ESPN College Football

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel begin their march through conference preview season beginning with the Big 10. Can Michigan stay out of its own way? How will Ohio State deal with a massive transition at quarterback? Can Penn State puncture their way into the Big Ten title game? The guys cover every team in the conference. Plus, Pete provides an update on the Pac-12 and conference realignment. [1:36] Preview Start [2:54] Michigan [13:50] Ohio State [25:22] Penn State [31:57] Maryland [36:40] Michigan State [39:54] Indiana [43:19] Rutgers [47:58] Wisconsin [53:40] Iowa [59:04] Illinois [1:05:00] Minnesota [1:10:45] Nebraska [1:12:16] Purdue [1:13:52] Northwestern [1:16:29] Conference Realignment Update Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All the talk right now is if the BIG 10 should go after Oregon and Washington out west, but why not go after Florida State, North Carolina, Clemson and others to put the pressure on the SEC? McElroy explains. Plus Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas Tech had good season’s under 1st year head coaches, can they take the next step? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paul Finebaum joins Matt Barrie to discuss the crumbling of the Pac-12, why Colorado joining the Big 12 could be an indicator for the future of College Football. All that and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Year 1 for Brian Kelly, Lincoln Riley, Sonny Dykes and Kalen DeBoer were a HUGE success. What will they do for an encore? Is the PAC-12 media rights deal enough to keep the league together and should Utah consider leaving? Plus South Carolina is on FIRE on the recruiting trail. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colorado, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Auburn, Louisville, Cincinnati and others all have new head coaches in 2023. Can Freeze get Auburn back to National Championship level? Is Rhule the answer at Nebraska? Can Brohm come home and get Louisville over the top? So many questions and McElroy is here to look at the pressure and what is expected this season. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

USC head coach Lincoln Riley joins Greg McElroy on the 200th episode of Always College Football. The Trojans HC talks Caleb Williams encore, handing expectations and how a back loaded schedule will work for them this year. Plus we talk about Georgia's “easy” schedule, what makes a tough schedule and so much more. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss Brock Bowers’ one weakness, Florida State’s offensive line, if North Carolina can uplift the ACC, College GameDay going to Charlotte for Week 1, whether Luke Fickell is bringing evolution or revolution to Wisconsin, a Howard Schnellenberger story, and a pair of bold predictions about Alabama’s future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Barrie welcomes Dan Mullen onto the show to discuss why the PAC12 is going to look like the SEC this year, who is in contention to be a top 15 team, and to discuss what it's like being a CFB coach. All that and more! 0:00 Summer is long gone for college football! 2:00 The nice side of being part of TV coverage for Dan 3:00 Being a coach’s spouse has got to be the hardest job in the world 5:20 The Pac-12 outlook 11:00 Four legit top-15 contenders 13:00 Transfer portal talk in the Pac-12 17:45 Big Ten’s biggest topics 23:00 The best rivalry in college football in recent memory? 25:40 What’s up next with Dan Mullen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

B1G and ACC Media days are in full swing so we decided to look at the favorites Florida State, Clemson, Ohio State and Michigan and their O/U win total. Can FSU make it through September 4-0? Is Clemson ready to get back to the CFP? Can the Buckeyes break a 2 game losing streak vs Michigan and will the Wolverines be fine without Harbaugh in the first 4 games? Plus we hit the mailbag and touch on SMU CFP run in 2024 and Venables throwing shade. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

33 short days away from the start of College Football and we look at the OVER/UNDER win totals for a handful of teams. Why the disrespect for BYU? Can Texas and Notre Dame both get to 10 wins? Will Florida and Michigan State really struggle that much? Why no love for Utah out West? Plus we as a few questions ahead of BIG 10 and ACC Media Days | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Georgia stole the show in Nashville as they begin their quest for a three-peat. But what about Alabama - will they bounce back? Can Shane Beamer and South Carolina have another big season? Will Tennessee handle the hype? Can Ole Miss’s rebuilt roster challenge in the WEST? McElroy answers all the questions plus looks ahead to BIG 10 and ACC Media Days. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Barrie welcomes Paul Finebaum to the show to discuss this latest from SEC Media day and controversy surrounding Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, as well as their favorite part of the pairing of Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Tennessee will be the consensus top four in the SEC preseason media poll, who is next and who can surprise? Also who from the SEC is a Heisman contender and if USC wins a National Championship how does the balance of power shift? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss the start of conference media days, coaching cliches, Kirby Smart’s podium appearance, Georgia’s first realistic opportunity to lose, if Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino gotten into a big argument yet, more reports of an “imminent” media deal for the Pac-12 and Rece's fashion advice for Pete. [5:09] Kirby Smart at SEC media days [19:53] When could Georgia lose? [25:14] Texas A&M [33:40] More reports of a Pac-12 media deal [40:29] Which comes first: Pac-12 media deal or Week 1? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Barrie welcomes Dan Mullen to the show to talk about what coaches really think about Media Days, how Kirby Smart should deal with questions about off-the-field incidents with Georgia players, and how Dan set the trend for suits and sneakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oklahoma and Texas start their swan song in the Big 12 with high expectations. Can they handle the target on their backs or will someone else surprise like Texas Tech, Baylor or maybe UCF? Plus SEC Kickoff is here and McElroy breaks down the storylines he wants to hear about. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss Northwestern firing Pat Fitzgerald after reports of hazing inside his program, needing more perspective and scale from the investigation, the lack of transparency from the administration, what happens next with the football team and potential coaching candidates. Plus, their thoughts on Bob Huggins’ messy exit from West Virginia. [0:00] Northwestern fires Pat Fitzgerald [4:46] Wanting more details [9:01] Northwestern’s lack of transparency [14:48] Team initiations, surprise that hazing is still happening [19:43] What happens to the football program [32:14] Northwestern’s advantages, coaching candidates [38:33] Bob Huggins not going quietly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Barrie welcomes Paul Finebaum to talk the biggest talking points and storylines from the College Football world including the state of the SEC, the combination of Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino at Texas A&M, and this new era of the College Football Playoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell joins Greg McElroy to talk all things Seminole Football. A 10 win season in 2022 raised expectations for this season and Coach Norvell talks about how the team is prepared to take the next step, how Jordan Travis is the leader they need and why the transfer portal has worked so well for them. Plus is NIL a way to get more than 85 players on a team and is Nick Saban right about the ‘22 CFP? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day joins Greg McElroy to discuss the Buckeyes QB competition, year 2 under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, a rebuilt offensive line, the influx of talent at WR and so much more. Plus we rank the 5 best conferences heading into the 2023 season and answer the question - who will be the new BIG DOG of the BIG 12 when Texas and Oklahoma are gone. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The SEC introduced the 2024 opponents which includes keeping great rivalries like Alabama/Tennessee, Georgia/Florida among others but also gives us Oklahoma visiting LSU, Georgia visiting Texas and so much more. Oh and don’t forget about an SEC non-conference schedule that has Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, USC and Miami. It’s about to go DOWN in 2024 and McElroy is here to give his instant analysis on the strong 2024 SEC slate. | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Big Ten introduced the 'Flex Protect Plus' football schedule model for 2024 and it already gave us a reason to get excited. Michigan traveling out to USC, UCLA traveling roughly 27k miles, Wisconsin playing Alabama and USC. Penn State hosting USC and Ohio State and so much more. McElroy breaks down the schedule and we look at Notre Dame’s new AD and why Texas A&M is calling the shots in a game vs the Longhorns | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jayden Daniels at LSU and Will Rogers at Mississippi State look to be the best 2 quarterbacks in the SEC but who falls in after? Is the QB controversy at Alabama an issue or should we just look back a few years to see this has happened before for Saban. The PAC 12 has the deepest set of QBs in CFB but after Caleb Williams who is the best? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss the congressional hearings in Washington D.C. attempting to establish a structure for NIL, the need for a linear direction in the sport, and deciding on a functioning model for the next generation. Then, they discuss if Colorado and Arizona are headed to the Big 12 or if the Pac-12 can pull a rabbit out to get a deal done that is satisfactory for its members. Plus, Pete and recast Ted Lasso with college football stars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should Colorado and Arizona leave the PAC 12 to go to the BIG 12? Was hiring Coach Prime the first step in the process for the Buffaloes? McElroy looks back at the history of Texas, USC and others who have made a big coaching change BEFORE switching conferences. Plus Kirby Smart comments and MSU vs Penn State INSIDE in November? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin have the top quarterbacks in the Big 10 (at least right now). Will quarterbacks at Ohio State and Penn State step up when the pressure is on? The BIG 12 has some elite quarterbacks at Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, but who will step up in the rest of the conference? | Always College Football Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel ponder what college football will look like in the near future. They predict how player acquisition, compensation and the playoff will change during the next five years. Plus, they discuss how the Pac-12 survives and how the ACC’s future is tied to the SEC’s incentive to grow. Later, they build $15 college football rosters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ESPN College Football is your one-stop podcast feed to catch all of ESPN’s original college football podcast titles, including ESPN College GameDay, Always College Football with Greg McElroy and more! You won’t miss an episode, including expanded coverage of the top events on the college football calendar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices