College Football Live - Road Outside Columbia

Episode Date: September 13, 2024

Host Jen Lada, Pete Thamel and Stanford Steve preview the biggest Week 3 matchups live from Columbia, South Carolina! Additionally, the crew provides a more in depth llok at LSU at South Carolina, Boston College at Missouri and Arizona at Kansas State. All that and more on today's CFB Live... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, sipping your favorite cocktail at our onboard lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by DirecTV. We brought us to Columbia, South Carolina, just outside of the fantastic Williams-Brice Stadium, where the Gamecocks have a very big game hosting LSU this weekend. And of course, is there a better mascot than the Gamecox? I know one member of our college game day team that doesn't think so.

Welcome into College Football Live alongside Pete Thammell and Stanford, Steve. I am Jen Laddock. Great to have some fans out here joining us today for College Football Live. We begin with some serious news today, Pete. There is a developing story out of Georgia. What is the latest you're hearing? So Daniel Harris, a reserved defensive back for the Bulldogs, has been arrested for reckless driving and four other misdemeanor charges. According to the police report, Jen, he was ticketed for going 106 miles an hour.

Obviously, this amplifies what's been a pervasive problem at Georgia. They've had more than 20 arrests or tickets for speeding or reckless driving within the last two years. Now, Harris, whether he'll play or not, is a smaller issue than the bigger issue that's here. The last two Georgia players this offseason who were arrested for reckless driving did end up playing, including Smile Mondin, who was arrested in August and ended up playing in the opener. Harris has played 62 snaps on the season for the Bulldogs, including 41 on defense. He's a rotation player for them. But again, it puts the spotlight back on Georgia with an incident in a car. The school declined comment when I reached out earlier, so we'll see how they respond in warmups tomorrow.

Absolutely. You mentioned getting back on the field. let's talk about some on-the-field developments. Auburn is dealing with a switch at one of their major positions. What's the latest there? Yeah, so Peyton Thorne, the Michigan State Transfer, who was Auburn's starter last year in the first two games, has been benched. We are going to see a new player.

It is not Macbred. Yes, thank you. The former high school star out of the Nashville area is going to get his first career start. He played a little bit in the bowl game last year off the bench. And Hank, look, Auburn needs a spark. And offseason, the narrative was Hugh Freeze is going to be the play caller, and that's going to be a difference for this Auburn offense.

We simply haven't seen that. We'll see if Hank Brown can give that Auburn offense a spark and give them some downfield passing, Steve. Coach Savin said before the season, he thought Auburn had a chance to be one of the most improved teams in the conference. And then you get that loss to Cal last week, which is brutal. And the way they lost, the interceptions, bad quarterback play. But watching the tape, it was more of a team effort.

The offensive line play led to quarterback mistakes, all that kind of thing. It was just a ladder of effects. The thing about Hank Brown, his high school coach was Trent Dilfer. I heard actually Trent Dilfer talk this week on a radio interview in Alabama, and he said they asked him about what does Hank Brown bring to the team? And he said he doesn't bring anything as a 10 out of 10, but he's a 7-5 in every single category.

So looking at that upside, when all that receiver, the freeze-for, the new receivers that Auburn has, they need something to get those guys involved. and I expect big things with now Auburn's offense. Really good insight there, guys. Let's see how they do against New Mexico this weekend. All right, keeping with the SEC, let's take a look at today's road test presented by Goodyear. Right here in Columbia, LSU is visiting South Carolina on Saturday,

and the Tigers have dominated this series, haven't lost against an unranked opponent since 2022. South Carolina is looking to start 3 and O for the first time since 2012 when they finished eighth in the nation. Now you can cheer. guys. However, the Gamecocks have lost each of their last five games against AP-ranked opponents, losing by an average of two touchdowns. They enter as a seven-point underdog at home, but, and this is really interesting, Shane Beamer has six outright wins when his team is at least

a touchdown underdog since taking over in Columbia that is tied for the second most upsets in FBS by any coach over that span. So yes, we all know that LSU had a very tough week one. They are still trying to rebound from that. Is this a must win for Brian Kelly's squad? I don't like to say must win, but I'll call it a got to get game. They got to get this one. You know, you go out to Vegas, you play USC, who I believe has superior offensive talent to what South Carolina has.

But this is a different matchup. You have NFL talent on your offensive line. You have to be able to go on the road in the SEC and rely on that. And which South Carolina team are we going to get? A week ago at this time, we were wondering what they were going to do this year after they look bad in their opening week win. But this LSU offense, how much balance can they bring to the table? Look at how good South Carolina's defense was last week at Kentucky,

but that's because they put Kentucky and Kentucky put themselves in a lot of predictable situations. So I expect LSU's offense to be on balance here, run game. We know they have the injuries at running back, but I expect Nussmeyer to play well tomorrow here. Well, and one factor there, Steve, that we're going to be watching in warmups and talking about game day tomorrow is will LSU receiver Chris Hilton play? He's questionable right now. He did not play last week. And his presence could really ramp up that offense because we know what South Carolina has on defense.

Dylan Stewart has been the singular breakout freshman on the defensive side of the football in college football this year. Talk to multiple scouts this week. Now, again, they're not evaluating him. He's still two years from being draft eligible. But they can't take their eyes off him. He's so talented. He's so advanced. His bend is supernatural.

He's one of the most fun players so far in college football that's come this year. and if he can get to Garrett Musmeyer tomorrow, it's a totally different game. Yeah, no doubt. And being in the DMV area, I got to see him playing high school. And the first thing I saw when I went to see him play, oh, yeah, he is 6-6. You know how high school guys like to maybe exaggerate a little bit on their height? He's all a 6-6. But when you talk about South Carolina's defense, what they have to do in order to be win.

I do expect their offense to try and find their ways against a decent, improved LSU defense. But the South Carolina defense has the man up against the run. Kentucky did a really good job. last week a run in between the tackles. They averaged over five yards of carry. So what is LSU going to do to offset that and maybe try and tack that? South Carolina has to play really, really well and sound. Keep this crowd involved.

Keep this game close while their offense tries to figure it out. That South Carolina defense would certainly like to get to the quarterback. Ten sacks already on a year. Meanwhile, LSU has not allowed one all season, but we all know about Beamer Ball. Any unit that's on the field can score, and that's what they're going to try to do when they're taking on those Bayou Bengals. Let's get to some exciting games happening in the SEC this week, guys.

Some of the top matchups. And let's begin with Alabama at Wisconsin, Steve. Yeah, I think the matchup here is Wisconsin's defensive line against that Alabama offensive line. Alabama's had a lot of inconsistency on the offensive line, whether it's injuries, you know, not great play. What will Wisconsin be able to do to neutralize that man right there, Jalen Milro? 17 explosive plays for Alabama already in two games.

It's kind of what they've realized. on. So how will Wisconsin offset that? That's the matchup for me in that game. For me, the most critical part about BC going to Missouri and potentially pulling an upset is they need to play a clean game like they played in Tallahassee. Two seasons ago, BC had 18 penalties against Florida State. In Tallahassee the other night, in Bill O'Brien's debut, they had one penalty on special teams. So look for the Eagles to go in and play clean. They will have to deal with Brett Norfleet. He is back after missing last week. He's one of the most talented young tight ends in the country. We know Steve only watches tight ends when he watches college football. North Fleet missed the Buffalo game.

He is expected to play on Saturday against the Eagles. Yeah, staying in the SEC. Again, Florida in the spotlight, A&M travels to Gainesville. What are we going to see from the quarterback position? I would expect Lagway to play, but also Graham Murch should be back. And how is that Florida offensive line going to look against Texas A&M's great defensive line? They had a lot of problems against Miami. Miami dominated the game on the line of scrimmage.

They were in Florida's backfield constantly. So that's the match of Florida's offensive line has to give their quarterback time and create holes in the run game. So Brock Vandergriff gets to see some old friends on Saturday, and he hopes they look a lot different than the South Carolina defense. He had one of the worst games of any SEC quarterback last week. Kentucky's offense simply didn't fire against the gamecocks. Can they come back off the mat?

He ended up getting benched in that game for Gavin, wins at the former Rutgers quarterback. So it'll be interesting to see if Kentucky can look functional against what is the best defense in the country. Lots of good games there, guys. Thank you very much. Let's dig in a little more on that BC-Mazoo game, as it is the only ranked matchup going on on Saturday.

What will you be watching for, Steve? I think this has got to be Missouri's coming out party. I mean, they've dominated the two opponents, having given up a touchdown. We've talked all offseason about how great a receiver, Luther Burden is. I think he's fourth on the team in offensive snaps at the wide receiver position. So that tells you how many guys were playing in those blowout wins. But when you talk about Cook, the quarterback, what do they have to do to take that next step? They're still replacing guys on the defensive side.

I expect that offense to play really, really well. And the biggest game of the weekend, when you look at it's the only one with two ranked teams. So a year ago at this time, BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos had just won the starting job. He came off the bench against Northern Illinois in the overall. and eventually capture that job. He has developed maybe as much as any quarterback in the country in the offseason. Bill O'Brien told me this week that his footwork has jumped leaped in bounds. You've seen that with him in the pocket.

And his ability to read defenses has really taken another leap forward. He needs to go and play another clean game and also run the ball. He led the nation in rushing touchdowns for a quarterback last year with 13. If BC as a 14-point underdog is going to pull the upset, Castellanos really has to show how far he's come. Yeah, Castellanos, when we were watching him versus Florida State, it looked like he was kind of a one read and run guy. It'd be nice to see him get through his progressions a little bit more, and I'm sure Bill O'Brien would appreciate that from his quarterback as well. We are also talking about the Wisconsin-Alabama game.

So what is the key for the tide to get the victory in this one, Steve? Again, just touched on a little bit before, but that offensive line has to be better. They're buttoned up. They haven't played with the lineup. They thought they were going to have going into the season because Proctor, they're left tackle got hurt in warmups before the first game. So now you go on the road and now what do you expect? Crowd noise.

Wisconsin moving things around trying to, you know, disguise blitzes and things like that. Alabama's offensive line has to tighten it up in order for them to be impressive tomorrow. Wisconsin's offense has been, let's just say, vanilla, the opening two weeks against Western Michigan against South Dakota. They haven't put up a lot of points. They haven't shown a lot. So my big question for Saturday is, does Phil Longo open up the play? book. Do they go wide? Do they stretch the field? Do they show something? They've been,

they've been very conservative. They just kind of pushed ahead in one in those two games. If they're going to pull an upset here, they have to get in a slug fest, but they also have to score some points. So it'd be interesting to see philosophically if we see a little shift from the badgers. Van Dyke is still figuring out that offense, kind of figuring out his leadership with that team. I was at practice last week, and I heard there's no panic within these walls. Maybe people outside are saying that this team is underwhelming, but they very much believe in what Luke Fickle is doing there. We also have a feature on one of the badgers players. You may have seen it go viral. We're going to be the behind the scene story of one of the badgers players tomorrow on game day.

So much more coming your way here on college football live. Big games in the Big 12 conference this weekend starting tonight with UNLV versus Kansas. We've also got Arizona versus Kansas State. We'll discuss the keys to those games and more. Plus rivalry week is kicking off in September. And Steve has his gambling guide for those games. That's next on College Football Live. College Football Live is presented by DirecTV. All your entertainment, nothing on your roof. Stream DirecTV, satellite free.

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Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. Game day comes your way at 9 a.m. Easter. A very full show that will conclude inside the stadium if you haven't heard Nick Sabin's commentary on the landscape of college football yet. What in the world? are you waiting for? Can't wait for that on Saturday. Let's get to some of the action from last night, and we begin with Northwestern State at South Alabama.

Early in the first quarter of South Alabama was already up seven. I can tell you right now it's going to be a lot more than that by the end of this game. Jeremiah Webb has the 39-yard score there. It sets the tone. South Alabama wins this one, 87 to 10. How about Arizona State at Texas State, late in the third, ASU trailing by seven? Second and goal, that's Cam Scatabo. He muscles his way in for the two-yard score.

Game was tied at 28 entering the fourth. Two seconds left in the game, and ASU is up three after a field goal. Fourth and goal, look at him celebrating. You know why? Because they took a knee and they figured that the game was over, but the reps put a second back on the clock. Dillingham, as you saw, was furious about that one.

Texas State gets the ball back. And it ends, I guess, as you would expect it to end. Arizona State holding on for that one, 31 to 28th, the final. You know, some sponsors actually voided that game, the 87 to 10 games, some sports books rather, they said that they didn't finish the game, so they were to avoid the outcomes of them.

Big games in the Big 12 this week, starting tonight with UNLV taking on Kansas and an AP rank showdown in Manhattan, which is a non-conference game, a little fluky there. Then on Saturday, don't miss the Battle of the Brothers. That's Utah and Utah State. Bryce travels to Houston to play for the Bayou Bucket for the 3rd. 43rd time.

So let's discuss some of those games that we are showing you right there. Pete will start at the top of the conference. Utah is off to a hot start, but there is some concern about the availability of their quarterback, Cam Rising. Yes, my title at ESPN is Football Insider Cam Rising Injury Update

expert because that's all we've done the last two years. So far, Jen, the latest I heard today is Cam Rising, they're calling him a game time decision. There's an expectation that he doesn't play in. Zach Wilson's younger brother, Isaac, gets his first career start. He came in in the second half last week against Baylor. He was just okay. I think it was four of nine passing and Utah's offense went a little bit flat.

The one thing I am certain about with Cam Rising is that there's an expectation he'll be back in two weeks when they go to Stillwater for that Big 12 showdown against Oklahoma State. They're being careful with his hand. We'll see if he ends up playing in Logan on Saturday. Yeah, that's interesting too because everybody thought their toughest game this season will be that one. in Stillwater. And then you talk about Utah, what they wanted to do, throw the ball around with all the wide receivers. They got in the portal. So that's definitely something to keep your eye on when it comes to Utah. Let's go to UNLV, Kansas. 72 points last week from UNLV. What will you be watching for in this one? The UNLV offense. Go-Go offense. Brennan, Offensive coordinator, they are as fun a team as they got two FCS quarterbacks they play.

Williams rushed for over 100 yards. Sluca, the kid from Holy Cross, throws it all over. He runs it also. though I believe that UNLV has enough to make that a game tonight. I'm really excited for that matchup. Look for Devin Neal, the Kansas tailback. He's at back-to-back hundred-yard games to grind the ball out. Kansas's advantage and this game is in the trenches. They scored 49 against him in the guaranteed rate bowl. I know you watched Steve last year.

Look for Neil to scoot, keep the ball away from the go-go. Pick in this one? I like UNLV plus the points. I think it's around nine. What do we got? There we go. Yeah, nine. That offense, I really do believe they will be in the game.

the whole night. Arizona, Kansas State, also kicking off tonight. Pete, no longer a conference game, as we have mentioned, but still a big one. Oh, a huge one. And I think this is Avery Johnson's national breakout potential game. He's our favorite quarterback. Remember, he showed up on game day last week. He took his hoodie off and we saw his blonde lettuce in the background. Well, Pat was worried he had cut his hair. Well, God forbid. He also might be worried that he's not driving a lavender stingray around campus anymore. Chris Climman. There he is. Chris Climondon told me that Avery Johnson is from Wichita is a generational talent. He picked Kansas State over Notre Dame, over Oregon, over Washington.

He eventually won the starting job last year. And Chris Klaman told Will Howard, hey, we're going to go with Avery. Will Howard's Ohio State starter now. So that's a little window into what they think of Avery Johnson here. Can he deliver on the biggest stage, his first real national spotlight other than the Pop-Tarp Bowl? Everybody loves to talk about Arizona's offense with that, you know, Fafita to McMillan combination that's been lethal.

But I just the defense. know what we're going to get there. I mean, New Mexico went up and down the field on them. Then kind of sleptwalk through a win against Northern Arizona. So what, how is that defense going to travel in a hostile environment and slow down Avery Williams? I'm not sure about that

how that's going to work out. You got to pick in that one? Yeah, I like a lot of points. I would look at the over. I like Kansas State to score. I think there's better balance. Their defense is better. And I expect that place to be rocking tonight in a Friday night atmosphere, which the little apple is known to do once in a while. Meanwhile, Arizona now has the

longest active win streak in FBS. It stands at nine. Two of the most played rivalries in FBS history continue on Saturday as Miami, Ohio hosts Cincinnati in the battle for the victory bell, and Oregon State host Oregon in the platypus trophy. That's right, I said the platypus trophy. Don't forget about the Apple Cup between Washington State and Washington. That'll be played at Lumen Field and the Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado and Colorado State. Lots of important games this September edition. So let's get to Steve's gambling guide. Yeah, let's get after it.

We got a bunch of good games on the slate, but I look at the Apple Cup. Kind of weird. You know, they played always at the end of the season. Now the games in the Seahawks Stadium early on. And when I look at this matchup, John Mateer, the quarterback at Washington State has been phenomenal. Six touchdowns throwing, only

one pick, two rushing. School record for rush yards by a quarterback last week against Texas Tech. I like Washington State plus the points. Again, that game not being in Husky Stadium is a factor for me. Next, backyard brawl, West Virginia. I know it's crazy. I like the way they're coming into this game.

They were humbled in that week one loss against Penn State. Penn State did whatever they wanted, even through a two-hour delay. But West Virginia, that run game, I expect Garrett Green to be a factor in that run game. I like West Virginia, minus the points in that one. And then below to West Lafayette, what are we going to get from Notre Dame? Jekyll and Hyde, awesome effort in College Station. week one and then they come home and get dominated by Northern Illinois. A&M, we saw them against this Notre Dame defense and it was a rough night.

I expect a rough night for Purdue. They only played one game so far by week. Not a lot of points. Notre Dame relies on that defense in that game while the offense and Riley Leonard try to figure things out under the total. Okay, speaking of Riley Leonard, Pete, do you have an update for us? We've been paying attention to his shoulder. So Riley Leonard's left non-throwing shoulder is injured. in the Northern Illinois game.

And the interesting thing to see he will play, he practiced all week, is how much Notre Dame runs Riley Leonard. If Riley Leonard is limited in the quarterback run game, he's limited in what he can do. It could make Notre Dame vulnerable as you saw their offense against Northern Illinois this weekend. Yeah, and he was a huge part of the run game

in A&M, scored a rushing touchdown last week, and there's the hit you have. Not many rushes after that hit, and he still played the whole game. That's a huge factor. Their opponent, Purdue, one of two teams that has not yet allowed a point this season. All right, coming up on college football live, so far it has been a season of upsets.

You mentioned Northern Illinois, which ranked team needs to be on high alert heading into this weekend. That's next. You're watching College Football Live, presented by DirecTV. At Desjardin, we speak business. We speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice, and we can talk. talk your ear off about transferring your business when the time comes.

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And in part by Farmers Insurance. Get a quote at farmers.com. This season, there have been 11 losses by AP ranked teams that is tied for second most through week two in a season since 1950. And if we look ahead, we are guaranteed at least two losses by AP ranked opponents in week three. Thanks to two AP ranked batchups, guys, who should be on. upset alert this weekend, Pete. Beware in Madison.

Your home state, Jen. I think the tide are on upset alert. They've just been sloppy. They're one of the most penalized teams in the country. They're in for a fist fight. We'll see. I'm going to say Oregon. They haven't looked great. The first two games and one thing

people from Eugene hate to have to do is go to Corvallis. That's right. Oregon's Oregon State. They stand going to that place. So Oregon has to play better than what they've done. in the last two weeks. We are so thankful for all of you folks who hung out with us today on college football live. College game day

rolls your way at 9 a.m. Eastern on Saturday morning.