Alex and Richard break down offseason happenings in the Mid-American Conference, which saw lots of coach carousel turnover. * Ohio: Tim Albin to Charlotte, OC Brian Smith replacing him * Ball State: An off-the-beaten-path coach hire, bringing on a guy who most recently coached non-scholarship football in the Pioneer League * Miami: It’s a Return to…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Renewing our annual NFL Draft week tradition, Richard is joined by ESPN’s Ben Solak and The Athletic Football Show’s Derrik Klassen for a rollicking good time discussing the 2025 QB class. You'll be surprised at a QB the gang surprisingly can tolerate in a class that…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard take a bunch of questions from Split Zone Duo subscribers, recorded at lunch on April 15. The topics covered here include: * Is this the most wide-open track to the national title that CFB has seen in a long time? And what does it even mean for Ohio …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard react to Nico Iamaleava’s split from Tennessee. We’re less interested in where he plays next (UNC? UCLA? Elsewhere?) and more interested in talking through his last few months as a Volunteer: * The job done by Tennessee’s football staff * The way Iam…

Rodger Sherman returns for our offseason check in with the American Athletic Conference, along with Alex and Richard. The group discusses how things have been going since the end of the 2024 season for each team in the AAC: * UTSA finds reason for optimism * Rice gets a bit creative in the coach carousel * FAU makes a hire that Alex is pretty happy…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Matt Brown, publisher of the Extra Points college sports business newsletter, joins Alex to discuss a handful of big business stories that are all coming to a head around the same time. In this show: * The status of the not-quite-finished House settlement * Do we bel…

Alex interviews Dowell Loggains, the recently hired Appalachian State head coach who was most recently at South Carolina after a long run as an NFL assistant and coordinator. After Alex and Richard talk a bit about App State’s last 20 years, Loggains joins (17:10) to discuss: * Why he moved from the NFL to college football at a time when coaches ar…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com This episode is for paid subscribers, but everyone can hear a preview. If you’re not a paid subscriber, you can get a weeklong free trial. Alex Kirshner and Richard Johnson take a bunch of live questions from Split Zone Duo subscribers and discuss college football of…

Rodger Sherman joins Alex and Richard for a checkup on all 18 teams in the beefy Big Ten, as our Offseason Vibe Check series rolls on: * Ohio State won the national championship. That’s pretty good! Both the team and coaching staff are about to look a lot different. * Penn State faces its "national championship or go away” season * Washington is ve…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Andrew Luck fired Stanford coach Troy Taylor after off-field investigations of his conduct came to light. In this episode for SZD subscribers, Alex and Richard discuss the circumstances of Taylor’s firing and Stanford’s challenges: * An investigation timeline going b…

The NCAA had complete control of college football TV. The association decided which games the public could watch, and where, and when, and how much money every school would earn as a result. Then came a new group called the College Football Association, an outside TV deal, and a lawsuit from two schools, Georgia and Oklahoma. What happened next, at…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Dan Lanning signed an extension with Oregon that makes it impossible for all but a few teams to hire him away, and most of them aren’t college. Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, and Alex Kirshner discuss what his contract says about the evolved pecking order in the co…

Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football senior writer Mike Craven discuss the state of the offseason in Conference USA, a league that was spicier than most of us expected in 2024: * Jacksonville State loses the braintrust behind a conference championship and will now be completely different * WKU’s run as the cradle of co…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard take subscribers’ college football questions in this live recording, conducted on the Substack app on Tuesday. We call it CFB Lunch Break, because we’re taking CFB questions at lunchtime: * How we feel about player wearing #0 and single-digits * The …

Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football senior writer Mike Craven discuss how the offseason is going for every team in the Big 12 Conference: * Arizona State keeps a playoff core almost totally intact * Arizona is in the danger zone after Brent Brennan’s first year * Baylor is once again ready to contend for the league * …

The Offseason Vibe Check series continues with the ACC, as Rodger Sherman joins Alex and Richard to talk about the state of the league. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How wa…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard take live and pre-submitted subscriber questions in this quick episode to start off the new month. Topics include: * Biff Poggi’s return to Michigan * The tough job ahead of Pitt’s new AD * Brian Kelly’s make-or-break year * Colorado State continuall…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The history of the Kent State Golden Flashes is full of missed opportunities, real-life tragedies, and lots of losing—never more than in 2024, when Kent State had one of the worst teams in college football history. Why is the program perennially so bad? To answer tha…

Split Zone Duo’s “Offseason Vibe Check” series rolls on with the Sun Belt. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is any…

Welcome to Split Zone Duo’s “Offseason Vibe Check” series. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The coaching carousel before the 2001 season transformed college football. Some programs set themselves up for national championship (or even dynastic) runs. Some screwed themselves. Some set the stage for the next several decades of the top tiers of the SEC and Big …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Split Zone Duo subscribers have some questions for an NIL agent about how the business of paying college football players actually works. Justin J. Giangrande is the CEO and founder of NETWORK, a sports marketing agency that handle…

In one of Steven Godfrey’s favorite early-offseason traditions, the SZD crew glances ahead at the Week 1 schedule many months from now. Not just so there’s something to look forward to as the long offseason gets going, but because the story of Week 1 matchups is increasingly the story of how athletic directors are approaching scheduling. Let’s dive…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com 2024 was a weird (read: bad) year for a lot of college football teams in the state Alabama. Justin Ferguson, publisher of the Auburn Observer and all-purpose ball-knower in the state, joins Alex and Richard to discuss: * How everyone’s feeling after the two Iron Bowl…

On January 18, SZD and our old friends at the Shutdown Fullcast combined for a live show in Atlanta, presented by Homefield. We now present the recording, featuring a whole bunch of FOOTBALL DISASTERS and a round of CFB family feud featuring friends of the program like Homefield founder Connor Hitchcock, Matt Brown, Jessica Smetana, Amanda Mull, an…

Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Steven Godfrey discuss the stories they are most interested to watch unfold between now and September. In this show: * Podcast update: Godfrey is becoming host emeritus and will take a lighter load as he works on other things, but you’ll still hear him on SZD regularly. * Richard is tracking a series of potential…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Godfrey, Richard, and Alex made a lot of preseason predictions back in August. Some of them worked out well. (Everyone had Ohio State winning the national title.) Some of them worked out terribly. (Florida State and Michigan in the playoff: Nice job, fellas!) Let’s s…

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner put a bow on the national championship game, a 34-23 win for Ohio State over Notre Dame: * How the Buckeyes did it * Notre Dame’s attempt to stop them, including that late third down * Ryan Day’s unique legacy * And more odds and ends from the title game Thanks so much for listening this season, our fifth as a podc…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this subscriber episode, Ross Fulton, Ohio State analyst for Buckeye Huddle, joins Richard to talk about the schematic chess match of OSU vs. Notre Dame for the national championship. Let’s go in depth on how these teams will approach the other and the schematic b…

CBS Sports national college football reporter Shehan Jeyarajah joins Alex and Richard for a preview of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame. Shehan and Richard were at the two semifinals, and now everyone gathers to frame up the title game: * When Ohio State has the ball * When Notre Dame has the ball * Why a lot of our analysis of Notre Dame’s chances keeps …

Richard, Godfrey, and Alex name their winners in the 2024 Split Zone Duo college football awards, aka “The Zonies” aka “The Splitty Ds.” * Team of the Year (not the best team, but the one that we most enjoyed watching or became most interested in going forward) * Moment of the Year * Proof of Concept of the Year, for coaches showing good signs * Mi…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Godfrey's back from a variety platter of holiday family illnesses to play some hypothetical coaching games, like Fran Brown to LSU (?!) and why USC needs to clean its house like 2000s-era LSU. Also, let's talk about spoons. A lot. Producer: Anthony Vito Also in the p…

The College Football Playoff semifinals are in the books. Alex Kirshner and Richard Johnson share notes on Ohio State over Texas and Notre Dame over Penn State, plus pay tribute to North Dakota State’s win over Montana State in the FCS Championship. Producer: Anthony Vito. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribe…

Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for 247Sports. He joins Alex to talk about the Nittany Lions’ long road to the doorstep of the national title game, including: * How the university responded to James Franklin’s request for more investment in the football program * The relationship between the coach and the fanbase * An athletic director swap in the …

Richard and Alex preview the CFP semifinals: * Notre Dame-Penn State at the Orange Bowl * Ohio State-Texas at the Cotton Bowl The matchups we’re looking at. The keys to the game. The one post-Rose Bowl thing Alex wants to walk back. And much more! SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF * Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week a…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Scott Frost is back at UCF, and Rich Rodriguez is back at West Virginia. Hundreds of college football teams, at all levels, have hired head coaches back to their old jobs. There’s a whole Wikipedia list and everything, dating to the 1800s. But most of these situation…

Alex Kirshner and Richard Johnson share their thoughts on the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, in reverse chronological order: * Notre Dame scores the first technical upset of the playoff vs. Georgia * Ohio State runs Oregon out of Pasadena * Texas escapes Arizona State by a whisker * Penn State handles a prickly Boise State SUPPORT O…

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner preview the College Football Playoff quarterfinal games in order: * Penn State vs. Boise State, where everyone is skeptical of an upset * Texas vs. Arizona State, where the Sun Devils have a path but it’s narrow against a dominant Texas defense * Ohio State vs. Oregon, which looks like CFB’s game of the year * Notr…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Richard, Godfrey, and Alex answer questions from SZD’s paid subscribers on a long range of football (and then non-football) topics. After discussing the first weekend of the playoff and the week’s CFB news, the Q&A covers: * Potential expectation-beating teams for 20…

Alex and Richard discuss the first-round College Football Playoff games, which followed the playoff tradition of being very lopsided: * Ohio State crushes Tennessee in Knoxville, Ohio * Clemson is feisty but loses at Texas * Penn State obliterates SMU (something that was going to happen whether Kevin Jennings threw those pick sixes or did not) * No…

Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, and Alex Kirshner discuss the first-round College Football Playoff games and more on this week’s show: * Indiana at Notre Dame, where the Hoosiers have the chance to do the funniest possible thing * SMU at Penn State, where the sport’s chaotic December calendar is really coming into focus with a Penn State transfer …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this solo Q&A show, Steven Godfrey answers SZD subscriber questions about some of the latest coach doings, some scheduling gripes, the potential '25 Sumrall Sweepstakes, Mike Gundy's expiration date, changing holiday patterns and what "Emeritus" actually looks lik…

Michael Felder, college football media wizard and a former cornerback at North Carolina, joins Richard to expand on Bill Belichick’s hiring: * The hiring as a marker of UNC’s football legitimacy * The difference between coaching pros and college players, and the challenges of “do your job” culture at this level * The gap in perception between media…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner discuss Bill Belichick’s hiring at North Carolina: * How the search evolved over a week and a half * A messy, messy process leads to an incredible risk … and incredible result * The case for success (including different ways of measu…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this subscriber episode, Richard and Alex trade observations about a handful of recent hires in the college football coach carousel, including: * Scott Frost to UCF, where prior success doesn’t tell us a lot about how the Knights will operate going forward * Matt …

Nick Carparelli is the executive director of Bowl Season, the group that represents the interests of CFB’s many bowl games. Alex and Richard interview him about: * What if anything worries him right now about the state of bowls * Bowls’ efforts to thrive in a world of opt outs, and how bowls might fit into the next economic iteration of the sport *…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Richard and Godfrey update you on the state of the coach carousel with reporting and analysis on a bunch of movements, including: * Purdue gets Barry Odom to replace Ryan Walters * Jon Sumrall’s good situation at Tulane and association with North Carolina * How Bill …

The College Football Playoff bracket is set. Richard, Alex, and Godfrey discuss: * The committee getting it right this time * First-round matchups and who got a favorable draw * Any quibbles with the seedings * The weakened state of championship games * The Richard Johnson Transfer Portal Minute SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF * Enter your …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Thanks to the 12-team playoff, Ryan Day’s current situation at Ohio State is unlike any hot-seat drama in college football history. Godfrey, Richard, and Alex talk about the weird dynamics facing the Buckeyes right now, like: * How many playoff games does Day have to…

Alex, Richard, and Steven preview Championship Weekend, in order: * WKU at Jacksonville State * Tulane at Army * UNLV at Boise for a playoff spot * Miami vs. Ohio * Iowa State vs. Arizona State * Georgia vs. Texas * Marshall at Louisiana * Penn State vs. Oregon * Clemson vs. SMU Plus, updates on the lower-level postseasons and the debut of THE RICH…