College Football Live - CFB Live - CFP Semifinal Matchups/Transfer Portal Preview

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Dusty Dvoracek and Roddy Jones for College Football Live. With playoffs underway, we'll recap this weeks games and hear from coaches and players while we also look ahead to the semifinals. The transfer portal opens today and we'll review players looking to find a new home for the 2026 season. All that and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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He changed the culture. He changed sports. Stream Booja, presented by Modelo, right now on the ESPN app. Straight ahead on college football live, out of the tunnel. It's one of the biggest days on the sports calendar. The portal is open. Our Max Olson follows it closer than anybody. So where are the top players headed?

He's got all the intel on the way. And as you may have heard, the college football playoffs are set. While the four teams left chasing a championship foretell a new future in the world of college football. And the short answer is the portal, which is open today, as I mentioned. in NIL, the flattening of the talent curve, development, and investment, have Oregon, Indiana, Ole Miss, and Miami in the bracket with a chance to win it all. And if that's your bracket, I would love to see it in person. And with that, we welcome you inside College Football Live.

Dusty, Roddy, Zuban, Happy New Year. Great to be with you. We're coming on the air about 12 hours after, one of the most thrilling games in the 12-year history of the college football playoff. If you were up late last night to watch the Sugar Bowl, let's go through. through it, really the best story maybe according to some that's left in the college football playoff. That would be the Ole Miss Rebels. Let's roll there right now. Taking on Georgia in a rematch of the regular season. You know, of course, Georgia won the first game in Athens.

And Roddy, Trinidad Chambliss to Kiwan Lacey. It's hard to describe how good Chambliss was in this game. He was magical, especially late in that game in the fourth quarter. It faltered on him a little bit in the first meeting, but the magic there to flip it out to Key Juan Lacey, fantastic. Then, Dusty, the very next play left you agape. It did. Look, the escapeability, the ability to be innovative, create, and just make a play. You got pressure coming from both sides, never giving up.

Kiwan Lacey starts as a blocker. Then he leaks out. Big third down conversion. Just an unbelievable play for Trinidad Chamble's. Back to back to back, Roddy. On the next play, Harrison Wallace, the third 44 hold in here from Chambliss. This throws, Ubin, like, to get it over the defender, down to Harrison Wallace Jr. It really showed all of the traits that make Trinidad Chamble special.

And then Kiwan Lacey to give Ole Miss the lead, and they're going for two. Dusty, look at this throw. Unbelievable. Look, the ability to throw this, when that ball comes out, he's covered by Everett. But Wallace had eyes on his quarterback, continued his route, and just like everything, Trinidad couldn't miss. Roddy, there was some questions about the Ole Miss D. they answered them, ball on the ground, Perkins all over it. This deal was awesome in the second half.

Georgia was 0 for seven on third downs. And then Dusty Wallace with the adjustment. Back shoulder bonanza there for that touchdown. Incredible ball placement from Chambler. Roddy, this kid, Gunner Stockton, is so tough. To Zachariah Branch, the Bulldogs right back in it. You knew Georgia wasn't going to flinch and Gunner Stockton was going to make plays. He's done it all year long.

That a fantastic play. Is Zachari Blanche bleeding on his lip? Good for him. Yeah, transfer from USC. Dusty, this is a big player. Did they miss a face mask here? Absolutely they missed it. I mean, it doesn't get more blatant in this.

Doesn't get called, allows the Georgia defense to get a stop and get Gunner Stockton the football back. And when he got it back, Dusty, he's looking for his main guy, Branch for the first down. Why wouldn't he? That's a fourth and nine layer throw over the second level in front of the safety is beautiful. Roddy, Stockton, this is going to fall incomplete, but there's laundry on the field here. Yes, there is. Pentagon hits loss and lucky in the chest as he turns to look for the football.

I think it's a good call by the officials, but penalties really cost to Ole Miss on this drive. Dusty, Ole Miss needs a huge third down stop here. Oscar dealt back of the end zone. By the way, the route, he was already in the back. Great job by Whiteout Williams Jr. With the coverage forcing this field goal from the dogs. It's a chip shot. If there is such a thing in college football, 24 yards, although it's the other kicker we'll talk about in a second.

32 seconds left. Ole Miss trying to rally. Roddy, 40 to Stribbling! Dejohn Stribbling was awesome, off the line with there was a release with his hands, and then a great throw again by Trinidad at Jamwich to set up the MVP. Yeah, I can't talk enough about this guy.

He had two 50 plus yard field goals, and that from 47, Ole Miss wins. Chambliss, there's only one thing left to say. My motion right now is crazy right now. really speechless honestly about everything because, you know, it was that same point. You know, we were down nine or they were down nine last time we played them. So it was kind of like rolls reversed. Then obviously, you know, played them before.

I didn't play my best in the fourth quarter. So I wanted to redeem myself and, you know, get that get back again. They ran the same plays and they ran them well. I mean, there's several plays. We got the quarterback running around out there and he makes unbelievable plays. The play to Lacey on our sideline where we blitz a corner and he does a complete circle around Leyland. And then he hits a deep over on Ellis and scrambled. Their scrambles were explosive.

And you think about gunner's scrambles that he had that were explosive. Both quarterbacks made some plays with their legs. A lot of credit to that kid in their offense. That kid is a man. And you heard Chambliss talk about it in his postgame comments a couple seconds ago. How much he struggled in the fourth quarter, even though Ole Miss led going into the fourth in Athens back on October 18th. And then he was just absolutely dynamite down the stretch in this game.

And it's really the reason Ole Miss finds itself in the college football playoff semifinals. Dusty, I want to start with you here. And I think a lot of people echoed this sentiment last night just to take you behind the curtain. This is something you said when I met you this morning. This entire season has been about Lane Kiffin. But this season really now needs to be on the guys that are still here, i.e. the team. And if you don't have a rooting interest as a team, it is hard to find a better story than the old miss rebels right now and pete golding and what he's done stepping in the confidence that he

had when he took over this job and this team has responded in such a good manner i mean it's incredible to watch the improvements we saw defensively but trinidad chambliss i mean he is the best individual story in college football from division to ferris state to now leading this team to the college football playoff semi-final it's it's remarkable it really is and he came in to be a backup He got his opportunity against Arkansas, and he's never looked back. And Charlie Weiss knew this was coming. I had that Arkansas game, and he told us this kid's a baller. He had a confidence about him knowing that Trinity

at Chambliss was going to step in and have no problem leading this football team. And I think he just continues to grow more and more confidence every time he's out there. His teammates believe in him. He believes in himself. And you saw Kirby Smart. Kirby Smart didn't even have words. Kirby Smart always has words. But he's like, do you see that kid?

Get out there moving around. Tip of the cap. He can make plays off schedule like nobody else in college football. The mobility, the accuracy, and he can throw a velocity and touch. Dude's the total package. I just can't wait to see him get on the field and play again. I know. He is awesome to watch.

And there's something about when the stage is the biggest and brightest, he comes out and plays well. And I think that goes back to his experience. There's something that you can't teach. And it's that clutch gene in clutch moments. And the fact that he had the experience. of playing in big games, even if it was at Division 2, Fairest State. That doesn't mean the moment feels any different. There's less people in the stands, but there's just as much at stake.

And the place that he made with is like, it's really like Kyler Murray out there going back. That's like 50 yards to be able to throw the ball. But that team believes in the balance that they show to Kiwan Lacey and the two receivers, Dejohn, Shribbling, and Harrison Wallace was absolutely fantastic. They didn't even really get DeKuan Wright going. That offense is incredibly dangerous and explosive. And I think finally we are putting the focus and giving the proper respect to this team that they haven't really gotten all year long because of Elaine Kiffin destruction. Talk a little bit more about Ole Miss's defense because that was supposedly going to be the leaky thing that was going to hurt them here.

Even though Golding's background was defense, he was once a defensive coordinator under Sabin. Everybody knew their offense was explosive. You guys just wax poetic on how good they are. Take me inside the mind of a defender and what you see from the Ole Miss defense is they are now less than a week. This is how quick this is coming, less than a week away from being back on the field against money. Well, I think, you know, a guy like Will Eccles, who's second year sophomore defensive tackle, he's making negative plays last night, changing the line of scrimmage. And you think about this first time they played Georgia, they didn't get one stop.

Yeah, no punts for Georgia. Georgia didn't punt the entire game. But last night, I thought especially in the second half, Georgia got the football up nine. And Old Miss came out and got multiple stops in a row. I thought they won the line of scrimmage. I thought they were able to get penetration, harassed Gunnarstockton. I'm going to Stockton still made some plays. He's a dude, but I just thought this old miss defense really stepped up.

And listen, it was a lot of new pieces for Pete Golding early on the season. So give him a lot of credit, especially on the back end of that defense. He's gotten those guys together. They're playing on the same page. They're not going to beat you with defense, but they can now get enough stops with how high-powered that offense is. It's a combination that can continue to win games in this tournament. The defense held Georgia to 0 of 7 on third downs in the 7. second half. Absolutely tremendous. You mentioned

Will Eccles, a guy who created penetration, but when he couldn't, he got his hands up and batted balls down. The way they used Centaren Perkins, and that back end held up really well. Yes, Gunner Stockton made plays, but I thought their movement disturbed Georgia a lot up front. And when they needed to

make plays down the stretch, they were able to find them. It was a real team effort. I get Pete Golding a lot of credit because that defense was, you said it. It couldn't stop Georgia's the first time. The adjustments that they made, the confidence that he instilled in that defense was tremendous. And the fact that he's able to do that while being the head coach. He's never done it. I mean, think about it. His only two games as a head coach are

playoff games. He's handling all this so well. Great point. Kirby's got two national titles. Yeah, Kirby's got two national titles. This guy's been on the sideline for two games, and then 20 minutes after the game ended, he had to worry about the portal. I mean, just goes to show you what the sport is. We'll get more into the portal in just a little bit. Now, earlier in the day, if Ole Miss is the best story in the sport, maybe a close second, unless you're an Indiana fan, do you think this one is number one? Alabama's legacy and past caught up

with Indiana's current reality, and that's the only way to say it. Dusty Fernando Mendoza, after a pretty slow start on his first series, was just lights out. Look at that catch. The efficiency, the accuracy. He was awesome. And Charlie B. from Nashville, Tennessee

continues to make big plays. And then Roddy, DiAngelo Pons was the defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl. Pretty easy. to see why Simpson getting banged up, crack rib, he'd be done for the day. Yeah, look, Indiana was up 10-0. That then led to this touchdown,

putting him up 17-0, and it's at that point where it really felt like Alabama was going to have a tough time, especially with a banged-up Ty Simpson. This is one of the worst postseason defeats in tied history, Dustin. And look, they signed up for 60. Indiana was not taking their foot off the accelerator.

They ran the ball down their throat, down the stretch. A cinematic masterpiece. It'd be a hell of a movie. There's been a lot of first. It is kind of surreal. There's no doubt about it. I understand why there's been a lot of skeptics, but I don't have one thing to say.

Who, who, who, who's yours? That's kind of an out-of-character moment for a guy that's been all business all year. It bears worth repeating, but you can't say it enough. They began the season as the losingest program in the history of college football, and they are now, frankly, by far, having the best chance, odds-wise, to win the whole thing. When you hear that statement, you guys have been calling games all year long, listening to analysts, players, coaches, talking to people all year long,

now that it's ever close to being a reality, has it still sunk in? No, what we're watching is it's kind of hard to believe. But this is the team to beat in this playoffs. Straight up, right? There's no question. Like, if there's any questions, that was answered yesterday. And maybe there should already been questions. but to me it's the way that they execute everywhere.

Everyone does, whether it's offensive line and the way that they're blocking. It's running backs. It's route running. It's blocking on the perimeter. It's defensively stunts, blitzes. Everyone executes to precision. And then, oh, by the way, they're the most disciplined team in the country.

One of the fewest penalized teams in all of college football. They're number one in turnover margin. They've got the Heisman trophy winner, and they can also line up with an excellent offensive line and run the football down your throat. This balance of Black and Hemby, I know my man Roddy Jones is loving it, but this offensive line, they're in unison,

there's physicality. Coogan, they're in the middle. Smith, they're on the edge. Like, what aren't they good at? Like, the more I watch Indiana, the more I'm sitting there going, this team is probably going to win a national championship. One of the greatest stories ever.

They just beat Alabama 38 to 3. Calan Black had 99 yards rushing. Roman Hemby had 89. Fernando Mendoza threw the ball 16 times. Did need to. In the game, 16 times. He's 14 for 16 for 189 yards in a touchdown. But the fact that they're able to win like that,

win emphatically like that is so impressive. And it's been this way all year long. There is a relentlessness to this Indiana team. They are a toddler who's in charge of a wrecking ball. They just are destroying everything in their path and enjoying it. They consistently put pressure on you. with their scheme, with their intensity, with their discipline. They are a phenomenal story.

And I think by far the favorite in this play. And they play with edge. All the time. You know, because we see it from Kurtzignetti. You know, whether it's the eyebrow or whatever, the guy's always on edge. And his team, they, you know, they are exactly like their head coach. And it's fun to watch. We talked about it with the teams that had breaks that didn't play in the first round,

how a lot of them came out slow. It was a consistent theme. It was none of that from India. If you don't count the two sacks that they gave up, two of the three that they gave up on the first possession. After that, man, it was guns of blazing. Well, in two years in, the other seven teams that had to buy loss. They're the only one.

They're the only one. And these guys came out and steamrolled Alabama and put together one of the most complete performances we've ever seen. In Rose Bowl history, like it's, there's going to be no let up. There's going to be no foot off the gas. And now we get a rematch of one of the, a great game that we saw earlier this year when really I thought that game when they

went to Eugene and they wanted Otson, that's when I was like, okay. It's funny you say that. This team for real. Fowler and Herbstre said the exact same thing in the booth yesterday during the Rose Bowl essentially saying if you thought 2024, they stuck up on people 2025, but that 3020

win on the road where no one wins made believers out of everybody. Yeah, it did. And this has gone from like some nice little story to like put everyone on notice. Like they're not messing around. I mean, and they're not looking, here's the crazy thing about them.

They're not looking to just come in and beat you. They're looking to come in and embarrass you. All the time. When you look at some of the games this year, and as we saw yesterday, if you're not ready to play against this football team, they will absolutely beat you down. It's been fun to watch this team work.

Looking forward, I am fascinated to see how Oregon approaches this because if there's a team that knows what they're getting into against Indiana, it is the ducks. They did not play their best in that game at Austin. They struggled in a number of different areas, which we'll talk more about. But Oregon will know exactly what Indiana is bringing to the table. And we saw how that helped Ole Miss in their second time against Georgia.

All right. We'll talk a little bit about that rematch coming up and exactly how Oregon got to the stage with their win over Texas Tech in just a little bit. But I want to focus here on Alabama. We mentioned how difficult it has been here lately. Remember, they were down 17 to Oklahoma rallied to win, but they didn't look good in the SEC title game. didn't look good yesterday. And this is on a list of some of the worst postseason losses they have ever had. And it's a short list, but it's a list that really is catching the attention of this man.

You may not feel like it when you're in this moment right now and what happened today. But I can tell you, it's a fine line between being here and being at the top. But we got to do the work. We got to put the work in. You got to believe. You got to be consistent. You've got to have discipline. And, you know, we'll get back to work and start all over again.

All right, Roddy, this is really interesting. So Simpson cracked rib didn't come back. In his first year, they missed the playoff when it's 12 teams. Sabin consistently made it when the field was a third of the size. They have to wake up on Selection Sunday this year, hold their breath, and they get in and they get trounced in their second game. Granted, they did win one game. Two years in, Kael and DeBore,

Following an all-time great, but this type of loss, what's the offseason going to be like for Alabama? Well, they've got a lot of work to do, particularly with that defensive performance on the defensive side of the ball. The defense improved over the course of the year. But they've got work to do. This is an Alabama team that had some of the worst rushing numbers that we've ever seen from Alabama. The physicality is gone. The mystique around Alabama is gone. There's no fear when opposing teams take the field against the tide.

And, yes, they're still extremely talented. The sky is not falling in Tuscaloosa. But based on where the standard was throughout the Sabin era, they got a lot of work to do to get back there because that was a team yesterday, particularly defensively, felt like it let go of the rope a little bit. Now, the offense struggled,

and obviously, Ty Simpson, you mentioned, didn't come back in the game after the first drive of the second half, but I thought that defensive performance was particularly disheartening. I said the exact same thing last night on Scott Van Pelt. The mystique is gone. Wow.

Like this, when you, and the fear factor, like Alabama for a long time beat you before you showed up. You watch that film all week and you say, oh boy. Oh, boy. What are we going to do now? That's gone. Kailen DeBoer is a really good coach, but they've got to be better up front, period.

Great football teams, we're seeing it. If you can't win the line of scrimmage, you're not going to win. And he's great with quarterbacks and the passing attack's been good, but you've got to have balance. You've got to be able to line up and run the football. And when you think about great Alabama football teams, they've got really good offensive. of lines. They've got to get that rectified and figured out. And it's a big year three next year for Kael and the board. No doubt

about it. And you mentioned it, winning at the line of scrimmage. When college football live continues, is anybody winning at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball better than the Miami Hurricanes? We'll talk about their trek to the semifinals. And you could say the same thing about the way the Oregon Ducks played, but Roddy wants to

weigh in on their quarterback who may have the highest ceiling of all the guys left in the playoffs. And just a reminder, the Heisman trophy winner, there. And the portal is open. Our Max Olson follows it closer than anybody. He's watching all the names that are put in and where their new destinations are. Max is on the way when college football live continues. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. We're back on college football live. Let's just say the Oregon Ducks would love to be back at the Orange Bowl in Miami for one more

game this season and certainly looks like they might get there after what they did to Texas Tech yesterday. Dusty, the defense for Oregon was insane. Well, they looked like they had something to prove. They gave up a lot of yards, a lot of points against James Madison. It probably worked out perfectly for Dan Lanning. Having this defense focused on edge and they were dominant. The defensive line changed the line of scrimmits throughout the course of this game, tackles for loss, sacks. The secondary gave up nothing, no separation created by tech-wide receivers. Let's be honest. Barron did not play well. All that came

together for a dominant performance from the Ducks. Four takeaways, two picks by Finney, the true freshman you saw right there. Only 215 total yards. The Oregon Ducks, that defense absolutely dominated a high-powered

tech offense. And there's something about Oregon in the playoff, ripping the ball away from the other team. That's crazy. Look at that. Three of the top four performances coming courtesy of the Ducks. A couple of them came in 2014. That was year one of the playoff. That was the year, of course, they made the college football playoff championship game and lost. This year, they're hoping to maybe finish the job. Roddy, I want to go to you here because there's

been so much talk about Mendoza, but we've been chatting a little bit back and forth. And there is another quarterback in the Big Ten that really feels like we need to start talking about him a little bit. Yeah, as we were talking about what we were going to say on the show, I said Dante Moore has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in this college football playoff. Turninette Chambles. Then Bernadnello windows and Trinidad Chambles happen. So I might back off on that

just slightly. But I do think when you look at NFL draft projections, there's a reason Dante Moore is projected in a lot of them to go number one overall. It's because of his ceiling, the ease with which he throws the ball. He's got functional mobility as well. And if he plays at his best, he has the potential to be the best quarterback in this playoff. There's

some really good quarterbacks. Trinidad, Chambliss, you mentioned. Fernando Mendoza has been awesome all year long. But I think when you look at ceiling, I give the slight edge. And boy, is it a slight edge. I get the slight edge to Dante. It's a great debate. It's a great topic. But Dante Moore, when

he's protected, he is really good. I mean, he can be surgical with the football, the accuracy's there. He's made big time throws throughout the year. And his wide receiver core is getting more healthy. Yes, it is. Right? You know, he's got multiple tight ends. We talk about Kenyon Sadiq, but they've got multiple guys, DeCore and Moore being back. And there's a chance Evan Stewart is going to come back as well. He's been listed questionable the last couple of times. Well, the, you know, the report was

that if they got to the semifinal, he might be able to play for the first time of the season. So look, there's a lot to like about Dante Moore. Throws a very catchable ball. Jesse Palmer talked about that yesterday, and you saw that on display. I just, if we're saying highest ceiling, I don't know if I'm ready to go there, but I think he's definitely a quarterback that can lead this team to a championship. Yeah, and if you haven't heard Evan Stewart, former five-star transfer from A&M, he was kind of out at the beginning of the season, slowly sort of bringing him back, and he could be a big, high-impact player if he's available.

I just want to get to you because one of the things you said while we were watching the highlight was that second half against James Madison gave Dan Lanning all the red meat he needed to get on his defense, and they showed up yesterday. They were outstanding. And look, they are big up front. I mean, they got big, massive bodies. Amari Washington, you know, Tui-Oti. All those guys were making plays yesterday.

I love Bryce Betcher, 28th, the linebacker. I mean, he plays with a toughness and a physicality. And I can promise you, Dan Lannning was challenging these guys all week. Tosh Lupoi, still the defensive coordinator, was challenging this group. And they heard the talk. They heard the talk. It was all about the tech defense. Yes, it was.

I think Oregon came with the mindset that when this game's over, everyone's going to be talking about this Oregon defense and we sure are. One thing we should talk about is what happened to the Texas Tech offense. They were one of the best offenses in the country. They were head and shoulders, the best team in the Big 12. They were led by Baron Morton who grew up a Texas

tech fan playing his final game trying to lead the Red Raiders to the unprecedented world of which they got to, the playoff, and then it all came crashing down. It's tough. I love. love this university, everything that stands for.

You know, I've been a Red Ritter since I was a little kid, so, you know, to get to do this this year has been awesome. A great group of guys, man, it's just been so fun just to, you know, put Tex-Fetek back on the mat, and, you know, love it deserves every bit of everything that happened this year, and, you know, we can hang our ad on something, obviously not the outcome that we wanted, but, you know, really proud of this team in the way that, you know, we fought. through adversity this year and you know I'm proud to be a red raider it's emotional stuff you can see when it all comes to an end as they say it happens gradually and then all at once to you

they put the bull's eye on their own back they said we're spending the money we've never won the big 12 we never even played in the big 12 title game we're going to do both hold us to it they did it but it ended this way how do you evaluate their season it's a massive success of a season It's a massive step taken for Texas Tech to make the history that they did over the course of the season I think was tremendous and validated the approach that they took going all in

and they will continue to be all in. Things like seasons like this don't happen without continued and even enhanced a support from a financial standpoint so they are committed. Unfortunately for Baron Morton, he didn't play well in this game. It didn't, it wasn't the only thing that cost them. There were other guys that didn't play well

but at the quarterback position in those moments you have to play well. and didn't you hate it for him because of what the university means to him. But this was a massively successful season for Texas Tech. And I would expect just the foundation for where they're going to go. It was definitely a success. And I love that team, you know, Jacob Rodriguez's his story, Baron Morton, and he's always been a tech fan, as we heard there.

But look, Texas Tech got to taste fillet. They ain't going back to cheeseburg. Okay. And they've got the resources that they can continue to eat fillet. They've recruited the high school ranks better than they ever had before the last couple of years. They're going to hit the portal. I totally agree with you. They took a big step, and they saw from Oregon that next step they need to take.

And I think that we're going to see them continue to try to push for that. Yeah. Last note, their general manager, James Blanchard in July actually said, it's the Oregon model, right? We got a big time booster. We got engagement. Now we got to go make it happen. It was just ironic. They ended up losing of all teams to the Oregon Ducks.

When college football live continues, we have got a hurricane warning Friday night. They may have put the country on notice. We talked about the Ducks, the Hoosiers, and perhaps Ole Miss winning it all. Can the Cains do it? We'll discuss that when college football live can see. Seems like ancient history, but this is how the quarterfinal round began with the biggest stunner maybe in playoff history. Beck hits Flutcher out of the backfield. Touchdown, Miami.

14-0-0-0 Miami. The largest deficit Ohio State has faced all season. But guys are rolling. Here in this second half, we got a ball game in Arlington. Third down in four. Beck's going to throw up. And Daniels has the first down. It's first in golf of the hurricanes.

Brown, into the end zone. Touchdown, Miami. The Verbo Fiesta Bowl has one team in it. Miami advances to the semifinal. Their biggest win in 23 years. And avenging that controversial championship game lost to Ohio State. Most wins in the season in program history, as you see, they could get to the precipice of a championship at the very least,

and that portends pretty well for the Cains. Dusty, I want to start with you because as we were listening to you and Dave Pash call those highlights from all. all of those great Miami plays on Friday night, you had your eyes on them right there, 50-yard line. Give me the case, if there is one, why Miami can win the whole thing. Because they're built the right way.

They're built inside out, both lines of scrimmage. And this is how Mario Cristobal, this was the plan the entire time. They are big, they are physical up front on both sides of the ball. The offensive line goes about 6-5-3-30, average across the front, and there's no better tandem

than Bain and Mezzadore. And the other thing, too, Roddy, is this team plays with violence. They preach it at practice. They go good on good a lot. But if you watch that game, it wasn't just linemen. It was receivers blocking. It was safeties coming down, blowing people up. They played with an edge and a violence that, to me, a lot of things that change in football,

but physicality, toughness has not. This Miami team has that. And, oh, by the way, they got a veteran quarterback who's pretty good. Now, going to make his 41st start in the semifinal. He has managed the games. And I say that very endearingly. He's managed the games incredibly well in rough circumstances at A&M with the wind. And then in this game, he made the throws that needed to be made.

When they were open plays, he was able to execute. But you mentioned the offensive line. Miami fans were on Shannon Dawson and Mario Cristobal a lot over the course of the season about the way they were running the football. Well, over the course of the back part of the season, And especially in this playoff, they have been so efficient running the ball. And I think, Dusty, the receivers running in the run game have been tremendous. I actually thought the Miami receivers outplayed the Ohio State receivers because of what they did in the run game.

Obviously, there was a lot in the past game as well. Malachi, Tony, they haven't even gotten to go off in this playoff. But the surehandiness of the receivers and then in the run game, their ability to dig out safeties to block down field. That's how you turn good runs into great run. run. Malachi Tony, the freshman, his physicality for his size was tremendous on the He made a couple blocks. They actually inserted him on one of the big runs on that final drive going into the tackle box. Yeah, he gets to the tackle box. He gets the safety. And I'm just like, wow, what can't this guy do? And he's been, he's been fabulous all year. But, you know,

Carson Beck, we've talked about these other three quarterbacks. Who's got the highest ceiling? No one mentioned Carson Beck. He is playing the best football probably of his career since SMU, he's had 13 touchdowns, only one interception. As you said, he's been very smart. He's taken care of the football. He's played with accuracy, poise in the pocket. He's got an offensive line that protects him. He's got a running game that they can lean on. They don't ask too much of him, but what they do ask of him, he's done it at such a high level. I just, he's got 15 wins over ranked teams. I don't think, I think leading up to these semifinals, the other three quarterbacks are going to get all the shine and all the talk. But I think

it's Carson Beck, who we really need to really look at what he's done, the totality of the work he's done, and say, man, this guy is very equipped to step on this stage and lead a team. That's that you guys showed on the broadcast, about his record against ranked teams. It's unbelievable. I think the thing that he

does the best, and this will not make a single highlight that we show, won't make a tape for his NFL draft prospect, but his processing power and speed to get back down to the checkdown is one of the best things that he does. He goes through his progression so quickly that he gets to his progression, that he gets to his checkdowns early enough where the defenders haven't

even realized that the running back is leaked out of the backfield. So there's a ton of space that running backs and receivers have to operate and that allows them to stay on track a lot. So Carson Beck, you're right, is playing the best ball of his career. Yeah, the storytellers nearly had Carson Beck versus Georgia in the national semifal. It didn't exactly work out that way, but Beck is certainly a guy to keep an eye on moving forward. Just a reminder, moving forward when college football live is over.

We actually have three bowl games today. Dusty and Roddy and I will be there for the Armed Forces Bowl. And then the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and then somebody gets the Mayo dumped on them in the Duke's Mayo Bowl with Wake Forest and Mississippi State. That's all to come here. It's the final day of Capital One, Bowl Mania on the way. We finally got some new blood in the playoff. Some of these games are featuring teams that are playing in the biggest games they've ever had before.

why it's so good for the sport that the blue bloods are being replaced by the new bloods next The Buckeye's rain is over at the U is back. Their biggest win in 23 years. It is good! They're the Allstate Sugar Bowl champions.

We come to the games to dominate, we come to games to make play. They've earned this opportunity. I promise you it's the best day of our lives winning this role of bowl. Who, who, who, who, guys! Congratulations on earning the opportunity to be here the semifinal of the college football playoff. Still work left to be done to hoist the college football playoff national championship trophy, which is presented by Dr. Pepper laying on the beach there in Miami, where they'll hand it out in Miami Gardens. I just got to put this thing on the screen and look at it for a little bit to actually believe it.

Indiana, Ole Miss, and Miami getting there as the 10 seat, although you can argue with their seating, the fact that they are there, and the ACC and the SEC of the same amount of teams left does tell you something as well. Let's take a look at the national title wins among the teams that are here. Every game Indiana plays from here on out

is the biggest game ever. I should mention Oregon did play in the first CFP national title game, but they're looking for their first championship ever. Ole Miss, obviously, is an unprecedented territory. though they do claim a title school-wise in the 60s, but officially not so much. And Miami, you guys talked about it, their biggest win in 23 years

since they dominated at the turn of the century when they had that 34-game winning streak. The Blue Bloods have been replaced by the New Bloods, and there are a lot of people that like, like, maybe not television executives and ratings people, that like that Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, great, great fan bases, lineage of viewers, but there's something about this sport.

It's going to be healthy from soup to nuts, not just at the top of the pyramid, but if this thing is going to be healthy, teams like this need to show up on the biggest stage, and they've done it. They absolutely have. The sport has never been more accessible to more people. As long as you have alignment and support

and a great head coach, you have a chance to win a national championship. Indiana came in as the losingest program, came into this year as a losing its program in history, and they're the favorite to win the CFP. Ole Miss hasn't won a conference championship since we've put a man on the moon. 1963 was the last time they won the SEC. Miami's never won the ACC.

And yet, because of the alignment of these programs, because the alignment of these athletic departments and the support behind them, the fact that they were able to find a great head coach and still a culture, it has allowed them to reach the precipice of the ultimate prize in this sport. And, man, it is awesome. Parody is real in college football right now. And we love that, right? I mean, everybody wanted this.

We wanted to have a true playoff so we could see some new faces at the party, and we have it. And I think exactly what Roddy said, this also gives hope and optimism to other schools around the country. Hey, that could be us. If you're in Iowa, you're that close this season. Oh, man, we could, we're maybe a player or two away, a play or two away from being there next season. That's what we want. We want more engagement throughout the course of the season, more fan bases involved. and I think it's great.

Looking at that bracket, it is weird. It gets me excited, though, like, this is why we put this together. True. This is what we wanted. So when you get what you want, don't then complain and say, well, this doesn't have a tack with that. We've had, you know, two of the four games were unbelievably competitive down to the wire. We're going to get two great matchups. And I just think it's awesome.

To me, this only provides more health and prosperity. And we want to keep growing college football. How do you grow something? You bring more into the table. We've done now at this playoff, and there's proof in the pudding. Think of the generation of young Indiana fans that are growing up, knowing this level of success and the investment that they're going to have going forward. But the other thing that we get in the 12-team playoff,

and we talked about this last year, these semifinals are the four teams that are playing the best ball in the country. When we were in the four-team playoff model, you got it based on what you did in the regular season, then you sat for a little bit, and then you had to go play. Right now, we've had four teams that have had to earn their way there. of them having to win two games to get there and they are all playing phenomenal football. Let me just

give you one note in Indiana before we go to the break and then the portal expert Max Olson is going to be here. Prior to Kurt Signetti getting to Indiana they had played 125 years of college football before Signetti's two years. Not one coach in 125 years left Bloomington with a winning conference record.

Are you serious? Not one. And now look where we are. Zoom, that's unbelievable. That's something to keep in mind. On the way here on college football live, you want to talk about unbelievable. Max Olson spreadsheet on the transfer portal, it's a sight to behold. He's going to tell you where everyone's heading, especially at the quarterback position. So like Dusty said, more teams can be in the postseason party.

That is next. The darling takes on the juggernaut, Montana State for the FCS Championship Monday at 730 Eastern from Nashville. And we'll have a live edition of college football countdown with Kevin Connors and the crew live from Nashville. Monday night at 7 o'clock to get you set to Crown. An FCS champion. You know, the big story today is the portal is open.

And we want to weigh in with the portal expert. You know, some people call Lane Kiffin, the portal king. He might be the portal king on the coaching side, but the portal king when it comes to knowing what's going on is the one and only Max Olson. He's dropped his list on ESPN.com. A bunch of questions for you. Straight up here, Max, off the top.

You say this is the craziest cycle we've seen since the portal is instituted. What's going to make it so nuts between today and January 15th when we close up shop? Well, the portal officially opened at midnight, and we've already seen more than 4,000 Division I college football players enter and make moves. So we're going to see plenty more of that over the next two weeks. I think that's the big difference in this cycle is there's no spring transfer portal later this

year. And so what that means is it's a two-week period where college football programs have to go out and recruit next year's team, put to get their roster right for 2026. And so I think we're going to see in very rapid succession here over the next few days, official visits, commitments, signings as these teams build out their transportals, even though playoffs still going on, There's a lot of moves that have to be made here. And look, as we saw these last couple days with the four teams that are still alive in the college football playoff, that's four teams led by transfer quarterbacks, four programs that have done an elite job of recruiting the portal, evaluating players in the portal over the last two years. So the importance of getting this right is obvious to see.

It's amazing. The idea that Golding wins last night at about 1140. And then after his post-game press conference, he's like, I'm still trying to win the national title. but oh yeah, that's right. The portal is open. I've got to think about next year. It's unbelievable. Your portal list top guys dropped last night on ESPN.com. Your number one player is quarterback Brendan Sorsby of Cincinnati for now, I should say. What's the latest on where he might be headed? Yeah, Brandon Sorsby number one in our initial top 25 rankings of the best players in the portal.

He's shown tremendous improvement over his three years in college from a year at Indiana to becoming a two-year starter with the Bearcats and really becoming an all-Big 12 performer who got them in the big 12 title race going into November. Sorsby thought about entering the NFL draft, but he's got a lot of great options here as the most coveted guy. I think the expectation right now is that this is really going to be a head-to-head battle between Texas Tech and LSU. Obviously, Red Raiders are trying to replace Baron Morton.

And Lane Kiffin needs to get a KB1 for a year one at LSU. I think that's setting up to be quite a bidding war. And certainly the decision that SORSV makes is going to impact the rest of the QV market and who's going where. Yeah, the trickle-down effect, as they call it. On that note, the last question for you is, if Sorsby's at the top and he's still deciding where to go, give me some of the other guys here. We're going to take a look at some of these big names here that where they might end up,

whether it's Rocco Beck, who might reunite with Matt Campbell. Mestemaker had a storybook season himself, Byron Brown, Josh Hoover, and the Uber talented DJ Lagway. They just couldn't make it work at Florida. What are you keeping your eye on when it comes to these half dozen guys? Well, certainly there's a few newly hired coaches that are. trying to get their guy to go with them. So Rocco Beck at Penn State, Drew Mestemaker, Eric Morris wants to bring him to Oklahoma State.

Obviously, Byron Brown has a chance to BQB. You won at Auburn. The Tigers have lost all three of their quarterbacks who played this year. Certainly the game musical chairs here gets pretty interesting when you get to Sam Levitt, when you get to Dylan Ryola, and he's a DJ Laigwe guys that are going to be pretty competitive situations. And again, the decisions that they make will impact where everybody else gets to go.

I think Josh Hoover as well as is a quarterback that is going to have some big time options. And as we see right now, Indiana, Miami, LSU, Texas Tech. There's a lot of programs here that want to be contenders in 2026 that still have to go find their KB1. I almost feel guilty keeping you here right now because like 2,000 guys probably entered the portal in the time that we chat. So I don't want to take any more of your time. Max, we'll keep watching your work on ESPN.com. And I know you'll be filling it out as it comes out. And I think college football fans are going to be glued here from now until January, 15th max. Thanks very much. One quick note, CJ Bailey announced moments ago. He'll be back at

NC State. So that's a guy that will be returning to Raleigh. When we return, looking forward, first thoughts moving it forward on the four left waiting to win the championship. We'll size up the semis on the way. All right, we're back. And once again, this is how it looks, if you care about numbers other than the final score. Indiana is a four-point favorite against Oregon. Remember, the first matchup was 30-20 Indiana at Autson, and Miami opens as a three-point favorite overall miss with the winner of that game and the Peach Bowl heading to Miami Gardens to play for the championship. A reminder of college football live will be on the road with both of those games.

on January 8th and 9th with a one-hour live edition from both of those games. So hang tight, be with us here next week. All right. Let's start with the Verbo Fiesta Bowl, Miami and Ole Miss. Biggest thing to look forward to as we hit that first national 75. Well, it's that defensive line of Miami. It's Rubin Bain. It's Akeem Mesidor.

They've combined for seven and a half sacks in this playoff. They've been unblockable, the power and strength of Bain, the quickness and pass rushability of Mesidor. And will they be able to corral Trinidad Chamblis? Because Georgia couldn't. Nobody really has. And I just, I think it's interesting. No offensive lines been able to block these two.

So maybe it's Houdini, who needs to just get away from these two, wear these guys down. And if they, if Trinidad Chambliss can make these plays like he does off schedule, it can create some issues. This Miami defense has been out to any. Corey Hetherman, to me, should be the Brawores Award winner with the improvements they've made on defense. They've got a fabulous nickel in Keontes Scott. We saw him

with that pick six when he jumps her out. He brings an edginess to him. They're going to blitz him off the edge. But how do you neutralize Ruben Bain and Akeem Mesedor? Can you? If there's anyone that can't, I think it might be Trinidad Chambers. I can't wait to see how that goes. I am fascinated to see

if Ole Misses' tempo will allow Bain and Mezzador to be able to tee off as much as they do. Those guys play a ton of snaps. Ruben Bain leads them in defensive snaps this season. almost never see that from a defensive end. So you don't rotate a ton. So if Ole Miss can have success on early downs, particularly early and dries, P&10, second and short, to get that first, first down, and then get into their tempo, that's how you neutralize

that pass rush a little bit. I did that game against SMU that Miami had earlier this year. SMU, the most comparable in terms of tempo to Ole Miss. And there were times when Ole Miss, when SMU was able to get in their tempo, that it neutralized. I think they can go hand in hand to his point. It's a great point about the tempo. And then if you also get Chambliss moving, it can really wear down those guys up front. Just an absolutely gigantic game for both. Miami looking for another national championship. Ole Miss looking to establish themselves on the championship stage. Let's go. The next day will be, of course, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. It's a regular season rematch between Oregon and Indiana,

won by the Hoosiers. 30-20. Just a quick reminder here. Half of the remaining teams are from the Big Ten, who, of course, is looking for their third consecutive national championship. I'm sure that's going to sit well down in the south there where you live in Atlanta. That's going to sit really well. It's already not going well. Yeah, I can bet. Let's start with you, sizing it up. Oregon, Indiana, this time the stakes a little bit bigger.

A little bit. And I am interested to see how Oregon responds to the loss the first time. And that was a tie ball game late into the second half before it eventually got away from Oregon. When you look at what they did the first time, obviously, Dante Moore was under constant pressure, six sacks, 20 pressures on it. So I am very interested to see what adjustments Oregon makes. Are they able to run the ball at all? And then on the other side, I mean, this is a complete Indiana offense. What does Oregon do to stop it?

Yeah, you know, you got to protect Dante Moore. Like you said, that's first and foremost. And then my question is, can Oregon stop the run? You know, can we saw Indiana line up and just run the football down Alabama's throat. This is a big prideful Oregon front. I mentioned some of the guys that they have. and they can step up. Can they win the line of scrimmage

against a really good Indiana front? Because I feel like Fernando Mendoza is going to get some of his. His receivers are going to be able to make plays down the field. You can't allow both. You've got to take something away. Oregon has got to slow down this rushing attack. I think it's going to be a great rematch and I can't wait. And the one thing about that big 10 team,

it'll be the third different big 10 team, which that's a statement from a conference if that happened. Michigan, Ohio State, either Oregon or Indiana. In our last 45 seconds here, just gotten word after we spoke to Max Olson, that Brendan Sorsby, the number one quarterback in the portal and the number one player overall in the transfer portal rankings, according to ESPN. He's flying to Texas Tech today to visit after that. He'll be flying to LSU. So they get the first two cracks here in the last 30 seconds. Any thoughts on a guy that everyone is coveted? Game changer.

And look, his size, he's 6-3-2-30, can move well. He throws the football very well. Look, all four of these teams in the playoff, the portal transfer. quarterbacks led. Three of them first year portal quarterback led. Brendan Sorsby could be that piece for one of these teams. No doubt. The Lubbock airport is in on it. There will be some troubles getting that plane out of Lubbock after that visit. Sorry, you're stuck. Fair enough. We're going to be with you for the bold triple header today on ESPN. Hope to see you there. Happy New Year.