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.

Sleeper Teams and the ACC TV Deal 02/04/2025

Sleeper Teams and the ACC TV Deal What teams outside of the Top 25 are the ones we like to surge in 2025? Last year, Miami, SMU and Iowa State were just outside the top 25 and had huge seasons. What are those teams this year? Plus, what are the implications of the new ACC TV contract? And the coordinator carousel is still spinning. Steven and Braden talk college football. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35153470

Senior Bowl Practice and 2025 early Top 25 01/28/2025

Senior Bowl Practice and 2025 early Top 25 Steven and Braden talk college football. Braden is at Senior Bowl practice recapping all the buzz from down in Mobile. Then we explain Lassan's early 2025 preseason top 25. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/35057610

Buckeyes Deserving: THE first 12-team champion 01/21/2025

Buckeyes Deserving: THE first 12-team champion Steven and Braden break down Ohio State's national championship victory over Notre Dame. Will Howard's play, the decisions by Marcus Freeman, Ryan Day's legacy and how the new format gave us what we wanted. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34945055

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame 01/16/2025

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame Steven and Braden preview the National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. Characters, storylines, upset-ability, blue-chip ratio, coaching legacies, match-ups and predictions. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34885670

New format delivers awesome semifinals 01/13/2025

New format delivers awesome semifinals Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Ohio State topped Texas and Notre Dame eliminated Penn State in what was the best pair of semifinals in modern history. So did the new format do its job? What to make of Quinn Ewers legacy and Texas' staying power? Ohio State is just too good. The Irish and Lions have the same issue but it made for a great match-up. What does it tell us about James Franklin (if anything) and Marcus Freeman (and Brian Kelly)? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34840560

The Final Four We Deserve 01/06/2025

The Final Four We Deserve Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football playoffs. Texas survives on the back of a gutty win while Arizona State won hearts and minds. But do the Horns have the personnel to challenge Ohio State in the semis? (Since the Buckeyes routed Oregon) Notre Dame and Penn State match-up after hard-fought wins over Boise and Georgia. What does this Final Four tell us about the future of the game? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34743340

Previewing a Happy New Year 12/27/2024

Previewing a Happy New Year /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34632770

Celebrate the Good Stuff, Get off the Internet 12/22/2024

Celebrate the Good Stuff, Get off the Internet Welcome to Athlon U! Steven and Braden begin a new era of college football with some fresh new digs. Ohio St, Texas, Penn St and Notre Dame move on in style and are worth celebrating. So why is the internet so dumb? We break down the first round and scold the comments section. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34571105

The First Round (Plus, Heisman, Belichick and Portal) 12/17/2024

The First Round (Plus, Heisman, Belichick and Portal) Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the first round of the playoffs is upon us. We preview the games from a schematic match-up standpoing as well as a psychological standpoint. How big of a factor is pressure, the condensed schedule and weather? Bill Belichick is a college football coach, Braden reveals his Heisman ballot and the weirdest coaching carousel ever? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34493305

Our New Playoff is Here! 12/09/2024

Our New Playoff is Here! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football as the new 12-team playoff debuts for the first time in history. Did the Committee get it right? What upsets are coming? Which teams do we trust? Who are we picking to win the whole thing? Why the issues were so predictable. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34339145

Spectacular Rivalry Weekend Filled with Chaos 12/04/2024

Spectacular Rivalry Weekend Filled with Chaos Steven and Braden talk college football. Isn't post-game drama fun (or classless)? Ryan Day's future, Texas tops A&M and Miami chokes because of their coach again. The Playoff rankings should be set. Championship Saturday is coming. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34292460

Rivalry Weekend Playoff Implications 11/27/2024

Rivalry Weekend Playoff Implications Steven and Braden talk college football's Thanksgiving rivalry weekend and all of its implications. Who can lose and stay in the bracket? Who will lose? Who is already locked into a spot? Is it three teams - Clemson, Bama and Ole Miss - for one spot? Can Tulane jump Boise St? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34184505

Copious championship game scenarios 11/20/2024

Copious championship game scenarios /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/34043951

Parity or the Illusion of Parity? 11/14/2024

Parity or the Illusion of Parity? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33937372

Total Chaos is Upon Us 11/05/2024

Total Chaos is Upon Us Steven and Braden talk college football. Is Penn State still just Penn State? What did we learn about Ohio St? How did the chaos of last week impact the at-large race to the playoff? Who is now the favorite in Big 12 - which appears to be a four-team race? Can SMU win the ACC? Two huge SEC games highlight the Week 11 slate. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33809772

Great Candidates for Coach of the Year 10/30/2024

Great Candidates for Coach of the Year Steven and Braden dive into the coaching ranks as multiple jobs have come open. The carousel is turning and moves are coming. But who is safe? Who is in trouble? On the other end of the spectrum, we have a huge group of great options for Coach of the Year. The Big Ten takes center stage with a huge showdown after contenders were tested last weekend. The G5 race, the ACC ranks, playoff discussions and more. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33678142

Flawed But Very Good Teams 10/22/2024

Flawed But Very Good Teams Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football, including what we learned about Georgia and Texas. What to make of the Arch Manning situation. There are many very good but flawed teams that could all make the playoff and win some games. Lots of Big Ten teams will get tested this weekend but will any fail? Will a three-loss team get into the playoff? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33575612

Overtime and Surprise Unbeatens 10/15/2024

Overtime and Surprise Unbeatens Steven Lassan and Braden Gall work through all the great overtime games of last weekend. No overreacting allowed about Oregon and Ohio State. Did we learn something definitive about Penn State? What's up with Tennessee and Alabama? Georgia visits Texas in this week's monster showdown. LSU, Clemson and Notre Dame are quietly working back into Playoff mix. Can Indiana, Iowa State, BYU and Pitt stay unbeaten? /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33474567

Isn't this what we wanted? 10/08/2024

Isn't this what we wanted? Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Chaos unfolded in week 6 as five of the top 11 lost, mostly to unranked teams opening the door for dozens more teams to get into playoff contention. Who bounces back and who are we worried about? Ohio State-Oregon is big. So is Texas and Oklahoma. And also Ole Miss vs. LSU and Kansas State at Colorado. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33382747

Where did all these games come from? 10/01/2024

Where did all these games come from? Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Bama-Georgia instant classic, the ruling to end the Miami-Va Tech game, chaos in the Big 12 and Big Ten powers keep rolling. We look ahead at a Week 6 loaded with games that no one expected to be this good. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33289807

Clarity or Confusion 09/24/2024

Clarity or Confusion Steven and Braden talk college football entering a huge Week 5. What is Michigan or Illinois or Nebraska or Penn St or Rutgers in the Big Ten? The race for the G5 playoff spot gets more muddled with a few loses. Second-tier teams in the SEC got challenged while Bama and Georgia fight for the top spot. Utah takes control of the Big 12 while Miami takes control of the ACC. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33195222

QB Changes, G5 Contenders and the Pac-12 is back! 09/17/2024

QB Changes, G5 Contenders and the Pac-12 is back! Steven Lassan and Braden Gall break down Week 3 in college football, look ahead to week 4 and talk Pac-12 expansion. A huge start to the season from the Group of 5 has led to a larger list of Playoff contenders than we thought possible. QB changes across the country make headlines. Chaos in Florida reigns supreme. SEC contenders get challenged and pass the test. Picks against the spread and more. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33098482

Contenders Begin Slipping 09/10/2024

Contenders Begin Slipping Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk recap Week 2 and preview Week 3 in college football. How will the committee view Michigan and Notre Dame? How worried are we about Oregon, Penn St or Bama? The top of the Big 12 was and will be insane. South Carolina and Nebraska posted huge wins. SEC contenders finally get some Power-4 competition. And picks against the spread. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/33000357

What's Real, What's Not 09/04/2024

What's Real, What's Not Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. It's hard not to overreact to Week 1, so we try to decipher what's real and what's not about the first weekend of action. QB debuts, upsets, conference struggles and the entire state of Florida. We look ahead at a huge weekend in the Big Ten. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32889662

Narrative Warnings Everywhere 08/28/2024

Narrative Warnings Everywhere Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk college football. Georgia Tech's upset over Florida State got the season started off in memorable fashion but could Week 1 paint the ACC into corner? The right Heisman question. Deion Sanders continue to make questionable decisions in Boulder. Massive non-conference games in the SEC dominate the first weekend. Picks against the spread, a mistake bet and season win totals. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32769907

Officially Official 12-Team Playoff Picks 08/21/2024

Officially Official 12-Team Playoff Picks Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk through all the potential college football playoff possibilities. We try to guess what we are getting wrong and make our official picks for who will make the 12-team bracket for the first time. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32677092

Michigan and The Hot Seat 08/14/2024

Michigan and The Hot Seat Steven and Braden break down a good old-fashioned NCAA scandal: The Michigan Wolverines. What is happening and what should happen? Then we talk coaches on the hot seat. The SEC is ground zero for changes, a number of older coaches could face retirement decisions and volatile wildcards no one is talking about. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32572302

The Group of 5 Preview 08/08/2024

The Group of 5 Preview /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32504872

The Big 12 Preview 08/05/2024

The Big 12 Preview What a wild league this is going to be. Steven Lassan and Braden Gall talk Big 12 football in 2024. Utah, Mike Gundy, the state of Kansas, style of offense, surprisingly solid styles of defense, the hot seat and much more. /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32435122

The ACC Preview 07/24/2024

The ACC Preview /episode/index/show/athlonsportscover2/id/32270037

Athlon U: The College Football Podcast

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