Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comDan Lanning signed an extension with Oregon that makes it impossible for all but a few teams to hire him away, and most of them aren’t college. Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, and Alex Kirshner discuss what his contract says about the evolved pecking order in the coach carousel. After losing both Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal to Florida schools, has Oregon now ascended to be poaching-proof from everyone except the NFL, Ohio State, and Georgia? We run down some hypotheticals about LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, FSU, and Clemson. Hosts: Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, Alex KirshnerProducer: Anthony Vito This episode is for SZD subscribersYou can get a free trial of our paid episodes to get lots more shows like this. Meanwhile, everyone can hear a short preview of this show.

Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football senior writer Mike Craven discuss the state of the offseason in Conference USA, a league that was spicier than most of us expected in 2024:* Jacksonville State loses the braintrust behind a conference championship and will now be completely different* WKU’s run as the cradle of coordinators continues* FIU tries an ultra-Floridian approach* Sam Houston restarts with Phil Longo, who has school ties* Kennesaw State is just trying to be in less disarray* Liberty overhauls in the portal as it looks to bounce back* UTEP is quietly building something intriguing under Scotty Walden* Middle Tennessee emerges from a Year Zero* New Mexico State deals with broader athletic department turmoil* Louisiana Tech continues to ride it out* And the league soon adds a couple of new members, Delaware and Missouri State. We’ll get to them in season previews. It’s not time yet.Meet the Offseason Vibe Check: It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going on around your program?Producer: Anthony VitoElsewhere in Offseason Vibe Checks* SEC* Sun Belt* ACC* Big 12 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comAlex and Richard take subscribers’ college football questions in this live recording, conducted on the Substack app on Tuesday. We call it CFB Lunch Break, because we’re taking CFB questions at lunchtime:* How we feel about player wearing #0 and single-digits* The winner and loser from the ACC’s settlement with Clemson and FSU, which keeps the ACC together for at least a bit* What’s the real reason that spring games are on the decline?* Talking through Eddie George’s move to Bowling Green* Whether George is now in the Ohio State long-term candidates pipeline* San Diego State’s stagnancy as it heads to the new Pac-12* Does Dan Lanning warrant “f—ing football coach” status?* Why Lanning’s extension with Oregon is the realest extension ever* Fanbases with the MOST REALISTIC expectations* How long Indiana fans will (or won’t) tolerate a return to the old days* If we think about college football in the middle of the nightHosts: Alex Kirshner, Richard JohnsonProducer: Anthony Vito

Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football senior writer Mike Craven discuss how the offseason is going for every team in the Big 12 Conference: * Arizona State keeps a playoff core almost totally intact * Arizona is in the danger zone after Brent Brennan’s first year* Baylor is once again ready to contend for the league * Oklahoma State is in uncharted waters * WVU and UCF both do some fan service * Kansas swaps out coordinators and has a QB injury to monitor* Why Houston coach Willie Fritz is nicknamed “novocain”* Iowa State needs to win in the portal at wide receiver * Colorado is still acting very much like Colorado* How much should we buy into the hype of Texas Tech’s NIL-driven offseason renaissance? Mike tells us* Kansas State has its best recruit in program history* Cincinnati is relying a lot on Scott Satterfield’s evaluations * TCU has the best recruiting class in the Big 12 and could be rising again * Utah’s coach-in-waiting situation could get a bit weird, no? * BYU has an offseason of turnover and near-turnover at the top Meet the Offseason Vibe Check: It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going on around your program?Elsewhere in Offseason Vibe Checks* SEC* Sun Belt* ACC 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 Offseason Vibe Check series continues with the ACC, as Rodger Sherman joins Alex and Richard to talk about the state of the league. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going on around your program? * Pitt finished on an 0-6 run but has continuity in some important spots * Florida State makes wholesale changes after going 2-10 with one FBS win over Cal by five points * Jake Dickert takes over at Wake Forest after Dave Clawson stepped away without making it all about him * Virginia Tech’s make-or-break year approaches* Cal adds some funny culture fits * Belichick’s UNC is talking funny about operating like an NFL program* SMU appears to be building on its playoff season * Duke might be in the best shape of its football life * Syracuse recruits a massive class as Fran Brown tries to build * “We’re all on in Georgia Tech, right?” * Clemson steps into the transfer portal at last * NC State’s party might be over, but give Dave Doeren a chance* Miami gets itself involved (of course) in a major legal matter * BC and UVA make quarterback swaps * Is Louisville about to have a highly drafted NFL QB to recruit off of? * Palace intrigue at Stanford involving Andrew Luck (!) More from SZD and Rodger We love Rodger’s newsletterWe also loved having him on this episode (for subscribers, with a free trial!) about the unbelievably grim history of Kent State football: Elsewhere in Offseason Vibe Checks* SEC* Sun Belt 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comAlex and Richard take live and pre-submitted subscriber questions in this quick episode to start off the new month. Topics include: * Biff Poggi’s return to Michigan* The tough job ahead of Pitt’s new AD* Brian Kelly’s make-or-break year * Colorado State continually being just short of being something* The first 100 days of the Belichick UNC administration * Gary Pinkel’s underrated career * Nebraska canceling a Tennessee series and the Big Ten either retreating from tough non-conference games or setting up for more of them * The concept of a Tulane-LSU-Saints football road trip * How many coaching trees can we really name right now? * A quick preview of SZD’s offseason plans Random historical show note: Here’s Colorado State’s pitch to the Big 12 from 2016, which Matt Brown and Alex dug up for SB Nation. Producer: Anthony VitoA bunch of fresh podcasts from SZD In case you missed any of these: * Our special on why Kent State’s football program is always bad, and what can be done about it if anything. Featuring Rodger Sherman! * Anatomy of a coaching carousel: 2001. Diving deep into the ramifications of one coach hiring cycle with our co-host emeritus Steven Godfrey * Offseason Vibe Checks: The state of the SEC * Offseason Vibe Checks: The state of the Sun BeltStay tuned for more this week Offseason Vibe Checks will roll on with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Not a subscriber but want to try it out? We love to hear that and are offering a week’s free trial. Subscribers: Any thoughts on this format? Let us know. We’re eager to hear what you think.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comThe history of the Kent State Golden Flashes is full of missed opportunities, real-life tragedies, and lots of losing—never more than in 2024, when Kent State had one of the worst teams in college football history. Why is the program perennially so bad? To answer that question, Rodger Sherman joins Alex and Richard for a deep dive into the Flashes. * A long history of great, memorable players on bad teams * Separating the challenges that come with being a MAC school from the ones that are specific to this MAC school * A string of tragedies that affected the football program, led by the fallout from the killings of four students by national guardsmen in 1970 * More than one missed chance to hire alum Nick Saban * The program’s best case-scenario over the next 10 years * Should Kent State stay the course, drop to FCS, or do something else? Read Rodger’s recent newsletter on Kent State’s miserable 2024, and join the thousands on his mailing list to get more of his one-of-a-kind writing. This is a premium episode of Split Zone Duo for our paid subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber yet, you can try us out on a seven-day free trial. Also, let us know if you liked this episode concept and if there are any other troubled programs you’d like to see us explore in the future.

Split Zone Duo’s “Offseason Vibe Check” series rolls on with the Sun Belt. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going on around your program? In this week’s Sun Belt episode, Alex Kirshner and Richard Johnson discuss: * Louisiana’s sour ending after being the most low-key playoff contender until the final days of the season * Marshall’s tumultuous end of the season and coaching change * App State’s Dowell Loggains era starts with winning hearts and minds* Coastal Carolina cleans house … except for the head coach * Butch Jones and Arkansas State are in it for the long haul * Charles Huff finds his life raft at a downtrodden Southern Miss* Texas State hangs onto GJ Kinne after it didn’t look likely * Georgia Southern gives Clay Helton a contract extension that isn’t outrageous but doesn’t make a lot of sense * James Madison tries a bespoke approach in the portal, and it should lead to the Dukes being favorites in the league * Georgia State’s recruiting blitz under Dell McGee picks up * A snippet from friend of the program Justin Ferguson of the Auburn Observer, talking about the situations at Troy and South Alabama Offseason Vibe Checks so far * The SEC 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

Welcome to Split Zone Duo’s “Offseason Vibe Check” series. It's not a 2024 recap, and it's not a 2025 preview. It's a check-in with every team in every FBS conference about what's been happening since Thanksgiving. How was the postseason? How was the coach carousel? How was signing day? How was the transfer portal window? And is anything else going on around your program? We start with the Southeastern Conference and will work our way from here.* Tennessee has had a quiet few months since Columbus* Vanderbilt will have Diego Pavia back, we think * Alabama’s bowl loss was bad enough to make you question some things, but the new offensive coordinator might be great * Did everyone realize that Mike Bobo is still UGA’s offensive coordinator? * Impressively, so is Bobby Petrino at Arkansas * Brent Venables stakes his Oklahoma tenure on some newcomers* Ole Miss has reasons to be both concerned and excited * South Carolina aims for a portal sequel * Texas is trying to do it yet again on the defensive line * LSU might be The Definitive Portal Team of 2025* Florida continues to tell a positive story * Kentucky’s path back to being prickly is not clear * Mississippi State gets some needed upgrades * A&M overhauls its wide receiver room * Missouri gets the chance to prove it can be durable * Auburn faces a “put up or shut up” kind of seasonStay tuned for more in this recurring series over the coming months. Producer: Anthony VitoSplit Zone Duo paid subscribers got a whole other big episode this weekSZD host emeritus Steven Godfrey joins Alex and Richard to break down one of the most fascinating coaching cycles in recent memory: the one before the 2001 season. Find that episode below or in your podcast feed. If you’re not yet an SZD subscriber, try us out with a seven-day free trial. If you like CFB history, we think you will really enjoy the episode. 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comThe coaching carousel before the 2001 season transformed college football. Some programs set themselves up for national championship (or even dynastic) runs. Some screwed themselves. Some set the stage for the next several decades of the top tiers of the SEC and Big Ten. In this episode, Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Steven Godfrey take a fine-toothed comb through the consequential coaching cycle at the end of 2000: * The hires that worked really well (Gary Patterson to TCU, Pete Carroll to USC, Jim Tressel to Ohio State, Rich Rodriguez to WVU, and many more) * The hires that fell flat (hello, UNC and Arizona) * The hires that shaped college football to this day* The what-if scenarios that nearly made it all different * Ohio State and Georgia shopping for upgrades * A reevaluation of Larry Coker? * Class superlatives, including the Ellis Johnson Southern Miss Award for missed opportunities, the Coaching Carousel Global Impact Award for the most profound ripple effects, and Hire of the Year And more. We enjoyed making this episode for our paying subscribers at www.splitzoneduo.com, but everyone can hear a free preview. Join us on a weeklong free trial if you aren’t a subscriber and would like to try us out. Producer: Anthony Vito