AP Top 25 Podcast: Championship weekend and hiring season

The stakes are huge in college football both on and off the field this week.

Championship weekend will determine conference title and College Football Playoff spots. Off the field, schools are trying to hire coaches quickly, with signing day looming in late December.

On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, Paul Myerberg from USA Today joins AP's Ralph Russo on an extended episode that covers everything from Chris Petersen's departure from Washington to the Heisman Trophy race, with stops at each conference championship game in between.

Why hiring a new coach is like reaching into a grab bag and hoping for the best? Which teams don't even need to win their conference championship games to reach the playoff? Why the Heisman Trophy should have more finalists.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25