College Football Live - Jordan Faison joins the show!

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

Victoria Arlen, Desmond Howard, Sam Acho and Pete Thamel discuss the CFP semifinals matchups. And Notre Dame's dual-sport star Jordan Faison joins the show! Plus, don't miss the FCS Championship... tonight! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Happy Monday. I'm Victoria Arlen. Let's go out the tunnel. We have Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison joining us, and he's here to discuss the Fighting Iris's journey to the semis and if they can keep this momentum going. And after a series of quarterfinal matchups to remember, we are down to four teams, but who is the favor to go all the way? Des and Sam are here with their biggest questions for the final four.

Plus, we have the FCS championship at 7 p.m. tonight between North Dakota's and Montana State, and we'll have a preview of what to keep your eye on for this matchup. We're moving and grooving on a Monday, and you know it's going to be a great week when we have Desmond Howard here to kick things off. And we also have Sam Macho and Pete Thammell, who'll be joining us in just a bit, Des. But we started the season off with 134 teams seeking the Natty, and now we're down to just four teams. Let's take a look at it. The semifinals will feature four of the top programs in college. college football history, Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, and Penn State all rank in the top

seven in total wins in FBS history, and all four have won multiple national titles. Texas and Ohio State will face off in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, and they last met in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, where Colt McCoy led Texas on an 11-place, 78-yard game-winning touchdown drive. McCoy threw for 414 yards in a 24-21 Texas win. Penn State and Notre Dame will play in the Orange Bowl on Thursday. is Penn State's third top five matchup of the season. They lost their previous two to Ohio State and Oregon. The Nittany Lions have not won a top five matchup since 1999.

And with Notre Dame facing Penn State, a black head coach is guaranteed to be in the national championship game for the first time since the title game format began in 1998. Here's coach Franklin and Freeman on the opportunity ahead of them. I think at the end of the day, you just want an opportunity and you want to be able to earn it through your work and through your actions. So, you know, we'll see. I take a lot of pride in it.

It's a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you. And I don't take that for granted. And I just, I'm going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me. And it's great because even the guys in our program, my own kids can understand, like, don't put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do. Now, with that being said, it's not about me and it's not about the head coach. It's about us. And more than anything, I want an opportunity to achieve team glory with this program. You never want to put a ceiling on what you're capable of doing.

And both coaches are on the brink of that glory. James Franklin and Marcus Freeman have been among the winningest coaches over the last three seasons. Since 2022, Penn State and Notre Dame are one of just seven programs with a win percentage of 800 or better. Only Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, and Ohio State have fared better in that span. Now, we are just four days away. from the Capitol 1 Orange Bowl kicking off, and we've got Pete Thamwell joining us now. And Pete, can you give us an update on some of the injuries we're watching out for in this one, starting with Jeremiah Love?

Sure, there's obviously two huge injuries they're going to loom over this game. And we'll start with Notre Dame Tailback, Jeremiah Love, arguably their most explosive player, and definitely one of their most important. He's dealing Victoria with a right knee injury. And the plan is for him to go in this game. The question will be, what will his effectiveness be? So over the weekend at Notre Dame practice, he was spotted wearing a bulky brace on his right knee.

He obviously took those two trips to the medical tent in the Georgia game to get that knee examined. He was limited to just six carries in that game. We'll see what his effectiveness will be on Thursday night. As for Penn State, the best player in their program is defensive end, Abdul-Carter. And his status is wait and see for the game as well. Well, Carter injured apparently his left shoulder early in that game against Boise State. He did not return, and James Franklin has said it's too early to tell what his status will be for Thursday night.

I'd expect him to be a game time decision, Victoria. He did post a recovery thing on Instagram showing Darth Vader. We'll see if the force is with him. Oh, I hope the force is very strong with him. Now, Penn State is on the doorstep of their first BCS-EFP National Championship games. So, Des, what is your biggest question for James Franklin Squad? Well, I think the biggest question for the Nittany Lions going up against Notre Dame is the, you know, it's a step up in competition for them.

Don't forget, like, they opened up and they played SMU at home. That was the first round of the college football playoff for them, and they handled them in freezing temperatures like we thought they would. And then the next round was against the Mountain West team, Boise State, and, you know, who had the best running back in the country. But outside that, they could match up with Penn State. So now they've got up against the Notre Dame defense. That's one of the best defenses in college football.

They've been that way the whole season long. So it's a step up in competition, wondering if they're running backs are going to be able to have the type of game that we've seen like the last three times they've been on the field. Nick Singleton and Ketron Allen, They've been spectacular in the last three games. We've seen the Nittany Lions. Will they be able to run the ball effectively

against the Notre Dame Front Seven as one of the best in the tournament? And Desmond makes a great point about that Penn State run game. It's a staple. My question for James Franklin is simple. Does your receiving core have enough juice to stretch the field and give that run game some space to operate? We all know how brilliant Tyler Warren is

and how Andy Cottlenecky, the offensive coordinator, has used him in so many different weighs this year. When you really get down to it on the Penn State roster, wide receiver is a weakness. There's just a simple lack of explosion there. Georgia, quite frankly, had a lack of explosion in that Notre Dame game, and Notre Dame was able to exploit it. So I want to see if Drew Aller can hit some deep balls and can stretch the field a little bit and give Penn State some room to operate. To me, that's going to be the key to this game is Aller's effectiveness with a limited receiving corps. Now, Aller is 0 and 4 versus top five opponents with a 54 total QBR,

but against everybody else, he's 23 and 1 with an 80 QBR. So it's going to be interesting to see how that all shapes up. But we are going to shift over to the other side of the ball. We got Notre Dame, a superstar over here. Let's welcome in Notre Dame wide receiver, Jordan Faison. Now, Jordan, we're trying to find you here. We're supposed to There you are. Hello, Jordan. Welcome in to the show. We're so happy to have you here.

And Jordan, I want to ask you, how would you put into words the journey that you and your squad have had to get to here? Yeah, I mean, it's been an unreal journey. You know, we had a hiccup, a couple hiccups throughout the season, but you know, we overall see those as blessings. It was a blessing to this team and, you know,

we've used everything we've had throughout this journey to kind of build to where we are today. You know, we couldn't be more grateful. Hey, Jordan, Faison. Thanks for joining the show. I'm a big fan of yours. I love the way you play those different positions for the office. I know you're an excellent lacrosse player.

Tell me how playing lacrosse has helped you on the gridiron. Yeah, I mean, both sports go hand in hand. I mean, the athletic piece, obviously, but even deeper into both games, you know. When you're in football, you know, you got the cornerback lining up in front of you. You've got to make moves on him while also seeing the back of the defense and, you know, safety is rotating and whatnot. And then lacrosse is the same thing, same idea. You got, you know, defender guarding you and you got defenses rotating behind.

And you kind of got to make decisions based off that. And they go hand to hand and, you know, pretty much compliment each other. Another crazy thing, Jordan. You've already won a national title for Notre Dame for lacrosse. So seeing you've already been in a situation like this before, how has that experience helped you prepare and helped you help your teammates prepare for this moment? Yeah. I'd say overall, it's time you know, no moment's too big.

And also to be around your brothers and kind of have that team. culture and we take team culture over here very seriously. In the lacrosse locker room, we had the same thing, playing for your brothers, playing for that guy next to you, and it kind of, you know, holds you to a higher standard. And then we got that same thing over here in the football locker room, you know, kind of that same journey, that same bond within the locker. And I say that's huge, you know, and getting us to where we are today. And Jordan, you started off as a walk on before earning a scholarship. So what message do you have for other athletes in similar situations? Yeah, you know, to keep working.

And definitely have trust in your work, you know, and have trust in the man above. You know, you've worked your whole life to where you are. And, you know, although the future is uncertain, you know, you've got to have faith. You've got to have trust in yourself and the man above that, you know, everything's going to fall into the right place. Jordan, Pete Thamble here. Walk us through this matchup a little bit in what you see from this Penn State defense. Obviously, it'll be one of the better tests for you guys this season. Yeah, I mean, they got great players all over the field from their D-line to their secondary.

You know, as a wire receiver, we studied their secondary a little bit more. They got dudes all over the field of that corner and that safety, dudes that can make plays, dudes that could cover the whole field. So it's definitely going to be a challenge for our room going into the game. But we look forward to the challenge overall. You know, it's going to be a good challenge. You know, that's what we want at the end of the day. Jordan, when you guys play Indiana, it was like freezing cold out there.

We were there. Game Day was there. But I was really excited to watch how you guys executed despite those situations and the circumstances. Tell me what was going through your mind and that. Indiana game when it was so cold out there, but you played an exceptional game. Yeah, I mean, we had a practice that week. The weather was a little colder than it was at the game.

It was freezing. You know, we catch them balls left or right, and they're hurting our hands. We're looking at our hands like they're hurting the whole practice. We're like, dang, like the game's going to be like. But now, we have some more stuff out there for the team that takes care of us, you know, the little heated benches and whatnot. You know, those keep us prepared for the game.

And then when you're on the field, you know, the nerves get to you. So you don't really feel the cold. All right, Jordan, one more thing. What's the message that you and your team have for everyone going into this matchup? Yeah, we just want to show the potential that we've reached as a team and as a unit. You know, we come out and try to show the world and improve, you know, the preparation and the hard work that we put in throughout the season throughout the weeks. You kind of just want to show the world, you know, what we can do on the field and who we are as a team.

Well, good luck this weekend. Thank you, Jordan, for joining us. Thank you. All right, Ohio State dominated Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, leading by as many as 34 points in just the second quarter. But the Buckeyes' 20-point margin of victory was their largest versus in AP number one team in program history. Here's Ryan Day on how his team has adapted to the new playoff format. I think the way that this format is and the way the playoffs are set now,

it allows us an opportunity to grow as a team and to learn and to get better. and to peak late in the season. And so I think we've learned a lot about our team. I think we've grown a lot as a team. And we're banking on this to be our best football of the season. Obviously expected to be here. And we're not going to sit here and say we're not proud of the fact that we are here

because there's only four teams practicing this week. So we are proud of it. But that doesn't mean anything yet. We still haven't done anything yet. We still have two more games to win before we can really, really say we did anything. Still a lot of football here left. We've got Sam Macho here with us.

All right, Sam. I'm starting with you. What is your biggest question for this Buckeye squad? My biggest question for Ohio State is, can they keep this momentum going? Ohio State is playing their best football of the season, but they're playing it at the right time. In the NFL, you think about it. The most dangerous teams are the teams that get hot in December. And right now, though it's not the NFL, it's similar when it comes to the playoffs.

This Ohio State team is clicking on. on offense in the passing game, on offense of the running game, to clicking on defense, even on special teams. So the question that I have is, can you keep a consistent level of performance for 18, 19, 20-year-olds, and peak, continue to peak at the right time.

Right now we're seeing the best version of Ohio State. Can that be sustained when you play Texas? I agree with Sam 100%. I mean, the last two games, obviously the Tennessee game, and then the Oregon game and the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was able to jump on both opponents very, very quickly.

And they used the passing game. So once they were able to get Jeremiah Smith into the game and some explosive plays, that opened up the running game. And then it was just a floodgate of offensive plays from there. So if they can sustain that level of play and jump out early in the playoff game, I think that everything is going to go well for the Buckeyes. Now, Ohio State is looking to become the fourth team to record four wins versus AP top five teams in a single season. Each of those previous three teams won a national title that year.

But on the other side, we've got Texas who is looking to find their footing here. Let's hear what Sark had to say. Now to be in the semis and playing the Cotton Bowl in Dallas is huge. You know, we're going to need our fans. We're going to need our fans support. I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington. We're going to need everything we got to try to win this game. You know, clearly we're massive underdogs.

Nobody's going to give us a shot. So we're going to need all that we can to try to win this game. We all know that Texas did not dominate in their last matchup. They gave up that 16 point lead. It forced a double overtime. So Sam, what's the biggest question mark for this Longhorn squad? Well, there's actually two question marks. I don't know if that's legal when it comes to writing.

I think I did pretty good in my, in my, in my writing classes, I'm an English major. The first question is, how do you slow down an avalanche? Like, that's what Ohio State is right now. They're an avalanche. They're hitting on all cylinders. We talked about it. Can you slow that down?

And the second question, which is also somewhat well of an answer, is you have to be able to start fast and play your best football right now. Texas has not played a complete game pretty much all season long. They've been good on defense all season. They've been up and down on offense. Part of that is because of injury. Quinn Eweres has been injured. He's been battling injury. Kelvin Banks, starting left tackle, battling the left end.

You've had other offensive line to get injured. You're down your top couple running backs. But nobody cares. This is playoff football. This is when it matters most. Texas is a very deep team. But now they have to, at least what Clark used to say, they have to embrace the hate.

You have to understand that no one wants you to win, as you mentioned. So you have to come in with that mentality, bring your best foot forward and slow down that avalanche. That is Ohio State. Yeah, well, I'll tell you what, Sam. I'm going to tell you what, what I know or not what I think. If Texas cannot run the ball on Ohio State, state. There's going to be curtains for them right out

the gate. Each game we've seen Texas struggling, they have not been able to run the ball. You look at both games against Georgia, they rushed under 100 yards, and then the struggle again a week ago against Arizona State, they could not run the ball effectively. So

if they can't get their running game going, trust me, it's going to be curtains for the Texas Longhorns, and that's just the way this game is going to go. They have to dominate the battle in the trenches. If they can't win the line of scrimmage, then they don't have a chance against the Buckeyes. Yeah, Des, you couldn't be more right. And I think the point that you're making is this.

Everyone looks at Steve Sarkesian in this Texas offense and thinks, man, they want to throw the ball down the field. They want to have Quinn Ewers just drop back and look pretty and just throw deep bombs. But that's not what they want to do. They want to be physical. They want to lead that run game and have that running game open up the past game. The issue is Texas, because of some of these offensive line injuries, I would argue, has not been able to run the ball effectively. And so teams aren't even respecting the run like they should be. Now the question is, will, will Tray Wisner be able to be fully healthy? And then running back's coach to Shard Choice.

That's the name you need to know because he's going to be the one that gets his team over the hump. You got to stop that. Have a land. All right, we're going to take a break coming up. The CFE D2 champs have been crowned and the FCS championship is set between North Dakota State and Montana State. Both of these teams have championship material, but who will prevail? College Football Live is brought to you by. Stanley Steamer. It's not clean until it's Stanley Steamer clean.

Welcome back to college football live. While you were watching the CFP, we had a lot of fun football happening around the country. Let's start with Division II NCAA football championships back on December 21st, where the Ferris State Bulldogs won in dominating fashion, beating Valdosta State 49 to 14, closing the year with 14 consecutive wins. and this win is the Bulldogs' third national title in the last four years. Let's check out Division III, where North Central football team also wins their third Division III national title, beating Mountain Union 41 to 25. North Central finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record, but both teams in this matchup have won a combined 122 consecutive regular season games.

And on to the FCS, where North Dakota State, It squares off against Montana State in the 47th annual FCS championship game tonight at 7 Eastern on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN Plus in both English and Spanish. Here's Stormy with a preview. Well, it might be some 30 degree temps here in Frisco for this year's FCS National Championship game. The history and intensity is just heating up

between Montana State and North Dakota State. For the Bobcats, they enter today's game 15 and 0, not just winning games this season, but dominating their opponents by an average. of more than 24 points per game. And it's only fitting that the team standing in the way of them completing their perfect season is FCS juggernaut and perennial contender,

North Dakota State. This is a team that not only ended the Bobcat season last year on a blocked extra point, but in the 2021 national championship game, the Bobcat's only other appearance in the game since 1984 dominated them. It was a game that the Montana State quarterback touchdown Tommy Milot was injured on the opening drive.

And he told me, He thinks about how painful it was walking off the field that day, wondering if he would ever be back. He's back today with a chance for redemption. Redemption indeed. Thank you, Stormy. Plenty of talent will be on display in the FCS championship game. Montana State QB Tommy Milot has passed and rushed for a touchdown in nine games this season the most in the FCS. North Dakota State's Kim Miller is second on that list with eight.

Meanwhile, Chimar Brown and Adam Jones are the only FCS freshman to rush for 1,000 yards this season. All right, we got Pete back with us. And Pete, the portal has been buzzing with players on the move. So who is the biggest name making headlines today? Well, the big portal spin has been the choice of Malachi Nelson to go to U-TEP. You'd remember Nelson as the number one overall player in ESPN's recruiting class of 2023. Backed up Caleb Williams two years ago at USC, then transferred to Boise State, where he ended up backing up Maddox Madsen on the Broncos playoff run this year. Well, now Nelson's sources told me yesterday is headed to U-TEP. And the reason is, despite other options, he believed in coach Scotty Walden in what he was building there. U-Temp went three and nine last year. They play in conference USA.

It'll obviously be the biggest recruit in U-TEP history. And the other portal buzz yesterday was that old friend Jaden Rashada is back in the portal. He's obviously played at both Arizona State and Georgia last season. He'd initially committed to Miami and then signed with Florida. There's obviously an active lawsuit with Florida now. He's on the move again, Victoria. I'm told he's going to prioritize playing time in his next stop. Well, to keep an eye on.

Thank you so much, Pete. We appreciate you as always. All right, let's take a look at the Bowl Challenge Cup standings, brought to you by Progressive. And with every bowl game played except for three more college football playoff games, the American leads the pack with the Mac finishing just a half game behind. Ohio State and Penn State will have a chance to add to the Big Ten's win total this week.

And same with the same with. Texas and the SEC. As the semifinals approach, what a quarterfinals it was to remember. From double OTs to amazing catches and dominating performances, we look back at the games that got us to this moment now. Coming right up after the break. Four teams fight for a spot in the national championship. The college football playoff semifinals Thursday and Friday on ESPN.

Inside the college football playoff presented by Capital. is now streaming on ESPN Plus. Now, this ESPN original series gives us a behind the scenes look as the top 12 teams battle to claim a national championship. And I know I am one who enjoyed the absolute thriller that was Texas and Arizona State and definitely was left wanting to see more. And this is your ultimate front row seat to all the action.

Here's a preview of the latest episode. Down by 16, it was time for a Houdini-style comeback. And the Sun Devils pulled every trick from the playbook. Scataboo is going to throw it. downfield and it is caught and into the end zone goes belief. I put it underneath them. No, I put underneath them on purpose. Fun and we don't have any time left for the show.

All right, for Sam, Des, Pete. I'm Victoria. Thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow.