Always College Football with Greg McElroy

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Arch Manning’s pressure at Texas, Julian Sayin’s poor scrimmage, Ty Simpson’s potential upside at Alabama and the battle at Notre Dame between Steve Angeli and CJ Carr are just some of the intrigue coming out of spring camps. McElroy hits the mailbag to answer questions about all those quarterbacks plus talks about Stanford hiring of Frank Reich, the benefit of having NFL experience at the college level and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who are the 10 BEST coaches in College Football heading into the 2025 season? On this episode McElroy goes through and ranks 10 thru 1 based on longevity (which some coaches don’t have), program trajectory and year over year improvement and much more. It’s not just about where you coach but what you do with the resources made available to you, the list will surely be debated but truthfully probably the most accurate one out there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who are the 25 BEST coaches in College Football heading into the 2025 season? On this episode McElroy goes through and ranks 25 thru 11 based on longevity (which some coaches don’t have), program trajectory and year over year improvement and much more. It’s not just about where you coach but what you do with the resources made available to you, the list will surely be debated but truthfully probably the most accurate one out there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ACC is maybe the most intriguing of any of the P4 conferences heading into spring practice. Will Clemson get back to a championship level, can Carson Beck take Miami to the CFP, can Louisville, Georgia Tech or NC State take the next steps and become contenders? Will SMU sneak up on anyone and how BIG will the Florida State bounce back be? McElroy gives you ONE big question for each ACC team as they enter spring practice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can the BIG 10 win THREE straight National Championships?! Maybe, but if they do, there will need to be some questions answered this spring, like does Penn State have a WR that will step up, is Dante Moore ready to take over at Oregon, and are there too many changes at Ohio State? Is Nebraska ready to breakthrough, can Michigan just reload on defense and who are the surprise teams from the BIG 10 that we should keep an eye on. McElroy goes through them all and gives you one big spring question for each. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Spring practice is kicking off in College Football and McElroy gives you one big question for each team in the SEC. Will someone separate themselves in the Alabama QB competition, who will step up around DJ Lagway at Florida and LaNorris Sellers at South Carolina? Can LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss replace all the talent they lost around the line of scrimmage and just how good can Arch Manning be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ACC is ALL over the map this offseason. The Bill Belichick era got underway at North Carolina and we discuss the impact he will have on the Tar Heels, while Clemson and Florida State reach a revenue distribution settlement with the conference. Did this short term answer just make it easier for the conference to split up by 2030? McElroy explains. Plus, we give you a couple sleeper teams to keep an eye on as spring practice starts up and we hit the mailbag to find out who has the best defense in the SEC heading into 2025 and much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Oklahoma really a sleeper in the SEC? How big will Florida State’s rebound be after a humbling 2024 season? Will Auburn FINALLY get a winning record under Hugh Freeze and is Texas A&M poised for a big jump? Are USC and Nebrsaka ready to be contenders in the BIG 10, and just how good will Coach Prime and Colorado be after losing so much talent? McElroy takes a look at the expectations for SEVEN of college footballs biggest question mark teams heading into 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring practice is right around the corner so McElroy decided to look at the 12 teams from last year's CFP and tell you who he thinks could return to the CFP in 2025. Will the new quarterbacks at Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas be able to win 10+ games? Can SMU, Arizona State and Indiana repeat the Cinderella seasons from a year ago, can Tennessee and Oregon handle losing so much production and are Clemson and Penn State in the best position? McElroy breaks down strengths, concerns and the schedule for each of the 12 teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The B10 and SEC are pushing toward a 14 team playoff with automatic qualifiers, is it a hostile takeover by the two biggest conferences or an overreaction to something that we have seen coming. McElroy and Finebaum break down what it means for the SEC and BIG 10, if Sankey and Petitti owe ANYTHING to all of college football and what it means for Notre Dame the ACC and BIG 12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is running back making a comeback? Last year some bell cow backs like Ashton Jeanty, Cam Skattebo and Dylan Sampson carried their teams to the CFP while Ohio State, Penn St, and Notre Dame relied more on a tandem backfield. McElroy asks if it is more important to win a national championship with a “bell cow” or a deep running back room. Plus Ohio State has a new defensive coordinator what impact will Matt Patricia have, will the Texas offense look different under Arch Manning and why can’t the FBS just adopt the FCS playoff model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are 13 teams that missed the 2024 College Football Playoff that McElroy thinks will be playoff contenders in 2025. Is Alabama ready to make the jump into the CFP in 2025? Can LSU and Miami start the season out with wins to push towards the playoffs? Can South Carolina improve on last year or will it be Florida or Ole Miss who make the jump into the CFP. Who from the BIG 10 and BIG 12 can make a run - is it finally USC’s chance or will Michigan bounce back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What was like playing quarterback for Nick Saban during his first two championships at LSU and Alabama? Greg McElroy and Matt Mauck get together to tell some incredible stories about Saban’s training camps, the staffs at LSU and Alabama and how much harder Coach worked immediately AFTER winning National Championships. Plus, McElroy takes a quick look at O/U win totals for Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State, Clemson and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are in a new era of College Football with the Natty or Bust mentality. Ohio State showed it 2024 and Michigan in 2023. Who is all in in 2025? Clemson, Penn State, Texas come to mind. Gone are the days of stacked rosters and the question is who is ready to adapt and who is falling behind? Plus are spring games dead - well it is in Nebraska, how many schools will follow suit. Alabama hired a new OC, Notre Dame hired a new DC and Ohio State is now looking to replace BOTH coordinators. There is no off-season, it's ALWAYS COLLEGE FOOTBALL! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg McElroy talks with National Championship quarterback and Ohio State legend Cardale Jones about growing up in Ohio, what drew him to Ohio State and that magical title run in 2014. If today’s college football rules were in place would Cardale have transferred? How much could he have made in NIL and were teams tampering with him before the 2015 season? Cardale opens up to tell some fantastic stories and makes the assertive claim that if there was a 12 team playoff in 2015 - Ohio State would have won it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How would you grade Kalen DeBoer at Alabama after a 9-4 season? What about Sherrone Moore at Michigan and Mike Elko at Texas A&M? McElroy looks back at 2024 and grades out all of the first year head coaches based on the transfer portal impacts, win loss record, big wins & more. Plus Penn State hires Jim Knowles from Ohio State, making him college football's highest-paid defensive coordinator. Are the Nittany Lions gearing up for a National Title run in 2025? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 12 team CFP was a HUGE success but McElroy found a few ways to make it a little bit better. The seeding and bye’s need to change but does that mean conference championships are going away? Should the best of the SEC and BIG 10 get TWO first round home playoff games and are the New Years 6 bowl games going anywhere? Tell us what you think needs to happen to make the 12 team CFP better below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ohio State won the inaugural 12 team college football playoff with an offense that was humming in the first half as the Buckeyes raced out to 21-7 halftime. Ohio State held off a valiant Notre Dame comeback to win their first National Championship since 2014. McElroy breaks down the game talking about impact players, outstanding coaching and what the win means for Ryan Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices