The Audible with Stew, Bruce & Ralph: A show about college football

Do spring games belong on TV, or are they just empty calories? Bruce reports from Miami, where Darian Mensah is flashing and the Hurricanes are rebuilding their trenches after losing most of last year's title game roster. Alabama's quarterback competition between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack heats up, but can DeBoer's offense finally run the ball? The NCAA is fast-tracking a five-for-five eligib...

The Big Ten swept national championships in football, men's basketball, and women's basketball this year. Coaching hires and the transfer portal matter more than raw spending, but is that a trend or a coincidence? TCU extends Sunny Dykes after back-to-back nine-win seasons, and Virginia locks in Tony Elliott after one breakout year. Plus, mailbag tackles Brian Kelly's disappearing act, Nebraska's...

Trump's second executive order on college sports aims to nudge Congress, but will it actually move the needle? Cody Campbell and Brett Yormark get into a dustup over a Friday night Texas Tech–Houston game, reigniting the debate over high school football's sacred turf vs. TV eyeballs. Meanwhile, Alabama AD Greg Byrne calls for nuking SEC Championship games. Then, Bruce and Ralph each pick three int...

Bruce breaks down his mock draft process and why coaches he surveyed think this is a weak class, with only one QB going in the first round. Pete Golding finally responds to Dabo Swinney’s tampering accusations, but does he actually deny anything? Meanwhile, the Big Ten wants the NCAA to stop enforcing tampering rules altogether. Then, it’s mailbag on the double standard between coaches and players...

Lane Kiffin tries to temper expectations at LSU despite a reported $40 million roster. Bruce isn't buying it. Rising roster costs across college football trigger a transparency debate, and the Nebraska NIL arbitration case could set the rules for everyone. Ralph caught March Madness history in person, Irish rugby player Neff Giwa is heading to South Carolina, and could Tommy Tuberville's transfer...

The Athletic's Cameron Teague Robinson previews Ohio State’s season: who steps up after losing four likely first-round picks on defense, what Arthur Smith brings to a loaded offense, and why Ryan Day keeps hiring NFL coaches. Then, in mailbag: which pre-portal era players would have benefited most from transferring? Would a 24-team playoff water down the regular season? And have college football s...

The FOIA details behind Kyle Whittingham's Utah exit are out, and both sides look bad. Bruce introduces Neff Giwa, a 6'8" rugby player from Ireland who's never played a down of football but has coaches in a bidding war after a three-second video. President Trump's executive order on the Army-Navy game sparks a surprisingly lively debate about where and when the rivalry should be played. And Tom Br...

Manny Navarro joins Bruce and Stew to break down his Power 4 portal grades. Why did Alabama get a C, Florida State D, and Miami an A? Plus, how the 2023 recruiting class is holding up heading into draft season and the five-star QB hit rate. Then it’s a debate over the magic of 2007, which coaches Bruce and Stew would hire for the next 10 years, and a tip of the cap to David Cutcliffe on his retire...

Curt Cignetti secured for himself a whole bunch of massive achievements during the 2025 season. Is he also now the top coach in the country? Bruce Feldman, Stewart Mandel and Ralph Russo run through Bruce's and Stew's respective top-25 lists on this episode of The Audible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The College Sports Commission is already overwhelmed, and Nebraska is the first school to challenge rejected NIL deals in arbitration. What’s it mean for enforcement, and can the system survive? Then, Bruce and Antonio Morales surveyed nearly 30 coaches anonymously on the latest coaching hires. Will Lane Kiffin win a title at LSU? Kyle Whittingham is the most respected hire, and Alex Golesh raised...

Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports (and formerly of The Athletic) joins Bruce and Stew to break down the White House roundtable on saving college sports and whether the SCORE Act has any path forward. She shares stories from covering cross-country skiing and ski jumping at the Winter Olympics in Italy and why improv classes were a great career move.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Andrew Luck opens up about life as Stanford's GM, hiring former teammate Tavita Pritchard, how quarterbacks today develop like golfers, and why he'll never come out of retirement. Ralph breaks down the “secret” Smash Sports meeting in Dallas pushing to pool college football's TV rights — and why the SEC and Big Ten aren't on board. Plus, Mississippi's NIL tax carve-out, and your mailbag questions....

Ralph Russo took on the impossible: predicting every Power Four head coach in 2030.  The guys unpack the logic (and chaos) behind the projections. Could Lane Kiffin actually stay put? And what does it say about today’s pressure cooker that even blue bloods feel unstable five years out? And the guys open with a lively discussion about President Trump’s planned “Save College Sports” roundtable,...

The NCAA proposes harsh penalties for schools that welcome transfers outside the portal: half-season coaching suspensions, massive fines, and lost roster spots. Cincinnati sues quarterback Brendan Sorsby, and Chandler Morris wants a seventh year of eligibility with a familiar legal playbook. Then, Stew defends his annual coaching hire grades while Ralph pushes back on fit questions at UCLA, Oklaho...

Joey Aguilar's bid for an eighth college year is denied by a Tennessee judge — a rare NCAA court win. Curt Cignetti becomes college football's highest-paid coach at $13.2 million per year. UCLA weighs leaving the Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium amid financial pressures. Then, The Athletic's Chris Vannini joins to discuss the NCAA rules committee's targeting proposals, the short shorts epidemic, and les...

The Athletic's Dane Brugler joins to preview combine week: why the event matters more than people think, Fernando Mendoza's rise to projected No. 1 pick, Indiana's loaded draft class, Diego Pavia's limited NFL ceiling, and the historically thin QB and RB classes. Also, Dane's table-pounding pick and next year's quarterback outlook. Plus the coaching carousel strikes again as Northern Illinois's Th...

A Mississippi judge grants Trinidad Chambliss a preliminary injunction, clearing the way for a sixth season to be played at Ole Miss — but is this another dangerous chip away at eligibility rules? And how will the next couple quarterback draft classes look?. Plus, the guys aren’t sold on the Big Ten's 24-team playoff proposal, Sacramento State buys its way into the MAC, and a key BYU offensive wea...

Texas Tech's spending spree paid off with a conference title, while BYU defied expectations after losing Jake Retzlaff. Can other programs keep pace with the oil money and private equity backing the Big 12's new elite? And what defines the Big 12's identity in the revenue sharing era? Plus, Notre Dame's playoff snub revisited, Colorado's downfall, and Bill Moos's book excerpts about Nebraska and S...

North Dakota State is moving up to the Mountain West, ending years of FCS dominance. Did the Pac-12 miss an opportunity? What does this mean for the G5 landscape? Then, The Athletic's Sam Khan Jr. breaks down the first rev share portal cycle, LSU's spending spree, and why retention is cheaper than recruiting. Plus, Indiana's continued success, Penn State's Iowa State transplants, and Oklahoma Stat...

Ralph grades Bruce and Stew's preseason ACC predictions. Miami's national title run validates both their picks — Clemson, not so much. Is Mario Cristobal a top-tier coach? Why can’t Pitt break through despite good talent? What’s up with Florida State? James Franklin's move to Virginia Tech gets high marks as a potential power shift in the conference. Plus, North Carolina's Belichick disaster...

It’s tough business making preseason predictions. Revisit Bruce and Stew’s SEC Buy, Sell, Hold picks and look ahead to next season. The crew digs into what went wrong at LSU (and why they both missed it), Tennessee's identity crisis under Heupel, Alabama's frustrating (but technically better) season under DeBoer, and whether Vanderbilt can survive life after Diego Pavia. Plus, your questions on th...

Ralph puts Bruce and Stew on trial for their preseason Big Ten Buy, Sell, Hold rankings. The guys debate how they fared over the course of 2025, and look ahead to 2026: Arthur Smith's unconventional hire at Ohio State, Gary Patterson working with (or for?) Lincoln Riley at USC, Matt Rhule's Groundhog Day at Nebraska, whether P.J. Fleck has taken Minnesota to their ceiling, and more. Hosted on Acas...

Bruce, Stew, and Ralph revisit their hottest and coldest takes of the 2025 season. Dabo Swinney calls out Pete Golding and Ole Miss for tampering. What does the NCAA do now? Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako returns to college after going pro, begging the question: what does this mean for football? Plus, Lane Kiffin's massive portal haul, and the Darian Mensah contract saga continues.&nbsp...

Duke takes Darian Mensah to court over his two-year NIL contract after he entered the portal. You need a law degree to break down this stuff! CFP expansion talks hit a deadline Friday. Who’s pushing for expansion, and will we see it happen? The guys critique Stew's way-too-early top 25 for 2026, sparking a debate over Texas, Indiana's sustainability, and Penn State's makeover. Plus, what does Indi...

For the first time, the Indiana Hoosiers are national champions, beating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21. Bruce and Ralph from Hard Rock Stadium join Stew to break down this game and this historic moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.