College Football Live - CFB LIVE - T-MINUS 3 DAYS

Episode Date: September 16, 2026

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Dusty Dvoracek, "Stanford" Steve Coughlin, and Pete Thamel on today's episode of College Football Live. T-Minus 3 days to the most anticipated matchup of Week 3 : Kiffin's return to Oxford. The ACC has a Top-25 matchup of their own brewing between Louisville and SMU. Take a walk down memory lane before the rivalry game between Michigan State and Notre Dame. All this and more on College Football Live!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You gotta try breakfast. And what better way than with a delicious pre-organic coffee? Starting with just $1 all day, every day now until December 31st. You gotta try breakfast. I'm participating A&W locations in Ontario. Out of the tunnel straight ahead here on college football live as we creep closer to Ole Miss and LSU in Oxford. Why the biggest story of the day about this game took place in a parking lot in Baton Rouge. Wait till you hear this.

Jeff Brom and Louisville had been well known for developing quarterbacks. The goal Saturday? Stop one of the most explosive in the country. How do they do it? And Georgia has looked so good two games in non-conference play. With their SEC opener on tap, why that's going to remain exactly the same this Saturday. You know, we once had to wait three months, then three weeks. Now we're down to three days before the most anticipated college football game of the regular season to date.

LSU Ole Miss, the return of Kiffin to Oxford. He was there and led them. them to heights not seen by the Rebs fans since the 1960s. There is a ton of emotion at play. We're going to get to it all here over the next half hour. On the road, it's very hard to beat anybody in the top 10, but Lane Kippen has had a special difficulty with doing it. The last time, the only time he did it when he was at SC over Oregon back in 2011.

For him, that's like nine lifetimes ago, got fired a couple years later, hooked up with Sabin, and you know the rest. And with that, we welcome you. inside college football live. The only assignment that Dusty Dvorichek has that actually starts on time, so it's great to have Dusty here and make sure everything's going well for him.

And for Stanford, Steve, his first appearance since he said Tulsa would knock up Oklahoma State and Lincoln Keenholz was a baller, but anybody can get lucky, I guess. Steve, let's start with you. You are in Oxford as we speak. So before we get into the ball talk, which we'll get into plenty of with you guys,

just set the scene and the vibe. You're lucky enough to be there, millions will be watching everything from here till Saturday. What's it like right now on the square, Vaught Hemingway, everything? Well, Zubin, checking in today, you know, the housekeeping ladies asked me if I was here for the game. And I said, yes, ma'am, yes, I am. And she asked me, do you think Lane Kiffin and LSU are ready? Because us in Trinidad and Ole Miss, we're ready for Lane and those boys to come to town.

So everybody's anticipating three days away. You could feel the level, a little like the anticipation we felt in all. Austin last week where that program and that town and that city, you know, the time is now. Ole Miss has had this one circle for a while and you can feel it started building now. And if the home team rallies the way they did last Saturday, as off the hook as it was in Austin, I can only imagine what's going to happen in Lafette County, Mississippi. I want to stay with you here, Steve. Tell me what needs to happen for Ole Miss to have that big time celebration over Kiffin Saturday

night. They need to really get it going on offense, I presume. Yeah, I think when you look at it. both sides of the ball, Zubin, and you think about the matchup, right? I believe the best unit in this game is the LSU defense. They're improved with the additions they made

and how they've played and the speed they've accumulated. So what does Ole Miss have to do to offset that? They have to get Kewan Lacey going in the run game. They've done a good job of running on the perimeter. They struggled going right at them.

You got youth on the D line around front for LSU. Can Elmiss be balanced in the run game and stay out of crazy, you know, third and long situations. I think that's huge for Ole Miss. It's obviously going to have a huge home crowd here. Awesome.

We'll keep our eyes on that particular aspect on Saturday. Dusty to you, I'm watching the LSU offense last Saturday. They were very sloppy. You know, Leavitt had three picks, including a 100-yard pick six that was taken back. But you're really keeping your eye on the LSU defense and how they need to contain maybe the best quarterback in the SEC on Saturday night. Yeah, that's right.

And look, Steve is spot. on. They have to get Key One Lacey going, but we know Trinidad Chambliss is going to be a huge factor in this, but this LSU defense has been as impressive as any defense I watch. They have speed, they play fast, and they're disruptive. Number one total defense and number one in sacks and all of college football. The defensive front will be a huge key. Princeville, Uman Mieland, the former rebel himself, and on the other side, Jordan Ross, you have to be able to have a disciplined pass rush lane and keep Trinidad in the pocket. Get to him with four without having the blitz extra guys,

because if you do bring pressure, he's got one of the quickest releases in the country, and he shreds the blitz whenever he sees it. So can you rush with four, keep him in the pocket and be able to get him onto the ground? And on the back end, Deuce Alexander has been fantastic for Ole Miss. I can't wait to see DJ Pickett rocking that number five when they go one-on-one on the outside.

It's a fabulous matchup, and if there's a defense equipped to slow down Ole Miss, I think the Tigers have it led by Blake Baker. You gave us a lot of great names there. And I think as we now go to Pete Thammel, one of those names you mentioned is in the spotlight today. It's great to have Pete join us. He'll be at Ole Miss as part of the game day crew on Saturday. All right, Pete, so the big story here.

Take us inside your reporting today is surrounding a guy that's actually played for both of these schools. What do you have? Zubin, the grand lexicon of Ole Miss LSU controversies, the breach of contract filing that Old miss had against LSU, Old Miss to LSU transfers, Prince Will Omanlia Mellon and Devin Harper, who's an offensive guard now for the Tigers, it's pretty low on the scale

as we've looked at all the different controversies that have emerged there. But that got ratcheted up on Tuesday when sources told me that Prince Will Omanlea Mellon was served court papers from that breach of contract lawsuit from Ole Miss in the parking lot of LSU's football

facility. Mark Slab and I, Doug up some court records, and confirm that indeed those were filed there. And look, that's over about a million dollars that mostly Ole Miss is suing those guys for, so it counts against LSU's cap. So when you look at this, Zuban, it's just another example of just the constant friction and tension between these schools. I was told from Kwanbo's sides today that LSU had been notified before Tuesday earlier in other weeks that they were trying to get to Prince Will to do this, but it just happened to happen on Tuesday,

which is game week. Gotta appreciate the irony of a guy like Pete who's probably filed a thousand reports from a parking lot detailing a story about an actual parking lot. Pete will be back with us to talk about injury updates when college football live rolls on a little bit later. Pete, thank you very much. You might have heard about this is a big game.

This is not getting a lot of play, but probably should be. SMU and Louisville Saturday afternoon ESPN 2. So like watch this on ESPN 2, then flip over to ABC to watch Ole Miss and L.S. If you watch this game, you're going to see two of a couple of fantastic quarterbacks. Time now for Best in the game

brought to you by Old Dominion Freight Line and there's no denying the success that SMU has had in the ACC. The Mustangs own the most conference wins since joining the league in 2024 and look to build on that total as they head into Saturday's huge ACC showdown at Louisville and that is your Old Dominion Freight Line

as it is the best in the game brought to you by Old Dominion Freight Line with those two quarterbacks. All right fellas, let's start with you, Steve here. question is if Jennings has a Heisman trophy campaign that's already getting started, how does Louisville stop him?

Well, I think it's fascinating, Zuban, when you look at this matchup, knowing that SMU is 2-0 since they joined the league playing against Louisville. Louisville has struggled. And you mentioned Jennings. Jennings is averaged 292 yards passing in those two games and seven yards

of carry. So the best part of this is, you know, he's comfortable going against Louisville's defense. And on the other side, you got Louisville trying to break through, trying to slow him down after he got him twice. That's what sets up for an awesome matchup Saturday in Louisville. On the other side here, Dusty, all the attention is on the quarterbacks. But, you know, Louisville's got a running back that if he can just stay upright is as dangerous as anybody in the country. It's Isaac Brown, Zubin.

He's one of the most explosive playmakers in all of college football. But we haven't seen it yet in 2026. My man is averaging 3.3 a carry to start this season. He averaged over eight yards of carry a season ago. So it's vital that Jeff Brom has to get this guy going. They've got to be able to create some space. The offensive line has had their struggles. But if they can give him a little bit of space to be able to make those explosive plays,

it changes everything for this offense. I don't think you can continue to ask so much of Lincoln Keynotes, not just in the throw game, but in the run game. And so far at this point, SMU, They weren't very sound against Florida State. They gave up almost 200 yards on the ground, and Usman Kroma was breaking tackles left and right. I think that that is the key to this game from the Louisville side.

If Jeff Brom is going to get his first victory over at Lashley, he's going to have to get Isaac Brown going. Yeah, and one thing we should mention on the Louisville quarterback tip, for the fifth straight year, Louisville's got a fifth different starting quarterback. That's the sign of the times in college football. Still ahead here on college football live after putting up 63 in week one And 70 in week two, Georgia finally gets some real competition in the SEC. But will it matter or are the dogs as dominant, as many say?

The guys weigh in on that next. You gotta try breakfast at A&W. The better way than with a delicious pre-organic coffee, starting with just $1 all day, every day now until December 31st. You gotta try breakfast. I'm participating in A&W locations in Ontario. You gotta try breakfast. Better way than with a delicious pratt organic coffee, starting with just $1 all day, every day now until December 31st.

You gotta try breakfast. I'm participating A&W locations in Ontario. Games you've got to have to circle when Kippin returns to Oxford. In the 40-year history of college game, this has to be one of the easiest choices. All right, Pete, that's Saturday. Let's get updated on some injury concerns, starting with the game on. Yeah, a couple weeknight updates for you, Zubin.

Obviously, Houston travels to Texas Tech on Friday night, game with huge Big 12, big-term implications. And two of Texas Tech's best players are in flux, tight-end Terrence Carter, and edge rusher, Trey White are both questionable for the game. Carter may be the top tight-end prospect in the entire country. He's been nursing a foot injury and missed the game at Oregon State. White is the transfer to San Diego State, where he was the Mountain West defensive player of the year last year. He has yet to play for Texas Tech this year. He's obviously nursing a knee injury.

off that tebid performance in Corvallis, obviously Texas Tech could use a boost from those two guys. As for Syracuse pit on our air on Thursday night, an intriguing player for Syracuse is doubtful for that game, but likely back soon. Top recruit Calvin Russell, the highest rated recruit in the recruiting in the ESPN recruiting era for Syracuse is a coveted wide receiver. He tore his Achilles in March. The expectation is he's not going to play Thursday as he's been listed at doubtful, but don't be surprised if he's back on October 3rd. when the Orange play Yukon. And as for Pitt,

Jacarian Turner, their tailback has been upgraded to probable. He will roll on Thursday night for the Panthers. And nobody should be surprised, Pete, that Russell is going to Syracuse. Fran Brown, if nothing else, was known as an absolutely dogged recruiter. And he's bringing those guys to Western New York.

Pete, thank you very much. Speaking of the SEC, Fran Brown knows the league well. He knows George well. They're going to take on Arkansas. We're going to get in just a second. We'll break down Florida State in Alabama. What a difference a year makes, huh?

And then you already know the deal with LSU and all miss. We hit it today. We'll hit it over the next couple of days as well. So let's get in to Georgia and Arkansas. Dogs have looked great, so great, by putting up 63 and 70 against overmatch non-power four competition that nobody's really talking about them. But here they head to take on Ryan Silverfield in his first year at Arkansas.

That'll be on your local ABC station Saturday at noon Eastern time. So if you're wondering, man, they scored 63 and 70. Can they maybe go 60 again? When is the last time they were able to do that? You have to go back more than 100 years, and some of these places, I don't even think have schools anymore. If anybody's got any Locust Grove gear, send it my way. We will make sure we get you on college football live. That's like the old version of the helmet sticker.

Wow, never heard of the place. I'd like to think I love college football. The guys are back inside. Dusty, let's start with you. It seems hard to imagine that the quarterback of the team that's when the last two SEC, championships is probably not getting his due, but I think that's exactly what's happening. Zuban, I think he's the most undervalued and underappreciated quarterback in all of college football. All this guy's done since he stepped in is when two SEC championships.

And as of right now, he's got twice as many touchdowns as in completions, eight touchdowns, just four in completions. It's his second year as the full-time starter. He's in complete control and command of this offense. the accuracy has been off the chart so far. And as we've all watched Gunner Stockton, he has even had to rely on his legs. He's got the ability to be a real playmaker and make plays. He can be a game manager.

He can be a playmaker. He can truly do everything. It's not very flashy, but man, it's effective. The substance is there. We need to start talking more about Gunner Stockton. And defensively, one of the question marks coming into this year, could they rush the passer better than they did a year ago? and I got a name for you, Chris Cole, the junior linebacker.

On third down situations, he's their DPR, that designated pass rusher. He's got length, bend, and speed off the edge, a name to remember throughout the season as one of the premier pass rushers in the SEC. And Steve, to you, because a lot of Gunner's weapons are now in the NFL. In fact, one's just up to the road playing in Atlanta right now with Zach Branch. But he's got a lot of new weapons, and as usual, they're clicking early. Yeah, that's why I'm excited for everybody to watch. going back and watching their two games. I think it's a big spot for the nation to get a

get accustomed to what Gunner's working with. You mentioned it, eight touchdowns, no picks, not a lot of playing time in the second halfs of games. But when I look at it, I'm looking at the tight ends. Jaden Redell, Ethan Barber. I mean, they just keep bringing in stud after stud at that position. Canyon, the transfer receiver has been excellent. So I think this is a big chance for Georgia's offense, you know, dusty touch on it. Kirby, defense, Georgia, dogs, the whole deal. Their offense is legit. Their toys are going to shine this Saturday. Yeah. Now, looking to shine this Saturday

are both Florida State and Alabama, because last year, on an August Saturday in the first week of the season, everybody thought, you know what, maybe Norville's going to save his job. 31-17 win. They take out Alabama. Then you saw what happened. Vam ended up making the playoff, and Florida State has fallen off of a cliff.

This is just over one years ago. This was like 53, 54 weeks ago. And remember, ever since Florida State was left out of the 2023 playoff after Travis broke his leg, and they were left out in favor of Alabama to bring it full circle. Nothing has gone right. They have not been able to win on the road, which is where they're going to be on Saturday. And in close games, they have not been particularly good. But there are not many people that think this is going to be a very close game.

We will see. That'll be Saturday, 3.30 Eastern on your local ABC station. Dusty. let's start with you. You've actually got eyes on them. You call that SMU game. Now, I know there weren't any lights there, but even I saw enough to know their defense needs some work. It does need some work. They've had two weeks for Tony White, the defensive coordinator, to get it right. And really, it's about the third down defense. They're giving up over 58% of third down conversions. That's 132nd at college football. Four of the five touchdowns they've allowed have come on third down. They are not getting enough pressure on the quarterback. On the back, and on the back. in too many breakdowns that has to get cleaned up against what's been a good and solid Alabama third down offense. And then offensively, they got to be able to get Duce Robinson the football. My man's only got five catches, 75 yards, and no touchdown so far on the season.

You got to get your playmakers the football. And at 6'6, he's one of the toughest guys to cover in all the ACC. And then who's Moncroma? There have been few running. backs that have impressed as much as Croma, his ability to burst through the hole and make the defenders miss and get the yards after contact have been really eye-opening. Zero and 32

have to be impactful for Florida State and Tustal Luce on Saturday. All right, so Dusty gave us a name we needed to know defensively for Georgia with regards to Chris Cole. Steve, I'm going to give you a name that you know that maybe you can introduce to our viewers. His name is Kane Womack and he has made a gigantic difference on the side of the ball you want to talk

about here for the tide. Yeah, I wondered last week, Zubin, if Alabama could go on the road in a hostile environment and rely on their defense as they had their freshman quarterback make his first start on the road. And boy, did they rely on the defense and they showed out. But yeah, Wamek has been awesome. You get Wets, a new guy in that gets a pick six to really keep them in that game early. Caleb Woodson transferred for Virginia Tech, I believe at 13 tackles. Devin Tompkins has been awesome. And I believe it's a really, really good secondary into Dusty.

point, Deuce is going to have his work cut out for him because that Alabama secondary is excellent. They tackle well in space. They cover ground. They mix looks up, confused guys. So they've been off to a really good start. And that's been a really pleasant surprise. I should say surprise. I believe Alabama staff thought they knew what they had back there, but they've been able to rely on them and they've showed out. Lastly, I didn't play football or go to Stanford like you, but I know enough to know if you drop passes, you can't win games. And there's another under the radar SEC game with a couple of quarterbacks where that is going to loom large. Take us inside real quick. Yeah, I'm just looking at Lenora Sellers. The old man is a boy, as a kid say,

Uncbrite against the new guy, Camaro Taylor. And you see the stat line for South Carolina and you're like, what the heck going on? DeV LeNorres couldn't throw the ball against Towson. And then you go back and watch the tape seven drops, zooming, seven drops for an NFL caliber wide receiver. So I just thought people should be wary of that. Their defense is. has been awesome and ready to go. Speaking of drop, when we return, you want to drop another in the great rivalry between Michigan State and Notre Dame?

You're like, wait, they have a great rivalry? They do. We'll run you through it and tell you why C.J. Carr could make all the difference as you take a look at my rapidly expanding bald spot. College football live back right after this. Steve, you can relate. Steve, you can relate.

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We're back, a rivalry renewed between Michigan State and Notre Dame. They haven't really played since 2017. This used to happen a lot more often, and I kind of wish we can get this thing going again because there have been some classic games, including the 1966 Game of the Century, which if you're listening to this now, you would think was one of the weirdest decisions of the century, with Notre Dame choosing to run out the clock and play for the tie

instead of going in for a game-winning field goal. Kids, it was a different era of college football. 1990, Rick Meyer trailing 1914, the Irish, the ricochet up in, and Notre Dame would end up winning the game with 34 seconds to go as that was deflected at the one. Here's the go-ahead score as Notre Dame escaped. And then you want to talk about the gutsiest call ever? How about a fake field goal in overtime to win a game against Notre Dame? Mark Antonio, who won three big titles, dubbed it Little Giants, and it was a gigantic win. For Sparty, that was 16 years ago. Incredible, the modern day guys ready to go, as we take a look at today's dependable player

brought to you by Mavis Tire and look no further than C.J. Carr, who has been absolutely lights out. you must say, when you think about it, he has looked apart since day one. The job of being Notre Dame's quarterback has not seemed too big for him at all. And Steve, that's where I want to go with you. This is a position that has swallowed up players before. He's just letting it roll off of him.

What do you expect to see with Spartan town Saturday nights? Well, I just think they've been methodical in their approach, Zub. And when you go back to week one, Wisconsin came out and punched Notre Dame in the face, man. and they responded, I thought spectacularly. It wasn't any wild moments, but they just, CJ Carr kept their feet on the ground.

He got the ball where it was supposed to go. You know, he didn't try and take too many shots down the field. He took what was given to him, and they got out of there with a convincing win. And that's what I think. I think people just want to see more from Notre Dame. They don't have the guys that are going to blow you away on the perimeter, but they got a quarterback that has extremely good poise,

and he's going to be tough to deal with. As he, you know, gets all these new toys, involved in the new offense. And I think Denbrock's an absolute stunt in the offense as coordinator. So I expect CJ to keep rolling as he is. Yeah, I do too, Steve. But what I love about this team

is the defensive side of the football. Year two for Chris Ash. And it looks like it. This run defense has been stifling. Opponents only average in two yards per carry. They got six takeaways. They got talent at all three levels. And they are playing like one of the absolute best defenses

in all the college football, Zubin. Yeah, they absolutely. are and Dusty started his college football journey by checking out SMU in Florida States. Speaking of the ponies tomorrow, we will be joined by SMU head coach, Rhett Lashley, in advance of their huge game with Louisville. Hope to see you tomorrow. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside a case that has captivated the nation. To many people, Luigi Mangione is a modern-day Robin Hood. People were cheering. The demise of this person they'd never met, who was a father of two.

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