College Football Live - Clash of the Titans: Georgia vs Bama

Episode Date: December 1, 2023

Host Jen Lada is joined by Steve Coughlin, Desmond Howard, and Pete Thamel as they get ready for the exciting weekend, headlined by Georgia taking on Alabama in the SEC Championship. But first things first, Oregon takes on Washington tonight in a rematch from earlier this season, battling for the PAC 12 Championship. Finally, Tate Rodemaker is a gameday decision due to concussion protocol, leaving the fate of Florida State in the ACC Championship uncertain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's V-Week on ESPN as we continue Jim Belvano's fight against cancer. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Nationwide. Well, I can't think of a better way to kick off the final month of 2023 than hanging out in ATL, site of the SEC championship game tomorrow right there at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We are in the convention center. That's the stadium. the site of game day tomorrow morning and where fans are showing off their skills. A little punt pass and kick and we will be showing off our skills this morning or this afternoon as well.

He's Pete Thamel, Desmond Howard, Stanford, Steve Coughlin, and I'm Jen Lata to get you set for a big championship weekend around college football. Guys, this is a huge weekend. I mean, a lot of big games, obviously, but we are here celebrating the Alabama and Georgia contest that will take place tomorrow. Let's begin with some of the most exciting stories on the dive. at the SEC championship, taking precedence right now, Steve. Yeah, since 2010, Alabama's been an underdog four times, and this is the fourth. All other four, all the other times, it's been to this guy right here, Kirby Smart. So we have everything we want.

We have coach versus mentor. We have top teams. We have great offenses. We have playmakers. We got NFL players. We have everything we want in what I expect to be a playoff elimination game. Hey, so you got Michigan's in the Big Ten championship. game for a third straight year.

They beat Ohio State for a third straight year. But that's the storyline. They're going to have hardball on the sideline against the Iowa Buckeyes because he missed the last three games. So, you know, these guys are so excited to get him back on the field. They were so pissed off earlier in the season when he missed the first three games. It was like free hardball. So now they get their general back.

Excited to see the Wolverines tomorrow against the Hawkeyes. To be clear, taking on the Hawkeyes. But they could take on the Buckeyes again and probably have the same result. Yeah, I said the Hawkeyes, right? Okay. Texas is not excited to see the mullet across the sideline from them. Oklahoma State has beaten Texas.

Nine of the last 13 games, including the last two years. Quinn Ewers had his worst game of the season in Stillwater last year. You see him throwing an interception there. Oklahoma State's season has been a roller coaster unlike any other. Don't be surprised if that game's tightly. And Ollie Gordon's finding a way to run through that Texas. That was my Superdog last year, too. And of course, we will talk about

the Pact 12 championship game as well, which is taking place this evening. But we need to get to some developing stories that are going on around the league. And one begins with Florida State. The Seminoles could be without quarterback Tate, Roddemeaker, for Saturday's ACC championship game. According to

the school, Roddemeaker, who started the final regular season game, will be a game-time decision. He has not been a full participant in practice this week. You saw, him leave the fourth quarter versus Florida after taking that hit to the head following a scramble. He did return two plays later. Here's FSU head coach Mike Norvell earlier this afternoon on his quarterback situation.

You know, you know, coming out of the game last week, you know, Tate obviously had the, you had the big hit, you know, there in the fourth quarter. You know, we went over, was able to, you know, go through all of our sideline evaluations and was able to pass that to be able to go back in the in the game for the, for the last play that we had there offensively. And then, you know, you came in Sunday, you know, had a few symptoms of things that, you know, we've started our process then and we've worked through it throughout the course of the week. You has been able to practice, you know, throughout the week in limited spots. But, you know, that's going to be something that's going to go up to game day. And we'll continue on with our process of evaluation and see where it goes from there.

I don't want to be the body language police there, but it did not seem like Mike. Norvel was very happy sharing some of those developments. What is the latest on the situation with the quarterback? He did not say the phrase concussion protocol, but it is fairly clear that Tate Roddemaker is in concussion protocol. And often with the concussion protocol, we follow it every week in the NFL. We won't know until right before the game

whether or not he clears concussion protocol. And that means Brock Glenn, who's gotten a majority of the first team snaps for Florida State this week. True freshman from Memphis, Tennessee, former Ohio State commit. is going to be a guy who in the last game that's relevant tomorrow night, the entire playoff hopes of multiple programs, including Florida States,

could be relied on. Wow. I just think about how great of a season they've had. You know, I understand that Travis injury was brutal. Now you have this. Now you have this cloud surrounding you where no one thinks you are deserving of a playoff spot.

And you still have to go out. And then you look at the timing of all this. We got a Pact 12 championship game tonight. You said that. Big 12 tomorrow afternoon. they're the last game. Everybody's going to have their opinion set about who's played before it, and then it's just going to be, all right, let's see what Florida State has to prove.

I can't imagine what the locker room's like, but this is the ultimate rallying cry to get your guys fired up, to give a big effort, which is what they need for that committee. I'm with Jen. I was not buying the body language. It just, he didn't sell it well enough to me. First of all, the young man was concussed. I mean, that was as clear as day.

surprised that he even came back in the game. If that was an NFL team, people would be up in arms. They'd be talking about suing the owner because the NFL's, you know, concussion protocol would never put somebody back out there. After it hit like that, you can see his eyes were glazed over. You can see it. So I can't believe that the guy played. And if he's able to play tomorrow, of course, you know, good luck.

But that just seems like he's probably not going to line up tomorrow based on what I saw in that hit right there. You could win a trivia contest with your friends, though, tonight, if you could name the guy who might start in that game for Florida State. And you said it was Brock Glenn, the third quarterback on that depth chart. So go ahead and hold on to that information. Not anymore, you can't. See if we can win you a drink or two at the bar. Let's get to that Pac-12 championship game as we get to see a heck of a contest

between Oregon and Washington as they square off again. If you remember, the first time these two teams went against each other. It was a heck of a game. We expect something similar. although I am seeing a 9.9.5 wine in this game. So maybe not as close as you think. Let's take a look at the Heisman update brought to you by Nissan. The big game tonight might determine who's raising a trophy in New York City next Saturday.

Bo Nix is currently the favorite according to ESPN bet. But with a Washington win tonight, we could see these odds that you see right there on the screen changed dramatically. And I am absolutely going to be tuning into that one. Now, the last time we saw Michael Pennix Jr. It was a weird situation. He was kind of huddled underneath a thing, and it was for a lengthy period of time. He had people from the team kind of keeping others away from him.

What's the latest with their quarterback? Well, it was a weird scene, obviously. He did not watch them kick the game-winning field goal in the Apple Cup. And then when he was kind of escorted off the field, Jen, there was like a jacket over his head. I called a couple sources in Seattle this week just to kind of check in on Michael Penix. And they told me that he's completely fine, completely healthy. they've won essentially seven straight one possession games and he obviously didn't play great in the Apple Cup

so I just think there's been a crush of emotion on Michael Penix I was told he had like a little bit of cold flu stuff which you know it just happens this time of year especially in Seattle where you live but I was told he is completely healthy he is fine and he is he is ready to go tonight in Vegas it seemed like it was the emotion maybe or maybe the realization could be a lot of things there's a lot going on in that game in that in that Apple Cup he did not play especially well

he would have to play significantly better in order to get to win against Oregon tonight. Yeah, no doubt. And I can't imagine, again, the locker room and what the mindset must be like with Washington. They beat Oregon. We were there. And ever since then,

it's just been this narrative started that, oh, when Oregon plays them in a neutral site in Vegas, Oregon's going to take care of them, they're going to go to the playoff. And that just would be, it must be maddening to the Washington team. They have a better resume. They already beat him.

And now you look at the line, they're 10-point underdogs. What I love still about Washington, you touched on Pennix, if he's full go, what you want is great. receivers and to attack that Oregon secondary. Absolutely.

Because that's not the strength of Oregon's defense. They're great up front, but they could be had on the edges. And these guys, Adunzei, McMillan, oh, yeah. Polk, all those guys. Yeah. And I also said they've played in the pouring raining core valise. They did. Last week was brutal.

Exactly. They're on the turf under the lights and the Legion Stadium. They got to be loving their chance for tonight being as big of an elder dog as they're perceived to be. Absolutely. If you're the coaching staff, you're looking like, hey, we're the underdog. Like, that's a rallying cry. We beat these guys earlier this season. And now no one gives us a chance. And now we got our guy, Michael Pennix, Jr. There's questioning, is he sick? Was he dehydrated? What's going on?

I think that their defense is going to show up in a big way. The running game is getting stronger. I like the balance now that you see with Dylan Johnson with the Huskies. So personally, I think this is going to be another dog fight. This is going to be the Pac-12 version of a heavyweight match. it automatically an elimination game, Steve? Yes. You didn't want to ask. For me, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You get him and hug, but yeah, yeah, yeah, you lose you out. Because they moved Oregon up last week, I think it is. All right. I really do. All right. And you saw Roma Dunzee in that video. He is one of the Bolitnikov finalists. We, of course, will break that down next week.

Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. Junior as well. Yeah. So much more to get to as we continue here on college football live guys. It is the week at ESPN when we partner with. with the V Foundation to highlight the urgent need for cancer research. This is game-changing research that helps save lives.

You can join the fight against cancer by visiting v.org slash donate. V.org slash donate. 100% of your donation goes directly to cancer research. We are less than 24 hours away from history being made at the SEC Championship. Will Georgia be able to hold on to its undefeated season and continue competing for that three piece. But first, Pac-12 championship,

we just talked about it. Michael Pettix, Jr. and Bo Nix competing for not just a chance at the CFP, but a chance for their Heisman moments. We will pick that game coming up next.

This Heisman update is brought to you by Nissan. Premier partner of the Heisman Trophy. College Football Live is presented by nationwide.

Nationwide is on your side. We all been talking about the opportunity to see these two teams collide with everything at stake, and now we're here. At 9 a.m. Eastern, we've got Sabin. We've got smart. We've got all things championship weekend.

Make sure you tune in to college game day. Of course, the developing story today is that Tate Roddemeaker, the quarterback for Florida State, may be out for the ACC championship game. For more on that, let's go to our friends at the ACC huddle. Jen, thanks.

We welcome you out to the Queen City Bank of America Stadium, getting set to host the ACC championship between Louisville and Florida State tomorrow night. First time for Louisville playing in this game. It is going to be the sixth appearance for the Florida State Seminoles, the number four team in the country as we say hello. Our ACC huddle crew, our Hall of Famer, Coach Mark Rick, EJ Manuel, Eric McLean, Eddie Royal, Kelsey Riggs with you now. And guys, the big conversation surrounding this week was Tate Rodermaker, obviously,

the starter now that Jordan Travis is out, but there are questions now about if he will play, according to David Hale, who just recently filed a report saying that it is going to be a game day decision whether or not Tate Rodmaker is able to go, was not a full participant in practice this week. Emac, what's the impact on the team? Yeah, well, we've already been saying it all week long, everybody else has to step up. That is now doubling if that young man can't play, and you have a really inexperienced guy. I've been talking about it. Defense, that's what wins championships. Those guys have to play out of their mind, Eddie. I agree. And on offense, you got to run the ball.

You got two of the best in the ACC and Tray Benton and Lawrence Toa, Philly. Try to get into some third in shorts, and they're talking about weather might be an issue as well. So take care of the ball running it. Yeah, with a big key, whichever quarterback is playing. Rodermaker, Glenn, a true freshman like you talked about. You know, Coach Novell is going to call a game that fits these quarterbacks. He knows these guys inside and out. And big thing is, the offense continue to be fluent on third downs, like Eddie said.

And I got a guess anyway. If you knew a guy wasn't going to play quarterback and the whole team knew he wasn't going to play that week, to me it'd be literally impossible to keep that a secret. So my guess is that Katz's playing, and I hope he's healthy enough to do it. Yeah, I definitely hope that he is healthy, and we certainly still wish Jordan Travis the best. We saw Ted Rodmaker take that hit in the game against Florida. We will see what Florida State is able to do tomorrow

and what answers Louisville has for whatever quarterback is playing in this game. A lot on the line here and a lot on the line in Atlanta. That's where we find our SEC Nation crew, guys. Thanks, Kelsey. That is Atlanta, the Mecca. of SEC football where Georgia is going to try to make it a three-peat, at least the first step to the three feet there tomorrow. It's coming quick.

There's a lot of matchups. I feel like we could dive into. Let's start with the headliners, the quarterbacks. What's impressed you most about Carson Beck? I think it's how comfortable he's been throughout the entire season. The way he's been in a rhythm going through his reeds, he's played a lot of good defenses, and none of them have made him uncomfortable. He hasn't hesitated at all this year, and especially in the fourth quarter,

in the second half's in the comebacks. He's a cool as a cucumber. Alabama's going to have to find a way to make him uncomfortable. Get pressure in the pocket. On the other side, Jalen Milro put a lot of intrigue on this game after that fourth and 31, didn't he? Yes, he did. He's got a way of making the hard plays look easy.

Tomorrow, I want to see him make the easy plays look easy. The dinks, the dunks, the things that sets you up into better second and third down situations. No doubt. So Georgia can't come after him. I think that's a key to the game. One of the reasons he makes the, hard plays look easy is because he's a freak.

And look for some of those QB design runs on display tomorrow afternoon. And you might see some of that freak come out. You know a little bit about that. Not like he does. Take it from here, Jen. Thank you very much, guys. Let's look at today's road test presented by Goodyear. Alabama and Georgia meet in their fourth SEC title game with Alabama winning each of the last three.

The tide of the underdog for just the fourth time since 2010. You know what those games have in common, guys? the opponent, Georgia. Steve, what are you most interested in seeing in this matchup tomorrow afternoon? You know, it feels like the conversation was flipped to Alabama's defense when we were down in Tuscaloosa for Jane Daniels going down to play Alabama. And I think you're going to see a different game or kind of the same game plan from Georgia's defensive line trying to contain Jalen Milro.

Not running upfield, not giving him those automatic rush lanes and being controlled on the edges. They have to make him a thrower. Can they do that? We will find out. No doubt about that. You can't let this man run a while. We saw what he did against LSU and we're down there in Tuscaloosa, and he's a dangerous guy when he can use his legs, too.

And you look at Georgia's defense. I think Georgia's defense is going to have to rise to the occasion. They're athletic enough, though. I think they're athletic enough that they can deal with Jailene Millrow. I want to see Jermaine Burton. Germain Burton, Georgia player transferred to Alabama. Now he's Jalen Milrose, go-to guy, came into his own against the A&N.

them Aggies had 197 receiving yards, two touchdowns. And I think that's when he really established himself as Jalen Millrose go-to-receiver. So now coming up against his old team with a settle the score. He's Uber competitive. So you know he's going to be out there talking smack to the DBs. He knows those guys. He's familiar with them. I can't wait to see Jermaine Burton against Georgia's secondary.

No doubt. Tim Tebow made a great point. He said Carson Beck has looked. comfortable all season. Alabama's D-Line has to make him uncomfortable. Chris Braswell coming off the edge. Dallas Turner coming off the other edge. They've combined for 23 TFLs and 16 sacks. They need to be difference makers tomorrow if Alabama's going to slug with Georgia. All right, Steve, time to cough it up. Your best bets of the weekend. Yeah, when I look at, you know, everybody in the truck wanted somebody value. I guess they're trying to make some money in the back of the

truck. So when you look at the title odds, I look at Alabama. Alabama is a team at 10 to 1 to win the title. Pete doesn't want to bet a dollar to win a dollar. He bets a dollar on Alabama and they go on and do it. He's going to win 10 bucks. Okay. For the Heisman. Yeah.

I think it's done. The more guy's not playing this week. Yeah. But if we believe in this being the worst voted on award, because it's a lot of people that don't watch college football, you get mine of Michael Pedix Jr. I agree with that. I agree with it.

16 to 1 in one game. Yeah. And then farther down the list, Carson Beck just talked about there. He's 150 to 1. If everybody. falls off and he plays great. Why not Carson Beck in the shoes that he's filled for Stetson Bennett? And then my best bet at the weekend, I go to the Big Ten and I look at this going

against the ultimate nemesis. And it's the over and in Iowa game. I expect Michigan to come out full guns of blazing here. They got their coach back. They got to figure out things with Zinzer out in the offensive line. But I expect J.J. McCarthy without DeJon at corner, those Michigan receivers have a big first half and then jump Iowa. I think Michigan could cover

the over by themselves. You know, Iowa has had some success guys. They've won outright two of the last three times that they were at least 20 point underdogs. We've got much more coming up here on College Football Live. Washington and Oregon facing off in the final Pact 12 championship. Who do our guys

have winning this quarterback heavy matchup? We'll pick it right after this. You're watching College Football Live. Presented by Nationwide. College Football Live is presented by Nationwide. Nationwide is on your side.

College Football Conference Championship weekend kicks off tonight. Oregon and Washington Square and off in that Pack 12 title game. That's at 8 Eastern 5 Pacific on ABC. Tomorrow, Oklahoma State takes on Texas in the Big 12 at noon Eastern, Eastern, 11 a.m. Central. And then Louisville and Florida State for the ACC crown that at 8 Eastern. Eastern. It all culminates Sunday at noon Eastern on ESPN

with the exclusive reveal of the final college football playoff rankings. Before we let you go, let's go out to Pete Thamble with some of the top stories that we should be paying attention to. Well, tonight we'll all obviously be watching the Conference USA title game. You obviously have Liberty, 12 and O, Caden Saltor, the quarterback

at Liberty, 29 touchdown passes, five interceptions, wherever Jamie Chadwell goes, elite quarterback play follows. He goes up against a New Mexico State defense that stuffed Auburn more than Bama did. Should be a great matchup there. We have a rapidly filling transfer portal here. They all want that Matt Rule money that we heard him talk about this week,

the seven figures for the guys in the portal. One to two million. Cam Ward, Riley Leonard, DJ Ui, Ungolale, Will Howard, Drew Pine jumped in today. Where will they all go? Well, we could have Michigan, Oregon, Washington, USC, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas, A&M, all in need of quarterbacks next year. The market is flush. and we'll finish with Indiana hiring James Madison coach Kurt Signetti.

A significant win all Kurt Signetti has ever done when he's gone places his win. He won Indiana, Pennsylvania. He won big at Elon. He has crushed it at James Madison. They went 11 and 1 in a transition year, an unheard of unprecedented run. Now his job is going to be to get them from the bottom of the Big Ten to at least the middle of the Big Ten, which is a very difficult task. And then this weekend, yes, good luck. This weekend, we're going to see some probably some more.

coaching moves after Saturday's games. A lot of eyes on Willie Fritz at Tulane. He's going to have some options once his game ends and they go for their back-to-back AAC title. You got me on the old rope-a-dope. I thought you were going to say the Pact 12 championships. I was nodding along and you pulled the conference USA. All right guys, let's

make some picks for tonight's game. Des, let's start with you. Who you got in the Pact 12 championship game? I'm going to go against the grain. I'm going against Vegas. I'm going to play a disrespected card. I like Dylan Johnson. He's running the ball extremely well now. And they know that they can beat Oregon because they did earlier this season. So I'm going

with the Huskies. I'm going to say Washington covers. Keeps it close. Not outright. Not outright. But Oregon's going to win. I do think Oregon has enough offensively and defensively. I think they win the game. Pete, you got to pick? I think Washington wins and I think they win for a simple reason. Oregon's offense, it's dink and dunk, dink and dunk.

You guys remember watching that in Seattle? They took any shots down the field, never mind hit any shots down the field. I think if Jalen McMillan comes back and is the kind of receiver we saw earlier in the year, which he hasn't been. No. Washington has a great chance. And of course, we'll be paying attention for the Heisman, which will be announced next week as well. Could be a big night for those guys.

Thanks for hanging out with us here on College Football Live. Tune in to College Game Day tomorrow morning, 9 a.m. Eastern.