The Audible with Stew, Bruce & Ralph: A show about college football

Was Notre Dame right to skip the Pop Tarts Bowl, and/or could it undermine the whole Bowl system? Why are we doing this bizarre Tuesday rankings show? And how did Alabama make it in? Notre Dame's shocking exclusion from the College Football Playoff has sent shockwaves through the sport. The Athletic’s Notre Dame beat writer Pete Sampson breaks down how the team felt about being left out after sitting at #10 all season and AD Pete Bevacqua's comments about "permanent damage" to Notre Dame’s relationship with the ACC.

Multiple Ole Miss players publicly dispute Lane Kiffin’s claim that the team asked him to stay for the playoffs. Does it matter? Chris Klieman steps down at Kansas State after a solid run, and former Heisman finalist Colin Klein is expected to return home from Texas A&M to take over the Wildcats. What might Klein’s experience in a well-funded program like A&M bring to Manhattan?Brian Hartline lands the head coaching job at USF, who might have the highest ceiling among open jobs in the American. And Neal Brown lands at North Texas.Plus, the guys answer your mailbag questions!

Notre Dame is at No. 10, while Miami is on the outside looking in at No. 12. Texas moved up to No. 13, and Alabama sits at No. 9. Who’s in danger of missing the playoff, who’s still on the bubble, and how much motion is possible with just a few days left before the bracket is finalized?Plus, somehow there’s more coaching news. With Kalani Sitake now locked in at BYU, Penn State remains standing at the altar — and Cal looks like it will be hiring Tosh Lupoi. 

Lane Kiffin is introduced as LSU’s head coach. Will he win a national championship there, or will he leave first?Penn State's coaching search drags on past the 50-day mark. Kalani Sitaki has emerged as a strong candidate, but nothing is imminent. They debate the Penn State timeline and react to the other SEC hires: Will Stein to Kentucky, Alex Golesh to Auburn, Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas, Jon Sumrall to Florida, and Pat Fitzgerald to Michigan State.Then, they make championship picks for all nine conference title games, including Ohio State-Indiana, Georgia-Alabama, and Texas Tech-BYU.

Rivalry Weekend delivered chaos everywhere except the playoff race, which remains hostage to the Lane Kiffin – LSU saga. Stew, Bruce, and Ralph unpack whether Ole Miss will be able to let Lane coach a playoff game, then they run through the SEC coaching dominoes already falling. They react to Kalen DeBoer’s bold fourth-and-two call in the Iron Bowl, Oklahoma’s latest escape, and what an Alabama loss would mean for the bracket. Plus Miami’s playoff case and the ACC tiebreaker fiasco. 

Eric Morris will leave North Texas to take the Oklahoma State job at the end of the season, sparking a debate: Is this the same as Lane Kiffin's situation at Ole Miss? Ralph and Bruce argue it's fundamentally different: G5 coaches are moving up with salary increases that could triple their pay, while Kiffin would be choosing between $12 million offers at blue blood programs.Bruce shares his history with Morris dating back to his days as "the Elf" at Texas Tech, and explains how Morris discovered Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, John Mateer, and Chandler Morris before anyone else wanted them. Will Morris could bring quarterback whisperer magic to Stillwater?The latest CFP rankings show minimal movement after a clean weekend, but Ralph and Bruce game out chaos scenarios: What happens if Michigan beats Ohio State again? Could Oregon get bumped at 10-2? Would Texas Tech survive a Big 12 title game loss? Plus, they highlight breakout players ahead of Rivalry Weekend, and mailbag tackles whether paying players in 2000 would have prevented conference realignment and what on-field changes are transforming the game.

Justin Wilcox is out at Cal after nine seasons following a blowout loss to Stanford in the Big Game. In a surprising twist, Nick Rolovich is named interim head coach. The guys discuss potential replacements, including Tosh Lupoi, Sean Lewis, and Jim Mora.Rivalry week is here with massive playoff implications. Could Alabama actually play themselves OUT of the playoff by losing the SEC Championship Game? Ralph and Stew debate whether the committee would drop a 10-3 Alabama team after losing a 13th game. They also discuss scenarios where Michigan beats Ohio State and crashes the at-large pool, and Georgia Tech upsets Georgia with head-to-head chaos. Plus, why the committee's head-to-head logic only seems to apply to certain conferences.Also, the guys make their picks for Texas A&M at Texas, Ohio State at Michigan, Miami at Pitt, and Tennessee at Vanderbilt, with one rivalry game upset each. 

The Lane Kiffin sweepstakes continue. Oregon wins again, but can they win it all? What’s Oklahoma’s playoff ceiling? Kansas State loses a heartbreaker to Utah, and Chris Klieman delivers an emotional post-game statement. Plus, the guys dive into the wild world of ACC and SEC tiebreakers.