Explore every episode of the podcast The Solid Verbal College Football Show

College Football Week 10 delivered one of the biggest Saturdays of the 2026 season, with massive wins, playoff implications, and plenty of controversy. Notre Dame took down No. 1 Miami in a thriller, Oregon demolished Ohio State in Columbus, Georgia made a convincing case to be the best team in the country, and Utah survived the Holy War against BYU.

We break down Notre Dame's statement win, what went wrong for Miami, and why Oregon's performance raises serious questions about Ohio State. Plus, Georgia steamrolls Ole Miss, Alabama makes a statement at LSU, Texas finds another gear against Missouri, and Tennessee brings Kentucky back to earth.

Elsewhere, UCLA stays unbeaten, Arizona pulls off a miracle against TCU, and the Big Ten race gets even more complicated. We also debate how our AP Top 25 ballot should change, and try to make sense of another crazy week.

Plus, your Week 10 Reverbs, Dude Alerts, and plenty more from a wild Seven Wonders Saturday.

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College Football Week 10 might be the biggest weekend of the entire 2026 season. Seven ranked matchups, massive College Football Playoff implications, and a Saturday schedule that barely gives us a chance to catch our breath. We're making our picks for all of it.

We start with the Holy War between BYU and Utah, then work our way through Texas-Missouri, Alabama-LSU, Oregon-Ohio State and Kentucky-Tennessee. Can Alabama's offense survive a trip to Death Valley? Is Oregon ready to spring an upset in Columbus? And can Kentucky keep finding ways to win?

Then come two monster night games. Georgia visits Ole Miss for a showdown with Trinidad Chambliss, while No. 1 Miami travels to Notre Dame for the latest installment of Catholics vs. Convicts. With the Irish facing a potentially defining moment for their playoff hopes, there's plenty to unpack before we make our predictions.

Plus, we react to the first College Football Playoff rankings, tackle the rest of the weekend's schedule with our Quadfathers picks, spotlight some under-the-radar matchups, and more.

And we're giving away a $500 Delta Air Lines gift card in this week's Run the Board pick'em contest. Sign up to play and support the show at https://www.verballers.com/join.

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Mike Norvell is out at Florida State, and ESPN's David Hale joins us for a full ACC whiparound as college football's coaching carousel heats up.

We start with Norvell's firing, the massive buyout, and what comes next for Florida State. Then David Hale joins us to assess the Seminoles' coaching search, the surprising collapse at NC State, the future of Dabo Swinney at Clemson, and whether Bill Belichick is finally making progress at North Carolina. We also dig into Wake Forest's remarkable season under Jake Dickert, Miami's rise to No. 1, and the teams across the ACC that have exceeded expectations or fallen well short of them.

Then, with a monster Week 10 slate looming, we're winterizing 14 college football teams. What vulnerabilities need patching before the season's final stretch? We examine Alabama-LSU, Miami-Notre Dame, BYU-Utah, Texas-Missouri, Kentucky-Tennessee, Georgia-Ole Miss, and Oregon-Ohio State, identifying the weaknesses each team needs to address before the biggest games of the weekend.

Plus, a spirited discussion about the ESPN mobiler app, some lingering Halloween costume questions, and a little home maintenance advice nobody asked for.

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College Football Week 9 delivered another round of upsets, close calls and big questions about the teams at the top of the rankings. Seven Top 25 teams went down, including Ohio State in an upset loss to USC, and we're back to sort through the fallout from another unpredictable Saturday.

We start with USC's statement win over the Buckeyes and what it means for both teams moving forward. Then, we turn to Georgia's impressive showing against Florida, Miami's narrow escape against North Carolina and the growing questions about how to evaluate the nation's top contenders. Is Georgia making the strongest case for No. 1? How worried should Miami fans be about their defense?

Elsewhere, Indiana finds another way to win, Texas Tech makes a statement against Arizona, and we dig into the teams that deserve more respect as the College Football Playoff race takes shape. Plus, more Week 9 takeaways, our latest Dude Alerts and a look ahead to an enormous Week 10.

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College Football Week 9 has the look of a quiet weekend before the November madness begins, but we're not buying the idea that everything will go according to plan. With quarterback injuries, vulnerable contenders, tricky road games, and conference races getting tighter, there's plenty that could go sideways.

In this college football podcast episode, we preview the biggest games of Week 9 and make our picks against the spread. We start with Arizona traveling to Texas Tech, where the Red Raiders are trying to recover from a disappointing loss to Cincinnati. Can Texas Tech get back on track, or is Arizona capable of making things even more complicated in the Big 12?

We also dive into Georgia-Florida and Ohio State-USC, two games with very different kinds of intrigue. Can Florida make life uncomfortable for Georgia? How much does Ohio State's quarterback situation change the equation against a USC team with plenty of questions of its own? And what should we make of Oregon as the Ducks prepare for another challenging Big Ten matchup?

Then we shake up our usual Quadfather format with a draft of the most interesting games from each Saturday viewing window. We explore potential upsets, intriguing matchups, and teams that might be running out of answers as the College Football Playoff race heats up. Plus, Dan unveils his wonderfully ridiculous nickname for Week 9, we discuss Halloween logistics, and we close with our weekly locks.

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The college football coaching carousel is picking up speed, and we've got another round of major changes to unpack. Dave Aranda is out at Baylor, Drew Mehringer has been dismissed as Oregon's offensive coordinator, and the speculation surrounding openings at NC State and Maryland is getting more interesting by the day. We discuss what went wrong, where these programs go next, and which names could emerge as potential replacements.

Then, it's our final installment of Bill-toberfest! ESPN's Bill Connelly joins us to make sense of a college football season that refuses to settle down. Which contenders are for real? Are there warning signs for Indiana? Is Miami as good as its record suggests? How interesting is the middle of the Big 12? And how chaotic could the SEC's championship and College Football Playoff races become?

We also dig into Kentucky's surprising success, Georgia and LSU's championship prospects, Utah's ceiling, Arizona's emergence, and the teams whose underlying numbers tell a different story from their records. Plus, Bill reveals how this unpredictable season has influenced his SP+ model.

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College Football Week 8 delivered another round of chaos, with major upsets, shaken playoff contenders and an increasingly difficult question: Who can we actually trust?

We start in the Big 12, where BYU and Texas Tech both went down in stunning fashion. Just when it looked like the conference was establishing a clear hierarchy, UCF and Cincinnati threw everything into question. What do these losses mean for the Big 12 championship race and the College Football Playoff picture?

Elsewhere, Miami continued making its case as the best team in the country, Indiana survived an ugly battle with Michigan, and Oregon suffered another frustrating defeat. Is Miami the only truly elite team in college football? And has the Big Ten taken a bigger step backward than anyone anticipated?

In the SEC, Texas survived a wild finish against Ole Miss, LSU continued its ascent, Alabama got past Texas A&M, and Tennessee stumbled against South Carolina. We dig into which SEC contenders are gaining momentum, which teams still have serious questions to answer, and whether the conference's playoff picture is finally coming into focus.

Plus, we run through the rest of Week 8's most interesting results, check in on fan sentiment around the country, and wrestle with a new AP Top 25 ballot after another weekend that turned the rankings upside down.

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College Football Week 8 might not have the biggest headliners of the season, but after another wild Saturday, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go sideways. Which teams can build on emotional wins, which ones are heading for a letdown, and which supposed contenders are running out of answers?

We make our picks for Ole Miss at Texas, Indiana at Michigan, LSU at Auburn, USC at Wisconsin and Houston at Utah. Can Texas fix its sputtering offense against a surging Ole Miss team? How does Michigan's quarterback change affect its chances against Indiana? And is Utah ready for its toughest test yet? We also discuss Julian Sayin's injury and what it could mean for Ohio State's Big Ten and College Football Playoff hopes, plus the coaching change at Maryland.

Then we go window by window with our Quadfather picks, including Tennessee-South Carolina, Texas A&M-Alabama, BYU-UCF, Texas Tech-Cincinnati and plenty of games beyond the marquee matchups. There's a particularly bold upset pick, a late-night showdown between North Dakota State and New Mexico, and an under-the-radar game whose abbreviated name practically writes its own jokes.

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After a wild Week 7, we're back with ESPN's Bill Connelly to make sense of a college football season that keeps getting stranger. With five of the top seven teams losing and quarterback questions piling up across the country, is there actually a great team in college football right now?

We dig into the fallout from Julian Sayin's injury at Ohio State, the struggles at Penn State under Matt Campbell, and the increasingly fascinating Big 12 race between BYU, Texas Tech and Utah. Plus, Bill weighs in on the Group of Six playoff picture, the Heisman race, and which teams might be better than their records suggest.

Then we tackle more of your questions, revisit some preseason expectations with a little trick-or-treat, and identify the teams lurking in the shadows that could turn November upside down. Plus, your Week 7 Reverbs!

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College football's Week 7 was absolute madness. Eight ranked teams lost, including Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Alabama and Texas, leaving us with a completely scrambled AP Top 25 and a whole lot of questions about who's actually good.

We react to Auburn's stunning upset of No. 1 Georgia, Tennessee's dominant win over Alabama, Florida's comeback against Texas and BYU's statement victory over Notre Dame. Plus, Ohio State survives a top-five showdown with Indiana, but a potentially significant injury to Julian Sayin raises serious questions about the Buckeyes' future.

We also dig into Miami's wild double-overtime escape against Florida State, Ole Miss's impressive performance against Missouri, Kentucky's continued rise, Texas Tech's demolition of Arizona State and Michigan's quarterback change against Penn State. And yes, Ty has some feelings.

Then we try to make sense of the new college football rankings, debate whether the SEC is really a gauntlet, check in with fans around the country and hand out our Week 7 Dude Alerts.

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College Football Week 7 is here, and the schedule is absolutely loaded. We've got top-five showdowns, historic road trips, heated rivalries and a Saturday where survival might be the name of the game. We're making our picks for more than 20 matchups, and things could get wild in a hurry.

We start with Ohio State at Indiana in a massive Big Ten showdown. Are the defending champion Hoosiers still the team to beat, or can the Buckeyes expose some cracks? Then it's Notre Dame at BYU for a historic top-10 matchup in Provo. Can the Cougars turn their home-field advantage into something special, or will Notre Dame's increasingly dangerous offense be too much? We also break down Alabama-Tennessee, Missouri-Ole Miss, Mississippi State-LSU and Oklahoma State-Houston, with some strong opinions and a few surprising predictions along the way.

Then we work our way through a packed Saturday schedule, including Florida-Texas, Penn State-Michigan, Kentucky-Oklahoma, Florida State-Miami and Nebraska-Oregon. We debate which favorites are vulnerable, which underdogs have a fighting chance, and which games could get downright ugly. Plus, our Locks of the Week, under-the-radar games worth watching, and a new Saturday nickname inspired by the animal kingdom.

Join us for our Ohio State-Indiana watchalong and Saturday night reaction stream! And head to Verballers.com to start a free seven-day trial and play Run the Board for a chance to win a $500 Home Depot gift card.

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Dan is back, and after Oregon's stunning loss to UCLA, we've got some questions about which college football fan bases are having the roughest time in 2026. Is Oregon's disappointment worse than what Texas A&M and Michigan fans are experiencing? Where do Oklahoma, Arkansas and NC State fit on the misery scale? We debate the difference between a frustrating season and one that leaves a fan base looking for an entirely new direction.

Then ESPN's Bill Connelly joins us for another celebration of Billtoberfest, this time to call out the teams giving their fans reasons to believe. How real is undefeated UCLA? Can Kentucky keep winning close games under Will Stein? What's changed at Wake Forest, and how much should we trust the sudden rise of Purdue and Northwestern? We also get into Utah, Oregon State and other surprising stories, along with the underlying numbers that might challenge what we're seeing on Saturdays.

Plus, we react to the new Verballer Top 12, revisit more of the wildest moments from Week 6 and look ahead to a massive Week 7 slate, including Ohio State vs. Indiana and Notre Dame vs. BYU.

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College football Week 6 delivered a little bit of everything, including a new No. 1 team, a stunning upset in the Red River rivalry, and another brutal Saturday for Oregon. With Dan away, Ty welcomes Tim Murray from VSiN to sort through the biggest results and what they mean for the rest of the season.

We start with Oklahoma's win over Texas and the questions surrounding the Longhorns' offense, then turn to Georgia's hard-fought victory at Alabama and the race for the top of the AP poll. UCLA's upset of Oregon raises even bigger questions about the Ducks, and Dan checks in from the wedding with his own reaction. Plus, Indiana escapes Nebraska, Kentucky pulls off another overtime thriller against LSU, and we try to figure out which teams are actually moving in the right direction.

We also hit USC's win at Penn State, Missouri's rout of Texas A&M, Florida's sudden slide, Wake Forest's rise in the ACC, and Oregon State's impressive run. Then it's your Week 6 Reverbs, Dude Alerts, and a spirited debate over Ty's preliminary AP Top 25 ballot.

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College Football Week 6 is packed with matchups that could confirm everything we think we know about the 2026 season, or force us to reconsider. We preview Georgia-Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where two SEC heavyweights face a major test, and Texas-Oklahoma in a Red River rivalry featuring plenty of questions about both offenses.

Can Indiana keep rolling against an improved Nebraska team? Is UCLA ready to challenge Oregon in Eugene, especially with questions surrounding the Ducks' quarterback situation? And what happens when USC travels to Penn State for a White Out with both teams looking for answers? We break down the matchups, debate what matters most, and make our picks against the spread.

Plus, we run through more than 20 games across the weekend, including Texas A&M-Missouri, LSU-Kentucky, Ole Miss-Vanderbilt, Iowa-Washington, Florida State-Louisville, and Iowa State-BYU. We've also got our Quad Fathers picks, under-the-radar games, locks of the week, and the Window of Opportunity.

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Five weeks into the 2026 college football season, the easy answers are disappearing. We unveil the latest Verballer Top 12, clean up a few things we missed from Saturday night, and then bring in ESPN’s Bill Connelly to help us figure out what we can actually trust as the season moves into October.

How good is Missouri? What does the top of the Big 12 actually look like? Who belongs behind Miami in the ACC? Is there a clear second tier in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Indiana? We also ask Bill about the teams and units outperforming expectations, the ones falling short, the Group of Six picture, and how this season’s early chaos compares with some of college football’s stranger years.

Then we turn to the quarterbacks. In honor of October, every situation gets one of two confidence levels: full-size candy bar or Milk Duds. Tennessee has a decision to sort through. Michigan has to figure out what it has in Bryce Underwood. Penn State’s passing game is under pressure. Oregon suddenly has an interesting Dylan Raiola question while Dante Moore works his way back. And Oklahoma heads into Red River with John Mateer, Ben Arbuckle and a season that could move in a very different direction depending on what happens next.

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College Football Week 5 gave us another reminder not to get too comfortable with anything we thought we knew in September.

We start with Missouri’s emphatic win over Florida and what it means for both teams after a month of wildly shifting expectations. Then we get into Alabama’s dominant performance against Mississippi State, another ridiculous day from Keelon Russell, Ohio State handling Iowa, and Northwestern’s statement win over Penn State in the debut of its new stadium.

From there, we run through the rest of a strange Saturday: Notre Dame finding something on the ground, Minnesota taking back the Little Brown Jug, Florida State showing signs of life, Wake Forest pouring it on, USC surviving Washington, Kentucky winning a thriller, and one of the strangest in-game coaching changes we can remember.

Plus, Reverbs, Dude Alerts and the increasingly challenging task of putting together our AP Top 25 ballot after five weeks of college football.

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College Football Week 5 is here, and a bunch of teams are trying to figure out whether the good vibes are real or just another mirage.

We make our picks for Alabama-Mississippi State in Starkville, Ohio State-Iowa in Iowa City, Florida-Missouri, Miami-Clemson and a pair of fascinating Friday night games with Pitt-Virginia Tech and Penn State-Northwestern. Can Mississippi State prove it belongs in the SEC race? Is Iowa’s offense actually evolving? How much should we trust Florida after its breakout win over Ole Miss? And can Clemson make things uncomfortable for Miami under the lights in Death Valley?

Then we work through the rest of the Week 5 slate with Michigan-Minnesota, Notre Dame-North Carolina, Auburn-Tennessee, Virginia-Florida State, Louisville-NC State, Kentucky-South Carolina, BYU-TCU, Washington-USC, Baylor-Arizona State and more. Plus, our Locks of the Week, the Quadfathers, Under-The-Radar games and a very important discussion about finding water.

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September is almost over, which means we finally have enough evidence to start wondering who has actually taken a meaningful step forward, who has gone backward, and which teams are still making us wait for a real answer?

We run through a wide range of teams that have changed the conversation around themselves over the first month of the season, including Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Iowa, UCLA, West Virginia and Missouri. Some have found new life. Others have made their early optimism much harder to defend. And a few are still sitting in the uncomfortable middle, where one good or bad weekend could change the entire read.

We also catch up on the biggest news we missed after Saturday night, talk through the latest Verballer Top 12, and answer a few listener questions about College Football Playoff dark horses, how much head-to-head results should matter in the polls, and whether offensive continuity still means what it used to in the transfer portal era.

Then, because we somehow forgot them on Saturday night, Dude Alerts return with the standout performances from Week 4. And, as promised, an extended cut of Reverbs for our esteemed Patreon community. Shout out to Shae for putting these together!

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College Football Week 4 gave us the kind of Saturday that starts changing how the season looks.

We start with Florida’s emphatic win over Ole Miss and what it means for a Gators team that suddenly has to be taken seriously in the SEC race. Then we turn to Oregon’s wild road win at USC, where an early injury changed the entire shape of the game and forced the Ducks to find a very different way to win. Iowa stunned Michigan at the gun, Texas stymied Tennessee in Knoxville, and several teams that entered the weekend with real expectations now have much harder questions to answer.

From there, we run through the scores that made us ask, “Am I hearing correctly that…?” Wisconsin erased a 17-point deficit at Penn State, Mississippi State moved to 4-0, Wake Forest pulled off a road upset at Louisville, Cincinnati kept pounding people on the ground, and Northwestern pushed Indiana far harder than expected.

Finally, we sort through a major reshuffling of our AP Top 25 ballot. Six teams drop out, six new teams move in, and the middle of the rankings gets messy fast as we try to separate résumé, projection and what we actually believe after four weeks of football.

Plus, Week 4 Reverbs, listener reactions and all the usual late-night chaos.

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College Football Week 4 is absolutely loaded, and we’re breaking down as much of it as humanly possible.

We start with Texas traveling to Tennessee for its first true road test, then turn to Oregon-USC and a major prove-it game for both programs. Plus, why Ole Miss-Florida has all the makings of the mother of all letdown games, whether Michigan can create enough offense against Iowa, and what to make of Oklahoma State-West Virginia.

Then we bring back the Quadfather to rip through the rest of a massive slate, including Oklahoma-Georgia, Utah-Iowa State, Wisconsin-Penn State, Texas A&M-LSU, Missouri-Mississippi State, South Carolina-Alabama, Clemson-Cal and much more.

Plus: our Week 4 picks, locks of the week, the Window of Opportunity and the games flying under the radar. 

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Three weeks into the college football season, how much do we actually know?

For our September Mailbag, we turn the show over to questions from the Verballerhood and try to figure out which teams have given us enough evidence to trust what we’re seeing. We talk Ole Miss, Texas, Miami and the ACC, then dig into whether early stumbles from the Big Ten and SEC could open the door for the Big 12 to land multiple teams in the College Football Playoff.

From there, we get into some of the coaches who have impressed us early, what to make of Florida and Northwestern, and why Oregon and Texas A&M have both looked flatter than expected. How much responsibility falls on the Dante Moore and Marcel Reed? How much falls on new coordinators and rebuilt offensive lines? And when does the grace period officially end for teams still trying to figure things out?

Plus, we take an early look at a loaded Week 4 featuring Texas-Tennessee, Ole Miss-Florida, Oregon-USC, Texas A&M-LSU, Oklahoma State-West Virginia and plenty more.

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College Football Week 3 delivered the kind of Saturday that forces you to reconsider a few things in a hurry. We start in Oxford, where Lane Kiffin returned with LSU for a game that had been circled for months, and Ole Miss had a chance to prove just how much of the program survived his departure. We get into what the night told us about Trinidad Chambliss, the Rebels, LSU’s still-developing offense and where both teams fit in the bigger SEC and College Football Playoff picture.

Then comes the result almost nobody saw coming: Kentucky went into Kyle Field and beat Texas A&M without needing a fluky turnover fest or some bizarre special-teams swing. What does that say about Will Stein’s early progress at Kentucky, and how worried should A&M be about an offense that still seems to be searching for another gear? We also dig into Louisville’s big win over SMU, Texas Tech surviving Houston, Mississippi State’s comeback at South Carolina and the other Week 3 results that changed how we see the season.

Later, we go through your Reverbs and “Today I Learned” responses, then turn to our AP Top 25 ballot. How far should Ole Miss rise? What do we do with Texas A&M after the upset? Where do Louisville, Mississippi State, Florida, Texas Tech and BYU belong now? We finish with Dude Alerts and some of our favorite individual performances from the weekend.

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College Football Week 3 is here, and the schedule is loaded with games that could get strange in a hurry.

We make our picks for LSU-Ole Miss in Oxford, Houston-Texas Tech on a short week, SMU-Louisville in a massive ACC matchup, Florida State-Alabama, Mississippi State-South Carolina, Florida-Auburn and more. Along the way, we dig into which teams we actually trust, which early-season performances might be misleading, and where weather, travel and matchup problems could create some very uncomfortable Saturdays.

We also hit Arizona State-Kansas in London, Kentucky-Texas A&M, West Virginia-Virginia and a long list of under-the-radar games worth keeping an eye on. Plus, we give our locks, potential letdown spots and the best window to actually leave the couch before the schedule gets serious.

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Two weeks into the 2026 college football season, it’s time to challenge some of our preseason assumptions.

First, we look at where we may have been wrong, or at least too confident, on teams like Oregon, Texas Tech, Illinois, Washington, BYU and more. Then, we revisit our AP Top 25 ballot and talk through the teams that may deserve more love, including Mississippi State, Houston, Tulsa, Virginia, Boise State and North Dakota State.

Plus, Premium Verballer questions on Kansas State’s defense, Oregon’s loss of ferociousness, Michigan and Oklahoma, and whether the Sooners are becoming “High-T Quarterback Iowa South.”

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Week 2 delivered the first truly chaotic Saturday of the 2026 college football season. Texas erased a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Ohio State, Oklahoma State stunned Oregon in Stillwater, and Michigan leaned on its defense to win a rock fight against Oklahoma. We break down what Texas proved in its comeback, what went wrong for Oregon, and what Michigan’s win says about both the Wolverines and Sooners moving forward.

Then we widen the lens on the rest of the weekend with our Spano Meter, checking our excitement and concern levels for BYU, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Alabama, Tennessee, Duke, Illinois, Penn State, Washington, Mississippi State and more. Plus, another loaded batch of Reverbs, our Dude Alerts, and a live run through the AP Top 25 ballot after a week that forced us to rethink plenty of what we thought we knew.

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College Football Week 2 is here, and the schedule gets serious in a hurry. The biggest game of the weekend sends No. 1 Ohio State to Austin to face No. 4 Texas in a matchup that already feels like it could shape the College Football Playoff race. We break down the biggest questions on both sides, from Ohio State’s new-look offense and running game to Arch Manning, Texas’ defense and the small margins that could decide one of the best games of the entire season.

Before we get there, Oklahoma heads to the Big House for a fascinating test against Michigan. How much should we read into Michigan’s shaky Week 1 performance? Can Bryce Underwood respond against a much tougher defense, and is Oklahoma ready to take advantage? We also dig into Arizona State-Texas A&M, Oregon-Oklahoma State, Arizona-BYU, Alabama-Kentucky, Tennessee-Georgia Tech, Iowa State-Iowa, Missouri-Kansas and plenty more.

It is one of those Saturdays where you may want to wake up, get moving and make sure you are properly prepared for what is coming. We make our picks, find the best under-the-radar games, lock up a few favorites and identify the window where you absolutely need to be in front of a screen.

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With most of Week 1 in the books, we go back through the games that deserved a longer look after Saturday night’s live reaction show. LSU’s demolition of Clemson is at the center of the conversation. How much of the result was about LSU looking immediately dangerous under Lane Kiffin, and how much should Clemson fans worry about a team that was physically overwhelmed?

We also dig deeper into the fireworks between Ole Miss and Louisville, one of the most entertaining games of the weekend, and spend time on Notre Dame’s 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. What should we make of the Irish offense after a sluggish start, how much can we learn from Wisconsin’s first half?

From there, we go rapid-fire through some of the other Week 1 performances that caught our attention, including Washington’s Apple Cup win and encouraging starts from Indiana, Florida, UCLA and Mississippi State. We also start looking ahead to a loaded Week 2, with Michigan-Oklahoma, Ohio State-Texas and several other matchups that should tell us much more about what these teams actually are in 2026.

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College football Week 1 started quietly and then completely lost its mind. Michigan needed a last-second miracle to survive Western Michigan, Oregon got pushed deep into the fourth quarter by Boise State, and Auburn escaped Baylor by a single point after stopping a late two-point conversion.

We break down the biggest games, then zoom out to the teams and players that impressed us most, including huge performances from Miami, Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Pitt, Penn State and more. We also ask which fan bases should already be freaking out, react to your Week 1 Reverbs, hand out Dude Alerts and start sorting through who should move up or down on our AP Top 25 ballot after the first real data points of the 2026 season.

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College football’s first full weekend is finally here, and Week 1 is throwing a whole lot of unknowns directly into the fire. We make our picks for the biggest games on the schedule and try to figure out which teams are actually ready for the moment across five days of games from Thursday night through Labor Day.

How quickly can new quarterbacks and new coaches settle in? Can Clemson’s offense find enough answers in Death Valley? What should we expect from Auburn and Baylor in Atlanta, Louisville and Ole Miss in Nashville, and Wisconsin and Notre Dame at Lambeau Field? We also dig into SMU-Florida State, UCLA-Cal, Boise State-Oregon and several other games where one matchup could tell us much more about these teams than the final score.

Then we go hunting for the games hiding beneath the radar, identify our Window of Opportunity, make our locks and upset picks, and prepare to leap into the great unknown of our 19th season of college football podcasting.

Listen to the full episode, rate and subscribe wherever you get the show, and join us at Verballers.com to play Run The Board, where this week’s winner takes home a $500 Visa gift card.

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College football Week 1 is finally here, but before we dive into our full preview and picks later this week, we're looking at the bigger questions that could start shaping the season as soon as the games kick off. Which performances should actually make us feel better about a contender, and what would qualify as an early warning sign even with all the usual disclaimers about overreacting in September?

We start with Keelon Russell taking over at Alabama, then work through some of the most interesting new looks around the country. How quickly can Lane Kiffin put LSU together after an aggressive offseason? What should we be watching from Oregon's new coordinators? Can Darian Mensah immediately unlock another level for Miami, and just how much is riding on DJ Lagway working out at Baylor? We also dig into Notre Dame's revamped collection of skill players and what Wisconsin might be able to tell us about a team with national championship aspirations.

Plus, Dan ingests alarming amount of cold brew, we identify a few under-the-radar Week 1 hinge points and somehow end up discussing the appropriate hair-dye threshold for independent podcasters.

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College football is officially back, and Week 0 gave us plenty to chew on before the season really gets rolling. We start with North Carolina getting some revenge on TCU in Ireland, then turn to Virginia's emphatic win over NC State and a huge opening performance from Beau Pribula. How much should we believe after one game, and which results actually changed the way we see these teams?

From there, we work through USC's somewhat misleading final score against San Jose State, Florida State's uneven opener against New Mexico State and a late-night Memphis-UNLV game that may have made the Group of Six playoff race a little more interesting. We also discuss Stanford's dramatic finish against Hawaii and the very different FBS welcome parties for North Dakota State and Sacramento State.

Plus, the return of college football meant the debut of some noticeable changes to the TV experience. We review ESPN's post-BottomLine world, the new on-screen indicator showing which announcer is speaking, a pronunciation controversy involving Beau Pribula and one moment of sweet Eastern Pennsylvania vindication.

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College football is finally back! In this episode, we get ready for the first Saturday of the 2026 season with our full Week 0 preview and picks, starting with TCU and North Carolina in Ireland and working through all eight games on the slate. Which teams can we actually trust right out of the gate, which new quarterbacks and coordinators are worth watching, and could Week 0 give us a few games that matter much more than they initially appear?

We dig into the first game action for USC and Florida State, disagree on NC State-Virginia, welcome North Dakota State and Sacramento State to the FBS ranks and try to make sense of Stanford-Hawaii before closing with a Memphis-UNLV game that could have bigger postseason implications than most people realize. Along the way, we drop our score predictions, identify a potential upset and play a few sound effects to get you ready for gameday.

Before the games, we also catch up on the latest college football news, including a wave of quarterback decisions, the increasingly bizarre eligibility fight over players trying to return from the NFL, another Lane Kiffin-related circus and ESPN making a notable change to its college football broadcasts. The season is here, Verballers!

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College football is finally here, which means there’s only one piece of preseason business left: putting our predictions on the record. In this episode, we each build a complete 12-team College Football Playoff field, debate the teams that just missed the cut, seed the bracket and play the whole thing forward through the national championship.

Along the way, we wrestle with some of the biggest questions surrounding the 2026 season. How many SEC teams can survive the league’s new nine-game schedule? Does the Big Ten get a fourth team? Can the Big 12 produce multiple playoff teams? And which Group of Five contender makes it through a particularly messy race for the automatic bid? There are also some aggressive calls involving Alabama, Houston, New Mexico, Notre Dame and several teams sitting right on the postseason bubble.

We work through potential first-round games, playoff paths and semifinal matchups before putting our national championship predictions on the record. Some picks felt safer than others, a few are almost guaranteed to come back and haunt us, and somehow we independently landed in exactly the same place at the very end.

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Fantasy Things is back! In our annual celebration of everything strange, stupid and uniquely college football, we draft the moments, tropes, broadcast oddities and completely unforeseen bits of nonsense we want on our team for the 2026 season. We’re not picking players or predicting champions. We’re trying to anticipate the stuff that makes you stop on a Saturday afternoon and think, “Of course this is happening in college football.”

This year’s board gets weird quickly. We get into coaches behaving strangely, broadcasts going off the rails, new ways technology could make the sport even more ridiculous, and a few very specific scenarios that feel just plausible enough to happen. There are also some long-shot “penny stocks” at the end, including a handful of ideas that are probably terrible bets but would be incredible if they somehow hit.

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College football is almost here, so we brought ESPN's Bill Connelly back on the show to help us separate the teams worth believing in from the ones carrying more risk than the preseason conversation might suggest. We start with Bill's annual look at the most important players in the sport and work through the quarterbacks, transfers and returning stars who could swing the 2026 season in either direction.

From there, the conversation turns to some of the biggest contenders in the country. How good does Keelon Russell need to be for Alabama to get back into the national championship picture? Are we overlooking the questions surrounding Texas despite all of its star power? Which quarterback situations are the most terrifying, how much should we trust Penn State, and which teams look very different once Bill compares what the numbers say with what he actually believes? We also bounce through the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, talk potential chaos games, the wildest weekend on the 2026 schedule and the conference race that deserves more attention than it is getting.

Plus, Bill gives us teams that could be much more fun than expected, a few Week 0 and Week 1 games worth circling, and one program college football fans should consider adopting for the season.

After Bill leaves, we somehow end up revisiting Ty's old wedding betting pool, complete with ceremony over-unders, music props and some extremely specific long-shot wagers.

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In this college football podcast episode, we react to the first AP Top 25 of the 2026 season and our first preseason poll as official AP voters. We run through the top of the rankings, compare the national poll with our own ballot and talk about what it feels like to put actual votes behind all the opinions we’ve spent the offseason developing. Which teams already look a little too high or too low, and how much should anyone really trust a preseason poll before the games begin?

Then it’s time for some Zagriculture. We take a bank of familiar college football narratives and draft the ones we’re most willing to push back against. Is Notre Dame really just a product of its schedule? Is Dabo Swinney actually cooked at Clemson? Can USC finally build a respectable defense under Lincoln Riley? What should we expect from Oregon when the biggest games arrive in January, and how much faith should anyone have in Lane Kiffin eventually delivering a championship at LSU? Along the way, we also wander into Ole Miss, Iowa and several other preseason assumptions that may look very different a few months from now.

Plus, Ty gets talked into an alarmingly specific Iowa offensive prediction, Dan dabbles with weird phrasing, and we continue preparing for Week 0. Sign up to support the show at Verballers.com.

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In this college football podcast episode, we take one final deep breath after our marathon run of 2026 conference previews and turn the show over to the Verballerhood for our August Q&A. With the season finally within reach, we dig into the teams we find most interesting, the best dark horse candidates around the country, and one of the questions that could define the expanded College Football Playoff era: What would a convincing 9-3 playoff resume actually look like?

We also zoom out on the changing power structure of college football. Was Lane Kiffin right to bet that a job like LSU still offers advantages that programs further down the traditional hierarchy simply cannot match? Has the transfer portal, money and increased player movement truly leveled the field, or have the old powers merely lost some of their margin for error? Plus, we compare a handful of the biggest coaching moves from the offseason, wonder what issue could become college football’s next great existential fight, and ask whether all that player movement could eventually take some heat out of the sport’s biggest rivalries.

And because it’s a Q&A, things inevitably get weird. We debate the ideal school for a punter, investigate sports conspiracies, build a college football soundtrack out of movie scores, evaluate SEC stadium bucket lists and learn that Dan has apparently developed a neighborhood reputation as an illicit dealer of highly coveted pizza cheese.

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In this college football podcast episode, we close out our three-part 2026 SEC preview with LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn. The biggest mystery may be LSU, where Lane Kiffin has assembled a loaded transfer class around Sam Leavitt but still has to make a huge collection of new pieces work together immediately. How quickly can the offense come together, and is Blake Baker’s defense good enough to give the Tigers a real College Football Playoff ceiling while everything else settles in?

We also dig into Alabama’s attempt to build a more complete offense around a young quarterback, with plenty of excitement around Keelon Russell and plenty of questions about whether the offensive line can finally create a reliable running game. Texas A&M brings back Marcel Reed and a strong collection of skill talent, but a rebuilt line and a brutal closing stretch create more hesitation than expected. We also wonder whether Missouri’s recent consistency is a reason to believe, or if new QB Austin Simmons, Ahmad Hardy’s recovery, a rebuilt defense and a difficult schedule are enough to make the Tigers one of the SEC’s biggest regression candidates?

Elsewhere, we reconsider Ole Miss after taking a deeper look at a roster led by Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, wonder how much fun Kamario Taylor can make Mississippi State, and size up Alex Golesh’s first Auburn team with Byron Brown running a familiar offense. Plus: offensive line anxiety, Mizzou hopium, Pete Golding interview bias, and one last round of preseason roster-induced delirium as we finally finish the conference previews.

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In this college football podcast episode, we continue our three-part 2026 SEC preview with deep dives on Georgia, Vanderbilt, Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida. Georgia enters the season with perhaps the cleanest case of any contender in the conference, while Texas has all the talent to make a run at the SEC title but also enough lingering questions, plus a brutal schedule, to make us hesitate. How much separates the league’s best teams, and which concerns are worth taking seriously?

We also dig into the growing Oklahoma hype and whether even marginal offensive improvement could make the Sooners significantly more dangerous, the latest attempt to build a functional offense around LaNorris Sellers at South Carolina, and a new era at Kentucky with Will Stein taking over for Mark Stoops. Vanderbilt begins life after Diego Pavia, while Tennessee forces us to reconsider whether we’ve been overlooking a roster that may be much closer to contention than we initially thought.

And then there’s Florida. Ty goes all in on Jon Sumrall, a loaded Gators defense and a roster he believes is capable of making real noise in the SEC. Plus: Gunner Stockton’s continued toughness, buff John Mateer, Forrest Gump back in the SEC, Dan's Tennessee marriage, Simone Biles playing linebacker, and Jon Sumrall’s potential for postgame hijinks.

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In this episode, we kick off our three-part 2026 SEC preview by zooming out on a conference entering the season with plenty to prove. The SEC hasn't won the national championship in three years, six programs have new head coaches, and the league's move to a nine-game conference schedule promises to make an already difficult path to the College Football Playoff even more complicated. So, has the balance of power actually shifted to the Big Ten, or is the SEC positioned to take it back?

We sort all 16 teams into tiers and work through a thick group of contenders. Georgia and Texas look like the safest bets near the top, but how much separates them from LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Ole Miss? We debate Lane Kiffin's chances of putting LSU together immediately, Oklahoma's offensive ceiling, Alabama's unanswered questions, and whether teams like Tennessee and Florida are being overlooked. We also dig into South Carolina, Missouri, Auburn and Vanderbilt before trying to make sense of the conference's biggest rebuilds.

Plus: dubious beef becomes beef curiosities, what the SEC has in common with Detroit-style pizza, John Mateer apparently discovers Squatober, Will Stein gets plucky in Kentucky, and more.

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In this college football podcast episode, we close out our three-part 2026 Big Ten preview with nine more teams and some of the conference's most difficult projections. USC has the offense, talent and expectations of a College Football Playoff contender, but can Lincoln Riley's team survive a relentless schedule while Gary Patterson rebuilds the defense?

The conversation gets especially spirited when we turn to the new eras at Penn State and Michigan. How quickly can Matt Campbell blend his Iowa State imports with the roster he inherited? Does Kyle Whittingham give Michigan an immediate coaching upgrade, and what will his staff unlock in Bryce Underwood? Along the way, we debate the talent level at Penn State, the offensive identities taking shape in Ann Arbor and State College, and whether either team can navigate a season filled with major swing games and playoff-level pressure.

We also dig into Bob Chesney's ambitious UCLA rebuild, the possibility of Illinois being overlooked, Minnesota's search for offensive pop, Maryland's attempt to give Malik Washington more help, and the upside and limitations of the new coaching staffs at Michigan State and Northwestern. Plus: Dan's Penn State slander, a save-the-date for the Minnesota Support Zoom, the return of Charles Chip Kelly, and a troubling sign from College Football 27.

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In this college football podcast episode, we continue our three-part 2026 Big Ten preview with a closer look at nine teams, beginning with the three programs most likely to determine the conference championship. Oregon has assembled another loaded roster, but is this finally the year Dan Lanning’s program gets over the hump? Can Ohio State maintain its defensive standard while building a new offensive identity under Arthur Smith? And how successfully can defending national champion Indiana reload around Josh Hoover and a wave of transfer portal additions?

We make our Big Ten championship predictions and examine the questions that could separate Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana once the College Football Playoff race begins. Then we turn toward the conference’s crowded middle. Is Iowa’s favorable schedule enough to overcome another uncertain quarterback situation? Can Washington’s promising but unproven roster deliver against better competition? And what happens when Nebraska pairs the unpredictable Anthony Colandrea with Dana Holgorsen?

We also discuss the stakes surrounding Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, Greg Schiano’s attempt to rebuild the Rutgers defense and Purdue’s difficult path toward meaningful progress. Plus: a spirited disagreement over Iowa, a possible resurgences for the RVO offense, suspicious Rutgers sandwich spots, the official installation of Ty as Chief Colandrea Officer, and more.

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In this college football podcast episode, we open our three-part 2026 Big Ten preview by zooming out before diving into the individual team breakdowns. The conference has produced the last three national champions, enters the season with another wave of major coaching and coordinator changes, and features a surprising number of familiar quarterbacks.

We sort all 18 Big Ten teams into contender tiers and ask whether Ohio State, Oregon and defending national champion Indiana have separated from the field. Is USC talented enough to overcome its schedule and lingering defensive questions? Could Penn State, Michigan, Washington or Iowa emerge as the conference’s fourth College Football Playoff team? And how much faith should we place in new systems, new play callers and transfer quarterbacks across the league?

We also work through the crowded middle of the conference, where favorable schedules, volatile quarterbacks and major rebuilds make almost every projection feel negotiable. Plus: Sweet Lady Schedule, the Big Ten’s overarching theme of faith, Bob Chesney’s elite hairline, a renewed commitment to the Minnesota Support Zoom, and a fun announcement about the show's place in the college football media sphere.

Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro & Show News
07:35 — The Big Ten’s three-year heater
10:15 — New head coaches, coordinators and familiar quarterbacks
15:46 — The Big Ten’s Big Three
21:33 — The quest for a fourth playoff team
25:54 — Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and... USC?
40:16 — Who's Next?
41:12 — The potential for a 10-2 Iowa
48:15 — The Illinois contender debate
52:56 — Penn State’s reset with Matt Campbell
58:57 — Michigan begins the Kyle Whittingham era
1:02:04 — Washington’s next step under Jedd Fisch
1:07:34 — Minnesota and Nebraska
1:15:45 — UCLA’s Bob Chesney rebuild
1:22:03 — Wisconsin, Luke Fickell and a friendlier schedule
1:27:02 — Maryland’s upside and unresolved questions
1:30:48 — Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan State and Purdue

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In this college football podcast episode, we briefly step out of preview mode for a college football news reset. While we were working through the ACC and Big 12, the rest of the sport kept moving, beginning with another strange development at North Carolina. We discuss Mike Lombardi’s reported leave of absence, what it adds to the growing collection of Bill Belichick-era drama in Chapel Hill, and why Tar Heels fans did not exactly greet the news with despair.

Then we dig through the most memorable moments from SEC, ACC and Big 12 Media Days. Lane Kiffin contemplates mortality, Jon Sumrall brings an unmistakable level of intensity to Florida, Pat Narduzzi makes another bold conference comparison, and several SEC coaches begin building the case for nine-win College Football Playoff teams. We also consider Greg Sankey’s acknowledgment that conversations about an SEC and Big Ten breakaway are real, even if nobody is quite ready to explain where those conversations might lead.

Finally, with fall camps opening around the country, we look at the quarterback competitions worth tracking. What could a freshman starter mean for Tennessee? Is Alabama’s apparent favorite ready to take control? Which uncertain situations at Arkansas, Iowa and elsewhere could reshape an entire season? We also ask how many of these competitions are truly open and how many are exercises in keeping quarterbacks engaged during the transfer portal era.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:55 - Mike Lombardi on leave at UNC
9:40 - Favorite Quotes from Media Days
31:29 - QB Battles of Interest

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In this episode, we finish our Big 12 preview with the conference’s final eight teams: Utah, Houston, TCU, Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, UCF and Cincinnati. This preview features plenty of teams on the cusp of a breakthrough or a frustrating step backward.

We start with Utah’s transition from Kyle Whittingham to Morgan Scalley and ask how much of the program’s familiar identity can survive a major staff and roster reset. From there, we dig into Houston’s contender case, TCU’s new quarterback and offensive coordinator, Arizona’s attempt to build on last year’s rebound, and Arizona State’s high-variance setup around a talented but unsettled offense.

Then, Ty makes the full-throated case for an Oklahoma State revival under Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker, while Dan tries to keep expectations somewhere near Earth. We also break down whether UCF can make the Year 2 jump under Scott Frost and whether Cincinnati can survive massive turnover by leaning on one of the Big 12’s best offensive lines.

Plus: Wile E. Coyote branches, short quarterbacks, soufflé assembly and an impromptu summer tennis preview.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
7:12 - Utah Preview
25:21 - TCU Preview
35:26 - Arizona Preview
44:25 - Arizona State Preview
52:27 - Oklahoma State Preview
1:03:58 - UCF Preview
1:10:33 - Cincinnati Preview

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In this episode, we continue our 2026 Big 12 preview with the first full batch of team-by-team breakdowns. Texas Tech enters as the reigning conference champion and apparent favorite, but the strange offseason surrounding Brendan Sorsby and Will Hammond has made its path back to the College Football Playoff more complicated than it first appeared. We examine whether the Red Raiders can turn one dominant season into a repeatable model, and whether BYU has enough offensive growth and defensive muscle to finally close the gap.

From there, we move into the conference’s crowded and unpredictable middle. What will Kansas State look like with Collin Klein returning to lead the program? Can Dave Aranda and new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman bring order to the chaos at Baylor before time runs out? We also consider whether Andy Kotelnicki can revive the Kansas offense, whether Brennan Marion’s Go-Go system is the answer for Colorado, and how quickly new regimes at West Virginia and Iowa State can start showing meaningful progress.

Plus, we discuss the booming transfer market for competent offensive linemen, the college football equivalent of a veteran left-handed relief pitcher, several dangerous schedule sandwiches, and much more.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
05:30 - Texas Tech Preview
20:26 - BYU Preview
27:41 - Kansas State Preview
36:50 - Baylor Preview
47:00 - Kansas Preview
52:41 - Colorado Preview
59:13 - West Virginia Preview
1:02:59 - Iowa State Preview

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In this episode, we begin our three-part Big 12 preview by taking a conference-wide look at the contenders, challengers and mystery teams shaping the 2026 season. Texas Tech enters as the defending champion and the clear center of attention, but does the conference’s best roster still have enough at quarterback and on defense to remain on top? We also examine why BYU feels like the safest alternative and whether Houston is ready to turn last year’s breakthrough into something even bigger.

From there, we sort all 16 teams into tiers and work through a crowded middle class that may be deeper than either of us expected. How much should Utah’s infrastructure matter after major changes on the sideline and along both lines of scrimmage? Can Arizona, TCU or Kansas State stay in the championship race? Are we falling too hard for Oklahoma State’s potential, and how much faith should we place in Kenny Dillingham as Arizona State faces the conference’s most difficult schedule?

We also identify the players we are most interested in watching, debate several new quarterback situations and make our early Big 12 Championship Game predictions. Plus, the Monster Energy sponsorship inspires a shady monetization strategy, Willie Fritz becomes the world’s most dependable roofing contractor, and one verbal stumble launches a questionable new Cincinnati business venture.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:01 - The Monster Energy Big 12?
6:25 - The Basics & Big Themes
17:05 - Surprise Observations
20:09 - Contender Tiers

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In this college football podcast episode, we finish our three-part preview of the ACC by turning our attention to the defending conference champions and several of the league’s most difficult teams to project. Can Duke keep finding ways to win after another major quarterback change? Does Clemson have a real plan for getting back into the College Football Playoff conversation? And can Louisville once again rebuild its offense around a new transfer quarterback without losing ground near the top of the conference?

We also dig into James Franklin’s full-scale reboot at Virginia Tech, Ty’s increasingly dangerous belief in NC State, and a pivotal season for Brent Key at Georgia Tech. With new quarterbacks, rebuilt offensive lines, coordinator changes and transfer portal additions everywhere, how much confidence should we place in recognizable coaches and favorable schedules? Plus, we examine why Cal could become one of the most entertaining teams in college football, whether Syracuse can recover with Steve Angeli back under center, and what Bill O’Brien can realistically build at Boston College.

Elsewhere, Dan experiments with performance-enhancing inhalers, Ty launches Bros for Brohm, the Calgorithm gains strength, and we issue another annual warning about hiring Ted Roof.

Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
4:01 - Duke Blue Devils Preview
14:26 - Clemson Tigers Preview
25:00 - NC State Wolfpack Preview
32:29 - Louisville Cardinals Preview
40:22 - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Preview
50:36 - Virginia Tech Hokies Preview
1:06:02 - Cal Golden Bears Preview
1:12:53 - Syracuse Orange Preview
1:18:03 - Boston College Eagles Preview
1:22:33 - Parting Shots

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In this college football podcast episode, we continue our 2026 ACC preview with conversations about eight conference teams and Notre Dame. Is this finally the year Miami turns its loaded roster into its first conference championship? How high is the ceiling for an Irish squad with College Football Playoff expectations, a Heisman candidate at quarterback, and more talent than ever?

We also examine whether SMU is ready to take another step under Rhett Lashlee, whether Virginia can build on last season’s breakthrough with defense and small ball, and whether Pitt can turn another fast start into something more sustainable. Florida State enters a defining seventh season under Mike Norvell, while North Carolina begins Year 2 of the Bill Belichick experiment with Bobby Petrino running the offense. Wake Forest remains dangerous, strange and difficult to play, while Stanford begins a patient rebuild under Tavita Pritchard.

Plus: The Davis Warren Commission, Mid-Atlantic Hawkeyes, quarterback passport stamps, an unexpected amount of Train trivia, HGTV renovation metaphors, and an important reminder to wash your produce.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
5:11 - Virginia Cavaliers Preview
17:30 - Miami Hurricanes Preview
29:13 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview
41:14 - SMU Mustangs Preview
47:04 - Pitt Panthers Preview
53:29 - Florida State Seminoles Preview
1:03:32 - North Carolina Tar Heels Preview
1:08:08 - Wake Forest Demon Deacons Preview
1:14:03 - Stanford Cardinal Preview

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In this college football podcast episode, we begin our three-part 2026 ACC preview by zooming out and attempting to make sense of the conference as a whole. Miami enters the season as the clear favorite, with Darian Mensah taking over at quarterback and another roster built to reach the College Football Playoff. But can the Hurricanes finally win their first ACC championship?

From there, we sort the rest of the ACC into contender tiers and confront the question that defines the league this season: Who comes after Miami? We debate how much to trust Kevin Jennings and SMU, Jeff Brohm’s latest rebuild at Louisville, Clemson’s return to Chad Morris and the long list of possible challengers lurking in the conference’s crowded middle. We also examine the unusually unsettled quarterback landscape, widespread offensive line turnover, the arrival of James Franklin at Virginia Tech and the pressure facing Mike Norvell at Florida State.

Plus, we identify our ACC pet teams, search for surprise storylines and hold an entirely unnecessary conference nickname draft.

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