CFB LIVE - COURT IN LOUISIANA

0:00Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to college football live, presented by... ...Jock J. Pepper. And we have developing news right off the jump as we expected. In a courtroom in Louisiana, as we speak, on one side athletes looking for eligibility. On the other side, the NCAA, the SEC, the Commissioner Greg Sanky, the decision could largely impact how the 2026 college football season plays out with everyone in the sport on pins and nails waiting to see what happens.

1:09If it's happening in the sport, the epicenter will be there. Pete Dammel is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Peter, I want to get to what's happening in that courtroom behind you in just one second. But in the last couple of hours, we have found out there's an even bigger development happening in another courtroom. This is a U.S. District Court in Alabama. So before we get to all the Lane Kiffin drama that you were there to report on, tell us about this late breaking development in Alabama. So, Zubin, in the courthouse behind me right now, SEC Commissioner Greg Sanky is entering his second hour of testimony in the state court hearing that involves 44 athletes. You'd think that would be the biggest story in college sports today involving the SEC, but it's actually not. Just around the time that Sanky was taking the stand here in Baton Rouge, the SEC filed a federal claim suing LSU, LSU's Board of Supervisors, Lane Kiffin, Athletic Director of Virge Ospery, basically the legal equivalent of running the Statue of Liberty.

2:09Nobody saw this coming at this moment. Everyone expected the SEC to follow the big 12 playbook from the Texas Tech situation and file federally for the First Amendment right, essentially for the SEC to enforce their own rules. Very few people until last night expected Greg Sanky to even be here today. There had been a talk out of the SEC that was very unlikely all week. Not only did Greg Sanky appear, but basically at the same time he appeared in their own backyard, the SEC's based in Birmingham, they filed federally trumping this moment in a significant way. It's unknown how this federal lawsuit is going to play out, but it plays out anything like the big 12 one, which is this is clearly cribbed from the playbook, we could get a ruling soon and LSU would face long odds. But think about this, you've been just like the enormity of this. The South Eastern Conference filed the federal lawsuit today against one of its flagship original members, the Athletic Director, the football coach, and the Board of Supervisors. He did it essentially while the commissioner of the SEC was on the stand in a different lawsuit.

3:13It is surreal and it is wild in the courtroom. We don't have electronics in the media, so nobody knew it was filed. One of the plaintiffs attorney scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to another plaintiffs attorney. And then it was basically brought up in the courtroom and there was just a buzz. Wait a minute. I think the SEC is suing Lane Kiffin and LSU. It was something straight out of a movie, Zubin, and that's where we are today in Baton Rouge. It is a truly surreal scene. In football parlons and end around for the ages is I'm just trying to process what you're saying. So let's remember where you are. You're in Baton Rouge to cover a completely different court hearing, which we thought that to start the day would be the hearing. So let's just help us set the scene. We've been angling towards this moment, Pete, for quite some time. What's going on inside that courtroom? Our viewers need to know. Take us there. Sure. So Zubin, it's a it's a cramped crowded courtroom. The judge actually called it cozy and comfortable to start in its pact.

4:14It's standing Ramone. There are about 14 athletes, male and female from the suit, which has 44 athletes involved in it. So many lawyers involved that they had to roll in shares to fit them all. The attorney general from the state of Louisiana is here. The two main lawyers who've spoken the most today are both attorney generals, one from Baton Rouge, one from New Orleans. They're clearly rivals and don't like each other. They've been snapping at each other all day during testimony. So there's so many people in the courtroom. They've essentially put all the athletes in what you would think of as the jurors box. And what's unfolded is Greg Sankey is the first, you know, the first person to come speak and testify before the court. And he's been there for over two hours. One of the lawyers Tony Clayton pressed him on how much money he made. He said that his tax filing. It was $4.8 million a year. They pressed him on Diddy Fly here private today. He said yes. It has been compelling and spicy after about an hour, Sankey asked for water and they took a break and he's still been up there. Some of it has been dense legal things. They brought up the NCAA rulebook and how bylaws are applied.

5:17But but essentially with these athletes surrounding him that they're asking Greg Sankey, should the SEC have the power to prevent this 50 year? Remember this whole lawsuit is rooted in the class of 2022, the class of 2022. Many of these members are seeking a 50 year here, but there's also the NFL part of this, which has made this national headlines. Inside the courtroom, Azabia and Harrison Dayquan, right? The two Ole Miss transfers who each had cups of coffee in various levels of the NFL and earn out back and they've expressed their intention to transfer to LSU. They haven't transferred to LSU there, but they're sitting there watching this unfold today in this Baton Rouge courtroom. There's really been no indication of how this is going to go, Zubin. The judge is expected to roll from the bench today, but nothing is certain. But it just kind of feels like if we're going to hear first on athletes, we're just getting underway here this afternoon. But already the drama has been thick. This is unbelievable. One of the most powerful people in sports is sitting there on the stand, squarming with nowhere to go. Meanwhile, LSU is wondering who they're going to have on their roster Saturday as they try to go undefeated and make the playoff.

6:21But the real group that's undefeated, Billable Hours. And that's Pete Thammell with a surreal update today from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That is simply incredible. Wow. All right, fellas. I hope Florida State and Texas had a lost goal. It is a pleasure to welcome EJ and Sam inside College football alive. I'm Zubin Mahenti and honor Avacho. I'm wearing the boldest thing in my wardrobe. Still not even close to my man, Avcho. So in on a serious note here, what Pete just said, we are truly an unprecedented territory. We've been playing this great sport. You guys played this over 150 years old. We are seeing things we have never seen or never imagined EJ. We would ever see playing out in real time. When you heard Pete, what are you thinking? And days before a huge game, too. That's the other thing that comes to mind for me. If I'm laying kiff in there from some of these players that are trying to get out there and play. But ultimately, here's my stance. In a field players, whether you signed a contract, whether you had a cup of coffee, a training camp, whether you were a part of the draft process, you cannot go back to College Football.

7:21You can understand the whole ruling with the five or five and all that with the five years. But ultimately, if these players had made the team, they're not coming back to a college team. So I just think it's a competitive advantage. I understand a coach like Lane Kiffin trying to help his roster be better and build it up as much as possible for depth. But I just feel like you're crushing the fabric of what we've all known as you said. 100 plus years of College Football, amateur athletics for a pro to then come back to the college ranks. So, the fabric has already been crushed if you're seeing these amateur athletes getting paid for their performances. And so for me, my stance is actually very different. I think with this small class of players, they do deserve the right to be able to finish out their fifth year. The starting quarterback at North Carolina, who played a couple days ago, is going on his six years. You're 24 years old. Played six years in College Football. They won rights of the guys we're talking about. They're class of 2022. They only played four years. And then the idea of the people are shocked that a player might leave the NFL or not even, these guys haven't even made it to the NFL yet. But leaving opportunity to go to college, the reality is this is you look at the practice squad contract for an NFL player.

8:23Number one, it's week to week. Number two, if a NFL player stays on the roster the entire 17 game, 18 week season on practice squad, that's about $250,000 maybe. The equal and right was probably getting double that last year because back to probably going to get triple that this year. And so there's an earning potential and earning opportunity for these players. You say it's practice squad. What about active roster? They're rookie minimum for the active roster of NFL players, about $850,000. Yes, that's right. College players who have gone to the NFL are currently taking pay cuts. Some of them are. Think about what you just said. Think about what you just said. And so there's an incentive for a player to be able to maximize their earning potential. And this small class of players was left out. Players before them are still playing. Players after them will get a fifth year. There's a few players will only get four and I think they should deserve that opportunity to play a fifth. Alright, fair enough. We should also mention just for purposes of context. These guys both played in college and the NFL. So they kind of understand what's going on at both ends. Alright, let's quickly get to the actual game we want to talk about. And quickly courtesy of our good year, fast plays and how fast of a year has it been?

9:24Last year at this time, it's LSU. It's Clemson. It's Brian Kelly with all the pressure on him. He doesn't even survive the year. Neither team has the year they want. Sour taste in their mouth. So now both teams return. Both teams look vastly different, especially at the quarterback position. EJ, let's start with you there. This is your specialty. You want a conference championship playing quarterback. Tell me about both guys here. Very interesting. Both have been in college for a long time. One's played a ton. One hasn't played a ton. Right. I'll start with LSU's quarterback. LSU's quarterback. Some love it. Very shiny object in the transfer portal. And for good reason, he's an extreme athlete. He has a rocket launcher for arm. He got everybody excited in the 2024 season when he was at Arizona State. Took that team to a college football playoff. He had the Liz Fring injury that shortened his season last year. That's a big plusher markup. What kind of guy will he be back now at Baton Rouge? Yes, he has a bunch of great players around him. Trader's brain is, I think, one of the best tight ends. But ultimately, he has to get back comfortable. And I think he has to start fast in this game this weekend. Now, Christopher Rosino is an interesting one. For one, he stuck there throughout the time at Clemson.

10:27I really respect him for doing that. Didn't get a chance to play behind Kate Clubnik. But now this is his opportunity. He also went a long time in this training camp of trying to get that job. I think the big key for him is gaining confidence. And keep this in mind. He did get a chance to play a lot last year against S&U in that game. Through four over three hundred yards. So this is somebody who was certainly capable. And certainly, Dabble's only going to make a decision of the guy who can be best fit to go into that environment and win a game of LSU. But it's so instructive. But you said the fact that he's been around so much longer than Tate Reynolds. And it still took him almost the entire camp to win. It does say something. You have been around the Clemson program in person. I know you've talked to the team. You've always raved about their defensive personnel. Well, not just me, Dabble Swinney. When I went and talked to the team, was it maybe two years ago, Dabble was talking about one of their star defenders who was a young player named Sammy Brown, who was outstanding. Now he's not so young anymore. It's one of the best linebackers in the game. Well, Sam's out to me. He says awareness. This is the last time we saw Sammy Brown play. There's going to be this motion. All of a sudden he says, OK, running back offset motion. Hold on. I see something coming. I think it's going to be an inside play coming to his. The offense is left. All of a sudden he's pointing it out, calling out. And he makes the play. But not just him.

11:29The entire defense knocks back this Penn State offense. He's not in the end zone. But that's just one plan to red zone. Let's go to the very next place off the ball. But he's also versatile. He can go on the ball as well and not just run up the field and get lost in the field. No, he shuffles down like a true defensive and should. Yes, he's on block. But he stays flat across a lot of scrimmage and makes the tackle. Another red zone stop. But it's not just that you may not be able to see this, but it's heartbeat of the defense. Watch him get the defensive line where they're supposed to be. And he's not going to make the play somebody else will. And you may not be able to see it on this film. But watch this play be made. And then the celebration. It's like it's the players. But off screen. Watch that it will celebrate with his teammates. He's not on this one. But on my point is this. If you can celebrate with your teammates. Sure. When somebody else makes a play and you're not the one making a play, that to me shows leadership so we can play on the field. He can be versatile. But the leadership, the heartbeat of the defense. I think that's why he's special. That's what makes this cleanse and defense good. This is dabbo always used to say people say I don't use the portal. My portal is called the locker room. I believe in my guys. And I want them to do what they need to do on the way.

12:31Pressure. Who's got the most of the big names under center with a huge season coming for all of them. EJ Rank some Sam criticizes them and a reminder students scan the QR code or visit drpepper.com slash tuition by September 30th to enter for a chance to compete for $100,000 in the Dr Pepper tuition giveaway during conference championship weekend. We are back to rank those cubies next. College football live is presented by ice cold Dr Pepper. College football. It's a pepper thing. Welcome back to college football live presented by Dr Pepper. When that Campbell brought a bunch of his players over from Ames to state college, he also brought over one amazing tradition. He did it at Iowa State.

13:31It's called Victory Day. First time at 10 state with him in charge. Helps kids with physical and mental challenges be a part of the game day experience. Come out of the tunnel, hang with the guys and feel like they are part of one of the great traditions in all of college football. Some really good stuff there. Penn State debuts with Campbell this weekend. Many of these teams, son Stanford will debut this weekend, including tonight on ESPN with Colorado and Georgia. Tech prime in prime time tonight. We've already talked so much about quarterbacks on the show, but pressures in the eye of the beholder. What are your expectations? What are you supposed to do? EJ battled and won the pressure as a quarterback, championship quarterback at Florida State out of the ACC. So you're up my man. Cubies under the most pressure. However, you define it. We got all the familiar characters on the bottom of the screen. Let's go five to one. And look, I could have chose all these guys. That's right. Obviously all under pressure. But I'm going to go number five here. CJ Car under immense pressure. One, because look, Notre Dame did not make the cost for all playoff last year.

14:32Everybody was all set. They didn't even want to go to a bowl game, Sam. I told you that's crazy. But the big key here, you don't have your two first round running back. No, Jordanium price. No, Jeremiah love. The deepens are going to now scheme much differently against CJ Car. There's a lot of pressure there. Number four. I'm going Dante Moore out of Oregon. We're talking about championships coming out of the big 10. When is it going to be Oregon's time to get a championship? You think about the games that they lost last season. It was only two up to the eventual champion in Indiana. The second time they lost Indiana in CFP, they got absolutely embarrassed. A lot of pressure on Dante Moore to come back. Could it easily been a top five picking in the NFL draft? Decided to come back to college. He got to wear that championship at the end of the season. Number three. Arch, man. I was waiting for him. Damn, Otto. The latter quarter back right here. I'm not sure. Everybody's expecting all types of stuff from Arch. But here's the thing. You got a great team around you. You have a solid offensive line. You got one of the best play calls in the country. The big key for Arch to not let this pressure get to him is being at him. The best I saw Arch play in the back half of last season. When he used his legs, he took off the main place.

15:33He ad lib. I think that's the key to his game. And you got to be the Ohio State there in week number two. Number two. Sam Levin. A lot of pressure. Are there anything going on in Bat Roos right now? You think about this quarterback who's now an LSU Tiger coming off a Liz Spring injury. That's what the pressure is to me. Is he going to be the same guy? But also, is he going to be wiser in the hits that he takes? If you go back and watch the tape of Arizona State, yes, he made some amazing throws. But fellas, he was getting the car wrecks all the time. You need him to be available and ready to go the entire season. We go. And number one. Ding, ding, ding. Josh Hoover. You ask why? Okay. It's always hard to be the guy after the guy. What I mean by that? Fernando Mendoza was absolutely the guy last year. 16 and 0. I was in a trophy when I first overall picked and wins a championship. For a team that never won. Now Josh Hoover comes in and think about this too. Two years in a row, Indiana's made it to the C.A.P. underco-signetti. Hoover cannot be the guy that does not get the Hoosiers back into the C.A.P. All right. Now you got the toughest job because the quarterback that played for the quarterback whisper ripped apart his quarterback list.

16:34Yeah, and it's tough job for me. It's easy for me. Come on. I like your number two. I like your number three. I got question marks here. Let's start at number one. It ain't Josh Hoover, man. I'm not sure if he's a bit out of Indiana, but they're not as high as people may think. Yeah. Give me Bryce underwood at number one. I can see this. He struggled last season. I can see this. There's a new coach in Calwood and new offensive coordinator. It's supposed to be a quarterback whisper. If he doesn't get it right, all of a sudden, what are you going to do with Michigan? So that's number one. I love Levitat LSU, R.A.P.3. Question marks here. We'll talk about that later. Okay. I'll burn it. Two out of five, then. Appreciate it. Talk about it later. He's keeping the pace of the show. He's like a producer on the set. He's unbelievable. He's working on that. He's been working on that. He's been working on that. And he's been working on that. His diary in Mensa wasn't chosen here in our list. But it would be a great selection. This is what he did at Duke, remember before that? He was balling out at Tulane, and they're certainly hoping in Coral Gables, we'll see a little more of these numbers, except 2025 will be replaced by 20-26 being oh, so close last year. Of course, EJ, you're down there in the sunshine state. You live down there, take me inside what we can really expect to see as we put your cubic hat on one more time.

17:35Well look, I was lucky enough to be able to go to see Darian Mints of practice down at Crowgables. And one thing that jumped off the page is his arm strength. This dude has a rocket launcher of an arm. And we're going to see some of that in the tape. But more so, pay attention to the accuracy here, especially down the red zone, where the defense doesn't have the back up as much. Things happen much quicker. He's going to bounce in the pocket by some time here. But look at the placement of this football right there on top of the DB. He has no chance. And in fact, that's really good coverage by the DB. But a better throw to his guy, Cooper Barca, who's also now Miami-Hurricane. By time, by time, extremely patient in the pocket. What does that do? It gives three defenders from Illinois that then come up to him, opens up the spot. He puts in the only where the receiver on the back line of a cross-strand route could come in, touchdown Duke. Now right here, he's going to do a great job of using his ability to have vision. Look at the corner of the bottom of your screen to the 10 yard line. He's going to be able to get up under this corner. If this ball is not thrown perfectly, fellas, it's either an I&T or it's a PBU, but instead it's a touchdown for Duke. Tight splits going to bring a trigger at corner blitz at the bottom of your screen. Daryl Menta understands that he's been watching film.

18:37He doesn't panic. He moves up in the pocket, distressing his face, still delivers a catchable ball, easy walk in touchdown. Again, for his guy, Cooper Barca, who is at Miami. Big deal. One of the reasons we're talking about Miami and Mences because on Friday night, you guys will be in the studio. You know that they will take on Stanford, who's already got one game under their belt. Big time rally knocked off Hawaii in the late stages. A lot of offensive talk there, but you want to hone in on what you've seen from the Cardinal defense. I was extremely impressed by Stanford defensively. And I love that tape of Daryl Menta. He's outstanding, but this Stanford defense, I think people might be sleeping on them. Why? Christopher Schard is their new defensive coordinator. Remember that name from his time in Seattle? He's in the boom. Legion of boom, but if you watch his defense on tape, it's not necessarily the splash plays. I get it. It's week zero Hawaii, but they are fundamentally sound. You're seeing God staying there, Gap laying integrity, rush laying integrity. Quarterback spies aren't overrunning the quarterback. And then last but not least, you just see them rushing together as one. They're an aggressive defense. I get that. That's what defense is going to be. But man, from a fundamental perspective, from a Gap sound integrity perspective, this is exactly what you want to see if you're a Cardinal fan.

19:37This game will be Friday night when College Football Arriver turns. The big game Sunday night is all about the running backs. Not the quarterbacks. It's the guys on the ground will tell you why. In a reminder, Chad Power, season two, presented by PlayStation, all episodes streaming right now on Fulu. I'm with you, Brad. So we're sticking to Africa. He fights out your best holiday and murderousy. I think Chad Power just died. Chad Power, season two, presented by PlayStation 5, all episodes now streaming on Fulu. College Football Live is presented by Ice Cold Doctor Pepper, College Football. It's a Pepper thing. On that note, let's take a look at our Dr. Pepper trophy

20:38run game of the week preview. A good thing about these two teams, Louisville and Ole Miss playing on Sunday night in Nashville and Nissan Stadium. Someone's going to win because out of the gate, when they play big time teams, these teams have not been particularly successful. That'll change for somebody. Louisville Ole Miss, again, ABC Sunday night, 730. And you have your eyes on the backfield. But now for the quarterbacks, guys are quarterbacks will be handing off. Yeah, I'll throw Ole Miss's running back. He is special Kiwai Lacey. And one, that was a huge piece for Pete Golden to keep as far as retaining great talent. But his ability to bounce off of defenders, but then also to have the speed coming out of those broken tackles to get another 10, 15, 20 yards. He's a great one-two punch in that backfield with his quarterback, and Trinidad Chammys. I'm expecting Kiwai Lacey. And look, he rushed for 1500 yards last year. That's really hard to do. But I think that's going to be another area. If you can get to 1200, that's going to be Kiwai Ole Miss, specifically the win this game against Louisville, Stout Defense. Isaac Brown is the other one. Now, you didn't have 1,000 yards, but this is two ahead of Monster Now Backfield. I know Sam's going to hit both of these runbacks. Isaac Brown is one of those guys that has.

21:39Once he gets to the edge, it's straight speed. And then he's able to break angles. Defenders are coming from 20, 15 yards away, and they still can't get to him. So the running bat matchup in this game, I think is one where both linebackers need to be eating their wetties. They can show their hydrate, because when we run it all night, chasing these guys. And it's not just Isaac Brown. It's also Kiwai Lacey for Louisville. They had Louisville struggle last year. I got a chance to call a couple of their games. They struggled because they weren't able to run the ball because it's the injuries to both Kiwai L and Isaac Brown. But now both of these guys look like they're going to be healthy. Both are extremely explosive. Also, transfer Lincoln Conholds, transfer of Ohio State. It's going to be quarterback and to be able to get that Jeff Brown quarterback under center offense. They've been working on some of that play action. So look out for both Isaac Brown and number 22 Kiwai L in this offense. That will be Sunday night, coming up tonight on ESPN. Colorado Georgia Tech. You'll see the guys on college football countdown one hour prior to kickoff. Ramlin Rek, Deon, who do we like? I like Georgia Tech. I think Alberto Mendoza, their new transfer quarterback, former national champion, and also Jessica Sainson, the backfinger. I like Georgia Tech. Also, that home crowd advantage is going to be tough for Colorado coming across the country.

22:40Once again, it all begins tonight. College football countdown leading you into prime in prime time. It's going to be a great season.