Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Big Coach Carousel Mailbag: The Lincoln Riley Thing Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

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 possible

* Could Lane Kiffin be waiting for the USC? Would that be possible anyway?

* What’s up with UTSA’s Jeff Traylor?

* Why did Nebraska extend Matt Rhule? Do we like it?

* Could this coaching cycle finally bring some sanity to contract structures? (Do not hold your breath.)

* Is Jeff Brohm a better candidate for bigger jobs or an extension?

* Who is the darkhorse candidate for the Florida job? Speaking of that …

* Jedd Fisch would leave for Florida, but UCLA?

* Is Brent Brennan in over his head at Arizona?

* Could Brent Venables’ success or failure at Oklahoma shift hiring trends back toward G5 coaches, rather than P4 coordinators? Why aren’t coordinators being mentioned more for major jobs?

* What should we make of Clay Helton at Georgia Southern amid a decline?

* Will Pat Narduzzi keep his OC and stud freshman QB?

* Why do people bring up the idea that Auburn should’ve hired Cadillac Williams?

* Is Chris Klieman’s seat hot at Kansas State? (No.)

* Non-Petrino division, which possible Arkansas hires would qualify as clear whiffs?

* What is the pulse check on Fran Brown’s long-term future at Syracuse?

* How much influence do GM-type roles have in this year’s coaching hires?

* How high could coaching salaries inflate this cycle?

Producer: Anthony Vito.

This episode and the Q&A opportunity included in it are for paid subscribers

This is an amazing time of year to join us as a paid subscriber and roughly double how many podcasts you get from us. We’d love to have you!

Everyone can listen to our big preview of Week 11.

Week 11 CFB Tasting Menu: Bear Raid? Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

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 Deion Sanders at Colorado? Good luck guessing

* Indiana-Penn State and Ohio State-Purdue won’t be close games, but they will be Heisman platform builders for Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin

* Oregon-Iowa has us very intrigued about the Hawkeyes, though we’re split on what’s going to happen at Kinnick Stadium

* Auburn-Vanderbilt: Be careful, Commodores

* Louisville has a major injury problem as it tries to win the ACC

* Dabo Swinney faces a crossroads at Clemson

* THE MAIN COURSE, presented by Modelo: CBS Sports national college football reporter Shehan Jeyarajah stops by to discuss BYU-Texas Tech. Read Shehan’s big feature on Tech’s roster build.

And much, much more. Producer: Anthony Vito

Thanks to our subscribers and partners

Subscribers get about twice as many SZD podcasts during the season. Now, during the coach carousel, is a great time to join. Thanks to everyone who’s decided to become a subscriber over the past few weeks!

Thanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Thanks to Nokian Tyres: https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd

Thanks to Homefield Apparel: Join them, Godfrey, and Ryan Nanni in Athens next week! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phantom-island-live-in-athens-tickets-1825198310279?aff=oddtdtcreator

Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

Auburn Emergency Show: Hugh Freeze Finally Frozen Out Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

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 recruiting class that later got him into trouble

* A weird dude whose firing wasn’t weird at all

* Failures of QB development and Freeze blowing what turned out to be his only chance to do the thing Auburn dreamed he could do: Beat Nick Saban

* A masterclass in ineffective communication by a head coach

* Auburn’s infamous donor/administration alignment, currently better than several other SEC programs in the coaching market

* Jon Sumrall, the name that will be on everyone’s lips in this search

* How Lane Kiffin’s decision-making affects Auburn’s options

* Why it’s time to just hire a normal football coach, please

* Why Freeze’s firing feels like a party for college football fans of all different ideological persuasions

Producer: Anthony Vito

Additional reading and listening

* Steven Godfrey’s 2023 episode about his dealings with Freeze

* Jason Kirk on Freeze: “Rub some church on it”

Week 10 CFB Hurry-Up: U Gotta Be Kidding Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

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 unbeaten

Something cool that Rodger noticed about the MSU-Minnesota ending

USC’s huge win in Lincoln, with help from Matt Rhule and some injuries

Duke staying in the ACC race and taking Clemson from bad to worse

The American race becoming even more chaotic with UNT beating Navy

Hugh Freeze’s emphatic likely ending at Auburn

The Jeff Sims Legacy Game for Arizona State over Iowa State

Deion’s Colorado and Frost’s UCF looking just terrible

Syracuse putting a true freshman walk-on lacrosse player at QB for a game against Bill Belichick

Boise State getting embarrassed by a team with 35 passing yards

And much more! Producer: Anthony Vito.

Thanks to our partners and subscribers

20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Visit Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/

Enter to win airfare and lodging for a trip to New York City on conference championship weekend at https://www.nokiantyres.com/SZD

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

Week 10 CFB Tasting Menu: Elimination Game Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

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 North Texas: Is this just one of those years when Navy has a special QB and thus a special season? Or can UNT put a stop to it?

* Penn State at Ohio State: The Nittany Lions aren’t a threat this year, but Ohio State has several offensive red flags to sort out

* WVU at Houston: That’s “Big 12 contender Houston” to you

* Florida vs. Georgia: What does a post-Billy Napier Florida offense look like, and why can’t Georgia get off the field on third downs?

* Texas Tech at Kansas State: Are the Wildcats just good, despite having four losses? We think they’re a real challenge for Tech

* Mississippi State at Arkansas: Someone’s gotta win

* Kentucky at Auburn: Someone’s gotta lose

* USC at Nebraska: Can Matt Rhule finally win a big one?

* Cincinnati at Utah: Are the Bearcats physical enough to compete in this one? And is Kyle Whittingham being honest about his QB’s medical situation?

* For THE MAIN COURSE, presented by Modelo: Through the Keyhole podcaster and writer Allen Kenney joins us to talk about Oklahoma vs. Tennessee, a true playoff elimination game, as well as the state of the Sooners under Brent Venables and Jim Nagy

Producer: Anthony Vito

Thanks to our subscribers and partners

Subscribers get roughly twice as many SZD podcasts during the season. Now, during the coach carousel, is a great time to join. Thanks to everyone who’s hopped onboard over the past few weeks!

Thanks to Nokian Tyres: https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd

Thanks to Homefield Apparel: https://www.homefieldapparel.com

Thanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

Emergency Show: LSU Kicks Brian Kelly out of the Family Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

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 speed up his downfall once he was flailing?

* Speaking of that: Why couldn’t the winningest coach in Notre Dame history get things revved up in a job where he thought he had more upside?

* Congratulations to LSU AD Scott Woodward, whose ability to spend other people’s money on blockbuster coaching flops is without parallel

* The coaching carousel, shaping up to be the wildest ever, is on its way to a major mismatch between supply and demand

* Why it’s time for Woodward to eat his vegetables

Producer: Anthony Vito

Sark, Jimmy Sexton, and the NFL: What the Saturday Statement Actually Means Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

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. Richard wants to talk about everything that’s happening here.

This is an episode of Split Zone Duo OVERTIME, an occasional add-on to our Sunday recap in which we go deeper on one weird topic from the weekend. It’s a subscriber special, and you can subscribe if you haven’t at this button:

The Week 9 Hurry-Up presented by Dad Water is out now for everyone:

Producer: Anthony Vito

Week 9 CFB Hurry-Up: Death Valley is Aggieland Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

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 Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/

Enter to win airfare and lodging for a trip to New York City on conference championship weekend at https://www.nokiantyres.com/SZD

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

The Job: Colorado State Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

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 enamored with this job

* The Rams’ NIL situation

* A (probably) helpful move to the new Pac-12

* How long a program gets to be a sleeping giant before people should stop believing that better days are coming

Producer: Anthony Vito

The 34 Coaches Who Will Define CFB's Carousel Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

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, Pat Fitzgerald, etc.)

* The Power Four Poach Candidates (Lane Kiffin, Matt Rhule, Eli Drinkwitz, etc.)

* The Group of 5 and FCS Risers (Jon Sumrall, Ryan Silverfield, Brent Vigen, Alex Golesh, Dan Mullen?, etc.)

* The Big Buyout Club (Luke Fickell, Mike Norvell, Brian Kelly, Mark Stoops)

* The “Not That Hard If You Want to Fire Him” Crew (Hugh Freeze, Mike Locksley, Dave Aranda, etc.)

* The Weird Circumstance Cases (Shane Beamer, Kyle Whittingham, Bobby Petrino)

Producer: Anthony Vito