College Football Live - What a Week 1!!!

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

Victoria Arlen has Des Howard, Sam Acho and Pete Thamel join the show as they go over the biggest events of week 1. Is FSU already on the collapse after falling to Boston College and are now 0-2? The crew gives their insights on Week Two AP Poll and the teams who are moving in a downward trend. They also go over critical injuries in the CFB that could have crucial impacts for teams. And find out who the CFB crew thinks will make an even bigger impact as we take College Gameday to Ann Arbor this upcoming Saturday.  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. Happy Tuesday. I'm Victoria Arlen. It is time to go out the tunnel. After another disappointing conference loss, we discussed what Florida State needs to do to bounce back and save their season.

Plus, Brian Kelly and LSU lost another season opener, but hear what Coach Kelly said today. day about how this loss actually helped them. And with week one of the college football season officially in the books, we've got the latest AP poll rankings fresh off the presses who rose and who fell. It was five days of upsets, big wins, unexpected twist, turns and moments where you said, oh snap, or something else. Now to break it all down, we've got the dynamic squad of Desmond Howard, Sam Acho, and Pete Tham will here with us. And I'm not going to lie, fellas, I've got some bags under my eyes. Shout out to our makeup team because I could not keep my eyes off of that Boston College FSU game. So let's get to it because Boston College made a statement last night

running all over Florida State in an upset win. And B.C. ran the ball 52 times for 263 yards. And on the other side, Florida State had just 21 yards on the ground. Now, DJ Yuwi Ungalalae struggled again for the Seminole. He completed only half of his passes, throwing one touchdown in a pick, and his QBR of 27 is his lowest in a game since the start of last season. For Florida State fans, this is becoming a little too common as it's the third time under Mike Norvell that the team is starting 0 and 2. It also happened to 2020 and 2021, and neither season did they make a bowl. And, well, Norval did not mince words post-game.

For us, you know, I just, you know, sick to how this season started, obviously tonight. I failed in preparing the team to be able to go out and respond tonight. I obviously didn't put them in a position to showcase what I believe that this football team is. And it's extremely disappointing. It's eerily similar to Coach Norvell's words after the Georgia Tech game. And now we gave them the benefit of the doubt after that. But now two weeks in a row, it's a bit of a different story. So, Des, is it realistic to say that?

there is a real problem with FSU. Oh, there's no doubt about that. I mean, week one, you can try to, you know, put a spin on it, make an excuse. But week two, home opener, against, against a pony that you're supposed to be by double digits. There's a lot of blame to go around when there's a lack of performance like we witnessed last night. And as a former receiver, I'm like focusing on the passing game and trying to see, okay, is DJU going to make these throws or the guys going to make catches and he missed some throws. There's no doubt about that.

But guys dropped passes too. I mean, there's a lot of blame to go around. I'm listening to Lewis Riddick last night on the call, I think did a fantastic job. And look, that's just a missed touchdown opportunity. Those throws right there, you cannot afford to miss. But you have Kyle

Morlock, the tight end number 84. Lewis kept talking about how the offense wanted to get the ball to his hands. At one point, he was targeted five times and had zero catchers. So there's a lot of blame to go around when your offense, actually when your team

doesn't perform up to their potential. And Dan, you talk about a lot of blame going around. Pass some this way because you talked about the offense. Let's go talk about the defense now. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then Mike Norvell

and this Florida State defense needs some help. Here's what I mean by that. There's a few plays. Wheel routes is what we call them, that this Boston College team ran over and over and over again. And Florida State didn't change. Let's start with the one earliest wheel route in the game. You see that down the sideline.

It's going to be a drop by the running back. Now I get it. Okay, let's go. Let's go to the iPads on the sideline. Make an adjustment. No, same wheel route, same result. This time instead of dropping it, he bibles it and runs about 40-something yards down the sideline.

You know what? We'll figure it out. No, we're not going to. Same will route. Same result. And it wasn't just in the passing game where Florida State struggled. Florida State struggled against the run. You talked about it, 52 runs.

Well, 42 of them, to my count, were design runs, not broken plays. 29 of those 42 runs, about 69% were some form of power, i.e. bringing a puller around and running the exact same type of play. Three more of those plays were essentially a, we call it a drill play, a power with no puller. The same exact time of play that beat Florida State last week in Georgia Tech, pulling guards and linebackers being out of position with bad eyes. And so if insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, some of these teams might be clinically insane.

Yeah, I agree with you 100%. To me, Sam, it starts up front of the defensive line. I know the linebackers are out of place, but if they're supposed to have such an outstanding defensive line, then somebody at some point needs to make a play. And you cannot have an opponent rush for an average of 5.1 yards per carry. At the most, they should average maybe 2.5. But Boston College was able to double that last night.

They controlled the line of scrimmage, just like Georgia Tech did. I think that the seminal's defensive line came into this season with a whole bunch of hype and fanfare, but they have not lived up to it so far. Not at all. It looks like FSU is going to have to make a little bit of a DJ. You turn. All right. Pete, I'm done. I'm done.

I swear. Pete, on the BC side of things, the Eegs played an unbelievable game in their first opening win versus a ranked opponent since 1976. How big was this win, Pete, for Bill O'Brien and his squad? It's really hard to overstate Victoria, how big of a win this is for Bill O'Brien to kick off his tenure at Boston College. This is a program that hasn't won eight games in a season since Frank Spaziani was the coach back in 2009. And here they are with a road top 10 win, Bill O'Brien gives them right out of the shoot. And look, they developed a clear identity.

BC wants to win up front on the lines. You obviously heard Sam and Desmond talk about how they dominated in those places. And really what you saw the value of Bill O'Brien was was with Thomas Castellanos, the quarterback. He played clean. He played efficient. And just like those wheel routes that Sam talked about, he ran to just acres of green grass. Every time he tucked the ball and ran, especially when it was designed, there was just swaths of open field. He tied for the nation's leading touchdown runs last year.

year with 13, and it looks like he's a perfect fit as he's developed as a passer, and it remains one of the nation's most dangerous runners as a quarterback. Of course, of course, Pete, thank you so much. And of course, BC was also playing with heavy hearts over the loss of two incredible former BC hockey players, Johnny and Matthew Goodrow, who were killed last Thursday, and we here at CFB Live Center, thoughts and prayers to their families. Now, let's shift over to the West Coast. It's starting to feel like deja vu for Brian Kelly and LSU. Despite a late game tying field goal, LSU, USU was unable to finish off USC,

letting USC running back Woody Marks run in for the go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds remaining. And this is the first matchup between the two teams in 40 years. Here's LSU coach Brian Kelly showing frustration at another season opener loss. We're sitting here again. We're sitting here again talking about the same things. About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them way. But what we're doing on the sideline is feeling like the game's over. And I'm so angry about

it that I got to do something about it. I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach. And I got to coach him better because it's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It's ridiculous. It is ridiculous. Slow starts have been the theme of the Brian Kelly era in LSU. This is now the third opener that LSU has lost under Kelly. Every other team in the SEC has won at least one opening season game during the span, but Coach Kelly seemed a bit more optimistic today. We're going to be a better football team because of what happened. It would have been better if we won the game.

Our margin now is a razor-thin margin when you lose a football game like this. But, you know, we're developing a football team, and this was important. I understand that. But we're going to be better as a football team going into week two. So many emotions going on. What a roller coaster. All right. Des,

what went wrong for LSU? Well, guys, when I watch a game like of this magnitude, I think about the storylines. One of the biggest storylines coming to the season was how LSU, they went out and got Blake Baker from Missouri as their defensive coordinator.

They made him the highest paid assistant coach in the FBS. And so I'm thinking, okay, because their defense was trash last year. I'm saying, okay, this is the moment. There's always a moment. Either it's a Heisman moment or a moment as a coach. Well, you can separate yourself from the other coaches.

And when USC had the ball with less than two minutes left, I said, this is the Blake Baker moment? Is he going to live up to the hype, to the amount of money? They paid for him to come to Baton Rouge, and they failed miserably. So I'm looking at this Blake Baker experience right now thinking, you know, they play it well. Don't get it twisted.

The defense played better than they did a year ago. But when you're the highest paid assistant, then this is the moment when you start to separate yourself from the rest of the DCs because you make a big stop in the big game against the USC Trojans. And they wasn't able to do that. They came up short, Sam. Well, as you're right, this is the moment for the D.C. to separate,

except for the D.C. that separated was a different D.C. on a different team. I think D.A.N.L. U.S.C. new defensive coordinator separated himself versus this LSU offense. LSU offense is full of talent, but so is DeAnton Lynn. DeAton Lynn turned a defense at what we would call for the last several years, Swiss cheese into what Desmond and I would call government cheese, a full block of cheese that ain't nothing going through.

And so this defense showed up from the very beginning. They were tough. They were physical. They were relentless things we hadn't seen from USC over the last two years. And even by Oklahoma, because that's where Lincoln Riley and that, That's where his defense coordinator came from before the year before. And so one coordinator did make their statement, did have their quote unquote Heisman moment, but it wasn't on the LSU side.

It was on the USC side and with Dianne. Only you Sam can give us such an eloquent cheese statement. Thank you so much. Sunday night's loss is the fifth consecutive week one defeat for LSU. But we're just getting started. Week one is now in the book. So just what does that do to everyone's ranking as we enter week two? Well, we're going to discuss that.

Plus, a fresh week came with some new injuries. Pete Pham will provide status updates for some of college football's top stars. College Football Live is brought to you by Wendy's $1 small frosty deal. Limited time only at participating Wendy. 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 your ear-off about transferring your business when the time comes.

Because at Desjardin Business, we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us, and contact Desjardin today. We'd love to talk, business. Back to College Football Live, the latest AP poll is out, and Georgia still remains number one. Not a shocker. the Bulldogs received 57 first place votes after blowing out Clemson on Saturday,

including this week. There have been 50 AP poll releases since 2021. The Bulldogs have been ranked number one in 38 or 76% of the time. Whoa. All right, let's take a look at this week's college football rankings brought to you by Goodyear. The biggest news is that Florida State has dropped out of the top 25 after their 0-and-2 start. Texas A&M joins them after their loss to Notre Dame falling out of the rankings from 20th. Now Notre Dame, Notre Dame, as a moves up to seventh to fifth, which is the highest they can go, while Oregon drops from third to seven. All right, let's start at the top. UGA. What kind of statement did they make to the rest of college football with their win Saturday, Sam?

I made a huge statement of college football. I was expecting this game to be a lot closer. Clemson's defense was great last year, and Clemson offensively has made improvements, even adding a new offensive line coach who was at Georgia to make them tougher. But Georgia and this offense imposed their will from start to finish not just in the run game but also in the passing game

and also on defense. At halftime this game was close but then Georgia kept on pushing and pressing and showing their dominance over Clemson team that I still think is a really, really good football team. Yes, Sam, you hit it on the head when you said that at halftime the game was close. It was only 6 to 0

and Georgia just didn't look great in the first half at all. I was actually surprised that they got off to such. a slow start. I know Trevor E.T.N. didn't play. He couldn't play. So I understood maybe the running game

would struggle a little bit, but you got Carson Beck, and this guy is supposed to be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. And so the second half, though, they showed Clemson that there's levels to this

and that they were going to out physical them. So they made great halftime adjustments and came out and just punished the Clemson Tigers. And I was actually surprised that Cade Clubnit, His second year under O.C. Garrett, the O.C. Garrett did not make the big jump that I expected him to make. He just looked like the same Kade Klubnick. So I was kind of surprised about that offensively from Clemson.

I know Georgia has a great defense, but still, you're Clemson, you recruit well, you recruit high, and that was kind of disappointing. Yeah, the second half was incredibly disappointing if you're a Clemson fan. Now, Clemson is hanging on as the last team in the AP Top 25. Sam, what changes? do they need to make going forward to stay in? I would tell Clemson, don't panic. I don't press the panic button right now. Let's say Georgia is just far and above away.

At this point in the season, far and above a way better than a majority of college football teams. Well, you're not going to play Georgia every single week, and you have time to get better, have time to find your identity. We talked about the offensive line getting better with the new coaches. Talked about that would help Cade Clebman. Talked about receivers also stepping up. And then the defense as well, the defense has to be able to make their mark. and say, okay, what we did in the first half,

let's replicate that in the second half. It's a one possession game, a one score game. Let's not panic, but let's find what we did in the first half really well, and let's get better as the season goes on. And so for me, I'm not pressing the eject button by any means. I'm saying, okay, that team was better than us now, but as we continue to progress, we'll be ready. Yeah, let's not jump too quickly yet.

Now, some of the more notable moves, including Notre Dame cracking the top five, after their big win and USC jumping from 23rd to 13th, after beating LSU and Oregon won this week, but just barely over Idaho, and as a result, they dropped four places. So, Des, what moves surprises you the most? I was surprised at Oregon.

They actually dropped four spots to number seven. Now, I understood they didn't look great against Idaho, but four spots is a huge drop. And then USC, they went up 10 spots to number 13 by beating LSU. So those two moves really, kind of surprised me. The Oregon Ducks, the team I picked to win a national championship, they dropped four

spots in USC. They vaulted 10 spots up to number 13. That dang duck. The one that surprised me the most is, is your alma mater only dropping one spot. Michigan, Michigan looks sloppy offensively. It wasn't impressive

no matter who was that quarterback. And so I'm looking at not only the quarterback position, but the offensive line. You used to see in a bunch of bullies on the offensive line. pushing people around. That wasn't the case. And so I was expecting a little bit, maybe more of a drop, though it was week one. What's also really cool is we've talked about BC. They're on the cusp of the top 25 coming in at 26.

So they could be 27. Sorry, they could be a dark horse. But speaking of ranked teams, we've got Pete here with an injury report on week one. So Pete, let's start with the number one team, Georgia and their top prospect, Mikel Williams. Yeah, Victoria, Michael Williams injured his ankle. a grade two sprain against Clemson in that opener at Mercedes-Benz. He's questionable this week against Tennessee Tech. The good news for the bulldozing is not serious,

and there's optimism that for the SEC opener, which is big more important for Georgia and the macro, he'll be back at Kentucky the following week. As for Notre Dame, a similar situation for Jordan Face On, their star receiver who is the MVP of the Sun Bowl. He's out one to two weeks with an ankle injury suffered at, Texas A&M. They obviously have Northern Illinois this week. He's expected to miss that game. We'll see what his status is for Purdue the following week when the Irish hit the road to go to West Lafayette.

As for Florida's Graham Mertz, there's some intrigue as to whether he'll play or not this weekend against Sanford. Mertz suffered a concussion and he's in protocol. Florida has been very open about this. He has to proceed through protocol in order to be cleared to play on Saturday. From the big picture, whether he's cleared or not, we're going to see a lot of DJ Lagway. He's the five-star freshman who's the face of the future for Florida, which needs an injection of optimism. And speaking of optimism, Cincinnati-star defensive lineman Dante Corleone, the godfather, an all-American defensive tackle, has been cleared to fully practice for the bear cats this week. Corleone is one of the top interior NFL prospects in the country. his status is so uncertain for Saturday against Pitt. He obviously has to come back and go through his first full contact practice a few times this week

before the coaches are comfortable playing in. But what good news, he obviously had blood clots, which kept him out in his lungs. So Corleone will be cleared and start practicing full contact tonight. We love the good news and we love to see guys recover quickly from injuries. All right, we'll be keeping a close eye. Thank you so much, Pete. Coming up, Penn State's offense exploded in week one. should the Nittany Lions be getting more respect in the Big Ten?

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more Canada Life, insurance, investments, advice. Welcome back to college football live. All right, guys, let's go three and out to end the show. So Sam, after watching them against West Virginia, can we finally say that they've found an explosive offense in Penn State that we've been hoping for? I wouldn't say explosive, but I would say they're getting better. We saw some shades of more precise throws from Drew Aller. That was exciting to see.

We saw a little bit of what that Kansas offense brought from Andy Koldon, Nikki, who's a new offensive coordinator from Kansas, we saw some of that offense, that pistol offense, that speed option offense in this Penn State offense. And we saw a little bit of down-the-field passing as well. And so I'm not ready to buy fully on how explosive they are just yet. I want to see more accuracy from quarterback Drew Aller,

but he's getting there and I'm excited to see it. Coach Conecki is going to open up the offense. We just saw that against West Virginia. I'm excited for what he's doing up in Happy Valley with Drew Aller. that offense. I can't wait to see him play some more games. All right. Well, Sam, who had the more impressive record-breaking performance,

Gentile with 267 Russian yards and six touchdowns? Or McMillan with 304 receiving yards and four touchdowns? Oh, give me T-Mack all day. 17 seconds left in the game. I want T-Mack. Teteroa, McMillan. 304 yards, four touchdowns.

And some of those were big plays down the field, but some of those were crossing routes that he simply just took to the house. Remember, Arizona was 9 and 3 last year, and they lost a lot of talent. They lost their head coach. But they kept their quarterback, Noah Fafita, and they kept their receiver, Tedaroa McMillan. I was talking to Teddy Bruske, who was an analyst with the team or advisor to the team. He was like, no, dude, this guy's NFL talent.

Give me T-Mack. Yeah, T-Mack is 6-5-2-10, and he's a problem. I mean, this guy, he catches the ball anywhere on the field, and he still creates separation. from all DBs, anybody in the secondary. That's NFL type talent. I love what he brings to the offensive guys. They needed all of those yards and all of those touchdowns because it was a very, very close game in the first half.

So give me TMAQ. All right. I'm with you with TMAC. All right, Sam, what did you think of Davis Warren's debut starting at QB for Michigan? I was not impressed by Davis-Warrant's debut. The reason why is this. Yes, we saw a couple passes sideline to sideline,

but the first down-the-field throw, interception. And then also the offensive line was giving up sacks. Davis-Woren was, this is that first down-to-field throw early in the game. He threw it up for grabs. It's picked off, right? The offensive line didn't give him a lot of protection. When Alex Orgy came in the game, he actually threw the first touchdown, and then he went on and had some big plays with his legs.

So I wasn't impressed by Warren. We'll see what happens this weekend. I think we'll see kind of what the decision is going to be made for the next starting TV this weekend. All right, for Pete, Sam, Des. I'm Victoria Arlen. Thanks for watching. We will be back on ESPN2 tomorrow.