College Football Live - Dwell in Week 12

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

Victoria Arlen, Desmond Howard, Sam Acho, Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel are back with another Tuesday episode of College Football Live! The crew breaks down Oregon's status in the BIG 10 after barely getting by Wisconsin as well as Georgia's potential season saving win over Tennessee. Plus, Pete provides more major updates across the league. All that and more here on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlin. Let's go out the tunnel. After Georgia took down Tennessee Saturday, have the Bulldogs finally turn the page on their season. Our crew isn't fully convinced just yet, and you'll find out why. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks barely edged out Wisconsin to remain undefeated, but find out who believes the ducks aren't the top team in the land. And with the Heisman trophy ceremony less than a month away, the crew and I state the cases on who should take home the coveted award. This is College Football Live. Let's go. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. The twist and turns continue in the college football world, but don't worry. I've got the best of the best to navigate it all with me. I've got Heather Dinnich with me in studio and Sam Ocho and Desmond Howard with me from afar. Now, guys, a team we've seen filled with all kinds of twists and turns just might have turned in the right direction. I'm talking about dem dogs.

All right, Georgia bounced back in a big way Saturday night, defeating Tennessee 31 to 17 at home and extending their home win streak to 29 straight games. And Carson Beck also had himself a big night completing 25 of 40 passes for 346 yards and a pair of touchdowns and zero interceptions compared to, well, the 12 interceptions he's had all season. Now, Des, you've been pretty critical of Beck all season long. What did you make of his performance on Saturday? Yeah, well, Beck has earned that criticism throughout the season. And I knew that going to this game against Tennessee that we would probably see the best version of Carson Beck.

And not just him, but the Bulldogs peer, because they respond very well after loss. And that lost to Ole Miss was very embarrassing. So for them to return home and play this game between the hedges, I thought that they were going to to play well, listen. And back when he's not pressured, he's like as good as they get in college football, but they only pressured them Tennessee's defense only six times. And I think that has to be a factor as far as looking into why he was able to be so successful last Saturday night.

But he played extremely well. I thought they would respond coming off of that Ole Miss loss. And Sam, they did exactly what I expected they would do. But the one difference, Des, I think we did think they would respond. But what I was excited to see was Carson Beck actually using his legs. We saw on that last highlight, Carson Beck ran for a touchdown. There was a couple critical second and third downs where things weren't there. The few times Tennessee did bring pressure.

And Carson Beck had an opportunity to escape with his legs. And yes, he played a solid game. I don't think it was excellent. I don't think it was his best. But it was better than what we've seen over the last several weeks. And so I think if Georgia wants to continue to get better, it's going to be Carson Beck overcoming pressure. but also when that pressure comes, instead of throwing picks using his legs to run. I think that's going to be the difference that they want to have success down the line.

And I think also avoiding those interceptions as well. Now, Kirby Smart also has some mixed feelings when it comes to how the committee views his teams. Take a listen. What do you think you showed the committee tonight? Well, I don't know, because I don't know what they look for. I really don't know what they look for anymore. So I would welcome anybody in that committee to come down to this league and play in this environment. It's a tough place to play.

We're trying to be the cumulative whole really good quality team and not be on this emotional roller coaster that's controlled by people in a room somewhere that may not understand football like we do as coaches. I respect their decision. I respect their opinion, but I mean, it's different in our league. So go dogs. Now that was, of course, Saturday post game.

A lot to unpack there. But Heather, how do you think the committee will view Georgia after their win against Tennessee? Well, Victoria, that's one of my biggest questions heading into tonight's ranking, and that's because Georgia has one of the best resumes in the country with wins against Texas and Clemson and now Tennessee. But last week, the committee kept them behind Ole Miss and Alabama because of those head-to-head wins. So does Georgia have enough on its resume right now to make the committee render those head-to-heads, moot and jump them. Look, the bottom line is this. Georgia now should be on solid footing much more than it was a week ago because last week, even if you're in the top 12, you could be left out

if you get bumped out for that fifth group of five. That's what happened last week. This week, I think that they're in a much better position regardless of where they are in terms of the two lost ranks and they're certainly going to be ahead of Tennessee. Absolutely. And Georgia still has a 30% chance to make the SEC championship despite Ole Miss only having a 2% chance to make the SEC championship game. Lane Kiffin had some interesting comments regarding that game particularly. I've talked to other coaches,

so I'll just kind of give you the feeling from some other coaches that, you know, they don't want to be in it. You know, the risk to get a buy, sorry, the reward to get a buy versus the risk to get knocked out completely. I mean, that's a pretty big, that's a really big risk.

We agree with Lane Kiffin, Sam. I do. I do. Lane Kiffin isn't wrong in his assessment, right? Because with these seven opportunities, right, the five highest ranked conference champions and the seven at-large teams, if you're a team like Ole Miss who has a win over Georgia, you're actually saying, you know what? I'm okay not necessarily playing in that SEC championship game because if you have two losses or maybe you get an SEC championship game and then you lose that third game, all of a sudden you're bumped out. And so actually I completely agree. Now, the one difference is I think a team like Texas, if Texas does. up beating A&M at the end of the season.

I think if they ended up losing in the SEC championship game, they would still be in. But it's hard with the two lost team right now to say, hey, I want to go play in that championship game to potentially lose. And even if you're in, you might have to play again. So those are some of the issues that I think coaches are dealing with.

Yes, Sam. I think that we're going in the direction that I'm not really comfortable with because if you have coaches now, and it's just popping into their head, that it's a consideration that they may not want to play in a championship game. I mean, just sit back and think about that for a moment. Like, that's why we played the sport.

Like, you always wanted to play in the championship game. But now we're heading in a direction with this new format that coaches are really considering that, man, may work out better in our favor if we don't play in the championship game. And in my humble opinion, the only way you don't play in a championship game, the only way you can control not playing in a championship game is by going out there and losing some games, you may not, you shouldn't lose. So think about that mindset. Well, if we lose this game, regular season, we don't play in a championship game, but yet that may work to our benefit and we may still. get a chance to play in the CFP.

Think about that rationale for a minute. That's a slippery slope that we're sliding down at this point if coaches are really starting to think along those lines. So what is, like, where do coaches go from here, Heather? So a couple of points on this, okay? One, let me tell you what Georgia coach Kirby Smart told me this summer because this is a conversation that has been bubbling since this summer at SEC Media Days, Smart told me, I'm an SEC enthusiast for 25 years, and winning the SEC

to me is as valuable as winning the national title. They're both as difficult to win, and they just got more difficult. And the other side of this is everyone seems to be assuming that the runner-up in these leagues is going to be out. Well, hold on a minute. The selection committee is going to look at who you played, where they're ranked, and how you played against them. Is this a close loss? Let's take Indiana Ohio State this week, for example. I would be shocked if the loser of that game, if it's close, falls out of the committee's top 12. But if we're talking about 2014 Ohio State Wisconsin when they won 59 to zero, bye-bye. And the final point on this, Victoria, is if you don't want to be a three-loss runner-up,

don't lose at home to Kentucky. Don't lose to Vanderbilt, and then you're a two-lossed SEC runner up and you're probably in the college football playoff. Des, the floor is yours. See, I agree with Heather D as far as you know, if you want to control your destiny, then don't lose. Don't lose those games. That's a great point.

And Heather makes an excellent point when she talks about what the SEC championship game means to SEC coaches. Because I've had that same conversation with not only Kirby Smart with the greatest coached ever coached the game, Nick Sabin. So coaches in the SEC,

normally they look at the SEC championship as a game that means as much, if not more than the national championship game. Absolutely. It's a major one. So it is a very interesting. And there's a reason that soundbite is making waves. Now, speaking of Ole Miss, let's take a look at the SEC on ABC College Football lineup we have for you on Saturday. Ole Miss squares off against Florida at New Eastern. Then it's off to the Lone Star State with Texas hosting Kentucky.

And we cap the night off with Alabama at Oklahoma, another epic lineup on ABC and ESPN. Plus, now coming up, it almost was a house of pain for the Ducks Saturday. Don't make me dance, but the D came up big when it needed to. We'll tell you if there is any concern with the duck's close call in Madison.

Plus, with BYU losing to Kansas, there are major shakeups in the Big 12. Find out which team can stick it out and find their way into the playoff. College Football Live is presented by Google. pixel. A great one in Columbus. Catch Reese and the gang Saturday 9 a.m. on ESPN. All right. It's time to take a look at our Capital One rewarding performance. Oregon needed a

fourth quarter comeback in a game stealing interception by Mateo Oi Ungolaleigh to get past the badgers on Saturday. Now the ducks are now three and oh this season when trailing by at least six points in the fourth quarter. Most in the FBS. Now for a number one, one team, the word comeback victory are not exactly what you were expecting, but that's what many people were calling this. So what game did this reveal about this team, Pete Thammel,

joining us now? I think if there's anything, Victoria, we learned that if Dan Lending were a college basketball player, Bill Raftery would compliment his onions. Big game, Dan is not afraid to make big decisions. He made it with the fourth and nine

called to start the fourth quarter that really got Oregon going and back in the game. He realized it to be a game of limited possessions, and he took a risk, and Gill and Gabriel completed a tight throw to Terrence Ferguson for the conversion that really led to the Ducks win. He might have been a little too bold later in the game when he faked a field goal towards the end when Oregon could have gone up six, but we've learned this. We learned it last year in Seattle. That's the way Dan Lannin coaches games. He coaches to win, and he coaches knowing fortune favors the bold. Yeah, going into that game, I thought that Oregon would be

challenged by the badgers. I knew it was a late kick, 7.30 kick. It was going to be like less than 50 degrees, kind of cold. And don't forget, Oregon came into that game. You know, a little beat up. You know, without Tess Johnson, he's still out. He's their biggest playmaker on

the perimeter and had a couple of guys who were questionable. So I thought this game would be kind of a one of those that went to the fourth quarter of Oregon would eventually pull it out. But guys, listen, anytime you're on a championship run, you're not going to beat every team by 14 points, 17 points, 21 points.

There are going to be some games along the way. We're just going to have to grit it out and earn a victory the hard way. And Oregon was able to do that. And now they have a bye week so now they can get healthier. Yeah, Des. We're talking a lot about Oregon, but I don't think they're actually the best team in college football. The reason I say that, I'll tell you who is first. I think it's Ohio State.

You look at me like Ohio State. Oregon just beat Ohio State. What are we talking about? But Ohio State has a better scoring offense in Oregon does. A better scoring defense in Oregon does. And yes, Ohio State did lose that game, but that loss, I feel like, was more of a scheme decision at one particular point than an actual game

that Oregon just went out and dominated. Without that timeout called by Dan Landing and then the decision to throw a 12th man on the field that caused a loss of four seconds, there's a high likelihood that... I'm just being honest, there's a high likelihood that Ohio State would have won that game. And so you make the point of, like,

championship teams, no, seriously, you make the point that championship teams, they have to go through ups and downs, right? Well, also, championship teams, they may not win every game. They may learn from those lessons and those losses. I think that's what Will Howard, that Ohio State team is going to do. Des, please. Man, I don't even know where to start, but you bring in Will Howard, and Will Howard played fantastic that game until he had that, you know,

it was like a brain fart. You know, that's what you like to say, I'm listening, if I were to tell you everything that was involved, as far as the metrics at the end of the game. And I would say, hey, they got the ball. At the end, they can just, you know, six seconds. They can get in the field goal range and beat Oregon by field goal. I say, well, how do you think this game is going to end?

You have never picked that this guy, this quarterback is going to scrabble around for six seconds and then slide to end the game. You have never came up with that as a way this game would have concluded. So it's hard to say that, you know, they're the number one team when they, lost the head to head match up. They're not supposed to blow how they're outhouse. They got a $20 million roster. They were supposed to go up there and play toe to toe with them, which they did and

ended up victorious. So I still think that right now the Oregon Ducks are the number one team in the in the nation because of how consistent they've been. I'm going with Dez on that one. I'm not going to disrespect the duck there, Sam. Now, maybe we might see a Big Ten matchup with them when they go head to head there. Look, we're going to we're going to shelve this one. for now, but we're also going to find out tonight who is number one when the committee reveals

their rankings at 7 on ESPN. But we got to bring in Pete and get to some more news about Oregon, starting with Oregon. What do you got for us, Pete? Well, Des just mentioned Victoria, Tess Johnson being banged up and missing the past few games. Well, the Ducks got some good news today. Tess said on Instagram, he's back. I made a couple calls. And indeed, Tess will ramp up practicing this week and is expected to be back for the game against Washington on November 30th. The ducks obviously have a buy. Tess has 64 catches for 649 yards. He hasn't played since that Michigan game on November 2nd.

A huge boost for Oregon's playoff push with Tess returning. As for Wisconsin, an offense that was long meat and cheese got a little bit of a roogalo when they hired Phil Longo. They tried to air it out. They tried to really philosophically change. but had made Wisconsin work for all those years under Barry Alvarez and Brett Buma. Well, that experiment ended. Longo was fired with two games to go this week. It will be interesting to see Luke Fickle make a pivotal decision in his third year.

What direction they go philosophically on offense? I didn't know you could pair that news story with Arugula and cheese. So Pete, that's why you're the best. I appreciate you. Thank you so much. All right, let's get to the Big 12. We've got one down and two to go. For Dion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes after getting another outstanding performance from two-way star Travis Hunter, the buffs moved one step closer to the Big 12 championship game by beating Utah at home 49 to 24.

Well, another Big 12 top dog, BYU had their luck finally run out as Kansas stunned the undefeated Cougars, who were the favorite to win the Big 12 title. And that leaves just three undefeated teams left in the FBS. Indiana and Oregon. All right, but let's take a look at the latest Big 12 standings. We got BYU and Colorado who are tied for first in the league. ESPN Analytics projects that that as the most likely matchup in the conference title game, but Arizona State and Iowa, they both lurking behind them, the Sun Devils, host BYU on Saturday at 3.30 Eastern on ESPN and would leapfrog the Cougars with a win.

But, Des, who are you putting your faith in for the Big 12th? Yeah, as of right now, I'm still putting my faith in Colorado. I think that what Coach Prime and his staff has been able to do has just been extraordinary. We thought that, you know, they wasn't going to have the season that they're having now after that Nebraska game because they were embarrassed on the road. But they made some tweaks in the offensive line. I spoke to the O.C. Pat Shermer, he told me about some of the changes they made and how that really helped them offensively keeping Shadour up right. but now they're playing complimentary football too.

The defense is a unit that you need to really start to pay attention to. Like they're not going to blow your way statistically, but when you watch this team play, they always come up with timely, you know, turnovers or force fumbles or sacks when they need it the most. So it's not just about Chador and Travis. Look at Colorado's defense too. Those guys are playing extremely well right now.

So as a team, they're playing great complimentary foot. Now that team is firing on all cylinders. Now BYU's loss also opens the door for Boise State or another group of five team to essentially grab that first round by in the 12 team playoff. Now Heather, what are the chances? Well, you why you drops because this is going to be critical in answering that question. And in my projection this week on Saturday night at 2.30 in the morning after BYU finished playing football here on the East Coast, I dropped them down right on the bubble to the next. number 13 spot. And that made Boise State get that first round by as the fourth highest ranked conference champion. But you know what else that does, Victoria? That knocks somebody out because it's the five highest ranked conference champions who are guaranteed spots in the playoff. So not only did Boise State get that by in the first round at the playoff were today, but it also knocked out Tennessee, which I had at the number 11 spots. Oh, okay. Well, it only is going to get crazy.

We're going to take a break. Get your poses ready, folks. Up next, we'll break down the top contenders for the Heisman trophy and who truly deserves to take home the honor. Stay tuned. You're watching College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel. All right, welcome back. Let's take a look at some of the top contenders for the Heisman trophy. We got Travis Hunter, Ash and Gentile. and Cam Ward, who are the three favorites, and they have themselves a game.

Hunter boosted his case against Utah, and then Gentie added three more scores on the ground. But let's state the cases for the two Heisman favorites, starting with Travis Hunter. There's only, there's only been really a two-way Hysman winner like this. Charles Woodson. So Sam, what makes Hunter's case so strong to be the second? Well, he's different.

I mean, Travis Hunter has 10 receiving, scrimmage touchdowns and multiple interceptions. Nobody in the last 30 years has done that. That's part one. Part two, Travis Hunter is one of the key reasons why Colorado is having so much success. And yes, Ashton Genti is a key reason for the success of Boise State. But this Colorado team led by Travis Hunter, who's played nearly every snap in nearly every game. Of course, in games where they're blowing out, they move on. But this Travis Hunter is the best player in college football. So for me, I think that's why you put him as a Hosman Trophy winner. All right, Des, what makes Ashton Genty so special?

I mean, listen, this kid is a rare breed of running back. You're talking about 26 rushing touchdowns, almost 1,900 yards. The season's not over. He's going to hit 2000. And everyone knows he's going to get the ball every time he gets the ball. They stack the box, and they can't stop this man. So I just love what he brings. He's the most important player on his team.

You can't stop us. Thanks for watching. Thank you.