Athlon Sports Cover 2 College Football Podcast: Recent Episodes
Athlon Sports
The Athlon Sports Cover 2 College Football Podcast previews and reviews every aspect of the greatest sport on the planet.
Join Athlon’s editorial team every week of the preseason, regular season, postseason and offseason for a breakdown of the entire circus that is college football.
Courtroom expert Ross Dellenger joins Braden Gall to break down the latest in NCAA eligibility cases across the sports. What did we learn from Trinidad Chambliss ruling and it's impact on the future? Who needs to be in the room to solve these problems? How much does a competitive football roster cost?
Could Indiana be the best team in modern college football with a win? Bill Connelly joins Braden Gall to analyze the National Championship game. Where can Miami take advantage of a nearly perfect IU team? Was Miami's run to this game a fluke? Is Carson Beck a good QB?
Mitch Light of The Athletic joins Braden Gall to make sense of an unprecedented Final Four in college football. What do Indiana, Ole Miss, Miami and Oregon teach us about the future of College Football? What are we learning about the new playoff, new rules and new version of College Football? What did we learn from the quarterfinals and what do we expect to see in the semis?
Braden Gall sits down with longtime Big Ten and Ohio State reporter Doug Lesmerises. We break down Miami's shot at an upset, Indiana's chance at winning the whole thing, what makes the new tournament special and Oregon's balance. We preview the four College Football Playoff quarterfinal match-ups.
The first round of the playoffs did exactly what we expected it to do. A little bit of everything and maybe the potential for something totally new. Then Braden talks with Steven Godfrey about one of the wildest coaching carousels in modern college football history.
Braden Gall sits down with SiriusXM's Chris Childers to break down the future of the college football playoff committee. Did they get it right? What happens to conference championship games? Why the playoff will expand and what is the role of the TV networks? What happens to the Group of 5? Will Notre Dame be forced into a conference?
Braden Gall and Jared Stillman try to figure out what the hell is happening with the Penn State coaching search? Who else messed up this coaching carousel and who got it right? Are Bama and BYU already in or should the championship game matter? Is Nick Saban a liar?
Hey everyone, Braden here. I am offering a quick update on the future of the show. IT'S STILL ALIVE and we have plans we are figuring out. Thanks for all of your support and stay tuned!
Braden Gall and Steven Lassan host the last episode of the Athlon U College Football podcast - aka, The Cover 2 pod. We tell stories, explain the future of the pod and explain our love of college football.
Dear Listeners,
Thank you to each and every one of you who listened over the last 12 seasons. I would love to stay in touch via social media or my Nashville company, 440 Sports. Come hang out with us and stay tuned to the feed b/c you never know what could happen.
Love to all of you,
Braden
Steven and Braden talk college football. Our favorite thing in Week 4 was a massive new mascot and a distracted head coach. Mike Gundy has been fired from Ok-State as the hot seat gets warmer. Man, were we wrong about a lot in Week 4 and doesn't that make it fun? We look ahead at massive top 15 match-ups this week, offer picks against the spread and handicap the G5 race to the playoffs.
Steven and Braden talk college football after a dramatic third weekend of action. Our favorite thing from Week 3, what Georgia's win over Tennessee teaches us about the playoff and how Notre Dame's resume is still really good. Critical games in the Big 12 and Big Ten highlight another great weekend of action.
Steven and Braden talk college football. Florida, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma St and Kansas St are facing major questions after a brutal second week of action. Rivalries delivered in the Midwest. The AAC continues to shine and might have at-large playoff contenders. Baylor, Oklahoma, Illinois and others got big wins. Plus, the SEC takes center stage in Week 3 as multiple ranked match-ups highlight the weekend.
Steven and Braden talk college football. Massive top 10 match-ups highlighted a huge Week 1 but is the college football world overreacting? Is the chase for the playoff spot among the Group of 5 totally wide open after USF dominated Boise St? How good could the top of the Big 12 be in 2025? Michigan-Oklahoma highlights a big slate of games in Week 2, including a great list of ACC non-conference match-ups.
Steven and Braden celebrate the return of college football as a massive Week 1 kicks off this weekend. What was our favorite thing about Week 0? The SEC moves to a 9-game schedule. And we preview five straight nights of college football joy! LSU-Clemson, Texas-Ohio St, Auburn-Baylor, Notre Dame-Miami, Va Tech-South Carolina, TCU-UNC and much more.
Steven and Braden make their official picks ahead of Week 0. Conference champions, the national title, the playoff field, biggest sleepers, a Heisman draft, win total over/unders and a preview of the Iowa St-Kansas St game. Football is back!
Braden and Steven preview the SEC in 2025. Is Bama rising this preseason? Can Georgia reload? Who is better: Florida or South Carolina? Why is Texas A&M underrated? Are the Vols and Rebels taking a step back? How good could Auburn be? Who is the worst team in the league? Can Diego Pavia carry Vandy? Why is Texas No. 1?
Steven and Braden preview the ACC in 2025. Can Clemson win the National Championship? Who in the league can challenge in the ACC title game? Why we love Georgia Tech. How much can Florida State bounce back? What impact does Bill Belichick have? Stability at Pitt and NC State count for something, right? Leadership structure in the Bay Area is going to be fun to watch. What direction is Va Tech going?
Steven and Braden begin our 2025 conference previews with the Big 12. The most balanced and unpredictable league in college football will provide incredible drama as any number of teams could make it to the conference title game. TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor could be sneaky good. Utah and Kansas could bounce back. Arizona State and Iowa State could defend. And Oklahoma State will... do something.
Steven and Braden talk Group of 5 football in 2025. The preseason rankings tell a story about each league. The American is the deepest and likely the best. The Mountain West has the best team. The Sun Belt is the most balanced and wide open. The MAC is top heavy and Conference USA is a two-horse race. Sickos unite!
Steven and Braden talk college football. We give our picks for All-Conference and All-American QBs for 2025. Each power league has a theme under center: The SEC is the best, the Big 12 is the most balanced, the Big Ten has the most intriguing upside and the ACC might have the No. 1 player.
Steven and Braden embark on their annual Dream Road trip through college football. You get to go a game each weekend but can't see a team more than once. Where are you going? Locations, rivalries, weather, storylines, stadiums and championship drama all matters. Come along for the ride, 2025 style.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The Pac-12's new media deal points to an interesting future for the conference. The Big Ten and SEC are at an impasse that could actually benefit college football. Then we dive into the scheduling imbalances across college football, focusing on the teams catching breaks in 2025. Plus, Braden says sorry!
Steven and Braden talk college football. The latest around conference expansion is tied to Texas State, the Pac-12 and the Sun Belt. Plus, how will strength of schedule get added to the selection process? We debate the best coaches in America from each power league, the G5 and nationally. We weigh career accomplishments with upside and modernization.
Steven and Braden talk college football after the House Settlement around revenue sharing was finally approved. A new era has begun and a new organization called the College Sports Commission has hired a director tasked with enforcement. Plus, we conduct a coordinator draft and break down the most impactful and critical coordinator hires in 2025.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall discuss the latest in playoff format debate - who is going to win? The Big Ten trying to buy playoff spots or the rest of college football that wants to earn it? Plus, some Hall of Fame rule changes we love. Then we talk gossip. What are coaches saying about each other in our annoymous coaches scouting report for 2025.
Steven and Braden talk college football as the playoff structure is changing again as straight seednig will be implamented in 2025. What other changes are coming to our sport and playoff? What are our favorite and most interesting teams in the rankings in outside of the top 25 teams?
Steven and Braden talk college football. Bill Belichick is making more headlines for all of the wrong reasons - is there a tipping point for UNC where it's not worth it? Plus, is Michigan trolling the NCAA? Then we go across the country on our Group of 5 Dream Road Trip 2025.
Steven and Braden breakdown how TV played a huge role in the Shedeur Sanders story. Then we embark on our SEC dream road trip for 2025. Who is on the top tier and which QBs are the most exciting? Which games in 2025 are we going to this fall?
Steven and Braden talk QBs going into the NFL Draft and if we are learning anything about the position in college? Nico is going to UCLA and the playoff start times have been announced. Then we embark on our dream road trip through the ACC (and Notre Dame). The middle of the ACC is wildly unpredictable as many teams could jump to challenge the top tier in 2025.
Steven and Braden break down the latest NIL saga between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee. What does it tell us about the future of the sport? Will schools and coaches actually gain leverage? Who made the right decisions and did anyone actually get better?
Steven and Braden break down the bizarre career of Troy Taylor at Stanford. Should general managers be making decisions on coaches? How have rankings teams in the preseason changed over the last 15 years? Why 2025 might be the most difficult and entertaining preseason top 25 ever.
Steven and Braden talk college football. News from Bowling Green, Deion Sanders and the NCAA 26 video game as well as news with NIL and recruiting. Plus, how much is a new stadium worth to a college football program? Can a Group of 5 program become a power program with a new building? South Florida, UCF, Houston, Tulane, SMU and more are showing us.
Steven and Braden talk college football's quarterbacks in 2025. What are the trends around G5 signal callers and what does it tell us about the game? Which league has the best QB? Which league is the most underrated? Which league is loaded with potential? Is anyone better than Arch Manning?
Steven and Braden talk college football - this time live from the Combine in Indy. What are coaches saying about Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and how much players transfer? What is the NFL saying about Travis Hunter? And we grade every first year head coach from 2025?
What teams outside of the Top 25 are the ones we like to surge in 2025? Last year, Miami, SMU and Iowa State were just outside the top 25 and had huge seasons. What are those teams this year? Plus, what are the implications of the new ACC TV contract? And the coordinator carousel is still spinning. Steven and Braden talk college football.
Steven and Braden talk college football. Braden is at Senior Bowl practice recapping all the buzz from down in Mobile. Then we explain Lassan's early 2025 preseason top 25.
Steven and Braden break down Ohio State's national championship victory over Notre Dame. Will Howard's play, the decisions by Marcus Freeman, Ryan Day's legacy and how the new format gave us what we wanted.
Steven and Braden preview the National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. Characters, storylines, upset-ability, blue-chip ratio, coaching legacies, match-ups and predictions.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Ohio State topped Texas and Notre Dame eliminated Penn State in what was the best pair of semifinals in modern history. So did the new format do its job? What to make of Quinn Ewers legacy and Texas' staying power? Ohio State is just too good. The Irish and Lions have the same issue but it made for a great match-up. What does it tell us about James Franklin (if anything) and Marcus Freeman (and Brian Kelly)?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football playoffs. Texas survives on the back of a gutty win while Arizona State won hearts and minds. But do the Horns have the personnel to challenge Ohio State in the semis? (Since the Buckeyes routed Oregon) Notre Dame and Penn State match-up after hard-fought wins over Boise and Georgia. What does this Final Four tell us about the future of the game?
Welcome to Athlon U! Steven and Braden begin a new era of college football with some fresh new digs. Ohio St, Texas, Penn St and Notre Dame move on in style and are worth celebrating. So why is the internet so dumb? We break down the first round and scold the comments section.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the first round of the playoffs is upon us. We preview the games from a schematic match-up standpoing as well as a psychological standpoint. How big of a factor is pressure, the condensed schedule and weather? Bill Belichick is a college football coach, Braden reveals his Heisman ballot and the weirdest coaching carousel ever?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the new 12-team playoff debuts for the first time in history. Did the Committee get it right? What upsets are coming? Which teams do we trust? Who are we picking to win the whole thing? Why the issues were so predictable.
Steven and Braden talk college football. Isn't post-game drama fun (or classless)? Ryan Day's future, Texas tops A&M and Miami chokes because of their coach again. The Playoff rankings should be set. Championship Saturday is coming.
Steven and Braden talk college football's Thanksgiving rivalry weekend and all of its implications. Who can lose and stay in the bracket? Who will lose? Who is already locked into a spot? Is it three teams - Clemson, Bama and Ole Miss - for one spot? Can Tulane jump Boise St?
Steven and Braden talk college football. Is Penn State still just Penn State? What did we learn about Ohio St? How did the chaos of last week impact the at-large race to the playoff? Who is now the favorite in Big 12 - which appears to be a four-team race? Can SMU win the ACC? Two huge SEC games highlight the Week 11 slate.
Steven and Braden dive into the coaching ranks as multiple jobs have come open. The carousel is turning and moves are coming. But who is safe? Who is in trouble? On the other end of the spectrum, we have a huge group of great options for Coach of the Year. The Big Ten takes center stage with a huge showdown after contenders were tested last weekend. The G5 race, the ACC ranks, playoff discussions and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, including what we learned about Georgia and Texas. What to make of the Arch Manning situation. There are many very good but flawed teams that could all make the playoff and win some games. Lots of Big Ten teams will get tested this weekend but will any fail? Will a three-loss team get into the playoff?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall work through all the great overtime games of last weekend. No overreacting allowed about Oregon and Ohio State. Did we learn something definitive about Penn State? What's up with Tennessee and Alabama? Georgia visits Texas in this week's monster showdown. LSU, Clemson and Notre Dame are quietly working back into Playoff mix. Can Indiana, Iowa State, BYU and Pitt stay unbeaten?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Chaos unfolded in week 6 as five of the top 11 lost, mostly to unranked teams opening the door for dozens more teams to get into playoff contention. Who bounces back and who are we worried about? Ohio State-Oregon is big. So is Texas and Oklahoma. And also Ole Miss vs. LSU and Kansas State at Colorado.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Bama-Georgia instant classic, the ruling to end the Miami-Va Tech game, chaos in the Big 12 and Big Ten powers keep rolling. We look ahead at a Week 6 loaded with games that no one expected to be this good.
Steven and Braden talk college football entering a huge Week 5. What is Michigan or Illinois or Nebraska or Penn St or Rutgers in the Big Ten? The race for the G5 playoff spot gets more muddled with a few loses. Second-tier teams in the SEC got challenged while Bama and Georgia fight for the top spot. Utah takes control of the Big 12 while Miami takes control of the ACC.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down Week 3 in college football, look ahead to week 4 and talk Pac-12 expansion. A huge start to the season from the Group of 5 has led to a larger list of Playoff contenders than we thought possible. QB changes across the country make headlines. Chaos in Florida reigns supreme. SEC contenders get challenged and pass the test. Picks against the spread and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk recap Week 2 and preview Week 3 in college football. How will the committee view Michigan and Notre Dame? How worried are we about Oregon, Penn St or Bama? The top of the Big 12 was and will be insane. South Carolina and Nebraska posted huge wins. SEC contenders finally get some Power-4 competition. And picks against the spread.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. It's hard not to overreact to Week 1, so we try to decipher what's real and what's not about the first weekend of action. QB debuts, upsets, conference struggles and the entire state of Florida. We look ahead at a huge weekend in the Big Ten.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Georgia Tech's upset over Florida State got the season started off in memorable fashion but could Week 1 paint the ACC into corner? The right Heisman question. Deion Sanders continue to make questionable decisions in Boulder. Massive non-conference games in the SEC dominate the first weekend. Picks against the spread, a mistake bet and season win totals.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk through all the potential college football playoff possibilities. We try to guess what we are getting wrong and make our official picks for who will make the 12-team bracket for the first time.
Steven and Braden break down a good old-fashioned NCAA scandal: The Michigan Wolverines. What is happening and what should happen? Then we talk coaches on the hot seat. The SEC is ground zero for changes, a number of older coaches could face retirement decisions and volatile wildcards no one is talking about.
What a wild league this is going to be. Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big 12 football in 2024. Utah, Mike Gundy, the state of Kansas, style of offense, surprisingly solid styles of defense, the hot seat and much more.
Braden Gall is live from Dallas for SEC Media Days. Joined by Steven Lassan, the guys break down the tiers inside the SEC in 2024. Who is on the top tier with Georgia? What to do with Bama? Who do you like Mizzou or Ole Miss? Tennessee or LSU? Auburn, Kentucky or Florida? Who is on the bottom tier?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. A big week of off-the-field news forces the future of the game back to center stage. The Power 4 contines it's proverbial breakaway but is there a way this could eventually lead to two totally different types of football?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Coaches from all over the country offer up anonymous scouting reports on every team in the country.
The Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 is officially out! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down the rankings and what the playoff bracket will look like in 2024.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall go on a Group of 5 Mid-Major journey through 2024. Who are the best G5 teams in college football in 2024 and what are the biggest games? Rivalries, conference championship match-ups, great locations, New Year's Six implications and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall tease the magazine's Top 25 rankings by looking at what will be the toughest and most important games of 2024. Which games will define the season and which games will prove our rankings wrong?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The sport is close to revenue sharing agreement so it's important to ask what is best for the game? An equitable financial format that fosters parity and balance across leagues and schools? Or a system where the gold rules? Also, which teams "won" the portal and does it even matter?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Which teams are on the top tier in each major conference - who are the conference contenders we are debating during magazine production? What is the one big roster question about each of these championship contenders?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We take a deep dive into the 31 new head coaches, what are expectations, which program did the best job hiring a headman, which names could be busts and which could be stars. We also talk Colorado, the NFL Draft and the FSU-ACC lawsuit.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We head out on our SEC dream road trip for 2024. With two new teams, no divisions, a deep crop of contenders, lots of new rivalries (and some old ones) and no Nick Saban, the SEC 2024 schedule appears to be loaded with monster games. You have to see all 16 teams, can't see any team more than twice and can't repeat a stadium. Let's go!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. One question and one observation about college sports before we head out on our long, winding, strange dream road trip through Big 12 country. The most unpredictable and possibly most balanced league in America will make for some awesome and bizarre match-ups in 2024.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall take their 2024 ACC Dream Road Trip this week. This fall, the new ACC could feel very old with lots of historic and nostalgic rivalry dotting the schedule. How will SMU fare? Who will challenge Florida St and Clemson? A fascinating second-tier of teams will keep things very interesting deep into November as well.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We take our annual dream road trip to the conferences in 2024 (now that they are huge). You have to see all 18 teams and can only see a team a maximum of two times while going to a different stadium each week. What the most important games in the Big Ten in 2024 and what did we learn about the upcoming schedule?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The SEC and Big Ten have successfully strong-armed a new playoff format, TV contract and revenue sharing model into place. Packaged with a new ACC lawsuit, what does it all mean for college football? Texas A&M steals a Nebraska alumni, will we change how we evaluate head coaches and how many legit QB battles are taking place this spring?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The SEC-Big Ten negotiating tactics are on full display currently as we debate 12 or 14 teams. Where it will land seems obvious. Then we look at the most unpredictable teams in each major conference as we head into magazine production. Which teams could surprise and be this year's TCU? And which teams could implode and be this year's other TCU?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We look at who the All-Conference and All-American quarterbacks could be in 2024. There is no clearcut No. 1 player in the country under center. So who is in the discussion? Which league is the best? Which conference is the most exciting?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. A newsy week of action as the Playoff has settled on a tournament format just weeks after agreeing to a $7.8 billion contract. There are two new rule proposals that we actually like. EA Sports appears to be poised to actually return. Nick Saban has joined Gameday. And a head coach leaves to be a... tight end coach?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Another round of coaching changes at Boston College, Ohio St and UCLA may finally end the carousel. Then how has money and NIL impacted recruiting? How should we evaluate team rankings in the new era of roster management? What is the recruiting landscape in the new-look Power 4 conferences.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Unions, employment status, NCAA investigations, the Big Ten-SEC Advisory Group and private equity. The chaos of the game has never been greater so asking the right questions about the future of the sport is the what we have to do.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Jim Harbuagh has officially left Michigan - what's his legacy, what are expectations in 2024 and what should fans learn about the future of coaching? The NCAA seems to be trying to prove its relevancy but is it misguided? Which issue are conference poised to fix first? And we rank all the new coaches in new conferences. Where do new teams in new leagues rank? Where do new hires at power programs rank?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall take a look at what the preseason Top 25 rankings could be after coaching changes, portal news and most of recruiting. This is obviously going to change but here is where our preseason rankings for 2024 sit currently.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Nick Saban has retired and Jim Harbaugh is looking to leave Michigan for the NFL. The chain of events these decisions have and will set off in college football entering a new era of alignment and playoff expansion is hard to explain. What do we know about hiring coaching, what makes a good candidate and why things are moving so much faster?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down Michigan's win in the national championship game over Washington. Many things are true: Michigan was great and Michael Penix was not. The game was close and dramatic but also a blow out. Jim Harbaugh's legacy is cemented, what's Washington's future and what it means for the Big Ten to break through.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall recap the Rose Bowl as Michigan defeated Alabama in overtime and the Sugar Bowl as Washington outlasted Texas. It wasn't perfect but the Wolverines topped the Tide in perfect setting out West. Meanwhile, Michael Penix and the timely defense of the Huskies has U of Dub one win from a ring. A contrast of styles is coming in the national championship game.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk College Football Playoff era, what we learned and what the last 10 years has taught us about the game. One of us is talking themself into picking Michigan and no one has a clue what is going to happen in the Teaxs-Washington game. Plus, the Florida St lawsuit and New Year's Six games.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Recruiting rankings have always been the north star of national championships but the portal and NIL have changed the way teams manage their rosters. Can the upper middle class now compete for titles or will greater changes have to happen to create parity. Do we even want parity?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football playoff, the first week of bowl games, Jayden Daniels' Heisman Trophy win, how to make the award more inclusive, which defensive players should be mentioned, big time portal commitments at the QB position and Tulane makes a big hire.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Just ignore the conspiracy theories and realize that this year is what it is. The TV ratings in 2023 paint an incredibly impressive and sad picture of the Pac-12. The portal is open and it's even wilder than expected as Kyle McCord heads a long list of QBs who've decided to change teams. What is the new NCAA subdivision and how will it impact the future of the game?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The last-ever rankings were the most controversial and chaotic in the 10-year history of the four-team playoff. Did they get it right? Did they ask the right questions? Did the right teams get left out? Who should be most mad? Instant reaction and winners in the Michigan-Alabama game and Washington-Texas.
Michigan State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Syracuse and San Diego State have all hired coaches. What do we think of the moves that have been made in college football over the last few weeks? And how has the coaching carousel changed? Who made the right decision? Who made strange decisions? What will Duke, Indiana, Houston and Boise State do? And welcome back, Bobby Petrino.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The penultiumate rankings are out and two teams are wildly underrated. But who should be moved down? The committee has extremely tough decisions to make this weekend. Ryan Day and Hugh Freeze's mistakes set all of this up. We preview every conference championship game and the implications of the final weekend of the season. Oregon or Washington? Can Texas earn its way into the playoff? Can Bama upset Georgia? Can Florida State prove it belongs? Can Iowa score a point against Michigan?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Championship scenarios across the country dominate the storylines heading into a huge rivalry weekend. Playoff hopes hang in the balance for Florida State, Louisville, Texas, Oregon, Washington and, of course, Michigan and Ohio State. How should the committee deal with Jordan Travis' injury, how will rivlary games change off-season narratives and who will be playing for conference championships next weekend?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The Heisman predicament: Jayden Daniels Heisman chances hinge on extraordinary play - in less than extraordinary games. Who else is on the top platform? The guys preview Week 12 as top ranked teams head out on the road. Washington is an underdog at Oregon State, Texas is a small favorite over Iowa State and both Georgia (Tennessee) and Michigan (Maryland) travel as well. What other coaching moves could happen this cycle?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The future of the Pac-12 could fall to Oregon St and Washington St after winning the first round of court cases out West. Many teams are getting bowl eligible - which ones deserve credit and which ones are disappointing. Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are in the middle of one of the most unprecendented fiascos in college football history and the eventual outcomes vary. Boise State, Texas A&M and Mississippi State have joined the coaching carousel.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
- The most Iowa ending of all-time
- Does Wazzu still belong?
- Beavers in the Spook-tober desert
2-Point Conversation:
- Big Ten power structure: Ohio St's resume, James Franklin's big-game record, Michigan's scouting "scandal"
- What happened in Week 8? Why did so many high-quality teams struggle?
- USC crumbles and Bama rises to the occasion: Who is likeable in college football?
- SEC Hot Seat: Arkansas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Mississippi St, South Carolina, Vandy
Week 9 Progression:
- Oregon at Utah
- Oklahoma at Kansas
- Florida-Georgia
- Duke at Louisville
- Tennessee at Kentucky
- Ohio St at Wisconsin
Bets Against the Spread:
- Braden: 5-2 LW, 17-15 YTD
- Lasso: 5-1 LW, 20-17-1 YTD
Group of 5 Checkdown looks at great races in the American, Mountain West and Sun Belt.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Why TV negotiations matter
- Oregon-Washington was perfect
- Our Beavers and Iowa's exhaustion
- Debunking lazy troupes and talking points
- We all can put in more effort
- Penn St at Ohio St
- Tennessee at Alabama
- Utah at USC
- Duke at Florida St
- Clemson at Miami
- Big 12 chaos
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
- Our Beavers dominate, Wazzu falls
- Iowa wins with 20 points, huge road trip to Madison
- Congrats to Steven!
2-Point Conversation:
- OU-Texas: What CFB is all about
- Big Ten coaching records
- Miami's costly mistake, ACC chase
- UGa, Bama take control
Week 7 Progression:
- Oregon at Washington
- USC at Notre Dame
- Miami at North Carolina
- Missouri at Kentucky
- UCLA at Oregon St
- Texas A&M at Tennessee
Bets Against the Spread:
- Braden: 2-3 LW, 13-13 YTD
- Lasso: 3-2 LW, 12-14-1 YTD
Leftovers: What is Ok-State? Rutgers, Florida, Kansas, Colorado and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
- Oregon St out-Utahs Utah
- Wazzu has chance to prove it
- Iowa's best offensive weapon is a DB
2-Point Conversation
- If Georgia's not No. 1, who is? And who can beat them?
- Is it happening again in the Pac-12?
- When to move on from a success, tenured coach?
- First-year coaching grades, Hot Seat Temp check
Week 6 Progression:
- Texas-Oklahoma
- Bama-Texas A&M
- Maryland-Ohio St
- Notre Dame-Louisville
- Kentucky-Georgia
- LSU-Mizzou
Bets Against the Spread:
- Braden: 1-3 LW, 11-10 YTD
- Lasso: 1-4 LW, 9-12-1 YTD
Leftovers: Braden's apology, big ACC home favorites, Big 12's newbies struggling and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
- Iowa is shutout, Penn St keeps maturing
- Wazzu beats Our Beavers
- Utah at Oregon St
2-Point Conversation:
- What did Ohio St's win over Notre Dame mean?
- More things change, more they stay same in SEC
- Why is Florida St and the ACC disrespected?
- A dividing line in the Big 12
Week 5 Progression:
- Kansas at Texas
- Notre Dame at Duke
- Florida at Kentucky
- LSU at Ole Miss
- Georgia at Auburn
- USC at Colorado
Bets against the Spread, G5 Checkdown, Leftovers: Illinois over Purdue, Tennessee hosts South Carolina, playoff contenders on the road, Washington's dominance, Cuse-Clemson and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check: Beavers at Wazzu, Iowa at Penn St
2-Point Conversation:
- Mel Tucker is out, where does Michigan st go?
- Is there a clear No. 1 team this year?
- Is there a defensive renaissance taking place?
- Proof of concept wins for LOTS of coaches
Week 4 Progression:
- Florida St at Clemson
- Ohio St at Notre Dame
- Ole Miss at Alabama
- Colorado at Oregon
- UCLA at Utah
- Auburn at Texas A&M
- G5: UTSA, SMU and Memphis
Bets Against the Spread:
- Braden: 3-2 LW, 8-5 YTD
- Lasso: 2-2 LW, 5-6 YTD
Leftovers: Bizarro Big 12, Texas and OU on the road, do or die wins across the country and playoff teams holding serve.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check: Oregon St, Wazzu and Iowa's offense
2-point Conversation:
- SEC West reevaluation, Bama's dynasty
- Texas domination, Big 12's upper crust
- What exactly is the Pac-12?
- Big Ten West questions
Week 3 Progressions: Tennessee-Florida, LSU-Miss St, Washington-Mich St, Kansas St-Mizzou, Penn St-Illinois, Backyard Brawl
G5 Check Down: Rocky Mountain Showdown, South Alabama-Oklahoma St
Week 3 Bets Against the Spread:
- Braden: 2-2 LW, 5-2 YTD
- Lasso: 3-1 LW, 3-4 YTD
Leftovers: When can we talk about Georgia, Ohio St and Michigan? The ACC-Big Ten challenge.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. What did we learn about QBs in Week 1 and their chances at winning championships? Texas-Bama, SEC road trips, old rivalries and more highlight Week 2. Oregon State and Iowa temp checks. The Big 12's rough first week and chances at rebounding week 2 with big tests. Colorado leads a highlight first weekend for the Pac-12 but needs to prove itself again in Week 2.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- 2-pt conversation: USC's defense, Vandy's progress, Notre Dame and an injury.
- 1st Read: LSU-FSU, Carolina-Carolina
- 2nd Read: Boise-Washington, Prime-TCU
- 3rd Read: WVU-Penn St, Clemson-Duke
- Check Down: UTSA vs. Houston, USA vs. Tulane
- New QBs for Bama, Ohio St, UGa
- Power 5s on the road against G5s
- Conference Leftovers
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We make our official and final playoff predictions for 2023. Everyone has to have the receipts for the end of the year. What are all of the paths for all the contenders and what would a 12-team playoff look like in 2023?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys look across the country and across the formation for the most important, most impactful, most interesting and most unknown position groups of 2023. Sure, there are plenty of QB situations worth discussing but plenty of championships hang on the offensive line, the front seven or the offensive play-makers too.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Realignment has once again gripped college football and it means the end of the Pac-12. Could this have been avoided? What does the future look like? What does the ACC or SEC do? How does our playoff look?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big Ten football in 2023.
- Where to coach: Northwestern or Indiana?
- Nebraska and Purdue new coaches
- Illinois' line of scrimmage
- Minnesota can do something different
- Iowa's contracts
- Wisconsin on paper
- Rutgers keeps chopping wood
- Maryland, Michigan St identities
- The Big Three
- Why Penn St is on par
- Michigan's complete-ness
- Ohio State skill, speed
- James Franklin factor
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the SEC in 2023.
- LSU vs. Bama
- If not UGa, then who?
- Carolina upper tier?
- Kentucky's new offense
- Joe Milton
- Mizzou defense, Florida big picture
- Vandy better but at bottom
- Texas A&M once again a challenger
- Auburn under Hugh
- State's bizarre situation
- Ole Miss vs. Arkansas
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk ACC football in 2023.
- Florida St vs. Clemson
- Bottom tier buy-in
- Does Tech have patience?
- Enjoy UNC's fun
- Duke' scheduling re-balance
- Mario the Michigan Man
- Louisville underrated?
- Coaching stability and continuity
- NC State, Pitt, Wake
- Cuse?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk about Pac-12 football in 2023 and the loss of Colorado to the Big 12.
- Pac-12 loses Colorado
- What does Big 12 do next?
- What does Pac-12 do next?
- Why are we here?
- Best QBs in America
- CU's coverage to talent ratio
- First-year coaches
- Breakout QBs at Wazzu, Arizona?
- Chip Kelly's five-star QB
- Oregon State' culture
- Clear top 4
- Doubt Utah at your own risk
- Washington, Oregon defense
- USC portal line change
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the Big 12 conference in 2023. How does the impending divorce and new programs impact the standings?
- Top tier w/ Texas and Oklahoma
- Why Braden loves the 9th place
- Can Kansas State repeat?
- Can TCU recapture the magic?
- Texas Tech is a sleeper?
- Baylor bounces back?
- Where is Ok-State heading?
- UCF is the best new team?
- BYU is the best prepared for P5?
- Scheduling quirks and impact
- Neal Brown's buyout
- Final picks and predictions
The Athletic's Recruiting Editor Mitch Light returns to the pod to talk NIL, recruiting, gambling and Congress with Braden Gall live from SEC Media Days in Nashville, Tenn.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys break down the firing of Pat Fitzgerald and the future of Northwestern football, offer a temp check on all 29 second-year head coaches in FBS and then sit down with Carnegie Melon head coach Ryan Larsen to learn about D3 football, building culture and the evolution of offensive football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. San Diego St has (sort of) made an announcement, the Big Ten and SEC have announced their scheduling models for the next two years and the guys break down every single major trap game for every team in the top 15.
Steven Lassan, Braden Gall and Mitch Light embark on their yearly road trip through college football. The rules: You get to go to a college football game each week but can only see each team one time. What are your anchor games? Which rivalries and conference races are you most interested in? Send us your Trips.
All music provided by Moon Taxi.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. This week the guys preview all five Group of Five conferences, pick champions, talk rising star coaches and project the 2023 season.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We dissect the most interesting anonymous scouting reports from coaches around college football in 2023. The portal, NIL, recruiting, scheme, players, trends, rivalries and more as coaches gossip about everything in college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- SEC scheduling drama
- Strength of schedule drama
- Championship game drama
- USC A.D. drama
- Michigan coaching drama
- Georgia speeding drama
- B1G TV contract drama
- Big 12 expansion drama
- Bowl game lawsuit drama
- Shannon Terry and On3's NIL Elite Series (not drama)
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall explain the Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 and then some. Who makes the playoff? Where is the drop off in the top 25? Who makes conference championship games? Where are the tiers in each major conference? Who are the best Group of 5 teams?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- EA Sports video game takes step
- Personal video game records, history
- ACC meetings lead to expansion drama
- The most desirable brands in the ACC?
- Which league would want which teams?
- Does anything actually happen?
- Pac-12 expansion is actually happening
- Do we have a short-term solution out West?
- What does the Big 12 do?
- Dylan Riaola, nation's No. 1 player commits
- Are the best QBs leaving the West?
- Is the Pac-12 doing better than we think?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We unveil our official magazine top four in 2023 while also covering the on-going Pac-12 media rights, massive changes around gambling and who won the portal this time around?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- College football playoff schedule
- Things we hate, things we're OK with
- SEC permanent opponents
- 16-team scheduling criteria
- All-ACC QB battle for No. 1?
- Clear top three in the Big 12
- The projection issue in the Big Ten
- Elite QB play in the Pac-12
- One clearcut top Hog in SEC
- Hearing from KJ Jefferson
- All-American votes
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Pac-12 non-answer answer
- Deion Sanders doing it his way
- Nature of our system now
- QB outliers in the NFL Draft
- Five-star recruits going pro
- Two wide receivers we love
- Spring storylines that matter
- Very different QBs at UGa and Bama
- Clemson and USC's defense
- Texas makes actual news
- Ohio State's offensive line
- SEC QB battles
- Rapid Fire Lassan Test
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Early Top 4 debate
- Preseason Top 25 difficulty
- How many playoff contenders are there?
- How many teams can win the national title?
- What to do with Texas?
- Coach Prime is selling lots of tickets
- Colorado's short term, long term future
- Pac-12 media rights tied to CU?
- CFP meetings in Dallas next week
- New Big Ten commish role at meetings
- Working out the schedule for the playoff
- Stop worrying about the NFL
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Magazine prediction stress
- Big Ten tabs Tony Petitti
- Insider? Outsider?
- Tony's first order of business
- How can B1G level playing the field?
- Off-the-field opportunity
- Pac-12 media rights are still... well...
- Spring scrimmages are a good idea?
- Lots of reasons to add value to spring
- What are concerns?
- How would it be logistically possible?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- We begin with Kent St, obviously
- 0 starters back on offense or defense?
- Defining National Championship DNA
- Defining Playoff DNA
- How many teams nationally have it?
- How can you change your DNA?
- What time frames are we using?
- The Nick Saban Test
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys touch on the new recruiting rules, Pac-12 rumors and NIL congressional meetings. Then we take a deep dive into the future Big 12 and how those programs stack up against each other currently and historically. What is the best program in the new Big 12? The worst? How much upward mobility to the new programs have? Where would USC, UCLA, Texas and Oklahoma rank in their new conferences? And a quick look at our national top 10 programs in college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Obligatory latest Pac-12 news
- New Big 12 angle to consider
- Spring practice content approach
- What if it was always a 12-team playoff?
- Which coaches benefit?
- Which teams are evaluated differently?
- Dan Mullen, James Franklin, Jimbo
- Wisconsin, USC, Baylor, Michigan St
- Kirk Ferentz, Mike Gundy, David Shaw
- Iowa St, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Pac-12 obligatory opening update
- Big names coaches who need to win
- Long-time coaches with no expectations
- Long-time coaches with nothing to prove
- Future potential next wave of long-timers
- Long-timers who did everything they could
- Future names with building pressure
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- More Pac-12 rumors!
- An ACC merger
- Three new rule changes
- SEC schedule leaks
- Georgia culture problem?
- Transfer QB portal data
- P5 transfers vs. G5
- QB battles in the spring
- Bama, Georgia, Ole Miss
- Nebraska, Ohio St
- Ok-State, Texas, West Virginia
- Arizona St and UCLA
- NC State and more
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Coaches hurting the game with access
- Players need to be more available
- Florida St sends warning shot at ACC
- Grant of Rights' future
- Pac-12 no news is bad news
- Can Washington challenge out West?
- What to make of Colorado?
- Miami or North Carolina in the ACC?
- Wisconsin, Michigan St, Nebraska
- The new guys in the Big 12
- Who is on the top tier in the SEC?
- Who is in the SEC's middle?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Apple TV bids for Pac-12
- Fans react
- New game rules to speed things up
- Is game-length a real problem
- Which rules do we like?
- One rule that we hate
- Big 12 new schedule is WILD
- Four new teams creates imbalance
- AAC releases its new schedule
- Group of 5 wide open?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- 2024 is going to look very different
- Pac-12 inventory, openly courting SMU
- Every day the media deal isn't signed
- What is the Big 12 going to do?
- B1G holding firm, good news for Pac-12?
- Scheduling model for the Big Ten
- New permanent rivals for USC, UCLA
- Does UCLA now have championship DNA?
- Scheduling model for the SEC
- New permanent rivals for Texas, OU
- Are we okay with unbalanced schedules?
- Brian Ferentz contract
- Todd Monken leaves for NFL, Mike Bobo hired
- What is going on with Miami?
- Notre Dame's offensive coordinator
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The Pac-12 is sniffing around SMU
- Impact of streaming shift
- Targeting Mountain West teams
- Texas, OU not moving... yet
- What's the hold up?
- Bama hires Tommy Rees, Kevin Steele
- Is there a shift in offense happening?
- Redefining "balance" on offense
- Grading all 24 new coaching hires
- Tons of young inexperience
- A few retreads
- Wisconsin and Louisville top the list
- Nebraska, Colorado close behind
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The Jalen Hurts phenomena
- QBs winning in college and the NFL
- Breaking down the 2023 recruiting cycle
- How good are top classes?
- How are the new Big 12 teams faring?
- How are new coaches doing?
- Recruiting outliers: The Best
- Recruiting outliers: The Worst
- Big jumps, big falls, big names
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The $9 million club
- Lessons and blame with Jaden Rashada
- Boosters and ROI market forces
- Clemson makes bold move
- The ripple effect at TCU, Arkansas
- Ole Miss with a monster week
- Alabama's coaching vacancies
- Mike Gundy catching lightning twice?
- Michigan winning all over (sort of)
- Oregon, Pac-12 surging
- Florida State momentum continues
- NFL Draft deadline winners, losers
- Transfer Portal winners, losers
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We take a deep dive into the most overrated preseason teams of the last 25 years since the advent of the BCS. How many times are top 10 teams finishing with losing records? Who is overrated? And why is it happening? Are there any trends and is Notre Dame actually always overrated? We also discuss the open Commissioner chair in the Big Ten.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We dissect our never-too-early preseason top 25 for 2023. There are a lot of new faces and names. But the more things change, the more they stay the same at the top of the sport. Follow along at AthlonSports.com
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Georgia's utter domination caps 2022
- Don't change your mind on TCU, though
- Stetson Bennett's insane career
- Kirby Smart's future
- Who were the best teams in 2022?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, previewing the national championship game between Georgia and TCU.
- Bobby Petrino lands at Texas A&M
- Jim Harbaugh is flirting with the NFL
- No tailgating at 430 pm local time
- The setting for the title game
- TCU's truly incomparable run
- Sonny Dykes unlikely retread
- Stetson Bennett's unprecedented career
- Building blocks of a TCU upset
- Max Duggan superman
- What to do with Quentin Johnston?
- UGa keeps it simple
- Patience and blue chips
- Final Predictions
- A case for and against expansion
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys recap the best night of college football playoff action in history as TCU defeated Michigan and Georgia outlasted Ohio State. We touch on the national title match-up and break down New Year's Eve.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The playoffs are here!
- Coaching pressure, implications
- TCU's house money, nothing to lose
- Michigan's unfinished business
- Jim Harbaugh's QB gamble
- Lack of turnovers
- Offensive lines
- CJ Stroud vs. Stetson Bennett
- Attacking UGa's defense
- Finding the path to the upset
- Final predictions
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- National Signing Day stories
- New Big Ten, SEC rankings
- The bottom 10 power 5 classes
- Overachievers, underachievers
- The real story is there's no story
- December cannot hold all of this
- How do fans prioritize content?
- Portal vs. Recruiting?
- Coaching changes vs. bowl games?
- Layers of chaos
- Adding playoff games to the madness
- Another week of bowl games
- More first-time match-ups!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Mike Leach's legacy
- Personality vs. Scheme
- Authentic stubborness
- Most influential schemes of the era
- Spread, zone read, RPO, four-wide
- Mississippi St tabs Zach Arnett
- Purdue finds Jeff Brohm's replacement
- Navy's bizarro mistake
- Previewing the first week of bowls
- UTSA vs. Troy
- Florida vs. Oregon St
- SMU vs. BYU
- Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama
Chris Childers joins to tell some Mike Leach stories.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Heisman Finalist: Did they get it right?
- Just best players on best teams?
- Best non-QBs in the game are... who?
- Jim Harbaugh's Lane Kiffin moment
- What has Michigan done differently?
- Can Deion Sanders win at Colorado?
- Coach Prime risk vs. reward
- Scott Satterfield gets out ahead
- Jeff Brohm finally returns home
- Purdue should SPEND MONEY
- Jamey Chadwell to... Liberty?
- Trent Dilfer. Seriously, Trent Dilfer?
- Barry Odom, Kevin Wilson, Alex Golesh
- Transfer Portal is open for business
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall are joined by former Cover 2 host Mitch Light of TheAthletic.com to react to the final '22 Final Playoff rankings and matchups?
- Did committee get it right?
- Pressure on Ryan Day, Ohio St
- OSU offense vs. UGa defense
- TCU's incredible journey
- Michigan's experience
- Big brand bias is dead
- SEC bias is dead
- Bama fatigue vs. Ohio St fatigue
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, preview championship weekend and predict what will happen in Sunday's final playoff rankings.
- Utah vs. USC
- Kansas St vs. TCU
- UCF at Tulane
- Purdue vs. Michigan
- LSU vs. Georgia
- Clemson vs. North Carolina
- Fresno St at Boise State
- Coastal Carolina at Troy
- North Texas at UTSA
- Toledo vs. Ohio
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The penultimate rankings are out - there are no surprises - and a bunch of power five jobs got filled.
- Shouldn't TCU be treated like Georgia, Michigan?
- Is USC the most dangerous team in the country?
- Why Bama should be ahead of Tennessee
- Ohio State is the committee's backstop
- Hugh Freeze has been hired at Auburn
- On-field chaos vs. off-field chaos
- Big boy moves by Wisconsin
- Nebraska doesn't need splashy
- Arizona St hires Kenny Dillingham
- Interim coaching trends?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, rivalry week and Thanksgiving football! We talk coaching rumors, video games, playoff rankings, championship Saturday implications and offer our picks against the spread.
- Michigan at Ohio State
- Notre Dame at USC
- Oregon at Oregon State
- Tulane at Cincinnati
- Mississippi State at Ole Miss
- Washington at Washington State
- Baylor at Texas, Iowa St at TCU
- South Carolina at Clemson
- Auburn at Alabama
- Louisville at Kentucky
- Florida at Florida State
- Two dozen other awesome games!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys break down the third set of Playoff rankings, preview Week 12 and try to keep picking winners. Cause that's all they do now.
- USC at UCLA
- Utah at Oregon
- TCU at Baylor
- Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
- Illinois at Michigan
- Iowa at Minnesota
- Ole Miss at Arkansas
- Georgia at Kentucky
- Kansas State at West Virginia
- Texas at Kansas
- NC State at Louisville
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys preview Week 11 and offer up their picks against the spread.
- TCU at Texas
- Alabama at Ole Miss
- LSU at Arkansas
- Georgia at Mississippi St
- Washington at Oregon
- Kansas St at Baylor
- Purdue at Illinois
- UCF at Tulane
- North Carolina at Wake Forest
- Louisville at Clemson
- Florida St at Syracuse
- Wisconsin at Iowa
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall breakdown the second edition of college football rankings - even though we really don't love what it does to our brains. So we did it our way.
- Who are you not where are you ranked
- Clemson's chances at getting back in
- The Pac-12 is the real concern
- Why is UCLA seperated from USC, Oregon?
- One-loss debates abound
- TCU has to handle it's business
- Can LSU jump the rest of the SEC?
- USF's Grumors are... ridiculous, right?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Auburn has decided to out-Auburn itself but doing the most Auburn things possible. What could it mean for the coaching dominoes? Then the guys preview Week 10 and offer up picks against the spread.
- Tennessee at Georgia
- Alabama at LSU
- Clemson at Notre Dame
- Texas at Kansas St
- Wake Forest at NC State
- Liberty at Arkansas
- Florida St at Miami
- Oregon St at Washington
- Maryland at Wisconsin
- Baylor at Oklahoma
- BYU at Boise St
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football and the first playoff rankings of the season.
- Predicting how the committee works
- Secret SEC playoff committee conspiracy
- How close losses should be viewed
- Why Bama is ahead of TCU
- Tennessee's remarkable run to No. 1
- "Ranked at the time" is so dumb
- Why a Top 40 would be so much better
- Kirby LOVES these rankings
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys preview Week 9, talk through the grind of October and offer up their top bets against the spread.
- Ohio St at Penn St
- Oklahoma St at Kansas St
- Kentucky at Tennessee
- Cincinnati at UCF
- Utah at Washington St
- Ole Miss at Texas A&M
- Florida vs. Georgia
- Michigan St at Michigan
- TCU at West Virginia
- Notre Dame at Syracuse
- Baylor at Texas Tech
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Who is the No. 1 team in college football? Then we preview Week 8 and offer picks against the spread.
- UCLA at Oregon
- Texas at Ok-State
- Kansas St at TCU
- Ole Miss at LSU
- Syracuse at Clemson
- Mississippi St at Alabama
- Minnesota at Penn St
- Purdue at Wisconsin
- Iowa at Ohio St
- Texas A&M at South Carolina
- Kansas at Baylor
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall take mid-season stock of the 2022 college football season. How do we measure excitement and greatness? How should "rankings" be consumed and how should they be viewed? Does the committee deserve more (or less) credit? We apologize to some teams, the audience and to each other about what we've gotten wrong so far. And we look ahead at potential some dream championship game matchups.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. What is happening at Auburn, Louisville and Stanford and does Matt Rhule return to college football? Then the guys preview a huge Week 7 and offer picks against the spread.
- Alabama at Tennessee
- Penn St at Michigan
- USC at Utah
- Oklahoma St at TCU
- NC State at Syracuse
- Clemson at Florida St
- Mississippi State at Kentucky
- Minnesota at Illinois
- LSU at FLorida
- Nebraska at Purdue
- Kansas at Oklahoma
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys analyze how the changing landscape of college football is impacting athletic department decision making. Which jobs are valuable? Which jobs are overrated? Which jobs could come open soon? Then we preview Week 6:
- Utah at UCLA
- Tennessee at LSU
- TCU at Kansas
- Texas A&M at Alabama
- Arkansas at Mississippi St
- Texas vs. Oklahoma
- Florida St at NC State
- Wazzu at USC
- BYU at Notre Dame
- Farmageddon
- North Carolina at Miami
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 5 of the college football season and offer their picks against the spread.
- This week's Sacko Bowl!
- NC State-Clemson
- Bama-Arkansas
- Michigan-Iowa
- Ok State-Baylor
- Kentucky-Ole Miss
- Texas A&M-Mississippi St
- Washington-UCLA
- Wake Forest-Florida St
- Oklahoma-TCU
- Oregon St-Utah
- Texas Tech-Kansas St
- Iowa St-Kansas
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 5 of the college football season and offer their picks against the spread.
- This week's Sacko Bowl!
- NC State-Clemson
- Bama-Arkansas
- Michigan-Iowa
- Ok State-Baylor
- Kentucky-Ole Miss
- Texas A&M-Mississippi St
- Washington-UCLA
- Wake Forest-Florida St
- Oklahoma-TCU
- Oregon St-Utah
- Texas Tech-Kansas St
- Iowa St-Kansas
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys have a few reminders for fans as it pertains to coaching searches before previewing Week 4 and offering their picks against the spread.
- Florida-Tennessee
- Arkansas-Texas A&M
- USC-Oregon St
- Clemson-Wake Forest
- Baylor-Iowa St
- Oregon-Wazzu
- Wisconsin-Ohio St
- Maryland-Michigan
- Kansas St-Oklahoma
- Minnesota-Michigan St
Notre Dame-North Carolina, Duke-Kansas, Texas-Texas Tech, Stanford-Washington, Mizzou-Auburn, West Virginia-Virginia Tech, Utah-Arizona St and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys have a few reminders for fans as it pertains to coaching searches before previewing Week 4 and offering their picks against the spread.
- Florida-Tennessee
- Arkansas-Texas A&M
- USC-Oregon St
- Clemson-Wake Forest
- Baylor-Iowa St
- Oregon-Wazzu
- Wisconsin-Ohio St
- Maryland-Michigan
- Kansas St-Oklahoma
- Minnesota-Michigan St
Notre Dame-North Carolina, Duke-Kansas, Texas-Texas Tech, Stanford-Washington, Mizzou-Auburn, West Virginia-Virginia Tech, Utah-Arizona St and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, preview Week 3, talk about Nebraska's coaching search and offer up picks against the spread.
- Miami at Texas A&M
- Penn St at Auburn
- BYU at Oregon
- Michigan St at Washington
- Mississippi St at LSU
- Oklahoma at Nebraska
- Fresno St at USC
- Florida St at Louisville
- UTSA at Texas
- Texas Tech at NC State
- Georgia at South Carolina
- Kansas at Houston
- Purdue at Syracuse
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, preview Week 3, talk about Nebraska's coaching search and offer up picks against the spread.
- Miami at Texas A&M
- Penn St at Auburn
- BYU at Oregon
- Michigan St at Washington
- Mississippi St at LSU
- Oklahoma at Nebraska
- Fresno St at USC
- Florida St at Louisville
- UTSA at Texas
- Texas Tech at NC State
- Georgia at South Carolina
- Kansas at Houston
- Purdue at Syracuse
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview week 2 of the college football season and make official picks against the spread:
- Baylor at BYU
- Bama at Texas
- Kentucky at Florida
- Tennessee at Pitt
- The CyHawk Trophy
- Oregon St at Fresno St
- South Carolina at Arkansas
- USC at Stanford
- Mississippi St at Arizona
- Washington St at Wisconsin
- Missouri at Kansas St
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview week 2 of the college football season and make official picks against the spread:
- Baylor at BYU
- Bama at Texas
- Kentucky at Florida
- Tennessee at Pitt
- The CyHawk Trophy
- Oregon St at Fresno St
- South Carolina at Arkansas
- USC at Stanford
- Mississippi St at Arizona
- Washington St at Wisconsin
- Missouri at Kansas St
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall breakdown the new playoff format for college football.
- Why is expansion good for the game?
- Will it actually devalue the regular season?
- Six automatic bids, six at-large bids
- How they're determining seeding if FUBAR
- What about scheduling and timing?
- A simple solution to making players play more
- Should the playoff re-seed after round one?
- The biggest and most insane flaw!
- No, seriously, we are pissed off.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall breakdown the new playoff format for college football.
- Why is expansion good for the game?
- Will it actually devalue the regular season?
- Six automatic bids, six at-large bids
- How they're determining seeding if FUBAR
- What about scheduling and timing?
- A simple solution to making players play more
- Should the playoff re-seed after round one?
- The biggest and most insane flaw!
- No, seriously, we are pissed off.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview week 1 of the college football season and make official picks against the spread:
- Utah at Florida
- Oregon vs. Georgia
- Notre Dame at Ohio St
- Florida St vs. LSU
- Cincinnati at Arkansas
- NC State at East Carolina
- Boise St at Oregon St
- Clemson vs. Georgia Tech
- Houston at UTSA
- North Carolina at App St
- Memphis at Mississippi St
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We announce our in-season schedule with some new twists. What does the new contract with the Big Ten mean for fans? We make our Final College Football Playoff Predictions and give you our top win total futures bets. Oh yeah, and we get to preview Week 0!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We have preseason awards to give out to teams, units and players. But these are not your ordinary awards. Like... who are the most underrated defensive units in America? Who are the biggest QB heel turns of 2022? And which Group of 5 team has the best offensive skill players? You know, normal stuff.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We have preseason awards to give out to teams, units and players. But these are not your ordinary awards. Like... who are the most underrated defensive units in America? Who are the biggest QB heel turns of 2022? And which Group of 5 team has the best offensive skill players? You know, normal stuff.
CORRECTED AUDIO: Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as camps are opening up across the country. We've got some bad news from Wake Forest camp and some historic news in the Big Ten. Then we give you the best anonymous scouting reports from across the country.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Recapping Pac-12 media day performance
- Who is making these alignment decisions?
- Why a 16-team playoff won't happen
- What would a 12-team look like in 2022
- What is the correct format?
- Who gets the first round byes?
- (12) Cincinnati at (5) Texas A&M
- (9) USC at (8) Utah
- (10) Oregon at (7) Notre Dame
- (11) Baylor at (6) Michigan
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football
- Have we ever known less about these teams?
- Why we are so excited about the season
- Grading the Media Days performances
- Kevin Warren and Jim Philips
- What is actually happening in realignment?
- What are the Pac-12 schools going to do?
- Does the B1G want to get bigger?
- Why CBS and Big 12 are huge players
- Predictions about counter-programming
- New transfer rules are smart and good
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football
- Have we ever known less about these teams?
- Why we are so excited about the season
- Grading the Media Days performances
- Kevin Warren and Jim Philips
- What is actually happening in realignment?
- What are the Pac-12 schools going to do?
- Does the B1G want to get bigger?
- Why CBS and Big 12 are huge players
- Predictions about counter-programming
- New transfer rules are smart and good
Braden Gall catches up with ESPN's Ian Fitzsimmons to talk conference realignment, the time frame for action from the Big 12 or Pac-12 before they argue about actual football teams. Like, say, who is going to win the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12? How to build a winning program? How to hire good coaches?
Braden Gall and Chris Childers hang out from Atlanta at SEC Media Days to discuss the past, present and future of college football. What is happening to the game? Who can be the last team into the college football playoff? The ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 races are more interesting. The guys catch up in Atlanta.
No one is more connected on conference expansion and realignment than Action Network's Brett McMurphy. Braden Gall had a chance to talk with Brett at SEC Media Days in Atlanta about the Big 12 trying to absorb the Pac-12, what Notre Dame is going to do, what happens to the SEC, the Group of 5 and where college football will be in less than 10 years. He's scared, folks.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. What is the latest with expansion as the SEC appears to be standing firm, the Big 12 is "open for business" and one move the Pac-12 needs to make today. Then we roll through the Playoff contenders' biggest upset alerts. Which trap games will define the 2022 championship races? And two recruiting theories about former powerhouses and how we will hire coaches in the future.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, expansion and drama. What are the options for the Big 12 and Pac-12? A full partnership or partial merger or hostile takeover? How ESPN will play a huge role in what happens to the ACC? Why the SEC and Big Ten will fight over Virginia and North Carolina. What's the latest with ND and why the SEC wants them to stay independent.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall call an emergency family meeting after the news of USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten on Thursday. Who is making these decisions and why? Is their calculus right about sacrificing charm for ratings? How ND holds the ACC's future in their palm. Should the Pac-12 and Big 12 join forces? Can these big market forces be stopped or, at least, slowed at all?
The band is back together for our favorite episode of the year: Our 2022 Dream College Football Road Trip - the ORIGINAL college football dream road trip, we might add. Mitch Light of The Athletic returns to join Steven Lassan and Braden Gall on this season's journey across college football.
The rules are simple: You are going to a football game every week of the year but can only see each team one time. Where are you going? Send us your trip on the socials or in a review. Let's ride!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Group of 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. Can anyone replicate what the Bearcats did last year, like say, Houston? The Mountain West is BACK, baby! Championship battles in the Sun Belt, C-USA and MAC are dead even. Which coaches do we like to rise through the ranks this fall? How good are Notre Dame, BYU and the rest of the Independents?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Pac-12, there are some strong favorites followed by tons of chaos that will make for a fantastic year of football. Can new coaches across the league build winners fast? Can established names bounce back? And who is the real favorite to win the Pac-12?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the ACC, the QB position is stronger than it's been in a long time and that will lead to lots of debates this summer. Can the ACC champ get into the Playoff? Who can establish their culture the quickest? And why is Tyler Van Dyke so underrated?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Big 12, the league is as wide open as ever as programs jostle for position before looming changes. It's one of the most balanced leagues in America.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Big Ten, can the QB position develop and catch up to the defenses in this league?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the SEC, the middle class is healthier than maybe ever before and could lead to one of the most unpredictable seasons in league history.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Who is this year's Michigan? Which teams outside of the preseason top 25 have the right recipe to make an unforseen playoff run? Which teams in the top 10 are sure to disappoint and make us look bad? And which scheduling model is best for college football? Should it be the same for all leagues? What's best for the fans and what's best for the sport? Also, FREE STUFF!
It's here! Magazines are here! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall explain the Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 for 2022. We touch on every single ranked team, every conference races and give away two free magazines!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher. Why are these two ego maniacs yelling at each other? What are the real reasons for this fued? And what does it actually mean for the future of college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. * Awesome magazine news! * Free Stuff! * Arch Manning recruitment * Why it's unprecedented * Who cares where he goes! * His career will be studied * Nick Saban complains about parity * Have we ever had it? * Is there a way to legislate it? * The top 10 jobs in America * The top 3 are EASY! * National title DNA * Access and resources * How can teams change status?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Magazines are put to bed!
- Two big QB transfers
- NCAA's mind-numbing stupidity
- Ripple effect of NCAA's decision
- Is this trial balloon, scare tactics?
- Divisions are going away!
- Why there's no reason to keep them
- How would scheduling work?
- New roster rules are smart
- Mike Leach's silly expansion tweet
- Conference title odds
- Where we agree, disagree
- Value bets in 2022
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Jordan Addison enters portal
- How to stop tampering?
- Riley, USC becoming villian
- Big dominoes fall in AAC
- What is next for OU, Texas?
- NFL hated 2022 QB class
- NFL loves 2023 QB class
- How many first rounders are there?
- Power 5 all-conference debates
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We begin with Steven's scorching, smoldering, smokin' spring football takes. Then we dive into Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick's comments about the "inevitable" split coming to college football. We talk transfer portal stats and the biggest underachievers in college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- JT Daniels heads to West Virginia
- Bama, UGa, Ohio St spring games
- Spring football is like parenting
- Nick Saban threatens college football
- NIL out of control or fair market?
- TV broadcast rights are up for grabs
- Big Ten-ESPN relationship
- What role will streamers play?
- Can CBS, NBC get back into CFB?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Dabo is probably right for once
- Spring game notes (sort of)
- Week 1 point spreads
- Nico Mania changes everything
We relive the first year of the BCS Era:
- Did it work
- A sign of things to come?
- Who deserved to be there?
- Did KSU, Tulane get hosed?
- Records across the board
- Ohio State's choke
- Hurricane and Hurricanes
- One redshirt freshman
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Today, we take you behind the curtain and show you how we begin to make predictions for the magazine. How we tier teams in each conference before deciding on champions and playoff teams. Who will compete for division titles? Which teams are on the second tier in each league? We also have some news out of the Big 12, the Sun Belt and with Mark Emmert.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Today, we grade all 29 new head football coaches in 2022. Which four Power 5 schools got "As" and which four schools got "Cs." Which first-time head coaches should be successful and which ones are concerning? How about Group of 5 retreads and rising stars? We graded them all.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- A 5-star QB commits and shows us exactly how important a "collective" is for your school.
- The worst possible job in college football.
- Our promise to you: A renewal of our vows to college football and to our core mission.
- Why the mainstream, national media is way too focused on the Playoff (but why they have to be).
- The most interesting teams who could contend for the Playoff.
- The most interesting teams that will be good but have nothing to do with the college football playoff.
- The most interesting big brands who will be improved this year (but aren't all that great).
- The most interesting Group of 5 teams.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Big magazine news
- Some 100% prime pod beef
- We were dead wrong
- Lots of NIL details
Spring QB Battles:
- Playoff Implications: Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan, Clemson
- Hot Seat Implications: Auburn, Arizona St, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Colorado
- Conference, Division Implications: Baylor, Penn St, Iowa, Texas, Washington, North Carolina, Pitt, LSU, Florida, Ole Miss
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. * A review review * GLOAT status and a thank you! * Some positive attendance news * Big Ten's, Sun Belt's growth * FBS expansion, home experience * Pac-12 historic low, ACC drops again * Solutions to the problem * Game too long, WiFi, good games * Potential new rules announced * Targeting, faking injury, blocking * Who has used portal well? * Who is over-using the portal? * Who could use more portal?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. How do we determine and define what a returning starter is for the magazine? Who is returning the most talent in the Power 5? Who is returning the least starting talent in the Power 5? And how does all of that impact our magazine predictions? Which coaches get the benefit of the doubt?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What did we expect?
- Selfishness, greed dominates
- Total chaos of last few years
- Will never get equity
- Charm vs. profits
- When was CFB small business?
- News: UK, UGa, Michigan, ASU
- Top 10 games of Week 1
- Notre Dame-Ohio St
- Oregon-Georgia
- LSU-Florida State
- Utah-Florida
- Cincinnati-Arkansas
- Backyard Brawl
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. News and Notes: * Auburn retains Bryan Harsin... why? * Baylor, Cincinnati extend coaches * C-USA, Sun Belt scheduling conflict
Transfer QB analysis and breakdown:
- Big 12's biggest brands using portal
- Big Ten's best teams are homegrown
- Pac-12 has the best transfer QBs
- SEC middle class propped up
- ACC is a total hodge podge
- G5: UCF, Mountain West, Fun Belt
Steven Lassen and Braden Gall talk college football.
- ACC might be getting rid of divisions!
- (Why we still hate divisions)
- The real goal of playoff expansion
- What on earth is happening at Auburn?
- Importance of organizational alignment
- Which schools have it? Which don't?
- Texas, USC, Miami, OU, Ohio St?
- Josh Gattis leaves for Miami
- What does Michigan do?
- Braden was wrong about NFL carousel
- Super Bowl starting QB trivia
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. * Big Ten ditching divisions? * Coaching drama: ASU, Auburn * Jim Harbaugh coming back * Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart * Recruiting Outliers: * Biggest overachievers * Biggest underachievers * What's going on in the Pac-12? * How does future Big 12 look? * Big Ten West needs a boost * ACC staying power?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Some new rules, committee members
- Bama using portal in big way
- Hawaii update
Grading the first-year P5 coaches:
- Jedd Fisch, Arizona
- Bryan Harsin, Auburn
- Bret Bielema, Illinois
- Lance Leipold, Kansas
- Shane Beamer, South Carolina
- Josh Heupel, Tennessee
- Steve Sarkisian, Texas
- Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Grading the first-year G5 coaches from Blake Anderson at Utah State to Butch Jones at Arkansas State.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What are the risks of the expansion stalemate?
- Why wouldn't SEC, Big Ten expand?
- Big 12 proposed divisions: Good and bad
- JT Daniels, Jaxson Dart, Caleb Williams
- Todd Graham's shocking Hawaii tenure
- Where do NFL playoff QBs come from?
- All of the evidence points to the Pac-12
- NFL Draft deadline: winners and losers
- QB play in 2022 will be MUCH better
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What is holding up playoff expansion?
- Public sentiment wants expansion
- Automatic qualifiers helps who?
- What the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 care about?
- TV ratings for the national title: Up and down
- How to regain national interest?
- Big programs have follow the Ohio State model
- Just Do It: Hire recruiting assassins
- Early Top 25 2022 Rankings
- Bama, Ohio St, Georgia on top tier
- Clemson, Texas A&M, Michigan?
- Who has staying power: Utah, Mich. St, Wake?
The band is back together as Mitch Light from The Athletic joins Steven Lassan and Braden Gall to break down Georgia's national championship victory over Alabama.
- Drama, tension, talent leads to great game
- Injuries for Bama play big role
- Did Todd Monken, UGa evolve?
- Georgia defense got stops when it had to
- Kirby vs. Saban wasn't a factor
- How will this game be received nationally?
- Fighting the regionality of the sport
- Removing focus from the national title
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- TV ratings for the semifinals were bad
- TV expectations for the national title?
- Why were numbers down in 2020?
- Fatigue about the top of the sport?
- Does expansion fix this?
- Georgia's defensive approach
- Bryce Young's ability to beat man coverage
- Stetson Bennett will change the narrative
- Georgia's weapons getting healthy
- HAS Georgia innovated?
- Final game scores, predictions
- NFL coaching moves to impact college
- Caleb Williams big news
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Best two all year will play for natty
- Bama handles Cincinnati
- Bearcats deserve tons of credit
- What's Luke Fickell's future?
- Georgia's utter domination
- North-South talent differential
- Jim Harbaugh's legacy
- Georgia's adjustments for Alabama?
- Why fans will watch (why they won't)
- Expansion: How will it help?
- New Year's bowls teach us about expansion
- People still think bowl records matter?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the two national semifinal playoff games on New Year's Eve.
- New Year's Eve TV ratings
- Bowl game hijinks abound
- How a win for Cincy changes football
- The argument for the Bearcats defense
- Can Cincy stop Will Anderson?
- Georgia-Michigan similarities
- QB situations for both
- O-Line vs. D-Line
- Which offense evolves?
- New Year's college football resolutions
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview every single bowl game. But before they do we play a fun holiday bowl game called: "Real, Old or Fake." Play along with the guys OR play the at-home game. Either way, have a wonderful holiday bowl season!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What does the Travis Hunter story mean?
- NIL, transfer portal, early signing, HBCU's
- Stay calm and get used to new norms
- Reevaluating the early signing period
- Team recruiting rankings and the playoff
- New coaches at Oregon, Virginia and Duke
- New hiring philosophy: hiring coordinators
- Transfer portal QB chaos all over the country
- Bryce Young wins Heisman, Braden's ballot
- Previewing the first round of bowl games
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Army-Navy: Best football game all yeaer
- Miami doing things they've never done
- Why Mario Cristobal will crush at The U
- Upward mobility in the ACC, Pac-12
- Asking Brent Venables to carry OU into SEC
- Clemson has to replace more big pieces
- Oregon is extremely attractive
- Marcus Freeman's upside, risk at Notre Dame
- Josh Gattis award, Jim Knowles moves
- New G5 names at Fresno, Akron, Colorado St
- Virginia, Duke openings
- Heisman process, debate
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall offer instant reaction to Championship Weekend and the College Football Playoff bracket.
Instant predictions and analysis:
- (1) Bama vs. (4) Cincinnati
- (2) Michigan vs. (3) Georgia
- Who should've been No. 1?
- Who wins the national title?
- History is made by the committee
- Does the G5 actually want this?
- Rematch factor
- Critical games within the game
- Would Ok-State have gotten in?
- Historical context, stats, info
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview championship weekend in college football.
- Western Kentucky-UTSA
- Oregon-Utah
- Baylor-Ok State
- Kent St-Northern Illinois
- Utah St-San Diego St
- App St-Louisiana
- Georgia-Alabama
- Houston-Cincinnati
- Iowa-Michigan
- Wake Forest-Pitt (UVa, what?)
Special GLOAT announcement, listener feedback and season-ending show reviews.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall record a bonus episode of Cover 2 After Dark. We talk rankings and playoff implications, take a deep dive into the Brian Kelly to LSU news and what it means for Notre Dame. Hear from Dari Nowkhah about how Lincoln Riley left Norman. As well as some Virginia Tech and Washington talk.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talks college football.
* 17: most points allowed in a game
- 297 yards, 5 TDs rushing allowed
- 0 points in the second half
- 118-0 record since 2004
- 18-1 when rushing for 200 yards
- 10: record regular season wins
- 138 total yards rushing
- 26 seconds
- 40-13 margin of victory
- 162-23 combined score in last four
- 24 games in a row with a TD
Playoff ranking debates: Bama vs. Cincinnati vs. Ohio St vs. Ok-State vs. Notre Dame? What happens on Tuesday?
- Lincoln Riley to USC
- Billy Napier to Florida
- Who should OU target?
- TCU, Wazzu make decisions
- LSU, Va Tech, extensions
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 13.
- The Game
- Bedlam
- Iron Bowl
- Egg Bowl
- The Civil War
- Wisc-Minn
- Penn St-Michigan St
- UNC-NC State
- Wake-Boston College
- Boise St-San Diego St
- Cincinnati-ECU
Picks Against the Spread:
- Steven: 5-4 LW, 50-47 YTD 👍🏼
- Braden: 6-2 LW, 35-39 YTD 📈
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We recap Week 12, preview the college football rankings and talk Florida Gators coaching search.
- 49-point margin of victory
- 31-point margin of victory
- 559 record passing yards
- 108 total yards allowed
- 7 sacks in one game
- 5 consecutive 10-win seasons
- 3,857 single season passing yards record
- 11-0 for second time in program history
- 34 consecutive wins at home
- 300 passing yards, 200 rushing yards
- 62 points scored, 6-0 at home, outgunned 426-183
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk playoff rankings, Virginia Tech and preview Week 12 in college football.
- Mich St at Ohio St
- Oregon at Utah
- Wake Forest at Clemson
- Arkansas at Bama
- SMU at Cincinnati
- Virginia at Pitt
- Iowa St at Oklahoma
- Ok-State at Texas Tech
- Baylor at Kansas St
- Virginia Tech at Miami
- UAB at UTSA
Picks Against the Spread:
- Steven: 5-5 LW, 45-43 YTD 💰
- Braden: 3-3 LW, 29-37 YTD 🤷🏼♂️
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk recap Week 11 in college football. We also preview the playoff rankings and talk Washington's coaching vacancy.
- 260 total yards allowed
- 257 yards rushing
- 47.2 points per game
- 2.29 points per opportunity
- 9-1 at home in last 10
- 1982 (that's all)
- 2008 (that's all)
- 40-0 run
- 300+ yards rushing
- 42 points allowed at half
- 3 points scored
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 10 in college football. Before we get into the numbers, we talk Texas Tech, coordinator firings, expansion and preview Tuesday's rankings. * 42 losses to unranked teams * 17 wins by Purdue * 3.2 YPP by Auburn * 0.2 yards per carry for Bama * 31-3 run for UNC * 133 yards allowed by Ok-State * 531 yards of total offense * 40.5% of Iowa St's Big 12 wins * 13:52 time of possession for Vols * 8 snaps inside the Cincy 12 * 190-176 outscoring B1G teams
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 9. * TCU, Gary Patterson part ways * His legacy, how good a job is TCU? * What to watch in debut rankings * Our Top 4 and how we'd vote
Week 9 Numbers to Know: * 2-0 record against Michigan * 5 TDs to 4 TDs * 4 sacks and field goals * 0 TD passes * 8-0, AP Top 10 * 3 straight games * 156 total yards * 92.3 completion % * 18 one-score losses * 1,322 combined yards * 56-7 five-quarter stretch
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 9. * Michigan at Michigan St * Georgia vs. Florida * Ole Miss at Auburn * Penn St at Ohio St * Iowa at Wisconsin * Texas at Baylor * SMU at Houston * Fresno St at San Diego St * North Carolina at Notre Dame * UCLA at Utah * Virginia at BYU
Picks Against the Spread: * Steven: 4-3 LW, 33-25 YTD * Braden: 3-4 LW, 23-25 YTD
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 8 in college football.
- 52 ranked Ls, 9 unbeatens
- 10 consecutive 2-point failures
- 231-44 combined score
- 52 passing yards
- 12 AP top 10 wins
- 34-3 run
- 300 yards, 10 points
- 12.2 yards per play
- 19 point margin of victory
- 34 straight games
- 37 straight wins
- 4 teams
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- AAC Expansion: Who and why?
- Could all of these changes happen at once?
- Wazzu fires Rolo, no idea what he's doing
- Clemson at Pitt
- Ok-State at Iowa St
- Oregon at UCLA
- Ohio St at Indiana
- USC at Notre Dame
- LSU at Ole Miss
- Wisconsin at Purdue
- Tennessee at Alabama
- Utah at Oregon St
- NC State at Miami
- Mountain West
Picks Against Spread:
- Steven: 4-4 LW, 29-22 YTD
- Braden: 3-4 LW, 20-21
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall recap Week 7:
- 47 ranked losses
- 9-8 last two years
- 1974
- 12.1 Y/A, 210.93 Rating
- 28-0
- 6 yards
- 101 plays
- 203 yards
- 80.8%
- 2.8 yards per play
- 56 total points
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 7.
- Kentucky at Georgia
- Ok-State at Texas
- Arizona St at Utah
- Auburn at Arkansas
- Florida at LSU
- Pitt at Virginia Tech
- Ole Miss at Tennessee
- TCU at Oklahoma
- NC State at Boston College
- BYU at Baylor
- Alabama at Mississippi St
- Also: Iowa, Iowa St, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Clemson, Oregon, Michigan St, Cincinnati
Picks Against the Spread:
- Steven: 4-6 LW, 25-18
- Braden: 3-5 LW, 17-17
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall recap Week 6:
- 40 ranked teams
- 1st win ever
- 21-point comeback
- 95 total yards
- 26 to 23
- 6-0 first time since...
- 5-16 one-score games
- 4 touchdowns
- 13 point margin of victory
- 1,287 yards
- 21 total points
- 234.2 QB rating
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 6:
- Penn St at Iowa
- Oklahoma-Texas
- Georgia at Auburn
- Arkansas at Ole Miss
- Michigan at Nebraska
- LSU at Kentucky
- Bama at Texas A&M
- Notre Dame at Va Tech
- Utah at USC
- Stanford at Arizona St
- Boise St at BYU
- ALSO: Ohio St, Michigan St, Virginia, Louisville, UAB, TCU, Baylor, Tennessee and more!
Against the Spread: * Steven: 6-4 LW, 21-14 YTD * Braden: 6-1 LW, 14-12 YTD
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 5 of college football:
- 34 ranked teams have lost in 2021
- 4 teams
- 1 TD and 1 win
- +12 turnover margin
- Sept. 9, 2017
- 5-1 against top 3
- 8-7 since 2019
- 24.0 points per game
- 1986
- 194.7 and 52.4
- 118 points
- 0-5
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 5 of college football.
- Ole Miss at Alabama
- Arkansas at Georgia
- Cincinnati at Notre Dame
- Florida at Kentucky
- Baylor at Oklahoma State
- Michigan at Wisconsin
- Auburn at LSU
- Iowa at Maryland
- Texas at TCU
- Oregon at Stanford
- Arizona St at UCLA
And: Oklahoma, Penn St, Ohio St, Texas A&M, Boston College, Clemson, Wake Forest, the Mountain West and so much more!
Picks Against the Spread:
- Steven: 6-2 LW, 15-10 YTD
- Braden: 4-2 LW, 8-11 YTD
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 4.
- 25 losses
- 1 win
- 31 points off turnovers
- 3.9 yards per play
- The year 2014
- 363 yards
- 16 total points
- 14 sacks allowed
- 78 total yards
- 4-0 teams
- The year 1960
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 4.
- Notre Dame-Wisconsin
- Texas A&M-Arkansas
- Clemson at NC State
- West Virginia at Oklahoma
- Iowa St at Baylor
- Kansas St at Ok-State
- LSU at Miss St
- Rutgers at Michigan
- Nebraska at Michigan St
- UCLA at Stanford
- North Carolina at Georgia Tech
- And so many more games!
Picks Against the Spread (WOOF!)
- Steven: 9-8 YTD, 2-4 LW
- Braden: 4-9 YTD, 1-5 LW
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Week 3:
- 87.5 completion percentage
- No. 4
- 19 ranked teams
- 6 times
- 1,842 yards rushing
- 4.8 yards per play (6.1 YPP)
- 1,273 total yards
- 19.7 points per game
- 3 unbeaten teams
- 5 Mountain West wins, 3 BYU wins
- No. 1
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 3, however, before we get into the games, the guys talk USC's job opening. Why fire Clay Helton now? How good is this job? And what the media gets wrong about the list of names.
- Auburn-Penn St
- Alabama-Florida
- Cincinnati-Indiana
- Arizona St-BYU
- Virginia Tech-West Virginia
- Virginia-North Carolina
- Oklahoma St-Boise St
- Nebraska-Oklahoma
- Michigan St-Miami
- Nevada-Kansas St
- Mississippi St-Memphis
Picks Against the Spread Battle:
Steven: 4-2 LW, 7-4 YTD
Braden: 1-3 LW, 3-4 YTD
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk week 2 of college football.
- 236 yards rushing allowed per game
- +4 turnover margin
- +4 new Big 12 teams
- 11.5 yards per carry
- The year 2017
- 333 yards
- 341 yards
- 12 total touchdowns
- 4.5 yards per play
- 197 yards rushing
- 2-2
- 8
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 2.
- Iowa at Iowa St
- Oregon at Ohio St
- Utah at BYU
- Washington at Michigan
- Texas at Arkansas
- Missouri at Kentucky
- NC State at Miss State
- Texas A&M at Colorado
- Cal at TCU
- Pitt at Tennessee
- Stanford at USC
- ALSO: UGa, ND, Miami, Navy and more
Gambling Standings:
Steven: 3-2 LW, 3-2 YTD
Braden: 2-1 LW, 2-1 YTD
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall give you the numbers you need to know about Week 1 of the college football season.
- 11.8 points per game
- 11-0 in neutral site openers
- 7 sacks
- 56.3 yards per TD
- 159 offensive snaps
- 1.9 yards per carry
- 8.3 yards per play
- 1-5 in a division
- 7-7 in a conference
- 661 yards rushing
- 6-2 debuts
- Week 1 Injury Report
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 1:
- Georgia-Clemson
- LSU at UCLA
- Penn St at Wisconsin
- Alabama-Miami
- Notre Dame at Florida St
- Indiana at Iowa
- North Carolina at Virginia Tech
- Louisville-Ole Miss
- Louisiana at Texas
- West Virginia at Maryland
- San Jose St at USC
- And more: Oregon, Michigan, Oklahoma
Braden Gall and Steven Lassan give you the 11 numbers college football fans need to know.
Monday Starting 11: Week 0
- 1.8 yards per carry
- 4-11 conference record
- $15 million
- 8-4 when rushing for 200 yards
- 9 starting QBs have been named
- 0 expansion happening
- 4 ranked teams in action
- In the year 2000!
- 0 snaps taken
- 115 games coached
- 66 offensive snaps per game
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What can listeners expect from us this fall.
- Final Conference Predictions
- What we think happens in the Playoff
- What we want to happen in the Playoff
- QB battles being settled across the country
- Injuries continue: Georgia, NW, South Carolina
- Week 0: Nebraska and UCLA take center stage
- Over/Unders: KY, ND, Utah, NC St, TCU, MSU, NW
- ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 scheduling alliance
- WHY are they doing this?
- What does it mean for the Big 12?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Camps have been super quiet
- Does that mean we are in for another 2007?
- ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 scheduling alliance?
- QB battles and injuries
- Developments in the Pac-12 South and SEC
- AP, Coaches and Athlon Sports polls
- What we regret from the magazine?
- Utah, Kentucky, TCU, NWestern too low?
- LSU, USC, Auburn, Texas, Arizona St too high?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Bobby Bowden's legacy
- Calling him at home
- Guys who've launched entire programs
- Injuries, suspensions, camp notes
- All of the best non-conference games of the year
- From Georgia-Clemson to Florida-Florida St
Braden Gall and Steven Lassan talk college football.
- All quiet on the realignment front
- SEC not worried about playoff format
- Camps are opening up everywhere
- Ohio St, Texas A&M, Notre Dame
- LSU, Texas, Washington
- Auburn? Michigan?
- Kentucky, Boise, Florida St
- Miss St, Northwestern, BYU
- Tennessee, Baylor, Purdue, Stanford
- Wazzu, Oregon St, Michigan St
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Texas, OU leave: Is it good for college football?
- When will all of this happen?
- The concerning value of the Hateful 8
- What are the Big 12's options?
- Stick together? Go it alone?
- What should the Big Ten, ACC do to counter?
- A B1G/Pac-12 scheduling alliance in the works
- What happens to the AAC and rest of G5?
- Which teams fit the best where?
- Our predictions on what happens
- Our fantasy land dream world scenarios!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Talkin' Season is here!
- Bob Bowlsby, Greg Sankey set the early tone
- What are Covid expectations for 2021?
- Getting vaccinated is a competitive advantage
- Don't complain this fall about the rules
- Sankey attacks the NCAA
- What does the NCAA actually do here?
- Are the capable of governing our sport?
- Could the P5 break away?
- We predict the future of P5 football
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Anonymous Scouting Reports abound! We work our way across the country learning exactly what coaches really think about your college football team. Defensive schemes, QB development, recruiting trends, locker room culture and university relationships - there are no holds barred in our annual anonymous scouting reports.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Surprised by breadth of NIL rollout?
- The good, bad and future of NIL
- Reggie Bush's Heisman?
- Division-by-division summer storylines:
- ACC: Coastal QBs, Atlantic defenses, BC
- Big 12: WVU culture, middle tier QBs, TCU
- B1G: Nebraska, Nebraska, Nebraska (and IU, PSU)
- P12: Coaching evals in the North, ASU issues
- SEC: TAMU QBs, LSU, offenses and challengers
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- What does the SCOTUS ruling mean?
- How will it impact college football structure?
- Our primary message to fans
- How will NIL laws be rolled out this week?
- Why some schools are ready but hesitant?
- Are there some schools that will benefit more?
- How much money changes hands?
- A theory on the Expansion Announcement
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall are joined by Mitch Light of The Athletic to conduct our (fifth annual) 2021 Dream Road Trip. The band is back together! The rules are simple: You get to go to any college football game every week of the season but you cannot see any team more than once. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and no other rules really apply. Send us your dream road trip on the socials.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Expansion is here and we've got the deets
- How did we get here?
- Will the regular season actually be diminished?
- Are we okay with top six champs getting in?
- What about ONLY champions getting a bye week?
- Irish get docked (but it's not as bad you think)
- Timing and location are major issues
- How will this expansion look out of the athletes?
- Why in God's name would be use nuetral sites?
- A retroactive look at the last seven years
- Which teams would've gotten in?
- What do the Group of 5 bids look like?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Important people want a 12-team playoff
- Who does this format benefit?
- Who does NOT benefit from this format?
- Why it will help college football
- The unintended consequences
Our Group of 5 rankings explained:
- Cincinnati leads healthy middle AAC class
- Two ranked Sun Belt teams, then... meh
- The Mountain West's return to form
- CUSA difficulties (and intrigue)
- NEW MAC PREDICTIONS
- Three really good Independents
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big Ten football.
- Is the Big Ten becoming the ACC?
- Can anyone chase down Ohio St?
- Wisconsin vs. Iowa in the West?
- Penn St's bounce back, Indiana's metrics
- Minnesota, Michigan lead middle class
- Northwestern is obviously underrated
- Are we breaking up with Nebraska?
- Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers aaaaand... ?
- Bert at Illinois
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk SEC football:
- Same teams at the top chasing Bama
- Strange QBs situations with the contenders
- The impossibility of projecting LSU
- A healthy middle class led by Ole Miss
- Kentucky's stability v. Auburn's insanity
- Bottom of the West is strong
- Bottom of the East is NOT strong
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk ACC football.
- Clemson, UNC and Miami on top tier
- Middle of the ACC's growth
- NC State, BC, Wake, UL, FSU
- Virginia Tech, Pitt and Virginia
- Chaos in both divisions
- Veteran QBs will be critical
- Who will surprise?
- Established coaching staffs
- One bottom feeder that could surprise
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big 12 football.
- Top tier: Oklahoma vs. Iowa State
- What to do with Texas?
- Are TCU and WVU contenders?
- KSU bounces back?
- Hot seat in Lubbock
- And, well, Kansas
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Pac-12 football.
- Oregon leads wide open top tier
- Washington, ASU, USC, Utah
- Caught in the middle: UCLA
- Trending up or down: Stanford, Wazzu?
- Oregon St better than we think?
- Bottom of the league
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Our top 25 is OUT!
- Who just missed the cut?
- Team-by-team breakdown of all 25 teams
- Who are the picks to win each division
- Who are the picks to win each conference
- Who are the picks to make the playoff?
- Who is going to win the national title?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- 2021 magazine news!
- NIL legislation
- How many players are in the portal?
- Year over year transfer trends
- Where are players leaving?
- Where are players going?
- Who is benefiting the most?
- What are the unintended consequences?
- What rules need to be changed?
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Magazines are (almost) on sale!
- The SEC wins the draft again
- Big news for the ACC and AAC
- Big 12 still has a major issue
- QB class for 2022 is awesomely diverse
- Kansas has a new coach
- NCAA extends their silly President
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Playoff expansion is coming
- Why is it happening now?
- Why opinions have changed
- Geographic consideration
- Financial issues and compensation
- Scheduling hurdles?
- Plues/Minuses to each format
- Which formats are we campaigning for?
- Our new Dream Four-Team Playoff Game
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The toughest debates of the 2021 magazine:
- Would Super Conferences work for the G5?
- One team above the rest in the G5
- BYU and Liberty
- Is there a legit case for a G5 team in the playoff?
- Has the Sun Belt gained ground on the AAC?
- Wait, isn't the Mountain West getting better too?
- C-USA, MAC want to be included
- Coaches taking the jump to the P5?
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football:
- Our biggest magazine debates continued
- Oklahoma vs. Iowa St in the Big 12?
- Texas, TCU or Ok-State?
- Who surprises in the Big 12?
- Three team race in the Pac-12 South
- Two team race in the Pac-12 North
- Bama vs. Georgia in the SEC
- Five of six teams battling for 3rd place
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Biggest magazine debates: ACC, B1G, ND
- Can UNC or Miami unseat Clemson?
- Coastal Chaos again in 2021?
- Five team race for 2nd in the Atlantic?
- Can Notre Dame get back to the Playoff?
- What is the top tier in the Big Ten West?
- Will Nebraska ever take a step?
- Penn St or Indiana challenge OSU?
- Maryland, Michigan or anyone else?
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- George Pickens gets hurt
- Chandler Morris tries to transfer
- Coach O is doing... what?!?
- New overtime rules
- What we got wrong in 2020?
- What have we learned from 2020?
- Apologies to: NW, BC, Coastal, San Jose, Mizzou
- What in 2020 was a mirage (ahem, Colorado?)
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- How will college football change over the next 10 years?
- Playoff format
- Conference realignment
- Scheduling practices
- Technological changes to viewing habits
- Transparency and gambling
- Player compensation, salary cap
- Recruiting limitations, budgets
- Coaching staff restrictions
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Candidates for the Kansas job
- Oklahoma-Nebraska fiasco
- The ACC's new progressive rules
- AD's silencing coaches
- The most important QB battles this spring:
- Ohio St, Penn St, Michigan, Notre Dame
- LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Oregon, FSU, BYU
- Kentucky, Tennessee, Northwestern, Baylor
- GLORY LASTS FOREVER!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Les Miles is fired from Kansas
- More complaining about transparency
- Mike Holder's impact, changing role of the AD
- Biggest questions for contenders: ACC
- Biggest questions for contenders: Big 12
- Biggest questions for contenders: Big Ten
- Biggest questions for contenders: Pac-12
- Biggest questions for contenders: SEC
- Our New Game: Glory Lasts Forever!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Notre Dame's brilliant move
- QBs transfers of note
- Two tiers of breakout teams in 2021
- Teams that will take steps forward
- Teams that could compete for championships
- Who can be this year's Coastal Carolina?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Today, we rank and take a deep dive into all 15 new head football coaches in 2021. Why were they hired? Who punched over their weight? Who whiffed? Strengths, weaknesses, concerns and upside for all of the 15 new head coaches in college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Defense won the Super Bowl, so what?
- When is the last time this happened in college?
- How many elite offenses have been stopped?
- What is the perfect type of football game?
- How will defenses push back in the future?
- Odds to win the Natty '21 - who Braden bet on.
- Long shots we like to make playoff
- Whet the Whistle with Wheek Whone matchups
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- How to use team rankings
- ACC blue chips, overachievers, crootin' trends
- Big 12 blue chips, overachievers, crootin' trends
- Big Ten blue chips, overachievers, crootin' trends
- Pac-12 blue chips, overachievers, crootin' trends
- SEC blue chips, overachievers, crootin' trends
- Bud Elliott of 247Sports.com joins
- Consolidation of talent is a concern
- Josh Heupel at Tennessee
- Barton Simmons at Vandy
- EA Sports is back!
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- NFL Draft deadline winners, losers
- What will the extra year do to college football?
- Silly Season is still going, folks
- Misinformation is everywhere
- What search firms actually do and...
- why the good ones are super valuable
- A look at the best 2020 hires
- Larry Scott's legacy as Pac-12 commish
- How to save the Pac-12
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- Tennessee fired Jeremy Pruitt
- How good of a job is UT, who are the names?
- Who did we debate for No. 1 in 2021?
- Which G5 teams will fight for a NY6 bowl?
- Coastal Chaos in 2021 (and catching Clemson)
- The top tier in the Big 12
- Where did all the brands go in the Big Ten?
- A long training camp for Pac-12 teams?
- Bama, UGa a cut above rest of the SEC
Nick Kayal, Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down the National Championship game.
- How are we feeling now that the season is over?
- How will we look back on this season in 20 years?
- The Greatness of Alabama in 2020
- The credit and adversity the players went through
- Is this Saban's best coaching job
- The evolution of the game
- Nick hates Braden's Heisman vote
- The future of the sport
- Can CFB survive without churn at the top?
- Will expansion actually spread out the talent?
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football:
- DeVonta Smith wins the Heisman
- Who did Braden vote for and why?
- Trask vs. Lawrence vs. Jones?
- Natty News: Sark, Waddle, Covid
- Can Ohio St continue to pound the rock?
- How do you cover Smith? Stop Harris?
- Ryan Day vs. Nick Saban
- Did Texas execute it's plan to land Sark?
- What's going on at Florida, UT, Michigan?
The gang is back to recap the national semifinals. Braden, Nick and Steven talk Alabama and Ohio St's wins:
- Yet another bowl results PSA
- Did Bama slow it down?
- Is Alabama's defense legit?
- Is Notre Dame willing to change to win?
- Justin Fields goes off
- Targeting, play-calling matter?
- Argument: Rest vs. Rhythm
- Why Bama-OSU is good for football
- Why is uniform twitter so easily triggered?
We are brought you by MyBookie.ag
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year's Day:
- Where should the Irish attack Alabama?
- Who can actually make plays?
- The scheme to stop DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris?
- Does a blowout loss change how Notre Dame operates?
- Rehashing the Clemson-OSU game from last year
- One major area of concern for Ohio State
- One major advantage for Ohio State
- Is Ryan Day a concern in this matchup?
- Picks against the spread and some bowl banter
- Toughest Heisman vote in years
- How to separate the Alabama players?
- Evaluating Trevor Lawrence, Kyle Trask?
- Did Auburn finally do something right?
- Illinois brings back Bert!
- The strategy at Texas, Tennessee
- Arizona makes a mistake
- Coordinators getting shipped around
- Teams opting out of bowl games
Nick Kayal, Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down the College Football Playoff selection process:
- Did the Committee get it right?
- Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame
- Should Ohio St be allowed in?
- Dunking on the Big Ten?
- Semifinal predictions
- National title predictions
- Heisman arguments
- Did 2020 make a case for expansion?
Braden Gall and Steven Lassan preview Championship Week.
- Path to the Playoff: Texas A&M
- Path to the Playoff: Big 12, Group of 5
- Why the Pac-12 is such an after thought
- The best G5 title game ever?
- The most Pac-12 title game ever?
- Oklahoma-Iowa St
- Northwestern-Ohio St
- Alabama-Florida
- Clemson-Notre Dame
Brough to you by MyBookie.ag
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall recap Week 15.
- We offer our Top 4
- Auburn fires Gus Malzahn
- Arizona, Illinois, Vandy looking for coaches too
- Tom Herman is staying at Texas
- Florida's boneheaded loss
- One huge thing we didn't expect in 2020
- Free Shouts to so many awesome things
Brought to you by MyBookie
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
- The latest playoff rankings
- What to do with Ohio St?
- How to use head-to-head?
- OCs and DCs you should hire
- A Shane Beamer comparison
- Urban Meyer turns down Texas
- Our Starting 11 (40:00) for Week 15
All brought to you by MyBookie.ag
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall recap Week 14 in college football.
- Hat tip to BYU and Coastal!
- What can we learn about scheduling, G5?
- Congrats to Iowa State!
- What to make of coaches flirting with other jobs?
- The controversy and expectations at Texas
- Playoff contenders roll with relative ease
- Our Top 4 teams
- What does the B1G do with Ohio St?
- A total mess out West
- Free Shouts!
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall recap Week 13 in college football.
- Bama, Clemson handle business with ease
- Notre Dame extremely impressive
- TAMU, UF keep winning
- What type of chaos could happen in the rankings?
- Congrats to Iowa State
- Auburn fan's reaction to the Iron Bowl
- Gus vs. Herman vs. Harbaugh
- Who should be their targets?
- Jimmy Lake, UW in first place
- Schiano, Pittman doing work
- Sarah Fuller makes history
- Jaret Patterson's ALMOST record
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 13 in college football.
- What did we learn from the first rankings?
- Does a G5 team have a path to the playoff?
- Trainwrecks in the Big Ten
- Egg Bowl, Florida, Texas A&M and LSU
- The Civil War
- The Iron Bowl
- Iowa St at Texas
- Notre Dame at North Carolina
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit (50:00) joins us to talk playoff committee, evaluating coaches, playoff scheduling and transparency in college football.
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall recap Week 12 in college football:
- Our Top 4 and predictions for the committee
- Boring Bedlam, why does Gundy get a pass?
- Big 12 race down to three teams
- Wisconsin, Indiana, Ok-State eliminated?
- OSU-NW basically clinch, can NW compete?
- Clemson-Florida St twitter fiasco
- G5 Gambling Greatness
- Is this the year we finally let a G5 into the playoff?
- Kyle Trask and JT Daniels doing work
- Coaches on the hot seat: Coach O, Franklin, Frost, Pruitt
- Pac-12 wrap up
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 12 in college football.
- Bedlam decides the Big 12
- Two huge showdowns in the Big Ten
- Clemson, Bama, Florida need to cruise
- Oregon, USC to be tested out West
- Juicy Group of 5 matchups
- Solid B1G undercard to watch
- Picks Against the Spread from MyBookie
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall recap Week 11.
- Top 4s haven't changed
- Pac-12 saved a fair boring weekend
- Ian Book is underrated, ND wins easily
- Miami, UNC stay in the race
- Trask vs. Jones vs. Fields vs. Lawrence
- Indiana, NW are good at football
- Should coaches be fired in 2020:
- Harbaugh, Herman, Franklin, Pruitt, Helton, Muschamp, etc.
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall break down Week 10:
- How to rank Clemson, Notre Dame?
- What did the Irish prove on Saturday?
- Where should Florida rank?
- What in THE hell is happening in the Big Ten?
- Miami's offense does it again
- Oregon impressive, USC somehow wins
- What is wrong with so many good programs?
- BYU, Cincinnati win impressively
Braden Gall and Steven Lassan preview Week 9 in college football:
- How can Penn St hang with Ohio St?
- Does Ok-State still need to prove it?
- Georgia, Texas A&M QBs get tested
- The weirdness of Mizzou-Florida
- ND, UNC on the road
- LSU-Auburn is juicy
- Big 12 road trips
- Also, Group of 5 road trips
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall talk all things college football Week 8:
- Ok-State takes control of Big 12
- Indiana's huge win, James Franklin's huge mistake
- Justin Fields, Graham Mertz are good
- Michigan is good too
- ACC contenders roll
- Bama loses Waddle
- SEC scoreboad
- Why is Kansas St undervalued
- G5 Playoff: Who is No. 4?
The Big Ten is back in college football and Braden and Steven get to talk about the games! Our starting 11 features
- Interesting Big Ten debuts
- A Big 12 title preview
- A lopsided rivalry in the SEC
- A huge AAC showdown
- Lots of hot seat talk
Nick and Braden recap Week 7 in college football:
- Georgia proved a lot, the QB did not
- Bama is the best offense in America
- Clemson is best team, though
- Florida St pulls massive upset
- Miami, Va Tech, ND hold serve
- What is Les Miles doing?
- Malzahn, Pruitt have a rough weekend
- Sam Pittman COY Status
- BYU's resume
Steven and Braden preview Week 7:
- Are defenses way behind?
- Georgia's offense v. Bama's defense
- Ok-State and Baylor postponed
- One-loss SEC teams stay the course
- Picks ATS for MyBookie
- UNC, Miami tested in ACC
- A beheading in Columbia, S.C.
- Group of 5 on the road
Nick Kayal and Braden Gall recap all of the action from Week 6:
- What a killer early slate of games!
- Both Sams were excellent but only one survived
- LSU and Florida both fall
- Dan Mullen has thoughts on defense and fans
- Miami and Tennessee do not belong
- Clemson, UNC, ND in the ACC
- ACC chaos
- KSU, ISU stay unbeaten in the Big 12
Miami and Tennessee have huge tests to prove that they belong in the national conversation this week against Clemson and Georgia.
There is a train wreck happening in the Red River Shootout, what do we make of Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M facing Florida and the Hokies and Heels battle it out in the ACC.
Meanwhile, Bama, Notre Dame and Iowa St try to hold serve.
Alabama and Georgia face huge tests in the SEC while former Big 12 frontrunner Oklahoma goes on the road to battle Iowa St. A bunch of ranked teams with some "handle your business" games and lots of coaches under pressure to win. Oh, and the Pac-12 is back!
Oklahoma and LSU headlined a wild weekend in college football, but it's important to remember that there is a lot of losing left to do. What do we make of Texas, Oklahoma State and the rest of the Big 12 so far in 2020? SEC QB debuts were stunning and stunningly bad. And Miami continues to roll while the questions pile up in Tallahassee. And the bad beats to top all bad beats.
The SEC rejoins college football! Hooray! And some of the best games of the week come from the Southeast as Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee go on the road. What the hell is going on at Florida State? Can Iowa St and Ok-State bounce back in the Big 12? And picks against the spread our gambling expert.
Miami posts the biggest win of the year to date on the road against Louisville while the big dogs played meaningless games in the ACC (although, keep an eye on Pitt). Ok-State lost Spencer Sanders and immediately watched the offense disappear.
Did the Big Ten serve up the league championship to Ohio State with their new schedule? Who is the favorite in the West and what did Nebraska do the B1G? (Oh, that's right, they filed a lawsuit)
Our conference camp preview week covers all five power conference by posing one question: What do we NOT know about the ACC? From coaching staffs to depth charts to QB battles to schedules, what questions do we need answered this August? It's the "We Know What We Don't Know Tour."
Our conference camp preview week covers all five power conference by posing one question: What do we NOT know about the Big 12? From coaching staffs to depth charts to QB battles to schedules, what questions do we need answered this August? It's the "We Know What We Don't Know Tour."
Our conference camp preview week covers all five power conference by posing one question: What do we NOT know about the SEC? From coaching staffs to depth charts to QB battles to schedules, what questions do we need answered this August? It's the "We Know What We Don't Know Tour."
This is the final "offseason" pod of the year and it feels so good! We give away our final Podhead Fantasy League spot, have some mild takes on the Coach's Poll and present a potential solution to college football's attendance issues. Enjoy.
Jim Harbaugh is stirring it up again but is it a real controversy? Jim Delany is complaining again but is he simply lobbying? Would changing the divisions actually do anything for the Big Ten? The ACC event was quiet but a major debate about the second-best team broke out. Out West, the Pac-12 clearly is trying to fix it's image problem and part of that could be what happens with Clay Helton. All that and more accepted applicants for our Podhead College Fantasy League.
Talking Season is underway as SEC, AAC and Big 12 media days have wrapped up (we will cover the rest next week). Did Nick Saban make excuses or give us interesting insight? Is the Big 12 handling the Horns Down gesture correctly? What good can come from the SEC having an officiating twitter account? And poor, poor Randy Edsall. Lastly, we debate who should be in our first Cover 2 Podheads College Fantasy League.
The guys address reaction to last week's non-conference podcast with some thoughts and data on conference scheduling. Then we take a fun trip through the hypothetical coaching ranks and what the dominoes would be should some major jobs come open (think: what if Dabo really did take the Bama job?). Lastly, we announce how you can join our college fantasy football league, here's a hint: it won't be easy.
Arguing over non-conference scheduling is an old college football tradition. Especially, now that a committee scrutinizes resumes with a fine tooth comb. So, based on our preseason rankings, we wanted to see exactly which leagues are doing it right. Of course, all of this changes as the season goes along but setting the preseason benchmark is important. Additionally, how do we feel about allowing celebrations in college football?
UConn is leaving the AAC for the Big East. What does this mean for the future of Husky football and why is every school President, Athletic Director and Board of Trustees focused on what UConn does? Can the AAC actually turn this into an opportunity? Meanwhile, out West, California is forcing the NCAA's hand with legislation and Mr. President isn't having it. Are we more likely to see a Power-5 breakaway now? And an SEC recruiting story to end all SEC recruiting stories.
The guys are off on their third annual (and fictional) college football dream road trip! The rules are simple: You can't watch a team more than once. We both took into account the quality of the game, the impact on championship races, the history of the match-up and destinations we'd want to experience. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Play the home version and tweet us your dream road trip in 2019.
The guys take a long look at some of the most impactful, interesting and unpredictable quarterback battles this summer. None of the top 18 teams in our rankings have a QB battle - how unusual is this and does it mean anything? The SEC has the best QBs, the ACC is severely lacking, the Pac-12 is sneaky good and both the Big 12 and Big Ten have some intriguing upside. We make predictions and talk signal callers for all of the biggest QB battles of 2019.
Mitch and Braden continue their deep dive into college football coaching by tackling the Group of 5 ranks, the coordinator ranks, Art Briles return to coaching and who has the most punchable face.
Mitch and Braden take a deep dive into the coaching ranks. Today, the guys rank the best coaches in college football. Which league has the best coaches? Which coaches have earned the benefit of the doubt in the last few years? Which coaches are trending in the wrong direction but aren't near the hot seat? Who are the most underrated head coaches?
The NCAA has formed a committee to look into changing rules about compensating players for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). How could this work effectively? Why is this happening now? What will the free market have to say about players' monetary value? What are some of the unintended consequences about NIL compensation? We conduct a deep dive of how NIL rule changes could save the amateur model.
Steven Lassan joins Mitch and Braden to dissect the Athlon Sports' official 2019 college football playoff predictions. Alabama v. Clemson? Is anyone else on their tier? Which teams make up the second tier and could get into the Playoff? What teams could surprise and jump into the playoff mix? We give you our picks and why for 2019.
We decide this week to do a deep dive into how the magazine is produced each year. We explain every step of the process from assignment to printer: team stories, features, stats, photography, cover design and fact-checking. Do predictions have any impact on sales? Why did we beef up our national magazine this year? What are some of the biggest mistakes we've made over the years? It's an inside look at how we produce our magazines, how that has changed over the years and we hope you enjoy it.
Nashville, our home, hosted the 2019 NFL Draft and we spent all three days downtown taking it all in. Why do NFL fans care so much about dudes walking across a stage but won't watch them on Saturdays? The stats of the draft include two impressive streaks ending, the SEC continuing its dominance and recruiting rankings once again proving themselves to be worthy.
When we put the college football magazine together every year, we lock ourselves in a room and yell at each other about football teams. Here is an in-depth look into that meeting at the toughest decisions and most heated debates we faced as a staff concerning our predictions in 2019.
Mitch Light makes his triumphant return to argue with Braden Gall about the best programs in college football. Based on criteria like access to players, fan support, resources, path to a title, tradition and location, what is the best program in the country? We break down all of the best coaching jobs in college football in 2019.
Steven Lassan fills in for Mitch as we rank every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). What is the best job in the AAC, C-USA, Mountain West, MAC and Sun Belt? Do two leagues dominate the rankings? And which coach is doing the most with the least?
Steven Lassan fills in for Mitch as we rank every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). Michigan vs. Penn St? What is Nebraska? Michigan St vs. Wisconsin? The West vs. the East? Urban versus rural locations? We also added some thoughts on Jim Delany and what he means to college football.
Steven Lassan fills in for Mitch as we rank every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). Oregon, Washington and UCLA are all chasing USC but which one is closest to catching the Trojans as the best program in the Pac-12? What do we make of the Arizona schools and new comers Colorado and Utah? And how the hell do you win at Wazzu?
We just wanted to quickly update you on what is going on. Mitch current status is day-to-day and apologize for our last minute schedule changes. The Cover 2 is perfectly fine and will be back shortly but we wanted to give you guys all an update. Thanks for sticking with us!
We are ranking every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). Texas and Oklahoma a cut above everyone else but who is best between the two powerhouses? Is there a clearcut No. 3? How do outposts like Morgantown and Lubbock factor in? What's the difference between TCU and Baylor?
We are ranking every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). Florida State or Clemson at the top? How good is Miami and where would Notre Dame slot? What do we make of the muddled middle of the ACC? Big cities vs. small towns? Pitt and Syracuse have been hurt by modernization and why has BC overachieved.
We are ranking every Power 5 program in the nation, based on attractiveness of the head coaching position. We take into account things like access to talent (geography), history and tradition (proof of concept) and support (money, fanbase). What is the best job in the SEC? How do we differentiate between Auburn, Tennessee and LSU? Texas A&M has everything except winning. Oxford vs. Starkville? Arkansas vs. South Carolina?
In light of the in-depth study into the NBA gambling scandal of 2007, are college sports more corrupt as it pertains to gambling than we think? Is football tougher to fix than basketball? Which players are susceptible? One current coach is talking junk about another league while a former coach is running his mouth about a current coach. Oh, the off-season. The SEC coordinator carousel has finally stopped spinning and we take a look at the best 15 rosters in the country for 2019.
College football coaches are trying to scare fans into thinking that free agency is upon us. We explain why this is flawed logic and a ploy. Meanwhile, Barry Odom is pissed at coaches for recruiting his players - should we be upset too? Is the launch of the AAF a legit option for high school players and a potential solution to saving the amateur model? How big of a loss is Jim Leavitt for Oregon?
The 2019 recruiting cycle is in the books and the guys break down National Signing Day from a broad perspective. What do you need to know about the rankings? In less than 18 months, the entire state of Florida has been flipped on its head. The Pac-12 is falling further and further behind the rest of college football. And programs like Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Iowa St and Maryland have become fascinating to track on the trail. Also, Mitch and Braden comment on the Art Briles-Southern Miss fiasco.
We focus on the QB position today as the NCAA multi-dimensional transfer portal is heating up. Fans should change their perception of "the transfer." Who is projected to have a transfer starter in 2019 and who is doing the best job of developing talent at the position. Who lives (or dies) by the transfer? Which league will have the best and most interesting signal callers in 2019?
How did the first year guys fare in 2018 and how much does that impact they way we view their futures moving forward? Should expectations now be changed at Nebraska, Florida, UCLA, Texas A&M or Florida State? And who in the new coach class of 2019 is best set up for success right away? Urban is back working, is Clemson the best of all-time and Texas-TAMU might be ramping up?
No, we aren't debating the merits of expansion. What we do talk about is why is this happening now? What are the next steps fans can expect? Who is the driving force behind expansion talks and who will be making the decisions? Lastly, predictions on what will happen BEFORE expansion takes place.
The guys also cover transfer news, coaching changes and the NFL Draft underclassmen as well.
The guys look back on 2018 and our predictions that went horribly wrong. We apologize for overhyping some teams (Auburn, Miami) while downplaying others (LSU, Wazzu). We apologize to certain quarterbacks and certain head coaches. This group therapy session is all about holding ourselves accountable (and not taking it too seriously!)
Mitch and Braden were dead wrong about Clemson and Alabama and are sorry. The guys talk about the players, plays, coaches and decisions that have removed Bama from the top of the college football mountain. How has Dabo done it and what can others learn from Clemson?
And a quick look at what a preseason 2019 Top 25 may look like - because, here's a shocker, Alabama and Clemson will be good next year.
Clemson and Alabama will meet for the third time in the national title game. But what will a title game in Santa Clara look like? Is this game the most talented combo since Miami-Ohio St 2002? Which do you prefer: Aerial assaults or trench warfare? And which style will win Monday night? Which QB plays better (or makes the fewest mistakes)? Which outcome is better for college football?
Coaching Tidbits: What in the hell is Holgo thinking? Did Miami settle? Will UT ever hire an offensive coordinator?
Alabama and Clemson have done what they were supposed to do as we told you back in April (and August and December) and won their way into the Playoff. How did they do it? Both teams switched QBs and both Tua and Trevor starred for their teams, but who is better? Why does Notre Dame's loss mean they need to join a league? Why are people tired of greatness in the championship game? We breakdown both national semifinal outcomes.
What would a win mean for Notre Dame and/or Oklahoma? How do narratives (take a shot) change should either pull the upset? Just how do we think those upsets could take place? Is the Irish defense better than we think? Will Bama get stops? Can Ian Book avoid Clemson's killer D-Line? Will Alabama gash the Sooners on the ground like Georgia? What else does last year's semis teach us about this year? Lastly, we make very boring picks and praise the TV layout for this year's playoff.
Is the early signing day now just THE national signing day? Did Alabama sign the best class ever or is the rest of the SEC catching up with Nick Saban? What the hell is happening in the Pac-12 as both USC and UCLA struggle while Oregon dominates. The state of Florida also saw winners (Florida) and major losers (Florida St, Miami). Is Nebraska setting itself up for a run in the Big Ten West? The guys cover all things Signing Day in this impromptu mini-pod!
Justin Fields is exploring a transfer from Georgia. How much does his decision change the landscape in 2019 should he be eligible? There are conversations swirling around playoff expansion. Why are we getting conflicting reports and what should the power brokers be talking about? How big of a role has UCF played in this movement? Lastly, early signing period is this week. Who does it help and what storylines are we tracking.
Kyler Murray won the Heisman! Braden releases his ballot and why he voted for who he did. Did Tua deserve to win and who the hell left him off their ballots? Georgia Tech and Kansas State have made two solid hires as well as Liberty! (Yes, Liberty) The coordinator carousel is spinning. And bowl games: Do the results matter or tell us anything about how good a team or league is? And do we have an issue with all these star players sitting out their team's bowl game?
Urban Meyer will step down at the end of the season so what do we make of his legacy? Is Ryan Day the right answer for Ohio State? What do we make of the other Power 5 hires at Texas Tech, Louisville, Maryland and Colorado? Will Kliffy save Clay Helton at USC? And the newest hottest way to cover bowl season... with a Bowl Draft.
The Playoff is set as Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma got into the tournament. But why did OU and ND make it in over Georgia and Ohio State? What is the case you can make for the Dawgs, Buckeyes? Did we learn anything about the Committee and do we really have to talk about UCF? Also, how awesome was Saturday? And what was Kirby Smart thinking?
The guys break down every single championship game in college football this weekend. Do Alabama and Clemson even have to win to get into the Playoff? Does Northwestern have a better chance at pulling the upset than Pitt? Can Texas score with Oklahoma? And does the Pac-12 have a championship game problem? Lastly, does Notre Dame automatically belong in the Playoff? Should Georgia get consideration even if it loses? And what the hell is happening in Auburn?
Has the season come down to six teams after Michigan and Washington State were eliminated from contention on rivalry week? How should we view UCF after the injury? How should we view this loss for Jim Harbaugh? And the wins for Ohio St and Washington?
And the coaching rumors are swirling with coordinators moving, coaching getting hired and fired already, the guys break down the latest from the coaching merry-go-round as it just gets started moving.
The guys talk rankings and if the Committee is breaking its own rules by moving UCF up? Is this a random off year for Rivalry Weekend in that not nearly as many games seem as interesting or important? What chance do Bama, Clemson, Notre Dame or Georgia have at being upset? The three games that matter, however, should be epic: The Apple Cup, Oklahoma-WVU and The Game. What about the division title games in the Group of 5? And the guys compare Thanksgiving side items to recruits.
Congrats to Pitt and Utah for clinching division titles and earning a trip to a conference championship game! One team was eliminated from the Playoff in the Big 12 while another (basically) clinched a spot in the title game after a big weekend in the Heartland. Notre Dame was incredibly impressive while Ohio State was not. What do we make of the Les Miles hiring and Clay Helton's chances of survival at USC?
In a mild weekend of college football, focus on the Pac-12 South race as Utah, Arizona State and Arizona are still battling, the Notre Dame-Syracuse match in Yankee Stadium and two huge matchups in the Big 12 that dictate who owns the championship tie-breakers. And LOTS of Group of 5 championship action as well!
A relatively boring weekend at the top of college football featured one elite game in the state of Oklahoma. Was going for the two the right call for the Pokes? And the underbelly of college football featured big wins for Northwestern, Pitt, Arizona St, Utah, Iowa St and Texas as all are still chasing conference titles (yes, you read that right).
Did Louisville do the right thing by firing Bobby-P and who are the best head coaching candidates in 2018?
Did LSU teach us anything about how to beat Alabama? Is Clemson closer to Alabama than we think? Who is else balanced enough to challenge Alabama? Additionally, how good was the WVU-Texas finish, can OU's defense win them a championship and is there something wrong at Ohio State? And, oh yeah, Michigan vs. Notre Dame could be the toughest committee decision of the playoff era.
The guys react to the first college football playoff rankings of the year. What did they learn and what does it all mean!?! Then it's on to what could be the best weekend of college football this season!
The SEC title game matchup could be decided as LSU hosts Bama while Kentucky welcomes UGa in what is arguably the biggest game in school history. Meanwhile, Michigan tries to strengthen it's grasp on the Big Ten and Northwestern tries to ruin Notre Dame's season. Texas hosts West Virginia and Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma in two Big 12 showdowns. And Utah could all but clinch the South with a road win over Arizona State?
The guys break down an upset-filled Week 9. Nine ranked teams fell and four were eliminated from the playoff but did the Top 4 change? Did Georgia do enough to prove it belongs in the top 4 and do we have clarity in the SEC now? Is Oklahoma the wildcard team that could knock off Alabama or Clemson? What the hell is going on out West in the Pac-12? And, of course, our stance on flatulence.
Week 9 features a large collections of important games without many marquee matchups. Florida and Georgia is the biggest draw of the weekend but every other division has major implications as 11 ranked team will go on the road to face unranked opponents. Wazzu and Iowa try to keep things rolling against other ranked conference foe. And Clemson visits Florida State in what could be the Tigers toughest test left on their schedule.
Ohio State and Michigan now appear to be on a collision course in the Big Ten after two very different outcomes in Week 8. But where does Iowa fit in? After LSU's win, the biggest story is a suspension coming against Alabama (who, by the way, won again). Clemson dominates an unbeaten foe while Virginia gets a big win in the ACC as well. How good is Washington State and who should be considered the team to beat in the Pac-12? And nothing really happened in the Big 12.
A huge slate of games out west in the Pac-12 take center stage as Gameday heads to Pullman for the first time ever. USC-Utah, Oregon-Wazzu and Colorado-Washington highlight a great West Coast weekend. Michigan-Michigan State battle for far more than just instate bragging rights and two undefeated teams matchup in the ACC as NC State visits Clemson. Ohio State and Bama both travel on the road in conference play this week as LSU has to clear yet another hurdle against Mississippi State. Does Oklahoma flex some muscle and does a nightmare season continue for Auburn?
Mitch and Braden give us their top four teams and play a "Who Wins" game that tries to figure out who else should be ranked in the top 10? Are their concerns about Ohio St, Notre Dame or Texas? Is LSU really this good? What is wrong with West Virginia? Are Georgia and Oklahoma still the best bets to make the Playoff? And much, much more in our Week 7 recap.
A huge weekend of action features massive conference battles in the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12. Is there a position on the field that LSU is better than Georgia? Washington travels South to Oregon in one of the most underrated rivalries in college football. And Michigan and Wisconsin battle for the U.P. Can West Virginia and Colorado stay unbeaten on the road? Should Texas or Penn St be on upset alert? And what will Tua do THIS weekend?
The Irish, Horns and Gators got huge wins but how good are they? How far should Oklahoma or LSU fall? Meanwhile, out west, why is the Pac-12 so uninspiring? Who has been eliminated from the Playoffs to date? What do we make of West Virginia's defense? Auburn's offense? Ohio State's defense? How good are unbeatens like Colorado or NC State or UCF?
A never-been-done before preview of October called October Fest this week on the pod. We break down the biggest games of the week - LSU-Florida, Notre Dame-Virginia Tech, Texas-Oklahoma - but also look ahead at the month of October and who could be heading into November with championship hopes? Also, commentary on yanking facemasks, prank-calling teleconferences and lack of institutional control.
Has our top four changed after some drama with Ohio State and Clemson? How far should Penn State fall if at all? Is Notre Dame better than LSU or Oklahoma? Are the Sooners better with Kyler Murray than Baker Mayfield? What should Kelly Bryant do? How good is Kentucky? Meanwhile, Florida, Oregon and USC appear to have bounced back. Ryan Finley, Will Grier and Colorado continue to cruise.
Kelly Bryant is leaving Clemson. What does it mean for Clemson, why did it happen and where should Bryant end up? There are prove it games across college football for Texas, Duke, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Syracuse and Cal. Dan Mullen's return to Starkville is must-see TV. And two marquee showdowns in South Bend and Happy Valley take center stage in Week 5.
Braden and Mitch offer their top four teams and who has been officially eliminated from the Playoff. Who is sicker today: Virginia Tech or Oregon? Is the ACC in real trouble? The Big Ten bounced back in a big way. Is Texas back? (sorry) And we've got lots of clarity in the SEC East after a huge week four.
Four massive games in the SEC East an I-35 showdown highlight Week 4. Kentucky, Mizzou, Vandy and Tennessee all host huge games while TCU travels south to Austin to battle Texas. An underrated rivalry in the Big Ten West could decide the division this weekend. Notre Dame will have its hands full with Wake Forest and Stanford's trip to Eugene will go a long way to deciding the Pac-12 North crown. Should either Bama or Clemson be worried this weekend?
LSU has changed it's story more through three weeks than any other team in the nation. But how good are they? Washington's win was super underrated. And Ohio State saved the day in what turned into a nightmare weekend for the Big Ten. Is the Big 12 better at the top than we thought after Texas, Ok-State and OU win easily? And how does the Pac-12 race look after three weeks? Finally, Mitch recaps his trip to South Bend and his run-in with Notre Dame security.
The SEC West takes a lot of focus this weekend as Alabama and LSU play big road games against Ole Miss and Auburn respectively. Could LSU pick off another top 10 team? Utah is underrated right now and could knock off the Pac-12 preseason champ. Is TCU capable of hanging with Ohio St? Will Texas and USC be great theater or an ugly football game? All of this and much more on this week's preview.
Mitch and Braden break down all of the action from Week 2. Who make the Playoff today? Is the Pac-12 better than we thought and is the Big Ten worse than we thought? Is the SEC East race already over? Is there reason for concern about Clemson or reason for hope for Texas A&M? And what to do about the worst rule in all of football?
There are huge playoff implications on the line when both Clemson and Georgia go on the road this weekend. And can Stanford make a big statement against USC? The Cy Hawk Trophy is up for grabs in Iowa while Penn State and Pitt do battle in PA. Can Florida keep its streak alive against Kentucky and can Michigan State go out West and top Coach Herm? Hail State vs. Bill Snyder? And so much more in our Week 2 preview.
Week 1 Recap: Has our top four changed? Tua vs. Hurts and Saban vs. the Media? Big wins for LSU, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame have changed the way we view certain leagues. Are we more concerned about Michigan, Miami or Florida State? And did both teams actually win in the Auburn-Washington tilt? Mitch's offers us reasons for optimism and reasons for concerns moving forward. Fantasy performers, waiver wire adds and more!
College football is back and we have you set for five straight nights of college ball! Washington and Auburn will have the biggest impact on the playoff. Notre Dame and Michigan is loaded with intriguing individual matchups. LSU could completely change the offseason narrative with a win over Miami. Upset specials, picks against the spread and the rest of our favorite games from Week 1.
Mitch and Braden make their final official 2018 college football playoff predictions and national title winner. They disagree on who will win it all this year. They guys also discuss some of the latest QB battles at USC, Florida St, Nebraska and elsewhere. Could Urban Meyer retire after this season? Week One is here!
Conference preview week wraps up with the Big Ten. What do we make of the Urban Meyer news and how do the scandals impact how we evaluate the State of the Big Ten entering 2018? Which teams have we changed our opinions of since the magazine came out and which camp developments have shaped our opinion of the league? Is this the year Wisconsin finally proves it belongs on the elite tier or does the East still lord over the Big Ten? What do we make of Iowa, Nebraska and the middle of the West Division? Mitch also offers his over/under Vegas win total picks as well.
Conference preview continues with the SEC. What is the State of the Union for the SEC coaching ranks, the East Division and the league as a whole? Which teams have we changed our opinions of since the magazine came out and which camp developments have shaped our opinion of the league? Where are the holes we can poke in Alabama? Can a star QB carry his underdog team to Atlanta? Will any coach get fired in 2018? Mitch also offers his over/under Vegas win total picks as well.
Conference preview week continues with the most aesthetically pleasing league in America: The Pac-12. What is the State of the Union for a league that has had lots of coaching turnover and failed to make the Playoff? Which teams have we changed our opinions of since the magazine came out and which camp developments have shaped our opinion of the league? Is Washington still far ahead of the rest of the North and is USC coming back to the pack in the South? Is it Khalil Tate's world? Which division will be more fun to track? Mitch also offers his over/under Vegas win total picks as well.
Conference preview week continues with the Big 12. What is the State of the Union for a league that has struggled to recruit elite NFL talent and has missed the Playoff a few times? Which teams have we changed our opinions of since the magazine came out and which camp developments have shaped our opinion of the league? Which young coach is situated to take the next step? Who will be under center this year? What do we make of Iowa St, Baylor and Kansas State? Mitch also offers his over/under Vegas win total picks as well.
Conference preview week begins with the ACC. What is the State of the Union for the ACC? Which teams have we changed our opinions of since the magazine came out and which camp developments have shaped our opinion of the league? What is Florida State this fall? Are the QBs in this league underrated? And, I guess, we talk about Clemson too. Mitch also offers his over/under Vegas win total picks as well.
There isn't a lot of news because coaches won't ever allow open practices! Why does this happen and could it help solve some of the issues we are seeing at places like Maryland. LSU and Clemson should play for the Death Valley moniker while Michigan and Wisconsin should play for the U.P. What else should be on the line? And a guy's road trip question of etiquette.
QBs, QBs and more QBs. How do we handicap the playoff contenders battles at Bama, Clemson and Georgia? Did Nick Saban mishandle his QB room? Who are the most clutch fourth quarter gunslingers in college football? Which battles are most intriguing? And which late bloomers could change the Playoff landscape should they breakout in 2018?
Mitch and Braden run through their favorite anonymous coaching scouting reports from the 2018 preview magazine. It is their favorite part of putting the magazines together each year and this season offered up another set of juicy coaching morsels.
Coaches have been bringing up playoff expansion at media days so the guys tackle the essential issues surrounding playoff expansion... for the 113th time. Also, what is Urban Meyer thinking? And a nightmare road trip to the worst Power 5 games of 2018.
Mitch Light gets his chance to chime in on the biggest challenges facing college football and react to the all of the answers given to this question on our previous episode. Additionally, what do we make of Larry Fedora or Aaron Murray's comments? Are the players the most important part of media days and how defined are the tiers in the ACC, Big Ten and SEC?
Braden went down to Atlanta for SEC Media Days but wanted to dive deeper into the future of college football instead of talking season. What is the biggest long-term challenge facing the game of college football over the next two decades? Braden spoke to former players, current coaches, lots of national media friends of the pod and even SEC commish Greg Sankey. Find out what they had to say.
It's road trip time! And the rules are simple: You can't see a team more than one time in 2018. So where are you going? Mitch and Braden offer up their favorite games, teams and destinations of 2018 in our second annual Dream Road Trip podcast.
Mitch and Braden took questions from listeners and answered all. Topics ranged from Mark Richt and Jeff Brohm to enhancing the Playoff, starting quarterbacks, predictions gone horribly wrong, covering games, Syracuse, parenting and much more. Happy 4th, 'Merica!
Braden and Mitch produce a random, internal summer mailbag covering everything from the starting QBs in the Playoff to rules changes to radio broadcasters. It was much fun and very random. Power 5 revenue numbers are out and does it change the way we view the future of football? And Brian Kelly. What do we make of the Notre Dame head coach, how tough is his job really? All this plus some reactions to our coach's rankings as well.
Mitch and Braden invite Steven Lassan to join them to break down the Athlon Sports 2018 coach's rankings. All 130 head coaches are evaluated on past success, recruiting ability, upside, future projections and plenty of subjectivity. Where does your favorite coach rank nationally?
We talk exclusively about football games this week! Mitch and Braden cover the best games of week one, their favorite non-conference games and all the upsets that impact the Playoff. The guys also touch on the most important game in each division, their favorite home schedules of '18 and analyze who got lucky and who got screwed in crossover play.
Mitch and Braden decided to take a trip down a college football memory lane as we relive the BCS Era! Did the BCS system do it's job; did it work? When and how did it go wrong? Who are some of our favorite players, teams, coaches, games and moments? Was the 2007 season good for the game or bad for the game? And the only stat you need to know about the SEC's dominance.
Braden and Mitch call in the big guns to break down every division and conference championship pick in the 2018 Athlon Sports preseason magazine. Steve Lassan joins the pod to help explain how we picked every division in college football this fall, including every Group of 5 league as well.
How does legalized gambling impact the NCAA and college football? How can the NCAA possibly get involved and does this move increase the chances of corruption?
The five big questions about the Group of 5 conferences include the state of Florida, coaching at Boise, the Mountain West's decline, expansion and potential upsets in 2018.
The former SEC commissioner Mike Slive has passed away but is the most influential person in modern college football history? Has the UCF-Alabama national title spat jumped the shark or do we still love it? And we ranked all 130 starting QBs in college football. Who is No. 1? Who is the most valuable? Who will have the biggest impact on the Playoff? Who are some breakout stars to watch?
The 2018 magazine is on digital newstands now! You can literally go buy a mag right now at athlonsports.com/store.
With that comes our College Football Playoff picks. Which four teams make the Playoff in 2018? How hard was it to pick the top two (not very) and how hard was it to pick the last two (very)? And how many teams (and why) were considered?
Shea Patterson is eligible at Michigan - how does that impact our rankings and how did he end up there? How do we feel about recruiting active players? We know how one coach feels.
Who is the best NFL quarterback to have played in the Big 12? The discussion is bizarrely lacking in answers. The SEC won the NFL Draft and the first round again but what does it mean, if anything?
And the ACC's five big questions center around new coaches, premiere programs, the Coastal Division's randomness and, of course, Clemson.
With the NFL Draft this week, where are we rooting for the big name quarterbacks to land? And why is Josh Rosen playing the underdog card? Is Josh Allen interesting?
The SEC's 5 big questions focused on Florida's offense, a bunch of new coaches, teams that are over-hyped, a loaded roster of starting QBs and two teams switching to the pro-style offense.
Springs games are great events to attend and are fun for kids but do fans actually care about what takes place during the game itself? Should we be more concerned with what happens or are we appropriately ignoring them?
This week's 5 Big Questions concern the Big Ten. Scott Frost's expectations at Nebraska, the new coordinators in the Big Ten East, QB battles across the board and the lack of star power in the bottom half of the league.
Johnny Football is on his PR rehab tour and spoke about his college experience, college offense and more. Is there a tie between offensive scheme and how disciplined a program is?
We also ask a critically important interstate driving etiquette question.
Finally, the Pac-12 is the subject of our "5 Big Questions" this week, feat. The City of Light, the North Division race and much more.
How terrifying and/or awesome is it that a social media uprising changed a coaching search mid-stream? Is it good for college football? And a deep look at how the sausage is made when it comes to sports journalists and their relationships with "sources."
The Cover 2 also begins a spring series creatively called "The 5 Big Questions." Where we ask the five biggest questions about a conference this spring. Today, we begin with the Big 12.
And how did Mitch's official visits to the Northeast go?
In an NFL Draft edition of the podcast, the guys take a look at how the best prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft ranked as recruits coming out of high school. What does this tell us about recruiting rankings and why do some continue to ignore the obvious?
Which QB in the '18 class is the best and what does the Class of 2019 look like for the position? What are some of our favorite (and most bizarre) scouting report words and phrases?
And, apparently, both hosts divulge checkered college pasts as one ran from the police and the other was arrested on a felony charge.
What are the major differences between the college football and basketball selection committees and how do they impact the tournaments? Do we buy brand bias and big school love in hoops? (How dumb was that selection show?)
And because it's March Madness, we give you our Final Four and upset picks in the tourney. Everyone needs bracket help, right?
It's the middle of March and the we are having fun looking back at college quarterbacks turned NFL prospects. Who were the great college players who we thought would be great in the NFL but failed miserably? What about great college QBs like Lamar Jackson and the transition to other positions?
Also, what do we make of the NFL combine and what questions are asked of prospects?
The guys start by looking at the rising stars of the coaching ranks. Come October and programs are looking for the future stars of college football coaching, these will be the names to know.
What do we make of Texas A&M using Jalen Ramsey's pictures to sell Aggie football? Much to do about nothing or offensive recruiting practice?
We also look at the Top 50 Players of 2018. Who would be the first pick in a draft of each of the Power 5 leagues? Who is the best player in each league?
The guys take a look at some out of work head coaching candidates and who are the most likely to get work (and which ones would we hire).
Also, do we care about vacating wins at all? Would anyone give up the national title experience for winning it "the right way."
How can we spice up spring practice? Should college teams start scrimmaging each other? Would charity exhibition rivalry games work at the end of spring practice?
And lastly, impact quarterback transfers. Which teams in college football could be starting a transfer at QB?