Kings of the North College Football

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti opened conference media days touting the strength of a league that's had the last two national champions, and why he thinks his College Football Playoff model is the right direction for the sport. Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis give their takes on Petitti's comments, and then welcome Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports for more reaction from Day 1 of Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas.

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Big Ten Media Days are here, and Kings of the North will be bringing you coverage from Las Vegas all week. To kick things off, here is the KOTN Preseason Big Ten Poll, the largest and most comprehensive Big Ten poll out there. KOTN gathered 54 voters -- at least one beat reporter from every Big Ten team and two from most -- as well as 20 national college football reporters to put together this poll. Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis break down the results on this episode. That includes Penn State as the pick to win the regular season and the Big Ten Championship Game; a healthy, strong middle of the league; and Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs as the Preseason Players of the Year. Thanks for joining KOTN. Catch coverage from Las Vegas all week. And don't miss the new narrative podcast series in your feed -- The 25 Year Winter.

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The South and the SEC took over college football starting in 1998 -- and the North and the Big Ten helped let it happen. This five-part podcast series will examine the how and why of that -- from coaches to players to attitudes to geography to cheating to luck. Between 1998 and 2022, the North won just two national titles as Alabama's Nick Saban and a host of other Southern champs put the North in a corner.

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What's going on the world of college football recruiting? KOTN dove in on the 400-plus blue-chip prospects in the 2026 recruiting class to see where there from, where they're going, what the emerging trends are and how the North is doing defending its turf and stealing players from the South. Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis also discuss Indiana's weak scheduling and a big recruiting win for West Virginia. Plus, Whatcha Watching, Eating and Thinking. Thanks for listening to Kings of the North.

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With SEC Media Days underway, KOTN would like to remind everyone that the last time college football gathered in Atlanta, it was to watch two Northern teams play for the national championship, as Ohio State beat Notre Dame. Anyway, let's fix the College Football Playoff. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 want different things from the playoff, and Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis are here to talk out their cases and come up with real solutions that should please everyone. Plus, college football polls are under attack. Are they worth it? A possible plan to save them as well. Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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It's Deion Sanders and Colorado vs. Fran Brown and Syracuse in the final KOTN Showdown of the offseason. Who would you rather be in 2025 -- the Buffs or the Orange? But first on this Kings of the North episode, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis check in on some talk from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark at the conference's media days. He touted the Big 12's returning production at quarterback -- could it be the best QB league in the P4? And could the SEC be the worst? Yormark also claimed the Big 12 will be the deepest league in the nation. Doug and Bill investigate that claim as well. There's a little more Big 12 news, and then the show wraps with Whatcha Watching, Eating and Thinking. Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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Could Oregon, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Kansas State and Illinois have their greatest college football seasons in program history in 2025? On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis, look at their best individual seasons for their 28 Northern teams and see which teams had had them recently -- hello Michigan and Iowa State -- which teams had them a long time ago -- how about Boston College and BYU in 1984? -- and which six teams could have them this year. Then it's another KOTN Showdown, this time between two teams that could make real playoff runs this season: Kansas State and Illinois. Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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What were the biggest college football recruiting wins in the North this summer? From Michigan to Pitt, from Notre Dame to Washington, from Ohio State to BYU, from Utah to Penn State, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis explain the biggest recruiting moves and what they mean for Northern football. Then it's the latest KOTN Showdown, as two former Big Ten West foes square off: Minnesota vs. Northwestern. Finally, check in on Whatcha Watching, Eating and Thinking. Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis are back with another Kings of the North, exploring the rebuild situations at West Virginia and Purdue and what's worked for successful turnarounds in the past. Then, it's another KOTN Showdown between the Mountaineers and Boilermakers. Who would you rather be in 2025? But first, BYU needs a new quarterback.

Thanks for watching and listening to Kings of the North.

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College football rivalry week continues on Kings of the North with 10 new rivalries that the sport could give us in the next decade, thanks to the College Football Playoff and the occasional appropriate push from conferences when needed. What could new rivalries like Notre Dame-Clemson, Ohio State-Oregon, BYU-Colorado and West Virginia-Cincinnati mean for college football? Then it's time for Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis to take some questions and comments from the Ask KOTN mailbag. Finally, it's Whatcha Watching, Eating and Thinking. Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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