Northern Aggression: A College Football Podcast
The Big Ten runs college football, the SEC is in freefall and this is the show that talks truth, has fun and dives deep about college football’s new reality. Northern Aggression is your go-to place to get real about Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, USC and the most interesting Big Ten teams, as well as Notre Dame and any program not drenched in SEC mediocrity. Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna will be here multiple times a week to break down the biggest games and best players, and offer new ways of viewing college football that we...
Notre Dame, more UCLA, SMU, Arizona State, an attractive rivalry under & other college football bets
More college football bets are shared on this edition of the CFB betting show on the Podcast of Northern Aggression. Tyler Shoemaker was 3-1 on his solo bets last week, so we get to all his picks right away and save the dubious picks of Doug Lesmerises until the end after his shameful 0-3 last week. From Arizona State to the Florida-Auburn game to a 113-year-old rivalry, TShoe is ready to roll this week. For their Union Bet, where vibes and math come together, the guys are going back to a team they tried before. Thanks for joining us...
Ohio State-Texas, Michigan-Oklahoma, Alabama-Kentucky, Illinois-Duke & more: Week 2 Picks
College football's Week 2 slate features some bangers, from Ohio State-Texas to Oklahoma-Michigan to Kentucky-Alabama to a game worth watching Friday night between Boston College and Rutgers.
After a stellar 5-0 week by Bill Landis and 4-1 week by Matta Fortuna against the spread in Week 1, Northern Aggression (Doug Lesmerises is also here) is back to break down five big games and three bonus in games in Week 2.
Big games:
Ohio State at Texas
Oklahoma at Michigan
Kentucky at Alabama
Mississippi State at Minnesota
Duke at Illinois
Bonus games:
UMass-Rutgers shocker fallout: QB Pop Watson joins the show, plus Rutgers head coaching candidates
Massachusetts quarterback Pop Watson, who led the Minutemen to a stunning upset of Rutgers in Week 1, joins Matt Fortuna for an interview on this episode of Northern Aggression. But first, Matt, Doug and Bill discuss what's next for Rutgers after that 37-21 loss and suggest some names for who could be the next coach for the Scarlet Knights with Greg Schiano firmly on the hot seat.
Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression.
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Michigan-Western Michigan damage to Big Ten? How will Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota fare vs. SEC?
Michigan vs. Western Michigan ended in chaos on Saturday. What is the effect on the Big Ten as the clock issues in that Michigan win remain the dominant topic in college football?
On this edition of Around the North, Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises are joined by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com to discuss the ramifications of that game.
Then it's on to:
How the Big Ten fared on the field in Week 1, from Penn State, USC and Iowa to Rutgers, Michigan State and Oregon
Disappointing and impressive teams from Clemson t...
An Ohio State-Texas play, plus Penn State, UCLA, Alabama-Kentucky and more college football bets
Our college football betting show is back for Week 2 on Northern Aggression, with picks on Ohio State-Texas, Alabama-Kentucky, UCLA-San Diego State, Army-South Florida, Penn State-Temple, Ohio-Jacksonville State and more.
There are four bets from handicapper Tyler Shoemaker, three from vibes goofball Doug Lesmerises, and the one union bet where they come together.
Last week wasn't great: 1-2 from TShoe, 1-4 from Doug and 0-1 on the Union bet. We're trying again this week anyway.
Thanks for being here and we'll catch you every week for CFB bets on Monday.
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Lane Kiffin, LSU on tilt? Can Dabo spring an upset? Plus Oregon, UCLA: Week 1 college football picks
Week 1 college football game picks are here, as Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises will pick at least five Big Ten, northern and national games each week on Northern Aggression.
The games this week:
Wisconsin-Notre Dame in Green Bay
Plus the guys will each pick a wild card game on their own to discuss. This week those games are Toledo-Michigan State, Miami-Stanford and Ohio-Nebraska.
Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression and we hope to see you each week for...
College football playoff picks on Ohio State, Notre Dame & more; how did we all pick the same champ?
Here are our college football playoff picks, and though the three of us agreed on only five playoff teams, we all wound up with the same champ.
What a content fiasco.
On this episode, Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna explain their 12-team brackets, which include some familiar names, some wild picks (Illinois? Florida? Kentucky?) and a unanimous champion.
Thanks for joining Northern Aggression.
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Bryce Underwood, Josh Hoover & B1G QBs under gun; playoff contender USC? Wisconsin vs Notre Dame
Welcome to Around the North, a new show from Northern Aggression. Early in each week, we will discuss five topics on the Big Ten, the North and national college football. Matt, Bill and Doug will be joined by one expert guest, and the first one is a banger. It's Scott Dochterman of The Athletic, a long-time expert on national ball, Big Ten ball and Iowa.
On this episode, Scott, Matt, Bill and Doug cover these five questions for Week 1:
College football bets on Clemson, Illinois, Washington, Houston & more on our new betting show
Welcome to our new college football betting show on Northern Aggression. Each Monday morning, Doug Lesmerises will be joined by Tyler Shoemaker, a college football fan and handicapper with his own numbers and formula, to offer the best bets of the week. Doug is all vibes. TShoe is all math. And they'll each make three to five picks a week, which we will track. Then they will come together for The Union bet, where math and vibes merge into one ideal pick.
The idea is to have fun and get you TShoe's bets early in the week, before...
C.J. Carr, Jayden Maiava, Jeremiah Smith, Arch Manning and our Heisman Trophy predictions
We have three Heisman Trophy voters on The Podcast of Northern Aggression, and Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna are here to make their Heisman predictions for the 2026 season.
They each provide their three picks for players to be on their ballots at the end of year, and then they each pick one longshot who could make it, considering that 2025 winner Fernando Mendoza was more than 50-1 before last season.
Stay tuned next week for playoff picks and our new schedule of North Aggression shows. Thanks for letting us talk college football with you.
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Lincoln Riley, Jeremiah Smith, Curt Cignetti, Dante Moore and the Big Ten's 10 Most Important People
The countdown of the 50 Most Important People in Big Ten Football has reached the Top 10 on this episode of Northern Aggression. Two previous episodes covered the first 25 people on the list, and then the next 15. Now, it's the guys who really will determine the fate of the conference this season.
Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises run through coaches, coordinators, quarterbacks and more for these final 10 spots, then share their honorable mention candidates who just missed the Top 50.
Make sure you catch all three episodes discussing the Top 50 list. And thanks as always for hanging with...
Julian Sayin, Kyle Whittingham, Dan Lanning & 5 savior OCs/DCs: Most Important Big Ten People 11-25
The Top 50 Most Important People in Big Ten football for 2026 moves into the top half of the list with Nos. 11 through 25. On this episode, Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises discuss five savior coordinators and their impact; three new head coach hires; another head coach on the hot seat; another head coach chasing a national title; a rising quarterback star; another QB looking to take the next stop; and a Heisman Trophy finalist who didn't make the Top 10.
Make sure you find the previous episode of Northern Aggression to catch the discussion of Nos. 26 through 50. And stay...
Big Ten’s 50 Most Important People: 50-26 rankings with Ryan Day, Bret Bielema, Luke Wafle & more
Who are the Top 50 most important, impactful, consequential people for the 2026 Big Ten football season?
On Northern Aggression, Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises put together the list, and this episode unveils the first 25 players and coaches affecting Big Ten ball this fall.
From quarterbacks to coordinators, from freshmen to head coaches, from receivers to a stadium and a recruit, check out the start of the list and the explanations from Bill, Matt and Doug on the first 25.
Every Big Ten program is represented in the Top 50, with two more episodes ahead to get to...
Big Ten-SEC Challenge 1-16 matchups: Michigan-LSU, Indiana-Ole Miss, Ohio State-Georgia & more
It’s a Big Ten vs. SEC showdown. We aren’t playing it on the field yet, so we are playing it out on The Podcast of Northern Aggression.
From Nebraska vs. South Carolina to Washington vs. Alabama to Oregon vs. Texas, Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises vote on who the winners would be.
That reveals a final count in this challenge on which conference really has the most depth. Subscribe to get more Big Ten content like this and thanks for being part of our new college football show, The Podcast of Northern Aggression.
College football natty contenders: Legit or fraud? Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Notre Dame & more
Welcome to The Podcast of Northern Aggression, a new college football show talking national college football and Big Ten football from your Northern point of view. Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna will be here multiple times a week to talk Big Ten and Notre Dame and to keep it real about what's really going on in the SEC.
On this first episode, the discussion is about the eight primary national title contenders favored by everyone: Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Notre Dame, Texas, Georgia, Miami and Texas Tech. Of those eight, Bill, Matt and Doug had to...
