Are CFB's Bowls Screwed, or Are We Just Old?

These are difficult times for the college football bowl games that aren’t part of the Playoff system. Player opt-outs were already a thing, and now entire teams don’t want to take part. At best, the games are internet memes featuring some enjoyable football on the side. At worst, nobody cares. How many of these problems are truly new, and how many of them feel worse than they are because we have a distorted picture of being young in the 1990s and 2000s? Alex and Rodger challenge their priors on how much bowl season has changed and how much of bowls’ decline comes down to nostalgia. Want much more? Become a paid subscriberSubscribers get weekly bonus episodes, usually more than one during the season and postseason, as well as the chance to ask questions and engage more deeply with the hosts. We’d love to have you.Thanks to our partners and subscribers* 20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD* Nokian Tyres: https://www.nokiantyres.com/szd* Shop Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/* Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL 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

Richard and Alex dive into the results from first round of the College Football Playoff, in the following order: Miami over Texas A&M, Alabama over Oklahoma, Ole Miss over Tulane, and James Madison vs. the idea that Group of 5 teams should have less access to the tournament. Then, a tour through FCS, Division II, Division III, and the NAIA national championship. Producer: Anthony Vito. Want much more? Become a paid subscriberSubscribers get weekly bonus episodes, usually more than one during the season and postseason, as well as the chance to ask questions and engage more deeply with the hosts. We’d love to have you. 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

In 2024, Indiana got good at football. In 2025, it got serious as a national championship contender. The Hoosiers enter the Playoff as the best team in the country, and it all comes back to a coach who can best be described as a more modern version of what Dabo Swinney used to be at Clemson. This wraps up our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. 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

Ohio State was supposed to be a little bit worse this year. That’s technically true, sort of, as the Buckeyes enter the Playoff at a mere 12-1 after a missed 27-yard field goal cost them overtime in the Big Ten Championship. Everyone was wrong about Matt Patricia, and this team could win it all again. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. 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: Godfrey joins Richard and Alex for an awards show: The 2025-26 Coach Carousel Superlatives. Split Zone Duo hands out the following sought-after honors: * The Trent Dilfer Award for Bungled Hiring Process * The Deion Sanders Award for Celebrity Coach Hiring* The Ed Orgeron Award for Interim Coach Promotions * The Curt Cignetti Award for Best Hire from the Group of Five or FCS * The Indiana Football Award for a Program’s Demonstration of Newfound Seriousness * The Retread of the Year * The Todd Graham Award for Sleaziest Departure from a Job * The “It’s Definitely Gonna Work” Hire * The “It’s Definitely Not” Hire Some eligibility notes: For obvious reasons, we are excluding Michigan from these superlatives. Also, the carousel never really stops now. But much like the Oscars, if the movie didn’t come out by a certain point, it can’t win that year’s award. These are two awards shows of similar stature, we feel. Producer: Anthony Vito. Everyone can hear a free preview of this episode, which is for paid subscribersDo you enjoy Split Zone Duo? Do you want to get something like twice as many episodes of the podcast, including the vast majority of our coaching carousel podcasts and many historical retrospectives? If so, we think you’ll really enjoy becoming a paid subscriber. It’s a great holiday gift for yourself, or for the college football podcast obsessive in your life. Yep, we have gift subs. Subscriptions cost $10 a month and grant you hours of podcasts, plus the priceless feeling of supporting an independent CFB podcast and keeping it sustainable.

For a while, this was a weird UGA season. The quarterback looked shaky, and the defense didn’t look good enough to drag him to a championship. All of that has shifted in the Dawgs’ favor over the past month or two. Let’s discuss the 2025 UGA team in our College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. 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

The College Football Playoff arrives. Alex and Richard preview the four first-round games, zeroing in on some interesting dynamics to watch and then making picks. (There’s even a Group of Five upset call in here.) Then, a tour through this week’s other bowl games and some major playoff games in FCS and Divisions II and III. Producer: Anthony Vito. This episode is free, but lots of our shows are just for paid subscribers.You can get a lot more of our shows by becoming a paid subscriber. Subscribers get about twice as many SZD podcasts. Thanks to everyone who’s decided to become a subscriber over the past few weeks. Also, thanks to our partners:Shop at HomefieldThanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZDThanks to Nokian Tyres for a great weekend in NYC: www.nokiantyres.com/szdModelo: 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 rivalry has a story, and the one between Montana and Montana State is REALLY good. Kevin Van Valkenburg, the former Griz linebacker and ESPN writer and current Fried Egg Golf content director, joins Alex and Richard to talk about what this series means to his home state. How do Griz and Bobcat fans view each other? How does Missoula vs. Bozeman play into this? How did a 16-year Montana win streak change the rivalry for the future? And what’s with the “Brawl of the Wild” nickname, which didn’t always exist?Subscribers get the full episode. Thanks to everyone who’s joined us this year. By subscribing, you make this show a sustainable operation, and you also get a lot more Split Zone Duo. Subscriptions cost $10 a month or $110 for the year, and we’re proud to have extremely low cancel rates as people try it out and enjoy it. You can subscribe at this link.Producer: Anthony Vito

Texas Tech got a big sack of oil cash and spent it on football players, but there was still work to be done for the Red Raiders to dominate the Big 12. Plus, how does Joey McGuire fit into all of this? We cover Tech here in our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. 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

In this episode of our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo, we focus on No. 5 Oregon. Last year’s Ducks got blown out by Ohio State for many reasons, but the biggest was that they couldn’t stop the deep pass. Has a Purdue transfer at safety solved that problem ahead of a return trip? Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. 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