The Luckiest Teams & the Future of College Football with Bill Connelly - College Football Podcast

In this college football podcast episode, Dan is joined by ESPN’s Bill Connelly to dive into the mysterious world of college football luck—turnovers, close games, and injuries—that shaped 2024 and could define 2025. From Clemson’s run to Auburn’s bad breaks, Bill talks through the numbers and what they mean for teams ranging from Alabama to UCF. Plus, a deep dive into Clemson’s top-five potential, the chaotic state of the sport, and Bill’s upcoming book, Forward Progress . Plus, Bill’s Japan travel tips, from Kit Kats to Kyoto. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (02:05) - Luck in 2024 College Football: Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, and More (25:29) - Clemson’s 2025 Outlook: Top-Five Hype or Bust? (30:40) - Predictive Metrics and the Chaos of Modern CFB (31:47) - Bill’s Book: Forward Progress and CFB’s Future (42:29) - Is CFB Too Far Gone for Unity? (50:28) - Bill’s Japan Trip: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kit Kats Key Topics Discussed Defining Luck in College Football : Explore Bill’s methodology for quantifying turnover luck, close-game outcomes, and injury luck in 2024. Clemson’s Fortunate 2024 : Discuss Clemson’s extreme turnover luck, returning production, and why Bill hesitates on their top-five hype for 2025. Auburn and Alabama’s Bad Breaks : Analyze Auburn’s catastrophic close-game losses and Alabama’s unlucky 2024, with potential for 2025 rebounds. UCF and Washington’s Turnaround Potential : Highlight UCF and Washington as teams that underperformed statistically but could surge in 2025. Injury Luck and Lineup Stability : Examine how teams like Penn State and Purdue’s roster stability (or lack thereof) impacted their seasons. The Future of College Football : Dive into Bill’s book, Forward Progress , and the structural issues—realignment, TV contracts, and no commissioner—driving CFB’s chaos. Jim Delany’s Role in Modern CFB : Debate whether Delany, as Big Ten commissioner, set the stage for today’s superconferences and realignment. Bill’s Japanese Adventure : Get Bill’s tips for Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, plus weird Kit Kats. A fan of our college football podcast? Leave us a rating and review, and don't forget to subscribe or follow so you don't miss any of our podcast episodes: Apple Podcasts: https://play.solidverbal.com/apple-podcasts Spotify: https://play.solidverbal.com/spotify Amazon Music: https://play.solidverbal.com/amazon-music Overcast: https://play.solidverbal.com/overcast Pocket Casts: https://play.solidverbal.com/pocketcasts Podcast Addict: https://play.solidverbal.com/podcast-addict CastBox: https://play.solidverbal.com/castbox Our college football show is also available on YouTube. Subscribe to the channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@solidverbal Learn more about the show on our website: https://www.solidverbal.com/about Want to get in touch? Give us a holler on Twitter: @solidverbal , @tyhildenbrandt , @danrubenstein , on Instagram , or on Facebook . You can also find our college football podcast out on TikTok and Threads . Stay up to date with our free weekly college football newsletter: https://quickslants.solidverbal.com/subscribe . College football has been our passion since we started The Solid Verbal College Football Podcast back in 2008. We don't just love college football, we live it! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info . Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.