Down and Distance is a narrative podcast from ESPN Senior Writer Ivan Maisel as part of our CFB150 project, where he tells eight stories from the history of college football that examine how the sport has contributed to and reflected American culture through its 150 years.
Episode 1: America Mourns Rockne
Notre Dame icon Knute Rockne died in a plane crash in 1931. Maisel tells the story of how the beloved coach served as the vehicle for how we celebrate the lost lives of our national icons.
How to listen
Episode 2: Jimmy Johnson And The House of Speed
How Coach Jimmy Johnson's lifelong reverence for speed transformed not only the Miami Hurricanes -- but all of college football.
Episode 3: Michael Vick, A Three-Play Guy
Redshirt freshman Michael Vick took the world of college football by storm in 1999 and Maisel argues that his standout season changed the face of the game.
Episode 4: The Tie That Wasn't
The story of the most controversial game in one of college football's greatest rivalries -- the 1973 tie between Bo Schembechler's Michigan and Woody Hayes's Ohio State University.
Episode 5: Standing at Armageddon
Pitt's Bobby Grier found himself in an unexpected position in 1956 when he became the first college football player to break the color line in the Deep South. But his appearance in the Sugar Bowl wasn't without controversy.
Episode 6: The Fall Of Troy
How the USC Trojans came within 19 seconds of making college football history with three back-to-back championships -- and then slowly fell from the top.
Episode 7: Sooner Sabotage
The greatest dynasty in the modern history of college football came apart one night in 1959. The culprit? Fruit salad.
Related stories
Knute Rockne's funeral and the dawn of a new American experience
'The South Stands at Armageddon': Breaking the Sugar Bowl color barrier