College Football Live - Into the Portal We Go

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

Host Kelsey Riggs is joined by Sam Acho, Jordan Reid, and Pete Thamel as they discuss the new wave of announcements coming from players entering the transfer portal, committing to new schools, and/or declaring for the NFL Draft. Then, Tiffany Greene and Jay Walker discuss the top 5 HBCU teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into college football live. I'm Kelsey Riggs, and we're coming out the tunnel with this. We are just 19 days away from the college football playoff semifinals. What can Michigan do to slow down Bama's hot offense? And is Quinn U.S., the key for Texas? Sam Acho, Jordan Reed here, to break it all down. And the portal, it's loaded with quarterbacks. But some are starting to find new homes. Is Tyler Van Dyke a good fit for Wisconsin?

Or what else do the badgers need to find success? Plus, speaking of quarterbacks, who's going where in the NFL? draft. Two guys stand at the top, but is there a clear cut answer for how the rest of the top five shakeout? College Football Live starts right now. What's going on? Happy Wednesday. Welcome in to College Football Live alongside Sam Otto and Jordan Reed. I'm Kelsey Riggs. Pete Thamwell going to be with us in just a little while. Guys, we're counting down to the holidays, but we are also counting down to the college football playoff semifinals. Just 19 days away. It is almost here. And let's start out West as number one Michigan is getting set.

for its third straight playoff, looking to advance for the first time. Meanwhile, it's familiar territory for Nick Sabin in number four Alabama. The tide has eight wins in the playoff. Now, before we dive in, Bill Connolly crunches the numbers on the Rose Bowl. Michigan's reward for earning the number one seed in the 2023 college football playoff? Playing the team with the most ever CFP wins, Nick Sabin's Alabama. It appears that the defense has hold more of the advantages in this Rose Bowl semifinal.

Both offenses will want to establish the run in Pasadena. The Wolverines and Crimson Tide each rank in the nation's top 20 in first down run rate. Both defenses, however, allow under four yards per carry on first down. Testing one another's physicality might produce quite a few second or third and longs. That isn't a place you really want to be against two of the most elite past defenses in the country. Stapes into a stroke. Name the pass in category. Yards allowed for dropback, pass and success,

rate, first downs per completion, sack rate, and both Alabama and Michigan rank among the nation's top 20 in it. The Wolverines have an overall advantage in most consistency categories. On both sides of the ball, they have better success rates than the tide, in addition to superior red zone touchdown rates. This is why you come. You got to choose your fate. Touchdown McCarthy. J.J. McCarthy is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country. country, ranking third in total QBR. But Big Place sank Michigan in last year's CFP, and the Crimson Tide make far more of those.

They're 10th nationally in gains of 20 plus yards, and they're tied for ninth in gains of 40 plus. Jaylon Milrose up to 9th in total QBR, and his mobility and explosiveness were equalizers against Georgia. They could also put Alabama back in the CFP championship for a record seventh time. All right, some great numbers there from Bill. Also, that was the scariest looking Wolverine like possum I have ever seen a non-screen shot. Let's talk about these teams, though, and dive a little bit deeper and say I'm Jalen Milrow. What we have seen from him this year has been so impressive, arguably playing his best football right now.

What does Michigan do to prepare for this offense? Well, they have to try to spy him to prevent his legs. But if you spy him, all of a sudden you have less people in coverage. And so really, you have to try and just slow him down. It's going to be difficult. Jalen Merrill is the lead at throwing the deep ball, one of the best in the nation. But he's gotten so much better, not only using his legs when necessary, but also throwing the intermediate passes. We saw it in the championship game versus Georgia.

And so what makes him so dangerous is he's a true dual threat quarterback who's gotten more and more confident. And so that's what Michigan's challenge is going to be. They want to stop him. It's going to be hard to try and spy him. But you have to try and get to him by beating the offensive line. He can make a big impact with his legs, but we've seen Michigan also get it done on the ground this season, Jordan. a big part of their offense. What does Alabama do to try and contain the run game? Well, it's going to be very difficult for Alabama to contain the run game. But it all starts

with Chris Braswell, as well as Dallas Turner, who I think is the best defensive end duo in the entire country. They've been able to sustain and really play well against the run this year. But this Michigan offense is going to be a tall task for them to pass the ball. But J.J. McCarthy is going to have to be efficient in this game. Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and also Colston Loveland, they're going to have to make plays against man coverage. And this This tie secondary is very talented. Koolet McKin Street, Trian Arnold, Caleb Downs. The list goes on and on of the depth that they have in the secondary,

but they're going to have to beat man coverage in order to win. Okay, so that game, 1 o'clock January 1st on ESPN, it is the first of our two semifinals games. And let's take a look at the other one now. It's going to be Texas and Washington going head to head. And Quinn Hewers, of course, the big part of this Longhorn's offense, trying to get them back at their first national championship game since 2010. He's top 10 in FBS completion percentage. top 20 and passing yards per game, QBR and yards per attempt.

Now he's coming off a big 12 title game, you guys, where he threw for a career high, 452 yards and matched his career high with four touchdown passes. So he's also arguably playing his best football right now. Jordan, what's the key for this Texas offense? Efficiency from Quinn Ewers. He has to be efficient in this game. And I think Texas has one of the best trio of weapons in the country with A.D. Mitchell Xavier worthy, but the key to this entire game is Jatavian Sanders, tight-in

Jatavian Sanders, who we saw having massive numbers in the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State. He unlocks this entire offense, and while Washington may be able to focus on the other two outside, Jatavian Sanders is going to be very hard to contain in the middle of the field. He is a field stretcher, and he really operates in between the hatches, but they do a lot of, they do a lot of dynamic things as far as scheming for him, so keep an eye on that name. Yeah, but to your point, Texas offense is very dynamic. but Washington's defense is one of the most sound defenses you'll watch on tape.

They play very great football when it comes to doing your job and attacking playing downhill. But also from a totality of a perspective, this Washington team is physical. That's what shows up on tape. Whether it's running back Dylan Johnson, running people over, or whether it's even on the defense, guys making elite tackles. This is not a pretty want to look good football team. This is they want to run it down your throat and bully you football operation. That's what no one's talking about when it comes.

comes to the Washington Huskies, their physicality on the offensive, defensive, and special team side of the ball. And you've got a quarterback who has been through so much in his career to get this team undefeated to this moment, get a big opportunity for Michael Pinnock's Jr. Meanwhile, let's go from some of the big games to some of the big names in college football. And this one's headed to the next level. That's Notre Dame offensive tackle. Joe Alt, he declared for the NFL draft today.

He won't play in the Irish's Sun Bowl game as he begins his preparation. Mel Kiper Jr. hasn't ranked 15th overall on his big board. So something to keep an eye on there. Meanwhile, we want to get our Jordan Reed's thought on that because Jordan, you've kept a close eye on him and your NFL draft prep as well. How does he stack up against some of the others as he gets ready for the next level? As a former quarterback, I get excited talking about offensive linemen, especially offensive tackle. And Joe Alt definitely is a special one. Six foot eight, 320 pounds.

He's everything that you want at the position. I definitely think he has a very high floor. I think Jake Matthews, Brian O'Neill, I think he's in that type of tier as a prospect and who it can be on the next level. NFL teams love that he has NFL bloodlines. His dad is actually in the ring of honor for the Kansas City Chiefs. So he has everything that you want walking through the door already. And then he also has a high floor too.

So a blindside protector from day one in the NFL, think of teams like the Washington commanders, the Tennessee Titans, and then also the New England Patriots. And even the New York Jets. I think those are the teams that could circle Joe Alt at the top of their draft board. Nothing makes a former quarterback light up quite the way talking about offensive line play does. Appreciate that, Jordan, good insight. We've got much more to get to here on college football live, taking a look around the portal. And it keeps changing.

Pete Thammel going to be with us to break down some of the big quarterback names where they could be headed and who already knows where they're headed next. This is one of them, Wisconsin's new quarterback all the way from Miami now to play for the badgers. guys think about the fit for Tyler Vandek. That's next. Hack the holidays with the PC holiday Insiders report. Try this PC Porchetta. Crackling, craveworthy. You gonna eat that? Who are you? I'm the voice for the next ad, car commercial, but I noticed that show-stopping roast and... Help yourself. Mmm, designed for indulgence. Precision crafted to navigate every corner of my mouth, all for just $18. Okay, okay. Try the season's hottest flavors from the PC holiday Insiders Report.

Please feast responsibly. Welcome back to College Football Live. Our portal tracker, keeping an eye on it for you because the transfer portal continues to grow over 1,600 players in the portal,

17 more than we saw yesterday. You also see 113 FBS scholarship quarterback, some of which have been on the move, and all of which have kept our senior college football writer and college football insider. Pete Thammell very, very busy.

So Pete, Pete, What's the latest news you have for us on the portal? Well, the big news today so far, Kelsey, is Grayson McCall. You'd remember him as the three-time Sunbelt player of the year, hero of the COVID year in 2020. Grayson McCall is moving north. He's going to NC State to try to resuscitate an offense that has been a vexing problem for Dave Doran in Raleigh.

NC State finished number 96 this season in total offense. Grayson McCall's 10,000 career passing yards could inject some life into that. As for Will Rogers, he's thrown for 12,000 career yards in his four seasons at Mississippi State. He is on the cusp of a new landing address. Rogers is visiting Washington this weekend. I'm told he arrives late Thursday. There's strong mutual interest between both Rogers and Washington in a very good chance he could be Michael Penix's replacement in Seattle. after the Huskies CFP season is over.

Rogers has 94 touchdown passes. As for our friend DJ Ui Unglalai, he'll be on his way to Tallahassee this weekend. His visit will come after Washington State quarterback Cam Ward's visit to Halahassee. Cam Ward has already been to Miami earlier this season. Could DJ be back in the ACC? He brings 8,000 passing yards and 57 touchdowns with him.

And then there's Tyler Van Dyke. In 2021, Van Dyke was one of the top quarterbacks in all college football. You'd remember Kelsey, 25 touchdowns, six interceptions for Miami. Things have not gone linear for him since then. He committed to Wisconsin yesterday. The Badger's offense in year one under Luke Fickle and Phil Longo struggled. They finished seventh in the Big Ten in total yardage. But remember what was behind them in the Big Ten in total yardage, Kelsey.

Not a lot of pretty offensive units. So an upgrade is needed in Madison. That's for sure. Pete, I'm with the latest here on college football live. Pete, we appreciate it. And we'll talk a little bit more about Tyler Van Dyke, who he just finished with there. Dive deeper into his career as he led the Hurricanes to an eight and three record. That was back in 2020, though. He won offensive rookie of the year. He's failed to even make a bowl game with this team since. He does leave Miami top 10 in several passing categories.

But guys, you just heard Pete mention Luke Fickle trying to build something at Wisconsin. Phil Long goes the offensive coordinator. they got there last year. Jordan, what do you think about this fit for Tyler Van Dyke and the Badgers? Well, it's really interesting just because the offensive scheme

is a little bit different than what he saw in Miami. With Phil Longo is wide open, air raid, 10, 11, and also some 12 personnel of where you're just trying to chuck the ball down the field as much as possible. Now, the situation that he enters in,

I think it's going to be really interesting just because the personnel that Wisconsin has, they just have to figure out their identity and exactly who they want to be. But with Tyler Van Dyke, you have to surround him with a lot of good person personnel just because he doesn't really have the talent to where he can uplift his

surrounding. So he has to have some help on the perimeter and then the slot and then also at tight end. So maybe get back to their running game of where they have had in the past, but also just having more wide open sets. And then maybe he's able to uplift some of the things that are around him. But the tough part about this offense is that you talked about some of the they don't have an identity yet. Put it that way. Right. You used to Wisconsin run the ball, right? Guys like Braylon Allen, big offensive lineman. That's what you're recruiting. all of a sudden, Phil Longo comes in from the University of North Carolina offensive coordinator, and it wants to be more of a passing offense.

We saw this first year under Luke Fickle didn't work very well. So if you're a recruit, that needs to be, the pitch needs to be different, right? If I'm a top level receiver, you're not thinking Wisconsin as the first place to go. Wisconsin says, okay, I'm a tight end, I'm alignment. That's where I'm going to go. So what needs to change, not just as your quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke, but to your point, Jordan, you need to start recruiting skill position receivers and even maybe the selling point's going to be if this is what your offense is going to be, hey, we are going to air the ball out a lot more.

Now of a sudden you have better skill on the outside. Well, because when we saw Phil Longo in his offense with Drake May, that first year, he had so many talented wide receivers, some of which are now playing in the league. So you need those guys to help out with what he wants to do. Let's talk about something else that Pete Thamont touched on and some of the quarterbacks that are in the portal and looking for their new home. So Sam, as you take a look at that list now, some great names on there. Is there a best fit for one of those quarterbacks who hasn't announced a commitment yet?

I get really excited, Kelsey, about Will Rogers and the Washington potential connection. Why? Because if you watch Washington's offense, yes, we talked about their physicality. But the fact of the matter is, they do love to air the ball out. And Michael Pennix Jr. has done a great job of showing how efficient and effective you can be as a quarterback in that offense with those skill position players. Now, I get it. Some of those guys will be gone. But Real Rogers has a great skill set when it comes to airing the ballout. He's accurate. He heard about the 94 passing touchdowns over 12,000 yards.

And so that's where you get excited about that quarterback in that system and that fit. The Rogers fit at Washington definitely makes a lot of sense. But I'm going to go with Cam Ward at Ohio State. I'm really intrigued by this fit just because when we have seen Ohio State at their best, we know they have very good quarterback play, whether it's even going back to the heydays of Troy Smith, Cardell Jones, and even recently with CJ Stroud. Yes, they had a little bit of a drop off at quarterback last year. But one thing we know with Ohio State is that they're going to have a lot of weapons on the outside.

And that's something that Cam Ward lacked when he was at Washington State. And I know he threw for 3,700 yards, excuse me, and 25 touchdowns. But just imagine dropping him in that Ohio State offense with Ryan Day. I think it would be fireworks. It would be really interesting to see. We'll continue to keep an eye on it right here on College Football Live. Also, keeping an eye on and keeping you up to date on what's happening with our Capital One Bowl Mania preview. And the Celebration Bowl is Saturday.

It features two of the top defenses in FCS with Howard and Florida A&M facing off. Florida A&M looks to capture the Swax first black college football national championship since 2016. Tiffany Green and Jay Walker join us now with more, guys. Thanks so much, Kelsey. Well, this year's Cricket Celebration Bowl takes on an entirely new life because two new programs have made it to the big stage. And Jay, when you think about Florida A&M and the way they performed, up to par all season long, winning the swag. And then Howard University going against the odds and overcoming adversity to become the MIAG champion,

this sets up an excellent matchup. Absolutely. Then what else can you ask for? You're talking about the number one team in HBCU football in Florida A&M and Howard University co-champions a season ago with an opportunity to win a national championship for America's HBCU. But if they want to get the job done, you know what they need? they have to be able to run the football versus Florida A&M. The strength of Howard University

is their running back by committee. They have a lot of star power there. When you're talking about Jared Hunter, you're talking about Eden Jane, you're talking about Ian Wheeler. If they can run behind the huge offensive line from Howard, it may give the Bison a chance to go into Atlanta and pull off the upset.

But on the flip side of that, when you talk about Florida A&M, you must talk about defense, defense, defense, and more defense. Florida A&M has one of the best defenses in all of FCS football, led by SWAC defensive player of the year, Isaiah Major, and a defensive line that absolutely controls the line of scrimmage. Florida A&M has a championship caliber defense that would be on display in Atlanta. That dark cloud defense, something to look out for and something special for us. Our respective universities are playing in this full game at kicks off Saturday,

H. You know. Fam, you baby, all day. All right, guys, thanks so much. Part of the ABC Triple header. As you just heard them mention, it'll start with the Cricket Celebration Bowl. No, and Eastern between Howard and Florida A&M, then Miami of Ohio takes on App State

and the avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl. And then we finish up with UCLA and Boise State at the Starco Brands L.A. Bowl at Sofi Stadium. Meanwhile, still to come here on college football live, most people agree. Caleb Williams, Drake May, likely the first two quarterbacks off the board in April, but who else is the next best in the class? We'll discuss after this. Oh, Steve!

Where else would y'all rather be? The ESPN, the college football playoffs, semifinals looking toward to that. Before that, another big name is headed to the NFL draft. That's Texas A&M linebacker, Edgerman James. He's skipping the Aggies bowl game. game AP first team all-American led the SEC with 17 tackles for loss. So, oh, Edgeron Cooper rather is who we're talking about now, not Edger and James. We already know where he's playing.

Jordan, what's your evaluation of Cooper at the next level? Yeah, Edgron James definitely was a fun player during this time with the Colts. But with Edgeron Cooper, he's a dynamite linebacker, the number one ranked linebacker on my big board going into draft season. You talk about an athlete that's 6 foot 3, 230 pounds. He has everything that you want. He can blitz. He can cover. He had 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks this year. He's a modern day fit in the NFL game. And when you think about NFL linebackers, the best ones are the ones that are only, they're also able to make plays on the second level, but also plays behind the line of scrimmage as well. Adrian Cooper is able to do that successfully every single game. All right. So someone to keep an eye on and we'll see where he is at. Meanwhile, let's take a look at the quarterbacks that we have.

in the draft right now. And Matt Miller's top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft. Caleb Williams, Drake May seem like they're pretty set at one and two. Depends on who you ask, though. 1A, 1B is what a lot of people say. And a lot of talk about Jaden Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner. Seems like he seems to have locked up that number three spot. But also you've got J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, in the mix,

as well as Michael Pinnock, Jr., just outside the top five. So, Sam, if Caleb, Drake, are probably one and two. two in some order. And most people, I think, think Jaden Daniels is number three. Sam, who do you have at number four? Who's the next best quarterback? And J.J. McCarthy is the person

that jumps out to me. What jumps out to me about his game is his ability to move in the pocket, right? He's an accurate thrower on the move. You can talk about his precision, talk about his decision making. But what stands out, especially in the NFL, is you have to have some type of ability

to be agile. And he has that agility, whether he's a runner or as a pastor. So I would put J.J. McCarthy in that spot, maybe even higher than four for some people. And so that's why I pick him in that spot. McCarthy's really intriguing, especially considering the offense that he plays in.

But I'm going to go with Michael Pennix Jr. of Washington. You talk about somebody that's an absolute sniper from inside of the pocket. 37 completions of 20 plus yards this season, which is the first in the FBS. And there's some people that try to knock his mobility. But I think he just had to change his game, especially from what we saw in Indiana. And then also the back-to-back-to-back seasons of injuries. that's going to hurt a stock just a little bit. Two guys that we're going to get to see more from, though, in the postseason,

what can they do to help their case? We will find out 19 days away from the semifinals.