Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Latest Episodes:

College Football Previews 2025: Big 12 Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

Shehan Jeyarajah, college football writer for CBS Sports, returns to the show to join Alex and Richard for a meaty preview of the Big 12. You may enjoy Shehan’s recent report on the details behind Texas Tech’s NIL boom. In this preview:

* Arizona State loses Cam Skattebo but still has so much returning from a team that nearly made the playoff semifinals

* Iowa State has questions … and probably answers

* Cincinnati likely has its best team under Scott Satterfield, which isn’t saying a ton but could still be fun

* Colorado probably (famous last words) will be less of a media circus

* Baylor has huge upside with a full year of Sawyer Robertson at QB

* Kansas State needs a less sloppy season from Avery Johnson

* BYU’s linebackers rock, but the QB situation does not

* Oklahoma State asks: Does Mike Gundy have one last job in him?

* UCF reunites with Scott Frost but may find that the world has changed

* Texas Tech spent millions of dollars on the No. 2 transfer portal class. Shehan explains the nuts and bolts of how the Red Raiders are trying to get a bang for their buck, and the group talks about reasonable expectations

* WVU has Richard deeply intrigued as Rich Rodriguez comes home

* TCU can’t waste a quarterback like Josh Hoover

* Kansas has Jalon Daniels back, a solid defense, and medical questions

* Houston brings on Conner Weigman, who’s hoping for a better second act

* Arizona might no longer be the offense-first dynamo we thought they were

* Utah should be much better … but how much better?

We then award Big 12 preseason awards such as the Split Zone Duo Dude of the Year, the Low-Key Cool Game of the Year, and the Coach Who’s Most Likely Not to Return. Thanks to Shehan for joining us and to you for listening.

Tell us why you love college football

Leave us a voicemail, and we may include it in an upcoming show. You can leave us this voicemail in one of two ways:

* Calling our Google Voice number: +1 201-429-5147

* Submitting via this link: https://voicecast.app/szd

Let us know your favorite team if you’ve got one, and leave your name or don’t. We just want to hear why you enjoy the sport.

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

Producer: Anthony Vito

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

CFB Lunch Break: Why Can't Memphis Get a Realignment Bite? Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com

Leave us a voicemail telling us why you love college football. Details are at www.splitzoneduo.com.

In this show, Alex and Richard take a bunch of subscriber questions in the run-up to the season, with an early focus on realignment matters:

* The Athletic reported that despite a desperate financial offer, Memphis has not gotten traction in its effort to join the Big 12. Why not?

* Why was Louisiana Tech, which isn’t very good, a good backfilling candidate for the Sun Belt after Texas State joined the Pac-12?

* What do we make of conferences (the American and Big 12 so far) doing away with preseason media polls?

* What do we make of Tulane’s addition of former BYU QB Jake Retzlaff?

* Do we have any Week 1 game travel plans? (Richard does.)

* Should Maryland fans be worried about the prospect of their school getting left out in future realignment? (This question could apply to lots of Big Ten and SEC schools.)

* Why did a story about Catapult video footage access go so quiet?

* Which is the deepest P4 conference for QB depth in 2025?

* How are our video game dynasty builds going?

Producer: Anthony Vito

College Football Previews 2025: The MAC Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Conference previews continue with the MAC. Alex and Richard break down every team in the league, including new entrant UMass:

* Toledo still has the best hand

* Miami is poised to contend (again) after getting portal-raided (again)

* Buffalo is in a great place after the first year of Pete Lembo

* Ohio defends its first MAC championship in decades and enters the season with one of the most fun QBs in college football, Parker Navarro

* NIU loses pretty much everything ahead of its last year in the conference

* Eastern Michigan has a great returning receiver, and what else?

* Bowling Green brings on Eddie George in one of most interesting coach moves of the year

* UMass returns to the MAC after a decade away … and we find ourselves more optimistic about the Minutemen than we’ve ever been

* Western Michigan might have this year’s Harold Fannin Jr.

* Central Michigan is doing something different with new coach Matt Drinkall, and that’s all you can ask

* Same for Ball State under new hire Mike Uremovich

* Akron appears to be a bleak situation

* Kent State undoubtedly is

Plus, preseason superlatives for the Mid-American.

Catch up on all of our conference previews

So far, we’ve done these:

* Pac-12 and FBS independents

* Sun Belt

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

Producer: Anthony Vito

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

College Football Previews 2025: Pac-12 and Independents Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Split Zone Duo’s conference previews for 2025 keep rolling along with a two-parter: the Pac-12 and the FBS independents, whose ranks have thinned.

* Oregon State might finally (finally!) be poised for stability and growth

* Washington State faces a similar crisis to the one OSU faced last year, although the Cougs have a few reasons for optimism as they prepare to take a big chunk of the best program in FCS and import it to FBS

* Jim Mora has the UConn Huskies in just about the best place possible

* Why this one feels like a “win the national title or bust” year for Notre Dame—or at least get back to the semifinals

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

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

Why You're Always Bad: ULM Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com

Godfrey joins Alex and Richard for the third installment in our offseason series, “Why You’re Always Bad.” This episode is about ULM, formerly known as Northeast Louisiana State. The Warhawks are perhaps the most consistently bad team in the top division of college football, which raises the question of why they’re at that level in the first place. It turns out there’s an answer. In this episode, the Split Zone Duo crew discusses:

* ULM’s struggle to define its identity, literally

* The program’s rise from junior colleague to I-AA to the big time

* The fatal error in ULM’s move to FBS, and how a series of predictable (and some unpredictable) events made things worse

* The rare good times and why ULM hasn’t been able to capitalize on them

* The lesson for others in the Warhawks’ struggles

SCROLL DOWN IN YOUR PODCAST FEED to find our similar subscriber episodes in this series on Rice (published May 12) and Kent State (published February 26).

This episode of Split Zone Duo is for our paid subscribers, without whom the podcast wouldn’t exist. We thank you! And if you’re interested in becoming a paid subscriber, now’s a great time. It costs $10 a month and we are currently offering free trials, as well as a free preview snippet of this episode. You can join us at www.splitzoneduo.com

College Football Previews 2025: The Sun Belt Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

Season previews are back! Richard and Alex go alphabetically through the whole Sun Belt, picking out one rose, one bud, and one thorn for all 14 schools, from Appalachian State to Troy. In this episode:

* App State hits the reset button

* Coastal Carolina should be feeling some urgency

* Georgia Southern extended Clay Helton and kept its roster together, so why aren’t we feeling so good about the Eagles?

* Georgia State’s recruiting growth under Dell McGee is in bloom

* JMU has every chance to contend for the G5 playoff spot

* Marshall follows a Sun Belt championship with a whole lot of uncertainty, but at least one thing about the Herd should be cool

* ODU gets back its star linebacker after a lost season

* Arkansas State has one of the G5’s best receivers … and a date with the Hogs

* Louisiana appears most of the way back, three years after Billy Napier left

* ULM has immense challenges but a reason or two for belief

* South Alabama loses a star running back and its starting QB but gains a Major League ballplayer, among others

* Southern Miss, which went 1-11, is sort of the defending champ

* Texas State has the opportunity to put it all together

* Troy looks at some regression to the mean, but how much more than that?

Then we pick some preseason superlatives to close out the first preview of 2025.

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners:

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

Producer: Anthony Vito

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

Picking the Defining Team of Every Decade of College Football Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com

For the Fourth of July, we look all the way back to the founding of … college football. Richard and Alex pick and debate the defining teams of each decade of the sport’s history, starting with one year of the 1860s and rolling through the 2010s. Remember that “defining team” is usually complimentary, but not always. Without spoiling any of the discussion, this show features:

* Rutgers vs. Princeton for the crown of the 1860s

* Yale’s case against everybody for the later 1800s

* Why Michigan’s 1900s was even more impressive than you think

* Georgia Tech vs. the advent of the forward pass in the 1910s

* That classic college football matchup: Alabama vs. Cal, for the ‘20s

* Someone likes Pitt for the 1930s, and it’s not Alex

* Did the 1940s belong to Army and Navy, or did they belong to the school that best manipulated the rules meant to help people from the army and navy?

* Why there will never be another program like 1950s Oklahoma, ever

* A curveball for the ‘60s, but definitely not for the ‘70s

* Penn State vs. SMU for the ‘80s

* A brutal Nebraska vs. Florida State vs. Miami vs. Florida race for the ‘90s

* In the 2000s, a chance to go off the beaten path instead of just picking Florida or USC: Will we take it?

* No need to complicate the 2010s

This is a subscriber episode of Split Zone Duo.

Everyone can listen to a free preview of this show, and we offer weeklong free trials if you want to try us out. It’s a great time of year to do it, and you can get a month free with an annual subscription.

Thank you for listening, and we hope you have a great holiday weekend.

Producer: Anthony Vito

The 2025 CFB Coach Firing and Retirement Confidence Ranking Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Around 20 FBS coaches will retire or get fired by the end of this season, but which ones will they be? Alex and Richard pick out 23 names and rank them from least to most likely to be entering their last season on the job. Then we talk about the context, especially in the handful of cases with big differences in our rankings. Plus, everyone gets buyer’s remorse at least once.

This episode is free for all. For the most part, however, we release our discussions of the coach carousel for our SplitZoneDuo.com subscribers. Now’s a great time to sign up for the year and get lots of podcasts during the season:

Sports Podcast Festival on August 23, with code SPF25 for a buy one, get one half off deal: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/78691649/the-2nd-annual-sports-podcast-festival-raleigh-the-rialto

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

Production: Anthony Vito.

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

Subscriber Q&A: Ben Haumiller on the New EA Sports College Football Game Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

Part 2 of our conversation with EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller. Ben takes a bunch of subscriber questions on the upcoming CFB game and the state of college sports video gaming in general:

* How to actually learn to play a football video game

* Incorporating the House settlement and NIL

* How a new 'gadget” position” embraces the reality of modern depth charts

* Improvements to the coach carousel

* The process of putting music in the game

* The customization options for conferences and teams (or, in other words, why you cannot destroy the SEC and put all the teams back in the SoCon)

* Different uses for Team Builder

* The potential for a custom stadium builder, one day

* Whether kicking and loud road environments are still impossible

* Adding scandals to college sports video games

And more. Thanks for Ben for joining us, and thanks to our subscribers for not just supporting the show but providing the inspiration for this one. Join us on a free trial and get lots more episodes as well as question-asking rights.

Producer: Anthony Vito

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

Inside College Football 26 with EA Sports’ Principal Game Designer Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

Part 1: EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller joins Alex and Richard for a discussion of the upcoming CFB video game, with a focus on Dynasty mode and lessons learned from last year’s long-awaited return.

* What EA learned from the best-selling sports game of all time

* The easier and more difficult parts of releasing a second game

* How the new game will (and, most importantly, won’t) include microtransactions

* Real-life coaches and how they’ll change the dynasty experience

* Addressing to Alex’s specific complaints about the coach carousel

* Balancing the competing desires of having a realistic game, but also a game in which UMass can eventually sign a bunch of five-stars

* Getting the transfer portal and recruiting right

* The challenges of keeping up with a sport that is endlessly changing, especially the playoff system

Part 2 of our discussion with Ben, coming later this week, is a listener Q&A just for our SplitZoneDuo.com subscribers. We’d love to have you!

Come see us live at the Sports Podcast Festival on August 23 in Raleigh. Use code SPF25 for a buy-one, get-one-half-off deal: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/78691649/the-2nd-annual-sports-podcast-festival-raleigh-the-rialto

Cool stuff from Split Zone Duo’s partners

* Use SZD20 for 20% off your first order at Homefield.

* Enter your favorite CFB road trip at our Nokian Tyres landing page, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tires.

Production: Anthony Vito.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected