Inside The Pylon: A Midwest College Football Podcast

The weeks keep passing and the stakes keep rising. After a sleepy weekend saw one contender have its playoff hopes crushed, week 7 offers a juicy slate with plenty on the line. In Eugene, Oregon takes on an Indiana squad dying to prove it can do more than just beat up on overmatched teams. The Ducks' signature win lost some shine a week ago, can they add another to their resume, or will the Hoosie...

It's week 7 and we are nearly at the halfway point (gag) of the college football season. With much shifting and jockeying already occurring in the college football landscape, this feels like a great opportunity to dust off and update our preseason power rankings amongst Big Ten teams. Through six weeks of the season, many questions have been answered, yet some still remain. Yet a clear contender t...

What is it that they say about the quiet ones? A weekend that was lacking for marquee matchups featured chaos and unpredictability throughout the country. And the Midwest was not spared. After a week of takes on "James Franklin wins what he should but cannot win the big game" ,,, the Penn State head coach decided to pull a "hold my beer." Penn State was shocked by previously winless and hapless UC...

A week after a monster slate of games, week 6 features a set of games that -- on the surface -- leave a lot to be desired. Many massive spreads and no ranked Midwest matchups are present to wet the whistle. But what do they say about the quiet ones? In Lincoln, Nebraska looks to get back on track after a crushing defeat against Michigan, with Michigan State coming to town. Can the Huskers take rev...

We are a third of the way into the season, which offers a perfect time to revisit our preseason tiers of the Big Ten, and assess certain teams standings within those tiers. Unlike our previous rendition of this game, we are not talking solely "contenders" for a national title. Clinton has compiled a list of 10 teams from our varying preseason tiers of the Big Ten -- from national title contender t...

A mammoth week five is in the books and the whole weekend live up to the hype, from the undercards to the headliners. Many things were learned and narratives are beginning to take shape. In the nightcap, Oregon finished a thrilled 2OT affair with a walk-off interception of Drew Allar. After 13 combined points in the first three quarters, the two squads scored 41 in the 4th and OT, including a rall...

The best weekend of the season, to date, is here. There are a large number of high-quality games across the nation, and Midwest teams will certainly be partaking in the fun, in what could be a massive statement weekend for a number of teams. In State College, has a golden opportunity to show its offseason investment in talent retention and acquisition was worthwhile, hosting No. 6 Oregon in its an...

It's the week we have all been waiting for: week 5 of the college football season features a number of Certified Bangers, headlined by a Big Ten Title rematch, White Out matchup Saturday night at Happy Valley between Penn State and Oregon. To break down the game, Ryan and Clinton welcome Matt Flip (Roar Lions Roar podcast) and Dale Bliss (Autzen Zoo) back to the show. In the 2025 season neither te...

Week four is (nearly) in the books and we had our first truly jaw-dropping result of the Big Ten season in the nightcap. Indiana -- setting out to prove last year was no fluke -- murdered Illinois and then threw them through the wood chipper, en route to a 63-10 (as of episode recording) advantage. Fernando Mendoza tossed 5 TD passes, and the IU defense had Illinois QB Luke Altmyer running for his...

It's week four and conference play is now in full force. Ryan and Clinton begin the show discussing the ranked showdown in Bloomington between Indiana and Illinois. What will the keys be to this massive matchup, and which program needs the big win more? Elsewhere in Big Ten play, Nebraska and Michigan both look to validate conference contender status with a massive matchup in Lincoln. Which young...

Week three is officially in the books, and the guys have questions. En lieu of a mailbag episode, the guys have their own questions they want answered, and bring them to the floor for discussion tonight. But first, Sunny Verma from Locked on Illini, Talk Illini and On3 sports rejoins the show to briefly discuss the MASSIVE showdown in Bloomington this weekend between Illinois and Indiana. Is this...

Week three is in the books and Ryan never may be happy again. Notre Dame ... botched ... a golden opportunity to get win number one of the season with a 41-40 loss to Texas A&M. A defense that never gave up 40 points in three seasons under Al Golden is in shambles; where do the Irish go next and is the season even salvageable? In Big Ten play, Oregon handled Northwestern but the Duck may have...

We are into week three which was technically marks the beginning Big Ten conference play. It also ofters a spicy weekend of nonconference matchups with another dose of games that look to be laughers. The headliner of the weekend if a rematch of last year's season-opening barnburner, with Texas A&M making a return trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. The Aggies desperately seek a validatin...

Week two is in the books and the guys have scorching thoughts on what they have seen through the first few weeks of action in the Big Ten. Are their thoughts and feelings appropriate reactions, overreactions, or are they not reacting strongly enough? They debate and discuss. The guys also discuss their now partnership with Battle Bets. Join us on our Youtube channel live Saturday/Monday/Thursday f...

Week two is in the books, and Ryan and Clinton return to discuss what we saw in a weekend that lacked the headliners of week one, but still witnessed two top-15 teams lose to unranked squads. In the Big Ten, Michigan struggled to consistently run the ball, and had issues slowing John Mateer in a 24-13 loss to Oklahoma. Michigan's playoff hopes remain intact but is that a realistic outcome given wh...

After a wildly notable week 1 that featured two top-10 matchups among midwest teams, week 2 lacks similar star power. But plenty of interesting matchups abound, including a trio of games that can begin to shape the playoff cases for several teams inside (and outside) the Big Ten. The headliner of the weekend features a coach in need of a signature win to validate his vision for his program, vs a c...

Week one is now officially in the box and the guys put a pretty bow on the weekend's final contests. Notre Dame got behind Miami early and was resoundingly defeated in the "middle eight" that it feasted on last season, en route to a 27-24 defeat at the hands of Miami on Sunday night. Ryan has thoughts and despite his poor in-game temperament does not think the sky is falling for the Irish ... yet....

The first weekend of the college football season is (mostly) in the books, and on a day that featured many contests featuring contenders against overmatched teams, there were still plenty of storylines and narratives abound. In Columbus, the defending national champions defeated Texas for the second time in three games in a defensive slug fest that was equal parts impressive and enlightening. Does...

It is the FIRST official pick 'em of the 2025 college football season, and the guys get you prepped for a pair of top 10 showdowns featuring the midwest. while reacting live to the late Thursday night games. The big one of the weekend is a rematch of the 2024 college football semifinal between Ohio State and Texas. Turnover is abound for both squads, but this matchup is highlights by a pair of for...

It is finally game week, and to kick off the season Ryan and Clinton unveil their expertly thought-out and sure to be correct playoff bracket predictions for the 2025 season. How much Midwest flavor is present? Any surprises? Any unhinged predictions for the back end of the bracket? Later in the show, the guys pick the Thursday Big Ten slate, and Ryan unveils his weekly Sharps Picks. Join us on ou...

Preview season has concluded and we are officially on the eve of the college football season! Ryan and Clinton and joined by two esteemed guests -- Jeffrey the Greek from The Eyes on Big Ten Podcast and Dale Bliss from AutzenZoo.com to break down the Big Ten season as a whole. The guys each bring five things they are most looking forward to seeing this season. Later in the show, each uncorks three...

Ryan and Clinton officially wrap up TWENTY fall previews, covering all your midwest college football needs, talking USC. To help break the Trojans down, Ryan Abraham from USCFootball.com joins the show. Lincoln Riley arrived in Southern California to much fanfare, and immediately backed that up with an exceptional first season and a near-playoff berth with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Sin...

Ryan and Clinton hit the home stretch of preview season, talking Wisconsin. To help break them down, Rajeev Chhabra from The Bucky Report podcast and Locked on Badgers joins the show. It's been two years of struggles under Luke Fickell for Wisconsin, and an unrelenting schedule in 2025 does not exactly help. Is this a make-or-break year for Fickell's tenure, or will the difficulty of the schedule...

Ryan and Clinton hit the home stretch of preview season, talking Rutgers. To help break them down, Richie O'Leary from the Rutgers On3 joins the show. Last year's Scarlet Knights were billed as a team to watch, with a veteran defense, an all-conference running back, a QB with Big Ten starting experience and a favorable schedule, many postulated they could reach 9 wins (us included). Injuries on de...

Ryan and Clinton hit the home stretch of preview season, starting the final full week of previews with Michigan State. To help break them down, Carter Landis from the Spartans on SI joins the show. The first year of Jonathan Smith had an up and down feel to it, with three consecutive wins to open the season followed by losing six of the next seven to ultimately miss bowl eligibility. Following sim...