Northern Aggression: A College Football Podcast

College football's Week 2 slate features some bangers, from Ohio State-Texas to Oklahoma-Michigan to Kentucky-Alabama to a game worth watching Friday night between Boston College and Rutgers. After a stellar 5-0 week by Bill Landis and 4-1 week by Matta Fortuna against the spread in Week 1, Northern Aggression (Doug Lesmerises is also here) is back to break down five big games and three bonus in games in Week 2. Big games: Ohio State at Texas Oklahoma at Michigan Kentucky at Alabama Mississippi State at Minnesota Duke at Illinois Bonus games: Rutgers at Boston College Memphis at Boise State Cal at Syracuse Thanks as always for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Massachusetts quarterback Pop Watson, who led the Minutemen to a stunning upset of Rutgers in Week 1, joins Matt Fortuna for an interview on this episode of Northern Aggression. But first, Matt, Doug and Bill discuss what's next for Rutgers after that 37-21 loss and suggest some names for who could be the next coach for the Scarlet Knights with Greg Schiano firmly on the hot seat.Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michigan vs. Western Michigan ended in chaos on Saturday. What is the effect on the Big Ten as the clock issues in that Michigan win remain the dominant topic in college football? On this edition of Around the North, Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises are joined by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com to discuss the ramifications of that game. Then it's on to: How the Big Ten fared on the field in Week 1, from Penn State, USC and Iowa to Rutgers, Michigan State and Oregon Disappointing and impressive teams from Clemson to LSU to UCLA What's up with Dabo? Does Notre Dame look like the national title favorite? How will the Big Ten fare in its three games against the SEC in Week 2? Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our college football betting show is back for Week 2 on Northern Aggression, with picks on Ohio State-Texas, Alabama-Kentucky, UCLA-San Diego State, Army-South Florida, Penn State-Temple, Ohio-Jacksonville State and more.There are four bets from handicapper Tyler Shoemaker, three from vibes goofball Doug Lesmerises, and the one union bet where they come together.Last week wasn't great: 1-2 from TShoe, 1-4 from Doug and 0-1 on the Union bet. We're trying again this week anyway.Thanks for being here and we'll catch you every week for CFB bets on Monday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Week 1 college football game picks are here, as Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises will pick at least five Big Ten, northern and national games each week on Northern Aggression.The games this week:Clemson at LSUUCLA at CalBoise State at OregonLouisville-Ole Miss in NashvilleWisconsin-Notre Dame in Green BayPlus the guys will each pick a wild card game on their own to discuss. This week those games are Toledo-Michigan State, Miami-Stanford and Ohio-Nebraska.Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression and we hope to see you each week for picks. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Here are our college football playoff picks, and though the three of us agreed on only five playoff teams, we all wound up with the same champ. What a content fiasco. On this episode, Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna explain their 12-team brackets, which include some familiar names, some wild picks (Illinois? Florida? Kentucky?) and a unanimous champion.  Thanks for joining Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Around the North, a new show from Northern Aggression. Early in each week, we will discuss five topics on the Big Ten, the North and national college football. Matt, Bill and Doug will be joined by one expert guest, and the first one is a banger. It's Scott Dochterman of The Athletic, a long-time expert on national ball, Big Ten ball and Iowa. On this episode, Scott, Matt, Bill and Doug cover these five questions for Week 1: Which Big Ten game are you most looking forward to? Is this weak Big Ten slate for Week 1 OK, or should something be done? Did USC look like a playoff contender in its Week 0 win? What kind of chance does Wisconsin have against Notre Dame in Lambeau Field on Sunday? Name a Big Ten QB that needs to show you something this weekend Thanks for being part of Northern Aggression, and we hope you join us each week for Around the North. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to our new college football betting show on Northern Aggression. Each Monday morning, Doug Lesmerises will be joined by Tyler Shoemaker, a college football fan and handicapper with his own numbers and formula, to offer the best bets of the week. Doug is all vibes. TShoe is all math. And they'll each make three to five picks a week, which we will track. Then they will come together for The Union bet, where math and vibes merge into one ideal pick. The idea is to have fun and get you TShoe's bets early in the week, before the lines move too much. If you have no interest in betting, skip this episode and we'll catch you on other Northern Aggression episodes. If you think this type of conversation is fun and you're hoping to gain some insight from a smart guy, then we hope you have a good time with us. Thanks for joining us on Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We have three Heisman Trophy voters on The Podcast of Northern Aggression, and Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna are here to make their Heisman predictions for the 2026 season. They each provide their three picks for players to be on their ballots at the end of year, and then they each pick one longshot who could make it, considering that 2025 winner Fernando Mendoza was more than 50-1 before last season. Stay tuned next week for playoff picks and our new schedule of North Aggression shows. Thanks for letting us talk college football with you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The countdown of the 50 Most Important People in Big Ten Football has reached the Top 10 on this episode of Northern Aggression. Two previous episodes covered the first 25 people on the list, and then the next 15. Now, it's the guys who really will determine the fate of the conference this season. Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises run through coaches, coordinators, quarterbacks and more for these final 10 spots, then share their honorable mention candidates who just missed the Top 50. Make sure you catch all three episodes discussing the Top 50 list. And thanks as always for hanging with The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Top 50 Most Important People in Big Ten football for 2026 moves into the top half of the list with Nos. 11 through 25. On this episode, Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises discuss five savior coordinators and their impact; three new head coach hires; another head coach on the hot seat; another head coach chasing a national title; a rising quarterback star; another QB looking to take the next stop; and a Heisman Trophy finalist who didn't make the Top 10. Make sure you find the previous episode of Northern Aggression to catch the discussion of Nos. 26 through 50. And stay tuned for the next episode to get the Top 10. Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression and this new discussion of college football from a Big Ten and northern point of view. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Who are the Top 50 most important, impactful, consequential people for the 2026 Big Ten football season? On Northern Aggression, Bill Landis, Matt Fortuna and Doug Lesmerises put together the list, and this episode unveils the first 25 players and coaches affecting Big Ten ball this fall. From quarterbacks to coordinators, from freshmen to head coaches, from receivers to a stadium and a recruit, check out the start of the list and the explanations from Bill, Matt and Doug on the first 25. Every Big Ten program is represented in the Top 50, with two more episodes ahead to get to No. 1. Thanks for joining The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s a Big Ten vs. SEC showdown. We aren’t playing it on the field yet, so we are playing it out on The Podcast of Northern Aggression. From Nebraska vs. South Carolina to Washington vs. Alabama to Oregon vs. Texas, Matt Fortuna, Bill Landis and Doug Lesmerises vote on who the winners would be. That reveals a final count in this challenge on which conference really has the most depth. Subscribe to get more Big Ten content like this and thanks for being part of our new college football show, The Podcast of Northern Aggression. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to The Podcast of Northern Aggression, a new college football show talking national college football and Big Ten football from your Northern point of view. Doug Lesmerises, Bill Landis and Matt Fortuna will be here multiple times a week to talk Big Ten and Notre Dame and to keep it real about what's really going on in the SEC. On this first episode, the discussion is about the eight primary national title contenders favored by everyone: Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Notre Dame, Texas, Georgia, Miami and Texas Tech. Of those eight, Bill, Matt and Doug had to pick one team for each of three categories, based on how preseason national title contenders a year ago fared. Suck: A team that is going to fall way out of the playoff race (like Penn State, Clemson and LSU last year) Manage: Stay in the race but just miss the playoff (like Notre Dame and Texas last year) Win: Make the playoff (like Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon and Alabama) Who did they pick for Suck, Manage, Win? Find out on the first edition of Northern Aggression and we hope to see you again for future episodes.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.