Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comPenn 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) Win out, 2) Pay a $50 million buyout, 3) Hope James Franklin takes another job, or 4) Just move forward with a toxic, compromised relationship between the coach and the fanbase. This is a subscriber episodeEveryone can hear a free preview, and you can get the whole thing—and dozens more bonus episodes every year—by becoming a paid subscriber for $10 a month.

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* Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 9* Miami 28, Florida State 22* Clemson 38, North Carolina 10* Virginia 30, Louisville 27* Pitt 48, Boston College 7* Duke 45, California 21* Cincinnati 38, Iowa State 30* BYU 38, West Virginia 24* Texas Tech 35, Houston 11 * TCU 35, Colorado 21* Baylor 35, Kansas State 34* Arizona 41, Oklahoma State 13* Navy 34, Air Force 31* Army 31, UAB 13* USF 54, Charlotte 26* Temple 27, UTSA 21* Notre Dame 28, Boise State 7* San Diego State 45, Colorado State 24* UNLV 31, Wyoming 17* Arkansas State 31, Texas State 30* Old Dominion 47, Coastal Carolina 7* App State 27, Oregon State 23* WKU 27, Delaware 24* New Mexico State 37, Sam Houston 10* Buffalo 31, Eastern Michigan 30 * Akron 28, Central Michigan 22* Western Carolina 23, Wofford 21Producer: Anthony Vito. Want much more? Become a paid subscriberWe’re planning our usual two-subscriber-show load for you this week.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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comOur 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 handful of rich, famous boosters, who own things like Walmart and the Dallas Cowboys. But how much money is earmarked for football is always a point of uncertainty. Let’s also talk about the Bobby Petrino in the room. Episodes of “The Job” are for paid subscribersEveryone can hear a free preview, and you can catch up on other episodes here:* Oklahoma State * Virginia Tech* UCLAProducer: Anthony Vito

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 fight for his job* Kansas State at Baylor, where someone will remain a Big 12 contender* Wisconsin at Michigan, which could get very ugly for the Badgers* Kentucky at Georgia, which should take things from bad to worse for the Wildcats as their season risks getting out of hand* Iowa State at Cincinnati, maybe the game of the early window* Virginia at Louisville, a meeting of stealth ACC contenders* Vanderbilt at Alabama, which wouldn’t be that big of an upset* Boise State at Notre Dame, which would be* Washington at Maryland, which has Alex feeling … hope?* Texas Tech at Houston, as the Red Raiders keep marching* The Main Course, presented by Modelo: Ahead of a game at Florida State, Omaha Productions ball-knower and general Miami historian/superfan Kevin Clark joins the program to talk about the Canes’ apparent breakthrough. But is he worried about a Mario Cristobal Game Management Moment? We will discuss it.Thank you to our subscribers and partnersBecome a paid subscriber today to get a lot more SZD, and check out www.nokiantyres.com/szd and www.homefieldapparel.comAlso, welcome our new partner, Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off.Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, ILProducer: 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comDespite 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 emeritus Steven Godfrey roll through the past five years of coach carousels to find out just what went into each case when a coach got fired extremely early.Producer: Anthony Vito

In THE SUNDAY HURRY-UP PRESENTED BY DAD WATER, Richard and Alex discuss Week 5 of the college football season: Oregon 30, Penn State 24Ohio State 24, Washington 6Indiana 20, Iowa 15Illinois 34, USC 32Northwestern 17, UCLA 14Alabama 24, Georgia 21Texas A&M 16, Auburn 10Tennessee 41, Mississippi State 34Vanderbilt 55, Utah State 35Ole Miss 24, LSU 19 UVA 46, FSU 38Notre Dame 56, Arkansas 13Louisville 34, Pitt 27Georgia Tech 30, Wake Forest 29Duke 38, Syracuse 3Cal 28, BC 24Virginia Tech 23, NC State 21Stanford 30, San Jose State 29Iowa State 39, Arizona 14Utah 48, WVU 14BYU 24, Colorado 21Cincinnati 37, Kansas 34Kansas State 34, UCF 20Arizona State 27, TCU 24Houston 27, Oregon State 24North Texas 36, South Bama 22Memphis 55, FAU 26Navy 21, Rice 13ECU 28, Army 6Boise 47, App State 14JMU 35, Georgia Southern 10Louisiana 54, Marshall 51Southern Miss 42, Jacksonville State 25ODU 21, Liberty 7Louisiana Tech 30, UTEP 11ULM 28, Arkansas State 16Ohio 35, Bowling Green 20Central Michigan 24, EMU 13San Diego State 6, NIU 3Hawaii 44, AFA 35Wazzu 20, Colorado State 3New Mexico 38, NMSU 20Montana 41, Idaho 30Want much more? Become a paid subscriber We’re planning our usual two-subscriber-show load for you this week. Thanks to our partners and subscribers20% 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/SZDProducer: 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comThe 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 choices? What are the many archetypes of interim coach, and what do they suggest about schools’ goals? Most importantly: How do interim coaches do when they get the “interim” label removed and take the permanent job? Should we be taking more of them more seriously as long-term candidates? Rodger Sherman leads Alex and Richard on a journey into the world of the interim. Meet the seven different types, including:* The Special Teams Coach* The Interim Who Used To Be A Head Coach* The Please Don’t Decommit Interim* The Frequent Flyer Interim* The Lifetime Achievement Interim* The Remember Some Guys Interim* And most important: The Interim Who Actually Gets The JobProducer: Anthony Vito

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* UCLA at Northwestern (don’t watch this)* NMSU at New Mexico* Tennessee at Mississippi State* Appalachian State at Boise State* Montana at Idaho (FCS top-10 showdown)* Alabama at Georgia* BYU at Colorado* And, of course, Oregon at Penn State: THE MAIN COURSE, featuring Audrey Snyder of Inside the Lions. If you haven’t paid much attention to Penn State in its three warmup games, you’re not alone. Audrey tells us how the Nittany Lions are looking, where the trouble spots might be, and what she makes of this marquee rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship.Thank you to our subscribers and partnersBecome a paid subscriber today to get a lot more SZD, and check out www.nokiantyres.com/szd and www.homefieldapparel.comAlso, welcome our new partner, Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off.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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comSUBSCRIBER 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?* How did money problems materialize on the field?* Who’s actually in charge? Recent events make that a fair question* What does “fit” look like for a job that one guy has had for 20 years?* Verdict time: Good job, bad job, or circumstantial?Episodes of “The Job” are for paid subscribersEveryone can hear a free preview, and you can catch up on other episodes here:* Virginia Tech* UCLA

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comVirginia 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 discuss:* Why Brent Pry failed* Why the concept of “fit” in this job is extremely hard to figure out, unless you are literally Frank Beamer’s son. (And in that case, you have a conventionally better job.) * Tech’s place in the ACC and why TV viewership is everything* The bells and whistles the Hokies have lacked* The questions any candidate will want answered* How much does an amazing game day atmosphere still matter?* “I do not think Michael Vick is going to get this job”* Verdict time: Good job, bad job, or circumstantial?Producer: Anthony Vito