The Herd with Colin Cowherd – College Football Playoff Rankings, Ohio State, Texas, USC-Oregon Pick

Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guest: Josh Pate

Episode Overview

This episode centers on a deep, nuanced discussion of the current state of college football, honing in on the latest College Football Playoff rankings, marquee programs like Ohio State, Texas, and USC, and a detailed breakdown of the pivotal USC-Oregon matchup. Colin and guest Josh Pate dissect the impact of the NIL era, conference realignment, and shifting cultural and financial landscapes that are redefining the game's power structure and fan engagement.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise of Oregon: Ingenuity, Money, and Identity

• Oregon's ascent: Explored how Phil Knight’s innovation and funding led Oregon to become a national power (facilities, NIL, branding with uniforms).
• Recruiting shift: Oregon now competes with and sometimes surpasses USC and UCLA for top West Coast talent.
• USC-Oregon matchup: Both agree it’s a tough matchup for USC—Oregon’s dominant offense and depth are likely too much for the Trojans, given USC's youthful offensive line and struggling secondary.

Josh Pate [05:20]: “Oregon has used three things: ingenuity, Phil Knight’s money for facilities, and then Phil Knight’s money with NIL. …Oregon now mostly gets as good a players as anybody in the West Coast.”

2. USC’s Unique Challenges: Market Distractions & Structural Issues

• Financial & cultural hurdles: LA’s wealth doesn’t translate into college football fervor—competition from entertainment, pro teams, and steep living costs make USC/NIL less competitive versus the South.
• Narrative around Lincoln Riley: Media and fans still question if he’s a true fit for the Big Ten and elite contention.

Colin [09:33]: “It’s the biggest economy in the country and Baton Rouge isn’t. But everybody knows in Baton Rouge, if you have money… you’re giving them to LSU football. I think it’s much harder than people think in Los Angeles.”

3. The Mount Rushmore of Coaching Jobs

• Colin’s Top Programs: Georgia, LSU (with alignment), Ohio State, and conditionally Texas, with a nod to Texas A&M’s recent transformation.
• Why USC, UCLA falter: Wealthy, highly-educated fanbases in LA don’t view football as a worthwhile investment (“beneath them”). NIL deals and donor culture don’t compare with SEC powers.

Colin [15:26]: “It would be beneath them to allocate their personal financial towards something like football. They just view it as beneath them.”

4. Power Shifts in the NIL/Transfer Portal Era

• Ohio State advantage: National programs like Ohio State are now able to simply buy the top cornerbacks or fill roster gaps by spending, rather than relying on regional recruiting or JUCO transfers.
• Matt Patricia’s unexpected success: His hire as OSU’s DC is another example of a program’s internal confidence and outside-the-box thinking paying off.

Colin [29:06]: “Just because you don’t know who Ryan Day is, doesn’t mean they don’t. Well, it’s the same way. When Ryan Day needed to fill that defensive coordinator role... he went and got Matt Patricia. That’s not a name that would have been on anyone’s radar.”

5. The Changing Postseason and Conference Realignment

• Expanded Playoff drama: Discussion on how adding more conference games in the SEC will create more losses but serve TV value, even if it undermines the traditional “conference champion” as a mark of guaranteed elite status.
• Realignment impacts: Texas/Oklahoma to the SEC, Pac-12 collapse, and four Pac-12 schools moving to the Big Ten are all framed as positive for television, competition, and fan engagement—even if it challenges old-school romantic notions.

Colin [36:47]: “Just look at the helmets on the field at the same time. You don’t have to know a player’s name. The spectacle of that is amazing.”

6. Team Deep Dives: Texas, Oklahoma, and the Coming Playoff Crunch

• Texas’s identity: Frustration with committee rankings, questions about whether Texas would still be left out even after dominating Texas A&M.
• Oklahoma surprises: The program is thriving post-Lincoln Riley, exceeding expectations in the SEC with a tough, physical identity that feels perfectly suited for their new league.

Colin [40:44]: “If you didn’t know, you’d think [Oklahoma] had been [in the SEC] for 20 years.”

7. What Makes Defenses Elite: The Blueprint and the Kryptonite

• OSU’s 2025 defense: Considered historically dominant; modern NIL means roster holes can simply be purchased away.
• How to beat great defenses: It requires off-script quarterbacks (Manziel, Cam, Watson, Lawrence) who can improvise in ways traditional schemes can’t account for.

Colin [33:15]: “The way to beat great defensive teams in college—off script, and you force them to take risks they normally wouldn’t take because you lead late.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Oregon’s 21st-century reinvention (Colin [04:57]):
  "They use Phil Knight's ingenuity... with facilities, a thousand uniforms, and now NIL... They’re the big bidder on the West Coast."

• On LA’s market dynamics (Colin [09:33]):
  “It’s much harder than people think in Los Angeles. It’s an incredibly distracted market, and more so. Remember when Pete Carroll was there, Josh, there was no NFL in the city.”

• On why UCLA and USC can't capitalize on their wealthiest alumni (Colin [15:26]):
  “Those people’s way of life, the way they acquired their means, it would be an insult... to allocate their personal financial towards something like football.”

• Why expanding the SEC schedule could backfire (Colin [20:02]):
  “Why would we add a ninth conference game? The simple math there... you’re adding eight more losses across your conference slate that you are voluntarily adding.”

• On conference realignment spectacle (Colin [36:47]):
  "Just look at the helmets on the field at the same time. ... It’s the spectacle of that that is amazing."

• On Oklahoma adapting to the SEC (Colin [40:44]):
  “Of all the teams that joined conferences, my bad. Oklahoma looks and plays, Josh, like an SEC team if you didn’t know where they play.”

• On defeating elite modern defenses (Colin [33:15]):
  “The way to beat great defensive teams in college—off script, and you force them to take risks they normally wouldn’t take because you lead late.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:20] – Oregon’s recruiting revolution and the Phil Knight effect
• [06:01] – Why Oregon is a terrible matchup for USC
• [09:33] – The challenge of building a college powerhouse in the LA market
• [15:26] – Why the wealthy LA crowd won’t support football like the South
• [20:02] – SEC scheduling debate and playoff implications
• [29:06] – Ohio State’s defensive dominance in the NIL era
• [33:15] – The formula for toppling elite college defenses
• [36:47] – Realignment, the TV spectacle, and the evolving playoff landscape
• [40:44] – Oklahoma’s surprising fit and success in the SEC

Conclusion

This episode of The Herd is a comprehensive breakdown of the seismic changes remaking college football. From Oregon’s calculated rise to power, to USC’s struggles in an apathetic, fragmented LA market, to Ohio State’s NIL-fueled defensive dominance and Oklahoma’s surprising success in the SEC, Colin and Josh offer sharp insights and compelling anecdotes that illuminate the sport’s present and future. With insightful digressions into playoff logic, recruiting, and TV-driven realignment, they make clear that college football’s old map has been redrawn—on the field, and in the hearts (and wallets) of fans.