Cover 3 Yearbook: What Are The Top 10 Stories That Defined The 2025 Season?

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Episode: Cover 3 Yearbook: What Are The Top 10 Stories That Defined The 2025 Season?
Date: February 9, 2026
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell (Bud Elliott absent)

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Episode Overview

The Cover 3 crew reconvenes to assemble their "Yearbook"—an annual tradition where they reflect and debate the top 10 stories that shaped the 2025 college football season. The conversation is rich with lively debate, humor, and inside references, as they attempt to take stock of a season that was as chaotic off the field as it was on it. By the episode’s end, the hosts have built a definitive top-10 list that captures both the seismic shifts (program realignment, shocking coaching sagas, NIL-fueled parity) and the most talked-about moments of the 2025 college football season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. North Dakota State Joins the Mountain West, FCS Fallout

Timestamps: 02:00–10:13

• North Dakota State’s move from FCS to FBS finally arrives, with immediate inclusion in the Mountain West for 2026, sparking debate about immediate competitiveness and the broader impact on recruiting and FCS stability.
  • Tom: “While they are power rated 40th by Sagarin, their strength of schedule is 156… There will be an adjustment.” (05:04)
• Hosts discuss whether NDSU instantly becomes a conference favorite and how this realignment further erodes FCS’s ability to retain its power programs.
• Immediate impacts:
  • Recruiting pitch changes from "compete for national championships" (FCS) to "make the College Football Playoff" (FBS).
  • FCS coaching legends (Bobby Hauck, South Dakota State’s coach) departing amid NIL pressures (“…money situation where the defensive coordinator at Rutgers will pay you far more than being South Dakota State head coach…” —Tom, 08:29)

Memorable quote:

• Tom: “FCS is hurting—the last five days of headlines have not been good for prosperity at that level.” (07:52)

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2. Contraction of the Bowl Season & LA Bowl Closure

Timestamps: 12:33–14:15

• Reflecting on the closing of the LA Bowl after five seasons. Hosts share humorous or memorable moments from its short existence, like the infamous vomiting mascot (“The vomiting mascot. That was the Jimmy Kimmel year…” – Tom, 12:49).

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3. The COVID 3 Yearbook: Methodology & Principles

Timestamps: 15:37–16:41

• Setting the stage for the “Yearbook,” the hosts plan to capture both the emblematic and the bizarre stories of the 2025 football season, combining user nominations from their "tailgate" YouTube chat with their own top-of-mind picks.

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The Yearbook: The Top 10 Defining Stories of 2025

1. Indiana’s Unthinkable Rise: Signetti, Fernando Mendoza, and a National Title

Timestamps: 16:42–23:41

• Indiana goes 16-0 and wins it all under Kurt Signetti, with transfer QB Fernando Mendoza winning the Heisman.
• Transformational story: Indiana’s rapid transition “from nowhere to national champions”—raises the bar for what’s possible with NIL funding, aggressive coaching, and transfer recruiting.
• The Signetti effect: “I don’t think this is going away anytime soon… opens the door, gives a lot of hope to a ton of programs. If you get the right coach, if you actually fund your football program and buy some decent players… you could win a national championship too.” — Danny (17:30)
• Debate: Does Mendoza or Signetti define it? All agree—Signetti is the centerpiece, Mendoza the catalyst.
• Meta insight: Transfer portal era only intensifies coaches as program faces over fleeting player stardom.

2. The Lane Kiffin LSU Saga: Coaching Carousel Chaos

Timestamps: 23:52–29:37

• A pure “soap-operatic” drama: Lane Kiffin’s playoff run with Ole Miss is overshadowed by constant will-he/won’t-he rumors, fueled by firings at Florida and LSU, private jet tracking, and even the involvement of Kiffin’s own son playing high school football.
• The saga hijacked media coverage for over a month, shaped playoff storylines, and shifted SEC power lines.
• Tom: “My frustration with discussing the story may have come through on the show… that’s the most time I’ve ever called a coach an a-hole in one episode, nine times…” (28:32)
• Even fans and the hosts themselves disliked the story, but all agreed it completely dominated headlines and had major implications.

3. Miami & Notre Dame: The CFP Committee Credibility Crisis

Timestamps: 34:07–39:18

• From their opener to the final playoff spot feud: Miami beats Notre Dame head-to-head, but is ranked miles behind in early CFP rankings, sparking weekly outrage and debate over the committee’s logic.
• Both programs’ diverging postseason fates (Miami’s Cinderella run to the national title game as a 10-seed, Notre Dame snubbing a bowl appearance) fueled accusations of committee inconsistency and damage to process integrity.
• Tom: “How can Notre Dame be that much better than Miami when we have the actual data point, seeing the two play?” (35:54)
• This story "exposed the committee to more and more fans and dented the integrity of the process."

4. The Arch Manning Rollercoaster: Hype, Struggle, and Redemption

Timestamps: 29:51–34:07

• The most-watched individual storyline: Arch enters his debut Texas season as the Heisman and national title favorite, only to “bust” early before rebounding late, sparking non-stop speculation, mechanical analysis, and Heisman-odds breakdowns.
• Hosts argue that seeing him struggle and then recover adds to his legend and future promise.
• Chip: “We were breaking down Arch Manning's face at different times…” (31:21)
• Texas fan reactions mirrored the national rollercoaster.

5. Texas Tech and The New NIL Order

Timestamps: 54:16–55:30

• Texas Tech goes “from nothing to something” on a huge NIL investment, wins the Big 12, and makes the playoff, fully cashing in on the NIL era’s promises.
• Cody Campbell’s role as benefactor and advocate for new collegiate financial models underscores Tech’s position as the poster child for “roster-building via checkbook.”
• Debated as perhaps a top-5 story for its wider impact.

6. Penn State: From National Title Hopes to Chaos

Timestamps: 48:43–51:01

• Penn State begins as a fashionable title pick, starts hot, loses in overtime to Oregon, and then collapses (including ugly losses to UCLA, Northwestern).
• A coaching search drama for the ages: “open for seven months,” rejected by all, before finally hiring Matt Campbell.
• The hosts tie PSU’s stumble, coaching search, and the meta-disappointment to wider preseason narrative collapse.

7. The Sharon Moore Scandal & Michigan Turmoil

Timestamps: 45:46–47:25

• The rollercoaster at Michigan continues: Moore, Harbaugh's anointed successor, is fired late in the year for “stalking an employee.”
• Changes the trajectory of a program still living in the aftermath of its 2023 title and sign-stealing scandal.
• Chip: “I will sort of add, it just did not like talking about that, you know, the way things got at the end with the… arrest…” (47:25)
• Ultimately, Moore’s quick firing and the hiring of Kyle Whittingham have ripple effects through Big Ten power balance.

8. Big Ten Ascendance, SEC Slippage, and Playoff Politics

Timestamps: 57:17–58:07

• With the Big Ten winning a third consecutive national title (and selling shirts to commemorate), the hosts debate the newly shifting power structure:
  • SEC continues to slip from its once-unassailable perch.
  • Political fight over CFP structure, revenue, and tiebreakers continues into the next offseason.

9. Vanderbilt’s Breakthrough and the Pavia Effect

Timestamps: 59:15–60:17

• Vandy, led by quarterback Diego Pavia, has a season to remember, shattering preseason win totals and long-held expectations.
• The fun, underdog story of the year; referenced frequently as an in-joke among hosts, as Barton Simmons (Vanderbilt's GM) has been a recurring Cover 3 guest/subject.

10. The Group of Five Safety Issue: Two G5 Teams Make the Playoff

Timestamps: 55:30–56:49

• A watershed moment as two Group of Five teams break into the expanded playoff, leading to immediate rule changes and tiebreaker reforms in the ACC and beyond.
• The “Safety Issue” is emblematic of ongoing disruption and the power struggle at the lower rungs of FBS.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On FCS realignment:

  • Tom: “Your programs with money at the FCS level are leaving because they can, whereas the programs that don’t have money are going to be left at the FCS and might not really have anybody to play with soon.” (09:02)

• On Indiana’s national title:

  • Danny: “If you get the right coach… and happen to get one of the best quarterbacks in the country, you could win a national championship too.” (17:30)

• On Lane Kiffin:

  • Tom: “My frustration with discussing the story may have come through on the show a time or two… that’s the most time I’ve ever called a coach an a-hole in one episode.” (28:32)

• On the Miami–Notre Dame CFP controversy:

  • Tom: “To me the bigger part of the story is just the CFP, dog and pony, bull, BS crap every single Tuesday night.” (35:54)

• On the Arch Manning rollercoaster:

  • Chip: “We were breaking down his face at different times.” (31:21)
  • Tom: “If you just looked at the whole body of work… a pretty good year for a talented quarterback in his first year as a starter.” (33:04)

• On Texas Tech’s rise:

  • Chip: “If we’re going to take Indiana and expand the circle to talk about what it means for college football, I think Texas Tech’s on-field success is a top 10 story.” (54:37)

• On Michigan's saga:

  • Tom: “Of all the coaches that were on that Michigan staff… the one that they chose ended up getting fired for stalking.” (47:14)

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Other Noteworthy Moments & Segments

• Reflections on contraction of the postseason: LA Bowl’s demise seen as a symbol of “too many bowls”—“We’re gonna have a little bit of contraction. I’m sure some will get lopped into whatever future playoff world…” (14:15)
• Recurring in-jokes: Barton Simmons, Vanderbilt, cover three “tailgate chat” speculation, and memories from past team turnarounds.
• Rejected or honorable mentions: Bill Belichick’s disastrous North Carolina season (ultimately “voted out” of the top 10), Ohio State’s collapse post-Michigan (“They finally beat Michigan and all it cost them was everything.” – Tom, 61:16), and offseason QB trades (Nico to UCLA).

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Final Top 10 Stories (as voted by the crew)

Timestamps: 61:36–62:10

1. Indiana’s rise, Signetti, and the title
2. Lane Kiffin/LSU coaching saga
3. Miami–Notre Dame CFP/committee controversy
4. Arch Manning’s rollercoaster Texas debut
5. Texas Tech’s NIL-fueled emergence
6. Penn State’s collapse and arduous coaching search
7. Sharon Moore’s scandal and Michigan’s turmoil
8. Big Ten’s continued rise, SEC struggle, and playoff implications
9. Vanderbilt’s breakthrough (with Diego Pavia)
10. Group of Five “safety issue”: Two G5 teams in the playoff

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Closing Thoughts

The hosts tie the yearbook together with references to the seismic changes and unpredictability that defined the 2025 season, expressing both nostalgia and excitement over the sport’s direction and hinting at more change in the horizon—from the structure of conferences to the faces of programs.

Chip (closing): “Bind it up, make it leather bound. Put it in your library. The yearbook for the 2025 season as put together by the Cover 3 podcast.” (61:46)

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Navigation Aid – Segment Timestamps

• North Dakota State & FCS/FBS Realignment: 02:00–10:13
• LA Bowl Memories and Postseason Contraction: 12:33–14:15
• Yearbook Setup: 15:37–16:41
• Indiana’s National Title Story: 16:42–23:41
• Lane Kiffin/LSU Saga: 23:52–29:37
• Arch Manning Hype & Texas: 29:51–34:07
• Miami/Notre Dame & CFP committee: 34:07–39:18
• Bill Belichick at UNC Debate: 39:29–45:05
• Penn State Collapse & Coaching Search: 48:43–51:01
• Michigan/Sharon Moore Firing: 45:46–47:25
• Texas Tech, Vandy, G5 Safety Issue, and Honorable Mentions: 54:16–60:17
• Finalizing Top 10 List: 61:36–62:10

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Tone & Language:
Conversational, irreverent, passionate, and peppered with long-running Cover 3 in-jokes. The episode is a rich blend of analytics, reminiscing, and playful debate—a must-consume for any college football fan seeking to understand what made 2025 truly unforgettable.

Transcript

[Chip Patterson]

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[Tom Fernelli]

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Tom Fernelli]

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[Danny Cannell]

Welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast.

[Tom Fernelli]

With your hosts, Chip Patterson, Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best coverage.

[Danny Cannell]

From national signing day to the National.

[Tom Fernelli]

Championship and everything in between.

[Danny Cannell]

CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.

[Chip Patterson]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli. That's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you live YouTube.com cover three and everywhere. Get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that subscribe Smash that like and come and join us in the chat aka the COVID 3 tailgate where our friend Ryan jumped in and pointed out that according to Sagarin ratings, of course, Jeff Sagrin for a long time has been offering college football power ratings that include both the FBS and the fcs. Ryan points out, according to Sagarin, North Dakota State would be the best Mountain west team by far. Do you think that will be true? Yes. A little bit of conference realignment news we're going to get to in just a second. Second. We also, as you can see from the headline of the episode, that are going to be doing our annual cover three yearbook. Yes. In the same tradition of those old, you know, bound, you know, almanac style, you know, the stories of the season. We're going to discuss some of the stories of the season and then rank the top 10 stories that defined the 2025 season. Always a fun bit of reflection, especially before we start to turn our attention to the upcoming fall. So to, to answer Ryan's question is because we do have, you know, Brandon Marcelo's been all on top of this. North Dakota State, the FCS giant, is going to be joining the FBS after all, scheduled to join the Mountain west and they won't have to wait. No. For the 2026 season. Now, for those of you who are listening and trying to think, wait, who, who's in the Mountain West? You guys have been Talking about the PAC12 getting all the Mountain west teams. Here's the lineup. Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, unlv, Wyoming, utep. And for reasons that still bewilder, Tom.

[Tom Fernelli]

For Nelli, who Northern Illinois.

[Chip Patterson]

Northern Illinois in the Mountain West.

[Tom Fernelli]

I listen. The mountains of Illinois are majestic and beautiful and they are west of Chicago. So it fits.

[Chip Patterson]

So I, I just, I'm Danny, I'm looking at this right now. Off the top of your head, you're going to think Dan Mullins, unlv. Right. Probably you put at the top of that.

[Danny Cannell]

Yep.

[Chip Patterson]

Just do, do the Bison hit the ground running as the, as the Mountain west favorites? When we're doing our, our predictions in the in August, I think the only.

[Danny Cannell]

Thing I have a problem with is by far like I think they'll be good and, but, and I think they'll be competitive at the top. I mean, Air Force has had good seasons before historically. Unlv. You mentioned Dan Mullen. He's pretty good right now.

[Chip Patterson]

Hawaii had a good season. Timmy Chan.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, got it going pretty good. But like, absolutely. I don't, I don't think North Dakota State would make this move unless they felt like they could be really, really.

[Tom Fernelli]

Competitive Yeah, I think they'll be competitive. It's like Ryan mentioned the Sagarin ratings. Just for context. Some teams that Sagarin currently has North Dakota State power rated ahead of are Iowa State, Kansas State, Florida State, Arizona State, Houston, Wisconsin, Wake, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern. A lot of power four teams. Kentucky, Arkansas. The thing is, while they are power rated 40th by Sagarin, their strength of schedule is 156. So like they're going to the Mountain west, which is not a Power 4 conference or anything. But there will be a difference when every single week you're playing FBS teams instead of FCS teams because some of the teams that North Dakota State plays on a weekly basis are not very good football teams. So physically it'll, there'll be an adjustment. How big of the adjustment will be, we don't know, but it'll, it'll give us a really good idea of how reliable FCS and FBS power ratings are in relation to one another.

[Chip Patterson]

Do. What are the other ripple effects here? It could. For example, North Dakota State's recruiting pitch has been come, come compete for national championships. North Dakota State's recruiting pitch now is different.

[Tom Fernelli]

Come compete for Mountain west championships.

[Chip Patterson]

You know, like that's. And, and is, are there, are there other school like, does this cut into Minnesota? You know, does this cut into. Are there other FBS schools that now all of a sudden start to see a little bit of, a little bit more challenge from North Dakota State when it comes to trying to build for the future? Because there is the, you know, the rating and what they're going to do right away. But what does this look like three years down the line? You know, are there other impacts from a program, it's well funded. Right. You know, there's a lot of passion, good fan base. Are they going to be able to have a transition? Hey, listen, James Madison.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. 2021 they were in FCS and 2025 they were in the College Football Playoff.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. What does that look like?

[Danny Cannell]

I think when you were saying like compete for Mountain west champ, I think they're saying, hey, we can make the College Football Playoff. I think that's what their pitch is now. Like they don't have to say we can win the national championship or whatever. 15th, however many they've got at the FCS level, you can be one of the first that makes the College Football Playoff. To your question about Minnesota, I don't think Minnesota is worried, but I do think other PAC12 current. PAC12 current group of six programs. I think they're probably looking at this, like, oh, we got a player. They'll compete for their players, for their recruits, for their free agents, for their transfer portal. Like, they're going to be very competitive. I think they're the ones that will be put on notice right away.

[Tom Fernelli]

I also think this is, I mean, FCS is hurting like the headlines.

[Chip Patterson]

5, 5 days of FCS related football headlines have not been good for the future of prosperity at that level.

[Tom Fernelli]

You have lost another one of your top programs to the fbs. And then you saw, I mean like, what's his name? Bobby Hawk is stepping down because he's, you know, he's tired of like nil is affecting FCS football so much that Bobby Hawk is like, I don't want to coach him onto it anymore.

[Chip Patterson]

I'm just, yeah. The legendary winningest coach in Montana football history. South Dakota State's head coach is quitting to go be the dc.

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean that's just the money situation where the defensive coordinator at Rutgers will pay you far more than being South Dakota State head coach will be. So yeah, it's, it'll be interesting to see the ripple effects this has at the FCS level of football. And then you also add in that Sacramento State is desperately trying to get into fbs.

[Chip Patterson]

It's.

[Tom Fernelli]

Well, like you're looking at a situation now where for these programs to move up, they have to pay. Like, I can't remember what the number is off the top of my head, but North Dakota State's paying the Mountain west to join and they're also paying the NCAA whatever. Like, was it 5 million? Something like that?

[Chip Patterson]

5 or 8 something. It's less than 10 though.

[Tom Fernelli]

So like your programs with money at the FCS level are leaving because they can, whereas the programs that don't have money are going to be left at the FCS and they might not really have anybody to play with soon. As far as like premier programs.

[Chip Patterson]

Do you. Man, it's, it's tough in the way that college football continues to realign and we've seen the power structure. Do you find at any point as a college football fan, the sympathy part there for the fcs, like trying to hold on to what was. I will admit that I, it is tough for me because I've seen a lot of the. Your App State, your Coastal Carolina, your James Madison, my own personal bias. Those programs around me are now all at the fbs.

[Tom Fernelli]

So yeah, no, I, I don't know if I'd say.

[Chip Patterson]

I'll throw them in there too. Shout out to 757.

[Tom Fernelli]

I don't know if I would say I have like, you know, sympathy as much as. It's just I do wonder, like, with what's coming with the great restructuring of, you know, FBS football, what will be here in five, six years, what it's going to mean going forward?

[Chip Patterson]

What do you think, Danny? Last boats off the Titanic, Everybody just trying to jump off up to the FBS and, and maybe have a, a seat at whatever the next level is behind the Super League.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes. But I think there'll always be a place for them. I mean, it's like, how bad do you feel for them? They've always been the second tier of college football, you know, like, I still can appreciate those players that go out and compete for a championship.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

You know, and I think, I always thought, and I think we're seeing this happen and I think it's only going to continue to get more defined that college football would be like minor league baseball. You'd have aaa, single A, you know, and I think we're seeing that unfold as we see players move.

[Tom Fernelli]

Although where it's different is there's actually more talent at Double A than there is aaa. Most people who realize that, like the high end talents at double A, like AAA's got a lot of.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, in baseball. Yeah, the ACC is better.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. That's what I was saying.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, it's. AAA is just for rehab stints.

[Tom Fernelli]

No, no, it's guys who are like, there are prospects at aaa, but for the most part AAA rosters are also like veteran minor leaguers, career guys, Double A's, where your top prospects are typically blank.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, there we go. Look at, look at that. Just, just well rounded here on the.

[Tom Fernelli]

COVID Three Super Bowls yesterday. Football's over.

[Chip Patterson]

Pitchers and catchers in what, like a week?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Or something like that. Let's go. Yeah, you got, you got, and you got your SEC coach. Right. Oh, you're wearing the Giants hat, man. Off and running, ready to go. We mentioned it earlier. What does, does Rutgers get your benefit here? Do you upgrade their expectation in being able to, you know, make that higher for, for the defensive staff?

[Tom Fernelli]

Good hire. I mean, it's. Defense at The FBS Power 4 level is really going to depend on your talent more than anything.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

I don't think it changes anything for Rutgers.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, it's Greg Shiano.

[Tom Fernelli]

It would be hard.

[Chip Patterson]

Is that lazy of me to just think like, okay, I'm, I'm sure that Greg Shiano approves of, you know what, what he's going to be bringing in, but it's still Greg Shiano. Right.

[Tom Fernelli]

Their defense was dog doo doo last year. So like it'll be hard for them to be worse.

[Chip Patterson]

That's right. They finished 118th in total defense.

[Tom Fernelli]

Rutgers overs, baby.

[Chip Patterson]

Rutgers overs were amazing. You know, we loved that one. One last little headline coming out of the weekend. But what was your favorite LA bowl memory Rip? It's like LA Bowl's gonna be shutting down after five seasons.

[Tom Fernelli]

The vomiting mascot.

[Chip Patterson]

That was the Jimmy Kimmel year. Right. When Jimmy Kimmel was a sponsor of it. The vomiting mascot.

[Tom Fernelli]

My, my, my most vibrant LA bowl memory was thinking that Cooper Laga was going to be incredible because he came in for Utah State and it was his very first start because I can't remember who the quarterback was, but he was injured or he opted out, whatever the case was. And Cooper Lagard, the very first play of his college career was like a 70 yard touchdown pass. And I was like, oh, this kid's going to be a star. Didn't. Didn't quite happen that way. Did cover for me and win that game.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Utah State 24, Oregon State 13. That was the very first LA bowl. You know, we will always remember. Fresno State 29, Washington State 6. A UCLA, Boise State game 35, 22. Is that a. That a. Yeah, it's. I'm trying to think, was that a Dante Moore game?

[Tom Fernelli]

No, I don't think so.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

It might have been.

[Chip Patterson]

It was a Dante Moore season. 2023, you. And obviously UNLV 24, Cal 13. And then of course this past year, Washington 38, Boise State 10. So it was, it was, it was.

[Tom Fernelli]

That was the same day as the Army Navy game, right?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, it was that prime time completely.

[Tom Fernelli]

Memory hold that game.

[Danny Cannell]

It's straight up against the Heisman Trophy ceremony too complete the memory old for me.

[Tom Fernelli]

Garbers.

[Chip Patterson]

It was a Garber's game for ucla. That was Ethan Garber's time. So yep, as this. And I don't. In terms of like there were. There were too many bowl games for where we're at right now. We're gonna have a little bit of. We chopping some off. I'm sure some will get lopped into whatever future playoff world we end up stepping into. But yep, LA bowl shutting down as we continue to see a little bit of the contraction of the postseason. Speaking of the postseason, the biggest stars of the postseason were in Bloomington, but we're the Indiana hoosiers. The number one story of the 2025 season, we'll start to put together our definitive top 10 stories of the year on the other side in the COVID three yearbook and more Next Residence Day.

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See store online for details. Back here on the COVID 3 podcast, a lot of our friends jumped in the tailgate and had the conversation earlier with a lot of their, you know, a lot of their nominations for some of the best stories. You know, I'll just highlight this one right here. Just the one AP voter that everybody hated. I don't think we're gonna give a whole chapter there, but that was, that was a good. Because, remember, it's like, oh, it doesn't even matter, right?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, yeah. I think that, I think one of the stories of the year was the AP voters getting more pressure than ever.

[Tom Fernelli]

Before, thanks to us.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, I think so, too. It's a good thing. It's a good, it's a healthy thing that they have to like, actually be concerned that people might look up their votes. That's good. Pay attention.

[Chip Patterson]

Hawaii beating Stanford on the Aura farming penalty. You know, I think that was like a week zero week one moment and then, then, then a suggestion of the firing of Sharon Moore, which, which perhaps might be, might actually be.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

One of the biggest stories of the season. But I, I did want to start with the idea of Indiana. I think you can package in your Fernando Mendoza. I think you can package in your Kurt Signetti. Danny, how do you think that history is going to look back on what the Hoosiers were able to accomplish 16.0international in a national championship here in 2025?

[Danny Cannell]

I think there's a couple different ways you could look at this. I think it's the new era of parity in college football or it makes it even more exceptional if we don't see other Indianas come, which is probably the better bet to say that. But yeah, their emergence as a football power in just two years under Kirk Signetti. And I don't.

[Tom Fernelli]

We all agree.

[Danny Cannell]

I Don't think this is going away anytime soon. I think it's, it's massive. I also think it kind of, you know, opens up the door. It gives a lot of hope for a ton of programs where if you get the right coach, if you fund it right, if you actually give your football program support and buy some decent players and happen to get one of the best quarterbacks in the country, you could win a national championship too. I think now if we sit here in 10 years, if we're all still here on cover three, if we're all here in 10 years and it hasn't happened, or 20 years, then this might be just one of the greatest coaching jobs that we've ever seen in the history of college football. Kind of history has to tell us the story of just how impressive this was.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, I think too it's. Indiana clearly, for obvious reasons, dominates the attention because of what they did and fact that they kind of came out of nowhere and now they're national champions and they aren't a traditional football power. But they weren't the only one here that existed. Like Texas Tech did the same thing. I mean they've had more success in the past and we think of like Mike Leach and like the Air Raid and everything that that kind of brought to that era of football. But Texas Tech has never been a college football powerhouse and now they got that same kind of investment that Indiana put into the program, although theirs was a little bit higher profile, but they got to the College Football Playoff, they won the Big 12 and really kind of something you touched on. Danny. The biggest difference between Texas Tech and Indiana was at the quarterback position. Indiana had the Heisman Trophy winner, Texas Tech did not. And that really showed up in their playoff game. But still we are seeing that in this nil like era where you are able to just straight up pay for your players and recruit them based on, you know, like free agents. It's much easier to kind of rise up from a nothing program into being a powerful program. If you have the buy in and if you have the right coaching and you hit other players, you go after like it's, it's not just roster building as far as recruiting high school talent. It is now also identifying fits that are already ready made and just kind of putting together your roster to where you're finding talent, but you're also finding fits. It's kind of added a different dimension to the way we put teams together.

[Chip Patterson]

Last year's College Football playoff had Indiana paired with Arizona State as the worst to first style you know, they had both been three and nine the year prior and then been able to make the jump to make the CFP this year. I'm really glad you brought Texas Tech into this, but the through line here has been Indiana. You know, at first it was like, oh, wow, what a great one year turnaround. And then after this one you're like, this is just a wholesale transformation of the university at this point. Like, this is Indiana football is what we're about. We're doing it at the very highest level. Do you think Fernando Mendoza, because of what he will become the eventual number one overall NFL draft pick, assumed. Do you think that he will carry as much of a, a face in terms of the way that the story is remembered?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. I don't have him as the singular star of this Indiana story.

[Tom Fernelli]

No, I think Signetti is the singular star, I think.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. Because we've already seen like, and I know LSU is a powerhouse, but we've, and we've, we've seen Jalen hurts at all. Like, we've seen a lot of quarterbacks transfer and really help other programs and be a difference maker. So I, Fernando Mendoza is absolutely one of the key stories. But I do think this is more of a Signetti story.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Do you think, like this is weird, not kind of a change of subject, but because like college sports, the coach has always been the focal point of like, you know, the face of a program is always usually typically the coach because of the way rosters work. Do you think that in the transfer portal era that becomes even more pronounced? Because like you mentioned Mendoza, Mendoza was the Heisman winning quarterback for Indiana, but he's only there for one year.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes.

[Tom Fernelli]

And then he's gone. So do you think that just like makes it even bigger to where like the Signetti and the coaches become the bigger stars?

[Chip Patterson]

I think yes. And I think what adds on top of this is I remember a while back I was really starting to bemoan that college sports, I agree with you, has relied on its coaches as the stars and as the coaches became more and more sanitized and more and more just cookie cutter and robotic and sort of following in that, you know, Belichick or Saban influence. Yeah, yeah, yeah. More and more Saban style that I was like, man, well, this stinks because now we don't have these larger than life personalities who have these amazing. And they bring the personality and they show it to you and, and those were things that I think really made it even more attractive. And, and Kurt Signetti is obviously like he brought his personality from the very start. So a coach is 64 years old and gave us a full throwback. Like, yes, the coaches is the face here and we are not going to be a robot.

[Danny Cannell]

I think it's similar. I think one of college basketball's biggest problems since they let players have one and dones is you don't get the attachment to the players. And that's why we saw a lot of basketball coaches become the stars and faces of the games. I think it'll be similar. There'll always be great players, but it's just if you only have them for one year at your program, it's really hard for them to get the brand. Like even Fernando Mendoza. I bet if you went back to November 1, like a casual football fan might have been like, oh yeah, yeah, I don't know that guy kind of. But not like, not like you would have if he would have been there at Indiana last year, you know, like. And granted if he had the same exact year as Curtis Rourke and he was coming back, I just think he would have had a little bit bigger profile with more hype coming in. You know, it's just, it's harder to get that, that attachment and recognition with the player university even from their own fans. It is unique.

[Chip Patterson]

Indiana, we'll sort of do, I'll make sure that we do some accountability at the very end of this for, to put together an official ranking for the record. But number one, lead chapter.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. I'll, I'll open the Tom, I'll, I'll open the, the floor for nominations. I put together a list here. Let's, let's try to hit in loosely as much of a like priority order where the things that felt the most important emblematic, the things that represented the season, we sort of lead that first and then we'll put some numbers to it.

[Tom Fernelli]

I think that we got the correct number one, which is an on field story that involves off field things. But I think number two, that really encompasses what the season looks like and where the sport is right now is speaking of, you know, coaches who are dynamic personalities who garner a lot of attention the entire Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss, LSU soccer, which starts. It's like that thing went so long and was talked about so much that I forgot Brian Kelly was fired during the season. Like to me it feels like Brian Kelly was fired a year ago and then the lane like leading Ole Miss to its best season probably ever. If you want to just consider where the foot the sport is now with the modern game Getting them into the playoff. But then like, I'm not sure I'm going to be here. I'm going to use this success to kind of, you know, whatever, get the LSU job, get Florida, kind of get them bartering against one another. Auburn, I'm going to go jump ship to lsu. And then after I finally make my decision, after dragging it out for a month, I'm gonna take my entire coaching staff with me. But you know what? No, I guess what, I'll let you go.

[Chip Patterson]

But wait.

[Tom Fernelli]

No, actually, you know what? I didn't expect you to win. So now I need you to come back. You got to stop doing this. And then you just combine that with the fact that Lane leaves Ole Miss for lsu, which a completely viable argument is like, I feel like I can win national titles here easier than I can at Ole Miss. But then Ole Miss makes a little bit of a run without him with just far more success than LSU has had in the College Football Playoff era since 2019, since they last won. So in the last five years, in the expanded era anyway, that, it was just, it was a very interesting story in that the way that this sport is now where you can leave a team during the middle of a playoff run because you think you have a better shot to get to the playoffs at a program that's not in the playoff hunt.

[Chip Patterson]

For timeline here you were talking about it. I had the Saga starting on October 19th because that's when Napier was fired and Florida fans had been frothing for Lane Kiffin since mid season last year. And that's when we started getting the real machine of speculation up and going. So yeah, from October 19th until Ole Miss lost in the semifinals, all of it feels like the Lane Kiffin saga. Brian Kelly formally fired, what in November, right mid to late November. The. The private jet that had to come back to pick up the dog as they were bouncing between Gainesville and Baton Rouge. The high school football coaches who were who are leaking out whether or not they were going to get Kiffin's son on their team, Knox on their team, while Knox also was still back in Oxford going on a playoff run in the Mississippi State High school playoffs. The. The impact, as you mentioned, of an actual playoff team that was still playing all the way into being one of the last four teams standing. There's a Marty Smith being locked in the facility.

[Danny Cannell]

I really don't want it to be number two just because it is a story that didn't involve any play on the field. And I was trying to, like, I was trying to make the case against it because I was like, my case would have been, well, it hijacked the month of November, but it really did start earlier than that. And it was a story that even hijacked some of the playoffs, like hijacked everything. So I would say it was one of the defining stories.

[Chip Patterson]

We did not love it, but, man, it couldn't stop. It was an absolute tour de force of soap opera attention. Can you say soap operatic? Does that. Is that even a word?

[Tom Fernelli]

We can make anything we want words.

[Chip Patterson]

That's true. I think that it was not my favorite story to discuss.

[Tom Fernelli]

No.

[Chip Patterson]

I did not like the way it made me feel about the sport of College football in 2025.

[Tom Fernelli]

My. My frustration with discussing the story may have come through on the show a.

[Chip Patterson]

Time or two, you know. Yeah. I mean, it was. It was a toxic time for cover three.

[Tom Fernelli]

You know, I think that's the most time I've ever called the coach an a hole in one episode. Nine times within about a 30 second spot fan.

[Danny Cannell]

And guess what? Unfortunately, it's going to be a part of the 26 season too.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, but in the same.

[Danny Cannell]

Different way.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, we've. I mean, I've got another story that I don't think is a. Anywhere close to one or two, but we've had other, you know, rock star head coaches. Year one ends up being the story just, I mean. Dion, Right.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

You know, like there's. There's other times where that happens that's a little bit more normal. Nothing felt normal about the. The whole Lane Kiffin saga. Having those three proud programs all well funded, conference rivals just sitting around waiting on Lane and he's just like doing tick tocks and, you know, like little old me.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

I'm just trying to coach my team.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Jerry. Jerry. In the tailgate. It was gross, but you couldn't look away.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Very, very much the case. So potentially slotted up there near the top. We can debate when we put our final rating on this one. Danny, what about what's another one that you think needs to be up here near the front of the yearbook?

[Danny Cannell]

I had two that I would put in this category. I'll pick one because I do think it consumed an entire off season. I thought it consumed most of the regular season and it almost impacted the postseason. I would say the Arch Manning roller coaster of his debut season, you know, coming in as the Heisman favorite and the, you know, Texas was the preseason favorite to win the national championship. To the rough start where it's like, what is Going on. Does he have a hitch? His mechanics are awful to. He's a bust, which we talked about. That was just a headline. But that was the popular sentiment to him all of a sudden playing as good as anybody down the stretch. And is Texas at 9 and 3 a playoff team? Like, it was a roller coaster ride. And I think it was something that just kind of consumed the season and was awesome. I thought it was great. I actually feel stronger about Arch Manning than if he would have just been okay all year long. I actually thought seeing him struggle early makes me feel better about him being able to withstand that crucible of being the Texas quarterback.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, no, I mean it's, it was. It got a lot of attention. That's true. And also did he have. Was he injured? Remember, we were trying to figure out if he was hurt too. It's like that. That's the only possible reason he can suck. He must be hurt.

[Chip Patterson]

Guys, I've been, I've been looking, I've been doing the Zapruder film on this. This, you know, like we were talking about his wincing faces.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes. We were breaking down his face. That's right.

[Chip Patterson]

We were breaking down Arch Manning's face at different times. We were tracking his Heisman Trophy odds within the context of a game, you know, oh, oh, boy. Or if you bought him here, because then he had the, the touchdown to Parker Livingstone at the very end. So then he had bounced back up. People are saying within the context of a week one game. Hope you bought in at the good time. They Texas fans. How do you think that they felt about that experience? Because on the outside there was just interest in Arch Manning because he's Arch Manning. Arch Manning. Arch Manning. Our motivations for being able to provide that coverage for an audience that is demanding, you know, Arch Manning. Arch Manning. Arch Manning. Not that Texas fans are stuck with him, but what about the Texas fans experience of riding that roller coaster as well? Do you all have a sense of how they're going to look back on it?

[Tom Fernelli]

I do have a sense based on our slack because there's a lot of. Our college football editorial Slack page. There's a lot of Texas flavor in there. And I will say that they will tell you now that they, they were never worried, never doubt it, never doubted at all. But I could. If you scroll back in our slack, there seems to be a lot of doubt, a lot of deflection, a lot of concern.

[Danny Cannell]

I think they were just like everybody else. They were all in and then they were looking at who's the backup who can play? Oh, Sark. Is it him? Should we switch play callers? All of it. All of it. And they were. They were right there with everybody else. So I think they were on the roller coaster screaming just like everybody else.

[Tom Fernelli]

It was never. The offensive line sucks.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. No, Nobody was willing to go to what could be. Could have been one of the simplest and easiest football answers for why an offense can't function at a high level. But, yeah, I. I think that. And this was something that I know that we've discussed on the show earlier, like, near the actual end of the season, maybe around bowl time, when he had a good, good finish to the year. If you. If you just looked at the whole body of work, season total season averages, a pretty good year for a talented quarterback in his first year as a starter. So now. Now let's get the hype machine going back again. Arch Manning, 20. 26. Arch Manning. Arch Manning. Arch Manning. We'll be tracking the. The Heisman Trophy odds every single quarter. All right. I was. I'm curious if you've got a good way. Gonna need you to put your. Your editor, your producer hat on here. Can we tie Miami and Notre Dame together?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yes.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

They're intrinsically tied together for the entire season.

[Danny Cannell]

I think that that's the end of time.

[Chip Patterson]

I think that's a chapter. I think that that's something that we've got to weave together from. You know, you should. You scene. Said it with that opener. Right. And the way that that game went, and then you follow it the rest of the way. The release of those first rankings where they're so far apart, the slow climb, the flip for the final College Football Playoff at large spot, and then the way that each of those programs handled it, where one just quit and then the other made it all the way to the damn national championship game as a 10 seed is two remarkable stories, Danny. I feel like I kind of had to tie them together here to be able to make sure that it was included near the front of our cover three yearbook.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, I think so. I'm sure Miami fans are like, wait a second. Our story was better because we made it all the way to the national championship game, but it was a game we saw in week one, and the comparisons didn't start till a little bit later. But once Notre Dame jumped him in the poll, then it became a story we were following again for the last month of the season. And like the first question with the committee chair, you know, spokesperson on the selection show every week. Yeah, yeah. Every Tuesday night. It Was, well, what do you do with these? Which was really dumb when it should have always. They could have easily fixed this from the get go. I think that's part of, part of the story as well.

[Chip Patterson]

I agree.

[Danny Cannell]

Like, learn your lesson with the college football selection committee. They can do whatever they want. They can switch them anytime they want, you know, but they definitely have to be in the same story because I.

[Tom Fernelli]

Mean, to me the bigger part of the story is just the cfp, dog and pony, bull, BS crap every single Tuesday night. Because to, to put us back in time, we know where it ended. But just to remind everybody where it finished first, College Football Playoff rankings came out in week 11. Notre Dame was 6 and 2. Miami was 6 and 2. They had the same record. Miami had the head to head win over the Irish. Notre dame was ranked 10th, Miami was ranked 18th. So there was a huge gap between them because Miami had lost the most recently, whereas Notre Dame had won six in a row since losing their first two games. And it was just that entire dance all season long. How can Notre Dame be that much better than Miami when we have the actual data point, seeing the two of them play? And then as you mentioned it, Chip, the way that they handled it at the end, like I, you know what, Notre Dame fans will sit there and they will be like, whoa, we shouldn't do, you know, we shouldn't be making money for all these other people. I, A lot of people in our chat have been watching this show and chatting in our show for many years and they're Notre Dame fans. And I remember their reaction when Florida State opted out of the Orange bowl seemed to be a lot different to when Notre Dame opted out of playing in a bowl game itself carry the same energy. It's, it's, it's, it's baby, you know, being babies, you're taking your ball going home. You're just sad you didn't get what you wanted. And I don't. You got screwed over, although you didn't get screwed, you just got misled. But play football, like that's what you are. You're a football program. And then the fact that they're like releasing videos of like Marcus Freeman, having the meeting with the team captains and the team captains all saying we don't want to play football. And they're celebrating it like it's a good thing. You're Notre Dame. Literally the only thing anybody knows you for is your football program and you're celebrating the fact you didn't want to play football. It is the stupidest thing you've ever done in the history of your program. Own it, live up to it, move on. But don't pretend it was a wise, noble decision.

[Chip Patterson]

Love it. Also, the Miami run was sweet. It was fun to see Miami do that and to see Miami come alive. Danny, like to be there and to see the Lumen, like the way that Mario Cristobal was finally able to get that program to a place where you could say, like, we are worthy of the way that we are, the way that our former pros and our alumni, the way that everyone wants us to be. We are in the place. We are playing the role that we're meant to play. And then they played well, you know, on 27, 21 competitive game, couple mistakes that you're always going to play. What if. But I think that that was the other piece of it because you're right. It's a great story to package them together because it also includes the dog and pony show of the committee. It exposed the committee even further to more and more fans and has dented the integrity of, of the committee process in a way that it's really going to make it tough for us on Tuesday nights to continue to get up here and, and expect some pretend we have any genuine offer, respect for the tradition that is this Tuesday night process. But from a football standpoint, Carson Beck played well. Reuben Bain, Malachi Toney, Mark Fletcher, they beat good teams in the playoff. They put together 13 wins on the season 10 seed, too.

[Danny Cannell]

I think that's a great story. It showed like, because we all believed, man, this could be anybody's, you know, tournament. And I think that was awesome. I think that's great for college football. So I think that is a part of the story, too.

[Chip Patterson]

Yep. I would agree 100%. Coming up on the other side, a Super bowl winning coach takes a stab at college football and the entire saga of what happened in Happy Valley with national championship expectations, early season disappointments, a coaching search that never ended. All that and more nukes. Back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Was in Chapel Hill on Saturday. Got a chance to catch up with another game. Yep.

[Danny Cannell]

Nice. Yeah, it's a great one. Yeah, it was fun.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes, it was. Total civilian status shirt. I was not wearing a massage parlor shirt. But that's. Hey, that's another piece of this. It was embarrassing. Why did she do that?

[Danny Cannell]

How does. Does he not notice walking out the door? Does he still hear?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, he probably bought it for like, as are you. You are.

[Chip Patterson]

Why are you trying to upstage this event? You know, like this is.

[Tom Fernelli]

Okay, that's. That's the approach here. Fine, I'll let you have that approach. Because you think it's the biggest game in the world.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Tom Fernelli]

It made me like Jordan more than I've ever liked her. Okay, that was hilarious.

[Chip Patterson]

Fair. But, you know, catching up, I went to the game, civilian status, with an old roommate who now lives out of state, saw a bunch of people I went to college with, and it came back again. The, like, most haunting words I've heard from my fellow alumni. Well, we'll always have that drive because that's how long North Carolina football under Bill Belichick was looking good. They got a stop, they got a touchdown drive. And in that one moment, boy, all the promises of your wildest dreams seemed like they were all coming together. Then touchdown and touchdown and a touchdown and a pick six right before halftime. Then on the first play of the third quarter, they ran the same outside zone play that they'd been running all the first half and ripped it off for, like a 65 yard touchdown. And then TCU kept scoring and kept scoring and kept scoring, and the rest of the season unfolded. I don't know where this is going to fit. I don't think Bill Belichick's year one at North Carolina should make the top four, but somewhere in the top 10, we've got to make a spot for. For Bill Belichick's first season in Chapel Hill. Right.

[Tom Fernelli]

It deserves a chapter. Yes.

[Danny Cannell]

Don't forget the offensive lineman reenacting the fisherman and mermaid photo in the end zone of that game after that one. Did it. The only thing that. This kind of makes it even more depressing. Like, they weren't even relevant out how bad they were. They just became almost irrelevant, which really sucks if you're a North Carolina fan or you were hoping Bill Belichick would succeed. That's like, is it top. Is it. Is it one of the top stories? It's in here as a chapter. But because they were so bad, it's like they've been forgotten about it also.

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean, it sucked for. I mean, not that anybody cares, but, like, ESPN really wanted North Carolina to be this year's Colorado. Like, remember everybody that they sent to that game?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

It's not just like they made it the Spotlight game on Labor Day, and then they had, like, their NFL Live crew there. They had everybody there trying to create, like a whole dionic Colorado atmosphere. And it just, right from the start.

[Danny Cannell]

The 10am Concerts with Ludacris in the morning, that nobody was. That they Brought out North Carolina royalty with MJ and Lawrence Taylor and me.

[Tom Fernelli]

They were gone at halftime, everybody.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, gone at halftime.

[Tom Fernelli]

So MJ had a tee time the next day. He had to go get ready for the moment.

[Chip Patterson]

The. I actually, I think I remember this so clearly because it was the weekend of our live show in Tallahassee, the weekend of Florida State, Miami. The moment that I think college football moved on was the Clemson game, because they had that one on big espn, noon kickoff, like one of those first games to get your big college football day started. Or maybe it might even been abc. But it was right there, one of those big national windows. And Clemson was beating them so bad that the stadium was empty for the second half. And in the fourth quarter, Bill's calling timeouts to like preserve clock. And I'm looking around and I swear there's more people walking around the stands for a practice, like a walk through in stadium than there were at the end of that. And that was, that was when I started to hit the like, well, this is just embarrassing, you know, to, for the, for the University of the north of North Carolina, the University of the people, to be out there having your empty stadium on sports bars across America on this huge college football Saturday, just getting pounded by a Clemson team that didn't make my nomination list. But Clemson's even disappointment, you know, probably is also one of the stories of the season, I think.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, I mean, I think we're going to talk about Penn State, but I think you combine Clemson and Penn State. They were the two IT teams all off season. They were the two teams. Everybody's like, these guys are going to compete for national title this year. Look at everything that they're bringing back. And they both completely crap to the bed outside of the North Carolina game. Congrats to Clemson kicking North Carolina's ass.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I mean, you started the year with NFL Live, Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor. And by November, you're on CW against Stanford trying to hold on to a fourth quarter lead against Frank Reich. You know, they did and they did.

[Tom Fernelli]

Listen, we're giving Clemson a lot of crap. This team won four games at the end of the season to finish seven and five. All right, they are, they've got a lot of momentum heading into the off season. I do not want to see this team in August because they are going to run me right the hell over.

[Chip Patterson]

Tom, what other. What else needs to be here? Especially in the, you know, like five through eight, you know, kind of, kind of range, you think?

[Tom Fernelli]

I think the Sharon Moore ending at Michigan. I mean, kind of wild. Kind of wild how that all went down at the very end. And you just consider everything that has happened within that program in the last few years. Going from winning the national title in 2023 with the Connor Stallion scandal going on the entire time, Jim Harbaugh finally leaving, Sharon Moore getting it. And then we had all the Bryce Underwood hype in this offseason coming in, like, okay. And you know what? The team itself really wasn't that bad this year considering they had a freshman quarterback, they had a good season. But then it ends with Sharon Moore getting fired because, like, stalking an employee that he was having a relationship with. Pretty much. And then, I guess, I don't know, do we want to put a bow tie on the fact that their former defensive coordinator won at super bowl last night and their other defensive coordinator who was in charge when they won their national title is now the head coach of the Ravens. It's like, oh, man, you guys, wait.

[Chip Patterson]

Jesse Minner got the Raven shop.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh.

[Tom Fernelli]

Which, by the way, I will point out, Mike McDonald won a Super Bowl. Jesse Minner is the head coach of the Ravens. The sign stealing stuff happened, but maybe it wasn't as important as you thought for that defense. Maybe the defense was just really damn good. But anyway, yeah, it feels like of all the coaches that were on that Michigan staff that maybe Michigan could have gone with to replace Harbaugh, the one that they chose ended up getting fired for stalking.

[Chip Patterson]

What do you think, Danny? Top 10 story of the season?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, it was massive. It's Michigan, the controversy, all of it, for sure.

[Chip Patterson]

And also not in the same way as Lane Kiffin, but I will sort of add, it just did not like talking about that, you know, the way things got at the end with the.

[Danny Cannell]

Arrest, and it was like everyone was live streaming. Almost like everyone. The updates that were coming in of what was going on and police involved. And it was scary, you know, it was. Yeah, it was not fun to talk about, but it definitely was one of the more impactful stories.

[Chip Patterson]

And then of course, the. This isn't for the yearbook, but the ultimate frustration of, like, well, you know, people have been talking about this for a while, you know. Oh, really?

[Tom Fernelli]

Okay, bring it up earlier then.

[Chip Patterson]

Why did you bring it up earlier?

[Tom Fernelli]

I knew about it the whole time. I just didn't want to say anything.

[Chip Patterson]

And then you have, you know, if Michigan had beaten Ohio State, what happens?

[Tom Fernelli]

Who knows?

[Chip Patterson]

Right?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

And waiting till after signing day, too. Yeah, I don't know about that. Okay. We teased it before It. Can we. Can we carry the Penn State chapter from Big Ten media day all the way through Matt Campbell's introductory press conference and be able to just tie this all together?

[Tom Fernelli]

It was a wild season for Penn State football. Absolutely wild. Going back to what you thought the team was going to be coming into the year, you know, Danny picked him to win it all. Danny thought they were the greatest team of all time. Thought they were never going to lose, going to win every game by 50 points. And like they got off to a very good start. Like their non conference slate was nobody, but they were playing pretty well. And then you get to that Oregon game and it was a good game. Like it was a. It was like two. Two really good football teams. It went to overtime, they lost, and the wheels completely fell off. Then the next thing you know, James Franklin is fired.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, no, no. The next thing you know, they're losing to UCLA and Northwestern.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, but I'm sorry, the ones where.

[Chip Patterson]

You'Re like, what's going on? Yeah, losing to UCLA and Northwestern.

[Tom Fernelli]

That's kind of what I meant by the wheels fell off.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

And then. So then James Franklin is fired. And then they're nearly like the first team that actually gave Indiana trouble. Like Indiana, you forget, nearly lost at Penn State. And it was zombie Penn State. It was Terry Smith's Penn State. And that season goes on and finishes. But the coaching search is going on the entire time where we're connecting all these big names. You know, Kurt Signetti, is he gonna leave Indiana for Penn State? All these guys and it's like all these other jobs are coming open and you're seeing all these other jobs hire coaches. And Penn State, which has been open for like seven months at this point, still doesn't have a coach. And then after getting turned down by seemingly everybody in the nation, they finally hire the guy they should have been going after from the very start. They get Matt Campbell. So it was. It was a. It was a very good ending to a very long and frustrating and weird season for Penn State. It was a huge story. I think. I think it's definitely one of the top five chapters of the season.

[Chip Patterson]

Agree. All right, Daniel. So I was.

[Danny Cannell]

I mean, it is. And thank you for Ryan for pointing out that I was spot on because they did face in the postseason in a bowl game. It's a little bit lesser stakes, but it. The Clemson. And I know Dabo didn't get fired, but he didn't end up firing his offensive coordinator. Like he's bringing back, like there was a Lot of similarities bringing back veteran quarterbacks, both brought in new defensive coordinators. I wasn't the only one that had both those teams making a deep run for them to fall, not just miss, but fall so far short of expectations. I kind of did tie those two together as well.

[Chip Patterson]

Penn State at least could go into the season saying they were one play away from playing for the national championship. They had made it to the semi. I mean Clemson won the ACC championship on a 95 yard field goal. Right. They, they get in but then they got into the playoff and one and done like Penn stated, like they had felt like they had really had their breakthrough. Their run it back really I thought had more meat to it in terms of what you could try to spin forward. And I didn't think your Penn State call was. I didn't think your Penn State prediction was illogical at all. And I thought the only counter argument to it was like, I don't know, it's Penn State, you know, and that's disrespectful. But that you always gotta. Sometimes these streaks gotta snap. Yeah, I saw, I saw a comment too. Matt Campbell being hired one week before Sharon Moore being fired also was a wild little twist in there. We got the crumble cookie. Also I had on my notepad saga and, and byu, you know, Kalani Sataki and understanding what BYU money looking like if things are activated and approved by the right people. Yeah, the Penn State, I think that I might be looking for that one to be probably closer to the five spot. Danny, do we, does Florida State make the cut or do we go with efficiency and tie Florida State and Alabama together to also look at the Kalyn DeBoer journey or maybe please include us.

[Danny Cannell]

Closer to Alabama because it makes us feel a little bit better. They did play for an SEC champ, you know, they did play for an SEC title. They did make the College Football Playoff. I don't love like that. Maybe Florida State is not relevant enough.

[Chip Patterson]

Florida State is, you know, but it.

[Danny Cannell]

Was, I mean to go from their back and beating Alabama to then six or seven weeks later losing to Stanford at 2:15am East coast was one of the more inexplicable storylines. And then in this crazy year with all this coaching cycle turnover and it was Mike Norvell's hot seat watch, is he going to get fired? And then we're going to wait till after the season and you think you're going to salvage it and then it gets worse and it's like, well, we're just, we're going to Keep him anyway. You know, even though it didn't go. We're going to evaluate. It's probably borderline on the list.

[Chip Patterson]

It's probably closer.

[Danny Cannell]

I would say it's closer towards the bottom.

[Tom Fernelli]

Am I taking crazy pills?

[Danny Cannell]

You think it's bigger?

[Chip Patterson]

No.

[Tom Fernelli]

Florida State more than doubled its win total from 2024. It was a great season for the Seminoles. What are we acting like here? It went from 2 and 10 to 5 and 7. This is a incredible story. This is what college football is about in the nil transfer portal era. A nobody program like Florida State in the backwoods of Florida, where nobody can get to without taking like a little tiny jet that flipped. You feel every single vibration of the air flying in on. Is able to rise from 2 and 10 to beat Alabama, the Crimson Tide, in the season opener and then follow that up with four more wins. This is a storybook. This is like a top three chapter. Guys, what are we doing now?

[Danny Cannell]

He's just being mean.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Where does Texas Tech slot? Oh, I. I think the. I think Texas Tech fully. I mean it because it's Campbell buying.

[Danny Cannell]

A rod because Indiana was already good. Like they had already made the playoffs. I do think they're even more so the representation of trying to buy a title.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

And it worked.

[Chip Patterson]

I would probably slot them ahead of our, like, Penn State, Sharon Moore stuff just because, you know, they won the Big 12, they made the playoff, they fully cashed in on the promises. Throw in if we want to throw in Cody Campbell. Cody Campbell out here doing commercials. Cody Campbell out here lobbying to Congress and, you know, pitching the. The what for the future of college sports should be. Let's rip up all these media rights deals and pool our rights and do multiple bidders. I mean, he's the. If we're going to take Indiana and expand the circle to talk about, you know, what it means for college football, I think Texas Tech's on field success is a top 10 story. And I think that even the. The full picture of what it means with college football can make it much closer to a top five story like that. All right. Safety issue.

[Tom Fernelli]

Oh, yeah. I don't know if that's a top 10. But you know what?

[Danny Cannell]

It probably the group of five, like getting two teams in.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, it could. It could, it could. It will have a tremendous impact going forward because, I mean, they've already changed the format going forward because of it. And also we are seeing the ACC change its tiebreaker scenarios because of it. And we will probably see other conferences do the same thing. So it's certainly. Yeah, it was a meaningful thing as far as the impact it had on the sport going forward. So thank you to Bud, first and foremost, for helping change college football for the better.

[Chip Patterson]

As I've as. Here's what I've got right now with sort of our rough draft. We've got Indiana as our one lane and LSU and everything around it as our two. Got Arch as our three. I think we could debate that. Miami, Notre Dame. What?

[Tom Fernelli]

I wouldn't have Arch three. I'd have Miami, Notre Dame ahead of that.

[Chip Patterson]

Miami, Notre Dame, College Football Playoff Tuesdays as our four, which I would flip. Danny, you good with flipping those two? Yeah. Okay. Texas Tech as our five.

[Tom Fernelli]

Mm.

[Chip Patterson]

I've got Penn State as our six. Sharon Moore at seven, Bill Belichick at eight, Safety issue at nine. What's a group of five?

[Danny Cannell]

Two teams like all that together?

[Chip Patterson]

And College Football Playoff is seating impacting. Do they even belong? I mean, that conversation. Make it. Have them do their own playoff. They don't even belong. You know, like that. Remember all the reverence for the College Football Playoff as something that we must hold holy and have the perfect, you know, competition for. Yeah, that.

[Tom Fernelli]

That.

[Chip Patterson]

That was a thing, I think.

[Tom Fernelli]

Are we looking for a tenth?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

I don't know where we would slot it, but I think it has to be in the top 10. Is the continued rise of the Big 10 while the SEC continues to kind of backslide a little bit as far as having elite teams, because the Big Ten did win three national titles in a row. I don't know if you saw they're selling T shirts.

[Danny Cannell]

Did you get one yet?

[Tom Fernelli]

God, no, Danny. I. I would never wear that shirt. I would. I wrote a story that they won't publish.

[Danny Cannell]

I think they're sold out. By the way, somebody may or may not have tried to buy one.

[Tom Fernelli]

I would rather eat that shirt than wear that shirt, but I think that's a huge story. A couple others, I don't know if they're top 10, but I do think, like the whole Diego Pavia kind of situation at Vanderbilt was a very big storyline throughout the season. Just what he was able to do and the fact that, you know, we've talked about it a lot, so it's kind of connected with. To like these programs that kind of rose from not supposed to being like top level programs. You look at Vanderbilt and what Pavi was able to do there, and then another one that kind of shows you as far as how stories go in the 2025 season and how much we had to discuss. Do you remember when Tennessee traded Nico to UCLA for Joey?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

And what a huge deal that was in the offseason before the season began. And like, we talked about Taniko at Big Ten media days and it was the biggest story. And of course he was perfectly prepared to give nothing answers and just deflect and move on and blah, blah, blah. But how big of a story that was at the time and to the fact that now after the season it's like, oh, yeah, that happened. Which speaks to all the changes we saw, but also the fact that Nico really had no impact at ucla. UCLA was a nothing burger for the entire season. Nobody paid any attention. And Joey Aguilar was fine. He was fine. Like, he wasn't great. He wasn't terrible. He was just fine.

[Danny Cannell]

He was better than Nico. Yeah, statistically, you know, he was. But I think Nico might have had a better year, but from year to year. And I had that, but I didn't include it because it felt like it didn't carry into the regular season. But it was a massive story. But I had that on a list.

[Chip Patterson]

I think Pavia and Vandy might need to kick safety issue out. Group of five, you know.

[Tom Fernelli]

No, I think. I think the G5 story has a far greater impact on the sport long term than Diego Pavia does. Although Pavia will have an impact as far as eligibility. So maybe in a week or two we'll find out. Pavia was a much bigger deal.

[Chip Patterson]

So I've got. We got Indiana 1, Lane to LSU 2, Miami, Notre Dame College Football Playoff Tuesdays at 3, Arch Manning at 4, Texas Tech at 5, Penn State at 6, Sharon Moore at 7, Big Ten versus the SEC, which I think great point. Also can include their influence on the College Football Playoff and their fight over the College Football Playoff in the future. Bill Belichick at 9 and then the 10 spot still up for grab, trying to kick out. So maybe. So maybe Pavia and Vandy. God, we've got. We're a Barton Simmons doors podcast. These are our doors. How do we fit them in there?

[Danny Cannell]

Eric in the chat said Pavi will be the CFL's number one story for sure.

[Tom Fernelli]

Listen, maybe. Maybe Vandy was a surprise to everybody else, but I feel like here at the COVID 3 podcast, none of us were surprised. We knew once you get Barton Simmons into that organization, it's just still wonder.

[Danny Cannell]

Win total, four and a half.

[Tom Fernelli]

It's like five. Yeah, no, it might have been four.

[Danny Cannell]

What did I mean for them?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, hold on, let Me see. I've got it. We had the wind total lock.

[Chip Patterson]

Do we cut Sharon?

[Tom Fernelli]

We got it at four and a half.

[Danny Cannell]

No, I don't think we cut your own more. That's a huge story.

[Chip Patterson]

But shrimp.

[Danny Cannell]

I know. And it was after the season and.

[Chip Patterson]

It was a blip. You know, like the Vandy story was a big blip.

[Tom Fernelli]

I know. I mean Kyle Whittingham is now the coach at Michigan. Chip. It's a pretty big blip. Ohio State's collapsed at the end of the season. They finally beat Michigan and all it cost them was everything.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. And they can't then. Now they're just never gonna win again.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like they haven't won a game since beating Michigan.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh my gosh. Belichick might not be top 10.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

I would remove Belichick before.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

As. As our.

[Tom Fernelli]

This is a Hall of Fame voting process. Get Belichick the hell out.

[Chip Patterson]

Belichick out. Vanderbilt breakthrough.

[Tom Fernelli]

There you go.

[Chip Patterson]

All right. So the COVID three yearbook for the 2025 season. Number one story, Indiana everything. It represents the greatness of Kurt Signetti and The Hoosiers going 16 oh in the expanded College Football Playoff. Number two, Lane Kiffin to LSU. All the way back to the firing of Billy Napier. All the way through that saga of ole misses playoff run and what it meant for the future of both programs. Number three, speaking of College Football Playoff, Miami, Notre Dame. Those silly college football playoff Tuesday night ranking shows and how those two teams and that week one result continued to have an impact all the way through the end of the season and what both teams did after the flip flop on selection day. Number four, the roller coaster. As Danny said of Arch Manning's debut. Number five, Texas Tech making good on all the promise of what Red Raiders football could be. Cody Campbell and so much more. Number six. From a national championship pick to still looking for a coach and getting crumbled cookied Penn State. Every bit of the Nittany Lions 2025 to be documented in a chapter for the story. Number seven. So we mentioned it was a short time, but it's a big old blip. Sharon Moore. This, the scandal, the controversy, the dismissal and as Tom mentioned, eventually them upgrading Kyle Whittingham as the Wolverines new head coach. Number eight, the Big Ten versus the sec. Big Ten winning its third consecutive, third consecutive College Football Playoff national championship. More success in bowl games, success against the sec. But also their fight over the College Football Playoff and their continued separation from the rest of the sport. Number nine, the Vanderbilt breakthrough season. A celebration of Clark Lee, Diego Pavia and all things commodores. And number 10 safety issue. How to group of five teams made the College Football Playoff. There we go. That was fun. I appreciate you guys joining the exercise. Everybody in the tailgate as well. Let me see if there was anything else. Let's see the coaching turnover only fans. Oh yeah, right. Okay. Ryan favorite storyline is that we pretended SEC was good at quarterback for the second straight off season.

[Danny Cannell]

I had written down Lenore Sellers, DJ Lagway like I had written down some of the QBs that came in with massive expectations.

[Chip Patterson]

John Matier, moneyline material. Yeah. Danny transitioning from FSU to Miami fan week to week, you know. And. And can't forget Dr. Steven Shin.

[Danny Cannell]

Speaking of John, statue up.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, that's all time top stuff. It was. I will say it was a good college football season. I thought it was a good college football season. I enjoyed it.

[Tom Fernelli]

That's Rushmore college football seasons for you.

[Chip Patterson]

I all I know when it comes to Mount Rushmore is that was the Mount Rushmore's of college football playoff selection committees. You know, what Wesley Walls did to put his hat at the door as Ole Miss was still in the mix is just so impressive and only a man of integrity like Wesley Walls could be able to handle that pressure.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes.

[Chip Patterson]

Those are our top 10 stories. Bind it up, make it leather bound. Put it in your library. The yearbook for the 2025 season as put together by the COVID 3 podcast. We will be back on Wednesday so come and hang out. Come watch with us live 11am we will be discussing the most impactful coordinator hires. So this will be another one where we're all coming in, we're bringing our nominations, we're trying to decide what were the assistant coaching changes that are going to have the biggest impact on the 2026 season. Jump in the tailgate and offer your suggestions. Much like many of our friends did here. They will join the conversation. Then on Thursday, another mailbag episode where we'll be able to continue to dive into the big old bag of mail. And you can follow him on Twitter at Time Fournelli. You can follow him at Danny Canelo. You can follow me at Chip Underscore Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.

[Tom Fernelli]

It was Chip who punched that Duke coach in the face. See ya at Pluto tv. We're celebrating Black History Month with our free curated collection of black entertainment. No ifs, ands or buts about catch award winning films like Dreamgirls, Monster's Ball and Selma. We must make a massive demonstration. Iconic hits like School Days and set it off. Plus full seasons of shows like Tyler Perry's Sisters and Power.

[Danny Cannell]

I got you it.

[Tom Fernelli]

Star studded, brilliant black entertainment. And it's all free. It's getting good this month and always on Pluto TV stream now. Hey never.