College Football Live - CFB Live- 9/3 - All Gas, No Breaks?

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, Roddy Jones and Pete Thamel as they continue discussing the ramifications of an eventful Week One in College Football! Which teams have got the guys gassed up?? And which teams have them pumping the breaks? Are we placing too much emphasis on the new AP Poll Rankings? And looking ahead to Week Two...get the inside scoop on the Illinois Fighting Illini directly from head coach Bret Bielema ahead of their big game vs Duke this Saturday! School is in session...what grade would you give the Tigers after Week One? Dabo Swinney and Brian Kelly seem to disagree...find out what the guys think on today's episode of College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, relaxing in an exclusive airport lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. College Football Live is on the air. All gas, no brakes, said by Sark at his intro press conference, why it appeals to so many teams other than the Longhorns. We'll break it down for you here on College Football Live. Brad Bilemma, trying to take Illinois.

to Heights. They've never been the secret to the Aligni's success when coach joins us in just a little bit. And if Davosweeney was looking to catch the ire of the opposing coach from last Saturday, he did it. More on to my brow raising comments in just a little bit. And with that, we welcome you inside college football live. Rati, Sam, Pete Zubin. Great to have you with us. Some news and notes from a big picture.

Week one after the poll is out. Texas Falls becoming the first number one team to lose their opener since 1990. Bama Falls to 21, last unranked in 07, Sabin's first year. And the triumvirate, the Gators, the Knowles, the Cains, all ranked in the top 15 for the first time since the preseason pulled nearly 20 years ago. So we said it, all gas, no breaks. Simply put, what was Sark saying? aggressive all in. We're going pedal to the medal.

Are we buying all gas, no brakes on these teams? Let's start with Miami, with one of the most clutch wins of anybody in week one. Sunday night. Coach, you thought Sunday night was tough? What was tougher than that? Maybe yesterday was a toughest day because for the first time in the wall,

Miami's now learning how to handle success again. So we had to be all over their butts about, Look, when everybody tries to kick, kiss to crack your butt on the way to class and tell you how great you are and you see all this stuff, you got to stay clear of that and get you over here so we could be all over your butts and push you and grind on you so you could focus on what gave us this opportunity to begin with. Love the honesty there from Coach Cristobal with Pat McAfee earlier today. Pete, let's start with you. Bottom line, all gas, no breaks. Again, are we all in? Are we buying a bunch of teams? Let's just start with the Intel. You've done. got on Miami. Well, that unique style of kissing that coach Crystal Ball mentioned really hasn't happened in Coral Gables in a while. Remember, this is a team that has never won an outright ACC championship since it joined the league way back in 2004. So you could understand why these canes

may not be able to handle the attention because it just simply hasn't existed in Miami in a while. The case for Miami Zubin is simple. They went on the portal and paid handily for a quarterback who was 24 and three as a starter. He's now 25 and three, and I think why people at Miami are excited was the way they won the game. They looked adversity straight in the eye. They fought it, and they still found a way to win. They knew they had a good O line. They knew they had a good D line. I think they learned about their receiving core in this victory, and they learned that Carson Beck could ease his way into Shannon Dawson's offense. That is why there is gas in Miami. And I'm all gas for Miami, and the reason why I'm all gas isn't just because of Carson Beck, but it's really because

of the way the team is constructed. Defensively, Miami was dominant. You saw Ruben Bain have three tackles, a half a sack, an interception late in that game. That defense was the storyline. It should be the storyline for this team. C.J. Carr, the quarterback for Notre Dame, played outstanding. But the defense from Miami and the Hurricanes was just that much better. I understand the excitement about Carson Beck.

There are going to be times where you will have to lean on him to try and go and win a game. This was not one of those times. So the reason why I'm all gas and all in on the hurricanes is because I think they're constructed to handle their success. Gas as well, Sam. When you talk about construction, this team is built the right way as you detailed. You win games in the trenches. What are the most important position groups?

Offensive line, defensive line, and quarterback. Well, Miami's offensive line. When they needed a yard or two on third down, you went behind and Ness Cooper and Francis Maui Noah and they got you two or three. When your defensive line needed to come up with a big stop, Akeem Mesidor and Ruben Bain were meeting at C.J. Carr and having a party in the backfield. And when you're quarterback whose offense had been on ice for four straight series,

they went four straight series not getting a first down. When you needed Carson Beck to drive you down the field for the game-winning field goal, he absolutely did it. So I am all gas down there in Coral Gables. No doubt. And to just follow up, Pete's point, McAfee continues his streak of making sure his guests say things on his show. They would never say anywhere else. It is an incredible gift.

All right, let's go to Florida State as we keep it in the Sunshine State. Everybody keep it clean here, at least for this segment. All right, so the Knowles might be a little bit more of a tough sell, right? Because people are so down on Alabama post-Sabin. What does this really mean? They obviously had all the momentum. And once they started this game, it sort of felt like Alabama was loafing. There's tons of video out there on the hurricanes winning.

There's a lot of video out there on Alabama looking like they're giving very little effort. So Pete, let's start with you. Florida State, this might be a little tougher. All gas, no breaks. What say you? I think they're in the, I don't think they're quite in the passing lane, but the case for optimism, Zubin is simple. They have an identity on offense, something they simply lacked after Jordan Travis left. Gus Mazzon is who we remember him being as a play caller. Thomas Castellanos channeled Nick Marshall from those Auburn teams. Gus was the head coach about a decade ago.

The passing was simply one read or run. The run game was creative. There was plenty of smoke and eye candy, as they like to call it. moving around. You knew exactly who these Knowles were going to be, and simply put, Alabama failed to stop them. There was also an edge on defense that I think people in Tallahassee are pleased about Zubin. Some Alabama transfer Earl Little Jr. stepped up and was the leading tackler. They brought in a new scheme under Tony White, and they also brought in a lot of transfers, and that really hit against Alabama. So there's a lot of optimism. I don't know if it's full gas, but you're cruising. I'll pump the brakes.

I'll pump the brakes just a bit on Florida State. And the reason why, isn't by the way that they won. I love how they want. I love Thomas Castellanos. I love the offense, the defense. But my question is, can you get that high and get that excited and get that ramped up every single week, weekend and week out? It's easy to go and play a team like Alabama to bring your best in practice, to bring your

best throughout the meeting in the meeting room, even in the film room. It's easy to do that when you have such a great opponent. And your quarterback is saying, man, they don't have Nick Sabin to stop to help them. But it's harder when you're playing lesser opponents throughout the other weeks. So my question for Florida State isn't about the talent or the eight transfers that are starting on offense or the true freshman on offense. It's more about the consistency. Mack Brown used to say consistently good to be great. Can Florida State be consistently good and play consistently at that level?

Those are my question marks. That's why I'm pumping the brakes. Well, Sam, that's boring. I'm going to feather the gas. And for those of the uninitiated, feathering the gas is when you're on one of those fast corners in your car. and you can't go full foot to the floor. You just tap the gas along the way to keep your momentum. So I'm feathering the gas with Florida State.

I'm tapping the gas to keep that momentum. But say, my concerns are the same as yours. How does this team handle success? This team had a desperation that Mike Norville talked about in the offseason. Everybody had been talking about about 2 and 10 Florida State. Everybody had been talking about Thomas Castellanos and his performance last year at Boston College. So I am concerned about that, but I am not concerned about the playmakers.

Mike and Danzy got involved, a couple of carries, one reverse for a touchdown. They found Jalen Lucas a number of different ways. So the creativity, you use that Swiss Army knife to let him go and make plays. You've got a stable of running backs. Thomas Castellanos's running ability. Squirrel White, we only saw in a little bit, and he made that big play. So I'm doing what the Gus Bus does when it's going down the highway. If it's got to navigate some traffic, I'm feathering the gas.

See, Pete, we're just normal guys. These pro athletes and their luxury cars, tapping the pedal, feathering the guy. We can't relate to these people. Come on, Roddy, you've got to talk to my language. That's fair enough. I don't have much to hide. Let's talk about Auburn. There's no place to run and hide here.

You know, Lugentville said something interesting on yesterday's show. He said, in what world right now can you rank Alabama in front of Auburn? And it's actually not a bad point. Obviously, we know Auburn has struggled here. They've got four straight seven lost seasons. Not all of those are on cue freeze, but if you're. feels like all the pressure is on hue. This was a big win Friday night at Baylor at McLean Stadium where Jackson Arnold for the first time. I think in his college career looked

comfortable, which is no small thing. All right, Pete, all gas, no brakes on the Tigers. Zubman, if you look at the rich history of Auburn and its ability to descend into dysfunctioner, in this case, maybe the breakdown lane, if we're going to stick with the car analogies here. Auburn's always one bad weekend away from everything spiraling. And quite frankly, they didn't have that at Baylor. Look, before I can go all in and hammer the gas on Auburn, I need to see them play in the SEC. They open at Oklahoma, and then they play at Texas A&M.

There will be no thank you notes to the SEC office from the planes this year. Auburn under Hugh Freeze is 5 and 11 in the SEC. So until those bodies, types, especially up front, which look great against Baylor, translate into SEC play, I'll keep tapping the brakes. You guys are boring to ride within the car. just as a note, to make it clear, I'm probably the only one on this show that drives a minivan. I'm all gas on this thing. We're at Auburn.

The question about Auburn coming in was simply the quarterback position. The offensive line is loaded. They're loaded at receiver with Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. And Malich High Field. We talked about that defense, which is excellent, led by Keldrick Falk. They're really good on the defensive line. The only question that we talked about coming into the year for Auburn was the quarterback position. And we questioned the confidence of Jackson Arnold coming into the season.

We questioned his ability. He did a lot of running in that game. But boy, did he look confident doing it. And a confident Jackson Arnold, we know how talented he is. And we know how talented the rest of that team is. So I'm probably like all Auburn fans. It might come crashing because we're going so fast. But I am all gas on this Auburn team.

Well, it's not going to crash that fast because your minivans is not going to go that fast, Roddy. I am feathering the brakes, if you will. You want to steal that term? I'll feather the brakes. The reason why is, yes, I don't know if that's a real thing. But Jackson Arnold did look elite as a runner, but Jackson Arnold is a quarterback. He needs to be able to throw the ball. And yes, he was 11 for 17, just over 100 yards passing.

But there were some indecision. There were some missed opportunities in the passing game. You made the point Pete did about playing in the SEC. When you play against better defenses than Baylor, they're going to take away the running game. They're going to put a quarterback spy on you, and you'll be forced to be a pocket passer. So unlike Roddy's minivan, that's. can't go that fast. I'm going to pump or maybe feather the brakes on Auburn because I want to see how Jackson Arnold does as a passer against better defenses when they force him to be one dimensional.

And by the way, Auburn's first SEC game is going to be at Oklahoma. So that's going to be extra special for Jackson Arnold. Just something to look forward to here in the next couple of weeks. On the way here on college football live off their first double digit win season since 01. The Illini are actually seeing double in the locker Room, courtesy of one of the coolest stats in the entire sport. Coach Bealamo will unveil it when he joins us next. Black Friday is here at IKEA and the clock is ticking on savings you won't want to miss. Join IKEA family for free today and unlock deals on everything from holiday must-haves to cozy at-home essentials, all the little and big things you need to make this season shine.

But don't wait. Like leftovers at midnight, our Black Friday offers won't last. Shop now at IKEA does. CA slash Black Friday. IKEA. Bring home to life. We're back on college football live. Game day back for week two. Michigan and Oklahoma live from Norman Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

Eastern. A lot of interesting wrinkles in this game. None more so than Sharon Moore as we take a look at some notable games involving Big Ten teams. Obviously, the Michigan head coach coming off his first season on the job. When 8 and 5, Bryce Underwood in tow. Where did Sharon Moore play collegiately? You bet at the University of Oklahoma.

This will be just the second meeting all time between these two legendary programs. Michigan won the 1976. Orange Bowl. College game day has been at the Seahawk rivalry twice, which just shows you how big of a rivalry this has become in the Midwest. With a win, Kirk Farrance becomes the all-time wins leader for any Big Ten coach.

And Illinois takes on Duke. The Illini has not been ranked this high since 2001. turned 16 starters from last year's 10-win team. They're coming off a 49-point win in week one. And on that note, we welcome in Illinois head coach Brett Bealim, with a college football live coach. I heard you say in the off-season, Illinois doesn't just have a chip on its right shoulder.

It's got a chip on its right shoulder and its left shoulder. How does that mantra fuel the program every day? You know, Zoom, a great question. I think our guys, when we bring them here, when we recruit them, when we bring them in and talk about what we want to get done here, you know what? it really wasn't a destination spot. We're getting better and obviously accessible to a lot more recruits. But they came here to play for us.

And a lot of them have now stayed in this world that we're living in. They probably had some other opportunities and maybe some bigger checks. But these guys have been absolutely awesome. They're fun to work with. Literally just got off practice field today. And can't wait to get to Duke to see where we're at. On that note, let's talk a little bit about Duke. What are the biggest challenges they pose for you Saturday?

You know, first off, man, he's an incredibly gifted coach. He's a defensive guy that I've known for years and now to take his second opportunity and be a head coach. And he's taking full advantage of it. Really done a nice job of reloading what they lost a year ago. And then offensively came in and brought in obviously a very talented quarterback and surround himself with some really good players. I think, you know, they're making it a big opportunity as they should. You know, it's a blue out game for them. And I think one that I know that has been on their radar.

and vice versa for us as well. We got a lot of respect for who they are, what they are. Northwestern went there. They went to Northwestern a year ago. They played Big Ten teams very, very well, and I'm excited about the opportunity for our guys. Well, speaking of talented quarterbacks, you got one of your own there.

What do you think all said from a macro sense that Luke Altmire is meant to the program? You know, big picture wise, he's a kid from Mississippi that came in, didn't know a lot about Illinois. I think even his bomb and dad talk about the first time they dropped him off. They were like, holy cow.

We have a son in Illinois, right? And he is just adopted into what we say, what we do. The fans have absolutely had an outpouring for him. I remember last year when he announced he was coming back at a basketball game was probably one of the coolest moments in my coaching career to see and witness. So, you know, he's a very intentional leader. He's got an incredible gifted arm. He actually probably runs a lot better than people think,

but he really, he's a very intentional dude, right? Like the relationships he's built here in Champaign, not only with his teammates, but in the community is very special. but I think we'll hopefully get rewarded for a long time. It's notable he did that at the basketball game because for so long, of course, the Illinois was known for their basketball program. And now people are talking about Illinois football everywhere you go.

That said, you're off your first 10 win season since 01. You won your opener. You can flip your roster with a blink of an eye now in college football. That said, what is the new ceiling for a program like Illinois? You know, Zuman, we actually, I think, led the nation in returning players. We have 16 guys or 18 guys. that started our bowl game came back with us. So we've been able to retain.

I think there's three key parts when you're building a roster. The first is retention. Sometimes it's removal and the third is acquisitions, right? And we kind of take every day, kind of a pro type mentality and NFL style of we not only recruit high school players, but we, you know, obviously look in the portal for college players and then we, you know, obviously retain our current roster. And I think the suing is what it is. This weekend we're going to go play Duke.

We're a new building or a new program that I think other people are starting to talk about, but it's all about what you've done for me lately. We've been very productive here as of late in what we've been able to do on the road last year, a couple of road games. I know Rutgers is near and dear to your heart. Snow one there at the end of the year last year, but we're able to go on the road at Northwestern, which was in Wrigley Field to go at the bowl game and have success against South Carolina, which obviously is a very good football team. They've proved that this past weekend. So we're just kind of in the infancy of doing what we're doing. It's a really exciting time. Our AD Josh Whitman played here was an academic.

academic All-American played in a league for several years. And we kind of always talk about what we can do to sustain success. And hopefully we're taking a step in that direction every day. Last thing, my favorite stat about you, I was told by some people, I did some intel, too. You did some intel on me. I was told that almost half your assistants played for you at what point. How does that help you through the course of a game or through the course of a season? You know, Zubin, it just means I'm getting old, basically, is what it means.

But I had no intentions when I came here of kind of having that stat line. But, you know, as we've gotten into it, I think they've got about 50 players that are now in college football or in the NFL. And, yeah, I think we got 20 coaches in the building and nine of them either played for me here at Illinois, played for me at Arkansas, paid for me at Wisconsin, or played for me in the NFL, both of the Giants and the Patriots. So I'm familiar with those guys. They know my expectation. We have a really close. We talk a lot of them in this building about family. It's not just a hashtag.

It's a way that we live. We have five sets of brothers on his football team. We lead all of college football with actually true brothers that are blood relatives and out there doing what they do in an environment like they did when they're little kids. So it's a cool time, but nothing like this weekend. Super excited to get down the road and go to Duke and see where we're at. I'll tell you what. College football has changed a lot since you walked on to play for Coach Frye in 1989. And one of the things that's really changed are the expectations for the Illina.

And you seem to be the biggest reason. That's the case. Best of luck this Saturday. We'll be watching Saturday afternoon on ESPN. Thanks, Coach. Appreciate you, but thank you very much. I all out. I and I.

Still to come, Clemson is nearly 100 undergraduate majors. Let's just hope you don't get Professor Sweeney if you're looking to graduate with one of them. Wait until you see this story. Next. Make their holiday unforgettable with a gift that says it all from Pandora Jewelry, a gift that tells a story and shows you know theirs. that doesn't just sparkle, but speaks.

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Last week, the third game of the triple header was LSU and Clemson. You ever had a teacher that was a tougher grader than Davo Sweeney? Listen to this. LSU Clemson, coach reacting after last Saturday's devastating loss. It's like getting the final exam, day one, a class. They made a 65, we made a 58. Any one of us were great. I mean, I thought we dominated him in the second half.

So he's either a really good grader for, you know, giving himself a 58. or he's a really hard grader on us, or he didn't see the second half, which that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half. Man, even Tyler from Spartanburg was like, I wasn't that bad. All right, Pete, you've been covering these press conferences for 20, 25 years. Do you feel like even these highly paid coaches, the $95 million deal in Brian Kelly,

even they can't help themselves from being a little acerbic from time to time? Zubin, whatever got into Brian Kelly should spread to all 136 of these coaches in the country. All right? We don't need the one game at a time, this and that, and one play at a time, this and that. No more minivan quotes. We need Mayback quotes.

And that was a Mayback quote from Brian Kelly. If I had gotten a 65 or a 58 on a final exam, I got on the first day, I'd have been happy with it. It walked out. I wouldn't have clapped back. But fact-checking Brian Kelly, I mean, his team held the ball for 20 minutes in the second half. They outscored Clemson 14 to nothing.

It should have been 21 nothing if we knew what a catch was. And they out rushed, they outrushed Clemson. They outgained Clemson significantly. So yeah, Brian Kelly's right. That was a little too harsh on him. No, Brian Kelly is wrong, man. Imagine taking a final exam on day one. I've done it.

Accounting 311 honors. It wasn't a final, but I got a really bad grade. It was in the 60s. I almost got kicked out. Long story. We'll talk about it later. But it's not how you start. It's how you finish.

And so Clemson and Davos, Sweeney understands, okay, we both didn't play absolutely great. But I'm not worried so much about the beginning. I'm worried more about the ending. And so, yes, 58, 65, I like where Davos leaning. If you think about it, it is a tough scale. You're talking about going into one of the toughest places in all of college football to win here in Sweeney's era. And when you come out with the win, you get a D plus. I should also mention Sam, I wish we would have met years ago.

My dad's a retired CPA. He could have helped you with that accounting 311 course. Coming up tomorrow on college. He was good at it. Coming up tomorrow on college football live, Lance Lipol to crunch the numbers on the Kansas Revival. See you that.