Stay ConnectedThe Athlon Sports Cover 2 College Football Podcast previews and reviews every aspect of the greatest sport on the planet.
Join Athlon’s college football expert Steve Lassan and sports personality Braden Gall every week, year-round—covering the preseason, regular season, postseason, and offseason—for an in-depth breakdown of the wild world of college football.
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:
2-Point Conversation:
Week 9 Progression:
Bets Against the Spread:
Group of 5 Checkdown looks at great races in the American, Mountain West and Sun Belt.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
2-Point Conversation:
Week 7 Progression:
Bets Against the Spread:
Leftovers: What is Ok-State? Rutgers, Florida, Kansas, Colorado and more.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Temp Check:
2-Point Conversation
Week 6 Progression:
Bets Against the Spread:
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:
2-Point Conversation:
Week 5 Progression:
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:
Week 4 Progression:
Bets Against the Spread:
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:
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:
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.
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.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the SEC in 2023.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk ACC football in 2023.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk about Pac-12 football in 2023 and the loss of Colorado to the Big 12.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the Big 12 conference in 2023. How does the impending divorce and new programs impact the standings?
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.
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.
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.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
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.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.
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.
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