, they have 31 plays of 20.

yards or more. 10 of those 31 are for touchdowns. So they've been prettier in doing things. But the most resistance they've faced all year is probably the natural surface they played on at Northwestern. This is going to get real tomorrow night because this defense for Penn State is real. They have to keep them in the game. If Penn State's offense continues to struggle on third downs, which they have to start

the year. But the reason Penn State will win is because of the defense. It is not the only big game. there will be an awful lot of eyes on this one, including guys in the NFL. Yeah, 30 NFL scouts here. That's a huge contingent of the NFL here, including four general managers, Jets, Bill's, Lions, Giants, two quarterbacks who are draft eligible, who a lot of eyes will be on. You can't get a bigger NFL contingent at a game.

Now, I believe that Penn State is hoping that the whiteout is actually the X factor, right? You guys got a good team, but they are obviously hoping that the environment and that raucous crowd makes it difficult for Dan Lanning and company. Lanning was miced up at his team practice as they prepare for this matchup earlier this week. Does anybody think this is a big game? You'd be hiding from it if you didn't think it was. It's a big game.

Right? Every game's a big game for us. This is a big game. It's the next game. You know it's a wideout because of who? No. It's a wide out because of you. We have to go execute.

That's simple. Right? The only way we don't, right, is we're not locked in and unbelievably focused. It takes laser focus in moments like this. I love preparing so much for these moments. I'm ready to see you lay it on the line on Saturday. But the preparation is still occurring.

What do you want it to look like? Ask yourself that question. Look, Steve mentioned it. The ducks have been flying high all season, averaging more than 50 points per game. Dante Moore coming off career highs in passing yards and passing touchdowns in their last win over Oregon State. But you also mentioned that Penn State defense,

allowing 5.7 points per game this season. All right, Des, who is going to be the playmaker for this Oregon offense that can help Dante Moore and the Ducks break through? Guys, earlier this week, when James Franklin did this press conference and he was addressing the Ducks offense, the first person he talked about was not their quarterback, Dante Moore. It was actually their tight-in, Kenya and Sadiq. This is a player that they use in various ways in their offense.

I'm going to show you while he's a weapon, and you need to pay attention to tomorrow night. Now, here he is right here in the slot at the top of the screen. He's going to be unattached, attached various ways to brawl night. Now, he's going to be one-on-one with this safety right here running a go route. And watch this. He does a little hesitation at the top, just like a wide receiver. He's 6'4, 245 pounds, fleet-footed, and has excellent hands.

Now, on this next play, he's going to be attached. He's right here, the end of line of the scrimmage, right? this cornerback has him one-on-one. He's tough to run with guys. Watch us, he's going to run a go route, loses the cornerback, easy pitching catch for the quarterback, Dante Moore. First year defensive coordinator,

Jim knows who's going to have his hands pulled trying to figure out how to defend Kenyon Sadiq. Des, thank you very much. Yeah, Franklin compared him to Tyler Warren, who, of course, folks here know very well. He was their Swiss Army Knife for a very long time, so that seems like high praise. Pete, what else is going?

on around college football this weekend. Well, all eyes will again be on Stillwater. They surprisingly fired Mike Gundy on Tuesday after losing a game on Friday this week, Jen. Oklahoma State hosts Baylor. They are 20.5 point underdogs as Doug Meacham, the interim coach, begins his tenure. It'll be fascinating to see how this team responds. A lot of these guys are newer players. Will they get a jolt from Mike Gundy or will there be a dip?

We will see. As for up the road in Norman, Oklahoma, an unlikely reverberation. of John Mateer's surgery is that Dr. Stephen Shin has become a cult hero among Oklahoma fans. The Attorney General did a formal salute to Shin who did surgery on Mateer's hand. Things are going well. Progress is still about a month. And that tonight, TCU, quiet TCU, sneaky playoff contender. They play Arizona State in the late game. Leading TCU Russia, Kavorian Barnes is going to be out again for TCU.

Not expect to be a long-term injury, but look for Jeremy Payne and Trent Battle to get some extra carries. Always good stuff from the authority. Pete Thammel. Of course, you'll have all the latest on college game day tomorrow morning. As for what else is coming up here on college football live, big SEC matchups highlight the weekend with the Tigers taking on the rebels. That's the Magnolia Bowl. And the Alabama-Georgia game in Athens, we're going to break down the key matchups and what it takes to win for each of those powerhouse teams as college football live rolls on.

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enjoying a good night's rest in your lie flat seat, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. until your flight is over. Fly Emirates. Fly better. College football featured games. Eighth ranked Florida State and Virginia. Square off tonight. Seven on ESPN. And Saturday's SEC on ABC lineup includes number 22 Notre Dame at Arkansas.

Fourth ranked LSU at number 13 Ole Miss and number 17 Alabama at fifth ranked Georgia. You can always watch every game on the all-new ESPN app from wherever you are. A big matchup down in Oxford. heard. Lane Kiffin was on the Pat McAfee show asked about his starting quarterback earlier this week. Well, that's good to know. That'd be news to me that the starting quarterback's been figured out. Okay, so that is not been enough. I'll go down and tell our staff right here. Okay. So that's not.

That Trinidad's our starting quarterback. So, no, we haven't made that decision yet. I do think we have a good team. We've done some good things. And both those quarterbacks are really, really good. players. Back here on college football live with Dez and Steve and Pete, Pete, let's go to you. Do you know the situation for the quarterback at Ole Miss? I do know the situation. I think Lane was disappointed. He wasn't allowed to mislead to mislead us on the injury report like he usually does. It will be Trinidad Chambliss for the third straight game, Jen. Austin Simmons, not yet 100%. I've been told today he's about 80%. We could see him potentially in a reserve role or if Old Miss struggles to move the ball. Trudelette Chamblis simply put us, not seen a defense like

LSU. So this will be a giant challenge for him, much bigger than his first two starts. We'll see if he can meet the moment. He's certainly been one of the breakthrough players so far in college football this season. Des, what do you think are the keys to success in this one for both teams? Well, first and foremost, when you look at Chambliss, right, the quarterback,

I think that he's playing very carefree because everyone loves the backup quarterback. He doesn't have the pressure that's associated with being a starter. He, to his credit, has really protected the ball, kept it out of harm's way, he's having fun. But he brings an explosive component that not only the office, but seems like the whole team gets excited when he's in the game. So if he keeps playing the way he's been playing, explosive plays in the passing game and the running game is going to go far as far as helping them try to beat LSU. But this is going to be a defense unlike anything he's ever seen before at the college level.

Yeah, and we were fortunate enough to be in Miami last week. We saw an elite defense. And they had the benefit of playing at home against Notre Dame and against Florida. But LSU has the person. to be an elite defense. And this is where you could show me you're elite. You go on the road with an offense that hasn't been as shiny and nice as other offenses in the country. But this defense could keep you in the game. And again, to your point, the dynamic that Chambliss brings, he's more of a runner than Simmons.

His throwing has been accurate. And just a story. It's just an awesome story to have a transfer quarterback come in and then produce for you. And that's a great awe. It just shows you how conducive lane's offense is. but LSU's defense has to show up. Yeah.

And for LSU, we'll be seeing if Kaden Durham does show up, LSU's leading rusher, got injured in the last game. He's been tepid, I've been told, so far this week, has looked okay. They're walking through right now, and we'll know later today what his status is for tomorrow. Is he a game time decision? Is he out? Is he going to go? If he can't, it's a big loss for LSU.

He's obviously their leading rusher. For those who pay attention to trends in these sort of things, Marissa tells me that the home team has won each of the past five Magnolia Bowls. So keep that in mind as you do your entertaining this weekend. Let's take a look at today's road test. It is, of course, as always, presented by Goodyear. Alabama heads to Athens looking to beat an AP top five team in Georgia. Ty Simpson, he's been stellar the last few weeks,

leading FBS in completion percentage since week one. Georgia, meanwhile, comes in on a 33-game home winning streak, longest active streak in FBS. Their last home loss came in 2019. That was to South Carolina. Here's Kaelin DeBore and Kirby Smart. ahead of their big matchup. We're going to have to be resilient, you know,

and understand that adversity against good football teams is going to happen and know what our response is going to be, choose our response, and understand what that looks like even now, not just when it happens. At the end of the day, you've got to go play football, and it comes down to matchups. It comes down to who blocks and tackles the best, who executes and does things in the key moments of the game.

certainly glad it's at home, but we still going to play well. A lot of people will be tuning into that one as well. Our guys will be on the call. Des, what do you think will be the deciding factor in Alabama versus Georgia? I think it comes down to who's able to establish their running game. You look at Alabama, right? In the first game against Florida State, the Seminoos took them completely out of their office of game.

Ty Simpson, the quarterback, he threw the ball 43 times, only completed 53% of his passes. That's not his game. not their office. It's not a drop-back office. They need to establish the run. The following week, tie was 17 for 17. And then the week after that, he threw the ball 29 times and completed 24. That's who he is. That's what they are as an office. Now, they're going to get back, their running back Jam Miller. Last year, he was a second leading rusher on the team. I think that's going to help their running game get started and they're going to need some balance to

beat Georgia. Yeah, I just want to see what Georgia's offensive line's going to be. They've already had to start three different offensive lines. And on the other side, Alabama's O line was out of sorts on the road in a tough atmosphere in Tallahassee, penalties, you know, miscommunication, guys just getting beat off the ball. That can't happen when you go on the road.

And we've seen that in times when Camel DeBore has taken over Alabama when his team is going on the road. They haven't looked like to say, to your point, those Thai Simpson games, they were at home. You know, we got to see that when they're on the road. So it's a tall task going on the road against Georgia for sure.

Pete, what do you think decides this one? Well, we have Nick Saban's former program in Alabama. We have his protege and Kirby Smart, and we have two defenses that have not shown their elite. Coach Saban would be wincing seeing some of these drives, seeing what Tennessee did to Georgia early, seeing what Florida State did there. Does Tim Keenham coming back in the middle of that Alabama offensive line make a difference? Can they have a little bit more, a little bit more fortitude up front, a little bit more push, and does that help Alabama establish its defensive edge? The Alabama secondary, I think, is one of the better secondaries in the country. They need that line to look like the Alabama lines that we remember.

Absolutely. Georgia defensive line doesn't have one sack this year. That's crazy. I read that's dead too. I was like, with all of those guys year in and year out that they send to the league. They're supposed to have dudes down there on the defensive line. I blame me an eagle.

Yeah. Blame the Eagles. Because they've taken all of them. If you're not in Philadelphia, you're in Green Bay. They've got the same bag left going there. All right, guys, we move on here on. College Football Live. The country's top team hits the road for its first conference test. The Fighting Irish take on Arkansas while other early contenders face tough road games to prove that

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Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. He's ready to go bananas. Pet State is ready for war. Marcus Freeman is going to join us live from the field. James Franklin is guest picker on. Contenders on the road. USC has dominated the all-time series

between them and Illinois, winning 11 of the 13 meetings. This is the first time the teams have met since the 2008 Rose Bowl when the Trojans won 49 to 17. In week three, Fernando Mendoza became the first Indiana QB to throw for five touchdown passes. Then he did it again the following week. The Hoosiers looked to beat Iowa for the first time since 2012. Notre Dame, Arkansas, Arkansas seeking its seventh win over a ranked opponent under Sam Pittman, while number 22 Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman are hoping to avoid a one and three start for the first time since 2016.

And how about Ohio State traveling out west to Washington? Oh, they're booing them here. Ohio State has won its last 19 road games against unranked opponents. Meanwhile, the Huskies have won 22 straight at home, second longest active streak in FBS. I suppose we could have a conversation about whether or not Washington deserves to be ranked at this point in the season. But that's for another show at another time.

Guys, let's talk about those big matchups for a moment. Which matchup has you most fired up, Des? The one you were talking about, I mean, Ohio State versus Washington. So now we got the number one team in the country going on the road. And Washington is a very, very difficult place to play. I mean, that stadium gets extremely loud. They're undefeated. They feel disrespected.

And they're going against a quarterback first year starting, Julian's saying, this is going to be the loudest stadium he's ever played in his career. I expect early for the Buckeyes to try to weather the storm, right? Because you know, Washington is going to be very excited about this game. There may be some, like, pre-snap penalties. the Buckeyes because of the noise. If they weather the storm and settle down, I want to see how they defend to Washington's office with

Demand Williams, Jr., the quarterback, and of course, Jonah Coleman. Jonah Coleman is one of the best running backs in college football. Physical, don't get in his way, man. Don't get in his way. Yes, sir. You know, we have picked apart Texas since that week one loss at Ohio State, and they lost by a touchdown. Yeah.

This game is compelling because I want to see what Ohio State looks like now going on the road. It's to your point. Julian Sands first start. Matt Patrish's first game as a DC on the road in a hostile environment. There's going to be chaos. How do they respond to that? That's how we learn a lot about teams. That's how coaches learn about their teams.

And so that's why that game is so compelling because it's number one on the road. Washington doesn't have a number next to their name. Very, very interesting to see if this is our typical Ohio State team. But I'll also touch on USC. You know, everybody's talking about the time of games and with the travel they have, playing at Purdue weather delay, 11 Eastern game last week, coming back, playing 11 a.m. Local against Illinois. Illinois does not have the manpower to hold up against that SCD offense if they play well.

Absolutely. But it's a lot easier said than, you have to go. It's a conference game. USC struggled in one-score games in road games. They have to go get out to an early lead, take care of business in this game, which could be a tricky spot knowing what they've looked like so far this year. Illinois licking its wounds coming off of that tough loss. Indeed.

Speaking of Indiana, you're keeping your eye on that one. So you guys have been to Kinnick Stadium. It's a cozy place. The sideline is tight. And the Iowa defense for now two decades does not give you much room to operate. So we obviously saw Indiana freewheeling its way down the field against Illinois. I mean, my jaw is still on the floor.

They're still scoring touchdowns in that game. Can they go do it again? I think that's time, guys. We stop doubting Kurt Signetti. Look, Fernando Mendoza has announced himself as one of the defining players in college football this year. They have to go do it against a much better defense in a much tougher environment this time around. Let's not sleep on the Indiana defense either. 43 TFLs this year. They are salty. They are aggressive and we know Iowa can struggle moving the ball sometimes.

Aidan Fisher, a leader on that defense who is salty and aggressive. It sort of seems like they have taken their tone from him a little bit. Do you guys like the Indiana Iowa matchup as well? Yeah, but I get it with Indiana. I want to see a beat a team like Penn. state when they go to Oregon. I'm sorry, but that's where I'm holding judgment. You know, it's like the New York Yankees and baseball. Let me see what they do in the playoffs. Right. You know, now Indiana has reached that, that middle tier and can they beat the big boys? And we don't know that until they play the upper tier. But I don't want to take a hell of a win last week and dominate in Illinois the way they were. I mean, listen, I feel the same exact way you feel. I mean, that was an impressive butt kicking that they gave Illinois last week.

There's no doubt about that. And Signetti, man, he can coach his butt off. Mendoza is playing at a very high level. But at this point, based on what we saw a year ago, you know, you were pretty much on pace doing what you did last year until you play the Penn States, the Notre Dame, the teams like that who are at the upper echelon of college football and you can handle that type of team. Then we're like, okay, now they're for real for a butt.

I can't take any credit away from them. That was impressive. That butt kicking. And it was like nonstop. I've never seen the team dominated like that the way I saw Illinois dominated by Indiana last week. This is a good segue because you are our Heisman winner here on college NBA college football line. Mendoza is now the Heisman favorite, seven to one odds. You don't have to tell us your vote.

You don't have to tell us your vote. We're going to know this year, though. Last year, there was still a debate even after the season. We are going to know by the end of the season. No doubt. All right. Let's get to our game picks. They're brought to you by Dix.

TCU at Arizona State Steve. Quickly, who do you got? I am going to take... TCU. Yeah, I'm taking Arizona State. They're at home. Sorry. And you're taking TCU, Des.

I'm taking TCU, yeah. Yeah. Let's go to Houston at Oregon State, Steve. Houston. I like what Coach Fritz has done. Yeah, I got Houston, too. This is a fun game. We're seeing if the guys remember what they picked earlier in the day.

Last one for you guys. Florida State, Virginia. This one a little easier. I got Florida State, man. There's no look-ahead game for the those guys. They got Miami next week. I mean, yeah, next week, I got Florida State. When you go two and ten the year before, you don't have look-ahead games. Florida State has to go and take care of business knowing what's ahead.

We will certainly be paying attention to that game this evening as well. Thanks for hanging out with us here on college football live. Don't forget tomorrow morning from right here, Old Main. We've got college game day coming your way before a big matchup between Oregon and Penn State.