Podcast
Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast
Hosted by Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner · EN
An independent college football podcast that covers the whole sport, led by Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner. Free episodes each week (twice per week in season), plus frequent subscriber episodes. Featuring co-host emeritus Steven Godfrey and friends.
www.splitzoneduo.com
www.splitzoneduo.com
92episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Does the Big 12 Even Want This Sack of Cash?
May 700:15:22Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comExtra Points publisher Matt Brown joins Alex and Richard for this subscriber edition of the Sports Business Hour, starting with the Big 12’s RedBird Capital deal and why a lot of schools that need money might still say no to expensive outside cash. From there, the group gets into what “revenue generation” can mean for a conference office, how Utah’s private-equity idea differs from a loan, why winning alone is a shaky athletic department business plan, and what Duke’s new Amazon arrangement does and does not reveal about the future of conference s media rights. The episode closes with Brendan Sorsby’s unsettled gambling case, where NCAA enforcement, Texas Tech, the NFL, and some (actually) serious lawyers could all wind up in the same big story.In this subscriber episode:* 0:16: RedBird, private capital, and why many Big 12 schools may pass on the league’s new borrowing option.* 5:00: Why the conference office, specifically, is taking the money* 15:02: The latest in “winning is not a business model,” with case studies from Indiana and South Carolina* 23:02: ACC meetings primer: Uneven schedules, tiebreakers, revenue-sharing stakes, and a looming (but still quiet) realignment problem* 30:35: Duke’s Amazon games, ESPN’s role, Big Ten objections, and why this is not a template for big football brands peeling off TV rights.* 49:36: New developments in the Brendan Sorsby caseThanks to Matt. Read and subscribe to Extra Points!Producer: Anthony Vito
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What Returning Production Says about 2026, Feat. Bill Connelly
May 600:59:13Tap to summarizeESPN’s Bill Connelly joins Alex and Richard to talk about his returning production rankings for the 2026 college football season. The power leagues are retaining more of last year’s snaps and yards, while the G6 is increasingly forced into annual rebuilds. Bill explains how the formula for returning talent has evolved, how the transfer portal has made it messy, and which 2026 teams look interesting based on who’s coming back. In this episode:* 0:55: Exactly how dire is the returning production picture in the Group of 6?* 4:10: How the returning-production formula has changed in the portal era, from FCS/FBS translation to incoming-transfer weight.* 12:58: Why the weights look the way they do, including offensive line snaps, pass catchers, quarterbacks, and defensive stickiness.* 15:02: What we can learn from last year’s big returning production flop, the No. 1-ranked (sort of) Clemson Tigers* 20:18: The new grind of roster evaluation, why G6 previews can become transfer lists, and 2026 FAU as a returning production test case.* 27:13: AI in roster work and recruiting operations, and why Bill still prefers doing his own spreadsheeting* 35:55: 2026 case studies near the top: Notre Dame, Maryland, South Carolina, and Texas.* 49:10: Rebuilds at Tulane, North Texas, and James Madison, a packed American race, and … a little curiosity at Ohio State?Producer: Anthony VitoThank you to our partners!* Shop at Homefield* Learn more about Nokian Tyres 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
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Brendan Sorsby's Gambling Has Texas Tech In Crisis
Apr 2900:55:52Tap to summarizeWant a video version of this episode? Find it on YouTube right here. Subscribe to our new @collegefootballpodcast channel to get video versions of all our free episodes, and subscribe to our main channel for our occasional history short docs and other fun YouTube exclusives. Richard and Alex go deep on this week’s biggest story: Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby is under investigation for sports betting, including wagers reportedly placed on his own team while he was at Indiana. Inside: * 2:05: The Sorsby betting story and why it’s such an uphill fight for him to ever play college football again* 25:37: What this makes us think about the state of sports gambling in the United States and our own sports media history with it * 38:08: Thanks to our great sponsors, Homefield and Nokian Tyres* 40:05: NFL Draft postmortem: Diego Pavia, Cade Klubnik, UNC and Colorado coming up empty, and interesting late-round CFB finds * 52:42: The NCAA’s potential move to a “five in five” eligibility standard 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
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Five Offseason CFB Stories Ranging from Weird to Transformative
Apr 2800:19:38Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comSUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard, Alex, and host emeritus Steven Godfrey bounce around to a handful of college football news stories that demand more discussion: * 1:46: Kentucky’s attempt to set up a sketchy $1 million job for outgoing athletic director Mitch Barnhart, which came apart under political pressure* 12:02: Virginia Tech’s disempowered AD finally stepping away * 19:18: The unusual amount of post-job change animosity flowing toward Auburn coach Alex Golesh from USF * 30:40: Jeremy Pruitt’s tangled mess of an attempt to get out of his NCAA show cause, and what it tells us about the current state of enforcement * 38:42: The NCAA seems poised to move up Week 1 to the current Week 0 slot in late August. Why is this happening? Well, the NFL. Does college football have any chance of hanging on to a prime calendar spot? And what other sacred spots on the schedule might be under attack? Producer: Anthony Vito. This is a subscriber episode, but everyone can hear a nice big free previewTo get this episode and many, many more (as well as a whole back catalog of evergreen college football history shows, reporting on the coach carousel, and more), become a paid subscriber today.
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Bill Barnwell on the NFL's Lack of Improvement in Drafting College Football Players
Apr 2301:12:31Tap to summarizeNFL teams have more data and scouting resources than ever. Yet they haven’t gotten better at picking the best college football players. Why not? ESPN senior writer Bill Barnwell joins Richard and Alex to dive into a complicated topic:* 0:20: Welcoming our guest, Bill Barnwell* 9:24: The NFL Draft is the biggest deal in the city of Pittsburgh* 16:31: Why NFL teams haven’t gotten better at drafting over the decadesDuring this episode, Alex mentions a few statistical studies that researchers have done on pro sports teams’ draft performance over time. You can find those here and here. 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
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The 2026 NFL Draft QB Tiers Special
Apr 2000:21:36Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comSUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Longtime pals Ben Solak of ESPN and Derrik Klassen of The Athletic join Richard for this year’s discussion of the college football QBs who will soon become NFL QBs. From Joe Fagnano and Diego Pavia (a statue player in CFB, but probably not one in the NFL) to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, here’s how the crew sees this year’s QBs stacking up. Producer: Anthony VitoThis is a subscriber episode, but everyone can hear a nice big free previewTo get this episode and many, many more (as well as a whole back catalog of evergreen college football history shows, reporting on the coach carousel, and more), become a paid subscriber today.
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Utah and the Folly of the Coach-in-Waiting: April CFB Mailbag
Apr 1700:25:29Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comSUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard and Alex take subscriber questions! As the college football offseason hits more or less its halfway point, it’s mailbag time. Among the many questions we answer in this episode, you will find * 0:55: Utah did not envision that Kyle Whittingham’s departure would go down like that. Was the Utes’ fate foretold by what happened at … Maryland? All the way back in 2010?* 22:03: Who could be the next Texas Tech?* 50:15: Does basketball really have more portal activity than football, or does it seem that way because of small roster sizes? (Yes.)* 52:34: Why doesn’t Richard believe in the sanctity of the one true portal window?* 54:00: How big is the talent gap between a G6 and P4 position coach?* 58:43: Was Greg Sankey born on third base? Plus a longer chat about the way college sports media talk about conference commissioners.* 1:04:13: Why do we express skepticism about USF’s finances?* 1:11:23: If we could cover any sport other than CFB for a living, what would it be?Producer: Anthony VitoThis is a subscriber episode, but everyone can hear a nice big free previewTo get this episode and many, many more (as well as a whole back catalog of evergreen college football history shows, reporting on the coach carousel, and more), become a paid subscriber today.
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One of College Football's Biggest Deals Ever (?)
Apr 1500:54:27Tap to summarizeIn this latest SZD/Extra Points Sports Business Hour with guest Matt Brown, Alex and Richard talk about several things you’ve seen in the news. Find Matt at Extra Points, and listen to our conversation here: * 0:45: Learfield, the college sports multimedia rights company, sold to a (new) private equity owner in a $2 billion deal. This is one of the largest deals in college sports history, but for what? Matt helps us understand the importance of companies like Learfield and its rival Playfly, and how they affect both our favorite teams and their financial statements. Will this deal change much about the college sports landscape, though? It doesn’t seem like a slam dunk. * 19:45: The Trump administration’s college sports executive order is fake and made up, but somehow, that’s not the same thing as “meaningless.” It also might destroy any potential for a serious legislative solution to college sports’ problems. Matt tells us what he’s learned from Capitol Hill sources. * 32:37: Did the Big Ten office do a make-work for Wisconsin’s AD so that the Badgers could get someone better in that job? The answer isn’t “definitely not.” * 42:34: The NCAA makes an example of … Iowa. * 47:35: Audience question 1: What would be the pros and cons of media rights consolidation?* 52:04: Audience question 2: Which schools are doing fun and different things with their House settlement allocations? Thanks to Matt! Read him all the time at www.extrapointsmb.com Producer: Anthony VitoThis episode is free, but to get lots more, become a paid subscriber todayFor $10 a month (or a free month with the whole year), you get:* Roughly twice as many episodes (usually two bonus a week in season and once a week out of season, but sometimes more)* Our entire back catalog of hundreds of bonus episodes, with many of them focused on evergreen topics from college football history* Subscriber Q&A opportunities* The knowledge that you’re helping us make an audience-driven podcast about college football and keeping this thing alive and wellThanks to Homefield and Nokian Tyres Do you think your area has the worst roads in North America? Tell Nokian Tyres.Find the Jackie Robinson collection and much more at Homefield. 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
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Group of 6 Offseason Vibe Check: Memphis, Memphis, Memphis
Apr 901:30:44Tap to summarizeRichard and Alex discuss how the offseason is going across the Group of 6 college football conferences. In this episode: * 1:52: A fresh way to talk about the G6 offseason * 3:55: Our tour through new head coaching hires, starting with Charles Huff at Memphis and Brian Hartline at USF, then moving all around the country* 1:10:49: Recruiting talk. Who has money? Miami University, apparently* 1:24:35: Fine, we’ll talk about the Masters, and Alex will make peace with Auburn fans Read the 2026 returning production rankings Producer: Anthony VitoThis episode is free, but to get lots more, become a paid subscriber todayFor $10 a month (or a free month with the whole year), you get:* Roughly twice as many episodes (usually two bonus a week in season and once a week out of season, but sometimes more)* Our entire back catalog of hundreds of bonus episodes, with many of them focused on evergreen topics from college football history* Subscriber Q&A opportunities* The knowledge that you’re helping us make an audience-driven podcast about college football and keeping this thing alive and wellThanks to Homefield and Nokian Tyres Do you think your area has the worst roads in North America? Tell Nokian about it, and get entered in a drawing for a set of tires.Shop Michigan and UCLA national title gear at Homefield. 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
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Dabo's Decline and the History of CFB's Guy After the Guy
Apr 700:25:12Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comGodfrey joins Richard and Alex for a discussion about college football history. For understandable reasons, people all cautious about calling for teams to make coaching changes when the incumbent is a legend in the job. How careful should we be, though? In this episode, we go through the past 40-ish years of coaching transitions from living legend to … someone else. How do schools do when they either fire an all-timer or need to replace him in retirement? The answer isn’t great, but it’s not as bad as you might think. * 2:04: Why Dabo Swinney got us thinking about this subject * 16:20: The rare cases of the “guy after the guy” arguably doing a better job than the coach he replaced, or at least winning more games for a while* 21:15: The maintainers who kept the train on the tracks, like Ryan Day* 39:13: The long, slow declines, like Virginia Tech post-Frank Beamer* 59:52: The tank jobs, like Ron Zook or Ron Prince * 1:24:16: The cases where the jury is still out, like Kalen DeBoer. (Is that jury still out? We have a mini-debate.) * 1:31:15: Lessons for Clemson heading into another fraught season This is a subscriber episode, but everyone can hear a nice big free previewTo get this episode and many, many more (as well as a whole back catalog of evergreen college football history shows, reporting on the coach carousel, and more), become a paid subscriber today.Producer: Anthony Vito
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