What We Learned From College Football Week 3: Ole Miss Gets Revenge, Kentucky Stuns Texas A&M & Our AP Top 25
The Solid Verbal College Football ShowShow Notes
College Football Week 3 delivered the kind of Saturday that forces you to reconsider a few things in a hurry. We start in Oxford, where Lane Kiffin returned with LSU for a game that had been circled for months, and Ole Miss had a chance to prove just how much of the program survived his departure. We get into what the night told us about Trinidad Chambliss, the Rebels, LSU’s still-developing offense and where both teams fit in the bigger SEC and College Football Playoff picture. Then comes the result almost nobody saw coming: Kentucky went into Kyle Field and beat Texas A&M without needing a fluky turnover fest or some bizarre special-teams swing. What does that say about Will Stein’s early progress at Kentucky, and how worried should A&M be about an offense that still seems to be searching for another gear? We also dig into Louisville’s big win over SMU, Texas Tech surviving Houston, Mississippi State’s comeback at South Carolina and the other Week 3 results that changed how we see the season. Later, we go through your Reverbs and “Today I Learned” responses, then turn to our AP Top 25 ballot. How far should Ole Miss rise? What do we do with Texas A&M after the upset? Where do Louisville, Mississippi State, Florida, Texas Tech and BYU belong now? We finish with Dude Alerts and some of our favorite individual performances from the weekend. Support the show at https://www.verballers.com/join. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from The Solid Verbal College Football Show
College Football Week 8 might not have the biggest headliners of the season, but after another wild Saturday, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go sideways. Which teams can build on emotional wins, which ones are heading for a letdown, and which supposed contenders are running out of answers? We make our picks for Ole Miss at Texas, Indiana at Michigan, LSU at Auburn, USC at Wisconsin and Houston at Utah. Can Texas fix its sputtering offense against a surging Ole Miss team? How does Michigan's quarterback change affect its chances against Indiana? And is Utah ready for its toughest test yet? We also discuss Julian Sayin's injury and what it could mean for Ohio State's Big Ten and College Football Playoff hopes, plus the coaching change at Maryland. Then we go window by window with our Quadfather picks, including Tennessee-South Carolina, Texas A&M-Alabama, BYU-UCF, Texas Tech-Cincinnati and plenty of games beyond the marquee matchups. There's a particularly bold upset pick, a late-night showdown between North Dakota State and New Mexico, and an under-the-radar game whose abbreviated name practically writes its own jokes. Follow and subscribe to The Solid Verbal for our college football previews and reactions, and visit Verballers.com for ad-free episodes, bonus content and our weekly Run the Board pick'em contest. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After a wild Week 7, we're back with ESPN's Bill Connelly to make sense of a college football season that keeps getting stranger. With five of the top seven teams losing and quarterback questions piling up across the country, is there actually a great team in college football right now? We dig into the fallout from Julian Sayin's injury at Ohio State, the struggles at Penn State under Matt Campbell, and the increasingly fascinating Big 12 race between BYU, Texas Tech and Utah. Plus, Bill weighs in on the Group of Six playoff picture, the Heisman race, and which teams might be better than their records suggest. Then we tackle more of your questions, revisit some preseason expectations with a little trick-or-treat, and identify the teams lurking in the shadows that could turn November upside down. Plus, your Week 7 Reverbs! Support the show and join the conversation at Verballers.com. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
College football's Week 7 was absolute madness. Eight ranked teams lost, including Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Alabama and Texas, leaving us with a completely scrambled AP Top 25 and a whole lot of questions about who's actually good. We react to Auburn's stunning upset of No. 1 Georgia, Tennessee's dominant win over Alabama, Florida's comeback against Texas and BYU's statement victory over Notre Dame. Plus, Ohio State survives a top-five showdown with Indiana, but a potentially significant injury to Julian Sayin raises serious questions about the Buckeyes' future. We also dig into Miami's wild double-overtime escape against Florida State, Ole Miss's impressive performance against Missouri, Kentucky's continued rise, Texas Tech's demolition of Arizona State and Michigan's quarterback change against Penn State. And yes, Ty has some feelings. Then we try to make sense of the new college football rankings, debate whether the SEC is really a gauntlet, check in with fans around the country and hand out our Week 7 Dude Alerts. Support the show by signing up as a Certified or Premium Verballer at Verballers.com. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
College Football Week 7 is here, and the schedule is absolutely loaded. We've got top-five showdowns, historic road trips, heated rivalries and a Saturday where survival might be the name of the game. We're making our picks for more than 20 matchups, and things could get wild in a hurry. We start with Ohio State at Indiana in a massive Big Ten showdown. Are the defending champion Hoosiers still the team to beat, or can the Buckeyes expose some cracks? Then it's Notre Dame at BYU for a historic top-10 matchup in Provo. Can the Cougars turn their home-field advantage into something special, or will Notre Dame's increasingly dangerous offense be too much? We also break down Alabama-Tennessee, Missouri-Ole Miss, Mississippi State-LSU and Oklahoma State-Houston, with some strong opinions and a few surprising predictions along the way. Then we work our way through a packed Saturday schedule, including Florida-Texas, Penn State-Michigan, Kentucky-Oklahoma, Florida State-Miami and Nebraska-Oregon. We debate which favorites are vulnerable, which underdogs have a fighting chance, and which games could get downright ugly. Plus, our Locks of the Week, under-the-radar games worth watching, and a new Saturday nickname inspired by the animal kingdom. Join us for our Ohio State-Indiana watchalong and Saturday night reaction stream! And head to Verballers.com to start a free seven-day trial and play Run the Board for a chance to win a $500 Home Depot gift card. Subscribe to The Solid Verbal wherever you listen, and get ready for a wild Week 7. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dan is back, and after Oregon's stunning loss to UCLA, we've got some questions about which college football fan bases are having the roughest time in 2026. Is Oregon's disappointment worse than what Texas A&M and Michigan fans are experiencing? Where do Oklahoma, Arkansas and NC State fit on the misery scale? We debate the difference between a frustrating season and one that leaves a fan base looking for an entirely new direction. Then ESPN's Bill Connelly joins us for another celebration of Billtoberfest, this time to call out the teams giving their fans reasons to believe. How real is undefeated UCLA? Can Kentucky keep winning close games under Will Stein? What's changed at Wake Forest, and how much should we trust the sudden rise of Purdue and Northwestern? We also get into Utah, Oregon State and other surprising stories, along with the underlying numbers that might challenge what we're seeing on Saturdays. Plus, we react to the new Verballer Top 12, revisit more of the wildest moments from Week 6 and look ahead to a massive Week 7 slate, including Ohio State vs. Indiana and Notre Dame vs. BYU. Listen to the full episode, subscribe to The Solid Verbal and join the community at Verballers.com for the weekly poll, bonus content and Run the Board. Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.