College Football Live - Getting Ready for Champ Week

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

Victoria Arlen is live with Trevor Matich and Harry Lyles and Championship week is FINALLY here as they preview and breakdown the BIGGEST games and the impact it will have for the College Football PLAYOFF! With reports from all over the country along with BRETT YORMARK to tell us how he REALLY feels about the rankings. You don't want to miss what he had to say. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Commissions fees and expenses may apply. Read the funds or ETF's prospectus before investing. Funds and ETFs are not guaranteed. Their values change and past performance may not be repeated. Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen. Let's go out the tunnel. Championship Week is finally here and we preview and break down the biggest games and the impact it will have for the college football playoffs. And speaking of the college football playoff, Brett Your Mark tells us how he really feels about the rankings and you don't want to miss what he had to say about it. Plus, we have tailgate tips coming your way to help you sound smarter and keep you in the know for this jam-packed championship weekend.

This is college football live. Let's go. College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper. Oh, it is the most wonderful time of the year. Trevor Madditch here with me in studio. And Harry Liles, Jr., with us from afar and with Championship Week upon us. We've got our reporters all across the country ready to give us a preview with what to expect this weekend. But before we get to that, let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we? we back to October in week eight when the dogs took on the longhorns and quinn ewers just could not

outshine george's defense late in the first ewers was taken down hard by dylan everett for a loss of 15 yards and ewers was sacked three times just in the first half and georgia would build a 23 point lead and in the fourth texas needed a comeback despite finding 15 in the third the longhorns could not find in the fourth as ewers is stripped and kirby smart is hyped over the dog's defensive stops and well, Sark rightfully disappointed in the Longhorn's offensive performance. For a preview of this week's game, here's Chris Lowe and Mark Schlebeah. Texas knows it's got to protect the quarterback better than did in the first match of to Georgia.

The dogs live in that backfelled, sacking Quinn Ewer was five times, Archmanning 2. Now, there's bad news and good news for Texas. The bad news star left tackle Kelvin Banks, Jr., I'm told, will be a true game time decision. He's suffering with that ankle energy. The good news is that Redshirt Pressman, Trevor Gooseby, came in and played extremely well last week against Texas. He played more than 70 snaps, held up against that pass rush. The true key, though, for Texas has been able to run the football. And that's where Contravean Weissner comes in.

He's been a dynamic home run threat. He's made big plays. And being able to hit those chunk plays in this game should be able to slow down that Georgia pass rush. Georgia received potentially good news ahead of Saturday's SEC championship game as starting tailback. ETN was upgraded to questionable in the initial availability report. The Florida transfer missed the past three games with a painful rib injury, but sources told me he's been practicing and will try to give it a go against Texas on Saturday. He was instrumental in the Bulldogs' 30 to 15 win over Texas back in October, running for

87 yards with three touchdowns. Freshman Nate Frazier has been good in his absence, but Georgia would welcome back ETN's experience and physical running style against the SEC's number one scoring defense. It's going to be a good one. All right, Harry, what's your confidence level in Georgia's offense against Texas? It's not very high. And I think part of that is because we're going to have to see something that we haven't seen often enough this year, which is a very good Carson Beck.

Mark just sort of mentioned it there. Trevor ETN was a really big part of what Georgia did offensively against Texas the last time they showed up. I still think even though he has been upgraded to questionable that that rib injury is not something to take lightly. And so, yeah, you're going to have to see Carson Beck really land some shots here in the vertical passing game against a Texas defensive backfield that I think is perhaps the best in the country. I think the only other team that is punching up with them is probably Notre Dame. So I think you're going to have to see a sharp Carson Beck. And I think to give him some credit as well, this receiving core has not been quite what it's been in the past for him.

So who's going to step up? Is it going to be Dominic Levitt? Is it going to be Oscar Delpe? We've seen it from these guys at times, but it's going to have to be somebody on Saturday. Now, Trevor, on the other side of the ball, the Longhorns are going to be looking for revenge, right, to get that win.

But what changes do they need to make to be able to do that? Victoria, they're going to need to be ready for Georgia's devious sneakiness. Sneakiness. Sneaky. Let me show you two plays from the first meeting that got inside Texas's head. And it all starts with deceptive pre-snap reads. Now, as quarterback Quinn Ewers looks over the defense pre-snap, he thinks that he's got the left side protected. And so he doesn't see the sack coming.

Why does he think that? Another look. Because it looks like man coverage there. And this safety needs to move over to cover for that corner if he's going to blitz. Well, he doesn't move over until after the snap. So pre-snap, Euler's thought that he was squared away. Now, just a little bit later in the game, Georgia will set up the exact same look on the other side of the field.

And it looks like, but Texas is going to have a advantage because they put an extra receiver over there to run an out route. So if that guy blitzes, those two remaining defenders can't cover the out route. If that defender is in man coverage like it looks like he's in, those two defenders still can't cover the out route. But that's not what they do. Watch the corner on the right. He does door number three.

He goes outside into a zone posture. Quinn Ewers thinks that he will clear with the deep route, and instead that corner is right there to pick off the pass. That is sneaky, that is devious, that is one play that led to another play that both started with pre-snap treachery. And what Texas will need to do is not trust what they see before the snap, wait until after the snap. Now that devious sneakiness is Georgia, who's also looking to be the second SEC team to win multiple games versus an AP top two. team with twice in a single regular season. Now let's move from the SEC to the Big 12 for some more devious sneakiness. Let's take a look at our Dr. Pepper Big 12 championship game preview.

Arizona State is headed to their first conference title game since their Pack 12 matchup against Stanford in 2013 while Iowa State is looking for their first conference title win in the last 100 in 12 years. Here's ESPN.com reporter David Wilson for more on this unload. likely championship matchup. When Iowa State and Arizona State meet on Saturday for the Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it's really two of the great stories in college football this season.

You've got Arizona State, this 34-year-old head coach, Kenny Dillingham, who took over his alma mater two years ago after a one-and-nine season with two vacated wins due to NCAA troubles, winning three games last year, then breaking through with 10 this year. You've got Matt Campbell, who just led Iowa State to its first 10-win season of School of History and at 45 already became the winningest coach in school history this season. We've got Cam Scadabo on the Arizona State side, whose rushed for almost 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns. And then you've got Jalen Null and Jaden Higgins on the Iowa State side, the only pair of 1,000-yard receivers on the same team in the country. What happens, somebody's making history

on Saturday. Neither team has ever won a Big 12 championship. This is essentially a play-in game for the college football playoff, with the Big 12 likely to only get one team in. So which Which team will it be? We'll see on Saturday. History in the making. You love to see it. Just three months after quite literally being picked to finish last in the Big 12, Arizona State is now playing in the Big 12 championship game. So Trevor, what is, what are you keeping an eye out for in this one? I'm keeping an eye out for Arizona State quarterback Sam Levitt throwing the ball. He's been magnificent at making defenses pay when they stack the box against their bludgeon of a running back, Cam Scataboo. But here's the thing. His leading receiver, Jordan Tyson, is out. His second leading receiver is.

Cam Scataboo. He's got 35 catches. He's averaging over 13 yards per reception. And that actually plays into Scatibu's favor because instead of having to bust through a loaded box to get into the open field, if they can get him out wide or down the field, throw him the ball, pity the defensive back

that has to tackle. It's going to be a good one all around. Now here's something crazy. These two teams are both 10 and 2 and they're outside the top 12 in the latest college football playoff rankings and behind three SEC teams. with three losses. And the rankings have created some frustrations around the Big 12.

And Commissioner Brett Yormark clearly expressed his displeasure about the CFP rankings. So take a listen to what he said yesterday. The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes. I've said that before. I want to say it again. And I say logos because they're concentrating on team logos. and conference logos. Strength of schedule should matter and wins against powerful opponents should matter. Seventy-four percent of the Big 12 wins were against powerful opponents this season. Meanwhile, the group of five is 11 and 80. I want to say that again. 11 and 80 versus power four teams this season. And in no way should a group of five champion be ranked.

above our champion. And I'm going to say that one more time. In no way should a group of five champion be ranked above our champion. Trevor, what do you make of Yormorke's comments? I think he is absolutely right to make those comments. He has been brilliant as commissioner of the Big 12. He has been four-sided. He has been a fantastic advocate for them. And he, I think, deserves the right to make that case. He should make that case. But I think there is an equally good case on the other side. Because when you talk about advantages, the helmet advantage, Boise State, not a helmet advantage.

And I think the committee is so impressed with the way Boise State played against number one Oregon. On the road, this game was tied with two seconds to go when Oregon finally kicked a walk-off game winning field goal. And I think that there's a lot of juice in the committee's mind in favor of Boise State because of that. And then when you look at other teams like Alabama, they've got more wins over-ranked teams

than the Big 12 entrance have. And so I think that there's a good argument on the other side of what Commissioner Yormark said, but I'm glad that he said what he said because that's the job. Yeah, I thought given his position, he said what had to be said. I think the biggest part of logo bias

that we've seen that I just feel does not match up correctly is the fact that it seems like the committee has glossed over the fact that Alabama lost to an Oklahoma team by three touchdowns. That is perhaps the worst Oklahoma team of my lifetime. And that happened just two weeks ago. And part of one of the things we hear talk, you know, strength of schedule, all these different factors. Well, one of those is supposed to be,

are you the same team right now that you were at the beginning of the season? And clearly, it matters when you lose because if it didn't, Miami would probably have a spot in the bracket right now and they don't. However, I feel part of your Mark's comments that are contradictory is when he does talk about the logo watching. And then he says, no matter what, basically a big 12 team should be ranked ahead of a group of five team. Well, it feels like you're only kind of saying that because you think because you're in the power four, you should just be ranked over them no matter what. And it just hasn't been that kind of year for your conference, which is also okay. But I feel like that was sort of a little bit short-sighted on his part because of what we've

seen from some of these group of five teams. And to include them all in that record of 11 and 80, like that's not entirely fair either. I mean, you both said it so eloquently. And I appreciate that too. I think there's frustrations all around on all sides too. So let's get to our weekend lineup brought to you by Wendy Sossy Nugs. Conference title weekend starts tomorrow with Army taking on Tulane and the American title game. We also get UNLV taking on Boise State on the Smurf turf at 8 Eastern for the Mountain West title game.

And we are ready for all the fireworks starting tomorrow. We're just getting started here in college football live. Coming up, we preview the Big Ten and ACC championship games and break down the matchups as we tell you what to watch out for. College Football Live is present. Presented by Ice Cold Dr. Pepper. College football. It's a Pepper thing.

This is College Football Live. Presented by Dr. Pepper. An unprecedented season. Thumbs down to this. Coffee decisions have to be made. Let's see where the committee landed. The college football playoff selection show, Sunday at noon Eastern on ESPN.

It was no surprise that the Oregon Ducks would be in the Big Ten championship game. but Penn State was a very unlikely opponent, but that's the beauty of this season. This will be the first time the Ducks have faced the Nittanylion since the 1995 Rose Bowl. Here's Jake Trotter and Adam Rittenberg with what we can expect this weekend. This Big Ten title game features a showdown of both the conference's offensive and defensive players of the year. Oregon quarterback Dylan Gabriel and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. Gabriel said this week that, quote, Carter wreaks havoc and that he can,

can get to the quarterback both with physicality and with finesse. Carter is currently projected to go in the top 10 of the upcoming NFL draft. Gabriel said Carter is the biggest reason why this Penn State defense is so elite and that we have to know where he is on the field at all time. Penn State hired offensive coordinator Andy Codellnicki precisely for games like the Big Ten championship where his innovative scheme, his use of players could be the difference the against an Oregon team that's set up to pile up points inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Kodolniki's done a great job with tight end Tyler Warren, the Mackie Award favorite, lines up all over the field for Penn State.

He's their most explosive offensive player and their best individual matchup advantage against a very talented Oregon defense. But who else can Kodolnicki use? Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III perhaps. Maybe it's Nicholas Singleton who can catch passes out of the backfield. What is up Andy Coddlenicki's sleeve to help quarterback Drew Aller and keep pace with a very talented Oregon team as Penn State goes for its first Big Ten title since 2016. Trevor, what is this game going to come down to? These teams are very similar.

I think it'll come down to which quarterback can play best on the big stage. And the edge there, I think, goes to Oregon's Dillon Gabriel. Against Ohio State, his QBR quarterback rating, Max's 100, was 97 against. Against Ohio State, Penn State's quarterback, Drew Aller, was 32. And so Aller has been magnificent for most of this year, much improved. But in the biggest game, each of them have played against Ohio State. It's Gabriel that played the best. And I think he has the edge in the big game.

In Oregon, for the second time in school history, have a perfect regular season record. But let's go from the Big Ten to the ACC. One of the ACC's newest faces will take on its most established program of the last decade in the 2024 ACC championship game. The SMU Mustangs will try to win their second conference championship in a row across two different leagues. While the Clemson Tigers are making their 10th ACC championship game appearance, David Hale and Andrea Adelson with more on this matchup. After a 31 point loss to Georgia in week one, Clemson fans were nervous,

but Clemson quarterback Kade Klobnik said he had never been more confident that the Tigers were a championship caliber team. He said that matchup taught him that talent for talent, they were just as good as the Bulldog. They just hadn't executed up to the level that Georgia had. Well, 12 weeks later, Clemson is still trying to execute at that level. They've had their ups and they've had their downs. Against two ranked foes, though, the offense has managed a grand total of 17 points. That's the problem. And so when head coach Davosweeney says, we haven't played our best game yet,

yeah, there's a little bit of problems everywhere, but it's particularly on the offensive side of the ball, where Klubnik has taken huge strides from last year, but him, Phil Maffa, Antonio Williams, and that offensive line are going to have to execute at their best level they have all season to beat SMU in the ACC championship game and prove on the field that they're not just talking about playing at a championship level. They can actually go out and do it. SMU goes into the ACCC championship game as one of the hottest teams in the country,

winning nine straight games behind starting quarterback, Kevin Jennings. That switch at quarterback has helped galvanize this team going 8 and O in the ACC, and they firmly believe they deserve a spot in the college ball playoff, no matter what happens against Clemson on Saturday. But of course, the Mustangs are in it to win it. And when I spoke to coach Rhett Lashley this week, he told me the biggest key is going to be not deviating from what has gotten them to this point. There are four keys they have to focus on, winning the run battle,

winning the explosive plays, winning the turnover battle, and being the more physical team. And what a statement that would be for SMU to win the ACC in year one. A statement indeed. what kind of moment is this game for SMU? It's huge. And you know for Brett Yorbart talking about logo watching, I feel like the committee when they see that SMU logo,

they still see a group of five team. But this has clearly been the best team in the ACC all season. In fact, I feel like when we look at their loss to BYU, that was a completely different SMU football team. I mean, Kevin Jennings wasn't even playing quarterback for them. We know Rhett Lashley and Casey Woods always have this offense humming. I think the X factor for them in this particular game is going to be running back. Breschard Smith.

This Clemson run defense has been leaky against their better competition. We saw it just as recently as last week against South Carolina. I think he is also going to play a major, major factor in this football game. Another major factor here, too, Trevor, is the Mustangs have scored 30 plus and eight of their last nine. So what's the biggest concern regarding Clemson's defense, Trevor? Well, they've got to stop not just Breschard Smith, like Harry talked about. They've got to stop the passing. Kevin Jennings.

Jennings is seen as a dual threat quarterback, and he is. But he hasn't run much in the last four games because he's been throwing for 300 yards or so on average over the last eight games. So what Clemson needs to do is pick their poison here. If they let Jennings out of the pocket, he will absolutely torch them. They've got to keep him contained in the pocket,

even though he's been throwing well from that spot because it would be worse if he got outside the pocket and started to create it on the fly. I mean, good thing for Clemson. You know, they have eight wins in the conference, so we'll see. All right, this game is just one of the many epic matchups in our ABC College Football Conference Championship lineup. Things kick off Friday night and the American and they keep rolling through Saturday with the Dr. Pepper Big 12 title game and the Georgia and Texas battling for the SEC crown. And, of course, the ACC closing out the night.

Let's take a look at the one final team vote brought to you by Dr. Pepper. We asked which of this week's teams outside of the top five is your team? choice to be the hashtag one final team and win this year's national championship and you chose the Buckeyes with 43% of the vote coming up tailgate tips is back we'll get you ready and in the know with some fun facts ahead of this crazy jam-packed college football championship weekend college football live is presented by ice cold dr pepper college football it's a pepper thing Have you ever gone to a tailgate and realize you don't have anything to contribute to the discussion? Well, we here on College Football Live have something for you, and we call it tailgate tips,

where we give you some necessary tips of knowledge to sound smarter and impress your friends every Saturday. You can thank us later. We're here to impress your friends. So, Harry, we're going to start with you. What's your tailgate tip? Yeah, look, everybody talks about how great this SMU offense is. We literally just got done doing that, right? But don't sleep on how good this defense is.

Scott Simons has this thing humming. They have four 21 turnovers this year, have scored four touchdowns off of those turnovers and have a plus 77 point differential off of turnovers. The SMU defense is good. Let your people know. All right, let them know. And Harry, Alabama fans need to be the biggest SMU fans outside of Dallas.

Right now, SMU is the only ACCC team in the top 12. But if Clemson beats them, there might be two in the top 12, and that would freeze out Alabama. Bama needs SMU to win. All right. And for me, well, there's new kids making the impression. There are four conference newcomers in the championship games this week in Arizona State in the Big 12. SMU in the ACC, Texas and the SEC, Oregon in the Big Ten.

So we are excited to see everyone for Trevor. Harry, I'm Victoria. Enjoy your games.