An independent college football podcast that eats the whole hog. Plus a newsletter. All with Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, and Alex Kirshner. <a href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com?utm_medium=podcast">www.splitzoneduo.com</a>

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner close out SZD’s Offseason Vibe Check series with the Mountain West. How has everything gone for this conference and its teams between the end of the regular season and now? Let’s discuss:* The state of the Mountain West’s squabbling with the Pac-12* New Mexico’s new head coach, Jason Eck, has been an FCS lifer* Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall hire could be one of the best moves any team made all offseason* Fresno State gets Matt Entz, formerly of NDSU, and tries to find talent in unconventional places* Boise State loses Ashton Jeanty but has so much coming back* Colorado State has an intriguing group of freshmen and an ex-Ohio State WR* San Jose State tries to build on an encouraging first year under Ken Niumatalolo but has to move forward without an all-time receiver, Nick Nash* UNLV got Dan Mullen … and then some shaky headlines about its finances* Nevada looks to a familiar face, Chubba Purdy, to turn around a 3-10 team* Air Force is a candidate to be one of the most improved teams in FBS, but it’s not clear who will play QB* Wyoming has holes to fill at positions where it’s produced elite players recently* San Diego State tries to get back to basics after an ugly first year for Sean Lewis* Hawaii has athletic director turmoil on an epic scaleGet cool stuff from SZD’s partners* Use SZD20 at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.homefieldapparel.com/">www.homefieldapparel.com</a>.* Follow Nokian Tyres on Instagram <a target="_blank" href="http://www.instagram.com/nokiantyresna">@NokianTyresNA</a>, and learn more about Nokian’s commitment to sustainability at <a target="_blank" href="https://company.nokiantyres.com/sustainability/">nokiantyres.com/sustainability</a>Producer: Anthony VitoHosts: Alex Kirshner, Ricard Johnson This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe</a>

Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Offseason Vibe Checks 2025: The Mountain West

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.splitzoneduo.com</a> Bill Belichick’s relationship with Jordon Hudson is the stuff of sports gossip legend, but we are most interested in what it says about Belichick’s ability to run an ACC football team. Alex and Richard discuss in this subscriber episode:* How Jordon filled a vacuum in UNC football communications* Why Alex thinks UNC should look for a way out of this marriage* Why Richard thinks that could be a substantial overreaction* What Urban Meyer’s Jaguars season tells us about the situation* What UNC is losing already and why <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6322316/2025/04/30/bill-belichick-girlfriend-unc-hard-knocks-deal-off/">The Athletic’s report</a> about the program losing “Hard Knocks” is one of the biggest red flags* The idea of Belichick as a coaching hire vs. the reality in his current form* Where Belichick is already, however, providing some value to UNC* Finding common groundFurther listening: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com/p/bill-belichick-north-carolina-hired">Our Belichick “emergency show” when he was hired in March</a>Producer: Anthony VitoHosts: Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson

How Big a Deal is Bill Belichick's Mess?

Part 1 of this week’s episode is the continuation of SZD’s “Offseason Vibe Checks” series, checking in on the Pac-12 and the FBS independents. You may be thinking, “Nice, but that’s probably going to be a really short episode, because there are just two Pac-12 teams and three independents at the moment.” Fear not! Part 2 is an interview with author Victoria Zeller, who joins Alex to discuss her new book One of the Boys and the deep research she did into the state of modern special teams development. #CollegeKickers are getting better despite lacking training at most high schools. How? Well, there’s a story there.* In the Pac-12, Washington State had the kind of offseason that Oregon State had last year, and now the Cougars have to pick up the pieces* Among the FBS independents: UConn’s doing well, UMass is at least trying something sensible as it prepares to move to the MAC this summer, and Notre Dame has lots of backfilling and an intriguing QB battle on the agenda* Victoria Zeller talks about “One of the Boys,” the privatization of special teams development, and much more.The book comes out May 13 and is available for preorder here: <a target="_blank" href="https://victoria.monster/#bookdrive">https://victoria.monster/#bookdrive</a>Liked this show? Get bonus episodes at www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribeProducer: Anthony VitoGet cool stuff from SZD’s partnersUse SZD20 at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.homefieldapparel.com/">www.homefieldapparel.com</a> and get 20% off your first order.Follow Nokian Tyres on Instagram <a target="_blank" href="http://www.instagram.com/nokiantyresna">@NokianTyresNA</a>, and learn more about Nokian’s commitment to sustainability at <a target="_blank" href="https://company.nokiantyres.com/sustainability/">nokiantyres.com/sustainability</a> This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe</a>

Pac-12 and Indy Vibe Checks + The State of Special Teams Development

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.splitzoneduo.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.splitzoneduo.com</a> In this live recording, Alex and Richard answer a handful of subscriber questions and take the time to talk about the factors behind Shedeur Sanders’ plummet to the fifth round of the NFL Draft. In this episode:* An announcement: Alex, Richard, and Godfrey will do a live taping at the Sports Podcast Festival in Raleigh on August 23. Tickets out May 9* Off-the-dome dark horses for every conference in 2025* Pac-12 candidates from the American Athletic* The Week 1 games we’d go to if we could* Could the next Phil Knight/Oregon donor relationship be at … Texas Tech? It’s not a ridiculous question!* Contract disputes in coach poaching* Coaches getting banned from high schools for recruiting sins* Under Armour fading in college sports* The main event: Discussion of Shedeur Sanders plummeting to the fifth round. (Also, Richard’s very excited the Jags got Travis Hunter)* Alex is even less enamored than before with private equity coming to CFBProducer: Anthony Vito

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