The Audible with Stew, Bruce & Ralph: A show about college football

Justin Wilcox is out at Cal after nine seasons following a blowout loss to Stanford in the Big Game. In a surprising twist, Nick Rolovich is named interim head coach. The guys discuss potential replacements, including Tosh Lupoi, Sean Lewis, and Jim Mora.

Rivalry week is here with massive playoff implications. Could Alabama actually play themselves OUT of the playoff by losing the SEC Championship Game? Ralph and Stew debate whether the committee would drop a 10-3 Alabama team after losing a 13th game. They also discuss scenarios where Michigan beats Ohio State and crashes the at-large pool, and Georgia Tech upsets Georgia with head-to-head chaos. Plus, why the committee's head-to-head logic only seems to apply to certain conferences.

Also, the guys make their picks for Texas A&M at Texas, Ohio State at Michigan, Miami at Pitt, and Tennessee at Vanderbilt, with one rivalry game upset each. 

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Should Miami be ranked closer to Notre Dame after their head-to-head win, or does the committee's approach of evaluating teams make sense? Bruce argues passionately for honoring the on-field result, while Stew defends the committee's decision to treat them as teams on separate tiers. Ralph suggests the real issue is process, and questions why SEC teams aren't facing the same scrutiny.

Then they debate whether Lane Kiffin would actually leave Ole Miss before the playoffs if he takes the Florida or LSU job, and discusses the ultimatum from AD Keith Carter to decide his future by the Egg Bowl. Could a team be penalized by the playoff committee if their coach leaves mid-season, similar to how a team would be if their QB got hurt?

Plus, a mailbag question on coaching hypocrisy: why do coaches get to do the very things they complain about with NIL and the portal? And a throwback to Jeff Jagodzinski's firing at Boston College serves as a cautionary tale for Ole Miss.

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Lane Kiffin faces an ultimatum from Ole Miss: decide on his future by the Egg Bowl, or else. With his family touring Florida and LSU campuses, Ralph and Stew debate whether he'll stay in Oxford or leave for a blue blood program, and whether he'll even be coaching the Rebels in the playoffs. Meanwhile, James Franklin is officially hired at Virginia Tech. How’s the fit?

The guys explain why the Big Ten's $2.4 billion deal with UC Investments is now on pause after Michigan and USC pushback. Plus, they make their picks for the week's biggest games including Missouri at Oklahoma, USC at Oregon, Pitt at Georgia Tech, and BYU at Cincinnati. 

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Did Notre Dame clinch a playoff spot, and did Georgia eliminate Texas? The Aggies win, they extend Elko — but is their schedule deceptive? Ole Miss survives an upset bid by Florida in the Lane Kiffin bowl. The Sooners are in the CFP mix, USC win sets up a huge Big 10 matchup next week, and Georgia Tech nearly chokes against BC. Plus, a two-bid Big 12 is within reach, but there are too many 10-2 teams to fit in the playoff.

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Josh Pate, the host of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, joins Bruce and Stew to share his unconventional path from manual laborer to hosting one of college football's most popular shows. Pate reveals how he practiced sports talk in his truck for years before getting his break, and his "GPS approach" to making points. And he shares what he'd fix first if he became college football commissioner.

Bruce and Stew also dive into LSU's messy attempt to avoid paying Brian Kelly's $53 million buyout, and debate whether Lane Kiffin will stay at Ole Miss despite openings at Florida and LSU. The mailbag tackles what you should actually DO with your $12 Trader Joe’s gift card, which NFL coordinators might be a good fit for open college head coaching gigs, and whether the Big Ten has become the villain of college football.

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The second College Football Playoff rankings drop soon, and the guys dive into where things are heading down the stretch. How high could Texas Tech end up after dominating wins over BYU and other ranked opponents? Does Ole Miss deserve their lofty ranking, or is their resume thin?

The guys lock horns on how these teams should be evaluated: Should the committee rely on computer rankings and strength of record metrics, or focus on head-to-head results and quality wins? Bruce gets frustrated with power rankings that have 3-6 Penn State in the top 25, Ralph defends using analytics as a starting point, and Stew tries to find middle ground.

They also make their picks for the week's biggest games: Notre Dame at Pitt, Texas at Georgia, Oklahoma at Alabama, and Iowa at USC.

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Indiana and Oregon survive close matchups as Texas Tech convincingly hands BYU its first loss. What's going on in the ACC? What's the SEC's path to five — or even six — teams getting into the playoff? And Stew gives the breakdown of the USC fake punt from his perspective as an in-person spectator from LA Memorial Coliseum.

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The first College Football Playoff rankings sparked immediate controversy, so who better to bring on to discuss it than Ari Wasserman from On3?  

Is the committee leaning too heavily on both vibes and advanced metrics, over actual results? And if the rankings are out of whack, will they correct themselves by the end of the season?

They also look at the best available coaching jobs, debate Auburn's ceiling, discuss why Florida has been a graveyard for coaches, and dive into Ari's biggest pet peeve.

Plus, mailbag tackles Ralph’s playoff prediction formula, whether Florida State's win over Alabama actually hurt Mike Norvell's expectations, and why Kurt Cignetti didn't get a power conference job until his 60s.

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The first College Football Playoff rankings are out, and Ralph has a gripe: every head-to-head matchup mattered except Notre Dame-Miami. Ralph and Stew debate whether the Hurricanes got disrespected at #18 while the Irish sit at #10, and break down why the committee might be valuing progression over early-season results.

There are blueprints for getting two Big 12 teams in the playoff, with BYU and Texas Tech both ranked in the top eight. They discuss Oregon's surprisingly low ranking at #9 despite being undefeated, Texas's position as the first team out, and whether the SEC could realistically get six or even seven teams into the playoff.

Bruce joins to talk about who might replace Hugh Freeze, from James Franklin and Jimbo Fisher to rising stars like John Sumrall and Kenny Dillingham. Plus, the crew makes their picks for the week's biggest games: BYU at Texas Tech, Texas A&M at Missouri, Oregon at Iowa, and LSU at Alabama.

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