The Solid Verbal College Football

In this episode, we kick off our 2026 conference preview series with Part 1 of our Group of Six rundown, covering the American, Sun Belt and MAC. With coaching changes, transfer portal churn, new coordinators and a whole lot of roster turnover, we try to figure out which teams are actually built to contend and which ones are more mystery box than finished product.
We start in the American, where UTSA, Navy, Memphis, Army, FAU, USF and ECU all have some version of a case, even if nearly every team comes with one glaring question. Then we move to the Sun Belt, where James Madison enters a new era with Billy Napier, Old Dominion has real intrigue, Louisiana and Troy headline the West, and nobody feels quite as loaded as last year.
Finally, we close with the MAC, where Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan appear to be the class of the conference, while Toledo, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio and Eastern Michigan crowd into a very meaty middle.
Plus: Dan’s questionable subtitle, a punny new vehicle at Coastal Carolina, Lunch Winfield, Goose Crowder, Sacramento State’s strange MAC arrival, Keldric Luster, and the looming joy of the Ball-Sac rivalry.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
6:37 - American Conference Preview
46:40 - Sun Belt Conference Preview
1:11:00 - MAC Preview
Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we officially welcome ourselves back to college football with a full 2026 season primer. Before preview season begins in earnest, we reset the board with the biggest changes you need to know, from conference realignment, new teams, and bowl games to rule tweaks, the coaching carousel and a longer road to the national championship in Las Vegas. Consider this your intro course for the upcoming season.
We also run through the biggest names and roster moves shaping the season, including a huge crop of new head coaches, notable broadcast changes, the biggest transfer portal targets, and the quarterback storylines that could define the year. Plus, we look at early national title odds, conference favorites, Group of Six playoff contenders, and the broader themes we’ll be tracking all summer as our full preview series gets underway.
Also: the Ball-Sac rivalry, North Dakota State’s FBS arrival, the triumph of bike shorts, the return of the Poinsettia Bowl, and a joyous march in the Fleck Parade.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Welcome back
3:35 - What is this episode?
6:26 - The Basics
10:20 - Notable Changes
30:16 - New Coaches
35:49 - Announcer Changes
39:52 - Notable Transfers
56:16 - Big Storylines
1:01:34 - The Odds
1:06:21 - Common Themes
1:15:57 - Parting Thoughts
Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this July Q&A episode, we open up the mailbag and tackle a wide-ranging batch of offseason questions. Which teams could become this year’s surprise contenders? Is Utah still a threat after major coaching and roster turnover? Can Texas Tech buy its way out of an old perception? And what do the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility rules mean for the future of roster building?
Plus, we talk portal spending, quarterback development, new coaching leashes at Michigan State, Penn State and Virginia Tech, college football’s value as a live-event experience compared to the World Cup, EA Sports dynasty strategy, social media guardrails, and sundae bars.
Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we welcome Chris Fallica of Fox Sports, Big Noon Kickoff and Bear Bets to talk through college football from the perspective of a researcher, bettor, traveler and longtime media fixture. We get into how he studies the sport this time of year, what numbers actually matter, how the transfer portal has changed preseason projections, and why college football remains so difficult to evaluate in an era of super conferences, roster churn and wildly uneven schedules.
We also dig into the art of finding weird stats, the value of schedule spots, the eternal appeal of the letdown lookahead sandwich, and whether elevation deserves a bigger place in how we talk about home-field advantage. Plus, Chris shares a few early thoughts on teams he trusts and teams he is more skeptical of heading into 2026, with Indiana, Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Florida State and Arkansas all coming up along the way.
Before the interview, we also react to the latest twist in the Brendan Sorsby saga after the NFL declined to hold a supplemental draft.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
4:13 - Brendan Sorsby denied NFL Supplemental Draft
8:29 - Chris Fallica joins
Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this college football podcast episode, we react to the latest and likely final twist in the Brendan Sorsby saga, as the now-former Texas Tech quarterback backs off his NCAA lawsuit and turns his attention toward the NFL Supplemental Draft. After weeks of legal maneuvering, Big 12 pushback, public statements and fan frustration, we try to make sense of how the situation became untenable, what it means for Texas Tech, and where the Red Raiders go from here with Will Hammond now back in the spotlight.
Then, with preview season still a few weeks away, we open the window into the weirdest corners of college football fandom with help from the Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) social feed. We dig through offseason fan brain at Texas Tech, Florida State, LSU, Washington, Oregon and beyond, touching on conference realignment fantasies, private investigator hypotheticals, Lane Kiffin’s housing situation, recruiting angst, national title expectations and one Auburn thread that probably should not have made it onto a college football podcast.
Plus: a new logo is on the way, Ty’s voice is still recovering, Dan pitches an “immersive college football experience,” and things end with an unfortunate discussion of fermented Japanese green plums.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:05 - Brendan Sorsby to enter NFL Supplemental Draft
27:22 - Message Board Gems
Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.