College football’s biggest rivalry this season isn’t between any of the sport’s most familiar, storied programs. It’s ESPN, home of the College Football Playoff and proprietor of the long-running “GameDay” kickoff show, vs. Fox Sports, the irreverent upstart riding a wave of SEC fatigue and a suddenly hot pregame show of its own. Awful Announcing editor-in-chief Ben Koo, who recently wrote an in-depth analysis of the TV turf war, joins The Nail to discuss how Fox Sports has leveraged the perception of ESPN favoring the SEC, a strategy to put on its biggest games at noon, Ohio State’s dominant year, and a dash of Urban Meyer to make inroads against ESPN’s once-seemingly impenetrable stranglehold on college football coverage. ... Plus: The wacky late-night TV fun that is #Pac12AfterDark and the future of the College Football Playoff format.
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Ohio State and Michigan meet on Saturday with the Big Ten East Division title on the line. Bill Bender of The Sporting News will be in the press box at Ohio Stadium this weekend, but first, he’s back on The Nail to break down The Game, from the dynamic abilities of Buckeyes QB Dwayne Haskins to the disastrous big plays allowed that have plagued a depleted OSU defense. Does Jim Harbaugh have a team capable of giving Michigan its first win in the Horseshoe since 2000? … Plus: LeBron James is back in The Q on Wednesday night, but his old team, the Cavs, are in a state of disarray. The guys discuss the grim stories of LeBron’s departure and disgruntled veterans that have made headlines this week, and the trouble with a front office rapidly losing its team’s trust.
Even before the regular seasons for the Browns and Buckeyes kick off, it has been an interesting month for football fans in Northeast Ohio. Ben Axelrod of WKYC has had a front row seat for much of it, and he joins The Nail to discuss the storylines of “Hard Knocks” vs. reality at training camp in Berea, the Browns on the verge of becoming a relevant and interesting NFL franchise for the first time in years, the players making it happen like Myles Garrett—and those who apparently won’t. (Sorry, Mychal Kendricks.)
Meanwhile in Columbus, it has been a turbulent preseason for the Ohio State football program. Axelrod explains the challenges of covering the Zach Smith/Urban Meyer scandal and making the transition back to on-the-field matters, where the Buckeyes figure to be in the mix for the Big Ten title and another berth in the College Football Playoff. Plus: Players to watch and potential CFP sleeper teams.
