Preferred Walk-On: A College Sports Show

The Big Ten is loaded in 2025 — but who really has what it takes to make it to Indianapolis?

This week on Preferred Walk-On, the Deacon Board for the Church of Tailgate breaks down:

🔥 Players to Watch — breakout stars and NFL-ready studs
🚨 Impact Transfers — game-changers who could swing a season
🌪 Under-the-Radar Teams — sleepers ready to disrupt the power structure
🔥 Hot Seat Coaches — who’s coaching for their job this fall
🏆 Big Ten Title Predictions — who’s punching their ticket to Indy

Plus: We’re on the hunt for the best Big Ten tailgates as part of our 2025 Titans of the Tailgate. From Madison to Ann Arbor, Lincoln to Columbus — we want to see whose the top of the tailgate class in the Big Ten.

🙏 JOIN THE CONGREGATION: If you’re tailgating year-round and tirelessly testifying about the virtues of college football, welcome home.

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The ACC is up for grabs in 2025 — and we’ve got thoughts.

In this episode of Preferred Walk-On, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the upcoming ACC football season:

🏈 Top players to watch — from impact transfers to returning difference makers
🌪️ Under the radar teams that could shake up the conference
🏆 ACC Championship predictions: Who’s booking the trip to Charlotte?
🍻 PLUS: Our search for the Titans of the Tailgate — the quest to uncover the best tailgates from all over the country

🙏 JOIN THE CONGREGATION: If you’re tailgating year-round and preaching the gospel of college sports, welcome home.

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College football kicks off this weekend, and it was an offseason to remember. In this episode of Preferred Walk-On, we’re recapping one of the more conseqential offseasons in college football history:

🏛️ The NIL House Settlement reshaping the business of college sports

🔁 Roster volatility as the transfer portal continues to boom

🏆 CFP expansion debates rage on, and there's one change to the current format that should be an absoute no-brainer

🔥 And we kick off the 2025 Titans of the Tailgate in search of the most epic tailgates in these United States

🙏 JOIN THE CONGREGATION: If you’re tailgating year-round and preaching the gospel of college sports, welcome home.

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In this episode of the Preferred Walk-On Show, we sit down with Olivia Sayer from Dawgs247, breaking down the college baseball postseason, the Road to Omaha, the Georgia Bulldogs' impressive season, and predictions for this year's tournament. We discuss the significance of home-field advantage at Foley Field, the culture shift under coach Wes Johnson, and the dynamics of the Georgia lineup and pitching staff.

We’re breaking down:

• an SEC-heavy playoff field
• Texas and Texas A&M's seasons and what a difference a year makes for Jim Schlossnagle
• Georgia's light-tower power lineup
• Wes Johnson's success and a shift in Georgia's baseball culture
• Tapping into the transfer portal and finding incredible success
• Foley Field: the ultimate home field advantage
• What has to go right for Georgia to make a run to Omaha
• Vanderbilt rounding into championship form

Whether you’re a Diamond Dawgs die-hard or a college baseball fan gearing up for the tournament, this episode is a must-listen.

👇 Timestamps, links & more below 👇

Chapters

In this wide-ranging interview, we sit down with Jayson Werth, former MLB All-Star, World Series champion, Washington Nationals Ring of Honor inductee, and owner of Icon Racing for an engaging conversation about his professional baseball journey and finding a passion for horse racing after retirement. From his college recruitment and early days as a top prospect to his unforgettable championship run with the Phillies, Jayson shares behind-the-scenes stories from his baseball career, his competitive drive, and how he’s finding meaning and purpose in horse racing after stepping away from baseball.

We dig into:

• the competitive drive instilled in him by a family full of world-class athletes
• his exuberance for the sports of kings, a Belmont victory, and his recent experience at the Kentucky Derby as the owner of Flying Mohawk
• his recruitment to the University of Georgia and running a 40 that left Coach Mark Richt salivating at his football potential
• professional wrestler Edge being his long-list twin
• wisdom from his former manager Charlie Manuel

This is a conversation you do not want to miss.

Subscribe, like, and share if you enjoy this episode.

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We're romantic about a college town. Whether it's Athens, GA, Madison, WI, Ann Arbor, MI, or Lawrence, KS, college towns all have a certain je ne sais quoi. And one of the driver's behind that are the establishments that live only in that town. They are one of one. They're iconic. The Campus Icons series will highlight those places, share their histories, learn about their traditions, and champion their stories. Pull up a barstool and join us!

EPISODE 2: Eskimo Joe's - Stillwater - Oklahoma State University

If you're making a trip to Stillwater, it's compulsory that you pay a visit to Eskimo Joe's. Rapidly approaching it's 50th birthday, Joe's is headed by Stan Clark, the singular owner of Stillwater's Jumpin' Little Juke Joint. A visit to Joe's will delight you with a plate of their famous cheese fries, and a generous pour of their ice cold draft beer. And then ya swing by Eskimo Joe's Clothes next door on the way out and procure one of their iconic t-shirts. Eskimo Joe's checks all the Campus Icon boxes and we can't wait for y'all to hear its story!

If you find yourself in Stillwater, Eskimo Joe's needs to be your first stop:

It’s the weekend before Christmas and there are no visions of sugar-plums dancing in our heads, just 12 personnel and four on-campus first round playoff games. Will the Horseshoe become Neyland North? Are the Hoosiers fixin’ to ruin the Fightin’ Irish’s Christmas? Can the Tigers push all of their house money to the middle and bust the Horns in Austin? Should Penn State be on pucker alert? It’s the First Round of the College Football Playoff, y’all - let’s ride!

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We're romantic about a college town. Whether it's Athens, GA, Madison, WI, Ann Arbor, MI, or Lawrence, KS, college towns all have a certain je ne sais quoi. And one of the driver's behind that are the establishments that live only in that town. They are one of one. They're iconic. The Campus Icons series will highlight those places, share their histories, learn about their traditions, and champion their stories. Pull up a barstool and join us!

EPISODE 1: Nick's English Hut - Bloomington - Indiana University

Bloomington is a world-class college town. And any trip to B-Town must start with a stop at Nick's English Hut. Gregg “Rags” Rago’s joint is singular and oozing with character and unquestionably IU. Put simply, it’s iconic. Belly up, play Sink the Biz, get a full-size order of Biz Fries and cheer on the Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers. When we were planning our Campus Icons series, we kknew that Nick’s had to be the leadoff hitter. Gregg walks us through almost 100 years of Nick’s history and shares the stories and traditions that have sewed it into the fabric of IU and Bloomington.

If you find yourself in Bloomington, Nick's needs to be your first stop:

Chris Phillips of SEC Unfiltered joins the show this week to dissect Dawgs-Horns II for all the SEC marbles and the rest of the championship weekend slate, recap his epic fall on the SEC Football Tour, and give his thoughts on which one of the SEC’s 9-3 teams is most playoff worthy. Chris also gives a troubling prediction if you're a Dawgs fan on how long he estimates Kirby Paul Smart will roam the sidelines Between the Hedges.

Check out all of the excellent content Chris and his team are putting out at SEC Uncensored, follow him on all of his socials, and support him every way y'all can!

“I gave up, you did too. We were out of it and gone. Miracle.” Cardiologists all across Georgia thought they were going to have a peaceful Thanksgiving weekend, and then 8 overtimes happened in Clean, Old Fashioned Hate, precipitating coronary events aplenty across both fanbases. Mercy, what a ballgame. The fellas slept fast and are up and at it in Bloomington for Indiana-Purdue and the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket. B-Town is alive and Hoosier fans are buzzing at the opportunity to finish the regular season 11-1, win the Bucket Game, and put themselves in prime position for a spot in the College Football Playoff. In addition to talking rivalry Saturday, the boys also pinpoint Warde Manuels cartoon doppelganger.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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Your favorite co-hosts are on-site at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin as the Badgers and Golden Gophers face off in a battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. The fellas are barking about the commencement of their B1G rivalry weekend road trip and previewing Clean, Old Fashioned Hate as the Dawgs seek to take another step toward punching their CFP playoff ticket, while the Yellow Jackets look to play spoiler.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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Only two weeks left in college football’s regular season (say it ain’t so!), and ESPN’s Taylor McGregor joins the show to breakdown a triumvirate of matchups with postseason implications: Indiana-Ohio State at the Horseshoe, Army-Notre Dame in the Shamrock Series at Yankee Stadium, and BYU-Arizona State in Tempe. Taylor also indulged us with a little baseball talk and gave us a list of her favorite parks in Major League Baseball. 

Tune in to BYU-Arizona State this weekend on ESPN as Taylor and her teammates, Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek, are on the call, follow her on all of her socials, and support her every way y'all can!

The eyes of the college football world turn to the Classic City this weekend for this year's rendition of Georgia and Tennessee. It's "My God, A Freshman", it's "Hobnail Boot", and this year for the Dawgs, it's do-or-die. Come for the Dawgs-Vols preview, and stay for Seth's case for why Boise State-San Jose State is the most underrated game being played all day, including the Craig Stutzmann origin story you didn't know you needed. The boys also air our their CFP ranking committee grievances. It's cathartic. 

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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The initial CFP rankings were released this week and Lawd, are the next five weeks gonna be electric! Seth and James are barking on what the first set of rankings say about Army, BYU, and Indiana, preview an SEC showdown in Oxford between the Dawgs and the Rebels ripe with playoff implications, Saturday night in Death Valley between the Crimson Tide and the Bayou Bengals, and preview their upcoming road trip into Big 10 country for two historic rivalry games.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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It's our favorite week of the year - it's Cocktail Party week! Nobody better to help us preview the annual Soiree on the St. John's River than SEC Nation and NFL Live host Laura Rutledge. Laura is truly one of college football's great ambassadors and she barked with us about the Cocktail Party remaining a neutral site affair, Coach Smart's zest for this matchup, her favorite storylines from the 2024 season thus far, and her inside account of SEC Nation alum Marcus Spears' 54-yard bomb heard 'round social media. 

GO DAWGS!

Get ready for the Cocktail Party with Laura and the crew on SEC Nation this weekend, tune in daily and see her on NFL Live, follow her on all of her socials, and support her every way y'all can!

We live in a world where Indiana, Army, and Navy are all undefeated and in the Top 25 - college football is the absolute best. Make sure your tray tables and seat backs are in their upright and locked position and enjoy this week’s ride!

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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This college football season is the gift that keeps on giving. Saturday night, the stars at night, are big and bright, deeeeeeep in the heart of Texas as the Dawgs and Horns face off in a matchup ripe with intrigue. Seth and James bark on how Steve Sarkisian's use of pre-snap motions could cause big problems for Georgia's shaky secondary, the Georgia offense presenting Texas's defense with its first real test of the season, the mysterious absence of Oscar Delp thus far, and a whole lot more.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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2 vs. 3 in Eugene, Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl, and Rebels-Tigers under the lights in Death Valley - what a week!! Seth’s oldest brother, Frank, joins the show to bark about it all, including why it feels like the 1940s in Annapolis and West Point.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

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Just like that, it's Week 6 of the college football season, don't blink! Nobody better to help us preview the first week of October football than our buddy Jake Crain of Crain & Company. We recapped the Game of Thrones tussle in Tuscaloosa, barked about what Georgia fans should be excited about moving forward, marveled at Xavier's School for the Gifted alum Ryan Williams and 5-tool freak Ashton Jeanty, and previewed this weekend's matchups, including the 129th edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

JAKE CRAIN:

It's the game of the year on Saturday night with the Dawgs and Tide tangling in Tuscaloosa. Nobody better to help us preview college football's Ali-Frazier than our buddy George Somerville of The College Chaps Podcast. The fellas are barking on Matthew Sluka's redshirt at UNLV and what it means for the college football landscape, key matchups to watch in the UGA-Alabama showdown, the Little Brown Jug, and being bullish on Bret Bielema's Fightin' Illini. Oh, and George has an all-time mascot pull that leaves your co-hosts beaming with admiration.

AIN'T NOTHIN' FINER - GO DAWGS!

GEORGE SOMERVILLE:

Might be a bye week for the Dawgs, but there was plenty to bark about with one of our favorite return guests, Jon Smith of Speakeasy Sports. The fellas looked back on Georgia's close call against Kentucky, peeked ahead at the showdown in Tuscaloosa, discussed an interesting Urban Meyer story, and marveled at the unicorn that is Shohei Ohtani. 

Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em!!

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It's Friday and your hosts are in an excellent mood. The Dawgs travel to Lexington to take on a Kentucky team with two very familiar faces. The boys are barking about their Top 5 non-Sanford college football stadiums to visit, why this weekend feels like Thanksgiving in September, and what dinosaurs have to do with West Virginia's football relevance. It's a wild ride this week, so strap in!

Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em!!

Through their passion for family and food, Howard, Anita and Ron Hsu are stamping their mark all over Atlanta’s food scene. Their story is singular, and their time on campus at UGA helped guide and shape their respective paths. Howard, Anita and Ron bark with Seth about:

• Their parents entrepreneurial spirit and their influence on each of their paths
• The origin story of Sweet Auburn BBQ and going from a trailer with no name to one of the best BBQ restaurants in all of Atlanta
• Each of their respective journeys to careers in the restaurant industry and the role that their time at UGA played in their decisions
• Answers to some of our favorite Smart 16 questions

It’s almost time for our buddy Brook Whitmire to light up Sanford Stadium with “IT’SSSS SATURDAY IN ATHENS!” and we couldn’t be more fired up. The fellas are barking about the Dawgs home opener, this week’s slate in college football and an exciting announcement for the Kentucky game next weekend.

Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em!!

[TAPED AFTER THE GAME SATURDAY]

Your favorite co-hosts were so jacked up about watching the Dawgs layeth the smacketh down on Clemson in the season opener, they had to recap things Saturday night. Seth and James celebrated the Dawgs big victory at the Benz and barked about:

• Nate Frazier's electric debut and an all-time moment when he paid homage to the lineage of RBU with his celebration
• Carson Beck, as cool as the other side of the pillow, leading Georgia's offense
• Mykel Williams showing America why he will be taken on Day 1 of the NFL Draft with a magnificent play to blow up a would-be Clemson touchdown
• CJ Allen putting everybody on notice that the Butkus Award runs through Athens
• Magical Malaki Starks with another highlight reel interception in a marquee opener at the Benz
• Peyton Woodring from way downtown, BANG!
• Shades of 2021 for this year's Dawgs defense

Go Dawgs, Sic 'Em!!

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