Inside The Pylon: A Midwest College Football Podcast

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Penn State. Last season was an abject failure for the Nittany Lions. With it came a coaching change and an exciting new era with Matt Campbell. It also brings plenty of roster turnover, with 46 players heading out via the transfer portal and 39 coming in. We've seen roster flips and early success with several programs the...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Oregon. Oregon has been a steady beacon in two seasons in the Big Ten, going 26-3 in two seasons, with two of those three defeats coming in the CFP. Now, Dan Lanning must wade through coordinator turnover with DC Tosh Lupoi and OC Will Stein both getting head coaching jobs. Lanning stayed in-house with replacements, promo...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Ohio State. The Buckeyes OL bolsters 34 returning starts, and plenty of intriguing names come back in that room. How much position shifting will occur and what might the starting five look like in 2026? Perhaps the biggest change with Ohio State comes with the departure of one-year playcaller but long-time assistant Brian...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Northwestern. One of the most intriguing hires of the offseason was OC Chip Kelly, back in the Big Ten after a year in the NFL. He teams up with transfer QB Aidan Chiles, himself an import from Michigan State. With a good amount of skill talent to work with at RB and WR, will the marriage yield Will Howard-esque results f...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Nebraska. Rob Aurich joins Matt Rhule's staff as defensive coordinator. He had a largely successful run with San Diego State, where he called what was one of the nation's best defenses in both yards per game and points per game in 2025. How with this translate to Nebraska, which boasted one of the nation's best pass defen...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Minnesota. Drake Lindsey took over under center for Minnesota in 2025 and had a fine season overall. He took care of the ball well with 18 TDs to 6 INTs, but the passing offense lacked explosiveness. The Gophers ranked 127th nationally at 5.9 yards per attempt for the season. Coupled with a rushing offense that struggled...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Michigan State. QB play was not a bright spot for this squad a year ago but neither start had help from his OL. The Spartans allowed 37 sacks a year ago, and struggled to consistently open run lanes. Can several transfer portal adds help shore up this unit? While they could not protect their own QB, the Spartans defense c...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Michigan. A year ago Michigan won nine games despite a still-lacking passing attack and a head coach who was ... preoccupied. With a serious staff (and a real QB coach) what might be this offense's ceiling with Kyle Whittingham and Jason Beck calling the shots? Part of that depends on someone stepping up out wide. Andrew...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, talking Maryland. Maryland built its 2025 offense around true freshman QB Malik Washington and he delivered well. However he did not have much help from the run game and the Terps' top-three receivers are off to the NFL. What will this offense look like under new OC Clint Trickett? Maryland struggled defensively as 2025 progresse...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, touching on Iowa. Another 9-win season in 2025, with a win against playoff-contending Vanderbilt in the bowl game showed the consistency of Kirk Ferentz's program. However, turnover will be abound with this team in 2026. That starts at the QB position. After portal shopping the last year years, and having good success with Mark G...

Ryan and Clinton continue to roll through Big Ten spring spotlights, touching on Illinois. After a breakout 2024 led to a strong, but maybe short of expectations 2025, where will the team head in 2026? They will be led by a new QB with three-year starter Luke Altmyer off for the NFL. In comes ECU transfer Katin Houser, he of 2023 Michigan State lore. A big body with a strong arm and a more physica...

Ryan and Clinton return from hiatus to begin a journey through the midwest as spring ball begins to kick off. The guys open with the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers, with three items to observe for in the spring. On the edge, Mikhail Kamara departs after a successful two year run in Bloomington following a transfer from JMU. To help ease his loss, along with several others, the Hoosie...

In part four of our four part February series, Ryan and Clinton talk coaching carousel. In the Big Ten, four new head coaching jobs start in 2026: Pat Fitzgerald returns to the Big Ten at Michigan State; Matt Campbell takes the next step in his career moving to Penn State; Bob Chesney jumps from James Madison to UCLA; and Kyle Whittingham stepped down at Utah and took Michigan's vacant posting. Wh...

In part three of our four part February series, Ryan and Clinton talk transfer portal. In the Big Ten, who are key names to know for each team, and who is a player who might be flying under the radar ready for a big breakout? Join us on our Youtube channel live Saturday/Monday/Thursday for shows, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Live time for Monday/Thursday sh...

In part two of our four-part February series, Ryan and Clinton reminisce and eulogize the Southeastern Football Conference, which has now gone three consecutive seasons without playing in a national championship game. What has led to this shift in the power dynamics of college football, and will the shift in power toward the Midwest continue moving forward? Join us on our Youtube channel live Satu...

You have questions, we have answers (mostly). In part one of four of the guy's February pre-recorded series, the guys tackle user questions. From early playoff predictions, to past dream jobs, the guys tackle a wide range of topics. Join us on our Youtube channel live Saturday/Monday/Thursday for shows, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Live time for Monday/Thur...

The Indiana Hoosiers are champions of the college football world for the first time in program history, To commemorate the occasion, friend of the show Sammy Jacobs of Hoosier Huddle re-joins the show to talk about Indiana's unprecedented season. How did this come together? When did he know that this year's team had a chance to be special? How does one react to being a national champion? And what...

The CFB season is at an end and Ryan and Clinton return to recap Indiana's magical run to national champions with a 27-21 win against Miami. Where does this rank in terms of "best CFP stories of all time," and what staying power do the Hoosiers have? Join us on our Youtube channel live Saturday/Monday/Thursday for shows, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Live ti...

The CFB season is at an end and Ryan and Clinton return for their last preview of the 2025 season for the National Championship game between Miami and Indiana. The Hoosiers are looking to win their first national title in program history, and finalize the first 16-0 season in the history of the sport. To do so they will have to take down the Hurricanes in Miami. The guys break down key matchups an...

Ryan and Clinton reconvene to recap Indiana's 56-22 win in the CFP semifinal against Oregon. How did we get here? What is next for the Ducks? And is an Indiana national title inevitible? Join us on our Youtube channel live Saturday/Monday/Thursday for shows, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Live time for Monday/Thursday shows will remain 9 pm, while we will go...

We have reached the college football semifinal, and we are graced with a rematch of one of the premier games of the regular season with Indiana taking on Oregon with a spot in the National Title Game on the line. Will the Ducks avenge their midseason defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers, or will Curt Cignetti's squad continue their undefeated run? Ryan and Clinton break down the matchup and pick th...

The CFP quarterfinals have come and gone and with a lone exception the first-round bye was once again unkind to teams, with the purported top-4 seeds falling to a combined 1-7 in the two-year history of the 12-team playoff. However, a midwest school was able to buck that trend, set up an anticipated semifinal rematch, and ensures the Big Ten will be playing for a national title for the third conse...

The quarterfinals are here and a trio of Big Ten teams will took to extend their seasons and keep national title hopes alive. In the Cotton Bowl -- for just the fifth time in history, and the first time since 2011, Ohio State faces off against Miami. The 'Canes boast strong offensive and defensive line play -- which gave the Buckeyes trouble in the Big Ten title game. However, Miami's offense stru...

Round one of the playoff is finished and the semifinal field is set. Many things were learned this weekend, mostly not for the better. In the lone midwest action of the weekend, Oregon predicably thrashed James Madison in a game that was 34-6 at halftime. Dakorien Moore returned for the Ducks but he was unneeded, with Dante Moore hitting explosive pass plays to Trey Benson, Jamari Johnson and Dier...

Ryan and Clinton return for a first-round playoff pick 'em. With a light midwest flavor, the guys briefly talk all four first-round games. The big question of the weekend: will chalk prevail or will we get chaos? In the later games Friday, we get Tulane (+17.5 vs Ole Miss) and James Madison (+21 vs Oregon) as three-score underdogs in games both appear to be heavily outmatched, but stranger things...