College Football Live - Ranked Games on the West Coast Pac-ked with Questions

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

Will Oregon get their revenge? When will Travis Hunter return to the field? Who will come out on top: Dante Moore or DJ U? Kelsey Riggs, Sam Acho and Jordan Reid take a deep dive into the storylines surrounding the Pac-12. Plus, Sam will break down what USC's defense needs to do to pull off a win at Notre Dame. Also, we'll answer questions regarding the Top 3 teams. Finally, the guys will tell you which players you should be keeping your eyes on. All this and more on todays episode of College Football Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black Friday is here at IKEA and the clock is taking on savings you won't want to miss. Join IKEA family for free today and unlock deals on everything from holiday must-haves to cozy at-home essentials, all the little and big things you need to make this season shine. But don't wait. Like leftovers at midnight, our Black Friday offers won't last. Shop now at IKEA.ca.ca.com slash Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. Welcome to College Football Live. I'm Kelsey Riggs. It is time to go out the tunnel, starting with the big matchup we have.

Coming your way out west, what will the keys to victory be in the top 10 showdown between Oregon and Washington? Plus, we're seeing a brand new DJU out in Corvallis. Find out what's been the difference maker for him this season. And as the Buffalo's two-way star ready to return to the gridiron will tell you why his return could change expectations for the second half of the season for Colorado. presented by John Keper Pepper. What's going on? Welcome into college football live alongside Sam Ocho and Jordan Reed. I'm Kelsey Riggs.

Great to be with you. Happy Thursday, and we are one step closer to week seven. So let's get you caught up on some of the storylines ahead of this weekend. And what you need to know, starting with, could be an easy week for the teams at the top of the rankings. Each of the top six teams is at least a two touchdown favorite this weekend, led by Penn State, who's a 40-point favorite over UMass. We've still got a great slate of games, though, including four ranked matchups this week.

Teams that will be put to the test include USC, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Miami, but the biggest game of them all, it'll be out in Seattle. As Oregon looks to avenge their three-point loss to the Huskies last season, the ducks gave up 10 points in the final three minutes as Bo Nix tried to play through an injury,

and now he's ready for another shot. How the game ended last year is definitely not how you want it to work, but it's part of it. And, you know, it can serve as a motivator or it can get you down. And obviously it's one that I've been looking forward to just because of, you know, last year and how it ended. But I think a lot of games you look forward to, and I know they're looking forward to it as well. Y'all, last year was a really good, a really exciting one. But this year, it's the first time that these two opponents have ever both met when they are in the top 10. So Sam, what do you have your eye on?

I have my eye on the Oregon defense trying to shut down or at least slow down Washington's high-powered offense. Roma Dunes A. Jalen Polk and Michael Pennix Jr. He's averaging over 440 yards per game through the air. He's been dynamic. He's been efficient. He's been excellent and high. He's been worthy. But here's the issue.

He's playing against the defense that's coached by Dan Lenning that's going to try and slow them down. Now, here's the other issue with that defense. This defense loves to play man to man. And when you're playing teams like Stanford, okay, I like your matchup. But now you're playing a team like Washington that has a. one of the top passing offense in all of college football, that man-to-man defense, you better be able to hold up, whether you're the number 1 dB, number 2 DB,

or the nickel corner, or a safety you will be put in unfavorable positions. I have my eye on this Washington defense against Bo Nix. And what do we know about Oregon's offense? It's predicated on rhythm and timing. Bo Nix has been unbothered in the pocket this year. He's only been sacked three times. And what has been Washington's weakness on defense, they haven't been able to generate pressure or get sacks.

Tied for 127th in the FBS and sacks, only six. Now, that number is skewed a little bit just because Washington's offense has been so explosive and they haven't played in the third or fourth quarter. But the key to victory for Washington is generating pressure on Bo Nix. If they're able to make him ante a little bit, make his reads a little bit hurried and force him into some turnovers, they have a chance to win this ball game. There were over 1,100 yards of total offense in this game last year. And I think those offenses have been even more exciting so far this year. Cannot wait to see it. It is going to be a big game coming your way this weekend. Just a top 10 match.

that you will see at 3.30 on ABC and the ESPN app. As we mentioned, Bo Nix and number eight, Oregon, swearing off with Michael Pennix Jr. in number seven, Washington. Don't forget college game day gets things started in Seattle at 9 a.m. Let's get to another top 25 showdown. This one, also in the back 12,

as UCLA heads to number 15, Oregon State. The Bruins defense has been stingy, grabbing eight interceptions this season, tied for the sixth most in the country. Meanwhile, Oregon State's team, they've been tested This is the Beaver's third matchup against a ranked opponent in the past four games. So, Jordan, what do you really want to key in on this game that you think is going to be important?

It's quarterback Dante Moore. He has to avoid the inopportune turnovers. And what have we seen in the past few weeks? He's throwing interceptions. I know what Oregon State is going to do on defense. It's going to be copy-paced as far as the game plan, what we saw against Utah. And they were able to force him into some inopportune turnovers. What he has to do is get the ball to your playmakers.

and Chip Kelly's offense. He's going to be surrounded. All he has to do is just play point guard. Don't force anything. Don't have any bad fumbles or inopportune turnovers or interceptions. Get the ball to Jay Michael Sturton, who is a very explosive playmaker for the Bruins. If he's able to do that and avoid the big mistakes, I think UCLA can come out with the victory. But Oregon loves to put teams in positions to make those, Oregon State, excuse me, put teams in position to make those big mistakes. We saw Dante Moore throw two pick sixes on plays that shouldn't have been pick sixes. So Oregon State says, okay, how can we put pressure on more, who's a freshman, who yes, he has a five-star highly-touted player,

but we're going to go and watch film and see what everyone else did and put pressure on him. Oregon State against Utah, shut them down. Held them to seven points. It wasn't even close. Oregon State says, okay, we saw Utah with an inexperienced quarterback. Let's go and play Dante Moore, another inexperienced quarterback and force him into some of these bad decisions.

The defense has been really good for Oregon State, and obviously, as you mentioned, they're facing a quarterback that doesn't have a lot of experience, but Oregon State, their quarterback does. It has been a lot of fun to watch DJ Ui Angolololay and what he can do. It looks more like who he thought he would be when he came to Clemson, but since transferring to Oregon State this year, DJU has increased his QBR, his yards per attempt, his past yards per game, and touchdowns responsible for per game

while leading Oregon State to a four-and-one start. He is 16-0 over his last 16 starts when he throws for at least 200 yards. Pretty interesting stat there. So Jordan, we saw what happened in his couple of years with Clemson. And we saw what he could be early or what we thought he could be with Clemson. What's the difference this year? Why is it working so well for DJ now? Well, the simple answer is fit, Kelsey.

And I think with DJU, one of the biggest reasons why he wanted to leave Clemson was just because he didn't think the fit was great offensively. Schematicallyly, Oregon State is doing a lot of things that fit his strengths. He's being able to get under center. And how about this stat? He only had two under center snaps last year at Clemson. This year, he already has 46. So that goes to show you that they're making the reads a little.

bit more simple. It's not so much spread and shred with the offensive attack. It's more condensed sets to where you can get them outside the pocket a little bit more, whether it's bootlegs, sprint outs or things like that of where he's able to complement the strong Oregon State running attack. He's doing a really good job of distributing the ball. And I would say as well, it's almost like there's less pressure that you feel. I remember it was almost like he was the air parent, DJU, when came after Trevor Lawrence had that huge game. All of a sudden, he wasn't what we thought at least earlier in his career. Last year, statistically wasn't horrible at Clemson, but he needed a change of scenery.

Now we're seeing that with an Oregon State team that relies on their defense. Oregon State team that relies on their running game and doesn't need the quarterback to be excellent. DJU has been excellent in the air and also on the ground, but doesn't need to be. And so it's actually giving him this freedom to play more like himself.

It's like he's got a fresh start too with this team. He's got them off to a 5-1 start and in a top 25 battle this weekend with UCLA. Cannot wait to see that. We've got more to get to here on college football live still to come. Will we see Travis Hunter tomorrow? What his return could mean for the buffs and Caleb Williams looks to bounce back from a poor week six

performance. We have more coming your way on college football live. College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper, the one fans deserve. When you're flying Emirates business class relaxing in an exclusive airport lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates. Fly better. This Giving Tuesday, Cam H is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where Canadians can get the help they need when they need it, no matter who or where they are. From November 25th to December 2nd, your donation will be doubled. That means every dollar goes twice as far to help build a future where no one's seeking help is left behind. Donate today at camh.ca.ca slash giving Tuesday.

We're getting ready for week seven and it's time now for our weekend lineup brought to you by Wendy's Beef. And we have some big time matchups coming up at Top 10 showdown because we just talked about between Oregon and Washington. Also that North Carolina Miami one has a lot of juice. We'll get into that. Excited too that we don't have to wait until Saturday because Coach Prime and Colorado take on Stanford tomorrow night. question will we see Travis Hunter? Colorado's two-way star. He's been out of the last three weeks since he was injured against Colorado State. Dion Sanders' head coach said this week, there's quote, a tremendous chance that he could play. He also said they're monitoring him closely still and his conditioning wants him to continue to be an asset and not a liability. So the Colorado

hope has died down, the hype rather, has died down just a little bit. Stanford, of course, trying to get back on track and see what they can do. But it's a tough schedule for Colorado the rest of the way, you guys. Stanford's not ranked, but four out of six of their next opponents are. Sam, if we see Travis Hunter, how does that change the outlook for the rest of the season? Well, it should give, Kelsey, it should give the team a whole lot more confidence, this injection of confidence. But the thing about this team is that they need to learn how to win whether or not their star player plays.

Against Arizona State, they won that game by three points. They were outgained by Arizona State. in passing yards and rushing yards and yards per play. Coach Prime came out and said, man, we played horribly. Now Alejandro Matta, the kicker came out and hit the game-winning field goal. But if you want to be a successful team, you cannot wait for Travis Hunter to come back. You have to be able to find ways to beat the teams you're supposed to be, right? Teams like Stanford is a team you're supposed to beat. And so don't be up and be down like we've seen the last couple weeks. If Hunter plays, great. If he doesn't, find a way to be dominant because that's

what you expected from your coach. That's what you should expect from yourself. Yeah, and I agree with Sacho. I wouldn't play him personally in this game just because you have Stanford this week. They should be good enough to get past Stanford, especially at wide receiver and corner. We know at one position that they're really good at. They've had a lot of players step up with Xavier Weaver is having an exceptional year. Jimmy Horn is also having a good year on the perimeter to that receiver. So I don't necessarily think they need him to beat Stanford, honestly, in my honest opinion.

So maybe Coach Prime is thinking maybe get him five to ten plays just to get his wind back up, get him back in shape against Stanford and then going into the biweeker essentially giving him two weeks of rest before you come back before a big game against UCLA out coming out of the by week. I know us as college football fans, we want to see him as soon as possible. But of course, as soon as he's healthy and doesn't take any more hits.

Speaking of taking hits, their quarterback, Shador Sanders, he's so fun to watch. We see him continuously go off. But Sam, they haven't been able to protect him well. He's been sacked 30 times this year. What can they do to help Shador's out? It's not necessarily what they can do.

It's what Shadur can do to help Shadur. Part of why he holds a ball so long is that he doesn't love throwing a lot of interceptions. to wait for his receivers to get open. And sometimes I've played against quarterback guys like Matt Ryan. He may not throw a lot of picks, but it'll take a ton of sacks. And so Chardor Sanders, yes, is more agile and better athlete than a guy like Matt Ryan, but he wants to hold the ball to allow his receivers to get open down the field and not force interceptions.

And unfortunately, with the offensive line, the way it's set up right now, it's causing a lot of sacks for Shadour. He has been such a spectacular college football player to watch, not just this year, but of course in the past as well. We'll get to see what he's able to do against Stanford, because Colorado has won three straight against them in this series. Meanwhile, we've got another great game coming your way this weekend as two of college football's most decorated programs to meet again this week for the 35th time USC and Notre Dame will square off in an AP-ranked matchup.

That's the third most meetings between teams in the pole era, trailing as you see Ohio State, Michigan and Texas, Oklahoma. So that USC defense, we've talked about it all week. It's going to be tested once again with the Irish offense. So Sam, when you look at the tape, where has this defense been failing the Trojans? Kelsey, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. USC, they make the same mistakes defensively and they get the same poor results. Here are the players. We're going to see a crack toss.

One, two, three. This is a crack toss formation. What that tells you is this player, you have to be able to come outside and stop whatever's coming. What's coming? I'll tell you what's coming. You're going to see inside pullers from the inside. One of these players on the inside has to stop it. Let's see if they do.

I played in slow motion. Let me know if anyone from this defense comes and stops the crack. No, they're going in the wrong direction. That's an easy 10-yard gain early in the game. Now let's fast forward later in the game. Let's go, that's first quarter. Let's go fourth quarter. You see what's coming already.

You see these pullers pulling around. You're going to see these same blockers blocking down. That's that same down, down, around scheme. I need somebody from this USC defense to come and set the edge. Anybody come and. set the edge. One of you guys needs to come and set the edge. Will it happen? Let's watch and let's see.

Not happening. We're getting blocked. Again, that's 10 yards. 20, 30, 30 plus yard gain and a penalty. Now let's go later in this game. Same game. Fourth court a little bit later. You already see what's coming. Let's count them. One, two, three. Same formation. You know exactly what's

coming. You know these guards are pulling from the inside. You know that somebody, anybody has to come and make the play. Will they do it. The answer is no. Insanity, doing the same thing over and over and over and over and expecting different results. USC makes the same mistakes over and over again. And Kelsey, they're getting the same poor results. Sam, good stuff. This defense has definitely been the Achilles heel for this team. But Jordan, if you look at the other side, it's like the solution

has been Caleb Williams and this offense. So how can this offense attack the Notre Dame defense to find success? Well, it just seems like. Like everything that's gone on this year with USC, Caleb Williams has had to put on his Superman cape. And we saw it last week against Arizona where they were fortunate for that game to go into three overtimes. They got off to a 17 to zero slow start there, Arizona, really had the leg up on them in the beginning. But this offense has to get off to a faster start. With Caleb Williams, you get everything at the position. He can do everything that you want.

Super high IQ can throw from all the different arm angles. But the big boost for him this week possibly is getting Zachariah branched back. A phenomenal freshman. and we saw what he was able to do in the season opener. Missed the last two games, but getting him back is going to be big. But let's talk about Notre Dame's defense. With Notre Dame's defense, what they've had to endure over the past few games, Ohio State, Duke, we saw they were able to come back in that game.

And then Louisville, they just had a stinker in that game. Caleb Williams is going to have an opportunity to get some big yards. They have to create explosive plays, which is something that USC has left. It has been a gauntlet for this Notre Dame team to go through in the last four weeks. We'll see if they're up to the task for another ranked opponent, another undefeated opponent that they will face in USC. Still ahead on college football live. We've got a top 25 showdown in the ACC this weekend.

Can Miami rebound from their crushing loss last week to try and contain a husband hopeful in Drake May? You're watching College Football Live, presented by Dr. Pepper. Snap Up Ancestry DNA's lowest price ever in our incredible cybercest. sale. With 50% off Ancestry DNA kits, it's the perfect time to help a loved one unwrap the past. And with their latest update, they'll discover their family origins like never before. With even more precise regions and new and exclusive features, their best gift, our lowest price. 50% off Ancestry DNA only until December 2nd. Visit Ancestry.ca for more details. Terms apply.

Dr. Pepper, the one fans deserve. Welcome back to college football live. Let's take a look at our Dr. Pepper Championship Drive game of the week preview. And we've got a big ACC showdown in Chapel Hill as North Carolina hosts the hurricanes who are coming off that improbable loss to Georgia Tech last week. The heels have won four straight in the series, but it has been close in three of four of those wins. So, Jordan, we all saw the meltdown that happened in Miami last week. week. And we know that they cannot let that play, that game, the end of it, beat them twice. But what does Miami need to do? Who needs to step up if they want to beat North Carolina?

Well, Kelsey, what's really interesting about this game to me is that it mirrors the situation last year when they came into this North Carolina game. If you remember last year, they had a heartbreaking loss against Middle Tennessee State. Now they have the heartbreaking loss against Georgia Tech with the improbable loss on the last two plays of the game. But the keys to victory in this one are two players, safety Cameron Kitchens, and then also defensive tackle Leonard Taylor. Those are the two players that I'm going to be looking at in this one. They have to step up and pressure Drake May. One thing Miami has been good at this year is they've been good with pressure on the quarterback.

They have a 43% pressure rate, which is the third best mark in the FBS, and that's been able to create turnovers for this defense. So Leonard Taylor, I'm looking for him to step up as well as safety camera kitchens. Both players are projected to be first round picks, and I expect them to look like it in this game. They have to figure out a way to get pressure on Drake May consistently. And Jordan, you make a great point. Both those players are first round picks, and they play on a top 10 defense. This Miami defense is one of the best in all of the nation.

And so for me, the difference not, and not it's only going to be Drake May, but Drake May is going to have to have his Hisman moment in this one if he wants to find a way to win. Drake May has been excellent on third down, one of the best, if not the best quarterback when it comes to converting on third downs. When you have Kim Kitchens, who's hunting trying to get interceptions, when you have him, when you have Leonard Taylor who's trying to rush you as a quarterback, you need to find a way to get it to your playmakers. Who are your playmakers? Guys like Tess Walker, who just came back at six catches last week. that's what needs to happen.

You need to rely on your new injection of hope, new injection of confidence, and also a new injection of talent, especially on third down, which we all know is money down. So exciting to see Tess Walker back on the field for North Carolina last week. We'll see if he is able. Even though he didn't have that many catches, he still affects what you're doing.

He can take the top off and he can make some play. And then once he had, one of the cats he had was an outstanding sideline catch. But there was another one that he missed on, that really that Drake may missed on. It would have been a touchdown. And so imagine now you have that. the practice reps, but now you've added game reps to those practice reps.

It could be dangerous for this for really for Miami, but what UNC does could be dangerous. Yeah, it's been fun to watch what they've been able to do so far, guys. Let's move it on now to a little subject that we're going to call no huddle. And I've got a couple things that I want to throw at you for this one. A couple questions. We're going to go starting with number three, Ohio State. Kyle McCord, yet to have a passing touchdown in either of his two road games this year. So Jordan, is he able to get a passing touchdown on, again?

against Purdue for the first time on the road? Yes, I think it should be. All he has to do is find number 18 on the perimeter, Marvin Harrison, Jr. Throw it up to him, I think he'll have a good chance to coming down with it. So find Marvin Harrison Jr. or Emeka, Abuka. Either one, I think he'll get his first touchdown pass on the road. Yeah, I think he will as well. I think Carl McCourt is finally coming into his own and finally building and gaining some more confidence.

Yes, you can talk about road versus away, but this Ohio State team is ready to try to prove a point. Everyone else has been making noise. Now they're like, hey, let's show you. We are. Kyle McCord has found ways to win even without his arm. I think this week he'll be able to do it with his arm. Meanwhile, it feels like Georgia was able to prove a point last week against Kentucky. This weekend, they play Vanderbilt.

They have defeated the Commodores by 62 and 55 points the last two seasons. Now, no SEC team has had three straight wins against a conference opponent by 40 plus points. Sam, is Georgia going to be the first one to do it? Can they win by more than 40? Yes, Kelsey, they can. Why? Because they're playing angry. Like we've been talking all season about this Georgia team.

Man, they're slow starts. And man, they're down early. They're down 10 zero to Auburn. They're down a half time in South Carolina. Last week they came out and beat a highly ranked Kentucky team 51 to 13. I did the math on my little piece of paper. That's 38 points on Kentucky. Imagine a team that's side of Kentucky's caliber.

And oh, by the way, they're getting healthier. We're seeing this team not only at tight end, but also at receivers. Jack St. St. St. starting to make plays. Everyone's getting healthier around them. this is going to be an interesting, interesting game. So Georgia is the number one team in the country. The number two team in the country is Michigan.

And Jordan, I want to talk a little bit more about them because they've been rolling. They're just the second team in the AP poll era to score 30 plus points and allow 10 or fewer in each of its first six games in a season. It's been since 1971 that that happened. Can they do it again this weekend for the seventh straight game, Jordan, as they take on Indiana? The simple answer is yes. And this is a team that they're just controlling whoever's on their schedule. People may call it a cupcake. They may say they haven't played anybody, but they're just controlling their own destiny

and they're demolishing whichever teams are in their way. And I expect them to do that. Circle November 11th when they play Penn State. I think that's the first game of where we're really going to find out who the identity of this Michigan team is and how good they really are. I agree. That is going to be a good one. Guys, before we go, let's go under the radar player that you have your eye on this weekend.

Give me Ricardo Hallman. He's a cornerback from Wisconsin. He has four picks in the last three games. Most recently was a ninth. 95 yards pace six. That's his longest since high school. And so shout out, Ricardo Harmon. I can't wait to watch you play.

Jordan. Give me Dwight McLaughern, who's a cornerback from Arkansas going against Alabama. The Alabama offensive attack has looked really good over the past few weeks. I expect him to get tested and pass the test. We saw Jalen Milrow play the best that he has against that team last week in Texas A&M and get the win. Tide of 1 16 straight against Arkansas. We'll see what they're able to do this week. here of a great week seven.