College Gridiron 365

An interview with Bill Bender of The Sporting News. He was in Columbus this week and took in Ohio State practice as well as the fan rally. We discussed the Urban Meyer situation in detail as well as what he thinks could happen as well as the impact on the Big Ten race.

The biggest story in college football this week is Ohio State placing head coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative lead to investigate his possible knowledge of allegations from a 2015 domestic violence incident involving one of his assistant coaches.

We discuss this and look into the preseason edition of the Amway Coaches Poll.

We talk about which team's rankings surprised us.

There is also a look back on the past week on the college football countdown that included:

No. 32 Duke

No. 31 Florida

No. 30 Iowa

No. 29 Florida State

No. 28 Utah

No. 27 Michigan

No. 26 South Carolina

No. 25 Texas

Matt is back from SEC and AAC Media Days and we talk about some of the hot topics from there, including:

• Which new SEC coach impressed him most.
• How coaches are looking at new redshirt rule.
• And how many lobsters he ate at the AAC clambake.

We then catch up on the countdown, highlighting the following teams:

No. 57 Ole Miss

No. 55 Army

No. 47 NC State

No. 45 UCLA

No. 36 FAU

No. 35 Nebraska

Matt and Bill Hancock discuss last season including criticism from UCF fans as well as his 'dream' candidates for the selection committee, his passion for travel (he went to China in February) and how he's a huge World Cup fan.

Matt and the commissioner discuss the move to Atlanta, the impact of legalized sports betting, Mike Slive's legacy and what he's listening to right now (U2 Experience channel on Sirius).

Matt is back from vacation and we look back at some of our favorite storylines from the past 14 teams on the college football countdown.

We talk about the challenge Charlie Strong now faces to rebuild USF's attack.

How injuries played havoc on the seasons for North Carolina and Maryland.

We wonder if Kentucky will ever be more than a team hoping to be bowl eligible and we look at Missouri and wonder how the offense will look with Josh Heupel now the head coach at UCF.

And finally, we wonder what Kevin Sumlin will be able to do with an athletic quarterback at Arizona.

The teams discussed in this podcast:

73. Texas Tech 72. USF 71. North Carolina 70. Cal 69. Kentucky 68. Houston 67. Purdue 66. Louisville 65. Maryland 64. Arkansas State 63. Miami (OH) 62. Arizona 61. Missouri 60. Northern Illinois

The NCAA announced on Wednesday new changes in relation to transfers and redshirt eligibility.

We discuss how the new transfer rule will work and how it will affect student-athletes wanting to move to a new school.

We also talk about the new redshirt eligibility that allows a student-athlete to play up to four games in a season and not lose their red shirt.

The bowl lineup is also looking to expand in the coming years and we wonder if the sport can handle 43 bowl games and what that landscape could look like.

Then we finally settle into a countdown review and look back on the last seven days and the intriguing storylines in it.

The teams discussed in this podcast:

80. Cincinnati

79. Arizona State

78. Air Force

77. Navy

76. Pittsburgh

75. Oregon

74. Minnesota

The countdown has entered the bowl eligible zone where the teams here are likely one or two close games from going to the postseason - or staying home in December.

We talk about New Mexico State trying to keep the magic going with a second consecutive bowl appearance. How Old Dominion is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing season.

We look at Eastern Michigan trying to keep building off its 12 wins in the last two seasons.

Utah State is hoping to return to a bowl and SMU will be running an Air Raid offense under new head coach Sonny Dykes.

Can Western Michigan continue to improve after an expected letdown in 2017? We talk about that and if UNLV head coach Tony Sanchez is free of hot seat talk.

We also discuss the Pac-12 decision that won't allow any 5-7 teams to fill open bowl slots they'd be eligible to and Matt's discussion with AAC commissioner Mike Aresco.

The teams discussed in this podcast:

87. New Mexico State 86. Old Dominion 85. Eastern Michigan 84. Utah State 83. SMU 82. Western Michigan 81. UNLV

It's a week of Power 5 teams with all seven teams ranked No. 94 to No. 88 coming from a Power 5 conference.

We talk about Tennessee and how long it might take the Volunteers to get back to prominence in the SEC East.

We also look at a new coach at Arkansas and a veteran coach at Georgia Tech. Will Rutgers stay on the upswing and can Baylor bounce back from the bottom?

The teams discussed in this podcast:

94. Virginia 93. Baylor 92. Indiana 91. Arkansas 90. Rutgers 89. Georgia Tech 88. Tennessee

After missing last week's review because the ACC Spring Meetings, Matt and Brant look back on the past 14 teams in the Orlando Sentinel college football countdown.

We talk about the bottom power 5 teams and which teams could be a game or two away from bowl eligibility.

Matt also reviews some of the key topics discussed at the Spring Meetings.

No. 95 Southern Miss

No. 96 Lousiana Monroe

No. 97 Akron

No. 98 Western Kentucky

No. 99 South Alabama

No. 100 UConn

No. 101 Colorado State

No. 102 Bowling Green

No. 103 UTSA

No. 104 Georgia State

No. 105 Colorado

No. 106 Vanderbilt

No. 107 Illinois

No. 108 Kansas