College Football Live - Seminole Shocker

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Host Victoria Arlen is joined by Sam Acho, Desmond Howard, and Pete Thamel to discuss Georgia Tech's upset victory over Florida St. as well as preview the upcoming clash between Georgia and Clemson. Plus, a look into the dawn of a new era for Alabama under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, sampling our range of vintage wines from the largest selection in the skies, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome to College Football Live. I'm Victoria Arlen. Let's go out the tunnel. Now, college football has begun and already Florida State and Georgia Tech have given us a game to remember. But find out what our experts think on both teams' performances and what to make of Florida State's shocking loss. Plus, we have an exciting ranked matchup with Clemson taking on Georgia this Saturday in Atlanta. Find out what Sam believes will be Clemson's calling card this season. And this week will don a new era for Alabama and new head coach, Kailen DeBore.

Hear what he has to say on the season as the Crimson Tide and the rest of college football dare to dream. Can't do something special, man. The audacity to dream comes to us all. Morning is an opportunity to me. So I set fire to the old me and step. into my light. When they ask, how dare you? The audacity, I ask, how dare you not?

A dream so pure that all are welcome and seen where no one ever asks, who are you who dares to dream? Well, dreams do indeed come true because we've got a star-studded squad. Today we've got Sam Hatcho, Desmond Howard, and Kate Thammell, hanging with us. And fellas, we're heading into a very eventful week one of the college football season. But before we get to that, things got kicked off to a memorable start over the weekend with FSU and Georgia Tech. Now, for the first time since 2015, unranked Georgia Tech beat a top 10 team when they upset number 10 Florida State and the first game of the year over in Dublin, Ireland.

The win was the sixth time in the past five seasons. A top 10 team lost its season opener against an unranked opponent, matching the total from the last 20 seasons combined. So Pete, I'm going to start with you. What have people been saying about this upset? Victoria, I think there's two facets to this upset that are interesting. One is that Georgia Tech perfectly executed its game plan. They wanted to control the clock. Obviously, running the quarterback has long been the great equalizer in college football.

Haines King did that over and over, churning the clock and shortening the game. How short was it? Well, there were only 14 possessions. That was as few possessions as there has been in a college football game, since November of 2020. I'm sure you remember that Nevada, Hawaii classic during the COVID season. But this isn't actually a shock that Georgia Tech won this game if you peek under the hood a little bit. Last season, the Yellow Jackets upset Carolina.

They upset Miami in that Mario Cristobal clock blunder. They also beat UCF in a bowl game. They played Georgia to a one-score game. And they did all this because they have a defiant identity of running the ball. They had a top 15 rush offense. What changed and would allow you. them to win this game was that they brought in a new defensive coordinator, Tyler Santucci, seven new starters on defense, and they had the resistance to match the offensive push.

And that defiance was showcased over in Dublin, but shifting on the FSU side, Sam, how would you rate DJU's performance in this game? Yeah, I'd give it a B minus to a C plus, and a lot of it's on coaching as well. DJU only attempted three passes of 20 more air yards down the field. The first one wasn't until the 30th play of the game. The reason that's an issue is this. They were playing, Georgia Tech was playing a lot of man-to-man defense and blitzing the safety. That means you have to expose and take advantage of the one-on-one matches.

But DJU wasn't able to do that. Now, the positives, right, when you get to that B-minus area, were in the fourth quarter, those two fourth and sevens. But outside of that, there was no down-the-field pass attempts, very few, very limited, and that allowed Georgia Tech to continue to be aggressive

and bring eight in the box and force DJU to win, which he couldn't. Yeah, I thought that DJ you had an average game. He was 19 for 27, only 193 yards on the day, no touchdowns, zero interceptions. You know, he started to cook in the fourth quarter when they really kind of just let him do him. And he completed two incredible fourth down passes to score in the fourth quarter to tie the game. But you can tell that Florida State came into this game with run heavy offense on their mind. They returned four starters on the office line,

they have a stable of running backs. And I believe they thought they were going to be able to take some pressure off of DJU's shoulders. But as Pete said, you had Georgia Tech who came in there and they just executed their plan to perfection, eight up the clock, ran the ball, ran Haynes King. And so that forced Florida State late in the game to throw the ball with DJU more.

At that point, you know, it was going to be whoever had the ball last. and fortunately for Georgia Tech, it was the yellow jackets, and they won the game with the last second field goal. That was a memorable one for sure. Now, every college football weekend will be full of some sort of reaction, as we all know, some that tend to be more blown up than they should be, and some that aren't getting enough attention, but they should be. So let's get to the overreaction and under the radar when it comes to this game.

So, Des, what storyline do you think is an overreaction? Well, I think the knee-jerk overreaction is, oh, man, it's messed up now for Florida State. They can't make the CFP. It's a done deal. It's a wrap. It was a conference game. Now they're out of it. And now they're going to fall in the tank.

And I just think that that's not true. I mean, don't forget, you still can get, we're still going to get 12 teams into the college football playoff. I know it was a conference loss, but they still have everything ahead of them. And Mike Norval is a really good coach. with really good coaches you try to figure out what you get. And sometimes you don't know until you know. And now they understand what they have on offense. They understand what they have on defense.

They have replaced a bunch of wide outs too. So I think now they can go back to the drawing board. They have a big game on Monday. So I think we'll see a different Seminole's team moving forward. Des, they only had seven possessions to figure it out each side of the ball, right? This is a team that had about 15 new starters coming in. They had 10 players drafted. 13 guys who were on NFL rosters as of last week.

So I think some of that conservative game plan that Sam mentioned was built around just trying to feel things out. And then it felt like they ran out of time. You saw him go on fourth and seven there on the fourth. I think Monday night against Boston College will be really interesting. Thomas Castellanos, the BC quarterback can run like Haynes King. He led the nation in touchdown rushes last year. Florida State best be ready for a similar game plan.

And we're going to get to that game plan in just a bit. But Sam, what is the storyline from this game that you think is flying a bit under the radar? I think what's flying under the radar is the fact that Florida State was not prepared for this game. You heard Des and Pete both say that Florida State had a game plan. The game plan was to run the ball. But every time you have a game plan, you have to have a counter in case your game plan doesn't work. Florida State's game plan did not work. And they weren't able to expose the one-on-one coverage on the back end.

I think about just what was happening. You saw Pass for us getting to the backfield. You saw DJU being swarmed. You saw a lot of safety pressure man to man and Florida State was not ready for that. Their mindset was that that first drive that we saw, five straight runs getting to the end zone. They thought they were going to do that the entire game without realizing no. Tyler Santucci, defensive coordinator from Duke is now the new defensive coordinator, new defensive staff. There's a new defensive identity.

It's not the Georgia Tech of old. And I think Florida State was not ready in the least bit for that. You know, Sam, the most disappointing thing for me watching the game was that, you know, it's going to be, it's going to take some time to get used to that offense because you don't see that type of Georgia Tech offense every day. There's a lot of eye candy and they test your discipline. But not making adjustments in the second half. That was the most disappointing thing to me.

I think after the first half, you get a feel for the game. You understand the flow. You see what they're like. Their strengths, their weaknesses. Now you should be able to make an adjustment. What was so disappointing to me, Sam, was that there were no. real second half adjustments to stop that Georgia Tech running attack. Well, and speaking of those adjustments, Sam, there's no rest for the weary because FSU plays

BC on Monday, as Pete mentioned. So what's one area you think they need to clean up or adjust to bounce back from this loss? Well, I'll point you to three things. Four, 14 and 24. Play four, play 14 and play 24 from last week's game is going to tell you why they lost and what they need to adjust. This is play four. You're going to see, it wasn't the defensive line.

it's mistackle. Check out the safety. Ooh, my bad. You're gone. That's a big time near first down. That was play four. Play 14. You see that pulling guard. Des mentioned to it. The linebacker's supposed to go with that guard as well, but there are bad eyes by your linebacker. And then play 24 right here, which lets with a 34-yard game. The same thing, there was a pulling guard, and the Florida State secondary and linebackers did not adjust. And so Des makes a great point.

There were no second-half adjustments, but there was also no first. there was also no first half preparation with the eyes, the tackling, and the footwork of a Florida State defense. Hopefully they can clean that up because that game against Boston College is Monday at 7.30 on ESPN. All right, we're just getting started. Coming up, an exciting ranked matchup between Clemson and Georgia awaits us this Saturday. Here you're from head coach Davos-Weney and Kirby Smart as they prepare to go head-to-head in Atlanta. Plus, for the first time since 2006, Alabama will not have Nick Sabin on the sidelines. Here what new head coach Caelin DeBoer had to say about how he's feeling about his first game in Tuscaloosa. At Desjardin, we speak business.

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Welcome back to college football live. We're shifting gears over to week one, where we've got an SEC versus ACC matchup between number 14 Clemson and number one, Georgia. Now, this is an early test for two college football playoff hopefuls. Here's what each coach had to say leading up to this matchup. You know, playing a game like this,

this is usually you get, you only get opportunities like, this in the postseason in the playoffs and national championship. This just happened to be on our schedule. So that's a great opportunity to play the best team in the country right out of the game. Our guys are excited for a great matchup. Looks like we'll get the earliest kick of the day. So it should be exciting in terms of all the people across the country that will be watch a great game and really a great rivalry, a rivalry that when you look back,

I didn't realize how many years consecutively Georgia played Clemson for a long time, but just a lot of respect for their program, what Davo's done. He's done an incredible job, and for them to take over this calls, I think it's a great event. And to have two teams like this, it's going to be awesome. It's going to be awesome indeed. Now, all eyes on week one for this very reason. The first year of the 12 team playoff features several marquee matchups in week one, including the Clemson, Georgia matchup, which is one of three non-conference.

games with the biggest impact on the playoff race going on this weekend, according to the Allstate playoff predictor. The other two are Notre Dame versus A&M and USC versus LSU. Now, Pete, the number one team in the country coming into this one with questions in the backfield. What can you tell us about the status of some of the Bulldogs running backs? Well, the headline is that Trevor Aetian is facing a one game suspension. He got arrested in March on DUI charges under Georgia Athletic Department policy.

he's expected to miss one game. His backup, Rod Robinson, is also expected to miss a couple weeks with a toe injury. That means we're going to see some new faces, Victoria, at tailback for the dogs. Branson Robinson, kind of a bruising sophomore running back, is expected

to get the start, and he'll be backed up by a true freshman named Nate Frazier. He's from Los Angeles. He played at Matter Day. He has been the buzz player in Georgia camp. He's an electric young back who may not have gotten many characters. in this game, if not for the traffic that opened up in front of him.

So look for Frazier to potentially be a breakout guy on Saturday. They're going to need to turn on that electricity. Indeed. Now, Des, as we begin to dive into these week one matchups, what stands out to you? Well, it stands out to me is this Georgia Clemson game. Monster matchup. I want to see how Clemson goes out there and respond to all the criticism you've been hearing about Dabbles, when he doesn't dip into the portal and try to go get talent.

He believes in developing his own. talent, the kids who he recruited, and then watching Kay Klubnik, the quarterback. I want to see is he going to take that year leap that you normally see from a first year starter to a second year starter. I think that he's a kid who came into Clemson with a whole bunch of talent, a lot of fanfare. He stepped in a couple of times when DJ O'Angelae could not play, and he played extremely well.

But when he got the keys to the car and it was his to drive, he was up and down the lot. You know, he has a lot of armed talent and extend plays with his legs, but he just needs to be a little bit more consistent. So I want to see as he going to be able to take that leap from first year starter to second year starter. And this is going to be the big

test going up against a Georgia defense that, you know, is going to be one of the best in the country. This is a huge and exciting matchup for Kay Klubnick and the Clemson Tigers. Well, the best friend of a young quarterback who may have struggled in the past is a defense that not only

is one of the best in the country, but a defense that actually statistically was better than Georgia last year. That's Clemson's defense. They actually were eighth overall in yards allowed. And the guys I'm looking at that defense specifically are number zero, Barrett Carter and Peter Woods on the defensive line.

Barrett Carter could have gotten in the NFL last year. He's a super freak athlete of a linebacker. Peter Woods, right there, number 13, a young but a dominant defensive lineman. And so if Clemson wants to have the kind of success as a team and also to give Kay Klebnik their offensive star the success, you didn't have the same time.

of dominant defense that you had last year, but on a new level. There are four freshman DBs, by the way, that are returning. Each one of them had an interception. And so with maturity on the offensive side should come maturity on the defensive side. As Desd says, I'm going to have to like turn the engine and steer the car in a little bit of a better direction. All right, let's take a look at what's to come for week one. Clems in Georgia, just one of the games for our Labor Day weekend on ESPN and ABC. Dion Sanders and Colorado host North Dakota State to start us off on Thursday.

then Temple, Oklahoma on Friday night with the much anticipated SEC ACC matchup between Clemson and Georgia being a part of that amazing triple header on Saturday. And Sunday night, number 23 U.S.C. squares off against number 13 LSU in Las Vegas. Coming up, Alabama will open their season this Saturday hosting Western Kentucky. Find out would our analysts have their eye on with new head coach Kalin DeBore and when he takes the tide to the field. Welcome back to college football live. Now, filling the shoes of the legendary coach Nick Sabin is no easy feat to say the least. But for Kaelin DeBoer, taking the reins for the Crimson Tide is something he takes great honor in. So let's take a look at the new head coach in action this summer, courtesy of SEC inside.

It'll be great today, man. It'll be great. Let's go. Keep getting it, man. Keep getting it. Let's go. Keep doing your thing, man. Let's go.

How are we doing? Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Have a big day. Have a big day.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. finish everything. Here we go. Let's go communicate. Communicate, let's go. What's our mindset? What's our mindset? Gotta work.

Gotta work. We're working. We're working. Oh, yeah. Good job, O-line. Good start O'Line. We go, next play. Next play. Hey, most important one right here.

Let's go, make a play. High hands, late hands. You got to define it more. You took a plan step in, you went about three more steps up the field. That's why the ball's late. Okay, they don't know where you're going. Did you feel like he didn't come out of his break on that scissors?

Yeah. And I thought there was a lot of room to the sideline. Try I push him more. Well, I understand why you did it because I thought he was slow out of his break. I would just check with him what he was thinking there, so. Let's go. Let's go, rapid fire. Rapid fire.

Way to find a way. Way to find a way. Way to keep working. I like it. That's giving him a chance right there. All right, we got a string just a little longer. Let's go. Here we go.

Fourth down. Fourth down. We're going for it. We're going for it. Oh, good throw. Dang. Good job, Jay Mill. Good throw.

Great throw, man. Great throw. Jayland's having a day. It's an easy game if you make it easy. You throw a really catchable ball, man. Like, as a receiver, they got a chance to catch them all. You know, when you got to rip it, when you got to have some touch. It's good job, man.

Good job. Way to go through your progressions. Taking a look at this week's college football rankings brought to you by Allstate. The SEC leads all teams with 14. in the top 10, while ACC's lone representative, FSU, likely to fall when new rankings are released after week one. New Bama head coach, Kaelin DeBoer, has his team fifth in the preseason poll and can't wait to kick things off Saturday against Western Kentucky.

You know, I don't know if you get like jitters, but I think it's good to have butterflies, right? It's good to have like an excitement. It always comes down to your preparation, and if you've prepared the best you can and you know you're ready and, you know, more than your opponent and done everything possible all week long, as well as your team, When you're prepared well, you're going to be confident. Look, nerves just mean you're prepared and you care about what you're doing.

So, all right, Desmond, what are your expectations for Kalyn DeBoer's first season at Alabama? Wow. Well, I expect Kalin DeBoer to have a huge amount of success. I mean, he's won everywhere he's been. And I had an opportunity to sit down with him a year ago while he was the head coach of Washington. And his philosophy, the way he approached the game, it just, it appeals to me. I love his, you know, the way he looks at his quarterbacks. The way he was just talking to Jalen Milro.

He was building him up. I don't know if you guys really paid attention, but he was just saying little things to build Jailen's confidence up, to let him know that he's in his corner. He's a great players coach. I'm expecting to see a group of men that's discipline that's fundamentally sound, but I really want to watch the progression of Jaila Milder. This probably isn't the best defense to judge Jail Mielro,

but you still don't. can learn a lot and just see how Jalen Milro responds, you know, through a little bit adversely if he throws a bad pass or something of that nature. So those are like the little things I'll be looking for in this game. Yeah, and I'll be looking for a clean jersey from Jalen Milrow. Why do I say that? Well, last year, Jailen Miro was sacked 49 times. That's the most, at least in Alabama history since Sacks became a stat in 1980. This offensive line, though, has gotten better. Why? The starting center from Washington, Parker Brailsford

has transferred from Washington to Alabama. Why does that matter? Well, Parker Brailsford was a part of the Joe Moore Award winning offensive line. That's the best offense line in college football. That was at Washington. Who else? Well, of course, their head coach, Kailen DeBore, and a bunch of the staff members. But it's not just Parker Brailsford at center. It's

Tyler Booker at Guard getting better. It's Caden Proctor at tackle getting better as well. So some of these guys like Proctor, a young player, but maturing. And so what I'm most excited is to see the clean jersey of your quarterback Jalen Milrow, but also that which will lead to offensive prowess and down the field passing like we saw last year with Michael Pennix, who threw for over 4,900 yards. And I love what Des said, you know, how he's a player's coach and everything we've seen and

heard. He cares about his players. He cares about the program. He can only succeed with that. But Des, when you look at their schedule, what might be their most challenging game? Yeah, so if we could put the schedule out, let's check out the, you know, September 28th, going against the number one team in the country, Georgia. I think that's going to be a huge test.

October 19th, people aren't talking about Tennessee. No. I think Tennessee is going to be really sneaky good. And they're on the road at LSU is always a blood bath. All right, Sam, quickly, which one? Yeah, I was going to circle that September 28th, that Georgia game. I mean, Georgia's coming off that lost SEC championship game. And so they're going to want their revenge.

Well, the crooms and tie, they kick things off. when they host Western Kentucky on August 31st at 7 Eastern on ESPN for Dead Sam and Pete. I'm Victoria. Thanks for watching College Football Live. We will see you tomorrow.