Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• SEC scheduling drama
• Strength of schedule drama
• Championship game drama
• USC A.D. drama
• Michigan coaching drama
• Georgia speeding drama
• B1G TV contract drama
• Big 12 expansion drama
• Bowl game lawsuit drama
• Shannon Terry and On3's NIL Elite Series (not drama)

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall explain the Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 and then some. Who makes the playoff? Where is the drop off in the top 25? Who makes conference championship games? Where are the tiers in each major conference? Who are the best Group of 5 teams?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• EA Sports video game takes step
• Personal video game records, history
• ACC meetings lead to expansion drama
• The most desirable brands in the ACC?
• Which league would want which teams?
• Does anything actually happen?
• Pac-12 expansion is actually happening
• Do we have a short-term solution out West?
• What does the Big 12 do?
• Dylan Riaola, nation's No. 1 player commits
• Are the best QBs leaving the West?
• Is the Pac-12 doing better than we think?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We unveil our official magazine top four in 2023 while also covering the on-going Pac-12 media rights, massive changes around gambling and who won the portal this time around?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• College football playoff schedule
• Things we hate, things we're OK with
• SEC permanent opponents
• 16-team scheduling criteria
• All-ACC QB battle for No. 1?
• Clear top three in the Big 12
• The projection issue in the Big Ten
• Elite QB play in the Pac-12
• One clearcut top Hog in SEC
• Hearing from KJ Jefferson
• All-American votes

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Pac-12 non-answer answer
• Deion Sanders doing it his way
• Nature of our system now
• QB outliers in the NFL Draft
• Five-star recruits going pro
• Two wide receivers we love
• Spring storylines that matter
• Very different QBs at UGa and Bama
• Clemson and USC's defense
• Texas makes actual news
• Ohio State's offensive line
• SEC QB battles
• Rapid Fire Lassan Test

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Early Top 4 debate
• Preseason Top 25 difficulty
• How many playoff contenders are there?
• How many teams can win the national title?
• What to do with Texas?
• Coach Prime is selling lots of tickets
• Colorado's short term, long term future
• Pac-12 media rights tied to CU?
• CFP meetings in Dallas next week
• New Big Ten commish role at meetings
• Working out the schedule for the playoff
• Stop worrying about the NFL

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Magazine prediction stress
• Big Ten tabs Tony Petitti
• Insider? Outsider?
• Tony's first order of business
• How can B1G level playing the field?
• Off-the-field opportunity
• Pac-12 media rights are still... well...
• Spring scrimmages are a good idea?
• Lots of reasons to add value to spring
• What are concerns?
• How would it be logistically possible?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• We begin with Kent St, obviously
• 0 starters back on offense or defense?
• Defining National Championship DNA
• Defining Playoff DNA
• How many teams nationally have it?
• How can you change your DNA?
• What time frames are we using?
• The Nick Saban Test

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys touch on the new recruiting rules, Pac-12 rumors and NIL congressional meetings. Then we take a deep dive into the future Big 12 and how those programs stack up against each other currently and historically. What is the best program in the new Big 12? The worst? How much upward mobility to the new programs have? Where would USC, UCLA, Texas and Oklahoma rank in their new conferences? And a quick look at our national top 10 programs in college football.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Obligatory latest Pac-12 news
• New Big 12 angle to consider
• Spring practice content approach
• What if it was always a 12-team playoff?
• Which coaches benefit?
• Which teams are evaluated differently?
• Dan Mullen, James Franklin, Jimbo
• Wisconsin, USC, Baylor, Michigan St
• Kirk Ferentz, Mike Gundy, David Shaw
• Iowa St, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Pac-12 obligatory opening update
• Big names coaches who need to win
• Long-time coaches with no expectations
• Long-time coaches with nothing to prove
• Future potential next wave of long-timers
• Long-timers who did everything they could
• Future names with building pressure

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• More Pac-12 rumors!
• An ACC merger
• Three new rule changes
• SEC schedule leaks
• Georgia culture problem?
• Transfer QB portal data
• P5 transfers vs. G5
• QB battles in the spring
• Bama, Georgia, Ole Miss
• Nebraska, Ohio St
• Ok-State, Texas, West Virginia
• Arizona St and UCLA
• NC State and more

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Coaches hurting the game with access
• Players need to be more available
• Florida St sends warning shot at ACC
• Grant of Rights' future
• Pac-12 no news is bad news
• Can Washington challenge out West?
• What to make of Colorado?
• Miami or North Carolina in the ACC?
• Wisconsin, Michigan St, Nebraska
• The new guys in the Big 12
• Who is on the top tier in the SEC?
• Who is in the SEC's middle?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Apple TV bids for Pac-12
• Fans react
• New game rules to speed things up
• Is game-length a real problem
• Which rules do we like?
• One rule that we hate
• Big 12 new schedule is WILD
• Four new teams creates imbalance
• AAC releases its new schedule
• Group of 5 wide open?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• 2024 is going to look very different
• Pac-12 inventory, openly courting SMU
• Every day the media deal isn't signed
• What is the Big 12 going to do?
• B1G holding firm, good news for Pac-12?
• Scheduling model for the Big Ten
• New permanent rivals for USC, UCLA
• Does UCLA now have championship DNA?
• Scheduling model for the SEC
• New permanent rivals for Texas, OU
• Are we okay with unbalanced schedules?
• Brian Ferentz contract
• Todd Monken leaves for NFL, Mike Bobo hired
• What is going on with Miami?
• Notre Dame's offensive coordinator

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• The Pac-12 is sniffing around SMU
• Impact of streaming shift
• Targeting Mountain West teams
• Texas, OU not moving... yet
• What's the hold up?
• Bama hires Tommy Rees, Kevin Steele
• Is there a shift in offense happening?
• Redefining "balance" on offense
• Grading all 24 new coaching hires
• Tons of young inexperience
• A few retreads
• Wisconsin and Louisville top the list
• Nebraska, Colorado close behind

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• The Jalen Hurts phenomena
• QBs winning in college and the NFL
• Breaking down the 2023 recruiting cycle
• How good are top classes?
• How are the new Big 12 teams faring?
• How are new coaches doing?
• Recruiting outliers: The Best
• Recruiting outliers: The Worst
• Big jumps, big falls, big names

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• The $9 million club
• Lessons and blame with Jaden Rashada
• Boosters and ROI market forces
• Clemson makes bold move
• The ripple effect at TCU, Arkansas
• Ole Miss with a monster week
• Alabama's coaching vacancies
• Mike Gundy catching lightning twice?
• Michigan winning all over (sort of)
• Oregon, Pac-12 surging
• Florida State momentum continues
• NFL Draft deadline winners, losers
• Transfer Portal winners, losers

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We take a deep dive into the most overrated preseason teams of the last 25 years since the advent of the BCS. How many times are top 10 teams finishing with losing records? Who is overrated? And why is it happening? Are there any trends and is Notre Dame actually always overrated? We also discuss the open Commissioner chair in the Big Ten.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We dissect our never-too-early preseason top 25 for 2023. There are a lot of new faces and names. But the more things change, the more they stay the same at the top of the sport. Follow along at AthlonSports.com 

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Georgia's utter domination caps 2022
• Don't change your mind on TCU, though
• Stetson Bennett's insane career
• Kirby Smart's future
• Who were the best teams in 2022?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, previewing the national championship game between Georgia and TCU.

• Bobby Petrino lands at Texas A&M
• Jim Harbaugh is flirting with the NFL
• No tailgating at 430 pm local time
• The setting for the title game
• TCU's truly incomparable run
• Sonny Dykes unlikely retread
• Stetson Bennett's unprecedented career
• Building blocks of a TCU upset
• Max Duggan superman
• What to do with Quentin Johnston?
• UGa keeps it simple
• Patience and blue chips
• Final Predictions
• A case for and against expansion

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys recap the best night of college football playoff action in history as TCU defeated Michigan and Georgia outlasted Ohio State. We touch on the national title match-up and break down New Year's Eve.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• The playoffs are here!
• Coaching pressure, implications
• TCU's house money, nothing to lose
• Michigan's unfinished business
• Jim Harbaugh's QB gamble
• Lack of turnovers
• Offensive lines
• CJ Stroud vs. Stetson Bennett
• Attacking UGa's defense
• Finding the path to the upset
• Final predictions

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• National Signing Day stories
• New Big Ten, SEC rankings
• The bottom 10 power 5 classes
• Overachievers, underachievers
• The real story is there's no story
• December cannot hold all of this
• How do fans prioritize content?
• Portal vs. Recruiting?
• Coaching changes vs. bowl games?
• Layers of chaos
• Adding playoff games to the madness
• Another week of bowl games
• More first-time match-ups!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Mike Leach's legacy
• Personality vs. Scheme
• Authentic stubborness
• Most influential schemes of the era
• Spread, zone read, RPO, four-wide
• Mississippi St tabs Zach Arnett
• Purdue finds Jeff Brohm's replacement
• Navy's bizarro mistake
• Previewing the first week of bowls
• UTSA vs. Troy
• Florida vs. Oregon St
• SMU vs. BYU
• Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama

Chris Childers joins to tell some Mike Leach stories.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Heisman Finalist: Did they get it right?
• Just best players on best teams?
• Best non-QBs in the game are... who?
• Jim Harbaugh's Lane Kiffin moment
• What has Michigan done differently?
• Can Deion Sanders win at Colorado?
• Coach Prime risk vs. reward
• Scott Satterfield gets out ahead
• Jeff Brohm finally returns home
• Purdue should SPEND MONEY
• Jamey Chadwell to... Liberty?
• Trent Dilfer. Seriously, Trent Dilfer?
• Barry Odom, Kevin Wilson, Alex Golesh
• Transfer Portal is open for business

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall are joined by former Cover 2 host Mitch Light of TheAthletic.com to react to the final '22 Final Playoff rankings and matchups?

• Did committee get it right?
• Pressure on Ryan Day, Ohio St
• OSU offense vs. UGa defense
• TCU's incredible journey
• Michigan's experience
• Big brand bias is dead
• SEC bias is dead
• Bama fatigue vs. Ohio St fatigue

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, preview championship weekend and predict what will happen in Sunday's final playoff rankings.

• Utah vs. USC
• Kansas St vs. TCU
• UCF at Tulane
• Purdue vs. Michigan
• LSU vs. Georgia
• Clemson vs. North Carolina
• Fresno St at Boise State
• Coastal Carolina at Troy
• North Texas at UTSA
• Toledo vs. Ohio

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The penultimate rankings are out - there are no surprises - and a bunch of power five jobs got filled.

• Shouldn't TCU be treated like Georgia, Michigan?
• Is USC the most dangerous team in the country?
• Why Bama should be ahead of Tennessee
• Ohio State is the committee's backstop
• Hugh Freeze has been hired at Auburn
• On-field chaos vs. off-field chaos
• Big boy moves by Wisconsin
• Nebraska doesn't need splashy
• Arizona St hires Kenny Dillingham
• Interim coaching trends?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, rivalry week and Thanksgiving football! We talk coaching rumors, video games, playoff rankings, championship Saturday implications and offer our picks against the spread.

• Michigan at Ohio State
• Notre Dame at USC
• Oregon at Oregon State
• Tulane at Cincinnati
• Mississippi State at Ole Miss
• Washington at Washington State
• Baylor at Texas, Iowa St at TCU
• South Carolina at Clemson
• Auburn at Alabama
• Louisville at Kentucky
• Florida at Florida State
• Two dozen other awesome games!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys break down the third set of Playoff rankings, preview Week 12 and try to keep picking winners. Cause that's all they do now. 

• USC at UCLA
• Utah at Oregon
• TCU at Baylor
• Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
• Illinois at Michigan
• Iowa at Minnesota
• Ole Miss at Arkansas
• Georgia at Kentucky
• Kansas State at West Virginia
• Texas at Kansas
• NC State at Louisville

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys preview Week 11 and offer up their picks against the spread.

• TCU at Texas
• Alabama at Ole Miss
• LSU at Arkansas
• Georgia at Mississippi St
• Washington at Oregon
• Kansas St at Baylor
• Purdue at Illinois
• UCF at Tulane
• North Carolina at Wake Forest
• Louisville at Clemson
• Florida St at Syracuse
• Wisconsin at Iowa

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall breakdown the second edition of college football rankings - even though we really don't love what it does to our brains. So we did it our way. 

• Who are you not where are you ranked
• Clemson's chances at getting back in
• The Pac-12 is the real concern
• Why is UCLA seperated from USC, Oregon?
• One-loss debates abound
• TCU has to handle it's business
• Can LSU jump the rest of the SEC?
• USF's Grumors are... ridiculous, right?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Auburn has decided to out-Auburn itself but doing the most Auburn things possible. What could it mean for the coaching dominoes? Then the guys preview Week 10 and offer up picks against the spread.

• Tennessee at Georgia
• Alabama at LSU
• Clemson at Notre Dame
• Texas at Kansas St
• Wake Forest at NC State
• Liberty at Arkansas
• Florida St at Miami
• Oregon St at Washington
• Maryland at Wisconsin
• Baylor at Oklahoma
• BYU at Boise St

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football and the first playoff rankings of the season. 

• Predicting how the committee works
• Secret SEC playoff committee conspiracy
• How close losses should be viewed
• Why Bama is ahead of TCU
• Tennessee's remarkable run to No. 1
• "Ranked at the time" is so dumb
• Why a Top 40 would be so much better
• Kirby LOVES these rankings

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys preview Week 9, talk through the grind of October and offer up their top bets against the spread.

• Ohio St at Penn St
• Oklahoma St at Kansas St
• Kentucky at Tennessee
• Cincinnati at UCF
• Utah at Washington St
• Ole Miss at Texas A&M
• Florida vs. Georgia
• Michigan St at Michigan
• TCU at West Virginia
• Notre Dame at Syracuse
• Baylor at Texas Tech

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Who is the No. 1 team in college football? Then we preview Week 8 and offer picks against the spread.

• UCLA at Oregon
• Texas at Ok-State
• Kansas St at TCU
• Ole Miss at LSU
• Syracuse at Clemson
• Mississippi St at Alabama
• Minnesota at Penn St
• Purdue at Wisconsin
• Iowa at Ohio St
• Texas A&M at South Carolina
• Kansas at Baylor

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall take mid-season stock of the 2022 college football season. How do we measure excitement and greatness? How should "rankings" be consumed and how should they be viewed? Does the committee deserve more (or less) credit? We apologize to some teams, the audience and to each other about what we've gotten wrong so far. And we look ahead at potential some dream championship game matchups.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. What is happening at Auburn, Louisville and Stanford and does Matt Rhule return to college football? Then the guys preview a huge Week 7 and offer picks against the spread.

• Alabama at Tennessee
• Penn St at Michigan
• USC at Utah
• Oklahoma St at TCU
• NC State at Syracuse
• Clemson at Florida St
• Mississippi State at Kentucky
• Minnesota at Illinois
• LSU at FLorida
• Nebraska at Purdue
• Kansas at Oklahoma

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys analyze how the changing landscape of college football is impacting athletic department decision making. Which jobs are valuable? Which jobs are overrated? Which jobs could come open soon? Then we preview Week 6:

• Utah at UCLA
• Tennessee at LSU
• TCU at Kansas
• Texas A&M at Alabama
• Arkansas at Mississippi St
• Texas vs. Oklahoma
• Florida St at NC State
• Wazzu at USC
• BYU at Notre Dame
• Farmageddon
• North Carolina at Miami

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 5 of the college football season and offer their picks against the spread.

• This week's Sacko Bowl!
• NC State-Clemson
• Bama-Arkansas
• Michigan-Iowa
• Ok State-Baylor
• Kentucky-Ole Miss
• Texas A&M-Mississippi St
• Washington-UCLA
• Wake Forest-Florida St
• Oklahoma-TCU
• Oregon St-Utah
• Texas Tech-Kansas St
• Iowa St-Kansas

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The guys have a few reminders for fans as it pertains to coaching searches before previewing Week 4 and offering their picks against the spread.

• Florida-Tennessee
• Arkansas-Texas A&M
• USC-Oregon St
• Clemson-Wake Forest
• Baylor-Iowa St
• Oregon-Wazzu
• Wisconsin-Ohio St
• Maryland-Michigan
• Kansas St-Oklahoma
• Minnesota-Michigan St 

Notre Dame-North Carolina, Duke-Kansas, Texas-Texas Tech, Stanford-Washington, Mizzou-Auburn, West Virginia-Virginia Tech, Utah-Arizona St and more.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, preview Week 3, talk about Nebraska's coaching search and offer up picks against the spread.

• Miami at Texas A&M
• Penn St at Auburn
• BYU at Oregon
• Michigan St at Washington
• Mississippi St at LSU
• Oklahoma at Nebraska
• Fresno St at USC
• Florida St at Louisville
• UTSA at Texas
• Texas Tech at NC State
• Georgia at South Carolina
• Kansas at Houston
• Purdue at Syracuse

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview week 2 of the college football season and make official picks against the spread:

• Baylor at BYU
• Bama at Texas
• Kentucky at Florida
• Tennessee at Pitt
• The CyHawk Trophy
• Oregon St at Fresno St
• South Carolina at Arkansas
• USC at Stanford
• Mississippi St at Arizona
• Washington St at Wisconsin
• Missouri at Kansas St

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall breakdown the new playoff format for college football. 

• Why is expansion good for the game? 
• Will it actually devalue the regular season?
• Six automatic bids, six at-large bids
• How they're determining seeding if FUBAR
• What about scheduling and timing?
• A simple solution to making players play more
• Should the playoff re-seed after round one?
• The biggest and most insane flaw!
• No, seriously, we are pissed off.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview week 1 of the college football season and make official picks against the spread:

• Utah at Florida
• Oregon vs. Georgia
• Notre Dame at Ohio St
• Florida St vs. LSU
• Cincinnati at Arkansas
• NC State at East Carolina
• Boise St at Oregon St
• Clemson vs. Georgia Tech
• Houston at UTSA
• North Carolina at App St
• Memphis at Mississippi St

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We announce our in-season schedule with some new twists. What does the new contract with the Big Ten mean for fans? We make our Final College Football Playoff Predictions and give you our top win total futures bets. Oh yeah, and we get to preview Week 0!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We have preseason awards to give out to teams, units and players. But these are not your ordinary awards. Like... who are the most underrated defensive units in America? Who are the biggest QB heel turns of 2022? And which Group of 5 team has the best offensive skill players? You know, normal stuff.

CORRECTED AUDIO: Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as camps are opening up across the country. We've got some bad news from Wake Forest camp and some historic news in the Big Ten. Then we give you the best anonymous scouting reports from across the country.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Recapping Pac-12 media day performance
• Who is making these alignment decisions?
• Why a 16-team playoff won't happen
• What would a 12-team look like in 2022
• What is the correct format?
• Who gets the first round byes?
• (12) Cincinnati at (5) Texas A&M
• (9) USC at (8) Utah
• (10) Oregon at (7) Notre Dame
• (11) Baylor at (6) Michigan

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football

• Have we ever known less about these teams?
• Why we are so excited about the season
• Grading the Media Days performances
• Kevin Warren and Jim Philips
• What is actually happening in realignment?
• What are the Pac-12 schools going to do?
• Does the B1G want to get bigger?
• Why CBS and Big 12 are huge players
• Predictions about counter-programming
• New transfer rules are smart and good

Braden Gall catches up with ESPN's Ian Fitzsimmons to talk conference realignment, the time frame for action from the Big 12 or Pac-12 before they argue about actual football teams. Like, say, who is going to win the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12? How to build a winning program? How to hire good coaches?

Braden Gall and Chris Childers hang out from Atlanta at SEC Media Days to discuss the past, present and future of college football. What is happening to the game? Who can be the last team into the college football playoff? The ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 races are more interesting. The guys catch up in Atlanta.

No one is more connected on conference expansion and realignment than Action Network's Brett McMurphy. Braden Gall had a chance to talk with Brett at SEC Media Days in Atlanta about the Big 12 trying to absorb the Pac-12, what Notre Dame is going to do, what happens to the SEC, the Group of 5 and where college football will be in less than 10 years. He's scared, folks. 

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. What is the latest with expansion as the SEC appears to be standing firm, the Big 12 is "open for business" and one move the Pac-12 needs to make today. Then we roll through the Playoff contenders' biggest upset alerts. Which trap games will define the 2022 championship races? And two recruiting theories about former powerhouses and how we will hire coaches in the future.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, expansion and drama. What are the options for the Big 12 and Pac-12? A full partnership or partial merger or hostile takeover? How ESPN will play a huge role in what happens to the ACC? Why the SEC and Big Ten will fight over Virginia and North Carolina. What's the latest with ND and why the SEC wants them to stay independent.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall call an emergency family meeting after the news of USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten on Thursday. Who is making these decisions and why? Is their calculus right about sacrificing charm for ratings? How ND holds the ACC's future in their palm. Should the Pac-12 and Big 12 join forces? Can these big market forces be stopped or, at least, slowed at all?

The band is back together for our favorite episode of the year: Our 2022 Dream College Football Road Trip - the ORIGINAL college football dream road trip, we might add. Mitch Light of The Athletic returns to join Steven Lassan and Braden Gall on this season's journey across college football.

The rules are simple: You are going to a football game every week of the year but can only see each team one time. Where are you going? Send us your trip on the socials or in a review. Let's ride!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Group of 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. Can anyone replicate what the Bearcats did last year, like say, Houston? The Mountain West is BACK, baby! Championship battles in the Sun Belt, C-USA and MAC are dead even. Which coaches do we like to rise through the ranks this fall? How good are Notre Dame, BYU and the rest of the Independents?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Pac-12, there are some strong favorites followed by tons of chaos that will make for a fantastic year of football. Can new coaches across the league build winners fast? Can established names bounce back? And who is the real favorite to win the Pac-12?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the ACC, the QB position is stronger than it's been in a long time and that will lead to lots of debates this summer. Can the ACC champ get into the Playoff? Who can establish their culture the quickest? And why is Tyler Van Dyke so underrated?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Big 12, the league is as wide open as ever as programs jostle for position before looming changes. It's one of the most balanced leagues in America.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the Big Ten, can the QB position develop and catch up to the defenses in this league?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. We preview every Power 5 conference by explaining our official 2022 predictions. In the SEC, the middle class is healthier than maybe ever before and could lead to one of the most unpredictable seasons in league history.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Who is this year's Michigan? Which teams outside of the preseason top 25 have the right recipe to make an unforseen playoff run? Which teams in the top 10 are sure to disappoint and make us look bad? And which scheduling model is best for college football? Should it be the same for all leagues? What's best for the fans and what's best for the sport? Also, FREE STUFF!

It's here! Magazines are here! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall explain the Athlon Sports preseason Top 25 for 2022. We touch on every single ranked team, every conference races and give away two free magazines!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher. Why are these two ego maniacs yelling at each other? What are the real reasons for this fued? And what does it actually mean for the future of college football. 

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Awesome magazine news!
• Free Stuff!
• Arch Manning recruitment
• Why it's unprecedented
• Who cares where he goes!
• His career will be studied 
• Nick Saban complains about parity
• Have we ever had it?
• Is there a way to legislate it?
• The top 10 jobs in America
• The top 3 are EASY!
• National title DNA
• Access and resources
• How can teams change status?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Magazines are put to bed!
• Two big QB transfers
• NCAA's mind-numbing stupidity
• Ripple effect of NCAA's decision
• Is this trial balloon, scare tactics?
• Divisions are going away!
• Why there's no reason to keep them
• How would scheduling work?
• New roster rules are smart
• Mike Leach's silly expansion tweet
• Conference title odds
• Where we agree, disagree
• Value bets in 2022

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. 

• Jordan Addison enters portal
• How to stop tampering?
• Riley, USC becoming villian
• Big dominoes fall in AAC
• What is next for OU, Texas?
• NFL hated 2022 QB class
• NFL loves 2023 QB class
• How many first rounders are there?
• Power 5 all-conference debates

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

We begin with Steven's scorching, smoldering, smokin' spring football takes. Then we dive into Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick's comments about the "inevitable" split coming to college football. We talk transfer portal stats and the biggest underachievers in college football.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. 

• JT Daniels heads to West Virginia
• Bama, UGa, Ohio St spring games
• Spring football is like parenting
• Nick Saban threatens college football
• NIL out of control or fair market?
• TV broadcast rights are up for grabs
• Big Ten-ESPN relationship
• What role will streamers play?
• Can CBS, NBC get back into CFB?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Dabo is probably right for once
• Spring game notes (sort of)
• Week 1 point spreads
• Nico Mania changes everything

We relive the first year of the BCS Era:

• Did it work
• A sign of things to come?
• Who deserved to be there?
• Did KSU, Tulane get hosed?
• Records across the board
• Ohio State's choke
• Hurricane and Hurricanes
• One redshirt freshman

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Today, we take you behind the curtain and show you how we begin to make predictions for the magazine. How we tier teams in each conference before deciding on champions and playoff teams. Who will compete for division titles? Which teams are on the second tier in each league? We also have some news out of the Big 12, the Sun Belt and with Mark Emmert.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Today, we grade all 29 new head football coaches in 2022. Which four Power 5 schools got "As" and which four schools got "Cs." Which first-time head coaches should be successful and which ones are concerning? How about Group of 5 retreads and rising stars? We graded them all.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• A 5-star QB commits and shows us exactly how important a "collective" is for your school.
• The worst possible job in college football.
• Our promise to you: A renewal of our vows to college football and to our core mission.
• Why the mainstream, national media is way too focused on the Playoff (but why they have to be).
• The most interesting teams who could contend for the Playoff.
• The most interesting teams that will be good but have nothing to do with the college football playoff.
• The most interesting big brands who will be improved this year (but aren't all that great).
• The most interesting Group of 5 teams.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Big magazine news
• Some 100% prime pod beef
• We were dead wrong
• Lots of NIL details

Spring QB Battles:

• Playoff Implications: Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan, Clemson
• Hot Seat Implications: Auburn, Arizona St, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Colorado
• Conference, Division Implications: Baylor, Penn St, Iowa, Texas, Washington, North Carolina, Pitt, LSU, Florida, Ole Miss

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• A review review
• GLOAT status and a thank you!
• Some positive attendance news
• Big Ten's, Sun Belt's growth
• FBS expansion, home experience
• Pac-12 historic low, ACC drops again
• Solutions to the problem
• Game too long, WiFi, good games
• Potential new rules announced
• Targeting, faking injury, blocking
• Who has used portal well?
• Who is over-using the portal?
• Who could use more portal?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. How do we determine and define what a returning starter is for the magazine? Who is returning the most talent in the Power 5? Who is returning the least starting talent in the Power 5? And how does all of that impact our magazine predictions? Which coaches get the benefit of the doubt?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• What did we expect?
• Selfishness, greed dominates
• Total chaos of last few years
• Will never get equity
• Charm vs. profits
• When was CFB small business?
• News: UK, UGa, Michigan, ASU
• Top 10 games of Week 1
• Notre Dame-Ohio St
• Oregon-Georgia
• LSU-Florida State
• Utah-Florida
• Cincinnati-Arkansas
• Backyard Brawl 

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. News and Notes:

• Auburn retains Bryan Harsin... why?
• Baylor, Cincinnati extend coaches
• C-USA, Sun Belt scheduling conflict

Transfer QB analysis and breakdown:

• Big 12's biggest brands using portal
• Big Ten's best teams are homegrown
• Pac-12 has the best transfer QBs
• SEC middle class propped up
• ACC is a total hodge podge
• G5: UCF, Mountain West, Fun Belt

Steven Lassen and Braden Gall talk college football. 

• ACC might be getting rid of divisions!
• (Why we still hate divisions)
• The real goal of playoff expansion
• What on earth is happening at Auburn?
• Importance of organizational alignment
• Which schools have it? Which don't?
• Texas, USC, Miami, OU, Ohio St?
• Josh Gattis leaves for Miami
• What does Michigan do?
• Braden was wrong about NFL carousel
• Super Bowl starting QB trivia

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Big Ten ditching divisions?
• Coaching drama: ASU, Auburn
• Jim Harbaugh coming back
• Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart
• Recruiting Outliers:
• Biggest overachievers
• Biggest underachievers
• What's going on in the Pac-12?
• How does future Big 12 look?
• Big Ten West needs a boost
• ACC staying power?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Some new rules, committee members
• Bama using portal in big way
• Hawaii update

Grading the first-year P5 coaches:

• Jedd Fisch, Arizona
• Bryan Harsin, Auburn
• Bret Bielema, Illinois
• Lance Leipold, Kansas
• Shane Beamer, South Carolina
• Josh Heupel, Tennessee
• Steve Sarkisian, Texas
• Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Grading the first-year G5 coaches from Blake Anderson at Utah State to Butch Jones at Arkansas State.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• What are the risks of the expansion stalemate?
• Why wouldn't SEC, Big Ten expand?
• Big 12 proposed divisions: Good and bad
• JT Daniels, Jaxson Dart, Caleb Williams
• Todd Graham's shocking Hawaii tenure
• Where do NFL playoff QBs come from?
• All of the evidence points to the Pac-12
• NFL Draft deadline: winners and losers
• QB play in 2022 will be MUCH better

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• What is holding up playoff expansion?
• Public sentiment wants expansion
• Automatic qualifiers helps who?
• What the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 care about?
• TV ratings for the national title: Up and down
• How to regain national interest?
• Big programs have follow the Ohio State model
• Just Do It: Hire recruiting assassins
• Early Top 25 2022 Rankings
• Bama, Ohio St, Georgia on top tier
• Clemson, Texas A&M, Michigan?
• Who has staying power: Utah, Mich. St, Wake?

The band is back together as Mitch Light from The Athletic joins Steven Lassan and Braden Gall to break down Georgia's national championship victory over Alabama.

• Drama, tension, talent leads to great game
• Injuries for Bama play big role
• Did Todd Monken, UGa evolve?
• Georgia defense got stops when it had to
• Kirby vs. Saban wasn't a factor
• How will this game be received nationally?
• Fighting the regionality of the sport
• Removing focus from the national title

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• TV ratings for the semifinals were bad
• TV expectations for the national title?
• Why were numbers down in 2020?
• Fatigue about the top of the sport?
• Does expansion fix this?
• Georgia's defensive approach
• Bryce Young's ability to beat man coverage
• Stetson Bennett will change the narrative
• Georgia's weapons getting healthy
• HAS Georgia innovated?
• Final game scores, predictions
• NFL coaching moves to impact college
• Caleb Williams big news

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Best two all year will play for natty
• Bama handles Cincinnati
• Bearcats deserve tons of credit
• What's Luke Fickell's future?
• Georgia's utter domination
• North-South talent differential
• Jim Harbaugh's legacy
• Georgia's adjustments for Alabama?
• Why fans will watch (why they won't)
• Expansion: How will it help?
• New Year's bowls teach us about expansion
• People still think bowl records matter?

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview the two national semifinal playoff games on New Year's Eve.

• New Year's Eve TV ratings
• Bowl game hijinks abound
• How a win for Cincy changes football
• The argument for the Bearcats defense
• Can Cincy stop Will Anderson?
• Georgia-Michigan similarities
• QB situations for both
• O-Line vs. D-Line
• Which offense evolves?
• New Year's college football resolutions

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview every single bowl game. But before they do we play a fun holiday bowl game called: "Real, Old or Fake." Play along with the guys OR play the at-home game. Either way, have a wonderful holiday bowl season!

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• What does the Travis Hunter story mean?
• NIL, transfer portal, early signing, HBCU's
• Stay calm and get used to new norms
• Reevaluating the early signing period
• Team recruiting rankings and the playoff
• New coaches at Oregon, Virginia and Duke
• New hiring philosophy: hiring coordinators
• Transfer portal QB chaos all over the country
• Bryce Young wins Heisman, Braden's ballot
• Previewing the first round of bowl games

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football.

• Army-Navy: Best football game all yeaer
• Miami doing things they've never done
• Why Mario Cristobal will crush at The U
• Upward mobility in the ACC, Pac-12
• Asking Brent Venables to carry OU into SEC
• Clemson has to replace more big pieces
• Oregon is extremely attractive
• Marcus Freeman's upside, risk at Notre Dame
• Josh Gattis award, Jim Knowles moves
• New G5 names at Fresno, Akron, Colorado St
• Virginia, Duke openings
• Heisman process, debate

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall offer instant reaction to Championship Weekend and the College Football Playoff bracket.

Instant predictions and analysis:

• (1) Bama vs. (4) Cincinnati
• (2) Michigan vs. (3) Georgia
• Who should've been No. 1?
• Who wins the national title?
• History is made by the committee
• Does the G5 actually want this?
• Rematch factor
• Critical games within the game
• Would Ok-State have gotten in?
• Historical context, stats, info

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview championship weekend in college football.

• Western Kentucky-UTSA
• Oregon-Utah
• Baylor-Ok State
• Kent St-Northern Illinois
• Utah St-San Diego St
• App St-Louisiana
• Georgia-Alabama
• Houston-Cincinnati
• Iowa-Michigan
• Wake Forest-Pitt (UVa, what?)

Special GLOAT announcement, listener feedback and season-ending show reviews.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall record a bonus episode of Cover 2 After Dark. We talk rankings and playoff implications, take a deep dive into the Brian Kelly to LSU news and what it means for Notre Dame. Hear from Dari Nowkhah about how Lincoln Riley left Norman. As well as some Virginia Tech and Washington talk.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talks college football.

Steven Lassan and Braden Gall preview Week 13.

• The Game
• Bedlam
• Iron Bowl
• Egg Bowl
• The Civil War
• Wisc-Minn
• Penn St-Michigan St
• UNC-NC State
• Wake-Boston College
• Boise St-San Diego St
• Cincinnati-ECU

Picks Against the Spread:

• Steven: 5-4 LW, 50-47 YTD 👍🏼
• Braden: 6-2 LW, 35-39 YTD 📈