Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Brian Kelly is out at LSU after three and a half of the odder seasons in recent memory. Alex and Richard discuss his ouster and LSU’s future options: * The $54 million buyout is probably not a $54 million buyout * Kelly was an awkward cultural fit for LSU. Did that affect his ability to do his job, or did it just sp...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Shortly before Texas kicked off at Mississippi State, The Athletic reported that Steve Sarkisian’s reps had “let NFL decision-makers know” that Sark would be interested in NFL jobs. Sarkisian and his agents were mad enough about the report that Jimmy Sexton and Ed Marynowitz issued a denial on official letterhead. R...

Week 9 was light on upsets but big on close games that had a big effect on the national race. In the Sunday Hurry-Up presented by Dad Water, Richard and Alex discuss approximately 43 college football games, from Memphis' comeback over USF to Utah's destruction of Colorado. Producer: Anthony Vito Thanks to our partners and subscribers 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD Visit...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In the latest episode of “The Job,” our subscriber series about open FBS head coaching jobs, we head to Fort Collins, Colorado. The Rams fired Jay Norvell and are (again) looking for a head coach who can fulfill what many people in college football believe is a lot of potential. We discuss: * Why some people are ena...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL: Godfrey stops by to talk with Richard and Alex about a big list of coaches whose uncertain futures will shape the coach carousel over the next few months. Broken down into groups, we’ve got: * The Fired Guys (James Franklin, Billy Napier, etc.) * The Out-of-Work Guys (Ed Orgeron, Jimbo Fisher, Pa...

Alex and Richard preview Week 9 of the college football season. Among the many games previewed on this episode are: * Not one but TWO major FCS games: No. 1 NDSU at No. 2 SDSU, plus Montana at Sacramento State in a game that’s become narratively dramatic * Kansas State at Kansas: Is this finally the Jayhawks’ time? * Ole Miss at Oklahoma: Why are we so worried for Ole Miss? * USF at Memphis: Someo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL: More than a year after he first looked doomed to be fired, Billy Napier finally got the axe in Gainesville. After a day of making phone calls on this, Richard talks with Alex about the Gators’ big move: * Napier had a solid plan for this job. Why didn’t it work? * DJ Lagway’s 2025 season is a tal...

Welcome to the Week 8 Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water! Rodger Sherman joins Richard to share notes and observations on all the games that caught our eye this weekend, from Louisville’s upset of Miami on Friday (which Richard covered live) through the end of Saturday’s action. Producer: Anthony Vito. Thanks to our partners and subscribers 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discoun...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The latest episode of THE JOB, our subscriber series about the ins and outs of open college football coaching jobs, features four schools. * Stanford: A once-great Pac-12 program has fallen like a rock as it’s transitioned to the ACC. But the Cardinal are amid a serious fundraising push, and this bad job could becom...

The Week 8 college football schedule features tests for a handful of coaches who sure look like they need a win to keep their jobs for the long term. In addition to those angsty situations, we’ve got a few big helmet games and potential conference race deciders in the Sun Belt and Mountain West. A few of the games covered in this episode include: * Louisville at Miami: A possible trap for the Cane...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: The first proper emergency show of the 2025 coach carousel arrives. Penn State fired James Franklin after an unthinkable weeks saw the Nittany Lions go from national championship contenders to one of the biggest disasters in recent college football history. Alex and Richard discuss how this got o...

Welcome to the Week 7 Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water! This week, Alex and Richard start with Indiana’s statement win at Oregon and move from there, covering dozens of games from the midpoint week of the season: * Indiana 30, Oregon 20 * Ohio State 34, Illinois 16 * USC 31, Michigan 13 * Iowa 37, Wisconsin 0 * UCLA 38, Michigan State 13 * Washington 38, Rutgers 19 * Nebraska 34, Maryland 3...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard spent a lot of this week making calls about the North Carolina situation for a CBS Sports report on the situation . In this show, he talks with Alex about how Belichick’s tenure got this toxic this quickly: * What he’s gotten wrong in his first foray into college football * How the busine...

Our college football Week 7 preview, with notes on a bunch of games as the season hits its halfway point. Just a few of the games in here: * USF at North Texas, a potential Game of the Year in the American with playoff implications on both sides * Ohio State at Illinois, a potential test for the Buckeyes but probably just another chance to flex how good they are * Alabama at Missouri, where at lea...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Penn State just took one of the worst losses any team has taken in years. The preseason No. 2 team may already be out of the playoff race by early October, and we’re questioning everything we thought we knew about them. What do you do now, though? Alex and Richard discuss Penn State’s options, which boil down to: 1)...

In the Week 6 Sunday Hurry-Up presented by Dad Water, Richard and Alex break down a college football weekend that turned out to have a bit of everything: * UCLA 42, Penn State 37 * Washington 24, Maryland 20 * Michigan 24, Wisconsin 10 * Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27 * Illinois 43, Purdue 27 * Ohio State 42, Minnesota 3 * Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14 * Florida 29, Texas 21 * Georgia 35, Kentucky 14...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Our subscriber series on open FBS coaching jobs visits Fayetteville. Arkansas fired Sam Pittman and then admitted outright that the school did not put him in the financial position to succeed. The school has unique challenges stemming from its commitment to being good in basketball and baseball. Arkansas has a handf...

The Week 6 college football schedule is light on blockbusters, but that only makes the Split Zone Duo Tasting Menu’s job more important. Lets’ talk about what’s interesting to us this week, jumping from game to game, starting with the lone Thursday nighter and continuing through last call on Saturday: * WKU at Delaware, providing real intrigue in CUSA * Army at UAB, where Trent Dilfer continues to...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Despite a busy few weeks in 2025, college football teams fire fewer coaches at midseason than you might expect. But when they do, there are usually some through lines: The firing after the death knell loss, or the guy who gets canned in September instead of on “Black Sunday” after Thanksgiving. Richard and host emer...

In THE SUNDAY HURRY-UP PRESENTED BY DAD WATER, Richard and Alex discuss Week 5 of the college football season: Oregon 30, Penn State 24 Ohio State 24, Washington 6 Indiana 20, Iowa 15 Illinois 34, USC 32 Northwestern 17, UCLA 14 Alabama 24, Georgia 21 Texas A&M 16, Auburn 10 Tennessee 41, Mississippi State 34 Vanderbilt 55, Utah State 35 Ole Miss 24, LSU 19 UVA 46, FSU 38 Notre Dame 56, Arkansas 1...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The interim head coach is a feature of every college football season. As of publication of this episode, there are more interim coaches (five) than there have been weeks in the season (four). How do schools decide who should take over when a head coach gets fired? What patterns can we detect in how they make these c...

Our overview of the Week 5 college football schedule, with notes, questions, and some predictions on dozens of games. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of games: * Army at ECU * FSU at Virginia (upset??) * TCU at Arizona State * USC at Illinois * UCF at Kansas State * Louisville at Pitt * Notre Dame at Arkansas * Auburn at Texas A&M * LSU at Ole Miss (Kiffin vs. Kiffin?) * Ohio State at Washington * UC...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER SERIES: Oklahoma State finally cut ties with Mike Gundy. That wasn’t a surprise, but the timing was. Now the Pokes look forward. Alex and Richard discuss the Oklahoma State job post-Gundy: * Why did the program rot over the past two seasons? * What is unique about Oklahoma State’s financial challenges? *...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Virginia Tech has an incredible fanbase and a history, in this century, as one of the best programs in the country. But those things only count for so much, and the Hokies are now facing an existential moment: Catch up in the financial arms race, or fade further from relevance. In this episode, Alex and Richard disc...

That was a heck of a week. Richard and Alex break down a busy Week 4 in college football, highlighting dozens of games of interest. In this order: Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17 Ole Miss 45, Tulane 10 Texas 55, Sam Houston 0 Tennessee 56, UAB 24 Missouri 29, South Carolina 20 Miami 26, Florida 7 Syracuse 34, Clemson 21 Duke 45, NC State 33 UCF 34, North Carolina 9 San Diego State 34, Cal 0 Virginia Tech 3...