Rece Davis and Pete Thamel preview the Midwest Region in the NCAA Tournament. They discuss Marcus Sasser’s injury status for Houston, Auburn spiraling into the tournament, Indiana lacking excuses to lose to Kent State, Kennesaw State making the dance after earning a 1-28 record three years ago and if Penn State is gassed. Plus, is the tournament really that wide open this year?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midwest Region Preview

Join ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis and Senior Writer Pete Thamel, as well as many of GameDay’s key analysts and contributors, as they discuss and debate the biggest stories and break down the biggest games in college football, while also leaning into the key basketball moments and storylines as well. With episodes Mondays/Wednesday/Fridays in the fall, and a year-round weekly presence this is the place to be for the college sports fan.

Sports

Football

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss which teams they think will propel to the top of the Big Ten and Big 12 conference rankings this year. They also try their hand at the Love It Or Hate It Game where they have to dish out their preference on topics like the transfer portal, Nick Saban's retirement and Deion Sanders on X! 
 0:00 - Welcome  1:00 - Surely CBB Officials Love UCONN’s Dan Hurley’s Decision 07:08 - Big Ten Teams To Be Bullish On: Nebraska & Rutgers 14:27 - The Big 12 Favorite Team Will Be: Utah 19:43 - Getting Used To The Schedule Changes 25:20 - Using Team Schedules To Explain The CFP Format 28:17 - Love It or Hate It: Current State of Transfer Portal 32:08 - Love It or Hate It: Nick Saban’s Retirement 35:02 - Love It or Hate It: Deion Sanders on X 36:32 - Love It or Hate It: Best Pregame Entrance 38:42 - Remembering NBA Legend Jerry West   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Ten & Big 12 Teams To Be Bullish On!

Rece Davis, Pete Thamel and college basketball insider Jeff Borzello discuss UConn Dan Hurley's big on-court energy and if this unabashed east coast guy would make the move to Hollywood to coach another preeminent team, the Los Angeles Lakers. They also preview potential coaching candidates for UConn should Hurley decide to make the move. 0:00 Lakers aggressively pursuing UConn’s Dan Hurley 5:12 Hurley to bring his big on-court energy to the pros? 7:44 From college to the NBA: How would Hurley fit in? 9:15 Hurley to Hollywood? He’s an unabashed east coast guy 15:15 Hurley’s potential relationship with LeBron James looms large 21:54 Hurley’s potential impact on the western conference 22:48 Potential coaching candidates for UConn if Hurley leaves   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EMERGENCY POD: UConn's Coach Dan Hurley To Pull Up To The Los Angeles Lakers?

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel sit down with Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz to discuss wide receiver Luther Burden's "Luther instincts," the "revolutionary" style of the head coaches at the SEC meetings, some of the discussions at the SEC meetings, and the case for keeping walk-ons as part of college football going forward. Drinkwitz also jokes about how he and his family go through adversity each time they board a Southwest flight. 
 0:00 - Welcome  0:28 - Where Does Missouri Rank As CFP Contenders? 03:20 - Missouri Coach Eliah Drinkwitz Joins The Pod 04:01 - How Last Season Impacts Returning Players 05:39 - Missouri’s State Law Created An NIL Advantage 08:57 - Luther Instincts On The Field From WR Luther Burden 11:35 - Coach Drinkwitz Pulls The Veil Back On SEC Meetings 17:30 - Drinkwitz: Walk-Ons Are Necessary For Player Safety 20:37 - Coach Drinkwitz’s Gameday Connor Stallions Quip 21:53 - Drinkwitz: I’m A Seinfeld Guy Through & Through  24:47 - How To Find What Your Family Is Made Of 26:27 - “I Don’t Have Any Tools’ To Fix Things Around The House” 28:14 - Missouri’s Chance In The College Football Landscape   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Missouri HC Eliah Drinkwitz on the Head Coaches Room at the SEC Meetings + WR Luther Burden's "Luther Instincts"

Who has the right model when it comes to building out a team - Georgia, Michigan or Clemson? Rece Davis, Bill Connelly and Ryan McGee get into it! They also take a look at Bill's latest SP+ rankings and mull over how an SEC or Big Ten team going 9-3 compares to a Big 12 team going 10-2. Before ending the pod, they bring up a few 'new' conference matchups that are on the horizon - BYU-Utah, Texas-Texas A&M;, and Oklahoma-Texas A&M.; 
 0:00 - Welcome 0:52 - BTS On Covering Auto Racing Driver Kyle Larson 04:34 - CFB Players At The Coke 600 Motorsports Race 07:16 - Riding The Ups & Downs Of The CFB Rankings  09:06 - A Quick Lou Holtz Story  11:14 - Riding The Ups & Downs Of The CFB Rankings  13:14 - An Overview of SP+ Projections For The Coming Season  18:45 - Top “New” Conference Match-Ups To Look Forward To  25:31 - Building Dreams: The Georgia Vs. Michigan Model  27:49 - Building Dreams: What About The Clemson Model?  34:29 - Remembering Bill Walton, A Great Football Fan    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recruiting 4 or 5 Star Players Vs Developing Current Players: Who's Doing It Right - Georgia, Michigan or Clemson?

Rece Davis and Pete Thamel sit down with Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby to discuss how he's developed his offensive prowess, the players that will light up the field this season, the advantage his program has over others, and the "yeet yeet" call that always turns heads down in Starkville. 
 0:00 Welcome 0:20 - Ken Jean Auditions To Be On Gameday? 02:56 - Gameday To Wrigley Field 06:22 - Jeff Lebby Joins The Pod 07:36 - Lebby on Shaping The Roster 10:55 - Lebby on Mississippi St’s Advantage Over Others 15:13 - Jeff Lebby On The Difficult Part Of His Job 19:04 - The Offensive Minds That Impacted Coach Lebby 24:27 - Coach Lebby’s Favorite Baylor Story Of Robert Griffin III 30:08 - Lebby’s Yeet Yeet Call That Players Are Dialed Into 38:23 - House v. NCAA Case: Why This week Is A Pivot Point In College Athletics   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midwest Region Preview

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