AP Top 25 College Football Podcast

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Can Tennessee and Florida State recover? Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

The first week of the season was highlighted -- or lowlighted, if you’re a fan of Florida State or Tennessee -- by a couple of embarrassing losses by blue blood programs. Or at least programs that used to be blue bloods. Dan Wolken from USA Today joins AP’s Ralph Russo to discuss where Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee and Florida State and Willie Taggart go from here. Chip Kelly’s second year at UCLA also got off to a bad start. We look ahead to LSU-Texas and Texas A&M-Clemson, plus, does it really even matter which conference is best?

How to Win a Heisman? Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

The season is about to start, but the race for the Heisman Trophy has already begun. Heisman historian Chris Huston, who edits Heisman.com, joins AP’s Ralph Russo to talk about how Heismans are won. The process has evolved throughout the years from the days of running backs and upperclassmen dominating to now when quarterbacks and underclassmen are all the rage. Heisman campaigns are not quite as important for simple name recognition, but winning a Heisman takes a good story and schools need to help differentiate their stars from others. How much influence does media coverage have on Heisman voting and is there an East Coast bias among voters?

The AP Preseason Top 25 is Out! Aug 19, 2019

Show notes

Voting in the AP Top 25 is a mix of art, science and hunch, and it’s especially tricky when it comes to the preseason poll.On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, ESPN’s Rece Davis joins AP’s Ralph Russo to discuss filling out a ballot when nobody has played yet.Davis explains how he tries not to make his preseason vote a straight prediction for the season and how that can lead to some rankings that look a little different from the consensus. Rece like Texas A&M more than the consensus and is not quite as high on Florida and Michigan.

Pac-12 Preview Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

Oregon is trying to make the jump to playoff contender in the Pac-12 North, while Washington is breaking in a high-profile transfer quarterback and a bunch of new players on defense. Meanwhile, in the South, what will be the fate of coach Clay Helton at USC? Jon Wilner of the Pac-12 Hotline joins AP’s Ralph Russo to preview the conference season. While all the drama surrounds USC, Utah has become the one sure bet in the Pac-12 South. The Utes might have a team good enough to win the Pac-12 for the first time. But will that be good enough to get a team in the college football playoff? The Pac-12 could really use a break to its playoff drought.

Pac-12 Preview Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

Oregon is trying to make the jump to playoff contender in the Pac-12 North, while Washington is breaking in a high-profile transfer quarterback and a bunch of new players on defense. Meanwhile, in the South, what will be the fate of coach Clay Helton at USC? Jon Wilner of the Pac-12 Hotline joins AP's Ralph Russo to preview the conference season. While all the drama surrounds USC, Utah has become the one sure bet in the Pac-12 South. The Utes might have a team good enough to win the Pac-12 for the first time. But will that be good enough to get a team in the college football playoff? The Pac-12 could really use a break to its playoff drought.

Group of Five and Notre Dame Preview Aug 10, 2019

Show notes

UCF has been the dominant team outside the Power Five conferences for two seasons. Can the Knights keep it up without McKenzie Milton? Chris Vannini from The Athletic joins AP’s Ralph Russo to preview all the Group of Five conferences. UCF is trying to make it three straight American Athletic Conference titles. Boise State out of the Mountain West is looking for a second New Year’s Six appearance. Can Appalachian State break through and challenge for a New Year’s Six bid out of the Sun Belt? Also, Pete Sampson of the Athletic joins the show to preview Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish will try to follow up their first playoff appearance against a schedule that includes road trips to Georgia and Michigan.

Group of Five and Notre Dame Preview Aug 09, 2019

Show notes

UCF has been the dominant team outside the Power Five conferences for two seasons. Can the Knights keep it up without McKenzie Milton? Chris Vannini from The Athletic joins AP's Ralph Russo to preview all the Group of Five conferences. UCF is trying to make it three straight American Athletic Conference titles. Boise State out of the Mountain West is looking for a second New Year's Six appearance. Can Appalachian State break through and challenge for a New Year's Six bid out of the Sun Belt? Also, Pete Sampson of the Athletic joins the show to preview Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish will try to follow up their first playoff appearance against a schedule that includes road trips to Georgia and Michigan.

Big 12 Preview Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

Oklahoma is trying to make it five straight Big 12 titles. Can the Sooners continue their reign with another transfer quarterback? Max Olson from The Athletic joins AP’s Ralph Russo to preview the Big 12 and the contenders to unseat Oklahoma. It starts with Texas, but Iowa State could be primed for another step forward under Matt Campbell _ which will lead to even more speculation about Campbell being lured away by another school or the NFL. Veteran coaches Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and TCU’s Gary Patterson are looking for bounce-back seasons from their programs. And four new coaches enter the league, including Les Miles at Kansas.

Big 12 Preview Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

Oklahoma is trying to make it five straight Big 12 titles. Can the Sooners continue their reign with another transfer quarterback? Max Olson from The Athletic joins AP's Ralph Russo to preview the Big 12 and the contenders to unseat Oklahoma. It starts with Texas, but Iowa State could be primed for another step forward under Matt Campbell _ which will lead to even more speculation about Campbell being lured away by another school or the NFL. Veteran coaches Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and TCU's Gary Patterson are looking for bounce-back seasons from their programs. And four new coaches enter the league, including Les Miles at Kansas.

Big Ten Preview Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

The Big Ten might be the most intriguing conference in the country this season. The four superpowers in the East Division all enter with different levels of uncertainty, either with new quarterbacks or new offensive coordinators. In the West Division, a case could be made for any of six teams to reach the championship game in Indianapolis. Nebraska is considered the favorite coming off a 4-8 season. Dave Revsine of Big Ten Network joins AP’s Ralph Russo to preview the conference. Is this finally the season Michigan and Jim Harbaugh break through and win the East? Has the rest of the West caught up to Wisconsin?

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