Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth

Yogi Roth
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A college football podcast through the lens of the West Coast. Yogi Roth brings a uniquely expert, curious, and western take on the game we love. Facts first, opinions second. www.y-option.com

  1. 2D AGO

    Football and Fatherhood: Lessons from Locker Rooms to Living Rooms

    For two seasons now, I’ve shared a broadcast booth with Guy Haberman—a voice built for Saturdays and a friend built for life. This week on Y-Option, fueled by our founding sponsor 76 — keeping you on the GO-GO-GO so you never miss a beat, I sat down with Guy for one last conversation before his world changes forever. In a few weeks, he and his wife Alyssa will welcome their first child. So before football, before anything else, we talked about that. Our job as broadcasters is to notice—to study body language, tone, and timing. So I asked him what he’s noticed most about his wife through the journey to parenthood. What followed was a reflection on steadiness, partnership, and what happens when the people closest to you reveal their best traits in the hardest moments. It reminded me that even in a profession obsessed with highlights, the most meaningful growth often happens quietly—off-camera, between breaths, in the spaces life gives us before everything changes. We also dove into the lessons learned from production meeting with head coaches, off-line chats on the sideline and the principles that are shared between a locker room and a living room. Guy not only works Saturday’s in the fall but also Sunday’s as one of the radio voices for the San Francisco 49ers. And once his son arrives he will be back on the hardwood calling basketball games for Big Ten Network, Fox and NBC/Peacock. When we talked about the craft of broadcasting, Guy described the last two seasons as an exercise in presence. Each week he focused on getting a little bit better—on one small thing—knowing this would be a shorter season before he turned his attention to fatherhood. That kind of intentional growth struck me. It’s easy to talk about chasing big dreams; it’s harder to live in the details of daily improvement. And as someone who studied film with him each week, he’s right and he lived with a growth mindset all summer and fall. The theme that echoed throughout our time together was simple: the best performers—whether in football, broadcasting, or life—operate with clarity, humility, and consistency. They don’t get caught up in what’s next. They just keep showing up, refining their process, trusting the people around them, and letting time reveal the result. From Kyle Shanahan to Ryan Day to PJ Fleck and everyone in between—there is a red thread that ties success together. This episode isn’t about highlights or hot takes—it’s about friendship, discipline, and the beauty of life’s little gifts. It’s about learning to Chase What Matters, on and off the field and if you get a little lucky, you’ll get a few great games along the way. I’m off to Madison, Wisconsin this weekend for Washington, finally ranked and in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, as they visit Camp Randall for the first time in 57 years. More on the CFP this weekend and as the old saying goes, "the games they remember are the ones in November.” Much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    31 min

  2. OCT 28

    Jared Goff: The Process of Perspective

    Every quarterback can be guaranteed one thing in their football life—that the path they envision will NOT go as planned. For Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions nothing could be more spot on. The former Cal Bear, #1 overall NFL Draft pick and Los Angeles Rams QB joined Rhett Lewis and myself on THE PROCESS, a limited series within Y-Option fueled by 76—keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat. During the Lions bye week, Jared discussed his process under center, life as a new father and how he navigates the weight of being a star quarterback in the NFL. A decade into his NFL career, Jared reflects on the transformation from big time recruit, freshman at Cal going 1-11, top draft pick to Super Bowl starter—and then to being traded and reborn in Detroit. What emerges is a portrait of a competitor who’s learned to carry less weight, see the game more clearly, and find purpose beyond the scoreboard. I’ve known Jared since he was 16 years old at the Elite 11 and while the jersey on his back has changed three times since then he has remained humble, kind, competitive and most importantly—a man who is always giving back to the game and those who also have a passion for it. For all of us who are navigating our own process in life around family, fatherhood, our profession and more this conversation is for you as Jared Goff reminds us all that resilience, awareness, and the art of staying grounded are ingredients for success internally even when the world expects perfection. For past episodes of THE PROCESS be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page to watch Mark Jackson, Chris Fowler, Peyton Manning and Dan Lanning. Much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    49 min

  3. OCT 22

    Luke Falk: The Playbook Between the Ears

    There’s a golf course in Pullman where dreams tend to get spoken into existence.That’s where a young Luke Falk once told his dad, “I want to do what Wayne Dyer does. I want to write books, speak, and help people live to their full potential.” He hadn’t even started a full season yet. Today’s guest on Y-Option, fueled by 76 — keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, is Luke Falk — the former Washington State walk-on turned Pac-12’s all-time passing leader and NFL QB, who’s now the author of The Mind Strength Playbook. I have called a handful of games when Luke was the signal caller for WSU and as an ‘Honorary Coug’ I’ve always felt like the edge that is curated in Pullman is something unique. Luke’s edge was cultivated by Mike Leach and the style in which Coach Leach taught Luke left an imprint on the QB. When Mike Leach told him, “Play with house money,” Luke didn’t fully get it.But Coach Leach was right — freedom creates flow. The moment you stop gripping outcomes so tight, you play loose again. You stop chasing approval and start trusting preparation. That idea anchors his new book, The Mind Strength Playbook: Master your Mind, Elevate Your Game, learning to train the mind the way athletes train their bodies. It’s not therapy — it’s prehab for your thoughts. He calls it mind strength — a daily discipline of clearing, visualizing, and forgiving so the real you can compete freely. Luke was an elite player, rising coach who has recently transitioned to his life’s calling. Our conversation is one that will leave you curious, reflective and for the fans of Luke Falk over the years, extremely proud. For Luke, it’s more than football. It’s about the evolution from playing scared to playing free. From needing validation to giving yourself permission. Because when you stop playing for approval and start playing with house money, life — and the game — open up again. You can grab Luke’s book, The Mind Strength Playbook, on Amazon or through his link supporting Hilinski’s Hope. Much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    49 min

  4. OCT 14

    Mid Season Reality Check

    Mid-October feels like a mirror. Half the season gone, and suddenly every program is staring back at itself asking: Who are we, really? This week on Y-Option, fueled by our founding sponsor, 76® - keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, Jim Thornby and I sat down to take stock of a college football season spinning faster than ever — coaches out, CFP contenders adjust week to week , and patience from fan bases are on life support. What we found wasn’t just about wins and losses. It was about identity, timing, and the impossible math of modern college football: boosters, buyouts, and the transfer portal colliding into a single decision point. The Coaching Carousel Spins Again Three jobs gone in a single weekend — Penn State, Oregon State, UAB — bringing the national total to eight. Each one for a different reason, but all part of a similar pattern. * Penn State went from preseason No. 2 to unemployed head coach in three weeks. * Buyouts north of $50 million are now normalized, which means emotions move faster than logic. * As Jim said, “If you’re going to get rid of Coach A, you better have a damn good Coach B coming in next year.” The bigger question: do buyouts start to disappear? As the Playoff expands and the calendar stretches, schools may no longer afford impatience. Or will they only grow? Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Oregon State’s Tough Reset Trent Bray’s exit hurts because it was homegrown. He played there, grew as a coordinator there and loved being the Beavers Head Coach more than anything. Watching head coaches get dismissed from their alma mater is simply brutal. * Why is it an attractive job? Because the Beavs next head coach inherits a program with a playoff path in the new Pac-12 structure. We dive into that and more. * Corvallis has the resources and loyalty to rise again — if they get the hire right. I said it on the pod: sometimes the game moves faster than your rebuild. But when a team loses hope, change follows. The Human Cost We Don’t See When a coach is fired, the headline reads “$50 million buyout.” But the story from this lens is about the 300 people whose lives change by Monday morning. * The $17K QC coach. * The $45K assistant with a newborn. * The family wondering about health insurance in February. * The 4th grader who has to walk into school knowing EVERYONE knows his Dad just got fired, and likely boo’d the previous weekend. So to every player on a team in transition: you’ll remember this season forever. Compete. Connect. Choose uncommon effort over easy excuses. Teams That Define the Moment * Indiana: Stunned Oregon in Autzen with six sacks and a line-of-scrimmage win few saw coming. A top-3 résumé right now. * USC: Looked like a Big Ten team vs. Michigan — 224 rush yards, physicality, command. If they win at Notre Dame, Jayden Maiava’s in the Heisman conversation. The West Coast Snapshot * Washington is quietly dominant again with Demond Williams Jr. Too quiet in my eyes. * Arizona has made big strides this season and were a snap away from a huge upset over BYU. * UCLA, under interim Tim Skipper, looks reborn. * And Stanford’s new $50M donation just made their future way more interesting than their record. And their head coaching vacancy more attractive. Some Conversation Starters * The expanded playoff will test how fast schools act — and overreact. * Buyouts will shrink. They have to. * The West is rising again — maybe not in one conference, but through identity, talent, and physicality. It’s the season’s halfway point, but the sport’s heartbeat is racing. And each Saturday, ours is too. As always, much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    1 hr

  5. OCT 6

    Double Down: Dan Lanning and the Daily Discipline of Growth

    There’s a theme that echoes through Dan Lanning’s program at Oregon in 2025: Double Down. But for the defending regular season Big Ten champs and one of the nation’s top teams “Doubling Down” is not just about repeating as Champs or getting to the College Football Playoff, it’s about daily growth. Dan Lanning is the latest conversation on THE PROCESS, a limited series within Y-Option, fueled by our founding sponsor, 76® - keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat. In a detailed conversation with Rhett Lewis and myself, the Ducks head coach opened up about being exposed to the GOAT of Process, Nick Saban, and how that has impacted his life and the core DNA Traits of his program. After a statement win on the road at Penn State two weeks ago, Lanning didn’t allow the emotions of an epic White Out win to linger. “Every one of our players has an improvement plan,” he told us. “One thing they must get better at.” And that goes for every unit, every coach, every staff member. That kind of clarity doesn’t come from chasing results. It comes from the process that Lanning learned years ago at Alabama and Georgia which began with a simple phrase: evaluate everything. The good calls, the bad ones, the moments that worked out for the wrong reasons. As he put it, “Good process, bad result–that can happen. Bad process, good result–that can happen too.” Regardless of result, his knows he and his staff still have to fix it. And then he took it further and shared something with Rhett and I that we have never heard from a football coach. He has his players self-reflect each week. Not just verbally, but he has them write it down. And not just what worked, but what didn’t and how they’ll respond. Coach Lanning reads each players essay and their words give him a window into their self-awareness, and that’s where real growth starts. When Coach Lanning spoke about self-awareness for his players, it landed. Because that word sits at the center of his life too. The man who once drove from Kansas City to Pittsburgh just to chase a coaching job now balances the same fire at Oregon with grounded perspective. His wife’s battle with cancer reshaped how he sees the world. “There is no balance in this profession,” he admitted. But when he gets a moment to have dinner with his wife or watch his son’s football game–Coach Lanning is all in. In a sport where everyone’s watching the scoreboard, Dan Lanning is focused on the present while building a culture that values honesty over hype, process over panic, and connection over control. And if you walk into his locker room, he says, you’ll see that the rest of the world could learn from the young men in it. That’s The Process. That’s Growth. And it’s working in Eugene. For past episodes of THE PROCESS be sure to check out Peyton Manning, Chris Fowler and Mark Jackson as their process as professionals, husbands and fathers may impact your life. Much love and stay steady Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    28 min

  6. OCT 1

    Wonderment in the Big Ten: Dave Revsine’s Story

    As a sophomore at Pitt, I met Dave Revsine and if anyone told me that we would be colleagues 20 years later I would have signed up for it. Today, that is our reality at the Big Ten Network. As a host, Dave has always been impressive. Sharp questions, elite awareness and always seeking humanity. This week on Y-Option, presented by 76 keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, welcomed Dave Revsine so get to know the story behind one of the core voices of Big Ten Network. For Dave, it all began in Chicago. A kid turning down the TV volume, writing out the White Sox lineup, and calling the games into a tape recorder. It detoured through a year on Wall Street (his most miserable), then on to Texas, where he ran his own camera to cover the Cowboys of Aikman, Irvin, and Smith. Eventually, ESPN came calling. Then, in 2007, the Big Ten Network. On launch night, BTN handed Dave 45 seconds of live airtime. No one edited his script. No one vetted his words. They just trusted him. Two days later, BTN aired Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan—and the network made history. In our conversation, Dave reflects on expansion, coast-to-coast Big Ten football, and what he trusts most as we head into Week 6. His answers are simple and powerful: Ohio State’s defense, Oregon’s completeness, Indiana’s rise. Thanks for reading Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth! This post is public so feel free to share it. But what struck me most wasn’t the analysis, it is the lens in which Dave sees the world of sports media. After decades in this business, Dave still lives with wonder. He hasn’t lost the gratitude for doing what he once dreamt about as a kid with a tape recorder. He hasn’t lost the kindness he was shown as a small-market reporter trying to cover the Cowboys. That’s why this episode feels bigger than Week 6 in the Big Ten. It’s about trust, preparation, and joy. Hope you enjoy. I’m off to Purdue for the first time to call a game on campus. Much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    33 min

  7. SEP 25

    "White Out" Energy with Todd Blackledge

    There are certain Saturdays that feel like they were built for college football: the lights, the noise, the choreography of a crowd that feels like it’s part of the playbook. This week’s conversation at Y-Option, presented by 76–keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, welcomes back Todd Blackledge. On Saturday night, Todd will have the best seat in the house as he broadcasts the Oregon v Penn State game in Happy Valley during the Nittany Lions annual White Out. We dive into what it is like to broadcast a White Out, the match-ups he is looking forward to seeing play out and analyze both Drew Allar and Dante Moore. Todd shared the origin of his own career and how there is a unique connection between the start of his illustrious career and the famed White Out. He also shared how he prepares for a game like this, as he has known for months that NBC and his crew would be on the call. He also shared his truth on what Drew Allar needs to do in this environment and what this top 6 match-up will come down to. I’ve known Todd since he was calling Big East games back when I was playing and he’s been a constant source of inspiration and support since we met in the early 2000s. Be sure to tune into the White Out this Saturday night as this rematch of the Big Ten Championship game from last season may be a classic. And to both fan bases, win or lose, your season is neither complete or ruined. Yes, it’s a massive data point but it’s only week 5, and we have a lot of ball left to play. I’m off to Minnesota to call one of the most intriguing games of the weekend as Rutgers and Greg Schiano visit P.J. Fleck, who once worked on Schiano’s staff. I have a feeling we will kick off your Saturday with a four quarter game that will come down to a few plays, a few decisions. Enjoy Week 5 and as always, much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    23 min

  8. SEP 16

    The Obstacle is the Way: Scott Barnes

    It’s Rivalry Week…kind of. Two of the West Coast’s fiercest rivalries take center stage: Washington–Washington State in the Apple Cup, and Oregon–Oregon State to kick off this Saturday in college football. So this week at Y-Option, we welcome Oregon State Athletics Director Scott Barnes, on behalf of our presenting sponsor, 76®, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat. I’ve known Scott for over a decade. He’s present, connected, and deeply committed to student-athletes. And what he’s navigated the past few years around the near collapse and rebuild of the Pac-12 is a masterclass in leadership. A few things that stood out from our conversation were: * The Obstacle is the Way: In April 2023, Scott was supposed to receive an award in Fresno. Instead, he found himself in the ER with a blood clot. Months later, the Pac-12 as we knew it dramatically changed shape. Two obstacles that could have stopped him in his tracks instead became catalysts. He leaned on a favorite book of both of ours, The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, and reframed both challenges. Health brought perspective. Conference realignment brought energy. “How do we turn this into a positive?” became his mantra. * Leadership as a Conductor: This was a brilliant analogy as he referenced that leaders can be soloists or conductors. Scott chooses being a conductor to empower his team while balancing urgency with patience, and making sure everyone’s playing the same sheet music. * Rebuilding the Pac-12: Alongside commissioner Teresa Gould, Barnes helped stabilize the Pac-12. The result: a challenger brand closer to the ACC/Big 12 than any “Group of Five.” Fans responded. Instead of revenue decline, OSU set attendance records. Beaver Nation leaned in. * Rivalries Matter: Scott was clear: rivalries like Oregon–Oregon State matter. They’ve built the soul of college football, and they must be preserved. * “There’s another move or two” - We spoke about July 1, 2026 and the formal launch of the reimagined Pac-12 and that quote stuck with me. Overall, what Scott Barnes and Oregon State have had to navigate over the past few years is nothing anyone could have predicted when he took the job but as he referenced many times: while the obstacles are clear, going through them with thoughtful and intentional leadership is the way. Thank you for all of the support and enjoy the weekend! Much love and stay steady, Yogi Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

    1h 3m
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A college football podcast through the lens of the West Coast. Yogi Roth brings a uniquely expert, curious, and western take on the game we love. Facts first, opinions second. www.y-option.com

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