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

Ahmad Hardy, Missouri's star running back, was shot over the weekend. Bruce has the latest there. Then, a Vanity Fair profile on Lane Kiffin delivers some gems, like Kiffin implying that Ole Miss fans should be grateful for all he did for them (before abandoning the team during the playoffs). Then Bruce puts Stew on the spot with a ranking exercise: of eight of the most likely active coaches who haven't won a title (Lanning, Freeman, Cristobal, Sarkisan, Kiffin, Campbell, DeBoer, and Riley) who will actually get there?

Jon Sumrall is building something real in Gainesville, with a loaded receiver corps and a legitimate QB battle. Matt Campbell's Iowa State imports are quietly reshaping Penn State. Avery Johnson gets a fresh start under Collin Klein at K-State. Jaden Craig arrives from Harvard to replace Josh Hoover at TCU. And Memphis may have the most compelling quarterback competition in the country. Plus, Dabo vents about Notre Dame's money machine. Is he just relitigating the past?

Stew's new piece on Curt Cignetti reveals how 15 seasons (14 losing) as an assistant shaped his chip-on-the-shoulder identity. Then, some recruiting departments are using AI to provide a boost to their productivity. The Athletic’s Antonio Morales joins the show to explain the promise and skepticism. Plus, American commissioner Tim Pernetti floats an intriguing Group of Six playoff. 

The dust on the Brendan Sorsby gambling scandal isn't going to settle any time soon, even if Texas Tech realistically needs to start planning for a 2026 season without it's greatest get in the transfer portal. On this episode of The Audible, senior writer Justin Williams joins Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo to bring us up-to-the-minute on where things stand with Sorsby. Then, Bruce and Ralph consider how Sorsby and Texas Tech might turn the page. After that, the guys discuss the latest on the 5-in-5 proposal and open up the mailbag.

Texas Tech's quarterback situation just went from promising to potentially devastating. Brendan Sorsby's gambling admission, which includes alleged bets on Indiana games while he was there, could end his college career entirely. Then: what the NFL Draft reveals about college football. Clemson had nine players picked, but struggled to get over .500. Miami had six players taken in the first 98 selections. Indiana set a program record for players taken. And Diego Pavia's Heisman run couldn't buy him a draft slot. Plus, Kalen DeBoer gets a big new seven-year deal.

CFP commissioners are meeting in Dallas, and Ralph gives a 50/50 chance that college football has a 24-team playoff by 2028. Stew isn’t happy. What’s really at stake here? We have presumed or official QB1s at Florida State, Stanford, and Georgia Tech. It’s not all pretty. Plus, mailbag questions on UNC vs. Colorado, and whether players still go to class.

Stew visited Indiana's spring practice and came away impressed. Cignetti's defense is loaded, and Josh Hoover is the only real question mark on a team that should easily make the playoff. Bruce drops the latest NFL draft intel: this QB class falls off a cliff after Mendoza, the DT class is historically bad (blame the portal), and Jeremiyah Love is a can't-miss. Then, Ralph reports that CFP commissioners are quietly looking to trim the maligned Tuesday night rankings show, but ESPN's contract makes a clean exit complicated.

Bruce and Ralph pick between buzzy teams against sneaky-good alternatives for 2026. Michigan's stability under Whittingham, or Matt Campbell's Iowa State imports at Penn State? Oklahoma's defensive upside or Kiffin–less Ole Miss? Houston's momentum or TCU's depth in the Big 12? UCLA's Chesney era or Washington's returning talent? Plus, mailbag on “wins above bubble,” which past coaches would look different in a 12-team playoff, and whether UNC's Michael Malone hire echoes the Belichick experiment.

Do spring games belong on TV, or are they just empty calories? Bruce reports from Miami, where Darian Mensah is flashing and the Hurricanes are rebuilding their trenches after losing most of last year's title game roster. Alabama's quarterback competition between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack heats up, but can DeBoer's offense finally run the ball? The NCAA is fast-tracking a five-for-five eligibility rule that could eliminate this whole waiver mess. And Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh's departure to the Big Ten office puts more pressure on Luke Fickell's make-or-break season in Madison.