THIS 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 stopped

Further 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 Vito

Full 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

Every 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 lucky

Can 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 subscriber

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.

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

SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Once upon a time, Ole Miss picked segregation and the Stars and Bars 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

Richard (from the Sugar Bowl) and Alex (from the Rose Bowl) break down the College Football quarterfinal bowl games in this order:

* Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34

* Indiana 38, Alabama 3

* Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0

* Miami 24, Ohio State 14

Want much more? Become a paid subscriber

Subscribers 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

Producer: Anthony Vito

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are here. Alex, Richard, and guest host Rodger Sherman dive into all of these games:

* Miami-Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl

* Oregon-Texas Tech at the Orange Bowl

* Alabama-Indiana at the Rose Bowl

* Ole Miss-Georgia at the Sugar Bowl

* Illinois State-Montana State in the FCS title game

* UW-River Falls-North Central in the Stagg Bowl

Plus: Does the NFL need to reconsider its playoff format to exclude teams from the NFC South and AFC North? Producer: Anthony Vito

Want much more? Become a paid subscriber

Subscribers 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