ESPN College Football

What if the SEC misses the title game (again) and the BIG 10 wins ANOTHER national title? What if Arch Manning struggles, Lane Kiffin and LSU BEAT Ole Miss and Jeremiah Smith wins the Heisman?  McElroy tackles some of the biggest ‘what if’s’ heading into the 2026 season including if a Group of 6 team can win a college football playoff game, if money CAN buy a national championship and what if...

The weight of being the preseason #1 team is very heavy. In 76 years of the AP poll there is only ONE team that started #1 and stayed that way throughout the entire season and won a National Championship - that was Florida State in 1999.  While the CFP has given more leeway for the top ranked teams it’s still a big target on your back to start the season. So who deserves to be ranked #1 in the pre...

What if the SEC has a really bad start in non-conference play to open the season? What if Indiana drops three games or Penn State wins 10? What if Notre Dame finally breaks through for their first National Title since 1988 and what if USC finishes UNDER 8 wins in year five under Lincoln Riley?  What if the BIG 12 is a two bid league and what if the college football playoff gets even messier in Nov...

Greg McElroy breaks down who has the most elite pass catching units in college football knowing the Ohio State is Wide Receiver U until further notice. Will Miami be even better than last year with Malachi Toney & Cooper Barkate, can Trey’Dez Green and a group of transfers get LSU to the next level and does Indiana with Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh have the best WR duo in the BIG 10? Can Moore an...

Who has the best secondaries in college football, the ones that could change games, the ones who could swing college football playoff races? Would you rather have Ohio State’s or Michigan’s secondary? Texas Tech showed out last year, can Pollock & Boyd do it again? Does Notre Dame have the best player on the best secondary or can Alabama lay claim to both? Are the transfers ready to step up EVERYW...

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko talks with Greg McElroy about the expectations in College Station, the growth of Marcel Reed, what new offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins will bring, how the Aggies will handle a brutal SEC schedule and much more. Plus, Elko is just one of a handful of coaches entering year 3 at their respective schools so McElroy ask the questions: what will Cignetti do following...

McElroy details the Brendan Sorsby decision and tells you what impact it will have on college football moving forward, if other conferences boycotting Texas Tech will hold, if other BIG 12 teams could really opt out of games and if Sorsby should still enter the NFL supplemental draft. Plus could (or should) the NCAA penalize other programs at Texas Tech (baseball, basketball, softball, etc) to sho...

Greg McElroy goes through and ranks the Top 10 linebacker units in College Football heading into the 2026 season. Are the veteran leaders at Clemson and Pittsburgh enough and can Georgia just continue to reload with NFL caliber talent? Can transfers at Texas A&M and Texas keep the production level up and will Ben Roberts and Austin Romaine be able to pick up where Jacob Rodriguez left off? Can Ind...

Expectations will always be high at Texas and this year is no exception. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian joins Greg McElroy to discuss the pressure on Arch Manning, what he loves about his roster, what Will Muschamp will bring to the defense and why he feels coaches should have a bigger voice in college football. Plus, Coach Sark talks about strength of schedule and why it might expose a huge CFP flaw...

Greg McElroy is joined by new SEC Nation host Matt Barrie to discuss if the BIG 12 and ACC can keep up with the SEC and BIG Ten, if the system as a whole is sustainable and the inevitable playoff expansion and what (if anything) will be lost. Barrie also tells you the moment that changed college football for him, if the SEC can break a three year streak without a National Title and if the SEC coul...

What is the most expensive real estate in college football? Answer: the 7 yards between the OT's outside shoulder and the QB's chin. So why not rank the Top 10 defensive line units in college football heading into the 2026 season. Can A.J. Holmes Jr. lead a rebuilt Texas Tech line back to the CFP, is Will Heldt ready to continue the Clemson D-line NFL pedigree, and is everyone sleeping on David St...

It’s spring meeting time in college football and the number 1 topic is whether or not to expand the College Football Playoff. McElroy dives into the sustainability of the sport moving forward, why the BIG Ten and SEC are in a standoff and if anyone is thinking of the sport as whole or just their conferences. Plus, we hit the mailbag to discuss Michigan’s Jordan Marshall, the Oregon RB room, who is...

Who are the best running backs heading into the 2026 college football season? Can Kewan Lacey get Ole Miss back to the CFP, how much better can a healthy Isaac Brown be at Louisville, what impact will the transfers have at Oklahoma State and West Virginia and can anyone challenge the SEC as the best conference for running backs in 2026? McElroy goes over all of it plus gives you some honorable men...

Kalen DeBoer talks with Greg McElroy about where the Alabama program is heading into the 2026 season, what he has learned about being the head coach at Alabama, the quarterback competition, the growth of the offensive line, why Ezavier Crowell will be a player to watch this fall and much more. Plus, McElroy breaks down the Presidential College Sports Reform Committee’s 8 proposals and tells you wh...

The BIG Ten is going for their 4th consecutive National Championship with a handleful of legit contenders. McElroy goes through the entire conference and gives you the ONE question about each team heading into the summer. Can Josh Hoover really just replace Fernando Mendoza? Can two new coordinators maintain Oregon's offense and defensive dominance? Is Ohio State playing with a chip on their shoul...

We all know Jeremiah Smith is the best wide receiver, but is he the best “football player” in college or does that go to Malachi Toney? McElroy goes through and lists the Top 10 wide receivers heading into the 2026 season and outside of Smith and Toney you will see other familiar names like Charlie Becker, Ryan Wingo and Duce Robsinson but watch out for Beau Sparks at Texas State and transfers Cam...

Greg McElroy talks with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney about overcoming the disappointment of the 2025 season, the state of the Clemson program, how he can get the most out of this Clemson team in 2026, the ACC moving to a 9 game conference schedule and much more. Plus, McElroy looks at everything that has changed in the sport since the show started 4 years ago and wonders - what will the sport l...

What is the one question that is standing in the way of each SEC team? Can Alabama defense carry the program while the offense figures itself out? How fast can the culture be built in Arkansas and Kentucky? Can the Florida and Texas offensive lines hold up throughout the 2026 season? Will John Mateer, Marcel Reed and LaNorris Sellers put together a complete season? Are the Tennessee and Ole Miss d...

Spring camps are over so we decided now was the best time to give you McElroy’s Top 10 QBs entering the 2026 season. Where will Arch Manning rank? How much does Dante Moore have to prove at Oregon this year? Where will CJ Carr and Jayden Maiava rank and who are the immediate impact transfers? McElroy goes over all of it plus gives you some honorable mention QBs who could work their way into the to...

A 24 team College Football Playoff feels like a matter of “when” not “if” with college football power brokers and a White House presidential committee meeting in North Texas this week. McElroy is here to break down what a 24 team CFP would look like, what the impact of the presidential committee is, the impact it will have on the regular season and why it will be a good thing for the sport. Learn...

Greg McElroy talks with Michigan head coach Klye Whittingham about his move as the head coach of the Wolverines, how Jason Beck will unleash Bryce Underwood, expectations in the the BIG 10, what he is looking for in the spring game and much more.  Plus, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Miami and Virginia Tech all have spring games this weekend and McElroy gives you his ONE thing he wants to see from ea...

Alabama held its spring game over the weekend and McElroy’s big takeaway is the quarterback competition between Mack and Russell is a LOT closer than anticipated. Florida and Tennessee also held spring games and McElroy breaks down the QB competitions and tells you why the Gators O-Line must improve this summer and why Tennessee’s defense will be the story for the Vols this fall. Plus, McElroy tal...

Lincoln Riley joins the show to discuss why his ‘big picture’ rebuild of USC is coming together, how he has handled the expectations, what the #1 recruiting class in 2025 means for the Trojans, why there will be little drop off in the WR room, if this is the year the Trojans break through and much more. Plus, McElroy gives some spring intel for USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington and asks who is the...

Greg McElroy breaks down President Donald Trump’s executive order on college sports from Friday. What does it mean? And what REAL impacts can it have? McElroy discusses all aspects of the order, including the five-year and one-transfer rules, how it can affect NIL but maintain the genuine spirit of NIL, and protect sports not named basketball and football. Plus, McElroy dives into the misconceived...

Spring practices are in full swing and McElroy is here to help you decipher some of the intel coming out. Mike Elko says Texas A&M has work to do, Michigan is building an offense around Bryce Underwood, Jamal Rule has impressed EVERYONE at Nebraska and Clemson finished up spring by naming a Vizzina as QB1 - but the backups are more of a story. Plus, McElroy looks at the quarterback competitions at...