Happy Saturday morning! Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. This is the final weekend before the first batch of College Football Playoff committee rankings, and you just know things are going to get weird.
It’s Halloween. A day I can’t personally stand, but a day sure to be weird.
Been a heck of a busy couple of days for yours truly, too. Football, the PA microphone, some impressive young people, and country music that has hit me right in the soul.
Let’s get into all of it.
Where’s the Saturday weirdness coming from?
The Cocktail Party?
I don’t think so.
Georgia has had a bye to recalibrate after Auburn. I’d be truly shocked if the Bulldogs didn’t come out playing well. Pound for pound, I think they’re at least a couple of scores better than Florida.
Of course, it is Halloween. So who knows?
Rick and I both picked Arizona today on Full Ride.
If we’re right and Texas Tech goes down again, will Cody Campbell be able to control himself?
I think we’re getting a look at the dangers of giving one person too much influence over a public institution.
As Trey Wallace pointed out on my podcast this week, Campbell has poured millions into this thing. In Trey’s framing, he’s essentially acting like an owner. Owners complain when they don’t like the return on their investment.
Oil money. Texas tea. He’s got it.
But this is still a university. And Campbell has already suggested cutting off a radio station’s access to Texas Tech interviews after a producer criticized him. That’s an awfully revealing response to somebody telling you something you don’t want to hear.
If Tech loses again, does he blow his stack? Does he make things uncomfortable for Joey McGuire?
The funny part is that Rick keeps saying this might be McGuire’s best coaching job.
That tension fascinates me. The guy evaluating the coaching sees good work. The guy helping fund the operation wants results.
Things could get weird.
And then there’s North Carolina.
Reports about Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson splitting emerge right before Carolina plays No. 1 Miami. Apparently, they remain friends and business partners, which helps explain her continued presence. The whole scene remains fascinating.
But here’s the football question: What if Carolina wins?
Would you put it past this season?
We already watched Miami go to the wire with Florida State. In a year this strange, I’m keeping an open mind.
USC beating Ohio State? That would surprise me.
Even with Julian Sayin sidelined, I can’t unsee what Wisconsin did to USC last week.
The Badgers whipped them up front. I think Ohio State has better personnel along the line of scrimmage, and that’s a difficult thing for USC to fix in a week.
Maybe the Trojans find something. But I’d have to see it to believe it.
This could get uncomfortable in Los Angeles.
A reminder before everybody starts firing coaches
Before Saturday’s first “FIRE EVERYBODY” post hits your timeline, I’d love for you to read this:
Before You Fire the Coach, Look in the Damn Mirror
Does your program’s support match its expectations? Are you giving your coach the resources to compete with the people you demand he beat?
Accountability is fair. Another buyout isn’t automatically a plan.
You can’t keep sending somebody into a gunfight with a musket and act shocked when he loses.
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Wednesday: Behind the microphone at MTSU
Wednesday night, I handled PA for Middle Tennessee.
I freaking love that job.
The game was a bummer. After tight wins over Delaware and FIU, I felt like we were finding something. Then we laid an egg against a Kennesaw State team that came in with one win. MTSU fell 44–28.
The line was so tight going in that I wondered whether the Vegas algorithms knew something.
Apparently, they did.
But doing PA is such a joy. I feel like I’m getting the hang of the craft a little more every game—learning the rhythm, finding the right energy, understanding when to jump in.
Someday, I hope I get to do it with a full stadium. Hearing a packed house react to a third-down call on defense or a first-down call on offense would be so much fun.
I also get a kick out of the games being on CBS Sports Network. Before the Delaware game, Adam Zucker and Aaron Taylor called them the “Fighting Chris Childers.”
That absolutely tickled me.
I take great pride in the places and people who helped shape me. MTSU is full of that meaning for me. Getting to come back and contribute in this way is something I cherish.
Thursday: A little Alabama in Nashville
Thursday, I got to meet with a group of Alabama undergraduates visiting Nashville for an industry immersion trip through the College of Communication and Information Sciences.
I serve on the college’s Board of Visitors, and these opportunities have become one of my favorite parts of that experience.
I love being around young dreamers.
Every time I meet another group of Alabama students, I come away impressed. Their curiosity, their ambition, their willingness to ask questions—it’s energizing.
I’m proud to have degrees from both MTSU and Alabama, for different reasons. Both places mean a great deal to me.
One thing I especially appreciate about Alabama is that they see me as a resource.
Good. Use me!
Ask me questions. Let me help. I want to help young people find their way toward the careers and lives they’re dreaming about.
That’s a passion and a joy for me, and Alabama gives me an outlet for it.
Roll Tide.
Kaitlin Butts, you’ve made me fall in love with Nashville all over again
I saw Kaitlin Butts’ album release show last night, went to her karaoke hang tonight, and I might as well admit it: I am obsessed.
This is the country music I fell in love with.
The storytelling. The fiddle. The steel guitar. That raw, let-it-all-out feeling that makes you believe every word coming off the stage.
Kaitlin is a true artist. Quirky and creative as hell.
And I think I finally figured out why her music hits me in so many places. She’s a theater kid and a Disney lover. Her album cover is a play on the Country Bear Jamboree.
Country music, theater, Disney, storytelling—good Lord, she’s hitting every button I have.
When I first listened to the album, I cried. Not because it was sad. Because it reached all those places in me at once.
The sound. The stories. The imagination. The feeling.
I love it. To my ears, it’s perfect.
I got to meet her tonight, and she recognized me from the post I shared the other night—the clip from Show Pony Live where I was telling Trey Wallace he HAD to check her out.
That made my night. Here I am trying to explain to anybody who will listen how incredible this woman is, and she’d actually seen it.
The best way I can describe Kaitlin Butts is this: Imagine wandering into a honky-tonk in the middle of nowhere. You open the door, hear the fiddle and steel, and somebody on that stage is making what feels, in that moment, like the greatest music on the planet.
You have nowhere else you want to be. You know you’re in the right place at exactly the right time.
That’s Kaitlin Butts.
She’s the artist I needed in this city of mine. I’m so damn grateful she’s here.
Rick, Jerry, and the joy of cheering for your kid
Speaking of things that hit me emotionally, I wrote a personal piece this week about watching Rick Neuheisel watch his son Jerry pursue his coaching career.
It brings out the dad and the romantic in me.
My daughter Morgan loves musical theater. She gets some of that bug from me, although nobody needs to put me onstage.
Supporting her—showing up, believing in her, telling her “you’ve got this”—is one of the great joys of my life.
Watching Rick experience his own version of that is really special.
Read: What Rick, Jerry, and Northwestern…
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Three podcasts to take into your weekend
We had three terrific guests on Show Pony Live this week. If you missed them, catch up while you’re driving, walking the dog, or getting ready for Saturday.
Ari Temkin: The Big 12 race and the power behind it
Utah, BYU, Texas Tech, the Baylor opening, and Cody Campbell’s influence. Ari and I dig into a conference where the race on the field is only part of the story.
Trey Wallace: Money, power, and the coaching carousel
Trey and I talk Texas Tech, booster influence, the politics behind coaching changes, Lincoln Riley, and Arch Manning growing into the job.
Plus, my unsolicited—but extremely enthusiastic—Kaitlin Butts recommendation.
Watch the full show with Trey →
Lance Leipold: Inside Kansas football
The Kansas head coach joins me to discuss the Baylor comeback, the blocked field goal, preparing for TCU, and building a program in today’s game.
If Kansas doesn’t block that kick, are we having a completely different conversation about Dave Aranda?
That’s how thin the line can be.
Watch the full show with Lance →
All three episodes are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Follow Show Pony Live so the next episode is waiting for you.
A little more from the Pony
A few more recent pieces to catch up on:
College Football Saturdays Are a Stark Reminder of What’s Broken in Our Politics — My frustration with the political attack ads invading our football Saturdays.
Brooks & Dunn Still Rock After 35 Years — Great music, Nashville nostalgia, and a night with a friend I’ve missed.
Browse all the latest posts and shows — Including my thoughts on the Titans and the signs of something worth building.
Two sponsors I truly love
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Want to find your voice? Come join Show Pony University.
Helping people chase their broadcasting dreams is one of my favorite things to do. That’s why I created Show Pony University.
Our next class starts November 3: four weeks on Zoom, $399, working on the skills that make people want to listen:
Building topics: Turn an idea into a conversation worth having.
Interviewing: Ask better questions, listen closely, and follow the story.
Teases and hooks: Give your audience a reason to stick around.
Finding your voice: Develop your own style and personality behind the microphone.
Whether you’re an aspiring broadcaster, a podcaster, or someone ready to finally give this a shot, I’d love to work with you.
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Let’s get you behind the mic.
—Chris
Thanks for reading, listening, and giving me a place to share all of this.