Ranking ALL 138 FBS College Football Teams | Sark RIPS Ole Miss | ACC Debates Playoff Expansion | Mailbag! ✉️

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Episode: Ranking ALL 138 FBS College Football Teams | Sark RIPS Ole Miss | ACC Debates Playoff Expansion | Mailbag!
Date: May 14, 2026
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Danny Kanell

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Overview

In this interactive Thursday episode of the Cover 3 Podcast, the hosts dive into several hot topics shaping the college football landscape heading into the fall of 2026:

• Steve Sarkisian's candid shot at Ole Miss academics
• ACC's new push for a 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP) and ongoing playoff debates
• Initial rankings for all 138 FBS teams after spring practices
• Interactive listener mailbag with future power program picks Throughout, the hosts blend insider analysis, banter, and personal anecdotes, providing a thorough look at ongoing realignment, playoff expansion intrigue, and early season expectations across the nation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Steve Sarkisian Throws Shade at Ole Miss Academics

[06:16 – 12:51]

• Sarkisian's comments: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian criticizes the academic requirements at Ole Miss, referencing the old "basket weaving" trope for easy classes, suggesting players can "just take basket weaving and you can get an Ole Miss degree."
• The hosts dissect whether this is a genuine critique or playful locker-room banter, and if it points to deeper frustrations with the transfer process, especially with transcript transferability in Texas vs. other schools.
• Bud Elliott: “At Texas, we only take 50% of a player's transcript. It doesn't matter if you're a semester from graduating, you only get half your credits transfer over.” [11:43]
• Insight: Discussion on whether Sark is using these comments to air frustrations to Texas administration about difficulties with transfer recruitment due to higher academic standards.
• The hosts debate whether these academic "shots" are means of stirring up conference rivalries and how the SEC office may try to rein in public spats between coaches, as negative social media discourse doesn’t help the league’s image.
• Chip Patterson: “There’s been a lot of progress...but a lot of changing of minds over the past five months, which is very interesting.” [22:02]

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2. Academic Admittance in the SEC and Beyond

[14:17 – 17:21]

• The crew reviews SEC school acceptance rates, highlighting Vanderbilt (5.9%) at the top, with Florida and Texas next. Ole Miss—at 97%—is cited as an accessible "fallback" for less academically focused students.
• Danny Kanell: “My Florida thought was again, kind of similar to Texas. Good school, huge state. That it's...going to end up being a little bit more exclusive.” [15:45]
• The conversation touches on the shifting difficulty of gaining admittance to schools like Florida, Florida State, Alabama, and Clemson—driven in part by an influx of out-of-state students—and how this might affect football recruiting.

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3. ACC Spring Meetings and Playoff Expansion Debates

[18:06 – 29:19]

• The ACC, following the Big Ten’s lead, now supports a 24-team playoff. Jim Phillips (ACC Commissioner) says it's a united front, with some dissent from Mario Cristobal (Miami), who worries about diminishing the regular season’s value.
  • Jim Phillips: “Our desire with the coaches and the ADs is 24. When you’re leaving national championship contending teams out...you don’t have the right number.” [20:34]
• Motivation for expansion: ACC’s competitive reality—several teams annually outside the top 12 or 16—drives their desire for a larger field, ensuring more playoff access.
• Mario Cristobal’s nuanced argument: Against automatic bids, he doesn’t want a “beauty contest” selection, but his position is critiqued as contradictory.
  • Chip Patterson: “I thought Mario's comments were interesting. I just thought it was sort of...did not make a ton of sense.” [24:47]
• The hosts note that the SEC, namely Greg Sankey, stands alone in wanting to keep the playoff at 12–16 teams, with TV partners’ influence looming large in all expansion discussions.
• Professional vs. personal takes: The hosts share they’d “be fine” letting 12 teams “rock for a while” to gather more data, reflecting expansion fatigue among fans and insiders.
  • Danny Kanell: “As a fan, I'm okay with [keeping it at 12]. I feel like we're pawns and there are corporate negotiations going on 15 levels above me right now...” [25:21]

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4. Does Playoff Expansion Cheapen the Regular Season?

[29:19 – 37:18]

• Debate: Will a bigger playoff undermine the drama and urgency of college football’s regular season?
  • Chip Patterson: “I do feel we have been brainwashed as a college football society into thinking that the regular season ... always has mattered...”
• Some nostalgia for old “every game matters” dynamics, but acknowledgment that parity and expanded competition have changed the landscape.
  • Danny Kanell: “There is fair nostalgia for a top five team down 10...and that's gone.” [31:13]
• Patterson counters that rivalries and marquee games will still carry weight—and that college football is fundamentally different from the NFL and college basketball in fan commitment.

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5. CBS Sports 138 FBS Rankings: Post-Spring Top 25 & Surprises

[39:55 – 51:15]

• The CBS Sports post-spring top 5:
  1. Ohio State
  2. Texas
  3. Oregon
  4. Notre Dame
  5. Georgia
• No consensus “number one”: Average ballot positions were very tight, indicating a wide-open season.
  • Chip Patterson: “I think this is great for college football that there isn't a clear cut, like, oh my gosh, that's the team.” [43:54]
  • Danny Kanell: “The college football landscape to me has like seven number three teams. We don’t have any number ones.” [44:15]
• Georgia's "quiet" top-five status is discussed, possibly underhyped due to fewer flashy transfers and coaching headlines.
  • Jerry in chat: “Is it possible to quietly be a top five team?...”
• SEC logjam: Teams like Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss are rated almost identically—viewed as “B+ SEC teams” amid expectations they’ll sort themselves out this fall.
  • Danny Kanell: “Everyone looked at these teams and called them all B plus SEC teams. We're just waiting for them to beat up on each other.” [47:37]
• A look at lower tiers: Clemson’s surprising jump in the rankings despite heavy player losses; FSU at No. 47, sandwiched between Northwestern and UNLV; the ACC’s middle class congestion (many programs ranked between 40-50).
  • Chip Patterson: “There’s a bunch of teams that are somewhere between the 40th and 50th best team in the country.”

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6. Mailbag: Who’s the 2026 Penn State/Clemson-type Candidate?

[53:36 – 56:40]

• The question: Which current top team is most likely to unexpectedly flop, as Clemson and Penn State did last fall?
• Patterson's picks: Texas or Oregon—if their highly-touted QBs stumble, both could face a rude awakening.
  • “I think Texas is a team that everybody’s on board with, right?...That would be Texas.”
• Kanell's addition: Oklahoma—Venables’ job isn’t as safe as some think if the Sooners regress.
• Other nominees: Notre Dame, Michigan (contingent on QB performance)
• Kanell: “If Texas is nine and three, it's a wild disappointment.”

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7. Clemson vs Florida State: Who Rebounds First?

[58:01 – 59:16]

• Clemson is seen as the more likely rebound candidate given sustained Dabo-era consistency, while FSU is still in the midst of a rebuild.
• Chip Patterson: “Dabo's track record of consistency, like it does look like this could be a blip as opposed to a trend.”

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8. Fun & Other Listener Questions

[60:13 – 63:39]

• The hosts discuss whether they’d fare well attempting a full NCAA 26 video game season (mixed results and amusing family anecdotes).
• PGA Championship picks: Scheffler and Koepka among favorites; field at PGA deemed more open than Augusta.
  • Danny Kanell: “This is a tournament in general, the PGA Championship...players who can win the PGA Championship is a little bit longer than [at] Augusta National.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chip Patterson: “I thought sports officiating was going to be super easy...it was way harder than I thought because it was more in depth on, like, intricate rules.” [04:30]
• On playoff expansion:
  • Jim Phillips: “When you’re leaving national championship contending teams out of the playoff, you don’t have the right number.” [20:34]
  • Mario Cristobal: “I’m not for the 24-team thing. I think that’s just a lot—like, why play a regular season then?” [23:27]
• On tradition and regular season value:
  • Danny Kanell: “There is fair nostalgia for a top five team...down by 10...and that's gone.” [31:13]
  • Chip Patterson: “I think we've been brainwashed into thinking because it was a certain way for as long as we could remember that the regular season was the end all be all. I think things have changed...” [29:19]
• On preseason uncertainty:
  • Danny Kanell: “The college football landscape...has like seven number three teams. We don't have any number ones.” [44:15]
• On ACC middle class:
  • Chip Patterson: “That tells me that voters were all grabbing like...‘Yeah. And throw another ACC team or two in there in that spot.’” [51:18]

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Timestamps by Topic

• 01:28 – 02:43: Intro, tailgate banter, and “easy classes” discussion
• 06:16 – 12:51: Steve Sarkisian vs. Ole Miss, SEC academic standards
• 14:17 – 17:21: SEC school acceptance rates, impact on recruiting
• 18:06 – 29:19: ACC meetings and playoff expansion debates (Jim Phillips, Mario Cristobal, TV partners)
• 29:19 – 37:18: The playoff vs. regular season “value” debate
• 39:55 – 51:15: CBS Sports 138 rankings breakdown, power tiers, and surprises
• 53:36 – 56:40: Mailbag – “Which top team will flop most like Clemson/Penn State?”
• 58:01 – 59:16: Clemson vs. Florida State: Most likely to rebound first?
• 60:13 – 63:39: Listener fun: video games, PGA picks, family gaming anecdotes

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Summary

This Cover 3 episode offers robust insight into the volatility, politics, and promise of the new college football landscape—from immense playoff expansion intrigue and academic smack talk to a top-25 entirely up for grabs. The show retains its signature blend of serious analysis, light-hearted anecdote, and interactive fan engagement, highlighting why college football remains unmatched in energy and unpredictability.

Perfect for fans seeking a pulse check on every major off-season debate, with candid expert opinions and rapid-fire commentary that you might not hear anywhere else.

Transcript

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[Danny Cannell]

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[Chip Patterson]

Welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football coverage from national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.

[Danny Cannell]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Danny Canel. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 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 Ryan and Isaac Yovi and more have jumped in to get the conversation started. Because it is a Thursday, we are getting interactive. That means your questions, our answers, news of the day and so much more. And we're just going to go ahead and get it started with the tailgate because should be a good episode underwater. Basket weaving anyone? Danny, I had this in the rundown even before I saw the comment. Did you ever Take basket weaving during your time as a high level athlete at Florida State University.

[Chip Patterson]

If it was offered, I probably would have looked into it. I mean, this often gets brought up, you know, when we talk about athletes not being the brightest or they're taking lighter workloads. Those elective courses are available for everybody. Like, it's not just. What was that? Because I had a class. I'm curious to know what your easiest class was at Chapel. Like, did you take an elective? That was kind of the laugher course? Because I definitely took one.

[Danny Cannell]

Do PE Counter.

[Chip Patterson]

So we actually got a. We actually got credit for playing football and baseball. Like, I got some sort of credit for that. So that replaced our pe, but that was so you could take what you take for a pe. Like, was it a sport?

[Danny Cannell]

So I took. We needed to take two PE classes. My PE classes were golf and walking. And it was walking, Danny. It was the best. And I did them both in summer school. I mean, it was the healthiest, best summer of my college career because every single day I was walking to my miles and playing golf. Yeah. Our teacher. Our. Our teacher, I think his name was Doug Bennett. Shout out to him. He was awesome. But he would say, because the. The golf class was at the driving range at Finley, The. The university course there in Chapel Hill. But he would say if you played golf on the day, you didn't have to come to class. Yeah. So as long as you showed up with your starter ticket the next day, like, sorry, I missed class yesterday when, you know, because he recognized a friend named, like, Paul Glenn, a few other people that a couple of us just knew how to play golf. So he said, yeah, you guys, just. If you go play golf, that's class. So those would be the ones that I would throw out there as I

[Chip Patterson]

took a class that I thought was going to be super easy. It was sports officiating. And it was way harder than I thought because it was more. It was more in depth on, like, intricate rules, like dimensions of stuff. So you had to do a little bit more work than I was anticipating. And then, like. And for some of the people, it was hard, but you had to get like, all the holding, you know, like, what's this one illegal? What, though? I can't even think of it.

[Danny Cannell]

Is that illegal touching or.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes, illegal. You had to go through all of them on there, and then you had to do it for other sports too. Like, so you had to go through all these. You had to learn tennis, like, the scorekeeping in tennis, which I knew because I was you know, you know, played tennis as a kid, but for a lot of people. And it was. Was like almost every sport that was out there, like hockey had to learn about icing, which I had no idea about some of the rules in there. So it was, it. I thought it was going to be complete cakewalk. It was a little bit harder than I thought. I still got an A, like.

[Danny Cannell]

But did it stop you from arguing with officials?

[Chip Patterson]

No, not at all.

[Danny Cannell]

We had high level communications classes that were a little bit more like drama classes, if that makes sense. Because it was about, you know, non verbal communication.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

So it doesn't sound weird when I tell you that, you know, if I told you the name of the class, it wouldn't sound strange, but if you watched the class, you'd be like, well, why are these guys in a dance studio moving their bodies slowly from like one side of the stage to the other? So it did get a little abstract and a little heady with some of those high level comm classes.

[Chip Patterson]

Is there actually a basket weaving class? That's what I was trying to find out. Or is that just completely made up? Because I do know. Didn't Matt Leiner, his last year at usc, take ballroom dancing as a class? Right. So that was like a legit class. Is there a legit basket? I mean, I know I've always heard underwater basket weaving was one. Is that. Has that ever been at some school? Is that actually a course? Or is that some quip that a coach made back in the 70s that everybody just kind of defaulted to is the dis on somebody's classwork?

[Danny Cannell]

I think this is where we remember that Steve Sarkisian's a former BYU quarterback who was sort of of a certain generation. I mean, the underwater basket weaving joke, right? He was a. He. He probably remembers those same jokes about it, I thought. And for those who weren't aware, yes. Texas. Texas coach Steve Sarkeesian may took a shot at the academic load at Ole Miss, detailing that at Texas, we only take 50% of a player's academic credit hours. You may be a semester from graduating, but you're going all the way back to 50%. If you play here and want a degree but an Ole Miss, all you have to do is take basket weaving and you can get an Ole Miss degree. I think this is Sark take. I think this is Sark referencing the old underwater basket weaving and.

[Chip Patterson]

Totally agree.

[Danny Cannell]

Taking a total shot.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes, agreed. What do we talk about this on Monday? Like, what did Ole Miss do?

[Danny Cannell]

Like to deserve all these shots.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Because it feels like, you know, obviously Lane's got the relationship right. That's like, it's not surprising at all that he takes shots in this article which were more serious and those were, you know, those probably hurt a lot deeper. But it does feel like all of a sudden this, like, for Sark to come out and talk about this, it does make you wonder, like, has Pete Golding broken some code in recruiting or in the portal? Like, I mean, Dabo called him out. Clearly, Dabo called out Ole Miss by name. I just. I thought it was interesting that it was a rough week for Ole Miss, kind of getting picked on a little bit.

[Danny Cannell]

Okay, I like where you're going. I'm going to keep pulling on that thread because my first thought is. My first thought is they don't respect Pete Golding, or at least there is a drop in respect or intimidation. Maybe respects the wrong word because being respectful is. Obviously carries a lot more to it. But there is a change in the intimidation that Ole Miss presents when you go from Lane Kiffin to Pete Golding. The idea that if you start a public spat or a public feud with Pete Golding, he's probably not going to care. He's going to be speaking Pete Golding language, which, you know, very few people understand. Right. Right. He's just going to be off in the corner doing his thing. And you know what? An Ole Miss fan might love that there might be some Ole Miss fans after the way that Lane Kiffin drug that whole program through the drama. Like, they might just want somebody who walks around Ripley's quarter coverage and, you know, like, just a total football. Football guy who is not going to be out here. And yeah, maybe being a football. Football guy is some dirty recruiting and being able to go behind. I had not considered the Pete Golding might have burned some bridges on the trail in the transfer portal to create this kind of animosity. What the first thing that came to my mind was that no one's scared of poking the. Of poking the bear

[Chip Patterson]

in class. Maybe they're just testing him out.

[Danny Cannell]

It's fine. It's come on.

[Chip Patterson]

Because he has. And he has taken the high road with Lane Kiffin. I mean, I. They put a microphone in front of his face and asked him what about Lane's comments and that he's made over the past couple months. And he said, hey, Lane's gonna be Lane. I'm still me. You know, we're fine. And hasn't really. He hasn't fallen for the bait as far as to get into war of words and. And take that road. So I do wonder just what if he's an easy target. He's the new kid on the block. I also would love to know overall, what is the commissioner's office think of this? Because I would venture to guess there's been a text put out to the coaching thread, said, hey, let's knock it off. Like, none of this stuff looks good. Especially the stuff that Lane said on the record with the Vanity Fair piece. I'm sure he's just like this. This doesn't look good for any of us. Like, I saw, I saw a tweet. It said, who would have thought we'd have a who's less racist? LSU or Ole Miss, you know, war going on right now. But it is kind of the way it was unfolding on social media as people are like looking into backgrounds of both schools. None of it looks good for the conference, which makes me think it's time for Sankey to step in, if he hasn't already

[Danny Cannell]

within the Sark Golding relationship. Tailgate, obviously, on this two years, both on the Alabama staff.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

So they've. I don't know. Yeah, we'll see if that would. That was Ole Miss specific or otherwise. Again, Steve Sarkeesian very much, you know, riling things up. I will say in terms of the academic standards at Ole Miss, it has been proven that you can literally be enrolled at another university and still be able to have a clean transfer in. We have seen that with Luke Forelli just this last semester. So whatever those rules are in terms of being admitted to the university, they can be molded and relaxed a bit.

[Chip Patterson]

Do you think any of this is Sark at the expense of Ole Miss? Maybe like making a case to his higher ups at Texas? I don't know if there's players that they've tried to get that they couldn't take or couldn't get because this was all sparked because he said when they come in here, we only take 50% of their transcripts. Like we it doesn't matter if you're a semester away from graduating. You only get half your credits transfer over. And we saw Will Muschamp earlier this spring make a similar comment. We all thought he was talking about Georgia because he goes at Texas, we have to go to class. He's like, that's not the case everywhere I've been. I just wonder if Texas, if there's some frustration from the coaching staff that maybe they're not able to access, you know, players that either won't go because of the requirements they have or the, you know, the, the very high standard they have for the transcripts, transferring over or if there's something going on from that angle where Sark is frustrated himself and he's just kind of taking it out on. Ole Miss is like the unlucky participant in this. But if he's trying to point out to his higher ups, hey, we could get even more players than we already do, but we're not allowed and other schools are.

[Danny Cannell]

I would hope not. You're freaking Texas. Right? You know, like, I just, I think that if the University of Texas wants to, you know, still maintain and in that state, that is a really, really good school. You know, if you are a bright Texas resident, the idea of going to Austin for college means that you have done well and you've been successful at your high school and you have been, you know, you're going to have opportunities that are afforded to you because of the. A Texas degree. If, if Texas wants to say that, then, sorry, Sark, man up. Find the smart kids who are going to be able to go and win football games.

[Chip Patterson]

Right.

[Danny Cannell]

Notre Dame is going to be. We're going to talk about them in a little bit. Notre Dame's a top five team. There. There are places across the college football landscape where you can win with tighter academic standards and there are places where you can win with looser academic standards. I would hope that if you're Steve Sarkeesian and you've taken that job and you've been at that university. I don't, again, this is just me speaking my own opinion. I, I would hope that you're not saying, like, make it easier for me. You're already at the most resourced university in the state, one of the most resourced programs in the entire country. You shouldn't, shouldn't need anything else. So. Right. I would hope that's not the case. I would hope this is just a little bit more of a more light jabs across the board.

[Chip Patterson]

Did you see Dan Patrick go through the acceptance rates in the sec?

[Danny Cannell]

No.

[Chip Patterson]

So do you know who the toughest is?

[Danny Cannell]

The sec? Vanderbilt.

[Chip Patterson]

Vanderbilt. They own. Their acceptance rate is. This is from 24, 25. 5.9%. Do you know any guesses who 2 and 3 are?

[Danny Cannell]

Okay, so first of all, Vanderbilt, another great example. 10 win team.

[Chip Patterson]

Right, Exactly.

[Danny Cannell]

Getting it done with one of the toughest acceptance rates around.

[Chip Patterson]

Right.

[Danny Cannell]

Okay, so I'm like going through in my head, is it Florida?

[Chip Patterson]

Florida is number two, followed by Texas at three. So those are the top, you know, as Far as entrance, you know, getting in. Do you know who the easiest to get into is?

[Danny Cannell]

Is it Georgia?

[Chip Patterson]

No, Georgia is actually kind of tough to get into now. Ole miss has a 97 acceptance rate. Good job finding that. Look at.

[Danny Cannell]

Let's go Striker.

[Chip Patterson]

Over it. All over it. I thought that was interesting. I saw him having this debate now it says 81 to 97. I do know because my middle daughter is not the most academically inclined and she's talked to a couple of her friends. They're like, just go to Ole Miss. Fallout fails. Just go to Ole Miss. And there were a bunch of kids from my high school. They kind of, you know, two or three a year. It feels like that went there. And it was a pretty good fallback plan for most of the kids that couldn't get into some other schools. They'd head up to Oxford.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. Mississippi State and Ole Miss down near the end. If you're watching along YouTube.com cover three, shout out to strike eight. Tailgate, let's say shout out to striker. Forgetting it going in the. In the chat right there. Love that. Yep. So my Florida thought was again, kind of similar to Texas. Good school, huge state. That it's. The numbers are just going to end up being a little bit more exclusive along the way. And my Georgia shot was not a shot at Georgia's academics. It's just. Isn't it called the HOPE Scholarship?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Where is it the in state opportunities? The pathway is much cleaner than it is for. For out of state applicants.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. But I know Florida and Florida State for that matter, have dramatically gotten tougher to get into. I mean, Florida State, I mean, although we are the Harvard of the South.

[Danny Cannell]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

It was not always that hard to get into. Now it was harder. You know, it was a challenge once you got there, clearly. But now you're talking 1400 SAT scores, you know, close to a 4.0 GPAs. And you better have some good electives and, you know, some good community service hours. They're still turning down people, both of them, but it's crazy how hard they've been to get into.

[Danny Cannell]

Is it because of the Yankees?

[Chip Patterson]

I don't probably. But I also think it's. So they have bright futures here, which is for state of Florida, where if you get. So I think a lot of kids want to go to school for free. And so you've got that scholarship option, which makes it tougher because so many kids apply and, you know, they've been able to up their standard six years, six years removed.

[Danny Cannell]

I guess maybe you Know, I guess eight years removed from the last time Clemson and Alabama played for the national championship. But last time I, last time I had this conversation pop up around me. It's, it's the northern invasion of Clemson and Alabama that kind of stands out. You know, it's just a huge out of state influx that has happened over the last 10 to 15 years that has dramatically changed a lot of the acceptance there. Speaking of, of those Clemson Tigers, the ACC spring meetings are ongoing down in Amelia Island. Danny a one time attendee there where he and Dave Claussen were able to attempt to bury the hatchet in an elevator.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Just got a little more awkward if anything.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. So Jim Phillips, spending some time, he was on with Andrew Adelson and David Hale on ACC Network, spending some time, Brandon Marcelo is there as well doing some supporting. Richard Johnson, we've got boots on the ground. You can look at their write [e-mail] but one thing that's coming out of this is the A conference position. We support a 24 team playoff. Now it's not, they say unanimous, but there seem to be some rogue actors who are offering quotes across the board. Are you surprised that we've hit this point in the process? We're coming out of each of these spring meetings. We are asking for an official stance. Like your whole delegation. I mean this is like a, the summer convention, right. And Delaware, we say 24, you know, are you surprised that this is where we're at right now?

[Chip Patterson]

A little bit. Because I think the thing that's interesting is how things have changed pretty rapidly because I do remember Jim Phillips was cool with 16 as early as most recently as January, that he was okay with 16. But now all of a sudden he's changed because it felt like the Big ten and Petiti were on an island by themselves. Like they were the first ones that came out with this 24 team, everybody and 24 team ID and everybody was blown away. It was like, whoa, whoa, that's a shock to the system. And then of course Sankey was like pushing back and the Big 12 ACC were kind of like the middlemen who, you know, how much do they matter? You could debate on how much matter their, their voice holds any weight, if any at all. But that they've kind of quickly come on board with the 24 team too. I think it makes sense because I think you should want as many as possible because you know you're probably not going to be in that top 12 or even the top 16. If you look at the last Several years, you know, rankings at the final part of the season. So they're thinking, we don't want to just get one team in every year like we did this path. We need as many teams as we can get in the playoffs. So I think that's where they've come on board. But yes, like now, I mean, I guess it's now in, in media days are the times to really let your opinion be known. So I guess they're kind of coming out with this united front to try to put some pressure on Greg Sankey, who now finds himself on the island by himself saying, wait, I want to stay at 16. I'm not moving.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, Jim Phillips, we got a quote from him. Quote, our desire with the coaches and the ads is 24. When you're leaving national championship contending teams out of the playoff, you don't have the right number. We lived through it. We suffered through it with Florida State when the field was four. I know other schools have suffered for it. Notre Dame was a CFP worthy team last year and you saw what happened to them. The last team that got invited with Miami.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay, so you mentioned a lot to digest there.

[Danny Cannell]

Lot to digest there. First of all, your, your point about the ACC's unique position. If you were to close your eyes and imagine a preseason top 25, the ACC is holding down 7, 19, 23. Right. Not a lot of top 16 teams. Not a lot of top 12 teams. North Carolina State coach Dave Doran coming out at Amelia Island. Well, yeah, they told me I would have made the playoff three times in my tenure. How many times did the Wolf Pack under Dave Doran finished nine and three at number 22. Right. So, yes, the way that the ACC is currently structured competitively, absolutely understand their support for the 2014 playoff. But what you make of Jim Phillips invoking Notre Dame, especially with Miami, was the one that got it.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, that is a whole nother separate discussion because there must have been some, you know, I don't know, I don't know what the term is that I'm looking for. Like an olive branch extended. Maybe this is Jim Phillips. Like, hey, you know, we want to make the case to keep you in because it was not that long ago the peep of Aqua was threatening to leave the acc. Now he says things have never been better. Like all of a sudden it's like, that's water under the bridge again. This was only five months ago that it was getting nasty and they were upset that Jim Phillips was making the case for Miami to get in over Notre Dame. And he's like, wait a second. And so it went from this really super contentious relationship to all of a sudden they're like just all on the same page. Everything's hunky dory. And now you even have Jim Phillips invoking Pete Bavaqua and Notre Dame as a part of the reason we need to expand. So it's all kind of just. There's been a lot of progress, I guess is that's what you call it. But there's been a lot of changing of minds over the past five months, which is very interesting.

[Danny Cannell]

Very interesting. Ryan in the tailgate pointing out the most notable thing is Mario disagreeing with Phillips. Well, Striker's got that one loaded up too. Yeah, that's right. Mario Cristobal jumping out. I'm not for the 2014 thing. I think that's just a lot like, why play a regular season then?

[Chip Patterson]

So Mario said a couple things that I like. I'm totally fine if he wants to say it. And I do think it's interesting that if you ask certain coaches that will have no problem getting access to a 12 team playoff or a 16, they're like, why do we need to get bigger? And then there's coaches like Pat Narduzzi or Dave Dorn or others who would love to see it expand to 24, because that gets them in. They want a chance. So I do think that's interesting. But as part of that quote, he said, I. Because I think the thing that's kind of getting lost in the. In the weeds here is how do we get to the 16 teams? How do we get to the 24 teams? Because I think that's. That's a bigger discussion. I think that's a bigger issue. But we're so caught up in the number. And what Mario said is, he said, I don't want automatic bids, which I think that goes against what Jim Phillips and Brett Yourmark would love. They want to see four teams guaranteed no matter where you are. Like, hey, we want. We want our top four teams, top three, whatever it is, we want those guaranteed. And the thing that I didn't think made much sense is Mario said, I don't want a beauty contest. He said, but I don't want automatic bids. He said, but then, then you know, but you should get the best teams in the playoff. Well, how do you do that outside of having your. Right.

[Danny Cannell]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

Because that's exactly what we have now is who do we think are the top 12? Which almost got him burned last year. That was a quote that he was using, you know, last year. We don't want a beauty contest. We earned it on the field. But it's still, if you do just the top 24 teams or whatever, plus the group of six, whatever it is, you're still going to end up getting a beauty contest of who we think are the top team. So I thought Mario's comments were interesting. I just thought it was sort of. It didn't make a ton of sense. His argument, you know, for some of the cases he was making, didn't make a ton of sense to me.

[Danny Cannell]

Mario should want a BCS. Mario should want a 14 playoff. He's got one of the most talented teams in the country. And if he wants to bring that old school mentality of there being almost no margin for error, then like, yeah, you want it as small as possible. Kirby Smart should want it as small as possible. Texas should want it as small as possible. You entertain more of a chance that teams that do not have as much talent as you do winning a national championship. So I thought that was an interesting position, but not surprising for Mario. But of course, he clearly, in terms of the way that it's being presented, he must have grumbled that and said that. But the room of coaches and athletic directors seem to be moving far more in the direction of a larger playoff, which would give the ACC a lot more. There was also one last piece here, which I am hesitant to dive into, but I thought was interesting, especially because SEC meetings will be coming up and you mentioned Greg Sankey on an island. There does not seem to be. Jim Phillips said that it is the current desire to stay at 12. If you go ask the media rights partner that they're like, hey, we, we got a good playoff right here. And that the. It maybe you move to 16, but that anything beyond 16, there's just not really an appetite for it. Can. Could the SEC throw the sand in the gears of all this thing and we just stay put? Which, by the way, as a fan, I'm okay with. Right? I have felt like this. I played a game with our friend Adam Gold. He asked me a question about this and I said we're going to play a game of personal, professional. I'm going to give you my personal answer first, my professional answer second. I said, personally, I don't care. I feel like we're a pawn in this game and there is like corporate negotiations going on 15 levels above me right now in boardrooms somewhere. And I'm. I'm just so powerless at this point in the process that I'm I'm not really going to stress myself one way or the other, but professionally, I don't know, man. I'm cool with letting 12 rock for a little bit and just seeing continuing to get more data and more results on the current format that's in place.

[Chip Patterson]

Why didn't we expand last year? Because they couldn't agree. Right. And that was. And they delayed it. It was supposed to be December 1st. They pushed it back till after the season. And all the, all the reporting that came out of there was, well, they have to agree on a number and if they don't agree, then it's going to stay at 12. It sure does feel like Sankey, especially again kind of this week and the last couple weeks, reiterating, I don't want, I don't see a need to go. Like, we're in no rush. We don't have to go if we. And I, I think there is a chance that we stay at 12 for another year. But I think it's also interesting that Jim Phillips, because he's in a delicate situation because his media. Right. Part media rights partner, they own the College Football Playoff. So they're like, we're good. Like, we'll stay here. We'll own it all. And then you have Petiti, whose media rights partner is Fox. They're saying, let's expand this thing so we can get a part of it. We want to be a, we want to air some of these games. So I do think that is what you're talking about, where a lot of this stuff is at much higher levels. There's power, you know, struggles that are going on. There's egos that get involved, legacy plays. Because I, I don't think Greg Sankey wants to be pictured as somebody who just, you know, coward and just kind of laid down his sword and said, yeah, we're just going to succumb to the pressure of the Big Ten. He's not going to do that. So I do think there isn't a very good chance that we just stay at 12 for another year and kind of kick the can down the road.

[Danny Cannell]

I, I think that expanding the playoff, I agree. Would cheapen the regular season. I get why they want to do it. I'd be fine as a fan just staying where we're at for a little while longer and just sort of figuring out a little bit more.

[Chip Patterson]

So I don't know. I was a little bit surly yesterday because people have just been crushing college football and crushing the 2014, which I get. I totally understand. And Daniel Jeremiah, who's a really nice guy, he's a great guy. He was like the latest one just to pile in because it's really easy to get the retweets. He's like 24 TM playoff. If feels gross. So I kind of got into it with some people and I made some comments and I just, I think we have to. I do feel we have been brainwashed as a college football society into thinking that the regular season, it only, it always has mattered. And it's the most entertaining regular season in sports because every game matters, right? And if you lose one game, oh, that's it, you're done. Your postseason hopes are done. Do we realize how much things have changed in the last five years? And was that really a good thing when we only saw five or six teams and sometimes only two or three and they would blow out eight opponents a year and go, you know, and then they have, you know, two or three good wins and they were undefeated and it was every game matter, but they were undefeated. Like, we're not going to see those teams as much anymore. And if anything, there is more parity now. So whenever he's like, oh, we're going to get a 9 and 3 team in the playoff, that team like Texas last year, I'm not saying they would have won it, but they were left out. Like, I think they could have beaten some of the top teams that were out there. And I think that has changed because we don't see those alpha teams that were just loaded and stacked anymore. And I think we've been brainwashed into thinking because it was a certain way for as long as we could remember that the regular season was the end all be all. I think things have changed so dramatically that there should be more leeway for a loss in the season.

[Danny Cannell]

There is fair nostalgia for a top five team at 5:45pm Eastern Time. Down by 10. With the sun starting to set in late October and all of college football on a Saturday afternoon saying, holy cow, how's Nick Saban going to wiggle out of this one? You know, like there and that's gone.

[Chip Patterson]

I don't think it is gone. See, I don't think it is gone. I think it's still there. I think fans. See, I, I think college football fans are unique and now maybe I am taking them for granted, but I think college football fans are different. I think college football fans will always care more than they care about the NFL. Like, has it changed a lot? Yes. Where payers have played millions, they're hopping from School to school. You hear fans say all the time, I'm not going to watch anymore, but they still are. And I just think it is a different product that is unique. I do. And like, for all the people, because I think people's biggest fear is we don't want to turn college basketball. We don't want to turn in college basketball. Right. The regular season doesn't matter at all. You know why people don't care about the regular season in college basketball? Because college football is on during it. Like, that's why I just feel like college football is unique in the regular season. While sure the wins won't penalize you or the losses won't penalize you as much, I still think they'll hurt. Like, go ask Ohio State players who lost to Michigan. That's still something that I think rubs them the wrong way that on their national championship season they lost to their rival. I still think that hurts. That hurt. That loss hurt. Now, did it hurt them in their national championship run? No. But I still think it hurt to lose. And I still think wins and losses will still matter. I don't think they will be meaningless.

[Danny Cannell]

We are asking for the same grading scale for our champions, even though the sport has dramatically changed what champions look like and what kind of schedules they have to play. And that's where I have wrestled with it, because that's what the coaches are saying. They are saying, as we just saw the blue chip ratio shattered by Indiana, the sport talent is spread out more than it's ever been before. And we say here on the COVID 3 podcast, the good teams are not as good and that upper middle class has gotten even better. So we should not necessarily have the same standard that we had for 2012 Alabama as we do for the 2026 national champion, because the sport has changed. So the talent is more spread out and the schedules are more difficult because of conference expansion, where the SEC in the Big Ten had not only have always had some of our national title contenders, but have invited more national title contenders to the picture. So why are we having the same grading scale that was applied to your Florida State Seminoles, where, I mean, you feel free to take as many shots at 19, 93, 94, 95 ACC as you want. But like, what, two games a year?

[Chip Patterson]

Right?

[Danny Cannell]

Two games a year. Don't get upset. And there, there is something when you were on upset alert, when you were down, it's like, oh, my gosh, Florida State's whole season is on, on a razor's edge. And that really is something that College football fans love, but it's also not realistic because of the talent and the schedules and the way they've changed. I heard Manny Diaz, Duke head coach, say at Amelia island, what we have right now is a great format for the 90s. We'd had this and then, you know, it would have been great. But because of conference expansion and the transfer portal and the way that these teams are built, it is just, it is not affording those, those mulligans, essentially. Not affording that. That room for error is, is not reflected with the way the sport has changed.

[Chip Patterson]

And we've always had meaningless regular season games.

[Danny Cannell]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

If you had the right logo, which Florida State might have been the right logo in 1993 because we lost and still were able to win a national championship, you know, and Notre Dame beat us. They had one loss, didn't get a chance to play for it. And if I was a Notre Dame fan, I'd be livid about that. We've had teams that didn't even win their division in the four team playoff that went on to win a national championship. They had losses that technically were meaning, like, did not matter in the regular season. So I don't know. It's an imperfect system. I think the, the concern for 24 teams, it does feel like a lot. I think it's 16. I don't think you'll see that much of an impact. I still think the regular season will be special. And a lot of that is because college football fans, I think, are better than NFL fans.

[Danny Cannell]

I agree with that. But, ooh, nice little poll here from the tailgate from everybody watching. How many teams do you think should make the playoff? We have offered 8, 12, 16 and 24. Currently 16 in the lead at 39. 12 would be mad because he wants 24.

[Chip Patterson]

No, because he would be mad that 4 wasn't an option. Or 2, you know, like, like go backwards, you know, he's been a. Let's put this. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. This thing is already out.

[Danny Cannell]

So last piece on. I do not. When I said cheapen, I did not say regular season would be meaningless. That like if there was a value do. You're just degrading it. We are adding value to the postseason. We are taking a little away from the regular season.

[Chip Patterson]

But do you know what else is meaningless right now? Conference championship weekend. Yeah, those games do not matter. Like, you saw Alabama get worked. We saw Ohio State lose, only dropped one spot. Those don't matter. I would love to replace Those conference championship games with those bottom eight teams that are fighting to get in to a 16 or a 2014 playoff, I think those would, that's what you would be lacking, that drama. Then it's win or go home and you know exactly what's at stake. You are at that point in the season, replace those games. I think that would be incredibly entertaining.

[Danny Cannell]

And, you know, that's where I go from. That's where I go from. I don't care y' all figure it out. To having more of an opinion is not when we're talking about the number, but when we're talking about the structure. Because I am nervous that they're going to agree on a number. And then the way it gets implemented is totally bungled. Right. I mean, there's, there's a lot more that has to be done. That's when you'll see me get a little bit more spirit. But when, when I imagine the executives are negotiating 15 floors above us and we're just seeing all the different coaches and athletic directors throw out their delegation requirements. That's what I'm like. I don't know. It kind of feels like we're in a stasis point right now. At the end of the day, there are only 12 regular season games. College football is unlike anything else like it. It is. It is still scarcity that you only have 12 of them. And depending on what your schedule looks like, that rate that, like that urgency is still there. We're going to talk about Notre Dame in just a second. As one of the top five teams in the CBS Sports 138, Notre Dame has like an old school margin for error. You would think it's 1988 with the way that Notre Dame can't lose games. Right. You would think that if they, if they lose a couple games, they only have, you know, three real. They got. Was it the Miami game, byu, smu. Two of those games are at home. They lose two of those.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

And that's. That is urgency. There will still be examples of that throughout college.

[Chip Patterson]

But if they lose one, as soon as they lose, if they lose one, if they. Oh, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. But I think it does.

[Danny Cannell]

I think if Notre Dame loses one, then all of a sudden every Notre Dame game is must see tv. Right? So you'd still have, you know, something there. All right. Coming up on the other side, The CBS Sports 138 gave its four first batch of 2026 rankings here in this post spring practice window. We'll dive into all that, including why there's no number one team. I'll explain next.

[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

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[Chip Patterson]

I think it's couple things. One what could I'm kind of comping this off of our top tens that we did. Is that Friday.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. The power rankings.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. When we did our power rankings. A lot of love for Oklahoma, which I totally understand, you know, keeping Texas Tech in the top 10 despite the uncertainty at quarterback and wanting to see more from lsu, like not giving LSU the benefit of the doubt and saying, well, they have Lane Kiffin and they have the top, you know, portal class and maybe the most money spent on their roster, which I am totally okay with. Like, that LSU is not on this first page. I think those. Those are some of the things that jumped out to me.

[Danny Cannell]

Here's what jumped out to me again. It was something that I was privileged with because I had to write the. Not had. I got to. Excuse me. Write the article. To present The CBS Sports 138 to the public at large. Stryker, I know you. Thank you for putting this together. So, to explain the numbers on the screen, these are the average ballot position from all of these different teams. Okay. So for those of you listening, Ohio State, while they are number one in the final rankings, they had the best average ballot ranking, but that was 2A 2.0. Texas, average ballot position 2.6, Oregon, 3.5, Notre Dame 4.0 and Georgia, 4.6. That was the top tier. The next team in the rankings, Indiana, had an average ballot position of 6.3. So what this shows me, Danny, is that while our collection of CBS Sports and 247 sports experts seem to agree generally on the top five teams, there is very little agreement on the order they should be in or who should

[Chip Patterson]

be number one, which, again, I think mimics what we went through in our drill. I don't think any. Like, we all had kind of the same teams in different orders. I think this is great for college football that there isn't a clear cut, like, oh, my gosh, that's the team. And I, I can make. You could make a strong case for any one of these to be the number one team. Absolutely.

[Danny Cannell]

I think you could put Indiana in that spot, Miami in that spot. To me, the college football landscape as I see it has like seven number three teams. Yeah, you know, we're just, we're just waiting. We don't have any number ones. I think that's going to be one of my themes of the off season. We have no number one team yet. Now Ohio State and Texas will play each other in week two. That will be an incredible opportunity to be able to see who can have the best claim to number one. This is as Though our prize fighter retired and the belt is just up for grabs and you've got to go and you've got to beat another contender for us to really believe that you are going to be the number one team in the country. Because while all of these teams have reasons that you would get behind them, let's take Ohio State for example. Ohio State just lost loads of NFL draft pick on the picks on the defensive side. And while I hear you that Jeremiah Smith is a superstar and that Julian Sayan was a Heisman finalist, where were the touchdowns in the final two losses of the season to Indiana and Miami? Because they just came a few scores short and those players are now going to be tasked with leading the charge. Texas Longhorns super talented roster. Same thing ended in the Cheez It Bowl. Oregon just lost two coordinators, two head coaching jobs, not to mention the NFL draft picks. Notre Dame, C.J. cars back. That's awesome. They are the ones you could argue have the most certainty and yet I think the ceiling for some of those other teams is a little bit higher. George is a fun one here. I want to throw up this comment. Let's see. Jerry jumped in the tailgate before we got started. Said interested to hear about my dogs. Is it possible to quietly be a top five team? Not a lot of hype around them. No top NFL prospect, nil or transfer drama. Jerry, don't jinx it by saying no.

[Chip Patterson]

There are so many long summer. Long summer we have already.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. But is it. Do you agree with that this Georgia kind of a quiet top five team at this point in the proceedings.

[Chip Patterson]

Definitely. With their quarterback coming back. I think it's interesting too because I think we get enamored with new coaches and new quarterbacks and big portal classes. Right. And while that's not necessarily the case with all of them, that's kind of what LSU goes with. But I think Georgia absolutely. I mean Georgia is clearly the team to beat in the sec. Like it's not even close. So why is Texas getting more love? You know a lot of it's because of the brand. Because Arch Manning, who is a much bigger name and brand than Gunner Stockton, he's probably has a higher upside as well. But what is Texas record against Georgia the last couple times they Owen three.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

So I mean like before I say that because it's two regular season losses and the SEC championship. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Danny Cannell]

So.

[Chip Patterson]

But they have struck out three times in a row and yet we're all given Texas. Oh well, they're gonna do it this year. So Yeah, I think he brings up a good point. I think. I think Georgia is kind of a quiet top five team because a lot of these other ones have either more star power or, you know, coaches that are just getting, you know, we're looking for other things when Georgia probably should be given more, you know, credit for the job they've done being a consistent winner.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. And just as again, to voice this to our audience in the tailgate, you know, the. While you will see these ordinally ranked, the margins between these teams are incredibly tight. You mentioned LSU earlier. I'm going to give you again those average ballot positions. Oklahoma is 11.1. They checked in at 10. Alabama is 11.5. They checked in at 11. Ole Miss just behind them. LSU at 11.8. That is Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU, all with an average ballot position in the elevens. Do you know what that tells me? Everyone looked at these teams and called them all B plus SEC teams. We can't tell them apart. We're just waiting for them to beat up on each other and see who can rise to the top. So LSU again down there at 13 in the official rankings, average ballot position of 11.8. You can really start to see some of these tiers. And I will continue to bring that information to light as it's kind of fun to engage in the discussions of where these teams stand against each other. Anything else either from. We got the second panel on the board right now, stretching out through the whole top 25. Anything stand out to you?

[Chip Patterson]

I think what you said, like there's, there's a. But you could make a case to jumble a lot of these teams around where I think this is one of the best parts about the sport today is some of the parody and making a case. And if you're any one of these programs, you're going to come in with hope and optimism of maybe making a run to the College Football Playoff, which I think is great.

[Danny Cannell]

I thought Clemson made a pretty big off season jump for a program that lost like seven NFL draft picks. They finished down at like nine.

[Chip Patterson]

Wasn't it nine draft picks or was it seven?

[Danny Cannell]

Nine.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, it was nine and they had seven wins. They had more draft picks than they had wins. I think that's the line.

[Danny Cannell]

I was. I was truly stunned by that one. I think that shows our. Our writers are saying, in my opinion, by moving Clemson all the way up to 26, that they believe there is an addition by subtraction element of taking talented players who have underperformed and just Flushing them out of the system and making a change at offensive coordinator and bringing back Chad Morris. That. Which by the way, Clemson being the 26th best team in the country is not still not anywhere close to where they were at their peak. But this is assuming that there might be some positivity to be gained from a reboot of getting all those players out and letting a new regime take over. Yeah, that's my guess here.

[Chip Patterson]

Strike is killing me.

[Danny Cannell]

Why?

[Chip Patterson]

Because I'm in a good mood. I'm going to play some golf this afternoon. And he just puts in the chat and he puts it in our dm. He said we really need to see where Danny thinks FSU is ranked. Like, so he just wants to set me off in a bad mood. I. I did not see yet. I haven't looked at the back end. Okay, I'll guess 51.

[Danny Cannell]

All right. See, we've got it. Oh, does he already have it pulled up? 47.

[Chip Patterson]

47. Okay, so your neighbor Northwestern, but behind UNLV. Come on, what are we doing?

[Danny Cannell]

We love UNLV.

[Chip Patterson]

We do. I love Dan Muller.

[Danny Cannell]

We love UNLV.

[Chip Patterson]

You know what? That is 100% fine with me. That's probably where they deserve to be. They need to go out and prove it. And that's why I'm going to hold out for some optimism and say they over deliver this year. Lower expectations. This could be a good spot for them.

[Danny Cannell]

I hate to put our beloved ACC on blast here.

[Chip Patterson]

There's a lot of teams.

[Danny Cannell]

This is another stretch that just kind of indicates what we're talking about. Like this is the JV version of the SEC having four teams no one can figure out inside the top 20. This is all just inside the top 50, right? Duke, NC State, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Florida State. That tells me that voters were all grabbing like. Like. Yeah. And throw another ACC team or two in there in that spot. So be interesting to see what how it all sets. What's the big ham sandwich in the middle of the conference? That's what you're looking at, right? There is a bunch of teams that are somewhere between the 40th and 50th best team in the country. Coming up on the other side, we promised it. It is a Thursday. Your questions, our answers and more next. Ready to soundtrack your summer with Red Bull Summer all day play. You choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, a deep end dj, a road dog or a trail mixer? Just add a song to your chosen playlist. And put your summer on track. Red Bull Summer All Day play Red Bull gives you wings. Visit RedBull.com BrightSummerAhead to learn more. See you this summer.

[Chip Patterson]

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

Truth is that it's just so Beautiful on Pluto TV. Free streaming of Terminator 2, Fringe, Arrow, the 100 and the X Files may

[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

here on the COVID 3 podcast, let's head over to Spotify Comments where we appreciate the conversation has gotten going and mailbag questions are showing up there as well. This question comes from Blade in the Spotify comments. This one's Clemsonish related, but more about Clemson and Penn State. Hey guys, big fan of the show. Got a couple questions for y'. All. Who is the most likely this year to be last year's version of Clemson and Penn State? AKA people are really high on this team because of returning players and projected draft picks. Then they end up falling apart like a house of cards.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, I think the candidate I'm not saying because you know how I stand on Texas, but I think Texas is a team that everybody's on board with, right? And I think they're expecting much like we thought Cade Klubnick or Drew Allen were going to take that next step and bring him to the promised land. I think we're expecting Arch Manning to take that next step, right? He was a little bit up and down last year, finished the season really strong. But I think if there was a candidate to be one of those, it would be Texas. Or I would say Oregon is probably those are my two teams that I'm bullish on and I maybe there's a coincidence that I did pick those. I picked Penn State last year because I do believe in returning quarterbacks. But again, if Dante Moore doesn't take that next step forward and, you know, some of the talent that's there doesn't perform, I think those are the teams that would be the candidates. Now, do the season go off the rails the same way it did? Like, are we going to see Dan Lanning get fired or Sark? I don't think so. I think you would have to have a really dramatic situation there. But I think as far as candidates, don't you feel. I mean, who else would be a candidate that fits that description?

[Danny Cannell]

Oklahoma.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, that's a good one.

[Danny Cannell]

Brand of. Venables was already facing so much pressure and making the College Football Playoff and winning the big games that they did last year seemed to alleviate some of that.

[Chip Patterson]

But if that season away.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, yeah, things. Things could slide very quickly backwards. The other one would be a. What are we doing here? If Michigan is painfully average, Bryce Underwood doesn't take steps forward. You know, that's. That again, that's not the top five because Clemson and Penn State were top five teams.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

I, I don't see it. I don't see it necessarily happening with a top five team. But if, if Texas is nine and three, it's a wild disappointment.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. Based on the expectations of what, you know, we all think they're going to be.

[Danny Cannell]

If Notre Dame's nine and three, that's a season off the rails.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, that's a. Yeah, that's a good one too. Notre Dame would be this category. It's hard to fathom and I'm sure these fan base are like, what? How could you say. It's not a prediction. It's just like, who are kind of fitting the way we felt about Clemson or Penn State last year. Those are all good candidates.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, it's one of those, you know, you are the, the 20th ranked power five head coach. Congratulations, you're a power five head coach. You're obviously very good within your industry, but it's just there's 19 other teams. Who's the top team? Congratulations, you're a top team. We just think there's a potential outcome

[Chip Patterson]

and the way the things fall off the rails. And I saw this happen with Florida State two years ago when you come in and maybe this is what happened with Penn State and Clemson this past year when you come into the season with so much hype and expectations. I do think there's a tendency for today's player that I saw this happen in the NFL too. Well, we're out of the race. I'm still getting paid. All I got to do is show up. And you just show up and kind of punch in and go to work. The teams you're playing against still view you as big time wins. All of a sudden you start going through the motions. That's when the season goes sideways and you start losing to a ucla. If you're Penn State or you start losing like Clemson lost to a couple teams this year. I. That's, that's what can happen at those types of programs. When you're thinking you're competing for a championship and all of a sudden you're not. That's a real test of character, which again is more of a challenge now because of the money than ever before.

[Danny Cannell]

I think that's an absolutely great call. All right, let's do one more here. This one.

[Chip Patterson]

Let's see.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, did Blade got two questions in? He tricked me. Okay. Well, he is a vampire hunter, so I mean, I guess that's appropriate here. The other question, one of my friends is a big Clemson and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He also just got married, which I think is the only thing that has kept his disappointment and depression at bay. Anyways, who is more likely to rebound first, Clemson or Florida State?

[Chip Patterson]

That's a good question. I think you'd have to look probably at Clemson. Clemson hasn't fallen as far recently as Florida State. You know, Dabo's track record of consistency, like it does look like this could be a blip as opposed to a trend. I think it's probably Clemson. Now. If you just said who's going to have more wins than last season,

[Danny Cannell]

it's

[Chip Patterson]

probably a tougher question, but I still think you probably would favor Clemson.

[Danny Cannell]

Wait, more wins than last season?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

It's Florida State, right?

[Chip Patterson]

I think so. But I like, I think if both of them. I think both of them probably would improve two wins, you know, like from what fought.

[Danny Cannell]

Was it five and seven and seven.

[Chip Patterson]

Seven.

[Danny Cannell]

Seven and five. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Clemson's run at the top was more sustained when Florida States was a little bit more of a blip. And like you mentioned, the floor, like the worst it's gotten. The worst it's gotten under. Dabo Sweeney was still a key car care bowl, like the entirety of the Dabo Sweeney era. You're still a bowl team, but that's, you know, obviously not the case for Florida State, which bottomed out and then is continuing to climb its way back. So I will say, much like our CBS sports experts, I, I had Clemson ranked higher on my pre on my post Spring CBS Sports 136 with that one. All right, let's see. Would you. Do you think that you would have skills on the sticks? Ryan jumped in the tailgate and said, why don't you guys do an NCAA 26 tournament full season prior to the start of the coming season. See who can lead their team to a natty make the playoffs or the hot seat.

[Chip Patterson]

I would probably be a hot seat candidate. I have never been much of a gamer. I actually would like to. My 13 year old, she's been on me about wanting to get this game. Specifically she wants to play feel like I'm a bad dad for not getting it. So maybe I'll do that this summer. It would be a summer activity.

[Danny Cannell]

I feel like I'm a bad dad because my 6 year old knows how to play. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

I grew up where my parents wouldn't let me. Like, I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of tv. I wasn't allowed to go to a game like, what do you want? Atari? No way. We're not getting that. You're wasting your time. Get outside.

[Danny Cannell]

No, I'm trying.

[Chip Patterson]

Tried to adopt that mindset.

[Danny Cannell]

I'm in parental trouble for the way that my boys like showed addictive traits about it. You know, like we've, we've, we've already had to limit to. They get to play one game against each other on the weekends, like on the side. You know, they. And they get good.

[Chip Patterson]

That seems like that's moderation.

[Danny Cannell]

You know, they can choose whether it's the national championship, the Pop Tarts bowler, the Bahamas Bowl. They each get to pick their team. They don't know that I switched the even teams on so that like doesn't matter who they pick. You know, it's going to be. And Dan, you're not going to believe this. They throw a ton of interceptions. Just can't see the field whatsoever. Defense, I mean, Alabama, LSU ain't got nothing on when Pooch Patterson are going toe to toe against each other. Let's see when.

[Chip Patterson]

From the chat, Raymond wants to know who, who do we have for the PGA Championship this week? I did a pool. I kind of go in and out on Scotty Scheffler. Like some weeks I'm like. Or some majors, like, I just don't want to, I want to fade him because he comes in with so much, you know, pomp and circumstances that, you know, one of the favorites. I actually got on board with Scotty Scheffler this time. So he's one, he's My top tier, out of the six tiers. He's my top tier guy. Where he had. Rory has a blister on his foot. That was a bad look for Nike too, him leaving the practice round with a blister.

[Danny Cannell]

Well, hold on.

[Chip Patterson]

The.

[Danny Cannell]

The blister had something to do with the. Was the toenail removed for the blister?

[Chip Patterson]

I don't know.

[Danny Cannell]

Whatever it was, I, I think that if it were a major, I think if it was a tournament round, he

[Chip Patterson]

would have much bigger deal. Yes, he would have.

[Danny Cannell]

He would have just been like. Because I think he's. He got. He switched his shoes to a wider shoe. He'll probably be wearing like a little extra sock. You know, there's. I'm not freaking out over that. I just think that this is a tournament in general, the PGA Championship. And I certainly think the way that it's set up right now, based on my understanding, it's just one that will not require a certain level. Like Rory McElroy is tougher to beat at the Masters than he is at the PGA Championship because the list of people, players who can win the PGA Championship is a little bit longer than it is to go win at Augusta National. So it's almost like the odds to me, even for Scotty too.

[Chip Patterson]

It's like, yeah, you could get this huge field too.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. I mean this is there. There are anecdotally and I don't have the data to back this up. There's a lot of golfers with one major and the one major is the PGA Championship.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Which is, which is fine. You know, they all have a category here. Like if, if Nikolai Hoygard wins this one.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Maybe a little surprise. Maybe a little.

[Chip Patterson]

I like the Brooks Kepka call. I'll be rooting for him.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, I'd be rooting.

[Chip Patterson]

That's the other thing. Like Cam Young, he has been on fire. I just, I don't know. I don't like to ride those hot hands coming in, but it could burn me too.

[Danny Cannell]

Do you think Ludwig can pop one off? Ooh.

[Chip Patterson]

So he's a popular, popular choice.

[Danny Cannell]

So my Ludwig thought is that he needs to get one early if you are going to be an all time great. It's nice to just like rip off a PGA or two. I mean, Phil had it, you know, like Phil like it just. Just add all the four or five time major winners. Brooks has two PGAs. You know, you just, just throw a couple in your pocket, then you're not dealing with the weight of never being a major championship. Winner. Did Sergio have an early pga? They kind of like, was that where

[Chip Patterson]

he was with the, with the, did he win? It wasn't in Chicago when, when he hit the tree. I don't even know if he won that one. He might have won one early.

[Danny Cannell]

But those, that's you get, you get a PGA in your pocket early. It, I think it's got to free you up just a little bit. See, no, he never won the PGA. Second place finish, runner up finish in 99. And oh, wait, I forgot that Masters was his only major win.

[Chip Patterson]

Yep.

[Danny Cannell]

How about that one? Corey Connors. Corey Connors, maybe.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, it's a good suggestion. I'll be watching.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, and, and that's where we're headed. They covered. You can check it out on this weekend on CBS for the thrilling conclusion. Should be fun running Country Club there in the Philadelphia area. We will be back on Monday where, if you have noticed, there are a few shops that have started to release win totals for the group of six conferences. So what we are going to do is a little bit of if Vegas is right, but a group of six win totals takeaways will be among the big discussions for Monday. What do these numbers tell us about the way that those conferences are going to be broken down, including, you know, reworked PAC 12, reworked Mountain west, you know, a lot of changes in some of those conferences. We'll get into all that and so much more. And you can follow him on Twitter, Danny Canal. You can follow me ippatterson. Danny, thank you very much.

[Chip Patterson]

See ya.

[Danny Cannell]

The first time I remember my dad

[Chip Patterson]

killing somebody was probably four years old. A new Paramount plus original documentary.

[Danny Cannell]

He was like Dr. Jekyll on Mr. Hyde.

[Chip Patterson]

There's no question in my mind that

[Danny Cannell]

Don was a killer.

[Chip Patterson]

One family. He was the personification of evil divided by the truth. I came to defend my family. I'm not lying.

[Danny Cannell]

There's bodies up there. You can scour every inch of those grounds. There is nothing there. Let's dig it.

[Chip Patterson]

My killer father, the Green Hollow Murders. Streaming now on Paramount plus.