College Football Live - There's A New Top Dog

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

Victoria Arlen is joined by Sam Acho and Trevor Matich in the studio as they break down Week 9 and look ahead to the impending playoffs. The team also discusses Oregon's ascent to the top, making them the #1 team in college football since 2012. Joe Fortenbaugh joins the show to share his picks for the weekend. Plus, we’ve got some great tailgate tips to ensure you’re fully prepared for all the action this Saturday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.cg.com slash giving Tuesday. College Football Live is presented by Dr. Pepper. It was a great night to be an owl. Kennesaw State went into Wednesday's game winless,

while Liberty, on the other hand, was one of 10 unbeaten teams in the FBS and had the longest act of regular winning streak of 17 until that was ended by who? The Kennesaw State Owls, who also secured the program's first FBS win. Now, Kennesaw State defies the game. The odds, the owls soared to a stunning 27 to 24 victory over a 5-0 Liberty.

And before yesterday, teams that were 0-and-5 or worse facing teams that are 5-0 or better, had a record of 5-62 and 1. Talk about hooting high. I have wanted to say that to start a show for a very long time. All right, welcome into college football live. I'm Victoria Arlen alongside Sam Acho and Trevor Madage. Guys, that was a treat to see. It was so much.

I felt so good for the Kennesaw players. I mean, what a relief to get their first win in this way. And the way they did it was gouge plays. They had a 41-yard touchdown pass. They had another touchdown that was set up by a 41-yard pass. That's how they did it. But I felt so bad for Liberty. Think about this team that had been undefeated,

one 17 straight. Talk about a group of five conference champion potential. Now of a sudden those hopes are dashed. And that just is the college football season to begin with. That was a treat. We've got plenty of more treats for you this week with five ranked matches with playoff implications on the line. Let's get to it, fellas.

Let's get to our weekend lineup brought to you by Wendy's saucy nugs. Let's start with the noon game, Notre Dame versus an unbeat Navy game, Sam. While we're watching the Notre Dame defense, try to slow down quarterback Blake Horvath from Navy, running back Eli Hydenreich and running back Daba Fafana. Navy leads the nation in Red Zone. Their fourth in scoring offense, fourth in rushing offense. Will Notre Dame be able to stop the run? That's what I'm watching to watch.

Ooh, I'm also wanting to watch the new number one Oregon hosting Illinois, Trevor. This one's about attrition. Oregon has had some physical games in the last few weeks. They had Michigan State. They had a bit of a break against Purdue. But here comes a physical Illinois team led by quarterback Luke Altmeier, transfer from Ole Miss, who's playing at a very high level. It's quiet because of some of the other quarterbacks that are making such a splacks like Cam Ward of Miami.

But Altmire is playing terrific football. This Illinois team is a threat. Looking for to get back on a high level. We got Alabama also looking for a comeback over Missouri, Sam. they'll need it big time. So Missouri's potentially going to be without their starting quarterback. They may go with Drew Pine. They're going to be without their starting running back.

Nate Noelle. So they may be with backups. Missouri loves to attack the edges of defense, the C gap. So this Alabama defense has to stop that. And then Jalen Merrill has to continue to get into the end zone. So it's going to be defensive Alabama trying to slow down Luther Burton and the running game. We also got Texas looking for a win over Van B. Trevor.

Well, this is another one about attrition, Victoria, because it was a physical, dirty, brutal game. against Georgia, not dirty by, like illegal, but dirty just hard. And here comes Vandy, who is a legitimate mid-level or maybe higher SEC team now. So Texas has to get physically back up and ready to play not just mentally and emotionally. Vandy has the ability to stay on the field because of their quarterback, Diego Pavia converting third downs. Vandy shocked us before they could do it again. All right, LSU taking on A&M with a lot of playoff implications, Sam. Oh, big top playoff implications, big top SEC championship.

potential implications. A&M has no losses in conference play. Their defense has been dominant, at least the last several weeks. They play together as a unit. They pay a lot of man-to-man coverage. Let's see an LSU and their offense can expose some of the man-beaters. All right, let's look at the high stakes in week and I with LSU facing Texas A&M because the Tigers playoff hopes can sort of 59% with a win, but could plummet to 23% with

the loss, while the Aggies can nearly cut their chances in half with a loss. So needless to say, this is a critical SEC show. in College Station this weekend. It is going to be loud. A lot is on the line for LSU in this one. So what is the key for LSU with a win for this one, Trevor? Well, their defense has to make a lot of big plays. They give up a lot of yards.

They compensate for it by havoc behind the line. They do that in part by having guys come from places that they're not expected. And sometimes what they do is just playing bonkers. Sam, just crazy stuff. So let's start with something simple and then we'll escalate to crazy, right? The defense lines up inside. the left tackle has to squeeze because they don't want to kick him out here in case this guy on the edge rushes. He's in coverage, right?

But no, from way back there, he rushes and that running back is a mismatch against that steaming locomotive. They schemed a mismatch by having the rusher be way back. Now things go a little nuts. You got six guys firing the blitz. This guy's in coverage. But they'll end up with the edge guy comes around the inside. The guy in coverage blitzes and replaces them. And the blitzing middle linebacker actually bails into coverage.

One of those guys will come free. Two others will just beat their blocker because there's so many guys crossing in front of their face. Those blockers don't quite know who to block and it leads to a sack. Now here's a tackle for loss on the run and if this wasn't intentional,

I think they should put it in. The two defensive tackles double team the center as if they were offensive linemen. And the running back's like, well, what are you doing back here? And the right guard's like, wait, did you guys just double team my center? Yeah, it led to a tackle for loss.

And if they didn't have that in there intentionally, Put it in intentionally because it's awesome. Now, here's where it all comes together. The offense is in slide left protection. LSU runs a slide beater stunt, which forces them to react back to the right, which is hard when you're in a slide mentality. Well, the center sees the looper coming. He wants to pass off the drive man to the guard, but the guard doesn't see it happening

in time. So the center's in no man's land. Get some help from the running back on the looper, but it's too late. Pressure on the quarterback leads to a high throw, and that leads to the interception. This is how LSU compensates for a lack of ability just to bow up and just stop people. They get plays behind the line by being really creative, well, bonkers. And one thing that A&M does is they can bow up and just stop people on the defensive line, even the linebackers. And so I think the real test is going to be which defense plays better.

Yes, LSU offensively, they've been one of the top offenses, but can LSU's defense match A&M's defensive structure? Now, LSU and Texas A&M are the only two teams undefeated in SEC play this season. going to be just a lot, a lot of bonkers regardless. All right, let's keep it in the SEC with Texas taking on Vandy. We've already seen Fendi D thrown a number one team in Alabama earlier this season. So Sam, are they capable of doing it again with Texas? Absolutely. What we're saying from Vandy is no accident. This is the same brain trust that was at New Mexico State last year. That's a quarterback. That's a head coach, offensive coordinator that went at Jordan Hare and beat Auburn by 21 points. So that same brain trust is now at Vandy. And what happened?

week one, Virginia Tech. They dominated Virginia Tech. You would have watched that game and said, okay, which team is Vandy, which team is Virginia Tech. Then versus Alabama, you saw that running game, the time of possession. That's what Vandy's been able to do. Now, they hired a coach by the name of Chris Clonockis, who's an offensive line coach. Trevor would love that. But he coached guys like, I think about like Colin Kaepernick, coach guys like Lamar Jackson. He has a interesting style of offense. He helped Loki invented the pistol offense. And that helps essentially helps them with time of possession, helps them with their run game, and helps that vandy offense stay on the field

to make it harder for Texas. Now, Trevor, on the Texas side, what is your concern level for Quinn Ewers? I'm concerned that coming back from injury a couple of weeks ago, he hasn't been his normal self. He missed about a month of competitive football before the Oklahoma game and really struggled early, ended up being okay.

The second game back was against Georgia. And they sacked him seven times. He was under pressure, but still, he was not able to push the ball down the field. And that's a problem. Because if they just try to nickel and dime Vandy's defense, Vandy will be able to get them off the field. They've got to be able to push the ball farther down the field.

The offensive line needs to protect them better. There's a lot Texas has to get better at in order to get to where they want to go. And these teams are meeting for the first time since 1928. So it's going to be an exciting one. I want to note, though, that Vandy did escape out of Texas with a 13 to 12 win. We've got some other news, though, around college football. In a statement via Instagram, NC State quarterback, Grayson McCall, announced that he is retiring from football following his latest head injury that he suffered earlier this month, saying, quote,

I've battled injuries my whole career, but this one that I cannot come back from. Brain specialists, my family and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up. Penn State coach James Franklin refused to answer questions about felony rape charges against two former players, Jimmy O'Lions and Kvion Keyes, who are accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in July. lie. Lions played in eight games in 2023 and Keyes redshirted last season. Neither was listed on the roster when the season started after being suspended over the summer. Now Franklin was asked about the case on Wednesday. Guys, how we doing? This is obviously a serious and sense of I know Greg read that, but we haven't heard anything from you on this. John, we released a

university statement. All right. Do I need to read the statement again? If you would like. All right. regarding the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement yesterday, and our program and the athletic department will have no further comment. If you need the statement, please reach out to me or Chris. Hey, guys, any questions? James, at what point in the summer for you where these guys were not going to be on? Again, yes, the university already released a statement.

If you need the statement, reach out to me or Chris. We'll have no further comment. The statement, Assistant AD Greg Kincaid is referring. to says this. We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons who are no longer enrolled at the university. The safety of our community is our top priority and Penn State takes any report of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and investigates any and all reports. Both Lions and Keys are out on bond and a preliminary hearing is set for October 30th. Coming up, Joe Fortinbaugh joins the guys to discuss the new leader of the pack and what to watch

out for this weekend. We'll be right back. College Football Live is presented by ice cold Dr. Pepper. College football. It's a pepper thing. And in part by Alka Seltzer Plus. Bounce back fast with fast busy relief from Alka Seltzer Plus. At Desjardin Insurance, we put the care in taking care of business. Your business to be exact.

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Does that work? It's the Nissan Black Friday Month. month event. On remaining 2025 Rogan Centra, get 0% financing. Plus, get $1,000 Nissan bonus on kicks models. This Black Friday, you've got a whole month to catch all the exclusive offers waiting for you. See your local Nissan dealer or nisan.ca for details. Conditions apply. This is College Football Live, presented by Dr. Pepper. Now it's time for our Heisman preview brought to you by Nissan. Here's Kevin Nagandi.

Victoria, thank you so much here with some greatness surrounded by some of the portraits and the history of the Heisman. Let's bring in two guys that don't age, 1989 Heisman winner and 2007 Heisman winner. We got Andre Weir and Tim Tebow. Tim, we're halfway through the season right now. Who do you got on your Heisman ballot at number one? Well, at number one, I'm going to give the slight lead to Ashton Genty. I also have Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Dylan Gabriel all up there near the top. But I think what Ashton Genti has done for the first six games, and he's only played six games, has been incredible.

He's leading the FBS in so many different categories. But my favorite category is 6.7 yards after contact per rush. That is ridiculous. And because of that stat alone, I give them the slight edge over those other three. guys. Yeah, Tim, we have the exact same finalist the season ended today. But for me, I'm going to give a slight edge to Cam Ward, a guy that leads the country in passing yards as well as touchdown passes. A team in Miami that's

undefeated, everybody wanted to know if the U would ever come back. Well, he has single-handedly uplifted the U to an undefeated season talking about a playoff appearance and they've got a schedule where they can run the table and really propel him into the Heisman conversation. In the conversation when we talk about transfer quarterbacks in the portal, no doubt Cam Ward is the difference maker with the U as well as Dilling Gabriel over at Oregon. Hey, December 14th, the Heisman trophy ceremony with our two Heisman winners,

Andre Ware, as well as Tim Tebow. I'm Kevin Nagani. Back to you, Victoria. Thank you, Kevin. You can catch Kevin, Tim, and Andre with the full Heisman preview show tonight at 7 Eastern on ESPN. And let's take a quick look at the most recent Heisman odds brought to you by ESPN bet. Ashen Genty and Cam Ward are both neck and neck with the best odds to win. But don't forget, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel coming in at a close second. All right, it is that time again. Cue the applause.

Can we hear it? Can we hear it? Because our favorite betting analyst, Joe Fortinbaugh, is here with us. Now, he is our number one betting analyst, but we also have a new number one this week, Joe. Oregon. Yes, thank you. I practiced that a lot. And there is one person in audience that we brought a cut for you.

There's one member today. We did bring that. All right. So speaking of number one, we got Oregon hosting Illinois. What interests you in this game, Joe? Big spread in this game. Huge. Problem with that is Oregon doesn't need style points, right?

They've already beaten Ohio State. It's a 12 team playoff. Isolate the first half. Bet Oregon to beat Illinois by more than 12 and a half points in the first half of this game. The problem we saw with Oregon a few weeks ago against Michigan State was just like this. They're up 21. at the half and then they realize there's not a whole lot more we need to do. Let's just get the win. The record speaks for itself. They call off the dogs. They tie each other 10-10 in the

second half. Oregon doesn't cover the number. So I think the best way to attack them is when they're playing their best, which is in the first half of this game. I think that's a good call because what Oregon does not want to do is let Illinois have hope. Yeah. They want to jump on them early, let them know that you're not going to win this game. And because of that, I think the first half bet is good. I like it. Well, a team that needs a team that needs some hope. is Alabama. We got Missouri at Bama running back Nate Noel out for Missouri in addition to QB Brady Cook being doubtful.

Sam, how does this shift your thoughts on the game? Well, it gives Alabama a much bigger opportunity. Mind you, Missouri's coming off a huge win last week. Brady Cook got injured in the first quarter that he went to the hospital. He came back and he actually came and finished the game and played like the Brady Cook of old, the Brady Cook of last season. That's like Stone Cold Steve Austin coming back in the

similar, right? But, but Brady Cook may not play. It's good. Right. It's very good. Right. Yeah, that's a little ridiculous. We're all ridiculous. But Brady Cook may not play in this game. And so that's going to be a big deal for an Alabama defense that's still trying to find their identity. Alabama has not been able to find their identity on the defensive side of the ball.

Offensively, okay, it's quarterback Jalen Milro. It's Ryan Williams, the young receiver. But defensively, they've been giving up too many plays. So without Nate Noelle, without Brady Cook, potentially, it could be a chance for Alabama to get right against another one lost SEC team. Alabama needs to low-key run the table if they want to be able to go to the cost of football playoff. If you watch the market, it looks as if Cook isn't going to play, or at least that's what the early betters believe. Total open 58 and a half. It's been moved down seven and a half points to 51.

I'd still go under here. Even when Missouri has been at full strength, they've played three SEC games. They're only averaging 20 points per game, and that involves two overtimes against Vandy. I throw out some of the non-cons because those defenses aren't up to snuff. This is where Alabama, I think, comes through defensively to your point. It's a great matchup. I'd go under 51 points here. That's assuming that Alabama plays defense.

Yeah. Because very often they'll not play defense. They'll be in the wrong spot. They'll bust coverages. They'll miss tackles. So we'll see which Bama defense does show up in that identity, Sam. We'll just see which Bama team shows up to begin with. But we got a very exciting weekend ahead for college football.

Let's take a look at our ABC College Football Saturday Triple Heather with every team ranked in the top 25, starting at noon Eastern Notre Dame taking on undefeated Navy. Then Alabama host Missouri. And we capped the night off with LSU and Texas A&M in College Station. What a football lineup on. ABC and ESPN Plus. All right, let's take a look at our Dr. Pepper Championship Drive game of the week preview. BYU faces UCF this Saturday for the fourth time in program history.

The Cougars hold a dominant record when playing teams on four game losing streak standing at 27.1 since 1990. Can BYU continue their streak or will UCF turn the tie, Joe? Money on UCF here. This game opened around pick them. It's now up to around two early action came in favoring the upset here, which would now not being upset, it would derail the BYU Cougar season. Central Florida has been taking some action here. We always appreciate you, Joe. Thank you so much. All right, you can catch all the action at 3.30 on ESPN. All right, for all of our friends, you need a little help to sound smarter at this weekend's tailgate. We got you. We have our fan favorite tailgate tips coming up to keep you

informed with everything you need to know for this college football weekend. Black Friday is here at IKEA and the clock is ticking 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.combe, bring home to life.

When you're flying Emirates business class, enjoying a good night's rest in your lie flat seat, 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 ice cold Dr. Pepper. College football, it's a pepper thing. Have you ever gone to a tailgate and realized you don't have anything to contribute to the discussion? Well, we here on College Football Live have something for you, and we call it tailgate tips,

where we give you some necessary tips of knowledge to sound smarter and impress your friends every Saturday. You can thank us later. It is that time for some tailgate tips. We're helping you sound a little smarter this weekend. Trevor, what's your tailgate tip? I can never get too much of that. That is fantastic. Mine is quarterback drama at Indiana.

They're undefeated. Their toughest remaining game is Ohio State. If that's their only regular season loss, Indiana, a very good chance to make the playoff. But their starting quarterback, Curtis Rourke, injured his thumb. He'll miss at least one week. That is Washington this week. The backup quarterback for Indiana is Tavenj,

Jackson. Third year sophomore played a lot of football. So the tip is, even though the starting quarterback is out, expects Jackson to keep carrying this load. Don't lose hope. Also, game day will be there. So still a lot of excitement, a lot to look forward to there. All right, Sam, what's your tailgate? My tailgate tip is this. So Colorado's playing Cincinnati. Both teams are five and two. Whoever wins this game is going to be bowl eligible. But if Colorado wins, they've only been both eligible, six wins once in the last 15 years. And so something's brewing in Boulder, something positive. This is a team that we're seeing have a lot more success this season.

Ooh. You mean that Coach Prime's transfers are working out. It's working. The Loomy bag is working. Okay. Okay. Well, mine is that Notre Dame has 75 wins versus Navy in Polair, which has been since 1936, and that is the most by one current FBS team against another during that span.

So I am here for the upset. But there's another upset watch I'm also on alert for, because we have one for the the road tonight. We've got an ACC showdown between Syracuse and undefeated pit at Pitt. Now, you've been high on the pit train. We all have been high on the pit train. But these squads meet for the 80th time.

And it's a high stakes prime time showdown because Syracuse is not won against Pitt at Pitt since 2001. So I look, I'm all about the upset here. I do not have an allegiance as of now except for the duck. I love the duck. But that's for many reasons with a motorcycle. So who do you got, Trevor?

I like Syracuse in this game. It's going to be the arm of Kyle McCord against the balanced offensive pit. But the thing about Pitt is that they are undefeated, but their power for opponents, they've won by an average of four points. They've been on a high wire act. It's like the old days when they used to string a cable between skyscrapers and one of the flying Willenda brothers would go across and tightrope it all the way across. That's how Pitt has won against the better teams.

I think it ends tonight. I have a question. Why did you hesitate a couple times about that? I want to get into the mind of Trevor Madage. Because Pitt runs the ball better. Pitt has a defense that's more stout against the run. But then I'm thinking, okay, Kyle McCord is going to be the best player on the field on either side. So I actually like Pitt in this matchup.

And part of it is because I think Eli Holstein, their quarterback, the retro freshman transfer from Alabama. I think he'll be able to have a lot of success. But it's not just him. It's the running game. It's Kaye Bell, who's their offensive coordinator. who's been able to find ways to scheme success. And then if that's not enough, the defense, they love to wreak havoc. They love to bring pressure.

Pat Narduzzi, they essentially will bring six and drop, they'll bring six, maybe even seven, and drop back four in coverage, maybe five. And so this is going to be, I think, an elite level type of matchup. Pitt's playing for their ACC championship lives, undefeated still. This would be a huge one if they can get it. But it makes a difference because it's at Pitt, Trevor. No, that matters. And Sam, you just said also one of the great matchups.

Pitt excels at getting to the quarterback. But if they don't get to the quarterback, they give up a lot of yards through the air. And so this is going to be, there's some really fun matchups, and it could go either way. Syracuse, Sam. But out of the five ranked matchups, which one is your favorite out of all of them? Out of the five ranked match? Oh, it's Oregon, Illinois. Oregon, Illinois.

I want to see Oregon's mental resilience. All right, which one? I want A&M. LSU. I want to see A&M's defense. Oh, okay. Well, I'm just going. I'm going Navy, Notre Dame. All right.

For Trevor Sam, I'm Victoria. Enjoy your games this weekend.