ESPN’s Bill Connelly joins Alex and Richard to talk about his returning production rankings for the 2026 college football season. The power leagues are retaining more of last year’s snaps and yards, while the G6 is increasingly forced into annual rebuilds. Bill explains how the formula for returning talent has evolved, how the transfer portal has made it messy, and which 2026 teams look interesting based on who’s coming back. In this episode:

* 0:55: Exactly how dire is the returning production picture in the Group of 6?

* 4:10: How the returning-production formula has changed in the portal era, from FCS/FBS translation to incoming-transfer weight.

* 12:58: Why the weights look the way they do, including offensive line snaps, pass catchers, quarterbacks, and defensive stickiness.

* 15:02: What we can learn from last year’s big returning production flop, the No. 1-ranked (sort of) Clemson Tigers

* 20:18: The new grind of roster evaluation, why G6 previews can become transfer lists, and 2026 FAU as a returning production test case.

* 27:13: AI in roster work and recruiting operations, and why Bill still prefers doing his own spreadsheeting

* 35:55: 2026 case studies near the top: Notre Dame, Maryland, South Carolina, and Texas.

* 49:10: Rebuilds at Tulane, North Texas, and James Madison, a packed American race, and … a little curiosity at Ohio State?

Producer: Anthony Vito

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Richard and Alex go deep on this week’s biggest story: Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby is under investigation for sports betting, including wagers reportedly placed on his own team while he was at Indiana. Inside:

* 2:05: The Sorsby betting story and why it’s such an uphill fight for him to ever play college football again

* 25:37: What this makes us think about the state of sports gambling in the United States and our own sports media history with it

* 38:08: Thanks to our great sponsors, Homefield and Nokian Tyres

* 40:05: NFL Draft postmortem: Diego Pavia, Cade Klubnik, UNC and Colorado coming up empty, and interesting late-round CFB finds

* 52:42: The NCAA’s potential move to a “five in five” eligibility standard

Producer: Anthony Vito

SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard, Alex, and host emeritus Steven Godfrey bounce around to a handful of college football news stories that demand more discussion:

* 1:46: Kentucky’s attempt to set up a sketchy $1 million job for outgoing athletic director Mitch Barnhart, which came apart under political pressure

* 12:02: Virginia Tech’s disempowered AD finally stepping away

* 19:18: The unusual amount of post-job change animosity flowing toward Auburn coach Alex Golesh from USF

* 30:40: Jeremy Pruitt’s tangled mess of an attempt to get out of his NCAA show cause, and what it tells us about the current state of enforcement

* 38:42: The NCAA seems poised to move up Week 1 to the current Week 0 slot in late August. Why is this happening? Well, the NFL. Does college football have any chance of hanging on to a prime calendar spot? And what other sacred spots on the schedule might be under attack?

Producer: Anthony Vito.

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