College Football Live - Pure Parity!

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Victoria Arlen, Heather Dinich, Desmond Howard, Pete Thamel and Sam Acho are back with another Tuesday edition of College Football Live! The crew discusses the current state of the SEC after multiple shocking losses as well as what the future of the BIG 12 is following a complete shakeup in the standings. All that and more right here on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. It's going to get nasty 5V-2. The Buckeyes really churning down. They have handed Indiana its first blemish of the season. It's into the pick. Can't get it. Pick six. Oklahoma crushes Alabama.

Touchdown, Devoniel. We controlled on Desi. He's former. It is the playoffs already for Ole Miss. That's a pack. putting one second back on. Hoise it deep. And it was caught but short Arizona State with the win. Welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen alongside Heather Dinnich with me in studio. And of course, Desmond Howard and Sam Acho from afar. Now before we get into the craziness that was, of course, over the weekend.

We've got to get into some breaking news. UNC head coach Mack Brown will not return next season. The school announced that today. In two stints at North Carolina, Brown has gone a combined 11378. and won. He returned to the Tar Heels in 2019 and took them to an ACC championship game, appearance in 2022, and he will coach this weekend. And coach released this statement. Well, this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out. No time will ever be the perfect time. I've spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships. Sally and I have built while serving as head coach. We have had the chance to coach and mentor some great young men

and we'll miss having the opportunity to do that in the future. Now moving forward, my total focus is on helping these players and coaches prepare for Saturday's game against NC State and give them the best chance to win. We want to send out these seniors outright and I hope our fans will show up Saturday

to do the same. All right, let's bring in Pete Fammell. Now Pete, this comes one day after Mack had stated his intentions to return. What changed? Well, Victoria, what changed was simple when Mack Brown said yesterday that he intended to return, he made clear he had not spoken to Bubba Cunningham, the athletic director, and UNC officials. They did speak on Monday night, and the intentions of North Carolina

were different from the intentions of Mac Brown. Look, this is pretty cut and drive, Victoria. This is a bottom line business, and UNC simply wasn't good enough on the field. They're six and five overall this year. They're three and four in the ACC. They gave up 70 points to James Madison this year, And on Saturday, they trailed Boston College 41 to 7 in a game against an ACC team. North Carolina officials feel like they should be able to beat. Look, Mac Brown and UNC officials had hoped all year that if Mack Brown came to this decision on his own, they could walk to the door and celebrate him. That didn't happen. He got fired.

He'll only be paid out about $3 million, which is generally speaking for a Hall of Fame coach, a financially tenable way for UNC to depart with him. Now, Pete, they have clinched their sixth straight bowl game. So what's next? Well, what's next for UNC is they immediately become the hottest job on the market. It's hard to overstate how much interest they'll be. I'd expect head coaches from the Big Ten and the SEC to kick their tires on the job. Look, the power has coalesced up top in those two leagues. And at a good job like UNC playing against ACC caliber competition, it would be attractive to coaches. Here's a quick list, Victoria. Sitting head coaches right now,

John Summerall at Tulane, Bob Chesney, who's the coach of James Madison, Jamie Chattelwell at Liberty, Jeff Munkinette Army, and Barry Odom at UNLV. Those are the mid-major group of five guys who potentially be in the mix. For assistant coaches, Glenn Schumann at Georgia and Al Golden at Notre Dame are two names,

and I'll leave you with a wild card. Arthur Smith, former Falcons Head Coach, Steelers OC, is a UNC graduate. He's a name that could end up in the discussion to be the next UNC coach. We'll be keeping a close eye on that. Thank you so much, Pete. Now, Mack Brown will leave North Carolina in a class of his own.

He won 158 games at Texas, and has 113 more to his name at UNC. He is the only coach with 100 or more wins at multiple FBS schools. And with him out, Kirby Smart and Davosweeney will be the only act of FBS coaches that have won national titles. But let's shift gears to the SEC, where things looked far from, stellar because Jalen Milro and the seventh ranked Alabama shut down at Oklahoma in a 24 to 3 loss.

It was the fewest points Alabama has scored in a game since 2004. The tide now have three losses in a season for the first time since 2010. 9th ranked Ole Miss also dropped their third game of the season and a 24 to 17 loss at Florida. The rebels committed to a season high three turnovers and Saturday was their second loss as an AP top 10 team against an unranked this season. And Texas A&M lost at Auburn in a four-overtime thriller. The Aggies had won seven straight overtime games dating back to 2014, but the good news for A&M is that they still can clinch a spot in the SEC title game with a win over

Texas this week. All right, Des, who was the most surprising loss this weekend? Well, the most surprising loss to me was Alabama against Oklahoma. I mean, you look at the at the Sooners, and they're a record right now. in conference is two and five. That means they only had one win in conference before last Saturday's game. And they held Alabama's offense to just three points.

Now, of course, you can argue that whole Ryan Williams touchdown. I don't know how they took that off the board. But outside of that, you can't even imagine how Alabama will go down to Norman knowing they got everything in front of them as far as the CFP and laying egg the size of the one. that they did last Saturday in Norman against the Sooners. I think that one I did not see coming at all.

But, Des, to your point, you could actually make an argue for every single one of those losses that we saw as why we should have seen them coming. I remember, you know, sometimes we do our pre-production calls and Des will say, I knew this is going to happen. I set it on game day. Well, I'm going to pull off a dance. I knew all three were going to happen. Maybe not new. But let me give examples as to why. You talk about that Oklahoma game, right?

Like, Oklahoma is a team that really is playing out. Alabama team that Alabama's been up and down. Then going to Ole Miss, Ole Miss and Lane Kiffon. Lane Kiffon said earlier the week, he didn't want to play in the SEC championship. And then you go to that A&M versus Auburn. Remember Auburn and Lane Kiffin?

Sorry, not Lake Kiffin, but Auburn, this team is playing hot. But Mike Elko said, oh, man, our whole focus is solely on Texas. Well, he said that the week he's preparing for Auburn. And the Auburn team was a prideful bunch. And so that Freudian slip was very costly. So there are reasons why each one of those teams

showed us throughout this. season that they could lose those matchups. And boy, did they lose. Indeed, I have to say. Now, Heather, what impact did this weekend have on the SEC in terms of the CFP? Well, Victoria, my projected bracket for tonight, I only have three SEC teams in. And this is very different because I had five in. They were supposed to clean up.

Right. Oh. So I had Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee tonight with Alabama falling out because I have Alabama as the committee's 12th ranked team, but they would get bumped out for the fifth highest ranked conference champion, which this week I have being Arizona State. And so Ole Miss and Alabama are out, leaving three SEC teams in, but we'll see if the committee agrees with me. Ooh, all right. Well, let's get from losses to wins. Let's take a look at our Capital One rewarding performance. Arizona State has been one of the biggest surprises in college football this

season. They were picked to finish last in the preseason media poll. Instead, they have a nine and two record tied to top the conference and won the last four straight, including their most recent upset against BYU. Now, keeping things in the Big 12th. After a two and six start to the season, Kansas has now won three straight all against ranked teams. And on Saturday, the Jayhawks offense dominated Colorado, 37 to 21. And with the win, Kansas became the first team in FBS history to be. three straight ranked opponents with a losing record. And that has now officially shaken up the standings. Take a look at how tight things are in the Big 12. It is a four-way tie among Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, and Iowa State at the top. ESPN Analytics projects Arizona State and BYU as the most

likely Big 12 title game matchup, and five other teams are tied behind them. But here are the clinching scenarios in their simplest form, if you will, if only two of those top four teams win, they will meet for the league title. If three of them win and there is a three-way tie at the top, Arizona State and Iowa State would meet with a Colorado loss. While Iowa State and BYU would match up with an Arizona State loss,

an Arizona State and BYU would rematch with an Iowa State loss. If all four win, Arizona State and Iowa State would meet. Needless to say, my head hurts. I think I need some adjoin a little bit. Needless to say, there is absolute chaos in the Big 12. So after this weekend, after everything you just served, after you just heard, how would you even begin to describe the Big 12 right now, Des? I tell you guys, what, coming to the season, I thought that this was something that I expected because I knew that with the departure of the Goliaths, right? With Texas and Oklahoma moving on to the SEC, I figure that now the Big 12 is full of a bunch of Davis running around with their slingshots.

and there are rocks shooting it at each other, pew, phew, phew. And I thought that, and Reese Davis said it the best. Reese said that the Big 12 conference is not deep, but it's wide. And that's what we're seeing right now. It's a wide conference. You know, these teams are all, you know, knocking each other off. And it's going to be an interesting race to see what happens

when it's all said and done, Sam. Well, and, Des, like you, I totally expected that, I'm kidding. Now, I did not expect this. I did not expect that Arizona State, a team that won four straight games is leading the Big 12. There's a scenario where Arizona State could win and beat Arizona this weekend and a scenario where they still wouldn't be in the Big 12 championship.

And so I will say I expected chaos, but I did not expect this form of chaos. There were teams like Colorado that in a lot of ways controlled their own destiny and all of a sudden they fell off. BYU, they were undefeated. Then two straight losses back to back when it mattered most. Iowa State, we thought they fell off. off the map now they're back and so so much chaos that I did not expect. I don't think any of us did. Now what are the chances, Heather, that a big 12 team could be that

final by team. Well, this is important because the championship games still continue to matter. So if Boise State is playing Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference championship and the Big 12 is pitting two top 15 teams together. So watch where the big 12 teams are ranked tonight. that could be enough to add to the resume to boost that Big 12 champion in ahead of Boise State for the buy, right? So I wouldn't rule that out completely because how you punctuate your resume matters in that room. Now, if your head isn't spinning enough yet, guys, now there is also a one in two thousand and seven, one thousand, two hundred and seventy chance. It's a big number. that this is a lot of numbers here, that the conference ends up with an eight-way tie for first

at six and three. Just let that all just marinate in your brain. Okay, we're going to shift gears and bring Pete back with us for some more coaching news. Now, Pete, this summer, we thought we'd be talking about Utah and the Big 12 championship, but not the season they expected. So what can you tell us about the future of head coach Kyle Whittingham? Well, the calculus is a little cleaner than the Matthew just mentioned. for the future of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

He said this week that he's going to make a decision soon after Utah's season ends this week, whether or not he'll return as the Ute's head coach next season. Remember, there's already a succession plan in place for defensive coordinator Morgan Scali. There's also an open offensive coordinator job, so there's going to obviously have to be quick decisions made so Utah can push forward and get ready for 2025. No one's quite certain what Kyle Wittingham's going to do. drama is thick there. As for coaching hires that we know about,

Rice made a big decision this morning. They hired Davidson head coach Scott Abel to be their next head coach. When Rice officials went into this search, they wanted a proven winner who had an affinity for moving the ball in an unconventional way. It's hard to line up and knock them off the ball at Rice. Abel, 47 and 28 Davidson, which is not a traditional winner,

seven consecutive winning seasons, he'll take over Houston next year. Seven consecutive winning season. Seems pretty good. Thank you, Pete. All right, we're just getting started on college football live after suffering a 38 to 15 lost to Ohio State. Someone at this desk came away impressed with Indiana. So we'll talk about that one.

Plus, after a crazy weekend in college football, there was a lot to talk about of how many SEC teams will get in the 12 team field. We discussed that. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel and impart by Elka Seltre Plus bounce back fast with fast busy relief from Elka Seltter Plus. You're watching College Football Live presented by Google Pixel. I was trying to get to all my... I'm saying.

You're watching College Football Live presented by Google Pixel. Live at College Station to get you ready for all the chaos that'll be going down. It all begins Saturday at 9 a.m. on ESPN. Undefeated Indiana looked to beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988. And well, despite being tied late in the second quarter, the Buckeyes had 31 consecutive points to earn themselves their 30th consecutive win against the Hoosiers with a final score of 38 to 15. All right.

What did we learn about Indiana after this game, Sam? Well, I was actually impressed by the effort. You're going to say, hold on, impressed. They lost by two, three scores. But if you think about what happened in that game, from a schematic standpoint, Indiana matched up schematically with Ohio State. Now, they got out athlete at times. And then also we saw in special teams of big mistakes, right?

Tide game, then the punter drops a punt. That gives up a touchdown, essentially a few plays later. And then there was a punt return touchdown. That's 14 points. So at halftime, instead of the game being 28 to 7, it really would have been 14.7. Now, you might say, hey, Sam, this. This is football. This is a part of the game.

What I'm seeing is a team in Indiana that, no, they don't have the type of athletes that Ohio State has, but from a scheme perspective and an execution perspective, they did a great job. Offensively, they struggled. Got sacked too many times. That goes back to talent. But overall, I was impressed by the effort by Indiana on offensive defense, not special teams.

It, Sam, it wasn't any good times for their punter James Evans who dropped that punt and then to give up a punt return touch. you guys going into that game going into the Ohio State game the longest punt return against the Hoosiers punt unit was eight yards against Maryland so I just think the moment was too big

for them obviously Ohio State was a lot more aggressive up front they won the battle in the trenches but it just seemed like Indiana was overwhelmed in Ohio Stadium a little bit like that David Goliath reference that you brought up

Des on the last segment too but Heather, how far can Indiana fall and still be safe? I think 11th sounds about right because you never want to be in that 12th spot because at 12 is where you could get the boot for that fifth highest ranked group or fifth highest ranked conference champion. I should say it could be the Big 12th. It could be Boise State. Who knows?

But if they're at 11th, I think they're safe. I sliced it and diced it every which way to see if this was right. But I'll tell you this. All right. About five minutes after that game ended, Indiana was at. out of my bracket. But then Alabama and Ole Miss last and Indiana was back in the bracket. So anything can happen, guys.

Literally anything can happen. And I think we saw that over the weekend. Now, one thing that is good too is Indiana still has that 97% chance to make the playoff according to the Allstate playoff predictor. Speaking of that, the Big Ten and SEC are both highly likely to send at least three teams to the college football playoff according to the Allstate Playoff predictor. The Big Ten also has a 96% chance to send four teams to the playoff. And a big change this week as the SEC chances to send four or more teams to the playoff drop to 43%.

That number was 85% entering week 13, and we all know what happened over the weekend. Now, Sam, who was the biggest winner of the weekend? The ACC was the biggest winner of this weekend for a couple reasons. Number one, those losses by Alabama, the loss by Ole Miss. Some of those losses were huge. But more importantly, the wins by SMU, Clemson, and My, give the ACC a major opportunity. SMU clinched a birth into the ACC conference championship.

Miami won. If they win next week, they'll be in it. But let's not forget about Clemson. Clemson right now, which are not going to show their highlights because they're out of it right now. But if Miami loses, Clemson is in. If Miami, let's say Miami wins in the ACC championship, let's say Miami wins, but let's say Clemson beat South Carolina. They'll both be in the top 15.

That could propel Clemson into the college football playoff. And so the ACC is the biggest winner. not only because they won, but all those losses by the SEC this weekend. You know, Sam, I love the fact that you say that these teams won, and that's what's important. Now, every time I hear about the SEC, as soon as one of those teams lose a game, especially a game they were favored in,

they started crying, oh, but you know, our conference is tough. You know, it's like a gauntlet in our conference. Bro, win the games, you're supposed to win, And then you do a, you take some of the decision making out of the hands of the CFB. All of these teams sit here winning these, I mean, losing games that they're like double-digit favors. But then they want to lean on the fact that what, bar conferences is tough, though. Nah, man, that's why I love what you just said, Sam, about the ACC and those teams winning. At least at that point, you've done everything you could do to put.

yourself in the position to make the CFP. But when you go around losing these games, don't start crying, oh, but our conference is tough. It's a gauntlet. Nah, win the games you're supposed to win. Like they say, win and you're in. And Des, I love exactly how you just put it too. And honestly, my winner is Florida.

They're bowl eligible for the first time since 2022. And don't forget to catch the latest reveal of the top 25 rankings at a special time tonight, 8 Eastern on ESPN. All right, coming up, it's week 14. and the last week of the regular season and find out which game Sam and Des will be paying extra attention to this weekend. College Football Live is presented by

Google Pixel. ABC is your home for the SEC's rivalry weekend, starting with Tennessee taking on Vandy at noon, then Alabama hosts Auburn in the 89th annual Iron Bowl, and we cap the night off with Texas and Texas A&M in College Station. All right, let's take a look

at some notable games this week. got Ohio State could clinch a birth to the Big Ten Championship with a win over Michigan. Clemson, South Carolina looking to add to their resumes in a ranked matchup, and a big one on Saturday night on ABC between Texas and Texas A&M. The winner will take on Georgia and the SEC championship game. All right. What game are you watching out for this weekend, Sam? I'm watching out for, and I'm actually calling this game as well, but the South Carolina

at Clemson, I'm not just watching out for it because I'm calling it, but I'm watching out for it because so many teams right in front of these teams lost. South Carolina and Clemson are ranked 17 and 18 as of now. But in a few hours, those rankings will climb. Number 14 loss, number 15 lost, number 16 loss, number nine lost, number seven lost. And so there's a high chance that these two teams could be maybe in the top of 12, maybe 13 or 14, maybe 11. And then one of those teams could potentially hop in and make the college football playoff. Yeah, how about the Iron Bowl, right?

Alabama versus Auburn just took on the whole. new mini with Alabama dropping that game to Oklahoma and Auburn and four overtimes knocking off the Aggies. Now, you're telling me that Auburn, they're playing an Alabama team that's four and three in the conference. If they beat Alabama, they can send them to 500 in the conference. Oh, my God. This is going to be a huge matchup, guys, the Iron Bowl.

I can't wait. I'm excited about Ohio State, Michigan, and in honor of our fearless, our fearless producer, Amy and, of course, Des. and all the chaos we've seen, Michigan could show up to the shoe, and that could be pretty epic. All right, for everyone here, happy Thanksgiving. We'll see you next week.