Athlon U: The College Football Podcast

Athlon U: The College Football Podcast presented by Athlon Sport previews and reviews every aspect of the greatest sport on the planet. Join Athlon’s college football expert Steve Lassan and sports personality Braden Gall every week, year-round— covering the preseason, regular season, postseason, and offseason — for an in-depth breakdown of the wild world of college football.

Is the playoff is adding value to the regular season? 09/16/2025

Is the playoff is adding value to the regular season? Steven and Braden talk college football after a dramatic third weekend of action. Our favorite thing from Week 3, what Georgia's win over Tennessee teaches us about the playoff and how Notre Dame's resume is still really good. Critical games in the Big 12 and Big Ten highlight another great weekend of action. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/38243155

Once Proud Programs Struggle in Week 2 09/10/2025

Once Proud Programs Struggle in Week 2 Steven and Braden talk college football. Florida, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma St and Kansas St are facing major questions after a brutal second week of action. Rivalries delivered in the Midwest. The AAC continues to shine and might have at-large playoff contenders. Baylor, Oklahoma, Illinois and others got big wins. Plus, the SEC takes center stage in Week 3 as multiple ranked match-ups highlight the weekend. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/38162715

Overreacting to Week 1 09/02/2025

Overreacting to Week 1 Steven and Braden talk college football. Massive top 10 match-ups highlighted a huge Week 1 but is the college football world overreacting? Is the chase for the playoff spot among the Group of 5 totally wide open after USF dominated Boise St? How good could the top of the Big 12 be in 2025? Michigan-Oklahoma highlights a big slate of games in Week 2, including a great list of ACC non-conference match-ups. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/38063325

Welcome Back: Five Straight Nights of Ball 08/26/2025

Welcome Back: Five Straight Nights of Ball Steven and Braden celebrate the return of college football as a massive Week 1 kicks off this weekend. What was our favorite thing about Week 0? The SEC moves to a 9-game schedule. And we preview five straight nights of college football joy! LSU-Clemson, Texas-Ohio St, Auburn-Baylor, Notre Dame-Miami, Va Tech-South Carolina, TCU-UNC and much more. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37970455

The officially official 2025 prediction time capsule 08/19/2025

The officially official 2025 prediction time capsule Steven and Braden make their official picks ahead of Week 0. Conference champions, the national title, the playoff field, biggest sleepers, a Heisman draft, win total over/unders and a preview of the Iowa St-Kansas St game. Football is back! /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37882140

The 2025 SEC Season Preview 08/13/2025

The 2025 SEC Season Preview Braden and Steven preview the SEC in 2025. Is Bama rising this preseason? Can Georgia reload? Who is better: Florida or South Carolina? Why is Texas A&M underrated? Are the Vols and Rebels taking a step back? How good could Auburn be? Who is the worst team in the league? Can Diego Pavia carry Vandy? Why is Texas No. 1? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37803715

The 2025 ACC Preview 08/05/2025

The 2025 ACC Preview Steven and Braden preview the ACC in 2025. Can Clemson win the National Championship? Who in the league can challenge in the ACC title game? Why we love Georgia Tech. How much can Florida State bounce back? What impact does Bill Belichick have? Stability at Pitt and NC State count for something, right? Leadership structure in the Bay Area is going to be fun to watch. What direction is Va Tech going? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37690105

The 2025 Big Ten Preview 07/29/2025

The 2025 Big Ten Preview /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37598860

The 2025 Big 12 Preview 07/22/2025

The 2025 Big 12 Preview Steven and Braden begin our 2025 conference previews with the Big 12. The most balanced and unpredictable league in college football will provide incredible drama as any number of teams could make it to the conference title game. TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor could be sneaky good. Utah and Kansas could bounce back. Arizona State and Iowa State could defend. And Oklahoma State will... do something. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37506695

Group of 5 Preview: Playoff Contenders, QBs, Rising Coaches 07/15/2025

Group of 5 Preview: Playoff Contenders, QBs, Rising Coaches Steven and Braden talk Group of 5 football in 2025. The preseason rankings tell a story about each league. The American is the deepest and likely the best. The Mountain West has the best team. The Sun Belt is the most balanced and wide open. The MAC is top heavy and Conference USA is a two-horse race. Sickos unite! /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37417420

Quarterbacks: All-Conference, All-American picks 07/09/2025

Quarterbacks: All-Conference, All-American picks Steven and Braden talk college football. We give our picks for All-Conference and All-American QBs for 2025. Each power league has a theme under center: The SEC is the best, the Big 12 is the most balanced, the Big Ten has the most intriguing upside and the ACC might have the No. 1 player. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37343100

The Original Dream Road Trip 2025 07/01/2025

The Original Dream Road Trip 2025 Steven and Braden embark on their annual Dream Road trip through college football. You get to go a game each weekend but can't see a team more than once. Where are you going? Locations, rivalries, weather, storylines, stadiums and championship drama all matters. Come along for the ride, 2025 style. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37248495

The Pac-12's trajectory and imbalanced conference schedules 06/25/2025

The Pac-12's trajectory and imbalanced conference schedules Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. The Pac-12's new media deal points to an interesting future for the conference. The Big Ten and SEC are at an impasse that could actually benefit college football. Then we dive into the scheduling imbalances across college football, focusing on the teams catching breaks in 2025. Plus, Braden says sorry! /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37149930

Debating the Coaching Ranks of 2025: Accomplishment vs. Modernization 06/17/2025

Debating the Coaching Ranks of 2025: Accomplishment vs. Modernization Steven and Braden talk college football. The latest around conference expansion is tied to Texas State, the Pac-12 and the Sun Belt. Plus, how will strength of schedule get added to the selection process? We debate the best coaches in America from each power league, the G5 and nationally. We weigh career accomplishments with upside and modernization. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/37046685

The CSC, House settlement and most interesting coordinators 06/10/2025

The CSC, House settlement and most interesting coordinators Steven and Braden talk college football after the House Settlement around revenue sharing was finally approved. A new era has begun and a new organization called the College Sports Commission has hired a director tasked with enforcement. Plus, we conduct a coordinator draft and break down the most impactful and critical coordinator hires in 2025. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36945370

Playoff Conjecture and Annoymous Scouting Reports '25 06/04/2025

Playoff Conjecture and Annoymous Scouting Reports '25 Steven Lassan and Braden Gall discuss the latest in playoff format debate - who is going to win? The Big Ten trying to buy playoff spots or the rest of college football that wants to earn it? Plus, some Hall of Fame rule changes we love. Then we talk gossip. What are coaches saying about each other in our annoymous coaches scouting report for 2025. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36852410

Common Sense Changes + Unranked Teams in 2025 05/28/2025

Common Sense Changes + Unranked Teams in 2025 Steven and Braden talk college football as the playoff structure is changing again as straight seednig will be implamented in 2025. What other changes are coming to our sport and playoff? What are our favorite and most interesting teams in the rankings in outside of the top 25 teams? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36750285

2025 Top 25 and Playoff Picks Revealed 05/20/2025

2025 Top 25 and Playoff Picks Revealed /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36647085

Top 25 Preview: Biggest Debates and Toughest Decisions 05/13/2025

Top 25 Preview: Biggest Debates and Toughest Decisions /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36554640

Belichick, Michigan and the Group of 5 Dream Road Trip 05/06/2025

Belichick, Michigan and the Group of 5 Dream Road Trip Steven and Braden talk college football. Bill Belichick is making more headlines for all of the wrong reasons - is there a tipping point for UNC where it's not worth it? Plus, is Michigan trolling the NCAA? Then we go across the country on our Group of 5 Dream Road Trip 2025. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36458225

The Shedeur Slide + SEC Dream Road Trip '25 04/30/2025

The Shedeur Slide + SEC Dream Road Trip '25 Steven and Braden breakdown how TV played a huge role in the Shedeur Sanders story. Then we embark on our SEC dream road trip for 2025. Who is on the top tier and which QBs are the most exciting? Which games in 2025 are we going to this fall? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36368105

NFL Draft QBs + ACC Dream Road Trip '25 04/22/2025

NFL Draft QBs + ACC Dream Road Trip '25 Steven and Braden talk QBs going into the NFL Draft and if we are learning anything about the position in college? Nico is going to UCLA and the playoff start times have been announced. Then we embark on our dream road trip through the ACC (and Notre Dame). The middle of the ACC is wildly unpredictable as many teams could jump to challenge the top tier in 2025. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36270355

Nico: How did we get here and what does it mean? 04/16/2025

Nico: How did we get here and what does it mean? Steven and Braden break down the latest NIL saga between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee. What does it tell us about the future of the sport? Will schools and coaches actually gain leverage? Who made the right decisions and did anyone actually get better? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36188455

Big 12 Dream Road Trip '25 04/08/2025

Big 12 Dream Road Trip '25 /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/36058525

Big Ten Dream Road Trip '25 04/02/2025

Big Ten Dream Road Trip '25 /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35982410

Stanford Soap Opera + Rankings Philosophy 03/26/2025

Stanford Soap Opera + Rankings Philosophy Steven and Braden break down the bizarre career of Troy Taylor at Stanford. Should general managers be making decisions on coaches? How have rankings teams in the preseason changed over the last 15 years? Why 2025 might be the most difficult and entertaining preseason top 25 ever. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35864005

What is the value of a new stadium? 03/18/2025

What is the value of a new stadium? Steven and Braden talk college football. News from Bowling Green, Deion Sanders and the NCAA 26 video game as well as news with NIL and recruiting. Plus, how much is a new stadium worth to a college football program? Can a Group of 5 program become a power program with a new building? South Florida, UCF, Houston, Tulane, SMU and more are showing us. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35766555

The QBs of 2025 03/11/2025

The QBs of 2025 Steven and Braden talk college football's quarterbacks in 2025. What are the trends around G5 signal callers and what does it tell us about the game? Which league has the best QB? Which league is the most underrated? Which league is loaded with potential? Is anyone better than Arch Manning? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35632955

Informed Speculation: ACC, Playoff, Hard Knocks 03/04/2025

Informed Speculation: ACC, Playoff, Hard Knocks /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35535110

QBs highlight Combine + Grading First Year Coaches 02/25/2025

QBs highlight Combine + Grading First Year Coaches Steven and Braden talk college football - this time live from the Combine in Indy. What are coaches saying about Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and how much players transfer? What is the NFL saying about Travis Hunter? And we grade every first year head coach from 2025? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35429655

Athlon U: The College Football Podcast

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