This week on The Audible, Stew, Bruce, and Ralph break down The Athletic’s landmark investigative piece detailing the massive $50M vs. $8M roster spending gap across college football. Stew pulls back the curtain on how this massive report was executed, while Bruce and Ralph debate the realities of finding transparency in a murky financial system and what it actually costs to build a competitive roster in the modern era.
Plus, the guys dive deep into the ultimate SEC drama as Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford this Saturday. Is this the most villainous return in college football history? The crew previews the hostile LSU vs. Ole Miss matchup, before pivoting to a massive ACC showdown as North Carolina visits Clemson in a battle of two programs stuck at a historic crossroads. The guys debate where Dabo Swinney's program has gone wrong, and how his staffing choices and portal aversion have torpedoed the Tigers' elite development.
To wrap up the show, the guys discuss the Protect College Sports Act hitting the Senate floor, hand out their early two-week \"prediction mulligans\" on teams like Georgia, Oklahoma, and Oregon, and answer your mailbag questions! Is P.J. Fleck officially on the hot seat at Minnesota? And how has social media completely changed the way modern college football reporters vet their information? Dive in to find out!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - The Athletic Report: The Real Cost Of A CFB Roster Revealed
20:53 - Is Lane Kiffin’s Return To Ole Miss The Most Villainous Return in CFB History?
27:21 - The Protect College Sports Act Hits Senate Floor
29:52 - At A Crossroads: What Should Clemson & UNC Do With Legendary Coaches?
43:42 - Mailbag! What Is Your Preseason Mulligan?
47:18 - Mailbag! Should P.J. Fleck Be On The Hotseat?
54:08 - Mailbag! Does Social Media Make Reporting More Difficult?
Follow the Crew on X:
🔹 Stewart Mandel: @slmandel
🔹 Bruce Feldman: @BruceFeldmanCFB
🔹 Ralph Russo: @ralphDrussoATH
🔹The Audible: @audible.show
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","author_name":"The Athletic"}