College Football Live - CFB LIVE - TALE OF THE TAPE OHIO ST. V TEXAS

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, and EJ Manuel on today's episode of College Football Live. EJ and Sam break down who they think has the advantage at each position for the Ohio State v Texas game this weekend. Bryce Underwood speaks to the media and comments on Kyle Whittingham's comments on him. All this and more on today's episode of College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to College Football Live. Presented by Dr. Pepper. All summer, this is the one you're thinking about.

This is why you come to a school like Texas playing these big-time games. The question is who will paint a masterpiece Saturday night? You look at the series history. Believe it or not, it's only the six all-time meeting, but the last three, including this one on Saturday night, involve both teams being in the top 10. What more do you want? You know, Saturday is going to be a big day. Today, from what I understand, is going to be a big day.

And with that, we welcome you inside college football live. E.J. Manuel, Sam, Acho, I'm Zuban Mahenti. We are going to break down Ohio State, Texas, in minute detail in just a moment. Last year, remember, they met in week one. Ohio State wins 14-7. But for the losing quarterback in that game, even though it was just a seven-point game, it felt so much worse. Not all the time you get a second chance to play another team after a rough loss.

So we're all excited for the opportunity. As bad as it was on film, it was kind of a close game. But it's rough film to watch. I don't like watching it that much. Not a lot of good memories a year ago. I'm hoping to have a good game this year. I think just having last year's experience definitely helps you as a quarterback, you know, in kind of every aspect of your game.

but I'm just going to go out there and do what I can and execute to the best of my abilities and, you know, do whatever we can as an offense to help us win. That said, we just heard from both guys under center. We'll center in on who has the edge here in just a moment. But think about it, there probably isn't going to be another game this regular season that is much combined talent on the field. You're going to see a DKR Saturday night, so let's jump right into this. E.J. I want to start with you.

Give me the battle in the trenches here between these two all. time blue blood that you're most looking forward to watching. Well, Zubin, it's Texas run game against Ohio State's run defense, which Ohio State's bringing back a lot of good pedigree. Kenjada Jackson's back from that front seven last year who also made it into the CFP. Now, I think the big key that you're going to notice from Texas, and this from last year's game, they're going to run inside zone, and you have a two-way go, but you really don't because Ohio State, they see the run and they absolutely take off.

Caleb Downs has a great job with shooting the gap and the other defenders stay in their spot where then they can rally and tackle. But Ohio State did the exact same thing this year. This is without Caleb Downs, without Sunday-Sty-Stiles, yet the defense is structurally sound. That's a kudos to Matt Patricia, their defensive coordinator. There is nowhere for the offense at Ball State, who they played last week, to run. Absolutely. In this next play, you're going to see a bunch formation where you have two tight ends tied to the line of scrimmage for the offense.

And this is a way of Texas run game combating that inside pressure there by Ohio State. Run outside. This is Relief Brown against Texas State. last week. Excellent job of outflinking the defense, using his speed to get to the edge. And again, Hollywood Smothers being that second back potentially, that can be another on-slot of what Ohio State's going to have to face in this matchup. And keep in mind to Arch Manning's legs as well. There's no question about it. Arch can certainly use that lower half, and we have seen that, especially in the second half of last season. So as promised,

let's get to who has the edge in this matchup, Sam. You spent your career chasing quarterbacks. Who's the more dangerous QB here? Texas has the edge the quarterback position. I was at the game last week, got a chance to see Archmanning up close and personal, and he played well. There are a couple misthroes here and there,

but you can tell he is a year more confident and a year more experience. And arguably, as he would say, a year better. Yes, there are weapons around him. The offensive line did an outstanding job of protecting Archmanning, but you saw him throw on the run. You saw him use his legs just a little bit.

I give the advantage to Texas. All right, E.J., how about the running back position who gets the quarterback position, who gets the call? Yeah, I'll stay there in Austin. I really like that one two punch. You just saw it on tape. At least one of Relique Brown's runs.

But Sarkeesian did a great job of landing these guys in the transfer portal. Look, I saw Hollywood Smothers up close and personal on NC State. He has speed. He has run or, excuse me, home run ability to where he has the contact balance to bounce off of tacklers and still finish those runs. So I think that's going to be a really tough part about what Ohio State is going to have to face. And then also keep this in mind. The time of possession game, if you're able to move the ball up front against Ohio

state's front, which again, it's going to be hard to do. You keep the ball out of Julian saying Jeremiah Smith's hands, that's going to be huge for Texas overall as a team. All right, to use EJ's parlance here, Sam, who's got the home run hitters in the past catching game? Ohio State. I got to go with

Jeremiah Smith. I got a chance to listen to Caleb Downs, who's currently with the Cowboys right now going against Cid Lamb and going against George Pickens. He said Jeremiah Smith is on that same level, and the film would say the same thing. I understand that there are litany of receivers for the Texas Longhorns, Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo being one of them, but Jeremiah Smith and him alone,

I would give him the advantage. Of course, Brandon Innes is a great number two as well, but his ability to be able to catch the ball in space, to be able to make contested catches, I got to go Ohio State and Jeremy Smith for the advantage. Believe it or not, Jeremiah Smith said his goal is to win the Bolitnikoff Award this year. I say that because I'm thinking, wait a minute, he hasn't won it already. He has not won it. That is his goal. E.J., who gets the edge on D? I'm going to Ohio State. Look, I think Ohio State's ability to rush the passer to add time to speed up Arch Manning,

which we did see last year. I know Arch is a different quarterback now here in 2026, but there's still some good returning pieces. Edric Houston is back on this defense. I already mentioned Kenyatta Jackson. They go into the transfer pool on bringing Earl Little Jr. at the safety spot to kind of run that rover position that you saw from Caleb Downs. And Matt Patricia's back.

Again, this is a defense that only gave up 89 yards rushing per game. So that's going to be a huge key to what Ohio State is going to be the intent. entire season. All right, Sam. It's up to you to pick the edge on the guy who won't even take a snap, but largely will have a very big role in who wins Saturday night. Coach Edge. I mean, I got to go with Ohio State. They may not let me back in Austin after this. I was looking at the last two games. Last year, when Texas played Ohio State, Ohio State won that game, 14-7. Going back to the college football playoff, Ohio State beat Texas on their way to a national championship. We understand that Steve Sarkesian has new ways.

And there's new coaches on the staff. We'll must champion one of them. But if you have to go it based off the history, it's got to be what Ryan Day's done more recently in his head-to-head matchups and also in his more recent national championship. Yeah, the other coach, Sark, of course, had said that if we didn't play Ohio State in last year's opener, we would have been in the playoff. This game will be the third of three on your local ABC station Saturday night. We're back to it, SEC all day on ABC.

That, of course, certainly not the only Big Ten SEC class for the second straight year. Oklahoma will take on Michigan. You're looking at this game last year in Norman. This year will be at the big house. Mateer was healthy. He was an easy win. It was Underwood's first road start. He did not acquit himself that well.

Michigan did not acquit himself as well over the weekend. Basically saying, don't worry about it. However, you know, Michigan played last week. We're going to bring out the best in Michigan. I can promise you. It's a talented football team that's got tremendous pride. And again, a great staff that will have these guys prepared. Their O-Line coach is one of the best in college football.

And so it needs to bring out the best in our guys. But again, I want that standard every single week. And you want it to be second nature to how you play. This is how we do it. This is the only formula for how you have success and how you win. Jim Harding, by the way, is Michigan's offensive line coach in case you were wondering. Chance to reach the CFP based on winning one game on a Saturday. Stanford Steve on Arssohn said a couple weeks ago,

the winner of this game was making the playoff, and the numbers do indicate, and it is OU, their chances to make it look pretty darn good, considering we'd only be two games into the season. All right, Sam, you've already slandered Steve Sarkeesian. So now I'm going to have to ask this Texas defender, to say some really positive things about the defense of your arch rival. Go for it. I'm going to be O'U's defense is really, really good.

And I think their best chance, especially in this game, is to try to continue to slow down Bryce Underwood and what Michigan is going to try and do when it comes to running the football. We understand that John Mottier offensively had a lot of open receivers last week is going to try and throw the ball. But the strength is going to be Oklahoma and their defense. They were dominant last week. And they've been good ever since they've had.

at Venables as their head coach. He was their defensive coordinator in the past. DC at Clemson, one of the best defensive minds in college football. This is an aggressive attacking defense that loves to try to take the ball away. And so for me, Oklahoma's biggest advantage is on the defensive side of the ball. Yeah, and considering the way Michigan's quarterback played last week, the last thing he might want to see is a ravenous Oklahoma defense. This is not a graphic you want to be on.

These two guys would certainly love to be on college football live, just not with these types of statistics. You don't see it often. You saw it from Bryce on Saturday in that miracle win over Western Michigan. And his head coach wanted him and everyone to know it's not acceptable. Apparently, though, it didn't get through to everybody. He's our QB right now. And, you know, it's not something that's infinite.

I mean, at some point, you know, we've got to turn a corner. And we've got to see improvement as we do with a by, bunch of stuff. We've got to see improvement out of the coaches. And so it's not just on Bryce. But, but, and it's not just Bryce's job that is not absolutely set in concrete. Nobody's is. Yeah, what was your reaction to the coach McGahnem's comments about how that your job isn't permanent? Um, it was comments about that. Yeah, you said that your job is an infinite, you know, that's a starter. That's cool. I see that, so. what's your ride

that's cool all right so apparently Bryce isn't watching that much film or have his phone open that much because I think he might be the only person on earth that didn't know that Kyle Whittingham said that but speaking of film EJ you're a quarterback you played for a very demanding

guy in Jimbo Fisher you know what the pressure's like at Michigan for a guy like this you played the equivalent position at a big time school take us inside the film study there just needs a ton to be cleaned up here yeah well look there's all things that are fixable, though. That's the beauty

of this tape. And when you looked at Bryce Underwood in week one against Western Michigan at times, his eyes weren't in the right spot. It didn't tie in with his feet. And I also like the fact that he didn't hear what Coach winningham had to say, because it doesn't matter. All that matters is his improving performance. Now, right here, you've got to see the safety. This is going to be a slant

by JJ Buchanan, but you've got a big picture read this thing. The safety stays in that spot right into the 30-yard line. He triggers and then this ends up being a blow up another potential interception. Right here, third and three situation. Just get this ball up and out to your running back, but this goes back to the footwork. And I want to highlight this just a little bit.

Look where those feet are right now. It's kind of in a lazy position right here where he's on his back foot, kind of trailing behind. Get that ball up, let that running back catch it and get forward and get a first down. Now, this is the pick six. Every quarterback has gone through this and we hate it. But the big thing is you take a three-step drop in the gun when this is quick game. You have to catch, set, and throw.

That's why that throw is late there to the out route. Western Michigan jumps it, and they take it back for six. So, yes, on tape is not pretty. But the good thing is, it's another game where you can move forward. You have to play much better against Oklahoma. And I'll also tell Bryce Underwood, too, use your athleticism. Don't feel like you've got to just sit in the pocket in today's age of college quarterbacks. Guys are running around.

John Matere's going to run around a bunch. So I would say, if you don't see anything, it's not clean of a picture, take off and use those legs. Yeah, he just wants to see, I'm speaking of Whittingham here, improvement from Underwood's freshman season. That said, still on the way here on college football live. A couple of freshmen that play quarterback, like Underwood did a year ago. have maybe the toughest game they've ever played at any level of football coming Saturday. EJ's got some advice for him on the way.

College Football Live is presented by ice cold Dr. Pepper. College football, it's a pepper thing. And in part by DQ, happy, taste good. Welcome back to college football live presented by Dr. Pepper. Welcome to the 40th season of college game day, which will be on the 40 acres in anticipation of easily one of the most anticipated games of the 2026 regular season. But there are so many other interesting games to keep your eye on. We're actually going to hone in in just a second on those middle two games as a couple of

SEC stalwarts have some incredible road tests. And that's where I want to go with EJ. You're talking about Keel and Russell for Alabama, Kentucky, Phasing, Brand is going to be taken on Georgia Tech in Atlanta. These are going to be their first road starts. Lexington and Atlanta may not the most intimidating places in the world, EJ, but when your point of reference is week one or your high school

career, this is going to be something that they're going to walk into. They've never seen before. Take me inside the mind of a QB, what these two guys need to do in a hostile environment to be successful. Yeah, well, Zubin, I can remember my redshirt freshman year getting the start against the Florida Gators,

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium down in the swamp. And one of the biggest things that I got as advice was going to the stadium and find the play clock. That's the first thing you want to do. When you're going to an away stadium, it's a new environment, sure you might have visited as a recruit, but now you're going there

and you're going to get, you know, all kind of slander thrown at your name. So find the play clocks because that's going to be key so you don't have any type of penalties. The second part, you want to throw go routes into each end zone.

That's extremely important because of depth perception. Your stadium might have 100,000. The other stadium might just have 60 or 70,000. So now the perception going into that end zone is a little bit different. And the win. You want to take that into

factor when you're throwing deep balls. Protect the football. This is going to be the biggest key. Both guys did a good job. Beside Keel and Russell, he had the one fumble that was lost for Alabama's offense. But overall, they both did a really good job. No interceptions on the day. You keep the ball. It's okay to punt.

Now, the fourth thing is being athlete. I love the athletic ability from both of these guys. I felt like Faison Brandon did a great job of using his legs. He had two touchdowns on the day. And also Keelan Russell, not just running the ball for 80-plus yards, but also moving out of the pocket and causing more issues. so I think that's going to be a big key for all two of these guys in this matchup. Absolutely love that.

The field is 100 yards. It's the biggest cliche out there, but not all stadiums are built the same. And I'm a little dazed and confused here, EJ, for many years. We did the instruction manual on a Friday, but we can get it done a little early for you here on college football live today. All right. As for the group of six, this is actually a big weekend for them, too. Don't get fooled by all this Big Ten SEC.

There's some big time games, including the first two teams on your left, meeting each other. Boise State will take on Memphis. Boise, of course, off that narrow, loss to Oregon. That's like a loss that could be a W in some ways if you want to phrase it that way. Memphis is very quietly in week zero knocked off Dan Mullen and UNLV. So the numbers, Sam, were pretty darn obvious about what the winner of this game could get moving forward. How do you see Boisey and Memphis on Saturday? I love Boise State in this matchup,

specifically because of the way that they tackled last week versus Oregon. I understand that there was a couple of mistackles, one specifically that gave up a touchdown to the Corian Moore. but it was a clinic tape for 99% of the game when Boise State was on defense. I mean, every player at every level from the safety position to the livebacker, even a defensive lineman running out of their stacks, did an outstanding job of getting the ball carrier on the ground. I think that's what's going to stand out. Memphis loves to go fast, uptempo.

They love to play in space and spread you out and rely on mistackles to try and get their big plays. I don't see too many mistackles coming for Boise in this matchup. Yeah, well, I'll say I like the fact that Memphis can run the fourth. I think that's going to be a big key in this one. You look at their first two games. Most recently, they rushed for over 300 yards against Arkansas State, against UNLV, also 195 yards. So Kovie and Carter, these are going to be the one-two punch

that I think is going to cause some issues for Boise State. And look, Boise State is a team that we all think can make it to a CFP, but so is Memphis. And so I think this is a pivotal game for both of these teams. You're not in the same conference. You won't necessarily get an opportunity to play again if you lose with a rematch in the conference championship. But the big key, I'm telling you, when you watch Memphis,

and like Sam said, they like to go fast. They're going to tote the rock. And keep this in mind, too, that time of possession where you keep the football out of Maddoxon's hands because he's a tough quarterback to stop for Boise State. But overall, they better tackle well. Otherwise, Memphis is going to be running all day long. One quick thing I have to mention, this is really important.

This year, the group of six representative does not have to be a conference champion. It's simply the highest ranked group of six team, according to the committee. That's just something to keep in mind as we get to October. Something else to keep in mind are Dr. Pepper Trophy Ruffalo. game of the week between Arkansas and Utah. Sam, how do you see this? This is the late night kick on ESPN.

Utah is going to play an aggressive attacking style of defense. Morgan Stanley's taken over. It's been at the D.C. for 10 years. Now he's a head coach at a pick in the first drive last week. But also Devin Dampere offensively is a weapon with his arm and his legs. Arkansas, new coach, and Ryan Silverfield. I like Utah on this one. All right.

We'll look forward to that. looking forward to Miami tonight. What could they possibly do to top what they did at the farm last Friday night? We got a preview of their big game on the way. And a reminder, Chad Power's season two. I'm right being up in my head. So where's that going to happen? He finds out the arrest holiday to murderers you?

I think Chad Powers just died. Chad Power Season 2, presented by PlayStation 5. All episodes now streaming on Hulu. College Football Live is presented. it by ice cold Dr. Pepper. College football. It's a pepper thing. And in part by DQ.

Happy, taste good. Just a reminder, students scan the QR code or visit Dr.pepper.com slash tuition by September 30th to enter for a chance to compete for $100,000 in the Dr. Pepper tuition giveaway during conference championship weekend. And just a reminder, we could check out our Capital One rewarding. performance. That was Darian Mensa looking absolutely outrageous last Friday on the farm, although he might have been the second best player on his team that night. Malachi Tony going for 234 off the arm of Mensa. They got Florida A&M tonight. Ian Fitzsimmons on the sideline with the

preview. Thanks, Zubman. Let's start with Miami's two early Heisman trophy candidates. Quarterback Darian Mensa and wide receiver and returner Malachi Tony. Now start with Mentsa. Mario Cristobal, Miami said coach told us yesterday that Mentsa came in and it was a seamless transition from Carson Beck to the Duke transfer in Mensa. He has just this unbelievable infectious attitude and an energy about him that he won't allow you to be in a bad mood. You can't around this young man. And oh, by the way, last week, week one, three incompletions, more touchdown passes than incomplete passes. Now to Tony, he is maniacal in his prep. He goes and meets with offensive line coaches to figure out pass protection.

He wants to know everything about the offense. And you know what's scary after 234 receiving yards last weekend and a boatload of touchdowns? He's bigger and faster than last year. Let that sink in, Zuban. They put together some incredible early returns for sure. Ian, thanks very much. Florida and M, Miami tonight, EJ, on the ACC network.

So this is interesting. You're not going to go with Tony. You're not going to go with MENSA. There's another guy on the canes that really deserves some attention that you're going to spotlight. Yeah, it's the running back. Mark Fletcher, who was huge throughout the run in the CFP last season.

Again, three of those four games in the CFP, he rushed for over 100 yards, also 172 yards specifically against Texas A&M. So look, he didn't need a lot of carries against Stanford. Like you guys said, they were busy setting records with Malacot Tony and Darren Minza. But I would expect Mark Fletcher to get a lot of run here,

get his feet wet, and also catch the football out the back bill as well against FAMU. Well, I'm going to go with Malacotoni, EJ, we were watching that game together. We were both blown away. 234 receiving yards. A new program record against a team in Stanford. That's a power for a team.

Now they're going against an FCS team. Malachi Tony is outstanding. I was at the National Championship game last year. Got a chance to see him up close and personal. He's a hard worker. He listens to his vets. He's a guy who wants to learn from the best in the game. And so I expect him to put on another Heisman performance tonight versus Fam U.

Yeah, you know, the thing about it, and this is like the best problem in the world to have, if you have two Heisman Trophy candidates and they might actually split the vote from each other. Any coach in the country would love to be dealing with an issue like that. We'll see Miami tonight. Again, at 8th, Diem. Eastern on the ACC Network and Joy your College Football Week.