Kings of the North College Football

Jeff Hafley gave up his job as Boston College's head football coach to become an NFL defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Does this signal the end of college football as we know it? 
Heck no -- some people are making too big of a deal about this.

But college football clearly needs to change, and on this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises offers six changes around six topics that you can talk about with your friends without it feeling like homework.

- Number of CFB players compared to pro sports
- Player Freedom
- Competitive Balance
- Moving NIL Inside College Football
- Contracts
- Donors as Owners

Then Doug is joined by Matt Brown, the creator of the Extra Points newsletter that digs into the financial side of college sports, to talk about how current NIL collectives work, whether it's sustainable, and whether the NCAA should be going after NIL cases or not.

It's a money and rules show that should matter to the average fan.
Thanks for joining Kings of the North,

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With Jim Harbaugh off to the NFL and Nick Saban retiring, the list of the best coaches in college football is changing. 

On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis address that with a draft of the 20 best coaches in college football.

But they do that with another point in mind -- identifying how many of those coaches come from the North.
Guess what? It's a lot. And guess what -- Northern coaches have won 60 percent of the last 25 national titles as well.

From the New Jersey roots of Syracuse coach Fran Brown and Washington coach Jedd Fisch, to the Iowa educations of Kansas State's Chris Kleiman and Kentucky's Mark Stoops, to the New England backgrounds of LSU's Brian Kelly and Ohio State's Ryan Day, many top coaches were born and raised in the North and went to college there.

Doug and Bill dive into all of that, and then identify some coaches they'd like to see running programs in the North someday.

Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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Michigan has three straight wins over Ohio State. The Buckeyes have momentum this offseason. What does that mean for the 2024 Ohio State-Michigan game and the rivalry as a whole?

On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis dive into the North's biggest rivalry, looking at the state of the national champions and the team chasing them.

How much talent are the Wolverines and Buckeyes losing from 2023?
What do their schedules look like in 2024, and could we see a third straight 11-0 vs. 11-0 showdown?

How much is Michigan's success tied to Jim Harbaugh, or could the Wolverines keep winning without him?

Thanks for joining the discussion on Kings of the North.

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From Ohio State transfer Will Howard to quarterback uncertainty at Michigan and Washington, from Kyle McCord's move to Syracuse to Cade McNamara's return from injury at Iowa, plenty of Northern college football quarterback situations are new for the 2024 season, and Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis are here to rate them all on Kings of the North.

Doug and Bill rank their 26 Northern teams by their quarterbacks, from returning starters like Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, Garrett Greene at West Virginia and Rocco Becht at Iowa State to new starters like Dillon Gabriel at Oregon, MJ Morris at Maryland and Brendan Sorsby at Cincinnati.

What leaps might Drew Allar at Penn State, Aidan Chiles at Michigan State and Thomas Castellanos at Boston College be ready to make?
Is there room for growth from veterans like Purdue's Hudson Card, Illinois' Luke Altmyer and Wisconsin's Tyler Van Dyke? And what should we expect from Nebraska true freshman Dylan Raiola in 2024?

You won't find Northern QB rankings like these anywhere else, so thanks for diving in on Kings of the North.

00:00 - Intro and the North taking Alabama's talent
13:08 - Northern QB rankings 26 - 11
1:10:52 - Northern QB rankings 10 - 1

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The 12-team playoff is here, and Northern college football teams like Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and going to be all over it ... and Washington, West Virginia, Nebraska, Wisconsin and others should make pushes some years as well.

On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis are ready for an exercise they'll undertake multiple times between now and the start of the college football season.

It's time to pick a 12-team bracket.

The guys pick their 12 playoff teams, and the North is well represented. To start the show they also talk about the coaching moves both leaving and joining Washington, and what it means that Alabama football is copying old Indiana football.

00:00 - Intro and coaching moves for Washington and Alabama
21:01 - 12-team playoff projections

Thanks for joining Kings of the North.

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Do Northern college football teams have a new formula for winning national titles as laid out by the Michigan Wolverines this season?

On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis are joined by old friend Ari Wasserman of The Athletic to look at the winning paths for teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Nebraska and Wisconsin and what level of recruiting is required.

Topics covered:

- Has the importance of high school recruiting changed?
- Has the top of college football been flattened?
- What Northern teams can compete for titles?
- How much might the 2024 Buckeyes be like the 2023 Wolverines?
- Then the guys wrap up with Whatcha Watching, Eating and Thinking, focusing on baby pizzas, Fargo, Barbie, jerk culture, unread emails and weather sensationalism.

Thanks for being part of Kings of the North.

00:00 - Intro 
2:55 - Changing views of recruiting
39:10 - NIL and transfer portal opening doors
56:30 - Will the North win more titles?
1:08:20 - Can 2024 Ohio State be 2023 Michigan?
1:19:55 - Whatcha watching, eating, and thinking

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From Michael Penix Jr. and Blake Corum, from West Virginia to Colorado, from Marvin Harrison Jr. to Cooper DeJean, the best Northern college football teams, games and players are honored on this season wrap-up show on Kings of the North.

But first, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis dive into the diabolical scheduling genius of Nick Saban, and the games vs. Northern teams that Alabama is scheduled to play without him.

Then it's onto Northern superlatives:
- Best Offense
- Best Defense
- Program on the Rise
- Most Improved
- Biggest Disappointment
- Best Win over the South
- Best Game
- Craziest Game
- Biggest Upset

Following that is the KOTN All-North Offensive and Defensive teams, with 26 players picked.

Then it's the Coach of the North and the King of the North (best player), with a look at who might have been Kings of the North over the last 50 years.

Thanks for joining the show.

00:00 - Intro and Nick Saban scheduling genius
18:21 - Northern superlative awards
52:19 - All-North Offensive team
1:00:22 - All-North Defensive team
1:10:17 - Coach of the North
1:30:20 - King of the North

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Alabama coach Nick Saban announced his retirement on Wednesday, and Doug Lesmerises jumped in with instant reaction about this Son of the North leaving a hole in the college football landscape.

• How much will Alabama fall off?
• How much does this close the gap for all Northern teams?
• Who's the next King of the South, and who's the next Alabama coach?
• Doug's Saban stories about recruiting and visiting the North

Thanks for joining this bonus edition of Kings of the North.

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The Michigan Wolverines beat the Washington Huskies 34-13 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, finishing off a 15-0 season that is almost certainly the greatest season in 144 years of Michigan football.

On this postgame show on Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis break down everything from a Northern football perspective:

• The North winning just its third national title in the last 25 years
• Michigan's offensive execution and plan of offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore
• Michigan's defense keeping Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. off-balance
• The history of Northern champs and what this says to other teams in the North
• Michigan's roster building and excellent depth
• Washington's successful season and what's next for the Huskies
• The legacy and future of Jim Harbaugh, and how this season will be viewed inside and outside of Michigan after sign-stealing suspensions in a championship season

Thanks for joining Kings of the North, and we'll see you as the Northern football discussion continues into the offseason.

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Who will win the Northern College Football National Championship showdown between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington on Monday night?

On this Kings of the North, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis make their picks for the title game in Houston.

But first, Doug runs through the matchups on all sides of the ball:

02:15 - Michigan and Washington ratings comparison
05:40 - Washington passing vs. Michigan pass defense
19:10 - Washington rushing vs. Michigan rush defense
28:40 - Michigan passing vs. Washington pass defense
33:52 - Michigan rushing vs. Washington rush defense
42:30 - Jim Harbaugh vs. Kalen DeBoer, plus special teams

Doug has three special areas of the game that he thinks could flip a close matchup. But when it comes to the full 60 minutes, there are two sides of the ball that will decide things.

Join the Kings of the North for this Northern breakdown!

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