He was known by the blogging community as The Wiz, who run a highly successful blog called The Wiz of Odds. Recently Jay Christensen has stepped out from behind the Wizard’s hat and joined us on this week’s edition of the In The Bleachers Podcast.

In this episode we do talk a little big about the Big XII football conference. After the Big XII talk; Jay, Adam, and I get into a debate on the merits of big BCS Schools not scheduling tough opponents, the reasoning behind why they don’t do it, and what can be done to fix this problem. If you aren’t familiar with the business side of College Football, I suggest you listen.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as described further below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

He is the author of the book Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting, a Senior Writer for ESPN The Magazine, and has his own Blog on ESPN.com. The man is Bruce Feldman and he joins us in this week’s In The Bleachers Podcast.

A few of the topics discussed in the  45 minute podcast are the emergence of Ole Miss (which could be the surprise team in the SEC), the USC quarterback situation, and how UCLA has the potential to start to out-recruit their rival USC. Bruce gives us his thoughts on every team in the PAC-10 and SEC. This is a podcast you do not want to miss!

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as described further below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

When talking about recruiting hotbeds, states such as Florida, Texas, California, and Ohio come to mind. However, the state of Maryland has been an area where an increasing number of Division 1 recruits have been popping up as of late. Joining us this week on the podcast is Matt Bracken of the Baltimore Sun. Aside from being the Assistant Sports Editor for the Baltimore Sun, he also blogs about the latest in University of Maryland, Baltimore-area, and national recruiting news.

Matt walks us through which schools are making footprints in the Maryland area, as well as fills us in on the players to listen and watch for as the 2009 season gets underway. Finally, the last third of the podcast is focused on his thoughts about the Maryland Terps and the Big Ten.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as described further below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

It is the podcast you and I have been waiting for since May. Adam and I interview Phil Steele - the one and the only Phil Steele who puts out the encyclopedia to end all encyclopedias of college football magazines - which you can buy at newsstands accross the country starting today (or order from his website.)

If the magazine isn’t enough for you, Phil has decided to write a daily blog updated each day by noon. There will be new topics each weekday and once on the weekend! Special thanks to Phil for talking football with us.

The topics in the podcast and the times are as follows:
Big Ten & Surprise Teams - 3 minutes
Big East - 17 minutes
Notre Dame - 24 minutes
Non-BCS Talk - 30 minutes
Big 12 Talk - 37 minutes

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE? Adam Nettina breaks down all three Service Academies with Phil in a special, 35-minute preview courtesy of GoMids.com and ArmySports.com.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

It’s a bright and sunny Saturday here in central Maryland. By all accounts I should be outside cutting the grass or grilling up some thick cut of red meat while blaring a Kenny Chesney song in the background. But I’m not doing any of those things.

In fact, I’m currently in a dimly lit room of my basement staring back and forth between my computer screen and a much too difficult to read, will-surely-destroy-my-eyesite-by-the-time-I’m-30 magazine page informing me about the correlation between yards per point and offensive success.

It can only mean one thing.

That’s right college football fans. Call it Christmas in May, because today Phil Steele Magazine arrived in good old West Friendship, Maryland. Needless to say, this makes Adam a very happy young man.

Brian and I will of course have much more in lead-up to our interview with Phil Steele next week (to be posted here at the ITB website and on Itunes on Monday, June 8^th), but for now I thought I’d drop some initial first impressions. Your ridiculously obsessive and personal questions are of course welcomed to these otherwise random notes. Enjoy!

• Texas and Florida in the National Title. I know: Phil really went out on a limb here, didn’t he?
• Notre Dame is Phil’s pick to make it to the Gator Bowl, to face off against Clemson (!?!)
• Bradford, Tebow, and McCoy are Phil’s top three quarterbacks. CMU’s Dan LeFevour, Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, and (here’s the shocker) Arkansas’ Ryan Mallet round out the top seven.
• For the first time in which I can ever remember, Phil has included FCS players in his player rankings.
• Phil’s Conference Rankings based on last year (in descending order): SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, MWC, ACC, Big 10, Big East, CUSA, IND, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt.
• Phil says Illinois will be the most improved team in the country this year.
• Surprise Team Top Five: 1) Penn State 2) Rutgers 3) Cal 4) Notre Dame 5) Illinois.
• Preseason Top 10 you ask? Here we go: 1) Florida 2) Texas 3) USC 4) Oklahoma 5) Penn State 6) Mississippi 7) Notre Dame 8 ) Alabama 9) Cal 10) Ohio State.
• Phil likes BYU to win the MWC, UTEP and Southern Miss in CUSA, Boise in the WAC (seven of his nine power rankings call for Boise to go undefeated), CMU and Ohio in the MAC, and Troy in the Sun Belt.
• Florida has Phil’s highest +/- rating at 140.00. NMSU has his lowest at 90.80.
• Phil has revised his experienced charts. Army and Navy and Air Force are no longer at the top on a yearly basis. This year’s most experienced team is Minnesota. Missouri is his least experienced team.
• From the Turnover=Turnaround charts. Oklahoma, Florida, Buffalo, Wake, and Ohio State “going down?”. Washington St, Wyoming, Washington, North Texas, and Army “going up?”
• Same two girls as always modeling bikinis. How old are those ads?
• Lettermen Returning Indicator: Toldeo, UAB, and Stanford have an 89% chance of improved record. Navy, Missouri, and South Carolina have 82% chance of weaker or the same record.
• Phil picks Georgia Tech to outrush Navy in 2009. Dammit.
• Phil likes Tebow for the Heisman.

I need oxygen. Keep those questions coming!

There are 22 programs that will enter this season with a someone new at the head coaching position. In this week’s edition of the In The Bleachers podcast, Brian and Adam take a look at these coaching changes and how they will have an impact on the landscape of that team. Which coaches have the easiest job to rebuild? Which are the best and worst fit on their respective teams? All that and more is answered in the podcast.

Also on this podcast you will find out how to win free copies of Phil Steele’s magazine, and how to get your question(s) about the upcoming season answers by “the man” Phil Steele himself.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

The dust has settled and finally the 2009 NFL Draft is complete. Brian and Adam are joined once again by Frank from DraftDaddy.com who has a wealth of knowledge and contacts to give everyone the most up to date coverage on the NFL Draft on the internet.

It was pretty obvious that Matthew Stafford of Georgia was going to be the #1 pick, but what transpired from that pick to the end of the draft was fairly interesting. Find out what teams had the best draft, what players were picked higher or lower than expected, and what unsigned free agents have the best shot at making an NFL team on this week’s edition of the In The Bleachers podcast.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

If you are a fan of the NFL Draft, you do not want to miss this episode of the In The Bleachers Podcast. Joining us this week is Draft Daddy from DraftDaddy.com who runs one of the best and most popular sites on the NFL Draft. We discuss the upcoming draft and what players have hurt or helped themselves in recent weeks with pro day work outs.

Also in this episode, Draft Daddy makes some predictions on who will be the top three picks in the upcoming draft and what players could be immediate impact players with their drafted team this fall. Again, if you are an NFL Draft fan, this podcast has all the information you need to get ready for Saturday.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

The NFL Combine is clearly in the rear view mirror, and the NFL Draft is quickly approaching; in this episode of the In The Bleachers Podcast, Adam and Brian talk about the winners and losers of the combine. They are names that are not exactly household, but they did improve their stock to move up a few rounds in the draft.

Also in this episode, Brian and Adam take a quick look around the Big Ten and preview what each team needs to do this spring to improve. The Big Ten could possibly be one of the more exciting conferences next year with no clear cut favorite.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

If you are a fan of the NFL Draft and the upcoming combine, this is a podcast you don’t want to miss. Joining Brian and Adam is a our special guest Chris from DraftDaddy.com. Draft Daddy is one of the best blogs on the internet for information pertaining to the NFL Draft and the players who will be participating in the combine.

In this podcast we talk about the weak quarterback class of 2009, the depth in the running back class, how the combine can really make or break you, and what players have the most potential to slide up or down the draft boards. Also included in on this podcast is a wrap up of National LOI Day.

A special thanks goes out to Chris from DraftDaddy.com for coming on the show.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.