A few months ago I decided to cut YouTube out of my life as much as possible, but I soon realized I missed a way of passively consuming CFB content (little did I know Reddit would soon become equally unbearable). I decided to fill the void with various CFB podcasts. I know many of them livestream on YouTube (which is how I used to catch Cover 3 and Late Kick), but fortunately that’s not needed to get all the content and this way you can fast forward through ads.
Here are my favorites:
Top Tier:
Cover 3
Hosted by CBS/247Sports analysts Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell, and Bud Elliot. My personal fav. These are some of the biggest nerds covering college football and present their thoughts in a very informal and fun way. Excellent chemistry. An excellent balance of deep cutting facts with fun, speculative fluff (particularly when answering listener mailbag questions). In particular, Bud Elliot’s (of Blue-Chip Ratio fame) insight is really informative (and can get very sicko-mode at times). Danny Kanell’s perspective as a former FSU and pro QB is also something other podcasts lack. 3 of the 4 are ACC fans so they might fall down the ACC rabbit hole at times.
The Audible
Hosted by The Athletic writer Bruce Feldman and editor Stewart Mandell. This is probably the most insider-connected podcast. Very even-keeled, objective, and balanced.
The Solid Verbal
Hosted by Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein. If the others are too insider-y, this is a pure fan podcast by a duo with excellent chemistry and deep CFB knowledge (15 years strong). Loyal listener base provides good mailbag questions.
Second Tier:
Always College Football with Greg McElroy
Hosted by ESPN analyst Greg McElroy. For a former QB, Greg is a total CFB nerd who geeks out a lot (which I like, but I could see this being annoying for some). Obviously, he’s very biased towards Alabama (but homerism is part of what makes CFB great). Very connected and knowledgeable, so hot takes are very rare. Gets big name guests on his show, although his interviews tend to be all easy/flattering questions (although that’s par for the course in sports, I guess).
ESPN College GameDay
Hosted by ESPN sportscaster Rece Davis and writer Pete Thamel. Classic ESPN talk, although the podcast format allows it to be looser than on-screen content. I think Rece is better when he’s more free to joke around like this. Has the typical ESPN bent of focusing on the big name programs (so you may not get much out of it if you’re a fan of a non-“P5” program).
The Joel Klatt Show
Hosted by Fox sportscaster Joel Klatt. I’ve always liked Klatt in the booth, so it’s nice to hear him expound on his thoughts on what’s happening across the broader CFB landscape. Has a fairly positive/amicable personality (despite his “Klatt back” segment he did last year). Also regularly gets big name guests (I found it interesting to compare all the commissioners), and his first interview which was of his partner Gus Johnson is a must watch/listen.
Third Tier:
College Football Enquirer
Hosted by journalists from Yahoo! Sports (Dan Wetzel and Ross Dellenger) and Sports Illustrated (Pat Forde). I would describe this as light entertainment rather than really CFB news, despite all the hosts being very well-connected and the topics covering the latest stories. Very jokey atmosphere and typically ends with silly tabloid stores (which I guess you can just skip if you don’t want to hear about otters stealing surfboards or raccoons drinking beer).
The Late Kick with Josh Pate
Hosted by 247Sports’ analyst Josh Pate. Very well-known and prolific podcast. I used to listen regularly, but realized there is better content out there so now I only tune in to listen to the bits about my team. Josh Pate is a bit of a hot take machine (but they’re not awful). I like that they run their own computer model which they base their power ratings and analysis on.
365 Sports
Hosted by journalists from SicEm365 (David Smoak, Paul Catalina, and Craig Smoak). Not sure if this fits because it’s technically affiliated to one team (Baylor) and at the same time covers all sports stories, but I included it because they do cover the entire CFB landscape quite well. They also land decent guests on their show, which is more of a traditional sports talk show format, filling 4 hours a day. This was a daily listen for me when the fate of the Big XII was uncertain and they had the latest updates.
Any that I missed? What is your go-to? Team-specific podcasts are cool, too (there just don’t seem to be any decent Texas ones out there).
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