Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Welcome to Split Zone Duo’s College Football Playoff Preview, presented by Modelo. We’re running short previews to get you acquainted with all 12 teams in the field, and we’re starting this series with the JMU Dukes. How did these guys get good? What is Bob Chesney’s deal? And can they win a game? Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink responsibl...

Richard and Alex start this episode with a discussion of this week’s mostly one-sided war of words between Notre Dame and the ACC after the Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff. Then, Rodger Sherman joins for a much longer talk about the infamous CFB calendar, which has been under particular fire in light of Lane Kiffin’s messy exit from Ole Miss. Finally, a truncated Tasting Menu o...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE : Godfrey joins Richard and Alex for a discussion of the major coaching moves that went down on Conference Championship Weekend, led by Penn State’s hire of Matt Campbell and all of the associated fallout: * Penn State’s coaching search got VERY messy. It ended with a solid hire. Was this bad proc...

The College Football Playoff bracket is out. Richard Johnson doesn’t think it’s a big crime that Alabama was included. Alex Kirshner does. The hosts hash out their disagreement and then pull on some other threads from the big reveal: * Why Richard was able to see so much of this coming * Why Alex really hates Bama’s inclusion * Why Richard doesn’t * How Duke’s loss in the ACC Championship did or d...

Here’s a quick solo episode from Alex, taking you through the big debate on the Playoff selection committee’s hands before Selection Sunday: Alabama or Miami? Plus, one political consideration you should keep in mind, and a quick aside about how safe Notre Dame should feel. This episode is free, but you can get a lot more of our shows by becoming a paid subscriber . Subscribers get about twice as...

Championship Weekend! Alex and Richard break down the FBS conference title games, with notes on a few lower-level playoff games as well. Starting with Kennesaw State-Jacksonville State and going through Ohio State-Indiana, they cover the most interesting angles for each championship game. Then, in THE MAIN COURSE presented by Modelo, it’s time to discuss the possibility of five-loss Duke winning t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard got hundreds of questions about this season of coach movement. In this solo episode, he distills a bunch of them and tells you about how to read a coaching search (and how to spot a bad search), Penn State’s doomed pursuit of Kalani Sitake, the difference between Jon Sumrall and Billy Nap...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE : Richard spent Sunday on his phone, gathering information on the day’s many college football coach hirings and firings. This episode takes you through Richard’s day of reporting. Alex joins him to discuss a bunch of moves: * Lane Kiffin heads to LSU, and Ole Miss replaces him swiftly with the int...

Alex and Richard recap dozens of Rivalry Weekend college football games, taking you through the most interesting events from Week 14: Texas asserts itself as the big brother An absolutely box-office Iron Bowl Ohio State flips The Game back in its favor Ole Miss fights through “distractions” Duke makes the ACC Championship with FIVE losses Vanderbilt finishes an incredible season in style Georgia a...

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner guide you through the coming Rivalry Week in college football, going through dozens of games with 1) playoff stakes, 2) conference championship stakes, and 3) none of those stakes at all, because many of these week’s games don’t need them to be fascinating. Among the many, many games that we discuss on this episode: * The Egg Bowl: “Distractions” shouldn’t matter...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE (join here ): The coaching carousel is about to reach max velocity. Richard leads Alex and Rodger through a broad overview of the state of play six days before “Black Sunday,” starting with the Lane Kiffin extended universe and moving outward from there. Among the topics discussed here: * The medi...

Alex and Richard guide you through dozens of Week 13 college football games, from Oregon’s depth-driven win over USC to an all-time ending in the Division II playoffs. Just a few of the games covered in here include: Oregon 42, USC 27: Depth and special teams matter Pitt 42, Georgia Tech 28: Pat Narduzzi really did it this time Oklahoma 17, Missouri 6: Speaking of special teams mattering! Utah 51,...

To join our championship Saturday watch party with Nokian Tyres at Mason Jar in NYC on December 6, please RSVP at this page . Entry is free! Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, and Alex Kirshner discuss the penultimate week of the 2025 regular season. This week has very few premium FBS matchups but does have arguably the most important Harvard-Yale game ever, a critical edition of the Brawl of the Wi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Godfrey is back with Alex and Richard to talk about this moment in the coach carousel. Lane Kiffin continues to make Ole Miss wait, and the rest of the SEC is right there with the Rebels. In this episode: Kiffin didn’t think his family’s private plane tourism around the SEC would go unnoticed, di...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER SHOW: Our Richard Johnson made his debut as a sideline reporter for CBS Sports on Saturday, interviewing players and coaches and providing insight from the field during the Air Force vs. UConn game. In this bonus episode for subscribers, Richard goes solo to talk about what he learned: how the prep works...

Richard and Alex take you through dozens of Week 12 games, sharing their best observations from the third-to-last week of the regular season. The full list: Oklahoma 23, Alabama 21 Georgia 35, Texas 10 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30 Ole Miss 34, Florida 24 LSU 23, Arkansas 22 Kentucky 42, Tennessee Tech 10 USC 26, Iowa 21 Michigan 24, Northwestern 22 Ohio State a lot, UCLA very few Indiana 31, Wi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The 2025 UMass Minutemen are making a strong case for the title of “worst FBS team in modern history.” You might THINK that’s because the Minutemen don’t have any money, but you’d be wrong. Rodger Sherman and Alex Kirshner interview Michael Traini, publisher of UMass 247Sports site Fight Massachusetts , about how UM...

Richard, Alex, and Rodger Sherman talk through a huge Week 12 in college football, highlighting a few dozen games that should be fun! Among the many topics discussed on this episode: * Texas-Georgia, the real push-comes-to-shove spot for Arch Manning * Iowa-USC, the ultimate test of what Lincoln Riley is building in L.A. * Oklahoma-Alabama, where we think the Sooners have a good shot * UVA-Duke, i...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard take a big handful of subscriber questions after Week 11, starting with actual football and then moving to coach business: * Which plausible title contenders are most overrated, and which are most overlooked? (This part of the episode is the free preview that all can hear.) * Is Notre Dame’s ACC rel...

Richard and Alex take you through dozens of Week 11 college football games, highlighting the most interesting stuff to get you all caught up: Oregon’s grits out a win at Kinnick Stadium after Iowa pulled the Ducks down into a literal puddle and threatened to keep them there Omar Cooper makes a historic catch at Penn State, which Alex says has a case for the best of all time and Richard is just try...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard and Alex take a bunch of subscriber questions about the state of the coach carousel, about three weeks before things start to come to a head. Among the questions covered here: * Should you actually keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC? We’ve got a bit of disagreement here, but anything is...

Welcome to Week 11. Alex and Richard preview the most interesting games coming up this weekend and also discuss other big CFB developments: * The initial playoff rankings release * The ESPN-YouTube TV standoff and what people are getting wrong about Disney’s motivations * The American race heats up, with UTSA-USF and Tulane-Memphis on tap before we even get to Saturday action * Is this the end of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Hugh Freeze is out at Auburn and probably done forever as a top-level college football coach. Richard and Alex do a postmortem on his Auburn tenure and his broader career, then discuss what Auburn could and should do next: * The brief good times Freeze had at Ole Miss, and how we’d remember him if not for the recrui...

Rodger Sherman joins Alex for a big ol’ rundown of Week 10 of the college football season. Among dozens of games discussed, we go over: Miami’s faceplant at SMU, which keeps the Canes out of playoff contention unless something really drastic happens Oklahoma’s kicker-led victory in Knoxville Utah manhandling Cincinnati in just the way we expected NC State knocking Georgia Tech from the land of the...

Alex and Richard preview Week 10 of the college football season, with notes, observations, and predictions spanning lots of games. Just a few include: * Tulane at UTSA: The Green Wave are playoff contenders and their coach is one of the hottest candidates of the cycle. Are they actually good? * UNC at Syracuse: Are the Tar Heels about to experience just a little bit of joy, finally? * Navy at Nort...