Inside The Pylon: A Midwest College Football Podcast

Dale Bliss from Autzen Zoo returns to the show to help the guys break down Oregon's encore season in the Big Ten and look ahead to its first-round playoff matchup vs James Madison. After winning the league with a perfect 13-0 season in year one of their Big Ten journey, the Ducks had a masterful follow-up campaign at 11-1. However, that loss to Indiana ended the Ducks' chances at defending their B...

Just when we thought the couching carousel was done spinning, Wednesday afternoon brought another bombshell with news dropping of Michigan's dismissal of head coach Sherrone Moore (and his subsequent arrest). Ryan divulges on some of the rumblings around Ann Arbor, and the guys talk where Michigan goes from here. Later in the show, the guys revisit their preseason playoff brackets and laugh at how...

In what would have seemed fictitious two years ago when Indiana hired Curt Cignetti away from James Madison, the Indiana Hoosiers are champions of the Big Ten, 13-0, and the No. 1 team in college football. The guys talked about the Hoosiers stymying previously-unbeaten Ohio State en route to their first outright Big Ten title since World War II. The playoff field is set. The guys talk about the br...

Championship week is here and we have been blessed with a matchup between Nos. 1 and 2 in the country for the Big Ten Title Game. Ohio State and Indiana face off for conference supremacy. The guys discussed the matchup and keys to look out for. Who has the advantage, and do both teams have a first-round bye locked up anyway? The guys also discuss the penultimate CFP rankings and their implications...

The guys take a break from breaking down the games to talk some off the field stuff. With the regular season finished, the coaching carousel is spinning and it has already affected the midwest. The headliner was Michigan State parting ways with Jonathan Smith and quickly tapping former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald as it's next head coach. How will Fitzgerald fit with the Spartans? Elsewh...

Rivalry week has come and gone, and with it another college football regular season. Conference title matchups are set, the playoff field is taking shape, and we know who gets a bowl and who is in offseason mode. For the first time since 2019, Ohio State was victorious against Michigan with a suffocating 27-9 victory, reminiscent of how Michigan has won this game in the past. Is it the Buckeyes vs...

Rivalry week is here and the stakes could not be higher. Several games feature implications for either bowl games, or potential playoff berths. In Ann Arbor, Ohio State looks to end a four-game skid against Michigan that extends to pre-COVID times, and clinic a berth in the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2020. With both teams banged up on offense, what will keys to this game be? Out w...

Rivalry week is upon us and we are kicking off the week previewing the Cascade Clash between Washington and Oregon. To help us break down the game, Roman Tomashoff from Locked on Huskies, and Dale Bliss, from Autzen Zoo join the show. Oregon scored its marquee win of the season a week ago, dispatching USC. The Ducks dominated the lines of scrimmage in that game. But this week they get a much stiff...

In a week 13 that was devoid of marquee matchups, outside of Eugene, chalk took hold with most of the top teams which sets up a massive rivalry week to close the season. In the game of the weekend, Oregon kept USC at arms length most of the game and gave itself an emphatic resume boost with a 42-27 victory. Lincoln Riley once again failed to lead his team on the road against a ranked team. Meanwhi...

There are two weeks left in the regular season and seemingly everyone has something to play for, to varying degrees. The playoff race is tightening up, with seemingly more 1- and 2-loss teams coming down the pipe than playoff chairs to seat them. That heightens the stakes in our game of the week. USC (8-2) travels to Eugene to take on Oregon (9-1) and would could effectively serve as a playoff eli...

Another wild week in the Big Ten has set forth a clear contender class with now two weeks to go in the regular season. While Indiana and Ohio State both control their own destiny for a Big Ten Title Game (and CFP) berth, three other teams scored victories to ensure they to have a shot to qualify for the CFP as an at-large berth. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes cruised to wins against Wisconsin and UCLA,...

Week 12 of the CFB season is upon us and we have a special Monday preview episode for you, as the guys are hitting the road this weekend to check out Autzen Stadium for the Oregon vs. Minnesota contest. The Ducks -- fresh off a thrilling win against No. 20 Iowa -- return home to take on a 6-3 Gophers squad coming off a bye. Can Dante Moore and Oregon stay on track and set up a likely top-15 showdo...

Week 11 featured games with high stakes, and the matchups sure did not disappoint, highlighted by two top-1o teams getting taken down to the wire. In Happy Valley, Fernando Mendoza led a last-minute game-winning drive to power No. 2 Indiana past Penn State, 27-24. The win moved the Hoosiers to 10-0 and, barring a massive letdown against either Wisconsin or Purdue, ensures they will be heading to t...

Week 11 is upon us and we are firmly into the nitty gritty of the CFB season. The first CFP poll is out and playoff contenders and dark horses are now fully into focus. This will be played out in Iowa City on Saturday, with No. 20 Iowa playing host to No.9 Oregon. Can the Hawkeyes put a dent in Oregon's playoff resume while bolstering their own? Elsewhere, contenders Ohio State (-29.5 @ Purdue), I...

The first CFP committee rankings are out and the Midwest reigns, with Ohio State and Indiana the top two in the country. What did the guys think of the first set of rankings. The guys also debate who the best player in the country is. 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/Th...

Halloween weekend featured some truly terrifying performances, ranging from teams annihilating the competition, to awful clock management, to just truly slept-walking performances. In Lincoln, USC's offense came alive in the second half, in a 21-17 win and Nebraska sputtered with Dylan Raiola injured in the second half. In what looked in the preseason to be the marquee matchup of the weekend, Ohio...

November is here and the homestretch of the regular season is officially upon us. We have developed a general idea of who the playoff/Big Ten contenders are, but who actually advances to the meaningful postseason competition will begin coming into focus starting this week. In prime time, USC and Nebraska squad off in a true-to-form "winner advances, loser is out" game. Fresh off a thorough smackin...

It's the last week of October, which means we are seven glorious days away from getting midweek MACtion back in our lives. In the time being, there are many happenings in the college football world to discuss. Reports have emerged that there is growing support for an expansion to 24 teams for the next playoff format. Ryan and Clinton discuss, and wonder, "what's the point of even having a regular...

Week nine lacked a marque matchup in the Big Ten, but we learned plenty and a secondary contender tier has established itself. In Seattle, Washington bottled up Luke Altmyer and Illinois's offense en route to a 42-25 victory. Demond Williams, Jr. was once again excellent, as was star WR Denzel Boston, while the Washington defense stepped up well in the second half. Now at 6-2, the Huskies have a t...

Week nine in the Big Ten may lack a marque big-game matchup, but it does offer an opportunity to see if teams can separate themselves into a secondary contender tier. Six of the seven teams tied for third in the league at 3-1 are in action, with varying degrees of difficulty to those matchups. Perhaps, however, the most intriguing matchup of the weekend features two of the three 2-2 teams in leagu...

More than half of the college football season has passed us by, and storylines are abound both on the field and off of it. Conference title races are taking shape, but so is the coaching silly season, with numerous sitting head coaches already given their pink slip this season. Who else might be working their way onto the hot seat? Who might be working their way off of it? And who might find thems...

Week eight is in the books, and more dominos continue to fall across the CFB landscape. Conference races are starting to take shape and contenders are firmly starting to establish their placehold. And on the other side of the standings, seats continue to get hotter. In South Bend, in what could be the last annual rendition of the Notre Dame/USC rivalry, the Irish brow beat USC on the ground en rou...

Week eight of the CFB season is upon us and not only are conference races beginning to heat up, but the playoff contenders are beginning to come into focus during a weekend when we will learn more about who is for real and who will be on the outside looking in. Notre Dame has defeated USC six consecutive games in South Bend, including in a 48-20 shellacking of then a 6-0 and top-5 Trojans team in...

Ryan and Clinton reconvene to build off of Sunday's conversation, discussing the Penn State head coaching opening. Who are the early names to know? Is AD Pat Kraft's alleged swinging for the fences going to yield an unexpected name? Can the Lions lure another Big Ten coach away? Later in the show, the guys discuss what could be the last annual rendition of the storied Notre Dame/USC rivalry. What...

Another monster week and another slate of games that more than lived up to the hype. Halfway through the college football season, and we are beginning to see teams separate themselves into different tiers. Despite the massive slate of games, the major story of the weekend was once again Penn State -- both for what happened during the day Saturday and what has come since. The Nittany Lions lost as...