The 2026 college football season is officially here! Today we break down the massive emergency eligibility guardrails passed by the Big Ten and SEC, Arch Manning's surprising drop in the Top 100 rankings, and hand out our official Week 0 picks.

Welcome back to The Audible with Stew & Ralph! With the final Week 0 games kicking off this week, football is finally back. Stew and Ralph pull back the curtain on their ultimate game-day viewing habits, detailing the micro player details and macro team schemes they focus on when tape is rolling.

The guys dive into the biggest news of the week: the Big Ten and SEC passing historic roster guardrails to prevent players on professional sports contracts from returning to the college ranks. Plus, we react to The Athletic's Top 100 list seeing Texas quarterback Arch Manning slide to No. 32, predict which Top 25 powerhouse will end up completely unranked, and drop our official Week 0 game picks.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:45 - SEC and Big Ten take a stand

11:55 - Top 100 College Football players talk

18:00 - Week 0 preview

23:45 - North Carolina vs. TCU

26:52 - San Jose State at USC

31:45 - NC State at Virginia

35:31 - Memphis at UNLV

39:08 - Mailbag

Follow the Crew on X:

🔹 Stewart Mandel: @slmandel

🔹 Bruce Feldman: @BruceFeldmanCFB

🔹 Ralph Russo: @ralphDrussoATH

#TheAudible #CollegeFootball #ArchManning #BigTen #SEC #Week0 #TexasLonghorns #CFBPicks #CFB2026

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Who wins the 2026 College Football Playoff? Could we see a repeat champion with the Indiana Hoosiers? Will Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns capture the title? Stew and Ralph give their picks for the 2026 CFP.

Welcome back to The Audible presented by The Athletic! In today's episode, Stew and Ralph go head-to-head with their preseason playoff projections. Ralph is backing the Texas Longhorns to take down the Oregon Ducks for the national title. Meanwhile, Stew drops a bombshell prediction, picking the Indiana Hoosiers to defeat Notre Dame and secure back-to-back national championships!

Plus, we break down a historic college football transfer market anomaly. Former Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright has been waived by the Cleveland Browns and is headed to LSU to rejoin his former coach Lane Kiffin. This would make him the first player to ever go from the pros back to the college ranks. What does this mean for the future of player eligibility?

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:47 - Dea’Quan Wright expected to return to NCAA from NFL

10:05 - How did we get to this point?

23:22 - Ralph’s CFP bracket

38:20 - Stewart’s CFP bracket

49:09 - Bruce’s CFP bracket

50:35 - Heisman predictions

#CollegeFootball #TheAudible #CFBPlayoff #LSUFootball #IndianaHoosiers #TexasLonghorns #Bracketology #CollegeFootballPlayoff

Ralph's Bracket:

First Round

12 Navy at 5 Miami

11 TCU at 6 Notre Dame

10 Louisville vs 7 Florida

9 Washington vs 8 Texas Tech

Bye

1 Texas

2 Ohio State

3 Oregon

4 LSU

Quarterfinals

Texas vs Texas Tech

LSU vs Miami

Notre Dame vs Oregon

Ohio State vs Florida

Semifinal

Miami vs Texas

Oregon vs Ohio State

Final

Texas-Oregon

Champion

Texas

Stew’s Bracket:

First Round

8 Oklahoma vs 9 Georgia

5 Texas vs 12 Boise State

7 Ohio State vs 10 LSU

6 BYU vs 11 USC

Bye

1 Indiana

2 Notre Dame

3 Oregon

4 Miami

Quarterfinals

Indiana vs Georgia

Miami vs Texas

Notre Dame vs Ohio State

Oregon vs BYU

Semifinal

Indiana vs Miami

Notre Dame vs Oregon

Final

Indiana vs Notre Dame

Champion

Indiana

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Can Dan Lanning finally take the Oregon Ducks all the way to the top? Will Jeremiah Smith follow up a historic season by leading the Ohio State superteam back to a championship? And can Curt Cignetti replicate the unfathomable standard he set at Indiana?

Welcome back to The Audible! In this episode, Stew and Ralph break down everything you need to know about the powerhouse Big Ten ahead of the upcoming season. The guys dive deep into a complete 18-team preview, separating the true College Football Playoff heavyweights from the programs facing massive pressure.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:05 - Ohio State

3:49 - Oregon

6:25 - Indiana

8:30 - Does their non-conference schedule catch up with them?

10:58 - Challengers

11:09 - USC

13:59 - Michigan

17:30 - Penn State

20:35 - Washington

23:30 - Iowa

26:08 - Nebraska/Interesting coaching situations

29:23 - Wisconsin

32:27 - Maryland

34:38 - Northwestern

38:32 - Rutgers

41:40 - UCLA

43:02 - Michigan State

45:00 - Wildcards/Minnesota

46:45 - Purdue

48:06 - Illinois

50:00 - Mailbag

#BigTenPreview #TheAudible #CollegeFootball #OhioStateFootball #OregonDucks #IndianaFootball #JeremiahSmith #DanLanning #CurtCignetti

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The road to the 2026 College Football Playoff starts right here. Today, Stewart Mandel and Ralph Russo are breaking down every angle of the newly released 2026 AP Preseason Top 25 Poll. Big Ten heavyweights Ohio State and Oregon headline the poll at No. 1 and No. 2. But does this mean the Buckeyes or Ducks can actually make the National Championship game? We deep dive into whether Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish truly belong at No. 4, or if they are sitting in a preseason trap.

Then, we flip the script to the Group of 6 (G6) preview. Stew and Ralph focus on the newly rebuilt Pac-12 conference and look at how Boise State is leading the pack after receiving the most votes outside the Top 25. We rank our top 3 CFP contenders from the G6 and close things out with a coaching special: which coaches could be on the move after the 2026 season wraps up?

🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Audible App or your favorite audio platform.

👉 Subscribe to our channel for weekly college football game previews, recruiting updates, and bracketology breakdowns.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:53 - AP Top 25 Preseason Poll

14:20 - Jayden Daniels

21:21 - Notre Dame

29:49 - G6 conversation

43:08 - Drafting G6 contenders for playoff

53:21 - Coaches Convo

#APTop25 #NotreDame #GroupOf6 #CFBPlayoff #BoiseState

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Can Mario Cristobal finally deliver a championship season in Miami? Is Dabo Swinney ready to evolve and get Clemson out of their recent slump? And can Bill Belichick salvage his high-stakes experiment at North Carolina after a disastrous 4-8 year?

Welcome back to The Audible! In this episode, Stew, Bruce, and Ralph break down everything you need to know about the ACC ahead of the 2026 season. The guess dive deep into the ultimate 17-team ACC preview, sorting the true College Football Playoff contenders from the teams sitting firmly on the coaching hot seat.

🏈 TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Miami

5:00 - Challengers/Clemson

9:43 - Louisville

12:32 - SMU

14:48 - Miami vs the Field

17:25 - Dark Horses/Virginia

21:36 - NC State

24:26 - Virginia Tech

26:58 - Cal

29:42 - Stanford

31:51 - Hot Seat coaches

32:00 - Florida State

38:16 - Syracuse

40:48 - Boston College

43:24 - North Carolina

48:46 - End of the Belichick era?

50:56 - Wildcards/Georgia Tech

53:16 - Duke

55:00 - Wake Forest

56:32 - Pitt

59:14 - Mailbag

#ACCPreview #TheAudible #BillBelichick #DaboSwinney #MarioCristobal

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South Carolina's Nyck Harbor has officially reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Bruce Feldman's 2026 College Football Freaks List, beating out Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith!

Check out the full breakdown on The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7501158/2026/08/10/college-football-freaks-list-south-carolina-nyck-harbor-2026/

In this exclusive bonus clip, we dive into the craziest athletes in college football. While Jeremiah Smith is putting up historic numbers and turning heads, Nyck Harbor's rare combination of size and Olympic track speed keeps him at the absolute top of the football world.

Who do you think is the biggest freak in the country? Let us know in the comments!

#CollegeFootball #FreaksList #NyckHarbor #JeremiahSmith #OhioStateFootball #GamecocksFootball #CFB2026

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The Big 12 is potentially the most wide-open and chaotic conference in college football, and we are breaking down every single contender, dark horse, and spoiler. Stew, Bruce, and Ralph look at Colorado's overhauled roster to see if Deion Sanders has the lines of scrimmage fixed enough to spark a massive rebound season after last year's frustrating 3-9 collapse. Then, they head to Lubbock to debate if Joey McGuire is finally ready to push Texas Tech to the very top of college football. Plus, the guys dissect Kenny Dillingham's developmental blueprint at Arizona State and see if the Sun Devils can shock the oddsmakers.

But the chaos doesn’t stop there. We run through over/under win totals and major storylines for all 16 teams navigating massive coaching changes across the country. Can the Utah Utes maintain their standard in a new era, or will Avery Johnson and Kansas State steal the crown? We check in on Lance Leipold’s Kansas squad, and discuss how Iowa State retools after a major offseason shift. Finally, we analyze the schematic changes for programs like Brent Brennan's Arizona Wildcats, Scott Frost's second year at UCF, and Scott Satterfield's high-stakes pivotal year with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:45 - Texas Tech

5:42 - BYU

10:37 - Utah

13:05 - Kansas State

15:52 - Houston

19:58 - Texas Tech versus the field

23:11 - Arizona

25:14 - TCU

27:34 - Arizona State

29:26 - Kenny Dillingham’s future?

33:17 - Colorado

36:08 - Will Deion will be the coach in 2027?

38:04 - Baylor

40:27 - Kansas

43:41 - Cincinnati

45:54 - Wildcards

46:03 - Oklahoma State

49:22 - West Virginia

50:50 - Iowa State

52:28 - UCF

55:09 - Mailbag

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#CollegeFootball #Big12 #ColoradoFootball #TexasTech #ArizonaState #UtahFootball #KStateFB #GoPokes #KUFootball #UCFKnights #BearDown #Cyclones

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The SEC is officially wide open, and we are breaking down every single team in the conference to find out who has what it takes to make a run at the National Championship!

From Lane Kiffin taking over a $45 million roster at LSU to Arch Manning's explosive new weapons at Texas, year one of Jon Sumrall at Florida, and Kalen DeBoer's fascinating quarterback battle at Alabama—we cover it all. We dive into the big-name transfer portal additions, the major coaching staff overhauls, playoff contenders like Oklahoma and Ole Miss, and the teams just fighting for competence.

Timestamps:

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:10 - Texas

5:21 - Georgia

9:51 - LSU

12:48 - Florida

16:41 - Auburn

19:12 - Kentucky

23:08 - Arkansas

26:52 - Alabama

32:09 - Tennessee

35:40 - South Carolina

39:50 - Oklahoma

43:54 - Ole Miss

47:38 - Texas A&M

50:43 - Mizzou

52:58 - Vanderbilt

56:26 - Mississippi State

58:52 - Mailbag

🎧 Subscribe to The Audible Podcast for weekly college football deep dives!

#SEC #CollegeFootball #SECPreview #LSUFootball #TexasFootball #AlabamaFootball #GeorgiaBulldogs #CFB2026

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