Gameday with Gabe

BYU and Utah. Two polarized fan bases. Teams with home-field advantages like no other in the sport. They play once a year. When it goes down, it’s a gritty, physical, tight battle that almost always comes down to the wire. BYU has won the last 3 meetings between the two, but will that change Saturday? (At 10 am local time, to be exact — thanks, ESPN) In this episode, I preview what’s arguably the biggest Holy War game of all time.

BYU Men’s Basketball already knocked off a team in red in Salt Lake City this week! Beating Ohio State in any sport feels great. The Cougs won 94-83 behind Rob Wright’s 35 points and a well-balanced offensive attack in the 2nd half. All the starters were in double figures in this game, and the guys off the bench were important too. Also, I mention the stupidity of CFP rankings that ESPN puts out. The “unbiased and completely fair” committee puts together a train wreck year after year, but they aren’t to blame for the impossible task that is ranking teams. Listen to this episode to hear my insights into what is wrong and corrupt with college football. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

Yes, Arizona State is the Cactus Utes. If you aren’t familiar with this nickname, go look it up. 2024 Arizona might still be lingering in some BYU fans’ minds (only slightly kidding). The Cougs need a win this week. Arizona State is limping into LaVell Edwards Stadium, which may be a haunted house for them, and BYU is fresh off defeat. Listen to this episode for my prediction on the game. I also mentioned what went wrong vs. UCF last week, but it’s not optimal to dwell on past defeat. BYU has to have the mind of a goldfish.

It’s already basketball season! AJ Dybantsa is making his NBA debut, and this new BYU team will do the same in the Delta Center vs. Ohio State. The trio of Collin Chandler, Bruce Branch III, and Rob Wright III will be lethal. The interesting game in college football Week 9 is Arizona at Texas Tech. It smells like an upset to me — definitely one to keep an eye on. Listen for all the latest chaos in college football, even if BYU is the disappointing team. Remember, college football is an entertainment product, so sit back and prepare for BYU’s turnaround for the ages. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

In a day of chaos in the college football world, many moments deserved the spotlight. Whether it was Auburn knocking off then #1 Georgia, or Tennessee beating #6 Alabama, or even Florida beating Texas on the road with a backup QB, no game outshone BYU vs. Notre Dame. ESPN’s Premier pregame show was on site in the morning. A student dressed as Spider-Man made a $3 million field goal kick. Steve Young was the celebrity guest picker, and he went 10-for-10 in his picks. How could BYU not close the day with an upset? 

The game began with an epic flyover during the national anthem at 5:30 on ABC. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, two iconic voices to college football, were on the call for the game. Notre Dame had no idea they had just walked into a bear den. Bear Bachmeier put together the game of his life, as he threw, ran, and caught for a touchdown. BYU’s defense made critical stops in the red zone to hold Notre Dame to field goals. In the end, Shmev made the game-sealing pass breakup with :04 left on the clock to secure BYU’s historic upset. Now, BYU is #2 in the country, bringing infinitely more respect to the Big 12 conference. Listen to this episode for all my insights into this elite squad of BYU Cougars. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

What can top a Top-10 BYU vs. a Top-10 team on the road? One at home. Lucky for us, we got one this week. Notre Dame is rolling into town, undefeated, yet hardly prepared for the environment at LaVell Edwards Stadium. College Gameday wouldn’t miss a game like this either! They will be in Provo for the “Catholics vs. Mormons” showdown at night. It’s hard to believe that BYU didn’t draw this up, because it turned out even better than imagined. Now, it’s all up to Bear Bachmeier and his crew of Vampire Cougs.

What’s better than a weekend with BYU football at home? BYU Basketball at home too. They play an exhibition Friday night against last year’s Sweet 16 team, Nebraska. It will be Bruce Branch III’s first game in a BYU uniform, and the crowd will be electric. Indiana and Ohio State play Saturday morning, Alabama and Tennessee play in the afternoon, and your BYU Cougars battle at night. This is an ideal day to be glued to the couch for many hours. Cougar Nation, this is gonna be awesome! #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

Wet, muddy, and slippery. Conditions that no one enjoys, but especially the quarterbacks. Bear Bachmeier led BYU to get the win not through the air, but on the ground once again. They were without LJ Martin and Isaiah Glasker, yet they found a way. This team is special, and they have a huge opportunity to prove it on their home field when Notre Dame comes to town. Provo is buzzing two weeks in advance — the game will take place on ABC during prime time, and College Gameday will likely be there!

Georgia plays at Alabama in a highly-anticipated matchup with huge implications. This is a newly formed rivalry we’ve often seen multiple times in a season. Football simply means more in the deep south. Hockey is back, and so are the MLB playoffs. Listen to this episode to hear my insights on this and much more! #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

It was a rainy day across the board in college football. Rainy and full of delays in all but one location: Oxford, Mississippi. Lane Kiffin had an (unwelcome) homecoming as head coach of the LSU Tigers. The population of Oxford went from 25,000 to 200,000 for the big game. Morgan Freeman was the guest picker on College Gameday; the fans were completely drunk by kickoff, and fights broke out in the stands. That’s football in the South: it just means more. In the end, Ole Miss got their revenge and won 32-24, delivering poetic justice to this sport.

Colorado State had their hands full with LJ Martin and Legend Glasker, two of BYU’s most explosive players. In the 1st quarter, LJ had 3 touchdowns. Nobody has done that at BYU since Taysom Hill in 2014 in Austin, Texas, at the Longhorns. Legend had a 70-yard bomb. The offense was clicking, and Kalani had the ability to pull his starters for the 2nd half. The final score shows a closer-than-advertised game, but unlike a team in Eugene, BYU doesn’t run up the score when it’s not needed. They got the win and are headed to the bye week in good spirits. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

It took some serious 2nd half adjustments, but the Cougars rallied behind their defense. Kelly Poppinga left no doubt that he is more than capable of following in Jay Hill’s footsteps. Bear Bachmeier had a big game with three touchdown passes and one on the ground! Kyler Kasper and Legend Glasker have emerged as favorite targets, with explosive plays and touchdowns running through them.

Texas completed one of the greatest college football comebacks in recent history Saturday night. College Gameday was in town, as was Matthew McConaughey, to cheer the Longhorns to victory. Their start was unlucky and slow, falling behind 23-3 before rallying behind Arch Manning in the 4th quarter. They scored three straight touchdowns to take the lead 24-23 with 30 seconds left. This result helps BYU’s chances of hosting College Gameday against Notre Dame! Listen for all my insights into a wild week of sports. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

BYU looked really good in their season debut. That being said, we were one of nearly all the P4 programs that played an FCS/Low FBS opponent to kick off Week 1. Week 2 has a great slate of games, with Arizona State playing Texas A&M, controversial Michigan hosting Oklahoma, and #1 Ohio State taking on #4 Texas in Austin. Oh, and Arizona is getting two key players back on their team, following a TRO in Arizona. They want to win in Provo badly.

The U.S. Open has delivered some amazing matches! Carlos Alcaraz, riding an 18-game Grand Slam win streak, faced Ben Shelton in a 5-setter until 3:30 local NY time. What a match. Ben Shelton won 10-7 in the final 10-point tiebreak, and he will face Tiafoe in the semifinals. These Americans have had quite the run on their home soil. The final will be played on Sunday the 13th. Listen to this episode for my insights into the chaos of college football, notably how Michigan got 0:01 on the clock to beat Western Michigan. Drama in Ann Arbor! #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

College football has a weird tradition in the past few years of kicking off the season in rainy, wet Dublin, Ireland. TCU was the latest victim of the Aer Lingus Classic. Besides the glory and the bars, there’s not much appeal to participating in this game, especially going up against 7-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick. On the bright side, Colorado salvaged the Big 12’s brand by going on the road and beating Georgia Tech 14-13. As Deion Sanders would say, that’ll silence them.

I talk about BYU football and some real games on this pod! It’s been a long wait, and the season is finally here. Here’s to the Cougars running the table and making the playoff! But in all honesty, this is the year BYU has a great chance to make the playoffs, even with ESPN against it.  I make my game-by-game predictions (for whatever they’re worth) and try to explain the chaos of the eligibility situation in Baton Rouge. Lane Kiffin is, once again, in the top headlines of the sport. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb

Kalani Sitake is once again the coach for preseason-ranked #14 BYU in fall camp 2026. Whether this is his or Brian Santiago’s last season in Provo remains to be seen, as their relationship is very strained and in doubt moving forward. Kalani needs more resources for his players and program, and he hasn’t received them. With that aside, the season is 16 days away, and it couldn’t come any sooner.

BYU Hoops just secured a huge commitment from former Michigan State big Jaxon Kohler. He will boost our ceiling to be a final four team, instead of a sweet 16 exit. He will have three months to gel with the guys, assuming he remains eligible under the NCAA 5-in-5 rule. This rule has created chaos for both football and basketball. I talk about what it means for these athletes and share my insights about the chaos in the sports world. #byu

Venmo: @gabrielplamb