Show Pony Live!

There are certain weeks on the sports calendar that just feel different.

This is one of them.

College football is back.

We have spent an entire offseason talking about the transfer portal, NIL, recruiting, conference realignment, the College Football Playoff and seemingly every possible way the sport could change.

Now we finally get to talk about football.

It’s Game Week.

Week Zero kicks off Saturday, and on today’s Show Pony Live, we turn our attention toward the field and everything happening as teams make their final preparations for the season.

The QB Decisions Are Coming In

Nothing makes the beginning of a college football season feel more real than coaches finally answering the question they have spent months avoiding:

Who is your starting quarterback?

Depth charts are becoming real. Quarterback competitions are being decided. Coaches who spent the summer saying they had “two guys we feel really good about” eventually have to pick one of them.

And those decisions matter.

Quarterback battles aren’t just offseason storylines anymore. The guy who gets the first snap now has to go win football games.

On today’s show, I get into the latest starting quarterback announcements and what they could mean as we head into the opening weekend of the season.

Saturday, We Have Actual College Football

That might be the best sentence I’ve written in months.

We have college football on Saturday.

Week Zero isn’t the biggest weekend of the season. It doesn’t need to be.

There will be plenty of enormous Saturdays ahead. Rivalries. Upsets. Playoff races. Coaching controversies. Fans storming fields. Somebody becoming a Heisman contender we weren’t even talking about in August.

That’s all coming.

For now, I’m just happy that when Saturday arrives, there will be college football on television again.

The offseason is over.

The speculation is almost over.

It’s time to play.

Show Pony Media Is Presented by AR’s Hot Honey

A huge thank you to AR’s Hot Honey for supporting Show Pony Media and helping us bring you shows like this throughout football season.

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Today’s show is all about the return of college football: the latest quarterback news, the start of Game Week and everything I’m watching as we head toward Week Zero.

And this is only the beginning.

We’re going to be here throughout the season talking about the games, the people, the traditions, the insanity and everything else that makes college football the best sport in America.

Subscribe for free at ShowPonyMedia.com so you don’t miss a show or story this football season.

College football is back.

Let’s ride.

Mike Farrell joins me on today’s Show Pony Live to try to make sense of a college football world where the rulebook increasingly feels like a suggestion.

The biggest story is the wild ruling out of Louisiana that could potentially open a door we never thought we’d see: players who are currently in NFL training camps getting another chance to play college football.

A Louisiana judge granted temporary relief to a group of former college athletes, including football players who have signed NFL contracts, allowing them an avenue back toward college eligibility. The ruling is narrow — it currently applies to the plaintiffs — but the precedent and the questions it raises are enormous.

Think about how crazy that sentence would have sounded a few years ago.

You can leave college. Sign an NFL contract. Go through an NFL training camp. Get cut — and potentially wind up back on a college campus?

Some players named in the litigation are already with NFL teams, and the league’s final roster cutdown comes August 30.

Mike and I get into what this could mean, whether we’re headed toward even more eligibility lawsuits, and just how difficult roster management becomes when coaches aren’t even sure who is finished playing college football anymore.

And if you think the portal is chaotic now, imagine NFL cutdown day becoming another version of the transfer portal.

Oklahoma Makes Its Bet on Brent Venables

We also react to today’s news that Oklahoma has agreed to a new six-year contract with Brent Venables, extending his deal through January 2032.

It’s fascinating timing.

Venables has taken Oklahoma through its transition into the SEC and got the Sooners into the College Football Playoff last season. Now Oklahoma is making it clear that it believes he’s the guy to lead the program through this next era.

The reported deal pays Venables $10 million this season with $200,000 annual increases over the following five years.

Mike and I debate the extension, what Oklahoma is really buying with it and where Venables fits in the SEC coaching hierarchy entering 2026.

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey

Today’s Show Pony Live is presented by AR’s Hot Honey.

Ames Russell has built something special because he keeps it simple: great honey and peppers. No unnecessary junk. Just a great product made the right way.

Use promo code SHOWPONY15 to save 15% on your order.

Support the companies that support independent sports media — and put some damn good hot honey on your food while you’re at it.

🎙️ Show Pony Live with Chris Childers

Today: Mike Farrell

We cover:

* The Louisiana eligibility ruling that could create a path from NFL training camp back to college football

* What this latest legal battle means for NCAA eligibility

* Oklahoma’s new commitment to Brent Venables

* Whether Venables is the right man for the Sooners in the SEC

* How NIL, the portal and roster management have transformed recruiting

* Where the college football recruiting business goes from here

Subscribe to Show Pony Media for free at ShowPonyMedia.com.

If you love college football but also believe the sport is worth questioning, debating and occasionally fighting for, you’re in the right place.

Get Yourself Together.

The legendary musician joins the show to talk football, Full Ride, his career, and why creating art gets complicated when money starts driving the decisions.

Show Pony Live is presented by AR’s Hot Honey.

Great honey. Great peppers. Nothing you don’t need.

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I’ve had a lot of fun conversations doing Show Pony Live, but today’s guest was a special one.

John Oates joins the show.

Yes, that John Oates.

We obviously talk music and his incredible career, but one of the things I loved about this conversation was getting to know John the sports fan.

John has a genuine love for college football, and, much to my delight, he’s also a fan of what Rick Neuheisel and I do every day on Full Ride. We talk about why he enjoys the sport, what draws him to college football and the connection between sports, entertainment and the people who devote their lives to a craft.

But the conversation eventually gets into something even more interesting: What happens when you’re successful enough to create simply because you want to create?

John is at a fascinating point in his career. He’s still making music, but he talks about how much fun he’s having making the music he wants to make.

There’s freedom in that.

And it led us into a bigger conversation about something I think applies far beyond the music industry: the relationship between art and money.

There is nothing wrong with making money from your work. Artists have to make a living. Musicians have to sell records and tickets. Broadcasters need ratings and advertisers. Writers need subscribers.

But John talks about how money can begin to dictate the way art is created.

That’s when things get complicated.

When the question changes from “What do I want to make?” to “What will sell?” the creative process changes with it.

John has lived through enormous changes in the music business, and hearing someone with his career and perspective talk about creativity, commercial success and the freedom he feels making music today made this conversation much more than an interview about his greatest hits.

We talk college football, Full Ride, his remarkable music career, creativity, money and why he’s having so much fun making music at this stage of his life.

It’s one of my favorite conversations we’ve had on Show Pony Live.

Listen to the full episode here on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

And as always, thanks for supporting Show Pony Media.

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey

If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. AR’s keeps it beautifully simple: honey and peppers, crafted into something that belongs on pizza, chicken, biscuits and just about anything else you can think of.

Use promo code SHOWPONY15 and save 15%.

Show Pony Live — conversations about sports, media, culture and the people who make them interesting.

Today’s Show Pony Live has a little bit of everything — including some heat.

Ames Russell, founder of AR’s Hot Honey, joins me to talk about the craft behind what I believe is simply the best hot honey on the market.

Ames was one of the originals in the hot honey game, well before seemingly everybody decided they needed to make one. What has always separated AR’s for me is how ridiculously simple the product is: honey and peppers. That’s it. Two ingredients. No additives.

We talk about where the idea came from, the process behind making it, why quality ingredients matter and what it takes to build a food brand in an increasingly crowded category.

And yes, AR’s Hot Honey is a proud partner of Show Pony Media. You can support them and the show by using promo code SHOWPONY15 for 15% off your order.

Then we get into sports.

Does Kyler Murray give Minnesota a legitimate chance to win the NFC North?

I think he does.

Everybody seems ready to crown somebody else in that division, but I’m not ready to dismiss the Vikings. Murray gets an opportunity to reset his career in a fascinating situation, and Minnesota suddenly becomes one of the teams I’m most interested in watching this season.

We also dig into Northwestern’s recent $30+ million donation from a major booster and football parent. In the new world of college athletics, donations like this mean more than simply putting someone’s name on a building. They tell us something about where the sport is headed, how programs are going to compete and just how important wealthy supporters have become.

Finally, we head across the Atlantic.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have quietly spent years building an enormous footprint in the United Kingdom, including a flag football community that has reached more than 250,000 kids under the age of 10.

That number jumped out at me.

The Jaguars aren’t simply flying to London once a year, playing a football game and coming home. They’re attempting to create actual football fans at the grassroots level. If the NFL is serious about becoming a truly global league, what Jacksonville has built in the UK may be one of the most important experiments in the sport.

On today’s Show Pony Live: hot honey, the NFC North, the rapidly changing economics of college sports and the NFL’s international future.

Thanks, as always, for riding with the Show Pony.

ShowPonyMedia.com

Show Pony Live is presented by AR’s Hot Honey. Use promo code SHOWPONY15 for 15% off your order.

What exactly happened in Washington last week?

For a few hours, it looked like the Protect College Sports Act might actually find a way across the finish line before the Senate left town for its August recess.

It didn’t.

Trey Wallace of OutKick joins me on today’s Show Pony Live after living the story in real time. Trey was up into the early morning hours working his sources and trying to figure out whether lawmakers could pull off a last-minute deal to get the bill to a vote.

He takes us behind the scenes of a wild night: what he was hearing from sources, why the legislation ultimately stalled, what may have been added to the bill at the last minute, and whether there is actually a path to passage when Congress returns in September.

And September could be enormously important.

Trey gives his prediction for what happens next with the Protect College Sports Act — and what passage, failure or further delay could mean for the future of college athletics.

But our conversation goes beyond Washington.

We also dig into another enormous battle developing behind the scenes: the future size of the College Football Playoff and the role television networks could play in deciding it.

There are billions of dollars at stake.

We discuss why ESPN may have little incentive to dramatically expand the playoff while it controls the current media rights, and why FOX could benefit from a much larger postseason — potentially as many as 24 teams — that could eventually put those rights back on the open market.

That creates a fascinating question:

Are the conferences really deciding the future of the College Football Playoff — or are their television partners increasingly helping shape what that future looks like?

Trey is one of the most plugged-in reporters covering the intersection of college sports, politics and the rapidly changing business of the industry. This conversation provides a window into just how complicated the next few months could become.

On today’s Show Pony Live:

* Trey’s late-night reporting as the Protect College Sports Act hung in the balance

* Why the Senate ultimately left Washington without voting on it

* What could happen when lawmakers return in September

* What the bill would actually mean for college sports

* Why the fight over CFP expansion isn’t simply about football

* ESPN’s incentive to protect its current playoff position

* Why FOX could benefit from expansion and another opportunity to bid on CFP rights

* Whether a 24-team College Football Playoff is becoming a legitimate possibility

The structure of college sports is being decided right now — in conference offices, television boardrooms, courtrooms and the halls of Congress.

Trey Wallace helps us make sense of all of it.

Show Pony Live — presented by AR’s Hot Honey.

🌶️ SHOW PONY SPECIAL: Use promo code SHOWPONY15 for 15% off your order from AR’s Hot Honey.

Subscribe to Show Pony Media for more independent coverage and conversations about the rapidly changing world of college sports.

College athletics isn’t just changing—it’s being rebuilt in real time.

On tonight’s episode of Show Pony Live, presented by AR’s Hot Honey, Northern Illinois Athletic Director Sean Frazier joins me for one of the most insightful conversations you’ll hear about where college sports are headed.

Northern Illinois is entering its first football season in the Mountain West Conference, a move that represents far more than a change in opponents. It’s a strategic decision in an era where athletic directors must think as CEOs, balancing finances, competitive success, media exposure, student-athlete experience, and long-term sustainability.

We dive into:

* Why NIU made the move to the Mountain West.

* How the Huskies are preparing for their first season in a brand-new league.

* The realities of conference realignment.

* Managing NIL and the transfer portal.

* What life is like for a Group of Five athletic director in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

* Whether college sports are finally settling into a new normal—or if even bigger changes are still coming.

Sean has earned a reputation as one of the most respected administrators in college athletics because he’s willing to think differently. As schools across the country wrestle with unprecedented challenges, Northern Illinois has embraced a long-term strategy centered on increasing revenue, strengthening its brand, and positioning itself for the future.

If you’re interested in where college athletics is headed—not just this season, but over the next decade—you’ll want to hear this conversation.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe to Show Pony Media so you never miss an episode.

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey. Use promo code SHOWPONY15 to save 15% on your order.

Indiana is bringing back Stephen Daley after a judge granted an extra year of eligibility to players from the 2022 high school class.

Daley is not some fringe roster player, either. He led Indiana with 17 tackles for loss last season. His return is a major development for the Hoosiers, but the ruling also opens the door to a much larger conversation about eligibility, roster management and just how chaotic college sports has become.

We get into what this decision could mean across the country, because Indiana will not be the only school trying to take advantage of it.

We also discuss the fallout at Boston College after the school fired longtime basketball broadcasters Kevin Collins and Josh Maurer. Broadcasters are not disposable. They are the connection between a program and its fans, and too often the people making these decisions have no appreciation for the craft, history or human beings involved.

Finally, we look at college sports’ growing obsession with hiring executives from professional sports. Every school suddenly wants someone from the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball to come in and “modernize” the operation.

But is that really what college athletics needs?

College sports keeps trying to become professional sports while forgetting the traditions, communities and relationships that made it special in the first place.

All of that and more on today’s edition of Show Pony Live.

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey. Use promo code SHOWPONY15 for 15% off at ARsHotHoney.com.

There was plenty to unpack after SEC Media Days, so I caught up with Ryan Fowler of Tide 100.9 to get his perspective after spending the week in Atlanta.

One of the most interesting takeaways? Ryan believes something felt...different.

For years, SEC Media Days felt like the center of the college football universe. This year, he says some of the league’s swagger seemed to be missing. Is it simply the changing landscape of college athletics? Is the conference no longer carrying itself with the same confidence? We dive into why the vibe felt different and what it could mean moving forward.

We also tackle one of the biggest stories hanging over the sport: the Protect College Sports Act. Is meaningful federal legislation actually getting closer, or are we still a long way from any real stability? We discuss the latest momentum and what it could mean for the future of college athletics.

Of course, no conversation about Alabama is complete without talking football.

We break down the Crimson Tide quarterback competition, who has the inside track to win the job, and what Kalen DeBoer needs from the position this fall. We also debate whether Alabama has done enough to fix the rushing attack after last season’s struggles. If the Tide can’t consistently run the football, can they realistically compete for an SEC Championship or College Football Playoff berth?

Finally, we put Alabama under the microscope. Is this truly a playoff-caliber team? Are expectations being set too high—or are people sleeping on the Tide entering 2026?

It’s a loaded conversation covering Alabama, the SEC, and the biggest issues shaping the future of college football.

On today’s episode:

* Ryan Fowler’s biggest takeaway from SEC Media Days

* Has the SEC lost some of its swagger?

* The latest on the Protect College Sports Act

* Alabama’s quarterback battle

* Can the Tide finally fix the rushing attack?

* Is Alabama a legitimate College Football Playoff contender?

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey. Use promo code SHOWPONY15 at checkout to save 15% on what I genuinely believe is the best hot honey on the market.

Big Ten Media Days are officially in the books, and we’re recapping everything you need to know from all three days in Chicago.

In this episode, we break down the biggest headlines from Big Ten Media Days, with a special focus on Indiana football and Michigan football following their appearances on the final day. We also discuss the most notable comments from Pat Fitzgerald, Matt Campbell, Bret Bielema, and Dan Lanning, and what their remarks could mean heading into the 2026 college football season.

From quarterback storylines and conference contenders to the biggest takeaways from coaches and players, we separate the coachspeak from the news that actually matters. Even though I wasn’t on-site in Chicago, this episode brings together the key moments, reactions, and analysis from all three days of Big Ten Media Days.

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Indiana, Oregon, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, or any other Big Ten program, this episode will get you caught up on the conference’s biggest preseason storylines.

Presented by AR’s Hot Honey. Use promo code SHOWPONY15 at checkout to save on your order.

On today’s episode of Show Pony Live, presented by AR’s Hot Honey, we covered another packed day in college athletics, beginning with the surprising news that North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi has been placed on paid administrative leave. It’s a fascinating development for a program entering its first season under Bill Belichick and one we’ll continue to monitor closely.

We also discussed Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel’s reported $7 million buyout, another reminder of just how much money is now flowing through college athletics. Athletic directors, coaches, television networks, conferences—everything continues to get bigger financially, and the stakes have never been higher.

With Big Ten Media Days getting underway in Chicago this week, we previewed the biggest storylines to watch. Which teams are legitimate national title contenders? Which coaches are under the most pressure? And what questions need answering before Week 1 arrives? The Big Ten enters another season carrying enormous expectations, and we’ll be following every development.

One of my favorite segments today centered around Lane Kiffin. I played several of his comments from SEC Media Days and reacted to them live. Kiffin remains one of the most unique personalities in college football. Whether you agree with him or not, he has a way of saying exactly what he thinks while keeping everyone listening. He’s entertaining, insightful, and unlike almost anyone else in the sport.

We also examined the growing movement involving Stanford football players, who are reportedly attempting to organize around collective bargaining. It’s another sign that the conversation surrounding player rights, employment, and the future structure of college athletics isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The legal and financial landscape of college sports continues to evolve, and this story could have implications well beyond Palo Alto.

As always, thank you for supporting Show Pony Media. If you’re enjoying the podcast, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a rating and review, and share the show with another college football fan. Every subscription helps us continue growing this community.

Today’s episode is presented by AR’s Hot Honey. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. It’s the best hot honey I’ve ever had, and it’s become a staple in my kitchen. Visit ARsHotHoney.com and use promo code SHOWPONY15 to save 15% on your order.

Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time on Show Pony Live.