College Football Live - CFB LIVE - REACTION TO BIG TEN MEDIA DAYS

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, and Roddy Jones as they debrief the week with Big Ten Media Days ended. They debate the beef between the Big Ten and the SEC, preview 2 massive rematches happening in Week 2, and give away some Media Days Superlatives! All this and more on College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first ever all-electric 2026 Subaru Trail Seeker is the EV for the Trail Obsessed, with up to 444 kilometers on a full charge and DC fast charging from 10 to 80% in about 30 minutes in ideal conditions. Plus, ample ground clearance and symmetrical all-wheel drive make the 2026 Trail Seeker the most capable EV Subaru has ever built. Test drive it at your local Subaru dealer or visit Subaru.ca. Happy Friday. Welcome inside college football live. The fellas are here, Roddy, and Sam. SEC Media Days long gone. Big Ten media days just wrapped up, but the conversation between those leagues is certainly not going to stop when it comes to supremacy. Right now all the talking has to be with the Big Ten conference after what they've done over the last three seasons. Last three national champions all from the Midwest. It started with Michigan, the championship with JJ, and then Harbaugh.

Boom, back to the NFL. Michigan's chief rival, of course, is Ohio State. Nobody thought they'd win the title when they did two regular season losses, and then just steam-throlled through the playoff, defeating Notre Dame to win the championship when Ryan Day was on maybe a little bit of a warm seat, and the hottest seat, not in terms of being fired, but the hottest in terms of who wants to be hotter than Indiana, hard to answer.

27-21, offering maybe the greatest story we ever saw in college football. odds to win the national title, 10 to 1 or less. Half of the six teams on your screen are from the Big 10. But there's also another note there that 10 to one odds used to be reserved for like two teams. And now that we've got at least six there with three from one conference shows the parody of the sport. Let's dig into it now. So the question, Roddy, I'll start with you in the drive, not the drive for five. That'll have to wait until the 2027 season, but the drive for four.

Can it be done by the Big 10? and if so, who's prime to join Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana? Well, I think it absolutely can happen. Now, look, I think it's probably 50-50, if you look at the odds, whether or not they actually get it done because there's a lot of really good teams. But in the preseason here, I don't know if anybody knew who's going to join Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana, but I think Ohio State's got a great shot to jump back in that conversation and to win another national championship for Ryan Day.

when you look especially at that offense, Julian Sayan back at the quarterback position, 3,000 yard passer. You got a thousand yard back coming back in Bo Jackson, a thousand yard receiver and maybe the best player in college football in Jeremiah Smith. Four offensive linemen back, a retooled defense. And even though Arthur Smith is taking over that offense,

you know, I think Ohio State absolutely could get back in that mix and be a national champion again with everything they've got coming back, high-level talent. And that's a lot to say for a team that had four picks in the top 11 in last year's draft. And a lot of those picks are on the defensive side of the ball, Roddy, which you kind of fail to mention all the defensive guys who were gone. No Caleb Downs, no sunny styles. The list goes on and on.

And so I think that's why Ohio State may not be, yeah, you conveniently left that out. I'll say it may not be the team that I'm most excited about in the Big Ten for winning a championship. I'd actually go more towards Oregon. And the reason why is the maturity specifically at quarterback with Dante Moore, just 21 years old, going into a second full year as a starter. They've talked about even you listen to Dan Lannick, talk about him specifically, says, man, he's done a great job of being more disciplined, even how he eats, how he trains, put on about 17 pounds of muscle over this offseason.

And then you go around some of the weapons. There's a young titan named Jamari Johnson, who kind of is like next in line after Kenyon Sadiq. I think about DeCoreen Moore's back. So there's so much talent on that side of the ball, a dominant defense as well. So Oregon could be a team. Only losses they had last year versus Indian. of the national championship, it could be a team that has tasted

what it's like to go against the best. Now they might just be the best. Yes, Oregon has played for the BCS National Championship. They've played for the CFP National Championship. Now they just got to win one of those championship games. Roddy, to you, what about the team that just won the title and is shown in a year-to-year sport? They can recalibrate and evaluate better than anyone in the sport right now.

How about Indiana going back to back? I absolutely think Indiana is capable of doing it First off, I don't bet against Kurt Signetti. I think that that is a fool's Aaron, and he would tell you as much. But secondly, they've retooled this team with a ton of high-level talent. They lose the Heisman Trophy winner, number one overall pick with Fernando Mendoza. And they bring in Josh Hoover, who's more accomplished in his pre-Indiana career than Fernando Mendoza was or Cortes Rourke was when he came in as well. The receiving core is going to be excellent with Nick Marsh on one side, the transfer from Michigan State and Charlie Becker on the other.

the offensive line super experience, only losing Pat Coogan at center. And so I think this Indiana offense is going to absolutely roll. And then defensively, that group has been excellent for years. And the high level talent that they got in is really exciting as well. So I think Indiana is absolutely going to be in that mix. I would not count them out at all. All right. You can't really count out the SEC or the Big Ten against each other.

If you take a look at the history of the playoff and take a look at these numbers here that kind of tells the tale of exactly where we are, right? When the playoff first started, it really felt like the SEC had the edge on the Big Ten. But in the last three years, it has been all Big Ten over SEC at Big Ten Media Days. Kurt Signetti said one conference finds excuses. The other finds ways to win. The Big Ten is the best league in football. And a lot of really good football teams.

It's hard to win on the road. Very physical football teams. very well coached. It definitely prepares you for the playoffs. There's no doubt about it. The numbers speak for themselves. I mean, we don't run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything's earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say we fell short. We don't cry, a river, whine, and complain. And that's why we're the best. All right, I can't play that and leave that just right there. That has so much meat on the bone. And Sam, you're a Texas guy, so you get the first, you get the first beef rib at this. You go at it. What do you

have here? I love what Kurtz and Nettie's saying. I actually agree with him. The only thing I don't agree with him is saying the reason why they're the best is that they don't whine and complain. But he is true. There's not a lot of whining or complaining when it comes to the Big Ten. The last three years they have won national championships. For years before that, right, 13 in the last 17, it was the SEC. Yet in that time, that 17 year span, you never heard the Big Ten people saying, oh, well, we should have done this or we play this schedule. No, it was like, man, we just got to be better. And now fast forward, the Big Ten has shown by their play on the field, their play in the playoff, and their play in championship games that they are better. Now they're seeing the conversation

from SEC people saying they're soft scheduling, and now it's because of NIL players are transferring. The fact of the matter is, when you saw Indiana play Alabama, it was a 38 to three result. When you see the last couple national championships, it's been all in the Big Ten. And so I agree with Kurt Signetti as far as there need to be less excuses from people in the SEC. Well, look, for years, Sam, during that run of seven straight SEC teams winning championships and seven, and different ones, for many of them, obviously Alabama had its dominant run. Through all of it, we were told the SEC was the best conference because of the national championships. Now that those have dried up, the conversation, it seems like, they're trying to shift it away from just national championships and talking about how tough the league is. When the fact of the matter is, since Georgia last hoisted the trophy, the SEC only has two wins in the college football playoff against other power four conferences.

And both of those came via Texas last year when they beat Clemson and Arizona State. Five teams in the playoff last year. And there were still complaints about Texas not getting in. Year before, you had Alabama and South Carolina talking about they should have been in when teams like Miami and BYU, Miami two years ago in BYU last year were certainly deserving teams. at least when you look at the resume. So ultimately, I think that the Big Ten is the best league because of the national championships,

but also because of the fact that they're not whining and complaining and they haven't done the past, they just got better, and now they rule the sport. And the other piece of it, too, is also players drafted, right? Now, I will say this. The SEC over the last decade plus has been the leader when it comes to players drafted to the NFL. The great thing about that for about 15 or so years

is that they had the most players drafted, and also the most national championships. Well, now of a sudden they don't have the national championships anymore, but they still have the players drafted. Now, the little caveat is this. Last year, the Big Ten had ten first-round picks. SEC had seven. And so the Big Ten is actually catching up in that category as well.

And so these are the two best conferences in college football. But the frustrating part for me is it seems like that bar is moving when the SEC starts to lose either playoff games or national championship games. Yeah, last thing I would just say from an intangible standpoint, the SEC still has the edge. because if you ask 10 fans, seven will tell you Florida will turn it around. If you ask 10 big 10 fans,

four will tell you Wisconsin will turn it around, right? So those programs always feel like in the SEC, they kind of get the benefit of the doubt. Even though you're shaking your head, I totally get it, but it's kind of where the sport is right now, a debate that will be continuing to have all season long. On the way here on college football live, circle your calendars, Texas, Ohio State,

Michigan, Oklahoma. The only difference, the venues. We'll take a look back at last year's games and a look ahead at this year's games, which will take place in week one and week two of the season. That's when college football live continues on this Friday. Week two, Roddy, week two. Hear that? It's your money calling.

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all part of the ESP and Unlimited Plan. Again, so from two nights in Minnesota to week two of the college football season, probably a good way to continue our SEC Big Ten debate, because these are two games you're certainly going to want to circle. There it is. That's second Saturday in September. We're going to break both of these games down. Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, both rematches.

Of course, the only difference, as I mentioned at the end of our first segment, the venues are going to be switching, which is no small thing. Let's take a look back first in Texas and Ohio State. Of course, this was the first week one huge test for Arch Manning, low-scoring, 14-7 win. Julian Sayan's first game on the way to becoming a Heisman finalist in the 2025 season. That was the biggest play of the game there, that incredible grab. Arch didn't come on till late.

Texas scored a touchdown in the waning minutes, but it was 14-7, and it was very underwhelming. So now we're back. The scene shifts to DKR on September 12th instead of the shoe. Roddy, it's never too early to talk about Ohio State and Texas, no matter the stakes, What are you looking for here in a big revenge spot, obviously, for the horns? No, it's never too early to talk about it. And I am going to go out on a limb and say, I don't think the final score will be 14 to 7

because the defenses are the ones that are going to be more tested than with these experienced offenses coming in. And I'm looking at that Texas offense against that Ohio State defense. We talked about Ohio State a little bit in the first segment. And as Sam rightly pointed out, I kind of glossed over the defense because they're losing three. top 11 picks and Texas on the other side has reloaded around Arch Manning to get Relique Brown the running back over from Arizona State Cam Coleman who has as much talent as anybody in the country comes over from Auburn Hollywood Smothers comes over from NC State he joins Ryan Wingo out wide and obviously Arch Manning this is an offense that

should be as high powered as any in the country and probably the most talented offense as Steve Sarkeesian has had at Texas and And that Ohio State defense is going to be, it's got a lot of new faces. There's new faces at linebacker, three new defensive linemen. You lose Caleb Downs, who was one of the best players in college football in the back end. He's replaced by a couple of transfers. So I do think that that matchup between that Ohio State defense and that Texas offense is one to keep an eye on because of all the changes on Texas. Or excuse me, on Ohio State's defense.

And what's more important, I think, not just for this game, but for the season is the defense of Texas. There's a lot of talk about Arch Manning and Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo and Steve Sarkesian. Very few people are talking about Will Mushchamp in the addition that he's bringing from not just this time at Texas a decade plus ago, but his last couple years at Georgia when he was helping shape some of those defenses that were having six and seven first round picks. But it's not just him. You go back and watch what Colin Simmons, the star defensive end has done all season long last year. You're going to be excited about this Texas team. Now, the question is, will they be able to slow down Jeremiah Smith?

And one way to slow down a great receiver is pass rush, right? It's not just rushing the quarterback, right? Led the SEC in sacks, but it's also disrupting in the run game as well. And so I think Will Mushchamp combined with Colin Simmons, Blake Gideon as return to the defensive staff holding now the defensive backfield. That's going to be the biggest question. How can they or can they slow down Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sand, and that Ohio State offense? It's a great point, Sam, because that Ohio State offensive line struggled against elite pass rushers a year ago. A lot of people

do, but when you're expected to compete at the level of Ohio State, bringing four starters back that really got their tails kicked, especially against Miami and the college football playoff against an elite pass rusher like Colin Simmons, we are going to see very quickly how much that offensive line

for Ohio State has improved or hasn't because any weaknesses will be exposed by that guy in that burnt orange named Colin Simmons. He is a game record for sure. One last thing. I'm so glad, Sam, you mentioned, Will Muss Champ. Shows you how much difference college football is made over the years. The last time he was their D.C. back in 2008, he was their coach in waiting, and then he

ended up coaching Florida and South Carolina. Didn't he end up coaching the team he was the coach in waiting for? Shows you how different college football can be. Again, also, on September 12th, this is another big SEC, Big Ten rematch last year. This was in Norman, this time at the big house. This was the first road game for Bryce Underwood, and he kind of showed. He wasn't great under the big lights. Oklahoma was more than enough.

The tier was still healthy. It was a 24-13 win for Oklahoma. Kind of was portending what was to come for a bit of a rough season by any standards for Bryce Underwood, considering what we put on the shoulders of an 18-year-old. Sam, let's start with you. We talked about Kyle Winningham and the impact he's expected to make right away. Right away, we're going to learn something about his new squad. That's a huge test for Michigan.

I got a chance to call the Oklahoma game. I think the week after they played Michigan, maybe two weeks later. And I saw that team up close and personal. They're a very solid football team. And so Michigan with Kyle Whittingham, they're going to be tested. Last year when this game came around, people were wondering what would Bryce Underwood look like. And in that game, he was underwhelming. This year, when this game comes around, people were going to say, what does not just Bryce Underwood look like, but the entire Michigan offense look like with Kyle Winningham at head coach?

Will they be more? You would argue, yes. You would argue, yes. But they have to be able to slow down John Matur, Ben Arbuckle, and what they don't call him. was going to do on the offensive side of the ball. And so it's almost like another test in a different year for the same team. That's exactly actually where I want to go with Roddy. Great job. Sam setting me up, making my job a little bit easier. Second year for this quarterback and OC, provided he can stay healthy, which was an issue last year. Give me the other side of it here,

Roddy. Yeah, the evolution of John Mateer is going to be a really interesting one. Because as you said, Zubin, got hurt early in the year with that thumb injury, came back against Texas through three interceptions in that game, end up throwing three interceptions in the LSU game at the end of the year that they ended up winning. But he never really looked like himself. We didn't get enough time with healthy John Mateer to accurately judge

what this offense is going to look like. I like the additions that they've made, but a lot of it's going to come down to John Mateer's ability to diagnose defenses and throw the ball accurately. And look, Oklahoma went more conservative it seemed like towards the end of last year. They were so good on defense, so good on special teams

and so good scoring. And those areas that they didn't need the offense to be great. They just needed the offense not to mess it up. In order to get to where Oklahoma wants to go this year, that offense has to take a big step, and it starts with John Mateer. There is no doubt about it. Meteer's going to have some guys to throw to. And on that note, just breaking here on college football live in the last couple of minutes, Roddy, want to get your perspective on this. DeAndre Hopkins has been added to the Georgia Tech offensive staff. Of course, he was the great Clemson player in college, spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Houston Texans, his offensive coordinator, George Gotti there in Houston,

and now has the job in Atlanta after Buster Faulkner left for Gainesville. And the reason we want to go to Roddy is, Rich, if you can take the magic here and show Mr. Jones here right over his left shoulder is probably the perfect reason we want to talk to you about this. That is your school. That is your squad. Tell me what kind of fit you think this makes. This is a really big name joining an offense in major transition.

It is. And there's a big question at the receiving position for Georgia Tech. So any little things that DeAndre Hopkins. can bring to help this receiving Corps to improve, it'll certainly be welcome for Georgia Tech. But the other way that I think he will help in the long term, it's just recruiting. Being able to be

tutored by a guy like Newk Hopkins is something that you're not going to get very many places. A guy with that level of success at the NFL, at the NFL level on the biggest stages, you're just not going to get that. And, you know, if you'd have asked me, where is DeAndre Hopkins going to coach in the ACC? I certainly would have said,

oh, he's going back to Clemson. So anytime you can take a coach away from a rival and potentially a great recruiter away from a rival and bring them to you, it's always a good day. No doubt. That's actually a really good point because Dabo has been about as welcoming to former players as anybody, but I guess he'll see Dabo just on the other sideline. When college football live continues,

the best of the best for media days with one coach scolding the media for doing something everyone does all the time. What is that? We'll share it with you next. From the producers of Super Troopers And Super Troopers 2 Comes, you guessed it. Broken Lizard and their rowdy patrol squad

returned to the scene of the crime. In Super Troopers 3, the mustaches are thicker. The maple syrup, stickier, and the pranks crazier than ever. Buckle up for the funniest comedy of the summer. Super Troopers 3, only in theaters, August 7. Frog in his eye. The SEC keeps me up at night, and it's why I have less hair. Got the coaches on curfew, not the kids.

Can you define what a troll is for me, please? He doesn't only kick ass on Saturdays. He kicks ass every single day of the week. Let's go! I'm kind of a semi-gater. If you don't get your... I'd be in the middle of it. If it was about what people predicted,

I'd have been gone a long time ago. I don't know about 50 cents. And, you know, they're hard to kill. You know, motto, we don't cry a river, whine and complain. All right? And that's why we're the best. Those old sort of seemed like the best. Everybody bringing it at the podium.

It's funny when the season starts, nobody wants a mic in front of them. The media days, they all do. Media Day superlative. So the questions we have to ask, and we'll hear from an SEC coach on the way out the door, which you're going to love, hang tight for that in the last couple of minutes. Biggest unanswered question. Every question in the world, Roddy, was asked at these media days, but we don't have all the answers.

Biggest unanswered question in your mind. Well, before I get to the biggest unanswered question, I forgot Coach Prime talked about putting the coaches on curfew when they come to Atlanta week one, because the Big 12 Media Day was like three months ago. We've been doing media days for it feels like the entire offseason. Nonetheless, the biggest unanswered question is who's going to play quarterback for the University of Alabama? Of course, Kaelin DeBore wasn't going to answer it, but is it going to be Austin Mack? Is it going to be Keel and Russell? Reportedly, he's going to make an announcement after the second scrimmage. But that is the biggest unanswered question there is, because that's going to go a long way to determining if Kaelin DeBoer has the type of season that lets Alabama fans relax just a little bit.

Yeah, Colorado's playing Georgia Tech, which is why Primes go into the ATL. Sam, to you, can't wait to watch. We got our appetites wedded there with those comments, but can't wait to watch what? Then it's LSU and it's Lane Kiffin. I was at SEC Media Day not too long ago. Got a chance we hear him talk and I went and watched him speak. but then also this team, week one, they're playing Clemson. Week three, there's that rematch, that retribution game

when they're going to play Ole Miss. Right after that, A&M. And so, listening to Lane Kiff and Speak, I actually got relatively excited and intrigued. Yes, the schedule is a got late, but I felt for the man a little bit. It seems like he's grown and matured. And so it's going to be great to watch on the football field,

but I want to see how the team rallies around him and also what the opponents do when they play them. Last thing, every day before I go on the air, I make sure this baby is on. silent because I don't need to end up on the internet. And when John Somerall was speaking at SEC Media Days, somebody didn't have this thing on silent. You'd be kicked out of our team meeting. I swear, like, you're lucky I'm not going to throw this freaking podium right now. It drives me crazy. I would say who is that, but I'm not going to embarrass him by.

I want to say that was tongue planted firmly in cheek, but the intensity with these guys, you never know. Roddy, you go, Sam, you finish, and we're out of here. What do you got on it? The MVP is the guy who left his phone ringer on because it gave us the clip of media days, Sam. Well, it wasn't a ringer. It was an alarm, but also it's not a team meeting, so I get it. Have your phone go off. You're not getting fined. Great stuff. We'll see you next month.