This is a can’t miss/must listen for CFB ball knowers. Thanks guys for getting me through the week all cfb season long and giving me my cfb fix in the off-season. So much better insight than the big Js and talking heads on other networks. My question is because it’s Iowa State, who is not in a power 2 conference , and they went 7-6 last year, are people sleeping on Rocco Becht? He greatly exceeded expectations and had a great year at Iowa State after a disaster filled off season. Also reportedly turned down some big time offers( per Josh Pate) , and the Cyclones return 19 of 22 starters. Feels like Brock Purdy 2.0 might be emerging in Ames…. Thoughts?

Writers note: I’m blind, so I’m dictating this. So my apologies for misspellings. It’s D off-season so I figured a nice fun non-Foot football related question might be in order. I am taking Augusta out of the mix because that should be the obvious answer. If you were only allowed to play one golf course for the rest of your life, which one would it be? I live about a half hour from Pine Valley. If I had not gone blind, and we’re still able to play golf, that would be my choice. What would be the choice of the four hosts? You could play the course as many times as you want to, but it’s the only course you’d be allowed to play.

Do you think the decline of RB value in the NFL has caused a lot of elite young athletes to become WRs instead of RBs. It was just a thought I had looking at this strong WR draft class as well as the strong WR recruiting class we just saw. Thanks and Gig ‘em.

With the wife gone for a long weekend, going to hunker down and watch some games from my favorite CFB era, the 2000’s in the Big Ten. Whether it’s the conference how it should be (no East/West Coast Teams), the huge shoulder pads, or the relative parity; it has to be my favorite era of the sport and when I truly came to love this wonderful sport. I’m curious what everyone’s favorite era of college football is and what you’d all consider “the good ole days.”

Can’t wait for this year’s Summer School Series, but have a legal question for Bud today. With every challenge presented to the Courts resulting in more freedom for the players, how are policies such as Transfer Portal Windows and/or the SEC rule against in-Conference Transfers during the Spring Window going unchallenged? If a Georgia Bulldog Player wanted to go back home to Texas tomorrow, or any FBS player decided in May that his current School wasn’t for him, could they challenge these rules in court?

Hi guys, I’m a Gator alum and a big fan of the show. It’s great to hear four well informed and opinionated gentleman discuss college football without shrillness and constant interruptions of each other. I especially appreciate how well organized the show is with Chip at the helm and his intro is probably the best in all of podcasting. My question: why has there been no information released on the Conor Stallions infiltration of the Central Michigan sideline? I realize this is so yesterday’s news, but it seems like this investigation could have been wrapped up within a few weeks and the guilty parties named and dealt with. Is Jim McElwain running an outlaw program? Not asking as a disgruntled Gator fan.

Can Bud please do one Simpson quote per episode? This is beyond overdue.

Several years into NIL, can you give a legal reason why Name-Image-Likeness is good but Pay-for-play is bad? Is PFP banned by the Courts or the NRLB or the IRS, or just the NCAA? Saying “it’s an NCAA rule” or “they’re not employees” is not a real reason. Private contractors are not employees but they get paid for adding value for their clients. NFL players have a value for their team that combines their skills for winning games + marketability to sell tickets. How are college athletes different? Thanks! Love the Pod! @DanQuinlin

What are your top 5 most scenic/prettiest nature backdrop in all of college football? As a BYU fan, I don’t know if I appreciate just how pretty a game at LaVell Edwards Stadium is on a Saturday afternoon in the fall. Have any of y’all made it out here to Provo for a game?

Which coach do you think would have a different legacy if there was a bracket like CBB or just an expanded playoff era? Tom Izzo is probably the best example has 1 championship 25 years ago but the legacy is final four runs. A coach in CFB is rarely seen as special for making a couple Top 10, Top 15 appearances like an Elite 8/Sweet 16 resume.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Best teams, games, and betting analysis by far! Keep up the great work! MAILBAG QUESTION: BALL SPOTTING Q - How do you elminate the guesswork, controversy, and delays surrounding ball spotting? A - After the ball is downed, it is moved to the nearest yard line, closest to midfield. Example 1 - You receive a kick and return it to your own 31.5 yard line. The ball would be advanced to the 32 yard line for 1st down. Example 2 - You are driving down the field and get tackled just inside the opponent’s 1 yard line, short of the end zone. The ball would be moved back to the 1 yard line for 1st and Goal. Thoughts?

This is definitely my top college football podcast and the wait for the next episode is painful. If you guys had a daily 4 hour show, it would still be required viewing. The combination of personalities really is something special and not something you can find anywhere else. Kudos to Chip, Tom, Bud, and Danny as well as the casting director that put you guys together (RIP Barton - Would love to have him on as a guest more often). My question now that the portal is reopening - my personal opinion is that a lot of the unpredictability around roster churn is due to schools needing to be at arms length from the organizations paying the players. There have been numerous examples of disconnects between schools and collectives with Jaden Rashada being one of the most obvious. Once schools are able to pay players directly, do you see programs being able to have more control over their rosters and less chaos related to portal movement?

Who are your favorite bands? If you could only see one concert the rest of time who would it be and where? Anyone you regret not seeing before they stopped performing?

This show is on my regular rotation, and my go-to for win totals and week-to-week picks! Mailbag: This will be long winded and I apologize, I just want to explain the premise well enough. Every year, I participate in a pre-season CFB team draft. We draft the teams out of the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and SEC. There are 6 rounds with snaking draft order. Draft order is determined before each round, so draft order changes. Once we all have our teams, we track their wins over the season. Regular season wins are $2, conference champs $10, bowl game winners are $10. With the 4 team playoff, playoff teams were $10, semifinal champs earned $15, and the CFP winner earned $25. For example, Michigan earned a total of $84, 12(2) + $10 + $10 + $15 + $25. You pay the $ difference between you and the places in front of you, so 6th pays 5th, 4th, and so on. I hope all this made sense! If you all were participants, what sort of strategies would you employ? How would you attack this?

But is there an issue with your Apple podcasts feed? For the last week every time I try to listen to an episode on data or Wi-Fi it says that it is temporarily unavailable. What’s up?

Calipari leaving Kentucky and Kelly leaving Notre Dame are any final destination schools for football? Or is it just all business? Thanks. Love the pod. My go to for yearly college football info. John

Love you guys. You’re by far the best and most entertaining college foootball podcast. Keep up the great work. The season will be here before we know it. I have a mailbag question related to the upcoming draft. There has been a lot of talk about the top 3 WRs and how they’re ranked. I have what I think is an entertaining spin on the debate. I’ve seen these comparisons the most for these players: Marvin Harrison, Jr.: AJ Green Malik Nabers: Ja’marr Chase Rome Odunze: Davante Adams Rank Green, Chase and Adams first as prospects coming out in the draft and then rank them on the players they turned out to be on the NFL. Seems like an unique way to predict the ceilings for each player. Look forward to your thoughts.

Hey guys, With all the money coming into the sport for the schools and players, what do you think the chances are that the four year eligibility rule goes away and players are allowed to play as long as they want? What if players are allowed to return even after going pro? Think about the money that someone like Tim Tebow or Johnny Manziel could have generated after their time in the NFL. Maybe they don’t even go to the NFL and play for Florida and A&M (or the highest bidder?) for 10+ more years. Love the show guys, go Hokies! Randy in VA

Long time listener, first time questioner. If the ACC grant of rights gets blown up, and the ACC schools are on the market, who is the most appealing? FSU? Clemson? UNC? Would B1G and SEC have a bidding war for any of them? I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts.

Thanks for all the content. It has been fun to follow along the NC state run. As much as college sports ha changed the last few years we can still enjoy moments like this. Question: With all the new conference realignment upcoming we are sure to get new exciting matchups. As of right now what two programs that have never met before would you be more excited to see play? One that Stands out is Michigan has never played Clemson.

Guys, It’s almost summer. It’s a long way from week zero. The college football brain is wandering to the most obscure questions and memories of yesteryear. Before I ask my question, I offer flattery! Chip, you are the salt and pepper king. Bud, you’re the dude who we all know is the smartest dude in the room but doesn’t act like it…unless he absolutely has no choice. Danny, you’re Pink from Dazed and Confused but way better and not a quitter! And Tom…you’re the coolest SOB at any given party. Enough of the flattery! On with the question… My question. What is the singular greatest on-field controversy the game has ever seen? My brain immediately went to Mizzou-Colorado 5th down, Miami-OSU call in National Chanpionship game, and the crooked Big 12 refs putting a second back on for Colt McCoy after Ndamokong Suh ripped his soul from his body all game… What yall got, fellas?

The new episode that came out on 4/1 says that it is temporarily unavailable all day when I have been trying to play it. Thought it was the wifi…nope. Thought it was my connection…nope. Is this some kind of sick prank !?!? I need my college football updates when I drive to to work. Love the pod and go NOLES

Love the content and the banter. My go to CFB podcast. Not a question, but a friendly reminder that per the 5/1/23 Cover 3 podcast, Danny Kanell will be growing his beard and never shaving again if/when Bo Nix is taken in the top 16 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Love the pod! For the Mailbag: on Monday’s show you guys discussed how little attention the UFL is getting. What do you think would happen if each UFL teams started associating itself with a specific major college football program? Signed all alumni from that school, whether they’re recent players who didn’t make an NFL roster, or older greats whose NFL days might be at or near an end. Have a mascot that doesn’t copy, but maybe relates to the school’s. Same or similar color schemes. Not necessarily in the same city or even state, but based in a spot with a big alumni presence. I for one, would definitely enjoy a product where i could watch a bunch of former Sooners from the last ten years play. Thoughts?

I’m a huge Soccer (Futbol, Fußball, etc) fan, as well as a huge CFB fan. The European Super League was proposed by a few people, and gained significant traction. However, many teams and the leagues voted against it. I fear college football is heading that direction, as does many others. Why doesn’t CFB do the same? For example, in the PL, Liverpool and other large clubs voted against it along with the small clubs, mainly to maintain local ties and rivalries. Is CFB that money hungry? As y’all have talked about, regional rivalries is what makes college football.

Hey guys love the show and can’t for for summer school to get started back up soon. All the coaching carousel moves this year had me thinking, in your opinions who are the most/least patient programs when it comes to deciding to fire a coach? Thanks, appreciate all the content you guys put out!

Hey guys love the show never miss an episode, MAILBAG question with expansions likely again is there any chance TCU ISU and K state get picked up by the BIG 10

So you guys talk about collective bargaining a lot. Maybe this is the future for college athletics. Doesn’t that present the possibility of lockout scenarios too? What happens if we have a lockout in college sports? Do people lose a year of eligibility?

Like the podcast overall but Fornelli is a tad bit arrogant for me and a “know it all”. Chip is a good overall host, like the player perspective from Danny and Bud’s takes thinking everything through.

I’ve been a listener since 2017 and I don’t think I’ve missed an episode since. Absolutely love this podcast. Secondly, it was hilarious to hear you guys on your best behavior for the CBSSN episode, but it made me thankful for how relaxed you guys are on normal episodes. Question for the mail bag: it seems almost inevitable. That rematches will be more common in the new playoff format. is this something that you see as a good thing? would love to hear a discussion on advantages and pitfalls that you see in this.

Hey guys love the show! I think you guys break down the game in a unique and fair way. Now for the mailbag question I’m putting you in the fans’ shows. You’ve talked about best Gameday atmosphere but let’s get into the details. If you could pick one game to go to and create the perfect Gameday experience what would it be ? Who are you tailgating with ? What’s on the menu ? What’s the weather ? Where are you sitting? Etc.

Long time listener, first time caller. Big fan of the show. Been listening since the Barton days. Listening to your debates about WRU and DBU the other day reminded me of a take that I have been workshopping. As a rational Iowa fan (at least I think I’m rational) I recognize that we are nowhere near the conversation for DBU. That being said I began thinking Iowa could be 'bang for your buck' DBU. The Big Ten defensive back of the year award has been around for 13 years, Iowa has won it 6 times. Desmond King won the Jim Thorpe award in 2015 and has had 2 other finalist since. Throw in a couple of all Americans with three of them being consensus all Americans in the last decade. They are near the top of the NCAA for interceptions for the same time frame. They've had a decent amount of success in the NFL and will likely add another first round pick this year in Cooper DeJean. Iowa's DBs are constant pillars of one of the best defenses in the country over the last decade and they do so without big time recruits. They turned Riley Moss and Josh Jackson, both 2 star recruits, into 2nd and 3rd round picks respectively, in addition to other recruiting/walk on success stories. Again, Iowa IS NOT close to the conversation for DBU but I think they have a strong claim for 'bang for your buck' DBU. What are your guys thoughts on this take? And can you think of other schools that could fit the bill for the 'bang for your buck' version of DBU or other positions? Trying to give some non-blue bloods some shine!

What’s up guys, this is an all time podcast and top of the sports world. Barstool has nothing on y’all. So thank you for that! It’s easy to talk about coaches and programs and all what they should do differently to be successful but, what would it look like if you were on the other side? So, what style of play would your team run (offense and defense) if you were the head coach? And what existing coach would you comp each other to? Pt. 2: If the cover 3 crew was a coaching staff what coaching position would each of you be? Obviously Barton would be the GM so that spots taken.

With the expanded playoffs, how many losses would it take for Bama, Georgia or Ohio State to incur before Bud would exclude them from his playoff field? Utilizing predictive measures and recruiting rankings, I would guess anything 8-4 or better would lead to him making a case for their inclusion just about every year.

They take on the sport from every angle, great stuff. Pod question: With the 12 team playoff only going to last two years before going to 14, which teams will make it the next two years that never made it in the four team model? Which programs have their sweet spot at 12?

Hey guys- I am returning to school in the fall (getting an MSBA) and will hopefully be able to volunteer for the football team. I played through high school and watch college football religiously so I understand basic coverages, run fits, route combinations, but obviously know very little compared to the average college football analyst. Do you guys have any suggestions on football theory books/websites with advanced stats, or how to stand out and get a post grad volunteer position on a staff? Too bad I’m not smart enough to get into into Vandy or I’d ask for the Barton connection. Thanks for the help and the years of content!

Chargers have 7 draft picks. Over/under 1.5 Michigan Wolverines are drafted by the Bolts? Also can Danny and Tom please say one nice thing about each other?

5+ year listener and I’ve finally reached my breaking point. Recently unsubscribed and leaving this review in the hopes changes are made so I can happily come back. Bud Elliot has ruined the show for me. When he first replaced Barton, it was fine. And even still, I don’t mind his football and player takes. But it’s the never ending arrogance and no-it-allness about anything off the field that’s become unbearable. I assume the showrunners believe it’s useful to have “expert” informatory segments about developments but Bud does not make it an enjoyable listen. Other shows have figured out how to explain NCAA and NIL developments without pissing off their viewers so I hope Cover 3 can eventually too.

Tennessee for the second straight year is going into the 2024 season with only two scholarship quarterbacks. Will this become a trend? Nico is the unquestioned guy, and could be a dark horse Heisman candidate. The company line is no one wants to transfer in for a back up role. Seems insanely risky to me, but Volquest and GoVols247 have been carrying water for the coaching staff on this one.

Hey guys! Love the show. With the new early signing period do you think we will see coaches now start with their new team before their current season ends with their old team? Also, do you think schools will punt on that transition class even more than they do now and just be transfer heavy since the coach will not have much of any time?

Was my favorite podcast all the way back to Chip having Gary Danielson on, Barton (RIP) and everything in-between. However now, there are too many segments that are nearly unlistenable. Chip is constantly having to reel people back from CFP ANON or push them into discussing a topic they think is pointless or aren’t interested in (like spring ball). Its feels like a job for these guys and the love of the sport seems absent. Josh Pate on Late Kick Live shares similar views and every one of his episodes feels like the night before rivalry weekend, even in March. The lock episodes and betting are still enjoyable. Bud is great at that. But otherwise, just sounds like a host trying to get his coworker to do shows and talk topics they aren’t interested in.

Love the pod and the segment on 3 players one school. Cal should definitely be on the list. Rodger, Marshawn, Desean (or Keenan Allen). If you add Tight end than add Tony Gonzalez and that’s a load of hall of famers.

But let’s get the debate going, WHO IS THE REAL WRU/DBU over the past 25 years? It has to be LSU on both from the just the sheer quantity & quality standpoint. Although, this year, LSU was farrrrr from DBU, they still set the standard. With Ed O & Les Miles, they produced Honey Badger, Pat Pete, Tre White & Derrick Stingley. On the WRU front, it’s LSU without argument. They produced the three best WR rookie seasons of all time in the past 10 years. The argument should be made at that. #5StarMailbag

Is there any truth to the rumor that Ohio State and Oregon are in a dispute over who gets to make the online shopping-cart icon carrying a CFP trophy their new mascot? Has there ever been a major sport where a path to buying a championship is more clear and unfettered? The boosters seem to be the true heroes in the new college football story and will be so regardless of any “employee” designation. Contracts will not stop the moron elite from inducing high-school kids to sign with a school. There is no more “college” in college football. It is only about the cheddar.

What are the chances of college football creating a CEO to manage the “new” college football environment? If so would Jack Swarbrick be a possible candidate since he is leaving Notre Dame?

RIP Jordan. As SMU moves in to the ACC amid troubled waters, I am wondering if they may not benefit nearly as much as they anticipated. We know they begged the ACC to let them in, for free, for the next 9 years and will miss out on the 30% allotment Cal and Stanford are set to receive. Combine that with a likely FSU and Clemson exit, does that leave SMU at an even larger disadvantage since they get no money and their conference stands to lose a lot of prestige they were desperate to obtain? And lastly, when the employment model kicks in, is there any chance SMU has an opportunity to renegotiate with ACC? I don’t see how, long term, this ends up putting SMU in a position to compete even in the ACC in a post Clemson and FSU world.

Why don’t they just have one signing day? Why not just have the one in February or move it to mid-January?

Instead of college athletes becoming employees, is there a chance the NFL follows the MLB model? With all of the spring leagues that pop up and die every year, could the NFL purchase their rights and maybe add a few teams to make 32 and use it as a farm system? They could draft high school prospects or the prospect could choose to attend college for a minimum period before becoming draft eligible again. Would also give guys like Tebow l, Bennett, or any other great great yet fringe nfl guy a chance to prove their worth on the field against tougher competition. Players also wouldn’t be rushed into starting roles in the nfl or have to lose a year on the bench. Most importantly our beloved college football will be largely preserved as it is now.

Best college football pod around except for maybe the Nolecast (shout out to Bud and Ingram)! I recently had my first kid and was listening to the pod while my partner was in labor (17 hours!) My question is about the rest of college football outside of the P2! While it’s pretty clear college football will break away from the haves and have-nots, what does that mean for the rest of college football? Not only the G5 but FCS, D-2, and D-3. Does the NCAA continue to govern these divisions? Would the NCAA make FCS the new FBS after the breakaway? Does D-2 and D-3 football become glorified intramural? Thoughts on what happens to the Lower divisions after the rapture? As always, thanks for the great content! Wayne Mitchell

Bud has talked convincingly about a future where college football players are unionized and can negotiate with colleges. What do you all see as the likelihood of this given the southern and more conservative bent of college football? Do you think states may resist unionization of college athletes, even as they passed NIL laws? I think this makes sense in the long term as a way to deal with the many antitrust issues facing ncaa restrictions, but I am worried that the process of setting up unions for college athletes could be upset by politicians who are not as union friendly.