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Stewart Mandel

@slmandel.bsky.social
24K followers 125 following 44 posts

The Athletic College Football

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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
It's Year 6 of Final Thoughts! And so much to get to: -- Lee Corso's triumphant exit and Arch Manning's rough "debut." -- FSU's remarkable 180 and Kalen DeBoer's crisis point. -- Brian Kelly has a defense now. -- Did Tennessee win the QB swap? And more. www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...
nytimes.com
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Lee Corso salute, Arch Manning’s shockingly bad day and more Week 1
Plus: LSU and Florida State make statements, Alabama flops again under Kalen DeBoer and more from the first three days of Week 1.
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Bruce Feldman @brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
New Audible: We had a fascinating conversation with Syracuse coach Fran Brown talking about the realities of NIL, the portal and much more; plus we discuss the UCLA-Tennessee QB swap: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Tennessee and UCLA Swap QBs
Podcast Episode · The Audible with Stew & Bruce: A show about college football · 04/23/2025 · 58m
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Really think you'll enjoy this week's Audible. A convo w/ the retiring @dennisdoddcbs about his career covering CFB. We reminisce about the late '90s "What is this Internet thing?" era of reporting. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sta…
podcasts.apple.com
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Stanford fires Troy Taylor. www.nytimes.com/athletic/621...
nytimes.com
Stanford GM Andrew Luck fires football coach Troy Taylor following bullying investigations
New Stanford general manager Andrew Luck made the decision Tuesday to terminate Taylor.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Every year, Bruce and I each do our own Top 25 coach rankings and let you decide who did it better. It will definitely be me this year, because he somehow still has Lincoln Riley ranked. Mine: www.nytimes.com/athletic/618... Bruce's: www.nytimes.com/athletic/619...
nytimes.com
Power ranking college football’s top 25 coaches in 2025: Where are Ryan Day, Brian Kelly?
Disappointing seasons for a few coaches dropped them out of Stewart Mandel's top 25 entirely. Who made the cut?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
This week's Mailbag: Did FSU/Clemson "win" their ACC settlement? Did Ohio State lose too much to reload? And why I'm pretty ticked off about spring games going away (thanks, Matt Rhule.) www.nytimes.com/athletic/617...
nytimes.com
Mandel’s mailbag: Will Florida State, Clemson stay in ACC? What’s Ohio State’s outlook?
What's next for the ACC, Clemson and Florida State after they settled their lawsuits this week? What are the Buckeyes chances in 2025?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
People ask me all the time. "What do you write about in the offseason?" Now I can tell them: 2,000-word takeouts on the origins of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. This was a fun one.
nytimes.com
How Pop-Tarts turned an easy-to-forget bowl into one of the college football season’s best moments
"It makes us all feel good about sacrificing a giant anthropomorphic pastry at midfield in the middle of a bowl game on live TV.”
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Folks, we have a developing crisis. Starbucks has changed to compostable lids, which is admirable but *you cannot drink out of them.* (I tried.) Who wants to drink hot coffee with a straw?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
And you can listen to that full interview here! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
podcasts.apple.com
College to The NFL with Coach Chip Kelly
Podcast Episode · The Audible with Stew & Bruce: A show about college football · 02/05/2025 · 59m
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
New Mailbag: How NIL/portal lessened the SEC's grip on college football Is this Notre Dame's once-a-decade chance? Does Will Howard not get enough credit? More. www.nytimes.com/athletic/606...
nytimes.com
Nick Saban, Urban Meyer among class of 22 to be inducted into College Football Hall of Fame
Former Virginia Tech star Michael Vick and broadcaster Michael Strahan are also among the class of 18 players and four coaches.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Thanks! ... Teams like Miami, Iowa State, South Carolina and BYU were in the conversation to the end. Lots and lots of people watched their bowl games.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
What is the best account to follow on here for LA fire updates?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
After 25 years of covering BCS/CFP meetings, listening to commissioners/presidents/ADs tell us why an "NFL-style playoff" in college could never happen, writing this essay was quite cathartic. It's really here. www.nytimes.com/athletic/600...
nytimes.com
College Football Playoff’s successful arrival proves sky didn’t fall — as so many said it would
What changed? How did college football evolve from doomsayers bemoaning a postseason to a 12-team tournament kicking off Friday night?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Last weekend's Army-Navy game drew its biggest audience (9.4M) on record and nearly cracked the Top 10 this season. These were the 25 most-watched games. www.nytimes.com/athletic/600...
nytimes.com
Army-Navy rivalry game sets viewership record, SEC dominates most-watched games list
Army-Navy drew 9.4 million viewers on CBS, the highest number on record for the rivalry game and good for 11th-highest of the season.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I have a few thoughts on UNC hiring Bill Belichick. www.nytimes.com/athletic/598...
nytimes.com
Here’s why North Carolina is going to regret hiring Bill Belichick
What works in the NFL doesn’t necessarily work in college. Bill Belichick and North Carolina may find out the hard way.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
So we're really going to do this?
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Deb JJ Lee @jdebbiel.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Family group chat is CRAZY TODAY
Text message in a group chat of my brother telling my family that his roommate from summer class is Luigi Mangione, the UHC CEO prime suspect
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
This was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Especially naming honorary captains. www.nytimes.com/athletic/597...
nytimes.com
Ranking all 36 College Football Playoff title game possibilities from most to least likely
The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff gives us a lot more national title game possibilities. Some a lot more likely than others.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
This year's committee has placed less emphasis on strength of schedule than any I've seen. Warde Manuel was outright dismissive of it a couple weeks back. "If that’s the case, then play the easiest schedule. If you’re 11-1 or 12-0, you’re golden." www.nytimes.com/athletic/597...
nytimes.com
The critics are correct: The College Football Playoff committee is not rewarding strength of schedule
It's not a conspiracy. The committee this year has been wildly inconsistent when factoring in strength of schedule, one way or the other.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
New Mailbag.
nytimes.com
Mandel’s Mailbag: Alabama gets benefit of doubt, and that’s neither right nor wrong
Want to make sense of the CFP committee's logic? It's 'Bama, stupid!
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Mario Cristobal came on The Audible today to talk about Miami's rankings snub. "Never once were we in a blowout loss against a .500 team.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/596...
nytimes.com
Mario Cristobal makes case for Miami to be reconsidered in CFP rankings
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Updated Bowl Projections with the domino effect of tonight's rankings. Miami to Pop-Tarts. South Carolina to Citrus. Ole Miss to ReliaQuest. And almost every ACC team moves down one rung. www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...
nytimes.com
College football bowl projections: The committee has spoken, and Alabama, not Miami, makes Playoff
Tuesday's latest College Football Playoff rankings make for four SEC teams in the Playoff. How does that affect the rest?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
I'm not generally a believer in the ESPN/SEC conspiracy theories, but the repeated insistence by Joe Tess and Jesse Palmer that UGA would lock up a CFP berth with the win -- Jesse called it "guaranteed" -- was semi-reckless. Casual fans watching might assume UGA formally clinched something.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
"When I was playing for (Brian) Kelly the last two years, I didn’t talk to him. I started every game for him," said recent LSU center Charles Turner. Quite a story from my colleagues on the issues at LSU. www.nytimes.com/athletic/594...
nytimes.com
Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU to win a title. Why is he further away from that than ever?
One former player's advice for Brian Kelly: "You have to let your players know that you really got 'em."
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
20 Final Thoughts from Upset Saturday: -- After all that, Indiana may be just fine. -- The SEC, not so much. -- The seas part for a 2-bid ACC -- An Arizona State-Iowa State Big 12 title game?? More. www.nytimes.com/athletic/594...
nytimes.com
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Kalen DeBoer’s bad night, Indiana’s silver lining mark wild Week 13
When four of the committee’s top 16 teams lose to opponents with 5-5 or 4-6 records, there's a lot of reimagining to do.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
New Audible: On Indiana-Ohio State, and the CFP ramifications if the Hoosiers lose (but by how much?) Will Deion still be coaching Colorado in 2025? Will Norvell be coaching FSU? More. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...
podcasts.apple.com
Latest CFP Rankings and Coaching Carrousel Update
Podcast Episode · The Audible with Stew & Bruce: A show about college football · 11/20/2024 · 49m
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
20 Final Thoughts from Week 12. -- Georgia turns the SEC standings into a marvelous mess. Good luck ordering 2 loss teams! -- Oregon No. 1 for a reason. -- Travis Hunter makes history (again) -- Arizona State-BYU: The Unlikely Big 12 Game of the Year? www.nytimes.com/athletic/592...
nytimes.com
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Playoff bracket, bubble and Big 12 race have new main characters
The SEC and Big 12 standings got messier, the Big Ten avoided a similar fate, and some unlikely hot streaks are making November waves.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
The main impetus for the 12-team CFP is that it was the same brands every year. Next week, the three biggest games in the country involve Indiana, Army, BYU and Arizona State.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
I can already tell one of the ESPN storylines Tuesday night is going to be Boise State ahead of the Big 12 champ. That's probably not going to last. Whoever wins the Big 12 is going to add one, possibly two Top 25 wins. Also, Boise's one Top 25 win, Wazzu, may fall out Tuesday.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
New Audible! We talk SEC tiebreakers, Oregon's escape, Travis Hunter, ASU and Brian Kelly proving to be a plain old bad fit at LSU. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/42am...
podcasts.apple.com
Week 12 Recap: The SEC Two-Loss Chaos Continues
Podcast Episode · The Audible with Stew & Bruce: A show about college football · 11/17/2024 · 44m
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
People are joining faster than I can keep up ...
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Did a thing ... let me know who to add. go.bsky.app/C9LhAkB
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Random thoughts: -- If UGA played Indiana's schedule, it would be in the top-5. -- If it had played a Sun Belt team instead of Clemson, it would be no lower than now. -- If SMU played a G5 team instead of BYU, it would be 9-0 and ranked 5-7. -- Why would anyone voluntarily play a tough game?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
It's feeling like Twitter circa 2009 on here. Fun vibes. Let's enjoy it before the masses descend.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
This week's Mailbag: -- Where does 2024 rank on the parity scale? -- Is Indiana legit or "smoke and mirrors?" -- Does Diego Pavia's lawsuit have a chance? -- The Holy War fallout -- And yes, I still think Georgia should be ranked higher than Texas. www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...
nytimes.com
Mandel’s Mailbag: No, there’s not as much parity this year, but teams doing the upsetting are legit
Plus: How should the committee rank wins and losses? Is Indiana just smoke and mirrors?
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Hey I wrote this.
nytimes.com
College Football Playoff rankings: Georgia bumped out of bracket while Oregon, Ohio State hold steady at top
The Big Ten boasts four of the top five teams with Indiana climbing to the fifth spot behind No. 4 Penn State.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
Weekly College Football Bowl Projections: www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...
nytimes.com
College football bowl projections: How Tennessee could end up in Las Vegas
As of this week, we’re projecting 71 eligible teams for the 70 non-CFP bowl slots. Sorry, Eastern Michigan.
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Stewart Mandel @slmandel.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
In the AP poll, Texas, with 0 Top 25 wins, is 8 spots above a Georgia team that has 2 Top 25 wins (and lost to two others). Also, UGA beat them by 2 TDs at home. It's up to the committee to break our 80-year old tradition of "1 loss is better than 2." www.nytimes.com/athletic/591...
nytimes.com
Georgia, Texas and the folly of ranking teams by number of losses
Georgia should arguably be ranked above Texas given the Dawgs' stacked resume.
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