College Football Live - Hall of Fame Hoopla!

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Victoria Arlen, Sam Acho, Tom Luginbill and Pete Thamel are back with another episode of College Football Live! On this Wednesday edition the crew introduces new members of the Hall of Fame as well as hears from key members of Notre Dame and Ohio State ahead of Monday's National Championship Game! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into College Football Live. I'm Victoria Arlen. Let's go out the tunnel. Now there have been over 6 million people who played or coached college football and an even smaller amount, 0.02% make it to the Hall of Fame. Today we introduce the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2025. And Notre Dame and Ohio State are ready to make their mark in college football history. We'll have reports from both sides as we are just five days away from the national championship. Plus, Lugues will tell us how the Irish can defend their against the Buckeyes, slippery wide receivers. All this and so much more on college football live.

Welcome to College Football Live, presented by great clips. I've got the best of the best here with me, Sam Acho, Tom Luganville, and Pete Thammel and fellas. Before we dive into our championship talk, we have a very special edition of College Football Live. Today, we are the first ones to reveal this year's College Football Hall of Fame class and highlight and honor the players. and coaches that have shaped the college football landscape. And we got to preview, we got a preview of this year's class when Nick Saban was the first person named to the 2025 class being surprised by his college game day colleagues take a look.

You know, since the advent of college football in 1869, more than six million people have played or coached this great game. And 0.02% of them have made the college football Hall of Fame. And even among that 0.02%. I think there's even another level reserved for the greatest of all time. And this December coming up in Las Vegas National Football Foundation Awards dinner, their new Hall of Fame class will be announced. And headlining that class will be the greatest college football coach in the history of the sport.

Nick Say. I didn't know anything about it. It's happening right now. Coach, we actually have a game ball printed out from us. This is a surprise to you. You're the first one getting announced, but I think what I was told in Reese, you can back me up. Easiest vote in the history. You've represented this sport, how you've done on this particular program, talking for the sport that you've committed your entire life to. Congratulations, Coach. And we love you, man. We absolutely love it. But anytime anything like this happens, it's because you had a lot of great people in your organization, a lot of great players, a lot of great coaches, a lot of support staff. And they made a great team. happy to drive the bus, but we had some great people on it.

So thank you so much. Congratulations. A lot of those guys that have been on that bus will probably be happy to go to Las Vegas and celebrate with you. Yeah. Even some guys that's only been teammates. Maybe we might do that. We might do that. Vegas trip on you.

I don't know how many players that I got to match you. But Joe, we've been an honor to play for you. And I know you say your staff and your players and of course, that's very, very real. That's why you are the Hall of Famer. But there's a lot of people that have coached. You're the greatest of all time, man. Just how great was Nick Sabin? During his 17 seasons at Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to the best win percentage, points per game differential and yards per game differential in that span. Needless to say, a well-deserved congratulations, coach Sabin. So let's take a look at what it

takes to get into the College Football Hall of Fame. For players, they need to be elected as an American, then their eligibility starts after 10 full seasons after their last year in college play. Then they are, and they are chosen by their notable football achievements as well as their post football record as a citizen. For coaches, they need to be a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years, coach at least 100 games, and have a winning percentage of 600 or better. All right, guys, are you ready for me to reveal the rest of the class? Just give me a solid nod. All right. Let's do it. Let's get going for it. Shall we? Starting with Urban Meyer.

Arguably, one of the most successful head coaches in college football highlights the list with an impressive 187 career wins and leading the Florida Gators to two national championships and the Ohio State Buckeyes to won in 2014. Next up, we got Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vic. He was selected as the 1999 Big East offensive player of the year. And then in 2001 became the number one overall pick in the NFL draft for the Atlanta Falcons, where he continued his success as a professional. Then we have another NFL legend in Michael Strayhan getting his CFB Hall of Fame nod.

He holds the record for the most sacks in a single season in Texas Southern history. He was a second round draft pick by the Giants in 1993. And we head up north where the Wisconsin product, Monty Ball finally gets his CFB Hall of Fame nod. He has the most rushing touchdowns in Wisconsin history while also earning multiple consensus All-Americans. And then there is the Oregon defensive tackle.

Haloti Nata. Haloti Nata. He won the Morris Trophy in Pact 10 defensive player of the year in the 2005 season, and he was the 12th overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft by the Ravens. We are also going to take a look at the player class presented alphabetically. Greg Carr was the SEC most valuable defensive player in 1984. Graham Harrell won the 2007. Sammy Baugh trophy for the best passer in the nation. Then we got Michael Huff's career highlighted by a national championship in the 2005 Jim Thorpe Award.

Cal's Alex Mack is a two-time winner of the Morris Trophy as the Pack 10's top lineman. And we have Steve Slayton won the 2005 Big East Rookie of the Year. Darren Smith, of course, winning two national titles with the Hurricanes. And for the coaches, Larry Blakeney earns the nod after multiple Sunbelt Coach of the Year awards. And Larry Corver is a two-time N-I-A national champion. Congrats to all. So, guys, a lot to take in there. When we look at this prestigious class,

who are some of the names that stood out to you? Looves, I'm going to start with you. I think the biggest name that stood out was Michael Vick at Virginia Tech. And the reason why is when I think about the evolution of offensive football and where we're at today in college football, two players come to mind. Major Harris at West Virginia from 1987 to I believe 1989 or 1990 he went in in 2009 and Michael Vick and you think about how the dynamic runner

that could also throw the football has revolutionized offensive football. You think about the shotgun and the zone read and the RPO and the quarterback run and you're mixing option principles with guys that can beat you with their arm and that's what made Michael Vick so dangerous and I look at offensive football right now and I look at offensive football right now and I point to him and say, look at what everybody's doing. And look at why everybody's trying to get dynamic at quarterback.

It's because of Michael Bick. Well, one of the reasons that I think that Michael Huff is a person that stands out to me, the DB at Texas, is that there's so much talk about offensive football, but this is a defensive back who not only won the Thorpe Award at Texas, but won a national championship. We talk a lot about what Texas did back in 05 with Vince Young, but really was that defense that was a big part of that championship run. And oh, by the way, the stellar on the field play being an All-American.

The World winner being a first-round pick going to play in the Super Bowl has now been highlighted by what he's doing after his playing days. He spent the last nearly decade at the University of Texas mentoring guys like Jad A. Baron who just won the Thorpe War. Jard Ay-Baron has been known to say, man, I've looked up to you. I want you to be my mentor. There's been this great relationship. And so there are so many players that Michael Huff is still affecting even after his playing days. Love what Lugge and Sam said, because I think the air, era that a lot of these players come from is really an era that's a pivot point for when

college football changed. And I don't think many more epitomized that than Urban Meyer. Beyond his 85% winning percentage in three national titles, he really ushered in the spread to the mainstream. He certainly didn't invent it. He wasn't first in line. But the offenses he had at the University of Utah and then the University of Florida really helped change the way that football has played. You go back to Alex Smith. You got Paris Warren running in most. It was just a completely different brand of football. And then soon after that, we had Chip Kelly take the charge with the tempo, and football was changed forever.

So when I really look back at that time, such a transformative time to how college football looks like today. You know, I'm going to piggyback that, Pete, with another coach on here that I think deserves a lot of credit. A lot of people may not know the history of Troy football, and that's Larry Blakeney, 77-year-old coach who spent 14 years in his assistant at Auburn. But when he arrived at Troy in 1991, they were a Division 2 program. He then ushered them into the Division 1-A, which is now the FCS,

and then, of course, the FBS level and eventually into the Sunbelt. There's only two coaches that have ever done that at three levels. Gene McDowell at UCF and Larry Blakeney at Troy, and he won 178 games after two transitions, just a remarkable accomplishment over the course of his career. Another remarkable accomplishment lugs is what Graham Harrell was able to do at Texas Tech. The reason why I admire that one, I got a chance to play against Graham Harrell. And during the 2007 season, that season he threw for over 5,000 yards.

Actually, 5,700 yards, nearly 6,000 yards, 55 touchdowns. In his last three years, he averaged over 5,100 yards, and over 43 touchdown. So you think about this new era of college football as it was changing back in that 05, 06, 07, getting more spread out. Graham Harrow was a huge part of that. and I got a chance to see it firsthand. Well, what's old is new again, guys. Steve Slayton was one of the first tailbacks, I think, to really benefit from that spread offense.

Obviously, you spread defenses out. There's lanes to slash. And Rich Rodriguez, obviously, with Pat White at quarterback and Steve Slayton, bust them through the tackles, created a juggernaut there in Morgantown in the mid-2000s. And, of course, who's back in Morgantown this year? Rich Rodriguez, I'm sure he'll have a big smile on his face. One of his prize protegees goes in the home.

Hall of Fame in Vegas in December. Look, there's a reason these guys are Hall of Fame nominees and well-deserved at best. Now, the 2025 Hall of Fame class will be inducted as part of the National Football Foundation's annual awards dinner on December 9th in Las Vegas. When we return, we head back to campus with live reports from Molly McGrath and Holly Row, who are with Notre Dame and Ohio State as they gear up for the national championship. Live is presented by Great Clips. Get game ready for the college football playoff with great clips. Welcome back to College Football Live, presented by Great Cliffs. It's official.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is declaring for the NFL draft after he announced it in a video on social media. Viewer as easily as one of the greatest quarterbacks Texas has ever seen. led the longhorns for the school's only two college football playoff appearances in 2023 and most recently in 2024. All right, Pete, he's a player you know very well. What kind of legacy does Quinn leave behind at Texas? I think the most important part of Quinn Ewers' legacy, Victoria, is that when he arrived in 2021, Texas was in the wake of a five and seven season. Things weren't going well for the start of the Steve Sarkeesian era and things were pretty bleak around Texas. Quinn left Ohio

State. Steve Sarkeesian knocked on his door a few moments after he entered the portal, and the fortunes of Texas football changed their trajectory indelibly. Fast forward to the last two years, as you mentioned, he's 21 and 5 as a starter. They make the college football playoff for the first two times. They win two games this season, and along the way, Quinn Ewers threw for 68 touchdowns, over 9,000 yards, had himself one heck of a career. He did not lead Texas all the way to the promised land like Vince Young or Cole McCoy, but it's a really strong legacy for a low to go to his state school and deliver them back to national relevancy. Absolutely, including that big 12th title and then even the first year in the SEC,

making it to that championship game. He leaves behind quite the impact. Thank you so much, Pete. Now, let's take a look at the college football playoff national championship trophy presented by Dr. Pepper in just five days on Monday, January 20th. Will Ohio State claim their seventh national title or will Notre Dame take home? their first title since 1988. Now for more on Notre Dame, we welcome in Molly McGrath, who is live from South Bend.

Now, Molly, Notre Dame has been dealing with the injury bug all season long. How healthy is the Irish offense for Monday? Well, Victoria, it sounds like they're in really good shape. They're running back. Jeremiah Love has been playing through a right knee injury for over a month now. But seemingly, he's turned a corner recently. Head coach Marcus Freeman was really positive when talking about Love's health and status and said he's much healthier now than he was ahead of their semi-final game.

And Freeman also expressed confidence in their offensive line, despite the fact that they lost their starting left tackle Anthony Knapp for this game. Their original starter at that position, Charles Jagasaw, is finally healthy now after suffering an injury that kept him out the entire regular season. So now the team's sole focus is on elevating their play and avoiding distractions. We got to stay in the moment. And we can't waste time daydreaming about Monday night or a future that's uncertain. Our job is to take care of the preparations right now.

And in order to win that moment, you have to be in the moment. And that's been my message all week. Stay in the moment. Find ways to elevate and get better and win these moments. Now, a part of staying in the moment for Freeman is not looking to the past in his playing days at Ohio State. And when asked if he had any conflicting emotions about coaching against him. against his former alma mater. He said none at all and his sole focus is on Notre Dame.

Victoria. Thank you, Molly. Great stuff. And we can't wait to see what they do on Monday. Now, shifting gears over. Lugues, when you are watching tape on Ohio State and their offense in particular, what weak points concern you the most? Well, I don't know if it's a weak point, but I do believe that with Notre Dame's pass rush,

their whole entire mentality is we are going to play man defense and control the line of scrimmage up front and they think they can disrupt the quarterback. Now, on defense you call that pressure bursts the pipe, right? If you're going to play man defense and you're Notre Dame, and they're in it 57% of the time, which is the highest number of any team in college football playing man coverage.

And you look at the numbers here on this graphic. They have dominated the opponent. Now, most opponents, however, do not have Ohio State's personnel. And so if you're going to be caught in man defense, you better count on your front to get home and affect Will Howard. And if there's been some interchangeable parts with Ohio State on offense, it's been in the offensive line. What's interesting about this is something's got to be in Victoria, because in the back end, Notre Dame has only given up five touchdowns in man coverage. Conversely, they've picked the ball off 15 times. But if you're Will Howard, you're nine touchdowns to zero interceptions against man coverage.

Something's got to give on Monday night. Something's definitely got to give. And we're going to get some more insight into Ohio State from someone who is in Columbus. Let's get over to Holly Row, who is with the Buckeyes. Now, Holly, you got a chance to talk with Will Howard earlier today. What did he tell you? Well, just to pick up on what Tom Lincolnville was talking about, they did talk about. They did talk about the man coverage that Notre Dame likes to play and how they can attack that.

You might remember before the Rose Bowl, Jeremiah Smith said, hey, if people want to play me man, I will make them pay. He doesn't believe he can be stopped in man-to-man coverage. So that's an interesting kind of chess match that we can watch for in the game. But Will Howard is very confident. He said that this team has had a special story all season. They are coming together and jelling in the perfect time in the perfect way. he said our story is not finished quite yet.

I mean, this is the last chapter, and we got to finish it the right way. And we feel like, you know, we've all have our stories. We all individually and, you know, as a team have our stories. You know, but they're not going to be told. And I feel like they've all already been written, but they're not going to be told unless we win it all. And we want to make sure that our stories are told, you know, throughout the years. because, you know, there are guys on this team that, you know, have phenomenal stories and just this team in general, you know, this, you know, the last couple of years, you know, of being an Ohio State Buckeye, you know, having to come to this, you know, to this game right here.

You know, it all feels like it's kind of culminating into one game. And, you know, I just, we just, we got to finish it the right way. So they want to finish it. And that is something that we kept hearing today from all of the players that we spoke to. Ryan Day is talking about it's been a great story, the redemption story. and that narrative of losing to Michigan, but this team turning everything around, but it won't matter unless they finish it

with a national championship and add one more trophy to this lobby right here where we're standing for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Thank you, Molly. And that story continues on Monday. Great stuff. We appreciate you, Holly. All right, Sam, when you look at Ohio State's defense,

while we know they are good, how good are they against a team like Notre Dame? Well, they're good, but they're going to have to make some side of just. Notre Dame, as we know what quarterback loves to run a couple quarterback powers, quarterback draws, quarterback run game. And so what Ohio said I'll have to do is what's called a crush rush for us. Essentially, instead of trying to rush up field, whether it's Jack Sawyer or JTooey Malowal, you may not be able to do that. You may have to, in certain situations, try and press the pocket and push the pocket and keep Riley Leonard contained.

Now, the other side of it is this. There are certain plays where it's quarterback design runs that you know based off of down the distance that it's going to happen. It's not necessarily a quarterback power per se. Maybe it's a quarterback draw. So from a defensive scheme perspective, Jim Knowles could actually call what we call pass rush games, meaning have the defensive tackles run upfield and ends go underneath or vice versa.

Defense events come underneath to try and disrupt those running lanes for the quarterback to try and create some confusion and frustration when it comes to the quarterback run game. You know, and Sam, you mentioned that front, whether there's line twists or stunts regardless. What Ohio State's done better than anybody in college, football is affect the quarterback with a four-man rush. They haven't had to add a fifth or a six player to the box. They haven't had to add a fifth or a six player off the edge in pressure situations. They've done it with a four-man front. Well, what does that do? What does that

complicate for the quarterback? Well, in coverage, you're going to have a lot of seven-man coverage, a lot of moving parts, making the middle of the field awfully crowded, and it can cause indecisiveness with Riley Leonard in the passing game. I think Riley Leonard in the passing game's got to get the ball out of his hand, get the ball to the outside and attack the perimeter, and then he's going to have to make some plays with his legs off platform because we were both just discussing. Ohio State, just with a four-man rush, can create havoc on opposing quarterbacks. I think that havoc can just create more havoc and more havoc, and whoever gets that havoc will, well, prove to be victorious. Now, this is also Notre Dame's first national championship appearance

since 2013 and Ohio State's first since 2021. But get this, guys, they both lost a newly named College Football Hall of Fame, Hall of Famer inductee, Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide Squad. A little fun fact right there. All right. Coming up after the break, we have an exclusive clip from inside the CFB to get you ready for the national championship in Atlanta. It's a family affair you don't want to miss. College Football Live is presented by Great Clips.

Get game ready for the college football playoff with great clips. These guys are in the way of what we want. It's their family against our family. And I know one thing. Which family wants it more? Take a behind the scenes look of the semis, episode four of Inside the College Football Playoff, presented by Capital One, now streaming on ESPN Plus.

The college football playoff national championship game presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ohio State against Notre Dame Monday at 730 Eastern on ESPN. All right, that's going to do it for us here at College football live for Sam Lugues and Pete. I'm Victoria. Thanks so much for joining us. We will be back here tomorrow at 3 p.m. See you then.