College Football Live - CFB LIVE - ALEX GOLESH JOINS THE SHOW

Episode Date: August 11, 2026

On today's episode of CFB Live, Zubin Mehenti, Pete Thamel, Sam Acho, and Dusty Dvoracek talk rivalries they are looking forward to this season. Plus Alex Golesh joins the show! All this and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every recruit, every current student athlete will hear this message repeatedly. We are here to win championships. If you don't want to win championships, go to Indiana. You know, I made an offhand unscripted comment about an in-state rival that didn't land well, okay? The comments from Tommy McClellan and his opening presser last week kind of taken a little shot. Didn't know if you had any comments on that at all. Not really. What a surprise.

College Football Live. Purdue and Indiana have been playing for the old Oaken Bucket since 1925. And last week at that press conference, Purdue's new AD was playing for some laughs. But much like the 2025 Boilermaker season, it fell flat. Oh and nine, by the way, for them in the Big Ten. Bottom line, since Sig got to Indiana, Hoosiers 121, Purdue, three. But hey, at least the rivalry is back. And that's what today's show is all about.

Rivalries throughout the great sport of college football. And here in the house, Dusty DeVorecheck and Sam Macho, Dusty, of course, an Oklahoma legend, two-time consensus, all Big 12 selection. To add to the drama, he's from Texas. But went to Oklahoma, and of course, Sam is from Texas. Played for the horns on that 09 Big 12 title team, played in the national title game on that 018.

That won the Fiesta Bowl and was ranked number one for a large portion of the season. We've got them in different locations just for their own safety. As you take a look at the Red River rivalry, you know how intense it could be. 11 national titles, nine Heisman Trophy winners, Texas has the edge. And oh, should I mention, we are only, and it never stops the countdown, 61 days away from them meeting on your local ABC station. That will be October 10th. We can hardly wait. Both guys are here.

And as we go from Purdue and Indiana to Texas and Oklahoma with a pair of guys that know all about it, Let's just break down this rivalry, one of many in today's half hour. Dusty, let's start with you. Mateer played in that game last year against Texas banged up. But if he's healthy and has the right weapons that were added, you really think this could be the year Oklahoma really pops under Venables. Well, look, the defense is going to be elite. The question is, can the offense make strides?

That was a group that really struggled last year. Wasn't just the health of the quarterback John Mateer, a youthful offensive line that started three freshmen a season ago. But there were 94 overall in total yards, 79 and scoring offense. And I do think the pieces are in place for this to be a much improved unit here in the second season for Ben Arbuckle as the offensive coordinator. Interesting. A Texas wide receiver, Archmanning's roommate, Parker Livingston comes over, gets some sides and speed outside. I really like Trell Harris, the Virginia transfer, in a tied-in room that really was not.

exist in a year ago. They bring in Rocky beers from Colorado State who could really catch the football. And Hayden Hanson is a gargantuan of a tight end. He's almost six foot eight. He's 270 pounds. He can put his hand in the ground and move people. He's going to help bolster that offensive line. Don't be surprised to see more multiple tight-in sets this year for Ben Arbuckle in year number two. Lloyd Avant, a Colorado State transfer, will help a rushing attack. There was 13th in the SEC be much better. They don't. have to be great offensively, Zubin. If they're just much better this season with that defense, Oklahoma is going to be a handful for a lot of teams. Well, one of the things you just invoked is a

guy that can make some catches. Speaking of a guy that could make some catches, you guys see this piece of video that's gone viral all over the last few weeks. This is Kim Coleman catching a tip pass from Arch with the pirouette. Look at the body radius. And then the 360 spin. There's a reason everybody wanted him out of the portal from Auburn. And by By the way, we got a lot more Auburn, Alabama discussion coming up as our rivalry week continues here, especially on the program today. Sam, let's go to you. I know you've got some video to really go inside some of the transfers that Texas has that could maybe help them get the edge on Oklahoma when they meet in 61 days. Yeah, Dessie was talking about Oklahoma, and he was saying a lot of words, right? A lot of words, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I'm going to show you some video that may be worth millions of words. Check out what we're going to watch the additions that Texas has. Start with Rodley Brown, a transfer from Arizona State. He's a downhill runner and outside zone runner. Look at the offensive line. That's going to be the dominant offensive line for Texas. It's going to be make holes for him. And as soon as he gets that one cut downhill,

Rodley Brown's going to give you a big play. And so that's one addition to a running game that struggled last year at Texas. But it's not just the downhill run. It's also over the top in the air. Cam Coleman, transfer from Auburn, 6-3-2-10. Very good when it comes to contested catches, a la, this one right here. That's what Cam Colman's going to do, not just 20 feet in the air, but also down in the end zone so they can get you over top.

But also in space, Hollywood Smothers, get used to that name because it's going to make a lot more plays like this. We call this taking people's ankles. This is Notre Dame, a team, that might be a national championship. That's one ankle taken. He's going to take another one in a second or two. Boom, another ankle taken right there. Anytime Hollywood's mothers such as the rock, he's trying to find the end zone. way he got the name Hollywood because it's freshman year first game on varsity this is that line three

two carries two touchdowns over 100 yards so he's a big time player there's no doubt about that great info there again 61 days away from Oklahoma and Texas we are 110 days away from Ohio State and Michigan remember Ohio State finally getting over that bugaboo they had lost four in a row to the maize and blue but they go into Ann Arbor saying throws for 233 bow Jackson was Bryce Underwood was not through for 63 yards and the OHIO on the way out the door in the snow. Again, they'll play November 28th, 110 days from now. Sam, let's start with you here. We had Bryce Underwood on the show last week here on college football live.

He was perplexed why everyone was saying he couldn't play for Kyle Whittingham. Like it would be oil and water. What do you make these two hooking up year one together? Well, I'm more excited, not necessarily about Kyle. Whittingham, the head coach, but about their offensive coordinator who they brought in in Jason Beck. We saw that Bryce Underwood struggled last year, but Jason Beck last year with Devin Dampeer led Utah to a top five offense year before with New Mexico, another top five offense.

Bryce Underwood has an opportunity to grow. This is a major opportunity. They're going to be a lot of running the ball. So we're going to see from McCaw-Wittingham-led offense. But the ability to throw the ball downfield, when you're playing against an Ohio State team that loves the guy named Jeremiah Smith that loves to try to put points on the board, that's going to be the difference. It's not just the physicality that Michigan can show. It's the

development that Bryce Underwood will have or should have under new OC, Jason Beck. Well, Sam, when Michigan comes to Columbus, they're going to need Bryce Underwood to put up some points because one thing I can assure you, the Buckeyes this season's offense is going to be as elite as anybody in the

Big Ten and in college football. And you just look at the weapons that they have outside Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. He's going to be a problem Brandon Ennis, also there at wide receiver. And we're going to see Chris Henry Jr. for the first time this year with his 6 foot five link catch radius.

He's going to be another option. Yet for Julian saying, one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college football who is to be the football to. Bo Jackson, though, I think, is the one that's going to make a big jump in this Arthur Smith offense. It's going to be more of an emphasis on running the football, lean on that offensive line that's got four starters back and a more impact from the tight ends. Look for Nate Roberts, the sophomore, to have a. bigger impact, both in the run game and as a pass catcher.

Good luck trying to deal with this Buckeyes offense for a team last year that leaned so much on its elite defense. I think this year it's going to lean more on this elite offense as the defense gets better with new pieces. Once again, 110 days away, November 28th for Michigan and Ohio State. We're 113 days away from deciding whether this playoff is going to be expanded. The college football playoff management committee met today. There is a December 1 deadline.

Remember last year, December 1, they just kicked a can down the road. But there's so much more on the line here decides whether the playoff is going to expand. Many things they discussed are Pete Dammel is here. Pete, I know there were so many things going on. They were going to hold it in person. They held it virtually. So much on the line. What are the biggest takeaways our viewers need to know about what went down there today?

Well, Zubin, let's lead with the headline. Nothing of particular substance happened in this meeting today that's going to affect the college football fans sitting on the couch who loves ball and wants to know what's going to happen with the playoff. This was an incremental meeting, and part of that is magnified by the fact that it was held virtually. It was not an in-person meeting. The main topic of discussion, Zubin, was what 24 would look like, a drill down into calendar, a drill down into schedule, a drill down into how all that would work. The consultants for the CFP brought in some basic financials of what a 24-team college football

playoff would look like and what some of the general viability would be financially if they brought it out to market. Now they obviously are not, they did not give specific dollar amounts today, Zubin. They didn't say it would be worth this much in that. There is a lot of skepticism because any 2014 playoff would have to overcome the cost of championship games, which are valued somewhere around between 200 and 250 million. So today was a lengthy call. There was a lot of drilling down. There was some chatter online, about a 20-team format being presented. I was told that would not manifest itself in any significant way. There's Big Ten pushback on that. That's not quite a fully baked idea in anyone's mind yet. So today is a logistics day for the CFP. No big decisions or big news out of this call,

Zubin. And we will push down, as you know, Zubin, when you give college leaders a deadline, they will press up to the very moment before that deadline. And I'm imagining here, that's the projection of what's going to happen with this CFP discussion. Yeah, deadlines make deals. How about $200 to $250 million in one day for college football? On the way, it's the one moment that Signetti looks back with Arise Davis about Fernando Mendoza that will shock you. Not the dive in the end zone against Miami.

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Add free exclusive true crime content. Search 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start for free trial. Terms apply. NFL preseason back everywhere you look, including NFL Network. our way till the Monday night regular season opener and the likely return of Mahomes with Denver and Kansas City. But first, that trifecta on the way. At the top of the show, I mentioned, the old Oaken Bucket. Purdue has traditionally dominated the rivalry with Indiana, but since Signetti got on the scene,

it's been complete domination for the Hoosiers. Consider the irony. The guy that absolutely changed the expectation and the timetable to turn around a college football program was of all things, patient. Keep in mind, Kurt Signetti didn't get his first powerful head coaching opportunity until he was 63 years old. And on the first stop of Reese Davis's official visit tour, he found out Coach Sig, unofficially, loves doing one thing more than anything else. All right, Kurt, as we've done these the last couple of years, we've done things, we've played ping pong, we've hit tennis balls, played video games. So we always look and say, what do these

guys like to do, you like to watch tape. That's what you do, right? This is what I, this is my thing. Let's start with Fernando Mendoza from last year. Show me some things that you think he did particularly well as you watch tape. It really stand out. Okay, so we open the season with Illinois, the Big Ten play game before. This is the next game at Iowa, really a tough game, a hard place of play. We're in the second half. here. Second and 10, okay, they've got a blitz coming. They're playing fire zone three, we call it behind. Safety number four is a little late getting back to the middle. Okay, that's him right by the Hawkeye logo there, right? Yep, you got it. Yep, the other one's

dropping down. So, you know, we've got an overdig coming from the right side, and on the left side we've got a hitch in a slot fade. We don't do a great job of picking this blitz up. He's got pressure in his face right now. How he saw this, I'll never know, because we normally throw that inside slot that Serrat versus man coverage. This is his own. He sticks it in there like it's avert. And it was two guys on the same.

Look at this throw with a guy in his face. Look at that how quick he got rid of that ball. And toughness. I mean, you're talking about, look at that. It's a great play. How he got it out and didn't get it knocked down. Unbelievable. Okay, so now he's off to the NFL

and you've got to go through and scout and find somebody to replace him. Yep. You've got Josh Hoover, played at TCU. What is it that you look for when you're looking for a guy to come in and fit your system to make the kind of plays that you want from the quarterback position? Quarterbacks have got to be able to do something special. You know, you find out he's available.

I'm going to Google's name to see what his career stats are, how he did last year. They've got the tape ready for me to watch. That'll be a little push the ball down the field. They're in a sprint-out type concept. And, you know, they're running an over and kind of a copper out, but we would call this a copper out. He makes a nice outside nod to that slot receiver and wins to the post. So this one for Josh was about 56 in the air, 55,

threw it on minus 40, got caught on 5, right on dime. Nice throw. You know, we're probably going to run the ball a little bit more than Josh has in the past. Now, he did a lot of RPO's, which we do a lot of RPO's, that was great. I was really happy to see that when I watched them. So we're going to take some pressure off of him because, you know, he did turn the ball over a little too much at TCU and he'll be the first to admit that. Can you make guys fall in love with watching tape? Maybe not to the level you do because

that this is your thing. I think if guys want to be great players, they're going to do that. Great players that want to be as good as they can, they understand that tape preparation of the opponent is essential to playing your very much. very best, allows you to anticipate and react quicker and respond. I'm always looking for the edge. Something that will help us get better. There's no doubt in my mind. What I do in here has helped us be successful. You know, I don't golf anymore. I don't jog anymore. You know, I don't hunt, ski, fish. I just love watching tape. You thought Signetti came out of nowhere. How about Trinidad Chamble's? Tomorrow, Reese takes a walk on the

famous Oxford Square. Hopefully they'll stop at St. Leo for some pizza. Looking like they're getting some ice cream there down in Oxford. On the way, how did a guy that never played college football end up coaching one of the blue bloods in the entire sport? I'll ask Alex Golis, just that when college football live continues. This is like my juice squad down here. Oh, security, job security left hand. Let's ride. Have a day. Have a day. Lead. Lead, have a day. How'd it go over there? He's going good. Good is just good enough to get us beat.

It went to leave. Fourth quarter, situational football, tighten up. Everything matters. Listen, I'm telling you you got something special in here, man. You guys keep coming together, keep competing like crazy. Be critical yourselves. I love you. I appreciate the hell out of you.

Hey, God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. Thank you. Oh, family, Hout, family, too, why it's two. Family. That's an unbelievable access on the way to the beginning of the goalish.

when Auburn takes on Baylor September 5th, and it is a pleasure to be welcomed into college football live. Great to have coach here with us. First thing, first coach. Simply put, born in Russia, New York for your formative years, then Dublin, Ohio, not Ireland. How would kind of you describe just the journey that you've had to get to this point?

Man, it seems like a natural path to Auburn, Alabama, right? Man, you know what? you don't you don't take a whole lot of time to reflect at least i don't um but these opportunities have have kind of brought the story to a forefront i'm really proud of of kind of where where this all started and where we are um fell in love with the game and and then had a bunch of incredible people that that helped me help me get to this point um you know i had it obviously a unique path, but a cool story to go with it. And I tell our guys all the time, tell our team religiously, man, like your story can be really powerful when somebody tells it, but you got to

do something to make them tell it. And in a society and a culture, everybody wants to tell their own story, and you want to put it on Instagram, you want to say, man, here's what I'm doing and put it out there. I tell these guys all the time, man, it's a lot more powerful if you do something special and somebody else tells your story. One last thing on that. Before you got the USF job, you hadn't been a head coach. You didn't play college football, which is kind of a unique thing in and of itself. How would you think that a typical route maybe helped you where other people would never even experience anything like that?

Yeah, you know, I started coaching younger. And, you know, I had a really, really cool opportunity. I coached high school ball for a year and then had a really cool opportunity where a staff at Ohio State took me. under their wing and coach trestle and a bunch of guys there allowed me at at 20 years old and really 19 years old to man to be in charge of a lot this was back in the day where you had two GAs and so they were always looking for a little free help and and I had the opportunity to do a lot of a lot of real actual coaching a lot of work really young and so I think it helped me in that sense I think helping helped being around an incredible staff and a bunch of really good

coaches that that made me see a love for for the coaching side of it. And then and then obviously got going. But I had the opportunity to be young. You know, I was, I don't know, maybe 23 years old as a full-time coach in the Mac, 26, 25 in the Big Ten. And so I started young, gave me a head start and allowed me to see the game maybe in a little bit different way. Last one for you. You said your goal at SEC Media Days. I guess this is for every team. But you said, specifically for you guys. We have to get as good as we can, as fast as we can, because that's what college football now demands.

How do you do that? Yeah, I think really a couple of things. You have the opportunity now with roster management, roster structure to make changes really quickly. I think it allows you to be able to change the trajectory of a program really quickly. You've seen it in college football the last couple of years. I think the biggest thing for us is when I said as fast as we can is not skip a step, you know, and you take over a program.

And this is for me my sixth time being a part of taking a program over. And my second time as a head coach, you can't skip a step if you're going to lay a foundation for something elite. And this is a place where the standards are really high. This is a place that's won at the highest level. And you're talking about at the national level, the expectation is that you, you compete at a really, really high clip every year. And so you can't skip a step because the one thing you don't want is to have success one year, taking a step back, success another year, take a step back.

So as fast as we can while still laying a foundation for something sustainable long term. And that was the expectation coming in. And that's what we're fighting for. There's no question about it. This is your second go around in the SEC. If you take a look at those offensive stats from your year call and plays at Tennessee in 2021, Auburn fans will get jacked up just looking at some of those numbers. As we move towards September 5th and the opener against Baylor,

the goalish era on the planes. Coach, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me on. War Eagle. Here's the short version of the Iron Bowl this century. Before Saban got to Tuscaloosa, it was all Auburn. Since he got there and DeBoer's taken over, it's been all. Bamma. Sam, give me a reason for Auburn to at least be bullish now. Oh, it's going to be a lot of explosiveness on offense.

Byron Brown and his entire offense that was in South Florida that ranked top five nationally is now transferred over to Auburn. And so that's going to be the top of offense, downfield shots. Zubin, I'm going with Keelan Russell and the Alabama quarterback who I think is going to win that job. Explosive dynamic playmaker, can't wait to see if he gets the job, what he's able to do with it. He'll have to fend off Austin Mack to get there. That game, the Iron Bowl 110 days away, November 28th, the same day as Ohio State takes on Michigan. And that's our rivalry episode. We'll see you tomorrow.