Fantasy Things is back! In our annual celebration of everything strange, stupid and uniquely college football, we draft the moments, tropes, broadcast oddities and completely unforeseen bits of nonsense we want on our team for the 2026 season. We’re not picking players or predicting champions. We’re trying to anticipate the stuff that makes you stop on a Saturday afternoon and think, “Of course this is happening in college football.”

This year’s board gets weird quickly. We get into coaches behaving strangely, broadcasts going off the rails, new ways technology could make the sport even more ridiculous, and a few very specific scenarios that feel just plausible enough to happen. There are also some long-shot “penny stocks” at the end, including a handful of ideas that are probably terrible bets but would be incredible if they somehow hit.

Support the show by signing up at Verballers.com.

Fantasy Things is back! In our annual celebration of everything strange, stupid and uniquely college football, we draft the moments, tropes, broadcast oddities and completely unforeseen bits of nonsense we want on our team for the 2026 season. We&rsquo;re not picking players or predicting champions. We&rsquo;re trying to anticipate the stuff that makes you stop on a Saturday afternoon and think, &ldquo;Of course this is happening in college football.&rdquo;
This year&rsquo;s board gets weird quickly. We get into coaches behaving strangely, broadcasts going off the rails, new ways technology could make the sport even more ridiculous, and a few very specific scenarios that feel just plausible enough to happen. There are also some long-shot &ldquo;penny stocks&rdquo; at the end, including a handful of ideas that are probably terrible bets but would be incredible if they somehow hit.
Support the show by signing up at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal">Verballers.com</a>.

College football in all its glory. Ditch the mainstream and break the huddle with The Solid Verbal. Since 2008, Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein have been shaking up the college football podcasting scene with their fun and unique blend of commentary. Whether you're a diehard or a casual observer, the show taps into your fandom with spirited debates, fresh perspectives, and segments you won't hear anywhere else. Recognized as trailblazers in the podcasting world, The Solid Verbal isn't just another college football show—it's America's College Football Podcast. Become a Verballer today and join thousands of others who don't just love college football, they live it!

Follow The Solid Verbal College Football podcast on your favorite app today and download everything you need to know this offseason.

College football in all its glory. Ditch the mainstream and break the huddle with The Solid Verbal. Since 2008, Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein have been shaking up the college football podcasting scene with their fun and unique blend of commentary. Whether you're a diehard or a casual observer, the show taps into your fandom with spirited debates, fresh perspectives, and segments you won't hear anywhere else. Recognized as trailblazers in the podcasting world, The Solid Verbal isn't just another college football show—it's America's College Football Podcast. Become a Verballer today and join thousands of others who don't just love college football, they live it!Follow The Solid Verbal College Football podcast on your favorite app today and download everything you need to know this offseason.

The Solid Verbal College Football

Our 2026 College Football Fantasy Things Draft

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a12a50b3-92f9-4c4c-af6a-b4ae01181084/transcript

TCU vs UNC

San Jose State vs USC

NC State vs Virginia

Jacksonville State vs North Dakota State

Sacramento State vs Eastern Michigan

New Mexico State vs Florida State

Hawaii vs Stanford

Memphis vs UNLV

The End of the ESPN Score Ticker

College football is finally back! In this episode, we get ready for the first Saturday of the 2026 season with our full Week 0 preview and picks, starting with TCU and North Carolina in Ireland and working through all eight games on the slate. Which teams can we actually trust right out of the gate, which new quarterbacks and coordinators are worth watching, and could Week 0 give us a few games that matter much more than they initially appear?

We dig into the first game action for USC and Florida State, disagree on NC State-Virginia, welcome North Dakota State and Sacramento State to the FBS ranks and try to make sense of Stanford-Hawaii before closing with a Memphis-UNLV game that could have bigger postseason implications than most people realize. Along the way, we drop our score predictions, identify a potential upset and play a few sound effects to get you ready for gameday.

Before the games, we also catch up on the latest college football news, including a wave of quarterback decisions, the increasingly bizarre eligibility fight over players trying to return from the NFL, another Lane Kiffin-related circus and ESPN making a notable change to its college football broadcasts. The season is here, Verballers!

Support the podcast at Verballers.com.

College football is finally back! In this episode, we get ready for the first Saturday of the 2026 season with our full Week 0 preview and picks, starting with TCU and North Carolina in Ireland and working through all eight games on the slate. Which teams can we actually trust right out of the gate, which new quarterbacks and coordinators are worth watching, and could Week 0 give us a few games that matter much more than they initially appear?
We dig into the first game action for USC and Florida State, disagree on NC State-Virginia, welcome North Dakota State and Sacramento State to the FBS ranks and try to make sense of Stanford-Hawaii before closing with a Memphis-UNLV game that could have bigger postseason implications than most people realize. Along the way, we drop our score predictions, identify a potential upset and play a few sound effects to get you ready for gameday.
Before the games, we also catch up on the latest college football news, including a wave of quarterback decisions, the increasingly bizarre eligibility fight over players trying to return from the NFL, another Lane Kiffin-related circus and ESPN making a notable change to its college football broadcasts. The season is here, Verballers!
Support the podcast at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal">Verballers.com</a>.

QB Battles, Eligibility Chaos & Our Week 0 College Football Preview

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/59c34c5c-77b9-420b-b508-b4b20139fe37/transcript

College football is finally here, which means there’s only one piece of preseason business left: putting our predictions on the record. In this episode, we each build a complete 12-team College Football Playoff field, debate the teams that just missed the cut, seed the bracket and play the whole thing forward through the national championship.

Along the way, we wrestle with some of the biggest questions surrounding the 2026 season. How many SEC teams can survive the league’s new nine-game schedule? Does the Big Ten get a fourth team? Can the Big 12 produce multiple playoff teams? And which Group of Five contender makes it through a particularly messy race for the automatic bid? There are also some aggressive calls involving Alabama, Houston, New Mexico, Notre Dame and several teams sitting right on the postseason bubble.

We work through potential first-round games, playoff paths and semifinal matchups before putting our national championship predictions on the record. Some picks felt safer than others, a few are almost guaranteed to come back and haunt us, and somehow we independently landed in exactly the same place at the very end.

Support the show by signing up at Verballers.com.

College football is finally here, which means there&rsquo;s only one piece of preseason business left: putting our predictions on the record. In this episode, we each build a complete 12-team College Football Playoff field, debate the teams that just missed the cut, seed the bracket and play the whole thing forward through the national championship.
Along the way, we wrestle with some of the biggest questions surrounding the 2026 season. How many SEC teams can survive the league&rsquo;s new nine-game schedule? Does the Big Ten get a fourth team? Can the Big 12 produce multiple playoff teams? And which Group of Five contender makes it through a particularly messy race for the automatic bid? There are also some aggressive calls involving Alabama, Houston, New Mexico, Notre Dame and several teams sitting right on the postseason bubble.
We work through potential first-round games, playoff paths and semifinal matchups before putting our national championship predictions on the record. Some picks felt safer than others, a few are almost guaranteed to come back and haunt us, and somehow we independently landed in exactly the same place at the very end.
Support the show by signing up at Verballers.com.

Our 2026 College Football Playoff Predictions

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/20c7b20a-5a8b-4906-87d5-b4b0014c94bc/transcript

College football is almost here, so we brought ESPN's Bill Connelly back on the show to help us separate the teams worth believing in from the ones carrying more risk than the preseason conversation might suggest. We start with Bill's annual look at the most important players in the sport and work through the quarterbacks, transfers and returning stars who could swing the 2026 season in either direction.

From there, the conversation turns to some of the biggest contenders in the country. How good does Keelon Russell need to be for Alabama to get back into the national championship picture? Are we overlooking the questions surrounding Texas despite all of its star power? Which quarterback situations are the most terrifying, how much should we trust Penn State, and which teams look very different once Bill compares what the numbers say with what he actually believes? We also bounce through the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, talk potential chaos games, the wildest weekend on the 2026 schedule and the conference race that deserves more attention than it is getting.

Plus, Bill gives us teams that could be much more fun than expected, a few Week 0 and Week 1 games worth circling, and one program college football fans should consider adopting for the season.

After Bill leaves, we somehow end up revisiting Ty's old wedding betting pool, complete with ceremony over-unders, music props and some extremely specific long-shot wagers.

Sign up to support the show at Verballers.com.

College football is almost here, so we brought ESPN's Bill Connelly back on the show to help us separate the teams worth believing in from the ones carrying more risk than the preseason conversation might suggest. We start with Bill's annual look at the most important players in the sport and work through the quarterbacks, transfers and returning stars who could swing the 2026 season in either direction.
From there, the conversation turns to some of the biggest contenders in the country. How good does Keelon Russell need to be for Alabama to get back into the national championship picture? Are we overlooking the questions surrounding Texas despite all of its star power? Which quarterback situations are the most terrifying, how much should we trust Penn State, and which teams look very different once Bill compares what the numbers say with what he actually believes? We also bounce through the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, talk potential chaos games, the wildest weekend on the 2026 schedule and the conference race that deserves more attention than it is getting.
Plus, Bill gives us teams that could be much more fun than expected, a few Week 0 and Week 1 games worth circling, and one program college football fans should consider adopting for the season.
After Bill leaves, we somehow end up revisiting Ty's old wedding betting pool, complete with ceremony over-unders, music props and some extremely specific long-shot wagers.
Sign up to support the show at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal">Verballers.com</a>.

Alabama Needs a Great QB, Texas Has a Depth Question & Bill Connelly’s Biggest 2026 Doubts | College Football

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8fe26120-82d8-4a4d-90cb-b4ab013dab5e/transcript

Our 2026 College Football Fantasy Things Draft

In 1 playlist(s)

The Solid Verbal College Football

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips