Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

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Semifinal Hurry-Up: 83 Yards Through the Heart of Texas Jan 11, 2025

Show notes

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 subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

So, What Is Up With Penn State? Jan 07, 2025

Show notes

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 middle of Franklin’s tenure

* What’s been different about this year’s team

* Whether Franklin is on his way to being a Penn State lifer

* The impact of this year’s coordinator hires

* Fiesta Bowl hospitality

And more. With Penn State on the verge of something big, we thought it was time to talk more in depth about how they got here. Penn State plays Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semifinal this week.

Find Daniel’s work: https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/

Read Audrey Snyder’s story about Penn State’s resources: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3738241/2022/10/28/penn-state-james-franklin-facilities-football/

Host: Alex Kirshner

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

The 2024 Playoff Semifinal Preview Show Jan 06, 2025

Show notes

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!

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Hosts: Richard Johnson, Alex Kirshner

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

Your Repeat Coach Hire Probably Won't Work Jan 06, 2025

Show notes

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 situations are many decades old and didn't happen in FBS. What can we make, however, of 19 coaches who came around after World War II and got two head coaching opportunities at the same school? The list ranges from big successes like Bill Snyder to extreme failures like Randy Edsall, and there are lots of lessons to learn.

See the data at www.splitzoneduo.com

Producer: Anthony Vito

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

CFP Quarterfinal Hurry-Up: Ohio State Is a War Machine Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

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 OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

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Hosts: Richard Johnson, Alex Kirshner

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

The Playoff Quarterfinal Preview 2024, Plus Bowls Dec 29, 2024

Show notes

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

* Notre Dame vs. Georgia, where SZD picks a narrow upset

Plus: Washington State hires a coach, and we’ve got notes on a big collection of December bowl games, from TCU optimism to Pat Narduzzi’s utterly ridiculous field goal decision in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. (Note: That field goal came at the end of the second overtime, making it even worse than Alex said.)

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

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

The SZD 2024 Holiday Subscriber Mailbag Dec 23, 2024

Show notes

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 2025

* Positional value in the transfer portal

* The downstream effects of HBCU celebrity hires

* New Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion

* New ETSU head coach Will Healy

* New Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes

* ESPN’s preference for on-campus games vs. bowl sites

* Holiday movie and dinner preferences

* Squatting

* Recommendations for the District of Columbia, a city that one-third of SZD LLC adores

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

Producer: Anthony Vito

Playoff Hurry-Up: CFB Is a Blowout Sport Dec 22, 2024

Show notes

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)

* Notre Dame is in a different weight class than Indiana, but just don’t forget: Alabama would have met the same fate

Plus, NDSU gets a history-altering win over South Dakota State, Montana State also punches its FCS Championship berth, and updates on the lower levels.

Producer: Anthony Vito

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

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

The Playoff First-Round Preview Show + Weekend Tasting Menu Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

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

* Clemson at Texas, where the Tigers will try to play Cinderella

* Tennessee at Ohio State, where Richard and Alex disagree on how feasible a Vols upset of the Buckeyes really is

Then a Tasting Menu of the rest of the college football weekend, featuring a check in with the FCS and lower-level playoffs.

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

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

Single Wing: Sumrall and the SEC in '26? Dec 14, 2024

Show notes

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 like.

Producer: Anthony Vito

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