College Football Live - CFB Live - Week 12 CFB Rankings Reaction/James Franklin's New Home

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, Roddy Jones and Pete Thamel for College Football Live. With new CFP rankings, listen to what the guys think of the committees decision and what teams need to do to secure their playoff spot. We'll preview a matchup in Eugene between USC and Oregon and also discuss teams that could possibly make their conference championship. James Franklin is introduced as Virginia Tech's new head coach, tune in to hear his thoughts and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, enjoying a good night's rest in your live flat seat, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Out of the tunnel here on college football live on this Wednesday. What would reverberate more in the college football world this weekend? An Oregon loss or a USC win? Our experts weigh in. It's been a dream season for Georgia.

But recent history says Saturday could be a nightmare. Why is that? Plus, we'll hear from the newest hokey and a member of the search committee that helped hire James Franklin. Virginia Tech legend, Eddie Royal, joins us. And with that, we welcome you inside college football live. Sam Roddy Zubin here in a moment. The insider Pete Dammel and the playoff insider Heather Dinnich coming up with the bottom of the hour for our weekly championship drive. And speaking of that, let's dig right in to.

You know what? The biggest story in the sport. Of course, that would be the playoff rankings, brought to you by Burvaux. Here's what you need to know. The top three are unchanged. Georgia moves up to four. Still doesn't have the inside track to the SEC title game, but they might be sitting pretty right there. The gap between Miami and Notre Dame has shrunk from week to week to week, from eight to six to four. And now the latest G5 team in is Tulane, sitting there at 24 the week before.

It had been to USF the week before. that it had been Memphis. So no surprise there. Another week of shake-ups. Let's talk about it with the fellas. Sam, let's start with you. I'm sure you, along with many college football fans, were watching at Madison Square Garden last night,

in between a couple of basketball games to get the football info we needed. What's your biggest takeaway from what you saw? I was shocked that Tulane was ranked in the top 25. Tulane lost by 22 points to UTSA, and that score. It doesn't tell the full story. They really were getting blown out.

Then it got closer at the end. They also lost by 35 to Ole Miss. So the biggest thing that set out to me more than anything is the fact that Tulane, a team that has some pretty embarrassing losses, specifically to UTSA, was still in the top 25. Yeah, I agree, Sam. That was a little confusing. The thing that was most surprising to me, though,

is how far Alabama dropped. I mean, this was the number four team in the country last week. They dropped to 10 after a two-point loss to Oakland. Oklahoma at home in a game where they out gained Oklahoma by almost 200 yards. It seems like with the explanation from the committee, they all of a sudden figured out that Alabama can't run the football. That's been a story the entire season. And then now it seems like they go and they take that Florida state loss at the beginning

of the season, seriously, where previously it didn't feel like that was being weighed as heavily as it is now. That game against Oklahoma, it looks like a statistical anomaly that Alabama would have lost. game. They did. You can't take that away from them, but for them to drop six spots after losing to a ranked team, I understand Oklahoma had to be higher than them, but Notre Dame being between them was a little confusing for me. I was surprised as well that Alabama dropped all the way to number 10, specifically because during their run of, I think it was what, seven or eight straight wins, Alabama beat ranked team after ranked team after ranked team. And many of those

teams that Alabama beat are still ranked. And so the loss of Florida State in week one, a lot of people would argue, including me, that's a different Florida State team. That was a different Alabama team. Alabama was trying to figure out who was going to be their starting quarterback. They had a lot of new guys, new pieces, at least maturing on the offense. When it comes to offensive line, guys kind of stepping up in a different fashion. So I was surprised that that loss got taken so much to account and that Alabama dropped as far as they did. All right, fair enough. Last word on this is remember to vote for which team you think will be the Dr. Pepper one final team by using the hashtag one final team. There is one big

matchup this week in the Big Ten that everybody is focused on. Of course, that is USC and Oregon. Game Day will be there. We're going to bring in Pete here in just a moment before the gang weighs in on Saturday morning. Here's what you need to know in this matchup. Oregon sitting there as a one-loss team. They've moved up from 9 to 8 to 7, according to the committee.

SC is sitting there as a two-loss team. And you can essentially see, based on the results, a USC win would give them an opportunity to vault way up and mark a signature moment. moment for Lincoln Riley. Meanwhile, for Oregon, it would certainly diminish their chances. It sort of feels like the committee has been a little bit more bearish than bullish on them to begin with. But that's just anecdotal. This is an absolutely gigantic game. So let's talk about it. Roddy, let's start with you. USC fans have been waiting four years for a moment

and a week like this. What would a win for the Trojans mean over the team that has essentially become the new money player on the West Coast and in some cases, in many ways, overtaking USC as the program on the West Coast. Zubin, for a moment there, I thought you were going to break out into song

with a moment like this. Some people wait a lifetime. USC hasn't had to wait that long, but it is a massive, massive stage because this would turbocharge USC's charge to the college football playoff. They were knocking on the door of it a few years ago in the Pac-12 championship game.

Caleb Williams has that hamstring injuries limping around the rest of the game. They still almost win it, but they end up losing and they miss the college football playoff. This would be sort of a proof of concept, a validation of Lincoln Riley. But more than that, you mentioned the fact that there's West Coast supremacy on the table as well. I think it puts a marker back down on the West Coast. Hey, USC is back. We are to be feared.

We are to be respected. And then from a recruiting standpoint, their biggest challenge to their talent is, Oregon, so I think it puts a marker down on the West Coast. Well, guys, for Lane Kiffin, this, Lane Kiffin, I should say, was the last USC coach to win at Oregon. He did so in 2011. Now, they haven't played every other year

because of different conferences and such in Pact 12 South and Pact 12 North, but it has been a while for USC that it really declared a signature victory. And for Lincoln Riley, this would be the biggest win of his tenure by ranking. He beat Notre Dame in his first season. Obviously, last year, they beat USC, they beat LSU on a neutral field. And this year, obviously, Michigan was a top 15 team when they trounce them earlier in the season. But if you're Lincoln Riley and your USC,

like Roddy alluded to, you hired him for playoff contention every year. This would, A, be his biggest victory by ranking as the USC coach. And B, would vault him to the periphery of the playoff chase where USC expected to be when they hired Lincoln Riley four years ago. Pete, I could not agree with you more. Think about what would have happened if Caleb Williams wouldn't have limped off the field in the 2022 Pac-12 title game. He would have made the playoff in his first year and all of this noise over the last three wouldn't be happening. So it's a great point on your part. Sam, to you on the other side, the committee has begrudgingly moved up Oregon. But when you hear the committee spokesman, each of them speak, it doesn't feel like

They're huge on the ducks. There's plenty of teams that could afford to take a second loss. But if the ducks were one of those teams sitting there with one L right now, what would this mean for them? Well, I'm going to take something that Pete just said and try to flip it a little bit. He said USC would be on the periphery of the basketball playoff. I think if Oregon lost, they'd be on the periphery as well, yet they'd be on the outside looking in.

The reason why is this is that if Oregon loses this game, they would have no ranked wins that have two losses, It's big-time losses to a team like Indiana by double digits, then another loss to another USC team that would be ranked. And so the resume starts to, you start to poke holes in a resume like that. You say, okay, well, I understand they lost to these ranked teams, but who have they beaten? That's the problem with the loss at this point in the season for Oregon.

Yeah, Sam, you mentioned the who have they beaten. Oregon is beaten two teams that are above 500 in terms of record, and it's the last two teams that, that they faced in Iowa and in Minnesota. Other than that, their resume really lacks. So I think, as you were sort of alluding to, if Oregon were to lose to USC, they drop down and they become a lame duck.

Well played. Well played. Good stuff. And he sticks the landing. There's no topping back. I don't even weigh in. Let that marinate, let Roddy have his moment. We will see if the ducks

or anybody else can get the conference championship weekend because essentially if you don't, you're a lame duck. So let's kind of take a look at exactly what we're looking at with this moving forward. I'll second that. Two weeks until conference championships when we weed out all the lame ducks. Let's just take a look at this.

JMU anything but a lame duck. They've already clinched the spot in the Sunbelt title game, but as you probably know, they are thinking way bigger than the Sunbelt title game. You see all these squares? These are all the conference championship births that still need, to be filled out to join JMU. Take a look at

all these logos. These are just the power for teams that are still in the mix to get to a conference championship game and then of course that would get you to the playoff. In the ACC for Georgia Tech, it's pretty simple.

Win Saturday against Pittsburgh they're in. How about this? Virginia's on the buy. But if they have three results go their way while they are sitting on the couch, they can clinch a spot. So when you wake up Sunday morning, we could have a Tech, Virginia, ACC,

title game. Here's Georgia Tech's coach. He's a couple weeks too early by my bat. This is a championship game in its own right. That's the way we're viewing it. It's the way we're approaching it. And it's on everybody to get the job done. Right?

To the point where we went live today in practice. Like, live tackling. Right? because that's what this is. That's some incredible risk, considering what's on the line for them and how late we are in this season. Roddy, it seems simple. We put it on the graphic, win it in.

But if I take a look at the recent history that you informed me about between these two teams, it's not that simple. It is not, Zubin. Pitt has won four of the last five games against Georgia Tech. Now, that predates Brent Key. So we're going through the end of the Paul Johnson era in through the Jeff Collins era, where there were a lot of teams that had success against Georgia Tech.

So this is a different outfit, but historically, Pitt has been tough for Georgia Tech to beat overall. You couple that with the fact that Georgia Tech's defense has given up over 1,100 yards and 82 points in its last two games. Those two games against Boston College, who's got one win on the season, not a single one against a power for an FBS opponent, and NC State, who's 500. There's a reason that they went live tackling in practice. That defense has really let them down. and that's a pit offense that especially if Desmond Reed is available, which I think Pete will have more on in a second, is really tough to defend it can really put up some points, Sam.

Yeah, but my eyes will be focused on not the pit offense, but on the pit defense because what does Georgia Tech do better than almost anyone in the nation? They love to be physical, run the ball, specifically quarterback design runs. If I'm not mistaken, Haines King is averaging 14 carries per game. When the game is on the line, like last week versus Boston College, he's going to have the ball in his hand and it's up to you to try and stop him. And oh, by the way, if it's not him, it's Malachi Hoseley or it's Jamal Haynes. The tough part about this Georgia Tech offense is they pull guards and they have tight ends pulling.

They run counter. They run power. And also, by the way, they want to be explosive as well. Got a chance to talk to Buster Fogner, their offensive coordinator. He was like, dude, I want to get rid of all our plays that are getting two, three, four yards and focus on the ones that are going 20, 30, and 40. And so they have the physical element to their game, but also the explosive. side as well. Okay, so Roddy is sitting here, singing show tunes, hitting punchlines, and doing my job. So let me tee up, Pete, but great, great setup there for you, right? Okay, so we do have

perhaps an injury situation that Roddy had just referenced here. Get us up to date here on Des. So Pitt Star all around back, Desmond Reed, left that Notre Dame game with an ankle injury. He's had a nagging ankle all season, guys. He's missed three games along the way this season. I've been told by sources. His status is uncertain for this week, as it has been, more weeks than it hasn't, going back through this season. He's Pitts leading Russia. He's the most dynamic player in their past game and in their special teams game. So his status will loom large over this game on Saturday, Zubin. There's no question about it because, as Pat and Arduzzi said last week, infamously, these are the two games we need to win. On the way here on college football live,

the first domino has fallen. James Franklin is in Blacksburg. We are joined by a member of the search committee that helped decide Franklin was coming to the DMV. And he just happens to be a Hokies legend. Eddie Royal is next. Hi there. Surprise. 30 for 30 presents boo-ya. Can I get a witness from the congregation? You can't stop authenticity.

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Look at this SEC triple header on your local ABC station, Missouri, Oklahoma, riding high, Arkansas, and Texas. The latter looking to bounce back. and the great old SEC East rivalry. If you're old enough for that, Tennessee and Florida can't wait to see it. Of course, so much SEC there. This is a coach that knows the SEC well. He helped turn around Vanderbilt, helped turn around Penn State,

and now the goal is to help turn around Virginia Tech. James Franklin, the first big domino to fall in the coaching carousel of 2025, and he says his past experience will lead to future success. All these lessons that I've learned, we're going to pour them into Virginia Tech. And I feel like it's going to put us in a really specific position to separate ourselves over a ton of different schools. There's very few head coaches that have had the experience in the SEC, in the Big Ten, and the ACC. You could not have found a coach that's going to pour his heart and soul into this place more than me and my family. I give you my word on that.

Sorry. Wow, that's some real emotion. Sam, Roddy, Zubin, back with us. And it is a pleasure to be joined by Hokey Legend. And when we called Eddie Royal today, said, if we want to talk a little football, you're probably thinking, I don't want to talk about the hottest team of the NFL,

your Denver Broncos. But that's going to have to wait for another day, Eddie. They're on fire. But today is Virginia Tech's Day. We wanted to have you on because not just your background, but you were on the search committee that helped everybody steer towards Franklin without giving away any state secrets, unless you want to,

what was some of the determining factors the guys and gals in the room had that said, we have got to bring in James Franklin? Well, I mean, his track record, right? You wanted a proven winner, a guy who had a clear-cut vision of what he wanted to accomplish and how to get there, and just the fact that he's rebuilt programs before. This is not necessarily a rebuild, but Virginia Tech needs the foundation to be restored,

And that leadership is so important. And James Franklin brings that. He brings the experience, the undeniable leadership, the leader of men. I mean, that's what you want. The CEO-type leadership that he's going to have. He's going to bring a great staff. But also, he's a great recruiter. He's one of the best recruiters in the country.

He's used to recruiting Virginia, the Maryland, D.C. area. So he's going to bring in a ton of good recruits with him as well. But the leadership is the one thing that stood out to us. And you can see in the press conference from the humor, from the respect that he asked for Coach Beamer to call him to ask for his blessings, but also even for what he did for Coach Fry. Just giving that shout out there and getting emotional about it. It showed you his true character and who he is as a person. It was a class act, Eddie. I completely agree.

And I thought he hit all the right notes in the press conference. But the thing that stands out to me of James Franklin this offseason, Was him during the year going on college game day, and man, did he seem like there was a fire in his belly? Not that it ever wasn't there at Penn State, but maybe it was reignited or even made bigger by what happened at Penn State. What sense did you get about the motivation that he has to restore another program and to accomplish the things that he didn't get a chance to at Penn State during the interview process? See, I mean, that's what I love the most of bottom is that similar to Virginia, to. Right. I mean, knowing what you could have accomplished and being so close to getting there, but not finishing it off. And it feels like he's as motivated as ever. He wants to prove himself. He wants to win the championship and he's not shy about it. So we know that he has division for the program. Virginia Tech is starving for a winner, man. I want to see my former Hokies and former program get back to where it should be on a national stage where people are talking about them for the CFP. he's the guy to do it so he's motivated the guys in a locker room want to get back to winning all the alumni want to get back to winning and just bring the passion back to virginia tech man it's a family atmosphere and the fan bases as excited as ever man big things are happening for virginia tech football

eddie it's so good to hear about you being on the search committee and seeing you do your thing as a virginia tech hokey but what concerns did you have throughout that interview process when you were sitting down with james franklin and also some other candidates. I tell look, man, that's the thing. That was a great thing about James Franklin is that there were no concerns. Like, and all the other candidates, you worry about this or that, the perception and this, like you have no concerns about James Franklin. He's shown you over and over again that he's a winner, that he's consistent, that he knows how to recruit every list of criteria that we had on the board.

He checked it off, and he was just a grand slam hire. I couldn't think of a better candidate, man, just because of what he represents, not only as a football coach, but as a man. He's going to be turned over 18, 19-year-old men and responsible for shaping them and molding them into good people. And I couldn't think of a better candidate than James Franklin. It's just a perfect fit for Virginia Tech. Of course, you can see Eddie on the ACC Network from time to time, but it's great to have

him here on college football live. Okay, Eddie, you touched on this, but I want to dig in because recruiting is a lifeblood. college football. So here it goes. I was looking at the 2023 class of best prospects in the state of Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia. I noticed that six of those 10 went to play at Penn State for James Franklin. So I want you to fill in the sentence here and then just keep going. If James Franklin can lock down the fertile territory

that is the DNV dot, dot, dot, Virginia Tech will get back to winning 10 games a year. That's been the issue. Virginia Tech hasn't been able to get the best players from Virginia because guys like James Franklin have come in and taken them away from Virginia Tech. It's so many talented players within the state of Virginia. If you can just keep those guys there back like they did when Frank Beamer was doing, then that's how you win 10 games.

And that's how you're in the talks for winning ACC Championship games. and then eventually national championships. Okay, Eddie, one more. We got one minute to go. Here we go. People know that after the 99 season, Virginia Tech played in the championship game. But many people have said about a lot of different ACC schools. Eddie, you know this.

You're on the network. That this is just a different sport right now. And the SEC and the Big Ten have separated themselves. That said, what constitutes success for Virginia Tech in this era? Is it any different from the lore from before? or do you have to readjust what you're thinking moving forward? Hardly, Virginia Tech is hardly the only school in the ACC that's had to confront that issue. Yeah, you've got to readjust in the fact that they're investing in more money into the program shows you that they're willing to make those changes.

Without the investment financially, you wouldn't have been able to go get a coach like James Franklin. So we're showing you right away that Virginia Tech is serious about football, that James Franklin is the guy to take Virginia Tech for more. where they are now to a national powerhouse. And I feel like there's everything there for Virginia Tech to do that. They've been a sleeping giant. Recruiting is now there. The money's going to be there for NIL.

And now the coaching and the leadership and foundation is going to be in place. This isn't just a quick fix. He's going to make this thing a foundational piece to work. Virginia Tech is going to be on a national landscape year in and year out. That's great stuff. An amazing perspective from a guy that was inside the room that decided that the biggest swing, Hokies have made in their entire athletic program in a quarter century is going to be James Franklin. Kate, wait to see how it develops. Eddie, thanks for being with us. We're back at the

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