College Football Live - CFB Live - Day 2 ACC & Big Ten Media Days - Who's your QB?

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Our crew Zubin Mehenti, Tom Luginbill, Roddy Jones and Heather Dinich continue day 2 of ACC and Big Ten media days. Today focused on returning and transferring quarterbacks in both conferences and offseason storylines you should be paying attention to going into the season. Could we have a new king of the south with Georgia Tech's Haynes King? Or will Luke Altmyer's return lift Illinois in the Big Ten? All that and more on College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, dining on a world-class menu at 40,000 feet, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. And it is day two of three for Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas. We are there live on the scene at the Mandalay Bay Resort where no less than half of the power structure of the sport is. ACC Media Days, day two in Charlotte, wall-to-wall coverage right now and tomorrow on the ACCC network. Mike Norvell is coming off a two-win season. The worst season to season drop off, a major team has had in 50 years.

How do they get it turned around? There is one of the most exciting players in the conference. If they can keep Haynes King healthy, sky's the limit for Georgia Tech. So once again with the Big 12 down and the SEC down, it's media days for the ACC. with those half-dozen teams taking center stage and day two of three in Vegas for Penn State, Oregon, Minnesota, northwestern, Wisconsin, and Washington center stage in Las Vegas. We've got you covered all over the country, and we welcome you inside college football live with Tom Luginville and Roddy Jones live at the ACCC Media Days in Charlotte. I'm Zubin Mahenty, Heather Dinnich, is going to join us from Las Vegas to get you. you said on what happened at day two of the Big Ten in just a little bit. But let's start there in

Vegas. Big Ten, all eyes on Penn State. We're going to run through some of the storylines. Then your eyes are going to look at a graphic that really might catch your eyes. So the storylines are pretty simple, right? 13 wins in 2024, a program record, a playoff win over SMU, a playoff win over Boise State, and nearly taking Oregon down in the Big Ten championship game. Drew Aller is back. So are Singleton and Allen. And Nick Singleton and Ketron Allen, along with Aller, give them one of the most formidable backfields in all of college football. And their new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, who obviously knows the conference really well.

Look at that hat. He's got the Ohio State cap on. Last year, he was the D.C. and Columbus this year, it'll be in State College. Now, this is the graphic I was referencing. Take a look at this. The Big Ten actually doesn't have an official preseason poll. But Cleveland.com, an online publication, has been running an informal poll for years, and people have just taken it to be gospel.

It's now the unofficial poll. And look at Penn State ahead of the defending national champions and the defending Big Ten champions. They are predicted to win, according to the media, the Big Ten conference. Let's start here with Tom. Tom, what is the over-under? I said this with Roddy last week. What is the over-under?

and the amount of time somebody has said, is this the year, finally for Penn State? You get first crack. Well, the over under is probably 150, and I would say it's the over. You know what, and I could be low on that number, Rodney. I really could be. Listen, you know, because of what Michigan's trying to do

in finding a new quarterback, Ohio State coming off of a national championship, finding a new quarterback, Oregon transitioning from Dylan Gabriel, likely to Dante Moore, it just, it feels natural to look at Penn State and say, hey, you've got Drew Aller, you've got tremendous weapons around him. Kairn Hudson, Trevor Pania come over at wide out through the transfer portal. Now, you lose Tyler Warren at tied in, but they've got two young guys that I think are talented.

It's just going to look a little bit different with that offense. But for me, in order for this to happen, I think that Penn State at the quarterback position, the next step for Drew Aller is to play his best football in the most important games on the schedule. This was a quarterback that completed 73% of his passes during the regular season, did not get to 60% of his passes against SMU in the first round and their win versus Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. And so I think if you're going to expect Penn State to take that next step, the quarterback position has to be relied upon to win the big games on the roster. Now listen, I really like the schedule outside of the back-to-back road contest at Iowa, at Ohio State, to the fiercest, most difficult places to play in the league. But aside from that, this is a schedule that I think is tailor-made for Penn State to take this opportunity and run for it.

I mean, don't sleep on Indiana on the back of those back-to-backers at Iowa, at Ohio State. Then you get Indiana at home. Indiana was college ball playoff team a year ago. And Luz are going to have to do it replacing their defensive coordinator, just showed it on the graphic. Jim Knowles comes over from Ohio State, one of the best in the entire country, having done a great job at Oklahoma State, a great job at Ohio State,

but it's still a new defense. It's a new language from what Tom Allen was doing, and you've got to replace Abdul Carter, who's now playing in the NFL. But they got their front guys back. But they do have their front guys back. And I think those two guys on the edge, starting with Deni Dennis Sutton, who is an absolute monster on the defensive end, from the defensive end

spot, I think he's going to have a breakout season now out of the shadow of Abdul-Carter. And then to me, Vanover, had some real flashes last year. So I think that defense should be good, but a new defensive coordinator and a lot of pressure, I think adds to just the things that Penn State's going to have to overcome this year.

Yeah, from a breakout season to a team that literally broke down last season, and that's Florida State. You guys are at ACCC Media Day, so let's run through the Knowles here quickly. You know it was an absolute disaster. The 2 and 10, people still saying they still feel the

sting of being snubbed from the playoff after that perfect regular season. A couple years ago. What went wrong? Well, we're only here till three Eastern times, so I'm not sure we could get all of it in. I mean, there was so many problems a year ago, starting in the top 10 and cratering.

New Face Under Center, Thomas Costellanos. He was with Boston College. So again, this is a guy that's familiar with the ACC. The guys are right down there in Charlotte in just moments. We're going to get their thoughts on this guy because he's really an important piece. And Norvel has done a really good job in recruiting and has come up with

top 10 transfer class to boot. You may have heard Costalanos his name about a month or two ago when he sort of sized up the opener. Florida State, by the way, opens at home against Alabama. Costalanos doesn't seem concerned. Remember this quote, they don't have Nick Saban to save them. I just don't see them stopping me. Today, if you thought he might backpedal like a DB, anything but he doubled down.

I know we stand on what I said, but there's no disrespect between, you know, that side of that team or anything like that. I just, the confidence that I have in my teammates and the way we've been preparing and, you know, putting this preparation together this offseason. I just feel confident in the guys and the work that we've been putting in. So just feel confidence and, you know, me and my teammates and, you know, Coach Novell and how he's getting us ready to work and, you know, getting ready to, you know, play. What I noticed there, Roddy, as we're going to get your thoughts here on Costalanos, he never mentioned the word Alabama. He said, that team. That's like when Parcells would call somebody the player instead of using the person's actual name.

But you got a chance to speak with Costalana. You guys are down there. You're seeing everything soup to nuts at ACC Media Days. What's your overall impression? Well, I was really impressed. He got to sit down with him for almost 30 minutes for an interview. And I was really impressed with the young man. And I think you have to understand who he is to understand those comments.

He's the seventh of 11 children who grew up with a single mom in South Georgia. He had to fight for everything over the course of his life, especially athletically, as an undersized quarterback. And he was really introspective about leaving Boston College earlier. There's a lot of narrative that he quit on the team. And look, I don't like the fact that he left Boston College in the middle of the season last year. He was very introspective about that. He said if he could go back and do it again, he would stick it out.

He would swallow the medicine and sit on the bench and stay with his team. teammates like a lot of people felt like he should have, like a real good teammate should. So I was really impressed with the maturity that he showed in that moment. And look, those comments from Alabama about Alabama lugs, they are inflammatory and they are bulletin-bore material. But I think it comes from a place of confidence in the players that he has around them. Confidence, competitive temperament, all of those things. I like to call him Diet Kyler Murray.

That's what I've nicknamed him. He can be so dynamic. And in this offense, led by Gus Malzano, If you look at the history of Gus Malzahn's offenses, they've always been at their best when they've had a dynamic athlete under center, not just a passer, because now you can incorporate quarterback run game. You can change the launch point, move the pocket. He can get you out of trouble by pulling a rabbit out of the hat and create and avoid negative plays with his legs. Now, I think the question, and it's a valid one, is what is he going to do if he faces some adversity? Things don't go well.

He has a bad series. He has a bad half. Or maybe he has a bad game. because that has not been something that's been overly positive with him. And I've done four of his games over the last two years. And I've seen him at his very, very best, and I've seen him really struggle. The reality is he's an upgrade for Florida State. And if you really want to simplify what's happened with Florida State,

they are a case study in what happens when you make all of the right decisions in the transfer portal, 2023, and then you turn around the following year and you make the wrong decisions. I think they're going to get back to the plus side of that. now. He's an upgrade. Deuce Robinson at Whiteout is an upgrade. I think they're hungry. They've got a chip on their shoulder. And quite honestly, they're angry and embarrassed. And I don't know if there's any greater motivation. No question about it. You mentioned that adversity and it's going to come early because Alabama's coming to town on August 30th, as we mentioned. And we'll see that adversity hit and we'll see how we respond. On the way here on college football live. Adversity,

really none for Oregon last year in the regular season. Then came the playoff and now comes a new quarterback. And speaking of a quarterback, we'll hear from the King of the South, not Feinbaum, Haynes King. It's ACC Media Days with Tom and Roddy, Heather Dinnich from Vegas and the Big Ten, all on the way next. Snap up Ancestry DNA's lowest price ever in our incredible cyber sale. With 50% off ancestry DNA kits, it's the perfect time to help a loved one unwrap the past. And with our latest update, They'll discover their family origins like never before with even more precise regions and new and exclusive features.

Their best gift, our lowest price. 50% off Ancestry DNA only until December 2nd. Visit Ancestry.ca for more details. Terms apply. We're back on college football live. Day two of three in Las Vegas. There's six teams speaking. Remember the big 10 is 18 teams now. So you got six teams a day for three days.

The headliner to many today. are the Oregon Ducks. Of course, remember, they were the only team in major college football last year to go undefeated in the regular season, but then ran into Ohio State after the buy and then lost, and of course, the Buckeyes went on to win the whole thing. Dante Moore, very interesting.

He's their new starter. Remember, he committed to Oregon, ended up at UCLA, came back to Oregon. Roddy's going to talk about his development in just a second here. And Yuungal L.A. returns as well. So now they are stacked, as always, And the job that Dan Langing has done from a recruiting standpoint speaks for itself.

And Roddy, I wanted to start with you with Dante Moore, just following his trek as a high school prep in the Detroit area, out to Eugene, to Westwood to Eugene. He did something I have rarely seen, Roddy. He went to UCLA. He struggled. It got too fast for him. He transferred and sat and was humble and said, I could learn here for a year and now it's his team. Yeah, it's almost like a boomerang. He started wanting to go with the ducks, and then he goes to UCLA, and it all comes back full circle.

And look, I think that that path is really going to help him, not only the experience that he gained in UCLA, because experience is experience, whether it was positive or negative. And when you have it early in your career, and then you're able to step back and learn from a guy like Dylan Gabriel, when you have all the physical tools that Dante Moore has because he oozes with physical ability. I think that's going to go a long way towards the performance as you're going to see this year. Will Stein and Dan Laning have had great quarterback play. And so that quarterback position is going to be fine at UCLA.

I think the question is what's the ceiling for Dante Moore and physically Luges, if he is as good mentally as he is physically, after that stint at UCLA, I think he could be tremendous this season. Well, first off, everybody at the quarterback position, if you're afforded the opportunity to redshirt, sit and learn, and mature and grow, you're better off. You're better off. That's why everybody's so high on Archmanning at Texas

because of the path he took. He is more ready than ever. I think this is going to help Dante Moore as well. One of the thing that's been great about Oregon and Dan Lannings leadership is they've done a wonderful job of plug-in-play. They lose somebody of significance. They go out and they replace him, and they don't have a drop-off in production.

They bring in the top running back in the transfer portal in McCoy Hughes out of Tulane, Dylan Thiniman, the safety out of Purdue comes over through the transfer portal, and the secondary is probably the area where they've got to plug the most guys in. And then Decorian Moore, the electrifying true freshmen could not have arrived at a better time when Evan Stewart went down to an undisclosed season injury. So I think the strength of the defense is on the edges. We mentioned to Uiangalala, and then down the middle.

They're going to have to replace Derek Harmon down the middle. They're going to have to replace the linebacker down the middle. But again, I think there's enough in the fold here from depth and talent in addition to the transfer point. And that's reflected in where they were ranked by the media in that poll. They have an unknown quarterback and everybody still thinks they're a top five team in the league. Yeah, it's a great point on Evan Stewart, too. That kind of went under the radar unless you're really following college football deep. And that's a big loss time for them.

All right, we're going to ping pong between the Big Ten and the ACC with regards to teams. So now we're up back to the ACC. And we're talking about Georgia Tech, whose new contract with play caller Buster Faulkner. He really came on the scene last year. A lot of people remember watching that eight overtime game against Georgia, which they eventually lost. But people are like, who is their OC? And where is he coming up with all this personnel to go toe to toe with the dogs?

Haynes King has been key. He's their alpha dog from inside the pocket. Look at these numbers. Pretty darn good. Haynes was with our ACC crew at ACC Media Days earlier today about the progress of it all. I mean, the main deal is still just keep the consistency. You know, if you're not turning the ball over, you're giving yourself chances to win the game. The other team doesn't get more chances to score and all that, as well as just pushing the guys and having fun.

If we're executing and being ourselves, just pushing the guys to be in their best ability. And you go out there on game day and just have fun. You're going to light it up and light the scoreboard up. I think this is such an interesting program because they have a great history and they have a coach that's energized. He went there. There's a lot of interesting things around here. And so for this, let's start with you, Tom, on Haynes King. And then I know you want to dig into their schedule as well.

Well, I think with Haynes King, there is not a better marriage between a player's skill set and an offensive scheme than there is at Georgia Tech under Buster Faulkner. He understands that always having the threat of quarterback running. when your quarterback's a really good runner, has to be a part of every single play. All of the shifts, the motions, it's dizzying when you watch them on film, and it prevents defenses from being able to communicate because there's so many moving parts.

But what he does so well, and he improves tremendously last year, and that was decision-making when it came to turnovers. He was a double-digit turnover guy the year before, single-digit last year, and if he can stay healthy, this will be the best offensive line he's had in front of him. Now, you take a look at the schedule,

and I want to bring this up, because this has not been a program that has helped the coaching staff with scheduling in years past. When you schedule a Tulane and an Ole Miss and a Georgia in your non-conference, that's hard to get over the hump. I think this schedule is much more manageable, and it's a schedule that allows them to kick off right off the bat in a non-conference game, which is critical for the ACC to win those games on the road at Colorado. This is a fun team. I think that, you know, if you can stay healthy and you get some improvements in a couple of areas, because their transfer portal guy is legit, Roddy.

Well, the weapons that Georgia Tech has are going to go toe to toe to with anybody this side of Clemson in the conference. You got Malik Rutherford back of the wide receiver Jamal Haynes back at running back. Did you transfer portal guy? Eric Rivers from FIU, certified, bona fide, dude. I mean, this is a guy that had over a thousand yards receiving at FIU, incredibly explosive, can play in every position in this Georgia Tech offense from a receiver standpoint, inside or outside.

And Brent Key has talked about his hands, and you can see it on film. He's got some of the best hands in the entire country. And it's reflected in his rating in college football 25, 26, because he's one of the highest rated guys when you look at it. But they are really excited about what Eric Rivers can bring to this offense when you pair him with Malik Rutherford, when you pair him with Haynes King, when you pair him with Jamal Haynes and a deeper running back room. This offense should be one of the best in the ACC. And Buster Faulkner is one of the best play callers in the entire country. Yeah, and the opener against Colorado. If you're old enough, I know all three of us are harkening back to that split national title in 1990.

It'll be a lot of fun. It's 19. They got five downs, Zubit. That is true. They did need five downs against Missouri. What are we doing? But they got them. And they are split national champions.

Younger viewers are like, wait, two teams won the national title and one? Yes, it happened on the way here on college football live. Big 10 quarterbacks. Raiola. Who's going to be the start at Ohio. State and why the return of that man at one Big Ten school has expectations through the roof. We're back on college football live. If you're a Michigan fan, you're loving seeing this.

If you're an Ohio State fan, not so much. Obviously, they lost Oregon. They lost to Michigan. And of course, it didn't matter because they ended up winning the national championship. Jeremiah Smith, though, understands this rivalry, even as young as he is, The magnitude. Rivalry is a rivalry. I don't care what you're talking about.

You can say, oh, we lost, but we won that championship. I feel like it's still a rivalry still. You should win that game. So to me, I take every game very serious, don't care what it is. So I just want to win. I feel like the same way about us. They don't like us. We don't like them.

So, I mean, it's a rivalry that has been going on for 100 plus years. So it's going to continue to be that way even when I'm done playing here at Ohio State. Let's bring in our Heather Dinnich live from Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas. It's just the sign of the times, Heather. They win the national championship, but they cannot shake the question about their struggles against Michigan. What have you gleaned today? Ryan Day was asked, what is it going to take to beat Michigan? And brace yourself, brace yourself.

He said, score more points. Okay, so that's kind of the way he wanted to answer that and handle that rivalry question yesterday. But look, I have talked to Ryan Day extensively about this, and he is well aware of the expectations on his shoulders, the weight of the world when it comes to that rivalry, and he embraces it. That's what he's there for. He takes it very seriously.

But I did ask him, because he has so much turnover on his roster, a new starting quarterback this year, how do you go about building upon last year's season with so many new faces in key roles? And he basically said, you know what? we might not have a lot of household names right now, but within the program, we know who those guys are and you will too when it matters the most during the college football season. But it is a young team. He talked about Jeremiah Smith, 19 years old, checking in the hotel here with his teammates. Remember, I'm at a casino, and they wouldn't let them check in because none of them were 21 years old.

So Ryan Day had to check them in yesterday. So this is a young team, but a talented team, and every single one of them is gunning for Michigan. That's a really good perspective on just how young they are, and it's never too early to think about November 29th, but those guys that are not household names will certainly become them. Heather, thank you very much. One of the issues Ohio State has to deal with right now is who their quarterback is going to be. Now, Julian's saying a lot of people had sort of penciled in as the starter. He had committed to Sabin at Alabama, but after that shocking and abrupt retirement from Coach Sabin, he's in Columbus and linking keenholes from Spearfish, South Dakota. You don't get a ton of guys from South. Dakota playing at this level, so he's got an interesting backstory. Here is Ryan Day saying this thing is not in the bag for Sane's nor Keenholz. It's hard to make any progress unless you're actually on the field playing football, but I think both guys have gotten stronger. And they've been throwing with the wide receivers. And, you know, I ask those guys all the time. And they like both of them. So we're going to put them in as many competitive situations as we

possibly can to figure out who handles that the best because, you know, we got to be on point week one. We can't be messing around. I got a feeling they'll all play throughout the season, but it'll be a fierce competition to be who the starter is. You know, Tom, I'll take him at his word. If that's the case, I mean, it doesn't get more juicy than the defending national champions trying to figure out who their starter is going to be with Arch Manning coming to town in game one. Well, listen, I think, you know, what Ryan Day is saying there is we got to get a to fall camp and get these guys into as many live action scenarios, competitive scenarios, as we possibly can before we make this choice.

Let's see what these guys do with the live bullets flying by. Let's let one guy go with the ones on a couple of series, and then the next guy, he goes with the ones on a couple of series. Let you face the two's on defense. Let you face the ones on defense. Throw the kitchen sink at them, see who can process, who can absorb. And at the end of the day, what you've got to do is you've got to make sure you choose the guy that not only has the highest ceiling.

but it's going to be the most risk averse. You can't afford to go out there and shoot yourself in the foot, turn the football over, and not be efficient. So the decision-making and the accuracy and the consistency for me will determine who wins this job, but I think you need more than just spring football

to determine that. I think you need to give the job to the guy that throws it to number four the best. Jeremiah Smith, who do you want? Whatever, whoever wins the point of that position. It doesn't matter. He's never covered. He's never covered.

7-11. There's never been a wide out in the history of the game of football that has ever been covered. And that guy actually has something. There's a special few that actually can back it up. He's one of them. But you've got Carnell Tate as well. And I know Ryan Day's talking about we don't have household names yet. Ohio State recruits as well

as anybody in the country. The guys that are going to replace the guys that left are extremely talented. But when you have two receivers like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, the quarterback that walks in is going to walk into a plethora of riches. And look, yes, they hit the ground running with Texas, and that Texas game is going to be huge. But whichever way that Texas

game goes, the quarterback that can stay even keel, like you said, lose, and be consistent, whether they win or lose, that's the one that you need to go with, because Ohio State is going to have the talent to make a college football playoff. And as long as there's improvement over the course of the season, it doesn't matter really how you start against Texas. No question about it. It's going to be fascinating to watch to see that develop. But there are other quarterbacks to keep an eye on in this league. We're going to talk. about these guys here in just a moment. Let's start with the guy on the left, Luke Altmeier for the University of Illinois.

I showed you before the break. He announced that a college basketball game for the Illinois. He was coming back at a big pop from the crowd. Rutgers has themselves a transfer from inside the conference as well. And Drew Aller leading the pack. But let's focus in on Altmire. He's back. And Illinois's expectations are sky high.

Yeah, I had no reason to leave. I got a lot of good things going on here individually and as a team. I can do everything that I want for my entire life, my future. Moving forward, hopefully the National Football League right here, the way the team set up for this year. I mean, we're set up for a really good season, a special season that hadn't been done here, hopefully ever.

That's what we're shooting for. That's what we believe, that's what we expect. We expect to win, be great, to be our best, and we're gonna do everything we can to do it. So I had no reason to pick up and go somewhere else. It was appealing, it was, but, made an adult decision to do the right thing. And I wake up more assured, reassured that I did that right thing every single day with the people I'm around.

Been almost a quarter century, Tom, since Illinois won 10 games. You go back to 01, then they finally get to 10 wins again. And now, as you heard Altmeyer say, they're sort of looking to take the next step. I assume he's going to have to be a vital piece of that happening or it doesn't happen. No question. If you got a quarterback, you got a chance. And they've got one. And I think he's the poster boy in college football this year for development and improvement.

You know, he was in a heated battle with Jackson Dart at Old Miss. Nerely won the job. He goes, gets his feet wet two years ago at Illinois, and then just made a huge leap last year. Now, they lose Josh McCray in the transfer portal, but they had a four-man rotation at running back. The concern offensively is who are the weapons on the perimeter going to be? That's where they have the biggest losses. Defensively, they're going to get, they're going to be loaded. The defensive front led by Gabe Yacchus, he's a difference maker off the edge.

So I think that defense is going to be able to get a couple extra possessions for that offense this year. And who knows? I mean, Illinois, I think they are a dark horse party pooper for the rest of the Big Ten because they have the components back, 16, 17 starters, and Luke Altmire, his trajectory in his ceiling is still high. Let's talk about the other guy we mentioned that we had on the screen next to Allmire. and that would be Dylan Ryola. Last season, look, 67% completion.

But again, the speed of the game and everything he had to adjust to has to be taken into effect. And Matt Rule yesterday at Big Ten Media Days said, you know, all things considered, this guy handled himself pretty well. He's done a great job with his body. He's done a great job with his knowledge of the offense.

His growth with Glenn Thomas, our quarterback coach, and Daniel Holgerson, OC, his command, his command of the roster of the team. Make no mistake, it's really hard to come in as a freshman with tremendous expectations and have to go be the leader. And what I've seen from him, his maturity is he now embraces when he's frustrated. He embraces when things aren't going well. And he's the one going back to the ownership I talked about.

Instead of saying like, well, you know, this guy's got to do better, this guy's got to do better, man. He puts it on himself. He says, I'll fix this. So I think our team plays, who's going to play for Dylan. And I love coaching the kid. It's been said that Matt Ruhl, at least in college, every program he's touched, he's been able to turn and do it rather quick. So that's good news for Big Red fans.

All right, Roddy, to you, this was the guy that was supposed to save the pro. Who's joining you? Look at that. Look at Coach Nardust. He joined us. Dude's giving us some love, man. He's just trying to keep his guys healthy. We'll get to pit on another day.

No question about it. I mean, he's a defensive specialist. He bum-rushed you two guys right there. All right, Roddy. If you can focus, time is blushing, but Roddy, if you can focus, the thing with Riola was he was supposed to come in there and be the guy that made Nebraska Nebraska again, and those are huge shoes to fill.

Yeah, but he still has time to do it. He had a freshman year where there were peaks and there were valleys, through too many interceptions, got banged up. But this is a guy that showed incredible problems. in his first year. And I think the poise that he showed throughout the season was something that you can certainly build off of. It's a Nebraska offense that returns a ton, especially up front. He was going to have an offensive line that he's familiar with should be one of the better offensive lines in the Big Ten. They lose their top two receivers, but they get Dane Key over from Kentucky. They get in his eye hunter over from Cal. So he's going to have weapons on the outside. He has another year with Dana Holgerson with with Dana being there is the offensive coordinator. So I think there's a lot of is a ton of growth that can happen from a young quarterback.

You know, we annoyed these guys so early and we judge them so quickly. And the book's not written. I mean, just look at quarterbacks throughout the country. Tom said it earlier. If you come in, you're richer and you sit, you get so much better and it's helpful for your development. But the guys that don't have a chance to do that, shouldn't jump to conclusions. He's going to grow a ton in the off season.

And I'm excited to see where Dylan Riola falls in 2025. He's got that family connection to Nebraska, which is part of the reason he ended up there. And we'll see. this is going to be a really big year for him and coach rule. More quarterback discussion here on college football live. It is Miller time, but not in Los Angeles. Instead, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

And you want to talk about stealth? One more look. We're going to seal it with a kiss for this segment and be back with more college football live. Next. We're back on college football live again. We're ping ponging back and forth. It's day two of Big Ten Media Days and day two of ACC Media Days. Let's talk about the latter here in a second.

This is Louisville. Miller Moss was thrown for six touchdowns in a bowl game for USC. He became the starter. Didn't end up working out. He's with Louisville playing for this guy. You know, building the roster where the quarterback doesn't have to do everything. You have a good running game. You've got a good play-action game.

You've got a good defense. You've got a good offensive line. All those things mattered. had a great quarterback play. And we hope to once again for Miller to have a great year. And we definitely are optimistic that what the weapons we have and the team we have, he will excel and play extremely well for us. I think there were very specific things that I was looking for,

you know, in a school and an opportunity. And I think, you know, Coach Brom and, you know, the University of Louisville, which obviously includes the program, offered a ton of that. You know, I think the opportunity to win and compete at a high level certainly a part of that, and I think we absolutely have that opportunity this year. I think the ability to develop within a pro-style offense, like Chris and Chris touched on previously, was important to me. And I think just being around good and decent human beings, I think, you know,

that can kind of get lost on us a lot in terms of, you know, the era of NIL and transferring and all that kind of stuff. But in sitting with Coach Brom and meeting Chris and calling on my visit, like, I really wanted to be surrounded by good and decent human beings that cared about the right things and that cared about one another. And I think I've absolutely found that within the program. Tom seems to have a good head on his shoulders. The one thing I take away is, you know, it's not hard to root for a guy like this. He sat at USC.

You guys talked about the previous segment, you know, guys that develop. He sat, he waited, he played well, he beat LSU in an opener, things were moving the right way. Then they just sort of got out of control. But he's got a great chance for a reboot with a guy, Tom, that is seemingly to make it work with any, quarterback of skill, him and Brom could be a great match.

There's no question, Zubin, and I think, you know, this young man deserves a lot of credit. People forget, he was a high profile quarterback coming out of high school. He goes to SC, and then when Caleb Williams tranches there, he doesn't leave. And he sits and he kind of waits his turn, then he has that opportunity in the Holiday Bowl, ironically

against Louisville and a six touchdown audition. But if you're a quarterback and you're looking for a new destination, why wouldn't Louisville be in your top three choices of any list that you can make when you look at the work that has been done by Jeff Brom at every stop he has ever coached.

And I think what makes this such a good fit is you've got a guy that's played a lot of football, a really quality sample size, and he fits within the scheme. The heavy play action, pushing the ball vertically. You've got maybe one of the premier running backs in the country, let alone the ACC. Chris Bell, Colin Lacey on the perimeter.

Things are set up for this to be a pretty darn good year. The schedule for Louisville, tough. Well, it's tough, but it's no tougher than what Miller Moss has gone through. Jeff Brom loves guys with adversity because they're hungry, and he turned Jack Plummer into his best season and an ACC championship game appearance a couple of years ago. Tyler Shuck was a guy that had struggled with injuries that had oozing talent, but hadn't been able to put it together.

He ended up being a second round pick and may start in New Orleans for the Saints this year under Jeff Brom's tutelage. And Miller Moss comes in with better weapons than both of those guys had. You mentioned him. Chris Bell and was phenomenal last year. Big-bodied receiver. Colin Lacey was phenomenal two years ago at South Alabama, broke his collarbone before last season,

and really wasn't able to get back to himself. But him in the slot, I think, is going to be a big, big weapon for Louisville this year. Then the two running backs, maybe the best running back tandem in the conference. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson tore up the ACC last year. as true freshmen, both of them. Now they come back as sophomores behind an offensive line that should be one of the best in the ACC. This offense is going to be scary.

And yes, the schedule stuff, yes, they've got work to do on defense. This is the Louisville team. It's dangerous. There's no question about it. So let's flip from this Louisville program to the program that Miller Moss left to come to Louisville. You guys discussed that in detail. Of course, that would be USC.

And I think it's been fair to say that the results after the shocking departure of Lincoln Riley from Norman to L.A. have not met fan expectations. I think they'd even probably say they haven't met their own expectations, though Riley has been very vocal about saying that they've been in some really close ball games. And that is true. There's a lot of 50-50 games they have lost, but I don't think that's exactly going to play get the USC fan base.

Roddy, let's start with you. They're going to have a little bit of experience under center, but they really need to pump up the offense. That is Lincoln Riley specialty. Yes, it is. And the quarterback for that 22 and 23 season was Checks notes, Caleb Williams. So what does Lincoln Riley do

without a Heisman trophy contending quarterback, a special talent at quarterback at USC? And last year it was up and down. Miller Moss obviously had his highs at LSU game and then trailed off. Jade Maiava comes in and played pretty well. But look, this is a USC offense where it's a huge year. They've got to replace Woody Marks, a thousand-yard rusher in the backfield.

You've got your top two receivers back, but look, if Lincoln Riley's offense doesn't get back to where it was two years ago, then we're really going to start to ask questions because there's always been questions about the offensive line, defensive line, and that defense loops. But if that offense isn't humming like it's accustomed to when he's had Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hertz and Caleb Williams, all NFL quarterbacks, Heisman trophy contending quarterbacks, then I think. I think we're going to start to ask questions about Lincoln Riley as a head coach at USC. Well, and I think to the point, Zoom under the close games, you know, you're going to be in

close games each and every week now in this sport because we've thinned the herd of talent. And so you're going to find yourself in one possession games late. And you've got to come up with a way to either not shoot yourself in the foot, make the play that needs to be made, set yourself for a field goal, kick it through the uprights, and walk into the locker room victorious. They haven't been able to do that, as Lincoln Riley has pointed out. But at the end of the day, we know SC's got. skill. We know it's a high profile

job, a high profile program. They've done a great job in recruiting the transfer portal and high school football. But the lines of scrimmage at USC have not been what any of us who've been around this sport for the last 30 years have become accustomed to seeing from an SC football team. They get

better there. They get better in the wind column. That's fair. That's fair. But the heat is on, for sure. We will see what happens. On the way, once again, we're going to go back to ACC Media Days where the fellows are to talk about a program that's killing it on the field and in recruiting. But can it be maintained at Syracuse?

That's next. We're back on college football live. A reminder, UFC fight night is actually going to be fight matinee. 3 p.m. Eastern Saturday on ABC, ESPN, Deporte, CSPN, Plus you can order on pay-per-view as well. Been ready for fight night. Syracuse turnaround. Brand Brown comes on the scene. It's a 10-win season, something they haven't seen in a while there.

This year, we'll get into how difficult that might be for a repeat. But first, Brown spreading the love for the team success. I could be a better listener. I think I could listen more to the younger guys. I think it's becoming a young man's game and not just to the guys that are a lot older. For me, I probably got the lowest IQ on the end. entire staff, right? But I've been able to make good decisions because of listening. And I feel that I need to listen to the young guys more. I feel I need to listen to the players' bodies more as you're

watching and seeing them through the work or listen to that a little bit more. And it help us be able to play 16 games, right? Our season changed off a two plays, right? And so I don't know what two to three plays that'll be, but how do I get them to be ready for those two to three plays, right? Love it talking about the 16 games. In other words, let's go deep into this playoff. Tom, you have been in Sconson the recruiting game as long as anybody. I mean, you are an expert on the subject. And the one thing Fran Brown has really done, besides remotivate that fan base with 10 wins,

is to really see them zoom up the recruiting rankings in a way. I don't think they've been done in decades. No, they haven't. And it's not an easy job to recruit to because you don't have an in-state pool of players to draw from. you've got to go in everybody else's backyard. And I think that's where connection and relationships with Fran Brown and players is so key. He lives in Breeze recruiting. Now, we're in an era that's more difficult than it's ever been before, particularly at a place like Syracuse.

But instead of pushing back and fighting it, he just embraces it, realizes it is what it is. So I got to use my personality. I got to engage. And I have got to get these guys to trust me. And listen, he is very blunt. He's very black and white. He will tell a player right to their face. Hey, you think you're a $300,000 player,

but you played like a $100,000 player. And that's the reality. And if you can't handle that, then we're going to find somebody who can. So I think the fact that he's bold, he's up front, he's refreshing, he's energetic. That resonates with the kids, and now they want to play for you.

And hopefully what happens is you develop that relationship, and they want to stay and play with you. He does such a good job with those relationships, being able to have conversations on and off the field that are blunt. And he's going to have to make a decision at quarterback with Ricky Collins and Steve Angelly. But the thing that I think with Fran Brown that you're buying for the long term,

like you said, is his ability to acquire talent. He's got those connections. He may not have the recruiting base in Central New York, but he's got connections to New Jersey where they play great football where he's from. All the coaches know him, and he's done such a good job there. So you look at Syracuse, and the schedule's a lot tougher for this year. I think you're buying them in the long run. But for this year, it's going to come down to the quarterback decision

and replacement of some weapons on the outside. And the schedule. The schedule is tough. It's a bear. We'll see. Ten wins. How does he follow it up? It'll be very interesting.

All eyes on the orange this year. Maybe that wasn't the case last year. On the way, different shade of orange for Clemson. Is this the year? They're back on top of it all. The guys will weigh in on the Tigers next. Just a reminder, both Big Ten and ACC media days are three days long. We're in the middle of day two.

Here's who's scheduled to speak Thursday. Of course, you can have wall-to-wall coverage of ACC Media Days on the ACC network. They are camped down there, and they're listening to everything from everyone. Kate Klobnik, look at where he stands in the Clemson program history in these stats. And, of course, just even in recent history, to have somebody like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, I mean, to be competing with those two guys and what they did on the field says everything you want. about Clubnik as we start our discussion with Tom. Tom, this is one of the few breeds, man.

A multi-year starter that really dug in and is coming back for more and has seemingly gotten better, a little bit better every year. Yeah, and it's all despite the fact that everybody told Davo, he had no idea what he was doing. He has to get in the transfer portal. He needs to transition his roster by 40 players each and every year. The reason why they're in this position is because he stuck to his guns and he didn't do that. The priority has always been

evaluate, recruit, develop, and retain. So what they've done is instead of going out in the portal, they've gone ahead and rewarded their own players who have performed well to high level, and they've been able to develop those guys and keep them around. It's hard to have a core nucleus of a football team. They've got that because of the process by which they went about doing this. And listen, it wasn't easy.

It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns for Kate Clubnik early, but he started to grow up. He started to mature. The more he played, the better he got. And the personnel around him, particularly at wide receiver, got better and better and better. And Roddy, I got to tell you, I think what Tom Allen's influence and the caliber of player in depth they have on defense might be one of the most improved defensive teams in the country. No doubt. Just on Kate Klovenick real quick, we talk about the development over the course of his career.

Go and watch how he played against Georgia, week one last year. Suppose how he played against Texas in the college football playoff. And you saw the growth from a player over the course of a season. And this defense on the other side is going to help them out a ton. Tom Allen comes in, and I think he's going to return them to where they were under Brent Venables. They are incredibly talent on the defensive line. Peter Woods could be the first defensive tackle off the board. T.J. Parker could be the first defensive end off the board.

They've got a linebacker room with Sammy Brown and that crew that are phenomenal. They've got two corners that will play in the NFL, including Adion Terrell and Ashton Hampton. So this is a defense that I think has the pieces to be one of the best in the first in the entire country. You pair that with an offense with Kate Klubnick and Bryant Westcoe and T.J. Moore and Antonio Williams and Tyler Brown. And they brought in a transfer. Yeah. Tristan Smith, the big receiver from the FCS level. And the defensive end from Purdue. Will Helt. The defensive end from Purdue, who is phenomenal. Look, this is a Clemson team that's loaded and probably the most hype Clemson team since, what, 2019, 2020?

Well, just think it wasn't that long ago when we're having discussions going, where are the wideouts? Like, where are the weapons? They found them. Where's Sammy Watkins? Where's T. Higgins? Where's Martavius Bryant? Now all of a sudden, you mentioned T.J. Moore, Brian Westcoe. Antonio Williams, they're loaded on the perimeter with weapons. And so I think this is going to be an exciting time for this program.

And again, I respect the hell out of how they chose to go about doing it. And it's paying off. No question. I'll double down on that because if you have a coach or a leader that doesn't have the hardware that he has, he's probably making some changes. But he stuck to his guns and he had a tremendous amount of backing up. in support. All right, so we have to discuss up next on Thursday, of course, is Bill Belichick.

He'll speak at 2 Eastern. Again, that is going to be on the ACC. Is that L-T? L-T was in the house watching there. But yeah, 2-Eastern tomorrow, ACCC Network. That's where you want to be to catch Belichick's comments live. And they did announce today that they did sell out their season ticket allotments. Obviously, the expectation has been building.

alongside he and general manager Mike Lombardi. Roddy, I want to go to you. I mean, it's been rare with the Big Ten and the SEC dominating everything that you can make an argument. The most interesting story in all of college football this year is in the ACC, and it doesn't involve Clemson, and it doesn't involve Miami. It's this team.

Yeah, because they've renamed the town Chapel Bill for Bill Belichick. This seems going to be fascinating. You've got one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NFL coming to coach a team that has been considered a sleeping giant with the brand of North Carolina behind them. They've never quite been able to

figure it out. They have not won a conference championship since the early 80s. They haven't even really been in the national conversation in recent memory. So can Bill Belichick get there? And the answer is, I don't know. The schedule looks favorable, but they start with TCU and TCU team

that I think is going to be pretty good with Josh Hoover at quarterback, but the questions are throughout this team. They did a good job of bringing in guys with the experience in the offensive line lugs. But the questions start at quarterback and they go throughout the roster. Well, they avoid Miami. They avoid SMU. I think that's a good start for a first-year coach. They avoid Georgia Tech.

Yeah, and Tech, yeah. I mean, it is a favorable schedule, but it comes down to personnel. And I don't think anybody truly has a great feel yet for just the level of personnel that they're going to have and what it will take to have a successful 2025 season. What they need to do is check back in with Lawrence Taylor, see if you can get a COVID year and get him back on the field defensively because that would be a tremendous help as Bo Ackinson moves up to Columbus and goes to Ohio State.

And so, again, fascinating. I liken this to the attention that we saw heat upon the Colorado program. You know, different personality between Prime and Coach Belichick. but all eyes are going to be on North Carolina just to see what they look like. Last thing, one sentence from each of you in our last 30 seconds. What qualifies as success for Chapel Bill in year one? Roddy, start with you. I think they got to win eight games, Looge.

Wow. I would say above 500. All right, so we got eight games and above 500 if you're interested. They have a six and a half over underwin total in Las Vegas, which is where Big Ten Media Days are right now. We'll see you again Friday at 5 p.m. Easter.