Former Florida QB Jesse Palmer Talks College Football Playoff, French Onion Beer and Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward
Jesse Palmer had the best view of one of the College Football Playoffs games this month, as it boosts coverage for the Peach Bowl between No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 Texas.
The The Longhorns were heavy favoritesand none of the previous playoff games had been particularly close either – so the pressure was on the Sun Devils.
In the end, they delivered a classic, as the Longhorns needed double overtime to advance to the semifinals. However, Palmer himself still thinks that it is necessary to “tweak” the seeding format.
“I think the conference champs should get in. I don’t think they should be automatically let into the quarterfinals, though. I just felt like, just as a college football fan, watching Oregon play Ohio State and watching Georgia play Notre Dame, that felt like semifinal games to me, not necessarily quarterfinal games,” Palmer said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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ESPN’s Jesse Palmer prior to the Texas Longhorns’ quarterfinal game against the Arizona State Sun Devils College Football Playoff in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Now Arizona State, to me, is one of the biggest stories of the year in college football. A team that went 3-9 last year and went through all the NCAA sanctions and everything they had to go through, an outstanding year, Cam Skattebo is easy one of the best players in college football… It was amazing how well they played on the field with Texas… I still think there are some changes needed in the college football playoff format, but if you just look at Arizona State specifically as that team, they are easily talented and nothing good enough to reach the semi-finals, no doubt.”
In the end, Texas lost their semifinal match Ohio State on Friday night, but Palmer says Quinn Ewers has faced many uphill battles over the course of the year.
“I give Quinn Ewers a lot of credit. It’s so hard as a quarterback not to look over your shoulder. There’s so much hype around Arch Manning when he comes out, right? And Arch Manning played so well in the two and a half games that Quinn Ewers was injured, and then all of a sudden, in the middle of the season, they lost to Georgia. There were a lot of people who wanted a change at quarterback,” Palmer said.
Texas running back Quinn Ewers warms up before the first round game against Clemson in the College Football Playoff Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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Palmer was engaged in a similar situation in Floridawhere he was on the same roster as Rex Grossman and top recruit Brock Berlin.
“I’m sitting there thinking to myself, ‘If I throw an interception or we lose the game, I’m going to lose my job.’ And credit to Quinn Ewers, he just put his head down and just kept playing,” Palmer said.
The National Championship is a week away and the NFL playoffs are underway. The viewing parties are underway and that’s why Palmer has teamed up with Helluva Good Dips to keep football fans eating well this time of year.
Former NFL player Jesse Palmer arrives at the 2017 ESPYS at the Microsoft Theater. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
“It’s my favorite time of year. It’s a time to hang out with friends and family and watch the big games, and I’m excited to be parting ways with Helluva Good to really grow and take the big game viewing party experience to the next level,” said Palmer. “Helluva Good dips are a staple in my house, have been for a long, long time, and definitely at viewing parties. And this year will be no different. The College Football Playoff, the big game coming to the NFL. There will be chips, sauce and beer, so there’s no better combination than that.”
The dip brand has teamed up with Harpoon Brewery to produce a French onion flavored beer, which is on Palmer Street.
“This is like Jimmie Johnson, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in the Super Bowl,” Palmer joked. “French onion sauce is my favorite Helluva Good sauce, so that’s the part, and Harpoon IPA happens to be my favorite flavor in beer, and this is like a combination of the two. And when people try this, they’re going to be blown away. It’s incredibly.”
Chips, sauce and beer will be back in a few months NFL draftwhere right now it looks like Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward will be the top-two picks. A lot can change, but Palmer doesn’t see anyone else sneaking into those picks, and teams will have to be aggressive if they want a quarterback.
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, #2, warms up before the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at the Alamodome. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Pictures)
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“Shedeur is incredibly athletic. I’d say he’s incredibly accurate and probably a little more dangerous from the pocket. Cam’s a guy who’s a little better off the schedule, but I think he’s just a natural passer and has the X-factor…” Palmer said. “It might take some movement and some ammo to move up to catch one of those guys.”
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