College Football Live - CFB Live - Week 12 SEC Preview and Reaction to the CFP Rankings

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

On this episode of CFB Live, Sam Acho, Roddy Jones, Pete Thamel and Zubin Mehenti breakdown the biggest SEC matchups of week 12. The crew also reacts to the 2nd week of the CFP Rankings. All this and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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He changed the culture. He changed sports. Booja, presented by Modelo, premieres on December 10th at 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Out of the tunnel here on college football live. It's the biggest weekend of the season in the SEC to date. Everything you need to know about Texas and Georgia and Oklahoma and Alabama on the way. Speaking to the biggest, the biggest and boldest statement any coaches made all season. Wait until you hear what Pat and Arduzzi said about Notre Dame with the Irish coming to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

And from on to Cincinnati to on to Winston-Salem. Why Bill Belichick is not headed back to the NFL or so he says. That's next. And we welcome you to college football live. Sam Roddy Pete, the playoff insider Heather Dinnich joins at the bottom of the hour for 30 minutes of playoff talk coming up on championship drive. That's a 2.30 Eastern. But let's start today's show by talking about some teams that are certainly going to factor in to the playoff discussion.

In the SEC, it's a battle of seven and two road teams taking on eight and one home teams, particular Oklahoma and Texas. You know the head-to-head that the Longhorns won, and it stands to reason that if Texas could take out Georgia and oh you could somehow up in Alabama, their playoff chances would absolutely skyrocket according to the all-state playoff predictor. So let's talk about it. Let's start here with this big one between Texas and Georgia between the hedges. Roddy, let's start with you.

Biggest thing you're looking forward to watching in this game that could determine the outcome. Well, the matchup between Texas's run defense and Georgia's rush offense, look at that Texas run defense. It's been the best in the SEC. and second best in the country. And that's really where it starts for Texas. They're going to put you in bad situations in third and longs. And then they can get into their exotic pressures and let Colin Simmons go hunt.

But for Georgia, there's been three games where they really didn't run the ball all that well. Florida, where they're down in the second half, Auburn in a game that was closer than a lot of people thought it was going to be. And then that Tennessee game that went down to the wire and needed heroics from Gunner Stockton down the stretch. So when Georgia has not been able to run the ball, they've looked mortal offensively. they can get the run game going to compliment what Gunner Stockton does, that's when they're able to really be unstoppable. So I think Texas has got to stop the run to win this one. And to your point, Roddy, they have to stop the run, but that run stopping leads to an ability for them to rush the pass. So Texas is second in the nation when it comes to sacks, 34 on the season,

tied with A&M. And so you talk about it, Colin Simmons, Anthony Hill, Ethan Burke, it lets those guys hunt. But the real reason I would say is the fact that Texas as a whole, their team has been led by their defense. Yes, the last couple weeks, Arch Manning has looked good, but you can't rely on the offense. It's been the defense and at times special teams that has kept to Texas in games. Even games were that to come back

or games without to hold off their opponents. So the run defense has to be able to be stout in order for the defense to be able to rush the quarterback and force turnovers and give an inconsistent offense more opportunities to score points. To you, everybody says one of Georgia's toughest players is a

guy that right now is on the mend. And you've got a status report on him. He can play a huge factor Saturday between the hedges. Yeah, Zubin, Loss and Lucky is expected to return from the head and neck injury. He suffered against Mississippi State on Saturday. Kirby Smart has indicated positive development for Lucky's returns to the field the last couple days. We'll see how it runs out this week. It would be a huge addition, as both Sam and Roddy said.

Yards are going to be hard to come by this weekend. So look for Loss and Lucky. trending to return on Saturday. All right, Pete, one more angle I just want to bring to this game before we go to the OU-Bama game is that this is going to be Arch Manning's fifth appearance in Athens. He took four visits to Athens and decided he was going to hightail it to Austin.

So that's just an interesting little angle to keep in mind. They finally got him to Athens, and they finally got him inside Sanford Stadium, but it's going to be as Texas's quarterback. So that's something to just keep in mind, a fun little angle there. All right, let's go to OU-Bama. Pete, I want to start. with you here because this is an interesting standpoint because this is the first time we're

going to get to see John Mateer, the old John Mateer, post-hand injury. He's going to be able to do a lot more. And I think we're going to be able to see a lot more from what your reporting says Saturday night in T-Town. Well, if you look at John Mateer's two best games this season, they came against Michigan when he rushed for 74 yards and came against Tennessee when he rushed for 80. It's clear that Oklahoma's offensive staff feels more comfortable running John Mateer now that he's on the other side of that thumb injury, the thumb injury that held up our world there for the week of the Texas game. Look, that's a hard injury to protect Zuban because you just don't know when the

quarterback's in the open field, how he would be hit. But it's clear that Oklahoma is more comfortable running John Matier, and that means Oklahoma is going to have a better offense. And one of Oklahoma's best opportunities to win this game is going to be by their offense. We know that Oklahoma defensively is stout, but their offense is. is going to be the reason they win. That's why I think the important part that I'm watching is how does Alabama's defense hold up, not just against John Mateer in the running game, but also in the passing game. Alabama's defense is going to have to be the key for this team.

Ty Simpson's been great, but their defense has been up at times. They've been down at times. So in this critical top 10, top 15 matchup, my eyes will be on Alabama's defense slowing down John Mateer, slowing down the passing game as well for Oklahoma. Yeah, Sam, you mentioned Ty Simpson, and I think Oklahoma is going to have to affect him in order to give their offense opportunities to be able to score. Because if you don't, Ty Simpson's going to dice you up. This Oklahoma defense has been absolutely fantastic.

Fourth in the country in sacks, number two in the country in pressure rate. And when you look at Ty Simpson, he's like any quarterback, 66% completion percentage when he's not under pressure. It drops to 50% when he is under. pressure. So this front of Oklahoma, led by R. Mason Thomas, but it is really a gang of guys that are able to get after the quarterback. And those pressure packages are some of the most fearsome in the country. That gang is going to have to be able to affect Ty Simpson because that's your only hope. Oklahoma is not going to be able to cover that excellent receiving group over and over

and over with a clean Ty Simpson. Well, I'm with you, Roddy. That's why I kind of go to that other matchup. The reason I say that when I'm with you is that Ty Simpson's in the Heisman Trophy conversation. He's one of the best quarterbacks in all of football. Oklahoma's defense is led by Brett Venables, one of the best defensive minds. So that seems like that's going to be like a battle that's going to potentially like even out. So the deciding

factor has to be, if you're Alabama, it's got to be the defense. If you're Oklahoma, it's got to be John Mateer, not just with his legs, but also through the air. So that's the matchup I'm keeping my eye on because we know that it's strength on strength on one side of the ball. Alabama has to be stronger on defense. And the obvious

post script to this conversation is simple. I think if you are an Alabama fan, you know the loss to Oklahoma last year is essentially what ended up keeping you out of the playoffs. So there could be a little bit of revenge factor there. All the teams we talked about are in the college football playoff rankings. Brought to you by Goodyear. At the top, it remains the same Ohio State, Indiana, Texas, A&M. Note that Texas Tech has moved up to six. So if there's a little bit of chaos in front, it's not out of the question that the Red Raiders can get to one of those top four seeds and end up getting a buy. Miami is the highest ranked ACC team at 15, which is a cause for

for a conversation in and of itself, which we'll have at the bottom of the hour. USC and Michigan back-to-back are ultra-interesting. Remember, USC is the head-to-head there. And Pittsburgh at 22, who we're going to talk about in one second. And finally, after week two, a G-5 team checks in South Florida at 24. Speaking of Pittsburgh, they got Notre Dame Saturday,

game days in the house. And this might be the wildest thing any coach has said at the podium all season. Absolutely not. You know, it is not an ACC game. I'm glad you brought that up. It's not an ACC game. You know, I gladly get beat 103 or 110 to 10 in that game. They can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.

But again, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we can. If it's 110 to 10, the new ESPN Draft King's deal is going to have to moderate the line here a little bit because I don't think anybody's going to bet anything like that. Take a look, tongue planted firmly in cheek. The largest losses for Notre Dame in series history. Could it be a hundred point margin? Privileously said there by Narduzzi. Just kind of fun in games.

Let's talk about it. So this is an amazing triple header on your ABC station. We talked about games two and three. Those are the SEC games in the afternoon. And at night, it's all going to start at noon Eastern on ABC with Notre Dame and Pitt. And again, college game day in the Steel City for the first time in 20 years. Roddy, let me just start with you. You watch press conferences all the time as a member of our ACC network crew.

When you hear something like that just said, like it's really not a must win because the games that really matter, the ACC games that come after this one, what do you think? Well, first off, I think Coach Narduzzi should look at the tiebreaker scenarios in the ACC because he can win the next two

and still not make the championship game. But I understand what he's trying to do here. He's trying to bring down the temperature of this game. College game day is showing up. Notre Dame's coming into town. That place is going to be as packed. as it has been all season long. So what he's trying to do is lower the expectations,

lower the temperature and say to his team, hey, look, this is just another game. And I do think he's using the wrong example to do that. I have done a Pat and Arduzzi game where they have won Zubin and given up 63 points. And I've never seen a coach more upset in a post-game interview than when Pat Narduzzi won scoring 77 when Syracuse scored 63. So he would not be happy with 100 points.

He's a defensive guy. But what I think he's trying to do is just relax his team. He's got a freshman quarterback. You don't want to make it any bigger than it is, even though it's the biggest game, maybe in the ACC all year. Yeah, I don't think so, right? I don't think he's trying to relax his team. I think he's just speaking, honestly.

He has an opportunity, though there's four or five teams who have one loss in the ACC, he has an opportunity to go to and win an ACC championship game. And this Notre Dame game isn't as important as the following two. They play Notre Dame this weekend. then they back that up with Georgia Tech and Miami. Georgia Tech's another one lost team. Miami has two losses. So if you win that Georgia Tech game and depending what

happens in front of you with teams like Duke and Virginia, all of a sudden, Pitt who's 22 in the rankings may end up in an ACC championship game and if they win that game, now they're in a college football playoff. So I don't think it's about calming his team or his nerves. I think he's thinking more about

those next two weeks after Notre Dame because the conference is so wide open. Yeah, but Sam, without the win against Notre Dame, your chances of making the ACC championship aren't good enough to get to the CFP. I mean, I've been in, there's a little button back here that if you press, it opens up a layer where I've got like all the tiebreaker scenarios laid out. In one of the tiebreaker scenarios where Pitt's tied with Virginia and SMU, Pitt doesn't make that ACC championship game because of the loss to Louisville.

And then the other one, it comes down to conference opponent's strength of schedule. And right now, Pitt's losing that battle. So you're leaving it in the hands of tiebreakers if you do not beat Notre Dame and then you just beat the next two. And you're hoping that someone else slips up. But winning Notre Dame, winning this Notre Dame game, that makes your resume strong enough to stand on its own, even if you don't make the ACC championship game. All right, fair enough. The biggest thing I learned in the first segment here was Roddy called a 7763 game.

I thought those were only reserved for the Big 12. But apparently that went down between Pitt. Howard has got a layer in the back of his house. I think we all knew that. Just keep the contents under wraps. Just a reminder, you can vote for. Yes, that's a little Dr. Evil reference there with the Dr. Pepper One Final Team by using the hashtag one final team.

And Game Day is going to be in Pittsburgh, again, for the first time in 20 years. And once again, you can vote for the team you think will be the Dr. Pepper One Final Team by using the hashtag one final team. Get out there and vote yesterday about 48. percent of respondents said it was going to be Ohio State, the one final team standing. On the way, Bill Belichick, coaching in modern day football, is he off to the NFL? And why the guy most in demand, that guy lays down the things you need to have to succeed in 2025. That's next.

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The electricity is palpable. Step up your game with no air. annual contract required. It's the ultimate fan experience. Level up for more on the ESPN app or at stream.espn.com. Sign up now. We're back on college football live. Again, we mentioned all of these games and broke them down in our first segment.

What a triple header on your local ABC station. in Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, with game day right there outside of Accresher Stadium, home of the Steelers, and the Panthers. Dead Valley, of course, is the home of the LSU Tigers, who right now are in search of a head coach, all sorts of chaos in the program. 49-25 lost to A&M, Brian Kelly out.

Hours later, the same weekend, he celebrated his birthday. And now LSU's got to figure out what to do, because Kelly's in a situation now where he is looking to sue and looking for perhaps all of the money he's owed and the school is wanting to settle. Of course, this is not new to Brian Kelly and LSU. You see this all the time. Coaches and school separate. Pete is here with more.

Take us inside what this really means here, Pete, for Brian Kelly. And then the subsequent search about with all of this hanging in the air, the reverberating effects for LSU. Well, Zubin, Brian Kelly isn't exactly shooing LSU. What he did in the filing, which officially went public today, was he asked LSU for a declaratory judgment to say, pay me the money, my contract says you owe me, and pay me the money that I should be owed with the way you fired me, which was for performance, which LSU made painstakingly clear in comments by then athletic director Scott Woodward, comments by Governor Jeff Landry, etc. So what Kelly's lawsuit alleges is that he'd been told by certain people, LSU that they may now try to fire him for cause, which, according to his contract, they would

have had to do seven days before they fired him and give him written notification. It does not seem like a particularly strong legal case. And what this has done, it is given another week of news cycle to LSU for the dysfunction surrounding the program above the athletic department this time, more at the board of supervisors level. And obviously, the governor's office has had a heavy hand in all this. Will this impact the quality of coach that LSU can get? It's an interesting question, Zubin. It's a very good job. If a certain coach is weighing between two very good jobs,

I think certainly the discourse of the governor and the fact that the previous coach is not being paid the money he was contractually owed is going to enter the calculus of that. So it has not been boring in Baton Rouge, and I think it's going to continue to be that way in the upcoming weeks until they have a new coach in that chair. Yes, fair enough.

Shout out to Governor Landry, who gave us a week's worth of content. But also, somebody wise once told me, think about all the high school teams in Louisiana where their nickname is Tigers. They all grow up wanting to be LSU Tigers. It does say something about how unique that school in that state are. Open Power 4 head jobs.

Obviously, LSU is at the top of this list. They lost earlier this season to Ole Miss. As you know, Lane Kiffin is going to be at the epicenter of any coaching search. And Kiffin weighed in earlier this week on what makes a great job in 2025. I wasn't ready for that one. I think that's evolved and changed, and there's different things in it.

I've said to you guys a couple years ago, I think, and this was before Cap, but I said, I think that it's going to move to people used to say, okay, you know, when people wanted to hire you or something and interview and what questions do you have, what are your concerns? Okay, people used to say, you know, facilities, many practice fields, you know, those things. I think that's changed, it's going to change, and it's going to be how much in IAL do you have? You know, some people sometimes think, well, okay, that's not a big deal, but just look at professional sports when it's not the same like baseball and the payrolls. And over time, who wins and who doesn't win.

And some stuff has narrowed, as I've referred to, because you can't stockpile, you know, those whatever blue bloods you want to call, either refer to it. But there's still things there that you're still going to struggle to beat those guys. because kids are still recruited and they see size of stadiums and tradition and Heismans and national championships. Pretty insightful answer, considering he wasn't expecting the question. Lane Kiffin, ad-libbing rallying there, big stuff. All right, Pete, you cover all this. You talk to AD's search firms. From what you heard there and the intel that you have in a coaching cycle,

a carousel that's going to be unlike any other as the sport morphs into a phase we've never seen, do you agree with a lot of Kiffin said with regards to what is most attractive? to any head coaching candidate. I do, Zubin, and I think parsing a little bit of what Lane said is these big brands, like Nick Saban stockpiled talent for years, so did Kirby Smart. Those big brands are still going to have a pure recruiting edge over some of the lesser brands in the same league. And that's a difficult thing to overcome if you're at Missouri, if you're at Ole Miss,

if you're at Kentucky. Even though you, in theory, have the same amount of rev share, you probably don't. don't have the same amount of NIL. But I think that the two things moving forward here that coaches that I've talked to in this cycle are looking for, one is cash, cold hard cash for the portal, for recruiting. You need it. It needs to be there, both from a rev share perspective and the so-called third stream sidecar NIL. That is a huge factor. What is your number is the difficult first-date question in these interviews? And then the other thing is alignment. Look, you need to be aligned. President A.D., etc., they all have to be bought in.

It is expensive to win in modern college football, and you have to have everyone all in. Yeah, it's no coincidence that the Grove Collective that Ole Miss is run by a guy named Walker Jones was one of the first to adopt this, and it's no coincidence. That's why Ole Miss is far ahead of the curve. Sam, let's talk about it with you. You play for a national championship winning coach, one of the best coaches of his generation, but I don't think Mac Brown would work in 2025 despite everything he brought to the table. So what works today from a guy that played at a program like Texas, you would understand it better than most? The first thing is relationships.

No longer can you be a coach that consistently demeans. You have to have a relationship with your players because those players are getting recruited incessantly. The second thing is a belief. I think that coaches need to have a better sense of belief in their players and their skill sets, not about the X's and O's, as people say, but more about the jimmies and Joe.

So it's about the relationships and the belief in your players. to put them in the best position to succeed. Yeah, and you have to convince those players to play for you, even though they might be there for only a year as a transfer. So you have to communicate the whiffam. What's in it for me? And you have to align what's in it for the player with what's in it for the team

so that you can have team goals with a rotating roster from year to year. Fair enough. All right. Up next, Bill Belichick's won two in a row at North Carolina, but the Giants job is open. so you know he was asked about it. You got here, you said you're not coming here to leave, but as soon as the Giants job came over yesterday,

your name got thrown out there, I'm sure, with other NFL jobs. What is your message to players, to recruits? I'm sure people are asking you about that, who want to come up early. Yeah, getting ready for a course. That's all I got this week. Has anyone asked you, or players or recruits,

want to know about your future? I'm not going to ask about it. about from time to time, but yeah, look, I've been down this road before. I'm focused on the way for us. That's it. And that's my commitment to this team. And next week, it'll be to our next opponent and so forth. But, you know, I'm here to do best I can to this team. All right, safe to say the acoustics in the room could use some work. But I know Pete has been working this story. All right, Pete, what do you have here on this story that Belichick has flatly denied?

Well, the New York Post and Daily News and the other tabloids are going to be disappointed in this, but Bill and Jordan are not going to be headed to New York slash North Jersey for the Giants. There's minimal interest out in the NFL landscape in Bill Belichick. I certainly don't want to say never. He's the greatest of all time. But that appetite is just not there for the Giants, for the NFL in Bill Belichick. Zubin, I'm on to champ drive. I've been down this road before.

I'm just on to champ drive. I don't have a comment here. Fair enough. And to the one journalism comment from Pete's point, it's a loss not just for the New York sports media, but for page six as well. If you know, you know, we'll see you for championship drive at the bottom of the hour.