Stay ConnectedAdam Breneman’s College Football Show takes you inside the game with interviews featuring the biggest coaches, players, and decision-makers in college football, plus Adam’s analysis on the teams, players, and stories shaping the sport.
Breneman brings a unique perspective as a former 3x All-American at Penn State and UMass, former 5-star recruit, the youngest Power Four position coach in college football, and now a national college football analyst for CBS Sports.
Copyright: © Adam Breneman
Week 7 had a little of everything. BYU knocked off Notre Dame as a 10-point underdog, Indiana lost for the first time in 22 games, and Penn State is 0-4 in the Big Ten under a first-year coach. I start with BYU, a team I watched up close at Colorado State, and ask whether the Cougars can really win it all. Then I turn to Penn State, where Christian Hackenberg and I talk about what’s going on inside this locker room, because we were inside one like it in 2014. After that I explain why you shouldn’t panic about Indiana and what the Hoosiers have to fix. I finish in the Pac-12, where I was still on the call for Fresno State at San Diego State at 1:30 in the morning, and I can’t stop thinking about this league.
I called BYU’s game at Colorado State, so I’ve been telling you this team is for real. Saturday night was the proof. BYU shocked Notre Dame 28-24 as a 10-point underdog. Not only that, but they did it while muffing a punt, botching a fake punt and going scoreless in the third quarter. Here’s why I think BYU has the tools to win it all, and why the mistakes they got away with might be the most encouraging part.
Penn State is 0-4 in the Big Ten with a first-year coach. Christian Hackenberg and I have been in this exact spot. In 2014, James Franklin’s first team started hot, lost four straight and still finished 7-6 with a Pinstripe Bowl win. So I sat down with Hack to ask what a locker room sounds like in the middle of a losing streak and what a bye week can do for a team that’s lost its footing. Matt Campbell’s team has the same chance to save its season, and this is what it takes to write the same ending.
I’ve sat down with Curt Cignetti twice, and I can promise you one loss won’t change how he runs this program. Saturday was ugly. Indiana got inside the Ohio State 40 six times and only scored twice, missed two field goals, and went 0-for-2 on fourth down. I’ll walk through what went wrong, why I’m not panicking, and how Indiana cleans things up.
I was still on the call for Fresno State at San Diego State when the clock went past 1:30 AM Eastern. And after seeing four Pac-12 stadiums this season, I’m ready to plant my flag. Oregon State has the best passing attack in the country and Boise State has one of its best backfields. Add a late-night slate that feels like the old Pac-12 After Dark, and a league that has a real shot at being the top G6 conference, and I think this is everything we love about college football.
I played tight end at Penn State, I coached at Arizona State, and now I cover college football for CBS Sports. Every week, I answer the biggest questions in the sport. Penn State is 0-3 in the Big Ten, so is the problem the offense or the defense? Can they go to Michigan on Saturday and finally get a win? Kentucky has knocked off two top-10 teams in one month, so is that a fluke, or is the offense built to hold up for a full SEC schedule? And Oregon State is scoring 41.8 points a game behind Braden Atkinson and true freshman receiver Jesse Legree, and I’m starting to wonder if that’s the best duo in the country. I give you both sides of every question, and then I tell you where I land.
I played tight end at Penn State, so I know exactly what this poor start feels like from the inside. The Nittany Lions travel to Michigan, who are also winless in the Big Ten. One of these teams gets a fresh start and the other digs a deeper hole. I went through Michigan’s numbers and they're stranger than you’d expect. So is that a team that’s ready to be beaten, or a team that’s one clean game away from turning it around? I lay out the case for both sides, then tell you who I think walks out of Ann Arbor with a Big Ten win.
I called Oregon State’s game against Texas Tech, so I’ve seen this offense up close. What I saw that day is exactly why I can’t stop talking about it. Braden Atkinson has thrown 21 touchdowns, the most in the country. His top target is true freshman Jesse Legree. A 3-star recruit that leads the nation in both receiving yards and touchdowns. Put the two of them together and you get an offense scoring over 40 points a game.
Most people are meeting Kentucky’s head coach for the first time this season. I’m not. I sat down with Will Stein two years ago, and I walked away with a real feel for how he thinks about offense and what he wants his quarterback doing every snap. So when Kentucky knocked off two top-10 teams in one month, I wasn’t surprised by the way they won. The question I can’t stop thinking about is whether it lasts. Was this past month a fluke, or is this offense built to hold up through a full SEC schedule? I’ve got an answer, and it starts with what I learned sitting down with coach.
Penn State is winless in the Big Ten and everyone has a theory on why. Is it the offense that can’t finish drives, or the defense that can't stop the run? Adam lays out the case against each side, then makes his call on which one is really to blame.
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