College Football Live - CFB Live - Fire Away/Week 7 Recap

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, Tom Luginbill and Pete Thamel for College Football Live. Breaking news coming out of Penn State and what this means for their future behind the snap and on the sideline. The Indiana Hoosiers with a big upset this past weekend, hear what their quarterback Fernando Mendoza has to say about their confidence. Pete will give some injury reports to be on the lookout for and the team recaps the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas. Tune in to CFB Live now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, welcome to college football live. Out of the tunnel on this Tuesday, the fallout from the Franklin firing. Even a couple days on, the angles people aren't talking about and who could be a possible replacement. Our experts are here with the answer. Pretty clear now that all he does is win, just like he said, but can Kurtzegneddy in Indiana win the national title, the path to get there? Plus, is there such a thing as your best offensive player coming back too soon in a rivalry game you've got to have? We'll discuss that more on college football live. And we welcome you inside with Pete, Tom, Sam, I am Zubin.

Let's get right to it with James Franklin. You know, it was just 276 days ago that they were a handful of plays away from maybe participating and playing in the national championship game. Instead of playing in the national title game, less than 300 days later, Penn State has endured a national coaching search to find Franklin's role. This has been a college football season that has been insane both on and off the field. But this story seven weeks in has to be the most stunning of all. If you're a Penn State fan, you know this graphic all too well.

Bottom line, James Franklin beat everybody he was supposed to beat and then couldn't beat the teams. He needed to beat until the last couple of weeks where he stopped beating the teams that he always beat. Now everything is in the hands of this man. It's a small world we have and we're all friends. And so you cannot make decisions of this magnitude lightly. So to say, we lost Oregon and we lost UCLA. No, it's about where are we as a program?

Where are we going? How do I give my student athletes the best chance to win? How do I continue to build this to a place that we are the best program in the country? That's the motivation. And so as you start to put all those things together, you've got to make the call. The issue is the last time they were the number one team of the country. When the season ended, it was 1986. Pete, I want to start with you.

And we've all had about 50 hours here to digest this. So we've had a chance to have some context, get a little bit of nuance here. Because when this hit, it was a meteor on Sunday. What more can you add after hearing that emotional plea there from Pat Kraft? Well, Zubin, you know, Pat Kraft's rationale, was really interesting because look, the firing of James Franklin was shocking. The data in the big games was the data, but he'd been such an institution at Penn State, pulled them from some of the depths of the Sandusky scandal, brought them back to respectability,

as many people have pointed out, including Pat Kraft himself. But the key words from Pat Kraft on why this move was made were national championship. He kept going back to, we want to win a national championship. And if you look at James Franklin's resume during his time at Penn State, It's really the only thing that's missing. They obviously won the Big Ten in 2016. They were nationally competitive. They won two college football playoff games last year,

but they had not won a national championship. And Pat Kraft said it loud, bold, and fluorescent. That's Penn State's goals and desires. No question. We'll discuss here in just a moment here, Tom. Way in on that. Well, listen, I think when you are willing to spend what is going to be upwards of $100 or over $100 million

to make. this move. And you heard Pat Kraft say, hey, we're not taking a move of this magnitude lightly. You are saying very, very boldly that we do not think this is the individual that can win the big game and get to the national championship.

Regardless of the pedigree, regardless of the wins, you're 104 and 45. I mean, that is a remarkable, a remarkable record. But when it comes right down to it, they seem to be convinced that the next step cannot be taken

under James Franklin's leadership, and that's the bold reality. And unfortunately, it's the state of this profession. It's the most bottom line profession in the business. It's a what have you done for me lately profession. You look at the numbers right there. They speak for itself. That shouldn't take away from the accomplishment, what, 11 and 2, 10 and 3, 13 and 3,

an interception away from playing for a national title a year ago. But the bottom line is they have to find a way to find somebody that they think is worth over $100 million investment. Sam, to make this change. And whoever they find, Lou, should not only be a coach that can help win them a national championship, but also needs to be somebody that can build the relationships with the players that we're hearing now speaking so loudly in favor, at least of the memory of the coach that James Franklin was at Penn State.

This is what I listened to over the last 50 hours. It's the players current and former that have spoken up that have talked about how James Franklin has helped them become a better man. Yes, it's important to win championships on the field, but you can. cannot understate what James Franklin has done off of the field as well for his athletes. You know, by the way, if we want to talk about on the field, let's remember where Penn State was about 12 years ago after the Jerry Sandusky era and what was going on with the program. He helped take that program to a place of really it was at the bottom of the bottom.

And now they're, no, they're not national championship competitors now, but it's so much better than they were before. So, yes, if you're talking about national championships like Kraft is, find a coach that can help win you some on the field, but also develop men off the field so that the resounding voice that you hear is a voice of character. The bottom line is that 95% of jobs, everything James Franklin would have done would have a statue outside of the stadium of him. But the problem is he's in that other 5% of jobs, and there are plenty of coaches, Pete,

that are going to want to have a crack at this. Take us through some of the intel you've gathered on who could be a reasonable replacement here, taking into account Tom's point about all the economics of everything. Sure, Zuban. I think the list has to start with Matt Rule, the Nebraska head coach. He and Patcraft worked together at Temple. Matt Rule is also a Penn State graduate, attended state college high school for a time in his youth. And simply put, those two are extremely close, personally and professionally. So the ties to rule are obvious and glaring.

Now, guys, as we know, sometimes the obvious coach doesn't get hired. And I think that's where the name Matt Campbell would come up. He has been very patient in building Iowa State. He's built them into a perennial Big 12 contender. And Matt Campbell has wanted a Upper Midwest-type powerhouse job and is waited for one of those to open. Penn State would certainly qualify there. An interesting name is Kurt Signetti. When you think about Indiana and what they've done, the timeline guys, I think is really interesting.

Because if Kurt Signetti is to make it the playoff, which I think the odds are overwhelming, they will, It's very difficult to leave a job if, you know, if you're playing on December 19th. Well, there's no question about that as it relates to Coach Signetti, especially with the transfer portal window now being moved to January. I think the other thing to note in all of this, guys, is whoever they go after, you know, most jobs have a change in leadership because there's been a failure to produce on the field. That's not this job. So whoever comes in and takes this job is going to be expected to do every single single, thing that James Franklin did from an accomplishment standpoint on and off the field, plus beat Ohio State, beat Michigan, win the top 10 ranked matchups, win the top five ranked

matchups. So it's not as if you're coming into a job where, hey, you've got a little bit of a long leash to get this thing rolling. That's not going to be this job for whoever takes this job. So when I hear names like Matt Ruhle, yes, you think about what he's done in the past at places like Temple. You know, you're talking about Baylor. But then you think about where he's at right now.

Nebraska hasn't performed, at least even this year, to the level of expectation. So I understand there's names like Matt Rule and other names that may be thrown out there. But Lugge, you make a great point. You're not just coming here to rebuild a program. The program is a 9-10 win team year-in and year-out. You're coming here to win national championship. So whatever coach comes in, I believe, need to have a proven record of winning.

All right, Sam, I want to start with you on this. Fellas all way in. But Sam, you know, this roster is full, much like the team you played on in Texas. It's full of three, four, and five-star prospects. The coach they came to play for is gone. They're starting quarterback is gone. Their playoff dreams are gone. They still have to play.

Terry Smith's going to take them to Iowa as the interim coach on Saturday. Take me inside the locker room on how this team gets through the rest of the season. You can go one of two ways. Number one, you can disintegrate as a team. Our coach is gone. The guy recruited me is gone. man, I'm ready to go to the NFL or I'm ready to transfer. The second way is this.

You can rally around the situation and turn that negative into a positive. You can turn the situation like UCLA did, a fired coach, into momentum. UCLA did this exact same thing versus Penn State. Yes, the schedule is daunting. Iowa is not going to be an easy out. Ohio State. Indiana is playing like the best team in the nation. Michigan State as well.

But there is an opportunity to rally around this situation as a team. It's going to take the leaders of the team. Drew Allen is injured so it won't be him. the guys who are on the field leading and rallying around what is a bad situation to make it better. And Sam, let's not forget there's now a 30-day open window for anybody who wants to on that roster to jump into the transfer portal. I think that's one thing to note. Secondly, this is going to be interesting to watch to see, to your point, where is the investment, the loyalty in the allegiance? All right?

We're in this name image and likeness world where it's money, how much you're going to pay me, what am I going to get? but how much do I care about Penn State? Now that this has happened, is it all about me? Or is it all about making sure we finish this thing outright? And I think that's with the locker room and the leadership and the whole team attitude has to come to the forefront for Penn State to close this thing on a positive note. The tough part with that, Louves, I will say, is oftentimes players are going to places, yes, maybe because of the school or the brand name, but you're going there because of a coach.

You're going there because the coach who recruited you since you were 15 or 16 years old, some even earlier who've been texting you and calling you and built a relationship with you. And so when that coach is gone, oftentimes your allegiance could be gone. I think about Caleb Downs at Alabama. Caleb Downs went to Alabama because of Nick Saban. Nick Saban was no longer at Alabama. So Caleb Down says, hey, I went here because of Nick Saban. Sure, the success of Alabama, but I wanted to be with that guy.

So I wouldn't blame a player who sees a coach either get fired or retire or go leave for another job like many of these coaches do after they say they're going to stay. I do not blame a player for leaving because what they were promised isn't happening. Last thing I would mention, there were actually three coaches fired this weekend. Trent Bray has gone at Oregon State after going 0 and 7. Trent Dilfer gone at UAB. Dilfer did not win a single road game in his time coaching the Blazers. That makes seven coaches in seven weeks. As Tom said, this is a new world of college football,

and we're all going to have to get used to it in some of these negative headlines. Only positive headlines for Indiana. It's time for the player to watch. Brought to you by Q Doe, You guys have been talking all season long just about how accurate and great Fernando Mendoza has been. Ask the Oregon defense about how great he was. He outplayed Dante Moore was just absolutely terrific as Indiana moves to 6 and O. And Mendoza wants to let everyone know Indiana is here to stay.

It shows the country that the IU football team is a real team. We're not just a one-hit wonder. And it shows that we can go through. stuff in the game. We get handled adversity. We're a great team and we really band together. Capitol 1, Ohio State, and Miami remain the top two teams. Indiana has its highest ranking in school history. They hit number four back in 45 and 67, but have never found themselves in the lofty place of a top three team until this moment. All right, Tom, I want to start with you. Kurt Signetti is 17 and 2 out of the gate at the losingest program in the history of college football.

If you take a look at their schedule, if Penn State is a severely weakened Penn State, this blows my mind to say this. The toughest remaining game on their regular season schedule could be, folks, it could be UCLA. I know they've got the chance to win, and Penn State is Penn State. I would ignore the 71% there because of what's happened. But this is a cakewalk. There's no Ohio State and Tom. It could be Indiana and Ohio State both meeting as undefeated teams for the right to win the Big Ten and likely both go to the playoff.

Well, it's never a cakewalk. We've seen upsets each and every weekend throughout the college football season and we always will. And I thought that Kurt Signetti answered this question post game last weekend in the exact right manner. He was asked, hey, what will this do for you? Does this propel you for the rest of the same? season and he said, you know what, that depends on how we handle it. How do we deal with it? Because now the target just got bigger on their back. Everybody's telling them how good they are. You just went out and had a monumental win on the road against the ranked team breaking a huge long

win streak for Oregon. How do you deal with that? Can you handle all of the accolades that are going to come along with that, maintain your focus? And Sam, go out with each and every week with the same hunger, the same chip on your shoulder, the same level of execution and the same focus. is to do it to everybody else that remains on the schedule. I believe they will based off of what happened last season. Last season, Indiana was calloused. They were embarrassed. You talked about that Ohio State game.

They looked good for a good period of the game, but then there were so many special teams gas that blew that game out of proportion. In the college football playoff, they didn't play well as well. Those bad performances could be like calluses. When you're working out or lifting weights or carrying heavy things, oftentimes your hands get a little bit rough.

And all of a sudden, now of a sudden you are more tough. You're more experienced. you're more ready for the next opportunity. Indiana was ready for this opportunity versus Oregon. You look at some of the players they had even on special teams. That star linebacker next to Fernandez Mendoza, number four, Aden Fisher. He's playing on special teams as well. They weren't going to let the third phase of football beat them.

So I've been impressed by what Indiana has put on tape this season. Based off of what happened last year, they're leaving no stone unturned. Next up, as you probably saw on the screen, Michigan State Saturday, where they are a 27-point favorite coming off. their highest ranking. Don't say it. Tom's told us upsets every week. Guess who's upset?

John Mateer for maybe playing as early as he did. Was it a mistake for OU to roll him out there? And what does this win say about Arch on the other side of the QB debate? That's next. Back on college football live, it's time for our rewarding performance brought to you by Capital One. Nobody had a better ground game than Cameron Dickey of Texas Tech ramp for 263 yards in their win over KU. There's only one other undefeated team. in the Big 12.

That is BYU, and you bet Texas Tech and BYU will meet next month. Pete, let's talk about the injuries and let's start with the guy that normally toads the rock and hands it off to Dickey.

Yeah, Barron Morton, the Texas Tech starting quarterback, Zubin, is day to day. We should learn a little bit more this afternoon after Texas Tech practice about his availability this weekend in Tempe. He has a leg injury that he suffered. It's not a

expected to be serious. And look, Baron Morton, Joey McGuire has said is one of the toughest players he's ever coached and he's played through a lot of pain and injuries. We'll see if we can do it again and fight through it this week to play at Arizona State. As for Texas A&M on the other side of the state, they're going to be without star tailback, Labion Moss, for a couple weeks. Mike Elko said it's going to be a significant period of time, although the injury is not believed to be season ending. He's dealing with an ankle issue. Moss is Texas A&M's leading, He averages 5.6 yards of carry, and he's obviously done a great job toting the rock for the Aggies this year. And then finally, we go back to John Mateer. Not as much focus on Mattier this

week, guys. He's expected to be able to roll through practice this week, and then he will play at South Carolina, again, barring any setbacks. Metteer obviously tested that hand against Texas last week to mixed results. Expect him to be eased back in again, and we'll see how things go on Saturday in Columbia. No doubt, Pete, and Metteer did the impossible. when playing and matched against Arch Manning, he actually had more attention than the Texas signal caller, rarely seen. Let's talk a little bit about this matchup from Saturday, Tom. Let's start with you.

I mean, look, it was 17 days. He got hurt on September 24th. He had the surgery, played on October 11th. In hindsight, throwing injury. You played the position with 17 days, just a little too much wishful thinking. Well, listen, clearly he was cleared by the medical. He was cleared by the coaching staff. To Brent Venable's point last week in his press conference,

he wanted to see him do some good on good before they cleared him to go. He must have accomplished that task in a positive fashion during the week. The bottom line that I thought was interesting is this type of stuff. The lack of accuracy and whether that comes down to ball control, it's one thing to deal with pain. It's another thing to deal with the grip of the football. There were times where he looked completely fine. And then there were other times where he threw the football and there were some wide

open targets and he didn't give him a catchable ball. So could that have an impact on being down for that much? Maybe not practicing that much? Possibly. But Sam, I got to be honest with you, man. You can't have a discussion about John Mateer's performance without discussing the impact of the Texas

defense because they came to play. The Texas defense absolutely came to play and John Mateer looked good, especially early on. The ball had zip on it. He was looking like he looked pretty much the entire season. But there were a couple throws that you wonder, okay, is this a thumb injury or is this what has shown up on tape before.

There are some times in almost every single game before the Texas game where Jomater threw questionable passes that led to interceptions. It was usually maybe once or twice in a game. Now, this time, it got exacerbated to two or if you want to even call it three because the end of half interception could have been just throwing up a prayer. Now, I will say this, the Texas defense was the best defense that he's face. So I think it was a combination of the pressure of Texas defense that really exacerbated the issues that you saw offensively for Oklahoma.

Sam, back to you here. I was just joking about Arch Manning and all the attention that Mateer was taken from him. But in reality, even in a loss against Florida, he hung in, he played tough, you said it, and he made some big time plays on Saturday. What can Texas take away from this, knowing they're now, frankly, back in the SEC hunt, back in the playoff picture, and seemingly Manning has some confidence back. Well, it seems like Coach Sart got his swagger back when it came to at least play column. We saw screens early on, but run game with Quintradivion Wazner,

healthy. I saw three screens in the first two drives. I think four screens in the first four. That was missing from the Texas offense, the screen game and the run game. And Trey Wisner had been injured, so now he's healthy. He was the difference. Oh, by the way, Arch Manning's been playing well since the Sam Houston game. The first three games

he did struggle. It wasn't the offensive line. It was him. But he got better and better and better. Confidence is now there. You're seeing him wave people off as he's going off the field and making plays on the field as well. So I've been impressed by Arch Manning, the offensive line made an adjustment, a new starting left guard, and the play calling was finally what we expected

from years past. And they will be playing Kentucky on Saturday, which by all accounts is the worst team in the SEC from soup to nuts. So it may be a little bit of a respite here from Manning. Elsewhere around the SEC, Ole Miss and Georgia, followed by Tennessee at Alabama on your local ABC nation. On the way, who wants it more than Mike Norvel? He says nobody. Kiffin throws shade and Kirby Smart. And yes, after everybody talks about Bill, Bill weighs in himself. We're back on college football live.

Bill Belichick at the mic speaking out after last week was spent by everyone else talking about him. Right off the bad, like just some of the reports out last week about my looking for a buyout and trying to leave here and all that. It's categorically false. We just believe very much in the process.

Kind of like Bill Wall said, you know, the squirrel will take care of itself. And I've always believed that. You just got to keep working and grinding away. And that's exactly what we're doing. Pete, if we would have zoomed out from that camera, you would have seen somebody very important sitting or standing in the room, listening to that, I hear.

Yeah, Zubin, it is uncommon that the Chancellor of a University attends a weekly game preview press conference. And Lee Roberts, the UNC Chancellor, made it a point to go show himself there as a sign of unity with Bill Belichick. Bubba Cunningham, the outgoing athletic director and Steve Neum, Newmark, the incoming athletic director, both of whom we're working together right now, we're also there. So it's a sign that UNC is on to Cal.

Okay, that'll be Friday on ESPN, by the way. Who wants it more than Mike Norvell? According to Mike Norvell, nobody. There's nobody, and I can stand for it. There's nobody that wants it more than I want it, right? And I'm, and I will, like, I'm with everything that I have. So the internal is there, but it's also because of who. It's because of what that I get to represent?

Because I don't want to be at a place where there's not expectation, where there's not pride. That's the external I feel. You know, people, all the different opinions, that doesn't do anything to me. Sam, you're calling the Knowles game this week. You hear that in your preparation? You think what? I think they still need to build a culture. You have so many new transfers on offense.

Nearly every starter on offense is new. New transfers on defense. And it seems like guys aren't playing for one another. offensive issues, defensive and special teams. They'll have a chance to make the last statement of Saturday, and boy, do they need a good one, because that game is Saturday night, 1030 Eastern on ESPN, and we'll see you.