Writing in Gelf Magazine, David Goldenberg noted that Mandel "has a broad perspective on the sport [of college football] and its various constituencies".
In 2007, Mandel released his first book: Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football.
A review in The New York Times complimented the book's "breezy, airy tone" and Mandel's ability to be "sarcastic without being cynical and critical without sounding jaded" during the "intricate tour through the ills of the college football world.
"[3] A practicing Jew, Mandel once held off from writing his featured SI.com sports blog during and in observance of Yom Kippur when it fell on a game day during the college football season.
[4] In June 2014, Fox Sports announced it had hired Mandel as senior columnist covering college football and basketball.