Numbers & Words: The Pleasant Surprises of 2025 with Bill Connelly (PREVIEW)

It's an early drop of our usual Friday episode, as ESPN's Bill Connelly joins Steven Godfrey to plot out first-round playoff games of narrative or meteorological interest, review the surprising (in a good way) teams from every FBS conference, and take a little bit of preview time for the FCS playoffs. Don't forget to buy Bill's book, Forward Progress: The Definitive Guide to the Future of College Football.This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.