In the slow days of the offseason, now would be a good time to talk about our favorite ways to follow College Football. Outside of Twitter (X, whatever...) how do you consume CFB news? I mainly listen to podcasts or watch them on YouTube, and honestly I think it's my favorite thing about modern college football. Back in the day (old man voice) all we had was 'professional' coverage (stiff), and mostly as a side act to other sports. Nowadays most teams have their own shows, conferences have their own shows, and then there are the more national shows. I enjoy the 'talkin ball' approach that a lot of these take, which is in no way diminishing their professionalism and unique ways they approach the sport. Most importantly I want to consume my college football talk from people who genuinely love the sport, and these all fit that bill. If I find a show with hosts that don't, or at least don't seem to, I'm out. I'm not a fan of call in shows, or the shock value approach... just not my thing. Shows like Pat McAfee or Paul Finebaum or Barstool feeds, I appreciate their place in the sport, but hey we've all got our preferences. Here are mine:
Split Zone Duo
SZD is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and (sometimes) Steven Godfrey have great insight into the programs behind the teams, and coaching searches/gossip. They cover the sport as a whole, with more attention to the G5 than anyone else outside of gambling podcasts (see later on the list). The approach is fun but can be light or serious depending the topic, but it's a smart show with great information. In depth program reviews, conference vibe checks, the fastest 30 (to 50) minute weekly recaps, there's so much here to love. A must listen.
Josh Pate's College Football Show
I'm a huge fan of Josh Pate and his show, I love the fact that he puts out his own power rating (JP Poll) which is very rare outside of gambling shows. A solo host that cares deeply for college football and doesn't shy away from speaking his mind on a range of topics, evaluating Pate State material or handing out a chalice of supremacy for a bold take. He takes a holistic view of CFB and can be a prisoner of the moment in times such as these when the sport decides to light it's rules and playoff format on fire seemingly every other week. Pate has his views on the Playoff format and expansion and how they will impact the sport in the future, and he's got my vote for CFB commissioner. But I also look forward to closing in on the season where we can leave the depressing stuff to the side and talk gas stations and football. Another must listen.
Cover 3 Podcast
Another national show by guys who simply love to talk ball. Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Bud Elliott & Danny Kanell are a fun watch, and also cover the sport as a whole and not just the big teams. They dive into gambling as well, which is right in my wheelhouse. They are my favorite resource to talk players, talent, motivation and the ups & downs for a teams season. Cover 3 is the resource I trust to say a kid can really play, or a coach simply isn't working out. A fun show that takes a lot of angles about teams, coaches & players, and Bud's Summer School series covering one team at a time in depth is the best preview you'll find in the game. This is another one of my must listen recommendations.
That SEC Podcast
No, I'm not an SEC 'fan'. I'm actually a Notre Dame fan who simply loves That SEC Podcast. Cousins Mike & Shane are so much fun, and genuinly love college football and talking about the teams in the SEC. I love the format, which is really just two guys having a blast talking ball around whatever topic they've chosen for the day. Yes, it's SEC focused, and they aren't shy about their feelings for teams outside of the conference. But let's be honest, if you're a CFB fan you're interested in SEC football, even though you may not root for any of the teams. Even if your allegiance is outside the SEC, I would absolutely recommend you check out this show.
Hit The Books
First gambling podcast on the list, and easily one of my favorites. Brad Powers and Joey Knish have great insight into CFB as a whole, and if you're looking for gambling value I would recommend this podcast first. They have shows early in the game weeks to get insight into matchups and line value, and their offseason conference previews are a must for anyone looking to lay some duckets. They are focused on all 136 teams in CFB, and every show will undoubtedly send me to my team info or ratings making small notes or adjustments. The guys have fun talking ball and bets, if that's your thing I highly recommend you check them out.
On3 - Andy Stapes, Ari Wasserman, J.D. PicKell
I'm cheating a bit as I'm combining two different shows, but Andy & Ari have a great thing going with daily shows during the week, even in the offseason. And J.D. PicKell's show The Hard Count is on multiple times a week as well, and brings great energy and insight to his coverage. Combined these are both fun to watch from guys that love the sport and have found very entertaining ways to cover it. The banter of Andy & Ari is a lot of fun, and they willingly put their takes out there for us to agree or disagree with. J.D. brings the insight with practice reports and genuine team vibes, along with his own predictions and takes. Not a lot of G5 coverage from these, their focus is more the mainstream of CFB, would absolutely recommend.
Phantom Island Podcast
I'm including this newer podcast because I'm a huge fan of Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni. If you've ever listened to the Single Wing, this is seemingly the place where that is going now (rather than Split Zone Duo as before). Godfrey brings the Gen X energy that I can relate to, and Nanni has a unique and comedic way of approaching CFB (see next entry). The show is weeks old, so I can't speak much to format or style yet, and they do cover things outside of CFB. But I'll follow CFB media if I like their approach, and these two are worth the follow.
Shutdown Fullcast
This is more a group chat within the Ethos of college football, but it's a truly fun show. Jason Kirk, Spencer Hall, Holly Anderson and Ryan Nanni (again) can end up talking about ancient civilization or the Red Dead Redemption video game, but it's always from a viewpoint of college football. It's a funny show, the only one my wife has actually listened to and laughed or asked about. But if you've read this far you know I'm all about people having fun talking about college football, and while this one certainly pushes way outside that boundry, it's a good time that I recommend you check out.
BBOC: College Sports Betting Picks & Strategy
The Action Networks Stuckey, Collin Wilson, Mike Calabrese and Brett McMurphy are another gambling podcast that I would recommend to CFB bettors. They've got great insight into the sport as a whole, and have a good time talking ball and bets. They take a realistic view on gambling, no hot takes or mortal locks of the year, just good coverage of all 136 teams, their coaches and players. They also do conference previews for all 11 conferences starting in late July, so I'd absolutely recommend you check them out later this summer.
College Football Enquirer
RIP to the PAAAD, but I'm including it here anyway. Dan Wetzel, Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger hosted my favorite CFB podcast until earlier this year. Wherever they land, I will follow. Dan Wetzel's rant on losing a COVID spring ball bet on Gardner-Webb is the still one of the funniest things I've ever heard. These guys had a lot of fun talking ball, dumb crinimals all the way to fat bear week. If and when these guys start new podcasts I will update this this for those interested.
What did I miss? There's certainly a lot of CFB media out there right now, and I don't know them all. Drop me a message and let me know what I'm missing out on @PuntandRally.
Split Zone Duo
SZD is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to. Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and (sometimes) Steven Godfrey have great insight into the programs behind the teams, and coaching searches/gossip. They cover the sport as a whole, with more attention to the G5 than anyone else outside of gambling podcasts (see later on the list). The approach is fun but can be light or serious depending the topic, but it's a smart show with great information. In depth program reviews, conference vibe checks, the fastest 30 (to 50) minute weekly recaps, there's so much here to love. A must listen.
Josh Pate's College Football Show
I'm a huge fan of Josh Pate and his show, I love the fact that he puts out his own power rating (JP Poll) which is very rare outside of gambling shows. A solo host that cares deeply for college football and doesn't shy away from speaking his mind on a range of topics, evaluating Pate State material or handing out a chalice of supremacy for a bold take. He takes a holistic view of CFB and can be a prisoner of the moment in times such as these when the sport decides to light it's rules and playoff format on fire seemingly every other week. Pate has his views on the Playoff format and expansion and how they will impact the sport in the future, and he's got my vote for CFB commissioner. But I also look forward to closing in on the season where we can leave the depressing stuff to the side and talk gas stations and football. Another must listen.
Cover 3 Podcast
Another national show by guys who simply love to talk ball. Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Bud Elliott & Danny Kanell are a fun watch, and also cover the sport as a whole and not just the big teams. They dive into gambling as well, which is right in my wheelhouse. They are my favorite resource to talk players, talent, motivation and the ups & downs for a teams season. Cover 3 is the resource I trust to say a kid can really play, or a coach simply isn't working out. A fun show that takes a lot of angles about teams, coaches & players, and Bud's Summer School series covering one team at a time in depth is the best preview you'll find in the game. This is another one of my must listen recommendations.
That SEC Podcast
No, I'm not an SEC 'fan'. I'm actually a Notre Dame fan who simply loves That SEC Podcast. Cousins Mike & Shane are so much fun, and genuinly love college football and talking about the teams in the SEC. I love the format, which is really just two guys having a blast talking ball around whatever topic they've chosen for the day. Yes, it's SEC focused, and they aren't shy about their feelings for teams outside of the conference. But let's be honest, if you're a CFB fan you're interested in SEC football, even though you may not root for any of the teams. Even if your allegiance is outside the SEC, I would absolutely recommend you check out this show.
Hit The Books
First gambling podcast on the list, and easily one of my favorites. Brad Powers and Joey Knish have great insight into CFB as a whole, and if you're looking for gambling value I would recommend this podcast first. They have shows early in the game weeks to get insight into matchups and line value, and their offseason conference previews are a must for anyone looking to lay some duckets. They are focused on all 136 teams in CFB, and every show will undoubtedly send me to my team info or ratings making small notes or adjustments. The guys have fun talking ball and bets, if that's your thing I highly recommend you check them out.
On3 - Andy Stapes, Ari Wasserman, J.D. PicKell
I'm cheating a bit as I'm combining two different shows, but Andy & Ari have a great thing going with daily shows during the week, even in the offseason. And J.D. PicKell's show The Hard Count is on multiple times a week as well, and brings great energy and insight to his coverage. Combined these are both fun to watch from guys that love the sport and have found very entertaining ways to cover it. The banter of Andy & Ari is a lot of fun, and they willingly put their takes out there for us to agree or disagree with. J.D. brings the insight with practice reports and genuine team vibes, along with his own predictions and takes. Not a lot of G5 coverage from these, their focus is more the mainstream of CFB, would absolutely recommend.
Phantom Island Podcast
I'm including this newer podcast because I'm a huge fan of Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni. If you've ever listened to the Single Wing, this is seemingly the place where that is going now (rather than Split Zone Duo as before). Godfrey brings the Gen X energy that I can relate to, and Nanni has a unique and comedic way of approaching CFB (see next entry). The show is weeks old, so I can't speak much to format or style yet, and they do cover things outside of CFB. But I'll follow CFB media if I like their approach, and these two are worth the follow.
Shutdown Fullcast
This is more a group chat within the Ethos of college football, but it's a truly fun show. Jason Kirk, Spencer Hall, Holly Anderson and Ryan Nanni (again) can end up talking about ancient civilization or the Red Dead Redemption video game, but it's always from a viewpoint of college football. It's a funny show, the only one my wife has actually listened to and laughed or asked about. But if you've read this far you know I'm all about people having fun talking about college football, and while this one certainly pushes way outside that boundry, it's a good time that I recommend you check out.
BBOC: College Sports Betting Picks & Strategy
The Action Networks Stuckey, Collin Wilson, Mike Calabrese and Brett McMurphy are another gambling podcast that I would recommend to CFB bettors. They've got great insight into the sport as a whole, and have a good time talking ball and bets. They take a realistic view on gambling, no hot takes or mortal locks of the year, just good coverage of all 136 teams, their coaches and players. They also do conference previews for all 11 conferences starting in late July, so I'd absolutely recommend you check them out later this summer.
College Football Enquirer
RIP to the PAAAD, but I'm including it here anyway. Dan Wetzel, Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger hosted my favorite CFB podcast until earlier this year. Wherever they land, I will follow. Dan Wetzel's rant on losing a COVID spring ball bet on Gardner-Webb is the still one of the funniest things I've ever heard. These guys had a lot of fun talking ball, dumb crinimals all the way to fat bear week. If and when these guys start new podcasts I will update this this for those interested.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Please do not break this great sport of ours. I say ours, because I'm a fan, writing on behalf of other fans. We all have our own allegiances, but we all love this sport and don't want it ruined. If we wanted an NFL lite we'd be NFL fans, college football is special. It's imperfections are part of the charm, and nothing else in sports gets us excited like seeing a lesser known school beating one of the blue bloods. Take all your Bama/Georgia games, your playoff games, your national title games... keep em. Northern Illinois beating Notre Dame was the most memorable game from 2025. The path that you (SEC/B1G/ACC/B12) seem hell bent on taking will remove that possibility. And that's what you don't understand, or don't care about. You want big games, more playoff matchups and ultimately more money. We want App State to beat Michigan and we've hardly had more fun than watching Boise State take down Oklahoma in an otherwise 'meaningless' bowl game. It's the soul of college football, and it should be respected as such.
The fact is that you P4 conferences hold more power over this sport than any others in history, and your rhetoric is quite concerning. I won't pretend to know all that you do, I can only give you my perspective as a fan, that I believe most fans would agree with. There are two factions here, the first being the SEC and Big Ten, as they hold more power than everyone else. They are already talking about leaving the NCAA and forming their own enterprise, at least for football. The ACC and the Big 12 are taking meetings with venture capital firms to discuss billion dollar, private-equity backed super leagues. All of you, please stop this nonsense. If private equity gets involved, this thing of ours is over. If you further divide (or effectively end) the difference between Georgia and Georgia State, this thing of ours is over. A few of you will get very rich, and 99% of everyone else involved in college football will lose.
Have you considered the ratings for last years playoffs? Did it not tell a story that college football works between late August and January 1st? The longer the season goes, the more people lose interest. Die hards like me will watch anything, all year round. But you've gotten a solid data point that you've already expanded beyond interest. If you rip apart the (currently 136) programs you will lose more diehards, like you already have on the West Coast. You killed the Pac 12, Wazzu and Oregon State have been relegated, UCLA, Stanford & Cal are falling faster now in their liferaft alliances, even USC is floundering in their new midwestern existence...
I'm so tired of this. I'm tired of such a great sport hell bent on devouring itself. I'm tired of the negative headlines that this stuff generates. I wonder how a sport that markets itself by its flaws is even attracting new fans. How are your demographics, are you losing the younger generations? It would not surprise me. Ever year fans have to learn new teams, new conference affiliations, new playoff formats... It's too much to keep track of, and turns people off. This is a great thing we have, celebrate it, promote it, love it. And for the love of everything holy, please stop trying to kill it. Find new careers if this isn't a passion, let people who deeply care about this sport be in charge.
If I had the opportunity to make a case to the P4, that would be it. From reading the quotes out of spring meetings, this latest CFB mess is about the playoff format, and their lack of trust in the CFP selection committee. I watch CFB media like Josh Pate and Joel Klatt raging against 'board rooms', as if we haven't lived this existence for more than a decade already. Is it perfect? Absolultely not, and I don't need it to be. We're no longer arguing about the 4th best team each year, we're down to the 12th, and probably soon the 16th. Pate & Klatt feel this will further divide the sport, a view I can respect but disagree with. I believe they are overlooking the impact of writing official rules that the SEC and Big Ten are at least twice as important as other conferences. I also think once you make conference standings all that matter to make the CFP, out of conference games become meaningless. And why is it that we don't think we can find 13 people capable of making good decisions about who makes the playoffs? If the committee is bad, change it. Put people on that actually watch all the games, not sitting athletic directors who watch their women's tennis teams on fall weekends. Put one or two analytics personel on the committee, people that can actually build and argue metrics like strength of schedule... But hey, guys like Pate and Klatt make a good living talking about this stuff, I'm a guy with a website, so what do I know.
The fact is that you P4 conferences hold more power over this sport than any others in history, and your rhetoric is quite concerning. I won't pretend to know all that you do, I can only give you my perspective as a fan, that I believe most fans would agree with. There are two factions here, the first being the SEC and Big Ten, as they hold more power than everyone else. They are already talking about leaving the NCAA and forming their own enterprise, at least for football. The ACC and the Big 12 are taking meetings with venture capital firms to discuss billion dollar, private-equity backed super leagues. All of you, please stop this nonsense. If private equity gets involved, this thing of ours is over. If you further divide (or effectively end) the difference between Georgia and Georgia State, this thing of ours is over. A few of you will get very rich, and 99% of everyone else involved in college football will lose.
Have you considered the ratings for last years playoffs? Did it not tell a story that college football works between late August and January 1st? The longer the season goes, the more people lose interest. Die hards like me will watch anything, all year round. But you've gotten a solid data point that you've already expanded beyond interest. If you rip apart the (currently 136) programs you will lose more diehards, like you already have on the West Coast. You killed the Pac 12, Wazzu and Oregon State have been relegated, UCLA, Stanford & Cal are falling faster now in their liferaft alliances, even USC is floundering in their new midwestern existence...
I'm so tired of this. I'm tired of such a great sport hell bent on devouring itself. I'm tired of the negative headlines that this stuff generates. I wonder how a sport that markets itself by its flaws is even attracting new fans. How are your demographics, are you losing the younger generations? It would not surprise me. Ever year fans have to learn new teams, new conference affiliations, new playoff formats... It's too much to keep track of, and turns people off. This is a great thing we have, celebrate it, promote it, love it. And for the love of everything holy, please stop trying to kill it. Find new careers if this isn't a passion, let people who deeply care about this sport be in charge.
If I had the opportunity to make a case to the P4, that would be it. From reading the quotes out of spring meetings, this latest CFB mess is about the playoff format, and their lack of trust in the CFP selection committee. I watch CFB media like Josh Pate and Joel Klatt raging against 'board rooms', as if we haven't lived this existence for more than a decade already. Is it perfect? Absolultely not, and I don't need it to be. We're no longer arguing about the 4th best team each year, we're down to the 12th, and probably soon the 16th. Pate & Klatt feel this will further divide the sport, a view I can respect but disagree with. I believe they are overlooking the impact of writing official rules that the SEC and Big Ten are at least twice as important as other conferences. I also think once you make conference standings all that matter to make the CFP, out of conference games become meaningless. And why is it that we don't think we can find 13 people capable of making good decisions about who makes the playoffs? If the committee is bad, change it. Put people on that actually watch all the games, not sitting athletic directors who watch their women's tennis teams on fall weekends. Put one or two analytics personel on the committee, people that can actually build and argue metrics like strength of schedule... But hey, guys like Pate and Klatt make a good living talking about this stuff, I'm a guy with a website, so what do I know.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
There's a lot that I love about College Football, but it's certainly not perfect, frankly it never has been. But it's quirks used to be fun to rag on and a source of endless entertainment, and now things have gotten much more serious. I'll address the important stuff in a later post, for now here's a list of things that are sure to grind my gears about the 2025 college football season.
Akron
As if going 15-63 over the past eight years wasn't bad enough, the Zips went ahead and got themselves pre-banned from the 2025 bowl season for an APR score of 914. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means Akron decided 'we ain't come here to play skool'.
Greg Sankey & Toni Petitti
The supreme leaders of the Power 2 are insisting their poor, underpriveledged conferences get 4 automatic playoff bids each in the next iteration of the now one year old expanded playoff system. It's one of the most disgraceful demands in sports, and dare I say un-American. Playoff spots should be earned, not reserved.
Kent State
Oh Kent, this can't be fun for anyone other than your opponents. I take no issue in the Golden Flashes playing inferior football, but when you have 1 more win than I have since December of 2023 and your head coach spent last year fleecing boosters, it may be time to either start caring about football or start thinking Ohio Valley Conference. The best thing I can find about your 2025 squad is your QB Devin Kargman's glorious hair.
Prime Haters
Prime inherited a 1 win team in 2022 and took them to a 9 win season and an Alamo Bowl last season. Whatever argument just ran through your head to shout back at me, read that line again. It was an incredible job, and I have zero business judging how he did it. Prime is fun, Colorado football has been must watch, and I am genuinely interested to see what Deion can build this program into after this start.
Maryland
Mike Locksley is a terrible head coach and the Terps belong in the ACC. Kevin Anderson is my mortal enemy still to this day for firing Ralph Friedgen and pushing Gary Williams out of College Park. Back then Maryland had a national championship in basketball and an ACC conference championship in football until he Brockmire'd it.
Michigan Scandals
It's time to stop all the Michigan hate. Did they cheat? You bet your ugly winged helmet they did. But they did what countless schools have done, they found an advantage, illegal as it was, and used it in some form on their way to winning a national championship. Connor Stallions did not mis-snap a hundred balls for Alabama to make them lose that game and Ohio State can dig up all the Zapruder films they want, they won't find one that shows the Buckeyes with more points than Michigan in any game since 2019. We all lost, Michigan won, let's just move on.
Nick Iamaleava
I hope there's a happy ending to this Father Iamaleava saga, but honestly I don't want to hear about him anymore. Nico and Madden are the present and future QBs of the UCLA Bruins, a match made in heaven. None of them have seemingly any interest in playing good football other than a source of money. While I have empathy for these two kids being wronged by a parent, I have none for a football program with the advantages of USC and the interest of an emo teen.
UAB
UAB chose to hire a local high school coach to succeed the legendary Bill Clark, because it was 'That guy won a Super Bowl' Trent Dilfer. Dilfer is 7-17 over two years while making comments like 'It's not like this is freakin' Alabama' after a 41-18 pummeling at the hands of Navy. UAB fans deserve better.
Kentucky
This is more a makes me sad entry, but the Mark Stoops era of Kentucky football feels like it's in its mediation stage. Going 77-73 at Kentucky should come with a statue, not this. But after a 4-8 season with a 1-6 finish, preceded by Stoops public flirtation with the A&M job, things aren't looking so hot in 2025 either. No man of his stature and accomplishment should be thinking 'Help me Zach Calzada, you're my only hope'
Jordon Hudson
I was blissfully unaware that Bill Belichick was dating a junior prom queen and I want to return to that ignorance. I'm sure Jordon Hudson is lovely, but she is an absolute failure at whatever she is supposed to be doing for Belichick.
Cincinnati
Bearcat athletic director John Cunningham inherited a football program lead by Luke Fickell barreling his way to the the first CFP bid for a G5 program. He then hired Scott Satterfield to tear it back down. He saw Satterfield's 25-24 record at Louisville and thought... something. Eight wins and two years later this mistake will continue to walk the plank of mediocrity until it's rectified.
Oklahoma State
He's a man, and he's still only 57. But Mike Gundy's Ok State program is falling off a cliff and things don't look any better this year. Gundy is a pure CFB coach, endlessly entertainly while culturally obvilious. He's the Spurrier of the mid-south, if the HBC was a Fox News junky. He's fun, and he's a Cowboy legend for his 11 year, 169-88 career. But it's getting sad and unless he can unflush this program it's going to get even sadder.
New Mexico State
Bad coaching hires make me crazy. Jerry Kill was a great but short lived coach for the Aggies, and athletic director Mario Moccia used that momentum that New Mexico State desperately needed, only to hire Tony Sanchez and his 20-40 record at UNLV. Moccia was fired for a much more serious reason, but this hire would've been enough for me.
The ACC Bottom
In a CFB landscape rapidly deteriorating into have an have-nots, the bottom half of the ACC still commanding P4 level access is ridiculous. They are the reason the media deal sucks, and a good part why FSU and Clemson tried to sue their way out. And most simply aren't charming or interesting. I count North Carolina in this class because they repeatedly make football decisions like a toddler program building on Xbox. Get better or get in the American.
Louisiana Tech
Sonny Cumbie is 11-25 in his 3 years in Ruston, LA, with 3 FCS wins and 5-1 vs UTEP and Middle Tennessee. Cumbie once pulled the media credentials of a local beat writer, Ben Carlisle of BleedTechBlue.com, for 'not being supportive enough.' The story reads like it's set in North Korea. Bulldog AD Ryan Ivey needs to flush this guy.
Alabama
They can't keep getting away with this. The final boss of college football for over a decade finally lost their GOAT head coach Nick Saban, and there was much rejoicing. That is until they hired Kalen DeBoer, and now I fear Bama will not go gently into the night. Despite what some Bama fans think, DeBoer is an almost perfect hire, and 2025 is going to prove that in Dixieland. CFB needs variety, and we already have Georgia and Ohio St to still deal with.
Hugh Freeze & D. J. Durkin
Freeze and Durkin are two people that should not be in charge of young men. Durkin proved that at MD, where a player died as a result of a culture he purposely promoted. Freeze is a cheater who paid players and used recruiting trips to frequent escort services. For these actions, I should love the guy. But he also uses his religion as a shield to hide behind a dark history of sexual misconduct and intimidating young women. But he can call an offense, so I guess that's what's important...
James Franklin Jokes
James Franklin is just a lot of fun to poke at. I look at this picture every day to remember when Franklin so awkwardly tried to big boy jab at Marcus Freeman only to get beat in devastating fashion in the Orange Bowl. But Franklin is a good coach, and the narrative about him isn't really fair. Penn State is going to be very good this year, and Franklin will get pelts to hang on his wall. RIP, big game James, it was fun while it lasted.
Larry Scott
It's not exactly 2025 material, but walk with me on this one, because if the superleague is our Death Star, Larry Scott is the snake alien in the trash compactor. Larry Scott killed an entire major conference by being the most incompetent shit stain in CFB C suite history. The man who famously stated 'You have to look at this based on where we’ll be after 10 years, not 3' saw USC & Oregon bolt for the Big Ten, the rest climbing on the life rafts of the Big 12 & ACC and Wazzu & Oregon State relegated to the G5 within those 10 years. He then scurried off with more than 50 million dollars from the 119 year old conference he destroyed. The guy entered CFB as the head of women's tennis and left in the worlds richest 1 percent. This guy wasn't a bad hire, he was a batman villian.
Akron
As if going 15-63 over the past eight years wasn't bad enough, the Zips went ahead and got themselves pre-banned from the 2025 bowl season for an APR score of 914. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means Akron decided 'we ain't come here to play skool'.
Greg Sankey & Toni Petitti
The supreme leaders of the Power 2 are insisting their poor, underpriveledged conferences get 4 automatic playoff bids each in the next iteration of the now one year old expanded playoff system. It's one of the most disgraceful demands in sports, and dare I say un-American. Playoff spots should be earned, not reserved.
Kent State
Oh Kent, this can't be fun for anyone other than your opponents. I take no issue in the Golden Flashes playing inferior football, but when you have 1 more win than I have since December of 2023 and your head coach spent last year fleecing boosters, it may be time to either start caring about football or start thinking Ohio Valley Conference. The best thing I can find about your 2025 squad is your QB Devin Kargman's glorious hair.
Prime Haters
Prime inherited a 1 win team in 2022 and took them to a 9 win season and an Alamo Bowl last season. Whatever argument just ran through your head to shout back at me, read that line again. It was an incredible job, and I have zero business judging how he did it. Prime is fun, Colorado football has been must watch, and I am genuinely interested to see what Deion can build this program into after this start.
Maryland
Mike Locksley is a terrible head coach and the Terps belong in the ACC. Kevin Anderson is my mortal enemy still to this day for firing Ralph Friedgen and pushing Gary Williams out of College Park. Back then Maryland had a national championship in basketball and an ACC conference championship in football until he Brockmire'd it.
Michigan Scandals
It's time to stop all the Michigan hate. Did they cheat? You bet your ugly winged helmet they did. But they did what countless schools have done, they found an advantage, illegal as it was, and used it in some form on their way to winning a national championship. Connor Stallions did not mis-snap a hundred balls for Alabama to make them lose that game and Ohio State can dig up all the Zapruder films they want, they won't find one that shows the Buckeyes with more points than Michigan in any game since 2019. We all lost, Michigan won, let's just move on.
Nick Iamaleava
I hope there's a happy ending to this Father Iamaleava saga, but honestly I don't want to hear about him anymore. Nico and Madden are the present and future QBs of the UCLA Bruins, a match made in heaven. None of them have seemingly any interest in playing good football other than a source of money. While I have empathy for these two kids being wronged by a parent, I have none for a football program with the advantages of USC and the interest of an emo teen.
UAB
UAB chose to hire a local high school coach to succeed the legendary Bill Clark, because it was 'That guy won a Super Bowl' Trent Dilfer. Dilfer is 7-17 over two years while making comments like 'It's not like this is freakin' Alabama' after a 41-18 pummeling at the hands of Navy. UAB fans deserve better.
Kentucky
This is more a makes me sad entry, but the Mark Stoops era of Kentucky football feels like it's in its mediation stage. Going 77-73 at Kentucky should come with a statue, not this. But after a 4-8 season with a 1-6 finish, preceded by Stoops public flirtation with the A&M job, things aren't looking so hot in 2025 either. No man of his stature and accomplishment should be thinking 'Help me Zach Calzada, you're my only hope'
Jordon Hudson
I was blissfully unaware that Bill Belichick was dating a junior prom queen and I want to return to that ignorance. I'm sure Jordon Hudson is lovely, but she is an absolute failure at whatever she is supposed to be doing for Belichick.
Cincinnati
Bearcat athletic director John Cunningham inherited a football program lead by Luke Fickell barreling his way to the the first CFP bid for a G5 program. He then hired Scott Satterfield to tear it back down. He saw Satterfield's 25-24 record at Louisville and thought... something. Eight wins and two years later this mistake will continue to walk the plank of mediocrity until it's rectified.
Oklahoma State
He's a man, and he's still only 57. But Mike Gundy's Ok State program is falling off a cliff and things don't look any better this year. Gundy is a pure CFB coach, endlessly entertainly while culturally obvilious. He's the Spurrier of the mid-south, if the HBC was a Fox News junky. He's fun, and he's a Cowboy legend for his 11 year, 169-88 career. But it's getting sad and unless he can unflush this program it's going to get even sadder.
New Mexico State
Bad coaching hires make me crazy. Jerry Kill was a great but short lived coach for the Aggies, and athletic director Mario Moccia used that momentum that New Mexico State desperately needed, only to hire Tony Sanchez and his 20-40 record at UNLV. Moccia was fired for a much more serious reason, but this hire would've been enough for me.
The ACC Bottom
In a CFB landscape rapidly deteriorating into have an have-nots, the bottom half of the ACC still commanding P4 level access is ridiculous. They are the reason the media deal sucks, and a good part why FSU and Clemson tried to sue their way out. And most simply aren't charming or interesting. I count North Carolina in this class because they repeatedly make football decisions like a toddler program building on Xbox. Get better or get in the American.
Louisiana Tech
Sonny Cumbie is 11-25 in his 3 years in Ruston, LA, with 3 FCS wins and 5-1 vs UTEP and Middle Tennessee. Cumbie once pulled the media credentials of a local beat writer, Ben Carlisle of BleedTechBlue.com, for 'not being supportive enough.' The story reads like it's set in North Korea. Bulldog AD Ryan Ivey needs to flush this guy.
Alabama
They can't keep getting away with this. The final boss of college football for over a decade finally lost their GOAT head coach Nick Saban, and there was much rejoicing. That is until they hired Kalen DeBoer, and now I fear Bama will not go gently into the night. Despite what some Bama fans think, DeBoer is an almost perfect hire, and 2025 is going to prove that in Dixieland. CFB needs variety, and we already have Georgia and Ohio St to still deal with.
Hugh Freeze & D. J. Durkin
Freeze and Durkin are two people that should not be in charge of young men. Durkin proved that at MD, where a player died as a result of a culture he purposely promoted. Freeze is a cheater who paid players and used recruiting trips to frequent escort services. For these actions, I should love the guy. But he also uses his religion as a shield to hide behind a dark history of sexual misconduct and intimidating young women. But he can call an offense, so I guess that's what's important...
James Franklin Jokes
James Franklin is just a lot of fun to poke at. I look at this picture every day to remember when Franklin so awkwardly tried to big boy jab at Marcus Freeman only to get beat in devastating fashion in the Orange Bowl. But Franklin is a good coach, and the narrative about him isn't really fair. Penn State is going to be very good this year, and Franklin will get pelts to hang on his wall. RIP, big game James, it was fun while it lasted.
Larry Scott
It's not exactly 2025 material, but walk with me on this one, because if the superleague is our Death Star, Larry Scott is the snake alien in the trash compactor. Larry Scott killed an entire major conference by being the most incompetent shit stain in CFB C suite history. The man who famously stated 'You have to look at this based on where we’ll be after 10 years, not 3' saw USC & Oregon bolt for the Big Ten, the rest climbing on the life rafts of the Big 12 & ACC and Wazzu & Oregon State relegated to the G5 within those 10 years. He then scurried off with more than 50 million dollars from the 119 year old conference he destroyed. The guy entered CFB as the head of women's tennis and left in the worlds richest 1 percent. This guy wasn't a bad hire, he was a batman villian.
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Mark Gronowski 
Iowa's offense sucks. Rinse, repeat, for years. But this year, if you're not at least curious what an Iowa team with a dynamic veteran QB looks like, honestly what are you doing here at Punt and Rally? The 6'3, 230 pound runner with real arm talent could be the missing link Kirk Ferentz has been searching for since, well, a long while. Gronowski can make throws that Hawkeye fans aren't used to, at least not in Black and Gold. He's used to playing in cold & shitty weather (South Dakota State) and has 93 career passing and 37 rushing TD's. If that doesn't convince you, check out these highlights. If you're still not excited, I'm not the droid you're looking for.
John Mateer
In a do or die year for Brent Venables, he's turned to Wazzu OC Ben Arbuckle and his star QB in Mateer. Mateer was a 3000+ yd passer and had 178 carries for 826 yds/15 TD's. He's an instant upgrade for this OU program that's forgotten how to field a competent QB under this staff. Hopefully they've decided to stop teaching the turnstyle OL play as well as field a WR corp that's less MASH unit and more typical Sooner weaponry. Adding Jayden Ott (Cal) in the spring tells me they are dead serious about actually moving the football forward in 2025. I'm expecting big things from Norman this season, and Mateer is the biggest reason why.
Devon Dampier
Utah is finally free of the will he/won't he madness of Cameron Rising. HC Kyle Whittingham found himself a playmaking baller out of New Mexico in Dampier. For you sickos that didn't watch the Lobos last year, Dampier threw for 2750+ and rushed for 1150+ and a total of 31 TD's. He also started a cool 0-4 including a loss to Montana State and had 19 turnovers. That said, the supporting cast is much better in Salt Lake City, starting with an offensive line that returns 5 starters and a couple of talented backs to take the heat off of him. He will need to find reliable targets, as the Utes WR/TE are in rebuild mode, but I'm excited to see how new OC Jason Beck unleashes Dampier this fall.
Demond Williams Jr
Williams started the last two games for Jedd Fisch last year and burst onto the scene with a 374 yard, 5 TD performance in the Sun Bowl vs Louisville. Now that he's QB1 with a full year under his belt, I think Williams is going to explode this year. New OC Jimmie Dougherty was Willams QB coach last year,, and he's now elevated to the OC role. The schedule sets up nicely with 2 should be easy W's before the Apple Cup vs Wazzu. I have the Huskies between 7-8 wins this year, and QB play is a big reason I see them making some noise in the Big Ten.
CJ Carr
Full disclosure, I'm a huge Irish fan. Last season was such an amazing run, and Riley Leonard was an incredible leader and dyanmic runner that nearly won the whole damn thing with mostly arm punts. Now we move onto Carr (probably), a highly touted Sophmore with a real live arm and more mobility than he's given credit for. Carr has been the fan favorite since he signed with ND, and from what little we've seen of him, he can absolutely spin the football. With playoff hero WR Jaden Greathouse back, Malachi Fields (UVA) added with others, Notre Dame should have a fun passing game to go with a top 3 running game in 2025. Now if only OC Mike Denbrock can teach Carr or Kenny Minchey to be an unstoppable man child runner on 3rd and 4...
Arch Manning
I mean, come on, it's Arch Manning. However this goes, it will be fun. But he looks scary good from what we've seen so far, and Texas is now a yearly CFP lock.
Jackson Arnold
Auburn could be really, really good this year. If the Tigers can keep Arnold upright with all playmakers they have at WR and a nasty defense, the Tigers will be in the SEC race. It's a critical 3rd year for Hugh Freeze, so stay loose, Tampa escorts.
Joey Aguilar/Nico Iamaleava
The future 30 for 30 on the Iamaleava family will be a must watch. For 2025, how does each handle his situation? Aguilar could be an instant cult hero in Knoxville. Nico and his brother Madden are now the present & future of Bruin football, if any of their 73 fans care.
Carson Beck
I will admit I have no idea how good Beck really is. He's a good QB, that I'm sure of, but how much more? Cam Ward was an incredible leader for the Canes, and word from Georgia is that isn't Beck's strongest asset. Like his dating life, there's a lotta ways this could go.
DJ Lagway
If Lagway can get and stay healthy, and improve his consistency, he's a Heisman finalist. He's already the reason Napier still roams the sidelines in Gainesville.
Bryce Underwood
Thanks to Mrs Oracle the Wolverines have a prodigy at QB. With all respect to Mikey Keene (Fresno transfer), I'm not interested. Michigan's offense has been like watching paint dry, and with Underwood at least it will be interesting paint.
Beau Pribula
Pribula looks like the next plucky Mizzu QB you'll suddenly be watching with great interest in November wondering how the Tigers are in still the SEC race.
The Powerhouses
2025 is setting up to be a wild year, as QB newcomers Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Dante Moore (Oregon), Ty Simpson (Alabama) and Gunner Stockton (Georgia) will each play a huge part in determining the national title race. As will Drew Allar (Penn St) in a make or break season, and make means actually win some big games. Cade Klubnik (Clemson) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) have the talent and rosters to make real noise this year. The majority of these QB's will be playing in the CFP.
Other Fun QB's worth watching
CJ Bailey would've been much higher on my list, but NC State hired Kurt Roper as their new OC so I just hope Bailey survives 2025 now. Gio Lopez is on my shit list for bailing on South Alabama for the Belichick carnival at North Carolina, but it doesn't make him less dynamic. Virginia technically has the 4th ranked passing yardage leader in Chandler Morris from North Texas. Sam Leavitt (ASU), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Rocco Becht (ISU), Josh Hoover (TCU), Avery Johnson (KSU), Jalon Daniels (KU) are all Big 12 QB's worth the price of admission. Luke Altmyer is a baller for Illinois, Dylan Raiola is now a 2nd year starter looking to build off an adequate freshman season at Nebraska, Fernando Mendoza (Cal) is a fun 2nd act for HC Curt Cignetti at Indiana and Jayden Maiava did some good things to finish last year at USC. Diego Pavia (Vandy) is back for hopefully a repeat as the savior of Nashville, Taylen Green (Arkansas) should be a lot of fun in his 2nd year under OC Petrino, LaNorris Sellers is an insane talent at QB and will take some big swings vs South Carolina's brutal schedule, and what we saw out of Austin Simmons at Ole Miss in the Georgia game was very promising. Can Zach Calzada finally be a competent SEC QB at Kentucky after chucking for 3400 yds and 32 TD's last year at Incarnate Word? Finally, watch out for KaMario Taylor at Miss St, if/when he takes over. Early word is he's a gifted athlete with a live arm, and HC Jeff Lebby's offense is as fun as his family is... problematic.
QB's for the Sickos
If you haven't watched JMU's Alonza Barnett, make it a priority in 2025. Maverick McIvor was a big pick up for Tyson Helton at Western Kentucky. I'm very interested to see new FBS member Missouri State and their 3500+ yard passer Jacob Clark. Owen McCown is back to run UTSA's fun offense under Jeff Traylor. New FIU coach Zach Kittley found a huge portal QB in Caden Vetkamp from WKU. Maddux Madsen is back for Boise, interested to see how he elevates now that all everything RB Ashton Jeanty is in NFL jail (aka a Raider). Blake Horvath is back for Navy with his 30 TDs from last years commander in chief trophy winners. Find some time to watch Walker Eget at San Jose State with their high flying offense under former option coach Ken Niumatalolo. Some others if you're so inclined would be Kadin Semonza at Tulane (from Ball St), JC French at Georgia Southern, EJ Warner at Fresno (from Rice), Parker Navarro at Ohio and Tucker Gleason at Toledo.
Iowa's offense sucks. Rinse, repeat, for years. But this year, if you're not at least curious what an Iowa team with a dynamic veteran QB looks like, honestly what are you doing here at Punt and Rally? The 6'3, 230 pound runner with real arm talent could be the missing link Kirk Ferentz has been searching for since, well, a long while. Gronowski can make throws that Hawkeye fans aren't used to, at least not in Black and Gold. He's used to playing in cold & shitty weather (South Dakota State) and has 93 career passing and 37 rushing TD's. If that doesn't convince you, check out these highlights. If you're still not excited, I'm not the droid you're looking for.
John Mateer
In a do or die year for Brent Venables, he's turned to Wazzu OC Ben Arbuckle and his star QB in Mateer. Mateer was a 3000+ yd passer and had 178 carries for 826 yds/15 TD's. He's an instant upgrade for this OU program that's forgotten how to field a competent QB under this staff. Hopefully they've decided to stop teaching the turnstyle OL play as well as field a WR corp that's less MASH unit and more typical Sooner weaponry. Adding Jayden Ott (Cal) in the spring tells me they are dead serious about actually moving the football forward in 2025. I'm expecting big things from Norman this season, and Mateer is the biggest reason why.
Devon Dampier
Utah is finally free of the will he/won't he madness of Cameron Rising. HC Kyle Whittingham found himself a playmaking baller out of New Mexico in Dampier. For you sickos that didn't watch the Lobos last year, Dampier threw for 2750+ and rushed for 1150+ and a total of 31 TD's. He also started a cool 0-4 including a loss to Montana State and had 19 turnovers. That said, the supporting cast is much better in Salt Lake City, starting with an offensive line that returns 5 starters and a couple of talented backs to take the heat off of him. He will need to find reliable targets, as the Utes WR/TE are in rebuild mode, but I'm excited to see how new OC Jason Beck unleashes Dampier this fall.
Demond Williams Jr
Williams started the last two games for Jedd Fisch last year and burst onto the scene with a 374 yard, 5 TD performance in the Sun Bowl vs Louisville. Now that he's QB1 with a full year under his belt, I think Williams is going to explode this year. New OC Jimmie Dougherty was Willams QB coach last year,, and he's now elevated to the OC role. The schedule sets up nicely with 2 should be easy W's before the Apple Cup vs Wazzu. I have the Huskies between 7-8 wins this year, and QB play is a big reason I see them making some noise in the Big Ten.
CJ Carr
Full disclosure, I'm a huge Irish fan. Last season was such an amazing run, and Riley Leonard was an incredible leader and dyanmic runner that nearly won the whole damn thing with mostly arm punts. Now we move onto Carr (probably), a highly touted Sophmore with a real live arm and more mobility than he's given credit for. Carr has been the fan favorite since he signed with ND, and from what little we've seen of him, he can absolutely spin the football. With playoff hero WR Jaden Greathouse back, Malachi Fields (UVA) added with others, Notre Dame should have a fun passing game to go with a top 3 running game in 2025. Now if only OC Mike Denbrock can teach Carr or Kenny Minchey to be an unstoppable man child runner on 3rd and 4...
Arch Manning
I mean, come on, it's Arch Manning. However this goes, it will be fun. But he looks scary good from what we've seen so far, and Texas is now a yearly CFP lock.
Jackson Arnold
Auburn could be really, really good this year. If the Tigers can keep Arnold upright with all playmakers they have at WR and a nasty defense, the Tigers will be in the SEC race. It's a critical 3rd year for Hugh Freeze, so stay loose, Tampa escorts.
Joey Aguilar/Nico Iamaleava
The future 30 for 30 on the Iamaleava family will be a must watch. For 2025, how does each handle his situation? Aguilar could be an instant cult hero in Knoxville. Nico and his brother Madden are now the present & future of Bruin football, if any of their 73 fans care.
Carson Beck
I will admit I have no idea how good Beck really is. He's a good QB, that I'm sure of, but how much more? Cam Ward was an incredible leader for the Canes, and word from Georgia is that isn't Beck's strongest asset. Like his dating life, there's a lotta ways this could go.
DJ Lagway
If Lagway can get and stay healthy, and improve his consistency, he's a Heisman finalist. He's already the reason Napier still roams the sidelines in Gainesville.
Bryce Underwood
Thanks to Mrs Oracle the Wolverines have a prodigy at QB. With all respect to Mikey Keene (Fresno transfer), I'm not interested. Michigan's offense has been like watching paint dry, and with Underwood at least it will be interesting paint.
Beau Pribula
Pribula looks like the next plucky Mizzu QB you'll suddenly be watching with great interest in November wondering how the Tigers are in still the SEC race.
The Powerhouses
2025 is setting up to be a wild year, as QB newcomers Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Dante Moore (Oregon), Ty Simpson (Alabama) and Gunner Stockton (Georgia) will each play a huge part in determining the national title race. As will Drew Allar (Penn St) in a make or break season, and make means actually win some big games. Cade Klubnik (Clemson) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) have the talent and rosters to make real noise this year. The majority of these QB's will be playing in the CFP.
Other Fun QB's worth watching
CJ Bailey would've been much higher on my list, but NC State hired Kurt Roper as their new OC so I just hope Bailey survives 2025 now. Gio Lopez is on my shit list for bailing on South Alabama for the Belichick carnival at North Carolina, but it doesn't make him less dynamic. Virginia technically has the 4th ranked passing yardage leader in Chandler Morris from North Texas. Sam Leavitt (ASU), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Rocco Becht (ISU), Josh Hoover (TCU), Avery Johnson (KSU), Jalon Daniels (KU) are all Big 12 QB's worth the price of admission. Luke Altmyer is a baller for Illinois, Dylan Raiola is now a 2nd year starter looking to build off an adequate freshman season at Nebraska, Fernando Mendoza (Cal) is a fun 2nd act for HC Curt Cignetti at Indiana and Jayden Maiava did some good things to finish last year at USC. Diego Pavia (Vandy) is back for hopefully a repeat as the savior of Nashville, Taylen Green (Arkansas) should be a lot of fun in his 2nd year under OC Petrino, LaNorris Sellers is an insane talent at QB and will take some big swings vs South Carolina's brutal schedule, and what we saw out of Austin Simmons at Ole Miss in the Georgia game was very promising. Can Zach Calzada finally be a competent SEC QB at Kentucky after chucking for 3400 yds and 32 TD's last year at Incarnate Word? Finally, watch out for KaMario Taylor at Miss St, if/when he takes over. Early word is he's a gifted athlete with a live arm, and HC Jeff Lebby's offense is as fun as his family is... problematic.
QB's for the Sickos
If you haven't watched JMU's Alonza Barnett, make it a priority in 2025. Maverick McIvor was a big pick up for Tyson Helton at Western Kentucky. I'm very interested to see new FBS member Missouri State and their 3500+ yard passer Jacob Clark. Owen McCown is back to run UTSA's fun offense under Jeff Traylor. New FIU coach Zach Kittley found a huge portal QB in Caden Vetkamp from WKU. Maddux Madsen is back for Boise, interested to see how he elevates now that all everything RB Ashton Jeanty is in NFL jail (aka a Raider). Blake Horvath is back for Navy with his 30 TDs from last years commander in chief trophy winners. Find some time to watch Walker Eget at San Jose State with their high flying offense under former option coach Ken Niumatalolo. Some others if you're so inclined would be Kadin Semonza at Tulane (from Ball St), JC French at Georgia Southern, EJ Warner at Fresno (from Rice), Parker Navarro at Ohio and Tucker Gleason at Toledo.
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News flash, Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama and Georgia are really good. Texas officially starts the Arch Manning era with a still punishing defense. Even perennial bridesmaids Notre Dame or Penn State could win a title this year. Clemson looks like they've leveled back up, and Bizzaro Foghorn Leghorn Brian Kelly looks to have a sneaky great team at LSU. Yeah yeah yeah, same ole same ole. I want to highlight the next tier of teams, those who either look primed for a big season, or primed for great podcast content due to the fallout. We eat the whole hog here at Punt and Rally, so here are some thoughts on the other 127 or so teams that normally don't factor in January.
Texas Tech 
Joey McGuire's won 8-7-8 games as he enters his 4th season, and it's shaping up to be a big one. #4 in returning production, QB Grehen Morton & most of his receiving core is back. If they can firm up the OL along with finding a RB rotation of Quinten Joyner (from USC) & RB depth that can produce, they could improve their offense even higher after finishing 22nd in my rankings last year. The defense returns the most production in CFB, and 5 of their 3rd ranked portal class are highly rating defensive players. That includes a massive upgrade along the line with DE's David Bailey (Stanford) & Romello Height (GT) to go along with DT Lee Hunter (UCF). With new OC Mack Leftwich (Texas St) bringing his creative offense to Lubbock, dare I say the Red Raiders could be a CFPlayoff contender? Before you laugh this away, keep in mind the Red Raiders play the 9th easiest strength of schedule in all of P4 and my preseason outlook is already approaching 10 wins.
Auburn
Auburn has a title contending roster. But Auburn is also a dumb football team, or at least it has been under HC Hugh Freeze. Penalties, turnovers, drops, you name it, they've bungled it. But this year looks different (insert laugh track). Let's start with an OL that returns all 5 starters, plus 2 more power 5 staring tackles via the portal. They've got (possibly) the best WR core in the country. They imported Jackson Arnold from OU, who had 0 healthy WR's to throw to last year while he was running for his life. The must replace RB Hunter, and that may start with UConn import Durell Robinson. They wasted a really good defense last year, and while they have to find some new parts, their 3rd ranked incoming class (portal + croots) should be able to help. They do play my #9 ranked schedule, but if Freeze can't get this team at least in the playoff discussion maybe Hogville can start combing his phone records again so the Tigers can find someone who can use all of this talent.
Colorado
Coach Prime proved me wrong. I thought this was only a fun, but short, two year exercise to showcase Shedeur, Shilo and Travis Hunter. But Prime remains in Boulder and I'm excited to see how he progresses. CFB needs more fun teams like this, and last year the Buffs proved that Prime can back up the talk. Now he's signing new signal callers, new weapons, an all star coaching staff and building both the lines. Kaidon Salter is a great add, and ripping Julian Lewis away from USC is hysterical. People still skeptical of Prime should watch 2022 clips of Colorado, because legally I can't call them highlights. I realize coach Prime is a polarizing figure, but I say sit back and enjoy this ride either by rooting for him or against him. Either way you have feelings about Colorado football. There's no other coach in football that could've made that happen three years ago.
South Carolina
I love coach Shane Beamer. I think LaNorris Sellers is one of the most fun QB's in CFB. But they are getting a lot of hype for a team that lost a whole lot from last years squad, and they face my 6th hardest schedule. They've added a lot of talent with my 18th ranking incoming class, but that's some of the issue I see here with 1/2 the roster turning over. Out of the gate they get Va Tech, Vandy, Mizzu and Kentucky, all of which they should beat, but all of which can ruin your Sandman redux if you're sleepwalking. And things get much tougher from there @LSU, OU, Bama, @Ole Miss, @A&M before finishing with Clemson. Add is all up and thats 4 elite opponents along with 4 good ones for my #10 ranked SOS. This is in no way a knock on the Cocks, an 8-4(ish) season would be a really good one (to me), but I get the feeling would not be appreciated as much in Columbia.
Miami
If I were to be tasked with building a program, Mario Cristobal would be the man I want building the roster. He would also have a Fisher Price headset that would communicate solely with farm animals. How did he not take last years team to the playoff, or at least the ACC championship game? World class offense, a defense full of misaligned talent and he finished 1-2 vs GT, Wake and Syracuse? No disrespect, but Miami's 2nd team talent should've won those games. Yes they've added Carson Beck (Georgia), the most fitting shotgun marriage I could dream up. But WR is a ?, albeit with talented options. They do have one of CFB's best Offensive Lines, and Mark Fletcher is a big, explosive back. And they've added 4 power four CB's to tighten up the turnstyle secondary they had. This year's roster is a Lexus after he put last year's Ferrari in a swamp, and I simply do not trust Cristobal went to driving school this offseason. Could he improve? Sure. But I'm betting he'll have that WTF just happened look on his face again after Notre Dame runs over them in week one, and Florida does the same in week four.
Florida State
From 12-0 to 2-10, with one FBS win over Cal by 5 points (shoutout Richard Johnson of Split Zone Duo, big fan). HC Mike Norvell has cleaned house, portaled back up and rides into 2025 on the proverbial hot seat. Pairing OC Gus Malzahn with Wile E. Weird Wing QB Thomas Castellanos (BC)is certainly a choice, but should be a fun watch. If he manages to get the ball out and on target, FSU has a lot of really good options at WR & TE. Four P4 OL portals should help, as should 5 good DL highlighted by James Williams (Nebraska). This is still my #2 talent rated ACC squad with loads of options, and new DC Tony White did some really good things at Nebraska. But we all need some schadenfreude and my vote goes to the program that sued the ACC for trying to add SMU, got smoked 42-16 in Dallas and ultimately watched them play for the ACC Championship (and yeah, they sued for many other reasons, but this one is the most hysterical).
The G5
Sometimes number can lie, and that's my case with Troy. My power ratings put them at #56, 3rd in the G5 this preseason, which is just wrong no matter how much they return from a team that started last year 1-7. Boise State remains my preseason G5 fav, but Tulane, Memphis and South Florida all make a good case. Charles Huff taking over at Southern Miss has my attention with the top G5 portal class, and I am a huge G.J. Kinne fan at Texas State even though he has a ton to replace. Toledo is the class of the MAC, but that's almost always the case and HC Jason Candle finds a way to blow it most years. I'm a huge fan of Scotty Walden and see Utep taking the next step to bowl this year. But I'd like to say that I feel for the fans of Louisiana Tech for having to endure an inexplicable 4th year of Sonny Cumbie. With DC Jeremiah Johnson (big fan) finding a life boat at Coastal Carolina, I simply wish the good people of Ruston a happy hunting season (Oct 1). Last years G5 darling UNLV is rebuilding under legendary non-crootin Dan Mullen, but they've added some fun parts and should be a good watch this year. Bob Chesney's 2nd year at James Madison could get really special in a hurry if electric QB Alonza Barnett can find a way to take down Louisville in week 2. And finally there's Liberty, so much more talented compared to the rest of CUSA and would likely schedule an animal rehab center if allowed. I believe Jamey Chadwell is a good coach, but if he has another 3-4 stretch this year I'm applying the Gene Chizik label and moving on.
Joey McGuire's won 8-7-8 games as he enters his 4th season, and it's shaping up to be a big one. #4 in returning production, QB Grehen Morton & most of his receiving core is back. If they can firm up the OL along with finding a RB rotation of Quinten Joyner (from USC) & RB depth that can produce, they could improve their offense even higher after finishing 22nd in my rankings last year. The defense returns the most production in CFB, and 5 of their 3rd ranked portal class are highly rating defensive players. That includes a massive upgrade along the line with DE's David Bailey (Stanford) & Romello Height (GT) to go along with DT Lee Hunter (UCF). With new OC Mack Leftwich (Texas St) bringing his creative offense to Lubbock, dare I say the Red Raiders could be a CFPlayoff contender? Before you laugh this away, keep in mind the Red Raiders play the 9th easiest strength of schedule in all of P4 and my preseason outlook is already approaching 10 wins.
Auburn
Auburn has a title contending roster. But Auburn is also a dumb football team, or at least it has been under HC Hugh Freeze. Penalties, turnovers, drops, you name it, they've bungled it. But this year looks different (insert laugh track). Let's start with an OL that returns all 5 starters, plus 2 more power 5 staring tackles via the portal. They've got (possibly) the best WR core in the country. They imported Jackson Arnold from OU, who had 0 healthy WR's to throw to last year while he was running for his life. The must replace RB Hunter, and that may start with UConn import Durell Robinson. They wasted a really good defense last year, and while they have to find some new parts, their 3rd ranked incoming class (portal + croots) should be able to help. They do play my #9 ranked schedule, but if Freeze can't get this team at least in the playoff discussion maybe Hogville can start combing his phone records again so the Tigers can find someone who can use all of this talent.
Colorado
Coach Prime proved me wrong. I thought this was only a fun, but short, two year exercise to showcase Shedeur, Shilo and Travis Hunter. But Prime remains in Boulder and I'm excited to see how he progresses. CFB needs more fun teams like this, and last year the Buffs proved that Prime can back up the talk. Now he's signing new signal callers, new weapons, an all star coaching staff and building both the lines. Kaidon Salter is a great add, and ripping Julian Lewis away from USC is hysterical. People still skeptical of Prime should watch 2022 clips of Colorado, because legally I can't call them highlights. I realize coach Prime is a polarizing figure, but I say sit back and enjoy this ride either by rooting for him or against him. Either way you have feelings about Colorado football. There's no other coach in football that could've made that happen three years ago.
South Carolina
I love coach Shane Beamer. I think LaNorris Sellers is one of the most fun QB's in CFB. But they are getting a lot of hype for a team that lost a whole lot from last years squad, and they face my 6th hardest schedule. They've added a lot of talent with my 18th ranking incoming class, but that's some of the issue I see here with 1/2 the roster turning over. Out of the gate they get Va Tech, Vandy, Mizzu and Kentucky, all of which they should beat, but all of which can ruin your Sandman redux if you're sleepwalking. And things get much tougher from there @LSU, OU, Bama, @Ole Miss, @A&M before finishing with Clemson. Add is all up and thats 4 elite opponents along with 4 good ones for my #10 ranked SOS. This is in no way a knock on the Cocks, an 8-4(ish) season would be a really good one (to me), but I get the feeling would not be appreciated as much in Columbia.
Miami
If I were to be tasked with building a program, Mario Cristobal would be the man I want building the roster. He would also have a Fisher Price headset that would communicate solely with farm animals. How did he not take last years team to the playoff, or at least the ACC championship game? World class offense, a defense full of misaligned talent and he finished 1-2 vs GT, Wake and Syracuse? No disrespect, but Miami's 2nd team talent should've won those games. Yes they've added Carson Beck (Georgia), the most fitting shotgun marriage I could dream up. But WR is a ?, albeit with talented options. They do have one of CFB's best Offensive Lines, and Mark Fletcher is a big, explosive back. And they've added 4 power four CB's to tighten up the turnstyle secondary they had. This year's roster is a Lexus after he put last year's Ferrari in a swamp, and I simply do not trust Cristobal went to driving school this offseason. Could he improve? Sure. But I'm betting he'll have that WTF just happened look on his face again after Notre Dame runs over them in week one, and Florida does the same in week four.
Florida State
From 12-0 to 2-10, with one FBS win over Cal by 5 points (shoutout Richard Johnson of Split Zone Duo, big fan). HC Mike Norvell has cleaned house, portaled back up and rides into 2025 on the proverbial hot seat. Pairing OC Gus Malzahn with Wile E. Weird Wing QB Thomas Castellanos (BC)is certainly a choice, but should be a fun watch. If he manages to get the ball out and on target, FSU has a lot of really good options at WR & TE. Four P4 OL portals should help, as should 5 good DL highlighted by James Williams (Nebraska). This is still my #2 talent rated ACC squad with loads of options, and new DC Tony White did some really good things at Nebraska. But we all need some schadenfreude and my vote goes to the program that sued the ACC for trying to add SMU, got smoked 42-16 in Dallas and ultimately watched them play for the ACC Championship (and yeah, they sued for many other reasons, but this one is the most hysterical).
The G5
Sometimes number can lie, and that's my case with Troy. My power ratings put them at #56, 3rd in the G5 this preseason, which is just wrong no matter how much they return from a team that started last year 1-7. Boise State remains my preseason G5 fav, but Tulane, Memphis and South Florida all make a good case. Charles Huff taking over at Southern Miss has my attention with the top G5 portal class, and I am a huge G.J. Kinne fan at Texas State even though he has a ton to replace. Toledo is the class of the MAC, but that's almost always the case and HC Jason Candle finds a way to blow it most years. I'm a huge fan of Scotty Walden and see Utep taking the next step to bowl this year. But I'd like to say that I feel for the fans of Louisiana Tech for having to endure an inexplicable 4th year of Sonny Cumbie. With DC Jeremiah Johnson (big fan) finding a life boat at Coastal Carolina, I simply wish the good people of Ruston a happy hunting season (Oct 1). Last years G5 darling UNLV is rebuilding under legendary non-crootin Dan Mullen, but they've added some fun parts and should be a good watch this year. Bob Chesney's 2nd year at James Madison could get really special in a hurry if electric QB Alonza Barnett can find a way to take down Louisville in week 2. And finally there's Liberty, so much more talented compared to the rest of CUSA and would likely schedule an animal rehab center if allowed. I believe Jamey Chadwell is a good coach, but if he has another 3-4 stretch this year I'm applying the Gene Chizik label and moving on.
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