Always College Football with Greg McElroy

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

Atlanta is covered in Blue, Gold, Green, Scarlet and Grey as we get ready for the National Championship. McElroy and Stanford Steve break down why it’s Ohio State’s game to lose on Monday, how Notre Dame will go about trying to pull off the upset and what a National Title would mean for both schools. Plus the guys go through the best prop bets for the game, if Notre Dame will cover, how many receiving yards for the Ohio State WR’s and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg McElroy talks with former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel about the similarities between Ryan Day and Marcus Freeman, how special Jeremiah Smith is, what a National Championship for Ryan Day would mean and much more. Plus, McElroy and Matt Barrie go over the challenges ahead for Notre Dame, how Ohio State’s loss to Michigan may have made them better, what a National Championship would mean for both teams and how Notre Dame has given other programs hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the Ohio State vs Notre Dame preview that you have been waiting for. McElroy goes in-depth and asks the questions that will help determine the National Championship. Can Will Howard and Ohio State continue to make big plays, will the Notre Dame’s Wide Receivers step up, who are the sneaky impact players of the game, and most importantly, can Notre Dame eliminate the margins by winning the situations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg McElroy and Brady Quinn sit down and discuss what Notre Dame HAS to do to beat Ohio State and win their first National Championship since 1988. Can Marcus Freeman get this team to keep fighting, will the re-shuffeled offensive line be able to hold back the wildly talented Ohio State defensive front and how will Notre Dame defend Ohio State? Plus, it’s a new era in college football, how well positioned is Notre Dame to keep this success up and is there another bet with AJ Hawk coming? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The National Championship is set Notre Dame vs Ohio State! McElroy breaks down the epic semifinal games that saw the Irish fight back to beat Penn State 27-24 and Ohio State seal a win over Texas with a scoop and score. What were the keys and can the Irish shock the world and beat Ohio State for the National Championship? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The CFP Semifinals are upon us and McElroy asks the questions that will determine who will play for a National Title. Can Notre Dame run on Penn St or will they be forced to throw down field and who wins the turnover battle? Will Ohio St start (stay) hot or will Texas’ defensive line take over? McElroy breaks it down in his previews. Plus Booger McFarland joins the show to talk Penn St WR’s vs ND’s secondary, Ohio St’s defensive line vs Texas offensive line and much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Penn State closed out 2024 with a dominating win over Boise State - are the Nittany Lions ready for Notre Dame who dominated SEC Champion Georgia. Texas looked like it was going to roll Arizona State until Cam Skattebo took over and forced overtime, but the Longhorns held on and now face an Ohio State team that absolutely dominated #1 Oregon and looks like they are playing on a different level than everyone else. McElroy breaks down the quarterfinal games and what’s next in the semifinals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The quarterfinals of the CFP are here and McElroy gives you the BIGGEST questions that will help determine the outcomes. Will Ashton Jeanty be able to run on Penn State, can Cam Skattebo spark Arizona State in the upset over Texas? Who will create more big plays: Oregon or Ohio State in the much anticipated rematch. Can Notre Dame run on Georgia or will Gunner Stockton step in and save Georgia’s title dreams? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

McElroy and Josh Pate go over the first round of the CFP and talk about the negative reaction from media members, how to fix the “most deserving vs best team” debate, and why we NEED to stop using fictional Vegas lines for hypothetical games and much more. Plus, does Gunner Stockton make Georgia better, could Texas be overlooking Arizona State, is Boise State ready for the BIG stage against a really good Penn State squad and can Oregon beat Ohio State TWICE in a season? The guys go over it all plus give their picks for National Title winners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Notre Dame hosted the first CFP game on campus and dominated an Indiana team that didn’t have a good game plan. Penn State’s defense crushed SMU’s dreams before the 1st quarter was over. Texas held off a good Clemson team by running the ball all over the Tigers and Ohio State flexed hard on Tennessee and looked like a team on a mission from the start. McElroy breaks down the 1st round games and has a few more general takeaways for all of us i.e. stop with the hypothetical matchups in the CFP (looking at you SEC fans). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first round of the College Football playoff is here! Will Notre Dame be able to run the football against Indiana or will the Hoosiers continue their remarkable run? Can SMU hold up in the trenches or will Penn State hammer down in the 2nd half, who will perform better, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik or Texas’ Quinn Ewers and can Ohio State bounce back on offense against a strong Tennessee defense? McElroy breaks down all the games and asks the questions that will determine the outcomes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices