College Football Live - FCS Rankings Are Here!

Episode Date: October 26, 2023

Host Victoria Arlen is joined by Sam Acho and Roddy Jones as these unveil the FCS rankings. They also look at Andre Ware and Desmond Howard's Heisman picks from the Nissan Heisman Preview show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This Black Friday, you've got a whole month to catch all the exclusive offers waiting for you. See your local Nissan dealer or nissan.ca for details. Conditions apply. Welcome to college football live. I'm Victoria Arland. Let's go out the tunnel. Georgia and Texas get set to play for the first time without some key playmakers in which injured star's absence will be felt the most this weekend. Plus, we've got the exclusive reveal of the top 10 teams in the FCS coming up in just moments. Will the defending champs South Dakota State be the top team? And we'll have to wait until Tuesday for the first CFP rankings, so it's time for teams to make their final impressions. The question is who needs to have a really good weekend. College Football Live starts now. College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper. Welcome into College Football Live.

I'm Victoria Arlen, alongside Sam Ocho in the studio with me and Roddy Jones, joining us from afar. Okay, fellas, let's get right to it. I love the wave, Roddy. All right, it's an exciting day. We've got the exclusive FCS top 10 reveals. But before we get to that, it is week, it is week nine. Can you believe it?

We've got some pretty notable games coming up. It's going to be a fun weekend to watch. And we have some top teams going on the road. Ohio State traveling to Wisconsin and Oregon having a tough road test going to Salt Lake City after Utah's big win over USC. Georgia also goes to Jacksonville to face the Gators at a neutral site. All right, this is going to be a fun one. But we've got to talk about these injuries. There's been quite a few of them this season,

most notably with Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who is week to week with an injury to his throwing shoulder and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is out with an ankle injury. Sam, who's going to be more of a notable absence this weekend? I think Quinn Ewer is going to be the bigger absence. And it's not just because he plays quarterback for the team. It's because most of what Sark, wants to do, head coach Steve Sarkesian, is he wants that pass offense going down the field.

And so Quinn Ewers is elite as far as when it comes to downfield passing and intermediate passing. That's what he did when he played Alabama, right? The three touchdowns over 349 yards. That's what he did and how he did it. We don't know what Malik Murphy can do just yet. And that's going to be the difference in this one. So it's going to be Texas leaning on the running game.

But also you're going to see these startling numbers just when it comes to experience, right? Malik Murphy doesn't have the experience. So you're playing a team like BYU that's his first year in the Big 12, trying to find ways to win. Lean on Jonathan Brooks. Lean on CJ Baxter. If it gets to a passing attack, it may be interesting as the way as the game goes on. Yeah, I don't want to diminish the loss of Quinn Ewers at all. I think it's a tremendous loss.

But I'm going to go the other way and say it's Brock Bowers. He is Superman for this Georgia team. There have been times where they have just basically said, where's Brock. Brock save us. Look at the end of that Auburn game. It seemed like it was all Brock Bowers. You can go last year to the college football playoff game against Ohio State. He is just so much for this offense.

And there's no easy way to replace a guy that you can line up in so many places that lead you in targets that takes handoffs out of the backfield. And it's really the security blanket for Carson Beck. So who steps up? Oscar Dup was a really talented, highly recruited, tied in. Marcus Rosemey Jackson has really showed some flashes. But I think it's going to be a team effort to replace with Brock. Bowers gave this Georgia team. And Brock Bowers, of course, when underwent that tightrope surgery on October 16th, that recovery is, of course, four to six weeks. So we shall see

what that's going to look like. All right, let's jump to Oregon at Utah, one of two ranked matchups this weekend. Now, we all know that Oregon's defense is really good. But Roddy, aside from that, what does this come down to for Utah to beat Oregon? The question is, can they move the ball against Oregon? They really, I didn't think they'd be able to put up as many points as they did last week against USC's defense. That was against USC's defense. Oregon's defense is statistically in the conference behind only UCLA when it comes to yards per play aloud, better than that Utah defense. And it's an Oregon defense that, remember, has already played the best offense in the country in Washington. They are tremendous at all three levels. So how does

Bryson Barnes in this offense get it going? When they needed him down the stretch, they got it. But the big thing, guys, is Utah is basically unbeatable at home. Rice Echle Stadium is one of the best home field advantages in the entire country having one on 18 straight there. Yeah, that's such a good point as far as Utah at home. But I'm with you on the Oregon defense perspective. This Oregon defense is going to be startling and I believe even stifling for Utah. But the bigger story, I believe, is this.

If Oregon finds a way to win, remember they had that loss against Washington, all of a sudden, you get one ranked win. If you go and look at their schedule, there are three more ranked teams on their schedule. So now all of a sudden, this Oregon team gets a chance to find a way to get back in that college football playoff conversation. Yes, they're in it. But you add these wins and maybe you meet Washington again in that college football in the in the Pac-12 championship. Now of a sudden you're smack dab in the middle of that college football playoff conversation. It's going to be interesting.

We shall see. All right. We have an ABC college football triple header for you on Saturday. It starts with number four Florida State taking on Wake Forest at noon eastern, then seventh-ranked Texas post-BYU, and we capped the day with Coach Prime in Colorado at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, squaring off against the balanced rushing attack in stingy defense of number 23 UCLA. All right, South Dakota State last year, they wore the, they won the 2023 FCS National Championship. And look, can they make it back in the rankings this year? I mean, that's what we're here for. We are here to take a look at the FCF's playoff format.

The field is 24 teams, with top eight seeds getting a first round by and hosting their second round match of the FCS selection show is Sunday, November 19th on ESPNU, and this will be the only top 10 reveal between now and the selection show. All rounds of the FCS playoffs will be broadcast on ESPN Plus, ESPN linear networks. But now it is time to reveal the committee's selection of the top 10 if the season were to end today, starting with number 10, incarnate words. Yeah, incarnate word.

So this is the team that just lost head coach, G.J. Kinney. And they were in the FCS semifinal game last year, but now they got quarterback Richard Torres, transferred from Nebraska, started the last half of last game, and found a way to score 24 unanswered points, transferred back home to San Antonio, to lead his team to a 6th and record. So huge win for his team. All right, number nine, Western Carolina. Western Carolina, another team. They'd won eight straight FCS games before following the Furman last weekend. And they'd actually gone five straight games with over 500 yards. It's a high-powered, fast-paced offense. Last weekend's lost to Furman. Obviously hurt them,

but this offense is something that you want to continue to watch. They're continue to try to win as the season continues. We got number eight, Sacramento State. Sacramento State. So this is one of the teams with an FBS win. They beat Stanford in week three, but also more than that, this team has had Arizona Cardinals scouts at their practice yesterday.

So you think, oh, FCS. No, they're NFL scouts watching this team. Quarterback, Caden Bennett, he's decisive. Obviously, he had two picks last week, last week with a pick six. But they have playmakers, Elijah Tal-Toliver being one of them. Number seven, we got Idaho.

Idaho. They are coming off of a bye week. They host Montana State this weekend. And here's the thing about Idaho. They are a physical football team. Love to run the ball, but they're lost two weeks ago before their biweek against Montana. They weren't able to run the rock. And so they're trying to come back under head coach Jason Eck and be more physical, be more aggressive.

They're back at home. And so this is going to be a huge opportunity. Obviously, they're the seventh ranked team. They're trying to increase those rankings. And we've got Montana. Montana, the sixth ranked team. So they just beat Idaho before their biweek. we talked about it held Idaho to 58 rushing yards.

But there's a player by the name of Rider Mayor, a safety. He had 12 tackles on week one, fifth year senior. He always dreamed about being a starter for the grizzly. And he's getting a chance to lead this grizzly team to a three-er-one record in the big sky. And they're finding ways to win. All right. To recap the FCS rankings number 10 through six, mind you, this is just so far if the season we're to end right now.

There's still plenty of football to be played, folks. Calm down. Now we've got Montana, Idaho. Sacramento State, Western Carolina, an incarnate word. But wait, there is more. Five more to be exact. Coming up, we've got the FCS top five teams revealed here exclusively on college football live.

Will there be any shockers that's for us to know right now and for you to find out? College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper, the one fans deserve. You and your crew to the big shows with Go Transit. Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto and Go makes it affordable with special e-ticket fairs.

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details. Terms apply. This Heisman preview is brought to you by Nissan. Premier partner of the Heisman trophy. Now for a look at the Heisman preview presented by Nissan. Here's Kevin de Gandhi.

Eight weeks of the college football season in the books. We're ready for the stretch run and it feels like it's wide open when we talk about the Heisman with 1989 Heisman winner, Andre Weir, as well as 1991 winner, Desmond Howard. Guys, let's talk about the next

six weeks here and who can make that push. Who do you have right now as your top three that you think will get invited to New York. Andre, let's start with you. Yeah, first and foremost, and that invitation will be Michael Pennix, Jr. Superman playing quarterback. He's not only the best, one of the best passers I've seen. He's one of the best quarterbacks or a guy playing that position that I've ever laid eyes on.

He's got an unbelievable arm, the accuracy's off the chart, and he pushes the ball down the field. He's a stat machine. Then there's Jordan Travis, a guy that is just a winner. He's tough. He wills his teams to victory. And a guy that is going to have Florida State in the conversation for a national championship by season's end. He's just a guy that takes care of the football. Everybody plays hard for him, all of his teammates. And then the freak, the playmaker, Marvin Harrison, Jr., a guy that is, you can't cover it.

A DB cannot stay with him. You double cover him. He just continues to make play. So those three, Pinnick's, Jordan Travis, and then Mike, excuse me, Marvin Harrison, Jr. Hey, Andre, I tell you what, I agree with you about Jordan Travis. I think that when I look at him play, I watch his demeanor. He's really cool, calm and collected.

No matter what the situation is, you know, they had a very competitive game out the gate against LSU, and then overtime in-death Valley against Clemson. And then just a week ago, going up against a really tough Duke defense. You know, it was Nickman Tuck. They were fighting into the fourth quarter, and that's when they finally pulled the way. I just love Jordan Travis's leadership ability

and what he does with the ball. He's just always cool and calm. And then you go to the number two guy would be Michael Pennix Jr. Obviously did not have the game he wanted against Arizona State. Multiple turnovers, two interceptions, fumbled the ball twice,

but only lost one fumble. So he's another guy, I think, that's playing at a high level, though, and despite what happened against Arizona State, I see him in New York when it's all said and done. And then no one's playing the quarterback position better than J.J. McCarthy right now. You look at his QBR, his completion percentage numbers.

He's not going to have the big stats that's going to woo you because he rarely, if ever, plays in the fourth quarter. And Michigan is not a pass-heavy offense. They love to run the ball. But when you look at his leadership skills and the way he executes that offense at a very, very high level,

you understand why J.J. McCarthy will be in New York at the Heisman Ceremony too. And he leads the nation in QBR to your point. Second in the FBS and completion percentage. And of course, that schedule plays out here for JJ to step up. They've got Penn State, November 11th and Ohio State, November 25th. Cannot wait for the next month to see how this all plays out. The Heisman preview show with these two outstanding gentlemen coming away ESPN 7 p.m.

Eastern time. Thank you, gentlemen. We're halfway through our FCS reveal of the top 10 teams. The committee feels as of today if this season were to end right now. You've seen teams 6 through 10, 4 of these 5 were in the playoffs last year with Incarnate Word, making it all the way to the semifinals and defeated Sacramento State in an absolute thriller to get there. But now it's time for teams 5 through 1, starting with number 5 Delaware. Roddy, take it away.

Delaware has been fantastic this season. head coach Ryan Cardi's team has been really balanced both offensively and defensively. It's a team that is very accustomed to being in the FCS playoffs. A lot of success over the years. And they have done a great job in the CIA so far this season. And then at number four, we've got South Dakota. When you talk about South Dakota, you got to start talking about defense, the third ranked defense in terms of scoring and all of FCS.

They had a big win earlier this year over North Dakota State, who was then ranked number two. This South Dakota team is phenomenal defensively, though. All right. Furman comes in at that number three spot. Already a couple of top ten wins for this Furman team. Went over Western Carolina last week. Early in the season, a win over Mercer. This is a group that has really been building for a number of years to get to the place where they are now coming out of the Socon.

They are a dangerous team once they get in the playoffs. And again, second round exit last year, lost to Incarnate Word in a close one. All right. Montana State is holding on to the number two one, Roddy. They certainly are. This Montana State crew is the best offense in all of FCS. Lead FCS and scoring. So you better bring your abacus when you start to add up these points.

They're dangerous in so many different ways coming out of the big sky. And they look like a team that's poised to take that. next step this season. All right and drum roll please the number one spot goes to South Dakota State with an undefeated 7-0 season so far. Of course and what do you what can you say about South Dakota State the wins that they already have this year you look at the rankings fifth best scoring offense in the country third best second best excuse me through scoring defense in the country defending FCS champions the DNA is there the talent is there they are relentless on both sides of the football absolutely

No surprise that the Jack Rabbits are at number one. We love the Jackrabbits. It's all there. All right. Now look at our FCS top 10 teams. Defending champs South Dakota State sit at the top of the rankings. No surprise there. Followed by Montana State.

A lot of familiar faces. As of all these teams made the playoff last season, except South Dakota and Western Carolina. It is time for our weekend lineup brought to you by Wendy's Beef. And there are two big FCS matchups that can have huge playoff implications. First up, number one, South Dakota State hosts in-state rival South Dakota at 2 p.m. Eastern on ESPN Plus. Then we've got second-ranked Montana State and their top-ranked scoring offense head on to the road to take on the vandals of Idaho at 4 p.m. Eastern on ESPN

plus. It should be a stellar weekend of games, folks. Coming up, we've got good matchups all around this weekend, but who needs to have a really good weekend to keep themselves in a good position. We discuss after the break. You're watching College Football Live, presented by Dr. Pepper. When you're flying Emirates business class, dining on a world-class menu at 40,000 feet, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. This Giving Tuesday, Cam H, is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where

Canadians can get the help they need when they need it, no matter who or where they are. From November 25th to December 2nd, your donation will be doubled. That means every dollar goes twice as far to help build a future where no one's seeking help is left behind. Donate today at camph.ca.ca.givings Tuesday. College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper, the one fans deserve. All right, let's take a look at our Dr. Pepper Championship Drive game of the week. Preview, a lot riding on this game for both teams, including a potential ACC title game appearance.

Now, with losses, both Duke and Louisville's chances to make the ACC championship decline to less than 10%, while with a win, they have nearly a 50% chance to make the title game. Roddy, what are you keeping an eye out for in this game? Well, first and foremost is the health of Riley Leonard, but we won't know about that until game time, but it's that Duke defense. I don't think Mike Elko has properly been recognized for the job that he and Tyler Santucci,

the defensive coordinator, have done with this Duke defense. It's the number one defense in the ACC and scoring defense. Number two defense in the ACC in yards per play allowed behind only Clemson. And that lineback and core has been tremendous with Trey Freeman leading them. The defensive line is awesome. Big Dwayne Carter, Jemann, Franklin, R.J. Oben. That group has been phenomenal. And then the secondary.

This is a defense that gave up a lot of big plays a year ago. Mike Elko and Tyler Santucci have corrected that. They have been the most physical team in every single game they played, including that game last week. against Florida State up front. And I just think this defense can keep them in the game, no matter who plays quarterback for the Blue Devils. All right.

So that was Duke and Louisville. But we have to talk about this Colorado and UCLA game because it's been the making of a Hollywood movie for Coach Dion Sanders and his Colorado crew from going 1 and 11 last year to being actual competitors this year, since his arrival, I might add. It's been nothing short of a miraculous,

journey for a man who is filled with inspirational quotes, dedication to accountability, and the sunglasses, and swag to match his primetime status. But now the star arrives to the city of stars in Los Angeles. So Sam Colorado takes on UCLA. What are some key components this weekend for the UCLA team? Well, it's two pieces. One, UCLA is facing a Colorado team that's come off of a bye week. But UCLA has its own questions in who's going to play quarterback.

So we've seen Ethan Garber's last week lead his team to a victory, played outstanding. But then the weeks before we saw Dante Moore, we saw pick six after pick six after pick six. Yet Dante Moore found ways some fight to make plays for his team as well. And so Chip Kelly head coach for UCLA has not been clear on who will start. I believe it may be Garber's, but we've seen the last couple weeks they've rotated quarterbacks. And so I'm excited to see what they do at the quarterback position. I think that'll help decide the fate of this team's future. They really drew it up there, so we'll see what happens.

All right, Tuesday, we'll have the exclusive reveal of the first college football playoff top 25 rankings of the season. Reese and the guys will break them down from top to bottom, have coaches, reactions, as well as live interviews with committee chairman, Boo Corrigan, 7 Eastern on ESPN and the app. All right, Sam, which team needs a really good weekend to help him out? I believe it's Georgia. And I think the reason why is that the selection committee, they look at a few different things. One, they look at strength of schedule.

And Georgia's, I believe, is 109th right now in strength of schedule so far. Number two, they look at where you are right now as a team. Right now this Georgia team doesn't have Brock Bowers. So how will they play in their first game without Brock Bowers? And then number three, how have you looked when you've actually played football? And Georgia's been down versus South Carolina halftime. Auburn didn't play great. Found ways to win, which is great.

But you want to see the complete picture of this Georgia team as it stands for this season. So I think they need a huge weekend this weekend. help. Could not agree more. The wins across the country, there's so many teams with better wins than the University of Georgia. Carson Beck has played well. That defense has played well at times, but they haven't been great. And like I said earlier with Brock Bowers, the question is, is this offense going to be able to produce without the best player who's not a quarterback in college football and Brock Bowers? It's the great question. Will they make the top four?

I think it entirely depends on the way they look against Florida on Saturday. I mean, you literally have Georgia as the dynasty and we shall see what happens. I mean, who knows? That's going to be up to everyone. Look, we had a crazy show today. We had the reveal, but then there's another reveal on Tuesday. I mean, look, there's a lot. The CFU Top 25 is on Tuesday.

That's going to be pretty epic. College Football Live returns tomorrow at 3.30 Eastern. Thanks for watching College Football Live. I'm Victoria. He's Sam. That's Roddy. Have a great day. Thanks for hanging with us.