CFB Time Capsule Review: What We Learned from a Stunning 2025

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comBefore the season, Godfrey, Richard, and Alex made a bunch of predictions and buried them in a time capsule. Time to dig it up! What did everyone learn over the course of the season? How were our prior opinions challenged? Where we got things wildly wrong, was that bad luck (Penn State) or the sign of missing something much deeper (arguably Clemson)? Let’s review in detail: * How each FBS conference met or didn’t meet our expectations * Conference USA and the MAC will just never make sense * The shocking collapses of Penn State and Clemson and the still-pretty-surprising three-loss season that Texas had * Godfrey’s almost legendary spotting of a North Texas QB * What will we think about in a different way heading into 2026?Producer: Anthony Vito. This episode is for paid subscribers, but everyone can hear a free preview You can become a paid subscriber here. Interested in hearing more about how our podcast is doing? We’ve got a “state of the union for youThe short answer: Things are good. The longer answer: Read this letter from us to the audience.

It’s time to review the 2025 college football season, with our annual awards special, the Zonies. Rodger Sherman joins Alex and Richard to dole out some important CFB honors for this past season, including: * Power conference team of the year * Non-power team of the year * Moment of the year * Proof of concept of the year * Minority Coach of the Week of the Year * Bryan Harsin Award for Forestalling the Inevitable * The Podcaster’s Player Award It’s an awards show, but it’s mainly a walk down memory lane of the things we enjoyed most about the season. Thanks for listening. Producer: Anthony VitoAlso, we briefly discuss the Olympics at the end of the episode. You’ll be able to read all kinds of Rodger stories on the Olympics at his newsletter. SZD doesn’t stop in the offseasonThe opposite, if anything. We use these months for all sorts of creative projects that are designed to appeal to people who love college football and want to learn more about it while having a good time. History projects! Sports business! Roster moves! We’ll do all of it. (Alex would even say that his favorite subscriber shows are the ones we have time to do out of football season.) We’d love to have you:Support Split Zone Duo’s sponsors * nokiantyres.com/szd * homefieldapparel.com 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.comWelcome to the rest of the college football calendar, the part when games aren’t actually being played. In this quick subscriber episode, Alex and Richard debrief on the state of their CFB fandom and talk about what’s both good and not good right now. Producer: Anthony Vito. This show is for paid subscribers Thanks so much to the thousands of people (!) who subscribe to support Split Zone Duo. One thing you get is the knowledge that you are making this independent college football podcast possible. Another thing you get is a lot of bonus episodes, including weekly dispatches all offseason long. The football season is our busiest time, but we like to think the offseason is our most creative time, and there’s still a lot of news to talk about. Thanks so much and here’s the subscribe link.Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel!That one’s free, though:

The best turnaround in the history of college football concludes with a 16-0 season and a national championship. Richard and Alex talk about Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami, what led up to it, and where these programs go next. SZD doesn’t stop in the offseason The opposite, if anything. We use these months for all sorts of creative projects that are designed to appeal to people who love college football and want to learn more about it while having a good time. History projects! Sports business! Roster moves! We’ll do all of it. (Alex would even say that his favorite subscriber shows are the ones we have time to do out of football season.) We’d love to have you: Thanks to our sponsors, and congrats to the ones that are based in Indiana* 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD* Shop Indiana title gear at Homefield* Nokian Tyres: https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd* 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.comTHIS IS A SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Thanks so much to the thousands of people (!) who subscribe to support Split Zone Duo. One thing you get is the knowledge that you are making this independent college football podcast possible. Another thing you get is a lot of bonus episodes, including weekly dispatches all offseason long. The football season is our busiest time, but we like to think the offseason is our most creative time, and there’s still a lot of news to talk about. Thanks so much and here’s the subscribe link.The great Michael Felder joins Richard for a “Scheme School” episode, diving deeper into the Xs and Os of the Miami-Indiana national title game. * How Indiana avoids having any bad concepts, ever * Indiana’s tight end is the most important person in the world * The familiarity between Miami’s DC and Curt Cignetti * Are we sure Indiana can block those dudes up front? * Why everyone here feels pretty good about the Hoosiers, whose defensive identity involves stopping scrambles like the one Carson Beck used to beat Ole Miss in the semifinal And more! Producer: Anthony Vito

Richard and Alex look ahead to the College Football Playoff National Championship, with some thoughts on the schematics and then the unique circumstances surrounding Miami and Indiana. In this episode:* 1:32: Our thoughts on the city of Miami* 9:55: Brief Xs and Os preview of Indiana vs. Miami: Could Miami sack Fernando Mendoza a bunch and still lose? What about the big challenge in front of Indiana’s secondary, facing Malachi Toney?* 30:17: Narrative preview and the significance of the title game: The U is back! Except we’re not supposed to talk about that! Also, Indiana (rat poison alert) is on the verge of a best-team-ever argument.* 43:17: Why the playoff should not be expanded further and why the Big Ten Conference’s malignant behavior must be stoppedFurther reading: CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello on the current negotiations about Playoff expansion, pitting the Big Ten against the SEC.More listening for paid subscribers!* Alex and Rodger Sherman’s deep dive into the lessons of Curt Cignetti’s rise, drawing on research from a 40-year coaching career, is out now* Coming Friday, a special episode of SCHEME SCHOOL, featuring Richard and guest Michael Felder going deeper on the scheme of this game. Subscribe.Producer: Anthony VitoFull details here on the festivities around the game.* 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD* Nokian Tyres: https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd* Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL 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.comEvery athletic director and search firm in college sports would love to find their own version of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. Great idea, but easier in theory than in practice. Cignetti once said to Google him, so we did, taking a deep dive into all of the stops in a 40-year coaching career and trying to identify what about Cignetti is identifiable in real time, what isn’t, and what from his Indiana success other schools could reasonably hope to replicate. In this episode:* 13:22: Early signs of a resourceful coach while he’s leading the QBs for an 0-11 Rice program in the 1980s* 20:08: A move to NC State, where he worked with two future Hall of Fame QBs and seemed to internalize some lessons about managing stress* 26:20: Taking part in the Nick Saban Alabama dynasty* 32:00: Making a legit shocking move to Division II IUP, which turned out to provide ideal training for Cignetti’s future job at another Indiana* 45:00: A pivot to James Madison, where he didn't turn around a struggling program but continued a nice run, lost the FCS national championship to North Dakota State, then executed the smoothest FCS-to-FBS transition ever* 58:15: Indiana, where Cignetti was brilliant and also got very luckyCan you find your own Cignetti? If it’s possible, this episode should help you.Producer: Anthony Vito

The College Football Playoff National Championship is set. Alex and Richard react to a mixed pair of semifinal games, with Miami outlasting Ole Miss and Indiana feeding Oregon into a wood chipper. In the rare Hurry-Up recorded from a live studio (or at least living room), we discuss: * 18:37: Miami 31, Ole Miss 27* 01:03: Indiana 56 (!), Oregon 22 Producer: Anthony Vito Become a paid subscriberWe are grateful for the several thousand people who pay $10 a month or $110 for the year to support Split Zone Duo. One thing you get is the knowledge that you are making this independent college football podcast possible. Another thing you get is a lot of bonus episodes, including weekly dispatches all offseason long. The football season is our busiest time, but we like to think the offseason is our most creative time, and there’s still a lot of news to talk about.Thanks to our partners and subscribers* 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD* https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd* Shop Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/* Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL 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 EPISODE: Once upon a time, Ole Miss picked segregation over being good at football. Indiana picked basketball over being good at football. Miami never really chose not to be good at football, but made a series of mistakes and ran up against difficult modern realities that caused a long drought. Meanwhile, the story of Phil Knight rescuing Oregon is now so old-fashioned it’s basically quaint. In this subscriber episode, Richard and Alex talk about how the four 2025 Playoff semifinalists got out of their own way. The second half of this audio file (starting at 39:43) is a resurfacing of our “Dead Letters” episode about the history of Ole Miss football, featuring Alex and Steven Godfrey. We’ve gotten a lot of new listeners since the episode came out in 2023 and wanted to make sure those folks had a chance to hear it. Find all Dead Letters shows here. Producer: Anthony Vito. This is a subscriber episode of SZD We are grateful for the several thousand people who pay $10 a month or $110 for the year to support Split Zone Duo. One thing you get is the knowledge that you are making this independent college football podcast possible. Another thing you get is a lot of bonus episodes, including weekly dispatches all offseason long. The football season is our busiest time, but we like to think the offseason is our most creative time, and there’s still a lot of news to talk about.We’ll do a lot of that exclusively for subscribers. Thanks to everyone who’s already joined us, and if you haven’t yet, we think you’ll enjoy it if you check it out. Good for the soul but also good for the podcast queue.

Richard and Alex talk about the absurd FCS Championship that ended with Montana State claiming the national title over Illinois State. Then it’s time to preview the College Football Playoff semifinals in a lot of detail. * 2:30 FCS Championship * 15:42 Ole Miss vs. Miami * 33:52 Oregon vs. Indiana * 52:15 NFL playoff takes Producer: Anthony Vito. Become a paid subscriber in 2026! We are grateful for the several thousand people who pay $10 a month or $110 for the year to support Split Zone Duo. One thing you get is the knowledge that you are making this independent college football podcast possible. Another thing you get is a lot of bonus episodes, including weekly dispatches all offseason long. The football season is our busiest time, but we like to think the offseason is our most creative time, and there’s still a lot of news to talk about. We’ll do a lot of that exclusive for subscribers. Thanks to everyone who’s already joined us, and if you haven’t yet, we think you’ll enjoy it if you check it out. Good for the soul but also good for the podcast queue. Thank you to Split Zone Duo’s sponsors * 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD* https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd* Shop Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/* Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL 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