College Football Live - It's Prime Time baby

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Host Victoria Arlen is joined by Tom Luginbill Sam Acho with insider Pete Thamel to discuss day 2 of Big 12 Media Days. They look ahead at their favorites in the conference and if Coach Prime can put Colorado back on the map, Pete Thamel has more. Also reacts to Mike Gundy's podium comments that may not be such a "lucky" thing for Oklahoma State. Plus the crew discusses the deciding factors for Kansas to make a run for the Big 12 Championship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, except when it comes to Big 12 Media Day and this guy, Coach Prime, of course, arriving in style. And we've got mascots and cheerleaders from all over the Big 12. Not going to lie, they're hyping us up, but I am terrified of mascots. No mascots here, but the hype is real. Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen alongside Sam Mato and Tom Luganville. Now before the light shine bright in stadiums across the country. in just seven short weeks, fellas, they shine extra bright in Vegas for day two of Big 12 Media Day.

Now, a team making major storylines is Colorado with prime time and full swing. While there was a three-win improvement last season, Colorado lost eight of its final nine games following the three and no start. Now, Dion Sanders had six total losses over his three seasons as Jackson State's head coach. But Colorado now returns to the Big 12, where it was a member from 96 to 2010. The Buffaloes haven't won a conference championship. since winning the Big 12 in 2001, two months before Shador Sanders was born. Now, speaking of Shador Sanders, he spent program records for passing yards and completion

percentage in 2023. Travis Hunter also returns after becoming the first to catch five touchdowns and intercept three passes in a season since Champ Bailey in 1998. Now, Lug's, Colorado is making headlines also in the transfer portal yet again. Is this sustainable? Well, I think it's sustainable if you hit on the players that you bring in, right? I mean, if you do what Mike Norvelle and his staff have been able to do at Florida State, Lane Kiff and his staff at Ole Miss, a handful of others.

Now, nobody's doing it to the level that Colorado is. But the one thing that I would say when I've watched this offseason, I don't think we can confuse movement with progress. There's been guys coming in the door, guys going out the door. So the question is, with the players moving out the door and the new players moving in, Are the players they brought in better than the players that went out the door? Now, here's just a screen of some guys they brought in from some lower tier schools. Is that an upgrade?

How will that work out? I think it's something we don't know about. Now, listen, Dallin Hayden, the transfer of Ohio State, the running back, love it. Jordan Seton, five-star offensive tackle coming in. I think he's an improvement in the offensive line. But the focus seems to be so much on a Shador Sanders, a Travis Hunter-type player, but we haven't focused on player 41 through 85 on the roster. And that's what I'm waiting to see has improved significantly

because if it has, that's when you'll see the wins start going up. Of course, a big loss for Colorado was Dylan Edwards going to Kansas State. Now, Sam, what are realistic expectations for Colorado? I think at the minimum, the conversation should be around getting to a bowl game. Last year, people didn't think Colorado would start off with a win and a win and another win, start off 3 and 0. this year there is that sense of belief. Now, opponents will be ready for that Colorado team,

but now you have people who are part of that culture, people who understand what it's like with Coach Prime to say, hey, no one expected us to beat Nebraska, no one expected us to beat TCU. We have an opportunity, though our schedule is difficult to win games that people may not have expected us to win, Baylor, UCF, obviously Kansas State, Arizona, those will be tough games,

but there are going to be an opportunity for this Colorado team to surprise some people to be bowl eligible, and if things go right with Chardour Sanders with Travis Hunter, maybe even start to compete for Big 12 championships. By the way, Sam, how about that opener against North Dakota State? I mean,

that is not the way you want to schedule that game. It looks like a total W, but then when you look at the rest of the schedule and you get in from at UCF all the way down to the back end, I think that's where the roster depth is going to

dictate how much they've improved because that's when the schedule gets really, really difficult. Well, and Lug's, would you say the big sign of improvement, among many things, is getting to a bowl game? Absolutely. I think it's getting to a bowl game, getting bowl eligible, showing incremental progress, showing that the moves that you made in the offseason have improved your roster, gotten you better athletes. I think Sam and I both agree on this.

It's about getting better up front on both sides of the football. And when you take a look at them offensive, I think it's important that not only does, they improve in the offensive line? But if we're going to be really honest, if we watch Shador Sanders, for all of his gifts, for all of his talents, he's got to do a better job protecting himself. I know he's so competitive. I know he wants to make the play at the last shot, but he's got to be able to get the ball of his hands so that he can limit those hits, limit those sacks. You take a look at the numbers. There's nowhere to go from up from this

graphic right here. I do expect improvement, but it's not just on the offensive line. Can they run the football to help out Shadur Sanders? It will Shadur Sanders have the that clock go off in his head and get the ball out of his hand. Yeah, and the big piece for that, Tom, is going to be having Travis Hunter healthy and available. Remember, a lot of those sacks were taken during times when Travis Hunter, there's one of their star receivers, Andy B, got injured. And so all of a sudden, you have no one to throw the ball to you. So that first half of the season, if you could stay healthy, you could keep on getting the ball to your playmakers, Travis Hunter being the premier

playmaker for your team, and then keep him upright. Yes, we expect him to play both ways. Remember, he starred both ways on office. and on defense, a dynamic playmaker. But oftentimes there were passes where he would just throw it up and say Travis Hunter's down there somewhere. And Travis Hunter would come down with the pass. And so keeping him upright, having him be your number one target could actually help slow down some of those sacks, but also improving the offensive line.

The protection will give Chador Sanders a little bit more time to find other receivers as well. Almost flipping the script compared to last season. Now, Colorado, I want to know it has been bowl eligible only twice in the last seven years. Now, in order for them to control essentially their own destiny, they need to win at least six games and obviously stay consistent. But we're not done with Colorado yet. You're going to want to stick around because Pete Fammell is live in Las Vegas and he's sitting down momentarily with Coach Prime. We'll get that to you shortly.

But first, it has been 291 days since Jalen Daniels took the field for Kansas. Now, after sustaining a back injury last season, the Star QB only played three games in those three games. though, he had five touchdowns. However, when healthy, he is unstoppable in 12 games over the past two seasons. Daniels has 2,729 pass yards and 23 touchdowns. He spoke earlier today. I'm feeling great. You know, if we had a game tomorrow, I'll be perfectly fine. You know, it's definitely been a journey. You know, I try not to harp on the past too much, but, you know, within the past, you have to be able to, like I said, learn from stuff to be able to find out how to get better. So, you know, I'm just looking forward to the future, looking forward to the day-to-day

process. Well, I think for us, continual improvement is what we have to, you know, strive for. I think for us, we're in a new position as a program, and we have to embrace the success that we have in some of those expectations, but balance, making sure complacency doesn't set in. Now, Sam, Jalen Daniels is arguably one of the best in the game when healthy, of course. Now, we mentioned earlier that injury that sidelined him to only three games last year with him back on. Where do you see him taking Kansas? I see him taking Kansas extremely far. I mean, Jalen Daniels was one of the most dynamic playmakers in all of college football went healthy.

Remember two years ago, this Kansas team led by Jalen Daniels started off 5 and 0. That was their best record in an extremely long time. Then he got injured, then it was lost, lost, lost, loss. And so if Jalen Daniels is healthy and Devin Neal, there's. star running back. If they have that one two punch, that one two combo, all of a sudden this Kansas team will be somewhat of that Cinderella team, not necessarily Cinderella because they're not necessarily sticking up on people because of their stars, but somewhat of a Cinderella team to potentially win the Big 12th. We love a good Cinderella story, don't we? Now, Lug, what are other

key winning factors for Kansas? Well, I think you've got to start with new leadership at the offensive coordinator position. Andy Coltonicki moves on to Penn State. They bring in Jeff Grimes, who is a seasoned veteran play caller, an offensive line guy, was Zach Wilson's coach and the offensive coordinator at BYU, was on the staff at Auburn when they won the national title in 2010. But he's got big shoes to fill, right? You look at this offense last year. They converted 50% of their third downs.

That was number three in the country. Their average yards per play, number four in the country, number six in the country was a red zone touchdowns. Efficiency is where this offense prides itself. Now, that man right there, Devin Neal, is going to be the key to developing this offense and becoming the identity. He has rushed for over 2,300 yards and 25 touchdowns over the last two seasons. That's first in the Big 12 over the course of two seasons.

So they're going to be able to run it. They've got a dynamic quarterback, as Sam talked about. And I think the most important thing is what Lance Leipold mentioned. They've got to embrace the fact that expectations have risen, but also be aware that if you become complacent, you'll fall victim to failure. Well, and of course, Kansas is also projected to have the fifth best offense ahead of Notre Dame, Alabama, and Ohio State, according to ESPN Analytics. They're also favored to win the conference this year, so a lot of pressure is riding on them. Now, coming up is Primetime on College Football Live, Coach Prime, joining Pete Thammell from Las Vegas to share his expectations for Colorado after an active offseason. And speaking of active offseason's Arizona, looking for a strong start with new head coach Brett Brett Breed.

Lugues tells us just how important those first four games will be. Welcome back to college football live with a new conference and a new head coach. Arizona's Brett Brennan arrived to his first Big 12 media day in Vegas with a returning squad that won seven straight to end last season, ranking 11th by the final AP poll with a 10 win season. Now coach Brennan joined the Wildcats this past January after a successful run at San Jose State, where he was the first head coach to lead them to three bowl games. Now for Arizona, ESPN bet has them with seven and a half wins this season. So, Lugz, are you over or under that number?

I'm over the number, guys, but I don't know if it's going to be the type of win season they had a year ago. Got New Mexico and the northern Arizona to kick off the season. And then there was a four-game stretch from September 13th to October 12th that features at K-State, at Utah, Texas Tech, and at BYU. Now, bear in mind, the K-State game is not a conference game because it was previously scheduled. But I think that four-game stretch is going to tell you all you need to know about Arizona and whether they're going to be ready to compete for a conference title on the back half of the schedule. If you notice, no Oklahoma State, okay, no Kansas. That's a positive.

They've got the quarterback and Fafita back, their top target and Ted McMillan back, and the vast majority of the defense. And I think their football coach is really, really good. Yeah, not only the new coach, but that, nucleus of that team. You talk about it. Tetaroa McMillan 6-5-213 receiver is a stud. He's a superstar. I was talking with Teddy Bruske last year about him. Teddy Brucey was helping kind of like as a like assistant liaison somewhat to the team. He said, man, watch out for Tederoa McMillan. That was last year. This is this year. He's gotten even better. Then Noah Fafita as well as quarterback. And so for me,

I have high expectations for this team because that same confidence that they had last year for a span. They were nine and three. Those three losses were by a combined eight points total. Like that team is confident. Some of those players are still back. So I can't wait to watch this Arizona team. I think they're going to be special. Now, Arizona is just had their four 10 win season in school history. But we're going to get to much more coming up in the break because we have Coach Prime coming up next sitting with Pete Famil. It is going to be an exciting time. And you don't want to miss it because although Amazon Prime Day isn't until next week in Colorado, it's Prime every day. And we've got Pete Thammel coming up with Coach Prime. Welcome back to college football

live in June. Ollie Gordon was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He spoke at Media Day yesterday apologizing to his family and team for his actions and mistakes he's made while also expressing how he hopes he can quote get back on a good track in good terms with all of them. Pete Thammel is in Vegas for the Big 12 media days. And Pete, yesterday we were singing the praises of Mike Gundy's words on Ollie Gordon after his interview with you. But then he went to the podium and said this. So I looked it up on my phone.

What would be the legal limit? Like in Oklahoma is 0.08 and Ollie was 0.1. So I looked it up and it was based on body weight, not to get into the legal side of it, but I thought really two or three beers or four. I'm not justifying what Ollie did. I'm telling you what decision I made. Well, I thought I've probably done that a thousand times in my life. And, you know, it's just fine.

So I got lucky. People get lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wished he could have done better. But when I talked to Ollie, I told him, said, you're lucky. You got out light. Yeah, there's a lot to think about and a lot was said there. what's been the reaction to Gundy's words? A lot to unpack, Victoria, as you said.

I think at Big 12 Media days, the reaction was sort of a collective cringe. Oh, he really said that out loud. Okay, Gundy himself issued a statement, clarifying his remarks a little bit, saying he was more referencing bad decision-making and essentially intimating he was not downplaying drinking and driving and the dangers of drinking and driving. And his comments at the end there did dictate that.

But look, Mike Gundy's going into his 20th year. He has remained defiantly himself. And I think after the cringe, there was a bit of a shoulder shrug here. People saying, well, that's just Mike Gundy being Mike Gundy. Cringe, indeed. There's definitely better ways to go about it. Thank you, Pete. We've got a new season and new conference.

Now, although Amazon Prime Day isn't until next week in Colorado, it's Prime Day every day. Here's Pete Thammell with Coach Prime. We're here with Dion Sanders at Big 12 Media Day. You've been very blunt today, Dion. You plan to win this year. You want me to be different? Of course not. Who don't plan on winning? Is any coach that came here don't plan on winning?

Like, you said it like it was a news flash. You're darn right, I plan on winning. Yeah. Well, let me ask you this then. How do you define success for Colorado football in year two? Academics. We've tackled that. We're tackling that as well. Character, just those guys outside of the building, making sure they're not doing them stupid and they're being great young men, great people, access to the community.

we're being dominant on the field. We're doing some wonderful things on the field as well as in the community. So is it a bowl? Does that define success? Is it a conference championship? Football-wise, you said football-wise? No, no, because we're always measured differently. We would never fulfill your thought process.

Just say, for instance, we go to a bowl. Well, they should have won two more games. They should have been in that bowl, but they gave away that lead. You know, it's always going to be something. We know what success means to us, and we'll keep that in house. Fair enough. You open on Thursday night against North Dakota State on ESPN. Yeah, tough, tough opening game.

You have 43 players from the portal. You have two new coordinators. What can we expect opening night your identity to be on both sides of the ball? We're going to be truly physical, truly physical, offensively and defensively. We're going to be able to run the football. We know we can throw the heck out of it. We have the number of a quarterback in a nation.

we can throw the football. We're going to be able to run the football with tremendous physicality, as well as stop the run. Once we stop the run, we're going to become relentless. We have a plethora of athletes that can really go find that football on the offensive side of the ball as the receivers, running backs, as well as in defense of secondary and linebackers. We are fast.

We have some athletes that can get the job done, some pass rushers that are relentless. We just got to stop that run. You've been a, you debuted as a quintessentially. collegiate offense, a lot of tempo among the top 15 in the country. Will you look more NFL style this year? Most definitely. Pat Shermer is phenomenal in his relationship with the offense line as well as the second, not secondary, the running backs is tremendous. And it's your door. Their relationship and compatibility is second to none. I can't wait to you see

what they're cooking up. And Pat is good. God, he's good. Rob Livingston is. that way as well on the defensive side of the ball. I'm happy, I'm excited, I'm elated what we have in house. I can't wait to put it on display. Well, Shador's good. We saw that all last year. You've been very overt. You think he's the best quarterback in college football. What could we see out of him if there

is a run game? What kind of leap can he make if there's some more balance? It's not about him throwing for 4,000 or 5,000 yards. We don't care. Everybody in the nation, this is one of the teams of Vegas. Every pro team knows that he could spin it. We want to win. That's the priority.

We want to win by any means necessary. That means throw for 400. That means throw for 150. That means run for 300. We stop the darn run and let's attack and get the football, get turnover. So we just want to go out there and do what we're capable of doing, offensively and defensively. Is it oversimplifying your season to say that the offensive line is the fulcrum to taking a big step forward?

Yes and no, because you can't negate the defensive front. Those guys got to be forceful. They got to pressure the quarterback. They got to stop the run. This conference is not as pass happy as the Pac-12. They could run the heck out of the football. So we got to be able to stop that. But we love what we have in house as well.

Because I keep saying, we got to stop this, we've got to stop this. They got to stop us too. And we're excited. I'm excited about what I see. You got understand. We got there last year in December. and we inherited this and we flipped this and we changed it. Now we've had a full year and some change to find what we want in developing.

And we're excited about it. And those guys in the portal, all those guys have, the majority of them have played, playing experience. Travis Hunter was obviously a revelation last year. He came, took the country by storm in that opening month playing both ways. What more could we see from him this year? What leaps can he make in his game, Deon? Consistency. We're praying that he stays away from injury that you saw.

last season. But the kid is, to me, the best football player in the nation. And I think we have two of the top football players in the nation. And I think you're going to see a couple more catapult themselves into that early first round. We have those type of players in our locker room. What are the NFL ceilings for Shador and Travis? You've mentioned they could be top five picks. They could be one and two based on need and desire from the league. They could be one and two. I don't see many flaws. If there's any flaws in their games, they don't give a durn about that, though.

What they want to do is win. They want to win and they want to go out winners. Last question. What did you take away and what did you learn, obviously? You know, lessons come from losing. Yeah, lessons come from life. You don't have to lose and get a lesson. You can win and get a lesson, too.

Lessons come from life. I've learned patience. I've learned to believe the things I see, believe the things I know and go with my instinct because it's got me to where I am sitting and hurry here with you right now and I need to go with that. At times last year I didn't. But I'm going to stand on what I believe and I'm going to believe in what I stand on. All right. We believe there will be all eyes on Colorado again this season. Thanks for your time, Coach, Pram. I love Coach Prime. I feel like there were so many moments I just wanted to write it on a

sticky note of everything he said. Luz, what were your thoughts on Coach Prime's words? Listen, every single thing that he said about the current state of the program of what needs to be done, I completely 100% agree with. Listen, you don't need to be Newt Rockney. You don't need to be Bear Bryant to look at this football team a year ago and see where they were deficient, see where they need to improve. It's painfully obvious how talented they are a quarterback. I agree with him. I think Travis Hunter, pound for pound, is the best football player in the entire country. But it's in the offensive front and the defensive front.

And can you stop the run? and can you effectively run the football? It's that simple, Sam. That's where the improvement has to be. In finance, people talk about the internal rate of return. Like, how do you measure success yourself? I loved hearing that from Coach Prime. It's not getting to a ball or winning this game or that game.

There's an internal measure of success that they have for themselves that they're not going to share with anyone else. I think that's what makes teams great. Yeah, 100% that patience, that belief. It can be pretty magical. All right. For Pete, Lugge's and St. Sam, I'm Victoria. Thanks for hanging with us. We're back Monday 3 Eastern on ESPN2, talking all things SEC.