College Football Live - Red River Rivalry week, Playoff Implications, and a Giant Duck!? Who could wish for more!!!

Episode Date: October 11, 2024

Jen Lada has Desmond Howard, Steve Coughlin, and Pete Thamel join live in Eugene, OR before the most anticipated Saturday of the season. 2 Ohio State takes on 3 Oregon, with Ohio State's biggest challenge ahead what can they do to prove they belong among the tops of the ranks? And find out who Desmond Howard thinks could be Oregon's secret weapon against a stifling Ohio State defense. And 9 Ole Miss is taking on 13 LSU, with many of LSU top receivers questionable or out, who will be Nussmeier's top target? And Pete brings some big news for the 120th Red River Rivalry game between 1 Texas and 18 Oklahoma, and with updates in the SEC/BIG Ten that could affect the current season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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as we get you set for an absolutely enormous matchup, a top three matchup, if you will. Ohio State visiting Oregon, going to be a tough place to play. That is a notoriously raucous stadium. Big Ten, more like huge ten. As College Football Live gets underway. The weekend we warned you about,

the one that we said don't even think about planning a wedding or attending a wedding or a big event unless you want everybody watching it like this. That's right. Just like this. Exactly. We are here for college football live with Desmond Howard, Stanford, Steve. I'm Jen Latter and he is Pete Bammell. So we got to start with the big game.

We are here in Eugene for the matchup between Oregon and Ohio State. Ohio State's third ranked offense is featured in this one, as is Oregon's offense that has scored 24 plus points in 19 straight games. You look at Buckeyes freshman Jeremiah Smith. He's got six TDs while Oregon's Dylan Gabriel has thrown 136 career touchdowns, putting him second among active NCAA quarterback. Be ready for fireworks this weekend, guys, Desmond, I'm going to start with you. What are you most excited to see this Saturday when these two teams square off? Guys, I want to see what a $20 million college roster looks like.

I mean, these guys went out this summer. They spent a lot of money. They brought in Will Howard, the quarterback from Kansas. state. They got Quinn Sean Judkins, the running back from Ole Miss. They also got Caleb Downs, who had a fantastic freshman year last season with Alabama. Now these guys came cheap, right? Then you got this freshman sensation, Jeremiah Smith, that wide receiver, and they got Chip Kelly to quit his job as a head coach at UCLA and come to Columbus to become their offensive coordinator. I need to see this group live and in person against these ducks tomorrow night.

Yeah, it's about Ohio State for me coming on the, road establishing themselves. The defense has been phenomenal. Lead the country in scoring defense, 6.8 points per game in that Oregon offense. Dylan Gabriel, speaking of transfers, Dan Lennie. But in generally, Oregon in this spot

has not been good as an underdog. And now they're an underdog at home. Plenty of eyeballs will be on this game. Can't wait to see how it shakes out. Obviously, Big Ten implications as well, Pete. Yeah. And I think Dylan, Gabriel, you look at him, he's one of the all-time leading passers in the history of college football. And he, I don't think in his career, he's

face the secondary as good as the one he's going to see against Ohio State. They have four guys who will likely be drafted in that secondary, and they aren't even the best player because that's probably Caleb Downs going forward. I think if you look at the matchup of Tess Johnson versus Jordan Hancock in the slot, if Oregon's going to move the ball, they're going to have to get Tess rocking and rolling a little bit to open things up. And I think if that matchup goes Ohio State's way, it could be a long day for the does. And Desmond does have a tape on him later in the show, Des what are you looking at in this

matchup specifically? Well, I think that when you look at Oregon's office and you look at, you look at, you look at Dylan Gabor. We've talked about him. You've talked about his passing yards, but he's a dual threat quarterback, and there's one thing that keeps defensive coordinators up at night. Dual threat quarterbacks who can hurt you with their arm and their legs. Don't forget.

He transferred from Oklahoma. This guy's played in big games before. This is him last week against Michigan State. He had another big run against Oregon State earlier in the season, and he's a Southpaw too. I think it's always a little challenging to prepare for a quarterback who's a South Park.

Here's the run right here, speed option, against Oregon State. So this guy is, he can hurt in defense with his arm and his legs. So I think that's one of the things to keep an eye on tomorrow. Totally agree with you. They just have to be more buttoned up. Yeah. I mean, he's got three interceptions inside the 11 yard line.

Those are touchdowns. And now you're getting zero points. You can't do that against Ohio State. So just the idea of Oregon, the offensive line's been a little sloppy too. They got to be tightened up against a great front from Ohio State. So a lot of pressure when you look at that matchup where I believe Ohio State has the upper hand, but Oregon has plenty of talent to overcome the issues they've had earlier

this year. And I think particularly, Steve, it's the interior of that offensive line. The two tackles are very good, Connolly and a Johnny Cornelius. Those are guys the NFL really likes and looks at. They had to replace a lot of personnel on the inside. And Ohio State obviously has a very strong defensive line. Tileak Williams going up against

those interior line is going to be a huge matchup because the ducks are going to have to get the run game going to have to move the ball in diverse ways. And I think that's where the game will be won in a lot of ways right in the middle. A lot of people remember what Dylan Gabriel was able to do with Oklahoma last year in the Red River rivalry, another game that is taking place this weekend.

After this game, Oregon's remaining schedule is much easier than Ohio States guys. There is a 25% chance according to our ESPN analytics that these two teams will meet again later on this season. Let's take a look at the Heisman update which is brought to you by our friends over at Nissan.

Dylan Gabriel completing 77% of his passes this season for the Ducks. That is the highest rate in the nation. That gets these fans out here a little hyped. But the breakout star of the season, guys, that has been Ashton Genty of Boise State. He reached 1,000 rush yards before reaching 100 carries on the year. What he has been doing has been unbelievable, and he is obviously getting credit for that. Pete, let's go to the top stories. As the Heisman competition is heating up, so is the competition in the SEC.

What are the top stories that we should be paying attention to this weekend? Well, that classic SEC matchup in Red River, the first thing we're going to be looking at is Oklahoma's receiving core. Or, what's left of Oklahoma's receiving court. There again, down there, five top receivers. Dionne Burks was ruled out yesterday. You see it here on the graphic. No Nick Anderson, no Jalil Farooke, no Androok, no Androo Anthony, no Jaden Gibson.

Look for tight end Bauer Sharp if Oklahoma is going to move the ball through the air to play a big factor. And again, you got Michael Hawkins Jr. making his second career start. He's going to have to move the ball with his legs if Oklahoma is going to have a chance against that salty Texas defense. Well, this week we had a historic meeting between SEC and Big Tenors. 10 athletic directors in Nashville. Probably the most important part of this meeting, guys, was that they actually met. It was really more symbolic than anything that was accomplished within the

conversations. But this is just a reminder that North Star of this sport going forward is going to run through those two leagues and they don't want private equity involved. Old friend Cam Rising, we've talked about him plenty of Friday afternoons. Look for him to start tonight. Sources confirmed to me today that Cam Rising will be back. Remember they're coming up a bye. This is big.

Exactly, right, right. We'll see how much Cam Rising is going to be able to really rip it with that injured hand. Remember, he had the stitches. He still had the lingering finger injury. He was thrown with the glove and warmups. So Cam Rising back against the Sun Devils late night tonight. The only person with more mentions like College Football Live than him is you. Yes.

Quinn yours is up there too. He's back after almost a month off. He had that a bleak injury. He suffered against UTSA. I was told today by sources that he's really been 100% in practice this week. He resumed throwing last. week in practice. So it's been smooth sailing. There's been no pain. Quinn Ewers feels good. And he's back. Dallas Kid, homecoming in Red River for which likely is going to be his last Red River

rivalry. Which is crazy because even if something were to happen and we don't want that too, they have that great safety net in the Manning kid, right? Like so obviously Arch Manning could do it if Quinn Ewers can. That will be a great game as well. So much coming your way here on college football live. Coach Kiffin has never won a game at Tiger Stadium. And Brian Kelly is hoping to keep it that way. How much does that matter with this Ole Miss offense? We'll discuss. Plus, we've got Stanford Steve's week seven gambling guide. His record has been pretty great this season.

Who does he like in Penn State versus USC? And what will he be watching for this week? Stick around. This Heisman Update is brought to you by Nissan. Premier partner of a Heisman trophy. At Desjardin, we speak business. speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice,

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See your local Nissan dealer or nissan.ca for details. Conditions apply. College Football Live is presented by DirecTV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream direct TV, satellite free. What an SEC on ABC college football lineup we have for you tomorrow. Number seven Alabama hosting South Carolina. That's at noon eastern, followed by the 120th Red River rivalry game.

That's at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas featuring number one Texas and number 18 Oklahoma. Then we cap the night off with ninth ranked Ole Miss and 13th ranked LSU in Death Valley. got plans, you don't. You feel a cold coming on. Let's take a look at today's road test presented by Goodyear. Ole Miss traveling to Death Valley for the 113th Magnolia Bowl, taken on LSU in a high-stakes

SEC showdown. Jackson-Darton, Old Miss, looked to end the Tigers 14 game night home win streak, which is poised to be an electrifying night. Steve, what will you be watching in this one? Oh, everything. I think it's the most interesting game when you talk about you got head coaches that aren't a

afraid to mix it up. You got Old Miss coming in, who's lost seven in a row in Baton Rouge, and you got Brian Kelly, who's 12 and 0, undefeated in night games at Tiger Stadium. When I look at the quarterbacks, I think I'm more confident in Nussmeier. He's played a lot less football than Jackson Dart. But when I watched the offensive lines, I think LSU is right at the top in the running for the Joe Moore Award, along with Texas. In Ole Miss, Jackson Dart has got hit a lot this year. So to me, the advantage is that with LSU's offensive line is on the field against a very improved Ole Misses defensive line. Nussmeyer should have the edge in that situation.

And those Bayou Bengals, they should be pretty well rested. They're coming off a by. And so I think that I want to look at their defense, though. Their defense, especially the secondary, going against Jackson Dart and the receiver court he brings. Now, Trey Harris, he got hurt a week ago. We're not sure if he's going to play. This guy has almost 900 receiving yards on the season.

So he's a big part of that offense. But don't forget, LSU brought in Blake Baker from Missouri, may him the highest paid defensive coordinator in all of college football. This is going to be one of those matches. I want to see if they can hold up on the back end against Ole Miss's wide receivers. Well, speaking of who's going to be available for that game, Pete,

what do you got? Well, there's some flux in the LSU receiving core right now, Jen. Brian Kelly announced this week that Kyle Parker is going to be out for the rest of the season with a torn tendon in his triceps. And there's two guys that are questionable right now that could really impit

impact this game. We'll know more about them on college game day tomorrow likely. CJ Daniels is the fourth leading receiver for LSU. He's questionable. And Chris Hilton Jr., who's really their pure speed threat. They don't have a straight line speed guy like Chris Hilton Jr. He hasn't played yet this year. He warmed up against UCLA two weeks ago before the buy, so we'll see if he's ready to go in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

By you bangles, go ahead. Interesting to see the style of game, though. Last year these teams put up monstrous points. You know, you had Jane Daniels against Jack. and Dart. I think this one will be a little bit more low score. Teams want to try and establish. Yeah, yeah. And what I was going to say is that they have been unbeatable at home.

I think 13, 14 home win street. We talked about that, but at night, they are at a very, very tough place. Football. Yeah. Time to get to what Steve likes from a gambling standpoint. It is Steve's gambling guide. What do you got big guy? Yeah, we're going to do all big 10 version here.

We're going to go look at Illinois minus a ton of points against Purdue. When you think about Purdue, the season has already been lost and it's not been good at all. Illinois has plenty to play for as they've got off to a great start this season. We're going to lay the big number with the Illini and Brett Bilema, who's coaching against his former defensive coordinator and Coach Walters. I like Illinois in that spot at home against the boilermakers. Next, another Penn State team traveling across the country. Teams has been documented all week, one in eight when they're traveling more than two time zones.

The difference in this one is I believe Penn State has an elite defense. And seeing what USC look like offensively last week against Minnesota, I don't like the matchup for USC's offensive line. We'll give the points with Penn State. And then Iowa, at home, Kinnick Stadium. And what this has to do is the other team. Washington, I think, is in a brutal situation. After they get the win against Michigan, they rush to field.

Everybody loves it. Big Ten football. Well, now you've got to go into play maybe the most frustrating team to play against. Iowa, battled against Ohio State. Got, you know, outdone in the second half there. I like Iowa at home, minus the points against Washington. Yeah, and if you haven't watched Iowa, they are not the same Iowa offense that we have become used to over the last few years.

They can actually score. I just can't believe that traveling two time zones are conference games. Like, I'm still having a tough time wrapping my brain around that guys. And this is big 10 country. Exactly. That's right. Coming up on Trollage football live, guys, we talked about the Red River rivalry. Yeah, we're going to get into that game.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers. He wasn't so great the last time he played in this. Game three turnovers will number one Texas be able to take back the state fair. That's next. You're watching College Football Live, presented by DirecTV. When you fly in Emirates business class and you're picked up by your private, luxury, chauffeur-driven car, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly, Emirates, fly better.

College Football Live. is presented by Direc TV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream Direc TV, satellite free. At 6 a.m. 9 a.m. Eastern. Let's take a look at today's player to watch, brought to you by today's military. It is Oregon wide receiver, Tess Johnson. Here's our DES on TES.

That's right, guys. Tess Johnson is not only a fantastic wide receiver, but he's an excellent return or two of the PUM return. show you what I'm talking about. This is against Boise State. At this point, the score is 20 to 20. They needed a big play. Taz is right here. He's in the middle of the field. Watch the punter when he gets the ball. See the angle? He's trying to punt Tans into the sideline. He does a really good job. Tans catches the ball outside the numbers. Why? Now they want to give him as little real estate as possible to return that ball. Look all these white jerseys.

Taz understands he has to make the first man miss. And he does a fantastic. job, but he told me, Desmond, I just gave him my left arm. I said, you can take it. But at this point, he has to get up field. All these white jerseys right here, but he peeks to the right, and he sees his green jerseys. What does he do? He goes up to field. Great move right there, and now he just follows his convoy. And Tess Johnson is a guy with about 4-4-4-3 speed. Once he gets out there in space, you're not going to catch him. I just want to know, who is this right here? Is this? Is This Dan Lannning, just watch this coach. I mean, is he excited or what?

Look at him high stepping. Yeah, guys, I tell you what, he's a dangerous return. And I said, Ted's because I was with him last night. I said, on this return, was it a middle return or right return? He said, no, it was actually a punt block, which makes it even more impressive that he was able to take it to the house because these guys right here, they don't have normal blocking assignments when it's a punt block. So great job by these guys.

people to block, but excellent job by my guy, Tess Johnson. Reminds me of Des in the green and gold back in the day. How about some other top games on Saturday? Kansas State is traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado and Coach Prime. Major clash of styles in this one. The Wildcats ground game led by DJ Giddins and Avery Johnson, facing off against Shador Sanders and the Buffs passing game. Penn State's dominant defense heads to the Coliseum,

seeking a 6-0 start for the second straight year. Meanwhile, USC started its Big Ten tenure, one and two, allowing nearly 200 rush yards per game. Bad news for the Trojans, Singleton is expected to be back for the Nittney Lions. After a shocking loss to Vanderbilt, Alabama aims to avoid consecutive regular season losses for the first time since 2007. Jalen Milro and Ryan Williams lead the Tides offense against a stout South Carolina defense that has forced 10 turnovers this season, second most in the SEC, and the 120th Red River Showdown is here. Texas entering is number one, but Oklahoma is no stranger to top-ranked foes.

The Sooners have won seven times against number one teams tied for fourth most of any program, though they've never beaten Texas when they were the number one team in the country. Pete, let's get to the big news of the day. Quinn Ewers will be back this week. More can you tell us about that? Well, we forget because it was almost a month ago, Jen.

Quinn Ewers was playing as well as any quarterback in the country. Went to the Big House, led Texas to an authoritative victory there. He had 14 of 16 completions against UTSA when that oblique injury flared up. So if you look at him in the season, he's completing 73.4% of his passes. The last step in his comeback, sources told me this week, was did he really have the power in his midsection to drive the ball down field? That was the final test that he had to pass, and I was totally passing with flying colors this week. So look for Quinn Newers with the stage in Red River to maybe climb back in the high. race, maybe reestablish himself in that QB1 conversation.

So people have passed him because of the three games. And Quinn Ewers is back in full health and ready to let it rip. And all the pressures on Texas here, Sark is already one and two against Oklahoma. When you think about Ewers last year, it wasn't pretty. It was sloppy. There was two picks. There was a fumble loss. Five sacks in a crazy, you know, back and forth game.

And Dylan Gabriel was the difference in the game with his running ability. So all eyes are on Texas. It's a huge spot for Ewers. And I mean, Oklahoma has to keep this thing low scoring. Or else they're not going to be it. They just can't score as much. So I just bet that defense would be great like they were against Tennessee. Yeah, the Sooners got to muddy this game up, make it sloppy as possible, disrupt yours timing.

And I think coming off of a game, he hasn't, this kid has come off an injury. He hasn't played competitive football since September 14th. And now you're going right into the Lions den because Oklahoma and the Sooners and Brent Venables, like they hate the longhorns. And they're going to bring full force at this guy. So I'm curious to see how they play him early. Are they going to press him? Are they going to like, are they going to like bring a lot of pressure?

And I want to see how Sark is going to handle it. Is he going to like give him some manageable throws? Is he going to try to run the ball? Because when your quarterback hasn't played in almost a month, it's going to take him a series or two to find his rhythm, to give on the same page with the wide receiver. So this is going to be an interesting dynamic. The first two long-horn offensive possessions is going to be something to keep an eye on.

I think you're right about muddying the game. This is a fake punt game if you're Oklahoma. This is, we've got nothing to lose. We're 14.5 point underdogs. We're going to on-side kick. They need to score a special team's touchdown. They need Michael Hawkins to run for 150 yards if they're going to win this game. Yeah, we profiled Danny Stutzman on college game day earlier this year.

He would love to get to the quarterback a few times there and maybe get himself in that conversation for the Pearls, words. Let's get to the picks. Friday night games. Let's start with UNLV at Utah State. Pete, what should we be watching for in this one? I think we're going to be watching for some resistance for Utah State at home and Logan. They have the 130th ranked scoring defense in the country, Jen. They're giving up 41.4 points per game. Nate Dreiling, the interim head coach is a defensive guy by background. You know they've got to be shifting and trying to do some adjustments. Obviously, we know UNLV can score points. Yeah, UNLV lost last week to Syracuse, but it wasn't because of their offense. The go-go offense is real.

They're setting up for that monster game against Boise State down the road. I like UNLV. I think the game they lost last week to Syracuse, overtime game was a learning lesson for them. I think they're going to bounce back. I'm going UNLV. Last one for you. Utah at Arizona State, something to watch for in this

one, Pete. Yeah, the test for Cam Rising is going to be, can he throw the deep ball with that injured finger? Remember, he warmed up a few games, and they just ruled the ball wasn't spinning well enough, and the staff made a decision not to play him. He's back. He's been practicing with the ones. Can he really chuck it when it matters tonight is going to be able to look for?

Yeah, Utah with Camerizing, I believe, is the best team in the Big 12. And I expect them on Big Night. I mean, they got all those receivers in the transfer portal. And now you get to finally see what they bring to the table, Utah. I agree with you. I think that Utah is the big best team in the Big 12. I picked them to win the Big 12. I think they win tonight.

Okay, so that's a good one. And again, Cam Rising, not a game time decision, as he has been for so many games this year. You are telling us he will be under center. He will be under center. That is the plan as of right now. As far as I know, no glove has been used. We'll see. That's something that they may alternate with.

But the glove was for the stitches. Those have been now removed for almost two weeks. They had the buy. So it's given them time. Look, we may look back and say Utah was smart to let him heal and let him go, right? We're still not even at the halfway point on the season when you look at it. So there's going to be time. And I think Utah is going to be in that playoff conversation in the Big 12 conversation at the end.

Absolutely. So much more conversation on that on college game day tomorrow. morning dark and early right here, 6 a.m. 9 a.m. Eastern. Thank you to everybody who came out today. Y'all are great. Have a great one, everybody.