Always Talkin' Ball: A College Football Podcast

The biggest storyline in college football this week takes us to Oxford, Mississippi.

Lane Kiffin returns to Ole Miss as LSU’s head coach, and Lance breaks down every angle of the No. 7 Tigers against the No. 8 Rebels — including the enormous pressure on Pete Golding, LSU’s havoc-creating defense, Sam Leavitt’s ability to hurt Ole Miss with his legs and why Trinidad Chambliss may need to put the Rebels on his back to win. Lance is calling for fireworks and predicts Ole Miss 34, LSU 31.

Plus, Lance previews Houston at Texas Tech, SMU at Louisville and Florida at Auburn — three major conference games that could shape the Big 12, ACC and SEC races.

Then it’s time to bounce back with Week 3 Best Bets as Lance lays the points with Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

Week 2 is where we start finding out who’s actually for real.

Lance breaks down four of the biggest games on the college football slate, starting with a heavyweight showdown between Ohio State and Texas in Austin. Can Arch Manning and the Longhorns finally solve the Buckeyes, or does Ohio State make it three straight over Texas?

Then it’s Oklahoma at Michigan, where Bryce Underwood and the Wolverines have a lot to prove after an ugly Week 1 performance. Lance trusts Brent Venables and the Sooners enough to make Oklahoma -5.5 an official Best Bet.

Plus, Alabama travels to Kentucky for Keelon Russell’s first SEC road test and Will Stein’s first major opportunity to make a statement with the Wildcats, while Arizona State heads into Kyle Field to take on Marcel Reed and Texas A&M.

Lance also puts Missouri on Upset Alert in the Border War against Kansas before handing out his full Week 2 betting card after a 9-4-1 combined start to the season.

Best Bets: Oklahoma -5.5, Purdue +3, Iowa -13.5, Army -3 and Air Force +3.

Week 1 closes with two huge Sunday night matchups, and Lance breaks down both.

First, Wisconsin vs Notre Dame at Lambeau Field. Wisconsin brings in dynamic dual-threat quarterback Colton Joseph, but Lance explains why this Notre Dame defense presents an enormous step up in competition — and why CJ Carr, Mike Denbrock and a loaded Irish offense could make an immediate statement.

Then, Louisville vs Ole Miss in Nashville might be the best matchup of the entire weekend. Ole Miss brings back Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, while Louisville counters with Lincoln Kienholz, Isaac Brown and a dangerous defense led by Clev Lubin. Lance breaks down the biggest matchup advantages on both sides and why Louisville has a legitimate path to pulling the upset.

And yes — Ole Miss is officially on Upset Alert.

Week 1 Saturday is loaded, and Lance breaks down two of the biggest matchups on the slate.

First up, Baylor vs Auburn in Atlanta. Auburn enters a new era under Alex Golesh with Byrum Brown leading a rebuilt offense, while Baylor turns to DJ Lagway and a heavily reworked defense. Lance explains why Auburn’s rushing attack is the biggest key to the game and why DJ Durkin’s defense is the unit he trusts most.

Then it’s the Battle of the Death Valleys as Clemson heads to Baton Rouge to face LSU under the lights. With Clemson breaking in an inexperienced quarterback and multiple new offensive-line starters, Lance breaks down why LSU’s defense could control the matchup — and why Lane Kiffin and Sam Leavitt could have the Tigers rolling immediately.

Plus, Lance gives his predictions for both games and explains why LSU -10 is one of his official Week 1 Best Bets.

Week 1 of college football is here, and Lance takes the mic for his first solo episode of Always Talkin’ Ball.

He breaks down four of the weekend’s biggest matchups: Baylor vs Auburn, Clemson at LSU, Wisconsin vs Notre Dame and Louisville vs Ole Miss. From Auburn’s new-look offense and DJ Lagway’s fresh start at Baylor, to Lane Kiffin’s LSU debut in Death Valley, Notre Dame’s loaded roster at Lambeau and a Louisville-Ole Miss matchup with real upset potential, there’s plenty to unpack.

Lance also puts Ole Miss on Upset Alert against Jeff Brohm and Louisville before giving out his first official Best Bets of Week 1 — including LSU -10 and his favorite play of the week, UCLA -2 at Cal.

He also addresses the future of the show, with Tyler stepping back from regular podcast duties while continuing to create content for the ATB socials.

For the full episode, I’d use “Who Gets Exposed?” in the title because it ties directly into the thumbnail and gives the package one strong hook instead of making the title read like a schedule listing.

We look ahead at the biggest games and best Saturdays of the 2026 college football season, including the one matchup each of us is most excited to watch and our Top 3 weeks of the year.

Then we make our preseason Heisman picks before finishing with our favorite Week Zero bets.

Tyler’s Heisman selections:

• Darian Mensah to win (+950)
• Josh Hoover best value (+1500)
• Rocco Becht dark horse (+5500)

Tyler’s Week Zero bets:

• USC-San Jose State OVER 58.5
• Florida State -29.5 vs. New Mexico State

Tyler and Lance reveal their complete 2026 College Football Playoff predictions and pick every matchup through the National Championship.

They agree on 11 of the 12 playoff teams, but disagree dramatically on Ohio State, BYU vs. Alabama, Indiana’s ceiling and several postseason matchups.

Tyler predicts Notre Dame over Oregon for the National Championship, while Lance has Georgia beating Notre Dame.

Tyler and Lance unveil their preseason Top 16 rankings for the 2026 college football season and compare them with the official Always Talkin’ Ball consensus rankings.

We debate the No. 1 team in the country, Indiana’s place among the national elite, Texas Tech and BYU in the Big 12, Miami’s championship potential, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and the toughest teams to leave out.

Bryan Driskell from Irish Breakdown joins Tyler and Lance for a complete breakdown of the 2026 Notre Dame football schedule and the Fighting Irish’s path to the College Football Playoff.

We start with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and discuss why the Badgers could be a tougher opening opponent than many expect, plus the history between Luke Fickell, Marcus Freeman and several members of Notre Dame’s coaching staff.

From there, Bryan pushes back on the criticism surrounding Notre Dame’s schedule and explains why he believes the Irish are held to a different standard than programs with similarly manageable schedules around the country.

Then we get into the biggest games:

BYU in Provo, where Bryan expects a physical, mature team and one of the toughest environments Notre Dame will face.

Navy, which Bryan eventually identifies as Notre Dame’s biggest potential trap game.

Miami, potentially one of the biggest regular-season games in all of college football. Bryan believes the matchup has the ingredients of an old-school Notre Dame classic and says the Irish would beat Miami if the two teams played today.

We also break down SMU, Kevin Jennings and Rhett Lashlee’s offense. Bryan believes SMU is actually the tougher matchup than BYU from a personnel standpoint and views the Mustangs as one of the two best teams in the ACC alongside Miami.

Finally, we discuss Notre Dame’s playoff résumé at 12-0, 11-1 and 10-2 before finishing with Bryan’s rapid-fire predictions.

His final call?

Notre Dame goes 12-0, earns the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff, and finishes 15-0 as National Champions.

Can Notre Dame navigate the schedule, leave no doubt and finally finish the job in 2026?

Bryan Driskell from Irish Breakdown joins Tyler and Lance for a complete breakdown of the 2026 Notre Dame defense, a unit that enters the season with legitimate expectations of being one of the best in college football.

Bryan has Notre Dame ranked as the No. 2 defense in the country, with a top-five defensive line, top-five linebacker room and what he believes is the best secondary in America.

We start with Chris Ash entering Year 2 as defensive coordinator and why Notre Dame’s defense improved so dramatically as the 2025 season progressed. The next step is proving it against the best offenses on the schedule, particularly BYU, Miami and SMU.

Then we break down a loaded secondary led by Leonard Moore, who Bryan believes belongs in the conversation as one of the two or three best players in college football. We also discuss Christian Gray, Adon Shuler, DJ McKinney and the tremendous young depth behind them.

At linebacker, Drayk Bowen, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed and the rest of the rotation give Notre Dame another deep, versatile position group. Bryan explains why KVA’s ability to play multiple roles makes him especially dangerous and why the entire room should be even more comfortable in Chris Ash’s system this season.

Finally, we turn to a defensive front featuring Boubacar Traore, Bryce Young and a wave of talented veterans and transfers. Bryan believes that if Traore and Young take another step, this group has a chance to become the driver of a championship defense.

Leonard Moore. Elite depth. A loaded front seven. Is Notre Dame bringing a National Championship defense into 2026?