College Football Live - CFB LIVE - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Harry Lyles Jr., and "Stanford" Steve Coughlin as they answer some hard-hitting questions ahead of the 2026 season. Which Top-10 team can top their 2025 performance? Will the Heisman Trophy winner go No. 1 in the draft again? Which program with a large roster turnover has reloaded best? Take a trip through football history as the guys discuss which power house programs are stuck in the past, and which teams have the best yet to come. And speaking of the past.... find out which classic rivalry is bringing back home vs home uniforms. All this and more on College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get your tickets now for the dog stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Go! Not there. Kill or be killed. Jacob Allorty. There are people out there? They need our help.

Josh Bruland. Shoot first. Did inquire afterwards. Margaret Quali. Okay, tough guy. And Guy Pearce. Arm up. The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott.

In theaters, August 28th. Get tickets now. Out of the tunnel here on College Football Live. How does a guy that barely play? quarterback in high school end up leading college football in passing. We'll ask Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker just that when he joins us. What are the odds that for the second straight year, the Heisman Trophy winner and the number on overall pick are the same guy.

And if so, who might that guy be? Our experts weigh in with their thoughts. Plus, programs whose best days are behind them, programs who are in the midst of their best days, and those best days still to come. We'll unveil those programs that more right now on. College Football Live. And with that, we welcome you to College Football Live with Harry Liles Jr. I'm Zubin Mahentian.

For the first time this season, we are joined by Stanford, Steve, first of many. I don't know the over under on the amount of appearances. I'll hope for the over, and I know if you can bet on it, Steve will definitely be betting on it. I know he will. On that tip, the one thing you can more or less bet on in college football is that the national champion is likely coming out of the top 10. I should note, eight of the 10 teams on your screen made the playoff a year ago. Chalk full of Big Ten and SEC, not a huge surprise, considering they control the sport off the field and the domination off the field. So a good place to start here is we inch towards week zero and week one is simply put.

Of those 10 teams, Harry, take a look at those teams and tell me which one of those teams could have a better year than they did last year with the caveat. That eight of the 10 made the playoffs, so it's going to be hard to even exceed expectations. I'm looking at number four there. I'm looking at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This is a team that didn't make the playoff last season famously. Has a chip on their shoulder. But to me, when we looked at Notre Dame last year, we felt that this was a team that could have been in it at the end.

And they had a new defensive coordinator last year in Chris Ash. And unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of room for a learning curve for them because you started off the season at Miami and versus Texas A&M. And you gave up an average of 34 points in those two games. You still only lost them by a total of four points. But in their final 10 games, they gave up 14 points per game. That defense returns 14 of the 20 players who had 200 plus snaps. You also added some good transfers there.

And then this offense, it speaks for itself. You've got C.J. Carr, he's the Heisman favorite despite losing two NFL running backs that you'll be seeing on Sundays here. Marcus Freeman has continued to grow into one of the best coaches in all of college football. So Zuban, I feel like this is going to be the year that Notre Dame can put it together. Yeah, I agree with you there, Harry. But I also look at a team as Oklahoma. You know, last year at this time, all we did was talk about how hard Oklahoma's schedule was and what happened. They got through it and their quarterback, John Matera wasn't even close to 100% for more than half this season.

So this year, yes, the schedule is tough. But when you hear former suitors like Dusty DeVorechek say this is Brett Redd Redneville's best team he's had in Norman, I believe him. And when you look at Mateer, you look at Satangu, who's an established receiver, you look at that defense. you know, with Taylor Wine coming back, Kip Lewis, Owen Heineke, like they have absolute dudes on that team. And here's the schedule. I get it.

You got to go at Georgia, Red River, you know, early part of the season. I'll take my shot with Brett Venables in this team. They're going to be better on offense. The offensive line with Fasusi back playing a whole year after playing as a true freshman. I'm really confident in seeing what Oklahoma does this year.

It's a great point, Steve, because for many people that are on the fence, about Brent Venables. The notion was simply for a while there, the guy does many 10 win seasons, and he did six win seasons, and this is a guy that waited and waited and waited to get that first head coaching opportunity and we'll see what happens. Coming up

this fall, Steve is bullish on them. Indeed. You know, one guy that might not be on this list that Steve referenced is John Mateer, if he can stay healthy. But one thing about Heisman odds is they're going to be flush with quarterbacks. There's no doubt about it. It was just a year ago. where Fernando Mendoza ended up winning the Heisman

and becoming the number one overall pick of the Las Vegas Raiders. So, Steve, I want to start with you here because this sport and the one we watch on Sundays is always built around the quarterback position. Do you think for the second straight year we're going to see the Heisman winner also be the number one overall pick in the draft? And if so, who might that person be in your mind?

Well, I think this year there's just so many more candidates. Like we talk about the star power, the quarterbacks, and then you look at the teams in the top 10 and even, you know, the top 15, all have studs quarterbacks. So when I think about a guy like Darian Mensa, you know, or Julianne, I wonder about the other guys on their offense getting more votes for the Heisman. And I think about that taking away from the R.A.1.1 pick. So I think the guy that has possibly could do it, it's C.J. Carr at Notre Dame.

When I look at what they bring to the table, possibly the best offensive line in the country, Mike Denbrox, the most underrated offensive coordinator in a country. and with CJ Carr with another year under his belt, you know, getting thrown to the wolves in the first two games against Miami and Texas A&N last year, I expect a monster year for C.J. Carr. I think that's a great pick, Steve. I think what I'm going to go here,

I think we're going to see a different player when the Heisman and a different player get drafted, number one overall. My Heisman pick is actually going to be Julian Sane. He completed 77% of his passes last year in one of the most efficient offenses in all of college football. People forget somehow that this guy was also a finalist to last year, by the way.

They're adding new offensive. Arthur Smith. And when we talk about one of the most important things you could have in college football, continuity is one of them. With saying coming back, you're bringing back Jeremiah Smith, who's been one of the best players in college football over the last couple of years. You're adding Chris Henry Jr. getting another massive dominant wide receiver to this group. You've got running back, Bo Jackson coming back. I think if they open up that offense for him, you're going to see him do really well. I think obviously the strength of schedule is going to be something that's going to be tough for them. But with that said, though, I think we're going

to see a better Dante more. We're going to see a better C.J. We're going to see a better Arch Manning. And I think the NFL are going to look at those guys in their size and it's going to be too much for them to pass up. So Julian Sanheisman, one of those three guys to be the number one overall pick. And I'll bring together both of your points. It was a quarter century ago that McGehy and Dorsey ended up splitting the vote, which is what Steve talked about, clearing the path for somebody else to win.

And now it could be a Jeremiah Smith saying situation. It's a great point by both of you. Stanford, Steve had to make sure this next element got into the show. Davis Warren has been named quarterback of his cardinal. Now, if you don't know Davis Warren, he was a Michigan quarterback, but it's easy to root for this guy. You might recall he overcame a battle with leukemia. There was a great college game day feature that Stephen the gang did on his amazing road throughout college football.

So best of luck to Stanford. They will take on Miami Friday, September 4th in their opener. Yesterday, our Pete Dammell broke the news that Billy Edwards, Jr. is going to be the quarterback for year two at North Carolina for Bill Belichick. That's notable because Edwards Jr. has kind of had a star-cross career. been banged up a little bit coming over from Wisconsin. Of course, Carolina is coming off a four-win season. Steve, I should mention two of those who were against Charlotte and Richmond.

So the heat is obviously on. There's been a lot of attention, Steve, on the guys that are no longer with Carolina for the moment. But Edwards is in. They've got an O.C. who a lot of people have heard of. What do you make of this move as Carolina gets ready for TCU week zero on ESPN? Well, I think you've got to take steps for improvement to start, right? You're not going to, you know, get better overnight. And I think, you know, Belich did that and getting Bobby Petrino.

who's a great offensive coordinator who always plays to his strengths. So what are your strengths now? You have a quarterback with experience in Billy Edwards. You have a top-notch wide receiver in Jordan's ship. Like that's got to be your best connection there. You've got to play the hits, play the ball to your favorites. And I think Petrino's smart enough. The issue I have is last year I think there was more optimism

because the schedule was more doable when you looked at it preseason. This year, you got to play in Miami. You got to play Clemson. So the challenge is real, but I looked at to make it, you know, take improvements and make a bowl game and that's a successful season. Yeah, look, I think there's reason for optimism. You mentioned Bobby Petrino, DeMont June coming back in that backfield as well. There are some O line questions, but to me, again, when we talk about even for a team like Notre Dame last year that didn't have the learning curve on the defensive side, to me, when you look at this North Carolina team and this offense, even for as much praise or belief that you could have in a Bobby Petrino,

when you look at the three of the first four games of this schedule, you open up with TCU and Ireland, you go, to Clemson and against Notre Dame. If you are North Carolina, you really got to get off to a hot start here because, frankly, this doesn't get too much easier. I think Pitt and Duke are going to be tough games. Syracuse on there as well, Louisville, Virginia and NC State is always a tough out as well. So if you're North Carolina, if you can get two of these first four games, I think you take that any day of the week.

Yeah, last quick thing. Last year, North Carolina, TCU played in Chapel Hill. Gio Lopez down the field, first drive looked like Carolina was clicking. nobody realized that was actually the high point of their season. They ended up losing 48-14, and now they've made wholesale changes at quarterback. Coming up on College Football Live, speaking of quarterback, Drew Mestimaker last year had the best single individual performance of any quarterback in any game, and then he hit the road.

We'll ask him about his new place and that magical night at North Texas when college football live continue. Mysteries unravel and stunning truths are revealed when 2020 investigates. Follow the clues. evidence, the breaking new details. ABC's 2020 means true murder mystery. Shocking. If you follow true crime in 2020, then you've got to listen to this. Subscribe now to 2020 True Crime Plus. Add free exclusive true crime content. Search 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start for free trial. Terms apply. And we welcome you back inside college football live, Mean Green Master Class. Indeed.

Look at those figures in Denton, and now we'll see how many of them transfer over to Stillwater. A ton of people wanted Drew Mestemaker. He ended up going with his old head coach, and they're reunited with the pokes. And it's a pleasure to have Drew Mestemaker join us here on College Football Live. All right, first things first. Every story that's ever written about you seems to mention you didn't play a lot of quarterback in high school, and then you've turned into this player. But what these articles don't mention, and I want to know, is why weren't you?

you playing quarterback in high school? Yeah. So I mean, my freshman year, I was kind of a late bloomer. So I was on freshman B team, my freshman year and then sophomore year started growing a little bit, but I was still like smaller. So I was on JV junior year. The kid ahead of me was the returning district MVP. So I kind of knew like I wasn't going to start and it was going to be his year. So I was just trying to get in as much as I could and be the backup quarterback to him. His name is Braden Buchanan, and he's now playing Baylor baseball. So he was a pretty good athlete.

And then senior year, I thought it was going to be my year. And Deuce Adams, he was like a three-star, four-star transfers in. And they said it was going to be a quarterback competition. And they ended up giving him the spot. So I was like, all right, I'm not going to transfer now. These are my boys. and so I ended up playing safety and corner my senior year. Amazing.

Team over self at the end of the day, and it still ends up working out for you. Awesome story. I'm glad you mentioned that. I don't think a lot of people realize that. A lot of people realized who you were, and I certainly did Friday night, 2025. You're playing Charlotte.

You go 37 for 49. I'm sitting here on the set and watching this. 608 yards, four touchdowns through the air. Just tell me what's going through the mind of a quarterback. What was going through your head when you were playing in that game? Yeah, I honestly had no clue that the passing yards were that much. I was just really trying to do everything I could to kind of get us the lead. We weren't really playing our best football.

Honestly, we turned the ball over in the red zone a few times. And I mean, the past game was open all day. And I felt like our receivers were really helping me out with their run after catch. So honestly, I was just very. I was just doing my best to try to win the game. And then we're sitting there in about the fourth quarter. And one of our backup quarterbacks goes, bro, do you know how many passing yards you have right now? And it was like right before that long screen pass to Y Young.

And so that added a bunch after too. So I was definitely not expecting to see that on the scorecard. I think a lot of people were expecting you to follow Coach Morris to Oklahoma State. But it was not official. There was some heavy hitters chasing you. What ultimately kind of made the decision that you were going to reunite with Coach Morris at Oklahoma State? Yeah, obviously, you know, I told Coach Morris that I was going to hear other people out just because I've never gotten recruited before. And I felt like I deserved to hear people out.

But at the end of the day, the trust that I have with Coach Morris and the relationship that we have, I felt stronger than any amount of money anyone could offer and any amount of, you know, any amount of, you know, household value in their names they have. I feel like our relationship's so strong. And I really believe in the way he coaches and the way he calls plays and the way he teaches offense. And I really felt like we could turn this place around. Hey, last thing, speaking of turning it around, the previous coach was the most successful coach ever. He was also a star quarterback there. But things kind of went sideways at the end.

How do you kind of encapsulate the challenge of bringing this program back on your shoulders considering how far it's fallen? Yeah, I think all the history here really like just we know where that bar is, honestly, and we know it's a high bar to reach, but it's been done here before. So I think that gives everyone confidence here that it's been done here before and we all are here for the same reason because we believe in Coach Morris. We believe in the offense coordinator. We believe in the defensive coordinator, and we believe that with this group of guys, we can really turn this place around. Not to mention, I certainly know you believe in the guide

that you'll be handing off to last year and this year as well. Oklahoma State is prime for a big-time revival with Drew Mestemaker at the helm. Drew, thanks for joining us today. Yes, sir. Thank you. Great to have Drew join us yesterday, and the only constant is changed in college football, but certain schools are doing like the 180 on the roster.

Oklahoma State is certainly at the top of that list. Remember, you got the 85 scholarship limit. Look at the numbers aside those schools. So the question now is in the vein of Drew Mastomaker is one of those 65 for Oklahoma State. Give me a school that not just has Harry an overhaul, but a seismic overhaul that you think is poised for the most success as this sport literally just becomes a year-to-year proposition. You know, I think a lot of people aren't looking at Miami, but that's because of the players that they do have coming. and they lost 49% of their returning production, 78th worst in FBS. But you've got very immense coming in from Duke.

This is actually going to be his third school. He started off at Tulane has continued to improve every single year. He's bringing his number one receiver, Cooper Barcate, with him from Duke. You still got that three-headed monster back there with Mark Fletcher and them. And then, of course, Malachi Tony at the wide receiver position. I know there were some departures on the defensive line. You bring Damon Wilson into me. this Miami team lost a lot of pieces from last year,

but still reloaded in a way that I think Mario Cristobal is going to be able to have this team right back in the thick of it in the playoff, Steve. Yeah, just say they're a playoff team. Coach Cristobal loves putting these preseason aspirations out on the table, you know, he loves that stuff where people are hyping them up. I look at Penn State, guys. When you look at what Matt Campbell has brought over from Iowa State, right?

I also look at the holdovers from Penn State. But most importantly, I look at him bringing in a former Penn State player in Dayton Lennon as a defensive coordinator who's had success everywhere he's gone, and also bringing a player back like Michael Marty, who was a great player. So I look at Penn State and also they're scheduling. It's as doable as there is in the Big Ten. So I look at Penn State having plenty of success this year. There is no doubt. Penn State's last Big Ten title, 2016. That's right around the time Matt Campbell got to Iowa State and started putting together one of the greatest rebuilds we've ever seen. No rebuilding at Penn State. It's just reloading. On the way here,

on college football live. Programs whose best days are way behind them. What's up, Reggie? Programs whose best days are the here and now and those that are waiting for their great moment still to come. Steve and Harry unveiled some big brands and some bold predictions next. Get your tickets now for the dog stars.

It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Go! Out there. It's kill or be killed. Jacob Alourty. There are people out there. They need our help. Josh Brolin. Shoot first.

And inquire afterwards. Margaret Qualley. Okay, tough guy. And Guy Pearce. Arm up. The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott. In theaters, August 28th. Get tickets now.

That music means one thing. The NFL is back. Raiders, Texans, Thursday night, ESPN, with SVP and Steve on right after the game. It's going to be a weekly Monday night tradition. We'll get it going on a Thursday Jet Steelers, Aaron Rogers, last two teams in his supposed last year. a fun game, past, present, future. We're going to name a program of their best days behind them past.

In the middle of it now, present, still coming in the future. Harry, let's start with the Florida Gators. I'm going future. And listen, Zub and Steve, I know you might be asking yourself, well, how much better can it get then the past? They have three national championships. I think it is because John Summerall is going to lead them back to that type of success, but also have tenure in this job.

And doing John Summerall games the last handful of years, hearing coaches in the sunbelt and the American talk about. him. I have not heard many other coaches revere one of their peers the way they did John Summerall. That does say something. The expectations are super high. All right, Steve, past, present, future. Take a pick on SC.

You guys are doing this on purpose. No, I do not hate USC, but I think about it. I played against them. I know how great that tradition was. And I'm talking about before Reggie Bush and Matt Leiner. Like they were the epitome of college football,

especially on the West Coast. So, I'm going to say it's past. I just think the expansion of these conferences is really a problem. And the idea of dominating like they did in those times. I don't see it. Yeah, it's fair enough. We're waiting to see it for Lincoln Riley. All right, Harry, Texas Tech.

Pass, present, future. Where do they fall? Oh, man, I'm going to be either really right or really wrong about this. But I'm going with the future. Look, I think in this uncertain and unstable climate in college football, Texas Tech has done the right thing. Their money has matched their desire to win. They keep putting money on the table.

They said, we're going to go win. football games. And because of that, I do think when the dust finally does settle, Texas Tech is positioning itself, not just for the present success, but also success in the future because of that. So I am going future success for Texas Tech. All right, Steve, you think the SE fans are all over you? All right, past, present, future on the all-time winning its program in the sport. Be careful here. I absolutely love Michigan hiring Kyle Winningham is exactly what they needed. But when I think about Michigan in my lifetime, they've been relevant the whole time. Rose Bulls, Heismid trophy winners, national championships.

I just think the idea in this conference that is so much bigger now and the idea that the money is spent across the board, I think it's in the past. They're going to be relevant. Are they going to be as relevant, you know, winning national championships? I think that's tough. They're going to be right on the cusp, but I say past. They have some of the sweetest uniforms in the sport. And on that tip, we've got a uniform story for you, announced today jointly by the SEC,

the University of Alabama, the University of Tennessee for the first time since 1970. In the next two years, in Alabama and Tennessee play on that third Saturday, as we know, both teams will be rocking their home jerseys. It's been widely put out there, and it has been widely appraised. Steve, let's start with you. I've seen you wear a couple of hundred jerseys out there

with Scott Midnights. Weekdays on ESPN. You're the arbiter here. What do you think of this move? This is a very key question here, Zubin. The uniforms are great, but you have to wear the dark cleats also. They have to, none of this white cleats stuff. They didn't even have white cleats back then.

Give me the black cleats and that look is tremendous. I mean, it's fantastic. The fact that we haven't had this since 1970, by the way, I feel like we've been robbed of this. And I think a lot of us probably didn't even know it. Steve, I'm with you on the black cleats. We also got to get, you know, some more of these neck rolls in there. You know what I mean?

Like some tape around the face mask. Like, if we're leaning into this, like, let's really lean into it. That's pretty cowboy collar. That's right. Yeah. I want to mention something to you here, Steve, because you're kind of a historian of the sport. This year for the first time since 1991, Tennessee and Georgia are not going to meet. But it does say something that even in these nine game expanded schedules, there are some

matchups that just have got to be a part of the sport. And this year, we're going to get Tennessee and Alabama. Next year we're going to get Tennessee and Alabama. that one seems like it's one that really needs to stay. And I'm glad for the next two years with these jerseys playing in the forefront that we're going to get that match up. No doubt. And then I think about the other conferences, Zubin, I'm very happy that we get Iowa, Michigan. That's another one in a different conference that needs to be played as much as possible.

All right. Harry, last word to you, in your opinion, better jersey. Oh, boy. Tennessee or Alabama. Color scheme. And look, I got to go Alabama. It's classic. You got the number on the helmet.

I think Tennessee's are going to look better this year, by the way. Tennessee going back to Adidas. But I'm going Alabama. All right. Just so people don't get mad at us at home, I am wearing an orange tie. We split the difference. Both fan bases are happy. We'll see you tomorrow.