College Football Live - CFP ORANGE BOWL TONIGHT!!

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

WELCOME IN TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL LIVE -- Victoria Arlen is joined by Trevor Matich and Sam Acho, they have reports from Miami & Dallas. It's a full hour of action coming your way... as we are Just HOURS away until the Capitol One Orange Bowl kicks off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

amount of work to get to this point. Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen alongside Samacho and Trevor Madditch with me in studio. And we will have reports from Miami and Dallas. And we have a full hour of action coming your way. And we are just hours away from the Capital One Orange Bowl kicking off. But we have got ourselves a great one tonight when the fighting Irish take on the Nittany Lions down in Miami.

So here are some things you should know. Notre Dame has been exceptional this year in particular versus ranked. opponents this season they are six and O and facing ranked opponents tying them for the most ranked wins in a season in the pole era. Meanwhile, Penn State's defense has been a focal point for them all year, forcing 24 turnovers this season tied for the most in the big 10. And last, but certainly not least, with Marcus Freeman and James Franklin going head to head tonight, it will guarantee that there will be a black head coach to coach in the national championship for the first time ever. So guys, tonight is the night.

It all goes down. Trevor, what will you be keeping an eye on for? Well, it's a great opportunity for both teams to show that they belong at the elite level of college football. In the era of the 14 playoff, Penn State never appeared in the 14th playoffs. Now they're in the final four, and James Franklin, their coach against top 10 opponents is only 5 and 19. They have a chance to expunge both of those and move on. Notre Dame has been to the 14th playoff twice, never won a game. So both of them have been very good, but not great. One of them will be great tonight.

Well, you say it's a great opportunity for both teams. I think it's a great opportunity for both coaches, not just the coaches, the coaching staff. Andy Kodernick, you remember he came from Kansas. Now he's the offensive coordinator for Penn State. I can't wait to see how exciting that offense is going to be. Then on the Marcus Freeman side, all that they do want special teams. So there will be explosive plays on every single side of the ball, offense, defense, special teams. What I'm also excited for too is that these two teams are going to break a tie in all-time rivalry

when they face off because this series is knotted at 9-9-1, which dates all the way back to 1913, but they have not met since 2007. There's a lot to unpack there, but we are going to head down to Miami, where we find our college football senior writer, Pete Thammell, and Pete, we're going to get back to the Orange Bowl discussion in just a moment. But first, there is some breaking news with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

What can you tell us, Pete? Well, Victoria, Carson Beck intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. This is a surprising decision and an about face from his public statement in late December when he said he intended to enter the NFL draft. Carson Beck was obviously dealing with a UCL injury in his throwing elbow. He suffered against Texas in the SEC championship game. I was told by sources that Carson Beck really reversed course within the last 24 hours on his decision. The feedback from the NFL was inconsistent, which isn't surprising, as Beck would not be able to throw for NFL evaluators. until after the draft.

I was told he had evaluations in the third round. He had some in the first round, and there just wasn't enough concise information to go on. The other thing sources told me, Victoria, is that Carson Beck could end up playing right here. Forget those Notre Dame and Penn State logos. This is where Miami plays its home games, and Miami looms as the favorite to land Carson Beck,

according to sources. Now, I've been told he's going to go through a thorough process, but within a week, we'll get a decision from Carson Beck, and it would be surprising if he's not at, the U. There's just never, never a dull moment. We'll get right back to you, Pete. But Trevor, what do you make of this news and where do you see being a good fit for Carson Beck? Well, I think, first of all, it's a good move by not going to the NFL because he's got to show that that elbow is healthy. He's got to show that he's better under pressure. He had a lot of

drops this year. His receivers tied for first in the nation with 36 drops. That's the most in all of college football. So he needed to get more help. But under pressure, he wasn't great. He needs to show that to the NFL. I like him coming back. The transfer is kind of a mystery to me. I'd like to find out at some point down the road whether there was some NIL issue that caused him to want to leave. Well, I get really excited about this. This is breaking news.

Pete Dammel's breaking this story. And I think about the first thing that comes in mind is Bo Nix. Remember Bo Naxhart? He was at Auburn and he transfers. All of a sudden, he gets to the NFL, he grows and he develops. I think about guys like Cam Ward, right? Transfer from Washington State to Miami. All of a sudden, there's conversation about him being one of the top two,

maybe three, four picks in the NFL draft. And so with the injury and the lack of opportunity for Carson Beck to go and show not just NFL scouts, but show what he could do in the college football playoff, that probably hurt his draft stock. And so I think there's wisdom in the fact of entering the transfer portal after this injury, getting healthy and getting more experience. We've seen in the NFL that experience matters. I go to Bo Nix as the example, an older quarterback, an older quote rookie quarterback, but he's playing in the playoffs right now. And so that's the first name that comes to mind, the experience settle gain just like Bo Nix did. And now he's starring in the NFL.

It's paying off well for Bo Nix. All right, we're going to bring Pete back and turn our attention back to the Orange Bowl tonight and some key injuries for both teams. So let's start with Penn State linebacker. Abdul Carter. What's the latest Pete? Yeah, Victoria, Abdul Carter is the Big Ten Sack leader and he is the best player on Penn State's roster. The best way to call Abdul Carter's status for tonight is a game time decision. He injured that left shoulder against Boise State in the first quarter went to the medical tent, didn't return for the game. James Franklin said two days ago, or yesterday, excuse me, that he expects Abdul Carter to play in this game. But look, he's not going to be 100% with that injured left shoulder. Abdul Carter averages 46 snaps a game for the Nittany Lions. It would

be surprising if he takes that many tonight. And that really the impact of him on Penn State can't be overstated, Victoria. Their rush percentage with him on the field is 45%. It's 13%. It's 13%. less when he's not on the field. When he's on the field, they give up just 2.5 yards per rush. When he's not on the field, that number goes up to 4.3 yards per rush. So Abdul Carter will be watched closely in warm-ups. We'll see if he plays, how much he plays and what kind of impact he can have with that injured shoulder. It's going to be a huge story all night. Another huge story, too, is Notre Dame running back, Jeremiah Love, who left the game against Georgia early with a knee injury. What's his status for tonight, Pete? Well, I had one coach, Victoria,

describe Jeremiah Love to me this week is he's so fast he's like smoke through a keyhole when he's healthy. The one thing we're certain about tonight is that Jeremiah Love will not be 100% when he plays for Notre Dame. He will not have that elite burst that we saw in the Indiana game

when he bursted out for that 98-yard touchdown. Jeremiah Love has a sprained right knee. He wore a bulky brace in practice this week. Marcus Freeman told me yesterday it's the same brace he wore after he initially sprained the knee against USC. So Jeremiah Love's going to warm up. He's going to try to give it a go.

I don't see him significantly impacting this game if he's not 100%. Because he won't be that smoke through the keyhole. He won't be that dynamic player. The impact on the game is simple. We're going to see more Riley Leonard called runs. They called nine quarterback designed runs against Georgia. He had four other scrambles. Riley Leonard accounted for 37% of the overall,

Notre Dame rushing yards in that game. For a quarterback to run for 37% of yards, that's like military academy stuff. So we're going to see Judarian Price. I would not be surprised if he ends up starting. It could be a ceremonial star for Love. But look for Riley Leonard to carry the load tonight on those designed QB runs. Again, Jeremiah Love is one of the three most important players for Notre Dame.

He will not be 100%. We'll see how much he can give them and impact the game tonight. We'll be keeping a close eye on that. Now, Pete, you'll be back with us later with some injury updates from the Cotton Bowl. Thank you, Pete. Trevor, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the Notre Dame offense facing this Penn State defense? That it relies so heavily on the run. They don't throw down field that much or that well.

And when you look at what Penn State defense did against Boise State and Ashton Genty, who finished number two in the Heisman voting, they relentlessly swarmed him. He made some guys miss, but there were more guys to jump on it. They decided that they could live with it if Boisey completed some peasant. passes down the field. Then they did. They threw for about 400 yards, or excuse me, 300 yards, but they weren't able to convert those passing yards into points. And so Penn State will do the same thing against Notre Dame. They will swarm the line of scrimmage to stop the run and dare Rodley Leonard to throw the ball down the field. My concern isn't about the swarm. My concern is

more about the study. The film study that Notre Dame is going to essentially have on tape. So what's going to happen is Penn State saw those nine quarterback design runs. They saw when Notre Dame played Georgia how the only offense was the quarterback counter, quarterback power, quarterback draw. So as a defensive player, you watch that and you say, I'm going to take that away. So my concern when it comes to Notre Dame isn't going to be will Riley Leonard run the ball. I think he's going to, going to, but will it be effective because they've been able to watch tape, study and they have the do to be able to stop the QB run. But let's take a look at how these two teams face off in the passing game.

Penn State's offense boasts a QBR of 96.5 when throwing the ball 20 plus yards. the Fighting Irish have been notoriously stingy defending the past, giving up just three passing touchdowns when opponents throw the ball 20 or more yards, a little strength on strength action for tonight, folks. But Trevor, a lot of eyes are going to be on Drew Aller in this one. When you watch tape on him this year, what has stood out to you the most? Instead, he's a different quarterback this year from last year, but he still carries some of the labels that he brought into the season from 2023.

One is that he's a game manager, but not really a playmaker. But this year he's much more effective at throwing the ball deep down the field. And you see passes like this from him on a regular basis. Sometimes his receivers finish. Sometimes they don't. But Aller is putting the ball where it needs to be. Now, another label from last year is that he's not very mobile. Like the Statue of Liberty could beat him in a 40-yard dash.

But this year, you see him from time to time make critical plays with his feet. Not all the time. But whenever he decides to, whenever he needs to, he can move on the ground. And then his connection with tight end, Tyler Warren, should be seen in the same kind of excellence as Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State. That Ohio State combination is more celebrated. But it's the same problem as Aller to warrant. Defenses know it's coming and they can do nothing to stop it.

Very quietly, Drew Aller has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. But the question is why, right? We've seen how, but why. And I think the answer is offensive coordinator Andy Kodelnicki. We talk about this name all the time. He's a guy that talked about offenses are simple. It's like ice cream, right? There are a lot of different flavors, but it's really the same basic concepts.

But he brought those basic concepts and implemented a sense of confidence, I would say, to Drew Allen. Last year, you said you watched a tape on Droualler and you're saying, okay, a lot of misses, both short and deep. This year, you're seeing a lot of makes, a lot more confidence, not just in the intermediate passing game, but also in the deep ball. So I've been extremely excited to watch the confidence. but the reason why he's a different quarterback is because of his coach. Sam, what does Notre Dame's defense have to watch out for? They have to watch out just for what we talked about. The deep passing game, not just the dinks and the dunks, the ball going downfield.

That's what Drew Outler has excelled at tremendously. Downfield passing. And yes, it's his talent, it's his skills, his confidence. There's Tyler Warren again. But it's also his coordinator. Andy Kodonicki, when he was in Kansas, was one of the top offense when it comes to big time plays. What does Notre Dame do? They love taking the ball away when it's.

downfield. That's Christian Gray, number 29, a pick six, or interception. Then Xavier Watson, another safety, won the Nogerski Award a few years ago. And so for me, this Notre Dame defense is facing one of the strengths of Penn State, which is they love to attack the ball downfield with the biggest boston plays. Can those corners and safeties not only take the ball away, but take it six. It really is going to be a battle of strength to strength. And we're just getting started in that discussion. All right, coming up, we are just one day away from the Cotton Bowl and Holly Row and Laura Rutledge. Join us live with reports on Ohio. Ohio State and Texas leading up to what should be an all-time classic.

And later in the show, we will have Arizona State's head coach Kenny Dillingham joining us, and we'll talk about ASU's against all odds season, and we might even have him put on his analyst hat. We didn't come this far just to come this far. Journey's not done. The mission's not complete. Nothing's guaranteed. We are just one day away from the Cotton Bowl showdown between Ohio State and Texas in Dallas. And we've got Holly Roe and Laura Rutledge in Dallas to give us a preview on both teams. So Holly, I'm going to start with you.

Since the loss to Michigan, this Ohio State team has been on a role. What did coach Ryan Day say today about how they've been able to do it? The first thing that happened is they had a players-only led meeting after that Michigan loss where a lot of truths were shared, hard truths. And they have gotten on a rule since then because they are playing for each other. But Ryan Day said momentum is a tricky thing, even though they're. They're playing with great momentum. He said, this is a new week.

Every week is a whole new week. And so, you know, certainly the way that Texas won the game last week, you know, there's momentum there. And I think it's important for all of us. If we have momentum to keep it. If we don't, we have to go get it. But the truth is that nothing that Ohio State has done or Texas is done up until this week has anything to do with what's going to happen in this game.

Zero. and, you know, if you think any otherwise, then just go back a couple weeks and see where we were a couple weeks ago. And so every single week, the slate is wiped clean, and you have to start from scratch again. Okay, yes, they're starting from scratch again. But when you have a dynamic receiver like Jeremiah Smith, you're not really starting from scratch.

He has been unbelievable. The freshman has 13 receptions, 290 yards, and four touchdowns in his last two games. But think about this. Even though Texas is definitely going to game plan for him, when we talk to their coaches, the secondary does have a plan for Jeremiah Smith. So that might leave his co-receiver, Emeka Abuka, open. Emeka also has 70 receptions on the season. I think people forget about number two.

So this Ohio State team, they have a ton of weapons, and they might be starting from scratch, but they do have some of the best weapons left in the college football playoff. A ton of talent. I'd hardly say they're starting from scratch. So thank you, Holly. And on the Texas side, Laura, Texas are the underdogs for the first time all season. So how are the Longhorns relishing in the underdog role in this game? Yeah, Victoria, it's interesting because you would think about being an underdog.

Maybe you're not as confident. Texas is not lacking in confidence. They feel as though they're approaching this game in the best possible way that they could. They've game planned. They feel healthier than they have before. And when you listen to Sark right now, I think you'll, hear why he is enjoying this underdog role. I could probably poll everybody in this room and you'd probably all agree they're the

favorite to win the game. And that's okay, but that's football, that's sport. That's why we have to do what we do. So I don't, I don't, not going to back off of what I said. The reality is the reality. Now we have to go perform. That's our responsibility as a football team to go perform. But they've earned that right because of the way they've played here the past couple weeks. Yeah, Sark talked about in the fourth quarter, if the game's on the line, That's something that Texas has had a ton of experience with. He said he wondered if as a dominant as Ohio State has been, if they would be prepared for those moments like Texas would be a one-score game

when everything's on the line. And it's interesting. You heard Holly mentioning Jeremiah Smith, certainly a lot of attention for him and his talent. But Jaday Barron, the star defensive back for this Texas defense, said he enjoys those type of matchups when he's matched up against Smith. He actually can't wait. He said, that's why you come to Texas. That's why you want to play in these games.

For those opportunities, it's good on good. It's some of the best talent in the country. And this Cotton Bowl, I think, is going to live up to the building. There is immense talent on both sides. Thank you so much, Laura. We appreciate you both. All right, let's take a look at what the odd makers are thinking of Texas's chances this week and beyond. Texas currently sits as a six-point underdog versus Ohio State while also being tied for the second best.

odds to win the national title. The Longhorns have a lot of people to prove wrong this week. All right, we got Pete Thammel back with us for some more injury updates. Now, Texas starting right, tackle Cam Williams missed the quarterfinal game against Arizona State with a knee injury. So Pete, what is his status for tomorrow night? Victoria, Cam Williams is going to be back and he's going to start for the Longhorns against Ohio State. And this is a huge addition for Texas. He's their start. right tackle. He's 6'5 pounds, and he reenters the lineup against an Ohio State team that absolutely mauled Oregon up front. Ohio State had eight sacks and only blitzed three times

the entire game. So that means they had a ton of success coming home with four. So with right tackle Cam Williams projected first round pick and left tackle Kelvin Banks a projected first round pick, it seems as if Texas is going to have its best lineup out there to try to stop that hot Buckeye front four. Now speaking of the offensive line, Ohio State has had injury issues all over their O line this season. What do you expect to see from them tomorrow? Well, Victoria, it's been O line roulette for the Buckeyes this year. They've used 24 different combinations on that offensive line this year. They had All-American Guard, Donovan Jackson, moved from left guard to left tackle. Their left tackle, Josh Simmons, probably the best NFL prospect on the team that's draft

eligible this year went out in that Oregon game. He's been done. He's been done. He's been done for the year. The Remington Award winner at Center, Seth McLaughlin, he's been done for the year for a few weeks. So what Ohio State's done that's unique, offensive line coach, Justin Bryce, used three different players rotating equal snaps at guard. That's a very rare thing for a team to do. Tegra Shabola, Luke Montgomery, and Austin Severell. They've been shuffling in and out, and that has given them some energy and some juice and kept guys fresh. Look, Ohio State's offensive line is way outplayed the sum of their parts in these two playoff games. Can they keep it going against that Texas front.

It's no doubt going to be a battle out there. Thank you so much, Pete. All right, we're going to take a deeper dive into this matchup. So, Trevor, on the offensive side, what's going to be a key for Texas? They've got to throw the ball down the field. Yeah. Early and often, like they did against Arizona State. For much of the season, Quinn Ewer, as the Texas quarterback, had one of the lowest air yards per

attempt in the nation. That's how far the ball travels downfield before it gets to a receiver. But he was magnificent throwing the ball deep against Arizona State. That was critical because they couldn't run the ball against Arizona State. And against Ohio State it would be the same way. They won't be able to bully the Buckeyes down the field. They won't get 10, 12, 14 play touchdown drives. They'll need to strike deep with Ewer's arm.

But you talk about Uers arm, but it's more about the Texas offense and the legs of the offense. What I mean by that? The running backs. This running game for Texas is what opens up the passing game. We heard from Tom Lugan Bill yesterday. He said that Quinn Ewers is a play-action passer. Sounded a little offensive, but it's right.

Loves the play action. How do you slow down the play action? It's the safeties for Ohio State. Caleb Downs and Lath and Ransom. They're going to be in the passing game, very highly involved, but also in the running game. Right now you're looking at what Ohio State does well offensively, right? They love getting the ball down the field.

They love their running game as well. And so Ohio State's going to try to attack offensively in that way. But defensively, you're going to see Lath and Ransom right there. Number eight at and around the line of scrimmage, beating people one-on-one, sacking quarterbacks. You'll see him. We'll see Caleb Downs in the backfield, also getting interception.

So those two safeties, if they can stop the Texas running backs, not at the first level, but at the second level and avoid those big plays that Texas loves to have, it'll be a hard day and a hard challenge for that Texas offense. Well, let's dive more into the defense. What stands out to you on that Buckeyes defense, Trevor? They combine the best of all worlds on defense. They have sound fundamentals of alignment assignment technique combined with vicious hitting. It's one of the ways they held Oregon in their playoff game last week to negative 23

yards rushing. Now, part of the problem is when there's absolutely nowhere to run. Now, Jordan James is going to try to hit it outside and all the gaps are filled. So, of course, he's going to cut back and he's going to run right into a brick wall named Ty Hamilton. Kenyatta Jackson will end up on top of them as well, and there was nowhere to run from the start. But it's almost worse if you have hope because it seems like there's somewhere to run. James will have a big hole and he thinks if I beat this safety, it's a touchdown. But that's not his problem. The guy in the rights his problem. That's Lath and Ransom that you mentioned, Sam. And if you end up tackled by one guy at the line of scrimmage and end up like this,

you didn't see it coming. And just to make sure the Buckeyes surround him and say, we'll be here all day, buddy. And so this play, they actually have something good happen. They throw it to a running back. And it's, oh, a missile comes in from the left. And this is the problem. You're trying to beat this one guy. And the other guy comes in. That's Ransom again. It is this vicious hitting that comes in from directions that you don't expect that put the bow on top of a magnificent Ohio State defense. And so when you're watching this game, what I want you to watch and Trevor made the

great point of it, watch the safeties for Ohio State. When Texas is on offense, don't just watch the quarterback. Watch number eight, Lathen Ransom, watch number two, Caleb Downs. They will take you to the football. They're just doing their safety checks all around. That's all I'm going to say. Nothing safe about those. Nothing safe about them.

The Buckeyes defense has been stingy. They rank first in the FBS and points per game, yards per play, and touchdowns allowed. So they're doing all kinds of station checks. All right. After the break, we have Arizona State's head coach Kenny Dillingham joining the show. And after taking Texas to two overtimes in the quarterfinals, coach is here to break down Texas' matchup versus Ohio State tomorrow. Super excited to be in the Big 12.

I think this is one of the best coach conferences in the league. Some Devils pick to finish last of this conference. He's going to take a shot as Tyson. And again, touchdown at Arizona State. And it's intercepted, taking it the other way for a touchdown. Their first three at oh start since 2019. Stays on his beat. Arizona State knocks off number 16, Utah.

This team fights, and the fight and the... Frustration boiling over for the Sun Devil Squad. Our kicking game is atrocious, so if you can kick in you're at Arizona State, email me. What a catch! What a win for ASU. This is a dangerous football team right now. Ritzlaw's pass. Oh, picked off.

Robinson saves the day. Maybe saves the season. We're going to the Big 12th century. What they've come back from this season, all the pressure is on them to win. Scataboo breaks defenders. Here he goes again. Big 12 champions. Win number 11 comes with a ticket to the college football playoff.

but quarter final round. And it comes with everything on the line. Scataboo can't go anywhere. This Texas front is just different. Levin, back to the throat. Looks under pressure. He goes down. Another turnover on downs.

He has life. One play to determine the season. It is intercepted. The ups, the downs, and the drama. Arizona State puts. a stamp on their amazing season with a conference win and an appearance to the CFP playoffs for the first time in program history after being given a 0.5% chance to make the conference game at the beginning of the year. Despite their three and nine season last

year, the Sun Devils reeled off eight more wins this season, marking their best win loss record for the program in the last 20 years. And the leader of Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham joins us now on college football live coach. Now that you've had some time to process at all. What is your overall assessment of how this season played out for your team? Yeah, I think it's it's our guys battled the entire season. You know, our guys, nobody believed them. And I think we had a special group of leaders who took our team to heights that not many people thought were possible. And I think they stay single-mindedly focused on the right now. I think that was the one thing that was special about this year is we never looked ahead. Our guys constantly

we're worried about being the best versions themselves today, today, today, today, today. And I think we kind of just woke up and it was like, wow, look what we've accomplished. And then it was, look what you guys have put yourself in position to accomplish if we just take care of this week. And then we just did it again and again and again. And then eventually we came up just a little bit short. Coach, the breakout star for your team was senior running back camp Scataboo. And the highlights of the Peach Bowl will show that he ran for two touchdowns through a deep, touchdown pass on fourth down against Texas.

What do you think is a part of his game that is actually underappreciated? Yeah, pass protection. His physicality and past protection, the way he mixes up, when he's going to cut somebody, when he's going to strike somebody. And then I really think the other thing is just his ability to catch the football. I know he's got a lot of catchers and he cut the big fade that's on the screen right now. But his ability to be a pass catcher, even though he had all those receptions, I still don't think it's people understand how good of a player on the perimeter he is with the ball in his hands.

Coach, this is Sam Macho. Cam may be off to the NFL, but your freshman standout quarterback Sam Levitt will be back. What are some areas that you two will work on to improve this offseason? I would say rhythm and quick passing game. You know, he's such a great athlete. I mean, he can make off platform plays. He can make every throw. He's smart enough to get into good looks.

He's smart enough to know when we're not in good plays. or when he doesn't like the look. So I think for him, it's going to be the rhythm of his feet, tying his feet together with his eyes and the progressions and not relying on his athleticism as much on early downs and using that athleticism to get out of bad situations on third and fourth downs. All right, coach, we are going to ask you to put on your analyst hat for us here on college football live.

So what are some things that Texas did well in the Peach Bowl that will benefit them in their game against Ohio State tomorrow in the Cotton Bowl. Yeah, I think Texas defensively, they do such a great job, mix going in and out of odd and even fronts to make it really hard to get your hat counts right in the running game. And then obviously their defensive line is physical. And one thing I don't think their back end gets enough credit for is that, you know,

they got a lot of guys that get a lot of recognition for their cover skills. They're physical, man, on the perimeter. They're tough. They tackle well on the perimeter. and that's something that, you know, when you watch a football team, that's what you're most scared of as a coach is teams that are fundamentally sound and tackle well and are tough, and they are that on defense. On offense, it's going to be about the play action game and the screen game.

You know, Coach Sark does such a great job, and they execute that so well, the play action and screen game that that's something that's going to carry over for them and they're going to need it to carry over because it's a big part of their game. All right, we're keeping your analyst hat over here because this is going fantastic. On the flip side, coach, if you were coaching Ohio State, and planning for this game, what are some areas of weakness in Texas that you might look to exploit?

Yeah, from our defense standpoint, their offense, you got to find ways to not let the quarterback check them into good place. You know, they burned us on a fort down and they got us other times throughout the game. So you've got to have a way, a mechanism for when that thing gets under 15 seconds and your mic turns off,

you've got to find a way for your linebacker's safety to match the check. of their quarterback because he's super intelligent and he gets him into good plays. And then there are offense or, you know, the opposing team's offense versus their defense. I think you've got to be able to find a running game that's good versus the odd and the even in the mixed fronts. And you've got to be able to be explosive at the moments that they play man coverage. And you've got to be able to be aggressive in those moments because they really don't give you many opportunities to have explosive plays. So on the down and distances where they give you the ability to do it, you've got to take it.

I love the point you made about the odd and even fronts, right, whether it's three downline, down linemen, four down linemen, and how to block versus that. But I want to switch over to the Orange Bowl and talk about that quarterback matchup. What are some of the things that Riley Leonard does well that you think will make a difference versus Penn State? Yeah, it gets the ball out so fast. And Penn State's got a great pass rush. And most defenses are predicated on getting to the quarterback. And his ability to get the ball out quickly, his ability to not take negative plays as a huge strength. And anytime you have a quarter. that has the option, you're watching him pull a run right now, the option to pull and run the football, but then can get the ball out quickly in the intermediate and quick passing game. That's very challenging to defend, and I think he does both those things really well. Coach, let's talk about the quarterback on the other side. What does Penn State's Drew Aller have to do to have success against this Notre Dame defense? I think you ought to have explosive plays. I think Notre Dame's defense tries to keep everything in front of them.

They don't give up a lot of explosives. and what he's got to do is he's got to find the favorable matchups, and he's got to attack those favorable matchups and be very aggressive. You know, when you face good teams, everybody says, oh, you've got to be efficient. You've got a nickel and dime down the field. And I couldn't disagree more. I think when you face really, really good defenses,

you've got to find ways to be very explosive. You've got to find your one-play touchdowns. You've got to find your best matchups and give those guys chances to win down the field. And I think they're going to have to do that to win the football game. All right, coach. were expected to finish last this season. You exceeded those expectations beyond. You won your conference, got the buy and made quite the impression. It's one thing to go into the season with the motivation of being the underdog, but how do you change your approach going into next season now

that all eyes will be on you? Yeah, I think it's a great question. And really what it is is I wish I could tell you the answer. I don't know the answer. I don't think anybody knows the answer. I think I think it comes down to, our guys got to understand that it's always just about the work, that if they think that because we were the underdog, which is why we won, and they're delusional. We didn't win because we were the underdog. We win because we showed up to work every single day. And we had a mindset that we were going to get better every single day and we did it for each other. And regardless of if you're picked first, if you're picked glass, if you're picking the in the middle, I think life is about finding ways to just be the very best version of yourself

every single day. And that's going to be the continued challenge for our team this next year. Well, Coach, we, I mean, couldn't have said it better ourselves. We appreciate you putting in the work today for us. Your dual talent, great coach, great analyst. So thank you so much, Coach, for joining us. And good luck next season. I appreciate it. Thank you all. Go Devils. All right, coming up. Tyler Warren has done it all for Penn State this season, running, catching, and even throwing for touchdowns. When we return, Ryan McGee, has more on the Lions Mr. Do It Everything. To support people affected by the California wildfires in 2025, you can go to donate at

Red Cross.org slash ESPN to help the Red Cross respond and help people recover. We are just hours away from the Orange Bowl kicking off between Penn State and Notre Dame. And speaking of Penn State, the best players on most college football teams are great at one or two things. But Penn State tight end Tyler Warren is the unique exception. He performs at a high level in virtually every role on the offensive side of the ball. He is Penn State's Mr. Everything, a Swiss Army knife, and he has put the Nittany Lions in the forefront of the college football playoff hunt. He can catch the ball.

He can rush the ball. Leaps over the top. He can throw the ball. First career. Touchdown pass. He can block. He can do it all. During this age is specialization, from youth sports to iron-clad college football position groups,

Penn State tied in Tyler Warren is a back to the future versatility throwback. Tyler Warren is the go-to guy. He's played quarterback, he's thrown passes, he's run a quarterback sneak. He's been a runner.

He's been a receiver. He's really done it all. Swiss Army knife, I think, is the first thing that comes to mind. He can really do everything on the field for us. It's not where's Waldo. It's where's Warren. Warren does indeed do it all.

And always has. a three-sport high school athlete out of Central Virginia. His basketball tape was something that really caught our attention. I mean, you go to a game, and it was like a dunk tape. Football coaches love to see you play other sports, especially basketball, and the type of movements and plays you can make in that game is something that appeals to the football crowd. I play quarterback all through high school.

Had some quarterback offers, you know, freshman, sophomore year, and then my junior and senior year kind of started getting some interest at tight end. From the baseline to the line of scrimmage, Warren wisely shifted from throwing the ball to catching it and was invited to Happy Valley as a tight end with no end to what he might contribute. 2021, which was my redshirt freshman year,

they obviously knew I'd play quarterback and they just called me up on time. Like, is that something you think you'd be interested in doing and could do? How was a big man using the basketball? ball background, that vertical. Being able to add another wrinkle to our offense and help out our offense and anyway I can or something I'm always going to want to do for our team. In week seven, Warren carved up USC in the Coliseum with 17 catches.

But seized America's attention when the former quarterback lined up not under center, but as the center. Per Buell will be the quarterback. He'll put Aller out to the far side. Both throws back to Allen, throws down. outfield Warren. He reaches up in the end zone. He's got it.

Touchdown. Penn State. We were down at that point. It was our first drive coming out. And coach said, all right, it's time to unload the cliff. He called in the huddle and no one really blinked the eye. Tyler Warren snapped the ball and then he caught the ball. You don't see that very often.

The way a lot of people turned that as he mossed him. He kind of went over top of him and grabbed the ball and pulled it away. I thought, you know, I'm about to lose some rank as the center because this guy's about to score a touch. and people are going to be wondering why I'm not scoring touchdowns. I think what really differentiates him is his ability to do so many things at a very, very high level. Whatever they ask me, whatever is needed of that week is when I'm going to, you know, pride myself and doing the best job I can.

With guys like that, you can't take it for granted because they're so rare because they're such a, like a subspecies of college football. I've been fortunate to be coaching for a long time over 30 years, but the combination of skills go along with intelligence, I don't know if I've had that versatile of the player before. One big task the Irish will face will be taking away Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, who ranks second among tight ends and receiving yards. But luckily, Notre Dame have been excellent covering tight ends this season, allowing the lowest completion percentage this season, but it'll be an uphill battle for

the Nittany Lions to get their star tight end involved. We'll definitely be keeping our eye on Warren on the Penn State side and on the Notre Dame side. It will be the special teams unit. Of course, we have Joe Fortinbaugh with us. We had already given you your applause. Happy New Year. We're a little bit outside the little past that. Frameters there, but we're going to get to you in a moment, Joe.

All right, we're going to get to you in a moment. Trevor, I want to start with you on that unit because that was a major turning point, the special teams in that UGA game. How did they do it? Well, in the opening kickoff of the second half, they returned it for a touchdown. That was critical in the game because of the fact. that the Ohio, or excuse me, the Notre Dame offense wasn't doing much. So this is Jaden Harrison. He's going to do a great job of running, but you're going to see a couple other things

that contribute to this. One is that Georgia helped out. They've got four guys in one lane right here and nobody in this lane. So Harrison cuts over to that side and then you've got three bulldogs blocked into the same pile and only one bulldog is left to cover from there all the way to the sideline. So you have a combination of outstanding. standing running by Harrison, outstanding blocking by the Notre Dame return unit, and Georgia really helped them out by getting out of their lanes and making it a bit easy for Notre Dame. But Trevor, to your point, it wasn't always outstanding special teams for Notre Dame. There were times earlier in the season where they really struggled. I would argue they failed.

Let's go back to that NIU game. The game when they say lost September 7th, 1 and 0. The game that changed everything changed on fourth down. This is a game winning field goal block. It's blocked by NIEU blocks, Notre Dame on fourth down. That change of season. Marcus Freeman showed this tape over and over and over again, and he said, I'm not going to lose on fourth down anymore.

I'm going to win. What will you do to win? Look at this. USC last game of the regular season. Fourth down, you're on a fake punt. Mitchell Evans, first down. Mind you, that's at your own 26 yard line. Big time win on fourth down.

Then the very next game versus Indiana in the playoff. That's Jayton Harris. Remember the guy who just scored that big time touchdown? But watch what he does. It's not going to be a regular same old kid. kickoff return. No, it's going to be a one, two, three. Wait for it. Reverse to Jordan Faison. He makes somebody miss. And oh, by the way, look at all the blocking downfield, big time return by Notre Dame. They're going to what, win on fourth down. And then another play, fourth down.

Let's go to their last game versus Georgia. This is not the touchdown. This is the fourth down play. It's fourth and one, fourth quarter. They run all 11 guys off. And what do they do? They run all 11 off from their offense. So you're saying, okay, offense, what's going to happen? Will they snap it? Will they not. Georgia's confused. What do we do? Georgia runs all their guys on. And what does Notre Dame do want fourth down? Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. They go hard count once. They go hard count again. And all of a sudden, Georgia jumps off sides. Now, it's going to be incomplete, but it's going to lead to a first down for Notre Dame. And so that big time loss on fourth down led to big time wins for Notre Dame. And that's why they're having so much success on the little

things. Fourth down on kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return, even field goal, field goal block. straight wins, I might add you. They say that NIA loss was the best thing that could have happened to that Notre Dame squad. But Joe, you've been awfully quiet. I'll let you jump in on this. I don't want to see any of this stuff tonight. I have a significant bet. I really like the under in this game.

I think it's a low-scoring game. I don't want to see any kick returns highlighted by teleprompters. I don't want to see any of this stuff tonight. We're sitting at around 44 and a half. I think you want to take a look at this right here because we have two very good defenses, but two offenses who I view, there we go, Fordball, are a bit overvalued. Look at what Notre Dame did last week, 23 points. Seven, as astutely point out by Trevor, on the kick return.

Seven came after the fumble right at the end of the first half on that one-play 13-yard drive. They couldn't put together anything. 220, 44 total yards of offense. The average under five yards per play, and that's not new. It is a slow, methodical offense. On the other side, Penn State, 35 points per game over their last three outings. Oregon SMU Boise State. They're a bit overvalued.

This defense, better than those three defenses. So I'd like a low scoring game. I don't want anything to kick returns. I don't want any of this fourth down stuff. Just take it easy out there, everyone. Enjoy the night. Just take it easy. Just enjoy the night.

Yeah, they're going to listen to Joe. Run the clock down, call a timeout, regroup. We're going to get more to all of that in just a bed. And still ahead. Joe still hasn't gotten his applause yet. So we're going to cue it right now. Thank you, Victoria. You're welcome.

Because Joe is going to try. and help you win some money. He is back with his best bets for the semifinals. Teams fight for a spot in the national championship. The college football playoff semi-finals tonight and Friday on ESPN. We are just hours away from the Orange Bowl kicking off at Hard Rock Stadium between Notre Dame and Penn State, and we've got reports from both sides, starting with Molly McGrath and Notre Dame. Well, Marcus Freeman started this Orange Bowl week by showing his team clips of their week two loss to Northern Illinois to humble them after that huge win over Georgia. And that's something he's done all season long, even showing his team clips of their loss

before every single game since them to remind them of their journey and how easy it is to lose. So they've been diligent about their preparation ahead of this game against Penn State, even admitting to us that this Penn State defense is the best defense they've seen all season. And he's really emphasizing the importance of running the football against them in this. game and good news for Notre Dame's run game. Their leading rusher, Jeremiah Love, is expected to play and to contribute after re-agravating a right knee injury in the Sugar Bowl. And in their final practice ahead of this semi-final game, he was a full participant, he was taking reps with the starters, and he was moving really well on that knee. And Love has been wearing a brace in practice

all week long, but he told me he hopes to not have to wear that brace. And if he's not wearing it in the game, it'll show that he's really confident in his knee and he'll be playing without any hesitation. Well, Molly, this Penn State team is built so similarly to Notre Dame. Both teams are committed to running the football. Defensively, they are so sound and they play clean and efficient football. They do not beat themselves. So James Franklin says this game will be decided by two different categories. One being the most important stat in his mind, turnover margin. Both teams excel at that. And then explosive plays, which Penn State has flourished at this season under new offensive coordinator, Andy Coltonicki.

If they're able to execute in those two areas, Penn State could find themselves playing in a national title game. Victoria. Thank you, Molly and Katie. Let's bring back Joe Fortinbaugh. All right, Joe, let's get your best bet. We already gave your applause, okay? Let's get to your best bets for the semifinal matchups.

We talked earlier about the full game under in this Notre Dame Penn State matchup. First half under 21 and a half points as well. Good bet to making this matchup. You heard it from Katie George. Two very sound defenses, two teams that want to run the ball, two teams that move at a slow pace on top of that. You have two offenses that are a little bit overvalued, in my opinion. Penn State's kind of hyped up off two big wins in the playoffs against SMU and Boise

State. This is a big step up in class. As we transition to tomorrow night, two bets there as well. I want you to focus on Texas's offense struggling. Their team totals 23 and a half points. We want to bet under that in this matchup. Quinn yours against cover one defense, one of the top three quarterbacks in the country. But when he faces cover two defense, he ranks outside the top 60.

Guess what type of defense Ohio State's been implementing more of in the playoff run? Cover two defense from 7% during the regular season to more than double that here in the playoffs. That's where Ohio State's going to have their edge. And that's why I pick number three would be Ohio State minus the six. I do like them to win the game over Texas. I think that Texas offense will be suppressed a little bit as we previously mentioned. And I just don't know if the defense is going to have an answer for an Ohio State team that has been a completely different story since the three weeks after that loss to Michigan. All right.

That's why he's the expert. Thank you, Joe. Sweating. All right. Coming up right after us on ESPN2 at Texas A&M versus Tahina Powpow and number two, South Carolina. They're counting down to the Orange Bowl, and it is time for our predictions to give us a winner and a score. So Sam, I'm going to start with you. Give me Notre Dame, score 2422.

I think there'll be some special teams, maybe defensive scores, maybe a two-point conversion that doesn't get converted. Notre Dame. I've got Penn State 2116. they'll go a little bit more successfully down the field. All right. Notre Dame 2320 as a Penn State grad. It's kind of an emotional hedge. If I get it wrong, Penn State wins.

If I get it right, hey, I can come back here and brag. I'm going to be a close one. Okay. It's going to be a close one. What's the score prediction? It's going to be a close one. Come on. Boos.

See? It's going to go. No applause. You know, I'm going to say thank you. All right. Well, you know what? I'm going to take a bow on that one for Sam, Trevor, Joe. I'm Victoria.

You know what? Enjoy the close one tonight.