Inside The Pylon: A Midwest College Football Podcast

Week three is in the books and Ryan and Clinton reconvene during the late games to discuss the Saturday's action.

Unfortunately not much was going on in the Big Ten with the end of nonconference play featuring plenty of blowouts. However there is still plenty to discuss.

USC went east and showed that despite the hype and the open championship window, they still cannot play defense nor play well on the east coast, getting taken to the wire by Rutgers but coming away with a 42-35 win. Two interceptions condemned the Knights, who otherwise moved...

Week Three is here, and unfortunately with the last weekend of nonconference play we have a plethora of Big Ten games with double-digit spreads. However, there are a couple of compelling matchups to discuss as well as the start of Big Ten play in a few cases.

In the game of the week, Maryland hosts familiar foe James Franklin and his new-look Virginia Tech squad. Both teams are 2-0 with similar starts to their season, with both teams' young QBs having strong outings in their most recent contest. Maryland is 21-3 in September since the 2021 season, and...

We are now through week two of the college football season, and while much is still to be learned about a fair number of teams based on their to-date level of competition, we have still learned a fair amount. Ryan and Clinton take stock on a couple of the biggest storylines of the early season.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. The season is back in swing and we will be back to our thrice-weekly shows. Midweek shows are live on Youtube around 9 pm EST on Monday/Thursday, with recap shows either Saturday night...

Week two is in the books and what a week two it was. We had a monster matchup live up to the hype and we also might have a national title contender officially on fraud watch.

While Texas/Ohio State lived up to the hype in the nightcap, with Texas executing their largest comeback win in nearly 20 years with a 24-23 defeat of Ohio State, the day started off with a bang, as Oklahoma State -- losers of 11 straight games and fresh off a week-one loss to Tulsa -- dominated and shocked No. 6 Oregon 39-31 in Stillwater...

A week one slate devoid of quality matchups still delivered some Hot Take Fodder, but the week two slate features a large serving of conference bragging rights on the line. Ryan and Clinton reconvene to break down a certified Big Ten vs SEC challenge.

In the noon window, Michigan looks to put last week's embarrassing performance behind it, while exacting some revenge against Oklahoma. Can Bryce Underwood quiet the noise around his job security against a defense that had him bottled up a season ago? Or will Brent Venebles and his squad further add to Wolverines fans...

Ryan and Clinton recap the full slate of week one in the Big Ten. Plenty of heavy favorites covered and overall the "upset meter" was dialed to low, but college football always delivers and a juicy controversy had us all talking.

Michigan stunned heavy underdog Western Michigan 13-12 on a Hail Mary with no time on the clock, which only occurred after a video review gifted the Wolverines a second chance. Are we buying the Big Ten's explanation?

Elsewhere, Oregon found itself in another battle with Boise State. Washington won the Apple Cup but continues...

We have finally made it. Week one is upon us and everyone is back in action. Ryan and Clinton stroll through a busy first week in the Big Ten and break down the action.

Perhaps the headliner of the weekend is a nonconference showdown between former Pac-12 foes in UCLA/Cal. An intriguing QB matchup pits new Bruins head coach Bob Chesney against new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi. Both teams reloaded through the portal. Can new RB Wayne Knight provide enough of a spark to the Bruins to awaken a rush attack that struggled most of...

Clinton makes his triumphant return to the show just in time to uncork a round of stinky predictions, as the guys talk through their playoff brackets and seedings. How many Big Ten teams will make the field? Who will come out on top as national champs?

The guys also talk through brief week 0 takeaways from Saturday.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. The season is back in swing and we will be back to our thrice-weekly shows. Midweek shows are live on Youtube around 9 pm EST on Monday/Thursday, with recap shows...

Ryan continues his solo journey for one more week, and tackles the most compelling conference of all: The Mid-American. The Luke and Justice from The G5 Hive join the show to talk big-picture MAC stuff and break down the 2026 season.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. We are back into fall preview season. Episodes will be live on Youtube throughout the week as schedule permits, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on our fall preview episode schedule, to get notified when we...

Gameshow week continues at ITP, as Ryan welcomes Mitch Mason from The Three Tech pod to the show to play a game of "two truths and a lie." Six separate three-statement prompts. Which of the two does Mitch think will ring true during the 2026 college football season, and which will prove to be the lie?

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. We are back into fall preview season. Episodes will be live on Youtube throughout the week as schedule permits, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on...

Clinton continues to be off galavanting with important things like taking care of his newborn, so Ryan continues his solo host journey with a week of special guests! First up, Ty Hildenbrandt from The Solid Verbal stops by to play a game of Midwest CFB over/under.

What will the Big Ten (and MAC?) representation in the playoff look like? Any Heisman favorites to keep an eye on? Can Rocco Becht rediscover his 2024 form? That and more in the first of two special pre-college football shows this week.

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Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and Ryan Abraham from USCFootball.com rejoins the show to talk USC ahead of a massive season for Lincoln Riley's program.

The head coach made waves in the offseason, declaring the USC's championship window was now open. This surprised many, considering his first team featured Heisman and Biletnikoff award winners, and played for a PAC-12 title. Has Riley's own words made this a make-or-break season for his tenure in Southern California?

He returns plenty of talent on offense. QB Jayden Maiava returns for his three season with the...

Ryan and Clinton hit the home stretch of fall previews, and for the penultimate team preview welcome back to the show Tyler Tachman from the Des Moines Register, to help the guys break down Iowa.

Kirk Ferentz's squad continues to be a consistently good team, They have made a bowl game every season since 2013 and -- aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season -- have not posted a season with fewer than 8 wins since 2014. However in the two seasons of the 12-team CFP era, the Hawkeyes have been out of contention by early November each year. They were damn...

Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and welcome back Sunny Verma from Locked on Illini to the show, to preview Illinois.

Bret Bielema has performed a remarkable revival act. A 5-7 season in 2024 had him on the hot seat. In the two years since his team is 19-7 and has pushed itself into that second tier of the Big Ten. However he will have to replace three-year starting QB Luke Altmyer, who capped a successful run in Champaign with 27 total TDs and 3200 yards last season. Katin Houser returns to the Big Ten after a two-year run...

Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and Justin Julka from The Bucky Report joins the show to help the guys break down Wisconsin in a make-or-break season for Luke Fickell.

Year three of the the Fickell regime once again featured an inept offense, spurred by more injury issues at the QB position. Billy Edwards got hurt in the season opener against Miami and then played one additional game the rest of the season, a season after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending injury in game three, a season after Tanner Mordecai missed three games after a 4...

Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and Clayton Sayfie from the Wolverine joins the show to talk Michigan in Kyle Wittingham's first season.

Michigan is perhaps the most fascinating wild card in the Big Ten for 2026. It went 9-4 last season, losing to arguably the four best teams it faced. However, one could argue the impressiveness of winning nine games with the coaching ... situation ... that was present. In comes Kyle Whittingham have a highly successful two decade run leading Utah. Bare minimum, he brings an "adult in the room" mentality, even if he has never coached...

Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and Jonah Wilson from Spartans Illustrated joins the show to talk Michigan State ahead of year one of the Pat Fitzgerald era.

Fitzgerald has been out of college football since his dismissal as Northwestern's head coach following a hazing investigation during the offseason prior to the 2023 season. He has since been acquitted of wrongdoing, but this underscores the fact that his Wildcats program won three or fewer games in 3 of his last 4 seasons, including a 1-11 mark in 2022. For a school that has undergone its own share of turmoil in...

Ryan and Clinton continue with fall previews, and welcome back Dale Bliss to talk Oregon ahead of a pivotal season for Dan Lanning's program.

The Ducks have been a pillar of success since joining the Big Ten. However, playoff success has largely eluded them. Dan Lanning is 2-2 in CFP games but the Ducks have seen each of their previous two seasons end in a blowout against a Big Ten Foe. He has also lost three consecutive games to Ohio State and Indiana -- arguably the Ducks only peer programs in the league. How has Lanning looked...

Clinton flies solo for a change, holding down the fort with Tony Gerdeman from BuckeyeInsiders.com, who joins the show to break down the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State finished the regular season 12-0 in 2025, but dropped both the Big Ten Title game to Indiana, and its CFP quarterfinal game against Miami to finish without a postseason win. In the first 12 games of the season, the Buckeyes OL allowed only six sacks. However, in those two postseason games, they allowed 10 combined. With four of five starters back, how confident should the Buckeyes be that their OL can...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Sammy Jacobs from Hoosier Huddle back to the show, to help them break down the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers.

Where to begin. From despondent and hoping for a bowl game two years ago, to 25-2, Big Ten champions and champions of the college football world, the Hoosiers have undergone a storybook turnaround under Curt Cignetti. Even a year ago, coming off a playoff appearance but viewed by many as a potential one-time flash-in-the-pan, the Hoosiers have now since cemented themselves atop the college football world.

What will this team do...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Redcast Rob back to the show, to help them break down the Nebraska Cornhuskers in year four of the Matt Rhule era.

Year three was supposed to be the breakthrough year, the "year-three Matt Rhule jump." Instead, a 5-1 start saw another 7-6 finish. Ballyhooed QB and favorite son Dylan Raiola got hurt, and subsequently transferred to back up Dante Moore at Oregon, and Rhule ended up with a sizable contract extension to ward off interest, real or perceived, from Penn State. With the flux surrounding the program, where are fans's heads at...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Jack Soble from Blue & Gold Illustrated back to the show, to help them break down the Notre Dame in a pivotal season for Marcus Freeman's program.

Less than a year removed from a controversial playoff snub, the Irish are a preseason favorite to not only return to the playoff, but to win the whole thing. This case is bolstered by return QB CJ Carr, a preseason Heisman favorite in his own right. However he will have to pilot an offense that loses from its backfield 2025 Heisman finalist Jeremiyah Love, and first-round pick Jadarian...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Mike Regalado, from Bruin 247 and the What's Bruin Show, back to the show, to help them break down the UCLA Bruins in year one of a new regime.

Bob Chesney takes over as head coach for the Bruins, following a 16-game run for previous head coach DeShaun Foster which ended after four games in 2025 and a 5-11 overall record. Chesney, meanwhile, is fresh off a playoff appearance with James Madison, and a 21-6 record in two seasons with the Dukes. He succeeded Curt Cignetti and JMU, and his ascent through the ranks has...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Roman Tomashoff back to the show, to help them break down the Washington Huskies.

It was an offseason of brief tumult for Jedd Fisch's program. QB Demond Williams attempt to flirt with the transfer portal was thwarted by contracts. Reported updates make the offseason drama seem like water under the bridge ... is this accurate? And how has the QB won back the trust of his teammates?

He leads a team that will be missing several top weapon from last year's team, with Denzel Boston and Jonah Coleman off to the NFL...

Ryan and Clinton welcome Matt Flip from the Roar Lions Roar Blog back to the show, to help them break down the Penn State Nittany Lions heading into a new era.

After a season that failed to live up to any of the preseason expectations, out is James Franklin and in comes Matt Campbell, and with him a host of former Iowa State Cyclones. What can we expect from this squad, which will feature a manageable schedule, as well as Campbell working with a new defensive coordinator for the first time since his Toledo tenure.

...

Ryan and Clinton continue rolling through fall previews, tonight taking on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. To help the guys, Ryan Burns from Gophers Illustrated on the 247 network joins the show.

In a conference of prominent freshmen QBs in 2025, Minnesota's Drake Lindsey flew under the radar nationally -- with nearly 2400 passing yards, 18 TDs and only 6 INTs. However, his 5.9 yards per attempt was 125th nationally, and Minnesota's yards per play overall was 120th nationally. Part of the reason for that was a dearth of injuries to the Gophers backfield. Star RB Darius Taylor was in and out of the...

Ryan and Clinton continue their tour through the midwest, tonight breaking down the Maryland Terrapins. To do so, Jeff Erman from Inside MD Sports joins the show to help the guys dig into Mike Locksley's squad.

The Terps head coach found himself on a fair share of hot seat lists entering last season. A 4-8 campaign that ended with eight consecutive losses certainly did not quell the noise nationally. However, a talented group of now-sophomores certainly gives this fanbase a lot to be excited about in 2026, led by QB Malik Washington.

Washington was asked to...

Ryan and Clinton continue their deep dive into Big Ten previews, tonight discussing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. To help the guys, Richie O'Leary from Rutgers On3 joins the show.

Greg Schiano has now won three or fewer Big Ten games in five of his six seasons back at Rutgers. Despite a breakout performance from RB Antwan Raymond and the passing attack in 2025, the Knights were 2-7 in conference play. Now QB Athan Kaliakmanis departs. Is there pressure on Schiano in 2026 to get this team back to bowl eligibility?

Rutgers brought in Boston College (and former...

The guys continue to roll through fall previews. Tonight Ryan and Clinton are breaking down the Purdue Boilermakers, and Jordan Jones from the Boilers and Beyond re-joins the show to help them do so.

Year one under Barry Odom did not look too differently on the record sheet than the final season under Ryan Walters did. But he undertook a massive rebuild, even by college football portal era circa 2026 standards. But with rival Indiana's surge to the top of the college football world, as well as Notre Dame's continued staying power, does this proximity-to-success give a sense...

It's not quite summer yet but fall preview season is officially upon us. To better space out shows and to accommodate for some vacation time, we are getting a head start on previews this year. But some things stay the same, and kicking things off for the third straight year, the guys start with the Northwestern Wildcats, and are pleased to once again be joined by Matt Shelton from Wildcat Report on the On3 Network.

We've joked about the stadium and the size but all things considered we will cherish the last few games of it this...

Another day another blow to NCAA football as we know it. The guys start the show with a quick take on a Texas judge granting Texas Tech QB Brenden Sorsby a temporary injunction to be eligible for the 2026 CFB season, despite an NCAA suspension for gambling on his own team's games.

But for the bulk of the show, the guys take a stab a predicting an All-Big Ten team for the 2026 season, covering offense and defense.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est...

Happy June! We are one month closer to the season, which means we are one month closer to preview content, which means it's time to start thinking about the things that matter most: beating the team you hate.

Ohio State/Michigan gets its flowers as the best rivalry in the sport, but what about the other games that get our juices flowing? In this episode, Ryan and Clinton rank their top-5 Big Ten rivalries outside of The Game.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9...

Ryan and Clinton are back, and and with preview season coming down the pipe, they take a look at post-spring win total projections for each Big Ten team, and decide whether they would take the over or the under on that specific number.

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est on Youtube until fall previews begin in July, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on Twitter to get notified when we are going live and to interact with...

Ryan and Clinton are back, and they are looking ahead to the games of the season. Each co-host ranks his top-five most anticipated matchups in the midwest of the upcoming 2026 college football season. No specific criteria was employed, and each co-host was given free reigns to determine what was most important to them when selecting their games. Did your team have a contest make the cut? Tune in to find out!

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est on Youtube until fall previews begin in...

Who loves rankings? You love rankings, and the guys obliged you with this week's episode. Ryan and Clinton go, 1-18, their own personal rankings of the projected starting runnings backs in the Big Ten heading into 2026. Do you agree? Did one of the guys make you mad with their idiotic list? Let us know!

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est on Youtube until fall previews begin in July, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on Twitter to...

It's the dog days of summer, officially. Spring ball has concluded, May is here, and we are three months away from preseason camps kicking off. You know what that means: it's time to concoct dumb scenarios that probably aren't going to happen, and decide which is more likely to come to fruition.

Ryan and Clinton play a version of "This or That?" Both co-hosts have formulated a handful of hypothetical situations, and pairing two against each other, they decide which of the two unlikely outcomes is more likely to come to fruition during the 26-27 college football...

It's draft season! And to honor the occasion Ryan and Clinton are drafting Big Ten positions groups ... but with a twist.

In what will be a season-long game, each co-host will draft a team in which each pick is an entire position group (QB, RB, WR/TE, OL, D, ST). To make things more interesting, each position group has been assigned a hypothetical dollar value, ranging between $1 and $5, and each team will have a salary cap of $18. Spend big on proven productions? Or look for bargains and build the deepest overall team? What will each of our...

Ryan and Clinton are back on the weekly grind with ranking shows and other various musings. This week, the guys talk top defenses in the Big Ten and each ranks their top five. Who came out on top? And what went into each of their rankings?

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est on Youtube until fall previews begin in July, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on Twitter to get notified when we are going live and...

Ryan and Clinton are back on the weekly grind with ranking shows and other various musings. This week, the guys talk top offenses in the Big Ten and each ranks their top five. Who came out on top? And what went into each of their rankings?

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday live at 9 pm est on Youtube until fall previews begin in July, with the episode dropping in your podcast feed the following morning. Follow us on Twitter to get notified when we are going live and...

Spring spotlights are over and we are back to once-weekly programming with rankings, debates, and other fun discussions to fill your time and preoccupy your offseason blues.

Tonight, Ryan and Clinton discuss their preseason top-5 quarterbacks in the Big Ten conference. Who are the names they are looking at? Are they looking at the same group of players? How do they feel about the position at large in the conference this year?

Join us on our Youtube channel live for shows. Spring time will feature shows Monday and Thursday live at 9 pm est until the...