The Solid Verbal College Football Show

With most of Week 1 in the books, we go back through the games that deserved a longer look after Saturday night’s live reaction show. LSU’s demolition of Clemson is at the center of the conversation. How much of the result was about LSU looking immediately dangerous under Lane Kiffin, and how much should Clemson fans worry about a team that was physically overwhelmed?
We also dig deeper into the fireworks between Ole Miss and Louisville, one of the most entertaining games of the weekend, and spend time on Notre Dame’s 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. What should we make of the Irish offense after a sluggish start, how much can we learn from Wisconsin’s first half?
From there, we go rapid-fire through some of the other Week 1 performances that caught our attention, including Washington’s Apple Cup win and encouraging starts from Indiana, Florida, UCLA and Mississippi State. We also start looking ahead to a loaded Week 2, with Michigan-Oklahoma, Ohio State-Texas and several other matchups that should tell us much more about what these teams actually are in 2026.
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College football Week 1 started quietly and then completely lost its mind. Michigan needed a last-second miracle to survive Western Michigan, Oregon got pushed deep into the fourth quarter by Boise State, and Auburn escaped Baylor by a single point after stopping a late two-point conversion.
We break down the biggest games, then zoom out to the teams and players that impressed us most, including huge performances from Miami, Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Pitt, Penn State and more. We also ask which fan bases should already be freaking out, react to your Week 1 Reverbs, hand out Dude Alerts and start sorting through who should move up or down on our AP Top 25 ballot after the first real data points of the 2026 season.
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College football’s first full weekend is finally here, and Week 1 is throwing a whole lot of unknowns directly into the fire. We make our picks for the biggest games on the schedule and try to figure out which teams are actually ready for the moment across five days of games from Thursday night through Labor Day.
How quickly can new quarterbacks and new coaches settle in? Can Clemson’s offense find enough answers in Death Valley? What should we expect from Auburn and Baylor in Atlanta, Louisville and Ole Miss in Nashville, and Wisconsin and Notre Dame at Lambeau Field? We also dig into SMU-Florida State, UCLA-Cal, Boise State-Oregon and several other games where one matchup could tell us much more about these teams than the final score.
Then we go hunting for the games hiding beneath the radar, identify our Window of Opportunity, make our locks and upset picks, and prepare to leap into the great unknown of our 19th season of college football podcasting.
Listen to the full episode, rate and subscribe wherever you get the show, and join us at Verballers.com to play Run The Board, where this week’s winner takes home a $500 Visa gift card.
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College football Week 1 is finally here, but before we dive into our full preview and picks later this week, we're looking at the bigger questions that could start shaping the season as soon as the games kick off. Which performances should actually make us feel better about a contender, and what would qualify as an early warning sign even with all the usual disclaimers about overreacting in September?
We start with Keelon Russell taking over at Alabama, then work through some of the most interesting new looks around the country. How quickly can Lane Kiffin put LSU together after an aggressive offseason? What should we be watching from Oregon's new coordinators? Can Darian Mensah immediately unlock another level for Miami, and just how much is riding on DJ Lagway working out at Baylor? We also dig into Notre Dame's revamped collection of skill players and what Wisconsin might be able to tell us about a team with national championship aspirations.
Plus, Dan ingests alarming amount of cold brew, we identify a few under-the-radar Week 1 hinge points and somehow end up discussing the appropriate hair-dye threshold for independent podcasters.
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College football is officially back, and Week 0 gave us plenty to chew on before the season really gets rolling. We start with North Carolina getting some revenge on TCU in Ireland, then turn to Virginia's emphatic win over NC State and a huge opening performance from Beau Pribula. How much should we believe after one game, and which results actually changed the way we see these teams?
From there, we work through USC's somewhat misleading final score against San Jose State, Florida State's uneven opener against New Mexico State and a late-night Memphis-UNLV game that may have made the Group of Six playoff race a little more interesting. We also discuss Stanford's dramatic finish against Hawaii and the very different FBS welcome parties for North Dakota State and Sacramento State.
Plus, the return of college football meant the debut of some noticeable changes to the TV experience. We review ESPN's post-BottomLine world, the new on-screen indicator showing which announcer is speaking, a pronunciation controversy involving Beau Pribula and one moment of sweet Eastern Pennsylvania vindication.
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Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.