ESPN College Football

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Always College Football: BIG 10 Tiers: Oregon, Ohio State & Indiana ALL National Championship Contenders Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Greg McElroy breaks down his Big Ten tiers, discussing which teams COULD win it all, which teams can make the playoff, who can play spoiler, who will make a bowl game and who needs work. How many teams can truly claim the title? Why Indiana can certainly do it again, Ohio State will be in the conversation, and is it Oregon’s year? Plus, USC is set up well for possibly its best season of the Lincoln Riley era, and can we see lots of success for Penn State in year one under Matt Campbell? Additionally, why Greg is high on Washington, what to watch for with Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska, and more. | Always College Football

Approximate timecodes:

(0:00) Intro

(3:14) Tier 1: Oregon

(7:00) Tier 1: Ohio State

(10:20) Tier 1: Indiana

(13:54) Tier 2: USC

(16:30) Tier 2: Washington

(18:17) Tier 2: Penn State

(20:42) Tier 2: Michigan

(23:46) Tier 3: Iowa

(25:51) Tier 3: Illinois

(27:39) Tier 3: Nebraska

(29:36) Tier 4: Wisconsin

(31:17) Tier 4: Minnesota

(32:50) Tier 4: UCLA

(34:38) Tier 4: Maryland

(36:02) Tier 5: Northwestern

(37:37) Tier 5: Michigan State

(39:04) Tier 5: Rutgers

(40:25) Tier 5: Purdue

(41:51) Thanks for watching

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Always College Football: ACC Tiers: Miami on TOP, SMU, Clemson & Louisville contenders Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Greg McElroy breaks down the tiers in the ACC for the upcoming season and tells you why Miami is the only national title contender, if SMU and Clemson can get back to the CFP and if Louisville is primed to crash the party. Can Florida State bounce back, do Virginia and Duke have staying power, will year 2 at North Carolina under Bill Belichick yield better results and is this the year that Virginia Tech breaks through with James Franklin? The ACC is deep and McElroy is here to break it all down from contenders to spoilers.

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Always College Football: SEC Tiers: Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss & Oklahoma ALL Natty contenders Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Greg McElroy breaks down the “tiers” in the SEC for the upcoming season and tells you why Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Oklahoma all can WIN a National Title. Is LSU ready to compete for a CFP spot in year one under Kiffin, will Alabama make it back to the CFP and can Texas A&M carry over the momentum from last season? Is Tennessee ready to make a big jump and where will Florida, Auburn, South Carolina and Missouri fall in the pecking order. Is this the year the SEC gets back to the top of the mountain?

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Always College Football: Big 12 Tiers: FOUR legit CFP contenders! Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Greg McElroy breaks down the ‘tiers’ in the BIG 12 with four CFP contenders but is there a legit National Championship contender in the conference? How will Texas Tech handle the bullseye on their back? Is BYU in the BIG 12 “championship or bust” mentality? Can Houston improve their win total again and what can we expect from the fresh start in Utah? Can TCU, Kansas State, Arizona State and Oklahoma State be more than spoilers? How will Coach Prime and Colorado look, plus are bounce back seasons in line for Baylor, UCF and Kansas?

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Always College Football: MAKE or BREAK QB situations + QB competition PREDICTIONS Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

There are some BIG time quarterback competitions happening at Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Arizona State is looking for a replacement for Sam Leavitt, Clemson is trying to keep the quarterback succession plan rolling and who Bill Belichick chooses at QB1 at North Carolina will be something everyone watches. McElroy gives you who he thinks will win each of the competitions plus tells you why Notre Dame, Ohio State, Miami, Texas, Oklahoma and others are all in on their quarterbacks with no proven depth behind them. Not everyone has Oregon or Ole Miss’ quarterback rooms in 2026!

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Always College Football: Crazy Stats and Numbers YOU need to know heading into 2026 Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Georgia has won 48 straight vs unranked opponents, Florida State has not won a road game in two years, Curt Cignetti is undefeated at home as Indiana’s head coach, Oregon has won 12 straight road games and Texas A&M is looking to end a 32 year drought of back-to-back 10+ win seasons. McElroy crunched the numbers and gives you 21 of the most improbable and crazy stats heading into the 2026 season and tells you if the streak continues or dies.

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Always College Football: Who got LUCKY with their schedule in 2026? Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

McElroy goes over the most “getable schedules” in the SEC, BIG 10, BIG 12 and ACC. Did Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Auburn hit the scheduling lottery in 2026? Will Luke Fickel at Wisconsin and Matt Campbell at Penn State BOTH get more wins than expected with “lighter” paths in the BIG 10? Can BIG 12 favorite Texas Tech take advantage of missing out on BYU & Utah and will Virginia be back in the mix for the ACC in 2026? Plus, McElroy gives you the biggest trap games for 12 legit contenders.

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Always College Football: Who REALLY has the HARDEST schedules in college football?! Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Is the FPI correct with their strength of schedule metric? McElroy explains what we should use the FPI for then goes through the P4 and gives you the toughest schedules in each conference. Texas, Oklahoma & Texas A&M have a gauntlet to get through to make the CFP, while Ohio State and USC have the toughest road schedules in the BIG 10. In the BIG 12 Colorado and Oklahoma State will be grinding out the season and can Clemson and Florida State bounce back with the toughest schedules in the ACC? Plus, McElroy answers mailbag questions about Notre Dame, Tennessee, the BIG 12 coaches poll and much more.

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Always College Football: BIGGEST What IF’s in college football part 2! Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

What if the SEC misses the title game (again) and the BIG 10 wins ANOTHER national title? What if Arch Manning struggles, Lane Kiffin and LSU BEAT Ole Miss and Jeremiah Smith wins the Heisman? McElroy tackles some of the biggest ‘what if’s’ heading into the 2026 season including if a Group of 6 team can win a college football playoff game, if money CAN buy a national championship and what if everything goes chalk in September?

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Always College Football: Who should be preseason #1 & is it a CURSE? Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

The weight of being the preseason #1 team is very heavy. In 76 years of the AP poll there is only ONE team that started #1 and stayed that way throughout the entire season and won a National Championship - that was Florida State in 1999. While the CFP has given more leeway for the top ranked teams it’s still a big target on your back to start the season. So who deserves to be ranked #1 in the preseason? McElroy makes the case for and against Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Miami, Indiana and Georgia all to be the preseason #1 ranked team.

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