Kenny Dillingham Stays Put, Wisconsin's Bucket of Wrenches & the 2025 College Football Stories You Loved

With Valentine's Day around the corner, we take a look at the 2025 storylines we secretly loved. Whether scrappy teams held things together with gum and chicken wire, coaches who turned programs around overnight, or the moments that didn't make national headlines, we talk through the things that got our hearts pumping. Think Wisconsin winning games with their punter as the leading passer, Houston quietly going 10-3, Arch Manning actually getting better when pundits left him for dead, and much more. In this episode, we share our own picks before opening it up to the Verballerhood, whose submissions cover everything from Kenny Dillingham staying at Arizona State to the absurdity of Lane Kiffin's move to LSU, Arkansas fans learning to love heartbreak, Indiana fans debating whether to protect their hearts or go all in on Curt Cignetti, and much more. Plus, a brief Super Bowl debrief, a Timothée Chalamet conversation, and the debut of Dan's bucket of wrenches. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro / Super Bowl recap 6:27 - What we're doing today 8:51 - Dan's "winning despite" teams (Duke, Mizzou, Minnesota, Wake Forest) 10:58 - Steve Angeli and Syracuse's collapse without him 13:34 - Wisconsin as a bucket of wrenches 17:08 - Northwestern's what-could-have-been season 19:21 - Jason Eck and New Mexico's nine-win season 22:16 - Penn State's leaked Pat Kraft audio 25:08 - Ty's Quick Hits: Mason Heinschel, Houston's quiet 10-3 season, Arch Manning actually got better 29:29 - Dan's Quick Hits: Arizona's nasty defense, SMU's post-playoff rebuild, Double transfers 31:51 - Kenny Dillingham staying at Arizona State 35:15 - Arkansas tried 37:20 - Indiana, Curt Cignetti, and protecting your heart 44:19 - Fernando Mendoza's F-bomb and industry plant theory 45:34 - Cal, the Wilcox era, and the Mendoza that got away 46:56 - Lane Kiffin-LSU drama 49:23 - Georgia ripping rivals' hearts out 50:17 - North Texas's record-setting season 51:38 - Player shoutouts: Jeremiyah Love, Ahmad Hardy, Jacob Rodriguez, Jayden Maiava 53:40 - Quick fan hits: Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Oregon, Purdue 57:34 - Ball State tried to be the worst 57:47 - Florida State's first month 58:26 - Rutgers' top-50 offense / Arizona retaining Seth Doege and Noah Fifita 59:54 - ESPN cinematography and best broadcast production Support the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbal See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.