Quick note this week from Alex: We started a new YouTube channel to upload video versions of our podcast episodes. That channel is almost at 1,000 subscribers, the amount we need to “monetize” the channel. We would be very appreciative if you joined us there! Here’s a little button to take you to our most recent video episode, and you can subscribe right there:
Now, to Hector.
Welcome to the College Football Newsletter where we hired you — our most beloved subscriber — as our new head football coach.
Philip Rivers will be NC State’s next coach. This was all but a formality, given all of the smoke and reporting about it over several weeks. Richard and Alex were so confident about the hire that they recorded a segment about it in the Tasting Menu on Wednesday. Alex and Richard are not bullish on how this is going to work in the long run:
Is hiring your beloved alum a good idea? Yes and no. I agree with Richard that this will go south at some point in the future. Most non-Kirk Ferentz coaching tenures do. But that doesn’t mean the juice isn’t worth the squeeze, especially when you’re a school looking to stay afloat through whatever comes next in college football. The vibes are going to propel this journey at first, and vibes can become real momentum. Rivers’ son, Gunner, is NC State’s prized QB recruit for next year. That father/coach and player/son dynamic has generated some positive attention before in college football, most recently with Deion and Shedeur Sanders. Things were good in Boulder in 2024, before Shedeur and another guy named Travis Hunter went to the NFL. The attention and coach/QB partnership can be the fertile soil, but something else has to take root.
Donor support is what’s really important here. NC State’s aim is to get people excited enough to pull out their pocketbooks, hoping the new money can become a bridge into whatever the next iteration of the sport looks like. Most likely, in a few years, Rivers will leave the job, but there won’t be much ill will from the fanbase, which will (largely) remember his playing days. Hopefully, the school will have a better foundation to attract the next coach.
From Alex on the Tasting Menu this week:
NC State fans [should] get to have some joy because of the specific shape of the Dave Doeren thing for the last handful of years. He was there for, what, 14 years? And he had some good moments, but nobody was more stale for several years than he was. And so just to get something exciting is, honestly, somewhat worth the squeeze for NC State.
That’s how you can get to “it’s a decent idea” and “it won’t work” in the same podcast.
Here’s what we dropped into your podcast feeds:
There have been so many fun upsets this season that some folks are comparing this season to 2007. Godfrey joins RIchard for a subscriber episode to talk about how that isn’t necessarily a good comp, despite the appearances.
Week 2 of our Playoff Rankings Reaction live stream happened on Tuesday over on YouTube. If you missed that live, the episode hit your podcast feed on Wednesday morning. Jessica Smetana and Alex immediately figured out that the committee’s darling is undoubtedly Alabama. For anyone who watched the stream live, the rankings were delayed so much that Alex just started naming college basketball guys in the meantime. The chat loved it. Guys like Lorenzo Mata would love it too.
Tasting Menu! The season is inching closer to its conclusion, which means the games just mean more for Playoff consideration. USC-Indiana is a borderline Anxiety Bowl for both teams, even though nobody is getting fired after this one (or ever, in Curt Cignetti’s case). Alex and Richard also break down some bad coaching situations.
This week’s Team of the Week is LSU. Rodger and Alex talk about how Lane Kiffin doesn’t get a grace period and what will happen if the Tigers miss the Playoff. Also a fair warning for people still trying to finish Yellowstone: there’s a spoiler in there. So either finish watching the show and then get back to this episode, or brace yourself.
Some recommended reading and watching
For CBS Sports, Richard listed all of the ex-NFL players who became college head coaches, and the results are mixed.
This week’s most fireable coach according to Alex is out. That’s right, Jensen Huang is out at NVIDIA. Go watch Alex’s video because it’s a delight. And if you want more of the bit, go listen to the Shutdown Fullcast. He breaks down the whole situation for everyone.
Matt Brown made a video about Jason Beck’s contract and why Michigan will keep paying their former offensive coordinator for the next three years.
After Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate race in Michigan, Ravenous’ Frances Dumlao went to the Michigan-Michigan State tailgate to talk to people in the state about Shawarma Law. That’s right: Shawarma Law.
See you Sunday for the Hurry-Up.