Phantom Island | Podcast on RSS.com

Phantom Island

by Steven Godfrey & Ryan Nanni

What's the goal of international college football games?

Rodger Sherman, author of the Sports! newsletter, joins Ryan Nanni to talk about the history of college football games played outside the United States, how their strategies differ from the NFL's international games, and whether the Big 12's London event will break the mold for what college football's trying to do when it travels abroad. There's also some initial Wrasslin' Story Time with Steven Godfrey you'll want to hear. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Numbers and Words: The Weakness in Strength of Schedule (PREVIEW)

Bill Connelly joins Steven Godfrey after an offseason of schedule arguments to look at what teams actually control about this metric, why preseason measures automatically punish playing a Group of 6 team, where strength of schedule fails to meet narrative expectations, and what college football theoretically could do to create something closer to schedule parity. 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.

How's everyone feeling heading into the 2026 college football season?

This week, Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni review the hundreds of responses they got from Phantom Island subscribers on a few key questions before the 2026 college football season starts. Who's eager to show their coach the door? Which opponents do you really want to beat - and really not want to get beat by? How many wins would it take to consider this season a success? And who do you sincerely NOT want to see win the national championship? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Our Next Big Projects (PREVIEW)

If you've listened to this show for a while, you've probably heard Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni talking about some larger projects in the works. Today, we're ready to tell you more about what those look like and when you'll get to hear them, and there's also some bonus discussion of Ryan dragging Steven into the world of 2024's Madame Web. 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.

Numbers and Words: How To Spend $20,000,000 (PREVIEW)

Steven Godfrey is joined by Parker Fleming to tackle one task: take $20 million (the NIL amount widely believed to have been spent by Ohio State in 2024 en route to a national title), show how a college football team can and should spend it to build a roster, and then analyze how far that money takes you in the current market. Which positions do you prioritize? Where is the market over or undervaluing talent? And how do you factor depth into your spending? 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.

Why can't anyone catch Jerry Rice?

Jerry Rice holds the NFL's career records for receptions, receiving touchdowns, and receiving yards, and nobody's really come close to challenging him for any of those marks. Ryan Nanni is joined by ESPN's Ben Solak to discuss what skills Rice had that helped him play so well for so long, why the NFL doesn't see receivers playing into their mid-thirties anymore, and why playing in a less pass-oriented time might have actually helped Rice. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

The Single Wing: Return of Ryan (PREVIEW)

Ryan Nanni does his best Steven Godfrey impression on this episode of the Single Wing, taking questions from Phantom Island subscribers on Pete Golding expectations, NC State floating forever in "good, not great," which teams Ryan truly hates, and what the REAL story is behind Ryan leaving the Shutdown Fullcast. (And also a fake story.) 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.

Do World Cup hosts see a long term boost in their soccer fortunes?

Rodger Sherman, writer of Sports!, joins Ryan Nanni to talk about whether history supports the idea that US men's soccer will benefit down the line from cohosting the 2026 World Cup, and Ryan flips some Olympic research on Rodger in return. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Numbers and Words: Who's Getting a Coach Carousel Seat? (PREVIEW)

Steven Godfrey talk to people in the college football coaching world. Then he chats with Ryan Nanni on this episode, who asks Steven which candidates will be mentioned as the up and coming trendy picks as jobs open, how the ladder of these jobs has changed, and whether last year's aggressive cycle will mean things are cooler in 2026. 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.

Announcing Numbers and Words (PREVIEW)

In the same way that all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, Phantom Island has college football but isn't a college football podcast. That's why we're announcing Numbers & Words, a new public podcast feed coming soon featuring some of our evergreen conversations with smart guests about how we can better understand the living organism that is football. If you're already a subscriber at Phantom Island, you'll have access to those episodes early, and you can listen to Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni explain the idea behind this branch on today's episode. 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.

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