This week on Y-Option, fueled by our founding sponsor 76®—keeping you on the GO-GO-GO so you never miss a beat—I sat down with Jim Thornby to sort through one of the craziest weeks of the season: firings, rumors, rivalry games, and a playoff picture that refuses to settle.
We started with the news out of Berkeley: Cal moving on from Justin Wilcox after nine seasons. We unpacked what he meant to that program, the stability he brought through COVID and realignment, and the bigger question that now defines every open job—does the school have the alignment and NIL resources to truly compete, or are they just hoping to be bowl-eligible?
From there, the conversation moved to the coaching carousel at large: Lane Kiffin’s decision and the pull of blue blood jobs, what’s at stake at places like LSU, Florida, Penn State, UCLA and beyond, and how one move could set off a chain reaction across multiple conferences.
We then zoomed out to the CFP race. Who’s basically in regardless of what happens next, who needs chaos, and how the committee might view late-season momentum versus full-season resume. We hit on SEC scheduling, Notre Dame’s surge, Oregon and Washington’s collision course, and why rivalry week is going to make everything even messier.
Finally, we looked west: USC’s loss at Oregon, UCLA’s pending transition, and how the expanded playoff and portal era will shape the future of the sport.
It’s a full tour of where college football is right now—and where it might be headed in the next two weeks.
I’m off to call a huge rivalry as Purdue hosts Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket on NBC on Friday night.
Much love, stay steady and Happy Thanksgiving all!
Yogi
