Until Saturday: A show about college football The Athletic

Chris Del Conte, athletic director at the University of Texas, gave the college football world a gem last week while on the Paul Finebaum Show. There he exclaimed just how great the Red River Shootout is compared to its new conference mates' rivalry games. So, is Texas-Oklahoma the BEST SEC rivalry game? Ari Wasserman, Max Olson, and Scott Dochterman share their thoughts on the matter as well as their favorite rivalry game experiences. We now have kick-off times for games in weeks 1-3. (We can finally start to smell the new season!) The guys place the top matchups from the first few weeks in a tier list of "A" through "F", though, there are no F-tier games - we love all of CFB! Where will games like Georgia-Clemson, Florida-Miami, Arizona-Kansas State and more rank? Plus, cliff notes from last week's SEC Spring Meetings.

Read more about a 9-game SEC conf schedule: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5529284/2024/05/30/sec-football-schedule-nine-games/
Read more about scholarship limits and the death of walk-ons: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5525379/2024/05/28/sec-football-coaches-roster-limits/
Private equity, injury reports, and more: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5530740/2024/05/30/sec-meetings-greg-sankey/
Big Ten schedule analysis: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5530629/2024/05/30/big-ten-football-tv-schedule-analysis/

Rundown:

A 9-game SEC conference schedule? (1:45)

Roster limits + the end of walk-ons? (8:30)

Is Red River the BEST SEC rivalry? (16:15)

Our most memorable rivalry game experiences (31:30)

Tier list of weeks 1-3 games (39:30)


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Former stud Alabama running back and NFL vet Damien Harris joins Chris Vannini on today's show! Damien opens up about how his family and newborn son have helped him weather his difficult transition out of the NFL following a scary injury last season with the Buffalo Bills. He also weaves some hilarious and insightful stories about Nick Saban, his former coach. Damien opines on NIL, the transfer portal, EA Sports College Football 25, the NFL and Bill Belichick and more. Lastly, Chris tests Damien's knowledge of his career in a game of trivia.

Who's the Big Ten dark horse? Sign up for our FREE newsletter to answer future Questions of the Day: https://theathletic.com/newsletters/until-saturday

Rundown:
- Damien Harris on the end of his NFL career and family (1:00)
- What was Damien's reaction to Saban's retirement? (4:00)
- Crimson Tide's epic RB room with Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, et. al (12:00)
- Why didn't you transfer? (14:00)
- Kalen DeBoer & expectations in Tuscaloosa (17:00)
- Clemson battles & hate (23:00)
- Favorite memory from college (26:30)
- Death of amateurism & how would Damien have navigated NIL, player compensation (29:00)
- EA Sports College Football 25 (38:30)
- Transfer portal's impact (45:30)
- Texas, Oklahoma transition to the SEC (47:00)
- Bill Belichick impressions + NFL experience (53:00)
- Damien Harris trivia (58:30)

Call/text the Until Saturday phone and leave us a question for a future mailbag and/or Sunday Sound-Off podcast: (316) 462-9852
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The rumors are true, we PLAYED EA Sports College Football 25...well, Chris Vannini did (Ari Wasserman definitely isn't jealous). While at a function hosted by EA Sports in Orlando, Chris had a first-account of what the gameplay is like; from the revamped running and passing mechanics to the pagentry and electric in-game atmostphere. Chris walks us through all the details he gathered about Dynasty Mode, NIL, the transfer portal, Road to Glory, and Road to the CFP. Later in the show, hear from EA Sports' very own Ben Haumiller and Christian McLeod about the game's development and features. Out the door, a farewell to the Pac-12 and one of its most prominent ambassadors, Bill Walton.

Read Chris' NCAA 25 story on gameplay: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5523815/2024/05/29/ea-sports-college-football-25-video-game-features/

NIL: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5525588/2024/05/29/ea-sports-college-football-25-video-games-nil/

Dynasty Mode: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5525517/2024/05/29/college-football-25-video-game-dynasty-mode/

Rundown:
- We played NCAA 25! What's one thing Chris was surprised by? (2:30)
- What was the gameplay like? Running game features (11:00)
- Passing game features (16:00)
- What ISN'T in the game? (21:45)
- Pagentry + fan reactions (22:45)
- Dynasty mode info dump (25:30)
- How does recruiting work? (33:30)
- How does NIL & the portal work? (43:00)
- Road to Glory details (48:00)
- Ben Haumiller & Christian McLeod join the show! (54:00)
- Friend to Friend...was it badass? (1:09:30)
- Pac-12 + Bill Walton memories (1:07:30)

Call/text the Until Saturday phone and leave us a question for a future mailbag and/or Sunday Sound-Off podcast: (316) 462-9852
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In the NEW Big 12, the one with 16 teams, separation between teams is infinitesimal. There are seven teams (nearly half the league) that are within one O/U win total of each other (per BetMGM). Sam Khan Jr. and Justin Williams use one word to describe each of the 16 conference teams to deliniate where each team is at this season. But before then, Justin takes us through House vs NCAA and where it stands. Plus, rapid fire O/U win totals for every program.

Learn more about House vs NCAA: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5506457/2024/05/20/ncaa-settlement-house-lawsuit-college-sports/?partner=slack&smid=sl-share

Post-spring Big 12 preview: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5495963/2024/05/16/big-12-football-preview-power-rankings-transfers/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=cfbtw&source=cfbtw

Read Sam's Willie Fritz, Houston story:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5495799/2024/05/21/willie-fritz-houston-football/

Big 12 QB carousel: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5484819/2024/05/14/big-12-quarterbacks-starters-returners-transfers/

Who's the SEC dark horse? Sign up for our FREE newsletter and answer future QOTDs: https://theathletic.com/newsletters/until-saturday

Rundown:
- House vs NCAA latest + what the heck does it mean? (2:00)
- ONE WORD WONDERS: Big 12 edition; Arizona, Arizona St., Baylor (12:30)
- BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, Kansas (19:30)
- Colorado, K-State, Iowa St., Oklahoma St. (27:30)
- UCF, TCU, Utah, Texas Tech & West Virginia (37:00)
-Win totals (51:00)

Call/text the Until Saturday phone and leave us a question for a future mailbag and/or Sunday Sound-Off podcast: (316) 462-9852
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Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell joins Ari Wasserman to discuss the Seminoles' approach to team building. Does Norvell believe his team's portal to high school recruiting ratio is a recipe for success? Is it sustainable? Manny Navarro, The Athletic's AuFlority, then hops on the mic to breakdown Norvell's roster construction from a analytical angle. Were FSU's portal hits more luck based, or are they the new standard for how to build a team? Later, the guys answer a voicemail from the Until Saturday phone line (316-462-9852) about who belongs in the NCAA 25 game's All-99 club. Plus, what is the lowest ranking a team can recruit at each position to win a national title?

Read Pt. 1 of our NIL confidential:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5484900/2024/05/13/college-football-transfer-portal-nil-deals/

Read Pt. 2 of our NIL confidential:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5499474/2024/05/20/college-football-transfer-portal-nil-collectives-movement/

Listen to last week's show:
https://pod.fo/e/23ce9b

Who's the SEC dark horse? Sign up for our FREE newsletter and vote: https://theathletic.com/newsletters/until-saturday

Rundown:
- Portal reliance; "transactional program" a functional model? (:30)
- Mike Norvell joins the show (5:00)
- Opinions on FSU's approach + advanced recruiting (20:00)
- Is FSU's portal success sustainable? (26:15)
- Other "transactional programs" & how certains teams use the portal (34:00)
- NCAA 25 All-99 club (45:45)
- Lowest rated position but still win a title? (49:30)

Call/text the Until Saturday phone and leave us a question for a future mailbag and/or Sunday Sound-Off podcast: (316) 462-9852
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Ari, Chris and Max share their instant reactions to the first EA Sports NCAA 25 trailer! Chris also shares what features fans can expect in the game. You may think you know how the transfer portal and NIL works, but Manny Navarro, Chris Vannini, and Ari Wasserman tells you how it REALLY works. Manny, Chris, and several other The Athletic reporters interviewed players, coaches, and agents about how two of the most prevelant yet perplexing topics in college sports. How do programs recruit players? Where do agents fit into all of this,are players only after a bag, and which programs spend the most? WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE FOR NCAA 25. An array of news came out of Florida at the ACC Spring Meetings. Dabo dropped another transfer portal comment, Florida St. vs ACC still rages on, even with both parties at the same hotel, and does the conference have a perception problem?

Read about how the transfer portal works:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5484900/2024/05/13/college-football-transfer-portal-nil-deals/

Read about how NIL agents fit into the picture:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5490748/2024/05/15/college-football-nil-agents-transfer-portal/

Read Nicole Auerbach's stories from ACC Spring Meetings:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5494186/2024/05/14/acc-college-football-playoff-perception/

Who's the Big 12 dark horse? Sign up and answer future Until Saturday newsletter's Question of the Day here: https://theathletic.com/newsletters/until-saturday

Rundown:
- EA Sports NCAA 25 trailer + features (:30)
- How does NIL/portal work? What we learned (15:00)
- So...tampering (24:00)
- Are players only after a paycheck? (28:30)
- Transactional programs (29:45)
- How do deals get done? (41:00)
- Biggest spenders (48:30)
- NCAA 25 release date (1:00:30)
- ACC Spring Meetings: Dabo, league perception, FSU + House vs NCAA deadline (1:08:00)

Call/text the Until Saturday phone and leave us a question for a future mailbag and/or Sunday Sound-Off podcast: (316) 462-9852
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