Heart of the Rivalry

David Briggs, Phil Kaplan
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Football
  • Updated Weekly

David Briggs, The (Toledo) Blade's college football expert and venerated columnist brings humor, insight, and a program-listed height of 6'8" to this weekly podcast with co-host and producer Phil Kaplan, whose height is less.

  1. Jan 6

    Heart of the Rivalry: Happy New Year, Losers!

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. It’s the final episode of HOTR season 2, all our teams lost. So Dave and Phil are out on the street hustling again until two-a-days.  Dave tells about his trip to Dallas to see Ohio State undressed by an ill-intentioned Miami team. He sees nothing but good things surrounding Michigan’s head coach hire in Kyle Whittingham. Phil remains obsessed with Toledo’s trip to the Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Baked Beans, believing it to be the only contest where the game’s MVP was ejected.  HOTR then looks ahead to next year, wildly throwing the dice of speculation against any wall.  Cameos include John Cooper (again), Bo Schembechler, Suge Knight, the hopes and dreams of another Cleveland Browns offseason in tumult, the nightmare that is the transfer portal, Elon the college, Curt Cignetti, Urban Meyer, Lane Kiffin, Ferris State, and as much college football lore as we can muster for this season.  All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    33 min

  2. 12/16/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: The unmooring of Sherrone Moore meets the magic of Mike Jacobs

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, it’s the last episode of the 2025 calendar year for our hosts, and it has turned out to be a doozy.  Dave gives us the full detail of Michigan’s firing of Sherrone Moore and the disgraceful fallout that has taken all of the college football headlines for all the wrong reasons.  Phil was first to meet Toledo’s newest hiring, coach Mike Jacobs, who arrived at Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport last week. The Maumee native has climbed from the most unheralded of college football corners, and this appears to be a feel-good story for all the right reasons. Cameos include Wolverine athletic director Warde Manuel, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka, Big Ten wideouts Jeremiah Smith and Makai Lemon on the weight of Fred Belitnikoff, Biff Poggi, Jim Harbaugh, People’s Court reporter Doug Llewelyn, and all the salacious scandal you can handle.  All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    30 min

  3. 12/09/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: Like a flame to a Candle

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, Dave takes us through all the nooks and crannies of Jason Candle’s exit from the Rockets to the UConn Huskies after 17 years with the program, 10 as head coach.  Phil has a limited impression of an SEC hot-take artist, and teaches Dave how to correctly pronounce Louisville.  We learn about a winter bowl game the used to happen in Toledo, and we find out if the Buckeyes simply must lose a game 13-10 in order to be successful in the playoffs.  Cameos include “fun-tivities,” Curt Cignetti as the ‘ciggernaut,’ Angela Lansbury, Shedeur Sanders, all the UT coordinators Dave can name, Tampa high school lore, kicker panic, Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, and Fort Collins, Colorado. All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    32 min

  4. 12/03/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: High-Low-Ha for OH-IO and UM

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, Dave recounts his reports Ohio vs. Michigan through Phil’s vacation-style recap game called High-Low-Ha, in which we find out the highest moment of the game, the lowest, and the funniest. Toledo’s regular season ends on a high note for a sad song. Bowling Green is onto off-season schemes. The Big Ten championship game looms ahead of Ohio State, and a bowl outside of the playoff for Michigan can still be a launch pad for next season.  But all eyes remain mostly on The Game. Michigan’s stadium became a living snow globe. Brutus got more run in the end zone than the Wolverines. And the bands played on.  Cameos include OSU standout lineman from Toledo Luke Montgomery, UT basketball coach Tod Kowalczy and Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel’s connection to the official head-butt of the year by Michigan’s Jaishawn Barham, 1960s Brutus, Tom Brady’s glasses, Derek Jeter, Eddie George, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, and more! All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    29 min

  5. 11/25/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: Ohio State and Michigan predictions, hunches, and ghosts of The Game

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, The Game is here. Ohio State will play Michigan in Ann Arbor for the 122nd edition of college football’s rivalry-iest rivalry.  Dave sets the stakes with some historic quotes from both sides of the border. Phil’s hat says more than he does, though armed with more stats than usual — they are perhaps kept inside the giant hat. Toledo look to take care of business against Central Michigan, and hope for the weirdest series of dominoes to fall to end up in the MAC title game. As always with the Rockets, hat or no hat, confounding stats surround them. Find out what other great stat where Toledo is top-10 nationally.   Bowling Green will wrap up its 2025 campaign Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. as a 3-score favorite against UMAss, the only winless team left in FBS college football.  Cameos include the flag-planting incident of 2024, weather in the form of “precip,” Earl Bruce (again), John Cooper (again), the suddenly questionable Carnell Tate, Michigan’s psychological lock on the Buckeyes, and the extra dramatic, unique nature of this year’s edition of The Game.  All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    30 min

  6. 11/19/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: Annual Trap Game Special Edition

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode... and then there was one.  Next week is Thanksgiving and, of course, The Game. But before Ohio State can visit Michigan in an attempt to right wrongs past like so many Scott Bakula scripts, they must first battle the inevitable squads of Rutgers, in Columbus, and Maryland, in College Park.  Dave is back from Pittsburgh and thinks the MAC may have completely buckled. Phil extrapolates the machinations of money onto the Bowling Green versus winless UMass tilt going up on a Tuesday at 4:30 in the afternoon on ESPN.  Toledo wins again, and again, remains a statistical anomaly with the nation’s second-ranked defense.  Cameos include the People’s Hurdle, Dequan Finn — who might be here in reference, but wasn’t at Miami against Toledo — junior high football primetime, the Primanti Brothers (sandwich), the Antivillains (contemporary Toledo music), Ragtime Rick (old Toledo music), and Pat Narduzzi (Nuz).  All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    26 min

  7. 11/12/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: A little Petitti goes a long way

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, big winds blow in the coiffeurs of the Big Ten and it’s Scrooge McDuck vault of media rights riches being tinkered with by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. Take the money and run... your program.  Briggs gives his expert understanding of the situation. Phil gives his heartfelt opinion of the dollar’s value in sport and “Sports.” Toledo controls its own destiny, which unfortunately looks like every other year they finish 8-4... or 7-5. Michigan is on upset alert and BGSU is on cruise control for the 2026 season.  Cameos include Gino Torretta, Sam Bradford, the Saudi Royal Family, a temporary stadium for the battle of I-75, and the worst field in college football.  All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    27 min

  8. 11/07/2025

    Heart of the Rivalry: Unbubbled, thriving

    Heart of the Rivalry is a Blade-produced YouTube series and podcast available on all major platforms that covers the heart of college football through the sport’s own treasured programs of Ohio State, Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green. The weekly show is led by The Blade’s sports columnist, David Briggs, with co-host/producer Phil Kaplan. In this episode, bubbles are poppin like the pads in the Autumn wind.  MACtion returns to the Glass Bowl for a transcendent preter-football Toledo experience, Dave is there. Phil returns to Ohio State to witness bubble-on-bystander assault against Penn State, Dave is there. Eddie George shakes up his Falcons coaching staff, Dave is there. Michigan wheezes past Purdue but still looks to face Ohio State with only two losses, Dave is not there for it. Can Northwestern get a second coach fired? Cameos include a freak Division V high school soccer goal, Ronnie Lott, regional statehood history, Troy Smith’s training regimen, and a self proclaimed “one-man-whiteout.” All that and more from Heart of the Rivalry, the only show to cover exclusively the rivalry programs of Bowling Green and Toledo, as well as Michigan and Ohio State.

    29 min
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About

David Briggs, The (Toledo) Blade's college football expert and venerated columnist brings humor, insight, and a program-listed height of 6'8" to this weekly podcast with co-host and producer Phil Kaplan, whose height is less.

Information

  • Creator
    David Briggs, Phil Kaplan
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©THE BLADE
  • Show Website
    Heart of the Rivalry