College Football Live - It Comes Down to Just Nine Games

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

The SEC Champ game has been held in Atlanta since 1994 - and for the last seven years - Mercedes Benz stadium. Tomorrow it’s the site of the Texas - Georgia rematch - just one of several exciting matchups featured this championship weekend. And Jen Lada is live with Pete Thamel, Steve Coughlin, and Desmond Howard to get you ready for an impactful weekend. 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 to college football live, presented by DirecTV. The SEC Championship game has been held in Atlanta since 1994, and for the last seven years, this beautiful building right here, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tomorrow, that will be the site of Texas versus Georgia, the rematch. Just one of several exciting matchups featured in this very exciting championship weekend.

We are in the Georgia World Congress Center for College Football Live, Desmond Howard, Stanford, Steve, the authority, Pete Thammel and I am Jen Lata. Let's get right to the big game this weekend that will be taking place right next door, guys. October, week eight, to be specific, is the last time these two teams met. It was when the dogs handed Texas. Their only loss of the season. Between Quinn Ewers and Archmanning, they were sacked seven times. In addition to the sacks, Ewers turned the ball over three times. times. The Longhorns trail 23 to nothing at the half ended up falling 30 to 15.

Bold head coaches spoke earlier this week on the highly anticipated rematch. I think Kirby and the University of Georgia have been the standard of college football for about the last seven years or so. It's a great challenge for us, but one that I know we're looking forward to, an opportunity that we want to make sure we make the most of. They're really good at what they do. And I do think that he is, you know, he's played in some tough conditions, whether it's really cold on the road, playing somewhere. He knows how to win in the SEC. You don't win in the SEC with the beauty contest, and he's won with really good defense.

So I think it's been one of his best coaching jobs in terms of the way he's won, the style of games he's won. Texas could not move the chains in the first half of that game. Obviously, they were blank headed into halftime. What do they have to do differently to have a better chance in this one does? Everybody knows there's no secret that Georgia's front seven just bullied the Longhorns offensive line. I mean, it's like Texas came there

for a football game, and Georgia came there for a street fight. And listen, you already mentioned Jen, the sacks. Seven sacks, you mentioned the turnovers. If you're getting sacked, that means you're constantly behind the chains. And if you turn the ball over, that means you're giving your opponent

extra possessions. There's no way you can win a game of this magnitude if you can't block up front and you're turning the ball over repeatedly. Texas just not get going offensively. If they're going to have a prayer in this game, they better come in with some fight

in their heart. And that offensive line, they better come with some nastiness. Because this is damn their de facto home game for the Georgia Bulldogs. That butt kicker took place in Austin last time. So, yeah, the Longhorns offensive line, they better become ready to play in this SEC championship game. Because we know one

thing. These SEC coaches, they take the championship game very seriously. Well, Kelvin Banks' status is a very serious part of that Texas offensive line. He's a top 10 projected pick in the upcoming NFL draft. He got whipped in that game. No way to say it. And he has an ankle sprain right now.

He's dealing with. Sources have told me he's probably going to end up a game-time decision in this game, which is a huge factor for a line that obviously really struggled in the last game. Trevor Goosby would replace him. He replaced him in the last game. Played well, actually, at left tackle. Strong, promising young player on that line. And quickly for Georgia, Trevor Aetian,

starting back. He also projects to be a game time decision come tomorrow. He's been dealing with a rib injury. Kirby said he's hopeful to have him, but I think both of those guys were going to be monitoring and warm-ups and watching right up to kick whether or not they play. And Texas was really hanging its hat on having consistency

on that offensive line. That was something that was talked about during the broadcast when they faced Texas A&M. All right, George's offense, 30 points on Texas, as we have already established. What is it about their scheme that posed such a threat and was so dangerous for Texas? Well, you saw there they started use the tight ends in the past game a lot. They have three really good

tight ends. And then being at the Tennessee game, they got the running backs involved in the past game too. And what does that do? It puts pressure on the middle linebackers for Texas. They have to cover it. It can't be fully committed to the run. And when you put those linebackers in space, now you've got to make them tackle in space. And George has done a great job during this run of winning games and spreading the ball out. And Carson Beck's been a lot better. Carson Beck, of course, had the three interceptions, I believe, the first time these two teams played. He's got 12 on the season. There have been big games where he has turned the ball over. He will obviously have to keep that in check in the SEC championship game. Let's go to another big game

taking place this weekend. And that, of course, is the Big Ten championship game between Oregon and Penn State. Oregon is looking to be the first team in the last 20 years to win a conference title in its first year in a new conference. While Penn State is in its first big 10 championship game since 2016, looking for its first win over an AP number one opponent since 1990. You remember that year, Des? What kind of challenge is Dylan Gabriel present for this Penn State defense? Yeah, guys, well, you know, we started the season off. Our first show was in Dublin, Ireland. And that's like our preview show. And during our preview show, we picked the teens we think is going to win each conference championship and ultimately the national championship. I picked Oregon before the season began because of Dylan Gabriel.

I just respect what he brings to the office. I mean, don't forget, this is third. team. He started at UCF. Then he went to Oklahoma. Now he's in Eugene with the Oregon Ducks. He's just a guy who's a veteran quarterback. He's going to make sure you stay in good down and distance situations. He's not going to get behind

the chains. He can make all the throws. Just a nice, pretty tight spiral as a South Paul. And then if you forget, yeah, he will hurt you with his legs too because he can run the ball. It's been very impressive. The relationships, the bonds he've been able to make with that team very

quickly with the receivers and whatnot. We're going to talk about that tomorrow on college game day. But a glaring detail of James Franklin's resume is, of course, his resume against top teams. One in 13 against top five teams. How do they get over the hump? They got to play like when they play not against Michigan and Penn. Ohio State.

No, you look at him as the underdog role. You saw him come out of it against Ohio State. They go up 10-0. That building is nuts. And then Ohio State just takes the momentum out of the building. They have to get something out of their own. offense. Their offense started up 10-0 against Ohio State. They got nothing

the rest of the game. And it starts with right there. Drew Aller has to make plays thrown to football. He doesn't have the best wide receivers, but there's still ways to get those guys open, whether you're running rub routes, mesh, to help them get separation. And the other thing is you've got a game breaker and Tyler Warren. And you have two

NFL running backs. Just I was talking about with Georgia, how they get them involved in the past game. Get the running backs involved in the past game. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense. If you had to guess how many touchdowns, Aller through against AP ranked opponents this year. How many would you guess? Four.

Zero. Wow. Zero touchdowns thrown by the quarterback of Penn State who will be in the Big Ten title game tomorrow. All right. Let's go to the ACC Championship game. That game will include Clemson and Cade Clubnick. He is our player to watch, brought to you by

today's military. His 29 passing touchdowns this season. Well, it's tied for fourth in the FBS, but he'll be facing an SMU defense that has allowed just under 20 points per game this season. Clemson, of course, is coming off of that very tough loss to South Carolina. Who has the advantage in this one, Steve, between Clemson's offense and SMU's defense? I still am waiting to see SMU against a full caliber opponent. So to me, the advantage is Clemson.

They're more battle tested. They played Georgia. Last week, they lost to South Carolina in a super physical game. And everybody talks about the big picture and who's playoff worthy and this and that. Clemsonsons in that game last week and Sellers broke a couple runs and then they end up losing at home. I like the idea of Clemson's defense against Kevin Jennings and how he plays off schedule so much. They do a good job of gang tackling and keeping pressure on the quarterback. They've got to be better than they were against last week against Sellers.

But I expect Clemson to play fully capable as an underdog in this role. All right. So Pete Chandler, you're Heather Dinnich for us. If SMU loses in this game, what does that mean for the college football playoff? It means one of the most fascinating showdowns of the season. You will have SMU, the loser of a conference championship game, which perhaps some people think should not be punished for losing in the conference championship game versus Alabama, the mighty brand of the sport really for the last generation since Nick Saban got there.

And the stakes gen, you cannot overstate how big they are. Remember, we're in the last year of a 12-year deal on this CFP. There's going to be two years of a 12 team. It's expected after next season to go to a 14-year. team. So much is riding on the committee's decision here. The future of non-conference games. Are they going to value teams going to playing out a conference? Are people going to be incentivized to play those games, disincentivized to play those games? The future of conference championship games. If the committee makes a decision that says going to the conference championships games and losing,

it could really change the complexity of how those are viewed. And of course, do we end up getting automatic qualifiers? If the SEC gets only three teams in, remember, Remember, Greg Sanky on this set last year said one of these things is not like the other. If they end up with less teams than the Big Ten, that could be problematic. Remember, the future of the CFP is really dictated by the SEC and the Big Ten. Those commissioners have a vast majority of the control. It'll be fascinating to see where it goes. So there are some who believe that SMU should be in regardless.

Des, where do you stand on that debate? I'll tell you what, just listen to about the commissioners of Pete was talking about and the way that they're looking at this thing, it just seems too political. You know what I mean? Like that perspective just seems too political. So many people got so much power, the eye test is what I like to look at, right?

And you have to beat the opponents you're going to, you know, that they line up in front of you. In my opinion, you look at Oklahoma and what they did at the end of the year. At that point, if you're Alabama, you forfeited any opportunity you've had to sit there and mope and gripe and complain about not being added.

You should have, won that game. You can't travel to Norman, Oklahoma, and only scored three points, and they want to sit there and moan and grow, but we're in the SEC. It's a tough conference, and it's hard here. Like, no, no, no, that's the conference you chose to play in. And you went up against a team that you should have beat, and they beat you only scored three points. At that point, in my opinion, you forfeited any rights you have to complain about whatever decision the CFP selection committee makes, whatever it is. So the way I look at it, weekend and week out on game day, when we talk about SMU,

we talk about them as one of the most complete teams we've seen weekend and week out. They play in the conference that they play in. It is what it is. And that's what we judged them by. Hey, you are where you are in the SEC. They handled their business in their conference. They should be rewarded for that. I don't have a problem with it either.

You know, Coach Ret. and Lashley talks about consistency of performance. Tomorrow's a chance to have your consistency performance boosted also. And nobody's talking about that idea. It's just how impressive they have the ability to be. They have a chance to prove that tomorrow. So I'm with Des. I don't have a problem with SMU going.

Somebody back in Bristol is absolutely clipping Des' but butt clip right there. We're going to see it all over social media. Mark my words. All right, let's go to Pete right now. After we go to this, the selection show, of course, is coming your way. Sunday at noon Eastern on ESPN. We will reveal the final bracket.

Talk to coaches all around the country and break down the upcoming games. Now, Pete, you have some breaking news to share with us. What do you got? Yeah, Jen, the future of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is in flux. Gundy has been at Oklahoma State for 20 years. Sources told me today that he's in a standoff with Oklahoma State. He's telling people that Oklahoma State has come to him and asked him to take a restructured contract, which is expected to include a pay cut.

As of about an hour ago, Gundy had yet to be provided details of what exactly that would look like. And there's the potential for him potentially being fired if he doesn't agree to these terms. Do they find him for cause? Do they not fire him for cause? Those things would have to be worked out. There's obviously a history of schools trying to fire people for cause and ended up backfiring him and still having to pay them.

But right now, after an 0.9 season in the Big 12, Mike Gundy is in the crosshairs at Oklahoma state, and it's going to be fascinating to see the standoff unfold. That's a very important detail. You have to wonder if it would be different if that record were even marginally better in conference this season. All right, guys, we have to take a break here on college football live. Speaking of the Big 12, we

will talk about Iowa State and Arizona State. Will they be in the college football playoff? Which one of them will be in the college football playoff? We'll break that one down next. Plus, Steve's got his gambling guide for conference championship weekend. Find out which underdog he thinks will win outright.

That's next. College Football Live is presented by Direct TV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream DirecTV, satellite free. And in part by Campbell's Chunky, soup that eats like a meal. Welcome back to College Football Live, presented by Direct. TV. Great teams.

One championship all on the line. And you are in. Here's this weekend's ABC Conference Championship lineup. We start tonight in the American at 8 Eastern. That's Tulane, taking on number 24 Army. Then tomorrow, 16th ranked Iowa State, squares off against 15th ranked Arizona State in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 title game. That's at noon Eastern.

Followed by number five, Georgia and number two, Texas in the SEC title game. That's a four Eastern. And then it's the 17th ranked Clemson Tigers. and eighth ranked SMU for the ACC championship. That is at 8 Eastern. Let's check in on the top stories around college football. Pete, is Bill Belichick really trying to get into college football? I need to know.

Is he on to Carolina? Oh, this is what we know, Jim. Carolina's talking to Bill Belichick, and they've been in discussions I was told today for really the last two weeks. And whether this culminates with Bill Belichick just having conversations with a great college brand and just engaging with them or it ends up with the job. We'll probably find out in the next 24 hours or 48 hours. The ability to control the whole football operation at Carolina is appealing to Bill Belichick.

As for Utah State, they landed their man, Bronco Mendon Hall, experienced head coach, 140 and 88 in 18 years as a head coach, returns to the state of Utah to be Utah State's head coach. He spent one season at New Mexico. He has agreed to a six-year deal to coach the Aggies. And in the title games this weekend, the biggest injury news, guys, is the loss of Jordan Tyson, the star receiver at Arizona State. He essentially has twice the catches in the production of the rest of Arizona State's receiving core. It's hard to overstate what the loss of Tyson means for that Arizona State offense.

Look for Cam Scadabo in the past game. He's Arizona State's second leading receiver to catch them. more balls and try to mix things up for the Sun Devils. Yeah, he's a huge part of their offense. So, Des, what does this mean for the ASU offense? I think it's a huge loss. I mean, this young man has been the most productive receiver in the

FBS since week six. And every week he gets better and better. Sam Levitt, the quarterback, freshman quarterback, this was his go-to guy, like his security blanket. Now, you remove him out of the equation. Who is Sam going to look for when things get kind of tough and thick?

So I think there's a huge loss for him, defensively. That Scataboo, he's had two 100-yard receiving games, but he's still a running back. So I don't know, Steve, but I think this is a big loss for the Sun Devils. I totally agree. When you look at that right there, Xavier Guillory's the next closest receiver in catches. He has 17. And when you talk about the dynamic of Leavitt relying on Tyson, that affects Iowa State because it's like, we don't have to give help over there anymore. Now we get another guy to come down to Camp Scataboo. I also just like the idea of Iowa State because

no one has mentioned them all week. It's all about Arizona State. It's like just given, you know, we see the bracket. Arizona State's on there. There's plenty of motivation there for Iowa State. They're scary team tomorrow. Well, and Iowa State is the only FBS team with 2,000 receiving yard receivers.

We talk a lot about Arizona State and their weapons. Iowa State's got a couple of big guys there themselves. All right, Steve, we have a smaller slate this weekend for your gambling guide. What are you thinking? Smaller slate, but the expectation is the same. We're going to give three picks. Let's go. Let's go to the Mac tomorrow. Miami of Ohio against Ohio.

It's a rematch. Miami, Ohio led 30 to 6 in the first game this year. They ended up winning 30 to 20. Both run defenses are really good. And that's the issue. Miami of Ohio is undefeated when they rush for 130 yards or more. We expect them to do that. Tomorrow we'll take Miami of Ohio minus the points.

next up Friday night APM, ABC, Mikey Stadium, Army, host Tulane. The hardest thing we do in what we do sitting here at the desk is forgetting what a team looked like the week before. And we have to do that with Tulane here because of how bad

they look Thanksgiving night. I expect them to play great. Summeralls had great success against Army in the past. We're going to take Tulane minus the points. And we're going to call the upset here with you and LV. I love the idea that they've seen Ashton Jetty, before it does. Listen to me here.

Through 33 carries for Genti in that first game. Four carries over 10 yards. His longest rush was 16 yards. And now they get to face them again. Love what a UNLV's overcome this year. Losing their quarterback to the NIL deal. Barry Odom's done a tremendous job. UNLV plays well, pulls the upset tonight. Yeah, he averages 7.3 yards per carry for the season, but they held him to under four.

So good on you for that one. Up next here on college football live, we will preview that. game that you just mentioned, the Mountain West Championship. Find out if Des agrees with Steve on UNLV pulling off the upset or if he is riding with Ashton Gentie and Boise State. College Football Live is presented by Direct TV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream Direc TV, satellite free.

This Heisman Update is brought to you by. Nissan. Premier partner of the Heisman trophy. 12 team playoff. The widest, deepest pool of candidates the postseason has seen. We have chaos.

This is live. Who's going to play for the national championship? Back here on college football live. A look now at the Heisman update brought to you by Nissan. Let's start with Colorado's two-way star, Travis Hunter. He leads the Big 12 with 14 receiving touchdowns this season, and he's

tied for third in the conference with three interceptions and Boise State's Ashton Genti paces the country with 28 rushing touchdowns looking to join Barry Sanders as the only players with 2,000 rush yards and 30 rushing touchdowns in a season. Genti

Squad playing in the Mountain West championship game taken on UNLV which we mentioned in the last segment. Des how do you see this one playing out? I know they played each other already. And one of the hardest things to do is to beat the same team twice in the same season. But listen, last

week, my guy, Travis Hunter at Colorado, he put on the show. And these two are battling for that Heisman trophy. So now it's Ashton Gentie's turn. And it's tonight. Yeah. So it's almost like the only show in town. So I

think that because of what's at stake with the Heisman and these two guys are great competitors, Gentie and Hunter, Genti saw what Hunter did a week ago. Yeah. And I think that Gentie's going to try to outdo him tonight. Because of that, I have Boisey winning.

All right. All good. I'm fired up because there's, you know, there's stuff in the play for. We got Genty in the high story. It's going to be awesome. Plenty at stake in the blue turf tonight. And plenty at stake for Barry Odom. He could be in the mix at UCF, West Virginia, Purdue.

But if UNLV wins, be a little harder to leave. He's going through the playoff. And that is the new era of the college football playoff in the hiring cycle. It's complicated. You know, the last time these two teams played, guys, it was a controlled environment in Las Vegas. It's going to be cold. And Boise, 30 degrees at kick. So let's just see if that plays in the way the game shakes out.

College game day comes your way tomorrow morning, 9 Easter, lots of good stuff. Make sure you tune in.