2024-2025 College Football Selection Show
Transcript
Hosted by Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, and Mark May
Sponsored by Yak and Yeti Himalayan Restaurant
Rece Davis:
Welcome, everyone, to the 2024-2025 College Football Selection Show! We’ve got
a lot to unpack tonight, as the nation’s best teams battle for those coveted
spots in the 10-team tournament. As always, we’re thrilled to have Lou Holtz
and Mark May back with us. Gentlemen, what are the big questions we need to
answer tonight?
Mark May:
Well, Rece, the biggest question is who will take the final at-large spot?
We’ve got a tight race between Tennessee, Indiana, and SMU. All three teams are
on the bubble, and this decision is going to be a tough one for the committee.
Lou Holtz:
I’ll tell you, Rece, it’s gotta be Indiana. Just one loss, and it’s from not
only a big four conference, but from the big two conferences, Big Ten and SEC.
How can you leave out a team that only has that one blemish on its record? It
would be a travesty!
Mark May:
Lou, I respect that, but let me tell you why I think it will be Tennessee.
Indiana played a very weak schedule, and their loss to Ohio State wasn’t close.
Tennessee, on the other hand, brings more balance to the tournament. This allows
us to have nice symmetry: three teams from the SEC, three from the Big Ten, an
independent, and a team from each of the other best conferences. It just fits
better.
Lou Holtz:
But Mark, Indiana beat Michigan pretty easily this season. And then Michigan
went on to handle Ohio State. That’s a pretty strong resume in my book.
Rece Davis: I
see both sides of this, but we’ll get a resolution soon enough. We also need to
figure out who will grab the top two seeds. Lou, I’m going to start with you —
who do you think will earn those top spots?
Lou Holtz:
Rece, it has to be undefeated Oregon at No. 1. They’ve been dominant all year
long. At No. 2, I’ve got to go with Notre Dame. I know the voters may lean
toward Georgia, but the computers will put Notre Dame in that second slot.
They’ve been steady all season.
Mark May:
I’m going to disagree, Lou. It’s going to be Georgia as the No. 2 seed. Following
Oregon, Georgia has been the most consistent and dominant team in the country.
After Oregon and Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, Ohio State, and Penn State will be
in the mix for the next four spots. That’s a lot of parity in those rankings,
and any of them could end up in any order, from three to six.
Rece Davis:
Now, when we look at the automatic qualifiers, we’ve got Arizona State,
Clemson, and Boise State likely locked in. These teams will be the 7th to 10th
seeds, playing in the First Round. There’s also the impact of the Pac-12, where
Oregon and Arizona State each took their new conferences by storm this season.
Lou, any thoughts on that?
Lou Holtz: Well,
Rece, you’re right. Arizona State, in particular, has done an outstanding job
in their first season in the new conference. And don’t forget, Texas and SMU
also came close to winning their new conferences. But when you look at the
conferences, there’s one thing that stands out — scheduling. These new
conferences have to learn how to structure their schedules better. Ohio State,
Penn State, Indiana, and Oregon were the top four teams in their conference
this season, but Ohio State played all three of them, winning two out of three.
The other three only played Ohio State, and that’s simply not fair. We need
divisions, like the Big Ten should have with 18 teams. They need to have two
divisions and play all the other teams in their division. This way, everyone
gets a fair shot.
Mark May:
Lou’s got a point there. The schedules in college football are more unbalanced
than in any other major sport. Even if conferences try to balance things out,
they’ll never have the same kind of home-and-home scheduling you see in college
basketball or the NFL. The lack of divisions makes it hard to see who really is
the best team sometimes, and these new conference expansions make the
scheduling chaos even worse. That is why you see teams getting into these bizarre
tie-breaker scenarios. And let’s not forget, the extra conference championship
game can sometimes hurt a team, if they take a loss that bounces them out of
the tournament.
Lou Holtz:
That’s exactly right, Mark. This year, Oregon would have likely gone undefeated
in the Big Ten West. They beat Illinois, who was the second-best team in the
West. Then they would have played the East champ Ohio State, a one-loss team
who had only been beaten by Michigan. Ohio State would’ve beaten Penn State and
Indiana, and PSU and IU would have had to settle it head-to-head for that
second spot.
Rece Davis:
It’s definitely a lot to think about, gentlemen. We’re in a world of change in
college football, and how these conferences and teams structure their schedules
will have a lasting impact. But all of that is for another day. Stay tuned as
we dive deeper into the field of 10 and make those final decisions. You’re
watching the 2024-2025 College Football Selection Show, brought to you by Yak
and Yeti Himalayan Restaurant — where every meal is a mountain of flavor!
Rece Davis:
We are back, and guys, the waiting is over. It is time to go to Brent Musburger
on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where this year's
championship game will be played. Brent?
Brent Musburger:
You are looking...LIVE at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the site
of this season's college football championship game. Hi there, everybody! Ten
teams will play to win here but only one will take home the BCS championship
trophy. And now, it is time for the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice
Cream Sandwiches bracket presentation.
Let's go to tournament Commissioner Nelson, who will
reveal this year's tournament.
Commissioner:
Thank you, Brent. It is my yearly pleasure to announce the teams that will be
playing in the 2024-2025 BCS College Football Tournament.
In the First Round, in Charlotte, the seventh seed,
the Volunteers of the University of Tennessee, at-large team from the
Southeastern Conference, will play the tenth seed, and champion of the Atlantic
Coast Conference, the Clemson University Tigers.
The other First Round game will be played in Salt Lake
City, where the eighth seed and champion of the Mountain West Conference, the
Broncos of Boise State University, will take on the ninth-seeded Arizona State
University, champion of the Big XII Conference.
So, let's move onto the BCS Bowl quarterfinals. Either
Tennessee or Clemson will move on to the Rose Bowl, to play the top seed, the
Ducks of the University of Oregon, champions of the Big Ten Conference. The
winner of the Rose Bowl will take on the winner of the Fiesta Bowl, which will
feature the fourth seed, at-large from the SEC Conference, the Longhorns of the
University of Texas, and fifth-seeded at-large from the Big Ten Conference, the
Buckeyes of the Ohio State University.
Either Boise State or Arizona State will move on to
the Sugar Bowl, to play the number two seed, and champion of the Southeastern
Conference, the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia. The Sugar Bowl winner
will take on the winner of the remaining quarterfinal game, the Orange Bowl,
which will feature the third seed, automatic qualifying independent, the Notre
Dame University Fighting Irish, who will play the sixth seed, at-large from the
Big Ten Conference, the Nittany Lions of Penn State University.
The winners of the BCS quarterfinals will meet in
Indianapolis for Football's Final Four, and the winner of the semifinals will
play for the BCS championship, right here, in Atlanta.
Brent Musburger:
Thank you, Commissioner, it shapes up to be a very competitive tournament. So,
the seventh and tenth seeds won’t play Georgia, as both teams already faced
Georgia during the regular season, correct?
Commissioner:
Exactly. Our guidance is to avoid regular-season rematches in First Round and
Bowl game quarterfinals. So the Tennessee/Clemson winner will play Oregon
rather than play Georgia again.
Brent Musburger:
And I am sure Coach Holtz is dying to know how close Indiana was to making the
tournament.
Commissioner:
Well, Brent, it wasn’t close at all. The committee had clear distinctions
between the seeds this year, and Indiana just didn’t make the cut.
Brent Musburger:
Thank you, Commissioner, it shapes up to be an extremely balanced tournament.
And now back to Rece at the studio.
(microphones pick up unsuspecting
continuing conversation)
Brent Musburger:
Good job, Commissioner. You did great.
Commissioner:
Thanks, I hope I didn’t say anything too out of line. Last season I called it
the ‘Conference USA conference’—still cringe and lose sleep over that.
Brent Musburger:
Don’t worry, you were fine. But, you do look a bit tired...please be ready for
all of the big games.
(back to the studio)
Rece Davis: Great,
thank you Brent. Okay, so we have five
teams who made the tournament last year. Of those five, Ohio State has 12
straight years in the tournament, quite an accomplishment. Then Tennessee and
Clemson, who were in the tournament 2 years ago, Notre Dame in the brackets
three seasons ago, Boise State after 10 years back in the tournament, and
almost three decades have passed since Arizona State had a place in the
brackets.
Lou, what surprised you.
Lou Holtz: I’m
upset that one-loss Indiana was excluded. It would have been great if Indiana
and Notre Dame had a chance to play in Football’s Final Four in their home
state of Indiana. But at third seed, Notre Dame might take advantage of a game
in Indianapolis.
Mark May:
Oregon gets a bit of a harder path because they get Tennessee or Clemson, but
maybe it is sound that Georgia’s tough schedule gave them a bit easier path
with the Boise State/Arizona winner. Penn State also gets a good path through
the tournament, and they could be a factor.
Rece Davis:
Okay, guys, who else do you see as potential upstarts in this tournament?
Mark May:
Arizona State has been playing very well down the stretch. I do not think
anyone wants to play them. But we may be looking past the real Cinderella. We are
not paying as much attention to Boise State. We know they are solid and proven,
but no one is talking about the Broncos as a tournament threat. Boise has been
to three Football Final Fours and a championship game. Over the years, they’ve
always played well against the established teams, so watch out for them.
Lou Holtz:
I agree, watch out for Arizona State. At the beginning of the season, we kept
hearing about Utah and Arizona, then Colorado as coming from the Pac-12 and
winning the Big XII. Then Arizona State comes out of nowhere to win and make
the tournament. And boy, I tell you what, the Sun Devils running back Cam
Skattebo, he has had what I declare the best runs of the decade, and we are
only halfway through. He is amazing. But I’d also say, watch out for Clemson.
They not only have an experienced tournament coach in Dabo Swinney, who is a
tournament champion coach, but he is doing it the right way. He has a two-way
level of respect between program and players. Not running around trying to spend
money on other teams' players, but running a program that develops players.
Right now, Clemson fans may be frustrated for now, but when things settle down,
players may realize eventually it’s best to be in a program like Clemson that
wants you to develop.
Rece Davis:
Okay, guys, who do you like to win it all?
Lou Holtz:
I tell ya, it’s going to be Notre Dame versus Ohio State in the championship
game. Ohio State, boy, they have talent, but frankly, sometimes their players
seem more interested in cashing their NIL checks than watching films and
preparing. But I think they’ll rally around their coach Ryan Day. But it’s
going to be Notre Dame to win it all. I really like Notre Dame. Semi-finals in
Indianapolis, it’s their year.
Mark May: Coach,
this is truly a year of parity, and I frankly can see the top six teams all
having a good chance. Truthfully, I would add Tennessee to those six, but I think winning four
games adds a level of difficulty. Normally, I would go with the SEC champion,
Georgia, and remember, the championship game is in Atlanta, but with the
Bulldogs’ quarterback questions, even though it’s tough to stay undefeated,
I’ll pick Oregon to win the title over Penn State.
Rece Davis: Well guys, we are ready for some games, it should be something special. One last look at the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches bracket :
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