Pac-12 PreviewWhile the Pac-12 fights for its survival as a conference amid another round of conference realignment, another Pac-12 football season begins with all eyes on USC. The Trojans under new coach Lincoln Riley are without question the most fascinating team in the conference – but they might not be the best team. Utah is the defending champion and has a team coming back that might be able to contend for a playoff spot. Like USC, Oregon has a new quarterback and coach, but also a roste...

What’s next with realignment? It has been almost two weeks since the Big Ten’s realignment bombshell with USC and UCLA. Instead of causing a frenzy of movement, college sports seem to be in a stalemate. What’s next? Pat Forde from Sports Illustrated joins AP’s Ralph Russo to sift through the repercussions and ramifications of the latest monster conference move. Why Notre Dame is sitting pretty and the ACC might be stuck together? There are some interesting ideas being bandied around abou...

First look at 2022 coaching carouselAfter nearly being run off in February, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin enters year two of his tenure as Tigers coach clearly on the hot seat. At Nebraska, Scott Frost is getting one more chance to turn around the Cornhuskers. Bruce Feldman from Fox and The Athletic joins AP’s Ralph Russo to take a look at the coaching carousel for the upcoming college football season. Who joins Harsin and Frost in precarious position to start the season? Which coaches are on the...

What ‘21 flops will bounce back in ‘22? Fourteen teams started the 2021 ranked and finished unranked, among them Texas A&M, Florida, Miami, LSU, USC, Iowa State and Wisconsin. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports and the Cover Three Podcast joins AP’s Ralph Russo to talk about last year’s flops and their prospects for a bounce-back season in 2022. A bunch of last year’s most high-profile disappointments have new coaches. In the short-term, is Mario Cristobal at Miami or Billy Napier at Florida...

Over on the Irish; Under on the Aggies The sportsbooks have set their win totals for the 2023 college football season, and ESPN’s Chris Fallica, better known as Bear, joins AP’s Ralph Russo to identify some over and under plays. Bear is not scared away from the big numbers attached to the teams that will be favored to win the national title. He’s also optimistic for Marcus Freeman’s first season as Notre Dame game. He is less optimistic about a couple of teams that might be ranked in the...

Marshall Faulk interview and QB DadsMarshall Faulk helped put San Diego State football on the map with one of the most remarkable college careers of the last 50 years. Faulk joins AP’s Ralph Russo to talk about his journey from New Orleans to San Diego State to NFL stardom, plus an important step his beloved Aztecs are taking this season with the opening of a new stadium.Then Teddy Greenstein joins the show to talk about his new book, “Quarterback Dads.” Quarterback Dads: https://quarter...

SEC scheduling and Athlon’s Top 25 The Southeastern Conference gets together in Destin, Florida, this week and considers what its future scheduling model should be. The conference is likely heading toward scrapping divisions, but how should it go about balancing traditional rivals with competitiveness? Braden Gall of Athlon Sports joins AP’s Ralph Russo to talk SEC scheduling, and whether any Power Five conference might find value in keeping its divisional structure. Plus, Athlon release...

SEC NIL spat and Interview with Shane BeamerIn the aftermath of the very public verbal sparring between Alabama’s Nick Saban and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher last week, the question is: What is the difference between NIL done the right way and a potential NCAA violation? David Ubben from The Athletic joins AP’s Ralph Russo to discuss the exercise in hair-splitting that many in college sports are trying to do as they get accustomed to a world in which players can be paid for being good at foot...

The end of divisions – in college football. Divisions have been more of a problem than a solution for the Atlantic Coast Conference for years. The ACC is now primed to finally dump its divisions for a new schedule model, and other conferences are likely to follow. Andrea Adelson from ESPN and the ACC Network joins AP’s Ralph Russo to dig into the future of ACC scheduling, how the conference could benefit from breaking free from divisions and just how tough it is to come up with yearly ri...

NCAA’s NIL reset The NCAA is trying to bring some order to NIL and provide some relief to coaches in managing a roster. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated joins AP’s Ralph Russo to dig into some of the latest off-the-field issues in college football. What exactly is the NCAA’s new guidance to members regarding how athletes can access name, image and likeness deals? We’ve taken to calling it the NCAA’s crackdown on collectives, but is that even possible at this point? What’s the differe...